Ten happy things – May 18

In this monthly blog post, I look back on the month past and choose ten things that made me happy and that I’m thankful for. Here are my Ten Happy Things for May.

Two Bank holidays!

Who doesn’t love a Bank holiday? And when there are two in one month? BLISS. For the first Bank holiday, my friend Shelley and I explored Emsworth and ate ice-cream on the beach. For the second Bank holiday, I was challenged by Hotels.com to explore Euston and King’s Cross with my friend Kaye – it’s not just train stations, you know!

The Big Spritz

I had the best time at The Big Spritz in Shoreditch’s Electric Light Station! Aperol Spritz really outdid themselves with an Aperol lake that you could row in, a Vespa bar carousel, an orange ball pit and more. And if that wasn’t enough, the lovely Natalie ,of Pretty Edible Stylist, was there and we had such a great catch up and a lot of fun. It’s on until 9th June but only limited walk-ins are available as all the tickets are sold out.

I faced my fears

I spoke not once but twice at a conference. The first session was a panel discussion, which I chaired, in front of around 140 people and the second was a presentation with a peer in front of about 50 people. It was nerve wracking but I did it!

Discovering Madeira with Pestana Hotels

I was invited along to the 7th Madeira Flower Cocktail event at Pestana Chelsea Bridge Hotel & Spa to drink some wine, eat some canapes and learn all about the beautiful Portuguese island of Madeira. I’ve actually visited Madeira before but it was quite a few years ago and, unfortunately, when we went we had awful weather. I have to say I’m temped to go back! Thanks to Pestana Hotel Group for the evening, the Madeira cake and the lovely book.

Delicious food at Maltby Street market

I’ve been to Maltby Street market in Bermondsey loads of times but it’s usually after a meal! We decided it was finally time to actually eat lunch there and boy I’m glad we did. The steak and chips with chimichurri was superb. The steak was perfectly cooked and the chips were so crunchy. There are loads of food and drink stalls to choose from so you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Some good news

I write online for a major publication in my sector and now I’ve been commissioned to write for their magazine! I’m so excited but also slightly scared…

Tasting a £130 bottle of Champagne

How many opportunities do you get to taste a bottle of Champagne that costs £130? Well, thanks to Waitrose for inviting me to their Wine, Spirit and Beer tasting press event, I got to do just that. The delightful surprise though was the £5.99 bottle of Romanian Pinot Noir!

Dinner with an old friend

This month my old primary school friend, Genevieve, came round for dinner. Despite us both living in London, we somehow last saw each other in December 2017! London is crazy like that. It was so lovely to catch up with her and we’ll definitely meet up more often.

Bird watching in Kent

My friend Holly lives in Kent and had her little girl 9 weeks ago so it was time to pay the divine Miss M a visit. Holly also has a little boy so we met up somewhere that would keep him entertained whilst we had a catch up. Eagle Heights is a wildlife foundation in Eynsford, Kent and they do two daily displays of the birds of prey. It was really interesting to learn about all the different birds and to see them flying and even ‘catching’ their prey.

Discovering bibimbap

I was working at a client’s in Bank and discovered bibimbap, which is a Korean dish. Apparently it translates as ‘mixed rice’. I chose tofu and it was absolutely delicious! It’s so colourful too – like eating a rainbow. This is definitely becoming a staple work lunch.

So that was my May and ten happy things that I’m grateful for. How was your month?