A weekend in Champagne.
Friday, 24 July 2026
No plan.
Long drives.
Loud music.
French château.
Flaky Pastry.
Champagne flights.
Salted Butter.
Slurred words.
Imperial Nectar.
Summer dresses.
Lazy afternoons.
Early nights.
Joyful June
Thursday, 2 July 2026
June was awesome, and not just because it was full of exciting things. It was also really balanced, which is something I’ve struggled with in the past. There were rooftop cocktails, late nights and making the most of every warm evening, but also a few slow days, resting, listening to my body and embracing the quiet in between. That being said, looking back at everything I got up to, I'm not sure how I managed to squeeze any rest days in.
I love steak, and clearly I go to Gaucho often enough to be on their invite list for cute events like this. To celebrate the arrival of summer, Gaucho Richmond have created 4 new summer serves, which tasted even better enjoyed in the sunshine on their terrace. The Pink Hugo - with a hint of pomegranate molasses - was a clear favourite for me. As the mingling and live music died down, we grabbed one last cocktail, a table by the river & a couple of blankets and stayed until the sun went down.
The World Cup Begins
Apparently the World Cup started this month. Whilst I don't usually enjoy football, when England are doing well it completely changes the atmosphere in London and I am here for the vibes. I also got to try a new South West London spot, The Leather Bottle, which has a huge beer garden and was the perfect place to watch the match on a sunny Wednesday evening. The girls and I somehow found four chairs in front of the screen, grabbed a few jugs of Pimm's, and settled in for the evening. I may *or may not* have stayed for the whole game.
Apparently the World Cup started this month. Whilst I don't usually enjoy football, when England are doing well it completely changes the atmosphere in London and I am here for the vibes. I also got to try a new South West London spot, The Leather Bottle, which has a huge beer garden and was the perfect place to watch the match on a sunny Wednesday evening. The girls and I somehow found four chairs in front of the screen, grabbed a few jugs of Pimm's, and settled in for the evening. I may *or may not* have stayed for the whole game.
Tennis at Queens
Paige lives in West Kensington and since her road got shut down for the tournament, she got free tickets to the events. I know less about tennis than I do football, so again, I was just there for the vibes, but we had a great time eating ice cream and watching the early afternoon women's game.
A Battersea Staycation
In an impeccable turn of events, I ended up staying at a hotel with a rooftop swimming pool on one of the hottest days of the heatwave. And as a completely unrelated coincidence, I had booked the afternoon off, which meant come midday, I was laid on a sunbed in 34 degrees next to a rooftop pool in central London. I couldn't have timed it any better!
Having spent the afternoon solo, switching between swimming lengths and hiding under a towel in the blissful heat, when Alexandra finished work, she came to join me for a cocktail. Once the sun went down, it was a luxurious night's sleep in the air-conditioned room before doing the same again on Saturday.
Bucket List Tick
I have all sorts of things on my bucket list, but a disproportionate amount of them involve getting to experience certain types of transportation. A hot air balloon, a helicopter, a private jet, and this month, I was able to tick one off: a red ferrari, AKA super car. Tick.
A few other highlights
Drinks at Sonny's
- A rooftop, riverside (two of my favourite things) bar in Kingston with an amazing view of the river.
Sea Containers
- Dinner and drinks, followed by a stroll along the (eastern stretch, oo) of the river.
Terrarium Workshop
- Another creative class with Well Crafted
M&S picky bits
- Two M&S picky bits picnics! Both times opting for a house over the park because it was so hot that I was worried about access to toilets and drinking water hahaha.
Taste of London
- Regent's Park food festival! We didn't last too long because it was very hot.
Little house Balham
- Al Fresco dinner
Lilibets
And finally I also managed to tick off the newest addition to my restaurant list, Lilibet's. It's been ages since I've had a big night out (eating, not partying) in Mayfair, and considering it's one of my favourite things to do, I very much enjoyed it.
Starting the eve with a glass of champagne, the waitress seemingly underestimated us as is she was a bit unsure as we started reeling off dishes, as well as an emergency last minute order of oysters because we forgot, but alas, she was wrong. We got thought it all.
Lilibet's was standard Mayfair vibes. Very cool, very fancy and a very enjoyable evening! I didn't take any pictures whilst I was there, but what I do have is a picture of my outfit, and it would be a shame not to share that because I wore my favourite pair of shoes!
What I did in May
Wednesday, 3 June 2026
May was pretty awesome. Here's what I've been up to:
Hampton and Beyond
I started the month in Hampton, and a magical day in the sun at that. I'd never been there but it's absolutely beautiful and hard to believe it still counts as London.
We started with a drink and an ice cream at The Mitre, the most picturesque hotel on the riverside.
Then walked around what we could see of the Hampton Court Palace without buying a ticket and then continued along the river and into Bushey park - where we sat in the shade of a tree for the rest of the afternoon.
It began what has become a love affair with that part of the river and sure enough, I spent a lot more time there in the following weeks.
Down Hall
Popping home to see my parents & Molly; my mum and I spent a very lazy Friday having a sun drenched lunch in the grounds of a countryside manor house.
Misc
On my journey of building a full and varied life, I attended another creative evening with Well crafted, which involved making paper flowers in the lead up to Chelsea flower show. Paige and I also went for another afternoon tea, which was nice. She's becoming well acquainted with those now. I had dinner with my high school friends, one of whom has just been proposed to (!!) and the last skating lesson of my course, which I very much enjoyed.
In a strange turn of events, I also started wearing my contact lenses again. For years, I only ever wore them when I wanted to impress someone but this month I started wearing them simply because I liked how it made me feel. I wanted to impress myself. That feels like personal development. 
The Heatwave
A heatwave turns London into the most magical place on earth. I love it here as it is, but when it's warm, even the most ordinary evening feels like a holiday. That being said, I had very few ordinary evenings during the last ten days of the month. This could really fill a whole post on its own, but at a glance, there was:
- A champagne fuelled celebration dinner at Gaucho, and another at Scott's, both right on the river in Richmond.
- A sweltering day in the pool at Soho Farmhouse.
- Dinner out on the terrace, 14 floors up at Seabird.
- Picky bits, cocktails and dipping our feet in the rooftop pool at one of the London Soho Houses. I also spotted William Hanson, who you already know I'm a big fan of!
- Hopping around many of the SW London riverside pubs - and I ventured out to Crystal Palace for pizza and an afternoon of Hugo's in the sunshine.
- and two wonderfully long and lazy days out on the boat between Richmond and Hampton (see! I said I'd be back.)
All in, it was the best bank holiday weekend ever.
And whilst all of these things were amazing opportunities, it was the people I spent them with who really made the time special. Several new faces entered my life this month, and each brought something positive.
May reminded me of who I am. What makes me happy, what makes me feel alive and perhaps most importantly, how good I feel when I spend my time with the right people - those who bring out the best in me.
April. Yay
Monday, 11 May 2026
April was a lovely time. There were multiple days of 20+ degree sunshine and with that, I felt the life come back into me. I had fun with my friends, met some cool new people and took every opportunity to be outside enjoying the sunshine. That meant warm afternoons at the park, dining by the river and touring SW London's many beer gardens, Yay!
Big Bank Holiday Weekend
This feels like a lifetime ago now but my early bank holiday weekend was totally packed. The Ned, the boat race, steak, family.. read all about it here
Soho Farmhouse
Early on Saturday morning, we packed up the car and headed out of London for some R&R. After lunch at Berenjak, (and a Jamie Laing sighting) we headed to the spa for a swim and sauna before finding the perfect spot in the courtyard for an afternoon of drinks and people watching.
Skating Lessons
Remembering how happy roller skating has made me over the years, I decided to invest in a course to learn some new skills. I had my first few group lessons this month with Roll Happy and learnt some cool new drills.
Spring Wreath Making
This was my second event with Well Crafted and I love how loosely guided they are. Rather than a controlled masterclass with instructions and processes, Alex's classes
are pretty much self guided social events. Left to your own devices with all the props and crafts you need, I switch off from the world for a couple of hours and enjoyed some interesting conversations with the people around me.
Luke visited London
I've been friends with Luke for verging on ten years now (he's been featured here many times) and whilst he was back in London, we went for lunch at Fallow. I haven't seen him in six months so it was great to catch up over oysters and fish heads. (iykyk)
New jeans
This was an unexpectedly huge part of my month. After a lifetime of black, skinny jeans, I ordered a pair of loose fit, low rise, blue jeans and fear I may now have to rethink my entire identity.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)