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Festive Afternoon Tea at Parkers Tavern💛⛄️AD

With the festive season upon us my mind has certainly been thinking about all the fabulous Christmas foods to indulge on. When an email from Parker's Tavern dropped into my inbox inviting me to try out their new Festive Afternoon Tea I jumped at the chance to go! These three tiers of temptations are available to book from November 18th. They also have  children's, vegan, gluten free and dairy free options as well so you can all indulge!



Let's start of with the savouries tier! Starting off with three sandwiches; Cucumber, Dill & Mint Mascarpone, Smoked Salmon & Crème Fraîche,  Turkey & Cranberry. Followed by the PT Sausage Roll and Crayfish Tarts. I must say the sausage roll is the best one I have ever tasted!

Sausage Roll and Sandwiches

Moving onto the middle tier of Plain and Fruit Scones with Spiced Jam and Lemon Curd and the obligatory cream. You just can't beat warm scones with cream and jam. The flavours Parker's Tavern have created in the spiced plum jam are so perfect with the scones.



Now for the most exciting tier of the three! Starting with the Ferrero Roche, Chestnut 'Snowman' Macaron, Paris Brest, Mincemeat & Brandy Custard Tart and Marmalade & Cardamon Financier.  The level of details and range of different flavours are the perfect treat to get you in the festive spirit.



There are also so many varieties of tea to accompany your afternoon delights, or a little festive tipple of Mulled Cider or a signature Wittgenstein's Poker cocktail. The team at Parkers Tavern were so accommodating and welcoming I can't fault anything about my experience and will certainly go back again! Tristan and his kitchen team have really nailed the perfect festive afternoon tea.

Disclaimer: I was very kindly invited to try out the afternoon tea and it was gifted to me but all views are my own. AD Press Sample

Christmas Gift Guide 2019🎅🏻

With Christmas coming up we all face the struggle with what to buy people for presents! I decided to compile a few ideas from John Lewis & Partners that I picked up myself! Disclaimer, I do work for John Lewis & Partners but this is not AD or gifted I purchased them all myself!



One of the first gift ideas I picked up was a Choose Your Favourites Customised Quality Street Tin. I love the personalisation of this and it means you don't end up with flavours you don't like! New this year were two exciting flavours; Chocolate Caramel Brownie and an exclusive flavour to John Lewis & Partners Crispy Truffle Bite! Its priced at £15 for the personalised tin with pick and mix flavours and then you can refill the tin for £10 (because we all know these tins never make it to Christmas without being eaten!). *Available in store only



Chocolate not your thing? Why not go for more adult crackers with Fevertree Gin and Tonic Crackers! There were so many options to choose from and you can buy a set of four you pick yourself for £32 or £8 per cracker. You can go in store to the Oxford Street branch to select your flavours but can can still order these online!



This next one is another foodie gift! The Kit Kat experience is perfect for chocolate lovers that want that personal touch! You can create your own eight finger Kit Kat; you first pick a chocolate for the base then three toppings and then it its made and put into a personalised box! I went for milk chocolate with chocolate brownie, mini marshmallows and caramel chunks! This service costs £14 and it available at Oxford Street. There are also Best of British Flavours or Special edition flavours you can buy in selected stores and online! These would also make great Secret Santa gifts!

Bleu De Chanel and Mens Leather Wallet

Men can be notoriously difficult to shop for at Christmas time. The two gifts I picked out can always be changed for personal preference but the Chanel Bleu De Chanel Parfum is a really timeless fragrance that is a aromatic, intensely woody fragrance. It opens with powerful freshness, then lingers with a precious accord of New Caledonian sandalwood that gives it sophisticated full smell. The other thing I chose was a John Lewis & Partners RFID Blocking Leather Flip Card Wallet in Brown which I thought for £38 was really nice quality with 8 cards slots, 2 additional slots, 2 note slots, a printed lining, and flipover section complete with four extra card slots and a transparent ID slot. Again a very classic design so I'm sure it would be a good gift! 

Stackers watch box to store my collection of Olivia Burton watches

For any accessories lovers I discovered Stackers that make all sorts of storage from tiny travel boxes to big jewellery storage. Due to my rather large collection of Olivia Burton watches I decided to gift myself this Stackers Watch Box in White. I love how I can see my watches while the box is shut and the pads to keep your watches on are so soft and secure. I think this could be a nice gift for males or females and does come in other colours! The joy of it as well is as the name might suggest you can stack it with other layers to add a jewellery one underneath!

Reindeer Olivia Burton watch

Of course I had to get a new watch to go with the watch box! This gorgeous Olivia Burton Winter Wonderland Mesh Bracelet Strap Watch is so perfect for Christmas! With a little frosted trees and a little reindeer I couldn't think of a better watch to have for Christmas. The pale rose gold strap is also a perfect metal colour for a piece of subtle winter bling! 

Charlotte Tilbury Starry Eyes to Hypnotise Eyeshadow and Chloe Nomade Perfume

Two beauty picks for the lady in your life I decided on this year are the Charlotte Tilbury Starry Eyes to Hypnotise Eyeshadow Palette and Chloé Nomade perfume. I really feel like the Charlotte Tilbury eyeshadow palettes are a good investment for any beauty lover. The colour selection and pigmentation quality are just top notch, you can create so many looks from this palette and it just looks stunning. The Chloé Nomade Eau de Parfum is my go to fragrance and it is certainly popular amongst other people I know, it has an intense character of oak moss, shrouded in the sweetness of cherry plum and the freshness of freesia. 

Thats it! Just a small selection of gift ideas to either inspire you on what to get your loved ones or yourself (I'm not judging?). 

Lush Christmas 2019🎅🏻

This might just be my favourite time of the year to shop at Lush because the amount of new products that come out is far too exciting for me! I was kindly invited to the Christmas launch at my local store in Cambridge and this is what I picked out of the Christmas collection! There were so many other products but I just picked out what I thought I would like most so check out their website to see the full collection!



The first thing I picked up was the one I was drawn to most! The new Rudolph Bath Bomb was certainly the cutest reindeer design I've seen Lush do so far. This little guy has a sweet marzipan scent and makes a pretty warm orange coloured bath. You can even write on the antlers like a gift tag!



The second thing is new for the Christmas collection this year are shower bombs! They brought out a Polar Bear Nose (left pic), Rudolph Nose (right pic) and Snowman Nose. These are perfect if you're feeling left out the bath bomb club if you only have a shower, you can finally have a shower with one by simply letting them bubble up in your hands under the shower and then wash with it like you would a shower gel.



This is possibly the most exciting the Amazeballs! I picked up three of the four designs because I just couldn't decide! From left to right Snow Fairy, Holly Golightly and Don't Let The Bells End. These are bath bombs with hollow centres that are filled with bath bomb dust and bath salts and a little lid to keep it all safe inside. You can use it all at once in an epic bath or split it into three by using the filling, the lids and bath bomb shell separately. I think I shall crack one out for my Christmas Eve bath!



This little guy is the Not So Secret Santa which reveals himself as he fizzes around the bath tub releasing a citrusy scent. At £3.95 he also makes the perfect secret Santa present if you have a small budget. He creates a pretty candy cane coloured bath so leaves you feeling in the festive spirit.



The Bomb Bomb's are back and this year I decided to p-p-p pick up the Penguin Bomb Bomb. This citrusy penguin turns your bath a really pretty blue colour making it the perfect bath bomb for refreshing yourself after a long day of Christmas shopping! You can save him for one epic bath or half him to make him last!



Chris the Camel Bath Bomb will be your ride into the colder nights and keep your skin ready for winter. With spice and warming clove bud oil and black pepper oil its the perfect winter warmer and the addition of date syrup helps the skin retain moisture so this has all the skincare goodness in a cute shape of a camel!



This little Snowman Dreaming bath bomb is one for everyone. With secret colours that appear as he drifts around the bath making it perfect for bath art. The Chinese cedarwood and lavender oil its perfect for helping little ones and big ones get to sleep with all the excitement at Christmas.



This pretty emerald green bath bomb is Santa's Grotto, covered in lilac gems and plastic-free glitter.  It has a lot more of a floral scent so if spice is not your thing and you want more of a fresh bath this be more up your street.



Lush have also brought out Bath Oil Tablets with little bits of string on them so you can hang them on your tree before popping them in the bath! I went for the Santa's On His Way filled with Tangerine and Bergamot oil and it makes a pretty pink bath. You can also split it up into multiple baths so perfect for using over the festive period!



This smiley Santa is a new Bubble Bar for this Christmas with cheery notes of uplifting neroli, zingy lime and crisp lemon myrtle it all leaves you feeling uplifted and refreshed. I love combining bubble bars with bath bombs to create bath art so this one is a perfect base leaving an orangey-red water!



Wash away your winter blues with this cutie, Polar Bear Plunge Bubble Bar. With the Spearmint oil and Fine Sea Salt it'll leave you feeling fresh. It also makes a bubbly white bath so again will be a really good base for bath art. He's almost too cute for me to use!