Summer Chocolate Delishiousness

Another day, another review of delicious summer chocolates by Hotel Chocolat. Blogging life is so hard!

I was impressed with the quality and quirkiness of these chocolates when I reviewed their Easter range and I have to see I am just as impressed with their range of summer themed chocolates. I tried out the Summer Fusions H-Box which contains edible luxury such as Key Lime Pie, Strawberry Cheesecake, Summer Pudding, Kiwi Smoothie and Blackcurrant Bombe. As you can see from the picture, they not only taste delicious but they are also beautifully presented. Each chocolate is a delight to all the senses. This would be a perfect addition to a summer garden party or an after meal treat if you are hosting dinner. I am so pleased with the quality and presentation of these chocolates that I have ordered some for a friend who has a  birthday coming up.

I have recently embarked on a gluten free diet due to health problems and I am pleased to tell you that I can eat all but two of the chocolates in this pack as apart from the Shortcake Bite and Key Lime Pie, the rest are Gluten Free. There is a mixture of white, milk and dark chocolate so if you are dairy free you can eat the dark ones worry free!

There are 14 delicious chocolates in the box (Summer Cooler, Frappuccino, Summer Pudding, Pineapple and Coconut, Key Lime Pie, Peanut and Banana, Strawberry Cheesecake, Lavender Caramel, Kiwi Smoothie, Peach and Hazelnut Gratin, Blackcurrant Bombe, Burnt Caramel, Choc Fudge Sundae, Shortbread Bite). The price is £13 which might seem a bit steep for a box of chocolates but for a special occasion like a birthday, fancy dinner party or just a special treat for yourself, they are worth the price.

I also sampled delicious Lemon Truffles (my personal favourite) which are silky soft truffles with a lemon curd flavour inside. Truly scrumptious. A true bargain at £3.85. Perfect for a little thank you gift or a treat for someone special.

Disclaimer: I received both products to review but all opinions are completely my own. 

Miracle Growing in My Garden

This is a review post, not a sponsored post. I was provided with a free sample of the product but the opinions are my own. 


When I received an email asking if I would like to review a product that could help clear up the brown spots on my grass, I was delighted! I was sent a sample of Miracle-Gro Patch Magic Dog Spot Repair. 

This was what our grass looked like before.

The Patch Magic is easy to use. You simply clear away the dead grass, rake the ground, water the ground and spread the Miracle-Gro grass seed onto the patch and water again. You continue to water the patch regularly after application. It really is idiot proof.

Well, not exactly.

The first time I left Hubby to do it and he did one patch. He mustn't have done it properly because there was no change at all. I don't think he raked the soil enough and didn't water it first before laying down the seed. In his defence though, it did rain terribly for the few days after application and totally flooded the whole garden. I don't know if this affected it but I won't be telling him that.

This was the result . . .

I tried it again with another patch and I'm happy to report that I did a pretty good job. You can see here from this photo that the grass seed is beginning to grow and hopefully the more I water and cultivate my little patches the fuller they will become!

starting to sprout

Starting to look greener!

I am planning on buying more of this product to treat the rest of the garden. As you can see, I have plenty of patches to work on. I would recommend this product as it is an easy product to use (providing you don't give it to your husband who doesn't read instructions). The product is a reasonable price too, I've seen it being sold from £10 - 12 depending on where you buy it from.

So in a nutshell . . .
The Highs

• Easy to use, mostly idiot proof
• Reasonably priced
• Award winning technology
• Superior Grass Mix compared to other brands

The Lows

• My grass seed didn't grow as well as I'd hoped, probably due to weather as well as birds stealing the seeds. 
• It doesn't say on the pack how long the growing process is likely to take. 

I'd still buy it again and I plan on working on the rest of my 'patches' this summer. Once I have fixed my grass I will need to find a way to protect it from further damage. That might be more difficult!

Boating Fun - 148/366

Okay I am cheating, because technically this was yesterday but I didn't take a photo today! After our bike ride we went to a local park and JC was desperate to go on the pedalos. He really enjoyed it and it was nice to see him back to his normal self. He is loving this weather as he just loves the outdoors. 

Can I Eat It? - 145/366

What beautiful weather! It's a pity that JC isn't well enough yet to play outside. The dogs are loving it though but they are not so happy about sharing their space with Boris. Kaiya stands at the side of the run and salivates.