Elisa & Maria

We are sisters-in-law with a passion for food! Our shared love for vintage and creative flair often leads us to come up with new and fun ‘designs’ for our food. Whether we’re creating something off the top of our heads, or jazzing up a classic dish, we love to bounce ideas off of each other and test our recipes with our families and friends (the kids are usually our most brutal critics). We do enjoy a chat and a good cuppa, especially when served in vintage china!

Elisa

I am a mum to a cheeky 6 year old boy and 3 year old diva. I work from home for the charity sector and also create Illustrations and art at home. I love music, films, vintage fashion and try to enjoy these in my spare time. Though as all you parents out there know, when do you really have any spare time with kids around, right?

With an Italian background I was installed a love of food and having a healthy and tasty balanced diet from a very early age. I love food and cooking for my family and always try to come up with healthy, fun and creative recipes.

My granddad always used to say “nella cucina ci vuole fantasia” (you need imagination/creativity in the kitchen), and it’s a motto that has always stuck with me when I am cooking. Most of my cooking consists of looking in the fridge and seeing what I can whack together as a dish. I find cooking to be very therapeutic and I am always experimenting and thinking of easy and interesting recipes.

Since having my children it has been a challenge to come up with interesting and healthy recipes, cos as we all know, it is so difficult to find time to cook a decent meal with a screaming, clingy baby and a toddler constantly saying “mamma, mamma”… and this became even more difficult when I returned to work. But by trying different methods I found it possible to balance cooking, working and looking after my children.

I am great believer in Mindfulness and practice Yoga. I therefore applied a lot of this to when I was feeling particularly overwhelmed and just wanted to tear my hair out… especially during sleepless nights with a screaming baby and child with night terrors… So if I can do it, so can you! So go ahead, give it a go and try out a couple of recipes. Have fun with it and get your kids involved too; cooking can be lots of fun with your kids. Though be prepared for lots of mess!

Maria

Life before my daughter and son consisted of 12 years working in a fairly high-pressured admin role in the NHS, whilst at the same time trying to complete my PhD in English Literature. I had quite a few creative hobbies too; I love to sew, adore crochet, had the odd dalliance with jewellery making, dreamt of maybe become a writer, as well as the more generic stuff like meals out, friends, cinema trips, trips to junk/charity/antique shops and music etc etc. I loved (and still love) old things; when it comes to music, home décor and fashion my rule of thumb is ‘The older the better’!

My daughter is now 7 (with the mind of a teenager, but I digress…) and my son is 3. Perhaps the most important lesson I’ve learned is that motherhood is a series of choices; how do you want to raise your children? Which books will you read to them? Breast or bottle? Do you return to work or stay home? HOW MANY NAPS ARE ACCEPTABLE???

I decided that after 12 years in a job that no longer challenged or fulfilled me, I wanted to be home with my daughter and eventually my son. I ceased working on my PhD, quit my job, and embarked on the craziest and most rewarding adventure of all – full time motherhood! And now that I have a gorgeous “baby” boy, who will be turning 3 in a few short months, this still seems like the right choice for me. And yes – so far I have lived to tell the tale… so far…