#Project Life ~ May

May has passed in a whirlwind of spring sunshine and showers, with a new look blog and little more planning. I have thoroughly enjoyed blogging in May.

 Here's what I have planned for June:

but before we launch head first into June, here's some favourites from May.

Work was named best department store in the world for the third consecutive time, so lots of celebrations and sweet treats were had. Work also launched one of its biggest beauty projects every... with a huge "hello beautiful" lit feature on the canopy on Oxford street. (big blog post to come)  Outside of work I had lots of fun, from a day trip to Cardiff to watch a game of rugby, to an evening at the Royal Albert Hall watching Michael Bolton. I went to tea at Grosvenor House which had mixed reviews, and I spent a sunny afternoon at Hampton Court Palace. All of which I will be sharing with you in the next few days.

During June I am going to join along with FatMumSlim's photo a day challenge over on Instagram. I will be rounding up my weeks photo's on my blog to share.

I hope that you have all had a great May and a happy June.







Grosvenor House ChocolateTea

Juggling lots of project work during May at work has meant that downtime has been limited. With this in mind I pre-planned a couple of things away from my desk to ease the stress and aid relaxation. One of the treats booked was a late Friday afternoon tea at the Grosvenor House hotel. Famed for its ballroom, this was my first visit to this legendary location along Park Lane.

As blogged many times, afternoon tea is a luxurious treat that I try to do often.
Tea is served in the Park Room overlooking Park Lane and Hyde Park. With a choice of tables I opted to sit adjacent to the windows where I could enjoy views both inside and out. The Park room is a relaxed space, with tables set against sofa & armchair like seating, styled in a way that you don't feel on top of each other.
At the time of my visit Grosvenor |House had collaborated with artisan chocolatier Paul A Young to host a chocolate afternoon tea.

Comprising of:

MENU

Selection of Delicate Finger Sandwiches;

Cucumber and Venezuelan Chocolate Sandwich

 Loch Fyne Smoked Scottish Salmon with Cream Cheese

and Dill Chopped Ham with Somerset Cheddar Mustard Mayonnaise,

 Clarence Court Free Range Eggs with Mayonnaise and Cress

Coldwater Prawns with Marie Rose Sauce

Roast Scottish Beef with Creamed Horseradish

Smoked Chicken with Tarragon 
Home Made Scones with Devonshire Clotted Cream

& Paul A Young’s Award Winning Sea Salted Caramel 
Assortment of Tantalising Afternoon Tea Pastries

 Cocoa Shortcake Biscuit with Madagascan Chocolate Ganache Scented with English Rose and Raspberries

 Earl Grey Tea Chocolate Tart with Salted Lemon Truffle Orange,

English Honey and Geranium Ganache Battenburg

Pistachio and Raspberry Slice 
Speciality Tea Blend  Madagascan Cocoa Nib Tea 
Paul A. Young’s Chocolate Truffles Sea Salted Caramel

 Passion Fruit Curd

85% Classic Ecuadorian Truffle 

The tea was lovely, the pistachio and raspberry slice was gorgeous. The sea salted caramel sauce and scones were melt in the mouth delicious.

 As with all afternoon teas, service is incredibly important part of the experience. Unfortunately GH service let me down on this day. It was an amalgamation of lots of things which culminated in me having to find someone to take my payment. I am usually someone who never complains, chalking up poor experiences as one of life's lessons. I have only ever complained once about poor service and that was in writing to Fortnum's & Mason after a poor tea experience during the jubilee. As I was leaving GH I bumped into the manager, who could see I was a little unhappy. He was fantastic, refunding my bill immediately whilst listening to my experience of tea. He has also invited me back to experience a tea at another time, which I will do later this year, as I would like to believe that this was a one off for a hotel as prestigious as Grosvenor House.
TCakes Afternoon Tea stars:
Tea ****
Ambience ****
Service **

5 London Loves - Coffee

Last week I shared my coffee loves from New York, this week its time to share from London. Coffee arrived in London in 1652 and became on overnight success. Coffee houses became the places to conduct business and were influential in changing the landscape of the City of London during this time.  In 1688 Edward Lloyds coffee house in Tower street was the place to go for marine insurance, this coffee shop eventually became Lloyds of London insurance brokers. Jonathan's coffee house in Exchange Alley, eventually became London Stock Exchange. Sotherby's & Christie's both have origins in coffee houses.
With nearly 2,000 coffee shops in London you are never far from a caffeine fix. A London Underground map was produced last year with a coffee stop at each station. Here are 5 of my favourite coffee fixes across the city.

Monmouth Coffee - opened its doors in Covent garden in 1978, roasting & grinding its own beans. This legendary coffee shop opened a 2nd location in Borough market, which has become its flagship, with queues snaking around the corner for a cup of its java. Monmouths distribution moved to a larger premises in Maltby street after outgrowing its Covent garden store. Monmouths signature style is to only serve one size coffee. They only use full fat milk, which compliments their coffee perfectly. I love this coffee shop, and is always a must on a visit to Borough Market. My bag always goes home a little heavier with a bag of Monmouth beans.

Kaffeine - located in Great Titchfield Street, just behind Oxford Street.This cool little coffee shop is influenced by the coffee shops of Australia & New Zealand. As well as serving great coffee in a very urban relaxing atmosphere this cool shop also offers coffee classes.... Loving the look of the Latte classes here.

Notes - this fab little coffee shop is so much more than a coffee shop, it hosts jazz evenings and offers a great selection of wines. Later this year Notes will launch its own signature beer. I love this little caffeine haven, and is a must visit whenever I am in the Covent Garden location. Styled minimally with old school tables and chairs it offers a relaxing environment perfect for sipping a latte away
from the hustle and bustle of London life.

Tap - Tap have 3 locations in London and my favourite is in Soho on 193 Wardour street. With a bicycle hanging above the entrance its hard to miss when walking along the street. This coffee shop is deceptively simple. With a rustic coffee its offers great coffee and gorgeous homemade cakes. The shop is narrow and long, with great windows and skylights offering up fantastic light on the dullest of London days. Another great place to seek out a stones throw from Oxford street.

Charlie's cafe - a quaint cafe tucked down a little alley nestled in the heart of Portabello road Notting hill. This little cafe really does offer great coffee, and a great breakfast/brunch menu, sourcing artisan foods and British produce. It really is a little haven in one of London's busiest streets.

As with all London loves posts, here is a map of my coffee favourites in London.
If this post has wetted your taste buds for exploring London's caffeine fixes, then check out this cool app - London coffee guide. With a coffee chain on most corners in London, this app will help you locate your nearest independent coffee shop,  and explore parts of London that started over 300 years ago and is still as popular now as when the first coffee shop opened in the city all those years ago.

Totes Amaze Tuesday - May

Its that time of the month when I share my handbag love for the month. With sporadic sunshine and showers sprinkling through the days I injected a little colour into my workday wardrobe by wearing the gorgeous Mulberry Mitzy as arm candy.

I picked this bag up in the sale a couple of years ago because I just loved the colour. At the time I thought that it would only really be a summer bag, but now use it lots in the winter to brighten the dull grey days. I wear a lot of Navy and this is a fantastic accessory to complement. I am searching for the perfect Navy bag as its one colour palette that so far eludes my handbag collection.  I have a gorgeous Navy & pink Mcq graffiti scarf which is a great accompaniment to this bag.
The mitzy tote is a versatile little number, it can transform from a tote to a slouchy crossbody. The zip isn't just a design feature, you can turn the top of the bag inside and then use its functionality.
As with many mulberry bags, it is fully lined with its signature design, silver stamped hardware and multi storage facilities.
As with all Totes Tuesday posts I have styled my look for this month, opting for the casual look with jeans & pink birkenstocks. This has been one of my favourite looks this month and is my usual style of a weekend. My kate spade notebook, iPhone & laptop have been key staples in my mitzy, switching the jeans & shirt to a navy suit an easy transformation from casual to workwear.

New season collections for Autumn/Winter have started to arrive in work this week, I will be sharing some of my favourites and wishes in the next few weeks.
What arm candy have you been loving this month?.....

5 New York loves - Coffee

As I shared my New York Tea loves earlier this month, I thought I would share my coffee loves this week. Coffee is the much favoured hot drink of choice in America. 20 years ago a TV series hit the airways which would launch the coffee shop into a different stratosphere. Now it was cool to meet up with friends in a coffee shop, instead of a bar!... Yes, Friends launched 20 years ago and lived on our screens for 10 years, with some of its most memorable scenes in Central Perk itself. Although a fictional coffee shop in New York, the friends apartment block on the corner of Grove & Bedford street in Greenwich Village is still one of the most photographed movie location buildings.

 In New York itself you cannot move more than a block without seeing the iconic Starbucks sign and its coffee shops nestled among the sites of New York. There are over 50 sites in Manhattan, so you are never far from a cup of the hot brown liquid gold. However it wasn't Starbucks that gave me my New York coffee love when I visited nearly 2 decades ago, but the fabulous deli of Dean & Deluca. This store on Broadway in the heart of SOHO was everything that I imagined a NY coffee and deli venue would be. With smaller coffee shops nestled across the city, this brand now worldwide epitomises everything great about food in New York.
Coffee is so popular in NY that last year the subway map was released with a coffee stop at every subway location. This is a fun way to explore the city, although not sure how much sleep you would get if you grabbed an espresso from each stop... caffeine consumption would be astronomical!

Today I am sharing some of those stops of coffee loves from across the city;
Gasoline Alley; a cool urban coffee shop, with minimal decor other than a statement bicycle hanging above the counter in the heart of NOHO (north of Houston street) on Lafayette street. Where once the streets were filled with car mechanics and gasoline stations it is now filled with coffee shops and boutiques. Gasoline is an homage to an era gone buy, serving  Intelligentsia coffee, and Dough donuts.... 2 great brands making a name for themselves in the food news of New York.
Bluebird Coffee Shop; is a very small cute neighbourhood coffee shop in the heart of the East Village on East 1st street. With limited seating it really is a treat of a find, and the coffee served in cute blue cups is delightful.

The Bowery Coffee shop is located on the corner of East Houston and The Bowery, it has an eclectic feel. The old-world-style storefront features ice cream parlour tables and a zinc-topped counter. Along with dark & delicious coffee, Doughnut Plant fritters and Balthazar croissants are also available.
Birch Coffee has three locations across the city with its own coffee blend and iced blend available. All venues are aesthetically designed to fit its area. I recently featured this coffee shop in my Social media sunday post and I am looking forward to visiting in December. Anywhere that features books & coffee is a winner for me!.
D'espresso coffee shop in Madison avenue just around the corner of Grand Central Station. This coffee shop is the most stylishly designed and features an amazing library book installation which is just gorgeous. Another must visit for me this year...

As with all 5 loves posts, here is a map of my New York locations for you to try..... enjoy.

If my post has wetted your appetite for a coffee adventure in New York, ITunes has 2 great New York Coffee apps which you can download. One is free and the other is a nominal fee.... I really love the coffee cup map!....

 

I hope that you have enjoyed my NY loves post this week.... Here are my previous posts, pop back next week for London's equivalent coffee loves.

(please note that all views are my own and I have not received any payment for this post)