The Botanist - Reading, Berkshire {restaurant review}

If you live in Reading and haven't heard of The Botanist opening up soon you are probably away on holiday or something. They are every where on social media at the moment. I was invited to check it out before it opens.

It's been 7 odd years since I have been in the old Barclay's building. A time when on every Thursday morning if you were to walk in the floor was covered in boxes and boxes of books. Free books, needless to say I was a frequent visitor. So, I can say with all authority that they have transformed the building and it is beautiful inside! 

Before we were seated we went to the bar and had a look through extensive list of cocktails; some of them classics with a Botanist twist and some original concoctions. We decided to try their signature cocktail: The Botanist - Ketel One Vodka, rum, and elderflower liqueur. It was refreshing, perfect for the warm summer night, and a great way to start the evening! If you aren't a cocktail drinker do not fear for they had a lovely list of wines and an Anthology of Ales to choose from! 

Throughout the night we also tried their homemade lemonade, perfect combination of sweet and tart, the strawberry and elderflower bellini and the raspberry Amaretto sour all perfectly mixed and delicious! 

The atmosphere was relaxed with the hum of conversation and live music. We were seated and were given time to peruse the menu with a lot of amazing choices! We didn't know where to start, but finally decided to start with the basket of piri piri chicken wings and the homemade scotch egg which was amazing! For our mains we both went with their famous hanging kebabs, it was a lot of fun drizzling the sauce down them from the top and we finished the night with desserts toffee pudding and the baked chocolate chip cookie dough! 

Overall the atmosphere and decor were great, the cocktails were great, and the food was amazing. My friend and I had a great night catching up and had a great experience! The doors will be opening soon and I definitely will be visiting again! 

Don't forget to enter my giveaway to win a three course meal for two at The Botanist in Reading here! T&C's apply!! 

Opening this June! 

THE BOTANIST

1-5 KING STREET

READING

RG1 2HD

*I was invited by the PR for The Botanist to visit and check it out, I was not compensated in a monetary way for my review, all opinions are my own, please see my contact/policy page above for more information. 

Nostalgic Delights by William Curley {a book review}

I am an American, as it says in my blog tag line, so one could argue that some of these treats aren't necessarily nostalgic to me, but that's not so. I believe that I have lived here long enough now to have a history with some of the sweet treats in this book.

There was this time, in the early days of me living here, that I was craving chocolate. Just a solid bar. I didn't want any nuts or nougat or cereal or raisins or anything just one solid bar of chocolate. I was recommended a Yorkie, as they are the solidest solid bar of chocolate out there. I went to the till to pay and the guy says to me "Yorkies aren't for birds." I stared at him and asked why anyone would feed chocolate to a bird?

Yeah in this country birds are women. Oh and it was a marketing thing and it said right on the wrapper that they weren't for birds. Anyway, Mr Curley knows his stuff. I have his Patisserie book and it's amazing and this book is amazing.

It's broken down into 7 sections starting with Chocolate Confectionery followed by Bakery Favourites, Patisserie Modern Classics, Ice Cream & Gateau, Afternoon Treats, Frivolities, and basic recipes that you will need for the recipes in the rest of the chapters.

The instructions for each recipe is very precise and clear. It's like the most interesting text book I have ever read in my life. It's also beautifully photographed. There are some recipes that show you in pictures what each step should look like and with a book like this it is great to have that information.

There are so many recipes I'd like to try out! There isn't one for a Yorkie specifically, but there are recipes for other great chocolate bars! Here is a condensed list of recipes I'd like to try!!

Okay before I list the recipes I want to try there is a recipe for Hazelnut Rochers. It's not included in my list because I don't like them, but I know a lot of people do and if you ever wanted to make your own there is a recipe in this book! Just so you know! Now back to the list.

Alpine Chocolates (inspired by Toblerone)
Cartwheel (Wagonwheel)
Walnut Whip
Matcha & Yuzu Teacakes
Cinder Toffee
Caramel Bar
Chocolate Mint Bar
Fudge Bar
Peanut Nougat Bar (Snickers/Marathon)
Curly Wurly
Chocolate Cherry Bakewells
Jam Tarts
Custard Tart
Eccles Cakes
Eclairs
Bee Sting
Fudge Doughnuts
Tropical Snowball (based off of a patisserie marshmallow confection in Scotland)
Black Forest Gateau
Moka (gateau)
Jaffa Cake Tarts
Bounty Ice Cream Bar
Pecan & Banana Cake
Empire Biscuits
Viennese Whirls
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Hob Nobs
Nougat
Marshmallows
Pate De Fruits (Fruit Pastilles)
Whiskey Tablet

That was a lot longer then anticipated! Not sure when I will find the time to make all those things, will need to shorten the list.....

There is so much in here for keen bakers and those who like to experiment in the kitchen! If you have either of those people in your life this book would make an amazing gift!!

last notes: I was given a copy of Nostalgic Delights: Classic Confections & Timeless Treats by William Curly to review by the publisher, jacqui small. Retails at £25.99 and available now from your local book retailers or online! All opinions are my own, I was not given any other compensation nor was I asked to give a positive review, please see my contact/policy page for more information.

Want a closer look inside? Here is a short video I made as I looked through the book....

 

Junction Bar & Brasserie in Windsor {review}

It was a Tuesday night when my friend and I ventured out to Windsor to visit Junction Bar & Brasserie. I had been invited to check it out as it's just opened in the last month and they were looking for people to check it out! I said of course as if I hadn't I would be writing this post.

Junction aspire to be the place that people go to have a great time and a place where memories can be created. A place where people get together.

Junction literally means a point where two or more things are joined. 

It's located right in the middle of Windsor just down from the castle. It doesn't look like much from the outside, in fact it sort of blends into the rest of the shops on the street. It doesn't help that right now there is construction going on outside (as seen in the picture to the right).

However, once inside you can tell that some thought has been put into the decor. It is interesting and well thought out. A bit hip with the string lights and pictures half painted blue.

What is most important is the food! The food though is what always matters most and then service. It was quiet that night so we were pretty well taken care of. 

We started with the Thai style fish cakes and pan fried scallops with parsley puree, tomato relish and pickled radish. Both were presented nicely and both were very good. 

We then spent a bit of time deciding what to get as our main because everything looked so good! I settled on the Shepherd’s pie with glazed seasonal vegetables, because as the weather has been chillier I have been craving more comfort food! I wasn't disappointed! It was a nice rich sauce with very buttery mashed potatoes. My friend ordered the Duo of pork with Macédoine potatoes and pork jus and she was very impressed with it! 

We were pretty full after a starter and a main, but we could resist trying something off the dessert menu!! My friend went for the Belgium chocolate brownie with vanilla ice-cream and I went for the Baked cheese cake, fruit salsa & Roseberry sauce. Both were delicious and rich! 

We had a good night and the food was really good! I would recommend it if you live in or around or planning to visit Windsor! Definitely worth a visit and find out for yourself!

Junction Bar & Brasserie: 51, Peascod Street, Windsor, England

These pictures and more can be found on my Instagram! If you are interested in my adventures follow me there @unitedcakedom

notes: As mentioned above I was invited to visit Junction, I was not asked to give a positive review. All opinions are my own check out my contact/policy page/tab above for more information. 

My New Adventure with Jamberry Nail Wraps UK

I'm about to embark on a new adventure. I have slowly been adding more lifestyle things to my blog like days out and beauty tips/products and stuff. This will probably be a one off post about this as it's a separate thing, but as is this is my longest running space in the world wide web I wanted to share it!

For the last couple of years I have been seeing my friends back home post pictures of their fun manicures. Manicures of nail wraps that go by the name of Jamberry. My sister even bought some for my nieces and they are super cute and I totally wanted some! Unless my friends sent some to me I didn't have anyone to buy them off of here.

That all changed when I started to see things on Instagram and Facebook about Jamberry launching in the UK! I started reading up on it and how I could get involved. I then sent out for my free sample and joined some great Facebook groups before deciding on becoming a prospective consultant myself!

In the past I have always been skeptical of these sorts of selling schemes, because they seem to be too good to be true. But with minimal commitment it's for me to make what I want out of it! There is a minimal yearly target not a monthly one, which allows me the freedom to space it out as I choose fitting it around my life more easily.

Before I got involved I needed to know and understand how it all worked and was relived to know it did not function as a pyramid scheme. Instead it uses a multi-level marketing business model. Which in a nut shell means it focuses on selling the product aka nail wraps, not on recruiting more sales people. However, that doesn't mean you can't recruit people to sell under you. In this type of business model if you want to progress or get promoted so to speak you need to recruit new people.

Saying that if this post has inspired you to become a consultant please don't hesitate to contact me!

You can contact me by 

or by email lisa.smoothjam@gmail.com

on Facebook,
Instagram,

or on Twitter

On to the product! The nail wraps are really easy to use and are applied with tools you probably already have in your house. All you need is alcohol wipes/liquid, nail scissors, cuticle pusher/orange stick, nail file, and hair dryer/mini heater. They last up to two weeks, are vegan friendly, and come in 300 different colors, patterns, and styles! At £15 a sheet and the 4 for the price of 3 offer you can't go wrong! Each sheet will give you 2 manicures and 2 pedicure - that's a pretty good deal!

I made a wish list that is way too long to share in full on here, but here are my top 12 I can't wait to get my hands on! Make your own wish list on the website linked below and see what sort of patterns and styles there are!!

Don't worry my blog isn't going to turn into a Jamberry sales point! It's a one off post telling you about my new adventure! Although I might have an occasional update, but if you'd like to know more follow any of the links above where there is a wealth of more information! If you'd like to make an order be sure to follow the link to my page here!

notes: All opinions are my own - I wrote it to promote myself and is in no way associated directly with Jamberry. This article is very useful when it comes to telling the difference between Multi-level Marketing and Pyramid schemes. Visit the official Jamberry website for more information. All the images are mine or branded images I'm allowed to use for promotional purposes.

20 Top Tips and Things to Do & See When in London

After spending a day in London as a tourist there was a lot of little things I wanted to add into that post, but it was starting to get a bit long. Since I have moved to the UK I have visited London several times for various reasons and there are things I have learned and experienced that I feel like I can write an informed post of tips, tricks, and other things to see/do there.

There isn't any order to these just things I started to type up as I thought of them during the writing of my London tourist post. If you have anything to add please leave a comment below! I'm always looking for little things that make exploring and experiencing a city easier and more efficient!

Enough rambling here is ....

1. Book tickets a head of time for shows and things you want to see. 
2. Spend one day getting lost. (If you have more then one day.)
3. See the city from above as well as below (Sky Garden (free) or London Eye (not free) or The Gherkin (not sure))
4. Bring a waterproof jacket/coat with a hood. No one really wants to be messing around with an umbrella, the wind usually breaks them anyway. Waterproof bags are also useful. One that folds up in your bag is useful now that all plastic bags cost 5p. Summers can be warm, bring sun screen! 
5. Walk - a lot of the famous touristy things to see are within walking distance of each other. 
6. A comfy pair of shoes and 
7. Comfy socks, with an extra pair in your bag in case you step in a puddle. 
8. Keep a water bottle with you. 
9. General tip for eating out - ask for tap water it's free. 
10. There are some great restaurants in London, but if you happen to grab a McDonald's because of time and convenience don't beat yourself up over it. 
11. Bag - roomy without being too big, preferably one that goes across your body for safety and saves you from losing it. Or a backpack that can be secured in front. 
12. Museums are free - donate odd change if you have any to keep them free! 
13. Some (not all) toilets cost 20p so keep some change on you in case of an emergency. 
14. Research - before you leave have a look at what’s going on. Different seasons have different events. e.g. Natural History Museum has an ice skating rink in the winter. 
15. See a show in the West End. 
16. Ride the tube - let it take you where you want to go or where you hadn’t expected!
17. Check out Big Ben - he’s a bell inside a clock, but he’s cool. 
18. Oyster Card, it’s the cheapest and easiest way to get around London. Don’t be scared of the underground, it’s super easy once you get the hang of it! Like I said let it take you where you need to go! 
19. Tips on Souvenirs - books and guide books will add weight, take down the isbn number and order the book once you get home - from experience you will never look at the guidebook again and no one back home wants to see it. Might sound harsh, but true. Find something small and inexpensive like magnets/postcards/mugs/possible t-shirt or something useful like a rain coat!
20. If traveling in a group if possible take a day to yourself to do what you want to do!

Boswell & Co. - Oxford's Department Store Visit {Tea Room} closed in 2020

Boswell’s is one of the oldest department stores in England having been established in 1738. It outdates Harrods, the most famous of department stores! They have recently re-opened there tea room and had invited me to their re-opening event. However, I was unable to attend due to conflicting schedules. Of course I was upset I wasn’t going to be able to make it and luckily they allowed me to arrange a date that was suitable for me!

Having spent some time in Oxford in my college days I know the place pretty well, but honestly had never been in Boswell’s. It’s right in the middle of the high street, but if you didn’t know it was there you wouldn’t know it was there. It’s very deceiving from the outside.

Because it is huge inside! With four floors of pretty much anything and everything you can imagine! There is a pharmacy, toys, bath and beauty, kitchen and of course a tea room! Which is why I was there! It’s newly refurbished and looks great!

All the staff were lovely and helpful when we asked questions in the different departments. However, the Tea Room staff were really sweet and lovely to have a chat with. We had a debate on if I should go with a slice of cake or the cinnamon roll. If the pictures below didn't give it away I decided against a cake and went for a huge cinnamon roll. It was way better then chain coffee shop cinnamon rolls.

My friend who came with me had a slice of the Coffee and Walnut Cake which I did have a bite of, of course! The frosting was so good! It was a light fluffy espresso buttercream and it suited the soft walnut sponge perfectly.

On my next visit I will be trying the Blueberry and Elderflower cake for sure! It looked so good! The coffees were good too, I went for a mocha that was exactly what I would expect a mocha to be.

After we finished our tea and cake we had a wonder around the store and of course ended up in the kitchen and dining floor. We were there for about an hour just looking around! We both bought new paring knifes and a few other essential bits and pieces.

Boswell’s is one of those places you could get lost in with so much to look at. If you find yourself in Oxford it is worth a stop!

Boswell & Co
1-4 Broad St
Oxford
OX1 3AG

notes: I was invited by Boswell’s to visit the Tea Room with a complimentary tea/coffee and cake. No other compensation was given - all opinions are my own, for more information please see my contact/policy page in the tabs above.

Stoptober! now is as good of time as any {my story}

The last picture of my mom and I.
I was showing her how to take a selfie with
her new iPad.

This has nothing to do with baking or even food. It’s a campaign that I want to share because unfortunately my life has been more then affected by addiction to tobacco. 

Stoptober is run by the NHS (National Health Services) here in the UK to help those who want help to quit smoking to quit! 

If you aren't ready to quit, then you probably won't be successful. You have to want to quit. Mostly for yourself, but also for those around you. Because unfortunately it's not something that just effects you. 

When I was 5 years old I was hospitalised with pneumonia. I remember waking up and not being able to breathe properly, I had dragged my Smurf sheet (it was the 80’s) off my bunk bed and wrapped it around me on my way to find my mom. The next thing I remember we are on the way to the doctor’s office. I pretended I could breathe properly and tried covering my coughs with laughs so I didn’t have to go. The doctor took one look at me and sent my mom and I straight to the hospital. I remember getting x-rayed and having to take deep breathes in and out. I over heard them say that my lungs were black both of them, not just one. I spent a week in the hospital and then even more time off school. 

"More than 80% of secondhand smoke is invisible and odourless, so no matter how careful you think you're being, your family still breathes in the harmful poisons. This puts them at risk of meningitis, cancer, bronchitis and pneumonia."

It wasn’t the last time I had pneumonia, even though I was never hospitalised again. Bronchitis was also a friend of mine throughout my childhood along with ear infections. Those days were the early days in anti-smoking campaigns. I wonder if my doctor every suspected that I had so many respiratory problems due to breathing in secondhand smoke? Even now I couldn’t tell you for a fact that me having numerous repetitive cases of pneumonia, bronchitis, or ear infections were direct results of second hand smoke but it’s pretty coincidental as studies show that these diseases are caused by secondhand smoke.

"Tobacco was responsible for more than 100 million deaths worldwide in the 20th Century. The World Health Organisation has estimated that, if current trends continue, tobacco could cause a billion deaths in the 21st Century."

Fast forward to my last year of high school when I lost my grandmother to lung cancer that spread to her brain, which left her unable to care for herself. One thing I have learned is that cancers caused by tobacco tend to be aggressive and not responsive to treatments. 

This was confirmed for me when at the end of January this year my mom was diagnosed with a rare form of lung cancer caused by smoking. She didn’t survive the diagnoses and passed away in the middle of May. It was an aggressive cancer; by the time they caught it had already spread through out her body. Doctor’s couldn’t tell us when it may have started.

"Smoking causes more than 4 in 5 cases of lung cancer. Lung cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers, and is the most common cause of cancer death in the UK."

They grew up in generations where smoking was acceptable. I don’t blame or judge them for smoking. It is an addiction. I wouldn’t know from experience, but I can’t imagine it’s easy to quit. Some people don’t want too, but for those that do what better time then now? So, join in and sign up for Stoptober! There really isn't a better time to quit as with the campaign there will be others around you quitting as well and as a result you will have a support team.  

source

UK Resources: 
Stoptober
Why Quit?: Secondhand Smoke
How Smoking Causes Cancer

USA Resources:
American Lung Association
Tobacco and Cancer

August Break Day 13 Last Year

Last year I went home, to America. It was a much needed visit, as prior to my five week stay last summer, I hadn't been home in 4 years. Money, kids, life just kept me from getting back. There isn't an actual word to describe how glad/thankful/grateful I am that I went for that visit.

Little did I know that it was the last time we would all be together, my parents, sisters and I. It would seem reasonable for me to rant about needing and wanting more time, of course we all do! The extremely practical part of me knows there is no more time, therefore, I can only be grateful for the time I did have. As I mentioned above there are no words to express how glad/thankful/grateful I am for the time I had last year.

more: 

I Will ALWAYS Want More Time, Always. - The Street Sage aka Stacy my sister

Dear Blog (4) - review of last year

August Break Day 12 Yellow

This image/picture is of a blanket my Grandmother crocheted for me one Christmas when I was younger. My sisters each got one too, my older sister had an orange one and my little sister had a green one. I liked that we didn't get pink, purple, and blue per usual. When I moved over to the UK I shoved it in one of my suitcases, it was one of the few non-clothes items I brought with me when I made the move 10+ years ago.

random fact about me: when I was little I couldn't say "yellow" I would say "yell-low." People would try to correct me, but I honestly couldn't hear what the difference was.