Instagram Food Photography Tips: A Quick Guide to Taking Snaps In Restaurants

August 4, 2017August 4, 20172 Comments

Last month I was invited to host an Instagram photography class at KuPP in Westquay, as part of the Westquay Food Festival (to find out more about the activities, download the Westquay PLUS app, which has all the info you need about what’s coming up). While I don’t claim to be an expert in photography, I have been working in media for more than ten years, and have had my photos reprinted in books and magazines during that time – and I’ve definitely picked up some great tips along the way! Continue reading →

A Sip of Summer: Round-Up

August 3, 2017August 3, 2017Leave a comment

I’ve been very lucky to get some great summer tipples through the post recently, so I thought I’d share them with you in a round-up post about my favourite summer drinks right now!

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Cabana Night Out: Voices of the Amazon and Cabana Islington

July 14, 2017August 3, 2017Leave a comment

Last week, I was invited to experience a Cabana Night Out – an evening of entertainment, food and fun, kicked off at Cabana Islington, before heading off to the nearby Sadler’s Wells theatre to watch their new dance extravaganza, Voices of the Amazon. Continue reading →

Office Makeover: The Final Reveal!

July 13, 2017July 14, 20171 Comment

So, it’s time for the final reveal of my office! I’ve hated the home office I’ve worked in ever since we moved in – peach walls, beige carpet, blonde wood bookcases, a bright purple desk (thanks teenage me!), a black fabric office chair… Nothing matched, it was always messy, and we didn’t use the space properly. Plus, I hate carpets and I couldn’t wait to rip everything up and replace it with fresh, clean laminate! (Style note: Charlotte Olympia kitty flats here.)

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Wayfair: Designer Decorations for Less

July 12, 2017July 14, 2017Leave a comment

I mentioned previously that my mammoth search for a new office chair ended at Wayfair – they have such a great range of products, all at different price points, that there’s not much need to look elsewhere. AND, everything is free delivery in Great Britain. Loooooove it!

Wayfair acts as a shopping aggregate site, so instead of you searching Google and jumping in and out of dozens of retailers to find that one perfect item, Wayfair searches them for you. (In fact, Wayfair offers more than eight million products from over 10,000 suppliers across furniture, home decor, home furnishings and goods categories.) Plus, there are always great deals and sales going on, so the next big buy needn’t be too painful!

Just like many of the huge tech companies that dominate the web today, Wayfair has a familiar start-up story – two friends, Steve Conine and Niraj Shah, founded the company in 2002 in a spare bedroom, selling stereo racks. From that small idea, grew Wayfair, which has reached $3.59 billion in net revenue in the 12 month period ending March 31 2017. Now, that’s what I call crazy successful.

After Wayfair sent me my awesome chair (which you can see here), I decided to comb through the site to bring you some of my picks for the best bargains available!

This foldable Malibu Wooden Bench is 80% off (£170.09 from £858.50) here. I love a good bench, and the fact that you can fold this one and store it away… genius.

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Treat Yourself 4th July Style!

June 30, 2017July 5, 2017Leave a comment

Every year I get more and more press releases about Thanksgiving and 4th July – which I love, because I’m a foodie hipster and I was into this before it was cool (do you have that on record?). This year, I was asked if I’d like to try some Post cereals, and of course, I said yes, because if there’s one thing Americans know how to do, it’s add sugar to stuff that’s already sweet, and make it even more awesome that it already is.

Yes, I love healthy breakfasts, avocado on toast, granola, poached eggs, etc, but you know, sometimes you just want a bowl of cereal and milk, simple, sweet and delicious. Bleary eyed and morning-breathed, hunched on the sofa and counting down the minutes to work, or bleary eyed and tousled-haired, hunched over the sink eating a midnight snack, a bowl of cereal is always a tasty treat. But I’m sure I’m preaching to the choir here. Of course, if you portion it right, cereal is actually a low-cal option, as both the cereals I was sent were around 120 calories a serving…

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The V&A’s new look: Exhibition Road Quarter launch

June 28, 2017July 14, 20171 Comment

A day before its official opening by Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge, I was invited along with a handful of journalists to view the reveal of the brand new Exhibition Road entrance to the V&A Museum in London. A project seven years in the making, the new entrance brings the museum right into the bustling heart of Albertopolis, the cultural learning centre envisioned and coaxed to life by Prince Albert.

At the launch, the practical nature of the new entrance was revealed – an increase of visitors numbers from around 1.5 to 4 million per year meant that the current entrance was under strain, and the new Exhibition Road entrance was sorely needed to not only accommodate the influx of guests, but to also consolidate the museum’s place amongst its neighbours.

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Go Beyond Tonic for World Gin Day: Elephant Gin and Two Simple Summer Cocktails

June 10, 2017June 10, 2017Leave a comment

I was recently sent a bottle of Elephant Gin to try, and as it’s World Gin Day I thought I’d share some simple summer cocktail recipes that you can knock together easily and with a minimum of fuss. These are both so classic, and they’re simple and delicious, so it’s worth making them part of your repetoire!

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EatStreet at Festival Place, Basingstoke

June 3, 2017July 5, 20172 Comments

This weekend, Basingstoke’s shopping centre, Festival Place, turned into a celebration of international flavours thanks to EatStreet, an event dedicated to showcasing cuisines from around the world, and offering free samples from the restaurants from the centre. Free samples, demos… yes please!

The star of the show was Levi Roots – restauranteur, inventor, inspirational speaker, and musician, who is a passionate spokesman for Caribbean cuisine. Bringing his charm and cool to the stage, he demonstrated a variety of recipes including home style jerk chicken wings, hot and fruity Caribbean fruit slaw and Martinique coconut chicken curry, all the while regaling the crowd with stories and insights into the rich culinary heritage of the islands.

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Office Style: Choosing The Perfect Chair

May 18, 2017August 3, 2017Leave a comment

I recently posted about my office makeover, which felt like a mammoth task – only because it’s also taken place at the same time as a lot of other house decorating and renovation. So far in the past 12 months we’ve built a summer house, had a new boiler installed, had our kitchen redone, and also completely redecorated the office, which doesn’t sound like much… Except, honestly, it’s been pretty hellish.