Saal Digital Wall Decor Review

Saal Digital is a professional photo lab based in Germany, I was asked to review a wall decor product for them.

I chose the Alu-Dibond Format in a 40x60 size without any mounting as I like to use the really strong sticky pads as they don't ruin the walls and you can mount the wall art flat against the wall.

Their website https://www.saal-digital.co.uk/ is easy to navigate and I clicked through the menu option of Wall Decors.  I was a bit confused as to which type of wall decor I wanted but the chart on their website made it easy to choose:

I like the alu finish for a lot of my photos as I like the matt feel, I was torn between the normal and the butlerfinish.  The normal is matte and the butlerfinish is brushed, I would like to have tried the two to see the difference.  I ended up going for the normal one as I have had that finish before so I know what it is like.  

The finish is a nice matte texture up close, at a distance you don't notice the texture.  It is very thin which also makes it very light and easily mounted to the wall with sticky pads, it then hardly sticks out from the wall at all unlike a canvas.

The colours are exactly as the photo.  

I would recommend Saal Digital, their prices are reasonable too, this was just over £50 with postage.  It also arrived in under a week, we have used Snapfish before now and find they can take over a week to deliver.

I have not been paid for this post, however a £50 voucher towards the product in order to review. I have editorial control and retain full editorial integrity.

Purplebricks

We have been using Tepilo to sell our property and we marketed it with them from October last year.  At the time we did have Purplebricks round to value as well but to be quite honest I wasn't keen on the representative from Purplebricks, he was a bit like you imagine an estate agent to be and was a bit pushy, had brought comparable houses he printed off which weren't really comparable.  So we went with Tepilo.

Earlier this year Mumsnet asked for people to review Purplebricks, we hadn't been having a lot of interest through Tepilo so I jumped at the chance to join as we had the basic package without a cost in order to review.

We had our valuation appointment early May and it was someone different this time, Alan, he was lovely and not pushy at all, he had done his research and was sensible with the price and comparable properties.  He really seemed like he wanted to help and to sell the property for us.

Alan wrote the description and took some photos from different angles so they looked different from Tepilo's photos.  We had a link to the draft property on the website and approved it so Alan sent it live.  Tepilo work a bit differently as you have to write the description yourself which isn't as bad as you think but I do think that the description Alan has written for Purplebricks reads better as he is doing that day in day out.

As soon as the property went on the market with them we had a couple of viewings, these were really easy to manage through their app, whereas with Tepilo you have to login to their site as they don't have an app.  Once they have viewed you confirm it on the app and they then get asked for feedback from Purplebricks, really easy process.

We rarely hear from Tepilo and when we do they can't really give us any ideas as to how to get more viewings etc.  However with Purplebricks, Alan is really good at coming up with different ideas such as offering to take part exchanges, swapping the photos round etc.  He is very good at chasing up feedback from viewings etc.

So if you are considering an online agent and are choosing between Tepilo and Purplebricks, I would go for Purplebricks.  Their app makes life a lot easier and you do get a lot more support from them too.

Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge!

I have looked in the shops at the Rustlers burgers before and never actually bought them, I like burgers but I like proper meat in my burger and not just the rubbish cuts.  Rustlers state that they use 'quality chicken' so I thought I would give this challenge a go.  We were challenged to add to the burger to make a balanced meal that is also fun and creative.

I found a great website that had some recipes listed for healthier sides (http://www.eatthis.com/healthy-side-dishes) so I used a couple but I also made them my own:

Mediterranean Salsa

This was so easy to do and had some healthy pulses and veg in there too.  I used a small can of chick peas, black olives, tomatoes, red onion, basil, feta and tossed it all in a swig of olive oil and lemon juice.  This went really well with the sweet potato fries.

Veggie Kebabs

My daughter loves these, because they are on a stick it somehow is really exciting!  She enjoyed helping me put the veggies on the stick and also eating them!  Another great way to make veggies fun and you can use anything you want.  We had courgettes, tomatoes, mushrooms and aubergines, sprayed them with some Fry Light and into the oven at 220degrees C for 15 minutes.  Really tasty and went really well with the burger.

Roasted Garlic Cauliflower

Again an easy dish and because hubby doesn’t normally like cauliflower I have to try and make it tasty!  Split out some florets, put them in a baking tray, spray them with some fry light and crush some garlic over them with grated parmesan.  Into the oven with the veggie kebabs.  Super tasty!

Finally we put some carrots, parsnips and sweet potatoes in the Actifry instead of chips, I am actually not that fussed over chips and my daughter is the same but she enjoyed all of these.

I think we created a really balanced meal as most of it was veggies and they had only had a small coating of oil, it also created a bit of fun with the kebabs which can be tailored to suit any taste. 

Rustlers Southern Fried Chicken Burger

The burgers were quick and easy, taking just 90 seconds in the microwave.   They are £2.50 for a Twin Pack, each burger is only small (140g) – about the same as a Mayo Chicken from McDonalds.  As I thought about this I thought I would compare how much ‘healthier’ the Rustlers burger was to a McDonalds as I expected it to be a healthier option.  I was surprised to find that the Rustler burger had 100 more calories, a gram more sugar, nearly a gram more salt, 0.6g more saturated fat but it did have a couple of grams more protein.  There is also nowhere on the Rustlers burger that states what type of chicken is used, the texture of the burger is quite lumpy and rubbery, they market the product as being quality chicken but it doesn’t actually state chicken breast anywhere and usually if it is it will be detailed as such, my idea of quality chicken is chicken breast.  McDonalds state their burger is Chicken Breast Meat and it has a lot better texture.   The burger coating on the Rustler doesn’t crisp up as it is only heated up in the microwave.  The taste of the southern fried chicken is good as some coatings can be a bit spicy and my daughter doesn't like that.  

We are a busy family yes however by the time you have done accompaniments to make the burger a balanced meal then it is not any quicker than cooking perhaps a chicken burger from frozen which will taste better, be crispy and you can find something made from 100% chicken breast.  These burgers are more for people like my husband who throws them in the microwave for a quick lunch at work.  I wouldn’t choose to feed them to my children again, they also work out expensive, if I buy two twin packs it is £5.  I could buy 4 (100% chicken breast) burgers from Tesco for £1.50 and 4 buns for 70p so a saving of £2.30 – which mounts up if you do that every week!  Our challenge stated ‘Rustlers provides a quick, convenient and affordable meal when mums need it most’ but I really can’t see that myself, it’s a quick, convenient ‘snack’ not a meal. 

This was a fun challenge it made me think about making mealtimes more fun, my daughter loves her veg so I don’t have to be that creative and this challenge made me be more creative and made dinner time fun.  I did want to love the burger but I just can’t see its place in a family meal, it still remains to me as a quick snack type lunch for someone at work or college.  Hubby has enjoyed taking the remaining burger to work for his lunch!  

Why don't you have a go at the Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge, make yourself a quick meal! #RustlersHack

This post is an entry for BritMums Rustlers Burger Hacking Challenge, sponsored by Rustlers http://rustlersonline.com/

Goodwins, Tettenhall

We visited Goodwins, Tettenhall, Wolverhampton a little before Christmas and I never did share our thoughts.  We walked in and had a warm welcome from a cheerful waitress who showed us to our table.  The décor inside is lovely, classy and modern.

We were surprised at the prices, we visited on a Sunday so we had the option of Sunday lunch.  The Roast Beef is £9.99 which I think is really good value compared to other upmarket pubs in the area whose service and food quality leave a lot to be desired!!

 I did go for the roast beef and it was amazing!  I don't normally go for beef as it is normally overcooked, chewy and dry, this was not.  It was beautiful and pink, so tender, lots of veg, home made Yorkshire pudding and roast potatoes that were so soft and fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.  The waitress was happy to bring us a drop more gravy for our meals.

 For dessert we had the Cookie Dough Cheesecake and Cheesecake Bombe (a rich millionaire caramel rolled in choc chips, then surrounded with creamy buttermilk cheesecake, rolled in crunchy golden oat biscuit crumb. Served with chocolate pudding ice cream).  I do like something different rather than the usual run of the mill desserts, these were lovely and good portion sizes too.  Coming in both under £5, they were good value for money too. 

As a summary, I would really recommend Goodwins, they aren't overpriced for a nice pub/wine bar in the area.  I would say they are priced about right, the drinks were good value too.  Service was exceptional it really was, our waitress was really attentive and pleasant.  It is one we will be returning too :)