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NyLon – Nights Out On Both Sides Of The Atlantic

The idea of a jet-setting lifestyle may be completely out of reach for most of us, but that isn’t to say that you can’t plan ahead and make a superbly ace night out on both sides of the Atlantic! Raid that wardrobe, pack your bags, and see what’s cool to do in New York and London on a Saturday night!

Bembe. Brooklyn, New York – Underneath the Williamsburg Bridge is a little hideaway that’s pulsating with Latin beats and candle lit dancers swaying away to sexy sounds. For those that may find it a touch too hot, have a chill at the bar and get some tequila shots down you. The locals swear by dipping their lime in sugar AND coffee! Strange, but somehow it kinda really works! Try it and see if that’s not how you’ll have your tequila from now on!

Raffles. Chelsea, London – It’s a members club and membership is only by invitation, but you can get yourself on the guest list and get yourself a Raffles table booking. The intimate surroundings combined with the VIP service will make you feel a feel preeeetty spesh, and, there’s an abundance of cocktails to choose from, yummies! And there are usually a few celebs to keep an eye out for, having been featured heavily in Made In Chelsea, or if music’s more your thing, The Rolling Stones have been caught partying there too! So if you have the stamina to go until the club closes at 6 in the morning, get yerself down there!

House Of Yes. Brooklyn, New York – This spot opened in 2016 and has quickly become a way for party goers to wear insane costumes and go all out on the weekend! They hold parties like the exhibitionist “House of Love” as well as the immersive “Little Cinema” film tribute nights. Let’s not forget the aerialists, dancers, and magicians that are flying all around you! As an experience like no other, House of Yes is not just a place to go and have drinks, but it’s a place that will have you yelling “yes” in wonderment at every turn.

The Electric Ballroom. Camden, London – At the heart of the hippest part of London, The Electric Ballroom hosts every music night you can think of, but the highlight has got to be the Ultimate Power club night. It’s 80’s anthems, all night! If you think that the best way to enjoy a night is to yell along to Bon Jovi’s “Living On A Prayer” and playing inflatable guitars, this is gonna to be one of your best nights out eveeeer! A lot of people think the 80’s went out of fashion quicker than disco, but judging by the crowds at these nights, it’s never been damn cooler.

London and New York have been two cities separated by a common ocean, and if you’ve got the money for a jet-hopping life, then you can’t do better than these places, they are totally my two favourite cities on earth. You’ve gotta try to get out and see the nightlife in both cities, go on, wear some NyLon!

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Tie The Knot: Advice For Planning A Last Minute Summer Wedding

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Has your loved one just popped the question? Would you like to get married as soon as possible? Well, lemme tell you, last minute weddings are often the most fun to arrange. While you have a lot of work ahead of you, there’s still enough time to plan something amaaaazing this summer. Just use some of these ideas and advice to ensure you leave no stone un-turned. At the end of the day, this is a moment you will remember for the rest of your life. For that reason, you’re going to need as much help and guidance as possible. This should help….

Finding the perfect venue – Before you do anything else, you’ll want to find a beautiful place in which you can do your thang. The issue is that most places are booked at this time of the year. Still, cancellations happen, and you might get lucky. Just bear in mind that you’re unlikely to receive any discounts for last minute bookings. That means you may need a healthy budget if you want to make your dreams come true. Maybe you could apply for unsecured debt consolidation loans in an attempt to ensure you have as much money as possible? Either that or you could sell something valuable that you no longer want to increase your funds? Whatever you decide, it’s sensible to have more than £2000 at your ready to spend!lou16

Getting a dress you love – Dressmakers can take months to design or adjust the perfect dress for your big day. However, you’ll need them to work faster than that. It’s wise to get in touch with different specialists in your local area and explain your situation. At least one of them should be willing to push your order to the front of the queue. Alternatively, lots of professionals keep second-hand dresses that were only worn once. Nothing is wrong with opting for one of those products if it helps you to achieve your goals. Vintage wedding dresses are also a great affordable and very beautiful option, seek them out by looking on auction sites or searching vintage specialists online. Just make sure you don’t settle for anything less than you’ve imagined in your dreams all these years, of course! 

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Arranging catering – The guests at your wedding will need something to fill up those hungry tummies. However, you don’t want to spend a fortune because that decreases the money you can spend on your dress and venue, obvs, so, you gotta think outside of the box and try something different. Cool catering vans selling yummy street food or fish and chips are popular these days because they’re a cheap, simple and fun solution. Maybe something like that would keep your guests happy? There are specialists you can call who will provide enough food for one-hundred people for less than £1000. You just need to get in touch with them as soon as possible to get them booked! 

If you take the advice from this page, your summer wedding should be sorted in a matter of days, hah, easy-peasy! All you have to think about then is where you want to hold the reception. At the end of the day, there’s no reason to spend a fortune on that venue. In most instances, you will employ a DJ and keep the lights low. Many of your guests will get a tad tiddly and have fun regardless of the surroundings. Do yourself a favour and ensure you spend the bulk of your budget on the wedding venue itself. That is where you will take professional photographs, and it’s where you’ll make your memories. Enjoy planning!

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Tricks For Throwing The Perfect Fifties Cocktail Party

Throwing a Fifties cocktail party can be one of the highlights of your year if you pay attention to a few little extra cute details. The Fifties may have come before the Swinging Sixties but the cocktail parties were somethin’ ELSE! Social events for the upper and middle classes, cocktail parties, featured great food, great music and beautiful, beauuuutiful dresses, gah, the dresses! One of the best theme evenings you could go to is a Fifties night – and not just for the amazing music! With these top tips, you could throw the best cocktail party of the year!

Invites- The Fifties were the decade of formality and etiquette and sending formal invitations out for parties were the norm. Make sure you include the correct details for your RSVP request and ring around the week before the party so you get your party numbers.

Food – To truly impress your guests, make sure you bypass the buffet and go for serving hot and cold finger food passed around by a waitress you can hire. This is exactly what a hostess would have done in the Fifties so emulating that era is a darling thing to do! Fruit kebabs, ham and cheese parcels, and anything in aspic would be a popular option! Offer cloth napkins instead of paper ones for a real Fifties touch of class.Fashion – One of the best bits of a cocktail party was choosing your outfit! As these are formal affairs, strapless dresses with a full skirt and petticoat were all the rage. Throw on some small fancy colour diamonds and you’ll be the belle of the ball for certain. High heels, up-dos such as a chignon and a small handbag would set the entire look off beautifully. Browse online images of 50’s movie stars for inspiration, it’s a super fun way to dress! 

Home –A cocktail party at home would have been the best opportunity a housewife would have to show off the home and all your skills for keeping your home beautiful. Cutting fresh wildflowers from the garden and arranging them around the house would be a classy and gorgeous way of brightening the home without going for standard décor. While you most probably don’t like smoking in the home, dot vintage ashtrays through the room, as smoking was popular in that decade.

Cocktails – If you have a drinks cabinet, it’s time to get those bottles polished! You can put together a drinks trolley and offer martinis, side cars, vodka highballs and whiskey sours for a truly Fifties feel.

Music – You’ll need something to bop to so if you don’t have a retro record player, download some timeless tracks onto an iPod and dock it for the night. Not too loud, mind, as you want to be able to have conversation over the music. Crank it up for dancing later on!Your Fifties cocktail party will go off without a hitch and you’ll be the talk of the town just by following these party tips. Vintage doesn’t get better than the Fifties so it’s time for a shopping trip for a brand new cocktail dress!

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How To Throw A Vintage Garden Party, Darling!

 

When you think of a garden party, usually only two things come to mind. Either a barbecue with water fights, or a posh and elegant affair for the ladies. Garden parties are so underrated, and rightly so given that the weather isn’t always the best and most people don’t have the space in the garden to even throw a garden party – especially those in the city! If you are lucky enough to have a collection of vintage items you can use, then your garden party is already successful so all you have to do next is pick an era! Most people like to go for the twenties and earlier, but you do get those who want to relive the Sixties hipster era!

For a vintage garden party, the best food is usually finger sandwiches and delicate cakes. Think an upmarket picnic without the dodgy sausage rolls. Think twenties elegance while you sit in the garden among the flowers enjoying crustless sandwiches and mini Victoria sponge sandwich cakes. A silver tea service (for the truly vintage) would be perfect for a garden party, even if just as decoration. If you happen to have a collection of cups and saucers, they would be perfect for a dessert service of ice cream or Eton Mess. Bonus points for sending them home as party favours!Given that you’re having a garden party I think it’s safe to assume that it’s sunny outside and the right season for beautiful wildflowers. You don’t have to go as far as hiring out Jason Swanson painters to do the exterior of the house, but getting in some vintage tablecloths for table tops and even to act as fabric for a picnic will do the job! Pastel hanging lanterns for the trees if you have them will also be an excellently economical way to decorate. Bunting is a popular decoration for a garden party so match your pastels and you’ll have an elegant outdoor display.Your party will be a picture of elegance and poise and if you have any shabby chic furnishings you can bring from the inside to the garden, you can save yourself some money on decoration as this would be an exquisite piece for food to be on outside. When it comes to music, you could choose to hire in a vintage band, or pop on some old records. If you don’t have a record player, downloaded music will work but there’s nothing quite so lovely as the scratch of a record on a vintage record player. It gives the party and atmosphere a little authenticity. Your garden party can be a huge success as long as you follow the rules of elegance and beauty for the era which you pick. You can also add in little additions like mini pies and quiches for something different to sandwiches and cake. I doubt anyone is going to complain about the range of cakes and puddings you can offer for your party so go and enjoy yourself, darling!

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Best Friends Forever? A Pampering Party Forges The Bonds

One of the best, most simple pleasures in life is to have a group of friends that you’re in sync with. You don’t have to be clones of one another. Preferably you won’t be. It may be best if you think of the Spice Girls. I know they mostly ended up hating one another, but you all have your role. Nothing as binary as “I’m the funny one, she’s the sarcastic one, you’re the sweet one”, but they define themselves.

Friendship groups like this work because you can hang out as pairs. Everyone might have their OTP, but you can call any one of them and know you can talk. And you can talk to different friends about different things. Relationship problems? That’s Sandra. Workplace issues? That’s Rita. Forgotten the capital of Finland? Ask Pamela. (Yes, I’ve taken the names of the imaginary group of friends from Mambo No. 5. And it’s Helsinki.)

With friends like this, you can call and hang out pretty much any time. But it’s also vital, for the sake of team spirit, to have a planned meetup every once in a while. You set the world to rights and plan other things – girly holidays, nights out, even weddings. And one of the best ways to spend a day with friends is an at-home pampering stint.

The Venue

Well, it’s at one of your houses, obviously. It’s up to you to decide whose. Maybe one of you has a bigger house. Maybe one of you is located more conveniently for travel purposes. Maybe one of you has family who are in and out all the time. Avoid that one, this is a team event. Maybe you just do it on a rotation basis. There’s not a specific set of rules here, you can’t codify friendship. That much.

The Essentials

You wouldn’t play tennis without racquets, you wouldn’t go skiing without alarming dayglo bodysacks. And you don’t have a pampering day without the essentials. You need food – takeaway and sweet treats are essential here, pampering has no place for cooking. Something to drink is vital – whatever each of you is into, make sure there’s a supply. And pampering isn’t right without big bathrobes – Richard Haworth hotel linens are among the best options.

The Time

Any decent gathering of friends has within it the potential to take on a life of its own. It can go on for some time, including into the early hours. So it’s best to plan it for public holidays or times when you’ve all got freedom from work. But we all have busy lives, so it is important to take time where you can find it. It’s not always easy, but it is so worthwhile.

Whenever you have a friendship group like this, you know there will be trials and tribulations. There may be fallings out, there may be shouting rows. And as you get older, your interests may go in different directions. But as long as there is that thread of friendship, you can be a team for decades. You just have to make sure you nurture the connections. Time with good friends is so very, very precious. 

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