7

It's the big 7 year anniversary ...I am going to give him a good back scratch tonight so he doesnt itch!

Wedding bonfire

I have so many pictures to share from Eleanor and Gareth's wedding in Wales - it was definitely not the standard wedding and that just adds to the fun and fabulousness of it. But the usual wedding pictures have to wait because I am excited about sharing pictures of the bonfire they lit on the second night of the wedding 'festival-party' first. I can't remember the last time I was at a bonfire and it was magical....Imagine you were rained on for the last 2 days and nights (not an exxageration - add to that we were also camping for this wedding) and suddenly the sky clears, full moon and the fire went up. We huddled up, warmed up, drank Amaretto and toasted marshmalllows with the fire heating up our cheeks.

This would be picture overload but it was one of my favourite bit of the wedding and I struggle to pick favourites. The fire is so mesmerising....





























bonfire + fireworks = perfect ending to the wedding party

Happiness in all forms

Things that make me happy recently


1) Home grown blueberries - finally, after 2 years in waiting!

2) freshly planted pack chois, courgettes and swiss chards

3) New addition to the garden veggie family - turnip and beetroot. We successfully planted carrots before but this year we are trying out a new variety - purple carrots with yellow concentric circles - makes you a little curious just spellling that out no!? Freshly sowed last week


4) Bedtime reading

5) Giving away 6 big bags of stuff to charity - the flat feels so much cleaner! How do we accumulate so much so quickly??


6) Vintage apothecary bottles! I had to contain myself when I saw this and the price quoted just so the lady who sold it to me doesn't think she priced it too low...because she did!


7) wedding DIY - finally got my act together to get going


8) painted toenails = sun....finally! 26 degrees today!


9) street musicians


10) this note I found while clearing stuff out...'Mr Bomba Stick' hahahaha...classic...and whose handwriting is it?


11) Tulips from Columbia flower market. Its double petal power...almost like a peony but not quite!

We have the long weekend coming up to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee and we are off to 'da valleysss' (Wales!) for a festival theme wedding! Happy 4 days weekend!

Mission Accomplished!

1) We finally spruced up the cellar entry. Nothing major - a good old scrub, a little bit of paint magic, trusty Dyson to suck up the dusk and we have a more welcoming cellar entry! You would think that a space that small would take no time to get it done but we had to do this over 2 weekends - DIY always always takes longer than expected. The tiny shelves baffled us for a day as we struggled to get the screws in, we were having a 'blond' moment but we got there. Tip of the day: It's all about the tools....get a freaking awesome drill!


2) Salad box for the seasons - you can see the rocket leaves (top left) sprouting out faster than the rest....I would like to believe that is why they are called rocket...for speed of sprouting - very apt! In 2nd place is the mixed leaves salad and in joint 3rd/last place are spinach and cress. Can we deduce from this that popeye is strong but not a fast runner?


3) Rhubarb and strawberry jam - its a known fact that once you see rhubard in your garden/shops you know summer is just around the corner! It is always our first harvest from the garden and it reminds us to get our act together for the rest of the seedling for the season. One jar will be kept for all the 'special' people visiting in August


4) Tomatoes and chillies going strong and ready to be potted outside once the sun decides to show up. We always start with seeds vs. baby plants...cheaper but require some organisation to get it going whilst it is still freezing outside. Look at how tall these are already...so proud!

5) And the biggest accomplishment of all - I got my Permanent Residency approval! Woo hoo. 12 years and counting as a UK resident....crazy how fast time flies. I want to bake to celebrate...but not quite yet. Scott is away this weekend for his stag do (I hope he survives without alcohol poisoning!) and I cannot justify baking a cake just for myself...I cannot...it is bad...bad for my hips and heart function...So I will wait ... to share the fat love

Sunny weekend - at last!

The sun came out and it was made very clear it is only for this weekend and come Monday the rain is back! So we try to 'consume' as much of London as possible

1) Head out to Portobello to get my fix of dirt cheap vintage clothes - one lace dress for a fiver and a Barbour jacket for Scott for 15 pounds set me up just right!

2) Golborne road - fresh grilled fish, trellick tower and 2 old-skool ice cream cups + glass jug, all for 2 pounds made it a super day for a dander










3) Little Venice with friends, waiting for the watertaxi to take us up the barge to Camden market via London Zoo. Playing tourist in London is fun, in small doses











4) Camden Market - it has been a while and the craziness, crowd and mainly tat being sold reminds me why we don't visit more often...it also made us feel old (boo!)


5) Pizza dinner and a group pic (exclude Scott). See you in Malaysia guys!

Lemon curd

Lemon curd never really appeal to me. I mean let's start with the name itself: lemon is fine, curd...urrgghhh. There is a strong word association with turd, curdled milk, old fashion. None of which are appealing connotations. And what do you use it for...and how the hell do one finish a whole jar of it? I have no idea...Lemon curd is just not part of our kitchen vocabulary



But that is besides the points, I made lemon curd last night...as in late last night when a sudden urge tells me to do something with the lemons we bought and no...don't chicken out and make lemon cake which is perfectly fine for another day but not at 9.34pm at night! So I hunt around online and lemon curd poped out as an option and I had all ingredients on hand. No backing out now!



I think of lemon curd as Kaya sour-puss sister. Kaya is definitely the 'sister that everyone loves, she can do no wrong, will marry her high school sweetheart and have 2.5 kids in the suburbs' while lemon curd is 'the sister with a bit more attitude, sometimes bitchy, most likely working in media type job with a partner...not married and stay in a brownstone house in Williamsburg' (uh oh..I think I just merge my imaginary life with lemon curd!) Anyway...back to Kaya and lemon curd, they share similar ingredient list but swap the coconut with lemons (obviously!) and add butter to the lemony mix.

I used this recipe because I have been following his blog for a while now, always salivating at his dishes from afar but never tried any of his recipes and I relate to his dare-devil attitude of cooking it on direct heat vs using a double-boiler. In my defense it was close to 10pm when I started cooking and I needed an easy, 1-pan kind of cooking.



Taste wise....sweet with a sour citrusy kick, it has a lovely smooth velvety teture to it which I assume is from the butter which makes eating it directly from the jar fairly addictive. So far we have mixed it in with yogurt and embarassingly directly from the jar when in need of a sugar kick. The yield is fairly limited from the recipe so I think I will have to make another batch soon....I can't believe we never had lemon curd at home - oh what wasted years....

Sunday walk on Regent's Canal

Tube traveling is so integral to London living. It influences when one stay, work, go for dinner, shop etc. Its extensive network makes travellling in London a breeze (when there isn't a 'signal failure'!) but it can seriously screw up ones plan as well. I had my heart set on visiting the Capital car boot sale in Pimlico today but no Victoria line meant 2 changes of tube and bus replacement service to get to the carboot vs a direct tube ride on Victoria line - what a faff....scrap that idea! So we ended up on one of those Timeout recommended 'secret London' walk on the Regent's canal from Angel to the east and ended up in Bermondsey Market for a cuppa. It was the perfect 'plan B' Sunday - dodging cyclists, runners and ducks on the narrow canal and not a car in sight....as if we are not in London A well deserved sweet treat from the hour long walk