Let me eat cake!

As well as baking cakes, one of my favourite pleasures is going out for tea and cake. It's one of those brilliant British traditions that I embrace wholeheartedly, so I've been enjoying sampling some of the coffee houses of Dorset. And lately I've discovered a couple of gems that I wanted to share with you.

The first is Corfe Coffee in Corfe Mullen, which won me over with its gorgeous coffee fudge cake. I am not a coffee drinker, but I am a lover of anything coffee-flavoured, so a big slice of coffee cake is one of my go-to choices. And I was not disappointed - it was delicious. Moist, sticky, well-flavoured - worth the sugar rush! And at just £2 for the slice, it was friendlier on my purse than it was on my waistline!

As for the venue, it was very similar to how I would run a coffee shop, if the opportunity ever arose. Comfy seating, books and toys for children, a book swap for adults, products to buy and a good, varied menu. Not to mention friendly staff, which is always a bonus in my view! 

There's not a website I can direct you to, but they do have a Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Corfe-Coffee/216397928374201). Of course, you can simply pop along to Corfe Mullen and sample them for yourself…

But my cake journey doesn't end in Corfe Mullen, as I've also been fortunate to sample the delights of The Coffee House in Canford Heath. It's very similar in essence to Corfe Coffee but with slightly more of a community feel. There's a giant blackboard with a calendar of local events on it, many of which take place at The Coffee House itself, as well as a community craft table for you to get creative - perhaps you'll be inspired by the work of local artists that adorns the walls! 

The tea was exceptionally good value (I think it was £1.50 for a pot that held at least 3 cups) and was served in a pot with a super-cute tea cosy. We sampled a selection of cakes - lemon, chocolate tiffin and a teacake for the children. All were tasty! But again, don't just take my word for it – head there yourself and check it out! 
http://thecoffeehouse.eu

If you know somewhere that serves great cake and tasty tea, let me know. I'm always on the lookout for new places to try!

1 is FUN!

It's been a busy few days at Dorset Mummy Towers with D2's first birthday celebrations taking up most of my free hours and energy. It's hard to believe that this time last year I was mum to a gorgeous teeny-tiny newborn and now I have a walking toddler on my hands who is sure showing her independent streak.

Obviously the first birthday is a massive occasion and a very special one – and I don't mean just for the child. It's a huge achievement for any parent to get through that tricksy first year, so hubby and I quite rightly gave ourselves a pat on the back for successfully guiding a child through those first 12 months (for the second time, yippee!) without causing anyone lasting harm… And that's something us parents should do more often - we spend so long celebrating our children's achievements that we forget about our own. So take some time in the next week or so to give yourselves a reward for doing a blooming good job because this parenting malarkey isn't always easy.

Now, the other thing about birthdays is the fact that I get to do one of my favourite things - baaaaakkkkkkeeeee! If the writing career ever goes south, my other dream is to bake for a living. OK, I'm no GBBO contender, but I can make a mean sponge. And when I was pregnant with D1, I swore to myself that I would ALWAYS make my children's birthday cakes…

So D2 was supposed to get a rainbow cake, but colouring the sponge just made two of them quite dense and 'claggy' (love that word!). So my rainbow cake turned into one layer of pink sponge, one normal, one purple, one normal, sandwiched together with strawberry jam and a pink buttercream. I then covered the sponge in buttercream and decorated the outside with chocolate fingers, Smarties and a bit of sparkle, all tied up in a pretty pink bow!

And thankfully, it tasted blimmin' yummy! My only complaint about birthdays is just how shattering they can be - for everyone! 

I'd love to hear what makes birthdays special for you!

The Wicked West

That's wicked in the good sense of the word, people, not because it's evil!

So yesterday saw our family venturing a little further afield to meet up with some Devon-based friends in a mutually convenient location. We arranged to meet in Chideock, situated to the south-west of Bridport. We took a bit of a gamble and chose a pub we found online (although it had good Trip Advisor reviews). Luckily the gamble paid off! 

The pub in question was the George Inn (http://georgeinnchideock.co.uk). We'd reserved a table (ALWAYS a good move when you have children and want to eat on a Sunday) which had plenty of space around it for the kids to play without disrupting anyone else.

But the main attraction was the food. The menu's seasonal and depends on produce availability, which means it's always changing. The kids devoured pasta, tomato sauce and cheese (a favourite with little people), while the grown-ups (with the exception of yours truly) tucked into roast beef or roast lamb with homemade Yorkshires, roasties and veg. I don't eat meat so I enjoyed a delicious squash, spinach and chickpea curry with coriander cous cous, a flatbread and crème fraiche. It was superb. And such good value. I love it when pubs give you a decent plate of food and don't charge you an absolute bomb for it. There's nothing worse than getting a barely-there plate and knowing you've just forked out a small fortune!

The staff were all friendly and courteous and when we left, the pub was heaving - always a good sign. We'll definitely be going back.

With full bellies, we then hopped in the car and drove back east to West Bay for a walk on the beach. As you may know, it's where they filmed TV drama Broadchurch (the second season is currently being filmed there too). But it's also part of the Jurassic Coast, which is a World Heritage Site. And that makes it pretty special.

It's one of those places where the coastline is just so breathtakingly dramatic that you can't help but be awed by nature in all its glory. I don't think words can do it justice - you need to see it to believe it. 

The beach is shingle which, I'll be honest, is kind of tricksy to walk on, so next time I'm going to tackle it with decent shoes and give my legs a REAL workout. 

But the lack of a beach walk meant we could just indulge in another one of my favourite things - tea and cake! Again we were really lucky and stumbled across the West Bay Tea Rooms (http://www.westbaytearooms.co.uk). Cosy, inviting and still selling ice creams, we were happy, the kids were happy and the coffee and walnut cake my friends shared looked gorgeous! (Which isn't to say that my millionaire's shortbread wasn't, I just had a touch of cake envy…)

Unfortunately the weather took a turn for the worse while we were out, but I'll definitely be headed back to West Bay when it's sunnier to have a real look around this pretty harbour village. And I suggest you do the same!

Park life

Green space has always been important to me. I grew up in the Gloucestershire countryside surrounded by hills and lush green fields, and even in London, I was fortunate enough to either live near an amazing park or to have a garden of my own.

Now I'm lucky enough to live near heathland, but also to be within 10 minutes of two lovely parks – Poole and Upton. Today I'm just going to be writing about the former, simply because I had a rather nice time there in the autumn sunshine on Saturday afternoon!

Poole Park is one of those parks that has something for everyone - no matter what age you are. From soft play to ducks to bowls to tennis to water sports to a mini train, it has it all. But it's also just a nice place to simply go for a walk (mums – there's a rather nice circuit round the lake that's good for buggies and takes about 45 minutes at a leisurely pace). It's the sort of place that everyone flocks to when the weather gets warm, but it never actually feels that busy (except for when you're trying to find a parking space. And the ones near the soft play all get snatched up and are teeny. That's one of my few complaints!). Incidentally, parking is free. Another bonus!

So on Saturday, we headed for ice cream, a play in the park, fed the ducks, had a walk and collected conkers (one of my fave things about autumn, although I never know what to do with them after collection. Any tips?). It was a lovely warm afternoon after a wet start to the day and watching the sun glint off the lake was just beautiful. It was one of those moments that just reminded me why I left London and why I love Dorset.

One year on!

In just over a week, I will have been a Dorset-dweller for one whole year. And what a whirlwind 12 months it's been!

Not only have I had to settle in to a new county, suburb, house, I've also given birth and waved my eldest off to school. It's been an emotional, exhausting (not to mention expensive!) year, but I don't regret it for a minute.

And part of that is thanks to the wonderful people I have met. Having children puts you in a very fortunate position when it comes to meeting people and it's thanks to them - and hopefully because I'm generally a nice person - that I have managed to make some lovely new friendships that I hope will last for many, many years. My fellow Dorset Mummies have welcomed me with open arms, and my children, and for that I thank them.

Building a new support network was the thing I needed the most, but it was also the most frightening thing about moving. I have some amazing friends in London and leaving them behind was hard, especially when heavily pregnant. Plus the thought of making new mates at the age of 35 wasn't something I relished, partly because I'm a bit shy. But I put myself out there and I'm really glad that I did.

So to everyone who has played a part in helping me settle in, who has listened to my waffling, who has sent me supportive texts, who has entertained us all, I would like to say a big THANK YOU!!!