A couple of weeks ago I joined a few new blogging friends to complete my first challenge as a QBlogger for our local Queensgate shopping centre.
The whole QBlogger event was shrouded in secrecy
All I had been told was that we were to assemble (much like the Avengers) at Hotel Chocolat and await further instruction.
You know you are about to embark on something rather exciting when it starts with a very indulgent hot chocolate and an envelope with a wax seal!
Inside the envelope was a letter outlining my task for the evening ahead. I had to go shopping! Specifically I had to search the Queensgate shops for an outfit suitable for an evening dining with my Mummy friends. I thought about my Mummy friends and decided to look beyond the fact that we would be most at home necking a quick kebab (sorry ladies) in favour of a more civilised approach to the task at hand.
So, back to the hot chocolate. It was absolutely delicious and topped with an enormous amount of chocolate cream. While we all enjoyed our treat I took some photos of Hotel Chocolat’s gorgeous Christmas range.
I love the tiddly pots (tubs of chocolate buttons in dark, caramel or milk) and I will definitely keep them in mind for a treat for Moose the next time we come for a mooch in town.
I need one of these wreaths. Pistachio, white chocolate and cranberry. The perfect trinity of flavour!
This is just a small selection of what is on offer this Christmas at Hotel Chocolat – don’t get me started on what look like the best advent calendars ever!
The Queensgate shopping centre is undergoing some really exciting changes at the moment but it is all still business as usual. I really love how colourful the new seating is though I have to admit, I still miss the sunken seating outside John Lewis!
I had to get my skates on
To say I am not the most natural of shoppers would be a little bit of an understatement. I am afraid that I am the classic stereotypical Mother who really only spends money on myself when it is necessary. What I lack in experience though I more than made up for in enthusiasm! The opportunity to spend on myself guilt-free? Yes please.
The first hurdle I had to overcome was finding a store which stocked my size. With the current reshuffle of shops it is admittedly a bit of a challenge to find a lot of choice for larger ladies in Queensgate while sticking to a budget. It’s not that none of the shops sell clothing in my size, it’s more that it is pot luck finding it to be on the rack! Usually I get around this by ordering online and collecting my purchases from the store.
By this point I had 1 hour to complete my challenge. Luckily New Look has a brilliant curves range which I was really impressed with.
I managed to spot a gorgeous suedette jacket and a charcoal top with sparkly silver detail (to add the requested touch of glam) and both were well within budget!
For me Autumn and Winter should be all about comfort and that means choosing fabrics which not only look nice but feel great too. I found a gorgeous mustard chunky knit scarf in Primark which definitely fitted the bill.
By the time I had located the scarf our time was up! I couldn’t believe how quickly it had flown by and how much fun we had completing the QBlogger challenge.
Our evening wasn’t over yet though, we had to meet the other bloggers at Turtle Bay restaurant. I cannot pretend that the prospect of meeting at one of my favourite restaurants didn’t fill me with glee!
Turtle Bay
Upon entry to the restaurant Jaymee and I were welcomed by the lovely Becca and Leigh and I was introduced to the other bloggers present; Rachel from Helpless Whilst Drying and Laura from Loved By Laura.
A little after we arrived we were joined by Sabina from Deepin Mummy Matters
I just love the food at Turtle Bay so I was not disappointed to have so many lovely dishes to try. Pictured are the Just Jerk Platter and the Goat Curry with Festival Dumplings and Rice and Peas. Delicious!
Despite feeling incredibly nervous about my first QBlogger event it was lovely to meet everyone and have a good chat! Before we knew it was time to retreat back to our cars and head home.
I have to be honest, I really dislike being in photographs but I felt like I should show off my lovely New Look jacket so here is me looking aloof (it’s actually awkward more than aloof but I went with it), and a fence and some very autumnal leaves. You’re welcome.
I naively thought that my purchases would remain my own. Moose had other ideas and the morning after our challenge he immediately adopted my chunky scarf for himself. I have since negotiated its safe return.
Thank you so much Queensgate for an exciting evening and for making me part of such a fabulous group of people!
Wow! What a fantastic opportunity! I love the official invite, it looks so exciting, I would have gone nuts! Huge fan of hotel chocolat here, it’s my absolute favourite, and love turtle bay too!
Oh hun, this looks like such a fun event. Isn’t it the best to get to network with other bloggers? I always find them as lovely in person as they are online. As for the shopping? Anything chocolate is my downfall, and hot chocolate makes me weak in the knees. I also love your pretty mustard colored scarf! In fact, I’ve been looking on Etsy this afternoon for something similar as the weather here has turned chilly! x ps; Don’t feel self-conscious about posting photos of yourself .. you’re beautiful! x
Wow, this is so exciting! They really made an effort for everything to be interesting. Btw, I love the scarf. I usually wear neutral colours, but I am trying to change that:-) I really like this mustard colour.
This was a good read and the chocolate looks gorgeous, sounds like you had fun. You’re picture looks cool, and I like the quirky take in that paragraph.
Wow! this must have been a lot of fun and the chocolate looks delicious (no matter how a chocolate is, it always looks delicious to me Lmao) I love your scarf btw, Where did you get it from?
How unique and exciting! And what a fantastic opportunity. I hope we have something similar here *hint hint brands* LOL
Ooh! I love the jacket that you chose and the food at Turtle Bay looks delicious. I love the look of the new Hotel Chocolat range and it is great that you had a good time at Queensgate x
You had me at the hot chocolate..Nothing warms my heart more (pun intended) than a nice cup of cocoa..and the toppings on it look amazing!! Glad you were able to participate in and enjoy this event!
Honestly, I was in awe the moment you said you got a waxed letter! That has got to be a fancy nice experience already! I adore Moose’s scarf too. I am glad you had such a fun challenge. Where do i sign up for one haha!
I would love to get on a challenge like this one! Bonus that my kid is still little so any shopping would remain my own!
You must be happy for getting an invitation card and that too from a reputed hotel, BTW chocolate so good..
OMG it looks like you had so much fun! All of the food looks amazing 🙂
This looks amazing, and a lot of fun! The food looks so delicious, and your jacket is wonderful! looks so exciting! Lucky you 😉
Anything starting at Hotel Chocolat is bound to be a good thing! I love the chocolate cups!
oh my gosh that all looks so good! I’m a bit of a chocoholic so this is my idea of heaven lol! Glad you had such a great time!
wow, looks had so fun their, i love those chocolate ships which you had mentioned for Christmas. Such events always make me excited.
I like this kind of event very personalized, and intimate. Special! Glad you enjoyed your shopping 🙂
Love the official invite they gave you, how nice! Congrats! I would love to shop in that store, chocolate is amazing and there’s nothing quite like it!
The Queensgate shopping centre looks great. I love that chunky scarf you got. Perfect for the cold season.
Oh my gosh, I need that wreath in my life! Sounds delicious 🙂
Wow! Such a great opportunity. I love Hotel chocolate, I would like the pistachio and cranberry ones ?
The chocolates look delicious. It is really interesting when you are invited for private evening dining event. Hope you enjoyed a lot.
I’m jealous, this sounds like it was so fun! And that hot chocolate has so much chocolate on top it practically looks like an ice cream cone! Glad you had a good time 🙂
Oh my, that looks like it was so much fun! I’ve never done anything quite like that. I think you chose your outfit well and I can see why your scarf was claimed! 😉 And the chocolate?? Oh my word, so many choices – I mean, how could you even narrow it down? Delectable! This is my second post I’ve read today talking about chocolate … it’s very cold in Maine USA today and reading all these things about chocolate makes it seem only natural to want to go make hot cocoa to drink and warm up!
Christmas is my loving day.I like to have a lot chocolates in this day!