Friday 23 January 2015

Hotel No.131

For the two years we lived next door to each other in Montpellier, our daily walks into Cheltenham to shop, eat, drink and see were met with this old Georgian, empty, sad looking building. We used to say if we had the money we would buy it and turn it into an exclusive members club or just a really good jazz club and bar, something Cheltenham is missing!



Alas, 3 years later, the brilliant Lucky Onion chaps have worked their magic again. Transforming a huge empty regency building into the luxury and very trendy Hotel No.131 and Crazy Eights club and bar. 


So we decided to try it out for Soph's Birthday. She fancied something different so she booked 12 of us in for a brunch. We met at 11 and had a big table down in the conservatory room, complete with feature fireplace, heaters and a real indoor outdoor feel. We ordered Bucks fizz, served in  champagne sauces, sharp bloody Mary's (Meg was hung over...hair of the dog!) and although 11am the boys couldn't resist some classic Bobby Beer.



The menu choice was a mixture of classic breakfast dishes, done in the typical style of the Lucky Onion group...a bit rustic, locally sourced ingredients and good sized portions!

Most of us went for the English Breakfast. Deliciously thick bacon, creamy scrambled eggs and a slice of sour dough fried bread to go with the rest of the dish. Scrummy! Others went for something a little different including smoked haddock and poached eggs, avocado on buckwheat risotto with poached eggs. For those real adventurous types Oysters or steak were also contenders!

We loved the crockery they were served on, each plate being totally unique...and there were 12 of us! The coffee cups we recognised from cosy stop off's at the Wheatsheaf in Northleach, another one of our faves from The Lucky onion.



 

 



We spent a couple of hours in our little indoor/outdoor nook of the building. Listening to the array of jazz they had on the sound system, drinking coffee and a few more glasses of fizz, eating a birthday cake brought to us by the staff for Soph and in general spending a perfect Sunday morning together in a beautiful Georgian hotel that we once dreamed of owning!


The food was delicious, the atmosphere relaxing, the décor enticing... this is fast becoming one of our favourite places to be!

Tuesday 20 January 2015

Martin Crean at Mode

So, yesterday was a big day for me. I was FINALLY getting my hair cut! Something I always put off but not this time, I was actually excited about visiting Martin Crean at Mode for the first time. 


Tuesday 13 January 2015

A Sunday well spent...








  
Sunday... Our favourite kind of day! Particularly when you throw friends, food and laughing into the mix. After a heavy night for both of us on Saturday, starting Sunday off with a big brunch at Hotel No.131 was nothing less than perfect! (Blog on No.131 to follow.) Luckily for us it was the Birthday weekend of our bestie Soph and she did a cracking job of organising a day for us all to get together. So we threw our perfect Sunday ingredients into a big pot and spent the whole day together...After all, a Sunday well spent is a week of content...although some would say that's debatable (currently writing this after a rather horrid Monday)! 


After a scrummy brekkie us girlies let the gents go home for the dogs whilst we went to try on and choose Bridesmaids dresses in Cheltenham. We found them and they are perfect! Can't believe they aren't coming out again until OCTOBER!  




We headed back home for endless pots of tea and chatter and then donned our wellies for a lovely Cotswold walk to burn of the breakfast. Although a flask of coffee and the Huffkins Cakes We took with us piled the calories back on, (two wise women once told us calories don't count at weekends! @photosbystef @ss_flowers) 


Back to Millie's for more tea, a toasty fire and a film, before deciding a Chinese might be a good idea. Chinese is always a good idea, no? So the boys had the job of laying the table and we popped into Bourton On The Water to our fave take away China Town the 20 min waiting time gave us a good excuse to have a quick drink at the Kingsbridge.  



 Candles lit, fire still roaring and Sunday night films on the sofa to finish off the weekend. Day's like these make the hard week of work so worth while! 

What makes your perfect Sunday?

Millie and Meg x

Monday 5 January 2015

The Mill House Hotel Kingham

We have had a long old, much needed break over Christmas and so Millie and Meg HQ has been very quiet! So we are back with full force with lots of lovely plans throughout Jan and Feb and say hello to 2015 with a Sunday lunch blog post that happened in ...2014! Happy New Year.
 
 
 
Well, walking out of a dank rainy Sunday afternoon, into The Mill House Hotel just before Christmas was as cosy as cosy gets! Lit fireplaces, big comfy arm chairs, candles, bunches of lilies and ofcourse a large Gin & Tonic, were there to greet you with a big old hug.