Gin Festival London

Gin Festival London is a once per year event. Filled to the brim with hundreds brands that bring in the crowds like a magpie to shiny things. This is a gin festival so if this drink isn't your cup of tea, then your probably not going to like it, but if your open to trying something new, I would definitely give this a go. I am a newbie to the gin crowd, so for me this was a perfect way to get stuck in.

When you first get to the festival you are given a booklet, a little bag which I found really useful to carry my glass in (if it wasn't in my hand which was 90% of the time), a pen and a sheet too add your details too if you wanted to purchase a bottle of your favourite after but not want to carry it home. We then headed to the tills where we each brought a card for £20 which gave us enough tokens for four drinks each. Off to the bar we went...

We were guided to a large room where four bars awaited us, each labelled from A-D. We found that each one had a rough theme to us based on the flavour notes given to us in the book, but it could have just been a coincidence. I personally found bar B was full of the strongest percentage ones and C full of spiced gins.  Deciding it would be a good strategy to try a drink from each bar we looked through our books to find one that took our fancy. The key flavours I was looking for were fruit and citrus as I find this helps to freshen the drink making it easier to consume. I already knew spiced gins weren't my thing so I stayed clear of those from the offset.

My first taste was from a brand called Brockmans, it was deliciously fruity with notes of blackberries, perfect with your standard tonic water. This was actually my favourite from the whole day and I will be purchasing a full bottle of it in the future. Now with each gin it tells you which tonic compliments it the best but after trying a few variations I noticed that the lemon and elderflower tonics overpower the gin flavour. If you were there to try the real flavours of the gin I would keep to standard tonic for this purpose. I personally LOVE elderflower in my gin so I was all over that and the lemon tonic made one of mine taste just like lemonade which was delicious and very easy to consume.

The are also food stands, (I tried an a-maz-ing nacho veggie burger with halloumi in - ugh dreamy) Live bands were playing in the bar, there was an outside area filled with deck chairs to sit with your favourites and enjoy the day. During the day I ended up consuming about six drinks and got quite merry from it. It was nice to forget the world and laugh at stupid things such as when I was explaining how people sniff their gins first for flavour and somehow managed to get a straw wedged up my nose.

It was a really lovely start to my bank holiday weekend and would highly recommend giving it a go next year. Are there any festivals you've been loving this year? Please let me know as I want to make a conscious effort to go to more in 2017.

Lets get personal : Grief

Oh how life can change in an instant! That moment where your breath is taken away from you and you forget how to breathe. A feeling of deep emotion so numbing your not sure if your dreaming or still awake. That was yesterday...

I came home to the beats of Beyonce on my new Skinnydip cat headphones, looking forward to a good takeaway and a catchup of The Island with the boyfriend but to walk around the corner of the doorway to see my mum. I imstantly stopped in my tracks and fired out the questions that came flying through my mind. 'Grandad?' 'Cancers back?' 'Terminal?'... All answered with a softly spoken and sad toned 'yes'. That's when that moment hit me.... As we chatted and spoke through the days events I couldn't help but think how lucky I am to have the family I do! No matter what life throws at us, we always pull together and stick by each other no matter what. That's what life is all about.

It's now the next day and I sit here in the car, whizzing by everyone else living their daily lives feeling as if the world is going in slow motion as we creep towards the hospital. The fear of the unknown and the memories of a healthy grandad who's smile and personality could light up the darkest of tunnels. A man who has been the only father figure I have known who I want to walk me down the isle, hold my first baby and travel to New Zealand with to live out our travelling dreams.

This is a new chapter in my life and one I could have never written myself but as I live this new chapter I will share it with you. I think it's important to support each other whether you are going through a traumatic time or not and for some I hope you can find comfort that you are not alone. This journey is going to be incredibly sad but I am going to do what I always do and be positive, think forwards and make the most of every moment because every second of every day really does matter

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I wrote this back in April, a few days after my birthday with the notion of posting diary like entries of my experiences with loosing a loved one, but it just became too hard. It felt insensitive and wrong and so I had to take it down. Enough time has now gone past that I can now share my experience with you, in the hope I can help someone who might be going through the same experience. More soon....
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'When life gives you lemons, make lemonade'
Love Khrissie X

Ladies Day Outfit 2016

Sometimes you just want to throw on some jeans and a t-shirt and be done with the day (me everyday) but there are others where you want to make a real effort and feel like a grown woman. I find it difficult to reach maximum confidence with an outfit but I do have a few tips.

- Be comfortable in someway. This could be through the material of your outfit or the shoes you wear. If you choose something you are constantly adjusting then there is no winning.

- Choose colours you love and compliment your complexion. It difficult to get out of wearing monochrome as it goes with everything, right? but colour can really do wonders for you if worn in the right way. So use the races as an opportunity to show your personality and Sasha Fierce confidence.

This is my ultra feminine outfit which incorporates the S/S trends of this year but still keeping it sophisticated for the day. I have brought in a lot of tones of colour to avoid black and so with neutral makeup I think this could look fab!

Pinks and florals are one of my favourite looks for S/S as they can really bring some sunshine and happiness to an outfit, which in turn makes me feel confident on the inside.

Dress: ASOS / Bag: Accessorise / Shoes: ASOS

What will you be wearing on your trip to the races this year?

Love Khrissie x

Mums on the Go Afternoon Tea

Its that time of year where we all tell our mums how much we love them and how they are the best mums in the world. No, literally mine is the best! I think this is a wonderful day of the year as many of us cannot survive without our mums, and I am definitely one of them. I ring her on a daily basis and shes always there for chats and giggles whenever I need her but I hardly get to see her in person.

Shes in Essex and I'm in London and although its not forever away, it does make it difficult to make the time to see each other to spend some quality time, making happy memories. Mothers Day is the one day I always make sure I am there for her wherever I am and its always a reminder that I should make more of these days throughout the year as you really need to make the most of the time you have.

There are lots of people in my life without their mums or nans this year and it makes me terribly sad. I cant imagine a day where you want nothing more than to see your mum and you cant. So let that be a reminder that time really is precious!

To mark the occasion I took my mum to The Orangery the Kensington Palace for afternoon tea* as part of the 'Mums on the go' campaign with WatchShop, so we could relax and have a good catch up over delicious food. The staff there were fabulous and attentive with perfectly bright smiles and huge charisma. The tea comes to you quickly, served on beautifully decorated bone china plates with assortments of sandwiches, scones and delightful sweet treats. The scones were to die for and I had a particular love for the perfectly portioned lemon eclair. yum! If only there was more of those.

The food was quickly scoffed but we managed to savour one for my sister to try as she was joining us later on. I would highly recommend The Orangery to anyone who loves afternoon tea. The views are stunning from the windows too so its a great place to sit if you want to escape the bustle of the city.

This was my mums first experience at an afternoon tea and she loved it. I definitely want to make more time do try new things with her this year. Id love to take her out of her comfort zone and try and skydive and also go to comedy nights, have a nice meal in a tall building and even take her to a silent disco and she does love to dance.

Mum, your the best and I will always try and make time for you, no matter how busy we get.
What are some things you would love to do with your mum if you had more time together?

Happy mothers day to everyone, my thoughts are with all of you!
Love Khrissie x

*some of the costs were covered by the Moms on the go campaign by Watchshop to help give some recognition to all that mums go and with not much time to do it. This was about spending quality time with your mum with the minutes you do have, as every second counts with your loved ones

Do something new

One of my resolutions for the year is the task to try or see something new each month. This stops me being such a lazy human for one and gives me goals and something to look forward to each month. I also have a happiness planner that I am filling in and loving ( I will share a post on that soon) that uses a quote each day to help you with happy thoughts. They are all amazing but this one really hit home with how happiness works...

'The three components of happiness are; something to do, something to love and something to look forward to'

- Dr Gordon Livingston

This is an amazing quote to live by and one that is totally do-able, so why not give it a go. Having something to look forward to can be really simple. You don't have to spend a lot of money but you can always save for certain things if you want to. Just doing something once per month and giving yourself something to look forward to is already one step of the way to a happier you. 

After having a few thoughts about things to do I thought I would share a few of my own monthly goals with you:

1/ See a new theatre show or ballet

At Christmas I went to see The Nutcracker, a story about a child's imagination brought to life through dance, brilliantly designed sets and costumes so flowing it made me want to spin around in my seat. It starts with a Christmas party where everyone is excited about the festivities to come and a girl is given a nutcracker toy. The story unfolds when it comes to life in a way you would never imagine and the relationship between the girl and the nutcracker transforms right in front of your eyes. It was enchanting and oh so magical, the perfect show to watch to get you in the Christmassy spirit. The casting was perfect for this production and the costumes to die for, a dream world for every girl out there. 

I did go to the ballet show at Christmas last year but it was so wonderful that I just have to experience it some more. I want to go and see Swan Lake this year and The Northern Ballet, who did the production of The Nutcracker, are actually performing it this March for a month. You can have a look here for dates and tickets if your interested, especially if you have never been before. This is THE most famous in the world so if you go to see any of them, this has to be it!

2/ Go to either Scotland, Ireland or Wales

Now this is quite embarrassing to admit but I have only been in England and never ventured out to the other parts of the UK. I have flown to other countries but never taken the steps to experience what I already have around me. Its bonkers I know but it is something I am going to change this year. 

Going to Ireland for St. Patricks day would be a perfect weekend trip away and I have always loved the thought of staying in a log cabin in the countryside of Scotland where it has a hot tub! How dreamy!

3/ Paintballing

This is going to be my February task of the month. One I am a little terrified of as I am going to bruise like a peach after getting pelted with paint balls but something I have always wanted to try and if I hate it as least I know. I will report back on that one at the end of the month, with some pictures if I can get any. 

So that is three of my ideas that I am thinking of so far. I am going to post about each month as I do it now I am getting back into the blogging swing of things. Next up will be my experience of bouldering, its a bloody great workout I can tell you now, but more of that next time. 

Have a great week! 

Love Khrissie x