La Vida Londonista

Northern girl living the Southern dream

Showing posts with label Family. Show all posts

Happy Easter!

Easter is one of my most treasured times of the year. To a family as close as mine, Easter is a very sacred and special occasion for the family to be together and to celebrate spending time together, to be thankful for everything we have been blessed with. It’s also a great opportunity to indulge in my dad’s vintage wine cellar and over indulge in confectionery.

It couldn’t have come at a better time with work either. My first month at Armani has flown by in a whirlwind of press days, season changeover and September issue send outs. And as the first whispers of Men’s collections have begun to dance through the office, a four-day weekend sounded like the perfect chance for some rest and relaxation before another month of fast paced fashion fun begins. Emily was already home from Madrid with tales of the fun she’s been having and I was aching to join in the fun.

So practically leaping out of the office door at 6pm on the dot on Thursday evening I made a dash to the station and was straight on the train home, joined by the majority of London escaping the city for the long weekend.

I couldn’t have been happier to be met by my whole family at the platform. February must have been the last time we were all together and my dad was eager to introduce me to the latest additions to the family. Since my older sister and I have flown the nest, he has attached himself to parenting baby chicks. While conversation of the latest model of incubator or the vast amounts of land in our garden now dedicated to chickens usually irritates me, I was secretly thrilled to be coming home the evening that ten new arrivals were coming into the world.

Good Friday was dedicated, as ever, to family pastimes and old traditions, done each year with a bottle or two more of champagne. The cream egg brownie became my new favourite recipe, and my sisters and I spent the afternoon animatedly decorating the shells left over to create the perfect cases for our spring cress. As evening fell we prepared for dinner and headed off to meet my aunt and uncle for dinner. A five-course dinner in the country accompanied by bottle upon bottle of wine saw us see in the early hours of Saturday as we reminisced on the celebrations of the last year.

The easter weekend continued with a collection of coffee’s dinners and martinis in some of my most treasured company and was a beautiful reminder of how much my roots mean to me. The weekend was perfectly polished off with a wonderful lamb dinner on Sunday, while we enjoyed the Chinese grand prix.

Monday flew back around and as I type this I’m beginning my descent back into London town. Feeling perfectly rested, but equally expectant for the exciting few weeks ahead, I hope you’re Easter was as blissful as mine.

Dear Daddy,

It was my dad's birthday this weekend. Sadly, with a packed work schedule and other commitments tying me to London I couldn't make it home. But we've got to the stage now where it doesn't matter if we can't all be together for birthdays or anniversaries or holidays, we always make time to be altogether at a later date. It's just as special.

Anyone who knows me well knows how incredibly close I am to my daddy. My favourite phrases as a child were "DADIEEEEEEE" or "look at me" and very little has changed in the twenty years that have followed.

Through everything I have done and all the choices that I've made, my dad has always been at my side, encouraging me and believing in me, and I know I would be simply lost without him. Through learning to ride a bike, going to high school, the first time I brought a boy home to the day I moved out, my dad has always been there with a smile as warm and knowing as you could ever picture. We still talk almost every day, whether its about the documentary he's making about his chickens, or the outfit I'm wearing on tomorrow night's date, he is animated and entertaining in every word.

My whole family is, as many people are aware, the closest and most unusual bunch of people you could imagine. And our dad is the glue to that. So because I couldn't celebrate his birthday with him, I thought I would share it with you.

So Happy Birthday Daddy, thank you for showering every day of my life with love. I will always be your little woman

All Grown Up

Being the middle child can apparently mean a lot of things. Being the middle of three girls is apparently even worse. "Middle Child Syndrome" has forever been cursed with the connotations that middle children feel neglected, isolated or misbehave for attention. I can honestly say I have never felt any of these things. In turn, I probably wouldn't class myself as the peacemaker, the greatest negotiator, nor least parent-dependent of my siblings.

A very old snap from the archives, the joys of being the middle child and good dentistry!

In fact I've always been incredibly fond of being the middle child. As the most sociable of my siblings, there was always someone to play with as young girls, or talk to as we grew up and as much as I loved being protected by my older sister, I loved being the protector too. But regardless of what part we play in the family, my sisters and I have always been incredibly close. So when Bethany had to come to London last minute for an interview, I was thrilled. She was still yet to visit my new place and she's grown up so much since I moved out almost eighteen months ago, I was thrilled to spend some time with her.

Bethany shows every typical trait of the youngest sibling. She has an unrivalled ability to get out of anything our parents ask her to do, she has a photographic memory that remembers everything that Emily or I got that she didn't from 1996 and precedes to leave the room when conversation turns to the Christening videos because she only features on hers once. When another child falls on her.

But having been snowed under with work, cue usual moans of how working anything more than 6 hours a day is unreasonable and anything that requires more than 400 words is creatively damaging, I was looking forward to a break.

As soon as Bethany arrived she handed me her things to carry (naturally) and requested a cocktail (it's a condition that runs in the family). So we headed to Sketch. It was still early so we were directed to the parlour and ordered our Bellini's amongst the afternoon tea-goers. While I was under strict instruction to help Bethany prepare for her interview the day after, we decided one more cocktail could only aid her creative abilities, so we headed over to Barrio Central. Again it's somewhere I blogged about before, but their upstairs bar has an array of cocktails and a piñata, and who can resist either of those.

With tired eyes and growling stomachs we headed back to Notting Hill, picking up dinner and milkshakes on the way. The following day I headed off to work while B headed off to her interview on the other side of London. It was a very strange feeling sending her off to an interview. I've hardly been gone five minutes and she's preparing to follow suit and move out.

So I couldn't wait to hear all about it over drinks later that evening. We jumped in a car, a fabulous mercedes, and headed off for an evening of celebrations.

The dirty martini was our first stop with the porn star, french and dirty martinis all flowing, swiftly followed by bellini's, ice teas and singapore slings. We giggled our way through the menu before deciding it was probably time we ate.

And where better to take a non-native Londoner than the Burger and Lobster. I should probably have earned my own table by now. We finished off the evening with a bottle of white and a burger and lobster before tumbling back into our cab and heading to bed.

Bethany left the next morning and I wished she didn't have to go so soon. When you spend your whole life living with your siblings you get to learn everything about them that you grow to detest and I'd be lying if I said we didn't all have bad habits. But you also gain soul mates that know what you're thinking even before you do, who are programmed to stick by you no matter what and in my case, are unfalteringly good at making their way through cocktail menu's across the world. And that's worth every bad habit.

The Birthday Lowdown

It’s been a whirlwind of a week. I’m finally sitting down for what feels like the first time in a month. And even now I’m travelling.

The week of turning twenty has possibly been my favourite week in my twenty years. I won’t fill you in with every little detail, I’m not sure that would be a good idea for anyone. But I will tell you some of my favourite things.

My big circle of London friends all descended on Chelsea for a night of madness on Monday, complete with chocolate cake, sparklers, semi naked men and several bottles of champagne. Cue lots of

shrieking, giggling and dancing on tables.

The girls and I then headed to Gilgamesh on Wednesday. It’s a sushi and pan Asian restaurant in the heart of the stables market. We’d seen and heard great things about the restaurant and from the outside, it looked like we were entering a hidden world. We ordered drinks, a diet coke for Melissa who was already feeling the strain from the copious amounts we had drunk a few nights before. I ordered a cucumber and kiwi cocktail from the rather short but totally unique menu, and I have to say it was one of the greatest drinks I have ever had. Sadly that was possibly the highlight. While the food was good once it arrived correctly, we were left disappointed by the poor service and lack of attention to detail. You need to order a vast amount to leave feeling full too.

Thursday was birthday eve and in between running errands and salon appointments I was giddy with excitement. My bestest friends came over and we headed out to Bodos. I’ve blogged about Bodos before when Pippa, Melissa, Jack and I headed for a final hurrah at the end of last year. The south Kensington venue is a popular haunt of everyone from Jamie Laing to Prince Harry and it quickly fills up from Thursday’s- Sundays with partygoers from all over.

And finally at midnight, complete with a rather rowdy rendition of “Happy Birthday” I brought in turning twenty with drinking and dancing late into the night.

Feeling slightly worse for wear, I devoured the birthday girl breakfast scones Melissa had left for me, and headed to the station. I find these days that I’m always travelling on my birthday. I actually rather like it. And some calm TLC from my family was exactly what I required after the weeks madness. I was met by my baby sister (she’s eighteen this year, I’m going to have to let go of the ‘baby’ prefix soon) and we headed home.

Tumbling into the house I was met by the greatest looking tea party and the promise of the impeding arrival of Em Holth from Madrid, and my aunt and uncle who would also be joining us.

We tucked into plates of cheese and pineapple sticks, mini steaks, pork pies, cocktail sausages, marshmallows and traffic light biscuits. I’ll one-day post about these. An invention that transformed my childhood. Washed down with healthy glasses of champagne and wine, we caught up way into the night while I opened the last of my beautiful gifts.

And finally Saturday it was begrudgingly time to say goodbye to my birthday. I was officially twenty and my celebrations had come to a wonderful close, along with another decade of incredible memories.

Bubbledogging

I'm pretty sure when they opened Bubbledogs on a quiet side street in Fitzrovia, they did not intend for it to be turned into a verb. But that it has for today's post.

Fear not, I have not decided to rewrite the Karma Sutra.

Instead I had a visit from my Aunt and Uncle this weekend. They divide their time between back home and their Spanish apartment, so it was the first opportunity they'd had to come and visit my new place. Growing up they were like second parents to me, my Aunt would always be on hand for advice when I went through the terrible teenage years and my uncle, well he would advise me on everything else. So I was super excited to be able to spend the weekend with them.

We spent the morning browsing Fortnum and Mason's. Nothing more needs to be said about Fortnum's. Think Mr Selfridge. But even older and more fabulous, and you're still not close. But as lunch time drew near we slowly made our way to a restaurant I've been desperate to check out since it came to my attention a couple of months ago.

We stepped into Bubbledogs and were immediately excited. Although it looks like a normal cafe from outside, inside you're transported into a world that gives you three things. Great humour, great champagne, and great hot dogs. Sounds great to me.

The restaurant was abuzz with city-goers and couples alike all sipping on champagne and tucking into their red baskets. We ordered a bottle of champagne (the cheapest will set you back a little over £30), toasted their arrival and the beginning of my three week birthday, and mulled over the menu. The hot dogs could be either beef, pork or vegetarian, and were all named in relation to their originally designed ingredients.

Unable to choose, we decided to order four between us. A breakfast dog, which came with a fried egg on top, a sloppy joe, with chilli and cheese, a jose, with jalapeños and avocado, and my personal favourite, the Mac Daddy. Who would have thought a mac and cheese hot dog could be so good?

Not more than 15 minutes after ordering, our hot dogs arrived, our glasses were refilled and we quickly tucked in. And they lived up to my every expectation. Not only are the ingredients chosen specifically, the hot dogs are also made at Bubbledogs. And at only £7 each, it would be rude not to have two.

Feeling entirely satisfied and beginning to see the daylight slowly disappearing, we headed for a post lunch walk along the South Bank. I love returning to Waterloo as it holds so many fond memories. It also holds one of the greatest views of central london, so I couldn't resist a snap of that too!

All information on Bubbledogs can be found on their website: http://www.bubbledogs.co.uk

Honey I'm home!

Recently I got asked why people blogged.

I didn't know the answer. But then I got thinking about why I started blogging, aside from it being confirmation to my mum that I was still alive.

The truth is I love writing. It's possibly one of the nerdiest and uncool things to say, but I love words, I love using lots of words, and I love using them all the time. And when I moved to the city eighteen months ago there were a lot of things I didn't know. I didn't know you weren't supposed to shot the champagne in a pornstar martini, I didn't know that you had to stand on the right of elevators, and I didn't know Tinder was a thing. (I still don't think it is but hey, you can't argue with the masses). But I did know I wanted to move to London and I wanted to document every moment of it.

So I've promised I'm going to blog every day. Ok, maybe not every day, but as much as I can. And not just about the wonderful places I haunt, but the discoveries I make along the way.

So let me catch you up on the last month…

I packed up my bags and left London for festive frolics back in the country. And my was it good to be home. Aside from the eating and drinking, and there was plenty of that to be done, the season was filled with log fires, lights and laughter. The perfect winter combination.

As well as Christmas and New Years, the Holtham family celebrated another festivity, Emily's 21st. Laden with bottle upon bottle of champagne, we were joined by 60 friends and family for a heavy evening of celebration and reminiscing. It is so crazy to think that sib is now a grown up (sort of). But what better way to toast this than with endless wine and Alan in a teal bow tie.