Bread-tastic!

Hello! So, I normally blog about something I've done in London...but I've been a bit of a homebody lately so I thought I'd share my inside adventures this time around instead! I decided to make bread last Thursday because I was celebrating the fact my two friends (and fellow classmates) were moving in over the weekend, and since moving is such a pain...fresh bread just might make it better!

Bread! Who doesn't love it?! Especially when it's hot out of your own oven. Bread can be tricky, but this Challah recipe is pretty easy. So give it a go!

Ok, so I got a bit lazy and didn't type up the recipe! If you can't decipher some of my personal shorthand, just drop me a line and I'll do my best to clarify. Happy baking!!

London "Taco" Trucks

London's answer to the taco truck! They may not serve tacos, they may not be trucks, but they're meals on wheels! London style!

(and that's all your gettin' cause I'm tired of writing...got a paper due Monday! bleagh!)

Borough Market - Fab Fridays

Borough Market is pretty fabulous any time of year, but it's even better at Christmas when the scent of fresh pine trees, mulled wine and spiced cider hangs in the crisp air.

As a part of my studies I'm required to be in personal therapy. My therapist is pretty great and has a penchant for wearing tastefully loud clothes and jewelry. The added bonus of my Friday therapy is that my therapists office is right around the corner from Borough Markets. So, promptly at 11:55 (when our session is over) I get to go wander through the stalls and have lunch at the market! What a fabulous way to spend a Friday and start my weekend!

Freeeeedom! uh, I mean Liberty!

So, as I really should be writing my final paper of the term, and not blogging, this will be short and sweet (and mostly pictures)! Oscar Wilde said "Liberty is the chosen resort of the artistic shopper" I would have to agree! It has everything from Gucci clothes to ribbons, yarn and a fake stuffed reindeer head! And while the fabulous Christmas decor is really only there to increase the daily quid intake it does add to the festive mood while browsing each floor.

The London Hat Kanundrum

Just a short little blog (including some pictures of a few amazing hats!)

So the London hat kanundrum is simply this -

The weather in England is very hat wearer friendly. It's cold and rainy and generally has weather that does not suit un-hatted hair. You add to that numerous wonderful millinery shops throughout greater London and it should equal hats on heads on every street corner!

...but it doesn't!? I'd say that in sunny balmy LA (where by all reason, free flowing locks should rule) there are more (by a landslide) hats per capita (on the capite!)... and that, I say is the London hat kanundrum.

And now the studying beckons and I must answer to show that this head is not just a hatrack!

Baby it's cold outside... (Frieze-ing in the park)

A bright and chilly Saturday afternoon(though I wouldn't say freezing!) two mates from Uni and I decided to check out the free Frieze Art Fair in Regents park. It was all a bit surreal...

...some statuesque figures with certain parts of their face seemingly blasted out or ripped away...

...a path meandering through some fake flowers (that seemed to have the consistency of mushrooms?!)

...and then a pair of giant eggs which were my favorite. (outlandishly oversized objects are always fun, right?!)

We continued to wander up into the park to take in the rest of the show. After a short conversation with a security guard from south London (or maybe it was east, I seem to get those two confused from time to time)we discovered that we needed to go back down to the bottom of the park to see the rest of the show. A little stroll through golden leafy lanes and we were back (almost) where we started, only to discover that to get into the "real" Frieze show you had to shell out 25 quid?!!! (well, 15 for students, but still!!)As one young arty type so aptly sold it to us ..."Would you like to see some overpriced pretentious art?" Fair enough! To which we answered a resounding NO and headed off in search of a much more reasonably priced coffee!

My last snap is of Kirsty's "Bicycle GPS" which never fails to amuse me! Quite effective...unless it decides to rain!

Sunny Sundays (= long walks!)

One of the lovely things about London is, no matter how big it can seem at times, most things are just a walk away. When the stars align and a sunny day falls on a Sunday, it's the perfect time to take a wander...

Heading south through Chinatown...bright lanterns swing above and glistening rows of roasted ducks (head and all!) hang in the windows...

Following the sun I find myself popping out of the narrow streets and into a luminous green garden at Embankment on the north side of the river. Families and friends crowd the little cafe, all making the most of the splendid crisp air...

Dodging traffic and continuing on my way, I pass a plein air painter making the most of the weather and the light on the Thames and the Houses of Parliament...

The Southbank bustles with vendors, booksellers and customers, all wiling away the afternoon with bits and bobs and creased book spines...Further on, my destination, a friend and more open air browsing. Two fresh faced Londoners discovering the city for themselves. Turning up surprises around corners, delights just waiting to be found.