Thankfully 2014 was a much better year for me than 2013. I ticked off a biggie which was on my 2013 list which was to change jobs, and I also ticked off visiting Cuba, Italy, Budapest, and Vienna! As well as finally ticking Cuba off my list after it was on there for 10 years, I also went back to Australia for a visit, and headed back over to my ancestral home; The Isles of Scilly. I’ve also had my fair share of incredible parties, events, and food! So, without further ado…here is my 2014 blog wrap-up…
January
As always January was quiet, I went to some London Collections:Men events, and then had some time off work before I started my new job, so I exercised a lot and baked a lot. counterintuitive I know, but damn were those salted caramel brownies worth it! Learning to bake was on my ‘To-do list’ for 2014, so I’m very happy I ticked it off and learnt how to bake some pretty delicious treats.
February
In February I jetted off to Perth, Australia for my annual trip back. It was so lovely to see my gorgeous friends and take a ride in Uncle Gray’s new Jag! I’d been looking forward to it for weeks so had great fun sitting in the passenger seat up and down the freeway. I also headed over to Sydney for some meetings, and being in the city again made me realize that I definitely wasn’t ready to move there (long story).
March
The day after getting back from Australia I started my new job! Still in London, but in a more central location and with a much larger agency rather than a startup. I miss my old colleagues a lot, but I still see them regularly and my new colleagues are pretty darn awesome! March also saw me finally visit SUSHISAMBA, which was freaking amazing, and attend the Individualism: Buttoned Up, party.
April
April was my birthday month! I started it with a trip up to Wales to see my bestie and god-daughter, and then I went along to a really lovely event with Chisou & Nyetimber. Next up was my insanely good Mexican street festival birthday party with Diego, where I finally met the amazing Hannah and Melanie! The day after my birthday party was the bloggers brunch that I organized (yep, I was very hungover for this – sorry ladies!). For my actual birthday weekend (which was also Easter weekend), I went down to Dorset with the family, which was a really lovely break! My busy month was rounded off with the Bacanal La Plage party with Henry, Edd, and Jasiminne.
May
May was my month of travel! I spent the bank holiday weekend celebrating my mum’s 50th birthday in Rome. I then had a mini night away with one of my closest friends in Cheltenham to review the Queen’s Hotel (which was slightly disappointing), before jetting off to Cuba (Havana and Cayo Largo Del Sur) for 10 days, which was quite literally the most incredible holiday I’ve ever had. Cuba is an insanely beautiful country and we had the most amazing time! Amongst all that travelling though, I still found time to finally visit Duck & Waffle!
June
June was the start of the busy summer season. I gave Royal Ascot a miss this year in favour of a more relaxing day with the girls in London – we had a lovely day in a pedal boat on the Serpentine, before lunching at On The Roof With Q, and then going to C’s for her birthday dinner.
I also went for a perfume portrait at Ormonde Jayne, and reviewed the delicious Greek restaurant Mazi in Notting Hill, as well as Alain Ducasse’s new restaurant Rivea. And of course how could I ever forget the Smiths of Spitalfields launch, where Edd and I got so drunk we sang along to Bohemian Rhapsody word for word, and danced to Proud Mary much to everyone else’s amusement.
July
July was yet another busy month! I had my first restaurant review in print, with my write-up of Alain Ducasse’s Rivea in the Belgravia Residents Journal. The summer really kicked off with Henley Regatta, BST and Wireless, which was so much fun (bar Henley, which was a bit of a washout this year). I also reviewed Hakkasan, made my own Magnum ice-cream, and went to the Polo at Cowdray where Jasiminne and I had a lot of fun in the Veuve Clicquot VIP tent.
August
My August started with a dream come true. I visited Innocent Juices head office, Fruit Towers, for an evening of good taste. I’ve loved them since they very first started, so it was so much fun going to see their awesome offices! I also made very yummy Lemon Bars for when the girls from London came down to Surrey for a picnic. Peter’s pool party marked the end of summer, as did the Next Christmas press day 🙁 sad times!
September
September started with a bang – Jemima, Oli and I headed to the Kings Road for a wild night out at our favourite haunts; Raffles and 151. I then went to the HAC Polo with the gang (plus Jasiminne who I persuaded to come last minute), and a few days later we headed to the Country Life Ball at the Natural History Museum. A coupla days after the ball I flew off to the beautiful Isles of Scilly for a long weekend to check out their food festival and visit my ancestral home. The busy month was rounded off with a baking class with Eric Lanlard, the Guirado x Sanctum launch party, and a visit to the Everyman Cinema in Selfridges.
October
October was another month of travel, Bella and I decided to escape for a week of girlieness, think lots of cake, cocktails, culture, and spas. We went to Budapest and Vienna and had a really wonderful time – we even stayed in an incredibly beautiful palace in Vienna! As well as travelling I also checked out the Quaglinos refurb, had a night of fashion and cocktails, and tried Absinthe for the first time.
November
Well, November started off very well, I was very lucky to attend the Children in Need Gala Dinner, which was a rather glamorous affair! I continued the glamour with the Caledonian Club Ceilidh, one of the few clubland events I attended and actually blogged about this year (I’m not sure you’re all that fussed about hearing about a wine tasting event at the Carlton, or a hog roast at the In & Out?! :/). Anyway, November also saw me make the absolutely insanely good Triple Oreo & Nutella Cheesecake, and my god-daughter came to visit me for the weekend, so we had a day up in London at the Harrods Christmas Grotto! The month finished with a very festive ice-skating session at Somerset House with the Google team.
December
December was the month of Christmas events and afternoon teas. I had an epic three afternoon teas (Lancaster, Mr Foggs, Intercontinental)! Events included Cabaret at Scarfes Bar and the Johnnie Walker photobooth at M. Then it was Lotte’s really lovely Christmas Fundraiser drinks, it was so great to see everyone as usually people are so busy in December. I also saw quite a few of the clubland gang at the Royal Automobile Club Christmas Ball, and then it was time for Christmas (with Stelle di Stelle in-between), and looking forward to a whole new year of fun and laughter and making memories.
To say it’s been a busy and epic year is an understatement, it’s been a pretty good one, which I’m very thankful for. It’s funny having this wee blog, I get so many opportunities with it, and what started out as me just recording friends’ events and parties, clubland events and holidays and restaurants I visited, has turned into this much bigger thing. My favourite posts remain the ones I started out blogging about; events, food, and travel.
It’s funny because my travel and food posts are the post popular, but I think my absolute favourites are actually the event ones….mainly because I love to look back at them every so often, and while you all read about the things that happened that I tell you about, I see the night in my mind, and see everything else that happened around what I’ve told you. It’s knowing the little moments that I’ve kept a secret from you all…it gives me a bit of a rush to be honest and makes those little funny/private moments so much more special.
So, here’s to 2015, and making even more memories! And who knows, maybe 2015 will be the year I finally decide to grow up a bit and allow a man to sweep me off my feet again. I said maybe, so don’t hold me to that 😉
Catherine Lux is a veteran travel blogger by night and the Head of Content Marketing at Amazon by day. Originally from Surrey, she spent four years living in Australia (2007-2009, and 2016-2018), and now lives in London. An ex-party girl sometimes prone to relapses, she loves nothing more than sharing her fine dining and luxury travel experiences with her loyal readers.
What a lovely year full of fun!!
Lots of love,
Angie
SilverSpoon London
So much fun! Can't wait for 2015 to start properly!
C x
Love this! Happy New Year!!
Rosie xx
Thank you, happy new year to you too!
C x
Fabulous roundup of an incredible year Catherine! I'm so looking forward to 2015. Hope to see you at a few events lovely!
Katie <3