Venture Photography - Our Experience

I had always wanted to try a Venture photography experience.  From the very first day I set eyes on a Venture image at a roadshow in our town centre I had my heart set on some photos of our family and recently I was given the chance to have a Venture photo sitting and to review their luxury photo service.

From the very minute that Venture got in touch, I felt comfortable that they knew what they were doing.  I was given a very thorough briefing about what to expect, including a helpful conversation about what budget to plan when coming in to view the photographs (I know some photographers like to leave this bit as a surprise for after you've had your photos taken!).

About 2 days before our family photo shoot, one of the two photographers rang me to "interview" me.  This was not only their chance to start finding out about who we are as a family, and what we were looking to get from our experience, but it was also a chance for them to help me talk through some ideas and plant some sparks of inspiration for photo themes for the day.  The Venture studio we were booked into was Venture in Eton - they have a large door into which you can bring many an imaginative prop!

On the call the photographer and I talked about the things that currently make the girls tick - their scooters, their dressing up clothes, all things rapunzel and helping Mummy and Daddy in the garden!  This got my mind racing so on the morning of the shoot we filled up the car boot with lots of different gardening paraphenalia as well as the girls scooters and princess dresses.  We chose lots of different outfits for both us and the girls.

We all really enjoyed our morning photo shoot at Venture.  Little things such as a welcome note for each family booked in that day put a smile on our face during our short wait.  The girls had plenty of toys to entertain themselves with while we talked to the photographers about the plan for our 1-hour shoot.

For the duration of the shoot we had the use of a private changing room with family changing facilities but most of our time was spent in the spacious photography studio itself.

We had two photographers working with us.  They chatted briefly about our favourite styles and about what percentage of the images we wanted to be just the girls compared to the whole family.  The photographers were EXCELLENT when it came to working with the girls.  Surprisingly Holly was very timid that morning and it took a while for her to warm up but they were very gentle and understanding and had plenty of ideas of how to bring her out of her shell.  Lara on the other hand was in an incredibly boisterous and chatty mood and loved every minute of her moment in the spotlight!

At the end of our shoot we were given a date to come back and view the finished photographs.  I have put a few examples of the beautiful, stunning images in this post but I'm saving the best for later this week when I'll reveal a set of amazing family portraits totally tailored to the Mellow family!

While we were on holiday Venture sent us a little taster of our photo show by sending us a text message with a sample image in it - it was a wonderful surprise.

Recipe Book Review :: Easy Indian SuperMeals for babies, toddlers and the family

I am, a rather big fan of Zainab Jagot Ahmed and her simple, tasty recipes for indian-inspired foods suitable for babies, toddlers and the WHOLE family.  Zainab's new book, Easy Indian SuperMeals for babies, toddlers and the family is released next month and I got a sneaky peek - I have to say that if I had to chose one baby and toddler cookery book to recommend to new (or experienced) parents, then this would be it.

In our house, we eat an Indian-inspired meal on two to three evenings a week and have done ever since our girls were teeny and tiny.  Easy Indian SuperMeals (available to pre order now) features recipe ideas packed full of nutrients and exciting textures and flavours suitable from stage 2 of weaning (at around 7 months old).  We love the sweet fish and fruit curry which is suitable for small babies just taking their first foray into the exciting world of food - made with yoghurt, apple, pear and banana as well as white fish fillets and a selection of gentle spices such as ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander and turmeric - it is just as yummy as a grown up!

Later in the book there are recipes for finger foods such as apple french toast with blueberries and cinnamon or minted green beans.  And then for the more adventurous toddler there are some beautiful curried dishes designed to start building a love of healthy, exciting spices - Cardamom Chicken Curry is a tomato based curry with a hint of sweet cardamom and an optional zing of fresh green chilli.  Zainab's own daughter is now school age so the final section of the book features "booster snacks" and quick-to-prepare meals that are great for the post-school rush!

I find it hard to put into words how much Zainab's approach to mellow weaning and family mealtimes aligns with our own family's approach to food.  But, even sharing a love of Indian-inspired healthy food for kids, I still find a lot of new inspiration in Zainab's recipes.  I recognise a lot of the recipes in Easy Indian SuperMeals from Zainab's first electronic book but this new cookery book is packed chock-full of recipe ideas and I think I will be trying new things for many months to come.

If you're wondering what's so "super" about these Easy Indian Superfoods; it's the ingredients.  Each of the recipes features 'SuperSpices' which have been used for many generations for their health properties and antioxidant levels.  Combine these tasty spices with SuperFoods such as whole grains, nutrient-rich fruits and vegetables, a good mix of dairy and protein items as well as oily fish, olive oil and you have SuperMeals!  The first section of this cookery book features a lot of common-sense, scaremonger-free information about food groups and how to make sure your toddler gets a healthy, balanced diet that can set them on the right track from day one of their weaning journey.

It always puts a smile on my face when I see my own daughters enjoying Indian foods as much as I do - just last week Lara, my eldest, came home at the end of the day and asked me what's for dinner.  I told Lara we were having "curry"; she originally seemed a bit disappointed when she found out it was homemade curry and not "ordered curry" (her term for a takeaway) and I felt a bit deflated.  A little while later, as I served her "Classic Keema Curry" made with minced lamb, Lara exclaimed "Oh yay... I LOVE this curry" and demolished an adult-sized serving of it!

You can find out more about Zainab and her cookbooks at www.ZainabJagotAhmed.com and on facebook.

To celebrate the launch of Easy Indian SuperMeals for babies, toddlers and the family, I'm giving away a copy of the book to one lucky Mellow Mummy reader so you will be among the first people to get your hands on this fab new recipe book.  To be in with a chance of winning a copy, all you have to do is to leave me a comment below with the name of one of your tried and tested family-friendly meals that you like to cook.

TERMS and CONDITIONS:

1. There is no cash alternative.
2. The competition is open to UK and Ireland residents only.
3. Only one comment entry per person. Multiple, automated or bulk entries will result in immediate disqualification
4. The winners will be contacted by email.
5. Entries will only be deemed valid if a valid email address is provided when commenting - people who just log into intensedebate with their facebook account will not qualify for entry because it is too difficult for me to contact the winners
6. The winners will be selected at random from all valid comments received by 11:59pm on 8th September 2014.
7. The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into
8. The winner's names will be published on this site

Nature Misses You! 50 Things to do before you're 11 and 3/4

This summer, The National Trust are encouraging families and children out into the wild to rediscover nature - Nature Misses You!  If you haven't yet come across the National Trust's "50 Things to Do Before You're 11 and 3 quarters" then where have you been (you can see the full list on the 50 things website).

Earlier this year we bought a family membership to the National Trust because we knew that we were planning two UK holidays and wanted to do some exploring while we were on our travels.  We have also used our membership to explore some local houses and gardens at the weekends because they make for great full days out with the girls.  I've totted up the cost of entry to all of the places we have visited so far in 2014 and I think we have already saved the full cost of our membership 2 times over!

No. 18 - Wild Art at Trengwainton Garden, Cornwall

Exploring Wild Art at The Vyne, Hampshire

Lara is doing pretty well on her list of 50 things which she started this time last year when we stayed in a National Trust holiday cottage in Cornwall right next door to the NT gardens at Trengwaiton.  Lara started off with No. 25 - Make a Grass Trumpet and No. 18 - Make Some Wild Art both on-site at Trengwaiton Garden.

I think we probably have No. 41 - Plant It, Grow It, Eat It covered at home in our own back garden but this spring we made an effort to get out and explore our local surroundings a bit more with No. 31 - Hunt for Bugs and No. 44 - Go Bird Watching and the girls loved it.

No. 31 - Hunt for Bugs

We've headed over the The Vyne in Hampshire a couple of times this year (they have a brilliant Tolkein-inspired kids playground and amazing country walks).  While we were there we got involved with No. 4 - Build a Den as there were lots of materials available for building.

No. 4 - Build a Den at The Vyne, Hampshire

When we visited the girls' Auntie in France we had some lovely country walks and managed several of the activities on the list including No. 16 - Make a Daisy Chain.

No. 16 - Make a Daisy Chain

This summer we discovered Cliveden near Taplow in Berkshire.  It is an amazing place packed full of things to do and the girls loved it so much that they asked to go back the next weekend!  Beyond the playground, tea rooms, slide and stunning formal gardens there are some wild and beautiful walks to be had in the grounds.  Both Lara and Holly LOVED No.2 - Roll down a big hill!

Exploring secret places at Cliveden, Berkshire

No. 2 - Rolling down a Big Hill at Cliveden, Berkshire

But our summer holiday in East Sussex was the climax of Lara's 50-things year so far.  We visited the beach, the downs, forests, orchards and farms.  We visited three National Trust properties at Bodiam Castle, Scotney Castle and Rudyard Kipling's home, Batemans.  Lara crossed off another 13 things off her list including jumping over waves, flying a kite, playing pooh sticks and climbing a REALLY big hill!

No. 28 - Climb a huge hill, near Batemans, East Sussex

Making Dens at The Vyne

If you fancy some fun and affordable outdoor activities, check out the 50 things list (you can download a copy from the website or you can pick up printed 'scrapbooks' at most NT properties).  It is a fabulous (and very cheap) way of encouraging your children outdoors to rediscover nature.

If you are looking for more inspiration for ways to rediscover nature with your kids, check out the National Trust youtube channel.