This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

Happy Friday to all our FAVOURITE readers, take a deep breathe and shout a big...

...because it's the WEEKEND!!!

Week one of November down and only seven more to go until Christmas eeee...OK I promise to only issue a countdown once we hit December - however I'm already secretly very excited!!

When we haven't been secretly wishing away four weeks so we can watch Love Actually and Elf, this week the Mice have mostly been...

Checking out Hoxton Square's new addition (and part of our favourite cocktail group) 5CC Electricity Showrooms. 

I've got a blurry recollection of many nights in my early London years, stumbling around the original Electricity Showrooms bar staring in wonderment at the multi coloured flashing dance floor and generally being a little worse for wear! 

Panic over the bar's still there but the lower floor has been taken over by the fabulous 5CC and transformed the space into a cosy drinking den, with the flashing dance floor still in tact of course!

A couple of weeks ago we fell head over heels for the 5CC bar below, the Well and Bucket on Bethnal Green Road (if you missed it you can check our review out here), so we were super excited to be invited to the Showrooms launch. 

This outpost is a more open space than W&B, but just as cosy and chic. The decor continues in the same 5CC style...leather booths, neon signage adorning the shabby chic walls, candles on every table and an air of a hidden gem fills the room!  

We were kindly greeted with some delicious cocktails - one sip of a Gin and elderflower concoction and I was hooked for the rest of the night! If there is one thing 5CC know it's their cocktails...

With guest DJs at the weekend, I can see that dance floor getting just as much wear as it did before, but this time with a killer cocktail in hand! 

All in all a great addition to the square and of course 3BM's little black book of fun!


Wrapping up snug and cosy...well for a couple of days we did - when the colder weather decided to pop-in. But then last week we were back to temperatures of 24 degrees! Who knows which way it's going to go, however I for one want to be fully prepared when it does permanently kick-in. 

Step one (and the most important in my opinion!) is ensuring your bed is the comfiest, cosiest place to hide away from the Arctic temperatures!! 

When it comes to bed linen we're pretty boring at London Towers, it's pretty much white, white and more white! I love nothing more than crisp white cotton bedding, until that is, I came across Urban Outfitter's range...I think I could possibly be a convert! I may stay safe and stick to the stripes or the arrowheads for now but if you're a little braver they have foxes and all sorts!! 

3BM favs...

Arrowhead Double Duvet Set, £50...

Double Fox Duvet Set, £55...

Double Kenza Duvet Set, £90...

King Size Stripe Duvet Set (check on reverse) Reduced to £55...

Double Stag Duvet Set, £55...

Double Palace Duvet Set, £70...

With step one complete, next up is Coats and Knitwear for the perfect Winter warmer wardrobe but we'll tackle that another time...! 

Right you lovely lot, let the countdown commence to your first G&T of the weekend and let the fun begin...!

x

Sipping at 5CC...

Last week we brought you a London Cocktail Week post pin-pointing all the freakin' fabulous bars scattered across London that were offering up a one-off week-long delectable cocktail for just £4 a pop. The London mice didn't actually take advantage of this offer (I think we momentarily lost our minds for the week) but we did check out one of the participating bars ... 5CC after their kind PR agency invited us down for an evening of scrumptious finger food and mind-blowingly moreish cocktails....

5CC has actually been on my radar and hit list for some time now. This cocktail den is so well nestled below the Well & Bucket (a favourite haunt of mine on Bethnal Green Road) that one could be forgiven for it slipping through the net but once found, it's a keeper.

Neon-rays light the stairs to the basement hideaway, guiding you in off the street and down to the pièce de résistance. Candlelit and effortlessly cool with a grungy east london vibe - I knew instantly we were going to be very happy here!

Even the bar menu cries out cool and kooky - hand drawn illustrations pepper the pages transforming a plain menu into a mini storybook of cocktails so enticing we wanted to stay up well past our bedtime and taste-test everything...

Myslef, Mini and honorary London mouse V, ordered up a round of Rhubarb Daiquiri cocktails to get us started.

First thing to note is the mixologist knows his stuff. He personally delivered us the lovingly crafted concoctions explaining their ingredients and make up in wonderfully descriptive detail - it was clear he loved what he does through and through, or he might have just sampled one too many of his own creations - who knows, who cares - he was awesome! Our waitress, Nadia, also deserves a special mention. She went out of her way to make sure we had a blast and couldn't have been more attentive from start to finish. Together they ran the floor like a well-oiled machine. Check out our snap with Nadia...

We also trialled the 'Spector' - white rum, elderflower cordial, lemon juice, lychee juice and egg white, the 'Spiced Pear Martini' - vodka, pear, apple, spiced syrup and lime juice and a round of 'Porn Star Martinis' - delish, divine, devilishly deadly! 

Next up ... the grub! If the cocktails were anything to go by, we were in for a treat. With the help and guidance of waitress-extrondaire Nadia, we ordered up a couple of lobster rolls, crab and cheese fries, pulled pork sliders, peri peri chicken sliders, a crab, avocado and king prawn salad and a pint of prawns with aioli amazingness. Word of warning, we expected the portions to be on the small side like most London-based bars serve up ... not this one ... the portions are punchy - just how we like them! The food arrived and the chatter dried up in an instant while we devoured the spread laid before our eyes ... Verdict? Delectable down to the very last crumb!

We'll be back. Fact.

Well and Bucket - 5CC

143 Bethnal Green Rd 

London

E2 7DG

020 3664 6454

This Week The Mice Have Mostly Been...

It's F...F...F...Frrrrriday!

Oh yes it is!

And as it's been at least two weeks since one of us was last sunning ourselves on a beach somewhere, you'll be relieved to know that the London Mice will soon be filling your Instagram feeds with lots of sun-soaked smoasting as this weekend they're jetting off on yet another holiday! Lucky little 'uns!

When I haven't been wistfully eyeing my empty suitcase and wishing I was zipping off on a jet plane too, this week this Mouse has mostly been...

Drooling over each and every pair of swoon some heels in the Olivia Palermo x Aquazurra capsule collection. Yeah, we know, she's a reality TV star, but this is hardly your average famous-for-five-minutes-person-lends-their-name-to-shoddy-product collaboration. Take a look at these babies and tell us you aren't at least considering blowing a hefty chunk of August's paycheck on a pair...

Prices start at £375. Fight you for them when they drop on Net-A-Porter on the 25th...

Sipping divine concoctions at my new favourite cocktail hotspot, the Woods. This slinky new addition to Hollywood Road's buzzing bar scene manages to be minimalist yet cosy, buzzy yet quiet enough to have a proper chat and shakes up some of the most deliciously different cocktails I've tried in a very long time.

The Watermelon Cilantro is fruity and aromatic with a spicy kick. 

While the Fizzy Cucumber Gimlet is super refreshing and summery - a garden in a glass. 

I've heard great things about the 4-course prix-fixe cocktail menu which includes a gin basil smash that you quite literally take a hammer to before you drink. Hammered on Hollywood just took on a whole new meaning...

The Woods

17 Hollywood Road

Central 

Hong Kong

+852 2522 0281

Cranking up the aircon and pretending that Autumn's come early, while shopping the awesome Needle knitwear sale. If you haven't discovered Needle yet, hop over to the gorgeously shoppable site immediately - when the cold weather sets in, these cosy chic separates are going to be your NBFs! The Needle fall/winter '14 collection drops in a couple of weeks' time, but until then go and shop up a storm in the sale. Luxe knitwear at a snip? How can you say no to that?! 

Ithica Lace Hole Striped Jumper

Now £67.50 (down from £135)

Ravello Cable Knit Jumper

Now £65 (down from £145)

Capri Colour-blocked Striped Jumper 

Now £44 (down from £125)

So that just leaves us with one last thing to say before we head off for a couple of rounds of celebratory Friday cocktails...

x

The Mice

My Weekend in Pictures...

Two weeks on from our party fuelled Portuguese adventure the madness hasn't let up and without a moment to stop and recuperate it's fair to say we've morphed into dishevelled versions of our former selves!

Enough is enough...so I opted for a weekend of R&R, sunshine, great food and catch-ups with good friends. However, as usual, there's never a dull moment and along the way I stumbled across some blog worthy gems which definitely deserve a mention!

From Shoreditch to Peckham - this is my weekend round up...

Despite a depressing weather outlook on my iPhone all week long, I woke up to the sun shining and a blue-ish sky, so I braved it with my new summer Zara bargain and off I trotted with my umbrella buried at the bottom of my tote as back up!

 

First stop Netil360 - I'm so in love with this beauty that I actually managed to tot up two visits in one week - what a discovery it is! One of my besties Nikki took me down in the week to watch the amazing Little Shoes Big Voice perform a rooftop acoustics session and I instantly fell head over heels for both the location and music! 

 

Just imagine listening to this live...

 

 

With this view...

 

AMAZING!!

 

A few days later I took Middle Mouse back for a daytime visit and my crush became full blown love!

 

Located just a stone's throw from Broadway Market, Netil House looks pretty shabby from the outside. It's definitely one of those secrets that if you don't know about it already, you'd be pushed to just stumble across it. A shame for those not in the know but it's amazing to have a rooftop option without a queue and that doesn't require a fight to get served at the bar! 

The best thing about it is it's BYOB... I know! Literally heaven in the sky! Entry is £5 unless you're a member (find out more here) and then you can bring in anything except spirits and pay a small corkage fee per bottle. 

 

Panoramic views of London's skyline, your own specific booze choice at a cut of standard bar prices and if you pick your visit wisely live music and BBQs...what more could you want?! 

 

The decor is simple yet chic - wooden decking, strings of exposed light bulbs, quirky graffiti and fairy lights. It's the perfect hangout with a young crowd and a chilled vibe...

 

We spent a lazy Saturday with a picnic (oh yes you can also bring your own food!) and Pimms whilst listening to a great DJ set with the perfect backdrop to while the day away. As the evening drew closer, the roof filled up and we hear it was set to be a fun night partying in the clouds, however as my aim was relaxation I trotted off before the mayhem began! 

1 Westgate Street 

Hackney 

London

E8 3RL

0203 095 9749

 

With my rooftop and sunbathing quota fulfilled, I made my way to East Dulwich for a night of cocktails, delicious food and gossipping with my fabulous friend Fran.

It pretty much started like this...

 

Involved a lot of this (food...but specifically Nigella Lawson's Pappardelle with Lamb Ragu...YUMSTERS!)...

 

And ended with us being beached whales on the sofa gawping at Magic Mike...I didn't think you'd appreciate a photo of that!

Exhausted from the day's antics and evening's feast we rolled into a deep slumber to recharge for a super Sunday!

 

After a lazy sleep-in and a few mugs of tea later, our tummies rumbling eventually signalled brunch time. Fran took charge and off we marched to Anderson & Co in Peckham for another delicious feast... 

 

 

139 Bellenden Road 

Peckham 

SE15 4DH

0207 469 7078

 

Goal accomplished - with not one hangover in sight! I finally feel human again and raring to go! And, -iIf you need me this week, I think it's pretty safe to assume I'll be up at Netil360...!!