Groupon -A Review

A couple of months back I was invited to review Groupon.

"Groupon UK is a city guide with a twist. Since 2009, our team has taken pride in handpicking deals to direct you to the best things to do, see, eat and buy at spots on your very own stomping ground, as well as unearthed gems further afield. Think of Groupon as a tool of discovery - like a compass with impeccable taste."

It’s free to join Groupon, a daily deal website where you buy online vouchers for goods and experiences.

As a member, you receive a an email each day with what is on offer and you have a limited time to buy that 'Groupon'.

It was quick and easy to join and after a few days of looking at all the great offers they had, I immediately knew what I wanted when they had a special offer on the Vax steam mop. I had borrowed my Mums a few weeks before and loved it!

So I chose to spend my £50 voucher plus £14.99 on the Vax S2S-1 Steam Mop With Detergent, saving up to 35% on the RRP £95.

"Banishing dirt in a cloud of hot air, this steam mop is made by iconic vacuum masters Vax, and aims to leave carpets and floors looking whistle-clean. 1600 watts of power are used to steam away muck, while the 0.5 litre capacity provides 10 minutes of cleaning time. The mop comes with 500ml of detergent and a mop head. "

I ordered the voucher code on the 5th October and received the voucher code on the 6th October. I then easily placed my order with the merchant who sent me a confirmation e-mail and a second e-mail letting me know that it would be delivered on the 17th October. As soon as it arrived on the 17th October I quickly went to work on my kitchen floor. I love how quick and simple it is to use and how quickly the floor dries. As you all know I do a lot of baking and it makes such light work of cleaning all the sticky sugar etc from my tiled floor. It has also been brilliant at cleaning my tiled floors in my porch and cloakroom.




Seconds later...




Please note that my opinions are my own and I am not paid for these reviews. I was given a free £50 voucher to spend at Groupon for the purpose of this review. As always, my opinion is nothing but honest.

Have a sweet day!

Achica - A Review

A couple of weeks back I was invited to review Achica.
ACHICA is the members-only luxury lifestyle store offering you up to 70% off leading home, kitchen, garden, children, baby and fashion accessories brands - all year round.

It’s free to join ACHICA and, as a valued member, you can get your hands on luxurious items for your home, garden and lifestyle every day of the week. They run exclusive daily shopping promotions - each lasting up to 72 hours only. As their sales are time limited, you have to be quick to get your hands on the best. ACHICA members also receive advice on seasonal trends, interior design tips and inspirational ideas.

As a member, you receive a choice of either weekly or daily emails at the opening of sales, with sneak previews of what will be on offer. Their promotions start at 6.30am every day, with late-night shopping promotions kicking off at 6.30pm every Thursday.

It was quick and easy to join and I immediately fell in love with the silver framed cork board. I had been looking to make one like that for ages but why make one when Achica sells the perfect one at such a good price!

So I chose to spend my £40 voucher on the Gallery Brighton Large Corkboard in silver £28, RRP £48.

"Combining the beauty and glamour of a traditional frame with the practicality of a cork board, the fantastic Brighton Corkboard is a must have ? perfect for keeping you organised and your home looking glamorous!"

I ordered the corkboard on the 20th November and it had an estimated delivery date of the 14th - 21st Dec, but it arrived early! As soon as it arrived I unwrapped it and got it hung up on my wall in my craft room. Now I have the perfect place to pin all my inspiration! Thanks Achica.








Please note that my opinions are my own and I am not paid for these reviews. I was given a free £40 voucher to spend at Achica for the purpose of this review. As always, my opinion is nothing but honest.

Have a sweet day!

Floral Wellies

I am officially ready for Autumn! Good job as it is here already. I am looking forward to drinking hot chocolate curled up on the sofa, long walks in the crisp, fresh air looking for acorn caps so I can make an abundance of needle felted acorns. So when the lovely peeps at Joules offered to send me a pair of wellies in my choice of color and print to review, I was thrilled.

I pored over their myriad of wellies: should I get the bright pink glossy pair? Or the elegant navy ones with a big fuchsia ribbon bow on the back or the pair splashed with a bright floral? In the end, I chose the navy ground print pair covered in big bright turquoise, pink and yellow flowers. I thought they would add a stylish splash of colour to my Autumn walks! I love the attention to detail on my new wellies, from the pink and navy striped lining to the cool stripe on the back. They are super comfortable to wear and I like the functional buckle detail on the sides so you can adjust them to fit. The light heel is a lovely feminine touch. They also match my brollies perfectly, so they might not make it to my shoe rack...

Have a sweet day!

Next - a home blogger event

Remember last year when I went to the Next press event and shared with you their brand new store in Shoreham, England? Well this year they invited me to the home blogger event in Ipswich...

On arrival at the store we were treated to an icy cold fruity mango lassi and then given a tour of the new store which has inspiring, fully fitted stylish bathrooms, pretty bedrooms, luxe lounges and cute gardens. They had two major Autumn/Winter trends: Home Comforts and Salvage.

Home Comforts is inspired by the renewed interest in crafting and has a distinct retro country look to it. Ditsy florals and large scale checks are key and feature in a colour palette of raspberry pink hues, meadow greens, and warm chalky neutrals. Key items include the Bobbins table lamp, teacups chandelier and the balls of yarn vases.







In contrast, the Salvage collection has a recycled industrial feel to it. Soft greys, creamy whites, and biscuit in knit and tweedy fabrics are key. Furniture is made from distressed, untreated wood and wall storage from industrial looking wire. Key items include the decorative typewriter, cutlery chandelier and wire baskets.

I loved the mixture of neutral textures on this beautifully dressed bed

Have a sweet day!

Emma Bridgewater - a factory tour

Emma Bridgewater is a British ceramics manufacturer founded in 1985, owned and run by Emma Bridgewater and her husband Matthew Rice. Well renowned for her colourful polka dot, Union Jack, starry skies, pink hearts and figs designs among others, Emma Bridgewater specialises in cream earthenware pottery drawing on expertise and traditional techniques stretching back over 200 years. The company is entirely based in England and all of their products are made in their factory in the city of Stoke-on-Trent using locally sourced materials.

Last Wednesday I was invited to spend the day at the Emma Bridgwater factory on the banks of the Cauldon canal in Stoke-on-Trent. We started the day off in the recently redesigned cafe with big windows that look out onto the factory courtyard, decorated with pretty bunting. From there we viewed the new Christmas collections and old favourites in the on-site gift shop.





We then headed up the iron work stairs to see the franchise lines where many Emma Bridgewater designs are also adapted for application onto wellington boots, umbrellas, and napkins, to name a few. My favourite was the pretty printed tins of home made fudge...



So so yummy!

Before heading to the factory tour we had a whirl round the Factory Outlet, full of a wide range of seconds and discontinued lines at greatly reduced prices. "If you like collecting Emma Bridgewater it’s a great hunting ground for some pretty unique experimental pieces as they also stock occasional samples and one-off pieces".



The factory tour...

From the throwing of the clay to the final firing and decorating, the tour was inspirational to say the least and made me have so much respect for the Emma Bridgewater brand. "Hand Made in England" they surely are, as they have resisted the trend to replace people with machines and have preserved the traditional skills of pottery. Like a well-oiled machine, each department was run efficiently and smoothly and they warmly explained and showed us how each skilled job was done. I was fascinated by the lady who was making the design sponges using what looked to be a very fine soldering iron, and in awe of the ladies using the design sponges to decorate mugs, bowls and teapots.

The tours cost only £2.50 which is redeemable against any purchases made in the factory shop on the day.







After a delightful lunch we visited the decorating studio - a bright and inspiring space set up for you to decorate a plain Emma Bridgewater piece with your own design. There’s a great selection of hand-cut sponges in a host of different styles, and designs ranging from mini cupcakes to dinosaurs, a whole bunch of colours and if you need a bit of help then one of the lovely assistants is always on hand.

I decorated an Emma Bridgewater mug in a pastel design of stars and spots. Now I patiently wait for it to be fired and glazed and returned to me... (and I promise to show you when it arrives)

If you don't get the chance to visit the design studio yourself but are looking for a pretty perfect personalized gift you can always get a lovely Emma Bridgewater personalised mug or a personalized tea pot in the iconic heart, spots or star print with up to 40 letters on! What would you say?

Have a sweet day!

A Tala review

I was thinking the other week how I needed to get myself a new bun tray as I only have one and I often want to make more than twelve cupcakes at once. So I couldn't believe my luck when I was offered to review some of Tala’s baking products to coincide with the launch of their new Tala bakeware website. The website allows the community to discuss their Tala bakes, and to add photos and recipes. You can also find their own added recipes, top tips and pictures of their pretty collection of bakeware:

"Tala is the British home cooking brand that has been an integral part in kitchens nationwide since 1899, known and loved for its innovative baking, icing tools and gadgets"




The lovely peeps offered to send me a bun tray and a pretty card, three-tier, pastel cake stand to review. I, of course, said yes!

The 12 hole bun tray is perfectly sized so you can bake both cupcakes and muffin sized cakes and has a nice weight to it that makes it feel feels robust and strong. With a double layered non-stick coating, the other great news is that it is dishwasher safe!

The Tala 3 tier card cupcake stand is made from thick card that is easily collapsible for easy storage and transportation. I love the idea of taking it with me on my next bicycle ride picnic. If only the sun would come out to play! The cake stand is easy to clean with a wipe of a damp cloth and cam be reused over and over again.




To sit on my pretty new cake stand I baked twelve gluten-free creamy lemon cupcakes and twelve gluten-free blackcurrant swirl cupcakes in my new bun tray. I topped the orange ones with creamy buttercream frosting and the blackcurrant ones with a cream cheese frosting. After Saturday's post, I just had to decorate them with funfetti! After rifling through my baking cupboard I made a mixture of funfetti using colours that matched the cake stand. Later this week I will of course share with you both of the recipes for my funfetti cupcakes!






*I was not paid for this review - I was sent a bun tray and a three tier card cake stand. Torie Jayne does not accept payment for any of her posts.

Have a sweet day!

Samsung G Series Three Door Refrigerator Review

I was recently asked if I would like to review a G Series Three Door Refrigerator from Samsung but having recently fitted a new kitchen into my home, as much as I loved the idea of this refrigerator, there was no way it would fit in my kitchen. On the other hand, my recently engaged little sister and her fiance are renovating their new home.

I immediately went and checked out this cool sounding refrigerator on Samsung's website. It looked so shiny, stylish and chic, boasted so much space inside and to top it all it had an ice maker! I thought it would look great in their kitchen! After ringing my excited sister, they checked over their kitchen plans and after taking the measurements into consideration they agreed it would be a perfect fit. It would also come in very handy as I'm chief wedding planner and will need plenty of space to store all the sweet treats myself and their friends and family are making for their special day.

So this past weekend I went down to visit her and her fiance in Devon. We spent Saturday trying out recipes I would like to make for my Christmas dessert table (recipes coming soon!) and planning out ideas for her wedding, which I will be sharing with you here over the next year!

We thought this was a great opportunity to put their shiny, sleek new refrigerator through its paces. My sister and I made panna cotta, gluten free key lime pie and chocolate mousse in mini glass jars, and chocolate raspberry cupcakes. All of the items easily fitted on the shelves and we didn't get in each other's way as we moved things in and out of the refrigerator due to the huge opening. The storage space is amazing due to the thin wall insulation technology which gives you extra space inside. As the desserts set we played about with the height adjustable balconies inside the door and everything fitted so well, from the tall bottles of soda to the mini milk bottles and the clever can dispenser that you can angle for easy can removal.

We loved the G Series Three Door Refrigerator. Not only does it look fabulous but Samsung have really pulled out all the stops. With its LED lighting it makes even the corners bright! It is roomy and can be configured in so many ways by using the foldable, flippable and slide out shelves. It has two fresh-safe, large vegetable drawers that provide the optimal humidity level to preserve vitamins and nutrients in fruits and vegetables. The water and ice dispenser is state of the art and provides continuous filtered water and crushed or cubed ice at the touch of a button. The water and ice dispenser is also tall enough to fill jugs and has its own lighting. The healthy water filter system ensures that water and ice from the refrigerator will always be clean and fresh.


Thank you Samsung, we love it!








Have a sweet day!