A Replacement Backpack for the Mr

I promised to review the replacement backpack we got the Mr for his birthday and as it’s been a few months. (Oops!) I figured I should probably get on to it!

Searching for a replacement backpack

We spent so long on our desperate backpack search but as I mentioned previously we finally gave in and accepted it wasn’t possible to find an identical copy of the Mr’s old Surfanic backpack. We decided to have a look around and see what else was out there.

It had to be big enough and sturdy enough to carry heavy shopping like bottles of coke, milk, juice. It’s more to satisfy the Mr’s needs as he prefers to carry most of the weight on his back (I generally can’t pick his backpack up when its full as it’s so heavy!) so we really had a challenge finding one a decent size that didn’t cost the earth.

Ordering a replacement backpack

After looking around for some time the Mr finally decided on an Under Armour backpack being sold on Ebay for £26.99 which arrived within days.

 

Replacement backpack - Under Armour

 

Izzy was quick to help get it unpacked check it out when it arrived. She seemed fairly impressed. The Mr eventually got round to using it a few day’s later and has since retired his surfanic bag.

There are 2 large compartments and a rather large bottom zip pocket along with 2 mesh drink bottle pockets & a smaller zip up pocket at the top of the bag.

We hadn’t realised when ordering that the bottom zip pocket is a long square that reaches to the back of the bag. This is something we have never seen before and it is pretty cool! The Mr has used it daily for the last few month’s and hasn’t had any problem’s. He finds it pretty comfortable on his shoulders which is great for heavy loads. He the handy little pockets for things like his keys, sunglasses, phone etc.

The Mr is surprisingly still happy with his replacement. Although it does carry less than his last bag as it still carries what we need.

 

 

#MamiasDaysOut

When I saw the opportunity for the #MamiasDaysOut on the @britmums website I signed up and crossed my fingers. I was pleasantly surprised when this amazing hamper showed up a few days later.  I am a great fan of Aldi Mamia products having tried a lot of different products with both my girls. Aldi Mamia has proven to be the best for us time and time again. Good quality and value and 100% organic, what’s not to love?

Our Hamper contained:

  • Mamia Juniors Apple Mini Rice Cakes 7months+
  • Mamia Juniors Raspberry Mini Rice Cakes 7months+
  • Mamia Organic Apple & Blackcurrent Juice 4months+
  • Mamia 4 pack of Apple & pear fruit pots 4months+
  • Mamia Organic Banana’s & Apples Squeezy Pouch 4months+
  • Mamia Organic Apple & Strawberry Squeezy Pouch 4months+
  • Mamia Organic Mango, Apple & Banana Squeezy Pouch 4months+
  • Mamia Organic Apples, Carrots & Parsnips Squeezy Pouch 4months+
  • Mamia Organic Apple, Sweet Potatoe, Butternut Squash & Blueberry 4months+
  • £5 Aldi Voucher to spend on Mamia Nappies & wipes.

We have used Aldi a lot more since Izzy was born, it’s only a 10 minute walk from ours. I love the quality of their nappies and they are such brilliant value! I love that I can get 2 packs of size 6 Mamia nappies and a 4pack of wipes for less than £10. I was spending double that with Eva just on nappies alone!

I decided to spend the £5 voucher on the Mamia easy-pants as Izzy is showing an interest in using the potty and toilet recently. At only £1.85 for a pack of 16 you really cant go wrong! Izzy absolutely loves them and finds them much easier to pull up and down than other brands we have tried.

I also bought my usual 4 pack of Mamia sensitive fragrance free baby wipes as the girls & I have quite sensitive skin and suffer Eczema. These wipes are so soft and gentle on your skin and for 59p per pack or 2.39 for 4 packs you just cant beat them.

Trying something new

We decided to give the Mamia Fabric Softener a try as we hadn’t noticed it before & for a 40 wash bottle at 99p it beats the current deals we’ve been picking up elsewhere!

We gave it a go and I am pretty impressed as it’s left our towels lovely and soft & all the girls clothes are coming out softer too and we haven’t had a problem with skin irritation which limits what we can use quite a bit! I think it’s safe to say we will be sticking with the fabric softener too!

When I recieved our hamper Izzy spotted the rice cakes which are one of the few products from their Mamia food range that she hasn’t tried yet. She sneakily grabbed the pack of Apple Mini Rice Cakes and got munching. She did share them with Eva too who said they were delicious.

Izzy has loved the Mamia Apple and Pear pot’s since she was around 4/5 months old. I haven’t bought them in a while, yet Izzy couldn’t wait to get stuck in again and demanded a pot when she saw them in the cupboard a few days later.

How pleased does she look to have gotten her own way!?

Although I haven’t managed to snap any pictures as I haven’t gone with them, Izzy has been demolishing the Mamia Puree pouches whilst whizzing about town on her trike with daddy! She still loves all the different flavours but Apple & Banana is still her favourite and lasts about 5 seconds flat!

Our #Mamiasdaysout

I decided to brave baby rhyme time at Grays Library so Izzy could get out & do something fun and spend time with little ones around her own age. She decided afterwards to head upstairs to the Thurrock Museum

She absolutely loved it all but after all the excitement she was very hungry & made me stop halfway home for a snack.
Luckily I had taken the Mamia raspberry rice cakes and organic juice with us so Izzy sat on a bench & had a quick munch & a juice when she eventually let go of the bottle!

She wasn’t too impressed with the wind & really didn’t want to let go of the bottle!

We absolutely love the Aldi Mamia range and would definitely recommend it to anyone with a little one. Whether it’s the nappies, wipes, food or juices it is well worth a try. They have so many healthy food options & are so handy on the go!
Mamia makes parenting that little bit easier and cheaper too!

This post is an entry for BritMums #MamiaDaysOut Linky Challenge, sponsored by Aldi Mamia. 

 

August MS515B Bluetooth Speaker Review

You may have spotted my post offering a one day only early Christmas deal with a 40% discount on a set of August MS515B Bluetooth Speakers. Sold on Amazon for £29.95.

For sharing August Lab’s early Christmas deal I was given an awesome discount on the bluetooth speaker myself & ordered them first thing Thursday morning when the discount codes went live.

Friday morning we received our email letting us know our parcel was being delivered later that day!

This made me pretty excited as A) I LOVE opening parcels 😂😂 & B) I love listening to music! Especially when cleaning & these can easily be moved around room to room without disturbing the music!

Our parcel arrived around about 4.30pm and we quickly got the box opened up to have a look inside.

August Bluetooth Speaker

I checked the manual and got them plugged in to charge up & was really impressed by how easy they are to set up. They come with a USB lead with a split lead to charge both speakers at the same time. The speakers connect by a lead included in the box. They also have an AV in lead so you can plug them in to devices without bluetooth. So you can literally use them with anything!

I quickly got my phone connected via bluetooth to test them out and was amazed by the sound quality. They are pretty loud too! For small speakers they really do have some power. Anything with bass (when up loud) makes them jump across the side a little which really amused Eva.

We had them set up in the kitchen and the sound filled the room & we all ended up dancing in the kitchen whilst I cleaned & the Mr cooked for the girls. 

The Mr loves music too and has play-lists saved on his youtube. He eventually got bored of typing in each song on my phone. He decided to connect his phone to the speakers instead and took over with his play-lists for a good hour.

We are seriously impressed with the quality of the bluetooth speakers. Especially for only £29.95 (Unless you used my discount code 😉 ) delivered the next day even though we chose the free delivery option!

I can see these becoming one of our new favourite toys. As Eva has seen them I cant give them to her as a present. Instead I have said we can all share them.  I can see the girls using them in our room and me using them around the flat when cleaning to save having the sound system on which we currently have no remote for & have the bass up high which can be a bit much at times! 🙈🙊

I love that the girls can connect using the Tablet as well as us using our phones & pc/laptop and as they are rechargeable we can take them anywhere. I’ve yet to find a problem with them. I like that I can skip forwards and back a track using the button on the back of the main speaker.

*This is a sponsored post & I received a large discount on the speakers in return for sharing the 40% off discount post and an honest review.

Hellman’s American Smokey Barbecue Sauce

This week we recieved a bottle of Hellman’s American Smokey Barbecue sauce to try from Bzzagent!

We love Barbecue sauces so couldn’t wait to give it a go, the girl’s decided they had to try it first with their dinner & gave it a thumbs up instantly with both girls demolishing all of their dinner and Izzy attempting to lick all the sauce off her plate haha!

We love Barbecue sauces so couldn't wait to give it a go

I gave it a quick taste when the girls had dinner and was surprised there wasn’t a really strong tangy after taste. I find a lot of barbecue sauces I have to have small amounts of due to being quite tangy so it made a lovely change having such a lovely smooth flavour. We ended up making new york style chips (bacon, cheese & bbq sauce) for our own dinner and it was lovely.

I can definitely see us buying more of this sauce in the future!

Shoreditch One Review

Shoreditch one

I have a confession.. I am a smoker. I have been smoking regularly from the age of 14 unfortunately and although I tried to quit several times in the past especially when pregnant with both girl’s, I couldn’t cope and my BP went through the roof. It’s something I hope to quit eventually which is why I jumped on the chance to review A Shoreditch Vape! (E-cigarette)

Why vape? Well it’s a lot cheaper than cigarettes for starters! Plus the UK government/NHS say it is less harmful than smoking cigarettes too.

 

I’ve heard a mix of review’s on various designs but hadn’t heard of the Shoreditch Vape before so I was quite interested in finding out more about it. I got in touch with Christian who kindly offered for me to review one of their vapes & was given several options Including which of the 2 vape’s I would like, 3 flavoured E-liquids & the nicotine strength of the E-liquids.

Which Vape?

I was given the choice between a Shoreditch ONE & a Shoreditch TWO. Of course being a regular smoker it made sense for me to go for the Shoreditch ONE as it has a larger tank capacity and longer lasting battery meaning you can have 300 puffs instead of 200 which the Shoreditch TWO offers with it’s lovely slimline design.

Which 3 E-liquids & Strength?

Vape Shoreditch offers 21 flavoured E-liquids & I have to say I had quite a giggle reading the descriptions for each oil which is what made me go ahead with this review, I love a company that has a sense of humour! There is such a variety of flavour’s it took me a while to finally decide on my selection. Eventually I went for the traditional tobacco, Banana cream and Parma violet (duh! had to have a purple based selection in there somewhere & who doesn’t love parm violets!?) and decided out of the 9mg, 12mg and 18mg nicotine strength to go for the 12mg.

My box was posted Monday and as promised arrived the very next day! I was pleased the box was able to go through the letterbox so if I hadn’t been home I wouldn’t have had to go chasing up the post office. Although my 3 bottle’s of E-liquid were sealed there did seem to have been some kind of oil spillage in my box which bugged my photo-taking side no end. Admittedly nothing was ruined though and the Vape itself was sealed nicely in it’s own box. All in all I was quite pleased with my little parcel and could’nt wait to have a play!

 

The Vape happened to arrive just as we were running out of cigarettes so I quickly filled the vape up and put it all together & popped it on charge. I went or the traditional tobacco to begin with to get a feel for the vape itself.

After a short wait the vape was ready to go and I turned it on by pressing the button 5 times quickly then holding the button for each puff. I love the LCD  display showing you the battery life and how many puffs you have had.

DSCF6191

 

The taste was a lot cleaner than a normal cigarette but a bit odd to begin with but I kept going back for the odd puff when I fancied smoking but not a whole cigarette or even half (The Mr and I mostly share to save money). I’m really keen to try the parma violet next followed by the banana cream but I plan to use up the 1ml of Traditional tobacco first.

I’m interested to see if picking up the vape becomes more of a habit than smoking although I am not actively looking to give up right now perhaps having the option of the vape will at least help me cut down? I guess we will see!

Have you tried a vape before? Did you give up on cigarettes? What brand etc did you go for and how have you got on with it? I’d love to have a few reviews thrown my way 🙂

If you vape or would like to then use code GETVAPING99 for 3 bottles of e-liquid for 99p!!

**Please note I received this box and it’s contents in exchange for writing this blog post. All opinions are my own and completely honest.

Our Weekend Box Fun

We were lucky enough to have the chance to review a brand new mini Weekend box this weekend. These mini weekend boxes contain 2 full themed activities and all the bits you need to complete them.

A weekend box is an awesome little box of crafts to do with your child over the weekend that arrives via 2nd class (Posted on a tuesday) which we recieved on friday morning. Each box is themed and we recieved the rainforest theme.

We love crafts and Eva was really impressed when I showed her what had arrived for her.

weekend box fun

Eva loved the colourful box and found it funny that it matched her special My little pony rainbox dress haha! I thought it looked really fun and loved how excited Eva was over it.

We couldn’t wait to open it up and see what was inside to keep us entertained over the weekend.

Eva really enjoyed reading about each of the character’s and seeing which characters were on the packets which she thought was really cool. We decided to spread everything out on the table and see what this weekend box was really about.

There were 2 activity packs as promised along with any card needed, some collectable cards and even some vouchers to hand out to our friends for a free box!

The 2 activities stated they were of medium difficulty and would take 40 minutes to complete. Awesome naptime activities for me and Eva to do across the weekend. One activity wasto make a parrot mask and the other to grow a rainforest!

Inside the box itself there is also a certificate for the child to colour in and write their name on and keep too!

download (3)

Eva couldn’t wait to get stuck in and decided to do the mask first. I helped her cut out the mask and attatch the beak using the glue supplied then Eva got busy following the instructions making ‘feathers’, ‘gems’ and then decorating it with the crayons.

Eva spent hours flapping around the flat wearing her mask so I know she really enjoyed it and having everythting we need to hand was really helpful.

Grow a rainforest was up next. I cut a bottle in half and Eva peeled the pellets that were supplies and we soaked them in water in the bottom half of the bottle.

 

We then had to make a hole in the bottle lid and thread the string through the lid then screwed it back on the bottle. We then had to transfer the soil into the lid half of the bottle, Eva sprinkled in the seeds and we popped the lid half into the bottom of the bottle which we had also filled with water making sure the string dipped into the water.

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We completed both tasks a little quicker than 40 minutes but it was really fun doing the activities. Eva really seemed to be enjoying herself and it was so nice to just pull out the box and get going with an activity. We have a ton of craft stuff but it can sometimes be difficult to find everything we need (mummy’s poor organizing!) so I can really see the appeal of these boxes!

When I asked Eva her opinion on the activities she said ‘It was all fun, I liked making the rainforest because it was messy and I liked making the parrot mask because it was fun making it colourful and drawing rainbow’s on it’.

Mini weekend boxes usually cost £4.95 however we recieved ours free in exchange for an honest review. If you’d like to try one yourself for free then use the promo code EMBER298 when you sign up at https://www.weekendboxclub.com Please Note Future boxes will be £4.95 for Mini Box and £7.50 for a Bumper box, but you can pause or cancel your boxes if you’re not completely satisfied at any time.

Sure Maximum Protection Sensitive Dry

Being a Bzzagent means I get sent products to test & review from time to time & last week I received my latest Bzzkit to review.

Sure Maximum Protection Sensitive Dry
My Bzzkit

This time I am testing an anti-perspirant stick. I was sent the Sure maximum protection sensitive dry anti-perspirant stick which just so happens to be…PURPLE! Oh yes!

I am a fan of Sure in general I have to admit. Before testing this stick I was previously using the Sure motion sense cotton dry stick along with the Sure long lasting protection fragrance collection spray with scents of peach & wild raspberry.. My absolute favourite spray! Again the spray is purple.. Extra win for me!

image
My current Sure collection

Since I am already a Sure fan I couldn’t wait to test this new product and see what was inside the lovely little box and was pleasantly surprised by the new shape of the stick itself.

I love the purple of course but I also like the general design too. Then when you open it up it gets even funkier!

The applicator has lots of little holes the anti-perspirant stick comes up through when you turn the wheel at the base which clicks as you do so. Sure recommends 2 clicks per under arm which I gave a go and it glides nicely as you apply it and covered my armpit nicely.

I absolutely love the long lasting fresh scent it leaves when you use it. I’ve been using it for a few day’s now & even wore a knitted jumper & thick winter coat to really put the anti-perspirant to the test. I sweat quite a lot in my coat usually but was surprised when I got home & realised my pits were still dry and I still smelt fresh & lovely even after a panic attack.

Overall I love this new Sure anti-perspirant & my old cotton fresh one has been pushed to the back of the cupboard as a back up as I much prefer the one I am currently testing. I would definitely say this is the best one I have tried yet!

*All comments, views, opinions & photo’s are my own however I did receive this product free to review from Bzzagent.

Bakerdays Amazing Personalized Cakes

Last week I was sent a tweet from bakerdays asking if I would like to review one of their 5″ Letterbox cakes.
Of course, it’s cake and I couldn’t reply quick enough!

Letterbox Cake

I was curious what a ‘letterbox’ cake was so I had a look on their website bakerDays.com to see what they were all about.

BakerDays is a Personalised Celebration Cake Specialist, providing quality personalised cakes for all occasions. The delicious range of recipes and sizes are available for delivery 6 days a week, and if you order before 2pm, BakerDays can deliver the very next day! The Letterbox cake is the baby of the BakerDays family. Being just 5” in diameter, it fits perfectly through the Letterbox allowing you to surprise anyone with the most delicious personalised gift.

OK, so you can literally post cake now!? How did I NOT know about this!? Why wasn’t I informed sooner?

Picking A Cake

Luckily the lovely Emma at bakerDays responded to me quickly. All 4 of us were quickly browsing through cakes deciding which one we wanted. We all love cake here, especially chocolate cake (when we manage to grab a slice before the Mr!). So when we spotted there was an amazing chocolate chip option, we instantly knew we had to try some. Eva (5) spotted a minions cake and surprisingly chose that over frozen. She also decided she just wanted it to say Merry Christmas!

After choosing our options and Letting bakerdays know what we would like I was told it would be in the post soon. I would either receive it the following day (Saturday) or early the following week.

Quick Delivery

When my postie knocked with the box in his hand the very next morning we were all overly excited! CAKE!! I couldn’t wait to open the box and see what was inside.

Instantly I was impressed by the contents of the box. The cake itself was well packaged in a lovely ‘Just for you’ cake tin, Along with this was a Christmas cracker, a cute card and a Baker Days leaflet.

Affordable

At just £15 for a cake of this size (Letterbox 5″), I am happily planning to have several of these made up for upcoming birthdays and celebrations! I love the fact you can personalize them & get to choose from 6 delicious flavours as well as several different sizes. This is including cupcakes! (I definitely have a cupcake order for the Mr on the cards!). I just know receiving this in the post would make anyone’s day!

Well Packaged

Upon opening the tin we found the cake was in a sealed packet on a cake board inside the tin. Sticking up was a little tag to help you lift the cake carefully out of the box.

I kind of just expected a cake in a box and was quite pleased it had been packaged so well. The plastic bag keeping it fresh for upto 14 days is quite handy. Although lets face it most of us wouldn’t let a cake sit that long!

Print Quality

I was honestly amazed at the picture quality on the icing as a lot of cakes we have bought in the past have been really pixel-y (probably not a word). This is something that bugs me quite a bit surprisingly! 😂

When I showed Eva she squealed in delight and was really impressed with the cake bless her. She wouldn’t stop nagging me the entire day to try it!

We decided to cut the cake into 6 pieces.. 2 for the Mr and I and a slice each for the girls. 😉

bakerdays minion cake

I was stunned at how easy it was to cut the cake and move it onto a plate too, I can mess this up easily, yet managed to almost cleanly move both slices onto a plate. Admittedly I left some of the base on the card though.. But on the upside, it was a yummy little tester haha!

Minion cake cut into slices with 3 missing.

Our Thoughts

I couldn’t wait to try a slice after my tester and found the cake to be such a light and fluffy texture. The icing wasn’t horribly sweet and hardened, instead, it was creamy and soft. The first slice didn’t last long as it was absolutely gorgeous and was soon followed by a second slice. I would perhaps like a slightly chocolate-ier (another word that probably doesn’t exist) flavour but it was still delicious and I would happily eat it all over again!

The Mr enjoyed it too he was really impressed with the icing. He thought the texture and consistency of the cake was lovely but prefers a much chocolate-ier cake (He is a chocolate cupcake monster!). He agrees that it would be a perfect gift though, especially with the extras.

Eva couldn’t scoff down her cake fast enough! I tried to question her but all I got was ‘Mmmm’ ‘Chocolate!’ ‘Minions eeek nom’ until she was done.

More Please!

Afterwards, she said it was really soft and yummy and asked for another slice.
She was greatly disappointed the Mr & I had already scoffed 2 slices each 😬 and instantly asked if we can test another 😂

Izzy unfortunately squished a bit of her slice and shook her head but admittedly she was recovering from chickenpox and off her food, so I ended up finishing it off for her.

Half eaten bakerdays cake

Enjoyable

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed this review for Bakerdays. I will definitely be ordering more cakes with them in the future! Who wouldn’t want to get a cake in the post seriously? With so many options and ways to personalize your cake, it’s ideal for a variety of occasions.

If you would like to find out more about bakerdays cakes there are several ways to find them. You can either search the hashtag #bakerdays or visit @bakerdays on twitter; Find them Here on Facebook or go straight to their website Here.