I Fancy Friday v. 57

It is FRIDAY! I am writing this post way past my due date now and feel like I have been waiting for a bit now. So I am excited to see this Friday come and the weekend because I am hoping that #babygirlkobus will be making her appearance any day now. It is such a nervous but exciting time. I have no idea when she will come so I am just going amongst my day. Hopefully next week I can report to you that my Fancy Friday is one thing, our little lady! For now, I wanted to share with you a few of my favorite things I have found during the week that I fancy....to keep my mind off of everything;)  Enjoy the weekend! 

1. Stylist LIVE  - With baby on the way I am starting to look a couple of months out in my diary, things to do and making plans. This event looks like SUCH a fun day out! Who is with me and wants to go? Pop up shops, tastings, talks by some FAB ladies, lets go! 

2. Rocky Racoon  - Ok so I am kind of loving everything this brand makes! I discovered it on Etsy and can not get over how cute the pink dinosaur pattern is and the flamingos, ohhh right and the swans. eeekk. Love it! I may have bought #babygirlkobus a few things from here. Apparel Swan Onesie

Flamingo Cotton Dress 

3. Belmond British Pullman Train - I know that Mr. Beau and I will have limited date nights coming up these next few months, but how about one being an ULTIMATE date night. How amazing does dinner on this gorgeous train look? This looks like a night to remember! Sister train to the Venice Simplon - Orient - Express, this train looks like it would make one NIGHT TO REMEMBER date night. Hey, I can dream and wish right! 

4. Champagne Ice Cubes - Such an easy thing to make. I will certainly be adding these to my next get together. 

5. Thinking of jazzing up my fall wardrobe and really loving this LC Lauren Conrad Runway Collection Sequin Floral Crop Jacket So pretty I think to be dressed up or paired with jeans. 

6. I am in the middle of growing out my hair and a swept back messy bun is my go to some days. I love this Loose Low Bun tutorial. 

7. Pregnancy craving I have had, toast. Yummy toasted bread. Recently I have been wanting a good old English Muffin. I loved reading this, that the English Muffin actually isn't English at ALL. Fun little read. Now can someone ship me some Thomas brand nooks and crannies. 

8. This needs to make it into my Fall wardrobe as well. A fancy dressed up sweatshirt. NEXT Embellished Elbow Sweatshirt

9. What a pretty get together this is! And how yummy does this wine look. The Wildest Dream Wines girls get together inspires me for #babygirlkobus 1st birthday, and she is not even here yet! 

Happy weekend everyone! xoxo Rebecca

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My Top 3 Local Coffee Shops : London, Highbury & Islington

 Since we moved from the States, almost four years ago,we have lived in the same area of North London from day one. This area of the city has really become to feel like home to us. Our old flat was directly on the nice big park of Highbury Fields and recently we moved about five minutes up the street closer to Highbury High Street. All of Highbury and Islington have some really amazing coffee shops and cafes but over the past few months I have started to favor many of the same ones and have become a repeat customer at a few. Maybe it is that I started my maternity leave a month ago and enjoy ending a long walk with Oliver to get a coffee or the fact that it is nice to get out of the house when you are blogging/working to sit in a coffee shop, either way, I have a few local favorites. Here are my three local London favorite coffee shops in the area. I hope you get a chance to visit! 

Maison d'etre Coffee House

Only a few minutes walk from the Highbury/Islington Tube Stop, this small and amazing coffee shop is always busy on weekdays and weekends. The staff is super sweet and always makes you feel welcome. Even Sir Oliver is allowed inside {when on his best behavior} and sometimes gets a treat of banana bread. When we first moved here I would just get a coffee in the morning, until this past year when I discovered that their breakfast and brunch are AMAZING! Oh wow. It may be small, but this little coffee house has some delicious and beautiful items. From their homemade scones to the their pancakes on the weekend, delicious. 

 Bircher Muesli is amazing and so beautiful! 

The Gluten Free porridge is pretty much art, right?

Location: 154 Canonbury Road, London N1 2UP

Hours: M/F 7:30am - 6:00pm and Sat/Sun 9:00am-6:00pm 

Coffee Served: Square Mile Coffee Roasters

Free Wifi : Yes

Dog Friendly: Yes, but always ask incase it is too busy

Instagram: maisondetrecafe

Nanna's Cafe & Pantry 

A short walk from the tube on St. Paul's Road, mixed in with a bunch of great restaurants {Trullo, LeCoq, Sawyer & Grey} is this little blast back into a 1970's cafe, Nanna's. Sets of vintage brown sofas, fringed lamps and furniture that remind me of the items my Grampie had in his house, Nanna's is a funky place for a coffee in the area. I love their freshly squeezed juices and pastries personally. Nanna's is also open for dinner but I have yet to try it out, however, their menus looks delicious. 

Toast. Toast. Toast. I have had a thing with yummy thick toast and jam during my pregnancy. Just can't get enough! Toast and a fresh juice are one of my favorites at this coffee shop. 

My New Beauty Loves

It may come as no surprise to you that I absolutely love a good beauty product. Finding that new favorite product that you can't wait to use every day and can not imagine your routine without is great right! Or buying a new lipstick and feeling so fancy and like a brand new person is the best. Over the last few weeks I have found some products that I am absolutely loving and wanted to share with you. I love hearing suggestions from others on what they have found or have started using again and love it, so share please! 

1. H&M Cashmere Haze Body Lotion - Ok, lets be honest, I'm a sucker for packaging. The beauty section at the H&M on Oxford Circus is pretty great. The pacakging on all of their lotions are so pretty and completely caught my attention. It was the Cashmere Haze scent that I really loved at the end of testing out so many. Cashmere Haze is light and not overpowering and leaves a light pretty fragrance behind. 

2. Liz Earle Face Cleanse and Polish - I really liked my other face cleanser I was using but ran out of it and I couldn't buy it anywhere close by so after hearing about this one for so long, I decided to give it a try myself. I have been using it for about two months now, hot water and a cloth and I love that it takes away my makeup and makes my skin feel completely clean. I can see why it has such a huge following. Also, I love that it isn't crazy expensive, bonus. 

3. Redken Quick Tease Backcombing Lift Finishing Spray - Yep, I'm a hair spray girl. From when I was a teenage sporting the Rachel cut, still to this day, I finish my do off with a little spray. I actually received this spray in a gift bag at an event and hadn't used it for ages. Once I started using it I was like, ummm hello, you are great! If you look for a little lift in your roots and also want to finish and hold your hair, this is a great spray to use, highly recommended. 

4. Charlotte Tilbury Full Fat Lashes  - I have long been a fan of waterproof mascara and do still mix it in to my routine, however, recently I have found that I spend forever taking it off. Enter in, this lovely new mascara! I was getting my makeup done at the counter {HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!} and they tried this out on me. I love it because it doesn't flake off, I do not have huge raccoon eyes a few hours later and it comes off easily. Its a really nice full filling mascara. 

5. Essie Gel Couture - I wrote about this last week but wanted to share AGAIN because I loved it. I gave myself a quick manicure and this polish didn't chip for over a week. I can completely see myself using this as a new mom, not a lot of time and I do not need to leave the house. They have a huge range of colors and it really does stay on, I promise. Give it a try! 

6. Bumble & Bumble Don't Blow It - This is my latest love. I just started using it and it is great. I do love to blow dry my hair but am realistic with the baby arriving any day, my routine is going to be cut down on time. Some leave in products make your hair crunchy or still a bit frizzy, not this one. I combed this through my hair, twisted a few pieces around my finger and it made my hair soft and let it air dry without using my hair dryer or curling iron. 

Have you found any good products recently? I would love to know!

xoxo Becca

 

Happy Hour: The Summer Garden Spritzer

 I have to be honest, I miss having a nice cocktail when we go out or as the sun has been shining recently, sitting outside with a nice glass of Rose! But hey, soon enough I will be celebrating with little Lady Kobus and will be able to treat myself to a glass of bubbly, so I will not complain...too much. Over the past nine months I have been mixing up a few mocktails to still feel a bit fancy and have favoured citrusy drinks, elderflower and refreshing cucumber flavours. This past weekend I thought, why not combine all of these flavours and make myself a little end of Summer Spritzer! With flavours from a delicious summer garden, I think that the end combination is refreshing and delicious pregnant or not. Cucumbers, basil, mint, elderflower and lemonade all combined voila, delicious. Top it with a pretty garnish or umbrella and you do not feel like you are missing out too much on a cocktail, or add some gin if you are not pregnant and I bet that would be amazing. Cheers! 

The Summer Garden Spritzer

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Serves: 1 mocktail 

Ingredients

10 slices of cucumbers {7 to muddle, 3 for garnish}

3 sprigs of fresh mint

3 sprigs of fresh basil

2 tablespoons of Elderflower Cordial {I love the Belvoir range, a huge staple here in the UK}

1 can of San Pellegrino Lemon Limonata

Ice

Instructions

Muddle 7 cucumbers, mint leaves, basil leaves and elderflower syrup in glass together

Add ice to your liking, crushed, cubed, balls, etc. 

Top with Limonata

Add extra cucumber slices as garnish and enjoy! 

If you liked this post you may like the:  Key Lime Grapefruit Martini, Champagne Pear Cocktail or Rhubarb Lime Popsicle Fizz. 

Cheers! xoxo Rebecca