The Riverside Grill - Bedford

I went out for a meal to the Riverside Grill with my family and it's safe to say we were very impressed. Each of us had a meal that we liked (this doesn't happen very often) and at a very affordable price. Looking at the restaurant, menu and presentation of the food  yo wouldn't think this is an affordable place but it is. Check out their website:  The Riverside Grill . Although there were numerous christmas parties and birthdays taking place, this didn't effect our service at all. 

The food was fab and was loaded with flavour. The top plate is the Giant King Prawns which my sister had. I have never in my life seen prawns this big, it's crazy. 

Below that is the grilled goats cheese and penne which was really tasty. It had so much flavour and the cheese definitely did it justice. It came with olives which I bravely tried but I'm still not too sure about them. They're definitely something I'd have to eat with something else. 

On the top plate of the middle picture are the fishcakes of the day. These were huge so mum ended up sharing. They were not bland at all which some tend to be and were perfectly cooked. The chips  they came with were really good. They weren't smothered in salt but still had an amazing flavour.

The Three Smoked burger on the bottom plate was very very hot so don't underestimate it! It was too spicy for me as I couldn't taste much after trying some but my dad thoroughly enjoyed the challenge. 

Last but not least is dessert!! My favourite course and the one I look forward to the most. 9 times out of 10 I look at the dessert menu first. The dessert on the top left is rhubarb crumble, on the right is the Belgium chocolate and raspberry tart and the bottom is the warm cookie and ice cream sandwich. My mum and sister enjoyed theirs however the one and only criticism I would have about mine (warm cookie and ice cream sandwich) was that the cookie wasn't warm so I was a bit disappointed about that but it still tasted amazing and was beautifully set out. 

I would definitely recommend visiting and I will definitely be returning

Amy x

Dubai Haul

I wouldn't say I went overboard on my holiday shopping, my boyfriend definitely did. I was actually surprised with how little I came home with but as always it was a struggle to repack my case as much as it was to actually pack it in the first place. Yes I am that person who has to pack an outfit for each day of the holiday and especially if it's going to be 50 degrees. Everything I bought was in dirhams but I'll tell you the prices anyway incase you're visiting.

The picture above contains all of the items I bought for my room as I've recently moved rooms because we had an extension built. I chose to paint it light grey and have white furniture so I can jazz it up with decorations and it doesn't matter what colour they are. At the top is a piece of art made out of leather (60AED). I picked this up when we went to the heritage museum which was really interesting, containing information about the history of Dubai. The seven camels represent the seven sheikhs of the UAE. I am currently on the look out for a frame to put it up on my wall.  I chose this cushion (44AED) above from Fakih collections Antiques Museum because I think it's beautiful. If you're ever in Dubai this is the place to go and get all your souvenirs as everything is in one place. Finally just on the right is a metal postcard, I have an obsession with collecting postcards wherever I go. I never send them but I like to put them in my scrapbook. In this case I can't so this is another piece to decorate the wall with.

Next are a few bits and bobs. I got the two pouches as I thought they'd be useful to put in my bag and keep small things together so like chewing gum or make up etc. The camel one was from the textile suke (4AED) I think? and the pink one along with the keyring were from the Fakih Collections Antique Museum.

I bought the saucepan and frying pan from Daiso (9AED each) because one they're mini, two they're pink and three they're cute and I couldn't leave them there. I'm not sure how much food I'll exactly get in them but at least I can make mini pancakes. I then got the giraffe salad scoop things (10AED) from Fakih Collections Antique Museum because giraffes are my favourite animal and I find it hard to resist anything with a giraffe on so I just had to pick them up. Lastly there's the car air freshener (19AED) from lifestyle. I currently can't drive and don't have a car but as my test isn't far away I thought I'd prepare for the future somehow. These do smell amazing though, my mum's got one in the car and it's really strong so does what it's there to do. I've got mine in Vanilla but there are loads of other scents to choose from.

So moving on to my toiletries/cosmetics. I can't stress how many times I've been into Bath and Body Works. It is one of my all time faves. I have about 10 of their mini hand sanitisers but  haven't ever walked out with anything else. Both my mum and nan love them as they're so handy and come in every scent so I guess it runs in the family. This time I set out to buy matching shower gel and hand soap to look cute in my en suite but they didn't do the hand soap of my favourite shower gel scent (Amber blush 70 AED) which messed that one up a little so I ended up with these two above. They're fresh and the hand soap (Midnight pomegranate 40 AED) is a little fruity which is all you want when you leave the bathroom smelling your hands. That kind of sounds weird but everyone does it if the soap smells good. Hiding up the top there is my first ever NYX purchase from Lifestyle. I love this product! It's so nourishing for your lips but buildable for a more pigmented colour. It doesn't last all day but it's similar to a lib balm, once it sinks in it's gone but I like that it does two in one. 

How can you expect me to go into the worlds biggest sweetshop and come out with nothing. You're right, you can't. I could literally spend all day in Candylicious. Every time I go I bring back a bag of jelly beans that I've never tried before so I thought I'd carry on that tradition and this time thought I would try some more things out. I got the birthday cake m&ms (9AED) to try but I'm not too sure what they're going to be like, I guess I'll find out soon. As goes with the desserts flavoured skittles (9AED). I have never ever seen these before. Unless I'm blind I don't think we have these in the UK either. We're so boring when it comes to food really. And last but no means least are the two Airhead bars (9AED each) at the back. I've only ever tried raspberry and cherry ones I think before and they were nice so I thought I'd try some other flavours but the ones I found were no normal ones, they have 2 in 1 bar! I have one strawberry & watermelon and a pink lemonade & orange to try so I'll find out soon if they're good enough to repurchase 

Amy x

Hand Luggage Essentials

As I'm off on holiday next Tuesday and so many others are off on their travels too I thought I'd share with you what my hand luggage essentials are. I pack the vital things in my hand luggage so that if I lost my suitcase I would still be able to contact someone and carry on with my holiday.

The first and most important is your passport followed by your tickets. You won't be getting on that plane without these so leave early enough so you do have time to go back for them. I keep mine in a zipped pocket in my hand luggage that's easy to access so I know where they are all times.

I then have my phone so I can contact people at the other end and when I arrive back home. I also keep my charger to top it up if it runs out of charge. 

Staying on the topic of electricals I take my iPod to listen to and 2 pairs of headphones. My over the ear headphones and my in ear headphones. I always find over the ear hurt after a while so I take my in ear headphones too and I also find they're more comfortable to sleep in. 

I take a book and magazine with me to read in the airport. At the moment I'm reading The Secret and Twilight. Yes I have been reading Twilight for ages but I'll have time to actually read it in the airport as well as by the pool on holiday. I tend not to read them on the plane as I take full advantage of the films haha.

I keep a little pouch in my bag with some items which I know if I don't take, I'll need. I call this my emergency kit. In it there is hand sanitizer, tissues and wipes for keeping clean. Theres nothing worse than feeling like you have grubby hands. They're also useful for in the airport if you stop to have something to eat. I keep paracetamol in there incase I get a headache etc, they're useful to keep in your bag incase someone else is in need of them too. I also keep a body spray or perfume on me at all times. Little testers of perfume are perfect for travelling as they're so small and definitely won't exceed the liquid limit which is 100ml per container in the UK.

Make up isn't a must but I don't want feel disgusting so I just take concealer, powder and mascara to put on when I arrive so I look slightly presentable. At the moment I'm using MAC's Select Cover Up concealer, Benefit's Hello flawless powder and Soap and Glory's Thick and Fast High Definition Collagen Coat Mascara.

My next essentials are both food related. I always have sweets for the take off, it's just something my family always do and always have done. I also like to take chewing gum to keep my mouth feeling fresh for the whole journey.

Last but not least is sunglasses so you're prepared when you arrive and won't have to rummage around in your suitcase. This way can also prevent them braking or snapping in your suitcase.

Amy x

June Restaurant Review

Last week was such a busy week as it was my birthday so I only had time to write a quick post and decided this week would be a longer one. I had such an amazing day and would like to thank everyone who made it so great. There was so much food and this is the reason for this post. I thought I would use this as inspiration to review places I've been to eat over the last month. I hardly ever eat out so this month has been a shock to the system haha.

So first up is FIVE GUYS. My sister had visited with her friend and said I had to go, so the next time we went to London with mum we went there for dinner. The portions are massive! I ordered a little burger and small fries and still had a bag full after. The fries are the best I have ever had (maybe the same as sweet potato fries). They're cooked in peanut oil and that must be the magic ingredient. They don't just taste of potato or salt, they have such a nice taste. I really can't describe it so just go and try them. They also have a station where you can pick up peanuts and take them to your table and a station to refill drinks. It has nearly every flavour you can think of from strawberry lemonade, peach lemonade to orange coke. I do, however much I love this place, recommend avoiding here if you're allergic to nuts for obvious reasons.

Secondly my boyfriend took me to Buddies in Northampton. If you like american food you'll love this place. They have about 70 burgers on the menu so there'll definitely be something you like. The portions were massive and the service was amazing, our food was out within about 10 mins. You do genuinely feel as though you're in America as it was just like a diner with the traditional seats, decoration and music. 

Me and my sister have wanted to go to Spaghetti Johns for ages and were lucky enough to be taken for our birthday meal. I loved the food and had lobster ravioli which was soo good. I would definitely go there again. Due to the fact it was an italian restaurant they had a huge range of gellato. This is where my new found love of praline gellato comes from. It tastes exactly like the guylian chocolate shells which are my absolute fave! 

Lastly there's the Harvester. I went there with my friends and had such a good night. I love going to the harvester because it's so affordable, I always enjoy my meal and always leave full. They also do my fave chips (sweet potato fries). I would most definitely consider myself a sweet person because I always look at the dessert menu first. So I'd already decided I was going to have the oreo cheesecake mmm. 

Amy x