Wonderful Weekend

I decided to extend the already long bank holiday weekend by taking Friday and Monday off. On Friday I ventured out to the country to stay with a friend and her beautiful 7 month old baby. We kicked off with lunch at the local farm shop and then headed to Wellington Country Park for a walk around the lake. Although we were waterproofed and wellied up to the max the rain thankfully stayed away.

We finished off the day with a film - Morning Glory - and I can quite honestly say it is one of the worst films I have EVER seen in my life!

The weekend carried on in the same laid back vein with brunch at Baker & Spice in Chelsea. I've not been there for quite some time so I was pleased that the food is still as good as I remember.

With my tummy full of scrambled eggs I set off to Poole in Dorset to see my Mum and Dad. We had a lovely walk along the quay and around the old town before indulging in fish and chips on the harbour wall. Why is it that Fish and Chips always taste best by the sea?! On Monday morning we attempted to go into Swanage, but the bank holiday traffic had other ideas...so we ended up in Tyneham. The history behind Tyneham is absolutely fascinating, it was taken over by the army during WWII to be used as a firing range and the villagers have never been allowed back. As well as this incredibly sad story Tyneham also boasts one of the most beautiful coves (in

my opinion!) in the Purbecks.

To round out my very long weekend my sister and her boyfriend came over for brunch this morning and I tried out a Nigella recipe on them both - Baked Croque Monsieur...I think they liked it!

Pretty Perfect

My Boyfriend (affectionately known as The Boy) arrived home from a short business trip to Versailles and he came bearing gifts!

Firstly the September issue of French Vogue which came with an exclusive Vogue's Fashion Night Out t-shirt. Fashion night out is September 8th this year. I'll be away in sunny Tenerife otherwise I would be there with bells on!

He also brought me back the gorgeous smelling L'Occitane Cherry Blossom bath & shower gel

Guess I better get a French-English dictionary so I can read the mag in the bath!

On top of these wonderful gifts I was also lucky enough to be taken to lunch at The River Cafeyesterday. I have been a couple of times before and it is a real treat...the food is always perfect. Yesterday I started with a buffalo mozzarella starter, followed by the most divine salmon with courgette fritti. By this point I was close t bursting, but you cannot go to River Cafe and not have their chocolate nemesis...even if you only have a bite!

A yummy lunch plus pressies from the boy plus the sun making an appearance equals a pretty perfect day!

Monday Night Pizza

I find going out to dinner on a Monday after work is one the most perfect ways to start the week...it gives you something to look forward to on that most difficult of work days. This Monday I headed to The Oak with two of my girlfriends. We had a delicious dinner of pizzas with wine and we even managed to squeeze in a little dessert...it would be rude not to right! You can't book a table at The Oak, but that gave us the perfect excuse to leave the office on time!

Sunny Saturday

I had a fantastic day at the cricket yesterday the sun was shining so much I even got a bit of a burnt nose...opps! The cricket was followed by catching up with old friends over a delicious home made middle eastern feast.

Today I got up early(ish) to see another friend and her gorgeous daughter. This was followed by a trip to Staples, Ikea, Hobbycraft and the supermarket. I finally got some plain white leaver arch files to replace the mish mash of files I've been collecting. In Ikea I picked up a lovely heavy set of velvet curtains to use as a front to my wardrobe...they are going to need to be taken up a little before I can hang them, fingers crossed I don't mess them up. I picked up some cross stitchfabric and thread at Hobbycraft. I am planning to make a glasses case.

I've been getting on with all my chores today listening to the radio on my brand new Roberts revival radio...I am obsessed with it!

In between all this running around I did manage to make myself a fairly healthy lunch of roasted peppers. I followed this recipe from Simon Hopkinson's The Good Cook...yums!

It's Just Not Cricket

Well today it is! I'm off to my first ever cricket match at The Oval. Even though I don't really understand the rules of cricket I have no doubt it is going to be a cracking day out and by a stroke of luck it has finally stopped raining...hooray! Now what to wear....?!

Starting Over

So, here I am starting over again and this time I hope to be a little more regular if you get my drift! The aim of this endeavour is to be a record of all the things I love and some random musings. I am kicking off with my dinner today! Courtesy of the lovely Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's River Cottage Eveyrday - hot new potato salad with bacon and onions. I savoured every delicious mouthful. It is the perfect sofa supper for one.

This tasty treat gave me the required energy to tackle a job that had been waiting for a few days...re-organising my book shelves! I had bought a couple extra shelves for my billy bookcase (www.ikea.com) to give me more shoe display room and I have to say I am pretty pleased with the result. Not a great picture, but you get the idea!

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