Year: 2016

Palm Vaults Hackney (The Place With The Pink Lattes)

Published by

I’ve been wanting to pay a visit to London’s most Instagram-friendly cafe for a while now so this week my BFF Ben and I hot-footed it to Hackney’s Palm Vaults to see what all the fuss was about. Firstly I was blown away/insanely jealous of the plush pink and very 70s-inspired interior. Lots of crushed blush velvet, gold decor and of course green foliage; it really is a great looking place. I’d been intrigued by the pink velvet latte after seeing it on Instagram but I a/ hate coffee and b/ I’m lactose intolerant, so I didn’t think I’d be able to try one. Luckily for me it was a whole new drink! Almond milk, vanilla and beetroot… And it was delicious. They also serve a variety of teas, coffees, snacks and cakes. I especially love their new acai bowls, seriously pretty and very healthy. And soooo tasty. If they weren’t so bloody delicious I’d feel bad about eating them. Oh and do try their juices and smoothies – they do a great refreshing grapefruit …

Breakfast with Farfetch 

Published by

I’ve been a fan of Farfetch for many years, the premise is simple – you can shop boutiques and concept stores around the globe all from one online marketplace. So it’s great for sourcing those hard-to-find designer and contemporary clothes.  I was invited to breakfast with the brand on the roof of The Boundary Hotel in Shoreditch to talk about the future of Farfetch. It’s very exciting to say the least, they’ve acquired Brown’s, the iconic London boutique, so expect a concept store soon! Plus as well as fashion they’re branching out into beauty and homewares.  The beautiful Bella Freud candles you see below were ordered from one of Farfetch’s boutiques and will be taking pride of place in my home.  Do check out Farfetch, it’s an essential site for fashionistas. And if you get the chance I can highly recommend breakfast at The Boundary.  SHOP FARFETCH  Thank you to Farfetch for a lovely breakfast. And in the interests of transparency my candles were gifted. 

The Ultimate One Month Thailand Itinerary

Published by

Thailand is high up there on many people’s travel wish lists and it’s popularity is growing year on year. I had a bit of an up and down time there, but one thing is for sure, I felt like I went on a bout 5 different holidays. Each place I visited is so wildly different, and some of them were not at all the sun, sea and unprotected sex stereotype I had in my head. I have some really happy memories from my month here, and I’m not saying I’m a expert at all, but here is a fun month-long itinerary for anyone planning a trip to Thailand. Bangkok – 3 days You’ll probably fly into Bangkok so make the most of it. I found it very hot and crazy – it’s definitely not the most relaxing place but if you know where to look you can have lots of fun. Read my guide to Bangkok here   Chiang Mai – 4 days After Bangkok Chiang Mai is a welcome bit of calm, it’s such …

6 Of The Best Luxury Candles

Published by

‘You’re literally burning your cash’ a friend once said to me over my penchant for posh candles, but I can’t slash won’t stop buying them. In the big scheme of things they’re a relatively inexpensive treat, hell I can drop £30 in Nando’s no problem, so a nice luxe candle is way better for my waistline and they do last. I hate cheap scented candles because they just smell rank – they do! A decent scented candle can emit a luscious fragrance even when not lit and when you do spark up it only takes a minute (girl) to fill your entire room with a delicious scent. Also in my defence I do use the empty pots when they’re burnt out for storing makeup and trinkets so really they’re quite a good investment. And everyone needs a little luxury in their lives, a well-placed Diptyque candle can elevate your room decor tenfold, it’s just classy bbz.  Byredo candle | Diptyque Mimosa candle| Bella Freud Loving Candle  Le Labo Candle | Lola James Harper Candle | …

hoodlad white hood log t-shirt

Brand Spotlight: HOODLAB

Published by

I’m very impressed with Manchester-based collective Hoodlab‘s range of ghetto-fab tees and sweaters. With a witty spin on well known pop-cultural logos and brands Hoodlab’s collection of t-shirts includes a ‘Lacostco’ number, a take on the famous French label’s croc, a WWF tee featuring The Rock and a rock’n’roll-style slogan and there’s a ghetto fab BMW symbol shirt too. I’d wear these babies with a black leather pencil skirt, or go full street and pick up the matching sweatpants too – your choice. HOOBLAB Shop the collection here *SIGN UP FOR MY NEWSLETTER HERE* All images copyright Hoodlab

palm vaults hackney sign

What’s Hot? June Edition

Published by

Each month I share with you all that I declare to be sizzling, caliente, calor or just plain hot. In an ideal world it would merely consist of a list of the fittest Tinder profiles I’d seen that month but that would be weird and might render me single foreverrr. So enjoy some fashion, beauty, culture and all in-between.  LOLA JAMES HARPER CANDLES As a true candle addict (there is even an incident in my house known as ‘candlegate’ that I can’t go into right now) I make it my business to sniff out the hottest new votives on the block and as of now the honour of most coveted candle goes to Lola James Harper‘s sepia-toned glass jars. Founded by Rami Mekdachi in Paris, as far as I can make out LJH is a lifestyle brand that encompasses photography, music, fragrance and furniture (phew) all imbued with a signature bohemian flavour. Each candle is inspired by a particular happy memory and has a name to commemorate the place it was created such as; The Comics Store …

4 Female Artists to Watch

Published by

Let’s hear it for the girls… SAMANTHA FRENCH Minnesota-born, Brooklyn-based US artist Samantha French’s dazzling works “explore the idea of escape, the tranquility and nostalgia for the lazy summer days of her childhood”. I particularly love her photorealistic, stylized underwater paintings which feature sunny blues that take me back to the outdoor swimming pool I used to go to in the holidays with my granddad – really, they’re that good they transported me right back there! French says of her art; “I attempt to recreate the quiet tranquility of water and nature; of days spent sinking and floating, still and peaceful. These paintings are a link to my home and continual search for the feeling of the sun on my face and warm summer days at the lake. They are my escape, a subtle reprieve from the day-to-day.”   HATTIE STEWART Professional doodler and magazine defacer Hattie Stewart has more collaborations under her belt than you can shake a sharpie at – she’s doodled for House of Holland, Marc Jacobs (the now defunct) Luella and …

House of Dreams: Why We’re Addicted to Pinning

Published by

I recently spent a full, sunny (!) afternoon busily decorating my home, picking out gorgeous fabrics, lamps, plants and all that good stuff. Of course this was my imaginary, completely not real home. Which lives, in a way, on my Pinterest account. I’m obsessive about collecting these images and relish looking at their loveliness, weirdly, like an actual home, I believe my choice in virtual decor reflects well upon me.  Of course I have never and maybe will never own a home, I live in London… actually, scratch that, I live nowhere! I’ve just returned to England after travelling for several months, so technically I’m homeless. But when I do move into some place it is 100% going to be incredibly expensive rented accommodation. I’ve lived in house-shares my entire adult life; which are so fun, always a friend to share a bottle of Tempranillo with, parties, hungover breakfasts. However the drawback is that you don’t have a space that’s really yours. The house is literally owned by someone else, you are merely a paying …

5 Cheap, Easy and Healthy Meals To Impress Your Friends

Published by

I love cooking at home, it’s a lot cheaper than going out to eat all the time (especially in London) and it means you know exactly what’s going into your meal. I’m no Nigella, but there are a few staple dishes that I can make really well and I thought I’d share a few of them with you… Courgetti with Pesto & Salmon If you haven’t heard of spiralizing then you’ve probably been living under a rock… either that or you have way more fun things to do than play with vegetables! However, we all gotta eat, right? And if you have to eat you may as well do it the quick and healthy way. Substituting pasta or noodles for veggies is great for people who are gluten intolerant (or pretending to be), or those of us who bloat after a good spag bol. Courgette noodles or ‘courgetti’ are probably the most popular vegetable to spiralize, you can use carrots or squash, and to do so you need to buy a spiralizer… or do you? …

& Other Stories Just Slayed Summer Dressing

Published by

My all-time favourite high street store & Other Stories just killed everything. They win. I went into their Regent Street store the other day and was blown away by their spring/summer collections, they have the prefect pretty dresses for all your BBQ, wedding and festival needs and some seriously ‘fashwan’ accessories. I had (I mean literally had) to buy their sequinned floral dress, it’s the best dress I’ve ever seen in my life. It does come up incredibly small (I hope) and I had to go up by two sizes, either that or I’m in major denial about my physique. Regardless of their slim Scandi sizing, I just adore this shop, the clothing is always great quality and on point – not too trendy, but never dull – and their beauty range is awesome too, but that’s another story for another day. Here’s a tip, buy online and save 10% with the code FRIENDS.   MY TOP STORIES PICKS