tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-87432535416677914492024-02-07T14:14:40.839+00:00AlyssiaRoseAlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.comBlogger539125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-53645275852957847112017-10-17T17:42:00.002+01:002017-10-17T17:42:34.262+01:00Popworld - Reading {Review}<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNfpfhvMcmzokhMnW2mmH3aNn-lbyi1Nfm-KfqPQbxbybBq12pD8G8BfuYsmc3lhNBrXX_IZVZM7OMTTlrcljQoadm3ZDXg2pTVhmGZgVqkrykO5lE0iRZsmSg1yuPNnQzc6XtLBs61fV/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Popworld Reading exterior" border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPNfpfhvMcmzokhMnW2mmH3aNn-lbyi1Nfm-KfqPQbxbybBq12pD8G8BfuYsmc3lhNBrXX_IZVZM7OMTTlrcljQoadm3ZDXg2pTVhmGZgVqkrykO5lE0iRZsmSg1yuPNnQzc6XtLBs61fV/s400/1.jpg" title="Popworld Reading exterior" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Popworld Reading!</td></tr>
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A few weeks ago I attended the opening weekend of a brand new club in Reading, Popworld. When I first received my invite I immediately got excited because Pop music is definitely my kind of thing, and I hadn't been clubbing in such a long time (at least a year and a half). Of course who else was I going to invite but my good friend Lisa from <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/" target="_blank">United Cakedom</a>, thankfully she agreed to tag along, and even brought her friend Jacob too!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWV572CrRTVb3EsNwyPMJRWuIRYcQuNNlJHX0mJWwB1wRIT0n8bUPkTHDiHAaUCDiBRMiVJ4Mz1esZ4S_mX9cZXwRh20zuwE9sbS1cbg2xyaNR8brUSrxb6WUwYutoSJ5fgKWhYL3HcGd/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Some of our goodies from Popworld Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1536" data-original-width="1536" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrWV572CrRTVb3EsNwyPMJRWuIRYcQuNNlJHX0mJWwB1wRIT0n8bUPkTHDiHAaUCDiBRMiVJ4Mz1esZ4S_mX9cZXwRh20zuwE9sbS1cbg2xyaNR8brUSrxb6WUwYutoSJ5fgKWhYL3HcGd/s400/2.jpg" title="Some of our goodies from Popworld Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of our goodies!</td></tr>
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When we arrived we were directed to a booth which had been reserved for us and we were given novelty sunglasses, visors and glowsticks to wear. I didn't hesitate to put them on and get in the mood for the evening ahead! There was also a giant martini glass on our table full of sweets such as haribo and drumstick lollies, which we ended up nibbling on throughout the evening. We were also told that we would receive a complimentary Partini, which is basically a sharing cocktail in a giant martini glass, we all opted to share a Sex on the Beach!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgci6mh56wtV2gdJVNHIhfhubg4eu26B64R5r6L-jRYQjpoEFdN14vboS6Ug_WsWUmXLkEhuBqGaMcgSHL6m3c3XU7xyduGj_K4P3VFKifLt5fEzEMxlFw4BKYY4W3LCQTQH3IzsGSuTfge/s1600/22554225_10155216664259302_422447144_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Collage of photos from our night out at Popworld Reading" border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="720" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgci6mh56wtV2gdJVNHIhfhubg4eu26B64R5r6L-jRYQjpoEFdN14vboS6Ug_WsWUmXLkEhuBqGaMcgSHL6m3c3XU7xyduGj_K4P3VFKifLt5fEzEMxlFw4BKYY4W3LCQTQH3IzsGSuTfge/s400/22554225_10155216664259302_422447144_n.jpg" title="Collage of photos from our night out at Popworld Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the fun we had!</td></tr>
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As well as all the goodies we received we were lucky enough to be in on a night where ALL drinks were half price before 10pm, we certainly took advantage of that deal, ordering a few drinks at a time to tide us over for the evening. This also gave me a chance to sample a good range of their cocktails and here are my recommendations:<br />
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<li><b>Cola Bottle Candy Pop - </b>This drink literally tasted like cola bottles and even came with some fizzy ones floating in the top of the drink. </li>
<li><b>Bubblegum Martini - </b>If you like bubblegum then this is the drink for you, it tastes exactly like the sweet treat, and is bright blue, my favourite colour!</li>
<li><b>Apple & Raspberry Absolut Flaskas - </b>This was hands down my favourite drink of the evening, I even ended up having two of them it was so good. They are really sweet tasting and don't even taste alcoholic, also they come in little mason jars!</li>
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If you like sweet flavours there are plenty of awesome cocktails to try, if not they carry all the usual beverages you'd expect to see, so you could stick with those instead.</div>
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As the night went on and the club began to fill up, the atmosphere got more and more exciting. The music was all amazing, in fact I don't think there was a single song played that night that I had never heard, which means the songlist gets an A+ from me! My favourite part of the night had to be when we were dancing along to some hits with these two strange girls, we didn't know who they were, but we were all dancing together just having a great time. A place that can bring everyone together through the use of pop music is certainly one that I will keep coming back to. </div>
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At the end of the night we were tired, and our feet were sore, as was my throat from singing, but it couldn't have turned out to be a better night. I couldn't have asked for a better venue to host my return to going out and clubbing...</div>
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I have to say a big thanks to Popworld in Reading for having me along, if you are looking for a good night out, and a place where you can really sing and dance your heart out, then this club is the one for you! Check out Popworld Reading's website <a href="https://www.popworldparty.co.uk/reading" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a> to see what events they have coming up...</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**I was invited to the opening weekend of this club and given entry, a booth and a complimentary drink for free, however all opinions in this post are my own**</span></div>
AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-32416949298827656252017-08-29T21:39:00.000+01:002017-08-29T21:39:15.527+01:00The Pavlov's Dog - Reading {Review}<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurmxW1ltvTBm7JCzxa0XhGIBymEtg3xwuDq2IpCqSICmRY0ZukdNe9tiNsgCgTDR4TY1v4w9laDbEJWtTUR4GeRouMtSWIRsoKSJ45V9DXcLGfxrVak-dHL_wASS87kgZBzVgoSex5G0V/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Pavlov's Dog in Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhurmxW1ltvTBm7JCzxa0XhGIBymEtg3xwuDq2IpCqSICmRY0ZukdNe9tiNsgCgTDR4TY1v4w9laDbEJWtTUR4GeRouMtSWIRsoKSJ45V9DXcLGfxrVak-dHL_wASS87kgZBzVgoSex5G0V/s400/1.jpg" title="Pavlov's Dog in Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pavlov's Dog in Reading</td></tr>
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A couple of weeks back I was invited to go and check out 'The Pavlov's Dog' in Reading, and I never turn down and excuse to check out a brand new place with my good friend Lisa from <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/" target="_blank">United Cakedom</a>! Having never been to this place before I was pleasantly surprised that it very much reminded me of a pub that I used to frequent when I was a student in Aberystwyth.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5s6b7nQRcLJCC2Oh-KotQRXNmOGu03XXD6K0B1XW71zFDH81bBPOBtqdo8Fo6SfvcEHmTpb6YhcjgWu6_qNuVqb40BOC1RrAyxTKV4L9JA9Tf5rVV3ch98Zb75FKl4oBXJbWwcXGbnfPa/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The bar in The Pavlov's Dog" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5s6b7nQRcLJCC2Oh-KotQRXNmOGu03XXD6K0B1XW71zFDH81bBPOBtqdo8Fo6SfvcEHmTpb6YhcjgWu6_qNuVqb40BOC1RrAyxTKV4L9JA9Tf5rVV3ch98Zb75FKl4oBXJbWwcXGbnfPa/s400/2.png" title="The bar in The Pavlov's Dog" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The bar in The Pavlov's Dog</td></tr>
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The interior of the bar is very warm and welcoming, and I honestly took one look at this place, turned to Lisa and said, 'If I lived in Reading this would hands down be my local pub!', there's just something about the atmosphere of the place that instantly makes you feel at home. We were seated in a raised area which we were told is a little more quiet, and then the member of staff came over and set up Mario Kart on the Gamecube (not expressly for us), which we couldn't leave alone! Obviously I won, because I am boss at Mario Kart! That wasn't their only entertainment, as they also have an array of board-games behind the bar which you are welcome to borrow and play with your friends...</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NnOqum24bZ74g0ejnJjO9IbRPfjuc8lBv2NWdCcwMt6HPq6WJqcbnqxL-TO0afHaAz4K_BXLC6QvB-5b9I3cmkbbMDHkCtW5eOS_Fs6Ti1u7eT3QHL7XCROKVpK0L5oKWR-jLjwROcmh/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tin Can Cocktails at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NnOqum24bZ74g0ejnJjO9IbRPfjuc8lBv2NWdCcwMt6HPq6WJqcbnqxL-TO0afHaAz4K_BXLC6QvB-5b9I3cmkbbMDHkCtW5eOS_Fs6Ti1u7eT3QHL7XCROKVpK0L5oKWR-jLjwROcmh/s400/4.jpg" title="Tin Can Cocktails at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tin Can Cocktails</td></tr>
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We decided to start with some Tin Can Cocktails, which honestly all sounded amazing, but I decided to go for the 'Dr Meister' which was a Dr Pepper and Jagermeister cocktail. Then Lisa decided to go for a 'Canny Smith Apple' which was apple tango, apple sourz and lime juice. Both cocktails came in their original cans with cute straws and some sour sweets on the top, which went perfectly with the drinks. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQr1OoevyUW9rYicU7SgRCvluPkksg_iEROWK_YD3BkRAHCX0XKhf3qhGkmKVEjwzVrEb27TL_tdJdmNQfFXZjXTGlrEgaRR_H2p7r0jAcvExqI_WXTqD62pwdG1XxChn6dasQl_JLtiZ/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Nachos at The Pavlov's Dog" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTQr1OoevyUW9rYicU7SgRCvluPkksg_iEROWK_YD3BkRAHCX0XKhf3qhGkmKVEjwzVrEb27TL_tdJdmNQfFXZjXTGlrEgaRR_H2p7r0jAcvExqI_WXTqD62pwdG1XxChn6dasQl_JLtiZ/s400/5.jpg" title="Nachos at The Pavlov's Dog" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nachos</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFcILUkpyWFECN-zetCDPEppcIsWCZ17MTfozVnjA-a_OYaBbf0al2AsIBgDnhk20i2uHKSuTZrX74arJZDheW5b4XZ_6hHVztgkcidDlfEHfleJ3eLnidP_B7jDhuxoFNlPiiks3uXKG/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chicken Wings at The Pavlov's Dog" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwFcILUkpyWFECN-zetCDPEppcIsWCZ17MTfozVnjA-a_OYaBbf0al2AsIBgDnhk20i2uHKSuTZrX74arJZDheW5b4XZ_6hHVztgkcidDlfEHfleJ3eLnidP_B7jDhuxoFNlPiiks3uXKG/s400/6.jpg" title="Chicken Wings at The Pavlov's Dog" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chicken Wings</td></tr>
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Lisa decided to go for a starter and chose to have the nachos, which were absolutely delicious and piled high. Then the staff brought us out some of their Chicken wings to try with an array of different dips, my favourite of which was chunky peanut butter, it just went so well together! They wanted to showcase these wings to us as every Wednesday after 5pm they do chicken wings at 25p each, which is ridiculously cheap considering how amazing these taste. They also have their own 'Lord of the Wings' food challenge, in which you have to try and eat 50 wings as fast as you can. I honestly don't think I could take on the challenge but it sounds like it would be a good laugh!</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9dIkFImF6VJGMFoj72jwiliBQsIChsue_LX6wcrs_gLvoKDxnxvZz6XEkI9Vdc3v2bFWtPeKYORrxBqH2DMV4M-ndTbonwR6IbDbYt0yWze-yXKDznLomuwXi3pOjGvXeowYGQMMmTic/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Dirty Burger at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq9dIkFImF6VJGMFoj72jwiliBQsIChsue_LX6wcrs_gLvoKDxnxvZz6XEkI9Vdc3v2bFWtPeKYORrxBqH2DMV4M-ndTbonwR6IbDbYt0yWze-yXKDznLomuwXi3pOjGvXeowYGQMMmTic/s400/7.jpg" title="Dirty Burger at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dirty Burger</td></tr>
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For mains Lisa and I both decided to go for burgers as there was a large selection to chose from. I couldn't resist going for the 'All New Dirty Burger' as it just had so much on it! The dirty burger is described on the menu as; 'A 6oz cheese & bacon beef burger, topped with a cheese & bacon-topped southern-fried chicken fillet, pulled pork, BBQ sauce and sliced gherkins'. The only thing I asked for to be removed was the gherkins which they kindly placed on the side of my plate for Lisa as she loved them. This burger has a million elements on it and I would each every single one of them individually, but together they made a massive taste explosion! Alongside my burger I went with sweet potato fries, my favourite. I don't get to eat sweet potato fries often, but these ones were so worth it, they were lovely and crispy and not soggy at all.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlH9ZSN__ENBWI01WmTFj1sWpq38ufBaZIYsJdTy0qZfyi7U3Q0jsxhNKnTVqBP2DqhoBWGVOODwJL_R_bfYWRLpJm_awW8Wv2xBPMRBOCaEF6Oy32GgrxuyOv2mSIBuqhzpUGz1GUe_4t/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New York Bagel Burger at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlH9ZSN__ENBWI01WmTFj1sWpq38ufBaZIYsJdTy0qZfyi7U3Q0jsxhNKnTVqBP2DqhoBWGVOODwJL_R_bfYWRLpJm_awW8Wv2xBPMRBOCaEF6Oy32GgrxuyOv2mSIBuqhzpUGz1GUe_4t/s400/8.jpg" title="New York Bagel Burger at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New York Bagel Burger</td></tr>
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Lisa decided to go for the 'New York Bagel Burger' which is written on the menu as; '6oz burger, topped cheese, bacon, pulled cured boneless beef rib, sliced gherkins and French's mustard, served in a toasted bagel'. Whilst this isn't the burger I went for, it again has all of the elements of something I could definitely see myself eating. I must admit I am a bit jealous that Lisa got to try the cured beef rib as that itself looks amazing! Again Lisa went for the sweet potato fries and she agreed with me that they are some of the better ones that we have tried.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDfp1-DoYshkhlpfwsG8R93fibJ5FEC4r8dQYT5hTZQiDxWUQf1AKKtwCPaDit22P9007Z1aAwWSm5xZULXhc1Fds9cqR6nGvzyevpxeUkcB7yGqI881dmHz0CPfQW_vr8ZunFhlDIJgG/s1600/9.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Chocolate Pancake Stack at The Pavlov's Dog" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkDfp1-DoYshkhlpfwsG8R93fibJ5FEC4r8dQYT5hTZQiDxWUQf1AKKtwCPaDit22P9007Z1aAwWSm5xZULXhc1Fds9cqR6nGvzyevpxeUkcB7yGqI881dmHz0CPfQW_vr8ZunFhlDIJgG/s400/9.png" title="Chocolate Pancake Stack at The Pavlov's Dog" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Pancake Stack</td></tr>
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I decided to go with a dessert instead of a starter, but I was a little annoying and decided to have something from the 'All Day Breakfast' as my dessert, and that was the Chocolate Pancake Stack. These were three American style pancakes with Nutella spread between them, covered in maple syrup and chocolate sauce. They were absolutely to-die-for... The pancakes were so fluffy and the maple syrup and Nutella went together so well, I don't think i could have honestly made a better choice. If pancakes are your thing then you absolutely must try these ones!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKm6qXxgh_Jz1PdsjAe1J1uhSgAcrpiY5N6wZkkq2lU_XvKpzAhkp5E67aFNizvJbwchHl7PQCIYQrzNOb39TRY9d7Hgwz_tIyxC0awBCPrjt9u6xk1Ko9Y038U3_aZ8WNSstwKqko3_M/s1600/10.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Churros at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixKm6qXxgh_Jz1PdsjAe1J1uhSgAcrpiY5N6wZkkq2lU_XvKpzAhkp5E67aFNizvJbwchHl7PQCIYQrzNOb39TRY9d7Hgwz_tIyxC0awBCPrjt9u6xk1Ko9Y038U3_aZ8WNSstwKqko3_M/s400/10.png" title="Churros at The Pavlov's Dog in Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Churros</td></tr>
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The staff at Pavlov's also decided that we couldn't leave without trying their churros, which are caramel filled, and come with a chocolate dipping sauce. I was so stuffed at this point that I only managed to try half of one of these, but the caramel was so delicious that I wish that I'd had more room! As with the chicken wings, the Churro's are part of one of their offers. On Tuesdays they offer Churro's at 25p each all day! You can't really go wrong at that price, you could take a group of friends and order a tonne of them and it really wouldn't cost you much!</div>
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By the end of the night I was absolutely full to the brim with amazing food, and both Lisa and I had such an amazing time, so much so that I am planning on taking my boyfriend to Pavlov's for our next date night... If you are looking for a place with good food, and a cheeky atmosphere the Pavlov's Dog is hands down the pub for you. They run all sorts of entertainment, including retro games nights, and Karaoke, so there is a little something for everyone. You can check out their website and find out more information <a href="http://www.social-squirrel.com/thepavlovsdogreading" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">here</a>.</div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #a49995; font-family: "pt sans" , sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">**I was invited to review this restaurant and in return was given my meal and drinks for free, however all opinions in this post are my own**</span></div>
AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-23991349163354839222017-08-13T18:32:00.000+01:002017-08-13T18:32:44.932+01:00WALKABOUT - Reading {Review}<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQks-ETqpIM46IJIWSX0gbrM3vB_oOhY1LAkYDISFUrOeWTaLq_ND8_elcTeaZjq1axsTnmSfvxgxsA6u-5nHUPpWpH0yrdIpv5m3WXQaw37SWntSUVF5aoNyqw6gVtmGqs5vLI5zt0n7R/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Exterior of Walkabout Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQks-ETqpIM46IJIWSX0gbrM3vB_oOhY1LAkYDISFUrOeWTaLq_ND8_elcTeaZjq1axsTnmSfvxgxsA6u-5nHUPpWpH0yrdIpv5m3WXQaw37SWntSUVF5aoNyqw6gVtmGqs5vLI5zt0n7R/s400/1.png" title="Exterior of Walkabout Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walkabout Reading</td></tr>
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A few weeks ago I was invited to review an Australian style bar called, Walkabout. You all know how much I love food, so there was no way that I was going to pass up the opportunity. Of course I invited my restaurant review partner-in-crime, the lovely Lisa of <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/" target="_blank">United Cakedom</a>! I wasn't 100% sure whereabouts in Reading this place was, but Lisa is a local so she's always great at directing me to where I need to go. Honestly I was a little surprised to find this place tucked away down a side alley, it looked amazing, and despite being well hidden there were a fair few people there.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6D2HDcDRiBqr9Zl_NQHKXjqY11RKOhx0ETQpxL2tfMj-uYB-crRiwAO-pIzWiD5WJwZRXUnDsw53iC-ePwBIs9nk-UcY4jH3E9k6EG_na8QQ-62REnTywLHDbngUgzL6X3UfY_en-lIlk/s1600/2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Interior of walkabout Reading" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6D2HDcDRiBqr9Zl_NQHKXjqY11RKOhx0ETQpxL2tfMj-uYB-crRiwAO-pIzWiD5WJwZRXUnDsw53iC-ePwBIs9nk-UcY4jH3E9k6EG_na8QQ-62REnTywLHDbngUgzL6X3UfY_en-lIlk/s400/2.png" title="Interior of walkabout Reading" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beach bar Interior</td></tr>
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Once inside I was surprised to see that the interior looked much more like that of a bar at the beach, it almost felt like we weren't even in Reading anymore. We were seated in a very comfortable booth, and had a very good view of the entire bar, which I always enjoy as I love to people watch. Failing that though there were TV's plastered everywhere playing some football game or another, which a fair few groups of friends had clearly come to watch. Personally I'm not a fan of watching sports in bars, however that didn't put me off at all. The atmosphere in Walkabout was great and you could tell that everyone was enjoying themselves, and the whole place felt very relaxed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPSYIVKDFq5yC4J7sVUWPbExRCv57TzyV6jA5ffEDqjBgCo_zvPnk6bFkCxw4AlrwGHRePhYXOLotoVe5Cvb1eowrbI72UNvWJZCnXDrIU1ZESFsFdJF1Io_39JA4WicZKMjnsZgDC8oR/s1600/3.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Picture of my mocktail, the Virgin Aussie Sunset" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggPSYIVKDFq5yC4J7sVUWPbExRCv57TzyV6jA5ffEDqjBgCo_zvPnk6bFkCxw4AlrwGHRePhYXOLotoVe5Cvb1eowrbI72UNvWJZCnXDrIU1ZESFsFdJF1Io_39JA4WicZKMjnsZgDC8oR/s400/3.png" title="Picture of my mocktail, the Virgin Aussie Sunset" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Virgin Aussie Sunset</td></tr>
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In Walkabout it's standard that you would go up to the bar and order your food, which would then be brought up to you by the server, very much what you would expect from this type of place. However we were very lucky to have a server come over and take our order so that we never had to leave our booth. Whilst we were navigating the menu, we decided to order a few drinks, of course I rarely drink alcohol anymore so decided to go with a Virgin Aussie Sunset, which included; passion fruit puree, pineapple juice, orange juice, vanilla syrup and grenadine. It came in a lovely tall glass, garnished with some passion fruit, and it was absolutely delicious. This was super refreshing and sweet, and was exactly what I was expecting when I ordered it. Lisa decided to be more adventurous and went for something called a Jaffa Can, which had Vodka, Kahlua, and Triple Sec all poured into a Sanpellegrino Aranciata can, which she very much enjoyed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuD5on6pIwH6Bnq5zXXO2XFUCB6d5uxepY9kNVHt78SlvnfZSnrEnQZebRxqsELb2xIDVd76eAh3iabUqyg3LfDvafvEUkUmMHgnsSgbMnsJPHMYXISJnkIvq154Khf2LvGdIClNeVJglO/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Picture of cutlery holder" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuD5on6pIwH6Bnq5zXXO2XFUCB6d5uxepY9kNVHt78SlvnfZSnrEnQZebRxqsELb2xIDVd76eAh3iabUqyg3LfDvafvEUkUmMHgnsSgbMnsJPHMYXISJnkIvq154Khf2LvGdIClNeVJglO/s400/3.jpg" title="Picture of cutlery holder" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interesting cutlery</td></tr>
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Once we placed our order our server brought out our cutlery and I was pleasantly surprised at how it was delivered. This may seem like a really small and silly thing to highlight, but it's something that I hadn't seen before and it was a nice touch. Basically the cutlery is delivered in a small cardboard sleeve, with a bright and colourful design and quote on it. Now I don't know about you, but normally when I go to a pub or a bar for food, either you have to get your own cutlery, or the server that brings it out just chucks it all into a pile in the middle of the table for everyone to fight over. This idea, whilst simple, definitely made me smile!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVhH05iyDs_9PMD_fVYwD616FrXPEoKTob_XuKhd48YbZ70irROV6ea2jyZFa09Qt3q_1j9kdKdsj17aOoJGrF3i6NRtZ1YIs6luUdQWlIGMY3FSYAc-LCXEUjiNhqfLefbnSIA6iQNl9/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Parmi burger with fries" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSVhH05iyDs_9PMD_fVYwD616FrXPEoKTob_XuKhd48YbZ70irROV6ea2jyZFa09Qt3q_1j9kdKdsj17aOoJGrF3i6NRtZ1YIs6luUdQWlIGMY3FSYAc-LCXEUjiNhqfLefbnSIA6iQNl9/s400/4.jpg" title="Parmi burger with fries" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Parmi burger with fries</td></tr>
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Once we had properly settled in we went right ahead and ordered our food. I was stuck between two meals and was struggling to decide. Lisa was once again more adventurous and decided to go with the 'Roo Burger' which is made with actual Kangaroo imported from Australia. We were told by our wonderful server that it has a particularly gamy flavour, which unfortunately I wasn't brave enough to try. I instead ended up going for the Parmi Burger, which is a breaded chicken burger with ham and cheese sandwiched together, and topped with salsa, which came with standard fries. This burger was humongous and every bite tasted better than the last. If you know me then you will know that burgers are one of my favourite foods, and I can be very particular about them, and this burger certainly didn't disappoint!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1wGkWFmaPx-vPPKA-lI14vAmL2Xgf6tpH_gRBpKZIxYHTP5P1OxRgjOAldfqxR0DdNaAQqGm-drOPYM-y2GAcyf8Gw-X0DEDvnu1AnhCg4gDFV0QzfKAfQvFgGIzlR-gMXhy8s3orTBd/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Roo burger with Sweet Potato fries" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhu1wGkWFmaPx-vPPKA-lI14vAmL2Xgf6tpH_gRBpKZIxYHTP5P1OxRgjOAldfqxR0DdNaAQqGm-drOPYM-y2GAcyf8Gw-X0DEDvnu1AnhCg4gDFV0QzfKAfQvFgGIzlR-gMXhy8s3orTBd/s400/5.jpg" title="Roo burger with Sweet Potato fries" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Roo burger with Sweet Potato fries</td></tr>
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Lisa's Roo Burger also looked and smelled amazing, and she was very pleased with it. She decided to go with sweet potato fries with hers for a change, and honestly when they arrived I took one look at them and was so jealous! Thankfully Lisa is an amazing friend and she let me help myself to a few of hers and honestly I was blown away. Sweet potato fries are my favourite and normally they can be a bit soggy (but still delicious), but these fries were so crispy, it was unreal! Hands down the best sweet potato fries I have ever eaten, how ironic that I didn't even order them...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZXK0rhiC7nymNNx86Ta7gqI9Fv5pDasEqUTzoBtz_vpx0nF_QeK3gby8Eb2z-r9D0EyKgtdNILa6DHQum1efye7a40rFWz4IaTPQjaE3RUZ3YpLEHpwqvwoLHP736fWBkYh6JVaZSArc/s1600/6.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="picture of my Gigantic Freak Shake" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxZXK0rhiC7nymNNx86Ta7gqI9Fv5pDasEqUTzoBtz_vpx0nF_QeK3gby8Eb2z-r9D0EyKgtdNILa6DHQum1efye7a40rFWz4IaTPQjaE3RUZ3YpLEHpwqvwoLHP736fWBkYh6JVaZSArc/s400/6.png" title="picture of my Gigantic Freak Shake" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gigantic Freak Shake</td></tr>
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Once we were done with our main courses, our thoughts turned to dessert. The item that immediately caught my eye was the Freak Shake, it sounded jam packed of stuff and had so many different elements and each one sounded more delicious than the last. I decided to go for a single, but if you are wanting to share with a friend then they do offer the same dessert in a larger size. As you can tell from the picture above this dessert is full to the brim and it includes; vanilla ice cream, chocolate fudge milkshake, a Nutella rim covered in Smarties, a wedge of chocolate fudge cake, a cookie, candyfloss, chocolate sauce, a flake, and mini marshmallows. When it came out I couldn't stop myself from smiling, my inner child was bursting to eat this! To be honest I struggled to finish the dessert, I soldiered on and ate as much as possible, but I have to admit, it defeated me. Our kind server managed to find me a takeaway box though so I was able to at least bring home the rest of the fudge cake for my boyfriend to try...<br />
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I left Walkabout feeling very full, both physically and emotionally from such a laid back and enjoyable meal. If you are looking for a place to go and enjoy some beverages with your mates, and maybe to experience some interesting food then Walkabout is definitely the place for you. You can check out Walkabout's full menu <a href="http://www.walkaboutbars.co.uk/venues/reading/food_menus/mains" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">**I was invited to review this restaurant and in return was given my meal and drinks for free, however all opinions in this post are my own**</span>AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-10310397800517265402017-07-23T16:19:00.001+01:002017-07-23T16:19:47.000+01:00McDonald's Restaurant Revolution {Didcot} | AD<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu71E0wymdlu3lWQKBCPegMT37NvaQ0Eq-7DpSQyikhKagOzRZtCQuXyr5pCQa0y5I-9DjmVeDIgajluUembOdTl_1lDha8jS86n4KivB4slqWkbYQI5-aBwe52kLy05e_W5tysriGOAUa/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="McDonald's Didcot" border="0" data-original-height="480" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu71E0wymdlu3lWQKBCPegMT37NvaQ0Eq-7DpSQyikhKagOzRZtCQuXyr5pCQa0y5I-9DjmVeDIgajluUembOdTl_1lDha8jS86n4KivB4slqWkbYQI5-aBwe52kLy05e_W5tysriGOAUa/s400/9.jpg" title="McDonald's Didcot" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McDonald's Didcot | <a href="http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4981100" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
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<br />Last week I was lucky enough to attend a blog event at a recently refurbished McDonald's restaurant in Didcot. I must say I wasn't 100% sure what to expect from the event, but it was actually really fun! You may already know that McDonalds is undergoing a refurbishment which is set to completely change the way we order, and dine in their restaurants, if you haven't not to worry! This is what the event was all about, to show us around both the front of house, and the kitchen so that we could see what changes have been made, but also why these changes are good. So here I am to tell you all about the awesome new changes that they have made to make our lives easier! Firstly we were split into two groups, to make our tour easier, my group started off with the front of the restaurant, so let's start there...<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamHhmcR7HPR2YnLSQ6xlw1r3PD-Q9pMGhmYvNFMOU6g3G6-kaeReJVkr1N9cESVkqtodX1NC8XhVg2LQlabwSjqYOsKPFt01hggn4ihhWt7IpEbOtcr_7GqyNmxgfnJGwmuMGlGo41Ham/s1600/1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="McDonalds new self serve kiosks" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgamHhmcR7HPR2YnLSQ6xlw1r3PD-Q9pMGhmYvNFMOU6g3G6-kaeReJVkr1N9cESVkqtodX1NC8XhVg2LQlabwSjqYOsKPFt01hggn4ihhWt7IpEbOtcr_7GqyNmxgfnJGwmuMGlGo41Ham/s400/1.png" title="McDonalds new self serve kiosks" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McDonalds new self serve kiosks</td></tr>
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<br />One of the biggest, and most noticeable changes in the new restaurants is the new self service Kiosks! These are touch screen and are really easy to use, everything is clearly labelled and easy to see, they even have a little button which you can press if you are a child/disabled and need the screen to be smaller so you can easily see/reach everything.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5-vuU1re88_0VqpMqcwr34CcbgRxKTis5zzOaxY02mYKXzog0PXPQGWeXwfOO0EzSS7oBvIrqDS4-ytqJ1IxLN0v8JDoBohob32TBzFKCTIC9qcdqjCx1rMfgDdWhlb6PKaNbvX6X3UQ/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="McDonalds new self serve kiosks" border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1600" height="346" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo5-vuU1re88_0VqpMqcwr34CcbgRxKTis5zzOaxY02mYKXzog0PXPQGWeXwfOO0EzSS7oBvIrqDS4-ytqJ1IxLN0v8JDoBohob32TBzFKCTIC9qcdqjCx1rMfgDdWhlb6PKaNbvX6X3UQ/s400/10.jpg" title="McDonalds new self serve kiosks" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">McDonalds new self serve kiosks</td></tr>
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<br />We were taken through how to place an order from start to finish, so that we could really get used to how they work. The best part about these new kiosk's is that you can completely customise your burgers, so if there is only one thing you dislike you can take that out, or if like me you are really picky, you can just make it plain! What this means is that you can make sure that your order has been placed 100% accurately for every detail you want, meaning there is no confusion at the till point, or embarrassment if like me you get shy about a long custom order. There are of course still till-points available if you would rather place your order that way, but having both options is helping McDonald's to give customers more options, and reduce queue times. Once you have paid for your order and it is placed you are given a receipt with an order number, and there is a screen above the collection point which shows you when your order is ready to collect. At that point you just take your receipt up and then take away your food.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf-4-O3NiOo46M8rt-N9fHAPxl7TSADIFNJHILcSFNlvRmH51aPNUWHb-dMQHatAvXAIt7z9LqTAvd6PSghQ1KX5fUUapDBPky2-eCe46pgGs82LqWIWulTXdsAx2JnSIRtiCdhyphenhyphen28Ore/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New digital menu's at McDonalds" border="0" data-original-height="475" data-original-width="1600" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOf-4-O3NiOo46M8rt-N9fHAPxl7TSADIFNJHILcSFNlvRmH51aPNUWHb-dMQHatAvXAIt7z9LqTAvd6PSghQ1KX5fUUapDBPky2-eCe46pgGs82LqWIWulTXdsAx2JnSIRtiCdhyphenhyphen28Ore/s640/3.jpg" title="New digital menu's at McDonalds" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New digital menu's at McDonalds</td></tr>
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<br />Another big change with the front of house area is the new digital displays, which along with looking amazing, allow the restaurant to easily display specials to customers. I'm sure you all are used to seeing the big menu displays at McDonald's, and if you ever saw a breakfast change over then you'll know that staff had to manually flip over the displays to show the change over. Now they are digital they automatically switch over at 10:30 without the staff having to struggle with them. Although probably the coolest thing about the new digital screens is that they support animation, meaning that the menu can be living, so it can sweep across to display specials, as it has in the photograph above, or it can simply add a little twinkle next to a certain item to draw the eye to it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHg6XhrPPR8RqmAN-5XTCj2F5pW4gT1YDI3ckNYfi9dqxA7dv4Or-QmXiytswa38xQ2CrxVav6z_KESXmPC7tVhdAUVY1f3LHhv77rWeAYOYIBhbSZbPMsNdLnBKehNwnYAr1pxhYTPRkk/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tablets for customer use" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHg6XhrPPR8RqmAN-5XTCj2F5pW4gT1YDI3ckNYfi9dqxA7dv4Or-QmXiytswa38xQ2CrxVav6z_KESXmPC7tVhdAUVY1f3LHhv77rWeAYOYIBhbSZbPMsNdLnBKehNwnYAr1pxhYTPRkk/s400/11.jpg" title="Tablets for customer use" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tablets for customer use</td></tr>
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<br />Looking around the new restaurant it is easy to see that the focus really has been placed on creating a greater customer experience. This is especially seen with the addition of a new tablet bar, at which there are several tablets that are for customer use. There are options to surf the internet and even some games on these tablets for your children to play whilst you enjoy your food. Throughout the restaurant there are even charging stations for people to sit and work on their laptops if they like, or even simply charge their smartphones.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBwiV1A46Zto0dhtvlpe7OPwRz_A9wUBJWO6PWBp0okSzfpjVFLWU9vUC20lF_sHKqUer1OxDs2V2s7rA4TtqTUotK7YdxXS13czCzlu6LPo5pTVAu9MjPrvO_lnZHJX0-AkVQ9yx6OjB/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="New drink preparation area" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghBwiV1A46Zto0dhtvlpe7OPwRz_A9wUBJWO6PWBp0okSzfpjVFLWU9vUC20lF_sHKqUer1OxDs2V2s7rA4TtqTUotK7YdxXS13czCzlu6LPo5pTVAu9MjPrvO_lnZHJX0-AkVQ9yx6OjB/s400/2.jpg" title="New drink preparation area" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">New drink preparation area</td></tr>
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<br />The final change we really spoke about in regards to the front of house area is all about the way in which staff will serve the customers. Before the member of staff at the till would take your order and then go and make your drinks/compile the order. Now there is a dedicated team who deal with all of the drinks and ice creams for the orders, so the till server can ensure they are giving you their undivided attention. Not only this but there is also a new 'table service' so if you wanted when you order, either at the till, or the Kiosk, you can tell them which section of the restaurant you are sitting in, and they will bring your food over to you no problem. Along with this the staff member delivering your food carries with them at all times extra straws, napkins and sauces, just in case there is anything you require further once they deliver your food. Meaning that if you don't want to, you shouldn't need to get up at all. That's not all, there are dedicated front of house staff, whom along with ensuring the front of house is kept clean, will now provide a higher level of service by checking in with customers to make sure they don't need anything else, or just to provide some friendly chat to make customers feel more welcome.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTngqvzSAy9iph4WQnCUvG97V1C1UXpCbhrUjnrfVdijfF1vMcsqY8FY7p3QhCBotU6WlIQI2bud6pFj9PCEdIx-ATR0EYEtSDBcN_2kT12L5EJ3OkZXwtF9MLiBqu7iqmbzSDlZAQlZ4z/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Being put to work in the kitchen" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTngqvzSAy9iph4WQnCUvG97V1C1UXpCbhrUjnrfVdijfF1vMcsqY8FY7p3QhCBotU6WlIQI2bud6pFj9PCEdIx-ATR0EYEtSDBcN_2kT12L5EJ3OkZXwtF9MLiBqu7iqmbzSDlZAQlZ4z/s400/4.jpg" title="Being put to work in the kitchen" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Being put to work in the kitchen</td></tr>
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After we were done with the front of house, we got shown around the back. Starting in the staff room we were given our own hats, aprons, badges, and hairnets of course so we could get ourselves prepped for our 'mini shift' in the kitchen, we actually got to keep the hats, aprons and badges which I was really excited about because the aprons is this cool denim material, best believe I will be wearing this around the house. Then we were shown the chiller to dispel some of the most common McDonalds myths such as, 'McDonalds uses powdered eggs', after having a look around the chiller myself I can ensure you the eggs are very much real. Then we entered the kitchen and washed our hands thoroughly, a very important task considering we were about to make our own Big Mac burgers! Believe it or not the buns don't come in pre-toasted, they are freshly toasted when a burger is made, and they toast in 17 seconds flat... How crazy is that?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHi2DkMsfYJwROrQ_zjX3-4i7ZmvL7jzI7eILWQumlxV-RV27xLAl1mduH-FB6TC1qVY_UWOPPpjuYTDUuou1RIOV1JatRwgO_5MIiHqO5sBnW2MKsZwSdhoYkWgfo0-Yqej0k_8tABAvw/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Making a Big Mac" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHi2DkMsfYJwROrQ_zjX3-4i7ZmvL7jzI7eILWQumlxV-RV27xLAl1mduH-FB6TC1qVY_UWOPPpjuYTDUuou1RIOV1JatRwgO_5MIiHqO5sBnW2MKsZwSdhoYkWgfo0-Yqej0k_8tABAvw/s400/5.jpg" title="Making a Big Mac" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making a Big Mac</td></tr>
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So to make a Big Mac of course you start with toasting the bun, then you place the bottom bun in the right side of the case, the top and middle buns go in the left. The famous Big Mac sauce goes on both the bottom bun and the middle bun, followed by onions, and lettuce on both, I was being a bit stingy with the lettuce so I had to keep adding more and then two pickles on the middle... Then you open the meat trays and place one patty on the bottom, one on the middle, you lift up the entire middle section, place it onto the bottom and then close the lid of the case, which flips up the top bun, and everything should be in place!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacFOD5LZZz99itIldj1xDkV7A1B9J1LouYnN2EIwYkYKPxl_Vx6p89edp1TxpWJp7Sy2a_sJ-s_nYDLbGTQBFqxzR_iC7LEjfB-aI9ro7xrLOMEx2nHUiyPL1EkZCQgEFw21qA-c7eeiz/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Me with my handmade Big Mac" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhacFOD5LZZz99itIldj1xDkV7A1B9J1LouYnN2EIwYkYKPxl_Vx6p89edp1TxpWJp7Sy2a_sJ-s_nYDLbGTQBFqxzR_iC7LEjfB-aI9ro7xrLOMEx2nHUiyPL1EkZCQgEFw21qA-c7eeiz/s400/6.jpg" title="Me with my handmade Big Mac" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me with my handmade Big Mac</td></tr>
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Here I am looking pleased as punch with my Big Mac, needless to say it DID NOT look like the ones in the adverts, (pictures to follow)... It was great fun getting to actually make something in the kitchen, but this was definitely the best way to show us possibly the biggest change McDonalds have made, and that is all about how they prepare/cook the food. So previously all of the burgers were batch made and completely finished and placed on a 'run' at the front of the kitchen, by the tills. Granted they were only allowed to sit there for 15 mins or so, but still 15 mins of a hot burger sitting on all of the salad meant that you could end up with a slightly soggy burger, still delicious, but maybe a little soggy. Gone are those days with the new kitchens! You may not know but for as long as I can remember McDonalds would batch cook their chicken products and leave them in these little warming drawers, only getting them out when an order was placed. It goes without saying that these were not left for hours and hours and were replaced if sat too long. Well now the same goes for the meat. The burgers are batch cooked and then the meat is set inside warming drawers until the burgers are made up. When an order is placed the burgers (and only the burgers) appear on the screen for those on that side of the kitchen, then they go through the entire process, just like we did, making the burgers fresh. This means that you get a completely fresh burger every time you come. The meat in the drawers isn't allowed to sit there any longer than the recommended time, and they all have their own individual timers, which alert the staff to when they have been sat too long. If the timer goes off the leftover meat is binned and fresh is made. It certainly makes me confident in the freshness of the product I am eating!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOa1Xnjx_OqsCn46CAe3hDtJsF3I9YCd8KsOZIEEGfUVW2il47Wfs6HeIWwArqw6ldwj4qi1M5BSfry7vEXqcfcN2tLGoEguPzDQEXKarsEmb1XBA14PnKZtASA2n0cG6uHwUIe5BSepa/s1600/IMG_0552.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="My Big Mac vs. The Advert" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZOa1Xnjx_OqsCn46CAe3hDtJsF3I9YCd8KsOZIEEGfUVW2il47Wfs6HeIWwArqw6ldwj4qi1M5BSfry7vEXqcfcN2tLGoEguPzDQEXKarsEmb1XBA14PnKZtASA2n0cG6uHwUIe5BSepa/s400/IMG_0552.JPG" title="My Big Mac vs. The Advert" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Big Mac vs. The Advert</td></tr>
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Once we were done in the kitchen we got to sit, and whilst we were waiting for the other group to finish, we got to sit down, eat our Big Mac's and ask any questions we liked to the Managers of several restaurant's in the area. I thought it would be really funny to show you what my big mac looked like next to one from the advert, needless to say I won't be getting offered a job in the McDonald's kitchens any time soon. What my Big Mac lacked in looks it definitely made up for in taste, and having not eaten a big mac for a good six years at least it was very satisfying. Although our food tasting did not stop there, we were all invited to try the new Signature menu, which consists of three new burgers with thicker patties; The BBQ, The CLASSIC and The SPICY. Every single person decided to go for the BBQ with their own alterations, I basically had mine without salad, and we even got them as as meal. Whilst we were sitting one of the managers kindly gave us all the gold stars to fill out our badges so that we could become honorary crew members, its amazing how excited we all were by these little stars!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSgRwWdCGVaDpi6zJ8CaAyItbDCo_QlQjuCIwDlzymYP3DHPu6TvLt3WqLGl918GaPPQ6xwi3KmuivA8Iy-Krqq3OGaxF29hXUVdWord7CGPAneDKuVjaxfXfikQTUhnle8HclbifReTf/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="The BBQ Signature Meal" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMSgRwWdCGVaDpi6zJ8CaAyItbDCo_QlQjuCIwDlzymYP3DHPu6TvLt3WqLGl918GaPPQ6xwi3KmuivA8Iy-Krqq3OGaxF29hXUVdWord7CGPAneDKuVjaxfXfikQTUhnle8HclbifReTf/s400/7.jpg" title="The BBQ Signature Meal" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The BBQ Signature Meal</td></tr>
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The signatures come in their own stylish black packaging, and if you order a meal you even get a black container for your fries, which I am a big fan of, it just looks so sleek. The burgers come in a beautiful striped wrapper so that you can hold your burger without getting grease or sauce all over yourself. The BBQ burger that I chose comes with BBQ sauce, bacon, cheese and then the items I chose to remove were lettuce, red onion and coleslaw. All of the signatures also come inside a Brioche bun, which if you've never had a burger on brioche, I recommend you do so right away, as it's hands down my favourite way to eat them! The big difference between the signature burgers and the regular is the thickness of the meat, and that is what makes them a stand out burger for me. Being thicker means that whilst you get a nice crisp coating on the outside, the inside of the meat stays really juicy, and is probably hands down the nicest burger I have ever eaten from McDonald's. The BBQ signature has quickly become my go-to order whenever I go to a newer McDonald's!<br />
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Once we were fully stuffed and had finished having all of our McDonald's myths busted, we slowly made our way out of the restaurant and home, I say slowly because I was so full I could only move slowly, but that's the best way I can think of to leave a McDonald's, with your belly full and a big smile on your face...<br />
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A big thank you to McDonald's in Didcot for hosting this event and being so gracious, if you are ever in that area I highly suggest that you pop in for yourself as all the staff there are lovely!<br /><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>**This is a sponsored post for McDonald's and as such I have been reimbursed for my time and travel expenses, However all opinions within this post remain my own**</b></span>AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-61969780991260682702017-07-20T17:00:00.000+01:002017-07-21T15:15:46.405+01:00The Real Greek - Reading {Review}<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbRXNXWDmVekZHkQTwWcaf3kNmclrIZH1P7KQfi1Cic5MZ5Sbli0wECSiCMywbKRfa3ccC-A8w_dyLlHoJqKPR419j9q-veMppQkHzrUiCg15xkib68tCzqhzoSiIO9FP4ntiQGecMWIV/s1600/trg_front_image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the restaurant front" border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbRXNXWDmVekZHkQTwWcaf3kNmclrIZH1P7KQfi1Cic5MZ5Sbli0wECSiCMywbKRfa3ccC-A8w_dyLlHoJqKPR419j9q-veMppQkHzrUiCg15xkib68tCzqhzoSiIO9FP4ntiQGecMWIV/s400/trg_front_image.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Real Greek, Riverside Reading | <a href="https://www.theoracle.com/dining/the-real-greek" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
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It feels like it's been a long time since I went to a blogging event, in fact it's been about a year since my last one! However when I saw the invite for 'The Real Greek' a brand new restaurant on the riverside in Reading, I knew I had to attend. So I shot a message over to my friend Lisa over at <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/">United Cakedom</a>, and thankfully she was totally up for being my plus one.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlDaAlEuP49zOSgXnKtB1urbkmZyT_3Zko-hx_NzRluLjikeJi7J3qLtiXWnw99vNYhGZyltNHANExPMmcycaFKc-k6THnoid-lcc1hoRQRmP9XfoH3kd3l_JDLA8bQaADgN-qbF7gA9F/s1600/tonia.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Tonia Buxton" border="0" data-original-height="517" data-original-width="520" height="397" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGlDaAlEuP49zOSgXnKtB1urbkmZyT_3Zko-hx_NzRluLjikeJi7J3qLtiXWnw99vNYhGZyltNHANExPMmcycaFKc-k6THnoid-lcc1hoRQRmP9XfoH3kd3l_JDLA8bQaADgN-qbF7gA9F/s400/tonia.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The lovely Tonia Buxton | <a href="http://www.therealgreek.com/menus/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">via</a></td></tr>
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When we arrived we were seated and it wasn't long before we were greeted by the lovely Tonia Buxton, who pulled up a chair and began talking us through the menu. Tonia, for anyone who doesn't know, is THE woman to talk to about Greek food in the UK, she even presented a TV series called 'My Greek Kitchen', so we knew we were in good hands. Before this experience I had never actually eaten Greek food ever, a fact which Tonia was blown away by! She talked us through some of the staples of a Greek meal, before mentioning a special promotion they have at the moment with real Greek watermelons. They imported watermelons directly from Greece and have used them to create three special dishes that will only be available for a month, one of which was a very interesting combo of watermelon and feta which we we decided to try. Tonia even helped us place our first order in to the waitress, which I welcomed as I had no idea where to begin. She certainly made me feel very at ease, especially when I wasn't sure how I was going to feel about the food, (spoiler alert: I loved it).<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdsNxRshxwRCdn5iDiRsTjtNCz4QU5PoeFBnSqqtT0uM5XtqnKXpAsR2pXKBcSeyRfKP5jinjvY22cTQFFpnKZ3cYjbfgjHFm5fd2CgsP7D2vy1goc5nR6yMAtHcPvCyjD9nYYzGdn9Km/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Small plates of food" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgdsNxRshxwRCdn5iDiRsTjtNCz4QU5PoeFBnSqqtT0uM5XtqnKXpAsR2pXKBcSeyRfKP5jinjvY22cTQFFpnKZ3cYjbfgjHFm5fd2CgsP7D2vy1goc5nR6yMAtHcPvCyjD9nYYzGdn9Km/s400/1.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Little plates all stacked up!</td></tr>
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I must say one of the things I really liked the most about the food is that it is all small plates that you can share. So it means that if (like me) you are a little fussy sometimes you can order something with a friend that you can try, but you know they will eat if you don't enjoy it. Also the plates come stacked on these little stands kind of like how you'd expect afternoon tea to be served, which is very practical considering how many plates you are likely to order with the food being so delicious!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0OnH1HZeOd4l5w2OxwkFDYEz1N8775m3MiAD8C8dqY3uEaVKnUx98Czp0p0VteEJZT-ihIyOEdtFn14f25UJxciHKXnNFjTOys5mi4fdmE09jQiIB5eG1L5rakOq5IfhoDO1ebp37QRZ/s1600/C1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Our first round of dishes" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI0OnH1HZeOd4l5w2OxwkFDYEz1N8775m3MiAD8C8dqY3uEaVKnUx98Czp0p0VteEJZT-ihIyOEdtFn14f25UJxciHKXnNFjTOys5mi4fdmE09jQiIB5eG1L5rakOq5IfhoDO1ebp37QRZ/s400/C1.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From top left to bottom right: Flatbread, Tzatziki, Green Pea Fava, Watermelon and Feta.</td></tr>
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We started off with some flatbread with various accompaniments including Houmous, Tzatziki and Green Pea Fava. Whilst I haven't really eaten Greek food before, I must admit that I had of course tried Houmous, I mean who hasn't? I enjoyed every single one of the dips with the flatbread, but I must say my favourite had to be the Tzatziki, it was so refreshing alongside the other dishes that we sampled later on in the meal. We did try hard not to immediately fill ourselves on all of the flatbread, but it was very hard not to with it right in front of us. Along with our flatbread came the watermelon and feta salad which was one of the specials. Honestly I'm not that big a fan of watermelon personally, so I knew this dish was never going to be a hit with me. I tried both the watermelon and feta on their own, and then together as intended. I can see why this dish was put together, it makes sense, the saltiness of the feta with the sweetness of the watermelon, they compliment each other well, but it just wasn't to my personal taste. If you are a big fan of sweet and salty combinations then this dish is definitely one for you. On the plus side this dish helped me try something brand new, Feta cheese! I know I can almost hear the gasps, I had never tried feta, I don't have a reason, I just hadn't. Now I have I can honestly say I will never look back...<br />
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Another point I absolutely must mention at this point is the service. I've never been to a restaurant with friendlier waiting staff, and they often anticipated our requests before we even asked. Lisa managed to drop her fork, and before we could even turn to ask for a clean one a member of staff was straight over to the table with a fresh one for her. I think they did an amazing job of striking the balance between being attentive but at the same time leaving us alone to enjoy our meal. I will certainly be comparing service everywhere else I go from now on to this experience.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XHfrbQtMZWcYV0a9ErSU94jicaiW9J79xc01BVDwcCyklywcxjD3m22fDIX-CKp0d1RttweElxBEPJ4TF5BibmAMBHih7g_xwToI8z-D6xYUbbUPqX_nGvnrPV0nmVhk2k_ON7aYLSSi/s1600/C2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Our second round of dishes" border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XHfrbQtMZWcYV0a9ErSU94jicaiW9J79xc01BVDwcCyklywcxjD3m22fDIX-CKp0d1RttweElxBEPJ4TF5BibmAMBHih7g_xwToI8z-D6xYUbbUPqX_nGvnrPV0nmVhk2k_ON7aYLSSi/s400/C2.jpg" title="" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From top left to bottom right: Prawn Saganaki, Pork Belly, Falafel, Caramel and Pecan Cheesecake.</td></tr>
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After we had overdone ourselves on the bread we had our other dishes delivered. I don't eat seafood but Lisa was very keen to try the prawns, which she said were delicious. I myself ordered the pork belly, a dish that I often enjoy at home, and also some falafel which was another Greek dish I had yet to try. I can hands down say that the pork belly was the best that I had ever eaten, and for me was the stand out dish of the evening. I've never had a pork belly the just melted like butter in my mouth, it was incredible. Lisa was laughing at me because I said I wanted to marry the pork belly, honestly I was only half joking, that's how good it was! The falafel was also delicious but unfortunately greatly overshadowed by the pork for me. What I liked the most about the falafel was that it was so crispy on the outside, but the inside was really soft and chewy, my favourite combination of textures in a single dish. We did also order some of the Med Chicken, (rosemary marinated chicken thighs), in a food induced haze, and when it arrived we struggled through it, and it didn't disappoint.<br />
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Finally somehow we managed to muster a bit of a second wind so that we could sample a dessert each. Lisa went for the Greek Filo Custart Pie, and I went for the Caramel and Pecan Cheesecake. Cheesecake for me is probably my favourite dessert and one I often default to as I know I am bound to like it. I am so glad I continued my pattern and settled on the cheesecake because it was delicious and also unlike any cheesecake I have ever had. Whilst the cheesecake itself was definitely sweetened I would say not as much as others I have tried, and as such the cream cheese was still detectable, which when paired with the sweet caramel was to die for. I have a very big sweet tooth and I can happily say that it was satisfied with this dessert. At the end of the meal when we were completely stuffed the staff even offered to box up the leftovers for us to take home, I let Lisa have them as I'm not a great fan of the same food the next day!<br />
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All in all I would consider my first real Greek dining experience a success, and I can't imagine having done it anywhere more perfect that at 'The Real Greek' in Reading. I had a fantastic time with some amazing company, and I couldn't recommend the food highly enough, especially if you've never had Greek before! Feel free to visit The Real Greek's <a href="http://www.therealgreek.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">website</a> to see if they have a restaurant in your area... Also a massive thanks to my good friend Lisa of <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/" target="_blank">United Cakedom</a> for keeping me company and helping me scoff the food!<br />
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<b><span style="font-size: x-small;">** I was invited to review the restaurant and was giving this meal experience for free, however all opinions stated above are my own **</span></b>AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-67094929390982732192016-10-03T20:50:00.000+01:002016-10-03T20:50:19.788+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week Six - Paul Hollywood's Fougasse<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxczsI8wAOQYMEllP5z77XEJe-d7Al8QbFa9WZyptCQ7wEH2C6AhK_RdU19oe5hgJhF-mVVSn3mmaQpJciDjZiNxDO8zQNPIzCrT5bg1Czqz7cxOCBv4Xim2TJ4ZoLh7M5KR0qdouxLnoz/s1600/main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my finished Paul Hollywood's Herb Fougasse" border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxczsI8wAOQYMEllP5z77XEJe-d7Al8QbFa9WZyptCQ7wEH2C6AhK_RdU19oe5hgJhF-mVVSn3mmaQpJciDjZiNxDO8zQNPIzCrT5bg1Czqz7cxOCBv4Xim2TJ4ZoLh7M5KR0qdouxLnoz/s640/main.jpg" title="Paul Hollywood's Herb Fougasse" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Hollywood's Herb Fougasse</td></tr>
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We're over half way there everyone! Can you even believe it? This week was yet another first in Bake Off history, Botanical Week. Now when I first heard about the theme for the week I was a little sceptical, but then I got very excited. I had originally wanted to make a lemon and lavender cake inspired by my favourite Yankee Candle, but I couldn't get hold of culinary lavender in time, so I had to quickly come up with a plan B. Sorry Paul but yes, your Fougasse wasn't my first choice bake... Having said that, now I've finally eaten some Fougasse I can confirm that it is very tasty indeed.<br />
<a name='more'></a>As mentioned above this is a Paul Hollywood recipe, so I will not be including the ingredients list or strict instructions as you can follow them directly from the recipe, which you will find <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fresh_herb_fougasse_70351">here</a>.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B_iPhC8Proqivj3KWn7P3BqD1HqYEKt5619A-2YEf61wDIRML2VkVXB0CVh81fIMzhLpvrtqdzxFs98qjCxvVi_RA2qfzge50h_ccgQhUdp4-YOio8Zxj50OJJmblgEsvJgk3LdC6Fmq/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for making the Fougasse dough" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_B_iPhC8Proqivj3KWn7P3BqD1HqYEKt5619A-2YEf61wDIRML2VkVXB0CVh81fIMzhLpvrtqdzxFs98qjCxvVi_RA2qfzge50h_ccgQhUdp4-YOio8Zxj50OJJmblgEsvJgk3LdC6Fmq/s640/1.jpg" title="Making the Dough" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the dough!</td></tr>
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Making the dough is really simple, you just put the flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a freestand mixer. Make sure that the yeast and salt are on opposite sides of the bowl. Next add the oil and 3/4 of the water to the bowl and mix on a low setting until is starts to come together, then turn it up to a medium speed and leave to mix for 8 minutes or so. After the time is up add your herbs to the bowl and mix for a further minute. Once your herbs are well combined into the dough you can tip it into a lightly floured bowl and leave to prove for an hour.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw10naLmsHJ5kXC-ZmASBzo3zAKtWldKPi7GFlbhuul6h6Ey-vN1xPUpPKXdEDoHA1S0JtB4UcdUzzgalHduNgzmSnkc_GrL15T3nyDpnxjDfP9lJhbDIBKoYE3V0jrHYu26T-IveqYObJ/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Shaping the Fougasse" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw10naLmsHJ5kXC-ZmASBzo3zAKtWldKPi7GFlbhuul6h6Ey-vN1xPUpPKXdEDoHA1S0JtB4UcdUzzgalHduNgzmSnkc_GrL15T3nyDpnxjDfP9lJhbDIBKoYE3V0jrHYu26T-IveqYObJ/s640/2.jpg" title="Shaping the Fougasse" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shaping the Fougasse</td></tr>
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After the initial proving your dough should have doubled in size! Tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into two equal pieces. Place each piece onto a baking sheet lined with baking paper then taking a sharp knife, or a pizza cutter cut the above pattern into the dough. Once cut leave on the baking sheets covered with a clean tea towel for their second prove, which is another hour. When the second prove is completed you can preheat your oven to 200 degrees and place the Fougasse into the oven for 15-20 minutes. It should be lightly browned on top and the bottom should sound hollow when you tap it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxczsI8wAOQYMEllP5z77XEJe-d7Al8QbFa9WZyptCQ7wEH2C6AhK_RdU19oe5hgJhF-mVVSn3mmaQpJciDjZiNxDO8zQNPIzCrT5bg1Czqz7cxOCBv4Xim2TJ4ZoLh7M5KR0qdouxLnoz/s1600/main.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my finished Paul Hollywood's Herb Fougasse" border="0" height="402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxczsI8wAOQYMEllP5z77XEJe-d7Al8QbFa9WZyptCQ7wEH2C6AhK_RdU19oe5hgJhF-mVVSn3mmaQpJciDjZiNxDO8zQNPIzCrT5bg1Czqz7cxOCBv4Xim2TJ4ZoLh7M5KR0qdouxLnoz/s640/main.jpg" title="Paul Hollywood's Herb Fougasse" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Paul Hollywood's Herb Fougasse</td></tr>
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Thanks again to the lovely Jenny from <a href="http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/">Mummy Mishaps</a> for hosting the Blogger Bake off, don't forget to head on over to her blog if you want to see what everyone else has made this week! If you have enjoyed reading today's post then don't forget to come back next week for Dessert Week...
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<a href="http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" title="Mummy Mishaps"><img alt="Mummy Mishaps" src="http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/Tesco_TESC183_GBBO_Logo_Final-small.png" style="border: none;" /></a></div>
AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-45857660259527059312016-09-26T16:33:00.003+01:002016-09-26T16:35:46.090+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week Five - Mary Berry's Bakewell Tart<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyu6nXPbz2n4N6MuwvETF9AXLLtfgHDTksv3yrdLzJaQYbevXv2TulVn-3Wqlhm5CsNKIMTwv5wQSM1mJLBa_uDIRxNhfloemKBEJant9F6Z5O2ZLd3N-l0fl1tpdT5r5ss3JFnPcFzNez/s1600/fini3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Picture of My finished tart!" border="0" height="594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyu6nXPbz2n4N6MuwvETF9AXLLtfgHDTksv3yrdLzJaQYbevXv2TulVn-3Wqlhm5CsNKIMTwv5wQSM1mJLBa_uDIRxNhfloemKBEJant9F6Z5O2ZLd3N-l0fl1tpdT5r5ss3JFnPcFzNez/s640/fini3.jpg" title="My finished tart!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My finished tart!</td></tr>
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With the release of this post I am officially half way through the Great Bloggers Bake Off! I feel like we've only just begun, and that there should be a tonne of weeks left, in reality we have five more... With that being said let's continue to enjoy Bake Off and the blogger version with my submission for week five, a copy of Mary Berry's Bakewell Tart.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Aet49n5pV5OZDy0kC_qqtMyFQ9zLoQ9D48FUdad1F6FuF3GrdNEPhPECaIbn9AVV8F6My9JgECkXLrxPvUufhwPBrhldiNMUGYQR-Ob39-kz_Ru_N1rXfdnZX9Vx00W4hQ2yL0zqB7AG/s1600/IMG_1095.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the Tesco Branded Ingredients that I used in this bake" border="0" height="462" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Aet49n5pV5OZDy0kC_qqtMyFQ9zLoQ9D48FUdad1F6FuF3GrdNEPhPECaIbn9AVV8F6My9JgECkXLrxPvUufhwPBrhldiNMUGYQR-Ob39-kz_Ru_N1rXfdnZX9Vx00W4hQ2yL0zqB7AG/s640/IMG_1095.JPG" title="Tesco Branded Ingredients" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tesco Branded Ingredients</td></tr>
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This is a Mary Berry recipe so the full ingredients and method can be found by clicking <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/marys_bakewell_tart_12584">here</a>. I won't be sharing the ingredients in this post but I will talk you through my steps to recreating this classic! Before we get into the recipe I would like to say a massive thank you to Tesco who are actually sponsoring this post as well as the entire Great Blogger Bake Off! I was lucky enough to be sent a £20 Tesco voucher to put towards my ingredients for my bake this week, which really helped with it being the end of the month. They also have their own Baking section on their website which has a tonne of recipe ideas, as well as a section to help you find everything you need for your bakes, which you can check out <a href="http://www.tesco.com/baking/">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzaFhiqNIFEhLSFF-OWiKQeNaODCneu0EIE9gbIvaad4si8WZMs6nIs6Rbb0JNN7qzydl7v4Yb4NpjJBjaSVDyDKGsMoTPqN9dHWxoBbFLv57-tCsar9OdxmijfdhSb4dsceYvUAHN0Vq/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Making the Jam" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrzaFhiqNIFEhLSFF-OWiKQeNaODCneu0EIE9gbIvaad4si8WZMs6nIs6Rbb0JNN7qzydl7v4Yb4NpjJBjaSVDyDKGsMoTPqN9dHWxoBbFLv57-tCsar9OdxmijfdhSb4dsceYvUAHN0Vq/s640/1.jpg" title="Making the Jam" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Jam</td></tr>
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Jam's are something that are actually really easy to make, but a lot of people can be put off by them. All you need is your chosen fruit and jam sugar and you have everything you need. Place both in a saucepan and then bring to the boil on a low heat, once the sugar is dissolved you can increase the heat and boil for 4 minutes. Alternatively you can use a sugar thermometer to let you know when the Jam reaches the right temperature. Once that is boiled for the correct amount of time simply pour it into a container and leave to cool completely. I also decided to add a step and strain my jam, I'm not a massive fan of the seeds in fruit.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFWuP19xkUwxjMylClKgas8FBveE3YWR8SdI2Ci6lAqUq79xrXBy8iVm1exdvizi1fL_M_CnCpGCPvFqf2vEcRO4dLfpLNXSdeoByqVDI6GTfMo2_a0SxskbqGgtHfsoyOaCphbV6HZ1W/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="photographs of the steps for Making the Pastry" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglFWuP19xkUwxjMylClKgas8FBveE3YWR8SdI2Ci6lAqUq79xrXBy8iVm1exdvizi1fL_M_CnCpGCPvFqf2vEcRO4dLfpLNXSdeoByqVDI6GTfMo2_a0SxskbqGgtHfsoyOaCphbV6HZ1W/s640/2.jpg" title="Making the Pastry" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Pastry</td></tr>
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Pastry is one of the first things I ever baked, back when I was in Secondary school and it's something I like to think I am good at! To start you want to place your flour and butter into a bowl together and then rub the butter into the flour until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs. Then add all of the other pastry ingredients and bring together with your hands until it forms a dough. Turn this out onto a floured surface and then roll until it is just under 0.5 cm thick.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ixMhmjtJQgDSR-ng9jTcSZHvBmJlkfn-BHHs0krHLW3FU-0CK82GexhM99djjS8bJG-EoyGWJcK_bho8nl_pMRI-GW0PQQpkqN3MDmEP7xkXwuy3jLsNfvDPCzF7clYwPvbHw4WMh8lT/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="photos of the steps for Making the Tart case" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2ixMhmjtJQgDSR-ng9jTcSZHvBmJlkfn-BHHs0krHLW3FU-0CK82GexhM99djjS8bJG-EoyGWJcK_bho8nl_pMRI-GW0PQQpkqN3MDmEP7xkXwuy3jLsNfvDPCzF7clYwPvbHw4WMh8lT/s640/3.jpg" title="Making the Tart case" width="388" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Tart case</td></tr>
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Once you have rolled out your pastry you can transfer it to your tart tin and carefully begin pressing it into the tin with your fingers. When you are happy with that you can trim the edges carefully using a sharp knife, and then place the case and tin into the fridge to cool for half an hour. Then when the tart case has chilled preheat your oven the 200 degrees and put some baking paper on top of the tart before adding some uncooked rice or baking beads to weigh the pastry case down, this will help to prevent bubbling in the oven. Cook the case for 15 minutes, then remove the rice/baking beads and cook for a further five minutes. Place this aside to cool whilst you make the frangipane.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EWDrBz6fuX9p3_u3Kv_u0VSIjXWNiG4fLRTvmoYikU0gXm5q7fxuquiE4j2PTtgshGYB6_ARUBFQ_EBlalVYpzB-p_QI0cE4TxpQtSyHL5vGXb9CIEWukNKpaTGVasSO0vjCtcWMnpX8/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Making the Frangipane" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4EWDrBz6fuX9p3_u3Kv_u0VSIjXWNiG4fLRTvmoYikU0gXm5q7fxuquiE4j2PTtgshGYB6_ARUBFQ_EBlalVYpzB-p_QI0cE4TxpQtSyHL5vGXb9CIEWukNKpaTGVasSO0vjCtcWMnpX8/s640/4.jpg" title="Making the Frangipane" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Frangipane</td></tr>
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The frangipane is also fairly simple to make, start by creaming together your butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, then add all the other ingredients to the bowl, mixing well until combined.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28mfeMJ4Xab_NMMNh866tFhOYzhkchiVoOQ8zxbea4g1LizmJv6Ju8fPjPjFRUIHydbe0ZfETUt_W3aITCNJLylPZJyAfgeGTZMvihFrTfxCn1raAuTzFn_kH_CiLAyOec_HBYPQ1YYAN/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Baking the Tart" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg28mfeMJ4Xab_NMMNh866tFhOYzhkchiVoOQ8zxbea4g1LizmJv6Ju8fPjPjFRUIHydbe0ZfETUt_W3aITCNJLylPZJyAfgeGTZMvihFrTfxCn1raAuTzFn_kH_CiLAyOec_HBYPQ1YYAN/s640/5.jpg" title="Baking the Tart" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baking the Tart</td></tr>
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To assemble the tart, spread a thing layer of your jam over the base, spreading out evenly with a spatula. Spoon the frangipane on top of this, spreading it out evenly with a clean spatula so that the Jam and frangipane don't mix. Put this in the middle of a 180 degree oven and bake for 25-35 minutes. You will know it is done when the frangipane is lightly browned, or you can insert a skewer into the centre, then remove it, if it is clean, it is done. leave this to cool completely in the tin.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLoH0lfFM3v0oy0vVN4DE-xy1CQYitiU_m_R5E8ru_zOmoDK1-zNoGnX6X9t8ZXtqrB5kJEuvk0U80i2gzlQSmkiM4HS4tJuRhkuqga60Eb9f8EkFRxEvbqZ2hVyG70IsaFOWC6hHSIGIL/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Finishing the tart" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLoH0lfFM3v0oy0vVN4DE-xy1CQYitiU_m_R5E8ru_zOmoDK1-zNoGnX6X9t8ZXtqrB5kJEuvk0U80i2gzlQSmkiM4HS4tJuRhkuqga60Eb9f8EkFRxEvbqZ2hVyG70IsaFOWC6hHSIGIL/s640/6.jpg" title="Finishing the tart" width="492" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finishing the tart</td></tr>
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To make the icing sift your icing sugar into a bowl then add the almond extract and a few tablespoons of water, mix this together until you have a stiff icing. Put a few tablespoons of the icing into another bowl and colour this pink, then place the pink icing into a piping bag with a small regular nozzle. Spoon the white icing onto the tart smoothing out with a spatula. Then pipe horizontal lines across the tart, evenly spacing them apart, using a toothpick drag it lightly through the icing at 90 degree angles to the pink lines, alternating between dragging it up, and then down, this will give you the feathered icing effect. Remove the tart from the tin and then leave the icing to set.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pLdS0HbR8h6R3RTQQkzfuBN65MB8hRzvUUWJ5bDi-w0VTzVF-P-dPgvwzb3dgUPkzbAA3Lsh0E1wB98OME58FzfFrhI0wwd8NiLQYq1382fL8RzN22fOk6w7As45McfAG57FdRI-g8fa/s1600/fini1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my completed Mary Berry's Classic Bakewell Tart" border="0" height="396" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4pLdS0HbR8h6R3RTQQkzfuBN65MB8hRzvUUWJ5bDi-w0VTzVF-P-dPgvwzb3dgUPkzbAA3Lsh0E1wB98OME58FzfFrhI0wwd8NiLQYq1382fL8RzN22fOk6w7As45McfAG57FdRI-g8fa/s640/fini1.jpg" title="Mary Berry's Classic Bakewell Tart" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Berry's Classic Bakewell Tart</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Then all that's left is to enjoy your tart! Thanks again to the lovely Jenny from <a href="http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/">Mummy Mishaps</a> for hosting the Blogger Bake off, don't forget to head on over to her blog if you want to see what everyone else has made this week! If you have enjoyed reading today's post then don't forget to come back next week for another first in the history of GBBO, Botanical week...<br />
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AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-30721845653220785302016-09-19T21:39:00.002+01:002016-09-19T21:39:26.502+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week Four: Cinnamon Sugar Churros<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYiXofwHd7AESlA6Q1JIiPLgjyyCqJmTwpJgYek_iHnG7e0bmW3aM-ytZckhT-r_haA3wrVItAJmQOU0tSZD4_FTRcJjGQTat15z-GDssJW_cf-WXogdpW4uTurGYKyqfhrE4vholBrTF/s1600/IMG_1058.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my freshly baked Cinnamon Sugar Churros w/ Plain Chocolate Dipping Sauce" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcYiXofwHd7AESlA6Q1JIiPLgjyyCqJmTwpJgYek_iHnG7e0bmW3aM-ytZckhT-r_haA3wrVItAJmQOU0tSZD4_FTRcJjGQTat15z-GDssJW_cf-WXogdpW4uTurGYKyqfhrE4vholBrTF/s640/IMG_1058.JPG" title="Cinnamon Sugar Churros w/ Plain Chocolate Dipping Sauce" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cinnamon Sugar Churros w/ Plain Chocolate Dipping Sauce</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Few this week has flown by and once again I didn't have very much time to get a bake done. However I am adamant that I will take part in this Bake off for the whole 10 weeks, so I persevered and ended up making Cinnamon Sugar Churros with a Plain Chocolate Dipping Sauce. It's no secret that I am a massive fan of cinnamon sugar, actually it might be because I don't think I have ever mentioned it on my blog before... Oh well, the point is I LOVE cinnamon sugar, so it was a no-brainer for me that I would do Churros. If you would like to know how to make these beauties then keep reading!<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><u>For this recipe you will need:</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b>For the Churros:</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>50g Butter (melted)</b></li>
<li><b>350ml Boiling Water</b></li>
<li><b>1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract</b></li>
<li><b>250g Plain flour</b></li>
<li><b>1 tsp Baking Powder</b></li>
<li><b>Sunflower Oil (amount dependant on your pan)</b></li>
<li><b>100g Caster Sugar</b></li>
<li><b>2 tsp Cinnamon</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
<b>For the Sauce:</b><br />
<br />
<ul>
<li><b>200g Plain Chocolate</b></li>
<li><b>100ml Double Cream</b></li>
<li><b>100ml Whole Milk</b></li>
<li><b>3 tbsp Golden Syrup</b></li>
</ul>
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36kXCPqJTf8JBPx2nwNecKofyQIRBhjCSwk_ZuFwIsAzky-FkPm_94Ma0erK80Llyh6tVg3KzH1It-al8JInt8-BFPsEUATA09H1J7pdPWv43YBW9SLtj9HHibe7hT8hMVdgcqPs8o4iR/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the Steps for making the Churros" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj36kXCPqJTf8JBPx2nwNecKofyQIRBhjCSwk_ZuFwIsAzky-FkPm_94Ma0erK80Llyh6tVg3KzH1It-al8JInt8-BFPsEUATA09H1J7pdPWv43YBW9SLtj9HHibe7hT8hMVdgcqPs8o4iR/s640/1.jpg" title="Steps for making the Churros" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Steps for making the Churros</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Start by making the batter for the Churros, which is only three steps so is really easy to follow. Start by sifting your flour and baking powder into a large bowl. Then add your melted butter and vanilla extract to your boiling water. Make a well in the centre of your sifted flour and carefully pour in the butter mixture. Beat this really well with a wooden spook until it is completely lump free and then leave aside for 10-15 mins.<br />
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Whilst the batter is resting you can make your chocolate sauce simply by adding all the ingredients to a saucepan and stirring on a medium low heat until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is well combined. Then simply remove from the heat and set aside to cool and thicken.<br />
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Now you can move onto frying your Churros, fill your saucepan (or in my case Wok) 1/3 of the way with the oil and set on a medium/high heat and leave to warm. Place your batter into a piping bag, if you would like you can use a piping nozzle to get the distinctive lines that Churros normally have. I however forgot to buy a tip big enough, so I had to settle for perfectly straight Churros. When you think your oil is ready pipe a tiny amount into the pan, cutting it off with kitchen scissors and see if it cooks within a few minutes, if so then your oil is ready. Pipe the Churros directly into the pan cutting them off with the scissors about 3-4 at a time. Turning them half way through to ensure both sides are evenly covered. Once they are a golden brown colour you can remove them from the oil and place them onto a pan lined with kitchen roll. Leave them for a minute or so before tossing them in the Cinnamon sugar mixture. Repeat these steps until you have used up all of your batter.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXEZ6pRJ5vxfJd5zcPYgPGpe47Ba1_zof6XrzNjNHZMBB2Kx4wO9aIPvjh1PoBtjNf-7W5wa1NSVzbr0rUbzG6PScPHKvpElXlc12fpuLUwsGeYCcp7-HZqiEsiu7b0pHqb5drTeWzsNf/s1600/IMG_1066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my Finished Churros!" border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpXEZ6pRJ5vxfJd5zcPYgPGpe47Ba1_zof6XrzNjNHZMBB2Kx4wO9aIPvjh1PoBtjNf-7W5wa1NSVzbr0rUbzG6PScPHKvpElXlc12fpuLUwsGeYCcp7-HZqiEsiu7b0pHqb5drTeWzsNf/s640/IMG_1066.JPG" title="Finished Churros!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finished Churros!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once your Churros are completely cooked all you have left to do is serve them with the sauce. I personally think Churros are best eaten warm, but you can also wait until they cool down a little, it's completely up to you! Thanks again to Jenny from Mummy Mishaps as ever for hosting the Blogger Bake Off, it wouldn't even exist without her... Don't forget to go over to her blog if you would like to see what the other bloggers taking part have made this week. If you have enjoyed today's post then don't forget to come back next week when I will be taking on Pastry!
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AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-17467549801554989882016-09-11T12:08:00.001+01:002016-09-11T12:08:48.085+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off - Week Three: Nutella Star Bread<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGD5aV5LXCYfB74YmWCvZaUwoTxXu9WFRmTyz8oehEWCX8vlCkdtBY5JgAsHeZyvopSp84EqewlDH3xfxWLi-aWQstotzFxrHl277_oy8vevIUlSyUwk6m25kuT1H3B6QT1RuIAJINIlak/s1600/IMG_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my finished Nutella Star Bread" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGD5aV5LXCYfB74YmWCvZaUwoTxXu9WFRmTyz8oehEWCX8vlCkdtBY5JgAsHeZyvopSp84EqewlDH3xfxWLi-aWQstotzFxrHl277_oy8vevIUlSyUwk6m25kuT1H3B6QT1RuIAJINIlak/s640/IMG_0882.JPG" title="Nutella Star Bread" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nutella Star Bread</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
How is it already week three of the Great Bloggers Bake Off? Time seems to be moving really quickly at the moment, every time I blink another week is gone. As always week three on the bake off was Paul Hollywood's domain, bread week. This is always a week that I dread, normally my bread bakes don't go too well, this week however everything seemed to fall into place!<br />
<a name='more'></a><b><u>For this recipe you will need:</u></b><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<ul>
<li>300ml Milk</li>
<li>8g Yeast Packet</li>
<li>1 Tbsp Sugar</li>
<li>450g Plain Flour</li>
<li>70g Caster Sugar</li>
<li>Pinch of Salt</li>
<li>2 Eggs (seperated)</li>
<li>2 Tbsp Butter</li>
<li>1 Tup Nutella</li>
</ul>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmPDb1uvXi59buqd-N74eyBpRbyOwwxKyH2Hc3lle2AfBw6EZi89-vbrwdDwc_J-wlQoWGQJAIfipvWWA75LfE-QmlxUfaJ6kl9_ZWDGPaVko85mQAsWOnG_qNan2P4qDQYgpel4j1Zin/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Making the Dough" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxmPDb1uvXi59buqd-N74eyBpRbyOwwxKyH2Hc3lle2AfBw6EZi89-vbrwdDwc_J-wlQoWGQJAIfipvWWA75LfE-QmlxUfaJ6kl9_ZWDGPaVko85mQAsWOnG_qNan2P4qDQYgpel4j1Zin/s640/1.jpg" title="Making the Dough" width="580" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Dough</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
To make the dough you will need to start by activating the yeast, to do this place the yeast in lukewarm milk with the 1 tbsp of sugar and leave it for 15 minutes. In a separate bowl sift the flour, caster sugar and salt, add the egg yolks, melted butter. Then when the yeast is activated add this to the mixture. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment, start mixing on slow until the mixture is combined, and then mix on medium/high for 5-7 minutes until smooth and elastic. Transfer the dough into an oiled bowl, cover with cling film and leave for 45 minutes until doubled in size.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-Ht5hvJca55BoIQL4PH9zLrOLnusZ7q1IfdTVk-eLXS5BLNcEAIrjiwd2aUnXZuaER3du7fK0GvzJIKN6X0cIDavkIA3hGsFqfJT7qp4tYU_ijEkuohPbAgsqfD5f96MGYuiQ6w6QF3a/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Assembling the Bread" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv-Ht5hvJca55BoIQL4PH9zLrOLnusZ7q1IfdTVk-eLXS5BLNcEAIrjiwd2aUnXZuaER3du7fK0GvzJIKN6X0cIDavkIA3hGsFqfJT7qp4tYU_ijEkuohPbAgsqfD5f96MGYuiQ6w6QF3a/s640/2.jpg" title="Assembling the Bread" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Assembling the Bread</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
Once the dough is doubled in size, turn it out and cut it into four even pieces, then preheat your oven to 180C. Take one of the pieces of dough and roll it out until it is about 0.5cm thick, use something round like a cake tin and press it lightly into the dough to make an indent. Next take your Nutella and spread a thin layer inside of the circle, if the Nutella is too firm then place it in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to make it more liquid. Place the dough piece onto a piece of baking paper, and then repeat these steps for the next two pieces of dough stacking them one on top of the other. For the final piece simply roll it out and place it on top of the other three, skipping the Nutella step. Place your round tin (or in my case frying pan) on top of the dough and cut around it until you have a neat circle. Take a glass and place it in the centre of the dough circle and press lightly to make an indent. From the glass indent, make cuts in the dough dividing it into quarters and then cut each corner into four pieces. Take two pieces in your hand and twist them in opposite directions, and then repeat this until all of the pieced have been twisted, then brush the top with egg whites. Place onto a baking sheet lined with paper, and then place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJzIfSQapbK02GMwVZZUez1aPTDr23mAm0ESSPJcpITLNQii9QpZzs_NNESF1MXV9XqcBBm289bfCYmPIjfAGi7ZRsvGiuVrcYqZ3Kufo5EC2us0j80TiyWyq1rXM0hfMWaBfFDa6lTOX/s1600/IMG_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my finished Nutella Star Bread" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixJzIfSQapbK02GMwVZZUez1aPTDr23mAm0ESSPJcpITLNQii9QpZzs_NNESF1MXV9XqcBBm289bfCYmPIjfAGi7ZRsvGiuVrcYqZ3Kufo5EC2us0j80TiyWyq1rXM0hfMWaBfFDa6lTOX/s640/IMG_0882.JPG" title="Nutella Star Bread" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Nutella Star Bread</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
I left my bread to cool completely before transferring it onto a plate to serve. To serve all you need to do is pull off a twist and enjoy! I got to share my bake with some of Tim's family yesterday and they all loved it, and I have to say it is a little bit addictive! Thanks again to Jenny of Mummy Mishaps for hosting the Bloggers Bake Off, and if you want to see what the other bloggers have made this week then don't forget to check out her blog! Also don't forget to come back next week for a brand new challenge never before attempted on the Bake Off, Batter week!</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
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AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-55472606857744769242016-09-03T14:36:00.002+01:002016-09-03T14:36:56.205+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off: Week Two - Galaxy Iced Biscuits<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tuYNAEQ3LG6XZPxLP7Q5ufV10a72kotLJ-2_kRbvU97jjO6hTMwfdp5oOY3Y1ThBgJt67xytXfLh6cc-EkNvJkblq9e3JRKa5GDL3jPwo5Wg4WhGVkzRB7yNhkuCT-ogOyJdMP5oeo3X/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my Galaxy Iced Biscuits" border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tuYNAEQ3LG6XZPxLP7Q5ufV10a72kotLJ-2_kRbvU97jjO6hTMwfdp5oOY3Y1ThBgJt67xytXfLh6cc-EkNvJkblq9e3JRKa5GDL3jPwo5Wg4WhGVkzRB7yNhkuCT-ogOyJdMP5oeo3X/s640/4.jpg" title="Galaxy Iced Biscuits" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galaxy Iced Biscuits</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Welcome back to The Great Bloggers Bake Off, this week we got to tackle something that I rarely bake, biscuits. The three challenges in the tent this week were, iced biscuits, viennese swirls, and gingerbread structures. As much as I wanted to take on a Gingerbread structure to challenge myself, I don't have a good track record of making Gingerbread structures (last year I had a meltdown when making a gingerbread house). So instead I decided to push myself in the decorating department, and made some iced biscuits instead!<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u>For This Recipe You Will Need (Makes 24):</u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b><u><br /></u></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>For the Biscuits:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li>200g Salted Butter</li>
<li>100g Caster Sugar</li>
<li>Zest of 2 Lemons</li>
<li>350g Plain Flour</li>
</ul>
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>For the Icing:</b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ul>
<li>4 1/2 Cups Icing Sugar</li>
<li>4 Large Egg Whites</li>
<li>1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar</li>
<li>Juice of 1 Lemon</li>
<li>1-2 tbsp Water</li>
</ul>
</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjeDNmXQMDnBzoX54Rhts3gutiib0GIZ6oYyu4olfcts1xNHqOj7spijAGbqnVVdEOhDrv3tWfcft2fvTMVfILbfjYPw5JDt3LfAQ7ogz_ii-5f1wPD6T9VbALYtOeuxT6DNyca_3eFdzA/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Making the Shortbread" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjeDNmXQMDnBzoX54Rhts3gutiib0GIZ6oYyu4olfcts1xNHqOj7spijAGbqnVVdEOhDrv3tWfcft2fvTMVfILbfjYPw5JDt3LfAQ7ogz_ii-5f1wPD6T9VbALYtOeuxT6DNyca_3eFdzA/s640/1.jpg" title="Making the Shortbread" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Shortbread</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Preheat your oven to 180C, and prepare your baking sheets by lining them with baking paper. Then beat the butter until soft, once this is done you can add the sugar and lemon zest and beat it again until smooth. Sift the flour into the bowl and then work it with your hands until the dough starts to come together. If the mixture is particularly short you can add a few drops of water to try and bring it together more.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqprIX47pxs4e2-9xAuREyZHlMvnI72JXXSrwFBoXxg5ssHny_W5tgRzjHpONnsKrbErvTPdp0iI-6Iou0p4QDVyBG9iTKHiKi7qZhZe70xsOwUPDvGWOytbUuNsxsUBsZTEb6LfTr9NkP/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for Cutting out the Biscuits" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqprIX47pxs4e2-9xAuREyZHlMvnI72JXXSrwFBoXxg5ssHny_W5tgRzjHpONnsKrbErvTPdp0iI-6Iou0p4QDVyBG9iTKHiKi7qZhZe70xsOwUPDvGWOytbUuNsxsUBsZTEb6LfTr9NkP/s640/2.jpg" title="Cutting out the Biscuits" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cutting out the Biscuits</td></tr>
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When the dough starts to come together, tip it out onto a floured surface and gently knead it until it comes together fully. Flour a rolling pin and then roll out the dough to about 0.5cm thickness, then simply use your cutter of choice to cut out your biscuits. Once cut transfer them to your baking trays (I decided to do 6 biscuits per baking sheet), then place into the oven for 20-25 minutes. Once the cookies are a pale golden brown you can removed them from the oven and then allow them to cool completely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6E3Er7kkGmNPmcDukA6n9GN51VUIH_vUGMOYnwgzBlcIzR80IRhZ6JzGvb4RmsacRGoJwLkBbsCBEn9itT0cgxXfYEB4T-dslHbgqaRYGFPvnt4uDrWC3-jOSlyRKdfaRj0ibtaOT7cL/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the steps for icing the galaxy biscuits" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ6E3Er7kkGmNPmcDukA6n9GN51VUIH_vUGMOYnwgzBlcIzR80IRhZ6JzGvb4RmsacRGoJwLkBbsCBEn9itT0cgxXfYEB4T-dslHbgqaRYGFPvnt4uDrWC3-jOSlyRKdfaRj0ibtaOT7cL/s640/3.jpg" title="Making Galaxies" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making Galaxies</td></tr>
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Once the biscuits are cooled you can begin making the icing. Sift your icing sugar into your stand mixer or large bowl, add the Cream of Tartar and egg whites, then mix on a low setting until combined. Add your Lemon juice and beat on high for 1 minute, at this point the icing should be thick and sticky. To get the icing to flood consistency add your water 1 tbsp at a time, you will know when it is ready when you lift the beater out of the bowl and the icing self levels. Divide half of the icing mixture between three separate bowls to colour. Leave one of these white, the colour the others blue and purple. In the large bowl add your black food colouring, then place each of the mixtures into piping bags, using a number 2 tip on the black icing bag. Start by piping a black edge around the biscuits, then moving onto the blue and following the shape of the biscuit, but just inside the black border, finally pipe the purple icing into the centre. Using a toothpick lightly swirl the colours together to make your galaxy. Pipe a small amount of white icing onto a plate, and then dip your toothpick in this, then carefully prick the surface of the icing to deposit your smaller stars. Then pipe two larger white dots onto your biscuits where ever you like, taking a clean toothpick carefully drag it from the centre outwards to create the four points of your larger stars. Leave the biscuits to set for 2-4 hours, or preferably overnight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tuYNAEQ3LG6XZPxLP7Q5ufV10a72kotLJ-2_kRbvU97jjO6hTMwfdp5oOY3Y1ThBgJt67xytXfLh6cc-EkNvJkblq9e3JRKa5GDL3jPwo5Wg4WhGVkzRB7yNhkuCT-ogOyJdMP5oeo3X/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photos of the finished Galaxy Iced Biscuits" border="0" height="596" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2tuYNAEQ3LG6XZPxLP7Q5ufV10a72kotLJ-2_kRbvU97jjO6hTMwfdp5oOY3Y1ThBgJt67xytXfLh6cc-EkNvJkblq9e3JRKa5GDL3jPwo5Wg4WhGVkzRB7yNhkuCT-ogOyJdMP5oeo3X/s640/4.jpg" title="Galaxy Iced Biscuits" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Galaxy Iced Biscuits</td></tr>
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When they are completely set you should be left with some beautiful little galaxies that are not only really nice to look at, but also amazing to eat! Thanks again to the lovely Jenny from Mummy Mishaps for hosting the blogger bake off once again this year, if you want to see what the other bloggers have made then head on over to her blog. If you've enjoyed today's post then come back next week when I will be taking on bread!<br />
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AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-66862711090712963002016-08-29T19:47:00.001+01:002016-08-29T19:47:19.127+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off: Week One - Mirror Glaze Cake<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_55kVXhd6GNL6nX4serbQmO1M9wOlgVWcGZA_f8TJ9ba_3KqH3sjI3GygebhmtHrgE4L_2dDugxf-3XhPPoMp3ADvl-zi5o3u4e-35I2lArGo263idwsRTD-cA3yt6SzeDLI5h_iSVSn/s1600/IMG_0678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my home baked Blackberry Mirror Glaze Cake" border="0" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_55kVXhd6GNL6nX4serbQmO1M9wOlgVWcGZA_f8TJ9ba_3KqH3sjI3GygebhmtHrgE4L_2dDugxf-3XhPPoMp3ADvl-zi5o3u4e-35I2lArGo263idwsRTD-cA3yt6SzeDLI5h_iSVSn/s640/IMG_0678.JPG" title="Blackberry Mirror Glaze Cake" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blackberry Mirror Glaze Cake</td></tr>
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Welcome back to The Great Bloggers Bake Off 2016! If you read my blog around this time last year then you will already know about this link up. If not then you are in for a treat as EVERY week I will be making a bake based on one of the three challenges from the Great British Bake Off, and then link up with a tonne of other bloggers that will be doing the same.<br />
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As always the GBBO started with Cake week, and the challenges were a signature drizzle cake, the technical was Jaffa Cakes, and finally the show stopper was the absolutely beautiful mirror glaze cake. I'm sure by the title you've already realised that I decided to make the mirror glaze cake, which turned out to be not as difficult as you would imagine... So if you would like to know how to make this cake then keep reading...<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><u>For this recipe you will need:</u></b><br />
<b><u><br /></u></b>
<b>For the Genoise Sponge:</b><br />
<ul>
<li><b>250g Caster Sugar</b></li>
<li><b>8 Eggs</b></li>
<li><b>250g Plain Flour</b></li>
<li><b>50g Unsalted Butter (melted)</b></li>
<li><b>1 tsp Vanilla Extract</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>For the Buttercream:</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>280g Unsalted Butter</b></li>
<li><b>560g Icing Sugar</b></li>
<li><b>2 tsp Vanilla Extract</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>For the Mirror Glaze:</b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>226g White Chocolate</b></li>
<li><b>1/2 Cup Cold Water</b></li>
<li><b>1 Cup Sugar</b></li>
<li><b>1/2 Cup Golden Syrup</b></li>
<li><b>1/4 Cup Water</b></li>
<li><b>1/2 Sweetened Condensed Milk</b></li>
<li><b>5 tsp Powdered Gelatin</b></li>
</ul>
<div>
<b>Extras: </b></div>
</div>
<div>
<ul>
<li><b>Gel Food Colouring</b></li>
<li><b>Piping Bag</b></li>
<li><b>Blackberry Conserve</b></li>
<li><b>Fresh Blackberries</b></li>
</ul>
</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaIaU1954I3kBVxZcfQEWZtQ5d8Utz0v-ZMdwQuLxHl-oSAk6RMIvG2Qqs3Gqq8mYamxUJY5b2OsAx7I84IZA3ojOWnCBbRAFljENcmK_DamLWU74gKZp6rK0w52cYhAbHobgINg9k54U/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photographs of the steps for making the Genoise Sponge" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvaIaU1954I3kBVxZcfQEWZtQ5d8Utz0v-ZMdwQuLxHl-oSAk6RMIvG2Qqs3Gqq8mYamxUJY5b2OsAx7I84IZA3ojOWnCBbRAFljENcmK_DamLWU74gKZp6rK0w52cYhAbHobgINg9k54U/s640/1.jpg" title="Making the Genoise Sponge" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Genoise Sponge</td></tr>
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Making the Genoise sponge turned out to be fairly tricky. Preheat your oven to 180C and then prepare your cake tins by greasing them and adding baking paper discs to the base of the tins. You start by whisking together your eggs and sugar until frothy and pale, as there is no added raising agent, the air in the eggs will be what helps the cake to rise. Then you need to carefully fold in the flour, melted butter and vanilla extract. I took my time with this as I was so worried about knocking all of the air out of the cake. Then divide the mixture between the two tins, and bake in the oven for 20-30 mins until the cake has shrunk away from the sides. Leave the cakes to cool completely.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpW_ON51x1YAV2X5El06WeMPniMSR3HfqcxC-0W3kXGyHDJujU0wqoxy6fNIaSjgRBKZkoETbK4uf8MrHf1m-L2R1xpTVImc-xWdg4L88i-GxRnhsq-BAXiAuDlAFQb8Ku7JWZkvvvCbP/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photographs of the steps for Stacking and Filling the Cake" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnpW_ON51x1YAV2X5El06WeMPniMSR3HfqcxC-0W3kXGyHDJujU0wqoxy6fNIaSjgRBKZkoETbK4uf8MrHf1m-L2R1xpTVImc-xWdg4L88i-GxRnhsq-BAXiAuDlAFQb8Ku7JWZkvvvCbP/s640/2.jpg" title="Stacking and Filling the Cake" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stacking and Filling the Cake</td></tr>
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While the cakes are cooling you can make your buttercream. All this involves is mixing the icing sugar into the butter a little at a time, mainly so that you don't end up with clouds of icing sugar all over the place. Once you've stirred in all of the icing sugar you can add the vanilla extract and mix one last time. By the time that this is done you're cakes should be completely cool, and ready to stack and fill. Place your first cake onto a plate or baking tray and then cover with a layer of buttercream, then put the remainder of the buttercream into a piping bag, and pipe a thin border around the edge of your buttercream layer. Then spoon a generous amount of the Blackberry conserve on top of your buttercream layer. Place your second cake on top, and then using the piping bag roughly cover the cake in buttercream, taking an offset spatula smooth the buttercream all over the cake, making it as smooth as possible. Then then goes into the fridge to set completely for at least two hours, however I left mine overnight.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxPgW7micMaCaExzsVxZc5oY2bzgGwyhnCjpfpo9DuLZA1cvbthlX2uR4BUyNiys1ozSzBpu_VbFxin9IjAoOcOoy5CCyCPUPbav2DzuGKoEPozc0gV6royIvU28rG77M7-8GnVt6WgaA/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photographs of the steps for Making the Mirror Glaze" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVxPgW7micMaCaExzsVxZc5oY2bzgGwyhnCjpfpo9DuLZA1cvbthlX2uR4BUyNiys1ozSzBpu_VbFxin9IjAoOcOoy5CCyCPUPbav2DzuGKoEPozc0gV6royIvU28rG77M7-8GnVt6WgaA/s640/3.jpg" title="Making the Mirror Glaze" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Making the Mirror Glaze</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once your buttercream covered cake is completely set you can move onto the part you are really here for, the mirror glaze! Start by pouring your 1/2 Cup of cold water into a bowl with your powdered Gelatin and mix together, put this to one side for 5-10 mins to bloom. Then in a medium pan add your 1/4 Cup water, sugar, and golden syrup and mix until well combined, turn the heat onto medium low and cook for 7-8 mins until the sugar is completely dissolved and is lightly boiling. Remove from the heat and then add the gelatin whisking until completely combined, then do the same with the sweetened condensed milk. Pour this over your white chocolate and leave it for 5 minutes to let the chocolate melt, once melted give this a quick beat with a hand mixer to make it completely smooth, and then strain it into a new bowl to get rid of the air bubbles.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-8e-3OW19PI7SdiDuiRUyuSrKQSUQuCpZB6bBh6JMJlEe-ZroHXRnOb-Z1uc_mZZciVkB7b3onZsWNgPyWp-ElyRRgaOTyhOJHV3zDOl8f_DjeVPpLCDTYkGyvWNj0YN0hsr7DiUP_Ng/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photographs of the steps for Decorating the Cake" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx-8e-3OW19PI7SdiDuiRUyuSrKQSUQuCpZB6bBh6JMJlEe-ZroHXRnOb-Z1uc_mZZciVkB7b3onZsWNgPyWp-ElyRRgaOTyhOJHV3zDOl8f_DjeVPpLCDTYkGyvWNj0YN0hsr7DiUP_Ng/s640/4.jpg" title="Decorating the Cake" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Decorating the Cake</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Once the mirror glaze is done I put about 1/3 of it into a different bowl, and then I coloured the larger bowl a dark purple and the smaller bowl a nice blue colour, using tiny amounts of gel food colours. Then I poured the blue colour into the larger bowl of purple, and then carefully swirled it around with a spoon. To get the cake ready I placed it onto the base of one of the cake tins I used and then balanced it on top of a small glass, which was on a baking sheet lined with parchment to catch the excess glaze. You want your glaze to be cool enough that it's not really thin and runny, but still warm enough that when you pour it, it will spread out nicely over the cake. Once you have poured your glaze you just need to leave it for the excess to run off, and then the glaze to set. Once set you can clean up the edges of the cake and then transfer it to a cake board, finally all that is left to do is add your finishing touches and then enjoy.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_55kVXhd6GNL6nX4serbQmO1M9wOlgVWcGZA_f8TJ9ba_3KqH3sjI3GygebhmtHrgE4L_2dDugxf-3XhPPoMp3ADvl-zi5o3u4e-35I2lArGo263idwsRTD-cA3yt6SzeDLI5h_iSVSn/s1600/IMG_0678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the finished Blackberry Mirror Glaze Cake" border="0" height="576" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi_55kVXhd6GNL6nX4serbQmO1M9wOlgVWcGZA_f8TJ9ba_3KqH3sjI3GygebhmtHrgE4L_2dDugxf-3XhPPoMp3ADvl-zi5o3u4e-35I2lArGo263idwsRTD-cA3yt6SzeDLI5h_iSVSn/s640/IMG_0678.JPG" title="Blackberry Mirror Glaze Cake" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Blackberry Mirror Glaze Cake</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Here is the finished cake! I was so pleased with the way it turned out, and I can confirm that the glaze was so shiny that I could see my face in it, which was the best thing about this bake. Unfortunately I cannot comment on how the cake tasted as I donated it to a coffee morning that my mum, sister and I organised to raise money for an Alzheimer's Charity.<br />
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Thank you to the lovely Jenny of <a href="http://www.mummymishaps.co.uk/2016/08/golden-sparkle-celebration-cake-gbbobloggers2016-week-1.html">Mummy Mishaps</a> for once again hosting the challenge, and if you want to see what all of the other bloggers made, head over to her blog! Next week we take on biscuits so make sure to check back for that...<br />
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AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-54407292619671180932016-08-23T17:48:00.001+01:002016-08-23T17:48:52.271+01:00The Great Bloggers Bake Off 2016!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEcRLW3ZoUgilMPqsOxl6lzgiDvtDQv5AJ6xBj52c-pAhhhe_YTvICMmw8BVZakmZ1xtG0in1UQyivTQsy0-8bnSX_3KFpocJndRK-YHexXAI4NmIua3_Su7SyZyROF2SN4dOcvmLluhG/s1600/newbake2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/everything-you-need-know-great-11634914" border="0" height="424" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoEcRLW3ZoUgilMPqsOxl6lzgiDvtDQv5AJ6xBj52c-pAhhhe_YTvICMmw8BVZakmZ1xtG0in1UQyivTQsy0-8bnSX_3KFpocJndRK-YHexXAI4NmIua3_Su7SyZyROF2SN4dOcvmLluhG/s640/newbake2.jpg" title="Bake Off is back!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/whats-on/food-drink-news/everything-you-need-know-great-11634914">via</a></td></tr>
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How is August almost over already? It feels like yesterday that I was celebrating my 24th birthday, and now we're almost into Autumn. With the end of Summer comes one of my absolutely favourite TV shows, The Great British Bake Off. Who doesn't love watching Amateur bakers compete in three weekly challenges, sprinkled with perfectly British innuendo courtesy of Mel and Sue, the cold stare of master baker Paul Hollywood, and the ray of sunshine that is Mary Berry. Now I'm not shy about telling people how much I love Mary Berry, I don't think I really knew what an idol was until I came across her.<br />
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<a name='more'></a><br />
If you are a regular reader of my blog then you will know that last year I took part in a link up called The Great Bloggers Bake Off, in which a group of bloggers bake along with GBBO. Every week I picked a bake out of the three challenges from the show, and then either made my own version of the challenge, or recreated a bake from the show. So considering that Bake Off is back on our screens tomorrow I thought I would take a look back at the bakes I did last year...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrvLav35TuqsOF3H9jcfg2l0HWNxj8KPP7-2IAu5qMKwhYQiDIpDKrhbXzH8FtMumw_FfXa0lmXrdY2-FPT517GdZVFxaTSu2qj8AGg_J6QDjzN3Gwr8ZTwY_coSpU0qdXq4Bf1rYFQb8/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my Black Forest Gateaux " border="0" height="590" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdrvLav35TuqsOF3H9jcfg2l0HWNxj8KPP7-2IAu5qMKwhYQiDIpDKrhbXzH8FtMumw_FfXa0lmXrdY2-FPT517GdZVFxaTSu2qj8AGg_J6QDjzN3Gwr8ZTwY_coSpU0qdXq4Bf1rYFQb8/s640/1.jpg" title="Black Forest Gateaux " width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 1 - Black Forest Gateaux </td></tr>
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Week one I took on a Black Forest Gateaux, this choice was actually out of my hands as last year the Bake Off coincided with Tim's birthday, so he got to pick what he wanted for his birthday. Obviously he was going to go with something that contained chocolate, and the every Christmas he loves to order the Black Forest hot chocolate from Costa, so this cake was a no brainer. If you want to try to make this then you can find my post on it <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/08/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-black.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCEFYIWuRJL-z8k9SUfJ9_JoXT_a2K_ip85c5rvJ5OLLdF0E9H6DqBBuiRj_OWvwcViTlOugbG_7tXgGYPwbwu3YKauy6QQZQwQJemqxhDy63SGygt4AUNMSvYNVkupWnqM7efcS1MKKg/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my two types of Biscotti" border="0" height="484" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMCEFYIWuRJL-z8k9SUfJ9_JoXT_a2K_ip85c5rvJ5OLLdF0E9H6DqBBuiRj_OWvwcViTlOugbG_7tXgGYPwbwu3YKauy6QQZQwQJemqxhDy63SGygt4AUNMSvYNVkupWnqM7efcS1MKKg/s640/2.jpg" title="Biscotti" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 2 - Biscotti</td></tr>
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Week two saw me take on something that I have always wanted to make, Biscotti. I decided to make not one, but TWO types. So I ended up with Pistachio and Cranberry, and Chocolate Orange and Almond. Even better was that I got to use a Paul Hollywood recipe, and I must say they turned out fantastic, you can find the recipe for these <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/08/blogger-bake-along-to-gbbo-biscotti.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9auJa8Cp7GtZL53Gd4GmRTeqPcJGhNzEAP22NjTVX05yP60reym4QdJaTs1x_9DiJZ88uBtMZBnniDfxj6900GJy8ZMGYP2oXt1XpfOuT43FI8pnIovU47I2iUvHUezJyB4xMoyCzFFT/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my Chocolate Caramel and Pecan Bread" border="0" height="432" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip9auJa8Cp7GtZL53Gd4GmRTeqPcJGhNzEAP22NjTVX05yP60reym4QdJaTs1x_9DiJZ88uBtMZBnniDfxj6900GJy8ZMGYP2oXt1XpfOuT43FI8pnIovU47I2iUvHUezJyB4xMoyCzFFT/s640/3.jpg" title="Chocolate Caramel and Pecan Bread" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 3 - Chocolate Caramel and Pecan Bread</td></tr>
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Bread week was one that I was dreading, I love home baked bread, but actually making it, not so much. I decided to go for something a little different and make a chocolate bread, something you don't see very often. Plus anything with caramel is always going to go down well with me. Check out the Chocolate Caramel and Pecan bread <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/08/blogger-bake-along-to-gbbo-chocolate.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNTbtlQLd8c6-ejaWG8xoVNNElP7Ox1zr6pioP-Q9wUIVfzoF0npzvqgk4NGWNNMtpNHd6Z8GIIJ5zyf4UBYCh7wKQ-8leRt43pGjqMonNMkqG_mbM3JlGfUudFg7kEh0puXtwPpBRXHp/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my Trio of baked cheesecakes" border="0" height="354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCNTbtlQLd8c6-ejaWG8xoVNNElP7Ox1zr6pioP-Q9wUIVfzoF0npzvqgk4NGWNNMtpNHd6Z8GIIJ5zyf4UBYCh7wKQ-8leRt43pGjqMonNMkqG_mbM3JlGfUudFg7kEh0puXtwPpBRXHp/s640/4.jpg" title="Trio of baked cheesecakes" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 4 - Trio of baked cheesecakes</td></tr>
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Week 4 I really pushed the boat out and made THREE cheesecakes. Each one was more delivious than the last, but it was seriously hard to eat three cheesecakes in one week. When it comes to cheesecake my favourite is Lemon so of course I had to make that, and then I made a chocolate peanut butter and then a vanilla honeycomb. I even made my own Honeycomb, which I managed to burn my fingers on, but it was still amazing. If you want to make any of these cheesecakes, or even take on all three then you can find them <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/08/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-trio-of.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP_WnpuO0IbXyT4u9d6q_VuCmJ1vjUbEttoDTHKM_F7JOxc6JgVPaWoSKaOPFGXgk0PXyf9Ee33JjY2h2vXCfUCqnsGFXYqKHnCCqLW_WXl6JLHb0vOEhvehgtNbuiyKB0j4UwcEkXVYE/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my Ice cream roll" border="0" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguP_WnpuO0IbXyT4u9d6q_VuCmJ1vjUbEttoDTHKM_F7JOxc6JgVPaWoSKaOPFGXgk0PXyf9Ee33JjY2h2vXCfUCqnsGFXYqKHnCCqLW_WXl6JLHb0vOEhvehgtNbuiyKB0j4UwcEkXVYE/s640/5.jpg" title="Ice cream roll" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 5 - Ice cream roll</td></tr>
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Week five was possibly one of my favourite bakes of the entire series. I decided to go with a honey theme and therefore decorated my cake with the stripes of a bee, and then freshly cut flowers to finish it off. Even more amazing is that this recipe is entirely dairy free, you can check it out <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/09/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-bzzzzzy-bee.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pD_6Cvdf4JbN-34HieNYVJQRIj0QLloZy4iF2ASWjq4HkXwHfyE_QDzdPtlJNQt_PEfwEx44RI4rcEB-f74rtw61P-UTzDjEnNp_mKjyV4P2vmALEB7Vk-Zu9pdGbJ1-dakYWeJ0xJKn/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my Apricot Frangipane Tart" border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_pD_6Cvdf4JbN-34HieNYVJQRIj0QLloZy4iF2ASWjq4HkXwHfyE_QDzdPtlJNQt_PEfwEx44RI4rcEB-f74rtw61P-UTzDjEnNp_mKjyV4P2vmALEB7Vk-Zu9pdGbJ1-dakYWeJ0xJKn/s640/6.jpg" title="Apricot Frangipane Tart" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 6 - Apricot Frangipane Tart</td></tr>
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Week six involved making another of my favourite things to bake, tarts. I settled upon another kind of tart that I had never made before, frangipane. This gave me a chance to try a recipe from my idol, Mary Berry. This bake was probably the smoothest out of all that I made, not a single thing went wrong, and it tasted delicious! If you feel like making a tart, then you have to try this one, my post about it is <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/09/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-mary-berrys.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNCAdwBoPQWGsoVWXb6XAvFzUijA9T5wNrLLLFhIrjlhyphenhyphenqpHjZLt3lunu3L7AYcqRCNQcMlvoKZLLxgrVuz9pLeaad-lvzK5POH3Tvp6pGy3Z-6BQ1P09vJpwr1tKEtP_w8FBXRJhQsevM/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of Mary Berry's Tennis Cake" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNCAdwBoPQWGsoVWXb6XAvFzUijA9T5wNrLLLFhIrjlhyphenhyphenqpHjZLt3lunu3L7AYcqRCNQcMlvoKZLLxgrVuz9pLeaad-lvzK5POH3Tvp6pGy3Z-6BQ1P09vJpwr1tKEtP_w8FBXRJhQsevM/s640/7.jpg" title="Mary Berry's Tennis Cake" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 7 - Mary Berry's Tennis Cake</td></tr>
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This week was very tough, but by the end of it, and seeing the finished product, I have to say that this was hands down my favourite thing to make. It's colourful, cute and seriously tasty. In fact I've been meaning to make another one of these cakes ever since I made the last, if you want to see how my bake went then check out the post <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/09/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-mary-berrys_20.html">here</a>.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2mMqADix8iPvNtTZD188fI2Gwj1rFHUfH_3XlsaMYHnLdLzkIcF3VqfLm6WKaM93a5pv89nfR7BFUNLDO4Dry-MHiByAMJkCHu5N_UXnBsRbV6oc2-P4K6uTBksxjRx9gWNh7wSEMeBs/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my Eclairs" border="0" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgY2mMqADix8iPvNtTZD188fI2Gwj1rFHUfH_3XlsaMYHnLdLzkIcF3VqfLm6WKaM93a5pv89nfR7BFUNLDO4Dry-MHiByAMJkCHu5N_UXnBsRbV6oc2-P4K6uTBksxjRx9gWNh7wSEMeBs/s640/8.jpg" title="Two kinds of Eclairs" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 8 - Eclairs</td></tr>
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Week 8 did not go to plan at all for me. I had planned to make the Religieuse a l'ancienne, but it turned out that my eclairs were nowhere near strong enough to be turned into a structure. The shapes didn't turn out so great either, but thankfully the taste was amazing. I went for a Salted caramel chocolate, and a white chocolate and raspberry flavour, both were delicious. I didn't put the recipe up on my blog for these ones as it went so badly and I was feeling a little disheartened.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSWOy43KLIM-FQr4iO8Z90M-SbDNyVV8KrGJwaYyNJbMD1ne-JyAAWdCJ4JREOA_W4XBTV9eYwS7W4OgPaIhYo2S4Au_jMFJwpmDJIbsRYI8824fCG6bYstaJiMbgMTFk_86_zDNOO2Bg/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRSWOy43KLIM-FQr4iO8Z90M-SbDNyVV8KrGJwaYyNJbMD1ne-JyAAWdCJ4JREOA_W4XBTV9eYwS7W4OgPaIhYo2S4Au_jMFJwpmDJIbsRYI8824fCG6bYstaJiMbgMTFk_86_zDNOO2Bg/s640/9.jpg" title="Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 9 - Salted Caramel Chocolate Tart</td></tr>
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Can you see a reoccurring flavour profile emerging in my bakes? You guessed it Salted Caramel, this time I also took on some decorative piping using white chocolate ganache. Chocolate pastry was another challenge, but I managed to handle it without having any major mishaps, although I did manage to burn a few batches of caramel. If you want to recreate this tart then <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/10/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-salted.html">here</a> is where you will find the recipe.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-GKd-qAeCEpyu8JesVQOCCOa3Qnt_NmBnIDcqOwsgCkUfrzblfl7wen5n8jdRuAH1Gab-z4SgHxia65KiHOizfTydzusip_8NNaoGshAu57rpYrLWakBXhheROYUtEIIfnplGQfVKYSO/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of my Classically British Cake" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr-GKd-qAeCEpyu8JesVQOCCOa3Qnt_NmBnIDcqOwsgCkUfrzblfl7wen5n8jdRuAH1Gab-z4SgHxia65KiHOizfTydzusip_8NNaoGshAu57rpYrLWakBXhheROYUtEIIfnplGQfVKYSO/s640/10.jpg" title="Classically British Cake" width="614" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 10 - Classically British Cake</td></tr>
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When I think of what is classically British I always think of a cup of tea, and when thinking what is a classically British cake, then it's always a Victoria sponge. So in my mind I thought it would be a good idea to combine the idea of tea with the classic Victoria sponge, so I made a cake in the shape of a teapot. I even made my own jam, it was a serious challenge but I am so glad I did it, it turned out pretty good for my first ever spherical cake! The recipe and method for this one can be found <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2015/10/bloggers-bake-along-to-gbbo-final-week_15.html">here</a>.<br />
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So there is my ten bakes from last years Bake Along with the Bake Off, looking back brings back some seriously good memories, and I am super excited to take part again this year! I will be baking every single week again this year so feel free to follow me to see every single bake!AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-62530829621297045812016-08-05T17:08:00.000+01:002016-08-06T11:07:35.708+01:00Where Have I Been?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Well Hello everyone, and welcome back to my blog. It's been over a month since my last post, but I promise the reason why I have been absent is a very good one! I actually have several pieces of news to share with you today so lets get started with the big one...<br />
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Back in March/April time Tim and I put in an application for a 2 Bedroom new build, shared ownership house, not really expecting much as we have put in applications before. A few weeks later we received the call that we could officially apply for the house, and everything has been a bit of a whirlwind since then. It started with getting an agreement in principle from the bank, which is essentially a piece of paper from the bank that says 'in theory we would lend you this amount'. Once that was done the actual hard work began, solicitors, lots of reading and so many signatures later, then finally last Wednesday we got the keys to our new home!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGvj4VNb3MfXWsvXC42pNMusCSiStCh_90_ml9vzv6KLNNVQvEazBDTXAw6zbG5CiBxyONZ1zC6Q-EB3fjRwSX-ByIc46kWEjP4aTHwwRSVQOj7Wu7u5QFPrEWwMashC42vZjKN6v091w/s1600/image1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my brand new house" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyGvj4VNb3MfXWsvXC42pNMusCSiStCh_90_ml9vzv6KLNNVQvEazBDTXAw6zbG5CiBxyONZ1zC6Q-EB3fjRwSX-ByIc46kWEjP4aTHwwRSVQOj7Wu7u5QFPrEWwMashC42vZjKN6v091w/s640/image1.jpeg" title="Our new home!" width="480" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new home!</td></tr>
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Here it is, my new home... Since getting the keys last Wednesday I have done nothing but eat, sleep, and breathe this house. We've been working hard to get it ready for us to move in, mainly because we had to supply our own flooring for the home. We went for laminate in the hall and living room which my dad has been laying for us, then carpet for the bedrooms, stairs and landing. The bathroom, kitchen and downstairs loo all came with Lino, so we didn't need to worry about those. As of yesterday we are pretty much done, just have some finishing left to do and then we will be moving in on Sunday.<br />
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I will most likely do a whole post about the house when we move in, but please comment below and let me know what you would like to see. I'm also toying with the idea of writing a post on my experiences with buying a Shared Ownership property, so comment if you would like to see that too!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BH-QQy0BqC7/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Alyssia Slade (@alyssiaroseslade)</a> on <time datetime="2016-07-17T18:31:01+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 17, 2016 at 11:31am PDT</time></div>
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The second piece of news is equally as exciting as a new house, and is something that I will no doubt be writing a lot about on my blog... As you all know I have a beautiful Jack Russell Terrier called Maizey. She will hopefully be coming to live with us when we move into the house, this is of course dependent on how she reacts to the move, as she has lived in my family home her entire life. We're going to take baby steps with her, but she isn't the only one who will be coming to live with us!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIaIjKygeKM/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Zero the Pomsky (@zero.the.pomsky)</a> on <time datetime="2016-07-28T14:22:22+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 28, 2016 at 7:22am PDT</time></div>
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This is Zero, he is our new puppy! Ever since Tim and I have lived together we have wanted to raise a puppy together, and now we will finally get that chance. We have both always been a massive fan of the way that Husky's look, however we know that they are so high energy, that we wouldn't be able to cope with one, at least not for our first dog. A few years ago I came across a breed called Pomsky's they are Pomeranian cross Husky's, a mix which creates a smaller, fluffier, and more manageable husky looking dog. However they are an extremely new and popular breed and as such they are fairly difficult to get hold of.<br />
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I had done a tonne of research on UK breeders of them and joined a million Facebook groups but we couldn't seem to get close to getting one. Back in April/May time we went to a dog show in Newbury with my mum's collie, Hollie. She entered into the fun dog show, and my mum took her into the ring, Tim and I decided to go and stand on the opposite side of the ring to get a better look. As the ring was filling up and the dogs were shuffling round, a very gorgeous looking, small, husky marked dog stopped right in front of us. I instantly fell in love with her, she was gorgeous, anyway I couldn't help but call over to her owner and find out more. She told me that the dog was a Pomsky and I could not believe my ears. We talked for a good five-ten minutes about dogs, and I got to stroke her gorgeous Pomsky, Xena. I was telling her about how all the breeders I knew about were so far away, and that's when she grabbed a business card out of her pocket and declared that she was actually a pomsky breeder! The rest of the day I would not stop talking about it, I really felt like our meeting was fate, and I was excited at the prospect of having a puppy in the future. As with the house we didn't expect things to move so quickly but I am so glad they did!<br />
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Shortly after our meeting the <a href="http://www.humphryspomskys.co.uk/">breeders</a>, they actually conceived a litter of 75% Husky 25% Pomeranian puppies, and when they were born they were all so gorgeously Husky marked that Tim and I decided to put in an application. We didn't necessarily expect to be picked for this litter, but we thought at least then our application may be at the top for the next litter. Thankfully the breeders have a great Facebook group where they added constant updates on the puppies health and growth, as well as where they were in the application process. In fact it was only a few weeks ago that they contacted me saying that they wanted Tim and I to come and view the two remaining puppies with the view of getting one. Obviously as soon as we saw the puppies we fell in love with one in particular, and the rest was history!<br />
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BIWs4dUA1we/" style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">A photo posted by Zero the Pomsky (@zero.the.pomsky)</a> on <time datetime="2016-07-27T06:22:53+00:00" style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px;">Jul 26, 2016 at 11:22pm PDT</time></div>
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All of the puppies were named after Star Trek characters, so Zero's litter name was Scotty. As much as Tim wanted to keep that name I wanted something a little different, and it honestly took us SO LONG to come up with a name, but we finally settled on Zero. I chose Zero after the ghost dog in Nightmare Before Christmas, Tim was happy with Zero because it's a name from Metal Gear Solid (one of his favourite game series), and then the breeders pointed out to me that it could also be interpreted as Sub-Zero, which I think is pretty fitting for a Husky type...<br />
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Unfortunately we still have about a month to wait until Zero gets to come home with us, but I'm sure that once we move in that will fly by! If like me you are obsessed with Husky looking doggies, or if you just want to follow Zero as he grows up, then feel free to follow the Instagram I made for him (@zero.the.pomsky).<br />
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When he arrives I am also thinking of doing a Q&A video with him, so feel free to comment below any questions you have or tweet me (@Alyssia_Rose). Also feel free to check out the <a href="http://www.humphryspomskys.co.uk/">website</a> for Zero's Breeders!<br />
<script async="" defer="" src="//platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"></script>AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-37202860277441056522016-06-23T12:00:00.000+01:002016-06-23T12:00:11.512+01:00Artigiano's Cocktail Tasting<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWinQEiKP0hVxb5QuEUSCWRzY4QufKL4cVSHo1ybB4YizuwhlZ6sM__howOAtofV3Xu2xejiK49bjIO4rB9d5KALL32FTO5fnRBdh40JGy3GkdBJz2kAnLNyYDM1SoXRe3u0eltwXaoNE/s1600/IMG_9733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="Photograph of the Artigiano's event aread" border="0" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiWinQEiKP0hVxb5QuEUSCWRzY4QufKL4cVSHo1ybB4YizuwhlZ6sM__howOAtofV3Xu2xejiK49bjIO4rB9d5KALL32FTO5fnRBdh40JGy3GkdBJz2kAnLNyYDM1SoXRe3u0eltwXaoNE/s640/IMG_9733.JPG" title="Artigiano's Reading Event Area" width="640" /></a></div>
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A couple of weeks ago an email landed in my inbox regarding a cocktails tasting event at <a href="http://www.artigiano.uk.com/about-us.html" rel="nofollow">Artigiano's</a> in Reading. At first I was a little unsure about going as I have been sober for a year and a half now. Then it struck me that this would be the perfect event for myself and Lisa from <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/">United Cakedom</a> to meet up after having not seen each other for a good few weeks, thankfully she was available so the plans were set in motion... Artigiano's is a speciality coffee shop during the day, and a really great cocktail bar by night, they also serve freshly baked artisan food, and very regularly have live music available in the evenings, making it the perfect place to go and chill with friends over a refreshing cocktail.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgpU09mgpGzehEuXmAal79VqYWx0bCer8m4INWhUL8DkQ5w-bajAXYqBxcr_B3PPPU4XAfVJ0wrIcg1aTHoBfQQIXkP44-QuGee79PDjr_ZiH9FkhOVz8kx6XrGtR0Gor_uJ_1ck-29A0/s1600/IMG_9740.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of our own personal cocktail bar for the evening" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgpU09mgpGzehEuXmAal79VqYWx0bCer8m4INWhUL8DkQ5w-bajAXYqBxcr_B3PPPU4XAfVJ0wrIcg1aTHoBfQQIXkP44-QuGee79PDjr_ZiH9FkhOVz8kx6XrGtR0Gor_uJ_1ck-29A0/s640/IMG_9740.JPG" title="Our own private cocktail bar" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our own personal cocktail bar...</td></tr>
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When we arrived we were greeted by the lovely PR who organised the event, Heidi, who told us a little about what she does for the brand, and also about their other locations. We were also offered a drink to get us started, so I asked for a mocktail to be mixed up for me as I wasn't planning to drink. Once everyone arrived we were introduced to our mixologists for the evening, and taken through the cocktails that we would be sampling.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIKK08xiAJRNqDD0Sh7MvgKHIe5VjaXfLta4Y0UBEuaJ397NAxnMSmqkD2DnVCTIhSUEKn9cwQDxrY-NSrsrhzkiNmV_PosADHtN41m6sn1CaVOI89PFXowvjxRPu4n_lP-o4CBAPeA4V/s1600/mixing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of Artigiano cocktails being made" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuIKK08xiAJRNqDD0Sh7MvgKHIe5VjaXfLta4Y0UBEuaJ397NAxnMSmqkD2DnVCTIhSUEKn9cwQDxrY-NSrsrhzkiNmV_PosADHtN41m6sn1CaVOI89PFXowvjxRPu4n_lP-o4CBAPeA4V/s640/mixing.jpg" title="Shaking up that cocktail goodness!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shaking up that cocktail goodness!</td></tr>
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One by one the cocktails were made for us, and as well as getting to watch them being made right before our eyes, we were also taken through each step of making them. Thankfully we didn't have to take notes though as we were given the recipes printed out with pictures so that we can easily recreate them ourselves at home, which I thought was really nice of them!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9uq78Eiq6uPev69JhopDVuUm0fHKiKOIWHm-IP_v6MmHmlYzjkc51-3JdJw6mqB_fmhXOuBq11ySZiYfQ-QIy9b0nbGOSTkTkA5G3lqDA5F3XdIHDvc409c49rn2jfQFwLHq9xJAFvSY/s1600/cocktails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Artigianos cocktails that we got to taste" border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_9uq78Eiq6uPev69JhopDVuUm0fHKiKOIWHm-IP_v6MmHmlYzjkc51-3JdJw6mqB_fmhXOuBq11ySZiYfQ-QIy9b0nbGOSTkTkA5G3lqDA5F3XdIHDvc409c49rn2jfQFwLHq9xJAFvSY/s640/cocktails.jpg" title="All of the cocktails!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the cocktails!</td></tr>
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Pictured above you can see all of the cocktails that we were lucky enough to be able to taste, it was a nice mix of different flavours, and different alcohols. As you may have been able to guess from what I said above, I wasn't planning on drinking any of these, but as they were made right in front of me I was fascinated, so decided to have one small sip of each cocktail, just so that I could give a decent opinion on them. So let's go through them one by one, starting with the cocktail on the far left, 'Arti's Espresso Martini'.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4dVDA34MeRvyBrC0PZ9NAG-aItlqNjjQM-j1C0oXlLndOz8T0Dfa7vyoU4gPZkiR0BVNsSUzqfIM-NRlahDycCg3cKqM7HJsMzm1dfOA-F0UKNzqcPN1g8uCQkeTM_VbcCbbUtWo31OP/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Arti's Espresso Martini" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEga4dVDA34MeRvyBrC0PZ9NAG-aItlqNjjQM-j1C0oXlLndOz8T0Dfa7vyoU4gPZkiR0BVNsSUzqfIM-NRlahDycCg3cKqM7HJsMzm1dfOA-F0UKNzqcPN1g8uCQkeTM_VbcCbbUtWo31OP/s200/1.jpg" title="Arti's Espresso Martini" width="183" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arti's Espresso Martini</td></tr>
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<b><u>Arti's Espresso Martini:</u></b><br />
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This Martini actually only has three ingredients (not including the coffee bean garnish), so is really simple to replicate, but you of course be needing a cocktail shaker for most of these recipes, but I believe you can pick them up in most supermarkets fairly cheaply!<br />
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This cocktails includes: 25ml Kirov Vodka, 25ml Kahula, and a double Espresso. This is shaken for a few minutes with ice so that it becomes frothy, then strained into the glass carefully. There was a bit of a trick to making this one as if you just pour it into the glass you don't get the foam on top. You have to continue to wiggle the shaker when pouring so that the foam comes out first. To finish this cocktail you simply float some coffee beans on top of the foam, and you are done!<br />
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I can't say I had ever drank a Martini before this event, and I got to try two, and of the two this one was my favourite because it was just like drinking a coffee, although the consistency kind of reminded me of Bailey's.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PxQGvPKljjLMK3mKjGcGJEyT9I3P72vM6UCMLiXZYXnlLx8pjDyZwh-hl1n0ZgL1xcG-XkZUj5AVzpLmST2DmgWXjswVOrqkXy8pqJ4wqSxkSSga73nncKne-nSnJ5nBudC_rNDWk0eg/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of Artigiano's Porn Star Martini" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6PxQGvPKljjLMK3mKjGcGJEyT9I3P72vM6UCMLiXZYXnlLx8pjDyZwh-hl1n0ZgL1xcG-XkZUj5AVzpLmST2DmgWXjswVOrqkXy8pqJ4wqSxkSSga73nncKne-nSnJ5nBudC_rNDWk0eg/s200/2.jpg" title="Porn Star Martini" width="139" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Porn Star Martini</td></tr>
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<b><u>Porn Star Martini:</u></b><br />
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This cocktail comes with a little something extra on the side, a small shot of Prosecco we were advised by the experts that it's meant to be drank alongside the cocktail, sipping between the two for the best taste.<br />
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This particular Martini includes: 50ml Stoli Vanilla Vodka, 50ml Pineapple Juice, 12.5ml Passoa, 12.5ml Prosecco, 1/2 a passion fruit for garnish.<br />
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Add all ingredients except the garnish and Prosecco into the shaker with ice and shake for a few minutes. This is another cocktail where you need to build up the foam, as you need to be able to float the passion fruit in this, so shake it for longer than you think. Strain into the glass, shaking as you do so, this will help the foam come into the glass first. Garnish with the passion fruit, and pour the shot of Prosecco to go alongside.<br />
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This was the second ever Martini that I had ever tried, and it was very sweet, I could easily have drank the entire glass, must say though I'm not a great fan of Prosecco, so I probably wouldn't order this one again.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1LCVMiFdw0NlmGST0dwThwMdpk6_17-BVufr4wUAmhsAwL6ibhI_3r8FPQuuR1v-3Or_HkCEtECu93ht-YPLltVAmY0nfLxu5ddzgdWWLqkTjExlza1LArZfI_KUYrGLm_joHnUOP7ug/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Artigiano's Bramble Cocktail" border="0" height="198" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM1LCVMiFdw0NlmGST0dwThwMdpk6_17-BVufr4wUAmhsAwL6ibhI_3r8FPQuuR1v-3Or_HkCEtECu93ht-YPLltVAmY0nfLxu5ddzgdWWLqkTjExlza1LArZfI_KUYrGLm_joHnUOP7ug/s200/5.jpg" title="Bramble Cocktail" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bramble Cocktail</td></tr>
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<b><u>Bramble Cocktail:</u></b><br />
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Bramble was the smallest cocktail of the bunch, and looks perfect for a summer BBQ.<br />
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The ingredients for this cute little guy are: 37.5ml Belgravia Gin, 12.5 Lemon Juice, 12.5ml Créme De Cassis, 12.5ml Sugar Syrup, and 3 Blackberries for garnish. All of the ingredients except the Creme De Cassis and garnish go into the shaker this time. This cocktail has no foam requirement so this one can be shaken for much less time then the previous two. Add crushed ice to your tumbler before straining the mixture into the glass. Then pour the Créme De Cassis at the edge of the glass so that you get a beautiful looking gradient. Skewer your blackberries onto a toothpick or something similar, and then garnish the drink with them.<br />
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This cocktail looks so refreshing and cooling, which it totally is, but it also packs a big punch in the alcohol department, so don't let it's appearance fool you!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSr4zWjYhynpLEAMqz7ztsTWpJB-Pt5D2j2ZmKCRiA51dT7wvX0E46jLDyIQ5EwORdiw61Qi29uDdTn5ePhpvPToknFPVuf5wPQ5dToKTZDbs22LYy1m1GYJT6zyBmLGfo23w6wgkesKMF/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Classic Margarita" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSr4zWjYhynpLEAMqz7ztsTWpJB-Pt5D2j2ZmKCRiA51dT7wvX0E46jLDyIQ5EwORdiw61Qi29uDdTn5ePhpvPToknFPVuf5wPQ5dToKTZDbs22LYy1m1GYJT6zyBmLGfo23w6wgkesKMF/s200/3.jpg" title="Classic Margarita" width="194" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Classic Margarita</td></tr>
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<b><u>Classic Margarita:</u></b><br />
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I must admit that I have tried Margarita's before, and I'm not a big fan, they are just so sharp and salty and I don't understand it.<br />
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If unlike me you like Margarita's then here is what you need: 37.5ml Don Cruzado Tequila, 25ml Triple Sec, 125ml Lime Juice, Lime Slice, Cooking Salt. Start by wetting the rim of your glass and then dip it in salt so you get an awesome looking salt rim. Then put all the ingredients except the lime slice in your shaker and give them a good shake to mix. Pour into your glass, and then carefully float the slice of lime in the drink.<br />
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As I predicted this was my least favourite of the entire bunch, it is so sharp and salty, and just confuses the hell out of me, but I guess as Margarita's go it was pretty good, I'm not the best person to judge this one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuFDa2G7egpdvoEXMOCfBM58Av3r_C6HM-6HSodkrN1ANXxvp-b_uHVnwVktcbQ-F5WSkVrYBzY5HWvCMXbAzK76jfQyfQsuxxEAHzpYs4MVIbIypoOyzrwDNwL1wq1o12D-SQWTEf1Xh/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of Artigiano's Cointreau Fizz Tea" border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiuFDa2G7egpdvoEXMOCfBM58Av3r_C6HM-6HSodkrN1ANXxvp-b_uHVnwVktcbQ-F5WSkVrYBzY5HWvCMXbAzK76jfQyfQsuxxEAHzpYs4MVIbIypoOyzrwDNwL1wq1o12D-SQWTEf1Xh/s200/4.jpg" title="Cointreau Fizz Tea" width="121" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cointreau Fizz Tea</td></tr>
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<b><u>Cointreau Fizz Tea:</u></b></div>
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The most intriguing of all the cocktails, this one involves tea, something which I rarely drink, but definitely made this cocktail memorable for me.</div>
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Ingredients for this guy are as follows: 50ml Cointreau, 1 peppermint teabag, 25ml Lime Juice, 1/4 Lime Wedge, Sparkling Water. This is the only one of these cocktails that doesn't involve a shaker, so it's even easier to replicate. Pour the lime juice and Cointreau into your glass and throw in the tea bag. Mix it together real quick. Then leaving the tea bag in the glass top up the glass with ice, followed by sparkling water, and you've got yourself a cocktail.</div>
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This was my favourite cocktail by far, it was refreshing, and fruity, and didn't even taste like it had alcohol in it, I could have easily downed the entire thing, but I didn't... The above five are just a few of the many cocktails they serve at Artigiano's which are priced at £8 or two for £12. Having had a look at the menu here are a couple of the others that intrigued me:</div>
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<ul>
<li><b>Zombie:</b> White, Spiced and Dark Rum, Brandy, Pineapple juice, fresh orange, grenadine and a mint garnish.</li>
<li><b>Long Island Ice Tea:</b> Gin, Tequila, Vodka, White Rum, Triple Sec, Coca Cola and Lime.</li>
<li><b>Mint Julep: </b>Bourbon, Sugar Syrup, Mint and aromatic bitters, and a mint garnish.</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwXXG-5FoxtbB3bnvIyraTP6CLM3sktQd8SaRFNHYJTIB5pssWdv4UHzGTHFRVA58W3-eu3E3OIaH3jjBaCiAPaiXDh_0BbgW6pGLFHwuiWSd4bj110k-c_QzZlMBFsgFcerbqAf-Rbgn/s1600/cocktails+makers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of myself and Lisa trying out mixology" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYwXXG-5FoxtbB3bnvIyraTP6CLM3sktQd8SaRFNHYJTIB5pssWdv4UHzGTHFRVA58W3-eu3E3OIaH3jjBaCiAPaiXDh_0BbgW6pGLFHwuiWSd4bj110k-c_QzZlMBFsgFcerbqAf-Rbgn/s640/cocktails+makers.jpg" title="Trying out Mixology!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Becoming Mixologists!</td></tr>
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After we were taken through all of the cocktails we got a chance to make our favourite we had seen. Lisa went for the Porn Star Martini as she was fine to carry on drinking, but seeing as I am supposed to be teetotal, I asked to make a mocktail. This involved cranberry and lime juice in the glass, which was then topped up with lemonade, and garnished with a lime slice, this was both sharp and sweet, and seriously refreshing, so I would definitely recommend giving it a go.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkS22u89jEM4I4do6S7XAb9Yn1XgkoQrBoy0AjQEIngJVJYSaUCIp6TtV7Wn9fZRpuxq_xmrJSGx3oDKbozE0Nm75fsK2Vtqcdo331jxkNH6ny_sWhut5W9minRIuUYGIUT7YgtFwgUBJ/s1600/IMG_9842.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the pizza's from Artigiano's" border="0" height="588" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgkS22u89jEM4I4do6S7XAb9Yn1XgkoQrBoy0AjQEIngJVJYSaUCIp6TtV7Wn9fZRpuxq_xmrJSGx3oDKbozE0Nm75fsK2Vtqcdo331jxkNH6ny_sWhut5W9minRIuUYGIUT7YgtFwgUBJ/s640/IMG_9842.JPG" title="Pizza time!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pizza time!</td></tr>
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After getting everyone suitably tipsy (apart from me as I only had sips), Artigiano's kindly laid out some Pizza for us to eat, and to soak up all that alcohol. These were some of the best pizza's I had ever eaten. I ate the majority of the Margherita style pizza, which had a sauce almost like a salsa, and had red peppers, it was so delicious, but they also had pizza with olives on, which Lisa absolutely loved. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMs50ptARZr9DLZVv4ta9UcfscetZoupBiKkjiBpITAsLwsGxb47R8y1VDUJEoJMvMcTL-8z6cvxlJJ4iqa2PBN5FcaDJl8kkzPvhvyoS3PzTtvOEhVss211E2wxufBXr80BQkSt9cWDy/s1600/giftbag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the goodie bag given to us by Artigiano's" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZMs50ptARZr9DLZVv4ta9UcfscetZoupBiKkjiBpITAsLwsGxb47R8y1VDUJEoJMvMcTL-8z6cvxlJJ4iqa2PBN5FcaDJl8kkzPvhvyoS3PzTtvOEhVss211E2wxufBXr80BQkSt9cWDy/s640/giftbag.jpg" title="Goodie Bag!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodie Bag!</td></tr>
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Towards the end of the evening we were handed a goodie bag which had everything we needed inside to make a cheeky Gin and Tonic, including a really cute glass, in my favourite colour! There was also a craft beer which I gave to Tim which he seemed to enjoy and a small package containing some of their coffee beans, which if I had a coffee grinder I would probably get better use of. I guess I could use them in baking? We'll have to see...</div>
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I have to say a massive thank you to <a href="http://www.artigiano.uk.com/about-us.html" rel="nofollow">Artigiano's</a> in Reading for hosting us and being so gracious, it was a great evening I would definitely recommend you head over and check them out, you can find them opposite the Broadstreet Mall pretty much on the corner of the highstreet. Also I couldn't leave this post without thanking Lisa from <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/">United Cakedom</a> for letting me drag her along, and also for being an amazing friend, so go and check out her blog too.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">***Disclaimer: I was given a goodie bag and free food and drinks at the event, however all opinions within this post are my own.</span></div>
AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-40215598350214358352016-05-18T12:00:00.000+01:002016-05-18T12:00:02.922+01:00Selfie Star Competition With Just My Look<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BjuaOe_i2Ib2WXM2VuIZtW-TW9CcJYAyxNyFK8JNq6ZISmlDn0fbwiCuOhLLgpTe8_xaSS1a9F_rnAMVjbTnMBQDa4s5ckMCiKjuWDuXTUH5kv5NEtPrxlDrr9JUGeP_M4pyTp7N6SGW/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of some L.A. Girl Cosmetics" border="0" height="506" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3BjuaOe_i2Ib2WXM2VuIZtW-TW9CcJYAyxNyFK8JNq6ZISmlDn0fbwiCuOhLLgpTe8_xaSS1a9F_rnAMVjbTnMBQDa4s5ckMCiKjuWDuXTUH5kv5NEtPrxlDrr9JUGeP_M4pyTp7N6SGW/s640/1.jpg" title="L.A. Girl Cosmetics" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L.A. Girl Cosmetics</td></tr>
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A few weeks back I was contacted by someone at <a href="https://www.justmylook.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">Just My Look</a>, asking if I would like to get involved in promoting their current competition, Selfie Star. The Selfie Star contest is a celebration of taking selfies, something which everyone seems to do nowadays (my sister even gets our nan involved in selfies). Selfies mean different things to different people, for some they just enjoy the fun of it, and for other if they feel good they want to capture that moment forever. For me a Selfie is all about documenting me and my life, and the ways in which it has changed, so that when I'm in my late 70's I can look back through my social media accounts and relive my memories. To help me raise my selfie game, Just My Look let me chose some products to help me create my signature selfie look!<br />
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When I first went onto the website I had a quick look at the brands which they sell, mainly because it helped me get a good feel for the types of products I could purchase. However I also wanted to see if there were any brands on their site which I hadn't tried before, because I'm a big fan of testing out new brands. I was surprised and delighted to come across a brand which I had heard of before, but had never tried, until now, L.A. Girl. So I decided to chose a range of products solely from them, to give me a better feel for the brand.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowxZfdxgY9dcIBZD3rzIURCE4eKti61KVrVPBdS8nXf5i7Ai9Zbk9l04byXNR3XVmggxYkZ_mKUu8Gwt3zzZ-ouRDMXs7P4V0etbSfFcFupIrR2aEOQaor5y5yTPm3b16cbNCjjTxd3cV/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of L.A. Girl Pro HD Setting Powder in Translucent" border="0" height="616" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjowxZfdxgY9dcIBZD3rzIURCE4eKti61KVrVPBdS8nXf5i7Ai9Zbk9l04byXNR3XVmggxYkZ_mKUu8Gwt3zzZ-ouRDMXs7P4V0etbSfFcFupIrR2aEOQaor5y5yTPm3b16cbNCjjTxd3cV/s640/5.jpg" title="L.A. Girl Pro HD Setting Powder in Translucent" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L.A. Girl Pro HD Setting Powder in Translucent</td></tr>
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The first item I picked up was once that I had heard a lot of good things about, the Pro HD Setting Powder in Translucent. I am fairly sure that I have seen some of my favourite Youtubers using this product, and I can see why. On first use I accidentally tipped so much of this product out into the lid because I didn't realise how finely milled it was! This powder is honestly one of the finest face powders I have ever used. This is a good thing as it will help set the foundation without adding any extra texture, and it certainly won't make your make up feel caked on. Being translucent means that it won't change the colour of your foundation, and also can be used on any skin tone. I was really happy with how this product set my foundation without making my face look thick with makeup, this one is definitely a game changer.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JxX8a-JeRCrDuI7u3tJdzCsTkMH2fEJtmJcTwCKDiLkL2cAZgJlYVu4uIfM5lQYieRfzbXnliMNSO9Nv1gMrbGfKWC4NniJc-bOUU46ah1e1mlXqCSrkl-36S1u2COGG3s7wSmXf4YyZ/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph and swatch of the L.A. Girl Pro Concealer in Porcelain" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_JxX8a-JeRCrDuI7u3tJdzCsTkMH2fEJtmJcTwCKDiLkL2cAZgJlYVu4uIfM5lQYieRfzbXnliMNSO9Nv1gMrbGfKWC4NniJc-bOUU46ah1e1mlXqCSrkl-36S1u2COGG3s7wSmXf4YyZ/s640/9.jpg" title="L.A. Girl Pro Concealer in Porcelain" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L.A. Girl Pro Concealer in Porcelain</td></tr>
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The second product on my list was another that I have seen a lot of beauty Youtubers using and that is the L.A. Girl Pro concealer, I went for the lightest shade, Porcelain, because we all know that I am pale as hell. At first when swatching this product I wasn't too keen on the consistency, it seemed a little bit lumpy, and it was difficult to get product onto the brush. After using it though, it's easy to see why it is some peoples favourite concealer, it blends really well, and managed to cover my dark circles, making me very happy! The downside of this product is it really is difficult to get product onto the brush without either getting far too much, or too little.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLEsB1ZftIeGReKBpSYeG7UVs0jMUK1K4ZRASRTN8qqcx-9p2a0dSSv6kuyMvo4BBQRgDg09_bLblEQD5_yz7wUq5uCdrR_HjlwyzDHCn7Fwa23c68niAvivLyO039XtKXfOr7w0WGgol/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph and swatches of the L.A. Girl Mark My Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcLEsB1ZftIeGReKBpSYeG7UVs0jMUK1K4ZRASRTN8qqcx-9p2a0dSSv6kuyMvo4BBQRgDg09_bLblEQD5_yz7wUq5uCdrR_HjlwyzDHCn7Fwa23c68niAvivLyO039XtKXfOr7w0WGgol/s640/10.jpg" title="L.A. Girl Mark My Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L.A. Girl Mark My Eyes Liquid Eyeliner Pen</td></tr>
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Of course I had to pick up an eyeliner, right? You may know already if you follow this blog, or follow me on any other social media, but my signature make up look always includes winged liner, without fail. There's something about the way it makes my eyes look that I just really love. My favourite kind of eyeliner to use is a pen liner, because I feel like it gives you a lot more control than the other kinds. As you can see from the swatches above you can get lines of a range of thickness with this particular liner, and it makes lining the lash line so quick. I will say though that it's not the best at creating precise wings, for that I would probably switch out to a different liner pen with a finer tip. This product still helped me to cut my getting ready time considerably!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6v7AgfPla6xfGLWQMRGNA3CEsXMH8x1KrRf_Ma68hhbI4G9u6bq9XNnacIjWET_YkN2un_inV_cjSyD_LJ8z-9LnoJzxqM2Xq6Hg_VZyxfQ_aOzoyv9A9UnhjetlzRsk6ojqjcQ0VVAIP/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph and swatches of the L.A. Girl Glazed Lip Paints in Blushing and Daring" border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6v7AgfPla6xfGLWQMRGNA3CEsXMH8x1KrRf_Ma68hhbI4G9u6bq9XNnacIjWET_YkN2un_inV_cjSyD_LJ8z-9LnoJzxqM2Xq6Hg_VZyxfQ_aOzoyv9A9UnhjetlzRsk6ojqjcQ0VVAIP/s640/11.jpg" title="L.A. Girl Glazed Lip Paints in Blushing and Daring" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">L.A. Girl Glazed Lip Paints in Blushing and Daring</td></tr>
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Recently the one make up product that I have become obsessed with collecting is lip products, and normally I'm a matte girl, but when I laid eyes on the swatches of these lip paint's I knew I had to give them a go. I decided to go for an every day wearable shade, and a more daring one to change up my look quickly if I wanted to. The first thing I noticed about these is the smell, they have a really strong mint smell, which I personally love. The consistency of these is much less to my taste, they are super sticky, and if you try to apply them straight from the tube you will end up with it all over your face. Instead I would suggest squeezing a small amount onto the back of your hand and then using a lip brush to apply, this worked out much better for me in my final look. Overally for the price and the range of colours available, I really like the lip paints, but they are more like a lipgloss than a lipstick, just with more pigment.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyt-5rAfIShlFyRMjf0zDr-vTYopZqr6iX-ExBt0pIE8YL2kxcQZ13ZznW6ryOMvnj8UBVNTNjec2kUKo4zjSKKPkVPmeknFHrFEXglXyiUgTn83DRETcCHLH5g4rZpJtkIliyIIi32Pb/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Collage of selfies with me using the L.A. Girl Products" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsyt-5rAfIShlFyRMjf0zDr-vTYopZqr6iX-ExBt0pIE8YL2kxcQZ13ZznW6ryOMvnj8UBVNTNjec2kUKo4zjSKKPkVPmeknFHrFEXglXyiUgTn83DRETcCHLH5g4rZpJtkIliyIIi32Pb/s640/12.jpg" title="The finished result" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The finished result</td></tr>
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Here are the selfies I took after using the L.A. Girl products to help create the above makeup look. I love how good my skin looks after being set with the HD Powder, and I'm also really in love with the lip colour, and the shine it is giving. I never thought I'd say this but I think I will start to wear more glossy colours. Thank you so much to Just My Look for giving me the chance to try out a new make up brand, no doubt I will be purchasing some more L.A. Girl items soon!<br />
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If you would like the chance to win a one day professional photography course which will help you learn all the tips and tricks you need to perfect your own selfies, then check out the Just My Look Selfie Star Competition <a href="https://www.justmylook.co.uk/blog/2016/04/selfie-star-with-justmylook/">here</a>, alternatively you can enter the contest using the widget below:<br />
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<a class="e-widget" href="https://gleam.io/gNqLd/selfie-star-win-photography-course" rel="nofollow">Selfie Star - Win Photography Course</a>
<script async="true" src="https://js.gleam.io/e.js" type="text/javascript"></script></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">***Disclaimer: I was sent some products for free to review in exchange for promoting the Just My Look Selfie Star Competition, however all opinions expressed within the post are my own, and are not affected by this.</span></div>
AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-81608083648315513072016-05-13T16:33:00.000+01:002016-05-13T16:33:23.478+01:00It's Always Been You...Tube<div style="text-align: center;">
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I feel like I have kind of talked about Youtube a lot on this blog, and many times, because the truth is I have been trying to become a 'Youtuber' since I was 13/14 years old. By 'Youtuber' I don't mean someone famous on Youtube, I just want to make videos regularly and because I enjoy doing it. I mean let's not lie, having a career in it would be amazing, but that's not my end goal, for me it's just about something that I love. So instead of giving a million excuses as to why I haven't been making videos, I thought I'd talk about why I want to make videos, and a little history of my Youtube life. If you would like you can watch the above vlog which covers everything, but in case you prefer to read I'll also do a short write up of everything I talk about below!<br />
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<b>So let's start on why I love Youtube...</b><br />
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I started watching Youtube videos when I was around 13/14 years old, and I watched Youtubers like Charlieissocoollike, Shane Dawson and Meekakitty, mainly daily vloggers, although Shane also did some sketch videos. I can't remember the exact reason why I first started watching videos, but the reason that I stayed was down to a sense of personal connection that you get from watching a certain Youtuber. I had plenty of friends at school so I wasn't lonely, but I think I was still working out who I was as a person, and watching people who were either going through the same, or had already been through it really helped. Even now I watch Youtube videos when I wake up, when I'm on a break, and when I get home, I consume so much Youtube that it's probably a little unhealthy, but I really don't care!<br />
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<b>My first Youtube channel...</b><br />
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It wasn't long after starting to watch videos that I made my first Youtube channel, and I kept getting into the loop of making videos, and then deleting them, and then trying again a few months down the line. For some reason I could never make it stick. That channel is still up today and there is a clip of one of my really old vlogs in the video above, if you want to check out cringey 17 year old me! I even tried a couple of times (unsuccessfully I might add) to take part in VEDA (Vlog everyday in April) but only ever kept it up for a few days at a time.<br />
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<b>University and blogging...</b><br />
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When I went to Uni my Youtube obsession was at it's height, I went to study Film and TV and I was hoping to make a lot of friends that also wanted to make Youtube videos. Thankfully there wasn't a shortage on people who were into Youtube, unfortunately I was rubbish at sticking to making videos. Then in my final year of Uni I got into something entirely different, blogging. As you can tell it went pretty well as I have been blogging for almost 3 and a half years now! I've told the story many times about how I got into blogging so I won't bore you with it again now, but if you really want to know I do talk about it in the video above!<br />
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<b>Gaming Channel...</b><br />
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When I left Uni and moved back home I lost a lot of my creative outlet because I wasn't making films for work anymore, so I knew I really wanted to try and get a channel up and running again. At this time the type of Youtube videos that I was into the most was Gaming paythroughs, this was about the time that Pewdiepie started getting popular. So I got ahold of a recording device and started recording myself playing on my Xbox 360. This was probably the first time since starting Youtube that I actually felt like part of a community, and I even did a collab with another small Youtube gamer. In the end I couldn't keep up with recording, it was mainly because I lived at home with my Mum and my brother and it was difficult for me to find time when it was quiet enough to record. So in the end my gaming channel fizzled out but it's something that I really want to get back into in the future.<br /><br /><b>Where we are now...</b><br />
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About a year ago I got really good at making videos and made one a week which went on for a good few months, and that is where I plan to get back to! Tim and I may be moving into our own place very shortly which will make it even easier for me to film, as I won't have to worry about his parents being around. In the mean time I plan to upload a new video once a week on either a Friday or Saturday, whether it be a vlog, a makeup look, or a challenge video, so keep your eyes peeled for those!<br />
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Let me know in the comments what kind of videos that you want to see on my channel, and I may just make them...AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-77596236429626979752016-05-11T15:54:00.000+01:002016-05-11T15:59:52.331+01:00Blogger Beauty Box March 2016<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_cJRWG4QCcSK4wc6hKzmD8RBVBltMr123KASap-SIhKc0FZwG7ujwW4KYGEDHRuT0UeNJ_wfYlMu9Ci-SyOkJ4w81hKc_EQL1JiWPtdcMXPufuNiAukUVrOsyOecoRpS64-yzN6jphfx/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Blogger Beauty Box Contents" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgj_cJRWG4QCcSK4wc6hKzmD8RBVBltMr123KASap-SIhKc0FZwG7ujwW4KYGEDHRuT0UeNJ_wfYlMu9Ci-SyOkJ4w81hKc_EQL1JiWPtdcMXPufuNiAukUVrOsyOecoRpS64-yzN6jphfx/s640/1.jpg" title="Blogger Beauty Box Contents" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Blogger Beauty Box Contents</td></tr>
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I know what you are all thinking, why am I only know writing about a Beauty Box that I received back in March? Short answer, I forgot to right about it. Long answer, life has seriously been kicking my butt over the last few months, and as such blogging has been fairly low on my 'to do' list. So a bit of background on how I found this beauty box. I happened to be scrolling through twitter when I came across <a href="https://twitter.com/bbloggerbox?lang=en-gb">@bbloggerbox</a> and I was intrigued to find that this is a beauty box specifically created for Beauty Bloggers like myself. The idea is to connect beauty brands and bloggers in a quick and easy way, and the best part of all is that it only costs £10 per box! March was the first box that I signed up for, but have since bought both the April and the May box, so expect unboxings of those coming soon!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKchIFL-FoBlKrDdpklAvNVo8U-jzgT7oaBCiPJFlfFuoAQBQgpJkaJk0GLwbmVRUo3bjOBFZZOUKn2hQzadKrrqBzZlxaBW_kWmWOXVCE_9qwJ-5tIEyv-QTorVKHBt25GwInHKjXWbNG/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="All of the products I received in the March Blogger Beauty Box" border="0" height="522" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKchIFL-FoBlKrDdpklAvNVo8U-jzgT7oaBCiPJFlfFuoAQBQgpJkaJk0GLwbmVRUo3bjOBFZZOUKn2hQzadKrrqBzZlxaBW_kWmWOXVCE_9qwJ-5tIEyv-QTorVKHBt25GwInHKjXWbNG/s640/2.jpg" title="All of the products I received" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the products I received</td></tr>
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Inside the box were a mix of full sized products and samples for us to try. Honestly I was surprised to see that some of the items were full sized considering I only paid £10 for the whole box but here is what I got, and what my initial thoughts on the products are:<br />
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<b>Full Sized Products:</b><br />
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<b>Sass Intimate Perfect Skin Concentrate:</b> This is a product from a skincare brand that I have personally never heard of, but after a quick Google search I found they are available in Boots. This particular product is specifically for using on the intimate area after shaving/waxing to prevent ingrown hairs. I haven't had a chance to use this product yet but I find the concept very intriguing, and anything to help me through the first week of regrowth, am I right ladies? Looking on the Boots website this retails at £12.<br />
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<b>Moa Aphrodite Facial Oil: </b>This is another skincare product, from yet another brand that I have never heard of. This particular facial oil contains Rosehip for its skin regeneration properties, Damask rose oil for dry/sensitive skin types prone to redness and a few other ingredients to help balance, cleanse and soothe your skin. Now a facial oil is something that I would never purchase for myself. I have oily skin, so the last thing I want to do is add more oil to the equation, but for the sake of science I am willing to slip this into my daily routine and give it a go. One thing I will say is that it smells amazing, and considering they suggest you only use 1-2 drops each time I can see it lasting forever! This product retails online for £20.<br />
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<b>BeeBio Nectar Instant Eye Effect Serum:</b> BeeBio is a New Zealand high end skincare brand, at least that's what I found from a quick Google search. Again I have never heard of their products but I think their packaging looks really great. It looks as though their skincare is more directed towards anti-aging, which is something that I personally don't tend to look for in my skincare. However I am fairly intrigued by the ingredients listed on this one. It contains Manuka Honey and Pure Bee Venom for an instant effect to reduce fine lines and puffiness. It's certainly peaked my interest and I will be giving it a go for a few weeks to see what happens with it. This product retails at NZ$129 so would cost roughly £60 to purchase, so fairly hefty for skincare. I shall have to report back with my findings!<br />
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<b>Faust's Potions Elephant Family Recovery Pack: </b>This item is contains two vitamin supplement drinks one of which helps you to stay sharp and awake, and the other which will help you get a good nights sleep. Now I'm not the type to be drinking supplement drinks or taking vitamin tablets etc. So this product honestly isn't for me. I do find it hard to drift off to sleep sometimes so maybe I'll give the Asleep potion a try. I would like to add the packaging for this item was hands down my favourite (it had elephants on it), and this item retails for only £6 so isn't too bad.<br />
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<b>Sample Sizes:</b><br />
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<b>MeruMaya Mud Marvels Mask 3ml: </b>Ever since giving the Avon Black Mineral mask a go I have been a big fan of mud masks, so I was glad to see a tester of one for me to try. The MeruMaya mask claims to decongest and detoxify, clarify and deep cleanse, and finally revitalise and rejuvenate. The listed ingredients include charcoal which is the main component for a lot of the best mud masks which help to remove blackheads and blemishes. This was a sample size at 3ml so I would probably get one mask out of this. The full sized product comes in at 50ml and retails for £19.50, not bad if it does the trick!<br />
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<b>MAYA Confident Styling and Curling Creme:</b> This came in a little sample pot, and also came with a leaflet explaining a little more about the product, which was nice because from looking at the little pot itself I had no idea what it was! This product has a blend of 12 natural oils to keep hair looking and feeling strong, soft and healthy. This product is made to be used in wet air, before allowing the hair to air dry. I'm not that big on hair care, because I have such fine hair, I never really know what to do with it, but I will be giving this a go to see if it will help with the frizziness that I sometimes experience. The full sized product is 250ml and costs £22.95.<br />
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<b>JR Naturorganics Mandarin and Chamomile Balancing Moisturiser:</b> This is another skincare item, and this time we have a moisturiser, which according to their website is vegan and cruelty free so that's an immediate plus from me. This particular moisturiser is targeted towards normal/sensitive skin. Which unfortunately isn't my skin type, but I could still make this work so will be trying it out for as long as the sample lasts. The full sized product is 30g and costs £35, which considering the fact this is vegan and cruelty free is a good price.<br />
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So there you have the entire contents of the Blogger Beauty Box from March. You should expect to see another post like this very shortly as I am expecting my April box to arrive very soon! If you would like some more information on the box then please feel free to check out their <a href="http://www.bloggerbeautybox.com/">website</a>.AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-79613899587719071772016-05-03T15:35:00.001+01:002016-05-03T15:35:22.536+01:00Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Collection<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-r8IRRWeAxNrw6S120u2D-9-W9o4FxhMU5pAUZ7ZDlv8wALfgHRU5oUBDIrSWSJ6EZqbT5hfibsMXM7GOHQ5Lp6CxERQQgEqVT9I5sVgE_lasnBG6LzABgJ6xiLE5XLFIxXUP6B4U5u4Q/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection packaging" border="0" height="618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-r8IRRWeAxNrw6S120u2D-9-W9o4FxhMU5pAUZ7ZDlv8wALfgHRU5oUBDIrSWSJ6EZqbT5hfibsMXM7GOHQ5Lp6CxERQQgEqVT9I5sVgE_lasnBG6LzABgJ6xiLE5XLFIxXUP6B4U5u4Q/s640/1.jpg" title="Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection</td></tr>
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As soon as I saw the sneak peek photos of the new Urban Decay Alice collection I knew I had to have it. I missed out on getting the original Alice collection because at the time I was a student and had no money to spend on makeup (not that I have the money now either). The first thing I did was contact my local Urban Decay counter, and put my name down on the waiting list for the palette, and was delighted to find that there weren't that many people on the list ahead of me. Then however I found out that the college which I did my makeup course with, DFMA, were running an exclusive event with Urban Decay in Convent Garden, and this meant that I would be able to get my hands on the palette a full week before it's proper release! Of course I jumped at the chance...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>So last Thursday I made the trip up to London in the late afternoon, and ended up arriving in Covent garden about 30 minutes before the event was due to start, so I decided to head right over the Urban Decay and see if I could pick up what I wanted straight away. Normally at the events we have a makeup demo, and then we have shopping time afterwards. I didn't even want to have the tiniest risk of not being able to get what I wanted! Originally I had planned to buy the palette (of course) and three of the lipsticks (Time, Mirana, and Mad Hatter). On the train up I was talking to my sister who asked me if I could also pick up the Iracebeth lipstick for her. Then when I actually got to Urban Decay I had a look at the lipsticks and I decided that I really liked the Iracebeth lipstick too. The only lipstick shade I wasn't sold on was Alice, as in all the pictures I had seen it seemed a little orangey. During the event they created an 'Alice' look using the eyeshadows and also the lipstick, and I fell in love with the way it looked on the model, so I thought to myself if I was going to buy 4/5 lipsticks then I might as well get all five and have the full collection, right? So now I own the full Alice Through the Looking Glass collection, and I'm not even mad about it!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuE2Peil1_HZxua6adiac93asc-RXBvNl15X-1veI94FPqx3OWx2oZJ6fxSq-rEURRTQvtnlzu350062RgZ7DpcnaPqNDeHipDrrOtSOH1luij-7m5a8KNFwpvWfNBnyUVKhQsVy1eJVp/s1600/18.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo collage of the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMuE2Peil1_HZxua6adiac93asc-RXBvNl15X-1veI94FPqx3OWx2oZJ6fxSq-rEURRTQvtnlzu350062RgZ7DpcnaPqNDeHipDrrOtSOH1luij-7m5a8KNFwpvWfNBnyUVKhQsVy1eJVp/s640/18.jpg" title="Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette</td></tr>
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First up let's talk about this palette, everyone is going insane for this palette, and honestly, I don't blame them. It is absolutely stunning. The entire palette is covered in these really awesome psychedelic patterns that are super colourful, unlike any makeup packaging I have ever seen. Then when you lift up the lid you are treated to the sight of a beautiful mirror, and a quote from Alice Through the Looking Glass which reads, 'I'm not strange, weird, off, nor crazy, my reality is just different from yours'. Opening up these doors you find a beautiful blue butterfly sitting on yet another crazy and colourful pattern. Finally you just pull the little tab at the bottom (almost like a drawer) to reveal the eyeshadow shades. The palette also comes with a double ended eyeshadow brush with a blended side and a flat shadow brush side, the brush is covered in brightly coloured roses, matching with the packaging for the lipsticks which you will see below. What I like about these shades is that there are still some really wearable ones, as well as the crazy colours you would expect to find in an Alice In Wonderland palette.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsubgZcL6dpeYJszcyMgMtOlEVP83hyFMCcg_igmdJlMJIlIX84n477fmlsmXcz4aQBh0RDVk4z1KJlF4joR9HmX8C0T7b3letFFYQSY8RaNTiUYFnNfmdkpSTusF4dRtto2tPZtdvKEPl/s1600/4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Eyeshadow Shades" border="0" height="542" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsubgZcL6dpeYJszcyMgMtOlEVP83hyFMCcg_igmdJlMJIlIX84n477fmlsmXcz4aQBh0RDVk4z1KJlF4joR9HmX8C0T7b3letFFYQSY8RaNTiUYFnNfmdkpSTusF4dRtto2tPZtdvKEPl/s640/4.jpg" title="Alice Through the Looking Glass Eyeshadow Shades" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Through the Looking Glass Eyeshadow Shades</td></tr>
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Above you can see a close up of what the shades look like, so you can see there is a mixture of matte, shimmer, and glitter shades in the palette, meaning you can create a great range of eye looks. The thing that I think is really cool about this palette is that the shades are based upon five characters from the film, and are aligned within the palette to show this. Each of the characters has four shades and they flow from the top to the bottom of the palette, going from Alice, to the Hatter, to The White Queen, to the Red Queen and finally ending up at the new character, Time. So to reflect this I decided to do the swatches character by character, so that you could really get a feel for a look you may be able to create, relating to that specific character.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58O1lreghQWntahuxGHfsamqDsj2bcwrVRp4ZUYviYcnrlS45ieGVypOcsXpnAGe8b0zqqPAij7hVP15AFtrtOJKHttngipnnvZ8ZJ9eZyr3Y4ZOrw6rn91KDqCLFrh-wuYBN4jzroT6j/s1600/6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of swatches of The Alice Shades from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg58O1lreghQWntahuxGHfsamqDsj2bcwrVRp4ZUYviYcnrlS45ieGVypOcsXpnAGe8b0zqqPAij7hVP15AFtrtOJKHttngipnnvZ8ZJ9eZyr3Y4ZOrw6rn91KDqCLFrh-wuYBN4jzroT6j/s640/6.jpg" title="The Alice Shades" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alice Shades</td></tr>
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Let's start off with the main girl herself, Alice. Her shades are some of the most wearable in the entire palette, other than the final blue shade, but where would Alice be without her signature blue, am I right? The first shade is called Looking Glass and is a very pale pinky/white shade that is perfect for an all over base, or for highlighting the brow bone. Then you have Reflection which is a matte peach shade which would make a great transition shade for paler people like myself. Dormouse is a matte brown shade with a hint of glitter running through it, which could be used on the outer corner with the previous two shades to make a nice day time look. Finally you have Metamorphosis which is a stunning sky blue colour, I would personally use this as a liner for either the bottom or top lash line to add a pop of colour.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VjqlRWMwKs2X7DtNHAn2jynZ5IMLz_T92eyqgCIFMN-uEQY8qXfIT0-AVCG3WQfZ27lzhh8Mh3C_ABMewo8A4gChJ4L8bmGq9Dw5naIS8pB30m2d291EwN20FDvaRSy2__IkWd0SJKO9/s1600/7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of swatches of The Mad Hatter Shades from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="454" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3VjqlRWMwKs2X7DtNHAn2jynZ5IMLz_T92eyqgCIFMN-uEQY8qXfIT0-AVCG3WQfZ27lzhh8Mh3C_ABMewo8A4gChJ4L8bmGq9Dw5naIS8pB30m2d291EwN20FDvaRSy2__IkWd0SJKO9/s640/7.jpg" title="The Mad Hatter Shades" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Mad Hatter Shades</td></tr>
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Now onto my personal favourite character, played by one of my favourite actors, The Mad Hatter. These are probably the four least wearable shades (as a mini collection) in the entire palette, but they are also probably the most fun. Hatter is a vibrant matte green shade with a slight glitter going through it, and really reminds me of Spring. Gone Mad is a really deep plum shade again with a slight glitter running through it, this colour is great for darkening the outer corner. Paradox is a bright shimmery orange/peach shade, and is probably the most wearable of these four, I can see this being the perfect centre of the lid shade if you were trying to create a spotlight eye look. The final Mad Hatter shade is called Cake and is a bright Barbie pink shimmer colour, I won't lie, this is the kind of shade I would normally avoid like the plague, but alongside these other three it somehow just works.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXl_jgB-rs1oQajLEmuZnYjxRSQyodh2gtN3hS6PrgEaHrlxaXb69z_b-frlMOjlKr3Kdw-g31QNd25GFlpuHYoGByCxO5Jw8P69UJw8r2zlnYCkm2Xm3SU464mAwp8s01bCEgbEphvZFY/s1600/8.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of Swatches of The White Queen Shades from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXl_jgB-rs1oQajLEmuZnYjxRSQyodh2gtN3hS6PrgEaHrlxaXb69z_b-frlMOjlKr3Kdw-g31QNd25GFlpuHYoGByCxO5Jw8P69UJw8r2zlnYCkm2Xm3SU464mAwp8s01bCEgbEphvZFY/s640/8.jpg" title="The White Queen Shades" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The White Queen Shades</td></tr>
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The White Queen's shades are probably the most wearable as one whole look in the entire collection, I can see this being an effortless everyday look for just about anyone. The first shade is Lily, and is a pale white shimmer shade which has a pink iridescence running through it. Similar to the Alice shade Looking Glass, this would make the perfect base colour or brow highlight colour. Next up is Duchess, a peachy champagne kind of colour which I would find myself using all over the lid. Kingdom, is a brown shimmer shade that I could see working really well if used in the crease alongside Duchess on the eyelid. Finally we have Chessboard, which is simply a matte brown shade, almost like Dormouse but without the glitter running through it, this would be a great outer corner colour to finish off this look.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTo3VEjU_mL5mVl3T4Fr0_Fb1ynU7aBR5C3xHztsX9iH9DdcqT9fxvZBDeiPTkBelf3bNTbbqHyIPxtR12b3Lzie-FNi0IVRh4lM3NtD_lR4e2wbvV6GDy6jbrfU0mgfeHrE6Vo8Xhf5T/s1600/9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of swatches of The Red Queen Shades from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNTo3VEjU_mL5mVl3T4Fr0_Fb1ynU7aBR5C3xHztsX9iH9DdcqT9fxvZBDeiPTkBelf3bNTbbqHyIPxtR12b3Lzie-FNi0IVRh4lM3NtD_lR4e2wbvV6GDy6jbrfU0mgfeHrE6Vo8Xhf5T/s640/9.jpg" title="The Red Queen Shades" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Red Queen Shades</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
The Red Queen's shades are also really fun, but probably slightly unwearable for day to day looks, and these are probably the least cohesive shades in the entire palette. Heads Will Roll is one of my favourite shades in the palette and is a teal/green shade with silver glitter running through it, this is another great colour for Spring. Next up is Bandersnatch, a gorgeous navy blue matte shade, which compliments Heads Will Roll perfectly, I know I would personally love to see these two in a look together. Then there is Salazen Grum, which is an amazing red/bronze shimmer shade which would make the perfect lid colour, just maybe not with these other shades! Finally there is Royal Flush a silver/champagne shimmer shade which would be great for inner corner and brown bone highlight.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXInPPVJrR_wzWMCrXOvPv3bNjZFSsLlAxJZtWlNKjvq-lLHvdRULUOZ1_EEkZhUN5xlCZUpHulT8_LFZhJn3Y83YuAxj33ny44U7Ph88mIqByfa0Bkk5XzFZ_pb_FbZpq4yP38aSo47aX/s1600/10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of swatches of Time's Shades from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="440" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXInPPVJrR_wzWMCrXOvPv3bNjZFSsLlAxJZtWlNKjvq-lLHvdRULUOZ1_EEkZhUN5xlCZUpHulT8_LFZhJn3Y83YuAxj33ny44U7Ph88mIqByfa0Bkk5XzFZ_pb_FbZpq4yP38aSo47aX/s640/10.jpg" title="Time's Shades" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time's Shades</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last but by no means least we have Time's shades. These four combined would make a really great dark smokey/night time look. The first shade is named after the character himself, Time. It's a deep navy shimmer shade which would be the perfect outer corner colour for this look. Next up is Dream On and these is probably my least favourite shadow from the entire palette, it's a purple shade with lots and lots of silver glitter, in fact it is a good 90% glitter, which is probably why I don't like it. Next up is Chronosphere a stunning brown shimmer shade, darker than Kingdom, which would look amazing both on the lid, or through the crease. The final shade in the palette is mirror a steel grey shimmer shade which would look amazing smoked out all over the lid on pretty much anyone!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrrkLy5iGb06V8WbTM62G4APwK7_zKObwxkt7BHtLWYit9qJbpt5q6QTvz4FlbepUFFi_HZZ9HY3H6irR9f2SscxB9nzJ9a5wRpCOKp52ydRQ7CNJgCXtX7geeXaGdVb3cK56eDLddyBL/s1600/17.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo collage of All of the eyeshadow swatches from the Urban Decay Alice Through The Looking Glass Palette" border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxrrkLy5iGb06V8WbTM62G4APwK7_zKObwxkt7BHtLWYit9qJbpt5q6QTvz4FlbepUFFi_HZZ9HY3H6irR9f2SscxB9nzJ9a5wRpCOKp52ydRQ7CNJgCXtX7geeXaGdVb3cK56eDLddyBL/s640/17.jpg" title="All of the eyeshadow swatches" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of the eyeshadow swatches</td></tr>
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So there you have all of the swatches from the palette side by side, split into the different characters. All of these swatches were taken in direct sunlight in front of a window, so the colours should be fairly true to life. All in all I'm very impressed with the colours I know some people thought that the shades weren't all that pigmented, but I think they are great, I'm a big fan or Urban Decay's shadows and I think these are all as good as palettes that they have put out in the past. Let me know in the comments below which 'character quad' of shadows is your favourite!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1E7FeVVfuZGJjM7n7mX45AubMn-z4bWQs_tmb-0sOful_uAEXGtOpDp2NrDC6YkeT-cw0PSApXZnUnGNu6aEhJnOTFypowQgV4CuaQFpnlPHnhhqXTnACSJ5r3Wgi6sbg9oJDnICswToy/s1600/5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection" border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1E7FeVVfuZGJjM7n7mX45AubMn-z4bWQs_tmb-0sOful_uAEXGtOpDp2NrDC6YkeT-cw0PSApXZnUnGNu6aEhJnOTFypowQgV4CuaQFpnlPHnhhqXTnACSJ5r3Wgi6sbg9oJDnICswToy/s640/5.jpg" title="Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection</td></tr>
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Now onto the lipsticks, there were five shades in total released for this collection, and they come in a range of finishes and colours. As mentioned above, I wasn't planning to buy all five, but when in Rome, or so they say! The packaging for these lipsticks is so beautiful, it's this psychedelic rose pattern in all of these beautiful colours, and really screams Wonderland to me. Pictured above from left to right we have Alice, Iracebeth, Mirana, Hatter and Time. All of the below swatches were done directly on my lips with no primer, or lip liner, and is only applied using the shape of the lipstick.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAZ7ue_T_3tV9wVVvGp8p86D-IGSINDlRxyysMG01bX0VDKHbm3HldvKd9KdV_JKLKKpXBkQXvDZvqYLm96xZYUmWOcEI-vP-utraZEq6dRdoxGJzdms4d9NmFAB6XsMZbiVkSqdhtoqJ/s1600/11.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Alice Lipstick from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection on my lips" border="0" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiAZ7ue_T_3tV9wVVvGp8p86D-IGSINDlRxyysMG01bX0VDKHbm3HldvKd9KdV_JKLKKpXBkQXvDZvqYLm96xZYUmWOcEI-vP-utraZEq6dRdoxGJzdms4d9NmFAB6XsMZbiVkSqdhtoqJ/s640/11.jpg" title="Alice Lipstick" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alice Lipstick</td></tr>
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Alice was the shade that I was least excited about and is definitely the shade I am most disappointed with. Alice is described as a Sheer Shimmer finish, and now I understand why that is. When I saw it on the model at Urban Decay in Covent Garden it looked like a more opaque nude shimmer, although in hindsight I now know that was probably down to the nude lip liner that the makeup artist used on the models lips first. Don't get me wrong this is still a beautiful shade, it does have a hint of nude colour, but has a pink iridescence to it, which is stunning. I think with the right shade of liner/lipstick underneath it this lipstick can really shine (literally), but on it's own, it's a bit of a let down.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMv0GtFdS9ggMZezg8Av6JZboV4ZT-DlyTbnnhskeRiaHTIoo1vGydSpBKuBUJKgc5Sc_HdV9h3TawibKmXDbY_0aY7X6vgWW4QyDL5NJ-8mwc6vNZW5t65om6LSLsoAyy7SBHbsrLhpnl/s1600/12.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the Iracebeth Lipstick from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection on my lips" border="0" height="410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMv0GtFdS9ggMZezg8Av6JZboV4ZT-DlyTbnnhskeRiaHTIoo1vGydSpBKuBUJKgc5Sc_HdV9h3TawibKmXDbY_0aY7X6vgWW4QyDL5NJ-8mwc6vNZW5t65om6LSLsoAyy7SBHbsrLhpnl/s640/12.jpg" title="Iracebeth Lipstick" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Iracebeth Lipstick</td></tr>
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Iracebeth is the shade I was supposed to pick up for my sister, but fell in love with myself (don't worry I still bought one for my sister), and is described on the box as a 'comfort matte' finish, whatever that is. We all know on this blog that I am a sucker for matte shades, so I had to have it! Iracebeth is a beautiful cherry red shade, if you are the kind of girl that loves to wear red every day then this is for you! I would definitely suggest wearing this with a lip liner, but that goes without saying for red shades.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl87OmPSqks-ed-EPEuIeMEuthw67s4fbil9tlcKLUum0vP3nF5QhKQXFGtH9xe24kV4sGwQ5u69t8xeBx9NpAmoMUC2owYLYKwUbL_sLebRLoFX4cx2opOXmhZA9B2q_XnaIl5Uw4p-Kh/s1600/13.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the Mad Hatter Lipstick from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection on my lips" border="0" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl87OmPSqks-ed-EPEuIeMEuthw67s4fbil9tlcKLUum0vP3nF5QhKQXFGtH9xe24kV4sGwQ5u69t8xeBx9NpAmoMUC2owYLYKwUbL_sLebRLoFX4cx2opOXmhZA9B2q_XnaIl5Uw4p-Kh/s640/13.jpg" title="Mad Hatter Lipstick" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mad Hatter Lipstick</td></tr>
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Mad Hatter was the first lipstick that I got super excited about when I saw the reveal of the collection, I am a magpie for purple lip products! Mad Hatter is a gorgeous grape shade and is described as a 'Metallized' shade. I wouldn't call it metallic, but it certainly isn't far off, it also carries some flecks of glitter through it, making it extra glamorous. I would say this is definitely another shade that would benefit from having a base product underneath it to really help the colour come through, but it definitely makes me look mad as a hatter when I'm wearing it!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiul4KPrjBCDenaMxOHb31bDX18URI-nZAy5GZBpIHBcpDqmLLvhDzc8kGQsR9Ivyq0gy9SVYjcXpjHi4uW4gzR0Q-AjJ1_f7Taahe_tY3hnq_2GxD0tubVeb65vloJuki43McyKdlpju9g/s1600/14.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the Mirana Lipstick from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection on my lips" border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiul4KPrjBCDenaMxOHb31bDX18URI-nZAy5GZBpIHBcpDqmLLvhDzc8kGQsR9Ivyq0gy9SVYjcXpjHi4uW4gzR0Q-AjJ1_f7Taahe_tY3hnq_2GxD0tubVeb65vloJuki43McyKdlpju9g/s640/14.jpg" title="Mirana Lipstick" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mirana Lipstick</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Mirana was another shade that I was really excited for when I first saw the lipsticks, as with purples I have a thing for really dark red/wine lip colours, they just really grab my attention. This is another 'Metallized' shade although it's definitely the least metallic of the three in this finish. This has a red glitter running through it which is certainly unusual for a lipstick of this shade. This is also one of the least opaque colours in the collection (besides Alice which is barely opaque), so again would really benefit from being put onto a base of a similar shade. Despite this, Mirana is definitely one of my favourites.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrik4pXWP7fiohs-QE-91y-op4WZdNO0UR_4imv9DYIypZROJx8H_lmziTopKQC3VweXxrm7hANeJIGLGCVgLO121rZbbUSUCHGQSvsE6X47-CRu2MYzsYRyykkaptg-52EG5xAd3k_3rv/s1600/15.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of the Time Lipstick from the Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass Collection on my lips" border="0" height="374" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrik4pXWP7fiohs-QE-91y-op4WZdNO0UR_4imv9DYIypZROJx8H_lmziTopKQC3VweXxrm7hANeJIGLGCVgLO121rZbbUSUCHGQSvsE6X47-CRu2MYzsYRyykkaptg-52EG5xAd3k_3rv/s640/15.jpg" title="Time Lipstick" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Time Lipstick</td></tr>
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Time is probably the least wearable, but also most favourite shade from the collection, It's a deep green/blue colour and makes me feel like an alien princess! This is the final of the 'Metallized' shades, so it also has some glitter running through it, in this case, silver. This is very similar to Mad Hatter in finish and application, so again would really benefit from a base colour underneath to really bring out the metallic nature of the shade.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSFBHVpKQLbAvPdiXd2-0t5c8h2KREtN7LEZoXWf6VV1Uxbfv7tW-Uju1_2nCKshshtp-18rTLwT5A31m63i1Q0dzW_46ks29sp7EhoF-5BLVhqp47gL0kmGDTnooe5m4QDJfz4PAko-K/s1600/16.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo collage of the entire Urban Decay Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection" border="0" height="376" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQSFBHVpKQLbAvPdiXd2-0t5c8h2KREtN7LEZoXWf6VV1Uxbfv7tW-Uju1_2nCKshshtp-18rTLwT5A31m63i1Q0dzW_46ks29sp7EhoF-5BLVhqp47gL0kmGDTnooe5m4QDJfz4PAko-K/s640/16.jpg" title="The Entire Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Entire Through the Looking Glass Lipstick Collection</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So there you have all five of the lipsticks in this collection, overall I'm really happy with the shades, and I can't wait to start incorporating them into my everyday looks. Let me know which of these is your favourite!<br />
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That just about concludes this mammoth post dedicated to the brand new, and absolutely stunning Urban Decay Alice Through the Looking Glass collection! I believe the collection has already been released with Selfridges, so you may be able to snap it up now. However as far as I am aware the official release with Urban Decay is the 5th of May! I wish anyone who is trying to get their hands on it the best of luck in purchasing it, and please do let me know in the comments which of the items/shades is your favourite...AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-8461200793947131972016-04-29T14:17:00.003+01:002016-04-29T14:19:52.987+01:00Z Palette and Makeup Geek Eyeshadows<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9igc9bO3Swoj8erbqSr_DBE3MuAhG0zeBcAo88h2PivfqEEaVHlgsTA4rRnoca1pwFX_5ILLToS4SpspZfzCyvCI9upDpAi1UVdn8nFRoTV2YnCZatmvUyGQhVhN5b7093guwZ3vglnt/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my new Z Palette full of MUG Eyeshadows" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp9igc9bO3Swoj8erbqSr_DBE3MuAhG0zeBcAo88h2PivfqEEaVHlgsTA4rRnoca1pwFX_5ILLToS4SpspZfzCyvCI9upDpAi1UVdn8nFRoTV2YnCZatmvUyGQhVhN5b7093guwZ3vglnt/s640/1.jpg" title="My brand new Z Palette full of MUG Eyeshadows" width="506" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brand new Z Palette full of MUG Eyeshadows</td></tr>
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Ever since I first saw some of my favourite Youtuber beauty guru's using Makeup Geek eyeshadows I have wanted to try them out. For whatever reason it took me a really long time to get my hands on them, and the only reason I finally got them was because I won them on a raffle!<br />
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Choosing the shades that I wanted was really tough, I spent a long time looking at swatch photos and looking up blog posts about them, and even asking people on Facebook beauty groups which shades to get. To say I got a little bit obsessive about picking nine colours of eyeshadow would be an understatement. Anyway I am babbling now, I'm sure you are dying to know the shades I picked, so let's get to the swatches!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHkd3ghYf7cuAxf4Gz8PkAcwGgkrpUomQ9Oq8buQWhFo_p8SZleQKiNYdObJ35cGApAnxt737uMA2IFtAAaoopOpKkC8KOabnD3Xq0QlJ-tCNpR-eP9fNXM0EUBd5u_hAqJKcJEkdsvB2/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photo of Swatches of all my MUG Shadows" border="0" height="388" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsHkd3ghYf7cuAxf4Gz8PkAcwGgkrpUomQ9Oq8buQWhFo_p8SZleQKiNYdObJ35cGApAnxt737uMA2IFtAAaoopOpKkC8KOabnD3Xq0QlJ-tCNpR-eP9fNXM0EUBd5u_hAqJKcJEkdsvB2/s640/2.jpg" title="Swatches of all my MUG Shadows" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swatches of all my MUG Shadows</td></tr>
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I did decide to go with mainly matte shades because I wanted to go for shade that would give me some good base colours, and every day looks. However I couldn't resist going for a couple of shimmer shades in a silvery colour (Shimma Shimma) and also a gold colour (Gold Digger). Beaches and Cream was one of the first shades I picked as it makes the perfect transition shade for paler people a.k.a me. Bitten was another shade that was very high on my list, a deep red/brown colour perfect for outer corner, whilst at the same time being something a little bit different from you usual dark brown/black shade.<br />
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Overall I am very happy with the choices I made, the shadows are really pigmented and blend together really well, I can't wait to incorporate these into my daily makeup routine! Do you own any Makeup Geek eyeshadows? Let me know in the comments what shades you would recommend?AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-24283611873710888362016-04-20T11:26:00.000+01:002016-04-20T11:26:06.746+01:00Wishlist Wednesday: Video Game Edition #3<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJW-KkYn2M8wZwdGcZFJYwDcWxq05RK0Rc3akxmqZNf9dIEdVhQtAh-sn2PrSpJ5A6HCmK7sp5XYamQ9sZc2FG2igqftGMLfxmsLIYzKQgfVQsx2-JbvdaS7G8VLZhq9uZA-CBkb5Kikc/s1600/Collage.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Collage of the Games on my wishlist currently" border="0" height="464" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioJW-KkYn2M8wZwdGcZFJYwDcWxq05RK0Rc3akxmqZNf9dIEdVhQtAh-sn2PrSpJ5A6HCmK7sp5XYamQ9sZc2FG2igqftGMLfxmsLIYzKQgfVQsx2-JbvdaS7G8VLZhq9uZA-CBkb5Kikc/s640/Collage.jpg" title="Games on my wishlist currently..." width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Games on my wishlist currently...</td></tr>
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Welcome back to Wishlist Wednesday everyone, it's been a good few weeks since I've written one of these, so I thought it was about time that I got back into doing it. The past few weeks I have been playing a lot more video games as such it has created a fairly long list of games that I am waiting to arrive into my life! Here are the games that I am lusting after at the moment...<br />
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1. <a href="http://www.game.co.uk/en/lego-dimensions-starter-pack-562459?attributeName1=Shop%20By&provenance=New&catGroupId=&categoryIdentifier=737202&attributeValue1=63">Lego Dimensions Starter Pack for Xbox One</a>: £79.99</div>
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2. <a href="http://www.game.co.uk/en/minecraft-story-mode-756111?attributeName1=Shop%20By&provenance=New&catGroupId=&categoryIdentifier=737202&attributeValue1=63">Minecraft Story Mode for Xbox One</a>: £24.99</div>
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3. <a href="http://www.game.co.uk/en/fallout-4-637087?attributeName1=Shop%20By&provenance=New&catGroupId=&categoryIdentifier=737202&attributeValue1=63">Fallout 4 for Xbox One</a>: £39.99</div>
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4. <a href="http://www.game.co.uk/en/assassins-creed-syndicate-616418?attributeName1=Shop%20By&provenance=New&catGroupId=&categoryIdentifier=737202&attributeValue1=63">Assassin's Creed Syndicate for Xbox One</a>: £27.99</div>
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5. <a href="http://www.game.co.uk/en/the-legend-of-zelda-triforce-heroes-658744?attributeName1=Shop%20By&pageSize=40&provenance=New&categoryIdentifier=29510&attributeValue2=4294965823&catGroupId=&attributeValue1=63&attributeName2=Release%20Date">The Legend of Zelda Triforce Heroes for 3DS</a>: £32.99</div>
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6. <a href="http://www.game.co.uk/en/pokemon-super-mystery-dungeon-660962?attributeName1=Shop%20By&pageSize=40&provenance=New&categoryIdentifier=29510&attributeValue2=4294965823&catGroupId=&attributeValue1=63&attributeName2=Release%20Date">Pokemon Super Mystery Dungeon for 3DS</a>: £34.99</div>
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7. <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/351340/">Belladonna for PC</a>: 49p </div>
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8. <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/380670/">Final Approach for PC</a>: £15.19</div>
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9. <a href="http://store.steampowered.com/app/299740/">Miscreated for PC</a>: £7.49</div>
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That just about concludes my list, as you can see there is quite a mix of platforms there as I like to play on several, I find that just playing on one can get pretty boring. Let me know in the comments what games you have on your wishlist, I may have to check some of them out!</div>
AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-54819599280913924252016-04-18T12:00:00.000+01:002016-04-18T12:00:02.334+01:00Kiko Intensive Lip Mask<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUEZGdBXtF4TOckX-UDowIRcTRzgKjVw0FWguW6bLm7s0m_6TBK8ype3aWs8TpMI8q_a-IQsH8w8juoxspCnD3DYexx_Dj7TyCYEux49B26dMr4O392pS887M0ZXd3Ur7qA61vFUWiemuL/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Kiko Intensive Lip Mask packaging" border="0" height="592" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUEZGdBXtF4TOckX-UDowIRcTRzgKjVw0FWguW6bLm7s0m_6TBK8ype3aWs8TpMI8q_a-IQsH8w8juoxspCnD3DYexx_Dj7TyCYEux49B26dMr4O392pS887M0ZXd3Ur7qA61vFUWiemuL/s640/1.jpg" title="Kiko Intensive Lip Mask" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kiko Intensive Lip Mask!</td></tr>
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A few weeks ago when I was in Reading meeting up with the lovely Lisa from <a href="http://www.unitedcakedom.com/">United Cakedom</a>, we decided to pop into Kiko and see what they had around. At the time they had a bit of a clearance sale happening and they were offering 5 items (from the clearance section) for £10. That was an opportunity that I simply couldn't pass up.<br />
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One of the items that caught my eye as we were walking around the store were this intensive lip masks. I've seen plenty of Youtubers use lip masks before and I always think that they look absolutely ridiculous. However having said that, my lips have been in a terrible state recently, so I thought to myself, 'What do I have to lose?'<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwVgoeLF34EDLA2B-2EFrz2w2Q5-RByxPvIRu-1MGD1bsUnb8H8vQ6Jq3u8tW_krogiEYGd3N93xDl8nXkoIZ4xVQSVkR44kKyKeHRBMKzHbw9KYzspykZnYGmqJq1MZoDdjBraTzcdCJ/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Kiko Intensive Lip Mask in action" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAwVgoeLF34EDLA2B-2EFrz2w2Q5-RByxPvIRu-1MGD1bsUnb8H8vQ6Jq3u8tW_krogiEYGd3N93xDl8nXkoIZ4xVQSVkR44kKyKeHRBMKzHbw9KYzspykZnYGmqJq1MZoDdjBraTzcdCJ/s640/2.jpg" title="Lip Mask in action" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lip Mask in action</td></tr>
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The lip masks come individually packaged in foil sachets, and then when you take them out they come between two pieces of plastic, presumably to stop them from sticking to the sachet. When I took the mask out I was quite surprised at how wet it was, that may sound a bit silly but I didn't expect there to be that much moisture. Anyway, one side of the mask is smooth and the other is all bobbly, I believe you are supposed to wear the mask bobbly side down, but as you may be able to tell from the photo above, I wore it the wrong way round. I don't think it really effected the results in any way, as both sides of the mask were really wet with the mixture.<br />
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So the whole idea of this is that you slap it on your lips and leave it for 10-15 minutes, which doesn't sound like a lot. I found out though that keeping your mouth shut for 15 minutes straight (when you are me) is actually pretty difficult. By the time the mask was done I couldn't wait to take it off of my face, mainly to open my mouth again! Once it was off I noticed that my lips looked a little plumper, and a lot smoother. I suffer quite badly with dry lips, and I could tell that they were a lot more hydrated than before.<br />
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Considering the offer that I purchased these on I only paid £2 for them, and you get 3 in a box. Unfortunately they aren't reusable, which is a but of a shame, but for £2, it's still worth it. I did have a look on the Kiko website and it seems as though they have discontinued these now, so I will be using these sparingly until I can find a replacement. If you have any suggestions for any good, not too expensive lip masks then please let me know in the comments!AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-70113474386078542482016-04-12T12:58:00.003+01:002016-04-12T12:58:51.258+01:00Sk:n Clinic Launch Party!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEcFjqp8PwRIUVTC3sJ6zDsLpgDYeczdDwEgKzvaXWgpMy-8woYoVklS0WOh-zC2vEXgmnP_N4jJEjTK8q-hZAkTVwVJ61zVyhR_F-qxMKzjzpZSwqP5rtdWGf6VZozkzgMPOndE_aNV8/s1600/IMG_3343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Sk:n Clinic Exterior in Reading" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizEcFjqp8PwRIUVTC3sJ6zDsLpgDYeczdDwEgKzvaXWgpMy-8woYoVklS0WOh-zC2vEXgmnP_N4jJEjTK8q-hZAkTVwVJ61zVyhR_F-qxMKzjzpZSwqP5rtdWGf6VZozkzgMPOndE_aNV8/s640/IMG_3343.JPG" title="Sk:n Clinic Exterior" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sk:n Clinic Exterior</td></tr>
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A few weeks ago I had a mysterious tweet, asking for my email address regarding a blogging opportunity. I'm always open to opportunities that come my way, particularly when it involves an event. I can never resist going out and meeting other bloggers, and networking, because talking with other people who understand what it's like to blog is priceless. Anyway an email landed in my inbox regarding the launch party of a new skin clinic called Sk:n in Reading.<br />
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I was allowed to bring a plus one to the event so after being let down by my sister, I gave Lisa from United Cakedom a quick message and thankfully she agreed to come with me! We decided to meet up an hour or so before the event so that we could grab something to eat, and Lisa suggested that we go to the Handmade Burger Company as it was close to the Clinic where the event was taking place. After a lovely meal, which I will be writing about later this week so keep your eyes peeled, we walked the short distance to the Sk:n Clinic.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvaNe1LHT_M5G-3AdASrwlD7rcCNAhh41sWuJVY_CGpz4P1le4kbMVVoabEiO2Gu_-J56q1FNJnQ6IzFq5oGtdL33oDNV1gnab2glXW599WfwyOx2T56dLQsguWfLdj9Wx8eKySN-xnC4/s1600/IMG_3347.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of a Salicylic Facial Peel in action" border="0" height="532" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpvaNe1LHT_M5G-3AdASrwlD7rcCNAhh41sWuJVY_CGpz4P1le4kbMVVoabEiO2Gu_-J56q1FNJnQ6IzFq5oGtdL33oDNV1gnab2glXW599WfwyOx2T56dLQsguWfLdj9Wx8eKySN-xnC4/s640/IMG_3347.JPG" title="Watching a Salicylic Facial Peel in action" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching a Salicylic Facial Peel in action</td></tr>
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When we arrived we were offered a drink there was Champagne on offer but as I don't drink I had to decline, thankfully the clinic had thought of this already and I was handed a glass of cranberry juice. We were also given itineraries for the evening so we knew what to expect. The first order of business was the cutting of the ribbon, and there was a photographer on hand to capture the moment. I have never been present at a ribbon cutting so it was all quite exciting! Once the ribbon was cut we were able to go and view the treatments. There were three treatments in total that we could view a facial peel, a laser hair removal and an anti-ageing demonstration. Lisa and I decided to head upstairs and have a peek at the facial peel demonstration as I felt it was the treatment that I would be most likely to have myself. The whole process was a lot quicker and easier than I thought it would be, it was over within 5 minutes. The entire time the lovely lady doing the treatment was answering questions and giving us plenty of information about the treatment.<br />
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After watching the treatment we headed back downstairs where we got a mini consultation with one of the skin experts. I mentioned that my main concern with my skin was my oily T-zone and my painful acne. I was told that facial peels may be a good solution for me as it helps to remove the acne causing bacteria that likes to live in the lower layers of the skin. In particular a Salicylic peel may be ideal for me as it is the Salicylic acid that is particularly good if you suffer for acne. With the Salicylic peels the strength of peel they use will depend on whether your skin/acne is mild, moderate or severe, so it's not a 'one type fits all' kind of thing, which definitely put my mind at ease. I honestly have to say that I had never thought of having a skin treatment done professionally, but since being at the event I have definitely been considering it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi530xGvznQPYVJ163-Z6tih_jnU9G_0YWGxK1vMlw3NpezjlFylKLPFhKCd49BeFP9sheNZnCVX2jFnmf0vwEs4x3cYDjHkvGu8SuJM5GQO1mm-kJvbcidqcYjxO_a9cVx9SfQQccpx_Z/s1600/IMG_3364.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of Goodie Bag Contents from the Sk:n Clinic" border="0" height="626" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi530xGvznQPYVJ163-Z6tih_jnU9G_0YWGxK1vMlw3NpezjlFylKLPFhKCd49BeFP9sheNZnCVX2jFnmf0vwEs4x3cYDjHkvGu8SuJM5GQO1mm-kJvbcidqcYjxO_a9cVx9SfQQccpx_Z/s640/IMG_3364.JPG" title="Goodie Bag Contents!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Goodie Bag Contents!</td></tr>
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Before we left the event we were handed a goodie bag full of clinically proven skincare items, and also a voucher which we can redeem for 50% off of our first treatment, or a free Glycolic facial peel. Here is what was included in the goodie bag:<br />
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<ul>
<li>Treatment Voucher</li>
<li>Sk:n Pore Refining Lotion</li>
<li>Sk:n Anti-ageing Hand Cream</li>
<li>Sk;n Anti-redness Face Cream</li>
<li>Sk;n Cleanse and Exfoliate Cleanser</li>
<li>SkinCeuticals Retexturing Activator Serum</li>
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We were truly spoiled by the clinic, and I am already thinking of giving them a call to book in for my first treatment! If you are thinking of having a treatment then you can check out the Sk:n website <a href="https://www.sknclinics.co.uk/" rel="nofollow">here</a>.</div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*I was given a goodie bag of products for attending the event, however all opinions and comments within this post are my own.</span></div>
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AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-56100188894252919792016-04-11T11:00:00.000+01:002016-04-11T11:00:12.304+01:00Avon Black Mineral Mask<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UyPtpjquHm8tfFdkj6Zk5souSwbTgPv3AtdJ8-EiwJRNR7uMSJqLuc-_UT4KoDvYjXLfZ4x0wqV2r8ifIHZDizYRpi29O2TSwwIDfAOxfAzgc7TBQuQpEJYBIFj_sYYBQRlk1Z58r37F/s1600/IMG_3389.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of packaging of the Avon Black Mineral Mask" border="0" height="586" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6UyPtpjquHm8tfFdkj6Zk5souSwbTgPv3AtdJ8-EiwJRNR7uMSJqLuc-_UT4KoDvYjXLfZ4x0wqV2r8ifIHZDizYRpi29O2TSwwIDfAOxfAzgc7TBQuQpEJYBIFj_sYYBQRlk1Z58r37F/s640/IMG_3389.JPG" title="Avon Black Mineral Mask" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Avon Black Mineral Mask</td></tr>
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A few weeks ago I wrote an <a href="http://www.alyssiarose.co.uk/2016/03/avon-haul-1.html">Avon Haul post</a>, where I mentioned that I have recently fallen back in love with the brand after a long time away. One of the first products I picked up in my very first order was the Pore Penetrating Black Mineral mask. I was looking for a face mask which I could use weekly to help remove the excess oils from my skin, so I was hoping that this would do the trick...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6D1r698C4jiSazV1VeRcRllXicZVDVP5bEJPSVFnG2PzxELb6OTEelJyUVu1wU5YTaY-AC6b7nrtwlo87yiM3WzuIaT-BgZT-MHEEO35SkTBwM3q1Rd_X4Mj2LF4Gts0jrRjXvy3oytU/s1600/IMG_3410.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Avon Black Mineral Mask Directly after Applying" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK6D1r698C4jiSazV1VeRcRllXicZVDVP5bEJPSVFnG2PzxELb6OTEelJyUVu1wU5YTaY-AC6b7nrtwlo87yiM3WzuIaT-BgZT-MHEEO35SkTBwM3q1Rd_X4Mj2LF4Gts0jrRjXvy3oytU/s640/IMG_3410.JPG" title="Mask Directly after Applying" width="634" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mask Directly after applying</td></tr>
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They recommend that you apply a thin layer all over your face, avoiding the eye area and mouth area (as you do with most face masks). Then you simply wait for the mask to dry, which can take anything from about 10-15 minutes, the mask will harden and then dry a pale grey colour.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDj5Gl1GZ5s0cJD0EWwpmlmN1mbH9neNH36T2THnvNj4kEAjKauvupiOYmW4ZtKDnPPVJBpuJEy9R1ySryqk8ExCXyUT_e5TV44d4YR4tV9sHVnVtKS7hXhcmE4RAHpJyAF4QnF2yr5dV/s1600/IMG_3415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Avon Black Mineral Mask When Dry" border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLDj5Gl1GZ5s0cJD0EWwpmlmN1mbH9neNH36T2THnvNj4kEAjKauvupiOYmW4ZtKDnPPVJBpuJEy9R1ySryqk8ExCXyUT_e5TV44d4YR4tV9sHVnVtKS7hXhcmE4RAHpJyAF4QnF2yr5dV/s640/IMG_3415.JPG" title="Mask When Dry" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mask When Dry</td></tr>
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Once the mask is dry you are able to see these little dots all over your face which are the oils that are drawn from your pores, so the majority of my dots are around my nose and chin, because these are my oiliest areas. The darker black areas you can see in the picture above are dry, those are just areas where I applied the mask a little bit too thickly. So once your mask is dry all you have to do is wash off the mask, and the nasty oils with it.<br />
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The first few times that I used this mask I couldn't believe the amount of oil it drew from my pores, but also I couldn't stop touching my face after rinsing it off. This masks makes your skin feel so soft, something that I rarely get to feel as my face is normally covered in oil!<br />
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I have been using this mask once a week in the morning, and I have definitely begun to notice an improvement in my skin. I get much less blemishes than I used to, and my skin takes a lot longer to get oily. This mask has easily become my absolute favourite product from Avon, and I can see myself repurchasing it again and again. If you've seen my haul post then you will know that I have already purchased a back up of this. Looking on the website you can pick <a href="https://www.avon.uk.com/product/1017/clearskin-pore-penetrating-black-mineral-mask?cb=-1322065660">the mask</a> up for £3 at the moment (Regular Price £5), which I think is really reasonable. You get a decent amount of product in the bottle, I'm not even half way through one bottle yet and I've probably done 6 applications so far, with this mask a little bit goes a long way.<br />
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If like me you have oily skin then this mask is a must because you can instantly see the results on your skin, and for the price point you really can't go wrong!<br />
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Have you used the Avon Black Mineral Mask, What did you think of it?AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-51404231429370394942016-04-07T10:51:00.000+01:002016-04-07T10:51:11.142+01:00Why I Hate My Eyelashes...<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPetE6UOI-ta3lIr7_i3e7q8tr62BYJhXrvI6jMWDhEVRWblvSns0O2AOGgwHM6ysRzKQBdFXEZLgrZzm5fkA1TE3ga4IfTkBr-1Dl9L8aB1cVr6-HOQtH4ku856asfX6Vq03i3RAcYJv/s1600/1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of My natural eyelashes with nothing on" border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOPetE6UOI-ta3lIr7_i3e7q8tr62BYJhXrvI6jMWDhEVRWblvSns0O2AOGgwHM6ysRzKQBdFXEZLgrZzm5fkA1TE3ga4IfTkBr-1Dl9L8aB1cVr6-HOQtH4ku856asfX6Vq03i3RAcYJv/s640/1.jpg" title="My natural eyelashes with nothing on" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My natural eyelashes with nothing on</td></tr>
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I hate my eyelashes, and I always have. Now I know everyone is going to be all like, 'hate is such a strong word', but it's true. My lashes and I are sworn enemies, and that's that way it has always been...<br />
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<a name='more'></a>First off I am naturally fair haired and skinned and that means that my eyelashes are naturally blonde. In the above picture you might not be able to tell so much, because years of using waterproof mascara has tinted my lashes slightly. However if you look very closely by my lashline you will see the very roots of my lashes are blonde, this always causes a problem when I am wearing makeup. The problem that it presents is that when I wear liquid eyeliner, no matter how close to my lashes I get it, there always looks to be a gap between my liner and my lashes. This will hopefully be fixed when I finally get around to getting my lashes tinted, but that will be another story for another day.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0sBtElK5ign0jPtenoZt8H0VpIMJ3sO_ItGH2Tharsc6jgXQ2Ev4CqN17e0L4cqA0rV0wkPDQ_7pZQxVDPp-3KgHdgLm8wLguq-egl4J7qLL4RR5l7QRcMuD9Aalb63oGfkiY0WhFAw8/s1600/2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of My lashes after using curlers" border="0" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE0sBtElK5ign0jPtenoZt8H0VpIMJ3sO_ItGH2Tharsc6jgXQ2Ev4CqN17e0L4cqA0rV0wkPDQ_7pZQxVDPp-3KgHdgLm8wLguq-egl4J7qLL4RR5l7QRcMuD9Aalb63oGfkiY0WhFAw8/s640/2.jpg" title="My lashes after using curlers" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lashes after using curlers</td></tr>
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One of my biggest annoyances with my lashes is that they are pin-straight. I have been told before by several people that I have long eyelashes, but honestly you probably wouldn't be able to tell because they stick straight out. This means that if I am doing my makeup I have to use Eyelash Curlers to try and get something going with them. Using curlers presents it's own problems, and a lot of the time I end up getting much more stressed than I need to. I always leave my eyelashes until last in my makeup routine, this is because my eyelashes do not hold curl in the slightest (even using curlers), so I have to do them right at the last minute and pray that they stay curled. This means that more often than not, when using the curlers I rub off some of my eyeliner, meaning I have to reapply. Also for some reason when curling my left eye, I never manage to reach all the lashes in the outer corner, so they never look as good as the right ones.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDdjBXXF9kardXGU0p6usuz0sN6lBIdtfOCQzbW6m2CI4D1hgO38EVqZ7WdgRot-zlXaNbarH91_D6VatgXkKqcAmHTyKSfjCG-JN7S9JUBNz2jSkIWNQC-NPcSxARTEvG9gcADJsy86ol/s1600/3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDdjBXXF9kardXGU0p6usuz0sN6lBIdtfOCQzbW6m2CI4D1hgO38EVqZ7WdgRot-zlXaNbarH91_D6VatgXkKqcAmHTyKSfjCG-JN7S9JUBNz2jSkIWNQC-NPcSxARTEvG9gcADJsy86ol/s640/3.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My lashes with one coat of Mascara</td></tr>
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The final things that really annoys me about my eyelashes is that when I apply mascara they always go really spidery. I can comb them through a million times with a lash comb and they will still be that way. Even worse is that the more I comb through my lashes, the more they lose the curl I have put into them! Then about 10 minutes later my lashes are pin straight again and you can barely see them.<br />
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So what can I do about it?<br />
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<b>False Eyelashes -</b> These are really great for nights out and events, but I can't see myself wearing these day to day. Don't get me wrong there are a tonne of good everyday styles of lashes out there, but it's not for me.<br />
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<b>Eyelash Extensions - </b>These are individual eyelashes that get glued to your lash line, and can last 6-8 weeks, which is the standard cycle of natural lashes. However it is suggested that you get infills every 4 weeks or so to keep them looking full. Eyelash extensions are fairly expensive and can cost anything from £40-£80 for a full set.<br />
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<b>LVL Lashes - </b>LVL lashes are a form of treatment that includes perming the lashes to add curl, and tinting them. This treatment can cost from £30-50 and can last up to 8 weeks if looked after well. I think this is the treatment that I want to try first, mainly because it's slightly cheaper than the extensions, and it just enhances my natural lashes rather than adding to them.<br />
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Have you had any of the treatments mentioned above, let me know how you got on with them in the comments?AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8743253541667791449.post-67057208110507695202016-04-01T12:00:00.000+01:002016-04-01T12:00:12.028+01:00The Gadget Show Live 2016<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_9TOuBoxgXNY1C4CCVLh6dmfbHyogeGKWCzQZ8InquqT05QunHh53roBbGiWgaHIkEpALjClTqGoNDBkofpfXDT93OpfjbGDwYuzb9WE9rvePj60oK0nbgF5vs7Tab6OQXS6Tyjs0rho/s1600/IMG_3275.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of The Gadget Show Presenters" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJ_9TOuBoxgXNY1C4CCVLh6dmfbHyogeGKWCzQZ8InquqT05QunHh53roBbGiWgaHIkEpALjClTqGoNDBkofpfXDT93OpfjbGDwYuzb9WE9rvePj60oK0nbgF5vs7Tab6OQXS6Tyjs0rho/s640/IMG_3275.JPG" title="The Gadget Show Presenters" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gadget Show Presenters</td></tr>
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A few months back one of my blogging friends, Amy from <a href="http://purelyamy.co.uk/">Purely Amy</a> let me know that she had been accepted as Press for The Gadget Show Live. Having a quick look into the event I was keen to go, and spured on by the fact that she was accepted I thought, what's the harm? So I sent off my application worried that my blog wouldn't be good enough but too my joy I was accepted, and offered a press pass, which gave me free access to the event, three hours earlier than the public.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>When I arrived yesterday at the NEC in Birmingham after a 5am wake up call, I wasn't exactly alert and looking at the map it was hard to chose where to go first. We had already met Amy at the entrance, so we had a quick wander around, picking up a few goodie bags along the way. Still unsure about what to do first I decided to respond to an invitation I had received from a PR before the event.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93W2AFrZudJhRLcDyVuNJnv-OXW-qmJP2ZwqYdLu0k33eIKDoZ0XnNnjTzWjmkTTpLmKEk7-az-Axr_1b4WAqrmTVD5b69e74bq_OMsCoHZECXuKLOS1BUOlr9SpbPcP86yBh5k7l1lN9/s1600/IMG_3282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Case Station Booth Sign" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93W2AFrZudJhRLcDyVuNJnv-OXW-qmJP2ZwqYdLu0k33eIKDoZ0XnNnjTzWjmkTTpLmKEk7-az-Axr_1b4WAqrmTVD5b69e74bq_OMsCoHZECXuKLOS1BUOlr9SpbPcP86yBh5k7l1lN9/s640/IMG_3282.JPG" title="Case Station Booth Sign" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Case Station Booth Sign</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmpkvbV3Hn-Yu_wxHByeBFOJWuOTbgrYf_akWmHlWfoYFc2S1epaf2srAiBZDRgllry_d3XHdTs91cCCVQW3DiQLT39jv-4ED9cumSUvvITfKo4UjeH2kvXi60pCd6rqn4HCMK1tfSOjD/s1600/IMG_3281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of some of the cases on display" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNmpkvbV3Hn-Yu_wxHByeBFOJWuOTbgrYf_akWmHlWfoYFc2S1epaf2srAiBZDRgllry_d3XHdTs91cCCVQW3DiQLT39jv-4ED9cumSUvvITfKo4UjeH2kvXi60pCd6rqn4HCMK1tfSOjD/s640/IMG_3281.JPG" title="The cases on display" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Cases that they had on display, almost like wallpaper.</span></td></tr>
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The invitation that came through my email about a week or so before the event was to come and experience a unique retail experience and customise a phone-case for myself, for free. In the email they did ask us to come with an idea of what we wanted on our case so I decided to download some pictures of my dog, Maizey onto my phone to use. When I arrived at the stall I was greeted by a very friendly man called, Matt, and he helped me get started in making my case. They had iPads all around the stall, which you could use to make your order. Getting started involved selecting the type of case I wanted, and there were a variety to chose from including tough cases and folio cases. In the end I decided to go for a tough case as it has a sort of 'jelly' inside part and then an outer harder shell for double protection, and seeing as I am getting very clumsy lately I could use it. So once I selected my type of case I had to pick between a gloss or a matte finish, seeing as I have always had glossy cases I decided to go for a matte look for a change, plus I thought it would make the case look more luxurious. The next part was the bit that took a little while, and that was transferring the photos from my phone to the iPad. Firstly I tried going to a link on my mobile browser, but that didn't load, then I tried doing it by scanning a QR code but that wouldn't load correctly either. In the end I saved time by logging into my Instagram account and selecting the pictures from there. Selecting the photos was entirely up to me though, and that part took a good ten minutes as I couldn't decide between two particular pictures. Finally I selected my picture and all that was left to do was to pop my details in and wait for them to make my case, they asked me to return within half an hour. I decided to give them a little longer and came back an hour later, and they boxed it up and handed it over!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46VzhDxiJkvUkBQXI4la5w5yVShCyovfsvW8s8HWe5kpw06rPXB18Qyn45agaQ7V0HEHggcOz4iPcrl09qE4-9ltlgG7IATu-_PrWCWGX4qUQ4f2bSY-PdmrKV3L0BQLdbSVbdCT9dUsQ/s1600/12891027_10153681153594302_6238892144442584012_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of My finished phonecase from Case Station" border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh46VzhDxiJkvUkBQXI4la5w5yVShCyovfsvW8s8HWe5kpw06rPXB18Qyn45agaQ7V0HEHggcOz4iPcrl09qE4-9ltlgG7IATu-_PrWCWGX4qUQ4f2bSY-PdmrKV3L0BQLdbSVbdCT9dUsQ/s640/12891027_10153681153594302_6238892144442584012_o.jpg" title="My finished phonecase" width="514" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My finished phonecase</td></tr>
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Here is my finished case, and I couldn't be happier with it. I am so glad that I decided to go with a matte finish as it really brings out the photograph, at least I think it does. One of the things I was massively impressed with was the quality of the print, the image that I used is one from my Instagram as mentioned above, so it was only taken on my iPhone 5s and as such I expected there to be a slight loss of quality in the print. At least that is what I have experienced every time that I order photo printed products using instagram images. All in all very impressed with the service, and if you want to give them a go you can check out their website <a href="https://casestation.com/uk/iphone-se-personalised-phone-case/">here</a>. The generosity didn't stop there with Case Station because they also gave me a goody bag filled to the brim with mobile phone related goodies, including a power bank, a car mount, and a non-slip mat for use on a car dashboard!<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KjuIa6DIPZXQ47KBP6zKFKor7azfTU0A4kzkRaZ5UmbOxQws2_4GXLz_zgfhyzD38TXiuc5ObPT49AYz1fkL4PLNQ8XINckrqza2G3kGdsmfKbY_URiR3tW0MAeArW0m9-a3WK7ZUoUp/s1600/IMG_3283.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="photograph of the Samsung Gear VR Booth at The Gadget Show Live 2016" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KjuIa6DIPZXQ47KBP6zKFKor7azfTU0A4kzkRaZ5UmbOxQws2_4GXLz_zgfhyzD38TXiuc5ObPT49AYz1fkL4PLNQ8XINckrqza2G3kGdsmfKbY_URiR3tW0MAeArW0m9-a3WK7ZUoUp/s640/IMG_3283.JPG" title="Samsung Gear VR Booth" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Samsung Gear VR Booth</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKfCbELXZo7XB1skIa1laar4eSOVqQMkbuz_rZWF1zazAbpprDCx7Y1yluMK5xnEUqZr5BW0iMsPXxjpjg4j4eewCPmKmlqX0p69b8EZWvFtEyKQVKg4jrqtJYIYA7LJynnCnw7ISB3uI/s1600/IMG_3287.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of my partner demoing the Samsung Gear VR Headset" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzKfCbELXZo7XB1skIa1laar4eSOVqQMkbuz_rZWF1zazAbpprDCx7Y1yluMK5xnEUqZr5BW0iMsPXxjpjg4j4eewCPmKmlqX0p69b8EZWvFtEyKQVKg4jrqtJYIYA7LJynnCnw7ISB3uI/s640/IMG_3287.JPG" title="Tim having a go with the VR" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tim having a go with the VR</td></tr>
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Some of the tech that I was most excited to try out at the show was the Virtual Reality headsets. I am what I would call an avid gamer, I'm no expert, but I really enjoying playing video games. I have been reading up on and watching videos of people using VR headsets for such a long time and yet I have never had the chance to use one! Finally that has changed, my first ever VR experience was with the Samsung Gear VR and honestly I was fairly impressed. The guy running the demo gave me the option of a Horror demo, or just a normal one, so of course I said horror. I may have slightly regretted the decision because it was pretty scary. Don't worry I have a hilarious video of me squirming the chair, and the workers at the stall couldn't resist grabbing me a few times to make me scream even more. That being said the whole experience was better than I ever imagined. Considering the headset only costs £80, it's fairly decent. The only downside is you need a Samsung phone to make it work, but if you already have one then you are very lucky!<br />
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The second VR headset I was dying to try out was the HTC Vive. It seems as though I wasn't the only one though because by 11.40 all the time slots for demo's had been booked up. Thankfully as we got in early we managed to guarantee our slot pretty early on. The big difference between the Samsung Gear VR and the HTC Vive is the interaction. With the Gear you are stationary and can only look around you, with the Vive you can move around a 'play space' and interact using controllers, making it 1000 times more immersive. They had six Vive's in action in six little box areas that you could wander around in whilst playing. Another thing I really liked about the Vive demo was that we got to demo several different things. The first section was easy, using the controllers to blow up balloons and hit them into the air. The second demo was more of an experience, like the Samsung VR, in that you were transported to a ship wreck underwater, and you could see fish swimming around you, and then a giant whale swims up to you. The last two demo's I got to try were actual short game demo's so that you could see the real application of the Vive within video games. The first was the Job/Office simulator which I saw Jacksepticeye play on his channel <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fX7D_d3nwqU">here</a>. This involved doing tasks around an office, which involved you turning and moving in a small space. The second game was Space Pirate Cadets (or something along that title), and involved shooting angry robots using the controllers, and dodging their bullets by physically moving out of the way. By the time I managed to kill some robots my experience was over, much to my dismay. It was honestly a real shame to be back in the real world, and as soon as Tim and I have the money and space for it I can see us investing in a Vive.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7GxtPe3i2YH30xTEMURy7AyMqCoVmEfPiVV_Nd8SqmM6il8TiSE0ky7GnT3E8hkNucmLMEPhIC22FL-uHPUnskup0cIWS1lVFF_ADA7975tR67-UTG1mwhASi5NGUtmsQH0fBcMq-_nE/s1600/IMG_3291.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of a Tesla Model S" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn7GxtPe3i2YH30xTEMURy7AyMqCoVmEfPiVV_Nd8SqmM6il8TiSE0ky7GnT3E8hkNucmLMEPhIC22FL-uHPUnskup0cIWS1lVFF_ADA7975tR67-UTG1mwhASi5NGUtmsQH0fBcMq-_nE/s640/IMG_3291.JPG" title="Tesla Model S" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tesla Model S</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlm5zy_mArM9spuXNn5j33xrsspPSWT9NatndWOht0FQz5jrZtwkTSbFmacb7HdJ2xrnr2CBwaNh7dbJGcj-kRrKExTGy64MRpMh8Tym-Gse6JCBSs_7gC0uxGw7BZqy1dcweXiJNqBMEw/s1600/IMG_3294.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photgraph of the interior of the Tesla Model S" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlm5zy_mArM9spuXNn5j33xrsspPSWT9NatndWOht0FQz5jrZtwkTSbFmacb7HdJ2xrnr2CBwaNh7dbJGcj-kRrKExTGy64MRpMh8Tym-Gse6JCBSs_7gC0uxGw7BZqy1dcweXiJNqBMEw/s640/IMG_3294.JPG" title="Interior of the Tesla Model S" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Interior of the <span style="font-size: 12.8px;">Tesla Model S with lots of tech on show!</span></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lERiJac6Gj1q2h7b7il56tppNqh-Send6MNoHZscdno_ETOUlzXu5qa4bl9B3l_3QtrhgJzLVZmqzEuAzUO71STQyZBuE2Iaqm2Fe0KXrjoG5DGCiROgALzJ0YdtRHF6KD9-WhtWIP0Q/s1600/IMG_3322.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Tesla Model S auto-parking itself" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9lERiJac6Gj1q2h7b7il56tppNqh-Send6MNoHZscdno_ETOUlzXu5qa4bl9B3l_3QtrhgJzLVZmqzEuAzUO71STQyZBuE2Iaqm2Fe0KXrjoG5DGCiROgALzJ0YdtRHF6KD9-WhtWIP0Q/s640/IMG_3322.JPG" title="Auto-parking car!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing off the auto-parking feature!</td></tr>
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Whilst we were waiting for our HTC Vive timeslot we decided to head over and check out the new Tesla Model S, and we weren't disappointed. The cars themselves look so sleek and gorgeous, and easily stand up to the looks of a supercar, but with a huge difference. This car is 100% electrically powered, and yet some how is still a super cool and desirable car. After having a look around a couple of the cars that they had on the floor we decided to queue up for the test drive. We had to wait about 20 minutes or so but it was worth it to be sat in such a beautiful car. I was lucky enough to get to ride shotgun, so I had the best view! We were driven around in a circle a few times first to get a feel for the ride, and I couldn't get over how quiet it is, it's almost like it's not running at all. Once we'd been around a few times we got to try the auto-parking, which literally involved pressing a button on the touch screen. Then the car parked itself, which I'll admit took a little longer than it would take me to park, but if you are not good at parking, or are afraid of it, then I can see this being a really good feature. Another feature that this model has, but we didn't get to see was what is called the 'Summon', which involves using your smartphone to either get your car to put itself away at night, or get itself out of your garage in the morning, crazy right?<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6OsoaZP7YxQK9worcjVL5fPnWRRTuuADQp3BLjmhVPBABNJUQpCwgiPy-OcmmdIfpsfcz4Xb48ObgVcMpqPs3MWyoSia6vF-RJg-wHKAyP11GzrVWj-90z2CjheLSFjAuD_6od_rQXKR/s1600/IMG_3299.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Glitch Runner Booth" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik6OsoaZP7YxQK9worcjVL5fPnWRRTuuADQp3BLjmhVPBABNJUQpCwgiPy-OcmmdIfpsfcz4Xb48ObgVcMpqPs3MWyoSia6vF-RJg-wHKAyP11GzrVWj-90z2CjheLSFjAuD_6od_rQXKR/s640/IMG_3299.JPG" title="Playing Glitch Runners" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Playing Glitch Runners</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08mMhmkjvSAfQhgKru9CQlipVy1ZAcDW_MOSI40pOEB1Q6YbpDLGUAaJOhuI9iR1eZRMZm4is1GLHqE8ZJpVALggw-dvgJwti6moIawgc_gPEFcyiuaVcPOKRFl95QhLsCns55EkVJMsj/s1600/IMG_3297.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of the Yuneec drones booth" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg08mMhmkjvSAfQhgKru9CQlipVy1ZAcDW_MOSI40pOEB1Q6YbpDLGUAaJOhuI9iR1eZRMZm4is1GLHqE8ZJpVALggw-dvgJwti6moIawgc_gPEFcyiuaVcPOKRFl95QhLsCns55EkVJMsj/s640/IMG_3297.JPG" title="Drones Galore!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Plenty of drones to see!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzg5Sv9ovKgD34pIiREAFrf56q-sMd93UnCiCLtr5qlGLBTBMNcvt6DwpmAwYZzLrY5lue0C8H-QVwnZBqnpRV_dA3OrvsBtJrANeqbS4WFod7IliF7bhOOcYINB3x4HwdFhgdOXszCja/s1600/IMG_3307.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Photograph of a remote control car in mid air going over a ramp" border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBzg5Sv9ovKgD34pIiREAFrf56q-sMd93UnCiCLtr5qlGLBTBMNcvt6DwpmAwYZzLrY5lue0C8H-QVwnZBqnpRV_dA3OrvsBtJrANeqbS4WFod7IliF7bhOOcYINB3x4HwdFhgdOXszCja/s640/IMG_3307.JPG" title="Remote Controller Car Acrobatics!" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Remote Controller Car Acrobatics!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
After we had seen the main technology areas that we wanted to look into the rest of the day was very relaxed. We had a good wander around the retail section of the show, and I ended up buying a brand new pair of Bluetooth headphones, with touch controls for a mere £20! After we had seen every booth in the hall we decided to call it a day and head home.<br />
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Honestly I had a really amazing day, I am always in my element when looking at new technologies, and especially when those revolve around video gaming. I just want to say a big thank you for the Gadget Show Team for allowing me to come to the press day, as if I hadn't I probably never would have tried out the VR headsets, and they were hands down the winners of the day for me.<br />
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Have you ever been to the Gadget Show Live, let me know in the comments what you would have loved to see?<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">*Disclaimer: I was given a free press pass to this event for myself and my partner bought a standard day ticket. I was also given a free phone case and goodie bag from Case Station. All opinions within this post are my own and are not affected by any free samples given.</span>AlyssiaRosehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11779470241492991303noreply@blogger.com0