Cosy Club Cocktail Making Masterclass*

If there is one thing I love doing after a day of work and over the weekend, it’s to have a nice cold drink and I don’t mean just your average glass of coke.

I love cocktails and always have since I was a student! I love learning how to make them and I especially love drinking them. I remember in my third year of university discovering Tipsy Bartender on YouTube and spending days and evenings watching all of his videos for tips and ideas on how to make cocktails. I loved it and I learnt so much from it.

Fast forward almost ten years later and I still make cocktails for myself and Dane and friends when they come over. My specialities are pina colada and amaretto sours. These are my two favourite cocktails to make, as well as drink.

As readers may remember, I attended the Cosy Club at Christmas time last year to review their Christmas menu and I loved it so much! Not only did I discover another one of my favourite cocktails but it was also an amazing event and the staff made me and Dane (who was my plus one) feel very much loved. 🙂

Fast forward almost ten months later and I was invited to the Cosy Club again to attend a cocktail making masterclass at their Birmingham store. Let me tell you, it was the perfect event for a hot day after work. I even got to take a plus one, so I took one of my best friends with me (hey Jacqui!).

This was a gifted item for promotional and reviewing purposes, so all views on this post are entirely my own.

I arrived at the event a little bit early and pooped from a lot of walking so I decided to have a sit down as I waited. The staff were all so friendly and made me a complimentary drink whilst I waited for the event to start. It was nice to just sit for a few minutes and sip on my drink of choice.

Cherry Bakewell £8.50/£23.95 pitcher
Take cherry juice and amaretto almond liqueur, gently mix with Mount Gay rum, add a drop of caramel syrup to sweeten and bake (or rather shake) then garnish with a cherry.

I mentioned it earlier, my favourite drink from the Cosy Club – Cherry Bakewell. I love that this comes in pitchers to be honest! I would drink the whole thing happily on my own and behave like a rabid animal if anyone went near it… 😛 It’s a sweet drink and tastes just like cherry bakewell cake. It contains amaretto, which is my favourite spirit, so how could I NOT love this cocktail?

When the event was due to start we all went upstairs to the Board Room, which is used for private events, such as the cocktail making masterclass which we were attending.

There wasn’t a huge group of us, eight in total which was really nice. It meant we all managed to have a go at making cocktails which is always good.

On arrival to the Board Room/the event we were greeted with an Aperol Spritz, which is one of the Cosy Club’s sparkling cocktails.

Aperol Spritz £7.75
The civilised aperitif, loved by the Italians, embraced by the British. Aperol and orange bitters topped with fizz and a dash of soda. A delightful livener to start proceedings.

The Aperol Spritz was refreshing and a drink you could serve to people at a BBQ or during a garden party, it’s especially perfect for older ladies. I’d be lying if I said I loved this one… It really wasn’t my cup of tea due to the fact it contains soda. I can’t stand soda. It was good though nonetheless. The flavours all worked together really well to create this drink. My best friend loved this and I have a feeling she’s been craving them since… 😛

We all mingled and had chatter amongst ourselves and when the time was right we were given the agenda for the evening. We would be creating two cocktails each ourselves, EXCITING!

We were going to be having a go at making the Rhubarb & Elderflower Spritz, which is another one of the sparkling cocktails and Blow a Raspberry at Collin, which is a long cocktail.

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

As we sat down and slowly finished our Aperol Spritz drinks, we were brought out some mojito shots. These were amazing, but I think we were all a bit shocked by the salt that lined the rim of the glass… A slugs worst nightmare! 😛

The first drink we were creating was the Rhubabrd & Elderflower Spritz!

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Rhubarb & Elderflower Spritz £7.95
A shimmery goddess of a drink with Warner’s rhubarb gin, elderflower, fizz and a touch of sparkle.
Created by Sally Latham from Cosy Club Cheltenham

I already want to put this out there that not all of the images of this drink do it justice for just how GORGEOUS it is! It has edible shimmer in so it’s like the stuff that unicorns are made of. 😛

Both myself and my best friend had a go at making these, which was so much fun! But before we were able to get our grubby mitts on the cocktail shaker, we were all given a demo of how the cocktail is made, just so we were ready for when it was our turn to step behind the bar.

For the majority of the photos of the Rhubabrd & Elderflower Spritz being created are of my best friend Jacqui! 😀

First the Warner’s rhubarb gin

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Then the elderflower cordial

Some lemon juice

Some raspberry puree

Finally the last thing before the drink is shaken! The edible golden shimmer! You only needed a tiny amount to create such a gorgeous drink.

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Then it was time to SHAKE SHAKE SHAKE!

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

After shaking you can poor the drink into the glass, before adding the final stage of this drink – the prosecco.

When we finished making our drinks we were allowed to go off and enjoy them to our hearts content!

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

In all honestly I was surprised by how much I really liked this cocktail. I’m not the biggest fan of gin and if anything I find it to taste so wrong… Like it shouldn’t be drinkable. However, the rhubarb in the gin made it really sweet alongside the elderflower, lemon and raspberry and if anything it complimented the taste of gin so well! Not mention the unicorn sparkles throughout the drink, that EVERYONE was going mad over. 😛

I sadly didn’t manage to get any photos of it, but at one point during the evening we were made the Cosy Club’s Cosy Colada. It was vegan friendly as they use coconut cream instead. It was so damn good and I really enjoyed it! I didn’t know the Cosy Club served pina coladas so I know what I’ll be sipping when I go next! 😛

Cosy Colada £8.50
If you like Cosy Coladas… Avoid the rain with a Cosy umbrella and a spiced pineapple oomph for our take on this coconutty classic.

After having a go at making our own cocktails it was time to have a sit down, enjoy our drinks and have something to eat. I want to be honest and pop this here… I popped to the loo quick as from consuming all the alcohol, I NEEDED to go! When I came back most of the food had gone and people were going up for seconds. I hadn’t even sniffed the buffet and there was hardly anything left for me. I wonder if I’d have been in the toilet longer, would I have had anything to eat? It sucked to be honest and was very inconsiderate on the other bloggers to take so much food when they could see I wasn’t there…

Either way I managed to grab a little something to eat and the food was so good! I remember trying the Camembert at the Christmas event last year and not feeling it… This time however I LOVED it and was sad there wasn’t more. I think my reason for not enjoying it last time was due to it being served with sourdough bread, which I’m not the biggest fan of anyway.

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

After food it was time to get back to cocktail making! I was first up with my best friend, so sadly we didn’t get any photos of us making our cocktails. We made the Blow a Raspberry at Collin cocktail, another one with gin.

Photo taken by my plus one Jacqui

Blow a Raspberry at Collin £8.50/£23.95 pitcher
Pucker up for our Chase GB gin, raspberry shrub, fresh lemon juice and soda beauty, sealed with a kiss.

I wasn’t sure if I was going to enjoy the Blow a Raspberry at Collin as again, I’m not a fan of gin at all! I wasn’t super over the moon with it, but it was drinkable and to be honest it was nice to try something different. I just think it didn’t help that it contained gin and soda water… Two things I’m not a huge fan of in the alcohol world. This is a drink I know my mom would enjoy and due to it being a long drink, it’s perfect to have if you want to have a mom and daughter night out for cocktails at the Cosy Club!

Overall the event was amazing! I had so much fun during it and it was especially fun to have my bestie Jacqui with me to create and taste cocktails with. The two members of staff who looked after us were lovely throughout and catered to so much more than they needed to! For example when I was taken to the room the event was held in, my Cherry Bakewell cocktail was carried up for me. They didn’t need to do that, but those little details are so lovely and perfect. I felt special, let’s put it that way! xD

The Cosy Club have some offers in relation to both cocktails as well as the cocktail masterclass that we attended.

First of all from Sunday to Thursday, 4pm-8pm it’s the Cosy Club’s Teatime Tipple so cocktails are any two for £9.95! Such a bargain and me and my best friend already intend to take advantage of this offer.

As I mentioned the Cosy Club do hold Cocktail Master Classes for their customers which have different packages you can choose from (taken from the website):

1. Cocktails – £29.95 per person
• Exclusive use of our private room either between 12-5pm or 6pm- late
• An ice-breaker shot to get your shake on
• 3 cocktails of your choice that our bartender will teach your party how to make
• The chance to get behind the bar and create our wonderful cocktails on your own
• Enjoying the fruits of your labour by sipping on those beautiful cocktails you’ve made

2. Cocktails and Tapas – £39.95 per person
• Everything included in package one above
• A selection of tapas for your party served in our private room

3. Cocktails and Dinner – £44.50 per person
• Everything included in package one above
• A 2 course meal from our party menu, served in our private room

4. The Whole Shebang – £47.95 per person
• Everything included in package one above
• A 3 course meal from our party menu, served in our private room

*Subject to availability. Minimum 6 people, maximum 20 people. The cocktail master class is roughly a 2 – 3 hour session excluding any food. Terms and conditions apply. Not in conjunction with any other offer. Please note that when booking for more then 15 people, a third cocktail is served on arrival instead of being made by the guests.

I would definitely love to go and do something like this with a group of friends over Christmas, as well as for my birthday and more! It was so much fun to do, so I know with more people it would be amazing.

Before I wrap up this post and sign off, I just wanted to address a few things from the event that have bugged me. It’s honesty hour time!

If there was one thing I didn’t like about this event it was just how inconsiderate some of the bloggers were who attended… Not all, but some. People seemed to forget it wasn’t just them taking photos of the cocktails being made and due to that hogged the drinks. It was frustrating and again, inconsiderate. I also found it rude that some people talked about their blogs and what they were about, but didn’t even ask me about mine. It was a bit shitty but meh. Then at the end of the night some people attending the event didn’t say goodbye to me and my plus one, but did to everyone else, which sucked.

I wanted to address this and be honest because that’s what I am on my blog. I will never bullshit my readers with fluff and fakery. It something isn’t right I address it and some of the bloggers at this event were downright impolite, whether it was intentional or not.

This is no way shape or form reflects on the Cosy Club. As always their event was fabulous and well organised. The two gorgeous staff members who looked after us during the event was so approachable, talkative and gave a lovely warm welcome. Cosy Club are always so generous when it comes down to their events and I still cannot believe they gifted me the Cherry Bakewell even before the event had begun. It was so thoughtful and was very much appreciated after a long day at work and an even longer walk to get the train to town.

Negatives aside, I really did love this event and if anything it has given me so many ideas for cocktails I would love to make for garden parties this year, as well as games evenings with friends!

A massive thank you to the Cosy Club for inviting me to another one of their events! I always have an amazing time there both as a blogger at events as well as a customer with friends and loved ones. 🙂

Do you love cocktails? If so, which is your favourite? Also do you love the Cosy Club too? 😀 Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Until next time all take care and I hope you’re having a lovely weekend so far.

Cosy Club Christmas 2018*

There is always a first for everything and whilst it wasn’t the first time I visited Cosy Club, it was the first time I was invited to go to a food related blog event. Let me tell you now, I had such a blast and it was one of my favourite blog events to date for so many reasons! I was allowed to bring a plus one with me, so I asked Dane if he wanted to come along and he was more than happy to. I think he actually enjoyed the event more than I did and as this was his first plus one event he had an amazing time, which in turn made me happy.

The event happened on Thursday 25th October, but I didn’t realise until before the event that it was exactly two months until Christmas. Almost a week later and I still can’t believe how close to Christmas we are. Everyone is starting to think about what gifts to buy their loved ones, which cards they want to buy to send out and especially what food and where they want to eat it come Christmas Day.

BUT have you sorted out your work Christmas party, or even a party for you and your friends? It’s starting to slowly come to the time where people start asking around their workplaces and friends for availability, as well as where people may want to go for food. Cosy Club may just be the place for you, whether you’re looking for somewhere for work or even just for a massive Christmas party for you and your friends.

As I mentioned Cosy Club in Coventry invited me as well as some other bloggers to try out their Christmas menu and hear about how they’re going to make your Christmas special and let me tell you, they made me really excited for Christmas.

I’m going to talk about the menu and all the glorious food first, then I’ll mention prices, dates to book etc. SO get yourself a hot drink, or maybe even a snack as this is going to end up making you hungry and you’ll definitely need something to munch on whilst you read. 😛

Cosy Club have a set menu for their seriously glorious Christmas menu this year which will run between 22nd November until 24th December. The set menu consists of 3 courses for £27.95 per person. If you book early enough on certain dates you’ll save 15% off food! I really think the price is so worth the money for all the great food you get, as well as how lovely the Cosy Club is as a whole.

You can view the menu online here and book here. You don’t need to pre-order your food, but you do need to pre-order your drinks! This means when you arrived all your drinks will be ready on the table for you to get stuck into. With the food you order that on the night, which I love! Most places want you to pre-order what everyone wants and I have always hated this for so many reasons, the main one being I always end up changing my mind on the night.

I’d already had a look at the Christmas menu before heading to the event to have a look and see what was in store for both me and Dane. I wasn’t 100% sure what I wanted to eat so I decided I would have a thorough look at the menu when I arrived at Cosy Club.

The staff were all so welcoming and friendly! The two members of staff who looked after us all throughout the night were amazing and approachable for any questions we had, as well as recommending food and drink to us both. The two guys who served us were the manager Lubos and Luke, so I want to say a massive thank you to them both for being such great hosts!

On arrival we were given a moment to sit down and get comfortable before being offered drinks that you would be offered if you booked a Christmas meal there. I went for a glass of prosecco and Dane went for a glass of coke, sadly he was driving. The other two drinks on offer on arrival are mulled wine and mulled cider.

We had a good look over the menu and we didn’t realise until we looked at the menu in the restaurant that the starter is a sharing platter. We just thought that you picked one of the starters.

The sharing platter to start contains a selection of six different dishes, which you would usually share between four people, but we had one to share between the two of us! After being told about the dishes we would get on the sharing platter, we were asked what we wanted to order for our mains and dessert. We were given loads of recommendations on dishes to try and advised to pick a different dish from each other so we could try a bit of each others, which me and Dane do all the time anyway! Such a good idea though and it’s something I always recommend people to do. I’ll go into which main and pudding we ordered when I talk about those.

For now though, I’ll talk about the sharing platter to start. As I mentioned you get six different dishes, three are vegetarian and one is vegan. There are also some gluten free dishes in there too, but I’ll talk about them as and when.

The sharing platter was HUGE and I couldn’t believe how much variety you get on the platter itself. We tried stuff in the order of how it’s set out on the menu so we knew what we were having and such. I won’t go into too much detail about these as I don’t want to bore you. 😛

Of course if you are vegetarian, vegan or gluten free they will change the sharing platters to suit yourself! When you book you just need to let them know and they can sort out some alternatives for you. Sadly I can’t remember what alternatives they told me, but I remember it sounded really good!

Smoked Salmon Blinis – with lemon & chive crème fraîche and baby rocket.

Oh man these were so cute in size but oh so yummy at the same time! I love salmon so I knew I would love this. They’re a perfect size, but if I was ever given enough of these I’d just eat them all. They’re so moreish. You get four of these on the sharing platter, so one each if there are four people sharing, therefore me and Dane have two each. This was definitely enough for us both!

Cumberland Pigs in Blankets – with a sticky mulled cider glaze.

Me and Dane were really excited about these and spoke about them whilst walking to Cosy Club. We’re a sucker for pigs in blankets at home and the fact they have the sticky glaze just won us over! These were amazing and as there were four we were able to have two each. I could have just eaten a massive bowl of them. Pigs in blankets really do remind me of Christmas but the idea of them in the sticky mulled cider glaze is such a genius idea! I may just have to try and do this myself for Christmas Day. This was Dane’s favourite dish.

Halloumi & Sweetcorn Bites – with chipotle sweet chilli jam (vegetarian & gluten free).

This was the first vegetarian and gluten free dish we tried and it was such a perfect comfort snack! I love stuff like this and I love halloumi, especially fried and it worked so well alongside the sweetcorn in these bites. We had one of these each and they were quite big in all honesty. Sadly I don’t recall there being a chipotle sweet chilli jam with it, unless it was dipped into it and coated etc. Either way we really enjoyed these and I could totally eat them all year around as a comfort food.

Slow-cooked Pork Belly Bites – with sticky five spice & honey (gluten free).

This was definitely my favourite dish out of the six and I could have just eaten it over and over again! It reminded me of pork belly I’ve eaten in the past from Chinese and Japanese restaurants and as friends, family and even readers will know, I’m a sucker for Asian food. You got one each of the pork belly and I wish there had been more as I just enjoyed it that much. They were sweet and spicy in taste and so soft and succulent, it just gave me happy memories, as sad and as weird as that sounds. 😛

Baked Camembert – with olive oil toasted sourdough soldiers and fig & date chutney (vegetarian, gluten free option available).

This was sadly mine and Dane’s least favourite part of the platter and that is purely because I’m not a fan of Camembert and Dane just didn’t quite like this one. In all honesty I’d never really tried Camembert until that evening and I don’t feel like I need to try it again, it just isn’t for me. It was baked lovely and was really soft and gooey, which was perfect for dunking the sourdough soldiers into, which tasted AMAZING! I loved the taste of these and it did compliment the Camembert really well, but sadly that wasn’t for me. Like the bites, I don’t recall there being a fig and date chutney, but that didn’t bother me as we aren’t a fan of chutney anyway! This was far too much Camembert for just us two (not that I’m complaining about that! :P), so between four people it would be perfect. I also love that there is a gluten free option for this.

Mushroom, Tarragon & Chestnut Pâté – with olive oil toasted sourdough (vegan, contains nuts, gluten free option available).

This was the last part of the platter and was one I wasn’t actually going to try. I love pate BUT I hate mushrooms, which put me off trying it. Dane tried it before me and said how lovely it was and that it didn’t taste like it even had mushrooms in, he dislikes mushrooms just as much as I do by the way! I tried a little of his and decided to have my own serving. The pate didn’t taste at all of mushroom and if anything it reminded both me and Dane of sun dried tomatoes, which I really like. We had two pieces of sourdough to put the pate on, but I feel like we could have done with more as most of the pate was left. However, I understand if there were four people it would be eaten up. I did feel like what we had was enough for us both, I guess I just felt bad for wasting food, you know?

Stuffed, we were ready for our mains but not before we ordered some more drinks! I was really pacing myself with my prosecco, as I’m not a massive fan of it. I decided to try one of the cocktails on the Christmas menu which is being served as pitchers. This was the cherry bakewell cocktail and I LOVED it so much, it has for sure fast become one of my favourite things. They do this all year around so I would be more than happy to go to Cosy Club in future purely to drink this!

Cherry Bakewell – Take cherry juice & Amaretto almond liqueur, gently mix with Ron Barcelo rum, add a drop of caramel syrup to sweeten & bake (or rather shake) then garnish with a cherry (£22.95 for a pitcher).

As Dane wasn’t driving the manager recommended Dane try a mocktail and handed him the drinks menu. Dane went for St Clements, which at first he wasn’t keen on due to the bitter lemon in there but it grew on him eventually.

St Clements – Freshly squeezed oranges and Fever-Tree Bitter Lemon with a hint of Angostura bitters.

They also do the English Garden cocktail pitcher (A delightful mix of all things English; Hendrick’s gin, pressed apple juice & elderflower over ice, finished with cucumber. Just the ticket.) which you can get throughout the year from their cocktail menu. I didn’t try this one as it isn’t really up my street, but it sound so refreshing and perfect for any gin lover!

Alongside the two cocktail pitchers they also offer a mocktail pitcher called Pink Lemonade (Lemonade, pomegranate, lemon juice and ginger ale over a strawberry muddle), which like the cocktail pitchers is available all year around. I really wanted to try this one but by the end of the night I was just too stuffed from food and liquids. I know some of the girls at the event tried it though and said how lovely it was. I’ll definitely try this in the future though.

We were given a while after this to chat with the other bloggers who were there, as well as have a chat about stuff in general and all the food we’d just eaten and thoroughly enjoyed. Most of the bloggers at the event were girls who I know through Coventry Bloggers and it was lovely to see so many people I know, as well as meeting some for the first time!

With the main menu you have six dishes to choose from and it was so hard to pick what I wanted but I had been thinking about it throughout the day after having a look at the menu. I was torn between what I went for and what Dane went for and I was sort of glad that Dane went for what he did, so I could go for what I wanted.

Slow-Roasted Outdoor Bred Pork Belly – with chestnut & herb sausage stuffing, dauphinoise potatoes, braised red cabbage, watercress and a red wine gravy (gluten free and contains nuts).

Oh man I could not believe the portion size when this came out to me! I’m a sucker for pork belly, as you may have guessed earlier when I was talking about the starters and when I read that you got dauphinoise potatoes with it, I just knew this would be my choice. The pork belly was in a swirl, which I thought was really cool and just something different and the size of the dauphinoise potatoes was crazy! I could not finish this, I was so stuffed and I think I only ate half of the dauphinoise potatoes. The pork belly was so juicy to eat and usually I hate eating the fat from pork belly, but the fat was just so soft and melted in your mouth I couldn’t NOT eat it. The flavouring was lovely and to my delight it was different from the pork belly that you get on the sharing platter. I worried they would be the same and whilst I loved the platter pork belly, I didn’t want it twice. So yeah I loved that. I recently made my own dauphinoise potatoes and they were so lovely, but not as good as Cosy Club’s. These were so buttery and tasty to eat, I could have just eaten that so I was quite sad that I couldn’t finish those. The red wine gravy was really good and I couldn’t get enough of it, if anything I wish I’d had more as I love gravy. The only part of my main I disliked was the red cabbage, but that’s because I don’t like it. It looked lovely and soft and I can only imagine how perfect it will work with the whole dish. I seriously loved what I chose and was so glad I picked it.

Norfolk Turkey & Smoked Bacon Pie – with pigs in blankets, creamy mash, roasted maple-glazed carrots & parsnips, sprouts with a sage & chestnut butter gravy (contains nuts).

This was the main that Dane went for and it was something I was tempted to have myself, but I decided against it as I wasn’t sure if I would like it or not. It’s basically an alternative Christmas dinner, which most places will offer for Christmas meals. I had one myself last year during a friends Christmas dinner but it just reminded me of your last school dinner before you break up for Christmas. I tried some of the pie Dane had and it was really good and definitely something different. Dane said how the pie was doughy, just how he likes it but how he knows of people who dislike that. He also commented how the sauce was creamy and complimented the turkey and bacon really well. Although it doesn’t state which sauce it is inside of the pie, I have a feeling it was bread sauce. The pie contained turkey and what looked like leeks, so for that alone I was glad I didn’t order it, as I’m not the biggest fan of them myself. The parsnips were maple glazed and so delicious! Dane gave me quite a few to have as I enjoyed the one he gave me to try so much. We assume that it wasn’t in the pie, but sadly there weren’t any pigs in blankets with this main, which we didn’t realise until now whilst I’ve been writing the post! I don’t think Dane missed them due to having them in the sharing platter. He also commented how it states the mash is creamy, when his mash was lumpy. Whilst this didn’t bother him, he did expect it to not have lumps.

As I mentioned, we were both far too full to finish off our food and I can only imagine if we had of forced ourselves to finish, we’d have had no room for pudding and that was something both me and Dane were excited for!

Before the main arrived Dane ordered himself another mocktail, which he loved so much he ordered another one before pudding arrived too! I can understand why he loved it though, it was amazing. It was Bucking Mule – All the flavour of your favourite cocktail, without the fuzzy buzz or morning regret, with a kick from ginger ale, blood orange & fresh lime. I tried it and it reminded me of something and when Dane suggested Fruit Pastilles, he was right! It tasted just like them! I’d love to make these ourselves come Christmas Day for Dane.

Pudding came out quite quickly, which we both liked as we were pretty excited for them. I think I was more excited for what Dane picked over what I chose.

Limoncello Cheesecake – with raspberry coulis and crushed meringue (vegetarian).

I love a good cheesecake, but man this cheesecake was something else and sadly I couldn’t finish it and that alone made me feel so sad. This was such a lovely tarte lemon cheesecake was a really good biscuit base and melt in your mouth meringue. Dane actually tried the meringue before I did, which I didn’t mind as I kept scoffing bits of his pudding. As I mentioned the meringue was really soft and melted in your mouth, I’m not a massive fan of meringue so the fact that I loved this is a definitely a plus. The raspberry coulis and lemon worked so well together and I really enjoyed it, it just added a little something to the cheesecake. It was just perfect and such a lovely light option for after the sharing platter and main. Dane now wishes he’d had what I had!

Chocolate Brownie & Cinder Toffee Trifle – with chocolate fudge sauce & salted caramel cream (vegetarian & gluten free).

Okay I loved my pudding but bloody hell Dane’s choice of pudding was the dogs I loved it so much, even though I tried just a small portion of it! This was the pudding I was going to get, but as Dane wanted it I knew I’d be able to try it. I love how it came in a little clear mug, it’s so adorable. The best part of this little trifle was the salted caramel cream, I’m a massive sucker for anything salted caramel flavoured so I knew I would love that. The trifle itself is just perfect and it’s made me want to make a chocolate trifle sooner rather than later! I’ve always associated trifle with my family as they always made one, but personally I cannot stand trifle, so a chocolate option is good. I may just have been inspired to make a chocolate trifle now for my family for Boxing Day. Now thinking about it, I don’t at all regret the dessert I chose as I really loved the lemon cheesecake.

As I mentioned, I couldn’t finish off my pudding, which really saddened me as I really wanted to. We were offered coffee after our puddings but we were so full after all the food and drink we just couldn’t stomach it. If anything I just made sure to have plenty of water to wash everything down.

We were brought over some mince pies to finish off the meal, but not only were we too stuffed to eat any but we’re not big fans of mince pies, so sadly they were left behind.

When we all felt ready to get up me and the Coventry Bloggers decided to get a big group photo (or two) of us altogether! It was lovely to be honest and I love the photos we all got together.

From L-R we have myself, Gemma from Just Gem, Lizzie from Hello Lizzie Bee, Emma from How To Emma, Emily from Drained Beauty and Isobel from Fashionista Chic. I love these girls and they’re all such beauties and lovely to talk to whenever they’re at the same events as myself and even online.

After a bit of a natter about the food and drink, as well as when we’ll all see each other next it was time to go home! Me and Dane were shattered, but that didn’t stop him from going to a midnight launch for a game and stay up a few hours to play it. 😛

We also left the event with some goodie bags which contained some adorable Christmas tree decorations, candy canes, shortbread biscuits in a cute little bag as well as leaflets and menus about their Christmas and New Years menu!

I have to say I had such a blast at the Cosy Club in Coventry and I especially loved how friendly everyone was and the atmosphere. The first time I went to Cosy Club it was during the Coventry German Market a couple of years ago. Me, Dane, my best friend Gabriella and our friends Lee and Sam went and it was amazing. The atmosphere is still just as comforting and well cosy as it was back then and I love it.

Me and Dane are already contemplating visiting Cosy Club again during the next few months as a rest stop from Christmas shopping and I might even suggest going for my birthday after the New Year!

What do you think of the Cosy Club and their amazing offers for Christmas? Do you think you’d book there for work or even friends and family? If so what would you pick to eat for your main and pudding? Make sure to let me know in the comments!

Thank you again to the Cosy Club for inviting me to this amazing event in Coventry! I had such an amazing time and thanks for getting me so excited for Christmas this year.

Until next time all, I hope you’ve had a great weekend and great start to the week.

Items with * next to them have been sent or gifted for reviewing purposes.

The Christmas Tag!

Image taken from weheartit.com

As it’s only 12 days now until Christmas, I thought I would take part in the Christmas tag! I wasn’t specifically tagged to do this post but after reading Amy’s Christmas tag she encouraged fellow bloggers to take part!

I’m not all that Christmassy (as this post explains) but since December starting I’ve been trying to get as festive as possible! I have my second EVER Christmas meal on Saturday evening which I’m super excited about.

So now I have a cup of caramel coffee (not from work, sadly) and a yummy candle burning, let’s get on with the tag!

What is your favourite Christmas film?

Gosh I really don’t know… Probably the Home Alone films. I remember watching Home Alone as a kid and laughing my arse off! Then Home Alone 2 when I was younger and I loved it so much, it was the reason behind me wanting to go to New York, which I of course still wish to do. Although not many like Home Alone 3, I love it just as much as the first two as I find it hilarious. Think I might watch them all over the weekend, I know last Sunday Home Alone was on TV  but I missed it, sad times.

FYI I just Google searched Home Alone and I found this YouTube video. It’s so damn cute and has just fueled my want for a pug puppy! I want a white one so I could call him/her Marshmallow. ^_^

What is your favourite festive colour?

Mmm this is a tough one… This year it’s definitely green, like a wine bottle green shade. That and wine red. I now sound like an alcoholic! I’m liking a bit of red too this year but it’s definitely dark green and burgundy shades. They just look great together as well as with other colours likes navy, black and grey, although those are technically shades. Christmas wise I’ve always loved blue, silver and white as it reminds me of snow, although red and green is nice too.

Do you open your gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas morning?

Neither, we don’t open our gifts in the house until Christmas Day afternoon-evening time. One time we didn’t open anything until Boxing Day. We don’t do anything traditionally at all and a lot of people find that weird.

What is your favourite Christmas scent?

Oh this is a tough one, I have so many to choose from! Literally have my perfume box next to me so I can sniff away at all my perfumes! I can’t pick one, but since purchasing them the ones I have found myself going towards during the winter have been Thierry Mugler’s Alien EDP and Chanel’s Chance EDP. I also love Diesel’s Loverdose EDP too but as I’m running out I haven’t been able to use it, which in turn makes me rather sad. Gucci by Gucci also reminds me of Christmas time as my Mom gave it to me the night of the only Christmas party I attended when I went to university. It’s a gorgeous smell and definitely one for winter time.

What is your favourite holiday drink?

Non alcoholic it has to be a mint hot chocolate with cream and marshmallows! But otherwise it’s a Bailey’s hot chocolate or coffee. Something warming and I tend to have these when I’m out of an evening. I want to try Amaretto hot chocolate and Jägermeister hot chocolate too!

Candy Canes or Gingerbread Men?

Gingerbread Men definitely win this one! Candy Cane’s are okay but I find they’re prettier to look at than eat, whereas Gingerbread Men win both, they’re cute to look at but so yummy to munch on.

What is your favourite Christmas song?

I really can’t say I have one, we have loads that play in work and some do stick out to me, two in particular but “Wonderful Christmastime” by Paul McCartney has always been one I’ve enjoyed singing along to, but since the age of 16 I’ve really liked singing along to is Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You” which I heard God knows how many times last Friday at The German Market. Also I’ve heard this song I’ll be linking to below on YouTube and whilst it isn’t a famous song its beautiful and I MUST share!

Have you ever made a snowman?

I have done when I was a child but since then I really can’t recall going outside and making one. I prefer to leave the snow to settle and look beautiful and untouched, especially in my own back garden.

What is the most important thing to you about Christmas?

To be honest I really don’t know how to answer this because for as long as I can remember I haven’t really had a memorable Christmas. I guess about being happy that one day of the year alongside family, friends and loved ones.

So that’s the end of The Christmas Tag! Although she didn’t tag me, I want to thank Amy for doing this tag post as I wouldn’t have found it otherwise I don’t think. I really enjoyed doing it!

I tag everyone who reads this post, as well as my friend Poppy, who loves Christmas and I thought she would enjoy taking part in this tag! 😀

Make sure to comment or drop me a tweet at MayBeeCoffee if you take part in this tag! I want to see all your answers. 😀

Only 12 more days until Christmas, and I haven’t even finished my Christmas shopping! 😛

Take care all and I hope your week is going well.