Christmas Gift Ideas - The Man In Your Life

Here's my christmas ideas for that number one man in your life and whether this be your boyfriend, husband, brother, step dad, dad, cousin or uncle I'm sure there's something here that would perfect for them:

mens gift guide by treblesandamixer featuring plaid scarves

Barbour plaid scarve / Chanel fragrance / Body cleanser / Beer Journal / Herschel Classic Backpack Navy | Herschel | Brands | Skatehut / Ocean Salt / Pringle Trouser Socks - Buy Now Mens Pringle Laird Rib Trouser Sock / Potting Shed Tea Mug for Women

Bryden x

Ernest, Newcastle

You will probably know by now that I love Ernest in the Ouseburn. It's not a bar, a restaurant or a cafe - It actually seems to be all three. The staff are lovely and whole place has a lovely laid back atmosphere.

They have a great menu which boasts some amazing all day breakfast options along with some great sandwich options and flatbreads. The drinks selection is also great and they're keeping the coffee local by serving coffee roasted by the Ouseburn Coffee Company.

I've been a handful of times now and it's always been a great experience. 

Last weekend my boyfriend and I went for Sunday Brunch. The last couple of times I've gotten the same thing, the Chorizo Hash Bowl, which is absolutely amazing but I swore to myself this time I would try something different and out of my comfort zone. I decided on a soup and sandwich combo. There were two soups to offer that day which were Thai Pumpkin and Smoked Bacon and Lentil. I chose the lentil soup and it was absolutely outstanding. Really creamy, thick and comforting. For my sandwich I opted for the buffalo mozzarella sandwich on gluten free bread. That's right... They also cater for gluten intolerance... Could it get any better? Although I haven't had a gluten intolerance diagnosed by a doctor, I know myself that I feel better when I avoid it. It's really great to see a small local eatery offering gluten free bread. 

My boyfriend Steven went for the steak sandwich which is something he has tried, tested and loved before. The steak was cooked to his taste (medium rare) and was very tender.

To go with both of our meals we also decided on a side of their sweet potato fries which now come with a spicy mayo dip. The last time we ordered these they came with a tzatziki dip which we both agreed we preferred to the spicy mayo. If we order the fries again we're planning to ask if we can swap the mayo for tzatziki.

Bryden 

Links:
Ernest Website
Ernest Menu
Ernest Christmas Menu
Ernest Facebook



Crossed posted FROM Bryden's personal blog http://the-northern-life.blogspot.co.uk

The Fat Budda, Newcastle at Christmas.

Claire and I attended an event at the Fat Buddha restaurant in Newcastle city centre to check their festive offerings. 

We were kindly greeted by our wonderful host Sandra and were taken on a guided tour of the restaurant before being seated to test out some of their dishes from their set christmas menu. We tried out a couple of their dishes including some lettuce cups and their honey chilli chicken (amazing). The whole restaurant was decked out for christmas and looked brilliant. It's definitely worth checking out their christmas menu if you're looking for somewhere to go around the festive period. Unfortunately, I can't see a link for this menu on their website so I can't provide a link to their set menu. 

Bryden x

Cross posted from http://the-northern-life.blogspot.co.uk as Claire and I attended this event together.

Out and About: Seven Stories and The Cluny, Ouseburn, Newcastle

Books Books Books @ Seven Stories 

Spot the odd one out...

The Attic @ Seven Stories

Painted Doc Martins

Grufallo Costume

Reading hide-out

Dress up

Laura having a read

View from the Seven Stories

Amazing book!

Penguin in Peril

Dress Up Time!

The Tiger That Came For Tea

Let's Buy Happiness framed photograph - Cluny

The Cluny Burger w/ Mushrooms and Cheese

Bryden x

Everyone loves MCM!

A couple of posts ago in my winter wish list I mentioned my recent love for MCM. I've seen one or two people out and about with the mini backpacks and they're absolutely perfect. After looking into their recent collection a little more I was surprised to see the plain black tote bag! Looks like the perfect every day bag to me.

Here's my wish list:

We Love MCM by treblesandamixer featuring an ipad backpack

MCM ipad backpack / MCM leather rucksack / MCM shopping bag / MCM red handbag / MCM brown leather purse / MCM snap wallet

I want them all! I best start putting those lottery numbers on...

Bryden x

The Fat Hippo, Jesmond.

After hearing a lot of rave reviews for the Fat Hippo in Jesmond I decided on a taking last minute trip one night after work. This was my second attempt in going as the first time we were unable to get a booking. Thankfully we were able to get a booking this time. 

The Fat Hippo is a very small restaurant so book ahead or prepare for a long wait if you haven't already booked. On my first attempt at going it was 6pm and we were told we wouldn't have been able to get a table until 9pm! The place is extremely popular for it's big chunky burgers and triple cooked chips and for good reason - it's probably one of the best burgers I've had in a while.

The restaurant itself is a stones throw away from West Jesmond metro station just near Tesco. They offer a brilliant Happy Hour deal Monday - Friday 5 - 7pm which is 3 courses for £10, 2 courses for £9 or 1 course for £7. We had already decided on getting at least two courses but for an extra pound it would've been rude not to attempt a dessert!  

We opted to get two starters to share. These were deep fried gherkins (my fave) and jalapeno poppers. I wasn't the greatest fan of the poppers. Expecting them to be little morsels of gooey-cheesey-spicy goodness I was somewhat disappointed when they emerged to be rather dry. It was almost like they were bulked out with mash potato or something similar. I would compare them to the texture of falafel. They were tasty - just not what I was expecting. The gherkins were lovely. Encased in an extremely crispy batter they had not lost their substance and still had a slight 'snap'. I would have liked to see these served alongside a blue cheese mayonnaise like how they are served in many of London's burger joints. Both starters came with a garlic mayonnaise.

Deep fried gherkins with garlic mayonnaise

Jalapeno poppers

Cross section of the jalapeño poppers 

After demolishing our starters it wasn't too long before our mains arrived. My boyfriend and I both opted for their American burger. The American consisted of a beef burger patty topped with diced gherkins, mustard, cheese and ketchup. All of the beef burgers are served in a brioche bun. In my opinion burgers always taste better in a brioche bun so I was happy to see this on the menu. The Fat Hippo also serve their burgers medium rare unless told otherwise - another win for me.

The Burgers themselves were very thick and juicy. They definitely had a homemade quality to them. The beef burgers came with a side of triple fried chips so I decided to get a couple of their dips to compliment them. I opted for buffalo mayonnaise and garlic mayonnaise. The Buffalo mayonnaise was very interesting and had the flavour of a hot sauce and a mayonnaise. Slightly spicy yet not too hot. I feel it would have also went very well with the fried gherkins. 

Our burgers

Both being greedy guts we also opted for a side of onion rings which we possibly could have done without due to the sheer size of the main itself. The onion rings were gorgeous though. If these were offered as a starter I would order them. I think they must have been cooked in the same batter as the gherkins as it seemed very similar. I was happy to see that the rings were 'proper' onion rings and not like those cheap onion rings that some other places serve where the insides are like mushed up potato and onion. 

Onion Rings

After the food extravaganza we still decided to share a dessert although we were fit for bursting by then (Again... Greedy guts...). There are a few desserts on the menu yet only two are included in the happy hour choices, these being ice cream or chocolate fudge cake. We obviously decided to get a chocolate fudge cake.

Chocolate Fudge Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream

I can imagine that the chocolate fudge cake MIGHT have been bought in as it was very similar to one you can buy at a very popular bulk buy warehouse. That being said this doesn't mean it was rubbish, they do a very nice chocolate cake! Next time I will skip dessert though as ice cream or chocolate fudge cake isn't usually something I would go crackers for in a restaurant anyway.

Although the Fat Hippo is popular I don't think it's popular enough. It is an amazing little gem of a restaurant! I can't wait to go again and I think next time I will try one of their chicken burgers. I spied one from across the room and they looked brilliant.

Bryden x

Links: The Fat Hippo Website

This post has been cross posted from Bryden's personal food blog a northern life to Trebles and a Mixer as it fits in with our theme. I would like to share my experience with our readers.

Winter Wish List

Now the colder weather has set in I've been looking around for some new toasty clothes to wear. There's some gorgeous knitwear kicking about at the moment especially in H&M, TK Maxx and Primark and I'm always on the look out for a new pair of boots too (whatever the weather to be honest... everyone loves a good black ankle boot!).  I found this pair in Office which I really love, although I can't commit to them at the moment as pre-buyers remorse is setting in - I can't possibly buy ANOTHER pair of black boots (I probably will). 

Here's my winter wish list for 2013:

Barbour jacket / Cath Kidston socks / Office boots / MCM backpack / MCM brown leather purse / Madewell scarf, £49 / H&M white mitten / Topshop lipstick, £9.96

The Barbour jacket is such a classic and timeless piece. I think my mam had one similar when she was younger in wax material! This lipstick orange/red would look great teamed with this jacket and would be a great contrast against the muted tones.

MCM products are a current lust of mine of the moment and I love this backpack and purse. Everything about MCM screams luxury to me. The hardware looks like such great quality and leather seems very thick and study - something that would stand the test of time. I prefer my accessories/clothing to have more of a structure than to be slouchy.  MCM have a few different backpacks but this one is my favourite. It's black so it will go with everything and only has four studs around the logo. It is a more thoughtful investment than opting for a full-on trend piece. If you're neon obsessed at the moment then take a look here to see more more colour ways in bright pink/blue and lime. Checking back today I can't see that they have the black colour way in stock - hopefully it's not gone for good.

Links:
Barbour collection at Harrods
MCM collection at Harrods
H&M
Cath Kidston
Topshop Make up
Madewell
Office

What's on your wish list?

Bryden x

Disclaimer: This post is in partnership with Harrods and contains product placement. All words and opinions are my own. The products used are things I loved before I was approached.

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