Get Refreshed for The World Cup with Lidl

It's no secret I've been working with Lidl NI the past 12 months, bringing you posts with bargain and new, exciting products. This however is not a sponsored post.

Over the past year I've gone from visiting Lidl about once a month, to choosing it as my 'big shop' location every fortnight with a couple of visits in between for fresh fruit & veg (& their bargain, beautiful smoked salmon with mustard and dill which I'm addicted to for breakfast). 

If you follow me on Twitter (@rudedoodle) or Instagram you'll see me giving shout outs about what's new in store, as one of my top reasons for shopping Lidl is they get a brand new range in weekly, so there's always specials to try. 

Next up, this Thursday, is their World Cup collection. I'm a sucker for a big event and will be getting some tshirts for the family. I was in store today and they've already got some World Cup themed food in- yes! Plus party packs with plates, cups, plastic cutlery, football whistles etc. for £3.99

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I didn't buy these today, but I'll be buying them once the event starts.

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Now the days are getting warmer there are some interesting options for keeping hydrated. Many flavours of iced tea, including some zero calorie options. Beautiful with ice and a slice of lemon. 

One of their themes this week is Mexican food, so as well as a selection of spices for 69p each, salsa, taco kits and fajitas, they also have this unusual cactus drink, which someone like me couldn't resist trying at £1 for a litre. 

And what about this water jug? So stylish and looks far more expensive than it's £3.99. There are matching tumblers and salad bowls in two sizes too. All come in either green, clear or deep pink. Lovely for BBQs. 

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Finally here are the rest of the World Cup items which should hit stores on Thursday.

 

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All The Luxury of The Hamptons On a Roof Top in NI.

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A little taste of Long Island luxury will be available to Belfast socialites this summer, with the launch of The Merchant Hotel’s new Hamptons themed rooftop garden. 

In the States, The Hamptons is the summer playground for the rich and famous; with upwardly mobile New Yorkers and famous faces flocking to its stylish ocean view mansions and country clubs for an annual escape from the rat race. 

Now, The Merchant’s exciting new rooftop events space is bringing the glamour of The Hamptons closer to home. The stunning new space provides the perfect backdrop for social events in the city, where guests can experience the glamour of the popular North American VIP resort in the heart of Belfast.

 

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The new rooftop events venue at the city’s luxury 5 star Merchant Hotel features a purpose built beach hut bar and a chic nautical décor, creating the illusion of being at a VIP seaside resort in the heart of the city.

The food offering for the venue has been inspired by laid back summer evenings, bringing the aromas and tastes of The Hamptons alive, with native favourites including buttermilk chicken, crispy calamari, shrimp, corn fritters and Padron peppers, as well as a refreshing range of cocktails, which will be served up at private events between now and the end of September.

Located in the hotel’s fourth floor Rooftop Garden, the pop-up Hamptons at The Merchant events space offers stunning panoramic views across the city and features a state-of-the-art retractable roof for protection against the elements, should summer showers try to spoil the party.

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Spur Nachos, Wings, Ribs, Steak & Miley Cyrus Riding a Giant Hot Dog.

Last night Ms. Miley Cyrus played Belfast, Northern Ireland, and we had been lucky enough to win a pair of tickets for the spectacle. First though, keeping in with Miley's country roots, we headed to Victoria Square to have a big feed at the Spur Steak & Grill.

Local readers, a great tip for attending Odyssey concerts is to park closer to the city centre, and grab something to eat first. This way you avoid queuing for the couple of restaurants there are left in the Odyssey Pavillion, and even better once the gig is over you just walk across the Lagan foot bridge & avoid the bumper to bumper traffic trying to escape the carpark. 

We got to Spur at 6pm & already it was pleasantly buzzing. They have an extensive menu and it's definitely a kid-friendly eatery, with a soft play area for them to enjoy while you have a coffee or cocktail after your meal. If you visit Spur on a Friday, children eat free.

Our waiter, Havier was very attentive and friendly. Our starter was a a delicious plate of nachos & Jack Daniels buffalo wings. 

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The menu includes combo meals, like ribs and chicken, surf and turf, ribs and steak, which is handy as it's all so tempting you might not be able to decide on just one meat.

My husband went for the rack of ribs, with two sides included, cone and chips. The ribs were drop-off-the-bone tender. 

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I had rump steak with blue cheese sauce. I always ask for rare steak and look how perfectly it came out.

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I'm still losing weight, so for my two included sides I chose side salad and the corn.

Overall opinion? If you love your meat, you'll love Spur. We are going to call back with our son next time so he can enjoy the atmosphere too. 

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Time to dander over to The Odyssey for Miley! We had great seats, especially for the acoustic set she does mid-way through. I shall let the (far away, pretty blurry) photos speak for themselves. I tried not to have my phone camera out too much, as there's always the risk you end up watching a show through a tiny screen instead of soaking up what's going on; and a lot was going on.

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Snout to Trotter Tasting Evening at The Salty Dog; What We Tried & Loved

The Salty Dog hotel and bistro in Bangor is one of those spots on our doorstep we always mean to try but hadn't got round to. The special 'Snout to Trotter' tasting evening was the ideal time to dip our toes in the water.

Head chef Tim Brunton served up six beautiful courses, each full of flavour and so different to the one before, but originating with a pork ingredient. The waiting staff were completely knowledgable about the dishes, and accompanying wines. The dining setting is relaxed and bright, with views over the marina and Belfast Lough. 

We will definitely be returning for date nights in the future. 

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Thank you to Richard & all the staff for a great evening.

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Glorious Mid-Century Art Work by Bangor's Neal McCullough

Hello readers, I've not been able to blog too much recently, so I've invited my favourite local artist who I've featured regularly before on The World of Kitsch, Neal McCullough, to guest post about his current exhibition. Thank you, Neal!

 

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Hey Hey, World of Kitsch Regulars. I’m Neal McCullough from Bangor’s Hand Drawn Creative Illustration. Claire has graciously allowed me to write about my latest illustrated Exhibition currently on in Belfast’s Atelier Design Interiors showroom.

You’ll know my illustration work already, because I designed the The World of Kitsch logo right above this post. Like a lot of World of Kitsch fans, I’m obsessed with vintage illustration and mid-century furniture, so I’ve put together a collection of ten new illustrations showcasing my mid-century obsession called “Asseyez-Vous”

The Asseyez-Vous illustrations were created following meetings with Victor & James at Atelier Design’s hyper-chic showroom in Belfast’s Refound Building, and a lot of the finished illustrations feature little hidden gems from their range of kitsch, retro furniture and textiles.

“Asseyez-Vous” was due to wrap up on 3 May, but has now been been extended for another month, so if you’re in Belfast in May, call in. The showroom is open Wednesday-Saturday. I really hope you like the pretty pictures. Prints range from £10 to £80. If you aren’t in Northern Ireland you can also order prints through my Etsy store too. 

Thanks for having me! 

Cheers, Neal

www.handdrawncreative.co.uk

 

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Catch the Second Half of the Great Ulster a pub Week

 

The greatest celebration of Northern Ireland’s pub culture is taking place in a pub near you this week.  The Great kicked off on Thursday 1stMay 2014 and runs until Friday 9th May 2014.

The Great Ulster Pub Week is the biggest pub centric multi-venue event seen in Northern Ireland and will showcase all that’s ‘Great’ about the Ulster pub.  Over 160 pubs from right across Northern Ireland taking part in the exciting pub celebration, with hundreds of unique events showcasing great food, great entertainment and great craic taking place.

From live music, magic, theatre productions, poetry readings and pub quizzes to arts & crafts workshops, film screenings, special menus and charity challenges, The Great Ulster Pub Week offers a diverse array of events that’s sure to surprise and delight pubgoers across Northern Ireland.

For further information and for full event listings, visit www.greatulsterpubweek.com or find The Great Ulster Pub Week on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and Instagram using the hashtag, #UlsterPubWeek

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Coconut Popcorn from Propercorn, the Perfect Summer Snack

If you are a Birchbox beauty sample service subscriber, like me, you might have had the chance to try the Propercorn Coconut flavour popcorn in this month's box. I absolutely loved it, I'd never tasted anything like that before. Propercorn kindly sent me this pretty box containing each of their flavours currently available. 

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The packs are slightly larger than regular crisp packets, but are lower in calories from being hand cooked in rapeseed oil & seasoned with Propercorn's special seasonings. A great snack if you are counting calories and still want snacky stuff. Whenever I diet I always need things like this on hand, because if I cut out everything snacky altogether, the diet only lasts half a day before I give in due to misery!

I've managed to drop from 11st 6lbs to 9st 10lbs since Christmas, so I will be buying lots of Propercorn for the rest of the weight loss journey.

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