Candyfloss & Dreams

Tag: review

  • My Fairy Garden: Fairy Kitchen Garden Review #AD

    My Fairy Garden: Fairy Kitchen Garden Review #AD

    My Fairy Garden: Fairy Kitchen Garden was sent to us in exchange for this blog post. All opinions remain my own. This post may contain advertisement and affiliate links.

    I thought the Fairy Kitchen Garden would be something my mum would enjoy doing with Evie as she loves gardening and Evie is always picking her raspberries and “helping” her in the summer. My mum looks after Evie for a couple of hours every other Friday before she goes to her dads so it was a good chance for them to do something together.

    Fairy Kitchen Garden comes with a planter, Fairy, Fairy House and some pea shoots for planting. You just need to provide your own soil to create a lovely little Fairy Garden. When the pea shoots have grown through you can snip them off and eat them so I also thought it would be a great chance for Evie to learn a bit about growing food too.

    The Fairy Kitchen Garden is lovely and currently has pride of place in my mums Kitchen. Evie and her spent some time putting it together and then planting the seeds. The seeds need to be soaked in water between 6 and 24 hours before planting so I would recommend taking them out and popping in water the night before you want to make the Fairy Kitchen Garden.

    It’s quite simple to put the Fairy Kitchen Garden together and really does look very cute. It’s so quick and simple and a great activity to do with kids as it’s something that is quick to do at first but takes a bit of time to see something grow so it’s nice to see Evie want to help look after something, and hopefully, be proud of what she’s grown.

    We have just started seeing some of the first shoots come through which has really excited Evie!

    My Fairy Garden: Fairy Kitchen Garden is from Interplay and is available to buy on Amazon.

  • BakedIn Baking Subscription Club for Kids

    BakedIn Baking Subscription Club for Kids

    I’ve always loved baking and over the years I’ve had my fair share of brilliant bakes and utter disasters, usually because I haven’t followed a recipe or I’ve missed a vital ingredient. This want of cooking has passed on to Evie who is always asking to make cakes. Having had the opportunity to try BakedIn, a baking box subscription service, I thought this would be a great chance to try a new recipe and have some mother daughter time. My time has mostly been dedicated to Felix but now we are settling into a routine we were actually able to do something together and we made some pretty delicious Whoopie Pies. I’ve never made Whoopie pies, I’ve never used a piping bag and usually when it comes to something with a bit more effort than cupcakes I get a bit flustured. However, this was not the case with the BakedIn Baking box.

    The best thing about the box is getting all the ingredients pre-measured and labelled. There are also really easy to follow instructions, with pictures, and as the ingredients are labelled you always use the correct thing at the right time. All of the dry ingredients have been provided for you and it clearly states on the recipe card what you need to include which is the fresh ingredients so things like eggs, milk, butter etc. However, as these are all staples most people have in their homes it is not really too much hassle.

    We had a lot of fun making our first BakedIn box recipe which included all the dry ingredients for the Whoopie Pies. We decided to make halve and freeze the other half of the biscuit dough for another time. I have to say I have never made anything like this at all and it was really nice to do something together with Evie. I was so surprised with how easy everything was to follow. The only thing I didn’t like was getting stuck in with my hands to make up the dough but that is personal preference and is usually the nature of baking. It’s not a factor that would stop me using BakedIn and I am strongly tempted to sign up myself so that we can try a few more recipes together and share our bakes. Its a great way to spend time together in amongst the new baby madness.

    You can sign up to BakedIn from £8 a month however using the code KAYLEIGH299 you can get your very first box for just £2.99 when you subscribe which is a complete bargain and well worth trying out!

    Disclaimer: We received a BakedIn box in exchange for this review. 

  • Slush Puppie Maker Review

    Having a Slush Puppie maker at home over the summer has been so good. Especially for Evie who loves these cold drinks and they have helped keep me cool throughout the extra hot heatwave during my pregnancy. We were kindly sent the Slush Puppie maker and red cherry syrup in the summer holidays and have been giving it a good test. It is exactly like what you get in the shops and you have slushies within about 30 minutes or so.

    Slush Puppie Maker, Making Slush Puppie Drinks At Home

    You will need a lot of ice, I recommend buying a bag rather than constantly filling up ice cube trays, salt, slush puppies syrup and water. Best results happen if you can freeze the metal canister first to keep the ice cool as it’s mixing. The slush puppie maker is easy to set up. You simply switch it on to mix, half fill with ice, add some salt, add more ice, more salt – following the instructions and then add a litre of syrup mixture. Its then just a case of keeping an eye on the maker until the mixture forms icy peaks and adding more ice and salt as and when you need to. This takes about twenty minutes or so of mixing. You then flip the switch to dispense and pour!

    We have loved having a slush puppie maker and now our red cherry flavour is running out we are looking at trying more syrups and flavours. You can only use one syrup per canister so if you’re looking to mix it up you’ll need more than one machine! I’m eager to try blue raspberry next as it’s my favourite!

    The slush puppie maker detaches from the habit really easily and is pretty easy to clean. Once set up again it’s good to go! If you find that ice is getting stuck or jammed you can flip the switch from mix to dispense to rotate the opposite way and this usually fixes the problem.

    Red Cherry Slush Puppie Mix

    Having an at home slush puppies machine has been brilliant. They’re tasty, cool and refreshing and it’s saved me a few pennies buying them constantly out and about! The Slush Puppie machine is currently available at Menkind for £49.99 (with an RRP of £59.99) You can also purchase Slush Puppie cups and Syrups alongside for £6.99. Current flavours include Red Cherry, Blue Raspberry, Cola or Green Apple. I can’t wait to try more refreshing flavours!

    Disclaimer: We received the Slush Puppie Maker in exchange for this feature, all opinions remain my own. 

    At Home Slush Puppie Maker, Making Red Cherry Slush Puppies At Home

  • Betty Box for Girls – Review

    I started my period when I was eleven but I’ve known girls to start much younger than I was. I’ve also known girls not to start until they’re a bit older but it’s something I feel like I really need to prepare myself for because it’s one of those things you simply don’t know when it will all begin. My daughter will be eight in September, which is quite a way off yet and I also hope that her first period is still years away. In the meantime though, I want to do all I can to normalise and prepare her for starting her period. At her age she hasn’t done any form of body or sex education but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t know how her own body works. I also want her to have self respect and put taking care of herself as a priority.

    I think this is why I think Betty Box are really great. A period subscription box that’s aimed at preteens to help them learn about their bodies, take care of themselves and the importance of feminine hygiene products. Evie hasn’t really seen a lot of pads and tampons around the home because when I was on the implant I didn’t have any periods. I didn’t even have a need for an emergency stash because for five years of Evie’s life I didn’t have them. This isn’t a problem as such but having the products in the home where they are easy to see and recognise hopefully teaches girls that it’s just a normal part of being a woman. It’s normal to have periods, it’s nothing to be ashamed off and there are ways to keep yourself clean, fresh and feeling a bit better about the whole thing. You can sign up to Betty Box here.

    Let’s be honest, it doesn’t matter how much you normalise them or talk about them, periods really suck. They’re painful, uncomfortable, come with constant hormone changes, emotional changes…there’s nothing nice about them. No one likes them but we have to deal with them. Having a treat like Betty Box each month might just make things a little bit easier. I love that with Betty Box you have a right now supply in a colourful bag that you can pop into a backpack, handbag or school bag. You then have seperate night time and day time pads for the main part of your period. Again showing that pads come in all shapes and sizes because everyone’s periods are different. You can also have a mix of pads and tampons depending on your personal preference.

    Then you get goodies. A little box of skincare, stationary and chocolate treats. This is absolutely something that would have made me feel better as a young girl every month. Betty Box is a great idea for young girls that will help them educate themselves, take care of themselves and show them that even though periods aren’t very nice, there are people out there that want to make them as comfortable as possible.

    Disclaimer: I received a Betty Box in exchange for this feature. All opinions are my own. 

  • The Perfect Pedicure

    I’ve never had a pedicure because I’ve had a massive problem with my feet since I was about eleven. I went on holiday with my family to Spain and we had a great time. I was in and out of the pool the whole week we were away but towards the end of the trip I caught my toe in some pool wire that was seperating the deep end from the shallow end. It got embedded under my nail on my big toe and since then has been the cause of so many issues. I’ve tried so many treatments to try and sort it out, going to the doctors, medication, treatment but every year I seem to have another problem with it. It’s so frustrating. I was given the chance to try a new product and challenge Canespro’s 21 Day Challenge to help finally combat the infection. 21 days I thought, I could do this! Many other treatments required six to eight weeks of application and I’m so forgetful that they never worked. 21 days seemed really manageable and I wanted to give it a go. It promises that after 21 days you’ll no longer have to paint over the infection and it will be gone for good.

    Put Your Best Foot Forward This Summer 

    …with Canespro’s 21 Day Challenge

    As we embrace summer outfits and start to bare a little more, we are quick to pay more attention to our skin whether this is tanning, moisturising or sun protection, but how much attention do we pay to our toenails?

    There are many problems that you can face with your feet, Dina Gohil, Mayfair Podiatrist to the stars says: “Most common foot problems seen on a daily basis would be: bunions, plantar fasciitis, corns, cullus (otherwise known as hard skin) verrucae, ingrown toe nails and fungal nails”

    One problem that can cause people to cover up their nails this summer is fungal nail, with 1 in 10 people suffering1 from the condition and 1 in 5 feeling so self-conscious of their infection that they even refuse to walk barefoot in their own home2.

    However, one of difficulties can be knowing when you have a fungal nail infection, Dina comments: “Most people are unaware what a fungal nail looks like. Misconceptions being they only appear as severely discoloured and crumbly. Early stages of Fungal nails may just start with a simply discolouration and no change in texture of the nail.”.

    If you want to stop painting over your Fungal Nail Infection this summer, take action with Canespro Fungal Nail Treatment Set and their 21 Day Challenge.

    Perfect Pedicure, Removing Fungal Nail Infections

    Canespro has a clinically proven mode of action to remove the infected part of the nail in 2-3 weeks (14-21 days). £29.99, Tesco, Supermarkets & Pharmacies Nationwide. Canespro have a printable 21 Day Calendar online to help keep you motivated to get rid of your fungal nail in time for summer.

    Dina continues: “Fungal nails are not likely to clear without any intervention. There are several options but first be sure it is a fungal infection; see a podiatrist and they can advise you further. Once the nail infection has been established home remedies as well as over the counter treatment options are favoured in conjunction with regular visits to the podiatrist for maintenance”

    Application of this particular cream is really easy you simply soak your feet and the nail that requires treatment. You then dry throughouly, apply the cream and cover with the provided plaster. The next evening you remove the plaster, soak the feet again and use the provided tool to remove parts of the softened nail then you do the same thing again for 21 days. A pretty simple progress. One I’m relieved to say didn’t cause any pain and I was so surprised at how quickly the treatment started to work. The product really worked and even though it took me a little longer to complete the treatment – more because sometimes I forgot and sometimes I just didn’t have time for that foot soak but it removed all of the infected part of the nail.

    The first few days were a really nice treat of using my foot spa so it was really nice to just sit back and pamper whilst reading a book. After soaking and having a quick scrape (sounds worse than it felt, honestly) I would pop the cream on, the plaster and a clean pair of socks before going about my day. After the first week I saw a massive difference in my nail because so much had been removed. The cream does wonders for really softening it down alongside the regular soaking. Using the product really started giving me a bit of confidence back and I thought finally with summer just around the corner I can wear flip flops again, I can get that perfect pedicure, I can paint them pretty colours again.

    Fungal nail infections aren’t really something we want to be talking about but I’m so pleased there are some non-invansive treatments that really help to get rid of the problem that are virtually painless. Once the infection is gone it’s important to keep the nails as healthy as possible and who wouldn’t want a regular bit of TLC? Give yourself a foot soak from time to time, get that perfect pedicure to keep you feeling fresh and if you have concerns about fungal nail treatment then go with a product that works. The 21 Day Challenge is easy to follow and gives you fast results which is the quickest I’ve seen with this type of product.

    Disclaimer: I received this treatment in exchange for this feature. All opinions are my own.