NEWCASTLE FASHION WEEK // COMPANY FASHION SHOW

On Saturday 10th May I attended the first day of Newcastle Fashion Week and one of the main events, Company magazine's high-street catwalk! There were two shows available to attend on the day, starting at 12 noon and 2pm. Both catwalks were hosted by fashion features writer: Alexxsia Elizabeth, senior features writer: Carlene Thomas-Bailey and the amazing fashion designer Julien Macdonald, what an absolute treat! With some beautiful styles on show from a wide range of high-street stores including TOPSHOP (of course), Primark and Oxfam, to name a few; there really was enough fashion to suit anyone's tastes. I was especially impressed by what Next and Marks and Spencer's had to offer; amazing trouser suits, pastel dresses and heels.

It really was an amazing event and I loved every minute, but I have to say that being asked if we wanted to sit on the front row and have our pictures taken for Company's Street Style was the cherry on top of the cake. But that's enough bragging, (sorry! its not often I do!) I've promised myself that I will invest in a better quality camera after my birthday so I'm able to blog about events and include more vibrant and sharp pictures! Of course no event at the Assembly Rooms would be complete without a visit to their exclusive, 'BONBAR'; I chose my all time favourite amaretto sours and it did not disappoint. I've included a little mirror outfit shot of what myself and my friend Amy wore that day. I can't wait to attend 'Get into Fashion' this Friday as I'm sure it will not disappoint. Newcastle Fashion Week is really not one to be missed this year!



THE FAT HIPPO UNDERGROUND

A little over a week ago, myself and my boyfriend made a trip to a little place called 'The Fat Hippo Underground.' If you live around the Jesmond/Newcastle area then you maybe familiar with the original Fat Hippo restaurant; an eatery that specialises in the most amazing beef and chicken burgers, Newcastle's equivalent to MEATliquor in my eyes! Speaking of the original restaurant, I have to be honest and say that I haven't been. We did venture all the way over there late afternoon to be rudely told that there were no tables available; if we did want one we'd have to come back in 2 hours, NO WAY HOSAYYY! But in the end, fate was on our side and a month later The Fat Hippo opened their second restaurant and this time we actually made a reservation (which I recommend doing as it does get busy!) If you're not a fan of exceedingly good greasy food then please avert your eyes.

Situated on Shakespeare St. in the centre of Newcastle, the restaurant is not hard to miss. A giant luminous hippo hangs over it's doorway as you descend the stairs into the 'underground'. The décor is simple, clean and in places quirky. But who goes to a restaurant for the furnishings/to look at the walls? For being a new establishment, the servers who spot on, leaving the right amount of time in between our drink and food orders. As the pictures show we hit the food hard, maybe a little too hard. Although a Happy Hour menu was on offer, we decided to go for the full whack and ordered the chilli cheese nachos £7.90 as a starter along with the The Fat Hippo burger £9.90 as our main.

Now this is where it gets embarrassing; The Fat Hippo burger was made of double 4oz patties, topped with bacon, chorizo, cheese, onion rings and its own special fat hippo sauce, with an accompaniment of triple cooked chips! Dear, bloggers, I ate every last mouthful and I left not only weighed down with a food baby, but also with shame at how much food I'd managed to put away in my stomach!If I'd known how big the portions were, I'd have just called it a night after my share of the nachos but I'm not one to give up easily. You really do get your moneys worth and I'll definitely be going again, just maybe after a good 2 month recovery period. Fat Hippo Underground, you've really gone and made a good'un! If you're around the area and fancy a good bite to eat, then you know where it is! Also, I just couldn't resist snapping some photos of Newcastle as we left, such a beautiful Spring day.

*I've been wondering? Do you like my lifestyle/eating out blog posts, I really enjoy making them and just wondered if that enjoyment was mirrored in you reading them?



A TRIP TO AMSTERDAM

I am back! Quite literally back from Amsterdam and also back to blogging! I've taken a little time out from blogging in order to focus on making the most of my time off University. This year has absolutely flown by and I just wanted to set some time aside to enjoy the little things! I've had the most amazing Easter holiday spent with my family, boyfriend and friends and wouldn't wish for anything else. As I'm sure you can tell from the overload of pictures, I've recently travelled to Amsterdam! I would just like to say; do not, I repeat, do not on any circumstance stay out until 3am for a friend's birthday the night before you have to sail 15 hours to Amsterdam. Because it will be the worst journey of your life. But I doubt anyone is that stupid?! (Yes I am that stupid.) Besides the bad crossing the rest of our trip was just beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed it. When I say we, I mean myself and Sam, my boyfriend. We sailed from Newcastle to Amsterdam via DFDS Seaways, leaving at 5pm and arriving the following day at 9am. Despite my fragile state I still managed to gorge myself on snacks in our cabin as we watched The Croods and the first episode of Fargo!

Now, onto Amsterdam itself! We weren't given as much time as we'd hoped for but nonetheless we managed to travel around the city and take in a lot of what it had to offer. And I think I speak for us both when I say we would go back in a heartbeat. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city, of course you have your profanities; sex museum, red light district, and so on, but the city boasts some amazing views alongside it's canals with beautiful buildings on every corner. But out of everything, I think my favourite aspect was the food. Those chips you see, or frites as they are known in Holland, we bought from Vlaams Friteshuis Vleminckx. There are no seats and always a queue but do not let this deter you. They really are the best chips, hot crispy and fresh with over 20 different sauces to choose from. I'm not going to say much more as I really wouldn't want to spoil my memories or spoil it for anyone who may want to travel there in the future. But if you are ever given the chance, please try and go. I came home with a strange longing to buy an old bike and cycle everywhere as I'd seen hundreds do whilst over in Amsterdam. There's something so simple and beautiful when you see people of all ages riding along the busy streets on bikes. Of course no trip would be 100% complete without a burger from a vending machine, yes you heard right! Our trip home was a lot more pleasant and this time I managed to venture out onto the deck to take some photos, along with settling down after dinner to play a game of bingo and enjoy the cocktails that the boat had to offer. Amsterdam, I hope to see you again soon.

BREAKFAST CUPS

Pictured above, Martha Stewart's Breakfast Cups | Below, my own attempt

A very quick and different post but I just had to show you what I've just made! I've been wanting to try this concoction out for a while now and stumbled across Martha Stewart's recipe whilst on the internet. All instructions and ingredients are listed in the link. I'm no cook but how good do they look?! With a little help from the boyfriend we managed to make them; only thing different to good old Martha's was the size of our muffin tins and the type of bacon we used. Nevertheless they were so tasty and if you couldn't already tell, I'm really chuffed at making something that doesn't taste awful or look chargrilled.

HAUL - THE FIRST OF MANY

 As promised, here's the haul of items I bought on Mother's Day! Please excuse my grubby jeans and focus on the amazing shoes! Primark, you can do no wrong! What was supposed to be a quick look around once again turned into an hour long spree. The thing that most attracted me to the shoes had to be their beautiful colour.  I don't think I've ever owned anything in a dark plum shade so I'm excited to see how I will style them. Not long ago I bought a very similar pair of woven flats from TOPSHOP. All was fine and dandy until those same flats met the rain on a night out and I'm sad to say they now reside in my bin. I know Primark isn't renowned for the best quality but let's hope they last longer than their TOPSHOP dupes.
My second item caught both mine and my Mam's eye whilst on our way out of the shopping centre. I think I even made a little gasp and dragged her over by the hand! What could be a little garish to some, looked absolutely lovely to me! River Island have created a colourful geometric print kimono in a lightweight material. I know I will get a lot of wear out of this item; dressed up over a cami dress or just slung on with a top, jeans and sandals. A little pricey but I do believe the beaded detailing on the sleeves and opening justifies the price. And I did get the seal of approval from my Mam which makes all the difference.
The last two items are of course from Zara. The top I am not too sure of, £25.99 is a very decent price in my eyes but I can't help but tug at the material when I have it on as it doesn't sit too well. The front, a crepe effect contrasts nicely with the faux leather at the back of the top. And of course I cannot compliment the colour enough. Spring is coming and we all need a pop of colour in our wardrobe. I managed to snap up the last limited x edition necklace as I was paying for my top. I love the classic gold layered look and think this necklace will look perfect with a casual slouched vest and long tousled hair.

Sandals - Primark £6
Kimono - River Island £40
Top - ZARA £25.99

Necklace - ZARA £19.99

 

 

MOTHER'S DAY

 I thought I would take a different approach with this post and focus on what I did at the weekend. If you live within the UK, then I'm sure you'll know that Sunday was Mother's Day; unless of course, you're a house hermit in hibernation. I always tend to buy my Mam* the same thing every year, (CD's, DVD's, Perfume, yadda yadda) as you can tell I'm not very imaginative. However, this year I thought I'd shake things up a little and take her out for a nice meal at Zizzi's in the Metrocentre, followed by a shopping trip. Let me tell you now that my Mam is one fussy lady! I had the daunting task of finding her a jacket after our meal; I can only compare this to finding a needle in a haystack, but truth be told, WE DID IT (gold star to me!) But this post is all about the food, isn't it always about the food? For those of you who haven't been to Zizzi's, I would highly recommend it! Amazing staff, food and atmosphere; mixing modern décor with authentic stone baked pizzas. We opted for the Mother's Day set menu and boy was it good! Shopping afterwards became quite a struggle due to our bellies being so full! The starter was a mixture of antipasti; cured meats, garlic bread and olives galore! The main, or should I say the main show, was the Sofia Rustica pizza. Bigger than my face and loaded with spicy chicken, pepperoni, chillies and sausage, this pizza was one of the best I've ever ate and I've ate a lot! If you do order, keep a pitcher of water handy as things can get a bit hot n' spicy. Finishing off with a Tirimasu; the picture documents my defeat. I simply could not eat another thing! If you are looking for a nice relaxed dinner and portions bigger than an infant child then Zizzi's is the one. And of course, a shopping trip for my Mam would automatically end up in a shopping trip for myself due to poor self control. We both picked up some great pieces and I'll be posting a haul very soon!

So, how did you all spend your Mother's Day or normal Sunday, hope it was a good one?!

*Mam = Mother and Mum just don't cut it with my Mam as she says it makes her sound older than she is. So Mam it is, how very Geordie of me!



INSTAGRAM #1

chocolate pizza in bed with the other half, a treat at the ravensworth arms, happy birthday dad, night out selfie, amazing cheesecake made by my brother, finding vintage arcade games, DIY jeans, ultimate man crush, bargain buy.