Author: Scottish Mum

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When Villa Pia got in touch about their fabulous villa in Tuscany, I had to take a look.

As a family, we’ve mostly done the UK thing and the only time my boys have been on a plane was to go to Dublin for a weekend.   We have had caravans for years and last year traded ours in for a motorhome.

The weather in the North of France was horrible in comparison to last year, with lots of rain and storms.

So we packed up again and headed down to the South of France, which was fabulous for the boys to paddle in the med, but the journey down there was just far too long.

The water was warm and the sun was incredibly hot.  It’s given the boys a taste of outdoor life at the beach where you don’t run away as the water comes close.  Living in Aberdeen, we’re used to freezing water along our beaches so giving them the experience of a different kind of relaxing beach life was nice.

For our next holiday, I’m considering a flight somewhere lovely and warm, but also safe enough for middler, who needs a close eye kept on him.

I looked at the Villa Pia Tuscan Family Villa and loved it.  It’s exactly the sort of thing I’d have loved when my kids were wee.  Actually, it’s the sort of place I’d love, even now.  I’m not into massively lively and noisy bars and clubs.

I really like the idea of 5 acres of safe land for the kids to explore too.

These pictures are taken from their website, but they look fabulous.

The facilities for children include a trampoline, indoor soft play, a tennis court and a play area.  That’s not to mention the swimming pool.  Unusually, there are cookery and art classes for children.  I like the sound of that.

The villa has 17 bedrooms, including some family rooms that sleep up to 2 adults and 3 infants.  There are also interconnecting doors for separate accommodation.

Villa Pia is located in Lippiano, a town with lovely green fields, olive groves and vineyards.  Just outside the gates is a 10th Century Castle set in lovely woods that would be fabulous for walking, mountain biking, horse riding, or just exploring.

We’re used to real castles up here in Scotland, but I rarely see them when I go to other countries.

The one other thing that would make this a great place to go is the option of an English speaking babysitting service.  I know there were some evenings when my kids were younger that I’d have loved that option.

As well as family holidays, they cater for retreat style holidays with beauty treatments, yoga, art and even weddings.

In September to October, they host Ways with Words writing workshops and discussion groups led by Kay Dunbar and Stephen Bristow.

I was given the lovely option of choosing something from the Heritage of Scotland website to review.  I’ve bought from there before, so I knew whatever I chose was going to be great quality.

I could have chosen a dress, or a bodice or something dressy, but I figured I’d not get as much use out of something like that as I would a cape.  It might have been a different if I attended functions and dinners, but I can count on one hand how many I’ve attended in the 11 years since I adopted my boys.

I made a fabulous choice as it happens.

Along with the heritage cape, I chose a wee sterling silver brooch, which I thought I’d need for the neckline, but it wasn’t necessary.

The made to order Ladies “Edinburgh” Cape comes with two silver coloured buttons at the neckline to fasten it.

I had hundreds of tartans from the Lochcarron Mill to choose from and found it difficult to pin one down.  It’s 100% pure new wool and it’s gorgeous.  Have I said that already?  If I haven’t I really need to say it many times over.

I dislike the tartans I am entitled to wear, but finding something I’d love for years to come was difficult.  In the end, I went for the Scotland Forever tartan.  The blues and purples are perfect for me to wear with the jeans I seem to perpetually live in these days.

I actually have a cheap version of the cape that I never wear as it is such a light tartan that it floats in the breeze and the colours are too light for me.  The made to order version is very much higher quality, which is reflected in the higher price range at £187, but I absolutely love it and it will last for years.

The colours are gorgeous.  My lovely sister in law came for a visit on Sunday so I snaffled her to model it (yes, I know, I’ve been very lucky with my SIL).  She wasn’t keen on handling my camera for me, so she happily stood and let me take pictures.  She’d have walked away with it there and then if she could as she said it was so cozy, so that’s always a good sign.

The cape can be worn as a cape with the scarf element thrown over a shoulder on warmer days, and it even has a hood built into the scarf so it can be put up to keep misty weather out.  It’s a clever design.

She said she wished I’d warned her that she’d be my model as she’d have done her hair and make-up, as well as wearing high heels.

I couldn’t lend her mine as she’s got tiny wee feet, so here she is.  Didn’t she do well?

Coca Cola asked if we’d like to try the new Coca Cola Life.  They’ve replaced some of the sugar with stevia for the first time so there is a third less sugar and a third fewer calories.  The cans are green and quite distinctive and tempting to buy for the kids instead of the full sugar Coca Cola.

I do often buy Coke Zero or Diet Coke, but I’m not completely happy with aspartame and saccharin.  My preference would be for a project made fully with stevia and also having zero calories, although I know that could prove difficult as stevia tends to leave foods it’s cooked with a distinctive flavour.

I’m not complaining though.

Some of the stats:

Coca Cola – 139 Calories

Coca Cola Life – 89 Calories

Coca Cola Zero – 0 Calories

Diet Coke – 0 Calories

The Life Drinking Child’s Verdict:

‘It’s really nice and love it if they put my name on it.’

I have to admit to often buying the Diet Coke that is caffeine free.  It tends to fizz more than caffeine laden drinks, but where I can buy it, I do.  I often wonder if it’s the colour of the caffeine free packaging that stops people or shops buying it.

My ideal drink would be Caffeine Free Diet Coke Life, sold everywhere.

I’ve made some things with Stevia – mostly using it as a sugar replacement in cakes, sorbet and ice cream.  It works very well, so I’m happy to see some big manufacturers taking it on board and using it in their products.

Stevia is a leaf that is produced from the Stevia plant from Paraguay.  It’s 200 times sweeter than sugar, but has no calories.

I thought it was worth mentioning that all Coca-Cola bottles are fully recyclable.

What I didn’t know was that 97% of all Coca-Cola projects sold in the UK are actually made here.  Coca-Cola Life will be the same.  That’s quite an impressive statistic.

My kids love the green colour of the can.  We’re looking forward to seeing it in the shops.

Thanks for our review samples for Jordans Country Crisp Cereal with Sun Rip Strawberries.

They’re baked cereal clusters, made from wholegrain oats grown in our own UK.   There are some chopped hazelnuts and strawberries mixed through.

I’ve often found cereals with fruity bits to look dull and unappealing, so I was happy to find the strawberries in this cereal actually looked nice and bright.  It’s always nice when food looks appealing in a plate.

What did I think?

I like it.  I’m sure I will buy it as a cupboard staple as one of my boys also thinks it’s delicious.  True to the name, this cereal is crunchy, which is pleasing.

It’s available from larger supermarkets such as Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsburys, Waitrose and Ocado

The coconut water industry has a new kid on the block.

The Vita Coco people have introduced a new kids range which is flavoured with natural fruit.

We tried some samples of Apple & Blackcurrant, as well as Mango & Pineapple.

The kids verdict was mixed.  While two children loved them, one thought the Apple & Blackcurrant was too weak and wished it had a stronger taste.

There are no artificial sweeteners, flavouring or colours, so that’s a great reason to try it for school lunch boxes.  I’d certainly buy it for my two youngest childrens lunch boxes.

Vita Coco Kids is on sale in Sainsburys, Tesco, Holland & Barrett and other speciality and health stores.