LITTLE GEMS: The Festive Blog! Fox Restaurant, The Garden and a bit of Topshop Styling too!

Hello! How was your festive break? I hope you had a lovely time off and spent time with family and friends. I certainly did indeed, unfortunately I fell fowl to a nasty chest infection which then kindly
turned into flu just before New Year - hmm... not so great for the festivities, but Christmas Eve and Christmas Day was lovely!


CHRISTMAS MORNING MUFFINS


ALL MY FAV TABLEWARE


Aaaaww look at my tree! It seems like such a long time ago now too. We've just taken it down today and the house (as it does post Christmas every year) looks naked, plus my husband, myself and my cat seem to be laced in glitter. Ah well, nothing like keeping the sparkle going!


BYE BYE BAUBLES


So, the run up to Christmas was fun, we had lots of tasty food, maybe a little more indulgent than normal, but hey ho! Or should I say ho ho ho!


MY FAV PANCAKES - GLUTEN, SUGAR & DAIRY FREE, SUPER LIGHT AND TASTY!


SERVED WITH COYO COCONUT YOGHURT & BLUEBERRIES


AVOCADO, TOMATOES & A POACHED EGG ON SOURDOUGH BREAD


ALTY MARKET RICE BOWL FROM WOLFHOUSE KITCHEN & TRIPLE COOKED CHIPS


So, this time I went for the mushroom rice bowl instead of the tofu (only because they didn't have it on the menu) and wowsers, this was spicy! Don't get me wrong, I can take a good bit of heat, but even hubs agreed it 'had a kick' (his polite way in saying - yes Em, that will blow your head off!). I ended up taking it back and asking them to add some extra rice to soak up some of the sauce. Unfortunately, the chef was less than impressed to say the least! They ended up making it again with some tofu cream in the sauce to take away some of the 'kick' but it just wasn't great. Majorly disappointed as I usually adore their food, plus the fact he made me feel stupid as hell didn't help either! Ah, well! I can't say I won't be going back, because I know I will. Just will steer clear of the mushroom option next time - unless I'm in the mood for some rocket fuel ha ha! 


Hubs had the lamb flatbread from The Little Window and said it was really good. It looked really tasty plus they do a halloumi option which I might treat myself to if I'm in a cheesy mood.


BUDDHA BOWL & I AM WELL AT THE GARDEN, HALE


I'll be straight here, I can't remember what day was what! It's like they all merged into one this holiday. I loved what the guy on the radio said "The time between Christmas and New Year is full of people walking around like zombies just buying stuff!" Ha ha! This is so true as well. I decided to get some form of healthy food in me one day over the festive break and opted for the Garden. Feeling a little under the weather, I went for the Buddha Bowl (veggie curry and rice) and an I Am Well Tonic to sort me out. Well, it did! Ok, for like an hour or so, but seriously that I Am Well drink stopped my cough for ages - and nothing has done that so far! Plus it all tastes amazing!


FOX RESTAURANT HALE BARNS


So this day I do remember! This was Christmas Eve and we went for dinner at Fox Restaurant in Hale Barns. Such a lovely evening plus they have put mash potato on the menu!! Hoorah! We decided to share starters and had the scallops and prawns to begin with. The scallops were good, but the prawns didn't taste of much. It was all presented lovely though and I had such a nice evening, I can't complain.


We also shared our mains too. We had the seafood skewers, sea bass, mash potato, broccoli and spinach. Nom nom nom! 


SEXY HUBBY POSING FOR A SELFIE! ;)


Christmas dinner was spent with my family. Mamma and pops came down and we had quite a lot of food considering there was only 4 of us! A turkey for my Dad, chicken for hubs and nut roast for Mamma and me - plus all the trimming of course!


THE VEGGIE END OF THE TABLE


TASTY PLATE OF CHRISTMAS DINNER!


KEEPING WITH THE USUAL TRADITION, FRESH, HOMEMADE BREAD! 


Christmas Day is not Christmas Day without sandwiches with leftovers. This I love to do with fresh bread. To be honest, its made a lot easier with my Kitchen Aid, plus I am even lazier as at Christmas I always use a bread mix. I literally dump it in my mixer and add water, turn on the machine and then get hubster to knead it for an extra couple of minutes once it's proved. I know it seems a bit crazy, but for me it's just the icing on the cake. Above is my veggie sandwich and below is hubs!



We ventured out to Alty in between Christmas and New Year for a quick bit to eat and ended up in The Con Club (I did a post on this last week) and had a fish finger sandwich which was yum!


HOME COOKED SALMON & RICE


VENTURED BACK TO THE GARDEN FOR THE SAME AGAIN BUT WITH A GINGER SHOT!


This was a pretty cool day, I went to Tophop for a Personal Styling appointment as part of one of my pressies from my hubby for Christmas. I have been wanting to work a bit more on my style this year as I literally live in yoga clothes and as much as they are comfy, I don't feel stylish at all.
This was a great opportunity for somebody (with fashion knowhow) to tell me what goes with what. I ended up buying clothes that I guess I would never normally purchase as I wouldn't know how to wear them. The stylist, (Hannah Twist for anybody who was interested - super helpful and stylish as hell!) gave me some great ideas and I came out with bags of new clothes and a lovely shopping experience too. If you fancy trying it, the personal shopping experience is complimentary and all you need to do is book in! Such a great idea, especially if you're looking for something in particular, they know the shop and stock inside out so can really help you.


FAV LUNCH FOR ONE AT SAN CARLO :) 


HOMEMADE THAI RED VEG CURRY


HOMEMADE ANTIOXIDANT SALAD


BOWL OF GOODNESS - PORRIDGE TOPPED WITH GRANOLA

So if you made it to the end of this blog then thank you! Sorry it was such a long one! I hope you all had a fab time, got lots of pressies and spent some quality time with friends and family. My New Years was me in bed by 10pm ha ha! 

Thank you to all of you who continue to read my little blog each week, I really appreciate your support and will hopefully continue to make it grow with lots of new things in 2017. This is me signing off saying Happy New Year to you and yours. I hope you have a very healthy, wealthy and prosperous 2017.

Sending lots of love and thanks so much for reading,



Em x
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