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LIFESTYLE: My Morning Routine

Monday, 11 April 2016


Bathroom habits seem to be of everyone's interest lately, have you noticed? There's been articles in the newspaper and magazines and press releases left, right and center on just how clean we are. Pebble Grey did some of their own research and apparently found out that over a third of people admit to not showering or bathing daily. Ew

Natural cleaning brand method (remember I did a post with them a little while ago?) also did some reasearch and found out that one in five of us wear clothes taken straight from the dirty laundry. Also Ew. Plus a quarter of people say their cleaner is more important to them than their doctor.

Check out this list of Britain’s top ten most surprising #dirtylittlesecrets! Apart from the ewwwwss and the yuck,  I actually thought it was pretty interesting!

1. Running out of clean underwear and going commando 
2. Using a hairdryer to dust (LOL)
3. Noticing a lipstick on a 'clean' wine glass + wiping it off with a finger 
4. Leaving the bed sheets for more than six months before washing them 
5. Following the five second rule and eating food that has fallen on the floor
6. Eating from the same plate at dinner that was used at lunchtime (guilty)
7. Never washing hands before eating 
8. Hiding mess away in cupboards rather than cleaning up 
9. Buying new clothes to avoid doing the ironing 
10. Cleaning the house in the nude

To go together with this, I was asked to write about my morning routine but I'll be honest it isn't very exciting, especially during the week and I only have one dirty little secret but more on that later. I can get from waking up to out of the door in 11 minutes if needed, a little precise, I know, but that's because it happened last week and I was pretty impressed with myself.

That was one of the quicker mornings obvs but I think I left the house looking pretty much the same and I still managed to do everything I usually do - just a bit faster! So let me talk you through it.

During the week, I set my alarm for 7am and start my morning listening to Dave Berry on capital for 10 (or 30) minutes. I like listening to them talk because it makes me feel like I need to concentrate which wakes up my brain - does that even make sense? If that doesnt work, then I'll jump on youtube and find something loud and fast - at the moment, my go to song is Riton Ft. Kah-Lo - Rinse & Repeat.

Then when I finally get out of bed & find my clothes for the day (not out of the dirty laundry, ew), they go straight onto my radiator because getting into warm clothes makes so much difference! I usually shower in the evenings so I dont need to worry about that until later on.
So now maybe I should let you in to my little secret. I only wash my hair once a week, soz. I'm in that routine and it works for me, my hair lasts fine and I seriously don't think it looks much different from day one to day seven, is that really terrible?

Annyyyway, back to what I do do. Honestly, it's just a matter of brushing my teeth, eyeliner on, clothes on, perfume (currently FIERCE by A&F) and out of the door, well I say that but actually, I have OCD which means I cant just walk out of the door, not until I have checked all of my plugs, two doors, both cameras, my laptop and a window that I have never even opened. It used to completely take over my morning but with the help of my therapist, I am getting better at leaving my bedroom in the morning so hopefully that'll be something that wont be part of my morning routine for much longer.

At the weekends, we have never really laid in later than 9, nowadays we're up early and at the gym before then! Again, as of recently,  My blender is finally getting some use and after the gym, I'll make myself a smoothie, this weekend it was banana, spinach, almond milk, honey & yoghurt and for my first attempt at spinach inside a smoothie (lets forget that I worked at Boost for 6 months) it wasnt too bad! I took a handful and Andrew ate the rest for breakfast with some garlic paste. Yeah, I thought it was strange too. 

After that, it's all about a nice long bath with something from Lush, a little face cream, maybe even some mascara and my contact lenses!


Whats Your Dirty Little Secret?

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LIFESTYLE: Easter At The Mondrian, London

Wednesday, 6 April 2016


Last year, I didn't really take any notice of bank holidays until they rolled around and I found myself with an extra day off and absolutely nothing to do. I ended up getting quite frustrated because most times, I would just end up wasting the day at home, very bored. That was especially true last Easter - two whole extra days off and nothing to do? Needless to say, I spent most of napping, waking up only to eat Easter eggs and then fall back asleep again. After that, I promised myself that I was never going to let a bank holiday pass again without having properly thought about how I wanted to spend it.

This year, we decided to make up for that buy squeezing as much as activity as we could fit in over one weekend. We went to The Ivy Grill for breakfast and YO Sushi and Big Easy for dinner but in between all of that, we booked ourselves in at The Mondrian for two nights stay!
As well as staying in their smaller rooms in the past, we have had the amazing opportunity to stay in a couple of their biggest rooms so going back to a mid level room, I was a bit worried that it was be a little disappointing. But of course, it wasn't and it just shows that you don't have to stay in the biggest most delux room to get the full luxury of the hotel! This time we stayed in a river view suite and it was the perfect base for our weekend!

The room features a super soft, king size bed with a big TV opposite, gotta be comfy for all that come dine with me! They also always leave us a couple of bottles of water next to our bed which is nice!
Next door was a separate living room area which had a big sofa, an arm chair, another TV, a desk, a whole load of snacks and dining table and chairs as well. How incredible is the decor?! As can be expected with all of the furniture is custom designed by Tom Dixon, I love every single room we've stayed in.
We were lucky enough to have two different bathrooms again! One with just a toilet and sink (that was Andrews one) and the other had that plus a rainfall shower and huge roll top bath. Two bathrooms makes such a difference to our stay - it meant that I could spend as long as I wanted in the bath (and I did) without Andrew interrupting for a wee or to brush his teeth.
The rooms are all lovely and bright thanks to the big windows in both the bed and living rooms, these let in a huge amount of natural light and also give way to the most incredible view over London and the Thames.
I loved to sit staring out of those windows whenever I had a spare few minutes
We were lucky enough to be left a lovely note and bottle of champagne by the hotel staff so after our venture to Covent Garden for dinner, we decided that we were going to take advantage of the living room and pop it open with a film. Luckily, The Heat was just starting as we got settled but in the past we have used their in room film download service! It was so easy and something like £7 to download a film - we watched Bad Neighbors last time.
The next morning we were up bright and early to go to the gym! That not something you would normally hear me say but with all the food that we eating that weekend, Andrew thought it would be a good idea. This was actually my first ever trip to a gym but it didn't take long for me to get started! The equipment was really easy to use!

After a good 40 minutes there, we were back up to the room, washed and ready for breakfast by 10! The breakfast at all three London Morgans hotels is always amazing but I think the Sea Containers is just a little bit more my style plus the big windows mean, like the room, it was full of natural night and a lovely view over Southbank.

Andrew went up and picked from the buffet whilst I went for the a la cart menu - it was a hard choice between mashed Avocado on Charred Toast with cherry tomatoes & soft boiled egg (you know me) or the Crab Scrambled Eggs on Toast with avocado & cherry tomatoes.
but as you can see, I went for the crab! I decided that since we were there for two days, I could get the crab today and the avo tomorrow but it was just so good that I got the same thing all over again the next day! I really enjoyed it and it kept me full until dinner that evening with the exception of a green juice and a cookie. We usually order breakfast as room service but this weekend, we ate in the restaurant with our juice and hot drinks, it was lovely to watch people come and go along the southbank.

After breakfast we went for a walk and stumbled across a food market where I got my juice and a huge cookie! Theres always something going on around there. As I said, we rest of the weekend was spend wandering around the area and eating. Here's a few photos from the rest of our weekend:
There aren't that many as we did spend alot of time in the room, relaxing in bed and watching one episode of man vs food after the other! We did the same thing again the next morning before packing up ready to leave! Not without one last moment spent looking out at the view whilst finishing off my Easter egg!
As always we had an incredible stay at The Mondrian and yes, I am actually looking at out next trip back already!

How Was Your Easter?

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LIFESTYLE: New Dishes at YO! Sushi

Monday, 4 April 2016


After a cheeky YO! Sushi date with Andrew on Saturday night I was back again, to the Southbank branch the following Wednesday for the launch party for Babymetals new album! They played the music through the store whilst we sat down and tried even more of the new dishes! YO have only recently updated the whole menu and there's loads of delicious new dishes! I'm going to talk you through my favourites!
It was the perfect evening for a little party, I popped along after work and the sun was still shining! I think the Southbank branch has such a lovely atmosphere, especially when the leave the doors open.
As for Babymetal, I knew they were Japanese metal but I'd never heard their music before. I listen to metal sometimes and I thought the girls gave it a super fun and kinda cute edge. Anyway, back to the food - there is just something so excited about looking out for a dish that looks tasty and pulling it off of the conveyor belt to eat. I love YO! Sushi.
With two trips to this branch last week, I've managed to try quite a few of the new dishes now. My favourite would have to be the chicken wings - four wings on pink dish (pink dishes mean £4.15) and they were delicious. The first time, we were meant to share but Andrew ate most of them before I even got a chance, so on my second trip I made sure that I got some for myself! Moist, juicy chicken with a lovely, crispy and well seasoned skin. This dish is going to be a firm favourite!
I also really enjoyed both the Seabass Nanbanzuke and pork belly dishes. These dishes were both pretty similar, both on pink dishes and both, sweet and sour style on top of a huge pile of rice. The sea bass was really sweet but I loved it, the flaky white fish was something totally different for YO but it was really tasty! The big chunks of pork belly and daikon were in more of a sticky, sweet and sour sauce but just as delicious!
I loved that I also had the opportunity to try a few dishes that weren't necessarily new to the menu but new to me. I finally gave in and tried the strange chocolate balls that I see every time I visit. They're chocolate mochi and tbh I'm pretty upset I didn't try them sooner! They were absolutely delicious - like gooey chocolate truffles with chewy glutenous outside. Sadly no photo as they were gone in seconds.

Another new dish I tried was the Salmon and yuzu tartar topped with salmon roe. I wouldn't usually order as it was one of the £6 yellow dishes but after trying it, I actually think it is worth the money! It was quite large to start with and wasn't something you can eat all in one go so it lasted me the whole meal!
I've just spotted Salmon Teriyaki on the menu which I'm pretty sad I missed, thats definitely my kinda dish so I'll be back for one of those soon!

After stuffing myself silly on all my favourite new finds, I left YO at 7pm to this
It was just so lovely that I decided to walk back to Liverpool Street which was a good hour of sunset watching! All in all; A really lovely evening!
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FASHION: The Edit at Matalan

Friday, 1 April 2016


Last week, I was invited along to Matalans SS16 launch party for "The Edit" in their flagship Oxford street store. I popped along with a couple of friends and we spend the evening chatting, drinking champagne and elderflower cocktails and perusing all of the clothes on every floor of the store! I also spend a good 10 minutes playing around with their interactive styling mirror which was quite alot of fun, it puts the clothes on you and you can switch to the next style by waving your arms around. I'm not sure I would use it if I was seriously wanting to buy something but it was great to see if a colour or print suits you and was pretty interesting to try a new way of doing things!

At first glance the new collection is full of lovely prints, pretty, a-line skirts in all sorts of textures and floaty tops in a range of different colour. I was instantly drawn to a few pieces from the collection. Firstly this AMAZING white boho top (which comes in black as well,) I am desperately waiting for the 8 to come back into stock, I want them both! I also loved these pretty wide leg trousers which is odd for me because I have never even worn wide leg before but just the print, and of course the dress I have on now. I just loved the stripes and the lovely thick material, it looked lovely as it was on the model but when I tried it on at home, the shape didn't work so well for me so I had to improvise.

I took the string out of the neckline and tired it around my waist, hitched it up a little and ta-dah. I love it again! Paired with my New Look heels, I fell in love with this simple outfit, I went downstairs to take my photos with my brother and my mum said I looked like I was going to Ascot. I'm not sure I agree entirely but I do see where she is coming from with that this look is very grown up and sophisticated but still fun and comfortable.
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LIFESTYLE: I Remember.. My Favourite Family Memory

Wednesday, 30 March 2016


 A few weeks back, Red Letter Days got in touch and asked me to recall my favourite shared moment with your parents. I had a long hard think but there was one particular holiday, over 15 years ago that kept popping back into my mind. They asked me to write a short paragraph for them to include in their blog post here (link to come asap), but I thought it might be nice to pad it out over here with a bit of a longer post! This post could get VERY long as it was a 5/6 week holiday so I think I'm just going to try to cut it down to specific little things that I remember.
 
If I tell you that I remember most details about a holiday that I went on when I was 8, then you've gotta assume that it was a pretty special holiday right? Let me set the scene, it was the summer of 2002, the year after 9/11 and my mum had decided she wasn't going to get on a plane again so my parents had to come up with something a little bit outside of the box for the 5 of us (I have two younger brothers). Basically, we drove to Southampton, got a week long cruise over to NYC, drove to Florida, stayed there for two weeks, and then did the same thing to get back home. It was a pretty incredible holiday and one of my top two ever (only competing with my trip to Thailand.)

 Cruises were like nothing we had ever seen before (we've been on one every year since) and this wasn't just another Royal Caribbean cruise, our first trips were were Cunard and they were like the big old ships you see in the films, white gloved afternoon tea, a chocolate on your bed each night, people wore ball gowns to dinner (of course I remember all things food related). When we arrived in America, and my parents took advantage of the three days we had in New York and of course we visited Ellis Island and The Statue of Liberty. I also remember being super excited about actually eating chinese from one of those paper pots and the huge ferris wheel inside the giant toys are us.
We spent the next three days driving down to Florida. What do I remember about those days? I remember the big car my dad rented, I remember the hotels we stopped over at on the way and I also remember that there had been a shooting in America that week and that my mum wouldn't let us go to the outdoor pool in case someone shot us.

From Florida, I remember the Disney parks but not too well as there were so many of them - I would love to go back to Disney World! I remember going to IHOP for pancakes and all of the delicious crab and lobster shacks around. I remember my brother getting stung by a hornet while we were playing in the pool and I remember making a house with my brothers in the huge walk-in wardrobe at the villa we were staying in - seriously, look how american it looks!
 Two weeks later, it was the same back to NYC and back on the cruise! I remember how we were all super excited (my parents included) when we had the same room attendant on the cruise coming back, we all loved Arnold.
 Sorry for all the super blurry family snaps but I just couldn't help myself when my dad found the old album in the garage. 

I hope you enjoyed my little trip down memory lane, Check out the other bloggers stories over on the RLD blog!

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