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Our Midweek Break at Bluestone Wales

16/10/201709/08/2021 Lisa 1 Comment

Our midweek break at Bluestone Wales

I’m writing this post on the second day of our midweek break at Bluestone Wales. We arrived yesterday so this is our official full day at the resort.

The Drive Up

We set off from Exeter yesterday whilst the sky was a strange yellow colour and the sun looked like it was on fire. I think from all of our friend’s Facebook statuses’ that we were the only people in the whole of Exeter that hadn’t taken a picture and posted it.

The drive was pretty uneventful until we got closer to Wales. The closer we got to the resort the windier it became. There were leaves and bits of bush and twigs whirling around outside the car, and we could feel the wind against the car which swayed a little bit.

We arrived slightly early for check-in and as the weather was pretty grim we sat in the carpark to wait. Some other people were slightly braver than we were and got out to take a bit of a walk. I think we were far more sensible as we watched them try to keep hold of their hoods, umbrellas, and children.

A bit about Bluestone

Bluestone which will be celebrating its tenth birthday in 2018 is set in the middle of Pembrokeshire National Park surrounded by beaches and countryside with lots of historic features.

It’s a luxury resort where the kids can roam free, explore with lots of both indoor and outdoor activities for all ages.

There is a range of lodges and cottages to stay, and whilst the resort has a fantastic village vibe going on, it’s extremely spacious.

Bluestone does everything it can to remain an environmentally friendly business by following the Green Dragon Environmental Management System. Just from our first reccy around the resort we could see that a lot of love and attention to detail has been put into creating the Bluestone experience.

The Lodge

Once we were given the keys to the lodge we made our way down there to drop off our luggage. Once you have checked in and done the drop-off, Bluestone is a car-free zone which is great for little ones. There are golf buggies and bikes to hire and of course, there is the option to use your legs as well, oh and a bus service around the resort.

We were staying in a Dinas Lodge which sleeps, eight people. My first impression was a good one. The lodge is huge. There is a living area where there is a TV and sofas which leads onto the kitchen/dining area. Again the kitchen/diner is massive with high ceilings and french doors that lead to a patio area. it’s decorated in natural tones with dark wood and leather sofas.

Bluestone Wales

The kitchen is fully equipped with everything you would need to cook for a family of eight all week long. We have two fridges with a small freezer compartment in each fridge, a full-sized oven and hob, a dishwasher and all the necessary kitchen gadgets such as toaster, kettle, and cafetiere.

The bedrooms are all of a good size with plenty of space for our clothes. Most importantly we have two bathrooms which is always a bit of a deal-breaker when there are eight people all staying in the same space for a week.

Once we unpacked we went for a wander around the village which is just up the road from us. We found a lovely coffee place, the Pub (of course), the Orchard Restaurant, the park (the other of course), The Firehouse Grill, and some shops all to explore in more depth.

Our Thoughts

Our first impression is very positive. I love the high ceilings and the open-plan layout of the lodge. We really like that everything is on one level which isn’t as big a deal for us since our youngest is seven. Having the large dining table which seats all of us was great for our first night which was curry night.

Can’t wait to have a proper look around tomorrow. You can also keep up to date with what we’re up to by checking out our Instagram feed.

Lisa

*disclaimer – we were given a mid-week stay at Bluestone Wales in exchange for a review. All thoughts and opinions are our own.

McDonalds Happy Readers

03/10/201703/07/2021 Lisa

McDonald’s Happy Readers

Have you been to McDonald’s recently? If you have then you will know that at the moment they are giving away an exclusive series of mini books by Roald Dahl as part of their McDonald’s Happy Readers Campaign.

The books are based around the Fantastical Characters from Matilda, The BFG and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

We have yet to read the Roald Dahl collection to Isabelle, but have the entire collection which were Ryan’s and will be passed onto Isabelle to enjoy.

There are eight books in the series:

Wonderful Mr Willy Wonka
Lucky Charlie Bucket
Mischievous Chocolate Factory Children
Amazing Matilda
Marvellous Miss Honey
Fabulous BFG
Brave Little Sophie
Rotsome Giants

The books were launched on the 13th September and will be available for five weeks so don’t miss out.

There are even some additional features which you can find on the Happy Meal boxes such as a pair of BFG ears!

Each book is around 65 pages long and features stories, puzzles, stickers and each has a pop out bookmark at the back.

These books are great for keeping the kids entertained. Isabelle has just turned seven and found the books really fun. She has always liked books, but the combination of reading and activities has definitely been a bonus.

The Giant Name Generator

In the Rotsome Giants book there is a page where you can find out your Giant name so here goes.

Mine is – Lazy Brute

Daddy’s is – Cranky Cruncher

Ryans is – Rotten Yelper

Isabelle’s is – Icky Nightmare

I think the BFG collection is Isabelle’s favourite possibly for all the funny words such as Snozzcumber, Whoppsy-Whiffling and Fleshlumpeater!

Isabelle has taken her Happy Readers books up to her room as they are the perfect size for playing schools with. She teaches her dolls and teddy’s using the puzzles and drawing sections and reads the short stories at carpet time with them.

See what Peter Andre and his kids thought of McDonald’s Happy Readers by watching this clip.

What we think!

We were sent the collection of Happy Readers Roald Dahl Series to review.

I think it’s fair to say that the Happy Readers series will be a hit with both kids and parents. There’s lots of activities for them to do in the books as well as reading. It’s a great introduction into the world of Roald Dahl for those that have yet to read them AND I think it’s genuinely good value for money as part of the Happy Meal.

The #HappyReaders series gets the thumbs up from us.

Lisa x

*This is a sponsored post but all thoughts and opinions are that of our own.

Bush Baby World – Princess Melina Review

26/09/201703/07/2021 Lisa

Bush Baby World Princess Melina – The review

Bush Baby World Princess Melina – We were selected a few months ago to be toy testers for the Rainbow Toy Awards and were really excited when we got the email to say that we were going to be sent a Bush Baby.

I looked these up before it arrived and I knew that Isabelle would love it.

Isabelle is crazy mad about any kind of collectibles, and this was cute, pink, and furry so ticked all the boxes.

The Bush Baby

We received Princess Melina who has flecks of glitter through her fur and has a Princess crown. She lives in a sparkling palace within Shimmer Mountain where Shimmer Stars grow. Only Princess Melina can pick the Shimmer Stars which are very rare and are used to protect the Dream Tree.

The Accessories

Isabelle is all about the accessories. The accessories are the difference between a thumbs up and thumbs down when it comes to toys.

Princess Melina comes with a pink pod which she sleeps in, a comb, a Royal Sceptre and a Shimmer Star which comes in a little silver drawstring bag.

What does she do?

She waggles her ears and eyes using a little button on her back.

You can brush her fur and hair.

She is one of many Bush Babies that you can collect. You can also get the Dream Tree which all the pods hang from which Isabelle has her eye on.

You can also visit the Bush Baby Website where there are some videos to watch, activities, colouring sheets and printables.

As I’ve said previously, Isabelle loves watching a You Tube video so we thought we’d do an unboxing video of our own.

I must point out at this stage that Isabelle had absolutely no idea what was in the box so that you can see her genuine reaction.

The Video

What we thought.

Princess Melina gets a huge thumbs up from Isabelle. She’s soft and brushable and the pod fits perfectly over the edge of her bed. Once you’ve put Princess Melina into the pod, all of the accessories fit in as well which is a bonus. This was the first time that we’d seen the Bush Babies but it is definitely something that Isabelle would choose herself. She has (or will) add the Bush Baby Tree to her Christmas list. I should also point out that Isabelle has just turned seven and this was very suitable for her age range, but would also have appealed to her at a younger age as well.

The Bush Babies retail for £19.99 which we think is entirely reasonable.

*Disclaimer – We were sent a Bush Baby for the purpose of review. All thoughts and opinions expressed are our own.

Bargain Food Haul from Approved Food

10/07/201708/04/2021 Lisa 4 Comments

Bargain Food Haul from Approved Food

Our bargain food haul from approved food – I’m loving all the TV programmes at the moment on how to eat for less, and making savvy purchases to save money. We never used to be very savvy when it came to shopping. Gone are the days where we shopped at the same supermarket and bought whatever we wanted, sometimes not even taking note of the price. We stopped shopping like this quite a while ago, and now alternate our shopping trips dependent on what we need such as store cupboard staples, fresh fruit and veg, and meat.

I was really pleased to be asked to try out www.approvedfood.co.uk which essentially is a bargain online shop where you can buy food that is either surplus or short-dated stock.

I placed my order at around 8.30pm on Tuesday 4th July with an expected delivery time of 2 – 3 working days and it was delivered on Friday 7th July.

You can buy everything from cupboard staples such as pasta and rice to all the kids chocolate biscuit treats, toiletries and cleaning products, and even a healthy and beauty section.

What we bought

Amoy Plum Sauce x 2 = £1.00
Amoy Soy Sauce Reduced Salt x 2 = £1.00
Bottle Green Elderflower Sparkling Presse x 4 cans = £1.49
Cavalino Bucks Fizz x 1 = £1.99
Chupa Chups Air Heads x 3 = £0.99
Combos Cheddar Cheese Cracker x 3 = £0.99
CorNiche Apple Teddy Marshmallows x 5 = £1.00
Don Mario Fusilli x 2 = £1.00
Don Mario Spaghetti x 2 = £1.00
Fabiola Pasta Spaghetti x 2 = £1.00
Flash All Purpose Cleaner x 1 = £0.99
Foxs Nice Creams x 2 = £1.00
Foxs Triple Layered Biscuit 10 pack x 1 = £0.99
Giovanni Di Firenze Tomato Pasta Sauce x 2 = £1.50
Globe World Foods Plum Tomatoes x 3 = £0.99
Go Ahead Yoghurt Breaks x 3 = £0.99
Golden Wonder Chicken and Mushroom Pot Noodles x 4 = £2.00
Gratify herb baked mini dippers x 2 = £1.00
Jacobs Jaffa Cakes x 2 = £1.98
Maryland Double Chocolate Chip Cookies x 4 = £1.00
Napolina Conchiglie Pasta x 1 = £0.95
Purina Delibakie Stars Turkey and Bacon x 1 = £0.99
Quaker Oats – Oats so Simple Morning Golden Syrup Bars x 1 box = £0.99
Real Handcooked Variety Pack Crisps x 2 = £0.02
Ryvita Crackerbread Pepper Flavour x 2 = £1.50
Simple Soothing Facial Toner x 2 = £1.00
Wubba Dog Toy x 1 = £2.99

Grand total = £32.34

Postage and Packing is worked out by box. We had one large box which cost £5.99.

Fun Fact – I quite liked the Fun Fact at the end. Mine was that I’d saved £44 by buying from Approved Food which is the equivalent of 36 litres of fuel. That’s a total bargain in my book.

The offers come in daily and since signing up, I’ve received quite a few emails with all the latest offers.

What we think

Approved Food is definitely a website worth a monthly visit to fill your cupboards. Nothing lasts very long in our house what with a pot noodle eating cookie monster of a teenager and a six year old who loves a treat or two and a midnight munchie man around. I think my favourite bargain is the kong dog toy which are usually quite expensive and was very much appreciated by Charlie!

Have you shopped at Approved Food?

Let us know what your BEST bargain was.

Lisa x

For more competitions and reviews Click Here.

*We were given £30 credit to spend for the purpose of review. All opinions are my own.

Doodle Collection Notebook Review

04/07/201719/10/2022 Lisa 6 Comments

Doodle Collection Notebook Review

I’m a sucker for stationery!

I love notebooks, notepads, pens…….actually everything from moustache shaped paperclips to novelty pencil sharpeners. I was just a little bit excited to be asked to review a notebook from the Doodle Collection.

My daughter has inherited the same magpie-like attraction for cool stationery.

Who doesn’t love stationery? I have a particular thing for notebooks, even if I don’t have a particular use for one. I like to select a nice pen and always write neatly in my notebooks. It’s particularly annoying if I make any mistakes as I like to keep them all neat.

Having several notebooks on the go for different things is something that I like to do.

Diaries, planners, and calendars are also a fave of mine. I always get either a calendar or diary for Christmas so I like to set aside an evening to write out my calendar or diary with a nice pen (preferably several different colours) and a glass of wine and make a bit of an event of it.

The company is based in India but all their full range is available to buy on Amazon.

They have a huge selection of notebooks, diaries, and planners in all the colours and designs you can think of.

We’re really loving Flamingoes and Unicorns at the moment so when given a choice I went with a Majestic Misfit Notebook. I really love the wording on the front:

Notebook Features:

It’s A5 in size and has a sturdy cover
200 lined pages with a scribble section on every other page
Thick paper, nice for writing with an ink pen
Perforated edges on each page which is fab if you make a mistake

What we thought

I really like this notebook from the size to the thickness and quality of the paper. The size is great for popping in your bag but it’s not too small. I love the flamingo design and is easy to lay flat to write on.

I’ve already pinpointed this Notebook for when I start my new job next month to take notes. Until then it will be sitting prettily on my bookshelf.

Which Notebook would you choose from the Doodle Collection?

Lisa x

A Tip Top Big Mac – Your New McDonalds

15/06/201708/04/2021 Lisa 4 Comments

A Tip Top Big Mac – Your New McDonalds

A Tip Top Big Mac is what I made at McDonalds even if I do say so myself.

Myself and some fellow bloggers were invited to take a look around one of Plymouths City Centre McDonalds where some pretty impressive changes have been made to improve the service that customers receive and streamline the whole McDonalds experience.

What’s New

Self Service – If you’ve been into your local branch recently it may be one of over 50% of restaurants that have the touch screen self-service points in addition to the usual counter and drive through services.

You may have even already visited one of the restaurants that have table service on offer. Fear not as these services will be rolled out nationwide in the near future.

The self service points where you order and pay for your food are a really quick and convenient way to order food. It displays the whole menu with size options and meal deal options.

Using the screens couldn’t be simpler. All the food is displayed using pictures and gives you various options (including dips for meals that include this). The touch screens are so easy that you could let your children use the screens to pick choose and order their own food. The best thing about the screens is that the menu is visual and there are options on there that you may not even know is available.

Table Service – This has probably been a long awaited addition to the McDonalds restaurants and will make ordering so much easier for the vast majority of us.

As a parent, standing in the queue and ordering the food and then finding a table can be such a pain in the butt, and then you forget to get the straws or napkins.

These days are long gone. The self-service machine allows you to choose table service. They have plastic table number plaques which are Bluetooth enabled that you pick up which are all numbered (I’m sure they have an actual name). You tap this number in and once your order is placed the server will be able to find you via the number plaque. The server comes armed with a toolbelt loaded with napkins, straws and sauces so there’s no need for you to leave your seat.

Behind the Scenes

We got to have a nose around behind the scenes which was quite impressive.

We started off in the staff room where we were given our very own McDonalds apron, hat (plus hairnet) and name badge. I was totally sold by this point but I am quite easily pleased!

The kitchen, whilst busy was very orderly and everybody was going about their work like a well oiled machine.

I’ve always been quite impressed by the number of staff that are working in any restaurant at any given time. There are approximately 40 staff on at any given time and more at peak times.

We had a look at the walk-in fridges and freezers at all the fresh ingredients that are delivered almost daily and YES they do use fresh eggs!

Tablets

Some of the restaurants have a seating area where tablets are available. I always assumed that these were just for children, but as well as games available you can use the tablets to get news updates, check your emails and log-in to your social media sites.

Rest assured that the tablets have strict blocks so that unsavoury sites are not accessed by our kids.

You can also keep up to date with all news that is McDonalds including calorie content and community projects that McDonalds support.

The Best Bit

We got to make our very own Big Mac’s.

All of the burgers are made specific to McDonalds. There are clearly labelled charts above the work station to ensure that all burgers are made the same.

You can watch my video but this next bit is completely from my memory.

Get your bun ready
Pop it into the three sections of the special bun toaster
Get your box ready
Put the bun in box
Shoot the Big Mac sauce gun at both parts of the bun
Add lettuce
A sprinkle of onion
A slice of cheese on one side
Two slices of gherkin on the other making sure that you separate so you get pickle in each bite
Add a burger on each side
Put the middle part of the bun on top of the bottom bun
Shut the box
BOOM the Big Mac is good to go

I totally aced my Big Mac making skills as you can see in my video.

Cool McDonalds Facts

They use fresh ingredients. Contrary to what many people think where possible fresh ingredients are used and delivered to the restaurants daily.
No food is sat around – The burgers are freshly prepared to order
All waste is recycled. This was the biggest surprise for me. All food and packaging waste is separated and recycled including the oil used in the fryers
McDonalds aim to have a ‘Zero Waste Policy’ in all restaurants by 2020
To reduce the carbon footprint, delivery lorries deliver and pick-up at the same time so that no empty lorries are driving around
Since the introduction of the self-service touch screens more salads have been ordered. This maybe since the entire menu is visual on the screen it’s much easier to see what’s on offer
McDonalds work with local councils and volunteer for litter picking with the Love Where you Live campaign
McDonalds support local community projects and sports clubs

I bet you’re just a little bit impressed as was I. We like to take Isabelle to McDonalds for a treat and we allow her to choose her own meal whether it be a burger and fries or fish fingers and a fruit bag. It’s all about moderation!

As they say *whistles* ‘I’m Loving it!’

Lisa x