A few months ago Jamie and I went to our friend's wedding in Arundel. We stayed at the Hilton Avisford Park, where the reception was also held. The service was held in the beautiful Arundel Cathedral. We didn't have time to explore the area, but the parts that we did see looked lovely. I wore a navy lace pencil dress that I got from Dorothy Perkins. I teamed it with shell pink faux-suede heels and faux-leather clutch, both from New Look, and gold and pink coloured jewellery.I curled my hair using the BaByliss Curling Wand Pro (review coming soon!). This was my first wedding as a vegan, and although we had arranged for the hotel to cater for me in advance, I wasn't informed of what I would be eating until we arrived (I do like surprises though!). When my food arrived I was really impressed. The starter was a salad of avocado and char-grilled asparagus, which was absolutely amazing and was my favourite dish of the meal. I definitely want to try making this at home! After the starter was an intermediate dish which everyone had: tomato and basil soup. It was really tasty and warming. My main course was a cauliflower and spinach curry which was delicious. I couldn't finish it though so I gave the rest to Jamie :) Dessert was a bowl of strawberries and raspberries, which was also had by a gluten-free guest on our table. Not the most exciting of vegan desserts but I was grateful to be catered for and it was nice to have something light and refreshing after having eaten three courses already! We had a lovely weekend and were delighted to be part of our friend's special day.
Happy New Year! It's almost time to take the Christmas tree down and I'm already counting down the months until I can put it up again (I'm a crazy Christmas fanatic)! I had a really lovely Christmas; spending quality time with family, eating amazing vegan food, listening to all the Christmas songs ever released, watching Christmas films and wrapping and unwrapping presents. On Christmas Eve we went to see the Robin Hood pantomime which was really entertaining. We went last year to see Cinderella and it is starting to become a bit of a Christmas Eve tradition! We wore our Christmas jumpers to the panto and on the way home we had lunch at Pizza Hut. The deep pan bases (and the gluten free ones) are suitable for vegans so I had the veggie pizza minus the cheese and it was lovely. In the evening we went down to a local beach in the hope that we would see the International Space Station (or Father Christmas!) pass across the sky but it turned cloudy and started to rain when we got there. 
Back in September we went to the Harry Potter Studio Tour for my birthday treat. I'm a huge Harry Potter fan and have been wanting to visit the Warner Bros. set for ages so I was really excited when my boyfriend Jamie said he would take me there. We decided to stay in Reading as the Warner Bros. studios weren't too far from there, and because it was also a direct train journey away from London. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza Reading, which was a lovely hotel situated right beside the River Thames.
I was so excited when we arrived at the studio tour. I proudly wore my Gryffindor scarf (even though I am actually in Hufflepuff according to Pottermore), another birthday present from Jamie. It was so surreal walking around the set and seeing everything up close. I love the soundtracks to all the films and I was so pleased to hear them playing throughout the tour. The staff were really friendly and knowledgeable and were more than happy to answer any questions we had about the films. I absolutely loved every minute of the Harry Potter studio tour and I can't wait to go and visit again as they have recently added a Dark Arts section.
Another part of my birthday present was a trip to London to watch the Chase Christmas special being filmed. I am a massive quiz show fan, and I am obsessed with Christmas so this was the perfect present for me! We have been to the ITV studios before to watch a celebrity version of the Chase being filmed and it was brilliant. It was even more enjoyable this time as the set was decorated with a giant Christmas tree and all four of the Chasers took part. I was even visible (only just!) in the audience! The four celebrities were Paula Lane (Kylie Platt in Coronation Street), Steve Pemberton (Benidorm actor), Educating Yorkshire’s Mr Burton and comedian and actor Ben Miller. While we were in London we also had a quick stroll around South Bank, through St. James's Park (where there were some very friendly squirrels and ducks!) and down to Buckingham Palace.
After reading (and loving) the very first issue of Vegan Life magazine, I couldn't wait for the second issue to come out. The magazine is bi-monthly, so the latest issue is for November and December, and consequently contains lots of recipes and ideas for a vegan Christmas! This issue is packed full of delicious recipes for the festive season. I especially liked the look of the chocolate fondant puddings, lentil & mushroom crumble pie and spinach swirls. One article I particularly enjoyed was 'A Very Big Surprise', which tells the story of Esther the pig. Esther was adopted by a couple called Steve and Derek, who had never looked after a pig before but took her in when she needed a new home. They were told that Esther was a mini pig, however on taking her to visit the vet, they discovered that she was actually a 'commercial pig' and had had her tail cropped. I really hate the idea of pets as 'trends', which is what is happening with these so-called mini or micro pigs at the moment. Mini pigs are just tiny piglets that will eventually grow into much bigger pigs. A lot of people rush into buying mini pigs because of their cuteness and tiny size but are all too quick to disown them when they realise that they won't stay that size forever. I also think a lot of people are buying pet Pugs just because they too seem to be 'trendy' at the moment; (does anyone else think this or is it just me?) I only hope that they will love them and look after them forever and not just until the trend becomes outgrown. Back to the original story... Esther now weighs around 650lbs and is good friends with the cats and dogs she lives with. The best part of the story is that she caused Steve and Derek to make the connection and become vegan. They made a Facebook page for Esther and have received hundreds of messages from people telling them that Esther has made them realise that eating animals is wrong. Esther even has an Instagram account so you can see what she gets up to everyday. Steve and Derek are planning to open an animal sanctuary so that they can rescue all kinds of commercial farm animals (something I would love to do myself one day). It's amazing how one animal can change your whole life and enable you to help save the lives of others. I can't wait for issue 3!
