God's Own Junkyard

Behind an industrial estate isn't the first place you'd go hunting for gourmet food, drink and a miniature Blackpool illuminations. However, in Walthamstow such a wonder exists.

God's Own Junkyard

Hovis Ads and Swedish Vallhunds

So far I've blogged lots about what M and I got up to on our Easter weekend getaway, such as visiting Durdle Door and Abbotsbury, but in reality they were an hour's drive from our actual accommodation.

Durdle Door

On the Dorset coast lies an impressive archway made of rock called Durdle Door.

Rolling Hills and Homity Pies

Last weekend M and I escaped the Big Smoke for the Wiltshire/Dorset border.

St Catherine's Chapel - Abbotsbury

Old Mother Hubbard

I was away last weekend and, when I returned on Monday, I wanted something quick, healthy and tasty.

Aura Rosa Cakes

I ventured East to visit Frankie in Walthamstow. She showed me the many of the delights of Walthamstow Village including a dreamy little 'cakery' called Aura Rosa.

Aura Rosa can be found at Penny Fielding Gallery and Interiors which is an eclectic mix of bric-a-brac, trinkets and interesting interiors. However, seeing as I'm always guided by my tummy, I immediately headed straight to the back of the store where Aura Rosa was hiding.

Maltby Street Market

Move over Borough Market, there's a new market in town...

Maltby Street Market

Summerberry Scrunch

This recipe is a super healthy, delicious mix of soft greek yogurt, summer fruits and crumbly oat topping. The oaty topping is full of protein rich nuts and seeds and uses margarine to help reduce 'bad' cholesterol by lowering the amount of LDLs (low density lipoproteins) in the blood. The use of honey and Agave syrup with minimal muscovado sugar provide sweetness in the most natural way possible. Omitting double cream and using greek yoghurt gives a healthy creamy contrast to the sharpness of the summer fruits.

Pitfield Popup

I love a store which is more of a destination rather than just a shop. Automatically, large department stores such as Selfridges and Ikea do this, but it's only in recent years that some smaller stores have cottoned on the fact that shoppers want more from their 'shopping experience'

The Chesil Rectory

I couldn't possibly write up my birthday without dedicating a whole post to dinner.

M chose apparently the UK's '3rd most romantic restaurant', the Chesil Rectory in Winchester. I'm always intrigued by these accolades - when do they decide to stop rating the most romantic restaurant - is it at the 5th or is there a restaurant somewhere out there declaiming that they are Britain's 67th most romantic restaurant?

Walking in a Win(ches)ter Wonderland

Fact: Winchester is probably the most quintessentially English place in England.

Birthday Surprises

Although birthdays are always fun I wasn't particularly enamoured to be getting a year older this year.

Step forward M who made it his personal mission to make sure I had a brilliant birthday. My birthday was on Friday, and M presented me with this card on Thursday night complete with riddle to solve as to where we would be going. I couldn't believe how thoughtful he had been!

Before you read on, can you guess where we were off to?

Burgers, Bullring and Birmingham

As I was staying in Warwickshire for longer than usual, I had to squeeze in a visit to the Bullring in Birmingham. 

I spent many years wandering around the shops here when I was a teenager and it was great to pop back this time with my Auntie Jill.

Saxon Mill, Warwick

Now I've broken up for the Easter holidays, it's the perfect opportunity to go visit my family at home in Warwickshire. Meet the Ashley's who I call my pseudo-family. We're not related but we might as well be. I've known them pretty much my whole life and think of James and Charlie as the brothers I never had.

Jacqui was keen to take me out for dinner for a treat. We avoided a minor disaster when she told me that she had booked a table at Loch Fyne in Kenilworth. I ummed and arred for ages as to whether I should admit that I don't eat fish, after all there are several no fish options on the menu. In the end, I decided to tell her as I realised I would be pretty disappointed if I took someone out for dinner and discovered that they didn't eat 90% of the menu!

Recipe: Almond and Lemon Roulade

I've mentioned hundreds of times before that I adore meringue, and, after sampling my friend Andy's delicious chocolate roulade, I knew it was about time that I tried my hand at making one.

source

Because I'm fond of sharp, citrussy flavours, it had to be a lemon one, an almond and lemon one to be exact. I borrowed the recipe from the BBC Good Food website (the reason why I no longer buy any new cook books - this website is a life saver)

Brick Lane Curry

Brick Lane is rammed full of curry houses.

Picking one in no easy task, especially when each curry house has its owner outside insisting that you come in and 'try the best curry in town'.

London Coffee Festival

This time last year, M and I happened to be in Brick Lane when the London Coffee Festival was on. Hopeful to attend, we queued up for ages, only to be told that all the tickets had sold out.

Specs Saving with Bailey Nelson

Buying new glasses has always been a bit of an ordeal.

My eye sight is appalling. I'm extremely shortsighted and even have difficulty locating my glasses on the bed side table. It's definitely more of a fumble hoping that I'll bump into them. My glasses are the very first things I put on in the mornings and the last things I take off at night.