Ave Mario, the latest restaurant from the Big Mamma group, has been all over my Instagram and TikTok since it launched last year, and since then I've been desperately trying to get a dinner booking. As with all Big Mamma restaurant, unless you get particularly lucky, you pretty much have to book a month in advance, so I finally did. 

We headed for dinner mid-week which I think was the perfect time to go. We sat upstairs in what I think is the prettier part of the restaurant and the atmosphere was chilled out and perfect for a catch up, whereas downstairs the vibe is more party-like with larger groups and a view of the kitchen. 

We started with cocktails {the Spritz on the Beach is incredible if you like tropical cocktails} and the Sex and the Fritti, which were fried courgettes and onion rings coated in what was meant to be a fiery chilli sauce, but I am not one for too much heat and I could handle it. 

Before moving on to our mains, pizza of course. I usually go for the truffle pasta at the Big Mamma restaurants but as I had this the weekend before, I opted for a classic margarita pizza - sometimes you just need to go back to basics. 

Just before leaving for the night, we headed to the toilets for the endless instagram opportunities they provide! Think lots of neon signs and fish eye mirrors. 

The food, drinks and company were perfect an I'd definitely head back to Ave Mario..maybe next time to try their bottomless brunch. I would say though, if you're going to go for a Big Mamma restaurant, I much prefer Circolo Poppolare or Gloria because the decor isn't quite so in your face! 

xo Becky

We woke up bright and early on our second day in Paris (catch up on day one here) and headed out for breakfast at none other than Cafe du Flore - one of the oldest coffee houses in the city, and a favourite among famous writers and philosophers. We had a coffee, a delicious croissant and one of the best glasses or orange juice I've ever had, before heading out to start our day. 

After some admin with our luggage {I'd highly recommend the luggage lockers in Gare du Nord if you don't want to carry your suitcases around after an 11am check out!}, we headed in the direction of the Eiffel Tower. We headed to the famous instagram street to get a photo with the Iron Lady herself, which we surprisingly didn't have to wait too long for given the streets recent fame. If you want a photo without anyone in the background I'm guessing you have to get here at the crack of dawn, but I'm not really fussed with people in the background. 

We then wandered down to the seine and walked along the river to the Pont Alexandre iii - aka the most beautiful bridge in Paris. 

This weekend I left the country for the first time in two years (!!). I've attempted to go away a few times but due to various covid bouts and restrictions, they've all either been postponed or cancelled. So in desperate need of a change of scenery, I hopped on the Eurostar to Paris and got in late Friday night, ready for a weekend of exploring. 

First things first, we needed breakfast. We were staying in a studio we'd found on AirBnB as it was fairly cheap and we weren't going to be spending much time in our apartment, but we still wanted the fancy hotel experience. So we headed to The Hoxton for some much needed fuel ahead of a weekend of exploring. The Hoxton is beautiful, and the breakfast was A+ {and cheap at only €20 for a breakfast of your choice, a hot drink and a juice}. The hotel is beautifully decorated and very calming, the perfect oasis to start your day. 

After breakfast, we headed to the Palais Royal via Cafe Kistune for yet another coffee - we'd got up early and definitely needed our fix! This little garden and courtyard is one of my favourite spots in Paris and I always make sure to head here early and snap a little photo before it gets super busy. We then headed to the Pompiou centre but unfortunately didn't have enough time to buy tickets to any of the exhibitions before our lunch booking. It was still nice to admire the view from the top of the museum though and next time I'm in Paris I'll definitely leave more time to explore. 

We then headed to Le Cafe Marly, overlooking the Louvre, where we had a lunch booking. Lunch was a little bit of a letdown though, we'd seen the restaurant on Instagram as it had amazing views {which it definitely did have} but there's only one or two spots to get that instagram photo and we felt it was quite overpriced for what it was - it was crowded, terrible service and our food was cold. So if you're a foodie, I wouldn't recommend this but if you do really want to get a photo, make sure you book as they were only letting people onto the terrace who had reservations, everyone else had to go inside. 

After lunch, we got in line for our spot at the Louvre...well, we actually got in several lines, it was a little chaotic trying to figure out where to go but we took solace in knowing everyone else was getting it wrong too. We headed to the Mona Lisa first as we knew it would be busy, and as expected, it was heaving. We patiently waited our turn and although brief {I was getting whacked by about 7 cameras}, it was amazing to see it in real life. 

Once we'd taken in as much art as we could handle, and as many photos as our phone battery would allow, we headed back to our apartment to get ready for dinner. We booked Ober Mamma for dinner, as Pink Mamma was fully booked. If you like Italian food, then you'll love it here...or if you like any of the Big Mamma locations in London {Circolo poppolare, Gloria, etc} then you'll love it, as it's exactly the same. 

After dinner, we headed to the Trocadero to catch the Eiffel Tower sparkling at midnight which was truly fabulous - one of my favourite things to do in Paris! 

Catch up on our second day in Paris here. 

xo Becky 

Vodka rigatoni is one of my all time favourite pasta dishes (although the list is about 10 recipes long). It's creamy, cheesy, tangy and filling, making it the perfect comfort dish, and if like me, you think cooking is a great way to unwind, this fits the bill as it does need a little (but not too much) prep. 

You'll need: 

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 shallot 

3 cloves garlic 

A pinch of chilli flakes (add more if you like it spicy)

100g tomato puree 

5 tbsp vodka 

100ml double cream 

200g rigatoni (you could use another shape but this is a personal favourite) 

30g parmasean 

Method:

1. Finely chop the shallot and the garlic and start cooking the pasta in salted water. 

2. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the shallot and cook until translucent. Then add the garlic and chilli flakes and cook for a further 30 seconds. 

3. Stir in the tomato puree and cook for 2 mins, then stir in the vodka and cook for 3 mins until a paste has formed. Then quickly stir in the cream and remove the sauce from the heat. 

4. Reserve 50ml of your pasta water, then drain the pasta. 

5. Add the pasta water to the sauce, followed by the pasta and stir to combine. 

6. Add the parmesan and stir until it's fully combined, then serve with extra parmesan and lots of black pepper - enjoy! 

xo Becky 

Back in my days working in beauty I was constantly trying out new products, but since my career has now taken me down a different path, I got quite lazy with my beauty routines, and stuck to what I knew. I'd been seeing Beauty Pie pop up all over my Instagram feed for months and finally decided to give it a go, and never looked back. 

The idea is that Beauty Pie cut out the middle man, reducing costs for the consumer. They focus on the ingredients with fuss-free (still pretty in my opinion) packaging, and have 'dupes' for a lot of cult products, plus a lot of ingredient-led products. With so many products on the site, it can be quite overwhelming if you're a new member, so I thought I'd round up some of my favourites...

Brightening Niacinimide Superdrops

I'll start with my favourite Beauty Pie product, I'm already on my third bottle of this and use it religiously as part of my nighttime skincare routine. I have quite problematic skin thats very prone to breakouts, and I've found that it's reacted extremely well to these drops, I barely get spots anymore and the overall appearance of my skin has been a lot brighter. 

Superdose C C-Suite Rapid Action Power Brightener

Beauty Pie has a few Vitamin C options but I've found that these drops are by far the most effective on my skin. I have quite oily skin so I don't like to overload it with lots of heavy creams, so these drops are the perfect alternative. I've got a little discolouration on my skin from years of suffering through some quite extreme acne, and this seems to be helping to improve the appearance of those patches...they're still there but a lot easier to cover up with my concealer now. 

Super Retinol High Dose Booster Treatment 

I've been using Retinol for a few years now, more as a preventative measure than anything else. I'm only 28 so I can't speak to the anti-aging qualities of this product, but its been great for keeping my skin clearer and I'm hoping that its slowing down my wrinkles! As I said, I've been using retinol for years, and this product isn't for beginners. It has 3% encapsulated retinol so it packs a punch, you might want to start off mixing this in with your moisturiser or starting off with a lower strength retinol until your skin gets used to it. 

Super Healthy Skin Ultimate Anti-Aging Cream

During the day I tend to use a gel based moisturiser as my skin is fairly oily, but at night my skin craves something a little more thirst quenching, especially after the retinol. I've been loving this anti-aging moisturiser, its one of the few creams that doesn't block my pores and cause me to break out, and my skin always looks refreshed in the morning. 

xo Becky