Merry Nando's

My older sister is getting married in less than 9 weeks now and yesterday I went bridesmaid dress shopping in Westfield Merry Hill (a large shopping centre near Dudley if you're not familiar with the Midlands) with my Mum, sisters and little neice. All our dresses and shoes are pretty much sorted now which is a great relief - everything's coming together so fast and it's so scary thinking my big sister will me married in just over 2 months time!

I talked my Mum into quickly taking a few pictures of what I was wearing just as we exited the car park (much to the embarrassment of my sisters!) Still loving that it's warm enough to go without tights - although probs could have done without the wind blasting my hair in my face. Nearly lost my hat the once as well - much to the amusement of my 2-year-old niece.

Dress - Miss Patina; Shoes - ASOS; Hat - River Island; Bag - Oasis via ASOS; Bracelet - Thomas Sabo

I wore my Miss Patine aubergine dress because it was the nicest thing I could pull out of my wardrobe without disturbing the kittens since they're still all snuggled up at the bottom in the one corner! Also wearing my River Island hat again, 'cause I'm still pretty much obsessed, and my ASOS bunny shoes which gained a decent compliment from the shop assistant in New Look. Love it when that happens.

After a few hours of shopping we were all dying for a bit of food (hungry business this trying on posh dresses) and so upon my Mum's suggestion we headed for dinner at Nando's. I've only ever been twice before - once when I was 18 and a bit too tipsy to appreciate what I was eating, the other time when I was 19 and too hungover to care what I was eating! I've always thought it was a little bit over-rated but this visit really changed my opinion of them.

The staff were all really friendly and the food came within 10 minutes of us ordering which is just what you want when your stomach's making funny noises at you! My Mum and sisters shared a chicken wings platter with a couple of sides between them but being a vegetarian I had to order a separate bean burger (with the mango and lime dressing) which I had with peri peri seasoned chips and a corn on the cob.

The food was delicious and I'm now officially a Nando's convert. I was surprised with just how much I had to choose from on the menu considering I don't eat chicken which is essentially what Nando's is known for. The burger I ate was one of the best bean burgers I have ever had - most bean burgers I find are either too bland or so overpowering with spices to make up for their lack of taste - this one however was full of flavour even without any added spicy sauces drizzled over it.

And so the moral of this story is to always give something a second chance; especially if the first time you tried it you weren't in the right mood to appreciate it properly. Also to always listen to my Mum - if she hadn't suggested trying it again I probably never would have suggested it myself.

Any other Nando's fans out there? Or like me before do you reckon it's over-rated?