Tuesday 31 December 2013

A Year Wasted?

I honestly can't believe that we are at the end of another year. Each year that passes seems to disappear faster than the last.

A few highlights from this year : my very last baby turned a year old, Daddy Hazelden changed careers and now works in London, I applied for Gracie to start primary school next year and we managed to have an amazing family holiday in Ibiza.

However the upsetting thing for me is that when I look back and reflect on what I have achieved in this time, it feels as though I have done very little, like a year has been somewhat wasted.

I rarely set new years resolutions because I always seem to break them, you know the usual ones :

* Lose weight - well after losing a couple of pounds I always manage to find them again plus a couple of extra ones.

* Eat healthier - as I say this I am tucking into a lovely packet of peanut butter cups.

This year I don't want to say I'm setting new years resolutions, more like small goals and instead of ones I know I will give up on trying to achieve, I'm picking things that I know I will be motivated to sticking to and I'm hoping by writing it down here that I can look back at this post one year from now and put an imaginary tick by each one.

So my goals for the coming year :

Sunday 29 December 2013

Saturday 28 December 2013

Adventures of the Shir Sha - Pharha's Quest Review

My eldest daughter is the biggest fan of books and if you have read my previous posts, you will know that when she grows up she would love to be an author. I was recently asked to review a book called Adventures of the Shir Sha - Pharha's Quest, this book is written by Sami Jaffer and is aimed at children aged 8 and above so I thought it would be appropriate for Elise to read and review the book herself.

adventures of the shir sha pharhas quest


The story follows a young girl, she takes us on a journey from her small village right out into a land filled with strange creatures and people. Along the way she learns some important lessons with some help from others…

Elise spent 3 weeks reading the book and below is what she thought about it :

I like the story, it was quite adventurous and I think it would definitely keep readers interested. One of the characters was really weird, it was Zodishan the Scoundrel, he was so funny in places. This is one of the sentences that I found funny :

"Oh so impatient! Beware of where that gets thee to lady."

I like the way Pharha was not going to give up. It was so nice to hear the happy ending but in the next Pharha story I think Pharha and Careen will end up being boyfriend and girlfriend but no snogging!!

I too read the book and I agree with Elise, it was lovely seeing such a strong and courageous character in Pharha, her quest in the story is bringing back the village's medicine man who has disappeared and I think she makes quite the role model for young girls they way along the way. 

The book is written well and manages to keep you interested until the end, great book for teaching your child about patience. I am now being pestered by Elise to find out when the next book will be out. 

You can currently purchase the kindle edition of this book over on amazon, if you have a daughter aged around 8 or above, I would recommend them reading it.

xxxx

Disclaimer : We were sent this book free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Friday 27 December 2013

Remembering Buddy

I know Christmas is over. It always finishes far too quickly so before I wave goodbye to it for another year, I thought I would look back on December, the month we were introduced to Buddy, that sometimes naughty little elf on a shelf.

Day 1 : Buddy arrived from the North Pole and with him 25 gifts to count down the days to Christmas, the girls later found out that each gift contained a new book to read.

Day 2 : Just so we could know him better, Buddy gave the girls an elf on the shelf DVD which was played repeatedly throughout the month.

Day 3 : Naughty Buddy was caught eating mine and Daddy Hazelden's advent calendar chocolates, we were less than impressed!!

Day 4 : I'm not sure whether he needed to blow his nose but lets just say a tad too much tissue was unraveled from the toilet roll that day.

Day 5 : Buddy redeemed himself slightly by wrapping the lounge door up, he ended up stuck in the sellotape which the girls found hilarious.

Day 6 : When we awoke we found a note from buddy which came complete with some elf seeds, Freya was sure they looked like green tic tacs but they later turned out to grow into candy canes so she was proved wrong ;)

Day 7 : Buddy got caught with scissors in hand making some stunning snowflake decorations.

Day 8 : This naughty little elf just couldn't help himself, getting drunk on golden syrup tut tut.


Day 9 : When we came downstairs we found a lovely scene, Buddy treated all his fellow Christmas buddies to a tea party.

Day 10 : We got to find out exactly what list Santa was putting the children on, to their relief they were all on the nice list, although by the end of that day I'm pretty sure that status had changed!!

Day 11 : Buddy was obviously getting lonely because we found him cosied up to one of the Monster High dolls having a lovely cotton wool bubbly bath.

Day 12 : We really should have taken better care of our elf because we never gave him a bed, he ended up sleeping in the tissue box.


Day 13 : The girls were treated to some Snowman soup (hot chocolate), I managed to persuade them that mummy needed some too.

Day 14 : Buddy was obviously chanelling his inner angel because we found him trying to climb to the top of the Christmas tree.

Day 15 : Obviously not content with his tissue box bed, Buddy managed to sneak his way into to bed with me.

Day 16 : Still in angel mode, Buddy was found making beautiful snow angels.


Day 17 : More gifts, some arts and crafts as well some whistle lollies for my eldest too to take in for their class mates, something the other parents would later curse me for, oops.

Day 18 : Buddy ordered some elf doughnuts from Krispy Kreme, who knew they made doughnuts so small.

Day 19 : I think he was as excited for Christmas as us, joining in with the countdown whilst abseiling down my blinds.

Day 20 : Last day of the school term and the girls were presented with instructions on how to make an elf breakfast.



Day 21 : Story time for the cuddly toys, must have been a good one because they were all very quiet.

Day 22 : Poor Buddy, all these antics made him a little run down, throat sweets, tissues and beechams at the ready.

Day 23 : I think I was more impressed with the gift that Buddy gave us, a stunning gingerbread house, complete with loads and loads of candy, including runts and nerds!!!

Day 24 : This was a sad day, Buddy was going back to the North Pole, as a parting gift, he left the girls with some reindeer food to sprinkle out on the lawn.



We are already looking forward to next December, wonder if the same elf will visit us again?

xxxx

Thursday 26 December 2013

Leftover Christmas Dinner Soup

I'm sure I'm not alone in buying and cooking way too much food for Christmas dinner. As yummy as it all is, there is just no way I could possibly eat it all, classic case of eyes bigger than belly. So what to do with all of the leftover food? Seems too much of a waste just to throw it all away!!! Last year I made a scrummy turkey curry, this year I've decided to get out my trusty slow cooker and make a festive Christmas dinner soup.

Ingredients

* Turkey legs
* Any left over vegetables
* Large onion sliced
* 1 litre chicken stock
* 2 tbsp Tomato puree
* 6 Rashers of bacon

Preparations

* Grill the bacon and cut into small pieces.

* Place all the ingredients into the slow cooker, making sure to stir and mix all the ingredients and cook on low for 8 hours.

* About an hour from the end of cooking, pick out the turkey legs, take the meat off the bone and place back in the soup, you could always use the bone to make some turkey stock.

* Just before serving add in a tbsp or so of cornflour to thicken, of course you don't have to do this, we just prefer a thicker soup.


Of course it wouldn't be festive enough if I didn't serve it up in a Christmas bowl!!!

What do you do with all the leftover food from Christmas??

xxxx


Wednesday 25 December 2013

Hello, Goodbye Santa

Merry Christmas to all of my lovely readers, I hope you have a really lovely day.

Elise has been busy writing some more poetry so I thought seen as it is Christmas day I would share one of her Christmas ones with you all.

Hello, Goodbye Santa

Hello, goodbye Santa 
The jolliest of them all
The toys are amazing 
That you have given us all

You came and Christmas says "hello"
Then you go and the children say "goodbye"

Oh thank you Santa 
For everything you have done
If children were naughty 
Their presents would be none

Hello, goodbye Santa
The jolliest of them all
The toys are amazing 
That you have given us all

xxxx

Tuesday 24 December 2013

Holidays Really Are Coming

If you weren't aware, the Christmas holidays are on their way. The minute you see the Coca Cola advert on the television every year signals the beginning of the festive period. This is something that my little brother and I stand by and every time we see it we get more than a little excited.

I have always wanted to see the Coca Cola truck but it has never come to a town near me…. until this year!!!!

I screamed rather loudly when I found out that the Coca Cola truck would be visiting Canterbury, so last weekend we braved the rainy weather and made a dream of mine come true.

I was more than a little impressed with the small choir singing the 'holidays are coming' song and yes I was singing along.


I also have to admit that we cheated a little. The queue to have a photo taken next to the truck was extremely long and as much as I love the Coca Cola truck, I wasn't willing to wait with all my children to have my picture taken.

However we managed to sneak our way to the back of the truck and take some pictures of our own :) 


And now that it is Christmas Eve, the holidays really are coming and I just cannot wait. Is anyone else excited??

xxxx


Monday 23 December 2013

Christmas Outfit Emergency

I'm sure as a parent you have had those moments where your child will quite happily tell you right at the last minute that they need a Christmas costume for a play or perhaps you get invited to a fancy dress Christmas party and you have nothing to wear or maybe you are like me and just love to dress up on Christmas day well IWOOT (I want one of those) have come to the rescue with their emergency Christmas outfits.


These outfits come in a pack of five which includes : a snowman, an elf, a present, a santa and a Christmas Jumper, enough for a whole family to be kitted out.

These are extremely simple outfits, made out of PE plastic that just go on by popping over your head, essentialy these are bin bags with fun designs on them.

Although nothing special, they are fun to play about with. The size of them makes them more suited to adults but my girls thought it was hilarious trying on the different outfits. I would be tempted to pop them on them at dinner time to prevent the Christmas dinner getting onto their clothes!!!

Being so simple to get on and off, if you were at a party and going out somewhere after, it would be easy to have your going out clothes on underneath and just fold up the emergency outfit and pop it in your bag for another day. 

Priced at £6.49 they would make for a funny stocking filler and a great addition for something to do on Christmas day but I do think they are a tad expensive for what they are especially because they seem to rip so easily. However my daughter's would highly recommend them!!!

xxxx

Disclaimer : This product was sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Sunday 22 December 2013

Spreading a Little Festive Cheer

I'm hoping you all have a little festive spirit within you now. Some people don't and Bazooka Candy really wanted to help add a bit of sparkle to Christmas and bring on the festive cheer. To help do that some lucky people have been chosen to receive some of their delicious candy and a special Bazooka candy santa hat.

I was so pleased when a lovely package turned up for me the girls.


Unfortunately I didn't get to enjoy the sweeties like I wanted to because a certain bunch of kids managed to reach them before I did.

However I think the candy done the trick, with Santa hat on, it is definitely beginning to feel alot like Christmas.


What sweets get you in the mood for Christmas?

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent these sweets free of charge however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Silent Sunday


Saturday 21 December 2013

Time to Get Crafty

My children love making things, whether it is drawing, sticking, colouring, cutting, they are always creating new things for me to look at and keep in that massive box I have upstairs that is already full to the brim of their brilliant creations. The thing I can sometimes struggle with is keeping them stocked up on supplies to carry on using those little imaginations of theirs. This is where One Stop Craft Shop have come in handy.


I was given the opportunity to take a good look around their site and I was also sent a little package of goodies from the wide range of items that they stock.

One Stop Craft Shop stock everything from card making materials, baking, craft essentials like glues, glitters and paints, as well as lovely craft kits for those younger crafters. I really love that the site is extremely easy to navigate with drop down menus at the top and all categories listed in alphabetical order down the side of the homepage for you to browse.

Each category when clicked leads you to a page of sub categories which are all clearly labelled and with images above the writing I think it would be difficult to click on the wrong one.

Each item that you click on states the price and gives a full product description so you know exactly what you are buying. What I love is that it tells you whether the chosen item is in stock or not, no need to chase for out of stock items after ordering.

My girls and I were kindly sent some acrylic paints in various colours and some lovely shape cutters.

We decided to make use out of the acrylic paints first. One Stop Craft Shop stock all purpose acrylic paint from purpose in numerous amounts of colours, each bottle cost just £1.15. The girls decided that they would like to do some potato stamping, so I gave them the cardboard that is left over once a roll of wrapping paper runs out and I let them stamp away.


The girls had loads of fun and soon decided that the potatoes weren't the only thing they wanted to stamp with and proceeded to paint their hands to create finger prints and hand prints. Just take a look at Gracie below.


What was great about these paints was that they washed right off, not even soap was needed just good old water and this meant no pesky stains left on the clothes either, I will definitely be using these paints from now on. 

And I bet your wondering just what their finished creation looked like once finished :


I think you will agree that is lovely and vibrant, a real work of art. We even used the paints after to finish painting our homemade Christmas tree.


One Stop Craft have a great giveaway running throughout December too. If you place an order this month you will have a chance of winning a free gift, one winner will be chosen each day. I was more than impressed with their site and what they had to offer so why not take a look yourselves.

Keep up to date with all their news and goings on facebook and twitter.

We will be using the shape cutters to make some scrummy layered cookies soon so look out for that post!!

xxxx

Disclaimer : The paints and shape cutters were sent to me free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Friday 20 December 2013

Just Where to Hide Those Presents

Hiding the Chrismas presents becomes a bigger problem year on year. With each child that has come along the present piles have increased. I used to pile them all up in the corner of my room under a blanket but as you can see from the picture below, I've not done a great job at covering them this year.



There are so many presents this year that I have had to place them all around the house because there is a distinct lack of storage, something that I will have to make up for in the new year. And my children have become nosier as they have got older!!

So if I'm honest this year I haven't really hidden the presents. I've wrapped each gift up as I've bought it so that no one knows what is inside and then when the kids have happened to find them in lets say my bathroom…



they have then been told that I am helping store presents for Santa Claus because he just doesn't have enough room these days, there are just so many people on that nice list!!

Although I have managed to keep a couple of presents under wraps, thank god Daddy Hazelden doesn't have a full wardrobe like mummy.


So come one, where do you hide all your Christmas presents?? I promise I won't tell.

xxxx


“This post is an entry into the Hudl Christmas cheer competition”

Eyes Bigger than Belly

I'm sure you've heard the classic saying - "eyes bigger than belly", my kids have this trouble quite alot of the time annd this always seems to be the case for me at Christmas.

I don't know about any of you but we always manage to buy in enough food to feed the family for a whole month when really it is only for Christmas day and Boxing day.

The sweets that are bought, well the second lot after the first batch get eaten before Christmas, seem to last well into the new year. There is always an overload of selection boxes, probably because they are always on offer and who can resist a bargain?? So in actual fact it is normally nearer March when all the chocolates finally run out, just in time for Easter.

Then there's the turkey, it ends up being the main part of dinner for the the week following Christmas, I mean there's turkey curry, turkey soup, turkey sandwiches, the list is endless, no wonder we only tend to eat it at Christmas.

So why do we do it?? Every year I say I'm going to cut back, buy less because an awful lot ends up wasted but when I start doing the food shopping all these items just seem to sneak into my trolley without me knowing.

I'll be moaning come the new year like I always do that I've put on too much weight but of course I will just have to eat all those sweets and chocolates before I can start my diet again because otherwise they will just keep calling to me, you must have heard the food voices!!



Is it the same in your house, do you over indulge at Christmas?

xxxx
Post Comment Love

Magical Musical Tea Party

I was extremely lucky when I was picked to be part of the Babies R Us Babyologist team. As part of the team I will be bringing you reviews of some of the latest must haves and letting you know just what I think about them. A couple of weeks ago we were sent our first item to test out and review, the Musical Rainbow Tea Party from Leapfrog. We were impressed right from the moment we opened the package.


Included in the package is : 2 tea cups, a teapot with opening lid, a plate and 6 slices of cake. What I immediately love is that the batteries are included, great if you are opening up on Christmas day as you can get straight on with playing. 

This is a toy is wonderfully vibrant and one where your child can learn through play, something that I am a huge fan of. 

My children were all more than happy to play with this toy. You can see from the picture below that it fitted in well with their pretend play, they were having a lovely tea party with each other and their teddies, it was so nice seeing them sharing.


There are some many different ways to play with this toy, learning about colours, counting, fitting pieces of a puzzle together, social skills and how to share with others. I love that the teapot talks and says words like please and thank you, great for teaching those all important manners.

There are so many different songs phrases and sounds to listen to, it really is like a new game each time you switch the teapot on.

When the teapot lights up your child can try and match up the colour of cake with the colour that is shining on the teapot, you can count along with the teapot whilst pouring imaginary cups of tea. 

The cake is fun all by itself. It is like a puzzle figuring out how to put the slices of cake back on the plate. Each slice is a different colour and has a different fruit pictured on it, plenty for your child to be learning/asking about.

Priced at £19.97, I cannot recommend this toy enough, it really is magical, with hours of fun to be had, it really lets their imaginations run wild and although aimed at children from ages 1 to 3, it works well for all kids.

Just take a look at this quick video below at my children making good use out of their new toy :




xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent this toy free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thursday 19 December 2013

Was it Charlie and Lola's Bestest Play?

My family and I were lucky enough to be given tickets to go and watch Charlie and Lola's Best Bestest play at the Glow inside of Bluwater at the weekend, the questions was would it really be the bestest play?


Our viewing wasn't until 3pm so we decided to make a proper day out of it, doing a touch of Christmas shopping, eating a nice lunch out and visiting the Winter Wonderland. The girls got their faces painted too. My daughter's were more than a little excited and were asking on the hour whether it was time to go and watch the play yet.

When the time finally came mummy and daddy were more than ready to sit down and rest our feet while the kids enjoyed the show, the girls decided to sit right at the top at the back, the view was great, no struggling to see what was on the stage.


The play is done by the use of puppets, four puppeteers were very good at moving the puppets as well as joining in with their own facial expressions and movements too.

The play starts with Charlie trying to get Lola to tidy her room which wasn't the easiest of tasks. And of course the play wouldn't have been complete without an appearance from Soren Lorensen. Thoughout the play we see tigers drinking pink milk, dogs dancing and even a not so scary ogre.

For me personally I noticed some issues with the sound being either too loud or too quiet but the girls really enjoyed themselves, they were laughing throughout and when different songs came on they were up out of their seats and dancing. There was a moment when bubbles were being blown out into the crowd and all the children were jumping up and trying to pop them.

At roughly 45 minutes long, it was the perfect length, especially for younger children, it had my daughter's engaged the whole time and it even gave Daddy Hazelden a chance to have a quick power nap.


A lovely play that I think would probably make a good introduction to the theatre for younger children, worth watching whether your kids are fans of Charlie and Lola or even if they are not, great family fun.

xxxx

Disclaimer : We were given tickets free of charge to watch this play however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Warm Three Bean Salad Recipe

With all the cold weather that is upon us, I do like to eat a lot more cooked meals at lunch time rather than sandwiches etc. I tend to eat a lot of soups but this can become boring when having them all of the time. I do enjoy a good salad so I opted for a lovely warm three bean salad this week.

Ingredients

* 1/3 Tin of kidney beans
* 1/3 Tin of butter beans
* 1/3 Tin of flageolet beans
* Olive oil
* Chives

Preparation

* Chop up the chives finely.
* Open each tine of beans and place roughly a third of each into a bowl.
* Pop in the microwave for around 40 seconds to warm through.
* Sprinkle over the chives and drizzle some olive oil over.
* Stir all the ingredients and it is ready to eat.

warm three bean salad

A lovely healthy option for lunch that is full of protein and fills you up nicely and the good thing is one tin of each of the beans makes enough for around three lunches.

Are there any warm meals that you really enjoy eating at lunch time?

xxxx

Wednesday 18 December 2013

Jingle Bells Jingle Bells and Repeat.

Today was the day of a little Christmas show around Gracie's playschool. For the past few weeks I have had countless renditions of Jingle Bells sung to me because Gracie of course needed to practice as much as possible. Although I was really looking forward to the live version of Jingle Bells, I was secretly hoping that there might just be a couple more songs to listen to as well.

So this morning I had one excited 3 year old all ready to be dressed up like 'Christmas', I wasn't exactly sure what dressing up like Christmas entailed but was informed that it actually meant wearing her Mrs Santa dress. I also found out that what she was actually excited about was getting to wear her white party shoes, it's the little things!!


It was definitely a proud mummy moment watching Gracie sing, last year she wasn't quite old enough to remember all the words, so it was lovely seeing her not only singing but joining in with the actions too. And I am happy to report we got treated to performances of Christmas pudding, twinkle twinkle little star, little snowman and of course jingle bells.


And an even better moment was when she spotted her Uncle Alec in the crowd, I've never seen a smile so big and she couldn't wait to tell her teachers just who was there.

Once the performance had ended each child was then presented with a Christmas gift from playschool, Gracie wasn't overly impressed with the orange that she found amongst the sweets and chocolate, I have a feeling she might have the same reaction when she opens her stocking Christmas day ;)


This performance was actually a bit emotional for me because it was Gracie's last Christmas performance at playschool as next year she will be starting primary school, just doesn't seem possible.

Have you been to watch your children in their Christmas plays or concerts yet?

xxxx

Hotel Chocolat Heaven

I don't really have a sweet tooth as such but at Christmas I do like to indulge in the odd chocolate or ten. It's funny because recently a few people have been recommending that I try Hotel Chocolat chocolate, so when I got asked if I would like to review something from their Christmas range, I was eager to find out exactly what this chocolate tasted like.

I chose the mingles and jingles bag because I thought it would be perfect for sharing with my whole family. It says on the description that it contains 35 chocolates but if I'm honest I wasn't expecting the bag to be very big, I'm pleased to say I was wrong.

hotel chocolat mingles and jingles

The chocolates come in a beautifully decorated sack, just like what Santa would carry, the packaging with the Hotel Chocolat label printed on it immediately has you excited for what it contains inside, it seems to ooze quality.

Each chocolate comes individually wrapped and on the packaging it tells you what the packet contains. There are a mix of milk chocolates, caramel chocolates and white chocolates.


hotel chocolat

The sack contains a variety of Christmas characters, angels, penguins and bells. I personally loved the bells. I can't believe how much detail is on each individual chocolate. My 5 year old happened to notice that it looked like the bell had glitter sprinkled over it, it almost seemed a shame to eat them.


We chose the chocolates in a lucky dip style, shaking the bag up and then popping our hand in to pick our prize, I think everyone ended up winning although it did get a bit competitive because someone kept picking out the penguins!!


Now to the best part, the taste. I can now see what my friends were talking about, these chocolates taste divine. Each chocolate is smooth and creamy, it just melts in your mouth. The flavours are mouth watering and definitely leave you wanting more. I would say they aren't too sweet either so perfect for all the family.

I would be one happy lady if I received more of these for Christmas, hint hint Daddy Hazelden ;) I really wished I had tried Hotel Chocolat sooner, seems I've been missing out!!

xxxx

Disclaimer : I was sent these chocolates free of charge for reviewing purposes however all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Philips Senseo Coffee Machine Review

I don't know about you but since I became a mother, I have been come more dependent on coffee to keep me awake during the day, teething has a lot to answer for!!! I tend to have normal instant coffee out of a jar, so when I was given the chance to review a "proper" coffee machine, I was like a kid at Christmas.

I've looked around for coffee machines in the past and I have found that Argos stock a large range of coffee machines which you can buy here. I am reviewing the Philips Senseo HD7825.

philips senseo

Inside the box you receive the coffee machine itself, a removeable water tank, two podholders, a removable drip tray and an instruction manual. I have to say it looks good, the black colouring and chrome finishings fit in very nicely with my other kitchen appliances and it didn't look cheap or plasticky. The Senseo is fairly compact so won't take up too much space on your kitchen worktop either.

philips senseo

The thing that really made this machine stand out to me was the fact that you can make 2 cups of coffee at the same time, a lot of the other coffee machines I have looked at only allow you to make one cup of coffee at a time and this can sometimes prove time consuming. Making more than one drink is done by using the podholders as pictured below. The podholders are clearly marked with a cup sign on, one with 1 cup and the other with 2 cups on so no worries about getting them mixed up at all. 



Making the coffee is extremely easy. Turn the machine on, wait for the red light to stop blinking. Place a coffee pad into the podholder, close the lid, press the one/two cup button and the Senseo coffee machine does the rest for you. There is an adjustable spout to accomodate any size cup too. It takes around 30 seconds to make 1 cup of coffee and under 60 seconds to make 2 cups of coffee, very speedy. I love that the coffee comes out at a temperature where it is ready to drink rather than having to wait for what seems like forever for it to cool down.


One other handy thing that Senseo has is a calc indicator which lets you know when the machine needs descaling.

There were a couple of things that I found for myself a bit annoying. Before every use you have to flush through the system, it only takes a couple of minutes but it would be nice to not have to do every time you switch the machine on. Secondly not everyone likes black coffee but unless you buy their milk blend you will need to add your own milk if this is how you take your coffee.

Overall the Philips Senseo coffee machine with a RRP of £100 is great for coffee lovers. Not overly expensive if you plan on using it on a daily basis and it couldn't be simpler to use. I can also confirm that the coffee it produces really is delicious!!!

xxxx

*This post was written in collabaration with Argos*

CartridgeSave Giveaway

The Christmas elves from the online ink company cartridgesave.co.uk have created six simple, free to download guides, to help you create your own homespun decorations designed to inject your home with some festive glow!!

You can choose from Chrsitmas crackers, multi-coloured garlands and a range of £D tree decorations which will give regular baubles a run for their money.

All templates are available free of charge over at cartridgesave.co.uk/christmas - plus if you downlaod and decorate a cracker there is still time to post it on your blog before the end of Wednesday and you could be in with a chance of winning £500 worth of AMazon vouchers, a cracking prize!!

And what's more to celebrate their Craft Christmas campaign, cartridgesave.co.uk are allowing me to giveaway a copy of Kirstie Allsopp's Craft book.



To enter simply fill in the rafflecopter form below, open to UK residents only, you have unil 11.59pm on the 23rd of December 2013 to enter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck

xxxx

Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com

Hanging Snowflakes

You may have seen that we have been making alot of our own Christmas decorations this year including a toilet roll Christmas tree. Today I am going to show you how to make hanging snowflakes, perfect for adding a touch of Christmas to your windows.

You will need :

* plain white paper
* coloured wool
* pen
* scissors
* sewing needle


1. Take one corner of your paper and fold it over until it reaches the other side of the paper as shown below :


2. Cut along the verticle line you have created and you will be left with what looks like a triangle. Then take your pen and draw whatver shapes you like around the triangle.


3. Open out your triangle to reveal your snowflake. Repeat these steps to create as many snowflakes as you would like, for the purpose of this post I have made three snowflakes.


4. You will now need the wool you have picked out, I suggest the length you need is 1 and a half times the length of the snowflakes when all put together in a row. Tie a not at one end of the wool and then using a large sewing needle, thread the wool through one corner of the first snowflake.


5. Continue to thread the wool through the bottom and top of each subsequent snowflake, making sure to double sew on each corner so that the snowflake won't slip down the wool. You can then tie a loop at the top of the final snowflake for hanging.


6. Hang your snowflakes up and show them off.


To make your hanging snowflakes really stick out you can use different coloured papers or even create your own designs on them.

xxxx