london blogger Archives - Page 2 of 5

saharasplash27 March, 2018

Invite to afternoon tea at the Berkeley with Sexy Hair

When I received an invite to afternoon tea at the Berkeley with Sexy Hair, you can imagine I had a lot of things going through my head. First- oh my yes indeed, second- oh no what about baby. Fortunately, my super duper husband was on hand to not only drive us to London, but take care of Alice while I ate a load of cake. For those of you who don’t know, Alice is a 100% breastfed baby, and although this makes me really happy, at times it’s difficult to go anywhere without taking her with me.

So, we arrived as a family and discovered the Berkeley had the most fanciest changing facilities ever- like even more fancy than our own changing station. They provided nappies and a beautiful little room big enough for all three of us to do what we needed to do before we parted ways.

Moving onto the event itself. I blogged about Sexy Hair last year (which you can read here) and cannot believe it had been a year since the last event. I’d just found out I was pregnant and now I was back again, without baby inside me, but still with one hell of an appetite!

Look who I bumped into as well- Nishi V! This was the first time meeting Nishi face to face, though we had spoken online for quite some time!

A fabulous array of gluten free treats were laid out at my table place. I always go crazy over good gluten free afternoon teas and The Berkeley didn’t disappoint.

So the cakes and biscuits had been especially designed around the latest fashions of the SS18 winter collections. Hints of Gucci can be seen in the chocolate parasol and edible sugar flower and a special white chocolate and orange ganache was made with sexy legs on top!

My favourite dessert was the Dolce and Gabbana inspired sponge with chocolate rainbow discs.

Just look at that pink mirror glaze- perfection!

Hair expert Ross was on hand to talk us through all the latest products in the Sexy Hair range, and we took home a selection to try too!

I have been loving this leave-in treatment, Soya want it all! Available on Beauty Bay.

Thanks for reading my invite to afternoon tea at the Berkeley with Sexy Hair!

Saharasplash x

Feeling hungry? Why not check out my latest recipe- it’s gluten free and super easy to make. Click here for more details

saharasplash20 March, 2018

Summertime wish list from Simply Beach

I know summer feels like a long way off when we are dealing with weather that should be kept only for December days, but hey I thought I’d bring something different to the blog this week. Although we aren’t taking a trip away on our annual Dubai holiday this year, we are in fact spending a lot more time by the poolside now that we have access to one at nana’s house (see here for my post all about the new digs). I’ve created my own summertime wish list from Simply Beach, the only place you need to find the best swimwear on the market.

Let’s start off with this gorgeous camo bikini from Vix. I’ve been adding a few camo pieces to my wardrobe here and there (and Alice’s too!) so there’s no reason why I can’t have a camo bikini set right?!

For a more modest look, but still stylish as hell, I’ve opted for this monochrome croptini and brief set. This is by Freya, which stocks up to size FF for all the beautiful busts out there.

More styles are ready and waiting for you too. You know your body type so make sure you check out all the brands online!

I’ve chosen three swimming costumes built for showing off curves. All of these are just stunning and I can totally see myself rocking all of them this summer. The pink stripe comes in at £90 from Ted Baker, the middle in striking blue is from Gottex for £97 and last is a underwired slate grey stunner from Jets priced at £165. It’s well worth investing in a great quality costume that looks good and feels amazing too.

Now you can’t make it to the beach without a statement tote- here are my top three on my Summertime wish list from Simply Beach. All these bags are Seafolly bags, and come with a top grade recommendation from yours truly. The sage and gold bags with nautical rope handles are just £36, and the middle raffia design checks out at £72.

Finally, the shoes! I’ve got three pairs to match the bags above however you like- they are all just waiting to be worn on a bright, sandy beach this summer. The brown flip flops are Melissa Odabash, the gold espadrilles are Seafolly, and the leo prints are from Watercult.

All these gorgeous wish list items can be found on Simply Beach right now, so what are you waiting for? Go create your own summertime wish list from Simply Beach today.

Saharasplash x

This is a sponsored post

saharasplash27 November, 2017

Alice’s first scrapbook by Potato Print

It’s a crazy thing having a baby. No sooner than those first precious days are here, it seems that time fast forwards until you don’t know how you got up to that first month. Which is why I feel it’s so important to keep a record of the first weeks when it all happens. Alice’s first scrapbook by Potato Print* was just the thing I was searching for in an album- its personalised cover and blank centre left it open for me to get creative.

The ‘first adventures’ album is £25 and lets you choose the front cover text and photo. It also comes with handy labels inside for you to add in wherever you choose. The date markers are such a clever little touch!

I decided to use the 30 pages to document Alice’s first four weeks, starting from day one…

I used the sticky cut out flags for the important titles- such as meeting the great grandparents!

And of course we had to use up at least three pages for her photoshoot sessions on day 13 and 23 of her journey.

I ended the album with my favourite snaps of Alice with her mummy and daddy- that last one was taken on our one year anniversary and was the first day she started smiling!

Something like this would make an amazing new baby present or as a Christmas present too. I have a 10% off discount code for you to use: SAHARASPLASH10 so go get creative!

Thanks for reading Alice’s first scrapbook by Potato Print!

Saharasplash x

*In collaboration with Potato Print

saharasplash4 July, 2017

Blogger Brunch with Sexy Hair UK

At the end of my first trimester, I was invited out to a wonderful blogger brunch with Sexy Hair UK. Sexy Hair had been on my radar for a while and I had tried out a few products from their haircare range. I was so pleased to see the invite had been extended to mums of bloggers too, so off we went! Quo Vadis was the location of the Sexy Hair Blogger Brunch, and when we arrived the table was ready and set for us.

Endless tea and juice is always a good plan. My mum and I had a gluten free yoghurt and granola brunch as we are both coeliacs. We met some other fabulous bloggers at the brunch including Abigail Royston and Elegantly Fashionable too!

The Sexy Hair Stylist Ross talked us through the different ranges that Sexy Hair offers (which is a lot!) and then we had the chance to get our hair done. I always jump at the chance for someone to style my hair, especially as I’m going through the awkward stage of growing more of my natural brunette out.

My mum and I both have similar hair which is fine, blonde and fast growing. We were recommended the red range which is for volumizing and boosting flat hair.

While I went for boxer braids, my mum went for a curled under look to suit both our different lengths.

Thanks so much for having us at the Blogger Brunch with Sexy Hair UK! We had such a wonderful time together.

You can see my hair being done from start to finish in this Facebook live video!

Shop the Sexy Hair range at Look Fantastic!

My all time faves:

Saharasplash x

If you liked this Blogger Brunch with Sexy Hair UK post, you are going to love reading what happened when I want to a party with Quiz Clothing!

saharasplash26 May, 2017

Blogger’s Office First Look!

Since moving out of London and to the Essex countryside, Paul and I have been working on renovating our annex into something really special. We will be living here for a while and so it is only fitting for us to have a lovely space, including a blogger’s office! We are very lucky to have such a wonderful space to work with and I am happy to say that the office corner is now complete! So here is our joint effort blogger’s office first look!

We both really liked the idea of having a clean, white desk to work from- bonus points for a blogger! This structure is actually a two-parter from different places believe it or not. The left hand square box shelves and the part that the PC screen sits on is from Argos, and the drawers to the right are from Ikea. This cost a total of £115 (£59.99+£55).

The desk space is colourfully decorated with a few pieces from Fabriano Boutique*. The cactus pen holder and watermelon sticky notes bring summer vibes to our blogger’s office.

Little touches like our wedding photo plus hanging flowers we used in our ceremony makes it feel really personal and a space for the two of us to use.

In the corner we have a Brackenheath iSpot Blade* desk lamp from Ormrod.com. Ormrod are a premier lighting wholesaler of lighting, both residential and commercial, in the West London area.

The lamp light is fully adjustable in brightness and the head fixture is flexible too. It’s neat, slimline and works so well in our blogger’s office.

Stylish affordability at under £40!

Here’s a sneak peek at what’s inside the drawers…

Blogger mail stationery and press material for days!

Across the room, just behind the desk is my own personal blogger area. I have two units (again from Ikea) to keep my blogger life organised and out of the way.

I’ve decorated the units with minimal but colourful flair. Of course my Kylie lipkits couldn’t go in the drawers, nor my nail polish collection!

The tallest unit on the right has a lift up top with a cute hidden mirror!

I’ve organised the drawers according to hair, body, fragrance, makeup etc.

I hope you like what we’ve done with the space- thanks so much for reading Blogger’s Office First Look!

Saharasplash x

If you haven’t caught up with my wedding posts, there are two parts to check out! Head to the home page to find them under May 2017.

*PR sample

saharasplash11 May, 2017

What a tang-tastic time

This week we celebrate Coeliac Awareness Week! So obviously as a coeliac lifestyle blogger, I wanted to bring you something that ties in with the theme. If you are local to London or just passing through I implore you to go visit Tang London. Tang is a fab little noodle bar with a great atmosphere and menu created around gluten and dairy free recipes. What a tang-tastic time I had there!

You can find Tang near Tottenham Court Road and is open Tuesday to Saturday for lunch and dinner. The first thing I tried out was the tofu starter.

It was traditional in its presentation yet modern in its uniqueness. Carefully fried and super yummy! The next thing on the menu (and my favourite thing ever) was the bao bun. The chefs worked so hard on creating the perfect gluten free bao bun with fried chicken and a spicy sauce. The bun is so warm and bouncy, I forgot that I was eating something that’s gluten free!

Next up I had a taste of the glass noodles with a tangy salad and egg- this one is for fans of a less spicy dish but still wanting an Asian style experience.

For mains I chose the chicken tang with rice noodles which was amazing. Again not too spicy but just enough of a kick from the ginger infused broth. The veggies were the perfect amount and I loved the authentic wooden soup spoon for extra slurping!