Days out in London - Joshua Reynolds and the Wallace Collection

I remember reading an account of Sir Joshua Reynolds that left a lasting impression on me. From memory it had something to do with him as an older gent using an ear trumpet and appearing full of good humour.

The account was by the diary writer Frances Burney, famous for many things including her inside-court account of the madness of King George.

Anthropologie love, a shop in London

In my world there's a lot of love out there for Anthropologie. First introduced to their Regent Street store by my sis a good while ago, every time I'm in London I hanker to go back.

Calling itself a destination store it combines floors and floors of colour, clothes, art and homeware with a wall of cascading plants.

Part of their mission is to nurture partnerships with both established and upcoming artists as well as having quirky and vintage pieces in their displays. It's a wonderful experience walking around one of their shops and I clocked a few others with mobiles in hand similarly impressed.

So, in case you've not yet jumped on the bandwagon or aren't near one of their Surrey and London stores, here's a few of the pics I took yesterday. 

Chance to win a Hotel Chocolat Easter Egg and making up a foodie quizz for the folks

An Early Happy Easter greeting from me and here's a chance to win a delicious Easter egg from Hotel Chocolat. The egg is one inch thick of deloveliness, contains 12 chocolates and is presented in the most deluxe packaging. Such a treat!

Just choose one or more ways to enter below, it's free and you can enter as many times as you like (the more the better).

The giveaway is open to the UK only and ends on Tuesday 31st March 2015, so get cracking.

All you need to do is login using your Facebook or email and leave a comment, send a tweet or go to Bits and Bobs around Brighton. The more ways you choose to enter the greater your chance of winning. Wishing you the best of luck.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Last week I had the very exciting and truly delightful (sorry for gushing) opportunity to find out more about Hotel Chocolat and in particular their Easter 2015 range.

Meeting them at their cafe in Kensington I opted straight away for a classic hot chocolate to try and it came presented in a cute white cup on a small wooden tray. The hot chocolate was rich and creamy and I'd barely started drinking it when I met Alex who offered to take me on my very own guided tour of their Easter range.

We're all about more cocoa less sugar, he said High street chocolates use more sugar because it's cheaper whereas we use 2- 3x more cocoa instead.

We're also more ethical than fair trade, not only do we pay the cocoa farmers a fair rate but we're finding ways to ensure their farming methods are sustainable in the long run. 

This is definitely good to know as was seeing all the fun and quirky ways Hotel Chocolat have come up with around the theme of Easter eggs. 

How to match funding growth potential at Small Business event - 28 March 2015

Just outside Brighton in the picturesque Hurstpierpoint in three weeks time is an event that could very well be the answer that small businesses have been looking for.  A way to double their funding. 

Guest speaker, Kerry Kyriacou, will be talking about the Business Navigator Growth Hub, a government-funded service which helps businesses find the support and services they need in order to grow by matching funding growth potential. 

Organised by Sussex Pages the event is part of a new monthly networking programme that provides activities to make it easier for small business owners to get to know one another.

Deliveroo to you too - Brighton takeaway

It all happened pretty quickly once the decision had been made. My Welsh Cariad loves a take away and I love ethical dining. We decided to try combining the two and keep us both happy.

Using the new delivery service currently hitting Brighton, Deliveroo we could choose from a selection of Brighton's most hip eateries and get it delivered in a flash.