Magdalene May Ball 2015

Last week the hubby and I attended the Magdalene College White Tie May Ball in Cambridge. If you have been reading my blog for a while you will see these posts pop up every two years. I love sharing these experiences with you all, especially when there is an opportunity to dress up! It’s funny to think that this year will be 10 years since we matriculated and here we are back again still feeling (and behaving) like teenagers.

Rather than going for a traditional ball gown (I wore a pretty big MaxMara number to the last one) I decided to switch it up with something a little more sleek and form fitting.

The India dress from Forever Unique was on sale in two different colours (purple version from ASOS here). However, as I wore a purple one shouldered gown (from Coast) four years ago I decided to try the emerald green. I absolutely loved the heavy embellishment on the sleeve of this dress and its overall shape.

Of course the material of these types of dresses is always quite thin so you can see every contour, making a tactical choice of underwear a must!

For makeup I did a very simple smokey eye using the Naked 3 palette from Urban Decay. I made sure that the look lasted all night by using a really long lasting foundation (Mac Studio Fix) and setting it all carefully with powder (I used a combination of MAC MSF natural and ELF Mineral Glow powder). I finished the look off with false lashes from Eyelure (Cheryl Girls Night style).

 

For hair I used the Babyliss wide barrel tong (Glamour Waves) to create large curls. I then clipped the bottom sections while getting ready to ensure they had more texture and gently curled the top section at the end so it looked smooth and sleek.

It was a wonderful night of champagne, street food, music and dancing with the Fratellis performing.

We bumped into so many alumni from our university days and it was really fun catching up with them all!

I made it from sunset to sunrise! Hopefully we will be back in 2017!!

Travel: Venice

I had dreamed of visiting Venice for such a long time so after a stressful few months I decided that we deserved a little treat and booked a long bank holiday weekend as an early birthday present for the hubby! As we had a BA companion voucher that we hadn't had a chance to use (and my weekly Friday 7pm conference call prevented us from flying in the evening) we ended up taking the earliest Saturday morning flight from City airport so we could have 2 full days in Venice before returning on Monday afternoon.

 

(The bridge of Sighs.. looks nothing like the bridge I walked over every day in Cambridge!)

 

I found a lovely apartment on airbnb that was owned by a local architect (you can check it out here).

It was really quirky and modern with innovative use of space; just perfect for our needs. I would definitely recommend this option as it is much more affordable than local hotels and gave us more privacy. We took full advantage of all the amenities in the kitchen... as well as the pull up bar after all those carbs!

There is so much to see in Venice so we spent our first day walking around Piazza San Marco, exploring the Basilica, Doge's Palace, the Grand Canal and Rialto Bridge, while finding lots of hidden gems!

 Inside St Mark's

 We had the best time exploring through all the lovely little streets. There is something to see around every corner!

On the second day we took a boat around a couple of the nearby islands. We explored Murano and learned all about the traditional glass making techniques. 

In the evening I had booked us a lovely table at Alle Corone, a wonderful restaurant near the Grand Canal. The food was amazing and the service made it even more special! We decided to take a boat back to our apartment. There is definitely nothing more romantic than seeing Venice at night!

 Rialto Bridge

 The Casino

We had such a wonderful time and I would love to return and explore some more soon! 

Our Honeymoon - Sri Lanka - Part 1

The first stop on our honeymoon was beautiful Sri Lanka! I had spent months planning our whirlwind trip to make sure we could see as many sights and sample as much culture as could comfortably fit in one week.

However, flying on the Sunday following our wedding we were both utterly exhausted so spent the first two nights in Negombo. We stayed at the Jetwing Beach which was absolutely perfect for relaxation. Great service, a chilled atmosphere, an olympic sized pool, spa, gym, beach and very affordable room service. In fact we were so lazy that other than buffet breakfast we only ate out once! If you are prone to jet lag or are going straight from work I would really recommend staying in Negombo for at least a night as it is a little paradise just 30 minutes up the coast from Colombo airport. A perfect way to start your trip!

After attempting to book all our hotels and logistics myself I soon realised that it was very difficult given the long distances we had to travel. There is very little public transport and many places are not set up on the internet. I therefore put my pride aside and after speaking to about 15 different tour operators managed to negotiate the itinerary I had already planned with Kuoni. I honestly hate using tour operators as I often feel that I could do better (lol) and don't want to pay commission, but Kuoni were absolutely fantastic! Our tour included a private driver who acted as our tour guide for 4 days. In retrospect I would say a local presence is definitely a huge advantage as many places do not let you in without a local guide anyway!

Our first transfer was a 5 hour drive to Dambulla in the centre of the country. We had a quick stop midway and met some local wildlife... if you are scared of snakes look away now!

In Dambulla we visited the beautiful Cave/ Golden temple filled with ancient sculptures and paintings dedicated to Buddha, dating back to the 1st century BC.

The caves were spectacular, but after the long climb the views over the surrounding landscape were also stunning!

 

We also met the oldest, wisest soul reincarnated as a monkey who lived in the temple. You can see a whole other life in his eyes. I love animals so to spend a little time with him in such close proximity was amazing!

We then took a little detour and visited an elephant sanctuary where we got to ride an elephant around a small lake and even have a little elephant shower. When I was first researching places to see elephants I came across Pinnawala, which I believe is the largest, but after speaking to a few agents I was told that the elephants didn't have the best treatment there, so we decided to go with a much smaller, family run sanctuary. Our elephant Raannie was an absolute sweetie, though so hungry for bananas we ran out of them in minutes, despite purchasing two huge bunches for the short trip! 

The last stop was an amazing Jeep safari through Minneriya National Park. This was a once in a lifetime experience as we came across 2 families of elephants and were able to spend as much time with them as we wished!

The views in the wildlife park were just stunning! 

After a long day we made our way to the most special and unique boutique hotel I have ever seen! I was beyond excited to stay in one of their amazing paddy field dwellings, even if it was only for one night. Vil Uyana has been named as the best eco luxury hotel in Sri Lanka and it is not difficult to see why. Jetwing Hotels created a private nature reserve consisting of a wetland system with lakes and reed beds. Jetwing Vil Uyana was built within these environs with rooms which have been placed within the paddy fields itself. Our hut was incredible! We had our own little plunge pool, two terraces and some very romantic decoration, as well as a bowl of fruit and chocolate cake! They made such an effort to make us feel special on our honeymoon!

Vil Uyana is one of the most magical and tranquil places I have ever visited. I really wish we had been able to spend more time there!

As well as our amazing 'dwelling' the main areas of this hotel were also stunning. As we arrived quite late when it was already dark we went straight to dinner. The food was delicious and we had the most romantic evening.

The next morning we got up extra early to explore the hotel as we had to leave at 8am to climb Sigiriya. We found a little open air library/ chill space next to the restaurant which was perfectly serene and took a few minutes to take in our beautiful surroundings.

I hope you enjoyed coming along on our honeymoon in Sri Lanka! Please stay tuned for the next instalment! xxx

Italy

A few weeks ago we escaped to beautiful Italy for a long weekend to celebrate my mama's bday. Being back at work after the excitement of our wedding and honeymoon was very depressing so it was great to have a little break to look forward to!

I have such a special place in my heart for Italy and particularly our tiny village in Umbria. It's so secluded from the world and the perfect antidote to our crazy London lives - fresh air, sunshine and even our own little organic garden and mini orchard.

There is nothing I love more than popping down to the garden in the morning to pick fresh berries and fruit!

 

The blackberries had just ripened in time for our visit and were so delicious!

 Perfect juicy pears and apples for fresh juices! Definitely beats my usual juice cleanses and detoxes!

Who knew pomegranates started their lives as such stunning flowers? I can't wait till these ripen!

 

We also made an amazing soup using beautiful butternut squash.

I'm always trying to get the cleanest food at home and try to buy organic whenever I can so it was such a treat to use wonderfully fresh ingredients.

 Obviously my husband's photo skills still need a little bit of work!

 And here's one we picked earlier ;p.

We had such a lovely relaxing time eating good food, going for hikes (although mama and I got lost in the forest hills for 2 hours, which wasn't so much fun) and generally enjoying the simpler side of life! I am the first to admit that I get too wrapped up in the every day and let things get on top of me, but I am making a real effort to make sure I slow down and take time to appreciate life and all the things I am thankful for. :)