Tag: celebrations

Baby Shower Scenes; Congratulations Sis

May 29, 2023

With my sister’s due date just over a month away, I organised and threw her a baby shower yesterday which was a huge success and beautiful occasion catching up with wider family too.

Before our table booking at 4pm, I invited my aunties, uncles and cousins over to our house for pre-drinks in the garden. House prepped, nibbles out and prosseco chilling, I was ready for my guests.

My mum gifted me this gorgeous bunch of roses which made a stunning centre piece in the dining room showered in the sunlight of the afternoon.

I’m in my element hosting and love getting all my best bowls and crockery out for a spread of nibbles which included nuts, crisps, pastry twists, sour cream dip, pesto hummus, sweet chilli graze, giant corn, sun-dried tomatoes and nocellera olives. Simple but crowd pleading snacks.

Such picture perfect scenes as we sat outside soaking up the sunshine whilst sipping our prosecco and catching up with each other. Moments like these are very special and I’m so grateful for my family who I’m very close with.

My outfit was giving summer chic vibes with a pair of flared cropped white Zara jeans, brown C’est Normal cami, this cute cropped Channel inspired blazer, square toe velvet mules, my gold Cinco anklet, a gold pearl By Alona necklace and classic cat eye sunnies to complete the look.

At 4pm we arrived at the pub where we met the other half of the party who had been at my parents for pre-drinks. Both my sister and sister-in-law are pregnant now, so I organised for a non-alcoholic cocktail upon arrival for them, along with a few bottles of bubbles ready on ice to serve for everyone else.

I chose our local pub The Leather Bottle as they have this lovely courtyard area which we basically had all to ourselves. With a pre-order placed before the day, as soon as we sat down the food was served and everyone enjoyed their meals. Lots of people opted for the roast dinner with it being a Sunday, whilst I had the smoked salmon salad but couldn’t resists a taste of the cauliflower cheese side which comes with the roasts.

It was a hugely successful afternoon celebrating the arrival of the baby next month and also my sister’s birthday which is today. With 17 guests to keep happy and the pre-drinks at our house beforehand, there was a lot to organise but working in events, I have plenty of experience and it is my passion.

Happy Birthday and many congratulations to my superstar sis! ❤

Spring is on the Horizon

March 19, 2023

We’re well into March and British Summer Time begins next week! I’m a summer girl at heart so I couldn’t be more excited for spring and the summer season ahead. Bring on those long days and warm summer evenings chilling in the garden having al fresco dinners on repeat.

Spring is also a fun opportunity to change up your wardrobe and experiment with layering separates including tees, shirts and blazers. As the weather warms up I can finally wear more interesting pieces like this cold shoulder backless sweater which I simply paired with black jeans, Chelsea boots and a fedora hat for Friday night drinks at the pub.

I recently purchased this cute khaki tank top from Zara as a perfect little transitional piece great for layering too. I styled it with a silk neckerchief, flared jeans, platform maroon boots, plenty of gold jewellery and my long trench coat thrown on top for a Saturday night dinner date with the family.

We went for a lovely meal at El Castello where we enjoyed a delicious spread of Italian food and wine in celebration of Mother’s Day and my brother’s Birthday. I had my favourite seafood linguine dish and I shared a yummy cheesecake for dessert with my boyfriend.

Now I’m winding down after the weekend and having a chilled Sunday evening at home before another busy week of work ahead. We’ve made it through a long English winter so springtime couldn’t come sooner ❤

Eat. Drink. Sleep. Repeat; Christmas Weekend 2022

December 27, 2022

And just like that, another year of Christmas celebrations is over and we find ourselves in that peculiar space of time between Christmas and New Year’s. After a marathon weekend of festivities, I’m embracing these few days to reset, enjoy some time to myself and regain normality with my usual routine including working out and cooking wholesome healthy meals for myself.

This year we were delighted to be spending Christmas Day at my brother and his wife’s gorgeous newly renovated house in Bromley. Whilst I love a Christmas at our family home hosted by my parents, these days they tend to find the pressures of this time of year a lot of stress, so having that weight off their shoulders this year was a blessing.

It has been a long awaited Christmas at the Bigwood-Nieuwenhys residence, so with the renovation of their home finally complete, it was a pleasure to be hosted by my brother and his wife in the beautiful surroundings of their wonderful new abode. They were fabulous hosts and pulled off the day seamlessly with no fuss, what a dream-team!

With the King’s speech over, the table laid and the Christmas tunes in full swing, I assisted my sister-in-law with the starter to be served at 4pm.

We were treated to an exquisite prawn cocktail starter made with crunchy gem lettuce leaves, cucumber, tomatoes, avocado, fresh prawns and a homemade thousand island dressing garnished with a sprinkling of paprika.

Served in aesthetic cocktail glasses complete with the freshest prawns from the local fishmonger, this was the perfect light starter before our roast dinner feast.

My brother did a fantastic job of the deliciously succulent turkey meat accompanied by all the veggies including crispy roast potatoes, brussel sprouts, carrots, cinnamon infused red cabbage, and the star of the show, his homemade cauliflower cheese; indulgence at it’s finest.

Following our incredible meal which we finished at about 5pm, drinks continued flowing and we moved onto playing the fun Christmas games. Every year we play the classics like charades, the sticky note game and trivia, but our favourite Nieuwenhuys original is ‘Tap the Crack’. Basically we go around the table and each person has to tap a Christmas song or carol with their cracker for everyone else to guess and it never fails to have us in fits of laughter!

Later in the evening we served dessert of a Christmas pudding, a chocolate yule log and a cheeseboard. It always gets to this point on Christmas Day when as much as I love something sweet or a cheeseboard to finish, I really can’t fit much more in following the roast dinner. So here’s a photo of a cheeseboard spread I made on Christmas Eve complete with truffle flavoured parma ham, cranberry Wensleydale cheese and my favourite element, the pickled onions.

Having stayed up watching Love Actually until 1am, Boxing Day morning we took it slow and went for a walk at midday. We were then off to my Auntie and Uncle’s in Southsea to spend the afternoon and evening with wider family. I wore this new Cider grey knit middy dress with matching bolero sleeves, accessorised with plenty of gold jewellery and my new square toe perspex mules which were a gift from my mum.

Everyone was pretty knackered from all the festivities of the weekend passed, so it was a nice chilled affair catching up with family including their adorable dog Dolly, and enjoying leftover Christmas food with salads and more cheese of course!

We were also thrilled at my sister’s announcement that she and her partner are expecting a baby! What a wonderful way to conclude our Christmas weekend with news of the next generation on its way in the New Year.

Congratulation sis, can’t wait to meet the little one in 2023 ❤

Summer Wedding Vibes

August 21, 2022

Who doesn’t love a good wedding? A whole day spent with family and friends celebrating together whilst enjoying plenty of food, drinks and entertainment. Not to mention it’s a great opportunity to get dressed up and put on those dancing shoes ready for a boogy on the dance floor.

This weekend we joined my boyfreind’s family for a beautiful wedding in Stoke-on-Trent. The sun was shining and everyone was in happy spirits for the joyous occassion.

I resisted buying a new outfit and instead put together this colourful and summery ensemble. I wore my American Apparel electric blue pencil skirt paired with this cute ruffle sleeve crop floral blouse.

To complete the look I wore these Public Desire white strap sandal heels to match my chain handle white mini handbag. Jewellery details included my brand new By Alona gold chain pearl choker as well as my favourite Cinco gold anklet and rings.

After the church ceremony the bubbles were flowing back at the reception which was held at the Burnside Hotel, a stunning boutique hotel where we also stayed for the night. It was just glorious basking in the golden sunshine as we nibbled on some canapés whilst chatting and laughing with family and friends.

After the delicious dinner buffet the band kicked off and we danced late into the night. Fuelled by many glasses of prosecco and a cheeky Espresso Martini of course, the evening flew by as we sang and danced our hearts out.

After a catchup and debrief with the family over breakfast at the hotel this morning, we made our way back home this afternoon. Now it’s Sunday arvo and I’m taking it easy as I’m feeling a little delicate after all the fun of yesterday. What an awesome time we had though making beautiful memories together; cheers to those summertime wedding vibe highs ❤

Kettner’s Soho House; Guestlist Only

July 3, 2022

The famous Soho House collection has a number of stunning locations across London open exclusively to members only. So when my Aussie Auntie and Uncle announced they were throwing a private party at Kettner’s Studio, I was thrilled to finally get a look inside one of the Soho House London city hangouts for myself.

We got the train into London Waterloo followed by a quick tube over to Leicester Square and a short walk to Kettner’s located in Soho. London was buzzing on a Thursday night; I just love soaking up the bustling atmosphere of the city on a warm summer’s evening.

Arriving at 6:30pm, we were greeted by the family with a welcoming glass of champagne which continued to flow all night of course. It was a very special occasion in celebration of the Australian crew in town only for that one week.

We had our own private room with this feature bar exclusively for our party. I was obsessed with these exquisite champagne coupes, the only way proper champagne should be served.

They had selected three cocktails to choose from: a spicy margarita, a cucumber tonic with gin or vodka, or the Soho House special ginger flavoured concoction made with tequila. At this point I was double parked, so I thank my boyfriend who ordered me a diet coke at this point to break up all the alcohol!

Soon the canapés came out and later on some more substantial bowl food. I wasn’t too impressed with the food to be honest, but something was better than nothing to soak up all the champagne.

I actually didn’t get many photos of the evening as I was just enjoying every second with my international family whose time with us is so precious. Nothing like a few blurry group pics for the memories though.

We caught the last train home just before midnight which was super busy too. I had the most wonderful evening with my awesome family in the most idyllic surroundings of Kettner’s beautiful champagne bar. These are the moments I will cherish forever – Love you family ❤

Chapter 2 7

January 30, 2022

On Wednesday 26th January 2022 I officially entered my late twenties and welcomed in chapter 27 of my life. It’s been quite the week of celebrations and so amazing to be with my family and friends again following a lockdown birthday last year.

I had a wonderful family birthday dinner on the big day at Giggling Squid in Farnham. I was even surprised by my brother who I didn’t know was coming all the way from London to join us for the occasion.

I’m very lucky to be so close to my family and it was the best birthday present I could wish for to have us all there celebrating together.

After our cocktails to kick off the evening, we shared a selection of starters including delicious squid and duck spring rolls. For mains I opted for a traditional vegetable red Thai curry which was exquisite.

At the end of our meal I was presented with this gorgeous birthday desert and everyone sang Happy Birthday. It was a joy to be with my family just chatting, laughing and enjoying the moment over fantastic food and drinks, we didn’t leave the restaurant until they were closing!

With my birthday being midweek, I decided to invite my girlfriends over for an evening at my house on Saturday.

My birthday fit for the night was this stunning backless silver blouse along with my stretchy flared pants and cute fluffy slider slippers – dressy but comfy.

I absolutely love hosting so I was super excited to setup the dining room and prepare a spread of nibbles as well as my famous cheeseboard platter of course. Candles lit, music playing and prosecco popped, I was ready to welcome the girls for a fun cosy evening at home.

A number of bottles of bubbly and wine later, we’d had such a beautiful night full of catchups and plenty of laughs, those girls really are my soulmates.

Now its Sunday evening and I’m feeling so content and happy following such a fabulous birthday week. It’s certainly been an epic start to the year already and I can’t wait to see what chapter twenty seven of my lift has in store.

Stay sane, stay wild ❤

NYE 21; Let Life Unfold

January 2, 2022

And just like that, we find ourselves in 2022! The last year has flown by and I’m so lucky to have had some amazing things happen over the past 12 months including moving into our wonderful new house, buying my Mini Cooper and changing jobs too.

Looking back on my goals for 2021, I’m proud to say I’ve achieved most of these or at least made a big step towards them. I managed to squeeze in my tattoo at the end of the year and we are very excited to be jetting off to Dubai next week. Many of these are still a working progress and so I will take them with me into the new year, especially my goal of finding balance in life and reading more books which I’m really enjoying.

We kept our NYE celebrations fairly low key this year as we are being cautious of catching Covid before travelling next week. My parents hosted a lovely dinner, so we were able to spend some quality time with my Grandad who I hadn’t seen for a few years, and my American cousins who were over for the holidays. My mum put together a fabulous spread of canapés followed by a prawn linguine for dinner. The bubbles were flowing and at midnight we popped the champagne before the guys let off some fireworks. A fantastic evening with my awesome family!

New Years Day me and my boyfriend were fairly hungover so we indulged in an extra long lie in until noon. That evening we decided to get out of the house and go to the picturesque town of Farnham for a cute date night dinner.

We went to one of our favourite restaurants Cote and enjoyed a lovely meal together. I had the Chicken Paillard Salad served with French beans, hazelnuts, endive, lettuce and croutons in a creamy caper dressing, whilst my boyfriend had the Poulet Breton half a chicken served with frites. As always the food was delicious and the service so friendly and attentive, we’re never disappointed at Cote.

Tummies full and satisfied, we went for a walk around the stunning streets of Farnham still twinkling with the festive season lights. Back home I made us a little cheeseboard for desert and we watched the fabulous film classic, The Great Gatsby.

Upon reflection, it’s been another exciting and blessed year in my life which I am so very grateful for. I hope 2022 brings more fun adventures, laughter, happiness and joy as I aim to let life unfold without too much of a plan at this stage… what will be will be. Cheers to the New Year!

A Very Merry Christmas

December 27, 2021

Merry Christmas! I was so happy to be reunited with my family this year and celebrations were in full swing for the occasion. Me and my boyfriend began the day with present opening by the tree for the first Christmas morning in our gorgeous new home.

I then got dressed up and ready for the festivities in my little green peter pan dress from Topshop, sheer tights, long boots and a cute new beret from Urban Outfitters.

Family celebrations were kicking off at midday over at my parent’s house. Champagne popped, Christmas songs playing and we were ready for the starter of marinated figs, rocket, mozzarella, parma ham and a honey mustard dressing – exquisite!

It was so great to be in the company of my brother and his wife on Christmas Day following last year’s scuppered plans due to Covid. Thankfully this year we all tested negative and could even have my wonderful Grandma join us for the day too.

Everyone was busy in the kitchen helping with preparations for the big roast dinner, whilst my Dad was mostly outside seeing to his pride and joy for the day, the BBQ turkey! An unconventional method of cooking the bird on a winter’s day in England, but I have to admit it does result in the most succulent meat.

Our late lunch/early dinner was served at 4:30pm and as usual my mum dished up an absolute feast. I just love all the delicious vegetable accompaniments with a roast, my favourite being the red cabbage, honey roasted carrots and not forgetting the brussel sprouts. My brother even did a homemade cauliflower cheese which was divine and stole the show this year!

With bellies full and very satisfied indeed, we sat around the table playing games before more present opening by the tree. I received some fantastic gifts and really enjoyed giving our presents this year too. My mum always pulls some little surprises out of the bag also, and this year she didn’t disappoint with a beautiful 60s style vintage handbag and coffee table book Fashion In Film which I’m obsessed with.

I do feel incredibly blessed and grateful our family could be altogether this year. It was the perfect day full of fun, laughter and love surrounded by the stars of my life.

Cheers to health, happiness and a very Merry Christmas ❤

Festive Feels; Deck the Halls

November 28, 2021

So I’m not usually one to get excited for Christmas so early, however with such limited celebrations in 2020 due to Covid, I can’t wait for the festive season this year! It will be the first Christmas in our new home which is why I was so eager to get a head start on decorating this weekend.

With our gorgeous frosted artificial tree, I decided to keep it simple with all white and gold baubles complete with cute lights. I love the white and gold aesthetic, the only key element missing at this point is the star to go on the top of the tree. Not to mention there will of course be more sprinkles of Christmas decs added around the house as we head into December, but I’m already feeling super excited with our tree up and glistening every night!

We continued our festive weekend with cosy drinks and dinner at a local pub, where we kicked back in armchairs by the fire and enjoyed some delicious burgers. Back home we then watched our first Christmas movie of the year Serendipity – a charming old classic Christmas romance story. I do love the holiday season as an excuse to get together with friends and family as we all wind down for the year together in good spirits ❤

A Fairytale Wedding Come True

August 15, 2021

Whilst Friday 13th is seen as unlucky for some, my two best friends went against the odds and chose Friday 13th August 2021 to tie the knot. With ongoing Covid restrictions forcing them to reschedule three times, this date was a long time coming in the diary and it sure didn’t disappoint as we were treated to the most fabulous of Wedding celebrations.

The stunning bride was absolutely breathtaking alongside her beautiful bridesmaids and gorgeous bouquet arrangements featuring one of my favourite flowers, Gypsophilas. The excitement and anticipation in the air made for a buzzing atmosphere and happy smiles all around and all day long.

After capturing that token confetti throwing shot, we waved off the newlyweds in their Rolls-Royce followed by the bridesmaids loving life in their super cool VW camper van!

At Tylney Hall we were greeted with bubbles and canapés on the terrace over looking the picturesque grounds, perfect for photo opportunities with my favourite girls.

It was a truly idyllic setting as the live acoustic musicians played and we sipped our bubbly savouring the moment.

What a joy it was to be back in the company of so many old friends from school and sharing such a special day together amongst the most beautiful backdrop of Tylney Hall.

Soon we were ushered to the Wedding Breakfast where we could finally give our feet a rest and indulge in a delicious three course meal.

Everything was just exquisite and every detail thought out and perfectly executed. The day went far too quickly and once we got on the dance floor, the night ran away with us as we had the time of our lives celebrating together like we were teenagers again!

Thank you Jess and Ryan for pulling off a truly magnificent day and wishing you both a lifetime of happiness together ❤