Category Archives: Home Sweet Home

Product Review of the Fur Friend, the Simple Effective Way to Remove Unwanted Hair, Fur and Fluff from All Around Your Home

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I bought this product on a bit of a whim actually! There were two reasons why, the first was because I kept seeing it advertised on Facebook and it intrigued me.

And the second reason was that I was so fed up with spending an hour a week hoovering my chairs, sofas and the beds of my cats. Their fur was getting over all of my home when it was hot, because they were malting everywhere! So I thought what the heck, let me give this a go!


I bought from the UK based company Must Have Ideas, and the item is called Fur Friend. It was advertised as being able to lift hair from most soft furnishings and it will stick to the Fur Friend. The handheld product also comes with a holder, which is not only to store the handle inside when not in use, but it also acts as a cleaner. The static of the fluff and fur that initially sticks to the handle, gets pulled inside the holder when the friction happens between the handle and the sides inside of the device. Please see my images below which may help to explain this all a little better.


You follow the direction of the arrow as you move across the furniture and furnishings and then when your handle is getting full up you insert it into the handle. It will be a tight fit, the friction of the micro bristles between the sides and the handle will pull the fluff off as you remove it. Gently pulling the end of the handle off will reveal all of the hair and dust that you’ve collected. Easy to empty by hand and put into your bin then. This device is reusable infinitely so long as you keep cleaning it out after every use.


As you can see in this image of my cats bed, I have cleaned the one side of it only, you can really see the difference between the sides. This didn’t take me more than a couple of minutes to clean the hole bed either. This product saves me time, and it also gathers all the hair neatly at the base of the holder so that I can remove it and bin it easily.


I have used the Fur Friend on Cushions, My Sofa Suite, Cat Beds and Throws. It has removed 99% of hair, fur and fluff. It is so much more effective than lint rollers (which I had bought previously) and there is no waste with this either. Better for your wallet, better for the environment and it’s actually faster and more effective than hoovering too! It used to take me an hour to hoover all the cat beds and cushions with the brush attachment. This takes me between 5 and 10 minutes to do all the beds and then just 30 seconds to empty it.

I can highly recommend this product to everyone, and especially if you have pets with long hair and fur. It has changed my cleaning routine for the better.


Thank you for reading this Review today, I hope you have enjoyed reading about the Fur Friend. Search Must Have Ideas online to find out more about this product and where you can purchase it.

I bought this item for £12.99 with £2.99 Postage in August 2020.

✩ Sabrina ✩

At Home Storage Hacks for Parents, How To Keep All The Kids Toys Stored Tidy and Neatly

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Featuring…
Aldi Stars Boxes
Argos Silver Grey Boxes
B & M Dark Grey Fabric Boxes

I think every parent will agree with me when I say “mess is a fact of having children” but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a tidy home when the children are asleep, or for when relatives come around! And can I just say, Square Furniture really excites me, its versatility knows no bounds!

But first, Tidy Hacks! When my son was only twelve months old I began a routine with him which involved us tidying up once we have finished with certain things. It started with me showing him then handing him the item and encouraging him to copy me. So… Books went back in his Book Tub and toys went back in the Toy Box. He soon realised that it was important to tidy up. My son took to it really well, he even puts balls back in his ball pit now, and has done since he was eighteen months of age. Instilling this notion early enough has paved a way for a toddler who understands how important it is to put something back when you have finished with it. My first TIP is to allocate boxes for different items, such as, the Grey box is for books, the Red box is for Cars, the Blue box is for trains and the Green box is for animals.

There is no right or wrong way to have your home, however one thing is for sure, cleaning it is far easier when everything has its own place. Boxes are filled and put back on to shelves. I love furniture and I love how it brings a room together too. I have a large wooden chest in my lounge along with several small lidded boxes to store my sons toys in. I always like to have that option to tidy things away completely, in case I have family over for example, or I may need the space to do messy play.

In my son’s bedroom I have several pieces of furniture that are square and contain various storage tubs and boxes. They look neat and tidy and are easy enough to maintain. The boxes are made of fabric and are often purchasable in many styles and colours to maintain the theme for your chosen bedroom. Great for anywhere in the house, such as hallway or living room too. Do you have any Square Furniture? I think they’re just great!

I have always been a fan of the clean lines that square furniture gives you. And with so many places now creating the relevant boxes to go into these holes, you have a wide range of choice to make your home how you want it.

B & M Boxes


Excellent Value for Money Square Storage Boxes

Argos – Great Quality and in a Variety of Colours and Patterns. Boxes are in packs of 4 with 2 Sizes Available. And prices start from £14.00 for 4 boxes. Argos also do lidded Square Storage Cubes in fabric and a leather look, which can double as seating for children in a bedroom too.

B & M – Fabric Boxes and Velvet Boxes, Good Quality but Less Choice Available (I only found Bright Pink, Blush Pink, Dark Grey and Silver). The Velvet ones were £7 for a pack of two and are very soft and of good quality. The fabric boxes are not as nice but definitely do the job well enough though and are ideal for toys, they were £5 for a pack of two.

Aldi – Special Buys Baby Event – Stars Boxes – Multiple Colours Available and were £3.99 each box. They were only available for a limited time.

Ikea – Several styles of boxes and tubs available from Ikea and many colours and patterns as well. They range from £3.00 upwards for a single box and the range is called Drona.

The furniture I purchased for my sons room is from Argos. But Ikea do a similar range as well named Kallax. Due to the Pandemic it has been far easier for me to get a delivery or click and collect option from my local Argos stores, mainly because its almost a two hour drive for me to get to an Ikea store, so I would rely on an online order and delivery.


My final TIP for keeping a house tidy is this, get one box out at a time, and teach your child/ren that once they are finished with that box, it gets packed up and placed back on to the unit or into the bedroom it came from. Then they can get another box of toys out to play with. In-still this idea at a young age and they should keep respecting their play space long enough to keep wanting to tidy up after themselves. These types of storage are so easy too, there isn’t anything complicated about it. You just need a system of what goes into what box, but you could always get labels for them too!

Great Value Square Furniture

Argos Home Squares range from £24 to £120.
Colours Available are Putty (Light Grey), Oak Effect, Black and White.

Ikea Kallax Square furniture range is from £19 to £129.
Colours Available are Black/Brown, White, High-Gloss White, Oak Effect, White Stained Oak Effect and Grey-Wood Effect.


Thank you for reading this blog post today, I hope I have given you some inspiration on how to make your own homes more tidy by using square storage to its full potential.

Check out my Instagram for more inspirational images on storage and tidiness.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Owl and Brolly Wall Stickers Let Imagination Run Free with their Incredible Quality, Unique Style and Beautiful Watercolour Designs

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Owl and Brolly Stickers are Unique, Colourful and Imaginative

Hello Severn Wishes followers. Today I have the pleasure of bringing a special review to you all. Owl and Brolly is a company who specialise in Wall Stickers, mainly for children’s bedrooms and play rooms. I have known Sue at Owl and Brolly for several years now, we bonded through an Endometriosis group and found we had mutual things in common. When I found out she was an incredible artist and saw her beautiful work, I wanted to shout about her talent.


Sue knew that I had just moved house into a rental property, and I couldn’t take the chance of ruining the paintwork in my son’s bedroom. So the plan was to do some tester stickers, an hour, twenty four hours and finally seven days. And luckily for me there was nothing wrong with the paint and I tried the stickers on several walls just to make certain. I can guarantee that it is a good idea to do the Tester Sticker when you may not know the condition of the walls in your home.

Delightful Christmas Bear

This lovely Bear is for my son’s bedroom, he hasn’t given him a name just yet, ha, ha! But the quality of this sticker just amazed me. Not just the printing of the sticker itself but the design. Owl and Brolly stickers are all drawn and designed by hand. What a talented woman behind such a wonderful creative business.

What I love about the Owl and Brolly range is the creativity and the infinite imagination that stems from items like these stickers. Any child would be lucky to have some of them on their walls.

Here are some examples of the beautiful Wall Stickers Owl and Brolly currently offers. I will be providing links to social media and the website itself at the end of this article. Check out these incredible works of art!

I will now give you some background about the company and how it all came about. As a small British Business they are always looking for support from fellow UK citizens who appreciate all the talented people in this country, and especially now during the pandemic, it’s a great idea to think about purchasing locally for Christmas this year. Perhaps my blog post will inspire you to buy from Owl and Brolly.

Sue studied a HND in Natural History Illustration specialising in watercolour, she enjoyed a creative career until Endometriosis forced her to change her way of working. In order to move with the times she made the decision to become more of a digital based artist than making art with traditional paintings. Her drawings are incredibly detailed and she has a unique style.

It was after helping a start-up company with their designing that Sue went on to illustrate her own range of wall stickers for nursery walls and kids rooms. She began combining her own special watercolour techniques and using some digital media to create the sticker designs. It was a decision that brought out her artistic skills and she is doing what she loves every single day. It was at this time that she started her company, and Owl and Brolly was born.

The stickers are all printed on a high quality removable and reusable fabric wall sticker, rather than a single use PVC vinyl. This allows them to be used more than once and are easily removed (gently) and then repositioned. Sue has a passion for wanting to create illustrations that will help to inspire children’s imaginations. Her beautiful watercolour designs are not only highly detailed but they look unique. They are printed to such a high quality that they look good on any wall space and have already made so many children (and their parents) happy with the designs.

The Stickers are thin but excellent quality, printed onto removable and reusable fabric.


Please visit Sue over on Owl and Brolly to see all of the wonderful things that she has to offer. There are so many beautiful stickers on the website I couldn’t possibly show you all of them on here. You’ll have to pop over to the page or website and become even more inspired.

I highly recommend the customer service, the quality of the items and the overall finish of the products available. Sue will also work on special designs if you have something in mind, just send her a message on her social media and see if her commission’s books are currently open. She is working hard every day to accommodate people’s orders despite the pandemic and she is a very talented woman who deserves so much success.

You can find Owl and Brolly across these links below:

Owl and Brolly WEBSITE
Owl and Brolly FACEBOOK
Owl and Brolly INSTAGRAM


Thank you again to Sue for giving me the opportunity to review her wonderful products, I have thoroughly enjoyed this collaboration.

And thank you for visiting Severn Wishes today, I hope you have enjoyed this product review, thanks for reading.

✩ Sabrina ✩

3 Reasons To Keep Your Supermarket Rose Plants

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Today on my blog I am talking about those gorgeous mini rose bush plants you can buy them in your local supermarket. You can usually get one for around £3-£5 for a plant, sometimes they come in a pretty little pot as well. When choosing one, go for one with a nice thick and healthy main stem and with buds that are still yet to open and flower.

The Supermarket Rose is a beautiful gift for someone who just to brighten up your windowsill. I have had two yellow roses and a pink rose in the last two years. You can often find them in Red, Peach and even a pale White shade of Rose petals. Supermarkets usually stock a wide range of colours, I like Yellow as I feel it brightens up a room.

So many people toss their little Rose bushes into the bin when they finish flowering. One reason for this is because they see the label which often reads “Guaranteed to Flower for 14 days” and they presume that after this flowering rose is finished blooming then the plant is now obsolete, and that is so wrong! Did you know that with a little love and care you can make your little Rose last for months or even years? And they will flower again!

Well in this blog post I am going to tell you just how and why you should keep them. Here are my main 3 Reasons…

Reason 1. They can survive inside or outside! I will go into how you would care for each in a moment.

Reason 2. You sometimes get extra growth of the original plant after a couple of months, and some plants can be re-potted into more than one Rose bush. Then you could keep one for yourself and gift away the other if you like!

Reason 3. Looking after plants during difficult and uncertain times can help your mental health by giving you something to care for and focus on. It will also produce flowers several times a year to brighten up your home.

Just after I had separated the Rose Stems off and then set them back onto my windowsill.
They soon grew and grew and grew… and flowered again!

Keeping Your Rose Inside or Outside

Inside
A nice regular sized pot and a windowsill with half sun and half shade, your Rose bush should thrive here. Water it every day, keeping the soil damp and remove dead leaves and dead flowers to prolong its growth. Leave it inside the pot it comes in until all the flowers have finished, and then you can re-pot it into something prettier if you’d like, pop a few stones at the base to allow for drainage and if you’re increasing the pot size to allow for growth use some moisture controlling compost.

Check the plant if and when you re-pot it. You may find it has two separate stems and roots systems, if that is the case you can do as I did above (image) and pot in two pots and then you’ll end up with two plants.

Outside
A pot of any size because the bush will grow into it. But in order to be liveable outside and to survive the Winter you must do two things. One, is to line the pot with a sheet of bubble wrap plastic, this is to keep the roots safe from any frost. And two, you also need to put a few stones in the base and place the plant into some moisture controlling compost, which will retain water so as to keep the plant nourished. You must water it regularly in warm weather and do not let the pot dry out.

So far my Pink Outdoor Supermarket Rose is coming up to its third year in a pot outside. I got lots of flowers on it in June, I also gave it some flower food once the flowers began to show their buds. As you can see I had some rich new green leaves grow this summer. I may need to re-pot it into a larger pot next summer if it grows again.

The image below is of my Yellow Rose Plants, they were separated in the Spring and now it is September, they have more than doubled in size. They are now flowering for the fourth time this year. They are getting quite big now for my kitchen, I am contemplating potting them outside on a sunny day in the Autumn, I have some left over bubble wrap from my recent move ready to wrap around them to keep the roots warm and protected from any frost we might have. They have loved their new position in my new home, since July they have been on that kitchen window, and it gets lots of light.

I have treated myself to a new little rose now too, to start this process off all over again. I got this cute little plant from Aldi for just £1.79! Bargain!
Gorgeous Pink colour!

My plan is to grow this Rose to the same size as my yellow ones while indoors, then plant outdoors next late Spring time. Hopefully it can reach a similar size.


I hope you have enjoyed reading this blog post, please let me know if you’d like to see more like this, such as gardening related or tips on making the most of supermarket purchases.

Thanks for visiting Severn Wishes today.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Argos Tester Review of the Haden Highclere 4 Slice Toaster

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I am very fortunate to be an Argos Tester, this means that I often get items sent to me for the purpose of a review. This month I was offered an item that I jumped at a chance to own. It is a beautiful 4 Slice Toaster made by the UK based brand Haden.

#ArgosTester #ArgosTesters #ArgosTestersCommunity

This post has been written by myself about a product that I have been supplied for free, in order to test and then review it. This is my experience with said product and my honest review about the product that is listed below. I have already submitted my product review to the Argos Website when this post has been published.


The Haden Highclere Toaster is a great example of British Quality. It has been manufactured to a high standard with clean lines and a beautiful steel look to compliment the metal elements of a toaster. The addition of the Cream colour casing makes it a perfect appliance to slot into any kitchen. It is also available in a pale cyan blue colour but from Haden direct at the moment.

This fantastic 4 slice toaster has wider slots than most other brands meaning it’s perfect if you love a tasty fat crumpet or a tasty thick wedge of toast. Your products won’t get stuck when popping up out of this well designed appliance. I love how it has smooth rounded edges; everything I have had previously is very square. I think it’s a rather feminine looking Toaster, and I really like that about it. The whole piece is beautiful with the steel having reflection of the area surrounding the toaster. I have the cream version and it compliments it very well.

I am most impressed by the look of the piece and the width of the toasting slots. Now I can enjoy tasty crumpets without waiting for them to get stuck! And it goes well in my kitchen because of its very stylish design. Cream goes with everything doesn’t it? The toaster doesn’t take up loads of room on your counter top either, which is great news, so you get the wide toasting slots and a compact design. What more could you want? I know I am extremely satisfied with this product and I will always enjoy using it.

Product Name: Haden 197252 Highclere Toaster 4 Slice – Cream
Product Information: 4 Slice Toaster, Available in Cream or Blue, Haden was Established in England in 1958. This Toaster has two removable Crumb Trays, Reheat and Defrost Settings, Cancel and 6 Browning Settings.
Product Price: £44.99 (Correct as of 30th August 2020)
Product Link: Argos Website


Argos Tester Submission

The Haden Toaster is beautiful, I love that its rounded design has some great features. With wider toasting slots it means my crumpets never get stuck now! I like the easy functionality of it with Reheat & Defrost buttons. Overall it’s a Toaster that will go beautifully in any kitchen with its stylish metallic & cream finish. I found that toast was crisp & golden in no time. I’m really happy with the excellent quality of this Haden appliance and I hope it lasts me a very long time.

My Favourite Aspects of the Product

✩ Wide Toasting Slots
✩ Superb Manufacturing Quality
✩ Sleek and Smooth Design with Curved Sides

✩✩✩

If you have any questions about this product and you would like to ask me about it then please do! Either leave me a comment or ask me on one of my social media posts, and I would be happy to help you out.

Have a great bank holiday weekend!
And thanks for visiting my blog Severn Wishes today.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Paper, Lace and Love Wooden Decorative Rainbow Review

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Paper, Lace and Love Wooden Decorative Rainbow Review

Paper, Lace and Love is a company that I have admired for many years. I first discovered it on Facebook and I made several purchases for friends and also for my godson, a special framed Christening gift. Everything I ordered was beautiful, the paper cuts were great quality and presented in an excellent way too.

It had been a while since my last purchase but I had been admiring their new works from afar. During Lockdown with all this terrible virus problem affecting the world, Paper, Lace and Love have been hard at work designing and creating brand new wooden designs, so that people could hang them up in their homes. Not only are these excellent quality and made to such a high standard, they are also unique, and help to bring some hope and cheer back to people across the world who have been lucky enough to buy one.

I was one of those lucky enough to purchase one of their limited edition Rainbow pieces. Because my son is a Rainbow baby, the idea of the Rainbow has been at the forefront of my mind for years now. I always wanted to find something that I could display at home, that I loved enough for it to represent what he means to me and the struggle I had to get him.

I always said I would have Rainbows decorating my house, and when PL&L made this particular design, I knew it was the one for me. Here is one of my photographs of it, just look at all the beautiful details and the craftsmanship. The quote is easy to read and the glitter in the Rainbow really make its colours stand out.

I love positive quotes regarding Rainbows, my favourite one is this, “When it Rains look for Rainbows, When it’s Dark look for Stars”. There is also “You have to survive the storm in order to find the Rainbow”. Both are very true to my life. My son loves to find stars, moons and rainbows, usually in his books but also on television and when we go out and about.

Now when we take a little stroll around our street some afternoons we see lots of Rainbows in peoples windows due to the pandemic. But what I want him to know is that he is my shining light and my Rainbow of Hope, he was the incredible product from what was a very dark time in my life… Rainbows will always be important to us, all the more so now.

Overall I would highly rate the service I have received when ordering from PL&L and I would recommend them to friends and family and practically anyone. If you want well made, unique pieces to treasure forever, then this is the place to find them.

I have chosen to support some small British Businesses during this Pandemic Lockdown. This item was purchased by me with my own money and this review is my own and totally honest opinion.

Paper, Lace and Love and all their incredible works of art can be found here at the following places. Some are limited editions and only a certain number will be made, so it is best to follow them on social media for regular updates.

Paper, Lace and Love Website HERE
Paper, Lace and Love Facebook page HERE

Thank you for joining me for this review today, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Have a lovely bank holiday weekend! I’m off to bake some cookies!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Sweet Treats Week – Day 3 – Sabrina’s Rocky Road

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Welcome to Sweet Treats Week on Severn Wishes. This half term I wanted to share my top 5 baking treats with you all, hopefully you’ve got some time this week to make them with me! Check out my Instagram for more food pictures and recipe ideas too!

Day 3 is Sabrina’s No Bake Needed Rocky Road

Definitely one that the kids can get involved in, and this tray bake requires zero baking! You just need an adult to do some melting and chopping! This recipe will make 24 delicious squares of Rocky Road and you can do a custom set of ingredients to suit your family too!

Start by gathering all of your favourite things and a giant bowl to mix them! You’ll need chocolate for melting which will be the glue to hold all of the other ingredients together! You also need a deep tray to squash it all down into before you refrigerate it too!

The best thing about Rocky Road is that it’s totally customisable to your family and you can’t really get it wrong! Plus it’s fun for everyone! There’s only one danger with Rocky Road! Just don’t go eating all the singular ingredients while you’re making it!

I love to put things in mine you don’t usually find in a supermarket style tray bake, sometimes you find Nuts and I don’t put any of those in, some also contain fruit, which is a personal preference to whether or not you add this in. I will outline all the measurements below, and you can make your selection of your favourites.

Step 6.

What You Will Need

A Large Mixing Bowl – the bigger the better!
A Wooden Spoon or Two
A Saucepan (to do the melting part)
A Spatula
A Sharp Knife
Tea Towel and Rolling Pin (Or something to smash the biscuits with)
Baking Parchment to line your tray
A Large Tray that will still fit in your Fridge minimum of 1.5 inches deep

Ingredients

Mini Marshmallows 50g to 60g
Maltesers or Honeycomb Shards 50g to 60g
White Chocolate Chips 30g to 40g
Biscuits 150-200 grams (You can use a mixture of biscuits like I do, Digestive, Shortbread and Ginger are my faves, Ginger give a nice taste!)
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Milk Chocolate (for the melting) 250 grams
Dark Chocolate (for the melting) 120 grams
Butter (for the melting) 140 grams
Golden Syrup (for the melting) 4 tablespoons

Additional Ingredients to Personalise your version of Rocky Road

Your “Special Ingredient” can be anything, between January and April I tend to use Mini Eggs or other Easter related Mini Chocolate Eggs etc. I just cut some of them up for going inside the bake. Other things that go well and add colour are Smarties, Aero Bubbles anything that sort of size etc.

Use around 70g to 100g of your chosen ingredient and remember to save around 30g of it for the topping!

You can also add any of the following things that all go brilliantly with this type of non-bake recipe – Cherries / Cranberries / Nuts / Raisins etc…

You will need 50 grams of your chosen one/s and make sure you then increase the depth of your tray by half an inch / 2 cm if you decide to include more than one of these ingredients. You could also choose to remove say, the white chocolate from my main list, and add in Raisins instead, just keep the ratio the same…

The customization is all down to you and your family! Go crazy! Have fun!

Method

1. Measure out and then Crush the Biscuits into mixed bite size pieces and add them to a large bowl.

2. Next, gather all your additional ingredients as outlined above, measured correctly and add these to your large bowl. The aim is to then mix all these dry ingredients together so they are evenly distributed.

3. Melt the Milk and Dark Choc with the Syrup and Butter until Smooth. Set 150ml of this melted chocolate mixture to one side in a jug to cool a little (you need this for the top of the mixture).

4. Add your melted mixture from the saucepan to your large bowl, coating all of the dry ingredients, keep mixing it quickly but carefully. You need to cover all of them in a light chocolate covering before it cools down too much.

Step 5.

5. Transfer from the bowl to the tray making sure the parchment is already lined inside it and smooth the rocky road out as flat as possible, push it down gently using a wooden spoon. Then pour the remaining melted chocolate (from the jug) over the mixture and smooth that all over the top with a spoon or a spatula, you need to try and coat most of the mix if not all of it, TOP TIP don’t forget to coat up to the corners!

6. Finally add your chosen Chocolate Decorations like Mini Eggs. Push them down a little so that they stick to the melted chocolate. Score the pieces of size you want to cut once it’s solid, using a knife (adult part only). Then put the whole tray in the fridge to set for a couple of hours.

7. To serve it, gently remove the paper from the baking tray, lay flat and cut the Rocky Road where you scored into it earlier, do this using a knife that has been run under hot water (another adult only part). Remember to put the pieces into a seal-able tin or tub afterwards to make sure it stays fresh. Once set and cut you just store it at room temperature, for the best results eat it within 3 days.

Step 2.

Thanks very much for joining me for this recipe on Sweet Treats Week!
I do hope to see you here again tomorrow! See my social media for some videos while I am baking these as well! Including versions and what I use to make my bakes dairy free too!

If you make any of my recipes be sure to tag me on social media, leave me a comment here on my blog. Any questions about a recipe please don’t hesitate to ask them! If you recreate this recipe somewhere else please credit me for it and name me and my blog, or even better link back to this original post too! Thanks everyone!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Sweet Treats Week – Day 1 – Sabrina’s Extra Special Chocolate Brownies

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Welcome to Sweet Treats Week on Severn Wishes. This half term I wanted to share my top 5 baking treats with you all, hopefully you’ve got some time this week to make them with me! Check out my Instagram for more food pictures and recipe ideas too!

Sabrina’s Chocolate Brownies

Day 1 is Sabrina’s Extra Special Chocolate Brownies

Brownies can be tricky, but if you follow my recipe one step at a time you should be able to recreate my incredible triple chocolate brownies! Since needing to go dairy free I’ve even made these brownies free from dairy by substituting the butter for a dairy free spread and then I swapped the triple chocolate chips for only dairy free chocolates, and they still taste incredible! So do whichever version you would prefer, the difference in butter doesn’t change the end result.

My recipe will make around 20 brownies once you cut them after they have cooled. They are quite rich which is nice because they will last longer! They will last around 3 days in a sealed container, the best way to keep them is to store them at room temperature. TOP TIP Reheat a square or two for between 10 and 20 seconds in the microwave and serve them with ice cream! Yum!

Sabrina’s Triple Chocolate Style Brownies (A.)

What You Will Need

A Glass Dish or Baking Tray measuring approx 26cm x 20cm (8 x 10″)
Baking Paper or Parchment
A Saucepan
A Large Mixing Bowl
A Wooden Spoon
A Metal Spoon
A Whisk – Manual or Mechanical
A Sieve
A Knife
A Cooling Rack
Something To Store Them Inside After They Are Cooled

Step 5. Once Smooth Add Your Chocolates To The Mix!

Ingredients

3 Free Range Eggs (Fresh is best for baking)
175g Plain Chocolate (for melting) (You can use dairy free chocolate too)
175g Butter (or Dairy Free Spread)
200g Caster Sugar
75g Plain Flour
50g Cocoa Powder

Additional Flavours or Additional Chocolates… There Are Endless Possibilities! What Would You Do? Here are my favourites…

Brownie Variations

A. Triple Chocolate Brownies require 75g of White Chocolate Chips and 75g of Milk Chocolate Chips (or use different varieties of dairy free chocolates). Add these at Step 5.
B. Chocolate Orange Brownies require 100g of Chocolate that is Orange Flavoured, dairy free choc orange bars from Asda are fab or a few broken segments of a Terry’s Chocolate Orange are best! Put these pieces in the mixture at Step 5 instead of chocolate chips.
C. Mint Chocolate Brownies require 75g of Chocolate that is Mint flavoured, with such a strong flavour of chocolate it can be used as part of the melted part at the start of the bake. For a more Minty flavour later on you could add some Aero Mint Chocolate Balls when the brownie is almost cooked! Push them into the top of the brownie before the top is solid leaving just a little sticking out so they don’t melt and or burn!

Sabrina’s Chocolate Orange Brownies (B.)

Method Steps

1. First you need to place your butter and plain chocolate into a saucepan. Break the chocolate into small bits so it melts faster. Only melt on a low heat slowly. Keep stirring the melting mixture frequently until it is smooth with no lumps left. TOP TIP I only have my hob one setting 1 or 2 for melting, you don’t want to burn the mixture! I don’t like melting chocolate in a microwave, it’s too easily burnt!

2. Set the melted chocolate mixture to one side and allow it to cool. You can now preheat your oven to 180’c, 160’c for a Fan Assisted or 350F or Gas Mark 4. Cut a piece of baking parchment for your tray and push it inside.

3. In a large bowl break the 3 Eggs, make sure no shell falls in. Using a wooden spoon mix them up, add the Caster Sugar gradually while stirring. You then need to Whisk them both up together until they are combined and smooth with a light and creamy colour.

4. Using a Large Metal Spoon, you now fold in the cooled melted chocolate and butter mixture, one spoonful at a time. Keep stirring it through the creamy mixture, keep going one spoon at a time until all of the smooth thick liquids are combined into one large one. It should be a lot and not lumpy. TOP TIP If the chocolate mixture is still hot it instantly cooks the eggs and you end up with a curdled concoction! Make sure its cool, lukewarm is best, and stick to my one spoon at a time method!

5. Finally you need to Sieve the Cocoa Powder and the Plain Flour into your liquid, again you do this gradually, shaking a little into the bowl and mixing it through until it disappears. Repeat until all the dry ingredients are in the bowl and the mixture should now be a thick pour-able liquid. Add your chocolate chips or buttons or other bits now! Mix them in thoroughly.

6. Pour the mixture entirely into your tray with the parchment inside it. The mixture should sit just over half way inside giving it a little room to rise up slightly. Add any toppings like chocolate chips now, or part way through if they are not bake stable. Shake the tray from side to side before pushing it into the oven, so the bake is level.

7. Bake it with the correct setting for your oven, you’re looking for an even bake with the slightly crisp topping, it should change colour, it should be soft but cooked in the centre. On average this bake takes between 20 and 30 minutes, depending upon tray used and oven type. Just keep an eye on it, take it out and stick a knife into it. When the knife comes out almost clean, pull the tray out. Leave it on top of your oven for ten minutes, try the knife again. Remember if you hit a melted chocolate chip you may think it’s not cooked when it is! For this reason don’t be tempted to over cook it! They should be soft with the additional chocolates melted inside when you cut it!

Remember to wobble the tray so the mixture goes flat!

Thank you very much for joining me for Sweet Treats Week! I hope to see you again tomorrow!

If you make any of my recipes be sure to tag me on social media, leave me a comment here on my blog. Any questions don’t hesitate to ask them! If you recreate this recipe somewhere else please credit me for it and name me and my blog or even better link back to this original post! Thanks everyone!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Sabrina’s Chocolate Orange Brownies (B.)

Reviewing Baby Items – Bean Bag Planet

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Reviewing Baby Items – Bean Bag Planet

I first saw the Baby Bean Bag on Facebook several years ago. After years of following their page and reading customer reviews, when I got towards the end of my pregnancy I decided to order a Bean Bag for us and our new little one.

What appealed to me the most was that the Bean Bag can be used afterwards for Toddler and Child as our child grows up. It will eventually be a part of their bedroom as somewhere comfortable to sit and read.

There were many designs to choose from including unisex ones. You receive the Bean Bag with the Harness Cover and a Spare Non Harness Cover too in the same colour. Despite this I decided to order an extra harness one so that if our one ended up in the washing machine we would still be able to place baby on the bag safely.

You do have to pay an additional £3.99 for the Bean Bag Filling, but they guarantee that it is Fire Safe Polystyrene balls that they use.

I featured these bean bags on my “Baby Wish List Post” and we had one given to us as a joint gift for our son from friends who read my blog. This excellent coincidence meant that we received two bags the week before our son came into the world. And it’s been very handy to have one on both floors of our house.

I purchased the Cars version of the bean bag in Grey, where as our friends got us the Safari one in Yellow.

Here are some close ups I have taken of the very cool designs situated on either of the bean bag planet bags we have.


The bright colours are inviting, and there is also a bear that you can find playing peek-a-boo on all of the designs I have seen. This is a cute addition so when children are older they can search for this little bear on the sides of their seat.

So I wanted to include what my husband thought in this review too, I will firstly outline what I think and then dictate his thoughts.


My Opinion

A very handy product to have in more than one room of the home, it is convenient to place baby into safely while you need your hands free. An ideal size and height too because you don’t have to bend too low to place baby into it. This item has become one that we use daily in our home to accommodate our needs between feeds and changes of our newborn baby. We cannot wait for him to grow with the bean Bag too and it will be used in his bedroom one day.

I found the ease of ordering on the website a good experience, and there were a ton of great designs for us to choose from. As for delivery the bean bag comes wrapped and then boxed but is flat. You place the bean bags inner bag inside when it arrives.

The quality of the fabric, bean bag base and the unique design of it, is what had me intrigued enough to buy. I have not been disappointed in the item. I did think they were quite expensive for what they are, but when you use the product as much as we do, its convenience outweighs how much I ended up paying.

After using the product now for several weeks I have to say the easiest thing about them is the use, just place your child in the centre and strap them in using the harness. I am happy that I made this product purchase for our son. Here is a photograph of our son at a week old, enjoying a nap in his Safari bean bag.

Quality of Product 5/5
Value for Money 4/5
Delivery of Product 4/5

Overall Experience 5/5

 

My Husbands Opinion

A versatile and good quality material that is soft for baby to lay on. Our newborn is always comfortable when lay on it. I like that our baby has a good view when laying on the Bean Bag too. It’s a useful item that can be easily moved around the home into any room or living space. We think they are that good a product that we now have 2 of them (thanks to a gift)! We use 1 for upstairs and 1 for downstairs!

The bean bag itself is good value for money however be aware of the additional charges to fill the bean bag with the polystyrene balls, and there are quite high delivery costs as well.

I would recommend this product and it’s a good idea for first time parents. It’s also useful for parents with pets because it allows baby to be quite a lot higher than the floor and therefore easier to keep an eye on unlike the mats that require babies to be lay on to a flat surface on the floor. Here is another image of our son, as you can see he is happy and content on the bean bag, awake on this image as opposed to asleep on the previous one.

Quality of Product 5/5
Value for Money 4/5
Delivery of Product 4/5
Overall Experience 4/5

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Here are some Bean Bag Planet designs.

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Links

Bean Bag Planet Website
Bean Bag Planet Facebook

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Thank you for supporting Severn Wishes blog today, don’t forget there are plenty more reviews to read across the website, just click one of the categories that interest you on the main page. I hope that you have enjoyed this review and I wish you a wonderful rest of your day.

✩ Sabrina ✩

 

 

Reviewing Baby Items – Poddle Pod

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Reviewing Baby Items – Poddle Pod

My husband and I purchased a Poddle Pod at the Manchester Event City Baby and Toddler Show in March. It cost £34.99 (special price for the event) and we chose the Nelly Parade cover. We were impressed with the demonstration of the product, and I had also followed the company for some time on Facebook. I was adamant that I wanted one of these for when our baby came along.

Poddle Pod have many designs, some are unisex and others are more suited to a gender of baby. But not only do these make great items for parents to buy, but they also make a great gift to expecting parents, that is my honest opinion because it has become extremely handy to us.

Most newborn babies love to be held in someones arms, cuddled and cradled. However this isn’t a practical part of every day life for many of us. Poddle Pod has been designed to give parents a few hands free minutes while ensuring baby is comfortable and safe inside the inner shape of the Pod. It has a very clever design which is weight activated, this allows the baby to supported and makes them think they are being held.

It’s heavier than you would think to pick up, and has a soft fleece side and a patterned cotton side to the machine washable cover. The Poddle Pod is made from high quality fabrics and the filling of the pillow is both anti fungal and hypoallergenic. The best part for me is that it’s also made here in the United Kingdom, and you all know how I love to support businesses in out country above all others.

Poddle Pod is currently available in two sizes, which are 0-6 months and  6-36 months of age. I would certainly consider ordering a larger Pod when our son grows out of this current one.

I wanted to include my husbands thought in this review, so here are what both us think of our Poddle Pod purchase.

Quality of Product 5✩
Value for Money 5✩
Use and Purpose 5✩


My Opinion

I like the convenience of the Poddle Pod, it is easy to move around the home or to take with us to visit family. It’s unique internal shape is a comfort to our baby and we often find that placing him inside it to chill out during a cry is really handy. Not only does baby like resting but also sleeping inside the Poddle Pod. I have often placed baby inside the Pod after a feed and a winding, so that I can keep an eye on him as he dozes before placing him into his basket.

The shape and size of the Poddle Pod is ideal to lay on several surfaces including the bed and the sofa. Many a time have I been running errands in a room and placed my sleepy baby inside the Poddle Pod knowing he will be comfortable. I was very happy with the overall quality of the product and the material is excellent, easily washable and to get on and off the item using the zip.

This is a rather useful item that I am very happy that we purchased. So far it has been durable and has held it’s shape during the first eight weeks of its use.
I would certainly recommend this product to first time parents who may need somewhere safe to lay their baby down at times. Especially if they are feeling overwhelmed with the need for baby being held, this allows a few moments of respite for them while they do daily things. Even having a warm cup of tea or a hot meal can make all the difference in those first few weeks of being a new parent. The Poddle Pod can aid people in achieving this with its clever design.


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Quality of Product 5✩
Value for Money 4✩
Use and Purpose 4✩

 

My Husbands Opinion

I liked that the Poddle Pod fitted comfortably inside our travel crib for comfort while sleeping away from home. We like the overall design and the shape commits to holding our baby safely. The cover is convenient to remove when requiring a clean and we purchased an additional cover so that if one is in the wash we can still use the Pod.
We chose the Elephant design due to the nature of our nursery theme and are happy with the quality of it. Although there were many great designs to choose from, and we would consider other ones when we get the larger Pod in the future.


Discount

If you would like to receive 10% off your purchase of Poddle Pod then follow them on Facebook (link below) and use the code FB10 on their website.

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Important Information About The Poddle Pod

✩ Great for Supervised Naps
✩ Perfect for Photography
✩ Excellent for Support and Comfort
✩ Ideal for Tummy Time
✩ Easily Portable
✩ Machine Washable Cover
✩ Weight Activated

 

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Links

Poddle Pod Website
Poddle Pod Facebook Page


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Thank you for supporting Severn Wishes blog, I hope you have enjoyed this review and I wish you a wonderful day.

✩ Sabrina ✩