Daxon - Calling All Fellow Lovers of Fashion

Daxon is a company you may not have heard of but they are part of the third largest home shopping organisation in the world, and they are looking for bloggers that love fashion!



They specialise in top quality clothing for all occasions and aim to find the perfect fit for you, the customer. As well as covering ladies and menswear they cover homeware too.


I love this stylish sheepskin coat now only £53

If you would like the chance to become a blogger for them and in the process get a £50 voucher for your trouble why don't you check out their website.


Stunning Red Shopper

And while you are browsing their website check out their sale with up to 70% off! 

buzzoole code

Competition and Review Delicious Food with Gousto cd 07/01/13

Recently I stumbled across a company called Gousto and was excited by what I saw. Gousto's tag line is "Save Time, Eat Well" and it does exactly what it says on the tin! Basically Gousto is a food delivery company where you choose the recipes you want to eat and they deliver all the ingredients to your door on a weekly basis, all in the right proportions and with local, seasonal and organic ingredients.




I was delighted when I was offered to try the service for free and chose two recipes from their service. 

Firstly you chose a bag - either for a couple or a family, then you chose the recipes on line you would like to cook from a range of meat, vegetarian and fish dishes and graded via difficulty, calories, time and origin. Then the bag is delivered to your door in an insulated cool bag ready for you to cook.




All the ingredients in the correct proportions

What I liked about this service is that the proportions are perfect, for example, the correct amount of ginger, soy sauce ,and five-spice powder was packed perfectly. How often have you thrown away ingredients that have gone off, well no worries with this?!


5 spice Chinese Chicken and vegetable Stir fry - yum!

The dishes we cooked we found very tasty. I cooked a chicken stir fry and my husband a pork dish. They were simple to cook and the recipe cards were laid out perfectly. 



Easy to Understand Recipe card

If you need more information on Gousto ,why don't you check out their website now? They deliver nationwide too. 


Pork Loin steaks with roasted peppers and Salsa Verde - very tasty!

The people at this fab company have given me a two meal two person pack to giveaway on my blog, so if you want to try this out for free be sure to enter now.


Check out my other competitions here.

*PR Sample

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Christmas Elf Competition - SSE

                          


SSE - the energy company, is offering everyone the chance to win a brand new Kindle Fire HD tablet as a thank you to their customers and their social media followers! All you need to do to enter is like the SSE Facebook page and help the Christmas Elves charge their Kindle in the Competition App. SSE are a company that has at their core purpose to provide energy in a reliable and sustainable way and provide the best customer service and value for money.

The competition will end Tuesday 18 December at 4PM with the winner being informed the next day. WOW wouldn't that be fab - to win a Kindle Fire just before Christmas, the only question is, would you keep it for yourself or give it to a loved one? I know what I would do of course....






The game is a fun, festive and simple way to help SSE’s elves to charge their Kindle Fire HD using different forms of energy.


In the course of research (lol and to have a go winning) I have played the game. It is a simple easy to understand game you use the right and left arrow keys on the keyboard to create a momentum and make the elf run faster. 




The more the elf runs the higher the bar goes up to reach the target. So I had a go, the elf is on a running machine and I used the arrow keys to create momentum, then I had to use the up and down arrow keys to focus the light on the solar panel. After that you click the red lever to operate the winch. When the animated arrow moves you have to click on it when its in the green zone to make the elf jump and land on the other elf's stomach. Once you have completed that you enter your details for the draw and that is it. It is quick and fun and easy to enter so why don't you have a go now!




 SSE’s website: http://www.sse.co.uk 

This is a sponsored post but the opinions are entirely my own

Website Review PKTMNY - A Bank Account for Children, Using and Learning

I have been given the task to review a new website for children called PKTMNY. PKTMNY is a new way for children 8 to 16 to learn how to earn, save, and spend wisely. 




PKTMNY is supported by a new type of VISA card and has an easy to use secure website that offers a range of savings tools. The website is designed for parents by parents and the interface is engaging and colourful to appeal to children. 

The parent and the child have their own login that they can use to monitor pocket money sent and pocket money received and any transactions, and is easy to use and control. The child can set their own pin and upload a picture to personalise their account.

What I like as a parent about this website is that you can set limits on how much the child spends on the card. It gives you control over their spending but still gives the child the illusion of control as they can spend within the guidelines you set.

As a parent, I feel it can incentivise the child to do certain extra tasks for pocket money which you can pay on top of their regular amount, for example for washing the car or doing well in school.

What did my son think of the site? My son is a 15-year-old teenager, at the top end of the age range they aim at. He liked the colourful nature of the site, however, we both felt it was geared to younger children. A more 'adult' interface or customisable interface was his idea for future improvements, and they are taking this into consideration.


My son used his card on Amazon to buy a gift voucher. He thought it was easy to use and had no problems placing the order on my Amazon account with his PKTMNY card. 

We are using the bank account to save for holiday spending money and we both felt it was nice to see a visual representation of the money as a saving goal on the website.  

As a parent, I think the website can help focus your conversations with your children about money, finances and also importantly the value of saving for a goal. 

PKTMNY charges a one-off joining fee of £5 per family and a monthly fee of £1 per child to use their services. This is deducted from the parent's outstanding balance, not the child's. The PKTMNY team are working on minimising any fees and keeping the costs low to run the account. There are no fees for using the Visa card online to buy products in the UK and no fees for funding the account via standing order. 

In conclusion, a colourful engaging bank account for pre-teens and teenagers that can help them manage and appreciate the value of money. 

Update PKYMNY is now called GoHenry http://www.gohenry.co.uk/why-gohenry/

This post is part of a project with BritMums, sponsored by PKTMNY, highlighting it's launch (http://www.pktmny.com). The new tool allows parents to easily pay and monitor their children's pocket money online, whilst allowing their children to earn, save, spend and manage their money in a totally safe and fun way. 

* We have been trialling the service and all thoughts and opinions are our own.


The King of Bags - Website Review

As many of you know, I enter lots of competitions and one day a gorgeous bag caught my eye. I entered to win and held my baited breath...unfortunately, I didn't but it was too late! I was addicted to The King of Bags website. 



What is special about The King Of Bags is that they provide affordable quality bags in a range of styles and colours. 

The King Of Bags sell a range of bags from only £9.99 and have lots of different styles including clutch bags perfect for the party season, satchels, messenger bags, floral bags, plain bags, patterned bags and everything in between. 




This red patent bag they have kindly sent me to review and as you can see its a beautiful colour. The bag can be used with a short handle or there is a shoulder strap as well. The quality of the bag is very good for the price and it's a super winter colour.


What I also like is that for every bag sold they donate 50 pence to The Pink Ribbon Foundation to help fight Breast Cancer so you are supporting a good cause too.



Which bags are my favourites you may ask? This black bag is a great bag for everyday use and its it is very versatile being a decent size and of course black goes with everything.

 
Gorgeous don't you think?



 Another favourite is this bag with a black heart charm. It has soft fur like material trimming the bag, very swish!


They also have a range of accessories such as scarves, and snoods, and children's gifts such as lunch bags and backpacks decorated with their favourite characters such as Peppa Pig, Tinkerbell, Spiderman and Ben 10.

So if you want an affordable bag as a gift or for yourself why don't you check out their website for yourself, what have you got to lose?

Delivery is free and takes 3- 5 days, however next day delivery is available at an extra charge if ordered before 11am. 


As a special offer for reader of my blog, here is a FAB discount of

15% off

when you enter code

PFLR2WMz 

Into the checkout
Valid for one month from the 6/12/2012
Why don't you have a browse now?

The Magic of Christmas

What is Christmas all about? Peace and good will to all men? Charity that starts at home? The time to put everything behind you and come together to celebrate with loved ones?

Christmas makes me think of how lucky I am to have people I love in my life and how grateful I should be as there are others less fortunate than myself. Most of us could do with appreciating the small things in life, so we then appreciate the big things such as health and happiness.

Now that I  work every day in December up until Christmas day, I realise how lucky I am in having any time off. One Christmas a few years ago I spent it at a lovely hotel. It was so nice to have a break, food all cooked for us and time with my son and husband , it is a Christmas I will always remember.




My family spending Christmas together at The Vale Hotel

So this is what the Magic of Christmas is all about for me, being with my family. What is Christmas all about for you?







“This is my entry for the #O2GuruMagicofXmas Linky, sponsored by O2 GuruTV – the home of tech help and inspiration”.  http://www.o2.co.uk/guru 



Website review PKTMNY - Finances and Family

Do your children manage their pocket money well? Are they always asking for extras, or do you not give pocket money instead giving money for certain incentives such as doing well in school or cleaning their bedroom? Do you lack a structured way of approaching this? How do you manage it?





Well when my son was small we gave pocket money for chores such as tidying his room and extras for doing well in school. Now as he is older he helps out now and again in our shop, washes the car, and is expected to tidy his bedroom and set the table for dinner as well.

I guess when he was young we had a haphazard way of doing it, we had no record of how much he got really and when.  As he has got older I like to think that I have instilled in him that he should think twice abut spending his money and not on random things either. If he wants something expensive and its not his birthday or Christmas he generally saves for it himself, and occasionally if he saves half I will give him the rest. If he doesn't want to come into the shop and do an hours work he doesn't get paid for this but he gets a smaller amount of pocket money. A more structured way of dealing with this is definitely welcome.

Well I have been asked to review a new website called PKTMNY which could be of benefit to thousands of parents and children.  What does this mean? Well I was a little slow, and didn't realise straight away, although everyone else did - it means Pocket Money! 

PKTMNY (now rebranded as Go Henry)  is a new way for children 8 to 16 to learn how to earn, save, and spend wisely. 





Supported by a new type of VISA card PKTMNY is an easy to use secure website that offers a wide range of interactive savings tools. They pride themselves on the website being designed for parents by parents and it certainly is a colourful fun way for children to manage their money.




What I like about this website is that you can set limits on how much the child spends on the card. This enables parents to have some control while still giving the child some freedom. Another thing is that the website is very colourful and appealing to primary children and young teens in particular. 


It allows the parent to set clear ways of earning extra money at home, for example you could pay £1 a week for extra jobs such as clearing away the dishes or cleaning their bedroom.



PKTMNY also gives you an opportunity to sit down with your child and talk about money, how often do we are parents actually do that? I think it can also develop positive attitudes to saving money, a goal can be set and the child has a visual representation of how much they have saved.  

All fees for the website are set out here,and I will let you know more about them in my next blog when I report back on how we get on!

This post is part of a project with BritMums, sponsored by PKTMNY, highlighting it's launch (http://www.pktmny.com). The new tool allows parents to easily pay and monitor their children's pocket money online, whilst allowing their children to earn, save, spend and manage their money in a totally safe and fun way. 


* We have been trialling the service and all thoughts and opinions are our own.

Popchips Review -Think Popped Naturally Delicious

The kind people at Popchips sent me some Thai Sweet Chilli potato chips to try the other day. I'm always on the look out for tasty healthier snacks, especially since I started trying to cut back and lose some weight.




What I liked about these snacks is that they pack a mouthful of flavour into every chip. The chips (ok crisps to us British) are very light on the tongue and give a satisfying crunch. They have a mild chilli taste, and I swear I could almost taste a  hint of coconut. They describe them as "an exotic fusion of sweet and spicy".  I would serve these as an accompaniment to a nice Thai green curry and some sweet chilli dipping sauce.




They have been nominated for a number of awards and Shape Magazine have voted it their Best Snack. 

They say that they have found a way of 'popping' a chip that has all the flavour of conventional chips but less fat.  

When compared to regular crisps they have 50 % less fat per 23g serving and less calories too 95 Kcal per 23g ( a serving)  or 412 Kcal per 100g

Popchips are now in Waitrose and a number of other places, such as WHSmith and Harvey Nichols and I would definitely recommend them for a tasty snack that's light on the waistline.

* PR sample 

Charnos -Hosiery Review and Giveaway Ends 11/12/12

Charnos is a name noted for quality in tights and stockings and gorgeous underwear. Established in 1936 their hosiery department makes a range of stunning styles from everyday sheers and tights to coloured opaques and fun fashion wear. The Charnos customer is classy and confident and knows that her legs look good in their brand.

I was given some tights to review for my blog and also some for you lucky people to giveaway!

The first tights I tried on were the classic opaques in 100 denier. These soft tights felt lovely on and covered everything. Ideal to keep your legs warm in winter and for those with legs that need some cover up. I really love these tights!

The next ones I tried were the Elegance ultra sheer hold-ups in 10 denier. Now these are great for dressing up and going out, and would be fab with a black dress for a Christmas party. The are suitably sheer but I was impressed that they didn't snag very easily too. What I also like was that I found the hold ups comfortable and that they also stayed put with Stay4Sure technology.



Elegance tights

And talking of Christmas parties and little black dresses - a fabulous idea is their range of Killer Figure tights. Killer Figure waist cincher tights smooth your waist instantly and flatten your tummy. With a cotton gusset, they are comfortable on whilst given you a nipped in figure.  The Hourglass control tights smooths your hips, tones your thighs and flattens your tum!  I can't wait to try these ones out when I go out for a special meal next.




 Killer Figure opaque tights

Now onto the Sheer Lustre tights in Barely Black. I liked the sheer gloss finish of these tights. I thought they were a lovely pair of special tights to wear in the evening.

You can buy Charnos online through their website and they are also stocked in John Lewis, House of Fraser and Debenhams amongst others, but if you want to try some of the Killer Figure tights be sure to enter my giveaway now. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I have been given a selection of Charnos to try but the opinions are entirely my own

Win Prizes With Store Street, Bloomsbury, London

Store Street Bloomsbury is a great area of London that you may not be aware of. But when I say it covers the area around The British Museum and Russell Square you will probably know the area I mean.



It's a great area to visit or shop in and has some great attractions.

TOP TEN ATTRACTIONS


The British Museum
The Building Centre
NLA
Russell Square
Coram’s Field
The Cartoon Museum
Dickens House
Foundling Museum
October Gallery
The British Library
It's easy to get to by tube or bus and is lovely for a great day out. It is an area of a thriving student community why don't you check the student offers and discounts here.

Well, lovely readers, I have news of an exciting competition for students!

Prizes

£100 cash
Two wine tasting tickets worth £30 each from Adnams
Lunch or Dinner for two including a bottle of house wine worth up to £50 from Restaurant Olivelli 
Cut and Blow Dry worth £45 from Decadence Hair Salon

Pasta, Pizza or breakfast with a coffee worth up to £30 from Caffe Paradiso

Bike Hire for the day for you and 2 friends from Cloud 9 Cycles



So check out their twitter page @storestreetwc1 for the competition question and be sure to tell all the students you know.
Closing date 16/12/12

Competition and Great gift ideas Under £50 from RMA Williams Jewellers

Christmas is coming and people are very conscious in this day of getting value for money and watching the pennies.




In our shop RMA Williams Jewellers we have a wide range of jewellery, from engagement and wedding rings, gold jewellery and silver jewellery and a range of prices from children's earrings from £5 to engagement rings up to £5000 and beyond. We stock lots of items in our shop under £50 and have an even greater variety of jewellery than we stock on our website.


Here are some lovely gift ideas under £50 for you and your loved ones from RMA Williams Jewellers. 


Gift Ideas


For a Friend Silver flower necklace and earring set  £40. 

For a Teenager Cupcake earrings by Muru £28
For Christmas Parties Silver solitaire pendant and earring set £36

For a Loved One Giselle earrings by Hot Diamonds £40
For You Drop necklace by Fiorelli £49

For Mum Thomas Sabo pearl bracelet £29.95

For Your Daughter Thomas Sabo silver charm bracelet from £34.95
If you sign up to our newsletter you will also get a code for 10% off your first order! With free delivery and gift wrapping what do you have to lose!

RMA Williams Jewellers
35 John Street
Porthcawl
CF36 3AP
01656 786007

Closing date 16/12/2012

For your chance to win one of the items of jewellery above comment via Rafflecopter


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Slimming With Diet Chef

I was lucky enough to win a weeks worth of Food from Diet Chef, a few weeks ago, perfect timing to start my diet! I need to lose weight as my weight has been creeping up and I want to look good in a swimsuit on holiday in the summer next year.

Well today the food arrived, and it was very exciting. I picked a weeks worth of food on the 1500 calorie diet. 




Diet Chef brings you healthy, great tasting food that will make it as easy as possible for you to stick to your diet. The Diet Chef plan is clinically proven to improve likelihood of success and is easier to stick to compared to doing your own diet.


My one observation is that the breakfast portions seem small, but that may be because  I have been having portions three times the size! One of the things I need to get used to is portion control. 


The food is real food, breakfast is a choice of granola, muesli or cereal bar for example. Lunch includes tempting soups such as minestrone, chicken couscous salad, or tomato and pasta salad. Dinner includes such classics as Lasagne, Chicken Tikka Marsala and Italian Bolognese. The only thing you have to add is vegetables to the meals or a piece of fruit as a snack. 


You also get a tasty snack too each day. It comes with a guide and a great little magazine full of inspirational stories. 

Well my first day of trying the diet has gone well





The apple granola for breakfast was very tasty but small (40g portion) I ate it with a teaspoon and soya milk to make it go further. 
The chicken couscous was not to my taste but that is just me. It was however filling. The chocolate soft cookie was very nice indeed.

I snacked on chopped up carrots and drunk diet flavoured water and tea with soya milk and sweetener.


But I must admit my downfall was I went out for an Indian! Ok, Ok I know but I didn't have any wine and I had a dry dish without any of the fattening sauces.

I will continue on my Diet Chef food for the rest of the week and update you on my progress at the end of the week.

Christmas Is Coming - Giveaways Soon!

I want to share some fantastic news with you! I will be running lots of competitions soon on The Diary Of A Jewellery Lover blog. Since August my blog has grown so thank you everyone for following me I have between 3700 and 4200 page views a month on average, not bad for a little blog ;-)


Example prize, may not be actual prize

As well as a jewellery competition with my store RMA Williams Jewellers, I will be running an  advent competition with a great website and I hope to have 12 - yes 12 prizes! I also have another competition in the pipeline so it will be a busy month.


It should all kick off in the next couple of weeks so be sure to subscribe via email as I wouldn't want you to miss out!

Yorkshire Pudding Heaven

I don't know about you but I love Yorkshire Puddings - there I have said it! Although they are traditionally served with roast beef whenever I go out for a Sunday dinner I always ask for Yorkshire puddings with ANY roast I have as they are scrummy. So when I saw Aunt Bessie's were running a competition to show various ways of using them I thought I would have a go, as I already have some in the freezer anyhow.



Chilli beef soup with Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire pudding

So I put my thinking cap on. Yorkshire puddings are made with flour, eggs and milk, in fact the recipe is a pancake recipe so this is my idea for the Aunt Bessie's Challenge


Serves 4

4 Aunt Bessie's individual Yorkshire puddings
Handful of strawberries sliced
4 scoops of good quality vanilla ice cream (not soft scoop)
150 ml Whipping cream - whipped up ( or half fat squirty cream if you are keeping an eye on the fat content)
Chocolate sprinkles or 2 Cadburys flakes crushed up

Cook the Aunt Bessie's Yorkshire puddings in the oven according to the instructions. Top with sliced strawberries, Aunt Bessie's individual puddings are perfect Ice cream scoop size so put one scoop of good quality vanilla ice cream in the centre of the Yorkshire pudding, then take the whipped cream (or half fat squirty cream) and top quickly. Sprinkle with chocolate sprinkles or flake or sliced strawberries and ENJOY!




http://www.auntbessies.co.uk/products/

This is an ideal pudding to make with little ones as they will have fun using the ice cream scoop, the squirty cream and topping with the chocolate sprinkles or flake.




So for a little treat, easy to prepare and make, and family friendly why not try my Yorkshire ice cream delight, I bet you and your family will love it. The only thing is you will have to eat it up quickly before the ice cream melts, but that's not exactly a hardship is it ? ;-)


This is my entry for the #halftermfood challenge in conjunction with BritMums sponsored by Aunt Bessie's  

How would I fit this into a meal plan?

Well I would make this;-

Aunt Bessies Autumn / Winter Warmer Menu

Starter
Vegetable soup with garlic croutons - if really hungry add some light and fluffy Aunt Bessies dumplings

Main Course

Cottage pie with Aunt Bessies perfectly mashed Carrot and Swede topping served with Aunt Bessies mini roasties, peas and
Aunt Bessies red cabbage with Bramley Apple

Dessert

Aunt Bessies Yorkshire pudding delight

Britmums Aunt Bessie's Challenge

When Did I Start to Get Old?

My mum started going grey when she was seventeen. Me - about 2 to 3 months ago I found a very white and very curly hair in my very dark head. Of course, it stood right out. Pulled it out sharpish like, a few days later it's back! Like a Zombie left for dead, but not shot in the head. Yep, I have a teenage son lol.

I shouldn't really complain, I am 41 and I know some of my friends younger than me dye their hair, but it's a recognition I am not that young anymore.



Once upon a time I felt young, I watched Multi-coloured Swap Shop, and Grange Hill,  I had a ZX Spectrum and A Commodore 64. I remember Byker Grove and the original Eastenders cast and dressed up like Olivia Newton John in denim after I saw Grease for the first time (I was 7). I saw the Stranglers in concert and went to The Monsters of Rock at Donington. I wore leg warmers and was in the Nik Kershaw fan club. I was out on a Saturday partying, and a Friday on times. I ate Pot Noodles, Findus crispy pancakes, and Birds Trifle and still weighed 8st 12lbs. 

Now I feel guilty if I eat a Pot Noodle and 70's food.  I realise I'll die early if I sit in and watch TV all day yet all I want to do on a weekend is stay in with a cup of tea and watch X Factor. I watch programmes about Antiques and collectables (Four Rooms you have a lot to answer for!) and programmes about emigrating Down Under. I wear moisturiser with SPF. Wow, I am grown up! I have a Mac and I am now a Mac bore - it's official as I have lost count of how many people I have said to: "Gosh don't buy a Laptop you will get a Virus, get a MAC they are awesome!"

Yes - I still go to concerts - the comedy variety.
I do actually take some exercise - I have been going to Zumba for a year and a half.
Even though I feel guilty if I don't take my makeup off at night I still do it now and again - yes I am a rebel at heart!




So when did I start to grow up? Was it when I had my son? Was it when I set up my own business? When I started going to more funerals than weddings? With age comes responsibility paying bills, looking after others, but do I feel responsible? I guess I do.

Really the question I want to ask is actually this... When did I start to get old?

I know all the cliches - You are only as old as you feel, or you are only as old as the person you feel! Well unless Harry Styles comes along and turns back time for me I think there is no going back really.

Men are called distinguished when they go grey, women, well we are just called old...All the best parts are given to younger actresses unless you are Helen Mirren and have had to fight for years to get the good roles.

So dear reader, do you feel old? When did you start to get old? Can you pinpoint a moment in time? A feeling? A thought? Or do you think you will never feel old?

One good thing is now it's fashionable to be grey, so that is one less thing to worry about in this crazy world....