I'm climbing 3 mountains in 2016!

2016 is set to be a big one for me.

You all know I love my health and fitness. Next year I'm about to crank it up and climb three (3) of
Australia's highest peak mountains in three (3) different states as I take part in Whitelion's Three Peaks Challenge.
In 33 hours I will have to complete the 52 kilometers of trekking the mountains; Mt Tennant (ACT), Mt Kosciusko (NSW) & Mt Bogong (NSW).

Apart from being a fitness lover and wanting to challenge myself with new things a large part of this challenge is to raise funds and awareness to the Whitelion Charity.

Whitelion are a non for profit organisation who provide mentoring, employment and education programs in order to improve the social and economic capabilities of some of Australia's most vulnerable young people. By providing these opportunities, community connections and positive relationships, Whitelion empowers and inspires young people to make more positive choices in their lives.

As a requirement for the challenge, each individual will need to raise $1250.  Any support would be greatly appreciated by donating via my fundraising page so I can do my part by helping out Whitelion.

The next 3 months in the lead up to the Whitelion's Three Peaks Challenge will be my biggest yet... keep updated via my instagram to see my training sessions!

NJT chats about the downstairs department on ladies with Vagisil + GIVEAWAY

Vagina! 

Right, we have that over with and the giggles can now start flowing and be done with early on so we can get down to business and talk about vaginal health care.

This is going to be a T.M.I (too much information) conversation happening here. There is not many of my friends that I can list that would be open to having a conversation started about these kinds of things as they may find it too embarrassing with the fear of judgement… but girlfriend, we all need to have one another's backs and be able to start the conversation and let one another know about those great products that are out there.

As a lady we care about our appearance, hygiene and self so we end up using many different products for all the different parts of our bodies but one of the most important things we tend to forget to take care of properly is our vagina.

This is where we can say hello and forever be best friends with Vagisil.
Vagisil is an intimate wash in which is specifically formulated to help care for your vagina. Using certain products that aren't specifically formulated for those areas can cause irritation and it's not worth that itchy rash that has got you jumping around in your pants trying to get rid of it or doing the sly grab of the crouch area.

My younger self would generally be using body washes or a bar of soap to clean my lady parts area because I didn't know any better. As these kinds of products weren't really around back in the day, our parents would teach us to wash with soaps or body washes and that's exactly what I did.
Now days you may all know soaps and other body products aren't good for washing in the vagina area as it unbalances our pH levels and can cause issues for us, those issues being the dreaded discharges, the above mentioned irritating itches and causing smells to happen.

Vagisil have many products under their belt in order to help with your intimate care including: creams, washes, wipes, lubricants and powders.
I know a few of my confident girlfriends who are a much like an open book like myself and tell me that they actually use Vagisil, in particular the Vagisil Feminine Wipes. Vagisil Feminine Wipes are great to leave in the handbags as they are a good freshen up if you've been active during the day or even have that hot date coming around after work and there is no time to shower.

Vagisil recently gifted me a few bottles of the Vagisil ProHydrate Plus Wash which is their newest product to the market, helping to hydrate and moisturize at the same time as cleaning your vaginal area.

Vagisil ProHydrate Plus Wash comes out in a shiny cream like liquid that is easily applied and foams into little bubbles. Whilst no scent is really distinguished and you can't come from the shower smelling like roses down there, you will notice a change in how you feel down there. You are conscious that you have just cleaned properly and with products that will not irritate down there. Vagisil ProHydrate Plus Wash is an everyday product that is in my ‘skincare’ routine now.

For myself as you will know I am a soap free person due to having sensitive skin in which Vagisil have thought very thoroughly and have no soap and are dye free in their products. 

 Vagisil have been very kind to help me to giveaway x10 Vagisil packs containing 2 x 175ml washes in a small calico discretion bag.

I encourage you to comment below for this part of the giveaway as well by telling me are you a women who feels comfortable talking about Vaginal healthcare and if you have used Vagisil, then what do you think about it?

To enter the giveaway enter via the rafflecopter form below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway closes: 11th January, 2016 at midnight.

Winners announced: 12th January, 2016.

Winner will have 24hrs to contact back otherwise redraw may occur.

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Vagisil. This post is sponsored and follows along as per disclosure policy all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and are truthful.

Ottoman 3 Brow Bar REVIEW

Brows are one of the main things for us girlies these days and for most of us if we don't have a good brow day this can just put a little depressant on how we feel for the day, first world problems correct.

For those of you who don't know what Ottoman 3 is and what threading is.. Is an alternative to waxing or shaving. A cotton thread is placing between the brow specialists teeth and then they will use their hands and pull at their neck in order to get the stray hairs away. A long time tradition in cultures.

Ottoman 3 recently invited me in store to experience some of the fast growing and more popular style of brow threading. I have had my brows threaded once before but unfortunately was not a fan, simply because the brow specialist that I had (not an Ottoman 3 brow bar) was not gentle nor listening to the way I wanted to have my brows. I decided to give it another go and see if Ottoman 3 would change my mind. I had heard great feedback from friends who swear by  Ottoman 3 so it was worth a look into.

Ottoman 3 have three (3) Melbourne locations - Melbourne Central, Highpoint and Watergardens.
In which I was invited along into the Melbourne Central store where I was met by brow specialist Namarta who looked after me with such care. Throughout the whole experience Namarta was constantly asking if I was comfortable and felt alright with the threading. This is exceptional customer service and I don't believe I have ever had some care so much about how I was feeling through a beauty appointment.

Namarta was always assuring me with what was going to happen. When I first sat into the chair Namarta marked out my eyebrows and was talking to me about the best shape for my eyebrows.

Ottoman 3 have the old barber style gas chairs in which you sit in and get laid back with the pump up of the chair.  I do have to admit at times it can be a little painful and stingy with the threading of the cotton pulling each individual hair out but the end results are very much worth it.

I found my eyebrows to be so much more manageable and the growth that came afterwards was a lot slower in comparison to other methods I was used to.
It isn't until about 3 weeks that I started to get those stray hairs and regrowth coming back into my brows.

After my eyebrows were at threaded completion. Namarta then asked to fill in my brows with their own Ottoman 3 products. I was then kindly gifted with some goodies to take home, in which were all what Namarta used on me in store whilst providing me with a tutorial of how to correctly apply their products to your eyebrows in order to perfect the on point brows.

Ottoman 3 not only offer eyebrows but they offer full facial hair threading.

A brow threading treatment will cost you $28 with a full face of hair removal at $68. 

I do recommend Ottoman 3 and think it's a fantastic way to keep eyebrows looking on fleek for days.

www.ottoman3.com.au

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Ottoman 3. I was kindly gifted items above as well as the experience. I received no payment for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

ASG REVIEW + OFFER

You may have heard of ASG, you may have not. I myself have seen ASG at a few events I've been to as a blogger and then seen them through passing's online but it wasn't until this year that I stopped by their stall at an event to say hello and get to know about them more.

In the past, ASG for me wasn't something that I felt was suitable in my life as I had a really young daughter. However, this year I thought you know what I'll be having to start thinking of schooling for my little Niah soon so I'll drop by the ASG team and have a chat about what they do and how they can support families. 

That day I learnt something fabulous that I would recommend you all just have a quick look into, it might surprise you like it did myself.

As a Mother I am already worrying about schooling fees and how on earth you can find that happy balance of paying school fees and survive still. 

I've heard in passing conversations how much yearly school fees can be and that shocks me as I've heard of some ridiculous schooling fees that make me think wow, that could be close to my yearly wage in what they expect. 

ASG put peace in my mind and I'm sure it would be for others also. ASG is like a superannuation fund where instead of putting monies aside for retirement, you are going to help provide for your child's schooling. Start early so it's going to be there when you need it through their older years. ASG are dedicated to supporting children's education and helping us as parents or carers ensuring we can be there to support our children through those life stages.

As with parents; ASG believes that every child should have access to a quality education and the opportunity to explore and nurture their interests and talents. Being parents you want only the best for your child and you want to be able to be their to provide them with what they need regardless of how straining or hard it maybe. 

ASG has a new fund that they introduced me to at this recent event which is the Pathway Education Fund; a versatile plan in which you can offset the cost of eduction at any stage of a child's development. The fund will help assist with education expenses right from pre-school to secondary as well as an array of post-secondary and vocational training courses. 

Contributing to any one of ASG’s funds start from roughly around $12 a week. 

For me - this is definitely something I'll be going more in depth into and highly considering for the future of my children.

Fantastic offer for you all to take advantage of; ASG are offering you all as readers a fabulous $0 enrolment fee into an education fund by 29 February 2016 by using the voucher code: FREE-ENROLMENT

www.asg.com.au

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by ASG. I received a gift voucher in exchange for its promotion here. As per disclosure policy all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and are truthful.
The information in this post is general information only and does not take into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Please read the Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) for the relevant product to consider if the product is right for you – available at asg.com.au/pds or call 131 ASG (131 274).

Medela - Calma + GIVEAWAY

Medela is a brand that was strongly recommended to me when I was pregnant with my first (and only.. for now) child. The feedback was always that Medela was the best brand as they really looked into the way they developed their products for comfort, ease and replication between breastfeeding.

Once getting that recommendation of having to have Medela, I set out to venture to our local stockist and came back loaded with Medela supplies. I purchased the Calma as I researched into it and found it was a breastfeeding alternative for mothers wishing to feed their babies with breast milk with it being as close to natural as possible and replicating as if the baby would be drinking from the breast.

Calma is a great product for if you end up having issues with bubs latching on or discomfort a bit down the track once initially starting out via breastfeeding as Calma allows bubs to do everything as they would via the breast - suck, swallow and breathe the same way.

As a part of being a parent that early morning feeds and just bottle feeding in general as such an important role and everyone loves to be able to have a feed with the baby so using a feeding solution like Calma gives you piece of mind that they'll be alright.

When I was breastfeeding Niah I knew that Daddy was going to be feeling left out so we wanted to make sure we were regularly using the Calma so not only could Daddy get a turn of feeding but if Mummy ever needed to not be with baby for a short time that it was possible.

We found that Niah didn't have any problems with feeding breast milk with Calma and back to the breast and there was no issues what so ever. Calma was our best friend and never left our side. To this day I still swear by it, my sister actually just had her baby over a month ago and we gifted her Medela everything ensuring that a Calma was purchased to which we haven't heard anything bad back.

Medela are continually ongoing with researching breastfeeding and are always looking out for us as parents. I wouldn't recommend anyone else as highly as Medela.

NJT Blogger has teamed up with Medela to giveaway a $50 voucher to The Pharmacy.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Giveaway closes: 28th December, 2015 at midnight.

Winners announced: 29th December, 2015.

Winner will have 24hrs to contact back otherwise redraw may occur.
Please Note: Due to the festive season their may be a delay in getting your prize out to you. 

www.medela.com.au

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Medela. I received a gift voucher in exchange for its promotion here. As per disclosure policy all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own and are truthful.

Kit-Kat Studio - Melbourne Central

After the hit of the first Kit-Kat Studio in Sydney which sold over 25,000 Kit-Kat's, Melbourne Central has just become the home of the first Melbourne pop-up concept store: Kit-Kat Studio over the Christmas period but also in celebration of their 80th birthday. You can celebrate with them by creating your own flavoured Kit-Kat. Choose up to three (3) ingredients for a personalized chocolate fix to suit your taste buds. The doors opened on November 24th, 2015 and will remain open until January 17th, 2016.

We picked up two (2) of the super edition pre-made ones as we unfortunately didn't know about the time wait on custom making your own creation Kit-Kat's and were a little time poor, but we will return soon to ensure we get to at least make our own taste buds drool at perfection.

Our selections were the Anna Polyviou Creation which was made in honour of Polyviou's hometown (Melbourne). (Anna Polyviou, known as the Punk Princess of Pastry)

Anna Polyviou Creation is splattered with pink across the front. Pretzel pieces, marshmallows and caramel popcorn on the back. The big winner for us!

Second pick was out of pure beauty that laid before your eyes. The white Kit-Kat with raspberry, rose and hibiscus.

The Kit-Kat Studio is open from 10am daily to 7pm (Sat-Wed) or till 9pm (Thurs-Fri), located at the ground level underneath the escalators you are greeted with all glass windows where you can feast your eyes on pre-made creations or a row of iPads to make your own, as well as see the chocolatier's at work through the back glass.
An orderly fashion with line queues off to the side of the concept store and a store person to greet you and explain what you will need to do in order to create your own Kit-Kat is attendant at the door.

Custom made 'Create your Breaks' will cost you $14 for eight (8) fingers where you can select from 17 different ingredients or you can pick up limited edition pre-made four (4) fingers Kit-Kat's for $6.
Customising your own Kit-Kat will take roughly between 1.5-3hrs wait, best to stop here first and then head off to shop a storm in the huge complex before coming back to pick up your creation.

Santa's Magical Kingdom - Opening Night EVENT

For a few years now we have been luckily invited to attend along such a beautiful night put together by Santa's Magical Kingdom. This is a not to be missed event for us each year.
It's the wonderland of all things magical for children and has everything that goes along with Christmas.

Opening night for media and family/friends was on Friday 20th November for a 6pm start.
Mummy had finished work just after 5, went to pick up the little darling Niah from daycare, put on the good clothes to meet Santa and off we headed. Little did we know it was going to take us over 2 hours to get to somewhere that would normally take us 45 minutes to an hour. Friday night traffic was on this particular day was insane, four toddler tantrums filled with tears of having enough of being in the car was not going to down our night. We knew that once we hit our destination that it would be all worth it.

This year I was most excited as Niah is growing up so fast and this was the first year you can tell the changes of Niah understanding what is going on. Niah has also developed a major love for Santa, in which when we see Santa at the shops, we will have to make a pit stop to see him.

As soon as you walk into the big white tops you are greeted with Christmas music, Christmas lights and an abundance of Christmas themed activities for the family to enjoy as well as providing many joyous rides to share smiles and laughter with your loved ones.
In this case we were able to experience Santa's Magical Kingdom 2015 with my blogging bestie Alix from Fabu Fit Mum and her family - including her darling Levi.

Activities for you to enjoy were:

Story telling with Mrs. Claus in which you could also write your letters to Santa.

Niah meet Mrs. Claus and was super happy to show off her new dress that was the perfect fit for the occasion. Niah then was able to chat with Mummy about what she might like for Christmas and post the list into the mail box provided.

A wonderland with snow (bubbles) coming down with two princesses to greet you. 

This was a big winner for the kids - as you can see Niah and Levi had a ball playing in the fake snow and covering themselves and us parents in the snow too. 

Decorating your own baubles and the rest remained as carnival rides and sideshows. 

The baubles were printed with a Christmas picture that the children can color in as their own personalized bauble to hang off the family Christmas tree.

Niah was super proud of her bauble and was carrying it around as a bracelet - very proud of her work.

As well as Decorating your own gingerbread with sweet treaties and Santa photos behind Santa's house doors.

At 8pm it was show time for the circus where Santa greeted everyone on the main stage and would sit on his chair watching the circus acts with all of us.
We were shown four different main acts during show time that was just enough for the kids to keep entertained and still for.

The stand out for us was Ramon on the highwire. Ramon always amazes us when he is so high up walking the highwire but this time he did it over the top of the audience which had us in amazement.

This year we headed up onto the Ferris Wheel before we left and were able to enjoy the city lights from a view.

Santa's Magical Kingdom will cost you $140 for a family pass (2 adults and 2 children).
Inclusive of this price is all your activities, rides and the circus show. Sideshow, food and other extra goods such as books, light up wavers, show-bags etc come at your own expense.
$140 may seem like a lot but once you work out how much you would spend going to such things like this and were to pay individually you would be equaling the same if not much more in costs.

Ample parking resides around the Caulfield Racecourse on the main street and surrounding car parks around the outskirts of the racecourse. Located only about 10-15 minutes from the city and a close distance (across the road practically) from the train station.

www.santasmagicalkingdom.com.au

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Santa's Magical Kingdom. I received complimentary tickets to Santa's Magical Kingdom in exchange for its promotion here. I received no payment for this review and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.

Kids Business - Bloggers Brunch November 2015 - EVENT

Kids Business always put on a phenomenal event that brings together bloggers predominately Mummy Bloggers with brands. This event for me is something that I have grown to majorly appreciate. Kids Business get a lot of brands that I don't think I could have ever gained collaborations with, without the help of their events.
If I was to ever have to miss an event hosted by Kids Business I am always kicking myself as I just know that so many valuable relationships come from their events, just like when I missed the Bloggers BBQ earlier in the year as I was in Samoa. I don't know whether I had a better end of the stick being over in Samoa, a tropical paradise or not though haha.

This time around we were back at Encore in St Kilda. A gorgeous and very spacious venue that allows for a big gathering. I love going to events because I can catch up with my blogger friends who you don't often see very much - special mention to one of my blogging besties Alix from Fabu Fit Mum who we were able to spend the day networking with brands together and became a little mini babysitter for me when I needed her.  Brands in attendance were:

Jura 

A Swiss coffee machine brand. I actually have trialed them before and had them at a Bloggers United AU event just recently in Sydney. At both events I was able to sip on their delicious fresh coffee. I mostly love that you are using fresh coffee beans and the big winner was the fresh milk, no powder - thank goodness for that.

LiceTec 

I had heard of this brand before but never used them. I guess I never really needed them for such a long time. I used to work in childcare a few years back and what treat my hair constantly with cream or serum applications. LiceTec have just launched an amazing product that is ultimately like a vacuum on a hair brush. This product was super impress and the video displays they had to show how much lice can be vacuumed up was astonishing. It will certainly be a product I will be looking into should those pesky lice visit.

Medela 

Everyone knows Medela, well should know Medela if you are a parent. Medela was a brand that the only one recommended to be as a new Mother. I went out and purchased the Swing Breast Pump and was really skeptical of the price tag that come with it, $220 for something that is going to squeeze my boobs and milk me like cow, what the heck? But it was very much worth it. An automatic machine that helped me be able to express much easier and encourage milk flow consistently. This time seeing Medela I was able to hear about their constant breastfeeding research and their charity involvement, which was refreshing to hear as they are a brand who care.

Kambrook 

Kambrook I have known for a long time. My family home was filled with products from them as they do the job and are at an extremely affordable price point. Kambrook showed us a few of their new products launched with main aim at the BlitzPro Blender. After hearing about this product it's on the Christmas list. I have a huge multi-function kitchen tool that blends but it's not convenient for when I want to make the morning smoothies or whip up some quick protein balls.

Lite n Easy 

A few years back I was on Lite n Easy for the convenience of work. I only ordered them for lunch meals and would occasionally have one as a back up should I not have dinner or be working back late at work. The convenience to eat healthy and stay on track with your diet is what Lite n Easy provide. I'm keen to revisit their meals and see whats on their menus now.

ASG 

ASG have been at many Kids Business brunches before but I never stopped to chat with them. Why? I didn't think they were applicable to me. This time around I made an effort to have a chat with them; Niah is 2.5 years old now and I'm already starting to think about the stresses of education fees. I hear some yearly education fees and think wow, you send them to school on my yearly wage. Having something like ASG which would work like a super fund or a non touchable bank account that is their for education is brilliant. I am looking forward to being able to hopefully share more with you as well as learn more myself an  in depth look.

Nude Food Movers 

The perfect products for transporting food to school, work or a day out. Environmentally we are more conscious about the rubbish consumption and how we can illuminate wastage, also mentioning most schools are implementing the no rubbish lunches where you need to back a lunchbox with reusable items should food need to be stored. Nude Food Movers are a great brand who assist with transporting food too and from with a re-useable manner - they even have funky banana covers so you don't have to get a bruised banana.

Infasecure 

Your children's comfort and safety is always a high priority and Infasecure are a reputable brand that has never let me down. I have two items in my household that we really can not thank Infasecure enough for in terms of the long wearing time their products can cater for. Niah's first high chair that we purchased was an Infasecure one that is multi-functioning and could turn into a table and chair set, a piece that grows with her. We were then introduced to the car seats in which we knew completely blew all over what we currently had.
Infasecure introduced us to their new product 'Arlo'; a pram that is one single attachment but will cater to the whole time your child needs to be in a pram. It's one of those products that as a Mum you stand their going wow, that's really easy and convenient.

Yamaha 

Unfortunately I didn't get around to chatting with this brand but I was advised they were showing their home entertainment system to bloggers. I will be in chats with them shortly so I'm sure you will hear more about them soon.

Cobs Popcorn 

This stand was where my little one spent all her time. If she ever went missing, this was where she was. Niah has always been a major fan of popcorn, which suits me as I'm more then happy for her to be snacking on popcorn rather than chocolate, chips and lollies.
Cobs introduced to us their new gourmet indulge range which saw popcorn been taken to the next level for a sweet tooth addict, flavors included Salted Caramel, Milk Chocolate drizzled caramel popcorn or Dark Chocolate dipped caramel popcorn. Are you salivating yet? I highly recommend the Milk Chocolate drizzled caramel popcorn, exquisite!

Along with those fabulous brands we were feeling a little star struck with a visit from Adriano Zumbo and Lah Lah in which we had to snap the memories.
Lah Lah preformed live for us in which Niah has always been a big fan so this was just a beautiful moment to have been there to meet with and watch.

Each event Kids Business run they sponsor a charity in which this time Life's Little Treasures Foundation Australia was in sponsorship for;
Life's Little Treasures Foundation is Australia's leading charity dedicated to providing information, support and understanding to the parents of babies born premature or sick.

Around the world hundreds of societies, associations, professionals and individuals will mark the 5th annual World Prematurity Day on November 17th. In honour of the 76 premature births per day in Australia alone, Life's Little Treasures Foundation and major supporter Medela will release an infographic and an album at the Bloggers Brunch with 76 real stories and confronting images that raise awareness of the courage, trauma and life changing experiences of families who have encountered premature births. World Prematurity Day is a chance for everyone to learn more about the causes and implications of premature birth. 

#76borntoosoon.

www.lifeslittletreasures.org.au.

Thank you once again Kids Business for the opportunity to come along, I'm already refreshing the inbox like no tomorrow for the next one.

If you are a blogger and you are not registered to attend Kids Business events then check them out to register. 

This event by Kids Business even made it to the NEWS! Check the segment here. 

www.kidsbusiness.com.au

Disclosure: This post is brought to you by Kids Business. I was invited along to attend the Bloggers Brunch where I was gifted several goodie bags from the brands.  I received no payment in exchange for this feature and all opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own. Several photos have been provided with permission for use in this post.