Dizzy Heights

Aug9

When I turned 30 two years ago I felt like I had reached a peak with nothing but a large descent into old age ahead of me. I thought that birthdays would simply become more and more depressing. How wrong you can be! Since turning 30 my life has only got more interesting and fulfilling. Yes 30 brings with it fine lines and grey hairs as well as a difficulty in shifting those extra pounds from over indulgence but at the same time a new sense of acceptance of who you are and how you look means there is a lot less anxiety. Suddenly what other people will think becomes less of a restraint and we begin to please ourselves more. What clothes size we fit into or that spot on our face becomes less of an obsession and we make way for simply enjoying ourselves and grabbing every opportunity that comes our way. Having tick boxes is a great motivator but as an article I was reading the other day said, these should all be things we want to do and not things we think we should do at our age. A survey by the Huffington Post concluded we are most happy at the age of 33. With all this in mind I am looking forward to flying through the next 8 years by the seat of my pants and having many new experiences to write about before as the saying goes ‘life begins at 40!’

By way of celebration of my birthday this year I decided that to arrange a big event would be too much like hard work, so instead I had a number of mini parties; the first of which was the preceding weekend.

A friend and I attended Cocktails in the City which took place in Bedford Square Gardens in central London. This event comprises of 25 London cocktail bars coming together with pop up stalls, along with street food sellers and entertainers to create a festival with a difference.

Those of you of a similar age to me will fondly recall Sex and the City – my love of this series deepened my already growing love of cocktails. The exact definition of a cocktail as well as the origin of the word is unclear however the first recorded use of cocktail to describe an alcoholic beverage was in 1806. Over the year’s popularity of cocktails had waned until the mid 2000’s when mixology suddenly came to the fore of fashion again and more and more complex cocktails were made. You can’t help but feel glamourous with a martini glass in your hand.

Our £15 entrance ticket included a guide to the event and one free drink. I headed straight for The Craft Cocktail Company from Bethnal Green for a cointreaupolitan, being that like my nemesis Carrie Bradshaw, my cocktail of choice is generally a cosmopolitan. I was not disappointed with this twist on the classic drink – however it tasted less like alcohol and more like fruit juice which ensured it didn’t last long!

There were presentations throughout the day and we chose to sit in on one entitled The Motorcycle Diaries. The Motorcycle Diaries was a 2004 film where two friends travel around South America on their bikes so this session focused on alcohol that is local to South America. I dragged my friend to a front row seat – determined to be front of the queue for any possible tastings. I was invited up to the stage to make a Pisco sour. Pisco is a brandy made in Chilie and Peru and on its own it is horrible, what I imagine paint stripper to taste like. I was instructed to put a small measure of Pisco into the cup – naturally my small measure is probably most people’s definition of large and the guy found this quite funny. I then added lemon and lime juice. The final ingredient which I was rather sceptical of was egg white which apparently makes it a smooth drink. It was then time to shake the cocktail and the people leading the session claimed that your face when shaking a cocktail is your sex face! I then poured the mixture into a previously chilled glass and topped with bitters. It was such a laugh doing this and I got to keep the cocktail afterwards which was actually quite delicious. Various other drinks were made by people and then we all left with a complimentary margarita shot.

By now we were well away and decided that food might be a sensible option. This would be my only criticism of the event as for hot food only pulled pork was left by 3pm which my friend sampled and I had cold chicken with tomato salad.

I found my favourite bar – Trailer Happiness, Portobello Road, otherwise known as the Bacardi bar! When not drinking cocktails, wine or bubbly; Bacardi has always been my spirit of choice. We were given a small balloon to hand to our favourite bar so mine went to them before I even tried my drink. My Bacardi cocktail had a fabulous garnish on it with a banana leaf and a flower.

One of the bars, Barrio had set up a table and paints for you to paint a wall tile that will be used in one of their branches. It was really relaxing to put some head phones on and just let the creativity flow.

Next we visited The Rivoli Bar at the Ritz and indulged in champagne.

Next stop, we visited Loves Company, a Tia Maria stand which had a pop up beach and we relaxed in a deck chair whilst enjoying a salted caramel cocktail.

To finish up we both had a repeat of the drink we chose on arrival. It was a beautiful sunny day and a great way to relax on a Sunday afternoon after a busy week at work. For the event I wore a green dress from Torza boutique with leggings and my trusty oasis flip flops.

The Saturday before my birthday, my husband and I went to our favourite restaurant in Rainham, Eight which I have mentioned on here before. For this I wore a grey polka dot dress which I got from Pink Flamingo in Rochester; it is a little daring for me so I wore a white basic vest top underneath. Grey can be a depressing colour so to lift the outfit I wore my red LK Bennett wedges.

On the Sunday we had a nice family tea at Mums. Mum made me a coffee and walnut cake which is my favourite and she decorated it with an Audrey Hepburn icing plaque as we enjoyed the exhibition the other week so much; see I Believe in Pink blog.

On my actual birthday – I took the day off work as usual (I never went to school on it so why should I have to work it?) and Mum and I went to Rochester. Rochester is my new go to place. I adore looking around the unusual and vintage shops. We ate lunch at an Italian restaurant and then rather than ordering pudding went to Fleur de The – a beautiful shabby chic café/shop and enjoyed coffee and scones. I couldn’t resist purchasing 2 miniature cups and saucers with a butterfly motif on them from there.

The Saturday after my birthday I went with my friend to Greenwich. Our birthdays are only a fortnight apart so as a joint celebration we decided to climb The O2. The O2 is a large tent like construction which was built as The Millennium Dome to celebrate the start of the third millennium and reopened as The O2 in 2005. It was constructed with Greenwich’s role in time and date in mind. It has a diameter of 365m (equal to number of days in the year). It has 12 yellow support towers (representing either 12 calendar months or 12 hours on standard clock face). The dome is 52m high at its central point (representative of the 52 weeks in a year). The climb is a 190 metres tensile fabric walkway over the top of the Dome with a central platform at the top with 360 degree views of London. It was quite a challenge as going up the walkway is 28 degrees steep and coming down 30 degrees. The fabric is also quite springy like a trampoline. The views at the top make it well worth undertaking though – you can see Canary Wharf, The Gherkin and the Olympic Park amongst other sites.

Afterwards we ventured into central Greenwich on a Thames Clipper which I had never been on before. These are high speed catamarans and I don’t think I have ever travelled on water so fast; they have a maximum speed of 28 Knots. Once there we got lunch at a pub in the market area and soaked up the cosmopolitan atmosphere. We then discovered a wealth of unusual, quirky shops and visited her friend’s new vintage store, Joli Vintage Living. Look out for a future blog all about this fab store.

There will be one more chance to celebrate at the end of August as for my gift; my husband bought me day tickets to the V Festival so look out for an upcoming blog on that too.

Enjoy the summer!

Heel Today, Gone Tomorrow!

May6

The countdown to the wedding has truly begun – only just under 2 weeks to go! I won’t bore you with the hours, minutes and seconds from my countdown timer!

The 12th April was my hen party. A hen party is a party given in honour of the bride-to-be and therefore is not hosted by the bride herself although she may assist in the organisation. The hen party stems from the stag party and its modern form began in 1960s and is related to gender equality. Before it meant a pre wedding party; hen party was used to describe any all female gathering and is mentioned as far back as 1897.

I cannot thank my best friend and maid of honour, Catriona, enough for the effort she put into the event which really was one of the best days of my life. I enjoyed getting ready and chose to wear my thyme Allure dress from Coast which I wore as maid of honour at Catriona’s wedding. I matched it with some silver sandals and some big silver hoops.

The party began at Hyatt Regency – The Churchill – a hotel near Hyde Park corner, awarded the Tea Guild of Excellence in 2012. I was furnished with the usual regalia – a baby pink sash with bride to be on it and my Mum bought me a flashing tiara complete with veil.

We took afternoon tea in the Montagu restaurant, named after Elizabeth Montagu – a writer who lived in Portman Square 1781-1800. We were ushered to our table by some lovely, impeccably dressed waiters and when I sat down and saw the menu – my eyes were drawn to the Sex and the City Par-tea without realising that that was exactly what was planned for me! The savoury treats were themed to New York with a mini hot dog and bagel. There was also a mini burger in honour of one of Carrie’s boyfriends in the series – ‘Jack Burger’.

Carrie and ‘Burger’

The sweet offerings included a cosmopolitan jelly, a sickly sweet iced cupcake, a mini New York cheesecake and a biscuit shaped as a shoe! We began with a Flirtini (a champagne and pineapple cocktail) which was most refreshing and then could choose a tea, each named after one of the 4 girls. I’m not a lover of tea but went for the one named Carrie of course.

After a most enjoyable catch up with friends and family alike – a few left and the remainder of us made our way to the tube to Liverpool Street. We were so packed in, you couldn’t have fallen over if you had tried. We then had quite a trek to the mixology event but it was well worth it when we arrived plus we burnt off some of the afternoon tea calories!

We were welcomed with a ginger cocktail. 3 more friends joined and the hunky teacher showed us how to make 3 different cocktails. He looked like Enrique Iglesias and the more we drunk, the more he looked like him. As he explained the method of making the cocktails he frequently dropped in a double entendre or two and before long we were all in fits of hysterics. He also punished anyone who talked whilst he did, with a shot of his choice. The class finished with each team making a cocktail and I had to choose the one which I liked the most. It was a tough call but in the end I went for the one that was the easiest to drink. He also showed us a party trick with lighting a cocktail and alcohol on the bar and then sprinkling cinnamon to make sparks. All I can say is he must have good insurance to trust drunken women with matches!

Hunky Teacher

Selecting the winning cocktail

Playing with fire

By the time we left we were all a bit worse for wear but although drunk I knew I wasn’t that drunk that I couldn’t walk properly – however I was struggling. Finally I realised that my shoe had in fact snapped and the heel was hanging off but it took me a little while to convince the others of that! The shoes were Ravel sandals which may explain why Ravel went into administration! Luckily Catriona had some flats with her so I changed into them.

We finally made it to Loop – a club near Oxford Street with a multi coloured rubix cube style dance floor. The girls treated us all to a mega large cocktail in a huge martini glass.

They then did a Mr and Mrs Quiz with me where for every wrong answer I had to drink a shot – I got more wrong than I should have done as it was too loud to hear all the questions properly. 2 more friends arrived and we all partied the night away. My fiancé picked me and his two sisters up which I am very grateful to him for as he found himself lost in London!

A truly fabulous day/eve and I am so fortunate to have such wonderful friends and family – thanks guys – you all mean the world to me.

Easter came and went, later than usual this year. It was a real challenge to not over indulge but the final weigh in showed I won the competition, losing an impressive 1 stone and 8lbs so that helps with the motivation; although the mini eggs are calling. I arranged an easter egg hunt for the kids which they greatly enjoyed complete with cute signs from Laura Ashley. Needless to say it wasn’t as big as the largest egg hunt in Guiness Book of World Records which was 501000 eggs searched by 9753 kids in Florida in 2007 which makes for over 50 eggs each – they must have been seriously hyper on all that chocolate! For more information on egg hunts and Easter bunnies please refer to my post ‘Loaded Spring’.

My Easter egg hunt

Over Easter weekend, I indulged in another afternoon tea with a friend who couldn’t make the hen. This time it was the Prêt –à-Portea tea at the Berkeley Hotel – perfect for all you fashionista’s out there! This tea started in 2005 at the infamous Berkeley Hotel. The Berkeley began as a coffee house in the 1700s on the corner of Berkely and Piccadilly, became known as a hotel 1897 and moved to its current location in Knightsbridge in 1972. In 1920s it became the first London hotel to offer air conditioning.

The treats are inspired by current catwalk trends so we enjoyed munching our way through the spring/summer collection 2014 which included Christian Louboutin pigalle spike turquoise shoe biscuit – complete with the signature red sole, a Mui Mui chocolate handbag and a wonderful representation of Dsquared mini strapless dress with hot pink lampshade hat which was essentially mango bavarois with blueberry compote. Also represented were Karla Colletto’s red swimsuit, Oscar De La Renta pistachio dress and many others. The tea was topped off with pink Laurent Perrier courture champagne. We were given a handbag shaped goodie bag when we left which included 2 of the sweet treats. A wonderful afternoon which made you feel just like an a list star at a catwalk show.

With our goodie bags in the Berkeley

Karla Colletto swimsuit

christianlouboutin-pigalle-3120159_U015_1_1200x1200

Louboutin pigalle spike shoes

Model 2nd from right wears Dsquared dress with pink lampshade hat

Designer sweet treats – Dsquared, Colletto and Louboutin

The other week, I waved goodbye to my beloved Beetle. It was sad but for the best as it was just rusting away and I didn’t use it much anymore but it’s gone to a good home and I cheered myself up with these pair of LK Bennett shoes in similar colours to the car with some of the money.

My beloved beetle

Right I am now going to continue adding to my honeymoon wardrobe – happy shopping!

Sparkling Sunset by the Whitby Coast

Jul26

This blog is my final entry before I turn the big 30 and begin a new chapter, leaving behind my twenties. I am happy to announce that my boyfriend and I are now engaged – something I never thought I would get to experience and write about in a blog.

The other weekend my partner and I decided to go for a long weekend in Yorkshire and we happened to have some of the best weather so far this year – must be our weather magic.

We arrived on Friday in York and began by going on a haunted tour of the city. The guide really made this tour as he took us round to the Minster, Guy Fawkes birth place and the shrine to Margaret Clitherow – the martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. He involved different people including my other half in acting out being hung drawn and quartered. I think even the tour guide jumped though as we stood in the historic street ‘The Shambles’ where he explained butchers would hang up their meat and people emptied chamber pots so blood etc would make a river down the street, when someone pulled loudly shut a window above us.

We then met up with my friend and her other half for dinner in the Mumbai Lounge. Pregnancy is really suiting her. I predict it will be a baby girl – watch this space! That night we stayed at The Golden Fleece pub. This is the oldest Inn in York – mentioned in archives as far back as 1503 and is believed to be haunted. We stayed in Lady Peckett’s room. Lady Peckett’s husband owned the Golden Fleece around 1702 and some guests have reported seeing her ghost. The pub has great charm with its uneven floors – our bed had a block of wood under one leg to make it level. Whilst we didn’t see the ghost of Lady Peckett the waiter at breakfast, we joked, seemed almost ghost like!

We met up with my Mum and Dad the following day and visited York Railway museum for the 75^th anniversary of Mallard doing the fastest speed of a steam train in the world at 125.88 on July 3^rd 1938. Little did I know that when my other half and my Dad went somewhere for a quiet chat it was for my now fiancé to ask my Dads permission for his daughters hand in marriage.

That evening the two of us travelled on to Whitby and had a most enjoyable fish and chip tea in the famous Magpie Cafe. The building itself was built in around 1750 when it began a long association with fishing and shipping. It opened as a cafe in approximately 1939 and is widely considered the best place to get fish and chips in Yorkshire.

Full from our meal, my other half suggested a walk along the beach and then as the sun was setting, colouring the sky red, and the sea was rhythmically grazing the shore; he dropped down onto one knee and produced a stunning sapphire and diamond ring.

Engagement rings go back to the 13^th century in the Western World and are worn on the second finger on the left hand as this is believed to be the shortest distance to the heart. I was so stunned – the first thing I said was are you joking before giving an enthusiastic yes. It couldn’t have been a more romantic proposal given that our first date had been fish and chips on the beach in Broadstairs. We celebrated in Wetherspoons of all places with a bottle of champagne which the staff had to dust off!

Champagne was actually discovered by mistake when the cold winters halted the fermentation process only for it to start again in the spring creating a bi product of carbon dioxide which remained trapped in the wine. It is now generally seen as the drink of choice for celebrations and in a book I am reading that I was kindly bought as an engagement present ‘How to Wear White’ it is said that the UK spends over £5million a week on champagne! There is some suggestion however that the consumer trend this year is towards people buying Prosecco over champagne to celebrate with.

The following day was spent walking round the town, playing crazy golf (where I got a hole in one) and in arcades as well as going on a boat trip. I’m sure those cuddly toy machines are rigged! I couldn’t resist this gem of a satchel – so like the ones of the Cambridge Satchel Company but far cheaper, which I discovered on a market stall.

We had a fish and chip tea down on the beach again whilst the sun set and I dipped my toe into the cool sea.

We then finished our stay with a trip on the North Yorkshire Moors railway and a visit to Goathland where Heartbeat was filmed. On arrival back at Whitby, we grabbed some freshly baked doughnuts only to be dive bombed by seagulls!

We returned home to break the good news to both sets of parents. I still can not quite believe it has happened to me – the little girl who said no one would ever marry her. I cannot stop admiring my ring and feel like I am on cloud nine. This wonderful event also ticks another box on my bucket list, so I have achieved 4 out of 10 of the items – got engaged, been to India, done the Moonwalk and started riding lessons again. The others will be carried over to my new bucket list to do before 40.

We now have around a year to plan our special day and I can’t wait to get started. Look out for lots of wedding planning themed blogs over the next few months!

Fünfzig Schattierungen von Berlin (50 Shades of Berlin)

Oct29

Life is full of contrasts and contradictions which is what makes it interesting. As summer becomes a distant memory – grey has become en vogue. By that I am not simply referring to the sky but the latest cult trilogy which has overshadowed Twilight – that is ‘50 Shades’. Everywhere women are discussing it. I have now finally read the first book, mainly to see what all the fuss has been about. How can I sum it up? Christian grey is a man of contradictions which is interesting as grey tends to be used to imply uncertainty or a mixture of good and bad. Grey often symbolises boredom but paradoxically the book is very colourful despite the use of grey in the title.

On the subject of grey skies, this month saw the 25^th anniversary of the hurricane in the UK or the great storm as many refer to it; when Michael Fish became a household name saying ‘there will not be a hurricane’. Is anyone else finding it impossible to get up in the mornings now that it is dark and often drizzly? Well the clocks went back this weekend so it should be a bit lighter in the mornings for a few weeks.

Before you all slip in to a grey depression, every cloud has a silver lining and there are some beautiful leaf colours at this time of year making a truly beautiful landscape, almost like a watercolour.

Image Courtesy of Google Images

Fashion has certainly taken somewhat of a lead from nature. Coloured denim is as big as it was in the summer but we move away from brights and pastels to more muted darks such as these burgundy jeans which I couldn’t resist from New Look.

Another transient trend has been birds but more specifically this season owls. This top was a bargain purchase again from New Look. I teamed it with a grey Oasis boucle mini and a light grey cardigan but it will look equally good with my burgundy jeans and my leather biker with knitted sleeves to give more of an edgy rock look.

Nails have also gone back to nature with nude colours. I love a Rimmel brown called ‘Beige Babe’. Whilst on the subject of nails – Nails Inc have produced a couture range where you are able to design the bottle and personalise it and the box – what a great idea for Christmas presents and naturally I thought I would treat myself to one first. Meet my new shade ‘cosmopolitan’.

I find the biggest fashion challenge of autumn/winter is finding the perfect pair of boots rather than the perfect coat as many fashion writers suggest. I may well follow their suggestion however that the solution is not to try and nail it down to one but have a variety. My favourite boots have seen better days; they were a cheap faux suede, black knee high pair from Primark. I treated myself to these biker style boots but foresee myself also getting a pair of Uggs and some dainty high heeled ones too!

A few weeks back I went to Cheryl’s million lights tour at the O2 which was fantastic and I eagerly await the Girl’s Aloud reunion next year. I have a very varied taste in music from Led Zeppelin and Stereophonics to current pop – another ambiguity.

Last weekend I surprised my other half for his birthday with a long weekend in Berlin. Berlin is steeped in history – unfortunately most of it dark with WWII and the Berlin Wall. They have acknowledged this past however as something to learn from and around it developed a modern, buzzing, cosmopolitan city especially at Potsdamer Platz which was the centre for the Festival of Light which took place whilst we were there. Art and advertising was projected onto buildings and coloured lights are placed beneath the trees which create a magical feel.

The most poignant place we visited for me was Gleis 17 at Grunewald station. This is a disused platform nowadays but it was once where many Jews boarded trains to concentration camps during the war. It is now a memorial to them. Along the platform edge are the number of Jews deported each day and it really is horrifying. 1000 to Auschwitz, 1700 to Theresienstadt….. Now it is peaceful and serene with only the sound of the wind in the trees to interrupt your thoughts and prayers.

Other sites we saw were the Topography of Terror which is the sight of the Gestapo and SS headquarters but is now a records centre for the atrocities and takes you through how Hitler got his hold on the German people. Something I didn’t know however was that concentration camps existed long before the outbreak of the war as early as 1933, where people who opposed the Nazi political party were sent. We also visited the site of Hitler’s bunker which now has flats built on it – not sure I would want to occupy one of those flats!!

In some ways the wall and its history had more of an impact on me because it was in my lifetime and therefore easier to identify with. I knew very little of the history before the trip. The wall was erected in 1961 by the GDR to separate East Berlin and the rest of East Germany from West Berlin as it was believed that the West had not been fully de-Nazified. Families were separated and in the East there were strict communism rules imposed by the Soviets including censorship of media materials. The West was being built up and saw great economic growth whilst the East lagged behind. Many East German people tried to escape to West Germany (estimates suggest 3.5 million) either through border houses, over the wall or by tunnelling and many were killed. There is a photo memorial to them by the strip in Bernauerstrasse and a further memorial by the Reichstag. On 9^th November 1989 the GDR announced the border reopened and in 1990 the physical wall was removed. There are two long stretches of the wall left, the first at Bernauerstrasse where they have also uncovered the foundations of the border houses and one by the topography of terrors on Niederkirchnerstrasse. It is unbelievable that this occurred in recent history. When the wall came down in 1990, many gathered at the Brandenburg gate. This iconic structure was also lit up as part of the Festival of Light.

One of Berlin’s more modern structures is the Fernsehturm or TV tower, built between 1965 and 1969 and the countries tallest building at 368 metres. The lift reached the top in 40 seconds, making my ears pop. At the top we were treated to 360 degree views of Berlin. I enjoyed a cocktail appropriately named 360º whilst we were up there.

The weekend we went happened to also be Oktoberfest and at Alexanderplatz there was a traditional German market and plenty of beer on offer. We warmed ourselves with a Jagermeister shot too. I’m not normally a beer drinker but I must confess I quite enjoyed a Berliner and the Rothaus brewery beer Tannenzäpfle or Fir Cone (a beer from the Black Forest).

Berlin had so much to offer, we could have done with a bit longer there but we crammed in the highlights and on the last day, as a bit of light relief from all the history, we visited Berlin Zoo. This has the largest collection of animals due to the fact that when the city was divided, there were two zoos and they have now been combined into the one. I can honestly say it is the best zoo I have ever visited because they have really given thought to the layout with low bars so you can get excellent photos. Of course the elephants were the highlight for me!

On the way home, the sky looked beautiful as we approached Schőnefeld airport, with the sun just coming up. At the airport my partner treated me to some perfume as a thank you – Daisy eau so fresh by Marc Jacobs.

Image Courtesy of Google Images

With X Factor live shows now well under way – the countdown to Christmas has truly begun – only 57 days until Christmas day! Before that though we have Halloween approaching and make sure you visit the cinema to see the new Bond film – Skyfall, released this week – we went today and I must admit I have never been a great Bond fan but I thoroughly enjoyed it and now want to see all of them and Adele has smashed the theme tune. Can’t believe this film marks 50 years of Bond and it’s still as popular today as when the first film was released.

Have any of you got memories of Berlin you would like to share? What are you doing to cheer yourself up on these grey days?

Until next time………………………

‘The Greatest Show on Earth’

Aug29

You would be forgiven for thinking that I was referring to the Olympics but actually I am talking about a far more important celebration – my birthday that just happened to fall on the same day as the opening ceremony. So nice of the whole country to join in my celebrations! Lol! I haven’t seen the opening ceremony but by all accounts it did our country proud and Team GB did very well with 29 gold medals, 17 silver and 19 bronze, putting us 3rd in the medal table. Go Team GB! I did watch the closing ceremony which was fantastic and I especially enjoyed the Spice Girls which took me back to my early teens when I was mad on them and the girl power they stood for. I must admit this is the first year I have taken an interest in the Olympics. I even got my rabbit Rufus into the spirit with a Team GB football! Tomorrow marks the start of the Paralympics.

The origins of the Olympics go back to ancient Greece in 8^th Century BC. The first games held in the UK were in 1908 when such sports as Tug of War were included. We came top of the medal table that year with 56 gold medals!

So another year passes and sadly this will be the last year of my twenties. I don’t feel a day over 21 though! Where have those years gone? Guess I feel a little behind my peers at times given my lack of career path; however numerology does say that those with a birth date of 27 tend to be late bloomers, taking their time to choose a profession. It also says we are creative so perhaps there is some hope for a writing career still.

Being that my birthday fell on a Friday this year I decided to stretch the festivities over the whole weekend. On the day we had a family trip to West Wittering beach. I chose here as despite being some distance away, the place holds good childhood memories. You can park up virtually on the beach and picnic. The sand stretches for miles whilst the tide is out and there is a lot of shallow water making it ideal for children. The car park has been run commercially since the 1920s and in 1952 the local residents bought it to prevent a Butlin’s (or similar) holiday camp being built on it. Check out their website for further details.

http://www.westwitteringbeach.co.uk/

We had a lovely cooked breakfast on arrival cooked on a camping gaz and a picnic lunch, followed by a mouth watering coffee and walnut birthday cake that my Mum made. The history of the birthday cake is quite an interesting one. Since the middle of the 19^th century it has been an important part of celebrating birthdays in the West, however there is evidence of the custom going back to Roman times. Putting candles on the cake is believed to go back to 18^th century Germany. Singing happy birthday became popular in the early 1900s and it was then that the words happy birthday started to appear on cakes.

We had great fun playing tennis and rounders on the sand. When I was batting in rounders, I was so excited to have hit the ball I forgot all about running! I had a bit of a swim and we built sandcastles with my beautiful baby niece who at 13 months is already very cultured; eating olives and feta cheese. Not sure who enjoyed the sandcastles more – her or me and my partner, lol! There is nothing more relaxing than the warm sun beating down on you with the soft sand beneath you, water gently lapping and a slight salty taste in your mouth.

I wore my denim skirt dungarees with a white t-shirt and my bikini underneath. To finish the look off I wore my healed glitter jelly shoes. Now these PVC plastic shoes were hugely popular in 1980s but have had a revival a number of times. People have guessed at their origins with some suggesting that it goes back to just after WW2 when there was a leather shortage in Europe so a French shoe maker developed them. Many people think they are a big no no or only suitable for children but how else can you wear heels to the beach?!

We finished the day with a fish and chip supper and a very pleasant bottle of wine and all returned home rather sunburnt with numerous mosquito bites!

Saturday morning my partner gave me his presents to open and brought me breakfast in bed. That evening I went for a curry where I used to live with many of my friends. I stuck with my resolve to try different dishes and had Malayan Chicken. It was a lovely evening and time flew past meaning that we missed the last train and had to sheepishly knock at Mum and Dad’s door. I wore a butterfly maxi dress from Jane Norman for the occasion.

Sunday was another meal out, this time with my partner’s family and I was lucky enough to be showered with more gorgeous gifts.

I want to use this platform to thank family, friends and my partner for making it another wonderful birthday and at time of posting I am still dragging out my birthday. One of my partners presents has yet to arrive and two weeks after my birthday another one of my boyfriends arrived – a gorgeous mosaic bistro set which will set the garden off lovely when it’s all finished.

I also couldn’t resist these thank you cards from Zazzle, so me don’t you think?

The other weekend my friend and I met up in London as she was away for my birthday. We spent a very pleasant few hours wandering round Harvey Nichols and other shops in Knightsbridge looking at all the lovely things we can’t afford. I especially enjoyed the Louboutin boutique in Harvey Nichols where the assistant informed us that on his crystal encrusted shoes, each crystal is applied separately by hand and so they can take at least a day to make one pair – now I understand the price tag! Being adventurous and keen to try anything a bit quirky, I couldn’t resist trying out Bubbleology – a concession that sells bubble tea within Harvey Nichols. The stall looked more like a science lab, with the staff wearing white coats saying bubbleologist on the back. Bubble tea was invented in Taiwan in the eighties. Bubble tea is fundamentally green, black, white or red tea and it can then be infused with milk or fruit and drunk hot or cold. Small bubbles are formed on the top in the process of making the tea as it is shock vigorously, hence the name. In the bottom are small balls of tapioca. I quite enjoyed it; it’s certainly worth experiencing!

We finished off the day in Harrods for afternoon tea in their Georgian restaurant with a glass of champagne included. Now as much as I enjoyed catching up with my friend and sampling some delicious sandwiches and scones and a nice glass of champagne, whilst the piano played itself; Harrods itself was some what of a let down for me. The gold leaf on the plates was faded, the silver tea pots were tarnished and the décor looked tired. My other complaint at the risk of sounding like Samantha in Sex and the City, was the amount of children there. Now don’t get me wrong I love children but I’m not sure they should be attending a luxury afternoon tea plus isn’t it a waste of money for their parents?

To end on, I must share with you one of my presents, a book that must have been written for me, lol! Mum kindly bought me Manolo Blahnik – The Elves and the Shoe Maker. This book combines the old fairy tale with the story of the designer and is illustrated with drawings from the designer. The author also wrote another of my bibles ‘How to Walk in High Heels.’ This has interesting tips on such things as how to change a light bulb.

I also received from a few friends, gorgeous scarves, two with butterflies and one with dragonflies which I will be brightening up my work attire with.

That’s all for this time. Do let me know any beaches you recommend or indeed what your feelings on jelly shoes are. I’m now off to enjoy another of my presents – Champagne with black Raspberry Chambord; kindly bought by a friend to remind me of our trip to London Fashion Week.

First Steps

Jul6

Last Saturday my friend and I visited a mini paradise; a shoe exhibition at the Design Museum in London. This exhibition celebrates 20 years of the iconic Christian Louboutin – his designs and his inspiration. As we entered the foyer of the museum, anticipation and excitement rippled through us. In preparation we had both worn heels – mine being the new LK Bennett wedges mentioned in my last blog being that sadly I do not own any Louboutin’s yet! Thanks to an article in Look Magazine I have however treated myself to a pair of Louboutin lookalikes from Zara.

We walked up the stairs to the exhibition, our appetite being wet by a selection of Louboutin shoes hanging in hula hoops. The glamour and the indulgence greats you straight away as you enter the exhibition with a plush, red carpet under foot and a magical carousel with cushions displaying shoes, rather than the usual horses. There is a mini theatre set up with a hologram of a sparkly shoe which transforms into Dita Von Teese performing a burlesque show. This is in honour of showgirls, who Louboutin claims inspire many of his designs. Luxuriously covered red chairs are available to sit and watch the show and in front of the stage are many of his shoes with the lights behind set in gold oyster shells. The gold shoes worn by Carrie in the second Sex and the City movie twinkled like cheap glitter shoes never can.

The desire to touch the shoes is overwhelming and it took all my strength to resist. His designs truly are beautiful. My friend had joked beforehand that she better escort me to hold me back from breaking the displaying cabinets and running off with the shoes! I guess they had prepared for that possibility by only putting out one of the pair. One thing that caught my interest was the attention to detail he places on getting the curvature of the shoe perfect in order to lengthen a woman’s legs and show them in the best possible light. He sees shoes as being quite sexual and uses transparent materials such as lace in some designs to suggest nudity and make the shoe at one with the body i.e. invisible. He claims “If there was to be just only one fetish element in a woman’s wardrobe, I think it would have to be her shoes.” There is a fetish section of the show where the shoes are more like sculptures than something to wear.

Now whether you are into shoes or not, most people know that Louboutin uses a trade mark red sole to identify his shoes and there was a court case with Yves Saint Laurent in 2011 when he tried to use red soles. A debate ensued over whether a colour could be trade marked however it appears it can what with Tiffany blue and Cadbury’s purple but it is the colour being used in a specific context rather than the colour itself. What is interesting however is that some years before this in 2002 Louboutin actually did a design collaboration with YSL for the final YSL couture show.

Louboutin’s journey to become the icon he is today is somewhat fascinating. He was born in France in 1963, the only son to French parents with Cameroonian heritage. He had three sisters (bet you wish your brother designed shoes!) He was expelled from school on numerous occasions and ran away from home aged 12. He worked backstage at Folies Bergères as his first job and was captivated by costume and set design at the cabaret. Louboutin believes his love affair with shoes began with a visit to Musée national des Arts d’Afrique et d’Océanie where he saw a sign from Africa forbidding women wearing high heels through fear they may damage the wooden floors. He wanted to develop shoes to give power to women. He sketched many shoes in his early teens. He spent time in India and Egypt; the influence of which can be seen in some of his shoe designs.

He went on to be Roger Vivier’s apprentice and then freelanced designing shoes for many couture houses including Chanel. He abandoned shoes to become a landscape gardener for a brief period. This change of direction is reflected in the exhibition where some shoes are displayed on stone plinths inside a topiary archway. His first boutique opened in Paris in 1992. It is claimed that he made stilettos popular once again.

There is a section of the exhibition dedicated to his shoes that have not been massed produced but rather made in their hundreds or on occasion just one pair. I was left spellbound by his unique imagination. There were shoes with heels containing real flower petals, shoes made of fish skin or sardine tins and even some designed to look like a Rolls Royce.

We came out of the museum to a warm, sunny day by the River Thames. Its days like this that I truly appreciate how awe inspiring London can be.

Not wishing to end the decadence of the morning we rounded off the trip at All Bar One by the Thames for lunch and I ordered salmon fishcakes along with a Martini Royale. This is Prossecco mixed with Martini Bianco and I highly recommend it as a very refreshing, citrus summer tipple.

Last Sunday was my baby niece’s first birthday party. I really don’t know where that year has gone. I couldn’t resist buying her these striking red shoes amongst other gifts.

My boyfriend couldn’t quite fathom the fuss I made over making sure the correct size and style was ordered and uttered the unmentionable line ‘they are only shoes.’ Clearly he doesn’t realise the importance of putting her in the right shoes from a young age. Shoes finish off an outfit.

Talking of outfits, for the birthday party I selected a pale pink dress fromRiverIsland; the top half of which is covered in lace, gold sparkle heels and accessorised with a light pink rose flower garland which fascinated the babies.

As this is quite an innocent, girly look I decided to compliment it with light makeup. I used Benefit ‘That Gal’ face primer to start; my staple as it ensures my Max Factor foundation goes on smoothly and evenly. I then brushed over Max Factor powder to prevent shininess and a light dusting of No 7 sultry glow bronzer. I used Rimmel mascara and a pinky French Connection lip-gloss completed the look.

I continued the royal theme of June and made princess cupcakes for the party.

So that’s it from me for this time. The exhibition remains open until 9^th July and I highly recommend it; one of the best £10 I have ever spent. Why not go this weekend? For further information follow the link below. In the meantime I would love to hear about your favourite Louboutin designs.

http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2012/christian-louboutin

United Kingdom Unites

Jun14

Last week saw a sea of union jacks and red, white and blue all over the country as people celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee including the London Eye being lit in the colours. A diamond jubilee generally denotes 75 years; however it was moved to 60 years in the case of a monarchs rein due to the failing health of Queen Victoria – the only other monarch to have celebrated a diamond jubilee in the history of the UK. I still remember heading up to London for the Golden Jubilee and walking the length of a Union Jack decorated mall with my celebration flag in hand and red, white and blue ribbons in my hair. How the last 10 years has flown.

The Diamond Jubilee celebrations were in a league of their own, perhaps due to the extended Bank holiday weekend. What an event to raise the countries spirits and boost the economy in the midst of recession and the Euro Zone crisis. Over the years there has been continuing debate on the Royal family and its part in the country’s constitution. I for one have always been in favour of the royals as I believe they make us one of a unique set of countries with a constitutional monarchy which makes the a monarch head of state; this brings in a great deal of tourism. It is an institution which some would argue forms part of our identity. My Grandma used to collect special magazines and cuttings about the Royals for me when I was little and I still follow them with interest. Kate and Williams wedding was a great celebration last year with another official bank holiday. Whatever your thoughts however, no one can deny how a celebration such as the Jubilee unites the country, with people of all nationalities, religions and backgrounds joining in the celebrations. The official celebrations saw the queen tour around the country, a river parade, a concert outside Buckingham Palace, a service at St Pauls and a golden carriage procession, culminating in a balcony appearance and fly by; all of which I watched on television as to avoid the huge crowds. There were street parties up and down the country bringing communities together and thousands of others arranged their own parties. I hosted a Jubilee BBQ and went to town with bunting, balloons, flags and union jack plates and cups not to mention my costume!

We also had many things which have become synonymous with Britain such as scones with jam and cream, strawberries and plenty of Pimms! Pimms was first made by the Kentish man James Pimm in 1823 and he served it in his London Oyster Bar in place of the bitter tasting gin. Some guests moved on to a British cup of tea as the evening drew in. I made a Jubilee cake and red, white and blue cupcakes.

Despite the good old British weather letting us down we braved the burgers under the picnic umbrella whilst there was a brief shower; after all it wouldn’t be a British BBQ if it didn’t rain. I thoroughly enjoyed it as I hope did my guests, many of whom also made an effort to theme their dress; with a special mention going to my sister in law with union jack leggings and my friend who dressed in vintage 1950’s dress being that the Queen came to the throne in 1952. Even my baby niece had gorgeous navy shoes, with red trousers with white polka dots and a t-shirt depicting a Union Jack tea pot and cups.

The Queen herself described the celebrations as a humbling experience. I certainly felt proud to be British and a warm feeling of being part of something spreads inside you when they play songs such as ‘Jerusalem’, ‘Land of Hope and Glory’ and of course our national anthem ‘God save the Queen.’ Now on the subject of the national anthem; composed by Thomas Augustine Arne and first performed in theatres in 1745; I bet the majority of people only know the first verse being that this is all that is generally sung with the third verse sometimes being included at occasions such as the last night of the Proms. I have included the words below to both the first and the third being that this year will see at least three other opportunities to sing it; Euro 2012 which begun on Friday and saw England’s first game this week against France, which was a draw; the Proms which begin 13^th July and of course the long awaited Olympics, starting on 27^th July.

God save our gracious Queen!
Long live our noble Queen!
God Save the Queen!
Send her victorious,
Happy and glorious,
Long to reign over us,
God save the Queen.

Thy choicest gifts in store
On her be pleased to pour,
Long may she reign.
May she defend our laws,
And ever give us cause,
To sing with heart and voice,
God save the Queen.

June also has another opportunity for strawberries and Pimms and that of course is Wimbledon which begins on 25^th June and is the 126^th Championship. Royalty have been associated with Wimbledon since the Prince of Wales first visited in 1907 with Princess Mary. The Duke and Duchess of Kent attend each year and present the trophies. Queen Elizabeth II last attended in 2010.

On Sunday 10^th at a classic car show, the Jubilee theme was continued with many cars adorned with union jacks and ribbons. As my car is blue and white, it already was half way there and I hung official jubilee bunting in the window.

The Royals are also great style icons. Who can forget how Hobbs had a mad run on the coat that Catherine wore for a royal visit to Liverpool and her penchant for LK Bennett shoes. Many brides also want a copy of her Sarah Burton at Alexander McQueen wedding dress. The queen is also a great fashion icon with her matching hats and many handbags. I bet there are few other women of her age who still dress so well (mind you she does have a little bit of help, lol). Angela Kelly, the Queen’s senior dresser and personal assistant has designed for the queen since 2002 and with her team they often use some material which was given to the Queen when she was a Princess. I loved her outfit for Tuesday’s procession, service and balcony appearance.

Queen+Elizabeth+during+the+Diamond+Jubilee+procession

Image courtesy of The Mirror

The Jubilee has seen an explosion of British themed fashion. I couldn’t resist this top from Sainsbury’s TU collection! Don’t knock Sainsbury’s especially now Gok’s 4^th collection for them has been unveiled. I shall be teaming this vest top with my black skinny jeans and these red wedges which I just couldn’t resist in the LK Bennett sale. There are also many British themed home products including these fantastic salt and pepper mills from Dunelm Mill which I just had to have. Souvenirs ranged from the usual biscuit tins, mugs and tea towels to the more unusual such as a solar powered waving queen!

Also coming up in June is Father’s Day and I would like to take this opportunity to say a big thanks to my Dad for all he has done for me over the years. The Queen too was very close to her father George VI and was devastated at his unexpected early death in 1952, causing her to take the throne at the tender age of 25.

I would love to hear how you celebrated the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee so please do let me know in the comments box. That’s all from me this time but look out for my next blog where I shall report on the Louboutin exhibition now showing at the Design Museum London until 9^th July.

London Calling – 3G

Apr5

The last few weeks have been quite eventful and exciting with London calling (as the Clash put it). There has been a trip to see Ghost, meal at Gilgamesh and stay at The Grosvenor Hotel – hence the title of this blog being 3G (as in 3 places beginning with ‘G’) with a play on words with the phone technology. I, my Mum, cousin and Aunt went to see Ghost the musical at The Piccadilly theatre. After the greatly acclaimed 1990 film starring the late Patrick Swayze, could the musical compare I asked myself. Well the answer was a very loud yes. This is an outstanding show and if you get the chance to go, I highly recommend it; it’s probably the only musical in which I have seen people in the audience crying. The special effects were out of this world. In a film you take them for granted but on a stage where they can’t cut and paste bits together, they really were something else. Afterwards I hailed a taxi – I was not walking in my high heels, and we went to Brown’s for a meal which as always never disappoints and I’m not just talking about the food and magnificent cocktails – our waiter was a lovely piece of eye candy!

Last weekend my other half and I spent a night in London at the Grosvenor Hotel to celebrate 3 years together. The hotel opened in 1862 and has recently been refurbished, maintaining many original Victorian features and was a great choice for me given my fascination with the Victorian era. The hotel was a very luxurious 4*. We went for a meal at Gilgamesh in Camden, which I chose after it appeared on Masterchef. The restaurant is named after the Epic of Gilgamesh which is believed to be one of the earliest surviving works of literature dating from around 18^th century BC. Gilgamesh was King of Uruk and was part human, part God. He suppressed his people so they asked for the Gods help. The Gods sent Enkidu who was part man and part animal to distract Gilgamesh. They fight but then become friends and then seek to gain recognition by killing a demi God. The pair also kill the bull of heaven. As punishment the Gods decide that one of the pair must die and it ends up being Enkidu because Gilgamesh is part God. Gilgamesh then seeks Urshanabi who has been granted immortality to try and find out the secret of eternal life. The walls of the restaurant depict this story. Head Chef Ian Pengelley creates dishes inspired by South East Asia, China and Japan. The duck spring rolls were to die for (I abstained from my no red meat rule for these). I also had a stunning Thai green curry which was a little hot for me but I want my palette to become accustomed to more spicy food. All of this was washed down with a Cosmopolitan and a bottle of rose Prosecco which my other half and I toasted our anniversary over. What really excites you about this restaurant however is the wonderful, lavish decoration that strikes you as soon as you get to the top of the escalator that leads you into this eastern inspired haven. Attention has been paid to every detail, with the intricate carvings of the chairs, not to mention the bar and the soft mood lighting.

The service is fantastic with your glass constantly being topped up. We then went into the Babylon bar (part of Gilgamesh) which was equally as beautifully decorated and then were directed to the so called club. This is where the special feeling of occasion left us as we were sharply reminded of our class. Every table was reserved and apparently to reserve a table you had to have a minimum spend of £500. Very elitist I felt and rather put a dampener on the evening. On looking on their website after though I see that this may have simply have been the VIP bar and there may have been a studio club above the restaurant. We left after this however, with my feet aching in new heels (the price I pay for gorgeous shoes) and found ourselves in a much less extravagant Camden bar, drinking Sol beers and listening to music from films. We then made our way back to the hotel where we ended up in the Reunion bar drinking wine and then purchased a white Prosecco to take up to the room. That final bottle was a mistake though and we hardly touched it before both dropping off to sleep. We both certainly knew our extravagance in the morning when we woke with thumping headaches! It was enjoyable but for the money it cost, I think we would have been better off going abroad as we have done the last two years. When I compare Buddakan in New York where we went last year, with Gilgamesh, Buddakan wins for me, despite some of the excellent features of Gilgamesh. Buddakan serves modern Asian cuisine with a distinctly Chinese feel whereas Gilgamesh encompasses much more of Asia’s speciality foods. Buddakan felt welcoming from the start with the dim lighting and the wonderful painting behind the bar where Carrie had her last single girl kiss in the first Sex and the City movie. There are beautiful chandeliers, offering a regal palace feel to the place. Buddakan felt more exclusive than Gilgamesh as we were not so crammed in and it was quieter, rather than everyone shouting over each other, not to mention the woman with the hyena laugh we had to put up with whilst we ate at Gilgamesh. The bar also had plenty of unreserved seating. We were allowed to spend as much time as we wanted at the table rather than at Gilgamesh where we were reminded of a 2 hour limit.

Now while I am on the subject of Sex and the City, I am so excited to hear about the filming of the new Sex and the City Prequel, based on Candace Bushnell’s books ‘The Carrie Diaries.’ These books follow Carrie in her teenage years. AnnaSophia Robb has been cast as Carrie – you may remember her as Violet Beauregarde in the version of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory which had Johnny Depp cast as a somewhat scary Mr Wonka. Some people think the Sex and the City brand has had its day, however as a die hard fan I can’t wait for this series and sincerely hope that the rumours of a third Sex and the City film soon become a reality.

In true Carrie style, let’s now turn to fashion. I couldn’t resist these David and Goliath pyjamas.

David and Goliath was founded in 2000 by Todd Goldman whose doodles have now made their way onto T-shirts, Pyjamas, key rings etc. His aim is to make us laugh. I already own a pair of their pyjamas with the slogan ‘Happiness is Expensive.’ Now I love my pyjamas and happily stay in them all day if I am not going out. They are so comfortable and this company makes you look stylish too. Why not give an edge to your pyjamas when lounging round the house and sling on a pair of pearls, like Carrie in the Sex and the City movie or style up a cute nightshirt with knee high white socks with a cute little bow on the side (I bought these last season and can’t wait to wear with my Daisy Duck nightie when the weather is warmer).

The word Pyjamas comes from a Persian word meaning leg garment. It originally referred to loose trousers tied around the waist. During the British Raj, this word was introduced to the English language. In India, pyjamas were worn as lounge wear by the rich who didn’t need to work. Now despite being a fan of pyjamas, I’m unsure on the latest trend of pyjama style outerwear shown on the spring catwalks by Stella McCartney to name one designer.

Admittedly I enjoy the comfort of wearing out my harem pants, palazzo pants and may even consider these geisha pants from Fashion Union but is a matching pyjama style suit a step too far?

Now whilst we are on controversial trends – are dungarees a do or a don’t? It takes me back to my floral dungaree shorts that I loved as a 9 year old. Jean-Paul Gaultier has a dungaree dress in his new collection as seen below.

Alexia Chung has been spotted wearing them in a New York club.

I have decided to embrace the trend for this item of clothing, which was originally created as a protective form of clothing for workers; with women first wearing them in factories during the First World War and an item that has had brief revivals in the fashion trends in 60s, 70s and more recently 2010. I have purchased this dungaree dress from River Island and intend to wear it with floaty blouses and perhaps as an easy item to put on over my bikini on holiday.

Now I will leave you with an amusing story that a lady at work told me. She was with a girl whose shoe fell onto the track at an underground station. This girl hopped up steps to find a member of staff in order to get them to rescue her very expensive shoe and in doing so had a train held outside the station. Numerous commuters were giving her death stares for causing a delay for the sake of a shoe but my heart goes out to this woman. Any self respecting shoe lover including myself would have done the same! Am I addicted to shoes? Probably, my boyfriend was certainly nodding his head in amusement at a girl addicted to shoes who was featured on ‘My Strange Obsession last week’ and giving me a knowing look. Perhaps I better still keep a few pairs at my parent’s house try and resist anymore purchases for a while! Who am I kidding; I already have my eye on numerous pairs!

Coffee? How one simple question turns into 20 questions!

Apr1

A glance through my bank statement can tell anyone much about my life and vices – restaurants, bars, clothes stores and most frequently, coffee shops. Coffee has long been my drink of choice, despite my parents and now my partner too, being confirmed tea drinkers. Tea never appealed to me whereas my brother would have it in his bottle. From about 4 or 5 I began to have a coffee once a day when my Mum did and by the time my teenage years arrived – I swear there was more coffee pumping round my body than blood, especially when I was burning the midnight oil, revising or writing an essay! (Not that I leave things until the last minute you understand!) Now around my teens too, I began to visit Starbucks on quite a regular basis and some of mine and my friends teenage woes were discussed at length in the comfy armchairs of Starbucks. Who would believe that Starbucks started out in 1971 as one store in Seattle? There are now over 17000 Starbuck’s branches worldwide. The name is from Moby Dick, Starbuck was the chief mate on the Pequod ship. It cleverly encompasses the integral relationship between the sea and coffee imports of the past.

Alongside Starbucks sits Costa, set up by two brothers who funnily enough, served their first coffee to local caterers in London in 1971 too and the first coffee shop opened in 1972. I used to meet two of my close friends who now live in the North and spend many a Sunday morning discussing men and such like in our local branch; dissecting everything the latest man had said and searching for hidden meanings, that probably weren’t there.

Then lets not forget Caffé Nero which was formed much later by Gerry Ford in London in 1997. His aim was to bring an authentic Italian styled café to the UK. They too now have more than 500 stores around the world.

Now which of these great chains we decide to buy our coffee from, I suspect is much to do with which crosses our path at a particular time but for a moment lets just pretend you have all three in front of you, which would you choose? I would love you to comment on my blog and let me know. Apparently Costa is the nation’s favourite based on research carried out by a strategic research company in London in 2010 & 2011. My personal favourite is Caffé Nero, whose raspberry and white chocolate muffin on a Monday morning is to die for (I’m telling myself the fact it has raspberry in it means it counts as one of my 5 a day!) Now Costa does also do a raspberry and white chocolate muffin but for me it just doesn’t compare as it contains a kind of centre of raspberry puree, a bit like a jam doughnut. Starbucks range of speciality seasonal drinks does tempt me away from Caffé Nero one month a year however. I was counting down the days last year until they began serving their toffee nut latte!

Anyway, now you have decided which chain to get your coffee from, there follows another extensive list of questions; decaf/normal, skimmed/full fat milk, sugar, one shot or two and of course the all important type of coffee. Is it a cuppachino, a latte, an americano, mocha, espresso or a macchiato that floats your boat? I only found out what a macchiato was the other day so in case you are as ignorant on these matters as me, it’s an espresso with a dash of milk or foam. Even that is not the end of the questions as then there is the necessity of size and you’ve guessed it, not just simple; small/medium/large that would make things far too easy, no each branch has its own terms; for example large in Caffé Nero is ‘Grande’ and in Starbucks is ‘Venti’. A college professor in English upset a Starbucks Barista in New York City because she refused to use their terminology.

The social element of popping out for a coffee has long been enjoyed by Europeans but here in England we have been slow to catch on. Perhaps it’s because in the UK much like the US, we are always in too much of a rush to just relax and let the world go by. I love to sit and people watch in a coffee shop. There is always such a diverse snapshot of the population in there. My partner refuses to frequent these places as a tea drinker however as he says the tea is rubbish and they give you a cup of hot water and a tea bag so you pretty much have to make it yourself and pay for the privilege.

Now enough about coffee, lets move to my fashion vice. I have been snapping up some spring/summer trends such as this gorgeous tropical print top from Oasis and this funky pencil skirt, also Oasis.

In the absence of winning the lottery, in place of the Cleo B sandals I mentioned in my last blog, I have treated myself to a New Look pair in preparation for my holiday.

After reading Fabulous magazine, they suggested these RiverIsland sandals to follow in the art deco trend, shown by Gucci. I went for light brown rather than the black they suggested though as I felt they were more summery.

I also couldn’t resist these coral sandals and a parrot vest top from New Look. Don’t you just love summer? I am counting down the weeks until I go to Crete.

Drawing two of my obsessions together – shoes and coffee, when my other half and I first got together, he bought me this mug so I could feel at home when I visited.

The stimulating effect of caffeine in coffee has long been linked to health problems but to me the caffeine is part of the point of drinking it – I need something to make me human in the morning and give me energy for my shopping. As a guy at work likes to call it decaf is just brown water. It seems I’m not the only one with a passion for coffee, especially in America where they even have a National Coffee Day on 29^th September. Sadly as yet no National shoe day as such that I have heard of.

Anyway I shall close there; time to put the kettle on I feel.

Ik hart Holland (I heart Holland)

Oct11

Mum and I decided on an impromptu trip to Holland as my uncle was doing an opera there in Enschede and so had a place we could stay with him. I thought it would be a nice chance to spend the quality time with my Mum that I have been missing since moving out as well as an opportunity to add another country to my list of travels without breaking the bank.

My boyfriend walked me to the station to get the train to London where I would meet my Mum. As we walked up I noticed a beer delivery lorry from the company my ex worked for and there he was. How strange that he should be delivering locally to me, just at the time I was walking past and on a Saturday which he wouldn’t normally work. Some people would say this was fate working in mysterious ways and once upon a time I would have chosen to see it as some sort of a sign; nowadays however, I would call it pure coincidence and I think my boyfriend found it most uncomfortable. On the journey to Holland I read ‘One Day’ and I couldn’t help but see a comparison to the relationship I had with my ex. Together, not together, together, not together, seeing everything as fate. There’s one difference in our story though, I’m glad we didn’t end up together as it meant I met my wonderful boyfriend, who is perfect for me. I felt quite sad waving goodbye to him as the train pulled out, knowing I wouldn’t see him for nearly a week. He said it took him back to when we weren’t living together and had to wave goodbye to each other after the weekends.

Mum and I got the Eurostar from London to Brussels and had a bit of a wait there for our onward train. Naturally my nose led me to a shoe shop. I saw a gorgeous pair of shoes but sensibly decided to wait until my journey back, when I did indeed purchase them.

Mum and I had a pleasant lunch with a glass of wine and I got to exercise my French vocabulary before we joined the TGV to Schiphol airport. Once on the train however, we were told that due to engineering works we would have to go to Amsterdam and change there for a train to Enschede; it’s refreshing to know we are not the only country in the world to suffer engineering works on the railway! Anyway we eventually made it.

The first day we went to Arnhem. Arnhem is a place of historical importance since the battle of Arnhem during the Second World War. We visited the bridge which the battle was centred around.

We then went on to view the British war graves in nearby Oosterbeek. It was a very moving experience. What a waste of young lives. Even sadder are the dead who were never identified, whose tomb stone simply says ‘a soldier of the 1939-1945 war, known unto God’.

The following day, we ventured to Amsterdam. As soon as we got off the train and into the centre of the city, the air was perfumed with cannabis and bikes weaved through the streets whilst a waterway, lined with canal boats broke up almost every block. We started at the Nieuwe Kerk in Dam Square, which just happened to be holding a fashion exhibition.

The architecture is beautiful too as is the 1655 organ and a stained glass window depicting Queen Wilhelmina to rival the famous window of Notre Dame. Well worth a look.

Next stop was the Anne Frank house. We walked around the annex where the family hid from the Nazis; the entrance to which was disguised by a bookcase. Cuttings from magazines of the time which Anne herself stuck on the walls still remain which was extremely emotive.

Being that Holland is so well known for Tulips, we visited the Tulip museum where I purchased some tulips to plant at home; actual ‘Tulips of Amsterdam’. Next stop was Begijnhof which is an inner court, which once housed religious Catholic women rather like a convent. To this day only women live there. Inside this court yard is one of the oldest wooden houses in the Netherlands which dates back to circa 1528.

I must admit whilst in Amsterdam, I was curious to try one of their ‘coffee shops’ but being with my Mum that was really out of the question. Mum felt most uncomfortable when I took her on the quick walk of the red light district which was suggested by the Lonely Planet City guide. The area does have to be seen to be believed with women in bikinis posing in shop windows. It is worth the walk though to see the Oude Kerk which is Amsterdam’s oldest church dating back to 1306.

We finished the day with a canal boat trip and a nice meal where I tried the local delicacy of herring. I left Amsterdam wanting to see more.

Munster was our next stop the following day. Being that Enschede is very close to the German border; I thought I might as well use it as an opportunity to visit Germany for the first time. Munster was what you imagine a typical German town to be like and we had a very pleasant lunch sitting in one of the squares. I stopped off to buy a beer to take back for my other half at the local Pinkus brewery.

We made the most of the nice weather and sat out in the garden when we got back to my Uncles, sipping wine and eating prawns and other snacks whilst listening to the country sounds of the cows being herded in for milking.

Our final day in Holland, I convinced Mum to join me in a return trip to Amsterdam on the proviso that we would get trams around rather than attempting to walk miles like the previous trip! We visited the Rijks’s museum which everyone says is a must in Amsterdam and saw the famous Rembrandt Night Watch masterpiece. We also visited Vondelpark, Amsterdam’s answer to Central park.

Now my cultural interests had been attended to, it was on to a more apt museum; the diamond museum, after all diamonds are a girls best friend.

Following that we visited the handbag museum; can you believe they have a whole museum dedicated to the history of handbags? The only thing better would have been a museum dedicated to shoes. An interesting fact I learnt from the museum was that the need to make stronger bags from materials such as leather only arose with the advent of train travel becoming popular. By far the best exhibit in my opinion was the cupcake bag as seen in the Sex and the City movie.

Now no trip to Holland would be complete without seeing a windmill which was our last stop in Amsterdam. We enjoyed a nice glass of wine in the bar underneath it.

We rounded off the wonderful holiday in Lucius fish restaurant which I highly recommend. You can enjoy your seafood whilst being entranced by the fish tank. There’s an irony there!

After a good nights sleep, we headed back on the train to Blighty, without a souvenir pair of clogs which my boyfriend expected me to bring back. If you ever get the chance, Holland is well worth the visit.

blahnikgirl

Archives