Taste of London 2014

We here at The Amazing Blog  are always keen to tantalize our taste buds with new and interesting foods and flavours. Lucky for us, Taste Of London is back. We wrote about Taste of London back in 2011  so we were super excited to feature it again. A 5 day exhibition in Regents Park, the event sees restaurants, chefs and food lovers come together to share in culinary delights and an array of other frivolities, and we’ll certainly be joining them.

From the 18^th to the 22^nd of June, Regents Park will play watering hole to everybody who’s anybody in the London food world. A ticket entitles you to a four hour food adventure, where you can sample dishes from 40 of London’s finest restaurants. If tucking into delicious dishes isn’t enough for you, the festival also hosts a range of activities, such as a Sushi Masterclass, wine and cheese pairings, and the chance to taste a variety of beers. Eric Lanyard and Michael Roux Jr are just a couple of the famous faces that will be there to share their love of food with you foodie heaven.

We all have our favourite restaurants, weather it’s the little place round the corner, or the expensive anniversary-only restaurant in the heart of London. However, we also all know how great it is to find something new, exciting and that you really love! Taste of London is a great opportunity to do just that, as well as have a fabulous day out. With tickets costing around £25.80 for standard admission, make sure you book a slot for the biggest food festival of the social season. We feel like we’ve died and gone to food heaven.

Urban Food Fest 2014

It’s no secret that we at The Amazing Blog LOVE food. We are always trying new restaurants and recipes, and searching for new dishes to fall in love with. That’s why we were so excited to learn about the Urban Food Fest in Shoreditch. The Urban Food Fest is the ultimate foodie’s dream: a street food night market which has become home to 15 different food trucks and stalls. The event occurs every Saturday from 5:00 pm to midnight until June 28th so make sure to stop by before it’s gone!

Located at the Euro Car Park at 162-175 Shoreditch High Street, it is only a short 5 minute walk from the Shoreditch High Street station, Liverpool Street station, or Old Street station. Serving a variety of global cuisine, including a V Corner, exclusively for vegans, vegetarians, and raw foodies, the festival will also boast an array of dishes that can only be found at the festival.

While the Urban Food Fest is sure to make your taste buds happy, there will be plenty of other things to do whilst you chow down. Listen to great live music by up and coming bands, singers, and DJs as you observe the modern art and contemporary photography that is displayed. World famous make-up artist Kat Kraft will also be offering her talented services in the form of fun face paints, bringing us straight back to our childhood theme park outings.

So whether you’re looking to tantalise your taste buds, or simply something fun to do with your Saturday evening, head on down to the Urban Food Fest. Entry is free and we’re sure you’ll leave with a happy heart and a full tummy!

For a list of the 15 various street food trucks and stalls click here.

Alison at Home - POP at House of Fraser

Nowadays, retail is saturated with brand upon brand, making it difficult for newcomers to get their foot in the door. At The Amazing Blog, we often think this is a real shame, as there’s nothing we love more than discovering new brands and products to fall in love with. Thankfully, The Great Retail Revival Foundation, in collaboration with House of Fraser, is giving brands like Alison at Home the chance to showcase their talents at the POP at House of Fraser event this May.

Alison at Home, an online home retailer founded by Alison Cork, will be given the chance to prove its worth in England’s most prestigious shopping district, at House of Fraser’s flagship store on Oxford Street, as well as online here. One of ten finalists in the event organised by the not-for profit organisation, Alison at Home designs wonderfully crafted statement furniture collections at affordable prices. Designed to work as standalone pieces, or as part of a set, the majority of Alison at Home furniture is manufactured in Britain and, until now, was only available to buy online. Along with the other finalists, the brand has been mentored so that they are able to take full advantage of their opportunity to retail in the UK. Of the ten finalists, one will win a year long contract to retail in the House of Fraser flagship store. Taking place from the 12^th -26^th of May, there’s still a couple of days for you to head down there and see what new and exciting brands you can discover. Did we mention that customers get a complimentary glass of Champagne Taittinger with every purchase?

Friday Favourites - Easter Holidays

With Easter weekend finally upon us, most of us excited for the celebrations ahead! However, for those who have left things a little late, or even those who just want to try something a bit different this year, there’s still time to go out and grab some more Easter treats! We here at The Amazing Blog have found some Easter-themed gifts to help you impress your friends and loved ones during this Spring holiday.Lush never fails to deliver quirky gift ideas for the holidays, and they certainly haven’t let us down this year with their creative selection of Easter cosmetics. This season, they are offering an array of ‘Egg-ceptional’ Easter themed handmade products, including bath melts and bubble bars in the shape of eggs and carrots! Made from fair trade and organic ingredients, Lush’s Easter cosmetics include a Golden Egg Bath Bomb, Bunny Bubble Bar, Carrot Soap, and Brightside Bubble Bar just to name a few. If, like us, you are struggling to choose from the wonderful selection of products on offer, Lush are also offering the Funny Bunny Rabitty Wrap – an organic cotton knot-wrap containing four of the most popular limited edition Easter cosmetics. Because the Easter Bunny is packaged by hand, the selection of goodies inside each wrap is different!  However, if a gift you are planning is one item short of complete, the holiday products are available to buy individually for very reasonable prices! Find the Egg-cellent collection here. To add some chocolate with a twist to your Easter celebration, Demijohn has created a Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur.  This alcoholic chocolate is the adult version of a creamy dark Easter Egg, and the addition of Devonshire Cream, Apple Brandy and Orange Zest make this the perfect springtime tipple.  The thick and creamy liqueur would be a great option for those Easter family gatherings; something for adults to enjoy as the children tuck into their Easter treats.  Demijohn recommends serving the Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur directly from the refrigerator and over ice for the best taste. Be the life of the party this Easter and present your family and friends with a 500ml bottle of Demijohn Chocolate Orange Cream Liqueur, available here for £24.60 (500ml). You may have noticed our attempt to stray from the typical Easter gift, but who are we to keep your loved ones from indulging in chocolate this Easter?  Charbonnel et Walker offer a new twist to the traditional chocolate egg with their Pink Marc de Champagne Truffle Easter Egg.  Combining their finest milk chocolate with their best selling Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles, this treat is so much more luxurious than your typical Easter Egg.  Housed in a pastel coloured window box with a pink ribbon tied around it, this delicious Easter Egg would make the perfect gift any loved one. It can be purchased here for £35, along with a selection of other delicious chocolate creations, including a Dark Chocolate and English Rose Easter Egg.

Feel like doing something different this Easter? Horniman Museum and Gardens, with their Easter Fair, could be the perfect option if you are looking for activities that are fun, yet educational. Take part in the Easter Egg Hunt, learn more about the rabbits that live in the Animal Walk and enjoy some live country music. If you fancy a bite, you can head towards the food stalls, where you will find a selection of tasty treats; whether you fancy pizza or some Austrian specialities, you will definitely find the perfect nibble to satisfy your taste buds. The Easter Fair takes place on Saturday and Sunday, from 10.30 am until 4.30 pm, and you can find the detailed program here . Finally, what would Easter be without an Easter Bunny? Demarquette offers beautifully hand painted Easter Rabbits in dark chocolate and milk chocolate to complete your traditional Easter gifts. The dark chocolate bunny is made from Demarquette’s award winning CacaoLux blend of chocolates from The Dominican Republic and Ecuador, while the milk chocolate bunny features chocolates from Venezuela and Madagascar. Each bunny is hand painted with bright spring colours, making it unique with it’s own colourful pattern. Demarquette Easter Rabbits are available here for only £5.50. Demarquette also has a lovely selection of chocolate bars and truffles if you are still craving sweets after the holiday is over!

Friday Favourites - Mother's Day

Guess who? She often deprives herself, yet makes certain you have the best of everything.  That’s right, it’s Mum! Our mum’s really are the best and deserve more than one day during the year to be celebrated and appreciated.  All of us here at The Amazing Blog want to help make your mum’s special day perfect, so we have a few original ideas up our sleeves. Ranging from candles to cocktails, there’s something for every mum!

A burning candle is a great way to set the tone for a relaxing afternoon or evening.  Wick & Tallow candles offer the luxury of a home accessory with a touch of British individuality.  Constructed from scratch by product and interior designers, as well as a biology graduate with an interest in botany, Wick & Tallow Waxsmiths intrigue candle-lovers with their contemporary twist on both the candle's packaging and scent.  The original black matte colour of Wick & Tallow packaging (with a vibrant highlight colour) coordinates flawlessly with the unique scent of the candles, which last up to 50 hours!  The Patchouli & Grapefruit Candle, for example, is a calming yellow (perfect for mum!) which flawlessly matches the notes of garden floral and tart grapefruit in the burning candle.  Find the Patchouli & Grapefruit Candle here for £35.00. And as a Mother's Day treat, Wick & Tallow are offering a 20% discount on this candle when you use the code, MUMSTHEWORD. Make mum feel young and modern while relaxing to the scent and design of Wick & Tallow candles.  A variety of candle colours and scents can be found here.

On her special day, mum deserves to sit back, relax and pamper herself with a fun cocktail in hand!  To make her job a bit easier, Pontoon Cocktails have designed pre-mixed, frozen and unpasteurized cocktails which guarantee the same freshness as the day they were made!  Offer your mum the fun and frilly Angelica mixed drink from Pontoon Cocktails!  With a mix of contemporary and traditional ingredients like Ketel One Vodka, Cocchi Americano and Regan’s No.6 orange bitters, Angelica is a hand-crafted pink plunge of citrus and flowers.  Perfectly packaged with a ribbon tied around its top, the Angelica mixed drink from Pontoon Cocktails is a perfect gift for mum!  A 500ml of Angelica is £34.99 and can be found here.

If drinks aren't your mum's style, maybe she'd prefer a chocolate treat. Like most women, mum certainly loves clothing and shoes, but gifting clothing or shoes to mum can be a challenge.  Why not combine her love for shoes with the sweet temptation of chocolate with a La Signorina Chocolate Stiletto! La Signorina specialise in fair-trade, hand-made chocolate delicacies in the shape of shoes, bouquets and chess sets.  These Italian style dark chocolates give personality to each piece with their fair-trade chocolate beans, and La Signorina kindly sent The Amazing Blog the Fortuna Chocolate Stiletto!  Fortuna was the Roman goddess of fortune, promising mum good luck in the months to follow. Not only is the shoe the size of a wearable stiletto (UK size 3), but the inside of the slipper is detailed with the La Signorina insignia and is finished with a chocolate flower on the toe.  Specializing in chocolate gifts, La Signorina lets mum have her shoes and eat them too!  Select the perfect chocolate stiletto for mum for only £40 here.

If your mum grew up during the 60s or 70s she is probably familiar with Aqua Manda, after smelling the perfume on her own mother!  This nostalgic perfume is the ultimate memory jogger, taking mum back to her flower power days. Aqua Manda uses the psychedelic colour orange to reflect the era in both colour and scent!

Made with essential oils of mandarin, ginger, lavender, patchouli, cinnamon, and other aromatic herbs, Aqua Manda consists of an abundance of fruity scents.   The refreshing and light smell is a great pick me up and works perfectly as a summer fragrance. The oriental and spicy base notes give a kick to the perfume which can help in the mornings if you get up early and need something to wake you up. Once applied, the perfume sits on your skin all day and only fades slightly. Take mum back to childhood with this happy, fruity and fun scent!  A bottle of Aqua Manda is £39.99 and can be purchased  here.