OK most that know me know I'm a bit of a deal voucher addict! OK I'm a LOT!!! Just printed out all the ones I currently have to use and there are 9. A few are from the big guys (Our Deal, Groupon etc) but the one I love to support is Bubbler Deals. Started by a Perth Mum and putting 5% of purchases back into the community and never going bananas selling thousands of vouchers to small businesses that can't handle it.
I thought I might share some of my deals. My first was (pictured top) a deal for 2 nights at Footprints Preston Beach. For $149 it was the perfect price for our budget. Regular price was $270 so I saved over $100 on my first deal. If that one came up again I'd get 2!! Others I have gotten include high tea at The Pearfect Pantry (above) which I got vouchers for 4 people 52% off, below is Yummy Mummy day spa 67% off for a friend and I, dinner out for the whole family at a kid friendly restaurant 48% off (2 pictures below) and the bottom picture some amazing macarons for half price! In between these I've also done playcentres, tennis lessons and toy stores plus I still have 2 to use from Aussie Farmers Direct and Fired ceramic cafe!
So I guess I should break out the calculator and see how much I've saved....
Where is the calculator on the iPhone.... oh utilities obviously!
ok so I have spent $450!!! Jeepers! Not so bad over 9 months though. But the RRP of everything I got was $1,326! Savings of about 64%! It has helped that I have shared with my friends, who have grabbed vouchers, so I earnt some credit, my Aussie Farmers Direct box was nothing as I used credit!
I love that I can spoil us (or just me!) with a few luxuries through the year at a great price and has made some fantastic and fun memories for us.
Bubbler has recently launched Australia wide with a deal every Monday and another on Thursday for Perth people. They recently won the Aussie Mumpreneur award for best customer service! Head over and check out what's on offer this week!
Photo courtesy of Qubies
Qubies have recently had a change! No they haven't changed their awesome design they have just added pink to their range! Isn't it cute?
Photo courtesy of Qubies
I've had my Qubies for a few years now and they have had a workout but still look brand new!
My girls have all gotten past the baby food stage but I will be there again in about 7 months time and with even less time on my hands to cook up something for the new bub each meal so I'm sure they will be getting well used.
I do still get good use out of them. We have a HUGE lemon tree in the backyard and rather than end up throwing half of them out I have been squeezing the juice into the Qubies and freezing it. Was starting to get low but the lemons are just ripening up again now.
This pregnancy though I have LOVED chomping on some ice and orange juice so I have combined my 2 loves and poured my orange juice into the Qubies and now have bags of these yummy iceblocks to chew on whenever the cravings hit (much healthier than my other craving hot chips and gravy!!!)
You can get some other ideas from their Facebook page on what to use them for. I need to remember to use them for leftover sauces like pesto and egg whites which I always seem to forget about in the fridge, also tomato paste would be great as I freeze our homemade bases so would have one cube of tomato paste for one base! Hmmmm I could really get carried away and have snap lock bags all over my freezer!
One of the big pluses for me is the fact they are BPA, PVC and Phthalate free.
Available directly from the Qubies website, these online stores or Toys R Us stores nationally.
Thanks to Qubies one lucky Bub & Moo reader will win one of the new pink Qubies!!!
Enter our giveaway and cross your fingers!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Bubbler deals started off earlier this year with a bang! We have gone on a family holiday south of Perth for an amazing price, eaten out with the kids at a family friendly restaurant, I've done high tea with girlfriends (pictured below), yummy macarons for my daughters birthday (pictured above), gone shopping for half price at a great store and just today have bought credit to spend on painting ceramics with the kids and having a coffee while we do it!
Would you like to get great family deals and savings delivered to your inbox each week and at the same time help fundraise for your playgroup, kindegrarten or primary school? Bubbler seeks out the best discount offers on unique kid's products, fun family activities, gourmet treats and pampering & gifts for Mum and delivers a special deal to your inbox each week. You can enjoy savings of 40-80% for your family simply by subscribing to the free 
www.bubbler.com.au newsletter. Plus every time you purchase a deal from Bubbler, 5% of the purchase price is donated to your primary school, playgroup or kindergarten to help fundraise. You simply nominate who you want to help when you make you first purchase. Bubbler launches in all states on Monday 13th August.
To celebrate the national launch Bubbler has teamed up with us to give one lucky person $50 credit to spend! Simply enter through the rafflecopter application and cross your fingers!
a Rafflecopter giveaway
When Bambini Pronto recently announced 40% off storewide their site went crazy! So overloaded it crashed so I left it until the next morning and even though a lot was sold out in that time I still got some mega bargains.
We are expecting baby #4 who will be getting many, MANY hand me downs so I thought I would spruce up the cot with the cute Alphabet Zoo Complete Sheet (pictured above, $39.95). All the sheet sets are very unisex in design steering away from the all blue or all pink that you see on so many. It looks great from the side and from the top and made of 100% cotton. You can also get the matching sleeping bag $64.95 and receiving blanket $39.95 or the whole package for $115 saving you $30.
With each child we have also gotten the older ones to buy them a present and they also get a present from the baby so at 40% off I couldn't resist the Sophie the Giraffe teether ($19.95). I'm sure everyone knows the Sophie range by now but if not they are quality made, non-toxic, Phthalate free and 100% natural rubber from the sap of a Hevea tree teething toys. I imagine it will be hard to stop the other kids from taking her to play with themselves!
Postage was amazingly quick even during such a huge sale and what I really love is that shipping is FREE if you spend only over $50 and it weighs under 5kgs!
Bambini Pronto have such a huge range of everything Mum and Child that each visit I find something I had missed last time and range in prices from a Safari Pencil at $1.95 up to a Pod Cot for $1,899, you are sure to find something for a baby shower, to finish off the nursery or spoil yourself!
Keep an eye on Bambini Prontos page where they currently have an AMAZING giveaway going with $5000 of prizes (and once you get 5 people to enter off your link you get a 30% off code!!!), specials and for every new liker they will be donating 20c to red nose day!
I'm almost scared to share this store, they only stock one of each size in each design so once it's gone it's gone!
Hootkid was started by Caroline who has been in the fashion industry for 15 years buying fashion for some of Australia's biggest retail stores before becoming a Mum and starting Hootkid in October of last year.
The clothes on Hootkid are funky, fun and the kids will enjoy wearing all the outfits if they are anything like mine.
I was immediately drawn to the 'I'm All Set' Dress (pictured above and top). At $59.95 you are getting 3 different combinations. You can wear it as pictured on the site or like the picture above just the rainbow dress or just the wing heart tee with pants or a skirt. Every day without fail M has been asking to wear it so hopefully it holds up through the many, many washes until she grows out of it and it's C's turn to wear it all the time. I just love how bright it is for a Winter outfit, I love colour and even more so when it's dreary outside. Team it up with some bright tights for really cold days. It is also available with a pink or navy wing tee.
Pictured below is J in the Step it up Scarf (available in 9 colours) $13.95. I love them all! J wanted the caterpillar (green and black) and M wanted the bee (yellow and black) but we went with the orange and grey. It's a great length and not to heavy for kids so the first one that hasn't gotten pulled off within 5 minutes of put on. C loved wearing it to Gymbaroo with her pink pettiskirt, was looking very Paris catwalk!
I have a wishlist a mile long which has only gotten longer with their sale that has just started with 30-50% off a huge range of stock.
For the boys my favourite is the Keep Guessin' tee ($29.95) and if you have one that likes to race around check out The Flash tee ($24.95). For the girls (besides what I got) check out the It's My Party Dress ($34.95) and the Peppa's Leggings ($10.97 on sale!).
Those of you lucky enough to be near Hootkid in Victoria can have them come out to your house! Get together a group of friends and see each piece in person so you can choose what you want PLUS VIP deals and incentives for hosts, email hello@hootkid.com for more information
Make sure you check out their sale and support this fantastic new business
Tu-weet-tu-woo!
Finally got around to using that delicious looking Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning which I turned in to delicious rosti. The kids wanted more but we all ate the lot! Luckily all the ingredients were what I usually have in the pantry anyway so I'm sure we will have it again.
Ingredients:
4 medium potatoes
a generous pinch of salt
1 tblsp fish sauce
1 tblsp plain flour
2 tblsp Gourmet Garden Thai seasoning
415g can of pink salmon
Vegetable oil for shallow frying
Grate the potatoes coarsely into a large bowl, stir in the salt and squeeze out excess moisture. Stir in sauce, seasoning, flour and salmon. Shape mixture into around 12 patties, place on a tray, cover and put in the fridge for around half an hour.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan, cook rosti in batches until browned and heated through.
Serve with some rice or a sweet chilli sauce.
I think everyone must have a lasagne recipe they use and I have one too but decided with adding the Gourmet Garden herbs that I would try a different cheese sauce too as my kids can't get enough of cheese! This one wouldn't be so great for those with lactose problems though!! Also, I have no idea how all the cookbooks make their sliced lasagne look so neat and perfect, mine looks like I hacked at it. Need that tea towel at the end to clean around the dish before I present it to you all.
4 cheese lasagne
1 finely diced onion
2 tsp Gourmet Garden Garlic
500g lean beef mince
2 cans of crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 tsp white sugar
3 tblsp Gourmet Garden Basil
Any other vegetables you like to smuggle in to pasta (I used carrot this time and usually do zucchini too)
500g tub of ricotta cheese
1 cup of grated parmesan cheese
1 cup of grated mozzarella cheese
pinch of nutmeg
4 eggs
200g of lasagne sheets
1 cup pizza cheese
Heat a splash of olive oil in a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic until the onion softens. Add mince, cook, stirring until mince changes colour. Add your extra vegetables (carrot, zucchini etc). Add the undrained tomatoes, paste and sugar. Cook, stirring, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in the basil.
Preheat the oven to 180oc
(my daughter did this step)
Beat ricotta, parmesan, mozzarella and nutmeg in a medium bowl with a spoon or electric mixer until well combined. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just combined between additions.
Place a third of the lasagne sheets in a shallow 2.5L baking dish. Top with half the meat sauce and half the cheese mixture. Top with another third of the lasagne sheets, remaining meat sauce, remaining lasagne sheets then the last of the cheese mixture. Top with pizza cheese.
Bake, uncovered, for around 40-45 minutes or until cheese browns lightly. Stand for a few minutes before serving.
This made enough for all 5 of us with more than half leftover. Even better the next day reheated and freezes well.
