July Jollity: Monthly Round Up


Life Lately: Summer is whizzing ahead as it always does and I’ve had two hens dos and now two weddings to look forward to! As well as the impending arrival of a new baby in the family coming up! I also had a fab night out at Coppa Club celebrating Eppie’s 25th birthday which moved on to drinks at the fantastic City Social. In bloggy news, I was interviewed by British Airways Executive Club magazine.

London Fun: I had a brilliant picnic in the park, courtesy of Dukes London Hotel, with Laura and Lauren which was a really fun and unique thing to do especially as we had our own picnic butler!
I’m a huge coffee lover and I was delighted to be invited to Ritorno to sample some varieties by Difference Coffee including the most expensive coffee in the world, the notorious Luwak coffee. Regular readers will remember me trying the infamous ‘cat poo’ coffee in Bali and finding it far too bitter but Difference only use the very best bean from wild kopi luwak so that the coffee has delicious undertones of caramel and chocolate. All the speciality coffee used by Difference Coffee undergo rigorous testing, making it perfect for the most discerning lovers of the beverage.

We were also fortunate to try London’s most Instagrammable cocktail served at Ritorno and the Oro Blue is made with VKA vodka, Jamaica Blue Mountain, Caffe Borghetti liqueur, caramel syrup and Saliza amaretto veneziano. Tried alongside the restaurant’s coffee mousse, it was absolute heaven and beautiful too.

Restaurants: I paid two trips to The Shard, firstly to try the fantastic new menu at Hutong, one of my favourite Chinese restaurants. 
And days later I was back again to try the classic champagne afternoon tea at Aqua Shard.
This month has had a real Spanish flavour (see my travel section) as Mr S and I also enjoyed fantastic tapas in London at Ember Yard
Travel: I’ve had some great travel experiences both at home and abroad and I loved my staycation at Chewton Glen with my mum where we also had the opportunity to check out The Kitchen cookery school
The beginning of the month also saw a short trip to Spain where we stayed at one of the most beautiful and unique country hotels that I’ve ever stayed in! Abadía Retuerta LeDomaine is an incredible 12th Century Monastery turned five star luxury hotel with fantastic Michelin star dining and a unique wellness program. Watch my video to see for yourself!

We also had a super stylish one night stay at Hotel Único Madrid, a gorgeous boutique hotel in one of the city’s most exclusive areas and we ate at sister hotel The Principal Madrid.

I’ve just returned from the paradise island of Petit St Vincent in the Caribbean and I have so much to share with you about my time there after editing the 2000 photos that I took!!
Next up! In 9 days time Mr S will be going to the other extreme for our trip to Iceland! Now I’ve written a few wish list posts on this blog, and Iceland has been a bit of a constant so I can’t wait to finally tick this country off and to share the adventure with along the way!

Blog Love: 

Claire and Laura from Twin’s That Travel visit Mouvaux, twinned with their home town of Buckingham.
Em Luxton wrote a post about her frustrations with Instagram and I couldn’t agree more. I think many bloggers feel disillusioned with the platform at the moment.
Chloe went to Hawaii – and now I want to too!
Lauren went on a dream trip to Mexico!

Our travel link up this month is travel fears and scares…tell us what’s been bugging you….linking up with Emma, Polly and our co-host Maggie.