FurReal Snuggimals – Toy Review

So cute and small, you’ll want to adopt them all! FurReal Friends Snuggimals palm-sized pets are a handful of fun. Pet the adorable Snuggimals puppies on their backs and they’ll move their heads and wag their tails, ready for playtime! Snuggimals kitties love to have their tummies rubbed, and furry Snuggimals bunnies are comfiest when they cuddle into your palm. Stroke it’s back and watch the cute Snuggimals seal wiggle about in your hand. You can choose from more than 20 different Snuggimals pets, but it’s more fun with more than one!

These make ideal stocking fillers for the upcoming festivities, or even, at and RRP of £7.99, just as a treat for having a good week. The idea is simple enough, little furry animals which fit in your hand and when you stroke them they make noises. The recommended age for these is 4+ and when I asked B if she wanted to try them out she said she would love to. B is 7 though, and was a little disappointed that they didn’t do as much as she had expected them to do! However, H loved them and keeps stroking and talking to them as if they are real animals!! Now I personally would buy these for H even though she is only 2, but that’s got to be the parents choice and as such I wouldn’t buy them for friends children unless I knew they would be ok with it! I have to say though, they are very cute and soft and I can’t fault them at all for quality. Ideal for little girls who love animals!!

Stacking Tree Review

I was recently contacted by the lovely people at www.hellobabydirect.co.uk to review the Stacking Tree, it arrived last week and H hasn’t stopped playing with it since!

The stacking tree is made from rubber wood and consist of a trunk, attached to a sturdy base, with 8 branches of varying shades of green, and 4 different sizes. On first look on the web site it does conjure up the idea this is quite small, but standing 21.5cm tall it’s the perfect size for little hands. It is recommended for age 2 years plus, H is now 23 months and it is perfect for her level of ability. She loves to make different shapes, and also loves tipping it upside down when I have stacked it wrong!! I can also see scope for the play with the item to adjust as she develops, as a great aid to counting and learning about big and small. The wood has a very natural look and feel to it, while still being bright and appealing to young children. In fact at the moment this is most definitely one of H’s 1st choice toys when she goes to the toy chest.

This product is made by Plan Toys and this is what they say about themselves:

‘We create toys that inspire children’s imagination as well as promote their physical and intellectual development. We’re also proving that it is possible to maintain superior quality standards while steadfastly following a path of environmental and social responsibility.’

Retailing at just £11.99 through www.hellobabydirect.co.uk this is most definitely a highly recommended toy from me. It’s simple and straight to the point but keeps little minds and fingers active for hours! Why not go and take a look, they also have a vast range of other toys and all look just as great!

 

Warburtons Have Some New Arrivals!

I was recently contacted about trying out some new products from Warburtons, me being the snack-a-holic I am, jumped at the chance and I wasn’t disappointed.

The first of the two products are called SnackADoodle, a wholegrain based snack. These are low calorie snack, and the best way I can describe them is a cross between rice crackers and crisp bread style products. I have to say I wasn’t blown away but that’s mainly because I’m not a big fan of this type of thing. They are however, satisfying, a bag is just the right size and whilst the cheese flavour ones are very cheesy, the chilli ones are really flavoursome. A great low calorie alternative for party nibbles and go great with dips. I personally wouldn’t buy these but that’s not because there is anything wrong with them, just not my thing!

 

What does get my thumbs up and I will definitely be buying once released, are the ChippedyDoDaa pita based snacks. Imagine a pita bread, cut into triangles, flavoured and toasted and that’s what these are. Very filling, again the bags are exactly the right size. The sea salt and vinegar flavour are my favourite. Again these are great for a mid morning snack, lunch on the go or for nibbles when entertaining. What amazed me though is the fact that they actually tasted home made. 

 

So if your after an alternative to crisps, give these a go. They are both going to be available through Londis and Budgens stores and here’s hoping that eventually they will be available else where too!

Very Lazy Garlic Review

I recently received a free sample of Very Lazy Garlic to try and then review on here. Now I will be honest, I don’t cook with garlic normally although I love the taste, but as a single mum I tend to have worked out a “quick” version of my meals and I never find peeling and chopping garlic quick. I have tried the crushing with the side of the knife then chopping, I have tried just chopping, I have a garlic crusher and most of the clove ends up still in the crusher when I am done. So that’s why I don’t use garlic. And that is also why I thought this sounded like the sort of thing that would be handy to have in my fridge. I also thought that as I am probably in one of the categories this product is aimed at then I could write a valuable review.

I have tried substitutes for “real” garlic in the past, to be honest I have always opted for nothing rather than settling for alternatives. Garlic paste to me never adds the right taste and has a grainy texture. I had given up hope of finding a substitute and only included garlic when cooking for guests or on special occasions. I had seen Very Lazy Garlic but never really looked closely enough to see what it really was.

My sample arrived, well packaged and I opened to find the jar and was greeted by the wonderful smell of fresh garlic. My initial thoughts were that the jar had broken in transit so I checked it over and no, all was well and in tact. I was optimistic already! My 1st experiment was roasted carrots. Now I hate carrots, unless in a casserole or grated into a sauce, but on this particular day the only vegetables I had were carrots. So I decided to do roasted carrots and use the Very Lazy Garlic to add a bit of a twist. The garlic is finely chopped and in the jar along with white wine vinegar, which evaporates off with cooking. The jar states that 1 teaspoon is the equivalent of a clove of garlic so that is what I have worked to. The carrots were lovely. I would never have bothered had I needed to peel and chop an actual clove of garlic. The fact it is in the vinegar also makes it easier to distribute that the sticky feel of fresh garlic. It was a twist that I only thought of because this product was there.

The next day I made bolognaise, and where I would usually omit the garlic, I added the Very Lazy Garlic and  was very surprised. It tasted as if I had used fresh garlic. I could tell no difference at all. It was better that real garlic though, my fingers didn’t have that lingering garlic smell, the garlic crusher wasn’t a nightmare to get all the bits out of. It was so easy!

After using this twice, I am converted. I know I will always have a jar of this in my fridge now. It may be lazy but lives are so busy, with this in my fridge I no longer have to compromise on taste. In fact I am going to look out for the other Very Lazy products out there and will be giving them a try too! Have you tried it and what did you think?

My Book Addiction

I first read Twilight last year. Friends had told me to read it but the thought of Vampire fiction didn’t appeal. It’s not a genre I had ever read, or had any interest in but I bought the book with all good intentions of giving it a go. The book sat on the side in my bedroom. I moved house. The book came out of a box and sat in my living room. One night I remembered to take it to bed to start to read. Now this was strange, I hadn’t read a book in bed for years. The only time I read fiction was on holiday by the pool. This book would have to be something special to get me hooked.

For anyone who hasn’t heard of Twilight, where have you been? Even if you havn’t read it, I guarentee you will have heard others talk about it. Many of my friends, real and “virtual” online friends talk about it many times a day. It’s one of those books that triggers something inside, takes you back to your youth, makes you believe in fairy tales again.

What’s it all about? The story is written through the eyes of 17 year old Bella Swann who is moving home to live with her Dad in Forks. Bella hates Forks. It rains. It’s a small town. There are no decent shops. Her Dad Charlie is the Cheif of Police and everyone knows she is joining the school. The book is aimed at girls around Bella’s age, so reading this is a 30 year old mum of 2 I was expecting to be unable to relate to Bella. Surprisingly though, within minutes of reading I was remembering how it felt to be at school, to be the new girl. To wonder who everyone is. It is such an easy book to read.

Just when you think the book is just another teen high school book, enter The Cullen’s. Unknown to Bella, this is the local vegetarian Vampire family. From the moment she sees them, sat with food they don’t eat and not interacting with anyone else, Bella is fascinated in them, in particular Edward, who she learns is the only single memeber of the family.

This is a true tale of forbidden love. Of first love. Unearthing secrets that are rarely spoken of. It’s not just a Vampire book, you could take away the fact this a love stary between a human and an immortal, and it would still mean the same. It’s about the power of love. But don’t read this and think it’s just a love story. This is the 1st book of 4 in The Twilight Saga by Stephanie Meyer. This book introduces the main characters to us. We learn who Bella’s family is, meet the Forks community, and also meet some of the Quileute tribe. We learn alot about how the Cullen’s live and also enough to know that the love story we are there to witness will not have a smooth start. This book sets the perfect start point for what is to follow, giving us a bit of lust, a bit of action and leaves us wanting more.

My synopsis has by no means given the book justice. I don’t think I have yet to read a synopsis that does. But in my whole life I have read at school and since leaving school I had probably read about 20 books in 12 years. I read Harry Potter and was hooked, but I never got hooked to reading. It was a one off thing. Twilight on the other hand was more. A year after my vision of love had been blown apart, I truely believed in love again. I remembered what it was like to feel that 1st love for someone. It sparked a sense of “life goes on” in me. Since reading this book, I have read 18 more, I am never without a book on the go! I can say 100% that I am now  a book worm. Even after a night out I have to pick up my book before I go to sleep! It’s not a bad thing I know, but I have to admit it’s a shock. I have stuck to the vampire genre, its very popular at the moment and there is alot out there to choose from.

Twilight changed my life in a couple of ways, all good, but mainly I have found a new way to unwind and I believe in love again. What about you, what books have you read that have stuck with you and why?

For any of you who havn’t read this book I highly recommend it. Whoever you are, wherever you are in life, this book will spark something within you. At least you will get an easy flowing read to give you that warm feeling inside.