blackjack

My family loves nothing better than a good party, so for my boyfriends 21st we decided to bring the casino to us and host a James Bond style soiree. We all got suited and booted and walked the red carpet, ready for a night of cocktails and gambling. We each had a bag of chips, and spent the night playing games such as blackjack, roulette and even chuck-a-luck which Tom's grandad actually made himself!

I had such a fun night, although the lack of chips at the end of the night suggests that I shouldn't be heading to a real casino anytime soon..

where do we go

jeans + necklace - Topshop, blazer - River Island, shoes + tshirt - Newlook

Sometimes you can't be bothered to think about pulling an outfit together, and this is what happens. Jeans and a tshirt, finished off with a blazer and a statement necklace and you have something that looks relatively planned out. The perfect Sunday outfit, in my opinion.

Another week is over, and I'm another week closer to finishing work. I can't believe I've almost been there a year, and there's only two weeks to go. It's crazy how fast time seems to be going! I'm looking forward to another weekend of celebrating with family, as next week is my boyfriends birthday. Good food, cocktails and a casino night? Yes please!

What are you up to this weekend?

The Shepherds Rest - Todmorden

The Shepherd's Rest near Todmorden, West Yorkshire has been a firm favourite for many years and I've spent a lot of family birthdays celebrating here, which is why I thought I'd share it on here! 

If in doubt, this is the perfect place for a family meal out, as with an extremely generous menu full of home cooked food there is literally something for everyone. The service is wonderful (we regularly take up a table of 8+ and have never had a single problem with wrong orders/late meals) and the food is great and it's all in the setting of a traditional english pub. What more could you want?

When it comes to starters, if there's some form of baked/fried cheese on the menu you can guarantee it will find its way onto my plate, and these thai style brie wedges are my ultimate favourite. Coated in a slightly spiced crumb and served with sweet chilli sauce, they ooze as soon as you cut into them. I never even think about having anything different when I go, they are that amazing! Me and Tom usually like to share two starters, however neither of us are prepared to give up one of these, so we always end up both getting the same.

I've tried a lot of different main meals at the Shepherd's Rest (sweet chilli chicken stirfry, hunters chicken, and my personal favourite of rag pudding) and I've never once been disappointed by my food. 

I mentioned that the Shepherd's Rest has an extensive menu, but this is also topped up with a great specials menu, which is where the chicken in peppercorn sauce that I chose on our last visit came from. I tend to judge a pub on its chips, and the chips here are beautiful - crisp on the outside, soft on the inside. No oven chips here! The peppercorn sauce was wonderfully creamy with the perfect amount of pepper, and the chicken was perfectly cooked.

Tom went for the chicken curry, which comes with rice, chips, mango chutney and two poppadoms that are literally the size of your face. Not for the faint hearted!  

Now I believe that you can't beat a good homemade pub dessert, and the Shepherd's Rest comes up trumps in this area. We opted to share a sticky toffee pudding (oozing with sweet toffee sauce) and a strawberry cheesecake (creamy, sweet and chocolaty) but not before spending at least 10 minutes debating what to pick.

Overall, for what you get for your money I think this place is fantastic. The food is amazing and I know  it will be a favourite for a long time to come. 

Where's your favourite place to go for a pub lunch?

The favourites - perfume

Perfume is kind of an obsession of mine, and I actually have quite a big collection (around 10 different bottles?), but there's a select few that I reach for constantly, depending on my mood and what's planned for the day.

Marc Jacobs - Oh Lola

I'm actually running out of this, sob! I absolutely love this perfume, it's the perfect scent for a summers day. I find it to be a lovely fruity scent that lasts on the skin for ages. When I wear it I find I can still smell it hours later, unlike a lot of perfumes that disappear within an hour.

Hugo Boss - Intense

This has been a favourite of mine for years, and must be at least my third bottle. I'm a big fan of Hugo Boss perfumes in general, with Deep Red being another favourite of mine. Intense has a subtle spicy scent, that is perfect for dates and evenings out. I find it difficult to not keep sniffing my wrists when wearing this!

Marc Jacobs - Daisy

A popular perfume loved by many, which is no surprise to me! Daisy is, quite obviously, a fresh floral perfume, which is again perfect for summer. I immediately feel much more summery with a spritz of this! I tend to wear this in the day, and it's a great little perfume for putting you in a good mood.

Diesel - Loverdose

Loverdose is again quite a floral scent, however I tend to use this as more of a night time perfume. It's quite a unique scent, and I don't think there's anything else like it on the market.

What other perfumes do I need to add to my collection?

New in: Topshop

1 // 2 // 3 // 4

Topshop has been coming up short for me in the last few weeks, I've found myself wandering round and and leaving empty handed by choice, which doesn't happen often for me! However, when browsing the new in section I've seen a couple of things that have jumped out for me. I think they're back on form!

This scarf is something I liked as soon as I saw it. I don't tend to wear a lot of bright colour, but am always trying to incorporate it into my wardrobe, so this would be the perfect addition to my failsafe black outfits. The same goes for the satchel, and it seems like it comes in lots of different colours. I can usually be found lugging around a massive bag, so this would make a nice change! I'm really into the cutout arm trend at the minute, and this shirt would look so lovely paired with jeans, heels and some statement jewellery. Finally, how cute it the playsuit? The perfect summer colour, I want!

What are you wanting from Topshop at the minute?

on my way

top - New Look, pinafore dress - River Island, leather jacket - Zara, bag & shoes - Topshop

Pinafore dresses are everywhere at the minute, and I picked up this one from River Island for a really good price (I think it was around £20. Although I really like them on other people, and they can be styled in so many ways, I'm not sure it's the most flattering item in my wardrobe. I have too much chest to wear a dress like this!

Who's enjoyed their Bank Holiday weekend? Gotta love a three day weekend! Mine has been spent celebrating my boyfriends mum's birthday and indulging in too much food, including cinnamon donut cupcakes and a lunch out at my favourite pub (post coming soon). I'm finishing off the weekend with a shopping trip to hunt down some shoes for my dads wedding. It's been ages since I've just relaxed with family, so this weekend has been really nice!

How have you spent the long weekend?

Grandma Pollard's fish & chips

I don't know about you, but every now and then there's nothing better than a traditional fish and chips! For me and my boyfriend nowhere is quite as good as Grandma Pollards famous homemade fish & chips. Open for more than 50 years they are famous for their delicious buttery pies and their crispy light battered fish, and not to mention their vanilla slices! Tom's been coming here for as long as he remembers and when he introduced it to me I fell in love with the place just as he did.

The last two times we've been we ate in at the old school bus they have converted around the back of the chippy. It's decked out with little tables and old bus seats and really adds something different to the usual fish & chips. The fish is the best I've ever had, the batter is perfect - crisp and not greasy in the slightest. They also do battered scraps on the side, naughty but oh so delicious and something I simply cannot resist. I also love that Tony, the son of Grandma Pollard and a true Yorkshireman, wanders round talking to customers eating in, and if you're lucky giving out free bonuses such as potato dabbers. A real personal touch that shows they care about their customers!

If you're in the mood for fish & chips and in the Yorkshire area, you'll find this beauty in Walsden, Todmorden. Amazing food and you get to eat in a bus. What could be better than that?