Little Poppets

Recently, I was given the chance to get hold of $30 store credit for pre-loved children's clothing store, Little Poppets, in return for a review.  I'd been meaning to have a look for a little while at the site, and get some stuff, so it seemed to be the perfect chance to see what Little Poppets was like and what they had to offer.

Pre-loved clothing

The basic idea behind Little Poppets is that you send them your pre-loved, but great condition children's and maternity wear, and they sell it for you on the website.  To be honest, there's very little of my children's clothing that ends up in great condition after they've finished it.  There are some things though, that are just too good for every day wear and we don't get our full use out of them, there are other things that just don't get worn enough before they've grown into the next size.  In both cases, the ability to sell them on, and perhaps purchase something else in it's place is a great one.  You can either have the money paid into your bank account, or use it as store credit for future purchases.

Special occasion clothing

Where this buying and selling of clothing really comes into it's own, is with special occasion clothing.  I'm never keen to spend a great deal on clothes that are only going to be worn once or twice, but sometimes you really do need something special and new.  I like the idea of buying clothes like this from somewhere like Little Poppets, and also selling on special clothing that hasn't been worn much.

Little Poppets offer a simple "Five Yes Test" so that you can establish that your clothing can be sold: 

1. Is it gently worn? YES!

2. Is it in fantastic condition? YES!

3. Would we buy it? YES!

4. Would we dress our own children in it? YES!

5. Can we sell it? YES!

Simple, and I've got some items that I'll be sending off to Little Poppets shortly that pass the five yes test, I'll let you know how they get on.

Shopping at Little Poppets

With my $30 voucher I got some brand new jeans for Mahe, and a lovely little dress for Anja, which although not brand new, is in fantastic condition.  It actually all came to under $30, and at the time, I didn't realise that spending $30 or above would have given me free shipping (despite it being quite obvious on the website, I just didn't spot it).  The clothes arrived really quickly, which was great, and I was really pleased with them.  I haven't managed to get photos of Mahe in his yet, but the pictures on here are my attempts to photograph Anja in her dress.  (You know what it's like with a toddler, they want to see the photo before you've even taken it.....)

Little Poppets is a great option for kids clothes, the range is being updated regularly, so it's the kind of site that's worth visiting often, and you get get some lovely stuff for a great price.  Highly recommended, and I'll let you know how it goes when I send them some of our pre-loved clothing. Check them out here.

Did you read it?

A little while ago I wrote this blog post, which said do not read this as the title.  I promised to come back at a later date and let you know how it went, how many people actually did read it.

The curious

There's something completely irresistible about being told that you can't do something, or can't read something.  Even when you're pretty sure that it's all just a bit of a wind up, it tells me not to read it, so I'd better just have a look and see why I'm not supposed to read it, is what seems to pass through most peoples minds.  I'm guilty of it myself, how many times has someone said 'don't look but' and the desire to turn your head and have a quick glance in that direction is almost overwhelming.  

It's human nature, someone tells you that you can't look at something, and you want to know why.  It's the same as when there's a sudden road closure or detour, our nosy, curtain twitching side takes over and we all want to know what's going on.

Did you read it?

So, did you read it?  Quite a few of you did, it's not my most popular blog article ever, although for saying that it's only been around just over a week so far, it's certainly catching up fast on the front runner. (Which is currently this one, in case you are interested) and I think that I've got the most amount of comments on it too, which is a sure sign that people were being nosy and having a look.  Of course that was the whole point, you were supposed to read it, just to prove to me that telling people not to read something would make them look.  Sadly though, as one commenter pointed out, it probably wouldn't work if I were to tell you not to buy something, but just in case, what ever you do, make sure you don't pop along to my websites and buy something. 

So there you have it, just a bit of fun, but interesting all the same.  I'm hoping that the reverse won't be true, and my saying please do keep reading and commenting on my blog will stop you from reading.

Chocolate bubble v chocolate rice crispy cakes

When it comes to children's birthday parties, there are some foods that it's just essential to have, and chocolate rice crispy cakes are, to my mind, one of those food.  Over here in New Zealand they are generally known as chocolate bubble cakes, in part because rice crispies go by a different name, but are they the same? What are the differences between chocolate bubble and chocolate rice crispy cakes?

Chocolate bubble cakes

I was amazed to discover that a recipe for chocolate bubble cakes appears in that Kiwi classic (and essential cookbook in any New Zealand kitchen) the Edmond's cookbook.  How could, possibly the easiest 'cake' to make in the world need a recipe, and then I looked a bit closer.  It needed a recipe because, these were different, rather than two very simple ingredients this one calls for vegetable shortening, coconut, icing sugar an cocoa along with the obvious breakfast cereal.  There isn't a great deal more to do, than when you make rice crispy cakes, but I still don't really get why you would need to make a 'fake' chocolate when you can use the real thing.  The first party I threw over here for one of the children featured chocolate bubble cakes, (not made by me) and I have to say I found them a little sickly for my taste.

Chocolate rice crispy cakes

Now I don't want to sour Kiwi and UK relations by suggesting that my version is better..... but they are what I (and my children) prefer.  So, here's the recipe: you get some chocolate, melt it and stir in the rice crispies.  When it's all mixed in, spoon into cake cases an let it cool. And that's it.  There are slightly posher versions, using a mars bar instead of chocolate for example (or perhaps a moro bar over here?) You can also use cornflakes or shredded wheat.  We used to make little nests out of shredded wheat and then put mini eggs into them at Easter.  I don't think you can get that over here though, but cornflakes would probably do.

So there you have it chocolate bubble cakes v chocolate rice crispy cakes, there's not a huge difference, and it's probably mostly down to personal taste, but it's rice crispy cakes all the way for me.

Do not read this

Whatever you do, don't continue to read this, you must not keep reading this blog.  I know how tempting it is, but I just ask that you try to resist temptation to read on and see what it says.  Stop, go back, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Access denied.

Resisting temptation

There you see, you couldn't do it could you?  It's funny isn't it how when someone says that you mustn't do something, it just makes you want to do it all the more.  That big red shiny button that you're not supposed to press, the door you're not supposed to peek behind, that hot dish that you're told not to touch because it's hot, you just have to. Don't worry though, you're not alone.  

Most people will read

I'm guessing, and I could be completely wrong, that a lot of people, if not most people, when faced with a title of a post that says do not read this, will have to go and have a look what it's about.  Some of them will read the first line or so, see that it's not some big secret and then go, others will read on a bit more, and yet others will read the whole thing, that must be you, if you're still with me.  I'll be interested to see how many people do click and read.  I'll post next week with the results, if you're interested. 

What will your friends do?

Are you friends the kind of people who will ignore a don't read this post, or will they do what you did and click on it, to see what it's all about?  Challenge them, see if they can resist clicking and reading something that tells them not to, I bet they can't.