Second Day Date, New Forest

I have blogged about a different part of the New Forest last year (click here for pics). And since I love coming to this place we decided to spend our another day date here.

It was a chilled day. Nothing was planned. We just drove there, parked the car and went for a walk. It was a day for it too. It was cool but sunny. The place was not busy, apart from a couple of bikers and a few other people the place was deserted. We just walked and talked and found that time was good to us coz it went slow. We felt that we were there for ages but whenever we check the time it was still too early to pick up Poj. We bought lunch and sat on one of the benches, we took our time and enjoyed the view as we eat.

One of the things that I love about New Forest are the animals that roam around freely. There are these horses that are so friendly they'll even let you pet them. I think this one wants to come home with us coz it followed us to our car!

When we finished, we went for a walk along the high street until we reached a lovely bench where we sat and watch people as they walk by. 

This bird joined us for a long time, day off din nya? lol =)

There were a lot of lovely buildings and quirky shops that sell unique and interesting things. It's a shame that some of these shops forbid photography.

One of the shops that have a cute display was this sweets shop that sells all kinds of sweets that you can imagine! Have you had a marshmallow sandwich before? And you should what they have inside, naumay na ako sa dami at klase ng sweets! I didn't buy any, but they definitely brought back childhood memories =)

I love that you can now enjoy a cup of coffee or tea al fresco, now that the weather is getting warmer. Hooray for spring! =)

It was a lovely chilled out day. It was exactly what we needed to unwind. We didn't have to go very far but felt that we were isolated from the chaos of work and traffic. 

Thanks Papa E =)

Choccywoccydoodah

Thanks a lot to everyone who greeted me on Mother's Day, you guys are awesome! As promised, here is the post about the cake shop & cafe that I raved about on my previous post. 

Choccywoccydoodah is not your usual cake shop. Although they have regular designs that you could view and buy online or in their shops, they are more popular for their decadent, bespoke, hand made cakes for any occasions using Belgian chocolates. They also sell unique chocolate gifts and chocolate cake decorations.

They have a show on Sky TV which features some of their cakes and how they make them. I love chocolates and have always wanted to visit their shop ever since I saw their show. That's why I was so happy that Papa E drove us to Brighton so that I could finally visit their shop.

Their window display. (Everything on display is edible).

They change their display with the change of the season or if there's an occasion. 

They had more cakes inside the shop but I was too mesmerised with the amount of goodies they have on display that I forgot to take more photos.

After visiting their shop, we went back to the seafront. I left Poj and Papa E to play at the beach while I window shopped. There are a lot of cute & quirky shops in Brighton. They're great coz they are small businesses so you know that you are buying unique items. There are also a lot of artists here, these are evident with all the paintings for sale and galleries in the city. 

And before we head home we went to the Choccycoccydoodah bar du chocolat. It is only a few yards away from the main shop. It was a little cafe located around the corner of Middle street. Having seen the place on telly many times, it was weird to feel so familiar to a place you're visiting for the first time. It was everything I expected it to be, it was a chocoholic's paradise. 

It was cloudy and cold outside and we sought refuge within the brightly coloured walls of the cafe.  We found comfort in the most indulgently thick, creamy hot chocolate I've ever sipped (Papa E went for the dark hot chocolate whilst I opted for the white one thinking that Poj might want to try it too).  I tasted both and preferred the dark one. Mine was overly sweet, I did not even get to finish it. It was still lovely though, perfect for the cold day. I ordered a chocolate cake (of course!) and was delighted when handed a huge slab of a deliciously moist cake drizzled with dark and white chocolates and a scoop of vanilla ice cream. 

We didn't order anything for Poj coz I know that their servings were huge. But we were surprised when the waitress came back and gave Poj these goodies for free. We all thought that the edible chocolate pencil and butterfly were so cool! 

Inside the cafe is a room or "boudoir" than can be rented for 2 hours for a private function such as a girlie get together or birthday party. The fee includes as much you can eat and drink of  Pure Belgian hot chocolates, milk shakes, chocolate cake, cup cakes and chocolate buttons. Molten chocolate in which to dip strawberries, marshmallows, nougat etc

There was a party on their boudoir which reduced the shop's capacity in half.  They had to turn away a lot of customers coz the place was full. I would be terribly disappointed if we didn't get a table! Buti na lang we didn't have to wait very long to get one.

The party ended before we finished so I was able to see what it looks like inside and even managed to take a photo - red overload! And it was wall to wall with murals and was surrounded with comfy red chaise lounge such as this one.  

The photo on the left is white chocolate popcorn lolly - no, I didn't buy one. I'm not a big fan of sweet popcorn. Papa E bought me a slice of lemon cake instead and a promise to pop in again the next time we visit Brighton.

I think the visit satisfied my chocolate cravings for the year. It was a sweet Mother's day celebration, literally!


Thanks again Papa E & Poj for the wonderful day and for my pressie =)  

Mother's Day 2012

Today is Mothering Sunday. We are lucky that the weather changed in the afternoon and we were able to celebrate.

It started with a lovely bouquet of flowers & lots of hugs from my mag-Ama. Then after hearing mass we travelled 63 miles (1 hour & 35minutes) to Brighton. 

Brighton is one of the popular places in the South. I've only been there twice and have only seen very little of it. We usually stay at the beach whenever we visit. I guess it reminds us of the Philippines. Just the smell of the sea made me really homesick.

I'll share some of my Brighton pics on my next post. =)

It was a pretty relaxed day. Nothing was planned & there was no schedule to follow. All I know is that we're going to the beach. 
At eto na, the boys had fun playing by throwing pebbles & running around the beach. I don't think they even noticed how cold it was. I had to literally drag them away!

We then went for a walk to find this cake shop, the Choccywoccydoodah. They are well known here in the UK for their bespoke Belgian chocolate cakes. I always watch their show on Sky tv. 

They also have a coffee shop where they sell hot chocolates, milkshakes, coffee and cakes. I had a chocolate cake and believe me, it felt like tasting a piece of chocolate heaven. 

And Papa E saw how happy I was with their cake that he even ordered another slice (this time its lemon cake, drizzled with chocolate, of course) for me to take home.  I'll also write a separate blog post  about the shop.

When we got home, we had a lovely dinner prepared, it was baked Salmon with ginger, coriander & garlic served with steamed veggies and mash potatoes.

It was a special day made perfect by my two loving boys. Thank you so much for showering me with so much love, Papa E & Poj. I love you too very much.

Happy Mother's day to all the moms, mommies, mothers, mga nanay, inay at ina out there, cheers! 

They also gave me a Mother's Day pressie, here .