bloomzy /

Photo Diary: New Years Eve Celebrations 2012

Food and fun on New Years Eve
I saw 2012 out in a Michelin Star restaurant in Wales, with my fiancé, friends and family.
It was lovely to have a small getaway to the countryside, somewhere I always feel I can relax.
I wore my Pussycat London dress and accessorised with a Tatty Devine necklace, rings from Whistles, Swarovski and Beaverbrooks, as well as a 1930s vintage bag from India – a Christmas present from the fiancé’s family.
I also matched my nails to my accessories with some red polish and glitter.
Of course being a foodie meant that I was also rather excited to spend my NYE in an amazing restaurant.
We have been several times to the French restaurant, and the food never disappoints. 

Our menu on New Years Eve consisted of 7 courses:
Kir Royale & Canapés
Soufflé Suisse with apple & almond salad
Seared scallop with crab cannelloni, sauce vierge & Jerusalem artichoke puree
Fillet of Celtic Pride beef wellington, pomme fondant, celeriac puree & red win jus
Selection of desserts
Selection of French & Welsh cheeses
Coffee & Petit fours
– – –
We finished around 11:50pm, when we then left to head outside to the town square.
I said hello to 2013 with over a hundred people, holding hands in a circle.
Of course I also had a quick kiss with the fiancé too.
How did you spend your New Years Eve?
bloomzy /

Christmas Presents from Germany & Japan

Christmas gifts from Rae, in Germany

Christmas gifts from Miyuki, in Japan

Christmas came a little early for me last week.
I was lucky enough to receive not one, but two packages through the post.
One was from the lovely Rae of Love from Berlin who is an amazing person that I met through blogging.
The other package was from one of my best friends in Japan who I studied with a couple of years ago.
Both gifts were amazing, and so very cool in their own ways.
I loved how both seemed to represent a little bit of the culture too.
Rae sent me some German chocolate (we all know it’s the best), magazines and make-up.
I can’t wait to try out the eyeshadow palette, it’s so very seasonal and the colours are gorgeous!
She also knows me very well by including some gorgeous glittery nail polish, which I will have already applied by the time this post goes live. I can’t help it, I’m an addict! 
Miyuki often asks me what I would like and I said I would like to try some new Japanese beauty products.
She also knows that I’ve just moved into my first apartment so sent me a few home items to decorate and relax with.
The nail polish, once again was a delight to receive, especially the Majolica Majorca glass polish – review soon!!
I also loved the Dior products and make-up bag. They’ve already been stashed away in my handbag.
I feel so lucky to know such wonderful people and I am very thankful ♥
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Life in London

Recent snaps from my Instagram – @bloomzy

I have now been living in London for just over a month.
It’s been wonderful and I’m sorry I haven’t been able to share more with you.
I’ve missed doing lifestyle posts and a few of you mentioned you missed them too, so here’s two in a row!
The reason why I have been so busy is because I found a job a few weeks ago so I’ve been working.
Apart from work, I’ve also been indulging in some tasty food, as yesterday’s post proves.
My BFF Jemi visited and we had a bit of retail therapy as well as a good catch-up – miss you already!
I’ve also been indulging in tasty clothes too, such as a new pair of wedge sneakers and the Tatty Devine Frida Kahlo necklace that I had been lusting after for several months. Luckily my job allows me to wear all the fancy clothes I like! 
I don’t have as much free time as I would like now, but I still enjoy my job and the free time I get.
How do you relax and make the most of your free time?
bloomzy /

Where to Eat in London 4

The Book Club | Brunch/Dinner | Shoreditch | Website
– reservations not available –
Byron | Lunch/Dinner | Hoxton | Website
– reservations not available –

Chicken Shop | Dinner | Kentish Town | Website

– reservations not available –

I’m a pretty big foodie, if you hadn’t already guessed, so I wanted to post a bit about food in London.
There are some amazing places to eat and pick up food, and these are just a few of the places I have visited lately.
This is my version of a Where to Eat in London – I have included the name, type of restaurant/cafe/store, the location of the place I visited, and a link to their website, as the bigger places have more than one location.

This is an ongoing series (you can find the series here) as my love for food and discovering new bars, restaurants etc. continues to blossom. This time all of the restaurants, apart from Byron (I’ve now been to two of their locations – both wonderful) are all one offs – meaning they can’t be found in multiple locations in London. If you’re curious about what I ate feel free to ask but I didn’t write it as I think it’s self explanatory from most of the photos.

I wouldn’t have included these places if I didn’t love and recommend them.
So if you have the chance you should definitely check them out!

bloomzy /

Event: Birchbox Champagne Afternoon Tea

Birchbox – Joliebox Champagne Afternoon Tea event

As soon as my plus-one and I walked through the doors we were giddy. I’d invited her to the Birchbox event as we both share a love for champagne and afternoon tea. It was held at The Soho Hotel, which is fashionably fancy, as is the drawing room which we were directed to. The tables were lined with cakes, sandwiches, biscuits and scones – with jam and cream, of course!

We arrived early and were greeted by the lovely team behind Birchbox and Joliebox. We were shown samples of October’s Joliebox, whilst waiters offered us salmon sandwiches and champagne. I loved the effort that the team went towards to greet and have a proper talk with everyone, not just a 5min chat. I knew quite a bit about Joliebox but I was really interested in finding out more about Birchbox, an American monthly beauty sample box company which are now moving into the European market, hence the event.

We even got to meet Katia Beauchamp, one of Birchbox’s co-founders – an incredibly funny, intelligent and gorgeous lady – definitely a power woman if I did ever meet one. I thought having some of the American team there was a really great edition to the event and showed just how passionate they are about making it here in Europe. Although I won’t lie, the highlight of the event were the ornately decorated (and incredibly yummy) biscuits! I think we can all expect big things from Birchbox once it’s launched in the UK – I can’t wait!

Birchbox UK will be launching in January 2013.
Joliebox will now be merging with Birchbox and becoming Birchbox UK.

bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Rekorderlig Winter Forest Bar

Some of you will know by now of my love for Sweden and Rekorderlig.
So you can imagine how excited I was to be invited to the Rekorderlig Winter Forest Bar.
Brick Lane’s Truman Brewery has been transformed into a Swedish Winter cider experience.
Walking in, you’re greeted by pine tress and a floor scattered with leaves – it genuinely feels like you’re in a forest.
The pop-up itself includes a bar, tapas style food, live music courtesy of a DJ, and an amazing atmosphere. 
You’re welcomed with a Rekorderlig tasting palette, which includes 4 of their flavours and a tasty treat!
The bar serves all of the Rekorderlig flavours, and some specially made Rekorderlig cocktails, which are lovely.
You can also try out some Scandanavian food (see menus above) – the Elk sausage roll was my favourite.
I loved the whole event – so much so that I bought tickets so I could go twice!
It’s a great experience, and a wonderful retreat from the hectic streets of London.
The tasting palette alone is worth more than the £5 ticket price, so it’s also worth your money.
The cider, food and music were perfect and it has made me love Rekorderlig (& Sweden) even more!
The Rekorderlig Winter Forest Bar pop-up is only open until 6th November!
Head to 91 Brick Lane (Truman Brewery) after 8pm to grab tickets on the door.
Tickets are sold-out online!
bloomzy /

Photo Diary: Another Catch Up

Photos taken from my Instagram: Bloomzy
I like to do these ‘catch up’ posts every now and again, especially now my Instagram widget is gone.
I know some people think ‘pfft Instagram’ but actually I document a lot of stuff on there, so it’s quite useful.
That’s why I like to use my photos in these kind of posts as it shows things that I haven’t shared on the blog.
As you can see I’ve been treating myself to a few of the new MUA items, snuggling with the fiances kitty, wining & dining as well as dressing up fancy for it, taking hot chocolatecoffee breaks, walking my dog, attending events, sharing priceless times with my bestie, and buying the limited edition ‘pink bubbly’ Vaseline for us both.
I will be attending a few events in the next few weeks and I can’t wait to share the photos with you!