My 6 Favourite Festive Food Items

Hey!

As it is the week before Christmas, I thought that it would be the prime time to talk about my favourite festive food. Festive food only becomes socially acceptable once a year so shout about it whilst you can!

A stock image of a close up of some festive fairy lights, Image was provided free by Pexels. 

Stuffing! 

I love stuffing for many reasons but I love it as it can be served as a side dish or it can be served on its own really if you serve it with some sauce. Anything can be added to it and it makes it more flavourful. This can include anything from herbs and veg to things like meat. Stuffing is just so versatile and very tasty!

Pigs In Blankets.

There's just something about meat upon meat that screams decadence that can only be accepted at Christmas time. I just love how although these two components are from the same animal they offer something different to the palate that I cant really explain. The words that I'd use to describe pigs in blankets is mini magical presents.

Oranges.

I know that it sounds weird that I'm saying Oranges are a festive food but in my opinion they are. You stereotypically get Oranges in your stockings. I just think that the citrus hit in your Christmas food elevates it to another level whether thats savoury food or sweet food like chocolate.

Cinnamon Buns.

Cinnamon Buns might not be completely 'festive' but when I eat them I instantly think that I am warm and snug in a baggy jumper so I'm classing it as a festive food staple. I just love the smell of the sweet velvety vanilla pastry and the scent of Cinnamon wafting through the house as its so comforting. I love the creamy filling and the thick white icing against the pastry but I definitely think that these are only a festove treat and can only be eaten when I'm feeling cold yet cosy in the winter period.

Candy Canes (Anything That Has Peppermint In).

I used to have a bit of a candy cane addiction so to this day whenever I enjoy anything that is Peppermint based I instantly think back to those candy cane days. I love the Mint Hot Chocolate from Costa at the minute as its so minty and comes with an adorable little candy cane. I know that some despise Mint and Chocolate together but I love it!

Cranberries.

Cranberry sauce is an essential part of Christmas Dinner but I also love Cranberry juice and Cranberries in general. They add such a piquancy to whatever dish you're adding them to and they're great fresh, frozen or dried. I just love that sweet yet tart combination and the glistening red colour of them makes them irrestible to not devour!

What are your favourite foods to eat during this festive period? Let me know in the comments box below!

I hope that you are having a great festive period and if you aren't celebrating Christmas then I still hope that you have an amazing time from the 24th to the 26th of December. I hope that you come back soon to read another blog post.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

Shopping Has Come In Peace | Christmas Gift Guide For Men 2016

Hey! It's time for my last gift guide of the year. I know that I left these until the last minute this year but I hope that you have enjoyed reading them. This last gift guide is all about what to buy the men within your life for Christmas. I am going to start off with a couple of pairs of shoes from Schuh, Guys including myself always need more shoes. I always think no matter male, female or anything inbetween, you can always do with more shoes! The first pair are from the Vans x Toy Story range so these trainers instantly make a wonderful gift for anyone who loves Disney or Toy Story. These trainers have pictures of the aliens on which I find so cute. Ooooooooooh click here to find out more about the trainers.

The second pair from Schuh are Dr Martens 14 Tie Z Boot Boots. I love them due to tallness of the boot. They're definitely a great gift for anyone who loves Dr Martens or for anyone who loves a good boot. They're quite expensive but worth it. Click here to find out more about them.

This one is from Debenhams. It's slightly boozy but I think that it is a great gift. It is a Jim Beam gift set which contains a 5cl bottle of Jim Beam Bourbon and a petrol bottle shaped hip flask which I think is an amazing gift for anyone who loves their Bourbon or are an avid petrol head. Come and find out more about this gift set here.

The next couple of items that I am going to talk about are from the brand Vercity who have a store within Queens Arcade in Leeds. The first item from them that I am going to suggest is the blue canvas backpack. I love anything that is blue. It's sturdy and can hold a lot of items within it so its a great bag for things such as work, events, travelling to various places or anything of that sort. Click here to find out more about it.

I am also going to feature the Charcoal Grey Vintage Weekend Bag as I love the colour of it, I love how big it looks and honestly I would buy it as I know whoever got this would use it as much as they can. Click here to find out more about it.

Second to last brand! Avaj who specialise in underwear, beauty and much more. They also have a store in Headingley! I had a good gander on the website and loved the colour Wicked Green so both of the products in this gift guide are in Wicked Green but do have a look on their website for everything that they sell. Product number one is a Jockstrap in Wicked Green for anyone who loves them. I just think that they give great support and make anyone feel confident. Click here to find out more.

 

There is also the green beauties that are the boxer briefs which might suit the men who don't want to show their butt off. I still think that they support quite well and make a difference from the general black/white ones that they have. (There is only the small left of these sadly.) Time for the last brand! Lord Byron Shoes are a brand that are based within Manchester who create bespoke shoes. I've featured this and Schuh as I think that they are both on the opposite sides of the shoe spectrum. The first pair are a pair of tan brogue boots. I love brogue boots as they are a slightly more sartorial version of the normal boot and I think that they are best for this time of year really. Click here to find out more.

On Wednesdays, we only wear Pink! Pink is for everyone and looks amazing via these wholecut oxford brogues which will add a bright splash to any outfit. Click here to find out more.

Final item in the gift guide! These tan and blue brogues add a slight splash without being as bright as the shoes above therefore these are perfect for someone who's a bit hesitant on being bright. These will go well with whatever you pair them with. Click here to find out more.

Have you or are you interested in purchasing any of the above as gifts for others or for yourself? Let me know down below!

That's the last of my gift guides for 2016. I hope that you don't leave any of your present purchasing until the 24th. I hope that you come back for another blog post. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x

Some of the images above have been provided by the PR, All views and opinions are my own. 

Smoking It Up | Dobell Charcoal Suit Mini Review

Hi!

Christmas is only a couple of weeks away and I know that the festive party season is in full swing so I thought that today I would talk to you guys about a brand that do some great outfits that would be amazing for the party season!

Launched in 2003, Dobell is the leading online formal wear store for men and boys. Known for their amazing quality, great prices and amazing customer service, Dobell sell some amazing suits! Dobell is known for offering suits up to 50% cheaper than the leading high street retailers and offering suits from brands such as Tomny Hilfiger, Noose & Monkey and many more, Dobell is worth having a look at! 

Dobell offer some great suits in every colour possible. They offer elegant suits for Christmas, classic suits made for interviews and quirky suits meant for that event where you need to stand out from the crowd. I love the amount of personality that you can exude. They even stock suits with patterns of holly/snowmen over which I think is made for the office christmas party!

Dobell got in touch with me a while ago and asked if I wanted to review one of their suits and I happily said yes as you never know when you need suit and after some uhming and ahhing I chose the Charcoal Suit. 

This suit came as a 2 piece and I absolutely loved the colour of it. It was dark but not too dark so it could be worn smart or a bit more casually. I love the little detailing that is on the suit as well. 

I decided to wear a pink shirt against as I was going to a bloggers event so I didn't want to look too smart. The pink went with the charcoal really well and I just loved the whole outfit as a whole. The only thing that I wasn't keen on was the stitching in the pockets as it meant that I couldn't really use the pockets but I definitely will be wearing this for things such as university interviews and so on. 

Have you bought anything from Dobell? Do you have a signature suit for anything special? Let me know down below!

I hope that you come back and read my next post! 

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x

This review was in collaboration with Dobell. All opinions are my own. 

Mince Pies Before Guys | Gift Guide For Her 2016

Hey!

Welcome to the second installment of my gift guide posts. Today is all about what to buy for all the women that are in your life! .

The first thing that I would like to suggest is shoes because most women love a good pair of shoes. The two that I have decided to talk are quite casual shoes from Schuh mainly because they're two pairs that I adore the look of from their website.

I am only mentioning two pairs but they both offer something a little bit different. The first pair that I am going to suggest as a present are the Vans x Disney Pixar Toy Story Woody and Bo trainers that come in a lovely pink colour to represent Bo Peep with little versions of Woody and Bo Peep together. These trainers would make a lovely gift for any female in your life who loves a good pair of Vans or Toy Story. I will link them here in case you want to pursue the trainers more or in case you can't resist them and end up purchasing them as a gift for someone or yourself.

The second pair of shoes that I would suggest for Christmas gifting are Dr Martens Pascal Sparkle boots which I love the look of. I love Dr Martens as they give an authentic look to any outfit that they are paired with. I adore how this particular pair of boots have a pearlescent finish to them which makes them perfect for all year round! The link is here in case you want to buy them.

I also think that most things that are stocked at Simply Be make excellent presents so I thought that I would suggest a couple of them to you in case the woman within your life loves a bit of fashion.

The first item that I think would make a perfect Christmas present is this statement jumper which says 'Mince Pies Before Guys' on the front of it. I love it straight away just because of the statement! As this design isn't too festive, it means that you can get away with wearing it after the Christmas period. I know that may sound a bit odd to do but Christmas jumpers are normally quite thick and its always a bit cold within England so thick things need to be worn now and again. Click here to have a proper gander at it.

Who doesn't need chunky knitted jumpers? Am I right or am I right? I love this chunky cable knit jumper as it instantly looks like its going to make you feel warm and comforted when you put it on. I love the deep red colour of the garment. It would definitely go well with a red lip! Come and click here to find out more about this product.

The last item from Simply Be is a Mini Sequin Shoulder Bag. It just screams fun, festive and fabulous! I adore the twist lock clasp thats on the front of it as it instantly makes me wonder what is inside the bag and I just love the sequin detailing on the front of the bag. My eyes are drawn to instantly. It would make a great bag to take to any event, party or night out. Click here to find out more.

The last place that I am going to suggest gifts from is Debenhams. I know that Debenhams might be a slightly expensive place to shop from but they sell amazing gifts so I thought that I would suggest a few gifts to purchase from there if you wanted a few good stocking fillers.

Everyone loves cocktails! This gift set contains a shaker, 4 stirrers, 5 straws, 1 of 70ml Cranberry Syrup, 1 of 70ml of Peach syrup and 1 of 70ml of Lime syrup. I think the contents of this set make an excellent starter set for anyone who loves a good cocktail! Click here to find out more!

Final stop on the gift guide! It might pick you up a bit!

Do you know anyone who loves their coffee more than anything in the world? If you do then get them this gift set which contains a Costa ceramic takeaway cup, silicone lid and a packet of stem ginger biscuits. I love the concept of having a ceramic takeaway cup as I find some regular cups to be a bit too small sometimes. I think the silicone lid is kind of cute. Click here to find out a bit more about this set.

Do you like any of the gifts mentioned above? Let me know down below!

So there you go, thats my gift guide for her done for 2016. I know that it's a little bit short but I thought that it would be best to focus on a few instead of having a post that's out of control via links etc.

I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post. Don't forget to come back next week for the final installment in my gift guide for 2016 set.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

This post contains images sent from PR teams. All views and opinions are my own.

Food Glorious Food | Yutaka Chicken Katsu Curry

Hey!

I thought that today I would talk to you guys about making a great Chicken Katsu Curry which will come in extra handy if you need something different to make at university/for tea time,

What Will You Need To Make A Simple Katsu Curry:

• 1 Large Onion
• 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil 
• 800ml Water 
• 100g Yutaka Katsu Curry 
• Chicken Breast 
• Salt and Pepper
• 50g of Plain Flour
• 1 Large Egg
• 100g Yutaka Panko Breadcrumbs 
• Oil for deep frying if you're deep frying the chicken

Method: 

Sauce: 

• Chop the onion into small pieces. It's honestly up to you what you hack it into but I prefer a small dice. 
• Add some oil to the pan 
• Gently fry said onions on a low heat until lightly browned.
• Add cold water to the pan and bring to the boil.
• Turn the heat to medium and simmer for 7 minutes then let it cool for a couple of minutes. 
• Add 100g of the Yutaka Curry to the water. Stir until dissolved. Simmer on low until the sauce has thickened 
• Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then panne the chicken which means coat in flour, egg and then the Panko. Add oil to the pan and bring the heat to 170 celsius. Deep fry for 6-8 mins and serve with rice and sauce after slicing the chicken into strips. 
• If you're cooking it via the oven then cover the seasoned chicken in pan toasted panko, place in the oven at 200 celsius, cook for 20-30 mins and serve. 

This recipe serves five so hopefully it shall be a great meal to stock up on or for the family to enjoy. This recipe was via Yutaka's website and I have included their video on how to create the curry via Youtube below.  

Have you ever had Chicken Katsu Curry before? Do you get it from anywhere in particular or do you cook it yourself? Let me know down below! 

Thanks to Yutaka for sending me the Katsu Curry Sauce, Panko Breadcrumbs and Sushi Rice so I could cook this recipe.

I hope that you have enjoyed this foodie post. I hope that you come back next time for another post! Go and follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram & Snpapchat via searching @thejamiesowden to keep up to date with all of my adventures. 

Thanks for reading! 

Jamie x

Grabbing The Roots Of Great Food | The Potting Shed Winter Menu Tasting

Hey!

Christmas is all about Christmas jumpers, alcohol and food so when The Potting Shed in Bingley invited me to come and try out their new Winter menu, I shouted yes and hopped on the next train from Bradford to Bingley to visit The Potting Shed.

The Potting Shed are a restaurant that are influenced by all things garden-esque with their own gardens. It is the perfect place to be watered and fed in style especially with a homegrown menu that is made fresh on the day via local ingredients. The Potting Shed have a fabulous range of real ales, wines, cool creative cocktails and much more. The excellent establishment has two branches, One in Bingley and one in Beverley which you should go and check out if you can!

Myself and Luke entered Bingley and after some wandering, we found the lovely restaurant, We stepped inside and got to chat to the manager Benji who told us about everything and anything to do with The Potting Shed including their Winter Wonderland which is upstairs. The Winter Wonderland has been transformed into a lovely ski chalet inspired room and is the epitome of magnificent Christmas scenery. He then told us what was on the new menu. I ended up ordering six dishes but in my defense I was sharing them with Luke and I needed to order six to get a taste of what TPS have to offer!

We first ordered a Long Island Iced Tea as Luke wanted to try this cocktail for the first time ever and because LIIT contains a lot of alcohol and boy do I like some alcohol in a cocktail! This cocktail contains Vodka, Rum, Gin, Cointreau, Coke, Sugar and Lemon/ All of the alcohol together with the Coke worked really well together. I loved the mix of Lemon and Orange together. It was super refreshing.

The first starter was Ham Hock Dough Balls. (£4,95) This dish contained Ham, Stuffing and Mozzarella in well dough balls.I love me a good doughy ball. I love how the Ham and Stuffing was against the melting good Mozzarella and Dough ball. The Paprika Aioli that was served with it was amazing! Warming but not pretentious like some dips served with starters can be.

The second starter was Duck & Noodle Spring Roll. (£5.95) This contained Slow cooked Duck and Noddles in a Spring roll casing with salad and a hoi sin dip. I love Duck, I loved Spring Rolls. I liked the addition of noodles in the roll and I adore hoi sin dip! This and the dough balls were excellent starters to have with drinks to catch with some old friends or something like that.

Time for mains!

The first delicious main that we shared was Confit Of Duck. (£12.95) Slow cooked Duck with Sweet Potato Mash, Braised Leeks and a Redcurrant sauce. I loved the Duck but as it is a Confit there were a few bones which I had to awkwardly find a place to put them on the plate. I love Sweet Potatoes but I have never had them in mash form but I loved it! The leeks added a bit of texture and the redcurrant sauce gave it all a luxurious depth.

The Yorkshire Burrito (£10.95) This isn't any ordinary burrito, this is the Yorkshire Burrito and it contained Turkey Breast, Stuffing, Cranberry wrapped in a Yorkshire Pudding with Parsnip Fries and Salad. I love Turkey, Stuffing, Cranberry and Yorkshire Puddings so merging them all together into one is an amazing idea in my opinion, It also makes it a signature dish to TPS as I have never had this at any other restaurant before. I loved the Parsnip Fries as they gave a lovely sort of Wintry twist on fries!

Now onto pizzas! Who doesn't love a perfect pizza?!

The Ham Hock Pizza (£9.95.) Slow cooked Ham Hock, Caramelised Red Onions and Goats Cheese. I loved the contrast between the slightly sweet red onions and the tart goats cheese and then with the texture of the succulent pork. Mmm, so good! I've never had Goats Cheese before trying this pizza so I wasn't sure what to expect but I quite liked it,

The Festive Pizza (£9.95.) Roast Turkey, Stuffing, Mozzarella, Brie and herbs. I love Turkey and Stuffing on a pizza, This is actually what I have on Boxing Day. Myself and Luke aren't massive fans of Brie so we asked for it without which I loved. (Sorry, Brie.)

To go along with the pizza's, I had a Honey and Mint Julep which contains Jack Daniels Honey, Mint and Sugar. I have not had Jack Daniels Honey before but I absolutely loved it. Sweet but refreshing. I could've drunk a lot more of these! Sadly. myself and Luke didn't finish our pizzas but the lovely staff member Naomi boxed them up for us which is lovely. Thank you Naomi!

So, there you go, thats most of the Winter Menu from The Potting Shed. There is a few other dishes but I was already very full from the dishes that I ordered so I don't think I would have been able to handle any more fabulous food. Do go check them out!

Do you like the sound of any of the dishes or drinks that have been mentioned above? Let me know down below!

Thanks to The Potting Shed staff for having me and Luke come and review the Bingley restaurant. Amazing staff!

I hope that you have enjoyed the content and photography within this post and I hope that you come back and read the next post.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

This review was paid for via the PR. All views and opinions are my own.

Giving For Christmas | Men Rocks For My Beardy Beloved Giveaway

Hi!

This is going to be a short post! I hope that your first day of December is going well and that you have opened your advent calendars whether they are beautiy based, chocolate based or filled with anything else that is amazing.

Whilst I was sorting out things for all three of my gift guides which has taken a while, I was kindly sent a gift set from Men Rock. I always try to include brands that I love the sound of or already love within my blog posts so I also asked if it was possible to do a giveaway as I think that it is great if you get the chance to get something from a gift guide,

Today, I am giving away an For My Beardy Beloved Gift Set (worth £30!) This beautifully boxed beard kit contains everything a beard enthusiast needs to keep his beard in tip-top shape. The kit includes both a Men Rock Awakening Beard Soap a lovely Men Rock Awakening Beard Balm and some gorgeous Men Rock Awakening Moustache Styling Wax. It's everything you need for perfect whisker formation and comes gift boxed.

All you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter at the bottom of this page to have a chance of winning! 

The T&C's include following both my Twitter account & Men Rock's account and tweeting that you have entered the giveaway are mandatory. All other forms of entering via the Rafflecopter form are optional but they give you a better chance of winning, You also have to live within the UK. The giveaway will finish on 1st of January 2017 at 00:00. If you do not fulfill any of these T&C''s then the prize will go to someone else. As this competition prize is being sent via Men Rock's PR, it is their responsibility to send it to you and not mine. 

This gift set is an amazing gift for any guy that loves his beard this Christmas or a great gift for yourself if you want to keep your beard in beautiful shape. 

I hope that you enter this giveaway and good luck! 

Thanks for reading this little post and I hope that you come back next time for another blog post. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Thanks for reading! 

Happy 1st of December!

Jamie x

Puckering Up For Gift Gifting | Beauty Christmas Gift Guide 2016

Hey!

I know that I have left my gift guides to a bit of a last minute this year but I thought that I would still release them in case you're still looking for some presents to purchase and give to people. I am going to be releasing three of these guides. Beauty, for men and for women just because I think that covers most things in my opinions. I obviously don't have children so I'm not sure what I'd suggest to buy for children. I'll stop with the rambling and get on with it.

I'm going to start off with something that has been booming within the last month or so. The DHC Beauty Bento Box has been flying off the shelves and if you can get your hands on it then I would definitely sugget snapping it up for someone who loves their skincare!

The set contains 2 sets of DHC Revitalizing Moisture Strips for Eyes which does a plethora of things such as cooling and soothening the area that it is applied to. The beautiful box also contains DHC Deep Cleansing Oil which gets rid of every trace of makeup without making the skin feel greasy and an array of other products perfect for the beauty lover within your life.

A beauty gift guide by Jamie wouldn't be a beauty gift guide at all without a little mention of Lush. I thought that I would mention a few things that would be superb for a Secret Santa or for that Lushie in your life.

Christingle Body Conditioner is perfect for someone who loves Mint/Mint scented products. This conditioner has two types of Mint Oil's so it is definitely strong on the Mint but also contains Jojoba Oil and Shea Butter which ensures that it is nourishing for the body. Christingle works via being smothered on the body then left on so it can stimulate the body which works via making the body slightly 'tingle' then it can be rinsed off. Once you have done this, you will be left with soft skin!

If you know something that loves all things colourful then I have the perfect suggestion for you. Northern Lights Bath Ballistic. This product contains Ylang Ylang and Jasmine which creates a sweet floral scent when it is dispersed into the bath. At the same time, this ballistic unravels and bursts out sparks of yellow, blue and purple which dance around the tub. The other product that I would pair with this is Shooting Stars soap which as you can tell from the name looks like a shooting stars with many different colours merging into each other. This has the scent of Lemon and Limes which smells so good when the rich sickly scents become a bit too much in the Festive season.

The next pairing is for those who are addicted to Snow Fairy. If you don't know what the infamous shower product smells of then the best way to sum it up is a cross between candy floss and pear drops. This year, Lush have decided to stock 1kg bottles of this product in all stores so you can either just buy the Shower Gel or you can team it up with something like the Snow Fairy Conditioner which works in the same way as Christingle except it doesn't tingle. Doing this would mean that you get double of Snow Fairy!

The last pairing of lovely Lush products are Bubbly and Golden Wonder. Bubbly is a thick shower gel which smells like a Bucks Fizz via containing White Grape, Orange and Lime. It is a wonderful product to use first thing in the morning. Golden Wonder is a product that shares the same scent but is for the bath. It takes 7 days to make a full Golden Wonder due to the layers and turns the water a brilliant blue colour.

Continuing on from Lush, I will mention The Body Shop (if you want to know my detailed opinions of the Festive range then click here.) The Body Shop do some amazing gift sets which contain things such as their new Superfood Face Masks, Oils Of Life range and much more. If you live near Leeds or London (I think) then you can go into store and create a personalised body butter for someone that loves body moisturisers. I think that this is perfect for Christmas as no one else can get this!

The next thing that I am going to suggest is mainly one for the guys that adore their facial hair. Men Rock stock some amazong products for keeping facial heair intact and I think that this For My Beardy Beloved Gift Set is an amazing present for beard aficionados. This set contains some beautiful Awakening Beard Balm, magnificent Awakening Moustache Styling Wax and and some amazing Awakening Beard Soap.

(I didn't get a picture for this). If you are shopping for someone who likes to shave then I would suggest Cornerstone. Cornerstone create razors that have whoever it is being given to's initials engraved into it which makes for an excellent gift. You can also get things such as facial wash, shaving gel, post shave balm and much more at Cornerstone. It's such a personal gift to give even if it's to yourself!

If you want to treat yourself or know someone who loves a good fragrance then I would urge you to get a fragrance from The Library Of Fragrance. They stock every sort of scent such as Pizza, Sex On The Beach, Pumpkin Pie, Rain, Grass, Jasmine and much more. If you want to have a sniff of some before you purchase them then you can do so by going to your nearest Boots store.

The last thing that I am going to talk about sadly doesn't contain images. It's time to talk about makeup!

The first thing that I am going to talk about is Kat Von D's Tattoo Liner which is now available in the UK via Debenhams! Foundation is the base of facial makeup so I think giving someone who loves makeup a good foundation can make them so happy. I would suggest Estee Lauder - Double Wear Stay-In-Place Foundation SPF 10. If you want to get someone a good eyeshadow palette that will make them feel festive but can also be worn during anytime of the year then I would recommend getting them Urban Decay's Moondust palette as it is so sparkly and can add some glitter/glamour to any look. If you want to go all out with the lips then I would suggest getting some goodies from NYX which you can get via Boots such as NYX Professional Makeup Cosmic Metals Lip Cream. I especially love Electomagnetic & Ultraviolet.

Will you be purchasing any of the products mentioned above? Will you be sharing this post to any of your friends or family so they get the hint and get you something for Christmas? Please do let me know down below via commenting.

That's my beauty gift guide done for this year. I hope that you have enjoyed this post and I hope that you come back to read the rest of the gift guides! I hope that your Christmas shopping is going well!

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x

This gift guide was in collaboration with brands & PR companies. All opinions and ramblings are my own.

How Much Do Celebrities Get Paid For Reality Shows?

Hi!

Today, I'm talking about how much celebrities get paid when it comes to reality shows which you probably guessed from the title. I thought that it would be a good time to talk about this kind of thing due to I'm A Celeb and Strictly being on and then once these shows finish, Celebrity Big Brother will be back...

I think the best way to do this post is to talk about the statsics which have been brought by Conversations By Her and Cash Lady. If I have the time then I will embed them at the bottom of the post. The three shows that I will talk about are I'm A Celeb, CBB and Strictly Come Dancing.

I'm A Celeb: 

Spencer Matthews (known for his roles of himself in Made In Chelsea & The Bachelor.) ended up controversially being in the media during his time on the reality TV show due to taking steriods and not informing the producers of his intake beforehand. Spencer earnt a whopping amount of over £300,000. Susannah Constantine (known for being a fashion journalist, a designer and for her role of herself in her many ITV shows with costar Trinny Woodall) made a total amount of over £200,000 and the nations favourite Lady Colin Campbell (known for being a writer and socialist) earnt around £70,000.

Celebrity Big Brother: 

Christopher Biggins (who is known for being an actor/a presenter) earnt £150,000 for his short time due to a controversjal conversation earnt £150,000 for appearing on the show. Samantha Fox (former glamour model, singer and actress) earnt an amount of £110,000 for appearing on CBB and made her voice heard on the show and the winner Stephen Bear (known for appearing on Shipwrecked & Ex On The Beach) earnt £12,000!

Strictly Come Dancing:

Favourite to win and Olympian Claudia Fragapane made a successful amount of £100,000 for appearing on Strictly Leslie Joseph (star of ITV's Birds Of A Feather) earnt £25,000 and Will Young earnt the least amount of money on the show due to quitting. He earnt £5,000!

If you want to catch up on I'm A Celeb then watch it on ITV Hub or catch up on Strictly over on iPlayer. I hope that you have enjoyed finding out about how much celebrities earn from reality shows. I hope that you come back for more entertaining posts!

Thanks!
Jamie x

This is a collaborative post.

Sniffing The Scent Of Baking | Library Of Fragrance Review

Hey!

Welcome to another blog post! The Library Of Fragrance kindly sent me some fragrances to sniff and try out so I thought that I would tell you what I thought of them.

The Library Of Fragrance originate from New York City and started out as a company within 1995. Tje company first released the scents Dirt, Grass and Tomato which are still enjoyed today by customers. They then released fragrances such as Gin and Tonic, Sex On The Beach and Paperback. They are sold via their website which you can check out via clicking here or Boots (within the UK) so if you want to check out some of the scents then I urge you to go to your local Boots!

The team from The Library Of Fragrance sent me three lovely scents to review, The fragrances that I got sent were Pina Colada, Pumpkin Pie and Cinnamon Bun.

Pina Colada

Do you like Pina Coladas? Do you like getting caught in the rain? This fragrance is the epitome of the song and definitely smells of Pina Colada! This fragrance contains Pineapple Juice, Coconut Cream and Light Rum which makes an amazing cocktail for the skin. It is a very strong fragrance but I would prefer a strong fragrance that you only need to spray twice instead of a weak fragrance that you'd have to spray 5 times to get the same strength as the 2. It's a great scent to wear within Summer or for when you going out for drinks. The only problem with this scent is that it makes you want a Pina Colada quite badly! I would give this a 9.5/10 but if you don't like Pineapple or Coconut then it might not be for you!

Pumpkin Pie

This is such an Autumnal scent. If you love Pumpkin Spice Latte's or Pumpkin Pie then you will definitely love this scent! This fragrance mainly consists of Pumpkin, Sugar, Cinnamon, Ginger and Cloves, I love all things Pumpkin and spice so this fragrance is a winner in my eyes, This would be a great fragrance to wear on a coffee date and as Thanksgiving is on Thursday, its a great time to buy it! I would give this a 9.5/10 again but if you're not a big fan of Pumpkin Spiced things then it's definitely not for you but there is many other fragrances on tbeir website so have a look and hopefully you'll find something that you love!

Cinnamon Bun

If you love baking then you will love this scent! This fragrance is sweet which evokes the smell of baking but is spicy from the Cinnamon which I think is such a good combination. I love anything Cinnamon so this fragrance is a winner in my opinion. It's just so nice! I think that this would be the ultimate fragrance to wear on Christmas Day! I would give this a 9.6/10 but if you hate Cinnamon then this isn't the fragrance for you.

There's my thoughts on the three scents that I was sent, What do you think of them? Have you ever tried any Library Of Fragrance scents? Let me know down below.

I hope that you have enkoyed this beauty based blogger. Don't forget to go and give them a whiff when you're next in Boots.Come back next time for another post!

Thanks!
Jamie x

A Platter On A Plate | Food Roundup

Hey! I love food and thanks to blogging, I get to review and talk about some amazing places that serve delicious food so I thought that today I would group them all together and tell you about three amazing food establishments. The first one is Friends Of Ham. Friends Of Ham opened up on New Station Street which is inbetween the Train Station and Trinity Leeds in July 2012. FOH started out as a tiny ground floor bar with a 'secret' basement which grew in 2014 as they bought next door and made the establishment bigger to serve more customers. FOH are based on serving you good meat,cheese, beer and wine to the people of Leeds. We were invited to an event that celebrated Leeds International Beer Festival which meant that we got to try some amazing beers that complimented dishes such as Marcella with Paprika Potatoes and a fried Quails Egg and Chocolate and Raspberry Brownie with Chantilly Cream which was delicious! Myself, Luke and Michelle had a blast of time enjoying the different drinks and food and I think that Friends Of Ham is a great place to go when you want somewhere to meet up with friends or for when you want to go on a casual date with someone! Definitely take someone there if they love cheese, meat, beer or wine! Michelle took the pictures for this event. Click on her name to go to her website to check out her other photos.

Chocolate & Raspberry Brownie with Chantilly Cream

 

 

A lot of beer. 

The second place isEpicure. Epicure is a bar near the University Of Huddersfield and serves dishes that contain local things such as Cheeses or Meat and are well known for their selections of Gin. They are also known for their quirky meal names and is definitely worth a visit if you live or visit Huddersfield regularly. I dragged myself and Luke there and sampled some of the food, I had a Grumpy Goat Burger with Sweet Potato Fries and Luke had a different burger with a similar quirky name. I loved the contrast of spice and sweet within the burger and I loved how crispy the Sweet Potato Fries were. We were going to get dessert but we were stuffed and we had to get the taxi to the station and then the train home but I would definitely take a good couple of friends there for a delicious dinner and a good natter.

Last stop on the food train is MOD Pizza. MOD Pizza is an American based company that set up in shop in England earlier this year. They are slowly creating more stores within England such as one within London. They create great tasting pizza's that you can create/customise to your liking. They also create amazing thick creamy milkshakes with mix ins such as Oreo'and Mint Choc Chip. This week, Mod are are celebrating Spreading MOD which is where they will be donating £1 from every pizza sold and giving it to charity which is an amazing concept in my opinion as it's nice to see brands giving back! The Leeds store are donating their funds to Cash For Kids so if you're from near Leeds then I urge you to go to MOD Pizza to try out their food and to help a good cause! Have you checked out these places? Let me know down below! I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and I hope that you have drooled over some of the food photos in this post. Come back next time for another blog post about some amazing things! Thanks! Jamie x