Farewell 2013 you gorgeous sparkly thing you!
The change of the new year always seems to cunjure up mixed emotions for me. A bad experience many moons ago sort of tainted it, and frankly I dread it every year...except for this one! And this is why.
2013 has been a corker! Seriously mega and the best yet, so I believe it deserves a little round of applause in the form of a once over.
I have sensational memories from almost every single one of the previous 12 months. Would you like a little sneak peak of them?
January
My birthday lands on the 30th.
Following a month of sobriety and diets, I decided to drag my family along to a pop up restaurant I was dying to try. Lucky Chip was a guest kitchen resident at the Slider Bar in Soho.
It was a feast of molten cheese, pulled pork & beef patty sliders (mini burgers) accompanied by finger lickin' sticky ribs, mac & cheese and popcorn chicken. And to wrap all that healthiness up, we finished off with this. The best desert ever. I know..huge statement right? Well it was. Look.
This time we stayed at The James Hotel in SoHo. We loved exploring all the stylish boutiques that line the cobbled streets and the neighbourhoods around them. Here's a shot from The Skyline in the Meatpacking district.
March
Saw my little brother turn 21 and for this monumental occasion, we hosted a decadent dinner party for him at the ultimate cool kid hang out - Shoreditch House.
April
My colleagues and I hired out the private bowling room at All Star Lanes in Bayswater as part of a team bonding exercise. Stinging cocktails were served and serious laughs were had.
Especially when 'blindfolded' and 'upside down backwards' bowling was introduced to the equation.
You should try it! It puts a spin on things!
Spin....get it? Spin on the things! Ha!
Sorry..
May
Mr C's birthday falls in May and what better way to celebrate than by throwing him a surprise birthday party at a Peep show in Soho!?
This is him, riddled with confusion and feeling massively uncomfortable.
I best confess that I have a bit of a twisted sense of humour and I love playing pranks on people. This was a classic!
This 'peep show' is in fact a façade for a fantastic Mexican restaurant called La Bodega Negra.
It is underground and therefore a little dark and mystical. The ceviche is phenomenal and the margaritas even better. Although be warned...they are moreish and can make things a little fuzzy.
June
What ultimately made 2013 the best year of my life was getting to marry my best friend, soul buddy and dream hunk of a man. Queue the sick bag!
My superwoman mummy pretty much arranged our whole wedding single handedly and June was the month for trial and error...except being a superwoman meant she made no errors!
Can you imagine what a supermummy looks like?
I'll help you. She's the hottie in the middle. And the faithful apprentice to the left is my maid of honour & big sizzer.
High viz jackets intact, we tackled the flower markets at the crack of dawn. Having had no experience whatsoever, she grappled with the storks until she produced this hand held bouquet.
I told you she was super!
July
Grab a coffee. We may be a while on this one!
In the run up to the 27th of July, there was lots of cardio and juicing. I'm sure you're familiar with psychotic brides who need to lose those extra 5lbs or else the day could be ruined?
Well for the record, no one notices if you do or don't lose it and surprise surprise, the day goes ahead beautifully regardless. Hurrah! Silly girls aren't we?
I digress!
Three weeks before my wedding, my besties whisked me away from spinach juices and off for the most memorable hen weekend in Greece.
We sailed the Mediterranean, ate enough fish and Greek delicacies to sink our yacht and then headed out for more raucous fun dressed as ballerinas.
This is how ballerinas dance..isn't it?!
Nerve and excitement levels grew. The meetings with the Rector came to an end, the long list was ticked & the garden manicured to perfection.
The day was finally upon us. Eeek..here goes!
August
Following the massive adrenalin rush, we dealt with the come down by indulging in a few days of Babington House therapy. If you haven't been, then you must. A Somerset country retreat with a fantastic Cowshed spa, the comfiest of beds and the most delicious granola!
From there, we jetted off on our mini-moon to Morocco for a bit more relaxation. Perhaps I'll take you through this in more detail one day, but for now here's a little glimpse.
We stayed at Le Mosaic Palais Aziza, a boutique hotel outside Marrakesh. Excellent service and immaculate surroundings.
A word of advice. Maybe avoid going in August if you're not of fan of excessive heat...and/or a lot of sweat! It reached 45C+ during our stay.
September
As you already know, I am half Greek Cypriot and most of my family still reside on the beautiful island. There are hundreds of them (literally), and so Mr C and I decided to have an intimate wedding in the UK followed by a celebration of our marriage with a reception in Cyprus.
My brilliant cousins worked effortlessly to create the perfect ambiance and an evening filled with mouth watering delights in the most magical pool side setting.
Family and friends gathered from near and far and tears of joy streamed down my face as I embraced long lost loved ones from my childhood.
It turned out to be so much more that just a wedding celebration. It was emotional on so many levels and a weekend which none of us will forget in a hurry.
From there, we packed our bags and jetted into the skies once more for our dream honeymoon. Of course I'll go into all the knitty gritty detail on this shortly but for now, here's a sneak preview.
October
Buzzing from our whirlwind trip, we returned with a spring in our step only to be greeted with yet more splendour.
My sister's wedding!
As her maid of honour, I had to park my jet lag to one side and with one week to go, help her prepare the last few crucial details.
She looked sensational and I was overwhelmed with pride and love.
Novemeber
November brought with it lots of wining and dining.
Barafina is an exquisite little Spanish restaurant in Soho. There's a no reservation policy and with 23 seats, I propose you get there early and prepare to queue, but trust me, it's totally worth it!
Hakkasan - with a Michelin under it's belt, it's hands down the best dim sum and Asian food I've ever tried.
Berners Tavern is the hot new chick on the block. Reservations are near enough impossible for at least a few months but book nevertheless. It's awesome. Poppy Delevingne, Alexa Chung & Harry Styles were all partying there during our visit. The decor alone is worth poking your head around the door for.
The change of the new year always seems to cunjure up mixed emotions for me. A bad experience many moons ago sort of tainted it, and frankly I dread it every year...except for this one! And this is why.
2013 has been a corker! Seriously mega and the best yet, so I believe it deserves a little round of applause in the form of a once over.
I have sensational memories from almost every single one of the previous 12 months. Would you like a little sneak peak of them?
January
My birthday lands on the 30th.
Following a month of sobriety and diets, I decided to drag my family along to a pop up restaurant I was dying to try. Lucky Chip was a guest kitchen resident at the Slider Bar in Soho.
It was a feast of molten cheese, pulled pork & beef patty sliders (mini burgers) accompanied by finger lickin' sticky ribs, mac & cheese and popcorn chicken. And to wrap all that healthiness up, we finished off with this. The best desert ever. I know..huge statement right? Well it was. Look.
It was a while ago so you'll have to excuse my memory but it was something along the lines of a Banofee Pie on a delicious biscuit base with honeycomb ice cream and chocolate crackle pops on top. In the words of Celine Dion "it's all coming back to me now"
February
Kicked off with a fabulous weekend in New York. A birthday treat from my darling fiancé.
This time we stayed at The James Hotel in SoHo. We loved exploring all the stylish boutiques that line the cobbled streets and the neighbourhoods around them. Here's a shot from The Skyline in the Meatpacking district.
March
Saw my little brother turn 21 and for this monumental occasion, we hosted a decadent dinner party for him at the ultimate cool kid hang out - Shoreditch House.
April
My colleagues and I hired out the private bowling room at All Star Lanes in Bayswater as part of a team bonding exercise. Stinging cocktails were served and serious laughs were had.
Especially when 'blindfolded' and 'upside down backwards' bowling was introduced to the equation.
You should try it! It puts a spin on things!
Spin....get it? Spin on the things! Ha!
Sorry..
May
Mr C's birthday falls in May and what better way to celebrate than by throwing him a surprise birthday party at a Peep show in Soho!?
This is him, riddled with confusion and feeling massively uncomfortable.
I best confess that I have a bit of a twisted sense of humour and I love playing pranks on people. This was a classic!
This 'peep show' is in fact a façade for a fantastic Mexican restaurant called La Bodega Negra.
It is underground and therefore a little dark and mystical. The ceviche is phenomenal and the margaritas even better. Although be warned...they are moreish and can make things a little fuzzy.
June
What ultimately made 2013 the best year of my life was getting to marry my best friend, soul buddy and dream hunk of a man. Queue the sick bag!
My superwoman mummy pretty much arranged our whole wedding single handedly and June was the month for trial and error...except being a superwoman meant she made no errors!
Can you imagine what a supermummy looks like?
I'll help you. She's the hottie in the middle. And the faithful apprentice to the left is my maid of honour & big sizzer.
High viz jackets intact, we tackled the flower markets at the crack of dawn. Having had no experience whatsoever, she grappled with the storks until she produced this hand held bouquet.
I told you she was super!
July
Grab a coffee. We may be a while on this one!
In the run up to the 27th of July, there was lots of cardio and juicing. I'm sure you're familiar with psychotic brides who need to lose those extra 5lbs or else the day could be ruined?
Well for the record, no one notices if you do or don't lose it and surprise surprise, the day goes ahead beautifully regardless. Hurrah! Silly girls aren't we?
I digress!
Three weeks before my wedding, my besties whisked me away from spinach juices and off for the most memorable hen weekend in Greece.
We sailed the Mediterranean, ate enough fish and Greek delicacies to sink our yacht and then headed out for more raucous fun dressed as ballerinas.
This is how ballerinas dance..isn't it?!
Nerve and excitement levels grew. The meetings with the Rector came to an end, the long list was ticked & the garden manicured to perfection.
The day was finally upon us. Eeek..here goes!
August
Following the massive adrenalin rush, we dealt with the come down by indulging in a few days of Babington House therapy. If you haven't been, then you must. A Somerset country retreat with a fantastic Cowshed spa, the comfiest of beds and the most delicious granola!
From there, we jetted off on our mini-moon to Morocco for a bit more relaxation. Perhaps I'll take you through this in more detail one day, but for now here's a little glimpse.
We stayed at Le Mosaic Palais Aziza, a boutique hotel outside Marrakesh. Excellent service and immaculate surroundings.
A word of advice. Maybe avoid going in August if you're not of fan of excessive heat...and/or a lot of sweat! It reached 45C+ during our stay.
September
As you already know, I am half Greek Cypriot and most of my family still reside on the beautiful island. There are hundreds of them (literally), and so Mr C and I decided to have an intimate wedding in the UK followed by a celebration of our marriage with a reception in Cyprus.
My brilliant cousins worked effortlessly to create the perfect ambiance and an evening filled with mouth watering delights in the most magical pool side setting.
Family and friends gathered from near and far and tears of joy streamed down my face as I embraced long lost loved ones from my childhood.
It turned out to be so much more that just a wedding celebration. It was emotional on so many levels and a weekend which none of us will forget in a hurry.
From there, we packed our bags and jetted into the skies once more for our dream honeymoon. Of course I'll go into all the knitty gritty detail on this shortly but for now, here's a sneak preview.
October
Buzzing from our whirlwind trip, we returned with a spring in our step only to be greeted with yet more splendour.
My sister's wedding!
As her maid of honour, I had to park my jet lag to one side and with one week to go, help her prepare the last few crucial details.
She looked sensational and I was overwhelmed with pride and love.
Novemeber
November brought with it lots of wining and dining.
Barafina is an exquisite little Spanish restaurant in Soho. There's a no reservation policy and with 23 seats, I propose you get there early and prepare to queue, but trust me, it's totally worth it!
Hakkasan - with a Michelin under it's belt, it's hands down the best dim sum and Asian food I've ever tried.
Berners Tavern is the hot new chick on the block. Reservations are near enough impossible for at least a few months but book nevertheless. It's awesome. Poppy Delevingne, Alexa Chung & Harry Styles were all partying there during our visit. The decor alone is worth poking your head around the door for.
December
The end of the year approached rapidly and the countdown to Christmas was on. This year I was extremely lucky to spend the holiday season with both my family and my new inlaws. We had a wonderful time together, were spoilt rotten with gifts, food and most importantly love.
Like I said, it has been my favourite year to date and I feel very lucky to be where I am today.
I hope I haven't bored your poor socks off and wish you all the best for the year ahead! Lots of love x
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