Gift Reviews, Pampered Experiences, Pampered Foods
London City Cruises April 2014.
My recent trip to London was fab! I don’t know where to begin but I have to emphasize that you must never visit this vibrant city without having a City Cruise on the Thames.
Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews
Wilko Faux Leather Beanbag in Black.
Once again I have returned to Wilko, the store which offers more choice and value for money than any other. I have several items from Wilko ‘in house’ now, and the latest addition is by far the kids favourite.
In my opinion, the best seating to choose for children is a beanbag. My sisters and I loved our beanbags when we were young. We had pink patterned ones and they were the perfect place to snuggle with a good book. I have chosen a black faux leather beanbag for our toyroom.
This room is the only room I close off when we have visitors. There are toys from one end of the room to the other, dolls, cars, train tracks and numerous other packs of lego and blocks. Needless to say, the seating arrangements are minimal. They have a large sofa against a wall and the rest of the room is for play. The beanbag is the seat of choice time and time again for watching TV, playing tablets and reading a book.
My 5 year old son can wriggle completely into the beanbag and the girls love stretching across the top with a good book.
When they go to bed the beanbag transforms into my own personal footstool! I sit with my mug of coffee, feet elevated on the beanbag and chill out watching TV. Pure relaxation!
I couldn’t recommend this beanbag more. Do consider choosing Wilko if you are on the look out for one. The faux leather are so easy to keep with spills and stains wiping away easily and Wilko are the only company selling faux leather beanbags for £35 without compromising on quality. The range of colours and style is really great and they even have beanbags for using outdoors.
To view the entire range visit www.wilko.com or visit your nearest store.
Gift Reviews, Health and Beauty, Teenage Gifts
Pevonia Lumafirm Body Moisturiser Firm & Glow.
Angelina Jolie, Cate Blanchett, Matthew McConaughey, Cameron Diaz, Rachel Weisz, Eva Mendes and Jodie Kidd.
Impressive celebrity list, isn’t it? I adore Eva Mendes – she always looks so perfect and I am so in love with Matthew McConaughey! However, I didn’t pick this list of gorgeous people out of thin air, they each have one very interesting fact in common. They all choose Pevonia as their skincare product!
I have always had an interest in skincare, purchasing my first facial moisturiser when I was sweet 16. After a few years I became more concerned with the ingredients, and not the fancy packaging. I am all too aware of the many ‘nasties’ found in so many skincare products – artificial ingredients, petro chemicals, parabens, etc. However, I always seemed to have to choose between having the latest anti-aging ingredient in my cream along with a few ‘not so nice’ chemicals or selecting a natural product with not as many anti-aging properties. This need not be so with Pevonia.
Pevonia skincare is available from selected spas and also online. They offer an impressive list of anti-aging solutions which are naturally based. I was so excited when I first discovered Pevonia and have used the Micro-Retinol range and found the quality and results to be nothing less than amazing.
The latest in the range is the Lumafirm Body Firm & Glow Moisturiser. Why bother with various body lotions with tints and colours concealing our imperfections when we could have the ‘real thing’ on show? Lumafirm WILL give you the skin you so desire. After just over 3 weeks of use I have noticed a glow to my skin. I am absolutely delighted. The first few days of warmer weather has been and gone but I hope to be back in my shorts before long. I know I needn’t panic or rush for the sun shimmering cosmetics, my legs look great, thanks to Pevonia!
Aside from the superb results, I can rest assured I am applying a naturally based cream to my skin – 26 natural ingredients to be specific! Skin appears instantly brighter and more luminous and the results last and last.
For further information visit www.pevonia.co.uk and be sure to have a look at the other lumafirm products. The list of awards this company have won is so impressive. It is so great to know there is a skincare brand on the market which delivers exceptional results without compromising on quality and safety.
RRP £65 for 150 mls.
Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews
Sophie Allport Mugs for Father’s Day.
Sophie Allport is quite the household name! My family love her designs and when I visit my sister we always end the day with 2 cups of coffee pouring over the latest fabric designs and kitchen accessories released on her website.
Sophie designs her products in the UK – always a favourite with Pampered Presents! She has a background in graphic art and design and runs a very successful business along with the help of her family and friends. If you have ever been to the Country Living Fair in London you will have seen her work on display and this is how she first became ‘noticed’ and her business progressed from her first appearance at this fabulous event.
I have selected a few of her products to feature this month as Father’s day is looming on the horizon. This is always a bit of a nightmare as my dad and hubby seem to have everything they want and I am sure they are a little bored with the usual meal vouchers they usually get presented with.
My dad is a shooting man along with my hubby and I can’t think of a better or more appropriate gift than one of these mugs from Sophie’s collection.
I favour the pheasant by far but the stag follows closely behind. They are made from fine bone china and come beautifully presented in a gift box.
The mugs are £9.50 so perfectly priced. have a look on her website, I was delighted to find 30% off some designs and have snapped up quite a few gifts for teachers also as end of term is not far away.
For further information visit www.sophieallport.com
Gift Reviews, Toy Reviews
Gross Magic Set.
Kids, how do we keep them from the screens? My kids rush home from school and, after a quick snack, they are hiding away in a corner on their tablets trying to get a quick game in before homework. At the weekends I try and hide the technology and encourage them to get outside but it is very difficult, especially when its raining!
Our latest addition to the playroom cupboard is a Gross Magic set from Drumond Park and I am delighted to say there are no batteries or charging required!
Gross Magic is exactly that – Gross! The set was the no. 1 bestselling magic set last year and it really is excellent value for money. There are no cheap and tacky tricks, they are all very well thought out and each one as crafty and intriguing as the next. My children are ages 10yrs, 8yrs and 5yrs and they all go crazy over this set. In fact, when we have friends over, there is a scuffle to see who can preform a trick on an unsuspecting guest first.
My favorite trick is pretty gross but I just love it – it is the ‘liquidising the eyeball’ trick. Even my 5yr old can shock with this disgusting trick – last week he nearly gave his cousins a heart attack! It was the sight of him apparently ‘eating an eyeball’ that really shocked his audience.
All the tricks require minimal practice and the set would suit all families as both children and adults can have a lot of fun with this. As you can see, there really is quite a lot of tricks and fun to be had all for just £19.99!
The price, in my honest opinion, places Gross Magic at the top of my list for value for money and also for entertainment. This set is well worth £19.99 and I guarantee it will offer a huge distraction to the kids from their various computer games as it did with mine.
Pampered Presents Facebook page has a fab competition running for 2 weeks where we are giving away a Gross Magic set to one lucky winner. To enter, simply click on the link:
https://www.facebook.com/Pamperedpresents?sk=app_228910107186452
Drumond Park’s Adult, Family and Children’s board and action games and magic sets are widely available from most major toy shop chains and independents, plus many department stores, grocery chains, catalogue and online traders.
For further information visit www.drumondpark.co.uk
Gift Reviews, Homeware Reviews
Mc Laggan Smith Mugs for Easter – Celebrating Ronald Dahl.
Mc Laggan Smith – my favorite mugs ever! These are simply the finest china mugs you will find. I have a few in my collection and wouldn’t drink my coffee from any other mug!
Mc Laggan Smith have a fabulous collection for Easter and with the celebration of Ronald Dahl’s 50th anniversary, you will be surly spoiled for choice.
I loved Ronald Dahl as a child and am so delighted my kids have followed suit. I kept all my books and love to see the girls enjoying them now as much as I did 20 years ago – (more like 30 yrs ago but who’s counting?!)
To commemorate his 50th anniversary, Mc Laggan Smith have a delightful set of mugs with scenes and sayings from some of his best loved books.
Enormous Crocodile.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
The BFG – my all time favorite book!
These mugs are treasured in my household and the 3 kids have their hot chocolate from them every night. There is always a little disagreement regarding whose turn it is to have the various mugs so I may have to acquire a few others!
For those of you who are shopping for Easter gifts, themed mugs are available with Quentin Blake designs and the delightful Madeleine Floyd also features. Her images are so cute and homely.
Mclaggan Smith Mugs is a Scottish based, family run company established in 1974 – and I might add this was a very good year for my parents.
The mugs are hand decorated and fired in Scotland and can be ordered from www.msmugs.com or online at 01389755655. RRP £9
Gift Reviews, Pampered Foods
Divine Chocolate for Easter Treats 2014.
‘Divine is the only Fairtrade chocolate company which is 45% owned by cocoa farmers.
While Fair trade ensures farmers receive a better deal for their cocoa and additional income to invest in their community, company ownership gives farmers a share of Divine’s profits and a stronger voice in the cocoa industry.’ (Divinechocolate.com)
Fairtrade – this is a sure way of offering help to those who are not as privileged as ourselves. When I buy tea, coffee and chocolate I am usually scouring the shelves for a brand with the fair trade stamp. I will generally be spending £1 extra but I wouldn’t have it any other way. I hope you are as self conscious – you need to take the step and switch to choosing fair trade products when they are available, it makes such a difference to the communities who work to put our products on the supermarket shelf.
I love chocolate although I wish I didn’t, I expect I am not alone in this!
However, ‘A little bit of what you fancy does you good’, my granny always said, so I allow myself to indulge at Easter. With the entire population shopping for chocolate at Easter think of the vast difference we could make if we all choose our eggs from companies supporting fair trade.
In 1999 Divine Chocolate was awarded “Millennium Product” status from the Design Council for the innovative structure and functioning of the company. This is but one of the many awards this fantastic and thoughtful company has won.
The Divine offices are based in Tower Bridge, London. I will be in London shortly and looking forward to a visit!
Back to chocolate – my favorite thing ever!
Divine have the best tasting Easter eggs ever, I know this as it’s only manners to test a sample – isn’t it? I did not manage to eat the entire egg, as my family were more than willing to help. The chocolate was delicious and very smooth with a rich aftertaste. The little mini eggs inside the egg were scrumptious and I had no problem keeping these all to myself! Yummy.
The large chocolate eggs are available in milk and dark chocolate and retail at £10. Packs of little coloured speckled eggs are priced at £4.25.
Aside from the delicious taste of this chocolate, why not choose these eggs this Easter for reasons much greater than the tasting experience?
“Those who impact positively on the lives of others shall forever live in the memory of the heart.”
PCK Buah, President, Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union.
The popularity of Divine has grown and grown and their chocolate can now be found in Scandinavia, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan and Australia.
The full Divine Easter range is available from independent retailers nationwide, the Divine online Shop www.divinechocolate.com/shop and the following retailers:
- The Dark & Milk Chocolate Luxury Eggs are available from Booths, ethical Superstore Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Ocado, Oxfam and Waitrose.
- The Dark & White Chocolate Small Hollow Eggs are available from Booths, Ethical Superstore and Oxfam. The Milk Chocolate Small Hollow Egg is available from Booths, Ethical Superstore, Ocado and Oxfam.
- The Mini Dark, Milk Chocolate and Praline Eggs are available from Booths, Ethical Superstore, Tesco and Oxfam. The Mini Speckled Eggs are available from Booths and Oxfam.
- The Milk Chocolate Dubble Egg is Available from Ethical Superstore and Oxfam.
Gift Reviews, Toy Reviews
Gift Eggs and Easter Calendar from Playmobil.
Easter, it is truly a lovely time of year and I am not just of that opinion as it’s also my birthday! I love Easter almost as much as I love chocolate. However, the eggs last Easter were so abundant I had to make tray bakes and buns with the children just to make use of all the chocolate. This was not a ‘good call’ as I ate most of them myself!
This year I have made a rule – only one chocolate egg each and none for mum, I am sure not to gain a pound.
Playmobil have sorted my ‘chocolate free’ Easter with a fab new range of Gift Eggs RRP £5.99. These include 4 new designs for 2014 and my children will adore them.
The eggs are colour coordinated and contain a Playmobil figure with accessories. These are really great and lots of fun – Playmobil is always a big hit with my children. The toys are fun, strong and last and last.
The eggs have the added bonus of having a slot which is perfect for saving and storing pocket money – my son has his on his bedroom shelf with lots and lots of 2p coins inside as he loves to hear the coins rattle when he shakes the egg! ‘Listen mummy, I’m rich’, he says!
My daughter loves her egg. She has the pink one and this had a lovely little flower fairy inside which is now her favourite toy.
Playmobil are also launching their first-ever Easter Calendar in their special 40th anniversary year – 2014.
This is a great way of rewarding your children as the calender is a little like an advent calendar. There are 10 different ‘windows’ to open, all with a Playmobil figure or accessory inside. The new and exclusive rabbit characters are really cute.
The figures are made to the same scale as all Playmobil figures so my children have a lot of fun mixing these characters with their existing Playmobil playsets. The calendar is very well priced at only £9.99.
View the full range here: http://www.playmobil.co.uk
Gift Reviews, Teenage Gifts
Gone Crabbing children’s Hoodie!
Gone Crabbing – for those of you who have yet to discover this fab company – was launched in 2008 by Susie Mason, who has created beautiful items relating to all thing ‘seaside’.
Susie’s range includes soaps, towels, clothing for children and adults and much more. I am truly addicted! It is a family run business, so well done Susie! The company has continued to grow, with the support of stockists and local companies. You will find ‘Gone Crabbing’ in seaside shops as well as on-line.
Colin is the Gone Crabbing LOGO, and he appears on several of their items as well as on the labels. He is an absolutely adorable little orange crab and you will love him too! Sometimes he features as the main design, and on some items he will appear in the corner but always on the labels. A brilliant feature, and I am sure this company will continue to grow and grow.
My latest ‘crabbing’ addition to the household is a vibrant red hoodie. I sincerely wish this was mine but unfortunately this one is aged 8-9 yrs and my daughter is the proud owner, not me!
As per usual, Gone Crabbing items arrive perfectly packed in co-coordinating packaging, tissue paper and stickers to seal.
The hoodie is one from a really fun collection and the logo says ‘Love life, don’t be crabby’ Well, there is no better logo for my daughter! She loves life and lives it to the full without a care, I am so proud. Here she is modelling her hoodie.
She has even worn this back-to-front she loves the image so much!
From a mothers point of view, the hoodie is very thick and warm. From a busy housewife’s point of view, it can be machine washed and tumble dried – Yea!! This is the perfect hoodie for both cool summer days and freezing windy winter excursions also.
The hoodies are available in child and adult sizes – and in a variety of colours with various ‘seaside-themed’ logos. Prices start at £27.99.
I so want one of these so watch this space… another ‘Gone Crabbing’ feature to follow shortly!
For further information and to view the full range visit:
Gift Reviews
Inch Blue baby shoes.
My 3 children had pairs of Inch Blue shoes for their first ever shoes and I still have them stored in their memory boxes. My first daughter had a pair of black and white cow patterned shoes, the second had purple flower patterned shoes, and my son’s shoes had a little rocket on them. They were the softest shoes on the market at the time and they are still impossible to beat.
My little sister has a young family and she came to visit me yesterday with a pair of Inch Blue shoes adorning her daughters feet – I was delighted!
‘In a world of mass produced goods INCH BLUE is an oasis for lovers of originality, quality and fun design. We understand your baby’s feet aren’t just smaller versions of your own, they’re a completely different shape. They’re softer and plumper with hardly any hard bone in them at all.
Inch Blue baby shoes have been designed to give total comfort for little growing feet. They are made exclusively from soft natural leather allowing your baby’s feet to breathe. And they’re not just for babies, Inch Blue make baby shoes for toddlers and children aged up to 6 years, which make them ideal for use in nurseries. ‘ (Inch Blue)
Inch Blue are constantly designing shoes to suit both boys and girls, the range is vast and the array of designs seem unending – you are sure to find a pair to suit any child and compliment their personalities. I adore these shoes with the horse image!
These will certainly delight any parent with a love of horses. Absolutely every personality under the sun is catered for.
I have purchased these shoes as gifts – new baby gifts as well as young birthday gifts. You will not find a better made child’s shoe, a softer leather, nor such cute original designs anywhere on the net or in a store.
For Easter, Inch Blue have the cutest rabbit designs available in baby pink or baby blue. I can’t think of a better gift for a baby at this time of year.
For further information visit http://www.inch-blue.com/uk/
Prices from £19 with free UK delivery.
