GLUTEN FREE AFTERNOON TEA AND BABE'IN DRESSES

I'm pretty sure "hare of the dog" applies to sugar consumption too. Like, I'm sat here after the most dreamy afternoon tea and biscuits with a slight headache, a slightly shaky body, on the verge of nausea (because, err, hello if you leave anything at a tea than you are a failure in life), clutching hold of a big old cuppa and erm, another massive biscuit.

I have no idea why but my dreamboat of a biscuit - iced by yours truly, my talents are clearly endless [insert cry laughter/eye roll emoji here] - is really helping the sugar shakes, headaches etc. but it just is. I think that we can all agree that my ability to excuse my clogging up my arteries for a good cause is second to none. Lol!

But enough about me not being able to cope with too much sugar despite pretty much having nutella running through my veins rather blood, today - well, when I started writing this last friday - was a pretty bloody lovely day. A day that combined a fun biscuit icing session at Biscuiteers, a dress that I am 100% in love with and hope you are too because it ain't leaving my body for at least a month, friends, a gluten free afternoon tea that I nearly proposed to, and the fact that this whole day was for a great cause, celebrating National Tiger day.

So I thought I'd just take you along with me, showing you said babe'in dress - complete with a major cake bloat #SexOnLegs - my absolutely terrible icing skills, the dreaminess that is Biscuiteers and and a little chat about tigers because it was only after checking out an amazing Kuoni safari holiday and oohing and ahhing at the incredible animals that made me really think about the future of them too...

Dress - New Look / Choker - New Look / Shoes - Debenhams (old but similar at ASOS) / Bag - Zara (old, similar here) / Watch - Daniel Wellington

So this is what I wore and I promise you I didn't chose Orange and black because of International Tiger day [insert guilty face/"Look, don't blame me OK, some things just have to be done" emoji here]. But I absolutely adore this New Look dress. The Off/Cold shoulder trend is something that I have totally jumped on board with and I'm obsessed with the length too. Midi's just have a way of making me feel classy and sassy and like I can take on the world.

... which must be why I paired it with a choker that makes me feel like a goth 90's kid that had no friends.

My comfy Debenhams heels came out to play because I can actually walk in them (#Winning) and my Zara/'Chanello" bag that I've recently rediscovered came along for the ride too.

So then it was time to get icing and this is where things got fun. Along with an icing expert - I'm 100% sure that's not the accurate name for what the lovely lady was, but you get the gist - Hannah, Kristabel, a lovely author and her ridiculously cute kids (I am SO sorry for my lack of name retention skills but she was lovely) and the team at Born Free, Kuoni and Biscuiteers, we preceded to learn how to ice Tiger and lion shaped biscuits. And despite being a little bit shockingly bad at the icing, I actually loved giving it a go and found it strangely therapeutic. I imagine it's a little bit like the adult colouring in books but much tastier because if you don't lick off half of the icing, who even are you?

D'you know what, I laugh at myself and say that my icing was awful - which it kinda was - but they actually turned out a lot better than expected so you know, 10 points to Gryffindor and all that... 

After finding another thing not to give up my day job for, it was time for our afternoon tea and it's safe to say that Biscuiteers really do know how to put on a bloody incredible gluten free spread. It was one of the first times that I didn't feel totally separate from everyone else because our teas were pretty much identical. From amazing sandwiches - seriously, kinda salivating over them as I type - to dreamy scones (100% my favourite part of any tea) and the most innovative little cakes and biscuits that I've seen in a long time, I absolutely devoured every last bit - apart from a little cake because everybody else had left a bit and I felt like pig of the year eating it all, but better believe that I doggy bagged that bad boy up for later - whilst hearing all about international tiger day. So here's a few little facts;

• At the rate that we are going, Tigers could be extinct in 5 years.
• In just over 100 years we have lost 97% of all wild tigers.
• Iconic tiger ranges are being taken over by human settlement, timber cutting, hydroelectric dams etc. 
• Poaching is a massive threat to the remaining 3000 tigers as the illegal wildlife trade business is said to be worth a whopping 19 billion dollars a year (a sickening figure if you ask me).

And here's why we need to act now to protect the remaining 3000 and stop the imminent extinction of such a beautiful animal.

• They're an iconic creature, simple as that.
• Tigers shape the ecosystems in which they live, leading to the possible demise of other species.
• One of India's biggest tourist draws are the tigers, meaning that the extinction could cause a huge drop in the country's business, income and quality of life for locals.
• Over 350 rivers in India originate from Tiger reserves. These reserves also sequester carbon, provide oxygen and slowly release groundwater to regulate floods. Protecting the tigers will also protect these vital habitats, in turn helping to buffer the impact that the floods have on the poorest communities in Asia.

Basically, as well as being absolutely beautiful, iconic animals, they also play a huge part in the lives of the people living in Tiger range areas. Here's a link to the International Tiger's day page for more info but seriously beauts, definitely look into it because I had no idea that these problems were even happening.

So there we have it; babin cakes, chilling with my favourite gal pal Hannah, icing biscuits in the clumsiest fashion ever, prancing around in a dress that makes me feel sassy as hell and some info on the drastic situation for tigers across our globe. I hope you enjoyed this post and found it useful, I absolutely loved putting it together!

Have you been to Biscuiteers before? Were you aware of the potential and imminent extinction of tigers? I always love to hear your thoughts!

As always, thanks so much for reading!

xx

*This post was kindly sponsored but all love of sugary, carby, cakey goodness and raising awareness of important causes, my own.

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