On December

Definitely not my footprints, but those of a giant!

I am writing this snuggled up, after finishing the first season of The Crown (so good), seated at just the right angle to be able to watch the snow. I absolutely love snow; it is my all time favourite form of weather. As soon as I realised it was snowing, I wrapped up and went straight out into it. I love the crunch it makes and the glisten when it lays untouched. 

Here are some things I have been loving lately. 

Reading - I have always read a lot and since commuting I get through about a book a week. I have recently just finished His Dark Materials by Philip Pullman. I never read the second two books when I was younger but I got completely lost in them last month. I also highly recommend The Penguin Lessons by Tom Michell; it was such a lighthearted, easy read, perfect for an afternoon. 

KeepCup - I ordered one of these a little while ago after Boyf found it and thought it would be something really useful. This is such a great company; essentially they are trying to revolutionise the way we currently go to coffee shops by promoting using a reusable cup instead of the paper ones (which are horrendous for the environment). I got a Long Play which keeps cold drinks cold and hot drinks hot - and you can design your own!

Nigella Lawson - Have you been watching At My Table? I have re-discovered my love of Nigella. I recently met her at Stylist Live after watching her speak, where she was actually quite inspirational. In her new book, she writes about how complicated life can be and how it is so nice to just gather around a table and eat food which isn't complicated. She deifnitely advocates a very nice way of living!

Fortnum & Masons - I love Fortnum's. I subscribed to their emails a little while ago and everything they do is crafted so wonderfully. They make such simple things seem so luxurious; I have been over the last couple of days really enjoying their Christmas Spiced Tea. Definitely a little Christmas luxury in it's beautiful tin! 

Christmas at Southbank - We went here last week to explore the Christmas market, expecting it to be fairly standard. However, it was so much better than expected! It has the usual little stalls of crafted goods, food and mulled beverages, but it also goes all the way through into an Alpine-esque Ski Lodge with fire pits. A really lovely smaller alternative to Winter Wonderland. 

Christmas is only 15 days away (!) as is 2018 drawing ever closer. I am about to write my Christmas cards (which I am making myself this year for a lucky few!) with some classic Christmas music in the background. I hope you are all enjoying the snow (if you are experiencing it!) 

Here's to the last few weeks of weeks 2017!

xoxo

On Taste of London 2017

Have you ever been to Taste of London Festival? It is so good! It is rated as being one of the best Food Festivals in London and definitely deserves that title (I haven't been to any others but I ended up going to this one two days running and was not at all disappointed so I feel I am safe in giving my opinion here). 

As with all festivals, you buy a ticket and then have free reign throughout the event. It is basically stalls and stalls and stalls of food and drink. Held in Regent's Park it is of course in a great location and easy to get to.

There are samples galore. You can go most of the day without actually spending that much and still feeling full. Nearly every stall has samples of some kind or are giving away something free. All in the name of promotion and deliciousness! 

Then there are the plates you can buy. They are around £4-12 for a dish and are so good. Each of the restaurants there does some of their signature dishes (on small scale and takeaway plates so you can gorge on everything) and some fancier ones especially for the Festival. There are differrent dishes across the days. These are so good. We tried one of our favourite restaurants, Balls and Company as they had Squid Ink dishes which we hadn't tried. I could not recommend enough! There are restaurants such as Temper that become so much more accessible to try. The cocktails are incredible as well. You could get ones in a whole pineapple! 

There is a whole range of food and bevbevs and something to please everyone.

The Festival is over for this year, but definitely go next year! We ended up going both Saturday and Sunday (long story) and loved both days!

It's definitely a lot of fun in a group. I would say that it is not reeeeally the best place for children; the majority of the beverages there are alcholic. 

Speaking of; did I mention the masterclasses? We did a Gin one with Sipsmith (free!) and it was incredible! You can learn so much.

And there are all the food masterclasses and shows and all the fancy stuff. We did a 'Become your own Barista' class with illy; I was abismal. You can see my latte up above; but it tasted good! There are also a load of start ups meaning that you get to try brand new products. 

It's a really great day out and I will be reminding you all to go next year if you are a foodie (or drinkie...)

Would you go?

xoxo

On GOMO (Going Out More Often!)

I am a big advocate of being a tourist in your own home; there is always more to do than you think! We seem to currently live in a world of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out). How many times have you sat at home on a Friday night flicking through your insta feed, looking at everyone else and had that feeling that they are all doing something and you're not? #FOMO :(

This is something that we all seem to be feeling way too much. So I have been inspired by Eventbrite to give you some ideas and motivation to go out more often! Eventbrite want people to stop with all the Netflix and Chillin' and instead to go out and do something. This way, not only are YOU getting out, but you're also not missing out! (Sorry to everyone obsessed with Stranger Things...)

It may now be September but it is warm here! So maybe summer can last a little longer...and in the spirit of that, why not spend your money on some quality time with your friends and family? This will come as no surprise to those that know me, but I love food. I eat a lot. (It's really something that needs to be seen to be believed...) 

So I have put together a list of great eatery places in London that you need to go and try. As in, go and book them now and go asap. They are all different cuisines and types of food so should cover all likes and dislikes!

Image from www.crumpeats.files.wordpress.com

Pitt Cue - 1 Devonshire Square, EC2M 4YP

Boyf and I went here back in June and we have wanted to go back ever since. Honestly, this is one of the best meals I have ever had. The meat. Ohmyword. Mouth wateringly beautiful.

I actually reviewed here at the time, which you can check out here.

Cutter and Squidge - 20 Brewer St, W1F 0SJ

I ended up here by accident the other day, but everything in there is adorable and so different to your normal cupcake kind of place! I'm not even sure really how to describe their food, but it's bloody good! Expectations combinations between biscuits and cupcakes; what could be better?!

Image from www.lelalondon.com

Shake Shack - Covent Garden, Westfield Stratford City, Bloomsbury

I first went to a Shake Shack in Chicago and have since had to go to the London ones. Everything they have here is so good. It's like your typical fast food type place, but so much better. Their burgers are delicious and the shakes. Monthly specials; need I say more!?

The Brass Rail, Selfridges

Sadly, this lovely outlet in Selfridges no longer has the neon pink signs. The décor may have changed but the food is still just as good. It is a summer tradition in my house to go here at least once. Their salt beef is incredible; they have a selection of breads and mustards which is all cut and prepared as you ask for it. Not to mention you can get a whole pickle! This is a great place for a quick bite or for a bit bigger lunch. 

Fire and Stone, 31/31 Maiden Lane, WC2E 7JS

This is a pizza restaurant with a bit of a twist; all of their pizzas are based (no pun intended) around cities. They have cities from all over the world and all of the flavours are inspired by them! It does make for some hard choosing though!

Hopefully this post has given you some ideas and motivated you to get out more often and to try some new eats! 

Eventbrite also make it really easy to organise and plan events. You can check them out here.

What are you going to do for #GOMO?

xoxo

On London - PittCue

On Monday, Boyf and I had to head to London for various things. The weather was pretty horrendous all day (if you are ever in need of an umbrella bag, Liberty have them in their doorways!) and rained for most of the day leaving soggy feet! 

This did mean that we took refuge in a cute little pub called The Old Tea Warehouse (whilst I lusted over my cheeky Anthropologie sale purchase). This place is really nice just before the workday ends as it's cosy and quiet. 

We went to PittCue for dinner which is right by Aldgate station; we found it simply by google mapping restaurants in that area! We looked up the menu and it was a lot of things we had never had before (Onglot? Apparently beef steak; who knew!), but was still quite small. We thought it sounded different so ended up going there. 

We got there quite early (just before 6!) because of trains etc and had to wait for the kitchen to open. Their bar list is pretty decent; they have a lot of different beers but only in bottle of 2/3 pint, and a couple ciders. 

We both ended up going for specials, something which I had personally never done. Another first for me was that I ordered steak! Boyf ordered the lamb's neck. As with most places in London, you have to order sides separately, but which means they are about the same size as a starter. We shared a mashed potato with bone marrow and mushroom side. 

Oh my word.
This was honestly one of the best meals that either of us had ever had. They came quickly, were cooked perfectly and were just the right amount. The steak came with caramelised onions, and the lamb with courgettes. Both of which were so good, and I don't even like courgettes! 

If we had had more time we definitely would have had a starter and a dessert (or afters as I personally call it, much to most people's confusion), as they also sounded really good. But I cannot recommend this place enough! 

Price wise it wasn't too expensive, considering the quality of the food that we then had; what made it a bit cheaper was that we shared a starter as they were a decent size! If you are ever around the Aldgate area (think the Gherkin), or even if not, definitely try and go here! 

xoxo

On Stationery - Kikki.K

[Photo: http://www.tijgertjerawr.com/zweedse-pastelkleurtjes-van-kikki-k/]

After initially reading about Kikki.K opening in Covent Garden here, I looked up the shop, I browsed it's website, I sent it to my sister, I sent it to friends, I followed them on Instagram. I needed to go. Make up and Stationery (and books) are a few of the things that I fluctuate between buying the most and I had not actually bought any stationery in a while. 

I would like to say that I had not gone to Covent Garden solely for the purpose of going here ... but I cannot lie. This shop is incredible. It is kind of like Paperchase but a little bit sleeker [and don't get me wrong, I adore Paperchase. Ask the boyf and he can confirm]. Much the same as Paperchase it has different ranges with similar things in each; journals, Paper Lover's Books, decoration sets, planners, pencil cases. The list goes on. 

They even, in an almost Ikea-like format, have desk layouts. (Is this just a Swedish thing?) Everything is sososo beautiful and it is all such a lovely quality. Many of their items are focused on living a better, happier and more mindful life. This is not just ordinary stationery, it's stationery that is focused upon something and can help you to focus as well. 

These beautiful books each focus on a particular trait, such as happiness or habits and help you to focus these throughout your life. The books themselves are gorgeous and the insides are also beautiful; they have different sections for different considerations and time frames as well as questions that help you to guide your planning. 

This range was by far my favourite and possibly one of the cutest in there! 

To my amazement, I bought only one thing. The Paper Lover's Book. 

I don't think there are the words to even begin talking about this book.

Kikki.k is definitely one of the most beautiful (and Instagrammable) stationery shops that I have ever seen. If you sign up to them in store you get a £5 voucher and £5 on your birthday! Students: they also do 10% student discount. You're welcome.

xoxo

Fabulous Food with lovely Friends | Oxo Tower

This post does actually come a fair while after my visit to the Oxo Tower for dinner and cocktails, however it is msot definitely better late than never!
I was invited to go by some wonderful friends of mine and it was a wonderful night. I had a mojito, some sort of fruity beverage with a champagne chaser, squid (actual tentacles!!!!), pork cutlet and a white chocolate, cherry and (I think coconut...) mousse.
Not only was the place wonderful, but the food and drinks were, the view were and best of all, the company!

I hope you've enjoyed these pictures and got some inspiritation for a great night out!

xoxo