26

My goodness. A whole month has passed since I published one of my many musings here. Currently I'm sat in my living enjoying a rose spritzer in the heat, listening to R jam on his guitar. So, summer finally came. There we were thinking the season had been cancelled when last Saturday the warm, glowing orb appeared once more in the sky.

Lucky me, because on Sunday I turned 26. And a fabulous birthday it was. Friday night I dragged all who were willing to the newly refurbished Princess of Wales in Clapton. My nearest and I remember this pub as a more traditional East-End boozer, but new owners have spruced up the interiors and the menu. The food was average to good, but I wasn't bowled over by my burger and chips. However, the many glasses of wine went down a little too easily. 

Saturday I hung out with one of my fave people, the lovely Mari. Who made the trip especially to celebrate my birthday AND bought me a onesie, culotte jumpsuit. Thanks lovely! He unfortunately was tied up at work Saturday afternoon, so to coax the hangover out of me, I slow cooked a pork collar joint in an oriental sauce, the recipes here and highly recommended. Tasty and easy, if you don't mind the slow part.

For my birthday, Richard set the day in motion with breakfast. Buttermilk pancakes, strawberries and bacon, drizzled with maple syrup, my favourite. He then treated me to a selection of presents, a 60s vintage shift dress which I love, cute porcelain mouse salt and pepper shakers that I spotted last December, and 'Crystallizing Public Opinion' by Edward Bernays (I'm a public affairs/PR nerd by day). His folks got me these Lotta clogs which I love. And they're surprisingly comfortable, wore them all day Monday stomping around London-town with no bother.

My parents drove up to spend the day with us and after spoiling me with gifts including Burberry Weekend (my favourite perfume!) we headed for a Sunday roast at The Castle. The food was reliably delicious, The Castle has become a firm favourite local for quality food and ales. In my usual fashion I brushed off the questionable distance for a walk around the top of Epping Forest. 4 miles in, with 2 and a half miles to go, I admitted that in the 28 degree heat, it was all quite far. Distance is just something that my brain doesn't seem to accept when I'm walking. I could walk forever. However, my feet were incredibly grateful for the cold water bath I gave them on returning home. To finish R dished up the Peach Melba Trifle he had made (I vetoed cake, would much rather have something chilled containing custard). And we were pooped. Not without one last visit from our neighbour down the road with her two kids who gifted me some home-made Elderflower champagne. We haven't tried it yet, but am sure it will be delicious. 

Thank you to all who make this year so special. 

How are all you enjoying the summer? 

Busy bee

Now how did that happen? There we were, plodding along, then all of a sudden we got b-u-s-y. 

To the beginning, my dear Marianne. The girl who 4 years ago saved my bacon by getting drunk with me at a party of people I didn't know, weeks into mine and R's relationship, then in the same evening dragged me to her flat and offered me somewhere to live for when I became homeless a few weeks later. Marianne recently moved to the beautiful south-west city of Bath, so as the boy was away, I planned my own escape for a much-needed day and night with one of my favourite people.

After trawling the charity shops on what has been the hottest day of the year so far (I managed a dress, floral trousers, Mari got the most amazing bright floral jumpsuit) we went to Same, Same but Different - a lovely reasonably-priced tapas bar. We both had the chorizo and butter bean stew - it was the most delicious meal I've had out in ages! The stew was in a creamy, smokey sauce and we indulged by mopping it up with bread. Yay us!

The following week was the great British jubilee, so to make the most of my parents empty house we headed to Sussex for the weekend. Our Ldn neighbours and their baby came down for a few days and we managed to fit in dinner with my brother, his wife and niece too. We opted for a simple dinner of BBQ grilled chicken and salad, but were treated by my sister-in-law who brought over 20 cupcakes for us! We wouldn't call ourselves royalists, so we didn't so much celebrate the Queen's jubilee, as howl with laughter watching bits and pieces of the BBC coverage. Thanks GB, for always being ever-so-slightly embarrassing. We wouldn't have it any other way.

xo

Review: Bill's Islington, London

I could not quite contain my excitement last week when I spotted a postcard for the new Bill's Cafe in Islington. For a few years now, we've been fans of the Bill's in Brighton (pictured) and Lewes - they're almost always the place I get to spend time with my dearest and oldest friends, catching up over Eggs Florentine (which fyi in England is pretty hard to come by!) and giant milkshakes. So earlier in the week, with the draw of a free bottle of wine to celebrate their opening, we decided to try out the new location.

To start we had some veggies with hummus to share and got started on the house wine. The hummus was lovely but the carrots/celery were a little on the thin side. Anywho, we got on with enjoying our meal and for main both had the Bill's burger (pictured) - me with guacamole, him with cheese. The burger was delicious - served in toasted brioche, which I have to tell you I was sceptical about, but nevertheless the combination of buttery bread, avocado mush and home-made burger worked. 

Next up dessert. I ordered the cheesecake with lemon curd and he ordered the pavlova. Unfortunately they were all out of pavlova so instead he ordered an ice cream sundae. Both were nice, although staff had failed to notice the pumpkin seeds that had attached themselves to mine before serving and R enjoyed feeling like a 5-year-old eating his sundae.

So what did we think? Well, I think we both agreed that the atmosphere just wasn't the same. The food was great, but the reason we love Bill's so much back in my home county is because of it's warm, relaxed atmosphere. Perhaps it's because they haven't quite found their feet but Bill's Islington felt like it had been Londonified in a way. Oh well, just another reason for our move to Sussex.

Megan xo