La Boca X Prancing Pony Matched Beers Dinner

 

Hi guys! Last Thursday we went to the La Boca X Prancing Pony Brewery Matched Beers Dinner held at La Boca Bar & Grill in the city and had a fabulous time! As soon as I saw the six course menu I knew I had to buy tickets to this special dinner, as each course sounded delicious! This was also a great chance to try some craft beers, which I don't normally order. We were so happy to see upon arrival that we were seated on our own instead of on long shared tables, like a recent matched wines dinner we attended. As introverts, we are much more comfortable sitting by ourselves than having to make small talk with a bunch of strangers we'll never see again lol.

Let's have a look at the menu!

Course 1

Signature Beef Empanadas
Traditional Argentinean beef empanadas, loaded with a mixture of ground beef, capsicum, olives and onions. (The only course that concerned me because I dislike olives, but I didn't taste them and this was a delightful start to the night!).
Paired with Blaze Of Haze
Easy-going and refreshing. Moderate to high hop aroma. Sweet fruits, predominantly strawberries, followed by gooseberry and blackberry, with a very slight note of citrus. Creamy mouthfeel and smooth bitterness, with a hint of toasty oat from the malt. (Loved this beer, the paler the better for me).

Course 2

Choripan With Criolla Salsa
Chorizo sausage, crusty bread accompanied by relish composed of onion, capsicum, tomato and vinegar. (I definitely tasted the vinegar here! This is a smaller version of a very similar dish from their express lunch menu which I've had before, with a different bread, but I liked this version more.)
Paired with Sunshine Ale
A refreshing Summer Ale with a smooth and delicate hop flavour. Beautifully balanced with moderate bitterness and a citrus kick. Pineapple, lychee and honeydew melon shining through from the hop, with a delicate biscuit malty finish. (I really enjoyed this beer too, couldn't discern the flavours though lol.)

Course 3
Honey Mustard Glazed Pork Ribs
24 hours slow cooked pork ribs, finished on a wood fire grill and glazed with honey mustard. (These ribs were so tasty! More would have been good but they have to do small portions when there's six courses!).
Paired with Hopwork Orange
A refreshing Pale Ale with hop aromas of orange, tangerines and pine, alongside balanced caramel malt flavours. (I love the play on A Clockwork Orange here, very clever! Love these flavours and it was nice to try it in a craft beer).

Course 4

Asado Pork Belly Bondiola
Authentic Argentinian sandwich with thick slice of pork belly asado, chimichurri and rocket leaf. (This was delicious! I'm a huge fan of pork belly, so really enjoyed this tender juicy meat with the crispy crackling in the bread pocket).
Paired with India Red Ale
Mango, passionfruit, blackcurrant, apricot and pineapple hop aroma making the beer super fruity combined with strong caramel malt character. Supreme Champion Beer at the International Beer Challenge in London, 2016. (Another yummy beer and an award winner, no less! Loved the fruity flavours).

Course 5

Mini Wagyu Burger
Wood fire grilled homemade juicy Wagyu burger patty, provolone cheese and mini brioche bun. (They don't mention that it comes with fries and they were so good! I think drinking this much beer elevates all the flavours haha. I couldn't finish my burger though, so it went to hubby).
Paired with Amber Ale
The Amber Ale is a  full-bodied American style ale, delicately floral and slightly spicy hops. The hint of caramel malt makes this beer super toasty and cosy, but also surprisingly refreshing. (Try as I might, I couldn't make out the spicy taste. Probably a little too strong for me).

Course 6

Churros With Dulce De Leche
Deep fried churros coated with cinnamon sugar and served with traditional caramel sauce. (Delicious and a great way to finish the night. However a spoon would have been nice so we didn't have to use our fingers to reach the remaining caramel sauce at the bottom of the jar, lol).
Paired with Pinkers Brut IPA
Eden Pink has brewed for Prancing Pony Brewery for a fifth of her life now. This IPA Brut style celebrates that. It is super dry with a low IBU and an ABV of 7.2%. The flavour profile is tropical, with hints of lychee. Eden used a combination of tropical hops including Eldorado, Sabro, Amarillo and Citra. (Six beers in and you're expecting a flavour profile breakdown? I don't know my own name at this point! Not gonna lie, I skulled this and we were on our way lol).

Overall, this was a fantastic experience and I'm so glad we went! You don't have to make any choices on the night as all food and drinks are set, so you just sit back, relax and enjoy each course as it's served. I'm definitely keen to do more alcohol-matched dinners in the future, as they are so much fun.

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Review: Oh Deer Sugar Seas The Day Body Wash

 

Hi guys! I'm back on a Monday (woo hoo!) with a Review of the Oh Deer Sugar Seas The Day Shower Moose Body Wash. You may remember I recently bought this along with a few other products in my Another Oh Deer Sugar Haul post. Well since then I've been blue-lathering away like a Smurf, so I thought it was high time (high tide since it's called Seas The Day?) to review this baby.

'A pocket full of sweets, a bottle of homemade lime cordial and you're all set to spend the day at the beach'

I opted for the large pot ($28 for 250ml) but these body washes are also available in a smaller pot ($16 for 100ml). Now this does seem a little exxy, but rest assured the quality of these shower mooses plus the fact they last a good while, in my opinion make it totally worth it. I've been a fan of Oh Deer Sugar ever since they opened up in Adelaide many moons ago. They have since re-located interstate, but thankfully you can order online.

Seas The Day is a gorgeous bright and vibrant blue colour. As soon as you open the pot you are hit with the loveliest beachy, fresh fragrance. It is strong and does linger well after you've lathered your body in the shower. You only need a small amount to clean yourself, and it's as simple as scooping out a small portion then rubbing it into wet skin. The texture foams up a bit and it becomes easier to lather it all around your nude self. It feels lovely and the scent is to die for! These body washes also double as shaving creams, but I haven't used them for that.

My skin is left soft and clean, but best of all, smelling so good. Think lime, yet sweet and beachy fresh. This Seas The Day shower moose in particular is a great pick me up for a morning shower, but that doesn't stop me using it during my late night shower, because there is honestly nothing better than hopping into bed at night, clean and smelling fresh and beachy.

I highly recommend Oh Deer Sugar Seas The Day Shower Moose Body Wash. In all honesty, ODS rarely miss the mark. I've tried many of their different body washes and scrubs over the years, and loved the majority of them.

You can check out the Oh Deer Sugar website here.

A Week In The Life aka The Week From Hell

{edit - Apologies for the late post, we had no electricity from Saturday 'til early Tuesday. Everything in italics is an edit I've added once our power was restored}.

Hi guys! A bit of a different more lifestyle-y post this week, just to change things up a bit. It will almost be like a FFS Friday, but published on a Monday {edit - make that Tuesday} lol. Although I'll try to not just fill it with shit that went wrong, because who wants to hear me complain for five minutes! No one.

Monday

Monday was relatively normal. Mr 15 went to school and all seemed good. I actually was super productive and got a lot of things crossed off my To Do list. After dropping my son off at school I went for a coffee at my local cafe and saw that my name came up on the #namedrop for my local Baker's Delight, so I was able to get a free six pack of mango passion tarts. I then went to Woolies and did the grocery shopping. I came home and published my Essence Manicure blog post and advertised it on my social media. Then I cleaned up the house and prepared and published my beauty post for Instagram. I then spent a fair bit of time engaging on my beauty account as this post featured gifted product from a brand. After everyone went to bed I watched Ted Lasso on AppleTV+ (which I'm loving) to wind down.

Tuesday

Tuesday is when things started to go to shit. My son was sick and didn't go to school. I was feeling a bit rundown too, but wasn't sure if it was just a result of me excelling like a Boss Bitch the day before lol. Anyway, after sending the school absence email, I went back to bed for a few hours as I wouldn't be doing school drop off. I spent the afternoon editing my DC Roll & Bowl photos for a food post, from a visit we'd done on the weekend. I also worked out my hashtags and wrote my caption. When a business reaches out and invites me, I spend way longer working on an Instagram post than my non-Collab posts. 

Wednesday

Mr 15 was still sick. I got some more housework done then started trialling products I'd been sent from BeautyHeaven in the Spring Discovery Bag. I noted down my thoughts on the products in my phone. Reviews were due to be submitted Friday, so although I was running out of time, I knew I'd get it done, because somehow, I always do. I ended up submitting four out of the five reviews I'd written on BeautyHeaven and felt good to get that out of the way. Meanwhile I'd created another Instagram account called @whatmaxwatches where I keep track of everything Max, the Unicorn, watches. Haha. I'd been posting on this account nearly every day. Wednesday night I published my DC Roll & Bowl post and again, spent a fair bit of time engaging. I find this totally exhausts me, mentally and physically. Woe is me, lol.

Thursday

Mr 15 was still sick and now hubby was sick, too. By this stage I knew I wasn't having my weekly trip into town. With hubby now sick, I knew it was unlikely we'd be going to the Lucky Dumpling Market on the weekend as planned. I looked in my Diary at the dates of a dinner event and a food collab/invitation that was booked in and wondered if everyone would be well by then. I would inevitably be getting sick next. At this point I went back to bed and got some more sleep. I was thankful I'd gotten my obligated Instagram posts out the way and all I had to do was reply and return comments. I read my emails and was happy to see a movie preview invitation for December, so I RSVPed to that.  I wrote up my final review for the LED eye mask and submitted it on BeautyHeaven. TV was the only thing cheering me up at this point; thank god for The Real Love Boat, Ted Lasso and Love Is Blind.

Friday

Friday my son was still too sick for school and hubby was getting sicker. I cleaned up the house and spent some time on Instagram. I played a lot of Candy Crush too, lol. And then I did what I always do when I get depressed, I went online shopping. I bought a bunch of homewares and Christmas decorations from Target, and decided we will have lights on the Tree this year. I only spent $60 instead of the planned $100, so might do an online Kmart shop on the weekend as well {edit - um no, your bitch did not get to do another online shop on the weekend, because the power was out}. Friday night we ordered dinner in and watched Survivor. Then I watched the finale and reunion episodes of Love Is Blind season 3.

And that was my week!

{edit - oh no, it was to get a lot worse from here. On Saturday, Adelaide was thrashed with severe thunderstorms all day, then a blackout occurred with thousands of houses across the State effected. Basically we had no electricity from Saturday afternoon until early Tuesday morning. Some areas had their power restored earlier and there are some now still with no power. We had no lights, airconditioning, internet (wifi was out and mobile data was very patchy and barely working), computers, TV, warm water (I caved and had a freezing cold shower at one point) or fridge. Everything in the fridge and freezer went off. So I guess this is what happens when you think you're having a bad week. It can always get worse. LOL.}

Next time I write a Week In The Life post I'll try to choose a more exciting, eventful week full of fun outings! Life isn't a perfect Instagram highlight reel though, and shit happens, for real, as you can see from this post. I hope you enjoyed reading it.

Essence Manicure: All-Time FavouRED

 

Hi guys! What is your go-to shade when it comes to nails? Personally I love dark red. There's just something cool, sexy and chic about deep red, and it makes me feel good. It's what I vibe with and the colour I reach for the most.

Recently I was sent a box of Essence cosmetics for review, so I just had to try the gel nail colour in All-Time FavouRED first. It's a stunning shade and it's wearing really well. It was easy to apply thanks to the broad double-touch brush and was opaque on me after just one coat. I love how it looks almost black, but you can see that it's actually dark red.

Other benefits are that it dries down really fast and being a gel polish is really long lasting. I'm loving that it's highly pigmented because a lot of the time I cannot be bothered with a second coat. Also, the finish is nice and shiny! Essence polishes have a vegan, clean beauty formula with a short list of ingredients.

I've left the best news 'til last. Essence nail polishes retail for only $4 each. What an absolute bargain for a long lasting gel polish! You can find them in Priceline and Target in Australia.

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Disclaimer: Product was gifted for trial/review. All opinions are my own.