A Sunday Stroll Down Portobello Road

In an effort to pack everything I can into our last days in London, I've decided to go see some of my favorite places before we leave. So, on a cloudy Sunday afternoon, I talked (bribed) Mark into jumping on the tube and riding into town to take a long walk down Portobello Road in Notting Hill.

Sadly, no Hugh Grant sightings (although as a side note, my boss, Jo,  did see him in his Ferrari near our office so we are on high alert). Portobello Market goes into full swing on Saturdays so we missed the main event, luckily, tons of the shops were still open  with a few market stalls hanging out for any Sunday stragglers. Like any good London tourist spot, there is a sprinkling of cheap tat shops selling every version of a red bus and black cab you can think of. But, if you're carry on you can discover some truly lovely antique and vintage shops to get lost in. Two or three of the vintage stores have some of the best known designer gear, mostly in pretty good shape. Unfortunately, most of it is still out of my budget (vintage Dior bag or a baby stroller..) so we quickly moved on to the more affordable but no less interesting shop next door with shelves upon shelves of trinkets from days long ago. I always find myself looking through these places like I do a museum, hoping that I'll spot that one piece that everyone else has missed hiding amongst the others. Each piece of jewelry holds a story, maybe a gift from a lover,  the old flask a soldier may have used when he returned from the war or the old typewriter that could have helped to write your favorite book. I'm a bit of a romantic, can you tell?

Here's some snaps from our day out..

 Mark perusing some photos

 Every type of door knob you could want

 

Pizza shop window display

 

No idea why, but we both really liked this piece, so we took it home.

 

Trying to decide what's next on the list as we only have FOURTEEN days left!!!

Hope you are all having a lovely week.

H x

Oh Pinterest, You and Your Sweet Temptations

I'm no Martha Stewart, this isn't news to those who know me, but I do occasionally break out the old apron and make a mess in my kitchen. Most of the time I end up with something edible, sometimes something even palatable, and if I get really lucky something delicious. To be fair, I'm getting better with time and when I was between jobs I actually really enjoyed cooking with more than my microwave. Now, I'm lucky to get home from work before it's dark outside so we generally opt for something quick and easy, but days like today, a lazy Saturday afternoon, I decided to try one of the recipes I saw on Pinterest that had my mouth watering.

I'd like to say I chose one of the gazillion healthy recipes I've pinned, but I'm pregnant, and I'll bake cookies if I want to, OK? You may have pinned the same one, it links to the Ambitious Kitchen blog that I'm super excited I've found as Monique, the lovely lady behind the blog, has posted some really good recipes I can't wait to try. (click here to check it out)

Here's the recipe, for anyone who might have a sweet tooth. This is exactly as seen on Ambitious Kitchen so all credit, of course, goes to Monique.

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt, plus more for sprinkling
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ¾ cup peanut butter at room temperature (I used all natural creamy, unsalted)
• ¾ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon plain greek yogurt
• 1½ cups chocolate chips (I used mini chocolate chips

  Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the flour, the baking soda, the baking powder, cinnamon, and the salt. Set aside.
2. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. The butter will begin to foam. Make sure you whisk consistently during this process. After a couple of minutes, the butter will begin to brown on the bottom of the saucepan. Continue to whisk and remove from heat as soon as the butter begins to brown and give off a nutty aroma. Immediately transfer the butter to a bowl to prevent burning. Set aside to cool for a few minutes.
3. With an electric mixer, mix the brown butter and peanut butter together until thoroughly blended. Add the sugars and beat until smooth. Next beat in the egg, vanilla, and yogurt until combined. Add the dry ingredients slowly and beat on low-speed just until combined. Gently stir in the chocolate chips. Chill dough in refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (about 180 degrees C).
5. Once ready to bake, scoop tablespoon balls of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets or baking sheets lined with parchment paper leaving extra room (1-2 inches) between cookies as they will spread when baked. Use a fork to lightly (very lightly!) indent dough with a criss-cross pattern. Sprinkle cookies generously with sea salt.
6. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until cookies begin to turn golden brown and crisp up around the edges. Do not overbake! Remove from oven and let cool on cookie sheet for 3-5 minutes, then remove and place on cooling rack.

 Enjoy!!

H x

Rockaby Baby

 

One of the biggest things that attracted Mark and I when we first met was our love for music. He introduced me to a world of tunes I may never have discovered on my own and in return I've given him an education in Country music and Hip Hop-good trade off? You decide..

We've been playing some of our favorites for our little bundle of joy so he can have an early start in good music, everything from the Beatles to Kasabian to Classical medleys. I know kids love that mind numbing, repetitive stuff most parents play on repeat for a bit of peace but we're secretly hoping our little guy will inherit our love for an eclectic array of our favorites.

So, we've decided to make playlists for the boy, the first on the list are the Lullaby's. I got out a pen and paper on our last road trip and we started what is sure to be a continuous work in progress.

Here's what will be lulling the little man to sleep (even though rumor has it they don't do that as often as we'd like)

The Beatles: Blackbird

Damien Rice: Aimee

Elbow: Build a Rocket Boys

Laura Marling: Goodbye England

Parachute: She Is Love

Kings of Leon: Use Somebody

Adele: Lovesong, Crazy for You

Ben Howard: His latest album is pretty much a lullaby

Bon Iver: Skinny Love

The Civil Wars: Most of songs on their albums

Coldplay:Amsterdam

Fink: If Only

James Morrison: The Last Goodbye

Oasis: Champagne Supernova 

Frank Sinatra: Fly Me to the Moon

Dave Matthews Band: Typical Situation

Angus & Julia Stone: You're the One That I Want

Bob Marley: Redemption Song

 

It was hard to stop writing the list for the purposes of this blog, 'just one more..'. M and I have turned off our tv and are working our way through our iTunes library, this could take a while...

Any suggestions?

H x

And a very Happy Birthday to you!

I would be a very bad wife if I didn't use this opportunity to wish my husband a very Happy Birthday. The big 3-5 this year! The year you will leave your home to move to the United States, sacrificing your coveted Arsenal season ticket. The year you will become a father to a little boy who already loves you so much he bounces around like crazy when he hears your voice. The year we will celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and start a life as three instead of two.

Happy Birthday xxx

 

We celebrated with some very good friends at a nice little Italian restaurant off of Oxford Street. Very good friends that we will be very sad to leave.


H x

Mommy Wars

So, let me just start this post by saying childbirth was not something I have dreamed of all my life. I was actually planning on a childless existence filled with tons of traveling and a high powered career in a corner office with an assistant to bring me a Soy Vanilla Latte, two sugars, not too hot, not too cold, etc etc. Life has a way of changing your plans and when I met Mark and we fell in love (cue the sappy background music...) I could actually picture a life with as a mom that didn't scare the hell out of me. And now here we are....

To be honest, I didn't start preparing for the future baby C until we'd actually conceived. I've bought a few books and browsed TONS of baby blogs, and, of course, downloaded a handful of iPhone apps, but I still feel absolutely clueless. The one thing that I have consistently found across my research is the 'Mommy Wars', the mother clubs who devote the time they aren't spending raising the perfect child, writing their My-Way-or-You're-a-terrible-mother blogs about how to raise the perfect child.

Now, don't get me wrong, I often solicit advice and it's very much appreciated, BUT these women are not giving advice. They are telling you that if you do not do what they do you should not be a mother. From Breast feeding to potty training these ladies are nothing short of bullies really.

I was sitting in the salon the other day when a woman came in with her baby, clearly distraught. She was running from a crowd of angry mothers who cornered her in a coffee shop because she was feeding her baby...wait for it...FORMULA (gasppppp!) The woman, actually couldn't breast feed, but even if she could, IT'S HER DECISION. To each their own, I say. As long as you're raising a healthy and happy child, then carry on.

Stepping off my soap box now, I just encourage everyone to be a little less judgmental and a little more supportive, Lord knows, we all need it.

*End of rant*

H x