September!

September!

Tuesday, 6 October 2026

After the excitement of the summer, September had the potential of being a bit slow - although I don't actually think that has been the case - I just took far fewer photos which always makes me feel like I haven't done anything exciting with my time. Weird.   

I've also not been feeling my best so have been forward and backwards to the Dr's a fair few times and that's been keeping me busy, but as I keep reminding myself, my goal for this year was just to be happy - and a lot of that revolves around making sure I have a fun time (as well as learning to love and be kind to myself) so that has continued to be my priority.

Oyster Shucking Masterclass

I saw a sign for a Shucking & Shaking Class as the local pub, and bought a ticket there and then. I love oysters; although whilst it seems I am very good at eating them, I am extraordinarily bad at shucking them. Regardless, I was very happy to have the opportunity to try, and (obviously) had no issues with the cocktail making afterwards.

There were only 3 of us booked in for the first session so it was almost like a private class. The other two were girls my age, so after we were all done, we grabbed our cocktails and finished the evening out in the beer garden.

A weekend in the Cotswolds

The original plan started with tickets for Salon Prive and we decided to make a weekend of being in the Cotswolds by heading to Soho Farmhouse first. Of course. 

Saturday afternoon was spent by the pool in the sun, followed by a Cowshed massage and dinner at Berenjek. The food there is just so good; plus there isn't a 3 month waiting list for a table out there.  

The next morning, we then had an early booking at the lazy lake hot tubs before grabbing a smoothie and heading the Blenheim Palace where we were promptly told no dogs allowed so that was the end of that. Regardless, it was a wonderful weekend.

Well Crafted

Well Crafted have made it into almost all of my monthly updated this year. What started as a really important part of my self development - solo activity to build self reliance - turned into much much more.

This month, Alexandra took a trip to Poland to explore her heritage and asked me to cover one of her workshops whilst she was away. After an initial hesitation, I can proudly say I hosted my first Well Crafted event, solo, at Little House in Balham. 

It was pipe cleaner crafts and it was a success. Yay

And all the other stuff: 

- It felt like it had been a while since I had a good excuse to dress up do something fancy, but dinner at The Savoy fixed that!

- A couple of friends visited from the US and they always want to do boujie things so we had drinks at the Four Seasons on Park Lane and then dinner at Zuma. 

- I went back to my beloved skating carpark with Paige, it was deserted which was both a little sad and a little scary but we had a great time.

- I went to the gym for the first time this year and impressed myself with my Stairmaster stamina, 35 minutes with no issues! 

- Cocktails and the most beautiful, red sunset at JOIA, Battersea. 

- Lunch at Riviera. Finally ticked that one off my restaurant list; and tried foie gras for the first time. 

- Risked a massage at the local Thai place and was pleasantly surprised. A lovely, lazy sunday.

- A rare visit to Borough Market that felt like a European dream, the hustle and bustle of the market, a delicious whole fish and people drinking wine on the streets

- Walks in the sun. I don't know what it was about September, but I really enjoyed my park walks this month. Maybe the light, the last of the summer warmth, just appreciating the amazing area that I have so locally. 

- Also big news - I changed my phone background! I had a screenshot from Netflix's Ed Gein: Monster as my backround since last year but this month, I finally changed it to a photo of Ronnie Radke from Falling in Reverse, my new hyperfixation band.

- Calligraphy Class with Paige. I wrote a whole post about that one if you're interested to hear more.

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Mr Fogg’s Calligraphy Atelier

Mr Fogg’s Calligraphy Atelier

Tuesday, 29 September 2026

If you've ever searched for fun bars in London, you will absolutely have already come across Mr Foggs.

"A collection of adventurous bars transporting you back to the Victorian era" based round Phileas J. Fogg and his expedition around the world. They're theatrical, unique, and dotted all over London. I've been a fan since they first opened in Mayfair, over a decade ago.

Now if you've been keeping up with me over the summer, you'll have seen that one of my favourite new activities is taking some craft or another to the pub with Paige, so this was perfect.

New! Mr Fogg’s Calligraphy Atelier: Every Wednesday - Friday | £39pp: Two-Hour Self-Guided Calligraphy Workshop with a Cocktail, Three Cards to Create & Take-Home Calligraphy Kit.

We arrived to an extremely busy pub on a Fitzrovia backstreet, to find Mr Fogg's botanical tavern. As the story goes, where he would keep careful record and sample of every seed and plant-cutting he’d ever collected on his travels. 

The street outside was packed but as we headed up the winding staircase, the high ceilings, big windows and many plants gave it a calm, almost green house feel. We sat at a little table with mismatched armchairs, set up with pens, thick practice papers, and an array of colourful inks. It was a calm haven away from the hustle and bustle but still feeding off the atmosphere and energy downstairs.  

We ordered a cocktail, and then, were left to our own devices with an online video tutorial and an excited impatience to get started. That fact that it was self guided was great because it meant we could take our time, relax and  practice until we were satisfied that our wonky R's actually look like R's and not S's whilst we caught up on two weeks worth of gossip. 

As a Brit, I learnt how to use a fountain pen at school so I assumed it was common knowledge but Paige, having grown up in America, thought it only something they did in Harry Potter (lol). Needless to say, the QR code, which supplied a step by step guide in the form of short videos came in very helpful when we finally took a moment to stop and actually look at them.

That being said, my skills left a lot to be desired. Two left handers, with a couple of cocktails, trying not to make a mess in a dimly lit room was a challenge in itself! Paige got better and better as the night progressed, whilst I started well and went downhill as it got later. That is very classic me. 

Regardless, we had lots of fun and headed home, with ink stained fingers, and a sense of accomplishment, having tried something new! 

If you're looking for a date night with a twist or a crafty evening catching up with a friend over cocktails, I cannot recommend Mr Fogg’s Calligraphy Atelier enough!

*Kindly gifted experience.

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St Tropez & Monaco Road Trip

St Tropez & Monaco Road Trip

Wednesday, 9 September 2026

After our trip to Champagne in July, we were hooked on the idea of another Ferrari road trip. Unsurprising. 

This time, we left London with no idea where we were going. 

There was a loose idea of going to Lake Como, but that was scrapped the minute we saw lightning on the weather forecast. So, naturally, we followed the sunshine and that too us to the French Riviera instead.

The first leg took us from London, to Folkstone, under the chanel and as far as Lyon which was as far as we could manage for the day. Ten hours later, we arrived, during a thunder storm to a cute little converted barn complex in the middle of a field; which I found from the passengers seat along the way.

We spent hardly any time there as we knew the sun was further south so from Lyon, we got up early and made our way to Monaco, taking a wrong turn and a very unnecessary detour through Paris. 

There was a momentary consideration of staying there and heading to soho house but we were both desperate for some sunshine so Monaco prevailed. 

Monaco was awesome, and so was the trip there. Twisting turning roads, carved into the side of the mountain, roof down, sun shining. Perfect. 

We did a couple of laps of Monte Carlo to get a feel for the place, tick off all the necessary sights and try to work out which hotel we wanted to stay in. We settled on the Fairmont, and were lucky enough to get upgraded to a sea view room, so there was a brief moment of stillness whilst we just took in the views from the balcony but it wasn't long before we were ready to go again. 

We grabbed a couple of rooftop cocktails and some dressed oysters at Amazonico and headed down to the harbour for yacht watching with champagne and a fresh seafood dinner.  

Waking up to the sound of the ocean; again there was no real plan for the day so we decided to go hang out by the pool and work out what we were going to do.

Conveniently enough, the pool at the hotel was part of Nikki Beach, so what started as a quiet matcha on the roof turned into a day party so we ended up staying there. I'm not usually a fan of beach clubs, but on a city rooftop, it was much more my vibe! Our bed was set back from the pool so away from all that chaos and it was 5pm before we realised we should have left hours ago. 

When the time finally came to leave (6 hours after we had imagined) we jumped back in the car and headed west towards St Tropez - catching golden hour along the coast as we arrived.

It was late and we didn't make a room reservation so we hoped for the best and got lucky. A very cute boutique hotel, with one ocean view garden room left. 

We dumped the bags and headed straight to the hotel restaurant as the sun dipped down behind the mountains. The food, the views, and so it turned out, the hotel itself were all incredible - another very good find! 

Refreshed and raring to go, the next morning started with a quick swim before heading out to explore St Tropez town. I didn't really have any expectations but what we found was a cute little cobbled old town, lined with designer shops and seafood restaurants. 

We spend hours wandering around from shop to shop before finally stopping for a late lunch - a bowl of fresh mussels and a glass of champagne at one of the waterfront spots. It was a awesome day. 

I'd been saving for a pair of designer flats all summer and the opportunity to buy them in St Tropez was not wasted on me. RE below: very pleased with my new shoes.

I had wanted to go to Club 55 but by the time we were bored with the old town, we'd been there all day and we're well and truly spent (lol) so we drove down to have a look but couldn't be bothered to get out of the car so skipped that and went back to the hotel.

I had another swim and then we had the most dreamy sunset cocktail situation by the pool during what felt like a never ending golden hour.

After such a wonderful meal the first night, we stuck to what we knew and had dinner in the same spot at the hotel, except tonight it was a huge steak and local red wine! 

We were back by the pool early for a swim and a croissant. The pastry in France, as suspected, is next level! The playlist this morning was whimsical piano music which set the perfect scene for a peaceful morning. Again, we were very delayed leaving; I definitely could have spent a few more days there!

The drive back north was much longer than predicted because of traffic but by 8:30, we finally arrived (back) in the middle of nowhere at another very cute little chateau where I promptly fell asleep. The next morning we were woken up by natural daylight streaming in and the sound of songbirds which was quite nice.

It was our last day, and although we were slightly tight on time, I was able to make the most of the roll top bathtub that sat in the middle of the bathroom and have a lazy breakfast (and a croissant snuck into my bag) before we left. 

Our journey home took a detour via Maison Moet to restock on that delicious imperial nectar we tried last time we were there, and the rest of the drive home was wonderful. No traffic meant long stretches of empty roads and not seeing another person as we drove through countryside. There were a couple of close calls with the petrol, arriving at the tunnel with about 5km left in the tank but it all worked out fine! The train got us back to the UK in 35 minutes which meant I was back at home and in bed by 9 o'clock.

And thus, another awesome road trip in the bag!

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Birthday month

Birthday month

Friday, 4 September 2026

August is my favourite month because it's birthday month yay! and 2026 did not disappoint! I can't believe it's come and gone already and I'm writing this as I watch the rain fall outside!

I actually did have a little dip at the start of the month because it felt like the best summer ever was coming to an end but that was quickly forgotten with the help of all the great people I have worked so hard to have in my life now - and of course the sunshine did continue for the most part so no need to be sad about it! 

Girls Weekend at Oakley Court 

Birthday month started strong, waking up extremely peacefully in the Windsor countryside with Alexandra. We had a lovely weekend away at Oakley Court.

Painting by numbers

I spent a lot of time at home with my arts and crafts during the dark winter nights, and in an attempt to bring our winter activity into the sun, Paige and I have spent the month taking Amazon specials to the pub to paint whilst we have our Friday afternoon drinks in the beer garden! 

Skating

I managed to go skating a couple of times this month which was nice and something I really miss having access to! Paige decided she wanted to try quad skates so we had a fun afternoon picking them out at the shop and going straight to Hyde park from there. 

Battersea Power Station also had a pop up rink so we checked that out too!

BBQ

I finally had my first BBQ of the year, and maybe my only by the looks of it now! At least I managed one before the summer was out. Being home also meant I got to hang out with my parents and Molly. Plus my mum did my nails for my birthday!

Well Crafted events

I helped Alexandra out at a few more events this month, and our first one in Chiswick! It was a paper flower crafts night at High Road house and the space was my favourite of all the events I've been to with her. We arrived early to set up and have some food (wine and steak tartare have become tradition).  It was a small private room with a big table and with the windows open, it was bright and airy, overlooking the high street; a lovely place to spend a summers evening. Also, the pretty bunch of sunflowers she got for my birthday! 

Pints of Knowledge

I have been wanting to go to one of these for months. The last one I bought a ticket for got moved to (scary) East London so when I saw it being repeated more locally, again in Chiswick, I got myself another ticket. It actually fell on the same day as the eclipse, which as timing allowed, I was able to watch before heading inside. 

The talk was called "Kinks and Connection: A Scientific Guide to Sex and Relationships” by Dr. Ashley Brown and I feel like I learnt a whole lot about communication within a relationship. It very much did reinforce all the issues I have come up against in the past. If someone isn't willing to tell you how they feel or what they want, then you've got no hope. 

Lots of swimming

August was hot and swimming was the only form of exercise I could manage so I made it my mission to seek out swimming pools wherever I could find! London, Windsor, Lyon, St Tropez & Monaco. Nice. 

Afternoon tea

Birthday week started with afternoon tea at Raffles - one of my favourite hotels in London! I didn't take many photos, but I did drink a lot of very fancy champagne. The OWO has a crazy wine list and I was able to two two very expensive glasses. What a treat. 

Yasmin

Birthday! Yay! I spent the afternoon on a sunny soho rooftop with my mum, brother and aunt. We're all big fans of middle eastern food so Yasmin was the perfect spot. We got there at midday and they didn't leave until almost 10pm!

Ekstedt at The Yard

At 6pm however, I left my family on the roof and headed to Old Scotland Yard for an incredible tasting menu at Ekstedt. Described as a Nordic fine dining, I didn't have a clue what to expect but it was all very unique and I learnt about some new cooking techniques. Stand outs were absolutely their signature flambadou oysters which we were invited into the kitchen see being made, and the Swedish candy at the end. I love a handmade jelly sweet.

South of France

Two days after my birthday, we were off on what turned out to be an incredible road trip around the South of France and Monaco. What a dreamy way to spend the my first week as a 33 year old. 

Summer party

I haven't been to a house party in years but my friend decided to throw and end of summer party and it was a great send off for the sunshine! It rained all afternoon, but that didn't actually bother us all that much, we kept the vibes in the kitchen (with the snacks) and did manage to grab one group photo when the sun came out for a couple of minutes.  It's been a long time since I've been in a room full of people that I don't know but I made some new friends and look forward to building on those going into the winter.

Notting Hill on Carnival Weekend 

I didn't actually go to the carnival but I did visit a friend who lives in Notting Hill over the weekend and it was quite the spectacle.

Anyway, until next month! 

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