Lucie Loves

Blue suede shoes @river_island, @sophiehulme @ybdfashion Tote bag, @forever21 trench coat, @tightsplease tights, and a peek of a @charlottetaylorltd zebra mini dress.

#Todayimwearing a celebration of #nextgeneration @ybdfashion.

My @CTaylorLtd zebra minidress worn over a simple @topshop white shirt, chevron print cream tights and @riverisland navy suede Karen Parade lace-up shoes. 

Haha! @marcosdot I see your now able to influence the @SomersetHouse @Film4 Summer Screen choices? #meangirls #amazing #london

Loving the #IncrEdibles @kewgardens illustrated advert in @timeoutlondon @timeoutart visit kew.org/IncrEdibles for more details about the Tutti Frutti boating lake, global kitchen garden and bouncy carrot patch launching 25th May. #london #whatson #events #art #food

Ooh! This @realfoodfest @southbankcentre ad in @timeoutlondon is making my tummy rumble! If I wasn’t away for the weekend I’d be there stuffing my face in a flash!!! #FreeEntry #Food www.realfoodfestival.co.uk #London

Looking forward to seeing the GIANT PINEAPPLE at work today @kewgardens. It’s not everyday you can tweet that! @timeoutlondon @timeoutart #BombasandParr #fruitsaladboatinglake #IncrEdibles #KewSummerFestival #art #fun

I arrived home with this in my hair?! Note to self: drinking @Mill_Mayfair cocktails on a school night will lead you astray. #tipsy #london #cocktails

OMG OMG! Mr Harry Gordon Selfridge lived here! @selfridges #london #places

Sunday treat day! Lunch at Ladurée @harrods. A yummy Club sandwich with chips & salad and a cafe latte. I decided after my Gazelli facial at Urban Retreat Harrods, that I would treat myself to a celebratory #weownthenight 10K worthy lunch.

Queuing up outside @harrods @ur_harrods waiting to go in for my @gazellicosmetic facial appointment. I’ve been looking forward to this!

My @nikeuk @elleukrunning #weownthenight kit laid out and ready to go!

Lobster Virgins… Date night @Bentleys_London with @jmgcreative.

Those of you who read my blog who are also in long-distance relationships will understand the importance of ‘Date Night’. But then again, I suppose even those of you who live with your boyfriend or girlfriend or are single will know how exciting going on a date can be?

JMG and I have been together for over 5 years now. Where’s the ring? I hear you ask… *ahem* Haha!

We’ve prioritised saving up to live together again over ‘putting a ring on it.’

Before I moved to London to take a new job, JMG and I had lived together for 3 years. So, it’s fair to say that I miss him.

A lot. 

But… not living with someone also has some perks. The old ‘absence makes the heart grow fonder’ saying is something we can both definitely relate to.

THANK GOD for FaceTime!

That really is a life/relationship saver. I can catch up with my mum and family hundreds of miles away up north in Warrington and also speak regularly to my boyfriend. I probably FaceTime more than I call him and my mum these days.

Anyway, back to ‘Date Night’…

It had been 3 weeks of not seeing one another - trying to save the pennies for our own Grand Design and all that - and I was craving a romantic night out with JMG. I wanted a surprise. I wanted to go somewhere I hadn’t been before and try food I’d never tasted. I wanted to flirt outrageously!

And so… after work, I dashed home, threw on a change of clothes and touched up my make-up and jumped on a tube with my man to Piccadilly circus to head to our 9pm table booking.

I had no idea where we were going until I saw the sign for Swallow Street and my heart did a little leap!! 

Months ago, I’d been to a tech event with my housemates and had passed some pretty amazing looking fish and oyster restaurants, tucked away from the hustle and bustle of central London, on Swallow Street.

I must have enthused about wanting to go there some day, as I do about most tasty food places, and he had remembered! YESSS!

We walked through the doors of Bentley’s Oyster Bar & Grill and waited whilst the lady took our coats and gestured for someone to come and guide us to our table. We walked past the long marble-top and red leather banquette seating area of the traditional Oyster Bar and were shown to a table for two upstairs in The Grill. A rather traditional style dining room complete with linen tablecloths, napkins, and William Morris design fabric and fishy artwork-adorned walls.

Richard Corrigan has certainly done very well creating a place like Bentley’s.

Beautiful.

I had fretted about going for a white wine as it was fish we were going to order, but the waitress told me to go for whatever I wanted from their extensive wine list.

We looked at the wine menu and after much ‘umming and aaaahing’ decided to order a bottle of 2011 Malbec Finca La Linda Luigi Bosca– Argentinian red wine, £25. 

We were both eager to try Lobster for the first time but were a little overwhelmed by the menu and the various ways to order it… Lobster thermidor or grilled? Whole or half? One between two? One each? Arghhh!? How much meat would you get? Half a Lobster is priced at £24.50 or for a whole one it’s £48.

As we’d never eaten it before, we thought it best to go for half, with a side of homemade chips, £4.75 and spring greens, £4.75. I order Baked Fillet of Sea Bass, Salsify, Blood Orange & Brown Shrimp, £24.75.

It was utterly delicious.

And the lobster was very more-ish too, so much so that we actually wish we’d ordered a whole one. Turns out there isn’t much meat on half a lobster - not for a grown man or woman with a growling stomach anyway… We’ll know for next time anyway. I’m excited to try Burger & Lobster now, to see how the quality of their Lobster holds up to the superb one we had at Bentley’s.

Bentley’s is the benchmark.

We finished off our date with cocktails at Mark’s Bar at HIX, Soho.

I’ve been here a couple of times now - the first time was with my friend Roz who introduced me to the place. I love it! I’ve never been to New York, but I get the feeling it’ll be a lot like Mark’s Bar at HIX…

The cocktails are fantastic! Some of THE BEST I’ve had in London. They aren’t cheap, at around £12, but watching them being made is like having front row seats to some sort of magical performance artist. It’s definitely date-worthy. If you want to impress someone, you will, if you take them here.

This. Is. The. Place.

Summary: We thoroughly enjoyed our meal at Bentley’s, it was perfectly proportioned, cooked and presented. My only small gripe is that when the waitress came over with our bottle of wine there was no “Who would like to try it?” She immediately offered it to JMG. The man. As, I suppose, is the tradition? However, “TO HELL WITH TRADITION! Let me try the wine lady!” Just saying…

I love Mark’s Bar at HIX - JMG liked it too - the drinks were good, the lighting was ambient (I love the NEON), the music was great!

http://www.bentleys.org/

If you’d like to try Bentley’s, I recommend booking a table as it can get very busy - especially on a Friday and Saturday night.

Email: reservations@bentleys.org

11-15 Swallow Street, London W1B 4DG

Nearest Tube: Piccadilly Circus

T:  02077344756 or 02074999943
F: 02077584140

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Flipping excited about tomorrow’s #weownthenight @NikeUK 10K run.

The past 6 weeks have been a brand new challenge for me but it’s been a very enjoyable one.

I’ve done approximately 16 runs whilst training for this 10K race which kicks off at Victoria Park, East London tomorrow night.

I started off my training with a few slow and steady 3km runs and then managed 4km, 5km, 6km, 7km and eventually built up to 8km - the farthest I’ve ever ran!

I set myself a goal of running about 2-3 times a week and occasionally slotted in the odd TRX or Kettlebell fast class or Yoga session at my gym. My body has seen some big-ish changes. I feel trim. Healthy. My arms, legs, thighs, bum and stomach have become toned and the muscles more defined. I feel stronger in myself and feel confident that I can do this!

It’s been great setting myself some time aside from my daily work life to train for this 10K. I’ve stepped outside my usual social media-y role of digital participation manager/ photographer and fashion & lifestyle blogger and dived into the unfamiliar world of fitness! I’ve have met some brilliantly inspiring people and made new friends along the way. We even got to run with Ellie Goulding - she was very lovely.

A couple of running tips…

I’ve learnt that if you run with a water battle it’s like running with a weight in your hand and can have a serious impact on your body’s posture! Daddy Dark aka Charlie Dark - founder of rundemcrew.com, says that your body only really needs water after about 45-50 minutes of exercise. If you drink too much before a big race you’ll just end up desperate for a wee! He explained that if you drink water up until about 9pm the night before the race and then reduce your water intake on race day you won’t find yourself with your legs crossed or doing a Paula Radcliffe at the side of the track…

He also said that from about the Wednesday (or 3 days) before the race on Saturday you should be increasing your carbs intake.
Eat PASTA. PASTA. PASTA!!!

Angel of runangelrun.co.uk/abslikeangel said that she can’t stress enough the importance of stretching BEFORE and AFTER a run. You shouldn’t rush your stretches.

Aim for 30mins of stretches, even on days when you aren’t running.

The lovely EllesBells of nothingtodisplay.co.uk showed me a few stretches that the pros do to release the tension that I found was building in my hip flexors.

I was also advised that when building up to a big race your last run should be done about 3-4 days before so that your body can repair any damage done by running.

Good luck to all the ladies (and Henry Holland) who are running the We Own The Night - Nike UK 10K run on Saturday night!

You can find more information about the race here.

Let’s do this!!!

Looking at my outfit today I wouldn’t blame you for thinking it’s winter. #todayimwearing @nextofficial coat, Primark floral skinny jeans, tweed detail ankle boots and my @ybdfashion Meli Melo Thela bag.

Going for a run @AnyForty batgirl style to gear up for my @nikeuk #weownthenight 10K race on Saturday!