Are You In The Greatest British Family? - Show Your Family Selfie & Win £300 With Prestige!

Prestige, makers of some of the nation's best loved kitchenware, are running a fabulous competition to find the Greatest British Family and to reward them with £300 to spend at Prestige.co.uk.

Now all I have to do is get us all in ONE picture!

Prestige has been at the heart of the British home for more than 75 years and I can certainly remember my mum making casseroles in her Prestige dishes and mixing up a Victoria Sandwich or two.  There was also the unfortunate "bran muffin" phase where she created a cake dense enough to create a partition wall but nobody is allowed to talk about that.

This year Prestige have created a new range of kitchenware in patriotic blue or red with their Vintage Kitchen range - just in time for the Queen's Birthday.

Enamel Mixing Bowls & Ramekins From The Prestige Vintage Kitchen Range

Families have changed over the years but one thing remains the same - the importance of spending time together and making memories and Prestige want to celebrate families everywhere.

How To Enter

Simply submit a family selfie or video that shows what makes your family the greatest in Britain and tell Prestige what sets your family apart from the rest.

It could be family baking together, a trip to the zoo or playing footie on a Saturday morning for example.

All you need to do is upload your family selfie via the submission box on the right hand side of the competition page HERE

You must explain why you're the Greatest British Family in the description and if you wish to submit a video, there's a separate link you'll need to follow.

You can join in the conversation on Twitter using the hashtag #greatestbritishfamily after you have entered!

The Prizes

One lucky winner will receive £300 to spend at Prestige.co.uk and there are two £100 prizes for a family member of your choice.

All entrants will automatically receive a Prestige discount code to spend on any Prestige products on the Prestige website.

Closing Date

The competition will close on Sunday 31st July. So what are you waiting for?

Get ending those videos and family selfies.

Good luck and here's that link again.

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Fab Free Ebook - Best of British - 101 Ideas For Having Fun With The Kids This Summer As Recommended By Bloggers

What’s better, the warm British summer breeze running through your hair on the beach, or the thrill of adrenaline coursing through your veins after a big roller coaster ride?

Obviously it's the Husband's duty to go on all the scary rides as somebody has to hold on to all the coats and bags since the British summer weather is more unpredictable than Kanye West on a talk show.

Fortunately, whether you’re a beach or thrill fan, summer is only a few weeks away and there is no time like the present to get planning.

If, like me, you’re struggling for ideas of where to take the kids this summer, check out this handy ebook created by over 101 of the Best British Bloggers.

With hundreds of activities, destinations, and just general FUN each of the ideas has been tested by a blogger just like myself and is a personal recommendation straight from the heart.

Source:  Anil Nayar

My suggestion for the book was DYFFRYN GARDENS, SOUTH WALES I wrote…

"Our favourite local National Trust property is Dyffryn Gardens where we spend many happy hours playing hide and seek and admiring the really unique collection of plants they have.

It’s like entering the Secret Garden, peaceful, quiet and plenty of space for the kids to run.

Caitlin & Ieuan Exploring Dyffryn Gardens

We will be heading back to Dyffryn Gardens this summer for more exploring and lots of after-school picnics. We love supporting the National Trust and family membership means free entry to some amazing properties and gardens all over the UK.

Let me know if you have a destination favourite from the ebook!

And let's hope that the long promised "barbecue summer" actually arrives this year.

Update:  The ebook is no longer available but you can find more ideas in these posts:-

http://www.motherdistracted.co.uk/2015/10/what-to-do-with-kids-around-cardiff.html
http://www.motherdistracted.co.uk/2015/09/hide-and-seek-at-cadw-raglan-castle.html
http://www.motherdistracted.co.uk/2015/08/we-packed-our-imagination-and-went-to.html

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Review: Lose Yourself At Octer.co.uk - An Online Shopping Mall You'll Want To Revisit

I was recently introduced to online retail site Octer.co.uk, a new website which not only allows you to search for your favourite items but let's you select your purchases by store as well as item type.

Octer is a start-up company developing mobile-first, e-commerce technology with the goal of making online shopping simple. As you might expect you can shop using Octer via your mobile or tablet too.

The best way to describe it is as an online shopping mall.

I was given the chance to try the Octer shopping experience by selecting a maxi dress.

You select the category - in this instance "Womens" and you can either search by the item category "Dresses & Skirts", shop by brand or shop by store.

If you select "Dresses & Skirts", you are given a further set of options to select from.  I chose "Maxi Dress" and was taken to a page with loads of fabulous dresses to choose from.

These options give you an incredible amount of choice!

Once you have selected a dress, you simply click straight through to the retailer..

Whilst looking for your maxi dress, Octer will suggest loads of similar styles you might like and allow you to check details such as price, size and availability by a one click link through to the relevant store.

Each item clicked on appears in a separate window and everything is under one 'virtual roof' so that you don't have to have keep going to and fro from other websites.

Technically this will speed up shopping.  In reality I found I could spend hours on Octer!  You don't just get one or two alternative suggestions, you get pages of them which you can sort according to low or high price too.

Not only does Octer offer fashion but it also offers beauty, technology, interiors, gifts and sports products.

So what did I choose?

My lovely Jarlo Yara Green Maxi From Asos.Com

I found this lovely green overlay maxi dress from Jarlo Yara Maxi Dress at ASOS.Com.

Octer is well worth exploring if you fancy a full shopping experience without the stress of a crowded shopping mall on Saturday.  And if you've every tried that with kids in tow, you know exactly how stressful that can be!

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Review: Vita Liberata pHenomenal Luxury Tan 2-3 Week Tan Mousse

I recently had the opportunity to test Vita Liberata Luxury Tan 2-3 Week Tan Mousse, courtesy of Fighting Fifty, a website with an engaged audience of women, and increasingly men, approaching and over 50, who are looking for good health, beauty and fitness information and education.

Vita Liberata pHenomenal 2-3 Week Tan Mousse is a luxury self tan product which has ingredients that are organic, odourless, non-toxic and very long lasting.

The product claims to give a natural looking tan which fades evenly and is the World's first completely non-toxic tanning range.  There are no parabens, perfume or alcohol and the product is odourless (no yucky "biscuit" smell).

Vita Liberata pHenomenal 2-3 week Tan Mousse is fast drying and claimed to last 4 times longer than regular tans.  Plus, because it contains organic ingredients, it is kinder to your skin.

I have to admit being a complete duffer at self tan application, having previously flirted with numerous spray-on colours, tanning moisturisers and a couple of the well known brands popular with the celebs.

I was sent the Medium Golden Bronze shade and found Vita Liberata to be incredibly easy to apply.

It's a light, frothy mousse which is quickly absorbed and dries instantly - no annoying staining.

You just apply in light circular motions with a tanning mitt (there's a small one supplied in the box with the produdct), making sure you take extra care around knees, elbows, feet and ankles.

You do need to make sure that you exfoliate thoroughly before application as with all self tan products.

Best of all it gives an instant colour so you can quickly apply some to get rid of the pasty glow from your legs before sprinting out on the school run.

The colour develops over 4-8 hours and fades slowly over days - although you are advised to use just water on your self tan patches when you shower.

You can reapply to darken the colour if you choose (or to prolong the tan).

I found the product gave me a lovely natural looking medium bronze colour without streaking after just one application.  You can see my handywork in the photo.

Vita Liberata retails at £37.50 for 125 ml from the Vita Liberata website (also Boots, Space NK and other pharmacies) which makes it slightly more expensive than that well known brand with the French name but this was so easy to use I am extremely tempted to treat myself.

Locally a spray tan costs around £30 so this compares favourably and I haven't yet summoned up the courage to step into the spray tan booth - not least because the idea of all those chemicals puts me off.

If you're thinking of trying a self tan for the first time or just want a reliable, no fuss and organic product, this one is well worth trying.

*I was sent a small sample of Vita Liberata to try in return for an honest review.

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Miniscoff - Great Organic Ready Meals For Kids aged 1-8+ & Giveway

When I weaned my kids it involved endless hours wrestling with a food processor, fruit and an selection of implausibly small freezer pots. I was a devotee of Annabel Karmel and would blend combinations of fish and spinach or mix up fruit purees to get as much goodness into the kids as possible.

Nowadays, as readers of this blog know, my cooking is a little more, er hit and miss and there are times, particularly when the Husband is away on business, that I'd love to give the kids a proper hot meal with real family favourites.

The reality is that we dash home from school, dash straight out again and then come home to reheat a pizza or when time is really short to yet another round of sandwiches.

I always mean to get something out the freezer and cook something up in the slow cooker in the morning, but now I write full time (and am hopeless at getting side-tracked), I usually remember after lunch that tea is looming.

The kids are too big for baby ready meals and too small for adult ready meals which, being generally stuffed with too much sugar, salt and other additives are often a poor choice anyway.  Ieuan is still resisting baked potatoes, although he will deign to eat roasties so I was happy to find that there is a range of ready meals for kids which cater up to 8+.

Miniscoff is a children's organic food brand founded by Angus Oliphant, who, as a working dad discovered that trying to cook meals from scratch was challenging and that healthy prepared meals suitable for kids were hard to find. He decided to create his own range of organic ready meals for parents that didn’t want convenience to mean compromise.

Ieuan weighing up the Miniscoff Organic Sauces

All Miniscoff dishes are certified organic and made by hand and the brand has recently received awards from Prima Baby & Pregnancy as Best Toddler Food Range and Best Children’s Food Brand from Junior Design Awards.

Miniscof meals are available from Ocado as well as the Miniscoff website and are also available on over 300 menus across the UK if you're travelling.

The meals include 9 organic ready meals and 4 organic sauces:-

The Ready Meals

Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie (lamb) (GM, Egg & Gluten Free)

Mr MacGregor's Pie (beef) (GM, Egg & Gluten Free)

Curly Wurly Chicken (GM, Egg & Dairy Free)

Broccoli Bill's Pasta Pie (GM & Egg Free)

Salmon Ocean Pie (GM & Egg Free)

Jolly Spag Bolly (GM, Egg & Dairy Free)

Planet Spaghetti (GM, Egg & Dairy Free)

Chilli Yum Yum (GM, Egg, Dairy & Gluten Free)

Creamy Salmon Pasta (GM & Egg Free)

The Organic Sauces

Chicken & Bacon (GM, Egg, Dairy & Gluten Free)

Bolognese (GM, Egg, Dairy & Gluten Free)

West Country Cheddar (GM & Egg Free) 

Cheese & Tomato (GM, Egg & Gluten Free)

We were sent a selection of Miniscoff meals to try and we tried Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie, Curly Wurly Chicken and Broccoli Bill's Pasta Pie.

Caitlin tries Miniscoff Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie

Initially I wasn't too convinced about the portion size but they were just right for my two.  You may want to add a side dish or two of extra vegetables if you have time to bulk the meals out.

We did find that, particularly with the Ali Baba's Shepherd's Pie, the omission of seasoning was noticeable, although only to be expected and that a pinch of salt and pepper improved the dish greatly. My kids are 8 and nearly 7 though so you would not want to do that for younger children.

The pasta dishes we tried, (the Curly Wurly Chicken and Broccoli Bill's Pasta Pie) were preferred by my two who adore pasta and they both said the sauce had more flavour.

I found all three dishes to be tasty and with a natural flavour.  You can tell that there are no artificial additives in the dishes.

In fact, Ieuan actually cleared his plate which is practically unheard of in the Hobbis household.

Miniscoff have set themselves a challenge by coming up with organic ready meals for such a comparatively large age range (1 - 8+) but I think they have succeeded. I will be trying the organic sauces during the week and they will be ideal for a quick half-term holiday lunch.

I did find that microwaving two meals together required extra time for the Shepherd's Pie but that is standard with microwaved foods.

As an option I think that the Miniscoff meals give you a hassle free choice of menu options to serve up without having to rely on pizza and fish fingers.

I don't know about you but when the kids are off I find I really have to scratch my head to come up with lunch and dinner options that find favour!

You can find more about Miniscoff on their website, on Facebook or Twitter.  The ready meals retail at £3.50 and the sauces at £3.00.

Giveaway

If you fancy trying Miniscoff organic ready meals, I have a lovely hamper of 6 assorted ready meals and 3 organic sauces for one lucky winner.  Entry is via the Rafflecopter in the usual manner.  Terms and conditions apply.  UK entrants only.  The giveaway ends at 11:59 pm on Friday 17th June 2016.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck!

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Tips For Looking Stylish In All British Weathers

We all know that the British weather can be slightly unpredictable.  One minute it's lovely and warm and the next minute you're stuck in a downpour.  It makes staying stylish in summer a real challenge.

How do you balance the changing temperatures and the constant risk of rain whilst still looking chic rather than crumpled?

These tips may help.

1. Take a spare pair of shoes, ideally flats or wellies.  It's a good idea to keep these in the boot of your car so you always have them. You can change into your sparkly sandals when you get there to avoid turning up with soaked feet!

2. Wear waterproof mascara and take extra precautions with your makeup by using a waterproof foundation and a longer lasting lipstick. A primer will also help to keep your makeup in place.

3.  You can also protect your hair with an anti-frizz serum or a humidity proofing hairspray. Scarves are always handy to shield your hair from the sun or rain.

4. Have an emergency umbrella. It may not be used but it's better to have one just in case.

4. Always carry a pocket size pack of tissues. The cold or wind can make eyes and noses water.

5. Carry a wrap, cardigan or shrug. I have recently discovered that good quality Cashmere knitwear can be had at prices that won't break the bank.

6.  If you're off to do the school run and pushing a pram or pushchair, you might want to invest in a lightweight coat with a hood.

7. Wear lip balm to protect your lips from the drying effects of the sun and any cold and windy conditions! Don't forget to apply a good hand cream with an SPF either.

8. Wear several layers so you can put them on or take them off as the weather changes.

9.  But don't forget your sunscreen and a good pair of sunglasses that protect your eyes from the sun's glare.  Look for a pair that block 100% of both UVA and UVB rays.

10.  If you are travelling on the underground or public transport a small portable fan may come in useful and it's always good to have a bottle of water if you have room to carry it.

If all else fails, make sure you've got the latest blockbuster novels loaded on your Kindle or phone so you can lose yourself in a great book and forget that you are more bedraggled than groomed!

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New Releases, Free & Bargain Books Link-up 20 May 2016

Another week has whizzed past and there's just one more school week for us here in Wales before the Whitsun holidays.  It's also my birthday on the 28th so I'll be giving the Husband a long list of books I fancy as a birthday treat.

If books are your ideal present too, you'll find plenty to choose from on this week's linky.

Here's the fab books on offer this week.

Sharing the Love of Books
Enjoy our selection of New Releases / Free & Bargain Books this week

Click HERE for this week's awesome selection.

Authors please feel free to add your own books
Readers please free to add your own finds
(any genre except erotica welcome)

This weekly link up is hosted by Beck Valley Books & these awesome book loving blogs...
Monday
 Life as Leels | IrishdaisylovesRomance | Book Babble | All Romance Reader
Tuesday
It's My Side of Life | Celticlady's Reviews | First Time Mommy Adventures | Bound 2 Escape
Wednesday
Beck Valley Books | A Library of Reviews | Cinnamon Hollow Reviews
Thursday
Miki's Hope | Taking Time for Mommy | Nicki's Nook
Friday
Ebook Addicts | I Love Romance | A Bit Bookish | Mother Distracted | Colorimetry
Saturday
Totally Addicted to Reading | 3 Partners in Shopping | Angie's Angle | I Creat Purty Thangs | Wishful Endings
Sunday
Lynchburg Mama | LibriAmoriMiei | Ali - The Dragon Slayer | Wondermom Wannabe | My Bizzy World |  Deal Sharing Aunt 

For Pre-orders post - PRE-ORDER / genre / title /author

For New Releases post - NEW / genre / title / author

For Free Books post - FREE / genre / title / author / end date 

For Bargain Books post - SALE / price / genre / title / author / end date
(Strictly no Erotica please.  Steamy romance is fine but watch those covers people, incase any underage child is viewing it!)

Click HERE for this week's awesome selection.

And don't forget you can always add some of your own!

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