December 08, 2015

The Yankee Candle Christmas Blogger Challenge

December 08, 2015/ Claire Spence

Christmas has a certain smell. The turkey roasting, the scent of a real Christmas tree, and cinnamon on basically everything.

Yankee Candle can add to the mix with a range of nostalgic Christmas scents like pine trees, cookies and warm familiar smells of the season.

Along with the selection of holiday scents, Yankee have a range of accessories that can really make your candle a centerpiece to your Christmas decorations.

Candles can make excellent presents for teacher, or someone making their first home.

Yankee Candle UK have challenged a group of bloggers to create an inviting Christmas scene with some of the best festive candles and accessories.

The entries will be posted on the Yankee Candle UK Facebook Page and everyone who votes is automatically entered into a draw to win the products featured in the winning picture. So you can 'like' the page and watch out for the entries this week.

In the meantime here are my offerings!

My main entry is this- The View From Santa's Sleigh, using cinnamon tea lights and classic glass holders.

Cosy by the Fire has the warm, homely smell you can imagine.

Snow in Love is a delicate fragarance. A good choice for those who prefer a subtle scent for their homes.

Well, fingers crossed for my entry! Watch out on Twitter and I will let you know when you can vote, with your chance to win the products I used for my photos.

December 05, 2015

40% Off Eloquence Beauty- The Four-step Premium Skin Care Routine that Really Makes a Difference.

December 05, 2015/ Claire Spence

For the past fortnight I've swapped my regular night time skin routine, to a four-step routine from the new, natural, cruelty-free, affordable yet premium Eloquence Beauty Care range.

I usually use an intense No.7 serum, then their night cream. Sometimes I would use a different product for a couple of days if I've got a sample to try, or something new from a beauty subscription box, and I don't really notice a difference in my skin so I've been of the opinion all night creams are much of a muchness.

That was until I tried Eloquence's natural skincare routine. Four steps to use morning and night, plus a huge 50ml beauty oil made with sacha inchi extract. I'll talk you through each product.

This is how each product looks. Different consistencies.

Step one is a cleanser. You use a small amount with water and rinse off the day. However I don't wash my makeup off at night, I use a baby wipe with Simple eye makeup remover soaked on it. So I've transferred the facial cleanser into my shower where I can use it every morning on my skin which would be too delicate for shower gel. Unlike some cleansers, Eloquence cleanser removes any trace of even waterproof mascara. It gets a thumbs up from me.

Second comes the firm & tone serum. Again you only need a small amount and its non-oily.

Third is eye gel. It's transparent, fresh and green. It has a cooling effect and sits nicely when drying, no greasy feeling on your lashes, which can be annoying.

The last step is a protect and repair cream. it has a luxurious luminous appearance and dries in quickly. All together the routine leaves your skin soft with a scent of rose petals. After three or four days you will begin to feel the difference in your skin. It's tricky to show you, but my skin feels soft and lovely.

The final product is 50mls of magical oil. It can be used for everything, not just skin but your hair and nails too. I treated the ends of my hair with it and left it overnight & it did revive it a little.

Mostly I just use the oil all over my skin. It doesn't leave you greasy, just very slippery! If you use it on your face once a week you'll love the result.

So if you like what you hear, how about buying the whole set at a discount price? The Eloquence Pure Luxury Collection is available with all four routine products, plus the wonder oil 50ml.

Even better, I can offer you an exclusive discount code, with 40% off and FREE SHIPPING until 12th February 2016. Simply enter the code KITSCHEQ at checkout. It brings the price of this bundle down to £60ish which is a steal! The code is only for this set, so stock up now.

If you do try Eloquence Skin Care, do give me a poke on Twitter (I'm @rudedoodle) and let me know if you have the same surprising results I do.

December 07, 2015

WIN: A Creative Kids' Stocking Filler, Nutty Putty Clay

December 07, 2015/ Claire Spence

If you have a creative kid like my Smix, then crafting kits make great smaller presents or surprise gifts at Christmas.

The Nutty Putty set we received included 5 colours of clay, 4 shape cutters, 2 tools, a rolling pin, a baking sheet and instructions. The instructions are quite clever in that they double as a laminated mat to do your building & sculpting on. As it is the clay is non-staining, so you aren't going to end up googling how to remove clay from your sofa.

Check out the sets available and read the blog on http://www.nuttyputty.co.uk/

We have a kit to giveaway to one of my readers. Competition closes this time next week, so I can hopefully get it to you before Christmas. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

December 05, 2015

'I Want That' Gift Circling Pens at the Ready! It's the Toy Pages from the 1985-1987 Argos Catalogues

December 05, 2015/ Claire Spence

Ready for a big, giant smack of nostalgia right to the chops this rainy Saturday? Maybe like me you'll even spot toys you remember owning.

Rainbow Brite, My Little Pony, Roland Rat, Poochie, Strawberry Shortcake

Star Wars, Knight Rider, Dukes of Hazzard

Lastly, did you have any of these to snuggle into at night?

December 04, 2015

M&S Christmas Party Food 2015- Christmas Tree Pizzas, Churros & Chocolate Clutch Bags.

December 04, 2015/ Claire Spence

When I was a kid Christmas party nibbles meant cocktail sausages and breadsticks. Now thanks to M&S festive food includes smoked salmon filled shells and Brie & cranberry tarts. The 'second wave' of seasonal treats have arrived in Marks & Spencers food hall, and with two for one and 3 for 2 offers across the party food range this could be the best time to stock up & freeze for the end of the month's celebrations.

Seafood served in shells is a party I want to go to

The pizza trees are so simple but effective. We had them last year, so this is a repeat buy. Perfect for kids while the grown ups have the fancier food that might be too rich for children.

These mini posh hot dogs are the evolution of the humble party cocktail sausage. The pork belly I highly recommend, again it's a repeat buy for me from last year.

Not a party food, but part of the Grill range, if you can't wait for Christmas dinner then why not have a teatime of turkey, cranberry, bacon & stuffing burgers?

As with every year you can buy a range of tasty pre made stuffing to save time during preparation of the Big Meal.

Carrying on its the savoury treats, it wouldn't be Christmas for me without a fortnight of serious cheese overdosing. I'm serious about the Cornish Cruncher and my true love Blacksticks Blue.

I'm keeping my eye out for the cheese balls that I loved from the party food range last year, but if that doesn't make a return then I'll have to make do with this almost tennis ball sized offering that's £5.

I might pick these up for New Years, as I still haven't tried haggis.

When I'm picking up food hall goodies for blogging I always have to call up to Sprucefield. It's a chance to nosy round their flagship store with huge home & clothing departments. They've added a massive Christmas store department with everything from decorations to cards, presents, wrapping paper and novelty crackers. A lot of the wrap, cards etc are on 3 for 2 offers too.

Back in the Food Hall and onto the sweet gifts and party foods. Making a change from the traditional shortbread tin gift, this lantern took my fancy with a design you could display all year round.

Fancy marshmallows are a fairly recent fad, but I love them. Snowflake shaped mallows are even better.

I also spotted these 'create your own hamper' kits for £10. Super for creating a personal gift for someone who has M&S favourites but also really useful for putting together a hamper for families with dietary needs like nut allergies or gluten intolerance, who otherwise might not get to enjoy premade hamper gifts.

These limited edition golden chocolate shoes and clutch bags are very cool. I'm neither a shoe or bag aholic, I think they'd have to make a chocolate taxidermy stag head for me!

I imagine with both designs being limited to 2000, they'll only be available in selected stores. If you fancy buying one for someone it might be worth phoning your local store to check if they have any in stock.

You can order specially made cakes in store, with this cool penguin design only costing £20.

There are so many shiny sweet gifts to choose from.

I definitely had to grab some of the fancy mallows. Pistachio anything is always good. These would make an excellent alternative gift for a teacher, rather than the usual deluge of shower gels!

Cute carrot cake muffins, part of the 3 for 2 party deal.

I'm probably one of the few people who doesn't go Continental Market mad every December, but I do love Churros. Now I can get a fix with these ready to eat beauties.

M&S seem to out edible glitter on 90% of their Christmas desserts- and that is BRILLIANT. I wish I could eat shimmering everything.

So I think there will be one more pre-Christmas M&S food blog post, so watch out for the last selection of goodies in a week or two.

December 03, 2015

Lily Pink Bakery, Belfast- Not Just Cakes, Works of Art

December 03, 2015/ Claire Spence

I'm lucky to know several really amazing bakers who create beautiful, delicious cakes for their family & friends' celebrations.

One of the absolute best who has gone professional with her talent is Claire from Lily Pink Bakery. You may have ooh'ed and ahh'ed over Claire's cupcakes at St George's Market, but now if you want a slice of the action you can order directly from her website.

Here are some of her shows topping creations.

Birthday Cakes-

Fresh fruit-

Wedding designs-

And finally Claire's speciality, rainbow cakes

December 03, 2015

The Unbeatable IKEA Real Christmas Tree Deal- 6ft, £25 with a £20 Voucher Free with No Minimum Spend for the New Year!

December 03, 2015/ Claire Spence

It's the unbeatable real Christmas tree deal that's been around for several years now at the Belfast store.

Buy a 6ft real tree for £25 and you are also given back a £20 voucher to spend in the new year. With no minimum spend that means you can start the year afresh with some new soft furnishings to give a room a cheap makeover.

The preview of products launching in February is promising. I love mid-century interiors, so I'm a sucker for a plant table.

My ex bought me one of the gorgeous 1950s', pastel, multi-level originals for around £130. The £25 stand below would make a great dupe of one of the antique versions, just some pastel paint sample pots & you've saved yourself £100.

How cool is this collection- which means it's pure torture that the NI & Ireland store aren't stocking it!

I need need need this turntable/record style side board.

I actually have an original of the coffee table below. I use it as my tv/DVD stand with a retro edge.

So lots to look forward to in 2016 at IKEA.

December 02, 2015

'Grotto Off 2015'! Hillmount Garden Centre Belfast, One of the Largest Grottos in Ireland!

December 02, 2015/ Claire Spence

Round two of this year's 'grotto off' took us to the Castlereagh Hills where a winter wonderland lays nestled in Hillmount Garden Centre.

Their mega Christmas grotto is one of the largest in Ireland and features a magical walk through attraction before your one on one with the big man himself.

Children receive a snack and juice, and there is a quiz to take part in as you travel through the various Christmas scenes, with a gift voucher for one lucky winner. I can imagine weekends being very busy, given the scale of the attraction, so perhaps an afternoon visit like we just had would be less chaotic, with shorter waiting times for tiny ones.

Part of the quiz involves blind boxes & guessing what you can feel!

This was my favourite part. A little window in the floor with a birds' eye view of what Santa would see from his sleigh.

There's also a cute dolls' house display, with a teddy family which is just too cute.

The whole walk through attraction is very well done and would be totally magical for kids. It's the sort of memory you are making that they'll talk about with their kids when they are all grown up.

Santa photographs are extra on top of your visit, but your child will receive a present from Santa as part of the grotto cost. I found the photo prices a bit steep, with one copy being £10, or 3 for £20. I think it's due to a third party company doing the photographic work, but prices could be more competitive I feel.

We chose the mini photo in a snowglobe which costs £15

At the end of the grotto visit is an open area with a reindeer, donkeys and Pygmy goats. This part seems to be free to visit for anyone shopping at Hillmount. They have a good arm's length bumper barrier between the animals and the children, which as an animal lover, is always a relief to see. I can imagine many poking little fingers on a Saturday would end up being distressing for the animals, but as it is they are happy and even come over to try to give you a sniff!

After the grotto fun we browsed the store a bit. It's similar to the gifts I posted a few days ago from their Bangor branch, but with the Belfast store being bigger the range of gifts is even better.

The Christmas decoration department is absolutely huge with every colour scheme and tree theme imaginable.

I loved this little fella, a singing Christmas tree.

Hillmount are well known for their fantastic food and the restaurant part has been extended over the years to accommodate the ever increasing clientele.