HOSTING A CHEESE AND WINE NIGHT AT HOME

Saturday

Cheese is one of my favourite things ever and I would literally have a cheese night every night if I could. But as I want my jeans to still fit me, I will have a cheese night every so often as a treat. Because it's one of my favourite things to do, I will share with you my favourite cheeses to have on a cheese board. I will admit, I am not a huge wine connoisseur but I will work on it.


Disclaimer: I am not working with the companies mentioned, I just really love their products.


cheese board inspiration

High end soft cheeses to include on your board


Brillat Savarin - I only discovered this cheese last year. We had it at Maul's cheese and wine bar in Salisbury and bought one from there as it was so amazing. It was pretty expensive, it was a wheel smaller than a camembert but I think it was around £8. However, if you love brie-like cheeses it is definitely worth it as a treat. It's similar to a brie, but instead of being made with milk it's made with full fat cream, so you will only need to eat a little bit at a time anyway. It tastes amazing with honey!


Tunworth - Tunworth is basically the British version of a camembert. We had it cold and it seemed to me creamier and a little softer than a camembert so I'm not sure how it would work if you wanted to melt it. However, I believe this is £8 again in Waitrose so I'd recommend using a camembert to melt as it's a lot cheaper and you don't want to ruin this cheese. Again, great for a treat if you want a high end cheese and tastes amazing if you like brie and camembert.


Lyburn Garlic and Nettle - A flavoured cheese is a must for a cheese board and this one tastes amazing. You can buy this one from Lyburn Farm in the New Forest, so it is pretty local for me. Definitely use your favourite flavoured cheese on your board, they have some in supermarkets, I've had the chive one from Tesco before which is nice.


Budget friendly soft cheeses to include


Brie - Obviously! My favourite is the round Castello brie that they have in Tesco for about £2 but I do love any brie, use your favourite.


Camembert - I feel like a melted camembert is a centrepiece and if you are having a cheese board with lots of other cheeses you might not need it. It's good to have as the main even though, with a couple other bits to go with.


melted camembert


Port Salut - This is good for anyone who doesn't really like strong cheeses, it kind of reminds me of a babybel. This is around £2 I believe, depending on which supermarket you go to.


Smoked Mozzarella - You should definitely choose a smoked cheese to go on your board and this is definitely a good one. It's quite mild so will be good for anyone who doesn't like their cheese too strong.


Boursin - amazing soft garlic cheese to put on bread or biscuits. Always a staple for me!


High end hard cheeses to include


Kirkham's Lancashire - This is a bit like a cheddar but obviously it's made in Lancashire. You can get this from The Fine Cheese Co for £5.80. It's a little more tangy and earthy than a cheddar so it's good if you like cheddar but want to try something with a more unique taste.


Stoney Cross - This is from Lyburn Farm again. It's a little softer than a cheddar and tastes a little more earthy and tangy. Definitely a good one to try if you want to support a local New Forest farm shop.


Budget friendly hard cheeses to include


Cheddar - Everyone's favourite, every cheese board needs a cheddar and you can get lots of different kinds so it's whatever suits you. I do like a classic cathedral city but a lot of local cheese companies will have some form of cheddar if you wanted to support a local supplier.


Red Leicester - I have to admit, I always forget about Red Leicester cheese, but it tastes amazing and is good if you like mild cheese again.


Stilton - You either love it or hate it but every cheese board needs a blue cheese. I haven't really found the right blue cheese for me yet and I don't really like stilton too much, but it's just the easiest option for a budget blue cheese. Replace this with your favourite blue cheese if it's another. I am still on the hunt to find a blue cheese that I like the taste of.


Manchego - I only tried this for the first time recently and really enjoyed it even though it is quite hard an crumbly and I'm more of a soft cheese girl. It's a bit like parmesan but not as strong and you can eat it on it's own easily. I find parmesan too much to eat by itself but I love it on top of pasta!



Pair your cheeses with your favourite wine and charcuterie. I mainly drink prosecco or rose wine but there are lots of reds that go really well with cheese. I like to put different breads, biscuits and meat with my cheese, so just pick your favourite. The best thing about doing your own cheese board is that you can make it personal to you with all of your favourite things on there.


What's your favourite cheese? Let me know in the comments.


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Related Read: 5 Cocktails to Try at Home


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48 HOURS IN HASTINGS UK

Since I have finished my internship in August, I have had some time to myself over the summer. In that time, I spent 48 hours in Lincoln, and I have also recently been to Hastings in East Sussex.


My boyfriend, Joe, is from Hastings when we aren't at uni together so I go there to visit him from time to time when he's at home and I really like it there.


It's right on the sea and Joe's house is walking distance to everything so I got a lot of steps in. When I drive into Hastings I get to drive along the sea front which is so pretty and it always seems to be nice weather when I go there.


beach huts in Hastings


When I arrived in Hastings, we did our usual walk around by the beach and through the town. We have a little tradition of going to this little local seafood shop by the beach and getting some food so we did that on the first day and sat on the beach for a little while.


I also love to get an ice cream when I'm near the sea so we did that too, after eating our seafood. Hastings has so many local seafood restaurants and fish and chip shops, you really can taste the difference in freshness with it being a seaside town.


In the evening, we went for a few drinks but didn't stay out too late.


The next day, we went to the seafront again and played some minigolf. Joe won, I am still yet to beat him but it's going to happen one day!


After spending the day out again, we went to a seafood restaurant in the old town called Whites. The old town in Hastings, is more individual restaurants, shops and pubs as opposed to the new town with things like Primark and Pizza Express. I really like that they have both options.


Seafood platter in Hastings


We had a huge seafood platter which is unlike me because I'm really fussy with food. I just wanted to try it because we were right by the sea and I thought I'd like most of it. All of it was so nice apart from oysters, I don't think I'll eat one of them again in a hurry. 


After we ate so much food, we went for a few drinks on the pier. Hastings pier is quite big and since the social distancing rules have come into place, they put a DJ set on the pier with a bar and tables for drinks. I have never had drinks on a pier before so it was something new for me.


Just before leaving on my last day there, we went on a dog walk at a really pretty country park called Fairlight, it had such amazing views to the sea.


I quite like writing about places that I visit in the UK, so I will definitely be doing more 48 hour style blog posts whenever I go anywhere now.


Where's your favourite place to visit for a weekend away?


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Related Read: 3 Days in Suffolk


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THE MASTER MINDSET DIARY - AMANTHIS REVIEW

Tuesday

 *AD - PR sample. I have received this product for review but all opinions are my own. For more information, see my disclaimer.


I recently received the Master Mindset Diary starter kit from Amanthis. Amanthis is a small stationary business that aims to create affordable stationary.


Master Mindset Diary starter kit


The diary runs from August 2020 until August 2021, so it's perfect for studying. When I first flicked through the diary, I noticed that each month has a calendar view of the month for you to write things in if you just wanted to see what you had on in the month. There are also weekly pages for planning your availability week by week. 


Each page has a positive quote on the top, which I really love and before each month there is a quote to keep you going. My favourite thing about the Master Mindset Diary, is that it isn't just a space where you can plan your time, it also has positive affirmations, space to write goals, productivity levels, moods and achievements. 


I'm going to be using my Master Mindset Diary for university, blogging and just life in general because it has already started helping me to plan for the new academic year.


Positive quote in mindset diary


In the starter kit, I also got some Goal Getter pencils, a couple of pens, a list pad and a finance tracker. I will definitely be using the finance tracker while at university this year. 


I do really like a diary and most of the time, I prefer a January - January one but this mid year diary is going to help me so much in my final year of uni. 


Do you like using diaries to keep organised? 


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Related Read: 5 Steps to Becoming More Organised at University


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TOP TIPS FOR STARTING UNIVERSITY

Saturday

It's almost time for university to start again, and a lot of you may be starting for the first time. I am going into my final year this month and I wanted to share with you some of my the things you should know before starting university. Everyone has different experiences with uni, but I will be basing my advice off of the experiences I've had.

Graduates throwing caps

Tip 1: Before moving into your new place, see if there are any groups or group chats you can join beforehand for your halls or course or just uni in general. You might be able to get to know some people before meeting them and this can take so much pressure off if you have already kind of spoken to them online.

I joined chats when I was about to be a fresher and I actually met up with some of the people from the chat before starting uni. I wasn't going to live with them but this was so helpful because if I didn't make friends with my flatmates, I knew I had other friends to do stuff with. Ultimately, I got on so well with the majority of my flat.

Tip 2: Don't panic buy - Before starting uni, I did the classic Ikea trip and bought all sorts of stuff that I have never used, like a potato peeler. Have I ever peeled potatoes? No. That's just an example, you may well use a potato peeler but just think carefully about what you will actually use so you don't waste money. 

If you don't have something, you can always go and buy it. If you do have the opportunity to talk to your flatmates before moving in, it might be worth seeing what people can bring so you can share stuff. You will need to save all the money you can!

Tip 3: Buy some sliders! I tweet this one a lot because I wish I knew it before uni. Your kitchen floor probably will get messy quite quickly due to the amount of people living in your flat if you're in halls. The last thing you want to do is go into the kitchen barefoot or in socks and get something gross stuck to your foot. 

Also, fire alarms tend to go off pretty regularly so it's easier to just slip a pair of sliders on instead of spending ages putting shoes on. You will not regret investing in a pair for uni, and they have plenty in Primark to choose from if you're on a budget.

Tip 4: Forget about college - College is a pretty stressful time and uni can be stressful too, but it's so different to college so try not to compare the two. Use uni as a fresh start for yourself and just try to have the best time while you're there.

Tip 5: Try and be as organised as possible - There is a lot of stuff to do at uni and if you're moving away from home, there may be lots of things you want to get out of your new city. Just make sure you plan out your time for everything so you can work hard and play hard. Yes, you are there to get a degree but you may as well make the most out of where you're living and make the most out of uni life. Read more here about staying organised at university.

Are you starting university this year, or do you have any more tips for uni students? As I said, I am going into third year so if you have any tips for that, I will need all the help I can get.

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