A Best Friend Day

Sometimes life just seems to pass by. You have a busy spell, and before you know it, 3 weeks have gone and you’ve barely had time to breathe. It’s definitely been like that recently, which is why my best friend and I decided we needed to have a day just the two of us (plus it was her birthday a couple of weeks ago and anyone who knows her will know she is a BIG birthday person).

You know those people that just come into your life, and after a few weeks you wonder what you ever did without them? The people that you know you could call at 3am and they’d be round in an hour with chocolate and a shoulder to cry on, even if they had a hot date with Ryan Gosling? Well that’s Nikita.

On Saturday we decided to embark on round 3 of our burger mission and head to Shake Shack in Covent Garden. I’d heard great things so I was pretty excited. The queue was nowhere near as bad as I imagined, and we managed to grab a table straight away. After you’ve made your order they give you a pager which goes off when your food is ready, so you don’t have to stand around like a lemon (do lemons stand?) waiting.







I went for the cheeseburger, cheese fries (because Nikita said we had to) and a caramel shake. I have to say the beef was tender and tasty, although I didn’t feel like it was very big, and I expected something more for the money. Am I a total fattie? The cheese fries were also not what I was expecting as I thought it would be actual cheese, but instead was a cheese sauce. It was nice, but nothing to write home about. The caramel shake, on the other hand, was by far the best part of the meal. It wasn’t too sickly or sweet, or too thick, which is often the downfall of many shakes. I recommend picking one up if you’re in the area; they also have loads of other flavours which I’m dying to try out!

We then went for a little mooch around the shops (I bought another clutch bag – standard unnecessary purchase) and decided to do SOMETHING cultural with our day and headed to the Momentum exhibition at the Barbican. Well, it was an experience…



Basically, you walk into a dark room, which curves round, and from the ceiling are poles with lights on the end that change, and there are funny noises. Basically, you’re in a black room with lights and sounds. Whilst it was certainly surreal, a little eerie in parts, and interesting, I can’t say I’m completely convinced that the hours of ‘research’ and ‘experimentation’ that will have gone into this are completely worth it, but it’s well worth a visit (and it’s free). Plus, Nikita and I had a right giggle at a girl in a floppy hat doing a photoshoot for her (tired-looking) boyfriend in the small bits of light she could get. Hilarious.

After the Barbican we were thirsty. Not for water…for cocktails. So Nikita suggested we go to South Place Hotel in Moorgate. It doesn’t look like anything at all from the outside, but the inside is really cool and the cocktails were AMAZING. Pricey, but amazing. It took me about half an hour to choose...



Nikita went for the From Russia With Love and I had the Black Out Fizz. They also gave us some salted popcorn which offset the sweet drinks perfectly. We had a good natter and a giggle and I could have stayed for 5 more…plus how cool is the decor?



The night ended with Lebanese takeaway on the sofa watching The Ugly Truth. I recommend Delila’s takeaway if you’re in the SW area – it was DELISH and really inexpensive. All in all, a perfect day with one of the best friends a girl could ask for.

Thoughtful Thursday: HUMAN RIGHTS - A right to be forgotten?

So I decided, this blog really wouldn't be complete without a 'law' related post every now and then. But I'm not talking leases, facility agreements or resulting trusts. I want to talk about REAL things that we can all relate to...

Back when I was 17/18 and I was making my big life plans, it was human rights which made me decide to pursue a career in law, and in particular to apply to Exeter College, Oxford where the tutors specialized in criminal and family, and human rights law. Now I know I work in a large London commercial law firm, but I still follow news articles and campaigns run by groups such as Liberty and am fascinated by the hugely ethical debates such as the acceptable period for detaining a suspected terrorist or whether free movement of people, and in particularly asylum seekers, should necessarily mean no/minimal border control or regulation. I find the relationship between the law and 'fundamental' human rights so interesting (I say 'fundamental' because you could write 2000 words on what that means in this context). I know, call me a geek.

Five Things I'd Tell Sixteen Year Old Me...

Currently Loving: River Island

It's not very often that I walk into one shop and I just want EVERYTHING. Even with my beloved Zara I still think they have a few misses, or things that aren't worth the price tag. However, when I went into River Island on Oxford Street this week I had to stop myself from doing a 'supermarket sweep' of the shop floor. Everything in there is so gorgeous! Now I don't know about you but in the last year I have really noticed a change in the clothes in River Island, and they have TOTALLY stepped up their game - they are fast becomine one of my favourite high street stores! So I thought I'd share with you some things I've been loving just in time for pay day. Apologize to your bank balance in advance...


I absolutely love this style of crop top, and the palm print on this one is beautiful - I think it looks so much more expensive than £12. I want some new 'sandal-esque' shoes, but which are closed toe as walking around in London in sandals can make for dirty feet! I absolutely loathe the jelly shoes, but I think these are a great, smarter, alternative. Plus white is so cute and a great Summer alternative to black.

This pale pink leather skirt is adorable and so up my street - plus another bargain for only £25! You can wear it both casually in the day with sandals and a white tee (and accessorize with these hot animal print sunnies), and then slip on some heels (like these gold block heel sandals) and a silk cami and you're good to go for the evening.

I love the River Island camis - I have this style in black and I wear it all the time, it makes your boobs look great! I love the colour lime green, and I think this with a pair of jeans and some cute flats make for the easiest, but still stylish, outfit.

Lastly are these pale blue shorts. There is a matching blazer which I am also dying to get - I LOVE the shade of blue. Also, as I'm getting older I'd rather not wear butt-skimming shorts, and these look like the perfect length. Plus again, you can wear them casually with a white cropped jumper, and then at night with a white cami and nude stilettos. Perfection!

What do you think? Are you a River Island lover?

Thoughtful Thursday: It's All About Confidence

For secondary school, I went to an all girls grammar school. Aside from suffering as a result of being surrounded by 1000 other teenager girls every day (read as: lots of bitching, fights over boys and peer pressure) I would say it was a great school and it gave me a great education. There were a few teachers whose teaching skills were a little questionable, but on the whole I really enjoyed school and I felt that we were overall taught at a very high standard. I would also say that all my peers were extremely bright, shown in the school's average examination results.

However, there was one big problem at the school, which I have reflected on ever since leaving back when I was 18, and that was the huge lack of confidence in the students in their intellect and ability. Despite the fact that it was extremely common for a large percentage of the year to get all A*s and As every year, when you asked someone whether they did well their answer generally went something like 'yeah, it was ok.' Now you might say that was modesty. I think it goes far deeper; to a genuine lack of confidence in performance.

I have numerous friends who attained more than 5 A*s and the rest As at GCSE, yet when they were asked whether they were going to apply to Oxbridge their answer was 'oh no, I'm definitely not good enough for that.' Of course for some people, the way of teaching and learning was just not for them, but that answer was a far more common one. And why did they feel that? They'd shown their capability, and had all the raw materials to make it.

Let me tell you a little story that will never leave me. Back in my AS year I lost myself a bit. I just didn't have it together like I did in other years, and as a result I fluffed up my French listening exam and ended up getting a B. I know, shocker (I've told you I'm a geek.) Well, I remember going into my Head of Year's office to talk about it, and another teacher was in there. She actually told me that it was a waste of time applying to Oxford with a B, and I was much better not even applying to any Universities that wanted all As, and should aim for Universities from around the 25th in the country. I was absolutely heartbroken. Needless to say I ignored her moronic advice and thank God I did.

With teachers like that, I suppose it's not a surprise that girls at my school weren't confident in their own ability. Added to peer pressure to be 'cool' (to drink, smoke and spend every waking moment with boys from the boys' grammar) and parents who may not be as supportive as mine, it all makes sense. Even as I've gone through life, I've noticed how the really bright, clever ones are often the ones to sit and look nervous and constantly apologize for anything they've said wrong, yet the slightly less intelligent in life are very happy to get up, voice their views and aren't afraid of the consequences.

If you look at celebrities, there are so many great examples of both kinds of people. I am going to focus on two females: J K Rowling, and Katie Hopkins.

I recently went to a talk by J K Rowling in Oxford, and despite the fact she came across as incredibly smart and as a result witty, she was also extremely shy and seemed very overwhelmed at the reception she received. Yes. A woman who has sold between 400 and 450 million books worldwide and has made over $13 million dollars seemed to lack confidence and belief that she deserved the huge applause and admiration from the audience. During the talk she actually explained how she lacked huge confidence in her book writing skills before Harry Potter, and she still doesn't seem to understand how brilliant she is now. Mad huh?

An example of the other kind of person, in my opinion, is Katie Hopkins. If you don't know who I mean from the name, you will when you read these things that actually came out of her mouth:

"Suicidal prisoners should just kill themselves."
"Ginger babies. Like a baby, just harder to love."
On girls called Charmaine: "'Hi, this is my daughter Charmaine.' I hear 'Hi, I am thick and ignorant."
"Personally I hate mobility scooters. I find their owners intolerable."

I rest my case. If you still don't know who I mean, but hopefully agree with me that the above opinions are disgusting and immoral, she was a failed contestant on The Apprentice and has actually made a job out of sitting on This Morning saying and sitting on Twitter tweeting these awful things. Whilst some of her quotes are almost funny because of the shock value, this woman is INCREDIBLY rude, attention-seeking and above all just plain WRONG/STUPID. How can someone hold these views? And more to the point how can she get the air-time that she does expressing such idiotic views? It's her confidence in her own opinions that means she has made her mark, even if that's for all the wrong reasons.

So there you have it. It's definitely not true to say that all clever people lack confidence, or that the 'stupid' ones have heaps of it, but all too often you see examples of it. If only my friends at school, writers like J K Rowling and every other intelligent, confidence-lacking person all had the confidence that Katie Hopkins does, perhaps idiots like Katie wouldn't even get the air time. Wouldn't that be great? I'm holding out for it one day, and I'm sure that's what Charles Bukowski was getting at.

Making a House (Flat) a Home

Katie and I have now lived in our flat for 5 months. How time flies! We were actually very good at buying everything and sorting everything in the flat quite early on when we moved in. We knew it was important to do all the little things that are so easy to forget/miss, but which make the place you live in your home, rather than just, well, the place you live in. I thought I'd share a few of them with you, so if you're wanting to spruce your place up a little bit, or have just moved into somewhere and want to add that little 'je ne sais quoi', you have a few ideas.



PICTURES - I am huge fan of putting things up on the walls. I think that's the thing that people often get lazy about doing, and either don't buy any pictures, or they sit on the surfaces rather than actually being put up on the wall. Katie and I were a bit guilty of that, but eventually we bought some Command Strips (which are the best inventions as they allow you to stick things to the walls without damaging them) and eventually put them up. Our favourite is the photo we got printed onto a canvas in our lounge which reminds us of our time in Thailand.



I also love this cute little trio of canvases from Argos though. We have a red theme running through the open plan kitchen/living room in our flat, so they fitted perfectly. And did I mention they were only £6.99? What a steal.



FRESH FLOWERS - Now if you've read my other posts, you'll know one of my NY resolutions was to buy fresh flowers. Whilst I haven't bought them as often as I should do, we have had quite a few bunches and I've absolutely loved it. These ones lasted absolutely AGES and they really brightened up the place.



I have also had some gorgeous tulips and roses and lilies in my bedroom. They just make me so happy to look at. I know, I am officially a Granny.



CUSHIONS - This one is so simple, but so effective in my opinion. Cushions are so cheap, but they just dress up a bed or a sofa. I am a huge fan of the colour pink (as if you didn't already know) so these ones from IKEA were perfect. The cream heart one was from Primark for £3. How cute? I love how they look on all my different duvet covers. We also have a big mix of different ones on our sofa, from a sheepskin one, to plain bright red or orange ones, to a patterned cream and black one. I love how they all look together.



PHOTOS - Everyone knows that having photos of your loved ones around makes your home feel more 'yours.' When I'm missing my parents and brother back home I love looking at the photos of them, and I also love looking at the photos of all the crazy times I've had with my girls. Not to mention the boy. Plus, I have a bit of an obsession with 'cute' photo frames. Especially the pretty, ornate silver ones.



THE LAST LITTLE BITS - I have to admit I probably have some slightly unnecessary decorative bits in my room, including these 'L O V E' letters. They sit on my dresser, and despite the fact they have absolutely NO purpose, I just think they look pretty and cute. Plus, no man is ever going to let me have them in a bedroom with them, so I'm enjoying them whilst I can!

So there you have it. A few little house-y bits. What else do you love decorating your home with? Katie and I are always on the look out for things for the flat (yes, we have a problem.)

Thoughtful Thursday: Cheating in Chelsea

On Monday night, my flatmate and I found ourselves screaming, cursing and sighing deeply at our TV screen. Why? Not because the TV was playing up. No, it was because of Alex Mytton and the latest cheating scandal to break on the hit TV show, Made in Chelsea.

Now don't get me wrong, I am a huge fan of TOWIE and MIC; in fact Mondays at work are now so much more bearable knowing I get to come home to an hour of my favourite love-to-hate characters on Made in Chelsea. However recently the scales have tipped and what used to be a 'love-to-hate Louise Thompson's incessant crying, Cheska's meddling and Lucy's 'gangsta' attitude' thing has now turned into hate-to-hate. Now don't get me wrong, I still love the show (anyone who watched Monday's episode will have witnessed Mark Francis's comedy gold 'I thought Nandos was a wine bar' moment) and I won't stop watching. However, there is one thing that I can't stand watching on both MIC and The Only Way is Essex, and that is the portrayal of relationships.

Tell me…how many of the Chelsea men have been faithful? It has to be less than 25%. The same goes for the TOWIE men (in fact, I think that percentage is even less.) Whilst there's no denying that watching the relationships unfold and seeing how the men and women interact on the show is fascinating, I can't help but feel sad when time and time again we inevitably watch everything fall apart. And why DOES it fall apart?

You could say it's the fame. Unfortunately with appearing on the show comes quite a lot of publicity, and many of the stars thus make personal appearances at clubs and bars across the country. That seems to be where, for most of the men, the temptation becomes too much. Unfortunately with all the fame, it appears it would seem to go to the heads of some of the 'stars' and they, quite literally, believe they are God's gift to man (Spencer Matthews, I am looking at you).

You could say it's the alcohol. At these personal appearances it seems the stars get drunk, girls throw themselves at them, and they just can't say no. At least that was Alex's excuse to Binky for kissing two girls on two separate occasions during their pretty short term relationship. Now aside from his other ridiculous excuse that he drunk so much he couldn't actually remember having sex with someone (put so eloquently by Rosie/Lucy – 'you don't just forget putting your dick in someone') is getting too drunk a good excuse? Not really.

You could say it's the result of our generation's heavy reliance on social media and technology. How many celebrities are now caught 'sexting' or tweeting members of the opposite sex behind their partner's back? Answer: A LOT. It's become far too easy to do naughty things behind your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband'wife's back and never get found out. Again however, this is no excuse.

You could say it's all a publicity stunt. I definitely think to a certain extent that the producers make the situations on these reality TV shows play out a certain way to ensure maximum scandal. None of us are completely stupid. However, if you witnessed the aftermath of Binky finding out about Alex's antics, I'm sure you'll agree with me that her tears seemed 100% genuine. The same goes for Louise's non-stop crying, and Stephanie Pratt's confrontation of Spencer this season. Whilst perhaps things are exaggerated or played out to full dramatic effect, I'm sure the events did genuinely happen.

What makes me most sad about all of this, and I guess the reason why I wanted to write (rant) about it, was the potential effect I think this has on society, and in particular my generation. I hardly know anyone who doesn't watch the shows, or at least who doesn't vaguely know the storylines and characters. It has (almost) got to the stage where a relationship in which a man doesn't cheat is a huge achievement, and the man should be congratulated/rewarded for staying faithful. Why has monogamy become a praised thing, rather than merely expected? Can we blame it on the fame, the alcohol or technology? Can there EVER truly be a justification?

And it's not only the men on the programmes who cheat which infuriates me, but it's also the girls that ALWAYS seem to take them back. Louise and Spencer, Ferne and Charlie. Lockie and Danielle, Mario and Lucy, Jamie and Tara and now Binky and Alex (from Twitter pictures and current public appearances together it is clear they are still an item.) Why do these girls always seem to go running back? Why can't they realise what a complete douchebag their arsehole ex-boyfriend is, and move on to bigger and brighter?

I know more than anyone that when you love someone, you are prepared to forgive things that perhaps you shouldn't. However, cheating? Really? It made me incredibly angry when Binky was arguing with Lucy, and attempted to defend her forgiving Alex by saying 'well I'm just not as strong as you.' Well Binks, I love ya, but sorry I don't buy that. You are as strong as you want to be, and being 'weak' is no excuse for letting a man lie and cheat on you multiple times.

My whole article is summed up in a Twitter status (haha) of one of my guy friends after the Danielle and Lockie debacle, which read 'All this proves is that a guy can do anything and a girl will always take him back LOL.' Firstly, we need to change the current status quo so that faithfulness is portrayed as a given, not a bonus. And secondly, is that REALLY the impression us girls want to give men? Come on ladies.