REVIEW: Hotter Shoes

I recently attended a Blogger Event at Hotter Shoes in Cardiff.  It was a great opportunity to meet up with some of the ladies I only know via blogging. Many thanks to TBAM of The BoyandMe for the invite. 🙂

We were welcomed by the ladies and gentlemen who work in the store – a lovely happy bunch!  Mel the PR lady told us a bit more about Hotter.

• They started making slippers
• Every pair of shoes have wiggle room for toes
• The soles are filled with millions of air bubbles – one of the reasons why they are so comfy.
• Over the past 4 years or so they’ve gone from 5 stores to 65 – not bad expansion in an age of recession!
• They are the biggest UK sohe manufacturer – they make a pair of shoes every 20 seconds.

It was good to learn more about the company and to see and try on some of the shoes. I must admit that I have never been to Hotter shoes before and always thought that they were aimed at the ‘comfort minded’.  I was impressed by the variety of styles and why they can appeal to all ages.

After checking  their website a few days before and found several styles that took my fancy, I couldn’t wait to try them out!

 

Hotter Shoes – Hannah and Donna

I tried out some of the shoes but didn’t get that ‘these are right for me’ moment until I tried on the black Shake style.

 

Comfy Shake – Black

I’ve worn them a few times now and they are very comfortable.  They are so light you barely know you have them on. I’m really impressed with them!

Why not take a look at the website for yourself  Hotter can offer you 10% off plus free delivery you can use the following code PKCTEN and the terms and conditions are:

10% off plus FREE delivery is for first orders only. You are entitled to 10% off the total order value of any full priced items in the Hotter range (excluding shoe care products) plus FREE delivery.  This offer cannot be used in conjunction with any other promotional offer or on Sale or Factory Clearance items and gift vouchers.

BUT THAT’S NOT ALL – I ALSO HAVE A GIVEAWAY FOR YOU TOO!

You can win a Juliet Handbag or a £20 voucher. (One winner will have the option of having the bag OR a voucher)

Just pop over to my Facebook Page Or if on a mobile enter via the Rafflecopter link (http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c96d9e7f2/) – Remember to check the T&Cs on the bottom of the Rafflecopter.

I was allowed to choose one pair of shoes for myself in exchange for an honest review. 

WIN: Hotel Chocolat Christmas Goody Bag

Welcome to my first ever giveaway 🙂

What’s better than chocolate to have and share at Christmas. I have a very festive Christmas Goody Bag from Hotel Chocolat up for grabs.

This is what Hotel Chocolat says about it:

Our most exciting chocolate goodies specially selected for Christmas – bagged and bowed and ready for you to unwrap, including a 50% Cookie & Caramel Wreath, 6 Christmas Mess Chocolates, 6 Treacle Tart Chocolates and a trio of milk chocolate Santas.

I think this is a great sharing bag – something for everyone!

Pop over and take a look at the Christmas Gifts, they have a great range of  goodies and gifts to suit all budgets.

This is a Rafflecopter giveaway that can be found on my Facebook page

Terms & Conditions:

1. UK entry only.
2. Closing date is  12th December 2013.
3. The winner will be chosen at random by Rafflecopter and notified by email.
4. The winner will need to provide me with a postal address to pass to Hotel Chocolat to arrange delivery of the prize.
   
5. If the winner does not respond within 3 days of contact the giveaway will be re-drawn and the prize re-allocated.
6. The winner must have completed the mandatory steps of entry. 
7. There is no monetary alternative and Hotel Chocolat is responsible for the fulfillment of this prize.

Childhood Family Holiday Memories

I grew up in an extended family home.  There was Nan, Mum, my Mums 3 brothers, then there was my sister, my 2 brothers and me.

My Dad left when my sister was a baby. This meant Mum had to work to be able to provide the basics for us. I didn’t realise then how hard it must have been to provide for 4 children.  We only ever had sweets on a Saturday for a treat, Sundays were baking days and everyone was expected to their share of chores.

Holidays were rare, I can only remember three where we actually stayed away from home. Porthcawl in a caravan, Butlins Clacton and Minehead Butlins.  I only have 2 pictures from those days, one of us 4 kids with Mum and Nan at Clacton  and one of just me and Mum at Minehead.

Me and my Mum

I have some good memories from the holiday at Minehead.

• Journeys on the Monorail. This was quite new and seemed very modern and futuristic for the late 60’s!
• Watching some men trying to drink a full ‘yard of ale’!
• The funfair rides. The traditional Horses and there was one that went round and round then went up and around. My Nan loved it and eventually persuaded me to go on it.
• Splashing in the fountain. The fountain was made up of tiers and we used to climb up and sit on them.
• The boating lake.
• The Red Coats – they were always trying to persuade you to join in with games. They made sure everyone of all ages were having a good time.

Competition sponsored by Butlins Holiday Parks, helping your family make memories

RECIPE: Breakfast Bakestones

I’ll tell you a bit about the history of my recipe first!  My Nan was from the Welsh Valleys and spoke what I would call Wenglish.. Not english but not Welsh either!!  What most people refer to as Pikelets my Nan called Bakestones or Slapan depending on her mood!  They were cooked on a bakestone until lightly golden, then served with jam, fruit or bacon and egg.
We used to make stacks of them – at one point there were 10 people in our extended household – so they never lasted long!

Are you feeling the pinch?

How thrifty have you become recently?

Over the past 2 years both our sons have moved out. When there were 4 of us the weekly shop was regularly over £100. The oldest son used to eat us out of house and home and still remains skinny! After he moved out the shopping bill dropped to around £60 – £70 per week. We also had to take care as I had been made redundant and the loss of my pay coming in was a big drop.

Our youngest son moved out last December and although it was nearly Christmas we saw another big drop in the shopping bill. No more stuff for his lunches, bottles of coke and snacks.

So now there are 2 of us and still only one income. We are not hard up by any means – well not compared to when our first son was born anyway! We have no mortgage and hubby pays as much as he can afford into his pension pot. We also have decent savings but try not to dip into them too often. Our weekly shop is averaging around £50.
I also try hard to use up any last veg, meat anything else lurking in the fridge or bread bin! I have a few recipes you make like to try here: Soosie Wales Recipes

My thrifty tips:

• When buying packages of meat such as chops, split them into meal sized amounts and freeze them.
• Make double the amount of dishes like spag bol, casseroles, stews, curries and put enough for one portion in a plastic freezer pot. Instant ready meal for the days when you don’t feel like cooking.
• Use cheaper cuts of meat, use chicken thighs not breasts for casseroles and curries.
• Use a slow cooker for your stews, casseroles, curries etc. It saves energy and you can leave it to do its thing and have a lovely tasty meal.
• If you have coupons for money off your bill e.g. £8 off an £80 shop make a list of things you are likely to run out of soon and go to a supermarket price comparison site and make up your list from special offers. Is the supermarket you have the voucher cheaper?  We had 3 of these recently from Tesco we just about made £80 on the first one  2 weeks ago. Our next voucher doesn’t run out until 1st July so we are putting things like cereal, cat food, tinned food on a list ready for the next £80 shop.
• Which leads me nicely to the next thrifty tip – write a list of what you want and try your best to stick to it.
• Go later in the day and most shops reduce produce like fruit, veg, meat and bakery items. You may even save enough for a little treat!
• Use one of the smaller trolleys. I used to use a full size one and often thought ‘well there’s not much in there’.. I’d then walk around again to top it up with things I didn’t really need.
• Leave your hubby at home if he is one of those that can’t resist a ‘Bargain’. Remind him it’s only a bargain if you wanted it in the first place!
• If you don’t use much bread freeze half the loaf.
• Search for promo codes for anything you buy – just put a search into Google for the shop you’re looking at.
• Need more plates, mugs, glasses? Check out your charity shop. They usually sell for little and you’re helping them raise funds too!
• Lastly use the Money Saving Expert Mantra: Do I need it? Can I afford it? Have I checked if it’s cheaper anywhere else? If the answer is NO… DON’T BUY IT!

This post is my entry for the Approved Foods/Tots100 competition.

102/366 Oo a lovely prize

A few days ago I had an email from Debenhams Beauty Club to inform me that I had won some Elizabeth Arden Red Door Eau de Toilette in 100ml size.

It’s quite a heady scent, very strong when first sprayed but it settles into rather a pleasant fragrance. Hints of Ylang Ylang and is quite woody. Ideal for special occasions.

Check out my other Project 366 pictures so far.

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Week 7 #Project366

Been a very busy week. Plus been poorly so haven’t been out and about much.

Highlight was these flowers that arrived on Monday. No not a Valentines from Hubby but a prize I won from Funnny how flowers do that.

They have been running daily competition and I won when used my Chocolate Strawberries as a holiday memory.

 

Check out my other Project 366 pictures so far.

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