This is a reminder to myself. Having a baby does not excuse me from not going to see exhibitions anymore and the warm spring weather makes it the perfect time to catch up.
Here are the shows I am dying to see:
V&A’s The Cult of Beauty and Yohji Yamamoto
NPG’s Hoppé Portraits and Ida Kar
Royal Academy’s Watteau: The Drawings
The British Museum’s Afganistan exhibition
Are there any shows you have seen recently and could recommend?
I am more and more into Raymond Blanc’s Kitchen Secrets. Apart from the lemon cake I have also made his vegetable curry and I am planning on using more of his recipes, especially the cakes. Somehow he makes all the things that I considered complex and time consuming into very simple dishes. He also inspired me to experiment.
I had a friend coming for lunch and I decided to repeat the lemon cake but my local shop didn’t have double cream, however they had coconut yogurt and I decided to change the recipe to coconut and lime cake.
The cake came out moist and delicious. I have skipped the apricot jam and just iced it with a warm lime icing. The warmth makes it translucent.
It’s such a simple cake and very quick to make, a perfect last minute baking. As an added bonus it is doable with a baby in one arm!
The weather has been fantastic, life looks much better after the dreary winter. I went out without a jacket, that’s something!
Walking around my neighborhood I felt inspired to take some pictures.
We start our tour in my street aka Wisteria Lane. It is a very quiet street where everyone knows everyone else, even if you don’t (like me) you still say hello.
Then we cross the road and enter Richmond Park, there is a long wait at the crossing and usually someone starts a chat. I met two people this way.
In the park you see bunnies.
Pass by the Beverly River.
Run into some deer.
You take a long nap.
Maybe hard to believe but it is still a London postcode.
There are so many things I simply must have in the garden, there are the big things like a greenhouse, a shed and a rustic table.
Then there are the pots, I want terracotta pots in various shapes and sizes. I need lots of accessories of course to make the garden feel ours and special.
Garden tools are also essential, we are missing few.
And the most important things – the flowers and herbs.
It will take some time to make the garden as we want it. The first year will be trial and error as well as discovering what’s already in here.
My kitchen has been turned into a nursery for now, luckily it is very sunny so the seedlings are growing like crazy.
We have now three vegetable beds going which is super exciting. Garlic, onion and parsley are the only things above the ground so far.
I am waiting for rhubarb plants to be delivered, I love rhubarb and cannot wait for the crops.
We are still deciding on the trees but my shortlist includes morello cherry, peach and hazelnut.
I am also planning to get more peonies for the back garden and some climbing roses. And some edible flowers like pansies or nasturtium so I can make this salad without breaking the bank. This will be a star of every garden party.
A lot of work ahead of us but what a joy!
The spring is definitely here, my street is in full bloom, the front gardens are peppered with daffs, hyacinths and snow drops. Crocuses are long gone. And all the apple, plum and cherry trees started to blossom.
When we were looking for a house, garden was essential but I didn’t quite imagine I would also have a decent strip at the front! This will be totally devoted to flowers.
Here is the front garden in early spring.
Obviously it needs a bit of love but there are few things that we inherited from the previous owner. We managed to plant some daffs and peonies – both are above the ground, I also put in ranunculus, poppies and some random wild flower mixture. Lavender and echinacea are growing in the kitchen and once they are tall and strong enough we will be putting them in the ground.
Mini daffodils.
Peonies.
Hyacinths.
Lavender will be lining the whole strip. I also need to get some autumn flowers so all seasons are covered. I was wondering if there are mini magnolia trees, I would love one of those.
The back garden, as you know, is huge.
Part of the strip on the left has been dug up and we have garlic and onions growing, I am very excited for the carrots, peas and parsley we planted a could of week ago, nothing yet. This weekend will be more planting, March is a busy gardening month.
I am planning to have all possible herbs.
Rosemary is waiting to be planted in April.
And the first sage stalks came out, no oregano yet.
Sweet corn is storming up, I actually thought it would be hard to grow but everyday you can see the difference.
And the cavolo nero is almost ready to go in.
Our kitchen is like a green house at the moment.
Lots more to plant and a huge amount of work lies ahead of us but it is so enjoyable and satisfying.
It has been a while since I posted about our new home. Things are happening every week but sometimes it’s just odd jobs that are not very visible, or gardening.
Over the past couple of weekends hubby installed the worktops and Ikea units in the kitchen. I also have my favorite kitchen equipment (next to the KitcheAid of course) – the dishwasher! It has saved me a lot of valuable free time and the dishes are spotless and squeaky.
There are still few things to do like the tiles need to be stuck back on, some of them exchanged for more even ones, wall below the sink needs to be plastered, we need to add lights above the worktops and get another kitchen cabinet. The wonderful old cupboards will get stripped and refreshed, possibly with color, brass handles will get uncovered , the present paintwork is shabby. I would love a shelf for my cook books and in an ideal world somewhere to display my vintage crockery. And we need some artwork on the wall. And a new cooker! Obviously I also need a whole lot of kitchen equipment, I managed to ruin a pan the other day by sterilising my breast pump without any water, the bub and I had to evacuate very fast, the smell was atrocious.
The table got new lamp shade, it’s a vintage style shade from Labour and Wait. The catkins are from Wimbledon Common. We had a proper spring day yesterday, warm and sunny but the rain returned today. A guiltless day in bed it is.
Before.
After.
Worktop and sink are a new addition, tiling to be redone in the corner.
Before before.
Before.
After but not there yet.
And on the other side. Before before.
Before.
After but not there yet.
We saved the original tiles and soon they will be back on the walls.
The kitchen feels great and homey at last. Those few finishing touches will make it look beautiful.
I felt very inspired by all the improvements and excited to have my KitchenAid back in action so some roasting and baking was in order.
We had visitors and we prepared Jamie’s beef. Our topside was marinated in Worcester sauce, rosemary, mustard, salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic.
I watched Raymond’s Kitchen Secrets and the baking episode was great. I was never a fan of his even though a 5 course meal at Le Manoir was spectacular I was put off by The Restaurant. When I was pregnant and naively thought that being with a baby gives you plenty of free time I planned to learn two things: choux pastry and macarons. Obviously I attempted neither but Raymond gave me a bit of confidence and soon I will be practicing. This weekend I had time to bake his lemon cake and let me tell you, it is delicious. You can find the recipe here.
I have simply had enough of this horridly dull weather. Overcast skies, rain, cold, wind…with the odd sunny day to tease us. I am craving sun and warmth, I want to go for long walks without fear of having my head ripped off by the wind or the bug getting a chill.
I still go out for a walk every day but it is not enjoyable. I would like to discover my neighborhood better, enjoy the surrounding parks and my own garden.
There is hope though. It is March and this sounds way better than January or February. The first mini daffodils are blooming in my front garden. Peonies are starting to break through the ground and neighbors have plenty of snow drops and crocuses cheering the street up. And the biggest improvement so far – the days are getting longer and longer.
All the garlic and onions we planted are growing beautifully and we have to start sowing the rest of the veg as March is a big month for gardening.
Freddie is changing fast, he was 10 weeks old last Tuesday and he is so active, he ‘talks’ to his Miffy mobile, plays in baby gym for longer than ever, attempts to walk when supported under the arm pits and smiles a lot. He also stays awake for longer and doesn’t fall asleep as soon as I put him in the pram. Such a joy. I have a bit more time to myself as well with regular naps and the new skill to play on his own. He hates his belly time. We read a lot of books and sing songs and chat. We had our first big trip to Wales and he slept for most of the train journey. He also had his first immunizations – a massive drama. He is 9 cm longer and 2kg heavier, my arms are getting muscly.
For indoor entertainment I have chosen a lot of classics. I started with Mayor of Casterbridge which is one of those exciting stories like The Count of Monte Cristo, I am nearly at the end and am enjoying it tremendously. I have gone bit mad with ordering books though. The next is The Age of Innocence, then Dangerous Liaisons. The Guardian ran a list of 10 most neglected classics which inspired me to order few of them, the full list:
The Blank Wall by Elizabeth Sanxay Holding
The Rector’s Daughter by F.M. Mayor
The Wife by Meg Wolitzer
A Way of Life, Like Any Other by Darcy O’Brien
Ann Veronica by H.G. Wells
The Victorian Chaise – Longue by Marghanita Laski
The Real Charlotte by Somerville and Ross
School for Love bu Olivia Manning
The Odd Women by George Gissing
The Vet’s Daughter by Barbara Comyns
Have you read any of these books?
I have also ordered The ballad of the Sad Cafe after a very strong recommendation.
I also get some time to watch films, I have few period dramas: The Mayor of Casterbridge, Middlemarch, Our Mutual Friend and Far from The Madding Crowd. I am enjoying South Riding on BBC, a great adaptation by Andrew Davies with the wonderful Anna Maxwell Martin. And my guilty pleasure – Masterchef HOWEVER I hated the two first x factor style episodes. And why is Greg the mean guy now?
If you are interested in fashion check out this great documentary about Alexander McQueen and Izzy Blow. There is also The Model Agency which I am about to watch.
Speaking of fashion I am waiting for my new spring shoe boots to arrive any moment now (yes, I am getting both colors). I am thinking black tights and shorts with these, or a good short skirt. Unfortunately I cannot wear dresses at the moment. A leather jacket and aviators will complete the look.
Fingers crossed next week the spring is here!
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