Best Bits of 2018 - Winter - Spring

So its mid January and I failed again with blogging much for 2018 so I'm sharing some of my Best Bits from Instagram Stories and aim to blog a little more in 19.  I really enjoy looking back on my blog but sometimes life gets in the way, so im not going to get stressed about it I'm just going to share what I can when I can....
So 2018 M and I celebrated 2 years together and we continued to tick things off of our bucket lists.

January past by in a blur, with both busy with work we banished the January Blues with a winter retreat to a gorgeous Water Mill in Tuddenham Suffolk - it was the perfect place to escape the pressures of year end and work and recharge the batteries. Our room overlooked the water meadow where we relaxed and watched the sunset and sunrise in complete privacy.
Dinner in their award winning restaurant finished off a gorgeous stay.
This hotel was a great find and one that I hope to return to as it was so relaxing

February saw a Valentines Day trip to Paris for the day, it was freezing cold  (Hot Chocolate from Angelina's helped) but we still managed a trip up the Eiffel Tower and Dinner alongside the river Seine overlooking the Notre Dame.
It was a whistle stop trip on Eurostar from St Pancras and one that we will do again as M hadn't been to Paris so only got to sample a small selection of this city. We walked lots taking in the Sacre Coeur, Louvre, Arc di Triomphe, Notre Dame, Eiffel Tower
We had lots of fun, but were both weary on the return home.

February also saw us take in a movie night with a difference - Film & Fizz at One Aldwych Hotel in London was a treat - private cinema with prosecco and popcorn followed by a 3 course dinner in their restaurant . We took in this experience to see the award winning Gary Oldman take on Winston Churchill in The Darkest Hour. - Such a great film and a luxurious way to take in what will become a film great.

March arrived a we started to make plans for the year talking about holidays etc, it felt like Spring had bloomed and the gloom of the winter months was behind us. Unfortunately a very sharp cold snap and horrible car accident on St Patricks day halted our plans temporarily. 
Fractured eye sockets and facial trauma and lots of whiplash injuries resulted from a wreckless driver who smashed us off the road was how we finished off March.

Easter arrived and we spent it quietly with the 'Big Kids' whilst we rested and recuperated before I headed into hospital for Surgery. Restructuring work to my face and eye ran alongside a Restructuring and consultation process at work. 2018 had suddenly become a little stressful and uncertain. Physiotherapy and Consultative meetings filled much of April....
Both of us looked forward to the warmer months and feeling better.....

Hello September

Hello September - its been a while and a lot has happened in the last six months but I finally feel like blogging and sharing a little of my life again.
September sees the whole back to school new term vibe and maybe that's whats has kick started me into thinking I may get some more time to write, blog and craft a little more. I've always enjoyed blogland  and have made some great friends along the way, so if you have stuck with me during my hiatus and are reading this, Hello and thank you.
I will update you all with a brief synopsis of the last few months in more detail over the coming weeks but for now I just want to bask in the late summer days and early autumnal mornings as we head into my favourite season.
Having just had the most glorious of summers on record I am hoping that autumn is going to be lovely too.
Summer was spent eating alfresco (a lot!) with beach picnics, festivals, and lazy evenings in the garden.
This year was definitely the best year to have a coupe car and enjoyed driving round with the roof down.
 The summer also saw me celebrate being another year older along with M and I's 2 year anniversary.


The last few months have include a horrendous car accident, facial surgery to repair some fractures, Consultation and Redundancy programme at work (myself included) Job Vacancies and Interviews amongst that there has been some positives, a beautiful 5 days on Rome, Coupe car for the summer, and some fab days / nights out in the city and coast for the summer.
Have lots to share and look forward to catching up on some favourites over the coming days.
Happy Saturday and Hello September xx

Goodbye Summer .... Hello Autumn!

Yes after a summer hiatus I am back!, I had so many good intentions to blog over the last few weeks but life and work have kept me busy. I am hoping with the nights drawing in a little more I will get back into some semblance of a routine and get back to blogging more. I know that lots of people have moved on from writing blogs, but its still something that I like to do, however I am no longer going to get stressed if I miss a few posts!

  So life has been busy since I returned from holiday. I've celebrated birthday's, anniversaries, including M & I's 1st year "friendversary" and spent some lovely days out and about in the city.

We have played the tourist a lot over the summer months visiting Kensington Gardens, Buckingham Palace, and picnic'd in St James Park. We have walked lots and dined in The Savoy and the recently opened The Ivy at Tower Bridge along with burgers and BBQ at Byron and Bodeans. I'm not sure how I've managed to stay within target but I am hanging on.
Birthday treats included lunch with Bestie as we share the same birthday week so always try to do something together. With her job relocating to Chelmsford I joined her for lunch which was an old school lunch favourite of fish finger sandwiches! and cake!!.... there has been a bit of cake over the last couple of months. Definitely getting back on plan in September.
Lunch was lovely and a great hour of gossip and laughs.
Another night out with an old friend was to see the West End musical Beautiful - a great show, showcasing the amazing talents of Carole King. We had a lovely time and I am so glad that I saw this before it finished in the West End. It is now on a UK tour and I would recommend it, if it visits a town near you.

Another lovely evening out was an impromptu walk along the river after work which resulted in cocktail and coffee watching the tennis on a rooftop overlooking St Paul's. Madison Bar and the rooftop of New exchange at St Pauls has been a favourite for a while but was new to M. We were passing as the sun was setting so I decided to pop up and share this little gem, not knowing that the tennis was being screened on a big screen, so we grabbed a couple of drinks and sat for a while watching the sunset and a few sets of tennis.

As you can see the walk and views were stunning and I will share some more of my summer adventures over the next couple of days.
have a great evening.... look forward to catching up with some favourites in blog land x

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.

Easter...

As we head into another bank holiday weekend, I thought I would share a few eats, and treats from my Easter. As most of you know I have been following Slimming World for the last 18 months and having achieved my 5 and half stone award the week before Easter, I decided to relax a little over the Easter weekend and enjoy the time with family and friends.

I was lucky enough to have Good Friday off which as I was house sitting for a friend gave me time to catch up on some crafting , series link on TV and baking. I worked the Easter Saturday which allowed me to grab an early coffee in Claridges enjoying the Easter blooms. This is without a doubt my favourite hotel in London and I pop in the Lobby every week to look at the flowers, they are just beautiful.

I then spent Easter Sunday with friends and family, the Easter Bunny did a short hop to my brothers, where chocolate & cupcakes were distributed to my niece and nephew.
I love Easter, its my next favourite to Christmas and usually spend it a friends cooking a huge roast lamb dinner with full on decorations and a big egg hunt.

This year however my friend was away so I volunteered to cook for M and his family. I think he was a little surprised on how big I go with Easter. The boys (21 & 25) seemed to enjoy it and are already talking about what we are doing next year! 😲
I hope that everyone enjoyed their Easter and that you got time to relax with family & loved ones.

Date Night at the Opera

Catching up on blog posts from Easter and April before May arrives and I disappear for 16 days on an epic adventure (more to follow on that!) - I have over the last few months alluded to being back out on the 'dating' scene and although not quite ready to tempt fate and completely spill the beans, I am happy to report that I have met someone and it looks promising!

One such date night on Maundy Thursday involved a lovely pre-theatre dinner at Balthazar in Covent Garden followed by an evening at The Royal Opera House watching Madame Butterfly.

M & I have known each other a little while now and have shared Bucket Lists's of things we would like to do, see and travel. We started working through the lists as friends and things have kind of evolved - the opera was on M's list and I was thrilled that I managed to book tickets for Madame Butterfly at its sell out performance at the ROH - we were in the nose bleed seats but still able to see and hear everything which was lovely. 

I wanted to go somewhere nice for dinner, we had already been to The Ivy Grill at Christmas when we went to the Ballet and as much as we loved it, I wanted to take him somewhere else, with Balthazar in close proximity this was perfect for a dinner. We both opted for the Pea and mint Risotto, followed by the Pork which was delicious. The pork was served with new potatoes, spinach and a medley of mushrooms.With the restaurant offering a pre-theatre 2/3 course menu this is a great way to eat in a nice restaurant without paying huge prices. The service, food and ambience was fantastic with no pressure to hurry you up.

Going straight out after work is always a balance and I am lucky to work somewhere that I can get my hair blow-dried, my nails paited and my make-up done. As you can imagine I took full advantage of this and felt fabulous i my gorgeous winter white DKNY trousers and black top. 

Not a huge Selfie fan but it was a must in the fabulous New York feel bathroom in Balthazar.💖

Date night continued at The Opera which was delightful. I loved that the 'words' were highlighted overhead to your seating areas so it was like watching a real live film with subtitles. On previous opera visits I haven't had this and have had to struggle along a little.

The performances were heartrendingly beautiful by the lead Butterfly and the Captain was a complete Cad. We loved it and started our Easter off perfectly.

Goodbye February.... Hello March >>>

 So February’s flown and we are a week into March and I’m still working my way through my February blog post list … ooops!  Not sure where the time is going but I am thankful that the days are getting a little lighter and it feels in between the rain showers that Spring is trying to blossom.

February was buy workwise and quite chilled at home, which helped with the stress levels and just learning to adapt to a new role and lots of life changes. It was a month of catching up with friends and family for birthday celebrations, lunches and coffee as well as a few date night!

Date nights included

·         Theatre Night - a trip to the theatre to see Dream Girls which is just fabulous and involved a visit into the Savoy (alas not to stay) but still savoured the ambience pre-theatre.

·         Movie Night – Movie moment from February was the Oscar winning Manchester by the Sea – loving my movie moments and hope to share more this month

·         Curry Night – kept it casual for Valentines Night with a trip to the local curry house, no pressure on either of us other than to catch-up over a glass of prosecco and a curry and enjoy a night off plan with SW! It still called for a new dress and a little pampering which was nice.

Valentines also lent itself to going full on pink & red at the corner shop with the façade being decorated in balloons which made for some great Instagram moments along with a lovely pop-up Valentines market inside featuring the most decadent glorious flowers, more balloons, cards and candy. It also allowed me to get the red lipstick out and little red dress.

February also allowed me to make some sale purchases, most thrilled with my size 12 skinny JBrand jeans and Bella Freud Jumper which I picked up at significantly reduced prices and finally seeing the benefits of my Slimming World journey over the last 18 months. The loss is slowing and I am aiming for Target before Easter, so that I can go on holiday in May and enjoy.

Birthdays in February included my oldest friend, my Niece and another friend. Friends birthdays were celebrated with suppers and drinks and my lovely Libs was the family tradition of cupcakes and presents for breakfast. Her birthday usually falls in half term so it allows for us all to get together early which was lovely and this year included to friends from her sleep-over and my nephew who came home from Uni.

That pretty much sums up my month, I hope that February was kind to you all and I really hope that sometime soon I get upto date with my blogging and share a little more.

Movie Moments - 2017

This week saw Hollywood host the 89^th Academy Awards – where the coveted Oscar is awarded to what the members believe to be the best within their field for the year.  Usually the only thing that makes the headlines are the frocks and fashion from the evening, this of course this year was over shadowed by the horror of the wrong Film being called out at the Winner of the Best movie 2016.  The winners list always kick starts my Movie list for the year, as it gives me ideas of what I would like to see.

My movie moment in February was the movie that bagged the Best Actor award for Casey Affleck in Manchester by the Sea. Produced by Matt Damon this movie deals with some hard hitting subjects with some fabulous acting – stand out performances from both Affleck and Lucas Hedges. Launched at the 2016 Sundance Film festival, this movie has picked up a host of nominations and gongs during the award season.

The movie centres around a small town in New England, where everyone knows everyone and their business, winters are long and bleak and summers short. Affleck’s character is a brooding loner holding a janitorial handyman role in a suburb of Boston when he receives a call  summoning him back to his home town of Manchester by the Sea and deal with the aftermath of the call and the responsibilities that it brings. It is apparent from early on that Affleck has his own demons and issues with returning to the town which slowly unravel as the movie develops.

I enjoyed this movie, it’s not something that I would usually pick out to see, but glad that I did as the acting is impressive and is very thought provoking.

A couple of other Oscar nominated movies have made by Movie Moment shortlist for 2017, however most of them are ‘bums on seats’ movies as opposed to Oscar winners, something I find every increasing in the movie world. There are definitely 2 types of films made these days, those that are pure escapism and sheer enjoyment and those that tick boxes as Artistic, Political, Historical, Minorities etc and are made purely to win awards and not necessarily take money at the box office.

I am definitely in the escapism camp and just want to be entertained; some of my movies I will wait for the DVD/online release but a few I will go to the cinema to see, here’s a few that should take me through to the summer:

Patriots Day – Mark Wahlberg plays a cop involved in the investigation and aftermath of the bombing of the Boston Marathon – based on the tragic events that took place 4 years ago, this movie shows how the city went into lockdown and a race against the clock to bring the bombers to justice.

Beauty and the Beast – definitely one for the big screen, where Emma Watson takes on the role of Belle and Emma Thompson steps into the very big shoes of Angela Lansbury’s Mrs Potts for this live action of Disney’s award winning animation. One of my Disney favourites, I can’t wait to see how this has been bought to life.

King Arthur  - looking forward to seeing is Guy Ritchie’s interpretation of King Arthur – with a huge cast of stars including Charlie Hunnam as Arthur and a cameo from David Beckham, this movie could be one of the big hits of the summer and I hope will look epic on a big screen.

My Cousin Rachel – adapted from Daphne Du Mauriers classic, this stars Sam Claflin and Rachel Weisz, - a young Englishman plots revenge against his mysterious beautiful cousin believing that she murdered his guardian, however she soon beguiles him and conflicts are torn. Definitely one for the ladies.

Well that's a  few from list - what are you looking forward to seeing this year?

A treat of an evening.....

Wow January has passed in a flash, but before we fall into February I am sharing one more post from my activities over the festive season. An annual tradition for me for many years is to see The Nutcracker Ballet, whether in New York of London, I always try to get to see a performance. This year I managed to get tickets for the English National Ballets performance at the London Coliseum, where I booked to take a friend for their 50^th birthday. (they had never been to the ballet and I was able to put a big tick against a wish on their bucket list)

To make the evening even more special I surprised them with starting the evening in The Savoy for drinks before moving onto The Ivy Grill Marketplace in Covent Garden for dinner. This was my first time at this restaurant and I loved it, ambience is gorgeous and the food was delicious. It was the perfect prequel to a delightful evening at the ballet.

The Savoy this year was a decorated opulently in pinks and silver and was just beautiful. The tree in the foyer was sponsored by the jewellers Boodles and was very pink but oh so pretty.💗

The interior of The Savoy was as equally as beautiful in greens and silver with a real art deco style and just quite magical.






The Ivy Marketplace was equally as gorgeous in a colourful cacophony of baubles, wreaths and a stunning tree outside in the courtyard which complemented the large baubles and mistletoe decor of Covent Garden.
This did nothing to distract how delicious the food was, a perfect venue for pre-theatre or a special dinner.

After a very lovely supper it was a short stroll to The Coliseum, where we were swept up in the magic and sparkle of a Christmas Ballet.
No matter how many times I have seen The Nutcracker I never grow old of it and it is a delightful treat to watch and see the delight on my friends face. 
The Nutcracker featured lots in my Christmas 2016 - from the fabulous Nutcracker Soldiers outside Liberty's that I walked past most days, to Candles burning on the fireside and tags on the tree I have lots of lovely memories to add to 2016's Christmas album and look back on in future years.

Theatre Nights ......

So I was lucky enough to get to the theatre 3 times over the festive season – twice in the West End and then again at my local theatre and loved every minute.

My first theatre night was early December where I was fortunate enough to have bagged a preview ticket for the much anticipated Dreamgirls staging. Those familiar with the movie (Beyoncé , Jennifer Hudson & Jamie Foxx ) will know that it follows a trio of girls who in the early 60’s embark on a journey which sees them taken from backing vocals to being the star act across the globe, based loosely on the story of Diana Ross and The Supremes, it is not without its back stabbing and jealousy’s and a fantastic soundtrack.

 Taking the lead role of Effie is the extremely talented Amber Riley (formerly Mercedes from Glee and currently part of the judging panel on Let it Shine) who was made for this part. With a ‘Full House’ board displayed outside The Savoy theatre there was much anticipation and excitement in the air before a note was sung on stage.  Staged a little different to the film it is the role of Effie that takes the lead and Amber Riley is just fabulous, having loved her voice in Glee I was interested to see how much of that was ‘real’ or just edited for TV. I can honestly say that this girl has the most amazing voice and belts out the soundtrack – it is the first time that I have been to the theatre and an actress has received a standing ovation as the curtain closed at half time.

With a great supporting cast, this is a fantastic feel good trip to the theatre and as good as the movie. Highly recommend seeing this before the cast move on to other things, I enjoyed it so much I came home and booked tickets for February to take a friend.

My second trip to the bright lights of the West End was to take a friend (M) to see The Bodyguard, and I bagged tickets for it penultimate night before it heads to Toronto. This also happened to fall on 12^th night after Christmas and felt like the final festive treat before saying goodbye to Christmas 2016.

 I saw The Bodyguard a couple of years ago when Beverley Knight was playing the lead and was thrilled that she had returned for its final run. Those familiar with the movie will know that the two lead characters played by Whitney Houston and Kevin Costner take on the role of famous singer / movie star and a bodyguard. Ben Lister (Casualty, The Bill / Footballers wives fame) takes up the role as The Bodyguard and plays it brilliantly. Again with a full house, this was a fun packed evening filled with lots of trips down memory lane and a soundtrack that you could sing and dance along to until the final curtain. Beverley Knight is fabulous and really doesn’t get the accolades that she deserves as a female British singer. Sadly The Bodyguard has now finished its run in The West End and I am glad that we caught it before it closed.

My final trip to the theatre was a little closer to home where New Year’s eve eve saw us take in the local pantomime of Cinderella. I haven’t been to the pantomime since I was a little girl, when my nan and gramps used to take all the grandchildren and I had forgotten how much cheesy fun it could be. Annual trip to the pantomime is a tradition of M’s and I am sure that it will become mine now as we laughed lots and got involved in all the banter of “booing” and  “he’s behind you”, I must hasten to say I was a little more reluctant than M! Obviously the Ugly Sisters stole the show with their double entendres which were wasted on the kids but loved by the adults.

For a local show the cast was great and super talented as they all at some point during the show played musical instruments on stage – it’s the first time I’ve ever seen Cinderella playing a trombone! I had a fun filled evening and now look forward to this Christmas delights.

A slice of New York in London

Continuing with catching up on some of my activities during the festive season before we are in February. Lots of you commented on my obvious lack of New York adventure this year, and yes for the first time in a few years the annual trip to the Big Apple didn’t happen.  Rest assured I am already planning a return trip for 2017 along with a huge adventure on a boat!

To compensate for not going, I planned a New York inspired day in London with a friend on a day off in early December. My friend hasn’t been to New York and will be coming with me this year so this gave them a feel of what it would be like.

A perfect relaxed day in New York for me looks like the following:

Pancakes for Breakfast, a little Shopping and taking in the Christmas sights, a Walk through Central Park, Ice Skating, Cupcakes and Coffee and then a great Burger for eats.

So with a bit of a NY bucket list planned we started the day in Jackson & Rye – a cool eatery in Soho offering home cooked American style food, with pancakes on the menu for breakfast this was the perfect place to start. With an indulgent breakfast to walk off we headed along Piccadilly with a stop off at Fortnum’s to admire the Christmas décor and then a foray along Bond Street and a trip to Tiffany’s. Everywhere was beautifully decorated for Christmas – both Fortnum & Mason & Tiffany’s looked stunningly elegant.

Blessed with a beautiful crisp winter day we headed past The Ritz into Green Park and headed down to St James Park. This is my favourite park in the city and I was delighted to see so many of the parks legendary pelicans had left their island in the middle of the lake and were happily waddling around the grounds. We spent some time in park just enjoying the views and wildlife before we headed out past Buckingham Palace and into the side streets of Belgravia. Elegant wreaths festooned the doors of some of the townhouses along with a beautiful display at The Goring hotel. (added to 2017 bucket list for birthday afternoon tea)

When in Belgravia the only place to stop for coffee and cake is the gorgeous Peggy Porschen Parlour – beautifully decorated in her signature pastels, complete with Gingerbread castles, Cookie’s and Meringue kisses drip cakes – an instagrammers dream.

I can’t recommend this little slice of cupcake heaven enough – always a favourite treat.

Rested and fed we continued our travels through Belgravia towards the Kings Road where we walked and talked and took in the sights. What I loved about this area was the number of Christmas tree vendors that had taken up residency on street corners – not in the abundance of New York but certainly creating that feel and sight that you see everywhere there. After a peruse in Anthropologie and a quick stop by The Ivy Chelsea Garden to admire the stunning decorations ( again a Instagram favourite) we then headed to our final destination of the day – The Natural History Museum for a spot of ice-skating, followed by a great Burger at @Honest burgers.(worth the queue). Loved the rink at The Natural History museum – this was my first time to this rink and it had the feel similar to that of the one in Bryant Park.

Having clocked up 11k walk on the Fitbit and feeling a little weary it was time to head home and a relax on the sofa with a christmas movie.