Do you know your nose?

Your hooter; your schnoz; your snout; your honker; your proboscis...whatever you call it, it's as plain as the nose on your face that we all need one.

Not only do we need one, but given the hugely important job it does, we need to keep it in tip-top shape.

Our nose enables one of our five basic senses - the sense of smell - and to some extent, the sense of taste also.  We've all experienced that miserable feeling when we have a cold and can't smell anything; food tastes different and it can be quite disorientating.  The brain can recognise tens of thousands of odours from our past and instantly reminds us what we are smelling.

Smell of course can also keep us safe from danger - alerting us to fire; noxious chemicals and even bad food.

But more importantly than that, our noses play a vital role in the respiratory process.  They take in air and filter our particles which would otherwise enter our lungs.  They also help to regulate the temperature of the air we take in.

Every day, a clear nose takes 26,000 breaths, so it's important to keep it unblocked.

If you're suffering from a blocked nose, Otrivine can help, getting to work in as little as 2 minutes to clear your nasal passages - that's up to 7 times faster than decongestant tablets.

Available in a range of drops and sprays, for both adults and children, it helps open up and clear nasal passages by reducing nasal mucus and returning swollen blood vessels to their normal size helping you breathe easy again.  You can find Otrivine in your nearest pharmacy.

Disclosure: This is a featured post in association with Otrivine.

Fairy Tale Crafts - Jack and the Beanstalk Magic Beans

I saw this delightful little craft over at Lulastic last summer where she made these as sweet little love tokens for Father's Day.  I thought I'd make some similar, themed on the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk.

These would make cute little party favours or end of term gifts for school friends, allowing them to grow their magic beans into giant beanstalks at home.

It's such a simple thing to make and amazingly thrifty too - it didn't actually cost me a penny as I photocopied an illustration from a vintage book and used saved beans from last year's garden crop, but even if you do buy new seeds, it costs less than £1 for a big bag of runner beans.

I used a copy of a vintage Jessie Willcox Smith illustration, used a small envelope as a template and made some mini packets to hold the beans.  You can find illustrations (or text from the story would be good too) in old books, look in libraries or do a Google image search.

Using a fine-tipped non-toxic pen, I then wrote my words on the beans.  Simples.

For more lovely fairy-tale inspired crafts, check out the video and links below...



Red Ted Art - Loo Roll Three Little Pigs Peanut Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs finger puppets; Cork Fairy Tale Folk

Kids Chaos - Jack and the Beanstalk Reward Chart; Teacup candle; Mirror mirror on the wall

Zing Zing Tree - Little Mermaid paper plate collage; Mad Hatters paper mache teacup; paper mache eggbox elf shoes

Domestic Goddesque - Rapunzel bookmarks; Fairy Tale puppet theatre; Cinderella's 'glass' slipper

Me and My Shadow - Little Red Riding Hood Cape; Lace Princess Crown (link to follow)

Barbie Mermaid Swim School - free half term activity

To celebrate the launch of the brand new Barbie movie, Universal have teamed up with Virgin Active Gyms nationwide to offer an exclusive swim session.

Barbie™ The Pearl Princess is available on DVD from 17th February, and a range of Barbie™ The Pearl Princess dolls and a playset is also available.  The film, set in a magical underwater kingdom sees Barbie™ transformed into Lumina, a mermaid with a royal secret. Join her and her seahorse best friend, Kuda, as they embark on an aquatic adventure and watch as she discovers her true destiny and ultimately saves the kingdom.

Little fans can also re-create her adventures and learn to dive for 'pearls'; ride 'seahorses'; explore underwater kingdoms and swim like a real mermaid at 50 Virgin Active pools across the country on Wednesday 19th February.

The sessions are open to children ages 3-6  and are free to both members and non-members.  Head to the Virgin Active website for more details and to book your place.

Small groups of children will be taught and supervised by trained swimming teachers and the lessons are accredited by the Swimming Teachers Association.  At the end of the session and each swimmer will also receive an exclusive Barbie™ Swim Diploma.

We went along to the preview event at the Virgin Active gym in Islington this weekend, and Ruby had an absolute blast.  She goes to regular swimming lessons every week, but this was so much more engaging and interactive, it was a joy to watch her imagination soar as the instructors led her into the magical world full of underwater delights.

Pool noodles became rainbows or seahorses to ride; plastic balls were transformed into magical pearls; hoops enabled underwater diving and the children were encouraged to gain confidence underwater by exploring the creatures on the submerged special raised platforms.

She perfected the mermaid body wiggle stroke and learnt to kick keeping her knees together.

By the end of the session she didn't want to come out, but she was coaxed back ashore with the promise of her certificate - which she's taken into school today for show and tell!

I'd thoroughly recommend these sessions, so why not head over and book your free place now.

Disclosure: We were invited to the preview event. All views expressed are my own.

First Aid Manual - be prepared with this household essential book

In my life BC, I worked for ten years in the Rail Industry.  It gave me some amazing experiences (not all good!) and I learnt some invaluable life skills through the weird and wonderful day-to-day job and the training courses I attended.  But by far the skill I am most grateful for was my First Aid knowledge.

I attended a four-day First Aid at Work course and it was run by a pair of maverick instructors who'd worked both in field hospitals for the armed forces and as paramedics in inner city London.  This meant they had extensive experience of some of the most horrific injuries; a fantastic knowledge of how to work in challenging conditions and an impressive background of improvising with limited kit.

They talked about how to deal with a casualty with a stab wound to the chest and how to sustain life using a crisp packet or plastic bag if their lung was punctured.  They described performing a tracheotomy with a biro, and how the tragic loss of Damiola Taylor may have been prevented if someone had taken their shoe off and pressed their foot into his groin to stem the blood flow from his femoral artery.

This was the kind of training course that stays with you forever.

Yes, techniques and advice about first aid changes over time - notably the introduction of compression-only CRP (we all remember the Vinnie Jones advert don't we - no kissing!); and the new guidelines on  how to deal with infant choking - an infant should now be treated on a first aider’s leg instead of along an arm.

Application of certain techniques is different for babies and children than for adults, so when Ruby was born I went on a specific paediatric first aid course - I strongly recommend it to all parents.

In addition to attending some practical training, I also recommend the new 10th Edition of the best-selling First Aid Manual just published by DK.

Its is the only up-to-date, illustrated guide on the market that covers every aspect of first aid. Endorsed and authorised by the UK’s three leading first aid societies: St John Ambulance, St Andrew’s First Aid and The British Red Cross, this comprehensive guide is the official training manual used in first aid training and is still the only guide written and endorsed by all three voluntary organisations. 

Given I have had some experience with administering First Aid, and have had some training, I can't really say how confident I'd feel using this as a manual without any background knowledge.  But, the way that it's laid out, does make it incredibly useful to refer to quickly, and there's caution boxes and instructions on when to dial 999 shown in red to make them quicker to find in an emergency.

I managed to get to the ripe old age of 35 without ever needing to go to Accident and Emergency, but suddenly, once kids come along I seem to find myself there more and more frequently. Suddenly innocuous household objects become potential killers and there are hidden dangers everywhere.

This book covers every possible scenario from house fires to drowning to electrocution.  It covers minor first aid issues that as a parent you're likely to face fairly often like cuts; bruises; head knocks; nosebleeds; scalds; stings and things stuck up noses!  It details what to do in more extreme life-threatening situations like choking; heart attacks, anaphylactic shock and road traffic accidents.  It has specific instruction where techniques differ for children and even has some specifics on first aid for pregnant women.

This is an excellent manual, full of detailed illustrations, photographs and diagrams.  The instruction are clear and simple to understand and the comprehensive index makes the relevant page easy and quick to find.

It's a book that I'm going to keep in the kitchen, that way I'll always know where it is in an emergency and I can flick through it and refresh myself each time I'm waiting for something to cook in the oven!

The 10th Edition First Aid Manual is published by Dorling Kindersley and is on sale now at £13.99.  Every home should have a copy of this book in my opinion.

Disclosure: 

I am a member of the Netmums Blogging Network, a unique community of parent bloggers from around the UK who have been handpicked by the Netmums team to review products and brands on their behalf. I have been paid expenses and supplied with a product sample for this review but retain all editorial control. All my Netmums Reviews will display the Netmums logo within the post.

This is a Netmum's sponsored review.To find out more click the button:

Magpie Monday - Chop Chop

I spent a lovely day on Saturday with a good friend getting ready for our next craft fair and slurping my homemade wine.  We managed a quick run out to my favourite junk shop whilst our teacup candles were setting and we snagged all manner of goodies.

My favourites I'll share with you today and they're kitchen orientated.

I paid about £2 for this sturdy double-bladed Victorinox herb chopper, which is pretty darned good since they sell for over £30.  Yes, the varnish on the handles has come away - I suspect someone's done what we often do in this house and put something inappropriate in the dishwasher!  I had picked it up thinking I'd re-paint the handles, but actually I quite like the faded shabby look of it.

The cook book you can see in the background I also picked up for £2. It's a weighty tome of a £25 recipe book and I'll fully admit that I am that shallow person who buys a book purely on the look of the cover.

I had no real idea what it was like but I was drawn to the cover image and the subtitle "over 200 recipes that will not cost the earth".

When I got it home, I spent a good hour leafing through it, and I have to say it's a fabulous book, I'm so glad I spotted it.  'The New English Table' by Rose Prince is crammed with simple but stunning photographs.  Each chapter focuses on a different ingredient - whether it's pork; rice or potatoes, or more exotic ingredients such as pomegranate; oysters or quince.  There's a lot of wild game and ingredients that can be foraged such as cobnuts, rose petals and elderflowers.  Not only are the recipes featured easy on the purse - they include lots of cheaper cuts of meat and each chapter offers a few suggested recipes and then some suggestions for leftovers - but the book concentrates on sustainability too.  There are pointers on how to shop ethically for foods, information on fish quotas and free range produce.

It's a book I've already fallen in love with and I can't wait to try some of the recipes.

What second-hand gems have you found lately?  Grab the badge and link up.

 
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Sitting Pretty and Sleeping Soundly with Willow & Hall (giveaway)

Shopping for a new sofa or sofa bed can be a mind-numbing business.  Soulless out-of-town retail parks and constant TV adverts of near permanent sales do nothing for me, neither does the same styles being churned out in mass production factories.

Allow me to introduce you to Willow & Hall who change all that completely.  Their quality sofas; sofa-beds and mattresses are hand-made in the UK.  They pride themselves in exceptional style; design and comfort but because they have don't have flashy stores and showrooms in every town, they can offer them at a great price.

Their emphasis is on excellent customer care and they offer free delivery (usually in 3-4 weeks) and will place it in situ, remove the packaging and can even arrange to take your old item away.

With a huge range of fabrics and leather to choose from, each item is hand-made to order.  They will send out free swatches so you can be sure you're picking the perfect colour for your decor and they offer a full money-back guarantee if you're not completely satisfied.

A sofa-bed can be a sensible option for modern living.  Many of us have given over our spare room to make way for a study; home office; kid's playroom or nursery, which makes accommodating guests tricky.  Even with a spare room I find most of our friends have several kids of their own and finding room to put them up overnight can be a nightmare.

With some makes a sofa-bed is a compromise on style and comfort and often means you get neither a good-looking settee nor a comfy bed.  But Willow & Hall's sofa-beds come with a 14cm deep sprung mattress as standard, and are offered in beautiful styles in one-seater, two-seater and three-seater options.

Your guests can relax in style and you won't lose any sleep over the price tag either.

As a special offer to my readers, Willow & Hall have also offered a discount of £40 off any order over £750 before 28th February.  Simply add the code “MYSHADOW28214” at checkout to secure your money-off.

To compliment these dreamy sofa-beds Willow & Hall is giving away this luxury Neal's Yard Organic Beauty Sleep Collection Spa set.  It would be the perfect way to welcome your over-night guests.

To be in with a chance of winning this gorgeous set, please pop over to the Willow & Hall site and leave a comment telling me which is your favourite item.  Complete the rafflecopter for your entry to be included.

This giveaway is open to UK entrants only, one winner will be selected at random and the closing date is midnight on Friday 14th February 2014.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Cinnamon and Orange Breakfast Rolls

The cost of food just keeps going up and up, but thankfully with over 600 different products in the Sainsbury's Basics range I can still afford good ingredients that don't compromise on quality and ethics.

"Well we believe that no matter what your budget, you should have access to quality food that doesn’t cost the earth. That’s why the products you’ll find within our basics range are both kind to your budget and responsibly sourced. So whether it’s eggs from cage-free hens for a Victoria sponge, Fairtrade bananas chopped up on homemade pancakes or pole-and-line-caught Tuna in a pasta bake, you’ll find it all in our lowest priced basics range." 

With more and more of us trying to be thriftier with our weekly shopping, Sainsbury's have challenged bloggers to create a recipe showcasing some of their Basics range products.

These rolls are perfect for breakfast - although they do take a while to prove so maybe best for leisurely Sunday mornings.  They're also great for an afternoon snack or lunchbox.

The smell of the cinnamon and orange dough baking in the oven is heavenly, and I guarantee you won't wait til they're cooled before tearing one off.  The citrus zest in the mixed fruit, together with the orange juice makes for a really fruity flavour and moist texture.

Ingredients:

Dough -

250g Basics plain white flour
40g caster sugar
2 teaspoons dried yeast
20g soft butter
pinch of salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
100ml Basics orange juice
Warm water

Filling - 

30g soft butter
100g Basics mixed dried fruit

Glaze-

1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp caster sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon

1. Soak the mixed fruit in orange juice for an hour at least.  Then drain and reserve the juice.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, yeast, butter, salt and cinnamon.  Use your orange juice and make up to 150ml with warm water then add it to the dry ingredients.
3. Bring together to form a dough, then tip out onto a floured surface and lightly knead.
4. Return the dough to the bowl and cover with a clean tea towel and leave to prove somewhere warm for an hour.
5. Generously flour your surface and roll out the dough to a rectangle shape around 1.5 cm thick.
6. Spread the softened butter over the rolled out dough and sprinkle the soaked fruit evenly over.
7. Carefully roll up the dough along the long edge so you have a swiss roll effect.  I use a long knife or palette knife to help.
8. Slice into rolls about 4-5 cm thick.
9. Arrange in a greased baking tray or cake tin.  Don't worry if they don't fill the tin at this stage, just arrange them evenly.
10. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C.
11. Cover again with a clean cloth and leave in a warm place for a further 45mins-1 hour to rise.
12. Brush on beaten egg all over the top, then bake for 20-25 mins until golden brown.
13. Remover from oven and while still hot sprinkle with a mix of cinnamon and sugar.

Disclosure: I was sent a selection of products from the Sainsbury's Basic range for the purposes of this review.