As a special birthday treat my boyfriend bought me a trip to Kew Gardens followed by Afternoon tea at The Botanical. I used to visit Kew Gardens as a child whether it being for a school trip or something to do in the summer holidays it's somewhere I've grown up knowing. Despite it being one of the most special places in London not too many people have been, so I wanted to share some photos from my day.
They've recently opened their renovated Temperate House, it's the largest Victorian glasshouse in the world. The Grade I listed building is twice the size of everyone's favourite, the Palm House. On the day we arrived they had interactive Theatre with a giant puppet as part of their summer activities for children. Such a great way to spend the day if you have a family! The following photos are from the Palm House, we were in a little rush to beat the rain so sadly I only have one photo of the Temperate House, but they often post photos of it on their instagram.
Now onto the tea, when we sat down we were given three options classic, vegetarian and seasonal: Alice in Wonderland. I opted for the vegetarian as I wanted to try the most authentic afternoon tea they offered. I picked the apple and elderflower herbal tea to pair with it. I sadly din't take too many pictures of the tea as we were starving and I honestly didn't think i'd be putting together this post. We visited on the hottest day of the year, so sitting down to have tea seemed a little wild but luckily The Botanical was air conditioned which we were VERY grateful for. The sandwiches were possibly one of my favourite parts of the tea, I loved the roasted vegetable and the cheese & chutney. I was so pleased to see the bakewell tart as part of the tea as it's one of my very favourite treats. I wish the scones had been bigger and we were given the option to have ones with raisins or cherries in as controversially I love raisins in cakes!
The vegetarian afternoon tea retails for £27.50 and entry to the gardens is an additional cost.
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Every now and again it's nice to be a tourist in your own city. Sometimes I take living in London for granted, I'd love to share more of my favourite areas and places in London with you so let me know if this is something you'd like to see, particularly any areas. Notting Hill is a fantastic part of London and is so much more than the film. So here are a few Instagram hot spots for you, and if you want some more, check our Niomi Smart's guide.
Biscuiteers - 194 Kensington Park Rd, London W11 2ES
Thanks to the royal wedding I've recently been to the Notting Hill for work more than ever. All of the international TV channels have been wanting to come down and film which is rather exciting! If you follow any London based bloggers than you would have seen the shop front on my feed quite a few times. The beautiful hand painted illustrations do make for a lovely photo, plus there are loads of tasty biscuits and cakes inside which are also super fab to take a photo of. They also have an icing cafe on the Northcote Road if you're based in South London.
Doughtnut Time - 15 Blenheim Cresent, Notting Hill, London W11 2EE
A new addition to Notting Hill, and the UK is Doughnut Time. The brand specialises in doughnuts finished with plenty of unique and delicious flavour combinations. I've tried the part ring and red velvet, both scrumptious and will definitely satisfy a very sweet tooth. Plenty of their doughnuts are vegan and are just as flavoursome, so no-one has to miss out on doughnut time. However they have been known to sell out!
Alice's - 86 Portobello Rd, London W11 2QD
A gorgeous shop front and a Mr Grubers shop in the Paddington films, (recognise it now?) Just like Mr Gruber's, Alice's is an antiques shop that has been situated on the portobello road for decades. You can find a few current interior favourites too including kitsch tea pots and vintage style crates. I love the bold colour of shop and it makes the iconic pastel road just that little bit more colourful. Plus it makes for a great instagram shop, it feels very British too!
It certainly seems that Elan Cafe is having its Instagram moment. This week it’s suddenly exploded on on my feed, every other photo feels like it’s been of that infamous flower wall. I woke up very early yesterday morning and took the trip from South to West London. It’s my Mums 50th birthday weekend so I treated her to a very special breakfast. We opted for banana bread scattered with pansies and fruit, a caramel waffle with ice-cream, pistachio croissants and a pot of tea. I have to mention that it is quite expensive, I’d hate for you anyone visiting to get a nasty shock. I’m talking £8.50 for a smoothie, £6.50 for a hot chocolate or £17 for a breakfast plate, however you can visit on bit more of a budget!
The place is designed as a stylish Instagram haven; marble tables, pink velvet furnishings and a flower wall are just some of the few things that make the customers snap happy. Including myself, whilst photographing the cafe I ended up in an impromptu photo shoot with 3 other girls all trying to get the perfect shot. Although it sounds a little crazy, it was actually a fun moment and made it seem like I wasn’t quite so mad to wake up so early on a Saturday!
You can find Elan cafe at 239 Brompton Road, Kensington, London, SW3 2EP
Jingle bell, jingle bell, jingle bell rock, Jingle bells swing and jingle bells ring
Yipee! Christmas is nearly here, so to make sure you're feeling extremely festive I've put together a list of the top 25 things to do in London this Christmas and at home. As it is Christmas after all I've tried to keep most of these fairly budget friendly so you can make sure you can treat yourself over the festive period too. Let me know your favourite things to do in the comments as I think it could be really fun to keep on adding to the list!
The Best Christmas activities!
- Make a gingerbread house with your family
- Go ice skating at Hampton Court Palace or Somerset House
- Host your own Christmas Day with your friends
- Make your own mince pies! This one by Nigella is my favourite
- Throw a girly sleepover, watch Love Actually or The Holiday and complete the evening with a big box of Quality Street
- Make a hot chocolate bar for your friends a family with all of the trimmings - marshmallows, candy canes, oranges and mint leaves!
- Go to Oxford Street, Carnaby Street and Regents Street to see the Christmas lights!
- Make your own Christmas wreath
- Visit Biscuiteers and do a Christmassy icing class
- Hop on the Eurostar and go to a Christmas market
- Go shopping for the perfect Christmas Day outfit
- Bake Christmas tree brownies, recipe coming soon...
- Donate to charity and make sure to donate food to your local foodbank!
- Make some homemade paper chains
- Bake some Christmas cupcakes for your work colleagues
- Sing Christmas carols
- Make your own snow globe
- Have a Christmas film marathon
- Throw a Christmas cookie decoration party
- Have a mince pie tasting evening (we did this at work last year and it was so much fun)
- Write a letter Santa
- Make a popcorn garland to hang in your living room or to put on the tree
- Write out Christmas cards to everyone who has made your year so special!
- Book tickets to see a ballet, The Nutcracker is the most festive and traditional. However I try to see a new one every year! On this years list is Cinderella by Matthew Bourne
- Do the lights trail at Kew Gardens
Biscuiteers: 194 Kensington Park Road, Notting Hill
Now I may be biased as I do work for the company but I think Biscuiteers might be one of the most instagramed shops (and brands) ever. I constantly see the shop front on my feed and people are always tagging us (Biscuiteers) on Instagram. The beautiful hand painted illustrations do make for a lovely photo, plus there are loads of tasty biscuits and cakes inside which are also super fab to take a photo of. They also have an icing cafe on the Northcote Road if you're based in South London.
Sketch: 9 Conduit St, Mayfair
I was a little reluctant to include this in my list as I didn't have the best experience here but I can't deny that the place isn't beautiful. The pink interior of the parlour is bound to perk up anyone's feed and we can't forget about those toilets! Even social media queen Kylie Jenner is a fan!
Peggy Porschen: 116 Ebury St, Belgravia
The only place I feel rivals Biscuiteers as the most Instagrammed shop is Peggy Porschen! I happened to stumble across it one evening and managed to take snap whilst there was no one else in shot. I unfortunately was too late to try any of their delicious cakes but I really do hope to soon! I absolutely love the sugary pink colour of this shop and it's the perfect haven for a sweet toothed girl.
Chelsea in Bloom, Sloane Square (Runs during the Chelsea Flower Show)
I've wanted to visit Chelsea in Bloom for a few years now and this year I finally got the chance. Walking around the the area in the glorious sunshine, taking lots of floral snaps has to be one of my favourite things I've done so far this year. I can't wait to see what theme they have next year (as every year is different) and doing it all over again. It does get very busy so you'll have to be patient, you have been warned...
Liberty London: Regent St, W1B 5AH
One of the prettiest shops in London is located right off Oxford Street and leads you into the heart of Carnaby Street. A fantastic location to get shots of the iconic front as well as the gorgeous flowers by Wild At Heart by Nicki Tibbles. At Christmas they have the most wonderful window displays, last year it was themed around The Nutcracker ballet and it was just delightfully festive. Plus they have a cute tea room, treatment rooms and I have spotted a celeb or two in the loos!
Berners Tavern: 10 Berners St, Fitzrovia
Regent Street, Soho, W1B 5AZ
Regent Street is one of the best places to shop in London and is connected to so many locations which are perfect to Instagram! It's only a short walk to Sketch (mentioned above), so whilst your safely crossing the road to spend some more of your pay day cheque before having afternoon tea, why not try and get a snap of one of London's most iconic roads filled with taxis and red Routemaster buses.
Bronte: Grand Buildings, 5EJ, 1-3 Strand
Bronte is the perfect place to take a tourist or a friend visiting for the day. You're only a stones throw away from lots of the tourist hot spots including the National Gallery, a short walk to Buckingham Palace or Covent Garden. The interior design of this place is so luxe and that's what makes it so special, it was built under the creative direction of Tom Dixon, the man responsible for those copper candles. It really is an Instagram dream...
Westminster Bridge, London, SE1 7GL
This might be one of my favourite Instagram shots of all time. I snapped this whilst on the BB bakery afternoon tea bus, and I couldn't quite believe I'd got the shot. You could easily recreate this shot whilst popping to Regents Street to visit another one of my hotspots. I know if you take the 159 bus you go over the Westminster Bridge (and I'm sure many other buses do too).
I've spoken about them before on my blog before but Lazy Oaf have to be one of my favourite companies of all time. Their pieces are just so unusual, and they allow me to dress like a four year old which is pretty much my vibe. So when I saw they had released a super cute t-shirt with the phrase 'Pizza?' written on it just had my name all over it.
If you know me IRL it'll come as no surprise that I love pizza. In fact I don't just love pizza, I'm pretty much obsessed. What's not to love? It's dough, yummy tomato sauce, delicious melted cheese and finished with all of the toppings of your dreams. My Instagram is full of pizza photos, so if you’re a pizza fanatic like me I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.
Seeing as this post seems to be about all of my favourite things, I have to say my black Nike Stefan Janoski SB's are my favourite trainers ever. I think I got my first pair about 6 years ago and have repurchased them once they start to look a little bit too battered. They're so comfortable, plus they look great with everything! If you're on the hunt for some amazing trainers I'd highly recommend picking up a pair.
Seeing as this post seems to be about all of my favourite things, I have to say my black Nike Stefan Janoski SB's are my favourite trainers ever. I think I got my first pair about 6 years ago and have repurchased them once they start to look a little bit too battered. They're so comfortable, plus they look great with everything! If you're on the hunt for some amazing trainers I'd highly recommend picking up a pair.
Daisy x
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It’ll come as no surprise to those of you who know me IRL that I love Bill’s. The halloumi burger, Macaroni Cheese, mini cinnamon doughnuts and the potato & rosemary bread are all firm favourites of mine. A couple of weekends to go I was invited to come and try their secret Marmite menu (which has sadly now ended but I wanted to still share this with you). The secret menu was displayed in a super cute mini Marmite shaped card, and we had the option to pick from the non-alcoholic or alcoholic Bloody Mary plus the Marmite Welsh rarebit, served with poached eggs. I’d never tried a bloody mary before and I was excited to try one out for the first time but let’s just say, it was a lot hotter than I was expecting!! Now let's talk about the main event, the rarebit, it was essentially like having a really luxurious cheese and Marmite on toast, something I often have a weekend treat. Large slices of sourdough bread, with cheesy goodness melted on top and finished with two perfectly poached eggs. Our waitress said that it’d been really interesting getting peoples feedback on the secret menu as there were a lot of Marmite haters. It’s such a shame that this isn’t part of their permanent menu as I know so many people who would love this!
Bill's Wimbledon
20 Hartfield Rd, Wimbledon, London SW19 3TA020 8947 8285
Hello! After 24 days, I'm back. I know it's a cliche but I cannot believe how quickly the year has gone, my New Years Eve blog post does not feel like it was over 365 days ago. I think this year has been one of my favourite yet. I got to go on a couple of holidays, made some really big personal achievements and spent a lot of time with my friends & family, one of my closest friends even got married!
Over the weekend the sun was out for a few hours so I seized the day and finally got round to doing a 'style' blog post. I've had all of these things in my wardrobe for a while and so I thought I'd brighten up a cold January day with a bit of colour. I really love this pink corduroy skirt by Lazy Oaf, the heart shaped pockets just make it a little bit more of a unqiue piece, and because more is always more with me I've coordinated it with a pink gingham choker with jewels and charms... It's not for everyone I know. As it's super cold in the UK right now, I wore this outfit with my staple grey coat and my thickest woolly tights when I popped out later that day, as let's be honest it's not even nearly warm enough to start going out without a coat on (#GrandmaAlert).
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