The weekend just gone was a lovely weekend with lots of food, fun and lack of sun! Last Friday night I caught up with my girl mates and we had a great night consisting of lots of food and Magic Mike! I had actually seen Magic Mike only a few weeks ago but nothing beats watching it with 6 other girls. We all screamed and laughed so much at the dance routines especially at Matthew McConaughey in his tight shorts and crop top! The seven of us sat around a round table laid out with bowls filled with bacon bits, cheese, olives and sun-blushed tomatoes and were then served pesto pasta. It’s something I never have too often but it really is just such a delicious dish especially with all the added bits. Not only that but we had it with pizza bread, wine and some strawberry cheesecake with ice cream for dessert. Stuffed after that? Pretty much but we still managed to fit in some popcorn too. I love these nights, we hadn’t done it in ages and to be honest it was probably more fun than going out plus I didn’t have a hangover on Saturday. Double bonus!

On Sunday despite the weather Craig and I decided we would have a day out in Brighton as it’s nice to get out of London every now and again and Brighton is always fun with its back lanes and the seaside! However, it really was freezing! I wrapped up super warm but rather stupidly wore my boots that are so thin and therefore I just could not get warm. Nevertheless we tried to make the most of it. One of the first shops we came across was Choccywoccydoodah, the amazing cake shop that specialises in creating decadent wedding and birthday cakes as well as chocolate gifts and treats.

Brighton is where the first shop was created and became successful and now there is one in Carnaby street, London. It’s always fun to have a peek in and see what new crazy cake designs they’ve created.

I always love the vintage shops in Brighton, and the little stalls with trinkets, books and jewelry. Sydney Street has so many great vintage shops. However what I really love about Brighton is the amazing pic n mix shop Charlie’s Emporium.

It’s a huge sweet shop with chocolate bars imported from America and all over the world. You’ve got your lucky charms, marshmallow fluff, coconut m&ms and a huge variety of peanut butter reeces. It is simply heaven. But the best thing about it is the sheer amount of actual pic and mix you can choose from. All your favourites are out on display in old fashioned glass jars and there’s no limit as to what you can have. In a few pic and mix shops I have been to, you have to buy 50g of one type of sweet. In Charlie’s Emporium, you can buy however much as you like! A big handful of eggs or two cherries, it really doesn’t matter. Not only this but the guy working behind the till let us try a couple of sweets before we bought them to see if we liked them. God I love this place. And what was also great was the price. We bought a rather big bag which back in London easily would’ve cost approx. £7, however in Charlie’s it was only £4.50. Upon hearing the price Craig quite enthusiastically requested that we add more but then felt the weight of the bag and the heaviness of it made him change his mind. I always get the same sweets, cherries, pink pigs, little green frogs, chocolate peanuts and white mice however this time we got a few different, There are still so many I’ve never tried but that’s just an excuse to go back for more.

So off we went, pretty happy with our big bag of sweets and went in the search for some proper food. A friend of mine recommended a restaurant called Food for Friends and although not a vegetarian myself, after checking out the menu I was happy to check out the restaurant.

We arrived at about 2.30p.m and were therefore given the lunch menu. The interior was very clean and super cosy with a sofa and cushions to rest on by the window, for when the restaurant is busy. Luckily for us a couple had just left so we were seated straight away. I thought I knew what I was having before I got there as had already checked out the menu online but when we got in and saw plates filled with what looked like potatoes and Yorkshire puddings go past and it being a Sunday I just knew I had to get the roast dinner.

To start off however we ordered the home-made bread basket thinking we would get a couple of slices of bread each. We never expected the amount of bread there would be.

This practically filled me up in itself! The bread at the front was springy soft and probably the best but there’s some lovely wholemeal tucked away at the back also.

The Roast consisted of all your usual trimming just without the chicken. The Yorkshire pudding was nice and big and one of the best Yorkshire puddings I have had in a while and the honey glazed carrots were cooked to perfection. Portobello mushroom stuffed with butternut squash was the main feature however I wasn’t too sure at first if I liked it all that much. Weirdly after a few more bites I really enjoyed it especially when I mixed it with a little beetroot and carrot. The service is also fantastic and the presentation of the food more than anything is beautiful. The girls on the table next to us ordered the chocolate fudge desert and the sticky toffee pudding, both looked absolutely incredible! I thought I would have room for dessert but once I finished it I was actually too full for anything straight after so figured we would get something sweet for later- or alternatively just feast on our pic n mix. Next time I go back I will definitely get the chocolate fondant though!

The day finished off with a walk down by the sea (after popping to primark to pick up some cosy tights) and taking some cheesy pictures near the pier.

We probably didn’t visit as many places as we would have liked but we will definitely come back in the summer. I’m already looking forward to Cocktails by the seaside and the outdoor markets. Another bonus about Brighton is that it’s only £10 return from London. You can’t go wrong there really now can you?