Win a £50 prize with Ask Her Friends

Are you full of the joys of Spring? Fancy winning a prize worth £50 with Ask Her Friends? Me too! Pop over to their website and vote for my set.  There's lots of ways to enter. Just click here.

I've gone for an indoors/outdoors Spring home set.

1. Hand Painted Bird House by Pretty Dandy 

2. Cycling Indicator Mittens by Twisted Twee 

3. Vintage Painted Rose Cushion by Pretty Dandy 

4. There’s No Place Like Home Print by DeBono and Bennett

5. Fairy Tale Mug by Heather Alstead

The Orange Tree, Newcastle Under Lyme

After a hard days wedding dress shopping, it's an exhausting process honest, mum and I felt we deserved a some lunch at The Orange Tree in Newcastle under Lyme.

Now although I'm a real foodie, I've never felt compelled to write a restaurant review. Until now.  You see, I loved everything about this place. The food. The décor. The staff. Even the toilets! Yes I kid you not, even the toilets get a mention!  How many times have you visited a really nice bar or restaurant only to nip to the loo and discover they forgot to include the toilets in their extensive and rather expensive refurb? It always raises the question, if they can't be bothered about the toilet's what other corners have they cut? In my opinion, attention to detail is essential and this place has got it in the bag.

Light fittings made entirely of feathers (Image courtesy of The Orange Tree)

Not only was the food and presentation pretty spectacular, the staff were lovely.  They were chatty but not in your face, professional yet friendly and constantly working to ensure you received the best dining experience ever.   I chose the Monkfish & Marlin skewers with a honey, lime and coriander , neither of which I'd tried before. The waitress was really knowledgeable of the entire menu and recommended them and I'm so glad she did! The fish had so much flavour I would have sworn it had been freshly caught that day!

Monkfish & Marlin Skewers (Image courtesy The Orange Tree)

The Restaurant (Image courtesy The Orange Tree)

The menu is a little on the pricey side but you're not just paying for great food, you're also paying for the overall experience which in my opinion is worth every penny.  If you're looking for somewhere new to eat and don't mind paying a little extra, you should definitely pay a visit to The Orange Tree.

Have you been somewhere new to eat that you can recommend? Let me know so I can pay them a visit!

P.S. If you get a chance it would be lovely if you could vote for me over at  Ask Her Friends bloggers panel, you could win a prize worth £50!

How To Transform Your Home With £50

Due to the recession most people think more carefully about how they spend their money.  We often think twice before spending large sums of money but we do know that by making home improvements we'll eventually be adding value to our home.  When Tesco Compare Home Insurance asked me to become a DIY Home Improvement reviewer, by challenging me to improve an area of our home for only £50, I was more than game!

The kitchen window was one of the last areas in our home that we had to finish.  We'd recently re-tiled and painted the kitchen  but hadn't got round to choosing a new blind. The area next to the sink was becoming a dumping ground for the recycling and on a whole it was letting the rest of the kitchen down.  It was in desperate need of some finishing touches.  

The following items were chosen by myself and supplied by Tesco's Direct: - 

Roller Blind
Plant pots x 2
Banksy Canvas Artwork x 2

All other items were already owned by myself.

Before

The window needed dressing and the recycling was an eyesore.

After

The blind, artwork, plant pots and previously owned ornaments transformed the kitchen window.

We re-potted our herb plants and hung postcards and ornaments from garden twine

Banksy Canvas Artwork

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I'm delighted with the results.  The kitchen is finally complete and certainly looks a whole lot better.

So what do you think?  Do you have an area at home that is in need of a makeover?

P.S Just in case you missed my last post I'm featuring over at Ask Her Friends bloggers panel.  It would be awesome if you could pop over and vote for me. You might even win £50 worth of products. x

Win £50 with Ask Her Friends

So, it's that time again when I team up with Ask Her Friends to help choose the best presents from their marketplace.  With February fast approaching the theme, as you have probably guessed is Valentines Day.

One of the things I like most about Ask Her Friends is their support of independent designers.  I love how unusual some of their products are and not always the kind of thing you'd find on the high street.

If you like my choices it would be awesome if you could pop over to their page and vote for me.   There's even a chance you could win a prize worth £50.

1.  New Love Ring - Ella Georgia
2.  Enamel Love Mug - Tigerlily Quinn
3.  Turns Out Typography - Coulson Macleod
4.  Bath Bombs Gift Box - Gift Box Galore
5.  Black Widow Set - Buttress and Snatch

Hope you like my choices and remember if you do just click on this link and vote for me.

Thank you lovelies. x