Now We’re Cooking with Gaz!

Best Camping Stoves

I absolutely LOVE camping and do get rather excitable about it. I don’t know if it’s because I’m Canadian or what………..

Canadian Camping

A big part of it for me is all the kit, you’ve gotta have the kit! We have tent, self-inflating mattresses, chairs, fair lights, windbreak, folding table, sleeping bags, marshmallow roasting sticks, washing up bowl, crockery and of course a bottle opener and corkscrew.

Two is always better than one!

CampingGaz Cooker

When we first got back into camping, I quickly popped out and got a little camp stove, it’s absolutely fine, but only has one burner and runs on Camping Gas Propane Cartridges which are a bit pricy and don’t last long. As the Slow Cooker Queen I’m used to cooking with one pot, but I’d much prefer two, especially for those much needed Fry Ups in the morning. I don’t want my bacon getting cold while I cook my eggs.

Stroking my new cooker! #camping @MountainWHouse – via @mediocre_mum

Recommended Camping Stoves

So, I was over the moon when Mountain Warehouse sent me this sexy beast – A Kampa Alfresco Double Burner With Grill for review purposes. It has a double burner with grill, ignition, a sturdy metal case which also acts as a windbreak and for £39.99 I think it’s great value. Sadly, I haven’t had a chance to use it yet, but will be soon.

Win and Insulated Picnic Hamper from Mountain Warehouse

The generous folks at Mountain Warehouse are offering one of my readers a chance to win a 36 Litre Four Person Insulated Picnic Hamper (£29.99). It has everything you need for the perfect picnic; cutting board, napkins, plates, cutlery and most importantly a corkscrew and wine glasses!!!

Insulated Picnic Hamper

Simply use the rafflecopter form below to enter. Full terms and conditions are at the bottom of the form.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and happy camping.

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.

Win £100 worth of NEAT Storage Kit

Smart Storage Solutions

Storage really is a premium in our house as it is fairly small and we don’t have any built in wardrobes or storage spaces. I really do have to keep on top of clutter or it quickly gets out of hand and if you’re a parent you will realise what a challenge this is.

I’ve shared a few Clever Storage Ideas for Small Houses in the past, but I’ve done a few more things recently that I thought I would share.

I love my Scarves!

Ideas for Storing Scarves

We’ve got a lot of wasted wall space, sadly I don’t have the budget to get customized shelves and cupboards. For years all of my scarves hung on our door, making it impossible to close it. I had 3 stylish hooks put up, now I can easily find my scarves, my necklaces are no longer in a big knot and we can close the door.

The man drawer

How to Keep Man Drawer Tidy!

Admit it! We all have one of these in our houses, which contains everything from take-away menus to remote controls that you no longer have the device for. I purchased a few cheap plastic baskets, and can now locate the Phillips Screwdriver when I need it.

How to tidy cupboards

We also have a cupboard which has everything from Craft materials to medicine, which is really not something you want to mix up. Again a few plastic baskets has done the trick. I can quickly access the Calpol or poster paint when I need it.

Clever storage baskets and boxes really are the way forward. My next mission is to sort out all the shoes in the bottom of my wardrobe, make sense of my knicker drawer and put my winter clothes away in the loft.

NEAT Storage Solutions

Win a Full NEAT Storage Kit

To celebrate the launch of NEAT with Anthea Turner, we are giving away a full storage kit from the NEAT range.

Launching on 2^nd July and available to buy exclusively from Britain’s largest home-grown TV shopping network Ideal World TV and online at Idealworld.tv, NEAT combines style and functionality to give customers a range of products that not only look great but are also full to the brim with smart features to make life easier. The collection includes wardrobe and drawer storage solutions, hangers, zip boxes and baskets, with each product cleverly creating a smart storage solution.

Win NEAT Storage Kit

Whether seeking a solution for the mountain of shoes in your bedroom – our clear zip boxes are the answer! Or storing away your winter clothes, NEAT offers a solution for all your storage dilemmas.

Anthea Turner will be appearing on Ideal World TV on 2^nd and 3^rd of July at 8pm to showcase the products.

To enter simply use the Rafflecopter form below. The full Terms and Conditions are at the bottom of the form but in short it’s open to UK residents only Aged 18+.

Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.

Win a £50 Voucher from Voucher Express for Mother’s Day

What is your perfect Mother’s Day Gift?

If someone asked me what my perfect Mother’s Day would be, it would be going to the local pub for a Sunday Roast with my family and a bottle of wine, which I hope to do this year.

I love the cards and gifts that my daughter makes and brings home from school. Currently, she’s been sneakily creating something at home and keeps shouting at me to close my eyes or leave the room. I can’t wait to see what it is.

It’s not just Mother’s Day Gifts, but birthdays, Christmas and Valentine’s as well, I’d much prefer to receive an experience, preferably something my daughter and I could do together (e.g. Theatre, Cinema, Dining out or a book we can read together) . A lot of the tat will slowly make its way through the house eventually ending up in a keep sake box in the loft or in the recycle bin. However, the memories of a day out with my daughter will last forever.

Enter to Win a £50 Voucher from Voucher Express

This Mother’s Day why not make sure your mum gets what she really wants with handy gift vouchers from Voucher Express. All you have to do is tell us in the comments below which voucher you think she’d like best and why. One lucky winner will get a £50 voucher delivered to them before* Mother’s Day – so you’ve plenty of time to pop it in a card for your mum.

*We will endeavour to get the voucher to you by Mother’s Day but this will be dependent on the response time from the winner and Royal Mail.

Terms and Conditions

UK Residents Only 18 Years of age and older Blog Owner not responsible for non-delivery of prize. Incomplete, incorrect or duplicate entries will be removed. This prize is non-transferable or redeemable for cash. Prizes cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer / discounts. Winner will be chosen by random. Competition Closes 26th March 2014

Tell us which voucher would suit your mum best!

Good luck and Happy Mothers Day

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.

And the Winner is……

Congratulations Jon! Thanks to everyone for joining in.

Win a Hand-made Candle from The Heartwood Candle Company #giveaway

100% Natural Scented Candles from the Heartwood Candle Company

Yesterday I had the pleasure of spending the morning with Laura and Domique from Heartwood Candle Company, based in St Albans, Herts, learning how they make their hand-made natural candles with essential oils. Apparently, I’m whisker extraordinaire! I was truly impressed with the amount of love, care and detail that goes into each candle.

They weigh out the 100% natural soy wax, which is then gently melted, whilst melting the wax the glass jars, which are sourced locally, are heated to decrease the amount of temperature difference between the two or the wax may crack.

Each candle contains 10% essential oils, which you will not find in cheaper alternatives. The skill is in the aromatic blends, they spent months working out combinations that worked and as they said ‘they kissed a lot of frogs on the way’. However, this has resulted in a range of candles that smell wonderful.

Each of the different scents comes with its own poem which was written collaboratively by Laura and Dominique.

The candles are beautifully wrapped in environmentally friendly packaging, with a hand-written card. A perfect gift idea for Mother’s Day.

10% of all of their proceeds are donated to the Woodland Trust.

Win a Lavender and Geranium Candle from Heartwood

To celebrate Mother’s Day they are offering one of my readers a chance to win one of their Lavender and Geranium Candles which is sure to help you chill and relax.

To enter simply use the rafflecopter form below. Full Terms and Conditions are on the bottom of the form but in short, it’s open to UK residents aged 18+ and closes on Thursday the 27th March 2014.

They will endeavor to get the Candle to you in time for Mother’s Day but this is dependent on response time of the winner and royal mail.

Good luck and Happy Mother’s Day

a Rafflecopter giveaway

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.

Win a Mojo heart necklace from Scarlett Jewellery #giveaway

Hand-made Personalized Jewellery in the UK

I’ve always preferred silver jewellery over gold. Ironically, gold jewelry looks cheap to me. I know it’s odd as gold is worth twice as much.

When I graduated from high school, many moons ago, I received a lot of gold jewellery as gifts, and I remember my mum discreetly giving me that knowing look, as she knew that I would never wear it. However, I was very grateful and thanked everyone profusely and it was put into storage until someone broke into my storage unit when I was overseas and it was all stolen. Now, if I had worn it I would still have it all!

“Jewelry takes people’s minds off your wrinkles”
― Sarah Phillips

My own wedding band is a simple white gold ring with a very small solitary diamond. In fact, it’s my engagement ring and as I don’t wear a lot of jewellery, I declined getting a second band and just used the engagement ring on the day. It’s the only piece of jewellery I wear at the moment. However, back in the day I had silver rings on most of my fingers.

Enter for a chance to win Mojo heart necklace from Scarlett Jewellery

However, I recently came across Scarlett Jewellery and genuinely love their stuff and they would be a great Mother’s Day Gift idea. Scarlett Jewellery was founded by designer, entrepreneur and mum Sarah Fenton in 1998. All her jewellery is handmade in our Hove workshop and she’s built up a cult following, especially amongst mums, who return time and again for pieces to mark the birth of a new child, a milestone in their career or even a Mojo charm engraved ‘Bollox’ to remind them that life isn’t all about responsibilities!

Scarlett Jewellery is kindly offering one of my readers a chance to win a Mojo Heart Necklace. To enter simply use the rafflecopter form below. Full Terms and Conditions are at the bottom of the form but in short it’s open to UK residents aged 18+. Competition closes 24th March 2014

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck and Happy Mother’s Day!

This competition is listed on Loquax, Prize Finder and Competition Hunter.