WHAT I WORE: Chunky knits and Winter coats

 WHAT I WORE:

VINTAGE FAUX COAT > BEYOND RETRO

PLAID WOOL SKIRT > BEYOND RETRO

RED KNIT JUMPER > CHARITY SHOP

BRRRR!!!! It was cold this morning! I'm not complaining but I've been finding the weather surprisingly warm lately, especially as I was still walking around without a coat on Friday night. Not something you would expect for late October! The cold weather was very inviting and I let out a little 'hooray' as I found my cosiest knit and favourite winter coat. The inspiration for today's OOTD.

Big love!

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Whiskey & Cheese tasting evening

Last week, I was invited to a whiskey and cheese pairing evening organised by The Wild Geese. The Wild Geese make top quality Irish whiskey and have a wonderful collection to suit a range of tastes. I've never really tried whiskey properly as I've always perceived it as an old man's drink, so, when the invitation arose I took it as a good opportunity to educate myself in the wonders of this amber nectar.

The night was held at The Mucky Duck in Brighton and upon arrival I noticed there was a large group of us eager to try what was on offer. We were introduced to 3 types of whiskey  from The Wild Geese collection, all paired with 3 different varieties of cheese sourced locally from Le Cave á Fromage. I was dubious, at first, as to whether cheese would go with whiskey, but was soon to be pleasantly surprised. Our connoisseur, Dominic, chose wisely and picked cheeses that would compliment the whiskey and not overpower it.

The first whiskey we tried was a classic blend and perfect entry level. It was paired with a creamy and nutty Gubbeen cheese from County Cork, which enhanced the mellow, honey notes of the classic blend. We then had a double distilled which had a lot more warmth and body. It had been distilled with American bourbon oak (which contains vanillin) adding a whack of sweetness. As the whiskey had notes of honey and cinnamon it was paired with a Wensleydale cheese. Lastly, we were treated to a single malt (my favourite) which was paired with a French cheese, Comté. The cheese was quite nutty and tangy which played off the honey and oak notes of the single malt. 

I truly enjoyed my introduction to whiskey and it's something I will definitely try again in the future. It's also made me realise that certain drinks can be quite exciting when you pair it with food and looking forward to experimenting with other cheeses. Are you a whiskey drinker?

Big love!

Dominic, our expert for the evening

Comparing notes with Brighton blogger, Sarah Harris

Vicky Stokes, Brighton blogger of Ville de Brighton

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Our Halloween week

Well, what a week!

It's been packed full of spooky fun for the young and old and you can have a little insight of what it was like in these photos. Costumes this year was amazing and I love how everyone's creative juices went into overload. Molly looked very cute as Little Red Riding Hood and her costume was quite easy to do. I found a beautiful red velvet cape in Beyond Retro, so all I needed to do was make her a gingham skirt which she wore over her tulle petticoat. It worked really well! I tested my face painting skills by dressing up as a sugar skull and Mr D spooked us out with his Clockwork Orange costume. What/who did you dress up as this Halloween?

Molly is now getting to that age when she's really enjoying Halloween. She's been begging me to take her Trick-or-Treating this year but to be honest I'm not a huge fan of knocking on stranger's doors and begging them for sweets.  So, not wanting to dampen Molly's spirits I came up with a different idea. I decided to invite a couple of her friends round and organised a Day of the Dead day packed with themed craft activities. I searched Pinterest for ideas of what to do and came across this amazing blog called, Happy Thought, where I found free templates and print-outs of how to make Calavera Masks and Day of the Dead Bingo. We also decorated pebbles I found on the beach with sugar skulls, as well as adding pumpkin carving and face painting to the mix. The day was a huge hit!

Hope you all had a spine-chilling Halloween and would love to hear what you got up to!

Big love!

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