So I totally missed doing a November roundup as I was so busy, so I thought I’d wrap it up into my December one and have a joint ‘Christmas Season’ roundup instead. November and December were both pretty crazy – even busier than my busy October! The Christmas Season is always a busy one, but this one even more so. I barely had a free evening to just relax! So, let’s get started…
November
November started with the World Travel Market. I took a day off work and went along on the Monday, meeting up with Suze and Jess to explore a bit before we went our separate ways to various meetings. After my trip to Palm Island in September, I met up with the lovely Karen from Tippett PR and James who’s the manager of Palm Island and their Antigua sister resort. It was so great to see him again, and they’ve very kindly invited me to test out their Antigua resort in 2016 – so watch this space!
November also saw me head all the way to Suffolk for a weekend to stay at my friend Tiffany’s for her birthday. A few of us went up there and joined her family and old school friends for a really lovely sit down dinner at their family Manor house, before we went downstairs to the cellars where her Dad has a pretty awesome bar. We all eventually rolled into bed – and the plus side of her family living in a manor house meant we all had our own bedroom! No sleeping on the floor or sofa here.
Christmas came early in November with the Waitrose Christmas event, where I had the pleasure of meeting Phillip Schofield and having a huge Christmas dinner with some of my fave bloggers! Shout-out to Katie, Ben, Emma, Alice, and Kelly!
I had a really lovely dinner with Andrea, Lauren, and Angie at Bocconcino in Mayfair! We feasted on delicious Italian food and chatted all things blogging! I also checked out the St Moritz Ski Bar at The Goring, as well as BOUNCE in Shoreditch and The Ninth in Fitzrovia!
I also had the most epic night out with friends for Sufi’s birthday, we started at the private bar at Cafe Royal, before going to Cuckoo Club and then the members club part of Tape where we partied with James Cordon and Niall from 1D!
The ATP World Tennis Tour was happening at the O2 Arena mid-November, so Dan and I went along as guests of Emirates. We were treated to VIP treatment in their private suite, and had the most amazing sushi and brownies! Oh…and we also got to see Djokovic smash that other dude.
Days later I flew off to Poland for a girlie weekend away with C in Krakow. We had a pretty fab weekend exploring the historic city and eating all the eastern European food! It’s such a beautiful place and we had a really great time.
Edd and I went to the re-launch of Sartoria on Savile Row, it was OK – we didn’t get to try any of the food so I can’t tell you whether or not it’s worth dining at, but we enjoyed the bubbles and had a good catch up! Edd and I saw each other quite a bit in November, and one of the best events we went to was the launch of the Hackett x Dukes Hotel partnership at the Regent St Hackett Store.
End of November saw the other Dan (there are a fair few Dan’s in my life), and I go ice-skating at Somerset House with Fortnum & Mason, where we bumped into the lovely Laura and Helen! Dan wasn’t very well and was recovering from a very injured leg that had only just come out of a cast, so he couldn’t skate and instead watched and laughed at everyone stacking it and enjoyed the food and drink!
The very last weekend of November, Henry and I went to HKK to try their Duck & Champagne menu, and then we drove back over to Belgravia and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening with Oli and Amy having a mini pub crawl.
December
In December everything was focused on Christmas! YAY! I started this month with a visit to the Royal Opera House to see Romeo & Juliet with Jemima. I can’t stand The Nutcracker, but absolutely adore Romeo & Juliet, so this was my ‘Christmas’ ballet experience 😉 I hadn’t seen it for a couple of years since it was last on at the ROH, and was so glad I got to see it again!
I then spent a weekend away in Wales visiting my Grandma, and went for a day trip to Chester with my best friend and god-daughter so I could see them before Christmas. It was a really gorgeous weekend filled with love and relaxation! It was just what I needed!
The second week of December I had two work Christmas parties! Needless to say I got very drunk, threw some shapes, and had great fun! I also went for Christmas drinks at the Lansdowne Club with a few friends. Mid-December a group of friends and I went to Winter Wonderland, however all of us were scared of the big rides…so we just went on the dodgems and the Kids elephant ride. It was awesome!! Jemima and I also had a night out at Geisha, where it all got a bit crazy and we left around 2am before it got too out of hand.
The week after was the ‘wind-down’ to Christmas, where work was super busy and my social life even busier. I had the Christmas Carols at my club, the Royal Overseas League, as well as Christmas drinks with a big group of friends. I finished the week at Searcy’s at The Gherkin for Sid’s birthday drinks, and then The Savile Club for Dom’s birthday drinks and the last Friday before Christmas (which is always the best night at The Savile – think singing Christmas carols at the tops of voices and general festive merriment).
The final week before Christmas included The Lansdowne Christmas Ball, and then my Dad’s birthday dinner and a Joe Stilgo concert at The Lyric Theatre.
My months of hectic parties and craziness ended around 5pm on Wednesday 23rd December, when I left work for Christmas and settled myself in my first class seat on a Virgin Trains train up to Oxenholme in the Lake District, where I joined my family for a few days of festive fun.
Phew. I think that’s it! Now, let’s see what 2016 has for me (also, the full 2015 review/resolutions for 2016 is coming soon!).
Find me: Twitter | Youtube | Facebook | Bloglovin | Pinterest | Google+ | Instagram
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.
That is a rather epic Christmas season by any account!
Such fun over December and great to see you a couple of times!
Wow these last few months have been absolutely incredible for you!
Sophie
x
A Story of a Girl
This was a fun post to read! It sounds like you had a great season! 🙂
xx Kenzie
Behindhazeleyes06.blogspot.com