Forever Legs - A Leaving Cocktail

Forever Legs - A Leaving Cocktail

One of my loveliest and best pals upped and left us for Australia, not to worry though, we will be stealing her back soon. However this post is going to be less about kidnapping someone and more about how we 'celebrated' her leaving us for a new adventure.

We decided to provide a recipe and cocktail ingredients for people to help themselves to... this was not an aim to avoid any hostess duties, although it turned out to be a pretty swell by-product. I wanted to illustrate / design the recipe card as a fun addition to the party and something that Sophie could keep as a memento (it was also an excuse to play). I like designing things and I like booze - these two things seem to fit together rather well. So well in fact, that I may start a regular post illustrating and sharing some of my favourite combinations... winner?

The party was hilarious, cocktails were created, cocktails were drunk and sore heads were created.

Love Lambeth Country Show

Dress - Topshop, Sandals - Dune, Sunnies - Vintage

Love Lambeth Country Show

The Lambeth Country Show is becoming an annual tradition for me, it is the highlight of the South London summer calendar (yes, even including you Brixton Splash). For the past three years, as soon as that LCS weekend hit, I have donned a fancy outfit and marched myself straight to Brockwell Park and then, almost immediately to the Chucklehead Cider stand.

This year, the outfit choice was this seventies vibing, shirt dress of dreams. This dress was the dress that you buy despite it possibly wiping out your finances for the rest of the month, just because you can't live without it - having the dress counteracts the hardship... not a massively healthy view on clothing items as saviours of the modern day, but anywhoo...

I'm not sure I have ever explained my love of dogs to you, if I haven't, I have probably saved you a good few hours worth of gushing. Just so you don't feel left out, I will touch on the subject now. I ADORE dogs, I want my own as soon as I am a capable enough person to look after something other than myself. LCS always gives me the perfect opportunity to indulge from afar as dog spotting is rife. I'm not usually a Chihuahua fan, but we were ransacked by three of the lads and were fully won over.

Usually, I make time to take in the all the sights and sounds the show has to offer, including big veg, camel racing, delicious food, haystacks... (you know the country show drill) but this year, it was about cider, dogs and good company. I was fully content sitting, having a little tipple, talking and swaying to the wonderful music that is always hanging in the air.

Safe to say my head feel rather flat the following day, but as always - completely worth it. Until next year my friend.

Oval Farmers Market

Oval Farmers Market

I should have posted these agesss ago, because for one - the outfit photography is ten times more beautiful than what usually graces my blog, and two - the Oval Farmers Market is one of my favourite places to be in London on a Saturday morning and that is something that needs to be shared with the world (aka the internet).

This particular Saturday I met Amy (Vintage Reflection), her lovely, snap happy boyfriend Dave and her wondrous dog Coco (who she is lucky I didn't steal...) for breakfast. I really should branch out, but every time I walk over the market threshold, I am drawn to a cheese filled toastie and a coffee. Nothing wrong with loyalty.

Anyway, back to the market - I love this place, especially when I have a slightly fuzzy head from a little (too) social Friday night, the cheese, coffee and sheer wholesomeness of the farmers market evens me out again. There are so many characters in the market tat draw me back week after week - the lady on the coffee stand is always up for a good o'l chat, the older gent who sells jams makes my heart swell every time he asks me to try his home made jams and the guy on the 'giggly pig' stand just adores what he does and sells every time type of sausage going (all delicious obvs). Everyone grabs local groceries and breakfast and finds a spot on the ground to catch up with pals and eat.

Anyway, next weekend - rebel against the hangover, drag yourself from lying in your bed to lying next to a cheese toastie on the grass near Oval station. You won't regret it - brownies honour.

Dress - Dahlia, Mac - HM, Backpack - New Look, Boots - ASOS

Outfit pictures by Shooting Dave.

Notting Hill Carnival | Drunken Street Dancing

Jacket & Skirt - Topshop, Books - New Look, Necklace - Dahlia, Top - Vintage

Notting Hill Carnival | Drunken Street Dancing

I have always watched the coverage of the Notting Hill Carnival with awe - so naturally, as soon as I  uprooted and planted myself in London, it happened. This post is long overdue but everyone needs a bit of carnival spirit no matter what the season.

I came to the carnival prepared with my most eccentric array of clothing, tissues, prosecco, gin, cider and a thirst to dance - my priorities firmly in order. If you haven't heard of the Notting Hill Carnival it's a huge, colourful carnival that takes over the streets of Notting Hill for two days a year, and has done so since 1966, and will hopefully continue for many more.

The streets are filled with incredible music, happy people and ALL of the colour - bands circling the streets on the back of lorries spreading tunes and positivity, Caribbean dancers doing their incredible thing, steel pan sounds ringing around London and more corn on the cobbs devoured than I can even imagine. I loved my first carnival experience, the only downside I found were the endless crowds (I spent a lot of the time penguining around, almost just levitating through the crowds) and the never ending search for the toilet, oh to be a man in those fateful situations...

I am not sure if I have ever mentioned the fact that I spent 5 years playing in a steel pan band?..... well... I spent 5 years playing in a steel pan band, I was actually quite good and I loved it. The sound steel pans make may be one of the most beautiful sounds in the world. The carnival has definitely ignited my pan playing spirit - could I join a band here? I think so.

Any amazing Notting Hill stories that I can get lost in? If so, you have to leave them below!

Vauxhall Film Festival

Vauxhall Film Festival

South London does a good job of providing fun, friend gathering activities - first up is the Vauxhall Film Festival. The Pleasure Gardens have been showing a film every Tuesday. I met my friends, grabbed a picnic and settled down to watch Alan Partridge broadcast his way hilariously through 'Alpha Papa'.

We opted for a picnic but there were food vans ready and waiting for the hungry customers to descend, booze sellers and lovely people walking around selling popcorn 'the film lovers favourite'. We arrived at 7 and the film started as the sun began to set around 9.

There are three more weeks to go showing 'Slumdog Millionaire', 'This is the Spinal Tap' and 'The Big Lebowski'. I can't miss rocking up to Vauxhall in my dressing gown to cosy down for a night with the dude. One thing we didn't necessarily anticipate was how quickly the night drags the cold with it. Next time I will stock up on blankets, although we did all manage to transform into one organism to share heat which was cosy.

V&A Italian Glamour Exhibit

V&A Italian Glamour

I had a visitor from the North (what is a blog post without a Game of Thrones reference?...) so I planned a full day of Southern activities, first up  the V&A Italian Glamour Exhibit.

I am always the annoying person at an exhibit who has to read every annotation and whilst being annoying I discovered a pair of kindred spirits in the form of two older, ridiculously cool ladies. I began to lurk where they were looking because their insight into the exhibit was fascinating.

Videos featuring glimpses into catwalk shows dating back to the fifties were located around the exhibit and I was interested to see the models used were shapely and looked 30 - 40, I wonder when the change to young / teen models happened, and why? Google surely must know... Fantastic exhibit anyway, I could have just stared at all the beautiful outfits all day - if you are in London you must go and witness the growth and boom of Italian Fashion.

I felt completely smug about my outfit choice when a well-dressed gent approached us to tell me I was fabulous and looked like a walking part of the exhibit... he must have been mad or not looking at me obviously... but I felt vainglorius nonetheless. Deserved.

This dress is perfect, there is always a story but I will save that for another post.

After we had soaked in our fill of culture and beautiful fabrics our stomachs directed us to Jackson + Rye for butter chicken (BUTTER CHICKEN) and cocktails. Jackson + Rye has been on my list of places to devour everything for a while and I was not disappointed, everything was beautiful down to the awesome illustrated menus designed by Bjorn Lie. His work is pretty brilliant all the time but I think his style fit so easily in with the Jackson + Rye brand.

Chicken was shortly followed by cocktails / cider at Harvey Nichols.. we were rolling big time.

London is awesome, but it was especially awesome this day. We both decided we wanted cheese and we both decided we wanted champagne - I typed these stipulations into google and London delivered. Fromage and Cheese in Covent Garden. The champagne was reasonable and oh so tasty and the cheese was just ridiculous. The waitress found out what type of cheese we most loved and designed our board around that, I cannot gush about this place enough - maybe a whole posts worth??

Anyway after eating everything, all day we slumped home to drink prosecco and eat take out pizza - a luxurious and well needed / deserved day I say.

I vlogged the while weekend on my YouTube channel so if you are remotely interested in hearing / seeing / witnessing more that have a look at that HERE!

I have just opened a Depop account and listed my first item (username - ashleyfauguel) I can see this app becoming and addiction!

Dress - Toujours Toi Family Affairs