Date Night Double

Last night Adam and I were bored of staying in the house all the time. We just wanted to get out and spoil ourselves a little. Live the high life and forget all of our worries and troubles and just enjoy an evening together so we decided to go to the Cinema. But because the film wasn't going to be on until quite late (about 9ish) we decided we should go for dinner together first and because the Cinema we were going to is surrounded by restaurants - for obvious reasons - we went to dinner at Fayre and Square. 

I love the meals there because they are really scrummy. We decided for a starter to get this nacho and wedge sharer; it was amazing. The nachos were really salt and peppery BUT it worked well with the sour cream and salsa which I lurve. Then I had scampi, because it was definitely cooked with these really nicely fried chips - they tasted divine. I even had mushy peas! What type of cool restaurant asks if you want a 'fish' meal with peas, mushy peas or beans - Fayre and Square that is who! I can't even remember what Adam had because I was so engrossed in my delicious scampi. I don't have it often especially whilst being pregnant BUT it does the trick. Hits the nail on the spot. 

Then we went to see 'Side Effects' which was a really good film. Catherine Zeta Jones popped up again. She's been in about 3/4 films that I've seen recently. Maybe she was taking a break out and then decided to go on the books again so her agent has had her whipped up at every chance anyone can get. I won't explain the film because I'll explain it tomorrow with the other film we decided to watch today. The woman who is in the film called 'Girl with a Dragon Tattoo' looks SO different in this film I hardly recognised her and Channing Tatum was in it too. He seems to have really stepped up his mark from the sweet romcom films I first saw him in, like Step Up and Dear John. In this film he seems like 'a real man' and I mean that in the greatest sense of the word. My husband has always liked Channing Tatum for his acting of course, but I've more or less liked him just because well, he is nice to look at. But, in this film, he really did it for me in an acting sense. I enjoyed his performance and actually focused on the way he was acting rather than just staring at his face. Oh it happens... and I'm not the only one. You know it. 

So, after our little splurge out last night we didn't really need to go out today for date night but this really funny film has just come out called 'The Croods'. I knew straight away it was Emma Stone as voice over, and it's nice to see another come back as well - Nicolas Cage. His voice at least was great in this Dreamworks pic, hence why we didn't see him act. It was a really fun family comedy with just mild threats of violence... yeah if you count a massive multi-coloured tiger/cat pouncing on the whole family so it looks like they're going to get eaten. However, they are the most flexible family I have ever seen in my life, especially for ones who are not so lean. Adam loved a character called 'Belt' the most which looked like a cross between those singing and dancing racoon look-a-likes in Madagascar (You know the ones who sing - I like to move it) and a monkey with REALLY long arms. Very cute.

See! How cute!

But more on those tomorrow. For now I am going to relax and enjoy the rest of what is left of my evening. I also have definitely have a cold and my lips don't like me at all. I blame my husband who throughout the whole of this past week has had a split lip. I think I inherited it. 

Big Slice Bakery in the 'Bay'.

On Friday, if some of you can remember to back then, Adam had the day off and it was date day so instead of us doing the usual thing we do every Friday that Adam is off, we decided to do something different. This is probably why I remember Friday instead of it merging in my brain with all the other days of the week.

I came downstairs at about half 11 and Adam was playing his beloved FIFA so I asked him what we would be doing that day and the same as every day came out - cleaning, cooking, washing - and for some reason I was just bored of doing that whole thing, especially when you do it everyday. Don't get me wrong things really did need doing and I was doing my best so Adam and I made a compromise, he'd do washing and a bit in the bedroom (finally sorting his clothes) and I would do the kitchen then we would do something else.

Then I remembered that Adam's married friends, Natalie and Dan had just opened a bakery in Whitley Bay, I had never been to Whitley Bay and I can never say no to home baked goods so I asked Adam if we could 'pop' over to say hi to his friends and buy some scrummilicious foods - two birds with one stone and all that. I didn't think he would want to go because it was his day off and his chill out day and 'popping' over to Whitley Bay was a half an hour drive but he said 'yes' and we were off.

Neither of us really know Whitley Bay that well so we were relying on the good ol' satnav to point us in the right direction after previously talking with Adam's friend, Dan, to find our way to the baked goods shop. So after driving round in a circle we finally parked up on a street in the centre of Whitley Bay with parking only a penny a minute - as Adam put it and found our way round to the high street where his friend said their bakery was. We were told it was in the indoor market on the high street so we were looking around for a large market, thinking of Leeds market where it is pretty massive. When we happened to stumble across a small door with an open window front with the sign 'Indoor Market' over the door. We almost walked past it. But when we went inside we were greeted with smiles, small stalls and some very tasty looking baked goods.

And there it was, on the right hand side as we went in, I don't know if they change places when they go in as it might depend on who comes in and books a market table first, but there it was.

Big Slice Bakery

And let me tell you, the slices are BIG. On the day we went in they had on offer I think marshmallow crispy treats, brownies on sticks and chocolate and banana cake, which smelt divine but I could only eat so much so I chose the marshmallow crispy and the heart-burn on a stick brownie. Dan, the stall owner was more than friendly and welcoming, of course we know him but I am sure he would be just as friendly to anyone else who happened to come across his stall. They do booking orders as well if you want to go to their Facebook page for more details please Click me for the goodies.

They had an offer on that day 1 for £1.30 or 2 for £2.00 and who can miss up a good deal like that especially when their slices really are that big. I love the goodies that Dan's awesome wife, Natalie, made herself, at home even though she has two young children, Natalie must obviously be super mum! We all want to be one of those. But anyway, I love the size of their slices because even if you can't eat a full one in one go and believe me I was trying, you can always put it to one side for later and trust me you won't forget about it because they really are that good!

If you want to have a try of their nom-il-icious food just go round to see them at their stand in the Indoor Market in Whitley Bay and they may even have samples to munch on whilst you have a good ol' natter. You won't be disappointed.

Date Decisions: Scobberlotching

My husband and I go on a date every Friday even if it's sitting in the living room together watching a film eating popcorn. We are friends with a few other married couples and one couple in particular has their own blog called 'Scobberlotch'.

How cool is that name? Scobberlotch, Scobberlotch, Scobberlotch. It's a good word to roll off the tongue with a nice pinch at the end.

Anyway, our married friends have this blog and on this blog they have one of the best things in life, FOOD! They review restaurants and cafes, little quirky ones that pop up down the side streets of Newcastle (and in the area) or large homely ones that drag you off the motorway onto the side road calling you in for food. The good thing about their blog is that they prove you can go on a date on a budget and you can enjoy a good meal in a 'fancy' or 'kooky' restaurant for cheap. And THAT's what I love. They also make a joint effort in writing posts about shops or market stalls that sell awesome and de-lic-i-ous foods. The way the duo talk about the food makes you want to go out and buy food from that store, right now, even if it's late at night.

And it is because of this reason that I asked the wonderful duo if they could suggest a place for Adam and I to go out for dinner one night this month. I told them the budget we have and that we don't have a preference as to where we would like to have dinner, besides somewhere 'different'. We would just like to go somewhere different rather than the usual cinema every week.

This is what they say about their blog:

She stumbled across the word scobberlotch in a textbook during her first year of university. He discovered it again 2 years later and reminded her of their mutual love for the word. When deciding on a name for this blog, she tried to be all arty and romantic and ended up just being one big cliché. He, again, reminded her of the word and their mutual love for it grew even more. So they lived happily ever after with the name of their blog. 

scobberlotch: (v) to loaf around, doing nothing in particular. 

We write this blog because 1. we love food, and 2. because we want other people to start exploring the eateries in the towns and cities where they live, rather than just always going to the big brand restaurants (Nando’s, we’re talking about you!). We think that when you start exploring your local food places then you truly start to know your area. We are by-no-means food experts. Just a hungry food couple with budding appetites. Oh, and we live in Newcastle, England.

They do have a page on their blog called 'Our Scrummy Picks' which does show you some of the cheap and delectable places they've enjoyed so far and I could have picked one of these for Adam and I to go to BUT our friends know us really well so I am sure that if there is one they've liked or one they think we will love that isn't on their 'Scrummy Picks' page then they will suggest that one.

So, I can't wait for the suggestion(s) that they come up with and you can peer at their picks too by clicking the superb link below:

Superb Link to Scobberlotch love

Don't forget to keep a look out on my blog for their suggestion and how it went! It'll be a Saturday post - just so know you.

Date Night Double Delay

For those of you that don't know, on Friday's I don't post because it is my night to spend with my husband. If I get a chance throughout the day then I will post but it will only be about something small.

Yesterday, meaning Friday, we went to the Cinema as we often do on Date Nights as it is mostly free for us to go. I even offered to go to the Cinema with Adam which is new for me considering I don't like to leave the house much these days. I asked if we could go see a film that I had watched a few weeks ago online. I was watching it online because I thought it had come out a while ago and I was in the mood for a horror film and it said on it 2012. But, I guess in America it had come out in 2012, here however, it didn't appear until this last week or so. I really enjoyed watching it on the small screen and wanted to see it on the big screen.

We went to see Mama. It is a horror film with a twist. The film kind of over laps into a different genre but you don't see it coming. The basic plot is this:

A man kills his wife and kidnaps his 3 yr old and 1 yr old daughter and takes them into the woods to shoot them but before he can do that he is killed. The girls are then left in the woods in this cabin for 5 years (I think it is 5 years) before someone finds them but obviously the emotional and psychological issues they have with being left out there have caused them to stunt their mental development. Their uncle comes to 'claim' them as he has been looking for them all the years they were gone and finds that to cope with being left in the woods for all those years they have made up an imaginary person whom they call Mama. The film shows how the girls reintegrate back into society and how this affects their relationship with 'Mama'.

When I first watched the film it was night time and I was watching it alone but I don't remember it being as jumpy as it actually was in the cinema. At some point I did begin to question how I could have watched the film alone, and at night time, but I did so in the cinema it wasn't as scary to me as it was to some other people *cough* Adam *cough*. 

This might be really weird to say but I think it was one of the most beautiful horror films I have seen in a while just because you don't expect it to end as it does so I am glad we went to see it on the big screen. 

Unfortunately I can't really explain much more of the story because then it will give too much away but the cinema was full which was good as I think that made the experience more fun. 

Films coming up to keep an eye on:

Identity Thief starring Jason Bateman
Oblivion with Tom Cruise

Jack the Giant Slayer starring Ewan McGregor
Parker starring Jason Statham

Fast & Furious 6 starring an array of famous people inc. Paul Walker, Vin Diesel and Dwayne Johnson

Shall keep you posted for when these films come out. 

Date Night Delay

Sorry I didn't post yesterday. I kept meaning to do it through out the day but one thing led to another which led to another which led to me completely forgetting to post and then it was date night so we left the house at 6pm and came home at pretty much midnight.

I love date nights with my husband, I think everyone with a partner should set aside a night during the week where they do nothing but spend quality time with one another; where the mobile phones stay in the pockets and the computer games stay off the TV - it works for us.

At the moment our date nights are a 'little' predictable as spare money is in short supply BUT we do have Cineworld passes, means you can go to the cinema as often as you want a month for completely free - even the 3D films are free and with the cinema costing £8-£10 in places spending £15.90 a month seems completely worth it. So, anyway, our date nights sometimes consist of us going to dinner, last night we nearly went to Nando's but opted for cheaper and just as good KFC and then went to the cinema to see Flight.

Out in America before here

Man, is that an amazing film or what. Luckily, a few weeks or so ago, but definitely after Christmas, I had the pleasure of watching The Graham Norton Show on a Friday night. I don't usually like him but some of the actors and actresses he gets on that show are unreal - take for example Robert Downey Jr who is a REGULAR... and I mean regular on the sofa. He once had Will Smith - anyway I digress. So, I happened upon the show and Denzel Washington was on it promoting his new film Flight, and I LOVE Denzel Washington, every single film I have seen with him in has been absolutely awesome - Unstoppable and Deja Vu just to name two. And he showed the trailer for Flight on The Graham Norton Show and I knew I had to go and see it...

...No spoilers here but HE FLIES A PLANE UPSIDE DOWN TO STOP IT FROM CRASHING and saves 96 out of 102 people on board - I mean woah... craziness and when you're watching the film it's like you're really there as it is happening, brilliant. But the film isn't just about that, it's about something else too, something more powerful and stronger than Denzel Washington flying a plane upside down - but I can't explain any more than that otherwise it spoils the story, needless to say it is one I shall be watching again.

Just to add, Flight is a 15 because of swearing, small amounts of nudity and addictive substances - however the film would have not been the same without the swearing or addictive substances - could have done without the nudity at the beginning though - since it doesn't appear afterwards.

Also, kudos to Costa in the Metro Centre in The Village (or between blue and green mall I can never tell) as I went to sit down with my hot chocolate last night my hand holding the tray got a piece of glass stuck in it, (small piece) and the pinprick cut wouldn't stop bleeding, the glass piece was small but pretty long and I had scraped it into my finger sideways. I moved my tray and found another small piece so I put them on the saucer and took them to the barista and she was very very apologetic and gave me my money back for my drink. Super service