Pancake Day & CSN stores review!

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned that CSN stores had kindly offered to send me some products to review. I finally chose a Teal coloured Le Creuset Mixing Jug and KitchenCraft Masterclass Crepe Pan. Both items arrived separately, delivered by a DHL at home courier. From order to delivery I had to wait 8 days until I had both items. As pancake day is fast approaching I thought these were the perfect products to review.

To begin with I love love love the Le Creuset mixing jug, it has just enough style and functionality to make it the perfect addition to any kitchen. It can hold up to 2 litres, making it a great size for batter and the spout makes pouring extremely easy. It's currently sat on top of our breadboard and I think it looks rather impressive, definitely not a cupboard item. As for use, I had been worried it wouldn't be large enough to be truly useful but thankfully I was wrong. We whipped up a double quantity of pancake batter and had no overflow. It also pours very smoothly.

Moving onto the KitchenCraft Masterclass Crepe Pan. I've never had a dedicated crepe/pancake pan before, we've always managed to survive using regular frying pans. But it genuinely makes a difference to use the proper thing. The pan is very flat and also has a nonstick surface. I used absolutely no butter or oil, we just poured the batter straight in and waited for the pancake to stick, they didn't! It was easy to swirl the batter to the edges of the pan and the flat surface meant we used less than we would normally, it also cooked the pancakes very evenly. By the end of the cooking session we had a huge stack of yummy pancakes. All cooked without butter, which I like to think made them much healthier (any excuse to eat more pancakes) and very even in size. The only remaining concern I have is how long the nonstick surface will last, unfortunately only time and use will tell.

So I think we are fully prepared for Pancake Day now. I'm a bit of a traditionalist and my favourite flavourings are Lemon and Sugar and Golden Syrup. I would love to be a bit more adventurous though, so do any of you have any favourite toppings that you could suggest for us?

Sunday Shopping & Upcoming Review.

Today has been yet another wet, miserable day here. I really find they affect my enthusiasm to go out and about. But they do give you a great excuse to do some online browsing! You may remember back last year I became a CSN stores Preferred Blogger. It's been a lot of fun working with them, the only problem is the huge choice of items to pick from, they sell everything from chest of drawers to doughnut pans! So when I was asked to pick another item to review I thought I better start browsing asap.

So far I am loving this KitchenCraft Let's Make Mixing Bowl.

Or Maybe this Le Creuset Mixing Jug.

Or I could treat my children with a Rivadossi 3 piece puppet club cutlery set. There's just too many choices! So keep an eye out to see what I eventually pick and review.

Mulled Wine, Snow and a Review

If like me your in the UK then chances are that you have experienced at least a moderate amount of snow over the last few days. But how do you survive these cold spells in good humour? Personally it's all made me feel rather festive and in the spirit of this I thought I'd bring you this review today. As one of CSN stores preferred bloggers I was recently been given an opportunity to review another item from one of their online stores. With Christmas fast approaching I chose to review the Sagaform Thermal Glass Mulled Wine Mugs (set of 4).

Delivery & Packaging

Delivery was very prompt and as usual carried out by UPS. These are obviously delicate items but they were well packaged and protected.

Do The Mugs Work?

This evening we made some mulled wine and poured it into the glasses. The outside of the mugs stayed cool and easy to hold. But the mulled wine kept it's temperature for a considerable time. I was very impressed by how well they worked. The design is very clever, but does mean that the glasses feel very fragile. I haven't dropped one so I'm not sure how robust they are. But then again no glassware is every truly durable.

Would I recommend them?

Definitely! They would make a wonderful gift, or great for when you have friends over during the festive period. They aren't that large so no one can get overly tipsy, but they offer a lovely little touch to your festivities. The designs are very cute as well.

Crumpled Cup Review!

It's a funny title for a post I admit, but I am honestly reviewing crumpled cups and I love them! As a preferred blogger with CSN Stores I was given another opportunity to review an item and this time I picked 3 Revol Froisses Porcelain Crumpled Cups. I chose the Cappuccino size.

Delivery & Packaging

Delivery was very prompt and by UPS. Packaging was a little lacking unfortunately. The 3 cups come in a plastic tube and this was slightly squashed. However the cups were unharmed, but a squashed tube wouldn't be great if you were giving these as a gift.

Do the Cups Work?

Yes, although you may have noticed that my picture shows them full of sweets rather than coffee. This is partially because I think they look very cute used in this way and partly because, with the absence of a handle it's quite hard to hold them if they have a hot drink inside. Coffee made with a coffee machine is usually not too hot though, but water straight from a kettle would be.


Would I recommend this item?

Without a doubt. I adore quirky items in my home and these have already been quite the talking point. They do come in other colours, but I don't think you can beat the plain white for looking like an original plastic cup which has been squashed. I would dearly love to receive items like this for Christmas and I'm sure others would too. Apparently they are used in rather posh cafes in Paris and because they are available in different sizes there should be something to suit everyone.

CSN stores

I've had an email asking me to do another review for CSN stores, I've done a few for them before so was more than glad to take them up on the opportunity once more. The only problem I ever have is choosing what to review, they have several online stores selling everything from cookware and lighting to bedroom furniture! Decisions, decisions...

I really love this place!

You probably know by now that I am a fan of CSN stores, the only problem I ever have is choosing which items I like, with over 200 stores selling everything from wardrobes to fitness equipment there is a lot of choice!

I am very pleased to have been offered another opportunity to review an item, the question now is how will I ever choose! I will give it some serious thought and hopefully have a new review for you all soon :)

CSN Store Ceramic Review!

You may remember me mentioning that I was offered the opportunity to become a preferred blogger for the CSN family of online stores. This meant I was given another chance to review an item. It took me ages to decide what to review, if you take a look at the family of stores there is a huge variety to choose from. But I finally settled on reviewing the:

Kyocera Ceramic Bladed Peeler with Rotating Head and
Let's Make Animal Chocolate Moulds (sert of 2)

Delivery and Packaging

Delivery was fairly quick and arrived by UPS. I was out at the time but they left the parcel with my neighbour, I prefer this to trudging down to wait in a line at the Post Office. The packaging can be seen in the picture, not over the top and easily recycled (which is always a bonus).

Did the peeler work?

There has recently been a lot of interest in the use of ceramic knives but they are rather expensive. So this peeler appears to offer the benefits without the cost. But does it work? In a word, yes! Both Anne and I put the peeler through it's paces and it's hard to believe that a peeler could get two people so excited. It literally glid across carrots, potatoes and even a squash! Hardly any pressure was required, infact if you applied pressure you lost a chunk of vegetable. You'd think a peeler might be dull, but this one is so quick and effort free you can't help but love it. The rotating head also means you can adjust it perfectly depending on the job.

Did the chocolate moulds work?

Yes they worked very well. They are quite deep moulds and we filled them with milk chocolate, but as you can see from the following pic I think they came out quite well. The children were certainly impressed!


Would I recommend both items?

I would indeed recommend them both. I was particularly impressed with the peeler. I think it would make a very thoughtful gift for someone older or perhaps suffering from reduced hand strength, this would make life that little bit easier. But in truth everyone can appreciate how easy and quick this makes the job of peeling.

Both items came from the www.cookwarebycsn.co.uk store, just like last time I was not paid to write this review, but I did receive the items.

CSN Preferred Blogger :)

I have just had an email asking me to become a CSN Preferred Blogger! You may remember that I reviewed some products from one of their stores somewhile back. I'm very excited by this opportunity to review another item, CSN have several stores selling everything from lights to furniture. They are definitely worth a look, a lot of the items also have free delivery on top of good prices.

I'm not sure which item I will review this time. Last time readers suggested items they'd like to know more about, is there anything you'd like me to review this time? Here's a list of their UK stores (they are also in the US).

http://www.csnstores.co.uk

http://www.allmodern.co.uk/

http://www.cookwarebycsn.co.uk/

http://www.furniturebycsn.co.uk/

http://www.lightingbycsn.co.uk/

http://www.tvstands.co.uk/

We Love Reviews!

As ever I'm busy busy, keep your eyes peeled over the next week or two as I will be doing a review for CSN Stores. They emailed to offer me the chance to review a product for the blog and I can't wait. I took a look and their stores offer loads of wonderful things from cookware to ceiling lights. Now I just have to pick what item to review, what would you all like to see?

These are their sites if you want to take a look :)

Cookware by CSN

All Modern

Lighting by CSN