My Easter weekend

I've been looking forward to the Easter weekend ever since we got back from Venice last month. Who doesn't love having four days off with no need to use annual leave?

The weather was beautiful for the whole four days which made the long weekend all the more enjoyable. Here's a summary of what we got up to, along with a photo of Jessie looking EXTREMELY excited about the whole thing.

Good Friday 

I've had a busy few weeks and have been feeling pretty exhausted and stressed out for a while, so I promised myself that I'd have a relaxing day on Good Friday. Neil was working so I had the house to myself. I had a lie in, took Jessie for a lovely walk in the sunshine, caught up on Neighbours and read an entire book. I usually use my days off to blitz all the tasks and chores I don't have time to do during the week, but I felt well-rested and much calmer at the end of the day so I definitely needed the break.

Saturday 

Neil was working again on Saturday, so I took Jessie for a walk in the morning then drove to McArthur Glen to meet Nicola for a long awaited catch up. We had lunch in Frankie and Benny's then wandered around the shops for an hour. I popped to Morrisons on my way home to pick up some (more) Easter chocolate, then we had an evening in with Jessie and Netflix.

Easter Sunday 

Neil took Jessie for an early morning walk before it got too hot for her, then we had Easter bunny crumpets for breakfast before going to the cinema to see the live-action Dumbo film. I cried sad tears and happy tears and I absolutely loved it. We stopped in Five Guys for a burger and chips, then we went home to eat some chocolate and to give Jessie her Easter treats. The three of us went for a lovely walk once the weather was a bit cooler, then we watched the first Avengers film on DVD. We're aiming to watch the first three films before we see Endgame in a couple of weeks!

Easter Monday 

We took Jessie for a morning walk then continued to eat all the stereotypical Easter food by having hot cross buns for lunch. We then went to Cardiff Bay to do our food shopping for the week and to wander around Wilko without buying anything (does anyone else do that?). We popped in to Costa for a coffee and a hot chocolate while we were there, then started on all the household chores when we got back. My house to-do list was massive as a result of my relaxing few days, but it was well worth it. Once I'd finished, I sat down to eat some well-deserved chocolate and to write this blog post!

We had a really lovely weekend where we spent lots of quality time with each other and with Jessie, and it felt like a decent break. I'm also very proud of all the Easter food we consumed, but slightly relieved that I'll be going back to the gym in a couple of days. 

Do you want to know something exciting? Only 4 days to go until next weekend! 

Birthday haul #3 - gifts I can use

An advanced warning - this will be my longest birthday haul post by far! After writing my 'gifts I can gaze at' and 'gifts I can wear' posts, I realised I still had loads of presents left to blog about which could all fit in under the 'gifts I can use' category. I'm so fortunate to have had so many lovely gifts, and it's definitely been a 30th birthday to remember for many reasons.

To kick off this post, I had an exciting present from Nicola which I'll be able to blog about at a later date once we've made use of it - afternoon tea for two at Cardiff's Angel Hotel! As you should know by now, I'm a huge fan of afternoon tea and I can't wait to visit this venue.

Next up, I'm going to give you a little tour of my bumper gift crate from Sarah - think pink! Sarah thoughtfully bought loads of pink gifts for my birthday (I assume you know by now that it's my favourite colour!) and packed them all neatly into this pretty pink basket.

When I excitedly took a closer look, I had to split the contents into two photographs because there were so many.

My favourites in this first pile are the Forever Friends socks, the heart-shaped cookie cutters

and the Powder Love shower gel. And the wine, of course! 

As for this pile, I absolutely love the frame and the message inside it,

the tealight holder and the patterned cards.

I always love receiving toiletries for my birthday and I had quite a few toiletry-based gifts this year. I never have to buy myself any new toiletries as my friends and family kindly replenish my supplies every birthday and Christmas! 

Toiletry bag from Sarah (different Sarah to the one above!), Soap & Glory goodies

from Neil, Guess Girl perfume set from my sister-in-law, and a bottle of
Guess perfume from my sister.

Soap & Glory miniature set from Amy with a beautiful accompanying bag.

My hot chocolate obsession was also satisfied on my birthday with some delicious Whittard hot chocolate and marshmallows from Neil's pets (I know, they're very clever), and Twinings hot chocolate from Sarah. I'm especially excited about trying the Salted Caramel flavour... I love a decadent hot chocolate! 

I also received a couple of mugs to drink my copious supply of hot chocolate from - you'll already know plenty about my love of mugs if you read my recent 'Disney mugs' blog post. 

Tigger mug from Neil, shaped like a honey pot! 

Pretty personalised mug from Nicola and Osian. 

Nicola also bought me the cute presents below which are already on display in my bedroom and kitchen. I'm a big fan of cushions, particularly cushions with teddies on them, and the wine glass is such a lovely keepsake to remember my 30th birthday. I'm looking forward to using it next time I crack open the Prosecco! 

I also had a few edible treats for my birthday from Sarah, Chris and Neil... as you can see, the Tangfastics didn't last long enough to be photographed properly. Standard. 

This really was the birthday that kept on giving, and I had two sets of birthday presents a few weeks after the big event from friends I hadn't managed to catch up with earlier in the month. 

Disney-themed Lindt chocolates and a Tinkerbell photo frame from Claire.

Yankee candles and a diary from Catrin.

I'd obviously like to say a huge thank you again to all my friends and family for these amazing gifts, and the ones in the previous two posts. I couldn't be more grateful and it's lovely to feel so appreciated. 

I also received lots of pretty cards for my birthday so I've decided to blog about those next for two reasons - I love receiving cards as they're a nice personal touch, and continuously blogging about my birthday is one way of making sure it doesn't come to an end! 

Have you written a 'birthday haul' blog post lately? Send me your links if so, I'd love to read them! 

Twelve posts of Christmas #9 - Christmas presents: gifts I can eat/drink

If you've read my 'gifts I can wear' post, you'll already be aware that I'm splitting my 'What I got for Christmas' posts into three instalments. I love nosing through other people's Christmas present summaries so I consequently enjoy writing similar posts myself... I assume most people are as nosy as I am!

Today's instalment is all about the gifts I received which I can eat or drink. There were quite a few gifts in this category, as you're about to find out. Don't worry, I'll re-start my diet in March once these are all gone.

A large pile of chocolates and sweets from Neil, family, friends and colleagues.

My love for hot chocolate and marshmallows is well documented... I had

these lovely presents from my parents, my parents in law, and my colleague Chris. 

I also had more hot chocolate and a pretty Cath Kidston mug from Amy...

this one wasn't photographed with the rest as I opened it a
few days before Christmas Day as instructed!

My parents bought us these tasty-sounding chutneys... I can't wait to try them

with some cheese and crackers. I know that makes me sound like an old lady but I don't care.

Limoncello and Prosecco from my colleagues... I feel a Limoncello Fever coming on. 

Have you written a blog post about all the food/drink you received for Christmas? Like me, are you trying to be mildly sensible but just CAN'T STOP EATING? Hopefully I'm not alone in this affliction...

Twelve posts of Christmas #3 - My advent calendar

A lot of people stop buying advent calendars when they move away from home. Not me!

1st December has always been my third favourite day of the year (behind Christmas Day and my birthday, obviously). It's the day when I can officially start eating chocolate every morning for 24/25 days and, more importantly, it's when the official Christmas countdown starts.

I usually go for some kind of Disney-themed advent calendar so I thought I'd have a change this year with a Maltesers 'Merryteaser' calendar.

There's a piece of moulded chocolate behind every door rather than an actual malteser, but the chocolate tastes like Maltesers rather than cheapy advent calendar chocolate. I'm generally happy to put up with the cheapy chocolate as it's all part of the experience, but having a better quality chocolate is a bonus! Each chocolate is vaguely shaped into some kind of Christmassy symbol, but I usually eat it too quickly to take any notice of what it represents. 

There's also a Christmas joke behind each advent calendar door. I won't lie to you... they're not good. 

I obviously instagrammed my calendar when there were two weeks to go until the big day, and I'll almost certainly be instagramming again once I get to the 24th and get to sample my mini reindeer. 

Do you still love advent calendars? Which one did you buy this year?

My birthday haul

I haven't done a 'What I had for my birthday/Christmas' post for a few years... probably not since the crushing stress of planning a wedding. Yes, it really is that bad, but the end result is totally worth it. I thought it was time to rectify this delay as I received so many lovely presents for my 29th birthday a few days ago.

I asked my parents for money for my birthday this year so that I could spend it on a Pandora bracelet which I've been coveting for a long time. I specifically booked a day off work last Friday so that I could go into town to buy my new bracelet. I love it! I bought the bracelet and the 'B' charm with my birthday money from my parents and my grandmother, then Neil bought me another charm over the weekend as a late birthday present. I think the Pandora shop might become an expensive habit over the next few months!

As well as my Pandora bracelet, I also had more jewellery for my birthday... a Jon Richard necklace and bracelet from Neil and a beautiful homemade bracelet from Sarah, my lovely colleague. I've already worn all these unique pieces in the last few days and they'll definitely be coming on holiday with me in September. 

A girl can never have enough toiletries (just ask my overflowing bathroom toiletry rack), and I had more than my fair share for my birthday from my in laws, Sian and Amy. I'm very excited about using the Body Shop bath jelly as I'm currently using the Frosted Cranberry shower gel which I had from Sian for Christmas, and it smells amazing. The Ted Baker goodies from Sian also smell really lovely... everything made by Ted Baker seems to smell divine. Last but not least, I can't wait to try out my in-shower gradual tanning lotion from my in laws. I'm ridiculously pale/transparent at the moment so it's a very welcome solution! 

No birthday would be complete without a few entertainment presents. I have a well populated Amazon wishlist which influenced certain purchases from Neil and my sister... Big Hero 6 and The Theory of Everything are two of the best films I've seen in the cinema this year. I also loved Delivery Man last year, and who doesn't (secretly) love Taylor Swift? Shake it off! 

I've never ever bought a pair of sunglasses worth more than £5, so I was very excited when Neil's parents bought me this lovely pair for my birthday. They definitely look more classy than my Primark specials! Another definite item for my holiday list. 

It definitely wouldn't be a real birthday without some new Disney pyjamas. Neil is well aware of this as he started the Disney pyjamas tradition so he now has to continue with it until the end of time. This resulted in some lovely new summer pyjamas with Eeyore emblazoned all over them... how cute are these?! 

Neil also bought a lovely Animal hoodie for my birthday as he knows I'm partial to that kind of thing. He's a good one! 

I've been banging on about discovering the amazing Limoncello Fever since our recent holiday to Amalfi so it's no surprise that I received the two key ingredients for my birthday from Edwina and my in laws. I've had two Limoncello Fevers today and I can confirm that they're delicious (and quite potent) in this country too. 

Neil's parents' pets are also very generous when it comes to my birthday and they bought me some lovely candles this year. They're very clever!

Although I managed to wait until my birthday to open most of my presents, I actually opened Sarah's presents two days early this year. I had a very stressful day on Tuesday and I'd arranged to meet Sarah at the cinema in the evening. She had my birthday presents with her, and I'm sure you'd agree that it would have been very rude not to open them in front of her. I'll be honest with you here... the Tangfastics are nearly all gone already. However, I haven't tried the hot chocolate sachets, marshmallows or the mug yet so I'm looking forward to those! I really love the inscription on the mug: 'Friends are like stars, you don't always see them  but you know they are there.'

As well as my bottle of Prosecco, Edwina bought some lovely flowers for my birthday which brightened up the office on Thursday. They're also doing a great job of brightening up my kitchen windowsill with their yellows, pinks, purples and greens. 

Another purchase from my Amazon wish list... my sister and my nephews bought me a heat guard for my precious GHD straighteners which will be very useful when I go on holiday. I also had some pretty Cath Kidston earrings from Amy which I can't wait to try out. 

Nicola bought me a New Look gift card for my birthday so I merrily spent it in town the following day. Here's what I spent it on... look at these beautiful colours! 

Last but not least, who doesn't love having chocolate for their birthday? If you don't love having chocolate for your birthday, I don't think we can be friends. Thanks, Neil :) 

So there's my birthday haul for this year... I've been very lucky! Have you written any haul posts lately? I'd love to read them if so, I'm very nosey when it comes to other people's gifts! 

Restaurant review: The Captain's Wife

The Captain's Wife is more of a pub than a restaurant, but I didn't want to disrupt the title of my series! Just humour me...

We visited The Captain's Wife back in November to celebrate our three month wedding anniversary. I'd never been there before but I'd heard lots of good things (particularly about their portion sizes) so I was pretty excited. We decided a few hours before lunchtime that we'd like to give it a go, so we simply went online and booked a table there and then. Hassle-free!

The Captain's Wife is situated in a little village a mile or so from our house so I'm not sure why we've never thought to visit it before. It was a gloriously sunny day which really showed off the restaurant's beautiful surroundings, and I could have stood outside taking photos for hours. However, I love my food too much for this to be a realistic possibility. Ever.

I'd been yearning for a roast dinner for weeks so I opted for their Sunday roast with turkey. This was my first roast dinner since the wedding so my levels of anticipation were very high, and I was absolutely famished (as usual). We didn't have to wait too long for our food even though the restaurant was fairly busy, and the dinner was rather impressive when it arrived...

I was lovingly gazing at the parsnips and roast potatoes so I didn't even notice that there were no vegetables on my plate. They came along in a separate dish which I then added topsy-turvily to my plate, but I made sure I took the 'before' picture as my presentation skills aren't very good when it comes to food!

It was a proper mountain of food but I valiantly ate every morsel, as I'm sure you'd expect from me by now. The roast potatoes were particularly good, as well as the yorkshire pudding. Parsnips are my favourite vegetable in the world so I heartily enjoyed those too. You just can't beat a massive roast dinner!

You'd have thought we couldn't even consider ordering dessert after eating this lot... you thought wrong. I ordered the peanut butter and chocolate cheesecake without thinking twice as the description in the menu was simply salivating. 

Our desserts did take a while to appear from the kitchen but I didn't mind too much when I saw mine. Just look at that sugary chocolatey pile of goodness! I took a photo halfway through to show all the different layers... so tasty. There was a huge layer of cream on the top and a generous helping of chocolate sauce around the edges, as well as a beautiful chocolate base. I'm not even a huge fan of peanut butter when it comes out of a jar, but the layer of peanut butter on the top and the cheesecake mixture itself were just amazing. I (obviously) ate every bit of this course too. 

Needless to say, we'll definitely be back in The Captain's Wife soon. The location is perfect for us and the food was so reasonable considering the sheer volume of it. It was also exquisite! The atmosphere was very homely and family-friendly, and it was just a lovely experience all round with friendly staff and beautiful views from the rustic windows. It also has a seating area outside if you fancied a drink in the sun. This place is just perfect for anniversary meals, birthday occasions or just a normal sunny Sunday. Or a rainy Sunday, but your external photos won't look so nice!  

Have you ever been to The Captain's Wife? Did you also manage two courses...? Let me know what you thought! 

Favourite wedding suppliers #1 - Issy Boo Cakes

Now that the wedding is over and I have some more time on my hands (sometimes), I thought I'd write a few blog posts about my favourite suppliers as a thank you and to pass on my 'wisdom' to other brides.

Searching for decent suppliers can be so daunting when there's so much choice available, and this is something I spent hours and hours on as I wanted to find good quality suppliers at a reasonable price. The internet was both a blessing and a curse when it came to this task! However, I'm so glad I chose all my suppliers so carefully as I was hugely happy with every single one of them.

The first supplier I'm going to blog about. is... Issy Boo Cakes!

Let's face it, everyone loves cake. I love cake an abnormal amount, and so do a lot of my friends, so I was determined to have a wedding cake that both tasted amazing and looked amazing. This resulted in a military operation to find the best wedding cake supplier I possibly could.

I stumbled across Issy Boo Cakes when I was researching cake makers in Cardiff and was immediately struck by the pretty and unique designs on their website. I got in touch with my requirements and the lovely Laura contacted me within a few hours to set up a meeting.

Before I met with Laura, we needed to decide on four flavours so that some cake samples could be prepared in advance. After much deliberating and salivating, we chose rich fruit cake, lemon cake, chocolate mud cake and neopolitan cake. I was pretty amazed when I saw the effort that had gone into the samples...

I was only expecting a few little slivers of each flavour! They were all amazing, but our particular favourite was the lemon cake as the lemon curd buttercream was just beautiful and unlike anything we'd ever tasted before. After these impressive samples and such a positive meeting with Laura, I just had to go with Issy Boo Cakes for our wedding cake.

I knew I wanted a square three-tiered cake with three different flavours, decorated with teal/turquoise ribbons and flowers, and Laura was happy to go with exactly what we wanted. We settled for lemon cake on the bottom tier, fruit cake as the middle tier and chocolate fudge cake as the top tier. We decided to try a different chocolate variety to the sample we asked for as there was so much choice... this proves how much we trusted in Laura's baking skills! We also ordered two dairy and gluten free vanilla cupcakes for our guests with special dietary requirements.

Laura was so organised from the minute we made first contact. The final price was emailed over to me very quickly after our meeting along with a little sketch of what the final cake would look like. Laura then got in touch with the hotel independently to sort all the arrangements for the wedding day which I was very impressed by. I was juggling so many things the week before the wedding and I really appreciated the fact that I didn't need to worry about the wedding cake at all.

On our wedding day, I think you'll agree that the cake looked absolutely beautiful...

I was so pleased with the finished effect, particularly with the sugar roses which matched our colour scheme perfectly. Just look how pretty and bright it is! We served the cake with the evening buffet and everyone commented on how lovely it was. We had positive comments about all three flavours which made me think we definitely made the right choices. The 'free from' cupcakes were also decorated in line with the colour scheme and were really beautifully designed. We were secretly glad that there was some fruit cake and lemon cake left as it meant we could freeze it to enjoy after the wedding! 

I would highly recommend Issy Boo Cakes for your wedding, christening, child's birthday party... whatever the occasion, Issy Boo Cakes will deliver exactly what you need! 

I'm now off to have a slice of cake.