Oxo Good Grips French Press Carafe

For those days I wish to languish in my garden with a pot of coffee the then the Oxo Good Grips French Press is just the idea, whilst I am not on a Parisian boulevard it is relaxing none the less. The OXO Good Grips French Press carafe takes the strain out of those brewed coffee grounds with an innovative ladle that catches the brewed coffee grounds and removes them in one easy step. Sturdy stainless steel housing contains a traditional glass carafe to ensure a pure brewing and serving experience.

The coffee I used was Dowe Egberts and it was "Morning Americano" which just suited my vibrant tastes it's bursting with flavour and it packs a zing. Ideal for those who crave a more lively coffee experience. Morning Americano is as jack my cat thought (the one cat bombing the third photo) is the "purrfect" coffee to give you a boost.

The Oxo Good Grips French Press usually retails at a suggested rrp off £34.99 but if you hurry at the moment Selfridges has this very one for only £10 it does say its low stock so get a wriggle on if you to want to inject that Parsian lifestyle into your lives too.

Disclosure ( I was sent the Oxo Good Grips French Press and Dowe Egberts coffee for review my opinion and my words are my own and I am influenced in any way)

Secret smile

Ever tried a "secret smile " you know that enigmatic Monarch Lisa smile I like to think of it as smile bombing. You'll get those who think that you are weird and just shuffle away, those who ignore you and retreat back in their own little world.

Try next time you are out "smile bombing" not every one will smile back and there will be those who are sad for personal reasons  and this is wear you can try a understanding smile. Life is also too short to worry about nasty people and what they are doing with their life some people are just too short sighted so just move on and think "that's their problem "so don't let it be yours!

Live life and live it to the full I ' ve just spent a few days in London and I smile bombed people . I also noticed when I looked glum, people smile bombed me. In particular there was this one chap on the tube whose smiled just cheered me up when I was feeling glum for no particular reason , though travelling on the tube does that as its hot,and the hustle and the bustle gets to me.

Mr Happy ( Mr Men)

And look I have a very happy umbrella full of Mr Men and little Misses !

Smile and the world smiles with you ....

Plenty of ideas : Plenty Kitchen Towel

The humble kitchen towel is a martyr to many a domestic situation from cleaning up kitchen spills, getting the paw prints of the cat flap to cleaning put the microwave when you've not been watching your soup.

But did you know it is SO much more than that, it is essential in craft projects and science experiments. I used it in my very own craft project which you can read all about here.

Juan Sheet is the star of the show , I've not met him but my good friend Jane Willis who blogs at Onions and Paper  . I think she was rather taken with him and blogged about her meeting with the very dapper gentleman and hearts were a flutter that day !

Plenty kitchen roll is more like a cloth than a paper kitchen towel and and such lasts a a very long time.
When the kitchen towel arrived it arrived with a box of shopping , I am sorry I haven't got a picture to show you but with a rugby mad son chocolate was on his radar that day to aid his recovery. Also I was able to do a slow cooker pasta dish ready for when we got back from a long hard day at a rugby festival. And of course I used my Plenty kitchen towel to clean up any spillages which is obligatory when serving up a tomato pasta sauce!

I shall be adding Plenty Kitchen towel to my shopping list  as it our performed any kitchen towel I had previously used also I think perhaps Jane might like me to add Juan Sheet to the list too!

Disclosure ( I was sent the Plenty kitchen roll and a box of shopping all thoughts, words and opinions are my own . I was not told what to write about )

Photo used with permission from Jane Willis at Janesgrapevine.

Kobo Mini Reader Inspect-A-Gadget

Faced with a long journey I was pleased when the opportunity arose to review the Kobo mini reader thanks to Money Supermarket.

Kobo mini reader is small compact is as it's names suggests a reading device as as previously mentioned I had to take a long journey of four hours on the coach. At first I ignored thesimple instructions of loading the books on to the mini reader , I did at one point have to enlist the help of my husband as I was getting cross with the device. This was my fault as I had it been bothered to read the bluntly simple instructions usually it's the other way around and my husband doesn't read the instructions (man with screwdriver is a powerful combination)

And then when there were breaks at a conference I could quickly whip out my Kobo mini reader and lose myself in the realms and reams of fiction.

So much easier than me taking the book with me as I 'd have to fight the cat for it!!

The price of the Kobo reader is £49.99 and it's available in either in black or white though if you shrewd you can find it around ten pound cheaper of an shopping Internet site. This would allow you to buy a snazzy leather case for it .

Disclosure (I was sent £50 to purchase this for review all thoughts, words and opinions are my own )

Chic to Chic

Chic is not thrust up you it just appears I am finding it just crept up on me ,appearing one day,one persons chic is another persons Magino line and it's quite simply a line than cannot be crossed.

But who cannot fail to love Homebarns instant transformation of simple objects, finding inspiration in your home needn't be hard.

Old children's letter blocks and abacus invite intrigue and makes you want to be tactile with the objects, after all objects shouldn't just be for looking at. With letter blocks there is a living visual history and it's Important to pass on such knowledge and appreciation of objects.

I love the beauty and romance of the written word , people hearts and souls went into writing a postcard trying to capture a moment in time.

Practical objects such as reels of cotton can offer instant colour to your home and encourage your to build upon that theme.

The underground is a under used resource ( see what I did there)  the colours just leap out at you.

I even found Underground style at the YMCA where I stayed for one night proving that budget accommodation doesn't have to lack on style.