{"id":87733,"date":"2019-09-18T05:00:46","date_gmt":"2019-09-18T04:00:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.qvcuk.com\/?p=87733"},"modified":"2020-03-04T16:11:24","modified_gmt":"2020-03-04T16:11:24","slug":"time-out-with-my-girl-and-eating-in-with-my-boy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stories.qvcuk.com\/presenters\/catherine-huntley\/time-out-with-my-girl-and-eating-in-with-my-boy\/","title":{"rendered":"Time out with my girl and eating in with my boy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Howdy everyone!<\/p>\n

I hope you\u2019re having a lovely week. Life does get very hectic at times and sometimes we can lose sight of what is important. Top of my \u2018what\u2019s important\u2019 list are my wonderful children, Tom and Chrissie.<\/p>\n

Time flies by in a flash, and before I know it I realise it\u2019s been weeks (or even months with Chrissie as she lives in Bristol) since I had proper quality time with each of them.<\/p>\n

I made some time and it was well worth it, as ever. Chrissie has been super busy with one thing and another all summer so I felt she deserved some pampering time.<\/p>\n

I booked us in for a little spa break together for some girly time out. We each had a full body massage and some time in the pool and jacuzzi. Well, I had time in the pool and jacuzzi – Chrissie couldn\u2019t because she had recently got a tattoo but she enjoyed a little lounge around the pool and a read of her book.<\/p>\n

Both she and her brother are great bookworms. I\u2019m more of a book butterfly! I\u2019m good at buying new ones but flit from one to another without finishing one before starting the next. Eventually I go back, but I take the long way round!<\/p>\n

My children are a source of great pride to me, and I love that they are caring and thoughtful people. They think deeply about the world they live in and, as they are both singer-songwriters, they\u2019re great at putting those thoughts into lyrics and song.<\/p>\n

The following words aren\u2019t from either of them but we\u2019re chosen by Chrissie for her latest tattoo: ‘\u00c0 chaque oiseau son nid est beau\u2019.<\/p>\n

I had never heard them but they struck a chord with her. Below she explains why:<\/p>\n

Been doing a lot of thinking and reading into how we treat our bodies and ourselves, especially as women… and whilst this proverb most probably wasn\u2019t written as a body positive statement haha, it immediately spoke to me as a reminder to love ourselves and take care and nurture the bodies that we inhabit.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

In a world where the idea of beauty is marketed, commodified and capitalised on, it\u2019s hard to unpick habits and views that have been so – seemingly irrevocably – engrained into us our entire lives. I still internally fight the voice in my head that says I can\u2019t leave the house without make-up, or I can\u2019t wear what I want because my body isn\u2019t \u2018right\u2019. <\/em><\/p>\n

But since trying to uncover why I feel this way, I\u2019ve come to realise that the reason for this is simply because of the fear of what other people will think of the way I look, and nothing to do with my own opinion of myself. Without any external thoughts or opinions of others (that, firstly, I have no knowledge or control of), I know I am beautiful. <\/em><\/p>\n

Secondly, even if I did have knowledge or control of others thoughts of me – would that make me any more beautiful? <\/em><\/p>\n

I think we all like to think it would, but I believe that once we strip away what we\u2019ve been told to believe about ourselves (\u2018buy this concealer to look prettier\u2019, \u2018buy this cream to look younger\u2019, \u2018buy these heels to look sexier\u2019, \u2018buy these unbelievably uncomfortable pants to look thinner\u2019 etc.) we can finally start to perceive what our own \u2018beauty\u2019 really is.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

To me, I am beautiful. I don\u2019t need to convince anyone of that, but if I did, I certainly don\u2019t need to pay endless money into an industry that tells me I\u2019m not good enough, in order to do so. <\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019m by no means saying that beauty products should be boycotted, and that we\u2019re not allowed to use them as a means of feeling good about ourselves, but for me, this is simply an acknowledgment that I don\u2019t NEED them in order to feel great about myself. <\/em><\/p>\n

We are more than just a lump of matter being valued on how well we fit a story created by other lumps of matter, capitalising on the \u2018problems\u2019 they\u2019ve told us that we need to fix in order to be good enough. <\/em><\/p>\n

Since we are the only species able to create, imagine and believe such stories, surely this is a clear cut sign that we are so much more than just our bodies, right?<\/em><\/p>\n

To sum up, I got this tattoo to remind me that I don\u2019t need others to tell me I\u2019m beautiful in order to know it myself. I also got it to remind myself that each and every person is beautiful, but that my own thoughts hold no value on others’ beauty, or even the meaning of beauty itself. After all, really, it\u2019s just a word.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

My body is my home<\/em><\/p>\n

And it\u2019s beautiful \ud83d\ude42<\/em><\/p>\n

Thanks for reading x<\/em><\/p>\n

Be happy in your own skin. You\u2019re beautiful. Own it.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

(And something about nests)<\/em><\/p>\n

I can completely relate to this, myself. It inspired me to go make-up free to the spa with her. I very rarely go without make-up. Mainly, because I often feel as though I don\u2019t look nice without it. I\u2019m not about to give up my beauty products but, as I often say on air, the dark circles\/age spots\/double chins\/missing brows\/lines etc etc are all perfectly normal, natural and BEAUTIFUL!<\/p>\n

They\u2019re who we are. I think what I take from this is that I don\u2019t need make-up for every situation. I don\u2019t need it to go to the shops or take out the bins. If I want to wear it, I will, but if there are days when I just feel like not bothering, I\u2019m going to look at myself in the mirror and try to be a bit kinder in my self-talk.<\/p>\n

Beauty products, for me, are also about feeling good, though! I find that the act of pampering myself with skincare treats is an act of self care.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always had an artistic bent and I find it very therapeutic to apply make-up and nail polish. It\u2019s like a little hobby. I actually enjoy it. So why not? Our faces can be like a canvas to create art upon. I suppose the real message is not to forget how beautiful the canvas is to begin with.<\/p>\n

The same with our bodies… I\u2019ve suffered very low esteem about parts of my body and have been on the borderline of eating disorders in years gone by.<\/p>\n

That was quite some time ago but I do have to mindful of not being too harsh on myself for my stretch marks, cellulite and untoned flesh. Again, I often mention these on air to reiterate how normal it all is.<\/p>\n

We are all beautiful and unique beings, and there\u2019s nothing wrong with wanting to look our \u2018best\u2019, of course. That\u2019s why I have a million and one pairs of shapewear pants and I choose clothes that emphasise my favourite bits and disguise bits I\u2019m less keen on showing.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s just not lose sight of the fact that every bit of us is \u2018best\u2019. Even if we have preferences about how we like to decorate the canvas, the canvas was always perfect to begin with.<\/p>\n

Another love that I share with my children is cooking. We all enjoy making recipes up from scratch.\u00a0 Sometimes it\u2019s really interesting to see what you can make out of, \u00a0seemingly, \u2018nothing\u2019 in the cupboards!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m very fortunate that my son cooks a lot of the time for me. I know a lot you will probably be bored of hearing that I\u2019m a vegan but I feel I have to when I show dishes like this because they don\u2019t look vegan at all!<\/p>\n

These days everyone knows someone who is vegan or vegetarian so it can also be useful to have recommendations if you\u2019re catering for friends or family.<\/p>\n

This dinner was gorgeous…good old bangers and mash. It\u2019s such an easy meal and pretty filling, too. Tom made the \u2018cheesy\u2019 garlic mash with potatoes (probably obvious) with crushed garlic, oat milk, vegan olive spread and a couple of tablespoons of yeast flakes.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

If you haven\u2019t tried nutritional yeast and are looking for something with a bit of a cheesy flavour these are a must. Sometimes I sprinkle them on toast (with a little spread first). We buy the yeast flakes which have extra vitamin B12 in them.<\/p>\n

I adore tenderstem broccoli so have loads of it with a hearty meal like this. The \u2018sausages\u2019 are Linda McCartney ones but I also think Sainsbury\u2019s shroomdogs are really good, too.<\/p>\n

When I posted this pic on social media I had a few comments about the gravy… essentially saying it was way too much, hee hee! Personally, I love it so I had lashings of it. Believe it or not it\u2019s Bisto! Yes! Bisto original is vegan!<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been quite surprised by how many \u2018meaty\u2019 or \u2018creamy\u2019 foods are actually vegan. Would you ever imagine Oreos and Frazzles were on that list?! They are! I just find it interesting… and I\u2019ve always loved a frazzle. Not the healthiest, I know, but we\u2019re all allowed a treat from time to time!<\/p>\n

Onto the very indulgent chocolate brownies Tom made the other day! I had lots of you asking for the recipe so here it is. Tom used a Jamie Oliver recipe and just adapted it here and there.<\/p>\n\"\"<\/a>\n

Then we added some of my homemade chocolate orange frosting and chopped nuts to top it off! Delicious! I think this would make a lovely dessert with either Oatly cream or custard. Basically made from oat milk. Yum!<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the slightly adapted Jamie Oliver recipe:<\/p>\n

Brownies<\/strong><\/p>\n