Christmas Science Afternoon tea @ The Ampersand Hotel

So its Christmas time, and its the one time of the year that eating all kinds of unhealthy food and stuffing your face is socially acceptable in all ways. This means one thing and one thing only, especially for a afternoon tea junkie like myself, its time to hit the best themed tea in town. After having seen a friend of mine already try and test this particular afternoon tea, i knew it had to be done. Myself and my Friend Mayumi, booked ourselves a table at the Christmas science afternoon tea at the Ampersand hotel. Normally its just Science themed however this festive time of year means they put on a special Christmas menu. For starters its important to mention how beautiful this hotel is. Its located right next to the South Kensington station, so its super easy to get too. The hotel was decorated with lots of lights and cute Christmas decorations, and when having afternoon tea, you are seated in the Drawing rooms, which has gorgeous decor, A good thing to note is that we booked during the week via, Afternoontea.co.uk which meant we received a glass of Moet on the house. Already things were on the up. After already consuming lots of bubbles we were given a choice of tea. I went for the classic Ampersand Breakfast tea, while May went for the Peppermint tea, both were enjoyed immensely. Stupidly i hadn't eaten that day, so by the time the food turned up i was ravenous, but it really was so scrummy. We were given a three tiered plate stacked full of food. The first tier was savoury followed by a plate of scones, and then a further plate of sweet treats. Not only did it taste amazing, it looked amazing too, and once the waiter had poured the white ice into the the little plate at the top, we had a plate of smoking science goodness. 

* The gorgeous tea station*

We tucked into the first plate which consisted of Smoked salmon blinis, Crayfish and asparagus on toasted bread, Goats cheese and pumpkin quiche and finally a roast beef bagel with horse radish (which really did have a spicy kick). After demolishing it all, me and may were both decided that our favourite were the blinis and crayfish, they were miniature sized so perfect little mouthfuls but so so flavoursome and delicious. 

Next we tucked into our plate full of scones, we had two each, so it was quite a mountain to get through, we ended up only having one each. I went for the plain one, and may had the cranberry and white chocolate selection. Not only were they both still warm, but both super delicious and not dry in the slightest. 

Last but not least we had the sweet tier to get through and this really was a mixture of all sorts. I was already quite full at this point, so i tried to get through as much as possible, but didn't manage to try it all. The plate consisted of a Christmas tree biscuit, Vanilla mousse with cranberry baubles, Spiced apple juice in test tubes, Salted caramel and chocolate tree brownies, and mini Christmas cakes with snowflake toppers. WOW right!! I didn't make it to the end as Christmas fruit cake isn't a favourite of mine anyway, however the show stopper for me on this plate was the salted caramel brownie, it was so yummy, rich and full of flavour. Neither of us were that sure on the mousse, it was quite an odd texture and the added cranberry's just weren't my cup of tea, but all in all what a scrummy little plate of goodness. 

* May fully respecting the tiny test tube of apple goodness *

Its safe to say we were so stuffed at this point we could barely speak, we were however given a little box of Christmas fossils hidden under a blanket of white chocolate snow. May had lots of fun with this, if shes reading she will know what i'm talking about haha! But it was a nice added extra to fit in further with the science theme. We both agreed that the savoury plate was by far our favourite. Every option was gorgeous in its own way in textures and flavours. I'd safely say i would love to return in the new year to do the classic science tea, which I've heard involves Rocket ships and dinosaurs, *squeals in delight*

I hope you have enjoyed this little insight to our Christmas science themed tea, its still available till the 27th of December, however it will be back to the classic tea after that which I've heard is just as good. Head on over to there website and check it out here. 

Thanks for reading my lovelies x 

Lydia Elise Millen, Monica Vinader and going to events on your own!

When I saw that there was a meet up at a Monica vinader store, with Lydia Elise millen as the star of the show, I knew I had to go. My favourite blogger and jewellery brand in one, what more could I ask for. At first I was really apprehensive to go on my own. First off I get nervous and awkward at the best of times and also what would I say, how would I start a conversation with anyone let alone Lydia!! However after tweeting about this and getting a fast response from Lydia herself I decided what have I really got to loose, and as I wasn't at work this day what excuse did I have?! None. So on Thursday evening I headed to London to see what it would be like. It's the first meet up I had ever been too so I really wasn't sure what to expect or how it was going to work. But when I got there I realised , no one else was either. Everyone was in the same boat and it made it a lot easier then expected. I started speaking to a lovely couple of girls and we all expressed our nerves but excitement too.

Let's start off by saying the Monica Vinader store is beautiful! It was there flagship store on duke or York square and it didn't disappoint. All the staff were lovely and we were given a glass of bubbly which definitely helped those nerves a little. We all seemed to naturally form a que and after waiting for a little while, myself and another lady Maria who had buddied up, finally got to meet and speak to Lydia and also her partner Allie. They were both honestly the nicest people, so down to earth and humble and she looked just as incredible as she does on social media! (I know I'm fangirling a bit, but hey we all have our inspirations)  we talked for a while about her YouTube channel, lumi her cat and random conversations about Allie and their boiler too . Haha yes that's right, it really was like talking to a good friend.

After having our conversation, we were then allowed to browse the store and the lovely jewellery , and kindly treated to 20% off, if we wished to make a purchase. I very reluctantly behaved myself and just mentally put everything I saw on my wish list! However the signature bangles really caught my eye, so I feel a purchase maybe made sooner rather then later.

I really just wanted to make this blogpost to tell you that is definitely okay to go to these events like these on your own. 6 months ago I wouldn't have dreamed of it but starting my blog has given me a lot more confidence and makes me think why not, much more often, which is good. Don't worry about what everyone else will think, do what makes you happy and explore your hobbies like any other person would!

Hope you enjoyed this little post from me, I'm blogging every other day leading up to Christmas so be sure to follow me on bloglovin and instagram (@amyrowleyy) for lots more festive fun and fashion!

Thanks for reading my lovelies! Xx