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In General, Interior Design, MoneySaving, Reviews / Sponsored, Women's Interest

Achica – Luxury at Budget Prices

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

A few weeks ago I was offered a voucher code to use on Achica so that I could browse, order and then hopefully enjoy the Achica experience.

Achica is a site cram-packed full of fabulous homewares, gifts, items for kids, personal items and pretty much anything else you can think of. It is a place where you will find expensive boutique items, top brands and more at knocked down prices. Every day new sale events start, offering you a wide range of items for usually a week at a time. Items are limited (fair enough seeing as some these items are reduced by hundreds) however this doesn’t negatively affect the shopping experience in any way.

Just some of the items on offer at Achica right now.
Just some of the items on offer at Achica right now.

The Site

Achica is a members-only site however it is free to join up and there are no fees etc. Navigating the (very attractive) site couldn’t be easier and adding items to the basket and checking out is a simple but secure process.

Delivery

If you want something from Achica tomorrow you may be disappointed. As items are often sent from the individual brands and then onto Achica for checking and packaging and THEN onto you the process may take a week or two. That said the items are worth waiting for and expected delivery times are made very clear for each item when ordering.
You may track your order via the online account, I received email updates regarding my order as well as a smooth delivery with text alerts and more. Yes it took a while to get here but the money saved is worth the wait.

My Order

Achicam

A microwave! Not any old microwave but a pretty microwave that would fit perfectly into my kitchen. I’ve actually been looking for one like this for ages however they’ve all been in excess of £100 (I don’t use a microwave often enough to justify that!).

This particular microwave was £110 full price if I remember right knocked down to £69.

As you can see the delivery date range is shown on the actual product page. I think it fits into my kitchen quite well!

achica micro

Summary

What do I Really Think of Achica?
Honestly I have to say I’m a fan. I’ve used it before in the past although there seems to be an even bigger range of items available now. I love the moneysaving aspect, how easy the site is to navigate and above all having the opportunity to find new and different items for the home or for gifts.

Achica asked me for an “open and honest” write-up based on my experience of this shopping review and I have to say that they deserve nothing less than 9/10 (you have to be fairly spectacular to get a 10!).

 

In General, Interior Design, Reviews / Sponsored, Women's Interest

We Need A New Bed

Author Nicki CawoodPosted on

I’m a busy woman. My day often starts at 4am, long before the children are awake and I can sometimes be found still tapping away at the computer as late as 11pm when I have one of “those” deadlines approaching. Roy is much the same, regularly pulling in 13hr shifts. We don’t mind working hard, mainly because we love what we do and we juggle it around fabulous family time. What we do insist on is a quality sleep when we do fall into bed and at the moment that just isn’t working out as well as we’d like.

Mattress Woes

A couple of years ago I bought a memory foam mattress. Oh my days, what a revelation. No more bothersome springs, no more lumps and bumps or anything else which would disturb our sleep. Unfortunately the wonder that was our fancy pants (quite cheap) mattress is now a bone of contention as it feels thin and unsupportive. Clearly a new mattress is on the cards however we also need to be looking at a new bedstead.

A Bedstead That Will Work for Both of Us

As far as I’m concerned at a dinky 5ft 2″ you could pop me in a small single bed and I’d still have plenty of room. My 6ft 5″ husband however needs some extra leg room. Up until now we’ve had to rely on a bed with no end so that he doesn’t continually crack his toes on the end or end up sleeping diagonally.
Clearly a new bed is on the cards and we’ve been looking at websites including Bedstar to see if they meet our list of requirements:

  • It must fit in with our white wood theme so white, brown etc
  • It must be a double, we don’t need a king size really
  • It must either have no end or be long enough for that not to matter
  • A decent headboard is a must. We both read and write in bed and the top of our steel framed bed at the moment sports a headboard made of black metal bars. Not exactly supportive or comfortable if you want to sit up in bed without 30,000 cushions.
  • We either need built in storage or for the new bed to be a true bedstead so that I may store items underneath and hide them with a valance.
  • We don’t want to have to sell any both parts in order to afford said new bed
  • A built in sound system, gaming system and TV is NOT a requirement, regardless of what Roy might believe!

bedstar, new bed

 

My question for you is this: What do you look for when choosing a new bed and mattress? Obviously I need something that suits us both and which lasts however I don’t want to pay over the odds.

We are very good when it comes to winding down, sleeping in a properly dark room, not using gadgets before bed etc. We do all the right things in order to catch some quality Z’s however it’s our bedroom hardware that’s letting us down. What I could do with is a masters guide to bed buying so if you have any nuggets of wisdom when it comes to bed and mattress buying recommendations and the like please leave a comment and let us know.

 

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