Restaurant of the week: My Old Dutch

My Old Dutch

16 Kensington Church Street, London W8 4EP

The ideal place for a cheeky dessert or great dinner!

There is a great choice so if you are with others order different things and share them al because trust me you are going to want to try everything. The savoury pancakes come serve like a huge flat pizza with all the extras on top. 

For dessert the 'mini' pancakes or poffertjes are divine and great for sharing...just pick your accompliment.

Plus with 3 resturants in London-in Kensington, Holborn and Chelsea - take your pick!

Happy munching and let me know what you think!

H xxx

Restaurant of the Week (or not): Del'Aziz

Del'Aziz

Tonight I went for dinner at the middle eastern style restaurant at Westfield, White City, London. 

We decided to go for a selection of starters between us so we could taste lots of different things. The food was delicious, we both really enjoyed it.

However, the big let down was the service, and it let the place down in the extreme. The reason I had picked out this restaurant was because I have a Gourmet Society card and on the website it had a 2 for 1 on main meals at this restaurant. However, despite booking and stating my membership then the evening before I was told when I went to pay that the card wasn't accepted. When I asked to speak to the manager I was given a measly 10% of the bill and there was no sign of the manager. I pushed and finally the manager appeared and proceeded to shout at me and tell me there was nothing he could do, no apology, nothing. 

As you can tell this was not a nice experience and ruined what had been a lovely evening with my friend. Advise...avoid this place like the plague, out of principle if nothing else join with me against REALLY BAD service.

H xx

Restaurant of the week: Automat

Restaurant of the week...each week I'm going to review a different London resturant!

Automat

33 Dover Street, Mayfair, W1S 4NF

This great Amercian Brasserie is lovely full of atmosphere and 'theme'. It isn't a cheap restaurant but the food is good quality and they are generous portions. I went for the burger which was beautifuly cooked! Many of my friends went for Macaroni cheese which looked amazing...just be warned drinks are expensive so it is worth sharing wine if you are with someone and if you are in a group a 12.5% service charge is added.

All in all this resaturant is everything you'd expect from a Mayfair restaurant...so I will be reserving it for special occassions but enjoying it if and when I do go back!

H xxx

Today (well last week) I....joined the gym

So I became a member of my local gym...and when I say local about 10 doors down the road!!!

Fitness First Hammersmith

About 15 months ago I completed a half marathon, it was great and I really enjoyed training for it:

It was hard work but an amazing achievement! However due to my running partner injuring himself I didn't run again after that. So now I'm settled in London I decided it was time to get fit again. Now running is no fun without a partner so I thought to get my fitness levels back up to start with I would join the gym.

Fitness First is great, not only is it ideally located for me but it is reasonably priced at £45.95 a month and lots and lots of fun classes. There is also a one of joining fee of £55, however this includes 3 personal training sessions, a get fit pack and a rucksack. Also - and this is the part that really motivated me, it you attend the gym 20 times (including your 3 PT sessions) within the first 8 weeks you get your £55 back!! AMAZING...especially for someone who enjoys shopping as much as me!!

Keep checking back to see my progress as I attend my PT sessions, Yoga and Spinning!! 

Wish me luck!

H xxx

a date with...Rachel Zoe

So...after a day with LFW yesterday, today I headed to Selfridge's for a talk with Rachel Zoe. 

Her Top Tips:

1. Never dress head to toe in cheetah

2. Be genuinely nice to everyone

3. Work hard, stay late go in early...be willing to do any jobs

4. Don't always follow trends if they don't flatter you

5. Be confident in what you are wearing.

A bit about her..

..she'd love to style The Duchess and she can't pack light.

She was lovely and incredibly down to earth...follow her on twitter here.

H xxx

a date with fashion...SS12

It's that time of year when somerset house takes a look forward to next summer...trying to forget about the lashing rain outside. After all this is LFW!! The only place you can celeb spot Kirsty Allsop, Pixie Lott and Olivia Palermo in the same day!

Enough of that though...lets talk fashion!

Jasper Conran

A stunning collection using sharp soft lines: think pleats, sharp draping, long dresses and stripes. The colour palette was as sharp as the garments monocramtic with a repeat of this summers pop pink and red. 

The whole show was accessorised with white and clear "jelly" inspired sandals and plastic handbags...think perspex box rather than carrier bag.

Jaeger London

All about the 20's and simply cut pieces, straight silhouettes, think tea dresses, shift dresses and straight skirts...and flat sun hats...

All incredibly beautiful and wearable...the colour palette mirrored Jasper Conran to a certain extent with monochrome being a feature again only Jaeger repeated a different additional selection of this summers tones with muted corals, mustards, mints and greens...

 For more SS12 shows visit Sugar and Spice

H xx 

Notting Hill Carnival

Bank holiday weekend...if you are a Londoner you will be doing one of 4 things:

1. Going to Reading Festival
2. Going away somewhere nice for 3 days
3. Doing nothing
4. Going to 'The Carnival'

On Sunday I went to the carnival for the first time as I only recently became a Londoner. It was amazing...

...the energy that surrounds the dance groups and musicians as they travel through the streets.

As I wandered around you not only find yourself watching the carnival but the people watching it too. Everyone is there to have a good time, and everyone with a camera is after 'the carnival shot'. I have a pretty basic snapshot camera but here are my best shots....

I love the colours and all the mixture of people....so here is my 'carnival shot' (slightly altered obviously)...let me know what you think....

xx

Cocktails at Balans!!

http://www.balans.co.uk/Restaurants_Cafes/Westfield.php

I went here for after work drinks, fabulous place, mainly because I ordered large cosmopolitans every time and was only charged for smalls!!! Yay.

Due to it being a 'table service' place I would not recommend it for very large groups!!! But the cocktails...or at least their cosmopolitan is AMAZING!!

H xx

Love The Dove

http://www.fullers.co.uk/rte.asp?id=4&itemid=84&task=View

My favourite place to sit with a glass of wine and a good meal and watch the boats and ducks and swans go by on the river Thames. It is definitely a place to visit but don't go there in a hurry, it is a place to savour and enjoy, and sometimes you may have a little wait for a table...especially if the weather is good and you want to sit outside.

A little treasure in Fulham

So I went to view a flat tonight...although I got there and decided not to even bother going in as it was on a rather dodgy looking road in ex-LA looking blocks.

However as I wandered back to Fulham Broadway Station I found the most amazing shop ever and have decided that from now on every weekend I am in London I will be going there to do my food shopping!!!

It is called Union Market: http://www.unionmarket.co.uk/ it even has a website, check it out.

I popped in, it is open 'til 10pm every week-night and browsed the shelves, coming out with two boxes of exotic looking teas and a bottle of elderflower presse (my favourite).

Had I not just done my food shopping an hour earlier at my local M&S I would have bought more as the fruit and veg looked delectable and the butchers/deli counters just drew me to them. Anyway I was very restrained but will definitely be going back there on Saturday!!! If you are ever in the area, pop in as it also has a cafe/coffee shop!

What more could you want?!

xx

Saatchi Gallery

The Saatchi Gallery 

Kings Road

Chelsea

For lovers of modern, diverse, complex art....

(Yes nail polish...can you believe it...I hope it wasn't Chanel because that would make truly expensive paint!)

(This is made for my friend Lisa...complete domestic goddess artwork!!!!! With feather dusters et al)

....not entirely my cup of tea, although I can appreciate the complexity of the pieces and liked the light installations the others just simply 'aren't me'...but then isn't that what art is there for?! For us to judge and enjoy, or not as the case may be, each individually?

However the one permanent installation in the basement of the gallery makes the whole visit worthwhile:

I won't ruin the illusion by explaining it, the pictures are but a taste of what the room actually contains...

....take a wander down there and see for yourself.

Information: Entry is Free and the closest tube station is Sloane Square...find Kings Road and its about 5 minutes down there on the left!

Room...finally a home

So I have finally got my room as I want it:

It's a lot better but still a box so will have to look for something else soon!!

Lyric Square Hammersmith

What do you do on a lazy Saturday in London? I question with endless answers...however ask what did I do for a lazy day last Saturday and the answer would be simple!! Sate in Lyric Square in Hammersmith and watched Pirates of the Caribbean 1, 2 and 3!

Yes I know it sounds bizarre but HammersmithLondon have set up and 'urban beach' in Lyric square complete with big screen, deck chairs and more, and last Saturday they were playing the Pirates of the Caribbean films back to back.




































It was fab, although the weather was very temperamental the deck chairs were undercover and it was the perfect way to spend a Saturday afternoon...with Starbucks round the corner and ten minutes to pop home to the loo between each film it was better than having a cinema in your garden!!!

Soho...!!

Saturday night I went to see Jersey Boys with my best friend and her boyfriend who were passing through London on their way back from 6 months travelling around Europe.

Despite being on the very very back row of the grand circle it was amazing and we could see everything. I would recommend it to anyone and would also recommend www.lsbo.co.uk for bargain theatre tickets.

"Oh what a night"

We then headed off around Soho...for a few drinks.

The OCD flatmate from hell!!!

So...my honeymoon period in the flat seems to have ended with the return of the 3rd housemate back from her 3 week vacation in Hong Kong.

She came back on Thursday and me being chirpy and friendly immediately asked her about her holiday in China (as that is where I had been told she'd gone) as soon as I saw her. She responded making a real point of telling me it was Hong Kong in a way that implied she felt I should have known "Sorry I'm not a mind reader". Next she says "So you moved in then?!" by the way she knew I was so this was both a weird and pointless question...why else would I be there!! I replied in the only way I could see how by saying "Yes". Then "Are you going to put away your stuff?" I wasn't quite sure what she meant but guessed she meant the 3 little boxes by the sofa I hadn't got round to unpacking so in the most casual way possible I said "oh yeah just haven't got round to it what with work and everything" what I wanted to say was "Where? up where the sun doesn't shine?" but decided best not!! So later that evening I unpacked 2 of the 3, leaving one small box of things I literally couldn't fit anywhere!! Next "Are these all your flowers?" Thinking she meant the 5 pots on the kitchen table I responded by telling her 2 were mine and 3 the other girls. She then informed me she meant the vase of freesia's I'd bought and put by the tv! Weird way of asking if you ask me and quite rude, she could have said (as the other housemates did) how nice they were!!! Anyway again in my most casual way I said "oh yeah I bought them for the flat, thought they'd cheer the place up a bit"....her response....NOTHING!!!!!!

Then today I get back from my weekend at home, dreading it really because of her only to find that that one box had been shoved in the hallway cupboard (along with a few empty boxes I had meant to take down to the rubbish) and my blender pretty much thrown in a kitchen cupboard...well the box is now unpacked, empties taken outside and blender....back on the work surface...sorry but I use that every morning I don't know why it can't be left there!!!!!!!!

So the next house hunt starts here!!!!!!

First weekend in London!!!

So I finally spent a weekend in London, after moving more stuff down last weekend. My big sister came to share the event with me and what a FAB weekend we had.

After a late arrival on Friday we just chilled out and caught up over dinner at the flat.

SATURDAY:
After a long lie in we headed out, after detouring to collect some undelivered post we collected a picnic lunch from M&S (of course) and headed into the centre of London. Firstly we visited Marc Jacobs on South Audley Street to get a couple of my work mates the "lipstick" pen because they absolutely loved it!!! Then to Kensington Palace Gardens for some sun bathing and the picnic!!! By this time with navigating round tube closures and walking in the heat we were ready for a sit down.

Here we met up with a friend of ours (more my sisters but I'm claiming her as partly mine now too!!!).

In the park...just before we left.

Where did we go next, to the Orangery at Kensington Palace for Afternoon Tea! Take the journey I took....

Then a bit of a wait...but that is always a good sign...and when the sun is shining no one minds!!

Then...

All I can say is YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM YUM!!! It was delicious and would recommend it to anyone!!!!

SUNDAY:
A slightly earlier start, this time we headed to East London...to Bethnal Green and Columbia road flower market!!!

I love flowers...so I was in heaven...

....the bad weather even worked in our favour, as it started to drizzle people dispersed making it easier to see the stalls and of course make some necessary purchases...

...I bought 2 plants: a Gerbera and a mini giant Sunflower...then I bought some flowers for a vase at home...some Peonies...

...and some yellow Freesias. LOVELY!!!

We then went to Hackney City Farm for brunch and then I bid farewell to my sister!!! It was a lovely weekend, if a little expensive, but I would do it again in a heartbeat and the flower market is so reasonably priced, if you are ever stuck for something to do on a Sunday before 2pm it is definitely worth a visit and your purchases will brighten up your whole week...like my peonies are for me...

xxx