The Cambridge Gin Festival

Two of my favourite words, gin and festival; put them together and you've got a special event. When I heard that a Gin Festival was coming to Cambridge, I couldn't wait, and it seems like the rest of the Cambridge population felt the same way as the event promptly sold out. Luckily I was offered a pair of press tickets for the event so my mum and I headed down on a Friday evening to check out the various gins on offer - over 100 of them!

Entry to the Gin Festival was £8.35 but this included a 2016 Gin Festival glass, a book describing all the gins on offer at the festival, a pen and a badge. I think the glass was worth the ticket price alone and I can't wait to add the 2017 glass to my new collection!

The glass was used to try out the gins. 4 gins, accompanied by tonic and garnish, cost £20 and worked on a token system, meaning that there was no need to scrabble for change at the bar. This made the process much smoother and I loved that each gin had its own unique garnish, specially chosen to complement the gin. It was a fantastic to try some more unusual gins and we even tried a Palma Violet flavoured gin by Zymurgorium. I also couldn't resist trying the Cardiff Dry by Eccentric Gins, which was created as a result of a social media competition - we dubbed it the 'bloggers' gin' and it's the next bottle I plan to buy! 

Further to the bars, there were six stalls each featuring a different gin, testers and sellers to explain their product. I loved the Masons Yorkshire Tea flavoured gin, which smelt and tasted of Yorkshire Tea, but my Mum hated it - definitely one to try! These stalls gave to the opportunity to try before you buy and it certainly worked, as we went home with a bottle of Cambridge Dry Gin and Sir Robin of Locksley.

If you are a gin lover, the Gin Festival is a must to discover new and exciting gins to add your collection. It's touring all over the UK so find out when it's next near you - and Cambridge Gin Festival I will see you in 2017! 

Jess

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1920s Flapper Outfit and A Night of Poker

Dress: River Island. Shoes: Clarks. Necklace: eBay. Earrings: Asos. Headdress: DIY.

A few weeks ago, I was invited to play Texas Hold Em for charity by Ladbrokes. The event was held at the stunning SkyLounge, the breathtaking cocktail bar and afternoon tea lounge overlooking Leeds at the DoubleTree by Hilton. It's a recent discovery for me, but after trying the afternoon tea at Christmas, it's become one of my favourite places for a special occasion. 

I've never played Texas Hold Em before but it was so much fun! I must admit that I was so much braver given that I wasn't playing with real money. We quickly learnt what was a good hand and what wasn't and at one point I had a decent pile of chips. However, as the blinds got bigger and bigger, my pile got smaller and smaller, and soon I was out. You can check out a video of the evening here.

The evening was Great Gatsby themed and I was so excited to put together a 1920s outfit. I have always wanted to go to a Great Gatsby fancy dress party, as I think it's such a glamorous and impressive theme. Importantly, it's also really easy to put an outfit together and still look good.

Most girls will have a swing or sequinned dress in their wardrobe, and I grabbed this neglected velvet swing dress from the back of my wardrobe. I love the luxurious navy colour and the detailed lace sleeves add something pretty and feminine to dress.

Rather than splash out on a headband, I decided to be thrifty and make my own. I had a length of elastic and some sequins in my sewing basket, so I simply sewed these randomly onto my elastic to create a glittering headpiece. I popped on a feather hairpiece, picked up in Poundland, and secured the headband with some velcro - easy peasy!

I found a long string of pearls in my fancy dress box to finish the look (no, I'm not five, but I haven't let go of my university days quite yet!) Thin eyebrows and some bright red lipstick finished off my 1920s inspired look and it's one of my favourite fancy dress outfits, despite being so easy and simple to put together!

Have you ever played poker? What do you think of my Great Gatsby look?

Jess

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My Very Important Pet

My dog Meg has been working rather hard recently. All that sleeping, snoring and generally lazing about... it's a hard life! When Panasonic asked me to share some snaps of my Very Important Pet, I thought Meg might want to have a pamper session:

Any advert featuring a animal, preferably a dog, is a winner for me. Seen the dog from Dog's Trust waiting patiently for his future owner? What about Amazon's Little Horse? Or Channel 4's Underdog interviewing various celebs? I'm a sucker for it all!

So when Panasonic sent me their latest advert of Dave the mastiff, who has earned himself a day off from guarding duties, I was their perfect audience. A dog getting a spa treatment, what's not to love? I admit that I am an ad man's dream!

Panasonic then challenged me to share some pictures of my own pampered pooch. I was inspired by Meg's curls to give her a perm! She really looks like a glam little old lady with her curlers in! She was very happy to have a snooze and relax with me in front of the TV.

If you want to enter too, simply upload a picture or video of your very important pet to social media with the hashtag #MyVIP. You could win a stay in a luxury hotel, a spa day for you and your pet or a pet photoshoot - I think the spa day sounds amazing! How do you pamper your pet?

Check out the video (I love Dave!) and find out more about Panasonic's Very Important Pet competition! Do you have a Very Important Pet?

*This is a sponsored post*

Jess

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