Review: Cahoots

I've been to Cahoots before and I really enjoyed it but I never really wrote a review. So you might have read in my last post that I organised an evening out for the girls on the 1940s/50s Most Marvellous Meet Ups group on Facebook. It was very well received and I was delighted with how many women wanted to come so I organised a date back in February.

For those of you less familiar, Cahoots is a 1940s London Underground war time themed bar located in the heart of the west end. ALL aspects of this bar appeal to me greatly; I work on the Underground, I love the fashion from the 1940s period and along with my love for cocktails, all three of these combined were pretty much a guarantee for this place to be my calling.

Once I got confirmation for the amount of people who wanted to come to Cahoots, I visited their website and made a booking. I found the process fairly simple and it took me a matter of a few minutes to complete a booking. I knew we had joined events with the Classic Car Boot Sale which was a day time event so I didn't want to make a booking that was too late as it will have been a long-ish day. So I booked for 17:45pm for 8 people. 

This is where it gets a bit funny and I feel the need to mention it just to be honest. The night before, I received a late night phone call from the bar. Our booking has mysteriously been changed and there was an utter mix up. I was so confused; it was late and I know I never changed our booking as it was so specific. Regardless, the person on the phone agreed to change it back.

In the morning, I checked my email and it said "Your booking has been changed to Saturday 16th April at 11:45pm". You can imagine my frustration when I explained on the phone the night before that our booking was specifically for 5:45pm and she hadn't listened, or perhaps was too busy to. I work in a customer service role so I understand that these things can happen, especially if you've had a long shift. So I called Cahoots again. I was in a fluster because Nicole was coming from Manchester and I had all these women counting on me for this booking! However, this time, I got a very different response. The person I spoke to on the phone was SO kind and understanding and even though she was perplexed by what happened, she was ever so helpful changing the booking back to original time and was very accommodating; she even said our party was to receive our first round of drinks for free. Now that's customer service! 

We arrived at Cahoots in a much more positive frame of mind, feeling like we had been listened to and were ready to forget the whole mix up.The bar itself is located in Kingly Court quietly tucked down away an alley. There was a queue when we got there, proving how popular it is.

When you step inside, it is literally like going back in time. Everything is from the 1940s, from the building, props even down to the staff who are in character with the time. You can see what a unique experience this bar is, something I've never seen before.

We were greeted by the most friendly staff; from the doorman, the "ticket office booking clerk" aka the cloakroom attendant to the person who seated us at our table. They truly couldn't have been more welcoming. Immediately we were greeted with an apology which felt very sincere so it was really lovely.

We knew we were going to get our first round of drinks on the house but we had no idea that they would bring us a glass of prosecco each so that was an amazing surprise! They seated us in the tube carriage part of the bar which I've ALWAYS wanted to sit in so I was really excited. What I loved about it was that it was slightly tucked away so you could properly enjoy your company while admiring the bar. 

We were feeling peckish so we decided to try some of their food. I ordered the fish finger toastie and I LOVED that it came in a rations tin along with a side of tomato sauce. It was so delicious and so classically British. As well as the food, the staff would always keep you topped up with popcorn to keep you snacking. They had their work cut out with us as we were so hungry we were constantly reaching for them. The food is reasonably priced here; snacks and sandwiches all cost under £10 so it won't set you back too much.

On to the drinks! The cocktails are on the expensive side of things but the way I see it is: Cahoots is a treat. It's not somewhere where you'd be able to pop in casually so this would be a one off occasion and for me, I don't mind paying for dearer drinks when the establishment is this special. The staff REALLY know the menu and they'll pick you something out you might like if you cannot decide. The menu has a vast range of drinks, most with some peculiar ingredients; these are definitely not your average cocktails. What I loved about ordering cocktails here is that it's always a surprise as to how your cocktail is going to come out. As you can see in the photos above, every cocktail is presented SO differently. I

Also available are a selection of non-alcoholic cocktails for those who don't drink and for those who don't like cocktails (who ARE you?!) there are also a selection of beers so there is variety and different people are included.

Myself and the girls has such a lovely evening, it was definitely fun picking out different cocktails from the faux newspaper menu. So despite the rocky start and potentially awful experience, thanks to Cahoots excellent customer relations, we ended up having the most fantastic time. I do adore this little spot and I thank the staff who went above and beyond to help us enjoy our evening!

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xo

Lindy Bop & Life

I've decided it's time to stop letting past events and mistakes from stopping me from what I want to get. During the months leading up to my solo trip to America, I became very anxious and a bit of a nervous mess to be honest. There were several times in my head where I debated cancelling my trip and chucking it all in because I felt like I'd made a mistake and that I would never be able to cope on the other side of the world on my own. I like to think that one of my strengths, despite always worrying about things, is the ability to know when my thoughts are ridiculous and silly. So I kept brushing past my nervous worries and knew and still do, that if I don't do things that I'm scared of then I will never enjoy life properly. I assessed myself; I asked myself what am I scared of? What about travelling alone is so daunting and would warrant you from not going? After I asked myself that, I thought about it. I never once thought I'd be unsafe in America so that wasn't what was worrying me. But I did worry about going so far away from home and not be in instant contact with my Mum. Moreover, I genuinely got anxious about sitting on a flight for 11 and a half hours on my own with no one to talk to bar the cabin crew. I've become so reliant on my phone and social media to distract me when I'm feeling nervous that I didn't know what I would do when it came to the flight.

When the day came and my Mum was dropping me off at Heathrow, I felt nervous but also SO excited. In the airport I felt so proud of myself for overcoming my anxiety and just THROWING myself into an adventure in which I never knew what would happen. I knew I could never miss out on the possibility of meeting new people and making new friends. Creating stories to tell when I'm older is also another thing that is what I want to be able to do. I know that anything that doesn't go to plan will always make a good story. I always knew that I would regret not going and never regret going and that's so bloody true.

Sometimes it feels like I'm two different people; on one hand I'm the shy, nervous and anxiety ridden person who is too afraid to be adventerous but on the other, I'm completely brave and not afraid to try new things and gain new life experiences. I'm facing this dilemma at work where I'm applying for new jobs but totally underselling myself and not realising my full potential.

Anyway, on to the outfit. I think that Lindy Bop have really improved as a company recently in a number of ways; their social media is generally on point as they really interact with their customers and the ranges and different styles of their designs have come so far, it's incredibly impressive. Most notably for me, Lindy Bop have come on leaps and bounds with their separates; especially their tops. I was really disappointed to notice that both the top and the skirt I'm wearing in these photos are no longer being sold on their website from what I can see as I really wanted to stock up on the top in more colours and get another one of these skirts.

I absolutely adore this outfit. The top and skirt go so well together and I feel it compliments my body type. The issue I have with the wiggle skirt is that the material feels REALLY cheap. It's very thin and feels like it will break quite easily. So I've been treating it with extra care and hoping it will last me a while as I do love how it looks and fits on me.

Here's to hoping the range continually improves and I really do wish they'd bring these tops back as they are so versatile and match with the so many different bottoms I own. 

Welcome to America...and my first post of 2016!

Happy New Year guys! Uh, bit late I know. I'm not sure how much I've mentioned but the last few months have been quite hard for me and I've taken an extensive blogging break. I didn't want to do any half-hearted posts so I thought it was better for me to take the time for myself and figure out myself and what I want from life. Anyway, fast-forward to now. The beginning of this year has been of a mixed bag; I've been off work due to depression and anxiety yet I've just been on a pretty much life changing holiday. 

I booked a trip to California to get away for a week and sort my head out. A few days ago I flew from Heathrow to LAX and picked up hire car from the airport. I planned on getting a Ford Focus; a smallish but effective car to get me from A to B but low and behold this is what I ended up driving away...

So this upgrade was bloody ridiculous! I've never driven or even been a passenger in a car this fancy in my life so getting to drive this is America of all places was a bit daunting. After an 11 and a half hour flight with very little sleep, two hours in immigration and picking up my luggage, I had to to try and navigate myself 2 and a half hours down the West Coast to San Diego. It's safe to say this was such an adventure. I've never driven in another country before, let alone one where you drive on the opposite side of the road. It took me a good 45 minutes to get to grips with the car before I drove off. I feel really proud of myself for jumping out of my comfort zone, trying something new and going on a complete adventure. 

Driving in California was surprisingly easy! I had weeks of anxiety before I arrived, worried about it. I Youtube'd American driving lessons (I know right) to get to grips with driving on the right hand side of the road but all the worrying was for nothing. I found it a lot easier to drive in the states to be honest! There are hardly any round abouts and mostly the roads are in a grid system. 

One of my favourite spots in San Diego was a place called La Jolla. Here you can find seals moping around on the rocks and beaches and get up close and personal! I was a bit scared because some of them kept barking at me but it was hysterical really. The area was absolutely stunning as was the scenery!

Of course what I was really looking forward to on this trip was the shopping! I visited a couple of Malls in San Diego and my favourite was called 'Fashion Valley'. They had loads of designer shops such as Burberry, Louis Vuitton and the big department stores such as Bloomingdales and Macy's. I finally got to visit Bloomingdales and even though I've been to New York twice, I never went there.

I also loved hitting up all of the fast food places such as In-N-Out Burger, IHOP and Denny's. I literally ate my weight in pancakes and burgers. One of my favourite places that I went to was in an area of San Diego that was I staying in called Ocean Beach. Hodad's was a surfer themed burger place where your eyes will most definitely be bigger than your belly. The burgers are the size of your head and you get these crazy big onion rings and wedges. I've definitely put on 5 stone haha.

During the week I managed to snag free tickets for the Conan O'Brien show which is filmed at the Warner Bro's Studio in Burbank which is just north of LA. I thought instead of driving, I would try the Amtrak train which takes you up the coast with amazing views of the ocean.

The photo of the buildings is the view of Downtown LA from the train. For those of you who haven't heard of Amtrak before, they're these MASSIVE double decker trains which run all over the U.S and as I work in Railway in my day job, I was slightly geeking out at getting to ride one of these. The entire journey from San Diego to Burbank took 3 and a half hours in total! 

I arrived in Burbank in the morning so the first thing I eager to eat was IHOP. I needed all of these pancakes. Whilst I was there, I also visited Pinup Girl Clothing, Besame Cosmetics and Unique Vintage. 

I pretty much used Uber everywhere whilst I was in Burbank because it was the easiest way to travel around and most journeys only cost me around $5-9 in total! I couldn't get to Pinup Girl Boutique QUICK enough. I was full on fan-girling! I was so excited when I got there and the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. I jumped on the sale racks like mad and managed to nab this Jenny skirt above in the sale for $60. I also managed to get some super cute B.A.I.T footwear shoes on sale for $32 and took a couple of belts home too. I really hit up the bargains which I wouldn't have got at home. 

Across the road was Besame Cosmetics. Literally the MOST amazing cosmetics shop I've ever been in. It's a pinup girl's dream. Besame are a vintage style make up brand that creates beauty based on the 40's and 50's. Again, the staff in the Besame store are literally incredible, they could not do enough to help you and were really sweet and attentive. They definitely made my trip memorable. I walked up to Unique Vintage, another repro store I couldn't wait to visit and I didn't really realise how far the walk was. Even though it's on the same road, the walk took me almost 20 minutes. Damn you America and your large roads! It almost made me late to get back to the Conan O'brien queue at the Warner Bro's Studio. I have to come back again and revisit the shop as I didn't have enough time to look. 

Conan O'Brien was loads of fun! It was really interesting seeing how a talk show is filmed and I was really suprised how quick it was. I really find Conan funny so it was awesome seeing him in person. Even if I did get told off by security for checking my phone. Woops! 

I'm already bordering on making this post far far too long and boring any of you reading it. I've tried to keep this as brief as possible! I apologise for all the pictures but I think pictures speak better than words for this trip. 

I'm entirely grateful to Fatima who graciously let me stay in her apartment for the week I was visiting. She was an incredible host and showed me all the best places and took me out with her and het boyfriend Luke - who spent a small time teaching me to surf! It was really cool to hang out with some people in America as I didn't feel alone. I feel so happy to have made some new friends! 

This trip has done me a world of good. I adventured out of my comfort zone, trying things I never thought I would dare and I feel so bloody happy. 

Now I'm home, I'm concentrating on saving as much money as I can. I want to keep coming back to America and having more trips. I eventually want to take 6 months off of my job and move to California for 6 months. 

Have you been to California? let me know your thoughts!

Books: The Girl In The Spider's Web

If I was shipped off to another island for the rest of my life and was held at gun point and forced to only take a few books (although that cliche of a fantasy situation is utterly ridiculous and we all know it) then the Millenium series is likely to be my ultimate first choice. But truth be told, I had no idea there was a fourth book in the series until a few weeks ago. When I found out, I almost screamed in delight. I haven't read much this year so I haven't kept up at all in the world of new book releases. 

So I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago that I had become *too* obsessed with the internet and my social media, to the point I stopped enjoying old hobbies like reading. So over the past couple of weeks, I've stopped spending so much time online and spent more of my free time reading books. The first one in a while being The Girl In The Spider's Web. 

For those of you less familiar with the Millenium series, they're crime novels based on two main characters called Lisbeth Salander, a computer hacker with a photographic memory and Mikael Blomkvist, an infamous investigative journalist whose is brought under scrutiny after he is charged and sentenced for libel against a billionaire. Despite being two people who are polar opposites in terms of characters, they team up together to solve a case of a missing person after being hired by the family member. Although I won't go into detail about the plots but they are fast paced, highly addictive novels which are not only incredibly easy to read but leave you engrossed into the characters and their lives.

Unfortunately the novel's author, Stieg Larsson, passed away in 2004 and despite there being rumours that the Millenium series was intended to be 10 books in total, only 3 were written by him. However, in 2013 Swedish publisher Norstedts allowed an author by the name of David Lagercrantz to write the fourth novel and so here we are!

So what are my thoughts on the fourth installment? well, to put it simply, having a well loved series be continued by a totally different author was always going to have it's criticisms and in no way did The Girl In The Spider's Web escape mine. Initial thoughts before I even started reading it were something along the lines of "Oh god, no! Why? just why?!" and "but what if he doesn't even write like Larsson, he'll completely ruin the series" so not to be overdramatic or anything, but yeah. I was nervous. I was also excited; excited at the fact I have a brand new story involving Mikael Blomkvist and Lisbeth Salander, both whom I've come to love. I finally got to bring them back to life in my mind and to see where the next journey leads them; a feeling I know all to well from growing up and waiting for each Harry Potter book to be released. But to say I was underwhelmed with it all is an understatement. I thought Lagercrantz' effort in continuing Larsson's short but sweet style of writing was great but the plot felt....boring. In parts, I really felt myself switching off and not paying attention to what I was reading and I did end up putting the book down for a whole week when I was about 20% way through. However when I picked it back up, I did get back into and the book and ended up finishing it within a couple days.

Whilst I did mostly enjoy the story and thought Lagercrantz made a good effort, there was a conscious part of me throughout reading the book that it just wasn't the same. Of course, to think that it would be totally the same with a different author would be naive but there was a constant feeling that there was something missing. I think the plot felt quite dry in parts and in my opinion, there wasn't enough of Lisbeth for me to ever be happy with it.

I honestly tried to not be loyal to Larsson's writing and started this book with a completely open mind but I would say it was an average attempt at best and it'll be interesting to see if the same author is allowed to continue the series any further. 

New Start, New Room.

Sometimes when life is rough, you gotta pick yourself up and keep on moving. Despite being easier said than done, that's exactly what I'm doing (well trying at least) anyway. I decided to re-do my room and instead of it being the dump I usually make it, I wanted to transform it into my cosy haven where I can relax and pamper. And that I have done, with the help of my mum. 

I've unintentionally turned my bedroom into a pin up themed one; with my favourite mug, duvet, pillows and posters all giving their nod to the great pin up ladies. I'm not usually a 'theme' person so I think this will have to be where I draw the line before it gets TOO much (I'm sorry I have to have some subtlety!) but I absolutely adore my duvet set and this mug which I picked up in a shop in Brighton. I'm not sure when I became a person who has a favourite mug or cares what their bedsheets look like but I've got to say, it's very comforting. 

When I was away a couple of weeks ago, I may have picked myself up a Genuine Fake Michael Kors bag. I know, buying a fake; shame on you Sarah, shame on you. Except, I have no shame. It cost a grand total of £10 and it looks bloody fantastic. If I had the money to buy a real one, I probably would. I have previously considered it and I might again in the future but for now, I couldn't resist this beautiful replica. I'm not sure what the bag has to do with my room makeover but I wanted to throw it in there, as you do. 

I bought the flamingo fairy lights from Primark a good while ago and after a brief hanging on my bed, they fell down to floor and I forgot about their existence. Thanks to my mum who rediscovered them, she hung them above my mirror and I think they add such a cute touch so now I'm glad I bought them. They're operated by batteries too so they're very versatile in terms of where you can put them. 

I then got this new storage unit which replaced a desk that used to be there. The desk was way too overclutterd and it made my already small room, even more cluttered and cramped itself. This storage unit is amazing because it gives you so much space to put things in and you can mix and match with the storage boxes which I absolutely adore.

I love little storage boxes and jars and I feel these fit in so well on my unit! Although I plan to find some actual matching ones but I love these ones holding my hair brushes and make up brushes for me. Also, what would a cosy room be without candles? Primark have some great ones in for so so cheap and they smell amazing! My favourite is like a mason jar style candle as the smell really lingers and smells beautiful. They had a whole different range of them when I looked the other day so I may just pop back for some different scents.

To top off my room makeover, I treated myself to a new TV! Definitely an extravagant purchase but one well made, it's taken pride on my wall facing my bed so I'm finally in heaven in my own bedroom. The question is, will I ever leave it? Somehow, I have to get to work. No but seriously it's amazing. A 42" LG television with smart tv catch up apps and a USB slot in the back to which I've attached an external hard drive full of television and films ready for me to watch. 

So whilst I might be having a hard time emotionally at the moment, turning my room around and treating myself has definitely helped. I'm going to be living at home with my parents for a long while now until I can afford to buy my own place so I might as well be comfortable and relaxed in my room. 

Lifestyle: Am I addicted to the internet?

Is there anything better on a Sunday to stay tucked up in bed with a cup of coffee and a book? I didn't think so. 

It's very rare that I get a weekend off in the job that I do so I'm taking every effort to appreciate the laziness that is so associated with a Sunday. The weather has been absolutely awful recently so there is nothing more satisfying than getting to stay in bed and catching up with a book you've been wanting to read for absolutely ages. 

I started reading The Girl In The Spider's Web last week when I was on holiday but I haven't gotten around to finishing it yet. Being thrown back into work and not finding anytime to read since, has made me grab this precious Sunday with all that I've got and devote it to finishing the next instalment in one of my most favourite book series in years. In this ever technology addicted world, I find it harder and harder to stay focused on reading a book. 

The more I look at my phone or my laptop, the less I find myself reaching for a book. Last year I got a kindle for Christmas which I was really happy about because I thought it would get me right back into reading again. And whilst it did for a good while, I find myself reaching for a book less and less as time goes on. I believe that the more I'm sucked into my laptop and phone, the less I let myself live in real life and that even means losing old hobbies I love like reading and drawing. I actually blame getting drawn into my phone for the now apparent lack of ability I have to concentrate on a book or even sit through a movie. I can't be the only one that goes to cinema and gets tempted to check my phone throughout the viewing? Even going on holiday last week, I checked my phone throughout the day whilst I was in Turkey where on the other hand, Georgie didn't connect to WiFi the entire time. The mere thought of not even connecting to the internet for a few hours makes me a bit anxious.

I recently drove up to my friends place a couple of hours away, and I decided to leave my phone on charge at her house whilst we went out for a curry. I didn't really want to do it but I thought I'd test myself on it; baring in mind I'm also a socially anxious person so I love having my phone on me for a bit of a distraction; I did leave myself wondering, do I use my phone to distract myself SO much that I no longer know how to function without it? Well, I found I was actually quite a bit shaky. Not particularly obviously so, but enough that I noticed and found it uncomfortable not having that distraction. 

So what I'm trying to deal with now is living more without being so dependent on technology or the internet. I think I need to find more of a healthy balance between using it occasionally but also not finding myself desperate for it if I'm offline for more than a couple of hours. 

I can't deny it though, I love my life on the internet; so many of my friendships evolved because of it, right from the days of Myspace, through to Twitter and Tumblr. It's incredibly hard to disconnect from a space that makes you feel so positive. 

Over the next few weeks I'm going to be testing out leaving my phone off for short periods of time, gradually making it longer and longer to see how I cope and all so I can get back into things I love like appreciating getting time to read and maybe even start drawing again. 

Do you have any tips for me? 

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Turkey: Blue Lagoon

 

I've been quiet on the blog this week and if you haven't seen - it's because I'm on holiday. On Saturday morning I arrived in Dalaman airport in Turkey where we were picked up and transferred to Hisaronu, Fethiye. We arrived SO early, like middle of the night early, of course we went straight to bed. 

Over the past few days, we've not really done much aside from exploring the 'strip' as they call the centre part of town, trying out places to eat and of course lounging by the pool with a good old beer. I think I've had enough 'Efe's' to last me a lifetime at this point but it's just so damn tasty and easy to drink and what else are holidays for?

Embarrassingly enough, the hotel I booked is basically just full of old people so we've essentially come to the quietest holiday resort in existence which I suppose worked out well for us because there are no kids anywhere to be seen. Chuffed! As for the weather, it has been glorious; from about 27-29 degrees in the day time and a bit cooler of an evening. It was supposed to rain but thankfully we've avoided that so far. 

I thought I'd share these photos from our trip to the Blue Lagoon in Olu Deniz today. I'm so proud of how they look actually which is why I'm writing this so soon but I feel like I got really good use of my camera. 

I pointed out to my friend who's come away with me that I absolutely adore holidays for this particular reason; when you're sitting around the pool or the beach, you see women (and men) of all shapes and sizes and additionally, people really do not seem to give a second glance as to what other's look like. This has given me a big boost in body confidence because you only have to look around at each other on holiday to realise how beautiful we are individually. Moreover, I think I've really found myself getting to the point where I stop caring about people wanting me to lose weight. I have felt sexier than ever on this holiday and I damn proud of my body carrying me through all the problems I've had. Honestly though, to actually walk down the beach or by the pool in a bikini and feel confidence radiating through you, it's an incredible feeling and one I'd never thought I'd feel in such a long time. 

Here's to continuing to feel like this in the long term! 

(Bikini from Primark)

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