competition · giveaway · motherhood · mothering · review · sponsored

Rescue Mumma {Give Away}

Hello friends!
Today I have an exciting new company to talk to you about…
Rescue Mumma…
Rescue Mumma is a new subscription & gift box company created by Kimberly from KimberlyRose, this service is designed with Mummas in mind!
The idea behind Rescue Mumma is proved a service to pamper Mums. We often are so hesitant to treat ourselves but this service not only will benefit you, $1 from every box sold goes back to Baby Give Back, an organisation that assists Gold Coast Mums & their children who maybe struggling.
So treating yourself can help another Mum!
These boxes are a great idea for a baby shower gift, a surprise treat to a new Mumma or even just a little gift in the mail to your bestie – because all Mums deserve to be spoilt!
I did my first ever unboxing video with the lovely Rescue Mumma box I was sent, make sure you check it out HERE.

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If you would like to order your own Rescue Mumma box or check out the site click HERE.
If you want to order a box please use the coupon code “LAUNCH5” for 5% off!
To win a box, please check out my Instagram & Facebook page! I’ll be giving away 1 box to one of my beautiful readers! So make sure you enter & tag your Mumma friends to enter too!
Facebook.
Instagram.
Twitter.
Pinterest.
YouTube.
Snapchat; Bindy_30
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Rescue Mumma did send me this box as a gift, but all opinions are my own. 

2017 · adventures · review · sponsored

Circus of Illusion {Review – 2017}

Roll up! Roll up! The circus is in town!

On Saturday evening we attended the premier of Circus of Illusion.

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I was fortunate enough to be invited & I am so glad we decided to go! The show was outstanding! Trent & I went with the kids & 2 of our good friends and all of us thoroughly enjoyed it – well, except Tommy – he slept through the entire show!
The show consists of magic & illusion, there are tricks that will make you wonder how exactly they do it!
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There is a comedic clown act by the talented Duban Nickol, he is much more than your typical “red nosed clown”, there is a mime and the 2 headed statue was a very impressive illusion act as well!
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Michael Boyd (internationally acclaimed illusionist & also “Australia’s Got Talent” finalist) amazed the crowd with some mind blowing illusions!  

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The circus is performed in a heated big top in Southport on the Gold Coast and the show is there until the 9th of July 2017.
I highly recommend you check it out! LuLu has just gone 3.5 yrs old and she was captivated by the show.
There is a lot of crowd interaction & it is a highly entertaining performance! 11BB138C-2DFA-42F7-B208-A583CEDDB7D8_zpssj3mzone

For more information please click HERE or for tickets click HERE.

Have you seen Circus of Illusion?
What did you think?
What is your favourite photo from this post?
Let me know in the comments below or on my social media!
(There is a clip of some of the performances on my social media as well!)

Snap Chat; Bindy_30

Also please check out Circus of Illusion on Facebook.
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I was gifted tickets to this performance, but all opinions are my own.
2016 · review

Interactive colouring in! {Crayola review}

This blog post is brought to you by Nuffnang & Crayola.

Hello friends!
The weather lately has been so cold & dreary where we live – just grey & drizzly wintery days and poor LuLu has had her first serious winter sickness & I have also been unwell (we cannot catch a break) – so we have been stuck inside and a little bored & miserable.
But we discovered a fun activity to do which allows us to stay inside, rest, be creative and use a little technology. 

Crayola Color Alive is a fun new product, it takes colouring into interactive play. 
With these unique colouring in books you get the FREE app to download, 7 crayons (but you can also use any crayons you have on hand) and 1 of the included crayons is a special unique colour that unlocks amazing animated effects. 

You can bring your child’s colouring-ins to life, in 4D with the Color Alive app. You can activate special virtual effects where you use the magic crayon, take pictures with them, interact with them and play. You can even save them to bring to life & use in pictures later on! This is the future of colouring in. 


Now LuLu who has just gone 2 1/2 is still a bit too young to play with this on her own. I coloured this image in to show you all, but she helped with colour selection and helped in some parts. She also could not operate the app by herself, but this colouring in book & app is marketed more towards children 4+. I think children around that age group would love this, LuLu loved seeing the little fairy in pictures with her and thought it was very magical. She is also very interested in drawing at the moment so she enjoys colouring a lot. 

I really think it is wonderful Crayola has combined a classic favourite child’s past time with technology. Technology is the future and children these days are so tech savvy from such a young age – this really is the perfect combination of creativity & technology. It makes colouring-in interactive play! 
If you would like to check out the Crayola Color Alive colouring books they are available at major leading retailers for $7.99 each. (App is available on iPad, iPhone & Android) 
Some of the other great titles available;


2016 · review · sponsored

A bunch of fun with Bunchems! {Review}

This blog post is thanks to Nuffnang & Funtastic Bunchems.

Hello friends!
As the weather cools down and the afternoons get shorter, finding fun & interesting activities for children sometimes become a challenge. 
Today I am here with a review of a new & fun product that I think children will find fun.
Bunchems.

They are basically a reusable craft product where the user can create endless creations, limited only to their imaginations. If you think it, you can create it with Bunchems! 
Bunchems are like plastic pom poms, furry little bur spheres that when pushed together magically connect without any adhesives. Once you are done creating, they easily come apart and can be packed away for the next time.  
Bunchems are a new and innovative way to combine construction with craft. 

The pack I was sent is the mega pack and comes with 370 Bunchems and loads of accessories – perfect for creating whatever we could imagine. Included in the pack was a little booklet with lots of creation inspiration.
LuLu and I sat down and had some fun testing this product out, even Trent joined us!

Some of our Bunchems creations were…
A unicorn.

A bird.

A tiger.

A snake.

A dog (or some kind of animal).

A teddy bear.

Which of our Bunchems creations is your favourite?? I really love the teddy & the snake makes me laugh.
I really enjoyed playing with the Bunchems – I think it is a very fun & unique product. I really like crafty, creative toys & this product is reusable – so I think it is great! My little girl who is 2 1/2 also enjoyed it but it isn’t a product she could play with alone yet. I think preschool and school age children would really enjoy this and it could be a great after homework but before dinner quiet activity instead of TV. Normally I would suggest playing outside, but in the cooler months that isn’t always an option. 
Bunchems can promote creative thinking, cognitive thinking, improves motor skills & problem solving
While playing with the Bunchems with LuLu, we were learning colours, counting and also identifying the accessories. As well as planning designs & thinking of how to make them. 
This would be a great item to keep in the cupboard for some quiet play, to play with during family time and would also make a fun birthday gift for a friend!
I would love to hear from you which of our Bunchems creations you loved the best and also what would you create with Bunchems? Please let me know in the comments below or leave a comment on my social media.

Snap Chat; Bindy_30

If you would like to purchase a Bunchems pack, you  can do so HERE.

christmas · cleaning · domestic engineering · giveaway · review

Domestic Engineering; Dettol Give Away.

This post is a give away sponsored by Dettol. Dettol is a brand my family & I use in our home. We know it and trust it, I am please to be bringing you this wonderful give away. 

November is here and I am going to be honest and say I may have possibly set up all my Christmas decorations last week… My house may look like somewhere Buddy the Elf would love to hang out… And I love it.
I like to get my Christmas decorating done early, it leaves time for Christmas activities, crafts, baking, I can see what new decorations I need/want to buy and the house is festive for when we have visitors.
 (I have posted some photos of my latest Christmas purchases on my social media and I’ll share some photos of my decorations shortly!)
November and December is a busy time for everyone, I feel when the weather warms up and the Christmas season arrives everyone gets more social. We have more bbqs, more friends drop by to say hello and we just enjoy having people visit. 
But being this busy often means my cleaning routine gets messed around, so I like to keep products on hand that help me quickly give me a house a “clean appearance” but at the same time make it actually clean & hygienic.  
Sometimes in the silly season people like to give you a 10 minute warning before they drop around. A quick text to say “hey, what are you doing? Mind if we pop over and say hello?” – now I will rarely turn someone down to visit – especially around Christmas, I love our home being a warm and inviting place for people to visit. So after a message like that it normally sparks a “clean as much as I can shake down” of the house before they arrive. I like to believe my house is in a constant state of being reasonably clean, but a quick re-clean of the kitchen bench & guest bathroom just makes me feel a little more confident in the appearance of my home.
The cleaning products I am using at the moment and that I think are great are by Dettol. 
The Surface Cleanser and the Healthy Clean Kitchen Spray are my top 2. 
Dettol is household name that people associate with hygienic & clean – well I know I do. It is a brand I trust. 
The Surface Cleanser is a great cleaning product, it cleans everything from toys, the bench tops in my bathrooms and kitchen, the bin and I even use it to wipe down the toilet. 
The Healthy Kitchen Spray leaves my stainless surfaces really shiny and I feel confident knowing my kitchen surfaces are clean and hygienic after using this product. 
The surface cleanser is good for a quick clean and the kitchen spray is a wonderful deep cleaning product that is perfect to use if you have a bit of time up your sleeve.
Another product by Dettol I really like and have a few stashed in different places are the little healthy touch hand sanitisers. I’ve been using these since before I had LuLu, they are great for keeping in your hand bag, nappy bag and in the car. I had the pump version as well on LuLu’s change table and also have them in the bathrooms. Hand sanitiser is a must for anyone, but especially for parents! 

Dettol also has a vast range of other great products for your family and home, I also really love the disinfectant wipes that make cleaning super fast & convenient. 
I’ve partnered with Dettol this month to bring you all an exciting give away just in time for Christmas. Having extra cleaning products is a blessing this time of year, we are cooking & entertaining more often and therefore cleaning more, so I thought this give away would be perfect.
For this give away you’ll win a gift pack of 3 brilliant Dettol products,
1x Surface Cleanser Wipes.
1x Surface Cleanser trigger – mint & lime.
1x Citrus Shower gel.
*Prizes are subject to change.

To enter please fill out the form below and follow these rules. 

Rules to enter give away & a few terms and conditions;

  1. You must be an Australian or New Zealand resident. 
  2. You must be a follower of this blog, either subscribe via Google, bloglovin or by email!
  3. You can gain bonus entries by following ModernWifeLife31 on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
  4.  A way to earn a bonus entry is to leave a comment below with your best cleaning tip for the Christmas season. 
  5.  Competition begins on Wednesday 11th November 2015 and ends Wednesday 18th November 2015.
  6.  Winner will be announced on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter on the 19/11/2015.
  7. The winner has 48 hours to contact me with their postal address. If there is no contact within that time frame I will redraw another winner.
  8. The prize will be sent to the winner by a representative for Dettol. 
  9. I have no control over the postage of the item, but I have full faith that your prize will arrive in a timely manner once I pass your postal details on to the company.
  10. Prize is final and cannot be changed or exchanged for money, the prize may vary slightly from the description given.

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Good luck! 
If you have any trouble entering please let me know and I will help you the best I can…
Facebook; Modern Wife Life 31
Instagram; @Modernwifelife31
Twitter; @Modernwifelife3

review

Light up your celebration with ILLOOMS.

This post is sponsored by Nuffnang & ILLOOMS.

Hello!
We are on the count down now to LuLu’s 2nd birthday party. 
Emotionally I don’t know how ready I am for it, but I’ll save that for another post!
I’ve been searching Pinterest for inspiration and trying to plan things out, party planning is serious business!
I have found a very awesome and unique product to use at her party this year, a product which will “light up” her party.
ILLOOMS – Illuminated balloons! Yes, balloons that have a light in them! A bit more special than the average balloon I think! 
ILOOMS have a tiny little LED light inside each balloon and stays lit up for 15 hours! 
You just pull the easy pull tab, the light is activated and then you inflate the balloon to the suggested size and there you have a really fun party decoration that most people will have never have seen before. 
These will be perfect at her party as it may end up turning into an evening BBQ with some close friends & family.
I am planning on using the pink colours as this will suit her theme perfectly. I really love the marble pink balloons. So beautiful.

We inflated some the other day to test them out and they are really cool. 
We inflated a marble balloon, I have never seen a marble balloon before, so I think that’s amazing & when it is lit up it is so pretty. 

We also inflated 2 aliens (they flash!) & 1 little purple girly balloon. LuLu thought her new little friends were just great! The aliens would also be great for Halloween!

ILLOOMS have a variety of themes & colour choices to suit any celebration.

If you want to check out ILLOOMS you can find them at major retailers; Big W, Kmart and Woolworths. 
I hope you enjoyed this review on this fun product & if you use ILLOOMS to light up your next celebration, I would love to see some photos!

food · recipe · review

Meal planning for warmer weather with Mission Foods.

This post is brought to you by Nuffnang & Mission Foods.

Hello friends,
Today I bring you a very tasty post. I have had such a delicious week organising this post for you.
The lovely people over at Mission Foods sent me a wonderful box of scrumptious food last week. So I thought I would create for you a mini meal plan, basically some easy and guaranteed yummy dinner or even lunch ideas! 
I think these meals are perfect for the warmer weather, I love healthy & delicious meals that aren’t too heavy in the warmer months.

Meal 1 – Nachos.
Everyone loves nachos, this is so easy. You can either have them just as chips & salsa, but I was making mine as an easy dinner so I placed the chips into an oven proof dish, tipped the salsa over the top and then added some grated cheese. I popped the dish into an oven at 180degrees for about 15-20mins (basically until the cheese melts to your liking) and voila – super simple lunch/dinner. This is also a tasty meal to serve if you have friends over watching sport on TV or for afternoon drinks. Like I said, everyone loves nachos. 

Meal 2 – Cajun Chicken Wraps.
This meal takes a little more effort, but it is still so easy & incredibly delicious. We eat a lot of “bbq cajun chicken” (I’ll share that recipe another day)  That meal inspired this dish, I wanted to do chicken wraps – but I didn’t want to use pre-bought crumbed chicken strips. So I made my own coating and I think they are delicious. 
 You will need;

  • Chicken breast (I used about 480g)
  • Crumb coating. 
  • Seasoning to add if you wish. I used cajun & season for all.
  • Mission Wraps. For this dish I used the red quinoa wraps, so delicious.
  • Salads for filling. (Spinach, avocado, onion, capsicum, cucumber, tomato)
  • Cheese.
  • Mayo or sauce of your liking. I used homemade mayo. (Thank you Thermie!) but ranch dressing would be yummy too! 
  1. Slice up chicken into strips.
  2. Prepare crumb mix by tipping some crumb into a dish and adding seasoning. (Before I added the seasoning I crumbed a few small pieces of chicken for LuLu & set them aside) 

  3. Coat the chicken in the mix and place on baking tray.
  4. Pop into oven at 180degrees for about 1/2 an hour or until the chicken is completely cooked through. 
  5. While chicken is cooking, prepare your salads. 

  6. Warm wraps in microwave or you can wait until after you’ve assembled the wraps and toast them on a flat press toasted sandwich maker.
  7. Once out of the oven assemble your wraps.
  8. Enjoy!

Meal 3 – BBQ Beef burritos.
This meal was a new one for us, I don’t normally cook beef burritos, but I thought I would be adventurous & attempt something new. Well, I am glad I did – this meal was delicious. It once again takes a few steps, but it’s so easy.
You will need;
  • Beef. I cheated and bought pre cut beef strips, they worked really well.
  • 125g of salsa (just don’t use your whole jar when you make nachos)
  • 35g of BBQ sauce
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • Mission Foods taco seasoning 
  • Salads for filling. Capsicum, tomato, onion, spinach and cheese.
  • Any sauces you like, I used tomato chutney and it was delicious. 
  • Mission Wraps, we used Chia & Red Quinoa – they were perfect! Chia seeds are an amazing superfood to add into your diet. They contain omega-3 fats, protein, calcium and dietary fibre. Chia Seeds are an ancient grain that are known as having a little bit of everything! 
  1. Finely chop (or crush) 1 clove of garlic, place into a bowl. Add in salsa, BBQ sauce, seasoning mix and combine with a fork.
  2. Add beef to a marinating dish and then tip the above mix over the meat. (I saved a few strips of plain beef in a little sandwich bag for LuLu) 

  3. Place in fridge. (I prepared mine about 2 hours before lunch) 
  4. Prepare salads. 
  5. Cook beef on BBQ.
  6. Once beef is cooked warm wraps or toast them after assembling. 
  7. Assemble wraps and enjoy!
Meal 4 – Ham & salad wraps.
Honestly this is a meal that is so popular in our house, even growing up we ate this a lot as kids for lunch – I think everyone enjoys this meal. Trent has been on night shift this week, which means we have a bigger lunch, he takes left overs to work and LuLu and I either have leftovers as well or we make something easy together at night. He has been enjoying being my taste tester and having lots of healthy & filling meals made for him. He took the left over beef wraps to work, so I had to organise another meal for LuLu and I. So I made ham & salad wraps – so simple but very yummy and filling (you could use any cold meat filling, slice chicken or turkey would be so good as well!). These work great for a lunch (I’ve made them for Trent a few times this week already just as an extra thing for his lunch box) but they are also a good light dinner option. 
We used the Red Quinoa wraps for this meal. Red Quinoa is a wonderful superfood to add into your diet, it was once known as the “mother of all grains” by the Aztecs. It has the perfect balance of all nine amino acids that are key for human nutrition. 
I know ham & salad wraps are a basic meal, but I’ve been pretty unwell this week so I didn’t have much energy to create something fancier, it was quick & easy and a much better alternative than driving and getting take out! I feel good serving LuLu Mission Wraps because they are free from artificial colours of flavours and are also a great source of fibre.
LuLu loves them and ate most of her dinner so I was happy.

Mumma & Bubba meals. (I use 1/2 a wrap for LuLu’s)

LuLu loved these wraps. 
We regularly buy Mission Wraps for healthy lunches & dinners so it has been a pleasure to work with them on this post & I’ve enjoyed trying some new meal ideas. 
I love their new range that include the Red Quinoa & Chia Seeds wraps, the addition of Red Quinoa and Chia doesn’t alter the tastes at all of the wraps – we think they tasted great with all of our meals and it’s good to know you are adding a bit more “good stuff” to your diet by enjoying them! 
You can pick up a packet of these delicious new Mission Wraps at your local Woolworths or selected independent grocery stores today for RRP. $4.79
I hope you enjoyed this yummy post, what is your favourite filling for wraps? 
Enjoy your week.

beauty · review

A box full of beauty. {Review}

This product talk is brought to you by Nuffnang & bellabox. 
Hello!
Ok, lets be honest for a few minutes, I love being a Mum, I do – it is my calling, it is my passion – I adore my life. But sometimes and just for the tiniest split second I miss having more alone time, I normally feel this way when I am buying the same beauty products because I know “what works” & I just don’t have the energy or desire to try & test out a bunch of new things with a toddler. I miss being able to walk up and down the aisle of the beauty stores leisurely & at my own pace, testing out all different products, finding new & exciting releases and walking away with a nice little haul. 

LuLu is a great little shopping companion, but understandably she isn’t fussed on waiting around for me while I sniff, spray & test out new products she isn’t allowed to touch – heck Trent even gets annoyed when I take to long looking at beauty products. But I have found away to get my fix for testing out new products without even leaving my house!
That’s right, without leaving my house. Testing new beauty products in the comfort of my pjs while sipping tea. That’s right there is a saviour for all of us time poor beauty lovin’ Mummas, let me show you the light girls… 
In case you’ve been living under a rock & have never heard of this genius idea, let me tell you about bellabox.

bellabox is Australia’s #1 monthly beauty box, it is a subscription service that is delivered to your door jam packed full of specially selected beauty goodies for you! Some are full size & some are sample size. I love this idea, this is brilliant for people who can’t always get to the shops & simply who don’t have the time to waste in the beauty aisles, like me. You get these products to test out at your own time & if you love what you’ve got, you can repurchase them when you are ready.
Now what you get in your bellabox is normally built for you from your profile, but this month they are offering a special deal. You can get the exact same box as I have, which I absolutely love. 
I really honestly do like this box & I got 3 full sized items and they are great quality. In my opinion receiving 3 full-sized products from a monthly subscription service is pretty rare, so I am over the moon at this. 
This offer is only available until June 17th 2015 and is only for new members. The cost is $17.95 (includes P&H). 
Normally the bellabox is an adorable turquoise coloured spotty box, but in June it will posted out in a very sweet slightly larger brown box only due to the fact that the bodywash is such a large size they had to use bigger packaging!

 For $17.95 you get 3 really nice & full size beauty products & 2 sample sized products. 

All wrapped up pretty. 
My wonderful little treat of beauty goodies!!
  • Universal Beauty Cosmetics Tint Stick (This product is full sized and vegetarian friendly & cruelty free. I got the colour Nude Pink which hopefully is easily wearable, it says that it has 10 hours of anti-feathering wear and is transfer proof. Keep an eye on my Instagram for a mini-review.)
  • Original Source Body Wash (This is another full sized sample & a vegan product. I received the watermelon & jojoba oil skin quench one & it smells delightful!!) 
  • Burt’s Bees Lip Balm (I love this product, I actually was just kicking myself the other day for forgetting to pick a new one up at the store, thankfully I got one today in my bellabox!) 
  • Aveda Damage Remedy hair treatment. (There are no directions on this sample sized tube but after some research this is a treatment that you leave in your hair for 2-5 minutes and then wash out. I love hair treatments & am excited to try this one, but I have a lot of hair so hopefully this tube is enough for at least 1 treatment!)
  • Jean Patou 1000 Eau De Parfum sample. 

I am super happy with this box, it has 5 great products in it and is a great starting box for anyone interested in starting to receive monthly a bellabox. Please note this specific box is only available for a limited time & is only available to new members & only available by the link found on this page.
So if you would love to receive this exact box check out bellabox.
This is product is also a wonderful gift idea, especially for a new Mum, because who wouldn’t want a box of really nice beauty goodies showing up on your doorstep once a month. But hey Mumma friends treat yo’ self, buy it for you because you deserve it – getting this adorable little blue box once a month is like giving yourself a monthly present and you deserve a monthly present & everyone loves getting mail that isn’t bills & is a parcel! 
Please note that this is a monthly subscription service that costs $17.95 (includes P&H) a month & you get at least 5 amazing beauty related products each month from local & international brands delivered to your door for you to try in the comfort of your own home & at your own time. You can cancel the subscription at anytime. After this month the products you receive will be specially selected for you based on your profile. To sign up for bellabox you do need a credit card or PayPal (I always use PayPal when shopping online) but you can cancel at anytime! 

Please stay connected with ModernWifeLife31 & bellabox on social media on the following links;


Enjoy your week.