July Days

I have to say, so far, this Summer has been a memorable one with so many beautiful sunny weekends. We seem to have spent most of our days pottering about on the coast and I'm loving the beautiful sea breeze, warm air (and Di Meos' ice creams!).

Here's what didn't make the blog this month!

Flamingo Loving 

I have got so much style inspiration from Instagram recently and spotted my friend Kayleigh with this rather special Flamingo Jacket from Primark. It was instant love and I just couldn't resist getting one for myself when I spotted it in the sale. I'm pretty sure my husband thinks I'm bonkers but I love it and it's the perfect throw on jacket for strolls along the seafront in Whitley Bay.

The Hand That Rocked the Bagel

We've managed to have a fair few date nights this month, the highlight being a trip to Fat Hippo in Jesmond to celebrate 4th July and indulge in their special week long menu. The Hand That Rocked the Bagel was the burger of my dreams with a double patty, pastrami, Swiss cheese and a fried egg. Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for Fat Hippo to put an egg into one of their burgers. It rocked the bagel and it rocked my world! I can't wait to see what they've got up their sleeve next!

Durham Dates

I headed back to County Durham last week for another cake date with my lovely ladies Kayleigh and Lisa. We headed to Homer Hill Farm Shop in Houghton Le Spring where wet weather had me craving all the carbs and I feasted on an epic lunch of Welsh Rarebit and Coffee Cake. We headed in to Durham post lunch for a hike to burn off some of the calories. If you want an energetic walk Durham is the place to go, wow the hills are steep after cake! By the time we'd finished the sun was shining and I realised I looked a bit daft in my bright yellow rain mac.

Lunch at the Killingworth Arms

Simon's Mum came up for a visit and we immediately saw it as an excuse to book ourselves in for a Sunday lunch, something we really don't do often enough. So many people had recommended the Killingworth Arms for their award winning carvery so we decided to see what the fuss was about. Wow! The food was beautiful and my only regret was not being able to fit more on my plate (we had some great fun debating how to fit more carvery onto your plate on the New Girl in Toon Facebook page). Feel free to share any tips!

Going "Out Out"

Simon and I definitely favour a night on the sofa in our dressing gowns watching TV than heading into Toon at the weekend but this month we went on a spontaneous night out with friends which started with me getting ready with a spot of pre drinking. I was transported back to my youth although I'm sure in those days I wasn't drinking anything out of a fancy flute! Our evening began at the new look Boilershop and ended with a visit to new bar Billy Bootleggers and a cheeky cocktail at the Alchemist. We loved going "out out", although both suffered from awful hangovers the following day!

The Grind

I have been wanting to try a burger from The Grind for so long now having heard many people say that they are the best burgers in Newcastle. Every time I mention to Simon that we should try them he gets rage and declares that nothing will ever beat the burgers in Fat Hippo. I finally had my chance to put The Grind to the test during our night out at the Great Northern Soul Food at the Boilershop. I ordered the New Yorker cheeseburger and it was delicious. I'm now nagging Simon to take me to their little popup restaurant at No. 28 to give the Grind a proper go - watch this space!

A Tipsy Sunset

On Friday we found ourselves feeling pretty tipsy strolling along the Newcastle Quayside and it was one of those moments when  you truly love life. An unbelievable light evening (this photo was taken at 9:30 pm!) mixed with a spot of rain gave us the most spectacular show of pink skies and rainbows. Despite being slightly intoxicated I managed to take a few decent photos. The evening ended with a few drinks in the Malmaison where I decided I was far too drunk/lazy to make it home and insisted that we ask at reception if they had any spare rooms. Luckily they didn't or I would have been doing the walk of shame in last night's clothes to the hairdressers the following morning.

Fingers crossed for plenty more sunny days in August, I have a giant Summer bucket list to get through!

For more adventures from New Girl in Toon make sure you follow me on Instagram, I post a new photo every day!