SLIDER

Mont Orgueil Castle, Jersey.

Tuesday 20 December 2022

We went to Jersey for a lazy spa weekend but after my fill of massages, saunas and long boozy lunches, we decided to go for a little explore on our last afternoon. 

We soon found ourselves wandering around Mont Orgueil Castle. 

It was a cold and windy afternoon so I took my new coat with. It's the Expedition Down Parker from Land's end and I picked the black one with grey fur lining the hood. With sealed seams, rib knit inner storm cuffs, and down insulation, it did a great job at shutting all of the elements out, protecting me from the cold, the wind and the rain.

We had a look around the old building and then grabbed a jersey cream cone to eat by the seaside. It was a lovely end to the trip!
*Gifted Jacket

Opening night at Bacchanalia, Mayfair

Monday 28 November 2022

Thanks to a very good Instagram marketing campaign, I have been excitedly waiting for this place to open for months, so as soon as the email dropped in my inbox, I made a booking for opening night. 

Bacchanalia, located just on the corner of Berekley Square and Mount Street is a Greek/Italian fusion restaurant and Richard Carings newest culinary venture.

I'm very glad to have been although in short, I'm not sure I'll be be in a rush go back the same way I have been with some of the other restaurants nearby.

The restaurant design looked amazing in the photos, with huge sculptures and a Sistine Chapel-style ceiling but in reality, it seemed a little.. faker than I'd have hoped. I was also a bit sad that they weren't able to accommodate my request for a table on the main floor because 'there were lots of press coming in' who they needed those tables for.

The bar downstairs was great, as was the atmosphere so we spent some time there before heading up to our table on the balcony floor which had a much quieter vibe. The design was strangely familiar to the set up at Annabel's, another of Carings places but the cocktails were very unique so I'd definitely come back for those.

I ordered a MAENAD which was gin based with raspberry and eucalyptus, and very rich and creamy thanks to the addition of white chocolate, Greek yoghurt & egg white. We also had to try the KARPOUZI just because of the description. Basically, sold to us as somewhere between and Aperol Spritz and a greek salad, this one was created with watermelon, and feta infused vodka.

Food and drinks were just a little bit more expensive than the other places which I think was a little unnecessary, but we did enjoy everything.

When it came to food, we decided on a classic burrata, a steak tartare with a nduja twist and my favourite, unsurprisingly, was the octopus. I love octopus and this was I exception, paired with some Greek pulses. 

On to the mains, we had a plate of pasta that whilst good - it's hard to go wrong with truffle - was pretty average and decided against a proper 
main dish and dessert, unheard of for me. Nothing really took my fancy, apart from the tirimasu dessert, although I didn't fancy taking a £35 risk on that.

So, in conclusion, I'd most definitely pop back for a drink. The sparkling bar, and the cocktail list impressed but in terms for the food I think it was just a little too expensive to get excited about again.

Going out in Femme Luxe

Friday 11 November 2022

Femme Luxe recently gifted me some new outfits and here's where I wore them:

I wore this square neck, red dress on Halloween - paired with some devil horns and simple black heels. We were actually just going for dinner, rather than any big Halloween event so I thought it worked nicely as a subtle nod to the holiday.

Food was at Coya; we had the tasting menu, which is full of my favourite dishes like some of the ceviche's and the chocolate orange churros. After that, we went for a wander in search of drinks and came across Bagatelle, which was absolutely buzzing on a Monday evening. You could see people dancing on the tables from the street so that’s where we ended up!

This one shouldered top is one of the best things I’ve gotten from Femme Luxe. It’s a deep maroon colour so great for the winter months and it fits me perfectly. The single sleeve is made of a floaty, chiffon material which gives the piece great movement, and the length cuts off at just the right place. I wear it a lot, but recently, paired with high waisted, black, skinny years and boots, for a celebration dinner at Isabel, which meant delicious food and a more champagne that I'd like to admit.

After my fourth vaccine earlier this week, I took a nap and woke up with intense steak cravings, so we booked a table for STK that eve and I went for another Femme Luxe piece.

This ribbed bandeau top came as part of a co-ord with wide leg trousers - which also gets a lot of wear - but for a wintery evening out, I like to pair it again, with my black skinny jeans and converse for a more casual look.
*Gifted clothes.

Terrarium masterclass at The Botanical Boys

Monday 24 October 2022

I like to keep my Sundays for wholesome activities. Usually it'll be a gym day, or a roast but the past couple of weeks have been filled with fun new activities.

My most recent Sunday involved a rainy train ride to King's Cross to do a terrarium workshop with the Botanical Boys and I just had to mention it, what an awesome way to spend the morning.
Initially, I thought I'd walked into some kind of dinner party set up. The very aesthetic shop had a big table in the back, complete with placemats, a couple bottles of prosecco and a center piece of dishes filled with different things. 

Upon closer inspections, I realised these bowls were filled with soil, stones and sopping wet moss which was surprisingly reassuring.

We took our seats and with help from Michael, we built our terrariums from the bottom up whilst he told us some very interesting bits and pieces about how terrariums came about and how they changed the way the world grew tea. 
After a messy couple of hours, they were complete - with an extra plant I'd won from the pop quiz and a plastic dinosaur that now lives there.
Extremely enjoyable from start to finish and the whole time flew by so I'd recommend it to anyone interested! 

Afterwards, we packed up our creations and headed out for a late lunch - there are so many places to eat and drink nearby. We settled down in German gymnasium and ended up spending another few hours there after lunch, waiting out the storm upstairs with a few cocktails. A very satisfying day. 

Birthday Week

Wednesday 7 September 2022

My birthday celebrations lasted almost the whole month this year and I had the best time ever. 

Birthday week, however, was absolutely jam packed. In between family, work and other bits and pieces I had three big days out with the girls.

The first came on the weekend before the big day. We started at Neverland, which is nicknamed 'Fulham Beach' making it the perfect location for a 33° day in London. 

There was lots of prosecco and sparklers -  the girls even bought me a cake which was very cute. My little unicorn just about survived the heat and made it out to the table with his horn still in tact. 

After a few hours on the north side of the river, we crossed Wandsworth bridge to SW London's favourite pub - The Ship - for tequila and sunsets. 

 I always leave early and go looking for food so the night ended for me at Mcdonalds whilst the rest of them continued to some other bars in Balham.
Our next big outing was my actual birthday - the 18th and also the day that the new Simmons in Clapham launched. And if you know anything about the Simmons takeover currently happening in London, then you know that their launch nights involve two hours of free alcohol. 

Since a couple of us finish work pretty early, we headed straight there and ended up being right at the start of the queue. After making friends and eating doughnuts, we were the first in an stayed to watch it fill out. After that, we hopped around Clapham between Venn Street Records, just across the road and then some free birthday cocktails at the London cocktail club. We finished up back in Simmons because the music was just too good!  

and in case you were wondering, this time it was KFC. A birthday treat if you will.
Birthday week ended at Gunnersbury Park a few days later. Electric City was my first festival and I had an awesome time. EDM, wine and glitter in the sun with my friends? sign me up! Not a bad way to spend my first Sunday as a 29 year old. 

Did I leave early? Absolutely - with a plate of special fried rice no less!

A day trip to Cambridge

Thursday 21 July 2022

In an attempt to get out of London for the day, the girls and I jumped on a train headed to Cambridge. 

It was extremely hot so we didn't manage a whole lot but it was such a fun day, I wanted to share the photos. 

We hired a student to punt us around for an hour and share all his Cambridge knowledge. We quite liked little Henry by the time it'd finished, he was very entertaining! 

After that, we grabbed some take away drinks and found a shady spot by the river to drink them. 

There was just enough time for a little bit of shopping and rather a large ice cream before the heat got the better of us and we decided it was time to head home!
 
A wonderfully wholesome day.




Five awesome places to eat in Lagos

Wednesday 6 July 2022

In June, I went on a very last minute trip to somewhere completely new - Lagos (In Portugal, not Nigeria!)

With not a clue what to expect I can now confirm there's a cute little old town, lots of great beaches and some v good restaurants.

As per usual when it comes to travel, I ate and drank rather a lot. I planned my days around it in fact - beaches, walks and pool time slotted in between food and cocktails very few hours!
Here were my favourite stops.

Campimar Beach Restaurant 


This place was just a little beach side restaurant but was probably my favourite in terms of food and drink - plus its always nice to walk, off of the beach straight into a restaurant still in your bikini. 

We went for lunch and I had the sea bass. I love a whole fish when I'm in holiday so I ate quite a lot of sea bass on this trip but this was my favourite one. Super fresh and prepared particularly well - it had the most delicious, crunchy skin.

They also had a great selection of frozen cocktails which we bought multiple of and took down to the beach!

ORTA by Casa Mae


We headed here on the first night, practically as we got off the plane. In hindsight, we shouldn't have rushed straight there because we were exhausted and couldn't enjoy it to its full potential because it was very nice. Located in the hotel, the set up and atmosphere here is really lovely, somewhere a little bit more romantic and dressed up.

In a sleepy haze, I started with the ceviche and avocado puree, followed by an octopus dish. Both very well presented and both delicious!

The Garden


The Garden is really quite unique and very unexpected, I was caught totally off guard as we arrived. Its located on a normal road, right in the centre of town, and then all of a sudden, you turn a corner and see a little garden entrance.

The restaurant is an amazing South African braai style, open air dining venue. Perfect for the warm evenings in The Algarve.

I went for the mixed plate because I wanted to try as much as possible. This included their 'customer favourite ribs,' - very good - as well as a sausage and some pork. The plate came with coleslaw, new potatoes and a drink. All for €12 . 

Highly recommend ordering dessert if you visit as well, the banoffee was unexpectedly awesome!

Bahia Beach Bar & Restaurant


This was our last meal before heading to the airport and what an enjoyable one it was. Lunch was another round of sea bass, paired for a fair few cocktails (Hugos - one of my favourites) and a homemade chocolate mousse for dessert.

It was kind of hidden away for everything, not just somewhere you'd wander past by accident so a very cool vibe. 

Restaurante Rei das Praias

This was another beach front restaurant but on another beach, this one was much more upmarket.

Table clothes set the scene whilst lots of white wood and rustic rope kept the vibe, beachy. 

A little more expensive that the rest but that came through in the quality of the food - which was great. Of course I went sea bass again here, we both did this time! Filleted and served with chips and a glass of wine and a view.

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