Limited Edition Pokemon Movie Collection (Blu-ray)

December 12, 2016, 3:43 am

≫ Next: CBBC The Worst Witch Premiere

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It's Pokemon's 20th anniversary and we are celebrating it by enjoying some of the Pokemon fun! We are playing Pokemon Go, Nintendo 3DS Pokemon Sun and Pokemon Moon, and we've also watched the first 3 of the Pokemon movies from the Limited Edition Pokemon Movie Collection, sent to us to review.

The kids have completely fallen in love with Pokemon after watching the movies, and wanted their very own Pokemon more than before, because the animations has added a lot more personality to these adorable creatures! If your child hasn't seen the Pokemon animation yet, the Pokemon Movie Collection is definitely worth getting for them!

The Limited Edition Pokemon Movie Collection (RRP £29.99, PG rating, Blu-ray) comes in a tin box, containing the first 3 Pokemon Movies - Pokemon The First Movie, Pokemon the Movie 2000 and Pokemon 3 The Movie. The total running time is approximately 218 minutes and are in English.

Pokemon: The First Movie can be quite upsetting for little ones (me and both kids ended up in tears) so definitely watch this with your child.

The story is about Pokemon Mewtwo who was created using the DNA of one of the rarest Pokemon, Mew. Mewtwo was angry that human created him to be used by them, so he made it his purpose to prove his superiority, and that all DNA engineered Pokemons are stronger than the originals. By sacrificing himself, young Pokemon Trainer Ash proved to Mewtwo that human and Pokemon can be friends.

Although it was really really sad, it's our favourite Pokemon movie out of the 3.

Pokemon the Movie 2000 tells the story about a Pokemon collector disturbing the balance of nature by capturing the legendary Pokemon Moltres. His aim is to capture the other 2 legendary Pokemon Zapdos and Articuno as well to lure the Guardian of the Sea - Lugia out, which would be his priced posession.

It is down to Ash and the help from his friends and Lugia to save the world from destruction.


The graphics has improved a lot since the first movie, with a mix of 3D and 2D animation. We watched in awe how the legendary Pokemon causes havoc in the show, which was bad, but also very impressive!

In the 3rd movie, we get to see what the mysterious Pokemon Unown can do when they combined their power together! We also get to see the legendary Entei, who is in my opinion an amazing guardian.

Again the graphics has improved further and we enjoyed seeing the 3D animation mixed into the classic Pokemon drawings too.


We have thoroughly enjoyed all 3 movies, and are thirsty for more! I wonder whether I should try to find all the TV episodes as well (as they might connect the movies), or just collect the movies alone, either way, we'll be watching more of Pokemon for sure!

If you know a Pokemon Fan who hasn't seen the animations yet, you might want to introduce them to the shows too, it really adds a lot more characteristics to the Pokemon they are collecting in the games!

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CBBC The Worst Witch Premiere

December 13, 2016, 5:10 am

≫ Next: Project MC2 Ultimate Spy Bag

≪ Previous: Limited Edition Pokemon Movie Collection (Blu-ray)

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We were one of the lucky family who got to see CBBC's new show The Worst Witch's premiere last Sunday, together with the casts and their family, and we had an amazing time! Not only was the event packed with fun for the kids, the first episode was brilliant, and we can't wait for it to officially show on CBBC in January 2017! Do read on to find out more.

The Worst Witch is based on author Jill Murphy's book series of the same name, which is about a young witch (Mildred Hubble) born with natural magical talent, but didn't come from a witch's family, attending Miss Cackle's Witches' Academy and her life there.

Mildred has good intentions but can be clumpsy and is prone to accidents, hence is considered to be the worst witch in the academy. The deputy headmistress Miss Hardbroom is not pleased with her at all, although the headmistress Miss Cackle is generally understanding.

While being best friends with Maud Spellbody and Enid Nightshade, Ethel Hallow, their high-born and snobbish classmate, couldn't tolerate them.


Cast:

Mildred Hubble: Bella Ramsey
(Game of Thrones Lady of Bear Island Lyanna Mormont)

Miss Cackle: Clare Higgins
(3 times winner of Olivier Award Best Actress, Mrs. Bartlett in Downton Abbey)

Miss Hardbroom: Raquel Cassidy
(Phyllis Baxter in Downton Abbey)

Maud Spellbody: Meibh Campbell
(Voice for Bo in Happy Feet 2)

Enid Nightshade: Tamara Smart

Ethel Hallow: Jenny Richardson

Esmerelda Hallow: Miriam Petche
(Vexed)

Drusilla Paddock: Tallulah Milligan

Felicity: Dagny Rollins

Miss Bat: Wendy Craig
(Matron in The Royal)

Miss Drill: Shauna Shim
(A Thing Called Love, Dogville)

Miss Gullet: Kacey Ainsworth
(National Television Award, British Soap Award and TV Quick and Choice Awards Best Actress, Little Mo in EastEnders)

Miss Tapioca: Zita Sattar
(Anna Paul in Casualty)

Mr. Algernon Rowan-Webb: Philip Martin Brown
(Steve McDonald's therapist in Coronation Street, Tinker, Tailor, Solder, Spy)

Julie Hubble (Mildred's mum): Nicola Stephenson
(Tess Harris in Emmerdale)

You can find out more about the characters and the show on BBC's Media Centre site,.


Premiere:

The premiere was held in Manchester's Town Hall, which we think was the perfect location because the town hall itself has amazing characteristics that fits the description for a magical school. If I heard correctly, The Worst Witch was also filmed in Manchester as well as in Germany.

The activities (especially the Potion and Chanting Class!) made us feel like we were in Miss Cackle's Academy, which is a great way to prepare the children for The Worst Witch's screening.

We went fo Potion Class first, which was our favourite class that afternoon! The set up was very realistic and the kids had to touch slimy things to create their magic potions! To our surprise, CBBC presenter Karim Zeroual was there, teaching the kids how to chant their spell!

We then moved on to Crafts Class, where the kids can make a potion that bubbles, decorate goblets and candle holder that lights in a magical way, as well as get their glitter tattoos. We also caught sight of CBBC presenter Ben Shires!

I'm not sure why Clay poses like an evil wizard throughout the day, it's good that this Witches' Academy isn't that Wizards' school or we all know where he will be housed in! I also think that the kids' need more flying practise in their Flying Class!

We gathered for school dinner after all the lessons, and enjoyed some gruesome looking but delicious tasting food! Their Witches' Fingers (peanut butter mixed with chocolate chunks and minced dried fruits) is my favourite! Abby kept refilling on Garlic Eyeballs with Blood Sauce, while Clay enjoyed his Banana Ghost.


It was then the time for The Worst Witch's screening! I didn't want to spoil it for you, so I didn't take any pictures of the scenes. What I can say is that the first episode captures the audience immediately within the first few minutes, is funny, contains some really good CGI and actions, beautiful settings, and has a few tense moments as well, where you just don't want the episode to finish until it tells you what happens next!

You can however look at the approximately 6 minutes special trailer here.

I know I'll definitely be watching The Worst Witch with the kids this January. I think it is a very well produced show, with good quality CGI actions, and honestly speaking, much more appropriate for the 6 to 12 year-olds to watch. Judging from the first episode, I know that it's not going to be like a children horror that will give the kids nightmares, but has enough excitements with the right amount of impact to keep them on edge.

I have always been impressed with BBC's program choices for children on CBeebies, which has just the right of stimulation but won't over excite the kids. I don't always watch CBBC with them (just the science and history programs because I found them really interesting!), but they certainly did it right with The Worst Witch.

Make sure you stay tuned for The Worst Witch! More information can be found on CBBC's website.

So chuffed to be in a picture with CBBC presenter Katie!

Project MC2 Ultimate Spy Bag

December 14, 2016, 2:54 am

≫ Next: Paperpop.co.uk Winter Box

≪ Previous: CBBC The Worst Witch Premiere

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Have you heard of Project MC²? It's a TV series on Netflix about 4 super smart teens group together and use their science skills to save the day! As we don't have Netflix, I haven't heard of them until I was contacted about their merchandise. I loved it that the dolls are dressed appropriately, and that they aren't just fashion dolls, as each of them come with a science experiment the children can do, which brings dolls to a whole other level in my opinion!

To make Spy role-play even more fun, they've also released other Spy toys such as a Lie Detector, Adisn Journal Spy Notebook, Ultimate Lab Kit , Ultimate Spy Bag, and more! They tick all the right boxes for Abby, because she loves science experiments.

The ever so lovely PR has sent her a Project MC² Ultimate Spy Bag when she heard that Abby is interested in it. I haven't seen her jump with joy at a toy for ages, but she did when she saw the bag (if only if I was camera ready right from the start, she had an even bigger reaction then!)!

I must say that it's a very pretty bag with a lot of accessories in it, and it looks just like Adrienne Attoms' bag (at least the outside) in Project MC²!

Read on to find out more about the Ultimate Spy Bag!

Project MC² Ultimate Spy Bag (RRP £39.99, suitable for 6+) looks just like Adrienne Attoms' handbag, but by unlocking it (pulling down then out), opens up to compartments that store assorted Crime Scene Investigation equipment! These includes:

2 Test Tubes on a Test Tube Rack
2  Flasks
Perfume Blower
Lipstick Launcher
Compact Magnifier
Nail Polish Light
Pink Powder
4 Fingerprints Cards
Adrienne Attoms Top Secret Spy Guide
Instructions

There are so many fun and pretty equipment, it took us some time to familiar ourselves with everything! The Top Secret Spy Guide teaches budding spies how to:

Collect Fingerprints
Catalogue Fingerprints
Make Bubbles Distraction
Make Adrienne's Fizzy Lemonade
Launch secret messages with the Lipstick Launcher
Make Adrienne's CO² Distraction Bomb
Use the Compact Magnifier
Use the Nail Polish Light

After getting familiar with things and knowing what they can do with the Ultimate Spy Bag, they fought over getting their fingerprints catalogued! Abby was being very careful with her pink powder and you can tell that she was quite upset when Clay used too much of it for his fingerprint:"Clayyy!!! You only need a little bit!". It's lovely of her to share though!

We also attempted to make Adrienne's CO2 Distraction Bomb, which luckily we did in the sink haha! It started throwing up foam and towards the end, big bubbles popped and splashed everywhere! We had lots of fun with this!

The kids also love playing with the Lipstick Launcher, although not so much sending each other lovey-dovey messages but more shooting at each other *roll eyes*. The next thing we will try is Adrienne's fizzy lemonade, which is more a signature drink of Adrienne and helps her think during investigation.


Overall we absolutely love the Project MC² Ultimate Spy Bag and it'll definitely be played with more over the holidays. We'll also find out how else we can watch the TV series because it sounds like a great show, and I'm sure it will make Abby relate more to the Ultimate Spy Bag when she plays with it.

If you are wondering what to get the brainy girls this Christmas, do check out Project MC²'s toy range, they will definitely make a great gift for them. Some other toys in the range like the Lie Detector will even suit the brainy boys!

Paperpop.co.uk Winter Box

December 15, 2016, 1:00 am

≫ Next: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Gifts

≪ Previous: Project MC2 Ultimate Spy Bag

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I've been enticed by all the sneak peek pictures for Paperpop.co.uk's Winter Box, and it's finally here! Everything is so lovely and definitely usable! They have done really well this season and sold out all their Winter boxes before shipping! Here is what was included in the box:

Paperpop.co.uk Winter Box (£22.00, currently Sold Out, Snowglobe paperclip might become available) came with:

1 x 3 sheets of Planner Stickers from AletheiaPuku (UK Etsy Seller)
1 x 3 sheets of Planner Stickers from UrbanSweetHeartUK (UK Etsy Seller)
1 x Festive Words Gold Foil Washi Tape from SimplyGildedCo (US Etsy Seller)
1 x Autograph Crystal Pen in Candy Apply plus a black refill from PenGems (US Seller)
1 x Mint Bow Planner Charm
1 x Snowglobe Paperclip

As one of their PR team, I was also sent an additional rose gold paperclip, thank you lovelies!


And here are the slightly more detailed pictures:

The girls from Paperpop.co.uk wanted a more cute and modern theme for this festive season, so went for pink and mint as the main colour of their Winter box. It's really adorable and it fits perfectly with my Happy Planner's December colour theme too! It's just that I had to plan ahead this month so I've already decorated all the weeks, so I used mt stickers for January instead (see below).

They've also added 2 items with a more traditional colour theme - a red Crystal pen and a black and gold foil washi tape, which are items designed by other individual sellers. Paperpop.co.uk are highly supportive of individual sellers, which I think is brilliant as you'll know that you'll get some really unique items in the box that you can't find on the high street, and they are quality items too, I've tested a few crystal pens and PenGems' is one of the 2 that I have that writes really smoothly, so I'm really glad to add another one to my collection. The colour of the pen fits with my main planner colour too!


After the initial pictures, I spent some quality time playing with my new planner stationery!

The Paperpop.co.uk Winter Box has cutefied my first week of January! I absolutely love the colour combination, and the bow! It matches my pink fluffy pom pom and made it look extra cute!

It's unfortunate that my Christmas page was already decorated as there is a lot of cute stickers I wanted to use but can't. I'll be more than happy to save it for next year though! I can however still use the Snowglobe paperclip because I can do with some snow even in January!

The Snowglobe paperclip is a shaker so the sequins inside are free to roll around, making it a really cute paperclip to have! I heard that they are thinking of making more to sell, I'm not too sure, but if they do you'll have to be quick as they are all handmade items and with this busy period of time, I doubt they'll make a lot of extra!


If you missed the Winter Box, no worries, but do keep an eye out for their next box because I'm absolutely loving the theme and can't wait to start sharing some sneak peeks with you!

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Gifts

December 16, 2016, 3:00 am

≫ Next: JAKKS SpyNet Touch Watch and SpyNet Spyclops

≪ Previous: Paperpop.co.uk Winter Box

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We haven't got the chance to watch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them yet, although the little Harry Potter fan inside me would really absolutely love to! But with 2 young kids and Fantastic Beasts carrying the PG13 rating, I might wait until the Blu-ray is out (it had to be Blu-ray of course for a fantastic movie like this!).

To quench my thirst, I've been enjoying some amazing Fantastic Beasts goodies sent to me by Warner Bros UK. The quality of all the products are amazing and will make any Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts fan really happy this Christmas! I just hope that my pictures are doing them justice, the Winter lighting has always been an issue for me!

We were sent:

Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Official 2017 Wall Calendar by Danilo Calendars
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Sticker Album and Stickers by Panini
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Poster Book by Scholastic
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Character Guide by Scholastic
Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Colouring and Creativity Book by Scholastic
Harry Potter Gadget Decals by Paladone

My favourite had to be the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Sticker Album! I love collecting trading cards, but these stickers are even better because I get to stick them on the book (there is something about peeling and sticking that's really therapeutic).

To my surprise, it comes with 2 different covers. By folding the sticker album another way, it reveals a Harry Potter cover instead, and it comes with several pages of Harry Potter stickers and movie facts as well, making it a great collection for both Harry potter and Fantastic Beasts fans.

The prints are perfect using top quality paper and ink (colour and saturation) for the Fantastic Beasts' calendar, posters and character guide. I think the most intriguing item in fantasy stories are either ancient spell or history books, and maps! Although they take a small part of the whole story, it is what make a good fantasy story believable. So I was really excited to see a Fantastic Beasts map included in the box! I bet Clay will love it even more as he has a thing for maps (even if it's just a map to a theme park!)

The Fantastic Beasts Colouring Book is another one to look out for, because it's not just a colouring book! It also encourages fans to design something of their own.

Another one of my favourite, and will be kept all to myself is the Harry Potter Decals! They are so pretty, and it comes with 2 sheets of gold metallic ones! There are 27 waterproof and reusable decals, perfect to stick on gadgets or in my planner!


I'm really happy to have been sent the box of Fantastic Beasts goodies. It has certainly made me want to watch the movie more. Maybe I can convince my sister in law to go with me while the men look after the kids *grins*

JAKKS SpyNet Touch Watch and SpyNet Spyclops

December 20, 2016, 5:28 am

≫ Next: Christmas Around the World

≪ Previous: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them Gifts

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With the spy gadgets for kids we have been reviewing, our kids are really getting the feel (and fun!) of being a spy. Abby loves her Project MC² Ultimate Spy Bag, which allows her to lift fingerprints and create distractions in style, but it's the SpyNet gadgets from JAKKS Pacific that allow the kids to really get into role-playing by using high-tech spyware!

We were sent the SpyNet Eyeclops TV Microscope and SpyNet Touch Video Watch to review, and we are really impressed with the quality of both gadgets, which are being sold at a really reasonable price too.



JAKKS Pacific has a really impressive spy gadgets range - SpyNet that can really make children feel like they are James Bond or Ethan Hunt (Mission Impossible)! The gadgets have the looks, feels like the real deal (quality), and the range covers from message sending and investigations gear, to stun gun (harmless pretend play of course). You can find majority of the products here.

We had lots of fun exploring with the SpyNet Eyeclops, although we were a bit worried that we might find tiny crawling mites haha. We also cringed at seeing how our skin looks like under a 200x zoom, eeek!

It takes a bit of exploring with the SpyNet Touch Video Watch to understand all the features, but once you've checked them out with the help of the detailed instruction sheet, there is a lot of fun to be had, as it does a lot more than just recording videos and taking pictures!

SpyNet Eyeclops TV Microscope (RRP £49.99, suitable for 6+) comes with Magnification Unit (can magnify objects by 200x) that's attached to a Power Supply unit with a power switch and video cable, viewing tube and dish, and an instruction leaflet. You'll need 5 x AA batteries.

To use, simply plug the Eyeclops into the TV's video input slot, change it to the correct channel and turn the power supply on.

I really like it that there is a switch on the power supply unit so we can cut off the power without unplugging the cable. It'll be great if there is one for laptops or other bigger gadgets that comes with a power supply as well.

Top to bottom, left to right: Leaf, ribbon, skin (with tiny hair) and fingerprint Organza like material, hair (a bunch and a strand), pajama top and purple sugar candy

Once it's turned on you can jump straight into investigating things! You do need to adjust the focus by turning the I.R.I.S lens, which is the only problem we have as the range is really big and turning the lens the wrong way means that it'll take a while for you to go back to the correct focus point.

Pressing the magnification unit into the object or lifting it off slightly from it can change the focus as well as it's so sensitive. It can tire your arm by trying to keep still in mid air, but this doesn't dampen the kids excitement at all! As soon as it's working, the kids were excitedly chittering about what to look at:

"Oh let's look at my hair!"
"Let's look at Clay's skin!"
"What about this sweetie!"

while worrying about finding little bugs on our skin and surroundings. Luckily we haven't found any or it'll be a big problem for us!

The instruction leaflet also comes with a lot of ideas of what children can look at, including things around them, from outdoors and treasures like coins and notes!

Having the SpyNet Spyclops allow us to bring treasure hunt to another level. I can write tiny messages somewhere that can only be seen properly with the Spyclops!

SpyNet Touch Video Watch (RRP £49.99, suitable for 6+) is rechargable and comes with a USB dongle and instruction booklet. The watch has a touch screen, can take over 2000 photos, over 20 minutes of videos and record over 3 hours of audio.

The watch is very wearable (not too chunky), with fantastic quality for a gadget toy. The screen is bright, touch screen is responsive, and on top of allowing kids to record audio, film videos and take pictures, it also has a Spy training feature which is super fun!

A functional watch that tells the date and time too!

Camera located on the top of the watch making it possible to spy on someone discreetly!

Spy Training

Lie Detector

The Lie Detector works by recording someone's general stress level first, allowing it then to detect changes. We were telling it that the weather is lovely when it's actually really cloudy, and it immediately spotted that we were lying! We then told the truth and it recorded that too!

It is a really impressive feature, especially because it's pretty accurate, which takes the spy watch to another level!

Bug detector:

This is quite a funny feature to be included, but again we are really impressed with its accuracy! It basically scans the room for bugs and spy equipment. I'm not sure how it works, but it definitely think that there are bugs (or hamsters?!) in the hamster cage! Scanning another corner of the room results to no bugs detected.

The scanning image makes the watch super cool while it's doing it!

SpyNet Hacker and Defense are 2 mini games the kids can play on the SpyNet Touch Watch, which are great for training the kids' patience, which is one of the very important Spy skill! And it really is fun to play with too.


We like both the SpyNet Spyclops and SpyNet Touch Watch. The Spyclops allow the kids to fully explore/ investigate what they can't see, making it a brilliant educational toy to have, while having the Spy role-play fun!

We do prefer the SpyNet Touch Watch over the Spyclops a little, because for the same value, you can take the watch out with you, and it has a lot of fun features.

As a toy for RRP £49.99 each, I think they are absolutely value for money. I honestly think they are more like proper electronics/ gadgets than a toy for role-play! We are really happy with them and will certainly make a lot of use from them.

If you haven't bought all your presents yet, or are still seeking something special, whether they like playing Spy or not, the SpyNet Touch Watch and Spyclops are definitely worth considering.

Christmas Around the World

December 23, 2016, 1:04 am

≫ Next: It's almost Christmas! Num Noms Advent

≪ Previous: JAKKS SpyNet Touch Watch and SpyNet Spyclops

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2 more days to go! The kids have just finished school yesterday and are now enjoying their Christmas holiday. This year especially, we've noticed a lot of different Christmas traditions within the UK (maybe because I've been trying to look for new traditions to add to ours). It's really interesting to hear what other families do for Christmas, and how different everyone's traditions are, even though we live within the same region. It made us wonder what people in other countries do for their Christmas tradition?

Recently I came across an infographic on Christmas around the World, which I'm sure children, especially those from nurseries such as Bright Horizons Nursery who provides child care in Richmond, and primary schools will find it interesting. Gherkins in Christmas trees?! While your kids are eagerly waiting for Christmas, why not have a read with them and find out what others in the World are doing during Christmas?


I wish you all a Merry Christmas and an amazing 2017!
Angela x

It's almost Christmas! Num Noms Advent

December 23, 2016, 3:30 am

≫ Next: 2017 - Another Fresh Start

≪ Previous: Christmas Around the World

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It's almost Christmas, meaning that it's almost time for the kids to open their Christmas Eve and Christmas Day Num Noms gifts from our #NumNomsAdvent! We have been having lots of fun finding yummy treats in the giant box! You can find the Num Noms Starter and Deluxe packs the kids have opened in the first 4 days in my previous Num Noms Christmas Advent post, and here are the rest of the goodies! Well, some of them, as they've eaten some of the gifts before I can snap a picture!

We've received design your own Num Noms cards and sheet, recipe cards and 2 sets of gorgeous smelling Num Noms stickers! They smell incredible and none of us want to use them! The kids had a serious go at designing their Num Noms, and we found that it's not that easy! Well done to the designers!

Other assorted goodies includes popcorns, packets of sweets, a Santa hat that Clay adores, burger and fries erasers that Abby absolutely loves as she's been collecting them too, and a watermelon flavour lipbalm that Clay wanted to put on before school. I had to wipe it off as it was tinted haha!

We absolutely loved opening the 5 Num Noms blind packs included in the box. The kids have sensibly spread these out throughout the weeks to open instead of opening them all in the first several days (which is what I would have done!). So we found some really yummy Num Noms, with only 1 duplicate, which will be swapped with someone else to help with our collection!

We especially love the 2 Sushi Nums and our first Freezy Pop Num! We haven't found a stamp Nom yet, but we've enjoyed all the yummy flavours from the Lipgloss Noms, which are perfect for this chappy weather!

We now have 2 more to open! These were sent to us separately, so they must be really special! We can't wait to find out what's in them!

What Christmas Advent calendar have you/ your kids been opening this year?

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2017 - Another Fresh Start

January 4, 2017, 6:04 am

≫ Next: Num Noms Series 3 and Lights Series 1

≪ Previous: It's almost Christmas! Num Noms Advent

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Happy New Year!

Hope you all had a lovely break and had a great time celebrating Christmas and New Year! Our kids aren't starting school until coming Monday, which worked out well as we've managed to become ill after all the fun. So the first week of January for us is all about recovering. It gives me time to plan 2017 as well, based on the good and bad in my 2016 planning. One thing is for sure, planning ahead gets things done (for me anyway).

So, in the new year, I'd like to:

- Get healthy again (second half of 2016 has more or less cancelled out all the effort I put in in the first half)

- Save up for doing up the house and maybe for a proper holiday (basically spending money as usual, but in a different area)

- Maintain our house. I haven't been looking after the house very well, and I'm fed up with the mess. So I'm going to do something about it. I reckon if I split the jobs over the week instead of all during a weekend, it wouldn't feel like it's a chore. However, I'm not keen in spending the time tidying and cleaning at all, so we'll see..

- Instead of letting reviews take over my blog, which I have been doing, I'll write a variety of posts, which I used to do, e.g food, crafts, travel, and probably pets too.

- Blog 3 times a week instead of 5, so I can fit all the above into my schedule, and produce better quality posts as well. Judging from past experience however, this might be the first one I'll fail haha..

Anyway, I guess having a New Year Resolution is better than none, even though I might break a few. Having a target is always good! I've already set up my planners, ready for next week, which is when 2017 officially starts for me.

Are you setting a New Year resolution as well? Let's hope that we can get it done! Wishing everyone an amazing 2017!

Angela x

Num Noms Series 3 and Lights Series 1

January 5, 2017, 6:45 am

≫ Next: Geronimo Festival 2017 - Bigger and Better!

≪ Previous: 2017 - Another Fresh Start

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If you are following me on social media, you might have seen my posts on Num Noms' new releases on Christmas and boxing day - Num Noms series 3 and Num Noms Lights series 1.

We are crazy about Num Noms because they are cute, squidgy, colourful and smell delicious. They come in pairs, a Num and a Nom, with each Num belonging to a yummy category such as ice-creams, diner food and jelly beans, etc, while the Noms can be either a yummy lip gloss, cute stamp or will run wild. You can stack them on top of each other to create new flavours too.

So when we heard about the new Num Noms series, we were really excited because series 3 and Num Noms Lights comes with really exciting features!

We were sent:

Num Noms series 3 Lunch Box pack
Num Noms series 3 mystery packs
Num Noms Lights series 1 mystery packs

to review over Christmas time, which was perfect as we have received a Num Noms Lights series 1 mystery pack for Christmas day from the Num Noms Advent box, which after opening, made us wanted more from the new series!

The Num is from Num Noms Lights series, they look good together though!

Num Noms series 3 Nums are from the following new categories: Donuts, Fruits, Veggie, Marshmallow, Candy and Fiesta food, where Noms will be either erasers, lip gloss or stamps.

Series 3 mystery pack (approximately £3 each mystery pack, suitable for 3 years+) comes with a 2-flavoured lip gloss Nom, which acts as a pencil topper as well, where as the Nums can be from any of the series 3 food groups. If you are lucky, you might find the rare Glitter Surprise Gloss-Up Nom, a rare Rainbow Pop mystery scented Candy Num, or 1 of the 2 rare glitter marshmallow Nums Masha Violet or Blue Barry!

We found Georgia Peach fruit Num in one of the mystery pack and it's my absolute favourite because I love peach flavoured sweets, and this Num smells exactly like that!

Although we didn't find the rare glitter lip gloss, the normal lip gloss Nums has a pearlescent effect and they smell yummy too!

We absolutely love the Num Noms series 3 Lunch Box pack (there are 2 styles, each are approximately £18, suitable for 3 years+)! First, the lunch box itself is really cute! It has a spoon as the handle, and you can clip the box close again to use it as a storage.

And each Lunch Box Pack comes with 9 Nums, 1 mystery Num, 2 eraser Noms and 1 stamp Nom, that gives you 13 Num Noms in total!

The Num Noms included has a lot of interesting design, especially the 2 eraser Noms we received in our Lunch Box Pack - Pea & Pod, which not only stacks on top of each other, but also fit perfectly inside one of the Veggie Num - Eda Mama. That's just super cute don't you think?! I don't think we'll ever remove Pea & Pod from Eda Mama!


Apart from the extended food groups and new type of Noms, Num Noms series 3 also have other exciting merchandise coming out, including the Surprise in a Jar Num Noms plush! I can't wait for more news about them!

Abby opened the Num Noms Lights mystery pack from our Num Noms Advent box

Together with Num Noms series 3 is the launch of Num Noms Lights series 1 (approx. £3 per mystery pack, suitable for 3 years+), which comes with scented Nums from the Snow Cone, Gummy and Freezie Pop categories, and scented Noms that lights up in 2 colours (red and blue, red and yellow or blue and yellow)! We love them on their own or stack them together as it creates a different light up effect.

Num Noms Lights series 1 currently only comes in mystery packs, but they also have a Freezie Pop Maker Playset as well, which allows you to make frozen lollies (comes with flavourings) which lights up too!


We absolutely love the new Num Noms series, they definitely make our collection even more interesting! We can have the Go-Go Noms buzzing and run around the Light-Up Noms! We have fallen in love with the Jelly Beans Nums from series 2 because of the new transparent look, and there are even more transparent Nums in series 3, so we are very happy with the new series!


Our Christmas was filled with Num Noms happiness, together with what we've received above, my lovely niece *insert blow-kiss heart emoji* also gave Abby a Num Noms Lights Mystery Pack for Christmas, and Abby has also received the Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck Playset (review to follow) for Christmas, which she's been eyeing at for ages.

Our Num Noms collection has expanded so much since our last update, I'll find an opportunity to take a picture of all of them together again. We can definitely do with the rest of the collection though. Luckily the year has only just started, so there is plenty of occasions for us to collect more!

Geronimo Festival 2017 - Bigger and Better!

January 12, 2017, 4:18 am

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It's the beginning of the year and we are already busy planning this year's fun activities! At the moment we have:

Chinese New Year Celebration at the end of January (Saturday 28th January if you are interested, it'll be the year of the Golden Cockerel!)
Abby's 9th birthday party next month (We hired Sublime Science and we adults are just as excited as the kids!)

and Geronimo Festival during the Spring bank holiday! We had so much fun last year, but 1 day really wasn't enough. With the new Arley Hall site that provides a camping/ glamping ground, and a Digital Zone for older kids, it'll be bigger and better! So this year we might go for 2 day 1 night.

How stunning is Arley Hall & Gardens in Norwich Cheshire?! Although we love going to Tatton Park, this will be a fantastic opportunity for us to explore a new place.

This year, Geronimo Festival's theme is Princess, Knights and Dragons, and visitors are welcome to dress up to join in the fun! Do visit Geronimo Festival's website to find out what will be on, and there will be more to be announced too, so check back often for further updates. So far we are excited about:

• Andy Day and Alex Winters
• Digi Wall, which is a climbing wall with a computer game element!
• Flea Circus, which will be our first!
• Crafting area
• Gamers Bus! Expecting a long queue here
• Splat Anatomy, to have a go at keyhole surgery and the likes (eep!)
• Fun Fair rides
• Extreme Adventure including zip lines and high ropes. Abby loved this last year so she'll certainly visit it again
• Archery, we missed this last year!
• Science workshop and other workshops

There is a lot going on already, it's definitely bigger this year and hopefully better!

Are you interested as well? Here are a bit more details about this year's Geronimo Festival:

Date: Saturday 27th May to Monday 29th May, 2017
Where: Arley Hall & Gardens in Norwich, Cheshire
For: family with children under 13 years old (all adults must be accompanied by a child)

Early Birds Ticket Price (excluding booking fee, includes a free wristband for the Victorian Fun Fair. Purchase before the end of January 2017):
Under 2 goes for free
Saturday or Sunday only: £19.50 per person
Monday only: £16.50 per person
Saturday AND Sunday: £37.50 per person
Saturday, Sunday AND Monday: £50 per person

Parking Pass:
£10 in advance or £20 at the gate (no on street parking available, so all cars must have a parking pass. If you are going with a Campervan/ Caravan, please read their Camping FAQ regarding parking)

Add On (on top of Geronimo Festival's 2-3 days weekend tickets) - Camping/ Glamping:
Camping Pass (covers up to 3 nights camping, maximum 4 ticketed visitors and 1 infant, 1 tent): £55
Campervan/ Motorhome/ Caravan Pass: £80

As there are quite a bit of details regarding the tickets and camping/ glamping, I'd highly recommend you to

1. read through the ticket details carefully
2. make sure you've selected the correct tickets for the day you are going (they are not changable)
3. make sure you've selected the parking pass for the correct day
4. read through the FAQ and Camping FAQ on the website

and if you have any doubt, contact them before purchasing.


We spent the whole day from before the gates opened until the festival closed for the day last year, you can read more about our experience here. There is going to have even more things happening, there bound to be something for everyone. Just be prepared for all the weather (wellies and rain coats, sunscreen and hats, etc), and perhaps pack some food as well if you aren't keen in possible queues, and you'll have plenty of family fun (it's all about the kids but all the adults we saw were having fun too).

After January, ticket prices will be from £20 per person. If you have missed out the fun last year and wish to go this year, do make the most of the early bird tickets.

Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck

January 13, 2017, 1:00 am

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≪ Previous: Geronimo Festival 2017 - Bigger and Better!

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We are almost half way through January now (the days seem to go quicker even though they say that the Earth is rotating slower!), but I'd like to throw back to Christmas as Abby has received an awesome present that she's wanted for a while - the Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck (suitable for 3 years +, RRP £29.99)! Not only because it's Num Noms, which is one of her most favourite collectibles, but she can make her own lip glosses and use them to nourish her lips, which are always chappy, so it really is the perfect gift for her!

Look at how happy she is? And look at how big the truck actually is! The whole packaging and how they feature all the parts make it look really good and we actually sat staring at every detail for a bit before we took everything out. And then the kids fought (on Christmas day!) because Abby refused to share with Clay. She absolutely loved it and want it only for herself (it is her present after all). I don't blame her, but now Clay is asking us to get him another one (it's a no)!

We almost forgot to check out the ultra rare special edition Num - Cherry Scoop that came with the Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck! It's as cute and smell as yummy as all the other Num Noms, but we agreed that the Noms are definitely the focus here. And the ingredients for making the lip glosses!

The Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck is the cutest ice-cream truck! The wheels do turn, and there are 2 seats for the Nums to sit, so children can role-play with it as well as making their own lip glosses.

The decorations on the top of the truck aren't just for the cuteness! The removable cupcake is where you will mix the lip gloss with the flavours and glitters, and the bunny can be removed to reveal the piping compartment, where you will put your mixed lip gloss in to pipe it into the lip gloss Nom containers.

For making the lip gloss, you will need the lip gloss that comes sealed in a pink tub, the Noms lip gloss containers, the glitter shaker and the 2 lip gloss squeezy flavourings - cherry and vanilla. Everything is just so adorable!

To make your own lip gloss, simply mix a scoop of lip gloss, flavouring and glitter in the cupcake container, and use the cherry cocktail scoop to stir. Scoop the mix into the piping compartment, place an opened lip gloss Nom container underneath, and press the bunny stick into the piping compartment to squeeze the lip gloss out in a swirl pattern.

You can also scoop the mixture straight into the lip gloss Nom containers of course.

Make sure you don't make a lot in one go as the lip gloss Noms can only hold a small amount in the container, and you need even less on your lips. So the tub of lip gloss will last for a good while!

It's very easy to clean everything, either wipe it down with a wet wipe, or use warm soapy water to wash the containers. Each of the ingredients has its place inside the truck as well, so it's very easy to tidy everything away for next time, and it look so good!

We love everything about the Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck! The only problem I have is that for the first time, the kids want one each!

Although Christmas is over, I think that the Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck will make a great birthday present as well. We had so much fun with it, it's definitely value for money!

Nintendo Switch - First Impression

January 19, 2017, 5:18 am

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≪ Previous: Num Noms Lip Gloss Truck

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We've been keeping our eyes open for news about Nintendo's latest console - Nintendo Switch since October last year when we first heard about it, so I was thrilled to find out that I was invited to attend the Nintendo Switch UK Premiere, and be one of the first to try out the Nintendo Switch.

You can find most of the details about the Nintendo Switch on social media now, but there seem to be quite a mixed view out there, with some that, in my opinion, aren't necessary useful if you are looking for information to help you decide whether it's worth buying a Nintendo Switch.

To know if you need a Nintendo Switch (or any other consoles), it's good to figure out what the brand (Nintendo) is offering you, what kind of games they offer, what 3rd party developed games that is available on the console, and who the main users are.

For us, for example, our main users are our 2 young kids. They love cute and fun games, and they love playing together as a family. So for us, Nintendo is more suitable for us, because they offer a lot more games that are children and family friendly. Even if a kiddy game is remotely violent, it's done subtly that the focus of the game isn't the fighting. They offer games for adults as well which I love, and the graphics and soundtrack are quite stunning for their latest Legend of Zelda games, meaning that they are there with their specs. There is plenty of 3rd party developed games that will work with it too.

Now the only question left for us is whether we need to upgrade our Nintendo Wii U to the Nintendo Switch.

Although you can find the information elsewhere, I'd still like to post this up and share with you, and how we see the Nintendo Switch from a "family and kids priority"gamer's point of view. Perhaps you can use this as a guide and see how it applies to you?

Me and Eileen from ET Speaks from Home had plenty of fun trying out new games that will be released on Nintendo Switch, using of course, the Nintendo Switch! Some fun games really get us exercising and I was absolutely knackered after 3 games! I can totally visualise playing the games with the kids and have lots of laughter though (more about the games below)!


I have learned quite a bit about the Nintendo Switch, and the rest I tried to find out from the Internet. Here are what I know so far:

Launch date: Friday 3rd March 2017, can be pre-ordered now
Price: UK RRP £279.99
Version:
Nintendo Switch with Grey Joy-Con Controllers or
Nintendo Switch with Neon Blue and Neon Red Joy-Con Controllers (Nintendo UK's store pre-orders are currently out of stock for this version already!)

Comes with:

• Main Nintendo Switch Console (some call it a tablet)
• Joy-Con L and Joy-Con R controllers
• Joy-Con Grip (to connect Joy-Con L and Joy-Con R and turn them into one controller)
• A pair of Joy-Con wrist straps
• Nintendo Switch Dock (holds the Nintendo Switch console and connects it to a TV)
• HDMI Cable
• AC Adapter

Accessories can be bought separately

3 Modes to Play:
TV mode where you dock the Nintendo Switch, switching the screen to the TV

Tabletop mode where you can prop the main console on the table, and players can use 1 part of the Joy-Con controller to play together/ against each other

Handheld mode where you attach both Joy-Con controllers onto the main console and play it like a handheld console

Joy-Con Controllers:

• Depending on the game, can be used together for 1 player, or split and used by 2 players
• They are much thinner and smaller than the Wii controllers. Very light weight as well, making them much easier to use (the more important that you use the Joy-Con straps to avoid it from flying off your hand)
• Left Joy-Con controller has a Capture Button to take instant screenshots
• Right Joy-Con controller includes an NFC touchpoint for interaction with amiibo figures (works with Skylanders' figures too! No more additional platform to reach out to), and an IR Motion Camera that can detect the distance, shape and motion of nearby objects in specially designed games (e.g Rock, Paper, Scissors!)
• Both Joy-Con controllers include advanced HD rumble, which can provide compatible games with subtle vibrations. For example, I was milking a cow (I know!) in the 1-2-Switch game, and I can feel how much milk I got from a squeeze through the vibration

Expandable storage: although internal storage is only 32MB, it can be expanded by using unlimited MicroSD cards with storage size up to 2TB each

Resolution: The Nintendo Switch Tablet has a 720p 6.2 inch screen, and resolution can go up to 1080p when it's docked and connected to a TV

Batteries:
Main Console: Depending on the game, it can go from 2 to 6 hours unplugged. It recharges using the USB-C port
Joy-Con controllers:
Uses non-removable 525 mAh batteries that will last up to 20 hours.
They are charged by attaching them onto the main console, and charging time can take up to 3.5 hours.
A Joy-Con Charging Grip (not the same as the Joy-Con Grip that's included with the Nintendo Switch pack) that can be bought separately will charge the Joy-Con controllers as well.

Local Wireless Play:
Up to 8 Nintendo Switch can be connected using the same wireless network to play together

Region-locking:
No region-locking

Online Play:
It's currently free, but a monthly fee will be in place later in the year.



First Impression:

We absolutely love the idea of a hybrid console. We can use the TV screen to play family games like Mario Party or Mario Kart, and when time comes for us to take the TV back, we can "kick" the kids aside without stopping the game. They can continue playing in handheld console mode. This was one of the best feature from the Nintendo Wii U, and we are glad that they have kept it.

Nintendo took it a step further and now the kids can even move to another part of the house to continue their game, without breaking the game's connection (Clay tried taking the Nintendo Wii U Gamepad with him to the toilet haha!). They can also put the console down and play with the Joy-Cons, so they won't be fighting over the screen.

The Nintendo Switch overall is much thinner and lighter than the Nintendo Wii U Gamepad, making it much easier for the kids to hold (Clay struggled with the Gamepad, although he loves it). It's less tiring to use the Joy-Con controllers than the Nintendo Wii controllers too, just make sure that the kids use the strap. You can buy individual Joy-Cons to replace a broken one for (RRP) £39.99, but it's of course best to make sure that they will last for as long as they can.

Some said that the battery duration for the Nintendo Switch is too short. I never think about this really because we seldom play for hours without taking a long break, but when we do, we are normally at home. We'll have to actually take the Nintendo Switch on holiday to see how this affect us.

Batteries for the Joy-Con controllers however is a massive upgrade for us! I know that, like all lithium-ion batteries, they don't last forever, but it's a great news for us because OMG the time we spent finding AA batteries that has some juice left! And we ended up spending lots on rechargeable's and non-rechargeable's too.

No Regional-locking can be a very exciting thing for us. I'm not sure if we will buy games from abroad, but if there are some really good titles not available in Europe, this will be great! I'm more excited about finding out if we can play the same games with family and friends in Asia!

The Nintendo Switch has removed the second screen feature we really enjoyed using when playing games on the Nintendo Wii U. I'm a bit disappointed about it because I thought it was a great feature that has a lot of potential. But then I guess it won't really affect a lot because the games we tried at the premiere didn't use it and the idea of "how I wish it has a second screen feature" never came up either.

You can buy additional Joy-Cons controllers for additional players, but it seems quite expensive (RRP £69.99). However, if you think about it, the price will cover 2 controllers, so if you play Mario Kart 8 Deluxe for example, that will be another 2 players sorted. The spare Joy-Cons can also act as part of a Joy-Con rotation, so that when 2 ran out of batteries, you still have another 2 to play with. So I'm a bit 2-minded here about the price.

I wonder if you can charge a pair of Joy-Con while playing with the other at the same time? There is also another option - buying the Joy-Con Charging Grip (RRP £24.99) so you can keep all 4 Joy-Cons charged at the same time. But do we really need it? We will have to find out.

At the moment, it's free to play online, but there will be a subscription fee for online play later this year. It's not something that is affecting us at the moment as we don't play online. But when a great online game comes along, we will look further into this.

Price wise, I think Nintendo Switch deserves the upgrade because it's the first hybrid console out there, allowing gamers to switch from TV to handheld and continue playing the game on the go. The extra sensitive controllers and motion camera means that it can sense your motions and movements even better than using a sensor bar on top of the TV (you can "probably" play Just Dance in a plane!). They've improved the size of the console, took away our AA batteries struggle, and the graphics is great (on the console screen as well).

Games:

Finally, the games! I had so much fun at Nintendo Switch UK premiere! We played a few games, had some yummy warm food, and then played some more. It's definitely a great opportunity to try a bit of everything while understanding the Nintendo Switch a bit more.

Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild queue!

I regretted not queuing up for Legend of Zelda: breath of the Wild. After all it's been the game I was really looking forward to, and trying it out on Nintendo Switch would be another awesome experience. From what I saw though, the graphics look absolutely stunning and smooth! The world is massive! I seriously can't wait for it to come out and try it out myself. It will be released on the same day as the Nintendo Switch.

Super Mario Odyssey

Another game me and the kids are looking forward to is Super Mario Odyssey. Mario will be leaving his Mushroom Kingdom and go on an adventure in an exciting world! And he'll be removing his cap for the first time! The game is still under development so wasn't available for trial, but the trailer looks amazing! It will be released later in the year.

Snipperclips

A game that we almost overlooked was Snipperclips - Cut it out, together! and I was so glad that we gave the game a go. It's the perfect game to train your kids to work together while having fun, and I'm determined to get it for my kids. It'll also provide quality time spent together as a family while we try to solve the puzzles together!

Basically, players are to cut each other's character into different shapes to solve each puzzle. It's one of the more relaxed game where you get plenty of discussion (and perhaps arguing) moments while trying them out. This will be released in March as well in Nintendo eShop.

Arms

I'm also glad to have given Arms a go, although my arms felt like they were going to fall off after haha. In simple terms, it's a colourful, 3D fighting sport game (using elements of boxing and shooting games), where players can extend their character's arms by throwing your own arms forward (each hand holding a Joy-Con controller), and your punching movements will all be logged accurately too.

What I didn't realise until I watched the Nintendo Switch presentation is that, when your own arms swing and circle around (like when you are really giving someone a punch from the side), your character's arm will do exactly that too! So in some way, you can see this as a boxercise game! I'll definitely want to try this game out again, and it'll be hilarious with the kids (just don't face each other!)

The game will be available in Spring 2017.

Splatoon 2 and Mario Karty 8 Deluxe

Apart from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Splatoon 2 and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe both had queues at the Nintendo Switch UK Premiere. They are the most anticipated Nintendo games that are available to trial so no surprise there really.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is basically Mario Kart 8, plus new characters , revamped Battle mode with new courses. There are also new skills. It'll be released on 28th April for RRP £49.99.

Splatoon 2 will come with new stages, fashions and weapons, can use gyro controls to aim their ink, and it supports voice chat using the new Nintendo Switch smart device app (available in Summer). Splatoon 2 will also be released this Summer.

1-2-Switch

1-2-Switch reminds me of Nintendo Wii and Nintendo Wii U's mini games pack, which are more sport based (tennis, golf, etc). 1-2-Switch however encourage players to look at each other rather than the screen, so there are more interactions between players in real life.

We tried Copy Dance, where players take turn to copy each other's moves and see who does it best (the HD Rumble in the Joy-Cons made them sensitive enough to know). Milk was funny yet a bit weird too! You sit opposite of each other and try to milk more than the other person! Quick Draw is the funniest I think, where players are to look at each other and whoever draw their gun first wins.

1-2-Switch will be released together with Nintendo Switch on 3rd March.


Third Party Developed Games:

3rd party developed games Not in the picture: Just Dance

Third-Party Publishers that'll be releasing games on Nintendo Switch:

Including:
Activision Publishing Inc
Electronic Arts
Take-Two Interactive
Ubisoft
Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment
Major Japanese Publishers

Some publishers such as Bethesda Softworks will be joining Nintendo for the first time

Major franchises will be appearing on Nintendo Switch including:
EA Sports FIFA
The Elder Scrolls
NBA 2K
Minecraft
etc

Just Dance:
I didn't take a picture of this but I think it's worth mentioning. The Nintendo Switch has its motion camera embedded inside the Joy-Con (R) controller, so there are no sensor bar required like for the Nintendo Wii U, and you can play games like Just Dance without bothering yourself about your distance to the TV or console. You can just dance away and it takes on a much more accurate movement than the sensor bar did. And that's from what I saw at the Nintendo Switch UK Premiere.


So far me and the kids are really impressed with the Nintendo Switch, and we are excited about some of the games that will be released with it. We can't wait for it to come out!

Gel-a-Peel #DesignaDiary

January 24, 2017, 1:00 am

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≪ Previous: Nintendo Switch - First Impression

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If you've read my Gel-a-Peel posts, you might have realised by now that I did most of the crafting with them. It's not that Abby doesn't like them, but I basically took over all the Gel-a-Peel products *no shame*. I love the colours, how easy they are to use, patterns and hardwares. It also reminds me of piping cream and icing, which I quite love doing!

There is so much you can do with Gel-a-Peel apart from making jewellery. I made a 3D rose, Christmas baubles and decorated a Christmas stocking with them too. And this time, I participated in their #DesignaDiary challenge!

I was given a Gel-a-Peel Neon Kit and a hot pink 2017 diary to decorate, to show you what else you can do with Gel-a-Peel.

At first I was a bit worried that the Gel-a-Peel colours won't stand out on the hot pink diary, but they did and I'm really chuffed with my design. It turned out way better than I expected!

I really love it! I'm currently into florals and pinks, although in a lighter tone that's more Spring. This diary has a very Summery feel, but I'm sure I'll be using this a lot during the hotter days. Maybe I can use it as our Summer Holiday Journal!

As you can see, you don't have to limit yourself with jewellery making with Gel-a-Peel. There is so much more you can do with them! I love Gel-a-Peel's little projects, I can't wait to see what they have in store next!

You can buy Gel-a-Peel products from all good toy stores under the crafting section no doubt.

The £2 Challenge

January 31, 2017, 1:00 am

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≪ Previous: Gel-a-Peel #DesignaDiary

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Voucherbox.co.uk has teamed up with UK based charity Zamcog and set up a £2 challenge - feed each person in your family for £2 per head per day.

It costs £2 to feed and educate a child in Zambia every day, which is also the approximate amount of money children who are in poverty in the UK get to spend on food and drinks. We and other bloggers were invited to take on the challenge in an effort to change the way we think about food. By taking up the challenge, Voucherbox.co.uk will donate £50 to Zamcog to help the charity continue their goal of supporting Zambia's most at-risk children.

So a couple a weeks ago, we spend a Saturday where we are all together to do the challenge.

Breakfast: Golden Syrup Porridge with water, tea and coffee - £1.12
Lunch: Plain instant noodles with soup and water   -£1.80
Dinner: Tuna, Sweetcorn and Seaweed Pasta and water - £5.05

Total spent: £7.97 for 4 person

It was easy for us with drinks as we mostly drink water anyway. I did have a tea and hubby had a coffee, which turned out to be cheaper than we thought, but we could imagine it adding up if you drink more than a cup a day.

The main issue we had was to carefully plan our meals and weigh the ingredients, to make sure that we wouldn't spend over £2 per person for the whole day on food and drinks. Breakfast and lunch has taken up more from the budget than expected as we didn't plan well in advance. We would have probably saved up more if we went for toasts for breakfast. It also made us realise that instant noodles, although simple and plain, was actually a luxury (£0.45 per person), and it's not even nutritious.

Dinner however was sumptuous and packed with nutrients, but only cost the 4 of us £5.05. For another 20p it could easily cover both our lunch and dinner, bringing our total spending down to £6.17.


Thoughts:

It's not impossible to eat well for £2 per person for a day, provided that you do a very careful meal planning. I knew that we and many people are very spoilt, we can eat until we feel full and don't need to carefully weigh ingredients to make sure we are within budget. By taking up the £2 challenge, it showed us that money and food could have lasted us longer if we plan carefully.

We also noticed that, to eat something healthy and filling, as well as tasty, seasonings are a necessity.


Many times we would wonder if donating £2 can really help someone. We now know that we can actually feed someone for the whole day, so even if we can only donate a small amount, it will make a bigger difference than we think. By taking up this challenge and writing this post, Voucherbox.co.uk will donate £50 to Zamcog, which means that we have just fed 25 children for a day, or a child for 25 days. It covers education in Zambia too. So it was definitely worth doing.

I am supposed to tag fellow bloggers to take on this challenge, but instead, I'd like to challenge any of my blogger friends who've read this to take on the £2 Challenge and help with what we can.

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HelloFresh Recipes Box - Family Box

February 2, 2017, 1:00 am

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It's February and I still haven't settled back into our normal routine. I miss the week when we reviewed HelloFresh's Family Box because I didn't have to think about what to cook or go shopping! Look at all the goodies we got from 1 box (4 meals for 4 people worth of food):

It has been busy so I only just got the chance to write the review up.

Basically, HelloFresh is a food subscription box service, where you pay a weekly subscription fee (depending on what box you go for), and they'll deliver your food on the date you chose.

The box choices and their prices are (per week):

Classic Boxes:
3 meals for 2 person £39 (£6.50 per meal per person)
3 meals for 3 person £49 (£5.45 per meal per person)
3 meals for 4 person £59 (£4.90 per meal per person)

(An option for 5 meals are also available)

Family Box:
3 meals for 4 person £57 (£4.75 per meal per person)
4 meals for 4 person £64 (£4 per meal per person)

Veggie Boxes:
3 meals per 2 person £36 (£6 per meal per person)
3 meals for 4 person £57 (£4.75 per meal per person)

Delivery dates are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday, and you can change your subscription (cancel, change date, pause subscription for holiday, etc) any time before midnight on the Wednesday prior to the week of your next scheduled delivery.


We were sent a Family Box with 4 meals to review, which was delivered on the day I chose, and because I wasn't in, left at a safe place for me to pick up after.

This was my first food subscription box and it was definitely a surprise. It was a big box, and came with 4 paper bags, 1 plastic padded bag, an envelope, recipe cards and another paper bag. It actually reminded me of an advent surprise box I've received for Christmas which came with wrapped up surprises!

The first thing I opened was the leaflets in the envelope, telling us how to recycle the packaging materials etc, and then the Recipe Folder, which props up (see pictures below)! I was really excited about this as not only does it holds all their recipes in the folder, but when you cook, you can fold the folder into a stand, so you can read the recipe with ease without even removing it from the folder. How clever?

The recipes has clear ingredients list and step-by-step picture instructions. Instructions are written in a way so that you'll be prepping and cooking at the same time, instead of prepping everything before you start cooking. This saves time, although you won't have time to do the dishes in between. This isn't a problem at all of course, especially for those who has a dishwasher.


Each paper bag holds ingredients for each meal, and the ingredients that need to be refrigerated, including meat and dairy produce are kept cold inside the plastic padded bag. It comes with ice as well, so together they can keep your ingredients cold for long enough until the evening when you can put them in the fridge.

The quality of the produce are good, some like sauces are from familiar brands, and meat are from local butchers. The meat are good cuts as well.

Depending on what the produce is, meat expiry varies from 3 (prawns) to 5 days (chicken for example), which is about right for quality fresh meat. We kept them in the fridge and made sure that we used the prawns soon, and everything was still good to eat. If you think that you might not have cook them within the dates (maybe you have a dinner date, for example), you can always put them in the freezer and defrost on the day.

Greens are very fresh as well and kept well in the fridge for the whole week. Normally my store bought potatoes would have sprouted by the end of the week, but the ones from the box kept really well.

Although you will only be given the exact ingredients needed for your recipe (2 cloves of garlic instead of a whole bulb, for example), which I actually appreciate as it takes the weighing and measuring away, the amount of ingredients is very generous and we had leftovers for all 4 meals. We only have 2 young kids, but I think that the Family Box will suit different family age combination.


HelloFresh recipes can be found on their website, and they are quite good really. There are things not all of us are keen on, but that's the thing about trying out new recipes, even if not a subscription box. You try something, note down what you like and don't like about it, and change it to your liking for next time. There are definitely next time with the recipes we were given.

With HelloFresh food subscription box, you really get to try new dishes without having to wonder which new recipe to try next, because it's already chosen for you. It's perfect for those who are happy to try out new things or are seeking out new flavours (or for those who really aren't fussed and just want HelloFresh to sort everything out for you). We have discovered lentils and creme fraiche for example.

The following are the recipes we've tried:

I didn't read the recipe properly and used all the marinate on the pork. It was still good though!

I have always wanted to try using honey mustard, so the first recipe I tried out from our family box was the Honey and Mustard Pork with Lentils. I will definitely cook it again, but perhaps without the vinegar and sage due to personal taste.

I was very impressed with how I can whip up a meal for 4 using just 2 apples, 2 trimmed celery sticks and 2 carrots for the lentils. It didn't sound like a lot (I would have added a lot more than a couple of each) but it was actually plenty for the 4 of us!

Also, I never liked celery or use apples in savoury dishes, but I love them in here and I'll definitely use them again.

Hubby was very keen in cooking the Prawn and Serrano Linguine, and he said that HelloFresh has changed the way he will cook pasta from now on - add the stock while boiling the pasta and use that for the sauce as well.

We have always been told to use a cup of pasta water for the sauce, but this is definitely better because the pasta becomes really tasty as well. The only thing the kids complained was the chilli, so we will cook this again without the chilli (plus more meat because we love our protein hehe). We will also use Creme Fraiche more often.

There is a lot of ingredients with the Mexican Chicken Wrap with Appley Beetroot Slaw and Potato Wedges, and we all absolutely loved the chicken, homemade wedges and wrap. Me and hubby are happy to eat the slaw as well, although the kids weren't too keen. We will still cook this again next time, but perhaps change the yogurt to salad cream in the slaw.

Apart from the fresh parsley and fennel seeds, we loved everything from the Italian Pork and Tomato Risotto. This is the first time I took a sausage apart and used the meat for cooking, and it's such a brilliant idea! I don't know why I never did it, it really made life much easier and the meat is already nicely seasoned.

The risotto, like any risotto, does take some patience to cook as you'll have to look after it during cooking, but it really was delicious.


I think HelloFresh food subscription box is a great idea. It's perfect for those who are too busy to do food shopping and think of what to cook. It's even great for family where normal cooking and shopping is involved, because it allows the one who's cooking to take a week off (using it's flexible subscription to pause and start whenever you want). You have a choice of 3 to 4 meals too, so if you just wanted to cook for half a week, or you have dine out plans, you can use Hello Fresh to sort the other half of your week out.

The ingredients' quality are great, and you don't need to be bothered about weighing and measuring things (apart from water). You can adjust the seasonings yourself, and not use the ingredients if you aren't keen, or add some that you do like, depending on how involved you want to be really.

I also think that HelloFresh will be perfect when we need to empty our fridge (days before long holidays, for example), but don't want to spend all our money on junk food. I wonder if you can ask them to deliver to your self catering holiday within the UK as well, wouldn't that be fantastic?!

LEGO Batman Movie Merchandise

February 4, 2017, 1:00 am

≫ Next: Golden Bear 2017

≪ Previous: HelloFresh Recipes Box - Family Box

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One more week until the LEGO Batman Movie is out! We are soo excited because we love the LEGO Batman and LEGO Justice League DVD series, as well as The LEGO Movie. The kids loved them so much that they must have seen each of them for more than 5 times! We don't always go to the cinema, but for this we will definitely go (I didn't dare to tell them that we missed the awesome media preview as I already upset hubby by telling him haha...).

The kids are extra excited because we've received an amazing box of LEGO Batman Movie goodies from LEGO and Warner Bros UK, thank you so much! Everything except one item in the box are available to buy, so we did an unboxing video to show you what we've received:

and here is our review:

By allowing the kids to get their hands on the products, 3 items were broken into and 2 misplaced when I took this picture, so I had to do some editing! We've received:

LEGO Batman Movie Minifigure Pack
LEGO Batman Movie Harley Quinn Key Light
LEGO Batman Movie Robin Link Watch
LEGO Batman Movie Jokers Mad House Poster
LEGO Batman Movie The Essential Guide
LEGO Batman Movie The Joker Balloon Escape
LEGO Batman Movie The Batmobile
LEGO Batman Movie The Scuttler
LEGO Batman Batarang

There are 20 LEGO Batman Movie minifigures from the series, and we've found Commisioner Gordon in our pack. Looking at the collection there are some really fun ones to collect, including Fairy Batman (?!), Vacation Batman (that batduck ring!), Nurse Harley Quinn (cute!) and The Eraser. It would be awesome to have them all! RRP is £2.99 each.

The LEGO Batman Movie Key Light assortment by Re:creation Ltd are RRP £7.99 (age 5+), and features Batman, Batman Glam Rocker, Batman Kimono, Batgirl, Harley Quinn that we've received, and The Joker. Batman, Batman Glam Rocker and Batman Kimono, like the Batman in the LEGO Batman Movie, has light up eyes feature, whilst Batgirl, Harley Quinn and The Joker has poseable arms and light angling legs.

We received Harley Quinn from the box, but I was given the new Batman at the Toy Fair. We have the previous Batman version too (the new for Spring 2017 LEGO Batman has a utility belt). They make perfect key rings and look great on school bags too, I just had to remind Clay not to shine the light into anyone's eyes, including his own.

There is a collection of LEGO Batman Movie Maxi Posters by Pyramid, measuring 61cm x 91.5cm (RRP £3.99) and we were sent the Joker's Mad House. I think it's quite cool, and me and Abby are intrigued by the crossed out Wayne Manor, wondering if it hint to anything related to the movie! Clay is a bit scared of The Joker though bless him.

Brilliant quality and print, definitely worth keeping an eye out for them!

The LEGO Batman Movie: The Essential Guide by DK books (RRP £9.99) is the essential item fans should get especially after watching the movie! I stopped the kids from peaking, but I did of course and it looked amazing! I'm looking forward to reading this with the kids.

We bought Clay the LEGO Batman version of the LEGO Minifigure Link Watch by Clic Time (RRP £19.99) last year for his birthday, and we were really happy to find LEGO Batman Movie Robin in our press goodie box! We love how you can change the colour pattern by clicking the pieces together, just like you would with LEGO. You can also get The Joker and Batgirl version of the watch.

I built thisLEGO Batman Movie The Joker Balloon Escape set (70900, RRP £11.99) because I love the balloons, but after completion, I was more attracted to the bomb, because it's one very sophisticated LEGO bomb! And you can "blow up" the silo too! The kids said that the balloons reminded them of lollies. I should have known.

Oh, and we saw a page in the manual showing us that The Joker Balloon Escape can be a part of a bigger set! By collecting the 3 sets shown in the picture (70900, 70901 and 70902) you can build a power station!

Clay has chosen to build the LEGO Batman Movie Batmobile (RRP 70905, RRP £54.99) because well, it is THE Batmobile. This one has a very different design, but can be transformed into 3 modes: Race mode, Parallel-parking mode (it's a very handy mode to have!) and Monster Truck mode, which we didn't notice until we finished building it:

Clay was super excited to find out about the Monster Truck mode, which is also his favourite mode. The Batmobile has been built for days and it's still in one piece, so I'm guessing that he really likes it (otherwise he will remove certain pieces from a set for his own creation instead).

The recommended age for this set is 8+, and there is a good reason for it. Clay has given it a very good go, and did do a lot of it by himself, but there is quite a lot to build, and he needed help with certain parts that require stronger fingers to put together. He had lots of fun doing the rest though, especially when one of us was willing to help him find the pieces!

The LEGO Batman Movie: The Batmobile set comes with 5 minifigures, I wonder how the Kabuki Twins are related to the movie?

And that awesome Batman Merch Gun Robin is holding, which is created by attaching the bottom bit to an existing LEGO gun piece, made me wonder if the designer of that LEGO gun piece has already thought of the possibility that it can be expanded by attaching something to it? The LEGO bricks designers always intrigue me with their creations, and the LEGO master builders can always find a new use for classic pieces too. It's really fascinating!

The Batmobile in the LEGO Batman Movie is a 2 seater, and one of the space is for Robin! Now that's rare!

Absolutely love the details of the Batmobile.

The LEGO Batman Movie Batmobile can also shoot the roof off for quick escape! The mechanism for this is quite interesting, not one we have seen before. Instead of pulling or pushing the lever at the back of the Batmobile (marked with a purple piece), you turn it to pop the roof.

The LEGO Batman Movie range, especially the bigger sets, uses quite a bit of the above pieces for the sets. What's normally LEGO gold bricks are now black bricks that provides details on LEGO Batman's vehicles, and we saw quite a bit of the clear 2 dot pieces being used as well, which we lost a couple already because they are a bit hard to find on our cream carpet haha.

We've also noticed a new LEGO piece combination that allow parts to bend by each click (it makes a click sound when it turns an angle further). It could be a common LEGO brick, or even LEGO Technic brick we aren't sure, but it's new to us anyway, and we like it! It does take stronger fingers to snap them together though so younger children will need some help here.


We found the LEGO Batman Movie The Batmobile set really cool, but The LEGO Batman Movie The Scuttler was the set that impressed us most:

Right: I realised we haven't taken an open box picture for The Scuttler until we were half way through!

The LEGO Batman Movie: The Scuttler (70908, RRP £84.99) comes with 6 LEGO minifigures, including one of Abby's favourite villain Poison Ivy, and LEGO Robin with pants on! Look at the gorgeous details on Poison Ivy's hair. I'm also very impressed with LEGO Batman's facial features. This is the first time I noticed why he's wearing a bandana, and we had many LEGO Batmans before this one! How clever is it to use his eyebrows as eyes when he's wearing his mask?!

The main creation in the set is of course The Scuttler. We have been wondering what it was by looking at the box. We initially thought it was shaped like a bug, but the more we built, the more it looks like a gorilla with long arms and short legs. It even has ears!

There was a lot of details put into The Scuttler, and I'm really surprised because I was expecting a lot of bigger unique components, which makes them easier to build. But there was a lot of classic components mixed with LEGO Technic instead, so for younger children it can be harder to build (recommended for age 9+), but for us, this is exactly what we love about LEGO.

Because of the LEGO bricks used, not only is The Scuttler really detailed, it has a lot of features as well.

The Scuttler's head, ears, arms and hands, legs and feet are all bendable, which made us realise that it's not a vehicle, but a robot.

LEGO Batman sits in the head, with movable steering panel (I think!). The windscreen opens, and it has side doors as well.

It carries a dangerous looking weapon in the rear, and there is space to hide LEGO Batman's Jet Pack as well.

The Scuttler has a net shooter, and shoots quite far! While we were still building the Scuttler, Clay had some fun playing Catch The Joker with the net.

The Scuttler has 6 shooters, 2 each on the arms and 1 each next to the neck.

The arms are extendable with a very clever mechanism. I love studying how the design works, and have been wondering why the designer used a blue and a sand colour piece to attach the cogs. Apparently the sand colour connection tube is slightly smaller, so the cog attached to it rolls smoother, while the blue one is a tiny bit tighter. I mean, you have to be more than someone who likes to build LEGO to create something like this. Seriously, this is proper engineer work!

They also used a possibly new LEGO piece we've never seen before (the black zig-zag one) to allow the arm to extend and roll back (like a saw!).

Not only are the functions cool looking, well engineered and has a purpose, The Scuttler has some really nice features that, not only make it look cool, but also makes a lot of sense to have it, even if they don't really function for the set. Like the cable in the above picture. It doesn't actually do anything, but it makes sense to have it there (could be to control oxygen/ pressure inside the cockpit?), and it looks good too. That attention to detail really amaze me.

Another clever engineering work I wanted to show you is this connection system, attaching the legs to the body of the Scuttler. I don't even know how they manage to get the distance of the pieces exactly right to fit the bendable joint (another new LEGO brick combination we haven't seen before). Surely you'll need a computer to calculate all this for 100% accuracy?!

Don't you agree that LEGO is absolutely fascinating? Or am I just being geeky? But I think this is one of the main reason why LEGO stand above other construction kits. The thoughtfulness, the engineering work, the clever designs, that's what you are paying for, and not just for a set where you put pieces together.

We also noticed that LEGO has been improving their structure durability. In the past, we simply click 2 pieces of LEGO bricks together, maybe interlock them like building a house, but they break easily. Now you see all sorts of method implemented, to keep the bricks attached without ruining the design.

Take the LEGO Batman Movie: The Batmobile for example. If you look at the above picture where the wheel is, you can see a tiny piece that looks like a screw in it. That's there to lock the whole wheel into the Batmobile. It doesn't really need the tiny piece because it clicked onto the Batmobile and stayed put, but with that little piece there, it secures the wheel even further.

We saw this in one of the LEGO City set that we are currently reviewing as well, which I will mention in the LEGO City post.

The LEGO Batman Movie range is brilliant, and also contain these super adorable LEGO BrickHeadz that'll be out on 1st March 2017 (RRP £9.99)! They are so so cute! LEGO BrickHeadz are a brand new range and comes with characters from other range as well, which you can find through the purple link. These will no doubt be another popular collectibles like the LEGO Minifigures!

Okay I was actually going to say that there is a lot of other awesome The LEGO Batman Movie sets but I got carried away as soon as I saw these during my research. So do check out the whole LEGO Batman Movie range here, which also comes with Arkham Asylum and Batcave!

We've received a LEGO Batman Batarang in our goodie box that was built using LEGO bricks, which was absolutely awesome! It's not for sale, but you can buy a LEGO Batman Movie Batman Batarang from their online store for RRP £6.99 that looks like the above.


Overall we are super happy with the LEGO Batman Movie merchandise, especially the LEGO construction sets. We are most impressed with The Scuttler, which is very playable and with the details and clever design, plus a good amount of construction time, it's definitely value for money. But we have enjoyed building the other LEGO sets too of course, we love playing with LEGO!

One more week to go and we will be watching the LEGO Batman Movie, and all these goodies will be even more fun to play with (and read!)!

Golden Bear 2017

February 7, 2017, 3:11 am

≫ Next: Nailmatic Kids Nail Polish and Rollette

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A few weeks ago I went to the Toy Fair in London to catch up with the latest in the Toys industry, and met up with the lovely people I've been working with. 2017 is very exciting, and we can't wait to get our hands on many of the products! I can't tell you much as a lot of them aren't launched yet, but I would highly recommend saving up whenever you can!

What I can tell you though, is what I saw at the Golden Bear's stand, where I met Mr. Tumble, and awwed my way through the tour!

We had a tea party to start with that serves coffee and Prosecco! The pastries were amazing, and there was cupcakes too. I was so tempted to keep the mug!

We were then given a tour, and the first thing that caught my full attention and made me say " I want one!" like a little girl was the new Bush Baby World range:

Aren't they super cute?! You can wiggle these cuties' eyes and waggle their ears as well! The Dreamstars Bush Babies will be retailed at RRP £7.99 each and there are lots of characters to collect. You can also get accessories for them, including the Sleepy Pod and Dream Tree.

The Bush Baby World range will be released later in the year, and there will also be a new series of animated webisodes little ones can watch with their own Dreamstars.

Although aimed for 5-9 years old, I have a strong feeling that older children and even adults will be collecting them too!

Another exciting range from Golden Bear, launching this Spring is their DC Super Friends range, perfect for little DC Comic fans! They aren't just soft cuddlies as they are designed for playing catch with! If another player caught it, you'll hear it speak! They will be retailed at RRP £7.99, and I think you can also get the nets and Bash and Battle Mat game as well.

The DC Super Friends Batman is also available as a Sleep Tight All Night version (RRP £29.99-£34.99), which is one of Golden Bear's award winning range. It's a 4 in 1 toy, which teaches children when to sleep and when it's time to get up. It also helps them go back to sleep should they wake at night.

Although my kids have grown out of baby toys, I still went all soft and mushy inside when I saw the new In the Night Garden Baby range. They are designed for babies from birth, made from super soft fabric with gorgeous pastel colours, and comes with stimulating features like crinkly hands and feet, and rattle as well.

These will definitely be popular!

Then there is the new In the Night Garden range that's suitable for preschoolers, with the new Twinkling Lullaby Iggle Piggle that has caught my eye. The series was once Clay's favourite, and he'd take his Ninky Nonk Train, a bit like the one in the bottom right picture but older version, everywhere. We kept the train for keepsake (and might take it out on his wedding day haha). It's definitely a classic range that'll be loved by children.

Yes I was Star struck haha. You have to be a parent who knows CBeebies programs really well (because your child is always on it) to know why. And he's such a gentleman too!

Anyway, a really bright and colourful, cheerful and cute range from Golden Bear! He has to be the cutest clown I've ever met (the toy! The Toy!). The Singalong with Mr. Tumble (RRP £29.99) will sing the "Hello, Hello" song, do the moves, wave and have his nose light up too! The car playset, as well as Justin House playset, both look really fun to play with, and I'm not surprised at all that they both have won awards.

If my kids were still young, I'd probably have to buy everything from Golden Bear!

The Paint-Sation section was very intriguing, as it boast their anti-gravity technology to keep the paint in the pods without dripping. I'm all about mess free and my kids hardly get to paint at home because of me, so if it's like what it said, this will be a super helpful range for us!

I'm not going too deep into Twirlywoos and Hey Duggee, but Clay still loves them! The ranges look exciting and there are lots of new products for 2017 too!

I also spotted the Head Lites range, which is so quirky!  I absolutely adore the chicken haha!


Golden Bear will be bringing lots of excitements this year for young children and adults too because it's quite hard to resist the charming toys! I can't wait to see them in shops!

Nailmatic Kids Nail Polish and Rollette

February 8, 2017, 3:47 am

≫ Next: Paperpop Stationery Box - Galentine's Day

≪ Previous: Golden Bear 2017

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I've heard about Nailmatic Kids quite a while ago, which started off as a range of children friendly nail polishes that doesn't contain all the nasty things, and can be washed off too. I wasn't sure where to get them, and was disappointed with the ones from a different brand I did manage to find, as they washed off as soon as Abby's hand touches water. It wouldn't be very good if it stops children from washing their hands so that they can keep the polished fingers.

While I was dragging my sore feet through the Toy Fair, 1 Two Kids' stand caught my eyes and I've completely forgotten how tired I was, I finally saw Nailmatic Kids with my own eyes (they've been around, I just never noticed until now), and they are so pretty!

The range has extended to nourishing lip glosses too, and the lovely owner of 1 Two Kids has kindly given us the following to review:

Nailmatic Kids Rollette Lip Gloss in Blackberry (£7.99)
Nailmatic Kids Water-based Nail Polish in Piglou (purple glitter, £6.99, suitable for children 3+)

Here are some general information why the made in France Nailmatic Kids range are more suitable for kids:

Click to enlarge

Nailmatic Kids Nail Polish is water-based, which can be removed with warm soapy water. It's made without organic solvents, and is Phthalate, Formaldehyde, Toluene and Fragrance free.

Click to enlarge

Nailmatic Kids Rollette Lip Gloss is colour free, natural (97% of its ingredients of natural origin are dermatologically tested) and fruity. It's made from apricot kernel oil, enriched with vitamin E and omega 6 and 9.

Although it's called a lip gloss, it's more like a lip oil (which we prefer). It does have pretty glitter in it but just enough will go on the lips (see the right picture), so it's subtle enough to use at school as well (I'm very against makeup during school days, even nail polish to me is inappropriate. They are there to learn after all, and all the colours are just a distraction).

It's not gloopy like a gloss, so it's not sticky. I tried it as well and it just felt very nourishing. Abby's lips are quite dry, so it took a little bit longer for the oil to sink in, but she commented how delicious the blackberry smell and taste like. I'm not actually sure if there is suppose to be a taste, but I guess with the natural oils and vanilla fruit extract, it probably wasn't an illusion!

The roller is perfect for kids because they don't have to stick their little fingers into a tub of lip balm (every single one of mine has little finger holes in them *sad face*), nor break a tube of lipstick-like balm by pressing them too hard on their lips (yes, that happened to mine too).

The glass bottle is really pretty and cute without being kiddy, so I think that teenagers will like them as well.

Price wise it's a bit on the higher end, but you are paying for the quality, and for children's safety (who knows what they put in children cosmetics nowadays?), I wouldn't mind to fork out a bit more. And I get to share them too!

There are currently 10 flavours available on 1 Two Kids' website, and I'm tempted to get banana and peach! Or raspberry and apple. It's going to be difficult!

Initially when we tried out the shimmery nail polish (absolutely love the silvery shimmer and colour!), we thought that it will wash off as soon as we touched water. So my teenager niece didn't want to wash her hands after the 2 coatings haha.

After I tried it out properly, we found out that it won't wash off as soon as it touches water, which is great because there wouldn't be a point in putting it on otherwise.

It takes warm soapy water to loosen the nail polish, so if you give it a quick wash, and pad dry your fingers, you'll find that a very good amount of the nail polish remains (this is based on a good 2 coating application). If you want to get it completely off, after soaping up your hands and nails, give your nails a gentle rub as well and you'll see them disappear really quickly.

So the lasting power is still great, and with it being washable, Abby can now apply nail polish during the weekend and have fun with it without choking herself with the nasty paint thinner smell, and wash them off properly the night before school.

The application is exactly the same as a normal adult nail polish, and it dries at about the same rate, if not sooner. I do recommend 2 layers for a stronger colour, but even 1 layer looks great.

There are 12 colours available on 1 Two Kids' website, each with a name. 4 of them contains glitter (like the one we were sent), and 1 of them is a glittery top coat for extra sparkle. Sets are available too.


Overall we think that it's great to have Nailmatic Kids around, and I don't have to be the mean mum anymore who doesn't allow her daughter to get pretty fingers during school nights and weekends. She can have a playdate and paint their nails without me worrying about them poisoning each other either. We love the colour choices and cute packaging, and I love the children safe Rollette too.

You can buy the whole range from 1 Two Kids' website now.

Paperpop Stationery Box - Galentine's Day

February 9, 2017, 4:29 am

≫ Next: LEGO City Police and LEGO City Great Vehicles

≪ Previous: Nailmatic Kids Nail Polish and Rollette

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Last month I made a batch of hand felted love heart pom pom paperclips for Paperpop.co.uk's Galentine's Day box, and it's here! It's really exciting to see one of my clip included in a subscription box!

As mentioned above, this season's theme is Galentine's Day, which celebrates the love between BFFs. Paperpop.co.uk included 2 adhesive plastic pockets (see below) in their box that we can use to stick inside our planner, maybe on a dashboard or divider. They've stuffed the large one with sticker samples from various Etsy sellers, who also provided discount codes for us! The idea is that we can keep one and decorate/ stuff the other and gift it to your BFF.

So this box comes with a lot of things, including:

Sticker Kit by UrbanSweetheartUK (Etsy Seller)
Sticker Kit by AletheiaPuku (Etsy Seller)
Social Events Stickers by bitsofstationery (Etsy Seller)
Hand Felted Heart Pom Pom Paperclip by me - FluffyCharmsUK (Etsy shop is currently closed)
Bows Before Bros Bow Enamel Planner Charm
Sticky Note Pads
Adhesive Paper Pop Plastic Planner Pockets (1 large 1 small)
6 puffy stickers (see below)

and samplers (stickers and printables) and coupon codes from the following Etsy sellers:

AletheiaPuku
UrbanSweetHeartUK
CalimeCreate
EbeeGbee
HazyDaysUK
Printableswonderland
theGootzieProject
theLizzuPapers

I absolutely love the sticker kits by Ling from UrbanSweetHeartUK and Aletheia from AletheiaPuku! Again, the 2 kits work super well together. The box stickers from Ling's kit, and thin strips and weekly header stickers from Aletheia's kit are both super useful to me, and I love all the other stickers from their kits too. I'm currently into pastel pinks so I picked most of the pinks out for next week's planner spread (see below), but the blues and mints will definitely come in handy later on!

I love the planner pockets, but am still thinking of what to do with them. I might make a shaker with the smaller one, and stuff the larger one for my friend.

The social sticker sheet is a great addition especially for next week, and it'll apply to most of us, whether it's for BFF, lover or even family. The sticker samplers are fantastic too, I've discovered a few new Etsy sellers that I'd love to buy from!

The enamel Bows before Bros charm is really cute as well, and I'm sure it'll go well when I go for the pink/ mint combination.

Each Paperpop.co.uk Galentine's Day box will come with one of these hand felted heart pom pom decorative paperclips I made. As they are all hand felted without using a mould, each love heart is unique.

I specialises in felted charms so these are a bit of a challenge. I managed to find a way to make them really sturdy, but because of the heart shape, it was tricky to get the paperclip attach properly, while allowing the clip to still function.

I have left a little message at the back of each card, advising that it's easier to attach the clip by holding on the clip part when you bend it to attach, instead of holding onto the pom pom, as it'll feel like you are peeling the pom pom off the clip (although I can assure you that it's very sturdy, so it will stay put unless you forcefully rip it off).

I haven't offered a discount code as my shop is currently on holiday mode. I used to Make to Order, but I'd really like to let people buy ready made items. It's just a bit difficult for me to stock up the shop while blogging and look after a family as well at the same time. Hopefully I can get it back up sometime soon!

Something else also came with the box is TheLizzuPapers' free printable "Books to Read" and "Movies to Watch" inserts in various sizes. I've given Abby the "Books to Read" printouts as she loves reading, while I filled in 2 pages (front and back) of "Movies to Watch", because there are so many awesome movies coming out this year! I also gave them stars to remind me how much I want to watch them. I have never noticed how handy these inserts can be! I have forgotten so many movie titles that we wanted to watch, so I'm really glad that this came with the box!

The Paperpop.co.uk Galentine's Day box is lovely and comes with quite a lot of things. My favourite are the printable inserts, sticker kits and of course my paperclip! With the items plus some washi tapes, I've decorated my Valentine's week planner spread (before pen), and I absolutely love it!

I made the white pom pom paperclip as well and it's very strong! Love it!

I believe that there are still some boxes left, so if you like what you see here, do quickly grab one before it's gone!