Christmas Foodie's Festival

If you've been reading this blog for longer than a week, you'll immediately know i'm into food in a big way. My expanding waistline doesn't really appreciate this. I got an invite to go the special Christmas Foodie Festival and I gathered five of my fellow greedy friends and we spent the day ooooh-ing and ahhh-ing over delicious grub. One of the best things about popping along to a food festival is taking advantage of the samples. Boy did we take advantage! We had to try everything to make sure it was edible right?

I'm going to list a few of my highlights:

Blackdown Artisan Spirits - They were showing off their incredible Christmas Pudding Vodka which they served warm with mulled spices. I'm a bit of a pansy with straight spirits but this I could have guzzled all day. It was so comforting and had the perfect kick to it. I'd imagine it's great in front of an open fire with a mince pie to munch on. It's quite pricy at £40 but would make a great gift.

Gibson Organic - These liquors are homemade on a family-run farm in the Cotswold. I was persuaded to try the raspberry liquor and was immediately sold so splashed out on a glass of prosecco mixed with a fruity shot. It was so refreshing and delicious. I'll be buying a bottle for the festive period!

Wild At Heart - This stall had a yummy looking selection of jams, jellies and a pesto. I was kindly given a pot of the presto to try and am looking forward to sampling it on some fresh pasta with roasted tomatoes.

Mello Mallo - I was very excited to see these here as I follow them on Twitter and was dying to sample their goods. I treated myself to the gorgeous looking white chocolate and raspberry marshmallows. They were deliciously fluffy and melted in my mouth. I wish I had bought some more!

Cranes - These fruity alcoholic juices tasted like the perfect summer drink - they're only 99 calories per drink too. Amazing! I sampled all flavours and the tangy cranberry had to be my favourite.

I also came home with a massive bag full of different spicy sausages and salami from the stall that sold the chorizo above. I have no idea what to use it all for so am open to suggestions? I have paella and an antipasti night on the list so far. I just couldn't leave it behind for a tenner!

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Review: Vinopolis Wine Tasting

I love a good glass of wine so when an email popped up in my inbox asking if I fancied popping along to Vinopolis to sample their wine tasting, I jumped at the chance. It's located just round the corner from London Bridge and Borough Market - pop into the market beforehand to grab a bite to eat!

When we arrived we were informed that we were going to given a 15 minute introduction into wine tasting. The host was so enthusiastic and really knew his stuff. He taught us how we should swallow to get the best taste - well more like gurgling! You should hold it a 45 degree angle to inspect the wine. After a quick pep talk, we were let loose!

The card you see above is loaded with tokens which you pop in the machine - as demonstrated by moi - and press the button for a 25ml glass of wine. You can pick from white, red and rose but be sure to hold onto your glass as you only get one! The wines range between one to three tokens each. If you fancy a change from the wine, there's a few spirits on offer you can sample too. I loved the fact you could register your card in any of the machines and it sent you a email detailing all the wines you sampled - genius! If a particular one tickles your fancy, you can even purchase it which is a great memento to take home.

We spent a good few hours mooching around sampling at our leisure and reading all the information dotted around. I loved the fact it had a detailed description of every wine so you really knew what you were getting before you took the plunge. There were various members of staff dotted around in case you had any burning questions.

I think it's such a great idea for a group of friends or even for a unusual date night. We saw quite a few groups of girls which I take it were on hen parties. We kindly got to test out the Quintessential package which cost £38 for 16 tokens. This was more than enough and was such good value for money for the amount of wines we tried.

Have you ever been wine tasting?

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Acting your age

As I've mentioned before, I turn 26 next month much to my disgust and I keep reading different articles about what things you should or shouldn't be doing once you hit a certain age. What utter rubbish! Just because you hit the grand old age of 25 doesn't mean you should stay indoors and invest in a pipe and slippers. You want to go out dancing and come home when the birds start singing? Then go for! Equally you want to stay in your jammies all day and binge watch Netflix? Go for it!

I'm not about to let my age dictate how I dress, what I do or how I act. And nor should you. Those crop tops are staying in my wardrobe for as long as I have a fairly flat stomach. Even if that means I'm doing it well into my 30s and I'm getting tutted at in the street. I'm also going to carry on going to a club and dancing until my feet are about to fall off. Who cares if society decides 'you're too old' to do certain things. You only get one life so you may as well do what makes you happy. I've not got enough time to worry about what other people think of my actions or if i'm acting my age.

Growing old disgracefully seems kinda perfect to me! I'll be the old lady wearing red lipstick, unsensible shoes, sequins and dancing to the YMCA loud and proud. Care to join me?

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