Hello Happy Bunny

The last Kawaii Box I received in my three month subscription arrived at the beginning of September. This time, I got… Duck letter writing set, diamond gel pen, sushi sticker set, glasses hairclip and lipstick eraser… Cupcake pouch, phone bumper, bunny stationery set and a set of rings… Octopus DIY Candy set, ice cream keyring and a lolly plush charm. This box wasn’t perfect. The rings seem cheap, they arrived broken and it is not something I would wear anyway. The phone bumper states it is only used for iPhone 3, which is a very old phone! I struggle to put it on my own phone so I fail to see what use this is for! Maybe a weird, oversized bracelet? The things I always like in the Kawaii Box are the cute stationery and snacks, this time is no exception. I always feel excited to use the DIY candy sets, and the duck letter set has got me into writing more letters to my friends and family – a much cuter way to communicate! This month’s box was disappointing. I feel there ...

So this week’s collection begins with Barnstaple Coffee Shop. They have added a new Chocolate Orange cake to their range, and I love this one so much! The sponge is chocolate orange flavoured itself, with orange biscuit balls and a slice of Terry’s on top. It’s been a while since I last went to The Chocolate Teapot in Bideford. I was wanting some of their Eton Mess, but there was none available! Nevertheless, all of their traybakes look gorgeous and I treated myself to two – Aero Mint and Chocolate Orange (I have a bit of craving for chocolate orange haha). Definitely a must for chocolate lovers these traybakes are full of chocolate pieces inside too! Back to Barnstaple, Green Lanes cafe had some Halloween specials last week. I had the Severed Finger Dog, £4.85 with chips. Whilst I applaud their efforts to get into the spirit (haha) of Halloween – having cut the hot dog like a finger – I was a little disappointed. It felt like a cheap poor quality meal to me, nothing reall...

So I have been back to Green Lanes Cafe a few times and have tried their specials. The first is ham, egg and chips. I also tried the Cornish pasty, beans and chips. These were decent meals at good prices. The portions are very big and filling, and plenty of chips on the plate! Another hotspot in Barnstaple is Lindsey's, a cake shop and cafe. The highlight is their cheesecakes - I have tried strawberry, mixed fruit, chocolate and mango and passionfruit. Last week, I tried their banoffee pie (I had a craving for banoffee...) and it was sublime!  Lindsey's also does a cheesecake loyalty cake where if you buy 8 cheesecakes, you get the next free.

After spending most of the morning at Edinburgh Zoo, we were very hungry. Having looked at places to take afternoon tea, The Dome really stood out for me. The building is very impressive from the outside, and looking inside, it is even more beautiful. There are many floors dedicated to different occasions. For afternoon tea, we went to the Georgian Tea room, and this was the view looking down. We received a warm welcome from the host. Afternoon tea is served from 11am to 4pm at a cost of around £18 per head. It consists of a selection of cakes (we had white chocolate eclair, chocolate mousse, and a white chocolate orange tart), a choice of fruit or plain scone with jam and cream, and a selection of sandwiches (egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon and cucumber, beef and horseradish and ham and mustard), as well as tea or coffee. I think it was a good value afternoon tea, and I was very full at the end. The waiters were very friendly. My only criticism is that I would have like to se...

The Chocolate Teapot is a small cafe with indoor and outdoor seating in Bideford. As you can guess from the name, chocolate is the highlight here. The Chocolate Dipping Platter is quite popular here, where you are provided with fruit, marshmallows and other treats to dip in melted Belgian chocolate. The Ultimate Hot Chocolate allows you to make your perfect drink. You can melt Belgian chocolate drops in the hot milk provided to you and add fudge and marshmallows according to taste. For those who don’t want to make so much effort, the Luxury Hot Chocolate is a creamy hot chocolate, with marshmallows on top (I tried this – it was very nice!) The cafe serves hot food, sandwiches and other puddings, but for me, the cakes are the best thing here. Homemade and inventive, I would happily go back for more! During my visit, I opted for the trio of traybakes, in which I got to taste the Chocolate Orange, Caramel Shortcake and Eton Mess cakes (the Eton Mess is a recent addition. I heard it h...

These are from the Afternoon Tea range from Marks and Spencer. This is from a box of mini cupcakes, with three flavours: Blackberry Sundae, Earl Grey Vanilla and Coffee and Walnut. All are small and sweet! "Yum! I like this one very much!^^"

A few months ago, I had the opportunity to visit Bath. I spent about a day and a half in Bath, not enough time to see everything sadly, but I had the chance to see some of the great sights! Bath is great in that it is easy to walk through. Having arrived at the train station, the first stop was the Sally Lunn Museum. Having done my research on the internet, the Sally Lunn bun is very famous in Bath. Every tourist is advised to try one! Five minutes we arrived - the building consists of three levels of dining areas, and there is a museum and gift shop on the lower level. The building itself is quite historic and retains much of its quaint charm. Upon entering, the place is quite busy - we manage to sneak a table in the corner by the window. What is said to be unique about the bun is that it is great tasting as a savoury or sweet dish. Following that, we ordered the smoked salmon bun and the dulce con leche bun. A cup of the Sally Lunn blend loose leaf tea Dulce con leche - ...