New York, New York!

In New York, concrete jungle where dreams are made of,

There's nothing you can't do, now you're in New York!

These street will make you feel brand new, Big lights will inspire you....

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York......

I had the most amazing week in New York City in September with my friend and London flattie!!

Here a some pictures from our NYC adventure... 

Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge

A Grays Payaya hot dog; a New York institution!

Drinks and dinner at underground SoHo hotspot Mexican bar La Esquina

Browsing around the beautiful deli that is Dean & Deluca

Walking the NY Highline on the West Side

Indulging in hangover burgers at Bubby's!

Reflection and remembrance at the 9/11 World Trade Centre Memorial
NYC Skyline at sun rise after a late night out in the city that never sleeps...
Tennis at the US Open Quarter finals
To-die-for eggs at The Dutch. Egg's benedict with a difference because served on a cheese biscuit and covered with a spicy hollandaise sauce. My flatmate branded these as one of the best egg she's ever had for brunch and coming from her, that is a BIG call, trust me ;)

Visiting Brooklyn

Strolling around Central Park

Death by dessert at The Gramarcy Tavern...but what a way to go! ;)

The Dutchess at The Dutch - great place for Brunch in Soho!

Out in Midtown - Empire State of Mind! 

Brunch at La Bottega

DUMBO Park in Brooklyn

Delicious dinner and drinks at Aria in the West Village - prosecco shots anyone?

More highline walking..

Me and the 'wife' out in town! 

Photobooth fun at the Ace Hotel Bar!

 

As you can see our week in New York was filled with shopping, exploring, partying and lots and lots of eating. But more on that later because I will do a 'food diary' post to show you all the delicious food we ate and fabulous places we visited. After such an amazing week we really did not want to leave this incredible city but we both knew that it was probably the best for our credit cards and waistlines to return to our London home! My flatmate was the perfect NYC partner in crime and I am truly so lucky to have found such a great flattie and friend. Therefore, returning home wasn't so bad after all because.....

Thanks MiMi for a brilliant holiday - Love you lots.

Happy Hump Day everyone :) 

Drinks at Schiller's in NYC

Hey everyone. I'm having the best time in New York....am seriously in love with this city. It is definitely true that this place never sleeps but I am feeling the effects of this after, so far already, three nights out in a row!! I'm going to be a very broken woman by the time I get back to London. Thought I'd quickly post a recent NYC outfit of the night from when we went out for a few drinks at Schilller's in the Lower East side.

Schiller's Liquor Bar is a uber-hip French American bistro by Keith McNally who is also the guy behind Balthazar in Soho, Pastis in the Meatpacking District, and Minetta Tavern in Greenwich Village. The vibe in this place is playful and funky; for example, their wine list has three categories: cheap, decent and good ;) However we opted for some yummy cocktails instead. This is a really fun place for dinner or late-night drinks!

Distressed cropped jeans by ZARA

Gladiator heels by Aldo

New silk green top by Addison Heart (from in little boutique in NYC - Yamak)

New gold & black leather necklace from Yamak

Took these pics in their downstairs, pretty cool, unisex bathrooms....told you this place was fun ;) What do you think of my two new NYC purchases from Yamak? xoxo

California Love

I hope you are all having a fabulous week! After an amazing week the Californian sunshine I have now arrived in New York City for some serious shopping and eating girl time adventures with my London flatmate! A lot of you have been saying how you have enjoyed my holiday updates so here a little collage of pictures to summarise my week in Cali!

Pinkberry PEANUTBUTTER frozen yoghurt. Uh-mazing!

Driving around 90210. Yup Beverly Hills :)

Thirsty anyone? Buffalo wing or Bacon soda....uh no thanks!

Delicious lunch, felafel wrap, at Toast bakery in LA

'Slumming' it at the SLS Beverly Hills hotel. Loved this place, felt like a Hollywood starlet staying there. We had a bit of a celeb spotting when Drake walked past us in the lobby!

Sunbathing time at the SLS rooftop pool....so relaxing!

Feeling very Baywatch at Santa Minoca beach!

Cool art display called 'Urban Lights' at LACMA museum.

Tandem biking along Venice Beach :)

JUMP!!!

Paddleboarding in Mission Bay by San Diego

Pacific Beach in San Diego.

Starbucks Drive-Thru, only in America!

Pre-wedding day drinks in Carlsbad with friends

What a lovely moment. The bride walking down the 'aisle' with her proud dad

Such a beautiful ceremony on the beach & they both look incredible in white!

Me on the beach after the ceremony. It was such a great day.

I will do a full post on the wedding showing the makeup I did for the bride.

I really can't believe it's Wednesday already, I only have 5 more days left in NYC before I fly home to London again. I don't want this holiday to end....

Happy Hump day everyone! Xoxo

Lunch at Clementine's in LA

As a bit of self-proclaimed foodie, before going on holiday, I made sure I did my research to find some great 'go-to' places for meals. On one of my favourite blogs, Cupcakes and Casmere, Emily recommends the cafe Clementine as a fab place to grab lunch or to "meet a friend". So when we randomly drove past Clementine's one afternoon in LA we felt this would be the perfect spot to stop for a bite to eat!

Check out the massive Rolls Royce that pulled up outside whilst we were there! The place however isn't posh or exclusive. It has a lovely relaxed cafe feel that serves a variety of organic and freshly baked or prepared food.

Inside the cafe they have an widespread selection of fresh food to order from the counter or a menu with even more options. All their muffins and sweets looked amazing and I was very tempted to grab one of their granola-to-go boxes...just because ;)

In the end I decided on a mixed salad plate which meant I could choose three salads from the deli counter..now the only problem was which mouthwatering salad to pick! To drink I got their tropical iced tea which was very refreshing!

My scrumptious mix was the summer chicken salad, the grilled squash medley and the beetroot lentil salad with goats cheese. Nom nom...

Sitting outside on the terrace enjoying our lunch!

 

This was probably one of my favourite cafes in LA so I would definitely recommend it if you are ever in the area :) You can read Emily's other great recommendations in her 'Guide to LA' here. From her list I also went to Urth Caffe, Toast Bakery and Sur restaurant. Have you ever been to LA; if so what's your favourite cafe there? Xoxo

 

Keeping fit Hollywood style!

Even though I am currently on holiday I still want to try to be a little healthy and work out; especially since I'm taking part in the London triathlon at the end of September! I'm doing the 10km run as part of a relay team so I really need to maintain my fitness levels over the next few weeks.

 

So while I was in LA I decided to keep fit the Hollywood way by going for a run at Runyon Canyon Park in the Hollywood Hills!

This was around 8.00am in the morning (yes up early because of jet lag!) before we started our gruelling run in the park. The run was an absolute killer; the heat and some serious climbing definitely meant I didn't look so fresh afterwards! No wonder all the celebs and LA people look so super fit; doing this run regularly definitely would keep you in amazing shape.

It was very cool to workout whilst admiring these awesome views over the city and even spotting the famous Hollywood sign!

 

To listen to my favourite beats during my run I used my brand new mobile phone accessory.

This is my Griffin Adidas Armband; made especially for the iPhone 4 (link). It's super lightweight, comfortable to wear and even has a little handy slot to put your key in!

After our workout we treated ourselves to a delicious but also nutritious breakfast at the Urth Caffe in Beverly Hills.

I had the yoghurt bowl with their homemade organic granola! It was very good, the only thing I would say is that I thought the portion of granola was a bit too small...it left me craving more but suppose that kept it a healthy morning Hollywood style ;) xoxo

 

Sunbeams....

Quote of the week...Sorry for the lack of blogging but I'm definitely having plenty of good thoughts and enjoying the many sunbeams that California is providing me!!

Keeping cool in the rooftop pool at the SLS Beverly Hills Hotel :)

Bikini by River Island

Happy hump day everyone! Xoxo

 

My weekend in the homeland

Before taking off on holiday to the USA for two weeks I first made a little stop in the homeland. Here some instagram pics from my weekend :)

In flight refreshments from KLM 'a cup of blond' hehe

Me in transit...

Overlooking the canals in The Hague from my brothers house

The birthday feast at my brothers party. Mainly Ottolenghi recipes, yum!

Vlokken aka chocolate flakes!

Typical Dutch sandwich topping for breakfast, yum yum :)

The country of bikes...

Amsterdam for the day on Saturday!

Banana bread treat

Poached eggs, avocado and smoked salmon. Best way to start the day! Really good brunch place in Amsterdam; G & T's (link)

My friend outside his awesome apartment right along the canals!

Great company, food, drinks and people watching in de Pijp

What the 'bleep' ;)

I Am-sterdam :)

Pretty canals in Amsterdam

Lining the stomach with tapas at Boca's in de Jordaan before a fun night out!Movie night with the parents. We saw the Danish film 'a Royal Affair'

I thought it was a beautiful story with interesting history.

Delicious Vietnamese dinner after the movies.

Next stop?

Early tomorrow morning I am getting on a plane to Los Angeles for a week in Calfornia. I can't wait to soak up the sunshine, cruise around LA, go rollerblading at Venice beach, try paddle-boarding, shop, try to spot celebrities in Hollywood and watch one of my best friends tie the knot in San Diego! I will try my best to post the occasional update on here now that I have my handy iPad with me! See you later everyone......USA here I come!!

My Yacht Week Photo Diary

Warning warning, this post is very picture heavy. But as promised here a photo diary of my holiday in Croatia with The Yacht Week!

I think these photos speak for themselves that I had a pretty incredible time.....

Lots of Yacht Week boats, beautiful sunsets on the water, partying in Hvar and some sailing lessons

Sunset photoshoots

 

Sailing and soaking up the sun

Pre-party prosecco on the boat in Palmizana marina before heading to Hvar

Hvar Town

 
Hvar Day! Jump if you are having fun :)

Group shots with the skipper in the mast!

Exploring the beautiful Croatia!

The old fort party in Vis! 

The last day; the Yacht Week sailing regatta!

Our boat 'Team Nauti'

Me; Roxy....A Little Nauti? Never ;)

The last day, leaving our boat again after the most amazing week!

I have the most amazing memories of this trip that will last me a lifetime and I was lucky to meet some fantastic new people along the way. After a week of sailing. lots of partying and not a lot of sleeping, I do admit it I was a bit of a broken woman on my return to London and my own bed had never felt so good :) Fore more information or to book your Yacht Week holiday check out their website www.theyachtweek.com/.