Travelling To A World Of Paradise | Cabana Leeds Road To Rio Menu Event

Meow!

I was invited to Cabana Leeds to try out their new Road To Rio Summer Menu. I did a opening event of the restaurant a long while ago and if you haven't checked that out then I shall leave that here for you to check out!

Cabana is a Brasilian restaurant that was founded by two people Jamie and David. One Brazilian, one English. (Brazilian/Brasilian... Everyone has a different way of spelling it...) They both visited Brazil once and decided to visit Brazil and decided that there was nothing within England that represented Brazils food in an amazing way so they decided to set something up in the UK. They wanted to bring three main things back as these make Brazil amazing. Food as Brazilian food is amazing. The eccentricity of the cities of Brazil as everyone just comes together to make Brazil an amazing place and the outlook that Brazil has which is that everything is good. They have many branches within the UK including living within The O2 Arena and being in major shopping centres such as Trinity Leeds.

We entered the restaurant after browsing several stores within the shopping centre such as Topman, Gobstoppers and many others. We were introduced to the people behind the PR that had sorted the event as I had tweeted about the event beforehand. Myself and Luke were then told about what would be happening throughout the event which included many things such as live entertainment and churros.

We then made our way to the bar because well every good event starts off with a good drink... The new cocktail on the block at Cabana was a Raspberry Caipirihna (a twist on the classic Caipirihna which Cabana are well known for.) I then sat Luke down on a table whilst I went to go take a few photos. We then moved nearer to where the action was as I felt that we would be out of the way which may mean missing out on a few things. We finally sat down in somewhere where the action was and were given some Malagueta Hummus With Cucumber and Carrots. This dish is a part of the new set lunch. The hummus was nice, the malagueta sauce gave it a kick to give it that Brasilian vibe and the Cucumber contrasted well with the kick. We chatted for a while until the next dish arrived.

The next dish that was arrived. This one was Spicy Malagueta Chicken Lettuce Wraps. This consists of well Spicy Malagueta Chicken wrapped up within Lettuce. I think that these are great to have with drinks. I think it sums up the whole Summer vibe of the menu up very well. It also means that you can have some and then feel smug because well they're wrapped in Lettuce therefore they are very healthy! The sweetness of the Chicken went really well with the slight bitterness of the Lettuce! I think that some Malagueta Mayo might be best on the side in case you want to dip the wraps into anything.

We were then topped up with more Raspberry Caipirihna's/ They are sweet but slightly sour at the same time making them a great cocktail to enjoy outside! We then sipped a bit of the drink as the bartender had been a bit overexcited when making it which isn't a bad thing in my opinion! We were then given a bowl of Bahian Coconut Curry each. This dish is under the same set menu as the Hummus which I will go a bit more detail at the end of the post. The coconut curry is mild. It's served with biro biro rice and a choice of mini skewers in the form of Spicy Malagueta Chicken, Steak or Halloumi so there's a choice for everyone there! I loved this curry as I'm not a massive fan of hot curries. This had a more sweet flavour to it with a hint of spice. The coconut gave it that sweet flavour but I think that it worked really well within the curry. I loved it that much that I said yes when offered another bowl of it!

This next delicious piece was created for all those people who are slightly sick of the same old stale sandwich when it comes to lunchtime at the office! You have the choice of two which means that you can try two and then come back again and again at lunch for the one that you love! There's Salchipapa which consists of Pork & Papaya Sausage tossed with Sweet Potato Fries and Malagueta Mayo and there's Lulapapa which is the same but instead of juicy sausages, it's Crispy Lula Squid which sounds amazing! I tried both and I still can't decide which I love more. The Papaya in the Sausages give it a nice Summery Kick as you wonder what it is within the meat that makes it taste so nice but at the same time the Squid one was amazing. It wasn't rubbery at all but it was Crispy which I love. The main star of this would have to be the amazing Sweet Potato Fries. They were just delicious.

The last dish was Churros. Oh my god, I loved these! They were sorting all of the churros out on the table next to me and I kept resisting the urge to shuffle over the next table and just take all of the churros. They were crispy yet fluffy which I love as you have the contrast of the crispiness and the fluffiness of the inside. They were then covered with Cinnamon Sugar. I love anything with Cinnamon on which makes these Churros even more delicious! The chocolate sauce that was served with it was dark and delicious.

Cabana are also now offering a set menu on Monday all the way through to Friday until 5pm. It comes at a cost of £9.95 for two courses. There is now also an Early Bird Menu which is on every day from 5 until half six. This consists of a main course, two sides and a drink for £9.95.

Have you been to Cabana before? Have you tried the new Road To Rio menu/anything mentioned in this post before? Let me know in the comments section below!

Thanks to Cabana and their amazing staff for putting on such an amazing event! Thanks to MCG PR for sorting out, putting on and inviting myself to such a great event! I hope that you have enjoyed this blog post and I hope to see you next time for another post!

Meow!
Jamie x

MHAW16 | Let's Talk About The Truth

Meow!

Mental health isn't all about what you see in the media. It's not romantic and it's not beautiful in any shape or form. It's mind breaking and its chaos. It's overthinking and self doubt. It's thinking that you're the only one who would be left behind in an apocalypse situation. It's throwing up and being restless for two weeks straight. It's worrying that the world is going to fall under your feet. It's thinking that everyone is judging you from afar no matter what. It's having muscle pain without moving out of your bed. It's changing your image every time you want to go out because you need a cover up to cope with the world. It's crying over spilled milk. It's slowly thinking that the world is better off without you. It's thinking that no one cares. It's taking comfort in products or pets because they calm you do and understand you more than humans. It's being forever lonely no matter how many people spend time with you. It's shakiness. It's different. It's not wanting to talk to anyone not because you hate them but because you cant comprehend a sentence without sighing or mentally overthinking. It's overeating to cope with the pain/ It's struggling to breathe. It's struggling to believe in yourself and that you can do anything that you want to. It's caring too much but not caring at all at the same time. It's a lot of things that can't be summed up due to everyones different experiences but at the end of the day it's fighting to cope another day.

I know that this is a very short post but I thought that it would be nice to do something like this just to sum things up. I know its not got any pictures or is a review or anything like then but its nice to be serious every now and again especially as it is Mental Health Awareness Week this week.

I hope that you've somewhat enjoyed this post and I hope to see you next time for another post!

Meow!
Jamie x

Super Dad To The Rescue! | Lush York Fathers Day Preview Bloggers Event

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DOAML is back! I thought that I would bring it back with a bang via talking about an event that I went to at the Lush York store. This event was to explore and find out about the new Fathers Day range!

We entered the store and instantly found/saw the new bath products within the range. We gave them a sniff as all Lush products take a good few times to realise the scent when it comes to new products due to the aroma of the other products mingling within the air.

We were introduced to the Lush York staff and was then offered a drink of either ginger beer or lemonade as they are apparently both linked to Fathers/maybe their nostalgia of the 'good old days'... We were then given a little introduction about the Fathers Day range and other things such as the background of Sandalwood as it is a main ingredient of most of the FD range. We were then given a treasure hunt to do within the store where we were given clues to find sandalwood orientated products. Whoever used the clues and found the products soon won a sandalwood based product  I only hesitated on one clue but as I didn't know the store that well I didn't know where every product was based so sadly I didn't win.

Now, a good few products within the range are based around the Gorilla Fragrance Smugglers Soul which is a fragrance that is mainly scented with two different types of Sandalwood Oil but at the same time contains Lemongrass Oil which makes this an amazing We were given a talk about how the Sandalwood is resourced and also that Lush actually sell a book about the journey of Sandalwood within their stores. We smelt the fragrance and got to see the different versions as it comes in different sizes such as a little solid perfume for when you don't want to carry a clunky bottled fragrance around with you and a 200g mist which might be best for those who adore this woody based scent. This scent and all of the Fathers Day products are all gender neutral so just because you're not a Dad or a guy doesn't mean that you can't get involved with this range!

We then wandered on to the bath section to find out all about the new products that will probably be very popular! The first beautiful ballistic that we had to joy of seeing fizz was Lava Lamp. This bomb has been within the reach of any customers that can get to Oxford Street for a long while but as everyone including myself can't do that very often so Lush decided to release it to all stores so it could get as much funky love as possible! The scent is very Orange orientated. The concept of this bomb is that the purple spots of oil melt into the bath and intertwine with the vivid colour of the bomb to create a trippy effect within the bath.

The second amazing thing that we got to see is Super Dad/ This is a new product out especially for Fathers Day which is obvious via the name but nevertheless its a great product! It contains 2 different types of wood again to give a slightly heady forest scent to the bomb but at the same time it contains Olibanium which gives the product a slightly clean scent. It fizzes up well and I think that this would make a great product for any Dad but also at the same time a good gift to give to anyone who is interested/slowly getting into Lush.

The last bath based product that was demonstrated within the store was The Modfather. I think that this one is very much influenced via the Mods/Rockers era hence the name and basically the design of the product but at the same time I also think that Dads/older people might see this and remember the 'good old days'. The scent of this is mainly Brazillian Orange Oil which is in such products as Brightside and Sunnyside from what I remember which will brighten up anyone's day!

We then went around to the soap. When it comes to limited edition collections/ranges at this animal friendly brand, there is normally a soap that accompanies it. The soap that accompanies the Fathers Day is called Thanks Dad. This soap is super for many reasons but the main two are that its already cut out so you don't have to worry about feeling that your Dad/whoever may think that a weirdly cut soap is a bit weird and that it smells of chocolate orange digestives! I am eating a digestive and sniffing the soap and I have to admit they smell very similar! As I said above, this soap is shaped into a block just like the Valentines Day one was shaped as a heart which means that you know how much it will cost instead of having the awkward but great chat with the staff over 107g being fine or not. It's shaped like a playing block which will make anyone nostalgic when they see this great soap! This soap has Fresh Orange Juice in to cleanse and brighten the skin and Brazillian Orange Oil to give it that Chocolate Orange sort of scent.

We then go to try out the new Smugglers Soul Facial Scrub and Multi-purpose Cream. I have slowly been trying out Smugglers Soul due to seeing leaks of the range beforehand and thinking that I must see what its like so I know what to expect from the range/so I could instantly fall in love with the range instead of being hesitant then falling in love with it as soon as it is going like I have done many times within the past! The Facial Scrub has a more subtle scent to it due to the various butters and oils that go into this scrub but I still adore it! This one also has bamboo extract in (they only collect the ones that fallen from what I remember) which gives the scrub its perfect texture. It's more of a light daily scrub compared to something like Ocean Salt and is great for anyone!

The body lotion has a stronger SS scent to it. This body lotion can be used for various things which makes it an amazing product to buy! You can use this multi-purpose cream to make your body oh so soft, moisturise your face or to use as a hair product. The scent is quite strong but this means that it lingers for quite a long while and makes anyone that walks past you want to sniff you for a long while... The price of it is £15 but that is mainly because of the size of the product and there is so many oils within the product which makes it an amazing cream! I absolutely love it due to the strongness of the scent!

We then wandered on over to the hair section to have a look at the shampoo bars and solid conditioners to have a look at the new Smugglers Soul Shampoo Bar. It has pieces of Cocoa Butter within it as Lush found out that a lot of people don't have time to shampoo and condition so mixing the two together sometimes works better time and money-wise.

We then looked at the gifts that are on offer at Lush for Fathers Day which include a little gift which is based around the beach, one that includes an adorable scarf for those chilly days which is based around Rupert The Bear and a massive gift set which is simply called Lush Men. It comes in an amazing wooden box which can be used for storage as well!

We looked around after and had a sniff at many of the products. I decided to buy a Big Blue which contains seaweed from the coast near Poole and has a wonderful clean scent. I am going to use this ballistic and pretend that I am a beautiful sea creature-human hybrid.

Myself and Luke were given a goodie bag containing all things Sandalwood including The Plumps Solid Conditioner, Floating Island Bath Melt, SS Face Scrub, The Modfather, Thanks Dad Soap. I can't wait to try them all and tell you guys what I think maybe via Social Media or a blog post.

Have you tried any of the new products? What do you think? Let me know down below in the comments section!

Thanks to Lush York and Urika at Lush PR for inviting me to this preview event and for putting on an amazing event! I hope that you have enjoyed this post and I hope that you come back soon for another DOAML post soon!

Meow!
Jamie x

Living It Up In Leeds | Live At Leeds Festival 2016

Meow!

Thanks to Trinity Leeds/their Twitter, I won a goodie bag and two tickets to Live At Leeds so I thought that I would give you a guys a shortish post about Live At Leeds and what I thought. I'm going to Slam Dunk in a couple of weeks and I'm not fully sure whether to do a blog post about it or not so comment down below whether I should or not.

Live At Leeds is an award winning festival which is held annually on the May Day Bank Holiday weekend. The festival is based within Leeds hence the name 'Live At Leeds' but this definitely does not mean that it is based within one location such as the well known Leeds Festival that happens annually within the same city. This Bank Holiday festival is held within a variety of well acknowledged venues within Leeds City Centre. The aim of LAL is to showcase new emerging artists alongside some more well known artists from around the world. 2016 marks the ten year anniversary of the festival so LAL pulled out all of the stops for this year!

As I won two tickets, I decided to drag Michelle along as she loves music but also as she is attending Slam Dunk with myself so I thought that it would be best for us to both try and do a Leeds based festival so we were prepared for the other one that is approaching us very soon.

We chatted and so forth and then made our way to Leeds Direct Arena. We were slightly late but I can imagine that the area surrounding this venue was buzzing with atmosphere in the hour or so before people could exchange their tickets for wristbands and that there was a lot of the general public getting to know new people via their music taste. We exchanged our tickets for wristbands and then made our way to our first venue.

We arrived at Leeds Beckett Student Union to have a listen of the amazing alternative music that was playing and I loved it. Sadly, I can't really remember what the bands name were but their music was great. The genre was quite soft rock. The atmosphere was amazing and it felt like you were having a quite intimate show with the band which is a great thing to have when at a festival as festivals sometimes make you feel like you're not really interacting with the artist/band but more watching afar/

We went to a few different venues and saw a plethora of bands which were playing different genres of music but as I can't really remember the names I think that its best to just sum up what I thought of the day.

I loved the whole concept of walking around Leeds City Centre and finding little venues with some amazing live music playing within it. I loved the free outside venue that was within Briggate as it gave shoppers a little experience of what to expect at Live At Leeds and it gave some unnoticed bands some well needed love!

I did hate the fact that one of the main headliners had to cancel an hour before they were meant to appear and the fact that the weather couldn't make its mind up which sometimes happens but all in all I had an a pretty great day with Michelle.

Have you been to Live At Leeds before? Should I blog Slam Dunk? Let me know in the comments section below!

Thanks to Trinity Leeds for the prize. If it wasn't for them then this post wouldn't be here. Thanks to Michelle for coming along with me. I hope that you've enjoyed this post/slight ramble and I hope that you come back next time for another blog post!

Meow!
Jamie x

This photographs are not mine and I have been given the access to use these photos via the press that organised Live At Leeds. All credits go to Giles Smith and John Hayhurst (sadly I couldn't find his link so you may have to Google him) who created these photos. All rights for the photos are theirs. 

Tying Up The Knots Within Life | Frederick Thomas London

Meow

I was sent some gorgeous goodies from the guys over at Frederick Thomas London and I thought that today I would tell yoogu guys a little bit more about them as a brand and also about what I got sent.

Frederick Thomas London were established within 2ter009. They are well known for selling high quality mens business/sartorial accessories such as ties, cufflinks and braces. There are lots of designs when it comes to their products which means that they fit a plethora of social/formal occasions. They will even make custom designs for places such as schools, football teams and so on. If you're looking for something amazing to accessorize your suit/formal clothing with then I would definitely check out their website!

The tie that I was sent looked amazing within its packaging. The material felt amazing and you could instantly tell that the product had been handmade as you could feel the amount of love and passion that had been put into it when creating the tie. The pattern of the tie was so me which is great although I didn't choose the tie so I wasn't sure on what to expect when the items had arrived. The pattern was mainly skulls which means that it will give an alternative addition to any outfit that I wear with it. The pricing of the ties vary depending on what pattern is on them and so forth but they're not too expensive which means I may get some more in different patterns for when I need a tie to accompany my outfit. I wore mine with a simple black shirt which I think is the best way to wear it and it simply popped against the darkness of the shirt.

I also received some socks which is amazing as I think that everyone could always do with more socks within their life. These particular socks came with a funky little pattern on the top of the clothing piece and honestly it just makes them a little bit different to the generic sock that you can get within most shops. This particular pair are great for summer as they have a great sort of colour pattern going on and accompany anything that is summery quite well.

All in all, two great accessories to go with any outfit  whether it'd be to go along with something to wear to a formal event or to accessorise an outfit to wear to have drinks in.

I would like to thank Frederick Thomas London for sending me these items. If you click on their name within this post then it will send you to their website where you can check out more of the wonderful items that they stock.

Thanks for reading this blog post and I hope that you come back next time to read the next one.

Meow!
Jamie x