We were in Wholefoods not long ago and I came across this sweet brand with lovely graphics and colours. I really liked the tea towels and deck chairs but they also come in the form of aprons, t-shirts, napkins ... the list goes on. Check them out here.
My favourite store Liberty is beyond amazing and it never disappoints especially during Christmas. This years theme is 'Liberty and Luella's Christmas grotto'. With its quirky Britishness, the windows are filled with wonderous items and gifts.
Every year the 4th level gets transformed into the Christmas shop!
And the rest of the shop isn't too bad either. The art-direction is phenomenal and this makes Liberty an amazing place to shop.
The boy and I recently had the pleasure of visiting Marrakech. Not only are the people lovely, the place was so exotic we felt like we were in an Indiana Jones movie with monkeys and snake charmers in the main square. We wondered through the maze of souks and at night watched the markets come alive.
Our accommodation Riad Dar One which is down in the Jewish quarters beautiful - a place of tranquility after a busy day walking the souks in the blistering heat. The owner Jean has renovated the riad into a chic and stylish accommodation with its sleek stone floors and moody lighting. We ate breakfast on the roof top everyday but you can choose to have it in the lobby next to water feature which always has fresh roses floating in it.
The riad is 10 mins walk from the main square and right next door to Palias de la Bahia. A good pick up and drop off points for taxis. Jean and all his staff were so lovely and helpful, nothing was ever to much hassle. I would definitely stay at Riad Dar one again.
To be honest, there wasn't a lot of activities in Marrakech to do but we didn't mind - a relaxing holiday was the agenda. We stayed for 5 nights but I think you can definitely feel satisfied with 3-4 nights. The boy and I managed to space out our stay by doing one sight seeing a day, then lunch followed by relaxation then dinner. The whole trip felt like were away for 2 weeks!
For one of the days we visited the Majorelle gardens. This garden is a gift from the late Yves Saint- Laurent who loved the city so much dedicated this oasis to it. Do try and see it early! By lunch time hordes of tourist come making it impossible to enjoy the serenity of the place.
I took the boy for his first spa experience at Les Bains de Marrakech where we tried our first Hamman. We were both steam, scrubbed and left to soak in mud which left my skin feeling so soft. Then we were whisked away for an hour long massage. The place is so beautiful, there was so much rose petals! Fresh mint tea was served between each treatment too. The boy and I felt so relaxed afterwards! I highly recommend this spa and the price was half of what you would expect to pay in London.
We also visited Palais Bahia - a structure built by an Arabian Prince to house his harem of ladies. Unfortunately most of its furnishing has been stripped during the fall of the palace but you can still get an idea of how grand it used to be.
A bar you should definitely visit is Cafe Arabe. We drank Marrocan rose and watched the sky turn from pink and purple to blues at sunset. A perfect way to end the day.
Last but not least, my favourite place that we visited is the Ben Youssef Medersa. Breath taking. You can't imagine how fine the detailing on this building is. This is compulsory attendance.
Thank god I found PAI skincare. I have very sensitive skin which seems to react to everything but this lovely range is so natural and free from nasty chemicals, my skin loves it.
It's developed by Sarah Brown who suffers from skin allergies herself so you're in safe hands!
The Camelia and Rose organic cleanser is gentle enough to use morning and night. It glides on to my skin and leaves it soft and dewy - no tightness at all! I'm also using the Chamomile and Rosehip mosituriser for sensitive skin which my skin easily absorbs and its not greasy like most other moisturiser for sensitive skin.
If you have sensitive/reactive skin like me and you're scared of what new products will do to your face, PAI gives you free samples and you only need to pay for the postage. How good is that!
The boy and I finally ventured up to the lovely seaside town of Brighton.
We stayed at Blanch House in the Alice room. The accommodation was fantastic! Not only was it close to the pier but our room was so sparkly and it came with uber-posh egyptian cotton bed sheets. They have a gorgeous 3 legged cat name Tom who sleeps a lot but still manages to wake up to have breakfast with you.
We dined at Bills for lunch. The place was packed and the food fresh and exciting with great juices and slushies. The decor was colourful and fun. I had a caesar salad while the boy had a haddock pie. Initially he was disappointed with the size of of his meal but he was surprised at how filling it was. We liked Bills so much we went back the next day for lunch as well.
We decided to eat to Jamie's Italian for dinner. I really enjoyed it even though we had to wait 40 mins to get a seat. The boy and I slurped Lychee cocktails in the front section of the restaurant and soon enough we were shown to our table and ate like kings! The restaurant was buzzing but has a lovely friendly feeling about it. We had eaten at Gordon Ramsay's Warrington the week before and it was so stuffy compared to this.
The one noticeable thing for us in Brighton was the size of the seagulls, they were by far the biggest we have ever encountered and we were truly frightened by them. You can't really tell their size by this pic but trust me we didn't want to be anywhere near them!
We walked through the pier and watched the sunset - we realised how much we missed living near the ocean. Brighton is a beautiful place.
Husband and I just love her graphic prints and recently treated ourselves to Orla Kiely range of bedding from Selfridges. We went for this fawn and teal flower pattern to brighten up our room.
Husband and I had a lovely weekend filled with crepes, hamstead heath, shopping, japanese food and autumn colours.
This is the best ice-cream I've had in ages, if you can call it that since its dairy free. Not only is it smooth and creamy, it only has 4 ingredients in it (Water, Agave syrup, cashew nuts and coconut) - AMAZING! So its good for Vegans or people who lead a dairy/gluten free life. Husband and I could not stop gushing over the taste and it has no nasty preservatives or weird numbers. We highly recommend it.
I finally had the pleasure of seeing this documentary and it was so enjoyable, the insight it provides on Anna Wintour is priceless and contrary to all the reports I don't believe Grace Coddington steals the show. I still found that I loved every scene that Anna was in. Its so hypnotic watching this teeny-tiny-alien-like woman with big glasses - to say she's not the warmest person would be kind.
What I also enjoyed was watching Grace Coddington work, she is a genius and if I had the choice I would definitely choose to have Grace's talent over Anna's power. Below are some of Grace's amazing work.
We went to Selfridges and ate at the ice-creamist, a make shift ice-cream area on the lower ground floor which can definitely be mistaken for a nightclub.
The whole area is pretty much black with a live band playing music way TOO loud for our liking! Regardless we still had a nice time - my fav flavour being CUSTARD. Amazing!
