'Tale As Old As Time' Afternoon Tea, Kensington Townhouse in London

29 June 2018 Kensington, London

afternoontea, kensingtontownhouse, taleasoldastimeafternoonteareview, taleasoldastimeafternoonteakensingtontownhouse, lifestylepost, fingersandwiches, beautyandthebeast

Well hey there pals! It's been a little while since my last post on here, but I thought this fun little thing I went to to celebrate my best friend Larissa (read her blog here) turning 28 would be perfect to tell you about! On a sunny Tuesday a week or so ago, we headed south to the gorgeous Kensington Townhouse for an afternoon tea named 'Tale As Old As Time'. Well, she'd initially invited her mum but since she couldn't go this gal was in second place - winning! Townhouse had initially first created this afternoon tea with a magical twist for the release of the live action Beauty and the Beast Disney film but as it was proving so popular they've extended it through to December. Once it's finished, they will then be looking at creating another afternoon tea based around Disney - we told the staff our preferences when they asked for feedback (Aladdin or The Lion King!).

T H E S E T T I N G

The Townhouse is based in the Kensington Hotel, just a hop, skip and a jump away from South Kensington station. Recently refurbished, the interiors were designed by Shoreditch-based designer Alexander Waterworth and they completely mirror the building and Town House look. As you walk through the main entrance (wishing that adorable blue bike was yours) you're welcomed by the lovely staff and instantly hit struck by the beautiful setting (cue the 'wows' and oo's' from me and Larissa) - from the winding staircase to the I-want-that furniture, every little corner is beautifully thought through. To the right is the main dining area which is just flooded with light and on the left is where the afternoon tea is held.

This room is also incredibly light because of the huge windows all along the front of the building, it's a great place to take all the Instagram's, let me tell you, and the staff even help you take some shots as well. Once you're settled into your seat you're offered a selection of teas and cold drinks so, being a birthday and all, we opted for a couple of cheeky Bellini's and a pot of Earl Grey (cos, it's all about balance) and it was time for the fun to begin...

T H E F O O D

Before we were told about all the yummy food we were about to eat we were presented a Cogsworth, Lumiére and Mrs Potts ornament for the table, unbeknownst to us that Mrs Potts was carrying something very important.

SAVOURIES

Bite size venison pie

Beef ragu & saffron arracini lemon créme fraiche

Cheese Soufflé roscoff onion pissaladiere

A SELECTION OF SANDWICHES

Potted Argyle smoked salmon & créme fraiche

Roast Devon Red chicken with cranberry

Cucumber & cream cheese

Egg mayonnaise & cress

SWEETS

Vanilla & gold jelly

'Try the grey stuff' white chocolate mousse

Chocolate clock tart chocolate ganache

Spiced snowball macaron coconut &chocolate

Speculoos dress marzipan

Marie's sweet brioche baguette

Before the tiered plates came out with our afternoon tea on, we were given our starters which, as you can see from the menu were foods taken straight from the 'Be Our Guest' song in the film: 'Beef Ragu, cheese soufflé!' which were all absolutely stunning and perfect for whilst we were settling into our seats, drinking our Bellini's and (still) taking some photo's.

But then it was time for the main event and our lovely waitress told us all about the food - simple, quintessentially British finger sandwiches and then the sweets which, again, all held a meaning from the film. Me screaming 'It's Belle's baguettes!' made the waitress very happy and Larissa laugh, probably in embarrassment (classic Sam). The sandwiches were well made and you could tell the filling was fresh and the bread was perfectly spongey...we finished the lot and were even offered more. But, we wouldn't have had room for all our desserts if we took up that offer...and, in my opinion, the dessert is always the best bit! I fell hard for the coconut macaron which resembled the snowball fight Belle and Beast have in the film and Larissa couldn't get enough of the chocolate clock tart!

Once we had finally finished as much as we possibly could we were able to still sit there and chat some more, the staff were really lovely and didn't make us feel rushed. Sometimes I find, with things that you have to book like this, they've booked so many people in that they instantly want you to leave when you've barely finished your last mouthful. This wasn't the case and I'm sure Larissa would agree that this little afternoon out was the perfect way to spend her 28th birthday. Plus, she officially asked me to be one of her bridesmaids so you can't really get better than that, can you!

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ASOS Haul: Simple Summer Picks

14 June 2018

It’s been a long old while since I last did an ASOS haul and, if I’m really honest, it’s because I have been that inspired by the online brand in recent months. HOWEVER, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been adding things to my ‘saved for later’ or waiting for a discount code like the farmer waits for rain (too Somerset for you? sorry). Then, finally, they did one of their ‘£10 off when you spend…, £20 off when you spend…etc’ so I thought that was finally my time to grab a few bits ready for summer…

…and, lol, what did I get?

Some ‘classic Sam’ slogan tops and dresses…

not that I need new skirts/ jeans and shorts or anything…

but, anyways, let’s dive straight in, shall we?

Oh, actually, little side note: I've now decided that in my clothing hauls I'm going to let you know what I keep and what I send back 'cos I got fed up of Youtubers doing a haul every other week and not being totally upfront about that sorta thing. You can't spend £200 on ASOS every week, hun, believe me, I've tried!

S U N D A Y S L O G A N T E E (keeping)

See?

I love me a slogan t-shirt as you might be able to tell from previous posts (upcoming posts as well) and my Instagram feed and I couldn’t resist getting this one when I saw it was only £12 from Pieces. I thought ‘what the heck, one more can’t hurt…’ and I obviously need a t-shirt that I can categorically ONLY wear on a Sunday. But, I really liked the font and colours on this one and it’s going to look great with a denim skirt or jeans on a snoozy Sunday!

Shop the t-shirt here

D E N I M F I T T E D S H I R T D R E S S (sending back)

I actually already have this in blue (anyone else always just buy something they love in every single colour variation?) so thought I would try the black but, much like the ASOS jeans this looks very different on. My blue one has more stretch and more give (YASSS) but this one is very stiff and not flattering at all so I’m sending it back. I feel like it would suit you if you’re quite slim and not all that curvy but for me it’s a no.

Shop the dress here

C O T T O N S M O C K D R E S S (sending back)

So.

I bought this with the vision of chucking it on with a pair of sassy sandals (see previous post), an even sassier hair wrap and a basket bag…all sounds great, right? What I didn’t invision is that everyone would also be able to see the care label of my favourite nude undies at the same time. I bloody love this dress so it’s a shame that it’s so damn see-through! C’mon ASOS, you know better than this.

HOWEVER...

This dress does come in gingham print also so I think I’m going to have to order and give that one a go. It’s a shame this one is so see-through as it’s super flattering on and all kind of summer clothing goals.

Shop the dress here (gingham version here)

T R A P E Z E M I D I D R E S S (hell yeah, I’m keeping this)

I wasn’t holding out much hope for this dress if I’m completely honest. It was one of those buys where I chucked it on at the end but I would probably send it back as it actually is quite spenny for what it actually is.

Boy, was I wrong.

The £38 was definitely worth it as the material is amazing (so, so soft) and the fit and length is all working in my favour. Plus, it’s in the print of the season so I had to keep it, didn’t I? I’ve been wearing it either with my black Vans or with loafers and a denim jacket thrown over the top but I actually have an exciting event next week and think I might wear this with some kitten heels to dress it up a little.

Shop the dress here

J ‘ A D O R E S L O G A N T E E (keeping, duh)

Hey look another French slogan t-shirt!

Okay so, yes, whilst I may have a slight obsession with slogan t-shirts, I also bought this one as I seem to be seriously lacking in just some ‘basics’ in my wardrobe. Y’know the kind of things that you just throw on when you need to get something from the Iceland across the road but still look like you’ve got your shit together?

Yeah, that.

Also, this one was just a tenner and, for a piece that’s working those on-trend clashing colours, I’m okay spending that.

Shop the t-shirt here

T I E F R O N T S H I R T D R E S S (absolutely not)

I obviously had a think for shirt dresses when I did this order but, unfortunately, they were both super unsuccessful. Why was this one so terrible when is looks so damn pretty?

BECAUSE I HAVE BIG BOOBS AND A SMALL WAIST!

That’s why.

This, much like the other shirt dress I picked up, would suit a ‘straight up & straight down’ body shape…and that ain’t me. I actually just had a little chuckle when I tried this on as it was a) so tight on the chest and then b) looked like I had a kangaroo pouch instead of a tummy. It’s unfortunate as this dress is v pretty (I’m a sucker for a polka dot as you may have noticed) and the silhouette itself is flattering for everyone but, no, not about that Kanga life.

Shop the dress here

B U T T O N T H R O U G H S K A T E R D R E S S (defo keeping)

Finally.

WE. HAVE. A. WINNER.

I wanted this dress for ages (I mean, probably two weeks max) but it sold out so fast, like a lot of the ASOS ‘new in’ products do. But, being patient sometimes works and I’m so happy I finally got my hands on this one. It’s very flattering for my bodyshape (gotta love a deep V) and I really love that the sleeves are long enough to cover up that ‘bad part’ of my arms.

The cute buttons going down the middle also gives a slimming effect which I’m always happy to have as a feature on my clothing.

Shop the dress here

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An evening with Pandora

12 June 2018

Last Tuesday I got to go to the Ivy in Chelsea (can we just take a second to let that sink in please?) for an evening of drinks, canapés and flower arranging with Pandora to celebrate their new wedding jewellery collection. From meeting new bloggers to creating my own flower crown, this had to be one of my favourite blogging events so far! We were shown to a gorgeous private dining room in The Ivy which was absolutely beautiful just on its own but then the lovely ladies from Pandora had adorned it with amazing flowers and set a long table for us to get our creative juices flowing...

We had a little while to mingle, take a look at the new wedding collection and have some food and fizz but then it was soon time to get serious and watch the flower crown demonstration so we could then create our own masterpiece. Settling into our amazing seats we watched the demonstration, picked our flowers and gave it a good go. It was incredible that with the same tools and flowers so many of us girls made such a variety of flower crowns. As I was starting mine I knew I wanted it neat and in a particular order using the pretty pink roses I had picked up. But some were huge and all on one side, the other was small and dainty and some were just really, really out there.

As we were making our crowns we were being handed delicious canapés and had our glasses topped up with ~even more delicious~ wine - that's my kind of event! We'd finally finished our creations (a mere hour or so after we'd started) and so had time for yet more food and wine and the chance you don't normally tend to get at these events to actually chat to more bloggers and the Pandora girls as well. The new wedding collection by Pandora really is so so beautiful so if you have a wedding coming up or you're looking for a gift for someone who does I would highly recommend looking here and here.

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What's In My Beach Bag

1 June 2018 London, UK

I’m heading to Cornwall in July to celebrate both my birthday and my mum’s, so what better time (a mere two months in advance) to start planning my beach bag for the trip…

Obviously, from the pictures, you can see I’m very much hoping for the warm and sunny weather England has currently been enjoying but, even if that doesn’t happen, this sort of post is always a good thing to look back on for holidays to come and hopefully it’ll inspire some of you guys as well!

Whether you’re doing a staycation this summer or flying a little further afield, what you pop in your beach bag is of the upmost importance. When I’m away I head out early in the morning and normally won’t come back until the evening so what I put in there has to see me through at least 10 hours. In which time I may have spilt something down my bright white dress at lunch, experienced at least three weather changes or just fancied a quick outfit swap for an impromptu Instagram photo shoot.

I picked up a few bits from House of Fraser recently (which actually this post is in collaboration with) so it seemed as good a time as any to start talking about the key pieces I keep in my beach bag.

Number one on my list is always, always, ALWAYS my swimsuit. I don’t hugely like wearing a swimsuit under my outfit when I’m away so having one in my bag is fast becoming a more common occurrence. This gorgeous little blue and white striped number from Whistles just screams ‘holiday’ to me and is perfect if you’re heading on a more active holiday, rather than just laying on the beach tanning all day. It offers you some support, it’s non wired but comes with padding, though I sometimes like to go without the pads which makes the fact that you can remove them an absolute dream! It features thick straps, a round front neck and then it’s a party at the back as it’s completely backless. Oo-er! This is a piece I’ll have in my wardrobe for years to come and I can even wear it as a cute little bodysuit when I’m not away. Win, win!

Next up, my second most important beach piece to have on me – my sunnies!

I’ve long been a fan of the wayfarer style as I think it’s what suits my rounded face shape the most. This pair from American Freshman has a gorgeous gold frame with the classic tortoiseshell colouring and fits perfectly on my nose. They’re also really well made so I know that they’re going to last me a really long time and, because they’re understated in their colour I know I can wear them with pretty much anything and everything…including that beaut swimsuit.

I know a lot of people who hit the beach like to go shoeless…

I am not one of those people.

I hate the feeling of wet sand (how do people walk on that stuff?) sticking to my feet and seaweed brushing against my toes when I’m in the sea, so I’ll always be wearing my jellies in the water and then a lovely set of sandals when on the beach. I always tend to spend a little more on my footwear when I’m away as I find cheaper pairs can break easily or just become super flimsy.

When I saw this pair from Mint Velvet on House of Fraser I knew I had to have them! I’ve worn them already so can honestly say they are by far the comfiest sandals I’ve ever owned, and the prettiest - they’re so, SO pretty! In this deep orange, coral colour they perfectly suit the Whistles swimsuit and the American Freshman wayfarer sunglasses. What’s more, they’re so easy to walk in! Sometimes I find that this sort of sandal style has me slipping all over the place but not these – the heel height is a perfect 2.5cm as well. But, what really sold this pair to me was the bow detailing made from gorgeous suede (so maybe stay away from the sea in these). They add a real statement feature to your outfit. I can picture myself sipping a cocktail in my white Broderie Anglaise dress (basket bag by my side) whilst wearing these, living my best life!

And, the last thing I have to have in my bag is a camera. This Polaroid camera has been with me on a lot of adventures and I love the retro look it gives – particularly with this swimsuit!

Other bits to pop in your beach bag:

An extra layer (jumper/ cardigan), small wallet with passport and money for the day, sun cream, lip balm, beach towel, a good book, bottle of water.