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| On the first lunar day on the year of the Horse....BouBou was a little less than amused! |
Happy new spring days my darlings! As the daffodils have been blooming it really has announced the arrival of
Spring in
London and the grey skies seem to have lifted with even more fresh moments of sunshine. Having chirped on about my annual
Chinese New Year celebrations with friends several posts ago, it is finally time to tell all on what we got up to this year...and what better time to do it than the arrival of a new spring. Chinese customs generally see the establishment of spring as an important new start because a festival called
'Lap Chun' (or
'Li Chun' in Mandarin) is usually celebrated either a few days before or after Chinese New Year, depending on how the 24 term solar cycle coincides with the particular year. It literally means the start of spring as it was historically important because of agricultural reasons, but it is also important for cultural reason...as a year that is without or skips the 'Lap Chun' date is seen as unlucky for marriage. Since 2014 happens to be what they call a double Lap Chun year it is likely to be full of weddings....I suppose it could make sense as double the luck might mean double the happiness! [Find out more about the
'Lap Chun' festival
here] So hopefully I am not too late in telling you darlings all about our adventure with the vibrant
year of the Horse...which consisted of two parts on the same day during early February. The theme was
something vintage or something Chinese, and set with finger waves I wore a new white textured
Qipao (Cheongsam) encrusted with ornately embroidered pink peonies which I purchased on my holiday in Malaysia last summer.....
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| Smile...it's Chinese New Year! ^_^ |
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| With my lovely friend Rachael...who especially dressed up to a Malaysian Chinese theme for me! |
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| Could we have been in the 1920s or 1930s? |
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| My new Spring Qipao (Cheongsam) with sweet pink peonies embroidery and pink piping...sitting in a gorgeous rattan arm chair that brought me back to my childhood in Malaysia! |
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| More tea and cake with my girlies at the Vintage Bean.... |
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| My gorgeous girls turning up for tea and cake with me at the Vintage Bean in Shoreditch, London. |
[Find out more about the
Vintage Bean Cafe in Shoreditch, London:
here]
Part 1: Tea at the Vintage Bean in the afternoon...was nothing short of sweetness and relaxation. Quite the best way to blissfully begin the year of the Horse I believe, as all that upcoming galloping must be a tiring journey, plus throw in a piece of chocolate cake and a tall glass of yummy homemade fresh ginger with lemon tea it almost seem to hold the chaos of the world at bay. So much so that I forgot how my hair became tattered tail feathers on my rush of a journey, as outside the
Vintage Bean was still a frenzy shower of windy rain and a constantly buzzing
Shoreditch, which has been known as one of the hippest places to be for design-y, art-sy or vintage-y minds alike. The main cafe area is upstairs, whilst downstairs the basement is filled with an eclectic mix of quirky furniture such as large sack-clothed sofa with a crate-stacked coffee table that almost seems like a cosy living room. The highlight for me was the discovery of two rattan made arm chairs, which reminded me of my childhood in Malaysia...where eventhough we moved houses we had a sofa-like set of natural rattan chairs that always followed from home to home. Sailing the afternoon away in the hidden basement area with my lovely girlies, pampered with fresh tea, cake, chat, hugs and photo taking sessions...we were well looked after by the Vintage Bean. So the Vintage Bean definitely qualifies as a
London Hot-Spot and deserves a high
3 ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5 lovely hearts from Walking In May!
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| Could we be in New Orleans...or is it Nola's in London? |
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| Having one of Nola's famed cocktails...the Hurricane! |
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| All ready for a night of cocktails.....at Nola in Shoreditch! |
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| My girlies dressing to the theme of something vintage or something Chinese..... |
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| Mini photoshoot with Naoko.... |
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| Catching up with Salla.... |
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| Time to head home with a smile! |
[Find out more about
Nola Bar in Shoreditch, London :
here]
Part 2: Cocktails at Nola Bar in the evening....started promptly as we just headed round the corner, through the entrance of the
Bedroom Bar, passing the yummy corner of
Jubo and sneaking up a hidden staircase to the 1st floor glowing vortex that is the vintage New Orleans styled bar called
Nola. It really is a truly interesting haunt with lots to offer the stylishly hip lot in
Shoreditch. When hungry one can first grab some tasty buns or yummy Korean Fried Chicken at
Jubo, which I promise will totally give you a new definition of the K.F.C acronyms...then sneaking up the staircase to have cocktails at Nola's could be the perfect date, especially if your beau might enjoy a puff on their cigar terrace that is equipped with blankets and cosy chairs. The staff at Nola's are friendly and helpful...to the point of recommending me a gorgeous cocktail called the Hurricane that really did go down a storm. The decor is full of vintage inspiration that creates a dreamy evening of times gone past, the only thing to note is that Nola is not too big so making a booking in advance is probably a good idea and after midnight they tend to close to the public so that only members can have access. As Nola became the perfect end to our lovely Chinese New Year celebration it really does deserve to be a
London Hot-Spot and definitely should get a whopping
4 ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ out of 5 lovely hearts from Walking In May....don't forget to grab yourself a booth at Nola's!
Until the next time,
♥ May xx
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