Dining in the Dark

You're probably wondering why I've just posted a picture of myself pulling a strange facial expression blindfolded? Well, I'll tell you before you go getting any funny ideas! Last week I was very kindly invited along to attend a blind dinner party by a chain restaurant, The Living Room. The company have a range of restaurants up and down the country but my local one is situated in the Millennium Square, Bristol. I'd never actually heard of the brand before, but the concept of a blind tasting really intrigued me and I don't like to let opportunities slip, so i decided to attend!

(Pictured: Basil Grande and Spiced Moroccon lamb with giant cous cous.)

The idea was to try and identify the flavours and ingredients in the tasters they provided us of their new Autumn/Winter menu, however the catch was, you have to do it blindfolded. Which, by the way, is a lot harder than it may sound. We each were given score sheets to record our answers and away we went with the starters. The food on the menu was very tasty and there was nothing I didn't particularly like, however my ability to identify flavours blindfolded did not go well with the Black forest cured ham which I thought was accompanied by blackcurrant flavours, when it was actually fig, goats cheese, raspberry and beetroot. 

Next up were sandwiches, and we were given a Pork and Chorizo burger with smoked paprika which i really enjoyed! Didn't do so well on guessing the chorizo though.

(Pictured above: Homemade Glamorgan sausages)

Moving onto mains, we were treated with some really delicious dishes. My personal favourite was the Moroccon spiced lamb with giant cous cous (pictured above). But we were also given duck, shepherds pie,  seabass and sausages, all infused with a variety of flavours to give your taste buds an adventure!

Being a bit of a sweet tooth, I was looking forward to trying deserts and I was excited to try the Basil Grande (again, pictured above). Eton mess is one of my favourite deserts but being blindfolded made it hard to guess the key ingredients aside from meringue. We also tried a passion fruit and coconut creme brulee (yum!) and a cheese board. Finally, moving on to cocktails, i thought i'd be good at identifying the spirits after working behind a bar, but what i was certain was tequila turned out to be Quince?! And it turns out, i really don't like Manhattan's. 

Unfortunately my score of 16/40 wasn't good enough to win the Dining in the Dark trophy, but it was still a fun, enjoyable experience and i'd like to thank The Living Room for having me.

"It’s safe to say that The Living Room’s new menu has been crafted to offer something for all diners, whatever the time of day and whatever the dining preference - be it a light bite at lunch or a full three course slap-up meal. With a new and growing Vegetarian category, it also acknowledges the need to cater more closely for this growing population of diners, who often find the choices in many restaurants limited." - Press release.

In other news, I recently made a Facebook page for my blog so make sure you go and check it out and please like it!

Where do you enjoy eating out?

Delilah Dust GIVEAWAY - Closed

Hey guys, hope you've all enjoyed the sunshine this week. This weekend, i have an exciting giveaway for you all. I've teamed up with Antonia from Delilah Dust to give one of you the chance to win this gorgeous feather bracelet in order to celebrate Antonia's birthday. Please make sure you all go and wish her a happy birthday, it would make my day :) @DelilahDust 


If you'd like to win this beautiful little handmade bracelet made out of waxed cord and a silver plated feather, all you have to do is:
-Follow sleep.wake.hope on GFC
-Like Delilah Dust on facebook

And that's it! Comment below to let me know you've done so. For an extra entry, make sure you wish Antonia a Happy Birthday on twitter (@DelilahDust), and let me know you've done so in the comments below. This giveaway will last for 1 week and will end on Saturday 2nd June. 
If you're not lucky enough to win, Delilah Dust is having a sale, so make sure you snap up some bargain jewellery!
What's your favourite Delilah Dust piece?

You May As Well Kiss The Internet Goodbye.

How cute are these picture's i've recently found on tumblr and weheartit? Too cute not to share!

1.2.3.4.5.6.7.8.9

Hey guys, so i've been wondering whether or not to publish this post for a little while now, and i've come to the conclusion that it's important that we all know the threats of these internet copyright acts going around at the moment. If you're not interested in these current changes, i hope you enjoyed the pretty pictures while you still can! Some of you may be aware that SOPA and PIPA was recently withdrawn, (here fore more info), However ACTA which is 10x worse is now in motion. 

These video's are really good at explaining the act itself:

1   2  

However, if this act passes, what i literally just did by sharing links with you guys would mark me as a criminal.

For example, i've recently been liking images on tumblr which i think are too adorable not to share (above), but if ACTA passes, tumblr itself wouldn't be able to function as a social networking site, let alone twitter, youtube, facebook and even OUR BLOGS! 

Although this act has already been signed, the deal is not yet done. First it needs to be ratified by the European parliament and this decision will be made in June this year so we need to say NO to ACTA before the internet as we know it becomes a censored mess. If you want to do your part, spread the word about ACTA, call you local MP's, write letters, posters, make songs or videos! Just do whatever you can to protect our freedom as we know it. 

I believe in a FREE internet!

Sorry for the seriousness of this post, a lighthearted glossybox review should be on it's way to you guys in the next couple of days!