Party. Animals.

Did anyone notice the sun came out this weekend? I almost forget what it looked like – such a treat! The best part was it came out for my best friend’s Hen do. I chose Bristol as the venue – we went to a sexy street dance class, did some relaxing in the hotel sauna and steam room, sang our hearts out at karaoke and finally danced the night away in a bar. It was good fun and nice to have a girly weekend away. My head was hurting all day Sunday – which obviously means it was a success!

On Bank holiday Monday, once the head had fully recovered, Alan and I decided to take a trip to Longleat – it’s a large old house, along with a safari park and attractions. There is lots to see and do, it’s almost impossible to fit it all into one day. I have been before but Alan hasn’t, I was keen to show him the maze and try to beat him to the middle. I didn’t. I lost by about 20 minutes…

On the way back we stopped at Bradford-upon-avon, which was lovely. We found a quaint pub along the river called The Barge and filled our bellies with pub grub.

All-in-all a great bank holiday weekend.

Chelsea Brasserie, Cheltenham

I refer to myself as a blogger, yet I haven’t blogged in several months – what is that all about?! I apologise, things have been a little hectic since I last posted, firstly being I have a new job – one I actually really enjoy and am learning so much in. After working at a degree for 3 years, then spending a couple years trying to find my ideal job, I feel like I’ve finally landed on my feet.

Another reason blogging has been on the back-burner is that I’ve been planning my Best friend’s Hen Do, a little stressful at times but now it’s all sorted, I’m really excited – just hope the Bride-to-be enjoys herself! It’s this weekend, so I’ll be sure to post our antics next week.

Anyway, the point of this post was to do a mini review of Cheltenham’s newest restaurant – Cheltenham Brasserie. Alan and I took a visit one weekend having passed it several times on our walks into town. I was a little dubious having known previous restaurants setting up shop there and not sticking around long. Needless to say my doubt was quashed, the service was top-notch and the food was superb!

For starters I had the mint and pea risotto, which was deliciously creamy and Alan had the scallops, which came in bechamel sauce – so good! Nice change from having scallops with bacon, which seems to be on the menu everywhere these days.

For mains I went for the Chicken, with baby leeks, lemon and potato rosti and a lovely mushroom sauce. I wasn’t too keen on the rosti as there was too much lemon in it for me, made me think I was eating pudding already…Alan went for steak, which was beautifully tender and came with hand cut chips, which were presented in a mini fryer. Adorable.

After that and 2 bottles of wine (whoops!), we had no room for dessert – even though they sounded delicious! Just means we’ll have to return to sample them.

You can check out the website here.

Valentine’s Day

I don’t really have an opinion on Valentine’s Day, I neither love it or hate it. I don’t like the fact restaurants charge a fortune to have a meal there, when you can eat there next week and it be a fraction of the price. So I suggested to Alan that him and my Dad have a crack at the cooking for a change and whip up a meal for myself and my Mum.

Well, weren’t we in for a treat! We were presented with a three course meal, including wine and bread across a beautiful laid out table. Alan had done most of the prep and I believe most of the cooking, whilst Dad had grilled the steaks (he had the handy excuse of being at work most of the day).

We had a Prawn Cocktails for Starters. Sirloin Steak with Potato Wedges, Carrots, Cauliflower Cheese, Dauphinoise Potatoes and Peppercorn Sauce. For Dessert we had a choice between Cheesecake and Sponge Pudding. All beautifully prepared and served to us.

Mum and I have competition in the kitchen it would seem! If you excuse the Desserts and the Peppercorn sauce, everything was made from scratch – pretty impressive for someone who claims to ‘burn beans on toast!’

Alan has now been dubbed ‘secret chef’ with his culinary expertise. We won’t mention the flapping and panicking that was going on before he started cooking…

 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Warner Bros Studios Harry Potter Tour

I took 336 photographs. I don’t know how or why but I managed to.

To sum up, the tour was amazing. The first part involves watching a small clip about how the story was published. You are then taken into a larger cinema room to watch a short film about what goes on behind the cameras – you are then transported onto the set by a simple yet magical effect. It’s a great touch.

There are two large studios named aptly J and K, filled with all the scenes you can imagine from the films including the Potions lab, the Great Hall, the Common Room, the Boys Dorm, Dumbledore’s Office even the House that Harry grew up in! There are brooms, bikes, cars, costumes, wigs, prosthetics, drawings, huge models, you can even have a taste of the infamous Butterbeer! If you’re brave enough, unlike me, you can put on a robe and try flying a broom over the City of London (through CGI obviously).

I won’t say anymore, as you really need to experience it yourself – I’ll let the pictures convince you (not all 336 though).

Even if you are not a Harry Potter fan, it really is fascinating to see the sets for yourself.

You can book your tickets here.

My 24th Birthday

Even though I have aged a year, I’m quite happy to now be a 24 year old – I feel 23 is such an ugly number that I am glad to see the back of it. I began celebrations on the eve of my Birthday by having drinks with friends in the cocktail bar of Monty’s Brasserie – it’s the perfect place if you are after a relaxed evening out. As the drinks flowed we began to get a bit snap happy and documented the night with our photography skills…

    

After waking up with a minor headache, I was presented with a chair full of presents.

Mum and Dad got me an iPhone, benefit make up and Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish cream, Alan got me a gorgeous Michael Kors Rose Gold watch – which I’ve been eyeing up for ages, some more Benefit Make Up and proving he does listen to me, the original Ginger Spice Barbie doll. It was only at Christmas I’d mentioned being very upset when all my friends at primary school got the proper Spice Girls dolls and I had to recreate my own out of the Barbies I already had. Traumatic story, I know.

I also received the Miranda Box set, Vino and the Glittery J2O’s from Alan’s Mum and a bag of Jelly Flops from Alan’s nieces and nephews across the pond. I received some money, Topshop and Amazon kindle giftcards, a picture of me and Johnny Depp – also part of Alan’s Birthday card to me and a lovely candle that turns to massage oil once melted – ingenious! Safe to say I was very spoilt.

With my Birthday being on the Saturday, Mum and Dad were free to spend the day with – and treat me to a lunch. We went out to Stow-on-the-Wold, which was still full of snow and visited one of the tea rooms there. We decided on Huffkins – which has recently turned up in Cheltenham, knowing we could rely on them for a cream tea.

We all shared two three tiered cake stands filled with various flavoured sandwiches and scones accompanied with clotted cream and jam. The food was too lovely and we all came away feeling a couple of stone heavier – which I feel is always a good sign.

Once we got home and started to feel hungry again, Alan told me to get my glad rags on as he was taking me out for dinner. He had decided on Flynns, which I had mentioned really wanting to try.

It definitely lived up to expectations – the food was beautifully presented and tasted delicious. Alan had Wild Mushroom and Spinach Pancakes, I had Calamari, we both had the Sirloin Steak for main and shared the Banoffee Pie for Dessert. Highly recommended!

Also during the meal, Alan presented me with an envelope that contained an invite to the Harry Potter Studios in Watford! It was a complete surprise and made the night. I will be blogging about our trip soon. When we returned home, we relaxed with a cup of tea and Birthday face-cake.

The perfect Birthday, with some amazing surprises along the way.

Good Riddance 2012

Well this is a little embarrassing. It has been almost 2 months since I last blogged, which is by no means acceptable. In that time we’ve had a series of up and downs so I haven’t felt much like blogging. Christmas 2012 felt very different, we often all embrace it to the max however this year it appeared to be quite a struggle.

Parts of 2012 were amazing, like moving in with Alan and going to visit his sister in New York – I suppose the downward spiral began when we both lost our jobs and moved in with my parents. I love living at home more than I thought, but it’s almost like I’ve taken a step back in my life. Things haven’t gone too smoothly for the rest of the family either, my sister’s 5 year relationship ended – which has hit her really bad, my brother split from his girlfriend and my mum broke her foot New Year’s Eve. You could write a soap opera about this!

I have still yet to find a job in my dream career. There is so much competition for Graphic Designers that it’s almost impossible. I have had a couple of interviews that I thought went well, then been told they went for someone with more experience…same old story! I am using the time wisely though, doing Photoshop tutorials, making changes to my CV and also playing ‘Mum’ as my mum is currently on crutches and unable to stand for very long.

I’m hoping 2013 will be a better year, whereby I get a job, Alan gets a permanent job and my sister stops putting on a front and picks herself up. Anywho, I thought I would put some pictures up the fun we did have around Christmas!

Nat & I at our cousin’s 40th Birthday Party

Christmas Day

Alan with his socks

Nat

Bonnie attempting to get into her treats

Action shot

Rob & I with my new Fossil bag

Mum, Nat & I

New Macro Lens

Christmas Dinner Table

Christmas Dinner

Stuffed to the max!

Also stuffed!

Dad’s Birthday

NYE

NYE

NYE

NYE

NYE – Nat & I

NYE – Nat, Mum & I

NYE – Nat & Rob

Nat’s Birthday

Nightingale Pub, Worcester

Birthday Girl

Log Fire

Birthday Girl

Playing Mum – Slow Cooked Beef

New Experience – Mum shopping in Cribbs

Nat, Mum & I at Zizzi

Alan, Dad & Rob at Zizzi

Nat & Dad’s Birthday Meals at Zizzi

Alan struggling up Cleeve Hill

Testing out the new Hunters

Top of Cleeve Hill

Alan & I up Cleeve Hill

And finally the snow has arrived! I’m hoping it’ll still be around tomorrow as I will be dragging Alan sledging – 23 isn’t too old to go sledging is it…? I was like a little kid when I saw the fluffy white roofs – hope everyone is enjoying their Snow Day.

Road Tripping – Sheffield

This weekend my mum and I went up to visit my sister in Sheffield where she is studying for her degree. The weekend mainly consisted of eating and shopping. We arrived around 6pm after an extra long journey of ridiculous traffic and got a little tour of Nat’s new living quarters.

After a little freshening up we headed out to some of the local Restaurants and Eateries that were within walking distance of where we were staying. The city is bursting with students, which has obviously brought in a lot of money and funding – they seem to cater for them wherever you go.

We decided to fill our bellies in an Italian restaurant called, Nonna’s. We had some lovely bread to start with, accompanied by Olive Oil and Balsamic Vinegar. For mains I had the Lasagne, Nat had the Meatballs and mum had the Lamb – all very delicious.

The atmosphere is also warm and friendly, with the staff being very tentative to your needs. If you are in Sheffield, I would definitely recommend it.

The following day we went shopping in Meadowhall – it is a huge shopping centre, with I think every shop you would ever need. We somehow managed to spend 9 hours there! I was knackered after about 4 hours, but mum and sister can just keep on shopping. Although in that 4 hours I managed to buy a top from Zara, some Accessorize earrings, some leather gloves, a pair of really nice boots (I will blog about them soon) and a christmas present for mum. That’s good for me! My mum and sister were also shopping for New Year’s Eve dresses and tried a couple on.

They were part of Kelly Brook’s new range in New Look, but weren’t the best of quality as the sequins were already falling off!

After a LONG day and having thoroughly walked off all the food we had eaten the night before and during the day, we went off in search of a place to rest our feet and fill our stomachs again. We originally decided on an area near the shopping centre however it was so jam packed, there was no hope of getting a parking space so we headed nearer to Nat’s digs and found somewhere there.

We opted for an Indian this time, which definitely hit the spot. We had some poppadoms to start along with the pickles and dips, then I went for the Chicken Jalfrezi, Nat had the Butter Chicken and Mum went for something a little healthier. Oh and some Peshwari Naan. Indian has to be one of my favourite foods, so much flavour and spice – I like to think the spicier it is, the less it’ll effect my waistline…

After the meal we headed back to the flat and enjoyed a hot drink whilst admiring Nat’s amazing view of the city from her bedroom. I took a picture on my phone, but it doesn’t really do it justice.

We hopped into bed, preparing ourselves for the drive back in the morning. Nat played a great host and was lovely spending a girly weekend with both her and mum. She’s back to Cheltenham next weekend for another one, as the town is turning on the Christmas lights. Bring on the German Hotdogs, Crepes and Christmas Markets!

For now I’m back on the job hunt, well I should be but a little madam keeps getting in the way. I think she must enjoy having me at home more.

Road tripping – Milton Keynes

It’s been a while since I last blogged, I’ve been slightly distracted and concentrating on other things. At the end of October I got made redundant and I am now on a manic hunt for a job. Not really ideal timing, what with Christmas coming up but I’ve decided to see this as an opportunity to really put all my effort into securing a design job. So if anyone knows of any more, please pass them my way!

With my ‘working’ week now being filled with visiting recruitment companies and constantly checking Reed.com and GlosJobs, getting out of the house at weekends is a much appreciated break.

Last weekend, Alan and I went to visit my Uni friends Jamie and Kay and their new little buddle of joy, Darcie. This was my first meeting of Darcie and she was just as adorable and squeezable as her pictures! Jamie and Kay have obviously done a great job as she is such a happy little girl, so well behaved too considering we did a lot of wandering around shops all day. We met in Milton Keynes, at the MK Centre as it is half way between Cheltenham and Norfolk.

We did a lot of walking around the shops, stopping for drinks and sandwiches along the way – we also checked out the inside ski slopes, that look like great fun. Our final stop was at Jamies Italian where we had some dinner and well deserved rest – the food was delicious. I would definitely recommend the tagliatelle bolognese, I get it every time.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perfect little family, so happy for them both. I wish they lived closer, I would be bugging Kay all the time, especially if I got extra cuddles with Darcie – Kay may be allowed one too  Had such a lovely day, hadn’t seen Kay and Jamie in over a year, so it was a very much needed catch up! Can’t wait until next time.

Laser Teeth Whitening

I few months ago I saw an offer of half price Laser Teeth Whitening at a local spa – I was tempted but resisted as I couldn’t really afford such luxuries after having moved out of my parent’s house.

Then a couple of weeks ago a Groupon offer popped up that offered the service for only £29.50 at the same spa. I bought it without hesitation.

I finally managed to get an appointment booked in last Saturday so put off my lie in until Sunday and went in on the morning. The company I went to is called ‘All Your Life’, with branches in Cheltenham and Swindon. They offer anything from makeovers, teeth whitening, spas and medical cosmetics. Check out their website here.

After filling out all the health and safety sheets and reading the endless list of foods and drinks I couldn’t eat for the next 48 hours, I was taken down to one of the spa rooms. Having a slight fear of the dentists, I was pleasantly surprised to find myself in a relaxing room with coloured walls and soothing music – a complete contrast to what you’d find in a dentist surgery.

For the ‘procedure’ you need to wear a really attractive mouth guard that separates the top and bottom teeth, making sure all the teeth can be seen and a pair of huge red tinted glasses. Any saliva on the teeth is removed and then a coating of a gel-like substance is applied. The laser lamp is then positioned directly over the top of the teeth and I was left alone for 15 minutes, trying not to fall asleep to the calming music.

Below are images before and after the whitening.

My teeth weren’t all that bad before and the difference isn’t probably as dramatic as I would have liked – however I apparently have some floride issues on my teeth, which I should probably see the dentist about that have hinder the process slightly. The treatment was also only 15 minutes long so I imagine if it had been just another 15 minutes the results would have been a lot better.

Overall for under £30.00 I am satisfied with the end result – but in all honesty, if the Groupon voucher came up again I think I’d save my £30.00 and go buy a nice top instead.

Shaken, Stirred and ready for a night in.

Blogging had to be put on the back burner this week as I haven’t had a night in since last Tuesday. The week consisted of having my Bridesmaid Dress fitting, much needed catch ups with friends and my brother’s 18th Birthday – I’ve never been so sociable!

My brother isn’t much a clubber, (and neither are his two sisters) it may be because he dabbled in it before he turned the grand old age of 18. Slightly illegal I know – in defence of the clubs, he could easily pass for someone 20+ years old. So for his birthday we spread it over two evenings, the first involving a trip to the cinema to see the new James Bond film, Skyfall.

For the exception of my other half, we all really enjoyed it – definitely different to any of the other Bond films. I wasn’t that impressed with Daniel Craig’s previous interpretations of the ladies man but finally fell for his charm in the recent instalment. There is a good amount of British humour throughout, not too much of what I find cringe-worthy loving making scenes and the right amount of action and explosions that keep it ultimately Bond. The films antagonist Silva played by Javier Bardem is almost loveable too. Definitely a must see!

The following day the family and I went on a shopping trip to Cribbs Causeway, another of Bristol’s shopping centres. It has nothing on Cabots Circus (Bristol’s other shopping Centre) but offers a large John Lewis store. Mum can take advantage of a generous discount with my brother being a partner at our local Waitrose store.

Once we returned home it wasn’t long before we had to spruce ourselves up for more birthday celebrations.

Mum had booked a table at Hotel Du Vin in Cheltenham – there are others dotted around the country, which you can find here.

Last time we came, I didn’t even notice the chandelier was made from wine glasses.

The hotel has a lovely atmosphere, it is decorated with wine bottles everywhere and what looks like grape vines you would find in a vineyard. We had all been before for my sister’s 18th a few years ago so knew we were in for a treat. We ordered various cocktails, wines and local beers to get started before we delved into the menu.

Mine was a vanilla and strawberry mojito – lovely!

They offer a substantial sized menu giving you plenty of choice, keeping everyone happy.

I had the crab as a starter, as did a couple of others.

Before the mains arrived, Rob was presented a couple more gifts for his birthday – ones to to mark the milestone including a fossil leather wallet and a leather bracelet.

Anyway, back to the food.

I had Monkfish for mains which was gorgeous. It had a creamy sauce with small mushrooms and these tiny picked onions layered on a potato pattie – which all worked strangely well together. Alan had the Bistro Burger, which was pretty mammouth that had a lovely barbecued flavour to it.

I was done by the end of my main but others enjoyed lacquer coffees and desserts.

Overall I really enjoyed the food, some of it was slightly over seasoned, for example the chips were generously doused in salt and the carrots were a bit too sweet – others may like that but we all felt it overpowered some of the other flavours of the dishes. The hotel has a lovely atmosphere and most of us really liked the food – I would just suggest they watch the salt content.

On the Sunday we went for a walk up Cleeve Hill to walk off all the food, then later Alan and I went bowling with some friends. I actually managed to win a game! Complete shocker for me and probably everyone else.

Hope you had a nice weekend. I am quite looking forward to my night in tonight.