London Coffee Guide

Apart from having a lovely holiday, our main reason for visiting London was to go on a ‘Coffee Tour’. I bought Cam the London Coffee Guide for Christmas last year and we have been so eager to try it out! We finally found a week where we both had minimum work load and most of our errands ran and took a train ride down for 3 days.

The coffee guide is full of every hip and happening coffee shop in London. With a rating system with their coffee and their overall experience. I have to say, we did follow it religiously. Which we laughed about, alot. When we saw a coffee shop and felt a little peckish for the bean, we would ask “Was it in the book?” and if it wasn’t..well we kept going. We only had 3 days to try and conquer the best of the best..we weren’t going to waste a caffeine fix.

We drank coffee at:
Kaffiene
Tapped & Packed
Look Mum No Hands
Fernandez and Wells
Brick Lane Coffee
Monmouth Coffee Company

Most gave us a stamp on our ‘Passport’ to say we had been there. (others, we drew in whilst waiting on the train.)  However, some didn’t even know they were in the book. So that was funny.

All were lovely and decorated outstandingly. I love how in London everything is done to the best of quality. The style and themes of each were clearly evident through lighting, cups, wall murals, menus…everything! Each was so unique and left me flooding with ideas for a possible shop in my future. (I can dream.)

My favourite would possibly be Tapped & Packed. I loved the cream walls with the wooden furnishings and felt the coffee got a thumbs up from my taste buds. Although, all were spectacular in their own way & some a little intimidating – if I am honest.

If you were thinking of purchasing the Coffee Guide for a gift or just for your coffee-loving self, I highly reccommend it! It is as informative as it is cool – it’s pictures are detailed and descriptions are bang on. Something to note though is that since it is a 2011 guide, prices have risen and their are a few that are no longer there. Naturally, during this time!

I hope you liked my little insight to a fraction of London’s Coffee scene. I will be returning in the hope to see more! Enjoy the rest of your Monday..xx

 

 

 

I’m Back!

Hurrah! Back to my beloved blog at last. This week, as every week seems to be these days, has been a whirlwind of events. I had a lovely 3 day holiday in London and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

Cameron and I followed The London Coffee Guide and visited coffee shops around different areas of London. I have to say, the coffee scene is incredibly different down there. We normally take our coffee and chill for a good hour on comfy seating and talking to the friendly baristas. But in London, everyone was in a rush…always! It felt as though everyone was running from A to B and downing flat whites at their favourite coffee pit stop. It was intriguing to see but also a little rubbish since it meant all the shops were very small and therefor always full. But we worked it out! (sitting on the pavement outside Monmouth Coffee was one resort.)

We didn’t do much sightseeing, we took a long walk past Big Ben and the London Eye one night after dinner which was so surreal! I had never been so close to Big Ben before and I felt a rush of overwhelming happiness that such sight was in the Uk. Only 4 hours on the train. Wow.

To round of this little update..here is my day today in Instagrams. My instagram name is Messyla! With love, Lalala.x

March

March has been a month that I have been so excited for. I never realised it before, but it really is my favourite month and season. I love the colour pallets it brings, the birds that sing and the bounce it puts in my step. Spring is a perfect season. It’s not too warm, it’s not too cold and it means you can finally take off that winter coat and visit the new born lambs. I mean, come on, is there anything cuter than seeing a new born lamb frolicking along the fields? I didn’t think so.

This month is full of posts. It is going to be so enjoyable to write and create! I really want this month to be extra special and hopefully that will transcend to the rest of the years posts. I thought today I will share with you the types of things you can look forward to here at MessyLa.

There will be a lot more baking to continue my challenge. I have a few recipes in my cook books that I am dying to try out and think will be perfect for this season. March suggests to me: freshness, lightness and healthy foods. So that is exactly what my brief is for this months recipes.. I am so excited! I am definitely going to take a whirl at making some bread with lovely crunchy seeds. Will you join me?

Next on the cards for March is a basket full of D.I.Ys. I personally get such joy from doing things myself. Whether it be tweaking something I have had for a while, bought that needs amending or making something myself completely from scratch. They are all easy and creative – hopefully giving you a peachy Spring task that we can both make.

Something that I have been pondering for some time is Vlogs and outfit posts. I feel I am at a stage in my blogging career that I should share more personal touches – like myself! I rarely post pictures of myself on my blog and have never experienced vlog making. However, I think it is a vital ingredient to an enriching blog..it lets you reach the blogger on a more personal level and learn a little more about me. Fingers crossed I have the guts to record a vlog. Although, I take photos of my foods in restaurants before I eat them..I am sure talking to my camera will be just a crazy.

I have an abundance of fun posts lined up this month and I can’t wait to share them with you. I don’t want to give too much away but I have put my heart and soul into planning a lovely blog month for my fantastic viewers! You deserve it and so does my teeny little blog.
Have a nice night,
La. xo

La Loves..

I missed my La Loves last week, but I have found some lovely things that I have been so excited to share with you. These past few weeks I have been in a gardening mood, which has stemmed from the warm weather. I am so inspired to have a completely edible garden, brimming with veggies and edible flowers. Also having a really pretty garden is on my list of achievements.

Here are my favourite things this week…

1.// Alys Fowler. She is so cool! She is a gardener and has a tv series called “The Edible Garden”. It is magnificent! I am slightly upset though (Slighty meaning super duper upset) that I missed one of them and can’t find it anywhere.

She has 3 books out, which have graced my Amazon basket this week.

2.// Rabbits.

Found via We Heart It.

I think I am getting a rabbit, and I am struggling to find a name? The rabbit is a bit chubby, white with orangey/ginger spots. Let me know of any suggestions! :-)

3.// Elycia’s Big Hair Tutorial! And her blog in general is a delight.

Click the image to view the tutorial!

4.// Happy Loves Rosie. Wowow! Look at her creative space:

click the image to see the vintage caravan post!

This is just incredible!

5.// Fifties style sundresses. This would be lovely in the garden..I am longing for a country life.

 

Come back later to see some new garden additions. Garlic, rocket, strawberries and baby leaf lettuce.

Scissor Quirk

One of my favourite blogs to view each day is Scissor Quirk. Michelle has such a lovely blog and the cutest items for sale. I am always so inspired by her blog posts and in particular her recent post about her craft books gave me the motivation to share my favourite books too!

It is a small collection, but I lugged it out to the garden step to photograph. (I know all my photos are outside, but my camera prefers it i feel..inside the photos are grainy and not the greatest quality.)

I will start from left to right and share the title and also anything significant about them!

- Vegetable Growing Month by Month. by John Harrison.

I recently purchased this book to learn more about gardening. It is really helpful and clear and a much needed glossary of terms!

- Craft, inc. by Meg Mateo Ilasco.

I found out about this book @ I go by Katie. It is so helpful and really made me think about my business and the realities of owning an indie business.

- The Great Gatsby. by F.S.Fitzgerald.

This book is tatty and worn as it was mine from high school. It is, to this day, my favourite book. I love the imagery and the decadence of the jazz age.

- Muffins Galore. by Catherine Atkinson.

I purchased this book on a trip to London @ Books for Cooks. (P.s. That shop is cook/baker/culinary heaven.) I love this book. Each recipe for muffins that I make is from or adapted from a muffin recipe by Catherine. It is so colourful with lovely picture and clear concise instructions.

- Sew! by Cath Kidston.

I got this for my first crafty Christmas. Cath Kidston products are a real treasure of mine and to have the inspiring book by Cath is even more rewarding than strutting my stuff with a spotty bag.

- Home Sweet Sewn. by Alice Butcher and Ginny Farquar.

Full of inspiration and the idea for my garlands derived from this book.

- Card Making. by

My gran gave me this book for inspiration. I love seeing other peoples cards and learning the techniques they use. I particularly like how it details where everything is from.

- 52 Scrapbooking Challenges. by Elsie Flannigan.

This book took forever to arrive, but it was worth it! I love Elise’s ideas and her handwriting!

- Vintage Fashion. by Emma Baxter-Wright, Karen Clarkson, Sarah Kennedy and Kate Mulvey.

Full of inspiration. Especially when wanting to source a new look for a particular night, its nice to look at different styles and ways of pairing together certain pieces.

- British Fashion Designers. by Hywel Davies and Nick Knight.

Like it says on the tin. An in depth tour of the fashion gods of Britain!

- Twiggy: A life in photographs. by Terence Pepper, Robin Muir and Melvin Sokolsky

No explanation needed! :-)

- Blow by Blow. by Detmar Blow and Tom Sykes.

The most tragic yet inspirational book i’ve read. Her life had its ups and downs, but she will always be remembered for the footprint she left in the fashion world.

- Kirstie’s Homemade Home. by Kirstie Allsopp.

This book was my real motivator to start my business. Her ideas and her TV show were so enjoyable and made old crafts new again.

- The complete guide to Card Making. by Sarah Beaman.

Very inspiring. Her ideas are a little different to mine. She prefers extremely busy and decorative cards whereas I prefer simple and fresh cards.

- The Dress Makers Technique Bible. by Lorna Knight.

I haven’t actually used this book yet as I still have to take a stab at making my own clothes. Some day, that dream will come true.

- Alexander McQueen: Genius of a Generation. by Kristin Knox.

I struggled to read this book, although I was desperate to find out more. I felt the sentences were so long and confusing, with huge words that I didn’t know. Hm.

- 100 Flowers to Knit and Crochet. by Lesley Stanfield.

Such a lovely book with beautiful ideas. I find it a little hard to follow the patterns though because I learned in an American format via Youtube!

Thank you Michelle!