I Love Lucie Hair - an insight into how I have my hair done.

So it's definitely been a while huh? I apologise for that. At the beginning of the year, I swore I would get back on this blogging game well and truly again but for whatever reason, it just never happened. I've posted the odd bit here and there but I fell out of routine. I'm really trying to fix it! I honestly think if you're not feeling something, you should step away from it for a while which is what I've done with the blog. I had to take some much needed time away to think about what I wanted to do here and just separate myself entirely so I could figure out if I missed it or not. 

I do honestly miss blogging - especially vintage/repro style blogging. I've definitely felt out of the loop when other blogger friends have asked me where I've been and I feel guilty! I also stopped reading blogs for ages too and staying up with social media on the blogging side. I'm not sure if I'll be posting as regularly as I used to but I will try.

So this post is all about hair! I've not done a hair post in a very very long time and it's something I'm surprised I haven't mentioned more often.  I thought I'd show you a before and after picture of what my hair looks like when the ginger had almost all faded out and my hair started getting long again. I then went to see Lucie and she transformed me! In the top picture, this was taken right after she finished my hair. This picture just above was taken when I was on my way to work the next day - hence the uniform. 

The one person who always dyes my hair the perfect ginger is Lucie Luella who is based in Manchester and visits London every month or so with a guest spot in Hula Nails.  She is literal hair perfection and whether you live in London or up north, I utterly recommend you get an appointment with her as she will totally transform your hair.

I've been this shade of ginger/red for well over a year now and I truly cannot imagine ever going back. Lucie is literally the best hairdresser I've ever been to, period. She's lovely, down to earth and friendly, very funny and very talented. It's always an absolute pleasure having my hair done by hair.

My hair is so much easier to style now that it is a lot shorter. I do feel for anyone styling my hair though as it is so thick.

Although the red does fade very fast with washes (I try to only wash my hair once a week now as it's healthier) I also top up in between with the Crazy Colour semi permanent dye in Orange. This keeps the colour going for a bit longer between appointments. I'm hoping at some point to visit her own salon in Manchester / Stockport as it looks beautiful and I'm so pleased for her she's doing her own thing. She's wonderful and you should check out her Facebook page for incredible vintage styling and cut/colours.

*This post was not sponsored in anyway; written all by myself, off my own idea. Nothing was sent to me in return for this.

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