Tag Archives: Sabrinas Honest Posts

Autumn Tele Watching – What have I been getting stuck in to over the last three months

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Television is something that the majority of us watch in an evening. And with the nights getting darker earlier and the weather getting colder, I am certain lots of people will be sitting in front of the old tele box a bit more often for the foreseeable months.

So what sort of things have I been watching? Well I checked out some new film releases on the streaming platforms the things I have been waiting to be free to watch! Some good stuff on there right now. I watched some dramas and some reality tv too! And I also finished a series that I had been deliberately holding off watching because it got cancelled, it had been on my Sky Box for so long and I finally watched it. It was great, it took me months as I couldn’t bare the thought of not seeing the characters ever again, don’t you just hate it when something gets cancelled so early on?! But anyway! What can you watch that’s available right now?

So let’s begin with what I watched in October shall we… it wasn’t a great deal honestly! I’ve been so busy!

Home & Away
The Ozzie Soap world where everyone is beautiful and fit and the weather is almost always good! I do love myself some Home & Away, I live vicariously pretending I’m on a beach getting some Vitamin D! But in all honesty the storylines this year have been some of the most hard hitting and thought provoking for many a year, executed and acted out brilliantly too. Loved them all!
Home & Away is a wonderful show! But every Autumn it always goes on a Christmas break for weeks and weeks! So I await January now for new content. Check it out on Channel 5.

Home & Away
5✩ (Channel 5)
5✩/5✩

Neighbours – the Ozzie Soap is back in full force and I have been loving it! The episodes are on Amazon Prime’s Freevee service and air four times a week Monday to Thursday respectively. The cast have done an incredible job adhering to the new routine and filming challenges while keeping their Neighbours characters alive and thriving just like they had done the past 30 years. As someone who watched Neighbours daily during the week for most of her life, I was apprehensive about this take over. But it’s actually been the best thing, it’s given the soap a new lease of life. I’m loving how the storylines are now developing and I cannot wait to see what happens to the residents next! The way they have tied in the passing of time between the end of last series and this new start has been great too. It’s so nice to see so many of my favourite actors coming back to Ramsey Street as well. I wish everyone involved all the best and cannot wait to see what occurs in 2024!

Neighbours
Freevee – Amazon Prime
5✩/5✩

Now for the November Tele…

This month saw the return of a much loved favourite, “I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here!” and I was also intrigued by a new Gerrard Butler movie as well, as well as looking at Netflix new releases.

I’m a Celeb is the only reality TV that I watch every single year, either record and watch in bulk or try and catch live, and it’s been pretty good this year! I have enjoyed the fact they really mixed up the range of celebs this time around which was fun to see people I knew meet those I hadn’t even heard of. Sam deserved to win, he kept everyone entertained in the camp and us laughing when we were watching.

I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here
ITV / ITVX
4✩/5✩

The Gerrard Butler film I watched was called Plane and it was streaming on Amazon Prime. I give any GB film a go – I wonder why that might be ha ha – this one did not disappoint for the action and the drama. A well thought out plot and well executed cast too. If you like Planes, Thrillers, Foreign Shores and Suspense (plus Mr Butler) then I recommend it.

Plane
Amazon Prime
4✩/5✩

I have started watching a show on Netflix show called Blue Eye Samurai which is excellent so far. It is beautifully illustrated and has an intriguing storyline so far. It reminds me of the Hayao Miyazaki movies but is a strictly adult version of course. The voice casting is excellent and you’ll hear familiar people like George Takei, Masi Oka and Kenneth Branagh, among others. If you like adult animation, thrilling story and twists paired with the Japanese Culture then this show is for you.

Blue Eye Samurai
Netflix
5✩/5✩

December television picks…

December is often filled with Christmas movies and dramas, but I haven’t seen a great deal that has grabbed my attention just yet. I am still watching and really enjoying Neighbours though! I have some new releases lined up for January because lots of new content is coming to Netflix which I’m looking forward to viewing. I also plan to re-watch House of the Dragon early next year in preparation for the second season.

This year I have started watching Nathan Fillion in his show The Rookie and watching this periodically. This program first began back in 2018 and in the last month I have been watching lots of episodes. The show features Fillion as John Nolan who is a Rookie in the LAPD after a life altering event causes him to start over in LA, and after his marriage falls apart. Many detectives on the force deem his change up to a midlife crisis, but Nolan soon sets out to prove his worth and does so in spades. Gripping television with a fantastic cast and some heart racing moments as the team fight crime and solve cases across LA. I am looking forward to catching up with the latest series and eagerly await the new one coming in the Springtime. If you like cop shows, thrillers, humans in uniform 😉 and complex working relationships then this show is for you. I have always been a big fan of Nathan Fillion and he is in his element in The Rookie with both his superb acting, funny expressions and humorous one liners.

The Rookie
Sky Witness
5✩/5✩

Over all the rest of this month I will be spending time with family, this often means a Christmas movie here and there and Disney and / or Pixar for sure! We love Big Hero 6 and Frozen in our house. Neighbours will be on for us to enjoy though, even on Christmas Day! Yay!

Hoping you have a wonderful end to Autumn and start to Winter, and I will update the blog again with everything that I have watched in February of 2024.

Best wishes for the festive season

✩ Sabrina ✩

Tele Watching the Summer of 2023

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Wow! How many great shows have been on this Summer? I couldn’t believe my luck when I started a few new series and found out they were all good to great, it meant I had a wide range of things to watch. Plus there were some returning shows too, with second series’ and I had looked forward to those. So! Let me go into what I’ve been watching and how I rate them, if you missed them there might be ones you like the look of and can check out for yourselves!

The Time Traveller’s Wife Image from IMDB via HBO

The Time Traveller’s Wife
Sky Atlantic

So total honesty, I have always loved Theo James (Divergent, Sanditon) and when he was cast for this I was ecstatic. I feel like unless you’ve seen him in several varied roles people think he’s a one sided actor, which he certainly is not, and everything I’ve watched him in he is totally different. They cast the wonderful Rose Leslie (Game of Thrones) as Clare and boy was it a fantastic choice. Their chemistry was excellent and I feel like that the entire casting for this show was actually brilliant.
Anyone who saw the Eric Bana and Rachel McAdams version (I loved that one too) or has read the book, this series is a mixture between the two. Set over six episodes it focuses more so on Clare which is how it’s supposed to be, after all it’s called “The Time Traveller’s WIFE”, right?
Even the opening credits are beautifully created, with Clare ageing as she’s running through the fields below her family house. As the episodes progress so does the age of Clare.
After a rocky start when they first meet when Clare is a young adult studying, the relationship blossoms and you get a series of flashbacks and stories told between them which fill in the blanks in both of the characters’ pasts as they continue on this love affair. Between Clare talking about the older Henry, and the younger Henry trying to remember what his older self did, there are several beautiful moments where things align and either character is sparing the feelings of the other or trying to get them to open up about the past.
The way that they made Theo look different in age was superbly done, and the acting was excellent. I would say that episodes five and six felt a little rushed in the script and I would have liked to have seen eight episodes instead of the six. But that could be me wanting to see more of Theo James naked (though his body double did all the stunt type shots) but I am unapologetic for wanting to see more of this very handsome man.
Rose Leslie did a fantastic job overall considering she had most of the air time, and she had some very difficult scenes to film as well, and I thought she did brilliantly, such as the way she used mannerisms to convey her younger self was very clever too. There was both good directing and good acting that made this series so good. I’m not sure if there will be a series two, I would hope so!
I would suggest a watch, if you aren’t gripped after the end of episode two then you can take it or leave it, but it’s really a beautiful bit of acting and there are some poignant scenes that are still in my mind now even weeks after watching it.

5✩/5✩

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Queen Charlotte
Netflix

Wow… If you haven’t seen Bridgerton (have you been living under a rock?) then watch this first, because this series features the characters who will appear in those later series as time goes by. If you have seen Bridgerton and not Queen Charlotte then I have to say I enjoyed it even more than I did Bridgerton.
The show features the future Queen Charlotte on how she came to be in Great Britain and married off to King George. The series follows their lives for the next few years over six episodes.
The acting is superb and they have been cast so perfectly that I almost shed a tear at times with how amazing the chemistry was on screen. India Amarteifio (Young Queen Charlotte) and Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte) are incredible as Charlotte and the way that India learned some of the mannerisms she had used during the Bridgerton series’ and integrated them into her portrayal of the younger Queen was impeccable.
You should give this show a go simply for the amount of effort that everyone has made to create it, from the set designs, to the incredible costumes, to the delightful period touches of the era it is set and the acting which across the board is such a high standard. There are not just new names in this show but there will also be seasoned actors you will notice who once again bring their years of skills to this series.

Don’t just take my word for it, watch the first two episodes, I promise you’ll be hooked. Every person I have recommended to watch it has said they have loved it.

I rate this (of course) a 5✩/5✩

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Savage River
5 Star

As I mentioned in my previous post about Tele Watching, Savage River was a show I was currently watching. I have now finished it and I have to say I enjoyed the twists towards the final episodes and I did manage to work it out before they told us. Overall an excellent series and the way that they left it open could mean it would return in the future. Very good if you enjoy Australian Drama, Thrillers and Murder Mystery! Some hard hitting themes so do take care, definitely one for adults.

4✩/5✩

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NCIS
Season 19
5 Star

I realise the UK is a little behind on the NCIS front because season 19 has only just finished on Channel 5’s channel 5 star this summer. I believe more of it is available on Disney Plus though.
Having been a fan of NCIS all my life it occurred to me that I may or may not like the changes with Mark Harmon choosing to take a back seat now and only appearing every so many episodes. However I love NCIS so much and the rest of the team of actors, I wasn’t about to not watch it. I was more than pleasantly surprised; I loved how they transitioned into welcoming the new team members. It feels a little different but the same at the same time, which is odd but NCIS regulars will know what I mean.
I am in awe of the three leads Sean Murray, Katrina Law and Wilmer Valderrama because they have remained the staple this season holding everything together as their new boss played by Gary Cole enters as a regular. I cannot wait to see what happens next season and I take my hat off to the producers and writers and directors for continuing to bring new and exciting episodes forward with my favourite crime fighting and investigating team! Go NCIS! Here’s to many more seasons ahead.

It has to be 5✩/5✩ and it will always be in my eyes.

✩

Heat
Channel 5

I saw this advertised for a while and I do usually enjoy the Channel 5 thrillers, so I thought why not, it was only 4 episodes long so not taxing on time and the pace moved on nicely. Great to see some Australian wilderness I had not encountered on other shows, spectacular scenery. Several well known actors in it including some Neighbours regulars and a few British all rounders like Danny Dyer.
The story progresses quite quickly into a series of lies and betrayals and several twists too! The acting was great and at times the two families had great chemistry.
My quick synopsis for this (without giving too much away) is that two families who have always vacationed together meet up at the newly built secluded home of Danny Dyer’s university best friend. He hosts them all for what is meant to be the trip of a lifetime, a chance for everyone to unwind and relax. However with a multitude of secrets bubbling between many of the characters things quickly start to unravel. To make matters worse the bush fires and getting closer, who will make it out alive?
The only thing I will say was that for me it was quite predictable, but then again I watch a lot of dramas so that could be why and it didn’t take away from the acting which was very good.

3.5✩/5✩

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Image owned by IMDB via ITV.

The Confessions of Frannie Langton
ITV / ITVX

I decided to watch this one weekend when I was home alone and had finished a load of other things already, I wanted something gritty and short to watch. With only a few episodes it was perfect. If you enjoy period dramas and thrillers this is ideal for you. If you have already seen Sanditon or Bridgerton then it’s a very similar time period. With only 4 episodes that are of decent pace this show can be watched in one weekend. It is adapted from a novel by Sara Collins and tells the life of Frannie Langton as she confesses the sins of her short life as the storyline unfolds. I do not wish to spoil any of the plot, so I won’t divulge, all I will say is that the acting by the two lead women is superb.

4 episodes around 49 minutes each. Several well known actors and some new comers too.
Aged 15 years and above due to many adult themes. Trigger Warnings: Drug Use, Miscarriage, Racial Language and Discrimination.

4✩/5✩

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Departure
5 Star
Series 3

Gosh I love this show! I’m a lover of mystery and who-done-it’s and this ticks all the boxes for me. With a strong female lead who is tiny but mighty and boy does she know what she’s doing. The brave and smart Kendra Malley is the lead in the show (played by Emmy award winning Archie Panjabi), she is an investigator from London who travels all around the world solving mysteries regarding vehicular disasters. Series one featured a plane crash, and series two was a train. This time we are faced with a ferry sinking and the thriller gains pace within minutes of starting. If you enjoy a crime thriller you should give this a go for sure. Featuring a wide range of Actors from the UK, Canada and the USA, this show has a bit of everything and the scale of the series should be commended.

5✩/5✩

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Young Sheldon
E4
Series 6

As someone who loved The Big Bang Theory I started watching Young Sheldon when it came out on Channel 4’s additional channel E4. Over the last five (almost six) years we have watched the child actors really grow into their roles and I have to say I laugh every single week at this show. I sometimes learn something new too which is always fun! The storyline is really progressing at the moment, and I feel like Series 7 will feature some pivotal moments in Sheldon’s life, one’s that were mentioned during The Big Bang Theory, that fans will know about. They have been slowly building up to this and I am both looking forward to seeing it but am also somewhat apprehensive due to the nature of it being a characters exit.

I rate Young Sheldon a 4✩/5✩

✩


The Ark
Sky Sci-fi

Brand new science fiction show set in the not too distant future. As Earth fails to survive climate changes and natural disasters a scientist builds a series of spaceships called Arks. Training up thousands of engineers, pilots and science experts the plan was to send teams into space to a new planet similar to Earth outside of our solar system. This first series follows Ark 1 as they journey through space, when the crew are suddenly woken up in their cryo-pods far too early because of an accident. The surviving crew members have to band together to survive and help their struggling ship stay on course to their destination. There are many twists and turns and unexpected revelations in this series and I really enjoyed it. The diversity of actors is also something to be commended, some I had seen before but others are definitely rising stars in regards European acting. It took a few episodes to get in to but now I can’t wait to find out what happens!

If you have ever seen Stargate, The 100 or any Star Trek and enjoyed those then this is a series you should check out for certain. Ideally suited for people aged at teenagers and above due to injury detail, adult themes and several examples of harrowing death.

I would give this show 4✩/5✩!

Image owned by IMDB via SyFy Channel

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The Tower
Series 2
ITV

I loved series 1 of The Tower, so when I heard it was returning this August I couldn’t wait. The second series starts off almost immediately where the previous one ended, and the characters have their own lives intertwining as well as their on going police investigations. I have to say I enjoyed this set of episodes just as much as the first series. The pace is always good and you aren’t waiting for something to develop, and despite the hard hitting storylines it was excellent tele to watch. I think the acting was great from all the leads and I really hope we get a series 3 (if not more) to come!

I give The Tower 4✩/5✩

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My Mum, Your Dad
ITV

✩ CURRENTLY ON NOW ✩
I gave this show a go on a whim, but I’m actually really enjoying it! Think of it as the camera set up and team from Love Island so you can see everything except the toilets! Plus the sweet kindness of Davina McCall giving everyone advice and guidance. If you haven’t seen this then give it a go, the countryside retreat they had them all staying at is just stunning!

4✩/5✩

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Thanks for reading this blog post today! If you watch anything after my recommendation please let me know I would love to hear what you think. Have you seen any of these? What have you been watching? Have a great day!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Spend a few minutes a week wisely online by using Free Websites to Win Cash and Prizes.

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Screenshot from PMP website

Hello everyone! It’s the final few days of February, lets end it on a positive note!

Have you ever wondered how you could be more productive with that time you spend scrolling on your phone? Would you also love the chance to win some free money? And no this is not a scam.

Well today I am going to show you two websites, give you my referrals for them so you can join up too, and show you how to make some free money if you get lucky.

Website number one for you to check out is all about your Postcode. Every day I spend less than five minutes checking my phone on a website called PickMyPostcode or PMP for short. Here you sign up with the postcode at your home address, and if your postcode comes up in one of their many draws then you get the free cash! I won £10 a few years ago and I am hoping that it won’t be long before I win again. There are more than 15 UK postcodes drawn every day across the draws so it can happen.

There are draws at 9am and 9pm called Stackpot. There is also a range of draws at Midday and one at 6pm which is a cheeky additional draw that’s right at the bottom of the page. It takes seconds to check each one, and if it’s a match to your postcode it will say CLAIM / COLLECT next to it. Then you can withdraw it to your PayPal account.

Here is a photo of today’s (27th February) draws and amounts.

Screenshot of the PMP Website

I must mention as well that you accumulate a bonus with this website, a penny for every single draw page you check. It soon adds up let me tell you. I am up to £65 now, and what happens is your bonus gets paid out to you when your postcode comes up. That’s double reasons to check it I think.

Amounts for draws vary but are usually from £5 to £100, but if they roll over for a few days when people don’t claim then you could see prize amounts in the region of £1000! So it’s important that you do check it every single day in case it’s your postcode that’s been drawn.

If this interests you then please click the link below this sentence and it will take you to the site where you can sign up. All you need is an email address and your postcode and it’s free to do.

PICK MY POSTCODE

Screenshot of the ITV Win website

So another awesome website that gives out free cash and prizes once a week on a Wednesday is ITV WIN. I only joined ITV Win at the end of last year, but I already won tokens to enter other competitions and £5 in Cash. This one is slightly more time consuming, but you sign up for ITV Win with your details including mobile number, email address and name, and you receive a profile where you can then pay to enter ITV competitions online, enter the free competitions when they are available, and also access WINSDAY. And it’s the Winsday section that you want.

Winsday occurs every Wednesday, and any tickets you’ve accumulated get drawn at random. If your ticket number matches you could win Prizes, Cash or Tokens. How you get the tickets is fairly straight forward too. Once you’ve made your account you go from the top of your profile and scroll down and you’ll see the Winsday graphic on the website. Clicking on it takes you to a video stream. You simply watch a few ITV adverts for things like Masked Singer, This Morning, Ant & Dec, Reality TV and Dramas, and as you watch the Ad’s tickets pop up and you tap them to collect. It keeps a tally for you bottom right of the video stream and your maximum is 30 a week. On average a ticket pops every 1-2 minutes, so I usually watch this a few nights a week while I am stirring the dinner or waiting for the veg in the oven say. Within 20 minutes I’ve got myself a few tickets for free, and they are drawn on a Wednesday afternoon. Just check your profile from Wednesday evening onwards to see if you have won anything.

Screenshot of when a ticket popped up for me today on Winsday video stream.
Screenshot of my account on ITV WIN showing I have 6 tickets so far this week.

When I won £5 a few weeks ago it was easy to withdraw it from my profile as well.

ITV WIN is a great way to try and win things for free and it’s certainly worth it when they draw hundreds of prizes for free every week for its members. Why not give it a try and see how easy it is to (hopefully) win some free money.

Below this sentence is the link to the ITV Win website through my referral and it’s free to sign up.

ITV WIN

✩ ✩ ✩

I hope that you have found this blog post interesting today, I would love to hear from you if you do either of these already or if you’re going to sign up now that I have brought them to your attention. Remember that signs ups are only for people living in the United Kingdom.

Thank you and have a really lovely day! Good luck if you sign up!

✩ Sabrina ✩


N.B I am not endorsed or sponsored by either of these companies I am simply trying to give people the opportunity to win things for free, this is what I do myself every week. This post is not a sponsored and I am not getting anything for bringing these websites to your attention, I am just being a good citizen!
Good luck and thanks for visiting Severn Wishes Blog today.

Organising your Kitchen Drawers has never been easier with the Joseph Joseph DrawerStore Organiser

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Today I am bringing you a brand new product review, my first purchase of 2023!

Featuring the DrawerStore Organiser from Joseph Joseph.
Purchased on Amazon for £26.39. (Price Correct as of January 21st 2023).

Product Information: Available in Grey, Blue, White/Green.
Product Details: Only suitable for Drawers with a depth of 8cm or more.
Dimensions: 38.4cm Length by 39.7cm Wide and 5.3cm Deep.
Additonal Information: There are several of these DrawerStore items in
different sizes and for different uses such
as cutlery, whole drawer, knives only etc.

Sabrina’s Top Tips!

Always measure your own drawers and cupboards and work out the cost for the product versus how many centimetres of product you are paying for. This product was worth it for my drawer because I am not wasting any space. However there are many similar products on the market that may suit your space better, plus Joseph Joseph do smaller organiser trays as well! So always weigh up all your options before you buy and get out that ruler or tape measure.

Picture from Amazon

This was the situation in my kitchen drawer before I made the purchase. It was full of baby spoons and a copious amount of medicine spoons and syringes. I needed a clear out and to reorganise because types of items were all mixed together, like my sons cutlery with the adult cutlery, and so on.

My Drawer set up prior to this Joseph Joseph product purchase.

For a while now I have been reorganising my kitchen and the space within it. The issue is that I live in a small cottage which only has three rooms downstairs. I have no utility area, so my kitchen is three things in one room. It is my food prep area, my utility and my storage room for everything from food and drink, and cat food to cleaning products. I also only have 3 drawers in the room too, so maximising the space that I do have in those areas is vital.

I’m someone who loves to cook and often bulk cooks too. So I have plenty of different knives and utensils, as well as my usual cutlery. My Jamie Oliver cutlery set is my absolute favourite and I use them every single day.

I had a voucher for Christmas for Amazon, and I had been looking at getting something from Joseph Joseph. This brand is incredible for their sturdy and space saving gadgets and kitchen utensil related products. I already own two other useful items from their range, and I had seen the drawer organiser and hoped it would fit my old fashioned kitchen. Success for me because the measurements I had done worked out, so I went ahead and ordered it.

When I removed it from the Amazon box just two days later I was happy with the quality, the plastic is very strong and durable which is what I needed. I took off the packaging to recycle it and be able to give the organiser a good clean with some antibacterial spray. Once that was done I looked it over and decided where I wanted to put some of the items from my drawer, although the organiser does suggest cutlery in some spaces which are allocated with little icons.

After cleaning out my current drawer space I slotted in the Joseph Joseph piece and I got to work with the organising of it. Pleased that I was able to fit every single item from my previous draw tray and even have room to spare. I also allowed me to see just how many things I could recycle, like the fact I had managed to accumulate 17 medicine spoons, 7 Calpol syringes and several baby spoons that my son no longer needs. I kept a couple of each and tossed the rest into my plastics recycling tub.

Allocating the items was simple and they slotted into the cutlery spaces with ease, all except for the Table Spoons, the larger ones did take a little manoeuvring but I got there in the end and I was pleased with the end results. It didn’t take me more than twenty minutes to do my drawer change over, and I am left with a more organised space that is much easier to find what any of us want.

I decided to place the things that my son uses (and often helps himself to) at the front in the right corner so that he could reach them easy enough. Placing the things I use least often such as Soup Spoons, Dessert Spoons and Dessert Forks at the back corner. The drawer is designed for Table Spoons, Forks, Knives and Tea Spoons in that ascending order on the left moving towards the back of the organiser tray. I would personally and usually like to have my tea spoons at the front, so this is my only bug bear with the tray. Otherwise it has been a fantastic addition to my kitchen whilst I remain vigilant on how to save space and create better organisation in other parts of the room.

My completely reorganised drawer with Joseph Joseph organiser.

Overall I would like to rate the item 4/5✩

Would I buy it again? Yes

Would I recommend it? Yes

Overall the item is strong, durable and it fits the dimensions of my relatively small drawer which is excellent. I think the icons for the items should be slightly different on the left of this tray however. One of the main items we use in the United Kingdom is a tea spoon, it doesn’t make sense for these to be in the very back slot of the tray. Other than this I highly rate this organiser tray. You may have a larger kitchen and larger drawer than I have, in which case accessing the final part of the try might not be an issue for you. If you have a smaller drawer like me please check the depth of your drawer before buying, luckily mine was 8cm, but anything under 7cm will likely cause the cutlery to become stuck due to the angle of which they are laid out in the left side of the organiser. If you look at my photograph below you will see what I mean, and about the tea spoons disappearing at the back of the drawer. I actually may end up putting some with my sons cutlery at the bottom right corner for ease of access. I thought the cost was a little expensive but you are getting a branded item and it is of high quality in a manufacturing sense. The features are also good regarding the icons and the shape in which the tray is designed in which to maximise efficient use of space.

My Final Scores

Durability 5✩
Product Design 4✩
Product Cost 4✩
Features 5✩
Product Quality 5✩

My son can now safely help himself to anything in his designated section of the organiser.

Thank you for reading this product review today.

I hope you have a great rest of your week!

If you have questions about the product then please leave me
a comment and I will do my best to answer them.

See you again soon I hope!

✩ Sabrina ✩

January 2023 Treatbox Reveal and Review

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The brand new year has begun and the first Treatbox UK box of 2023 landed on my doorstep. I had a few days off over New Year spent with my family, and then I began blogging again at the end of the first week of January. This is why this post is a little later than I would usually do them, however I needed a much deserved rest, and less hours looking at my screens.
I hope your year has started off well! Thank you for joining me today!

So let’s get on to this unboxing! I was hoping for some of the usual “start of the year” items in this box, such as a Journal or Calendar or a Planner, and I also hoped for the possibility of new things that we had not yet seen as well!

And guess what? I wasn’t disappointed! If you would prefer to watch my unboxing video, then you can find that by clicking here… otherwise please continue as I unbox the January 2023 Treatbox!

What was inside the January box?

January 2023 Monthly Calendar Print
2023 Treatbox Original Bound Calendar
Sheet of Stickers for Organising and Reminding
Treatbox Original A5 Print “The new year stands before us…”
Treatbox Original Notebook “Notes” – Blank White Pages
Stationery Pen – Colour Picked at Random – I received a White Pen
Pink Iced Shortbread Biscuit “You Got This”
Pink Velvet Hair Scrunchie

Let us now take a closer look at the products that were inside for January 2023.

What is my Honest Opinion

A lovely box with a well thought out design this month, the dusky pink throughout and a theme of moving forward with the start of the new year. A mix of organisation items and Treatbox original stationery, combined with some treats with the biscuit to eat and the scrunchie to wear.

The Calendar is of excellent quality and I have created a cardboard stand for mine to stand up on my desk, so that I’m able to keep track of everything with ease as the weeks go on. (See image below).
My favourite items are the Calendar, Stickers and the Scrunchie, but all of the items this month are useful and of good product quality. I also like the positive quote on the print this month too, because I personally (as a writer) do see every new year as new chapters ready to be written.

To see the Treatbox UK products in use please follow me on social media as they will feature regularly all month in my photographs and videos. This January box has been a lovely start to the year, and I look forward to the next box in February.

Thank you for reading this unboxing blog post, I hope you have a lovely January.

Don’t forget to follow me on my social media for more updates and individual
product reviews as well as witnessing these items I just told you all about in use too.

Search #SevernWishesBlog on Google or #SevernSabrina on Instagram
Alternatively click here to follow on Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

Have a great weekend!

✩ Sabrina ✩

If you are looking for the ideal Stationery Gift this Season then why not check out the Gift Company Journal Sets

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Hello and Welcome to another of my Product Review Collaborations! This month I am ecstatic to be working with Gift Company again, as I review their wonderful Journal Stationery Gift Sets.

I am thrilled to be bringing you this collaboration with Gift Company this November, I have been asked to review some of their incredible value Gift Sets! Each set of products has been sent to me in order for me to complete this honest testing and review. I wanted something versatile and unisex and this was what we decided upon.

On the Gift Company website there are four sets to choose from, they include a Robin, Cat, pair of Giraffes and a Bee. I chose the three sets that contained exactly the same items so that I could compare their design and quality. Overall I have been very impressed with them, so let’s take a look at what’s inside each of the decorative display boxes for this stationery set.

Here are some of my photographs to show the quality of the stationery up close.

The gift set is very well presented inside the box which is also decorated front and back with the design that you chose.

Each of the Journal Gift Sets contains:
1 x Journal (with blank date headers to fill in as you please)
A Selection of Cards and Envelopes both personalised with set picture
1 x Shopping List Notepad with a Magnetic Back
1 x Notebook on a Ring Bound Coil
1 x Decorative Bookmark with black tassel
1 x Black Ballpoint Pen

Cat Journal Gift Set LINK
Robin Journal Gift Set LINK
Giraffe Journal Gift Set LINK

Shopping List and Pen
Notebook

My Honest Opinion

Overall these Gift Sets are of extremely high quality, the way the set is designed means that you receive the decorative box as well as the six individual items inside it. A set has every product made to a high standard, be it the manufacturing and final finish of the product, as well as the paper within them, it’s a decent thickness of all the paper products. The image that you decide upon for your set is bright throughout the products and the font on the quotes is easy to read and is clearly defined.

You could choose to gift the set as is, or you could split the set up and divide it into smaller gifts, you can give the journal and pen to one person for example. While offering the cards and envelopes to another loved one. Perhaps you have a family member who always does the food shopping, this list would be perfect for them. Is there an avid reader in your family as well, because this decorative bookmark would be a great addition in their Christmas box.

Considering you get six high quality items and a decorative box for only £10, I think it is definitely great value for your money. If you are on a budget this year, I would consider purchasing two gift sets and dividing the items between four or more different people. You could even buy a gift set and a pack of pens and give every item to a loved one, along with a pen.

You wouldn’t have to gift this set for Christmas though, it’s a perfectly acceptable gift for a variety of occasions such as a Birthday or an Anniversary too. Do you know someone who is going off to University? Or somebody who recently started a new job? A gift like this might be both useful and very well received by people who will need to use stationery items such as these.

I personally love being organised and using stationery definitely helps me to do just that. If you know of someone in your life that does the same thing, then this gift would be perfect for them. And finally as a parent, you can never have enough notebooks and a journal to keep your year ahead organised.

Cards and Envelopes
Shopping List

My Review Scores

Functionality 5✩
Product Design 5✩
Versatility 5✩
Product Quality 5✩
Value for Money 5✩
Universal 5✩

Journal Cover
Journal Inside
Bookmark

Thank you to Gift Company for the chance to do this review, it’s great to be working with you again.

For anyone who isn’t aware of Gift Company, they are a long standing British based company with shops across the country, as well as their website which houses a wide range of Gifts and Furniture too.

If you would like to know more you can find Gift Company at the following links and on social media.

Gift Company Website
Gift Company Facebook
Gift Company Instagram

You can also watch my Review Video as I show the products off, and that can be
viewed on my Instagram channel by clicking the image below.

Thank you for visiting Severn Wishes Blog today and reading my collaboration review.

Have a wonderful final few days of November 2022!

✩ Sabrina ✩

October 2022 Treatbox UK Reveal and Review

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Oh yes it’s time for another Reveal and Unboxing!

Today it’s the turn of the October 2022 box from Treatbox UK!

Are you as excited as I am? I love October! Autumn colours and Halloween!

I wonder how many themes are contained in this months box! Let’s open it and see!

If you would prefer to watch my unboxing video you can find it on my Facebook here

What’s Inside the Box for October 2022?

Treatbox Calendar Print – October
Treatbox Original Autumn Theme Socks
Treatbox Original A5 Print “I’m Ready for Cosy Jumpers…”
The Make Arcade X Treatbox – Spooky Craft Kit – Pumpkin
Bag of Cocoba Signature Drinking Chocolate – Eat Drink Love
Mini Book by Ruth Jones – Love Untold (Excusive First Look)
Mini Jade Gua Sha – Face Relaxing Tool in Organza Bag
Spooky Biscuit Little Ghost

Here are more of my pictures… (leaves and pumpkins were not included in the box)

What’s my honest opinion for this month?

When I first opened this box and took a peek inside I just knew I was going to love it. I also appreciate just how hard it must be to keep regular subscribers like myself, happy, due to them not wanting to constantly repeat certain items. But this month Zoe and her Treatbox team have really out-done themselves!

Where do I start?! Let’s go with my favourite item, and it has to be the socks! I’m someone who has continually said I love the socks that come in Treatbox, but this time they are extra special due to them having Treatbox sewn into the design along the base. Autumnal themed and beautiful as well makes all the difference too.

Following on from the socks to receive a brand new item is excellent, the Jade Gua Sha is a face relaxing tool to help aid the skin and blood flow. We haven’t had anything of this sort before and I cannot wait to give this a go over the coming weekend.

The usual Calendar Print and the A5 Print are lovely again this month, I like to rotate my prints around my home and I just put up the ones from the last three years of Autumn Treatboxes! I must get a photo of them all together for my social media to show you!

We also have a make-able item this month which I love! Crafting our own little Pumpkin! Yay! It’s not the first time we’ve seen Make Arcade and Treatbox collaborate however it’s the first Spooky Craft Kit we’ve had, and every kit has so far been unique and unusual and I love that! We get to make something and keep it and by making it our own it becomes personal too! Watch out on my socials because I will update you when I do this Craft kit!

What’s next? Oh yes, the huge bag of 54% cocoa chocolate! Which can be enjoyed eaten, drunk or melted. And you can even enjoy it with your Biscuit! Mine was a little Ghost and he’s so cute! Despite being smashed up in the post he will be enjoyed over the weekend too!

Finally we have the Ruth Jones mini book which is a first look chapter of an up and coming new story she’s done. Ideal to pop into your handbag if you know you’re going to be sat in a waiting room at any point this month.

Overall I think this has been one of my favourite boxes of this year so far. We have got something to eat, something to make into a drink, something to do, an item to read and something to create, an item to display and an item to wear. Plus an item which could be seen as our new self care. All of which when combined make an all rounded box or treats and will make October better for having them. With the autumn and Halloween themes combined with general luxury treats it’s a lovely box this month.

Thank you for joining me for another Reveal and Review from me, Severn Sabrina!
I loved this box it was fantastic!

Don’t forget to follow me on my social media for more updates and individual
product reviews as well as items in use too.
Search #SevernSabrina or #SevernWishesBlog

Have a great October and don’t forget to keep up to date with my socials so that
you can see when I do make my Craft Kit and use the other bits of this box too.

This month is always a great one for pictures!
I share Lifestyle and Nature Photography on my Instagram as well.

✩ Sabrina ✩

Sabrina’s Top Twelve Ways to Save Money, Spend Less and Use Less Energy Around the Home

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Welcome to todays lifestyle blogging article “Sabrina’s Top Twelve Ways to Save Money, Spend Less on Electric and Use Less Energy Around the Home”. With the rising cost of living and lots of other prices changing, I figured I would share the ways in which I, Sabrina, a single parent, save money on a daily basis. And by drilling some of these into your head and completing them daily, you will soon see how great they are and hopefully I can help save you some money! Lets begin!

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✩ Close Your Curtains – either to keep the heat inside during colder months or to keep the heat out and keep your home cool during hot days. I often see people not closing their curtains in an evening and I wonder if they know how much energy they’re losing. As for the summer it works the same way, don’t open them in a morning to let the heat in, just leave them shut and return to a much cooler room than if you had opened them.

✩ Time your Showers – We can all be guilty of letting the hot water run over us and our minds drift off into a tangent of thoughts and procrastinations. However by either setting alarms or by playing a timed playlist on your phone while you shower, you will be saving yourself water and electricity and even time! I personally have a selection of 30 minute music playlists, and I know that when I reach the final song my half an hour of bathroom ablutions time is up! Give it a go yourself and see how you get on.

✩ Close Your Doors – even by pushing your doors within an inch or twos gap of the frame will prevent lots of heat escaping in the winter. I usually pop a door stopper on the other side of said door once we are in (for example) the lounge with no intention of moving for an hour or two. This stops children or pets pushing the door open too far and letting your heat escape into a hallway for example.

✩ Invest in some USB Chargeable Lights – So I have several of these around my home and various types. I have bars in the hallways so I don’t have to bother turning any lights on, they have sensors so when you walk within range they just pop on. Useful for saving money on electricity! Also great if you forget to turn lights off because these USB ones turn off after 30 seconds to 1 minute (depending on brand). Other chargeable lights include ones that are freestanding and you simply charge them up and then turn them on and let them drain down. One that I have takes about an hour to charge but lasts up to six hours – great in an evening if I don’t need much light.

USB Chargeable Motion Sensor Light Bars

✩ Light Bulbs – one weekend or day off pop around your home with another person. One goes up a ladder and checks bulbs and the other writes down on a piece of paper what types and if they are energy saving and how many watts are the maximum. Then, next time you’re out shopping go and buy the bulbs that are energy saving and cost less to run. These bulbs usually last for ten years or up to 10,000 hours – whichever comes first!

✩ Watering a Garden – if you spend water from inside your home to water your garden it will slowly start to become a lot of expense. Instead buy one or two black dustbin type plastic barrels (roughly £14 each) and they come with a lid too! Use a watering can to dip into them and remove water as and when you need it. Set them up in a part of your garden where rain water can easily fill them up. You’ll be surprised how fast they fill on a rainy day! Use the water from the butts for your garden plants before turning your home taps on! It will save you money on your water bill especially if you’re on a meter.

✩ Buy or Make Draught Excluders – I have one on the inside of each door of my home, they keep draughts out and stop your heat escaping through holes under doors. If you cannot afford one because they often retail at around £15 these days, and you are good at seeing! Then you could always try and make one out of some old clothes and some stuffing. Might be fun to do with your children!

Draught Excluders for Doors

✩ Buy Thicker Curtains or Lined Curtains ready for Winter – I bought lined curtains for £15 in the fabulous Dunelm sale last year. And I also built a pole above my front door and put two curtains up there as well. One reason was to keep the heat inside during the winter because doors easily let your heat escape. Two is also from a security aspect, if you have a window next to your front door then people may be able to look inside easily, a curtain across prevents them from seeing anything.

✩ Invest in Fleece Throws – I love a nice comfortable throw, but by putting a couple where you frequently sit down will also save you money. I have one folded up across the bottom of my bed, I have two on my sofa. If I’m cold in an evening I will put that over me or around me and not touch the thermostat on the heating. Maintaining an optimum temperature for your heating is also a great start, then use other things such as wearing another layer of clothing or by covering yourself up with a throw while sitting down to help save the pennies. Fleece Throws can start from as little as £4 each in places like Tesco and Dunelm, I bought 3 at £6 each last year. They are large ones and one covers both mine and my sons legs when we sit and watch television in an evening. Fleece throws are also easy to wash and fast to dry due to the material.

✩ Clothes Airers and Camping Pegs – no I’m not mad! I’m letting you in on my clothes drying secrets! So for £20 or less you can buy a large freestanding clothing airer at a supermarket and a packet of camping peg hooks from a local do it all shop. You’ll be able to dry more clothes outside this way and in more weather types simply by pinning the airer down to your lawn with the pegs. This way it doesn’t blow over, but you can easily pull up the pegs and pick up the whole thing to move it indoors if the weather takes a turn. I regularly do this with small thinner items all year round if it’s windy and the sunshine is out. Any reason to not use the tumble drier I will surely take it! You can save lots of money by drying even half a load of washing outdoors.

✩ Turning it OFF! – I’m a big believer in “if you aren’t using it then turn it off” and this goes for lights, appliances and electronics. There are only 6 things that are always on, either because they are constantly running or on standby in my home, they are the Broadband Box, the Sky TV Box, the Boiler, the Washing Machine, my electronic Doorbell and the Fridge/Freezer. Everything else is off, I only put the oven or microwave or drier on when they are actually going to be used. It saves me a ton of electricity by turning things off at the socket and not leaving them standing idle – plus with a small child you don’t want them turning on appliances that might get hot! So there are double reasons for clicking that off switch on the wall. It’s the same with main lights, if you leave a room just turn it off. Finished cooking dinner and done with that Oven? Just turn it off.

✩ Grow Your Own – Every year I try and grow things but this year I am pulling out all the stops to try and grow more fruit and vegetables. Combining my rain catching water tubs with a watering can, I can easily water the tubs I have created. Follow me on my social media for updates on this because I will be documenting photographically just how well we do through the Summer and into the Autumn. Even if you have a balcony not a garden, you can get vertical planters nowadays where you can grow things such as herbs, raspberries or strawberries, tomatoes and chill peppers. I don’t have a patch that I am able to dig up, so I am simply using pots to grow everything. Check out my Instagram for more photographs on how I am managing to do this. Also, teaching your children (if you have any) about the importance of nurturing something while it grows is an excellent life lesson.

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Thanks for reading this blog post today. I would love it if you would get in touch, write a comment below if you found any of this useful or you liked some of my ideas. Do you have any awesome ideas yourself for saving money?

If you implement any of my hacks yourself I would love to hear from you on here or on social media. You can tag me #SevernSabrina if you want me to see it too.

Have a great remainder of June!

✩ Sabrina ✩

Sabrina’s Kitchen Storage and Tidying Hacks and How to Make your own Labelled Storage Boxes

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✩ Sabrina’s Kitchen Storage and Tidying Hacks ✩

My blog post today is all about Kitchen Hacks for Tidying and Storage! I hope you are excited! I love helping people to get the most out of their homes!

Have you ever seen those awesome flat pack storage ideas? IKEA sell a load of them, but you can also get them from good homeware stores too. Well I have a few awesome life hacks for you for the kitchen, using this type of storage essential! They are normally designed for clothing but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them in other rooms.

For Example. I use a Sock Storage for the kitchen drawer! I use mine for my Tea Towels and cloths! You can also use this style of storage for your bedroom drawers for a variety of items, not just socks, but anything that is around that size.

I use a large coffee jar as a vase, and I also use a large coffee jar and its lid for cosmetic pad storage.

Just because an item used to have one purpose, does not mean you can’t then use it for something entirely different. I am always reusing items around my home to suit my needs at that moment in time. Let us take a look at some of my hacks now.

I use a sock organiser for tea towels in the kitchen drawer.

✩ Other Kitchen Hacks ✩

Reusing and Repurposing Glass Jars

An empty Herb Jar makes a great kitchen pen pot, stick 2 magnets on the back and it will be attachable to your fridge! I use mine for pens and fridge magnets!

Do you drink Coffee? Some large coffee jars are made of very sturdy and strong glass, not only that but they are often nice shapes too. You can reuse these as Pasta Jars, Vases for Flowers, Cosmetics Storage and so much more. Do you have a use I’ve not thought of that you love or already do at home? Please leave me a comment I would love to hear your ideas too.

Small Fat Jars from such things as Salsa, Jam, Apple Sauce and Chutney etc are a great size for when you make your own Chutney or Jam at home. If you don’t do a lot of cooking you could repurpose these jars as kitchen storage, one for loose buttons, elastic bands and the like. One could be for chewing gum and mints, or even sauce sachets and seasonings when you get spare from a takeaway say. Reusing glass is very economical, especially now that places have started to do “fill your own” with refillable food items.

Kitchen Storage Hacks – Labelled Boxes

So since I moved house I wanted to create some labelled storage boxes for my kitchen cupboards, but I was shocked to see online retailers offering just the labels at £2 plus each! Boxes that had names printed on for you started at around £15 a single box! Then you had to pay postage! Queue me putting my face in my hands… On a visit to B&M in my nearby town I saw a sheet with some lovely swirled writing silver stickers on which said Laundry, Cleaning, Cloths etc. I bought one for £2 and got inspired to make tidying up boxes to go under my sink. But I wanted to do the whole kitchen at this point too!


I looked at my budget which was £20 and I figured out that I needed at least 8 boxes for my cupboard, if not more. I shopped around and found some fantastic letters on Amazon, a pack of 8 alphabet stick on glittery letters that would only cost me £4 with free Prime delivery. Get in! Yes! I ordered them and then went on the hunt for boxes. Having purchased Curver and Wham boxes in the past and being happy with their quality, I thought I wanted something similar. I used google to find that Wham were the only ones who did solid sided boxes that came in a range of sizes.

Once I knew what I wanted I matched their size to the width of my cupboards and searched for who was doing them on any deals. I managed to get them for just £1 a box while they were on offer online, and although I ended up having to pay for delivery it arrived in two days and I had just what I needed. I ordered 8 boxes of one size, 4 White and 4 Grey. Then I ordered 3 larger White boxes for my “Laundry / Cleaning” cupboard. I only have my kitchen and no utility or storage area, so every inch of space matters a great deal to me.

It took me 3 hours to stick down all of the lettering on to my boxes, working out which colour went well on each box so it stood out, and carefully making sure they were also in a straight line across the boxes. Then it took another hour sorting my cupboard out and placing the corresponding products into their labelled boxes. Overall I am really happy with how it has turned out, and I saved myself a ton of money in the process!

BEFORE
AFTER

Here are my before and after pictures for my kitchen cupboard, I can now see exactly what I have got and also when I am running low on something. As a single mother on a strict budget each month I find it very important to be able to do this effectively, meaning I don’t waste time looking through things every week. By having these organised boxes I can simply look at what remains in each one when writing out my shopping list.

When I finally got all the boxes into place I had wished I had found the time to do this sooner. It has made my cleaning and shopping life ten times easier.

Wow! Don’t they look great! I’m really happy with how they turned out!

I purchased the Wham Boxes online and the Letter Stickers I found came from Amazon UK.

I give the Quality of the Wham Boxes 5 ✩ and would buy them again.

Thank you for reading this blog post today and I hope I have inspired you to make some changes for the better, in your own home. It’s easy when you know how! Any questions just pop me a comment and I will happily get back to you.

✩ Sabrina ✩

March 2021 Treatbox Reveal and Review

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Welcome to the March 2021 Treatbox UK unboxing Reveal and my Review of the contents inside the box. This box month always coincides with my birthday, so it’s like an extra little present to myself! And funnily enough it felt even more like my birthday when I opened it thanks to two items inside…


… a blank Happy Birthday card and a key ring! (I have collected Keyrings since I was a child)!

Happy Birthday to me! And here is what else was inside this great box!


✩ What Was In The March 2021 Box? ✩

Treatbox A5 Print “You Got This”
Treatbox Cards x 3 “Happy Birthday”, “Keep Going” & “You Are Amazing”
Treatbox Rainbow Design Weekly Planner Pad
“Pretty Things” Keepsake Dish
Bubble t Cleansing Hand Sanitiser “Confetea Edition” 50ml
Jealous Sweets Love Bears Sugar Free Vegan Sweets 40g
“Good Vibes” Rainbow Key Ring

9 items in total.


✩ My Opinion of the March Box Contents ✩


What I really liked inside this box was… all of it! 😀 From the Rainbow theme to the positive vibes! I thought the Keepsake Dish is of excellent quality, and the key ring is lovely too. Sanitiser is something that we all need a lot of at the moment and it is great to have a pretty pink one that smells amazing, that is a bonus! What fun!

The A5 print and the cards are positive orientated and I love that we can pass the positive vibes on to other people from our joy in receiving the Treatbox UK March box! I cannot wait to try those Vegan Sweets and I saw they have a long use by date so no rush in nibbling them all up! Yay!

But my favourite item by far has to be the Weekly Planner! I love how much design Zoe and the team have managed to incorporate into it! Drinking Water, Days of the Week, Goals, Priorities and Don’t Forgets! It is now so much faster to plan my week than my old planner where I had to use a ruler to section parts of the day out for my To Do’s and Goals! Now I just pop them all on this one page! I LOVE IT!

Thanks so much for an awesome item! I would love to see another one with a different border in a few months time, because I will be using this weekly from now on 😉 A great box I am very happy!


Did you know that you can view all of my previous Treatbox unboxing posts in this unique category of mine called ‘Treatbox’ it is specifically for these box reviews and reveals – Severn Wishes Treatbox.

March 2021 was box number 60 for me!!!


Thank you for reading this Review and Reveal for the March Treatbox! If you liked it why not check out my other reviews too! Have a wonderful day!

✩ Sabrina ✩