Wreath making at Seven Dials

Last Thursday evening I took my mum to the Christmas event at Seven Dials, near Covent Garden. We arrived a short while before it officially started so we had a walk around the area.

The cobbled streets looked festive with decorations strung up and Christmas lights waiting to be switched on. 

We stopped for a cup of tea in a cute little ice cream cafe called Udderlicious. They had so many flavours of ice cream that all looked so good, I'd love to go back and try them when it's a little warmer.

Our next stop was the free wreath making workshop. We arrived early to secure our spots and within ten minutes the benches had all filled up. 

We were each given a moss wreath, spool of wire and a selection of foliage.

The florist explained how to attach a piece of foliage at an angle and wrap the wire around the wreath to fix it in place. It was a lot of fun putting together the wreath and arranging it to look just right and half an hour later this was my finished wreath:

After we'd finished making our wreaths we went to the Monmouth Kitchen pop up bar for a complimentary cocktail called a Monmouth Fizz, which was delicious! They even added edible violas as decoration to the glasses which looked so pretty.

We had such a nice time; the atmosphere was festive and fun, with Christmas music playing and all of the local shops getting involved. There was lots to see and do, as well as wreath making there was ice curling and make up demos and most of the shops had 20% off. It was a lovely event to start the festive season with and I would love to go again next year. 

My wreath hung up on the front door!

Yoga at the shard

For Christmas my boyfriend gifted me a voucher for a yoga class at the shard. I got in to yoga last year, albeit only using online videos, but I'd really found it beneficial. Having been to only one class quite a few years ago (my one and only prior attempt at yoga classes) I was a bit apprehensive, but it turned out to be quite fun. 

I got there early so I was able to get a spot at the front with amazing views of London, which made the experience even better, especially as it was daylight when the class started and dusk was beginning to fall and the city was lighting up as it ended.

Making Ice Creams at Magnum Pleasure Store

The annual Magnum Pleasure store pop up is currently open and in July I went with my boyfriend to see if it lived up to the hype. We weren't disappointed! 

On arrival at the store the first thing you notice is shop windows which are filled with three giant ice creams in their special designer creations. 

Once inside there is a "look book" of ice creams from which you can choose one of the special creations or for £5.50 you can design your own. We picked the latter option and first up you pick whether you want your ice cream coated in milk, white or dark chocolate. 

Next you pick your toppings. I went for chocolate coated biscuit balls, fudge pieces and chocolate curls, finished with a white chocolate drizzle. My boyfriend went for candied lemon, crushed nuts and fudge pieces, topped with a dark chocolate drizzle. It's all finished off with a chocolate disc and then, after a quick photo of your creation in the ice cream 'insta booth' you can enjoy! 

I would recommend going along and trying it out before they close in September, it was a fun experience and they tasted even better than they looked!

Summer Food Markets

Over the summer I've caught a few of the weekend food markets across London. The first one I went to at the South Bank Centre had quite a buzz and a good variety of stalls, my favourite being a fresh coconut stall where you could quench your thirst with the water from a freshly sliced coconut and after you could get the coconut chopped open to eat. 

The second food market I went to was at Alexandra Palace. I was looking forward to this as it was advertised as a large food market with entertainment, but I was ultimately a little disappointed as it was smaller than I expected with less variety and it was overcrowded. That said, I did enjoy the food I ordered a lot, I had a burrito for lunch and a chocolate banana waffle. Sitting on Muswell Hill eating lunch and taking in the sights of the city definitely made the trek across London worth it. 

Most recently I went to the Victoria Park market. Again this market was not that big, but I found the variety of different food and the mix of food to eat there and products to take home good. I enjoyed a cheese and onion jam toastie with a refreshing berry juice drink and I purchased a couple of sweet treats from a stand called a pie party to take home. There was also a lady selling garden plants and as she was going on holiday the following week they were only £1.50, so I picked up a pretty Busy Lizzie bush plant for the balcony which I'm hoping to be able to overwinter. 

I'm keeping an eye out for any more food markets I can explore before the summer months are over.

Mayfield Lavender Fields

Last week I went to Mayfield Lavender fields, which is just outside of London. I had read about the fields last year, but they are only open for a short period between June and September before the flowers are harvested and I couldn't get there in time.

I read online that due to the prolonged heatwave the harvesting was likely to take place sooner this year as the flowers were starting to fade earlier than usual, so I decided to go as soon as I could. 

As soon as you arrive type are engulfed in the most relaxing lavender fragrance and you look out over a see of purple. As I walked around I noticed how relaxed and calm I felt and how tranquil the setting was. There were hundreds of bees flying around but they were focused on collecting pollen and didn't seem to bother anyone. 

After walking around, taking in the beautiful scenery and of course taking plenty of photos, we stopped in the cafe for a snack and I called in to the gift shop for some lavender bags to put in my wardrobe to hopefully deter moths as well as a couple of tasty treats. 

It was a lovely morning and I could have stayed longer, especially on such a lovely summer's day and I would definitely recommend as visit. 

Tea and cake

I had the opportunity to get in a little Christmas shopping this afternoon and in between browsing, my mum and I made our way to John Lewis to use our vouchers for tea and cake.

I chose a chocolate fudge cake and my mum opted for a chocolate and orange sponge cake. The fudge cake was delicious!

A day out on centre court at Wimbledon 2017

I gave up on keeping a blog for ages, but occasionally I like to read back through my posts for recipe ideas or such like, so for a while I thought I might try and get back in the habit of posting now and again. Last week I was fortunate enough to enjoy a lovely day at Wimbledon so I thought that would be a good place to pick it up from.

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to get a pair of tickets to centre court at Wimbledon for the following day. Even better, my favourite tennis player Roger Federer was scheduled to play on centre court on Thursday and I was super excited. 

I took my mum (another Federer fan!) and we took the tube to wimbledon on Thursday morning. We arrived about 11:30 after walking fifteen minutes or so to the tennis club. It was so hot and sunny and all of the houses on route had turned into shops, selling everything from ice cold drinks to sunglasses and hats. 

Play was not due to start on centre court until 1pm and having not been to Wimbledon before, I thought we might be a little bored hanging around. However as soon as you walk in to the grounds you become immersed in this exciting and buzzing atmosphere and just walking around, soaking it all in, is enough to keep you entertained. 

With an hour to go until the first match we grabbed some drinks, a pimms for my mum (naturally!) and I opted for a refreshing cucumber and mint presse, before heading in to the centre court building. 

Our seats were close to the back but we still had a good view and it was nice to be sheltered by the roof - it was so hot that we were glad of the shade!

The first match was Kyle Edmund (GBR) v Gael Monfils. It was a great match and the crowd enthusiastically cheered on Edmund, who played well despite losing. 

Before the ladies match started, we popped out, planning to grab some lunch. However, on route we found the little booth from which they sell the tennis balls which have been used during the tournament. It was about 2.45 and the ball sale was due to start at 3, so we decided to wait. At that point there were only a couple of people in front of us and we chatted about the matches and the wimbledon experience. The man in front of us had camped for two nights ealier in the week to get tickets for centre court on Tuesday! By 3 o'clock the queue for tennis balls reached longer than I could see, but the queue moved swiftly and within a minute we were done and tennis balls used by Federer (or so I like to think!) were in the bag.

By now, the second match was due to start so we just grabbed some sweets and Haagen-Daas ice cream and returned to our seats, ready for Magdalena Rybarikova v Karolina Pliskova. Following another great match which saw Rybarikova beat the No. 3 seed Pliskova, we popped out again to stretch our legs and grabbed a tasty pizza from the pavilion and strawberries to take back in. (Is it really Wimbledon without strawberries and cream?!) 

Finally, at 6pm, it was time for Federer v Lajovic. By now, the empty seats on court had all filled out and the atmosphere was electric. 

 

It was so exciting to watch the match as it happened rather than on the screen and you couldn't help but gasp at close shots or clap along to hawk eye! 

In just three sets it was all over, and watching my favourite sports person win was a lovely end to the day. 

By the time we got out of the court it was about 8pm and after taking a couple more photos we headed out of the grounds and on our way. 

It was such a lovely day which really exceeded my expectations and I felt so lucky to get tickets so unexpectedly, especially to see three great matches and my favourite player! I would jump at the chance to go again and would definitely recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go.

Saturday afternoon PYO

This afternoon was spent at our local PYO fruit farm strolling through strawberry rows looking for the biggest and most red berries, getting lost in a maize maze and suppressing squash envy! We got caught in a downpour so headed back to the shop to pay for our bounty - multi-coloured courgettes and strawberries - and waited for the rain to pass with a cup of tea and slice of delicious chocolate cake in the fruit shop tea room. 

Once the rain had stopped we headed back to our car past the petting zoo where we saw the cutest Pygmy goats who were super friendly, I could have taken them all home with me! 

Feeding the littlest Pygmy goat

Getting up close with the camera

Big smiles for the camera!