Review

COCKTAIL O’CLOCK

Published on March 2, 2018March 2, 2018 by simplycarinaxo12 Comments

Good evening beautiful souls,

For Christmas my friend Anna gave me a bottle of the Edinburgh Rhubarb & Ginger Gin and I was instantly in love! Hands down the best gin I have ever tried! Now a while back Alice from Zest Of Alice posted a photo of this Hortus Rhubarb & Ginger Gin Liqueur on Instagram and told me it was only £11.99 at Lidl! I got very excited and as soon as I had a chance I went to have a look for myself and low and behold this beautiful bottle was on a shelf just waiting to be bought by me! I picked a bottle up immediately and then also decided to try the Hortus Raspberry Gin Liqueur. So I thought I would do a little recipe & review of these two gins – enjoy!

My friend Anna came over for dinner on Wednesday and there couldn’t have been a better opportunity to try out these new gins than with my fellow gin loving friend. I personally love to add a slightly flavoured tonic to my gin cocktails to give them that extra something in flavour and thus I picked up an Elderflower Tonic and a Lime Tonic from Tesco to mix the Liqueurs with.

We tried the Rhubarb & Ginger Gin first and although good I have to admit it couldn’t best the Edinburgh Gin. I would probably buy it again as I did enjoyed it and it is cheaper but if just based on taste, its flavour just doesn’t quite pack the same punch as the Edinburgh Gin, sorry Hortus. Next to be put under our scrutinising taste buds was the Raspberry Gin and with this one I must say I was disappointed. I love raspberries – they’re one of my favourite fruits – but something about this raspberry flavoured gin was sadly too sweet / too sickly and too artificial for both myself and Anna. I will not be purchasing this gin again.

However that being said everyone’s taste buds are different and you might really like the raspberry gin, so don’t let me put you off from trying it! If you decide to go for a bottle here’s how I prepared these two gin cocktails:

Start with some ice cubes in a large cocktail glass – then add 2 shots of Hortus Gin – fill the glass to your strength liking with 1/2 elderflower and 1/2 lime tonic – next garnish with some fresh lemon or lime or even pop in some cucumber !

Et voila – easy peasy gin cocktail – now sit back and relax!

Tip – I bought these amazing cocktail glasses from Poundland the other day, they are really sturdy glass and great for cocktails. If you don’t already have cocktail glasses I suggest you pop into your local Poundland and treat yourself to some! Well worth it – and so are my stainless steel straws! Please look after our environment in little ways such as using non-plastic reusable straws at home ❤

P.S. Please do let me know your favourite gin recipes and whether you have tried these two flavours before!! I’d love to know!

MATE DATE AT THE BOHEMIAN

Published on January 12, 2018January 12, 2018 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Good evening beautiful souls,

On Wednesday I went to Newcastle to catch up with an old friend from uni. My friend Rachel was doing dry January and so we decided to meet up over lunch in Newcastle instead of over drinks as we usually would. I was excited to see what Newcastle had on offer regarding food because with my biggest new years resolution being to eat a vegan diet this was a great opportunity to try out a new restaurant I wouldn’t previously have given much thought. After some browsing I decided on The Bohemian which had great reviews. It took us a couple of minutes to find (google maps aren’t always helpful aha), but once we found it I realised I’d walked past it many times before as it was just past one of my favourite pubs in Newcastle, The Fourth. It has a cute vibe and is a mix of restaurant, bar and record shop. I didn’t look at the records this time round but will definitely have a browse next time I go!

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Once in and seated we were lucky to discover that The Bohemian was participating in the Newcastle restaurant week and so we got a special three course menu for £15, not a bad deal at all. After some deliberating (I’m actually glad we had a restricted menu as all the choices sounded so good) I went for the Shredded Peking Jackfruit, with hoi sin sauce, pancakes, spring onion and cucumber for starters, The ‘Greek’ Pizza for mains and the Cointreau and chocolate tart for dessert. Wow it felt like I was splashing out, I mean I never order three courses when I go out!

I really loved the starters, the peking jackfruit was ok on it’s own but wrapped up in the pancake with the spring onion and cucumber and dipped into the hoi sin sauce was an amazing combination!

The Greek pizza was also scrumptious; on what seemed like a homemade stone baked pizza base the vegan cheese was perfectly melted and flavours fantastic. Now I’ll admit vegan cheese can definitely taste different and isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the vegan mozzarella on the pizza tasted fab to me and I really enjoyed the pizza as it had been a while since I had a freshly made stone baked pizza.

After starters and mains I really was rather full, however I still managed to polish of my dessert! The chocolate tart served with a fruity sorbet was the perfect combination of light and tart with creamy and heavy chocolate – heaven.

So if you haven’t been able to guess – I would highly recommend The Bohemian in Newcastle. If you ever try out this restaurant do let me know what you think – I’d love to know!

Love Carina xo

AUGUST FAVOURITES

Published on August 30, 2017August 30, 2017 by simplycarinaxo1 Comment

Hey friends,

I love reading monthly favourites posts but have only ever written one so far, so I thought it was high time for another. August has been crazy busy for me, so here’s what I’ve enjoyed this month in between all the craziness!

Tea!

I have been loving the Pukka Cleanse tea this August. It is light in flavour and comforting. Nettle, fennel and peppermint are all great herbs to help settle the stomach, so this tea is great for your stomach when stressed. It is very calming in general, I like to drink it in the evenings when I settle down to read before bed.

My Glasses

Yes, ok, I’ll put it out there straight away – I don’t need glasses, these are fake – please don’t judge me haha! I just like the look of these pale pink geeky glasses. They are a fashion accessory to me and I kinda love them. I had wanted a pair for a while but couldn’t find ones that suited me. I kept browsing Primark’s collection whenever I was there and eventually I found these. They were about £2.50 so a bargain really, I don’t ever spend much on glasses for fear of breaking or loosing them haha.

Music

These four albums have been my most listened to this month.

Step Up is the perfect soundtrack for a productive morning as it makes you want to dance about the house.

Tropical Gypsy by Molotov Jukebox is a good choice for happy vibes. Upbeat somewhat crazy songs that will put a smile on your face and brighten your day. I saw them live at the Lindesfarne festival last year and they were great!

A Creature I Don’t Know by Laura Marling is a more peaceful CD and makes for perfect reading or game playing background music. I also love to listen to Laura Marling when having a relaxed breakfast.

Southpaw – another great soundtrack; this one is great for the gym or exercising because it has dome great paced beats.

My Best Friend’s Wedding

This is more of an event rather than a thing of course, but I couldn’t not mention it, because it has been a favourite this month. It was a beautiful day seeing my best friend get married and I was honoured to be a bridesmaid on her special day!

Game Time

Towards the end of August I had my friend Nadia and her fiance Roland visit me and it was lovely as I hadn’t seen her in four years!!! We spent so much of our time together playing games and it was great fun! I love board games! They are such a great way to spend time together with friends having fun. We played many rounds of Yatzi but I also rediscovered a favourite game of mine which is called Die Siedler Von Catan. If you like games and haven’t heard of this one I recommend you go buy it right now haha (you can buy it in English too, don’t worry). It’s about acquiring building materials and then gaining points by building streets and cities… I love it!

My New Piercing

I used to have the side of my lip pierced but took it out about a year ago because I wanted a change. Looking back on pictures I always missed it though so I decided to get my lip re-pierced, but this time in the middle where I had originally wanted it pierced. At first I wasn’t too keen as it pierced a little too close to my lip for my liking, however I have gotten used to it now and I love it! So glad I got it re-pierced!

Sainsbury Mugs

I bought these mugs in Sainsburys about 2 years ago and they are currently my absolute faves again! I originally resisted buying them but I couldn’t stop thinking about them so I just had to go back and buy them haha! I’m so glad I did! They are a good size easy to hold and nice to drink out of, wether coffee or tea, I have been using them every day this past month!

Vegan Pesto Pitta Pizzas

So quick and easy to make; using a pitta bread as the pizzas base, spread a little vegan pesto on and top with whatever you choose! My favourite toppings with pesto are definitely just some fresh tomatoes and vegan feta style cheese with a bit of seasoning – yummy! Pop in the oven for 10 minutes and you’re good to go – enjoy!

Watermelon

I have been absolutely obsessed with watermelon this month! When you get a good one they are so refreshing and tasty! Definitely my healthy go to snack this August!

I hope you have enjoyed my August favourites post. I think I will try and make monthly favourites a regular post on my blog because I have loved writing this post and sharing my favourites with you!

Love Carina xo

HOLIDAY BLUES!

Published on August 11, 2017August 11, 2017 by simplycarinaxo3 Comments

Hello my beautiful readers,

I have been dreaming of a holiday for ages, the need to get away for a couple of days really gets to you esppecially when working 19 days in a row with no days off as I am at the moment! However I finally have something to look forward to now at the end of August! A mini getaway with my best friend Emily and perhaps a few others if they decide to join us. Just before she set of on her honeymoon interrailing Europe we booked our tickets for the Lindesfarne festival!

This will be our second time going to the Lindisfarne festival together; last year we wnt for the first time ad it was the first festival experience for the both of us. The Lindisfarne festival is a small new (this year is only it’s third year) local festival in one of my favourite places (a stunning coastal plot of farmland overlooking the beautiful Holy Island in Northumberland). Holy Island (see photos above) was were I had my first every job as a waitress in the holidays. I used to stay on the Island when working there so it was like a holiday for me even though I was working. I love the place; it it idylic, peaceful and just holds a speacial place in my heart. Thus it was without question a great descion for the Lindisfarne festival to be our first festival experience. As it is a small scale festival you can walk from your tent into the arena within minutes and there weren’t any overbearing crowds. It was a great first festival experience and I’m hyped to be going back again this year! Let me share some photos from last year:

The festival didn’t have any famouse artists playing, more local and smaller talents, but it was nice to discover new people; for us the highlight was Molotov Jukebox and meeting the artists afterwards including Natalia Tena (Tonks from Harry Potter/ Osha from Game of Thrones). Their music was bizar but upbeat and happy and got us all dancing with smiles plasterd on our faces! Loved it! Comedy was also offered there as well as the Sanctuary a wellness tent with holistic treatemants and the like. On our second morning we participated in meditation followed by partner yoga which was hilarious and great fun, even though my back killed afterwards from lying on the uneven ground aha. We treated ourselves to a massage afterwards and then continued to enjoy the music, views and general atmosphere of the festival. Not long now till this years festival and I can’t wait!

Love Carina xo

MARCH FAVOURITES

Published on April 3, 2017 by simplycarinaxo3 Comments

Hello my beautiful friends,

So we are now into April and it’s time I share my March monthly favourites!

Vikings – OMG you guys, so if you haven’t watched this yet you must get onto it! Vikings is a historical drama which follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrok a farmer who filled with a curiosity to explore rises to fame by raiding England. I don’t really want to give anything away, but there’s a great set of characters, cinematography is dark and matches the style of the show and it really is up there with Game of Thrones regarding brutality and action. Of course it is fictional however it is inspired by the sagas of the Viking Ragnar Lothbrok, one of the best-known legendary Norse heroes and notorious as the scourge of England and France, and I love getting a look into the culture of past societies.

Ratings: IMDb – 8.7/10 Rotten Tomatoes – 91%

Face Spritz: I have been loving this Vitamin C face spritz from the Body Shop. I use it every morning after I cleanse my face and it just makes me feel fresh and awake!

Ball Mason Jars: After watching so many bloggers and vloggers drink their smoothies in beautiful jars I had to get myself some of these gorgeous Ball Mason Jars! I love them so much and use them every single day! I made sure to buy big jars, 945ml, as it makes me drink more, and I never drink enough aha. So if I have one of these glasses filled with water next to me I will continue to sip at it throughout the day.

Smoothie Bowl: My berry smoothie bowl or smoothie has become so much part of my morning routine that I don’t feel right and refreshed in the morning if I don’t have it aha. Here’s my recipe:

1 large banana – frozen berries (about double the amount of the banana) – 1/2 tbsp of cocoa powder – a little almond milk

Blend together, you will need a good blender and something like a muddling stick to stir the fruit, you want a nice thick consistency, so start with only a little milk and rather keep adding to it. Then top with whatever your hear desires aha. I usually use oats, chia seeds, cocoa nibs, fresh fruit and coconut.

Audible – Ok so I am obsessed with audible at the moment! Audible is a monthly subscription service of audio books. I only signed up for the free trial and payed for one month before cancelling as I can’t afford £8 a month at the moment, however they also have some cheap books which you can buy without being subscribed. So I stocked up on a couple of audio books which keep me company on my walks to town. 4-5 days of the week I walk to town and back whether it be for work or for the gym and it’s around a 25min walk so I get a good 1h of listening in most days.

The book I enjoyed most recently was Bleak House by Charles Dickens. I had seen the BBC adaptation years ago and enjoyed it, but the book was even better and is definitely worth a read, although the BBC adaption is totally worth a watch too.

Well that wraps my monthly favourites up, I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you’ve been loving in March too!

Love Carina xo