review: port-a-portea at the berkeley, autumn/winter 2012

Hello! Well it has been an exhausting week of excessive celebrations, including a dinner at Le Gavroche (and meeting the man Michel Roux Jnr himself), parties, champagne and of course, the long-awaited Pret-a-Portea at the Berkeley in London.

The waiting list is about 3 months long I believe - I booked a table online about 4 months ago. For a ridiculously long wait, I suppose the ultimate fashionista high tea experience was marginally worth the £40 per person price tag. The setting is lovely, especially if you're lucky enough to bag one of the plush sofa seats. The Paul Smith dining ware was a nice touch, but I could see bits of paint peeling off.

So, the food. There is definitely enough to go round the pair of us, thanks to free refills! We were asked three times if we wanted more food (we said yes twice), including the beautiful pastries on the middle tier. And the quality? A bit hit and miss. The sandwiches and the savoury snacks on the lower tier were average, and out of the pastries only the macaron really stood out to me. The beautiful green YSL bag felt more like playdough in my mouth and didn't really taste like pistachio as it's meant to be. The mousse cakes and biscuits were nothing to write home about either, and my sister didn't particularly like the mousses on the top tier either.

I know I'm sketching it as a rather negative experience, but to be fair, I went for the novelty of it. If you're looking to have a long girlfriend gossip sesh over a unique, swanky afternoon tea, then go for it. Just don't expect too much of the food.

Plus, we got adorable takeaway boxes, and I got the macaron, so no (overtly vocal) complaints from me.

All photos are my property.

birthday blues, joey style

As I approach the last days of my current age, I am feeling the birthday blues, not unlike Joey...

On the bright is of course a half-week long celebration, the highlight of which will be the swanky Pret-a-Portea with my sister on Sunday after scouring vintage goods at Brick Lane. It's gonna be a good weekend!

My screenshot.

please give me flowers

I know it's been a while yet again, but I've been swamped with job applications and interviews... real life sucks.

So the BoF newsletter led me to the fascinating profile of the man behind the flowery paradise of Raf Simons' first Dior show. Mark Bolle is a florist based in Antwerp and well-known amongst the fashion circles. Looks like the folks over at Dazed are quite smitten with Mr Bolle, who partnered up to create a rather eccentric and pointless short film called 'Fade Into You'. But I do love the photoshoot, which captures the beauty of the flower so much better - it's absolutely stunning.

I can almost smell the flowers... I can't wait to get roses from my boyfriend for my birthday next week!

Source: Dazed Digital

halloween costumes for couples 2012

Unlike the last 3 years, I have my costume down pat this year. But it looks like it's lost somewhere in the post... investigation pending. For those who've spent ages mulling over what to wear, especially couples here are some gems I stumbled across whilst Googling like a woman possessed.

Gotye & Kimbra in Somebody I Used to Know MV

This idea is GENIUS, I wanted to do it but my boyfriend refused to be painted all over. It might take a bit of patience and artistic talent, but it's is a tongue-in-cheek idea that everyone will recognise, and it's so incredibly 2012. Imagine the chaos if they do play the song in the club.

The tutorial is here.

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Mary Poppins and Bert

Came across this on Pinterest, what a gem! Might be a bit stuffy for clubbing though...

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Lifeguard and shark

This is actually what me and my boyfriend are going for this year. Well, we're both going as lifeguards, but we bought this big inflatable shark which we're going to carry everywhere, and probably throw in some fake blood for some Jaws effect.

And I just found on Facebook this amazing summary of favourite Halloween costumes over the years. So if you can't think of anything new, these are goods one to fall back on.

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anna dello russo for h&m: close ups!

I'm so excited! I could hardly wait to close the door on the postman before I jumped up and down like it was Christmas! The packaging is absolutely gorgeous, and I love the snake and crocodile cuffs. The clutch is a little lighter in colour than I thought it was, but it's still lovely. Pictures, pictures, pictures!

All photos are my property.