Let's all be a little nicer #ShareTheLove ( £60 resturant choice voucher Giveaway) | Jamies Itallian Leeds Review

As a blogger taking part in fun campaigns is always a highlight. Sharing the experiences with friends is even better. The #ShareTheLove is the idea behind intellicig in line with their share a starter kit, to help you and your bestie kick that bad habit together. 

Intellicig have the idea that one little random act of kindness and one small change in your day can really make a big difference to someone else's. Holding a door open, leaving a tip, a fun post it note at work, it's the little things we can do which can help improve someone else day. I'm quite a big believer in kama "what goes around comes around" and all that jazz, but I'd like to think there's some truth in the statement. Coincidently enough before I treated my bestie to a slap up meal (and me a night away from slaving over the cooker super noodles), she treated me to a drink and as such a random stranger gave us a  full bottle of prosecco on his way out the bar (this did look to be the end of some big business celebration) but still it was brilliant timing. 

The random act of kindness of from the generous stranger, did also get me thinking. My friends first reaction was to look shocked then imply he must have an alterer motive, mine was to simply think that was very nice of him. It did make me question though why as a nation we seem to question the generosity of others, I read a while back, there's no such thing as as a selfless act of kindness as we do these acts to gain satisfaction for ourselves by knowing we did something good for someone else (still with me?). I think it's all hoo-haa and been a little nicer to one and other should be welcomed with open arms. 

So let's add a few drunken snaps (wine eyes!) and talk about the meal at Jamie's Italian I treat the bestie too. 

Having already have a good few glasses of prosecco before I arrived at Jamie's Italian was pretty peckish. I choose the Italian Nachos £3.95 to nibble on (crispy fried ravioli stuffed with three cheeses and served with arrabbitata sauce)   

To start with I choose the fresh crab bruchetta, dressed with finely sliced fennel, lemon and chilli £6.70. This was the highlight of my meal and tasted light and fresh. The bestie went for the crispy porcini mushroom arancini £5.50. In the interest of blogging a review we shared both the starters, I wasn't too impressed by the arancini, it tasted a little dry and the sauce overpowered any taste of mushroom. A little disappointing.  

Moving on mains. It was a hard choice what to order as both of out first choices was the osso buco which happened to be sold out. Obviously must of been a good pick. In the end I picked a pasta dish. Obviously skipping the my fitness pal log on this evening. Laura choose a classic burger (I knew she would!). The Jamie's Italian Burger £10.95 a classic British beef burger topped with mozzarella, onions, tomato, pickles and chilli served with chips, looks mouth watering, I typically don't order burgers (in non burger restaurants) as I find it a dull option although it looked pretty good and I was impressed it came with chips. What's the deal with buying the chips as an extra now a days. 

I went for a pasta option of Jamie's Sausage Pappardelle £11.95 main £6.95 starter. A ragu of slow cooked fennel and free range pork sausage with torrione chianti, parmesan and herby bread crumbs.  As nice as the ragu tasted I felt let down by the dish, the pasta was overcooked and despite Jamie been the apparent king of school dinners the over cooked pasta seemed more suited to a primary school than a fine dining establishment. 

Now i'm going to shock you all when I reveal I had a desert. I'm a desert hater and hate the sweets but since I was sharing the love with my friend I thought I'd go all out and treat myself that extra mile too. 

The campaign really got me thinking how I can share the love with others more. A nice opportunity came about at work where a colleague has been collecting toiletries/beauty bits for young people in hostels and so I thought I'd use the opportunity to bring in all my unopened beauty bits (I've literally draw's full) and donate them as I know that small gesture from myself will have a huge impact for someone. 

How can you share the love? My suggestions:

The British classic...make someone a cup of tea

Hold a door open

Smile

Enter the give away below and treat a loved one

To share the love back I'm giving away £60.00 worth of RestaurantChoice vouchers for you to #ShareTheLove 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Sammie

*campaign in collaboration with intellicig*

Lush Christmas shower gel range 2014

Snow Fairy is back! Therefore It's officially ok for me to mention christmasy things...again! Plus round 2 of me talking about Lush. You may have noticed I like doing this by now. Since I'm one of the millions of poor gal's in UK who lives in a shower only household (fact may not be accurate) then for me Lush isn't about the bath bombs and bubble bars, it's finding those extra treats suitable for myself. 

Now I do still love a good bath, I had one a few weeks ago, although after burning my big toe on the hot tap, for now I'm going to stick with showers. Wasn't that the most awkward sentence ever....I had a bath a few weeks ago. Great line in a blog there. 

This year Lush have launched a few new additions to their Christmas "non bath" so i'm going to give you a little insight. 

New Hot Toddy Shower Gel 100g £3.95

A new addition this year is the Hot Toddy Shower Gel. Inspired by the drink it's self and designed to whisk you away to sitting in front of a log fire with a good book is a welcomed addition to the range this year. With its gold glimmer and scent of ginger, cinnamon and zesty orange it's defiantly a warming scent perfect for warming up the cold evenings. 

Rose Jam Shower Gel 100g £4.75

Defiantly a favourite of mine last year and this still reminds me of Turkish delight. With a rose scent and conditioning argan oil it's I find this perfect for those pre bedtime showers. 

Snow Fairy Shower Gel 100g £3.75

I don't think much needs to be said on this product. Candy scented, sweet and a great morning product. I'd go as far as saying knowing I can have a snow fairy shower gets me out of bed that little bit earlier. 

New So White Shower Gel 100g £4.50

A new product! Eeek. This is the new apple infused shower gel, inspired by the same scent as the So White bath bomb and the poison apple of the pantomime classic snow white. With a little glitter in the product adding a little sparkle and a crisp apple scent is something im sure will appeal to a lot of people, however I would say this is my least favourite of the range, for me the scent doesn't quite seem "lush" enough. 

New First Snow Dusting Powder 30g £4.75

I love the lush dusting powders, they in a sense make talcum power cool again. The shimmer in the first snow product isn't really practical but I find this great for adding a shimmer to my skin before a night out. 

Sammie

@LilBlondeLife

Mad Hatters afternoon tea party | Cedar Court Grand York Hotel

If your a regular reader of my blog you will know I've recently become a fan of that good old English tradition of afternoon tea. Delicate sandwiches, delicious cakes, tea and the sophisticated feeling, is something every gal (and guy) should experience at least once. After Kel introduced me to my first afternoon tea (read here) I instantly understood why afternoon tea is such an English tradition and such a special little treat. Therefore when I was invited to the Mad Hatters afternoon tea, something which appeared quite enchanting (and with a price tag of £33.00) I had high expectations.  

We all arrived on time at 3pm and was shown into the dining hall, the tables were set neatly and I was excited to see just what creations were in store. The table settings were perfect and I was very impressed by the little touches on the table, how adorable are the mini milk churns. 

The waiter brought over the "drink me" yoghurt drinks which was pineapple flavoured, it was delicious and tasted a little like cheese cake, the waiter also took our orders of tea and coffee. The "drink me" drink was small but just enough as it was rather sweet. 

Tea and coffee arrived, I did not that everyone on the table who ordered tea had an individual tea pot but the coffee drinkers had to share one, this wasn't a big complaint but you all know I'm a little fuss pot. 

The waiter bought us out scones for the table which were nice and warm and everyone enjoyed these, we were then told to start enjoying the display of enchanting food. I was really quite shocked that the event was a glorified buffet, not the traditional cake and sandwich stands served at the tables. 

At £33.00 (one of the most expensive afternoon tea's in Yorkshire) I was expecting something special which included table service, not a help yourself, everyone piling up their plates just in case they may miss out on one of the treats, buffet! It really took away the concept of an afternoon tea. I was expecting sophistication and something magical not a buffet with a few props. Buffets are for children's birthday parties, not afternoon tea at 5 star hotels. 

I'll begin with the "sandwiches" which were in fact little rolled up wraps. There was a good choice of salmon, cream cheese and cucumber, egg, smoked chicken and ham. However the "wraps" tasted gloopy and claggy and it was hard to actually know what you was eating as all I could taste was the dough. Been a savoury person the sandwiches are usually my favourite at afternoon tea and this was exceptionally disappointing. I can understand wanting to make them a little different for the theme of the day, however it appeared taste quality didn't cross anyone's minds. 

Since there was such display of wonderful hand crafted deserts I thought this would be the highlight and wavered my disappointment from the dough tasting wraps. I was wrong, starting with the displayed cups of what appeared to be a green drinks was in fact a strawberry and vanilla tasting (almost panacotta like) creamy mouse. This was quite simply the sweetest thing I had ever tasted and was far to sweet to eat to the point it was inedible. 

Moving on to the white chocolate and raspberry truffle pop things, there were even worse.To the point it was now becoming a joke at the table, its more edible than the cake, less edible than the green cup. After trying the chocolate cakes, the macaroon mushrooms and the white chocolate candles I feel would of given the healthiest of person diabetes. It was pretty clear the display was there to look good and it seemed actual taste was thrown out the window. 

The only edible concoction on the table appeared to the be "queen of hearts strawberry jelly" which in fact contained pieces of fresh raspberry, not strawberry and tasted fairly bland. 

It may have been a good thing that the deserts proofed to be non-edible as after 10 minuets it was only then the waitress came to warn one member of the group with a nut allergy some of the "cakes" contained nuts! I think checking if anyone was diabetic would of also been appropriate. 

As a whole the hotel was stunning and I could see the idea behind the theme of the afternoon tea was good just not executed at all well. At £33.00 per person there are defiantly much better afternoon tea's to be had. Maybe the idea of afternoon tea needs to stay simple and elegant, I think to pull of a Mad Hatters tea party there needs to be some exceptional skills in presentation and taste which this unfortunately lacked. 

Sammie

@LilBlondeSammie

Distrikt Leeds tapas review

Tapas has been on my "to eat" list for a while, now I've eaten tapas on many occasions and it's right up there as one of my favourite forms of dining, mainly because I'm indecisive and have eyes bigger than my belly so been able to select a whole array of dishes with no questions asked is very much perfect for me.  It also makes it perfect for sharing with friends, so this week I headed of to Distrikt in Leeds with a few of my favourites to celebrate Jess's Birthday, the fact it was half price on Wednesday's made it a great choice. 

The down side often with tapas is going with a picky friends who can't decide what to order, god forbid you order a dish that one person might not eat. However luckily this bunch aren't that fussy so it made for an enjoyable night of food, food and more food. 

When It came to ordering we had obviously put together quite a large order, there was 5 of us and the half price deal meant no one had to watch the pennies. The menu was rather small but it had a good array of dishes to choose from. 

I can't remember too much of what we ordered as we decided on one of everything from the menu (with the except of the squid dish, mushroom dish and the cod was sold out and decided on two portions of the goats cheese and beetroot arancini) we then added on some of the light bites of olives and white bait. 

The pictures below show just a little of the delicious dishes that arrived, the Camembert, lamb kefte, sticky ribs, arnacini and pitta with dips. 

I was however disappointed then when the waiter took our order he basically took it from memory, when I asked if he had a pen (which I probably looked rude in doing so anyway, yet it was a large order, he laughed this off). The then meant the order came out wrong. 

There was was only one portion or arancini so some of the group missed out on this, the goats cheese and figs were also missing which I was looking forward to the most. Then there was 3 items on the bill which we hadn't even ordered (one of these we was told was sold out). The staff did corrected this immediately but I couldn't help feel let down that had the waiter used a pen there wouldn't of been any problems. Plus as the dishes drifted out gradually it kind of meant I couldn't settle into the evening as I was constantly glaring at what was arriving knowing the order was wrong. Although in fairness I was the only one of the group to notice.

The food was great value at half price and what we did get was tasty, I think for the table full of dishes (I think a total of 10) we ended up with plus a total of I think 7 soft drinks and 1 cocktail the bill split worked out at £12.00 each which was brilliant value. I can say I would be happy to return again for the excellent value. 

Photos credited to Kel

Remember to comment with any restaurant recommendations.

Sammie

Lush Christmas 2014 range #Lushxmas

I know it's still a little early but you can't help notice the changes in the shops, the darker evenings and for me my morning order of a ginger bread latte is starting to feel a little more justified. Why? Well it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. Apologises now for all of you sat with your head in your heads having just double checked the date yes it is only October but Christmas is coming. for most that's 2 pay days away so if your like me, a little planning goes a long way. 

I'm a massive child at heard and although Christmas means something slightly different now than it did a when I was a little girl I still get pretty excited. All be it I now look forward to singing along to Mariah after a few too many mulled wines, picking out presents for my family and friends, the cold crisp winter mornings and the smell of chestnuts wavering through the city, it's the small things which mean the magical day is on it's way. 

The build up to that big day is what I seem to enjoy the most, the 1st time you see the coca-cola advert, the window displays in the shops changing, the turning on of the city's Christmas lights (all be by someone you have never heard of) and snow fairy comes to lush! 

Lush is certainly a store that fully enters the spirit of Christmas, you may be a massive Lush fan like me or you may just pop in at Christmas without a clue to pick up one or two of their perfectly packaged gifts (I'm looking at the boys here). Yet there's no denying this brand do Christmas and do Christmas well. For me seeing the classic Christmas Snow Fairy shower gel in store is as much a part of Christmas as the John Lewis advert and the Coca-cola truck making it's appearance. So when I got the chance to visit the store and view all the new releases for 2014 Christmas I was oober excited. 

Christmas 2014 has brought so many new lush treats to get excited about, this year along side classics like the Cinders bath bomb and the candy mountain bubble bar, this year also see's the launch of the Christmas hedgehog and drummers drumming bubble bar, reindeer rock and baked alaska soap, the snow angel bath melt and the hot toddy and so white shower gels, plus many more exciting new products. 

The gift range has also incorporated all the new collection this year and the gift range is superb. For me I always look for products that aren't for the bath (I now only have a shower cubical, sobs) however this year Lush seem to have recognised this and I was surprised that there is a whole range of gifts that are suitable. 

My recommended gifts for you friends with showers only would be: Snowtime gift set Including happy hippy shower gel, baked alaska soap and the snowman shower jelly or the First Snow gift set including the first snow dusting powder, shimmy shimmy massage bar, snow fairy shower gel, bubble gum lip scrub, rock star soap, bakes alaska soap and the snowman fun kit. 

However for all you lucky people who have the luxury of having a bath (I really miss mine) I would also recommend checking out the Santa Claus is coming to town gift set*. Luckily for me at the end of next month I'm of for a girls weekend in a luxury holiday cottage so I will be packing the treats with me and taking advantage of a long lush soak in the bath. 

Lush Christmas 2014

Sammie

#ootd Rare London White Quilted Shift Dress

Autumn fashion can be a little tricky, once you've picked out a winter coat and some boots to see you through the next few months, styling up the rest of your wardrobe into something practical can be a little tricky. 

There's often no need to buy a new wardrobe for autumn when it's pretty easy to style up some more versatile pieces ready for the chillier months. 

I love this quilted shift dress* by Rare London, It's perfect for a night out, with some killer heels and can be easily styled up for a more casual look for the autumn months.

With the simple addition of the classic leather jacket, a woolly hat and some thick tights it's pretty simple to transform wardrobe pieces and make them suitable for all occasions. 

I'm so in love with this dress, it's the perfect and fitted with a classy look yet versatile for all weather. It's fits nice and the material is thick enough to embrace winter. The dress is a uk size 8 and fit's perfectly if not even a little loose but skims my hips nicely, it's pretty much the perfect fit me. 

Photo credits: Simone, Married to a Geek

Dress: White quilted dress, Rare London*

Jacket: Topshop

Hat: Primark (current season)

Tights: Primark

Shoes: New Look (old)

Rucksack: Primark:

Watch: Daniel Wellington

Thought on my autumn look?

Sammie

The Bird and Beast Leeds | Central Arcade LS1 6DX | Review

Today I'm reviewing my newest favourite restaurant in Leeds, The Bird and Beast. Despite you all know of my hatred for Nandos it may be a little shocking a chicken place is my favourite but it's pretty much perfect in my eyes. 

This place really captures simplicity at it's best. With all the burger restaurants fighting for attention with their gimmick burgers recently in Leeds, bird and beast have ignored all the gimmicks and simply served simple food at it's best in a modest stylish setting. 

Calling themselves the "home of awesome chicken" probably sum's the place up a lot quicker than I can and I'd agree with the statement. 

The menu options is well..chicken! Whole, half or quarter, then an option of sides and salads (which change every 4-6 weeks depending on what'sin season). No other options but chicken. It fills me with joy to see a restaurant sticking to one thing and doing that one thing so well. I always prefere smaller menus as I think it shows confidence in the cooking, but to have well just one perfect dish is something I love. 

That said I obviously expected the best chicken I had ever eaten in my life. 

It was perfect and I couldn't fault it, me and Kel ordered a whole chicken to share and sides of fries (although I would call them chunky chips) and hand cut homemade coleslaw. Which accompanied the meal perfectly. 

There is also a small desert menu and Kel and Hayley decided on Eton mess with strawberry's and I opted for one my my favourites crème brulee. 

This place is perfect, taking good ingredients and making simple delicious food, no gimmicks anywhere just good cooking and homely food. The food was good value and it's defiantly a good place to go and eat with friends...all sharing chicken together is what friends do right. There's a nice atmosphere and I really can't fault the place.

I'm already planning my next visit and I can say this is my new favourite place to eat in Leeds. 

Sammie

The Bird and Beast

Central Arcade

Central Road

Leeds

LS1 6DX

Photo credits: Kel