The Style Floozie: Birmingham

Showing posts with label Birmingham. Show all posts

24/04/2014

It's been a busy old spring and here I am slapping myself for not getting on here regularly again. Note to self: must try harder.

The reasons I've been so busy? Well, mostly work related to be honest. I work in PR and for some very nice clients which I'm either working on some interesting projects for, or I'm attending events as a result of and so on. Certainly can't complain.

It's been a whirlwind of networking dos, fashion shows, lunches and launches, but what I really want to to tell you about is the Harvey Nichols Spring/Summer 2014 fashion show I attended few weeks back.

Scaled back in terms of guest list in comparison to the past few seasons' shows, this time around the list totalled just 150 specially invited guests, clients and VIPs. It was also moved to a new venue - a so far disused space on John Bright Street. Small on the outside, once upstairs the space was large, open and although bare, very cool, creating a suitably spacious, urban setting for the upmarket store's highly anticipated show.

With London brother DJ duo, the Dixon Bros (one half of whom I went to University with), who also host a regular show on Kiss FM, on the decks, models strutted their stuff in the latest designers looks for the guests to peruse.

Six scenes featured within the show, showcasing the biggest trends for the new season:
Prints
Sports Luxe
Sheer and Pleats
Yellow
Tribal and Folklore
Evening

Mixed and clashing prints featured heavily throughout, with the colour schemes mostly brights.
Yellow was a major colour trend, in everything from flowing dresses to more structured shorts and suits.

My favourite items from the show - as always - were the shoes. In particular a fluorescent pair of pointed stilettos and a fab pair of yellow strappy Sophia Webster sandals (below).

Skirt - Philip Armstrong, sandals - Sophia Webster

Shapes in the womenswear collections reflected very much the theme of 'anything goes', as did the hemlines: short shorts, mini skirts and dresses, midi skirts (including a particularly fab electric blue one from the wonderful Philip Armstrong - above) through to long flowing pleated skirts.

Kenzo dress, Nicholas Kirkwood sandals, Deepa Gurnami headband

My favourite, which I unfortunately didn't manage to get a good shot of, was a beautiful long, red dress... well, you can't go wrong in red can you?

See below for a few more looks from the show:

Parker jacket, Parker shorts, Alaïa ankle boots

MSGM top, MSGM skirt, Jimmy Choo caged sandals, Jimmy Choo bag

Mary Katrantzou dress, Christian Louboutin shoes, Ray-Ban sunglasses

Markus Lupfer dress, Roland Mouret ankle boots

Proenza Schouler dress, Christian Louboutin shoes, Alexander McQueen clutch

Pinko jacket, Pinko shorts, Kenzo shirt, Christian Louboutin shoes, Gucci bag

Pinko blouse, Christopher Kane skirt, Aquazzura sandals

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03/03/2014

Picture this: You've been out on Saturday night, you've had a few cocktails, a few wines, then the next morning you wake up and what is on your mind (aside from the dull pain of a mild hangover)? FOOD.

At that moment, all good intentions to eat moderate, healthy portions fly straight out of the window and you want as much tasty, delicious food as you can fit on your plate and, more importantly, in your soon-to-be expanded belly. Besides, it's Sunday right? You can eat what you want.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, this is exactly what happened to me not long ago (well, most weekends to be honest, I won't lie, but most Sunday's aren't as successful as the one I'm about to tell you about).

This particular Sunday I awoke in anticipation of the feast that was awaiting me in the 'local' Malmaison Brasserie. 'The Biggest Sunday Brunch in Town', they said. Well, OK, I thought - there are lots of places that do giant full English breakfasts, so we'll see how true this claim is.

Off I popped to meet a few lovely blogger friends (see below). Firstly I was greeted with a Bloody Mary - Praise the Lord! Sadly, I have to admit I was in dire need of this to pick me up a little as I arrived amongst lots more much fresher faces than mine was that particular morning.

Bloggers at Brunch!

Next, we chose an item from the Brunch menu - Eggs Royale in my case - if it's a good one, you can't beat it. The other options were Eggs Benedict or Mal Big Brunch Breakfast.

Eggs Royale

- So far so good.

After a little refreshment and placing our order, we were lead through to the chef's table which had on it the most scrumptious looking display of breakfast choices. 'Biggest Brunch in Town' was starting to become clear - you could load up your plate with as much or as little as you wanted from this table. We're talking unlimited hors d'oeuvres, cold meats, cheeses, smoked salmon, hot smoked salmon, pates, terrines, eggs, waffles and pancakes.

The 'piece de resistence' for me - at least aesthetically - was the hand carved Serrano ham. Although I didn't actually try it so I couldn't judge on taste.

Hand carved Serrano Ham

So feeling full after two trips to the chef's table, followed by my Eggs Royale, I then learned that we had a third course... a dessert. Naturally my sweet tooth forced me to order an ice cream sundae. Sadly, that never got finished - a little too creamy for me by that time and I decided I needed to be able to walk out of the door, rather than be rolled out of the door in the style of Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory when she blows up into a giant blueberry. Plus, just in case there are any Umpa Lumpas in exisence, I thought it best to avoid taking any chances on coming face to face with one since they freak me out a little in both versions of the film. The orange and green ones in the film with Gene Wilder more so than the others. But I digress...

I just about managed to walk home, where I proceeded to have a lazy Sunday afternoon on the sofa allowing my absolute feast of a brunch to go down whilst I attempted to watch the football on a fuzzy online stream. Aside from the fuzzy stream, I'd say that was a pretty successful morning/afternoon!

Of course you don't have to follow a big night out with a Sunday Brunch of such epic proportions. In fact, next time I'd be inclined to eat soup and salad the day before and then go for a long run in the morning just to make way for those extra calories I tried my hardest to resist last time.

If you fancy a treat of a Sunday morning, I'd recommend it!

More info here.

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21/01/2014

I'm a little late saying this, but hell, who cares - Happy New Year everybody! I don't know about anyone else, but I'm thrilled to get rid of 2013. I know,I know, you should try and be positive but quite frankly mine was filled with useless men, silly phone companies, more lost and broken heels than I care to remember (and for a high heel obsessed girl like me, believe me, that's painful), a realisation that on turning 31 I'm older than Bridget Jones and STILL my Mr Darcy hasn't popped up and told me he likes me just the way I am... the only good things I think I discovered were to do with my hair. (Maybe that's a slight exaggeration.)

As shallow as it sounds, your hair is something that always makes you feel a million dollars if it's looking good - even if you don't genuinely feel great at that particular moment.

My first hair related discovery was at Lisa Shepherd Birmingham - located by 'Pigeon Park' and Colmore Row in the centre of Birmingham.

Having identified a gap in the market for swift colour treatments for ladies-on-the-go; be that busy businesswomen, busy mums or otherwise, and realising the popularity of the express styling and colour bars in the US, Lisa Shepherd embarked on creating a version for the UK market.

The Lisa Shepherd Express Color Bar was born. (NB - no that spelling of 'Color' is not a typo).

Now, anyone who knows me well enough should know that I've always been very into changing my hair colour. Frustratingly, yet wisely, my mother always forbid me to permanently dye my hair as a young'un, which meant that as a naturally very dark brunette, most hair colours would make very little difference when applied. Cue several cans of Wella Colour Mousse and a brightly dyed pillow, rather than hair, when I was 13 years old, as I desperately tried to prove my better knowledge wrong.

However, when I hit my twenties, I'd finished university and was earning proper money for the first time in my life, I decided to go blonde. Not just slightly, but fully. This was great until my hair started breaking off. So then I chopped my hair into a fab short bob, and dyed my hair bright red. I kept getting brighter and brighter until I started heading towards 30 years old - the age my mother started to go grey (incidentally this was after having me... hmmm) and I decided to dye my hair back to normal, let it grow out and restore my hair's condition.

Fast forward to now and I'm 31, still no grey hairs (well, I found one the other day, but that's the grand total, and it no longer resides on my head since I plucked it out instantly in protest to its presence), and I'm getting itchy feet - or rather follicles - again.

Being introduced to the Lisa Shepherd Color Bar - launched only in the latter end of 2013 - was fantastic. I still don't want to stray too far from my natural colour whilst it's an actual colour and not grey, so one of their express colour treatments - Glossy Locks - is perfect. For dark hair such as mine, the colour treatment adds a subtle hint of colour, but not only that. it acts as a super conditioning treatment too (hence the name of it) making your hair fantastically smooth and glossy.

I decided to try it out just before my birthday at the end of November and whilst the red colour gave my hair a warmer, richer tone, the glossiness was amazing, as was the feel.

The concept of the colour bar is that it is quick and you can style your hair how you like in the shortest time possible so that you can easily fit it into your day. I had an hour to spare, and that's exactly the time I was in there. A far cry from the 3 hours I previously spent in the hairdressers getting my hair coloured and over-styled!

For lighter hair, especially blonde, this is fantastic for an easy change of colour without committing to something too in-your-face!

Another option on the Express Color Bar is Fast Track. I have yet to try this, but never fear, there is no doubt I will be trying this out. This option works as ready made temporary brightly coloured extensions to add a striking flash of colour to your locks. Available in a selection of vivid colours, this is one sure-fire way to jazz up your look for that big night out, or simply for a bit of a change!

The added benefit of the new Lisa Shepherd Express Color Bar is the price. We all know that in general, getting your hair dyed professionally can cost an arm of a leg. Because these options are relatively quick-fix, despite delivering fantastic results all treatments are under or around the £30 mark. Conveniently quick, conveniently priced... there's lots of talk about your day to night outfit and fast face fixes for that office to evening glam look, well now there's an option to switch your hair in your lunch break ready for the night ahead!

Go and try it out ladies. We live in a world where everything is available 'now'. Well, now that applies to your hair.

For details about Lisa Shepherd salons and the new Express Color Bar, visit http://www.lisashepherd.co.uk/

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12/11/2013

This evening - Tuesday November 12th - Birmingham Town hall will be lit up in purple as part of a campaign by a small new Midlands support group to raise awareness of Pancreatic Cancer - a disease that has the lowest survival rate of almost every other form of cancer.

Currently the fifth most common cause of cancer death in the UK, the disease receives less than 1% of all research funding, which is what prompted the Midlands support group's three founder members to set up in September this year - to work with all those who are touched by the disease in some way.

Laura Wilks, one of three founder members of the newly formed support group, said: “The five year survival rate is less than 4% and shockingly most cases are diagnosed too late for surgery. We all feel that awareness is absolutely key to making a difference and wanted to do something that would make people sit up and take notice."

You may be wondering why I am writing about this on my style blog. The reason is that I know how quickly and viciously pancreatic cancer can take hold of even the fittest of us. A neighbour from my childhood, and then in more recent years my former dentist were both diagnosed with the disease and in what seemed like mere months, both sadly lost their battle. These are the cases of all people I've known who have suffered from a form of cancer that have most shocked me.

They were both very fit, very healthy men - my neighbour was a policeman who pounded the streets on a regular basis and my dentist was a regular on the tennis courts at the David Lloyd gym I once worked at.

I never saw the effects of the disease taking hold of my neighbour - perhaps thankfully, as I can always remember him as I knew him - fit and healthy.

Unfortunately, when it came to my dentist (the only one I ever really liked and trusted, too) the disease took hold of him in the period of time between my six monthly check-up. I only found out because I'd raved so much about him to my dad that he'd switched his dentist to mine and then shortly after came his diagnosis.

Months later, shortly before my check-up was due, I'd been to my dad's local pub for dinner and, just as we were leaving, there was a little commotion at the doors. In walked my dentist, held up by his two friends; skeletal, weak... I'm not sure I have ever been so shocked by anything in my life. At that point, you could tell there wasn't much time left. It was almost like his last chance to spend with his friends, at his local, as he would have done regularly for so long. He died a week or two later.

No form of cancer is pleasant for anyone - those who are going through it and those whose friends or loved ones are going through it. If by raising awareness of the types of disease and the support groups we can help, in however small a way, contribute to helping save or support just one life, any effort will be worth it.

The Town Hall will be lit up at circa 5.30pm. If you're in the area, do go along to show your support.

The support group in the Midlands is new, having only just set up in September. If you want to contact them or would like more information about what they do, email lauracwilks@gmail.com or visit the group’s website at http://www.pancreatic-cancer-support.weebly.com/.

For more information about Pancreatic Cancer visit www.pancreaticcancer.org.uk.

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28/10/2013

Luxx Mint, Nicky Clarke, myself and Alev from What's On

Those of you who have wandered into the Mailbox in Birmingham recently may have noticed a few changes happening. One of which was the opening of a new Nicky Clarke Salon on the top level of the complex.

A few weeks back, I went along to check out the salon and take part in an exclusive Q&A session with the man that started it all off in the first place, Mr Nicky Clarke himself.

The legendary (in my eyes at least) Nicky Clarke was the one hairdresser 'to the stars' that always stood out to me from a young age. The styles he created were the epitome of style and glamour and I could only dream that one day I might have the opportunity to meet the man, let alone have him work his magic on my own hair. And well, the latter is still to be achieved, although he did do a couple of quick demonstrations on how to make the best out of my naturally curly hair (see photos via the link below).

Nicky and one of the hair stylists from his Birmingham salon doing a demonstration during the evening.

Listening to hair related issues and questions from myself and the small gathering of fellow Birmingham bloggers and media (including Fashion Mommy, Luxx Mint, Style Birmingham, Lucy Kite, What's On and Birmingham Mail) Nicky handed out advice, tips and tricks to each of us in the way only a true expert can. Whatever we threw at him he answered instantly, offering up effortless demonstrations and showing his skills at transforming anyone's hair within a matter of minutes. Well, he's not built his empire and reputation on being mediocre has he!

A snapshot of the Glossy magazine covers for which Nicky Clarke has done the styling, displayed in the new Birmingham salon in the Mailbox.

I have to admit, not usually one to come over all star struck (after all, I have drunkenly fallen off a stool in the presence of the Stereophonics before, much to the embarrassment of my friend who was working for them at the time and had invited me along) the little girl in me that used to burn bright red in embarrassing or overwhelming situations came back with a vengeance on realising that "oh, Nicky Clarke, the hairdresser I've always admired over any other is actually touching my hair". Yes, a moment of 'fangirling' hit me for a couple of minutes and my chest turned red and blotchy. As I'm sure my face did although I'm hoping my make-up was doing its job and hiding that. Sigh.

To see a few photos of the salon, Nicky and the guests during the evening, go HERE.

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09/10/2013

I said it a couple of weeks ago; September means STYLE for Birmingham, and the last weekend of the month certainly proved that.

No sooner had we (I) wound down from the Harvey Nichols AW13 fashion show, we were hit by another huge wave of style in a way only Birmingham can do it: Style Birmingham Live.

Always an exciting date to put in your calendar, Style Birmingham Live - for those who don't know - aims to showcase the best our fair city has to offer in the way of fashion and style from big name brands to some of the best independent fashion labels in not only the city, but the UK. Although being an honorary Brummie, I am a little biased when I say that of course.

The main event is always the Style Birmingham catwalk show, which this year seemed better than ever. Hosted by presenter of the moment Emma Willis and the fabulously camp Rylan Clarke (seen above), scenes showcased some of the best fashions the city has to offer from some of the best brands. I was only slightly disappointed to note that there were less independent stores involved this year, although visually it certainly didn't detract from the overall experience. In fact, if there was any chance of a dark shadow being cast over the whole thing, Rylan's teeth were on hand to bring some light back into the room (seriously, they were so white, Daz would be jealous!)

As well as this, and a whole heap of discounts, deals and demonstrations happening all over the retail offering in the city centre area, the other main attraction was the Bullring show.

Coincidentally the Bullring also celebrated it's 10th birthday this September and, with all eyes on the famous shopping centre, the Bullring team certainly pulled out all the stops, hiring no other than the gorgeous Mollie King to host the 7pm showing on Saturday 28th, with three of her beautiful The Saturdays band-mates (minus Frankie) joining her on the catwalk for a fantastic performance to round off the evening.

Well now, until that point I'd felt quite good having got myself all glammed up for the evening do following this show, but The Sats soon put a stop to that. Darn them for being so beautiful.

I was all dolled up in my black sparkly dress which I'd adjusted into a backless dress myself (see image below). Luckily, the only potential malfunction - my totally non supportive stick-on bra - didn't actually malfunction. Think using your cutch bag as an inconspicuous way to run through Debenhams holding your boobs in place so they didn't fly up and hit someone in the face, or worse, your own face, before send so-called bra flying to the floor. In fact, I was quite impressed with this £4.99 investment from Primark. It was even still stuck to me when I woke up the next morning (I think wine may have had something to do with the fact I forgot to peel it off!) and earlier on in the evening a lady even asked me "are your boobs real?". Yes, yes they are. I hope that question was meant as a compliment.

All in all, Style Birmingham was a great success and I'm sure the many people who visited Birmingham especially for it will have had a fantastic time. That goes for the retailers too, as it has since been reported there was a 35% increase in footfall on last year's event.

Just one little thing I'm going to leave you with, which was an unexpected surprise as me and my friend wandered down New Street on the Saturday afternoon...

Whether this beat-boxer knew he was going to have a slightly larger audience than usual due to it being Style Birmingham that weekend or not, he certainly chose the right day to show off his vocal talents. Fantastic stuff!

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20/09/2013

Last week saw the highly anticipated Harvey Nichols Birmingham Autumn/Winter 2013 fashion show. My previous blog mentioned how its popularity had been growing fast over recent years and this time was no different. With the 'frow' seating a host of footballers, WAGs (including Danielle O'Hara) and other local celebrities and more people than seats, the pressure was on for the sell out event to showcase the top fashions available to those who want to stand out from the crowd over the coming season (purse strings allowing of course).

With both menswear and womenswear being strutted down the catwalk, it was clear to see which emerging trends are set to be the focus for customers of the luxury designer store.

With a personal passion for shoes, naturally my eyes would gravitate to the feet clip clopping down the runway. But even those who aren't bothered so much about shoes (how can you not love shoes?) couldn't miss the footwear on show; some of it was certainly eye-catching. Take the fluorescent yellow men's high tops for example or bright pink ladies high heeled sandals. Lush!

Now Harvey Nichols have always been good when it comes to eveningwear and yet again they didn't disappoint. Surprisingly however, my favourite outfit wasn't from the womenswear department, but from the men's. A rather dapper, yet slightly quirky suit from Vivienne Westwood got my vote in this department, with the cane by Alexander McQueen taking the prize for best accessory. I love something a little bit different. Don't take my word for it though, check them out below.

Left: Vivienne Westwood suit, Christian Louboutin shoes. Right: DSquared jacket & bow tie, Givenchy shirt & trousers, Christian Louboutin shoes, Alexander McQueen cane.

A firm favourite in ladies eveningwear will always be Philip Armstrong, and his distinctive style stood out once again in a beautiful purple dress below:

Philip Armstrong dress, Sophia Webster shoes

More ladies eveningwear:

Left: Jenny Packham dress. Jimmy Choo shoes & bag. Right: Rachel Gilbert dress. Jimmy Choo clutch

A big trend I see coming out for AW is leather. It's already creeping into high fashion stores all over the place and Harvey Nichols had some fantastic pieces to offer the girls from a gorgeous leather panel dress by MuuBaa to leather jeans and leather skirt. Teamed with a fake fur jacket - as demonstrated - this is certainly a trend for the fashion forward.

Left: SGM coat, Muubaa leather trousers. Centre: Unreal fur coat, MuuBaa leather panel dress, Jimmy Choo shoes. Left: Unreal fur jacket, Pinko leather skirt, Jimmy Choo Shoes

Casualwear also caught my eye this time, with my favourite look from the show being a bold zebra knit by Escada Sport teamed with T by Alexander Wang leather jeans. The causal jeans, knit and stilettos (below) was also an easy, but great look. As with all jeans though, it is of course all about finding the right fit for you.

Left: Escada Sport cardi, T by Alexander Wang leather jeans. Right: Acne jumper. Rag & Bone jeans. Sophia Webster shoes. Stella McCartney bag.

Finally, there's been much of a hoo-haa about 'the pink coat' proving very popular as a trend this season. Not one to miss out on this hot seller, Harvey Nichols also pulled out this gorgeous hot pink wool coat by Marlene Birger.

Marlene Birger coat, Escada Sport trousers, Paul Smith jumper, Stella McCartney bag, Alaia ankle boots.

Other trends featuring throughout were prints - clashing and mixed - for ladies and there were several pieces in mens casualwear featuring skull designs.

All in all a fantastic show from Harvey Nichols. Now if you will excuse me whilst I go and argue with my bank manager over how much money I'm planning on spending...

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04/09/2013

September is always a good month for the style queens and fashionistas of Birmingham, and this year it's going to be bigger and better than ever.

We have Style Birmingham Live taking place towards the end of the month, the Bullring and its iconic Selfridges store celebrates its tenth birthday (which also makes me feel old as I was a student working in a store there when it opened)... but first up is something I always look forward to: the Harvey Nichols Birmingham Autumn/Winter Fashion Show.

Once held in store with just a rejig of space, the event keeps on getting bigger and bigger. It's now become so popular that the Spring/Summer show earlier in the year had to be moved to a huge space in the Old Post Office building within the Mailbox complex, where it will be held again this time.

Set to showcase the very best in designer collections, the catwalk event will be staged this coming Tuesday September 10 and will feature striking new season ranges from Christopher Kane, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, Gucci, Markus Lupfer, Christian Louboutin and Philip Armstrong.

Always an event that manages to pull out a few well known faces from the football world (and, of course, their 'WAGs'), for this event the luxury store has gone one step further, teaming up with Professional Player – the magazine delivered to all UK professional footballers. And quite frankly, they might as well - the number of Guccis and Louboutins these so-called WAGs - and no doubt the footballers themselves - are rumoured to splash out on, they'd be missing a trick if they didn't make it an official partnership!

Harvey Nichols have, incidentally, also recently announced their expansion plans for the Mailbox site, so the catwalk show should hopefully give us a taste of things to come.

Richard Vickery, General Manager of Harvey Nichols Birmingham commented: “This will be our biggest show to date in such an amazing venue.

“We are expecting the most exclusive front row yet – it certainly will be the event to see and be seen at.”

That's good enough for me! Roll on Tuesday!

INFO:

Tickets cost £15 and the evening will kick off with a Champagne reception at 7pm. Following the show, guests can enjoy an exclusive 15% discount in store. There will be a charity auction, hosted by TV presenter Nick Hancock, with money raised going to the footballers’ charity XPro.

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16/08/2013

I've always been a big advocate of Hotel la Tour since it arrived in Birmingham a couple of years back. What I've always been particularly fond of was their High tea, which they change to complement the season, although the only drawback is... it leaves me so full up I have to sit back for about half an hour whilst the food induced palpitations subside. A small price to pay though I feel considering the fabulous nosh they allow me devour whilst sipping on tea and cocktails (I recommend peppermint tea, by the way, for its digestive benefits. Trust me on this one).

So they've launched their latest High Tea menu haven't they. And quite frankly I consider it rude of me to not go and sample it again. So I did. And I took my mummy with me for a 'treat', since she always pays for me when she comes to see me, and I've been raving on about the place for so long.

So here we go:

First, take a look at the menu:

Now take a look at the food (minus a few sandwiches - I was so enthusiastic I forgot to photograph it at first!).

Looks divine, doesn't it?

Well, let me tell you... it was!

Let's start with the drinks: choice of teas, coffees, or as it is summer, iced teas. Myself and my mum both chose iced teas as it was rather a warm day. They still came with a tea pot to allow the tea to infuse, but instead they came with lovely glasses with ice, rather like a cocktail. Speaking of which, we chose from a lovely selection of those too (or you could simply have a glass of fizz) as an aperitif. These do come at an extra cost, but it's well worth it.

Now onto the food!

On the top tray you receive a selection of sandwiches: Smoked salmon, cream cheese and cucumber, coronation chicken and ham. Beside these is the fresh, warm welsh rarebit with 'soldiers'.

Next up we had my all time favourite: scones. You receive two small scones each with jam and cream - one plain and one fruit scone!

And finally, the bit I always get excited about: the desserts. You receive four mini desserts each:

1. Strawberry and chocolate macaroon - quite simply, divine!
2. Lemon sponge cake - again, divine! The name of it doesn't do the wonderful flavour justice!
3. Home made 'jammy dodger' - not my favourite, simply because it is shortbread and shortbread isn't a big hit with me, but nice all the same.
4. Panacotta, with berries (a little like a coulis) and a top layer of cucumber jelly. Sounds strange, tastes delicious!

After all that, do you think I got palpitations again? Too right I did! I thankfully had also remembered to wear stretchy clothes as right on cue, my stomach expanded so much I look like I was smuggling a little one in there. It was just a food baby, you'll be happy to know.

Considering my sweet tooth, I was surprised to find that actually, my favourite bit of the whole experience was actually the Welsh Rarebit! Definitely worth a try! And I recommend you take your mum too - mine loved it.

So. Anyone out there fancy trying it? You do? Great. Of those of you who do, who likes a glass of fizz now and again? Well, I have a little offer for you:

Mention this blog when you book your High Tea at Hotel La Tour and you can receive a FREE GLASS OF FIZZ! Aren't I nice to you. Now go, go and book. Here's the website for info on the location and contact numbers: http://hotel-latour.co.uk/

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09/07/2013

Summer has finally arrived! Hurrah! So what's on our minds? COCKTAILS of course.

Well, to be quite frank, I'd happily consume a cocktail at most times of the year. Bar Christmas where it's Champagne for breakfast, wine for dinner and any of Tia Maria on ice, Baileys on Ice, a wee dram or a little drop of Port to end the day. I do eat as well, by the way.

But back to cocktails. I live not too far from Birmingham's fabulous Mailbox complex, brimming with restaurants and bars, many with a lovely sun terrace at the front overlooking the canal. As it happens, most of these restaurants and bars serve an array of cocktails. Fancy that! So residing nearby it would obviously be rude not to take advantage on occasion.

When I was asked to try out a few cocktails alongside fellow cocktail sipping bloggers and journalists alike (pictured), I chuckled to myself "try cocktails at the Mailbox? I'm practically part of the furniture - I know what's there already", but naturally I went along with it.

Beginning with an Argentinian wine tasting session held in the Project Emerge installation currently on the lower floor of the Mailbox, I was running a little late from work and had to play catch up. How often do you arrive somewhere and someone hands you a glass of bubbly and a wine at the same time and tells you to hurry up and taste them because they're on the third already? This evening was starting well (I am a self confessed wino, for those who don't already know).

I have to 'fess up now, I have no idea what the wines were, but they were all delightful. One was a Malbec - the creme de la creme of reds in my opinion. Not for a hot sunny day though unless you want to end up slumped in a corner with a woozy head.

Following this we headed to Epernay for my favourite type of cocktail - champagne! I tried an orange based cocktail which wasn't actually to my taste as I'm not a big fan of anything orange (aside from the colour), however, that flavour aside, I believe they were all rather delicious. This was quickly chased up by a creamy lemon meringue cocktail. Yummy, but rather rich and I daresay, too many and you probably wouldn't be feeling so clever!

Next we headed to steak restaurant Miller and Carter. I actually had no idea that this had a bar area you could just head up to for drinks, so this was a nice surprise. Ordered to "choose any cocktail on the menu" I naturally went for another champagne cocktail (again, cannot remember what it was, but it was a delight), before we were moved onto Malmaison for a cocktail demonstration and making workshop; a lot of fun. And no, I definitely cannot remember what my cocktail was at this point - we were shown a variety, all of which I've forgotten, but I'm terrible with names anyway (at least that's my excuse).

In honesty, we only sampled a fraction of the cocktail and culinary offerings available at the Mailbox. Any more and I'd have most definitely ended up on the floor. As I was going to see Aswad at the Jam House after this that would not have been a good move! (Aswad were AMAZING by the way).

The Mailbox have incidentally launched a cocktail app for Facebook that should help you find where to go for your favourite type of cocktails, and in this weather, there's most definitely a need for it! They're also currently running a competition whereby if you upload a photo of your favourite cocktail to the page and it receives the highest number of votes, you could win a very nice little prize.

Need anymore excuse to sample a few cocktails? No, didn't think so. Head over here to check out what other people have been drinking, then go check it all out yourself!

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24/04/2014

Spring into Summer with Harvey Nichols

03/03/2014

Sunday Brunch is Big in Brum

21/01/2014

Lisa Shepherd launches new Express Color Bar

12/11/2013

Birmingham Town Hall Turns Purple for Pancreatic Cancer

28/10/2013

An Evening With Nicky Clarke

09/10/2013

Fashionistas Flock to Birmingham for Style and The Saturdays

20/09/2013

All bright on the night at Harvey Nichols Birmingham AW13 Fashion Show

04/09/2013

September means Style in Birmingham

16/08/2013

Iced Tea for Two and the Food's Divine Too!

09/07/2013

Fancy a cocktail?

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