Christmas Gift Guide

Can you believe that tomorrow, it's only a month until Christmas?! I've already bought a couple of presents but there's still a long way to go, so I've been trawling the Internet for inspiration and decided I'd create a Christmas Gift Guide.

I've kept everything under £50 and there's ideas to suit women of all ages. Happy shopping!

Gladrags ♥

From L-R:

1. Eleven Paris Home Alone Christmas sweatshirt £50 - Home Alone is a Christmas classic and so is this jumper - you could wear it over and over again and it would never become tacky!
2. River Island Black Fabric Backed Statement Necklace £18 - I'm a big fan of statement necklaces and this one would look great layered over a top or dress
3. Daisy H Alpha Ring £37 - Daisy's Alpha rings would make such a lovely personal present, plus they won't turn your fingers green
4. Topshop Small Traditional Check Scarf £14 - You can't beat a bit of tartan in the festive season
5. River Island Black Cut Out Cleated Sole Ankle Boots £40 - I've wanted some cut out boots for so long and these ones are very affordable - I've asked Santa/my Mum for these so fingers crossed one of them delivers!

Home ♥

From L-R:

1. Debenham's Cream sequin stag cushion £22.40 - Stag prints are everywhere at the moment and Debenham's have caught onto the trend with this sequin cushion
2. Carluccio's Christmas Star Hamper £35 -  Hamper's make a lovely present and this one from Carluccio's has a really nice range of treats inside!
3. Next Lit Heart Wreath £18 - I love this heart wreath and it's battery powered, so there are no power cables to ruin the look
4. Paperchase livorno frame green 5x7 £15 - I think framed photos are really thoughtful presents and Paperchase do a really nice range of frames. I love the colour of this one!

Pamper ♥

From L-R:

London Life

Having now lived in London for over 3 months, it's probably about time I wrote a related blog post!

When I moved here, I wasn't a complete London novice, as my boyfriend, Ed, is from Putney, so I've spent quite a bit of time here, when visiting him in Uni holidays and on my year out.

I've taken up residency in the lovely borough of Fulham, just around the corner from Craven Cottage (which would be great if I supported Fulham FC... but I don't) and the beautiful Bishops Park, home to Fulham Palace, which is worth a visit if you're in the area.

Fulham

Coming from another big city, it hasn't been a huge change. What I still haven't got over though, is the fact that you have to book restaurants on week nights (what?!) and that the traffic is never-ending.

Speaking of restaurants, there are literally thousands of them and I will never go to all the ones I want to try, not least when you add in all the lovely cafés and coffee shops on top of that.

However, I thought it would be nice to write about the ones that I have been to, that I would recommend to anyone visiting London:

♥ Big Easy - when I mentioned booking restaurants on week nights, this is where I was referring to. Big Easy is a hugely popular American-style crabshack on the Kings Road in Chelsea, where I had all-you-can-eat Shrimp with fries for £16.95, complete with a plastic bib! They also offer some great deals on lobster and do a few other all-you-can-eat deals. Definitely worth a try if you fancy a greasy treat!

♥ Claude's Kitchen at Amuse Bouche - Amuse Bouche is a very classy wine bar in Parson's Green and upstairs in Claude's Kitchen they serve some great food. Three courses for £20 on a Tuesday - say no more!

♥ Jamie Oliver's Pop Up Diner - For a limited time only, Jamie Oliver has opened a pop up diner, handily, right next to where I work in Piccadilly. I've tried a few things on the menu and highly recommend the avocado fries (and the wine because you can buy it by the litre)!

Jamie Oliver's Chilli Dog

♥ Hudson's - Found on the Lower Richmond Road in Putney, this is a Savitt family favourite (Ed's family for those of you who don't know) and rightly so, both the food and atmosphere are great!

♥ Urban Tea Rooms - running parallel to the shopping district of Carnaby Street, is Kingly Street where you will find Urban Tea Rooms, a lovely café by day and wine bar by night. They serve the most incredible salads, as well as sandwiches, cakes, coffee and (you guessed it) tea!

Urban Tea Rooms

♥ Hally's - Another great café is Hally's, which opened this summer and can be found on the New King's Road in Parsons Green.

♥ Meat Market - No list of recommended places to eat in London, would be complete without a mention of Meat Market, or another member of it's family, Meat Liquor or Meat Mission. Meat Market is a burger joint in a not-so-easy to find location in Covent Garden but it's well worth the search and is rumoured to be getting a Michelin Star (according to a waiter who may well have been joking).

Meat Market

A handy sign... inside the restaurant

♥ Megan's - Megan's is a beautifully decorated restaurant and deli, also on the Kings Road (what a place), with the most lovely outside area. It's safe to say, I had the best brownie I have ever eaten here - divine!

♥ Bill's - Bill's is a chain of restaurants in the South of England, with 14 branches in London. The menu covers just about everything and the food is great - I just hope they infiltrate the North soon!

♥ Anywhere on Southbank, which if you walk all the way along, towards London Bridge, brings you out at Borough Market.

If, like me, you are a big fan of trying new places to eat, you should download Zomato, which is a really useful restaurant-finding app that also works in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Birmingham and Manchester in the UK, as well as a number of other countries worldwide.

Finally, whilst I'm on the subject of apps... two apps that have come in so handy since moving to London are Tube Map (no-brainer) and Citymapper - both so incredibly useful for finding your way around, especially the latter.

Until next time... x

Plastic Fantastic

Wow - it has been far too long since my last blog post. Life has been rather hectic recently, what with moving down to London and starting a new job in PR, but I've missed blogging.

I've decided that from now on, I'm going to aim to do a weekly blog post - wish me luck!

This weeks blog is on all things plastic! I'm usually one to turn down unnecessary plastic bags in supermarkets but I can't get enough of the new perspex and plastic trend, hitting all the fashion stores at the moment.

Here is my pick of the best plastic bags and accessories available online and on the high street right now:

From L-R:

1. Nasty Gal Look See Clutch £16.54 - these bags are a great way to show off your pretty accessories and this version's on sale!

2. ASOS Klear Klutch Small Pink Transparent Bag £40 - this bag comes in black and clear too.

3. Missguided Arien Clear Envelope Bag £24.99 - this bag is no longer for sale but I had to include it, as it's what inspired me to write this blog post, when I spotted my favourite (and fellow Sheffield-er) fashion blogger She Wears Fashion wearing it.

From L-R:

1. ASOS Perspex Swing Triangle Earrings £7 - I have a terrible feeling these have now gone out of stock but I had to include them anyway!

2. Nasty Gal Clear Choice Tee £29.84 - Nasty Gal is great for items that are a bit different to the usual - love this tee.

3. Boohoo Louise Perspex Necklace £10 - this is my favourite new accessory at the moment and they do it in black too.

4. KG by Kurt Geiger Aster Leather Buckled Heel Sandal with Translucent Heel £130 - although they're quite pricey, I swear by Kurt Geiger and Carvela heels, so comfy, not to mention amazing!

5. Fashion Union Black Perspex Suede Lace Up Shoe Boots £30 - for a cheaper take on a perspex heel, try these Fashion Union boots.

My Boohoo Louise Perspex Necklace

 Until next time .... x