Cardiff Bound...

Hey Everyone,

Last week it was S at Eleven oh Seven's 21st birthday and as we are all miles from each other (sad times) we had to try and arrange something to do. She had decided, seeing as we still had our student digs for a weekend, we would go for food and cocktails in Cardiff. She doesn't like big birthday fusses (which I personally don't get being the ultimate birthday princess) so we just kept it super casual.

(Cocktails are the perfect way to celebrate any birthday, Anne Maries Salad - Ten Mill Lane)

I arrived into Cardiff quite late due to having to go to work earlier in the day and rather than being my usual tired self, I was buzzing. This may have been because I was having a reunion with some of my favourite people or because I was heading back to my second home, Cardiff. After a short while making sure we were all ready (toilet and outfit checks, obviously) we set off. Cardiff has so many great places for food so was very hard for us all to pick but Wagamamas is a firm favourite of S' so seemed like a great choice. I had never been before but I loved every mouthful of my Yaki Soba and I cannot fault any restaurant that stocks peach iced tea. I also tucked into some chicken and duck gyoza's and I wasn't too keen on the chicken ones but I still catch myself dreaming about the duck gyoza's daily. I am looking forward to my next visit to this great restaurant.

(Yaki Soba, Peach Iced Tea, and the heavenly Duck Gyoza's)

Next it was cocktail o'clock and S opted for somewhere we had never been to before, Ten Mill Lane. After walking down the flight of stairs the atmosphere was just perfect for the girly catch up we were in desperate need of. The bar staff were fab. After being unsure on what cocktail to order we told the bartender we liked it fruity and he started making. We were loving the fact we got to give it a shake ourselves and made to feel like a celeb with the house photographer taking candid shots of us (although my double chin makes far too many appearances, haha). After our pomegranate cosmo's we couldn't resist trying one of their signature cocktails and we all know, you can never just have one drink. We opted for Anne Maries Salad which contained strawberry, balsamic vinegar and basil. An odd but fabulous mix, it went down very well with me anyway.

(Got a fit of the giggles but still felt like an a-lister)

I love Cardiff its such a great city and I am looking forward to many more visits in the future. If you are looking for a great place for a few chilled cocktails Ten Mill Lane is your place, if Japanese food  isn't your thing check out my Cardiff Bucket List for more fab restaurants situated in Cardiff.

See you Wednesday,

Love Katie x

Hey July...

Hey Everyone,

It's July and this year really is zooming by. July is by far my favourite month of the year for many reasons so this blog post is all about what I am looking forward to this month and there is a lot.

(Image from Pinterest)

Movies

(Image from Pinterest)

This month I am super excited for the release of two films. One being Magic Mike XXL. As a girl of course I am going to be excited to see Channing Tatum getting his kit off for a second time. This time around Mike is coming back to the stripping world for one last show, I'll be straight in the cold shower after seeing this one. Another film I am looking forward to is Ant-Man, Marvels latest hero to be shown to the world. I am also excited to see Paul Rudd in a more serious role, although Marvel films have comical moments I think Paul Rudd will do it justice.

Celebrations

(Image from Pinterest)

This month has lots of celebrations, I will be blogging about my recent trip to Cardiff for S from Eleven oh Sevens birthday. I also have my graduation and birthday coming up which calls for lots of drinks and celebrating. I will be doing posts of my party planning and lots of Instagram posts of me at my graduation, so I will apologise for the spam now.

Trips

(Image from Pinterest)

This July I will be welcoming Eleven Oh Seven and TurnerTurner to my home town and will be doing a post on my fabulous home town and how cute it is. I am also heading to London to see Bend it Like Beckham in the theatre and I am sure that will be a great trip. July also means the end of school so I will hopefully make a few spontaneous trips around my town and maybe a far.

All these things I will hopefully be writing exciting blog posts on so you will have a lot to read this July. Keep an eye out for the things I'm doing on Instagram and Twitter.

See you Tuesday,

Love Katie x

Cardiff Bucket List Part 2...

Hey everyone,

Been super busy this week with my last exam and moving out of my student house, hence the late blog post (sorry). However it is here and its the second part of my 'Cardiff Bucket List'.

1. Street Food Circus.

(Left: Churros & Chocolate, Right: Entrance to the Street Food Circus with uni halls in the background)

I love food, especially street food. There is something just so satisfying with getting a decent meal out of a truck. We went on a Saturday evening so we expected it to be busy and after only a 10-15 minutes wait we got in. It's free entry and you only pay for the food and drinks you want. They have lots of trucks from curry to Louisiana wings, greek style food to Patagonian. The middle of the circus was a circus tent housing two bars with a range of cocktails and drinks. I wasn't feeling particularly hungry due to suffering from a spot of heart burn so got some churros and chocolate from the Mr. Churro truck. Coated in sugar and cinnamon (this was optional) and with a little pot of chocolate dip it was a perfect little snack. I have loved churros since I tried one from a street truck in L.A 3 years ago and these mini ones did live up to my expectation. The layout of the circus really reminded me of the rows upon rows of food trucks at a music festival which was great. The street food circus is running every weekend throughout May and June so if you have a chance to go, do it.

2. Five Guys, Cardiff.

(Left: my small bacon cheese burger with BBQ sauce and cajun fries, Right: Still enjoying my five guys drink at home)

I had been to a Five Guys in America last summer and had fallen in love with their drinks machine and when coming back to the UK I felt a little lost not having it in my life. However, over the past few months Five Guys seem to be popping up everywhere including Cardiff. As well as the famous selection of over 100 flavours of drink in the drink machines (peach Sprite is my favourite) they have a selection of burgers and hotdogs and their fries. In the Cardiff branch the fries are cooked in peanut oil so if you do suffer from a peanut allergy, avoid these. However, if you are allergy free I would recommend getting a small fries with your burger or hotdog as the portion sizes are a little on the large size. I am a huge fan of Five Guys though and will definitely go back.

3. Big Night In.

(there is no better way then starting your night with a pizza)

Being students, I understand we have a notorious reputation for going out all the time but we all know nothing beats a house party. We did some research on some fun drinking games to play, got in our Pj's and started the night. I downloaded the game 'Heads Up' and for 79p it was one of my best buys this year. It provided hours of entertainment. We also played 'Don't Show Keith Your Teeth' from Celebrity Juice, it is actually a lot harder than it looks. It was such a fun night and I would take a night of silly games over a night in a club any day.

(another pic from the street food festival, going to miss Arriva trains.)

We didn't get to do everything on my list as we didn't have time with deadlines and exams. This just gives me an excuse to come back to Cardiff soon and get it done. One of the things I am dying to do on my next visit is go to Cardiff Bay on the boat that leaves from Bute Park and spend the day at Techniquest. I have now moved back home for good and will be starting my new job Monday. A little crazy how quickly university ended. I will miss Cardiff a lot and it will always be a massive part of my heart. Already excited to plan my next trip. Sunday I will be doing my second songs of the month post so keep your eyes peeled for it. In the mean time check out my Twitter and Instagram (links on the side).

Love Katie x

Cardiff Bucket List Part 1...

Hello everyone,

I have been super busy this week with exams and going home to vote so have been quite quiet. However that is all about to change, my final exam is Tuesday which marks the end of my university experience. Madness right? Having been in and around Cardiff for almost 3 years I realised I have barely taken in this beautiful city so created 'The Cardiff Bucket List' to do in my final few weeks. With the help of my wonderful housemates and blogger friends Eleven Oh Seven and Turner Turner we have almost completed it. Here's an insight into what we have done so far.

1. Picnic in the Park

(Left: Fountain appreciation, Right: Mustangs in front of City Hall)

Cardiff has lots of beautiful parks and with the glorious weather we had it would have been silly not to make the most of it. We packed up our usual lunches (saved us a couple of pound but a meal deal would have been perfect too) and headed for City Hall lawn. We decided to eat here as they have the fountains out now and we didn't think it would be too busy. If City Hall lawn isn't your thing Cardiff has many other parks to picnic in such as Bute Park, Roath Park and Sophia Gardens. All perfect pinicing locations.

2. Applejacks Diner.

(Left: White Russian, Right: Maid in Cuba ft. Knickerbocker Glory)

Whenever I stroll around town I always seem to find myself passing this cute little diner but never going in. After looking through the window and seeing the wonderful decor (including a camper van) I knew this diner had to be put on the bucket list. Being a student I often have a habit of being a little stingy however on Thursdays Applejacks do £4 cocktails. I told the girls and we all couldn't say no. Two cocktails and a dessert later we were all feeling more than merry and happy that we didn't spend too much, we even sat in the converted Camper van. I would definitely go to Applejacks again. The cocktail menu had something for everyone whether it be the unique absinthe concoction Maid in Cuba or your standard Cosmo, you wouldn't leave disappointed (or sober). The desserts we had were also great which means I will definitely have to come back at some point to try their meals.

3. Blue Monday.

(Left: Empty plates = happy stomach, Right: Prawn Nigiri and Chicken Gyoza, both yummy)

This year I set myself a challenge to try a new food each month and in January I decided to try sushi. It was only a small pack from Tesco but I was informed by S from Eleven Oh Seven that there is better out there. I had wanted to go and try some 'real' sushi for a while but couldn't find anywhere within a student budget until we discovered blue Monday's. Every Monday in some YO! Sushi restaurants they have selected items on their menu for the blue plate price of £2.70. We jumped at this opportunity and headed out. I was hypnotised by the conveyer belt of food and tried a range of things including; Chicken Gyoza, Spicy Chicken Rolls, Chicken Katsu, Prawn Nigiri and Custard Dorayaki. They were all stunning. I will definitely have another blue Monday trip in the near future.

4. Barker Tea House.

(Left: Butterscotch milkshake and banana and white chocolate cake, Right: The cute cake display and tea cups)

I only properly discovered the arcades in Cardiff earlier this year and realised how much of Cardiff I was missing. One of the places that really caught my eye was the Barker Tea House. I am not a massive tea fan but the decor and displays had me gasping for a brew. After doing some further research I discovered that their milkshakes had made it onto a list of best food in Cardiff (article here). I like to think of myself as a bit of a milkshake connoisseur (after years of nesquik loving) so I had to see what the fuss was about and I wouldn't need to touch a cup of tea. I went for a butterscotch milkshake that came in this adorable milk bottle with a butterscotch swirl inside. It was delicious and I can completely see why they made that list. They cakes are pretty tasty too, I had a banana and white chocolate cake while the Eleven Oh Seven girls went for a light lemon and poppy seed cake. We were all very satisfied with our choices. If tea or milkshakes aren't your thing but you are a massive coffee fan you should definitely try their sister store, Coffee Barker.

5. Grazing Shed.

(Left: The John Wayne, Right: The Philly with a bite already taken out of it, couldn't resist)

Voted the number one burger joint in Wales and the number one burger joint in my heart, I had to have one last Grazing Shed before moving away. I usually go for the cheese burger student meal with bacon as its cheap, cheerful and leaves me feeling satisfied. However this was going to be my last Grazing Shed for a while so needed to make it worth it. After seeing on their Twitter they were doing a buy on get one free on the beef burgers I knew exactly what I was going to do. As I hadn't tried many of their burgers before I thought I would get two burgers instead of a meal. I went for the John Wayne burger (cheddar, smokey bacon, BBQ sauce) and their limited edition Philly burger after a recommendation from K (Eleven Oh Seven), Grazing Shed's number 1 fan. Both burgers were incredible but the Philly burger won in my eyes as the garlic mayo just pushed it that little higher than the John Wayne (sorry).

6. Build a Fort.

(Part of the fort, who knew clothes horses made excellent pillars?)

Being students we often have to remind ourselves that we are supposed to be responsible adults. This is all more real with me moving out and starting a proper job soon. With all this growing up being so imminent I needed a night of being a kid again. This lead to us making a blanket fort in our living room. It was extremely fun and involved lots of imagination. After it was built we ate our Grazing Shed and watched Little Britain inside it. It seemed like a true flashback to our younger years. I would highly recommend fort building to any one, even if your in your 50's just do it and be a kid again. After all aren't we all just big kids?

This is a quick look at some of the items that were on my bucket list. If you are looking for things to do in Cardiff I would definitely recommended doing all these things, Cardiff is a real hub for great food and fun. Stay tuned for Wednesday's post which will include the second part of the bucket list with a review of the Street Food Circus. Follow other activities included on the bucket list by following the #BOTTBucketList on Twitter or Instagram.

See you Wednesday,

Love Katie x