Madewell Comes To Cambridge

A new brand is on the scene fresh from the USA. Madewell is a womenswear brand from the partner company J Crew Clothing. Madewell is designed to be effortlessly cool and unexpected, a collection of essentials for your every day. The pieces are designed to be mixed and matched, from the perfect dress to versatile denim to a classic tee. All made to feel like you've worn and loved them for years. It also ranges in size from a XXS to XL so it good for people of all sizes and 23" to 32" waist for their denim. The denim also features Magic Pockets in front that offer an extra layer of holds-you-in sorcery for the slimmest, smoothest look yet.

Of course the first thing I did when we got it in store was to pick up the Patch Pocket Pullover Sweater in Arctic Ice ( John Lewis product code 81967004),  made from a soft cotton rich yarn, this relaxed knit is easy to wear with its boxy fit and high low hem. It is finished with ribbed trims and front patch pockets for a touch of detail. I paired it with my Levi 721s, grey vans and my new Kate Spade Hayes Street Sam Suede Grab Bag in Sienna (John Lewis product code 40613414) (isn't she a beauty!😍)



In 2006 J.Crew Group Inc. introduced Madewell, as a modern-day interpretation of an American denim label founded in 1937. Targeting women ages 18 to 40. Madewell has a flagship store in New York City and 17 other stores nationwide, but is now available online on John Lewis.com and in store at John Lewis White City and Cambridge. Here is some of the highlights from the Cambridge branch!



What do you think of the new Madewell collections? Could this be a new favourite brand for you? Let me know! xox

Braids and Blooms Workshop 🌸

Last week I attended the lovely Becca (@braidsandbloons_) ran a fabulous workshop in a dreamy bakery in Knebworth. Becca is queen of braids and the perfect girlie instagram posts so this workshop was the perfect opportunity to learn her go to plait techniques and floral inspiration. Held at the new high tea room out the back of Sugar Boutique on Station Road, Knebworth.

We started off with learning your standard dutch and French braids, then moved in to fishtail and reverse fishtail. Safe to say I have a lot of practice required! Though learning on someone else's head is easier than your own! I also got to try out the Invisiboble's* for the first time, which made practising the plaits over and over super easy without ripping out my hair!



The ladies over at Batiste had also supplied some of their new fragrances of their dry shampoos and plumping powders. I have to say I think the Rose Gold* one had to be my favourite, with a fresh and fruity scent.



When we were all plaited-out it was time for our delicious afternoon tea made by the lovely people at the Sugar Boutique. From mini club sandwiches to tiny toffee  and strawberry pavlovas and of course tea and scones, this afternoon treat was beautiful and super tasty.



After we were refuelled we then were taught how to make flower crowns by The Ivy Florist. I could quite happily do this everyday it was super relaxing and getting to take our own little crowns home was really nice. Made from wax flower, spray roses, gypsophila and what I think is tree fern.



Once we had completed our flower crowns we headed outside to try and get a iconic Braids and Blooms Instagram post, posing with a bouquet also from the Ivy Florist, which was so so beautiful.


This workshop was so girlie and fun, I wish I could do it all again. She also gifted us super cute goodie bags with Tangle Teezers*, Mini Batiste*, Invisibobbles*, notebook from Tillyanna, the bow in my hair from Rose and Guy, floral print from Bella Casa, Lee Stafford hair products, Pixi Glow Mud Cleanser*,  leather keyring from Red Meg, and a Pink Grapefruit and Vanilla wax melt by Wax Melts by Francesca. I can't wait to use all these goodies! It was also really nice to meet a few friendly faces from Instagram in person, and hopefully we can all plait properly by the next time we all meet again!

Go send Becca some love for putting on this fab workshop and keep an eye out for her next one!💕

*Affiliate links

Amsterdam Adventure day 3 & 4 🇳🇱

If you've seen last weeks post you would have seen day 1 & 2 of my Amsterdam adventure, so if you haven't checked that part out I would read that before this one! By day three we were pretty museumed out, so decided to just stick with the one! We headed out early to the Museum of Handbags and Purses.Located in Amsterdam's historic central canal belt, the museum's collection includes over 5,000 items dating back to the sixteenth-century. One of only three museums across the globe specialising in this field, it houses the world's largest collection of bags and purses. 



I found the history behind handbags and purses super interesting to see how they developed over time to how they are now. In retrospect I would have gotten the audio guide to really explain what I was viewing going through the museum. I also would have to try out their High Tea in these beautiful room overlooking the canals.

Our lunch plans consisted of what is possibly the most instagrammable cafe I have ever been to called Pluk. Just a scenic walk from the Museum of Handbags and Purses we decided to route via Anne Franks house to take a look from the outside (tickets were already sold out two months before we went!) and then through the floating flower market to get to our final destination of Pluk. 



I have to admit I did take a horrendous amount of photos in Pluk but it was just so beautiful I wanted to capture its pure glory from every angle. I will admit its not the most budget friendly cafe but it is worth the price! I had the balanced breakfast of a croissant, mermaid/unicorn doughnut and a Tony Chocoloney (hot chocolate) which came with a tiny stroopwafel. If I could live in this cafe I so would, they also sell super cute homey bits and gifts which were also super cute. Make this a go to cafe stop on your Amsterdam trip!     




After our brunch we wandered around central station and the areas round it to see more of the streets and canals. We then headed back to the hotel to freshen up and went out to Festival Treck food festival in Amstelpark. We arrived at the park quite early and saw a super cute little train that takes you round the park for the bargain price of €2.50 which took 15 minutes but was a nice way to see round the large park. 



It was hard to decide what to have with so many different food options from all sorts of cuisines to pick from. I started with a chicken pesto pasta from a van serving antipasti and pasta and then moved onto an amazing what can only think of as a steak bavette type dish which was super delicious.  But trying to decide on dessert was really hard but went for churros with milk chocolate sauce.  

 

After our food we had a strawberry daiquiri and listened to some of the live music they had performing just by the main cocktail station. It was a super relaxed evening of good food and entertainment so if you are in Amsterdam next time its held I would really recommend heading there for some food!



On our last day we didn't have a lot of time before we had to head for the airport so we headed to central station after checking out of the Student Hotel. With typical flight delays we headed for a Vapiano's for lunch, before taking the train to the airport where we sat for hourrrss waiting for our flight. 



Have you been to Amsterdam or is it on your bucket list? Let me know if you have any future recommendations if I venture back!

Amsterdam Adventure Day 1 & 2🇳🇱

I am a big fan of city breaks so after my Copenhagen trip ( day 1&2 day 3&4 here) I had to book another for the summer! My friend Emma and I decided to go on a Amsterdam adventure this July for 4 days. We stayed at The Student Hotel Amsterdam City* that we booked through Expedia and our flights directly through easyJet. The hotel was a couple of metro stops away from the central station so it was super easy to get there from the airport. We had 96b hour IAmsterdam cards which I would highly recommend if you want to see a lot of museums and attractions because we saved so much money on entrance fees and transport. 




We arrived pretty late in the day so we just settled into the hotel and explored the street around it and decided to try out the hotels restaurant called The Commons. I had a stone baked pepperoni pizza and Emma had a burger which she claims is the best burger she's ever had!




On our first full day we headed to the Museumplein area where the big museums of Amsterdam are. We had timed tickets for the Van Gogh in the afternoon but decided to check out the other museums beforehand. Starting off with a visit to the IAmsterdam sign for the typical tourist photo which starting the day early meant you could get a pretty good shot without tonnes of other tourists in the background.



We started our cultural mission of the day with the Moco Museum which its main focus is modern and contemporary art, with features artists like Banksy and Icy and Sot. This was the gallery I was most excited to visit and I was not disappointed! It was so cool to see some of Banksy's originals, including the Mickey Mouse sculpture from Dismaland.

               

We then had some spare time before our Van Gogh slot so we decided to visit the Rijksmuseum which is the Dutch national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam. Featuring big artists like Rembrandt and Vermeer  with The Night Watch and The Milk Maid being key pieces here. The grounds of this museum are also really nice just to relax in on a bright summer day. 

 

After some lunch we headed to the Van Gogh Museum for our time slot. It was really good to see the story behind his work laid out floor-by-floor to see his progression and inspirations. I would thoroughly recommend a visit to this museum! We went to the Diamond Museum after this one but I only took sparkly videos on KiraKira+ so I can't show them on here but it was interesting to learn about the processing of diamonds and history behind some royal crowns!



Being pretty tired out from all the museums we ate at the Commons restaurant again on our second night.



We set off on the second full day with a relaxed day at the zoo I mind but it did progress into a little more than a zoo visit. The Artis zoo was only a 20 minute walk from our hotel so we set off early and passed so many pretty canals on the way.



The Artis zoo was a super lovely day out and we spent about 4 hours exploring all the parts,  even caught the sea lion feeding time. This is the perfect chill day activity and would highly recommend a visit.



We then headed to the Botanic garden for a little look around. My highlight was seeing the pineapple growing and the palm house. I do want to invest my time into keeping more botanical plants but my track history isn't the best!



We then decided to rest our legs and take a canal tour to see Amsterdam from a different view by water. We took the Amsterdam Circle Line from City Hall which was an hour and a half round route and it was so magical to see the city from this view point. Our canal skipper was super knowledgable and added his own facts in as well as the prerecorded tape. This is the perfect way to see the city and would perhaps put this as a must do when you visit Amsterdam.



We ate at Vapiano for dinner that night because it was close to where we got off the canal tour by City Hall, then headed back to get well needed kip ready for day 3 of our adventure!

As this post is getting rather long I shall be dividing it into day 1 & 2 and day 3 & 4, so keep an eye out for the next part of our adventure!

*Affiliate Link