Chapel 1877

Happy Friday everyone!

As payday isn't until Tuesday, the Other Half and I are having a cheap-ish weekend. And so, as we both love going out for food, we decided that this weekend would be a good time to use our Groupon voucher at Chapel 1887 in Cardiff.

Unfortunately, this voucher was extremely popular and the only table we could get was 5:30 last night - to be honest though, after the night we had, I didn't care one bit!

This is a beautiful Grade II listed building that has been renovated to the highest standard. It has a gorgeous (although slightly expensive) bar downstairs and a luxurious eating are upstairs - where all the tables can have a look at the chefs at work. A great venue for some great food.

The voucher entitled us to a signature cocktail and a 3 course meal each - for £39. Bearing in mind that a cocktail can be £7 and a main is at least £16 - this was a bargain.

We've had lunch here a few time (as it's cheaper!) and the food and service has always been great - and we weren't disappointed last night.

We walked in and were welcomed by a very cheerful young woman who recommended a few cocktails for us - the Other Half had a sour Mocktail while I opted for the Mayflower - gin, elderflower syrup and apple juice - de-lic-ious. Probably the best cocktail I've had in a while.

And then the real fun began. The food!

I apologise now that I have no photos, I devoured the food before I even thought about my camera. I managed one quick Instagram shot - which you can see on the side of this blog.

I started off with seared tuna, Asian slaw and wasabi. The tuna was fine, nothing special. But the slaw and wasabi were really great and full of flavour, and the use of chopsticks in a fine dining venue made a nice change. The Other Half had delicious pumpkin torteloni - I'd definitely try that one next time.

Me 0 - 1 Other Half.

As for the main, I definitely won. I opted for the lamb, and it was one of the nicest plates of food I've had in a while. The lamb was pink and perfectly cooked, with rich berry jus (and plenty of it) and then the pièce de résistance - rich potatoes layered with chorizo - wow. I've never had anything like it and it was lush.

The Other half had the duck. He had plenty of meat and it was, again, perfectly cooked, with creamy mash and a cabbage dumpling - a really lovely side dish.

Me 1 - 1 Other Half

To finish off, we both had the cheesecake - always a favourite. A New York vanilla cheesecake served with pistachio crumb, bananas and salted caramel sauce. Yum.

Me 1.5 - 1.5 Other Half

All in all, we had a lovely evening. The food was really good, the service was even better. We had a few different waiters and each one was as cheerful and as polite as the other. They were attentive without being over the top. I always think that good service goes a long way. Have you ever returned to a restaurant where you received awful service?

So a gold star from me - and I'll be back. But maybe for the more affordable lunch menu!. ;-)

Have a delicious weekend everyone!

Photos from Chapel 1887's official website.


Chapel 1887 were not aware that I'd be writing a review of sorts.

Our housewarming

And so we had our housewarming on Saturday night. And it was beautiful.

I thought I'd be stressed and that people wouldn't turn up and we might end up with a lot of food going to waste. Nope. everything went perfectly and I can't wait for the next party.

I've always been a bit of a hostess but never really had anyone to host. People always want to go out and drink. A lot. I enjoy a good few drinks and was suitably hungover on Sunday, but I prefer good food and good company to shots and beers.

I was hoping for a sophisticated party and that's exactly what I got. Everyone came over to the house, bottle in hand. The food (An assortment of crostinis - king prawn with chilli mayo, goat's cheese & chorizo and coronation chicken. Crudites. Dips. Crisps. Mini sausages (oh so sophisticated!). Wedges. Cakes. Sweets. And a champagne, strawberry, mint and lime cocktail that went down very well) all disappeared - not a crisp left in the bowl. The music was good (the Other Half thinks himself a DJ). Everyone loved the decorations and various lights I'd palced around the house. The Other Half was so helpul all day (thank you!!) and the new table arrived on Saturday morning - which provided the perfect social setting.

I had the best time and I'm now in full hostess mood. I really couldn't have asked for a better night.

And here are a few snaps from the evening if you're interested:

Epic fail

And so, as supsected, it was an epic fail.

From this:

To this:

Oh good times. I honestly couldn't stop laughing after I popped the balloon. At least I'm not the only one. :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Decorative balloon

Last night I attempted to make a decorative balloon. I’m not sure what they’re actually called, but it’s basically a balloon wrapped in string and glue and after the glue has dried you can pop the balloon to reveal the decoration. Honestly, that’s the best I can do – just go here for a better look.

I decided I wanted to have a go even if it might be a bit time consuming but soon after I started (at 9pm last night – why?) I kind of regretted it. It was messy. It was sticky. And after inspecting the drying balloon this morning, I’m not all that convinced it's going to work.

So along with a balloon, string, glue and a curtain ring (bear with me!) – as well as a lot of patience and a lot of old cloths – I started my balloon related craft.

I didn't take any photos of the different stages as I was literally covered in glue. But I have taken a few from WikiHow to give you an idea of what I was trying to do.

You will definitely need a large mat or some old newspapers for your surface – and prepare to use more of your surface than you thought – my glue went everywhere. Home Bargains used to sell children’s mats for 99p – I have three of these and they are so handy.

Then, blow up your balloon – not too big or it will take forever – and put some diluted glue in a shallow dish.

At this point, all the instructions online tell you to cut your thread into manageable lengths. There are no manageable lengths. I found it easier to use a ball of thread and roll it out as I needed it – trying my very best not to get glue all over the ball. Trying anyway.

Now, this is where the curtain ring comes in really handy. You can use anything really, a bolt would work well, you just need something the thread can go through but which is heavy enough to hold down the thread in the glue. Believe me, it’s worth finding something for this – I hate to think how messy it could have been without it.

Now the super duper messy bit. Dip the thread in the glue and use your fingers to squeeze out any excess glue – it needs to be covered but not soaked.

Now wrap. Anyway you like. And anyway you can manage. You need a lot more thread than you think as you shouldn’t have any holes that are larger than the tip of your index finger. Easier said than done. To be honest, my balloon could have done with a few extra layers, but I really couldn’t be bothered. After this one has dried, I might try adding some more.

Now hang the balloon some where to dry, ensuring you place newspaper or a painting mat underneath to catch any drips. Then wait. And wait some more. A balloon covered in string and glue can take a surprisingly long time to dry. I’m still waiting.

I’m guessing I’ll now either need to wrap some more thread and glue around my balloon. Or be brave and pop the balloon and hope it doesn’t end up looking like this.

If you’re still interested in having a go at making this – please let me know how it goes. Especially if you think you made as much mess as I did!

Party preparations

I’m loving my resolution of making more time for crafts – everyday at work I’m counting down the hours until I can go home and carry on with one of my projects. For some reason, having a specific timeframe makes me do more during the week. I used to think I should relax in front of the TV after work and leave crafting until the weekend – but why?

For the housewarming on Saturday I’ve decided to make a few different things:

• Colourful bunting;
• Paper pom poms in various sizes;
• Balloon string ornaments (maybe – we’ll see if I have enough time);
• Decorated jam jars for drinks;
• Small banners to show people what’s in each drink or plate of food.

None of these are very ambitious, but I’m having a great time.

Last night I made paper bunting – really easy but really satisfying. I had a big pack of pastel coloured paper (I chose pink, green, yellow and blue), an ancient hole puncher that I never use, scissors, colourful thread, good old pritt stick and some random flower cut outs – I have no idea where they came from.

I basically folded the paper into a square and then folded the square in half so I had two triangles. Then, I made two holes in each triangle, making sure that they weren’t too close to the edge of the paper. I cut out some letters from contrasting coloured paper (I chose to spell CROESO – the Welsh word for WELCOME) before gluing them onto the triangles, along with the random flowers. I placed the thread through the holes and voila – I had colourful paper bunting.

I’m sure there are some stunning pieces out there that are wonderfully decorated, but I kind of like my simple but cute version. Also, this is way quicker – and cheaper!

However, this has given me some confidence to know that I can make pretty things, and I hope to make some more.

I’ve also already made a couple of the paper pom poms which I’d like to show you (two are already on Instagram) and I’ll make a few more things this week and keep you updated with my party planning.

I hope I enjoy the party as much as the planning…

Making time for crafts

In keeping with my own Happiness Project, I'm trying to make more time for the things that are important to me - the Other Half, family, friends, and my hobbies - crafts and baking in particular.

I've tried to do this for years, but work or other commitments always seem to get in the way - it's so difficult to get the right balance.

However, last Tuesday, the Other Half came home from work and told me that they were having a competition at work to raise money for charity. All the teams had to choose a film and dress up - the team that made the best effort, would win a free meal. And where exactly do I come into this? Well, the Other Half thought that Ghostbusters would be fun and easy - you know, cheap white boiler suits, a few Ghostbusters stickers and you're done. Nope.

He asked me to make a ghost catcher. Yep, the black box the Ghostbusting team use to catch the green ghost - which I found out this week is called Slimer.

At first I was annoyed that he thought this would be really easy to make and wouldn't take up much time. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it. And as it needed to be done by Friday just gone, I had a deadline I had to keep to. This meant that I happily spent most evenings last week rummaging through drawers and cupboards, spraypainting, gluing and getting frustrated - in a good way.

I'm not saying this is perfect, and if you look online there are some awesome creations out there, but I was pretty damn proud of myself, considering I only had a few nights and limited supplies. What do you think?

And fair play to the Other Half, if he hadn't asked me to do this, I would've spent every evening after work slumped in front of the TV instead of 'making' something - I had so much fun! So now, as our housewarming is next week, I'm determined to have a go at making a few decorations, in the hope that I'll get into more of a routine and do some more crafting. It's a start right?

The Happiness Project

Recently, I haven't been feeling at my best. Everything's been annoying me more than it should. I've been feeling very tired. And even though I wouldn't say I'm 'sad' as such, I definitely haven't been 'happy'.

I can hear you all saying now - you've just bought a house! I know, I know.

I think it's a combination of the stresses and strains of the last few months, having 3 weeks off work to unpack and not really having much time for me, and then thinking I have nothing much to look forward to now.

I'm sure you've all had this feeling at some point. I'm certainly not depressed, just feeling a bit blue, and miss my days of waking up and feeling happy.

All this changed last week. I was on my way to meet the Other Half to go see a film, but was a little early, so I popped into the local library for half an hour. A good book always cheers me up. But, as I was on my way to the fiction section, I saw the self-help books from the corner of my eye. I've read a few pages of a couple of books in the past, but I've never really been convinced that they actually work. However, after browsing the shelves for a couple of minutes, I came across Gretchen Rubin's book - The Happiness Project.

After 10 minutes of reading, I was hooked. It. Was. Brilliant.

It wasn't one of those condescending "wake up with a smile on your face and you'll feel better" sort of books, it was Gretchen's funny story of how she became a happier person just by changing a few simple things in her life. She doesn't make out that it's easy, just doable.

She discusses energy, relationships, work, spare time - everything I felt that needed sorting out in my own life. And I already feel better for reading the first couple of chapters - thanks Gretchen!

A few of the best tips I've come across (you might already be doing these things):

• Let it go. If the Other Half (or anyone) is annoying me, take a second to think - is it really that important he puts the bins out right now?
• See friends more often. I know this sounds so obvious, but I always seem to put things like this off and love my own company. However, after pushing myself a bit, I've been enjoying these new girly lunches and nights out.
• What you do every day matters more than what you do once in a while. Make time for a kiss every morning, enjoy the ordinary every day, if you love reading, read every day - that sort of thing.
• Don't snap or nag - as much. I realised that I was doing this all the time and it didn't accomplish anything. And, most importantly, after snapping at my Other Half - usually for no real reason - I felt awful (and guilty) for the rest of the day. If I just let the little things go and don't nag - I'm much happier that day.
• If I want it done, I should do it - most of the time. If I want the carpets to look good, but the Other Half isn't bothered - I shouldn't nag the Other Half to do it, I should just do it myself. Within reason of course, he still does his fare share. ;-)

There are loads of tips like this in the book, but I won't bore you with all of them - but I'd definitely recommend you have a read - I'm almost done now and already looking forward to her next book!


Photos from:
SandyGrason
Natnanton
EmilyLey

Happy Friday!

Happy Friday everyone!

This weekend I'm going home to North Wales for a couple of days. My parents have been over to see me and the Other Half a few times this year, but I haven't seen my grandparents since May so I'm in need of an afternoon of tea, cake and repeat.

My train goes this afternoon, and even though I'm normally dreading the 4 hour journey, today, I'm actually quite looking forward to it. Some time to myself to read, do some crafts (possibly cross stitch) and not unpack any more boxes. Bliss.

So, have a wonderful weekend people!


Photo of Abererch beach from cloudinary

It's me again!

Well, it’s been a while since my last post – sorry. BT and Sky finally got together and installed the internet in our new home – so I can finally spend my evenings looking at wardrobes, washing machines and curtains – all sorts of exciting things!

We’ve been in our new home now for just over a month and even though it’s been stressful (John Lewis made a right mess of our fridge freezer order which took a month to arrive…count to ten…) and tiring (days and days of cleaning the new house and scrubbing the old rental so we could get our full deposit back) – we’re in. And that’s really all that matters at the moment.

It’s just so nice having our own place where we can do what we want, unlike living in a rental. The kitchen lino was horribly stained, so up it came – to reveal beautiful black tiles. The curtain rails had been put up wrong, so the Other Half’s dad took them down and sorted them out. It’s just so nice being responsible for it all. Until the boiler breaks or the windows need replacing…

Anyway, if you’re interested, here are a few pics of the house from day 1 – it’s still a work in progress, but you get the idea.

We' had a lot of stuff...

Such a classy way to celebrate our new home!

Some serious unpacking to be done...

...and some more!

Our dining room screaming out for a table...

...and our living room starting to take shape.

Our 'cosy' kitchen...

...and our 'low maintenance' garden.

The huge bathroom...

...and the spare room that's finally been cleared - sort of.

And last but not least, my favourite room at the moment - our bedroom - with my gorgeous new curtains from Dunelm.

Wish me luck with the rest of the painting, unpacking and stressing!