London: Exploring Shoreditch

This weekend was another sun-filled one (finally!) and so we decided to take a stroll up and down Brick Lane and see what sort of new art Shoreditch had to offer this Spring...

London is the sort of place where you can visit the same neighbourhood every week and still find something new, something fun or intriguing. Exploring the city and discovering these things is one of my favourite pass times, and Shoreditch in East London is undeniable one of the best for endless adventure...

Take a look at what you could find in just an hour...

Meet Vinny, the cute little french bulldog at my favourite vintage store, Porcelain and Red

After exiting Shoreditch High Street station and passing by the pop up mall, we headed towards Brick Lane to get some lunch...and found the Cheeky Burger stand...

Yum!!! Handmade burgers and sauces, and freshly prepped in front of you

I had the 'Cheeky Bacon' - with their famous Jack Daniels jam

Too hot for a coat...

Wearing:

Topshop coat

Zara t shirt

Zara bag (similar here)

Zara trousers (similar here)

Nike trainers

RayBan sunglasses

Michael Kors watch

The food markets come alive on Sundays, but there is still lots to choose from on Saturday

If you like vintage, Brick Lane is the place for you...I bought a jumper in Porcelain and Red...if you want to check out more of my favourite vintage shops click here

Brick Lane boasts lots and lots of great Indian curry houses, where most find themselves in the middle of the night for a 3am (regrettable) munch fest!

Someone leading a tour around the streets off of Brick Lane

Another detailed graffiti piece....lots of these around East London but I'm not sure who they are by

The face is just etched with something on to a glass window that was covered in white paint

Hello Jesus...Missing??

You could honestly stand here for ages looking at the bits and bobs people have placed on the walls over the years

A small piece of art on abandoned walls

Love padlocks next to Shoreditch High Street Station

You can reach Brick Lane via Shoreditch High Street station, or Liverpool Street station.

Images by Miles Blayden-Ryall

Five Best: Lipglosses & Shines

This month's Five Best is brought to you by the lovely beauty junkie and my friend Hayley Woolf...this girl has a real life obsession with lip glosses and lip shines, so I knew she would be the perfect person to do a little round up of the best products out there for my readers.

As I don't really use lip glosses or shines myself, I thought I would get a friend to do the reviews for me. I will be publishing guest posts whenever an opportunity arises, hope you enjoy them!

1. I’ve recently invested in Elizabeth Arden’s Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant and it’s now one of my (many) handbag essentials. It describes itself as a ‘multi-tasking miracle worker’ but I solely use it on my lips to leave them moisturised and with a lovely natural shine; simple but effective and definitely will be getting a repeat purchase. £26

2. These Burt’s Bees Lip Shines (New product) are one of my newest gloss discoveries of 2014 and are quickly becoming my new found favourites. The hydrating lip shines provide plenty of moisture whilst adding a beautiful sheer colour gloss and subtle hint of colour. Made from 100% natural ingredients including sunflower oils they’re perfectly pretty on their own for a glossy pout, or layered with your favourite lip colour. My two favourite shades are Whisper, for a subtle colour and Blush for a slighter deeper lip. Price TBC

3. DuWop Lip Venom is probably my all time favourite lip plumping gloss. If it's good enough for Ms. Aniston then it’s good enough for me. The tingly formula uses essential oils to enhance lips’ natural colour to help achieve a fuller looking pout. I’m a huge fan of cinnamon and ginger (two of its key ingredients) which may help explain my love for Lip Venom. Thanks to jojoba and avocado oil, renowned for their moisturising properties, lips are also left hydrated as well as plumped. The only downside is, that at £15 for such a tiny bottle (3.5ml) it’s a little pricey and runs out pretty quickly. An alternative plumping gloss is Sally Hansen Lip Inflation – again I love the cinnamony scent. £15

4. If you’re a gloss gal then you’ll love the new Shine Edition Lipsticks from Bourjois; a clever formula that brings colour, shine and a subtle gloss to your lips. Another new discovery of mine of 2014 and I’m sold by the magnificent concept; ¼ lacquered pigments & ¼ gloss extract.  I’m not usually a lipstick queen and it’s not often at all that I wear them so I’m impressed with this new collection and their ultra-shine results. £7.99

5. Last, but by no means least, is the New CID Cosmetics i-gloss - a light up gloss with a mirror, what more could a girl want? A favourite of mine for the last 4 years, accompanying me all around the world from camping trips in Australia (who would have thought a light-up lip gloss would suffice as a torch!?) to nights out in South East Asia. I-gloss has a gel formulation that gives high-glam lasting shine. My favourite shades are Moonstone and Honey Pot. £15

By Hayley Woolf, Beauty PR and Beauty Junkie

London Food: Gaucho Chancery Lane

You may have figured out by now that steak is somewhat of an obsession...I seem to go to a lot of steak restaurants, or just order it wherever I am...in my taco salad, in my pasta, in my pie at work....

Gaucho has got to be one of the finest steak restaurants in London, and the coolest thing about it is the whole experience...It's an Argentinian restaurant with the best Argentinian beef cuts...mmmm

Chandeliers, high ceilings, dimmed lights and big windows...makes you feel like you are in a mini modern manor house

The round booths are great for big parties

AMBIANCE *****
Really love the atmosphere in the Graucho restaurants...a dark place like that isn't for everyone, but there is something about this and having steak that really appeals to me...maybe I feel like I am in another dimension!! STK also have the same sort of ambiance...dark, sexy and alluring...and makes you really focus on your food rather than silly things going on around you.

SERVICE ***
The service was good, but a little slow. This may have been because we were situated on the balcony area and it was really busy downstairs, but we shouldn't struggle to find a waiter when we need one. Some of the best restaurants I have been in always have someone around to tend to all the tables so this would have been great. Our food took a little long to arrive as well, but when it did, boy was it delicious and worth the wait!

After our starter of chorizo sausage, we ordered our steaks and sides...

Yummy soft potatoes

Juicy!

DRINKS**

I had a mojito when we arrived, and some juice as I don't like to drink alcohol with my food. The mojito was great, but a little too strong for me unfortunately. Some people prefer it that way, though! The cocktail menu looks great, but is a little complicated and doesn't have your familiar ingredient mixes on it which kind of intimidated me...so I went with the safest option!

FOOD*****

For the starter, we had the Argentine chorizo sausage served on a grilled Romero pepper. It was much bigger than I expected, but delicious and went really well with the pepper. They also serve the infamous empanadas (rolled pastry with fillings) so would definitely recommend trying them!

For our sides, we ordered the soft, chunky chips and spinach. Both were absolutely delicious.

Then comes the best bit...there are several different cuts of meat, and the waiter brings you all the raw options on a wooden plank, explaining thoroughly what is on offer including what kind of marinade you can choose. I picked the Churrasco de lomo, a spiral cut sirloin steak marinated for 48 hours in garlic, parsley and olive oil (just the sound of that makes you love it before you even try it!). As you can see in my photos, it was devine. Succulent, soft, juicy and not at all chewy. The piece was quite large and so delish that I didn't really need any sides!

Strong cocktails, not for the faint hearted like me!

Gaucho also have private dining rooms, lots of wine, and cookery classes!

A meal for two with drinks, starters, sides and mains costs around £150

125 Chancery Lane, WC2A 1PU (More locations available across London)

www.gauchorestaurants.co.uk

Two interior images from LondonTown and Gaucho's website

Travel: £8 flight to NYC?!

So RyanAir have just announced that they are going to be offering customers £8 flights to the States, insane or what?? Obviously, after the additional charges such as tax you will end up paying more like £150. Things like the credit card fee, a checked 20kg bag, food and seat reservation are all voluntary so you could still pay less than that.

They are hoping to fly from 12-14 European cities and will offer flights to Boston and New York. This will not come into action until in another five years and until the company gets the long-haul aircraft it needs. I certainly would NOT want to be flying long haul in those weird little airplanes!!

With RyanAir recently adding allocated seating, an extra handbag and even more destinations, I'm starting to pay a little more attention and maybe even consider flying with them more often. Well done RyanAir, let's see how you can impress us further...

Style: Sunny London winter

I'm getting a little bored with the current grey, rainy and windy London weather...so I'm going to pretend it's spring and start dressing lighter...with layers to get away with it!

I bought these jeans after seeing them on Vanessa Hudgens as I thought they were really cool...they're so comfy, too...shame All Saints don't have them anymore but they may do in the summer.

I got my Maje heels on sale from Selfridges - bargain! They are very comfortable as well. The faux fur tail is from Japan, and my Balenciaga bag from Covetique.

I topped the whole monochrome look with some classic Ray Bans and the most amazing Nars lip pencil in the shade called 'Damned'. It stays on all day, no matter what I eat or drink...and looks great with most outfits because of the dark colour!

Shirt Zara

Jeans All Saints (similar here)

Faux fox fur tail from Japan (similar here)

Shoes from Maje (similar below)

Photos taken by Miles Blayden-Ryall

New Finds: February

I saw this orange Topshop coat last month and instantly fell in love. It's the perfect transitional piece of clothing from winter to spring, especially if you don't have a lot to spend as you can wear this every day, with everything.

I get a lot of compliments on it already and it definitely makes me smile on a grey, rainy London day! I hear Zara also have some cool colours at the moment...I dare you to be brave and get a yellow, red, green, or white coat! And I guarantee it will brighten up your day :)