007's ABC....

A couple of weeks ago on a much needed day off, I spent an hour wandering a new exhibition that has opened in the London Film museum in Covent Garden. I am referring to the new Bond in Motion exhibition ... featuring my favourite 007 treats; Aston martins, Bond, Cars & DB5's, S's and vantages!
The exhibition is very cleverly displayed and is a must for any Bond enthusiast and fan.  A couple of years ago I visited a great exhibition at the Barbican, this is a great follow on from that.

The Bond movies were a huge part of me growing up, always a family outing when one was released. I didn't really get hooked until Pierce Brosnan pulled on the legendary Tuxedo. He was my ideal Bond until Daniel Craig was handed the legendary suit & gun and then I was completely suckered!.
My 2nd love in the Bond movies has always been the cars... Sean Connery's DB5 being my favourite, when this featured in Skyfall, it made my day. Aston Martins are my car love and their partnership with the Bond brand is legendary.... this exhibition features many from several movies... including some battered DBS vehicles from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace. Each car is displayed with both graphics and a movie playing of its legendary scene.

The show stealer is the legendary DB5 from Goldeneye  & Skyfall, sitting alongside is a replica model which was used to film scenes in the films.

Along with the Aston Martins, there is a water section, which features the amphibious Lotus and a bike section complete with Pierce Brosnans BMW bike and Daniel Craig's army bike which crosses the rooftops of the Turkish market in Istanbul.

This a great exhibition, and would make a great gift for Dads, Brothers and Bond fans like myself!

Afternoon Tea - New York Style

Today's New York loves features Tea. It's not the first thing that you think of doing on a visit to New York, as coffee is much more favoured. There are some great places and its becoming a much sort after way to stop & relax for an hour in the city that doesn't sleep. I have picked a mix of venues as it would be easy to list 5 hotels, however on my travels I have stumbles across some fun & quirky venues.

Most of the big hotels offer Afternoon tea, or High tea as it is often called in the city. My favourites of these is of course The Plaza. Twenty years ago on my first visit to NY I stayed in this fabulous hotel prior to it becoming private apartments and suites. The Palm Court where tea is served is sumptuous, decadent and very 'old school' New York and was completely wasted on a girl in her early 20's!... I am looking forward to returning this year for tea when I visit in December.
There are a few Tea shops which have popped up over the city in the last few years. Tea & Sympathy is a cute little tea shop and store in the heart of Greenwich Village. It sells everything British, which I am sure the ex-pats living in New York must love, and serves a great cup of tea, cake & cucumber sandwich. Its straight out of a 40's style tuck shop and a huge hit with new Yorkers who love a slice of Britain.
My next Tea stop is Sanctuary T Restaurant which is located in Soho on the corner of Grand and Broadway. This restaurants menu is styled around Tea and offers a huge range of Teas from across the world. With is minimal styling, it really is a Tea sanctuary. Perfect place to stop, sit and savour a relaxing cup of tea whilst pounding the streets of the city. With great brunch & dinner menu's is not just an afternoon tea stop.
Alice's Tea Cup has a 3 venues across the city. If Alice in Wonderland could have created a tea shop then this would have been it. Its like a curiosity shop filled with gorgeous scones & fabulous tea.
Here are my thoughts from a previous visit. Perfect little curiosity shop for afternoon tea, for big and little girls.

Finally my tea room of choice, is the gorgeous 7th floor restaurant in Bergdorf & Goodman, also known as BG's. Situated on 5th avenue and with fabulous views across Central Park, its a perfect place to stop and refresh if you are a lady that lunches or shops!
I have mapped my tea venues in New York, some of these may need to be booked in advance. Pop back in a fortnight and I will share my coffee loves of the city.

Social Media Sunday ~ April

Its Social Media Sunday time gain on the blog, and this is becoming one of my favourite posts of the month. The link will take you to previous months posts.
I  have a lot to share of what I've been loving during April.... Its predominately been an Instagram month.
Instagram

• Stephanie Howell - I have followed Stephanie's blog for many years, she lives in the states and shares her home with her soldier husband and 4 beautiful girls. She is super talented and I love her scrapbooking Currently they are living in Italy and making the most of their European adventure. My favourite snap this month was of Monet's beautiful garden in France, complete with spring tulips.
• Mrs Button - Mrs B's snaps are just delightful, these iced cookies for Easter look gorgeous and this colour palette features lots in her snaps. She has the most perfect kitchen. yum x
• Emily Quinton - completely fallen in love with Emily's photographic style and this country cottage quilt and flowers is gorgeous.
• DanTVusa - I have been following Dan's Instagram for a while now since my friend Ali McNamara spent some time in New York with him taking photos for one of her books. Dan's photos of the city are amazing. This storm clouds over the  skyline is stunning, and evocative.
• Butchers Daughter NYC - having recently discovered this fab little deli, its now on my "places to visit" list for my trip to NY later this year. It looks like this years trip will be filled with food treats, cant wait to visit.
• A Guy Named Patrick - is another NYC photographer that I've been following lots. His photo's feature everyday NY in an effortlessly stylish style.

Two Instagram sites that got lots of likes this month feature my favourite city New York. One is the coffee shop Birch, their coffee cups have been snapped alongside some of the most iconic and popular sites in NY. Definitely will be seeking this gorgeous little coffee shop out when I visit, it has its own little Library in its store... perfect, great Coffee, Books & New York.. ticks a lot of my loves.

My 2nd Instagram site features Eggs. Over 200 eggs were placed around the streets and sites of New York on the run up to Easter... creating a huge Egg Hunt for all to seek and enjoy. Easter weekend culminated in all the Eggs being sited at the Rockefeller Plaza before a giant auction of the artists works for charity. Several million pounds was raised for a number of worthy causes. Here are some of my favourites across the city.



Blogland

Sharing the love on bloglovin this month, these are the blogs I've been reading  is what I've been liking.

• NY through the lens ~ a blog recently discovered filled with glorious NY photo's, filled with lots of hint & tips for photographing NY at its finest.
• Heart Handmade Uk  ~ this gorgeous blog is filled with the most delicious things to buy, make & eat for your home. This food baking & styling for Easter is yum, adding to things to make for next years Easter. I love the piñata cake, so much fun!
•  Nouvelle Daily - another blog I keep coming back to. This post on photographing food and styling is filled with great hints & tips. Bookmarked for printing & filling in my Love my Camera more folder.
• Essex Eating - I discovered Dan's blog a couple of years ago and still follow avidly. From great recipes, to cool restaurant reviews, Dan's posts are always filled with honesty. With a trip to Bath planned this month I dug out Dan's Bath foodie post for recommendations. 
• Mrs M's Meanderings ~ I've followed Caroline's blog for many years and now regard her as one of my friends, catching up for drinks when she is in London. I love her Frock it posts and Friday 5's. Recently she has been sharing her beauty loves/loathes on Vlog which is very entertaining!. This post from her this month was a lovely surprise.

Thankyou to all that have posted me comments, messages or 'likes' on twitter, Instagram or my blog. They mean a lot and always put a smile on my face...

so this month what have you been tweeting, 'liking' following lately? would love to know ... happy Sunday x



May Makeover

Welcome to May and a new look blog. I hope that you like it.... Its been some time since the blog had any work and I had grown tired of the previous template. This one is more basic, but allows me to personalise it. I plan to change the look dependant on season!. This colour palette reminds me of the Blossom on the trees, Spring and Candy!...

With a new look blog I have been planning this months blog posts. Along with the regular monthly posts I also will be sharing with you some recent activities, which feature Bond, Beauty and Borough Market.

 

May's planned days out feature a trip to Cardiff, a night at the Albert Hall, Chocolate Tea and a night with an Eastender and a Ballet boy in an east end music theatre.
Along with a new look blog I have compiled a planner so that I can keep track on blog posts. Its an easy way for me to drop down ideas and draft posts. I am an old fashioned girl and love a pen & paper, as much as I try to use iPad/iPhone for drafts etc, it doesn't really work for me.

I hope that May brings you all lots of fun.... pop back and see what May brings for me over the next 4 weeks.

#Project Life ~ April 2014

.... it seems that Spring blossomed in April and days were filled with sunshine, occasional showers and beautiful blossom.  With Easter falling in April there was also lots of chocolate and yummy treats.

Florence was unwell during April, we had a slow puncture which resulted in a new tyre followed by a puncture on a busy A road, which resulted in me changing a flat on the hard shoulder in the rain & dark. Thankfully I can change a tyre, which is just as well considering not one person stopped to help... very disappointing. Later in the month Florence threw a strop and refused to get off the drive one morning which resulted in some early morning walks threw the park to the station. Florence is now well and back on the road. The Kit's thoroughly enjoyed exploring Florence whilst waiting for the Green Flag man.

April also saw me spend some down time over Easter, baking & enjoying some time reading and catching up on some TV treats and a couple of great reads. I spent a fabulous day with a bunch of ladies and Emily Quinton learning to love my camera more. A trip to Borough Market sampling some amazing Doughnuts and visiting the very cool Bond car collection in Covent Garden (blog post to come) also fell into the months activities. I met the French Macaron master Pierre Herme when he opened his chocolate & macaron boutique at work which was fab.

April was filled with delicious treats, beautiful blossoms and a sprinkling of showers & sunshine... looking forward to what May has to bring.

Hope your April was fabulous and look forward to sharing May with you soon x