Sunday's at Gloucester Quays

With free cinema tickets for Gloucester Quays, Ollie and I decided to spend the day there yesterday. 

We didn't have much time to look around the outlet shops, instead we opted for lunch at Ed's Easy Diner. Neither of us have never been there but the food and atmosphere was really good, and my nutella shake was to die for!

There's not many places I go where I can't finish my food, but this has become one of them. The portions are huge and you're given a whole array of sides, which are all as good as each other. We'll definitely be going back, even if it's just for drinks next time.

Choosing a film to watch wasn't particularly difficult either. We both love Tom Hardy as an actor and Legend was a brilliant film; well directed and scripted, with an amazing performance from Hardy throughout (review to follow)!

A day in Bristol

I've never been to Bristol. As silly as it sounds, I only live about an hour away and have heard some really good things about the shopping, eating out and nightlife, so I thought it was time to check it out for myself.

The train journey there was easy and quick; and a lot better than driving. It was a surprisingly nice day and the walk from the station to Cabot Circus was good, even better once we actually got there. There is so many shops in Cabot Circus and in the town, from Ark to Size, Zara to Boux Avenue, I was definitely happy to spend the day looking around and getting myself a few treats.

After a day of shopping, we were absolutely starving and realised we hadn't eaten all day. The choice of restaurants in the town was difficult, there must be at least 30 to choose from. We opted for a Zizzi's, I was really craving pasta after a week of eating burgers and pizza. Somehow I still wish we'd have picked Five Guys!

I'll definitely be heading back to Bristol soon - the range of shops was amazing and the layout of the town was so nice - I think I prefer it to Birmingham for a summer's day shopping. You can tell the nightlife wouldn't disappoint either!

Maybe I'll spot a few more of these next time too...

Holiday destination: Lesbos

I've just returned from my annual family holiday and this year, we tried somewhere a bit different. I'd heard of Lesvos and absolutely love exploring Greece and the Greek islands, but still didn't know exactly what to expect.

It was one of the most relaxing holidays I have ever been on. The intense heat left me wanting to just sit by the pool, sip cocktails and enjoy walks along the calm beach, which was directly in front of the hotel. As holiday destinations go, this is also one of the quietest I have ever been to. The tiny village of Skala Kalloni was just a two minute walk from our hotel and had around 15 tavernas, a couple of shops and a small boating harbour. Perfect to get away from it all.

At night was when you could see the popularity of the small holiday spot. The tavernas bustling, a brilliant atmosphere crept upon the village square. A lot of Greek destinations find themselves swamped in British, German and French tourists but I didn't find that here. Greek families filled the restaurants, beach and bars, creating a friendly, traditional set-up.

My favourite restaurants were definitely Caprice and Ambrosia, where we were spoilt with food, drink and a LOT of watermelon! Ambrosia's was more traditional; serving the best moussaka and kleftiko I have ever had. Caprice was a more modern restaurant, with pasta and fish dishes to die for - along with their passion fruit martini's!

A fantastic place for a totally relaxed, traditional holiday.

Supermarket shopping

Sorry for being quiet the last few days, I've been so busy with organising my holiday/working!

However, running around organising and shopping gave me the best idea for this blog post. 

Supermarket shopping can be so boring; making a list, trying to be healthy, working out how much you've spend and constantly packing and unpacking leaves me feeling dull. Although, supermarkets now sell everything. I've never bothered looking at the clothes in supermarkets until this past weekend and I'm hooked. The latest trends and designs for a pinch of the price!
Now the school holidays are upon us, there's never been a better time to get out there, grab a bargain and stock up for your summer holiday...

Here's my top pick of the latest pieces from supermarket clothing lines:

1. Floral print cami - £16 Tu at Sainsbury's

2. Harem trousers - £15.60 M&S

3. Palm print bikini - £8 top £4 bottoms George at Asda

4. Striped co-ord set - £16 top £18 bottoms F&F at Tesco

5. Tassel necklace - £20 M&S

6. Floral jumpsuit - £16 George at Asda

Bellbroughton lunching

My day off work yesterday meant only one thing, catching up with Nan and Grandad after their holiday. I hadn't seen them in ages!

We went for lunch at The Bell in Bellbroughton and I can't wait to go back already - the food was amazing. I had a chicken dish with a lemon, honey and chilli jus and roquito peppers and pea shoots. It was delicious.

For pudding, I decided on the damson, plum and apple shortbread crumble. Mmmmm. I usually go for something chocolatey, but, I fancied something a bit different and this was definitely a good choice. Maybe next time I'll opt of the salted caramel chocolate pot. 

The presentation of the food was very good, and made it even more enjoyable. The pub was quiet and the choice of wine/ciders and cocktails was endless - it's a good job I was driving later, I would have definitely struggled to choose.

Unfortunately, the lighting above me did not do the food justice!!!

After consuming all of those calories, we decided to head to a local country park to go on a walk. Well, that's what we had in mind anyway. It started off well and we followed all of the signs, leading us over the top of a hill and down the other side. 

Grandad, however, decided that we seemed too close to the motorway and picked our route for the way back. After getting stranded in a field full of cows, we started the climb up another hill. It wasn't until we got to the top we realised there were no gates or stiles, and had to climb over barbed wire fences ourselves, in what we thought was the direction of the start.

After nearly an hour of climbing over fences and in my case, getting my foot cut and bitten by insects, we made it back. Just an hour later than planned!

It was a lovely day out and I will definitely be returning to The Bell for another lunch out soon. Maybe I'll just miss the field walking next time...

Worcester lunch date

I finally had a day off work yesterday and planned to go out with my Nan. We had a lovely day in Worcester and bought a lot more than we should have - it definitely didn't help that there were sales everywhere!

She treated me to lunch at Zizzi's. I'd only been there once but she absolutely loves it and practically knows the menu off by heart! I opted for the Pepperoni Campagna pizza and Nan had the skinny Primavera pizza. The choice on the lunch menu was great and even though we were both stuffed, we definitely wish we'd have had 2 courses.

It was a great day for celebration too - Nan's going on holiday on Friday and I've just had a pay rise (maybe a bit of shopping was necessary after all...)!!