Secret Yankee Candle UK Scents On Sale Next Week

Shussssssh, you aren't supposed to know about these three scents which will adorn the online shelves of YankeeCandle.co.uk from the third week in August.  

Early Sunrise and Tahitian Tiaré Flower sound beautiful, but for my own home I chose to review the Napa Valley large jar candle, priced at £19.99

Napa Valley Sun, then. It's akin to walking into someone's house when they've just done a fresh wash of towels and everything smells clean and bright. It's a comforting scent, not overwhelming like an aerosol air freshener spray would be. It's soft and sunny. I really like it. It's great if you want to try scented candles but don't like the idea of your house smelling like a cake, or a mango, or strawberry. 

I am a massive Yankee Candle junkie. Like, huge. To the point where at one time I would hunt down imported American release tarts and then keep a scrap book of the labels. My favourite all time scents are both retired, so I struggle to find them any more, Green Apple and Silver Bells. If you have either of them yourself, I'll certainly buy them from you.

The official UK Yankee Store is heaven for me with an entire section devoted to special rare and imported candles. Plus they haven't cheekily inflated the prices just because they are harder to come by. I'm rather tickled by the Camouflage Candle, which I assume is part of the Man Candle range.

Finally I can't sign off without pointing out Yankee Candle UK's super competition to win a £5000 bespoke holiday. Worth clicking through to.

Big Yankee fan? Let's talk candles on Twitter, @rudedoodle . 

Marks & Spencer's Super Summer of Flavour

Have you been in Marks & Spencer lately? As usual they are pushing the boundaries of unusual culinary delights to be found on a supermarket shelf, with their Summer of Flavour. 

They've put coconut, pineapple, watermelon, chipotle or wasabi on EVERYTHING, and this is the BEST THING EVER. It's like a range invented by me, with all meats pulled, everything fruity & tangy and beautiful.  

You know where I do my big shop, but I'm no stranger to M&S either. Their food can be a little more pricey, but it's actually WORTH IT, so you don't mind. We aren't talking stupid prices either, and their Meal for Two for £10 is still one of the best value meals from any supermarket. 

We visited the Sprucefield Marks & Spencer, Lisburn, just outside Belfast. It's gigantic. It must have everything from the website and more. Stationary, clothing, food hall, then another massive shop of M&S Home.

Here's what I think must have gone down in the M&S kitchen when they invented this product.

"Okay, chocolate covered... we've had coconut before... pineapple? ....watermelon? too messy I suppose... what other flavours have we included in our Summer of Flavour, Jim?" 

"WASABI. WASABI PEAS." 

"Oh, Jim. I don't think so" 

"MAKE IT SO." 

(I'll let you know on Instagram later in the week what I think of them).

They may sound weird, but products like this is exactly why I love M&S. 

So what did we pick up to try through out this week?

I'm giving coconut water a second chance. I've tried it plain and thought it tasted too much like sweat. But this carton has a whole juiced watermelon in there too, so it's bound to taste nice. Plus I picked it up on the 3 for £5 offer, so it's a bargain. 

If you look closely at the yellow carton you can see the pineapple juice has hints of lemongrass and jalepeno chilli in it! Another curious creation.

The fruit snacks are very summery, the Tropical Paradise tray includes little, yellow, coconut & pineapple flavour jelly shells. Tropical Triumph has mango sauce and a shaker of coconut flakes included. 

There's my Wasabi Peas again, and a bound-to-be beautiful, £3 coconut and pineapple cake. If you've never tried M&S's £3 round cakes, you are missing out. They are the moistest, most delicious cakes you can buy from a supermarket. Try the toffee one and it'll change your cake buying habits for life.

If you're a macaron fan there is a special summer version of their mini desserts for £5.50. 

The Summer of Flavour range has tonnes of picnic food to choose from, and buy four items and you get a free bottle of wine, or if you're teetotal like me, a non-alcoholic alternative. Rather than use these for a picnic, I chose them for some night when I want to make a 'lazy tea'. A little platter of tasty bits and pieces to share, and with 3 packs for £6 it's a good deal.

The Summer of Flavour has reached the takeaway sandwich aisle too. Marks & Spencer have caught onto the trend of all meat being 'pulled'. It's strange, meat didn't seem to be pulled before 2013, now it's like you can't buy pork without it being yanked first. It's like paninis. Before 2005 they didn't exist in the UK, now they are everywhere. See also pizza pre-1985.

Back to the point though, these soft baps are made from a sweet, brioche type recipe and I love them. The sweet, soft baps are available from the bread & bakery section, called Posh Dog Baps they'll impress the neighbours at your next BBQ.

More from the picnic range, these Firebreads are only £3 each, which seems like a great price to me. These do need cooked before you eat them, so bear that in mind if you are dropping into M&S for something to take to a park to eat 'now'. We are going to try these tonight, so again if you want to know what I think & how they look cooked, see my Instagram later.

We Smyths love a wee multi-pack of dips, and I'm looking forward to testing out this smokey selection. 

Another item I've tried before, but simply had to include because it's out of this world, their Wasabi Potato Salad. It's part of their 2 for £3 salad pots which includes a great Crunchy Mango Salad pot and a lovely version of Waldorf Salad.

Another wasabi fuelled Summer of Flavour item I've noticed in the past few weeks included wasabi popcorn. Annoyingly it slipped my mind to look for it when I was there today. 

The Grill collection is the BBQ type section of the a Summer Flavour menu, and there's lots to choose from. I went for three items from the 3 for £10 range. These sweet potato wedges would make a gorgeous BBQ accompaniment. Also good for making your own at home, pretend Nandos.

The coconut, lemongrass  & lime chicken should be amazing, and again the night we do cook and eat these I'll give my opinion on Instagram.

Finally, way-hey it's the pulled pork! My mouth is watering just looking at the picture on the front of the box. Apple BBQ sauce sounds like the thing dreams are made of.

This shop came in at around £45 and you can really make some good savings by reading up on the offers in store.

Oh, and I tried these cashews earlier in the week, coconut & chilli ones. Don't laugh, but the taste reminded me of sugared Shredded Wheat​ (descriptions like that is probably why I'm not a full time foodie blogger). They are totally yummy.

Check out the M&S website for recipes using their current ranges.​

This post was sponsored by M&S supplying the food for review. Thanks, guys! 

United Tastes of America at Lidl Week Inspires Me to Serve Everything on Skewers!

It's been American Week at Lidl, with lots of treats in store.

Of course I had to stock up. I don't know if anyone else felt inspired by this Buzzfeed post about skewer food last week, but as a mother of a picky eating six year old, I was keen to try some of the ideas out.

I picked up all the ingredients in my Bangor Lidl store. For savoury skewers for the adults I bought the outstandingly delicious sirloin steaks, a red pepper and baby potatoes.

I simply boiled the potatoes then tossed them in butter. I fried off the red pepper in olive oil, so they still had a little bit of crunch and wouldn't fall apart when I added them to the skewer. The sirloin I chopped into pieces and fried in the super hot pan, adding a dollop of honey thirty seconds before the end to give it a lovely taste. They were SO GOOD.

For my son's savoury skewer I added Belgian waffle quartered, cherry tomatoes in coloured varieties and hotdog sausage chopped up. What do you know, instead of fighting over eating, the novelty of the presentation had this meal demolished in minutes.

The easiest and yummiest looking dessert idea was this brownie one.

I had run out of clean skewers at this point, but for soft foods you can use drinking straws. Also a safer plan if you want to avoid giving six inch metal or wooden spikes to kids! Again these were a success. I might make dozens of these come birthday party time in October.

If you're into your healthy snacks then you can pick up a popcorn maker which uses hot air, not oil, for just £8.99.

For bakers, there are cake pop makers and doughnut makers, £11.99 each. Plus ready made doughnut batter in store.

I also spotted, but didn't pick up, these 'Nutella' filled cookies. If anyone tries them let me know are they worth trying on Twitter, I'm @rudedoodle.

A couple more products caught my eye, some very Ikea-a-like meatballs, and almond tarts. Also fancied this big pork fillet to make pulled pork, it was £4.99.

Another taste-a-like, a bag of Starbucks' type hard waffles for less than the price of one waffle bought in their chain! These are a spot on taste match.

Lastly, you may wonder how I'm even finding time to blog, what with school holidays and no moment of my own anymore, well, Lidl to the rescue once again. For the past hour Michael has been busy colouring in this cardboard playhouse we picked up with our Lidl shop for £7.99!

Don't forget you can check out the Lidl NI website to see what themed offers are coming up in the next few weeks, influding some fab duvets and jammies boys and girls in July.

Lidl & the Emergency £9.99 Hairdryer

Our hair dryer exploded this morning about two minutes into drying my mane. I'm already pathetic at hair styling, so I just whacked a tonne of Aussie Mousse into it and hoped for the best.

Unfortunately the best was a wet look perm, one Michael Jackson would have been proud of. I actually went out to a church fete with my hair as below. 

Luckily I'd spotted a hair dryer in Lidl yesterday for £9.99 in black, pink, blue or orange. So tomorrow I'll be back to my usual self.

Tailor-made, Beautiful Sofas from Willow & Hall. Luxury You Can Afford.

The idea of ordering a unique, specially made sofa, just for your household seems an expensively daunting one, but the Willow & Hall experience offers just that, at a price comparable to factory produced furniture.

The British brand lovingly craft your sofa, sofa bed, armchair or mattress to your exact specifications. The furniture has a five year guarantee, and shipping is free. There's a no-fuss return policy if you aren't happy too. 

The slick, clean webstore has a wealth of high quality pieces, and options of literally dozens of plush fabrics to choose from. You can order free swatches of fabric from the site, if you want to see the cloth tones in your chosen room before committing to a full size sofa.  

Why spend a similar amount in a big, sofa chain store, when you can have a handmade setee from Willow & Hall? I'm also fond of their very classy interiors blog. Great if you are looking for inspiration.

 This is a sponsored post for Willow & Hall.

The Top Ten Terrifying Costumes Noel Edmonds has Worn for Deal or No Deal Specials

Deal or No Deal is one of the top daytime quiz shows. With it's unpredictable game play and Noel's way of whipping up every game into the Most Important One Ever, it's remained popular on our screens since 2005.

Every so often they put on a themed week. Love Week, Circus Week, the rather odd Dark Woods Week, and for each Noel gets a make over which always seems to include a face full of make up. Here are the top terrifying costumes he has work during the series. 

You can play Deal or No Deal Bingo on  the Paddy Power website, as well as a full selection of bingo games online to choose from.

10. The Merry Chef

9. The Jolly Judge

8. The Grubby Farmer

7. Santa's Elf

6. The Nutcracker Prince

5. Mrs. Edmonds

4. Angel / God?

3. 'Sexy' Pirate

2. Aladdin's Genie

1. The Top Terrifying Costume- the Spirit of the Wild Woods

This is a sponsored post for Paddy Power Bingo.

The Quest For Your Home's Signature Scent, With Help from ScentedCandleShop.com

My name is Claire Smyth and I'm a scented candle buying addict. It started when Yankee Candle started appearing in shops and garden centres. At last there was a brand of candle that actually filled a room with the smell it professed to be. Over the years I must have spent hundreds and hundreds of pound on the Yankee Candle range. Jars, votives, tea lights, always trying the three new released scents each season, and even buying rare, retired and US-only varieties off eBay. I can tell you my favourite, The House Scent of the Smyth household each Christmas, a retired scent called Silver Bells, which smells like Christmas tree.

To save money, I swapped from large jars to Yankee tarts. This allows me to try dozens of scents without having to burn through a whole jar before I can swap smells. The wax tarts are little discs of highly fragranced wax, which melt in specialised tart burners. 

So I've found my Christmas scent, but an all year round favourite candle smell still hasn't been found.  ScentedCandleShop.com decided to help me out by allowing me to try out twenty eight different wax tarts, mostly Yankee a Candle brand, but also Bridgewater and Colonial scents. Their easy to use store allows you to browse by candle colour too, great for toning in with your colour schemes. 

Here is what I tried, and what each of the tarts smell like. 

I began with Yankee Candle's Christmas varieties that I hadn't tried beforehand myself. Red Berry & Cedar - a little touch of berry against a rich Christmas tree scent. Spiced Orange- fruity cinnamon, like a delicious big scone. Red Apple Wreath- similar to red berry, but with a crisp apple smell. Snowflake Cookie- like sugary shortbread. Season of Peace- a soft freesia scent. Snow in Love- clean, soap-like, fresh. Merry Marshmallow- as you would think, fluffy, soft, sugary mallow scent. Christmas Memories- like a holiday season kitchen smell, baking sweet treats. 

On to the floral themed wax tarts, again all from Yankee Candle. Vanilla Satin- I always find pure vanilla too sickening, this is a clean, subtle vanilla, very nice. Turquoise Sky- this reminds me of a perfume I used to use, Ocean Dream. A pretty, floral, fresh scent. Under the Palms- I swear I can catch a hint of coconut in this natural, greenery smell. True Rose- a strong traditional Rose candle. Waikiki Melon- smells exactly like melon, but isn't sickeningly sweet. White Gardenia- smells of summer holidays abroad, heavy floral scent.

Champaca Blossom- I'm not sure I've ever smelt Champaca, but it's a beautiful, floral perfume that wouldn't over-power your room. Midnight Oasis- not for me, a bit too much like men's bubble bath. November Rain- an unusual one, I'm nearly sure I can smell liquorice and mint. Pink Hibiscus- a little like Rose, but more tropical and exotic. Lake Sunset- a sugary, floral, subtle scent.

Moving onto non-Yankee tarts. Holiday Keepsake- candy canes and Christmas dessert smells. Ripe Mango- not keen, smells like orange dilute juice. Chestnut & Nutmeg- very subtle, you can definitely tell these tarts are as high quality as Yankee. Lily of the Valley- smells accurate but very synthesised. Clean Caress- now this one is good, clean laundry. Sweet Magnolia- accurate but not strong, maybe Colony Candles are suited for those who like scented candle but not for their room to be overwhelmed by it burning. Midnight Iris- a tropical floral. Pineapple & Coconut- accurate, but lacking the natural quality of Yankee. Fruit Sorbet- I like this one, smells like frozen yoghurt.

So which will become my favourite, house signature smell? I think the answer will come from the burning. I'll keep you updated!

12 Reasons Why Lidl Should Become Your New Local Deli in 2014

Everyone is too broke to be snobby about Lidl anymore. But take a trolley around the cut price supermarket & you may be pleasantly surprised at the range of products available. One of the reasons I visit Lidl once a month, is to feed my habit for loving the new and unusual. Each visit to my local Bangor store brings a new selection of treats I haven't seen elsewhere. As well as European foods, Lidl NI offer great priced local produce, their meats are especially good quality.

Here are 12 products that may tempt the foodies amongst my readers to try their local Lidl store. 

1.  Pear Balsamic Vinegar, also available in Apple.

2. Jalepeno pepper relish. This would be awesome on crackers with mature cheddar.

3. Irish Pea and Ham Soup. This is amazing, one of my repeat purchases. Probably not a suitable soup if you're on a diet (such as the Limmy porridge and soup diet) as it's made with cream. 

4.  Lemon Curd Yoghurt.

5. Devon Style Toffee Yoghurt. These are 59p each. If I've been at Lidl before you there will be no toffee variety left because I LOVE them. They have little toffee pieces through it. 

6.  Toffee Spread

7. Coconut Spread. If you follow me on Twitter you'll know I'm addicted to this stuff. You know the white versions of Ferrero Roche? This tastes like the inside of those. I currently have three jars of this stock piled. 

8. A big pile of smoked salmon for £2.69, yes please.

9. Smooth Irish Cheddar with Seaweed. SEAWEED! 

10. Black Forest Ham. This is a Parma ham style meat and at a fraction of the price you would pay in a deli or posh supermarket.

11. Honey cure bacon

12. Lardons. I honestly can't get these anywhere else. Super handy for in omelettes or pasta dishes.