Food: Jamie's Italian, Liverpool.

A couple of weeks ago, Simon and I were invited down for dinner at Jamie's Italian in Liverpool*. We arrived at the dimly lit, rustically decorated restaurant and were greeted by our waiter, James, who was great and a huge help throughout the entire evening- after he had sat us down at our candlelit table, he handed us our menus and talked us through the specials that were written on the chalkboards on the wall beside us. When ordering, we also asked him about portion sizes and whether it was worth ordering side dishes with our main meals and he was totally honest and never pushed us in to ordering unnecessary extras.
We decided to start the evening with a cocktail each whilst we perused the menu- I tend to try new things whenever I eat out for the sake of my blog posts, so I went for the Grey Goose Le Fizz whilst Simon played it safe with Jamie's Mojito, which I think was the better choice in the end (can never go wrong with a good mojito, although the Grey Goose was still nice and refreshing).

To start, Simon and I opted to mix and match few items from the Antipasti menu; Pork Scratchings, Crispy Squid (the winner of this round) and the Music Bread, which partially won us over with its cool name even though we had no idea what it was. It turned out to be a thin and crispy flatbread (similar to Indian poppadoms) topped with generous slices of pecorino Sardo cheese and a dot of chilli jam. As expected along with Jamie's infamous rustic style, our food was served to us on wooden boards, copper chalices and terracotta tapas dishes.

We both ordered pasta dishes for our mains, Simon choosing Jamie's Famous Prawn Linguine and myself the rather scary-looking Squid & Mussel Spaghetti Nero, which featured black squid ink pasta with whole, flash-fried squid, mussels and slices of tender octopus. Both were delicious, although I am partial to dishes containing large amounts of seafood. However, staying true to tradition on our food-related escapades, we carried out a smooth and swift swapping of plates half way through the meal to avoid any food envy (I don't think anyone saw).

Of course, there's always room for desserts and we both decided to satisfy our sweet tooth with chocolate in the form of a warm and rich "Epic" Brownie with vanilla ice cream and caramelised popcorn for Simon, and a Chocolate & Hazelnut Arctic Roll for me, which featured an espresso semifreddo amongst the mound of chocolate sponge, chocolate ice cream and chocolate shavings (is the word chocolate starting to look weird to you...?), which took the edge off its richness.

Overall, we had a very pleasant experience at Jamie's Italian Liverpool; each course was brought to us promptly and the staff were friendly and accommodating. Thank you to the team for inviting us along! :)

Have you ever eaten at Jamie's Italian?

Frances x

*DISCLOSURE: Jamie's Italian kindly provided partial payment for our meal in return for an honest review.

Luxury Gift Guide for Her.

Going from being a full-time student to having a close-to-minimum-wage paid job means that luxury items and high-end brands rarely appear in my wardrobe or on my dressing table, except around birthdays and Christmas time when one or two extravagancies sneak their way on to my wishlist, or on the odd occasion that I receive especially good payslip. I believe that everybody deserves a little bit of luxury in their lives, whether it be emptying the penny jar to buy that Michael Kors purse you've had your eye on or treating someone special to a bottle of their favourite eau de parfum, so I decided to put together a little gift guide including some of the luxury items that I have been lucky enough to add to my collection.

 

 

My favourite thing to accessorize an outfit with is a statement watch, and the first designer piece I ever received was my beloved tortoiseshell Michael Kors watch (£185) from my dad one Christmas around the time when MK was all the rage. Both my Michael Kors watch and my rose gold Tommy Hilfiger* (£140) number have gotten so much wear over the past couple of years, a special wrist piece is definitely the perfect gift for any punctual fashionista.

 

 

I'm not a huge beauty fanatic so drugstore brands usually see fit for my daily winged eyeliner needs and the occasional red lip, however I do have a couple of high-end palettes tucked away in my makeup drawer for special occasions. The NARS Virtual Domination Cheek palette (£45.00) and the infamous Naked 3 palette by Urban Decay (£38.00) have been two very welcome pieces in my collection recently as they allow me to experiment with different looks without splashing too much cash, plus they last for ages. My two Charlotte Tilbury Matte Revolution lipsticks were extremely generous gifts from my grandparents last Christmas, and at £23 a pop they only get used on very special occasions as I'm terrified of ruining the bullet (this is exactly why I don't buy high-end makeup...)! They do look beautiful sat on my dresser in all their rose-gold glory though, right? (Shades Glastonberry and Bond Girl respectively, incase you wondered).

 

 

Buying luxury gifts doesn't necessarily mean forking out hundreds of pounds. This Ted Baker brogue notebook* (£11.04) and outdoors wood pen* (£16.99) set looks high-end with its intricate detailing and gold hardwear (the notebook features gold-edged pages and beautiful parrot-print endpapers also) but doesn't boast the designer price tag, and Flamingo Gifts stock them in plenty of colours and styles suitable for both men and women (plus lots of other fun, nice and quirky gifts- their website has fast become one of my favourite online stores for scoping out unique and affordable presents).

 

Perfumes have always been one of my favourites to give and receive as they are so personal to the recipient. I fell in love with my all-time favourite Freak by Illamasqua eau de parfum when I received the smaller 30ml bottle (£34.00) for Christmas two years ago. After using it sparingly over the next year, I finally bit the bullet and snapped up the 75ml bottle (£59.00) in Illamasqua's crazy end-of-season sale last month for an amazing 60% off, so it's worth keeping an eye out for super deals before you splurge.

 

One thing you can't go wrong with when buying for even the fussiest lady is jewellery. I recently discovered JewelStreet, a huge online marketplace stocking men and women's jewellery from over 250 designers, including Sari Jules, from whom I picked up these gorgeous 14 carat gold-filled statement earrings* (£59). They also stock designs by a few award winning online boutiques, including Sara Gunn and one of my most favourite jewellery designers, Jana Reindhart, who makes luxury gold and silver pieces in cute designs inspired by wildlife and her childhood, like this Hummingbird ring (£89) which I also have in my collection.

I think it's every girl's dream to one day have the likes of Christian Louboutin or Jimmy Choo sitting in her shoe closet, and I was lucky enough to receive my very first pair of designer footwear from Harvey Nichols in the form of these butterfly print espadrilles by Valentino* (£285) last week. Just look at that packaging! Valentino also have a whole collection of pieces in the same butterfly print, including this clutch bag which I have somewhat fallen for, and you can find all of them plus lots of studded designer goodness by searching for Valentino over at Harvey Nichols.

 

 

What is your favourite luxury purchase/ what's on your wishlist?

 

 

Frances x

*DISCLOSURE: Starred items are PR samples.



Travel/Food: Ibis Styles Liverpool Dale Street (part two) #CaptureIbisStyles.

Before we released our competitive streaks at Ibis Styles Liverpool Dale Street last week, the Ibis and Gray Matter team thought it would be a good idea for us to get to know each other over dinner before the long day of games. With drinks on tap all evening it was certainly an ice breaker, and it wasn't long before the eleven of us were sat down at a long table in the centre of the hotel's open-plan dining area, taking photos and chatting away.

We were lucky enough to be trying the taster menu that evening, which meant sampling pretty much every dish that they had to offer, which looked like more of a challenge than it originally sounded when six different starters were brought out and placed on boards in front of us. Even though the menu is simple and quite basic, the quality and presentation of the food for a budget hotel was quite impressive. The Prawn Twisters and the Posh Squid (Ibis Styles' genius name for calamari) were to die for, as was the Hearty Leek & Potato Soup with a toasted Croque Salmon on the side. Along with Rustic Charcuterie Boar (AKA, cured meats with ciabatta) and Falafel-stuffed Pittas, there was so much food on offer that we could have called it quits after starters, but we resisted finishing off the battered prawns to save a little room for the mains.

The only main dish I was disappointed with was the Mini Chicken Caesar, which I found to be all lettuce and not much of anything else. But who is going to go for a salad when there is Spanish-style Surf and Turf on the menu? This Valencian paella dish containing mixed seafood, chicken and chorizo was so moreish it was at danger being placed next to me on the table. I did force myself away from it to sample the other dishes, however, and the Salmon Supreme (salmon with a white wine sauce and roasted vegetables) and the fancy fish finger sarnies Mini Cod Goujon Sandwiches both got points from me (can you tell I like seafood?). For people who aren't big on fish, they also had some restaurant classics including Aberdeen Angus Mini Beef Burgers plus Steaks Frites, which were cooked perfectly.

 

As intimidating as dessert sounded after the abundant amount of food we had just consumed, there were only two to face and the mini portions were perfect to take the edge off my sweet tooth. In fact, after I had tried one of the Mini Chocolate Puddings I'm sure I could have had another couple. The Apple Crumble was lovely too, and was finished off nicely with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

 

The #CaptureIbisStyles Campaign

 

Full, and with a cup of green tea in hand (because we all know the green tea cancels out at least 75% of calories consumed, right?), we were briefed on our tasks for the following day plus the worldwide campaign, which- as promised in my last post (read here)- I am going to tell you more about today. As previously mentioned, Ibis Styles are launching a campaign on Friday, March 13, 2015, offering Instagram users residing in six countries (France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil and the UK) the chance to win from a possibility of fifty-seven pieces of designer furniture that are showcased throughout the fifteen participating Ibis Styles hotels.

 

If you are local to one of the hotels (Liverpool and Edinburgh if you are in the UK), all you have to do is pop in with your smart phone and take a photograph of whichever of the four pieces of designer furniture on offer take your fancy (they will be in the lobby area with an Ibis Styles label attached to make them easy to spot) and then upload it to Instagram with the designated hashtags. It is then up to you to use the power of social media to collect as many 'likes' as you can on your Instagram post. The amount of 'likes' required to be in with a chance of winning your chosen item will be stated on the attached Ibis Styles label, and once you reach this target you will be entered into a draw to pick the lucky winner of the piece of furniture. Exciting, no? If you don't live close to one of the participating hotels, don't worry- there will be a digital version too, so head over to the #CaptureIbisStyles webpage for more information on the competition and to see the pieces of furniture that are up for grabs (very jealous of the folks over at the Lille Centre Grande Place hotel in France who can win this adorable elephant stool!). The competition will run for two months from March 13 to May 13, so there's plenty of time to gather up those likes!

 

Will you be entering the #CaptureIbisStyle competition?

 

Frances x

 

*DISCLOSURE: I was kindly invited to stay at Ibis Styles Liverpool free of charge to take part in their #CaptureIbisStyles campaign. All opinions stated are 100% honest and my own.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Travel: Ibis Styles Liverpool Dale Street (part one) #CaptureIbisStyles.

Last week I was invited along to stay a night at Liverpool's Ibis Styles hotel with six other bloggers and the lovely Ibis Styles/ Gray Matter team to take part in their #CaptureIbisStyles blogger campaign. Upon arrival it was immediately evident that the Ibis Styles hotels are design-centred and I was met by an eye-catching but tasteful yellow, purple and blue colour scheme and geometric shapes, plus a huge wall mural containing Blackbird lyrics, a walrus and four famous scousers which gave away the overall theme of the whole hotel. After checking in, the lovely lady at the desk showed me to the interactive social wall in the lobby, where guests can share and view useful tourist information about the city as well as check out pictures of the different themed rooms throughout the hotel. Each of the seven floors of Ibis Styles Liverpool has been appointed a different Beatles-related theme, including 'Strawberry Fields' which sees every guestroom on the third floor covered in a red, strawberry print wallpaper that I now want in my own bedroom. Other themes include 'Iconic Style', 'Yesterday' and 'Lucy', which features a diamond-themed wall mural and sparkly accents.

 

I stayed in a room on the sixth floor of the hotel dedicated to 'Abbey Road', which is fittingly decorated with a road sign, a black and white-striped ceiling and yellow glowing lights which pay a subtle homage to the famous London-based zebra crossing. The room was quite small as is expected of a budget hotel, but I was impressed with the sleek and modern design, the cleanliness of the place, plus the little added extras (bottled water, hospitality tray, a safe, a 32" TV with freeview and a fluffy robe & slippers) which, to me, screamed at least £90 a night. Room prices vary depending on when you stay and how far in advance you book, but at around £54 for a midweek stay in a double room with breakfast and WIFI included, I think this is one of the best city centre hotels to choose for a good night's sleep on a budget.

As mentioned in my previous hotel review, breakfast can be the dealbreaker, however given that Ibis Styles is a budget hotel with a continental offering, I left my expectations and my camera behind. I really wish I had swallowed my pride as I was very impressed with the selection for a three-star hotel, which included yogurts and cereals with various toppings, fresh fruit, breads & pastries, cheeses & cold cuts, plus a few hot options- hash browns, sausage rolls and bacon & cheese turnovers (winner).

 

The #CaptureIbisStyles campaign

 

 Gray Matter like to think outside the box for their campaigns, and if you follow me on Instagram (@FrancesCassandra) you will have seen that during our time at the hotel, we were let loose to cause havoc sensibly snap photos of some of the quirky features and spam each post with cringe-inducing hashtags (#like4like on my #picoftheday, anyone?) in order to rack up the 'likes' and prove our social media skills for a chance to win a two-nights stay in one of the UK's Ibis Hotels, plus the adorable Waaf dog lamp pictured above. We were also taken on a rather chilly open-top bus tour of Liverpool where we learned lots about the history of the city as well as having our imagination and creativity put to the test with a series of tasks which we were to complete via Instagram, including taking a selfie with one of Liverpool's iconic Superlambananas and hunting down a Beatles look-a-like. Unfortunately, I wrote myself out of the games pretty quickly, mainly due to the poor battery life on my retro iPhone 4S (note to self: find your  power bank, that was the best purchase you ever made).

 

Now, all of this fun and games wasn't because bloggers get all the cool stuff or because of our tendency to Instagram everything from our morning coffee to our lunch, to the cute cat we made friends with on our way home from work. Not completely, anyway. We were the guinea pigs for a worldwide campaign which is due to launch on March 13, 2015. The campaign is offering the public local to any of the fifteen participating Ibis Styles hotels across the world a chance to win some of their quirky designer furniture, which means that if you live close to Liverpool, you could enter to win the dog lamp or the awesome cassette tape coffee table, plus two other pieces of cool home decor. More details on the campaign will be given in another blog post a little closer to the opening date, but you can take a sneak peek at what's to offer on the designated #CaptureIbisStyles webpage.

 

Have you stayed in an Ibis Styles hotel?

 

Frances x

 

*DISCLOSURE: I was kindly invited to stay at Ibis Styles Liverpool free of charge to take part in their #CaptureIbisStyles campaign. All opinions stated are 100% honest and my own.

Food/ Travel: Courtyard Restaurant, Ox Pasture Hall, Scarborough (part two).

Dinner

During our stay at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel last month (you can read my full review of our suite and afternoon tea here), we were also offered a three-course meal* at their highly blogger renowned Courtyard restaurant. Being the only restaurant in Scarborough to have been awarded two rosettes for culinary excellence and feature in the Michelin guide, it was one of the things we were most looking forward to on the trip and we arrived with high expectations.

Greeted by a young waiter, we were shown to the bar and ordered a bottle of red wine to accompany our meal whilst we pondered over the choices on the simple but well-varied menu. It took a little while for us to be seated at our table despite there only being us and two other tables dining that evening, but once we had sat down and ordered, our food was brought out promptly, starting with an appetizer of rich, butternut squash soup and a selection of fresh, homemade breads, compliments of the chef. Simon opted for the duck starter (£7.50), which consisted of duck liver parfait with melba toast and a crisp pastry cup filled with shredded duck, accompanied by a tangy cherry sorbet and compote. I chose Ham, Egg & Peas (£8,75) - a mini ham hock terrine sat on a bed of piccalilli, with a crispy hen's egg which was cooked to runny perfection, complimented nicely with a drizzle of pea puree and honey mustard.

Before our main course, we were offered a shot glass containing a refreshing berry palate cleanser to prepare us for the showstopper. Simon and I had decided to choose different dishes for our mains so that we could sample as much of the menu as we could, but we agreed to share with each other to avoid any food envy that might jeopardise our relationship ;) I went for the straight-to-the-point main, The Lamb (£21.50), a pink-in-the-middle two bone rack of lamb and lamb & kidney faggot resting on dauphinoise potatoes, mingling together with courgettes and a sweet, butternut squash puree. As happy as I was with my main dish, I'm glad that Simon had agreed to go halves with his aptly named, The Pork (£18.95) because it looked amazing - a succulent piece of slow-cooked pork belly, surrounded by slices of pork tenderloin roulade, a tasty, homemade black pudding and finished off with sides of savoy cabbage, sauteed potatoes and red onions. A concern that I am often met by with fine dining is that the food is expensive but you don't get much of it, however the portions at the Courtyard were huge. After mixing and matching our main dishes we were left pretty full, but after a fifteen minute breather and another palette cleanser, we found a little room for dessert. 

Simon decided on the Yorkshire Cheese Board (£8.50) which included a trio of cheeses accompanied by a selection of homemade breads and crackers with grapes and a cranberry chutney. I, on the other hand, needed to satisfy my sweet tooth after our savoury courses, and opted for the ultimate decadent dessert, Chocolate Trio (£7.95) - a rich, chocolate tart and hot chocolate fondant balanced out with a sweet, melt-in-the-mouth white chocolate parfait. Admittedly, I didn't make it very far in to my dessert- it was lovely (especially that hot fondant) but I felt I was about to burst, so feeling beyond satisfied, Simon and I took our bottle of wine and headed to bed.

 

Breakfast

 



Breakfast is often the highlight of my hotel stays- I think it's because I don't often get to enjoy a full-English breakfast which is usually what I opt for, and there's just something about having someone else bring you a pot of coffee, a rack of toast and a glass of fresh orange juice first thing in the morning. This time was no different, and both Simon and I ordered ourselves the cooked breakfast (they also offer continental choices such as yogurts, porridge, fruit and cereals), which included a sausage, two rashers of bacon, a tomato, a generous slice of the delicious homemade black pudding that we had sampled during dinner, sauteed mushrooms and eggs, cooked just how we like them. Even though it was quite simple, we both agreed that it was one of the best hotel breakfasts we had had- the sausages and bacon were hearty without being too fatty and the eggs were cooked to perfection- mine were poached with a nice, runny centre whilst Simon's scrambled eggs were fluffy and light.

Overall, our stay at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel was a pleasant one- the rural surroundings were a nice change from the norm and the dining experience was a much-needed luxury treat. If you are looking for a relaxing, weekend getaway with your other half, perhaps to celebrate an anniversary, birthday or other special occasion (Ox Pasture Hall are also renowned for being a beautiful wedding location, and with the picturesque surroundings I'm not surprised!), I would recommend Ox Pasture Hall for its romantic setting and attention to detail. At around £300 a night for a luxury suite like ours including dinner and breakfast, it's definitely a treat, but they also offer gorgeous four poster deluxe, double deluxe and classic double rooms a little cheaper at £205, £190 and £160 respectively.

Are you planning a relaxing getaway? Ever stayed at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel?

Frances x

*DISCLOSURE: I was kindly invited to stay at Ox Pasture Hall free of charge in return for a honest review. All opinions started are 100% honest and my own.

Travel: Ox Pasture Hall Hotel, Scarborough (part one).

I was recently invited to stay a night at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel* in Scarborough and although it is a rather hefty journey away from where I live in the Northwest, the endless amount of blogger reviews I had read and the opportunity to venture out of my incredibly unexciting hometown for a couple of days became too much of a temptation to resist, and so I grabbed my boyfriend (it didn't take much convincing really), booked our train tickets and soon we were on our way to the Northeast coast.

 

After a two hour and forty-five minute train journey we fell in to a taxi for a short, fifteen minute drive to the hotel, where the scenery seemed to transition from urban to calmingly rural rather quickly and seamlessly. Set in seventeen acres of countryside in the North York Moors National Park, it's needless to say that Ox Pasture Hall has found itself in a serene location, perfect for a relaxing weekend away and boasting beautiful backdrops for wedding photos or nature lovers. If you're looking for a place to stay during a business trip, however, I would steer clear- internet and mobile reception were hard to come by!

 

Upon arrival we were welcomed at the front desk by friendly staff, who offered us a pot of tea before showing us to our abode for the evening- one of their simple-but-tastefully decorated luxury suites which had a lounge area complete with a television, hospitality tray and a CD player (you might want to provide your own music unless you're particularly fond of Jackson 5's I'll Be There), a bedroom with a king size bed and hairdryer, and the pièce de résistance- the marbled bathroom- screaming luxury with its rainfall shower, waterfall taps and his-and-hers sinks. We didn't have much time to settle down and take advantage of the waffle robes that were hanging in the wardrobe right away though, as we were booked in for the hotel's signature afternoon tea (£15pp) soon after we arrived, so we dumped our bags and took a short stroll back through the courtyard and in to the lounge area, where we were able to sink in to the leather sofas, take in the relaxed atmosphere and thaw our fingers next to the burning log fire. Ox Pasture Hall doesn't have the hustle and bustle of the more populated inner city hotels and we were pretty much by ourselves for the duration of our stay, except for when a couple of dogs wandered over to say hello- did I mention that this is a pet-friendly hotel?

 

We were greeted in the lounge by a coffee table already laid out with teacups, napkins and cutlery, and we didn't have long to wait until a cake stand full of afternoon tea classics was brought out to us. The cream cheese & cucumber, beef and tuna finger sandwiches, warm scones and sweet treats including chocolate & praline cake, lemon cheesecake and profiteroles (extra points for those) went down a treat after our long train journey and we managed to wash the whole lot down with a couple of cups of tea. Satisfied and carrying afternoon tea food babies, we headed back to our suite to do a whole lot of relaxing before our meal that evening- Oh, but that's a whole nother blog post- watch this space!

 

Have you ever stayed at Ox Pasture Hall Hotel?

 

Frances x

 

*DISCLOSURE: I was kindly invited to stay at Ox Pasture Hall free of charge in return for a honest review. All opinions started are 100% honest and my own.