Not content with travelling to Europe for a Jolly, I found myself travelling up to London to meet up with some fellow blogger babes for lunch, giggles and a spot of shopping before Christmas.

I thought I had a ticket on the 0700 train(it was the cheapest) so arrived at 0645, only to find out that it was actually the 0734 train. Queue me sitting in the waiting room doing my makeup and chilling out for nearly 50 minutes!

My outfit of choice for the day was the beautiful Joni Dress from Voodoo Vixen. I teamed this up with some little navy ballet pumps from Primark, and a vintage white chiffon scarf tied around my head.

I hit the City around 0835, and headed straight to Petticoat Lane Market. Only to find that it is there every day BUT Saturday! So far, I wasn’t off to a very good start.

I decided to walk along to Spitalfields Market, where there was a couple of shops and stalls that I wanted to get a few gifts from. I can happily report that my mission was accomplished.

After a lovely full English breakfast in “Giraffe” I headed back into Central London to hit Oxford Street, and eventually meet up with the other ladies for our Jaunt to Simply Be.

Knowing that the other ladies wouldn’t be arriving for a couple hours, I hit the shops to get a couple of presents that I could only pick up in London. All I can say is….WHAT a nightmare! Thankfully I managed to finally get everything I needed before heading up to meet the others.

I met Katt Martin and fabulous husband Matt on Regent Street, and we fought our way through to Simply Be. As there was only a couple of us, nothing had been set up with the store as they had been unable to accommodate a large group of us on such a busy day.

However, the first person we saw was the Fabulous Chloe, who immediately took charge of everything, and took all our bags and belongings to the Personal shopping area.

Katt and I had great fun grabbing everything that took our fancy, before heading downstairs to try it all on.

The beautiful Becky Scott soon joined us, and more clothing was chosen.

Chloe was absolutely amazing, helping us into the fabulous outfits, changing sizes, finding matching shoes and accessories. I can honestly say she really knows her stuff! Whether it was about the fit of a dress, or even a pair of shoes, she was spot on every time.

In fact, I don’t know what we would have done without her! She really is a credit to the Simply Be company, and I can’t thank her for everything she did for us.

The divine Kat Henry then joined us, and the fun really began. Outfits were tried on, exchange, and of course, hundreds of photos taken of us all.

The lovely staff at Simply Be turned up with drinks, nibbles, mince pies and cakes. This was very much welcomed as we were starving from all the heavy duty clothes trying on session we were involved in!

The first outfit I tried on was this amazing black evening gown in a size 22. It was made of a very heavy stretchy material, and was embellished with hundreds of jewels down the side, giving an illusion effect. I believe it is by Forever Unique, however I can’t find a link on the Simply Be website.

I fell in love with it, and wanted to buy it even though I have nowhere to wear it to. Unfortunately with a price tag of £365, it was a little out of my price range. I was absolutely Gutted.

Secondly, we all tried this amazing Joe Browns glittery green dress (£50) with a v crossover bodice, and what a stunning dress it was. I needed to go to a size 24 for the fit, and it was both comfortable and classy. The only downside was that we all left little trails of glitter everywhere we went, and our skin was absolutely covered in it!

This is an absolutely perfect Christmas dress, the sparkle gives it a party feeling, and the emerald green is spot on for the festive season. It very nearly made it into my basket.

The next item I tried on was this stunning red Chi-Chi Dress (not available on the website currently). Knowing that Chi-Chi can come up a little bit on the small side, I tried this in a 24. It was an absolutely perfect fit, and an absolutely perfect Christmas Day dress. I knew there and then I had to have it. I honestly thought that £75 was a great price for such a well designed dress.

I teamed this up with a pair of Sole Diva gold heels at the bargain price of £25. I loved the look of the two together, and decided that this would be my outfit for Christmas.

The last thing I tried (convinced totally by the weasley Kat Henry) was the Magisculpt Angel Bodyshaper. A see through bodice, with the bottom half a fabulous medium control bodyshaper. This item is on sale at the moment for only £28 – an absolute bargain!

I plan to team this up with a stunning Ewa Michalak Harness bra, and a scarlet tutu from Society+ and will probably be my New Years Eve outfit.

We left Simply Be around 1730 tired, sweaty and very happy. I wasn’t due to be getting my train back until 2200, headed back to St Pancras to sit my considerably tired behind in The Betjeman Arms.

The outside seating area (which is undercover in St Pancras) features lovely comfortable seats, little blankets to drape yourself in, and heated lamps too. It really is a wonderful pub, with a great menu and a huge range of drinks.

Steak Pie, Mustard Mash and Onion Gravy, served up with Vodka and Coke (or two) revived my tired mind and body, and before long it was time to get myself into my comfy first class train seat and trundle my way home.

Well, the journey home couldn’t be simple either, could it…. Without a driver to drive the train, we left about 20 minutes later than scheduled!

All in all, it was a fabulous day, spent with people I love. What better way to spend time?