afternoon tea diaries: 140 park lane with groupon

to the best of my knowledge, groupon was something you used to get a discount when you bulk-bought lightbulbs. i'd never considered using it, or really had any idea how it worked. when the team at groupon reached out to me, my initial reaction was a little "but i don't want to write about cut-price household goods!" boy, was i wrong. turns out, groupon have a whole host of deals, including my favourite, afternoon tea! myself and my best friend (fresh off a plane from australia, where she's been gap year-ing) settled down for a spot of tea at 140 park lane. but this was a little special - it's afternoon tea with a twist. the twist being that you get a big ol' teapot full of the cocktail of your choice. what's better than scones and sandwiches than scones and sandwiches with a side of moijto? we chose the house "bruised apple" cocktail, which was deliciously fruity and light. the location of 140 park lane is brilliant; right outside marble arch, tonnes of green space to chill in afterwards, but for me, it didn't really have that special touch that other hotels in the area do. the staff were lovely, but it didn't feel as personal as brown's did. more importantly, on to the food! we had a really inventive yummy selection of sandwiches on a range of herb and nut breads, scones and crumpets (finally, a crumpet on this blog!) and some sweet treats, like a moussey millefeuille creation and miniature eclairs. the food was good, and perfectly complimented by the drinks. now that i understand how groupon works, i'd definitely use it again - the tea worked out about £38 for the two of us with the deal, and you can easily pay that much per head in other hotels - and not even get a cocktail! plus, the deals on there i saw were a little unique - like tea with a twist, there were themed getaways and special beauty treatments. it's well worth a look!

a little more joyful

what's your best-kept fashion secret? i like to pretend carnaby street is mine, but the jostling crowds of tourists and city workers i encounter whenever i venture out of liberty would beg to differ. sometimes, brilliant brands can be hiding right under your nose. i think joy might be my new high street champion; sure, they have a chain of little shops across the UK, but the company is owned by a husband and wife duo, they design their own label, louche, in-house and have a really hand-picked, home-grown feel to their stores. it's the accessibility of topshop with the charm and care of an independent boutique! joy stock housewares and gifts as well a brilliant selection of quintessentially british clothes, from quirky workwear to garden party ready numbers. the prices are seriously affordable, but they've not skimped on quality - a good rifle through their rails in their stores and their south london showroom had an impressive array of fabrics and colours. i really fell for joy when they announced they were opening a store on brick lane (it's notoriously difficult to convince die-hard east enders to permit anything resembling a chain onto the hallowed grounds of brick lane bagels, rough trade and the truman brewery) because it proves they've got the hands-on approach that'll help them stick out on the crowded british high street. you might not have heard of them yet, but you're going to want to head down to one of their stores or bookmark their site - i'm definitely going to support the brand as they emerge even bigger and better! i loved this shirt, the trinity, designed by louche, in particular - such a simple idea, but so prettily executed. it's a simple way to dress up a workwear outfit or add a twist to a more classic look. ps, just like monki, this is a proper fan girl post. i haven't been paid to write this, and i reached out to them about the shirt.

i'd like to also give a mention to ridiculously talented daniel who is worryingly turning into this blog's creative director. he drew my header image with his own fair hands, and snapped these photos for me even though it was pretty cold and windy. i need to start befriending people who are rubbish at everything to make me feel better about myself. but i think he's after my job. or at least my blog...

home is where the heart is

i hate to start things off on a bad note, but i do owe you an apology. i've been pretty silent on here lately (and i've not really explained much on twitter, either - too bust to tweet, would you believe it?) but i've had good reason. i worked for all of april at the sunday times style magazine, which was a brilliant experience, but having a "proper job" kind of knocked the blog for six. no press days could be attended, no comments replied to, and i was generally exhausted after work and couldn't haul myself in front of my macbook to do anything remotely productive. i finished up at STS a couple of weeks ago, and since, i've been full pelt into studying for my university exams which are in just over a week now. so i'm sorry, i've been a bad blogger, and i probably will be until the end of june, as i'm starting at another magazine then. ANYWAY. home to me right now is sitting on a sticky kitchen table in east london, with the dulcet tones of my friend dan's brummie accent over a cup of tea, while my other would be flatmates, beth and pavneet wordlessly swap cat memes, but i actually grew up in kent. my parents have just finished building a barbie dream house for them to live in, and when i popped home to see them, it seemed like a really good place to show you some capulet accessories. capulet make amazing quality, super-gorgeous technology accessories - think iPad cases, and laptop bags. but ones that are actually chic! the bags feel really supple and soft - probably cause the leather is so buttery and lovely - but they haven't skimped on longevity. a capulet case would seriously last you a while.

i styled one of their classic macbook cases and a little wristlet - you can fit in your credit cards, couple of keys, that sort of thing. super handy, but also really chic. saves spending the entire night wondering where you left your clutch bag, for sure. they have a full range on sale at harrods, or through their own site.