Where's Ollie?

For the past 5 Tuesdays, between the hours of 9pm and 10pm, I have been glued to my TV muttering “what the F*@&?” every ten minutes. Yes, I’ve been watching BBC One’s The Missing.

This program follows the story of Tony Hughes and his hunt to find out what has happened to his son, Ollie, who went missing when they were on holiday in France eight years ago. Flicking back and forth to 2006 and present day, every scene unveils another piece of the puzzle, and leaves my mind well and truly blown at the intricacies of this complex story. The program is 5 episodes in and I’m probably just as confused as I was at the start, but it’s a confusion that I am very much enjoying. I’m torn between wanting the series to be over to find out what on earth has gone on, and not wanting it to end as my Tuesday night TV viewing will return to its original bleakness.

The character of Tony Hughes is played by James Nesbitt, who fully embodies the role of someone with a missing child. I feel every ounce of his pain, every pang of guilt and every flicker of anger he endures throughout the terrible ordeal. Luckily most of us have never experienced something like this but, although this particular story is fictional, it gives us a small glimpse of what this shattering situation can be like for unfortunate sufferers. And fair play to Tony Hughes- this guy doesn’t quit. I’m looking forward to joining him again next week on his relentless quest to find the whereabouts of little Ollie, and to uncover more of what happens along the way. 

A Healthy Winter Warmer!

Now that the days are getting colder and the nights are drawing in earlier, I have been in definite need of comfort food. As I have mentioned before I try to eat as healthy as possible, so I'm always on the look out for nutritious twists on  my favourite treats. I found the recipe for mini apple crumbles on Madeleine Shaw's website, one of my go-to's for meal inspiration. I whipped four up last night, and in two of them I used frozen mixed berries as well as the apples just to see how it would go. A huge success! So much so that I currently only have one left and am planning on making more tomorrow! I ate one cold earlier as a little pick-me-up and they're just as delicious without the heat. I think this recipe is definitely one for my ever-growing list of favourites.

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ETC's Magic of Christmas @ The Stadium of Light

I think I may have been more excited than my 8-year-old niece for this event, as I just love anything that will pump up my festive spirit- especially if it's free! And heading back to the Stadium of Light (where I used to work) after a good few years was a really nice throwback.

The event was hosted by North-East magazine ETC, and involved various exhibitors displaying their goods for the festive season. There were sweets, handmade crafts, beauty products, cake and clothing among other things- a great place to get some Christmas gift inspiration. When my my Mam and I arrived with Aleesha, we set her up with the face painter while we entered a competition to win a holiday, receiving a nice little goody bag as well. Between us we managed to bag a bare minerals foundation pot with matching brush and a tester of perfume. Not bad! Also in the bag was a copy of the newest ETC magazine, with Faye from Steps gracing the cover- another serious throwback! I used to have a poster of Steps on my wall as a kid, and would watch one of their videos near enough every day, so you can imagine my excitement at this! I digress...

Adorable!

Goodies!

I regret not having my photo taken with these two!

We were treated to a variety of entertainment throughout our day at the Stadium, with a belly-dancing show, Bridges fashion show and a delicious cooking (and tasting!) demonstration. But the highlight of the day for me was visiting Santa in his grotto overlooking the pitch. A mere £3 saw us being greeted my Mrs. Claus and taken to see a very authentic-looking Santa, complete with real white beard and half-moon spectacles- a proper Father Christmas! The room was decorated beautifully, and the lights sparkled as Santa and Mrs Claus entertained the children with a story of Harry the snowman and lots of cute little North-Pole anecdotes. They even had a bit of a Frozen sing-along! After each child had told Santa what they wanted for Christmas they received a gift, and we went on our merry little way filled with more festivity than before. We're definitely in full swing with the season, and I'm only getting more excited the closer it comes!  

Strike a pose

Ho Ho Ho

Inside the Human Body...

Walking around an exhibition showcasing the inner bits of dead humans? No thanks. Or at least this was my initial thought when I heard about Body Worlds Vital at the Life Centre in Newcastle. But thinking back to my GCSE biology lessons, I remembered how fascinating it can be learning about the body and what weird stuff is going on inside us right now. So I broached the subject of a potential visit with my Mam. She was not convinced. My various arguments of "it'll be interesting!" and "you'll learn something" was met with apprehensive comments such as "but what if they smell?" After a few weeks of procrastination, we finally made it to the Life Centre today, slightly shitting ourselves (figuratively). 

After the initial wariness of the first model we encountered, we soon became accustomed to the fact that these bodies had once belonged to real people. We even found ourselves forgetting at some points! The bodies had been provided through a donation project, with the owners willingly signing themselves up to our science education in their living years. There is even an example of a form a future donor filled out in 2002. The bodies are preserved through a process called plastination created by Gunther von Hagens, preventing them from decaying and smelling. This was a serious relief for us! We got to see the ins-and-outs of the muscular, skeletal, digestive, nervous and reproductive systems. One particular part I found interesting was a section relating to our diet, and how the food consumed varies around the world. But by far the most fascinating bit of the exhibition for me was the prenatal area, showing our development from 5 weeks-36 weeks. I really couldn't believe that I was seeing something so tiny that eventually develops into something as big as us. Crazy! I had always known that embryos were pretty small, but to see one there in front of you with the makings of a face and limbs was mind-blowing. Unfortunately photography is prohibited in the exhibition, so you'll have to go and see it for yourself!

After we had been fully educated, we left the exhibition and headed for a bit of fun in the form of the 4-D motion ride- a permanent fixture in the Life Centre. The story of the ride for the festive season was a toy store adventure, and was thoroughly enjoyable! 

By this time, of course, we were starving, so went against all of the things we had just read about healthy eating and darted straight for a 3-course meal and a cocktail at Las Iguanas. This place is a firm favourite of mine, offering delicious Latin-American food and mouth-watering cocktails, all in a vibrant yet cool setting. I knew what I was having for my main course before I even looked at the menu- 'Albondigas' which are spicy lamb meatballs served with rice. They are to die for! I opted for the 'Cha-Cha chorizo' for starter which was lovely, and washed it all down with a refreshing 'Brazilian Bellini'. We hadn't planned on having a dessert, but one look at the menu swayed us to do so. Neither of us could decide between the macadamia cheesecake or the 'Capirotada' (think sticky toffee pudding with a twist), so made the winning decision to share both. The cheesecake was perfectly light, and balanced out the slight stodginess of the Capirotada. 

On our way back to the Metro station, we took a detour to see the infamous Fenwicks window. The theme this year is Alice in Wonderland, and although it totally outshines the Roker Park version, I didn't understand how it was related to Christmas! I even heard one kid ask his Mam "where's Santa?" I feel your pain, mate. It's still impressive, though.

Festive Shopping at the Metrocentre

So the John Lewis advert has been released- it's officially the festive season! The department store advert seems to have overtaken the Coca-Cola 'holidays are coming' as the signal to the start of Santa season. I was so happy to see my favourite animal, the penguin, being the focus of this genius ad, and I must say that it did make me rather emotional when I watched it this morning! I absolutely love Christmas, and what better way of continuing the seasonal spirit instilled by the clip today than a bit of Christmas shopping. Me and my Mam headed to the Metrocentre today, and were looking forward to the infamous decorations just as much as the retail therapy! The decorations didn't disappoint, and we were also pleasantly surprised to see a poppy decoration to mark the centenary of WWI. 

Shopping makes us very hungry (as do most things) so we wanted something filling but healthy for lunch. We browsed a couple of menus, but settled with Zizzi as they now do three types of skinny pizzas, made with wholemeal dough- under 500 calories yet substantial and delicious. A definite winner for us!

I'm absolutely obsessed with checks at the moment, so picked up this Dorothy Perkins dress which was a bargain with 25% off! It's hard to see on this picture, but there are cute little (fake) pockets on the front, lined with faux leather to match the neck lining. 

I raided Primark (as I always do on a shopping trip) and bagged more checks in the form of some festive tartan Minnie Mouse pyjamas.  I also bought some funky socks, as most of mine either have holes in them or are covered with penguins in bobble hats and scarves. Although I do love penguins, I feel it may be too soon to whip these out! Finally, I hit another bargain with a Kilner jar for £2.99 from Lakeland. I've been seeing a lot of desserts such as chia puddings on Instagram and various blogs, and they always look so cute in these jars so felt I needed one for my kitchen cupboard! 

Finally, my favourite purchase of the day (or should I say my Mam's) was an early birthday present. I'd been keen to see Michelle Keegan's collection for Lipsy in person as opposed to online as I love her style. I'd only planned on a little browse, but when I saw this dress I just HAD to try it on. It fit perfectly, and I felt really good in it so my Mam was kind enough to buy it for me. I still can't stop staring at it- think I'm in love! Just need to find an occasion to wear it now...

As well as purchasing some bits for myself I also got my first few Christmas presents for the family. I love buying people presents, and think it makes Christmas all the more exciting when you've got nice gifts to give. Hopefully they will like what I've come up with! 

The Lion King & D'acqua

Hakuna Matataaaa! What a wonderful phrase! And it’s one that I haven’t been able to stop singing since I went to see The Lion King on stage at the Sunderland Empire on Thursday night. It’s a show I’ve wanted to see for years, so I couldn’t believe my luck when my Mam bought tickets for us and my Dad a few weeks ago. We thought we’d make a night of it, so headed into town for some food before the show. We’d heard a lot of good reviews about D’acqua on John Street so decided to try it. And the reviews certainly weren’t wrong!

     

     

The restaurant is underground, and has a purple colour scheme throughout its décor along with various interesting lighting instalments. When we arrived we were greeted warmly by the staff and had a drink at the bar before going to our table. My photos make the place look empty, as there wasn’t many people in when we arrived at 5.30pm, but it soon filled up due to its obvious popularity. A cute set up of bread buns awaited us at our table on a piece of slate- just the beginning of the interestingly presented food.

I had the goat’s cheese salad to start, followed by the chicken sizzler and the D’acqua cheesecake- all of which were amazing. I couldn’t resist getting a snap of my Mam’s dessert just because of the way it was presented- a little jar of blackberries with an interesting bowl of lemon and white chocolate posset (not quite sure what that is but it tasted delicious) and a blueberry shortbread. As we chose from the early bird menu, our three course meals only came to £13 each- bargain! We all agreed afterwards that this definitely wouldn’t be our last visit, and that it may become our new favourite eatery.

Due to enjoying our meal a little bit too much we had to do a mad dash across town to the Empire, getting in to our seats in the nick of time. I had been so excited for the show that I was quite nervous that it wouldn’t live up to my expectations- but my expectations were fully surpassed. From the curtain going up at the start to the end-of-show bows from the cast I was overwhelmed by how spectacular this production was. The costumes were brilliantly vibrant, the staging a stroke of genius and the cast were flawless in both their singing and acting performances. I even shed a tear a couple of times as it was so emotional! It’s a show that I would recommend to anyone, and one that I hope I am lucky enough to see again.