On Taste of London 2017

Have you ever been to Taste of London Festival? It is so good! It is rated as being one of the best Food Festivals in London and definitely deserves that title (I haven't been to any others but I ended up going to this one two days running and was not at all disappointed so I feel I am safe in giving my opinion here). 

As with all festivals, you buy a ticket and then have free reign throughout the event. It is basically stalls and stalls and stalls of food and drink. Held in Regent's Park it is of course in a great location and easy to get to.

There are samples galore. You can go most of the day without actually spending that much and still feeling full. Nearly every stall has samples of some kind or are giving away something free. All in the name of promotion and deliciousness! 

Then there are the plates you can buy. They are around £4-12 for a dish and are so good. Each of the restaurants there does some of their signature dishes (on small scale and takeaway plates so you can gorge on everything) and some fancier ones especially for the Festival. There are differrent dishes across the days. These are so good. We tried one of our favourite restaurants, Balls and Company as they had Squid Ink dishes which we hadn't tried. I could not recommend enough! There are restaurants such as Temper that become so much more accessible to try. The cocktails are incredible as well. You could get ones in a whole pineapple! 

There is a whole range of food and bevbevs and something to please everyone.

The Festival is over for this year, but definitely go next year! We ended up going both Saturday and Sunday (long story) and loved both days!

It's definitely a lot of fun in a group. I would say that it is not reeeeally the best place for children; the majority of the beverages there are alcholic. 

Speaking of; did I mention the masterclasses? We did a Gin one with Sipsmith (free!) and it was incredible! You can learn so much.

And there are all the food masterclasses and shows and all the fancy stuff. We did a 'Become your own Barista' class with illy; I was abismal. You can see my latte up above; but it tasted good! There are also a load of start ups meaning that you get to try brand new products. 

It's a really great day out and I will be reminding you all to go next year if you are a foodie (or drinkie...)

Would you go?

xoxo

Lent

It was pancake day. We went to my friend's flat for pancakes (savoury pork and mango ones which, were AMAZING, and I don't even like mango). On their notice board they had a list of what everyone had given up for lent and the weeks. As well as cute little drawings to move themselves along the timeline.
I thought this was a great idea and then realised that I hadn't planned to give anything up this year. Then the boyf said, 'You should give up Pepsi Max'

...

For anyone that knows me, then they will know of my love of Pepsi Max. If I get a meal deal, my beverage of choice will be Pepsi Max. If I have a beverage craving, it will be for Pepsi Max. If I'm re-using a bottle, it will be a Pepsi Max bottle.

To be fair, he had a point.

So I said, 'You should give up biscuits.'

To which he had the same response.

So together we have embarked on the struggle that is giving up something you indulge in maybe a bit too much for 40 days and 40 nights.

There have been the withdrawel symptons 10 days in. 

There was the relapse weekend following being up for 26 hours as a result of having to take the boyf to A&E. Only Pepsi Diet was available, which had to do. But it is NOT the same,

Some McDonald's diet coke also ended up in the mix.

Normally I give up everything sweet for lent, but seeing as I rarely eat sweet things now anyway, the Pepsi Max is definitely proving a greater struggle. (It also includes all fizzy drinks except for tonic; I was not giving up G&Ts, no sir). 

With 16 more days to go, we are over halfway!

If you've given up anything for Lent, we are in the struggle together!

(And maybe keep in mind the actual meaning as well, whether you're religious or not, it's about testing yourself and proving to yourself that maybe you don't actually need all these things. The test is even more real when the boyf writes on Pepsi Max bottle on your desk (see above) a line around the remaining liquid with the caption 'You better not go under the line'.)
Never has water tasted so good.

Have you given anything up for Lent?

xoxo

Fabulous Food with lovely Friends | Oxo Tower

This post does actually come a fair while after my visit to the Oxo Tower for dinner and cocktails, however it is msot definitely better late than never!
I was invited to go by some wonderful friends of mine and it was a wonderful night. I had a mojito, some sort of fruity beverage with a champagne chaser, squid (actual tentacles!!!!), pork cutlet and a white chocolate, cherry and (I think coconut...) mousse.
Not only was the place wonderful, but the food and drinks were, the view were and best of all, the company!

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures and got some inspiritation for a great night out!

xoxo

A Day In the Life #2 || Birmingham Christmas Market and The Nutcracker!

So last weekend with the lovely dancing girls, (which if at any point I mention CMD (Classical and Modern Dance) that's who I mean) went for a trip to Birmingham to the Christmas Market and to then see Birmingham Royal Ballet's Nutcracker!
It was such a lovely day and everyone had a great time. The Market was sooo much bigger than I was expecting! I haven't ever been properly to Birmingham so it was all a new experience for me. ME and my lovely new friend Charlotte got some mulled wine in the most adorable cups (which we then kept!). We tried some tiny little pancakes (sadly my camera memory ran out at this point so no photos of them :( ). I had mine with vanilla and cherries with icing sugar on top; they were heavenly.
I absolutely adore watching ballet performances, a love which probably came partly from my sister as she always used to take to the Royal Opera House to see various performances. I had only previously seen Matthew Bourne's Nutcracker so was beyond excited to see a traditional version. I was by no means disappointed! Karla Doorbar played Clara, one of the main parts and she was amazing!.
The whole day was lovely and it made me feel really festive and excited for Christmas! I am now going to apologise for the picture heavy content coming up...which will have been cut down!

 Mulled Wine!

What are your plans for Christmas?

xoxo