*This post contains gifted items.
One of my favourite kinds of invitation is that of a food invite. This time, it was the team at Slug & Lettuce in Durham who invited me to their new, updated venue to check out their menus and stunning interior.
Now that this venue has returned as a slug and lettuce, it's also come with a brand new look, featuring bird-cage booths, flower trellises, and dusty pink tones - I love the style they've gone for. Of course, it's worth mentioning that they have not one, but two selfie walls and everything else fit for an instagrammable location. But, of course, what would a tropical-themed and glamorous bar and restaurant be without its menus.
I'm going to start by saying that this is an honest review and, truth be told, the only thing that could possibly have let me down on this visit was the small menu. Slug & Lettuce are renowned for their updating of pub-style food; making old classics into modern-day dishes. Items such as Sausage & Mash, Scampi, and Lasagne showcase this simple menu which, undoubtedly is cooked with that Slug touch, but I just feel could just be a bit broader.
Nevertheless, I decided to take advantage of the more unique item on the menu, the Tostadas. Funnily enough, when I first visited S&L years and years ago, a tostada was the first dish I ever tried from their menu - it's good to see that they are still around. It is effectively a flatbread pizza with a crispy base and plenty of toppings - I went for the Shawarma Tostada. One thing that I find is that, they fill you up a lot more than you'd think - if you were coming for lunch, one tostada will fill you up plenty but, if you're out for a big dinner, it might be worth ordering a side to complement (now is the point in which I acknowledge that huge portion of chips that I ordered on the side).
Jamie, my boyfriend, joined me on the trip and, for his meal, ordered the 12oz Rump steak which he thoroughly enjoyed. He asked for it rare and, I've got to say, it was cooked to perfection. Again, you can already see that the portion sizes are great too.
As I alluded, we succumbed to our sweet cravings and, opting for the trio system in order to get a taste of a few things. We chose salted caramel bites, limoncello drizzle sponge, and the macarignues. They were all lovely and I was pleasantly surprised. While the limoncello drizzle sponge wasn't overpoweringly alcoholic (thankfully), the meringues were super sweet and indulgent. As for the salted caramel bites, though, they were just a dream paired with our glasses of red wine.
All in all, it was a wonderful meal and I think this the perfect place to hang out with friends or family, in the heart of Durham, surrounded by instagrammable opportunities (which is always a bonus).
Thanks again to Slug and Lettuce, Durham, for the invite!
You may be the most outgoing individual out there or completely introverted, either way, it’s not uncommon for someone of any background to experience homesickness. Whether you are travelling far and wide to start University, or just commuting into the city, it is completely normal and completely valid. Whoever you are, you don’t need to tackle it on your own so today, you can sit down with me and listen to my tips of how to help those feelings wash away.
Keep yourself distracted
This involves saying yes to things, putting yourself out of your comfort zone, and generally getting yourself out there! Whether it’s moving your study plans to the library or common room rather than your bedroom, signing up to a society, or trying to join in with things you never usually would, a lot of the time, you’re mind will be so focused on the new task or environment that you might even forget about your homesickness all together.
One of my favourite things to do when I’m feeling in a bit of a rut is to jam-pack my days. Instead of going to Uni then coming home, arrange to meet some friends after, start the day early with a run, plan a late-night study session; keeping the plans rolling will really help keep your mind of any niggling worries.
Limit home visits
As much as you’ll want to go home every weekend, sometimes keeping constant contact can just make you feel worse. A quick phone call home every evening to check-in is perfect, you get to update your family on what’s been happening without seeing exactly what you’re missing. Plus, you should be able to tell them about all of the different things you’ve been doing with your days and, as you begin to receive praise, you’re only going to want to do it more and more.
Know that it’s okay!
Whether it’s the dog you’re missing, your Gran, or simply the corner of your bedroom that makes you feel cosiest, it’s completely fine to miss these things. After all, these are the things that you have most likely grown up with and formed an unbreakable bond with. When you move to University, by no means do these bonds have to break - feeling homesick is a completely normal and common thing to experience and, no matter how bad it feels, there will always be a way to feel better. Every University has a support team, well equipped for dealing with any of your worries and, believe it or not, a lot of your friends will probably be feeling this way too, so it’s completely fine to have a little chat.
Limit it to 3 words if you need to: ‘Distract. Limit. Share’. Keep your mind away from your worries, limit the time you have to think about these thoughts, and don’t be scared to share these thoughts. As we all know, a problem shared is a problem halved, and, when it’s a problem as universal as this, we all have a lot of halving that we can help with.
We'll kick off with a disclaimer: I'm an eager cook and frugal bunny, so eating out is always a treat for me. I see others out for food every weekend and, not only do I question 'how the hell do you afford that?!' but I also know that my own cooking is sometimes just as good (if I do say so myself). Of course, you stumbled across my blog expecting the typical 'perfect life' of a blogger/influencer but, I'm certainly not about that here. So, with that in mind, I'm going to chat on about the little treats that I allowed myself over the past few weeks.
1. The Brownie Bar - Heaton
I very recently popped into The Brownie Bar to try out some of their treats with a few friends. The staff were more than welcoming to us, chatting with us, double-checking any dietary requirements, making us laugh, and leaving me alone as I proceeded to take multiple pictures of my cookie. Oh and, if you're wondering why I got a cookie in a Brownie Bar, it's because this beauty has a brownie nestle inside it. What a dream! I paired it with a banana nut ice-cream milkshake which was pretty much gone in seconds.
2. Valerie's Tearoom - Whitley Bay
It was actually my first time to Whitley Bay when I came to this Tearoom but I knew from social media and word of mouth that this was a lovely little place to check out. It certainly didn't disappoint. I got 20s/30s vibes from the interior but was so pleasantly surprised by how clean it was, even considering it was an old fashioned style place. The selection of cakes was wonderful; almost every type of classic cake you could think of. I opted for a walnut and coffee cake slice (which was very rich and large) and a pot of tea, of course, served in silverware.
3. Bao Bar - Heaton
Just before our brownies, we tried out Bao Bar, also on Chillingham Road. Bao Bar serves, you guessed it, steamed Bao Buns filled with your choice of 5 fresh fillings. I was super impressed with the chicken in my Chicken Bao Bun - not only was it super fresh, but also tender and delicious. While it may feel a little on the pricey side, with 1 small bun being around £4, it's definitely worth giving a try.
4. The Punch Bowl - Cradlewell
Standing proud on Jesmond Road is the newly renovated The Punch Bowl Hotel. Owned by the same company that owns The Brandling Villa, this pub opened its doors in July and seems to have had a lot of mixed reviews since then. This, though, is mainly because of the cheeky remarks and controversial attitudes that it holds (yet it's mostly sarcastic). Jamie and I did, however, welcome it with open arms. The vibes inside are so reminiscent of an old fashioned pub, with racing green subway tiles, old leather sofas and log burner. Although, I'm here to talk about the food which is 100% worth going for. It's pub food that has been carefully tweaked and changed to showcase delicious, unique flavours unlike anything else. We tried the pastrami potato rosti with silverskin onions and the venison meatball garlic toasted sandwich with parmesan fries - absolutely wonderful.
5. Acropolis Street Food - Tynemouth Market
Whenever one of the local markets is on, I'm always mostly thinking about Acropolis Street food. Luckily, they seem to go to all of the main markets in Newcastle and, seeing as the Jesmond Food Market is super local to me, it's dangerous for my bank account. Their gyros, packed with everything they have to offer, is an absolute melody and, if it was possible, it would eat it over and over again. It's the only one on this list which I've already visited multiple times before and, I can guarantee it'll continue to be one of my favourite choices.
Having eaten at all of those new places, I've got to say that I'd love to revisit the Brownie Bar the most given the fact that I've already checked out their breakfast menu and, when breakfast that good is so local, I don't know how I'll be able to resist.
This blog post was inspired by the wonderful Bekki at mynameisbekki.co.uk. You can read her recent post of where she's been eating, here, and follow her on Instagram too.
Where have you been eating out recently?
It’s been a long summer - many days off, many relaxing times, and very many fun times. It was a great way for me to invest some more time into blogging, meet new people, and spend time with those I love. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true ‘Rose Glow’ reflection if it wasn’t completely random though, would it?! From food, theatre productions and places; here are the random things that I discovered this summer.
It’s been on my list of places to visit for the longest time and, finally, we decided to do it. We were lucky enough to get a rather nice day to do so, bar the insatiable rain. Nevertheless, we even decided to buy a metro day-ticket and take a look up to Whitley Bay too. I have to say, though, the Tynemouth Market was my favourite part of the day - I simply couldn’t believe how large it was. There were stalls after stalls, as well as food vans (featuring my beloved Acropolis) and unique shops. I will definitely be making Tynemouth market part of my monthly routine and have been told that I should definitely visit at Christmas time.
Rocky Horror Show
Completely and utterly late to this party but, I guess, there has to be a point in everyone’s life in which they discover the wonderful world of Rocky Horror and, for me, that time was this summer. Along with my sister and mum, we watched the fabulous RHS production at the Newcastle Theatre Royale (which is a fabulous theatre, fyi) - this show features Duncan James as Dr Frank and I was just blown away at how alive he was in that role. The whole show was laughs from end to end, a completely unique piece that I would see over and over again. Having never seen the RHS prior to this, I definitely feel like I was considerably late to that party.
Mexican Rainbow Salads
Donuts, on the other hand, has always been something that I adamantly hate. And, to be honest, I’m not completely on the dark side just yet. For me, I stop at a custard doughnut (or perhaps anything filled to the brim with something sweet (i.e. Nutella, which I’m now drooling at the thought of)) and the idea of a plain glazed doughnut still weirds me out a bit. That deep-fried dough flavour isn’t my jam (pun completely intended) right now but cover it head to toe in sugar and custard, and I’m there!
So, this winter you’ll find me eating colourful salad bowls, followed by a creamy doughnut and a viewing of The Rocky Horror Show (oh, and a Christmas visit to the Tynemouth market). I’m stocked up with new discoveries and excited to see what I’ll be learning about in the next coming months. What did you discover this summer?
Mexican Rainbow Salads
It doesn’t really get more random than this but, you guys know by now, I love my food. And, as summer comes along bringing its salads with it, I decided to try out a Mexican Rainbow salad and now I feel like I never want to go back. It feels so good to be eating a colourful plate and generally makes eating a salad 100x more exciting. Even more, it can be completely customisable and I love that. I will definitely be dragging these into the winter with me and seeing what other colour schemes I can substitute for plain, old green.
Coffee and Donuts
Two wrapped into one, here. Let’s start with coffee. It’s a drink that I feel I’ve always been on the edge of enjoying and knew that, as my tastebuds matured, I’d begin to enjoy the taste. This summer, along with the help of syrups and sugar, I’ve begun enjoying a cafe latte more than ever before. One thing I must say for anyone aiming to widen their drinks palette like me is to avoid sugar-free syrups. They are watery and weird, if you’re going to load yourself with caffeine and milk, you might swell keep the sugar in their too.
Donuts, on the other hand, has always been something that I adamantly hate. And, to be honest, I’m not completely on the dark side just yet. For me, I stop at a custard doughnut (or perhaps anything filled to the brim with something sweet (i.e. Nutella, which I’m now drooling at the thought of)) and the idea of a plain glazed doughnut still weirds me out a bit. That deep-fried dough flavour isn’t my jam (pun completely intended) right now but cover it head to toe in sugar and custard, and I’m there!
So, this winter you’ll find me eating colourful salad bowls, followed by a creamy doughnut and a viewing of The Rocky Horror Show (oh, and a Christmas visit to the Tynemouth market). I’m stocked up with new discoveries and excited to see what I’ll be learning about in the next coming months. What did you discover this summer?
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