Mother-Daughter Lunch

Posted in Food, Lifestyle by Jenna Louise

Every now & then it’s lovely to get together with my mom and go for lunch, a bottle of wine to have a catch up!

Life passes us by so quickly, & with the weeks & months speeding past us, you find yourself needing a huge catchup!

Me & my mom like to try out different restaurants in & around Birmingham, & so Prezzo in Harborne is a perfect venue for a Saturday afternoon girlie lunch! (It was also a perfect place to take my new Valentino scarf, which I am in love with!)

The restaurant is located 3 miles from Birmingham City Centre, so ideal if you are based in Birmingham or just passing through!

What is also cool is that the restaurant is located within ‘The School Yard’.

This is a Grade II Listed Clock Tower building which was designed originally as a school, situated on what is now Harborne High Street. The parking in Harborne is super super cheap (amazing!), & 2 seconds away from Prezzo, so not only is it perfectly convenient, you’re also not paying the extortionate parking prices of dining in The Mailbox, Bullring etc!

The decor is contemporary, yet cosy & the open kitchen adds to the atmosphere.

At the moment, Prezzo are offering a special 2 course menu for £14.50, which includes a glass of prosecco! See their main menu here!

It’s always busy with a mix of couples of all ages, groups of friends, family gatherings or just business men passing through for lunch!

Me & my mom opted for the bruschetta & the mozzarella to start.

My mom then went for the salmon penne pasta.

Whilst I opted for the chicken & asparagus risotto.

Both dishes were very yummy & even better washed down with a bottle of Sauvignon blanc!

I hope you’ve all had a lovely week! What are your plans for the weekend?

4Nov2015

We are Nine!

Posted in Food, Lifestyle by Jenna Louise

On Sunday 25th October 2015, me & Daniel celebrated our 9th Anniversary!

We honestly do not know where the last 9 years have gone!

We headed out for dinner on the Saturday evening to celebrate!

We went to our favourite Chinese restaurant in our local town of Harborne; Henry Wong’s.

We love the food & the atmosphere here & as we’re planning on doing something utterly amazing for our big 10 year Anniversary next year, we thought we would settle on a nice little dinner this year!

It was a lovely evening full of wonderful food & beautiful champagne!

I really am a lucky girl!

We woke early on the Sunday morning & headed back into Harborne for an Anniversary breakfast!

We went to The Plough which has been voted the best breakfast in Birmingham by a few reviews & you can add mine to that list!

The restaurant was super busy, but we managed to get a table around 9:30am.

After struggling to pick just one thing off the menu (it all looked so yummy!), I settled on the pancakes.

Oh wow! Hands down the best stack of pancakes I have ever had! I couldn’t finish it because it was SO HUGE!

I also ordered an orange juice & a mug of tea, which came with a biscuit; is that not the cutest thing ever!

After a relaxing morning, we continued our relaxing day & finished the evening at home with more champagne!

26Oct2015

The Mailbox launch weekend!

Posted in Lifestyle, Style by Jenna Louise

Hello & happy Monday!

I have today off work & so my mood is VERY different to a normal working Monday morning!

I hope you all had a lovely weekend & no doubt we’re already on countdown for the next one!

My weekend was possibly the best weekend I’ve had in a long time!

Me & Daniel celebrated our 9th Anniversary on Sunday which was a lovely day! (more on that soon!).

But on Saturday we attended the Mailbox Sessions.

This was a celebratory weekend for the Mailbox in Birmingham. It’s finally opened it’s doors & as you may know, the new (& amazing) Harvey Nichols is also complete!

Me & Daniel parked in the Mailbox (so handy!) & headed up to grab some breakfast.

We popped into Cafe Rouge & had our favourite breakfast; eggs Benedict! We are complete suckers for it!

We had secured tickets to the Gieves and Hawkes Tailored to You show at 10:30am. The show was being held in the new Urban Room which is located on the floor with all the restaurants and opposite the champagne bar/restaurant entrance to Harvey Nichols.

The show was fantastic. It was led by Randall, an employee of the new Mailbox store, along with model, Luke, who modelled the suits that day.

Randall went through what makes a perfect suit & what Gieves and Hawkes can offer to you. A suit to a man is like that little black dress for a woman. It’s SO important! Daniel loved the show & after the 30 minute talk we sauntered over to the Gieves and Hawkes store.

Daniel picked out a tie & we got talking to the wonderful staff. They asked what brought us to the store today & we mentioned it was our Anniversary weekend. Next thing we knew the staff had given Daniel a little Anniversary gift; another tie! It was such a lovely gesture & we cannot wait to go back & purchase more things!

At around midday, Daniel went & met his brother to pick & try on wedding suits! (Daniel’s brother is getting married next year; SO exciting!).

I had got a ticket for the Art of Style show which was led by Grazia Magazine’s fashion editor, Blogger Bip Ling & Harvey Nichols’ Darren Skey. This was also held in the new Urban Room & a free copy of Grazia magazine was on each chair. Nice touch!

This show was a conversational talk all about how art influences style, style icons & a general chit chat about fashion.

It was fun & informative & made me want to quit my job & work for Grazia!

After the 45 minute show, I went back downstairs to the shop level where the new & beautiful seating area is.

They had public dance performances & also a live orchestra playing delightful background music.

I sat for a while whilst admiring the new layout & the stunning decor of the new building.

Birmingham has really stepped up its game in the last few years & I am SO proud to live here!

If shopping is your thing then I highly suggest coming over for a whole weekend of retail therapy! We now have EVERYTHING in the city that London can offer; only less busy & more relaxed!

As department stores go, we have Harvey Nichols, John Lewis, Selfridges, House of Fraser & Debenhams. With some fantastic hotels & with the Christmas Market arriving in the next few weeks, it’s perfect for a Christmas shopping weekend away!

So what are you waiting for? Come & see us here in Birmingham!

1Apr2015

Mini Break: Barnsdale Hall Hotel

Posted in Lifestyle, Travel by Jenna Louise

With the stresses of work, & the awful British weather, we were in need of some R&R!

The British countryside truly is beautiful so where better to go? In the sunshine it’s stunning. And even on the coldest, wettest winter British days, it is one of the nicest places to sit in front of a log fire & sip on tea all afternoon (plus a slice of cake!).

Based in Rutland Leicestershire, Barnsdale Hall Hotel is situated on a picturesque lake , with log cabins, lake views & bigger apartments/holiday villas to rent with big groups.

We arrived at lunch time & grabbed a coffee in the brasserie before our pre-booked spa treatments at 2pm. All leisure & spa facilities were included in the stay (& you received 25% off spa treatments).

Daniel settled on a full body massage & I chose an Indian Head massage. After an hour of pure bliss, we sauntered back down to the brasserie, where we embarked on the biggest scones we had ever seen!

With our dinner reservations in the restaurant at 7:30pm, we took the scenic route back to the room to get ready, where shampoo & toiletries were provided. Whilst getting ready, we cracked open a bottle of prosecco & then made our way to dinner.

The choice of home cooked, country food was lovely. I settled on the salmon & crab fishcake which I didn’t want to end! We paired our meal with a bottle of white wine & then made the short walk back to our room.

We got up early on Sunday morning, where we had our Sunday paper delivered to our door. We took this to breakfast at 8am & as I’m not a huge fan of a ‘fry up’, I was so happy to see the amazing choice of pastries, yoghurts, jams, cereals & fruit!

We managed to see the lake & surrounding views of the hotel in its full glory before the heavens opened & we made a run for it!

The hotel boasts a handful of activities with mini golf, floodlit tennis courts, lakeside walks, swimming & a gymnasium being just a few! I imagine in summer time, the hotel will be one of the nicest spots to visit!

To see room rates & availability, check out their official website here!

25Mar2015

Weekend Adventure

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

Amsterdam. Can you do it in one day?

Well, at the weekend, Daniel & I boarded a plane & hit Amsterdam to find out!

I had brought the plane tickets as a surprise for Daniel’s 25th Birthday so we were extremely excited.

We arrived at 9:30am & boarded the train from the airport into Amsterdam City Centre. With this only taking 10 minutes, we had arrived into the centre at 10am so decided to go for a coffee in Dam Square to consult our maps & arrange a game plan for the next few hours!

I don’t know what it is, but the coffee we have in Europe, always tastes better than the coffee we get in the UK!

We decided to have a general walk around the City & after stumbling upon the Red Light District, we felt we needed to get away & do something we know well…SHOPPING!

With Amsterdam’s equivalent to Harrods right around the corner, we decided we needed to visit!

De Bijenkorf is right on the edge of Dam Square, & away from all things drug & sex related!

We spent some time in here & decided to look at the restaurant & champagne bar on the rooftop.

We settled on sushi, Tai & champagne whilst deciding on our next move!

We headed over to Jordaan, which is a neighbourhood in Amsterdam considered to be one of the prettiest.

Full of canal side cafes, scenic views everywhere you turn & A LOT of bicycles!

The bicycles were cute to start with. Then a crazy lady man-handled me & I nearly ended up in the canal. Not so cute.

Overall we had 6 hours in Amsterdam before making our way back to the Airport, (which, is HUGE by the way!).

We felt like we had done everything that we wanted to do & saw everything that we wanted to see.

We felt staying over night or staying any longer would have been too long for us, so we were ecstatic to be back home in our pyjamas with a tea by 7.30pm!

It’s quite crazy what you can do in a day.

We grabbed an early flight from Birmingham Airpot & travelled with Flybe. I would highly recommend doing what we did if you want a real adventure! You can get to most places in Europe in one hour (with Amsterdam taking us 50 minutes!), so what’s stopping you grabbing an early flight & visiting somewhere for a day!

Happy travelling!

18Mar2015

Girlie Day: Leamington Spa

Posted in Travel by Jenna Louise

The weekend saw me & the girls drive down to Leamington Spa for a girlie day!

Leamington Spa is a town in Central Warwickshire, which means trips to Warwick Castle & Warwick Town are on your doorstep. With trains from Birmingham taking around half an hour, it’s a lovely place to go for a girlie day or a romantic weekend away.

Firstly, we visited the Episode Hotel for a lovely Champagne Afternoon Tea where we had a natter & a giggle over a lot of cake!

The Hotel is within walking distance of the lovely town centre, so of course, we have a stroll to the shops! The town has everything from your usual hughstreet stores, to House of Fraser & cute independent gift shops.

After a few hours in River Island (yes, really), we decided we needed to round off the day with a cocktail!

With an amazing choice of restaurants & bars, we finally settled on Turtle Bay. The cocktails in Turtle Bay are amazing, & with it being happy hour, it would have been rude not to!

I was so upset we had to leave Leamington & could have stayed for at least another day with the girls, exploring the beauty of the Town & maybe even venturing into nearby Warwick!

To plan your visit & to see what’s on, check out their website here!

1Mar2015

Food Review: Sabai Sabai

Posted in Food by Jenna Louise

Saturday evening saw me & the girls venture into Harborne for some food & drinks.

Harborne is a town 3 miles from Birmingham City Centre, & if you ever find yourself in the Birmingham area & want amazing Thai food, then I highly recommend Sabai Sabai!

Located at the beginning of Harborne Hughstreet, the Thai restaurant gets immensely busy on weekends & it’s not hard to see why.

The cocktails are phenomenal! I opted for a Lychee Martini, which was quite possibly the best cocktail I’ve ever had in a restaurant.

To start, me & the girls decided on a sharing platter, which included chicken satay, sweetcorn fritters & prawns.

After looking at the extensive menu & struggling to pick just one thing, for my main course I settled on chicken with cashew nuts with coconut rice. I honestly could eat that main course again and again, and again! It was gorgeous!

For three people: a starter, main course, rice, noodles, 3 cocktails and a bottle of prosecco came to just over £100.00.

An unbelievable cost for an outstanding experience. There was an incredible atmosphere & the service was quick & very friendly.

With a 5 minute taxi journey into Birmingham City Centre’s bars & clubs, Sabai Sabai is a perfect starting point to your evening.

For contact details & menus, check out their website here.

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22Feb2015

Weekend Roundup

Posted in Lifestyle by Jenna Louise

Sunday evening…HOW is it here again?

It doesn’t seem too minutes since I kicked off my work shoes on Friday night with a huge smile on my face!

Friday was a perfect relaxing evening. I had a bubble bath & then cheekily stole Daniel’s dressing gown for the remainder of the evening!

Saturday morning saw snow, hail & rain hit the Midlands, but we still braved the Great British weather & headed into Birmingham for a French breakfast.

My French toast & Hazelnut Latte went down a treat!

I decided to embrace the inner Parisian in me & opt for a French nautical look!

Blazer: Zara

Tee: H&M

Bag: DKNY

Jenas: Topshop

Flats: Primark

I also picked up a Bubble Tea from Mee Cha which is an absolute must when in Birmingham! I am a tad obsessed, & that’s just with the cute Panda packaging!

Saturday evening saw me celebrating my Dad’s birthday! We ventured into St Paul’s Square in Birmingham for food & drinks. It was a night filled with cocktails, wine, prosecco & yummy food. It’s always lovely to spend an evening with family!

The morning after the night before saw me head out at the crack of dawn & complete the Action Heart 5 mile (8K) run. Action Heart is a cardiac rehabilitation programme & helps hundreds of people each year. It was an honour to take part with 500 other people in my local area! I have never been so cold, nor have I ever ran up so many hills, but I was very happy to finish with a big smile on my face!

The rest of Sunday was a lovely relaxing day! I collected the Sunday papers for Daniel & I & we also watched my Dad open his Birthday presents, which was lovely! I finished the weekend off with a super Sunday Dinner with Daniel’s family!

How was your weekend? I hope you all had a super fun time! x

15Feb2015

Weekend Roundup

Posted in Lifestyle by Jenna Louise

So, it’s Sunday evening & we find ourselves thinking about work tomorrow.

I’ve had another lovely weekend! Here’s what I got up to!

Friday

So Friday saw me spend Valentines Eve with my two best girl friends. We went to see the much anticipated 50 Shades of Grey! There was A LOT of people! We had thankfully booked our tickets in advance & we were not disappointed! We were quite happy to spend our Friday evening with Mr Grey!

Before the film, we went for pizza, wine & dessert & 2 hours of giggles & gossip later we made our way over to the movie!

No movie night is complete without a Pick n’ Mix! The Great British weather was awful on Friday, so it called for a fur & jeans kind of evening! My fur gilet is from H&M & I’m wearing my trusty Topshop Jamie jeans & H&M black polo!

Saturday

Saturday afternoon saw me attend a Football game with my Dad. It was the FA Cup here in England & I took my Dad for his Birthday!

Thankfully, the team that we support (West Bromwich Albion) won 4-0 so we were happy! I had to grab a Costa on the way to fuel my Costa obsession!

Sunday

Sunday, as you know, is my favourite day. Me & Daniel grabbed the Sunday papers & headed for breakfast at our favourite place, Fig & Favour. See my post on them, here!

We then got home, got straight into our comfies & watched Films & had a nap! We always try & make our Sunday afternoon’s super relaxed ready for work the next day!

I love lounging in my Victoria’s Secret tee & my Nike running tights!

Find similar Nike tights (on sale!), here.

I hope you’ve all had a wonderful weekend! I’m already on countdown to the next one!

25Jan2015

Breakfast at Browns

Posted in Food, Style by Jenna Louise

It was Saturday & the sun was shining. There was no way we were wasting such a lovely morning!

We decided to go for breakfast at Browns Bar & Brasserie in Birmingham. I decided on the Eggs Florentine, which was yummy!

The decor is lovely & relaxed (they have a live pianist on a Sunday afternoon), and the views of St Martin’s Church & the iconic Bullring whilst sipping on your morning coffee is beautiful.

What I Wore:

Hat: Primark

Shoes: Vivienne Westwood for Melissa

Jeans: F&F for Tesco

Scarf: Burberry

Bag: Prada

Hope you all had a wonderful Saturday!

cashmere caviar

…The finer things in life.

Tag Archives: Saturday

Mother-Daughter Lunch

We are Nine!

The Mailbox launch weekend!

Mini Break: Barnsdale Hall Hotel

Weekend Adventure

Girlie Day: Leamington Spa

Food Review: Sabai Sabai

Weekend Roundup

Weekend Roundup

Breakfast at Browns