A Day at The Tennis

Firstly, let me apologise that this post is late but I felt that is still deserved to go up.

Anyway, back to the blog.

Wimbledon is the oldest tennis tournament in the world. It is the only major tournament that is still played on grass, the game’s original surface, which gave the game its original name of “lawn tennis”.

I’ve been to Wimbledon once before but I managed to get tickets this year and obviously had to go.

We were blessed with glorious sunshine and so leisurely made our way to Wimbledon with a picnic and a chilled bottle of something fizzy. 

We began with a wander round the grounds, soaking up the sun and admiring the beautiful flowers that surround Centre Court. 

We watched a few of the Junior games on the outdoor courts. 

and admired the Men's Singles Board.

Unfortunately I couldn't get tickets for Centre Court but we did watch some great games on Court 1.

Wimbledon is set amongst beautiful grounds and on such a lovely day, Henman Hill was full to bursting. 

On the day that we went, we were lucky enough to watch Djokovic vs Dimitrov and then Federer vs Raonic from our spot on the hill. 

Trying my luck at a bit of umpiring. Career change maybe?

I cannot recommended at day at Wimbledon enough. 

You can buy tickets nearer the time but they are pretty expensive. And by 'pretty expensive' what I really mean is, they are a lot of money.

However.....you can enter the ballot. You won't know what you're going to get until nearer the time and you only have to pay for the tickets that you want. 

Even if you get a day pass, I promise you won't be disappointed. Just remember to get a glass of Pimms and some strawberries and cream....A day at Wimbledon is not complete without that.

Oscar Wilde Afternoon Tea

Tea consumption increased quite dramatically during the early nineteenth century when Anna, the 7^th Duchess of Bedford is said to have complained of ‘having that sinking feeling’ during the late afternoon.

  The solution was for the Duchess to have a pot of tea and a light snack in her boudoir during the afternoon.
After returning to London the Duchess would invite her friends round for “tea and a walking the fields”. It wasn’t long before other social hostesses quickly picked up on the idea and all of the fashionable society were sipping tea and nibbling sandwiches.

Many people who visit the UK still image that we are a nation where ‘at half-past three, everything stops for tea’. Sadly Afternoon Tea in London is quite expensive and is usually reserved as an occasional luxury, a Birthday Treat and so on. 

However my Mum and I feel that Afternoon Tea is our treat to one another.
We love deciding where we will go next, which hotel’s tea we haven’t tried and even though it can be expensive; The Ritz charges £58 per person for traditional afternoon tea (not including champagne) There are still offers to be had and other hotels that are worth trying.

   So with that in mind, Mum and I decided to visit ‘The Café Royal’ for an Oscar Wilde themed tea. 

Inspired by The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde and in celebration of it’s return to the West End, Café Royal have created a witty and rather interesting menu. 

The sandwiches were very different to anything I've had before.
They included:
Smoked Wild Boar, Crackling, pickled apple and English Mustard Bun
Gold Puff Goats Cheese and wine jelly engagement
Onion and Chorizo Wellington
Smoked Salmon, quail's egg and cress Prism
Original 'Cucumber' sandwiches

Followed by my absolute favourite....scones

Nothing beats a delicious warm scone with clotted cream and jam. These ones even came with lemon curd.

Shortly afterwards, this arrived.......

Again, what tea is complete without an entire tier of cakes and pastries.
I won't bore you by explaining what each and every one was. Instead, you'll have to go and find out for yourself.

You can find them Here

I do recommend that you book to avoid disappointment. 

If you are thinking of booking an afternoon tea, I always try to look at the offers on the Afternoon Tea website, which you can find Here

You can often find 2 for 1 offers or Champagne deals and the website also tells you which hotel has won the prestigious ‘Tea of the Year’ Awards. 

I hope you've enjoyed my little post about Tea. I'll try and do another post soon about a different hotel. 

Where have you been for Afternoon Tea? Have you been to the Cafe Royal?

Let me know in the comments. 

A Hen Do to Remember

I never though that blogging about a hen do would be something that I would share but considering how successful this weekend was, I felt that I couldn't not share this with you.

My friend Katie is getting married in August and to celebrate, 14 of us girls travelled down to Southampton for the weekend.
Having not told Katie where or what she would be doing, we teased her for most of the coach journey.

Arriving in Southampton, we managed to have a quick bite to eat before we embarked on a day's worth of activities.
Kelly, the maid of honour, organised the whole weekend with a company called Chilli Sauce, who specialise in such events....hen do's, stag do's, birthday parties, so we knew we were in good hands.

Our first activity of the day was the high ropes course.
I should probably mention that Katie is a really adventurous girl but even she got a bit worried when she saw how high the course really was.

It wasn't long before we were all harnessed up and ready to go.

We had a safety course first, teaching us how to use the ropes and props that we would need to get across.

Laura looking a bit more confident after the first rope was completed.

A quick selfie of Laura and I looking about 12 but we look happy none the less. 

Next up.....Clay Pigeon Shooting. 

I have never done this before and if I'm honest it's not something I was absolutely desperate to try but I loved it!! I couldn't believe how much fun it was and what a rush you got from it. 

Here's a few pictures to show you how it went.

Safety goggles and ear phones of course. 

We got to shoot 3 rounds of 10, giving us plenty of time to get the hang of it.

The important part was making sure you placed the gun in the right place, tight against your shoulder and cheek. I’d heard many people say before that you can bruise from clay pigeon shooting. Luckily I didn’t but some of the girls definitely had slight pinch marks on their shoulders.

(Well we had to have some evidence of what we’d been doing, right?)

Your stance: remembering to lean forward as the recoil is going to knock you back a bit.

The one thing that you had to get used to was the recoil. At first it was a bit of a shock but you soon got used to it. I had to remember not to close my eyes which I had a habit of doing, anticipating the recoil.

On our last round we had a competition.

And of course we couldn't forget the house keeping....picking up the empties.

It turns out I wasn't as bad as I thought I was going to be. In fact, I really got quite a thrill from it and have decided to try and look at venues closer to home where I can practise. 

After a full days worth of activities, we made our way back to the hotel to prepare for the evening. 

Kelly did an wonderful job of organising it and we found these little treats on our bed when we returned.

A goody bag with everything a hen would need for a night out on the town. The bag consisted of sashes, glow in the dark wrist bands, all kinds of inflatables (guitar, microphone, parrot) and of course what hen wouldn't be complete without...penis straws.

(No picture of that one...I think you all know what I'm referring to). 

I didn't take a lot of pictures of the night out but here a few. It got quite messy in the end so enjoy the few pictures of sobriety. 

Laura and I with the inflatables. 

A quick picture of what I wore. Dress is from Topshop in the last chance to buy section. 

Similar one here or here.

The whole weekend was brilliant. I wouldn't thoroughly recommended Chilli Sauce to anyone wanting to book a big event or hen do. 

Our offer included the activities, a night in a 4* Hotel and entry into the club. There are loads of other places to stay, you don't have to pick Southampton. 

Have you been on any hen do's recently. Let me know in the comments what you got up to. 

Share the Love

I’ve seen this done a few times on other people’s blogs so I thought it was a good idea to share with you what bloggers I have been loving this month. There are so many bloggers out there who deserve recognition for what they do, so here I go……

Em Talks: I’ve been reading Em Sheldon’s blog for a while now and I have become totally addicted. Everything about her blog from her style, clothes, fitness regime and hair tips, inspires me.
I have been particularly enjoying her lifestyle posts recently. She goes to some amazing locations, Jamaica, Paris, Thailand.....giving you handy travelling tips along the way too. 

The Londoner: Was the first blog I ever read. This is probably my favourite blog to read and I am always inspired and intrigued to see what Rosie has been up to. Her lifestyle is envious but not in a bad way. You crave the lifestyle she lives and writes about but really what she blogs about is so easy and simple. Locations in London to have brunch, long summer picnics in the park, punting in Cambridge and her amazing Slutty Brownies recipe is an absolute must!

Milk Bubble Tea: I've picked this one because not only are her posts enjoyable to read but her blog layout is one of the most beautiful. It's so clean and fresh looking and perfectly symmetrical. Her regular 'life lately' posts are my favourites and if you like dogs, you better watch out for Oscar. He will win you heart in a moment.

Nouvelle Daily:  Is a Beauty and style blog but I find it can be so much more than that too. Some of my favourite posts of hers are: The Holiday Essentials, Coconut and Caramel Iced Lattes and her Gym Bag Essential post. She reviews products and introduces new little items into your life such as the Benefit Erase paste which is now a firm favourite in my make up.
I like the fact that she posts regularly and there is variety in her posts….you never know what you might fall in love with when you read Kate’s blog.

Bakerella: Food, Food and more incredibly delicious food. Bakerella probably has some of the cutest and yummiest looking recipes. I'm yet to attempt one but they honestly look amazing, I could ogle the pictures for hours. These whale cookies look simply delicious and I can't help but think these Chocolate Cinnamon Rolls would be perfect for a lazy Sunday morning breakfast.

There are so many blogs out there that I enjoy reading and this is only a small handful. If you've enjoyed this post, please let me know and I can update my list with more blogs that I think you will enjoy. 

Happy Blogging. 

Pop Up Lunch

There is nothing better than a ‘working lunch’ where the working part is the last thing on everyone's mind. 

So with that in mind, we headed down to Jamie’s Oliver Pop up Diner on Shaftesbury Avenue.
I've never been to any kind of ‘Pop Up’ Restaurant so I was intrigued to see what it was all about.

There is an emphasis on British produce and Jamie has tried to include a few healthy dishes too. But don't worry there are also some rather naughty ones too…..Don’t even get me started on the Piccadilly Mud Pie.

But before I talk to you about the food, let me show you round.

You couldn't have picked a better spot for people watching than over looking Shaftesbury Avenue on a busy Friday lunchtime.

And now back to the food.
There were a lot of cocktails to choose from but as this was a 'working lunch' we decided we should stick to the soft drinks.
I must be the only person who has never had a cream soda so naturally that's what I chose.

It is the sweetest drink I have ever tried. I liked it but I don't think I'll be having it again in a hurry.
Did you ever had coke or vanilla floats at school? It kind of tasted a bit like that but with sugary syrup instead of the ice cream.

Quite a few things caught my eye on the menu but I decided to go for, Barbecue Pork Rib Fingers, which were delicious. And of course I ordered some chips too.

I can highly recommend this restaurant, although you better hurry as I'm not sure how long it will be here for.

Find them online here

Have you been Jamie Oliver's Diner?
Let me know in the comments if there are any other Pop Up Restaurants I need to try. 

My Week on Instagram

A lot has been going on recently. I have moved into my new flat and so have spent quite a lot of time decorating, painting, putting together new furniture and  experimenting with food. This is my little post on life lately through my Instagram page. 

You can follow my actual Instagram account by clicking here

Ahhh I love this cereal

Trying to be healthy...Avocado and bacon on Brown bread

At my Cousins Wedding with Megan and Jack. It was the most gorgeous day and we got to run round the grounds during the Champagne reception and enjoy the glorious sunshine.

Cookie Monster cookies. I didn't have one but the children at the Wedding did. 

Our first picnic in the Meadow by the new Flat.

Look what we found....yes found!! I love Vintage things. You would not believe how intricate the detail is on this, it is beautiful. 

Sitting with my new furniture delivery. 

Me at Go Ape, up in the tress. And yes that is war paint on my cheek, not dirt.

First dinner in the Flat...Pasta Bolognese and of course, a glass of wine. 

What have you been up to this week?

Leave your instagram details in the comments and I'll give you a follow.