A ROOM WITH A VIEW AT THE PULLMAN LONDON ST PANCRAS HOTEL

 

So I've been keeping a little secret, last week I officially entered my mid-thirties *eek* and to celebrate in style I took my mum and F down to London for a nights stay at the stylish Pullman London St Pancras Hotel. Located in the heart of the city, within a minutes walk from St Pancras International, this four star upscale hotel boasts some of the finest views of the city skyline all from the comfort of your hotel room.

On arrival we were entered the grand reception area with its dark modern interior and luxury style and were welcomed by the friendly staff who had our bags taken up to the 14th floor. F was super excited to check out the view and was glued to the window as the we took the central lift to the viewing platform located on each floor, and wow what a view!

Windows located on the corner of the building give the optimum panoramic view of London with iconic landmarks such as the Shard and the Gherkin punctuating the city skyline. The design is spot on with clean lines and luxury details using modern furniture, with designers such as Mathieu Lehanneur, putting their stamp on the hotel. Not to mention the Business Playgound, meeting rooms with unusual touches such as faceted canopies illuminated with projections, fancy stuff ay.

We decided to grab a quick bite to eat that evening at the Golden Arrow bar located on the ground floor in the open plan space. Decorated with huge modern light fittings, LED signing, see through drinks cabinet and lit up bar, it feels like you're hanging out it an ultra hip London bar aimed at cosmopolitan, mobile, hyper-connected stylish travellers.

After a much needed glass of rose and pizza to end the day, we headed back to room 1402 where our a Superior King room with sofa bed awaited and although I had been planning to share the spacious King with my mum and let F have the sofa bed, in the end F took over the sleeping arrangements – in a way that only a four year old can – and I ended up in on the sofa bed, thankfully they all live up to the hotel's four stars and I slept as soundly as the boy. 

The bedroom interior matches the hotel lobby with a modern dark grey design and attention to detail, such as fluffy white robes, tranquil rain shower, gorgeous toiletries, a second TV in the seating area, high speed wifi and coffee and tea making facilities. Not to mention the gym a few floors below which has 24 hour access in case you feel the need to work out. 

In the morning we started the day to a wake up call and headed down for breakfast. Once shown to our seats in the Golden Arrow restaurant, we gave our drinks orders and decided to indulge in the wonderful array of food that was on offer. The breakfast buffet had a great selection of pastries, cereals, meats, fruit, juices and hot breakfast choices, and although there was quite a wait for my morning coffee to arrive which was a shame, I couldn't praise the food enough especially the cranberry yogurt smoothie to start the day. 

On departing you have the option of checking out at reception as usual or you can use the speedy checkout option: simply handing over your key card to a member of staff and receiving your checkout confirmation via email which is perfect if you're in a rush.

All in all this was definitely a stylish stay and perfect for those wanting to have a luxurious stop over before heading on the Eurostar, and I would certainly return to use the bar alone as I really liked the lighting and evening vibe. 

*We received a complimentary stay at the Pullman St Pancras for the purpose of this review. All words and opinions are my own as always. 

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // COLOUR LOVERS

It's that time again for another Style In Your City post, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. Over the last few weeks in the midst of chaos, I've been finding moments of calm by taking time to hang out with F and go slow. One of the best things about this city is how vibrant and colourful it is, you can really feel the energy as you wander and explore, and even though I love all the street art, I really love the colourful houses that make up Bristol's cityscape.

I really love how uplifting a bit of sun and colour can be, there's nothing like a morning stroll with the light shining down and a cup of coffee in hand to bring a smile to my face. It makes me wonder what colour I would have my house, would it be yellow and bright like the sun, dusky terracotta peaches, channelling Greek island vibes with brilliant blue hues or maybe softer pastel tones. Click to read more

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // THOUGHT CLOTHING

I'm not sure how another fortnight has flown by already but it's time for #StyleInYourCity once again, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. It's been a little quiet on the blog but very busy behind the scenes, and if I'm honest I still haven't quite caught up after the long Easter break –hence the radio silence – which is why I've decided to create this post around tranquil spaces and thoughtful fashion.

I am very excited to announce a special Style in Your City this fortnight in collaboration with the wonderful Thought Clothing. I've recently fell in love with the comfort and ethics of these clothes and couldn't wait to share the exciting news that I'm now a regular contributor over at Thought Blog. Born in Sydney, Australia and now based in London, Braintree is a natural clothing company which has been championing eco fibres since mid 1990's - always produced ethically and with sustainability in mind. All of their clothes are made from sustainable fibres such as hemp, bamboo & organic cotton. These fabrics are good for the environment and great to wear and feel amazing to touch.

One of the things I love about Bristol is the ability to find an oasis of calm somewhere in the city, for me it's the Lido. Tucked away from the main roads and subtly placed amongst a row of Georgian houses is one of the UK's oldest surviving Lido's, allowing outdoor swimming all year round. This pool, spa, cafe and restaurant is one of my go-to places when I need to clear my mind and relax. After growing up by the sea I always find the water so calming and when the sun shines, there's no better place to sip coffee and watch the world swimmers go by.

Over the last few weeks I have visited the Lido a few times for coffee/me time, or with F in tow and have taken time to sidestep the rush of everyday life. While treating the mind to a bit of down time, I've also enjoyed styling the softest of fabrics and loving my body with these beautiful timeless designs.

 These Dashka Heart Bamboo Leggings have been great with this transitional weather, teamed with either boots and a dress or sandals and tee, they have kept my legs happy and they are perfect for doing exercises in too. I've also been loving my Avika Striped top which I've been sporting on IG recently, the boxy style boho look is perfect with ripped denim jeans, pumps and gold necklace for an urban edge to ethical clothing. And don't get me started on how cute these Bayou Organic Cotton Denim Jeans and Jagger Striped Cotton Dress is, both perfect for sunny adventures in far away places. 

As I'm so excited about the quality and comfort of these timeless designs, the lovely people over at Braintree are giving five of you lovely readers the chance to win yourself a pair of the Dashka Hart Bamboo Leggings which come in three different colours. Me and Fritha will be looking to give one pair to our favouite #styleinyourcity IG pic, one pair to our favourite linked up post celebrating style where you live and a chance to win using the rafflecopter entry below *fingers crossed*

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last fortnight I think this was my favourite image from Instagram due to the super spring vibes and this zesty coloured bike captured by Emily. My post pick was by Gingerlillytea, who proves that you can find style outside the city with this beautiful photography. Don't forget to hop over to Tigerlilly Quinn for her favourite snaps from the last fortnight and to see what style has caught her eye.

So how does it work? 

We would love it if you wanted to link up and join in with 'Style in your City'. We want you to hunt down your style finds and it could be anything: colourful buildings, street art you've spotted, fashion your loving, art you've seen, fab floors, the list goes on. We'll be showcasing our favourites on our blogs each fortnight. We're running this as a bi-weekly feature and you don't have to have a blog to join in or live in a bustling city for that matter, simply use the hashtag #styleinyourcity on twitter and/or IG with a photo and tag @wildandgrizzly and @tigerlillyquinn.

You can find me on Instagram here and twitter here.
You can find Fritha on Instagram here and twitter here.

Thanks so much to everyone who linked up over the last two weeks, we'd love to see you link up either below or on Instagram/twitter, we'll announce our favourite link up in two weeks time. 

*T&C Giveaway will run for two weeks and the winner will be drawn by random using rafflecopter on the 29th April. All entries will be verified. Prize will include one pair of Dashka Hart Bamboo Leggings worth the value of £22. This is not exchangeable. By entering you are signing up to the Wild & Grizzly E-newsletter. Open worldwide. 

An InLinkz Link-up

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // ISLAND LIFE

It's that time again for another Style In Your City, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I think this is definitely my favourite image from Instagram from the last fortnight due to breathtaking views captured by Amanda. My post pick was by Marmalade Pie, I really loved hearing how this link up inspired Lizzie to pick up her camera and see her city through fresh eyes, even in the rain.

I have had a few people ask me whether they can join in with this link up even if they don't live in a city, so to embrace the wild and prove that even nature has it's own amazing style I thought I would share a glimpse of Island life.  

Click to read more

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // YELLOW BERLIN

It's been another fortnight since our last series of Style In Your City, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I think this is definitely my favourite image from Instagram from the last fortnight due to the sentiment of live vibrantly from Xanthe. My post pick was by These Four Walls, as I have a taste for travel at the moment and it was great to get a glimpse of Lisbon through this link up.

As you can see my #StyleInYourCity post is not in Bristol but rather Berlin, I have so many cool pics that I wanted to share with you and I love the pops of yellow I found on my travels. When you think of Berlin, most people think of the words: grey, industrial, cold and concrete, and while the last one might be true, I couldn't have found it more different. Yes there is graffiti and areas that are unloved, but there is also colour and curiosities waiting to be discovered and that is why I love seeing places through others eyes as there is always a new perspective to see.

Click to read more

POSTCARDS FROM BERLIN

Last weekend I was super excted to be travel to Berlin for work with my blogging pal Fritha, and if you follow me on IG you would certainly have seen a few snapshots of us as we explored the city and filled our bellies with delicious bites. Our job was to find the best the city had to offer and review cool eats for LovinBerlin, 16 places over 3 days, which is a lot of eating!  

We stayed over at the wonderful Linnen Hotel and Apartments (anthother post on that to come) and I can't wait to come back and stay, with a park on almost every corner I couldn't help thinking how much F would love it here, plus Paul would love the food.

Apart from my love of street art and urban landscapes, one of my main reasons for wanting to visit was to see the Berlin Wall. On the evening of November 9th 1989, my dad woke me from my sleep and lead me into the lounge to watch the evening news. My nine year old self sat in front of the TV crossed legged, watching strangers desperately reaching through a concrete wall with tears of happiness while people celebrated in the street. I remember sitting on the floor with my teddy and crying, it was so overwhelming and I didn't really understand it at the time, but I knew it was a poignant moment that my dad had wanted me to witness, and it's a memory that stuck with me through adulthood.

So as I approached the Berlin Wall Memorial and felt the cold concrete under my hands as I looked through the gap, it was no surprise that 25 years on nostalgia ran high and the emotional flood gates opened.

I loved exploring Berlin, getting used to the U-bhan and feeling like a native city dweller. There is street art and graffiti on every corner, puncuated with green patches and cool coffee shops which spill out onto the street. People watching here is amazing with so many styles to take in, and the creative buzz feels like electricity in the air.

We stayed in East Berlin which gives me a perfect excuse to return so I can explore the rest of the city and see what else it has to offer, and as I wandered down Graefestrabbe in Kreuzberg I think the city stole a bit of my heart.

So here are a few snapshots of our work weekend, I can't wait to share our cool bolthole with you too.

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // AN URBAN STORE

It's been another fortnight since our last series of Style In Your City, which showcases your life and creates a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I loved reading your posts and all your stylish photos over on Instagram, I think this is definitely my favourite colourful coffee capture. My pick from the last fortnight was by Not Another Mummy Blog, I loved discovering a new city and how friendly a local neighbourhood cafe can be.


This fortnight I focused on stylish interiors, I'm slightly cheating as this is a store I found in Amsterdam but totally loved this urban feel and wanted to share it with you, plus I'm hoping that city might adopt me ;)

Click to read more

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // A GOOD CUPPA

It's been two weeks since we launched our new series Style In Your City, which showcases your life. That's right we want to create a community celebrating all the things you love about where you live. I really enjoyed reading your posts and seeing all your stylish photos over on Instagram. My favourite post from the last fortnight was by These Four Walls, I loved how Abi takes you for a stroll up her neighbourhood street.

This week we're focusing on a good cuppa. As you know I am a bit addicted to caffeine and I really look forward to my first sip of the day. It seems that I couldn't have chosen a better city to live in with such a vibrant cafe culture, full of exciting pop up restaurants and quirky spaces.

Click to read more

STYLE IN YOUR CITY // A NEW SERIES

It's no secret that I love Bristol, not only has it just been awarded European Green Capital 2015, but it's such a vibrant city and a great place to raise kids. Whether it's the creative quarter and street art of Stokes Croft, the beautiful Georgian architecture and tree lined streets of Clifton, the buzzing harbourside, the galleries, art house cinema, eclectic shops and huge coffee culture – which I swear I personally fund! – there's something for everyone.For me it holds a piece of my heart, it's the place I made great friends, made our home, gave birth to my boy, and the surroundings in which I watch him grow. I love exploring the city with F and even though I've lived here for almost seven years, it seems there is always something new to discover.I really enjoy sharing the places that inspire me both here and on Instagram and Twitter – I'm big on over sharing in case you hadn't noticed – and in a bid to discover new places I've teamed up with Fritha from Tigerlilly Quinn to start a new linky and see where you live and love.

So how does it work? 

We want you to #StyleYourCity, to showcase the places you love, the coffee you drink, the fashion you wear, the street art you see, the people you meet, your finds for the home. We want to see your City/town/village through your eyes, we want to make a community which shares inspiration and creativity from all around and in turn, creates a cool directory of places to see and do.

We will be running a linky every two weeks and choosing a theme to inspire your finds. Don't worry you don't have to have a blog to join in or live in a bustling city for that matter, simply use the hashtag #styleinyourcity on twitter and/or IG with a photo and tag @wildandgrizzly and @tigerlillyquinn and we'll pick our favourites to showcase on our blogs.

You can find me on Instagram here and twitter here.
You can find Frith on Instagram here and twitter here.

This first theme is The Place I Call Home, tell us where you are and what it means to you. I can't wait to learn more and be inspired by you!

An InLinkz Link-up