Claire Imaginarium

French living in London. Just me and my camera wandering the globe.

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8 habits to develop as a freelancer during quiet times

8 habits to develop as a freelancer during quiet times

This post includes some affiliate links marked with an *

They say it takes 12 weeks to form a new habit, and it looks like the Covid-19 lockdown has given us the perfect opportunity to do just that. I know that for many freelancers, myself included, work has slowed down significantly because of the pandemic. It can feel overwhelming, depressing, and at times I would much prefer to go back to…

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Building confidence as a freelancer

It’s been a minute, hasn’t it? I apologise for going radio silent, but the second half of 2019 was so busy I barely had time to catch my breath! Life as a freelance, hey? One minute you have no work, the following one you need to hire an entire team! Now if you have read my August update, you will know that I want to share more about what it means and what it is really like to be a freelancer. An…

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5 hidden gems in London Bridge

5 hidden gems in London Bridge

The spending money was gifted by Hotels.com, but all views are my own.

London Bridge is one of my favourite areas in the city. So when Hotels.com asked me to go explore the neighbourhood and share some recommendations and tips with you guys, I couldn’t refuse!

With great transportation links to the main London attractions and airports, and with many hotels to choose fromit is the perfect place to…

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A life update

Well hello there! It’s been a minute, hasn’t it?

Rachel Wolchin once said: “My entire life can be described in one sentence: It didn’t go as planned, and that’s okay”. This couldn’t have been more applicable to my life the past three months. So rather than extending this introduction just to meet a certain word count, let me get straight into it and give you a little life update!

Let’s…

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Riad Le Calife - Fez, Morocco

Riad Le Calife – Fez, Morocco

When planning our trip to Morocco, we knew we wanted to find the right balance between immersing ourselves in the buzz of the Moroccan cities, and unwinding on what was our first vacation since Christmas. We were also very keen to experience an authentic riad stay. So when finding Riad Le Califewe booked without hesitation, it offered both the genuine Moroccan experience and the haven of…

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Din Tai Fung - London

Din Tai Fung – London

If you are a bit familiar with London’s food scene or the global one you will have heard of Din Tai Fung. If you haven’t, let me bring you up to speed!

Originally from Taiwan, Din Tai Fung is specialised in baos and buns. Their signature dish is the xiaolongbao, or soup bao, which contains a broth and meat. Din Tai Fung does steamed dumplings so well that it’s Hong Kong branch was the first…

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Adopt Don't Shop - Adopting a rescue cat

Adopt Don’t Shop – Adopting a rescue cat

I have recently been a lot less active on the blog, one of the main reasons being I am pretty busy with work; but also our little cat Buffer got suddenly very ill. Nursing him was time consuming (and expensive!) but he is now much better, although left with some questionable shaved patches where the IV and blood tests were done.

This strong-minded ball of fur has been in our life for 6 years.…

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Kulu Kulu Sushi - London

Kulu Kulu Sushi – London

This post is not only a restaurant review, it is also a significant milestone for me! Kulu Kulu Sushi is my first ever sushi place recommendation!

Let’s rewind for a minute, back in 2006, I had a major anaphylactic shock, the type where I could have died if left untreated for another 30 minutes or so. I spent my time laughing at the state of my face (think balloon-like inflated) while the…

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Only Human at The National Portrait Gallery - London

Only Human at The National Portrait Gallery – London

On a grim morning, zombie-walking to the tube, something grabbed my attention. An explosion of colour in the middle of the very greige city. A colourful poster for Martin Parr’s Only Human exhibition at The National Portrait Gallery. It looked interesting and like the perfect thing to do during an April rainy weekend.

So I booked tickets online, and thank god I did! Even the queue to pick up…

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8 Korean Beauty Skincare Must-Buys

8 Korean Beauty Skincare Must-Buys

Some of the products featuring in this post were gifted by Yuuka House, but all views are my own.

It is no secret that I am very partial to Asian skincare. My passion must be contagious because one of my most read posts is the one I wrote on Japanese skincare must-buys. So today, I am taking you to another country, the beautiful South Korea, known for its 10-steps-plus K-Beauty skincare…

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Fishworks - London

Fishworks – London

On a cold and rainy February evening, Andrew and I headed to one of our favourite neighbourhoods in London, Marylebone, to celebrate my birthday. We were both keen to try a place we had noticed a while back, and using the excuse of me getting older we entered what looks like a regular fishmonger shop.

Andrew and I discovered Fishworksmonths before, when on one evening we wondered why people…

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Mamie's - London

Mamie’s – London

I used the excuse of Pancake Day last week to meet some friends at my favourite authentic French crêperie in London – Mamie’s.

What is a crêperie some of you may ask? Well, it does exactly what it says on the tin, it is a restaurant which only serves crêpes (and galettes!). Traditionally from Brittany, pretty much any city in France has a couple but in London it can be hard to find authentic…

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28-50 Wine Workshop - London

28-50 Wine Workshop – London

As a blogger, there are two things I need to think of when writing – the people and the machine. What are you guys interested in? What do you want to know? What should I share with you? But also, what do I need to feed the SEO algorithm beast? What is my word count? What are my targeted keywords?

To be completely honest it can be exhausting and at times it feels artificial and forced, mostly…

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Master bedroom - Reveal

Master bedroom – Reveal

Some of the products featuring in this post were gifted by Beautify, but all views are my own.

It took us almost three years, but finally, our master bedroom is complete! We decided when moving in to keep what was supposed to be the master bedroom with the en-suite as our guest bedroom. The main reason was that we loved the idea of waking up to views of our courtyard and were happy to…

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Bottomless Brunch at Ask For Janice - London

Bottomless Brunch at Ask For Janice – London

My friend Chloé and I are both February babies, so last weekend we decided to celebrate with a bottomless brunch. We looked for the best ones to try in London and after a bit of research on Google, it was clear Ask For Janice was a favourite of many, plus they didn’t charge an extortionate price (£35). So, on a very grey Saturday morning, I woke up bright and early and headed to Farringdon.

Si…

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Chotto Matte - London

Chotto Matte – London

You know these uber-trendy bars in movies? Where Will Smith hangs out in Hitch or Emily Blunt would go to in the Devil Wears Prada (some serious cinematographic references going on here…)? This is exactly how Chotto Mattelooks like when you enter. Everybody is polished and beautiful, the lights are dimmed, the music is trendy and slightly too loud, the interior decor is edgy, and in the middle…

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Make this Valentine's Day all about you!

Make this Valentine’s Day all about you!

Valentine’s Day has never been a thing for me. I first heard of it when I grew up watching episodes of Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. It eventually hit France like Halloween did, but the trend never really took off.

I am also a big believer that I don’t need an assigned day of the year to show my special person appreciation. So forget about Valentine’s, Galentine’s or Palentine’s, use this…

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