Review: Galvin La Chapelle

It isn't often that I have a meal, sit back and think 'wow!' but today was one of those days.  As a late birthday present, my boyfriend booked us in the Galvin La Chapelle, the third restaurant to be opened by brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin, already boasting a Michelin star despite only being open since 2010.  Nestled amongst the bustling streets surrounding Spitalfields market, the restaurant is timelessly elegant and, I assume, housed within what was once a chapel. (hence the name!)

As you can see the decor of the restaurant itself is absolutely stunning.  The high vaulted ceiling and the original beams are particularly effective with the beautifully simple lighting.  The room is light, airy and comfortable.

My boyfriend and I both ate from the Prix-fixe menu which at £26.50 each is unbelievably reasonable for the outstanding food that you receive.

I started with the pickled mackerel with shaved fennel, apple and cucumber condiment, followed by seabass with potato, samphire and saffron aioli and finished with the orange panacotta with confit kumquats and biscotti.  With the bill we were given an orange macaron and boozy chocolate truffle each.

Everything I ate was absolutely delicious, perfectly cooked and beautifully assembled.  My personal favourite was the pannacotta, the orange jelly on top was beautifully tart whilst my boyfriend wouldn't stop raving about the macarons, despite being so small!

The service was fantastic, as you would expect, very attentive without being intrusive or annoying.

All in all, a fantastic lunch was had, topped off with a wander around Spitalfields market, a day out I would recommend to anyone!

Where's your favourite place to eat or treat yourself?

Review: Marvala Simply Delicious Collection

Pastel shades are everywhere you go this season and I for one couldn't be happier!

As soon as I spied this beautiful ice-cream coloured collection on  Liana's blog I knew I had to have each and every one of them!

A candy inspired collection perfect for Summer, Mavala has come up trumps with their six shades on offer:

Fresh Melon - a peachy cantaloupe shade

Frozen Berry - a deep lilac shade

Lemon Cream - a vibrant sunshine yellow

Pistachio - a lovely pale green, similar to Essie, Navigate Her

Blue Mint - a bright pale blue

Candy Floss - a candied pink shade

After popping in to John Lewis I decided to buy just five of the polishes as I felt the Candy Floss pink was similar to others in my collection, I was mulling it over for a while...!

I am very impressed with these polishes, my first purchase from Mavala.  You could get away with only doing one coat of polish but two coats makes the colours really pop!  What I really like about these polishes in the size of the bottle.   I can be a little fickle with my nail polishes choices which makes these little bottles the perfect way to dip in to the trend.  At £4.30 each the quality of the polish makes them a very reasonable purchase and one I would recommend!

You can find Mavala in John Lewis or Debenhams.

What's your favourite nail polish brand?  Any other suggestions for Summer?

Sunday DIY: At Home Manicure...

There's nothing quite like having freshly manicured nails but for those of us who have neither the time nor money to get them done professionally all the time, perfecting the at home manicure is a must!

You will need:

Nail clippers

Nail file

Cuticle trimmer

Cuticle stick

Base coat

Nail polish

Top coat

Cuticle oil

Hand cream

and a bowl of warm soapy water

All of these are easily available about boots and worth investing in to keep your nails in tip top condition.

1.  Start by using the nail clippers to trim your nails to a uniform length, I usually take them reasonably short as my nails are prone to breakage.  Now using your nail file, file them to your desired shape (square, round, oval, squoval (great word!) - oval tends to suit everyone).

2.  Place your hands in the soapy water for 5 minutes to allow your cuticles to soften.  Using the cuticle stick, push cuticles back and trim using your cuticle trimmer.  Try and be gentle whilst doing this as cuts can be painful and infections can occur, (you have been warned ladies!)

3.  Next apply your base coat.  I've used Nails Inc Kensington Caviar basecoat.  Even if you decide to skip your topcoat NEVER skim your basecoat as it protects your nail from becoming stained but also gives your polish something to cling on to, making your manicure last longer, so it's win win really!  Allow to dry then apply your colour of choice.  Allow to dry again and add your topcoat, I've used the Nails Inc Kensington Caviar topcoat which gives a lovely gloss to my nails.

4.  Finish off my popping a little cuticle oil onto the nails, I've used the O.P.I. Avioplex oil which has a lovely melony smell and has really sorted out my dry nails!  I finally used a little of the Cath Kidston hand cream to leave my hands soft and pampered!

All of these products are easily available at Boots, so stock up and spoil yourselves in the sun this Sunday afternoon!

A day at the park...

Dress: Topshop

Necklace: Topshop

Shoes: Topshop (...!)

Bracelet: bought at Nottingham Vintage Fair

Here are some snaps from my day in the park.  When the British weather decides to reward us like this there's really only one place to be: OUTSIDE!  Armed with the camera I was given for my birthday I got very snap happy and pestered my boyfriend while he attempted to learn the words for his final singing recital on Tuesday.  As I've now handed in the final essay of my degree (eek!) it's offically Summer. Here's to lots more lovely weather and days in the sun!