Sure....you can borrow my spray, I have one in my handbag!

That's often what I say now when a colleague or friend asks if i'm carrying deodorant. This is the smallest spray I've come across.  Promising long lasting protection and active for 48 hours (I admit that I didn't test the time frame lol) the 75ml  can hold the equivalent of its 150ml counter part.

So why do I like this little beauty?

Let me count the ways.....

1. It keeps me smelling fresh as well as my full size Sure deodorant does.
2. It fits in every handbag that I've put it in (No force necessary).
3. It doesn't leave white marks. (Which is lovely for me as I tend to be that person that can get a stain on her clothes with no help)
4. I'ts been my go to spray at the gym for the past 3 weeks and its still going strong (No pun)
5. It comes in other fragrances so I can mix it up a little
6. Lastly, and possibly my favourite thing about it. The compact size means I dont have to remove it when im travelling or throw it away as I've had to in the past at the security gate.

It safe to say that this is one of my #GoTo products of 2013. Whats yours?

Bristol Road Trip

This weekend, a friend of mine that has been training me at the gym invited me to join him and his friends for a night out in Bristol. I love to travel, so although hesitant about being the only person not acquainted with everyone and additionally unsure of the male to female ratio I decided to "YOLO" and thought "What's the worst that could happen?"

It turns out plenty!!!


But rather than rant and seem like an imbalanced female I will walk you through the bits of the trip that were fortunately (or unfortunately) documented on iPhone and digital camera.

I was initially told to meet those journeying in the same car as me in Brixton, South London. I turned up on time, i'm one of those people who absolutely hates being kept waiting. But the flip side of being on time/early is that you end up having to wait on everyone else.
Anyway, forgetting the two hour wait for the designated driver to arrive we finally left London around 7pm with an estimated Bristol arrival time of 10ish pm.

I got to enjoy being the passenger for once.

We stayed at the Holiday Inn Express, which was a first for me. But I happily learned that they are part of  IHG and I happily collected my points.

This was followed by lots of introductions, hellos and nice to meet yous! And I was very relieved to discover that I did not feel like the odd one out.

In fact my first mission was to deliver a sewing kit to one of the girls in room 314 as she was mid-dress crisis when I arrived.

We had a table booked in VIP at club Dorma which included drinks. Clubbing in Bristol is definately a lot more relaxed then in London. However, shoudl you be looking to go there I would suggest during University term time as the club is likely to be a lot more lively.


More snaps below.....

The end of the night food search resulted in snickers and nor hot wings as I had hoped.

Hiatus

....So I got swept away again by the busy activities of everyday life. I know, I know.....We agreed that I wouldn't do that again this time.


Yes I will try harder.

To be fair I have been in Norway, Spain and Morocco.

Doing what you ask?

Good question.....Check out the next few posts to see! :-)

Bills

 I love to travel and have no problem with making arrangements to do so. But when it comes to get together in the UK I’m not very good. Luckily my Smuckle took the initiative this time and with the help of group messaging on Facebook we managed to pin down a date for all the Uni girls to meet up.

Char suggested we go to Bills in Covent Garden describing it as a “bit rustic/farmer”, she also said it was a “bit cool”  - Complete under statement Char!!! I fell in love with it when I saw the décor.

Hidden inside St Martin’s courtyard, right next door to Jamie Oliver’s Italian, it occupies two floors and looks a little like a mix between a village shop and a restaurant.

I was pleasantly surprised. I turned up early and relatively on time so I was able to grab a ginger beer and catch up with V before the rest of the girls arrived. Whilst lacking the kick that you would get from ‘old Jamaican ginger beer’. I found it very refreshing and had two!

When all of the ladies arrived it was the usual storytelling, speed download on what has been happening in our lives.

 You have to pay attention during story time...there may be a quiz later!

And of course lots and lots of laughter……

The staff were brilliant and incredibly patient, which I guess you would have to be when we kept giggling too much to look at the menu to order. As i still had my ginger beer the others started with rounds of cocktails.

Having cheated a little and looked at the menu before agreeing to go to this restaurant I knew what I was having.
I went for two starters and a dessert.

Although char had recommended Bills naked burger, a healthy option to the standard burger in that it had no bread and extra salad. My mince beef intolerance meant that I couldn't have it .

So for my main second starter I had the Crab, salmon and chilli fishcakes. Pan-fried and served with red chicory, mixed leaves, mango salsa and lemon dressing. I wasn't as swept away with this starter as I was with the first one. I felt like I could eat the Avocado and Bacon salad all evening.

The atmosphere in the restaurant was incredibly relaxed and I couldn't help but notice all of the bright colours hanging from the ceiling and the walls lined with jars and bottles.

That’s right, Bills isn’t just a restaurant. It’s also a SHOP!!!

The manager came over to talk to us when I inquired about the chutney that they served with the Liver starter (I didn't actually order this myself but it looked so delicious that I 'borrowed' some from V!

Alas this is exclusively for this starter and not available to purchase. I was devastated. Having halfway fallen in love with the apple based chutney; he saw my disappointment and bought out the chutneys that were on sale for me and V to try.

I decided on the Red onion marmalade as I love goats cheese and knew this would go together to make a great tart.
So as I skimmed through the shopping list making sure that there wasn’t anything else that I wanted, the manager told me about the history behind Bills. 

That this time last year they had 5 branches with the first one being in Lewes (the second one Brighton) and that now they had 15 restaurants opened spread across the UK.

By the time we were ready for dessert, some of the girls were too full. The others opted for either the Eton mess or the warm chocolate brownie.

Being a huge creme brûlée fan I ordered the bills version which was made up of white chocolate and raspberries. Literally heaven, with a crunchy top.

If you like good food, great atmosphere then Bills is definitely for you. They have possibly the friendliest team of staff that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting in a London restaurant. Everyone seemed incredibly happy to be there and it made the experience all the much better.

If you can’t reach the London location, check out one the other locations here.