Homeware Wishlist

All going well I am hoping to move out this year and I have been lusting over Pinterest picking out the perfect pieces for my home and looking online for inspiration. I have picked out a few pieces from different websites that would be perfect for my future home! Let me know what you think about the pieces I have chosen.

Esprit
Not only does Esprit have loads of different clothes for all fashion styles, they also have a homeware section which I have been checking out recently. This gorgeous Cushion Cover with graphic woven pattern is just £18 and would go perfectly in my yellow and grey living room. I’ve also got my eye on this decorative metal bowl for £16. It has a stunning dimpled pattern on the inside of the bowl and would look really nice as a centrepiece on the coffee table and copper is so on trend right now. There is also a metal tea light holder which is in a similar design, I would love a few of these dotted about and for £8 it doesn’t break the bank. I am also in need of some towels for our nautical themed bathroom and these Esprit guest towels are only £8! I love this denim blue design and think it would go perfectly with the navy cotton bathmat too which is only £25 and 100% cotton. Everything is so reasonably priced.

(Photos Sourced - http://www.esprit.co.uk)

Lisa Angel

I love the cute and unique homeware that Lisa Angel has to offer and there are so many cute pieces on their website and in their stores. They offer free worldwide delivery so you can’t really go wrong! I am desperate for one of these light boxes, I think they’re great! I also have a small cactus obsession at the moment so when I saw the Cactus Jewellery Dish for just £8 I knew it would fit right into my themes and my life. I have also been looking at prints for the office and little quirky signs so this retro styled arrow would be perfect and it’s only £9.

(Photos Sourced - http://www.lisaangel.co.uk/) 

Wilko

Wilko is great for amazing prices and you can get some real bargains. I recently bought these drinking jars for £5 and they are going to be great for parties. I also love these heart button mauve lamps for just £10 and they even have a matching lampshade for £7. I have been looking for a new bedspread too as I want to create a purple themed bedroom and Wilko have the perfect one and it’s only £16 for the double.

(Photos Sourced - http://www.wilko.com/) 

Berrys & Grey 
I keep walking past this local shop and drooling at the window displays and I have been looking for some things for the garden. I love the Kew chalice bowls and the style of all of their pots. You can even get an artificial Buxus Ball for £22.99 so you don’t need to maintain a real live plant! I also love this pet food storage canister for £27.99. It’s obscure enough that it doesn’t stand out but a practical item for me to store my cat food biscuits in style!

(Photos Sourced - http://www.berrysandgrey.co.uk/)

What do you think of these homeware picks?

Cote Brasserie Norwich Review

When me and James visited York last year we wanted to visit restaurants that we didn’t have in Norwich to make it a unique experience. One of the restaurants we went to was Côte Brasserie and it wasn’t until we looked it up online afterwards that we realised we do actually have one in Norwich too! We had a really nice meal there despite our table being delayed and decided we would treat ourselves to a meal at the Norwich branch seeing as it is so convenient to visit. If you’re visiting Norwich or coming from afar then it is worth noting that Côte Norwich is on Exchange Street. We parked at St Andrews Car Park which was just a couple of minutes’ walk away at the most and only costs £1.80 after 6:30pm right through until the early hours.

I booked our table at this beautifully decorated French restaurant online which was really convenient and it meant I could easily change our booking to a later time when James found out he had work. We arrived about 10 minutes before our allocated time and were seated. The atmosphere was quite noisy, I don’t know if that was because it was a Saturday but I felt as though other tables were shouting at each other instead of talking and generally being loud. There were a lot of groups so this could have been why.

It was quite difficult to find a starter that James would like as a lot of them seem to contain some form of garlic which he hates! We don’t like to appear fussy and I am sure there was the option of having it taken off but we wanted to simply pick something without having to make amendments. Last time I visited Côte I had the French Onion Soup which was delicious. I wanted to try something new this time and went for the Chicken Liver Parfait which was pate with toasted brioche and apple chutney. It was delicious, and just the right amount. James settled on Calamari in the end which was sautéed in garlic and he ate it! I was so impressed. He said that it didn’t taste very garlicky and he enjoyed it.

For our main course we wanted to try something different to what we had last time. I went for the Cassoulet De Toulouse which is duck, Toulouse sausage and smoked pork belly stew with tarbais beans and toasted garlic and parsley croutons. This is something I would never have at home so tasted very luxurious and like a lovely indulgent treat. It was cooked to perfection and served nice and hot. It was very filling and something I would love to try and recreate at home. James had the Fish Parmentier which is essentially Fish Pie and he was impressed with it. The portion sizes were just right.

I couldn’t leave without having dessert and I went for the same dessert that I had when I visited the York branch and that was the Praline Crepe. It tastes like heaven on a plate. Essentially it is just a crepe but the praline filling tastes exactly like melted seashell chocolate and served with the crème Chantilly and caramelised bananas this indulgent treat is everything I crave on a plate. The plus side is because it has banana in it, it’s basically healthy –right? James had Chocolate Fondant with Vanilla ice cream which melted in the middle. I think if I were to return I would go for that for a change!

Overall our meal came to about £60 and that included a couple of drinks. A 12.5% service charge is automatically added to your bill, however this is optional and you can ask to have it taken off if you don’t think that’s fair. We had a great service so we left the bill as it was. I will definitely return to Cote when I want a nice treat. Have you ever been?