30th Cake Smash

With this year marking a milestone birthday, I knew that I wanted to celebrate it in style.  Initially I set out to throw a party.  I booked the venue, the DJ, bought my outfit and started buying decorations and props.  It was only when I started to think about all the expense and the fact that in reality it was all for other people, I decided to do something selfish and instead change my plans to arrange something for me.

I started doing a bit of research, and this is where Pinterest becomes your best friend, you can literally find anything on there.  I came across a few different adult cake smashes and it was then that I knew what I wanted to do instead of throwing a party.  Who said that the kids should have all the fun with the new craze of birthday cake smashes?  Exactly, no one.  

I contacted Maryann of The Menagerie Lifestyle Photography and told her what I was thinking about, and thankfully she was straight on board with the idea.  

It was so much fun, although I have to admit it did feel rather strange just demolishing a cake, especially when I had put so much effort into making it look so pretty.  But for the photos at the end of it, it was totally worth it.

I'm so glad for the sudden change of plan, it will definitely be something I will remember that's for sure.  And who knows, maybe it could become a new birthday tradition.  Perhaps I should start researching for next year.

Big thanks to Maryann for the photos and for taking me serious and understanding exactly where I was coming from with this idea.

~ Gem x

All images were taken by The Menagerie Lifestyle Photography

Maison Bleu Tea Room Review

Happy National Cream Tea Day.  Yep, if ever there is a day to celebrate, today would definitely be it.  Tea and cake, what is there not to be happy about.  That said, today also seemed to be the perfect opportunity to share with you a new tea room discovery.

Last Saturday I enjoyed the most incredible breakfast with the bestie in the cutest little tea room.  Visiting a tea room I often find it hard to order anything but a cream tea, I'm actually beginning to think that it is a staple in my diet.

This little gem is fairly tucked away in the middle of a residential estate so it could be easy to forget about (until you've paid it a visit that is).  From the moment we walked through the door we were made to feel so welcome and right at home.  Nothing was too much trouble and the husband and wife duo were just amazing hosts.  

The décor is really modern with something to look at in every direction and with a cute little courtyard garden that is a real sun trap, it is well worth a visit.

If that wasn't enough to tempt you, the milkshakes should be.  I went for the cappuccino milkshake and oh my did it taste incredible.

I will definitely be going back, that's for sure.  They run a monthly craft club on the second Tuesday of each month and a book club on the first Thursday of each month so I'd like to try and check those out when I can too.  Any excuse hehee.

~ Gem x  

Down Hall Spa and Afternoon Tea

During my blogging break I was treated to the most lovely day out by my wonderful mum, with my sister in law to be, for our birthday's.  We were to be spending the day at Down Hall in their stunning spa complete with a massage, followed by afternoon tea in the hotel.

Driving up the main driveway the hotel soon came into view.  It is such a stunning and beautiful building, very grand indeed.  I couldn't wait to catch a glimpse inside.

Arriving at the spa we were greeted by the friendly staff, who gave us a quick tour of the facilities and showed us to our lockers.  The spa itself was fairly small but perfectly adequate for our needs, with a steam room and sauna, relaxation room, hydrotherapy pool and a small outdoor terrace area with comfy sun loungers.

We helped ourselves to the drinks on hand and spent a good couple of hours chilling out, chatting away and generally letting go of all our worries.  The massage was amazing, I could quite easily have fallen asleep afterwards and the rest of the time in the spa was spent in the relaxation room making the most of being able to get away with doing as little as possible.  

Once we'd finished in the spa we headed over to the main hotel for our afternoon tea.  Again the staff were lovely, however there could have been more of them, as due to a lack of staff the service was very slow.  The afternoon tea itself though was great and I loved the Wimbledon theme that they had taken on, it worked really well. 

I'll definitely be returning back to Down Hall to use the spa facilities, it really is a great place to loose yourself for a couple of hours.  With it only being a short drive from home, I'm slightly annoyed with myself that I've not taken advantage of it before now, so there is lots of catching up to be done.

~ Gem x

Afternoon Tea at Mulberry House

It's no secret that I love afternoon tea.  Basically anything that involves cake ticks all the boxes for me.  I was aware that Mulberry House in Ongar offers afternoon tea but have never actually been there to try it out.  

I last visited the venue with James, when we were looking for a wedding venue about three years ago.  I'd said back then that I would return to try it out, but it just slipped my mind until my mum suggested it the other week.  It seemed like the perfect excuse to celebrate my Nan's birthday.  After all drinking tea and eating cake is what we ladies do best.

It is a lovely venue, the dining room was very elegantly decorated and the soft background music helped provide the perfect atmosphere for tea. I loved the miss matched vintage china, to me this is how afternoon tea should always be served.  It's all in the tiny details, wouldn't you agree.

The selection of sandwiches (ham, egg mayonnaise, smoked salmon and cucumber with cream cheese) were yummy, but we all know that afternoon tea is all about the scones and the cakes and they did not disappoint.

A thoroughly lovely afternoon, definitely one to try out if you've not been before and another one for me to cross off my list.

~ Gem x

The Dolls House on The Hill Tea Room

I love visiting tearooms.  It's been a while since I've been to one, so with a visit planned to see my Nan in Harrow, and having been following The Dolls House Tea Room in Harrow-On-The-Hill on Instagram, it only seemed right to combine the two and I'm so pleased we did.  From the minute we arrived outside I knew I was going to enjoy it.  It looked beautiful.

Stepping inside the door we were greeted by friendly staff and a dresser filled with beautiful things to buy, although immediately I was thinking ahead to visiting at Christmas and it being filled with decorations and gifts.

The staff really were amazing.  We felt so welcomed and they were all so friendly, the service was really quick.  The food was delicious.  I went for a bacon, brie and cranberry panini with crisps and a still cloudy lemonade.

Of course it would have been rude not to have tried out their cakes too.  The selection was fantastic, it took a while to decide what to pick.  In the end I opted for a slice of red velvet.

I can honestly say it was the best red velvet cake I have ever eaten.  The portion was huge.  Too big to finish after lunch, so they boxed it up for me to take home.  The bonus to this of course is that i got to enjoy it twice.

If ever your in the area I'd recommend a visit.  I'm certain you won't be disappointed.

~ Gem x 

Afternoon Tea at Orsett Hall

I did tell you that I had still been indulging in tea and cake and I wasn't lying.  A third afternoon tea has been devoured recently, this one was a couple of weeks ago.  An excuse to catch up with a good friend of mine.  This time we headed for Orsett Hall, again somewhere I'd not visited but had driven past many times before.

Heading down the driveway you felt as though you were miles away from where you actually were.  The grounds were beautiful, I would love to explore them properly sometime.  There were a couple of functions taking place so I didn't want to impose on anyone's celebration so instead headed to the garden room for our afternoon tea.

I fell in love with the wallpaper, it was gorgeous.  Very in your face, but somehow in this room, it worked.  We visited on a Sunday and although there was a couple of baby showers taking place it didn't seem overly noisy and we had a great time chatting and catching up stuffing our faces with cake,

I'm not sure if you will be able to make them out but we were served up mini pasties (the are on top of the sandwiches on the bottom tier) I've never had pasties with afternoon tea before, but my god did they taste good (you can probably see them better in the picture below).  The cake was better though but then I would say that haha.

So that is three afternoon teas in three months, not bad if I do say so myself.  Anyone have any suggestions of where I could try in June?

Love Gem x