Babylon & Kensington Roof Gardens

THE EUROSTAR: the best thing to cross the channel! 

Having ventured back to London for a long weekend to celebrate various occasions {belated Mother’s Day, my gorgeous niece’s 1^st birthday and 21^st birthday celebrations with my family} I had a jam packed weekend, full of eating some pretty scrummy food and having a champagne, strawberry and birthday cake breakfast followed by a surprise trip to lunch at the Kensington Roof Gardens.

With literally no idea where I was heading as I journeyed on the Circle & District line through London we arrived {fashionably late} at High Street Kensington station. Hidden just off the beaten track at 99 High Street Kensington I entered a pretty standard looking lobby reception area and began guessing where we had stepped foot into. Passing seven flights of stairs we entered the reception area of the Hotel Babylon with amazing skyline views of London and situated one floor above Kensington Roof Gardens; a one and a half acre themed garden situated on the sixth floor of the building, one hundred feet above Kensington High Street and home to over 70 full sized trees, a flowing stream stocked with fish and four resident flamingos; Bill, Ben, Splosh and Pecks. {krg.com}

The food  was exquisite and definitely worth the money {not mine hehe - birthday gift lunch ;)}. I was so impressed as the presentation of the food perfectly matched the taste. 

We were first given the cocktail menu which had a huge range of cocktails from Champagne cocktails to Mocktails..

Our selection of cocktails - I  had a Champagne one of course to celebrate!

My starter and main

Starter: Crispy fried pepper squid with garlic aioli, chilli and coriander - squid cooked to perfection and literally melted in my mouth. The starter was by far my favourite course and has made me appreciate squid again.

Main: Instead of diving straight for the traditional English roast {something I miss terribly in France, Mummy K's prefect Sunday roasts!!} I went for the Pan fried fillet of Gilt Head bream, with white coco bean and chorizo sausage casserole with butter emulsion, coriander and lime salad - so yum!

Our array of desserts

Photo: The roof gardens website

Unfortunately due to the weather and as there was a wedding being held we couldn't go down to the sixth floor to see the flamingos up close, but could easily see them from the restaurant balcony, what a view! Therefore my photos of the flamingos weren't particularly great. The beautiful photo above is property of the company itself - I just had to share it!

I couldn't fault this restaurant once, we were not rushed at all, having spent nearly 4 hours in their company, the service was impeccable and the chef even put the candles in and cut my coffee birthday cake {home made courtesy of Khoury Sr and Mummy K}. It was family friendly as we have a 1 year old with us and they accommodated her very well. I would definitely recommend Babylon restaurant and Kensington Roof Gardens for any special occasion. One of the best three course menus I've eaten for my money. 

Thank you to everyone who made it such an enjoyable weekend, and good food choice sis!

E x

The Wishlist Edit...

NOW THAT we've had the first day of Spring {my birthday :)} and the weather in Paris has hopefully turned milder for good, the sun's come out and it's nearly time to whack out the sunglasses, I've been lusting over some summer pieces, of which most I cannot afford {doh!}.

1. Chanel Espadrilles: literally in love with these and would wear them all summer long if I had a pair, but {even if I could afford them} they seem to be sold out in the few places that I can find them for sale...booo!

2. Michael Kors Chronograph Watch: Available at Harrods {for only £209!} as well as many other stores. I haven't been able to take my eyes off this watch since I first saw it... although I fear I would just loose all the crystals!

3. T-Shirt: Manolo and Jimmy would be my friends if they gave me the money for their shoes! This T-shirt from myboo.it will just have to do...

4. Chloé Perfume Necklace: this oh-so-chic Cholé necklace is both trendy and practical, wear it round your neck and top up your perfume smell on the go...what more could you want? You can get it at Chloé stores or Galaries Lafayette, Paris.

5. Mulberry Continental Wallet: I just want it - do I need a reason?!

6. Ted Baker Rowlee Sunglasses: that's what Summer's about! {and a bit different to Ray Ban's}

7. Brown Camera Hip-flask: This quirky hip-flask from Urban Outfitters is ace! The easiest way to sneak some liqueur in without being caught!!

8. Benefit They'Re Real Mascara: My mum has it, I've used it, it's incredible. Fact.

9. Floral Toms: Perfectly colourful and on trend for summer, plus super comfortable and stylish! Gimme some! {Please?}

E x

PFW: What I wore

From New York to London, Milan and back over to Paris...the Fashion Weeks for AW13 are over: great designers have walked their lines, fashionistas from all over the world have expressed their style and we now know what next season has in stock for us. Even though Paris Fashion Week is over once again, that doesn't mean that media and press will stop talking about it, about the highs and lows, the outstanding pieces and the I'm not really sures plus much much more, all we have to do is wait now...

I think it's really interesting and brilliant that Fashion Week bring out peoples individual styles and it's so true to say that anything is acceptable to be worn during Fashion Week, the quirkier the better meaning more attraction to the media and press. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing what people chose to wear whilst wondering round Paris and shows during the week in PFW and I think people should really brave it and explore their inner wardrobe.

Friday 1st March

a night chez Sonia Rykiel:

Neon pink loose- knit jumper - H&M, grey floral trousers - H&M, faux-leather jacket - H&M, black pashmina - borrowed, black clutch - old season Warehouse, black studded slipper shoes - Newlook, cuff - vintage

Saturday 2nd March

walks round Paris, Vivienne Westwood & Jean-Paul Gaultier

Black faux-leather jacket - as above, mint green jumper - H&M, sunglasses - H&M, earrings - Primark, grey leopard print scarf - Arcadia sample sale, gold leaf necklace - Accessorize, ankle boots - Bershka, clutch - as above, cream floral ring - Primark, turquoise ring - a boutique in Paris

Sunday 3rd March

Street catwalk with London based fashion designer and photographer 

followed by a walk, coffee and crêpes at Jardin de Tuileries

White studded collar top - Cream & Soda (as seen in Rue de Rivoli post), maxi skirt - Zara, boots - as above, denim jacket -  Vintage American Eagle, scarf - as above, sunglasses - as above, bow belt - Newlook, tan leather bag - Tabitha London, hat - French Connection, ring - a boutique in Paris

My outfits we're anything quirky or much different to be honest, living in Paris on a student budget and earning bugger all doesn't really bode well for a designer wardrobe, so my outfits are composed of high-street names, nevertheless you still get people looking and snapping for their blogs, street style and just general interest, maybe one day I'll be able to wear Dior, Chanel and the likes but for now here's what I wore over PFW weekend. 

Photo credit: Orla Pentelow & myself

E x

Day #4 PFW: Sonia Rykiel

FRIDAY saw the arrival of day #4 of Paris Fashion Week with shows from the likes of Christian Dior, Isabel Marant and Vanessa Bruno {I stared painfully at my work Mac whilst receiving amazing updates from Vogue.co.uk and other Tweeter about the build up and setting, for the Dior show, in particular and longed to be there - one day maybe?}.

As 6pm on Friday neared, I was so excited to leave work and finally be able to enjoy a bit of Paris Fashion Week! So I headed over to the Rive Gauche, to La Halle Freyssinet in the 13th arrondissement of Paris to celeb spot, street style snap and watch the Sonia Rykiel Autumn Winter 2013 show.

Photos: Orla Pentelow

What a great experience and to watch such a great designer! We managed to bag ourselves some perfect standing places right in the middle of the catwalk behind the sitting spectators thus having a 360° view of the show!

The Rykiel AW13 collection was fantastic {as expected} with some also very interesting pieces. The collection was presented in simple shades of navy, pink, lilac and sky blue with very little patterns until the end parade. We saw big buttons on double-breasted cardigans and jackets, knee-high socks and leg warmers followed by printed shirt dresses, saucy fluffy shoes and see-through dresses that looked like they should maybe belong in the lingerie section {?!} and black leather, dresses, coats and capes {a no no for me to be honest!}.

The second half of the show featured fluffy patterned jumpers contrasting with red and black leather trousers. Yet, the most interesting designs of the night for me were the dark, plain knits that featured strips of pink furry material covering women's private parts giving a very fashionable cheeky edge to the collection.

Spotted front row: on the left hand side in the white feather patterned suit
Chiara Ferragni famous, and my friend's favourite blogger, writer of  The Blond Salad

Missed the show but want to watch it? You can catch the video here on the Sonia Rykiel website homepage.

E x

Day #5 PFW: Street Style at Vivienne Westwood

Day #5 of PFW took us to the Palais de Tokyo to the Vivienne Westwood runway. Here are some my favourite street style pictures from the afternoon.

Photos taken by: myself and Orla Pentelow. Photos edited by: myself.

Inside the Palais de Tokyo

American Apparel girls rocking the red and blue like twins outside the Palais de Tokyo

Eccentric style outside the Palais de Tokyo

Outside the Palais de Tokyo

Models from Vivienne Westwood and Véronique Leroy shows

Outside the Palais de Tokyo

Inside the Palais de Tokyo - love the glasses and eyebrows!

My absolute favourite look of the day! I wish I could pull this off, she looks amazing - so Carrie Bradshaw!

More PFW street style and designer show photos and info to come, after a busy but very enjoyable weekend, but for now,

bonne nuit 

E x