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FESTIVE, FOOD & FUN/ Cake, coffee and Christmas crafts
It’s important to take time our from the pressures of life to enjoy some time with friends or do activities that help you relax and have fun. Well, add that to a gingerbread latte and selection of sweet treats, and that’s exactly how I spent an evening last week!
Myself and some of my blogger baes were invited to join craft club at Lydia’s, a cute and quirky cafe in the Newland Avenue area of Hull that I’ve been itching to visit for quite a while.
For a little place, they offer their customers a LOT! Pretty much every kind of hot drink you could want, including those you didn’t know you wanted. London Fog, anyone?
There’s a really awesome blend of contemporary meets traditional throughout everything. The tables are decorated with old hand written letters and posters, and tea is served in flowery china cups (but in a dope-ass glass tea pot). Classics like shortbread have been mixed up with white chocolate and lime topping (you need to try before you judge, it tastes amazing) and cupcakes filled with lemon meringue…mind (and tastebuds) blown. They post some of their fabulous creations on their Instagram which is definitely worth a follow if you’re a foodie like me.
Never mind the big chains; their pumpkin and gingerbread lattes are delicious, but come with the satisfaction of supporting a local business that has fast become a hub for the local community.
And so we move to crafts. Craft club is just one of the many, many things that lovely Lydia’s offer to help engage customers. They also run film afternoons, language clubs, knitting clubs and baby and me group amongst others. Check out their Facebook and Twitter feeds for future events and times. To attend it cost £5* which covers the cost of a drink and cake, crafts are kindly provided by one of the group.
Cards on the table: I have never seen myself being good at crafty things. My creativity stays very much in my head on on a page sadly, but I was assured by the crafty regulars that it would be easy and look good when finished. We had lots of fun chatting, laughing and generally taking our minds off life’s little stresses, and managed to make some cute Christmas decorations in between.
Not gonna lie, I’m pretty pleased with the end result! It’s currently hung up proudly in my porch.
Lydia also asked us to take part in an extra special project – which was to design a decoration to hang from one of the trees near the cafe (this is replacing a really lovely poppy display that has been on every single tree down the road for the last couple of months). As you can see, we even managed to get in a cheeky nod to #HullFoodie and #HullBloggers!
I enjoyed myself so. I have that I actually brought some bits and pieces home to create some snowman baubles, but they haven’t quite turned out as well so nompictures for now!
The moral of the of post is definitely this – get out, find something fun to enjoy with your friend, and enjoy cake. Cake is ALWAYS a good idea.
Stay Stylish (and try getting yo’ craft on),
J😘xx
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FOOD/ #HullFoodie …Yates
When the idea of #HullFoodie was first born, the intention was to showcase local eateries that were great places to eat/drink/be happy in Hull. I had thought that this would mean standalone cafes, bars and restaurants that could only be visited in my city. Whereas I would say that is still an important aim of the project, I think THE most important thing is to show support for businesses that want to support Hull, which sometimes may include bigger oraganisations. This is one of those times.
*this pic is the right way up
I spent a lot of my my formative party years in Yates, but when I came home from working abroad it had closed and I was gutted. No more pub lunches with the girls, no more cheeky after work drinks, no more cheeky cocktails to signal the start of a great night out. Sob.When I heard on the #hull grapevine it was making a comeback my ears perked up like a meerkat. When I got a message asking if I’d like to go to the opening, I felt like my excited teenage self again…true story! And I’m super pleased that my inner teen wasn’t disappointed.
“Are you hungry, would you like some canapés?” “Yes, that would be lovely thank you”
These are my kinda canapés! Southern chicken wraps, burgers, fish and chips, filled Yorkshire pud and juicy sausage, there wasn’t a single thing I didn’t enjoy and wouldn’t consider ordering. I know people who can be quite snobby and critical when it comes to chain pub food, I’ve been amongst them on occasions admittedly, but everything we ate was full of flavour and good quality.If that wasn’t yummy enough, we decided that we should try some of the gourmet fries…ya know, for research.
This is comfort food heaven in a bowl! This is the perfect place to eat if you’re having a well deserved catch up with friends, Sunday brunch, maybe a bit sore from the night before! Haha. It’s pretty close to most of the city’s entertainment venues so I’d definitely stop in for a bite to eat before a gig or cinema date with Mr Alice. As yummy as the food is, for me this isn’t stuff I could eat all the time as I gain weight really easily. You can sneak a peek at the full menu here.
Did I mentioned they also do cocktail making classes? Apparently, being a master cocktail making bartender was something of a childhood ambition of Courtney’s, so I made her dreams come true by shoving her behind the bar informing the barman “she’ll make them with you. er, please.”
After that face of concentration we got to enjoy the fruits of her labour – look how fab they are!
One of the best thing about Yates is that they offer great deals on cocktails without compromising on quality. It’s a great way to enjoy your fave tipple without spending a bomb and compromising on a cool atmosphere. Who doesn’t want that?Thanks for reading, sorry if you’re hungry now!
Stay stylish,
J 😘xx
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FASHION, FOOD & FUN/ November favourites
Another month down, and another closer to Christmas…woah. Whereas I really like the festive season, I’m so not prepared this year! But I am prepared in knowing what my faves were (see what I did there? In my head I sound funnier) for the past month…
Fashion
Red eye makeup
I’ve been OBSESSED with this look for ages now but it’s only been in the past month that I’ve been experimenting with the look myself (though I haven’t managed to snap any good pics of me wearing it yet. Damn night lighting!). It’s taken that long to find the shades I wanted, but I finally nailed it with the Makeup Revolution New-Trals vs Neutrals palette, recommended by my gal Beckie.
There’s a great mix of red tones, ranging from the more pinky to orangey and warmer brown which is great when deciding just how bold you wanna go. I’ve also been using a lot of the beige and taupe colours as a highlighter and base my for my day to day eye looks, so it’s proved pretty good value for £6.99!
Leopard print
This isn’t exactly a new obsession of mine, but October just happened to be one of the ones where I’ve habitually managed to get out of control with getting my hands on leopard pieces. But it’s not my fault; I’m pinning the blame squarely at Topshop’s door! I’ve spent about 20% of my wages there this month already, so I should probably do some kind of haul post showing you what I’ve picked up.Food
Rainbow cake
This is like the unicorns got their bake on, passed it to the mermaids and were like ‘yo, ice and glitter the s**t outta this’ this one is from Blondes (also home to my other new fave, matcha raspberry cupcakes, which I posted about in my September favourites). Vegan cakes have a reputation for being a bit drier than non vegan, but this is gorgeously moist. It’s ok to have this every week, right?Fun
Comedy Suppose this should be funny rather than fun?! Mr Alice and I are big comedy fans – we go to gigs when we can and usually watch a little bit of stand up every night before bed. This month we saw Jimmy Carr (we’ve been every year since we got together) and Josh Widdecombe. What else?
The Body Shop Camomile Sumptuous Cleansing Balm
I did a first impressions of this in my Body Shop haul back in the summer, and it’s still the product I’ve been reaching for most when I’m looking to really make sure my make up is completely off and I’m wanting to feel refreshed and relaxed. Electric blanket
I feel like I can put this one without fear, now so many (and also younger than me) people are owning up to having an electric blanket! This and the big duvet went back on the bed at the end of the month and it’s just made things feel so cosy. Can I just go back to bed now please??Hope you enjoyed my current Faves, thanks for reading!
Stay stylish,
J 😘xx
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Celeb style round up
I can’t believe I’m finally doing one of these posts again, the last was this one in September 2015! Mainly because there hasn’t been enough celeb style each week to excite me like there used to be. But this week I’ve put together my four fave #celebstyle looks and how to get your hands on a similar look. Check it out
Laura Whitmore
Still one of my top style muses! I really like pairing something uber girly with something a little more edgy for a cool look, and a sequin bomber is a great change of pace from a biker jacket. I already have two at home I’m obsessed with.
Steal Laura’s style
Slip dress Topshop/ Gold sequin bomber jacket Mango/ Chunky black ankle boots EGO
Kourtney Kardsahian
Although I’ve mostly enjoyed her style before, Kourt has really turned up the edge on her outfits since becoming single…get it gurl! I’ve wanted boots in this colour for soooo long and I definitely don’t think I’ll be able to resist buying them much longer now.
Get Kourt’s look
T-shirt dress Misguided/ Navy velvet over the knee boots Public Desire
Gemma Arterton
I like this look because it’s just really easy and casual but look so damn cool. Coincidentally, I just bought myself a new leopard print coat this weekend, because clearly one isn’t quite enough. They’re different shades and style though, so I can totally justify it. I’ve got some really similar tops/jeans in my wardrobe already so don’t be suprised if you see a future #ootd post that’s a blatant copy of Gem!
Work Gemma’s quirky look
Leopard print coat New Look*/ Fringed blue jeans River Island/ Striped polo neck New Look
*at time of writing this coat is reduced by a massive 50%. Would it be wrong to but this too and have 3??
Mollie King
Yes Mollie King, yes! Another gal who never disappoints me with her fash choices, I am really digging the textures and colours of this outfit. Khaki is definitely a massive part of my wardrobe at the minute. It’s difficult to find a pinafore li,e Mollie’s that’s affordable and doesn’t look like a bit tacky with the fabric used, so I’ve found a suede version that looks cool without that worry.
Get Mollie’s sass
Suede pinafore Missy Empire/ Green roll neck bodysuit Boohoo/ Ankle boots M and M Direct
Hope you enjoyed my return to celeb style, and hopefully I’ll be able to do them more regularly again! Hope you all have a great #halloween whatever you’re doing.
Stay stylish,
J 😘xx
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FOOD/ #HullFoodie …Francesca’s
My blog makes it look like I’m forever going out to eat this massive meals doesn’t it? True, I do eat out a lot, but not (usually) for anything quite so indulgent…think I’ve solved the weight gain mystery right there! Haha.
Anyway. Mr Alice and I have wanted to try Francesca’s for a while so we popped in for an early dinner one Saturday night and combined it with a cinema trip. It turned out to be a great little date night combo.
Knowing what had been on the restaurant site before (a run down hotel with a slightly questionable looking nightclub) I wasn’t expecting it to look quite as rustic and lovely inside, the grey walled exterior doesn’t give much away. It was really chilled and the staff were pretty attentive (as we were there at 6pm there were only a handful of people in).
Starter – Salad caprese and garlic mushrooms
I tried to go for the healthier option with a salad – everything tasted very fresh which is exactly what you want for Italian cuisine. Mr Alice’s mushrooms were as delicious as they looked too, obviously I had to test them to are sure it was ok for him to eat!Mains – Taglatele con carne
Again, had to check Mr Alice’s food was ok like a good wifey, and it most definitely was. For me this dish is a fusion of Italian meets Mexican, pasta meets fajita. Really different and yummy.
Chicken cacciatore
Even thought this is a classic I’d never tried it, and it’s definitely a new Italian fave! (Not over pizza or anything, I’m not nuts. Haha.). I thought the combo of mash instead of a ‘firm’ potato accompaniment was unusual but it was really yummy and made the dish feel more comforting for the chilly weather.Dessert – White chocolate semi fredo
We didn’t intend to have dessert, but they sounded really good so in the interests of conducting a fully balanced review of the menu I decided that I should. It. Was. So. GOOD! And the respberry/blueberry garnish totally meant I had one of my 5 a day at least. The only critique we had was that the dessert portions were too small for £5.Other than that we found it really good value – both of us had 3 courses and a drink and the final bill came to about £55. We definitely enjoyed ourselves and are planning to go back again soon. Even though we went as a date night I think it would be a great place to go with a group of friends or for a celeberation as there’s plenty of room for a little bit of noise not to massively facet anybody having a quiet evening.
Thanks for reading, sorry if I’ve made you hungry!
Stay Stylish,
J 😘xx
About Me
I’m Jenny, nice to meet you. I’m a thirty-something who likes fashion, holidays and wondering about life. A lot.
Jenny Chat 