Snowing in October?!

We were busy getting ready to see Martha Wainwright at the Roundhouse last night when we had a little peak outside to see if we'd need to take a coat & look what we saw! It had snowed! Martha was fab & the support act, Angus & Julia Stone were great too. Her voice reminds me a lot of Hope Sandoval from Mazzy Star. Was a bit chilly on the way home though.

A Trip to Beckenham

We had a lovely afternoon visiting a friend, eating homemade soup & walking in the park. Got a great view of Battersea Power Station from the train too.

Socktober

Making a real effort to get through all that sock yarn now.

How to Lure Me into a Pub

Yes, with billboards like these the Dartmouth Arms will be seeing me very soon.

A Tourist in My Own City

We visit the National Gallery on Friday afternoon. London is full of great things to do for freen if you only put ypur mind to it. On the way out I take these snaps of Trafalgar Square. I never get bored of Trafalgar Square. Don't worry, Nelson's Column isn't really leaning. It's just my wonky photography.

Chaiwalla

We find out about a cafe in Hampstead that serves masala chai. They even serve it Indian style in the little disposable clay pots that you get at Indian railway stations. We can't resist the nostalgia trip & get some exercise by walking up there. Yummy samosas too!

Another Walk on the Heath

Making Pizza

Inspired by our trip to New York, we decide to have a go at making our own pizza dough. It's a lot of fun & not too difficult, much like bread baking. There wasn't much charismatic twirling though. Our topping was artichoke & red onion. Paul had mozzerella & I decide to experiement with vegan cheese (I'm considering veganism). It was actually quite tasty & it even melted. We'll definitely be doing this again.

Job Hunting

Yikes! Haven't done my CV for a long, long time. Hoping these will help.

More Bread Baking

My first loaf disappeared so quickly that I've baked again already. The spelt loaf I made was a little dry so I tried white flour with just a little bit of rye & some olive oil for moisture. Seemed to work a treat.

A Stroll on Hampstead Heath

Sunday was a great day for the walk on the Heath. All the leaves are turning. It really felt like autumn.

Veggie Sushi: My First Attempt

We had so much delicious food on our trip, especially while we were travelling in Asia. One of the good things about being home is trying to recreate some of it here. We tried making cucumber & avocado sushi rolls the other night. They were a little baggy & sometimes the filling was a little off to the side but they tasted pretty good. Pratice makes perfect.

And Part 2 ...

... Jewellery display.

Activities of the Unemployed Part 1: Cookie Cutter Arrangement

I've decided to approach the 'lack of storage space' issue in our flat in a more imaginative way. Today: cookie cutters as art. Went through a few of my favourites. Shown here are Moomintroll, Little My, a crab & some Sanrio characters complete with Japanese instructions.

A Great Way to Clear Your Sinuses

Well, it worked for me. Been trying to shake off this horrible cold for ages now. Food as medicine always sounds like a good idea.

The Results

Ta Da! Someone is rather eager for the bread to cool as quickly as possible.

Kneading & Rising

Oo, it felt good to do some kneading. A great way of getting all your frustration out on something that you can't injure.

Back to Bread

This may sound odd but one of the things that I was worried about when we decided to go travelling was what would happen to my bread starter. A kind friend gave me some of his about six months before we left and I'd been lovingly nurturing it with very pleasing results. Luckily Georgie stepped in & offered to feed my beloved Bob (that's his name) while we were away. I'm happy to report that he survived his separation from me very well, siring many loaves in my absence & has now given birth to Bertie who is happily growing back in Chorleywood.

Yesterday, I baked bread for the first time in over a year.

Here's Bob & the sponge I made with him bubbling away overnight.

How I'm Spending My Time

Assembling Ikea furniture & sipping cocktails (not at the same time, you understand).

Paul & I vowed when we were travelling that we would try to keep the spirit of fun & adventure in our everyday lives once we returned home. After reading far too much John Cheever we decided that one way to do this would be to keep a cocktail hour. So far so good. We're building up a repertoire of classic drinks starting with the lychee martini. It's going to be be pretty hard to top this one, I reckon.

The Party

Champagne was consumed, canapes nibbled & toes twinkled as we toasted the newlyweds.