Tag: chips

Christmas Party Silly Season

December 16, 2024

With just over a week to go until Christmas Day, silly season is well and truly in full swing! Last week I had two Christmas parties in London with work, so I thought I’d share with you what we got up to and how we got into the jolly festive spirit.

Last Tuesday was our member’s Christmas Social event at Hijingo Bingo in Shoreditch. We chose this activity as something different and immersive to mix up the usual networking format.

Starting at 11:30am, guests enjoyed drinks in the bar until they were ushered through the illuminated tunnel and seated in the main room for bingo.

Unlike typical bingo, there are dancers and a ‘bot’ who introduces each game and explains the rules as well as the prizes up for grabs. From a holiday for two or up to £500 cash, the prizes were very desirable and got everyone enthusiastic to play the games.

After the first few games there was a break for food served in the main room. This was a selection of festive inspired bites including pigs in blankets with a miso maple glaze, and turkey roulade with a cranberry puree.

The second round of games commenced before the event concluded at 2:30pm. Short but sweet, the bingo games were great fun and we had fantastic feedback from our guests who really enjoyed the afternoon.

I’d highly recommend Hijingo Bingo as a venue not just for the fun and immersive bingo experience, but also for the brilliant management team who were very well organised, super friendly and worked hard to deliver our event seamlessly – https://www.hijingo.com

Moving onto our second festive party of the week, on Thursday we went back to Shoreditch for our staff party at an escape room followed by a dinner. We met at BOXPARK beforehand and enjoyed some street food for lunch, as well as a few drinks to kick off celebrations.

At 2:30pm we were booked for our session at the escape rooms at which point we split into our teams and were assigned our rooms. My team’s room had the theme of time travel and our mission was to travel back in time to Paris to locate the weapon used for a murder. We all got very into the story and enjoyed the challenge of solving the mystery as a team.

Our dinner reservation at 5pm was for a pasta restaurant called Noci in Shoreditch. To start I had the endive salad with grapes, walnuts and a pistachio dressing which although was a generous portion for an entree, was still the perfect light bite to begin the meal.

My pasta of choice for the main course was strozzapreti with tomato, taggiasca olives, fried aubergine and a vegan cream cheese on top. The pasta was deliciously fresh, the sauce was very tasty and everything was served nice and hot.

For dessert I had the plant-based chocolate mousse with olive oil, sea salt and toasted almonds, a gorgeously rich and chocolatey note to finish on – https://nocirestaurant.co.uk

The night continued on at another bar in Shoreditch where the drinks continued to flow and we had a very merry time indeed. Needless to say, we know how to live up to the fun and games of silly season!

Brighton; Coronation Celebrations & Tattoo No.2

May 8, 2023

With another bank holiday long weekend ahead of us, we decided to make the most of it and go for a mini staycay to the wonderful city of Brighton. Being one of the most iconic seaside cities in the UK, I couldn’t think of a better place to spend the King’s coronation weekend.

Arriving on Saturday afternoon at the Ibis City Centre Hotel, we were greeted with union jack balloons and a welcome gift of prosecco ready on ice with traditional popcorn too.

With our King now crowned and the night of celebrations ahead of us, we popped our prosecco and sipped our bubbles whilst taking in that fantastic view we had over the maze of a bustling Brighton town centre.

Keeping things very English themed, we headed to The Ivy for dinner. I wore my H&M slit hem leggings paired with these ASOS lace front heels, this Next oversized camel blazer and an emerald green silk wrap top as a subtle nod to the royal events of the weekend.

We always have a fabulous time at The Ivy Collection restaurants and our experience here at The Ivy in the Lanes certainly didn’t disappoint.

The opulent artwork and eclectic interiors of The Ivy create that elevated ambience, which is of course is matched with the impeccable service and top tier food.

We can’t visit The Ivy and not get their salt crusted sourdough to start, it’s simply divine. A bowl of olives and a bottle of wine flowing too, I was in my happy place ready for a fun night ahead.

For mains I ordered the blackened cod baked in a banana leaf with soy marinade, citrus-pickled fennel, yuzu and herb sauce served with broccoli, whilst my boyfriend had the chef’s special sirloin steak served with peppercorn sauce and fries.

Upon recommendation from our lovely waiter, we went for post dinner drinks at a bar called The Font in the Lanes, before heading back to the hotel for a good nights sleep.

Sunday morning we took a stroll around the Lanes exploring all the awesome vintage shops before grabbing burritos at Chipotle.

That afternoon we enjoyed some coffees at this cool cafe Bread & Milk whilst discussing options for my tattoo.

I’ve been wanting a wave tattoo on my ankle for some time now, so being in Brighton where there are so many tattoo shops and of course being by the sea, it was the perfect opportunity to finally get my 2nd ink.

We’d come across this tattoo shop Skinned Alive on our way to lunch earlier and enquired about my fine line tattoo. Being one of the top rated tattoo places in Brighton I couldn’t go wrong and I got a good vibe from the guys working there.

I showed them my inspiration and explained where I wanted it on my ankle, before the tattooist drew up my design which I then worked with him to get just right.

So with my stencil finalised and my placement agreed, I got seated in the chair ready for my 2nd tattoo!

It couldn’t have taken any longer than 10 minutes and not too painful on the whole, although I felt it more than my wrist tattoo as this was right on the ankle bone.

Ankle wrapped to protect the fresh tattoo, I couldn’t be happier with my 2nd ink. Thanks to the guys at Skinned Alive who made the experience so positive and ensured I had the perfect placement and design I had envisioned for the wave.

Early Sunday evening the skies were finally blue and the sun was shining, so we headed for the seafront via my favourite corner of Brighton, Dukes Lane.

The vibes were high at the beach bars as everyone embraced the bank holiday weekend and soaked up the early evening sunshine as music played and drinks were in full flow.

Having been on our feet all day, we grabbed an early dinner at a Greek restaurant called Adelfia. I was craving lots of veggies and hummus, so I had a big bowl of traditional Greek salad with pitta and hummus to share, paired with a crisp white wine from Greece; exquisite.

We finished our evening with a sunset stroll along the seafront and a walk down the pier lit up in all its glory at night. That concluded another brilliant weekend away exploring the best of Brighton life which we continue to love every time we come back to visit ❤

Howdy Summer; Cowboy Boot Moment

July 10, 2022

The UK sun is here to stay as it’s set to be a scorching few weeks of glorious sunshine ahead. So with the first heatwave this weekend, I booked an al fresco dinner date with my boyfriend at the Bel and the Dragon in Odiham.

Cowboy boots are having a major comeback and I’m here for it! I finally got a pair from Stradivarius and I’m obsessed; they go with everything from jeans and shorts, to cute dresses and skirts.

With it being almost thirty degrees on Saturday, I paired my boots with denim shorts, a white tank and my oversized Jaeger blazer to keep the chill off my shoulders later into the evening.

We sat outside in the quaint courtyard of the pub which was buzzing on this stunning summers day. I enjoyed a crisp glass of white wine as we browsed the menu and soaked up the wonderful atmosphere.

For dinner I chose a delicious linguine of Devon crab served with spring onions and chopped chilli & garlic, whilst my boyfriend had the grilled 9oz Hampshire ribeye steak medium-rare served with triple-cooked chips and peppercorn sauce.

We also shared a side of roasted broccoli with chilli and garlic. The food was exquisite and the service impeccable, definitely a step-up from your average pub and it felt like such a treat. Very satisfied customers indeed.

We enjoyed another drink together there in the final hours of daylight before heading over to another pub for more drinks with friends. A perfect little summer’s date night with my boyfriend.

I just love getting dressed up and experimenting with cute outfits for our date nights. I’ve always loved my fashion and so these fun evenings out are a chance to get creative and feel fabulous in my carefully curated wardrobe of clothes – cheers to expressing yourself! ❤