Zsa Zsa's birthday treat: shopping and food (what could be better)

I've been a bad BAD blogger of late and have not been posting half as often as I'd like. This is due mainly to a promotion at work (yay me), which has meant longer hours in the office but has caused something rather strange to happen. I've actually started to, shock horror, enjoy my job again (believe me it was touch and go there for a while). Sure there's still days where I want to pick up the computer and throw it across the room or, as the marketing girls put it "don't be surprised if you pass by later and see a girl shaped hole in that window", but overall I'm a lot happier and that can only be a good thing.

But back to the blog.

What have I been up to lately you may ask, well let's begin with Zsa Zsa's birthday treat.

Birthdays come just once a year and as Zsa Zsa is a major part of my life I decided what better way to treat her than with two of her all time favourite things: food and shopping.

Clockwise from top left: Zsa enjoys a cocktail - The meat board, YUM - Iced tea in the sunshine - The best chips in West London, FACT

On Friday we made the most of the sunny weather and managed to leave work promptly at 4pm to allow the evenings festivities to commence. We headed to Hammersmith to sample the food and drinks on offer at the Hampshire Hog, one of my all time favourite locations for an after work beverage, and we weren't disappointed.

As the sun was out we made the most of the brief British summer and sat in the gorgeous garden, along with many other people who'd decided to while away the summers evening in the sunshine. We shared a meat board and some fries, along with some cocktails followed by Iced Tea, all of which were positively delicious.

We rounded off the night with a walk along the river, followed by Kit Kat Chunky's and a DVD (Bridesmaids, as usual) back at mine - before our standard nap on the sofa before bed.

The following morning we were up bright and early for Zsa Zsa's main birthday surprise: a day trip to Bicester Village for a spot of shopping in the sunshine.

Clockwise from top left: Before it got CRAZY busy - A Saturday non-diet treat, YUM -  Someone went home happy! - How are ewe?

Having never been to Bicester Village we weren't sure what to expect, but after reading the A Girl, A Style blog I was sure we would be able to track down some amazing bargains. As you can see, Zsa Zsa certainly went home a very happy girl after purchasing shoes, knitwear, pottery and some Cath Kidston bits. I was slightly more restrained and instead went for one big purchase from Cath Kidston (and it wasn't even for me! I am a changed woman) but I still had lots of fun browsing the rails.

Clockwise from top left: Me being very restrained (for once) - Cheap drinks from Starbucks - Shoppers in the sunshine - The cute store fronts

Bicester Village is open seven days a week and can easily be reached by car or train - we however took the Shopping Express from London, and the service was fantastic. With pick up points across the capital and friendly drivers, the Shopping Express is the convenient way to hit the stores whilst staying in the city.

Find all the information on visiting Bicester Village here.