In The Diary: Cupcakes with The Hut

So, a Baker, I am not... However, after being HOOKED on the latest season of #GBBO (weren't we all) I was really pleased to be invited to a cupcake decorating session at Hey Little Cupcake by The Hut group!

Hey Little Cupcake are based in Spinning fields in Manchester and organise super cute, cupcake decorating classes. The cakes are all baked in-house and include gluten free & vegan options. Not only can you buy their amazing goodies to take away, but you can also get involved in the icing and decorating too (the fun bit!)

As a complete novice, suddenly being handed a big bag of icing can be a bit daunting, but luckily Sean the Head Baker talked us through each step of the process and had some great tips on how to make our cakes look (and taste) great! Despite one minor incident with a a bag of custard and an unfortunately placed iPhone... The class went extremely well! :-S

Our first task was to roll up fondant icing to create the flowers for our cupcakes. It was amazing to see how some clever rolling and folding could easily create these floral decorations!

We then hand piped green icing onto the top of our cakes to create a grassy base. the flowers were then placed on top to complete our cupcake garden.

On display in the store were some of the beautiful pieces that you can buy from some of the brands available under The Hut group name. Gorgeous homeware, accessories and lighting... I came away with a funky Bucket Mug from IWOOT.

The second cake that we decorated was a salted caramel cake filled with custard and topped with chocolate icing. (Are you drooling yet?!)

Ta Daa! Here you can see the finished cakes! Worthy of a Star Baker right? Well.... funnily enough! We ran a mini competition to see who's cakes were the prettiest and mine won! Woohoo! I won the biggest, most tastiest piece of Rainbow cake (which of course I ate as soon as I got home!)

Hey Little Cupcake are currently organising Christmas themed decorating classes. So if you're planning on heading into town to visit the newly opened Christmas Markets, why not tie it into Afternoon Tea at Hey Little Cupcake too for the a fun, festive afternoon!

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In The Diary: Swatch at Manchester Arndale

So who else learnt to tell the time with a Flik Flak watch as a kid? I sure as hell did! Those colourful characters really made life a lot simpler back in the day... Quite a few years on, Swatch are still rockin' the fashionable and fun watch scene (and yes, Flik & Flak are still going strong too!)

I was invited down to the NEW Swatch store in Manchester Arndale this week, to check out all of the shiny newness - including a sneak preview of some of the super cool designs coming up this A/W. (Little clue - if you're a cat lover, you're gonna love these).

The new store is situated on the lower ground of the Manchester Arndale Mall, conveniently near Topshop, River and all my other faves. When you're a kid and looking for a watch, you don't really think about price or fashion. You just want something that's nice and colourful and does the job. Well Swatch do all this - and more. They have a HUGE range of seriously funky time pieces (see above) and I was very impressed with how reasonably priced they were?! I mean, these are quality, Swiss watches!!? Crazy.

Watch of the day: I'm not really a 'Cat fan' at all and yet I totally need this Dope Cat Watch in my life. (coming soon)

I was also pretty surprised to see that Swatch also do sunglasses - and pretty nice ones too!! Like, really nice actually.

Top Tip - The front part of the sunglasses clips off so you can change the look and colour of your frames! Amazing!!

Sneaky little #OOTD for you below: Bomber jacket - Zara, Everything else - Topshop

I was very lucky to be able to come away with a Swatch watch of my very own - I had to choose this floral red Roetli piece as it's so gorgeous (although I have to admit, I was tempted by another Flik Flak watch..) It's just £38 and is so, so comfortable to wear. I though that the rubber strap might be quite stiff, but it's really soft and lightweight.

You can shop Swatch online or in the Manchester Arndale - I'd highly recommend going into the store as you can really get a better feel for the watches sizing and quality.

Which watch is your fave??

*Post includes PR sample

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In The Diary: Frock and Frill

This blog post is well overdue! But it's been so hectic at work, I've had to cut down my blog posts from 3-4 a week, to 2. I don't want to compromise on the quality of my pics or posts, so I'd rather post less and be happy with what I put out there, than rush things and do a half-hearted job!

So here's an update on the Frock and Frill event that I attended a few weeks ago at their showroon in Manchester. I headed over for an evening of sequins, cocktails and sparkly accessories...

I've been a huge fan of the brand ever since I collaborated with them on my Valentine's Day blog post. There dresses are absolutely stunning - perfect for wedding guests, Bridesmaids, Prom nights and special occasions. And what I love about their pieces is that each dress is carefully hand beaded! Yes, these intricate designs are all beaded by hand!? It was so interesting talking to the team about how the dresses are made. It really makes you appreciate the patterns even more.

The colours for Spring / Summer are all so pretty! Not only do they feature the Pantone colours for this season - rose quartz and pale blue. They also include shimmering nudes, vintage shades of crem & beige and pure white lace. So dreamy!!

This blue embellished dress had to be my favourite from the new season's collection. The fuschia beading against the pale blue dress is so stunning and I love the deep V back. You can shop the range on the Frock and Frill website, but you might also recognise them from ASOS and Next!


We were also given a sneak peek at some of the gorgeous accessories that are coming to the range... How perfect are those clutch bags?! A great way to accessorise a Frock and Frill dress or f adding some sparkle to a simple party outfit.

Have you ever had anything from Frock and Frill before?

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In The Diary: Vapiano Review

It's my mission in life (bit extreme?) to visit all 13 restaurants in Manchester's newly reopened Corn Exchange. The most recent on that list of 'eaterys to check out" was Vapiano!

Brought up from London, the Vapiano brand is all about freshness. As you walk into the huge, 400 seat restaurant, you can see fresh herbs on the tables, fresh veggies lining the counters and even more crates of veggies on display. The place is light, airy and has a real buzz about it.

I went along on a Friday evening with G'Ham, and we were each handed a card which was used to record our purchases throughout the evening.

The decor is really cool with foodie quotes and italian phrases on the wall. But the main hub of excitement are the food areas where you can watch your food being freshly prepared in front of you!


I loved this as it brought a whole new feel to the dining experience. From the pizza dough being rolled out in front of your eyes, to the antipasti being plated up on request. This really does showcase how fresh the food is.

The Perla Pizza

Despite living in Italy for a year, I have never seen a pizza cooked like this before! It's basically like an open Calzone, so the base is folded but not sealed. Like a shell! Kind of like a Pizza sandwich?! Either way, this was cooked freshly and was ready to eat within minutes. We were even given a handy buzzer which alerted us when our pizza was ready to collect.

Here we go!!

Our pasta dishes were cooked and served as we watched! This was so cool to see as everything was so cleverly placed to make the Chefs job as streamlined as possible. It struck us how quickly the meals came together, so even if the restaurant was at full capacity, it still probably wouldn't take more than 5 minutes for your dish to be ready once you had been served.

The pricing was absolutely fine for the quality of food that we got - a bowl of pasta was around £8-10 - and these were generous portions. Similarly, a pizza was around the same price and this could easily be big enough to share.


Tip: I would definitely recommend any of the pasta dishes. Everything is made to order so you can easily request extra spices or take something out of a dish if you don't want it.

Drinks:


As well as the usual wines on offer, we were eager to try out some of the more Italian style drinks on the menu. Spritz is an all time fave of mine so I was pleased to see that this contained a healthy (not literally!!) amount of Aperol. Another tasty option was the Martini Royale - also probably not one to have if your driving! Great for a night out though!

We were told that we could take our time and relax at Vapiano, and we sure did... We were there for 4 hours! We enjoyed every minute. The staff were very friendly and keen to answer any questions that we had.

I can imagine that the self service aspect might put some people off going to this restaurant, for example, I know that I wouldn't take the parentals as they like to be wined and dined, and paying a split bill might be awkward.

However, for myself and G, we really enjoyed the whole experiential side to the dining room and we'd definitely go by ourselves or with a group of friends. I think this is an ideal venue for a first date or for a group to go to. The card option would really take the hassle out of paying a large bill and you can keep tabs on who has ordered what!

Have you been to a Vapiano before? What do you think?

Disclaimer: Our meal for two was complimentary of Vapiano but as always, all thoughts & opinions are my very own.  **I don't feature anything on my blog that I'm not 100% happy with, and this meal was really really good!!**

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In The Diary: My Bag SS16

I'm definitely on the look out for a new handbag at the moment... I've used my Nica backpack to death over A/W, so it's possibly time for a Spring update!

As a result, an invite from My Bag to view their new SS16 range, couldn't have come at a better time! I went along to their Autumn/Winter Preview, so I had a rough idea of what would be in store. The My Bag site hosts a whole range of designer and classic bags from Cambridge Satchel, Lulu Guinness and Ted Baker to name a few.

As you can see, the new bags were displayed in the stunning location of Artisan in Spinningfields (yum food and cockatils, FYI). The fresh flowers and refreshing drinks that were on hand, were just the things that we needed to show that Spring is on the way - and our wardrobes should be ready for it!

The Lulu Guinness collection were probably my faves. I love the super pale, lilac colour bags. These muted pastel tones are gorgeous for Spring! The iconic lip clutches have been revamped yet again with this patent, purple style. The lipstick bag is so cute... I'm a bit sad that I couldn't fit my whopping, great big iphone 6Plus into it (although, believe me, I did try!!).

 Also on the table... These purdy watches from Olivia Burton. Check. Out. That. Floral Face!! Oh my gaaaawd! So gorge <3



And, big trend tip coming your way here! Small bags are a BIG thing this Summer, so these Ted Baker, cross body beauts are going to be really handy.

I have to say, these Karl Lagerfeld bags were the talk of the night! The quirky robot designs are so so "Fashion Week" (aka very cool). That clutch is divine.

Which bags have caught your eye?

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Travel Tips For Iceland - Part 1

Iceland - only 2 hours away from Manchester and yet one of the most unique and picturesque places I have ever been to. My boyfriend whisked me off to Reykjavic just before Christmas to celebrate my birthday. Iceland has always been on my Bucket List of places I wanted to visit, and with direct flights from Manchester, it couldn't have been easier!

I was completely spoilt by Graham... He booked everything, organised a whole itinerary of sight seeing and hired a car to get us from place to place. He should really be the one writing this post, but I would like to share with you some of the highlights of our trip and some top tips to take away with you!


Day 1: We went to a hot spa right on the beach! It was hidden away and only visited by locals. We made a dash into the freezing cold sea and then thawed off in the warm waters. If you can find this place, it was a cool way to start the day!

Tip: Afterwards we went up to the top of a nearby place called The Pearl, to check out the amazing views over the city. This is definitely worth a visit as it is free to enter and easy to access if you have a car.

Reykjavic had the most beautiful scenery. The landscape was stark and snow covered. The mountains rise up out of the mist over the town below. It was completely like something out of The Lord Of The Rings!

After a hot choccy and waffle at the Pearl (Mmm!) we drove over to one of the most beautiful spots right on the coast - the Lighthouse. This was stunning and it was at this spot, looking out to sea that my boyfriend got down on one knee and asked me to marry him!! <3

The moment was perfect and we did seem to lose track of time. As we headed back across the beach to our car, we found that the tide had come in and almost cut us off from the main land!! EEK! We had to clamber across the rocks to safety!




My top tip here?! Check for Warning signs near beaches and don't get cut off at high tide!

Day 2: We got up early and headed out to do some sight seeing!

Tip: If you feel up to it, definitely hire a car! We did this and it meant we could come and go at our own leisure and weren't bound by a tour group. We got to see way more than we would have on a one-stop bus ride. The roads were fairly straight forward to get around but we did rent a sat nav at the airport just to stay safe!

We drove out to see the biggest Geyser near Reykjavic - but there were plenty of stopping points along the way where there were amazing views. We also visited the famous waterfull, Gulfoss - but we didn't stay long simply because it was absolutely FREEEEEZING! (My next post will be wardrobe recommendations in Iceland!)

Tip: Hike up the mountain at the Geyser for incredible views over the area.

Tip: The days are short in Reykjavic in Winter, the sun rose at around 11am and started to set at around 4pm. It did seem to be a long slow sunset, but we always made sure that we didn't leave it too late to get out and see some sights.

We were also lucky enough to see the Northern Lights right over Reykjavic itself - without going on a tour!

If you're interested on going to Iceland, check out my next post for tips on what to take with you!

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