Cocktails at the Shangri La, Sydney

Sydney has one of the most recognised skylines in the world; the curves of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge are the most well known tourist attractions in the city, if not the country. I was lucky enough to see these iconic structures every day as I traveled into work at the Sydney office, but the best way to see them is from above.

On the 36th floor of the Shangri La Hotel is Blu Bar, with the best views in the city and some not too shabby cocktails to boot. It's free to get up there but annoyingly you can't book a table up there, so you may have to wait for the tables with the picturesque view. In the meantime, you can wait at the bar and look over the west of Sydney instead, which isn't exactly bad. On the whole, I wasn't a huge fan of Sydney. I felt it was pretty soulless and suburban, lacking the culture and vibe I was expecting from such a metropolitan city. However, these views helped me warm to the place. As I looked over now familiar streets, I realised the city was starting to grow on me, I just had to give it a bit more time.

We managed to get a window seat overlooking the main sights just as the sun started to set, meaning we got to see Sydney transform from a beautiful Summer day into a dusky streetlight utopia and made it one of my favourite evenings in the city.

I'm wearing:
Jacket - Cotton On
Tee - Topshop
Necklace - Vintage

Explore: WigWamBam

In a quiet corner of Shoreditch, a stones throw from Spitalfields Market and the famous graffiti of Great Eastern Street is the well known bar the Queen of Hoxton. Unknown to those who may not frequent very often though, is the QoH's rooftop. In Summer it is an open air cinema, but in Winter it transforms into one of the cutest drinking places in the city; in short, it's a wigwam!

Inside this quirky space there's wood chip on the floor, wooden benches to perch on, and in the centre a huge open barbeque, cooking filling stews and freshly cooked burgers.

Cashmere jumper and wool cardigan: Vintage

The bar serves the basics of wine and beer, but it has the best variety of hot alcoholic drinks. I plumped for the hot buttered rum, served in a small glass tankard, which was stupidly delicious.

Ring on left: H&M
Ring on right: Vintage
Nails: Back Room by Andy Warhol at NARS with Urban Outfitters glitter polish

Outside on the rooftop, where you can see over to Canary Wharf, there's fire pits to warm yourself, with seats all around (campfire songs not necessarily encouraged!).

WigWamBam is now open until March, Tuesdays to Saturday from 5pm and is free to get into. I recommend going early to grab one of the limited seats, but if it's not raining, the fire pits outside are great to keep warm by.

All photos courtesy of Writer's Block and Broken Lenses.

Explore: Callooh Callay

I do tend to drag my birthday out for as long as I can, it seems a shame that all the fun is over in one day and there's nothing to look forward to until Christmas! I celebrated with my friends with a visit to the cocktail bar Callooh Callay in Shoreditch, which I've read a ton of reviews about and was really excited to head there.

Of course Saturday nights in Shoreditch are always ridiculously busy, and when we arrived we were led through a jam-packed bar to a large wardrobe door. Amazingly we then walked THROUGH the looking glass and into a reservation only area with extravagant mirrors, melting clocks and vintage decanters on the table.

We picked from the extravagant and bizarre cocktail menu which was presented in a cassette tape case called 'Now That's What I Call Cocktails'. I had more than a few Hell in a Highballs which were beyond delicious, and even the Marmageddon which included, you guessed it, Marmite!

Being hidden behind the secret door meant we weren't pummeled in the crowds,we could chat and eat all the delicious mini burgers we could get our hands on. I had a great night and am desperate to see what the VIP Jubjub bar looks like!

Callooh Callay is on Rivington Street, E1 and takes reservations on their website.

See what I wore to Callooh Callay here.

Explore: Musical Bingo at Mahiki

If you're thinking this post will be about grannies, two little ducks and musty village halls then Musical Bingo will blow your mind. I'm not a 'club' person, and I'm more than happy to stay in and play board games if I'm totally honest so this is essentially my perfect night out! Held at celebrity haunt Mahiki the concept is simple. Rather than crossing off numbers, you cross of the songs that are played by the DJ - one, two, three lines or a full house and you get prizes. Simple!

The night was fronted by the uber glamorous Lola Hi Rola, who was more than encouraging when we decided we wanted to move from dancing in our seats to busting some moves on the dancefloor!

Being in Mahiki we had to take advantage of the amazing cocktails on offer - all served in bizarre glasses with all sorts of things poking out of the top. We had a Poisoned Chalice and a couple of Lover's Cups, both served in huge fish bowls with ridiculous straws for sharing.

There was a lot of dancing to a huge mix of songs from M.I.A. to Rage Against the Machine and pretty much every genre and decade in between. There was a point where I felt it necessary to dance on stage, I'm not entirely sure why but hey, it's all in the name of bingo right?! One of my fabulous friends even went up to compete in a hula hooping challenge and won one of the famous Mahiki treasure chest cocktails!

And obviously it was a game after all so there had to be prizes! Aside from the treasure chest cocktail we weren't particularly lucky with what we won. Our haul consisted of 2 Superted DVDs, one packet of Pombear crisps and a Matt Cardle autobiography... don't be jealous now!

The atmosphere for the whole night was fantastic, we laughed and danced and drank and danced and hula hooped and eventually stumbled home bouncing like excited toddlers that had had too much sugar. Musical Bingo have a new residency at Mahiki and will be there once a month. I'll see you there!

Photos are by me or from the Musical Bingo Facebook page.

Explore: Cointreau Prive by Dita von Teese

On Friday night myself and two of my best girlfriends got dolled up to hit the pop-up bar Cointreau Prive in Piccadilly, London.

Open for just 3 weeks, the bar has been designed and curated by burlesque legend Dita Von Teese. Inspired by her favourite cocktail bars in LA and Paris, she has handpicked the expert bar staff to make signature and unique cocktails and make the whole experience feel intimate and a world away from the tourist traps literally right outside the door.

As suggested by the name, the drinks were all based around the Cointreau liqueur and I had the signature Cointreau Teese which was the yummiest apple concoction that tasted like pureed sweets in the most fabulous taaaaaaaaaaall black martini glass (made so large so people wouldn't steal them I'm sure!). My girls Ms O and Ms W had the Cointreau Rose with raspberries and rose wine which was sweet but not as fresh and still very tasty. For such a place the drinks weren't hideously priced, but saying that we could only really afford 2 each!

The room was underground and decorated in reds lamps and low tables with an impressive chandelier in the main section. One of Dita's own elaborate corsets decorated in feathers and crystals sat in a corner, and plush velvet sofas were available for the lucky ones that were there long enough to wait for someone else to move (like us!). 

The atmosphere was calm but fun. As entry is only guaranteed if you'd book online it assures that it doesn't get overly packed and uncomfortable. The queue for the bar wasn't horrific, and you didn't have to fight for a space to perch with your drink. The DJ was fantastic, playing a mix of classic motown, modern indie dance tunes and an immense remix of Howlin' For You by The Black Keys. Sadly we had to leave to get the last tube home at about 12.30am, but the night was still in full swing with people still arriving and moving towards the dancefloor. We even saw Paloma Faith looking more stylish then I could bear!

It was a perfectly executed experience. Cointreau Prive runs until December 17th, but bookings are filling up fast so make sure you grab your chance to go as soon as possible!