November is a busy month here. Two of my children and now their partners have birthdays under the Scorpion sign. Then there's my brother, grandnephew and deceased father's birthdays through November so I struggle to get excited about Christmas until I am done with the month.
But when the company who helps us with our financial planning invited us for Lunch at The Ivy as a pre Christmas treat, I happily brought my Christmas spirit forward to accommodate such a nice an offer!
I love going to Manchester. The plethora of places to eat, drink and be merry, along with what seems to be the cool people, make it such a fun place to be. An added bonus was it was the first evening of the Christmas Markets so the city was already looking Christmassy.
On previous trips to Manchester I've learnt a few things. There's lots of walking, it's a few degrees cooler up north and it usually rains so you have to dress accordingly! But on the other hand I wanted to look smart for my first visit to The Ivy and be that lady who lunches so had to choose my outfit wisely.
My first option was this dress. There's something about a dresses that always make me feel put together. My dress needed to be long so I could wear with tights and ankle or knee high boots. I found this one in the sales from New Look for £15.00!
I really liked the pattern but in my opinion, there was far too much material in the skirt than was needed so I quickly took in the side seams so it was more of a pencil skirt.
Straight away I feel slimmer with the side seams taken in
Although I was happy with my alteration I still didn't feel this was the dress I wanted to wear to The Ivy. It just wasn't making me feel special enough so downgraded it to first reserve.
Some last minute rooting through my wardrobe, I decided to wear a top that I altered from I dress I got from Boohoo.
I absolutely loved this kimono inspired dress - but as a dress, unfortunately it was a little bit short for a lady of my age! So I did some tailoring and shortening again to successfully turn it into a top that I could wear with skirts or trousers,
It actually made my day going to the ladies bathroom to find that my top fitted into the maximalist pattern they had on the walls!
The Ivy was a super experience! We arrived around 1pm and were shown to our table overlooking the rooftops of Manchester.
John and I are enjoy a good red however our host knew a thing or two about wines and ordered a delicious Malbec to start off the afternoon. With menus in front of us we spent the next half hour enjoying the wine and catching up until the staff prompted us to order our food.
I try to choose dishes that I wouldn't normally make at home so I started with a Cheese Souffle followed by a Halloumi and quinoa dish and ordered a tomato salad side. I don't know if it is me but recently when going to restaurants, vegetables don't seem come with meals! I love a bunch of greens or veggies whenever I'm eating - if nothing else they are good for you! So I had to push the waitress to find me a salad that would compliment my meal.
I was really happy as all my food choices were quite light and I didn't feel overstuffed and had enough room for a dessert.
They also gave us sufficient time before asking if we wanted a dessert. I can't think of anything worse than being rushed out of a restaurant because they want your seat for the next paying customer.
For dessert I ordered the most delicious crème brulee along with a dessert port
The afternoon continued with drinks at Schofield's Bar which is set in the most amazing iconic building.
The cocktails tasted delicious but in my honest review, I feel they were a little heavy with the blocks of ice they placed in all the glasses. I don't mind chilling a drink but for the ice to take up half the volume seemed wrong.
Any I hope you have enjoyed my blog of the day and if you get chance to go to The Ivy, I'm sure you won't be disappointed!
Until the next time
Jen