An English countryside getaway

So this was the first trip away with the in-laws (yes very daunting, I know). We decided to head to the Cotswolds for a few nights away and escape London Town. The first couple of nights we stayed at Gloucester at a Leisure retreat. The first day we strolled around the golf course and enjoyed the most gorgeous views of the English country side. I loved walking around the course (that was until after the first nine holes I realised we were only half way through and there was another nine to go!). This place was special to Joe because when he was growing up this was the place that he and his family would go for an annual holiday. All year they would look forward to the holiday, so I think he and his brother were a little anxious about returning. The place had been renovated over the years and had changed considerably, I think this was a little bit of a let down for them. Its just like anything else you remember when you were little; it’s never going to be as amazing as it was years ago. I felt proud to be there though, to see a little part of Joe’s childhood.

Never the less after two nights at Gloucester we were ready to say adios to Joe parentals and make a move to Painswick queen of the Cotswolds. This little quaint village was just what you would imagine a little chocolate box village to look like. It was kept in pristine condition by the proud locals, unlike the locals sauntering around London they would actually smile at you in the streets. My stay at Painswick really made me think I have adapted to the London ways more than I had thought. The quiet streets after 9pm made me feel uneasy, Joe and I had gone for a late night stroll and felt guilty for whispering to each other because it felt like we were shouting at each other. We stayed in a beautiful B&B ran by a semi retired finance worker from Australia and an eccentric ex art collecting wife. We instantly felt at home as soon as they both sat us down for a chat over tea and home made chocolate brownies. We had a long chat about the history of the house and why they loved having people come to stay with them. The house was covered from head to toe with dark and emotional baroque style paintings. I took pleasure in observing these paintings during the day, but at night the place felt like a haunted house!

After a weekend of over sleeping/eating/drinking we were ready to head back to London, and for the first time since I’ve lived in London I was excited to get home to our warm little flat!

Here's to another year London!

So I have just passed my year anniversary of moving to London, and it does get you revaluating your goals and dreams! A year ago I was waving goodbye to my friends and family with my big backpack on ready to discover the world! Well it has been a crazy year indeed! Starting from scratch and setting my life up in London has been a great rewarding adventure. It’s something I never thought I would be able to do. Of course I’ve had help and support from my lovely family back home.

Here’s to another year London!

xxx

Subway salad

So this is a recipe that I made up using fridge treasures. It’s a great side salad for any dish, but is also tasty enough to pack for lunch the next day. I call this salad the subway salad because to me it tastes exactly like my favourite sub!

Ingredients

·        1 bag of mixed lettuce

·        Half a red onion diced

·        2 medium carrots, grated

·        A handful of mozzarella cheese, grated

·        3 tomatoes wedged

·        (and the secret ingredient) 3 large pickles diced

For the Dressing (Sub ranch)

·         1 half a cup of thick olive oil

·         1 teaspoon of salt

·         1 teaspoon of pepper

·         1 table spoon of mayonnaise

·         1 table spoon red wine vinegar

·         1 table spoon of mustard (English)

Preparation method

In a small bowl whisk together olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, mayo and mustard. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together lettuce, red onion, carrot, cheese, pickles and tomatoes toss to combine. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy! And just a little tip- add the dressing before serving- you don’t want to end up with a salad soup!

Dinner with the Donaghys

This week we invited Joe’s parents to come over for a home cooked dinner. We were a little excited to have them over for the first time be fair. They arrived and we served bruschetta and vegetable soup to start and then the main course was ready to go. Joe had prepared brie stuffed chicken wrapped in streaky bacon. It’s always nice for parents to see their kids all grown up and able to cook a meal without burning the house down. I love doing little dinners like this because family time is very important to me.  

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend !

The things that make me smile today in the office

So today I’m day dreaming of the little things in life that make me want to quit work today and go do tomorrow.

I hope I made A few people smile today!

I can not believe I missed this!

When I used to catch the tube every day to work I always hoped something amazing/exciting/fabulous would happen. It can get very repetitive if you’re not one of those 10000s of people obsessed with game of throwns/52 shades of grey. Sure the occasional crazy man would get on and start yelling at random people, but nothing like a bunch of pandas rinding their way to work. I’m not going to lie, when that crazy man started yelling it made me smile, it almost made me want to get up and start yelling with him.

Because sometimes every day life needs a crazy yelling man <3

Joes Birthweek/Birthday

So this week has been extremely busy!! I feel like I haven’t taken the time to wind down after returning from my crazy trip to Amsterdam. I returned back to work as soon as I arrived back into London wich was hard enough. I had about three weeks of washing piling up at home. My hair needed washing and to tip it off I try and be good and go to the gym straight after work (which puts me even futher behind). It was mY friend Elles birthday so I took her out for a birthday dinner for at Azteca latin lounge and enjoyed some well deserved street tacos after a long hard workout.

The following day it was Joes Birthday so I took him out for a seafood dinner at Cape town Fish Market, Oxford Circus. We started off with the Oysters and then followed with a massive cold/hot seafood platter for two. Having seafood in London is a Luxury (even though we live on an Island) it seams to be lacking in quality and set at such a high price it’s bloody ridiculous.  On Friday Joe decided he wanted to go bowling with all of his friends. So we all heading to the Bloomsbury bowling centre. I absolutely loved this place! The music was fantastic and every one was having a ball. It was like when you used to have those bowling parties when you were five but this time alcohol was in the picture. Lets just say that the dancing scene from Dirty dancing was replicated that night…. A few times…

Over all such a great weekend with great friends! And to Joe- I promise one day Ill get you a pug for your birthday and we WILL call him Pickles J x

http://www.ctfm.com/home//

http://www.bloomsburybowling.com/