The Paisley Playsuit!!!

A couple of posts back I spoke about getting some bargain items from Ark for 50% off the sale price. This post features another of the bargains I got, this fab Motel rocks Paisley playsuit, I think it was around a 5er which is absolutely amazing! I love the bell sleeves and the 70s vibe, it also has a slight open back which I really like. It is a little big for me but for that price I thought I can make do, so I teamed it with a cream patent belt to cinch in the waist. As it has a high neck and all over print it didn't really need a necklace but I hate not wearing one so just went for simple mood stone and gold coin necklaces. I did however go for a gold coin head chain and Indian style hoop earrings for that extra bit of jewellery. I wore fishnet tights, my fave patent boots and a suede fringe bag.

Playsuit - Motel Rocks @ Ark

Patent boots - River Island

Fringe bag - Oasis

Necklaces - Topshop

Earrings - A Gift

Headchain - Primark

Belt - Primark

Fishnets - Primark

Lime Crime Velventine lipstick in peacock - Lime Crime

Trip to London...Bmth @ The Royal Albert Hall & Afternoon tea with Alice in Wonderland!!!

So last weekend a trip I'd been waiting ages for finally came around. We went to London for one of the Teenage cancer trust gigs held at the Royal Albert Hall. It was for one of my favourite or in fact probably my favourite bands Bring Me The Horizon, it was with a full orchestra and choir so I knew it was going to be something special!

I got up early on the Friday morning to catch my train and met Alice at the train station in London. We had a little wander in Primark before heading to our hotel to drop off our bags. We then headed back out to get some lunch, we decided to try 'Dirty Bones' as it was somewhere we'd wanted to try and as the heavens had opened it was fairly close to where we were, so not too much of a trek. I went for waffles and fried chicken and we shared some mac & cheese balls, complimented with a cider that came in this fab retro bottle. We were actually the only people in there the whole time, but it had a nice cosy vibe with cool decor and music. My food was so nice, the chicken was perfect and the Mac and cheese balls were oosing with cheese, although they did come on a bed of a very spicy sauce!

After we'd eaten our friend Sophie met us then we headed back to the hotel to get ready. As usual I didn't take any photos in my outfit and it was such a fabulous dress aswell, ahh well I can save it for another post! We actually made it on time for once as the hotel was only 5 minutes away from the Royal Albert Hall. There was no queuing, we got straight in and got a drink quickly before support band  'Pvris' started. The venue was so grand and beautiful and alot different to where i'm used to seeing gigs. Although it was big the capacity was alot smaller than I was expecting and the standing area was tiny, so we got a really good view. I love Pvris so it was really good to see them again, they played a half hour set with all the favourites including new single 'You and I' which was one of the highlights, Lyndsey sounded on top form.

There was a short interval then there was a video all about Teenage cancer trust and what it does, then there were some brave people who came onto the stage to tell us what the trust had done for them and to thank everyone for their support. It was really emotional but nice to see where the money goes and to know that buying the ticket for the gig has helped even if it's only in a small way.

With an amazing introduction from the full orchestra Bring me the horizon burst on to the stage with 'Doomed' the perfect opening track! Followed by current album favourite 'Happy song' which sounded great with the choir. Straight into 'Go to hell for heavens sake' then a live debut of 'Avalanche' which I was so happy about as it is one of my favourites, it sounded amazing with the orchestra as the violins in the track really stood out. Followed by 'It never ends' I was so happy to hear this again live as its been a couple of years since they played it live.

Next up sempiternal anthems 'Sleepwalking' and 'Empire (let them sing)'. Bursting into 'Throne' the band were sounding amazing and looked like they were having a great time. Although it was one of the biggest gigs in their career it was still quite an intimate setting which I have missed from them, as the venues they've played have been getting bigger and bigger. There were solo orchestra parts inbetween some songs which sounded amazing and although you'd maybe think on paper it wouldn't work, the two complimented eachother perfectly and really brought to life there anthemic tracks. 'shadow Moses' and 'True Friends' were next followed by love song to Oli's wife Hannah 'Follow you'. I absolutely love the song and hearing it live with that set up was just beautiful. As we got towards the end of the set they played 'can you feel my heart' and 'antivist'. Although Oli seemed to have toned it down with the shouting and swearing to the crowd, he did still ask for some circle pits and walls of death which he definitely got during 'antivist'. With the usual set ender 'Drown' we thought it was the end and there was no encore. They did however come back after a few minutes and an incredible musical intro to do a live debut of 'Oh no'. Although not the usual jump around ending track it worked really well as there is so much the orchestra could do on the track and as it is all about it being the end of the night it was rather appropriate. 

It was one of the best gigs I've been to and really nice to be part of something so special and for such a great cause. We ended our night in Camden and it was a fabulous evening!

This is probably going to end up being a lot longer of a post than planned so sorry but I had to share our amazing afternoon tea with you. We scoured the net for somewhere to take Sophie for afternoon tea for her birthday and found the perfect place! Taking a trip down the rabbit hole we went for Alice and wonderland themed tea at the kona restaurant within the Taj international hotels and palaces resort in Westminster. When we arrived the hotel looked stunning and the restaurant was so lovely, we knew we'd made a good choice!

The table was set up with a big decorated hat and playing cards and cute vintage China. 

The menu was a delight with themed and unusual delicacies, including sandwiches on carrot and beetroot bread. 

A lot of the desserts were chocolates with fillings such as watermelon jelly, as well as pocket watch macaroons which were one of my favourite items. Everything was so cute and had such intricate detail. There was so much food and our teapots were regularly topped up.

We got a variety of mixed scones but with 3 each and after the feast we'd already had I could only manage half of one. There was even homemade jam for them! It was so delicious and the detail that went into everything was amazing. It was also the perfect gift with it's fun theme, and at £30 a person it really isn't too bad for the amount you get and for somewhere so grand.

After being in there for about 3 hours we  finished off the day walking our feast off with a bit of sightseeing around the area. I'd never actually seen Big Ben or the london eye in person so a couple of tourist shots had to be taken!

Sophie had to leave for her train then, but as the sun had came out Alice and I decided to head over to Hyde park and hire out some bicycles. After not riding a bike for about 13 years this had disaster written all over it, but in the safety of the park it actually went pretty well. We spent an hour riding round the park in the sun and after the initial pain of riding it was actually rather fun. I've decided I want a bike now as its probably the only excercise I would ever be willing to do!

Overall we had a very jam packed and quite expensive weekend, but a very fabulous one and one I am sure to remember!!