fourzerofive

travel // east side gallery, berlin

2012-01-31T00:32:00.002Z

I've been (finally!) posting my Berlin weekend on my travel blog, but I have too many photos from the East Side Gallery for one post, so I'm putting them up here! In case you can't tell from how many layers I'm wearing... it was cold!

Love this one!

links // link it

2012-01-27T23:57:00.000Z

Cambridge

My friend Jess is a very talented designer and you might remember the personalised stationery I gave two of my best friends as a wedding gift? Anyway, she wrote up a lovely post about it on her blog truth.be.told.

Katie Allen wrote about receiving her grandmother's crafty stuff.

Dice for change.

Free high quality fonts. I just went nuts.

Interesting take on the Marilyn meme! Maybe it's not as empowering for women as you think...

I thought I had more cool links... but I don't... Watch this space! I'm sure there'll be more!

food // heston's duck breast

2012-01-27T10:40:00.000Z

I've never cooked duck before, but I found Heston Blumenthal's recipe for duck breast and decided I'd try it out on my friends. It was really very simple to follow and it worked perfectly! I highly recommend. Nom nom nommms. Oh, and we also whipped up some home made pesto. Lemon juice was our secret ingredient!

party // 25th birthday

2012-01-26T23:01:00.000Z

Sooo... it was my quarter century birthday last week and I threw myself a party in our living room. I'd spent months on a playlist picking the funnest, trashiest songs, so people would either say "oh YESSS this song!" or groan and say "oh nooo, this song". I thought I'd share my playlist since I got lots of compliments on it! Coolio's Gangster Paradise came on and all of a sudden the room was full of white guys rapping, Blink 182 turned everybody into headbangers and we all half-screamed along to Anastacia's I'm Outta Love. So much fun!

I received some cookbooks, a lovely Italian red bag which I'm sure will make an appearance on here at some point, and a whole bunch of friends bought me a 3 month photography course!! Jon was given the same one for his birthday so we get to do it together. I've been wanting to take one for ages, but just not got around to spending the money and booking myself into one. The decision has been made for me and I'm stoked! Thanks friends!

Some interpretive living room dancing at about 3am

berlin // cloud cities by tomas saraceno

2012-01-26T01:22:00.000Z

Can you see us?

This is the baby sphere

And this is the sphere we crawled around in

The ladder stairs were possibly the scariest part

You could sit underneath the sphere and watch people crawl around

I've finally started blogging about my Berlin trip last month and since I took so many photos at the Cloud Cities exhibition, I thought I'd share them here. It was amazing! The work that went into each sphere and they were all held by ropes attached all over the room. The height of the sphere we crawled around in... 6 metres doesn't sound that high but when you're up there, my gosh it's high! I'm so glad I insisted we went!

food // photo dump

2012-01-17T20:19:00.000Z

// 01 bagels from Columbia Cafe on Columbia Road

// 02 breakfast - muesli, blueberries, blackberries, pomegranate seeds & soy latte

// 03 chocolate & peanut butter cupcakes

// 04 home made pizza for Jon's birthday

// 05 Ladurée Friday sweet treats

// 06 Ladurée nom noms

// 07 Laura decorating her cupcakes

// 08 More cupcake decorating

food // ottolenghi

2012-01-15T17:22:00.001Z

I went to Ottolenghi for the first time with some friends and man oh man, I'll be going back and buying one of their cookbooks! We had to wait a while to seat our party of 6, but the staff were very accommodating and gave us our coffees while we waited.

Fresh mint tea.

Laura's French cinnamon toast.

My scrambled eggs (look at the colour!) and smoked salmon.

Pete & Laura.

list // things to do

2012-01-15T11:17:00.002Z

I don't often write down resolutions, but I'm only living in London until October and there's some things I definitely want to do!

THINGS TO DO IN 2012

Travel to: Prague, Spain, Croatia, and maybe Denmark, and NYC on my way home.

The first three are places I really want to go to and a friend suggested going to Copenhagen for the Queen's Jubilee long weekend (four days!) so I might just do that too...

Have you got any suggestions for other places I should visit?

Take more film photography

I've bought 3 film cameras since being in London and I'm yet to get any film developed for... well, any of them! Must must must increase film photography this year.

I've embarrassingly come to a stop in my list. It's not a very big list is it?

cooking // aubergine & red lentil curry

2012-01-09T14:03:00.003Z

Aubergine and Red Lentil Curry

Hello! To kickstart this year I'm going to lose 5kg and I've joined my local gym. Here I come cardio and strength classes and Saturday morning yoga! It's not that I'm terribly overweight, but I've stopped feeling good about the foods I'm eating and how I feel about myself. So now I'm calorie counting and keeping a food diary and it's amazing how less likely I am to eat something "bad" when I have an app to keep track of all my food intake. I'm eating the right amount of calories, but now it's a matter of making sure I'm eating all the healthy calories. I keep being under for Vitamins A and C, Fibre, Calcium and Iron. And today I'm under for my Carbs too!

Anyway, I just wanted to share this recipe I've already used twice in the past week. My old housemates gave me a 1kg bag of red lentils and my current household is under an unofficial Red Lentil January Challenge, haha. This is the delicious Aubergine and Red Lentil Curry recipe from the delicious magazine website:

AUBERGINE & RED LENTIL CURRY

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large aubergine, cut into chunks

1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced

3 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp mild chilli powder

1 onion, chopped

1 tsp black mustard seeds

2 tbsp your favourite medium curry paste

150g dried red lentils

450ml vegetable stock

Handful of chopped fresh coriander

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan170°C/gas 5. Place 1 large aubergine, cut into chunks, and 1 green pepper, deseeded and sliced, in a shallow roasting tin. Drizzle with 3 tbsp vegetable oil and sprinkle with 1 tsp mild chilli powder. Stir well to coat, then bake for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
2. Meanwhile, in a pan, gently fry 1 onion, chopped, for 5 minutes, until soft. Add 1 tsp black mustard seeds and cook until they pop, then stir in 2 tbsp your favourite medium curry paste.
3. Stir in 150g dried red lentils and 450ml vegetable stock and simmer for 15-20 minutes, until the lentils are tender.
4. Stir in a handful chopped fresh coriander and the pepper and aubergine.

mixtapes // summer lovin'

2012-01-06T17:36:00.002Z

summer lovin' from fourzerofive on 8tracks.

I created this playlist on 8tracks for the Sportsgirl competition. Judging from the other entries I've got some stiff competition, but there'd be a slim chance of me winning anyway! So check it out... some of my favourite tracks that put me in a summery mood. Not that it's summer where I am. London's not too cold though!

music // the suburbians

2012-01-04T00:22:00.000Z

Just before Christmas, one of my friends invited me to a gig headlined by her friends' band, The Suburbians. I wasn't really feeling like going out and was going to go home after work to DIY my boots, but then my friend sent me a link to their YouTube channel and I was listening to it for the rest of the afternoon! Their music is a bit more rock than what I usually listen to, but I was impressed by Mark's voice and had a feeling they'd be good live. Yup. Amazing live! They're also super dooper nice guys.

They headlined a festival in Canada or the USA and received so much support that they're doing a big tour there very soon too. I've already offered them a place to crash when they tour Australia because I think they're bound to get there soon. Maddy you should come and stay too!

And here's their amazing cover of Ed Sheeran's The A Team:

nail art // xmas & new years eve eve

2012-01-03T00:39:00.001Z

Sooo... I got a bit fancy for with nail art for Christmas and New Years Eve Eve.

Okay, so I know pandas aren't technically Christmassy, but I just love pandas!

My NYEE nails. I did these myself and it was surprisingly easy!

Lisa's nails

Laura's nails

instagram // christmas and new years

2012-01-02T15:44:00.000Z

So I guess I should talk about Christmas and New Years before I forget and before it seems like old news! Christmas Eve Eve was spent having a mini dinner before Craig left for Australia (see cheeseboard no 1 above).

I got a cat ice cube/jelly shot tray!

A bunch of us lined up early for the Christmas Carol Service at St Paul's. It was the first time I'd been inside and it was beautiful, as was the service. There's just something about choirs that gets me every time!

Then it was back to my home away from home in London (C&J's) to start prepping for Christmas lunch! This is Brussels Sproutin'.

C&J gave me a beautiful framed vintage Chanel print too!

The veggies I did - red cabbage, Brussels sprouts and Heston Blumenthal roast potatoes, and the Oreo truffles that Mrs Claus made. Yes, we had Mr and Mrs Claus as Christmas guests! They're a lovely couple from Arkensas.

C's pudding.

Cheeseboard no 2!

SJ & A came to visit for a couple of days and as they're vegan, we went to my favourite vegetarian/vegan place near my old house - The Gallery Cafe!

Giant onion.

NEW YEARS

My eggplant and goat's cheese roulade.

K's snowman.

We went out on New Years Eve Eve to Koko for Buttoned Down Disco's club night and they had lots of giant balloons!

And on actual New Years Eve I went to 2 parties and caught the bus home.

Hope everyone had a lovely festive season! I'm back to work tomorrow... back to reality!

toys // nano block panda

2011-12-29T22:19:00.000Z

My friend bought a nano block panda for her boyfriend for Christmas and was sending me photos of it. I happened to be in Paul Smith today and saw one. I had to have it!! So here's the process of my nano panda construction over the course of about half an hour... the pieces are just teeny tiny.

Excuse my bad hair, but this photo is more for relative size!

party // mad men halloween

2011-12-24T10:38:00.001Z

So it's almost Christmas and I'm just posting about Halloween. It was just before I moved into my house, but me and my new housemates had a Halloween party with the theme of... yep, you guessed it from the title of the post - Mad Men! So we all frocked up in our Sunday best and I finally got to bust out my vintage hat I bought in Glasgow. I made tea sandwiches - cucumber and egg of course - and we made some Halloween fairy bread in the shape of pumpkins and cats. FUN NIGHT.

food // neal's yard dairy

2011-12-23T15:16:00.001Z

I've been put in charge of cheese for Christmas and due to unforeseen family circumstances our Christmas party is smaller than it was meant to be. We're having a mini Christmas dinner tonight before Craig flies to Australia tomorrow.

Now, you need to know a little something about me and my friend Craig. We love cheese. I mean LOVE cheese. Try and separate us from the cheese board at any event. I have no self control when it comes to good cheese. So I wasn't surprised when I had to wait for 20 minutes at Neal's Yard Dairy.

I did get to try a LOT of cheese. Cheese lovers visiting/living/breezing through London you simply must go and visit and sample and BUY! I went a bit nuts and spent £30 on 6 cheeses. 6 amazing cheeses.

So I hope there'll be some left for Christmas day after Craig and I attack them tonight!

(Prayers and thoughts for C, J and B's families!)

music // laura k

2011-12-22T12:58:00.000Z

So I live with a bunch of incredibly talented, super nice and hilarious people. I already did a post about baking extraordinaire Laura M, and today's post is about singer/songwriter/keyboardist (amongst other instruments) Laura K!

Ain't she gorgeous?

Laura's currently in a band - Tigercats - and they've been playing all over the UK and Spain. I know, freaking cool right?

She also does solo music - which I love! - and released an EP a little while ago through ePop. Check it out, along with a photo interview (coolest idea ever) here. We're hoping she's going to record an album soon!

TIGERCATS
Let's play Spot the Laura!

ROMAN HISTORY

And this is a vid I took ages ago of one of Laura's old bands back in Brisbane - Roman History. They did a cover of The Strokes' You Only Live Once.

christmas // happy xmas

2011-12-21T12:17:00.000Z

I made this a couple of years ago using the lyrics from one of my favourite Christmas songs...

style // viparo leather skirt

2011-12-20T01:14:00.001Z

I'm back from Berlin! So tired but it's currently past 1am. Why does this always happen?

Anyway, if any of you follow the fab Soph at owlvsdove, you might remember her Viparo leather skirt giveaway. Well, I was the lucky winner! I promised Soph I'd do an outfit shot, but never really got around to doing one - and I wear it at least once a week at the moment. So here's one I took last week. (And I wore it in Berlin - of course!)

Um, and if you're not following Soph for some reason... do it! We're also tossing our #mildlyhipsterproblems back and forth on Twitter. Tell us yours! Twitter tweet tweet: Me and Soph on Twitter.

links // link it

2011-12-16T10:54:00.001Z

Taken in Cambridge - we had lunch there. SO pretty.

I'm off to Berlin at stupid o'clock tomorrow. I expect I'll sleep on the plane and need a lot of coffee when I arrive! Here's some links I've been hoarding...

Barbie's measurements on an actually lady - so scary
Valentino virtual museum
Yay! Marni for H&M
Interactive Steve Jobs timeline
Really awesome typewriter
Some really really crazy shoes - I'd actually wear the orange chopsticks and maybe the swan heels
Incredible book art
Office design inspiration

fashion & shopping // THE ICONIC

2011-12-15T14:47:00.000Z

Attention Australian readers, friends, family, cats & dogs!

I was recently contacted by THE ICONIC, who are a brand spankin' new online store in Australia. Unfortunately they don't ship overseas yet so I can't order anything while I'm in London (sad face). They're stocking the latest fashions and some rad brands like Ellery, Ben Sherman, Fleur Wood, Ksubi, MINKPINK, Tony Bianco (my favourite pair of peep toes!) and White Suede. One of the most amazing (and possibly crazy) things about them is that they can deliver in three hours if you live in Sydney. That is totally nuts!

THE ICONIC is also doing a little something special for Christmas... a $50 gift voucher if you spend a minimum of $99. Let's face it, it's pretty easy to do! I'm eyeing off some of the shoes in particular... I could always get them shipped to a friend in Australia right? Anyway, see the below code if you'd like to get in on the action...

They're also doing a competition with the prize being a $1000 voucher to spend. Check out their Facebook for more details here.

christmas // a gingerbread, erm, love story

2011-12-14T00:58:00.000Z

My friend Jon was posting these photos, accompanied by hilarious captions, on Instagram. I immediately demanded (yep, not asked, demanded) that he send them all to me so I could post them on the world wide web. Hilarious!

Note the Tiffany's couple from the upper east side. Little does she know that he's cheating with her best friend.

However after she left her cheating husband, like those before her, she sued him and ended up with a bracelet, necklace and a killer tan. And a Hermès belt.

In the meantime he had moved on to experimenting at the local homosexual club where he met men of all different colours. But all the same shape.

Soon his weekends became routine. Clubs full of faceless bodies. How ever was he to find love? And would she ever find love while spending her divorce settlement?!

He finally found love in the name of Rico. Rico enjoyed playing tennis with his shirt off and in his sparkly headband. Rico also enjoyed body piercings and long walks on the beach.

She found love in a billionaire named Stirling while shopping at Tiffany's. Yes his eye and mouth were slightly conjoined, but what were looks when money, I mean love was involved?! They married the next week and settled in Bora Bora.

He and Rico married the next week under New York's new gay marriage laws. Unfortunately it was ruined due to an inexplicable mob of tourists from the far east... He and Rico were briefly separated but found each other when the mob had passed. They vowed never to leave each other's side.

She returned to Manhattan from Bora Bora after a hasty divorce from Stirling... As hasty as her marriage to Stirling had been. Apparently a conjoined mouth and eyes had its issues. But as she gazed out from her Upper East Side apartment, she realised there were plenty more diamond studded fish in the sea. While Carrie Breadshaw wrote her sad single person articles, our Manhattan girl had married twice and now lived like a queen. She cheered up at the thought.

The End

art // 1970s nativity

2011-12-10T11:05:00.001Z

Present & Correct posted this gorgeous paper nativity pattern from the 1970s. Check it out!

friends // what laura made

2011-12-09T00:08:00.001Z

After finally settling into my new house and a crazy period at work being over, I need to get stuck back into blogging! I'm going to Berlin next weekend and will need research a bit more on that. How time flies!

So this is a post dedicated to one of my (new) housemates, Miss Laura. I'm actually living with two Lauras, and the other Laura is also super talented, but I'll save that for another post. This Miss Laura is a very talented baker. If you're in the London area and ever need anything made, give Laura a shout. I can guarantee her baking is amazing!! Now we're living together I think I'll be her official baking photographer.

Most recently she made a 3 layered carrot cake for our friend Lulu's birthday.

Here's Laura!

A mojito cake for our ladies' party.

A blueberry bundt cake for Lulu's boat BBQ.
(Oh yeah, did I mention Lulu lives on a houseboat on the Thames with an amazing view of Tower Bridge?)

friends // truth.be.told

2011-11-27T23:35:00.001Z

I've just moved house and I'm in that horrid in-between week as I'm currently sleeping on the couch until housemate Peter moves out. I can't wait to start nesting and fit out my new room! My cousins helped me move and couldn't believe how much I've accumulated in a year. I was surprised at how many boxes I had, but really... I wasn't that surprised I have a lot of stuff. I like my stuff.

I've already talked about my friend Jess who is a graphic designer and artist and, of course, blogs! She's currently undertaking a massive fashion challenge - the No Repeat Outfit Challenge. I think it's such a great idea to get out everything you wear in your wardrobe. At the very least it will make you realise what you just can't wear, because if you don't feel comfortable in it, you'll never wear it. I also love Geneva's Wardrobe Rehab and think I'll be doing that when I get into my new room too!

Jess also designed the personalised stationery I bought for my friends as a wedding present.

style // brought to you by the colour yellow

2011-11-24T13:53:00.000Z

My yellow inspirations from Pinterest. I'm so addicted to Pinterest. It's stopped me saving every second photo I see on the internet. Follow me if you've got it!

bloglovin

2011-11-23T23:52:00.001Z

favourite couple // andrew & emma

2011-11-22T23:59:00.001Z

So I have been known to fall in love with couples. I'm in love with some of my friends who are couples and I'm going to be back home next year in time to be at the wedding of one of those special couples! Anyway, my latest couple to love are the beyond fabulous and amazing and adorable and everything good Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone. I've had a big crush on AG for the last year and a big girl crush on ES for about the same time. I got mega excited when I heard they'd be starring in the Amazing Spiderman together and of course, like the romantic I am, wanted them to get together in real life too.
I walked past Andrew in Covent Garden around the corner from my work last month as I was on my way back from Tesco. WHAT TIMING. After having an internal spazz, my second thought was "Awww Andrew and Emma!" No kidding. Sometimes I'm pretty lame.

And if this isn't the cutest thing... Andrew literally gushing about Emma for a good minute.

music // mashups

2011-11-15T23:26:00.001Z

I love a good mashup and these are some of my favourites. Not to mention just about all of the mashups from Glee! There's a really great Adele mashup coming up this week too!
I just looked at my post in Google Reader and the links to the songs aren't showing up, so click on the post to listen!

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://soundowl.com/track/25r2/two-door-cinema-club-wonderwall-you-know-alone-mix"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Download Two Door Cinema Club Wonderwall You Know (Alone Mix)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://soundowl.com/track/25r1/katy-perry-vs-bloc-party-party-kisser"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Download Katy Perry vs. Bloc Party Party Kisser&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://soundowl.com/track/25r0/phoenix-vs-the-strokes-last-nites-lisztomania-dj-franklyne-mashup"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Download Phoenix vs The Strokes Last Nite's Lisztomania (DJ Franklyne Mashup)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

&amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://soundowl.com/track/25qz/justin-bieber-vs-mstrkrft-heartbreaker-baby-cj-milli-mix"&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;Download Justin Bieber vs. MSTRKRFT Heartbreaker Baby (CJ Milli Mix)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;gt;

bloggers // twin cat vintage and gary pepper vintage

2011-11-14T13:14:00.001Z

So this just might be my first jealousy post. I've blogged about my friend Sam before. She's now working as the Online Editor for Sportsgirl in Australia and runs Twin Cat Vintage. And now I've just discovered Nicole Warne of Gary Pepper Vintage with photography and fashion sense to die for. Now, these two ladies are both adopted from South Korea (just like me) and I would like to have their lives please. THEY'RE JUST SO COOL. Ahem, excuse the outburst.

SAM SIDNEY

GARY PEPPER VINTAGE

music // jason walker

2011-11-13T00:19:00.001Z

Every now and then a song strikes a chord with me (ha to the pun) and I end up listing to it over and over and find that I can't hit the skip button on my iPod. This is one of those songs at the moment. All of my favourite songs are sad in some way. Maybe that's because musicians write the best songs from strong emotions - unfortunately, most of them stem from being sad, angry or depressed. Maybe. What do you think? I enjoy discussing music because you can't ever be wrong! It's just all personal opinion.

JASON WALKER

"Echo"

Hello, hello
Anybody out there?
Cause I don't hear a sound
Alone, alone
I don't really know where the world is but I miss it now
I'm out on the edge and I'm screaming my name
Like a fool at the top of my lungs
Sometimes when I close my eyes I pretend I'm alright
But it's never enough
Cause my echo, echo
Is the only voice coming back
My shadow, shadow
Is the only friend that I have

london // one year anniversary

2011-11-12T23:43:00.001Z

I've been living in London for one year already! Where on earth did all the time go? Since I left Australia I've been to: USA (San Francisco, Phoenix, Las Vegas, New York), France (Paris x 2), Switzerland (Lucerne), Germany (Heidelberg), Austria (Strasburg), Italy (Rome, Venice, Florence, Tuscany, Verona), Vatican City, Netherlands (Amsterdam), Belgium (Brugge), Scotland (Glasgow, Edinburgh), Ireland (Dublin), and Liverpool, Bath and Oxford in the UK. I'm going to Cambridge next weekend and Berlin just before Christmas - for the Christmas markets! I've managed to travel quite a bit, but there's still so many places to try and visit before I leave! The Greek Islands, Spain, Prague... and I want to go back to Paris and Italy again. The food in Italy is so so good.

I'm also getting excited about Christmas. Craig will be happy. I was a bit of a grinch last year and he is Mr Christmas. I've seriously never met anyone who's more into Christmas.

And I thought I'd post some photos from a year ago when I first arrived.

Royal Albert Hall - I still haven't been to anything there

Ice skating at Somerset House

Living with C & J

My first job

Greenwich

Afternoon tea with J - and we became housemates

And Big Ben... just because

books // tea & cake

2011-11-09T22:51:00.001Z

Tea & Cake illustrated by Emma Block

This is one of my favourite books of the season! It involves nearly all the things I love most: tea, cake and pretty illustrations. Slam dunk for a book if you ask me. Check out illustrator Emma Block too. Her career seems to be on the up and up. She's amazing and oh so nice! She's also doing a giveaway on her blog for Tea & Cake. You can enter here.

instagram // glasgow vintage finds

2011-11-08T00:17:00.001Z

Leopard print muff - £15. It has a little zippered pocket too. Probably for cigarettes, but in reality it'll be for my oyster card.

This will divide people, but I've wanted a vintage (ONLY buy vintage!) fur coat for a while, but never thought I could afford one. Here's my vintage rabbit fur coat I bought for £40.

60s hat - £16

glastonbury 2011 // sunday

2011-11-07T23:43:00.000Z

Sunday Artists I Saw:
// My Tiger My Timing
// Raghu Dixit
// Foster the People
// The Joy Formidable
// OK Go
// Paul Simon
// The Vaccines
// Hurts
// Robyn
// Beyonce

Foster the People

A blurry OK Go.

Paul Simon

Hurts

Waiting for Beyonce

BEYONCE!

Crazy in Love

A cover of my favourite Etta James... At Last.

Being sad that it's all over, but 100% desperate to get home to a proper shower.

instagram // my last two days

2011-11-05T23:05:00.000Z

My last two days in Instagram photos

I'm addicted to Instagram of late! Here's my last two days in photos.

Christmasy time in Covent Garden

Dinner at Jon's: Duck with cherry red wine sauce, truffle salt mash, honeyed carrots, Parmesan broccoli, and Letizia's starter of prosciutto mozzarella & rocket crostini.

Walking through the cemetery to get to the tube.

A BBQ Squared pork roll from Banhmi, and a soy latte (with Bonsoy!) at Broadway Market. It was featured in the first episode of Jamie's Great Britain and I had to try it!

Caramelised red onion and some kind of cheese quiche from Artisan Foods (owned by German Deli) at Broadway Market. They're also at Covent Garden Food Market! I'm a big fan already. They make German cheesecake just like my Oma makes.

I'm about to move house and gave away a bunch of books that I'd managed to collect since the start of the year and gave them to a second hand bookshop, LXV Books. They gave me some credit and I went nuts buying some old books, like this one of NYT front pages. Wrapping paper and DIY stationery here I come!

glastonbury 2011 // saturday

2011-11-05T17:20:00.000Z

Artists I Saw:
// Twilight Singers
// Jessie J
// Tinie Tempah (highlight!)
// Jimmy Eat World
// Friendly Fires
// Coldplay (highlight!)

We invested about £8 each on some chairs. K had a suspected fractured foot and we were just sick of standing around all day. We named our lifesaving chairs Alex (of Two Door Cinema Club), Darwin (Deez) and Bruce (I just picked a strong sounding name... Yeah. I don't understand my thinking sometimes either).

Tinie Tempah was just amazing live. He got the crowd pumped up, he did some covers because "I know you can't all singalong" to rap, and he got the entire Pyramid Stage crowd to "get low, but please don't sit in the mud!" Total rockstar rapper, but polite and super intelligent. I've since read lots of interviews with him.

Jimmy Eat World

We did a lot of dancing around to Friendly Fires.

Wellie graveyard.

And some blurry Coldplay goodness.

I swear that there's no greater feeling than thousands and thousands of people singing the same song. You feel it all the way to your bones. Happiness!

Chris sang a bit of "A Wonderful World" with some Glasto-inspired lyrics.

And sometimes I can be a bit of a sappy loser, but this song live never fails to make me teary and get goosebumps. Amazing!

lomo // random photos in my inbox

2011-10-29T12:06:00.003+01:00

As the days get shorter in London, I'm spending a bit more time at home, and I've realised I have a lot of photos to post from past travels and adventures. There's still more Glastonbury to post and I don't think I ever did a post about my Tuscan cooking class all the way back in April. I went to Glasgow and Edinburg last weekend and haven't even edited photos yet!

Here's a bunch of Lomography photos I've taken though. I just found them in my inbox.

fashion // mad men 60s hat

2011-10-25T20:39:00.003+01:00

Check out what I picked up in Glasgow for a mere £16. I'm actually wearing it backwards, but I like it more like that! I've finally discovered the type of hat to suit my enormous head - 60s style hats. I was just bemoaning to my friend Sophie that I need her help to find me hats that suit me, but I might not need her fashion assistance so desperately now!

I've got two Mad Men themed parties coming up, so I think I might be outfit repeating just so I can wear my hat!

books // florence broadhurst

2011-10-25T16:04:00.000+01:00

Florence Broadhurst Deluxe Edition

Like lots of others, I'm a huge fan of Florence Broadhurst's wallpaper designs. This is a stunning coffee table book about her life, filled with plenty of photographs of her designs and how the prints have been used to make things other thank wallpaper. She had a fascinating life... she was born in Queensland, Australia (my homestate!) and became a singer who toured the world, before settling back down in Sydney and becoming a wallpaper designer at age 60. She was brutally murdered in her apartment when she was 78 and her murder has never been solved...

Madame Grès @ Musée Bourdelle, Paris // sketches

2011-10-22T20:15:00.000+01:00

Madame Grès @ Musée Bourdelle, Paris // part 3

2011-10-19T14:34:00.001+01:00

I've still got some more Madame Grès posts lined up... only one more after this one. I just loved the exhibition so much I couldn't not post all my photos, so you, lovely readers, will just have to keep looking at photos of beautiful garments.
Speaking of readers, a big hello to all of you who are reading, because as I keep obsessively checking my stats, you're reading from the UK, Australia, USA, Canada, Alaska, Russia and Asia. Hello to all of you!

food // cheese and wine festival

2011-10-17T21:15:00.000+01:00

I had zero plans for the weekend until M messaged and said she was going to the Cheese and Wine Festival. That sounds like my heaven on earth. I was in!
Macarons seem to be staples everywhere now. Just like cupcakes.

This was a cheesecake stall. Let's see if I can remember them: peanut butter, raspberry and white choc, pistachio, Daim (as in the delicious chocolate/caramel bar!!), banana and choc and triple choc. I think. I think...

We settled for green tea cheesecake but my friends weren't so keen, so I ended up polishing it off.

David and David from the Outsider Tart doing a baking demo of pound cake and pumpking cheesecake. And we got to sample - delicious!

Then we sat on the deck for an hour or so, hydrated with some juice and then cracked into the caramel vodka - oh my gawd it's amazing! We had it in espresso martinis later...

We toddled back to M's and L & I came over later and brought some delicious cold meats and crusty bread and I forced everyone to watch X Factor where we thoroughly enjoyed getting our judge on.

books // cook for your life by ian thorpe

2011-10-16T11:57:00.001+01:00

So most people know Ian Thorpe right? He's training in the hope to swim in the Olympics next year (I'm still bummed I didn't get allocated any swimming tickets - but 3 lots of tennis!) and he's just released a cookbook, Cook For Your Life. I love food photography like this... very clean and bright and a bit Scandinavian in style.

music // john mayer

2011-10-16T11:03:00.001+01:00

Happy Birthday John!

It's my favourite musician's birthday today. 10 years is a long time to be in any kind of relationship - mine's musical. No matter how old I get, John Mayer's always going to be my favourite because I grew up with him. Music I liked in high school will always be important to me.

Thanks John.

If you've never given his music a chance, here's my favourite songs. Check them out:

Madame Grès @ Musée Bourdelle, Paris // part 2

2011-10-16T01:14:00.000+01:00

Madame Grès @ Musée Bourdelle, Paris // part 1

2011-10-11T21:46:00.002+01:00

While in Paris, we managed to catch the Madame Grès exhibition at Musée Bourdelle on its very last day. I saw the exhibition being blogged about and was very excited when I found out it was extended up to the weekend I'd be in Paris! Her work is just exquisite and the amount of work that went into every dress must have been immense. No wonder she thought ready-to-wear was the lowest of the low in fashion and it was the last haute couture house to start producing ready-to-wear.

It was amazing that clothing designed and made over 40 years ago still looked so contemporary. Most of her work is truly timeless because you could happily wear any of those dresses today!

I was so enraptured (yes, enraptured!) with the exhibition that I bought the overpriced companion book in French. I'm definitely not fluent in French, so I'll have to take it to my friend's house who speaks fluent French so he can read it to me like a bedtime story. Anyway, here's some photos that attempt to capture the amazing detail and tailoring of Madame Grès' work.

my amazing nanna

2011-10-11T11:35:00.000+01:00

My amazing Nanna just passed away, one month shy of her 100th birthday. She was one of the strongest, most independent women I've ever known.

This is how I like to remember her. In her late 70s and still driving us around in her little green car when we went to visit her.

link it

2011-10-09T00:18:00.001+01:00

Rock groupies and feminism
One year's worth of make up put on in a day
Chanel at Harrods
A creative alphabet video
Fashion collections at Reborn
Another amazing looking Pixar movie with accompanying iPad app
Linda McCartney photography
Family trees
Top 10 animal videos
Intro to lomography
This has been bookmarked forever! A great feel good article

tv shows // pan am

2011-10-08T16:14:00.000+01:00

I'm sure this show is meant to be for Man Men fans, and I must say I'm all on board! The pretty girl from Neighbours isn't even annoying me.

rest in peace steve jobs

2011-10-07T21:50:00.000+01:00

You've given the world and technology and entertainment so much.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs

cooking // spring roll class with mrs t

2011-10-05T20:43:00.000+01:00

SPRING ROLL ROLLING
01 // Place a small amount of filling a third of the way on the spring roll paper.
02 // Roll over once.
03 // Fold in the sides.

04 // Put cornflour mixed with water where our lovely hand model Meeta is pointing, and seal!

05 // Ta da!

And I don't even have photos of a whole pile of cooked spring rolls because we ate them too fast! DELICIOUS! Thanks Mrs T!

ladies ale night @ the orange tree // young's 180th birthday

2011-10-04T23:42:00.000+01:00

I was invited to a Ladies Ale Night with guest speaker, beer expert Melissa Cole. She spent the evening talking us through each tasting and teaching us how to properly taste ale. The difference between sipping the ale before and after eating the food was incredible. To properly taste beer you cover the top of the glass and swill it, then remove your hand just before you take a big sniff. Amazing how many notes you can actually smell - citrus, passionfruit, etc.

We received Camden Hells Lager on arrival and a bag to takeaway with our choice of ale, a mini spirit bottle, and some other goodies!

London Gold with the Scotch Egg

Meantime Pale Ale with Whitebait

Brooklyn Lager with Macaroni and Cheese

Sierra Nevada Pale Ale with Sliders

Meantime Raspberry with Cherry Roly Poly

Anchor Steam with the Young's Double Chocolate Stout Cake

style // viparo alexa leather skirt

2011-10-04T23:12:00.000+01:00

Big big thanks to Soph of owl vs dove and Viparo Clothing, because I won a leather skirt! WOOHOO! I never win anything, so this is most exciting. I get to choose my skirt and I'm leaning towards the Alexa in black because I think I'd wear it the most. Black leather goes with everything, right? Right!

I'm a bit rubbish at outfit posts, but I'll have to give it a try when it arrives!

pandas // cutest animals (possibly) in the world

2011-09-27T09:57:00.001+01:00

[source]

Okay, just when I try and deny how much I love pandas (seriously friends, stop buying me panda-related merchandise!) I see something like this. HOW CAN YOU NOT LOVE PANDAS?!

music // the beards

2011-09-16T22:12:00.000+01:00

Thank goodness for technology that lets me keep up with Aussie music... I just saw this on my friend's Facebook wall and laughed a lot. This song is awesome and the guy is a great singer! I'll definitely have to check out their beardography.

dressing the stars exhibition pt 2 // bath fashion museum

2011-09-15T23:30:00.000+01:00

Colin Firth - George VI in The King’s Speech (2010)Rupert Friend in The DuchessEmma Thompson and Hugh Grant in Sense and SensibilityAlan Rickman and Kate Winslet in Sense and Sensibility Judi Dench - Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in LoveGwyneth Paltrow - Viola in Shakespeare in Love (1998)Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth I in Elizabeth (1998)

dressing the stars exhibition pt 1 // bath fashion museum

2011-09-13T23:10:00.000+01:00

I went to Bath last month and I managed to catch this amazing costume exhibition at the Bath Fashion Museum. The detail on some of the period costumes was just amazing. Oh, and there were costumes that all my favourite English actors had worn: Johnny Depp, Colin Firth, Alan Rickman, Hugh Grant, Orlando Bloom, Judi Dench, Kate Winslet, Emma Thompson... you name it! There's going to be a lot of photos here! So many in fact, that I've decided to do two posts. There's just too many photos to include!Orlando Bloom - Will Turner, Pirates of the Caribbean Johnny Depp - Captain Jack Sparrow, Pirates of the Caribbean Laurence Olivier in Hamlet (1948)The Last Emperor Joachim Phoenix - Commodus in Gladiator (2000)Charlotte Rampling - Lady Spencer in The Duchess (2008)Keira Knightley - Georgiana in The Duchess (2008)Robert Downey Jnr - Robert Merivale in Restoration (1995)

fashion night out // london

2011-09-12T00:16:00.000+01:00

I went to London's Fashion Night Out last night and stood 5th in line (thanks to Letizia who actually waited, while I arrived late after a meeting) outside Alexander McQueen to get my AMcQ key to potentially win a tote bag (I didn't). Then we strolled to Chanel to wait for a manicure and it was taking way too long and we had a talk by amazing fashion illustrator David Downton to get to! I'm so glad Letizia took me, because he was an incredible, engaging speaker and his work is simply stunning.

David Downton

My Alexander McQueen key... that didn't win me anything.

Louis Vuitton. We didn't go in, but I liked the window display.

books // fashion bites

2011-09-09T17:15:00.001+01:00

Fashion Bites

It seems somewhat silly that I never do little book reviews since (a) I love books and (b) I work for a book publisher. Anyway, this gorgeous little hardback is full of hilarious quotes from the fashion people of the world, including my homegirl Chanel (of course!). It seems fitting I should write about this one since I went to London's Fashion Night Out last night.

So buy a copy for the fashionista in your life! I have a lot of fashionistas in my life... I can see stocking fillers for Christmas done already! We're also publishing Fairy Tales by Viktor & Rolf next month. That's definitely going to be on the Christmas list for friends!

taste of normandy @ stationers' hall

2011-09-08T09:38:00.000+01:00

The best cheese EVER!!

Chicken and mushroom soup with these little ball things, not unlike tapioca (I really should have been taking notes)

Foie Gras with eel and beetroot jelly

Mackerel with liquorice and raw apple

Trout in champagne sauce with trout caviar

Calvados

Something slightly seaweedy with goats cheese and oyster juice - not my favourite

Hazelnut and coffee tart

glastonbury 2011 // friday

2011-09-01T14:39:00.000+01:00

Well, these were our wellies after two days. Bands hadn't even officially started playing yet!

Artists I Saw:

// Metronomy

// Two Door Cinema Club

// The Wombats

// Ke$ha

// U2

Day One - Friday

Two Door Cinema Club Two Door Cinema Club Sustenance Darwin Deez Ke$ha U2

photography // nada stankova

2011-09-01T14:14:00.000+01:00

My friend Naďa Stanková is a pretty amazing photographer. She's going to be the official wedding photographer for our friends' wedding later this month. I can't wait to see her final edited photos! Here's some of my favourite shots...

eating out // dinner by heston

2011-08-31T13:49:00.001+01:00

Meat Fruit (c.1500)
Mandarin, Chicken Liver Parfait and Grilled Bread
£13.50

Rice and Flesh (c.1390)
Saffron, Calf Tail and Red Wine
£16.00

Salamugundy (c.1720)
Smoked Calves Heart, Beetroot, Horseradish and Walnut
£15.50
(It's been so long... I think this is the one - but it was a vegetarian version)

Aberdeen Angus Fillet on the Bone (c.1830)
Mushroom Ketchup, Red Wine Juice and Fries
£35.00
(Heston's famous triple cooked chips - devine!)

Wing Rib of Irish Angus for 2 (c.1830)
Mushroom Ketchup, Red Wine Juice, Fries
£72.00

Braised Celery (c.1730)
Parmesan, Pickled Walnuts, Apple and Onion
£23.00

Spiced Pigeon (c.1780)
Ale and Artichokes
£33.00
(Again... I think?)

Summer Fruit Tart
(No longer on the menu, but it was amazing - it had basil in it)

Tipsy Cake (c.1810)
Spit Roast Pineapple
£10.00

Earl Grey and White Chocolate Ganache with a Caraway Biscuit
With thanks to my lighting crew: Craig and Jon.

duke of york square farmer's market

2011-08-27T00:30:00.000+01:00

A delicious chicken, cream cheese, deep fried, crumbed snack from one of the Brazilian stalls.

And just being a Harry Potter geek.

link me

2011-08-26T14:33:00.000+01:00

I went to Bath recently. It's so ridiculously pretty!

I've been hoarding a lot of links over the past few weeks. Ready?... GO!

Augmented grocery shopping in South Korea is fascinating
Pretty amazing underwater photography
Vintage typewriter art. I love this!
An interesting cartoon-eqsue vid on Google from the Hungry Beast tv show
Amazing food viewed from the Chef's Table in Justin North's Becasse restaurant in Sydney
I Love Zoe Foster And I Love Hamish Blake (one half of radio talkshow extraordinares Hamish & Andy). And Yes That Needs To Be In Captials.
Hugh Jackman seems like one of the nicest guys in Hollywood. AND he's Australian.
Make up organisation. It's like my crack. I love organising and tidying!!
Dreamy photos by Sebastiaan Bremer
Don't Fear the Internet - basic HTML and CSS for non-web designers
Spineless Classics - posters made out of the text of classic books
Rupert Grint showing Tom Felton some man love at the Planet of the Apes premier
Matching movies with cocktails at Drank with That. Genius!
DIY Animal figurine jewellery rack
Art is better with cats.
World's largest stop animation film.
DIY song lyric wall art using paint by numbers.
If social media were a high school - love this!
Storage magazine and newspaper stool at Remodelista
Hipster random generated text
Really interesting when celebrities were young (and Clint Eastwood was really really hot)
Amanda Henderson of Gloss Creative interview - amazing, inspiring spaces!

the man's guide to love

2011-08-25T19:42:00.001+01:00

The Man's Guide To Love #210 from themansguidetolove on Vimeo.

i've just spent a good 15 minutes watching lots of videos on the man's guide to love. loy and ryan are so sweet. and this john guy, woahhh! not hard to look at, not hard to look at at all...

glastonbury 2011 part one

2011-08-07T19:18:00.001+01:00

birthday on battersea barge

2011-07-29T12:43:00.000+01:00

letizia bake off 2011

2011-07-22T15:23:00.000+01:00

The inaugural Letizia Bake Off was last year (named for the original buyer of the trophy) and it all started over a Lemon Drizzle cake. It quickly turned into an all out war between Jon and Meeta in a baking competition of three rounds: The Competition Cake (Lemon Drizzle), Chocolate and Freestyle. Meeta was the triumphant winner and hosted the 2011 Bake Off. I competed along with Tammie and Tim. We had three rounds too: The Competition Cake (Victoria Sponge), Citrus and Freestyle.

Meeta's spread before the judging

The Letizia Cup

The entrants

MY ENTRIES

The Competition Cake: My Victoria Sponge with Vanilla Bean Double Cream and French Cherry and Strawberry Jam

Citrus: Lemon and Blueberry Yoghurt Pound Cake

Freestyle: Mojito Cupcakes

TAMMIE'S ENTRIES

The Competition Cake: Victoria Sponge with Chambord Cream and Strawberries

Citrus: Mojito Pound Cake

Freestyle: Guinness and Chocolate Cake

TIM'S ENTRIES

The Competition Cake: Victoria Sponge

Citrus: Lemon Trifle

Freestyle: Salmon Mini Quiches

Serious Judging Faces

Scoresheet

Poor Tammie had an oven crisis the morning of the competition and had to run to Jon's house to finish baking and I managed to travel an hour across town on several tubes and a bus with 3 cakes. There was a complicated score sheet and the final standings were:

Letizia Cup Winner 2011: Tim (the dark horse! His savoury strategy for the Freestyle round and Citrus round gave him the edge)
1st runner up: me
2nd runner up: Tammie.

Yes, I was a little disappointed I didn't win, but there's talk of special mini Letizia Cup challenges like The Chocolate Bake Off.

eating out // york & albany

2011-07-19T12:42:00.002+01:00

Ceviche of organic salmon, avocado, chilli, lime and coriander

When my parents were in town, they took me and two of my best friends out to lunch at Gordon Ramsay's York & Albany. C & J took me in for three months when I first moved to London and they really are like my brothers from another mother. Mum and Dad thought it was the least they could do to say thank you.

Jon was using his iPhone to give me a little more light for my photos, haha. I like having my own lighting team. He did it again when we went to Heston Blumenthal's new(ish) restaurant Dinner!

Roasted sea trout, braised fennel, olive

Roast beef

Rice pudding

Gosh I can hardly remember... I think it was a vanilla bean panacotta with pear and blue cheese ice cream (delicious!)
Chocolate and banana dessert

royal wedding morning tea

2011-07-17T00:53:00.000+01:00

Victoria Sponge

music // two door cinema club @ the roundhouse

2011-07-15T13:33:00.000+01:00

This is from back in March. We were right up the back but it didn't matter. I was having a BALL.

single girls guide part 7

2011-07-14T12:28:00.004+01:00

[source]

I love HelloGiggles. The contributors post so often I just let the posts build up in my Google Reader and then pick the ones I want to read. This struck a chord with me today. Something us girls are always reminding ourselves and our girlfriends, but it never seems to stick. Repetition must help! (Obviously these are not my words at all. Click on Erin's name to read the rest of her Single Girls Guide on HelloGiggles.)

SINGLE GIRLS GUIDE PART 7

by Erin Foster

I feel like a lot of girls out there like to complain about all the losers they’ve dated in the past, and about what awful luck they’ve had in relationships. I’d like to address this issue directly to you ladies with the disclaimer that I used to be one myself.

The thing you seem to always overlook is that the common denominator in these guys is YOU, the girl who put up with them! You’re the theme that runs through them. You picked them. You begged them to pose for photo booth pictures with you, and to put hearts next to your name in their iPhone.

You saw the warning signs early on, but chose to ignore them. It’s because as women we think we have the ability to change someone. We think it’s our DUTY to change them. We make excuses for why they aren’t treating us the way we want to be treated, while simultaneously letting them know we’ll put up with anything. We don’t see these warnings for what they are, we see them as personal challenges. It’s why I’ve noticed a surge in guys playing “The No Game Game”.

If a guy comes to you and says he’s not really looking for a relationship, and he doesn’t want to hurt you and he thinks sleeping together might complicate things, you are in shock. The idea that he’s being honest and willing to lose possible nakedness as a result doesn’t fit into everything you’ve grown to understand about men. The awareness that he’s not trying to sleep with you, kinda just makes you want to sleep with him.

You feel compelled to prove that you can have fun and not fall in love. You also immediately assume that you can change his mind. Once he sees you in that one dress, and meets your friends, and eats your famous spaghetti bolognese, he’ll be hooked. He’ll obviously feel what you already feel. The sincerity of his intentions is almost offensive actually. You’re so accustomed to giving a guy a list of reasons why you shouldn’t sleep with him, and now he’s not even trying?

Your dad never warned you about this tactic. So you end up submerging yourself in a bubbly bath of denial and forging ahead with the plan that at some point you’ll come up with a plan. And then when he doesn’t want to be in a relationship with you, you’re pissed and you only have yourself to blame! The guy is stoked, he got laid and has nothing to feel guilty about because he did everything right. He didn’t play you, YOU played you! This is my point; stop blaming the dude for all your problems and take a look at how you got yourself here. While you’re whining about how terrible your ex boyfriend was, we’re wondering why you chose to stay with him for two years. We don’t believe it when a guy says something we don’t want to hear. We just turn it into what we assume he’s trying to say.

Someone once told me the simplest way to get into a good relationship is to believe what the person is saying to you. Ok fine, it was my therapist. But it’s true. He says he isn’t ready for a relationship? Believe him. He says he never wants kids? Believe him. We make things so much more complicated than they need to be. How many women do you know who have a big complaint in their relationship like that he doesn’t want to get married? And how many of those women admit that he told them he wouldn’t want to right from the beginning? Like, all of em! You don’t need to tap dance and rearrange your life to get someone to fit into it. Stick to your guns. Take responsibility for your choices. There are no victims, only volunteers. My friend Josh said that to me tonight and I thought, that’s the perfect ending to this post!

link me

2011-07-13T15:46:00.001+01:00

[source]

it's that time again... when i've bookmarked way too many cool pages and compile them here.

patti smith's 25 lessons for creative types
my friend sophie's beautiful post after her grandmother's passing.
sarah wilson gets some photos analysed by colour specialist chris brazal
another sarah wilson blog post on toxin-free cosmetics. it freaked me out so much, i've switched my shampoo, conditioner, body wash and deodorant to natural products.
iphone app, the good guide, to help you pick which products are natural
cosmetics database to help avoid high toxicity products
booki.sh is an ebook library, stored in the clouds (i recently found out about cloud computing and love saying it. cloud. cloud. clouds...)
lauren manning documented the food she ate for two years and turned the data into 40 beautiful graphs
the evolution of the book cover design for design*sponge
as an ex-bookshop-girl i can vouch for some of the crazy things customers say! here's jen campbell's list.
martin solveig feat. thomas mars - the night out.
bumble & earwig make beautifully intricate animal heads... on brooches!
gotye feat. kimbra - somebody that i used to know. amazing video clip with body paint!
joel penkman's food art makes me hungry.
2008 wimbledon final between roger federer and rafael nadal... in paper form.
i love the transformers movies, but when you think about it in this light, my feminist side starts to come out and i start getting angry.
wonderful detail to recreate a starbucks store in the woods for this gorgeous proposal.
and bieber boomers: why older women love justin bieber.

harry potter meme

2011-07-13T13:53:00.001+01:00

[source]

HARRY POTTER MEMe

In honour of HP7P2 that I'm seeing on Friday! I'm so very excited and sad all at the same time. No doubt I will cry buckets. I was lucky enough to work at bookstore when the 7th book was released and we all dressed up (I was Cho Chang) and now I was lucky enough to live in London when the world premier of the final movie happened. This is meant to be done over 30 days, but I never remember to post daily, so here goes...

Day 1 : Your favorite book. The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Day 2 : Your favourite movie. The Prisoner of Azkaban.

Day 3 : Is there any of the films adaptations that have made you angry because they’ve ignored important parts of the book? Not that I can think of.

Day 4 : Least favourite female character and why. Delores Umbridge because she's pure evil and I hate that she loves cats too.
Day 5 : Favourite male character and why. Snape because he's just so complex and has a heart of gold after all!
Day 6 : What do you think would be your favourite lesson. Charms.
Day 7 : Favourite female character and why. Hermione because she started out like I was in primary school. Just a little know-it-all and bossy, but grew up to be just fine. I feel like my answers are all going to be somewhat shallow because I feel like I'm just going to say "because they're/it's awesome!" after everything.
Day 8 : Harry Potter or Twilight? Gosh, do you even need to ask?! HARRY POTTER.
Day 9 : Least favourite male character. Lucius Malfoy. He's just so sniveling and a pathetic excuse for a man by the last book.
Day 10 : Horcruxes or Hallows. Hallows.
Day 11 : What character would you say you are most like. Hermione.
Day 12 : Favourite ship. Ron/Hermione.
Day 13 : Least favourite movie. Maybe Order of the Phoenix, but that was also my least favourite book. Or maybe Chamber of Secrets...
Day 14 : Team Voldermort or Team Harry. Team Harry!
Day 15 : Who would be your best friends at hogwarts. (Three only) Hermione, Lee Jordan and... er... Ron?
Day 16 : Your favorite Golden Trio moment. Way too hard. I did love the chess scene in Philosopher's Stone. And anything to do with Hermione's amazing bottomless bag.
Day 17 : Are you excited about The Deathly Hallows movie or scared it won’t do the book justice ? EXCITED.
Day 18 : Least favourite book. Order of the Phoenix. So hard to get through. And cried when Sirius died.
Day 19 : Do you prefer the books or films? Books definitely.
Day 20 : If you had to meet one member of the cast, who would it be? D-RAD. I want him to be my BFF and invite him to all of my dinner parties.
Day 21 : Out of all the characters that died, if you could bring one back, who would it be? Lupin. Wahhh! Still so upset he died.
Day 22 : What house would you want to be in. Gryffindor or Ravenclaw.
Day 23 : Any part of the books/movies that makes you cry. When Sirius died, when Hedwig died, when I realised Lupin and Tonks died, when I realised I'd never read a new Harry Potter book...
Day 24 : Any particular scene you wished would have been put in the movie but it wasn’t. Hmm... not that I can remember.
Day 25 : Nineteen years later. Are you happy how it turned out, or do you wish something was different? I felt it was a little unnecessary and a bit happy-happy-fan-fiction-end-y, but I understand why JK Rowling did it. No one can mess with her characters now, and it puts a lot of speculation to bed.
Day 26 : If you could be able to work one spell without a wand what would it be? Erm... pass.
Day 27 : Would you rather own The Invisibility Cloak, The Resurrection Stone or The Elder Wand? Definitely the Cloak.
Day 28 : Do you listen to Wizard Wrock; what do you think about it? Ah, no. What's that?
Day 29 : Did you enjoy A Very Potter Musical? I've only seen bits. Love Darren Criss though.
Day 30 : What affect has Harry Potter made on your life and how much does it mean to you? Mum bought me the first one when I was 12 and I scoffed and said I was too old for witch and wizard books. Then I read the first chapter and I remember going over to Mum saying "It's so good! It's so good! Thank you for buying this for me!" It's had a big impact. Friends would call me the night of a book release asking if I'd finished it yet because they wanted to talk about it. I remember Amelia calling me almost in tears after OotP. Seeing some of the cast walking the red carpet reduced me to an excitable 12yo again. I'm going to miss it!

london markets and the museum of childhood

2011-07-11T00:21:00.000+01:00

glastonbury 2011

2011-06-21T22:41:00.000+01:00

i'm off to glastonbury tomorrow! i've been stressing out a bit about it since i have a massive backpack and a 14kg tent to carry between me and mel. i hope i've remembered everything! see you on the other side of 5 days of music, mud and madness.

quotes // alain de botton

2011-06-16T15:01:00.000+01:00

link me

2011-06-09T22:43:00.001+01:00

[mustard by vic riches]

i've had this post of links sitting in my drafts for (embarrassingly!) months. so here we go...

how are consumers interacting with brands in social media?
how to move to new york city (something i've vaguely thought about doing myself)
50 most stylish new yorkers
julia restoin roitfeld's skin care regime
real life balloon lifting house like in the pixar movie UP!
rare cats born through amazing science - so cute!
i love grace coddington
20 most recognisable fonts and where to download them
through the generations: how the web is being used. very interesting!
karl lagerfeld likes collaborations.
a sweet article about the young actors who play the child versions of andrew, carey and keira in never let me go.

ms cupcake // vegan baked goods

2011-06-06T15:44:00.000+01:00

Vegan cupcakes by Ms. Cupcake

Clockwise from left: Raspberry Cheesecake, Ginger Pear, Ferrero Rocher and oh, for the life of me I can't remember what it's called but it was delicious!

A while ago, I visited the Designers/Makers Market in East London especially to go to the Ms. Cupcake vegan stall since I had recently-turned-vegan friend Sarah-Jane visiting from Glasgow.

Well. If vegan cupcakes taste like these ones did... I could happily eat vegan baked goods forever!

bieber denial

2011-06-02T09:50:00.002+01:00

[source]

my household consists of three ladies in our 20-somethings and after a short period of denial, we've finally had to admit that, yes, we are justin bieber fans. it all started for me after the kids on glee covered biebs. i thought puck's fake fringe and hoodie was hilarious. i got the music from the episode on my ipod and then it was just a slippery slope to downloading a JB album.

one of my housemates denied we're a bieber household and then her friend asked, "um, didn't you take a chunk out of your toe running up an escalator because you were sharing headphones listening to justin bieber?" "... damn."

also, to the haters, leave poor biebs and selena alone. they're just a young couple and they're probably in their first big relationship. and look how adorable they are!

new gadgets

2011-05-31T18:40:00.000+01:00

My kindly boss gave me a present today. Yes, a grater. He knows I'm a little strapped for cash this month and after checking to see if we had a grater at work, he promptly ducked out and came back with a gift and wished me luck grating my carrots. Hurrah!

live the language // london

2011-05-30T15:39:00.003+01:00

EF - Live The Language - London from Albin Holmqvist on Vimeo.

once again i've been a bad blogger. this is what london feels like on the weekend when you wander around and go hit up some markets.

borough market

2011-04-22T22:38:00.000+01:00

I finally went to the Borough Market! Kelly and I are making it our mission to hit up all the markets we can until she leaves in June. Our next trip is Brick Lane and Columbia Road, which I've already been to, but I can definitely go again. (And we're going to see Fast and Furious 5 because we're suckers for an action movie.)

big red bus we're riding on top

2011-04-20T22:54:00.000+01:00

Researching for a new book. Life is hard.

Our GM received a present from The Cupcake Company. Megan made his goddaughter a Barbie birthday cake and it was a mega hit. These beautifully decorated carrot and cream cheese icing cupcakes were divine. She might even get a book deal!

I'd just like to point out the fact that I'm in London and I'm wearing sandals. Yes. Summer is finally coming!

two parties in a weekend

2011-04-09T01:22:00.000+01:00

SATURDAY LADY PARTY

SUNDAY BBQ

broadway market

2011-04-07T01:58:00.000+01:00

I'm making it my mission to go to every London weekend market and so far I'm doing pretty well. I've been to Portobello, Camden, Columbia Road Flower Market, Brick Lane... and last weekend was Broadway Market, which is only a 20 minute walk from my place. Meg and Kate are rapidly becoming my market buddies and I'm sure I won't be able to go anywhere without them soon enough!

I was a bit naughty and bought a slice of custard tart and a Chorizo Scotch Egg. I'd never had one before and was rather curious to try it. The guy at the stall was really lovely too - he cut it in half and salt and peppered it for me (he didn't for the lady in front of me, hehe).

home sweet home

2011-04-05T22:39:00.000+01:00

Here's my Argos decorated bedroom. I'm not completely happy with it yet, but I've only been living here for a month or so and I'm on a pretty tight budget at the moment. Tuscany for Easter!

A boy, an abbey, a protest... and Kevin Spacey and Jude Law

2011-04-04T22:08:00.001+01:00

Chris came to stay with me last weekend, and we smashed some sight seeing in a couple of hours: Trafalgar Square (with the lions), Piccadilly Circus, Big Ben, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Abbey... and then we were almost trampled by a protest (I say trampled, but it was a peaceful protest) lead by Kevin Spacey and Jude Law. Chris felt his London weekend was well worth it.

artists // dyna moe

2011-04-04T21:40:00.001+01:00

I've been a fan of Dyna Moe for some time now. I discovered her, like most, on Flickr uploading her Mad Men drawings, but her latest art has really made me chuckle. She's got the hipster animals down pat! (Psst, if you've been living under a rock, Dyna also designed Mad Men Yourself.)

tapas and a pavlova

2011-04-02T14:02:00.002+01:00

I started my new job this week and we went out to lunch as a farewell to Clare and a welcome to me.

commercial hotel

2011-03-30T16:39:00.000+01:00

After I finished my final day of work at the fertility clinic, I met up with some friends on Oxford Street and we made our way to Commercial Hotel for some delicious crisp cider as the sun went down. I say the sun went down, but since daylight savings has just kicked in, the sky is still light at 7pm. Nuts.

hipster mermaid

2011-03-30T14:22:00.001+01:00

These are my favourite Hipster Mermaid tweets thus far. And for those who'd like to become a mermaid, check this article out.