The Big 30: Beer-a-day countdown

Scott was seriously dreading turning 30 this year. He wasn't looking forward to it when we ring in 2013 as D-day (26th Feb) gets closer. I thought hard about what to get him for his birthday since it is a biggie turning 30. There was the idea of getting him 30 different presents but I got stuck after present no.11 (errrr... no. 12 stripey socks, no.13 dotty socks???). Nope..ditch that idea!

Then I thought about all the little things that he enjoys - things that doesn't break the bank, things that I can easily buy/source in bulk. Things like:
- going for a run (runnings gears are fugly - ditch!)
- putting on a cheeky weekend bet on the football (I really shouldn't encourage this as I have not seen any returns!)
- watching reruns on his ipad (30 boxsets? boringsville!)
- whisky (I would have to rob HSBC to buy 30 decent bottles...I don't really love him that much - ha!)
- beer (bingo!)

I love the advent calendar idea of having something to open every day in the run up to the big day. I thought this might help soften the blow too. So I went to my local specialist wine and beer shop with my granny trolley, picked 30 beers based on either a cool name or cool branding (suckers!), walked home to the sound of clinking beer bottles (I must look like a freaking alco-addict), wrapped them all up in brown paper (I'm going for the Prohibition look) then tag them up in pink glittery paper (which completely kills the Prohibition look).

I displayed them on our kitchen table on 1st Feb. He was working late that night, looked at it in a confused manner when he came in and asked me "Are they all the same beer?" *face palm*

Yea...we are like so famous (flicks hair)!

In my previous company, we were given an additional day off to do things that we want to do but never actually have the time to due to the nature of our 9-5 Monday to Friday work schedule. The idea is to spend some time away from the office and come back inspired by what we see/do and hopefully translate it into something meaningful for the business (nice PR chatline but we just took it as it is - an additional day off!) Some of my colleagues took the day off to visit a museum, watch a musical, spend time with their kids.

Me? Well I rounded up 3 of my besties from the office and we went on a house porn tour organised by Living Etc Magazine! We viewed 6 different houses in West London and had a picnic in Queen's Park. The houses were magazine styled perfection. We had a great time lapping up the interior design and casually brush our fingers across the white sofa that we are not allowed to touch or took a sneaky picture when photography is clearly not permitted. Every so often we burst into giggly fits over some design choices that tickled us. Naughty!

I know this might sound odd - like snooping into someone else's home - but if you love interior design, you would love this tour! I love it and spend too much time gawping on interior blogs and magazines. Nothing beats 'real life' tour though.  The amount of time I have my eyes fixed on an open window/door instead of the road in front of me...it is a wonder I have not hit a lamppost on my bike yet!

So this long weekend (taking Friday off!) I am:
- going on another house tour, this time viewing houses in North London with my 3 besties again. We were so excited when we found out they used a picture they took of us in their magazine to promote the event this year....Yea...we are like soooo famous - flicks hair! 
- an early start on Saturday morning in Battersea Park as Scott attempts another one of his 10k runs. As a loving wife, I sit and wait (in the cold) for him to finish it in good time. Fingers cross he do it in under 40 minutes again cause you know...the faster he runs, the less time I have to sit in the cold.
- I think a celebratory lunch will be in order after his run - something carb laden to wart of the cold for me.
- There are plans for a house warming BBQ at Ming's new flat in London Bridge. Not so sure about the BBQ bit but when it involves Ming, it will be good food so I am game!
- We have a double date dinner with El and Gareth on Sunday at Morito for a one-off theater/dining experience. I am super excited about this as it is one of our favourite restaurant
- The classic London weather is not letting up and I feel like a home-baked cake is in order...I am thinking of this as I recently bought some matcha powder

Bittersweet

It was a bittersweet trip home. But drawing from the positives, it was good to be home with my family. The last time we were all under one roof was July last year for my wedding so it felt right to be back home and hear those familiar voices and in-house jokes. I switched off - no phone, no laptop and it was a very good feeling. All my cousins were home too - all 14 of us. It has been a very very long time since we were all in the same place, albeit for a very sad reason but we were all there. There is not enough time to catch up with everyone but the emotional support was immense.

I am back in London now and still struggling to comprehend the sudden loss of a much loved uncle. I probably never will but his memories lives on.

February...according to Instagram

©       Made pineapple jam for pineapple tarts for Chinese New Year

©       Yee Sang on Chinese New Year Eve at Aunty Janice House. It was also the day I gave out my first ang pows

©       Dumpling party with El and Jen at home

©       Dinner with food bloggers (and their big cameras!)

©       Pink © pancakes for Pancake day

©       Spicy Orange Buffalo wings on the coldest day with Federica. Frozen fingers + numb tongue, we must be mad!

©       Valentine’s day flowers from Scott

©       Homemade doughnuts for dessert, made by hubs

©       Home alone so I got crafting for Scott’s Big 30 birthday

©       Alternative cinema under the train arches with El and Lucy, watching Pretty Woman. (young) Richard Gere stole my heart again

©       Revisiting Brixton Market after 4 years and had a lovely meal at Salon

©       Rhubarb in the garden = Signs of spring

©       Scott bought a bike, I named it Randeee

©       Very strong cocktails at St Pancras Hotel

©       Surprised birthday dinner at Dinner by Heston for Scott’s Big 30 birthday (more Big 30 birthday stuff here)

©       A rare Monday morning coffee break with Scott after his Big 30 birthday party

Friday love: Salted Caramels

Salted Caramel....I don't have the guts to try it. So many burnt butter stories has put the mother of all fear in me but this recipe with its fancy .gif images are making me rethink again - and pretty molds always do it for me too . Maybe maybe huh....just need to work up some courage. I will start by stocking up on butter...I mean I always have a stash in my fridge but maybe I should have more for you know, potentially burning the butter. It is not possible to get it right the first time, the baking-god can't be that kind. 

But onto this weekend:

©       We are popping over to Portobello Market for a wander. We cover our must-visit pit-stops (the vintage stall who sells me clothes at wholesale prices and the bric-a-brac man who sells broken tea cups amongst gems on Golborne Road) then it is anything that catches our eye! It has been a while since we ate at the Moroccan fish stall so we will probably pop by for some fresh grilled fish

©       We are dressing up for a murder mystery dinner party at El’s new flat on Saturday. I am Marchioness Duchamp and Scott is Dr Sigmund Fraud. I am well excited about this as I have never played this game before – I am not very good at keeping a straight face so I hope I am not the murderer! 

©       Revisiting Bone Daddies Ramen for Sunday dinner with Pierre who is in London for a flying visit. He loves his rice / noodle so I think the 20 hour pork tonkotsu is going to blow his mind 

©       We might attempt some garden clearing up if the weather is fine

Happy Friday!