Sweet & Sour Friday!

Friday the Mister & I drove to Wales for an unhappy occasion: a funeral.  Though it was sad, on the cheerier side, it was very nice to see a bit of country side and the charming village of Usk, where Mr. LaPoo's mom's side of the family is from.  We had a delish pub lunch at The Three Salmons in town, where I sampled some local duck. It did not disappoint. Neither did our outspoken Italian waiter for that matter.  Later in the afternoon we attended the reception at the Glyn Yr Afon Hotel, where I could have happily gotten fat on fresh raspberry tarts for days.

Friday night we rushed back to London to attend our friend Rhys' black tie birthday dinner at The Carlton Club, which is a very old conservative private member's club in St. James.  Terribly British.  The dinner, for around 20 of us, was an excellent seven course meal in a private room with all the superfluous silverware a lady LaPoo could ever dream of!  As Mr. LaPoo pointed out, we could have easily been in any number of centuries in this lovely room surrounded by dashing men in black tuxedos, seated in the traditional manner of boy girl boy girl.  A few of the women's outfits may have been a give away though, as I always find their definition of "black tie" much looser than a man's.  Anyway, it was a MOST enjoyable evening full of great friends, food, wine and port!  I only suffered one typical, and I promise unavoidable, etiquette faux pas towards the beginning of the dinner.  Major wardrobe malfunction - spent a good ten minutes trying to pin my dress back into my bra.  Don't ask.   And yes, I'm pretty sure everyone noticed.

More Cupcakes

Thursday was my last day at the PR agency I've been with since December.  While I think we all know it wasn't my fave, I did meet some great people, new friends even, and it was sad to say goodbye!  They got me a lovely cupcake and card as a send off! It was really sweet.... both the cupcake and the gesture! 

Wednesday Catch Up!

Oh my little poodles...I've fallen behind once again!  This week and weekend are FULL of social engagements, so I have to do my best to keep you updated.  

My Wednesday night was threefold in events.  First, I met my friend Julie and we stopped by the TwoBirds Bridesmaid Notting Hill launch party on Kensington Park Road.  A friend's company that makes super cute bridesmaid dresses that can be worn in a billion different ways.  There was a great turn out at the party and the space looked fab, fitted out by Shabby Chic.  The canapes were delish too, and as Julie and I left, we grabbed two chocolate cupcakes for the road. 

Next, we took our cupcakes up Westbourne Grove to Taqueria, my fave neighborhood Mexican fix.  I think it's been mentioned before, so I won't go into too much detail, but always get the fish tacos and the Sandia Agua Fresca.  It's like drinking a watermelon.

Last stop of the night was The Electric Cinema to see Up In The Air.  Me, Julie, two cupcakes and George Clooney.  What could be better?  Loved the movie - though be warned it's a little on the depressing side.  Especially loved Anna Kendrick's character, Natalie.  Check her out - she's the prissy girl in Twilight.  Anypoodles, it was a great night.  Stay tuned for Thursday and Friday's adventures!

Brace Yourselves!

I'm TOTALLY on a roll lately with great accessory purchases! I had a gift certificate left to Paul Smith, so went in the other day and found this J'AMAZING bracelet by Dinosaur Designs, a fab Australian label. I absolutely love it and am so excited to have a new big bracelet that is something other than Chanel....AHAHAH YESS almost got that out with a straight face!  Ohhh I know I know, nobody likes a show off.

Too Cool for School

 Uhh...you know when you're walking home from work feeling SUPER cool, jamming to a Girl Talk mash-up, flaunting your fancy new Miu Miu bag, reading an email on your iphone....and you walk straight into a pole?  No? Guess that's just me then.

Weekend Delights!

Another successful dinner party at the LaPoo residence on Saturday night!  There were six of us in total, but we ate enough to feed a small third world country I would say.  Mr. LaPoo actually was responsible for most of the menu, but I'll break it down for you!  He made another signature cocktail, which was basically a caipiroska with ginger, a delish kale and feta tart to start and the main, beef ragu with gnocchi.  I contributed a Mario Batali butternut squash with honey and mint side dish.  AND for dessert, individual molton chocolate pots in ramekins! YUMMM!!!

After stuffing ourselves silly, we played a round of Name in the Hat Game.  This did not go over quite as well as the meal.  Let's just say some people didn't like the HOUSE rules.  I'm sorry. No passing. Not on my watch.  Not ever.

NEW JOB!!

BIG NEWS my friends!  Someone got a new job! I know what you're thinking....didn't she just get a new job?  WELL, this is a different one.  One that I'm very excited about.  It all started a couple months ago, but has finally just come through.  Nearly lapooped myself when I had to resign last week, but it's all behind me now!  I start one week from today and will be doing in house PR and copywriting for a fun UK based beauty brand.  Stay tuned for further DEETS, but I just wanted to keep you abreast.  THANK GOD we all have the picture of my current job's phone on reserve when in need of a giggle or two.

ALSO, do note the glorious flowers my mister gave me as a congrats on the new posish! What a dream!! 

I have NO words!

Uhh...make that punctuation!  Check out this temporary sign at the Barclays I pass on my way to the gym every morning.  All I can conjecture is that punctuation cost extra??  CHEAP BASTARDS!

I HEART SALE TIME!

Today I popped into one of my fave neighborhood shops, Couverture & Garbstore.  Lo and behold, the top I've been eyeing all season long was on sale!  Naturally I scooped it right up.  It is everything I aim to incorporate into my everyday look.  A bit nautical-schoolgirl-frenchy '40s with a twist of Tokyo chic.  POO LA LA!!

CHRISSY POOS!

UHH...have totally failed to mention the J'AMAZING (New word. Get into it!) Chrissy present Mr. LaPoo got me.  Check out my fab new Miu Miu bag!  And please ignore the weird pillow setting.  I was in a rush. 

Similarly, I got Mr. LaPoo series 1 & 2 of Mad Men, which he and I have been enjoying IMMENSELY.  I'm one lucky lady!

36 Hour in Bangers!

On our way home, Mr. LaPoo and I spent a quick 36 hours in Bangkok.  Very quick, since about 18 of those hours were spent sleeping.  Here is my photo diary of the day!

We'll begin with the lovely "mini bar" in our room at the Rose Hotel.  This consisted of snacks, some liquor and flavoured condoms of course!  This is a slight tip off to the quality of the hotel.  Actually the rooms were fine and definitely clean.  Nothing amazing though.  The best part of the hotel, by far, was the lovely pool area!

Our Bangkok brekkie...

Run in with real life Thai School Girls!  Those of you that know me, which, let's face it, is probably all of you, know how much I LOVE a good Asian school girl!  And one of these had a cutie little Harrods bag with her. I asked if she had been, to which she replied, "My father."  Fabulous.

Next we took a ride in a Tuk Tuk to the nearest mall!

 

Got our shop on BIG TIME at several different malls.  I found these two adorable necklaces for the equivalent of 20 pounds!

 

At the same mall where I got these necklaces, Mr. LaPoo and I also discovered a great Thai brand called Viera by Ragazze.  I bought some adorable white leather sandals and the Mister got a cooler than most leather portfolio case.  One store in particular, however, completely stole our attention for at least a good two hours.  It was called D&O shop, for Design and Objects.  A super cool open stall in the Gaysorn shopping center with home and fashion items from established and up and coming Thai designers.  Read the below if you can - it's super cool! We pretty much bought out the store. Suprised? Me neither. 

 

We also visited the food court at Siam Paragon Mall, upon our friend Dave's suggestion.  It was AMAZING.  I was mesmerized by the giant fish tanks, bright colours, uniforms, international foods and fashion statements that surrounded me. 

 

We even found a cupcake cafe!  Who knew that craze reached as far as Thailand! 

We really just needed a snack at this point in the day, so opted for some Japanese, we think, fish balls to tide us over 'til lunch.  As Mr. LaPoo said.  Nothing refuels like fish balls!

Lunch was at Soi Polo Chicken - fried garlic chicken, salad and a pork dish! All finger lickin' good! NO GREAT!

Later in the afternoon, Mr. LaPoo and I treated ourselves to his and hers Thai massages.  I mean you can't go to Thailand without getting a cheapy massage.   These actually weren't AS cheapy as we could find, but we decided to spoil ourselves at the spa at the Grande Centre Point Hotel.  Best decision EVER.

We finished off the day with some more amazing food and drinks...

 

....and maybe a little something from the minibar! 

SYD PICS!

Here are a few more highlights from the trip! Fireworks as we crossed the Sydney Harbour Bridge on New Years Eve, more food (shocker), views of the Blue Mountains, artsy Sydney skyline shots from an evening yacht outing and the little friends we made along the way!

APOOLOGIES!

OMG. Where to begin?  I get a stomach ache just thinking about how much I have to tell you!  First of all, I'm so sorry for the lengthy hiatus.  As you know, I was away on holidays and have just returned.  Australia was a dream!! So much happened that I feel I can't even begin to recap.  Our besties from NYC, AJERICA, came out for a week of fun and basically we ate our faces off.  Highlights included an amazing seafood lunch with breathtaking views at Bondi's Icebergs (pictured above), dreamy dinner at Botanica in the Hunter Valley (Australia's Napa) which followed a narrow escape from what promised to be a horribly disappointing meal at Chez Pok (they served five spice with their tasteless bread.  We had to evacuate.) Another great meal in the Hunter Valley was an al fresco lunch at Firestick.  Wagyu burgers and gourmet pizzas with shrimpies on top??  'Nuff said.  We also managed to taste some delish wine while we were there.  Standouts for moi were Bimbadgen Estate (got a case of their San Giovese, yum!) and Thomas Wines.  OMG how sophisticted did I just sound?? Did I blow it by pointing it out? Whatever.  Also, the previously mentioned wedding of Johnny and Jo, was gorgeous and the food at Jonahs where it was held (looking over the beach) was surprisingly delicious!  Not in a Lucky Charms kind of a way though. 

I could really go on and on about the trip.  We had great meals at home too - bbqs, prawns and oysters from the Sydney fish market, lamb, quail....the list is endless.  We also saw some kangaroos in the wild.  A real highlight for our foreign friends!  I think that's all I can muster up for now.  Enjoy the pics and stay tuned for some mentions of a stopover in Bangkok.  Then we'll be all caught up and back to reality, work and, oh yes, I'm sick again.  Are we surprised?