Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018

I always spend the last post of the year looking back over the previous 365 days. I think it's important to remember where we've come from, as much as we look forward to where we are going.

This is the year that I quit my job and launched a business, it's the year that I did a cross-globe four-country trip on my own (but hung out with and stayed with good friends and wonderful family along the way) and it's the year that I realised a few different dreams both on- and off-line.

Merry Christmas to all - and to all, a good night!

This year we have the strange and uniquely wonderful situation of Christmas Eve falling on a Sunday. This means that by 5.02pm on Friday London was half-empty with expats zooming home and most everyone else clomping off to the countryside for family gatherings around groaning tables. (Another quarter of the population will be frantically racing up and down the aisles of the nearest shop even though they could just avail themselves by perusing this annual charity gift guide.)

Instead of disappearing off to the other side of the world to cast off our shoes and swelter - by choice - in Christmas jumpers in the New Zealand sunshine (not to mention swimming with wild dolphins (sorta)) we are cozying up at with family. We have a wealth of cheesy movies lined up, more snacks than we'll ever need and a few of our nearest and dearest next to us.

What do you buy someone who has everything? How about a goat? (A Charity Gift Guide.)

'Twas the week before Christmas, and all through the house,

not a creature was stirring, not even a clickety PC mouse. 

That's because all of the organised shoppers are sitting smugly with a glass of mulled wine in hand (clearly they read my blogpost celebrating some amazing small businesses), and all of the disorganised ones are leaving gift buying to the very last minute, and are braving the crowds on the Saturday morning before Christmas. Because they like to live life in the crazy lane.

Well.

Carrying on my annual charity tradition (est. 2014) I want to pay forward some of the amazing karma I've received over the years and give something back to those less fortunate. Blogger gift guides are pretty well established now but as ever I couldn't just do a normal one - it needed a slightly Adventures of a London Kiwi twist (I even spotted a couple of little sheep fellows - hey, you can take the blogger out of New Zealand...)

The Life of a Freelancer: A 6 Month Update.

I can’t believe I’ve been freelancing for 6 months now. It’s been 6 months as my own boss, 6 months learning my way around working directly with clients, 6 months of being able to set my own agenda and 6 whole months of learning to understand what my own strengths and weaknesses are as a girlboss businesswoman.

This point was another marker, another waypoint in the journey, and I’m so pleased to have been developing a portfolio of lovely, interesting clients who are also challenging my creativity and helping me expand my skill base – and I’ve also picked up a few unexpected projects along the way to add to my CV and LinkedIn.

Unique, quirky and full of love: a small business gift guide.

If a tree falls in the forest and there is no one around to hear it, does it make a sound? If you are a blogger who doesn't write a gift guide, are you even entitled to buy rose gold accessories?

Obviously, I'm joking, but having never written a gift guide in the 5 years that I've been blogging bar my annual charity guide (an updated version to follow shortly, don't worry) I felt that an essential tool in my blogging arsenal was lacking deployment.

A Restaurant Review of Celeste at the Lanesborough.

This was a meal both of angelic delicacy and more earthly disappointment. Not the company, obviously, just read on.

After much to-ing and fro-ing, Aftab, Angie, Binny, Zoe and I managed to find a date that could all gather for my birthday (#bloggerproblems) we chose Celeste at the Lanesborough, excited to check off a restaurant that had been languishing on our spreadsheets (I wish I was kidding - but behind many hungry bloggers is an electronic hit list of tasty locations) for much too long. Chef Eric Frechon and Executive Chef Florian Favario hold five Michelin stars between them, so to say we were excited would be an understatement.

Spurred on by friends who had visited many times and loved the fare, we also managed to hook ourselves one of the London Restaurant Festival menus (allowing for less bank manager outrage and more champagne - my old maths teacher would be so proud). Unfortunately, it was a dark and rainy evening. We arrived shaking the rain from our coats and giggling at the rather late 21st birthday mug that arrived from Australian (thanks to my Aunty, who gave it to my Uncle who stored it between house moves.)

Gambolling Through Ghent; A Wanderers Guide.

As a day trip from Brussels (only a half hour train),  I've found that either many people haven't heard of Ghent, preferring to explore the chocolate box streets of Bruges, or they adore Ghent so much that when a blogger (me) visits, they spam them via instastories with recollections of days spent there and memories made. True story.

Disclaimer: I was a press guest of VisitFlanders in Ghent, 

but all planning, mischief and thoughts are all mine.

We fell into the former camp on our trip to Brussels and explored Bruges, but genuinely regretted only being able to fit one city in, vowing to return one day.

Dîner en Blanc: Somerset House, London 2017

A couple of years ago I was introduced to the mystique of Dîner en Blanc.

In a nutshell, Dîner en Blanc is a worldwide event spanning six continents, in which people flash-gather in a public space and set up a temporary, chic dining area. Guests from around the city meet in a variety of designated points, coming together all dressed in white to enjoy gourmet picnic food, wine and the rather magical atmosphere.

9 Lessons I Have Learnt In 3 Months As A Freelancer

Freelancer. Freelancer. I still can't quite believe that I'm a (MacBook wielding, coffee drinking, flatly photographing, stereotype embodying) freelancer, running my own business and helping other professionals market their wares.

It's still only early days yet - I set myself 3 and 6 month markers to look at how I was doing in my venture, but I'm pleased to say that things are looking fairly healthy at the 3 month mark. I'm establishing my portfolio with some brilliant clients (*waves*) and every day I get out of bed looking forward to coffee crunching through my to-do lists.

A Bedazzling Brunch at Berners Tavern

A good 75% of my friends are bloggers (not bloogers as my confused fingers seem to think) and online based lifeforms who have transcended the matrix. The other 25% are fellow expats. It makes sense, right? Friends are with you for a reason, a season or a lifetime and when your conversations are littered with algorithm references (jokes, we aren't that smart) or cultural frustrations it makes sense to hang out with kindred spirits.

Why am I blathering about my friend type ratio and not the lovely brunch we enjoyed at Berners Tavern? Honestly, it's probably because this beautiful corner of Fitzrovia is so pretty that it is often fully booked out - and I don't want you to take my table. You would be more than welcome to join us next time though.

10 things to do in Wellington, New Zealand

The capital city of New Zealand is my spiritual heart (I fell in love whilst at university there) and with more cafes per capita than any other city in the world, it always feels like home. Walking down Wellington streets, my mind overlays so many memories - and I'm always amazed at how after a decade I still know how to get around without a map. I suspect it is indelibly etched on my heart.

I could actually suggest a zillion different reasons to visit Wellington, but for me, the most important ones are my brother, sister-in-law, two rosy cheeked nephews and my best friend (who I managed to also get to see up in Auckland!). Even if you don't possess such filial ties, Wellington is a brilliant city.

An Ode To Afternoon Tea for #AfternoonTeaWeek (in collaboration with Buyagift)

As a meal, afternoon tea doesn't make a great deal of sense. Delicate slivers of sandwiches, scones slathered with cream (not to mention jam depending on partiality) and a top tier of jewel-like cakes twinkling from a slender stand.

This is even before the champagne menu is presented, and a bouquet of tea flavours is spread before the beautifully manicured guests. Meanwhile, a harpist gently strums in the background and fellow enthusiasts murmur over the gentle tinkle of tea-cups. Oh, and then you get bloke-orientated teas with sliders, hot scotch eggs and a tumbler of ale.

The Luxury Brunch Afternoon Tea at Le Meridien Hotel (warning: this is not a typo)

Brunch is somewhat of a religion in New Zealand, and Afternoon Tea is rather a genteel worship of tinkling tea cups in England. They are both altars that I spend an inordinate amount of time at, both in London and away, and more than once I've declaimed them to be my favourite meals.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Le Meridien but all thoughts, 

flavour sentiments and brunch chants are entirely original.

Somehow, the stars aligned to not only find an afternoon that both Becca (of Runaway Kiwi infamy) and I had free, and coincide with an invite to try out the Brunch Afternoon Tea at Le Meridien Hotel in Piccadilly. Living our best lives indeed.

An afternoon at the polo and exploring the Cowdray Estate.

Boarding the train at Waterloo Station armed with morning cups of tea in hand, we chatted the whole way through our 50 minute journey to Haslemere, watching the skyline change from forests of steel to boughs of ancient leaves.

We were bound for an afternoon at the Polo, to watch the pinpoint trained ponies and riders duke it out for the Jaeger-LeCoultre Gold Cup, a match played to honour one of the riders.

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Cowdray Estate, 

but my swooning prose is very much original and unaffected.

After a quick 20 minute cab ride through the country lanes lined with stone built cottages, many with yellow framed windows* - we dismounted for a tour and lunch at Cowdray Manor House. What used to be the family home of Lord and Lady Cowdray, is now an exclusive residence that can be hired out for special occasions, wellness retreats or for private use.

So, as a social media consultant, what do you do for work now?

I have had a fair few questions from friends and family about what my business is actually doing, so I thought I'd clarify a little. (Ignore the slightly shameless plug, unless of course you are running a small business that needs a helping hand making your social media accounts the best they can be - in which case, have a look at my website, and contact me for a free consultation.)

Effectively there are two strands to the business; social media management and content/article writing. (I occasionally do a little PR problem solving and outreach, but on a very ad hoc basis.)

What is social media? It is a group of websites and applications that were originally invented as a bit of fun online networking, but now have developed into a global form of pretty well instant marketing and communication that has taken the world by storm. Businesses are now using these platforms as a tool to share with the world.

Touring Lord's Cricket Ground (and learning to bat with Matthew Hoggard)

How often do you find yourself in the cricket nets at Lord's, getting tips on how to improve your skills from an ex-England fast bowler before taking a tour through the hallowed 'Home of Cricket'?

Disclaimer: We were invited guests of the England and Wales Cricket Board
but my terrible hand eye co-ordination and ensuing words are all my very own.
Tours don't usually include a personal Cricket masterclass.

So for Shikha (of Why Waste Annual Leave) and I to find ourselves batting and bowling in the Marylebone Cricket Club nets at Lords, we actually couldn't stop grinning at our blind luck - and when Matthew Hoggard MBE, former England test cricket team bowler and captain of Leicestershire) saw me pick up a cricket ball and just how terrible my bowling was, he also smiled. Slightly grimly if truth be told.

4 Days in Doha - A stopover in the Middle East

Having decided to change my career, I thought that I deserved a wee holiday to celebrate. Now, most people would book a long weekend in Spain or perhaps a week on a beach, but I decided that a 3 week trip to New Zealand was in order. With the blessing of my Mr Kiwi (who had to keep the UK hearth fires burning and the cat fed due to work commitments) and a brand new baby nephew to meet, I booked myself on a flight.

It's becoming a bit of a cliche to say that the best thing about blogging is the community - but it is. Hence the cliche. I'm in the very, very lucky position to have made friends all over the world through blogging, and when I realised just how easy it was to hop off my flight to Qatar en route home, I couldn't resist the temptation to harass Mrs Follow Your Sunshine for a few days, not to mention soak in some of the Middle Eastern sunshine.

An annual afternoon tea at Dalloway Terrace, Bloomsbury Hotel

A year ago we met here. We gathered amidst green boughs, tinkling teacups and marbled table tops. On the table champagne flutes sparkled, delicately dove grey striped crockery nestled arranged just so and green blooms drew the eye to the space left for our afternoon tea towers to occupy.

Disclaimer: We were again invited guests of the Dalloway Terrace at The Bloomsbury Hotel but my (very many meandering) thoughts are still mine.

It is amazing how simultaneously so much, yet so little can change in 365 days .

Relaxing on the doorstep of Richmond Park: A staycation hotel review

To say this was the laziest most relaxed adventure yet would be an understatement. 

At the beginning of this year, my one and only Mr Kiwi put me on a travel ban. After a 6 week period that included a surprise birthday trip to Gothenburg, a myriad of business travel, a weekend staycation and two awesome weeks roadtripping around Texas and Louisiana at the end of last year, he felt like he had had enough.

So in order to assuage the flame of wanderlust that has my soul (one day it may waver so I'm making the most of it whilst I can) I had to get crafty. I mean, compromise. Yes, compromise. *shifty eyes*

Aqua Shard: Brunching in London clouds

The Shard and I have a tempestuous on again, off again relationship. On our first rendezvous this bastion of the London skyline was moody and somewhat icy, our second dalliance was a touch more blue sky and secretive (an unbloggable lunch at the Shangri-La), and the third a cheeky twilight drink - but on this particular date, we managed to enjoy an early brunch cementing our liaison as an everlasting London romance.

 Disclaimer: We were invited guests of Aqua Shard but my (very many) thoughts are only ever mine and more repeat visits on lovely days are going into my diary. Ps. Sister restaurant Aqua Kyoto has a bottomless brunch reader special until 28th May if you click this sushi treatise about our visit... (#notspon, just delectable)

After a flurry of activity organising a secret trip in honour of Aftab's birthday, 3 of the self-named Angles (sorry, random insider joke) gathered around a table with one of our American favourites (she is definitely not square, I promise) to breakfast and gaze over the London skyline full of anticipation for our incipient journey. Laden with weekend bags full of mischief and a train booked for 11am, early on the Sunday morning we checked in with the restaurant front staff (who didn't even blink an eye at how much clothing we had packed) and took our seats over the London city skyline.