La Tasca - Cheltenham Re-opening Night!

Last week I was invited to the re-opening of La Tasca in my hometown in Cheltenham. It's just down the road from me at work so seemed like a pretty tempting idea when I got the invite through with the offer of cocktails, paella masterclass and a bit of Zumba, besides the fact I've always enjoyed their tapas!

Two of my friends came along with me to join in the fun which all kicked off with a welcoming entrance from the lovely staff, a delicious glass of sangria and entrees of Spanish Omelette, Chorizo, Manchego ( a traditional Spanish Cheese) and Dipping bread with authentic oils and vinegars. Yummy yummy. I would definitely recommend! We almost felt like we'd been jetted over to Spain...till the sound of Rain pouring outside kicked in and ruined that day dream!

Next, we had a fab cocktail masterclass with the hostess Nadia, showing us how to make two of my favorite cocktails, Sex on the Beach and Mojito. Oh goody.. but then it was over to us! It's safe to say we tried to pay as much attention as possible, but given that in the past we have tried to grind Trebor Extra Strong Mints as a subsitute for fresh mint, it didn't seem hopeful. (Totally logical solution though right?! ha) It was initially going really well, Ice.. Check, Mint, Lime, Sugar, Check..FOUR shots of rum... erm oh, wait a minute. It didn't really work out when my friend Charlotte managed to accidentally add a quarduple shot of rum for her Mojito. I think it's fair to say cocktail making is never going to be our party trick. Unless you want to get very drunk.

After we drank our concoctions and the delicious ones made by Nadia, we were all up off our seats to have a go at some traditional Spanish dancing such as Zumba, much to the amusement of all the diners enjoying their meals. After a few clumsy twirls and twists on my part and when we'd all just about managed to get the hang of it we had to partner off for couples dancing. Zumba with a partner is pretty sensual and 'up-close' and started off with you and your partner - who you'd just met - giving each other 'bear hugs' to get the right intimacy... Not how I usually spend my Thursday nights, but a right giggle all the same!

To round off the evening we were treated to a yummy dish of the Paella which had been slow cooking on the large steel pan throughout the evening. My friends and I had the Chicken and Chroizo Paella, it was soo delicious and I would recommend it to anyone who goes to La Tasca! They also did a Seafood Paella which lots of the other ladies enjoyed if you like your seafood! We were even given a goodie pack of La Tasca Paella Cooking ingredients which I'm really looking forward to using to try and re-create at home!

Thank you to all the friendly staff at La Tasca for being so welcoming and generous!

 

Cosmopolitan Blog Awards 2012

Last night I made my way to the big capital for this year's much awaited Cosmopolitan Blog Awards which were sponsored by Next! As you may know I was up for the Next Newcomer award as I'm a bit of a newbie still in the world of blogging, so naturally I was a big bubble of excitement and nervousness in the run up to the evening, especially with deciding what to wear!

After coming back from a mad shopping dash with three potential outfits, I debated for what felt like 50 bazillion hours and decided to go with a black sequined Mismo playsuit that I bought from Republic for an absolute steal of £25. I popped on my favourite black New Look heels, grabbed my Next box clutch and finished off with my cream Zara blazer. The lovely ladies at Cosmo said to wear whatever you felt comfortable in and what represents your blog so of course I stuck to my typical high street budget!

Excuse my slight devil eyes in this pic, the flash wasn't my best friend last night!

My Leighton Penny Coral Reef and Models Own Hed Kandi Ibiza glitter polish I painted on the train journey to London. I don't think the other passengers were too impressed I fumed up the whole carriage!

 This year's event was held at The Rose Club, just off Oxford street, and when I arrived the place was brimming with all the other bloggers looking absolutely fab as expected. There were so many style notes to be taken I definitely lost count of them all! Eventually after admiring everyone's outfits I managed to work my way to the bar to try out the yummy free cocktails from Mahiki, after all it was only right to have a Cosmopolitan on the night!

As those of you who follow me on Twitter will know, I unfortunately didn't win the award but it very deservedly went to Em from 'A day in the life of Em's' who has a fantastic blog! So a big congrats to her! Each award winner was given a lovely framed illustration from the Cosmo ladies!

Aside from the awards, cocktail sipping and a fab DJ who played some absolute tunes, there were various pop ups dotted around the spangly club venue such as makeovers, manicures, glitter tattoos, fake eye lash bar and fun fortune telling to go and visit! I had a make up touch up done by Vicky who created a smokey eye look with all Next make up products and added a spot of deep red lippy! I love getting my make up done, especially as smokey eyes is something I can never still manage to achieve successfully!

The whole evening was a great opportunity to meet other bloggers, and I spent most of my night with my new cocktail partner in crime, Laura from Logans runway who was wearing a gorgeous playsuit from Topshop! Definitely check out her blog here.

Overall the evening was so much fun, and even though I didn't win I really did feel so lucky to be there with 35,000 blogs initially being nominated according to the judges! So a big big thank you has to go to everyone that supported me to even get shortlisted in the first place, it means such a lot! And of course, a huge thanks to Cosmopolitan and Next for putting on the awards and celebrating bloggers!