Butterfly World

What a stunning day for a visit to Butterfly World in St Albans, it was glorious.  The sun was so, well, sunny!.. We couldn't have asked for nicer weather.  Naturally we started our visit with a stop at the coffee shop for tea and cake.  For some crazy reason we went into the insect house first and the had a meet and great.  My legs turned to jelly as I looked at the girl holding the giant snail, but not to be upstaged by the five year olds who were all having a hold, I decided to be brave.  Much deep breathing and shrieking later, snail in hand I smiled for photos.  The first had a go too and none of us were keen - not sure we are bug enthusiasts but we are brave!

Moving onto the butterflies we were soon baking hot in the glass house but bedazzled by their beauty.  They are like little fairies, oh so pretty.  If it hadn't been such a hot day we could have spent hours in there!

 Onto the gardens and much laughter, posing and photographs!  We are like big kids with our cameras but got some great pictures and had a lovely time.  Pretty sure the photos speak for themselves!

Before leaving I had to - now that I am a girl who gardens - check out the beautiful selection of bee and butterfly attracting plants.  After picking out some pretty ones, Helen decided she wanted to buy me a house warming gift.  We chose a beautiful shrub with lavender blue flowers, so pretty.  It wasn't until we got back to mine later that we discovered it grows to 8ft tall!  Whooops!  She has bought me a bush!  A hilarious end to another wonderful day in the sunshine.

Jamie's Italian

Friday nights dinner was full of the usual hilarity! We were at Jamie's Italian in St Albans, as part of our Eat Your Way Around The World series.  Once again it was delicious, we've had a good run of yummy meals the past few weeks - I'm hopefully the luck stays with us.  The menu was really varied and really quirky, great choices.  We all ordered something different and it was all divine.  I was so warned by our waitress that the Arrabiata was hot, and hey was she right.  Lesson learnt, oodles of water later and the steam was still coming out of my ears!  It was lovely though, but damn it was chilli-fied!


I love the way everyone has a story to tell when we all meet up.  We are all so different, yet all gel so well.  Its truly special.

Desserts bought more laughter.  E was slowly enjoying her tiramisu when S hilariously said, 'hey you are being far too restrained with that dessert, I want to slap you around the head, steal it and eat it' haha!!  We were in fits of laughter.  I pity the people on quiet dates when we are around, we are never the quiet, refined table!

I love going out with the Social Stuff guys, we have such fun.  Come along and join us next time.      

Hermitage Rd

A fabulous way to spend a Saturday night, dinner and cocktails at Hermitage Road in Hitchin.  On the street level is a small and really rather lovely coffee shop, which I've previously visited - very cool - you get to make your own toast (ok ok I'm sad getting excited by such things, but I thought it was cute!).  To reach the restaurant you pass  the immaculatly clad doorman, who greats guests with a smile rather than a snarl, and actually seems happy to be there.  Upstairs the restaurant and bar has a New York loft look and feel to it.  Beautifully designed to keep the existing building but with added quirkiness.  The atmosphere is great, making you feel instantly at ease.  It was packed, which is always a good sign!  It feels and is stylish and is almost too cool to be in a local town, but we are oh so happy that it is.

Once we'd finished oohing and ahh-ing we started oohing all over again whilst looking at the cocktail menu!  A good choice of different cocktails, which was refreshing to see; not a Cosmo or a Margherita in sight.  Opting for a Kiss Chase  - William Chase Vodka, Elderflower Liqueur and apple juice - I clearly made the right decision - simply delicious!

 As a table of women we naturally opted for desserts over starters, although a number of us were very tempted by the sharing platters, which sounded lovely.

The main courses were beautifully presented and throughly enjoyable.  I opted for the Sea Trout with scallops and a tomato and bean ragu - pretty sure it was more superbly described on the menu - but all the same it was divine.  Everyone really enjoyed their meals, there was a lot of food envy as we all admired each others choices.  There is only one thing for it, we shall have to return soon so we can try another delicious dish.

Choice of dessert was a no brainer!  They had a chocolate mousse on the menu - so obviously the majority of our table picked that.  Damn my stupidly annoying dairy intolerance!  It was delicious - I sneaked a teeny tiny bit of Kelly's.  I didn't miss out though, I chose the equally tasty apple and rhubarb crumble, served with a scoop of raspberry sorbet mmmmmmh yummy!  A very happy table of ladies really enjoyed their desserts.

Delicious Apple & Rhubarb Crumble

Kelly & Her Divine Chocolate Mousse

Before we knew it, it was almost a Cinderella moment and was 23.30.  The evening flew by, always does when you are in lovely surroundings with great company.  Another successful evening spent with some wonderful ladies from Hertfordshire Social Stuff.  Hermitage Road, we shall be returning very soon, superb evening.

Waffles, Sunshine (at last!) and Roman Flooring!

What a lovely way to spend a sunny Saturday morning.  We met at The Waffle House in St Albans for brunch.  It was simply scrummy!  One of our favourite foodie places for brunch - delicious! The choice of waffles is wonderful and some of us chose sweet waffles (me included of course!) and some opted for the Big Breakfast Waffle which looked amazing - and apparently was.

All were soon devoured, mine with lashings of maple syrup.  Brunch was full of chatter and we talked about past and future events.  Helen and I filled everyone in on how wonderful our Paris trip was.  We soon created a list of places to schedule weekends way - so the diary will be filling up fast!  I'm excited to start researching new adventures.  Thank goodness for a sunny afternoon, my new garden and an iPad!

Following brunch we took a stroll across to Verulamium Park.  I was ashamed to admit that despite going to Laughs in the Park last summer, I'd never wandered around the park or explored the Roman ruins.  We had a quick peek in Inn on the Park, which I've booked for a future event.  Its so cute, has a great function room (I've booked it - woohoo!) and a lovely menu.  I'm really looking forward ti visiting properly  - and to checking out their cream teas!

We strolled along through the park following  the signs to the Verulamium Museum (St Michaels, St Albans).  Having already decided enroute that I was arranging a visit to the museum, to ease my guilt of ignoring our own local history, I was delighted to be greeted by very helpful and welcoming staff.  The museum has loads going on, so we shall be scheduling a visit very soon.  Why I wonder, do we spend so much time visiting new places when travelling and visiting new places but we fail to go to places on our own doorstep?

We left the museum with a handbag full of 'whats on' and 'local attractions' leaflets - can't take me anywhere, and headed back to the park and the sunshine.

It was so beautifully warm, following all the much needed but hideously un-spring like rain that we have been subjected to recently.

Following a signpost simply labelled 'mosaics' we crossed the park in the sunshine with no real clue as to where we were going.  We reached a building which housed some beautiful mosaic's which  were the remains of the floor of a Roman villa.  The villa is believed to have had over 30 rooms.

Maybe its something that happens as you get older but I am excited by history.  I'm in awe of how people in years gone by created these wonderful buildings, designs, structures etc without all the technology we have today.

The mosaics we calculated (ok Helen, calculated - me and numbers - not a good combo!) to be nearly 2000 years old.  To think that once where the park is now stood Roman Villa's.  I'm so looking forward to going back and expiring further.  Its wonderful and its on our doorstep.

Eat Your Way Around The World - Turkish

Having had a stressful week moving house I was so ready for our dinner at Manolya. I'd only visited during the day, when I made the reservation, so I was a little unsure what to expect this evening. But I was pleasantly surprised. Manolya was bustling and busy, it had a lovely atmosphere. The staff were welcoming and very friendly - huge plus - which adds to the whole experience. The menu was extensive, I'd secured us a three course for £22 deal but we still have a great selection to choose from. Our starters arrived quickly and were delicious. I felt, as did many others, like I was on holiday. Everything had that Mediteranean feel to it. It was a lovely relaxed feeling after a stressful week! Whilst we were tucking into our starters a beautiful (not always the case) and slender (definitely not always the case!) Belly Dancer appeared. She danced around the restaurant and was really good. I actually wanted to sit and watch rather than sitting akwardly, head down, pretending to deeply concentrate on eating my dinner, as is often the case when you go to a restaurant or bar and they have entertainment. There was no akward 'oh no, is she going to grab me to get up and dance' moments. She was very professional and really very good. Our main courses were yummy, everything had that holiday chargrilled deliciousness. I think everyone wolfed down their food. I chose the seabass which was a generous portion and utterly divine. I wouldn't hesitate to order that again. As I sit and write this I can't for the life of me remember the deserts. I know there was a fab choice and they sounded good - but probably as I opted for a coffee I can't remember what they were. Oooooh yes I remember one, a rice pudding which John enjoyed, it looked delicious and I wished I wasn't lacto intolerant so I could have pinched some! Everyone left this evening full and content - always a good sign. There was non stop chatter throughout the meal, so it was clearly a good chance for everyone to catch up and meet new members. I didn't want it to end, coming home to a house full of packing boxes bought me back down to reality with a bump!

Psychic Supper

Wow what a wonderful night - full of smiles, shocked faces laugher and some emotions. Our mediums were fabulous, just as I expected them to be. But interestingly the majority of attendees had never had a reading before so had no idea what to expect. Is always great to have no preconceptions, often people are sceptical about mediums and all things psychic but then get blown away by their accuracy. I love seeing the shocked 'how the hell did you know that' face - its hilarious. Everyone who had readings this evening was astonished by their accuracy. I wish I could share with you their stories but it's their private journey and discovery so that's for them to tell. We'll be sure to host psychic suppers regularly, as tonight was such a success, so be sure to come along to the next one.

Stop Dreaming About Your Life And Start Living It

I have so so many dreams, and wishes, its time to stop dreaming and start living.  I can't wait for Saturday's workshop which is going to kick me up the butt and kick start my new life!


Ever had one of those days when you felt on top of the world? Like you could do or be or have anything you wanted? That there wasn’t anything that was out of your reach? When everything seems to fall into your lap - there’s no queue at the bank, you drive straight into a parking space at the supermarket and the last sandwich left on the shelf at M&S just happens to be your favourite?

How would you like to have these sorts of days more often?

You may feel that this is a fantasy, but many people have found that by using some simple techniques they have been able to make huge improvements in the way they lived their life and the things that they achieve. You can learn these too and get that great feeling of being on top of the world much more often.

So stop fantasizing!

“Your Life. Dream It Live It!” is a series of workshops designed especially to show you some of those simple techniques. During the series of workshops we will be looking at areas such as money, relationships, confidence, health & wellbeing and passion & life purpose.

We have secured the beautiful, private Garden Room at the College Arms in Hertford Heath for these workshops.

Please join us for our kick off workshop at 10.30am on 25th Feb where we will explore your life plans and make a road map for your journey. You will leave with clarity on what it is you want to achieve, feeling uplifted, energised and ready to take on anything!

The cost for this event is £37.50.

This includes:-

Refreshment

• A choice of really yummy, freshly prepared gourmet sandwiches (vegetarian and pescatarian options available) from the menu at The College Arms.
• All hand-outs, worksheets and materials.
• A complimentary 45 minute 1-2-1 coaching session with Nicola (worth £65). 

For more information on how to join us on Saturday visit: http://www.hertfordshiresocialstuff.co.uk/Welcome::non_member_events_38.html