Category Archives: Books

Introducing Children to Nature with Fun and Games

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There are many ways to introduce toddlers and young children to nature. No matter where you live there will always be something to see. So here are my top tips on how you can start showing off the nature where you live, to your children. It’s never too early to start learning!

And I am sure that David Attenborough would agree with me when I say that “You’re never too young or too old to learn about the world around you”.

By making things fun children are more likely to learn and remember the information you are portraying. You can still stay safe at home but enjoy nature around where you live by keeping to social distancing guidelines.

Here are my Top 5 things to do at Home but Outside! Be it in your Garden or if you don’t have one you could just go on a Walk around your village or town or park. It may be lockdown but that doesn’t stop you walking socially distanced from other families.

Children are more likely to learn and listen if you turn things into fun and a game. So why not make your own games up, or take a look at my ideas below.

1. Bird Spotting
2. Bug Finding
3. Pick a Creature – Try To Find It
4. What Is That I See? What Is Around My Home
5. Eye Spy Lockdown Edition

1. Bird Spotting is easy enough to do, take a notepad and pen with you and write everyone’s names at the top. Make columns down the page and write down every different sort of bird that you spot. The person who spots the most species of birds is the winner!

2. Bug Finding is great fun in a small space, depending on how old your children are you could just spot basic bugs and say things like “Beetle” or “Spider” or you can go into what type of bug you are looking at such as “Stag Beetle” etc. You could even ask little ones to draw what they saw on the walk from their memory when you get back home.

3. Pick a Creature is a great game to play with children who already know what certain animals are. Take a walk and get everyone to pick something, one person might count Crows, the other Cats, another Pigeons, but whatever it is they have to keep score of their creature until you get home.

4. What is that I see? Use your knowledge of things around where you live and discuss things with your children like the seasons, if there are evergreen trees, what colour the flowers are you can find, any buildings and their purpose etc.

5. Eye Spy Lockdown Edition is literally eye spy but your children are only allowed to pick one type of thing during your walk. You could say just birds, or just objects, whatever is best for your children’s age.

Books I Recommend

I recently invested in several books for my son who is two and a half. He is interested in matching things up lately so I thought books with pictures of things to spot when we go out for a walk are ideal. I also have a number of nature books I have collected over my lifetime, anything with large pictures and easy to see nature depicting scenes are engaging for most children.

“Usborne Minis” are Great little books ideal to carry with you on a walk, and they have a range so you could pick which is most relevant to you and where you live, for example Birds, Trees or Bugs. There are always National Trust books and also RSPB for birds. Another great book I own is the DK Pocket Nature Wildlife of Britain book, it’s a few years old now but has excellent photography and information about British wildlife.

Of course you can always use a search engine on your phone to find out what you’ve seen, but the joy of these sorts of books is being able to mark things off when you have spotted them. The Usborne Mini book set have stickers for you to place on a grid inside the book in order to tick them off. This is great because you also have to identify the sticker as well as the creature or tree for example. Simple but it’s still learning at its best.

Thank you for reading this post today, I hope I have inspired you to get out and about in your area with your children (or just your other half). I have many more lockdown friendly ideas coming up over the next few weeks, so please check back another time if you enjoyed this post.

Have a lovely week!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Book Review of How to Draw Kawaii Animals in Simple Steps by Yishan Li from Search Press. A Great Book for Beginners.

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I have been supplied this book for the purpose of a review. I have not paid for this product, it was a competition win in order to keep but review it. Thank you to Search Press Art for giving me this opportunity to review this great book.

My First Attempts


A great book for beginners! It certainly is just that. I was impressed by the simplicity of the book but with excellent results. This book would make an ideal Birthday or Christmas gift for people of all ages, providing they liked drawing or were a fan of animals.

Here are some of my attempts at drawing, my Racoon isn’t half bad!

Product: Book on Drawing
Book Title: How To Draw Kawaii Animals in Simple Steps By Yishan Li
Publisher: Search Press
Pages: 28 Animals across the pages, each drawn with 8 steps

Awesome Pages Included in this Book
Back Cover


I am someone who really and honestly cannot draw! I mean everyone can draw in some capacity but I draw most things badly, so I jumped at the chance to use these simple steps to improve my drawing abilities.

The book is so easy to follow, with 8 simple steps to the general shape of the animals. And then you are free to add your own details. They give you inspiration with one coloured in and completely detailed animal per page, so you can attempt a similar end result.

The steps are easy, you need a pencil, and I would recommend a rubber, so that you can erase any lines that you don’t need when you complete the finer details. Some lines are there to build shape but not needed at the end.

There are all sorts of animals, fish and birds in this book, something for everyone’s tastes.

(Left) My Fox (2nd Attempt) Side by Side with the Book version and original (Right).

I would and have given this Book a 5 Star Review. It has something for everyone, with a variety of animals, easy steps to follow and it also gives people the freedom to add their own details, as well as getting great results.

Thank you reading this review today. You can find this book on Amazon by typing the title into their search bar.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Our Experience of Baby Sensory Class and How I Teach My Baby At Home

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Our Experience of a Baby Sensory Class

Beach Theme – Under The Sea.

Using textures, sounds, bubbles, bright colours, animals, music, voices, singing, shiny surfaces, sign language and toys… Baby Sensory has something for babies of all ages. This class that I attended was for babies of only a few weeks old right up to 13 months.

Our son Baby A has just turned 6 months old, so he was able to appreciate a great deal of what was going on. There were various mats on the floor for parents to sit upon and soft mats to lay babies upon in front. The class interacted with the children on many levels, be it laying on their back, sitting up, laying on their fronts, and sat upon their parents laps even!

There is always a hello and a goodbye section of the class, then in between is a theme plus a short break midway through for feeding and changing, or just more playing.

Sand was substituted for oats so that babies weren’t in any danger if they happened to eat any. I thought this was a great idea! A variety of textures were used doing the hour, silk, organza, bubbles and soft mats. Sign language is used during songs to make the babies think about the words being sung and said. This is also a really nice part of the group activities.

Baby A enjoyed some aspects of the class more than others, such as the objects and instruments that he could personally interact with, especially when he could hold and feel them. He very much liked the shells and wooden objects that were in the bucket I was given in this class.​

I have paid for a course of classes for my son and I to attend. I feel it’s a good idea to introduce him to other babies, various sounds and activities that I cannot do very easily at home. Plus it’s a good reason to get out of the house and for my son and I to have some fun learning things together.

If there are classes in your town I recommend that you give this type of learning class a go! If you find a good one the activities can be essential to your baby learning things and experiencing things in a safe environment.

Baby Sensory Class
Bucket and Mat for the Under The Sea Theme

How and What I Teach My Baby At Home

There are many things that I teach Baby A at home, and also when we are out and about. Such as pointing out colours, numbers, weather and words as well as the basics like animals and objects. You don’t need to spend a lot of money on things, and you can use items at home to create sensory things.

I really enjoy showing my son real objects. Ones that make noises and have great textures are the best types. We often use toys and explain what in reality they are based upon. We try and expose him to educational television programs and we try and use books daily too. Ones with pictures are best at the moment but we always interact with the books with words and noises to help him understand further.

Young babies can only see Black, White and Red colours, so it’s a good idea to begin showing them shapes and every day objects and short words that are designed in this colour pattern. As baby gets older you can show them more colours and build upon it week after week.

Repetition is the best way of learning, and a baby will begin to recognise objects from an early age when shown them on a regular basis. Our son liked particular animals that were on flash cards, so we aimed to buy him other things that had these things as the theme. Such as he liked the image of a snail in one of the books and so we attached a snail hanging toy for the arch on his play mat.

My Top Tips for teaching your child things at home, are to incorporate a section of learning time into your routine so that once a day your baby is learning. Use repetition and do any teaching when your baby is most awake and alert. Making the learning fun means your little one is more likely to enjoy it and recall aspects of it.

Learning with your child should be an activity that you can both enjoy, you can always get other people involved too such as grand parents and friends. If there are babies of different ages in the room you can get everyone to do things in a way that they would all benefit. Such as explain colours and objects to the younger baby while getting an older child to spell the word for example.

Baby Sensory Light Display


If anyone found this post useful then please leave me a comment. I may elaborate on ways that I teach if people would find it beneficial. And also explain about the items that I have made and created for our at home sensory experience.

Thank you for reading my blog today and for visiting Severn Wishes, I hope you’ll stop by again soon. Have a great day!

♡✩ Sabrina ✩♡

Baby Books and Why Reading To Baby While They Are Still In The Womb Is So Important

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Baby Books We Have Purchased and Why Reading To Baby While They Are Still In The Womb Is So Important

 

A lot of parents “to be” will speak and even sing to their babies while they are still confined to the mothers womb. This isn’t an uncommon practice, but what is becoming more and more popular is to read aloud to them. From around 24 weeks your baby will be able to hear your voice and start to distinguish it from others. If you regularly talk to your baby they may even move in response to your voice pattern. Being repetitive with your words each day can help with this too. Books that have a rhythm to them are supposed to be the most effective, and you can also introduce multiple languages in a basic form if you feel brave enough.

A baby can develop cognitive responses to what happens while they are inside the womb. For example if the mother relaxes to the same piece of music regularly, the baby is often soothed by the same thing when they hear it outside of the womb. This is because they recognise how their mother felt at that time. By taking the time to use speech and music in the run up to our children being born, we could be aiding them with learning. Scientists believe that talking to a baby in the womb and interacting with both feelings and sound, could be beneficial. It is also a great bonding exercise for the parents.

Scientists believe that babies not only become used to the regular voices, sounds and music that they hear, such as Mom and Dad, but they may also begin to pick up words and tones that are used often as well. Other things they can pick up on as they grow are whether or not they are getting repetitive environments. Some move around when they hear and feel the rumble of a car engine for example. Or if someone turns on a loud noise like a hoover or a coffee grinder in close proximity to bump, they can squirm like they want to move away from the loud noise. It is all a learning process.

When I first read about this on the Bounty Pregnancy App I found it all fascinating. I immediately went online to see if I could get any of the baby books that I remember being read to me in my younger years. If any of them were still available now I wanted to read them to my child. Luckily about one third of my chosen few were still in print, and so I set about ordering some. My plan is to read to my baby as a method of soothing them once they are born, and after reading this study I thought why not begin while baby is still inside me.

I ordered the following items from The Works, because they have some great deals on books, especially children’s ones. I managed to get 10 books for £10 on a weekend deal. Some were usually more than £3.00 each so it was a bargain! And they were delivered quickly which was a bonus.

I will put the website link at the end of my blog post for those of you who want to take a look at the current range.


Some of the books from my childhood in the 1980’s were favorable for me getting for my child. A lot of them taught about morals and about family, and making learning and understanding fun! I have also invested in newer titles that have been a hit with many of my friends who are already parents, such as “Mog the Cat” and books about Animals. We are big on both nature and Cats in my house, so anything along these lines would go down well. I think it’s really important that children learn about Animals and how to treat them right, in my opinion the younger that they recognise them the better.

A few of the titles that I have bought so far for our baby are these;

Mog and Bunny
Say Goodnight to the Sleepy Animals
Say Hello to the Animals
Say Hello to the Jungle Animals
Little Bear Won’t Sleep
The Large Family – Five Minutes Peace
The Large Family – All In One Piece
Counting 123
Five Little Dinosaurs

For both storyline and art work I would highly rate “Mog and Bunny”, the range of “Goodnight and Hello to the Animals” Books and also one of my childhood favourites “Five Minutes Peace”. I do plan on getting more books once we have exhausted this pile and are in need of something new to stimulate both our brains and baby too! I believe in reading, turning pages and showing pictures to children. I won’t be one of these tablet only mothers put it that way! Books all the way!

✩✩✩

So as my due date gets ever closer, I am talking to baby more and more. I am also encouraging my husband to read to baby as a way of them bonding. Hopefully our baby will know both of our voices when we meet, and this will allow us all to be more calm. I also look forward to reading to our baby and watching their reactions…

Do you enjoy reading books? Is there a title that you read or have read to your children that you can recommend? If so, please leave me a comment.

Don’t forget you can follow me on social media for more baby and bump updates! Such as Fashion choices and days out!

Have a great day and thank you for visiting Severn Wishes Blog!

✩ Sabrina ✩

The Works Website HERE

My Trip to Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour, Experience and Review

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My Day Trip to Warner Brothers Studios for the Harry Potter Tour at Leavesden Studios, at Watford Near London.

Welcome to my Travel and Lifestyle post outlining my experiences at the Harry Potter Studio Tour, with some of my photography. As well as an insight into my childhood growing up with this amazing literature adventure.

I went with my husband on the August 2017 Bank Holiday Weekend, and I paid £101.85 for the privilege of two “The Complete Adult Tour” Packages including the Paperback Souvenir Guide and Digital Guide to go around the studio with. That includes the £3.95 I paid to have all of my tickets posted to me. I spent £49.80 on souvenirs afterwards, but we will get to those at the end…

My Visit to the Harry Potter Studio Tour and My Personal Reasons for Going
It was an experience that I had been waiting for for a considerable time. The chance to go to Leavesden Studios near London, was on my bucket list. And not just for the one reason that’s obvious. Everyone who grew up reading the Potter franchise, either for themselves or with their own children, knows that these books hold a part of your soul that you gave away while becoming completely engrossed in the world of Hogwarts and Harry. J.K Rowling managed to do what very few authors can, and this was to create a world that so many people (both young and old) fell in love with. Although it was a frightening place to reside at times during the books, people longed to go there, and we all had our own visions of what it would be like…

For me though, it’s way more than that. The reason is that I had hoped to one day work at the studio. I remember applying to audition for the original Harry Potter film, but on my returned letter it stated that I was 6 months too old to audition, and that other older roles had already been filled. My dream was shattered. I had applied to audition for any part and was offering to be an extra as well, I was happy to travel as my parents knew how much it meant to me, and had supported me if I was chosen.

Sadly I was never lucky enough to be an extra, though I tried countless times and for the majority of the films whenever they opened up a casting. So I gave up on that dream for a time, and I stuck to my reading and writing with occasional stage work too as a teen. Still, I longed to be a part of that world…

Those days of being on stage are also sadly behind me now because of health reasons. And when I went to University aged 19 I had the choice of going down the drama route or to follow my other creative passion, which is photography. And I chose the latter. I still write though and I hope to one day have something published.

I think if anyone ever made my books into films I would love to be like Peter Jackson, who appeared in numerous scenes as an extra throughout his time directing The Lord of the Rings franchise. That would be completing two of my dreams in one go, I still live in hope of all of it…

So for the past two years I’ve tried my utmost to get to the Harry Potter Studio Tour, between work commitments and poor health, every time I’ve had to postpone or rearrange… but this August Bank Holiday I was determined to go. I had to book it two months in advance due to the summer holidays but it was something to look forward to.

What made it more real was the tickets arriving in the post, they were unique and creative and I felt like I was holding a part of the experience already. I thought it felt like an age away, but it was soon here and upon us. My husband offering to drive us down so I agreed and became my usual organised freak self, I did my maps and my travel times and planned out our day.

When you pull up to the studio’s you’ll notice that only advanced bookings are allowed and that security check your tickets on arrival. From there you park up in front of what looks like a mixture between an air craft hanger and a business distribution headquarters. The only give away are statues out front and several rather large Harry Potter film related posters…

The whole studio is neatly laid out and the main atrium is large and welcoming. The actors and characters portraits are all looking down on you from the high walls above. The Weasley Car (one of the many used) is suspended in the air above one corner, and you have a feeling of awe before you’ve even gone past the foyer.

I couldn’t help but wonder how people with no knowledge of the books would ever feel at home here. But as I said to my husband, (who has seen the films but read zero words on any of the books pages), to take the studio as it is, for its magnificence and marvel at the creativity, the hard work and the talent that has gone into making every single aspect of it.

Having purchased tickets that included a paperback guide and a digital guide, we decided to headphone it up and get into the queue. We would pick up our book guides at the gift shop at the end of our tour (as suggested by a staff member) so we didn’t have to carry them around.

So as we queued up initially to start the tour I was amazed by just how many people there were. There had to easily be 200 people going in to each tour slot. Plus there were always things to read, see or listen to, even while you waited. Quotes from J.K.Rowling and the famous “Cupboard Under the Stairs” can be admired as you queue for the beginning of you tour.

Once inside the introduction area you are met with many television screens on the walls placed vertically and acting as cinema posters, showcasing the Harry Potter film franchise in every language they were released in. It was fascinating to see how the posters looked, advertising the various movies in their country, some were rather different than ours.
Next our tour guide gave us a brief introduction into the do and don’t of the studio. Of course it contained the usual rules of, “Please don’t pass any barriers” and “Don’t reach over and touch the costumes” things like that. Common sense but essential reminders for those who might get a little carried away with the magic. There was also a no food and drink policy and only one main rule encouraging you to take as many photographs as possible and to share them. No problem for me, I thought, and by the end of my tour I was suitably satisfied with the 1,200 images I had taken.

So the next part I don’t want to spoil for those of you who have yet to visit, all I will tell you is that it begins with a door…

As you enter the start of your Harry Potter studios tour you are welcomed with a familiar sight, and one that I had imagined in my mind since I was eleven years old, when I first read The Philosophers Stone, that room is of course The Great Hall. Obviously missing the incredible magic sky in the ceiling, but this room is so iconic to the movies and an essential part of the Hogwarts Castle. If you think back to how many incredible things happen in this Great Hall, then you will understand why I got goosebumps as I walked through it.

Set around the room are two of the amazing long tables and benches, that had once been filled with the actors as they were being filmed. Now they stand in testament to all those hours of rolling film, still set out as though students would soon be filing in for dinner. Fake flames flicker up the walls from the metal burners along the sides, and the original flagstone floor remains underfoot. Some of the actors costumes are situated further down in the hall, and I was in awe of their details. Even the alter with the Owl that Sir Richard Harris (the original and wonderful Dumbledore) stood at in the first two films, along with his costume, and that of several of the other teachers too, remain in excellent condition for all to see. The details were incredible!

As you finish The Great Hall you notice some doors off to the left, these lead you on to the rest of your tour. I took one last look back at The Great Hall as I went through the doors into the rest of the studio… I hope this image shows you the scale of this incredible room.

I won’t go into every little detail of this next enormous section, but I will however give you a list of some of the rooms and the things you will encounter here.

Hair and Makeup and Especially Wigs
Wands and their Wizards
The Gryffindor Common Room
The Gryffindor Tower and Beds
More Costumes – Mostly Gryffindor and/or Teachers
Dumbledore’s Office
The Pendulum Clock
Potions Class
Paintings and Stairs
The Leaky Cauldron
Hagrid’s Hut
Musical Instruments
Various Significant Furniture
Quidditch Brooms and Trophies
Broomstick Lessons and Photo Experience
The Burrow – Weasley Household
Ministry of Magic Chimneys
Various Props
Cars and Vehicles
Significant Tables and Doors
Statues
Animatronics

Here are a few images but I won’t spoil it all for you…Here I am doing my first Broom Lesson… “UP!”

I remembered these costumes so vividly…

Potions Lesson anyone? I was a huge fan of Alan Rickman, I don’t think anyone could have played Severus Snape as well as he did. I was very sad when he passed away recently, so to be so close to one of the costumes that he actually wore, I felt like he was there in spirit…

Once safely through these wondrous parts which took us over an hour because there is so much to see (and with crowds too), you find yourself at the Ministry of Magic section and the entrance to The Forbidden Forest.

Having deliberately waited for the Forest to be included in the tour I was rather glad I had. I absolutely loved The Prisoner of Azkaban, it is my favourite of the books and although I felt the film missed a few vital back story parts, it was extremely well done by the directors. Buckbeak the Hypogriff was also a vital part of the storylines so to stand so close to his animatronic version was a great experience. I even took a selfie!

The other side of the forest leads us into the territory of rather large spiders including the one and only Aragog and her Spider minions. You can see a Patronus and other forest related things too. After this you will pass through into a break area with a small shop and some toilets…

After the small pit stop area you walk out into the long room and are greeted by the smell of smoke and the bright colours of the Hogwarts Express. The real life and full sized train, it was amazing to see, and all the more amazing to get on it and stand where actors had once stood.

Obviously so much of the inside of it is partitioned off so as to preserve the original carriage seating and other features, but they allow you to walk on and look inside the various sections. Most are still laid out with luggage and examples off the confectionery trolley such as the illusive chocolate frogs.

There are a few photographic opportunities here as well as a small shop too. And for those who have never visited King’s Cross Station in Central London, the chance to be one of those lucky wizards pushing their trolley through the wall at 9 & 3/4s…

Once you’re through and finished with the Hogwarts Express the Cafe Area awaits. Butterbeer and food can be found here, along with a vast seating area for you to rest before the next part of the tour.

Into the Backlot now and you will see some rather familiar sites! The Hogwarts Bridge, famous in the film The Prisoner of Azkaban, where Remus Lupin and Harry share a beautiful moment as he reflects on the past… This is one of my favourite parts of the films and the books, and I loved walking along here…

 The Knight Bus! And the houses… 4 Privet Drive and The Potter’s Cottage at Godric’s Hollow are all here in this outside space… To walk and to stand where these incredibly talented people had stood, was inspiring. Here are some of my images…

The attention to detail in every area of the tour is astounding.


The Chess Pieces from the Chamber of Secrets lead you inside and on to the next parts of the tour…

Following on from this you go into the Creature Effects Department. This was an area that fascinated me, not just because of the animatronics and the puppets, but the almost life sized body doubles of some of the cast who perish at times in the movies. Here is a fun fact, they were designed this way so that when actor Robbie Coltrane was carrying them, they looked the correct size.

Fawkes the Phoenix was my favourite in this section, as well as a Hedwig model Owl and a few other pieces like another Buckbeak and a Dragon head.

As you walk through you notice all the small things that would have taken days for someone to painstakingly create. Three dimensional models, a hundred or more hats, wands and costume pieces.


One of the final parts of the tour is the one and only Diagon Alley. And although I was excited to see this part, I somehow expected it to be larger! I’m not sure why! I will include a photograph of me with my husband below, see what you think, did you expect the area with the shop fronts to be bigger? I know I did!

One of the most incredible rooms on the tour is the final one… The Model Room! I was in awe of the details of the castle as we walked in. The lighting is quite dim however so it was difficult to get a good photograph, I hope you can see the details.

This was an amazing way to end the tour, and I could have spent hours looking at all the tiny details of this model. But I also wanted to get myself into the gift shop!

Finally you enter the gift shop at the end of your tour. It was packed with all sorts of Harry Potter wonders! Clothing, Books, Keyrings and Cuddly Toys! But I must say, the majority of the prices are very steep. It’s disheartening when you pay so much for the tour itself, to find a mere key ring is £7! I will outline the items I bought and the prices that I paid for them. There were many items I would have liked to buy but I couldn’t justify the amount they were asking for them.

Hogwarts Crest Keyring £6.95
Hogwarts Crest Pin £6.95
Time Turner Keyring £8.95
Buckbeak Keyring £4.95
Hedwig Pin £6.00
5 Pins Set £9.95

Overall I thoroughly enjoyed my afternoon at the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studio Tour, and I can understand now what all the hype was about. Being there, where actors that I am greatly fond of, have worked for many years, is such an experience. There was only one part of the tour that I was expecting to see and did not… The Sorting Hat? I had wondered if I had missed it but then I was sure I didn’t. So if there isn’t one, perhaps it could be suspended in glass and you stand beneath it, it could sort you into a house… just an idea for the future WB!

Now for some questions that I have been asked and my honest answers to them.

Would I go again?
Probably not this year, or next year, but if there was something newly added or they extended it and included things in an easier to see way (I thought some parts were over filled and cramped). I’m sure they have plenty of things they could build or rebuild or dig out of storage to make the place larger.

What was my favourite part/s?
I loved seeing the train, the animatronics (Buckbeak) and the costumes. But my favourite part was walking along the bridge from the third film. The details in so many aspects of the tour were amazing.

Was it good value for money?
When you consider how many people worked on the film, and I’m talking artists, sculptors, carpenters and the like. Those are the people the tour celebrates, and I think that is so important, as these professions don’t always get the credit that is deserved. Overall I think you pay your money to see all the amazing things that made the franchise of films what they were, and without all of these elements it would not have been such a success. For this, I don’t mind paying what I have paid. Though I wouldn’t go again in a hurry.

Have I ever done a Harry Potter Sorting Hat Quiz?
Yes I have done, one as a teenager and two as an adult. Each time I have been either a full Gryffindor or part Gryffindor and part Hufflepuff.

What souvenir did I buy for myself at the WB HP Tour?
I purchased three things for myself, one was a pin, and the other two were key rings. I bought a few little bits for my family members. See the images below for a more detailed look at them.

How cute is the tiny Hedwig Pin?! 😀

I hope you have enjoyed reading about my Harry Potter lifestyle, my experience on the tour and looking at my photographs too.
If you have any questions and you think I can answer them please leave me them in the comments section below.
I will include a link to the website below too, for anyone who wants to look at maybe booking a tour slot, they have unique visits this time of year too.
Until next time Wizards and Muggles, I’m Sabrina, and you’ve been reading this on Severn Wishes Blog.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Harry Potter Studio Tour Website

Little Books of Calm Colouring Reviews

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Today I am reviewing the “Calm Colouring” Books series created by David Sinden and Victoria Kay. Calm Colouring is an activity that I partake in regularly, it really helps me to relax. And when the images are as beautiful and as intricate as they are in these books, you’ll see why in a moment.

So why do I use them? As some of you regular blog readers will know, I have suffered with some anxiety the past few years that stems from my surgery and other health issues. I deal with it in several ways, but on days when I just need to lose myself in something, I found that adult colouring books really have helped.

My family bought me the first book, “The Little Book of more Calm Colouring” and I loved it so much that I ordered the first one of the series off Amazon which is called, “The Little Book of Calm Colouring”.

Inside are pages of hand illustrated designs where each one has an inspirational quote on the left and a picture to colour on the right. For example here is one quote from Leonardo Da Vinci, “To enjoy – to love a thing for its own sake and for no other reason”. As seen in my image below.

These portable relaxation books are so wonderful, and because they are only 11.5cm by 14cm they can be carried with you should the occasion arise. You can use pencils, pens, literally anything you like to colour in the designs. Something non saturate-able would be best though. The pages aren’t really thin but if you press too hard then strong pen colour will stain through.

The quotes contain many famous sayings and inspirational words from some of the worlds most incredible people. William Shakespeare, Confucius, Aristotle, William Blake, Emily Dickinson and Oscar Wilde to name only a few.

The act as reminders that sometimes patience and calm can be all that we need in order to mentally work through a situation. This book combines the beauty of adding colour to drawings that are sometimes both symmetrical and complicated, but also creating that depth of thought processes so that we may be lost in ourselves for a moment.

My Review Scores

Content 5/5
Appearance 5/5
Usability 5/5
Value for Money 5/5
Quality 5/5
Accurate 5/5

Not only is the content excellent, the quality is also great. They are both portable and easy to use. The books do exactly what they are intended for, and I think at less than £5 for one of these books they are good value for money. All you need to buy are the colouring implements.

Thank you for reading this review today, I really hope you have enjoyed it, and feel free to search for these books online if you’re considering buying one for yourself or for a friend. I know mine are useful and inspiring, exactly what you need to alleviate stress after a long day or to distract at an anxious time. I bought one of my books off Amazon so I know you can still get them on there.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Book Review of ‘Cook Yourself Young’ by E Peyton-Jones including Recipe Review

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CookYourselfYoungBack in February of this year I was lucky enough to win a competition through Intu shopping centres to win this wonderful book by Elizabeth Peyton-Jones. As it says on the cover the author has cleverly created recipes that allow us to harness the power of food so that we may live healthier lives. There are lots of aspects of food that can provide the health benefits our bodies need. Making the most of things such as antioxidants and vitamins that foods such as tomatoes naturally provide.

The author of ‘Cook Yourself Young’ is a food and health expert as well as a naturopath. Elizabeth Peyton-Jones is helping people to make the necessary changes to their lifestyle and diet in order to increase their wellbeing and health. The title of the book stems from her belief in slowing the process of ageing by restoring balance within the human body. She promotes simple ways of eating good food that can allow for higher energy levels, encouragement of sleep and reducing body fat, to name but a few. Through the recipes and advice in her book Peyton-Jones hopes that people will feel the benefits of her expertise, allowing them to feel good about their bodies and look and feel more youthful.

The book not only has wonderful easy-to-cook recipes but also advice about what foods are natural medicines for your body. I found these facts fascinating to read about, my favourites include foods for tackling problems such as fatigue, digestive problems and also ingredients for boosting the immune system.

So having read through the book there was a recipe in particular that I kept coming back to, so that is the one I decided to try. Peyton-Jones’ ‘Cheesy’ Stuffed Tomatoes recipe didn’t just sound delicious it looks great on the authors photograph too. So I managed to get the ingredients that I needed and waited for a free afternoon where I could take my time and cook this recipe right.

RecipeThis recipe was easy to follow and the instructions were very clear. I have always loved to cook so it was nice to try something different. The only thing I did change however was one ingredient, which was relating to nuts. My husband is very allergic so it’s not something that we even have in the house. ‘Cook Yourself Young’ contains many recipes which have nuts in, and although I won’t be able to include nuts in the ones I do try out, I either substitute them or leave the ingredient out completely.

Garlic Toms

So I readied the items for the meal and prepared them appropriately to E Peyton-Jones’ instructions. While my oven preheated I took some photographs, and once they were cooked I took some more. The smells of the sweet tomato mixing with the garlic, shallots and basil filled my kitchen and I couldn’t wait to try them.

Recipe3Recipe2

The final result was a truly delicious tomato dish that I would most definitely make again. Great on their own or they go wonderfully as a side dish with a variety of different meals. We actually ate them on this occasion as a side dish with a chicken breast. The delicious sweetness of the tomato accompanied with strong garlic and basil was wonderful. The tomatoes keep their shape even after the stuffing and the cooking, they are soft and easy to eat, and this makes them all the more inviting. The sweetness and the strong taste of garlic and basil together are divine, and I enjoyed the smells that filled my kitchen all throughout the preparation and the cooking. The final look of the recipe was also very inviting. I always believe that you first get hungry from what you see with your eyes and if something looks delicious it usually is. The colours that are present in this tasty dish make it rather appetising.

Recipe ResultSo overall this is a wonderful and unique book filled with recipes and facts that will keep you entertained for months as you create these interesting and healthy dishes. Even if you have to substitute ingredients like I have done, the recipes are still fantastic and it’s well worth it for all the facts about your body and the way it reacts to food.
Through ‘Cook Yourself Young’ I have learned about the foods that can give me more strength, and the foods that can make my healthier, one dish at a time. If you suffer from an ailment sometimes foods can benefit you in other ways, and it was fascinating to read about the ways in which even some spices can make a difference in your life.
I can recommend this book if you enjoy cooking and learning about how what you can eat, can benefit you in lots of varied ways.