Nines Restaurant, Cambridge

If there's one thing in life that makes me happy, it's food, and this Saturday night wasn't any different. Nines is a new global buffet restaurant in the Cambridge Leisure Park and although I'm always a bit sceptical about the quality of the food at all you can eat buffets, I'd seen several posts on Instagram which tempted me into paying a visit - at £16 a head for date night, it'd be rude not to.

In all honesty, my first impressions weren't great. We arrived at 8.15pm to a massive chaotic queue and by the time we reached the front desk we were informed that we'd missed our 8.00pm table reservation and would have to wait up to an hour. We decided to wait anyway and 25 minutes later we were shown to a table on a slightly higher level overlooking the rest of the restaurant. You can order your drinks either from your table or at the bar, and then fill up your plate as you wish.

For the price I really wasn't expecting much but I was pleasantly surprised to find that the decor was stylish and modern and that there were so many different stations of food. A dedicated starters station, Thai, Chinese, Sushi, Roast, Dim Sum, Noodles, Italian, Spanish, Grill, Desserts and many more. There's a really good variety of food from typical English dishes to those from all around the world to suit even the pickiest of eaters. You can find a sample menu here.

In true Shanise style, I went for a bit of a 'Chinese' theme with my food. Crispy duck, satay chicken, lemon chicken, spring rolls, seaweed and peking ribs for starters.

Egg fried rice, noodles, sweet and sour chicken and shanghai chicken for mains (I was disappointingly way too full already). 

On to the main attraction - dessert! I was absolutely amazed at the choice available. There was fresh fruit, sweets, cakes, two chocolate fountains and a whippy ice cream machine!

In the end I opted for a few miniatures and some ice cream!

The food here was actually a lot better than I was expecting and full of flavour. A fun atmosphere fills the restaurants making it ideal for large groups and couples alike. I liked that there was so much to choose from and all of the foods were clearly labelled with a brief description and dietary info. It's best to visit when you're hungry, as I feel like I missed out on so many of the dishes because I got full up too quickly!

All in all, my first experience at Nines Global Buffet Restaurant was a good one and I'd definitely recommend it for a cheap date night. I will be returning in the near future!

My 2015 - goodbye illness, hello plans!

2015 New Years resolution: to spend at least one weekend a month somewhere other than the Fens!

So, 2015 was an important year for me, mainly because it marked 5 years since I first came down with a nasty virus that didn't seem to go away. No matter how long I spent sleeping, I always felt completely drained and my body constantly ached. I caught every cold and bug imaginable and it became the norm to sleep for weeks on end. It was hard because no one understood or could explain what was happening to me. I'd always been energetic and a fairly bright student but suddenly I couldn't even concentrate on my school work anymore. My social life diminished and my attendance dropped so low because I physically couldn't get myself up and ready everyday.

After an array of tests and appointments, I was finally diagnosed with three conditions - Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (also known as M.E.), Lupus and Hashimoto's thyroid disease. The virus had left me with my immune system struggling and basically attacking itself. Although 2 of the conditions improved over time with medication, CFS was a struggle to manage over the next few years. The hardest thing is that people don't always understand how debilitating it actually is because you look normal on the outside. For every good day, it's usually followed by several weeks of bad days.

The only plus side of being diagnosed with CFS at a younger age is that teenagers are typically more likely to make a full recovery than adults are. Over the next few years I worked hard with my doctor and a specialist nurse to follow structured programmes to help build my stamina back up. Some people may never improve. For the first year or so I felt like I was still continuously deteriorating. I struggled through my GCSE's and prom. However, slowly but surely my symptoms started to improve and eventually stabilised a bit. I was able to study Events Management & Marketing, got a part time job, got a golden retriever and passed my driving test. By September 2013 things seemed to be going relatively good so I pursued my passion for marketing and began my career with Cross Keys Homes.

CFS will always be there in the background and sometimes things get too much and I have to take some time out but I decided that my New Years resolution for 2015 would be to see more of the world, including my own country. I set myself a goal to spend at least one weekend a month somewhere other than the Fens.

So, how did I get on? Below you can find my main highlights of 2015. 

January

Any hopes for a dry January will always be ruined by January 22nd because it's one of my best friends' birthdays! This year we ventured to Leeds for Kate's birthday weekend. To summarise, 6 girls with just 1 double bed is a recipe for disaster.

February

At the start of February we decided to head to Nottingham for a night out and met up with our friend Heather. We also had our first Nando's of the year! 

On February 28th Ryan and I made our way down to Sheraton Skyline for a night in London before our flight to New York (yay). The cocktails in the Sky Garden really are something else!

March

After 20 years of waiting I finally made it to New York City! We froze to death in the snow, shopped 'til we dropped and gobbled as much food as we possibly could. I got to see some of the worlds most famous sights such as Brooklyn Bridge, the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building and the World Trade Centre. I'm not very good at showing emotion or crying, but the first morning in Times Square reduced me to happy tears! I thought I'd stop being as obsessive once I'd visited but our trip has only made me worse. (click here to view the blog post)

April

Most of April was spent with my friends as everyone was home from uni! We spent some time in our home town and nearby city Peterborough. 

Ryan and I took full advantage of the early Spring sunshine and went on our annual trip to Alton Towers and then had date night at Frankie and Benny's. 

May

May was fun and there were 2 bank holiday weekends too, yay!

In my opinion, S Club 7 have been the coolest band around since I was a kid so we booked tickets for the tour in Nottingham and made a weekend of it. We spent the day at TGI Friday's, moved on to Turtle Bay for 2-4-1 cocktails and then relived our childhoods. When it finished we went to Baa Bar for some smoking drinks and then into the city for the night. We went for lunch at Wildwood the next day before before heading back home. 

There's nothing like leaving plans until the last minute and 2 days before Radio 1 Big Weekend in Norwich we still hadn't got an outfit or anywhere to stay - organisation at it's best. Nevertheless we had so much fun!

June

Time for some holiday shopping with my mum! We had to re-arrange twice as we were both ill but we eventually made it to Leicester.

Ryan and I returned to Corfu for the third time, this year accompanied by mother Howlett and the Johnson's! (click here to view the blog post)

July

Norwich time! We went to Chiquito's for lunch, TGI's for seconds and cocktails and the rest of the sunny day drinking on the Riverside before heading out into the city that evening.

Me and Ryan celebrated our 3rd anniversary and his 22nd birthday in Amsterdam. We had some struggles navigating the transport system on our arrival - it was a nice cold, dark, wet walk. It rained, and rained, and rained some more whilst we were there. (click here to view the blog post)

One of the downsides of being ill was that it completely ruined my front teeth and left them weak. I'd previously had them rebuilt by an NHS hospital but they were ugly. I finally spent some of my savings and got some veneers fitted to the front 4! Now I can't wait to have the bottom ones done in a few years time. (click here to view the blog post)

August

After last years fun in Ibiza we thought we'd mix it up a bit and go to Ayia Napa in Cyprus this year. We had fun in the sunshine and also managed to tick Nissi Beach off my sightseeing list. I survived tonsillitis before, during and after the holiday and after 2 lots of antibiotics I finally started to feel a bit better!

We went to the cutest wedding at Brook Farm in Cuffley, Herts. It was also our first together!

To celebrate Louise's birthday we ate on the Riverside in Cambridge and spent the rest of the day drinking cocktails.

Me and Ryan spent date day/night at the beach.

September

For Tegan's birthday we had a BBQ, went to Peterborough for the night which isn't far but FLARES IS FUN and then we all ended up having a massive sleepover!

October

We finally ventured up to Sheffield to visit Hannah at uni for a few days. We did some shopping, had cocktails, year six food (aka pizza and curly fries) and two nights out.

For Halloween we decided to visit Aimee at uni in Hatfield for the first time. We met all of her friends, had some drinks and went a meal at Prezzo's.

November

With Christmas upon us, we didn't really get chance to venture too far away as we were really busy. Christmas shopping in Cambridge is my idea of hell but Ryan did finally take me to Smokeworks which was delicious.

We also dedicated another date night to one of our favourite places, Arbuckles.

Me, Jamie and Alice went to our work Christmas party at the Peterborough Marriott Hotel and had fun in the photo booth!

December

I had so many good plans for December but due to some unexpected circumstances I had to cancel quite a few of them which is a shame, but hey ho, hopefully I'll make up for them in 2016.

For my birthday me and Ryan stayed at H10 London Waterloo Again (click here to view the blog post) and had such nice views over the city. We ate at Bodean's BBQ, H10's amazing breakfast and Shake Shack whilst we were there and drinks at London Cocktail Club - yum! We walked along Tower Bridge, shopped during the day and spent the evening in Covent Garden.

As Aimee lives in Hatfield which is so close to London we decided to pay her another visit for a few days before the end of the year to tie in with our visit to Winter Wonderland. It's so pretty at night when it's all lit up! We booked tickets for Bar Ice and the cocktails were good but it was freezing.

Over Christmas I mainly spent time at home with my family and friends, but we did take Poppy to the beach for a cold walkies.

Hopefully 2016 will bring more plans! Happy New Year everybody! x