Market Day

Husband & I made a quick stop at Brick Lane on Sunday as I'd read about a Australian/Vietnamese stall in the Upmarkets that makes banh mi. In Sydney all the good Vietnamese bakeries sell banh mi, which are pork rolls that are so simple yet so delicious that I never realised how much I loved them until I came to London and couldn't find them anywhere! Alas, it wasn't meant to be as we couldn't find the stall anywhere and my pork roll cravings are yet to be satisfied. We still ate some amazing food from the dozens of other stalls and also crammed in some Nutella crepes. I also couldn't pass a bakery stand that was stocked with macaroons without taking some home.

Afternoon Delight

Today was one of those lazy afternoons with nothing to do but make delicious cocktails with whatever was sitting on the drinks shelf! Husband had a vodka/rum/strawberry concoction while I stuck to a trusty champagne cocktail. We seem to have bought too many strawberries this week so they were a refreshing addition that made our drinks light and fruity (obviously this counts towards our five-a-day, right?)

Vodka Cocktail:
-1 shot Vodka
-1 shot coconut rum
-peach, mango & passionfruit juice
-splash of Grenadine
-muddled strawberries & crushed ice

Champagne Cocktail:
-champagne or prosecco
-1 shot coconut rum
-peach, mango & passionfruit juice
-muddled strawberries

Bellissimo!

Birthday Cupcake Love

There's always an excuse to bake cupcakes! This weekend the excuse was a birthday. I usually stick to pink or chocolate or cream cheese icing so I went for a pretty lavender shade this time. I could eat a dozen of these sugary pieces of air and still go back for more. I'm one of those crazy people you see in the mile-long line outside of The Hummingbird Bakery waiting to stuff my face with as many cupcakes as I can carry.

Can't Get Enough: Peonies

It's peony season, hooray! Peonies are available for what seems like about 2 hours every year and I absolutely love them and have to have them in my house as much as possible. They are so bright and beautiful and something about the way each bloom turns out different makes them seem so special. The colours are simply gorgeous and you can't help but be in good mood when theres peonies in the room.
I picked up a bunch from Borough Market today and also had to have these amazing dahlias aswell. Stunning.

Crochet Anyone?

After lusting over Kate Bosworth's festival style at Coachella a few weeks back, I'm desperately praying for something resembling sunshine & heat to arrive in town. No such luck just yet but you can still steal this look with topshop's crochet lines this spring- you may just have to team it with a biker jacket until the weather hots up!

(photo: JustJared)

Kings of Neon

All through the colder months (which is about 10 and a half months out of 12 in London) I lived in my almost-blacks/deep purples/grey nail polishes. Then as the frost slowly faded I was addicted to my taupe/mushroom/beige variants of colours. Now that summer is apparently, almost, just around the corner (I'm still not convinced) I've been really into all the neon ranges of colours that have had a resurgence since last year and popped up on-line and in stores.
These are the kind of shades that when you see on someone else you just have to have it immediately, then get home and try it on and are not so sure you can pull it off. I've tried a few and although after an hour of wandering around the house in a state of self-doubt, something clicks and I am totally in love! The kind of love where you glance down to see the absolutely amazing colour on your nails every 0.8 seconds. I've been wearing my neons quite a bit and still can't get enough. Make sure to keep nails really short though, hyper-colour talons are NOT a good look. Be aware of your clothing if you're doing neon nails, stick to neutral colours and definitely only pick nails or toes to bear these shades or else risk looking like an fluorescent 80's throwback.

Dim Sum. Yum.

With an extra day off this weekend and still slightly suffering from a two-day old hangover (a sign we're getting old..?) Husband and I took the chance to visit our favourite dim sum place. To be honest, any kind of establishment where your food starts to arrive approximately 4 minutes after you order it is usually pretty high on my list. Its always a good indication how good the food is in a restaurant by how many locals eat there and this is definitely the case with Imperial China. There's certainly more Cantonese voices to be heard than English ones and this just adds to the amazing authentic atmosphere.
We had pork buns, calamari, steamed prawn dumplings (I would eat these all day and night if I could), Singapore noodles and egg tarts. The food is amazing, cheap and super fast. Winner!

Wedged In

If you haven't already jumped on the wedge trend bandwagon this season... what are you waiting for?!? If you hurry you can still catch that wagon before if leaves town forever leaving you behind to eat it's fashion-savy dust!
There are so many great styles around at the moment of the wedge/clog/mule variation that there's definitely something for everyone's taste. I love how it's a great way for the somewhat height-challenged like me to get away with wearing a heel casually in the day without looking too OTT, plus extra points for a wood-effect heel!

Topshop

 

Jil Sander

  

Carvela

 

Alexander Wang

Asos

Topshop

Weekday Fiesta

                                     

Ive always been great mates with Mexican food, we go way back. You might say I'm a chilli-fanatic. But I wanted to make something different from the usual suspects (that means you Mr Fajita/ Taco/ Burrito). Last night I made a Mexican soup with chicken and heaps of avocado and coriander (here) that was pretty amazing.

Husband didn't look very impressed when I initially told him we were having soup for dinner but he love love loved it too. Enjoy with potent margaritas or fruity sangria = success!
Definitely making this again soon.

Tea For Two

On a recent trip to Copenhagen to visit family, I came across a very cute idea of spring flowers sprouting out of dainty teacups. These were part of a display in Royal Copenhagen department store to celebrate easter and looked so pretty and quirky all sprawled out across a dining table set with fancy dinnerware and huge tree branches with random decorations.
I attempted to try something similar for our table at home. I bought a couple of hyacinth bulbs for £1 at the flower market and re potted them in two tiny teacups from a home ware store. Although my cups and saucers are far less fancy than the ones in Copenhagen, I think they are quite a cute addition to our house.

In The Borough

One of my favourite places in London (or anywhere!) is Borough Market. It really is heaven for foodies or those suffering a painful Saturday morning hangover. Its so nice to wander around and look at all the amazing food and produce (I am proficient in the art of free samples!). This weekend we took a trip to satisfy our carnivore cravings and bask in the soon-to-disappear sunshine. We started off with giant lattes and as much sugar as our stomachs could cope with that early in the morning (I have a ridiculously over-sized sweet tooth).
I had to have the too-cute macaroons, my newest obsession, and husband had the lemon meringue tart.
Both were a sugary delight.