Wedding Wednesday- VIP Guest Style & voucher code.

Happy Wedding Wednesday! Wedding season is officially upon us. How many weddings have you got this year? Including my own I have five not including the two I can't attend. Which means I need A LOT of guest outfits. 

Thankfully the wonderful My VIP Wardrobe is on hand with their excellent wardrobe renting service so that you won't be a wedding outfit repeater and you'll look (almost) as beautiful as the bride.

Here are my top picks of wedding guest style (scroll down for a discount code too):

Debut Flourishing Dress - As you know, I LOVE purple and this is no exception. Floaty, suits all figures and all you need is some cute heels and a blazer and you're all set.

The Blossom- Nothing says summer more than a floral print and this one is just beautiful. You'll stand out, have a ton of colours to match accessories too and have just enough leg on show! 

Floral Applique- The maxidress is the perfect wedding guest style. Easily taken from day to evening and perfect for dancing the night away! This beautiful teal colour is perfect with a tan and a glass of pimms! 

What's your favourite wedding guest dress?

Use code "laura10" to get 10% off at My VIP Wardrobe between now and 1st June

Bellini's, Chester

As you know, more and more my blog features tea shop/cafe/restaurant reviews under the banner "this weekend we went to...." this one is no different but unfortunately due to my disorganisation it's been more than week so I can't legitimately claim we went this weekend. Oops. 

I DO have exciting tea related news from last weekend to share later this week. BUT before that, allow me to introduce Bellini's. I may ruin my review by telling you I loved it so much I actually visited twice in a week and have been raving about it to everyone since. But please do read on to find out why.

Bellini's is hidden away on the end of Bridge Street Rows opposite the three arches and cafe Nero. You probably wouldn't know it was there, but I hope you go and visit now. It describes itself as a champagne and coffee bar. Now, I'm not a coffee lover but I am a lover of champagne and the glamour of champagne bars. So we headed in for lunch on Saturday (and then I went again for lunch on the Thursday!) but for the sake of this review lets assume I only went the once.

You are greeted at the front by a very smartly dressed waitress who shows you to your leather chairs and brings a menu which my friend described as "just enough choice without confusing you". Bellini's is definitely the upper end of afternoon tea/cafes.. which I guess comes with the name and the "champagne and coffee bar" description. I got a bit of blogger stage fright and didn't want to take too many pictures so I've borrowed a couple from their website. As you can see it's quite girly, very simple and elegant. It would make for a lovely (small) hen party. It does suffer the problem a lot of the Chester tea shops suffer, especially those on the rows that everything is space limited. However, they have an upstairs which I presume can be used for small groups/a private party. 

Trying to be good before what proved to be an alcohol fueled Saturday night catch up with some of Andy's Contiki tour friends (you can catch up on some of that action on my instagram); I opted for an iced green tea and a smoked salmon salad and Andy went for the cream tea with an americano (I know, I can hear the purists gasping.. I'm marrying a man who doesn't drink tea!)

I'm not a huge green tea fan but the weather was so nice and I was hoping it would start some super quick detox! Iced with a slice of cucumber and a lemon it was really nice and not as bitter as normal (until I unwittingly took a final gulp much later on). I think it might become my drink of choice throughout the summer, like a mocktail. Andy's americano came in the cutesy, patterned tea cup, much to my amusement (but seriously, how lovely is this china?) I asked for his review and he tells me it was on par with Starbucks, which I guess is exactly what you want from an independent. 

The salad came out, with my favourite balsamic dressing and I instantly fell back in love with salads- In about February time I ate too many and got bored but this was fresh, full of flavour and colour and there was just enough there. It also came with the MOST amazing bread with sundried tomatoes and other loveliness in there. Whilst it probably wasn't slimming world friendly I couldn't resist eating it all up.

Andy had  a cream two made up of: two freshly baked scones with lots of jam and cream and let me have a bit (what a gent) - I think a good cream tea will always remind me of serving cream teas to my nan and Grandad in our garden and this was no different, the scone was warm and buttery, Andy's only complaint was they were a bit small (he actually has a really small appetite so that surprises me).

I still had a little bit of room in my pudding stomach following my salad so I opted for the raspberry and white chocolate meringue (so many of my favourites in one) and again, it didn't disappoint. Beautiful, soft centered meringue, lovely fresh raspberries and cream and the nicest, posh square of white chocolate (i'm not talking milkybar here.. put it that way!)

All in all, a very lovely visit and as I said.. i visited again (when we sampled their white hot chocolates- always a winner for me) and a mojito (cocktails are 2 for £10 and I'll definitely go back for a happy hour when I'm less conscious of weigh in!) All in all, well worth a visit if you are looking for lunch or afternoon tea in Chester. 

Whats your favourite place to go for lunch? How do you like your salads?

This Weekend we Went to... Boston Tea Party

Do you ever find somewhere that you just know instantly you'll visit again? My first visit to the Boston Tea Party in Ringwood was like that. and I have been back, several times: with my sister, with Andy, on my own! I just love it there.

So, this Easter weekend saw us back in sunny Dorset and paying a visit to Ringwood (yes, for those keen Geographers, Ringwood is in Hampshire but it's right on the border and a mere hop, skip and a jump from my mum's house!) With it being a Bank Holiday weekend, this was of course.. second breakfast having eaten a rather disappointing fruit pot in an attempt to stick to slimming world (yeaaaa righttt) 

For those of you who have never visited this or any other Boston Tea Party, this cafe is quirky, indie and this particular one just keeps on going, seriously.. if you can't find a table just keep walking up the stairs! 

Since this was second breakfast it wasn't far off lunchtime so we decided to go for a light(er) meal. I ordered scrambled eggs, smoked salmon and toast and Andy ordered scrambled eggs on toast and we both had a milkshake (for once in my life I didn't fancy a cuppa!!) : I had white chocolate and Andy had strawberry cheesecake. 

My milkshake was really nice, with little bit of ice mixed in (I love ice!) but Andy was a bit disappointed with his, it started off not tasting of a whole lot but got better!

Salmon and scrambled eggs is one of my most favourite breakfasts ever and this did not disappoint. The toast was perfect and there was a perfect amount of salmon. The only thing which was a bit odd was the addition of tomatoes to the scrambled egg, I ended up scraping them away because I really don't like tomatoes! 

As always I was really impressed with The Boston Tea Party, the service is always quick, regardless of how busy they are, the food tastes lovely (although I might stick to juice or tea next time), there's free drinking water to help yourself to and the atmosphere is great.

Find your local Boston Tea Party here (they only seem to be southern at the moment, sorry Northerners!)

Swinging Sixties Style

What's your favourite era for style?

As you know I LOVEEEE vintage so was really excited when Glitzy Secrets told me about their new "Style Era" quiz, just a few simple questions and they tell you exactly what era you should be channeling and even better you can then shop your look!

I took the quiz and was a little surprised to be told that The Swinging 1960s was my era! Apart from dressing up for a history day back in year 11 I can't say I've ever given much thought to the 60s look! However, I have been watching a lot of Mad Men recently so perhaps that's where it came from?

Glitzy Secrets asked me to share a look which encapsulates the style of that era, and with moving house on the mind I decided to share some of my favourite Swinging 60s house decor. Who knows, perhaps our new flat will have some hippy vibes? 

Now, let's be honest.... a lot of the decor from the 1960s was pretty orange or brown, not usually my choice of colours! But all these pieces above have got stuff going for them. The lamp is fun and colourful and wouldn't look out of place now. The stool has been repurposed, and  who isn't a fan of a bit of upcycling? Everybody needs a good sideboard.. look at all those drawers! and finally.. THAT telephone table! I want one of these in the flat.. Remember when you used to have to stand up to take a landline call? Revolutionary! 

The inspirational Style Era quiz is now live, so have a go and tell me what result you get!