Globenfeld Watch~ Review and Giveaway

Valentines day has just gone and now I have my partners birthday coming up soon. It's so difficult to know what presents to buy him as he has every imaginable gadget that anyone can have. Keeping this in mind I tend to buy him cloths and accessories and activity packages.

This year I am buying him a Shirt, a matching tie, some cuff links ,tie pin and a watch. My partner is fussy when it comes to watches, he does like them to be chunky and solid looking. My search for a watch led me to the Super sport Globenfeld Watch.The Globenfeld watch fits all the criteria he likes in a watch. Sturdy, Smart and Sleek.

The watch has a scratch resistant mineral crystal glass front that keeps the case protected. It includes a dual analogue/digital display, 12/24 time formats, alarm with chime, stopwatch/timer with lap/reset, and back light function for night vision.

It has a dial framed within a contrasting Tachymeter. It also features steel arrow hands and 3 windowed dials. The Super Sport Globenfeld White 2.0 features a simple to adjust metal band that is solid and supports the overall watch face extremely well.

The watch retails at £59.99 and definitely offers great value for money, furthermore it comes with a 5 year guarantee. Globenfeld also offer a no quibble 60 day money back guarantee if you are not satisfied with the product.

Overall the watch is solid, smart and extremely durable and suitable for smart or casual wear.It comes in a stylish grey presentation box and would make a wonderful gift for the man in your life.

**In collaboration with Globenfeld

Globenfeld have been extremely generous and they have agreed to giveaway one watch to one citrusspice reader.

How to enter:

Simply enter the giveaway using  the Gleam widget below, leaving a blog comment is mandatory part of the entry.The winner will be notified by email once the competition ends.

• Prize Super sport Globenfeld Watch
• This competition is open to UK residents only over 18 years of age. Please read the rules below .
• Leaving a blog comment is mandatory and failure to do so will void any other entries.
• Closing date -  11th March 2018 12 am

Win a Globenfeld Super Sport Men's Watch #1

Testing the Fellows sit /stand desks. #FellowsOnTheMove

Nowadays we are all so educated on the importance of healthy eating, exercise and living a balanced lifestyle. However one of the most important things that we overlook is how much time we spend working. Many of us sit at a desk, hunched up for up to 10 hours plus a day and then go home and sit at a PC for another couple of hours. Have you ever thought of the effects this has on your body?

Have you ever checked your chair to see if it is right for you or that the desk you use is at the correct height? These factors are really important to monitor as it can dramatically effect your posture.We all suffer from mental stress but have you noticed you get aching limbs after a hard day at work? This may be due to the way your work space is set up and long  periods of sitting stationary and lack of stretching and exercise. Prolonged sitting effects your digestion, breathing, concentration and focus too. It can also result in obesity.

I recently attended an afternoon event hosted by Viking in collaboration with Fellows where they were showcasing their sit/stand desks and workstations. I had the opportunity to meet fellow bloggers, nibble some graze box snacks and enjoy refreshments before trying out the desks. I also learn't a simple deskercise routine with Claire from Exercise in the City that can be easily incorporated in my working hours and also create some delicious smoothies with the guys from  Mr Flavour Events.

A Sit-Stand Workstation or Work Platform from Fellowes will fit onto your existing desk, and you can change your working position easily with a minor adjustment to suit your individual needs. You can use the desks standing or sitting so that you can include a few stretches and general deskercise whilst working .The desks come with special mats that allow you to have a comfortable standing position whilst working.

Together with having the perfect set up for your work station, it is equally important to eat and drink healthy and keep hydrated at all times. Fresh fruit and vegetable smoothies are great to get your five a day and they keep hunger at bay too. The lovely guys from Mr Flavour Events created for us some amazing smoothies to sample and then encourage us to create our own. I made a coconut berry burst which tasted delicious.

After an informative afternoon we had to opportunity to enjoy a mini massage session with the ladies from The Pamper Company. I certainly enjoyed the head and neck massage which was most relaxing.

After attending the event I have vowed to make some life style changes and also check that my work station is better set up for me. Now is the time re evaluate your lifestyle and make some changes, do share in the comments below any tips you have.

I was a guest at the event by viking all opinions are my own. Few of the photos included in the first two collages are courtesy of  Eloisa Georgiou. The remaining photos were taken by me.

Loss of a dear companion and a Emma Bridgewater Mini Retro Radio review.

My family spend a lot of time in our kitchen, it's like the central hub of our household. There is always someone in the kitchen either cooking or using the kitchen table for studying or catching with each other over a cup of tea. One thing that we all have in common is that we all love some sort of music in the background. Mr K loves the sports commentary, Miss K loves pop music blaring at the highest decibels, enough to deafen you for life. I myself love having classical music playing in the background whilst I am cooking or doing other chores. The radio is always on and you can easily tell who was in the kitchen last depending on what radio station is playing.

Recently my old faithful radio started to crackle and then would lose signal and finally the volume control totally malfunctioned. Sadly it died a slow steady death. I can't really fault it, I did have the same radio for almost 15 years!!! Replacing the love of my life was rather hard. It's strange how you get attached to certain material things in your life.The few days of silence in my kitchen was eerie and I hated it. I felt like I had lost a dear companion.

My search for a replacement needed to meet very specific criteria. I like my radio to sit on the window sill by my sink. It needed to be compact enough to fit on the sill but I did not want a radio that looked sleek and clinical. My preference was a retro style that is pleasing to the eye too, with a pretty design.

My search for the perfect radio landed me at the Emma Bridgewater range. There is a wonderful selection of retro design radios, all with their unique Emma Bridgewater floral designs. I particularly liked the Retro Mini Radio. It is just the right size and looks really pretty on my window sill. The VQ retro mini digital radio is wrapped in premium leatherette, it has a lovely carry handle and a cute little tag attached to it. There are 11 colours and 12 designs to choose from.

The radio I totally fell in love with was the Retro Mini DAB Emma Bridgewater Rose and Bee design. It matched my cream and duck blue kitchen perfectly and looked really pretty.

The radio has DAB/DAB+/FM radio tuner with 30 presets, bluetooth connectivity for smart devices, standard mains power, however it can be operated using 4AA batteries. The radio has a single ultra wide premium speaker and MyEQ Equaliser sound system. The radio is also perfect to be used anywhere else in the home and it's great as a bedside radio since it has VQ LifeStyle dual alarms and sleep timer. An additional feature is the 3.5mm Auz-in, .3.5mm headphone jack and USB charging.

For such a compact radio it has everything you require in a radio and more. It retails at £89.99, for all the designs and prices you can check the full range here.

The Retro Mini has settled in well and I am over the moon that my kitchen is full of sound again. In fact I love the design so much I am thinking to buy one for the bedroom.

Have you ever become sentimentally attached to a material object in your home? Do share your stories in the comments below.

** I was sent the radio for review purposes and all the opinions expressed in this post are my own.

The importance of hydration whilst travelling.

Travelling and going overseas is something we do regularly, however to keep safe and healthy it’s important to be careful with what we eat and drink. In foreign countries its best to not eat street food but stick to meals that are cooked in hotels as street food vendors do not always have to follow the hygiene standards that we have in western countries. This may result in food that is substandard and can cause many upset stomachs and food poisoning.

The second most important thing is to keep hydrated whilst travelling, drink plenty of fluids, stick to water as carbonated sugary drinks are not healthy for you.  An adult should  drink at least 6-8 glasses of water in an a average day. Whilst travelling abroad, it is important to stick to bottled water however it can be expensive and if you are trekking or travelling in remote places it may not always be available. That’s when the pod+ bottle comes in handy.

The pod+ is a reusable water bottle with an inbuilt replaceable filter, recently launched by nkdlife.com The filter has the ability to deep clean any type of water be it from the tap, dirty rivers or lakes and removes impurities. It has the capability to filter out 99.9% contaminants making any water safe to drink. The filter will last for 300 bottle refills, this is approx 175 litres of water making it more economical than using bottled water.

                                               

Image courtesy of nkdlife.com

The pod+ bottles come in 6 different colours and they are made from BPA free Tritan. The bottles retail at £19.95 and the replacement cartridges are £7.95 each. The bottles are available to purchase from Harrods and nkdlife.com

***I was sent a bottle for review purposes,  all opinions expressed in this post are my own.

As always I love my readers to try out products that I am testing. Nkd life have been very generous and have agreed to send a pod+ bottle out to one citrusspiceuk reader.

How To Enter:

Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries

Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc

Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this Giveaway
Open to over 18 years of age and UK residents only.

Closing date – 28th July 2017 12.00 am
Prize-  1 Pod+ Bottle

How Rafflecopter works:

• You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box. Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.
• Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.
•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.
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• For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 
• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Wham Storage Bags Giveaway

I don't know about other people,  but I can never have enough storage bags around my house. I always have bags in the car for grocery shopping, bags in garage for nick nacks, bags in my utility for groceries, bags for storing my blog props and storing toys. I even have bags with large handles for putting my recycling in and they are perfect for laundry too.

Having canvas bags are ideal for grocery shopping but I recently discovered the Wham Flexibags, they are made from plastic and much more practical and hygienic for in the home, taking on picnics etc.

What are Wham Bags??

The new Wham® Flexi Bags and Flexi Square Carry-alls can be used to carry just about anything. They are super strong and durable and are perfect for carrying shopping, gardening stuff, ice for barbeques and even laundry. They are made from heavy duty plastic and have two integral handles for easy carrying. They can be washed or wiped clean and can be stacked for easy storage too.

The Wham® Flexi Bags are available in 4 colours: Duck Egg Blue, Coral, Pastel Yellow and Pastel Pink.

Size options :

Small: 6 litre, Medium: 12.5 litre, Large: 24.5 litre, Extra Large: 40 litre.

The Wham® Flexi Square Carry-alls are available in Soft Lime or Duck Egg and Blue.

Size options:

Small: 8 litre, Medium: 15 litre, Large: 25 litre, Extra Large: 40 litre

Prices range from as little as £2.50 for smallest sizes to only £7.00 in the biggest sizes.

I love my flex bags and use them all the time in my home. I was sent a pair of bags by Wham to try out in my home, all opinions expressed here are of my own.

As always I love to be able to giveaway items that I have tried and I am really excited that Wham have been very kind and they wills send 1 citrusspice reader 2 flex
bags one of each style. 

How To Enter:

Simply complete the Rafflecopter widget below to verify your entries

Entries can be via blog comment, Facebook, Twitter etc

Please read the rules they form the terms and conditions of this Giveaway
Open to over 18 years of age and UK residents only.

Closing date – 15th May 2017 12.00 am
Prize- 2 wham flex storage bags

How Rafflecopter works:

• You will need to complete the mandatory entry first – usually making a blog comment. You can do this by clicking on leave a comment at the bottom of the post and leaving your reply in the comment box. Please note your comment will not show immediately as it needs to be moderated however rest assured it will appear on the site, so carry on with rest of entries.
• Login to Rafflecopter – click to see what the question is. Make a comment answering the question on the blog.
•  Go back to Rafflecopter and click the green button to tell me you have made a comment, this will unlock all the other options. All entries are checked to see that the mandatory question is answered, if its not all bonus entries will become void. 
• Rafflecopter will tweet, like and follow on your behalf.
• For information on how to find the URL of your tweet click here. 
• For bonus entries you can return to this page and enter the daily bonus entries. 
• If you are still unsure as to how Rafflecopter works please do check out this short video.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Bidvine- A one stop place to find professional services.

This summer we are celebrating a very special birthday for my daughter, we are hosting a small family and friend’s summer garden party to celebrate the occasion. As a special momenta we thought it would be nice to get a photographer to capture the moments so that we can make a keeps sake book for my daughter as a gift afterwards.

I did not know where to start looking for a photographer and that is when a friend suggested Bidvine to me. Bidvine  is an online web site that has a listing of professional that offer their services such as photography, handyman, music lessons, painting, plumbing, diy etc. It is a ones top place to find the right professional for your job.

Using Bidvine is simple, you need to create a log in for the app or use their website and select the professional service that you require. Once you have done this, the website will take you through a series of questions to ascertain your requirements and the budget that you have in mind so that they can find the best matches that fits your request.

Bidvine will then start to work by contacting the relevant professionals in your area so that you can receive up to five quotes from them within 4 days. Once the quotes arrive you can evaluate them at leisure, research the services the professionals offer and also check out their website and reviews before you make your choice.

I was really surprised to find that Bidvine were most efficient, within an hour I received 5 quotes. Each quote had details of the professional’s website so I could see their portfolio and read reviews from other people who had used their services. The photographers also shared ideas and techniques they use for photography and also offered many options of how I could receive the photographs ie in a USB stick, CD, photobook/ album or prints. The choices that were on offer were great and I found this really useful as everything was clear and transparent. One quote that really impressed me was that it even included what brand of camera and lenses the professional had so that if I wanted specific shots they were able to accommodate them.  

I have found Bidvine to be most useful as it has saved me a lot of time manually searching for a photographer. I would most definitely use it for other services too.

*This post is in collaboration with Bidvine

The importance of Oral Hygiene when consuming sweet treats.

We all love food who doesn't especially stuff that is supposed to be bad for our teeth such as sweet treats, fizzy drinks, desserts and chocolates.We often refrain from eating such treats and the craving for them gets worse. I strongly believe in eating a balanced diet and that means that you can eat everything as long as it's in moderation and that you ensure you eat it at the correct times. By this I mean that if you fancy a bar of chocolate or a tube of sweets don't buy it and nibble at it through the day, instead eat it all at once after a meal. This is really important as what you don't want to do is have sugar lingering in your mouth through the day. After you have eaten your meal and treat  it's very important to brush your teeth for a minimum of  two minutes using a fluoride toothpaste to remove the plaque and sugar .

It's shocking to read in a survey conducted that it was found that  28 per cent of Britons admitted not brushing their teeth once in every 24 hour period and one in seven people said they sometimes went more than two days without cleaning their teeth!!! A buildup of plaque, causes gum disease and gingivitis.

Majority of people brush their teeth in the morning when they get up and at bedtime, but they totally forget that they should clean their teeth after lunch too. Together with brushing flossing is important too to remove plaque between teeth.

It's not practical to carry toothbrushes around with you however Sonic Chic have come up with a mini travel size sonic power toothbrush that is perfect for travel. The toothbrush is compact, slim in size and runs on one aaa battery, It comes complete with a spare head too. The toothbrush is only 16cm long and the size of a cigar, its perfect to slip into your pocket, handbag or travel bag. The toothbrush comes in 6 designs so there is one to suit everyone. They are available to purchase in all leading healthcare shops.

With this lovely toothbrush, dental hygiene has become so easy that there is no excuse  not to brush your teeth at lunchtime. The dental association do say that if you are unable to brush your teeth after eating lunch or snacks, a good rinse with a mouth wash is strongly advised.

So how often do you brush and floss your teeth??? Has this post reminded you that you should be brushing more often????

I was sent a sample of the Sonic Chic for review purposes I was not asked to write a positive review, all the opinions are of my own judgement of the product.

Monthly samples round up.

Every now and then I am really fortunate to have news products samples sent to me. This is great way to try out and taste different flavours and discover new things that are on the market.

I love rice and I was really excited to receive the Tilda Pulses and rice  pouches that are created for the wonderful quick and speedy rice experience. The single serve pouches come in 5 delicious flavours;

Pinto bean green chilli and lime, Moroccan inspired chickpea harissa and lemon, Black bean, jerk and coconut, Edamame,spring onion and Wasabi and Split pea, green chilli and coriander.


The pouches are perfect for lunch boxes or when ever you want a quick and speedy side rice dish. They are available at most major supermarkets and retail at £ 1.39 each.




We enjoyed all the flavours although I liked the Moroccan chickpea and harissa lemon one the best.

Chocolates who does not love chocolates especially when they are the luxury brand from Godiva.I was sent this 90th anniversary mini selection box . Beautifully packaged with a vibrant and colorful box which is filled with 9 delicious selection of  Belgium chocolates made with the finest ingredients. The selection box retails at £15.00 and is available from the Godiva stores.

I also received 2 bars of these lovely  Bellarom strawberry crisp white chocolate from Lidl.



The chocolates are creamy and delicious with a wonderful strawberry flavour that pops in your mouth. The crunchy texture from the crisp adds a lovely definition to the creamy texture of the actually white chocolate.


I received these samples to try and all views and opinions are of my own experience of them.

Review ~Bissell Proheat 2x Revolution deep cleaner.

I strongly believe in eating healthy, exercising and living a balanced lifestyle where there is plenty of work and play too. Sometimes despite doing all these things, we develop allergies and intolerances to foods, environment and our surroundings. This is exactly what happened to me. After returning from a holiday to the Lanzarote, I developed a really bad dry cough that lingered and lingered for almost three months, My head and my ribs ached from the constant coughing. The doctors told me I had inhaled the sulphuric volcanic air and that was what had caused my symptoms.

The cough did finally subside but it followed with continuous rhinitis(runny nose, sneezing at the slightest dust particle and a feeling of tight chest.) As a result I was diagnosed as having Asthma and was prescribed an inhaler. 

To help keep my symptoms at bay, I started to deep clean my house, my bedding, pillows and carpets. The carpets were the most difficult as I always had to call out a carpet and upholstery cleaning company to come and clean them . This was also very costly. I had never thought that I could clean my carpets and upholstery myself, that is until the lovely people at Bissell invited me to a roundtable discussion with hygiene expert Dr Lisa Ackerley. The discussion was on  good carpet hygiene, why we should wash our carpets and upholstery regularly and highlight the hidden germs and bugs that are invisibly harbouring amongst the deep fibers. We even saw under a microscope real bedbugs which was gruesome.

I was shocked to learn that many people don't replace their duvets or pillows in a lifetime, nor do they ever clean their carpets or furnishings. Imagine all the food, dirt, mud  pet messes, and accidental accidents from young children all trodden into your carpets day in and day out. Many people wear outdoor shoes in the house, shoes that have walked on all sorts of debris which is later wiped on our carpets.Your carpets may look clean on the surface but you cannot see the invisible dirt and grime that’s underneath in the layers. What we need is a simple carpet cleaning solution that we can use in our home regularly and that is exactly what Bissell have come up with.  They have introduced the Bissell ProHeat 2X® Revolution™ deep cleaner. 

This is an upright carpet cleaner with some great features:

• It out cleans the leading rental in deep clean mode with Professional formula provided
• Express clean mode for a dry time of about an hour for ultimate convenience     
• HeatWave Technology™ to keep water at a consistently warm temperature for optimum cleaning results
• Weighing just 8kg it is lightweight
• Low profile foot makes it manoeuvrable under and around furniture and easy to use
• The 3.7L tank capacity means fewer trips to the sink to empty and re-fill
• Dual Dirt Lifter Power Brushes™ with 12 rows of bristles for a deep down thorough clean
• It can be used to spot clean upholstery and area rugs as well as carpets.
• Easy to assemble and comes with accessories in neat string bag for easy storage.

After learning so much about carpet Hygiene, I was excited to learn that Bissell wanted me to put to test the  ProHeat 2X® Revolution™  on my carpets. I always thought my carpets were well maintained, they were only cleaned about 9 months ago but you will be surprised what actually came out of them after I cleaned them with the  Bissell ProHeat 2X® Revolution™ . ( Please do not judge me on the results, I almost feel ashamed to think how much invisible dirt there still was.) 

I am going to share some before and after pictures of my rug and carpets. The ProHeat 2X® Revolution™  can be used on two modes the deep clean and the express clean. I chose to use the express clean mode as this means that the carpets are dry in an hour.

Can you imagine if this is what came off my carpets which were only cleaned 9 months ago what must be harbouring in carpets that have never been cleaned ?

This is my rug before cleaning and after after. There was a noticeable change in the colour of the rug.

                          Before cleaning                                              After Cleaning

This is the result from the brown carpet in the hallway, it had a lot of grime as its right by the front door where the majority of dirt comes off our shoes as we enter the house.

                     Before cleaning                                                      After cleaning

Finally this was the results from my daughter's bedroom carpet which had a few stains on it. Since I used the express cleaning programme, the stains did lighten but did not complete come out. I think they needed a deep clean programme. However the overall appearance of the carpet was noticeably cleaner and brighter.

I am now a big fan of this awesome carpet cleaner, it's small enough to store, light enough to lift and 

it was really easy to assemble and operate.The ProHeat 2X® Revolution™ is priced at £299.99 and available from www.bisselldirect.co.uk, Currys, Amazon, Argos, Lakeland, JD Williams, Fenwick. 

With the cleaner you also get a   Trial size (8oz) bottle of Wash & Remove + Antibacterial formula which works exclusively with the ProHeat® 2X Revolution™ to kill odour causing bacteria and permanently remove spots and stains and a trial size (8ox) bottle of Professional formula

I was sent the The ProHeat 2X® Revolution™ to test it on my carpets by Bissell. I was not asked to write a positive review. All the opinions and results shared in this post are of my own experience from taking the challenge.

Eggless Carrot Cake

One of my favorite cakes to bake is carrot cake. I love the moist dense texture of it with the aroma of all spice as you cut through a slice. The cake keeps well and its perfect for afternoon tea, a mid morning snack or to ice and take as a gift.

Eggless cakes tend to have a denser texture,so to ensure an even bake,  I always prefer to bake my carrot cake in a Kugelhopf / Bundt cake tin.  This type of cake tin has a hole in the middle so when you cake is baked it will cook more evenly and it will be in a shape of a ring. To get an even bake it is important to use a good quality solid cake tin that does not buckle in the oven. 

Le Creuset make a lovely Kugelhopf tin which is made from toughened non stick metal . It is solid, fairly robust and heavy and really well made. The non stick coating makes turning out the cake easy.The unique swirl pattern indentations on the cake tin  leaves a lovely pattern on the outside of the cake once it's baked.You can purchase the Le Creuset Kugelhopf pan from House of Fraser or many retailers at an approx  price of  £ 30.00 pounds.
House of Fraser stock some lovely bakeware which you can check out here.

print recipe

Eggless Carrot Cake

by Nayna Kanabar March-20-2016

Aromatic all spice fragranced carrot cake.

Ingredients:

• 1.25 cups Plain Flour
• 1/2 teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
• 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/2 cup Butter (room temperature)
• 397 g Sweetened condensed milk
• 2 tablespoons Warm milk
• 1 cup Grated carrot
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla essence
• 1/2 teaspoon All Spice

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 degrees C2. Grease a Kugelhof cake tin and keep aside.3. In a large bowl sieve together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and all spice and keep aside4.Whisk together the condensed milk, vanilla, butter and warm milk util light and fluffy. Fold in the flour and stir in the carrots.Do not over mix.5. Transfer the mixture to the prepared cake tin and smooth the top of the cake mix, bake the cake in a preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until cake is golden brown and a skewer inserted comes out clean.6. Remove cake from oven and allow to cool in tin for a while.7. Turn out the cake on a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.8. If you like you can ice cake with a cream cheese topping I prefer to serve my cake plain.

Details

Prep time: 15 mins Cook time: 40 mins Total time: 55 mins Yield: 1 cake

I was sent the Kugelhopf pan to review by House of Fraser. All the views and opinions are my own about the pan.

Customised photo canvas from Bags of Love

For the last few months I have been living out of suitcases, boxes and bags whilst my house is undergoing some renovations. I had a new bedroom furniture fitted,  had a new shower installed  and have also had the whole house repainted. Its exciting but at the same time its been really stressful. Finally though all the painting is complete, the wardrobes are fitted and the shower is fully working so it's time to start the fun bit and that is choosing some new accessories for the house.

I wanted something personalised for the house so when I saw that Bags of Love do customised gifts I checked out their web site. They do beautiful photo montages such as throws, cushions, spreads, blankets and pillows too. I really liked the ideas of a photo montage and finally settled for a photo canvas montage to hang on the wall.

The site was really easy to navigate. there were options to upload all your chosen photos and either choose to create your own arrangement of the collage or to use Bags of Love's preset templates which is what I did as my collage had some 60 pictures in it. The preset template allows you to select the size of the collage together with the different edge finishes and background colour. Once you have set the choice, it automatically arranges your photos in a random order. The website will then allow you to preview the finished layout and then  all it takes is a click of a button to place the order. With delivery options of next day you could have your photo canvas montage within almost 48 hours. The prices for the montage vary depending on size.

My canvas photo montage came within 48 hours and I must say I am really pleased with it. The selection of photos I used were varied, some old photos that that I had scanned into the computer were not as good in colour as the newer ones. I was pleasantly surprised how they all blended well and the whole montage looks amazing. The parcel arrived well packaged and included in the packaging was a fixing kit with screws and hook. It was very simple to fix and hang up the photo canvas montage.

I am really pleased with my finished master piece. If you are interested in getting a personalised gift for valentines day, mothers day or for any special occasion Bags of Love have some really excellent gift choices to suit all budgets.

I would like to thank Bags of Love who gave me the opportunity to create my own personalised montage. All views and opinions expressed in this post are of my own experience.

Some lovely homeware from homesense.

My love and obsession for food props is one that I am always sharing here on my blog. This year while shopping I discovered some really pretty homeware in Homesense that I fell in love with immediately. I thought about leaving subtle hints with photos of the items for the family to buy for me for Christmas but to be honest I could not wait that long so I have declared a new trend in the household; one must buy a pressie for oneself each christmas. At least you are guaranteed one present that you know is exactly what you wanted!!!!

Really christmas presents should be wrapped and put under the tree  ready to be opened and enjoyed on Christmas day. But I am going to give you a sneak preview of what I bought before I do that.

There really christmassy set of  4 gold dishes in the flower shape are gorgeous.They are perfect for serving nibbles, chocolates etc I love the shimmer on them, they are gorgeous.

My second find were these amazing blue dishes with the gold pattern. The set of 4 dishes are really unique, each has its own intricate pattern and are very original. The dishes are in a shiny gold finish with the most eye catching blue glass, they are perfect for serving nibbles, icecream or just dotted around with some potpourri in them.

 

Although these were  supposed to be a pressie to myself for christmas I could not resist using them in a photo shoot before I wrapped them. Naughty I know but they do look lovely in the photo.

I also love authentic cookware and when I saw this beaten silver karai I immediately fell in love with it. It will be perfect for serving curries in it.

Beautifully shiny with two handles this is a really authentic little dish from India.I am now looking for a matching plate to go with it.

My last find was this really sturdy ice cream scoop. You will not believe it but in the past year I have gone through 4 ice cream scoops the two plastic ones cracked and the handles broke, the metal one was not stainless steel and rusted so when I came across this really good quality stainless steel scoop I had to add it to my shopping basket. Hopefully this is the last time I have to buy an ice cream scoop.

This are my four presents to myself for christmas. I love shopping at Homesense, the variety and choice is lovely and you can get the most unusual gifts in there. I am planning to go back in the new year to get some lovely cushions that I have seen.

I was sent a homesense voucher to spend in homesense all the views and opinion in this post are my own.