Books by my Bedside

For a while now I've been reading Sasha Wilkins blog Liberty London Girl and enjoyed her varied and honest posts.  She's a style editor and has worked both here and in New York and although she is now based back in London, she certainly manages to get around.  She loves to cook, that much is obvious from the copious recipes on the blog, so I guess it was no great surprise that she had a cook book in the offing going by the name of Friends, Food, Family.  Well, it was released last week and as a little treat I ordered one up.  I've sort of given up buying cook books because a) I have so many and b) I've not had much time to peruse them.  I have, however, recently been extremely bored with my food offerings at the supper table; I've lacked inspiration when planning meals and haven't particularly enjoyed what I've been cooking, so thought this would be a good kick-start for me.  I got back from the gym this morning and there it was.  So far I've only had a quick flick through, but tonight in bed I will 'read' it properly, but even from the quick glances I've managed to earmark quite a few things to try.  The book is split into obvious sections like breakfasts, parties, cake and tea, kitchen suppers, but the real joy is that there's no fancy pants preparation involved in most of the recipes.  The ethos of the book is about sharing simple food that tastes great, with people who enjoy it.  Suits me.



{Roast lamb with anchovies, garlic and rosemary}



 



{Fried gnocchi with mozzarella,cherry tomatoes and basil}



{Chicken and root veg tagine}

I'm going to be trying out some of these recipes over the next few weeks.

Five Things to Look Forward to this Weekend

So, it's been a pretty crazy kind of week.  Not much downtime and lots of lates at work.  It makes the weekend so precious and every moment has to count.  Here's some of my plans for the rest of the weekend...hope yours is full of happy moments, laughter and people you love...

{Mind: Lie-ins, tea in bed, catch up on some blogging}

{A walk by the water}

{Body: Eating healthy, delicious food}

{A spot of retail therapy}

{Soul: Time to reflect and plan}

Happy Weekend x

 Images:1-6

Thought for the Day

Liebster Blog Award

So hello again!  Long time no posts and for that I really do apologise.  It's been a very hectic time over the last month.  Lots of things going on and not a lot of time to do anything else.  But I'm back... and this time with a more personal post as when I was browsing the web last week I discovered that Lifelola had been nominated for the Liebster blog award. This award is all about supporting the smaller blogs out there and although it seems that there are different variations on what you post these are the things that are common to all:

• answer 11 questions that have been asked of you
• post 11 random things about yourself
• nominate other bloggers and create 11 new questions for these bloggers to answer

So, thank you Doris from Diary of an Interior Novice for nominating me; here are your questions and my answers:

• What is your favourite day of the week?  Wednesday (broken the back of the week)
• What is the weather like outside your window? Overcast and grey
• Who is the most inspiring person in your chosen field? The dedicated teacher
• What is your favourite piece of furniture in your home and why? My large white feather sofas because they wrap themselves around you like a hug when you sit down (unless my children got there first!)
• What is the first thing that you do when you get home? Cuddle the cats/children depending on which allows me near them, otherwise have a cup of tea
• What is your favourite food? Italian
• What is your favourite colour?  green or pink
• Do you prefer dresses or jeans? Depends on my mood
• When do you blog?  Not enough currently, but usually in the evenings
• What was your favourite subject at school?  English/History
• What's your favourite TV show?  The Good Wife

Ok, so, 11 random things about me are:

1.  I'll choose savoury over sweet every time
2.  I read cookery books at night in bed like others read a novel
3.  I devour books and when I'm on a roll can get through 4/5 books a week
4.  I hate it when people are late
5.  I go to bed ridiculously early during the week
6.  Swimming is one of my passions, especially in the sea, rivers or lakes
7.  Spiders scare me
8.  I love big snuggly jumpers
9.  My current moto is 'don't look back because you're not going that way'
10.  Patience is not something that comes easily to me!
11.  I prefer to go shopping on my own

Now here are the blogs that I nominate:

htttp/www.jeffreydallan.blogspot.com

http/www.aquietstyle.co.uk

http/www.thebrand-stylist.com

http/www.pippajamesoninteriors.co.uk

and these are my questions for you:

• If you could live in any city for a year which one would you choose?
• Wine or beer?
• If you were a book which genre would you be?
• What's your most annoying habit?
• Simple or extravagant?
• What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
• Which person has influenced you the most throughout your life?
• When was your last 'random act of kindness'?
• What was the last book you read?
• How and where will you celebrate Christmas this year?
• What are you cooking for dinner tonight?

Well, that's it.  I hope you've enjoyed reading these random things and hope you take a peek at these other blogs too. 

Happy Weekend!