adventure: shibdon pond

Being skint more or less 10 days after pay day means my boyfriend and I are constantly trying to find exciting things to do with no money at all. So with a carrier bag of stale white bread in hand my boyfriend and I decided to head down to Shibdon Pond to feed the ducks. We thought we were dead clever until 3 children turned up with THREE WHOLE LOAVES OF BREAD to feed the ducks with! Feeling a little belittled we decided to head off on the nature trail instead and ended up feeding our feeble supply of bread (4 slices..ahem) to one lonely duck who was hiding amongst the reeds (See bottom left hand picture).





Bryden x

Bag it up.

It's a bit of a blogger cliche to do a 'What's in my bag?' post, I know. Maybe I just wanted to show off my new handbag (or maybe I just wanted to use a Geri Halliwell song as a blog title), anyway here's all the crap I carry around on a daily basis...

Bag from New Look £19.99

Purse- Claire's Accessories, Make up bag (actually a pencil case)- Paperchase, Umbrella- Primark, Diary- Paperchase, Sunglasses- Ray Ban, Asthma inhaler- You get given them by the doctors if you're really cool, Clarins HydraQuench, Batiste tropical dry shampoo, Antibacterical gel, VO5 ultimate hold hairspray.

Rihanna Reb'l Fleur perfume, Powder brush- Elf, Backcombing brush- Sally, Face  make up palette- Topshop, Keys , Hand salve- Burt Bees, Nail polish- No 7.

I carry around 10 times more lip products than any sane person would. 

Some of the brands currently kicking around in the bottom of my bag- Topshop, Collection 2000, YSL, Rimmel, No 7, Du Wop, MAC, Carmex, Chain Bridge Farm.

Reading/weight lifting material: 

Company Magazine, Avon catalogue, How To Be a Woman- Caitlin Moran, Valley of the Dolls- Jacqueline Susann.

My one true love: My Blackberry. 

Yes, you're right; that is a photo of Britney and Justin back in the 'good old days' complete with all denim outfits as my background. 

Claire
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Books written for girls.

I own hundreds of books. Seriously, my parents garage is jam packed with boxes upon boxes of them. In recent years I haven't been reading as much (maybe due to a lack on concentration thanks to living with a boy who never stops talking), but lately I've been spending any spare time locked in the bathroom, enjoying a hot bath and these titles.

Dear Diary- Lesley Arfin

Valley of the Dolls- Jacqueline Susann

Walking Through Clear Water In a Pool Painted Black- Cookie Mueller

Just Kids- Patti Smith

No one belongs here more than you- Miranda July

How To Be a Woman- Caitlin Moran

Anyone read of these or any other good books lately?

Claire
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Eating out: Buca di Beppo

Last month, we were very kindly invited by Buca di Beppo to dine with them. Not having heard of the brand before, we did a bit of pre dinner internet research and found out that the restaurant resided in the Village Hotel at the Cobalt Business Park and offered family style Italian cooking. To be honest we were a bit worried it would be a bit *ahem* Frankie and Benny's, but thankfully it was far from it!



Buca di Beppo is a massive company in the US, but currently only have restaurants in the UK within Village Hotels. Their focus is on Italian family style dining; plates in the middle of the table, with everyone diving in. Sounded good to us! We were greeted by Andrew the hotel General Manager and Karen the Sales Manager, then settled down at 'The Godfather Table' with fellow bloggers Denise and Darryl for a good chat and some awesome food.



Andrew suggested we ordered a variety of dishes for each course, which having never dined there before was an excellent idea. I'm just not sure we were prepared for the sheer amount of food we were about to experience!

Starters

Bruschetta Florentine

Mozzarella Caprese

Stuffed Mushrooms

Calamari Fritto

Mains

Chopped Antipasto Salad

Supremo Italiano Pizza

Meatball Lasagna

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Linguine Frutti di Mare

Veal Saltimbucca

Chicken Parmigiana

Sides

Garlic Mashed Potatoes

Sauteed Potatoes

Green Beans

Italian Broccoli Romano

Meatball (a half pound meatball!)

Desserts

Tiramisu

Espresso Chocolate Cake

Baked Cheesecake

Chocolate Chip Cannoli

Celebration Cake for birthday boy Darryl (complete with the Buca birthday song sung by the staff!)

Cocktails

Wildberry Mojito

Ultimate Raspberry Lemondrop

Portion sizes at Buca come in two sizes: Buca Small (a generous single portion) and Buca Large (which feeds 2-3 people). I think we'd recommend choosing a few dishes to share, getting stuck in and trying a bit of everything! The menu is extremely varied, and the food delicious and fresh. The restaurant atmosphere is relaxed and the staff are attentive, helpful and really know their stuff.

I think it's easy to say we'll definitely be visiting again. From having a little look around, The Village Hotel also looks lovely and would be a good option to anyone coming to stay in Newcastle.

Despite this meal being given to us on a complimentary basis, all of the opinions stated in this post are honest (we wouldn't be any other way!). Many thanks to Andrew, Karen, Adele and all of the team at Buca for a lovely evening and some cracking food!

Claire & Bryden
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