kick those January blues - 'Night in' inspiration

It's official. It's wet, windy, cold and miserable, January is right on track for being one of those months you just want to curl up in a ball on the sofa and eat your body weight in food. Those January blues that everyone talks about are in full swing, with no money and no motivation to do anything. But! There is always a solution, and we can even enjoy those weekends in, scared to leave your house in less than your dressing gown. 

So, today I thought I would talk through a couple of 'night in' suggestions for you and your friends, or even you and your partner, keeping it cosy and cute this winter. 

Fondue evening 

So me and my best friend were meant to go out on Friday night, but by the time she arrived and we had settled on the sofa with a cup of tea, we weren't going anywhere. Our reasoning you ask? The cold. So instead we got our bums to Tesco and picked up all the ingredients to have a chocolate fondue, with the added luxury of a bottle of prosecco. It was perfect and right up both our streets. We got together; marshmallows, strawberries, pretzels and plenty of Cadburys. What a feast. What's more with a few glasses of bubbly and a music channel in the background, we bought the night club to the comfort of our living room...oh and let's not forget our killer outfits...(I mean pyjamas.) 

Cheese and wine night in

So while we are on the subject of food it would be rude not to mention, the main love in my life, cheese. And yes I know it's just been Christmas and every one I know may be on a diet...but one night of feasting can't hurt surely!? 

Gather together some cheeses, grapes and wine and be those sophisticated ladies (or men) you always knew you were. Your stomach will be satisfied and so will you. 

Spa Evening

As your not venturing out of the house it's only right that you prepare yourself for when you do finally hit the town again. So what perfect time then to pamper you and your friends. Start off by doing face masks and seeing how long you can keep a straight face before you both end up in stitches. Once your skin is feeling like a baby's bottom add your favourite skin care routine to the mix, by the time you wake up you'll feel like a brand new person. You can also do foot spas, and paint your nails. A little pick me up in January can sometimes be just what you need. 

Disney movie night

Now last but not least and it has to be my favourite for obvious reasons, but get everyone together and throw yourself into the Disney princess life. I've been meaning to do this for ages with the girls, but we still haven't got round to it. What better place to be, then in a movie full of princes, singing, dancing and talking animals? 

Grab some snacks of course, in my opinion cupcakes and cocktails work best for this occasion. Sit back and revel in the world of

Disney. 

I hope you like my few suggestions to help kick those January blues with a fun packed night in. Let me know if you try any of them out. 

Thanks for reading my lovelies x 

5 Last minute Halloween ideas

Halloween is fast approaching and i know i still don't have any plans. What with working all weekend and just getting back from a little break i haven't really had much time to think about it. So i thought i would put together a little post to help myself and any others who are in the same boat. Read on to hear all about my five suggestions, to make a last minute plan into a spooktastic Halloween.

1. My first suggestion is to get a couple of friends together, get yourself too Tesco or Asda and stock up on all those scary treats that are flooding the shops at the moment. Cakes, sweets, chocolate, crisps all in crazy colours, shapes and flavours. Just go mad! Get yourself a bottle of wine or two and head back to one persons house/flat and get curled up on the sofa. You could either rent some dvd's, head over to Netflix or just scroll the TV channels to find all the scary movies that will be on and a have a movie marathon. It's fun, warm and cheap, which is always a bonus. If you and all your friends are scaredy cats, watch the nightmare before Christmas and Hocus Pocus, old classics for this time of year and not at all too scary to watch.

2. My next pick is along the same lines, but if you fancy getting out the house for a bit its perfect. Go to the cinema to see the scariest film possible. Top yourself up with popcorn and a hot chocolate, and take a loved one with you for moral support haha! Again it dosent break the bank and is a very easy way to get in the Halloween spirit without all the madness and dressing up if that just isn't very you. 

3. My third idea is probably my favourite and this is too have a baking and cooking day or evening with a bestie. Scroll pinterest for the best Halloween treats and tricks out there and bake up a storm in the kitchen. There are so many ideas floating around Facebook at the moment too. This way you can make the treats and keep it Halloween themed too. You could always ask a couple more friends round in the evening to share the treats with and maybe play some games and drink some wine. 

One of the treats i tried were these baked peppers stuffed with couscous in the shapes of pumpkins. Super cute and yummy and great for a savoury option.  

4. Number four is to get yourself out and about and have a good night out with some friends. It doesn't matter if you haven't got the best costume, use your makeup bag to do some weird and wonderful creations on your face and cut up an old tshirt or dress. Head to some local bars and have a little dance and a couple of drinks. I promise you, you will have fun and you wont't feel stupid as everyone else will look as silly or as scary as one another. 

5. My fifth and final idea would be to throw a last minute halloween party at your house. Asda has everything you will need to make your house or flat the scary and creepy destination it needs to be. Get everyone to dress up, you can even choose a theme if you want too. You can go as crazy or as simple as you want to. Get cocktail making ingredients at the ready and make a little cocktail making station perfect for all the guests. You could also do some really funny and easy games. Apple bobbing a proper oldie, and buy a ton of toilet roll and see who can make their partner into a mummy the quickest. These games will be even more fun when you have had a couple to drink and whats better they take no time or effort to make them. Just be prepared for the tidying and the hangover the day after haha! I'm sure it will be worth it!!

So there you have my five little suggestions for this Halloween, it may just be some scary movies on Netflix and some scary cupcakes for me, but i'm happy with that. Whatever you are up to this weekend and this Halloween i hope you have a fantastic spooky one!

Thanks for reading my lovelies x

Mad Hatters Afternoon Tea, at the Sanderson Hotel

Me and my best friend turned 22 this year, and we decided that for our birthday treat to each other, we wanted to do something special. We both absolutely love anything Disney themed, and anything that involves a good piece of cake, so put the two together and the afternoon tea at the Sanderson Hotel in london was perfect. It is really easy to find being just behind oxford street, and the hotel itself was beautiful. As we walked towards the restaurant reception, your were able to see the lovely outside courtyard, which on a lovely summers day would have been great. On the day we went it was pouring with rain so we were sat in the main restaurant but this was just as nice.

Now to start off your experience there is a jewellery box and little Alice in wonderland story book left on the table. Inside the book you open it up to see your menu for the day. The jewellery box was full of sugar cubes and sang a little tune everytime it was opened which definitley startled me the first time we opened it. 

Next up were the tea choices. This was definitely one of my favourite parts of the experience. You were given the choice of five types of tea, each one in a gorgeous glass bottle and each one came with a card which told you the name of the tea and the key flavours to it. The choices were; Queen of hearts, Mad hatter, White Rabbit, Fearlessly Alice and Cheshire Cat. The best part to this was that the afternoon tea came with unlimited tea, which meant if you wanted to you could try each individual flavour. Between us we tried each type, but my personal favourite was the 'White Rabbit'.

Queen of hearts - Red rose congu infused with red rose petals. Hint of vanilla and chocolate.

On to the food. To start you are given a plate of savouries to share. This plate was a great mixture of flavours and what was even better is the waiter gave you the choice to have seconds if the first plate wasn't quite enough. Our favourite from the savories was by far the ham and smoked apple-wood croque-monsieur. It was delicious. 

Other choices on the plate were made up of a scotch egg with smoked salmon and quail egg. A scrummy crab and herb eclair, and a refreshing cucumber and cream cheese sandwich on lime bread. All in all it was very much enjoyed by the both of us.

Now for the piece de resistance of the entire experience. The tiered plate of sweet choices on the menu. The choice was incredible and the attention to detail just blew me away. You were given warm scones with clotted cream and jam, red velvet cake, banana bread, marshmallow. You name it, it was on this plate of goodness. 

Amazing!

The top tier of the cake stand was full of fun and light sweets. There was the carrot meringue poking its way through the grass on the teacup top. The magic mushroom strawberry marshmallows that were delicious, and the chocolate caterpillar truffles that i wish you could purchase in box form. 

Moving down to the second tier of sweets, these were slighly more heavy and filling. The white rabbits pocket watch coffee flavoured macaroon, and red velvet ladybirds which were definitely a favourite of mine. A queen of hearts soldier in oreo cookie form and banana bread finished with a butterfly. 

By this point we were definitely starting to get full but we soldiered on determined to finish the last couple of sweets.

The last tier, was piled with beautiful warm scones, accompanied by clotted cream and strawberry jam, because what else?! Last but not least we finished with a 'drink me' potion. A passion fruit cream and coulis drink, which was really refreshing and light. Just what we needed.

After all the food and countless cups of tea, we left feeling rather full and content, with great big smiles on our faces and a great memory to share with friends and family. The Experience as a whole was wonderful and something that i really am so glad we both did together. It was pricey and not an everyday activity, but for a special occasion, it really was something i will treasure forever.

Thanks for reading my lovelies x

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