Results matching “Christmas”

I'm still catching up from last year. This past Christmas, the beauty and skincare subscriber box Glossybox has released their first ever advent calendar. I expected it to fly off the shelves. As soon as it was available, I purchased it because I saw a sneak preview of what was inside, and I loved the different selection of products. They were all different brands and mainly products that I had never tried before. I was impressed at the selection of the different types of products in the calendar, and these will all come in very useful over the course of this new year.

I loved the box that the advent calendar came in with the individually-designed boxes. It's a good-quality box that can be reused. I've added several photographs of it below. Sorry that none of these are the best photographs, but I had a very busy November and December and had to rush the photographs and didn't get time to use natural light or plan a pretty set-up. Also, getting what I did capture was a little bit in a feat itself as my two Maine Coons love to be in the limelight.

Now, what did I get? Here's the updated list organised by day:

NARS Velvet Lip Glide in 'Immortal': Two different colour options were available, and I received the pink or fuschia-coloured 'Immortal' instead of the bright red 'Burning Love'. This suited me fine because I already own this product in a bright red colour, and I don't care much for bright red lipstick. The matte application is long-lasting, and it is a matte finish. The colour is still a little bold for me, but I will find a use for it.

Nip & Fab Dragons Blood Fix Plumping Serum: This skin-care serum helps to firm and hydrate skin. It contains a product from a tree called 'Dragon's Blood' that has been used since ancient timesto plump and heal skin, and apparently it helps dry skin and eczema too. With the harsh winter weather, I have a little bit of dry skin on my face, so I am interested to try this.

Yankee Candle Christmas Edition ('Berry Trifle'): One of three festive scents could have been included in the advent calendar. The others were 'The Perfect Tree', which is a pine tree smell or 'Season of Peace', which is a relaxing scent. I received 'Berry Trifle', which is a sweet berry scent. I have previously had this scent in a smaller candle.

Philip Kingsley Body Building Conditioner: This conditioner helps to boost volume, hydrate hair, and prevent static. I'm curious to see how this product behaves with my hair as some of this brand's products go very thick and make my hair appear greasy. This product is suitable for coloured hair too.

MDM Great Than Mascara: This highly-pigmented mascara comes with a brush that applies the product in a desired way with a thinner or thicker end. It curls and adds volume with a thick and dark colour. I love the gold packaging for this product, so this would be something to add bling to my handbag.

3ina The Lip Primer: Lip primer helps to add long-lasting colour to lips. It should be used before applying lip colour, and it helps to moisturise lips as well as making a brighter colour. I've never used a lip primer before, so I am excited about trying this one.

Patisserie de Bain Strawberry Cupcake Body Wash: I love the branding of this kitsch bath and shower gel, which was created to remind users of French patisserie sweetness. This sweet scent is 'Strawberry Cupcake' and lathers up in the water. I'm not overly keen on the scent of this one for the shower, but I love the branding. 

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush: Perfect for applying cream and foundations to blend without the mess, this brush is actually a best-seller. I need some good make-up brushes, so I am interested in trying this one out.

Charles Worthington Volume & Bounce Body Booster Mousse: This hair spray mousse promises that the wearer will have bouncer and fuller-volume hair. It can be used on colour-treated hair. I am a little less keen about this product because a lot of them make my hair look greasy or over-styled.  

bareMinerals © SKINLONGEVITY™ Vital Power Infusion: This product helps to hydrate and add vitamins to skin during the dry winter months. It will help improve overall complexion. My skin has been very dry already, and it's not really been too cold for long, so I could use this.

Bellapierrie Kiss Proof Lip Finish: This clear lip gloss is meant to be worn on top of lip colour. It adds a bit of gloss and increases the colour of your lipstick and adds to the longevity of the lipstick as well. The product prevents your lip colour from transferring from lips.

MUA Cosmic Vixen Palette: This eyeshadow palette contains fifteen different and highly-pigmented shades to choose from. These shades are all perfect for the festive season and are highly-blendable, and they can be used together to create just the right shade for your party look.

Karmameju Konjac Sponge: This Konjac sponge helps to keep acne at bay if used daily by cleansing the skin. The sponge also contains charcoal to help scrub away dead skin. Konjac is a plant that contains amino acids and vitamins to help purify and smooth the skin.

Elgon Concentrated Restoring Mask: This hair mask promises to restore, add shine, and nourish hair as well as to remove the harm caused by chemicals and hair products. I'm excited to try a new hair mask product.

INC.redible Jelly Shot Lip Quencher (Ex Revenge): This interesting transparent lip product is a lip balm to help the wearer get through the cold winter months. This product contains 24k gold flakes to help give the wearer's lips a shimmery glow. In addition to looking good and having a nice package design (pictured below), the product helps to moisturise lips.

Pop Beauty Eyeshadow Pigment (Metallic Copper): This highly-pigmented powder can be used on eyes, cheeks, nails or lips. It can be combined with lipstick to create a festive glittery lip glow or mixed with transparent nail polish. I love these highly-pigmented powders. This one is a metallic copper, but I would consider it a deeper red colour.

Luxie Rose Gold Tapered Highlighter Brush 522: This tapered highlighter brush helps the wearer add highlighter products to give the face and eyes a definition. A good set of brushes is essential to have for your make-up regime, and I needed some new brushes to help me apply my make-up.

Lollipops Highlighter: This travel-sized highlighter comes in a cute little tube and adds shimmer and definition to areas of the face, such as cheekbones, nose, and brows.

Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater & Pink Peppercorn Hand Therapy: I do love the Crabtree & Evelyn scents. This is a deeply-moisturising hand cream. It is perfect for the dry winter months. I also love the fact that I find their products easily absorb into the skin without feeling greasy or heavy on the skin.

Steve Laurent Lipgloss (Eggplant): A very lightweight formula designed to moisturise and make lips look good, this lipgloss is also highly-pigmented. It is a dark but popping berry shade, known as "Eggplant". This looks like a perfect festive shade.

Pixi by Petra Fresh Face Blush (Beach Rose): I love the brand Pixi by Petra. This shade of blush is 'beach rose', and it is a powder blush. It promises to be a long-lasting and natural mineral blush.

Zelens Transformer Instant Renewal Mask: This anti-aging face mask promises a more youthful complexion and firmer skin. It contains ingredients to remove dead skin cells and other vitamins and ingredients to oxygenate the skin.

Eyeko Fat Eye Stick (Satin): This fat eye stick is a shimmery eyeshadow to allow the wearer to create a smokey eye effect. I'd previously received one of these in a subscription box, and the product is a little too thick for my liking to apply easily. The shade that I received is 'Satin', which is a copper shade.

Mitchell & Peach Flora No.1 Fine Radiance Oil: This facial oil should be applied overnight to firm and tighten skin and provide a youthful complexion. It has a subtle floral scent.

Huda Beauty Winter Solstice Palette: This pearly highlighter palette can create an instant glow to skin, and the shades are perfect for the winter months. The pearl makes them luminous. I am looking forward to trying these highlighter shades.

That wraps it up for the Glossybox "All I Want" 2018 advent calendar! I am excited to try these products as I have not tried the majority of them. I was really impressed with Glossybox's first ever advent calendar.

I'm not exactly sure where 2018 went, but it has been another roller-coaster of a year in which I have been unable to get caught up on most aspects of life. It has been a year of putting in long hours at work, which is something that I did not plan to do again this year, but it started at the end of last year and then carried on for the majority of this year. The one decent aspect about this year is that there has been a sense of stability for me in some aspects, although the workload has been continuously hectic. I am looking forward to seeing what 2019 brings, though I do hope 2019 is stable and relaxed year with new opportunities to travel and to look after myself, which I've been neglecting. I often end up looking after others and putting myself last, which doesn't do me any good at all. Despite that, I did manage to do quite a bit of things this year. Anyway, I will cut to some of the more memorable moments of 2018 now.

January: This month started with a continuation of December's workload where I was putting in long hours and working two jobs. The other job was carried on from my previous employer who won a project and then did not have the resources to complete the project after my contract ended; I agreed to help them out and did so until the middle of April. I enjoyed the project and it was for a huge brand. 

I did manage to take an evening off to spend Twelfth Night and Farewell Party at the Geffrye Museum. The Geffrye Museum is a museum dedicated to the British home and how it has changed throughout the centuries. The museum closed for renovations in January and is to remained closed for at least a couple of years, so the annual Twelfth Night celebrations were also a Farewell Party. I could not stay for too long, but the celebrations had a great community feeling, and I enjoyed the carol-singing and entertainment.

One of the most delicious and unique treats that I ate this year was a "wheelcake", which is inspired from Taiwan. "Wheelcake Island" is the name of the street food vendor that sells them, and they set up shop at Brick Lane Market, although at the time of writing this, they are now located in Spitalfields Market. I attempted to buy from them three additional times, but they were either shut or I failed to locate them in Spitalfields, and it's now the end of the year and I've not been able to get back. The "wheelcake" is similar to a waffle or pancake and filled with a choice of traditional bean filling, matcha, custard, or custard with chocolate (which is the one I tried). 

One of January's events that I had been most looking forward to since the middle of previous year was the return of London Lumiere, a four-day light art installation show that was held across multiple locations in London during the darkest month. It was last hosted a couple of years ago, and I loved it. This year's installations were spread out over a larger area of the city to reduce the over-crowding that the previous event suffered, and there were a few gems, but I felt that the previous Lumiere was better. The highlights were the projections onto Westminster Abbey, which was shown the previous year, the rose window powered by energy from cycling, a giant globe at Oxford Circus, an immersive blue fog at King's Cross Granary Square, and glowing portals at Jermyn Street.

Also, Canary Wharf's Winter Lights also took place again, and this is now an annual staple (similar to London Lumiere but on a smaller scale and limited to Canary Wharf) that appears to have replaced the Ice Sculpting Festival that they used to host. Overall, a nice selection of work could be seen, but not all of the installations could be displayed on some days due to the windy weather. I loved the interactive glowing blocks and the sphere. 

February: February was another busy month for me, and I spent the majority of my time working. The weather was unusually cold, so I did not mind staying in and working hard. This year, Pancake Day and Valentine's Day were on consecutive days. As I am currently not working on Brick Lane or in any place where I could watch a pancake race, I had a quiet Pancake Day lunch not far from the new office in Chiswick in an American bakery/restaurant known as Outsider Tart.

At the weekend, I enjoyed Valentine's Day Enchanted Rose Afternoon tea at Kona Taj 51 Buckingham Gate. Kona Taj 51 has been on my radar for themed afternoon teas, so I had to give the venue a try for their Valentine's Day afternoon tea. The highlight for me were the heart-shaped rose and almond-flavoured scones. They are the best scones that I have had, and thinking about them makes my mouth water. I would love to have them again.

March: "The Beast from the East" arrived at the end of February and continued in early March with snowfall and freezing temperatures, which brought more travel chaos for the first half of the month. I looked forward to a trip to Disneyland Paris in the middle of the month, and by then, the weather wasn't too dreary or cold. This year marked the 25th anniversary of Disneyland Paris, and a special "Star Wars" event was held until the end of the month at Disneyland Paris. I am a huge fan of "Star Wars", so visiting while the special "Star Wars" events were taking place was awesome.

This was my third visit to Disneyland Paris. I went on the rides, watched the illuminations/fireworks and the parade, had meals at some nice places, and went to the Buffalo Bills dinner entertainment. I spent just over two days here,  and I cannot believe just how busy Disneyland Paris has become since my last visit ten years ago, and that visit was in high season in summer.

April: April was yet another busy month with work, so I did not get to do many social events, but I did get to attend Secret Cinema "Blade Runner". Secret Cinema is immersive cinema; the audience become a part of the film and are given an identity following the theme of the film to participate in different activities before sitting down to watch the film itself. Inside the secret location near Bermondsy, the city was reconstructed with street food vendors, a nightclub, and offices. Other actors and actresses make it come to life. Oh, and it actually rained inside the building in the busy "street" set in the metropolis created to look like it was out of the film. It was great!

Toward the end of April, the weather finally improved, and one of the best days for the weather was the day that I visited Fes-tea-val for National Tea Day at Chiswick House. I discovered historic teaware from other parts of the world and walked around the food market. I actually bought so much from the food market that I struggled to get it back home, though getting to Chiswick isn't an easy journey for me. I had won a prize but sadly did not realise that I'd won the raffle until I had already left.

The last event of April was a christening, and the weather turned chilly again. After the christening at the church in Bournemouth, all of us went out for lunch at Neo's Restaurant in Bournemouth. We had some really cool cocktails served in glasses shaped like pineapples. After lunch, we went back to the house to have cake and chat.

May: The month kicked off with a beautiful and warm Bank Holiday. I finally got to tick an item off my bucket list, and that item was to see a bluebell forest. I have seen photographs, but I had actually never seen a bluebell forest in real life. I was very impressed, and the bluebell forests at Ashridge Estate in Hertfordshire were so beautiful that my photographs cannot do them justice. After talking a couple of walks recommended by the National Trust as the best trails to see the bluebells, I stopped at Berkhamstead Castle a few miles away from the Ashridge Estate and had lunch along the canal. Berkhamstead is a beautiful village, and I'd love to go back to visit it.

Additional time this month was spent with friends and family who came to visit, to attend a birthday party, and included another visit to Bournemouth. While in Bournemouth, I wanted to go to Corfe Castle as I have never been there despite driving past it a few times and spending a good deal of my time in Bournemouth at university. We all ended up going to the village of Corfe Castle and visited Corfe Castle Model Village, which was followed by warm tea at the National Trust tearoom. I also had a quick tour around the castle at Corfe Castle on my own.

At the end of the month, everyone was talking about the Royal Wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. To celebrate, I enjoyed Royal Wedding Afternoon Tea at The Royal Horseguards. The pastries did look stunning and were served well, but this was not the best afternoon tea experience that I've had. The service was incredibly slow, and the food wasn't great.

This month also provided me with the best dessert that I had this year. I found it at Alto by San Carlo at Selfridges. This rooftop Italian restaurant is decorated with vines of flowers across the ceiling, giving it a summery feel. The pistachio tart was delicious; I am not in this part of London often but did attempt to return one time when I was in the area, only to be turned away because they did not have space. I really want to go back and eat this again!

June: June is my birthday month, and this year was an important birthday. I had a couple of big holiday plans but fell short of booking them as I needed to watch my spending until May because of last year's renovations. I'd booked the time off but had to cancel due to work, and the most that I could take off was a long weekend. 

I had never been to Milan before, but it has been on my bucket list; I booked a short trip to Milan (Birthday Trip to Milan). Milan is a working city, but the people were friendly and I enjoyed good gelato and good food, and the city offered a small selection of attractions made this achievable in a long weekend. I got to see Milan Duomo, which is the largest cathedral in Europe and third largest cathedral in the world. I also got to see the famous Da Vinci painting "The Last Supper". My favourite day there was on my birthday. After an early morning start, I got back to the hotel and enjoyed Prosecco and birthday cake with the balcony opened. Shortly after I'd returned to the hotel, a singer started to sing outside on the street right below my hotel window. He was singing/playing old jazz, which is one of my favourite types of music, and he was fantastic.

The last full day was spent on a day trip to Lake Como where we had a short time to spend in Como before going on a boat ride from Como to Bellagio to see the famous villas owned by celebrities and used in films. Unfortunately, this wasn't the best trip because the tour company's audio and transport equipment did not work, so we did not get much out of it. The weather that day had also changed and was rainy and colder. Besides the boat trip, which took a long while, we spent a little bit of time exploring as much of Bellagio as we could. This is a nice village on the lakeside, and a series of steps can be climbed to an upper road with tourist shops along it. It was a picturesque place.

July: The highlight of my year was July. After a hard-working June, my working hours became a little bit more manageable. Also, from the end of June and throughout July, the weather was wonderful; it was hot and sunny. At the beginning of the month, I had a last-minute Fourth of July BBQ (which doubled as birthday and engagement parties) that a few friends came to. The weather was perfect for it.

In the middle of the month, the annual MINI event in Poole, "Quay For My Car" (MINIs in Poole Quay), took place. I met up with friends and saw classic and new MINI cars. This event used to take place in three months over summer, but it now only takes place in one month and always happens on a Friday early evening.

My friends from America had also come to visit and were staying in Manchester. The next morning, I went to Manchester for the weekend and then spent a day in London with them. It was a whirlwind trip, and I have not managed to post about everything we got up to. The first stop was that we had Brunch at The Alchemist in Manchester, and then we had fun looking at Manchester's street art before visiting Manchester's Cat Cafe. We toured BBC Media City the following day.

At the end of July, I had a long weekend in Norfolk. I had been to the city of Norwich twice before, but this trip allowed me to see Norfolk, and I was able to spend nearly three days in the area. I originally visited to see the charity sculpture trail GoGoHares! Hop Around Norwich and Norfolk, but I also had some time for sight-seeing. I visited Baconsthorpe Castle, Caister Castle and Caister Castle Car Collection. I hope that I am able to get back to see more of the area and have equally excellent weather for it in 2019.

The last amazing attraction that I saw at the end of the month was Hell-Fire Caves. These man-made caves have a wealth of history and many stories surrounding the Hell-Fire Club, and I loved the tour. I had no idea that something like this existed. I have recommended this place to a few people as it's really neat and someplace I had not heard of before.

August: Unfortunately, the wonderful weather did not stick around for August. Near the middle of the month, I had a long weekend in Bristol for the bloke's birthday and expected to see Gromit Unleashed 2.0, the newest charity sculpture trail, and the Bristol Balloon Festival. Despite a promising start very early on the first morning (we arrived the night before), the weather was dismal and the Balloon Festival was cancelled. I had lived in the area for a few years and had never been to the Balloon Festival, so it is still on my list. I was really disappointed. 

I went to two more charity sculpture trails in August. The second one was Hoodwinked!, which featured many large-scale robins dressed as Robin Hood in Nottingham. I also went to see Minerva's Owls of Bath at the end of the month for a day, but I only ended up seeing very few and the weather was not kind. Overall, I found August to be a very disappointing month.

September: I guess that the first day in September felt like it needed to make up for the wash-out August, so we had a day of unexpected heatwave. This was spent (caught off-guard) on Bournemouth's Beach with thousands of other people and family to watch the Bournemouth Air Show. This year marked 100 years of the RAF (Royal Air Force), so this aspect was brought into the display.

Autumn this year was all about weddings. I had three weddings to attend, and all three were within six weeks of each other. Two of the weddings took place in September. The first wedding was the wedding of my good friends Andrew, who I have known for years, and Agnes. Agnes' and Andrew's Wedding took place at the Wokefield Estate near Reading, and I stayed overnight at the venue to help them celebrate into the early hours.

The second wedding was held in rural Kent at the end of the month, and we had surprise sunny weather. It was to celebrate Mini and Chris, a really lovely couple that I've only got to know in the past few years and hope to spend more time with.

October: The final wedding was held at the end of October for my cousin Elizabeth and her fiance Brian in America, so my October focused on a nearly-two week visit to Ohio. I have been hoping to return to Ohio for autumn for nearly fifteen years and nearly went last year but did not get to due to my work situation. Autumn is my favourite season, and I love the colourful autumns in Ohio where a couple of weeks of warm weather (Indian Summer) can be enjoyed before the cold weather sets in. Unfortunately, Ohio's weather has been odd this year and the leaves were not changed when I arrived in the middle of the month, and after the first few days, the weather was not great. 

I've always wanted to go to the Circleville Pumpkin Show, so I planned to go to Ohio in the middle of the month so that I could go when it was on. I really enjoyed trying the pumpkin-flavoured foods and exploring the pumpkins. I really wanted to watch the parades and stay later, but we did not get to and it ended up being a very rushed trip, so I want to go back again and see it properly.

I also met up with friends. I went with friends to "Wine Your Way Out" wine-tasting in a corn maze, followed by a hay ride around the corn field. I also went to Utica to the Velvet Ice Cream Factory with my mother and then out to eat with her father and step-mother (my grandparents), and her sister and brother-in-law (my aunt and uncle). 

The highlight was the trip to Hocking Hills state park where part of my cousin's wedding celebrations were due to take place. We arrived early and had fun walking on three of the trails (Old Man's Cave, Cedar Falls, and Ash Cave) before the weather got worse. We stayed in a lovely cabin while we attended the wedding celebreations. We saw some awesome places, and you can read all about the visit by reading this post, where I have included everything that I got up to and a wealth of knowledge; many of the hints and tips were from the bride and groom.

The month ended with the wedding of Elizabeth and Brian at the orchard with a reception at Hocking Hills, which was great fun. The sad part was having to leave and then get back to normality. Work was crazy-busy when I returned.

November: November brought me back into reality and kept me busy. I got to see the local Ruislip Bonfire Night fireworks a few days after I returned from being away. I always thought fireworks should happen in July, but I now have a fondness for seeing them light up the sky in the crisp early November evenings with the smell of firework smoke and bonfire in the air.

Armistice Day was also a big deal this year as it marked 100 years since the end of World War I, and a couple of art installations took place in London. The first one was candle-lighting at the Tower of London for the week up to the 11th of November (The Tower Remembers).

My favourite of the art installations was "Shrouds of the Somme", a large-scale art installation representing the scale of the lives lost during the battle in the trenches in France. The names of the soldiers who died and their rank, division, and home towns were all read out. It was very moving and sombre.

November is Thanksgiving, and Thanksgiving fell early this year. I had an evening Thanksgiving dinner organised by the Benjamin Franklin House, and it took place in the beautiful Clothworker's Hall in the City of London. This was a traditional-style Thanksgiving dinner with complete strangers and other American expats.

At the end of the month, I went to the New Forest to the Christmas at Beaulieu event. This was the first Christmassy event that I went to this year. There were many different installations and light shows, and I enjoyed the light show on the front of the house and the Christmas tree lights, which were in time to the Christmas music being played. It was a very festive evening.

December: December was eventful for me. First of all, I took a walk around London to look at the Christmas lights and then I had drinks at Christmas Cocktails @ Miracle at Henrietta. I loved this pop-up bar with the festive drinks and festive vintage Christmas decorations, but it was always too busy to get in. I would love if they made this permanent and a larger venue; it was so popular. 

I also finally got to go to Peggy Porschen's Cakes cafe: A Christmas Visit to Peggy Porschen Bakery. I've been wanting to visit Peggy Porschen's for a long while. I visited early in the morning during the week and had a hot chocolate and a cupcake and sat outside. This cafe is picturesque, and I spent the remainder of the day looking at a few Christmas lights and displays and visited the new "Peanuts" comic strip exhibition at Somerset House (I'll be covering this next month).

Right before the holidays, I went with a couple friends to Festive Afternoon Tea at Jean-Georges, The Connaught Hotel London. We were looked after very well and enjoyed the festive afternoon tea.

This year, Bournemouth have launched a new Christmas Tree Wonderland and Christmas Tree Trail. The majority of the trail is located in the middle of Bournemouth in the Lower Gardens and along part of the seafront near the entrance to the Lower Gardens. Included in the evening is additional entertainment, light and audio shows, fireworks, and a Christmas market. I visited it last weekend. For those who wish to go, you still have time as the trail ends on January 2. Do note that not all of the lights or trees may be lit up, and some of the shows are timed.

The Christmas market has a number of items for sale, and I had a quick browse. Primarily, the market was a place to get food and drink, and I had a hot chocolate that came with a candy cane and gingerbread man.

The first part of the trail that I saw was at The Triangle, up the hill from the Lower Gardens. But, the majority of the trail was located in the Lower Gardens as this is a larger area. I was also able to see where the new cinema and restaurants are as they have been renovating the centre.

The centre of the tree trail is the light and audio show, and visitors have to walk through the middle of the Bournemouth Wonderland Tree to get to the other side of the trail. The Christmas tree changed colours and patterns and was synchronised to music. Many different parts of favourite Christmas songs were played.

The other trees are had names inspired by various locations.

Oslo Tree

Warsaw Tree

Gingerbread man

Illuminated rocks and stream

Bournemouth illuminated wheel and trees

Seattle tree

Bethlehem tree

St. Petersburg Tree

St. Petersburg Tree

Tree of light

Moscow tree

Illuminated walk-through bauble

This was a fun evening out, but town was very busy with visitors and it was difficult to walk through the large tree because of the number of people and no set "one way" trails. They really needed to make the trail in this area one-way with a diversion around or put a rope down the middle. Anyway, it was a very nice evening and a festive trail.

Festive afternoon tea at The Connaught Hotel in Mayfair, London is held at the Jean-Georges Restaurant, and I visited yesterday in the early afternoon with friends and the bloke. This year, we were looked after extremely well by the hotel and the staff at Jean-Georges and were seated in the beautiful conservatory. The restaurant is named after chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The traditional (with contemporary flavours and style) afternoon tea is served with a festive twist from the end of November until the end of the festive period.

At this time of year, The Connaught and London looks very festive. In front of the hotel this year, a giant Christmas tree glows. Each year, The Connaught Hotel in Mayfair has a different artist design their Christmas tree, and this year, it is designed by Michael Craig-Martin; for more information and photographs, see The Connaught Christmas Tree 2018 is Designed by Michael Craig-Martin.

We had champagne first, and this was served in the bar while we waited a couple of minutes for our table to be ready. When we were sat at the table, I ordered Darjeeling tea.

Up first was the pre-afternoon tea item of a "Black Tru e Feuillette", which is a delicious puff pastry with a hint of truffle flavour. This was delicious, and I was equally impressed last year.

Next, we were served a selection of sandwiches. These included: cucumber Greek yogurt with lime and mint on herb bread; egg and mayonaisse with watercress on onion bread; smoke salmon with chipotle, coriander and lettuce; roast ham and butternut squash and white miso/black pepper on walnut bread; turkey with mayonnaise. The walnut bread was delicious, and I enjoyed the ham and cucumber sandwiches.

Next up were a selection of plain and raisin scones, and these were served with clotted cream, lemon curd, and strawberry jam.

Then, the cute pastries arrived. On the top tier, we enjoyed spiced chocolate fondue with gingerbread men.

From the top: Orage Hazlenut Praline with orange mousse. This was probably my favourite and it was a solid thin ball of chocolate with a creamy orange flavour inside; it had a hazlenut in the centre. Christmas Log Raisin Shortbread, Caramel Tonka Crémeux.

Coconut Passion Fruit Jelly Whipped Coconut Cream. Chestnut pear compote with chestnut cream. Apple & Mince Milk Mousse, Cinnamon Streusel Chocolate.

Overall, it was a lovely afternoon and evening enjoying afternoon tea before the festivities. I hope that everyone has a good few days. Happy holidays.

Peggy Porchen Cakes is one of London's most photographed cafes, and I have been wanting to visit it for over two years. I finally got to after work one afternoon in the middle of November. I was then able to make another visit in mid-December early in the morning on a weekday. The attractive pink shop opened in late 2010 and is located on a corner on Elizabeth Street between Victoria and Sloane Square, on the fringe of London's Belgravia. Peggy Porschen go all out on their decorations, and the cakes and other treats are highly-decorated to look beautiful; their clients include celebrities and royalty. They have provided wedding and celebration cakes for a many celebrities.

This little pink cafe gets so much attention, and because it is so busy, I was put off going at the weekend because I'm not really a fan of crowds. The location is a bit out of the way for me as well, so I did not want to be disappointed. I thought that at 4:00 on a work night (I cannot get there any sooner than this really) would have been relatively quiet, but there was a pretty long queue when I arrived! The place is now massively popular with non-Londoners too as quite a lot of the people visiting were from out of town.

Anyway, my visit on a week night in the afternoon included a long queue to be seated, and I did not want to wait that long. I just got a few photographs and took a few items home with me. 

My second visit happened very early on a Monday morning. Peggy Porschen Cakes opens at 8:00am, and I arrived close to ten minutes early. I took my time looking at the beautiful displays and windows on Elizabeth Street and then waited outside the shop for it to open. I was the first one there, which actually surprised me as I expected that it would be busy. However, not long after I arrived and placed my order, others started to turn up. I wanted to sit outside, and it was a little chilly but manageable, but three couples who turned up sat inside. I had the outside to myself.

What did I order? For starters, it was early for me and chilly, so I opted for the hot chocolate. This came with plenty of miniature marshmallows on the side and a lovely stencil design of snowflakes on top of the frothy cream. It looks very pretty, but it wasn't the best hot chocolate that I have had, but the warmth was satisfying.

I also had the snowman chocolate cupcake. I had had one earlier in the season, but I could not remember the flavour of it but did remember the gingerbread one was really good. As I couldn't remember what flavour I had last time, I opted for the snowman cupcake in chocolate. And, I found out that this is what I had last time. It was okay, but I preferred the gingerbread cupcake that I had previously.

To finish, I had the biscuit shaped like an ice skate. I took this home, and it came in its own little package, but I really wanted to photograph it here. I did enjoy this.

The cafe is gorgeous, and I just could not stop taking photographs of it all!

On my previous visit, I did not want to wait for a table because there was a long queue. I had no idea that it would be that popular on a weeknight just before 4:00, so I mentioned that I took a few items home with me. These are posted below as a part of my original write-up. I honestly did not believe that I would get around to visiting again so soon after it's taken me over two years to make my first visit. First up, I choose a couple of cupcakes. The one on the right is a "Christmas Cabin Speculoo" cupcake; I didn't know what this meant, but I believe it was a German-style gingerbread. The cupcake was a gingerbread-flavour and tasted light and was actually really good. It wasn't too heavy nor too sweet. The second one has a snowman decoration and is a chocolate cupcake.

They also had another cupcake with a snowman design on the top, but the cake is a different flavour. I did not try this one, but it is lemon and gingerbread. I bought the other gingerbread one, so I did not need to try this one. 

I also got a slice of coconut cake; a photograph of the whole cake is below. I thought it looked very pretty. It had round orbs of different pastel colours (pink, cream, and green), snowfakes and smaller white and silvery orbs. The cake was very light and tasted like subtle coconut. I was not as keen on the icing. It was light as well but tasted a bit greasy.

They also had a cake with macaroons on it.

I would like to get to Peggy Porschen's Cakes bakery and cafe again next spring when it is decorated with floral displays. Also, they are launching a new venue in Chelsea on King's Road. I happened to see their new location when I went to check out the Christmas displays on The Ivy Garden Chelsea restaurant, and it is not far from there. Hopefully I will get to do visit Peggy Porschen Cakes again now that I have finally been, so watch this space. 

I love London decorated for Christmas, and this year certainly does not disappoint. This post showcases most of London's Christmas lights, Christmas trees, and areas where you can see some of the best Christmas window displays. I have spent the past month scouting out the best that London has to offer for Christmas lights and displays. I don't think any of my readers will be disappointed this year. Yes, many of the lights are the same but there are quite a lot of new displays.

Covent Garden: Now that Covent Garden has finished its renovations, it is in top form for some excellent Christmas displays. The mistletoe lights and giant silver baubles have been used for the previous few years and are reused again this year, and the giant silver reindeer that has been shown for the past few years is also back on display. The large Christmas tree in the same Covent Garden basket is also back on display. The Lego sculptures and displays are now a thing of the past as the not-so-new Lego store is around the corner in Leicester Square. This year also brings a couple of new selfie-stops to Covent Garden. The first is a vintage car topped with wrapped presents and decorated pine branches, and the second is the addition of two wooden chairs within the market hall to be used for photographs amongst a wintery floral display backdrop. I am actually really impressed with Covent Gardens displays this year, and it is certainly one of the top places to be in London this winter.

The Christmas tree at the restaurant The Ivy Market Grill in Covent Garden is the same or very similar to last year's one.

Seven Dials: A short walk just north of Covent Garden is an area known as Seven Dials, which is full of nice shops and cafes and the roundabout with seven roads leading off it. In recent years, the area has changed their Christmas lights each year. This year's theme is white snowflakes. Along the monument in the middle of the Seven Dials' roundabout, I loved the light display with the white and gold lights and snowflakes strung along the buildings.

Leicester Square: Head southwest from Seven Dials, and in a brisk 10-minute walk, you will be at busy Leicester Square. This area is always filled with tourists and is one area of London that I avoid throughout the year. Leicester Square was renovated a few years ago, and a year or two after this, it has become home to a new Christmas market with entertainment. 

Piccadilly Circus: These days, the statue of Eros has scaffolding around it to protect it from people as (for some unknown reason), it tends to attract people who wish to climb it. This is sad because it is a much prettier monument without the scaffolding around it. For a couple of years, the statue was a feature in a Christmas display, being encased within a giant snow globe; the wind put a stop to that one year. Soon after that, a tourist scaled the statue and damaged it, and for the majority of the time, it has been encased in scaffolding. This was removed for a time but replaced due to another incident. The scaffolding has some light-up Christmas images on screens, but this appears out of place, and the main feature are the electronic advertising boards and the beginning of the Christmas lights on Regent Street.

Regent Street: These angel Christmas lights have been used for the past few years now, though I think they were all white lights previously. This year, I did think they looked pretty whereas I've found them a boring in the past.

Soho: Walk for about ten minutes up Regent Street (more if you wish to pop into shops or if you keep on the left to avoid the crowds outside Hamley's Toy Store), and off to the right toward Carnaby Street (but just beyond) is the entrance into London's popular Soho area. This area now has its own Christmas lights So-ho-ho, which i thought was a cute Christmassy take on the area.

Carnaby Street: This historical fashion street takes up a small space just off Regent Street just south of Oxford Street (near Liberty Department Store). This area always has the best Christmas lights in London as they are different each year. This year, the Christmas lights were a tribute to band Queen's song "Bohemian Rhapsody". Not all of the Christmas lights on Carnaby Street have been too Christmassy in the past; they take inspiration from the street and its history in rock 'n' roll. The Queen tribute is to celebrate the new film, and a pop-up store has been placed on Carnaby Street for the Christmas period so that people can buy merchandise and look at props from the film. For more photographs of these beautiful lights, see Carnaby Street Christmas Lights Celebrate Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody".

Oxford Street: Oxford Street was meant to have new Christmas lights this year, but this was postponed due to Crossrail running behind schedule. Instead, the older lights were used, although the area around Oxford Circus had a few new lights to start its familiar display of twinkling orbs. This year, the orbs are in blue and purple colours. Several of the department stores also get into the spirit by decorating their stores with lights. Boots, Debenhams, John Lewis, Marks and Spencer, and Selfridges always have their own displays.

Bond Street: Bond Street runs down through Mayfair to Piccadilly Street, and the lights here have remained the same lights that have consistently been used and were inspired by peacock feather and diamonds. The blue archways (not photographed this year) on South Molton Street (near Bond Street tube station) are also on display again.

St. Christopher's Place: On the north side of Oxford Street and a block away from Selfridges is a "blink and you'll miss it" alleyway that opens up to a narrow street known as "St. Christopher's Place". This area normally change up their display with the white baubles. This year, it has gone very British with red, white, and blue figures standing atop the baubles.

Mayfair: Many of Mayfair's shops and hotels decorate for the holidays. One of the must-see Christmas trees in London is the Connaught Christmas tree. It is designed by a different artist each year, and this year, it is designed by Michael Craig-Martin. For more photographs and information, see: The Connaught Christmas Tree 2018 is Designed by Michael Craig-Martin. Stella McCartney also always decorate the facade of the building. One of the other stars this year, which has attracted much attention on Instagram, is Annabel's Wine Bar, a private nightclub on Berkeley Square. The facade of the building has been decorated like a giant Christmas tree.

Sloane Square, Belgravia and Chelsea: The past few years, Sloane Square has had these lights hanging from the trees. Not too far away in Belgravia, the shops are decorated with beautiful Christmas displays. Elizabeth Street in Belgravia has the Instagramable cafe and bakery Peggy Porschens and Dominique Ansel. I will be posting separately about Peggy Porschens, but the display is beautiful with their pink building. They will also be launching a new shop on King's Road sometime in the new year. The other Instagramable Christmas display is The Ivy Garden Chelsea. The facade of the building is covered with Christmas decorations and baubles. 

King's Cross: King's Cross station always puts up a new Christmas tree each year. This year, it is decorated by jewelery brand Tiffany's. It is ice blue and silver and shows a giant robot decorating the tree.

Leadenhall Market: Leadenhall Market in the city of London always has a Christmas tree, and there's also one outside of City Hall near Tower Bridge. Broadgate also has its own skating and Christmas market here. The buildings often are also lit up for Christmas with the Shard, Tower 42, and the Heron Tower (Salesforce Tower) lit up in festive colours. I have not been there this year.

Trafalgar Square: This is a traditional Christmas tree gifted to London by Norway each year for helping the country during World War II, but it is not usually on display until later in December. There's been a tree in the square since 1947. It is lit in the Norwegian style of decoration, which includes putting the lights on vertically. I did not get a photograph of it this year. 

Somerset House: Somerset House is probably London's most famous ice skating rink, and it attracts many people throughout the season. The giant Christmas tree here is decorated by Fortnum & Mason. There is also a food shop set up here during the season.

Winter Wonderland and Winterville: Winter Wonderland is in Hyde Park and London's largest Christmas destination with a range of activities and entertainment available. It is an excellent place to visit to get into the Christmas spirit and has a good-sized Christmas market. Winterville is now located in Clapham Common and is a much smaller version of Winter Wonderland. For a write-up of Winterville, see: A Visit to Winterville and Backyard Cinema's Christmas Labyrinth. For a write-up of Winter Wonderland, see An Evening at Winter Wonderland Hyde Park and "The Snowman Experience" by Backyard Cinema.

Window Displays: John Lewis' window displays for Christmas mimic their Christmas commercial this year, which feature Elton John and "Step into Christmas". Selfridge's display shows various Christmassy figures dressed up with its products, and it was similar to last year's and not that imaginative. Fortnum & Mason's were my favourite this year with several interesting windows and flying mince pies. Visitors to London can check out Harrods and Harvy Nichols for their window displays, but I rarely visit that area of London. To be honest, I have not found the Christmas window displays in London very interesting in the past two or three years, so I have decided not to dedicate a full post to it this year.

Special Mention - Most Festive Pub: The Churchill Arms around the corner from Notting Hill station is London's most festive pub. The pub also has wonderful floral displays in the spring and summer, but this year, it is covered with Christmas trees. These are lit at dark. I will be covering this in more detail later on, but I thought it looked amazing.

Previous London Christmas lights are below:

• Where to see London's Christmas Lights 2017
• London's Christmas Lights 2016
• Christmas Lights and Windows 2015
• London Christmas Lights 2014
• London's Christmas Lights 2013
• London Christmas Lights and Window Displays 2012

Previous London Window displays are below:

• 2017
• 2016
• 2015
• 2014
• 2013
• 2012
• 2011

The popular Christmas-themed bar "Miracle" has come to London from the U.S. in a special pop-up at Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden and is currently serving up festive drinks in holiday glassware. The Christmas decor throughout the bar is "nostalgic" Christmas with vintage cards, prints, illustrations, paper chains, tinsel, and ornaments dating from the 1950s-1970s time frame on display. The seats were laden with warm fur to complete the cozy winter feeling, and classic Christmas songs were being played. Anyone who visits will immediately be transported to the Christmas of their childhood.

I tried three different cocktails. The first one was served in a mug shaped like a barrel: Christmas Carol Barrel. This contained aged rum, Amaro, pumpkin pie, lemon, and Angostura Bitters. The second one was served in a glass with a miniature stuffed koala bear: Koala-la-la-la, la la la la. This is made with gin, pine, lime, orange bitters, and eucalyptus syrup. The third one is served in a tall glass with a vintage Santa pulling a reindeer sleigh printed on it: And a Partridge in a Pear Tree. This cocktail included Tequila, pear brandy, mezcal, spiced demerara syrup, lime, egg white, Angostura bitters and cinnamon. My favourite was the "Koala-la-la-la, la la la la" cocktail as it was more refreshing and not as strong, but these are very strong cocktails. (I don't drink much alcohol, so I would have preferred some mocktail alternatives to these.)

Small snacks could also be purchased with the alchol, but the selection is very small and I cannot imagine the plates would be that large. I suggest eating somewhere first and then having cocktails to follow up, though I did get pleasantly tipsy for about fifteen minutes until I walked it off around Covent Garden. Without further comment, enjoy the photographs below.

Miracle is located at Henrietta Hotel in Covent Garden, and booking is recommended. I turned up in the middle of the day on a Sunday and had to wait about fourty-five minutes for a table or bar seat. Bookings are for two hours each. Miracle is located here for a short time only and closes its doors on December 23.

Each year, The Connaught hotel in Mayfair puts up a Christmas tree that has been designed by an artist. I have been following the different Christmas trees at The Connaught for the past three years now, and Michael Craig-Martin has designed the latest Christmas tree and follows artists Tracey Emin, Damien Hirst, and Antony Gormley.

Craig-Martin is an artist who plays with light and colour, and his tree is aglow with hundreds of fairy lights that light up the whole tree. The colours change, taking on new patterns and colours while visitors watch.

Previous Connaught Christmas trees that I covered on my blog are below:

• Tracey Emin
• Damien Hirst
• Antony Gormley

Carnaby Street's Christmas lights are probably the best in London because they are different every year. Last year, Carnaby Street had "Christmas Carnival" lights that were reminiscent of a tropical carnival with palms, parrots, confetti, and glitter. This year's Christmas lights were also not as Christmassy as they have had in past year, but they are colourful and bright so easily pass for Christmas lights. Carnaby's Christmas Lights this year celebrate band Queen's song and new film "Bohemian Rhapsody" with the lyrics printed in colourful and glowing neon signs overhead. I tried to get amazing photographs of these lights, but my camera really did no do justice. There's so many bright different colours in the mix that my camera did not pick up.

In the past, Carnaby's Christmas lights celebrated music as this street was fashionable in the 1960s with new fashions and music, and it was frequented by many artists. The importance of showcasing Queen this year coincides with the release of the film "Bohemian Rhapsody", which is the story of the band Queen and lead singer Freddie Mercury. On the light switch-on, actors from the film and some members of the band's family kicked off the celebrations. 

To generate interest in the film, which was released this autumn, a pop-up Queen shop has opened for a couple of months on 3 Carnaby Street. The shop sells Queen merchandise and also has items on display including some photocopies of Freddie Mercury's hand-written lyrics for some of his famous songs, a drum kit, photocopies of ticket stubs, and costumes and props from the new film.

To see previous Carnaby Street Christmas lights in my blog, see the below posts:

• Carnaby Christmas Carnival
• Carnaby Christmas Revolution
• Carnaby Christmas Party
• Robins
• Santa
• Rolling Stones (rock and roll)

Last Thursday, I found myself in Winterville with my colleagues for our work Christmas party. This visit included a visit to Backyard Cinema's Christmas Labyrinth to watch "The Greatest Showman", ice skating, roller blading, mini golf, drinks and dinner at Winterville's Street Feast. Winterville first opened its doors in Stratford east London a few years ago, but it is located at Clapham Common this year. It is essentially a much smaller version of Hyde Park Winter Wonderland. Note that I did not participate in some of the activities, but I watched as others did.

Visitors to Backyard Cinema in Winterville this year had to find their way through the Christmas Labyrinth before sitting down to watch the show. Visitors could choose from one of four doors into the labyrinth. One of the doors reminded me of a grand forest entrance; the other was a wooden door with a lion knocker. Another door was a steel door, and the last door was a small door with a jester's hat on it. I decided to take my chances with the steel door, which opened up into a Victorian-era house. 

Dead ends in the labyrinth led to empty rooms filled with clocks, and doorways through to other rooms were through the fireplace mantle, through a wardrobe, and out a door onto a cobbled 'street' and into a small room that was decorated like a pub.

After finding my way out of the labyrinth, I headed over to the bar and ordered a Gingerbread Martini and a glass of Prosecco. I didn't realise that we had VIP tickets that included mulled wine. I let one of my colleagues have it as I am not really a big fan of mulled wine anyway. 

The beanbag seats were the most comforable seats that I've had in a cinema. While everyone was waiting to get seated, Christmas songs were playing on the screen before "The Greatest Showman" was shown. I've seen the film previously when it came out, and the songs from the film are very popular at the moment. 

After the film, we went to Magic Bar Rum Bar, and I had a tropical drink. Rum isn't really my choice of drink, but this was good and fruity/tart and did not taste too strongly of alcohol.

Nearly everyone participated in the ice skating, but I sat it out because I do not have good balance and I did not want to hurt myself. Unfortunately, one colleague did hurt himself and had to go to the hospital. 

After the skating, we headed over to Street Feast and choose what we wanted with the money we were given to use. I had KRAPow Northern Thai Street Food. I had the chicken on fries, which was served with spice. The food was really good, and I loved the fries. I didn't have any food earlier, so my stomach was not very hungry and I struggled to finish it. I was going to get some halloumi fries as they are my absolute favourite, but I wasn't hungry.

After eating, I wanted something sweet so looked for the hot chocolate my colleagues mentioned. I ended up getting a hot chocolate Baileys, which wasn't very nice. Then I came across Chin Chin Labs and their pop up selling hot chocolate, sticky toffee pudding, and a couple of other treats. I ordered the toasted marshmallow hot chocolate, which was good. I then had a really quick look around Winterville. It wasn't very busy.

Before having some more drinks in one of the tent bars and chatting with colleagues old and new, I played mini golf. 

Overall, there's something for everything at Winterville, and I really enjoyed The Christmas Labyrinth at Backyard Cinema and also meeting up with my colleagues for drinks, food, and activities.