Twinings Tea, London!!

Those of you who read my girlish ramblings regularly will know just how much I love tea, in fact, it seems to be becoming rather a regular topic among my posts! And so I'm sure you can only imagine my uncontrollable joy and excitement as I visited THE ACTUAL TWININGS SHOP in London yesterday... Hyperventilating just a lil bit here.

Whilst it looks upon first appearances small and quaint from the outside, once I stepped inside the very Mecca of fine quality tea I noted that it ran on for what seemed like an infinite distance, the walls piled high with teas: bagged, loose, pearls, crushed, gift sets and even adorable Twinings tea sets available in part or as a whole, making this an ideal present-buying spot (hint, hint, friends of mine...)

Whilst I could quite easily have gone absolutely mad and bought practically the entire shop (believe me, I would if I had the money!) I decided to get myself a variety of individually wrapped tea bags, which truthfully didn't come to all that much at only about 15p each. Rather than boring you all with a lengthy and complicated list of every single flavour, I'll just let you know that amongst my purchases were a Salted Caramel tea, a Gingerbread tea and those staple, everyday essentials (for me, anyway!) such as Earl Grey, Assam and Darjeeling.

If you share my immense passion for tea, I highly recommend that you journey here should you happen to be in London, as it really is well worth the visit (and the money!)

Tea at Birdie Num Nums!

After a disappointing run of AS Results (oops!) I thought it would be a good idea to reconsider my university choices for next year, one of which has now become Goldsmiths, University of London. Seeing as I was in London visiting my mother and a few friends, it seemed silly not to check out the area, and so I went for a wander around New Cross.

Given that I didn't, in fact, need to be anywhere for an hour or so, I spied an adorable, quiet little cafe tucked away in the busy high street called 'Birdie Num Nums' (cute name, right?), serving a range of flavoured teas in the most adorable mis-matched cups and saucers - and if you've read my previous posts, you'll know just how much I love my tea! Safe to say, for me this was heaven, and felt a world away from the business of London.

Highly recommend!

Birthday Funzies!

So.. I'm officially 18! Finally!

My mother has been planning this day for quite a while now, and after the incredible day I've had, I'm glad she decided to keep it a surprise.

After waking up in her apartment in London, we headed off to Covent Garden to pick up a new pair of pointe shoes. Okay, so this excited me already, as my current pair are getting just a tad too worn, much as I love them, but when I was informed that this new pair would be GAYNOR FLIPPING MINDENS I was beyond ecstatic. If you aren't a ballet bod, Gaynor Mindens, put very simply, use modern technology to allow for a more comfortable and more flattering line. I've wanted a pair for as long as I've done ballet, and so I was a VERY happy girly!

After this, we headed into Tiffany&Co jewellers, where we were greeted and given champagne & cupcakes. Oh my god. My parents had bought me a silver chain and a ballet shoe pendant with a diamond in the ribbons, which is absolutely GORGEOUS, and, as you've probably gathered, perfect for me. Tiffany also gave me a ceramic mug in their signature duck egg blue and white colours, informing me that these were not available to the general public, and definitely were not on sale anywhere. Wow. Cue extreme excitement on my part!!!

As if this wasn't enough, after cocktails and lunch I was taken for a manicure and pedicure at Hula Nails, which is a salon that i absolutely ADORE. If you don't know it, Hula Nails have vintage decor and beautiful tattooed beauticians with red lipstick and nails. They serve the most gorgeous rhubarb iced tea and the whole atmosphere is just incredible. I had dark pink nails with a sparkling gold accent, and it was done to absolute perfection. Very, VERY happy girly.

Not many people will know this about me, but I moved away from the Home Counties a few years ago, and the entire area remains my favourite place, but specifically Henley-On-Thames, and so when my mother informed me on the way to Paddington station that we were headed to Henley for a night I was, as you can imagine, absolutely over the moon! The next couple of days were a smattering of family parties and gatherings, as well as a lot of eating on my part! It was an absolutely fabulous day, and I couldn't have wished for a better 18th birthday.