Saturday 27 March 2010

Afternoon Tea at Waterloo Gardens Teahouse Cardif

I'm currently so full of cake that I'm lying down and have had to unzip my dress! This afternoon was my first visit to Waterloo Gardens Teahouse here in Cardiff, an absolute paradise for tea lovers with its extensive range of fine teas all racked up behind the counter in their silver cannisters.

For their afternoon tea you receive a choice of tea, selection of finger sandwiches, scone, and a choice of cake, served on a three-tiered cake-stand (shared between our party of four, not like some places where you get a tiered cake-stand each!). There was quite a variety of sandwiches, but oddly only three of each kind when there were four of us, so we ended up cutting them in half. Portions of clotted cream were a little stingy but they happily gave us more when we asked, but were not able to give us any top-ups of hot water, saying we'd have to purchase another pot of tea.

Between the four of us, we sampled Pu-erh, Assam, Earl Grey and Lychee Oolong teas and were all pleased with our choices - mine was the Pu-erh, which I found smoky yet lighter than a Lapsang. As for the cake... I tried the Sweet Potato and Berry (a bit like carrot cake), and we also went for Courgette and Lime, Lemon Curd, and Tia Maria. All were very, very good and we struggled to finish them after the sandwiches and scones too.

I think for afternoon tea the Hamptons' Blue Pelican Cafe in Penarth is better value for money (£2 cheaper and much more generous with the clotted cream, hot water etc.) but for the sheer choice of teas, Waterloo Gardens Teahouse is the place to go - I would be quite happy spending an afternoon working my way through some of the more exotic sounding teas on their menu.

Thursday 25 March 2010

Vintage Hair & Other Adventures

Last weekend I was lucky enough to experience the attentions of the Lipstick and Curls girls! I was in London on a girly weekend for my friend Marie's birthday, and as there was a gang of us we enlisted their mobile hairdressing service. We ended up with a mix of different eras according to everyone's tastes and hair lengths, but all of us were deliriously happy with the results and enjoyed all the attention we got on the tube! Some of the attention might have been confusion though, as to protect her Jessica Rabbit curls from the windy and rainy night, Sam was sporting a Sainsbury's carrier bag.

Here are my before and after photos:





Our night at 50's themed Bloomsbury Bowling Lanes didn't quite go according to plan, as due to a mix up of quite gigantic proportions, we were in the VIP suite where an R&B club night was in full swing!! Needless to say, our hair and attire didn't fit in.

The rest of the weekend involved more dressing up, a ride in a cycle taxi, Japanese food, second-hand designer stores (my heart skipped a bit at the Louboutins!) and a trip to What Katie Did - where I was very restrained and only made one small purchase, despite wanting to gorge myself on the fabulous, frivolous items hanging on the rails!

All in all, we had a ball!

Thursday 11 March 2010

Bargain Clothes For Sale!

Just a quick note to say that a friend has some clothes up for sale here:
http://pandahat.wordpress.com/

There are a couple of vintage/vintage-inspired pieces, including a swing-coat.

Not that I should be encouraging shopping at this moment in time after having only just cleared my credit cards!!

This Weekend in Cardiff: Vintage & Burlesque Events

A quick update for y'all on exciting things happening this weekend. I have been quite sucked into work this past week and nearly let this slip!

Friday 12th March - Shake It For Good!
The Follie Dollies and friends are entertaining for a good cause, raising money for Velindre Cancer Centre at CMC Sports and Social Club, Cardiff, 8pm

Saturday 13th March - Serendipity Vintage Fair
This fair promises homeware, jewellery and a small selection of vintage clothing, at the United Reformed Church on Windsor Place, Cardiff, 10am-4pm

Sunday 14th March - High Tea with The Siren Sisters, £10
1940's style trio will entertain you as you eat cake, at The Big Sleep Hotel, Cardiff, 2:30pm.

I'll definitely be popping to the vintage fair on Saturday, I hope there will be more realistic prices in Cardiff after the experience I recently had in Brighton, where there seemed to be either cheap and cheerful 60's-80's clothing or exceedingly high-end 30's-50's clothing, with nothing in between. Even the simplest dress seemed to have an extra '0' on the end! If I purchase anything delightful I'll be sure to upload a pic or two...
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