Giveaway – Nightwolf's Den

Of blankets and being comfy {Review & Giveaway}

GIVEAWAY FINISHED

Disclaimer: I was given a Laila cushion and throw to review. All wording (unless noted) and opinions are my own.

Now that we’re into winter again it’s time to dig out the comfy, warm blankets. Things that make you feel good when you snuggle up in them on a cold winter’s evening, or day if you’re like me. What? I’m pregnant, don’t judge me :p If your snuggly blanket looks great even better and another upside is it makes you feel good too.

I was recently sent a gorgeous Laila throw and cushion by the lovely people at Angads.

Now I’ll be honest and I wasn’t really sure I liked them to start with. Red really isn’t a colour I’ve used in our house BUT after snuggling up under the throw in bed one day when I was feeling a tad rubbish I realise it goes with the colours in our bedroom really well. The 150cm square, 100% cotton quilted throw is really warm despite it’s light weight. The ruffle is really cute but not too girly (ie hubby won’t mind having it on the bed). The 45 cm square decorative cushion cover is also 100% Cotton.

After spending that day snuggled up under the throw I decided to check out the Angads website and make a bit of a wish list, as you do.

For the bedroom I’m quite partial to :

L-R: Geisha, Lush Plum, Embroidered, Richard

For the Kids:

L-R: Laila Cot set, Tara Cot set, Twinkle Cot set, Snoopy Sean

L-R: Happy Daisy, Laila (what? I really like this one, so does Miss K), Princess Tara, Alex

Other bits and pieces I like:

I love masks and the Lucy Low, Feather & the Joker are my favourites and I’m partial to the small Buddha.

There are soooooo many pretty things in the ceramics section and I really love the Peacock Jug & Bowl, Topino Bird Leaf Platter, actually most of the Topino Bird series and the Nadia Tea Pot

I’m not even going to go into the sleepwear section LOL. Do yourself a favour though and have a look!

To feed your love of gorgeous things I have a throw and cushion pack to giveaway to one lucky reader. If you’re not lucky enough to win though there is a sale on at the moment. For your chance to win, please enter via the Rafflecopter below.
PLEASE NOTE – ENTRY OPEN TO AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY.

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Mozzies b gone {Review, Giveaway}

Disclaimer – I was given some Para’Kito™ goodies to review. All wording and opinions, unless noted, are my own.

Now mozzies are probably something you think aren’t a big issue in Tasmania, especially as the weather gets colder but I can assure you I have sported some monster bites over winter in previous years. And don’t get me started on summer mozzies 😉 We’ve tried lots of different solutions to deter these buzzy pests but most smell vile and aren’t natural which isn’t a great option when you have littlies (or are pregnant).

Para’Kito™ provides a great alternative to those stinky, chemical sprays and roll-ons. Para’Kito™ pellets diffuse a blend, of 7 essential oils extracted from plants, which naturally prevents from mosquito bites effects (itching and irritation). The pellets can be used in the range of cute wristbands or clips.

The wristbands come in a range of colours and limited edition prints

and the clips also come in a range of funky colours

Now I’ll be honest, I haven’t actually had a chance to use the wristbands myself because as soon as they arrived Miss K pinched the Hawaii print one and insisted on wearing it night and day – even to her swimming lessons (which lead her to pinching the blue one because she left the other in her swim bag). We did notice that during the 15 days she wore it the number of bites on her legs and arms was significantly less than normal. I do have one of the clips attached to my bag.

So how do these wristbands and clips work & what are the benefits?

they use a blend of 7 essential oils that are known to have repellent properties
each pellet lasts 15 days
are suitable for the whole family – including young children, pregnant women and those with allergies
waterproof
suitable for all areas
wristbands and clips RRP $24.95
refill packs – 2 pack RRP $15.95 or 6 pack RRP $33.95

Looking forward to wearing these over the summer (if I can hide them from Miss K) as I really hate mozzie bites and we’ll hopefully have our new BBQ area set up (that’s another post in itself) so I plan on spending some lazy summer evenings outside and relaxing in the hammock.

Now onto the giveaway – one lucky reader can win themself a Para’Kito™ Family pack, valued at $90.80. The family pack includes 2 wristbands (with 2 refills), 1 clip (with 2 refills) and a 2 pack of refills.
Enter via the rafflecopter below. ENTRY IS OPEN TO AUSTRALIAN RESIDENTS ONLY.
Giveaway closes 18th May 2014.

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Soft drinks while pregnant? You bet! {review}

Being pregnant means you should watch what you drink. I had gestational diabetes last pregnancy and really wanted to do whatever I could this time around to reduce my chances of getting GD again this pregnancy.
One of the things I did when I first found out I was pregnant was to stop drinking Coke, well to tell the truth I had to stop because it was making me sick – hello morning sickness!!

Thanks to the morning sickness I was a bit limited to what I could drink without feeling ill – water, sometimes juice, the occasional water cordial. No milk and nothing of the fizzy variety.

Enter the 2nd trimester and the end of morning sickness (yay!!) and I slowly introduced milk back into the diet and was ok. There was a definite craving for something fizzy but the amount of sugar in soft drinks is a bit frightening – 28g per 250ml in lemonade and 27g per 250ml of cola. Before you ask no I don’t do diet drinks or no sugar drinks, for one thing I’m not convinced that fake sugars are good for us and secondly I’m not a huge fan of the taste.

When I was offered the chance to try a low sugar, organic alternative I must say I was extremely curious. BIONADE (pronounced Bee-oh-nah-deh) is a range of organic fermented and carbonated beverages from Germany.

On first glance, you could be fooled into thinking it’s a trendy new post-mix alcoholic drink but no it’s a tasty low sugar drink that looks as good as it tastes.

So what is BIONADE and what makes it different from your average soft drink?

it’s 100% certified organic
it’s low in sugar (15.5g per 330ml serve)
Brewed like beer, but non-alcoholic
No colourants! No preservatives! No artificial flavours!
Gluten free. Suitable for vegetarians and vegans.

There are 4 flavours – ginger & orange, lychee, elderberry and herbs.

First up in my trial was the ginger & orange. Ginger is meant to be pretty good when you feel ill, be it from morning sickness, travel sickness or maybe just feeling a little seedy after a night out. I thought it might taste a little similar to IronBru (it’s a Scottish citrus, slightly gingery, soft drink, often described as “Scotland’s other national drink” (after Scotch whisky) and is the number 1 selling soft drink there closely followed by Coke) but it was more gingery with an nice orange aftertaste. Quite nice. I imagine it would make a good mixer.

I tried the Herb flavour and really wasn’t sure. Don’t think I would drink this one again.

Now I’m not a fan of lychees at all so was pretty hesitant about trying this flavour. Pleasantly surprised! It was sweet and a little tangy. Again it would probably make a good mixer.

I’ve left my favourite til last – Elderberry. It is super yum, sweet, fizzy and very moreish.

Hubby wasn’t taken with any of them but he’s pretty fussy. Miss K loved all of them and they are something I’d be happy to give BIONADE to her as a treat over lemonade or cola.

At this stage BIONADE is available online from http://www.drinks-logistics.com.au/ and selected retailers

And cause I love my readers I have a mixed case of 24 bottles of BIONADE to giveaway to one lucky Nightwolf’s Den reader. Leave us a comment with what you loved to drink when you were pregnant OR what you’d miss drinking if you were pregnant. Entry is open to Australian residents only. Winner will have 1 week to respond once the giveaway is drawn. Giveaway closes 26th March 2014

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Mother’s Day 2013

Disclaimer: I created and received 2 prints courtesy of PasterCandy. I’d share my poster but they are gifts 🙂 Unless noted, all wording and opinions are my own.

Mother’s Day is coming up soon (May 12 in Oz) and to help you out if you have a mother to buy for or just want to give you kids some ideas I’ve compiled a bit of a list. Hubby, if you are reading this – I’ll print this list and circle what I want 😉

For the Gardener

Digger’s Club membership
plants
gardening tools
Pre-pay for professional garden services e.g. gardening or lawnmowing

For the Scrapbooker

Project Life Mini albums
Project Life
scrapbooking tools – maybe something she’s had her eye on for awhile (like a Silhouette maybe)

For the tea/coffee drinker

Goodies from Rabbit Hole Tea or T2 or Art of Tea
A nice mug or cup & saucer
a delicious (maybe homemade) snack to go with their cuppa

For the geek mum

Beads from Think Geek
Soft Kitty anything (I have a hat & socks – want the hoody)
Doctor Who anything (or change Doctor Who for your Mum’s favourite show)
heck anything from Think Geek

For the tech mum

a tablet (iPad or Android or Windows equivalent)
cover for phone or tablet
iPod
portable speakers or new headphones

For the photographer mum

new camera equipment
photo printing vouchers
new SD cards

Other (only cause I couldn’t think of a suitable heading – yeah I’m lazy :p)

Pandora anything. I love the new beads (like this for example)
Scented soy candles
Dream Man Arm Pillow (?!)
a good book
an afternoon out
something handmade – by yourself or the kids
something handmade by a local artist (like the amazing ceramics by Kim Foale)

If you want something super special for your mum this Mother’s Day and you use Instagram I can recommend PosterCandy. They offer posters of your Instagram images. Sizes range from 30cm x 40cm (12, 20, 35 or 48 images) up to 70cm x 100cm (70, 117, 140 or 176 images) and prices range from $19.99 to $49.95) Currently they only ship to Australia and New Zealand. All posters fit into standard IKEA frames. If you don’t have an IKEA nearby (like us in Tasmania) you’ll have to shop around for a frame to fit. The quality is amazing too.

Creating your poster is easy. You select your poster size

The site then logins into your Instagram account (after asking for your permission) and you’re taken to the Poster Maker

From here you can change how many photos per print, print orientation, Background colour and how many posters you want to order. All your photos from your Instagram account are show in the middle and you just drag your photo to where you want it. There is also an option to create a totally random selection of your photos. You can also filter your photos by # tag. Once ordered, your poster can take between 3-5 days to arrive.

One lucky reader has the chance to win themselves a PosterCandy for their mum (or themselves).

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Hello Kitty!

No secret I’m a bit of a Hello Kitty fan and there is soooo much Hello Kitty merch out there. Some of it I’d never be caught dead with – like the Hello Kitty water dispenser. Or you can transform yourself into Hello Kitty, then you could always weigh yourself on some Hello Kitty bathroom scales. Hello Kitty walking stick anyone?

and then there’s the stranger….

(and if you can’t figure our what some of them are… a gun(!), a condom holder (um wtf?), a urinal target, a chainsaw, a corset (actually that’s kind of pretty), a vibrator Disappointed smile , contact lenses, sanitary products and finally a Hello Kitty house – the whole thing is totally Hello Kitty

Now we’ve seen some of the strange, how about the cute….

earrings, necklaces, rings, phone covers, doona covers and the multitude of soft toys

and to make you smell sweet – Hello Kitty Perfumed Body Mists (Bubblegum, Strawberries & Cream, Melon, Musk Sticks)

New to the Hello Kitty body mist scene is Vanilla Ice Cream (it’s the yellow bottle). I’m a huge fan of all things vanilla and remember buying lots of vanilla scented body sprays when I was younger. The Hello Kitty spray isn’t sickly sweet and leaves a nice lingering smell. Recommended retail price is $4.99

To win yourself a set of 2 Hello Kitty body mists leave a comment telling me your favourite scent and why?

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Terms:

Entry is open to Australian residents only.
This is a game of chance.
Winner will receive one Hello Kitty Vanilla Ice Cream body mist & one other Hello Kitty body mist.
Once contacted winner has 1 week to get back in contact or the winner will be redrawn
Good luck!

From the Den

Disclosure: I was given product or vouchers to trial the following products. All opinions are my own.

It’s been awhile since I’ve done a From the Den post. We’ve been trying a few new things lately so I thought I’d share 🙂 cause I’m nice like that hehe

PONG mobile cases. I’m usually a bit sceptical when it comes to mobile phones and the whole radiation thing so when I was offered the chance to try a mobile case that claims to cut radiation as well as improve signal & battery life I thought well it can’t hurt to try it out. Pong cases claim to reduces exposure to cellular radiation by up to 94% below international safety limits, by redirecting mobile phone radiation away from your head and body as well as improve signal strength by up to 30%. Efficient antenna performance is meant to increase talk-time battery life.
After having a case with a flip over cover for so long, it was a little strange at first to go to the slip on design. The rubber side grips are comfy and it comes in a range of colours. Can’t say anything about the radiation but I did notice an improvement in battery life and signal strength.
If radiation from mobiles is a worry for you this would be a great case – the extended battery life is a bonus! PONG make cases for the iPhone 3 up to the iPhone 5, iPad (1 through 4 and the mini), some Android phones & some Blackberry phones. You can buy PONG phones online. Prices range from $49.99 for the Motorola Droid X/X2 case to $129.99 for an iPad case

Coles GRILL products. Thanks to VIBE Village I had the opportunity to try out the new Coles GRILL range. We tried the Pepper & Chilli Beef, Honey Soy Chicken Skewers, Tasmanian Salmon Teriyaki and Southern Style Chicken Shanks. We had 2 friends round for a BBQ and we were surprised to have leftovers. The beef was moist and full of flavour and not too spicy like we thought it would be. The salmon was delish. The chicken skewers were quite yum (I only got half of one, Miss K scarfed the rest – she loves her chicken) but probably could have done with more marinade. Didn’t try the chicken shanks but hubby assured me they were yum. Love the fact these are just open and cook. Would be great if you had to take something to a BBQ and wanted to grab something on the way or to stash in the freezer for a quick meal option.

Fing’rs nail makeup. I love wearing nail polish but it really doesn’t like me. I put it on and within an hour it’s all chipped. Doesn’t matter if I get my nails done professionally either – still chipped within a couple of hours. Makes me sad. And I’m not coordinated enough to do all the fancy nail art I keep pinning on Pinterest. So when I got the chance to try the new range of Fing’rs Nail Makeup I thought awesome! There are 8 designs in the new L.A. range. I tried Hollywood first, it’s pink with silver dots. Application is really easy – just choose your nail size, peel from the backing, stick to your nail then fold the end and file to your nail shape. The packaging says they will last for up to 7 days. Mine lasted through a kids party & all the prep for that, a swim, general housework. We’re on day 6 and they are only starting to look a little shabby at the ends. I’m debating about trying a layer of clear nail polish over the top next time to give them a bit more protection. Fing’rs nail make up is available at selected Coles & Kmart stores for $9.99

And now the exciting part. I’ve got a full set of the new Fing’rs LA range to give to one reader. That’s 8 different designs for you to try.

To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below, help me choose which Nail Makeup I should try next.
Entry is for Australian residents only.

And the winner is Jody. Congratulations. Thanks to all who commented and the winning choice will be revealed on Twitter & Instagram later today 😉 It was very close

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Review–The Jungle Bunch

Wanna know a secret? I really love watching kid’s movies, well more specifically, animated kids movies. Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Despicable Me, Fantasia, Go to Hell (oh wait, that’s not a kids film)…. the list goes on. And I’ve just added a new movie to the list – The Jungle Bunch.

The Jungle Bunch is the story of Maurice (voiced by actor John Lithgow), the penguin who thinks he’s a tiger. Two penguins from Maurice’s home in Antarctica travel to the jungle in search of ‘The Great Tiger Warrior’ to save their village. Their search leads them to Maurice’s jungle home where they share their plight. Determined to help Maurice; his adopted son – a tiger fish named Junior; Fred the warthog convinced he lives in a musical; Batricia the bat afraid of the dark; Miguel the gorilla and Gilbert the tarsier afraid to leave his branch form a team and embark on an adventure.

The Jungle Bunch trailer

We enjoyed the movie and there’s lots of scenes adults will find just as funny as the kids. Miss K watched most of it, which is a pretty big thing as she hardly ever watches a whole movie.

The Jungle Bunch goes for 58mins and is available now on DVD. One lucky reader will a copy of The Jungle Bunch plus some other kid’s DVDs.

All you need to do to enter is answer the following question via the Rafflecopter below.

“What is your favourite kid’s movie?”

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Around the Wolf’s Den

What with Digital Parents Conference, Easter and my Blogoversary (have you entered my final giveaway yet?) I’ve been neglecting a couple of posts I had committed to write. So I thought I’d share a few of the products I’ve been sent to review lately (plus there’s a giveaway to enter too)

The fun Jelly Bean sandals of our (well my) youth are back and just as popular with the little people as ever. Miss K was rather excited when I picked these up from the Post Office and wanted to wear right away. They are one of her ‘go to’ pairs of shoes at the moment and has even been known to put them on before heading to bed!They are available in sizes for little people in blue, pink or clear AND big people in black, blue, red, pink and clear.

We’ve also be using the Boxy Design lunch set. It’s a backpack, compartment lunchbox, drink bottle and freezer gel pack. The set is $78 but I think it’s work the cost. The gel pack and lunchbox fit in a insulated compartment in the bottom of the backpack keeping kids lunch separate from everything else. There’s a smaller compartment on top for frequently accessed things and a long pocket at the back for paper and books. The lunchbox comes with two smaller spill proof containers for snacks or things like yoghurt (the lunchbox even comes with a spoon) and the two larger containers so sandwiches and fruit are kept separate and don’t need extra wrapping. It’s also dishwasher safe & BPA Free (as is the drink bottle). We’ve used it a couple of times when out and about and it’s been pretty good. Haven’t tried sandwiches yet. It should last Miss K till she starts school and hopefully through primary school.

Swimming in winter? In Tasmania? Only in an indoor or heated pool right? Well if your child is suited up in a Heatseeker wetsuit they could. Miss K loves to swim and has been a real water baby since she was really small. Last year she was disappointed to not be able to go swimming during winter, this year she can. Mind you I don’t think I’ll be joining her unless the pool is heated. This great set has kept her warmer than her other rashie type swimmers and the separate pieces mean the suit will hopefully last her a bit longer. Love the fact that Heatseeker is an Australian company too!

Now, onto a giveaway….
I have a pair of Jelly Bean sandals to give away. Enter with the Rafflecopter below (there may also be a pair in my blogoversary final giveaway too, just saying)
Open to Australian residents only. Closes 8/5/12

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Let’s go out with a bang

To finish off my little bloggy party I’m going to go out with one last giveaway. Since a blogoversary is a bit like a birthday, my last giveaway is a total surprise!!

Yup you read that right. You have no idea what will be in the box that I’ll be sending to one lucky person but it’s full of some great goodies.

But on to the winners so far!!

Thanks for all the yummy chicken ideas. I’m sure we’ll be trying out a few.
Giveaway #1 – 2 x $20 Lenards vouchers go to…… Sammi & Sasha.

Some great beauty tips and the
Giveaway #2 – Beauty pack goes to…… Mary

Thanks again go to those who took part in my bloggy question & answer.
Giveaway #3 – Urban Lily Life Journal goes to…… Kylie

and the final winner
Giveaway #4 – Ella’s Kitchen pack goes to…… Narelle

All winners have 48 hours to contact me with their postal details. If I have no contact my Tuesday I will be doing a redraw.

Now for the big Mystery box. You’ll have to do a little work for this one.
Comment on this post sharing your favourite birthday memory
(Optional – leave me a message here if you do any/all of these)
Like me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Tweet about the giveaway

Entry is open from 22 April 2012 until 6th May 2012 and is open to Australian residents only. Enter using the Rafflecopter form below.

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Ella’s Kitchen

While in Melbourne we attended the Kids Business Bloggers BBQ where I met and networked with some great brands. One of these brands was Ella’s Kitchen.

Ella’s Kitchen was set up in the UK by Ella’s Dad, Paul as he thought his daughter and other children ‘should have the opportunity to eat better food and also to discover that healthy food can be fun, tasty and cool.’ They have a variety of products including 100% fruit Smoothie Fruits, Stage 1 Baby Foods, Stage 2 Baby Foods and Baby Brekkie.

Miss K is at the stage where she prefers whole foods but we decided to try her out on the smoothies. She loves them, especially the Red One (100% strawberries, raspberries, apples + bananas with a dash of lemon juice). I’ve tried them and they aren’t bad. I can imagine adding them to milk to make a yummo milk smoothie or to some yoghurt. Hmmmm.

We haven’t tried the food pouch yet but I know we’ll be buying more of the Red One Smoothie Fruits.

Ella’s Kitchen 100% organic pouches are popping on shelves across Australia in Coles from 26th March 2012. Today I have an Ella’s Kitchen pack to give away to one lucky reader. The pack contains a cooler bag (made from Ella’s Kitchen packaging), 2 Smoothie Fruits, a Stage 1 Baby Food, the Tasty Tunes CD and Ella’s Yummy Guide to Mealtime Fun book.

To enter, use the Rafflecopter form below. Entry open to Australian residents only.
You can follow Elle’s Kitchen on Twitter or ‘like’ them on Facebook

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