Posts by Sarah Kensington
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By Sarah Kensington in Comps on
30 July, 2010 at 5:00 pm
 Afternoon PlayPennies competition people *wave*
It’s the penultimate batch of competitions before we wrap the week up on Sunday, so get your entry heads on and I hope you’re one of the lucky winners.
I wonder if the guys and gals who came up the name ‘Wii’ for a games console staggered out of the boardroom late one night, after a few sherberts, giggling because they managed to get the nod for calling it that…? If you don’t have a Nintendo Wii, here’s your chance to win one! Just answer this question and fill in your details: In real life, what is a gargoyle?
[Expires - TOMORROW, 31 July 2010. Answer - An ugly stone carving found on the roofs of old buildings]
Staying with Nintendo, Nintendo DSs are a great way to keep kids amused when you’re on the move or away from home – they’re also great for grown-ups when you confiscate them from the Teenagers, I’m getting quite good at Brain Training! To win your own Nintendo DS just fill in your details.
[Expires - Sunday 1 August - WOW it's nearly August already!]
Have you ever watched ‘Who Do You Think You Are?‘ and fancied having a bash at tracing your own family tree? So far mine’s been tracked back to the early 1600s – see how far back you can go with this Family Tree Maker software. Just answer the question and hand over your details: What overall star rating did we give Family Tree Maker 2010 Platinum Edition when we reviewed it?
[Expires - Sunday 1 August 2010. Answer - 4 stars]
A PlayPennies competition post wouldn’t be a PlayPennies competition post without the obligatory HD LCD TV and Blu-ray DVD player to win! So if you’d like to throw your name in to the hat for this one, register with your details, log in and answer this question: In The Crazies, the town’s residents are infected through the…
[Expires - Monday 2 August 2010. Answer - the water supply]
GOOD LUCK everyone; see you for more competition fun on Sunday!
Thanks to BlueMg, Ashrid, FrankSkorpio and Painkiller over at HUKD!
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By Sarah Kensington in Freebies on
30 July, 2010 at 11:00 am
 You can’t beat getting something for nothing!
Unless you’ve been to Australia it’s not likely that you’ll have heard of QV Skincare for babies. It’s the Aussie’s favourite moisturiser and is often recommended by dermatologists there and is being launched here.
It’s was developed to help treat skin issues and maintain its health and let’s face it, if it can do the job under the fierce glare of the Aussie sun and their climate then it’s going to have no trouble with our UK skin!
They product range includes bath oil – which is great stuff in general, if you’ve never used it before then definitely try some if it’s included in the free samples!
There’s also cream in a tube, or cream in a tub, skin lotion and body wash if you really don’t like the idea of the bath oil.
I have no idea whether you’ll get a sample of everything or just some of the QV products but I’m pretty sure that they’re going to be up to the job of looking after and nourishing scrumptious delicate baby skin.
Thanks to pinkmelonsmr2 over at HUKD!
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By Sarah Kensington in Deals on
30 July, 2010 at 10:00 am
 So there I was merrily writing up a deal all about another online entertainment retailer, when an email from Zavvi arrived bragging about ‘New Stuff’ and ‘Cheaper Prices’. Cheaper prices! Now that’s what I like to hear! So I had to stop and take a look.
I remember when CDs cost a fortune, when DVDs cost even more and MP3s weren’t even part of our vocabulary! Well times have changed and prices for all these things are almost at rock bottom, especially if you buy them from Zavvi.
 The other day my daughter asked me if I’d seen any of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies. I’m not sure she was glad she asked in the end because what followed was a very animated explanation which kicked off with, “YEAH! They were DEAD scary! People were too scared to shut their eyes and go to sleep! It was MAD!”
And they were/ARE scary! Zavvi have the Nightmare on Elm Street DVD box set with all seven movies on offer for £9.95, reduced from £39.29, and on the one hand I’m very tempted but on the other…I’ve got used to sleeping at night again! Not only that, if the Teenagers watched them and said they weren’t as scary as I’d said, I’d be a bit miffed!
 I bought Michael Jackson’s ‘This Is It’ a couple of months ago for £13 and thought I’d bagged a bargain, Zavvi have it for £4.94. Note to self – ALWAYS check Zavvi first!
There are LOTS of bargains to be had at Zavvi and even the releases which are ‘Coming SOON!’ (you have to say that in the style of the movie voice-over guy) are nicely priced.
There’s no delivery to pay on orders within the UK either. HURRAH!
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By Sarah Kensington in Deals on
30 July, 2010 at 9:00 am
 They say you attract what you think about most (yeah, that winning lottery ticket still hasn’t rocked up!), I was about to google around for a cheap pair of decent straighteners when an email from Half Price Perfumes landed in my inbox with a Fake Bake hair straigheners offer! ‘Mazin!
So, this is a bit of a step in to the unknown for me. I’m a VERY loyal GHD straighteners fan. I love them!
WITH them, I’m a glossy straight-haired goddess, WITHOUT them…I’m more like the Wild Woman of Borneo!
I spend a fair bit of time in various places overseas and, until my straighteners start earning airmiles too, it’s easier to leave a pair behind in each place so I don’t have to pack them every time I go away.
BUT much as I adore my GHDs I REFUSE to buy another two sets that I won’t be using every other day, SO I’m going to give these Fake Bake hair straighteners a bash (perhaps I’ll write a mini review about them and let you know how they compared!).
They come in two colours – gold and pink, I’m torn here – gold isn’t really my ‘thing’…neither is hot pink! But for £12.99, instead of £30, and with free delivery from Half Price Perfumes, does it really matter?!
Apparently they aren’t just another ceramic straightener, oh no! They use, and I quote, ‘Tourmaline to generate negative ions and infrared heat to manage and control hair. Where traditional stylers use aggressive heat to force hair to conform, these stylers are a breath of fresh air for you hair!’
 Well it all sounds good to me and for £12.99 as long as they banish the Wild Woman of Borneo then it’s all good.
To get free delivery on these Fake Bake hair straighteners, just enter FUNKME at the checkout (be careful writing that!) and this would be a good time to pick up any other bits and pieces you’ve been looking at to take advantage of the free delivery code.
I’ve decided on the gold ones, I think…
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By Sarah Kensington in Deals on
29 July, 2010 at 12:00 pm
 I promise I haven’t gone mad in bringing this Winnie The Pooh mouse mat to your attention!
I don’t expect you to buy one and for it to take pride of place on your desk – mind you, my ex-mother-in-law is a HUGE Pooh Bear fan and she DOES have a Winnie the Pooh mouse mat at work!
No, the reason I’m highlighting this deal here on PlayPennies is because mouse mats make for GREAT drink and place mats for kids!
I found that small drinks mats were tricky for the kids when they were really little and just getting to grips with the whole drinking from a cup thing, let alone trying to get it square on a mat that’s only just bigger than base of the vessel they were drinking from.
Shame, their poor little faces when cups tipped over because it was too far over the edge, so all hail the mouse mat as a place for littleys to put their cups!
 But with Pooh Bear and Tigger smiling up at them from the table you shouldn’t have too much of a problem getting cups put on there and an end to sticky cup rings on all over your tables; yippeee!
This Winnie The Pooh and Tigger mouse mat should be £7.99, but has been reduced to £1.99 by those lovely folks over at Play and they don’t charge for UK delivery either.
See? There was method in my ‘madness’ *grin*
Thanks to millarcat over at HUKD!
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By Sarah Kensington in Celebaby on
29 July, 2010 at 11:00 am
It’s all about two dads in Celebaby today – Michael Jackson and one of the best conspiracy love child theories I’ve heard in a long time, and the nation’s ‘favourite’ celebrity dad, Peter Andre, could be about to get his goody-two-shoes knuckles wrapped by Ofcom.
Michael Jackson’s My Dad!
 I’m surprised it’s taken this long to be honest!
You have to feel for the Jackson family as a whole. Some of them quirky, yes, but they’re still human beings like the rest of us, but just because they’re one of the most famous families in the world, doesn’t make them immune from the emotions that the near-constant barrage of accusations, revelations, stories, theories and speculation must trigger.
A woman named Mocienne Petit Jackson is claiming that Michael Jackson is her bilogical father. She also says that her mother, Barbara, is Diana Ross’ sister and has filed legal documents with the Los Angeles County Superior Court making a claim for an inheritance cheque from the Jackson estate, pending the results of a DNA test.
Wait, it gets ‘better’! She also says that Katherine Jackson, Michael’s mother, faked an ‘abduction’ where she was squirrelled away to Belgium and her alleged abductors were subsequently murdered to cover it all up!
If I was a member of the Jackson family, I wouldn’t know whether to laugh or cry at this one.
An OFCOM Slap On the Wrist
 I’ve never watched Peter Andre’s reality TV show – I really don’t see the appeal of any of them to be honest. But I did have to chuckle when I read that someone has complained to Ofcom claiming that he advertised the Emirates airline and the Atlantis Palm resort in Dubai.
So, the episode went a bit like this: ‘Peeder’ takes Princess and Junior on holiday to Dubai. Princess dressed up as a member of the Emirates cabin crew (if you’ve ever seen a female Emirates cabin crew member then you’ll understand why a little girl would want to dress like them – they are always STUNNING!) and a while later Peter said to the kids, “Will you look at this hotel!” whilst the camera showed shots of the Atlantis Palm brochure.
Well, was he advertising and endorsing all things Dubai and Emirates? I don’t think so!
 If I took my kids to the Atlantis Palm I think I might be saying a whole lot more than ‘will you look at this hotel!’ although I can’t see my 15-year-old daughter dressing up as Emirates cabin crew *grin*.
What’s going to be next? If we’re not careful all celebrities with their own reality shows will have to be naked and walk everywhere for fear of being accused of advertising clothing ranges and car manufacturers.
Bonkers!
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By Sarah Kensington in Deals on
29 July, 2010 at 10:00 am
 Guess how much I love this Guess How Much I Love You In The Summer board book?!
There are some books that are great. There are some that are funny and there are some that become firm favourites. Then there are some that you just fall head over heels in love with – Guess How Much I Love You in the Summer is one of those fall in love with books.
It’s a 24 page board book and tells the tale of Little Nutbrown Hare as he goes through the summer time learning all about the colours of the things he sees and comes across, when he’s out and about.
He loves the red berries, the green grass and the blue sky but will he guess what the loveliest colour of all is? I’m not going to tell you, you’ll have to buy the book and discover what it is along with your child and Little Nutbrown Hare – no spoilers here at PlayPennies you know!
There are other books in the Guess How Much I Love You series – so you can get more than just one fix of these utterly wonderful books with their stunning illustrations.
The Book Depository have reduced Guess How Much I Love You in the Summer from £4.99 down to £1.73 and the offer free WORLDWIDE delivery! Hurrah!
Thanks to Dinnie over at HUKD!
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By Sarah Kensington in Deals on
29 July, 2010 at 9:00 am
 I am completely ready to tell you about these Charlie and Lola wall stickers now
I really like Charlie and Lola and have been known, on the odd occasion, to watch it when I’m all by myself!
I think it’s because I long for my own children to get on as well as Charlie and Lola do – I tell you, that boy has the patience and tolerance of a saint! Although it does help that Lola’s small and very funny.
I’ve also become quite a fan of wall stickers. I don’t remember seeing any when the Teenagers were small, mind you back then it was all dado rails and wallpaper borders – it was THE decorating thing of the decade along with ragging, rolling and sponging!
Anyway, I was at Tamsin’s a little while ago and her daughter’s room is decorated with Gruffalo wall stickers and they are AMAZING!
I have no doubt that these Charlie and Lola wall stickers will be just as fab. They’re self-adhesive so just stick them wherever you want them on the wall, and if you change your mind…simply peel them off and move them!
PinkMilk have cut the price of these in half, reducing them from £10.99 down to £5.49 and standard delivery is just £1.99.
Thanks to Mariposa over at HUKD!
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By Sarah Kensington in Deals on
28 July, 2010 at 12:00 pm
 Here’s a Bookadoo discount code for you that will give you 25% off the rather fabulous Bookadoo products.
- Discount: 25%
- Minimum Spend: £0.00
- Promotional Code: BELLABOOK
Click HERE to go on over to Bookadoo
Well now, I was rather pleased when I came across this Bookadoo discount code this morning as I was lucky enough to be sent one to review a couple of weeks ago!
Bookadoo books come in hardback or softback covers and the star of the story can be anyone you like – yes, there are books for grown ups too!
If you’re looking for a special and unique gift then I really suggest you have a look at these – you send Bookadoo a picture of the person the gift is for and with a bit of magic jiggery-pokery their head is super-imposed onto the main character’s body. There are choices for girls and boys (men and women) and they also do height charts too.
I had the review book made for my youngest and he absolutely ADORES it – when he saw his face looking back at him from the pages as ‘Superkid’ he just beamed, that smile was utterly priceless.
Whilst I’m on the subject of price – the softcover books retail at £17.95 and the hardcovers for £24.95, so make sure you add the BELLABOOK Bookadoo discount code to get 25% taken off those prices.
Thanks to PaulDoc666 over at HUKD!
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By Sarah Kensington in Misc on
28 July, 2010 at 11:00 am
 A little while ago I came across a growth chart that told you what you were ‘as big as’ at any given height on the chart.
As my household is one, perhaps, uncommonly obsessed with measuring vertical progress I like the idea of making of your own height chart even more!
We’ve always just written on the door frame in pencil, which is ok until it’s time to redecorate or it’s time to move! I have pieces of paper with everyone’s height at certain dates written on them and stashed away somewhere safe.
I came across this EXCELLENT home-made growth chart tutorial today and I LOVE how it looks!
In fact I’m utterly in love with the whole concept – you could make them for your own children which can be kept as keepsakes when they’ve stopped growing – their own children, should they have any, will love looking at how tall their mother or father was at their age.
They can be made as new baby gifts for friends or family, and the designs are endless.
If you’re at a loose end this summer holidays and you have a child starting school in September, then you could make one WITH your child and measure their height progress during their school career.
If you love this idea as much as I do and decide to make one, please send us photographs of your finished creations – we’d love to see them!
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