When people think of Holland, they probably immediately think of Amsterdam. I can’t blame them, it’s actually one of my favourite places, and I’ve been making a yearly pilgrimage for the last 4 years. However, even though I claimed to be in love with the Dutch life, I had never ventured outside of the city before, so with the intention of making amends I travelled to the west coast and explored the surrounding areas.

After 4 and a half years in London I thought I had sussed out most places. Even if I hadn't been to them, I thought I at least new of most hot spot places to go. So when a little gem comes up that I'd never heard of and blows me away... well, it's a special occasion.

And that occasion happened last week when I went to St Ermin's Hotel in St James. I have to admit, I'd never heard of the hotel before, let alone knew what it was like inside. And well, I think a picture speaks a thousand words in this case.

If that isn't an entrance hall, I don't know what is.

St Ermin's hotel is a beautiful grade-II listed building in Westminster with a very cool past. In the 1930s, during the Second World War it became a meeting place for members of the secret service to discuss plans against the Germans.

I had gone to try their new spring menu, the Secret Garden Dinners in partnership with my old favourite, Laurent-Perrier.

The Secret Garden menu is a mix of two things. The opening of their roof garden, where they grew vegetables and herbs for the restaurant, and also the creation of a garden menu made with produce grown right upstairs.

Of course, every summer menu must have a glass of champagne or two on it, and you know me by now, I love Laurent-Perrier.

The special dinners are happening on the 20th May, 27th May, 3rd June, 10th June and all guests receive a glass of La Cuvee on arrival, where you can hang out on the balcony and pretend your a secret agent.... just me on that one?

Dress- Reiss // Shoes- Topshop

Up on the roof it's really cute. Literally a hidden garden nestled between the rooftops. The hotel aims to grow as much as they possible can onsite as the make it as fresh as possible. I mean, how much more fresh can you get than it being carried down a couple of flights of stairs to your plate?

The garden is open for guests to have a wonder through and nosey at whats coming up on the menu.

As well as trying to be efficient, they also aim to be creative too.

...and cute.

After realizing that maybe my thin stilettos weren't 100% appropriate I headed into the dining room for the tasting. Well the proof is in the pudding right?

The starter was cured sea bass, oysters and cucumber with herbs, fromage frais and asparagus. The sea bass was beautifully and the cucumber was really fresh and crisp. Knowing it had come from just upstairs also made it that little bit more enjoyable. This was paired with the deliciou Laurent-Perrier Ultra Brut which is a gorgeous strong and full champagne. 

The fish course came next and to my delight it was salmon and langoustine with courgette, tomato and beetroot dressing. I joked at the table that eating this made me realise the salmon I get from the canteen at work in a morning is defined not fresh! The knife just slipped right through and the zing of the beetroot was a combination I never thought to try before. Thia was paired with Laurent-Perrier Vintage 2006.

Next up was the boneless rack of lamb with baby carrots, wild mushrooms and broad beans. Being a Northerner this was heaven on a plate. You just can't beat a good peice of meat and gravy. I love lamb but never cook it at home as it is really tricky to get right and I always seem to make it go tough. But fear not this was the complete opposite. Extremely tender and made even more so by the gorgeous gravy. This course is paired with Laurent-Perrier Cuvée Rosé which is my absolute favourite champagne ever. Sweet but not sickly it's just the most drinkable and enjoyable drink you can get. Also it is perfect for summer picnic's which despite the cold weather currently, I'm determined to have soon.

Finally the dessert arrived. A aark chocolate shell with strawberry mousse and a Champagne and lychee foam. Basically a very upscale strawberries and champagne; again, this would be excellent at a picnic. It was light even not to tip me over the edge after all that food, but still indulgent enough for me to feel happy. Finally I had my last glass of Laurent-Perrier Demi Sec which is much sweeter than the others and is closer to what you might think of a dessert wine.

For a hotel is never heard of before, it really did blow me away. From the stunning interior's, to the gorgeous home grown dinner, I honestly can say I will return. I've heard they do an amazing afternoon tea too.

To book the secret garden dinners​, head to the Caxton Grill website

Amazon, the internet giant is probably an integral part of your life. Who can imagine life before it? I have Amazon Prime TV, I buy hard drives, toilet roll and random gifts from it. I use Kindle and now buy all my books in electronic format now. I have Alexa, although my use of it really leaves it at just a talking clock, but there is no denying Amazon is a big part of my life when you look at it.

But one thing most people probably don't buy is their clothing from there. And I mean fashionable clothing, not just the random list minute hiking socks you need because your boyfriend decided to do a weekend in the hills.

Bow Tie Blouse Here

I have to admit, my initial perception of Amazon and clothing was that its probably dodgy market stall-esque clothing. You know, the knock off Chinese quality types. However Amazon have launched their own in-house brand called Find, to eliminate this.

Amazon Find is set up like any other high street online store. It's a much nicer interface that your typical Amazon search which makes it a better experience browsing, and does take away some of the worries of cheap clothing.

The price point is a mix really. They aren't Primark bargain pricing, but aren't expensive either. I'd probably say maybe a New Look type price point?

The only odd thing is that the prices often are different with different sizes which is quite annoying. A size 8 can be £15 and a size 10 can be £26. I don’t really understand that and I do think if they want to really be competitive with your ASOS types then they need to remove that and have consistent pricing. 

High Neck Stripe Blouse Here

The quality varies, but so does the price point of these, so you can get an idea I'd say from that. I got a mesh skirt of £7 but to be honest it really does look, well, like a £7 mesh skirt... Yet the blouses I have are of good material, the shirt is nice and stiff and has a good, flattering shape to it. The leather shoes are really nice actually, although as they are real leather they were more expensive at £50 but you'd pay that and more at Topshop. Again, I’d say it’s in line with New Look for quality. 

Leather Court Shoes Here

Shop my looks above.

Credit: Rebecca Carpenter 

Ruffle Sleeve Top Here

So all in all, what are my thoughts? I do like Amazon find. There’s some great pieces to be find and some real gems, although there are also some not so great looking items too, but then you have that with all shops to be honest. 

I’m hoping as they expand that they add in more refining options, such as filter by style and length of dresses etc. As wading through every dress is a bit tidious. Amazon Find  is still in early stages though, but it’s definitely a new shop I’d recommend for some good items that good prices. 

Gifted items included

Do you ever write down something, like a title of a post, and think, should I really need to explain this? Well this title is one of those moments.

Should I really need to say to people, hey, it’s not ok to take someone else property and use it for your own personal gain? Because that is what you are doing if you take a bloggers (or any other creative/ photographer/ Instagrammer etc) photos.