5 Road Trip Essentials
If you are planning on going on a road trip in the near future, it pays to be prepared.
1. Sat Nav: Sat navs are an essential part of modern day motoring. They can help you when you plot your route, get around traffic jams, or help you when you are lost. However they aren’t 100 percent reliable – remember to use your common sense when driving!
2. Maps: Sometimes sat navs lose signal or try and get you down impassable roads. This is when a map of your local area can be invaluable! Maps are also a great way to help keep older children quiet – they can try and follow on the map where you are driving.
3. First Aid Kit: It is always a good idea to keep a travel first aid kit in your car at all times.
4. Emergency Rations: You never know when you might get stuck in a traffic jam so it is prudent to always keep some non-perishable food (or sweets) in the car along with a drink.
5. Games & Toys: If you have children you will need to keep them occupied during your car journey. So take plenty of toys and games to keep them busy! If you don’t want to spend a fortune, there are a wide range of games you can play that don’t require anything other than observation skills: try ‘I Spy’, ‘the alphabet game’, or ‘measure a kilometer’.
Category: Cars & Transport, Shopping, Top 5s
Tags: Automotive, shopping
Clean up with the iRobot Roomba
If you aren’t keen on the vacuuming, the iRobot Roomba is the perfect gadget for you.
The Roomba is the latest gadget in vacuum cleaner technology and can be used on both hard floors or carpet (or a mix). By returning to it’s Home Base between cleans to recharge, it is always ready to vacuum your floors. The Roomba can be programmed to clean on a particular schedule so you don’t even need to tell it when to clean. It also features a ‘spot’ cleaning program which allows you to quickly hoover up any patches of crumbs. The Light Gate accessory is also very useful as it tells the Roomba where not to clean – meaning all your cables and delicate items are safe. Sensors built into the Roomba also ensure that it won’t fall down any stairs so you can leave it to vacuum safely upstairs.
And if you wish that the Roomba would also wash your floors for you – it’s sister robot can. The iRobot Scooba floor waster is a cleaning robot that can wash up to eight square metres of flooring in one charge.
The only negative we can think of is that it can’t do stairs, but that is a small price to pay for such a fantastic gadget!
Compare prices on iRobot products here.
Category: Shopping
Tags: shopping
Wet Weather Fashion
Don’t let rainy days dampen your style – when it’s pouring outside, you can still wear stylish clothes to help brighten even the most dreary of days.
Wellington boots can add a splash of colour and fun to any outfit whilst also keeping your toes warm and dry. Wellies come in such a large range of styles, colours and patterns that there will always be a pair to match your outfit – from a classic green welly right through to bright flowers.
Umbrellas can also reflect your personality and style. Keep a compact umbrella in your handbag and larger ones at home. Again, umbrellas come in such a large range of styles, colours and patterns that you can buy several to ensure you will always have one to match your outfit.
Even if you prefer to dress in more conservative colours and styles, gloves and scarves are a great way to inject a little bit of colour into your everyday life. If you are feeling adventurous, you could even crochet or knit your own (check out Ravelry for a massive database of both free and paid-for knitting and crochet patterns).
Waterproof tote bags are a great accessory for winter as they keep all your essentials clean and dry – and are the perfect place to store that compact umbrella mentioned above!
Category: Shopping
Tags: Fashion, shopping
Kitchen Essentials For Budding Masterchefs
If Masterchef Australia has tickled your fancy and inspired you to try out some new things in the kitchen, then try out these fantastic Masterchef related products to help kick-start your kitchen ambitions.
1. Masterchef Magazine: Your recipe for success. Learn new recipes and techniques to help you cook like a pro!
2. Two Asian Kitchens by Adam Liaw: Adam Liaw, winner of the 2010 Masterchef Australia competition. A fantastic book to own if you are interested in Asian cooking. This book shows you how to make a range of pantry staples, before giving you the recipes for some classic and more modern asian dishes.
3. Our Family Table by Julie Goodwin: Julie Goodwin, winner of the original Masterchef Australia competition. Goodwin’s book features recipes from the heart alongside little personal touches and anecdotes, not to mention the pages at the back where one can write one’s own personal recipes and notes.
4. Chef’s Knives: One of the most basic pieces of kitchen equipment to have, a good chef’s knife. A good knife will allow you to perform more than 80 percent of all cutting and slicing chores on it’s own.
5. Set of Pans: Another basic kitchen requirement, a set of good saucepans. At the very least you will need a small pan for stocks, vegetables and soups; a larger pan in case you need to cook larger quantities; a frying pan for sauteeing and more.
6. Kitchen First Aid Kit: Accidents will happen so it is a good idea to have a first aid kit on hand to sort out any minor mishaps quickly and easily.
7. Meat Thermometer: For ensuring your meat cooks at the correct temperature and is cooked just the way you want it.
8. Measuring Jug: Another kitchen basic. Measuring jugs are cheap but really useful. Not only can they by used for measuring liquids such as water, milk and stock, they can also be used as a mixing bowl.
9. Pressure Cooker: Pressure cookers help save time, money and hassle.
10. Tagine: A tagine is essential if you want to cook and explore Moroccan dishes. The pointed lid of the tagine allows steam to circulate inside.