I can’t believe it’s less than a month to go until Christmas! Scroll to the end for a competition to win a £250 Christmas hamper from Fortnum and Mason and £100 voucher from Amazon!
Life Lately: It was amazing how many people agreed that birthdays shouldn’t be just one day, but they should last a week or even a month. Celebrations kicked off the week before my birthday with a relaxing stay at Soho Farmhouse. Regular readers are probably fed up with me banging on about this rustic countryside retreat that is so much more than a hotel. To me it’s a little bubble of happiness and somewhere I can truly switch off and enjoy time with friends and family. 
The actual day of my birthday saw me enjoying lunch at Aquavit with my family and dinner at three-Michelin starred the Araki with Mr S.
The celebration week was rounded off on Sunday with a birthday party that included lots of champagne, sushi and an epic cake!! Many thanks to everyone who came and to those who gave me their best wishes!
Restaurants: Aside from Aquavit and the Araki I also sampled the stunning Go Zen boxes from aqua kyoto before heading to sister restaurant aqua shard for dessert and to see the Christmas tree.
I got festive at The Vintage London Winter Terrace at The Churchill Bar in the Hyatt Regency London – The Churchill and enjoyed autumnal drinks at Il Tetto, the rooftop restaurant at Selfridges.
I also tried something rather different for me as I went vegan at new plant-based restaurant, Wulf & Lamb. 
So it’s not exactly a new restaurant, but I’d recommend heading to Harrods to see the changes that are afoot in the foodhall. The new Roastery & Bakehall has a gorgeous bakers, a tea tailor and specialist coffee roasters. They also sell beautiful artisan products that are hard to get hold of in other places. I definitely recommend heading down to take a look.
Travel: I kept my feet in the UK this month with my Soho Farmhouse staycation plus a trip to Bristol for my friend’s birthday. But in a couple of weeks Mr S and I are off to Budapest for a cosy trip to visit the Christmas markets and the sights of the city. I’m super excited as I’ve always wanted to go. Also for the first time, Mr S is doing all the planning!!!
In other travel news, I can officially announce that I’ve planned my next big trip and Argentina and Chile are next to be ticked off the bucket list. I’ve pretty much got the itinerary locked down for our April trip and so I’ll be sharing it on here early next year!
Just pop your post up over the first week of the month (the 1st – 7th December 2017), add it to the link up widget found on Adventures of a London Kiwi, SilverSpoon London, Follow Your Sunshine or on the blog of our lovely guest host Zoe from The ZRW from the 1st.
COMPETITION TIME!!!!
A parcel of joy from Fortnum & Mason. The Burlington Hamper is worth £250 and an absolute feast of festive treats including artisan teas and coffees, luxurious chocolates, biscuits preserves, nuts and fruit cake. Along with the hamper I’m including £100 gift voucher from Amazon to treat your loved ones!
Only open to UK entrants.
