Colman's Season and Shake reviews

Sorry I haven't posted in a while, I've been far too distracted seeing the Killers a further two times!

As I said in a previous post, I enjoy cooking and don't buy into the ready meal stereotype everyone over the age of 30 seems to have about students. Saying that, I do like trying mass produced seasonings such as cajun spice, Schwartz is the best!

With this in mind I purchased three of Colman's 'season and shake' offerings, to try something different and see if a pre-made mix can really live up to something cooked from scratch.

Colmans Season And Shake Pou Spanish Pork Casserole

The first on the menu was a tangy Spanish pork casserole. Before about 2011 I almost never ate pork, bar roast pork, but Mike loves it so we started buying it and I realised what I'd been missing! We love pork loin steak with sweet potatoes and green beans or a spicy pork stroganoff but I wanted to try something a little different, that wasn't completely out of my taste range as I'm a bit of a fussy eater.

I have to admit I thought the idea of a pre-made sachet was that it made the cooking process easier however when I opened the packet a whole load of the seasoning went all over the working surface! Regardless, I followed the instructions, omitting the mushrooms and replacing them with a few cherry tomatoes.

All you do is place all the vegetables, meat, oil, water and seasoning in the plastic bag provided and shake, hence the name! Once it's lightly marinated pop it in the oven for around 40 minutes. Unfortunatly you get rather a lot excess 'bag' so make sure you cut it down if you have a smaller oven as the plastic can melt and burn very easily!

40 minutes later all I had to do was snip the corner of the bag to let the mixture out, serving with rice and some natural yoghurt. I have to say I really enjoyed the taste, although some may find it a little salty. Completely different to an English casserole, essentially that same hearty meal but with a tomatoey pepper twang! Tomatoes, peppers and onions are my favourite vegeatables by a country mile and I really don't like 'English' food so this is a winner for anyone who is a little picky. The meat was tender and the powder transformed into a rich, deep sauce. I really think the addition of cherry tomatoes added to the overall taste and texture but if you're looking for something a little more English than Spanish then keep the mushrooms.

Overall 8/10, will definitely have again! Also as it's an oven dish it's much less hassle and less washing up.

Enjoy!

Price: £.1.10 (but purchased in a 3 for £3 deal from Tesco which is on until 2nd July)
Taste: 8/10
Ease: 8/10

Picture's are coming soon, in the meantime check out the massive range Colman's do!

Festival food - Ryan Chong's pizza success

A music festival is probably the only place you'd be nonchalent about being covered in a suspiciously warm liquid thrown from somewhere behind you or that you'd pay £8 for a tiny little burger.

Last week I ventured to the Isle of Wight Festival to see my favourite band, The Killers. Anyone that knows me is aware of the ridiculous levels of love I have for the four boys from Las Vegas and I could not pass up the opportunity to see them so locally, even if the rest of the line up featured Bloc Party and The Maccabees.

In the past I've visited V twice and also Hyde Park for Hard Rock Calling but I've never camped and I never would, not my idea of fun. Anyway, the 'stringent' checks enforced by festival security are laughable however it is suggested that you don't bring any food or drink in with you, they say it's so you can't use it as a weapon but we all know it's so they can rip you off charging £2 for a warm bottle of Coke.

Tiny, too expensive but must try

Arriving at the food court I saw a stand  selling ostrich burgers and decided the unusual meat justified the £7.50 price tag. The meat was greasy but lean and tasted surprisingly like beef, I'd recommend trying it but it's definitely not going to turn a vegetarian back to the dark side.

This post is really about Ryan Chong. If you're a fan of the Great British Bake Off you might recognise Ryan, he featured on the show just last year.

Shuffling around the festival site around 5pm we were predictably hungry for something a little more substantial than the tiny ostrich burger we had had for lunch (between us!). I spotted Ryan's stylish pizza stand out the corner of my eye and was shocked that the prices (between £7 and £8) were for an entire pizza and not just a slice or two. As is standard I hovered around those who were already eating their treats and was suitably impressed by the fresh looking (and large) pizzas they were eating.

My margherita, so delicious!

Mike purchased Ryan's signature brie with caramelised onion marmalade pizza whereas I opted for the safe margherita. Service was quick and efficent and when the pizzas arrived I was so happy, the pizzas looked like they'd be more at home in an Italian pizzeria than a muddy field on the Isle of Wight! Just take a look at the pictures, so fresh and tasty!

Mike tucking in!

I decided to contact Ryan to see if he was going to be making an appearance at any other festivals or public events this year and if you're attending Glasto, the Bristol balloon festival, Secret Garden Party or Carfest South then keep your eyes peeled, I can't recommend him enough!

The flavours are even more exciting than Domino's new Carolina, including chicken liver parfait and grapes with Marsala jelly, as well as Kimchi and Pepperoni pizza.

As well as pizzas Ryan also offers Mediterranean chicken wraps as well as spicy lamb wraps using local Mendip organic meats.

If you've ever eaten at a festival you will know what a great find this is, no more £8 part cooked, meat free Noodle bar for me!

www.livelaughlove.co.uk

www.livelaughlove.co.uk is a website I stumbled upon by chance whilst searching for lovely things to decorate my new home with. I'm a massive fan of all things 'cute' and cottagey and from first glance the website is attractive, functional and works well on mobile devices (tested on HTC and iPad.)

Many of the items are of a similar style to those currently covering the shop floors of department stores such as Debenhams, described as 'shabby chic'.

The website covers a large range of tastes and includes furniture, decorative items and even soaps. I decided to order three items, below are my reviews.

Ceramic rose jug - small

I have often longed for a cutesy small jug to display on my dressing table or even to house a few small flowers and this beautiful little jug seemed to fit the bill perfectly. Although I've used it decoratively you could also use it as an attractive addition to any tea set, I'd really recommend this as it's a study little jug, I already have my lovely Emma Bridgewater set though!

It's smaller than I imagined but that's purely because I didn't measure, hopefully you can see the scale from the juxta posed photo frame. The colour is a soft lilac and the design oozes shabby chic.

I'd really recommend this product to anyone who wanted to add that little something to their bedroom, living room or even bathroom!


Look: 10/10
Customer service: 7/10
Delivery service: 4/10 (Royal Mail left outside but not the fault of LLL, price of delivery of all items £3.95)
Price:£6.95

Ceramic bird trinket dish

Please note: watch and ring not included!

Honestly, I hadn't really thought of owning a trinket dish until I saw them in many people's 'what's on my nightstand' features. I'd always popped my jewellery on my bedside table or alternatively my jewellery box which seemed a bit of faff every evening.

Whilst scanning the livelaughlove website I found this adorable birk design trinket dish. I loved the simple but classy design and hoped it would match my white bedside furniture. Priced at £4.95 I felt the product was good value for money as you could expect to pay a lot more for a similar item on the highstreet.

When the item arrived it was well packaged and looked exactly how I'd hoped, it was the perfect size for my bedside table too! Now I can never complain to Mike that I've lost my bracelet or earrings again!


Look: 10/10
Price:£4.95

Hanging rosebud heart - pink

The third and final item I ordered was this hanging rosebud style heart. Sadly, when it arrived it was damaged and bent out of shape with tiny bits of rose shaking around the packet, you could probably bend it back if you really tried but you run the risk of snapping it as it's such a fragile material.

I contacted customer services and their reply was quick and efficient, sending a return envelope which arrived the very next day.

Price: £6.95

I will report back on this item soon.

I really like this site and I suggest you take a look if this seems your sort of thing, I hope to review more of their items very soon!

Furnishing our flat, reviews

When we registered our interest for the flat we now live in we were told it was going to be part furnished however that wasn't the case and we were faced with an empty flat. Luckily we already had two Hemnes Ikea bedside tables (which I can't recommend enough), a chest of drawers and a couple of little bits. It was a hard old slog to accumulate the rest but we have almost done it...

Bed

Having lived in student accommodation for the past three years having a comfortable and stylish bed isn't really something I've been used to. The beds the University of Portsmouth provide in halls are akin to lying on a bed of chicken wire loosely covered with a bed sheet. Initially we had decided to purchase a cheap Ikea bed but after reading exceedingly bad reviews we plumped for something a little more substantial.

The furniture we already had was almost entirely white so we chose this white solid wood double bed from Oakworth Furniture, based near us just outside Portsmouth. The reviews were good and having a solid wood bed with a 10 year guarantee seemed a fantastic opportunity. The bed arrived quickly with excellent communications from the showroom, letting me know when it was due to be delivered. When it did arrive it was simple to assemble, a great size and looked just how we wanted.

Priced at £299 this bed isn't cheap cheap but is certainly not overly expensive. Oakworth are doing a further 15% off on solid wood beds with discount code OAK15, free delivery too.

Look: 10/10
Ease of assembly: 8/10
Customer service: 7/10
Delivery service: 7/10
Price: £249.99

Here's a photo of the bed without the mattress, really easy to put up as long as you have two people to lift bits

And another all made up, note the bedside tables are £40 each from Ikea, Hemnes white

Mattress

Obtaining a double mattress at a reasonable price was one of the biggest challenges. I'd looked at Ikea mattresses but they all had awful reviews and came rolled up, other retailers like Argos and Tesco were too expensive and recommended the extra expense of mattress toppers. Luckily my Mum found Mattress Man and specifically this mattress. The excellent reviews were a boost but I made sure to look at few objectively. The mattress came quickly (next day delivery) and was not a roll up (not specified on the website as far as I could tell.) The delivery man was fantastic and really kind, even lending me his phone to ring my boyfriend as I'd accidently locked myself out whilst running out to greet him! Would really recommend especially to those just starting up, fantastic prices. So far it's been really comfortable, it's a great thickness too.

Look: 8/10
Customer service: 7/10
Delivery service: 10/10
Comfort: 8/10
Price: £119.00

Settee

The biggest challenge for us was deciding on a settee which we both liked and which fit well in our space.  As I'm sure you all know settees can take ages to come, specialists like DFS can take up to 8 weeks! From a bit of searching both on the internet and physically it's clear to see that department stores such as Next, John Lewis and Debenhams are the best if you need a quick delivery. DFS boast of their express delivery for certain ranges however that's still 4 weeks! Mike and I spent a considerable amount of time looking for something which complemented the green on the walls and also wasn't too big or too small. Flipping through the Next catalogue there were several ranges which we liked, including the Alexis and Toulouse. We settled on going to view the Toulouse right hand settee. You can request swatches to compare the fabric to your room, they are free bar the delivery fee.

We decided to visit our closest largest Next Home in Southampton, luckily they had the Toulouse right hand in stock which was fantastic! As soon as we walked into the store I pointed out a settee in the distance which looked great, as we approached we realised it was indeed the one we had come to see, the range can be seen here.

Somewhere to sit, at last!

It was love at first sight, the settee was comfy and the fabric it was in, Salerno light natural, looked great. The sofa had a large chais end and was really contemporary without losing it's classy look, we also felt the neutral colour would help if we moved in the future.

The settee was part of the 4 day delivery range which was perfect for us, the delivery men were very helpful and put it all together and also took away their rubbish, it was actually DHL.


The cushions are also from Next and can be found here: left hand cushion (£14), right hand cushion (£14). 

Look: 10/10
Ease of assembly: 10/10 (all done by great delivery men)
Customer service: 10/10 (courtesy call, texts)
 Delivery service: 10/10
Comfort: 9/10
Price: £975.00

Please note that other materials are less, the listed price of this settee is £925 but this depends on the fabric you choose.

Wardrobe

Having a dressing room last year, a wardrobe isn't something Mike and I have had to worry about whilst living together. This time we did plump for the flat pack giant, Ikea. We toyed with having two wardrobes but everyone knows too much furniture can visually shrink a room. Knowing that one standard wardrobe wouldn't suffice we looked into three door options. The Apselund chest of drawers we have doesn't seem to be on offer anymore, which is just as well really and it's an unstable piece of furniture, at least it matches our theme though! Ikea seem to have introduced a new range, Brusali.

Whilst in Southampton we browsed around the showroom, knowing we'd have to order for delivery. This Brusali three door wardrobe really caught my eye as it was attractive, large but not too large and also had a mirror door. Checking the inside the wardrobe incorporated many of Ikea's ingenious storage ideas, with adjustable shelves and space for many clothes. Inside there is a large clothes rail and a smaller one which makes separating clothes easier. Perhaps the smaller section could be used for out of season clothes such as fleeces and coats.

Annoyingly Ikea charge a ridiculous £35 for delivery so we decided to order some garden furniture, a coffee table and some floor protectors just to try and justify the price a little more.

When the delivery arrived the men were courteous and kind, carrying all of the packages down the steps and into my living room. As soon as Mike got home from work we set about building our new wardrobe, this was exciting for the first 30 minutes! All in all in took almost three hours to build, the instructions were not exceedingly clear and there was almost 40 individual steps.

However, when the wardrobe was finished it fitted perfectly next to our chest of drawers (maybe Brusali is the new Aspelund) and used the space inside really effectively to create maximum storage utilisation. The mirror door is also great if you have no room on the wall for a mirror, I really like the door handles too!

Look: 9/10
Ease of assembly: 2/10
Customer service: 8/10
 Delivery service: 8/10 (courtesy call)
Price: £140.00 plus the £35.00 delivery fee

Inside pictured with the Skubb hanging shoe holder, also from Ikea for just £4 10/10

Coffee table

A coffee table is a must have if you've got a corner sofa, the space is just begging for a snazzy rug or a nice coffee table. Now, they can be very expensive if you aren't too careful and having just shelled out for a settee and other furniture we were feeling pretty frugal.

Ikea aren't known for their product quality but more convenience and price. The coffee table we bought was from the Lack range and cost just £14! Looking online it's obvious the product could be a little 'tacky' and cheap looking, which is completely understandable given the price, however after seeing the oak effect table in the store we snapped one up! Relatively easy to assemble the table fits perfectly in the space created by our corner sofa, it has a handy second shelf for storing magazines etc. to keep a tidy table top. Really like the oak effect but if you prefer the white or black I'd recommend seeing it in person first. Top purchase!


Look: 8/10
Ease of assembly: 7/10
Customer service: 8/10
Delivery service: 8/10 (courtesy call)
Price: £14.00

Lack Ikea coffee table in Oak Effect

Garden furniture

Having a garden is one of the most exciting things about our new flat. Sitting in my old flat with it's lack of natural light I longed of sitting out in a nice garden with a cup of tea or a glass of Pimms! Living in a flat space is at a premium so we required something that was inexpensive and could stay outside through all weathers. The Tarno garden table and chairs can be bought as a set (£35) or individually, £10 for the chairs and £15 for the table.

For just £35 I didn't expect high quality but both the table and chairs are sturdy and extremely easy to assemble, the chairs literally just fold out. I think it looks quite good sat in the middle of the stone circle in the garden! Highly recommended.

Tarno garden furniture

Look: 8/10
Ease of assembly: 10/10
Customer service: 8/10
Delivery service: 8/10 (courtesy call)
Price: £35.00 (10/10/15)



Well that's all the furniture for the moment, just a desk to arrive. Hope you like our choices!

- Hannah

Everyone likes pizza

I think we have had our fill of interior photos of my new flat for the moment so here's something to really sink your teeth into. I really enjoy cooking and I can't abide those who live on junk food and I abhor ready meals.

I've made my own pizza bases a few times before with varying levels of success but this one was a hit with both Mike and I!

Here's a photo of the finished product.. This recipe is mine and is quick and easy, you can adapt as you wish. This is a meat-free pizza as part of my new years resolution but you could easily add some bacon or cured meat.

RECIPE

Base

• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 180g plain flour
• A good sprinkling of dried yeast. Other recipes recommend about 3.5 grams per base but I find just add enough until you get a bit of colour
• 1 and a half tablespoons olive oil
• 100ml warm water 
• 1 glove of garlic and olive oil for brushing

Topping

• 1 jar Napolina pizza topping sauce (I have made my own but there's no point as Napolina is delicious)
• 1 ball mozzerealla 
•  8 cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• Half a red onion
• Schwartz cajun spice

METHOD

For the base mix all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Then simply add the oil and water and mix together. If it's too dry add a touch more water or too wet add some more flour.

Once it's come together to a stretchy dough knead for 5 or so minutes, luckily for you this method needs no resting!

Roll out the dough into a circle, a similar size to your lined pizza tray. Make sure the dough is quite thin as it can go soggy really easier. Dice the clove of garlic and mix with the olive oil, lightly brush over the base and pop into the oven for five minutes.

Whilst that's cooking dice half a red onion and cut the mozzarella into slices. Remove the base from the oven and spread the pizza sauce evenly, then simply add the ingredients in whatever order you wish, sprinkle the cajun spice liberally over the tomatoes.

Cook for 25 minutes or until the cheese is golden, enjoy!

- Hannah

A green revolution!

After much discussion, tester pots and let's face it, arguments we settled on this colour. It's Well Being from Dulux. Green has always been my most hated colour but walking around Next Home in Southampton last Saturday and even IKEA it was clear to see green is the colour of now! We didn't hate the brown walls, they were just dark and imposing and for a ground floor sunken flat that isn't the best look. Throwing caution to the wind we went for a light, bright and airy light green. I'm sure you can still see the faint line of brown at the top, that's where the previous occupiers accidentally painted on to the ceiling, this will be dealt with as and when. I didn't quite realise how tiring painting was and now I have a new found respect for painters and decorators! What do you think? Please excuse the mess.

- Hannah

A little bit of background, and some nosing photos!

Ok, so to begin with I thought I'd post a couple of photos of the bedroom and sitting room as they're the rooms that we intend to personalise the most.


Bedroom

This first photo is taken of the bedroom from standing against the window. In our old (and much smaller) flat we had one teeny tiny bedroom which just about catered for a double bed and laundry basket and a separate dressing room. The dressing room may sound glamourous but it really wasn't, it was basically a box room with a clothes rail and you never really realise how much you'll miss a wardrobe until you no longer have one! The other striking difference between our two bedrooms is the lovely real wood flooring. The rest of the flat has a combination of laminate and lino but in the bedroom we are treated to something a little more luxurious! The built in 'wall window' helps to filter the light through to the sitting room.

 The second photo shows the bay window. When I lived in student housing I was ever envious of my best friend Sophie's bay window, it's something which is so intrinsically Portsmouth. If you have ever visited the area you'll know what I mean, there is row upon row of Victorian houses, often occupied by students or, like this one, converted into self contained flats. Natural light is something I really missed in our old flat which was incredibly dark. We are in an almost entirely residental area so it's less worrying living on the street front like this, also there's parking bays in the front yard so we are set back from the road a pleasing distance.

As I'm sure you can see the bedroom is a relatively blank canvas, the wall opposite the mirrors is a feature purply plum, which we have decided to keep.

Sitting room

This is the main room of the property. It's the sort of flat I dreamed (literally) of when we first started looking for somewhere to live in June 2012. I love the fact all the rooms come off of this main room, in an ideal world (where I am a millionaire) that room would be the kitchen. This picture is strange to look at already as the brown walls are no longer, but more of that later...

This was a few days after we had moved in, isn't it crazy how big rooms look when there's nothing in them! You can see the steps to the patio door and the garden in the background. The section to the right is where the shower room (left) and kitchen and utility room (right) is. I am in awe of the bathroom, it's so different and characterful. When we first saw the listing there was no photo of the bathroom, which set alarm bells ringing however we have gathered that was more to do with the elevation of the room and how difficult it is to get a flattering photo!

Stay tuned for decoration and furniture photos, I'm so behind!

- Hannah

Welcome!

Welcome to my little section of the internet!

I've decided to set up this blog as a sort of 'online scrapbook'. I have always been one for keeping bits and pieces, having far too many photo albums and a ridiculous collection of ticket stubs. As we are in a time of austerity mixed with a pro eco-friendly age I intend to record my life on here, anyone else is welcome to have a little nosy too!

I have just moved to a one-bedroom flat in Southsea, Hampshire and am in the process of furnishing and decorating. It's always nice to look back at what your home used to look like so I'm aiming to document the development of my home throughout the months.

I live with my lovely boyfriend of 3 and a half years, Mike. You will probably gather from my posts that he doesn't get an awful lot of a say in the girly bedding, numerous decorative hearts and tealight holders but to be honest I think he isn't bothered either way!

I haven't been able to get to the computer for a while (that's moving for you!) so there will be a relatively large selection of posts in quick succession, just to try and catch up a little.

To begin, here is a cheeky picture of myself and Mike.

- Hannah