Feeling sorry for myself

So today I am full of cold. And feeling very sorry for myself. I even told my boyfriend this morning that I think I have man flu - purely because I am planning to moan and milk it as much as possible! And there is nothing worse than feeling crappy and spending hours driving in your car all day. So apologies for the grump! 

Last week I stayed in the Hotel Indigo in Liverpool, which, despite my reservations (it's not the hilton) I thoroughly enjoyed. The room was big, modern, light and airy, and the breakfast was lush, and they had takeaway cups so I could take my hot chocolate with me (I was naughty and had a cooked breakfast!). The hotel has a Marco Pierre white restaurant attached so you would expect it to be good. It had a bustling environment, even when I arrived back late at night (around 12am) there were still plenty of people drinking in the bar by the reception, which was a stylish little area. 

I had been up to London for meetings for the day, where we had hired a room at The Ape and Bird in Soho. Work were holding a quiz night, and I was gutted to have to leave early to get my train back up north! We were doing pretty well in the quiz, and the main meals hadn't made it out yet (queue a stop-off at burger long at the train station - oops!) so I was starving. All I can say about the hors d'ouvres that we had was that it was all a bit too fussy for my liking - I would have been happy with typical pub grub in a London pub. The pub itself had lots of little nooks and crannys, it was miles down to the toilet and each room had it's own different atmosphere, it was pretty cool! 

Whilst in liverpool, I had the pleasure of a business meeting in Hotel Chocolat. I didn't realise they had cafe's - as there aren't any in our area, but it was incredible. I had a salted

Caramel hot chocolate, which was possibly the best thing I have ever eaten, along with a slice of my favorite lemon drizzle cake, which was perfectly moist. 

When I got back, over the weekend we had a busy time. Friday was a friends leaving do, so naturally we headed out for some drinks, starting off in The Beehive and unfortunately, once again ending up in moo moos and home via Charlie's fish and chip shop... It was lots of fun but I most certainly regretted the sausage in the morning! 

Saturday I went on a treasure hunt with the girls - Beard's jewellers had hidden 10 diamonds around cheltenham. It was a lot of fun, but sadly we didn't find any diamonds (although came pretty close!). Shattered after a late night and a lot of walking around town, we headed to get some lunch, everywhere was rammed! We ended up in ask, one of my favorites, and it was warm enough to sit outside! I got extremely excited about the glasses they were serving our drinks in, which I found out you can buy in the shop, and had one of the best pizzas I've ever eaten. It was pepporoni with added chicken, scrummy! To top it all off the service was impeccable, the waitress serving us was lovely and the only problem was that we had to move inside because of the stupid wasps! 

On Sunday we went to a christening, where D became a godfather. It was a lovely day, all very exciting and I managed to (somehow) get the role of official photographer on the day. I am most certainly a novice, although I own a lovely camera I don't really know what to do with it, so this has prompted me to book onto a course in a few weeks. I really enjoyed doing it, felt quite a lot of pressure but got some lovely photos, and would really like to know how to do it properly. We had roast dinner after the service at Rodway Hill Golf Club in Highnam. Now I always love a roast dinner, and it was pretty good considering they were catering for over 60 people at once, but the beef was quite overdone and therefore a bit dry. But the rest of the food was great, we had a fair sized portion, and a great selection of pud's, I got a giant piece of chocolate fudge cake. D was a little disappointed it was pouring cream and not clotted - he's been spoilt! 

Early this week I stayed away, just for the night in Luton and managed to catch up with a friend from uni. We met halfway, in watford, where neither of us had a clue what restaurants were about. Luckily we found a street which included all of the standards that you would expect, and ended up in Chimichanga. I love Mexican, so was very happy about that! The place looked pretty new, lovely decor and the staff were friendly. I did have to ask a couple of times for my drink, but other than that the food was pretty good (I feel like in a chain you only ever get pretty good). I had some potato skins to start with cheese and bacon, of the 3 of them 2 were cooked through and nice and crispy, 1 was a little hard. Then for main i had sliders with sweet potato fries. The sliders were great, but a little too big. The buns were a lot bigger than the burgers, so it would have been better if they were smaller then I wouldn't have left so much bread. And of course - sweet potato fries - my fave, were lovely. A had swapped her rice for sweet potato fries - and their interesting take on this was to put the fries under her enchiladas - as you would rice! 

That evening I headed back to my hotel - the holiday inn luton, which was as you'd expect from a holiday inn. It's not luxury like some of the hotels I stay in, but you always know what your getting and it's to a high standard. Room was a little smaller than I usually get, but for one night it was exactly as I needed. And always a good night sleep - their beds are pretty comfy! 

Lots more to catch up on on the next post :) 

Paigey x

Celeb spotting

I've decided that I happen to be one of those lucky (or unlucky) people that tends to bump into celebrities. I know, I know, I work in film, but surprisingly I haven't met a huge amount of people since I started this particular role (other than my exciting encounter with Barrack Obama last week of course!). So I was wandering around Liverpool One yesterday, waiting to head into a meeting, and Claire Sweeney walks past! Anyone under the age of 25 (my age) will probably be thinking who on earth is that, but the rest of you are with me. How exciting (note.. Tone of sarcasm). 

On Monday one of my meetings was cancelled, so before heading back to the hotel I popped into a cinema to catch a film of ours that I hadn't got round to seeing -if I stay. Chloe Grace Moretz was fantastic as usual, and I really enjoyed it! I felt a little bit of a loser, considering I was the only person in the cinema and was sat there with a few tears in my eyes, and made sure my make up looked normal for when I walked past the staff on my way out! 

So it's a week of hotels (I'm up north - so needed to book a few nights away). As mentioned in my previous post, I stayed in Chester this week - due to a recommendation for a restaurant. Headed off to Hickory's Smokehouse in Chester, and I was blown away. The atmosphere was awesome, considering it was a Monday night it was rammed (1 hour wait for a table), but luckily you didn't have to wait for a table! They had a little bar type area which allowed people alone or in small groups to sit and eat around the area which they are preparing food. This is something I love as it shows complete confidence in what they are serving. On the bar, they had all of the sauces that you might need, along with kitchen rolls and wipes, which meant that when you needed anything you didn't have to bother the waiter - which meant much quicker service! The menu was extensive, and I struggled deciding what to have, and had convinced myself to just have a main until the waiter suggested a starter. So back to the beginning, you sit down and are presented with a (rather large) bag of popcorn, along with a bottle of water. It always makes me happy when I don't have to ask for tap water. I ordered nachos with pulled pork to start, and I must admit it was possibly the best pulled pork I've had in a restaurant - cooked perfectly with just the right amount of sauce. The only thing I would suggest is that there was slightly too much cheese, and if you are headed here with people you could most certainly share the nachos as a starter (I only ate about half). For main course I went for chicken fajitas. One thing I always find with fajitas is that they never give you enough wraps - but on this occasion it was the perfect amount. It came with the perfect sides (cheese, guacamole, salsa and sour cream, along with some lettuce) and the chicken was cooked to perfection. Quite spicy - I needed extra sour cream compared to the rest, but it was scrummy. I'm very glad I listened to the recommendation, and I must admit it was the first time I've felt 100% comfortable being alone in a restaurant, there was nobody looking at me and feeling sorry for me being on my own! 

That evening, I stayed in the Abode hotel in Chester. The car park confused me, as the entrance was shut so I had to drive in the exit (and the lady driving out was getting quite cross with me driving the wrong way, despite the fact that the signs said so). I got into the hotel quite late, so was eager to get into bed. It was extremely comfortable, the lady on reception was very friendly and answered all of my questions. The hotel room was huge - it was like an apartment, with a lovely selection of snacks from the 'mini bar', bright and modern room with a clean and new looking bathroom. Overall I was impressed and would happily go back there.  

I didn't have breakfast in the hotel, I stopped off at a pret on the way in Cheshire Oaks (and naughtily bought myself a new dress from the Coast outlet for a Christening I'm going to on Sunday). You can't go wrong with a pret (they do the best hot chocolate of any of the chain coffee shops, no fuss, and the chocolate croissants are lush!) 

Tuesday evening was the night I've been looking forward to - headed out for dinner and a cinema trip with my ex-colleague who is expecting in a few months. As recommended by a friend of hers, we headed to Orthello's in Blackpool, a little Greek restaurant that looks like it is family run. We arrived there 10 minutes before they were due to open, but the manager came to the door and let us in anyhow. For a starter we ordered some pitta bread with olives, feta and a little side salad - the feta was just what I was after. We both had 2 diet cokes, I went for a steak au poivre whilst she had a seafood platter. Considering how much food that is - the bill only came to £40! Bargain! My steak was cooked beautifully - medium - although I must admit there was a little too much (very peppery) peppercorn sauce (and those of you that know me well know how much I love my peppercorn sauce). It came with a side of either chips or rice - I went for chips - and they were just the way I like them, well cooked and extremely thick cut. The staff were very attentive, and friendly, and they did everything to ensure we had a lovely meal. 

We headed to the cinema to see Sex Tape, and both agreed not to get our hopes up as it looked so great from the trailers. Well for once - the trailers did not lie! Before going into the cinema we both got some ice cream. I was terribly excited because my local cinema has got rid of Ben and Jerry's - but they had it here. I had smore's which is my favourite, the caramel cuts through the chocolate in such a great way, along with phish food (my old faithful), some chocolate sauce and hazelnuts (very indulgent, and it was so worth it). Although I must admit the lady overfilled it hugely and I would much preferred less ice cream so I didn't make so much of a mess! Sex tape was one of the funniest films I have seen in a long time, I spent most of the film laughing out loud and that is not something I do often. Cameron Diaz is beautiful as always - she looks incredible I hope I look that way at her age... And Jason Segal whilst being one of my favorite actors anyway, has lost so much weight for this film he has become quite a catch. (Although if I was going to spend that much time naked with Cameron Diaz I would also make sure my body is in tip top shape. I only say this when I really mean it but I can't wait for it to come out on DVD! 

I'm currently sat on a train to London for meetings today, having stayed at the Hotel Indigo in Liverpool (gutted - the hilton was fully booked). They have a lot to prove as I always stay in the Hilton, so I will be reviewing it after I have completed my stay. 

Have a good day, 

Paigey x

Bad day for a diet

Well... I have once again excelled myself with eating out. Gym is most certainly necessary - first thing tomorrow morning!

I'm currently up in Chester for work and have been recommended to try a restaurant - so thought I'd sit here and write a blog whilst I wait! (Although this one will be in the next post - Hickory's Smokehouse, keep your eyes peeled). 

One of my exciements of last week was that I drove past barrack Obama! I didn't actually see him, but as I was driving into Cardiff for meetings, about 10 minutes on from the Celtic Manor Resort where they were holding the NATO conference along came around 20 police motorbikes, followed by 20 police cars, then vans, then armoured vans - with two lovely looking cars in the middle (don't ask me what - I'm a girl!) and the same behind. Obama would have been in one of those two cars, I was a tad excited. I have never seen so many police in one area - leading into Wales there were hundreds, I'm not even exaggerating when I say I probably saw 500 a day this week! 

I had an extremely busy weekend. I was lucky enough to be taken for breakfast early on Friday - we headed to The Curious Cafe (the one with the earlier AMAZING hot chocolate). I once again had a hot chocolate, along with a sausage sandwich and hash browns. I must admit the hot chocolate wasn't quite as good as the previous one - not as many marshmallows, but it was still epic. The sausages were very tasty (locally produced) but I must admit my eyes were definitely too big for my belly. The thing that consistently let's the Curious Cafe down is the staff - you don't feel particularly looked after and they are pretty slow. The staff were far more interested in flirting with the local builder who had come in for his breakfast, than serving us and were slow to react as they were trying to be the last one talking to him - not impressed. However if you are happy to put aside the staffs rudeness, the food is worth a try - particularly their breakfast. They also have a lovely little outside garden if the weathers good.

That evening it was time for another night out with the girls. D was on cricket tour so it was time for a 'go hard or go home night', and I must admit two of us did go hard, and one went home! We were out till 4.30am and managed to blag free entry into moo moo's (where I felt like an old lady - I'm sure everyone in there was about 12), and subtone, and a lot of free drinks (managed to get a pitcher out of a stag who wanted me to put on a fresh pair of boxers over my dress - no problemo!). I was feeling a little worse for wear on Saturday morning.

How best to cure a hangover than to head to our secret little cafe - and once again take in the hangover cure of a chocolate frappe, alongside a bacon panini (anyone would think I weigh 20 stone - I don't - promise!)

That afternoon I had to head down to Surrey to visit friends, as I had a reunion on Sunday so was staying there Saturday night (I was not best pleased about this after a 5am bedtime!) I went for a coffee in a new coffee shop in The Friary Centre in Guildford - moka. We were originally planning on going to Costa, but the swish interior enticed us in. It did not disappoint. On the outset, it looks like a typical coffee shop. But when we entered we were sent to the table - table service! Perfect! They had an extensive menu, with some great looking lunch food, and although a little pricey for a drink it was well worth it. The staff were friendly, and I went for a mango smoothie which was delicious and refreshing. 

That evening I headed off to the cinema to see Guardians of the Galaxy, which I really enjoyed. It was light hearted and funny, but the end of credits sequence we have all come to expect of Marvel, although being there was quite a disappointment. A lot of people have said it wasn't good because that it's not like a marvel film, I didn't go in expecting a marvel film and thoroughly enjoyed it. Following the cinema we headed over to Frankie and Benny's for dinner, nothing too fancy but you know what your getting. The food was good, service was friendly and something you don't often find in Frankie and Benny's - it was quick! Their menu has changed recently and it was a huge amount of choice - it was like reading a book! I had filled potato skins (which weren't particularly filled, but they were cooked nice and crisp) and a southern fried chicken burger. I would say it was good, but by no means excellent. 

Yesterday I had a lovely reunion with some friends - dad cooked a great BBQ, and onto an evening BBQ (a lot of burgers this weekend!). 

Had a long drive home, followed by a long drive up to Liverpool this evening via Wrexham.. So I think it's about time I hit the sack. 

SD 

Paigey x 

Busy bee!

Apologies for taking such a long time to write another blog, I've been a busy bee particularly with work and just haven't had the time to sit down and write this. I must be honest as well... I've become a tad obsessed with entering competitions - you wouldn't believe how much time it takes up! But fingers crossed :)

So where did we leave off... Well I think I was about to head for another spa day (I know, I'm extremely lucky). This time is was at the Cheltenham park hotel, and although it's not predominantly a spa they had pretty good facilities. Headed to the gym in the morning, equipment could do with an update but there was plenty in there! We grabbed a couple of sun loungers (which I must admit there were most certainly not enough of - I think there were 5 in total for the whole spa and we were lucky to get there earlier as there were a lot of people without one). They had a swimming pool, which was a fair size although open to the public so if you want a relaxing spa day perhaps not the place - lots of kids splashing about. Sauna, steam room and jacuzzi (which once again, I was surprised as the children were allowed in), and the room where you relax was a tad overheated - they have a huge glass wall so it's like a conservatory but for some reason haven't made it into patio doors. We all had a couple of treatments (facial and massage) and the girls were very good, although quite chatty (I don't really understand the etiquette - do you speak or not?!). Overall it was well worth the deal we got on groupon - we were supposed to have 4 of us but the 4th couldn't come, so they offered us a free robe & slippers along with lunch each... A pretty good replacement although we did wish our friend was there!! We thought it would be a tiny lunch but actually it was extremely substantial, I had sausage and mash which was lovely and homely - inside a Yorkshire pud with gravy :) not great for the bikini all afternoon but tasty all the same - treat day! (And boy was it treat day because we finished off with a nandos when we got home to the boys that evening!) 

That Sunday, I experienced my first ever afternoon tea with my lovely boyfriend who keeps taking me on these new adventures! We went to the Hatton Court Hotel in Gloucester, which was busy due to a wedding and serving Sunday roast, but I was pleasantly surprised with the venue. Once again, a groupon deal - I am a bit of a bargain hunter, we had sandwiches, cakes, scones and unlimited tea and coffee. It was just as I expected - scones were most certainly the best part! Next time I think we shall go for champagne afternoon tea - moving up in the world! The only problem was that we fancied an afternoon walk in the grounds and couldn't because the only grounds was where the wedding was, but other than that we felt extremely well looked after. 

Following our afternoon tea, we headed over to the boyfriends family farm and did some foraging, we found an array of fresh goodies! 

Last week, not a lot went on food wise! We ate in a lot, and behaved ourselves so not much to update. For work, one evening I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Birmingham, which was lovely. I was In a brand new room which was extremely impressive, and the free toiletries were a plenty. Unfortunatly I didn't have time to check out the facilities, but they did have a spa, pool and gym. The reception area was stunning, somewhere I would happily go and relax. The only downfall was parking - there was none and so I had to park nearby and walk 5 minutes to the hotel (and I saw a rat in the car park!!! Eeeek!). 

That evening, whilst staying in the Birmingham area I visited the cinema and went for dinner with a friend. We went to see 'Lucy' which was... To say the least, interesting. Strange plot with a silly ending, and I'm not a fan of Scarlett Johanssen at the best of times. Headed over to Chiquitos for dinner which I have decided is extremely overpriced for what you get. The service was excellent, but I was disgusted with the portion size of my food - I swapped chips for sweet potato fries and it was almost embarrassing the amount of fries I was served. Especially considering the price, and when the bill came they even tried to charge me for a full sized side portion of the fries!! I don't even tell a lie when I say that is the full amount of fries that is on my plate. I could never serve that to somebody! 

On Friday, it was time for date night. So we headed to Prezzo in Cheltenham, the one near Pizza express and I had a standard Spaghette Bolognaise, as per usual it was perfect and scrummy. The service was good, but I did notice that for some reason that evening the staff were dropping EVERYTHING. Following dinner, we headed out for cocktails with a couple of friends and had a rather messy evening, but lots of fun at The Retreat in Cheltenham. 

On Sunday, a friend and I were lucky enough to win tickets to a special advance screening of 'The Maze Runner', which I was extremely excited about having read all of the books, and they are one of my favorites I've read in a while. We headed up to London, and treated ourselves to a Ben's Cookie (if you have not tried one you are missing out, you must!) and a Pret A Manger Lunch, which I must say is one of my favorite coffee houses. I went for a cheese, ham, tomato and bacon toastie, with a cookie and a hot chocolate, and it most certainly didn't disappoint. 

We popped into Selfridges (my favorite place in the world) to go to Tiffany's as my friend needed her necklace fixing, and were incredibly disappointed to receive the WORST customer service I have ever had in there, something I would never expect of Tiffanys. The lady that was serving us was rude and argumentative, and it took 45 minutes just to arrange having the necklace sent off. So time to head somewhere fun a off to Fox for the screening. It was great, although I think we were the oldest people there!! We were each given a free T-shirt and book, along with a bottle of water for the movie. Their screening rooms were lovely and incredibly comfy, although there were not enough toilets for that amount of excited young girls! The film was excellent, intense, action packed and a little jumpy, it most certainly satisfied a fan of the book. And it was a lovely day out with my friend, we had a lot of fun.

That evening it was off out again, as it was D's last day of cricket - so we went out for 'celebratory' drinks. To the Retreat once more, then on to Subtone when we realised this was the only place still open! We got home at 4am (ouch) and luckily I managed to convince D that tonight was not the night for Charlie's (fish and chip shop open all night!) 

This week we have been back to our eating ways - 2 nights out... Oops :). On Tuesday we went for a curry with a group of friends, to the Indian Brasserie on Bath Road in Cheltenham. It was extremely reasonable (we did have a discount card, but including drinks was around £20 per head), the staff were friendly and attentive and the food was good. I had a rogan josh, popadoms, Bombay potatos and garlic naan. It was the perfect level of spice for me (I'm a bit of a wuss), the only thing I would point out is the chicken wasn't as tender as I have experienced in other Indian restaurants. 

The company was excellent, we had a rather hilarious evening as a friend of ours explained how he first pulled his girlfriend by showing her his 'whale impression' (which he proceeded to attempt), and whilst myself and my boyfriend sit at home watching 'Downton Abbey', the pair of them watch 'Babestation'! 

I baked some of Hazel's delicious brownies this week, they were just as good as always. It sparked a disagreement as I am sworn to secrecy and have promised not to share the recipe, but my partner believes otherwise :) I said it doesn't matter anyway as I'll always be the one baking them! I must admit though I'm impressed at how long they last - even 6 days later they're still gooey in the middle. 

Phew, your going to be bored of this post by now it's got so long - my apologies... Lesson learnt write more often! 

Finally, last night we went for another date night (they tend to be on a Friday!). We went to Cafe Rouge, which is always our treat with Tesco Clubcard Vouchers (if you didn't already know, if you convert your vouchers into restaurant vouchers they're worth 4x the amount). We had £70 to spend so decided to push the boat out and both went for steak. We had some baked breaded Camembert to start, with a garlic and salt bread which was yummy. Decided to go with the house red, as when your in a French restaurant you know their not going to mess up with the wine, and sure thing they didn't. I had a fillet steak, and D had a rib-eye, and they were both cooked to perfection, (medium rare), and melted in your mouth. We had a lovely time, and was pretty impressed with the service as well! 

I have more to talk about from this weekend but I think il save that for another day!! 

Much love 

Paigey x