A Belated Welcome to 2019

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A bit belated but I’m only just getting back into the swing of things after the Christmas mayhem and New Year chaos (for us it’s the daughter’s birthday as well!).  Here’s us celebrating on Christmas day (me a bit run off my feet due to husband at work and cooking for my parents as well as me and the kids!.

2018 was a hectic one for us, the first full year I’ve worked 5 days a week since having children albeit part time but still one that exhausts my day and leaves little time to get things done.  On top of that we have had a major kitchen renovation that although is 95% completed it is still in limbo with the final fittings still waiting to be done due to major leaking from the roof (a project that’s looking to cost us around 5.5k in the upcoming months!).  And let’s not talk about the day the skip got delivered onto the driveway and shifted a section of the front wall around at an angle causing a crack along the front (another ongoing issue!).

I’m super pleased to be rid of the old kitchen and I hope to do a show and tell of our before and after new kitchen once the final issues are ironed out.

We got the children active between the eves with outdoor walks, trips to National Trust properties and a fun session at Clip n Climb – as you can see, these two never fail to be afraid of heights.

New Year saw my eldest turn 11 years old on New Year’s Day!!  Oh my where’s the time gone?  She played with my phone that day doing her own selfie which I thought was rather cute so here it is!

As for what 2019 holds for us, who know’s?

It’ll be challenging I believe in many ways with the eldest off to secondary school in September, ongoing uncertainties in my job of 17 years, solving and fixing the damp issues in our house, finish decorating the downstairs and finally carpet the house!

Keep following us to see where life takes us this year, what adventures we go on and what new things we try out!

Eucerin Aquaphor – My Holy Grail Product for Chapped Lips!

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If you’d mentioned Eucerin Aquaphor soothing skin balm to me a few months ago, I’d of shook my head and said “Sorry never heard of it”, but now after a few weeks use I’m raving about it to anyone that will listen – it really is amazing and has revolutionised the dire state of my cracked, dry, chapped lips at this time of year, something I’ve unfortunately suffered from since I was old enough to remember.

Aquaphor is a soothing balm that you can literally apply anywhere, hands, nails, lips, face, body – wherever you need it basically and it’s even gentle enough for babies.

  • Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm gives dry to very dry, cracked and irritated skin the SOS care it needs
  • Formulated with only seven ingredients, Aquaphor is gentle enough to be used on highly irritated skin as well as on sensitive baby skin and also in the nappy area
  • Eucerin Aquaphor Soothing Skin Balm protects the skin by creating a breathable protective barrier, allowing oxygen and water vapor to circulate to and from the skin, allowing skin to ‘breathe’ and strengthen its natural barrier function
  • The Eucerin Aquaphor formula was first introduced in the US market in 1925 and has been a household staple ever since – long trusted for its effectiveness in repairing a wide range of skin SOS cases

Thinking I’d probably use this on the dry areas on the front of my shins, I was surprised when I saw the consistency of the product, a transparent, thick emollient type of balm.  With my lips feeling really sore due to the colder weather, my usual lip balms just weren’t cutting it and I was reapplying every hour or two.  I decided to try some Eucerin Aquaphor on my lips when they were feeling really sore one day and wow – it was like a velvety smooth, really soothing feeling.  Non sticky and staying put, my lips felt totally protected but oh so hydrated, the feeling was amazing – something my lips have been crying out for!

It goes without saying that now Eucerin Aquaphor lives by my side now, whether that’s on my bedside table at night or in my handbag during the day – I have found my holy grail in lip care and will definitely be purchasing this in the future to help restore my lips to the glory they deserve.  That’s not to say you can’t use the Aquaphor ointment elsewhere, I have tried a bit on my dry shins, my elbows and the kids dry patches and again it’s great but I must put emphasis on those that suffer from chapped lips – YOU’VE GOT TO TRY THIS – its utter bliss for those dry, chapped, cracked lips and will feel like all your Christmases have come at once!!!

This post is an entry for the BritMums #MyAquaphor Challenge, sponsored by Eucerin. Discover the benefits of Eucerin https://www.eucerin.co.uk/

Christmas gift ideas for all the family!

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With Christmas looming it’s time to think about presents for friends and family and I for one struggle with finding things that are a bit different but that you know they will enjoy.

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First up is a fantastic idea for anyone who loves the outdoors, be it children, adults or a gift for the whole family.  Go Ape is my daughters idea of heaven and did you know that they do paper gift vouchers that you can purchase to gift people as a present at any time of the year – I think this is a perfect idea and one that I’ll definitely use.  Be it the standard high ropes or the junior ropes course, any age is welcome.

Your ticket to adventure – Why gift things when you can gift memories? 

Go Ape are firm believers that outdoor experiences make people happy. Whether it’s zipping through the tree tops, whizzing along the forest floor, or bouncing on our super springy bounce nets – at Go Ape there’s an adventure for everyone. With 33 locations to choose from in the UK, your loved ones are in for one memorable experience.

Vouchers from just £10 so if you’re looking for a unique secret Santa present to impress employees or a thrill-seeker package for all the family, Go Ape has got it covered. Go on. They’ll love you for it. 

With vouchers available from just £10 then what are you waiting for?  With Go Ape locations across the country you are never too far away from one and they really do make a fantastic day out for all ages!

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For Pokemon fans out there, these super soft, high quality plush toys will be really popular.  They all feel really lovely, velvety soft, come with great detail and perfect to cuddle.

First up we have the 12″ Wobbuffet plush – a generous sized figure with clear concise detail.  He feels so lovely to touch and you mustn’t forget the eyes on his tail which add extra cuteness!

Relying on its powers of endurance, Wobbuffet prefers not to attack – unless a foe goes after its tail. Then, it unleashes a powerful counterstrike.

Next we have 8″ Meowth, a great size to carry about and one that my son loves.  Again here you can see the detail and the softness makes it the perfect cuddly for Pokemon fans.

Finally we have the Poke Ball Ultra Ball plush which is super soft and is weighted to ensure it always lands upright.  This is great fun and one that my kids love throwing around to each other in the house, but if it does land on the ground it always falls upright. This is a great stocking filler and comes in six varieties so a design for everyone to enjoy!

These Pokemon gift ideas are just a small part of the large range of Pokemon merchandise available this year including headphones, power banks, clothing and action figures and it’s all available at major retailers so if you have a Pokemon fan to buy for this year you can be sure to find something that they will love!

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Don’t we all know a whisky lover among our family?  Well I have the ideal special treat for them.  A short term subscription from The Summerton Club is available of high end, unusual, hard to find spirits and whisky and the best part is they are delivered straight to the door of the recipient.

With the cost of the bottle being at least your monthly subscripton or more but bearing in mind it’s also delivered to your door, this works out at great value if you enjoy trying those extra special varieties. We tried the MackMrya Gruvguld which is a Swedish malt and both my taste testers were highly impressed, so The Summerton Club is definitely a gift idea to be considered for perhaps your partner, dad or other whisky loving relative.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product/were compensated in order to include these items in our gift guide..

 

The Summerton Club Spirit Subscription – Review

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The Summerton Club is a high quality spirit subscription based club, but one that offers a lot of flexibility along with high end products delivered to your door each month.

With a cost of £50 a month, it’s straightforward, that includes delivery and a high quality  bottle of spirit from a selection of aged brandies (Armagnac, calvados, Cognac), rums (cachaça, rum, rhum, ron), whiskies (bourbon, whiskey, whisky) and more, from around the world.

You can opt from just a whisky selection or have a random selection across the board of drinks.

We received the Mackmyra Gruguld Swedish Single Malt Whisky, which comes presented beautifully in a double layer box.  The bottle itself is chunky with a pretty gold fleck design giving it a festive feel.  Obviously we needed to try it out and not being big whisky drinker myself I got a couple of males to test it out and they were thoroughly impressed.  Not having tasted Swedish whisky before they confirmed it was really smooth with a warm spicy finish with fits with the notes regarding it’s taste:

Spicy with a nice balance between fruits,
berries, oils and oak. Blackcurrant, pear
fudge and grapefruit. Pleasant spicy oak
with hints of tar and tobacco leaves. The
texture has a light oiliness.

What makes The Summerton Club more than just the usual subscription service is that it sources really unusual and hard to get hold of bottles allowing you to try luxury brands that you wouldn’t just pick up in your local supermarket.  For example the Gruguld variety from MackMyra isn’t even availalble in the UK.

This looks good as either a treat for yourself or as a gift for a friend or family member, which brings me on to this time of year. With Christmas fast approaching, most of us know whisky loves among us and if you are looking for a special gift then this could be it.

The Summerton Club offer a variety of options so you can opt for monthly, bi monthly or quarterly options, you can also cancel at any time so your hands aren’t tied to a lengthy subscription should you not want to.

From my experience the quality is there, any recipient would be delighted with their delivery and it gives that touch of luxury combined with a unusual product to try.

If you want to check it out, head over to The Summerton Club now to see your options and get your order in for the perfect festive gift!!

 

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Ravensburger The Curious Cupboard No. 6 1000 Piece Puzzle

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Ravensburger The Curious Cupboard is a series of puzzles with different cupboard contents from kitchen, inventors, gardeners and much more.  No. 6 in the series is The Collectors Cupboard and I couldn’t wait to give it a try.  Being a 1000 piece puzzle it is the perfect challenge and one that I know my mum when she pops round and the kids love to come and help with.

This puzzle features a large shelving unit filled with more than you can ever imagine.  I thought when I started this that I could see a few cats, a few clocks, a few bottles etc, but it’s not until you get into it that you realise that there are so many cats and so many circular shaped things, be it clocks, cogs, buttons, the list goes on.

There are hats, perfume bottles, stamps and so much more.  These pictures really don’t do it justice but I can honestly say this has been one of the most enjoyable puzzles I have ever done!  My mum contributed along with my daughter and we loved working together as three generations finding the pieces.  It is really addictive and so fun to do – you really can’t work out where a piece goes straightaway as there are so many options for it.  The backgrounds to each shelving area vary too, from floral, to chinese style and more, which obviously help in putting the pieces together but at the same time confuse you as there is so much variety across the puzzle.

Being addictive we soon finished it and again I have to say I’ve absolutely loved doing this puzzle, it was an absolute pleasure and one I can’t wait to do again in the future.  Puzzles in the Ravensburger The Curious Cupboard series are clearly fun to do and I’d love to try others in the range.  The detail is fascinating and gets your mind ticking more than you think trying to work out where the pieces go amongst the picture. 

If you love puzzles or just want to give on a try then I’d highly recommend checking out the Ravensburger The Curious Cupboard series, one I’ve really enjoyed and also one I think would make a lovely gift for anyone that enjoys a good jigsaw!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Ravensburger Break Free Game – Review

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Break Free from Ravensburger is a fast paced interactive game best suited to ages 6+.  It involves chaining yourself up in a handcuff which is attached via a chain to other players and then being the first to unpick the lock and Break Free.

The Break Free game pieces consists of 4 special padlocks with chains, 12 unique locking puzzles that you insert in the to base of the handcuff – 4 of each level, 4 lockpicks and 12 tokens.  To play the game all players (can be played by 1 to 4 at a time) put one of the puzzle pieces (green for easy, yellow for a bit harder and red for tricky) into their padlock then attach the padlock to their wrist. You clip all the ends of the chains together and are then ready to begin.

The idea is in each round, the first player to unpick their lock, takes the highest numbered token, the next player takes the next highest token and so forth.  So the first round you all start with green which is the easiest and work upwards.

What I really liked about this game is that all four of us could join in, mummy, daddy, 10yr old and 8yr old.  We were really were all at equals trying to unpick the locks and although sometimes you though you got the knack, in the next round you would struggle again.

It certainly got competitive with everyone eager to unlock their padlocks and be the first!

Another aspect that I liked about this Ravensburger Break Free game is that within each level, all the lock puzzles have different sequences within them, so if someone works out a quick way to turn their pick to make their way through the lock, then if you play the game again and mix the pieces up, they are likely to have a different route to follow to unpick the lock which keeps everyone on their toes.

Even though the 8yr old got a little frustrated on the harder levels at times, you can see he is thrilled here when he beat his older sister.  The kids also loved it when daddy got stuck sometimes just going round in circles and not actually unlocking his handcuff so they had to help unpick his lock at the end – of course mummy succeeded in coming in the top two places in most rounds!

Break Free by Ravensburger is a fun family game that all ages can join in or the kids can just play alone.  My boy even enjoyed having a go on his own although I think he was trying to hone his unpicking technique for future rounds.  We like this with it’s fast paced competitiveness and the excitement it brings – a good one to add to Santa’s list I think!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Our Family at Halloween

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Since the children were born, Halloween has always been a fun event that the children really look forward to.  Once the boy’s birthday is over mid October we start visiting local Halloween attractions.  We particularly love the National Trust trails, with one of our favourite being at Saltram House, our nearest, although others nearby that we would recommend are at Buckland Abbey and Cotehele which also offers pumpkin carving and is set by a river estuary with beautiful gardens.  All of them though are stunning on a sunny day and never let you down with the amazing plants throughout the gardens and always provide a peaceful, calm experience that is enjoyed by all the family!

The view above is of our walk around Saltram House gardens whilst doing the pumpkin trail.  I love the colour of the Autumn leaves and seeing them fallen to the ground across the lawn, the house is the perfect backdrop for this.

The trails at Saltram always keep the kids occupied whether they are inside or out.  The pumpkin trail was through the gardens and consisted of looking for letters of the alphabet in areas where there were pumpkins and then solving the anagram of letters to find a word.  The newly 8yr old Mister B exceeded in his word knowledge as usual and came up with the answer a mere 5 letters into the 8 letter word!!

One thing I love about National Trust properties is the appeal to both young and old.  Although my children don’t notice certain elements, I really appreciate things like this gorgeous Autumn wreath abundant with golden colours upon one of their doors.

As it gets closer to Halloween the children are keen to carve pumpkins so we always go pumpkin shopping together.  This year we’ve been particularly busy so ended up at our local supermarket and picked out some large pumpkins (this did require Miss M climbing over several giant boxes of them to uncover the best looking/shaped ones!).

Here are Mister B’s, Mummy’s and Miss M’s designs:

And in the dark:

Waste not want not!

As we carve our pumpkins we firstly scoop out the pulp which is filled with the seeds.  If you run this under cold water over a colander you’ll find the seeds separate really easily away from the pulp which is great if you wish to toast them.  After discarding the pulp, give the seeds a shake, allow them to dry for a while then lay them out on a baking tray.  Give them a good slug of olive oil, a generous sprinkle of salt and roast in the oven for half an hour or so until golden brown.  These make a delicious snack or a great addition to a bowl of soup.

Once the pulp and seeds are gone, we use an ice cream scoop to scrape out some of the flesh from around the edge.  We find quite a lot comes out and by making the pumpkin wall a little thinner it is easier to carve.  I then add the flesh to some fried onions, garlic and a few vegetable stock cubes and boil up in my extra large cooking pot until softened.  Then I use my hand blender to smooth into a thick, easy to eat, hearty soup. Serve with a good grinding of black pepper and a sprinkle of toasted pumpkin seeds.

Once our tummies are filled with a warming bowl of soup it’s time to get out in the neighbourhood trick or treating.  Mister B doesn’t like the scary look so opted for the cute skeleton dress up this year whilst Miss M preferred a Dracula style image.

Despite several heavy downpours, nothing deterred these two from their Trick or Treating.  With a bag in hand to carry any treats they received, I have to say they did pretty well.  As well as a mega haul of sweets, they came back with a chocolate doughnut, a plastic spider and a freshly made spider cake (although this got devoured on the way round!).

What did your family get up to for Halloween?  Did your kids go Trick or Treating?

Hempz Milk & Honey Exfoliating Herbal Body Whip Review

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Hempz Milk & Honey Exfoliating Herbal Body Whip is part of the new Milk & Honey range.  Featuring fully vegan products packed full of natural ingredients including 100% pure Hemp oil, I was excited to check it out and see how if faired on my skin.

Upon opening the pot of Milk & Honey Body Whip the smell of this product is amazing – I can’t stop sniffing it!  The texture is whipped making it ultra lightweight and it feels really soft as you massage across damp skin.  With finely cut walnut shells to exfoliate it feels really gentle and natural but effective as you use it to revive and liven up your top layer of skin.

Key ingredients include:

  • 100% Pure Natural Hemp Seed Oil
  • Agave Extract, Rice Extract
  • Jojoba Oil, Avocado Oil
  • Cocoa Butter
  • Shea Butter
  • Vitamins A, C and E

Perfect for use in the shower, I couldn’t wait to give it a try and include it in my daily bodycare routine several times a week.  To keep dry Winter skin at bay or get that Summer smooth body this is perfect for year round use.  Keep reading to see what I thought about it below.

This Hempz Milk & Honey Exfoliating Herbal Body Whip is really easy to massage across your body and feels really gentle but stimulating helping to bring the skin alive.  I loved the light but effective texture and it also has lots of moisturising properties that left my skin really soft and glowing.  The fragrance lingers and my skin feels ultra supple after use.  This is a really fabulous, luxurious exfoliating product that gets a big thumbs up from me for both it’s results and it’s natural, vegan ingredients!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Ravensburger The Country Station 100pc Jigsaw Puzzle & Giveaway

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Ravensburger The Country Station 100pc Jigsaw Puzzle has extra large pieces to enable fiddle free and easy puzzling. With the puzzle pieces being around double the size of standard pieces, they are easier to find and quicker to complete along with being able to see more detail on each piece.

The Country Station is no.2 in the popular Day in the Country puzzle line and shows a nostalgic image of a station scene.  There is lots of detail and colour from the people and the skyline making the puzzle a joy to do and simple to find the correct location for the pieces.  With the pieces being larger than normal it’s easier to identify where they should go and we couldn’t wait to get started.  My 10yr old daughter decided she wanted to give it a go and sat down one afternoon and completed it.  She found it enjoyable to do and it looked good when finished.

Below you can see the finished Ravensburger puzzle of The Country Station which measures 49 x 36 cm when completed.  With a linen finish to the top it helps to avoid glare and the pieces are a sturdy premium cardboard.  Lastly I’m pleased to offer one of my readers a chance to win a copy for themselves – it’s simple to enter, just scroll down and fill out the Gleam form below!

Ravensburger The Country Station puzzle

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Mix-Up Clay – the Non-Messy Craft Activity – Review

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Mix-Up Clay from Alphabet Pie is a unique mess free clay and colouring tints that are a winner with kids and adults alike.  It’s hard to imagine a substance that doesn’t make a mess especially when colour is involved so I had the art mat on the table in case but actually the Mix-Up Clay proved to be as clean and friendly as it suggested and a great pliable play substance for all ages.  My 7 and 10 yr olds were both keen to have a go so I divided the pack of clay between them and let them create!

They found the white Mix-Up Clay substance to be very lightweight, soft and easy to manipulate making it suitable for really young ones.  They loved pulling it apart, rolling it into balls and seeing how far they could stretch it. The tints are incredible, you just take a small piece on the end of your finger and mix it into the white clay and knead it around until the colour spreads throughout.  By adding further tint you can strengthen the colours to form really bright bold colourways.  You are given the three primary colours along with black and this enables you to create any colour you want, so for example my children mixed a bit of yellow and blue tint on a piece of clay to create green.

It wasn’t long before shapes started forming and my 7yr old began with some eyes for his creation.  He decided to make some fruit shapes, an apple and banana whilst the 10yr old make a monster!

I have to say I’m really impressed with their finished clay pieces which then require around 6 hours drying time.  The whole process couldn’t be more simple and mess free – mould your clay, colour it as you wish, then let you design air dry!  Throughout the entire process your fingers stay clean, non sticky and don’t pick up any of the colour of the tints.  The clay doesn’t crumble into little pieces as you pull it apart so you really do end up with a mess free table as well as clean hands – a fantastic unique product that I’ve not come across before.

The finished designs are really lightweight, almost with a foam like weight to them so it’s easy for children to carry them around without them being too delicate.  My impressions of Mix-Up Clay are very favourable and it definitely kept my two children occupied for a while and they both loved it’s ease of use in both manipulating the clay and also the simple ability to colour it.  I love it due to it’s mess free nature and it’s definitely something I’d purchase again for them, perfect for indoor crafting any time, any day!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.