Weekend Brunch with All Bar One.

Brunch is arguably the best meal of the day, mix that in with a Saturday lunch time and you've pretty much described the ideal start to a weekend. So as you can imagine, when All Bar One got in contact and said would I like to try their brunch menu, I jumped at the chance.

I'd been to All Bar One briefly before for a drink or two but I've never eaten food here before so I was very excited about trying it out.

To start with we ordered drinks, Nick opted for a hot chocolate which came with a little pot of smarties (smarties for breakfast, yes please!) and I decided to go for Mango and Passion-fruit juice, which was really fresh and tasty.

Next up was the fun bit, picking which food to devour. There is so much choice I couldn't decide between sweet and savoury which is a debate I have with myself pretty much everyday. Nick went for the full breakfast and I however went for sweet and opted for the pancakes with fruit, bacon and maple syrup.

Firstly Nick's full breakfast looked amazing and the plate was pretty clean by the end of it, so I'm sure that means he enjoyed it, I was tempted to have a little taster myself but I was so stuffed from my pancakes.

The pancakes were amazing, they were so fluffy! I love fluffy pancakes and I really should make them at home for myself. The pancakes came with banana, strawberries and blueberries and I added some bacon to balance out some of the sweetness. I've had bacon and pancakes before and it's the perfect combination, so I delved in. I have to say though that the portion size is huge, 3 pancakes for one person is a challenge, I could only manage 2 and even Nick had a sneaky little try.

I was really impressed with the food and the portion sizes, it kept both of us full until the evening. I also think the pricing is pretty good, we both had a drink and a main each and it was just under £20, which for the portion sizes I think is pretty good.

If I were to eat here again, I'd try the granola or the full English breakfast, although there were some really lovely egg options too!

What are your favourite things to eat for brunch??


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Entertainment Of The Month May 2016

This past month I've spent a lot of time catching up on the films I've wanted to watch since they came out but somehow never quite got around to seeing, it happens to all of us when adult life gets in the way. I've gone ahead and talked more in depth about 4 films this month that I felt were the most note worthy.

The Revenant (2015)

I had heard a lot of great things about this film and it was the film that finally got Leo his Oscar but I'm sad to say I found this film a little disappointing. Firstly I'd like to say that the cinematography in this film is stunning, every scene is beautiful and I cannot find fault with the visuals at all, it genuinely looked like the bear fight was real, however I found it really hard to connect with Leo's character and really feel for him. I'm usually a sucker for my emotions but I didn't have any real emotions for this film, which makes me really sad to say. I think I'll eventually rewatch this film alone without Nick (and not on an airplane) to see if that changes my opinion but for now, it was a very disappointing 3 hours of my life.


Pixels (2015)

This is a very Adam Sandler film with a typical hero formula but I'd heard such bad reviews about this one I wanted to make up my own mind. First thing I want to say is that I grew up loving video games and now am lucky enough to work in the video game industry, so my views might be a teeny bit bias but this film didn't deserve the awful reviews it got. It was very cheesy but what else would you expect from a Sandler film? The plot line was a little far fetched and the visuals were suitably impressive but overall I really enjoyed this. It helped it had two of my favourite actors in it, Josh Gad (Olaf) and Peter Dinkledge, they both always make me laugh. I wouldn't call this a must watch but it wasn't a complete waste of an hour or two.


Jungle book (2016)

I have to admit I haven't been the most enthusiastic about the live action reboots of the Disney films, I think it's because I have such a good memory of them from my childhood I'm scared of them being ruined, so I was quite cautious about seeing this. How very wrong I was. I absolutely loved Junglebook, it appeared a little darker than the originals which I actually quite liked about this, Disney films are quite dark and I thought that it was very well portrayed. The only thing I didn't really enjoy was the snake scene, something about Scarlet Johannsons voice as the snake didn't quite fit properly for me and seemed a little out of place but the casting for the other characters were pretty spot on. I loved the way each of the characters retained their eyes, looking into King Louis eyes was like looking into the face of Christopher Walken. I just hope I remain as pleasantly surprised with the other remakes, specially Beauty and the Beast which is my all time favourite.


Inside out (2015)

I've been meaning to watch this for absolutely ages and I have to say I think this film is perfect. The film follows the life of a little girl from birth but from the emotions in her head, the memories she creates and just generally growing up. I cried for pretty much the entirety of this film and it's such a beautiful and creative way to help children understand their emotions. It's films like this that makes me visualise sitting with my own kids, watching this and hoping it helps them understand themselves a little better. It just makes me feel like this film might one day help me and my kids be a little more honest and open with each other, which is pretty impressive to get from a film. I highly recommend you watch this, children or no children.


I have also watched a bunch of other stuff this month but I really felt like these were the ones worth discussing. I'm hoping next month will have a few new additions too as we plan on going to see the new Xmen Apocolypse film at the start of June and I'll be ticking a few films off my 'been meaning to watch for ages' list.

Besides TV and Film I've been listening to lots of Podcasts, I wrote about My Current Top 5 Favourite Podcasts here earlier this month, I really enjoy listening to them at work as it helps pass the time.

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Relaxing Coffee Lunch at Steam Yard.

I've been lusting over the doughnuts at Steam Yard in Sheffield for approximately for-ev-er and when Ocean Loans got in contact with me to work on a relaxing post, I knew immediately where I wanted to go.

I love exploring new places and I couldn't think of a better thing to do than sit chatting with Nick over some amazing food and drinks, so we took a stroll up to Steam Yard one lunch time to just chill out in what is pretty much my new favourite place.

I find it quite easy to slip into the same old routine and the daily grind of going to work, coming home, cooking some food and before you know it, it's time to go to bed and repeat the entire process. I find little adventures out like this really bring you back into balance and re-connects you with the people around you. Nick and I quite literally spend 24/7 with each other because we work together, so it can be quite easy to forget to take some time out as a couple to do something different.

What better way to do that than over some food and drink, right? Like i'd mentioned earlier, I was drawn to this place by the amazing selection of doughnuts, including a range of  'fro-nuts' which have frozen ice-cream in the middle (totally coming back for one of these over the summer). But on this occasion I decided to go for the glorious 'S'mores Doughnut' which consisted of marshmallows, peanut butter and Nutella all toasted slightly so they melted together. I have to say this was pretty good but I couldn't finish the entire thing, it's basically an oozey mountain of sugary goodness.

Nick opted for a 3 cheese toasted sandwich because I'm the sweet toothed one out of the two of us and we decided to share a hot chocolate, which looked as beautiful as you would expect from a coffee place now days.

I have to give a shout out to the interior of this place too, it's very cool. Lots of wood, decals on the walls and I loved pretty much everything about the interiors, I could imagine being one of those people that bring a laptop to write things in here and look ridiculously pretentious with peanut butter smeared all over my face.

I can't wait to go back again over the summer and relax on one of the benches in the courtyard with a cup of coffee and a fronut!

How do you like to relax in your spare time?

My Current Top 5 Favourite Podcasts.

Up until about 6 months ago I only had a couple of Podcasts in my subscription list however recently my list has grown so much I struggle to listen to them all! Listening to something whilst working really helps me concentrate and zone out background noise and of course it also helps that they are funny and entertaining!

As I found these podcasts from various different places, I thought I'd bring them together in one post so I can tell you all about my current top 5 favourite podcasts.

01 My Dad Wrote A Porno.
I know this is an old one but I've only recently discovered it. This one is pretty self explanatory, someones dad wrote an erotic novel and he reads it out loud with his friends, much to his awkward amusement. This is really easy to listen to and probably shouldn't be listened to at work but it's been keeping me giggling to myself for hours.


02 A Cast of Kings - A Game of Thrones Podcast.
One of my favourite things in life is Game of Thrones and if watching it and chatting about it with anyone that will listen isn't enough, I like to listen to other people talking theories about it too. What's great about this, is that one of the hosts has read the books and one has only seen the TV show, so you get two different views points but without any spoilers. Listening to this on a Tuesday morning is almost as exciting as watching the show on Monday evenings.


03 Jules and Sarah The Podcast.
If you are looking for a pick me up kind of podcast this is perfect for you. Jules and Sarah are both northerners that now live in London but still love everything from up north. This has had me laughing out loud at my desk on multiple occasions and never fails to put a smile on my face. I even get a cheeky shout out at one point that quite literally made my month.


04 The Odd Pear.
When Jemma from Dorkface blog told everyone that she and her boyfriend Gary were starting a podcast I was so excited, I love supporting my fellow blogging ladies and I have to say I actually love this podcast. Each week they pick a topic to talk about and I've loved every single topic so far, from Harry Potter, 90's TV to chatting about serial killers, what's not to love?!


05 Guys We F****d.
This is certainly not safe for work but the pure honesty of this podcast is what I love. Two female comedians talk openly about the men they have slept with and get them on to discuss the encounters. If sex positivity is something you are cool with then this is something fun and interesting to listen to, it's mostly learning about people's lives with a dash of boning, standard.


As I listen to so many podcast I'm thinking about doing another list of podcasts I listen to that inspire and help me with my writing/blogging. There are some really great ones that really leave me feeling inspired and wanting to take on the world so keep your eyes peeled for that post very soon.

I hope you've heard of a couple of  new podcasts from this list and want to check them out, let me know if you listen or enjoy them. Or if you have any new recommendations please please please let me know in the comments because I'm open to a wide variety of topics and would love to add some new ones to my ever growing list!

Sunday Sit Down #8

Blog life.

After listening to a few blogging themed podcasts I've found recently, I've been really inspired and enthusiastic about writing. I've been jotting down all sorts of topics I want to cover here, most of which are very real and down to earth because I feel like I want to spend more time connecting with my viewers and tackling issues I'm passionate about in life. I really enjoy reading posts about real life issues and connecting a little more with another person and if I can do that for someone else, I'd be extremely happy and proud of my blog.

Another exciting front on the blog is that I've joined The City Girls team. The City Girls is run by my friend Holly over on Tea&Blush and she kindly asked me, Aimee and Becki to join the team to bring the events back to life later this year. We're all so very excited to join the team and get cogs turning behind the scenes, so please hang tight for some exciting things later in the year !



Personal life.

At the start of this month I took some big steps with my driving and finally went out on my own without anyone else in the car for the first time ever. I've been slowly getting back into driving and building up my confidence since Christmas and being able to finally go out of my own has felt really really great. The last thing I need to tackle is learning to drive on the motorway then I'll be free as a bird to tackle the roads of the world.

We also both enjoyed 10 days on holiday with Nicks family in Cyprus. This was a much needed holiday and the fact it was with family made it super relaxed with no pressure to go out every night, this meant I spent a lot of time chilling with Nick by the pool, reading books and spending some much needed time away from social media. I wrote two photo diary type posts about Cyprus which you can find Part 1 and Part 2 here. It really makes me want to travel more and explore the world, which I do plan on doing after we've got the big holiday of next year over, our honeymoon!

Then finally, we have more progress on the wedding front in May, which is always very exciting, but I'll be writing a post about that very soon. So keep your eyes peeled for that! I can't quite believe it's only 5 months away now, it seems to be equally flying by and dragging!

I'm off to drink lots of fruit tea in front of the telly and spend the day relaxing, ahhh sundays.

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When My Period Gots Me Feeling Low.

Today I am in the undeniable grip of my period.

My Cyprus Photo Diary Part 2.

As some of you already know from reading Part 1, I recently got back from 10 days in Cyprus visiting family. We had some relaxing days and some adventure days and this set of photos are from the second half of the holiday.

They start with photographs from the long drive up to the top of the Trodos Mountains, with a pit stop at a monastery. There is a couple of images from the very top of Mt Olympus, which you can see all the way into Turkey! On the drive back down the other side of the mountain we stopped off in a beautiful little village and ate at a lovely restaurant. Then towards the end we rented a boat and went out into bays, the water was the most beautiful shade of blue I've ever seen! On the second to last day we went walking in a gorge, which was so much cooler than we expected and had a couple of drinks in a sweet little restaurant on the edge, I loved the canopy growing over the top, such a cute garden feel. Then the last one is of Nick messing around on a little pier, I thought it was a cute little shot to throw in at the end.

I really hope you enjoyed looking at my little photo diary, I took SO many more but I decided to share the more picturesque shots.

Let me know if you want any more details on locations and names!

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My Cyprus Photo Diary Part 1.

I recently got back from 10 days in Cyprus with Nick. For those that haven't been around on the blog for long, Nicks mum retired out there last year and this has been the first time we've seen her in over 6 months! So although this was a holiday, it was also time to just relax and spend time with family, so we had a really good balance of relaxing days and adventuring days..

I took so many photo's that I've actually had to split this up into two parts because I don't want to bombard you with too many photo's! These first set of photos start in an abandoned village, views from hill top villages, The Beach and then a really red sunset. All of these are taken on my iPhone 6s, so they aren't amazing quality but I hope you enjoy!

Part 2 will be up in a couple of days time with lots more adventure photo's, so keep your eyes peeled for that one!

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Guess who's back!

Hello everyone!

I got back from holiday yesterday and I have to admit that I've missed writing over the past couple of weeks so I thought I'd do a little post to say I'm back and I'll be back to full blog schedule soon.

I can't wait to share with you all of my holiday adventures, photo's and whatnot. I also can't wait to get back into sharing more of everything else too, I have a few ideas whirling around already !

This is a short and sweet post but just wanted to say I'm back and have missed you guys!
Talk soon!

Interiors: Some New Additions.

Since getting our new sofa I've fallen head over heels in love with my lounge. Although I didn't need anymore encouragement to find pieces to make it homely, I'm constantly on the look out to find some new additions

So before I delve into the new stuff, why not catch up with My Lounge Staple Pieces so you are caught up with the last purchases I made.

Happy 1st Birthday Blog!

As I'm typing this I still can't quite believe that I've managed to keep up blogging for the past year. I've been a huge reader of blogs for years, I've dabbled in and out for many years and now I have one that's a year old and I couldn't be prouder *pats self on back*.

 I think that's quite impressive if I do say so myself!

Image Source: http://www.happybirthdaycake2015.com/happy-birthday-cupcakes-images.html

This little piece of the web has come a long way since my first post, my photography has improved drastically, my writing style and structure has very much been streamlined to a place that I'm happy with but most of all this blog has become an extension of myself and everything I enjoy in life. From watching countless hours on Netflix, to the new clothes I buy, the LUSH goodies I've splurged on or sharing my thoughts on important issues like buying our first home or planning my wedding, it really is a place that I can talk freely about things I care about, which I am very thankful for.

When this post goes live I'll be away on holiday (not smug, honest!) so I'll be taking a mini-break from blogging, but be assured I'll be thinking up amazing content, photograph ideas, adventures and much much more.

So here I'll take the opportunity to thank every single one of you for reading this blog, you've given me the chance to enjoy opportunities I never thought would happen to me, from events, working with brands, tasting glorious food and drink, to meeting amazing people and friends, learning new skills and lastly, enabling all those cheeky purchases. I feel so lucky to be part of a community that is not only growing rapidly, but is supportive, friendly, funny and positive. I know if I need any help, to rant, to ask questions or for someone to blab on about New Girl or Harry Potter with, my twitter followers (and readers) are always around to chat to, which I find incredibly strange but also very re-assuring and comforting.

To all the blogs out there that are just getting started, GO FOR IT, it was honestly one of the best things I have ever done! And to the more established bloggers, thanks for carving the way for us newbies and keep on inspiring us to push through writers block and chase the dream!

We've all got this.

Keep being awesome.

Entertainment of The Month April 2016

April has flown by and I have to admit I haven't binge watched as much TV as normal, I know, what is wrong with me?! We've had some very brutal cliff hangers and the exciting return of an old favourites, with a dash of Podcasts this month, so lets get into it!