restaurant: nopi

the bathroom!

Hello friends, how excited are you for the long weekend?! I know most people are heading out of town, but if you’re staying in London, I would definitely recommend Nopi, the newest and most luxurious of restaurants by famed chef Ottolenghi. The restaurant is stunning, all white and gold and flickering candle light. There is a dining area upstairs for small parties and communal tables downstairs that overlook the kitchen.

The menu is designed for sharing with our waitress suggesting two and three dishes each. The portions are generous but dishes can be quite pricey! They come out as they are made, so not necessarily in the order that you order them and the menu will change with the seasons – a great excuse for repeat visits.

Our first dish was seared scallops, pickled daikon & green apple – the caramelised sweetness of the grilled scallops contrasted nicely with the tart apple and picked daikon; it was followed by grilled mackerel filets, served with a Thai inspired coconut, mint & peanut salad. Our confit artichoke, faro, broadbeans and preserved lemon came next, it doesn’t say on the menu but it’s dotted with a melt in your mouth goats cheese and my goodness it was devine! A baked blu di pecora cheesecake was served chilled with a side salad of gorgeous greens & picked mushrooms. And I think they saved the best to last as our miso quail, red shallots grapes & ver juice was like nothing I’ve ever tasted. The quail was spatch-cocked and de-boned making it incredibly easy to eat and the grapes and ver juice tasted sweet…almost like candy. We barely had room for dessert, but went for the pineapple galette which wasn’t really a galette at all but a thin upside down tart served with a creamy coconut ice cream. All in all: heaven.

Nopi, 21-22 Warwick Street, London, W1B 5NE

for the kitchen

There is a lot to be said for spring cleaning and during my recent kitchen clear out, I found our dinner plates to be cracked, chipped and generally a bit sad looking. I popped into one of my favourite American imports, Anthropologie, last week and found these superfab aviary sketchbook plates! I love the bright colours and hand drawn birds, the sweet detail on the back of each plate makes them totally covetable. Now I just need to convince husband they are the perfect replacement...

minga: wtf

I found these posters over Christmas and thought one would be the perfect present for my little brother. Unfortunately, when I contacted the guys at Society6, a design studio in Argentina, these prints from Minga were not yet for sale. We have stayed in touch however and the guys at Minga emailed me recently to let me know the posters are now available to buy. I think they are hilarious! And totally perfect for a guys dorm room. Something I'll definitely get for my brother.

spring has sprung

cherry tree

cherry tree

apple blossem

plum blossem

Hello friends, what did you do this weekend? It was gorgeous here and I was lucky enough to get out of the city and spend Saturday with a lovely group of ladies in the country! We went for a long walk, enjoyed a leisurely pub lunch and spent the afternoon exploring Brogdale Farm. The farm is one of the largest gene banks of fruit species in the UK - with hundreds of different types of apples, pears, cherries, plums and quince. This weekend saw some of the first blossoms on the fruit trees and they were absolutely stunning! We had an hour long tour and I can't wait to go back later in the year to taste some of what's sure to be fantastically tasty fruit. What did you get up to this weekend?

hilarious

and clearly totally true. via pinterest.

restaurant: spuntino

Deary me people, have you been to Spuntino? This recently opened gem of a restaurant is definitely worth checking out. It's run by Russell Norman, whose other restaurants Polpo and Polpetto are equally exciting...but I've dined at both and it is this one that's something special. Maybe it's their nod to the deep South, maybe it's their ridiculously indulgent food, but this place just screams late night lounging on a hot summer's night.

It is a no phone and no reservations kind of place, which means you rock up and queue along a slim back bar. We ordered a perfectly quaffable flask of wine and munched on some tasty nuts while we waited. Once sat at their U shaped bar (there are no tables) we were promptly served a mug of popcorn from their very knowledgeable bar staff.

And the food! We started off with deep fried, breaded olives with a little anchovy stuffed inside that had melted into the olive leaving behind it's deep flavour. Instead of main courses we ordered a three side dishes. Soft shell crab was to die for, the mac & cheese some of the best I've ever tasted! A side salad of beets with ricotta and pistachio's helped cut through the richness of the other dishes. We were way too stuffed for dessert but the guys next to us ordered a peanut butter & jelly sandwich.Seriously, it doesn't get much better than that.

Spuntino, 61 Rupert Street, W1d 7PW

photos via Gourmet Chick

the olympics

Nadia Comaneci

Mary Lou Retton

Kim Zmeskal

We have just less than a month to place our orders for the London Olympics 2012. And while there seems to be a lot of debate as to the value of hosting the Olympics, I have to admit, I have been utterly swept up in the excitement of it all! I was a gymnast when I was younger and watching the women compete year after year just keeps getting more exciting. The tricks these girls are capable of doing now is nothing compared to when I was in the sport. Fingers crossed I get some tickets to the finals! What will you guys be watching?

the rooftops are calling

Shoreditch House

Shoreditch House

The Boundary

Don't you just love London in the spring? The weather is amazing, it seems everyone is out on the streets and the rooftop bars are finally back in action.  I've never understood why there are so few places in London that take advantage of the stunning space and views rooftops provide. I popped by the Boundary last weekend and couldn't believe there was already a queue to get up top! Undeterred by the crowds, I've made it my mission this spring to check out all the rooftops London has to offer. My first outing to Shoreditch House was fantastic. Ridiculous fashion, dangerous cocktails and a heated pool! I keep wondering if it's worth the membership? Next on my list is the Sky bar at the Mint Hotel. Any others I should check out?

edelweiss by sarah

I recently started a new job that requires me to be more dressed up for work. As most of the people I worked with previously wore the ubiquitous black suit with coloured tee, I've been looking for something more interesting to spruce up my limited work wardrobe...and these stunning dresses by Edelweiss by Sarah totally fit the bill! They are the perfect combination of professional and stylish - definitely top of my list.

house of hackney

dalston rose 

queen bee

hackney empire

How amazing are these rooms? Over the weekend, I went to check out the new interiors shop, House of Hackney. To launch their ridiculous first collection they created a pop up shop inside an old Victorian town house! It meant you could wander through each of the rooms and see the pieces as they would be used. The attention to detail was just crazy, the shop girls were wearing customised outfits fashioned from the fabric used in each of the collections!

My two favourites pieces were the ombre wallpaper in the Dalston Rose Room and the super lush bed sheets, complete with detailed bees, in the Queen Bee Room. And even though most of of the pieces are way outside my budget, the fantasy and spectacle of the collections make them more than worth checking out.

Photos via House of Hackney and Style Bubble.

antlers - totally obsessed

We are about halfway finished redesigning our lounge upstairs. It started off looking like this, but after doing the floors and painting the walls it now looks like this. Husband and I are in discussions as to how to finish off the room. My vote? A collection of these amazing antlers below...

What do you think?

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