Tag Archives: Sunday

We are Nine!

Posted in Food, Lifestyle by

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

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

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

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

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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! IMG_0762

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

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I really am a lucky girl!

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

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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!

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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.

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

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

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

 

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Food Review: Bank Restaurant & Bar Birmingham

Posted in Food, Lifestyle by

Me & my mom like to do lunch. We especially like to do lunch when it’s sunny outside.

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With Birmingham on our doorstep, there’s always a new favourite we become obsessed with. In steps Bank Restaurant & Bar.

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Situated in the cosmopolitan surroundings of the popular Brindley Place, having sampled their cocktails many times before, (the bartenders encourage you to ask for ANYTHING. Don’t just pick off the menu. Fancy a Pina Colada? Then ask for it!), & with an impressive lunch menu tempting our tastebuds, we decided to head over there for an early lunch.

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With its outdoor heating & seating area, we braved the British wind & grabbed a cocktail, sat outside & pretended we were on an episode of the Hills.  I asked for a lychee martini (I’m obsessed with these!), & I was not disappointed! We had pre-booked our table for 1:30pm & was taken to our seats and seen to straight away. We were presented with a special lunch menu (1 course for £10, or 2 courses for £15) & given the specials & the normal extensive menu if we so wished to order from there.

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We picked our wine (priorities!) & settled on the special lunch menu.

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Almost immediately we were brought complimentary breads & olives for the table, which was a lovely touch.

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I went for a fish themed afternoon & started with chilli squid with a noodle salad.

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I then chose a main course of the salmon fishcakes with spinach.

From around 2pm, the restaurant was truly buzzing. There was a great atmosphere with everybody from cute couples, to larger family & friendship groups choosing to dine out here for lunch.

The food itself was outstanding. Service was quick & attentive, with everyone looking like they had just stepped out of a modelling agency.

With restaurants in Birmingham & Westminster, it really is a must when visiting Birmingham.

This special menu runs 7 days a week. 1 course for £10, or 2 courses for £15, it really does make for a fantastic afterwork venue, & an even greater weekend location. The menu runs on the following days:

Monday to Friday: 12pm – 7pm

Saturday & Sunday: 12pm – 5pm

So, if you’re in the Birmingham area & fancy a lunch with a touch of class & sophistication, Bank Restaurant & Bar is your place!

Read their menus & book your table here! 

A two course lunch, with a bottle of white wine, two cocktails & service charge (included in your final bill), came to £65.00.

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What I wore:

Dress: ASOS

Shoes: Michael Kors

My Moms dress is from Marks & Spencer

Mini Break: Barnsdale Hall Hotel

Posted in Lifestyle, Travel by

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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!).

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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.

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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).

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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!

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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!

The Stroke Association

Posted in Lifestyle by

Having a Stroke is the third largest cause of death in the UK, after heart disease & cancer.

Shocking, right?

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Before signing up to the Stroke Association’s Resolution Run series, I did not know that 150,000 people have a stroke every year in the UK. 50,000 will make a full recovery, 50,000 will be left with a severe disability and 50,000 will die.

I have never raised money for the Stroke Association before, & with these figures, I was determined to do something.

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Taking place at the beautiful Hagley Hall in Hagley, Worcestershire, I chose to do the 5k run around the stunning grounds.

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The course itself was very daunting & extremely challenging for me (being used to flat surfaces & the treadmill!), but once I had gotten over that, the views really took my breath away!

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Castle ruins, untouched countryside & lively deer were just a few things that we were lucky enough to see.

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It really is a wonderful place to come for a Sunday morning walk & with it being Mother’s Day, my Mom & Dad surprised me half way through my race, shouting my name on their morning walk!

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This was the first Resolution Run at Hagley Hall & I felt really lucky to have taken part. It also turned out that I was the first woman to finish the 5K race, which really topped off the morning!

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It really is important that we all raise awareness, & with it being Action on Stroke month in May, it really isn’t too late to do something! To find out how you can help in your local area, go check out the website here!

Weekend Roundup

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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!

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

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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

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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!

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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!

 

 

 

 

 

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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!

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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!

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

Weekend Roundup

Posted in Lifestyle by

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

 

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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!

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

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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

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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!

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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

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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!

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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!

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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!

x

Keep On Running

Posted in Lifestyle by

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At the weekend I competed in my 7th competitive race.

Running for me was a way to keep fit & to lose weight, but then, I actually fell in love with it!

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I’ve done everything from 5k fun runs to half marathons. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes, running is the LAST thing I want to do, but I love the buzz that you get when finishing a race. It feels good to push yourself.

The race that I took part in on Sunday was a local cross country race.  It was held in Mary Stevens Park in Stourbridge at 10:30am.

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It was 7k of pure HELL! It was immensely cold & I got covered in mud. The course was through mud, fields full of scary horses & animal poo. Halfway through the race I got very angry at the state of my poor trainers.

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I then looked around and saw the true beauty of the countryside. I was ashamed of my moaning. I am able to run this race. I am able to walk this race if I so wished. I am lucky enough to be here and running on this wonderfully sunny & brisk morning. Those thoughts got me through the duration of the race.

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I then of course came home, got back into my pyjamas & had a lovely snuggle Sunday!

Have you competed in any races? Do you love to run too?

Sunday Comforts

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So, the weekend has been & gone & we’re nearly already half way through the working week! (Hurrah!)

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I love my weekends. Particularly Sundays.

Lazy Sunday

Sunday walks, breakfast, comfy clothes, numerous amounts of tea & catching up with the news are my favourite things to do!

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If I do venture out of the house, I will always wear a casual outfit & almost always go for my trustworthy Primark shirt & converse! (the dirtier, the better!).

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What is your favourite thing to do on a Sunday?

Sunday Loving

Posted in Style by

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Morning Sunshine! Happy Sunday!

I embraced the cold this morning & ventured out to breakfast.

The sun was shining & the birds were singing, with the winter frost sparkling on the ground. It really was a perfect morning!

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What I wore:

Fedora Hat: Primark

Ripped Jeans: Zara

Bag: Mulberry

Chelsea Boots: Faith at Debenhams – Similar here

Cape: River Island

Top: H&M