178. A Day in the Life

As I had a fun day planned for my day off today, I thought I'd share with you some snaps from throughout the day. Enjoy!

A little after 8am, I dragged myself out of bed and made the strenuous journey to the living room sofa instead, armed with my two-course breakfast (yup, that is a necessity when you're seven months pregnant) of chocolate Cheerios, Marmite on toast and fresh orange juice, where I watched the latest episode of Ordinary Lies (has anyone else been watching?! Today's episode had me gripped, and last weeks made me so teary!) before getting ready. 

An hour or so later, I headed down the street - passing the gorgeous, sun-lit Hexham Abbey in the photo above - to drop some stuff off at work, before popping into Superdrug where I picked up the new Barry M nail polishes, some nappy cream for the baby and some new powder and moisturiser. 

Around 11am, my Mum picked me up and we, along with my two sisters, set off to Newcastle for a day of shopping, sightseeing and - of course - eating. It was a beautiful, bright day in town and the first day this year that I've been out without a coat on!

With it being half-term, and a lovely day, Newcastle was bustling so we sought out some peace and quiet in the Laing Art Gallery after a quick look in Superdrug and Game. There were some amazing exhibitions, including Pablo Picasso's work, and it was a really nice way to spend a couple of hours, rather than just shopping or watching a film which is what we usually do when we all get together. 

After months of me craving chicken katsu, I finally had my dream fulfilled. My sister loves Wagamama's so she suggested we go for lunch and everyone was pretty keen. Fi went for the chilli chicken ramen whilst Meg had chicken ramen and my Mum had a spicy green curry (I'm not sure what it was called, but it smelt delicious!) The service was brilliant, I managed to eat 99% of my meal with chopsticks *proud face* and it satisfied my craving, but I'm not sure chicken katsu is something I'd go for again - perhaps it was just my pregnant taste buds playing tricks on me, I'm not sure!

Not that our meal at Wagamama wasn't filling enough... but I suggested we pay a visit to one of my new favourite places - Wheelbirks in Stocksfield - for some ice cream on the way home. It was absolutely packed but we managed to get a table outside in the sunshine where we could enjoy our treats. I went for one scoop of Toblerone Crunch and one scoop of traditional Chocolate, and it was well worth the £3. New Girl in Toon has a fab review of Wheelbirks here. 

Early evening was spent catching up on blogging and I managed to get a few posts scheduled before we settled down to catch up on One Born, Masterchef and The Island with Bear Grylls, and tucked into tasty bacon sandwiches before heading to bed for an early night. Busy days are tiring, you know?!

156. Zapatista Burrito Bar

Hello lovelies.

On Monday, S and I ventured into Newcastle for an appointment at the hospital, and decided we'd treat ourselves afterwards. A month or so ago, we had passed Zapatista Burrito Bar, on Grainger Street, on our way to the train station and, after checking out the mouth-watering Mexican menu. vowed to return soon to try it out for size. And that's exactly what we did.

Situated just a couple of minutes from both the centre of town and the train station, Zapatista is in the perfect location for both people visiting Newcastle for the day, or people nipping out for a quick and tasty bite to eat on their lunch break.

The interior of Zapatista is also an awesome touch. It's modern, stylish and cool. The tables are high, with colourful bar stools to perch on, and the upstairs seating area has an almost communal feel to it which I think is great as it means they can cater for larger groups, as well as creating a relaxed, casual atmosphere even if you're just there by yourself or as a couple, amongst other groups and couples. 

We arrived at around 12:30pm and, although there were a few tables taken up, it didn't take long to get served. We made our way to the counter where we could see all the delicious, fresh fillings in front of us, and checked out the menu before deciding what to order. I went for the shredded chilli beef burrito, with rice, mild (Pinto) beans, hot (tomato, chipotle and chilli) salsa and a touch of lettuce and cheese. 

The burritos are made right in front of your eyes by friendly, helpful staff who were more than happy to answer our questions and were very patient as we spent quite a while deciding what to go for! S also went for the shredded chilli beef burrito but with spicy (Black Turtle) beans and one of the milder salsas instead. 

We opted for large 7Up's to go with our burritos as we, quite rightly, anticipated they might be a little spicy! Thankfully, we both love spicy food (I've been known to add coriander or chillies to almost every savoury dish I prepare) and we managed to work (believe me, these burritos are big!) through our meal within about 15 or 20 minutes and we were still able to walk, despite being full to burst! 

Our entire meal cost just £12.60 for the two burritos and two large drinks. If burritos aren't really your cup of tea, Zapatista offer a range of dishes from fajitas to tacos to chilli and rice. They even have churros which according to New Girl in Toon are delicious. We will definitely be trying them out next time!