Little Local Hero Awards

I got an email this week that I'd like to share with you. Read on for the chance to have your child crowned as Little Local Hero .... and support Macmillan.

On the 28^th of September this year the World’s Biggest Coffee Morning is going to be taking place. This is a fantastic one day fundraising event hosted by Macmillan Cancer Support to raise money for people with lives affected by cancer.

Silver Spoon, the homegrown sugar people, are the official sugar sponsor for the event, and this year have decided to launch a fantastic competition as part of their activity - Silver Spoons Little Local Hero Awards. They are scouring the country for local heroes under the age of 18 who have done something truly special. Your local little hero could have looked after their little sister when they were ill, gone to great lengths to make Mother’s Day very special, or done something fantastic to raise money for charity.

If you know someone under 18 in your local area who you think would be a worthy winner, just follow this link and explain in less than 100 words who you are nominating, why, and what you would bake them to say thank you.

www.macmillan.org.uk/littlehero

Competition closes 20^th Sep at 23:59 BST

Master Pâtissier Eric Lanlard, star of Channel 4’s Baking Mad with Eric Lanlard, will choose a Silver Spoon National Little Hero and to celebrate he will bake them a special cake of their choice! 10 runners up will also receive a Silver Spoon Baking Hamper packed full of exciting treats.

There are sure to be some amazing stories from our local little heroes all over the country, but in the meantime don’t forget to register to hold your own coffee morning on the 28^th September, just follow this link and you can help to raise money for people with lives affected by cancer. http://coffeeregister.macmillan.org.uk/2012/register.asp

CuddleUpPets

Cool name but what is a CuddleUpPet? That was pretty much my first thought. Well, a CuddleUpPet is the combined result of a cuddly blanket and a cute puppet!

Jonny playing with the Crocodile Puppet

These blankets are designed with kids between 3 and 6 years of age in mind. They have a cute puppet head and the body of the puppet is a nice, snug blanket. There are six designs on offer - Jonny was sent the crocodile.

They are designed with travelling or watching tv in mind. However they are mainly marketed towards bedtime and helping to create a bedtime routine for your child.

Liz and Jonny have been trying out this product. It's not suitable for children under 3 but Sophie still finds it funny to watch!

Jonny (3 years) and Sophie (15 months) were laughing their little heads off when we opened the box to find a crocodile ready to snap them. Bright green, the kids loved it immediately and snuggled up under it’s very soft, comfy texture.

This would make a great novelty present but I have to confess I’m not its biggest fan. I wouldn’t really use the blanket on Jonny's bed as I would be concerned about him smothering himself on the crocodile’s head. Also, it’s just not quite big enough for that sort of use.

Saying all that, it shows that companies know how to market to children. Jonny loves it and Sophie finds it hilarious when the crocodile talks. Part of our family live at the other end of the country so we sometimes drive through the night and even in the day the kids will fall asleep. The blanket is a perfect size to cover Jonny as he gives our ears a rest.

It’s definitely a blanket to use when sitting on the settee or travelling in the car. Kids love it and other people have commented about how cute it is – maybe I’m the only one who isn’t so fussed.

CuddleUpPets have an RRP of £19.99.

A sample of this toy was received free of charge. All opinions expressed are completely honest and entirely our own.

London for Children Review

London really has been the place to be this summer between the Jubilee and all the fantastic sporting events. If you're planning a trip to London with your kids any time soon then I think you might be interested in the post.

Jonny and Sophie go to London fairly often on holiday with their Mum and Dad as one set of their grandparents live there. Jonny especially loves London - he's forever telling me things about it that I didn't know.  So he was particularly excited when I presented him with the London for Children book by Matteo Pericoli. 

This beautiful book takes you on a fact-filled journey through London. Matteo Pericoli spent two years illustrating a continuous 20 mile journey along the north and south banks of the Thames. His pen-and-ink drawings form the basis for this book. It has a really unique 2-in-1 design, one side of the book focusses upon the northbank...flip the book over and you can read about the southbank!

Jonny has really enjoyed this book.....here's what Liz had to say.... 

Fun, imaginative and informative – Matteo Pericoli deserves a medal for this one. One set of grandparents live in London so we visit at least a couple of times a year and try and show our two kids (aged three and 15 months) the sights (although nothing where you’ve got to pay an extortionate fee!). London is gigantic to a young boy so to literally split the book into two halves is brilliant and makes so much sense.

The book starts with a timeline and general black and white map which are really useful to refer to. Then the real fun begins with colourful illustrations and explanations of the sights old and new. Matteo introduces London’s rich and diverse history in a really user-friendly way.

The real beauty of this book is that it appeals to everyone and I have learnt a lot (for example why Lambeth Bridge is red and how to curse someone in Roman London). The explanations are detailed enough without being over-complicated. This isn’t a book to read in one sitting, but something to ‘dip into’ time and time again.

This book will be accompanying us on every visit!

This beautiful book is available in Hardback with a retail price of £14.99.

A sample copy of this book was received free of charge. This has in no way influenced our review, which is, as always, completely honest.

Walkers Deep Ridged Crisps

Have you heard about the new crisps from Walkers, Walkers Deep Ridged? 

As you'd expect they are made with 100% British potatoes. Walkers have doubled the depth of the ridges and combined with their bold flavours to create their latest addition.

We had the pleasure of trying them recently and decided to try them out on friends to see what they thought. Straight away there were comments "what kind of crisps are these? They are gorgeous." was just one. I have to admit I was pleased the crisps had drawn comment - we didn't tell the guys in advance that they were going to be our guinea pigs!

The guys were really impressed with the flavour of these crisps. After some discussion it was decided that since these crisps have deep ridges, they therefore have a larger surface area and consequently more area for the flavouring to coat ..... yes we are that geeky! The result is great, a crisp with flavour that packs a punch.

Walkers Deep Ridged are available in Mature Cheddar & Onion, Salt & Malt Vinegar, Flame Grilled Steak and also Ready Salted.

Samples of Walkers Deep Ridged crisps were received free of charge. We were under no obligation to review these crisps. All opinions are entirely honest and completely our own.

Elizabeth Shaw Chocolates

A few weeks ago a fantastic hamper full of Elizabeth Shaw chocolates arrived at the door. Needless to say there was great excitement in our house that day - yes I'm talking about hubby.

Elizabeth Shaw are one of Britain's best loved luxury chocolate makers. They take great care over their chocolates to ensure the highest quality. In fact they even source a very specific blend of cocoa from the Cote d'Ivoire to make sure that their chocolates are luxurious.

We were sent a variety of their current range of chocolates to try.... flutes, crisps, sharing and gift collections.... what better way to try them than to get a few friends round?

The guys really got into the chocolate tasting! In fact I regret not taking a video as it was just brilliant.

We started with the flutes - mint, amaretto, orange and latte. As you can see from the above photo the chocolates have an amazing smell when you open the packet! Everyone had their own favourite but it's fair to say that they all went down well. A couple of the guys love amaretto and they loved the amaretto flutes. They had a really smooth flavour but really tasted of amaretto - a refreshing change from flavoured chocolates which so often don't taste as they describe!

The guys then dug into the sharing crisp assortment. This box has four different flavoured (luxurious caramel, creamy butterscotch, golden honeycomb and cocoa nib) crispy chocolates, all individually wrapped. Again all four flavours were a huge hit, but there was a favourite - the creamy butterscotch! Smooth milk chocolate with sweet butterscotch and honeycomb crsips!

It's fair to say that everyone loved the Elizabeth Shaw chocolates. Personally I love the range they offer, something for everyone from gifts to after dinner flutes or chocolates to share with friends. What's more each box is clearly marked as to whether it is suitable for people with food allergies - most seem to me to be gluten free (AWESOME).

Elizabeth Shaw are giving you the chance to win a box of their chocolates every week from now until 1st October - in fact they are giving away seven boxes every week! To be in with a chance of winning just visit their website.

You can now buy Elizabeth Shaw chocolates online - click here for more information.

A hamper was received free of charge from Elizabeth Shaw. We were under no obligation to publish a review or to mention the company. All opinions expressed are 100% honest and completely our own.

Bring the Taste of Italy Into Your Home

A few weeks ago a large box arrived at the door, from Italy. I have to say I was pretty excited when I opened it and found a huge selection of tomatoes fresh from Italy!

Cosi Come produce tomatoes on a farm near Naples. They document the progress of each tomato from seed to harvest to ensure the highest quality. Not only that but each and every tomato is harvested by hand when it is perfectly ripe.

As you can see the tomatoes come in jars. Immediately my thoughts turned to what else might be in the jar - sugar, preservatives, stabilisers but I'm pleased to say that Cosi Come use only their tomatoes, nothing else!

I quite simply adore tomatoes, they are one of my favourite flavours, so I couldn't wait to dig into this box. I definitely wasn't disappointed, these tomatoes have the most intense flavour. They taste so fresh, so full of flavour, so Italian!

Ordinarily we would have started creating pasta dishes with these lovely tomatoes, however I'm on a strict diet at the moment to try and help my health. As a result of this diet I don't take any grains, sugars (except natural sugars) or complex carbs. Thankfully these tomatoes fit perfectly into my new diet so we set about creating our own pizza topping for a homemade grain-free pizza base.

I'm afraid the photo isn't great quality (I took it on my phone). However I can assure you that the sauce was absolutely incredible - the best I have ever tried!

We kept the pizzas fairly simple, just adding some goats cheese, peppers, onions and ham. The flavour of the tomatoes came through and perfectly complimented the pizza.

From whole, natural tomatoes to high quality passata Cosi Come have great, high quality products. To view the full range available from Cosi Come visit their website. If you are a fan of tomatoes you will love this company! To be honest they have raised my expectations of tomatoes ... I'm not sure I can go back!

A box was received free of charge. As always this has not affected our opinion of the product. This is an honest review. All opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Prevalin Allergy Review

Did you know that 18 million people in the UK suffer from hay fever? I'm lucky in that I'm not one of them ....but my husband is. Unfortunately I can't cut the grass any more or do the gardening so that means he has to go outdoors and suffer. Some summers he goes through dozens of packs of anti-allergy tablets - which apart from anything else can be really expensive!

So this year things are a bit different, he is using a spray from Prevalin allergy.  This revolutionary new spray can actually treat hay fever BEFORE the pollen causes you misery.

Prevalin allergy is a nasal spray which is actually a gel when at rest and a fluid when shaken. When administered at the first sign of an itch, tickle, sneeze or watery eye the formula works in three ways:

1. It extinguishes any inhaled pollen already in the nose,
2. It forms a fine micro-gel barrier protecting against further pollen irritation for up to 6 hours.
3. It stimulates clearance of the allergens within the nose.

I have to admit that at first Jonathon really wasn't very keen on giving this a go as he's not a fan of nasal sprays. I think though the misery of hay fever made him realise it was worth a go and so he has been using it for a wee while now.

It's actually really quite easy to apply - 1 to 2 sprays in each nostril 2 to 3 times a day. I actually really quite like the smell of it. I don't know what I was expecting, maybe something with a more medicinal smell. However this smells almost sweet, it could be a hand cream or similar. As with all nasal sprays you do get that "taste" at the back of your throat after using it but with Prevalin it's not an unpleasant taste.

Now on to the important part - does it actually work? Well it seems to work well for Jonathon. In fact it has worked so well that I currently have lilies in the living room and he hasn't complained about the pollen yet - that's got to be good!

Personally I'm amazed that Prevalin is drug free. For something that works so well you'd expect it to be full of drugs, but no it doesn't contain antihistamines or steroids so you can use it as often as you need to without suffering from any side effects. Plus it means it's safe for pregnant women, breastfeeding mums, children and .... topically... professional athletes too!

The Prevalin allergy (for adults) is available in a 1 month supply. There is a separate product, Prevalin for Kids (ages six plus) which lasts for two months. Both of these retail at £9.99 and are available from selected retailers (including Boots, Superdrug, Morrisons) without the need for a prescription.

We are quite impressed with this product and Jonathon is getting more used to using the nasal spray .... now we just need some sun so we can go outdoors!

A sample of Prevalin was received free of charge. As always this has not affected our review of this product. All opinions expressed in this post are entirely our own.

Smarter Way To Potty Train Packs Giveaway

Regular readers might remember that back in March of last year, while still pregnant with Sophie, Liz reviewed Dry Like Me potty training pads (if you missed it you can find it here). Well now we have joined forces with Dry Like Me for a giveaway - keep reading to find out more.

Dry Like Me are the new, smarter way to potty train. The award winning, handy little potty training pads turn all pants into potty training pants by adding an absorbent layer.  They give your little one extra confidence and ease the pressures on you.

Dry Like Me are giving away FOUR ‘Smarter Way to Potty Train’ packs worth £15. Each pack contains four boxes of Dry Like Me pads and a lovely reward chart and stickers – all the tools you need to help your little one achieve potty training success!

Dry Like Me pads help your child to recognise their body’s cues for the loo, a key part of potty training.  While they are learning, they capture small accidents and so reduce the mess and stress.

They are soft, comfortable and suitable for children of all ages with one size fitting all.  They are available from Asda, Sainsbury, Morrisons, Superdrug, Wilkinsons, Ocado and Amazon and cost around £3.49 for a pack of 18.

For your chance to win one of these fantastic packs just complete the rafflecopter entry form below - easy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

Thank you to Dry Like Me for providing the prizes for this giveaway.

Fade Out Day Cream Giveaway

Until recently I had heard a lot about Fade Out but I hadn't actually tried it myself. That was until I tried their Protecting Day Cream and I have to say I can now see why everyone has been talking about it.

Fade Out is a range of skincare products designed to visibly brighten and even-out your skin tone. Its advanced formula tackles pigmentation problems such as hyperpigmentation, freckles, age spots and sun spots in three ways - prevention, correction and future defence.

Fade Out say that when clinically tested their products produced a 100% success rate and that within 4 weeks areas of pigmentation measured significantly lighter. 

I have to say that I do feel like my skin is brighter after a few weeks of using this cream, though I'd imagine for the best results you should really use the night cream too.

It's a really nice cream that sinks into your skin easily and certainly doesn't leave you with a greasy feeling. I really like the smell too. The smell can make or break a cream for me and this one gets the thumbs up.

With SPF15 to protect your skin from the sun, I think this is a great day cream and at £8.99 for a 50ml pot it gives more expensive brands a run for their money.

Fade Out are giving you the chance to win your own tub of Protecting Day Cream, in fact we have 5 to give away!

To enter just complete the rafflecopter entry form below - easy!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

A sample was received free of charge, however I was under no obligation to write about this product / company. Thank you to Fade Out for providing the prizes for this giveaway. All opinions expressed are entirely our own.

World Coffee Club

I have been in my element recently - watching sport, sport and more sport and indulging in some seriously tasty coffee.

I was lucky enough to be sent three packs of coffee from the lovely people at World Coffee Club. World Coffee Club is a new company that provides subscribers with three new gourmet coffees from different roasters every month.

The coffee arrived in an envelope and fitted perfectly through the letter box. I always feel that's the first place where a company can go wrong, but World Coffee Club have nailed it. Your coffee can be sitting in your hall waiting for you when you get home from work.

I was sent three different coffees (Ethiopia Sidamo Q1, El Salvador Shekinah and Guatemala El Fogon) and to be honest I was spoilt for choice, I didn't know which to try first!

Having opted for coffee beans rather than ground coffee, we ground enough of each coffee for a cup and wow all three smelt absolutely amazing. Now I'm not a coffee expert but I know what I like and what I don't like and I love all three of these coffees! They each have their own distinct flavour and each tastes incredibly fresh!

Looking at when these coffees were roasted, they were all roasted on 16th July - just prior to being sent out. You can't get much fresher than that can you?

I love this idea of coffee by post. It's a great way to try out top quality coffee and enjoy gourmet coffee in your own home.

World Coffee Club currently have three subscription packages available and offer you your choice of grind - whole bean, cafetiere, filter and espresso. They will also be introducing bespoke gift packages soon - the perfect gift for the coffee lover in your life *hint hint family and friends*.

The deadline for this month's tasting pack is 16th August so you've still got time to sign up if you think this is for you.

UPDATE The lovely people at World Coffee Club have offered Rhoda Reviews readers 5% off their service! Just enter RHODAFIVE at the checkout. :-) Valid until 14th September 2012. 

For more information about World Coffee Club visit their website, follow them on Twitter @WorldCoffeeClub or like them on Facebook.

Three samples were received free of charge. As always, this has not influenced our review of this product. All opinions expressed are entirely our own. Thank you to World Coffee Club for providing the discount code. No other reward, financial or otherwise, was received.

On Site Charlie Crane Playset Review

Liz and the kids have been confined to the house for the past month or so because of chickenpox. As you can imagine they've been going a wee bit stir crazy so this new toy from the My 1st JCB collection arrived just in time to save their sanity!

The On Site Charlie Crane set is one of two cool new playsets set to capture the imagination of your child. It is aimed at boys between 3 and 5 years of age and has lots of features to keep your little one entertained.

The crane operator can climb the steps up into the site office so that he can oversee the work. Then Charlie Crane can lift up barrels with his claw and drop them down the chute ready for Joey JCB to collect them (making sure he doesn't knock down a wall in the process). There's a cool turntable too .. in fact I would have loved this as a kid. The new "On Site" products are compatible with all existing JCB products so you could end up with quite a construction site in your home!

Here's what Liz had to say about the Charlie Crane playset...

Aimed perfectly at the 2+ age market with easy-to-use, big, colourful pieces. Jonny is three and, although a little young for him, he still plays quite happily with it. Sophie is fourteen months and she has just as much enjoyment although her favourite thing to do is press the speech button so I’m not sure the batteries will be replaced when they run out...

The set is easily put together and there are a few stickers to add on, but nothing like the number on other sets. Plus it is a great size for younger children – not too small for little fingers.

There’s enough to ‘do’ with the set. Charlie Crane lifts and lowers and knocks down the wall. He can pick up and drop the barrels which drop onto the chute.  Joey the dumper truck can carry the barrels around, spin on the turntable and park up in the garage, and the site foreman is attached to a base making him easy to stand up.

Although thin plastic, the set is sturdy enough and Sophie (who breaks everything) hasn’t managed to break it yet. My only criticism would be that the blue chute becomes dislodged quite easily.

Adding the set together with Jonny’s other construction toys has led to hours of imaginative play.

I’d really recommend this toy for the 2+ market – much more interesting than toys aimed at one-year-olds and not full of all the little ‘bits’ that 3+ toys have. Excellent for furthering motor skills for your little angels.

This set was received free of charge. However, as always, this has not influenced our review of the product. No other reward was received in exchange for this post. All opinions expressed are entirely our own.

Win a pair of Running Shoes worth up to £90!

I have been glued to the tv for about a week now, there is so much sport on at the moment and I'm enjoying it all from the comfort of my sofa. If I'm honest it's making me wish I could go and play a game of badminton or go for a swim. Sadly that isn't going to happen any time soon...but if I can take inspiration from it I'm sure the rest of the country is too.

If you are feeling inspired and want to get fit then I have some great news for you. We have teamed up with sportsshoes.com to offer one lucky reader a brand new pair of trainers up to the value of £90!

Whether you are a keen runner or a novice looking to get fit, sportsshoes.com have a huge range of running shoes to help you look and feel fabulous.

The winner will get to choose a pair of running shoes up to the value of £90 which will be sent out directly by  sportsshoes.com. To be in with a chance of winning just follow the instructions in the rafflecopter entry form below....

a Rafflecopter giveaway

GOOD LUCK!

If you are lucky enough to win you will be asked to supply your address and shoe size.

UPDATE - If you have already commented but can't see your comment posted don't worry I have it! I'm currently trying to resolve a problem with commenting. I am keeping track of all entries though so keep entering and good luck!

Thank you to sportsshoes.com for providing the prize for this giveaway. No other reward, financial or otherwise was received in exchange for this post.