And we all march to the beat of a drum

Hello there,

After a lengthy absence in which I've gone through a number of life changing events I am back and blogging again!

I've made the decision to open up my writing in here to things other than food. From now on I will write about all the things I love; fashon, film, art, literature, interiors, music, travel and everything else that goes into making me the happy-go-lucky bouncy kinda gal that I am.

It was my birthday over the weekend and I've had the loveliest time with lots of wonderful people and was given some amazing gifts. My very good friend Clare (http://misssimmondssays.blogspot.com/) and I went for a jaunt around Waddesdon Manor yesterday which was typically fabulous and included a rather decadent lunch. She is incredibly talented at arts and crafts, having made me a hair comb with felt flowers for Christmas, she fashioned me a beautiful fascinator which I plan to wear to several events over the coming months. Here are some gratuitous posing pictures showing off Clare's handywork:

Amusingly I also treated myself to a year's National Trust membership. Not sure if it's a sign of my age that I purchased it on my 29th birthday or if I'm just slightly eccentric seeing as I think I would've done it anyway no matter how old I am!!

Today I met some of my other lovely friends for a drink at the insanely opulent Crazy Bear in Beaconsfield http://crazybeargroup.co.uk/beaconsfield/ where I had a delicious 'French 75' cocktail and was showered with gifts (I am so so lucky). We then went to the less opulent but no less delicious Old Bengal for an Indian Sunday buffet lunch. I am now stuffed full of curry and rather sleepy.

All in all a smashing weekend!!

More posts to come soon.

TTFN xx

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Hallowe'en - or should that be Mallowe'en?!

Hello there!


I made 'Mallowe'en' Ghosts the other day for Halloween - fun, freaky and pretty easy to make, these treats were very tasty!!

My task now is to make a suitably beautiful birthday cake for my lovely sister-in-law to take to her birthday get-together this weekend. Must get on with looking for recipes!!

I will obviously keep you posted on what I make and post pictures.

Bye!!

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quick humpday update

Hello all,

Thank goodness it's wednesday, I can feel the weekend getting closer and that can only be a good thing!!

Need to set aside some time this week to make my Halloween confectionary for the little gathering I am having on Saturday, seen a great recipe on twitter from the lovely GBBO finalist Holly Bell so I might give that a whirl - watch this space!

Had a lovely time on Sunday at the Soho Hotel, wonderful three course lunch where the only thing I could possibly fault was that my yorkshire pudding was a little over done. As it was a bit of a follow on celebration for the lovely Isabelle's birthday the hotel had been told it was a special occasion and so once we had finished our lunch they brought out a big plate of chocolate with a candle in and sang Happy Birthday. I might not go to the Soho Hotel very often after this (it not being particularly cheap) but anywhere that celebrates someone's birthday with a pile of broken up gourmet chocolate and fruit can only be good in my book!

http://www.firmdale.com/london/the-soho-hotel/soho-refuel-bar-restaurant

Bye for now!

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terribly lazy!

Hello all,

So sorry for my lackadaisical approach lately to this blogging malarkey - the time keeps running away from me. Perhaps I should tackle it the same way as my work load i.e. to do lists and reminders on my outlook calendar?

Anyway, lots of food related fun has been occurring lately, firstly with a successful bake of a 'Pirate's Treasure Map' cake for my nephew's birthday. He was thrilled and I was very pleased with the final result.

I only have a picture of it when it was a 'work in progress', my sister-in-law is due to send me a picture taken at the birthday party of it when it was finished (silly me forgot to do that!) so I will upload that when I receive it;

Must get commissions from friends with children so I can make more and hone my craft!! As a first attempt I was impressed though.

Last week my lovely boyfriend took me to one of our favourite restaurants for a very delicious dinner. If you are ever in the Slough/Burnham/Cippenham area please do check it out on my recommendation, it is in a peculiar location and has the misleading name of Tummies which personally I think makes it sound a tad like a takeaway, however the Swiss chef there is excellent and the food is always fantastic! http://www.tummies.net/

In honour of it being National Baking Week this week I made miniature shortbread biscuits, they went down a treat in the office with my colleagues which is always nice to see. With a couple of days still left in a week dedicated entirely to baking I may push the boat out and make muffins or brownies too.

Watch this space for a Halloween related update!

Ta ta for now.

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happy mondays?

Hello there,

I wanted to post in here over the weekend but was a) very busy and b) foiled by my consistently underachieving broadband connection.

Lots of food consumed over the last two days what with a lovely lunch with my boyfriend at The Royal Oak in Frieth (delicious food but the table service is rather hit and miss, a twenty minute wait for a bottle of wine and some tap water was excessive, even on a busy Saturday lunchtime). www.royaloakmarlow.co.uk

Saturday night was a trip to Thai Square in Windsor for the lovely Isabelle's birthday, then on to Browns for quite simply the strangest yet most delicious cocktail I've tried to date; think 'liquid Bakewell Tart' and you're heading in the right direction....

The cakes I made for Belle were a success, nothing went wrong and when I tried one I think I managed to ensure the consistency of the sponge was light and fluffy with a good orange flavour and the cream cheese frosting was smooth and creamy yet refreshing with its orange zest and orange oil combination. And here are some pictures;

Rather pleased with my efforts!!

Yesterday I went for a lovely walk in the sunshine and had a drink in The Olde Bell in Hurley, a fantastic foodie discovery which we were disappointed to have not visited before now seeing as they have their own kitchen garden from which they sell produce and a large BBQ area in the beer garden serving up amazing fresh BBQ'd meats, it smelt amazing!!! However they have a very good restaurant there too so no doubt it will also be a lovely cosy bolthole in the Autumn and Winter - perfect for a bottle of red, a Sunday roast and a good read of the papers.... www.theoldebell.co.uk

This week is shaping up to be very busy with work and the baking of a Pirate's Tresure Map cake for my nephew's birthday this weekend.

Ta Ta for now.

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friday food...

good morning fellow foodies!

today has had a good start as my Director bought bacon sandwiches for everyone in the office. now, even though i am supposed to be on a bit of a health kick at the moment the temptation of white bread with crispy bacon and lashings of ketchup was too much to resist so i indulged!

luckily i have a healthier and more nutritious lunch option of goats cheese, rocket and cucumber salad with honey & mustard dressing so all is not lost.....

it is my friend Belle's birthday this weekend so tonight or tomorrow i am going to be making her some (hopefully) delicious cakes as part of her birthday present. as we are having such unseasonably warm weather this week i shan't use the sort of recipe i usually would at this time of year which would call for warming spices, toffees, caramels and chocolates - thick dense cakes with wonderfully rich toppings.

no, because indian summer is upon us i am honouring it with my choice of cakes;

• orange cupcakes with cream cheese and orange oil frosting


• lemon cupcakes with rosewater icing

i will of course let you know how i get on with these recipes and will post photos of the end result!

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greetings....

i will mostly write about food (a subject that is an old friend to me!). i'm a keen foodie, i bake often and i eat out on a regular basis so this blog will be packed with recipes, photos and recommendations when it comes to all things gastronomical.

enjoy!!

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