Categories
Bars Food review

BAB, WE ARE NOT IN BRUM ANYMORE- BIRDIES REVIEW

Birmingham to classy Ibiza who says you can’t have both in a day Hey?

Birmingham has opened up its very own tropical paradise in the heart of Digbeth. Birdies is an outdoor cocktail bar with a beach/island theme selling refreshing cocktails and bloody good BBQ food. 

Right next door to Ghetto Golf and just down the road from Digbeth Dining Club, you will see the Birdies neon sign flashing amongst palm trees to lure those of us desperate for a holiday. Stepping into Birdies is like stepping into your holiday without the hassle of early morning rises, broken toilet signs and crying children. The place has been made out of shipping containers (of course, that’s Digbeth for you) decorated in fantastic art that gives that quirky edge. Open roof in the centre means it’s the place to be in the summer, however, I am wondering what they are going to do when dreaded winter arrives.

It’s order at the tills, they have a main bar for ordering the drinks and then they have the kitchen bar where you can order the food. They do not display food menus on the tables so you will have to check the main menu by the food bar. From halloumi burgers to salt and pepper chicken and even ‘Buddha Bowls’- there is a variety on offer and they even cater for vegan and gluten free.

I opted for the salt and pepper chicken fries and a cheeky can of Estrella. Once ordered, I sat back and relaxed listening to the music, the music is bloody good in here and I need the playlist ASAP. Seating area is very generous here from container seats to barstools and deck chairs. Warning: the bar area is not so generous as there is only one bar, so it gets very busy on the nights as it’s lit up with fairy lights and looks like a classy full moon party-if they ever do exist. You have a great mixture of people in here, people of all ages and it’s great to see a couple of the old gals dancing with the young lads and teaching them how the older generation get down- I learnt a few things that night…

On to the important stuff, FOOD. The food is from streetvendor Apocalypse Cow who also provides the food for Ghetto Golf. It took about 20 minutes to come but I didn’t really care about the wait as I was too busy downing my drink and enjoying my holiday. When it did come my eyes lit up like a Christmas tree (too soon? Okay, okay) My salt and pepper chicken was POPPIN’ forget bloody KFC, Birdies chicken is finger lickin’ good! Layered with a Chinese sauce, very vibrant, very tasty, and the portion sizes are very generous, I actually couldn’t finish mine as it is quite filling. I made another trip back to Birdies for the cocktails, also very refreshing and tasted great and the prices are quite reasonable here. A variety of fruity cocktails on offer and beer, so you may be stuck for choice. For all you non-alcoholics or those nursing a dirty hangover, Birdies provides mocktail versions of all the cocktails so you don’t feel left out.

Birdies is the place to be, vibrant, lively and just a pretty god damn cool place to have casual drinks in the day and then a dance on the night. The only downside I would say is the bar on the nights, it gets way too busy and you could be waiting there for 20 minutes or more to be served. In the day, its perfect and the staff are very friendly and willing to help. If you’re sad that summer is over, you can always pop to Birdies as it’s summer all year round but just don’t expect a tan at the end of it.

AMY ELIZA

Categories
lifestyle

HELLO PUMPKIN.

Grab your ugly jumpers and get your “basic bitch” pumpkin latte at the ready because AUTUMN IS FINALLY HERE.

It seems I wait all year for autumn, not fussed about spring, summer is only good when there is a pool and it’s appropriate to strip in public places and winter just seems to bugga the whole world up with in indecisiveness. Autumn will always remain my favourite and for many reasons…

  1. LAYERS, I can layer to my heart’s content.  
  2. Everything looks so much prettier in autumn; the orange/red tones make photographs look so vibrant and beautiful and it’s my favourite time to go out with the camera.
  3. Is it just me or do the movies on the TV seem to get a little bit better around this time of year?
  4. ITS BUFFET SEASON FOR THE LANGSTON FAMILY: start of October is when my mom puts on her famous Langston Buff spread for the family, it’s a prestigious event and Members only are invited…you can register your interest via contact page.
  5. HALLOWEEN. Pumpkins, Cinnamon on everything and horror films running non-stop.

However, with all the positives does come some negatives and sometimes Autumn can suck for these reasons:

  1. The house becomes an open house for neglected/injured homeless spiders seeking a meal and a place to stay for the rest of the YEAR!
  2. It’s darker, it’s colder and the struggle to get up in the morning is real.
  3. Everyone is bloody infected around this time of year. Every October I get ill without fail, I get the flu jab, I take vitamins, I wear earmuffs and still, I get ill.
  4. The BASTARD leaves, when autumn comes every year, I suddenly develop a phobia of slipping on leaves. You expect it with ice in winter but you don’t expect to slip on these crafty buggas. Nowadays a leaf is more likely to put you in hospital than a bug.
  5. When you realise there is literally two months to Christmas, and you haven’t saved a penny…

October is my favourite month, not just because of Halloween but because it’s my BIRTHDAY MONTH. I will be 28 this year and can you believe I still get asked for my ID when I go out? The other day I got ID’d in Poundland for a bloody fork..*Sigh* it was pretty embarrassing as I was buying sanitary towels as well, I assumed that was what I was getting ID’d for (it was way too early in the morning) so I proceeded to flutter the pads in the air at the store assistant in which she replied “Do you need a different size”

..Christ sake.

Anyway! I usually make sure I have a lot going on in October and I have already started to plan in which I will do a few blog posts about.

Here are a few things that I will be doing in my birthday month and places I’ll be visiting!

Tattu Birmingham

Weekend break to London

Pumpkin picking- Honestly, what kind of person buys pumpkins from Asda and Tescos? Get into the halloween spirit people!

Halloween events– Severn Valley ghost train/Birmingham fancy dress halloween night.

Spa day at the Belfry Hotel & Resort

Autumn Photoshoots

I will also be checking out more Birmingham independent coffee shops/restaurants. If you have any suggestions, please let me know!

Pretty busy month as you can see, really looking forward to going back to London, London in autumn is absolutely stunning. So I hope you all enjoy “The cuddle season” In-between all I have got on this month I shall be scoffing cinnamon buns and cuddling with myself or my mother…If she lets me.

AMY ELIZA

Categories
Food review

Breakfast at the Medicine Bakery Birmingham

Sunday Morning and Cronuts are calling.

Never heard of cronuts? Well, you will after your visit to Medicine Bakery in Birmingham however this bakery has a bit more to offer then just the yeast and Sunday morning I was there to find out.

Hidden away in the centre of Brum, you’ll find this gem squished in between Nando’s and Santander Bank literally 20 second walk from Victoria Square, look out for the fresh bread outside. When you step through the front door you are greeted with a grand staircase, but don’t let that put you off as what’s awaiting for you at the top of that staircase is bakery heaven, so in fact, it’s a stairway to heaven.

As I got to the top, I have never seen such a lovely display of bakery goods, but what caught my eye first are the cronuts. The staff are very helpful, straight away a young girl was there to assist me with my non-existent bakery knowledge, I asked what is a cronut? Instead of “its soo good you got to try it” she actually explained what it was “ A cronut is a croissant/donut pastry, looks like a donut but its made from croissant-like dough which is filled with cream, these are blueberry mascarpone flavoured” it’s nice to have staff actually explain what they are selling instead of throwing the “don’t care what you say just buy it” card at customers. Soo tempting but I was here for breakfast, so I quickly shuffled forward to the restaurant/seating area and never looked back… Until 2 hours later. 

The restaurant is pretty huge, light, spacious and straight away felt really chilled out in there. Its order at the till service, and straight away I was greeted with a smile, given a menu, and informed of how the service works. Menu was pretty impressive, lots of options – vegan friendly, and I was spoilt for choice. Still dreaming about the cronut, I opted for a light dish-Avocado & chilli on sourdough with a green tea with mint. 

Set my laptop up, my tea arrived, and I zoned out, people started to flood in, but the room is so big, it never got loud! I was surprised how quiet it was with the amount of people coming in maybe because the seating areas are all spread out in the room, you are not too close to people. I was then greeted with a big smile carrying a more then generous plate of my avocado and sourdough! Bright, colourful and bloody good looking- tucked straight into it but found myself struggling half way through as I found it to be quite filling! Very tasty and very fresh. I paid under £10 for what I ordered, and I wouldn’t have minded paying more for it as I enjoyed it so much. In fact, I have paid more for a similar dish however the quality didn’t compare to Medicine and I actually paid £15 for what looked like a baby’s nappy that had exploded on my plate.

Plate to the side, work was calling, I was checked on after I finished, and I have to say I was pretty impressed with the customer service. Quite a lot of young staff working, smiles and friendly service, that’s what I like to see! I was already eyeing up the lunch menu after my breakfast but still full, I decided to pack up and pay the bill, however I couldn’t exactly just walk out there just yet, a cronut was calling.

A young girl was assisting with packing the cronuts, I also queried about the carrot & walnut cake , only because I know my mom would kill me if I walked past a carrot cake and didn’t buy her a piece, I landed in her good books that afternoon, I have to say the cronuts are bloody divine however word of warning you have to be quick to swipe one of these bad boys, I tried the following day and failed miserably- all gone by 4pm! Not a big fan of carrot cake however I found myself gobbling it down on the night and vacuuming at midnight *sigh*.

In conclusion, The Medicine Bakery is quirky and different, Great for a grab & go and even better for wining & dining (Yes! They sell alcohol) I would definitely recommend and would like to go back and try the lunch & dinner menu. An independent Brummie gem, I would say that is definitely worth more credit and more visits. 

AMY ELIZA

Categories
photography

AMY ELIZA PHOTOGRAPHY

So, I thought I would introduce you all to my photography business Amy Eliza Photography. I set my business up about a year ago now and I want to give you all a bit of an insight into my journey so far and why I chose to be a photographer.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST START GETTING INTO PHOTOGRAPHY?

I remember around the age of 13, I came across my mom’s video camera and I although the quality was not perfect (dad kept having his thumb over the lens) I thought it was so lovely to watch back, I couldn’t remember singing “Tale as old as time” on the toilet when I was 4 years old but thankfully my mom had footage of it to remind me that I was a funny little thing back then and still am now. From then I became interested in film/photography, I asked for a Canon cyber shot camera then attended college studying Media Production in which I also studied photography, however I hardly attended ( 9am class, I had to get two buses and I just couldn’t be arsed sometimes!) I did attend the one day, we were all sent out to Birmingham City Centre to take photos of the public, I came back developed my pictures and proceeded with the rest of the day. It was thanks to my photography teacher who gave me the wakeup call that I needed and to get my arse into gear, when she saw my photos she decided to give me a bollocking for not attending but then the conversation ended with ” Your photos reminded me of Sally Mann’s work, they are bloody good, what the hell are you doing?” Say no more, I got my arse into gear and started getting out there with my camera.

WHATS THE BEST THING ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY?

Being able to freeze time, look back at moments, and to share with others.

WHATS ARE THE HIGHS AND LOWS OF PHOTOGRAPHY YOU HAVE EXPERIENCE SO FAR?

Highs- I would say the support, Birmingham is a great community to live in as a creative you are supported from every angle in this great city.

Lows– I am a perfectionist, so it does get a bit stressful in the editing process, if I feel it’s not working, I will take myself way, cool off and watch a movie, it usually does the trick and sparks some creativity! Cost of equipment is a pain however its really all about the person behind the camera, you don’t just press the button and take the picture, you make the picture

HOW DID AMY ELIZA PHOTOGRAPHY COME ABOUT?

At the time I was pretty unhappy, and going out with my camera taking photos brought a lot of joy to me, Although I was “in a relationship” I found myself alone a lot of the time, it was only when my relationship at the time was starting to go downhill I decided to organise and set up Amy Eliza Photography. It was new, it was exciting, it was a long time coming and It was a great cover up to keep my mind of the break up. I started advertising free photoshoots for kids & family’s, even though I was offering my services for free, I had it in my mind I wasn’t going to get a lot of response but bloody hell, I was so wrong. My phone kept pinging, email after email and I felt the excitement and the confidence building inside of me. From then the reviews came flooding in, the more photos I posted the more recognition and the more bookings I was getting. It’s a shame because that was a time in my life where I finally felt I was going somewhere in life but then behind the scenes I knew I was going to lose someone I had in my life for nearly 7 years so it’s was a bittersweet time for me.

WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNED SO FAR?

  1. BE YOU! plain and simple really.
  2. Passion is essential in this game, the more passion I have for photography, the more I learn, the more I create, and gives me strength to make the impossible, possible.
  3. Networking, networking is essential in photography, communicating with local photographers, businesses and other creatives has really helped my business take off. The more you network, the more you are investing in your business and creating more opportunities for your business.
  4. The more you post, the more people will know your business! Never apologise for shoving it in people’s faces, the world needs to know you are serious and they need to know your name.
  5. It’s not all about the camera. You could have the best camera in the world and still produce rubbish photographs. I have a lot of people asking what equipment do I use? The most valuable equipment I have is my eyes and my creative mind.

WHAT IS THE FUTURE FOR AMY ELIZA PHOTOGRAPHY?

There is still so much to be done with my business. I am currently specialising in Portrait/lifestyle and event photography, I would like to explore a bit more! I would love to combine blogging and photography; travel photography would be an absolute dream, but I really want to focus on taking on photography full time and to influence others to follow their dreams. Too many people worry what other people think these days and shoot down their dreams because of them, haters are your confirmation that you are doing something right.

If you like to know more about my photography, then please ask away! I will be sharing more from my photography business- behind the scenes footage, tutorials and more!

AMY ELIZA