Every Witch Way - A Nickelodeon Hit Show Coming To The UK

A spellbinding smash hit show from Nickelodeon makes its UK premier tonight. Every Witch Way follows 14 year old Emma Alonso, an ordinary girl with extra-ordinary powers, whose life is turned upside down when she moves to a new school and soon discovers that she's a witch. The series follows Emma on her journey through high school and all the trials and tribulations along the way including her friendships, crushes and frenemies! Such as Maddie Van Pelt, the queen bee at Iridium High whose family is also harboring a magical secret.

 

We had the wonderful opportunity to attend a preview screening and premier event in London in May and aswell as watching the first couple of episodes before anyone else, Aalliyah and her BFF got to experience some VIP treatement at the pre screening party.

They got to kick back and relax while getting some fab pamper treatments such as hair chalking and temporary tattoos. When they were all glammed up they then had the opportunity to take to their very own red carpet and take part in a mini photoshoot. Aalliyah had a blast and really did feel like a celebrity for the day and we are both keen to tune in and see what happens next. 

What would a premier event be without a goody bag right? The lovely guys over at Nickelodeon are giving 5 lucky readders the chance to win a super goody bag packed with some fantastic Nickelodeon merchandise such as a notepad and pen, Spongebob and Patrick plushes, a Nickelodeon cap, cup and keyring and lets not forget an awesome "Every Witch Way" tote bag. All you have to do is enter via the simple rafflecopter form below and good luck.

Be sure to tune in to Nickelodeon tonight at 5.30pm GMT and catch the premier of Every Witch Way. We are sure you'll love it so much you wont want to miss a single episode. Why not Sky+ it so you don't have to!
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My Love Of The Dark Side And What I'm Watching

It's no secret that I have a huge love of TV and film and subsequently a serious addiction to Sky+ . I do tend to be late to the party when it comes to TV shows though. I will suddenly get enthralled into a fantastic series which more than likely aired 3 years ago and when I post how great the show is and how I am enjoying it, people must think "Tell me something I don't know!"

When it comes to TV I do love anything crime/psychological/thriller related whether it be fictional or real. I have recently started watching Dexter (see I told you I was late) and I am totally hooked. I am currently on series 3 and have no intentions of slowing down, cramming in an episode when ever I can. Another show I am enjoying at the moment is Hannibal. I absolutely loved the first series so was ridiculously excited when I knew series two was coming. If you enjoy those dark crime series then this is definitely worth watching but be warned it's not for the feint of heart. As you can probably guess from the title there are a lot of gruesome crime scenes and cannibalism depicted in the show.

Another show I love is The Following. I was totally gripped by series one and series two hasn't disappointed either. My Sky planner literally reads like a who's who of serial killers. I have many other great must watch programmes on series link too such as I killed my BFF, True Detective, Snapped: Women who kill, Evil Up Close and Crime Stories.

I'm not just a lover of the dark side and do enjoy a wide genre of TV and film. I am excited about the new channel which has recently launched , ITV encore. I do love the ITV dramas that there have been in the past. Some amazing ones like Broadchurch, Ice Cream Girls and Mrs Biggs so I am looking forward to being able to catch up with these again. When I am not working (and supposed to be doing housework or some other chore) I tend to catch up on my TV viewing and my evenings are mostly spent catching up on shows that I have missed throughout the week. With so much available on Sky I rarely watch anything when its actually aired and nearly all of it has been Sky+'d. Some days I go into work needing match sticks for my eyes. Not from an amazing night out with my friends but from a marathon of "The Walking dead" the night before. It's a wonder I haven't had a work accident yet due to my "Sky planner induced fatigue" (I did Google it, but sadly its not a real condition)

What do you enjoy watching? I am always looking out for good TV shows and or movies to watch weather old or new and would love some recommendation from fellow goggle box lovers.

*This post was written in collaboration with Leo Claims

Welcome To Ponyville

I don't think there are many of us ladies out there that don't remember "My Little Pony" . Even some of the guys too! They wont admit it but I bet a few of them had a pony knocking around in their toy box alongside their "Ninja Turtles" and "Power Rangers". I loved My Little Pony and loved the fact that you got your own special combs with them. Do you remember the plastic combs? How many of you tried to brush your own hair with the mini thing? I know I did and ended up getting it tangled up in my hair on numerous occasions.

To celebrate to launch of the MLP Welcome To Ponyville DVD we were sent a copy to watch and see what we thought and my how those little ponies have changed! They are cool, hip and super chic and have been totally revamped! So much so that upon seeing their modern new look Aalliyah was eager to watch the DVD. We watched it once and absolutely loved it! Aalliyah has since watched it again and really enjoys the fresh new and improved My Little Pony. The characters are fantastic and the storylines were great too. Easy to follow and kept you engaged throughout the episodes. Aalliyah already has her favorite pony... Fluttershy! She has a face which just makes you want to adopt her! 

Available for the first time on DVD , My Little Pony, Welcome to Ponyville is available from 2nd September in all good retailers aswell as from clearvision.co.uk . The DVD retails at £12.99 and is certificate U so suitable to be enjoyed by all!

*Promo disc received for review purposes.All opinions are 100% honest and my own.

TV Time.. How Much Is Too Much?

Most children are introduced to television at a young age. I remember when my own daughter watched her first bit of television and watching her nearly burst with excitement as she watched the colourful things bopping around on screen and listened to the music. She would often sit in her bouncy chair after breakfast and watch something (Fimbles , If my memory serves me right) But did this make me a bad parent? Did that hour of television make me a lazy parent? Regardless of what the other hours in the day were filled up with?

There have been endless studies into the link between how much time a child spends watching TV and their weight. Personally I think this is ridiculous. Children of overweight parents are more likely to be overweight and children that do not participate in games/sports/outdoor play are more likely to be overweight but the fact is that nine times out of ten the parents and the lifestyle they choose for their child will determine weather or not your child will be a healthy weight. Not how much time is spent watching TV.

You will always find contradictions in what ever research you come across. My daughter is 9 years old, and in very good shape athletically as well as having a good and balanced diet. She still enjoys her not so good sweet things (in moderation) and YES! she does watch television. In the mornings , after getting up, having breakfast etc there is no time for television, which is good as we would end up being late! Even I tend not to watch as I always end up sucked in to some story on daybreak and end up running late. But when she comes home from school, she normally spends the first hour, getting changed, doing homework etc then I will let her have a few hours of television (Providing her homework/reading is complete). During this time she will no doubt have dinner. I live in a ground floor flat so Its not a case of laziness having dinner infront of the TV, but I have no dining room and no where to eat other than our small coffee table that we sit at and eat. Yes the TV is still on at this time, but more or less not being watched and we still enjoy conversation over dinner abot her day at school and so on.

Aalliyah has watched TV from a very young age. She has also (past year) began using the internet a lot more. She does research for projects and homework, but also spends a lot of time on various websites, such as Cbbc, Mathletics etc. I have yet to find her on a game which had no learning value! She is doing fantastically at school, with high levels in Maths and English. Again yet more information which contradicts most of the research you will find online.

Overall I would say Aalliyah watches TV on average 2 hours a day, more at weekends, if we are not out somewhere and she will play a DVD at night when she goes to bed. The DVD is never watched past 5 mins and she is asleep. But these are all choices that I make for her as her parent, I feel they are right for us as a family, and If I felt they were affecting her behaviour or abilities in anyway, I would change her routine.

Every single parent is different, and I guess there is no right or wrong answer to the worldwide debate of TV time.