La vie en rose // Celebrating Rose Festival with Cyprus Tourism

I love a festival. Whether a celebration of music, food, or 'other' (read: all else in-between!), I love the community aspect. When I was invited to celebrate Rose Festival with Cyprus Tourism, I was intrigued to learn more.

Turns out this is a festival that is celebrated every May in the rural village of Agros, built on the Troödos Mountains in south west Cyprus. A rose festival is as you would expect - a celebration of the rose. Roses have long been seen as a symbol of promise, hope, and new beginnings, but certain colours have additional layers of meaning. For instance, red roses can represent love. And the Rose Festival for the local Agros community really is a labour of love.

The venue for the event was Alice in Wonderland themed which as you can imagine, I was pretty excited by! With a grass croquet lawn outside, a white rabbit, and roses galore, it was the perfect place to host a rose themed event.

Myself and a few other lucky bloggers were welcomed with the prettiest of cocktails (a rose bellini if you're curious!). We walked through a rose archway into what I called the 'library' with seating and a modern, whitewashed book shelf. But upon closer inspection, the 'books' were in fact staff lockers. Pretty neat, huh?

With a chessboard inspired ceiling AND floor tiles, and the dreamiest chesterfield grey sofa with a hedge backdrop, I immediately wanted to know when I could move into this building and live there for good. No joke.

First on the agenda: a warm welcome from Mario from the Cyprus Tourism Organisation who gave us some background on the Rose Festival and the village of Agros, and then welcomed us into another room (equally dreamy and filled with roses and hedges and greenery), where we were invited to take part in several activities in celebration of the rose.

First stop: flower arranging. I am by no means an expert, nor am I good enough to become a florist any time soon(!) but that being said, I was pretty chuffed with what I created. Peonies were available, but they were a little too big and didn't work in my particular bouquet. Instead I used white and cream roses and used bright pops of pink and sunny yellows to add some vim.

On the other side of the room - behind more rose bushes and hedges - was a makeshift beauty salon where we were offered beauty treatments inspired by Cyprus's Rose Festival.

It all started with a hand and arm massage where rose oil was lovingly massaged into our skin. Forever hunched over a desk and working on computers 24/7, I do experience a bit of RSI and I really feel it in my right hand (my mouse hand!). So having that all massaged out of me was an absolute dream. The rose oil smelt amazing and you know? My hands are still super soft days after. I usually use hand cream in colder weather, but this has made me consider using essential oils going forward.

Feeling deliciously soporific, I then moved across to the nail station where we had the chance to have some nail art done. Embracing the rose theme, I opted for soft pink nails and the clever nail technician delicately painted intricate purple roses on one finger on each hand (we ran out of time!)

In between each activity we were spoilt with a delicious spread of sweet treats. Many were Cyprus delicacies (love how some of these were presented in tea cups!), but there were also rose cookies and some really realistic looking rose cupcakes which had many of us fooled

Now, I thought the welcome drinks were amazing, but the rose mojitos were even better! Some people said they found them strong but I personally thought the rum measure was perfect ;) Although admittedly I was regretting my choice of heeled ankle boots after a few of these!

My only slight criticism of the event... the time went far too quickly! It was really sad to go home, but the lovely team let us take our bouquets home and also gave us each a beautifully presented box of rose orientated goodies.

As you can see, I had a bloomin' good time. Having never been to Cyprus before, it was lovely to learn more about a village and festival that I might not have otherwise heard of. I would love to visit Agros and the Rose Festival in the future -  so am really happy this is on my radar now!

What I really loved about this event was the clever choosing of activities and refreshments which complimented the rose theme well. Thank you so much to the Cyprus Tourism and Baillie for inviting me!

#VisitCyprus #RoseWater

Interior goals at Granary Square Brasserie

True story, but I've always wanted to eat at Granary Square Brasserie. One day I fancied going somewhere special for dinner, and special it most certainly was.

ATMOSPHERE

After a warm welcome where front-of-house staff wished us a happy anniversary, took our coats and presented us with a ticket for the cloakroom, we were led into the most awe inspiring of rooms. We were sat on plush sofa seating in a cosy corner away from other diners which was deliciously private and apt for the purpose of the visit. So huge brownie points right from the offset!

And I won't lie, as soon as I sat down I was literally mouth agape for the first 10-15 minutes. What a beautiful restaurant. Decorated in my kind of style with dark inky blue walls, exposed brick archways and metallic details with a Gatsby-esque bar, I swooned good and hard. With the glow of candles placed on each table and the glow of the bar, it was ambient and felt serene and welcoming.

FOOD

I'm really into fish at the moment, so I opted for a fishy starter and main course, paired with a refreshing white wine (the Chablis, La Chablisienne from Burgundy, France if you're asking).

I had the tuna carpaccio to start. I was a little surprised initially as it didn't look how I expected it to (I later learnt that the image I had seen on the website was in fact the seared tuna main course. But you live and you learn...) But all the same, it was a nice looking dish with intriguingly thin slithers of yellowfin tuna (how do they get it so thin?!) dressed with radish, very vibrantly coloured mayo and ponzu dressing. The menu details this as miso mayo, but due to the colouring and the slight kick of heat, I suspected it may have been wasabi mayo on the day that I visited.

My only slight criticism of the dish is that tuna is one of my favourites and I felt like the ponzu covered something that naturally tastes very beautiful. I couldn't taste the fact that it was tuna and to me, this could have been any fish (at times I suspected it was salmon). But that aside, it was a beautifully presented dish full of vibrant colours and wonderful Asian flavours.

For my main course I had swordfish with toasted fregola (a Sardinian pasta), red pepper, chimichurri and basil. I ordered a side of fries too which were crispy on the outside and wonderfully fluffy in the middle. However the grains on the plate (fregola) meant there was more than enough substance to the dish - so next time I probably wouldn't need the fries (although they were really good. so never say never!). The swordfish itself was melt-in-the-mouth and beautifully cooked and seasoned. The red pepper element of the dish was a creamy, smooth red pepper sauce which my mouth still waters about to this day. It was an extremely generous portion but no matter how full I got, I could easily have eaten more (that red pepper sauce though). Which is testament to how good a dish it really was.

Sadly I can't see the swordfish on the menu anymore, but I'm really hoping they bring this back for when I visit again in the future. However having said that, I'd be tempted to try their aromatic duck curry with lemongrass, roasted cashews and jasmine rice next time. Or their shrimp and avocado burger which sounds equally dreamy.

For dessert I ordered something that I have always wanted to try after watching Masterchef religiously for years. One of those chocolate spheres which melt away when you drizzle hot sauce tantalizingly over it. This iteration of a restaurant favourite was a melting chocolate bombe with vanilla ice cream, a honeycomb centre and hot salted caramel sauce. I really appreciated the extra attention to detail with the additional piece of chocolate wishing us a happy anniversary. It's personal little touches like these which mean a lot and encourage you to come back time and time again.

SUMMARY

To summarise, Granary Square Brasseries has a nice feel about it and feels upmarket without the snobbery. We were well looked after and have no complaints about the service we received (massive respect to the guy who let me take pictures of the melting chocolate bombe dessert whilst he was pouring the hot salted caramel over it!). I was initially disappointed by the starters as there wasn't a great deal of choice for me personally, and I didn't feel all that inspired. But I have noticed that since my last visit they have added scallops to the menu (always a winner!), so I would have those next time. The main course and dessert helped to redeem things and they are what would bring me back. As would the amazing decor and feel to the place. See you soon GSB

Granary Square Brasserie

1 - 3 Stable Street 

Kings Cross

London

N1C 4AB

Located on a map here
Latest menu here

Reservations in advance are advised and you can reserve a table here

And for those wondering... the whole meal was paid for by myself. 
I just really loved the restaurant and wanted to share the love!

5 ways how to wear knee high boots

I don't know about you, but I love a good pair of boots. Whether they be knee high boots, over the knee boots, thigh high boots or ankle boots. I love how they can transform an outfit and how versatile they are. Although boots can be priced at both the high and low ends of the pricing spectrum, they don't have to be expensive (the pair I am wearing are a mere £29.99!) and thanks to their versatility, can be styled in a variety of different ways for efficient cost per wear.

SPLITTING UP

Recently I have been embracing the side split. Partner up a high cut split skirt with a pair of long boots to tone down the amount of skin on show for a cheeky peek of skin rather than full blown HELLO LEGS. For this look opt for a midi skirt and a fairly plain top (I went for a cropped grey knit) to keep your boots the star of the show still.

Boots //  Jumper (similar here)

SHORTY GET LOW

Shorts worn with bare legs and long boots can look a little... *ahem*... hooker ish. To be less go-go dancer and more chic, avoid short shorts and go for tailored shorts like this paperbag waist pair. Wear with translucent tights for a subtle hint of skin without going too OTT and a top with a round or high neck. I teamed mine with a yoke lace style blouse with cut out detailing.

Boots as before // Shorts (similar here)

EQUESTRIAN

One of my fondest memories from childhood is going horse riding every Sunday morning clad in my jodhpurs and long boots. So when I got dressed up for this look, all the memories came flooding back! Team long boots with trousers of a contrasting colour and a blazer. No hard hat or whip required!

FAUX REAL

Not all that different to the last look, but you can see what a difference something as simple as switching out a jacket can make! Wear knee high boots with fitted jeans and a short length faux fur coat for a more glam edge. If you want to be particularly fancy, you can always drape your jacket over your shoulders.

VICTORIANA

To nail the Victoriana look, go for long dark boots and wear with dark lace. The higher neckline the better. An all black ensemble is classic and timeless, but I decided to style mine with a light grey skirt to help soften the look a little and to add some balance to the colour block (black-grey-black). There is also something a little rock chic about these boots thanks to the stud detailing (there's another styling idea for you there!), and again, black and lace would work wonders here!

Boots very kindly provided by XYLONDON who have a huge selection of boots here (but for the record also do lovely heels, flats, bags and a bridal range too!). I adore their floral boot range which is perfect for Spring!

A few of my personal highlights of the black studded boots I am wearing:

• The low heel making it practical for all day spent on my feet
• The beautiful stud detailing. I find that when you wear black boots with black trousers, the boots can blend in and you lose the boot. Thanks to the studs running along the top and sides, the boots are very clearly marked as a separate entity. 
• The contrast panel at the back of the boot (this is stretchy and allows easy pull-on of the boots!) which gives the boots added interest compared to if they were black faux suede all the way round.

The Anna boot is also available in blue here and a faux leather version if you're more into a shiny / wet look boot than matt / suede.

How do you style long boots? I'd love to know!

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