Review: Jam Transit Wireless Stereo Headphones

I love music, always have. Music is a huge part of my daily life and I can’t imagine being without it. I listen to it when I’m out walking, on public transport, cooking in the kitchen, sat working and when I’m just chilling out. I’m aware that at times I do turn the volume up far too loud, thus annoying my neighbours. I try to use my iPod a lot, although it’s brilliant, the earphones are crappy and uncomfortable. Happily, I was sent some Jam Headphones to review. So I did.

Like any technology, I fear it, so I gave them to hubs to figure out (I am instruction leaflet phobic, it’s a thing). I knew they must be alright when I looked up ten minutes later to see him sat listening to his iPod with a massive smile on his face. It was an auspicious start.

He gave me a tutorial…
1. Put these on your head *hands me the headphones*
2. Connect it to your Bluetooth
3. Play music
4. The buttons on one of the ear-cups, control the volume and let’s you skip tracks.

It’s pretty much as simple as that. As a famous meerkat might say, simples.

Two things which weren’t part of my tutorial with hubs were, the on/off button is on the control panel on the side of one of the ear-cups, just hold it down and it switches on or off. The battery in the headphones is rechargeable and lasts for up to 11 hours, to re-charge the battery you just connect it via the USB cable supplied to your laptop or other compatible devices. So it’s pretty perfect for commuting to work and re-charging while you’re at your desk.

The headphones are comfortable, with an adjustable headband to suit even big heads, or those like me with unfeasibly small bonces. The ear cups are comfortable and sit over the ear, which for me is so much more comfortable than the horrible Apple earbuds I’m used to. They stayed on during some gentle, fast approaching middle age dancing around the lounge I did too.

The sound is good quality, it’s a definite improvement on what I have been using, decent bass and happy sounds bouncing around my ears. They’re a decent quality, everyday headphone. These headphones are wireless Bluetooth headphones and they’re good for up to ten metres from your Bluetooth device, I had a little wander away from my stereo and they had a good range.

These Jam headphones also come with a speakerphone, so if you’re using you phone to listen to music you can easily toggle between them and answer your phone. I don’t use my phone for listening to music, so I wasn’t able to test that feature.

Jam Transit Wireless Stereo Headphones are available in black, red and white. They retail at around £37 (current price on Amazon), which I think is a good price for these decent quality headphones, which I imagine most people will use on their daily commute, or like me, for not annoying your neighbours.

Note: I was sent these Jam Headphones free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are my own.

Review: GoGlow Thomas & Friends Night-light

The small boy has always been a sound sleeper, he’d nod off with no problems until we went on holiday in September. Since then he’s been unable to sleep in the dark, this has made bedtimes quite stressful. We didn’t know why his bedtime behaviour has suddenly changed, so we’ve gone along with his fully illuminated at all times request.

We’d seen and heard good things about the GoGlow Thomas & Friends Night-light. It’s a torch and night-light which is bright enough to subtly light the room but not bright enough to dazzle.

The night-light is mains powered which charges the torch, you can lift off the torch and take it to bed with you, or explore the house. Small children are quite obsessed with torches, so this initially was the most fascinating feature. Once he’d got used to the torch and night-light he loved having Thomas & Friends watch over him at night.

The GoGlow Thomas & Friends Night-light is suitable for children aged 12 months and over and has an easy tap on and off function. It’s solidly made and looks able to withstand the rigours of being owned and used by a child, but with most things like this it’s wise to tuck the cabling away and make sure they can’t play with the plug socket and so fourth.

The GoGlow Thomas & Friends Night-light is lit at the front so Thomas is illuminated, there are a few star cut outs where the light shines more brightly out. It’s bright enough for us to creep into his room to check on him without putting any other lights on, but not bright enough to keep the whole house awake at night. It’s a good solution to the sleep in the dark problem, especially for a Thomas fan.

The GoGlow nightlight is available in a pretty large range of popular characters including Peppa Pig, Spider-Man, In The Night Garden and My Little Pony. We chose Thomas because he’s pretty obsessed with trains. The night-light costs around £20 (currently available from ASDA, Argos, Smyths Toys, Homebase etc) which I think is a good price considering it’s both a torch and a night-light and it’s fully Thomas & Friends branded.

GoGlow have recently surveyed 1000 parents of children under the age of five, 67% of children were afraid of the dark, with their fears increasing when the clocks change in October and it goes darker earlier.

Seven out of ten parents make a special effort to walk around their child’s bedroom to prove there are no monsters hiding. With three quarters of children getting out of bed to seek reassurance from their parents, the survey went on to find that children felt that night-lights were the most reassuring solution that helped stop scary shadows.

I know having a night-light has helped the small boy sleep better at night. We really do recommend GoGlow night-lights if your child is afraid of the dark. It really has made a big difference to our bedtime routine and he’s back to sleeping through again.

Note: We were sent the GoGlow Thomas & Friends Night-light from Worlds Apart for review purposes. All images and opinions expressed are our own.

Wipeable Tablecloth Review

When we bought our house three years ago, we bought a new, big dining table which we use every day. The plan was that the table would be the centre of our lives; meals eaten at it, crafts and homework done on it, friends and family gathering round it. All that has happened and more, but we were stupid and just left the plain wood bare. This means the table is already scarred from the “stabbing it with a fork” phase the small boy went through. So to protect it from further harm we ordered an oilcloth wipeable tablecloth from Wipe Easy Tablecloths.

To order, we measured our table and selected the appropriate size and design of oilcloth wipeable tablecloth and it was delivered the next day. We wanted something fairly neutral, so I opted for the duck egg with white polka dots, it was a good choice because it does look fantastic in our kitchen, the shade is lovely and restful.

We have over the course of the Bank Holiday weekend given it a rigorous testing. We’ve had a takeaway curry, we’ve done painting, gluing, sticking, we’ve played with playdoh, we’ve made cakes and we’ve eaten family meals on it. Everything has wiped clean from it, and it’s stopped the relentless stabby fork from marking the table. It’s fair to say we are delighted with it.

Wipe Easy Tablecloths have a huge range of oilcloth, PVC and vinyl designs to choose from, so you can easily find a tablecloth to suit your style and they’re really reasonably priced, so much so I’m going to treat myself to a Christmas one nearer the time. I can’t believe it’s taken us this long to get one.

Note: Wipe Easy Tablecloths sent me my tablecloth free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are my own.

Review: Testing a BBQ Burger Maker – The Results

I’m a veggie but the boys eat meat. Where possible I like to know where our meat comes from; make sure it’s been treated right and it’s good quality. We like to cook from scratch, and whilst it’s easy to buy ready made burgers for the barbeque, it’s also pretty darn easy to make them yourself. We were sent a burger maker to try out, but did it make great burgers?

We like to buy good quality steak mince from our local butcher; season it with salt and pepper, shape them into patties and barbecue or grill to perfection. The only part of this process which tends to fall down is my pattie shaping. I often end up with quite lumpy burgers, which then cook unevenly, which isn’t ideal.

I was sent this Kleeneze Burger Maker and Store to try. It’s a simple piece of kit, you just make up your burger mixture, pop it in the maker and press. It squashes and shapes it into a uniform burger shape and size ready for cooking. It’s really simple to use and easy to clean.

Burger maker

It comes with a plastic tube which you can stack your burgers in to keep them fresh ready for your barbecue. The burger marker is ideal to use to bulk make burgers. You can then freeze them in batches for use at a later date.

The Kleeneze burger maker costs only £6.99 and is worth getting if you like cooking and preparing food from scratch. If like me you’re not very good at hand shaping a burger, then this burger making kit is really useful.

I would add that it’s not just for making meat burgers. I’ve made veggie burgers in this burger maker too and it really helps form a firm veggie burger that won’t easily fall apart when it’s being cooked.

Disclaimer: I was sent a burger maker kit by Kleeneze for review purposes.

My Summer Holiday look with Joe Browns

We usually holiday in England and it can be pretty hard to pack for, as you never know what the weather is going to throw at you, in this case layers are usually your friend. For most of my English holiday I can get away with shorts (because legs dry quicker than trousers), but it’s good to have a few nice things to take with me, just on the off chance I get taken out somewhere posh.

I love hats and scarves. A scarf is a really practical item whatever the weather; shading you from the sun or helping to keep you cozy if it’s cold, and hats make me look adorable, so I’m never too far away from a hat. I’ve long been an admirer of the slightly hippy boho-chic style of clothes from Joe Browns so I was excited to be given the chance to style up my own summer outfit.

I chose this beautiful maxi dress, it’s a really happy, summery colour, hides a multitude of sins and can be dressed up or down depending on the occasion. Perfect for packing as it folds up to virtually nothing. I wore it on a night out and was told by the small boy that I looked like a princess. Bless him.

Joe Browns

I loved this handsome, practical Santorini scarf and it contrasts with the dress, but I also know that it’ll be in year round use. It was always in my bag on holiday, ready to pull out to shade my shoulders, or wrap around me and the small boy if the clouds gathered and it got a bit chilly.

Joe Browns

Likewise the hat was awesome. It’s a funky but feminine trilby and I looked pretty cool in it, but the small boy was forever stealing it for himself. I have a thing about shading my face from the sun, it’s a bit moley so I’m always cautious, and I know that sun ages the skin. If it’s sunny I’m always in a hat and this cute one will go with pretty much any outfit. I love it.

Joe Browns

I like Joe Browns, you can always find something a bit different, something funky and practical. I’m not a girlie girl, but I like that I can find clothes that I love there, things that will make me stand out for the right reasons. So what do you think of my summer holiday look?

Disclaimer: Joe Browns were kind enough to send me the above items free of charge for review. This has not swayed my opinion on the items either way.

Charlie Banana Swim Diaper Review

Being a keen swimmer I am dead-set on the young ‘un following my lead. We try and take him swimming as often as we can. The small boy is 3, we potty trained him soon after Christmas, but (sorry son) he’s not quite got the hang of where poo goes and he’s not yet dry at night. We’re not rushing him, he’ll figure it out in his own sweet time with some gentle encouragement from us. It does mean that we still have to be careful about continence at the swimming baths.

Step forward Charlie Banana! For the past three years we’ve put standard disposable swim nappies on him and watched in horrified amusement as they’ve soaked up pints of pool water. We were after something more suitable and something less babyish for him.

We liked the look of the Charlie Banana Swim diaper and training pant. They have a range of designs to choose from. They have a soft, waterproof outer layer and an organic cotton layer inside to absorb any accidents. The elastic around the waist and legs is good and strong, so nothing untoward can escape.

We ordered the x-large size as he’s tall for his age, and they were quite roomy, so they’ll last a while even for fast growing little ones. They were comfortable and not bulky to wear and swim in, and he thought he was pretty smart in them.

To give them a rigorous test we also took them on holiday with us to beach-test them. As you can see from the picture they made for rather fetching beachwear. The small boy gave them the full work out, meaning they endured a dip in the Atlantic, sat on a number of sandcastles and he had both kinds of accident in them (once again, sorry son).

The Charlie Banana Swim Diaper can also be used as a daytime training pant and I can see why, though it might be a bit bulky underneath their clothing, but fine if they’re just ambling about the house on a hot day in just that and a t-shirt maybe.

I regret that we didn’t know about these swim pants sooner, they’re ideal for little ones learning to swim and would’ve saved us the faff with those horrible disposable nappies. They’re just £8.50 a pair, which I think is a really competitive price, especially considering the quality of the swim pants. I reckon they’re a very good buy.

Disclaimer: We were sent the Charlie Banana Swim Diaper shown in the pictures for review. This has not swayed my opinion of the product either way, my thoughts and opinions are always honest.

Quillow … a quilt & a pillow

The English summer being what it is, often throws up a few cold, damp days to keep you on your toes. It’s not really worth putting the heating on, when you can just snuggle under a blanket until the sun peeps through the clouds again. I am rather fond of my latest acquisition, the Dormeo Quillow. It is a cushion which cunningly unfolds into a blanket.

I picked it up because I thought it’d be a really handy thing to take on holiday with us. We’re staying in a cottage and it can get a bit nippy in the evenings, plus it’s useful to take out in the car to snuggle under if it gets cold. I thought it’d be great for a camping trip we’re planning later this year too.

The Quillow from mattress specialists Dormeo is a double sided blanket, on one side it is soft microfibre, and on the other it is a Cashmere and Moreno wool blend, which is so warm and cozy. The blanket cleverly folds up and tucks away into a pillow. It’s a really simple manoeuvre and you don’t need three hands to do it either.

I love that my Dormeo Quillow has a duel purpose, which makes it ideal for around the home, or for a compact solution for your holiday. It’s earning it’s keep around the holiday cottage, especially at night when the temperature drops. I’m looking forward to taking it camping with us when I think it’ll come into it’s own during the day as a comfy cushion, and at night when the sun drops and it turns chilly.

Around the home it blends in beautifully with the neutral scheme we’ve got going on. I love it. It’s one of those things you didn’t know you needed until you get one, and as summer eventually turns into autumn, I can see my Dormeo Quillow coming into its own.

Quillow

Disclaimer: I was sent a Dormeo Quillow free of charge for review purposes, this hasn’t influenced my opinion, it’s a lovely, useful pillow/blanket.

Bigjigs Wooden Safari Animal Building Blocks Review

The small boy is currently obsessed with animals. Animals which roar, growl, squeak or go ooh-ooh are particular favourites, almost as exciting as those animals with long necks who eat the leaves from the tops of the trees. It is with some regret that we don’t actually live on a nature reserve and we have to make up for that by using pictures, videos and our really wild imaginations.

You might’ve heard that we’ve made it to the final 21 to become Bigjigs Play Patrol Agents. Everyone on the shortlist gets a toy to review and luckily for our little jungle explorer we got the Bigjigs Wooden Safari Animal Building Blocks.

The Bigjigs Wooden Safari Animal Building Blocks are for children aged 1+, I did worry that at the grand old age of 3 he might be a little old for them. I was wrong, you’ll see why later.

There are 32 brightly coloured blocks in the box, some are plain, some are coloured, some have plant and tree designs on them, but the best blocks are the component parts to build a simple giraffe, lion, tiger, bear, hippo and panda. They each have a body and with superb attention to detail, the giraffe has an extra block for its neck. I thought the animal head blocks were fun, with one side showing its face and the other side showing the back of the animals head.

I liked the selection of blocks. I liked the different colours and patterns which we talked about with the small boy (see, educational too). I liked that you can mix and match bodies and heads to create your very own beasties. The blocks were good quality with smoothed, rounded edges and corners and a durable painted finish. The blocks are handily supplied with a bright blue drawstring bag to keep all the blocks together.

On the day we got the blocks it was inexplicably sunny (for Manchester), so we took the blocks into the garden to play with. Our garden is famous for its jungle like properties, i.e. the grass needs cutting and it has it’s own watering hole (water feature).

We decided after a long journey and being cooped up in a box for a while, the animals must be thirsty, so we took them to the watering hole. We enjoyed creating the scene and talking about how thirsty and tired they must be. Once they’d been refreshed we ventured into the jungle to see what was lurking in the trees. The giraffe looked hungry so he started munching on the leaves while the tiger watched. There was lots of tiger growling from the small boy.

Hiding in the trees we found the shy panda and another growly creature, the bear. They were having a chat about what they liked to eat. The panda was unhappy about the lack of bamboo in our jungle garden and the bear was displeased we didn’t have any spawning salmon. You can’t please all of the bears all of the time…!

The small boy then decided to put all the blocks in a circle around the watering hole. We asked him to describe each block as he picked them up, see, we’re always learning, but mostly having fun. He then decided they were dirty (they weren’t) and threw them into the watering hole for a wash. This is where we discovered how durable the paint was.

Once the animals had been rescued, it was time for them to have a sleep in their special blue bag, so we dried them off and put them away.

Like I said, I was worried they’d be too young for him, but they weren’t. I think these blocks are the kind of toy which can grow with a child. Helping younger ones with their dexterity and co-ordination, and for older children, with colour and shape recognition, as well as helping to spark their vivid imaginations.

We had lots of fun with these blocks, they’ve started a million conversations (and hasty Wikipedia searches) about what animals eat, where they live and what they do. We’ve played with them simply and created complex fantasy worlds with them.

The Bigjigs Wooden Safari Animal Building Blocks are a lovely toy for babies right through to pre-schoolers. They’re thoughtfully designed and we loved using our imagination to bring the blocks to life. They’re just £11.99 and I think good value for a quality wooden block set. If we could change anything, we’d probably add a monkey, but the monkey wasn’t massively missed with all our aping around.

Disclaimer: We were sent the blocks by Bigjigs free of charge to review as part of our application to become Play Patrol Agents. Our reviews and opinions are always honest and a true reflection of our experience with the product.

Review: Funky Giraffe Bandana Bibs for Cool Kids

The toddler is 3 years old. When he was teething he was prone to drooling so he lived in his normal bibs, though cute, they were not particularly stylish. He’s got most of his teeth now, but recently his back teeth have started to come through and the dribbling has started again.

This time we decided to go down a more stylish route, he has stopped wearing normal bibs now, even at mealtimes. So when I saw the beautiful bibs from Funky Giraffe I knew they’d fit very nicely with his laid back, cool-dude style.

We chose four of the XL bandana bibs, two plain, two stripy. They are made from soft cotton fabric with a fleece backing which keeps baby’s chest dry. The bibs are shaped to fit comfortably round the neck and are fastened by poppers. The XL bibs are the perfect size for drooling toddlers and have two poppers so you can adjust the size of the bib when your little one grows.

I loved the bandana bibs; I thought they were so funky, soft, durable and practical. He liked them too and they kept his clothes dry and dribble free, plus he was a bit tidier at mealtimes. Being cotton they wash really well, which is exactly what you want. He loved wearing them and pretending he was a cowboy like Woody from Toy Story.

At just £3 for an XL bandana I think these are excellent value (smaller baby ones start at £1.98) and they’re stylish and comfortable too. I can’t actually find fault in the product, other than I’d quite like a couple, not that I drool (much), just that they’re cool!

Disclaimer: We were sent four Funky Giraffe bibs for review purposes, this is our honest review.

Wrappz.com iPad Skin Review

Disclaimer: I was sent my iPad skin free of charge for review purposes. All images and opinions are my own.

I live my life with my iPad in my hand. All of my work is done on it so I spend a lot of time on it. At Christmas I upgraded to an iPad Air and bought myself a cheap case to go with it. Within a couple of weeks the case cracked and was rendered useless.

When I was offered the chance to try a personalised iPad skin from Wrappz.com I couldn’t resist. They do personalised plastic and leather cases too, but as yet only skins for the iPad Air.

The process was really simple. Upload your chosen picture or pictures, adjust it to how you want it using the simple tools, add any text you want and submit your order.

My skin arrived within a couple of days, I’d chosen one of my favourite pictures of my son and the image was as vibrant as the original. It was easy to apply too. It’s like a large sticker with all the holes in all the right places for the camera etc. You just position it carefully and roll it onto the iPad taking care to rub away any bubbles or creases, if you get it wrong it’s easy to take it off and re-apply, though I managed it in one go.

ipad skin

I thought it made my iPad look beautiful, I was really pleased with it. When my son saw it the next day, he loved it too, he kept stroking it and saying “that’s me”

Although the skin wouldn’t massively protect it if I dropped my iPad from a height; it will protect it from everyday scratches and minor bumps. It’s a lovely thing to have and each time I pick up my iPad I am reminded of a happy, sunshiny day last summer with my lovely son.

I am delighted to be able to offer my blog readers a free personalised phone skin from Wrappz.com, you just need to pay the postage. Please enter the voucher code freeskin at the checkout.

Disclaimer: I was sent my iPad skin free of charge for review purposes. These are my honest opinions.