Valentine's day gift guide

As Valentine's day is fast approaching I have reviewed some lovely items for you, my lovely readers! These are not just some soppy, romantic gifts, they are more thoughtful and practical, just how I like it, I hope you will like them too!

1. Fruity Bouquets. Such a healthy alternative to sweets or even real flowers!
2. Happy socks for him and her
3. Baker Days letterbox cake
4. Five Valleys Cordials
5. Love Heart chocolate jigsaw
6. Joe & Seph's gourmet popcorn

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I have stopped drinking alcohol almost 3 years ago since then I'm always on a look out for new alcohol free beverage. Recently I came across an interesting variety of flavours from Five Valleys Cordials. 

 "Five Valleys Cordials are made very concentrated at a dilution guide of 1:10, which means that each bottle makes up to aprox 4 litres - just add still or sparkling water for the perfect drink!..

Five Valleys Cordials offer uniquely different flavour combinations that tantalise your taste buds & mind".

I have opted for Lemon & Mint Cordial and Cherry & Elderflower Sugar-Free Cordial, which are priced at £3.50 for a 375 ml bottle and can be purchased either from Five Valleys Cordials website or at Waitrose, Ocado and independent Cotswolds stockists.


"Lemon & Mint Cordial is a refreshing combination of crisp ripe lemon and summery garden mint, made with 30% lemon juice. This is like walking in an Cotswold garden in June, full of the heady aroma of mint drenched in the sun of juicy lemons!"

"Cherry & Elderflower Sugar-Free Cordial pairs the juicy, clean astringencies of cherry with the floral herbaceousness of elderflower. Sweetened with Stevia from leaf extracts and sucralose to appeal to the health conscious consumer".

I haven't tried cordials yet as keeping them for a big day but I'm looking forward to tasting both flavours, especially Cherry & Elderflower! I have tried drink with Elderflower before but don't know what to expect from these mix of flavours! Did you know that you can not only mix Five Valley Cordial with still or sparkling water but also make cocktails with them?! I will be trying Lemon & Mint cordial for an alcohol- free mojito, for more cocktail recipes click here.

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Popcorn is one of those things when I start eating it, I can't stop! Most of us would associate a popcorn with visiting a cinema or watching a film at home, but Joe & Seph's gourmet popcorn is a different kettle of fish! You have to embrace it's flavours, textures and enjoy the gourmet this lovely snack!

"Joe & Seph's produces a truly scrumptious range of gourmet popcorn that has taken years to perfect, including sweet flavours such as delicious salty caramel to crazy pepper and chilli as well as a savoury range such that includes goats cheese & black pepper. We promise it is the best popcorn you've ever tasted!"

We have received 4 different pouches- white chocolate & strawberry; caramel, macchiato & whisky; salted caramel and triple chocolate. I have left the first three for Valentine's day and we decided to test Triple chocolate aka cookies & cream, milk chocolate and white chocolate. 

I was absolutely blown away by it's authentic cookie taste! It's not too sweet, a little bit crunchy like a cookie, it tastes just right! I have asked my husband to guess the flavour of the popcorn without seeing the label as a massive caramel fan he guessed it right! 

Joe & Seph's resealable pouches vary in weight and prices starting from standard 70g pouch of gourmet popcorn for £4, which can be purchased directly from Joe & Seph's or in Cineworld, Selfridges and Harvey Nichols stores. If you think it might be a little bit pricey for you I dare you to try it at least once in your life, it is worth it!

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I have previously reviewed Baker Days for my Baby Shower, we had surprised guest who have never heard of letterbox cakes before and didn't expect it to be so tasty and so fresh. 

This time I have decided to review a personalised letterbox cake for Valentine's day as I think it is a great idea to have something ready, delivered to your door! 

"We have developed an almost unlimited selection of cake designs with messages that can all be personalised to create a unique centre piece to any occasion. We are also able to produce your own special designs.
Creating your very own Personalised Cake has never been easier!
All our cakes are made specially to order and shipped in rugged packaging and we guarantee it will arrive safely and on time".

I have picked Valentine's hearts cake personalised with " To The One I Love..Happy Valentines Day! love, Victoria xxx". The letterbox cake is priced at £14.99, is 12.7cm wide and can be shared between a couple or a maximum of 4 people. We had 5-6 small slices which we thought was more than enough.  
You can also pick from a variety of designs and flavours- vanila or chocolate chip sponge cakes or for the additional £2 you can purchase fruit cake and for the additional £3 you can buy gluten free/dairy free cakes. 

Baker Days letterbox cake was thoroughly enjoyed with a cup of tea earlier last week as I wasn't sure for how long it will last, we left it in a box for about 3-4 days since it arrived and it tasted as fresh it you would expect from a freshly- baked cake!
I was a little bit disappointed though with personalised message looking a bit blurry but I hope it was just a glitch of the machine.

Disclaimer: I was sent  items mentioned above for the purpose of this review/gift guide. All thoughts and opinions are my own.