Wish you were here!

Wow!  All I can say is, thank the lord I'm not in Berlin now!  Today's temperature in Berlin during the day was -7c!  Not exactly walking tour temp is it?  Makes me feel like my experience of Berlin was positively tropical....

We had a great time in Berlin, even though I just wanted to hang out in Soho House all the time!  I created a google map to keep a track of all the places we visited and wanted to visit - so I've got everything saved for next time!

Being a bit of a history and politics geek (I did my degree in Economics and Politics), I was really excited to see the historical side of the city and one of the most interesting tours we did was of underground bunkers from WW2 and the Cold War.  The tours were run by berliner-unterwelten and I cannot recommend them enough, the tour was engaging, fascinating and really gave you a massive understanding of what it was like in Berlin during the Wars.  

We also did a walking tour and it was also a great way of learning how the various administrations of the city have impacted it in so many ways...our guide was fantastic and I'm now a big believer of being a bit of tourist geek and going on these tours!  They really allow you to learn all the important facts of the place you are visiting and also mean you don't walk around the tourist sites without learning the important facts.  Best of all, you then have more time for investigating the bars, cafes and restaurants!

Here are some pics!

 O walking through the Holocaust Memorial.

The memorial was amazing, every stone was a different height and angle and even the floor tilted.

The Christmas Market food stalls were stunning

I loved the U-Bahn - the image of the Brandenburg Gate was on every train and the gate is seen as a sign of freedom for the city.

You can't go to Germany and not eat sausages!  In fact we ate them twice, who knew that chopped sausage, curry powder and tommy k could be so delicious!?

        This was an artist commune in an old department store in the old Jewish quarter.  There was so much street art and I believe in summer there are loads of outdoor bars, so you can enjoy a German beer and some great art.

What every style blogger needs...a sense of humour!

How much fun is this!?  Found on refinery29 and I had to have a giggle!  Think my fave part is the bit about having a boyfriend with a camera, my boyfriend is getting seriously tired of me requesting him to take pictures!  His usual comment is "you don't get involved with my hobby (call of duty... blah blah blah) so why should I get involved with yours!  Ha Ha!  Nothing like a bit of relationships support is there.... so I have asked for a tripod for Christmas!  I do however want to clarify one thing and you can rest safe in the knowledge - you won't catch me in a cage skirt....!?

Thanks refinery29 for making me smile!

xxx

Berlin Baby!

I've been meaning to post since I got back from Berlin last Tuesday but I really do wonder where time actually goes!  I have the up most respect for all you bloggers that somehow manage to work/study and blog! 

Anyway...back to Berlin!  What an amazing place!  I was hooked as soon as we arrived... I was a bit nervous of my return to Germany.... a rather depressing school exchange trip was experienced aged 14 and I was keeping everything crossed this was going to be a major success!

As a treat for our 4 year anniversary we decided to lux up and booked into Soho House Berlin.  I've spent every day since we got back wishing I was still there, everything about it was just way too cool for school!  The place was just oozing style, starting from the ping pong tables in the club entrance right through to the stunning art deco bar on the top floor, that served us perfect cocktails as we watched the lights of the city twinkle away!  I was itching to get my camera out, but as the the house is a members only, they respectfully ask you to not take any photographs in the club... so disappointingly the only picture I managed to take was of our our beautiful room!

I've always kinda scorned people that up load their hotel room snaps on Facebook but I was just way to excited about this hotel to care..   The room was just too perfect, from the beautiful antique furniture, the Roberts Radio that was playing jazz as we walked into the room and and the wonderful vintage record player, you felt like you had touched down into some stunning parallel universe!  And the bed... well there are no words to describe that bed!

The hotel was a former department store in the Mitte neighborhood of Berlin and during the Cold War was occupied by the Communists until reunification, where it was handed back to the original owners.  The Soho House team have done a fantastic job in refurbing the building and creating a wonderfully stylish environment that creates a really buzzy but laid back vibe!

Image of the club from Soho House Berlin

Image of the lobby from Soho House Berlin

I'm going to try and post later this week about what we got up to, but if you get the chance to go to Berlin I can't recommend the hotel highly enough and I can't wait to go back again some day!  I'm now on the hunt to become a member in London!

Have a great a week!  My mission is to try and keep warm!

xxx

I'm having Sunday night Downton Abbey withdrawal systems!  Did you watch it...?  It was the perfect escape for a Sunday evening.  I loved settling into their Edwardian world, admiring the spectacular outfits and watching the characters relationships develop!  Unfortunately, "I'm a celeb hasn't quite cut it this evening!  From the sublime to the ridiculous....

So in honour of all the lovely ladies of Downton Abbey I treated myself to this beautiful hairband from H&M, and I wore it last night!  Unfortunately, I didn't feast on an Edwardian banquet, but instead O and I went for a warming meal at Tagine in Balham and then we hit the pool table to re-create our first date!  He beat me convincingly 3 - 0.... so either, he's a pool shark or I'm totally useless!  However, because I let him win, I thought it was only fair he took my photo and I let him have a staring roll in it!

Up until this time last year my hair was a lot shorter and I'm loving the fact that with a little extra hair there are more and more options to style things up a little!  I'm thinking of trying to back-comb my hair into a 60's bob style and try out the hairband again... any backcombing tips!?  I worried that  I'll probably end up like a scarecrow!

Have a great week!  I'm on countdown - O and I are off to Berlin next weekend!  Uber excited to say the least!

xxx

Diamond Days

Whilst everyone else was preparing for their Halloween parties, O and I were getting glammed up in deepest Surrey for his Grandparents 60th Wedding Anniversary Party!  

After spending numerous weeks sat on my sofa on a Saturday night indulging in reality TV marathons, I was mildly excited to max up the eyeliner and apply a bit of lippy and I had fully intended to try and get a few outfit shots!  However, the free flowing champagne got the better of me and I have to say by the end of the night I certainly looked a bit of a Halloween fright!  So I leave you with a few indulgent shots of  the delicious food we scoffed, the amazing Cake that O's sister made and a lovely picture of O's sweet Grandparents - they are real diamonds!

 

 

 xx

It's all about bucks, kid. The rest is conversation.

 

Wow!  What a couple of weeks!  It's been on the hectic side to say the least.... So this weekend was all about putting my feet-up and chilling out.  I was so exhausted last night that I fell asleep during x-factor, not a good thing to be asleep at 9pm on a Saturday night is it?

Today, after a lunch date with Gordon Geckko and a rather large bag of popcorn I headed home, put the kettle on  and settled down with a homemade banana muffin!  Sunday afternoon bliss....

Autumn Sunshine

Wow!  So much sun eh!?  It's been one of those beautiful autumnal Sundays...and after scoffing a huge roast dinner at The Florence in Herne Hill, O and I tried to walk of some off the calories in the park! In fact this weekend feels like one long food induced haze surrounded by a sea of reality TV!  I think Anne Widdecombe dancing on Strictly has been my TV moment of the year!  And what about X-Factor...who's your fave?

 

Jean shorts & top: H&M

Ring and Pendant: Stephen Webster

Star Gazing

On Monday I was one lucky lady!  I took a lunch break... you have got to believe me, this minor detail is a point worth celebrating for me!  So what does one do, when you have a spare 30 mins?  That's right you guessed it... you pound the pavement to the shopping mecca that is Topshop at Oxford Circus!

Whilst lazing it up to the max on Sunday I spotted this little beauty on Topshop's website!  I love the level of detail on the images that Tommy Ton shares on his blog, and i'm sure you agree it's those little finishing touches that can make or break an outfit!  So without further ado, I headed straight to the jewellery area in topshop to hunt down the star cocktail ring!

Happy Happy Joy Joy they had plenty of stock and before you could say "diamonds are a girls best friend" I was stood in line ready to pay!  I wore it today and couldn't be more pleased with it!  I'm also really happy with the quality, I had always had this impression that the quality wasn't that great with Topshop jewellery, but it has a great weight and doesn't feel like it's only worth £12!  Style and quality all in one hit!

 (Image from here)

Saturday night takeaway

On Saturday night O and I donned our glad rags and headed "Up West" for a night on the tiles!  For his birthday, I had bravely booked us tickets to see Ghost Stories and given that horror is my least favourite genre of film, it's fair to say I was looking forward to it like a hole in the head!  Thankfully, it was great fun and really gets the heart racing and if you get a chance to go, it's well worth it!  

As we exited the theatre, it was raining cats and dogs and all thoughts of wondering up into Soho for food and drinks were over, so we rushed into Gerrard St and settled ourselves down for a slap up Chinese! After stuffing ourselves with too much rich, noodles and roast duck we were ready to be rolled home but the rain was still bucketing it down!  

I was kicking myself that I didn't have my camera, Gerrard St looked like a film set, with the Chinese lanterns bobbing up and down in the rain, hundreds of people rushing about with their umbrellas and the neon signs of all the restaurants calling you into the safety of the indoors!  Just for that moment as we dashed back to the tube in the grotty British rain, it felt like London was sharing the same buzzy energy that exists in Hong Kong!

Image from here

Image from here

Image from here

How the leopard got it spots!

I'm seriously in love with these!  Bets on them coming back into my size are probably slim to none, but I can dream yeah!?

 (from here)