Exploring Notting Hill Carnival

I know...This post is more than a little late. I’ve been a little busy exploring, and am totally guilty of neglecting the blog this summer. I’ve also had a lot of life changes, all for the good, and have been focusing on forging happinness, proving to myself that it really is a choice.

But enough about that…I wanted to share with you some photos from August’s Notting Hill Carnival, an event I have been going to for years now. It truly is a very unique event that captures one of the many cultural spirits of London.

Christmas 2014 adventures

I really hope that everyone has had a lovely Christmas, and managed to spend some quality time with their families eating lots of delicious food, sharing presents, and making time to do things together.

My favourite part of Christmas, apart from the food, is buying and wrapping presents. I like to think I'm pretty good at buying gifts, and I really enjoy it even though it sometimes takes me hours, days even, to find that perfect match for my friends or family. I start shopping two months in advance, too, to make sure I get enough time to look...a little over the top I know!

I'll take you through my little but magical Christmas this year (2014) in a few photos below...

I got these vintage-style letter stamps from my friend, and used them to make name tags for every gift.

You can buy them at Asos (£8), Amazon (£9.99) or Hobbycraft (£10) and they are so cheap, but well worth it, especially if you like DIY!

December isn't a bad one at work either - some of my colleagues and I went to Izakaya Flesh & Buns in Covent Garden and I can honestly say it was one of the most amazing meals I've ever had in London. For just £30 we had the taster menu, and ate a variety of Japanese, Chinese and British mini dishes...only to top that with this incredible American-style passion fruit s'more with chocolate biscuits. Heaven!

How could you resist??

I enjoyed taking this little Patricia Field bag out to dinners with me - I thought it was a cute little retro festive accessory to a smart outfit...my replacement for a Christmas jumper this year!

On Christmas Eve, I went to my boyfriend's family and took this snap of his stylish sister in her Fenwick jumper and Bobbl beanie, playing with LEGO!

I then went on to my cousin Maja's house to spend Christmas with my family, starting with a lovely night cap in these vintage glasses!

We woke up to this pile of gifts!

The obligatory Christmas selfie... Kitty hat is an old one from Zara but you can also get them on eBay for just £2.88.

Some of my lovely gifts from family and my boyfriend...I felt very spoilt!

My cousin Maja is an amazing host and always makes food look fun (I don't know how she always does it so quickly!) These were mulled apple drinks with pear cut out stars inside.

We took a day trip to a nearby town called Marlborough, where we walked around the cute little shops and had scones and tea at the Polly Tearooms.

My little 13 year old cousin Sasha made these delicious dough balls from scratch, and we baked a camembert to dip into...you'd probably have guessed that this was all gone within 10 minutes.

For New Year's Eve, I traveled up to Somerset to my friend's beautiful Georgian home, to celebrate 2015 with her little family and another two friends....it was really the perfect New Year's celebration, with the people I love the most.

I got these adorable necklaces for Christmas...The Cherish necklace is from Orelia, the eternity necklaces are from Etsy, and the name necklace is custom made at a Jewellers in Crouch End.

We took a New Year's Day walk to a pretty cool tunnel where they used to test Concords...

Enchanted! I love the English countryside.

I have also been trying out different types of exercise before and after Christmas, including aerial and hot yoga, and will be reporting back in another post soon!

London: Groupon opens first ever 'shop'

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas, isn't it? I've been in this mood since the beginning of November, thanks to the absolute madness and chaos of London's Oxford Street! It's always a little better when I get to really feel the spirit of Christmas (mulled wine and all that) so I've started to go to a few festive events and markets...

One of the events I attended this week was the super cozy Groupon Grotto in Soho...the first ever one off pop up 'shop' that the online marketplace has opened to show customers a little taste of what they offer.

If you don't remember Groupon, it is a great website with lots of discount offers ranging from spa days and holidays, to home appliances and restaurant deals at a high discount rate. I've used the Groupon website several times when it first opened, and then eventually forgot about it as there were so many competitors. This event was a nice little reminder of what I was missing out on!

The grotto was so beautiful, like an enchanted forest! We had delicious mulled wine on arrival, and then tucked into some mini mince pies that were handed out throughout the evening.

We also got to make our own gourmet confit duck filo pastries with  L’Atelier des Chefs and tasted some yummy chocolate churros from The Burrito Cafe.

Other activités on offer were make up master classes from Studio 52, whisky tasting with The Soho Whisky Club, and endless amounts of prosecco (my kinda place!).

Groupon were feeling very generous it seems so they gave everyone a £10 voucher, I spend mine today and can confidently say I was pleasantly surprised at how good the revamped website looks. All the deals look handpicked, and offer trips to Paris and 5 star michelin restaurant deals!

Here are some of their latest Christmas offers to give you a little taste of what you can buy for yourself or as a gift for someone:

Hammam Experience, Massage and Use of Spa Facilities for £89 at 5* Le Kalon Spa (51% Off)

Three-Course Meal With Champagne Cocktail from £24.50 at Shaka Zulu, Camden Lock (Up to 62% Off)

Christmas Special: Preview Tasting Menu and Bellini Cocktail from £29.50pp* at The Crazy Bear (Up to 59% Off)

Paris: 1 to 3 Nights With Eurostar Tickets, Breakfast and Cruise from £135 Per Person*

Food: Oatly's Break-Fest Day Festival

Today I went to a little event in Brockwell Park...I never usually venture out that far South as I live in North London but I was really excited to check this one day foodie festival out. It was held by Swedish brand Oatly, who make delicious oat milk and oat milk based products - perfect for lactose intolerants like me!

I took myself down to the festival where I met some cute bunnies, made my own Oatly fruit smoothie, had yummy pancakes and listened to the amazing Kyla La Grange sing.

One of the show jumping bunnies (I assure you it was all very regulated!)

Leather Jacket Zara

T Shirt Twenty8Twelve

Jeans Zara

Sunglasses Karen Walker

There were BEDS!!!

Just in case you get too comfy...

Oatly's chocolate drink...yum!

The gorgeous Kyla la Grange (Remember 'Cut Your Teeth'?)

London: Exploring Portobello on a Friday

Portobello Road and market is one of London'smost popular must visit shopping areas, and by far my favourite. It's a real shame that the swarms of tourists in the summer pretty much block out the streets and walkways, so it's hard to enjoy the beauty of exploring every nook and cranny here, including the lovely cafes and restaurants.

I would recommend to everyone to go on a Friday if possible...Saturday is the busiest and hardly anyone goes on the Friday...but the plus side is that everything will still be open. I took a day off to explore and meet up with a friend for coffee and really enjoyed it...check out what I found on the way (and had to refrain myself from buying!)

Vintage sweet and food tins are cheap and make for great colourful storage tins in the kitchen

See? Empty :)

You can find new things and old things...here are lots of cute vintage silver trinkets for necklaces or charm bracelets

Great gift finds

Even if you don't buy a lot of vintage, Portobello is almost like a treasure trove or museum for some beautiful antique garments - pretty to look at!

Door knobs, mini bottles, kitchen utensils...Portobello has it all

My favourite homeware store

Lots of stalls fill the streets where you can get inexpensive gems and gifts

These letter boxes make great decorations on the wall

I managed to snap this before I was told off by the vendor!!

If you are looking for a cool camera, this is the place

One area of the market, filled with new and vintage clothing

A sweet ending to the day with fresh juice and handmade cake at Granger & Co (Great for celeb spotting!)