The Shore Currently: June Bug

June saw me bouncing off one emotion to another: from post-#Brexit and home identity blues to an overpouring love for my grandmother who is the strongest woman I know; from the adrenaline of hitting work targets and getting a new tattoo to utter disbelief about how some people can just be so apathetic towards things that matter.

And this bloody weather is not helping at all. Overall, June has left me like the weather: confused.

VISIT

Did you know that somewhere in Hyde Park is a really decent place to play tennis, play lawn bowling, do some putting and just chill with some drinks? Will2Win, who run 25% of Greater London’s tennis courts, have recently launched an umbrella bar at their Hyde Park club. It’s actually open to the public and you can spend some time there doing all sorts of activities whilst sippin’ on gin and juice 😉

Also, Summer Sounds at Sky Garden is finally here. In a nutshell, enjoy live music whilst having booze and nibs with your buddies. And check out the magnificent view whilst you’re at it!

EAT

Food this month has been quite good, with a mixture of cheap and cheery to fine and fancy.

Highlights include an awesome lunch at Brasserie Gustave, an artsy dinner at Fera at Claridge’s, repeat visits at C&R Cafe in Chinatown and Rosa’s in Carnaby, surprisingly good pork belly in Cay Tre, a decent Korean barbie at Koba.

I also made a rare appearance in the kitchen, making a really good batch of my go-to pasta dish of spaghetti in white wine garlic butter sauce with prawns and asparagus. I picked the wrong wine (Gerwurtzraminer instead of Chardonnay) but it turned out really damn great.

DRINK

Gin has become my go-to tipple these days, and the Sipsmith range is delicious. The London Cup is a decent alternative to Pimms and I can’t wait til the sun comes out so we can pair it with decent grilled meat. I’ve also been told that the distillery tour is a must for cocktail lovers. One to put on the list!

The Fumoir Bar has a very potent martini game which channels old school Claridge’s just the way I like it. It’s not for the faint hearted and is very, very, very potent. I like.

I finally got to try Freud on Shaftesbury Avenue. The underground bar itself strangely reminded me of night time in continental Europe. It’s unpretentious but the extensive cocktail list is good fun.

BEAUTY

Last month, I’ve discovered a new love for Nyx lipsticks so I went on to purchase the soft matte lip cream in Cannes (gorgeous!), the intense butter gloss in Chocolate Crepe, and the liquid suede in Vintage. I promise I’ll do a proper swatch soon!

I’ve also discovered the mascara of Summer. Whilst I really like how Charlotte Tilbury’s Legendary Lashes can be versatile in terms of lash shaping, I find that it can smudge a little bit. One day, after walking along King’s Road, I saw MAC’s display of their new Waterproof In Extreme Dimension Mascara. Lemme tell you ladies, this is an absolute steal of a beauty product. Not only did it give my lashes extreme volume, it also stayed put 1) under the swelting sun and 2) all day.

LOVE

#2. and it felt so good.

This month was defo a month filled with love from girl friends. Sistas are really doin’ it for themselves!!!

Finally managed to have some face-to-face time with my gorgeous bestie A. I can’t believe I’ve not seen her since our tete-a-tete at Sketch!

I love these two.

A pleasant surprise, mis chicas.

She makes work so much easier!

WATCH

I am utterly devastated by the sudden accidental death of Anton Yelchin. He was such a talented boy, and Like Crazy is one of my favourite films of all time as it spoke of the truths of LDRs, something I am quite familiar with. If you haven’t seen it yet, go get yourselves a copy.

I’ve also started watching People vs OJ Simpson : American Crime Story. It starts slow at first but it gets interesting once the court case starts. I thought David Schwimmer (aka Ross from Friends) was an odd pick as Rob Kardashian (and I couldn’t get past Ross in this case) but John Travolta as Bob Shapiro and Cuba Gooding Jr as OJ were quite remarkable.

LISTEN

Let's get old together
Let's be unhappy forever
Cause there's no one else in this world
That I'd rather be unhappy with
Let's be exposed and unprotected
Let's see one another when we're weak
Let's go our separate ways in the night
Like two moths
But know that you're flying home to me.

CLICK

This month I really enjoyed reading:

Lisa’s personal response on Brexit.
Angie’s experience with a geisha.
Emma’s reasons to have a girly weekend in Budapest.
Vicky’s review of Satri House in Luang Prabang.
Erin’s Summer beauty favourites.
Aftab’s trip to Cirencester.
Suze’s recommendations for Reykjavik.

How was your June?

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