Piccolinos Virginia Water Review

Due to the sudden but short-lived heatwave we decided to drive up to the beautiful location of Virginia Water and have a spot of lunch on Friday.

We chose to dine in a restaurant chain called Piccolinos. Amy had recently been to the Mayfair restaurant and raved about it so we thought we tried our nearest which was located in VW!

VENUE

Really impressive decor and layout. We were seated in the terrace/conservatory which was g o r g e o u s. The roof was retractable and the ceiling was open with the sun streaming in whilst we were seated. It literally felt like we were on holiday *dramatic sigh*

HOWEVER the sun was a little bit much after about an hour (once the whole 'omg I'm getting a tan how fabulous' phase had worn off) and the lady on the adjacent table requested the shutters be closed; luckily because we were way too polite to ask and would have burnt to a crisp in silence lol

There were round tables as well as sofa/bench type seats in blue leather. We loved sitting here as once we'd polished off our puddings we could lean back, get comfy and sip on our cocktails however it is a job to peel yourself off and get up.

To top it all off there was even a cute DJ playing on a raised balcony which definitely added to the atmosphere and obvious eye candy for the afternoon. We imagine the music will add even more to the vibe of the restaurant/bar during the evening, especially weekend.

SERVICE

All the waiters were lovely and had a sense of humour which made ordering our drinks and different courses a pleasure as well as leaving us laughing. All the gents that served us were also Italian which was quite cute and along with the heat and sunshine it actually felt like we were in Italy!

Having dined in various high priced (equally pompous) restaurants in London we've often found the hostess at the entrance to be quite rude or short however the lady that greeted us here and took us to our table was nothing but welcoming and lovely. Refreshing change.

Our waiter also kindly gave each of us ladies loyalty cards, upon paying for the bill. Each £1 spent equates to 1 point and purely registering the card allows £20 of your next meal - bonus that if we use all 3 of our cards during our next meal that'll be £60 off the bill hollaaaaa

Our only criticism would be the waiting staff were quite slow at clearing our plates.

FOOD

The menu consisted of classic italian dishes ranging from delicious typical antipastis such as carpaccio all the way to luxurious lobster.

Portion sizes were perfect for lunch:

ARAGOSTA £24.00/37.00 Half or whole lobster, garlic & parsley butter, house cut chips

INSALATA DI GRANCHIO £14.75 Hand-picked crab, avocado, gem lettuce & brown crab mayonnaise

ANATRA ALL’ARANCIO £17.00 Crispy duck, spinach, Grand Marnier & orange

CALAMARI FRITTI £8.00 Fried calamari, roast garlic mayonnaise & lemon

We apologize but we didn't manage to take any photos of our main meals as we got a little over excited and began to tuck in.

Now to the best part... dessert:

TORTA DI PASSIONE | Passion fruit cheesecake (v) £6.75

TORTA CAPRESE | Dark chocolate & almond tart, vanilla ice cream (v) (n) £6.75

TORTINO AL CIOCCOLATO | Warm chocolate fondant & caramel ice cream (v) £6.75

Crepes and Cocktails

Evening Chicas!

In an effort to save a little money and truly go crazy at HIDEOUT (34 days and counting!) we have decided to go out less in London and start trying restaurants, cafes and more importantly bars local to us.

Crepes

If you live in Hampshire you'll most likely have heard of Odiham. If you subside in a different county; Odiham is a little village in the countryside within the county Hampshire. Odiham has a massive military base hence why those mahoosive chinooks fly over our house every hour (we live quite close by). Having said this it's such a cute, quiet village and the high street is so quaint, proper old school english village with thatched roofs and family run businesses. No massive co-operations in sight which is refreshing.

On this very high street there is a little cafe dedicated to Crepes; La Creperie which is where we spent the whole of Saturday morning. It was so charming and the staff were very welcoming and served us with a smile. 

The cafe offers a selection of coffees, teas, baked treats and of course sweet and savoury pancakes!

Fun fact: The sweet are called Crêpes & the savoury Galettes.

Originally the thought of a savoury pancake frightened us - throwback to pancake day about 6 years ago when our mum tried to make some messed up dinner including pancakes and chicken stew. As you can imagine it did not go well and there was a full blown riot until the strawberry jam and cream was brought out thereby returning all order. Anyway I digress! Basically this lovely cafe COMPLETELY changed our opinion on the savoury option! 

The time we met Craig David...

Stoooorytime!!!

Okay so this is a story about the time we went up a lift to find Craig David performing for us and about 10 BBC cameramen videoing our reaction...

Yes, Craig David people. Omg he is such a sweetheart and smells amazing. Okay so let's start at the beginning:

Unfortunate camera angle but we love this photo neverthless!

Lorraine going in for the kill

Basically Lorraine is obsessed with Radio 1 and we are both very, VERY into music so when we saw a tweet from Radio 1 saying that they were doing a music focus group and wanted people to volunteer we signed up pronto. Basically we sent an email with our contact details and 5 artists we are loving atm and you'd hear back if you had been chosen.

About a week went by and I (Lorraine) got a phonecall from a guy at Radio 1 called Daniel who asked me my availability and chatted about the music I'm into, festivals, etc. We agreed a date that I'd come into London to listen to some new music and give feedback and it got better.. I was allowed to bring a friend - so obviously Amy was my first choice!

So after work we do this mad dash to Central London and arrive at the chosen meet point (a random Pret in SOHO), a lovely lady from Radio 1 got us to sign a disclaimer and also a random questionnaire on our music preference. There were some other pairs there and every few minutes some of the group was walked over to the next location.

When it was our turn we arrive at this big car park and Daniel tells us to get in the lift and when we're in the focus group just have fun and dance if you enjoy it...

As the lift is going up we hear this Craig David banger playing which is starting to get louder and louder.. I literally turned to Amy (this is on tape haha) and say "OMG is this a recording?!" by this I meant is this live, omg this sounds live.

Within seconds, literally seconds the lift doors open and there he is, the beautiful godlike beaut of a man himself.

Now it's easier if you watch our reaction rather than us describe it:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p041w3p0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMndiXRhC0g

Festival Guide: WILDLIFE

Wildlife festival is based in Brighton City airport and was created by Disclosure and Rudimental in 2015.

We have been both in 2015 and 2016 so thought we'd give you a low down all the fun to be had and our experiences before this years festival takes place!!

Travel/Accommodation

BOOK YOUR HOTEL/AIRBNB EARLY
There are tons of Travel Lodges local to the festival and we recommend using one of the 4. We stayed in the Travel Lodge in Worthing - we snapped it up in January - cost us about £180 for the weekend for a double room. It was a large room, overlooked the sea (BARGAIN) and was 10mins walk to a supermarket.

We apologize for the awful quality but here's a snapchat we did of the Brighton coast. Beaut isn't it?!

We totally recommend Worthing as a good place to stay not just Brighton. Worthing is actually closer to the airport and there's a shuttle stop from Worthing Central Train Station which is what we used. The main bonus if you do stay in Brighton is that there are a few after-parties run by some local clubs here.

Our friends used an Airbnb also in Worthing but it was quite a walk to the shuttle so we recommend looking at the shuttle stops and figuring out where you'd like to stay based on that.

Ticket types: Weekend, Day, VIP of both and shuttle bus options for all
Shuttle bus - TOTALLY RECOMMEND! In 2015 we tried to call a taxi and they were completely booked (waiting time 2hrs we were told!) so if you do decide to just take a taxi please book it in advance.

For all my lastminute people, you can buy shuttle bus tickets just before you board the bus but its a little pricier than getting the wristband in advance.

Our favourite stages

Big Top - In 2015 we saw MNEK, Snakehips and Tourist at this stage and their sets were a m a z i n g so we HAD to return in 2016! We were not dissapointed. Big Top showcased Mura Masa, Flume, SG Lewis and Julio Bashmore last year (just to name a few!) so as you can imagine this was always the first tent we hit up.

I love the atmosphere in here it's always such a nice crowd who just want to dance and no-one is pretentious or shoves to get a better space. The speakers are also such good quality, like you get the same amount of bass at the back of the tent but it also doesn't make you're ears bleed when at the front. Yes sometimes we full on fan girl and push to the front *sighs*

MAC Studio Fix Fluid vs Pro Longwear Foundation

Sooo my lovelies I don't think we have let you in on the fact we are mahoosive make-up fiends. It's even worse than you're average beauty blogger because we've combined forces (share absolutely all of our products) and Lorraine's bedroom and vanity mirror is basically our make/dressing room now; much to her disdain!

We are M.A.C girls through and through and have been using their products for years. Our go to is Studio Fix Fluid Foundation however recently we've given the Pro Longwear Foundation a try and thought we'd compare and rate them!

Shades

Studio Fix is a much larger range and comes in 46 shades whereas Pro Longwear only offers 22.  I recommend with Studio Fix you really take your time into figuring out what your shade is, as I (Lorraine) have gone through about 3 different shades; 42, 43.5, 44 whilst Amy has always stuck to her solid 45!

This foundation does get darker as it settles into the skin so I would always go with a shade lighter than your first initial judgement - you can always bronze up my honeys if needs be! Having said this there are so many different shades with Studio Fix so if your purse allows it you could always buy two and combine to create your perfect shade.

Pump

Pro Longwear comes with a pump - another bonus of this is that if you twist it it locks which is a god send when it comes to travelling especially during flights because we no longer have the stress of the foundation spilling all over our hand luggage mid flight *raising hand emoji*

Studio Fix pump must be purchased separately.

Coverage

Pro Longwear is much thinner in consistency which leads me onto the fact it has a very light - medium coverage. You will most definitely need concealer if you aren't a porcelain doll with not a single imperfection. If you want high coverage and not a blemish in sight Studio Fix is your gal. Studio Fix is so much thicker in consistency hence why the coverage is so brill - we personally love the caked look so apply a few layers but if you're a classy bird a little goes a long way so you won't need loads of product during one application.

We'd also like to add that if you have super oily skin you're skin will work better with Pro Longwear as opposed to Studio Fix. My T - Zone doesn't need anywhere near as much attention aka blot or powder throughout the day when I have applied Pro Longwear.

Guide to AMP Lost and Found Festival

UPDATE: We now have a youtube video giving our top tips/guide

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LwJHxkr7po4&t=413s

Where do we begin...

First of all as cringe as it sounds this festival was literally the best 5 days OF OUR LIVES. The atmosphere, people, weather, vibe and omg of course the music were all insane.

FLIGHTS

Okay so let's talk flights - please for the love of god buy these the minute you decide you're going. Amy and I made the school boy error of waiting as we thought the price would go down. Unbeknownst to us the festival was being held on easter bank holiday weekend so as you can imagine the price of flights continued to rise higher than the bloomin plane itself! We ended up paying just under £500 each which yes was painful buuuut if you book earlier there will be so many reasonably priced, direct flights to Luqa Malta.

The view as we descended into Malta!

Tryna be cute and totally p****ing off the lady next to us

Airport Transfer

I took a gamble on the first website that came up on google and it worked out amazingly! The booking cost about £20 for pick up and also dropping us off once the holiday was over - our driver was a babe and gave us so much advice on where to visit in Malta which was super sweet but a tad awkward as we couldn't break it to him we weren't here primarily for the culture and more getting w a s t e d and dancing for ridiculous amounts of hours to djs in the sun...
Anyhow here is the link to the website we used:

https://www.holidaytaxis.com/en/transfers/malta/malta-airport/

HOTEL

We decided to stay in a cheap hotel within Qawra as it was 15mins walk to Cafe Del Mar - this is where all the pool parties are held, opening party and also where the shuttle buses take/drop off to the evening festival site.

The hotel was called Euroclub and was super basic but had everything we needed (shout out to the AC and massive mirror). Basically every guest was english and was going to AMP so it had a cute community vibe oh and omg it is literally 3mins from a supermarket - Trolee which was A LIFESAVER for snacks, alcohol and most importantly water.

There are tons of other hotels nearby so do a little bit of research! A lot of people also stayed in Bugibba itself which is a fab location also as it is super close to the beach, more restaurants and bars buuut a bit longer walk to Cafe del Mar and you'd definitely need to get a taxi back at night.

Buggiba Square - also the pre festival party was held in a club here!

CAFE DEL MAR

My other name for this beaut location is home. Just look at this sea and infinity pool combo please:

3 of the 4 days featured a pool party here. Now we were a little unsure what to wear on the first day like how naked does everyone actually get? NAKED my friends in the most beautiful body confident way. Girls strutting round in bikinis, the lads topless - but not in an overly pretentious way because everyone was lovely. It inspired us more than anything, made you feel too clothed and want to whip out the bikini too!!

Amy at her happiest

Lorraine crushin' on the dj as per

TIP - ask them to make your drink in the big cup. It will be the same tokens as the small but some of the bartenders were cheeky and automatically gave us a smaller cup. Yes it sounds petty but did you come here to party or not?!!

TOKENS

On the topic of tokens, the whole festival (all bars included) uses tokens as opposed to euros so you need to exchange on your first night or as you go on. Now I adore this festival but my god these were overpriced. Cost me 150 EUROS for 30 and a double was 2 tokens so being the alchis we are we ran out within 3 days.. We'd recommend pre-gaming hard before pool parties and then again before the evening festival in UNO. A litre of absolute vodka was 14 euros - I'll let that sink in.

NUMERO UNO

Numero Uno is a magical outdoor club situated in the hills of Malta. It takes about 30mins on the shuttle bus from Cafe Del Mar which is not long at all when everyone is sloshed on the bus gossiping about which dj's and stages they'll be hitting the minute we arrive! 

There were 4 different stages:

Main - Palace

Tropicana

Pyramid

Factory

FAVOURITE ACTS

Jackmaster
My nu leng b2b Redlight was straight fireeeee
Jamie Jones
Flava D
MK - saw him at the pool party which was phenomenal and we also chose to watch his closing set of the whole festival on the Sunday night which was so euphoric literally Amy and I well up whenever we listen to his songs as it takes us back ahaha
Last but not least the queen herself Annie Mac <3

BOAT PARTY & CASTLE RAVE

Wahhh we were absolutely gutted because we missed out on tickets to both of these events. They sold out within a day - which we totally didn't foresee happening, so please if you do plan on going to either event, don't hesitate and buy your ticket asap

TOILETS

Both venues had lush toilets with massive mirrors but the only downside is in uno the attendents are proper on it and you can't go in with your friends. Plus like any festival the queues are mahooosive

FASHION

The fashion at AMP ranged from casual all the way to glitter unicorns. Whatever you wear no-one cares all everyone cares about is having an insane time so wear whatever you want throw some glitter in the mix and raaaaave my sweets. Here are a few of mine and Amy's outfits:

Lorraine clearly checking out the topless lads in Cafe del Mar

CULTURE

The locals were absolutely lovely in Malta and extremely welcoming. We're ashamed to say we didn't try any local cuisine *hangs head in shame* which we will most definitely be doing next year. All the locals speak english and even though the festival crowd was 90% english people there were quite a few locals who came to partaay too which was lovely!

NEXT YEAR

What we'll be doing differently in 2018:

• Stay in a hotel with strong WIFI
• Buy flights and castle rave tickets early
• TAKE MORE PHOTOS
• Arrive a few days earlier to have a pre holiday in Malta before the festival starts

Roll on 2018!!!!!

If you do have any questions on the festival or if there's any information we've not covered please let us know in the comments!!

xxx

Vegan Acai Bowl Breakfast

MORNING!!

Now moving on from our last blog post, yes we are still on a health kick *rolls eyes* we have decided to see what all the hype is about and create some Vegan Acai Bowls for our breakfast!

Now these bad boys are plastered across Pinterest and Instagram at the moment but incase you haven't seen one before or perhaps have never truly understood what are in these gorgeous bowl of heaven here ya go:

In short this is a thick smoothie within a bowl but including one of the infamous superfoods from Brazil; Acai berries.

There are so many different variations and ingredient combinations for these bowls so as usual both of us chose completely different flavours - Amy created a Mango inspired bowl and Lorraine went for a Mixed Berry.

We both mixed our different frozen fruit with almond milk and acai berry paste to create the smoothie base. Banana, chai seeds (another super food), melon balls, oats and pumkin seeds were also added on top.


Pros:
Filled us up for the majority of the day.
I have a massive sweet tooth when it comes to brekky so this totally fed that craving

Cons:
Expensive if you go to a Vegan or Smoothie cafe/bar
It is not a quick process - you have to blend, prepare the ingredients and if you want it to look even a 6/10 asetitque wise you'll need a steady hand and patience!

We're not sure how long this health kick will be running for (here's hoping till Hideout!) but we aim to update you on any recipes/cafes we try on our journey to be skinny minnies xoxo