Chocolate & Coconut Bites {recipe}

You know you want it................

 I'm sure many people already know how to make this tempting little treat, but I'm here to share it with you anyway.

I'm forever trying to think up new things for the kids lunchboxes and today I had a little light bulb moment....choc & coconut balls/bites!! It's enough of a little sweet snack to keep a smile on my pickles' faces, yet not so naughty to turn them into sugar OD fiends.

Pickle number one is currently playing "Lunchbox Wars" with his buddies at school and he left this morning with a huge grin, declaring that no one will outdo his lunch box today...WIN!

 Apparently...according to pickles one & two, this is THE BEST THING I have EVER made....in the history of my cooking.....like, EVER.

I'm not sure if I should be honoured or feel insulted?

Here's how you throw this treat together......

In a food processor (I used my trusty Ninja)... pulse a packet of Arrowroot biscuits until they are completely crumbed, them dump the crumbs into a bowl.

Add about 1/2 a cup of cocoa and combine.

Add a small can of sweetened, condensed milk and combine until you have a dough like mixture.

With dampened hands, take little meatball sized pieces and roll into balls, then roll to coat in dessicated coconut.

Place in an airtight container and chill until set.

Eat at least two before they get to the fridge.

Told you it was easy!

Till next time.

ANZAC Slice {recipe}

I love baking treats for my pickles. You may have seen my recipe for ANZAC cookies a while back (recipe here). Well these are EVEN BETTER! Why? Because they are the laziest version I have ever made...I'm not sure but I think they taste better too.......

This golden crumbliness is perfect cut up into bars (or soldiers as I like to call them) and popped into school lunch boxes. I had to hide some from this batch for the kids school lunch box because I made them for an after school snack (with a little fruit and milk). If some don't get hidden then they won't make it to the next day....it's like watching a swarm of locusts attack a field. You'd think I never feed my kids.............

Ingredients:
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
1 cup (220g) brown sugar
3/4 cup (65g) desiccated coconut
3/4 cup (110g) plain flour
1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
125g butter
2 tablespoons golden syrup

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Line your slice tin with baking paper and overhang the paper so you can lift out the slice for cutting later.

2. In a bowl, combine the dry ingredients.

3. In a microwave safe jug or in a small saucepan, melt the butter and golden syrup. 

4. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together...combine well.

5. Press firmly into prepared slice tin. I use the back of my measuring cup to press down and compact the mixture.

6. Bake for 20-25 mins, until golden. 

7. Allow to cool completely in tin (if you can wait...lol). Slice into squares or bars.

Got some good lunch box recipes you'd like to share? Leave a link to your recipe or write it in the comments box if you like.

Till next time.

Dettol Power & Pure Multi Purpose Wipes {product review}

I like to do a little spring clean in winter, especially on the school holidays as I like to get the pickles to pitch in. So when I was sent a pack of these Dettol Wipes for review, I thought it was a sign to start.

I always have at least one Dettol product in my home at any given time. I love the smell and I know I'm killing germs as I clean. 

I have three boys...three messy boys who don't always consider personal hygiene number one on their agenda. So when I give things a once over with these wipes, I have a little more peace of mind.

The wipes are one of a few different kitchen cleaning products that Dettol offer. I used them all over the house and not just in the kitchen) to "finish off" the sinks and table tops, even the toilet seat!

This week, I've had 2 sick little pickles (nothing too serious) so I wipe over door handles and the telephone....places we usually don't think about disinfecting, but where we can spread some nasties when someone is sick.

Overall, I quite like this product and will probably re-purchase. It's handy to throw in my little cleaning caddy and I might even grab an extra for my makeup kit!

Got any good cleaning tips? Share them here if you like!

Till next time.

Disclosure: This product was provided for editorial consideration. 3pickles has no affiliation with any companies mentioned and has received no remuneration for posting this review. All opinions are those of the author.

What to do on the school holidays {part one}

Ah the school holidays are upon us and we are always looking for something interesting to do with the pickles. 

No road trips these holidays...we had plans but they had to be postponed due to a mix up of dates. We were all pretty disappointed, but we'll find plenty of other things to do. Melbourne is a big place and there are a lot of things we haven't discovered yet, so I thought I'd share some of our little outings with you. 

This is part one.

 It's currently 9 degrees here in Melbourne, so on the first day of the holidays we like to have a very casual pyjama day and a lazy sleep in. And that's exactly what we did.....well, except me. I got to sleep in till 9.30am!! But then it was housework and groceries before chilling with the pickles and Mr3P in front of the box.

These pictures were taken at Sky High on Mount Dandenong...just a hop skip and a jump from 3pickles territory and a great little afternoon outing. I can't believe we have lived here in Melbourne for so long yet have never taken the kids here. There is an entry price for a car (I think it was $6).

The pickles particularly loved the maze and the giants chair. The entry cost to the maze is reasonable (kids under 12 are $4) and they also have a cafe (not a bad coffee too).

The view of Melbourne is spectacular (I must remember to come here for NYE fireworks!)

 This is that giants' chair and a bunch of silly pickles....a wedding was being held in the fine dining restaurant (you can see it in the background) while we were there. I wouldn't mind dinner here one night with Mr3P.
Sky High is open everyday of the year, but the maze is occasionally closed due to weather conditions. Here's a link to their website if you want to check out more info. (not sponsored BTW)

 I'll be updating here as we do anything interesting on the holidays.

If you have any great suggestions for something to do in Melbourne with kids, I'd love you to share in the comments.

See you soon (hopefully with my sanity still intact)

How to add everyday luxury to your home with Aquiesse home fragrance (review)

It's no secret I'm a lover of fragrance and luxury products, so when AQUIESSE were sweet enough to send me some of their heavenly candles and reed diffuser in their White Currants Collection to try, I was pretty excited.

I have a LOT of candles, but I don't have any quite like this. 

These are pure luxury. 

The packaging is so incredibly decadent (feels like fine leather with beautiful embossing)...Aquiesse have really set the benchmark for luxe. 

The first thing I noticed when I opened the box was that they have included an elegant box of matches...how clever and thoughtful!

The candle above is the White Iris and Vetiver with fragrance of White Iris, Bergamot, Vanilla & Vetiver Patchouli which needs to be experience to be believed. 100 hours burn time RRP $38 for the large 312g candle. 
\

 My bathroom feels like a luxury hotel spa with these candles and they perfectly match the decor.

 The glass lid, beautifully etched with the Aquiesse logo, doubles as a base to sit your candle on. When not in use, you can use it to keep the dust off your beautiful candle (not that you have any dust at your house!) 

I'm thinking these would make such lovely gifts to anyone who loves the finer things. They'd be great for brides to gives as bridesmaids gifts too.

 It's the little, everyday luxuries that can turn such a mundane experience into a lovely one....don't you think?

Definitely a repurchase. Highly recommended.

I pinched the above picture from Aquiesse's facebook page (hope they don't mind) so you can see what the diffuser looks like. For some reason the blogging gremlins didn't let me upload my photograph. I'm using the diffuser in the guest room and I catch beautiful wafts throughout the day. 
Maybe I'll post something about the new guest room, so you'll eventually see where the reed diffuser is living.

They even have travel candles...how adorable.

....now where to go?

Disclosure: These products were provided for editorial consideration. 3pickles has no affiliation with any companies mentioned and has received no remuneration for posting this review. All opinions are those of the author.

The Great Gatsby Hair with John Frieda

I have my computer back! That means I can blog freely once again. Woohoo.

Today I want to share some pics of my boys and their beautiful locks. I always get asked what I use in their hair. This is one of my secrets..John Frieda Clearly Defined Styling Gel...the very same hair gel used by John Frieda Hair Designer Kerry Warn used to create signature looks for the cast and hundreds of extras in the Baz Luhrmann film The Great Gatsby.

This is before pickle #3's haircut (they all had their haircut over the weekend).

 I love using the gel to take it from messy and unkempt to very Leo DiCaprio.

This gel keeps the hair in place all day. I've tried so many over the years but most won't keep the style in place all day, or they go flakey etc. The John Frieda Clearly Defined Styling Gel is a winner in my book.

Post haircut...and a happy little pickle.

This is pickle #1's serious look...I think he had better things to do than pose for me (like get on his ipad...) This kid had very, very thick hair and the gel still performs...I like to spike his up...he usually does his own hair, but I took over for the photo...lol

My hair is also very thick and can get super frizzy, so when I used the John Frieda Frizz-Ease Moisture Barrier Firm Hold Hairspray on this wavy style, it held in place all day (and the next) with no boofy frizz head......happy. This hairspray is great for anyone who wants good hold and would be especially great for wet or humid climates. Definitely going with me on my next Gold Coast trip.

Have you been inspired by any movies recently? I'd love it if you'd share your tips in the comments.

Have a great hair day!

Disclosure: This product was provided for editorial consideration. 3pickles has no affiliation with any companies mentioned and has received no remuneration for posting this review. All opinions are those of the author.

Red Papaya Ice Cream Recipe

What can I say but yum?

Today I'm linking up my red papaya (paw paw) ice cream recipe to Anne's blog, Domesblissity for the chance to win a $250 Woolworths Voucher thanks to Papaya Australia, I just had a little browse over at their site and there's some more yummy recipes there to check out. 

My favourite way to eat papaya is served fresh over crushed ice, as nature intended it...but that wouldn't make for much of a recipe now would it? 

So the next best thing I could think of that would keep the integrity of the flavour of the fruit was this...nice, simple & tasty...dare I say healthy too.

 This is such an easy recipe to make. 

And a winner with the kids...they don't even know they're getting another serve of fresh fruit....mwahahaha....

 Ingredients:
300ml milk
250ml cream
1/2 cup caster sugar
1 pinch salt
1/2 red papaya, de-seeded, skinned and chopped

Method:
Place all ingredients into a food processor (I used my beloved Ninja)
Pulse until totally blended and smooth.
Place in ice cream maker & churn until frozen.
Serve.

 Wish me luck!