The Angel Hotel Abergavenny

Hi all!

One of my Christmas presents was a voucher to go to the High Tea in the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny. I've heard a lot about this place a lot from when I used to work near there and lots from other friends and bloggers who have been.

I was really looking forward to it and I can tell you it didn't disappoint!

We were taken to a dining room where the china was so beautiful! It was all matching and perfectly placed, totally ideal for afternoon tea.

I wore my new black Ralph Lauren dress as its really smart but still chic - I love the leather edging to the V on the neck and the pockets, and it's also got plenty of room for cake!

And considering this amazing stand of food wasn't even all of the food included in the High Tea it was a good idea!

Just look at all of the beautiful pastries, delicate cakes and really cute sandwiches - I couldn't stop staring at all of the food but also couldn't wait to tuck in either.

Let's start with the pastries - coronation chicken, prawns, salmon, beef and stilton as well as cheese scones and quiche. I was totally loving this part as savoury food is my fave.

This was all absolutely divine, I managed to restrain myself from shoving them in one after another but as our time slot was 3pm I was so hungry it was difficult! Some of these also came out warm, it would have been rude to eat them cold right?



Next up we went through the sandwiches - egg mayo, ham and mustard, salmon, and cheese and onion. They were all really nice and the crusts were removed meaning the fillings were right up to the edges, something I personally think is vital in a sandwich!

The last tier was the cakes themselves. For every other level on the stand we had one of each of the pastries or sandwiches, for the middle level of cakes they were all to share or split between us which was fun!

There was tiramasu cake, custard slice, raspberry ripple sponge, lemon roulade, chocolate brownie, profiterole and biscuits. I can't begin to tell you how gorgeous these were, and although they were sweet they weren't overpowering and the lemon and raspberry were so real tasting.
We didn't manage to finish these because there were so many to eat but they do allow you to take home a box of everything that you can't manage!

Apart from the stand there was also a mini trifle each (I can't cope with jelly so I just ate the cream off the top..!) shown below:

There was also a warm scone with jam and cream brought out to you when you were ready for them. I am slightly ashamed to admit that I didn't manage to eat these at the hotel so we brought both of these back home with us and ate them later on. For the record, they may be the best scones I've ever eaten (not including my mums - eating them straight out of the oven is different!) but they really were GOOD.

Aside from the food there was also the tea menu, it's fabulous and super extensive. It is also seemingly unlimited for the duration of the 2 hour slot and I started with a lovely black tea (needed the caffeine for my 3pm slump) and then followed it with a Moroccan mint tea.

They were also really good and I would love to go back and find some more, if I wasn't so thirsty I would have been more adventurous with my tea choices.

I would 100% recommend the High Tea at the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny, it has a wonderful selection of cakes and pastries for everyone and the tea range is outstanding.

The menu for the Angel Hotel can be found here, and the prices for the Afternoon Tea is £21.80 and the High Tea is £26.80. It would be a great mother/daughter day, catch up with friends and family, and I did also see a sophisticated hen party there too!

It gets a full recommendation from me, have you been to afternoon tea at the Angel Hotel? Have you been to any others in South Wales that you would recommend?

L xxx

Fitness Friday: Instagram Inspiration

Hey everyone!

I've been lacking in time, energy and motivation recently but this week I've dropped myself back into my routines and I'm exhausted in every possible way!
Not only have I been cramming 5 days of work into 4 and then getting back into my gym routines I've also been cramming in all sorts of appointments for my new house - solicitors, mortgages and estate agents!

So this week I thought I'd go through my favourite instagram accounts. There are sooooooooo many that I follow to give me motivation or inspiration so I'll be doing a few of these posts to share some of my favourite accounts.

Hazel Wallace has already featured in a few posts (girl crush anyone??) and it is not hard to see why. I've been following for a good while and its amazing to see her reach so many followers, 33.5k is absolutely amazing!
Not only is she absolutely beautiful as well as having a body I can only dream of having, she's super clever being a med student and also makes drool worthy food. Her recent Nandos style wrap has made it onto my meals list for when I move out and am cooking for myself again, every body loves chicken and sweet potato!

Carly Rowena is another absolutely beautiful woman, she is the absolute definition of beautiful abs.
Recently she said on instagram that she gets a lot of negative attention because of her abs being 'too bulky' but I would love to have that kind of definition! It's crazy what people will say to you, I think she'd beautiful and fully admire her dedication to her body. She also has IBS and regularly talks about the pain of bloating and general discomfort, healthy eating and exercise is hard work at the best of times!

Two Bad Bodies is a super fun and inspirational account I found randomly about 2/3 months ago. Two friends who met at uni and found themselves on the track together and have been working out together ever since.
They post regular workouts via their accounts and I can't even describe to you how perfectly synchronised their routines are, you have to watch them to believe it!
It's like watching one person with a mirror down the middle - so impressive and it makes you want to grab your friend and try the routines yourself.
Not only that but they also have a video from the one and only Michelle Obama on their account, these girls are instagram fitness royalty!

Lastly I'm sure we've all heard of Results with Lucy - the fitness business from TOWIE's Lucy Mecklenburgh.
She has changed her own body from being generally skinny to toned and with a core that most of us would be envious of. She also posts regular video clips on instagram of workout ideas and new things to try but it's also fun to follow her for pictures like the pug one below - she's very much a fan of living as well as fitness. Had a bad weekend? Eaten and drunk too much? That's ok, just get back on it this week and enjoy life!







Do you have some favourite instagram accounts for fitness and health? Do you have your own girl crush when it comes to instagram fitness gurus?

I will be writing another of these posts with some food and recipe based instagram accounts, do you enjoy scrolling through instagram for inspiration and motivation?

I'm really determined to get back into a routine and get back into some progression.


L xxx

Birthday!

Hello!

Last week it was my birthday, and it's been a bit of a different one this year. I turned 27 and although that doesn't sound particularly old this year I definitely feel it. Suddenly it was the week of my birthday and I hadn't even thought about what I wanted for it from my parents, and I spent some of the week away with work so it flew by even faster!

I started the day with a favourite breakfast of mine - chia seeds, almond milk, greek yogurt, fruit and a good dollop of peanut butter. It was lush!

I went into work and was met with this monstrous cake - who on earth can turn down what is essentially a giant triple chocolate cupcake. It got me through my 11am slump and my 3pm slump - normally I'm a fan of the 'sugar is the devil' saying but birthdays mean anything goes!



As I mentioned before there has been so much going on this week, one major thing that has happened is that I have finally bought my own house! I am massively scared but also excited, I can't wait to own my own home, decorate it and essentially grow up!

As far as presents go, I had a gorgeous Champneys set from my aunty which was a lovely surprise, I've been working my way through my stash for quite a while and haven't bought any bath products so this will be a lovely treat now that all of my budget will be going on house bills and items!

My mum has also been buying me a few things for the house, we are both fans of the citrus scent so she has got me a citrus candle to put in my kitchen, they're great for getting rid of cooking smells and i can't wait to get more of these to put everywhere all over the house!

She also picked these up from Home Sense, 3 beautiful silver bottles that will be going in my new bathroom! It's a very plain white bathroom with a black tiled floor so it needs a bit of sparkle!

I went out to watch the rugby with a few friends (M included in the middle!)

There were a lot of shots to celebrate me buying a house, in fact the next day I did begin to question if it was even real!

As a birthday celebration I took a day off work and went for afternoon tea with my mum, it was absolutely amazing and I can't rave about it enough. There will be a full post on this soon!

So there was my 27th birthday!

It was short and sweet and I definitely feel like this year is much more grown up. I'm super excited about having a house and although it is pretty small it will be all my own, so any blogs or website you read with interior design ideas please send them my way - I will be writing a wishlist post in future for the design ideas I would love to incorporate into my house.

L xxx

You Beauty Box

Hey all!

We've both been buying lots of similar things recently so we're back in the swing of writing double posts, we hope you like them!
Today's double review is the You Beauty box. Each box is limited edition and you get a choice each month of two products. You also get some products added in for free, and all this comes for just £6.95 delivered to your door - amazing!

This month we both couldn't resist and signed up mostly because Sasha from Ramblings of a Beauty Bird basically told us to, she is such an enabler!

It was nothing to do with the fact you could get a full size Illamasqua lipstick in a beautiful matte blood red finish for less than half of the normal £18.50 price tag.



Not only that there was also a travel sized version of Dove's Advanced Hair Series Youthful Vitality Shampoo and Conditioner - perfect for L now she's travelling a lot with work.

And also a lovely snack of a Nakd bar. We're big fans of healthy snacks and these are gluten, wheat and dairy free containing only cold pressed fruits and nuts and are normally around 100 calories, they're also perfect to take around with you in your handbag when you need a boost on the go.

This box was dedicated to the Best of British and came with a card to detail each of the products inside. We both chose the same this month, the Illamasqua lipstick and also the Good Things Manuka Honey Face Mask which L has been lusting after for a while. 

We both think this is such good value for £6.95 even without the lipstick. The lipstick is a beautiful bold red that would suit most people and is totally worth the £18.50 price tag for the pigmentation and finish.



Here it is on. The shade that comes in the box is Sangers which is still available to buy. It's matte but glides on easily doesn't dry out the lips and literally lasts all day.

The other products in the box are really generous sample sizes which is great as you will get to use them more than once like you would get with a sachet. It definitely seemed too good to be true. It's a great alternative to more expensive boxes and you get to choose two products each month you want to receive and then get extra ones thrown in or you can cancel for that month.

Have you tried You Beauty box? Do you think £6.95 is a much better price for a beauty box?

Who doesn't like receiving presents in the post?!

L and M xxx