What I Wore: To Harry's.

Kimono: Primark
Dress: New Look
Necklace: Oh Someday
Belt: with another dress
Sandals: New Look
I'm definitely well and truly 24 now, bit weird. So, above is what I wore out to our fancy meal out at Harry's Bar & Kitchen in Donnington. We went there last year for our anniversary and it was really good then too. We actually had plans to go to a different restaurant that evening but were a little later than we'd hoped to make our reservation.

Harry's didn't disappoint but I guess it makes me realise how many nice places there are to eat around us given that we've only visited there twice now but enjoyed it so much.

I know I say it pretty much every time I showcase this dress on here but it really is one of my favourites and I really like everything about it. I've never thought about putting this kimono with it but it did make it feel a little more appropriate for the occasion.

I think I may have finally worn these sandals in, no blisters in the last two wears! It's just such a pity that summer is almost over because I would have worn them way more, you never know though, there's always a chance of an Indian summer.








Currently amazed by technology and posting this at the airport on my tablet while waiting for our much-delayed flight to Northern Ireland (thanks, Easyjet). So I'm off for the next six days, likely Internet-free and exploring County Antrim once more, hopefully there will be lots to show when I return - there's a promise of fishing!

Flavrbox for August

Another month, another wonderful box from my friends at Flavrbox. I really do look forward to new boxes each month and continuing to recommend them, I'm also pretty thankful for how much they've made me stand up and take notice of more independent brands in the last year and a bit.

I've definitely noticed a change in my food shopping habits, I now prefer getting fruit and veg from greengrocers, farm shops and markets now over the supermarket, there's so much more to see, which is funny considering the nearest supermarket to us is the size of an air hanger...





[Raspberry Coulis, Best of Taste Co.]
I really am not sure what to make of this, I think I liked it but only in so much that I liked it as a coulis and I don't really like coulis. My biggest appreciation for this was the great recipe for white chocolate cheesecake that it came with - and went very well with too. Sorry for the sloppy splodges but we weren't really sure want to do with it. I think if you love the tartness that raspberries can have sometimes and you like fancy dessert sauces you're going to like it because it was nice, it's just not really for me.


[Magic BBQ Dust Rub, Best of Taste Co.]
This is probably this month's little let down. We gave it a go with burgers and I must admit that it didn't add the amount of flavour to the meat that I was expecting. After my GBB winnings, maybe I'm a bit of a 'rub snob' but this didn't really do it for me. It was accompanied by some great ways to use it other than as a rub though, which I was pretty impressed by and given that I'm pretty overloaded with rubs now, that little card is sure to come in handy.


[Madagasgar Vanilla Fudge, Yum Yum Tree Fudge]
You can never go wrong with fudge. As we had it when the weather was so warm, I left it in the fridge and was a little worried it would ruin it, but it was still creamy and delicious, perfect for picking at every now and then.


[Italian Herb Peanuts & Hazelnuts // Zanzibar Nuts & Seads, Mr Filbert's Inventive Snacks]
These were great for snacks at work although my eyes did pop out of my head when I saw the calorie content. The Zanzibar Nuts & Seeds were really interesting with an orangey/gingery overtone, I think I liked them best out of the two.


[Sweet Chilli Jam, Eddie's Chilli Jam]
I remember trying a few of these when I went to Taste of London a couple of months ago, my favourite was their scotch bonnet one, but this one is pretty great too, perfect on crackers with strong cheddar. I'm always fascinated by the different kinds of jam people can make.


Don't forget to 'Follow' and 'Like' Flavrbox in the respective places and be sure to check out their blog too.

Other Ones.

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Here are things that are related to other things but don't quite fit in, mostly consisting of what I've cooked.


Is anyone else having trouble getting their tomatoes to ripen? I feel like all the sun did is make them grow and once it got rainy again it took away all opportunity I had to reap the rewards - fingers crossed the sunshine this week will mean I'll be coming back from Ireland with more tomatoes then I can handle. My main plan is sundried-tomatoes but I'm sure I'll be able to think of more things to do, Pinterest is my friend.


I baked a bucket-load of orange and poppy seed biscuits using a great recipe from Technicolor Kitchen, I should have frozen some of the dough for another time but they went so well that I cooked the whole lot in one go, at least it filled the cookie jar.


I got semi-bullied into baking a cake for work for my birthday, it was the best buttercream icing I've made in a long time - rule no 1, always read instructions on the packet.


The second un-birthday cake came for my Gran, whose birthday falls two days after mine. The loaf shape wasn't my idea, rule no 2, loaf cakes take 20x as long.


I surprised my Gran by popping over with my Ma and sister for lunch, I made the salmon tacos which I've mentioned previously on here and they were just as good if not better the second time round, I'm pretty proud of myself.


Suzie is my birthday-twin so it was nice to spend some time with her while visiting my Gran. 18 years old! So glad she's over the health-scare we had a few weeks ago and is back to normal, she sat on my knee for a whole half-hour.


Last but not least is this pretty necklace I got from Moon for my birthday from the lovely Oh Someday. I've maybe talked about Kate Holden's work before before but I love her style and there are so many other pieces of hers that I'm coveting. Unexpected gifts that turn out be to be something you've wanted a while are the best.
Not sure how I feel about this kind of post but I wanted to put these pictures somewhere, didn't want to delete them and didn't want them just sitting on my hard drive either, so there you have it.
Hope that you're having a wonderful Wednesday ♥.

Winner Winner, Chicken Dinner!

At the beginning of the month I was lucky enough to be the winner of the Great British Butcher's competition to win some of their fancy seasonings and rubs - I'm not doing too badly with winning foodie things, after winning tickets to Taste of London back in June and now this, if I only I was this lucky with the lottery (or Belvoir Fruit Farm's Photography Competition, p.s. you can still vote(!)).


I was pretty excited but wasn't really fully aware of what I'd won until it arrived in a huge parcel (which Doll loved), once I got them though, I was even more excited to try them all, TGB were certainly generous.

I won one of each of their rubs and a cotton apron, as well as some beautifully designed recipe cards. They come in Roast Garlic & Onion, Bloody Mary, Lemon & Mustard, BBQ, Apple, Sage & Onion and Curry Crumb and each of them match different meats to enhance the flavours and really help create a great centrepiece for your meal.




They're made with all-natural ingredients, which is pretty impressive considering the variety. I was also really impressed with the size of the tins I won, although I have it on authority that there a plans for smaller tins, great for testing the different flavours rather than committing. I definitely have enough choice to last me a lifetime but I'm sure my family will be pleased for me to share with them every now and then.






We gave the curry crumb a try and it was absolutely delicious, we did it a little differently from the card, adding salad and cooking in the oven rather than deep-frying but the flavours were definitely there. The mango salsa and spice from the chicken worked really well, especially with the tasty mango naan bread I bought to accompany them. Not sure how the others will fair as I feel like I've already found my favourite but we'll see..
Thank you so much Great British Butcher, I'll definitely be working towards trying each tin out and if the Curry Crumb chicken is anything to go by, I sure am in for a treat.

Be sure to check out Great British Butcher's beautiful website and 'follow' them on Twitter and 'like' them on Facebook for their latest updates, they definitely seem like one to watch!

Basic Appreciation.

I've found that going shopping with Moon, if he's not in the right mood, can make me feel a little rushed, so it was nice when he was away a few weeks ago to get in a good few hours of quality shopping alone-time. I have been trying to have a clear out, but in doing so, I manage to have gotten rid of kind of tatty but essential things - here is where H&M was my friend.

Maybe I'm growing up or something but I am finding that having a few go-to items is a little more satisfying than flimsy fashion pieces, I'm always going to be a little all over the place though, at least, I'm not ready to be a sophisticated grown up all the time just yet.


1. Cable Knit, £24.99 – I'm totally missing my faithful chunky knit teal cardigan so this was an adequate replacement, and will be great for Ireland next week. It's really soft and comfortable and I can definitely see myself wearing it heaps more once the season changes.

2. Cotton Harem Trousers, £14.99 – I was pretty big on these a few years ago, until I said goodbye to them after ruining my final pair at Glastonbury 2011, so much mud... I can't decide if these are acceptable to wear outdoors really, they're far to comfy to not be day-pyjamas. I'll admit they're not the most attractive trousers but they do for pottering around the garden. I'd love to know what you think about harem pants, and what to wear with them, I'm feeling a little stumped.

3. Green Leggings, £7.99 – Nice to have a change every now and then. I had steered clear of H&M's leggings for a little while because they were really thick and chunky, these ones are pretty nice though and a lot of their coloured ones seem to be like this too, I may have to pick up a few more. I mainly got these because it came to my attention that I pretty much only have black leggings now, anyone else remember when H&M did the coolest crazy leggings, I was all over those.

4. Yellow Skater Skirt, £14.99 – I've been unsure about skater skirts for a while, but this one isn't as short as the rest I've seen usually seem to be. I just really like the colour, yellow is one of my favourites and I really don't think I have enough of it in my wardrobe at the moment. One bad point about this skirt is that it is slightly see-through, which I don't think will be as much of an issue when it gets cooler and I can layer up but isn't something I'm too happy about at the moment.


Have you been stocking up on awkward Summer/Autumn clothing yet, or am I little early?
I blame the unpredictable weather, I miss the heatwave.

Love for Longleat.

I think all weekends should definitely be at least three days long, what a wonderful birthday weekend I've had. The best thing about having such an action-packed Friday for my birthday was getting to go home, head out to dinner and then realise I still had two whole days left to chill out and relax.

We were so lucky with the weather, Warminster must have known it was my birthday because it rained all the way there, yet the second we set foot out of the car when we arrived at the safari park it was glorious sunshine and it stayed like that for the rest of the day.

In case you can't tell, Moon treated me to Longleat Safari Park for my big 24th birthday on Friday and we had a nice day out but I'm probably put off having children for at least the next 100 years.



*Note to self: When going anywhere that passes Stone Henge, avoid Stone Henge.


Beautiful Wiltshire countryside.


Dramatic skies over the Longleat grounds.


It was pretty busy but I do enjoy zoos and being able to see so many animals in one place. Saying that, the animal rights activist in me did have a few issues with this place. I'd definitely recommend that they either get rid of their elephant or get more elephants for her to play with, she seemed pretty listless when we passed her on the safari and some of the enclosures were a little small and dirty, even the new penguin cave.

We didn't manage to get to Gorilla Island or to see the hippos and sealions just because the queue was crazy but I'd still say it was worth the money, I mean I did get the feed some deer - even it wasn't on the safari as promised, it was pretty fun to do something so different from normal, as we don't really do things like this together that often, what a treat!