Wandering Curiosities • Page 6 of 9 • A Yorkshire Based Lifestyle Blog

July 10, 2017

Champagne School | Epernay Leeds

Remember when I went to Coffee School? Champagne school is also an actual thing!

Hello there lovely come and fill my glass up! Epernay Champagne Bar in Leeds are now offering you the chance to learn a thing or two about our favourite French tipple.

It is no secret that I am a fan of something cold and bubbly. So when given the opportunity to try champagne school*; how could I say no?

Champagne to me is always a luxurious treat; drank in celebration. Think birthdays, passing exams, New Years Eve that kind of thing. This means it’s not something that I drink frequently. Making Champagne School feel very exclusive.

Champagne School teaches you everything you need to know about this bubbly drink. The difference between Champagne and Prosecco, what grape varieties are used to make Champagne, what makes a vintage Champagne and so much more information that you can show off to your friends and colleagues with. I won’t be giving you any of the answers though because, well that is cheating after all!

So now armed with my new knowledge when I buy my next bottle of Champagne it will be a much more informed choice.

You can book tickets to Champagne School here

Location:
Épernay Champagne Bar,
Great George St,
Leeds LS1 3DW

For those that don’t know Epernay’s is in the Electric Press a Grade II listed building. They have an indoor court yard that is beautiful to sit in summer or winter watching the world pass by. One of the most impressive features though is the walk-in Champagne cellar that is chilled to the optimum temperature. I now want one of these at home and of course a bar tender to pour me a glass or 3. Any volunteers?

Would you like to go to Champagne School? If so you can find tickets here.

*I was lucky enough to be invited to try Champagne School for free but all opinions are my own, honest and belong to me with a glass of something chilled and bubbly in my hand.

July 7, 2017

Dessert Heaven at Kaspa’s Leeds

Dessert for dinner? Yes please! If like me you can’t say no to dessert for a dinner then Kaspa’s in Leeds hits the sweet spot. Terrible puns are included free of charge.

Ok now I have your attention with a giant banana split let me tell you about this dessert house. I got a sneak peek at what they had to offer on launch night and let me tell you that you’ll be desperate to visit by the time I’m done.

Not only do they do amazing desserts, think waffles; pancakes; exclusive gelato flavours; cookie dough and more. Basically all the best stuff. Kaspa’s is right in the centre of Leeds sat in The Core shopping centre. The Core is only 10 minutes walk from the train station, or you can park in the connected car park.

Are you hungry yet? The menu is huge as are the portions, we were treated to a selection of desserts. Including that amazing banana split, a strawberry indulgence waffle and a white chocolate crepe. I want to eat that waffle right now and its 10am. Actually I can’t stop thinking about it. When I can go back? I am a woman possessed by thoughts of strawberry waffles.

Kaspa’s interior is also a little dreamy. They have glittery walls and neon lights (be still my beating heart)! A 1960s diner style set up with bold colours and booths, makes for some awesome Instagram friendly shots. Kaspa’s also run a selfie of the week competition where you can win a free dessert! I shall repeat a FREE DESSERT!

Would I go back?

I think if you’ve got this far into this post and haven’t realised that I’d recommend that everyone stop by here, I have done something wrong. Weekend calories don’t count right?

Location

Kaspas Desserts
The Core Shopping Centre
Leeds City Centre
LS1 6JB

You can follow Kaspa’s on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the latest offers.

July 5, 2017

Not a Self Help Book

This maybe an unpopular opinion but I kinda of hate self help books they just don’t work for me. But the blogosphere is awash with books that you should read to ‘help’ you but I just don’t feel them.

First there was The Life Changing Magic of Not Giving a F**k , then I bought Gala Darlings Radical Self-Love, and now there is Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear. And well I can’t get on board with that either. The internet tells me I should love these book but I don’t.

I can’t even get past the first few chapters of Big Magic. I’ve tried more than once but I’ve had this book over a month now and I just can’t. I can’t even tell you what it really is about. There is something about self-help books that kind of annoy me. Maybe they do wonderful things for some people but me they just make my inner self rage a little.

The language used doesn’t grab me and pull me in. It’s all a bit floaty and ‘capacity to transform yourself’ blah blah. Someone is also making a lot of money from these books. Be it the authors or the publishers. They are writing what you want to read. It’s generic and written to pull on all your emotions to be a ‘better’ you.

There is no real eloquent way of putting it. They’re just a bit shit.

I did however hope that the Big Magic would change my perspective on self help books. It has 4 1/2 stars out of 5 on amazon. Obviously some people enjoy it, I’m just not one of them.

So why do I end up buying these books?

Maybe it’s because I am an advertisers dream and a sucker for buying what I think I need rather than what I actually need? Maybe it’s because I somehow think that one of these books will suddenly leave me enlightened and solve all my insecurities? I don’t know. But what ever it is, I promise that I will not buy an another bloody self help book! Here it is in black and white and you can hold me to this!

It surely can’t be just me that struggles with self help books?

June 29, 2017

Denim For Hair with BBlonde

Over the years I have had my hair many colours. It is a well known fact that after a few months; normally around the 6-8 month mark, I start to want to change my hair. So when BBlonde* got in touch with me and asked if I wanted to try out their new Maximum Colour Toners I couldn’t say no.

These Toners are gentle on the hair and are meant to last around 8 washes. They also smell amazing. Your hair does need to be a fairly light blonde though to start with. Mine was heavily highlighted, I guess in an ombre style as I didn’t want to contend with 6 weekly regrowth. It also matched the colour sample on the box perfectly, I was excited to start.

Firstly I tried Rose Gold but found that it didn’t give me the pink tones I was hoping for. It gave my blonde hair a nice golden tone but there wasn’t the pink there. I think you will have to be a platinum blonde for this toner to give you the pink tones.

So next I decided that I would go straight to the Denim shade and well I love it. Other then red this blue has been my most favourite shade yet.

This product was easy to use, it took less than an hour. I followed all the instructions, even put a shower cap on my head and blasted it with a hair dyer for 5 minutes. Washed off the toner and saw the first hints of blue.

Top Tip: Grab a pair of gloves before you start other wise you will end up with blue hands.

After 2 washes I applied the other half of the bottle to top up the colour but I can see it perfectly fading out to a grey blue in the next few washes. The next Maximum Colour Toner on my hit list is Lilac.

Shirt – Newlook | Jeans – Forever21 | Trainers – Converse | Glasses – Specsavers |

Do you fancy a colour change for summer?

June 24, 2017

Don Papa Rum – Dinner of the Dons

Don Papa Rum arrived into Leeds with an event shrouded in mystery that not only introduced us to this small batch rum, but also to the secrets of Sugerlandia.

Dinner of the Dons

Arriving at the Corn Exchange after hours was a little magical, it was quiet but there was a buzz in the air. The usual brigade of shoppers had left and in their place a long table had been beautifully arranged. 15 personal dinner settings and name cards were placed with a stunningly designed menu that matched not only our invites but also the bottles of Don Papa rum.

Our first taste of Don Papa rum was in our welcome drink. A Darker Don a take on the traditional Dark n Stormy. It was delicious. I don’t think you can go wrong with a rum and ginger beer cocktail, it was light and with mint help to bring out the flavours of the drink.

The menu was artfully divided into 5 course; Volcano, Rainforest, Nature, Land and Sugar was put together exclusively for Dona Papa Rum by Chateau Marmot and it was chuffin’ amazing.

Volcano

Bulalo – A fragrant bone broth and bone marrow. So I won’t lie here, I was initially a little sceptical of the bone marrow sat on my plate looking at me. However, once tasted, it has now convinced me to try maybe it again. Spread onto bread, almost like a beefy butter it was light and tasty, not at all like I expected.

Rainforest

A fresh crab salad featuring heirloom tomatoes instead of mango (as they didn’t look up to scratch when they went to the market, this kind of detail gets a thumbs up for sure) was paired with a glass of Savoie Cuvee Gastronomie which really brought out the flavours of the dish.

Nature

This next dish included duck egg 3 ways with asparagus. In my head this was boiled, poached and fried. I was wrong. What was presented was I think my favourite course of the night. The egg was so tasty, perfectly cooked and paired with a Papa Negroni cocktail. Now I always thought paring drinks with food was a little bit of con. Alas I have been proved wrong, the Negroni almost changed the taste of the course completely. It made the egg seem so much sweeter and it perfectly complimented the asparagus. It’s fair to say I am now a convert to the food/drink matching scene.

Land

Pork Belly braised with Don Papa rum, was our fourth course of the evening. Pork belly that is well cooked and presented beautifully is somewhat of a winner in my eyes. Tasting the suitable hint of rum really pulled it all together.

Sugar

The meal was rounded up with a coconut three-way dessert, paired with a Don Fashioned and a straight up rum. It was light and perfectly ended the evening.

The spirit of Don Papa Lives on in us all

Don Papa is a small batch rum from the Philippines, it is smooth rum that doesn’t burn when drank neat but gives a lovely warming feeling. I found the flavours of vanilla and honey came through and it was very palatable. There are also 50 creatures hidden on the bottle so in-between your pouring drinks for yourself have a look on what you can find!

June 19, 2017

Welcome Back

I am currently sat in the garden with a rather hot laptop on my knee struggling to get words down on paper. So to speak. It has been almost 6 weeks since I had surgery and in that time this space on the internet has been a little neglected.

I have posted elsewhere, so if you follow me on Instagram or twitter you can see my slightly more frequent ramblings there. WAVES ENERGETICALLY.

Now then this post is a little on the random side as there is nothing really of substance for me to say.

Other than hello I am back.

You are going to see posts shortly featuring a very tasty evening I spent with Don Papa Rum, a trip to champagne school, a new hair colour, posts about surviving surgery (once I’ve got them to less than 3000 words each) and other general ramblings.

So there you go, a short and sweet post to ease myself back into the world of the internet.

June 8, 2017

A New Travel Obsession Featuring Icelolly.com

Last month I realised that my passport had expired. This instantly gives me itchy feet, knowing that I can’t travel outside of the United Kingdom makes me want to travel even more. I cant be the only one?

So yesterday I finally got round to popping to the post office to collect a form.

Top Tip: Don’t go on a Monday before lunch if you don’t want to queue behind 20+ people collecting their pension.

Hunted down a Photo Booth to get my photo taken and sat down to fill out my form in black biro. This morning I pottered back to the post office and sent my old passport, newly taken photos that will haunt for the next 10 years and £72.50 of my hard earned cash.

I am now counting down the 3 weeks until my shiny new passport arrives back.

So at the weekend I went to a little event called Blog at the Beach hosted by the lovely folks at icelolly.com

This not only inspired me to renew my passport but as the theme this time was Ibiza I had to go and have a little nosey at what the notorious party island had to offer … Other than the 18-30 scene.

It is well known that I much prefer to be tucked up in bed by mid-night rather than partying the night away stood a bit too close to someone else who is a bit sweaty. Ok I know that there is obviously more going to Ibiza than this. I had until this week stereotyped this Balearic isle.

A little search later an I am now desperate to take a trip around the island. I wasn’t expecting to find beautiful images of hidden coves, mountain villages with fresh water springs, hot air balloon rides and yoga retreats.

Maybe next time some cheap flights to Ibiza pop up. Or an icelolly.com email pops in my inbox with some amazing deal for a week in Ibiza. I’ll be booking an adventure to the white isle (as long as my passport arrives back soon)

Do you have a new travel obsession?

May 12, 2017

Getting My First Ever Energy Blow Dry at HOB Salons | Leeds

Sometimes a girl just needs a blow dry. There isn’t much more too it then that. A quick pamper session and visit to a fancy salon in-between hair cuts is what the doctor ordered. I was lucky enough to be invited to HOB Salons in Leeds to try out their new Energy Blow Dry. Even better I could bring a friend, so of course we made it into a real ladies who get pampered session.

Ok I’m starting with the end result to entice you in. Hello fancy products, a glass of something fizzy and two bouncy blow drys. Coming straight from work I can promise you our hair did not look this good when we arrived an hour earlier.

It is a long time since we’ve both been to a salon, maybe 5 years. See one of our best friends is a hair dresser and we have our hair done at home. So this experience was a real mid week treat. I see going to the salon a real luxury and I’m not going to lie; I was excited to have my head massaged while having my hair washed.

The Energy Blow Dry is a little different from your bog standard normal blow dry. It includes a personalised consultation to find out which products will suit your hair the best.

You go through a quick questionnaire about what you like about your hair and what you don’t. It also includes questions to do with hair length and if it is damaged etc. From this there is some wizardy and your unique Energycode is identified. From your Energycode you get a personalised selection of products that are used throughout your blow dry. This means that your new shiny Energy blow dry should last longer then a few hours and feel rather fabulous.

Ok so did I enjoy the blow dry experience? Yes I did. My hair is always a challenge, it is very fine but there is a lot of it. It is also oily and as I have a full fringe it can look greasy in a matter of hours. Kathryn’s hair on the other hand is thick, has a bit of a curl and there is lots of it. Two totally different hair types and one blow dry doesn’t normally mix. However as the Energy Blow Dry is personalised we both ended up with the same treatment but totally different results.

I got bouncy waves that I can report lasted pretty well. I had to give the ones at the back a quick tweak with my tongs the next morning as they had dropped a little. But hello super fine hair, it was always going to happen. Kathryn reported back that her straight bouncy blow dry lasted perfectly and still felt really soft the next day.

Honestly I never thought I’d be a blow dry kinda gal. Normally I end up just quickly straightening my hair before going on a night out. But if I was going somewhere special I think that i’ll be taking a trip back to HOB Salons for a little extra pampering.

Location and Treatment

HOB Salons
12 Duncan Street,
Leeds,
West Yorkshire
LS1 6DL

Energy Blow Dry £25 with selected stylists

There is another little secret that I will let you into – HOB Salons in Leeds offers NHS employees a 20% discount! Now if that doesn’t tempt you into a post work Energy blow dry I don’t know what will.

*I was lucky enough to get to tryout the Energy Blow Dry for free but all opinions are my own, honest and belong to my sassy blow dry

May 6, 2017

Travel Is Good For The Soul But So Is A Staycation

Travel is good for the soul. It doesn’t have to be far-flung, it can be 100 miles or so down the road. Sometimes though we miss the things that are under our feet for more exotic destinations. I’m not sure how close you have to stay for a ‘staycation’ (yeah I don’t really like that word. It’s not a real word is it?) I am however classing it as travel within a couple of hundred miles oh home. No crazy flights, same currency but just a different derelict.

So pack your bags, go on a mini adventure and explore somewhere close to home, yup I’m throwing staycation out there again.

It is kind of refreshing to be a tourist in your own country. There will be places you’ve never visited but always wanted too. For me this was Stonehenge. 230 miles ish away from home and I got to visit this magical site that has so many unanswered questions surrounding it. Like how the chuff did they get the stones there? Even though there were so many tourists including me, there was a calm serenity close to the stones. (If you go on the summer solstice you can actually get up close to them which I think would be amazing). Stonehenge has been on a list of places to visit for a while now and I am so glad we went instead of spending a small fortune jetting off else where and missing visiting the site.

There really is something about adventures that make me feel a little more content than a weekend in the house. I always feel energised and excited for the week ahead after a change of scenery for a few hours. Maybe it’s the inner traveller in me and the need to satisfy my wanderlust but I just can’t help myself. Be it far away or a little closer to home for a erm … a staycation, I find travel good for my soul.

Is there anywhere that you’d like to visit a little closer to home?

April 28, 2017

5 Things That Happen When You Quit Drinking

Hello, my name is Michelle and I haven’t had a drink in 21 days.

This isn’t an admission for alcoholics anonymous but a long winded look at 5 things that happen when you quit drinking.

Here are 5 things I’ve learnt so far.

1. A virgin cocktail just doesn’t sound alluring. “Mocktails” will be my go to. Whats even more annoying when you find the alcohol free cocktails in the kids section of the menu? HELLO! I’m not 12 wanting a ‘grown up’ drink. I am 27 awaiting surgery and have to be the healthiest I can be.

2. Please don’t be annoyed if I don’t stay out late. There is nothing more irritating when you are stone cold sober then drunk people.

3. Alcohol free beer and cider is kinda gross. Syrupy sugary nastiness. (If you have any nice recommendations let me know)

4. Been the designated driver is a bit shit when everyone else is off their face giving you directions.

5. People are quick to judge. No I’m not pregnant *massive massive eye roll.

Please appreciate this fancy GIF*

And do you know what? I didn’t think I would find not drinking hard but its been a little more difficult then I imagined it would be. Maybe it’s because there was a week off work, a bank holiday weekend and oh so many pictures of delicious looking cocktails on Instagram thrown into the mix.

I enjoy a glass of wine on the odd evening during the week. A couple of cocktails after work on a Friday. Maybe a Gin with brunch on a weekend. But I can also go a week without having an alcoholic drink. I am often the designated driver and honestly do not need a drink to enjoy my evening out. I’ll happily just have a singular gin and lemonade and that’ll do me.

Out of my group of friends, I’m the one that doesn’t like clubs and will happily be home and in bed by midnight. I hate shots with a passion, they give me instant indigestion and often they almost come out of my nose. Yes I am old.

Now potentially it’s being told that I cant drink that makes me want one even more. Forever the rebel I know. And I have around 11 more weeks of not drinking so lets see how this goes.

Just putting it out there that once I get the go ahead from my medical team i’ll be having the biggest Gin and lemonade you ever did see.