Sunday 2 August 2015

iPhone Diary - desserts, sunshine & selfies...

This week I had a great week at my new job and an amazing weekend with friends...here are the most recent photos on my iPhone...

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

1. My 87 year old Grandad sent me a selfie on the beach!

2. Rob and I tried these...they were yummy but I was expecting soft baked cookies but these were more like cakes.

3. My first attempt at #leanin15 by The Body Coach- beef with rice and cashews- yum!

4. Fireworks on Bournemouth Beach on Friday night :)

5. Mini Golf! I didn't come last woohoo!

6. Strawberry Bubblegum Sundae at Sprinkles...mmmm

7. Reggie chilling in the sunshine just about able to fit on the windowsill!

8. Frozen Yoghurt at the Chilli Festival

9. Selfie in the sunshine at the Chilli Festival with great friends :)

Such a happy week making memories!

Friday 31 July 2015

Foodie Friday - Chilli Nachos

Foodie Friday is something I thought I would do every week (surprisingly on a Friday!) to share with you a new recipe I have tried, or an old favourite.

This week, is a recipe that I did actually a couple of weeks ago now but it was so yummy that I decided it had to be my first to share!


Chilli Nachos

Ingredients: 

1 bag of Tortilla Chips
250g Minced Beef
1 diced onion
1 chilli sachet (of your preferred heat!)
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of red kidney beans
A handful (or more) of your choice of cheese

Method:

Add the onion to a hot pan with some oil and fry for about five minutes until softened. Add the minced beef and brown. Once cooked, add the chilli sachet and make sure all of the mince is coated. Now add the chopped tomatoes and kidney beans and stir it all together. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

Pop your grill on high.

Get a baking tray and empty your bag of tortilla chips onto it- we used the 'cool' variety, but any you like will be fine. Now throw on your chilli mix and make sure all of the chips are covered. Sprinkle some of your cheese all over and put it under the grill for about 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted and starting to brown...mmmm.

Serve straight away with some sour cream (for me) or extra hot jalapenos (for the husband).

Amazing with some salad as a main meal, or just as it is for a great sharing starter.

Tuesday 28 July 2015

El Dorado Seaside Suites Review

For our honeymoon at the beginning of June, Rob and I visited Riviera Maya where we stayed at El Dorado Seaside Suites by Karisma.

As it was such an important trip, I spent a lot of time researching hotels and trying to find the perfect destination. Neither of us had ever been to Mexico, so that was a big plus point straight away as we wanted somewhere that was brand new to us both.

After a lot of time spent on Thomson, TripAdvisor and Google in general, I came across a hotel that looked like perfection- El Dorado.

Karisma have a number of other hotels, not just Seaside Suites in Riviera Maya- they have resorts in Jamaica, Croatia, The Dominican Republic and more!

We stayed for two weeks and travelled with Thomson- the reps at the hotel were so friendly and helpful- we had a welcome meeting on our first day at the resort to explain all the excursions, the different restaurants at the resort, where everything was and answer any other questions we may have.

On arrival we were offered a welcome drink and a cool flannel- then our suitcases were taken to our rooms while we relaxed before being driven to our rooms separately. We felt like royalty already!

We stayed in a Premium Suite which meant that we had our own pool that was only for guests staying in that section- other than that (and different coloured towels!) there weren't really any differences so if we were to return we wouldn't pay the extra again.

This resort is adults only and gourmet all inclusive. There are 7 restaurants and 4 bars with swim ups at most pools- which there are 4.

Lounging on the beach at the resort, the amazing staff never let you have an empty glass- the cocktails (the alcohol is not watered down like you would expect, it is all premium brands) they offer are amazing- our favourites were Gin Fizz and Singapure Sling!

Our favourite restaurant was the oriental- Klay Talay- we ate there three times and tried almost everything on the menu- don't be afraid to order several dishes at once as the staff are more than happy to oblige!

There are loads of excursions that you can do, we did swimming with dolphins, visited Xplor which is an adventure park, went to Tulum and lots more. There are also actvities that you can do at the resort, like coconut painting, event nights every night, yoga, kayaking, snorkelling....

As we were on our honeymoon, we had to bring our marriage certificate and we were then treated to a couples massage at the hotels' amazing spa (I could write a whole post just on the spa it was incredible!), a moonlit meal that evening and then when we returned to our room afterwards, the staff had filled our jazuzzi (which all rooms have by the way!) with bubble bath and rose petals, decorated our bed and left it so romantic. The following morning, we were woken up with the 'Honeymooners Breakfast' which consisted of omelette, hash browns, mimosas, french toast...it was just beautiful.

The food at the hotel was to an incredibly high standard- think 5 star restaurant in the UK but without the massive bill at the end!

All in all, for us, it was heaven on earth. The staff can't do enough for you, the food is immense, the resort is absolutely beautiful and we would go back in a heartbeat.

Here are some photos of the resort and our stay-












Sunday 26 July 2015

iPhone Diary

Every Sunday I thought it would be nice to share my most recent photos from my iPhone- I have seen it on other blogs and it's something I really enjoy reading being the nosey person that I am!

Top to Bottom, Left to Right:

1. My beautiful Reggie half on my lap, half not- he likes to keep me on my toes

2. Monopoly on a Saturday night- true old married couple style

3. Chilli Nachos that we made last weekend - recipe on here soon for a new feature 'Foodie Friday'

4. Our mini family minus our other cat Amber who never likes to pose for photos (or spend any time with us whatsoever these days!)

5. Reggie hiding in my wardrobe on Monday

6. A lovely card I received on my first day in a new job on Monday from the amazing recruitment company that helped me

7. My cup of fruit that I vow to eat everyday at work!

8. The frame we used for our table plan now features some of our favourite photos from our Wedding Day

9. A weekend omelette of ham, tomato and fresh basil from my plant that I am quite surprised is still living!

Have a relaxing Sunday!

SnapFish Photo Book

Today I am reviewing the amazing service I have received from SnapFish- a photo print company. You can use your beloved photos to create so many things on this website- mugs, calendars, wall art, books, cards or even just printable photos. I chose to create a photo book of our beautiful wedding.

I had used SnapFish once before, to help my mum to create a similar photo book of my brothers wedding. The online platform that you use to create your photo book is fairly easy to use. It can take a bit of getting used to, but once you get into the swing of things it takes minutes to add more pages and memories.



You can add as many pages and photos as you like, create loads of different layouts for each page, add backgrounds and loads more. There are lots of different sizes of books to choose from and you can choose from a range of finishes and colours galore.

Once I had created the photo book, it was ordered and I received emails along each step of the way- when it was confirmed, created and dispatched. I placed my order on Monday and it arrived at my door on Friday- definitely exceeding my expectations that's for sure.

Once it arrived safely packaged, I was so happy with the finished product. It is of an extremely high standard, exactly as I expected and it will be an item I will treasure for many years to come.

SnapFish currently have an offer on where you can get 50% off your total order when you spend £30 or more if you enter the code SFUK409 at the checkout. Definitely worth using.

I have included some photos below of some of the different layouts you can use and also so you can see the quality of the photobook.






 

Tuesday 21 July 2015

My Wedding in Pictures

Today I am in the mood to relive the best day of my life- my wedding day.

Okay it was only a couple of months ago, but I haven't shared anything about the day on here...and any excuse to look at all of the photos again!

The ceremony was held at a local church in Bristol, and the reception was at Priston Mill near Bath. We met in Bristol and lived there for 3 years together so it was the perfect place with a lot of memories for us.

This post will obviously be photo heavy- we had over 500 photographs of the day, and the ones below are just some of my favourites.






































It was the most perfect day and there is not one thing I would have done differently.