Valencia 2015

Last week, I spent a few days away in Valencia. Aside from going to visit my sister, it was just really nice to have a break from the never-ending pile of work and just enjoy the sunshine. I'll start off by saying that the weather was amazing in Valencia, averaging 29C during the day. There's something about Valencia that makes you relax. It might be the sunshine, or the local people strolling along (no London rush here!) or even just the lack of sirens that makes you want to sit back and simply enjoy the moment. It's easy to spend a few hours just sitting on the beachfront doing absolutely nothing (which is something we did!).

Of course, I couldn't leave Valencia without any shopping, but I'm glad to say that I didn't pick up a crazy amount from Sephora (haul post will be up soon). Other than a few rings and postcards, the rest of my money was spent on food, (which isn't really a surprise) and I got to enjoy Mojito Bubble Tea, Churros, Macarons and Gelato.

Anyway, here are a few of the photos I took. Enjoy =)

 Relaxing on the beachfront with this view

 

Bull ring near the train station

Some of the buildings and sights we saw while on the bus tour. Those pretty purple flowers were everywhere!

 

Gelato!

Valencia Nord Station - The main rail station (think King's Cross)

 

Watching the sunrise at the beach

 

I'd definitely recommend visiting Valencia if you're looking for a mini break away =)



x

Share:

Graze Breakfast Box

I've been signed up to the Graze Nibble box for quite some time now, and always look forward to getting one through the post just after payday. When the breakfast boxes were first introduces, I wasn't so keen on the selection available. Graze recently changed their breakfast range completely and I have to say that the new selection is much more appealing. There are 20 different porridges, granolas and mueslis to choose from, which makes a difference from the old range which only consisted of porridge. I'm not a big fan of porridge, so I decided to tick the 'send soon' box on 3 different granola's (perfect to eat with Greek Yoghurt) and let the fourth item be a mystery.

Here's what I got in my Breakfast Box:

Rugged Maple and Pecan Granola: maple granola, pecans, chopped hazelnuts, pumpkin seeds & malt coated oats.
Honey Hunter: oat & barley granola, chopped pecans & walnuts, hazelnuts, almond slices, honey-baked oats & pumpkin seeds.
Mango Lassi: mango & passion fruit granola, coconut flakes, passion fruit yoghurt, honey-baked oats, pumpkin seeds & crispy multigrain flakes.
Pecan and Walnut Porridge: chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, oats and honey almond slivers

I love that the bags can be resealed, which is great because I can use the packet over the week and not worry about the emptying it into a different container. I haven't tried the porridge yet, but the bag has a handy fill line to measure the amount of milk/water so that porridge isn't too wet. I won't be getting these boxes regularly, but as an occasional treat they are great (and the granola bags are small enough to take to work without taking up much space) =)

Graze always send voucher codes with each of their boxes to share out. For a free Breakfast box, visit THIS PAGE and enter the code ASMAAM41. If you haven't registered with Graze already, then you can get your 1st breakfast box free. Existing customers get an extra box free when they buy a breakfast box.



x

Share:

Chocoholic Hijabi at: The Halal Food Festival

Last weekend, my family and I went down to the Excel exhibition centre for the first ever Halal Food Festival. I had pre-booked all the tickets beforehand so all we had to do was turn up, get the tickets scanned and make sure we had a wristband each (fluorescent green was the colour on Saturday). We arrived at around 11:30, which I think was good timing as there were a few queues at some of the stands, but it wasn't really much of a problem. As the day went on, more people started arriving and there wasn't much room to move around in the hall, especially with some of the queues going around corners and across the walkways. At one point, we were queuing for about 45 minutes (my aunt, cousins and I took it in turns), which was worth it in the end, but it wasn't ideal. I did enjoy myself (and so did the rest of my family) and we managed to try a lot of different foods that we may not have been able to try otherwise. I also picked up goodies from Pearl Daisy and Halal and Organic Skincare, plus some chocolate truffles and jelly sweets =)

I didn't take many pictures (got a little distracted and forgot-oops!) but I put up a collage on IG of the ones I did take =)

 

I think if there is another food festival, it should definitely be held in a larger space!

If you went to the Halal Food Festival, what did you think? And would you go if there was another one?




x

Share:

A date for your diary: Halal Food Festival London

I can't believe I didn't blog about this sooner, but there's going to be a Halal Food Festival in London from the 27-29th of September (less than two weeks time!). The event is going to be held at the London Excel exhibition centre. There'll be live cooking demonstrations alongside a wide range of exhibitors, mocktail making classes, a cooking school and a little Halaloodies zone. You can purchase tickets from the website halalfoodfestival.com.

(source)

Make sure you get your ticket soon and come along! (I've already got mine for the Saturday =D)



x

Share:

Cybercandy - Saving the World from Dull Candy [haul]

Whenever I'm out and about in Central London, I always try and stop by at one of the Cybercandy stores that are dotted across the city. I'm not sure when exactly I came across Cybercandy, but I can't seem to stop taking a detour whilst on my way to uni/lunch/shop etc. Cybercandy is the UK's largest retailer of American sweets, drinks and more, as well as stocking favourites from Canada, Europe, Australia and Japan (and a few other countries too).

My most recent purchase comes from the Cybercandy store in Covent Garden, conveniently located near the London Graphics Centre (where I get my art supplies) and the Beadworks London shop (where I go for jewellery making supplies). A rather small purchase but it was enough to satisfy my craving for Wonka Nerds and I got to try out the Hershey's Pumpkin Spice Kisses (two of them got eaten before I had even made it to Leicester Square Underground Station).

Giant Gumball dispenser in the middle of the shop floor

 

Mini Cybercandy Haul

I also had a 20% voucher to use on the Cybercandy website. Having never ordered online from them, I thought this would be a great opportunity to save the travel fare (and spend it on more goodies of course). And here is what I bought (although this should probably be classed as a haul!). If you follow me on Instagram (username: asmaa17) then you'll have already seen my box of goodies =)

 

 

Goodies!

 

What I ordered: Flipz (large and small packets), 2 x turtles, Wonka Nerds and a Mystery Parcel

What's inside the mystery parcel?

All of this!

Personal favourites: Reeses cups, Jelly Belly Jelly Beans and Wonka Nerds.

Looking forward to trying: Milka with Oreo and the Hello Panda

 

 

The great thing about the mystery box is that you don't actually know what you'll recieve! This is great for me because I never know what new treats I should try out, and always end up buying only my favourites. This mystery box was great because I've actually tried a few of these products before and I'm looking forward to trying the one's that I haven't. Unfortunately, the Pop Tarts contain gelatin, so these will be going to someone who can eat them. The small packet of Flipz and the Reeses cups have already disappeared (as well as one of the Turtles packets).

Cybercandy also have 3 other stores in London (located in Islington, Camden and Shoreditch) as well as stores in Brighton and Birmingham. Of course, if you can't get to any of the stores, then there is always the option of ordering online and having your goodies delivered to your door =)


Also, I'll be doing a giveaway for my 2nd blog-versary soon, so check back near the end of the month to see what's being given away =)




x

Share:

A Bar of Chocolate Covered Popcorn

Cadbury's have recently come out with quite a few new chocolate products (perfect for a chocoholic like me) and I picked up the Dairy Milk Toffee Popcorn bar (currently 2 for £3 in Tesco). What is there not to like about a chocolate covered popcorn bar? Although it is a pretty big bar! I've also spotted (and been told about) the chocolate covered pretzels, which I am now on the hunt for =)

 

Nom!

What do you think of a chocolate covered popcorn bar?






x

Share:

Dining Out: Sizzling Palate

Over the weekend I was in Bolton for a wedding and on Saturday night went out with a few family friends to a restaurant called Sizzling Palate located in Bolton Town Centre. I didn't manage to get a picture of my outfit, but plenty of pictures of the food. Instead of boring you with words, I'll just show you what delicious food we ate!

Menu

Steak Knife and Fork!

Strawberry Mojito mocktail

Raspberry Mojito mocktail

Tandoori Mixed Grill starter

Tandoori Mixed Grill starter (again) with Mango Lassi in the background

Main courses (Sizzlers) and a selection of sauces. One is chicken and the other is prawn.

Steak Sizzlers (both are actually two different items on the menu, although they look the same)

Sizzling Palate Special Steak Sizzler

Portions were large, so each Sizzler was shared between two of us. They basically contained meat/chicken/prawn with servings of chips, rice and noodles (or pasta), and grilled vegetables. The food was great and I did like that the food was served on hot iron plates (hence the name Sizzling Palate). There was a range of other dishes available but we went for the classic sizzlers. Was definitely a good night out in the rather quiet town of Bolton! If anyone's planning to go, I would definitely recommend booking a table because it was very busy!


Anyone know of some good restaurants in the Northern part of England?





x

Share:

Graze Box (again!)

A follow up blog post to this one, where I ordered and recieved my first Graze box. I've been ordering Graze boxes once a month since June last year, and I see it as a treat to myself to try out new, healthier options for snacking. Recent additions to the selection of snacks available include the dips & dippers range and the new guilt-free high tea (which I have yet to try). Graze are constantly adding new treats to their selection of snacks and they have such a large variety that you're sure to find something that you like. I've established a few favourites from what's available, which I can then select to be sent with 'send soon', meaning that they will be in one of the next boxes that are posted out.

This month's box were all sent with 'send soon' (which arrived yesterday) contained two of my favourites: Billionaire's Shortbread (fudge pieces, blanched almonds, milk chocolate drops and cranberries) and Florentine (pumpkin seeds, dark chocolate buttons and cranberries). Two new snack boxes I chose were Little Figgy went to Market (baby figs, cranberries and apple) and Toffee Apple (sticky toffee sauce with granny smith apple slices).

The Graze boxes cost £3.49 each, and if you're a new customer you can try one for free using the code NJWPDYP. You can cancel the boxes at any time and push back deliveries to a date that suits you, if you don't want weekly or fornightly boxes (which I do myself in order to get them once a month).

Let me know if you've tried Graze boxes before, or are looking to do so in the future =)



x

Share:

Haagen Dazs Secret Sensations

Dessert for tonight. One word:

Yummy!

 

x

Share:

One chocolate that I wish was still around

The Nestle Double Cream Egg

Launched in 2003 and sold predominantly during the Easter period (hence the egg shape). Sold in boxes of three or individually wrapped. Last seen in 2006 (according to various people on the world wide web). I personally loved the filling, a combination of sweet cream mixed with tiny cocoa bits for a slightly bitter taste. Highly addictive.

Anyone else remember this chocolate egg?




x

Share: