Insta-Happenings

Sparkles at events and gorgeous Liberty prints.

This was one of my absolute favourites from the Liberty in Fashion exhibition. I love the oriental vibes and against that gorgeous mural it just looks simply stunning. We popped along to the event when I was down in London and it was the loveliest way to spend a Sunday afternoon after wandering round a market. The loveliest, and prettiest end to my London trip!

My hands really suffer in the cold chilly weather - waaaaahh! And I always find myself hunting for tubes of hand cream, hidden away in various places. This little pink delight lives in my office drawer and it's just perfect. From Soap and Glory, it really helps to soothe cold, chapped hands and the 'non-greasy hand cream with shea butter, macadamia oil and marshmallow' (yes, marshmallow!) is a real delight. 

I finally got round to posting the sparkliest post ever! I was invited along to Chisholm Hunter recently to see their new collection and oh my goodness, what a treat it was! There's so many beautiful designs in the collection, inspired by iconic locations and nature, and my Santa list certainly grew! They were all simply stunning and I fully encourage you to check them out yourselves - be that for a special occasion, or because you're simply fabulous.

I went along to a really lovely event at Neal's Yard Remedies. We were treated to hand massages and special treatments, as well as browsing the shop that's filled with all sorts of wonderful things. They had so much great stuff and I can't wait to share it with you soon!

Throwback, as usual, and this time we were back down in London. A couple of years ago when I was living there my lovely friend came to visit. We spent Saturday wandering round the Christmassy city. On Carnaby Street they had huge robins glowing red to get you excited for the "most wonderful time of the year!" I love seeing all the Christmas decorations going up - they're always so gorgeous and make me feel all excited about Santa coming!

When Saturday comes along all you need is your best girlie friends and some cocktails! Funkin Cocktails were kind enough to send me out some of they're delicious mixers. I popped a review of them - they were so tasty and I wish the girls weekends would come again quickly!

REVIEW: Funkin Cocktails

Cocktails are an essential ingredient for a Saturday night, so when a big box of Funkin Cocktails arrives on your doorstep you know it's going to be a good weekend!

Funkin Cocktails take the hassle out of cocktail making. They're cartons full of pre-made mixers, that when shaken up with your favourite spirit make the ideal concoction for a Saturday night with the girls.

• The Mojito is an all time favourite of mine and the Funkin mixture was deliciously refreshing. 
• Strawberry Woo Woo is a classic that didn't let me down. 
• The Brazilian cocktail mixer had an amazing fruity flavour. 
• The Strawberry Daiquiri was the easiest drinking, delicious. 
• And finally the Pina Colada had an amazing Caribbean punch!

What's so great about Funkin Cocktails is that they're made of 100% natural, fresh fruit ingredients and this is what makes the taste so good - there's nothing nasty in there and they're just lovely and fresh.

On top of this they are just so, so, so easy to use and take out all the hard work and hassle out. All you need to do is pop some ice in the glass, add in the spirit of your choice, shake up the mixture and fill the glass up - voila! (Pssst you don't have to use alcohol and can make up some cocktails if you're that way inclined)

Another thing that's pretty fantastic is that on the packaging they tell you about all the different cocktails that you can make up depending on what alcohol you go for!

I'm a gin drinker myself so tried a 'Strawberry Collins' with the Daiquiri mixer. I also loved a tipple of gin in the Brazilian cocktail mixer, so fruity and exotically delicious! My friend is more of a vodka lady and a classic Strawberry Woo Woo went down a treat! The gin Mojitos were also snapped up quickly!

They were perfect for getting ready for a festive girls night out. The fact they were so quick and easy meant they didn't take any time out of outfit choosing, glitter chasing, lipstick testing and heel hunting. It felt fun and girly - and definitely was a treat compared to the usual bottle of cheapest wine!

Funkin Cocktails were perfect for a girls night and I've still got enough left for a couple of gin cocktails this weekend - yaaaa!!

**** This is a promotional post, but all views are my own. Obvs

Insta-Happenings

Lots of London loveliness - food features, a lot.

Yaaaa - Girls Day Out! I was lucky enough to receive some tickets for Girls Day Out in Glasgow. I can't wait to head to the girlies day in Glasgow for some fashion, beauty, shopping, cocktails.... etc. etc. With all those things packed in you know it's going to be a good one! You can still buy tickets if you fancy coming along!

I've loved writing my London series - and I popped up a new one! I had simply the most fantastic long weekend, and after Friday filled with Coco Chanel and champagne we were ready for an epic brunch on Saturday. We treated ourselves to bottomless brunch, and fully made the most of the unlimited prosecco on offer! Well it would've been rude not too....

After filling up on prosecco and then wandering round boutiques in Clapham we decided some home-baking was in order. Look at that monster scone! Brunch, bubbles and scones are the perfect way to while away a Saturday.

Of course, every week includes a #tbt. The winter weather has definitely set in and there's an icy chill in the air. It got me reminiscing of festive, chilly times and my throwback was a really frozen one! Way back the Lake of Menteith froze right over - you could walk all the way across! My friends and I went to visit, slipping about the surface and giggling in the winter-iest scene ever!

And the last of the little London series went up! It includes these amazing doughnuts, found on Maltby Street market. It's a lovely little street packed with amazing stalls and mouth-watering scents. We took a break for coffee and doughnut delights before we headed on to see Liberty in Fashion - a great way to finish the trip I'm sure you'll agree.

A big box arrived just in time for Saturday night! It was filled with delicious Funkin' Cocktail mixers - yaaa! We mixed them up with gin as we tried on multiple outfits and got our heels looked out. I'll share a little review with you soon, but here's a teaser - they were delicious!

London: Fashion Markets

Sunday came too soon and it was the last day of my little London trip - waaaah - so we spent the day wandering around markets and squeezing in some fashion.

We headed to Maltby Street market, also known as Ropewalk, mainly because we'd heard amazing things about the doughnuts! It was a great little street packed with a mixture of stalls and shops tucked away under arches. Little bars, with amazing sounding cocktails, could be found beneath archways, spilling out onto the streets for those who like a tipple with their lunch.

   
The smells as you wander around are absolutely amazing. They all mingle together and entice you to find their origin. It's bumbling and bustling and as people walk by with their wares all you want to do is find one for your own.

There was sausage rolls and scotch eggs...

Crabs and lobsters...

And of course some amazing home-baking...

After wandering up and down and taking in all the sights and smells we made a bee-line for St John's Bakery. We were after doughnuts and we weren't disappointed. I got one filled with the most delicious butterscotch custard and licked sugar coated lips - heaven.

I dug in...

   

The coffee was also rich and delicious. It was the perfect spot for watching people wandering by, feasting on their market delights.

    

Filled up on doughnuts we decided to wander back towards south bank and to our delight we stumbled across an exhibition that had been on our hit-list - Liberty in Fashion.

"I was determined not to follow existing fashion, but to create new ones." - Arthur Lasenby Liberty

Held at the Fashion and Textile Museum the exhibition explores the companies impact on fashion since 1875. You are taken back in time, seeing oriental influences, art nouveau accents and art deco inspiration, right up to the iconic floral and paisley prints that are recognisable today.

The show was brought together to celebrate Liberty's 140th anniversary. It's a huge collection and as you wander around you can pick out your favourite from each era.

A favourite...

It was beautifully curated and I'm glad I got the chance to see it!

And that my dears is how you finish off a long weekend holiday in London! Thank you so much to my wonderful big sister for having me!

London: Brunch and Bubbles

Brunch and unlimited prosecco to start your weekend madam? - I'm in!

Bottomless Bunches are taking over London, and what a fabulous idea they are! Kick-start your weekend with glass upon glass of the fizzy stuff, or cure the Sunday hangover with a chilled glass of unending bubbles - what's not to love! And on the Saturday morning of my little London trip we decided that a bottomless brunch was the way forward. 

We popped along to The Jam Tree in Clapham, in the heart of the Old Town. It's a really lovely vibrant and colourful place, big, bright and airy and ideal for whiling away a couple of hours over toast and prosecco. And I definitely want to head back at some point for their 'Jammy Cocktails'.

   

As soon as we sat down we had the prosecco ordered - well as it was bottomless we wanted to get started! The lovely waiter simply delivered our first bottle to the table as we inspected in the brunch menu. 

They do all classics. But I went for Eggs Benedict and my sister opted for Avocado and Poached Eggs on Toast. Both were just perfect and hit the brunch spot.

    

Now the best part about bottomless brunch has to be the unlimited prosecco - I'm not going to lie to you! You're given two hours at your table and we managed to sip our way through a bottle, or two, and were decidedly giggly by the end. It was such a luxurious way to while away the morning.

We spend the next few hours wandering around the pretty boutiques in Clapham, picking up knick knacks and birthday outfits. 

By the time we got back to Balham we were feeling a little nibbly so headed into Brickwood, Balham. 

It's bustling and buzzing little cafe, which such a good reputation you may have to wait a little for a table, but this just gives you time to drool over the homemade baking on display! The shack-like interior is really 'London cool' and it had such a great atmosphere, everyone packed in discussing weekend plans.

I mean just look at the monster scone! It was immense! (But the perfect accompaniment to a delicious chai latte) 

Snooze the rest of the day away, before you get ready to get all dolled-up and head out for Saturday night gins!

Insta-Happenings

Dreaming of cosy winters, London adventures and sparkles!

It was fabulous big sisters birthday! Yaaa! Of course this calls for a a lil Instagram celebration. So here we are having a ball, as we always do, at the top of a sunny Swiss mountain - hope you had the most amazing birthday!

The winter weather has properly set in now hasn't it, and gosh golly it's cold! But I kinda like dressing for the chill. It's time to throw on loads of warm layers and feel all wonderful and cosy as the rain batters the windows outside. It also means you can go for deeper darker lip colours, like this gorgeous deep berry one - cosy jumper and berry lips are what wintery days are made for.

And with all this winter weather I started dreaming of lovely festive days. I can't wait to fly over to Switzerland and spend the festive days over Christmas with my family. Last year we went to the most christmassy little French village. It was full of glittering lights, mulled wine and the prettiest and most quaint little building, sparkling with fairy lights. We also had an amazing meal that I'm still drooling over when I look back...

I popped up another post in my London series and it's all about the best day ever, ever, ever. It's filled with the amazing Mademoiselle Prive exhibition, all about Chanel, Coco's inspiration and how Karl has taken over the brand. Then there's delicious cake and champagne at Sketch - days don't come much better.

Sometimes my blog takes me to really amazing places and I realise how lucky, and grateful I am. And the latest event I went to at Chisholm Hunter was one of those moments. A few of us gathered and ooooh-ed and ahhhh-ed as we tried on their newest collection. It's a stunning range (just look at that ring!) inspired by iconic locations and nature. I'll be sharing all the amazing gems with you soon - get your lottery tickets at the ready!

As well as popping along to the Mademoiselle Prive exhibition we also went to Sketch. I'd been dying to go there for ages, and couldn't wait to see the beautiful building for myself. We feasted on cake and sipped on champagne, feeling oh so fancy. It's a lovely long post so pop the kettle on, make yourself a cuppa and settle in!