Sunday, 19 November 2017
My Annual Winter Wonderland Visit
Christmas is nearly here! So I had to fit my yearly Winter Wonderland visit in. My girls and I have been going for the past 4 years and kept up traditions by going at the weekend. We mainly avoid all the rides/stalls etc. and just head straight to the Bavarian Village for the live music, atmosphere and of course the steins. This year didn't disappoint, our favourite singer Joseph was up on stage and entertaining the crowd. It's such a fun festive place to visit. Above is a photo of my friend Anna and I.
Find out about Winter Wonderland here
Wednesday, 8 November 2017
Christmas is starting at Liberty London
How beautiful is the outside of Liberty London! I was walking past the other day and took these photos of the flower shop. How cute is the postbox! Check it out if you're in the area.
Sophie xx
Wednesday, 1 November 2017
KERB turned 5!
KERB streetfood market is one of my favourite places to visit. So when I found out they were hosting a birthday party for turning 5 I had to get myself a ticket. We celebrated at under the canopy at Kings Cross where a number of traders, both old and new, came together for what they called 'a big old knees up'. There wasn't just food traders at this party, but also DJ's and a brilliant live music performance from Dat Bass (a hip hop brass band)!
Here's the food that we enjoyed (all at £5 a dish)
Bleecker x BAO: two of THE BIGGEST street food titans in London go head to head with the “blao” / “bao-urger” surprise
Decatur London x Project Sandwichh: the “NYC Bodega store deli” The Ribman x Oh My Dog: “The Rib Dog” heritage breed franks piled high with Ribman’s signature HF hot sauce smothered meatSheng High x Greedy Khao: Thai-Chinese “Khao soi guo tie dumplings"Vicky's Donuts x Blu Top Ice Cream: ice cream donut panini toasties (!)Club Mexicana x @dosadeli vindaloo vegan jackfruit burritoMother Clucker x White Men Can't Jerken: WMCJ brine, MC floured fried jerk chickenTACO DAVE x Cyprus Kitchen ‘Pita Hombre’ Cypriot-Mexican Kimchinary x BBQ Dreamz: “Korean – Filipino BBQ fusion” Anna Mae's x The Piadina Project: mac ‘n cheese piadinas (no surprises there)Nonna's Gelato x Capish?: Neapolitan choc ice station
My favourite had to be the Bleeker x BAO creation - burgers will forever be my weakness.
Bring on the 6th Birthday celebration next year!
Photos above by: Dan Robb (more found here - https://www.facebook.com/events/343336186115858/?active_tab=about)
Thursday, 19 October 2017
Searcys at the Gherkin
Based on the 39th and 40th floors of The Gherkin is Searcys, a private members club. Up there is an elegant cocktail bar and fine dining restaurant with a panoramic view of London. I got the opportunity to visit the venue as I was hosting an event with work there. I'm a big fan of visiting high rises in London and seeing the views and this one was unique. Although the building isn't that high, it offers a view that you don't get from the other buildings (The Shard, Sky Garden, Sales Force Tower).
The rooms we hired were decorated beautifully and our guests got to experience the view during their dinner.
I also got to eat in the member's lounge while our event was taking place. I had the steak with egg and fries. It was so yummy. If you ever organise events I'd highly recommend using Searcys. They also have 'Open nights' available to the public, as well as special pop up events so you don't have to be a member to visit. Here's more info on the venue.
Monday, 16 October 2017
My first visit to a Pumpkin Patch
At the farm, there's a field filled with growing pumpkins that you can explore. There's also a pumpkin patch area where you can pick your pumpkins, enjoy homemade ice creams, have a coffee and there's a play area for children. There were lots of families there, but also many couples who were visiting.
It was such a fun Sunday afternoon activity, and I now own three little pumpkins that are decorating my flat.
Thursday, 12 October 2017
Top of the Rock - NYC
Visiting the Top of the Rock and seeing the view over NYC was high up on my bucket list of things to do while we were in the city and it didn't disappoint. Having arrived just the day before, we were pretty jet lagged. We woke up at 6am and thought we'd better get ready and go straight out. Leaving our hotel at 7am we decided to head to the Rockafella centre and be the first in line to go up. We grabbed some breakfast at a nearby cafe and got to the line for when it opened at 8am. This was a great idea as there was literally no line. I didn't know whether to pre-book tickets before we arrived in the city but it ended up that the line for people with pre-booked tickets was longer than for those without!
We got the standard tickets which cost $34 each and went straight up in the lift. The view was incredible. You can see the whole city from the top. One side you get the view of central park and the other of the Empire State Building and One World Trade Centre. I'd highly recommend to visit!
Thursday, 5 October 2017
Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, Harlem, New York City
If you love barbeque food you need to check out Dinosaur Bar-B-Que in Harlem, New York. We went on our first night in New York and it didn't disappoint. The menu is firmly rooted in the traditions of southern barbecue. We'd actually booked to go here before we even arrived in New York. Charlie had done some research into restaurants and stumbled across it on trip advisor. It's rated a 4.5 and is number 59 of 9,431 restaurants in New York City so we had to try it out. I'd recommend booking a table as when we arrived it was super busy!
There are a number of locations for this restaurant but the one we went to is based in Harlem. We travelled from our hotel (near Times Square) on the subway. Nearly everyone i've said that too has been like "OMG you got on the subway and went to Harlem!"...Yes we did, and I felt totally safe the entire time. Is that weird? I don't think it is. It took us about 30 mins door to door.
When we got inside the restaurant it was buzzing. Lots of locals, families and groups of friends all enjoying the atmosphere and eating delicious barbecue food. Our table wasn't quite ready so we went for a drink at the bar first. When we got seated we ordered our food, we knew that portion sizes were usually big in the US so we decided to order some chicken wings to start and then had 1/4 rack of ribs with two sides each. Food was delicious, service was great and it was really reasonable with the bill coming to around $60 including beers and service charge.
After the dinner we headed on the subway back to times square to get to our hotel. I'd really recommend visiting Dinosaur Bar-B-Que, I'm sure we'll be back again.
(Photo from Dinosaur Bar-B-Que)
Tuesday, 3 October 2017
Central Park, New York City
We arrived in New York from London at around 11am. After hopping into a taxi from JFK to Manhattan and arriving at our hotel we found out that our room wasn't going to be ready for a few hours so we headed out to explore. We realised that Central Park was about a ten minute walk from our hotel so thats where we headed. I honestly didn't think it was going to be that big. I literally thought it wouldn't be much bigger than some of the parks in London. I was wrong...Central Park is HUGE! And so beautiful. It's so strange to see such a vast area of green in the middle of a city. We walked around for a while, took lots of photos and enjoyed the views. I wish we could have spent a little more time in there but it was super hot and sweaty so didn't stay too long.
Saturday, 30 September 2017
Travelling to New York City
In August Charlie and I went on a once in a lifetime trip. We'd done months of planning for an 11 day holiday to New York, Miami and Key West. Our holiday started as soon as we got to the airport as we were flying first class with British Airways from London Heathrow to JFK New York. There's no way i'd ever normally be able to travel in first class and I count myself extremely fortunate for being able to experience it. We'd managed to get the seats by using an American Express companion voucher and used some air miles.
The experience was better than I could have ever imagined. When you arrive to Heathrow you can use a dedicated first class check in area which takes you directly to the lounges. We decided to use the Concorde room and sat down to have breakfast. After this we had enough time to chill out and enjoy some champagne.
Once I got onboard the service was impeccable. The seats were more comfortable than I could have ever imagined. The cabin crew made sure we were settled in to enjoy the flight. I obviously made the most of EVERYTHING. I put on my BA pyjamas straight away and was checking out the contents of the wash bag that they gave us. Whenever they offered me food I said yes and when they came round asking whether we wanted scones or sandwiches with the afternoon tea I asked for both!
I'm so happy I got to experience this, it really made our holiday!
(Breakfast in the Concorde Room)
(My breakfast onboard - yes I had two!)
(Afternoon tea)
Thursday, 28 September 2017
Ice Cream Sandwiches in London
I'd stalked Blu Top's Instagram page for months so when I found out they were coming to Kerb Paddington during my lunch break I had to check them out. Blu Top make custom built ice cream cookie sandwiches and they are literally to die for. Also how cute is the little van!
Ice Cream sandwiches are £5 each and totally worth it. The ice cream was delicious and the cookies were gooey and amazing.
They don't just sell ice cream, they also run ice cream classes which I definitely want to book into for 2018!
Check out their Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/blutopicecream/
And their website here: http://blutopicecream.com/about-us/
Monday, 25 September 2017
Transforming my hair at Samantha Cusick London
Since I was 16 I'd been getting highlights in my hair. I'd occasionally switch from full head to half head, put a few darker colours through in the winter and that was it. I've never been a huge fan of change so for those 9 years I did the same thing over and over. But this year, I decided that's it. I need a change. The process of highlighting my hair every 6/7 weeks was getting unmanageable and super expensive. After hours of trying to find a salon nearby, I came across Samantha Cusick. Hairdresser of Zoella, Tanya Burr & Niomi Smart with an Instagram account to die for (Instagram: SamanthaCusick) I decided to book in for a consultation.
Samantha's salon is based in Notting Hill and is super cool inside. Not only was I greeted by really friendly reception staff but also by Sams bulldog Sidney (so cute). I waited a short while until master colourist & director April Taylor came over to give me my consultation. She asked me what my hair goals were, about my hair history and even asked what colour clothes I usually wear to ensure my new hair would look great. I explained to her that I was after something less high maintenance. I felt like I'd been damaging my hair for too long, and that I wanted to stay blonde but be more of my natural colour. She suggested a root stretch. Root stretches are supposedly a lazy girls dream colour. It's where your roots are stretched to blend with your hair colour. It means that there would be no obvious heavy regrowth line and after months of growth, it looks blended and natural. April's plan was to stretch my root colour and then tone down my blonde a few shades to be more cool toned. I was sold so booked an appointment for my root stretch and a cut for the next week.
A week later I returned to the salon for my appointment. I have to admit I was slightly nervous, a lady I'd only spent 10 minutes with, in a salon that I'd stumbled across on Instagram was about to dye my hair after my 9 years of the same highlight procedure. I was soon relaxed when I was offered one of the salons signature cocktails - a mermaid martini! Which came with glittery popcorn.
After about an hour and a half, my colour was done so I was sent upstairs to see senior stylist Adam Cooke who was going to cut my hair. I'd explained that I wanted to keep my hair long but was happy for him to chop away any dead ends to make my hair look healthier and thicker. Once complete he gave me an incredible blow dry with dreamy beachy waves. When I looked in the mirror my hair was noticeably different and I absolutely LOVED it! Both April & Adam helped me achieve my hair goals and I was so happy with the transformation.
Adam was kind enough to take some after pics for me and April explained what I'd need to do in order to keep my new locks looking great. She suggested I stay away from drugstore bought shampoos and to stick to using sulphate free ones. She also explained that I would probably have to rebook for another root stretch in about 5/6 weeks as my hair was so light before that the colour was going to fade quite quickly.
I'd 100% recommend going to Samantha Cusick to get your hair done. For more info on the salon and for prices etc. visit the website http://www.samanthacusicklondon.com/
See April's before and after picture of my hair here (don't judge how shocking the before pic is haha!)
Huge thank you to April & Adam at Samantha Cusick, I'll be back again in no time xx
Sunday, 24 September 2017
Pergola on the Roof Paddington
Hey,
Last night I experienced Pergola on the Roof for the first time. Many of my friends had already been so I had to fit it in before it closes after the summer at the end of Sept. We decided to go to the Paddington Central one. First impressions when I arrived were great. The entrance is so cute and all lit up. The upstairs area was quite quiet so we were a bit hesitant at first as we thought it was going to be dead. Then we realised there was a downstairs which when we got to was super busy! So many groups of friends sitting on long benches enjoying all the different foods and drinks from the bar.
Pergola offers food from a number of pop-up restaurants. The options were Patty & Bun, Decatur, Mamalan, Raw Press and DF/Mexico. Being a huge fan of burgers I obviously went for Patty & Bun and it didn't disappoint.
If you get a chance make sure you visit Pergola for an evening. It's a great alternative venue to go out with friends but would also make a great date night! It's open until the end of September, but also will be open for Winter between 25th October and 23rd December 2017.
Sophie xx
Saturday, 23 September 2017
Sipsmith Gin Tour
Hey,
A few months ago Charlie & I visited the Sipsmith London Distillery for a Gin tour. My mum had bought two vouchers for us to visit as a Christmas gift. Despite everyone in the whole world seeming to love gin, I actually thought I wasn't a fan. Whenever trying gin and tonics i'd always hate the taste. But I went to the tour with an open mind sure that someone would be able to change my taste buds.
The distillery is based in Chiswick and the tour started at 6:30pm. On arrival we were given these gin cocktails, which were in fact lovely. I realised its actually tonic I'm not a fan of! After our initial tipple we were taken through the history of gin and learnt how Sipsmith came to be. We got to see where the gin was made and got to taste a number of them. The tour lasted an hour and a half. Our tour guide was fantastic, he was really engaging and kept us all interested throughout. Not only did we get to try lots of the gins during the tour at the end we were given a little goodie bag filled with a mini bottle of gin and a single measure glass. I'd highly recommend others to visit! Even if you're not a gin lover like me. Buying this as a gift is such a good idea for birthdays/christmas etc.
Find details of the tour here.
Sophie xx
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