We have been lucky enough to enjoy Afternoon Tea at Claridge's before, but not for Festive afternoon tea. So, When it came to deciding on which festive Afternoon Tea to do next as is our annual tradition, we decided on the world famous and oh so gorgeous Claridge's.

On our last day in New York, we decided to have fun with all the balloons I ordered for my sisters Birthday. I mean they were totally crying out for a photo opp... am I right? Mix in the fact that the hotel was super cute too and it was too good an opportunity to miss. Plus I thought it would be nice to get some cute snaps of my sister to frame for her to remember such a fun trip  

If you have recently become engaged, congratulations. You might already be jumping for joy at the thought of planning your wedding, but before you do this, there is the exciting  engagement party to plan. There are a whole range of things that you need to consider ahead of your party,  ranging from the guest list, the date, and who's (if not yourself) hosting it. But, there are other things that you also need to have the best engagement party possible, and we are going to discuss these below.
​

We started our perfect day in NYC just near the high line which I was so excited to show my sister (Its one of my favorite things in NYC) at bubby's diner. A friend of mine had been here the previous week and raved about the Pancake Flight...(three pancakes, caramelized banana & toasted walnuts, blueberry, Nutella with mixed berries & whipped cream)

​If you have been dreaming of your wedding day sine you were a little girl, you may already have a few ideas about what kind of wedding you want, even if you’re nowhere near to getting married. You are not alone, iv had lots of friends who have been planning this special day since they can remember. On the other hand, some people may think that you’re a little crazy if you’re already thinking about the wedding when you’re single or you’re only in the early stages of a relationship. However, we all know how stressful wedding planning can be. And we’ve all seen our nearest and dearest turn into bridezillas. So really its just common sense for you to be able to get a jump on your ideas. I held out out for a year of being engaged before I would even consider starting the planning process as I really wanted to enjoy being a fiance...something which I later regretted when the stress and timeline began to set in. For you know what kind of wedding you want, to look into options, and to start thinking about the cost. So let’s look at things you can preplan.

Where

First of all, you might want to think about where you want to get married. And this can work in a few ways. You might not be able to identify who you want at your wedding just yet, but you can get in mind whether you want it to be locally or destination. At home or abroad. And look at some possible wedding locations. These places can get booked months in advance. So if you know where you want to get married, it can save you the stress of searching around venues when the time comes. I also feel that its from the location that many of the details follow

The Theme

The theme can determine a lot of difficult wedding decisions for you, such as flowers, decor, and even main theme colors. So you can work this out well in advance if you want. Take a look at different wedding guide options and consider trends. Then think about what you might like. Because it can mean that many options are all worked out for you.

Food Choices

And if you love food, then why not work out what you want now. Sure, at the time, you will have to do tastings and find the right people. But it doesn’t hurt to have an idea now and maybe even a list of chefs or caterers that you’d like to consider at the time.

The Bridal Party

If you want to get an idea of the bridesmaids you’d like to go with in your mind too, then this is also a great idea. Choosing your bridesmaids may seem hard, but if you keep this in mind early, then it will be much easier than you think. You can also use this time to really consider which of your friends/ Family will be a good fit and help out at a time when you really need it 
​

Its great getting ready for a night on the town with your besties. Its even better when the town is NYC. We may have been worn out from walking shopping in eating around the city but that was not stopping us going for drinks in the city. Not even the rain...

After exploring our gorgeous hotel for the long weekend, we hit the streets on New York. We had blow drys booked at The dry bar to start to day so we took a walk through the nearby financial district on the way to our appointments.

It was incredible to see how much its changed since I was last here. The new world trade center train station is absolutely stunning and definitely worth a stop if you like architecture.

I do think that a blow dry is the prefect start to the weekend, and the dry bar is my go to blow dry bar when im in NYC. Its so simple and easy and the staff are always so fun and easy to chat to.

After some very fabulous blow drys we walked up through to Soho to Dominique Ansel bakery to introduce the girls to blossoming hot chocolates and cronuts.  I wrote about the London Dominique Ansel here if you fancy taking a look.

Iv decided that Autumn might just be my favorite season to visit NYC as its the perfect temperature and everywhere is decorated for the holidays. I just loved all the different types of pumpkins and squashes everwhere.

The cronuts really are worth the visit. I had the October (monthly special) Cranberry Pistachio Cronut filled with homemade cranberry jam and pistachio ganache. It was absolutely incredible 

After  a little more exploring we headed to lunch at Balthazar. Iv been visiting Balthazar for around 8 years now and am a massive fan of the french onion soup (you can thank me later). As the girls hadn't been before it was the perfect Saturday afternoon spot for a bottle of wine and lunch. 

I was actually amazed at how incredibly busy Balthazar still is after all these years. I'm clearly not the only one which french onion soup cravings.
On a serious note I definitely recommend making a reservation if your time precious. If not pull up a seat by the bar, order a bottle of your favorite and people watch until a table becomes available.

Trust us to fall upon an English specialty shop, and naturally we HAD to get a shot. I have it on good authority they sell the absolute best homemade pork pies BTW. 

After lunch we walked through the meat packing district down to Chelsea market. If you haven't been and are in any way a foodie, I absolutely recommend adding it to you to visit list next time you’re in NYC. It is just the loveliest indoor market in such a cool part of New York.

I hope you enjoyed day one of our girls trip to NYC, check back later this week for more

Belle
Xx

We woke up as early as humanly possible the next day after a fabulous first night in NYC, and decided to check out the hotel and head down for breakfast. 

Christmas movie night is a time-honored tradition in our home. We take it very seriously... I'm talking movies scheduled by day, festive snack bars, hot chocolate and roaring fireplaces. There's nothing like switching the world off, cosying up in your own family bubble and getting lost in the magic of a movie. And movies don't come more magical than festive ones.

Whats even better is, with technology where it is today you don't even need to leave your own home. You can turn your own space into a luxury cinema with all the trimming. Panasonic has some amazing high definition televisions, with the most beautifully bright, colorful display.
Please Santa...all I want for Christmas is a 4k led TV Panasonic under my tree!​

For my Sisters 4Oth Birthday Celebrations we took a girls trip to NYC. Iv visited New York quite a few times now but never on a girls trip and knew it would be an entirely new experience.

As it was to celebrate quite an important Birthday, I wanted to pull out all the stops to surprise her! I arranged for 40 balloons to be placed in the room for her arrival, along with a Birthday cake, chocolate covered strawberry's, cake pops and a whole lots more birthday treats. The look on her face was priceless when we arrived.

We chose the Beekman Hotel for the weekend (more details about our stay here) and it was every bit as lovely as we had hoped. 

As lovely as our home for the weekend was, we were keen to make it out into the New York night and see what NYC had i store for us. We headed to Palma in Greenwich village for much needed dinner and cocktails. 

So, I have to say I think iv found my new favorite NYC restaurant. Palma had been on my to eat at list for quite some time and i'm delighted that I saved it for a girls trip. 

This place literally has my name written all over it. Its Italian (my favourite), super pretty, full of flowers and as cosy and quaint as an be. And its in one of my favourite areas of New York, Greenwich village

We ordered the most delicious antipasto serving platter, laden with prosciutto di parma, culatello arrosto, finocchiona, mozzarella di bufala, olives and our focaccia. We nearly fought over it...

Along with aranchini bites, which are a personal favorite of mine.

And for my main I ordered the Agnolotti Ricotta e Spinaci (homemade pasta filled with spinach and imported buffalo ricotta, served in a tomato and basil sauce. It was so delicious I totally forgot to see what the other ladies ordered.

We stayed chatting over a couple of glasses of wine and making our plans for the weekend until jet lag won and we could keep our eyes open no more.

The perfect start to our girls weekend in New York 

Belle 
​Xx