Sunday 30 December 2018

Let’s Talk About Being Polyamorous

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new post! I've been wanting to write this post for such a long while! So, I thought that I would finally get on and do it!

To start off, sorry that this post is serious, It's something that I've wanted to talk about for a while, without knowing the best way to talk about. I always believe in that the way to break down stigmas, is to talk about it, which is what I'm doing today.

Hi, i'm Jamie, and, I identify as polyamorous. It's something little to say and even type, but boy am I proud that i am typing that I identify as poly. 

A bunch of tall women and men with different hair styles wearing white shirts and black pants on a bright background

What is polyamory? It is defined as: the practice of engaging in multiple sexual relationships with the consent of all the people involved.

Poly means many, and, amory, well means, love, therefore, it basiccally means to love many.

Polyamory can be closed and open. Closed is more towards, sort of triad/throuple. A throuple is, three people in a relationship, or more, like two people in a relationship having another partner that they both know about. Open is more of a well branches of relationships, which is what I am. \

is polyamory just a way to be a slut? No. I mean, first of all, let's reclaim the word slut. Slut isn't a bad word. It's fab and we should use it more and more in an empowering way! Polyamory isn't just a way to be sexually promiscuous. It's understanding how you feel about love and relationships. It's about understanding that monogamy isn't for you. It's understanding that there's more to love than what's represented in the media. It's being who you wanting to be and being accepted for it.

Why do people identify as polyamorous? Again, a lot of the above comes into this particular answer. Furthermore, kinks and interests come into play. Some people when going into relationships, know that their partners may be into other things, that they are not and letting them go off and find others that are into the things that you're not, means, that they will come back being happy and fulfilled. The interests could be sexual or non sexual.

Is it stressful/complicated? Of course it is, any sort of relationship, whether this be with friends, family can be stressful though, so it's not that different to that. I've been in a few poly based relationships before. They included both, open and closed relationships, and they broke down for the same reasons that a monogamous relationship would. It was gritty, messy and complex, but I think the main difference and I don't know why but it was easier to be pure friends with at least a couple of them after the relationship, because of the polyamorous aspect of it being more open, and, free flowing. I realise that makes zero sense, but, I think a lot of people see being poly as an alien concept that a lot of the mainstream public don't understand thus don't want to be educated on it, due to ignorance and not wanting to know what other possibilities are in the world.

Why are you identifying as poly? Anxiety was a main factor of it, and I realise that sounds weird, but what I mean by that is, that I have forever thought that being in a monogamous relationship, from saying hi for the first time onwards, creates tension for me in my brain. I always worry about everything, from stupid things to major things, and i knew that some point they'd get sick of me. Being in a poly relationship would calm that down, because I'd know that they'd have someone else to talk to and half my worries would be banished, because I'd be able to talk to more than one person that i feel truly and deeply connected with about it. Going off from that, I mean that worries about wondering if the other person is okay or if they're safe or having a good week or whatever, is halved, because I already know that they're spending time with people that they are interested in too.  That sounds worse than what i was intending it to sound. I also just love a lot. Anyone that has met me, knows that I'm loving and passionate in everything that I do, and, honestly i just want all the love to flow around the world, and as selfish as it sounds, all the love to be shown to me. This will probably sound worseI intend for it to sound, but, it means that the sexual tension of trying to get to know new people is broken a bit, because, you already know that they have the same ideas and values and you don't feel as tense thus you can talk about anything safely with people that you probably would have never met in a monogamous setting. There is also things like jealousy, but, unlike in monogamous relationships where the other person bottles stuff, you can have more open conversations and explore why you're jealous. A lot of monogamous relationships break down due to the lack of communication.

I realise that this is a kit if information to understand, in one go, so I'm going to link a video to help you understand it further.

If I've said anything that you think is incorrect, or, that you want to add to then please do comment!

I hope that you've enjoyed this post and I hope to see you next time!

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Monday 17 December 2018

Getting Nutty With Flavour | icestone Gelato

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new blog post! I went to try a sweet dish, at the well known brand Icestone Gelato, and I thought that today, I would tell you all about, what I had and my opinion on the dish.

A large circular bowl containing dark brown cookie dough with specks of heart shaped red strawberries with a light brown circular wafer with Icestone engraved into it on a large circular brown table on a bright background.

Icestone aims to be the ultimate dessert experience, with an range of gelatos and desserts. Icestone's Waffles, Crepes and Cookie Dough are made via their own secret recipe and as their other desserts, they have sought out the cream of bakers all over the North-West and commissioned the best cakes, cheesecakes and puddings from them.

I decided to go into Icestone Gelato, with, Jim when they came up to Leeds. (He also came along to Trinity Kitchen to try out some food. Click here if you want to read all about that.) We walked in, found a cute booth to sit and chat in, and snapped some pictures of the interior of the building.

I perused the menu for several minutes, because I'm indecisive and always want everything when it comes to food. After uhming and ahhing, I decided to choose a Nutella & Strawberry Cookie Dough, with Vanilla Gelato. (If you want to check out what Jim got when he came to Leeds for a catch up, then, check our their Instagram.)

The dish came to the table, and I already could tell that I was going to love it. You could tell that it was made with love and passion, just from the look of it.

The rich Chocolate spread against the cool refreshing taste of Strawberries was amazing. The contrast between the crunchy hard exterior, and, the gooey interior was amazing. I'm a nerd for texture contrasts. It just makes an eating experience that little bit better. I love Nutella, so, the fact that the Cookie Dough was full of it, made me very very happy.

The Vanilla Gelato, was rich, creamy, and, heavenly. The coldness against the hotness was orgasmic. I also loved it, as, I have slightly sensitive fangs (honeatly my teeth are as sharp as knves), so the sort of soft to near melted ice cream was a little bit melted for me. Some may think that, the dessert as a whole would be a bit sickly, but the Vanilla and Strawberry flavours, helped to cut through all of the sweetness.

I reassured myself that it was fine to eat all of it, due to the Nuts and Strawberries. I mean, Nuts are always good for you, and, so are Strawberries, therefore it's healthy!

Icestone also do a plethora of sweet treats, including, sundaes, puddings, and, freakshakes, so I'm sure that I'll be back very soon.

Have you been to Icestone Gelato before? Let me know down below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this food based blog post! I hope that you come back for a new post! 

Thanks for reading! 
Jamie x 

Saturday 1 December 2018

Getting Beefy Without Some Of The Meat | Trinity Kitchen

Hey everyone!

How are you?

Welcome to a brand new blog post. The wonderful guys over at Trinity Kitchen at Trinity Leeds, invited me to go and try out some of the new vendors that have arrived for the Winter season, so I thought that I would tell you all about, the vendors, dishes, and my opinion of the dishes that I tried at Trinity Kitchen.

Trinity Kitchen is a open plan food court in the heart of Leeds city centre, that offers a plethora of food from different cuisines and countries, such as Vietnam, America, Mexico, and many more Trinity Kitchen also offers the citizens of Leeds, brand new food vendors on an eight week rota, which ensures that they get to enjoy a selection of different food vendors throughout the year.

(I decided to try some of the new vendors at Trinity Kitchen with Jim, my good friend from, near Wigan. If you want to check him out, then just click on his name throughout the post. If you want to check out any of the vendors, then do the same.)

Me and Jim started off by going to Tortilla, he decided that he wanted to try one of their Burritos, so, I stool in line with him, whilst he decided on what he wanted within the Veggie Burrito that he had ordered. He liked it, and thought that, the Hot Salsa went well with the cooling Sour Cream in the Burrito.

We then went along to Sela Bar. Sela Bar is back by popular demand with outstanding burgers and all the toppings! We love the super double cheesy, two steak and caramelised onion patty's with double American cheddar, onions, pickles and of course loads of ketchup.

A large white rounded rectangular sign with burgers in dark black font with small circular lights behind it on a dark background


I decided to get a BBQ Burger, which was filled with all sorts of goodies, including, Bacon, BBQ Sauce, delicious Cheese, Pickles, and much more. Jim enjoyed a Halloumi Burger. He mentioned that he enjoyed the mixture of salty and sweet, that was going on within the Burger, due to the sweetness of the sauce, and the saltiness of the Halloumi Cheese. He also ordered some Fries, which I had a couple of. They were crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside. The showings of a perfect fry.

A white circular block with green lettuce and red sauce inside two golden buns on a white tray with a portion of rectangular golden fries next to it on a light brown square table with a guy wearing a white tshirt behind the burger on a dark background.

Next up on our trail was Doh Hut. Only the best will do, say hello to The British Street Food Awards 2018 winner! The finest and only DIY donuts in the city. Our favourite is the Vanilla Bean Crème Patisserie filled donut with Salted Caramel Sauce, Homemade honey comb and homemade shortbread- unbelievable!

A tall pale man wearing a grey beanie hat, dark blue shirt, black jeans and a white apron standing over a silver large square metal over in a white rectangular van on a bright background

When we walked up to the vendor truck, the lovely guy that was on shift there, offered us a try of a mix of Creme Pat & Raspberry Jam. It was divine. Fruity and creamy at the same time. Reminiscent of 'Pink Custard.' After tasting that amalgamation of amazingness, I decided to choose a Raspbery Jam one, and Jim decided to go for a Creme Patisserie one. I loved the contrast between the sugary exterior, with the tart fresh interior. It was sticky but definitely worth it. Jim said that the Creme Pat filling worked with the sugar on the outside.

A circular golden donut sprinkled with white grains of sugar filled with red raspberry jam with a red raspberry on the top of it on a white rectangular tray on a light brown rectangular table on a bright background

Lsst on our adventure around was, Village Deli Scotch Eggs. Scotch egg lovers are in for a treat! Sample a modern take on the traditional snack at Village Deli Scotch Eggs with European varieties including chorizo and red pepper, and black pudding.

A large white rectangular van with a white rectangular sign with hot and crispy scotch eggs in black casual font with a large pale man inside wearing a wjite and red hat and white shirt and black jeans on a bright background

I decided to go for a Chorizo Scotch Egg. I love that thick spicy sausage in absolutey anything. The Egg was slightly runny on the inside, crispy on the outside, and had the warming spice of Paprika running all the way through it. It was absolutely amazing! I rarely eat Scotch Eggs, mainly because, I associate Scotch Eggs, with being dry and powdery from the supermarket. As Jim is a Veggie, he got to enjoy the salad garnish.
Two semi-circular golden brown scotch eggs showing a white egg with a yellow yolk with pieces of bown chorizo next to a leay green salad on a white rectangular tray on a light brown circular table on a dark background


The other two vendors at Trinity Kitchen, include, Let's Go Wild Boar (they were mentioned in my last Trinity Kitchen post), and, Little Red Truck, that specialises in Cheese Sandwiches, but wasn't open, when I was there.

Have you tried any of the new vendors in Trinity Kitchen. whilst getting some Christmas shopping done? Let me know down below!

I hope that you have enjoyed this food based post! Don't forget to check everyone that is linked within this post.

Thanks for reading!
Jamie x