Farewell October...

November's arrived and we are into the last 2 months of 2018. I'm not sure where it has gone and every good intention that I have to blog more seems to get taken up with work and life.
With Autumn being so glorious I have been out with my camera and captured some lovely sights from the season and it definitely felt that London completely embraced fall and all its pumpkin and foliage delights.
Favourites included Covent Garden where Europes largest pumpkin was on display, Wild Things Flowers in Mayfair who's tin baths always bring a smile to my face and the lobby of Claridge's who's weekly floral installations in the lobby were a delight.
I have lots of other stories to share from October and will do so over the next few days (hopefully).

Goodbye April ......Hello May

So April has passed and I hope it has taken the cold weather with it. It feels like we had a glimmer of Spring and Summer during the month, but winter is still clinging on with some cold snaps. Weather aside, April was lovely and I did get out and about and enjoy some sights in London and spend some time away from my desk. I have shared a few moments recently including Date Night at the Opera,   Wisteria walk in Notting Hill. and a Sunday Stroll in the East End of London.

April also saw me take M to his first Rugby Derby game at Wembley, which was on one of those days when we were blessed with glorious sunshine. We had a fantastic time and I am thrilled to see that saracens are on course to appear at both UK and European cup final's for the 2nd consecutive season. Alas won't make either as I will be away (more of that to share in May!)

April also housed Easter this year and it allowed me some down time at home, a little time for some crafting and also to cook and bake for a big family dinner.
As you can see April was pretty busy, my instagram feed moved away from the blossom's and daffodils of March and full Spring hues of Tulips, Wisteria and bunches of blousey spring blooms.
Farewell April, you have been gorgeous, here's to an amazing adventure in May.

East London Life...

Last Sunday was spent exploring the markets and lanes of East London - Columbia and Brick Lane are a favourite of mine, especially on a Sunday and having worked around that area 12 years ago I always like to go back occasionally and see what has changed. Having been in Notting Hill the previous week we loved comparing the contrasts between the markets and avenues of West London to the lanes and streets of East.

The side street to Spitalfields and Brick Lane transport you back to an era and age of bygone years and I love the houses with shutters, feels like you are stepping back into an old Victorian jack the ripper novel. Its no surprise that this area is constantly being used for film sets and model shoots.

Columbia Road can be a bit of a squeeze and it always amazes me the number of people that bring buggies and pushchairs into the environment, fortunately even thou it was busy it wasn't horrendous.
There was so many of my favourite flowers there it was hard to choose what to come home with: tulips, peonies, hyacinths, sweet williams or ranunculus. It was a glorious treat of colours and smells and I loved ambling along the market.

A trip to the market and Brick lane is not complete without a stop for cake and a bagel - the legendary Brick lane bagel shop is my favourite; selling hot salt beef bagel's 24hrs a day.
We also sopped at Cake-hole which is a cute cafe selling cake and Monmouth coffee in the back of a vintage china shop which is heaven for me. Blueberry and Apple was my choice and Coffee & Walnut was M's.

We had a fabulous morning walking around Bethnal Green before walking down to Tower Hill and St Katherines dock to cheer on the marathon runners and enjoy a beer in the sunshine.
As you can see I came home with two of my favourite flowers Sweet Peas and Roses, both evoking so many wonderful memories of my Gramps's garden 💜

From Notting Hill with love....

Notting Hill is one of my favourite places, whether is the eccentricity of the Portebello Road and all its characters to the side streets and squares festooned with pretty colourful houses. The fact that it has featured in some of my favourite books and movies also makes it a huge draw for me and I try to visit every season to explore the side streets and market.
With a day off for both of us last week M and I made an impromptu decision to go to Portebello Road, where I showed him some of my movie favourites.

We spent a couple of hours shopping, drinking coffee and loving the colourful houses.
Instagram is awash with wisteria at the moment and we stumbled on some absolute beauties whilst we were out and about and ended up on a very impromptu wisteria walk between Notting Hill and Holland Park which was an unexpected treat.
By the end of the morning M was beginning to 'get' my obsession and was even pointing out doorways that I might like to photograph.😂

How glorious is all this wisteria?......The pink door & house was my favourite.

After a couple of hours walking and a very patient M I decided to take him to my favourite pub in Kensington road - The Churchill Arms, which is a real old British pub,famed for its love of war memorabilia which festoons the ceiling, rugby and housing one of the best Thai restaurants in London.
We had a mixture of Pad Thai and curry which was delicious and finished off a pretty good day in Notting Hill.

Makelight in Kew

Last month I shared with you my Makelight adventures on my photography walk in Hampstead. This month I joined Emily and some other makelighters on a walk around the lovely Green and Gardens of Kew.
I have visited Kew before but have always travelled by car, this time having worked the morning I travelled by train and got to explore some of the beautiful roads and gardens around the station.

Arriving early I was able to explore for some time before meeting up with Emily & Co on the village green. Along with snapping lots of doors I was also able to capture some favourites of this month - Roses. From Aprils blossom, to May's wisteria I have loved capturing natures floral seasons each month.

As well as some beautiful gardens and blooms, Kew Green also houses a gorgeous pond.  Considering how close to the road the pond is, I was amazed to see a family of swans setting up home, complete with a brood of signets. I spent awhile watching them on and off the water, a very loving family.

On meeting up with Emily we set off for a wander around the green - i'm not sure what the villagers and the locals in the pub thought of us with our cameras and i phones out snapping doors, windows & foliage.
We entered Kew from the Elizabeth gate where we passed the Nash Conser vatory which was being set up for a wedding. The following day I read that a TV presenter from channel 4 married in Kew the previous day!....

We walked up-to Kew palace where another family of ducks and signets were resting under a tree. Normally I am a flower girl but the trees at Kew fascinate me. There size, age and the shapes that they grow are stunning.



A trip to Kew wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Palm house - which really is like a mini rain forest, the heat and humidity is replicated so that the palms and plants that live within are exactly as they would be in their natural environment. I even ventured up the spiral iron staircase to view the planting & palms from above.

After a leisurely coffee it was soon time for our walk to be finished and for us all to head home to review all our images taken. As with previous walks & workshops with Emily I learnt lots and my confidence with my photos is growing. I met some lovely ladies and I am enjoying seeing their images on social media.
I look forward to further Makelight adventures.
Here's some of mine from previous walks & workshops with Emily.

Farewell May....

How we are heading into the 6^th month of the year is quite amazing, this year is

passing so quickly. May was a month for me filled with some big decisions, some travel, fun and a reminder that friendships are very special. May also saw me catch-up on some blog posts from previous months, I was on a role until I lost broadband at home for 10 days which made me realise how dependant our lives have become on technology & wifi, so I still have a backlog of posts which I am slowly working my way through.

So where do I start!.... May saw me celebrate 10 years of being at the big yellow store, I have had an amazing adventure at the home of Mr Selfridge, but my adventure is coming to an end as I have made the decision to leave and start a new adventure with a new family. From August I will be joining the Fenwick family on Bond Street in a new role. This is hugely exciting and has been a really big decision for me, it's one that has taken up lots of sleep, and counsel with my closest friends over the past few weeks along with lots of meetings and discussions once the big decision was made. Aside from this work has been busy with new launches, a celeb guest appearance from Kendal Jenner to launch the new estee edit range and I also have spent lots of time exploring the streets of London on my walk to and from work.

Last month I spent a Saturday afternoon walking the streets of Hampstead with Emily and some of her makelight ladies, this month I spent a lovely afternoon exploring Kew green and gardens with Emily and some new makelight ladies… pop back later this month when I will share more of my day.

May saw 2 weekends filled with big Rugby adventures as Saracens reached the finals of both the European Champions Cup and the Aviva Premiership cup… the champions cup was held in Lyon. I had a fab 24 hours in the French countryside. The Aviva premiership was a little closer to home in West London at Twickenham on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon. Both games Saracens were the victors, sealing the double in Europe and the Uk which has made for lots of celebrations. I thoroughly enjoyed myself at both games, even if Sarries did make for a nail biting finish in both games!

Closer to home I have been enjoying some down time reading, walking, catching up with friends and enjoying some relatively good weather (although today is quite horrid).

May also saw me book a holiday for next year with my Aunt, not only has she managed to get me away from my desk for 16 days, she has also managed to get me to agree to going on a ship!... we have booked to cruise the Baltics, travelling to St Petersburg and then back via Sweden / Norway… so I'm swotting up on my Danish & Russian, with Wallander, The Killing and war & Peace cued up on my kindle & ipad.
May saw London awash with floral displays to coincide with the Chelsea Flower show, I enjoyed a couple of early morning walks photographing some of my favourites; Claridges, Peggy Porschen, and The Ivy Garden on the Kings Road. (separate blog post to follow). The Kits turns 3 in May and Fitz passed the day sleeping and Darcy spent it trying to eat my peonies that I bought back from France!.... I have so many blog posts to share, I hope that you pop back over the coming weeks to read more of my adventures from the month along with regular features. I hope that May has been filled with lots of lovely things and I look forward to sharing June with you ... 

Make-light in Hampstead

A few weeks ago I spent a fun filled Saturday afternoon exploring and

photographing the streets and heath of Hampstead with a dozen other ladies. I had never visited Hampstead before and grabbed the opportunity to explore this lovely little corner of London with Emily Quinton. I met Emily a couple of years ago when I attended one of her photography workshops, I enjoyed it so much I spent a day food styling with her last year. Emily has now added photography walks to her make light portfolio in some of London's most loveliest of places.

The walk started early afternoon and although the day was a little cold and overcast it didn’t spoil the fun that the groups of us girls had in the lanes and side streets of Hampstead. I'm not sure what any of the residents thought of us snapping images on our phones and cameras of their front doors and gardens, but I fell in love with many of the houses and gardens as we walked around.

 No time with Emily would be complete without a prop or two and a beautiful bunch of blooms from a local florist added much fun and silly image opportunities for some of us along with video fun from E herself.


After a good couple of hours of walking, photographing and chatting we finished the day off with tea & cake in a local restaurant, swapping images, instagram accounts and details. I enjoyed myself so much that I came home and booked for the next walk which will be within the grounds of Kew gardens.

Prior to meeting up with the makelight ladies I spent an hour exploring the heath and the surrounding streets leading to the high street. 

Some of my favourite images from the day are of a man and his gorgeous dog….

an evening at Koffmans....

Not sure where May is whizzing to but I'm still playing catch-up with blog posts from April!... at the end of April my friend and I spent a gorgeous evening being dined in a beautiful restaurant with a menu by one of my hero chefs; the fabulous Pierre Koffman.

As we had an evening planned at the Royal Albert Hall, I had booked the pre-theatre menu which allowed us to dine early. Koffman's is situated at The Berkeley in Knightsbridge and is quite beautiful.

As an avid fan of The Berkeley's instagram account, we entered the restaurant via the hotel so that I could peak at the stunning floral displays dotted throughout the hotel. The week that we visited the hotel and restaurant where filled with glorious pink blooms of roses, peonies and lisianthus complimented with candles and storm lanterns.

The stunning floral displays continued into the restaurant and complimented the beautiful décor.

With a Prix Fixe menu to choose from I opted for Blue Cheese Flan with walnuts for Hors-D'oeuvres, Pan Fried Skate wing with capers for Plats Principaux and Lemon tart with Lemon Sorbet for Dessert all accompanied by a glass of champagne. Everything was delicious, beautifully presented and the service amazing. Koffman's was a first for both my friend and I and we both said that we would definitely return again as we had enjoyed it so much.

I have visited the Berkeley for afternoon tea a couple of times and will now ass Koffman's to my list of London musts!... thank you to all for such fabulous, food, service and ambience. 

Hello Autumn....

Today sees the start of Autumn, probably my favourite season. Time for ;

-Woolly Jumpers, 
-Warm drinks, 
-Movie nights,
- Pumpkins, 
-Leaves changing colour, 
-Long walks,
- Apple picking,
-Thanksgiving & Pumpkin Spice Lattes!!

To celebrate the season changing I am sharing some instagram favourites from September.

• Adore this gorgeous photo of  Afancifultwist 's retriever bringing the autumn countrylife!
• Javan 's sunset in Brooklyn showcases perfect autumn evenings. His photo's across NY are stunning.
• Greenhouse envy with Sally's MIL's greenhouse. gorgeous garden & wheel barrow of autumnal apples.
• Fabulous chalk drawing for fall from Valerie McKeehan
• Another glorious floral shot from Emily Quinton in her delightful studio.
• Love this shot of Kate's terrier Minnie, in amongst the blackberry bushes.
• Simple shot of autumnal apples featured on NYTimes instagram - simple food styling.
• Jonny Wilkinson cycling across the English countryside pre world cup - autumn is the perfect season for bike rides.
• Autumnal blooms from Mcqueens... loving their instagram pages from September.

Here's to a gorgeous Autumn, filled with beautiful colours, cozy evenings and spice lattes.

Summer in the City ~ Parks & Palaces

After a huge birthday breakfast it was time to walk off the calories with a stroll through the open spaces and parks of the city. Part 2 of my day included a visit to Kensington Palace, something that I had on my "London to Do List" for a long time and had never got round to. 

I do like visiting our historical palaces and looked forward to visiting the former home of Queen Victoria, Princess Diana and currently Kate & William. To make the most of the sunshine I chose to walk through Grosvenor square across, Park Lane and through Hyde park.

Ambling along Brook street my iphone went into instagram overdrive with all the glorious window boxes. (how beautiful are these)

Grosvenor Square was a hive of activity and I spent ages people watching along with lusting after the glorious hollyhocks that were the signature planting in the beds surrounding the water feature within the park. It was lovely to see them full of bees and insects…

Leaving the lovely Grosvenor Square I headed across Park Lane into the 350 acres of Hyde Park. Hyde Park was acquired by Henry VIII from the monks of Westminster Abbey in 1536 and was a private hunting ground until James I came to the throne and permitted access. Hyde Park may not be as pretty as some of the  other parks in London but it has some gorgeous features, including a glorious lake, lido, and eateries. Early morning you can often catch the army's cavalry contouring through the park, exercising the military horses or practising manoeuvres.

Ambling through the park, you could definitely tell summer was here…. Some of the visitors to the park were very pleasing on the eye!

One of the nicest parts of the park is on and around the Serpentine Lake, perfect place to escape from the hullabaloo of the city and enjoy nature and have some fun. Whether its boating, peddling or swimming the Serpentine has lots to off. I took advantage of a seat at the Serpentine Bar & Kitchen and enjoyed watching the birds and boats on the water.

After a brief stop I continued my walk through the park passing the exit for the Royal Albert Hall, Princess Diana memorial and admiring a beautiful flower bed of glorious purple and pink bedding plants and dahlias, into Kensington Gardens and the grounds of the palace.

Flanked by 2 huge wrought iron gilded gates (made ever more iconic during the mourning period of Princess Diana) Kensington Palace sits within the park alongside its glorious garden and orangery. Kensington Palace currently houses a fashion exhibition which features dresses worn by the Queen, Princess Margaret and Princess Diana during the decades. This sits alongside a very interesting installation from the mourning period of Queen Victoria.

One of my favourite features was a fun and funky wall, decorated with a specially commissioned wallpaper from Cole & Sons which accompanied an exhibition in 2012 when the refurbishment of the palace was completed.

Outside the palace alongside the garden  sits the Orangery, a greenhouse structure built in the style of an elaborate palace that was commissioned by Queen Anne in 1704, its beautiful setting lends itself perfectly for a spot of tea, lunch or slice of cake. Still recovering from breakfast and with tea booked later in the day, I didn't partake in refreshments, but have it on my list to return to.

The gardens of Kensington Palace and the Orangery are just beautiful, a cacophony of colour and planting in a very structured manner. With viewing gaps within the tunnel of foliage it is one of the best features of the palace and offers such varied views at each point.

After a lovely lunchtime and afternoon in the park, it was time for me to jump on a bus and head to Piccadilly for me to enjoy Afternoon Tea as another Birthday treat. 

Food styling fun....

Last Saturday I joined 10 other ladies for a day of fun, photography and  food styling with Emily Quinton and Catherine Frawley, both photographers and instagrammers that I have admired for some time. I met Emily last year when I attended a styling workshop with her.
The day was held in Emily's new Makelight studio in West Dulwich which is a glorious space filled with the most amazing light, perfect for a day taking photo's...
The day started with coffee and an introduction to the day, as well as exploring the studio before the fun began!
Each attendee had a lovely place setting at the work table to use during the day and then take home to play with.
Along with a glorious space to utilise during the day Emily & Catherine provided some amazing props to use to style the foods provided. I fell completely in love with the suitcase of vintage cooking and baking props along with glorious cakes, marshmallows and macarons  from Reshmi at  Anges de Sucre. 

Catherine started by showing how an old door could showcase macarons complimented with jasmine. by building up the look. Taking shots at each stage it allowed us to see what works and what doesn't to make a great shot, viewing each shot on the PC to see in detail the staging and cut off parts of the photograph.

Catherine's 2nd demonstration was with a box of doughnuts a lace napkin, a bread board and vintage cheese plate. 1. loaf tin, baking parchment. 2. add a vintage cheese plate. 3. cutlery and additional doughnuts. 4. doughnuts on the board. 5. final styling complete with a scattering on sprinkles. I loved this image styling, and to see it come to life was gorgeous, a simple box of doughnuts to a fabulous display good enough to eat.

After Doughnuts it was time to play with Marshmallows in a vintage baking tin, muslin clothe and a scattering of flower heads..... simple effective styling complimenting the sweet treats perfectly.  Along with a host of sweet treats C&E also showed us how to style simpler everyday things from the vegetable rack & salad bowl.  Tomatoes and the Broad beans being my favourites.

After lunch it was time for us to play with our camera's and i-phones.  I loved the old vintage French feel that the macarons and bake-ware and silverware created against the wooden background and fabric. So much fun with sugar.

Emily has a glorious old wooden cabinet in the corner which provided the perfect backdrop for a spot of afternoon tea and biscuit styling.... Jammie Dodgers looking yummy. The tea flask and retro cup complimented the cabinet and styling perfectly along with a strategically placed peony... one of Emily;s signature style floral props. 

Growing with confidence it was time to play with something a little grander, and Anges de Sucre's 3 tier extravaganza was perfect. This chocolate dripped, popcorn,macaron, marshmallow confection was a dream to shoot. With milk bottles, paper straws, and doughnuts accompanying the styling I had so much fun playing with this candy creation.

My final style for the day was with my favourite Eat Cake for Breakfast journal and Reshmi's mini macaron & popcorn creations in glorious pastels.... complete with macarons,milk bottles & straw accompaniments the only thing left to do at the end was sample the mini confections.

Emily and Catherine hosted a fabulous day and I met some lovely ladies along with learning lots.

Here is a cute little video that Emily shot of the day.... 

If you are a fan of gorgeous pictures, then I urge you to follow Emily and Catherine on instagram for a daily dose of flower and food loveliness. More images on instagram of the day on #makelightworkshops

Thankyou Ladies, I had a fabulous day and I am learning to love my camera lots and have fun with photos.