Cotswolds Trip

Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope that you enjoyed the festivities! I had a very relaxing Christmas at home with my family, and am packing my things ready to return to London in preparation for New Year’s Eve.

I’ve been meaning to blog about my trip to the Cotswolds earlier this month. However, what with Christmas shopping, seasonal socialising, eating leftovers, drinking mulled wine, watching period dramas, and sleeping 12 hours each night, this hasn’t quite materialised.

Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I decided to leave the city behind us and venture to the Cotswolds for a short break. We visited Stowe, Burford, the Slaughters, and Hook Norton (with a quick unfruitful detour to Bicester Village on the way home).

We had a great time touring the Hook Norton brewery, going on long country walks and drinking mulled cider beside a roaring fire. We both left thinking that we ought to do this more often; football fixtures dependent, my boyfriend clarified…

Cotswolds Trip

Merry Christmas everyone, and I hope that you enjoyed the festivities! I had a very relaxing Christmas at home with my family, and am packing my things ready to return to London in preparation for New Year’s Eve.

I’ve been meaning to blog about my trip to the Cotswolds earlier this month. However, what with Christmas shopping, seasonal socialising, eating leftovers, drinking mulled wine, watching period dramas, and sleeping 12 hours each night, this hasn’t quite materialised.

Earlier this month, my boyfriend and I decided to leave the city behind us and venture to the Cotswolds for a short break. We visited Stowe, Burford, the Slaughters, and Hook Norton (with a quick unfruitful detour to Bicester Village on the way home).

We had a great time touring the Hook Norton brewery, going on long country walks and drinking mulled cider beside a roaring fire. We both left thinking that we ought to do this more often; football fixtures dependent, my boyfriend clarified…

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, God Jul and Frohe Weihnachten to you all dahlings, I hope that you're having an absolutely fabulous day!

Can you tell what my highlight will be today!?

Happy Christmas!

Happy Christmas, Buon Natale, Feliz Navidad, God Jul and Frohe Weihnachten to you all dahlings, I hope that you're having an absolutely fabulous day!

Can you tell what my highlight will be today!?

Christmas Wish List

Without fail every year I write a detailed Christmas wish list and distribute it amongst the people in my life whose gift choices normally end up being exchanged (sorry).

The list is compiled to avoid Christmas and birthday melodrama. For instance one year, when one of my brothers decided to go off the list in protest, I received a comedy coaster and fridge magnet. After that failure, he was back on the list the following year.

If budgets were no object, these beauties would be on the top of my wish list:

1. Chloe Leather Peep-Toe Wedges:

2. Anton Heunis Earrings:

3. Acne Pistol Leather Ankle Boots:

Christmas Wish List

Without fail every year I write a detailed Christmas wish list and distribute it amongst the people in my life whose gift choices normally end up being exchanged (sorry). The list is compiled to avoid Christmas and birthday melodrama. For instance one year, when one of my brothers decided to go off the list in protest, I received a comedy coaster and fridge magnet. After that failure, he was back on the list the following year. If budgets were no object, these beauties would be on the top of my wish list: 1. Chloe Leather Peep-Toe Wedges: 2. Anton Heunis Earrings: 3. Acne Pistol Leather Ankle Boots:

Oxford Christmas Parade

Every year Oxford hosts a Christmas evening featuring a parade, market stalls and musical performances. This year I managed to escape London for the weekend to stay with my parents, and visit the Christmas celebrations.


Children from local schools made paper lanterns to parade down the street with, alongside a brass band playing Christmas carols. It really felt like the start of the Christmas season as we stood amongst the crowd with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. After the procession we had a wander around the market stalls and then headed to J.R.R. Tolkien’s favourite meeting place, the ‘Eagle and Child’ pub, for mulled cider and warmth. I’m looking forward to next year’s celebrations already!

Oxford Christmas Parade

Every year Oxford hosts a Christmas evening featuring a parade, market stalls and musical performances. This year I managed to escape London for the weekend to stay with my parents, and visit the Christmas celebrations. Children from local schools made paper lanterns to parade down the street with, alongside a brass band playing Christmas carols. It really felt like the start of the Christmas season as we stood amongst the crowd with mulled wine and roasted chestnuts. After the procession we had a wander around the market stalls and then headed to J.R.R. Tolkien’s favourite meeting place, the ‘Eagle and Child’ pub, for mulled cider and warmth. I’m looking forward to next year’s celebrations already!

Chocolate Factory N16

You will find the Chocolate Factory hidden away on a side street off the bustling Stoke Newington High Street. It is home to artists, print makers and sculptures alike, all housed in green house-esque studios. The setting is very quaint; an unexpected surprise as you come off the High Street.


As we walked in we were greeted by the smell of mulled wine and the sight of people busy mulling in and out of each studio. The first studio we walked into was of Catherine Hennessy. Inside the studio was a selection of paintings and tables lined with sketchbooks, they were filled with snippets of everyday life, reading like a visual diary. Catherine had aptly described the diary as her own Twitter account.



Inside the sketchbooks were paintings and sketches of daily life, from meals eaten to a morning jog, clothes bought to art trips. The sketches were beautiful, refreshing and honest. From the 2lbs gained one day to the most delicious meal eaten at home. These were the highlight of the afternoon for me and have inspired me to keep my own diary/sketchbook.






(My friend Kate at the Chocolate Factory N16)