bloomzy /

An Alternative Guide to Coffee in East London


Living in East London it seems as though a new coffee shop is popping up every five minutes. With so many cafes vying for your affections it can be a little confusing which one you should visit. There are books out there and even festivals, all hoping to point you in the right direction. So I thought I’d add my two cents and let you know about my favourite coffee spots in East London. The one thing that makes this post stand out from all the others? I can’t drink caffeine. You’re probably sat there with a look of shock on your face, wondering how I can even begin to explain myself. Well I’ve actually come upon some amazing cafes that also offer decaffeinated coffee. In the self-confessed land of coffee snobs, that’s a pretty big feat! It’s also not that easy to find decafe coffee that actually tastes like, well, coffee. Ben is usually in tow too though, and he does drink coffee, so I always end up asking him “Hows’ the coffee?” Boy do I miss coffee!
Anyway, sit back, relax and enjoy my alternative guide to coffee in East London.

Yellow Warbler – Northwold Road, Stoke Newington
YW is new to the world of coffee and to Stoke Newington. It’s off the main high street but that doesn’t mean that it packs any less of a punch. Looking at the menu you wouldn’t expect any decafe, however their table menu would prove you wrong. I ordered a cappuccino and found it to be chocolatey and sweet. Still, it had a genuine coffee taste to it, rather than an artificial flavour like some decafe. The South American street food on offer is also worth a mention, although it is a little on the pricey side.

Brick Lane Coffee – Brick Lane
Whilst you’re browsing the numerous vintage clothing stores on Brick Lane you may find yourself a little thirsty. Luckily, Brick Lane Coffee is smack bang in the middle of all the excitement. Their choice of coffee is impressive, ranging from banana frappes (which are amazing in the current heatwave) to a dirty chai (that’s a chai latte with a shot of espresso). They do also offer decafe and soya milk options for those who may not want to partake though. The coffee ‘alternatives’ are delicious and are definitely worth trying out.

Beyond Retro Cafe – Stoke Newington High St, Dalston
Beyond Retro don’t only cater to vintage loving fashionistas. Their Dalston store also offers somewhere for you to put your feet up after you’ve had a tough day shopping. They offer a variety of coffee-centric drinks, as well as decafe and soya options. The drinks are reasonably priced without forgoing quality. I also love their gluten-free food options, and the free Wi-Fi, of course.

The Hawkhurst Vault – Brick Lane
Ok ok, THV is actually a tea room, but it does also sell coffee. So what better alternative for the non-coffee drinker than tea? That way you and your coffee loving friends can enjoy the best of both worlds. Shhh don’t tell the coffee lovers I mentioned tea.

Ozone Coffee Roasters – Leonard St, Shoreditch
Ozone take coffee pretty seriously, which can be a little daunting for those who don’t drink it regularly. However the surroundings in Ozone’s Shoreditch cafe will definitely put any worries to rest. With two massive floors there’s plenty of space and atmosphere to soak up. I couldn’t see any decafe options on their menu, but I did love their inclusion of hot chocolate – my caffeine-free choice when decafe isn’t around. The chilli hot chocolate is to die for, and their coffee certainly impressed my friends.

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed my mini round-up of the best alternative coffee stops in East London. If you’ve enjoyed it and are still on somewhat of a caffeine high, check out Currys post about the UK’s love for coffee.

bloomzy /

House of Fraser – Christmas in July

Christmas…in July!? Yes, it is the unfortunate right of passage that every blogger and journalist must make during the sweltering July heat. It may seem insane, but there’s actually a lot of sense in it. The Christmas months can be a little hectic, but the stores still want to let the press know what will be hitting their shelves for the most wonderful time of the year. Hence ‘Christmas in July’. A month when everyone feels a lot less stressed, and a whole lot warmer. Giving the magazines and blogs plenty of time to prepare their features and own personal wish lists. 
House of Fraser were amongst the few I attended and I was certainly put into the holiday spirit. Christmas trees and stockings lined the hall, whilst waitresses offered us elderberry water and earl grey cookies. As I nibbled away, tiny hedgehog decorations and ornate Biba candles grabbed my attention (and personal affections). The sights, smells and tastes all screamed Christmas. 
I personally love gifting at Christmas, and I certainly have some ideas of what I’ll be putting under the tree this year. Still, it would be silly to say that I didn’t also enjoy browsing House of Frasers offerings for myself. Lulu Guinness always brings something fun and unique to the table, making her items some of the top on my Christmas list. The selection of high-end beauty products and perfumes also called out to me, most notably the Laura Mercier lip glosses, and Guerlain and Valeur Absolue‘s perfumes. 
Previous years saw me avoiding department stores but House of Fraser has changed that. In the past year I’ve found myself more and more drawn to their choice of brands. They’re a store that is keeping up with the times and continues to impress with their products. The variety of items available are enviable, as is the quality. If I had to choose only one store to buy all of my gifts this Christmas, they would win hands down. 
bloomzy /

ionFashion Blogger Conference

Walking into a room wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with sassy cats and a pair of high waisted jeans was probably not what you’d expect from someone attending a conference. Luckily for me, this wasn’t a boring business conference, it was the ionFashionUK blogger conference. I was joined by other likeminded bloggers as well as brands and magazines, all of whom were hoping to gain a better insight into the world of blogging.

As this was my first blogger conference I was very eager to get started. I sat down with the lovely Sophie-Anne and Danielle, who were super friendly and kept me chatting until we were all asked to go upstairs. We were then joined by Adora who I attended the Burlesque event with a few weeks ago. It’s always lovely to see old friends and make new ones at the same time. We grabbed front row seats, which promised us that we’d be smack bang in the middle of all the action. My excitement was growing as we were read the line-up for the day; talks by Lela, Really Ree, Fashitects, Rosie Glow and Diary Directory. I loved hearing about blogging from their different perspectives, and how some people are making a living from it, but still enjoy it as much as they did when they first started. Later, we were paired with brands to answer questions on the best way to collaborate with bloggers. Being asked how I felt about certain PR moves, and how I prefer to be approached on a collaboration was something I haven’t really been asked before at events. One of the main topics of the day was how bloggers dislike ‘spam requests’. You know, the generic “Dear Blogger, I’ve been looking at your site…” (yeah, I deleted the email at “Dear Blogger”). So you can understand why I thought it was a smart and much needed move towards creating better relationships between bloggers and PRs.
The food also needs a shout-out as it was arguably the cutest I’d seen in a long time, and you know I love my food. I’m talking mini-burgers and pulled pork buns, alongside miniature salmon bagels and cornichons. All washed down with unlimited glasses of prosecco (I promise I only had one). The star of the lunch though was the mouthwatering chocolate brownie, which I still dream of today.

We were promised a day of networking, education and enlightenment, which were certainly fulfilled. My favourite talks of the day were from the very personable Really Ree, and Fashitects – who taught us a thing or two about male style bloggers. I went to learn and be inspired, and I did both, as well as make some new friends and contacts along the way. This may have been my first blogger conference, but it certainly won’t be my last. Who knows, one day it may even be me giving a talk up on that stage.

Thank you to Blueclaw for hosting the event, and to Bay for the photos.

bloomzy /

A Pamper Session with Panasonic

I love a good pamper session, even more so when it involves a trip to a salon. My hair is so fine and awkward that I never quite know what to do with it. I’m always keen to learn new ways to style it, so any products that might help me in my eternal struggle for the perfect do are alright by me. Enter Panasonic and their new range of beauty products.
Last week I was invited along with Sabina & Julie to a press day with Panasonic at The Drawing Room salon just behind Liverpool St station. We were there to find out all about the new Panasonic beauty products range. I was intrigued as Panasonic are a brand I know and trust, and used almost everyday whilst I was living in Japan. I had never put Panasonic and beauty products together in my head, but when I thought about it, it made sense. When I arrived I was greeted with warm smiles from the Panasonic team, before being whisked away for my pampering. The Drawing Room salon is inside a beautiful Georgian house with original features, making it an incredibly relaxing and decadent location for a makeover. I was offered a drink and immediately seated in one of their luxurious chairs whilst my stylist prepped my hair. This is where I admit that I have a dark sordid secret when it comes to salons…I adore having a head massage whilst my hair is washed. Ok, so admittedly it’s not very sordid, or dark, but I think it’s a secret pleasure for most of us. After my glorious head massage and wash, I was sent back upstairs to have my hair styled. Oskar decided to do bouncy waves in my hair, which meant a quick dry with Panasonic’s Nanoe Hair Dryer followed by some twisting and twirling of Panasonic’s new straighteners. Et voila! My hair was complete.  

I was incredibly impressed by Panasonic’s new beauty range, especially the hair dryer. I usually let my hair dry naturally to avoid heat damage and wiry/dry hair. However the Nanoe dryer dried my hair super quick and left it feeling soft and smooth. Credit also goes to the straighteners. Have you ever put your straighteners on, come back and felt like they’d been dropped into the fires of hell? Well the Panasonic hair straighteners don’t do this as they keep a constant temperature, which is also better for your hair. Both products worked wonderfully on my annoying hair, and left it voluptuous and healthy looking. I’ve been using the same well-known brand of straighteners, and a lack of hair dryer, for years. However both these products have left me wondering whether I should be brave and make a change in my haircare routine.

You can buy Panasonic’s beauty range from Boots.
The Nanoe hair dryer is currently on sale with £40 off, whilst the straighteners will be available to buy soon.

bloomzy /

Review: Birchbox July 2014 Beauty Box

Birchbox Beauty Box July 2014 

Where did the love go? Yes, only a few months ago I was professing my love for Birchbox to anyone that would listen. However the last couple of boxes have left me feeling as though something was missing…then July’s box happened. It’s been a crazy mixture of squished boxes, poor customer service and everything in-between. Let me tell you what was in my box first though, before I bore you with my decision for finally unsubscribing from Birchbox.
Inside my box was…
Benefit – The Porefessional
Whish – Lavendar Body Butter
Balance Me – Wonder Eye Cream
Laqa & Co – Lip Pencil in Menatour
Models Own – Nail Polish in Rocket

Thoughts?
This month’s box was very underwhelming, but maybe I should first mention how it turned up in such a state…and completely by surprise! For the past two months I haven’t been receiving any dispatch emails from Birchbox, meaning I didn’t know if my boxes had been sent. Now this isn’t a terrible thing by itself, however the (always disgruntled) courier has delivered my box to other people in my apartments before, without letting me know. Therefore knowing when my box is on it’s way is helpful. Thankfully I have lovely neighbours who noticed the mistake and didn’t nab my box for themselves. Anyway, I mentioned that it turned up in a state. All of my products were ok, but I think I got lucky. Even so, this is really not the way you want your product to turn up or how you want to represent your brand. I did tweet and message Birchbox about both of these problems. In hindsight I should have emailed them, but when they asked me to message them on Twitter I thought the problem might be solved pretty quickly. However it took forever to receive any kind of reply from them, and they completely ignored the dispatch email problem. They did apologise and said they would investigate the courier situation though, so hopefully no one else will have this problem.

As for the contents of the box itself, I can honestly say that there isn’t one product I can be certain I’ll use. I did appreciate that some of the products such as the full-size Models Own polish (not a great shade) and the decent sized The Porefessional (shade is too dark) are well-known and loved products, but they’re also nothing new. The eye cream, nail buffer and body butter are products I have coming out of my ears (thanks to pr samples and beauty box products) and I haven’t heard anything about these ones that make me want to jump to use them. Finally, the lip pencil – the quality seems good but this shade is really not me. I plan to give everything away, minus the nail polish and the eye cream, in the hopes that I will eventually use them at some point. All in all July’s box left me feeling pretty “meh” and along with all of the other problems, I have decided to unsubscribe from Birchbox. Maybe if a future box takes my fancy I may start my subscription again, but right now I really don’t need anymore beauty products that I won’t use.
Sorry for the downer – check out my more optimistic Birchbox reviews.

You can subscribe or buy this month’s box at Birchbox.
Using my link will give you (and me) £5 worth of points to spend in the store.

bloomzy /

OOTD: Rain Rain Go Away

Top – Primark | Skirt – Topshop | Boots – Topshop | Necklace – Tatty Devine | Watch* – New Look

Last week the weather proved itself to be truly British. We had sunshine, followed by rain and cold winds. No I’m not here to give you a weather update, I’m just trying to explain why I’m dressed for Autumn in the middle of July. I hate having to think of which shoes are waterproof, when really I just want to be chilling in my sandals. Still, this is the reality of living in the UK. Sorry to shatter anyones idillic views of our otherwise lovely country.

Still, I was glad I could pull out this ensemble, as it probably wouldn’t have worked in the scorching heat we had at the weekend. Again, stripes, I know, but I couldn’t resist this top. It was only £3.50! It was definitely the main point of this outfit. I had to pair it with my skater skirt and boots – a bit simple but definitely a good idea for walking around central and east London for the day. I finished it off with my favourite little leopard buddy. I think I would have worn it proudly all day…if I hadn’t been splashed at by a passing car, whilst taking outfit photos for V.A. The risks of being a blogger.

Thanks to V.A for taking my photos.

bloomzy /

Miso Tasty

I miss Japanese food, or should I say I miss cooking Japanese food. When I was living in Japan I didn’t think twice about the ingredients and products I had available to me. Now I realise just how lucky I was. The food is incredibly delicious, with a variety of amazing flavours, and it’s healthy to boot! Japan is the only country I’ve lived in where I’ve eaten everything I wanted and lost weight. I felt healthy, which is the most important thing to me. Miso is a very traditional, healthy ingredient in Japanese food and is something I’ve eaten and cooked with many times. So when Miso Tasty contacted me about an press event come dinner party, I jumped at the chance to attend.
When I arrived I was greeted by an enthusiastic group of people and my own personal place card, in the form of a miso spoon. A lovely touch! Bonnie (the founder of Miso Tasty) told us all about the brand and it’s origins as we nibbled on veggies that we dipped into different types of miso. As we sipped sparkling sake (even better than regular sake), we were told about the different fermentation processes, and why each miso tasted as it does. If there was a wine tasting of the food world, it would have been this. My favourite was the hatcho miso, which we were told is the champagne of the miso world (and is the only miso eaten by the Emperor of Japan). Trust me to pick the most decadent and expensive of the selection! Bonnie then served us our own bowl of miso, along with a variety of ingredients such as: smoked salmon, noodles, tofu, spring onion and more. I have only ever had miso soup by itself, or with mochi at New Year, so I thoroughly enjoyed trying something new. Next we were served saikyo miso grilled black cod and smoked salmon (to die for!) with an aubergine-miso dish. I didn’t want to intrude on the veggie/vegan option so I didn’t try it but it looked good. The coleslaw (made with tahini and miso) was void of mayonnaise and still managed to be creamy. In fact it’s probably one of the best coleslaws I’ve had! I felt like eating all of the fish and coleslaw, but controlled my urges, which I’m sure my fellow diners were very happy about. Finally, we were served freshly baked gluten-free miso cookies…it might sound odd, but these were beyond delicious. We all snuck a few home too. 
Miso Tasty showed me that whereas their miso soup may be great for eating on the go, or as a healthy lunch option, you can also make a meal out of it. I had actually tried Miso Tasty’s soup before and was impressed by their use of miso paste, over other brands who usually opt for powder. The lovely company added to the atmosphere of the evening, but in the end the food was the star of the night. Every dish left me wanting more, and wondering how on earth they had managed to seal so much flavour inside. I’ll definitely be using my Miso Tasty to create some of the delicious recipes I tried during the event, and for some of my own creations.

You can find Miso Tasty in Selfridges, Harvey Nichols and Whole Foods.