Sofa Diaries

Sorry for this rather random blog post today - my son and I are really ill and have been inside our house for THREE DAYS NOW! For someone who gets serious cabin fever, it is rather problematic. We are living on the sofa, in our pj's - it's a good thing that not many people know where I live. #messalert 

We got such fantastic news on Friday - we got our passports back from UKBA, and so we are now official UK residents, plus I have the right to work in the country. AND we can travel relatively freely now - I am going to South Africa on Sunday night (my mom is having an operation on Tuesday). Wahoooooo...

Also plane related, my 3 year old has decided that he would like an aeroplane party this year. After much hesitation, I have realised that it is an awesome idea. We have made boarding pass invitations, and have started ordering 'plane' accessories. Watch out for more updates soon...

I am quite relieved to be visiting home, before the party in three weeks, as I have the most 'crafty' family ever. My mom has such great ideas for parties - I love getting her advice on my ideas. 

Hope everyone has a really lovely Easter weekend (for those of you who celebrate it) and Happy Holidays to everyone else...

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Ciao x

Book Review: The Secret Mandarin by Sara Sheridan

My husband, my son and I absolutely love reading. We have more books in our house than I think most normal people do, but we just cannot stop ourselves from buying more. I have so many favourite books that I thought it would be nice to add a new element to my blog - a monthly book review.

One of my absolute favourite books of all times is The Secret Mandarin by Sara Sheridan. I spotted this book in our local supermarket a year ago, and was instantly drawn in by the beautiful cover. I had to know what it was about - and I am so glad that I did. 

The Secret Mandarin is an exquisitely written 'faction' story of actress Mary Penney and her botanist brother-in-law Robert Fortune's journey to collect tea plants from China. A journey thwarted with social and cultural boundaries, and some very gruelling challenges. 

From the beginning of the book, I was captivated. I have always had a love of history, but was not very good with dates, so my escape to the beauty of the old world has always come in the form of historical based novels. I really appreciated the botanical aspect of the book and I found myself constantly desperate for more information. Sheridan's writing kept my craving well satiated, and it sometimes felt like we were in constant 'conversation'. I have since followed her on Facebook and Twitter, and am now very aware of just how important extensive research is for her, when she is writing a book.

From the sad cold beginning in England to the beautiful picturesque descriptions of the Chinese countryside - I was transported through the book with excitement, anxiety and exhilaration  I longed for their safety and wished for their happiness. I enjoyed every page of the journey, and was devastated when I reached the final line of the book. 

The Secret Mandarin has a very special place on my bookshelf - and has been recommended to many of my friends. I look forward to reading more books by this exceptional writer.

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NEW Move Guides Blog Post

Here is my latest blog post for Move Guides about schooling in the UK.

When your child starts school, it is scary enough, but as an expat parent who has a completely different schooling experience, it is even more difficult to understand the in's and out's of a new system.

Have a look at my article - Expat Parenting London: Schooling for Expat Children in the UK, which briefly explains the primary school application process.

Please feel free to ask any further questions you have about schooling, and I will try to help as much as I can. I think I have a pretty good understanding of it now.

Have a great day,
Kalli x

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For any US expats, living in the UK - Move Guides has a rather important blog post U.S.A Tax Return For Expats: Who Needs to File? - Infographic - make sure you check it out! :)

Little Man (Moustache) Baby Shower

I absolutely love planning parties - from the invites to the party favours and thank you notes. So I was very excited to recently plan a friend's baby shower. She is having a little boy in May, and so I wanted to do something special to prepare for his arrival

I decided on a Little Man (Moustache) party - and a blue and green colour theme, and decided that it would be a sort of afternoon tea party. Our lounge and dining room, where the party took place, was covered in balloons and other baby shower paraphernalia. Moustaches adorned mugs and glasses, and little pots with different teas in; and we had a washing line, with dolly pegs, to hang the clothing gifts.




I absolutely love my mom's lemon meringue pie, and think it is always a hit, and looks really pretty. So it was on the baking list from the beginning. I wanted all the food things to be small/individual portions, so instead of doing a lemon meringue pie, I made individual lemon meringue 'cupcakes'. Here's the recipe:

Mini Lemon Meringues (with biscuit base) - makes 9

200g Nice Biscuits

125g butter

1 tin of condensed milk

3 eggs

125 ml lemon juice

125ml castor sugar

15ml cornflour

BASE: Put muffin cases into a cupcake tray and preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Crush the biscuits into fine pieces - a rolling pin works well! Melt the butter, and mix with the biscuits. Press biscuit mix into the bottom of the muffin cases.

FILLING: Mix egg yolks, lemon juice and condensed milk together. Spoon onto the biscuit base.

TOPPING: Beat egg whites until stiff, then slowly add castor sugar. Lastly add cornflour, to stiffen the meringue. Spoon onto the lemon filling. 

Bake in preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until the meringue is a lovely toasty brown colour.

We also ate vanilla cupcakes with green and blue icing and moustache toothpicks; mozzarella  tomato and basil vol au vents; caramel cream puffs; and delicious brownies that were made by our friend 'The Sweetie Queen' Susan - hmmmmm HEAVEN!


The mommy-to-be was very spoilt. Guests disguised themselves with moustaches (some were attached to sticks and some were stick-on) and when everyone left, they received a little candle to light when the baby was born.

Haha, I know... It's terrible, but I just had to do it! :)

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**If you would like assistance in planning your party, please contact me**