Winter Wonderland in London

We were promised and lots of it....and finally it arrived!

It's started snowing on Friday & today it's been snowing all day long, it's absolutely beautiful.

We planned to head over to north London's highest hill, Primrose Hill, for some sledging but the roads were too tricky.

So my children are outside making the most of the snow....

I'm baking bread & preparing hot chocolate. 

Let it snow!! 

Just as an aside, I read a wonderful piece of writing earlier today on an issue which I am sure that may be experienced by some & familiar to many....depression.

It was so well written as well as being courageous, honest & wise.

Please go & read it, I felt it was so worth sharing....you can find it here

Thank you to everyone who left such wonderful & brilliant comments after I wrote my "This Parenting Gig...." piece last week, I so appreciate all the wisdom, thoughts & support that was offered. 

(all photos via London Daily Mail & the BBC website)

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Christmas : London Lights

Oxford Street

Regent Street

Liberty of London

Burlington Arcade

Oxford Street

Cartier, Bond Street

 Bond Street

Cartier

Tiffany & Co, Bond Street

One of the miniature scenes in the Tiffany window....

on top of the tiny gift was the most beautiful diamond ring

Asprey, Bond Street

Just a few photos from around town today....

Bond Street was, as always, especially beautiful.

Not long now!!

 

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London Life : Mexican Supper Club

Last week I had the great pleasure of being a guest at a Mexican Supper Club, hosted by Luiz aka The London Foodie.

Supper Clubs are apparently the latest thing amongst London events....
having experienced just one of them, I'd quite happily sign up to attend regularly, they are such fun.
And the food....wow!!

I have to say that Luiz was the perfect host & we all had a fabulous time.
All brought together through a love of food & a genuine interest in sampling new dishes, there was a great atmosphere.

The Supper Club took place in his stunning home.

Luiz is a Cordon Bleu chef - and has the best selection of cookery books I have ever seen - but on this occasion, the chef was Felipe Fuentes Cruz from Benito's Hat.

Ingredients were provided by Discovery Foods.

I love food but when it comes to international food, Mexican food is something I know little about & don't really have much experience of.

I attended the Supper Club hoping to find out more....and I certainly did.

I haven't been to a Mexican restaurant for some time....but my impression that the food was pretty heavy....lots of meat & rich cheese.

The food at the Supper Club could not have been more different.

Light, fresh and so tasty....

it definitely left me wanting more and eager to try it out for myself at home.  

....tacos de camaron....

I had only had one experience of a well known brand of Mexican "meal kits" that you can buy from the supermarket years ago & I must be honest and say that it didn't really leave me wanting more. 

I was so impressed with the Discovery Foods range that I tasted last week.... 

and very happy to find out that my local supermarket stocks the whole range.
I made fajitas with my children last week-end and they were both easy & delicious.

 Ben Fordham opened Benito's Hat in London in 2008 and there are now four restaurants, located in Covent Garden, Goodge Street, Oxford Circus & King's Cross.

Felipe Fuentes Cruz has been Head Chef of Benito's Hat since it opened - born in Mexico, he emigrated to the US at the age of 19 and came to London in 2006 via Barcelona.

"The best burritos in town" The Independent

"The burritos are just brilliant, filled to improbable bursting point with squidgy, flavoursome ingredients" Metro

Luiz hosts regular Japanese & Mexican London Foodie Supper Clubs at his Islington home - 
further details can be found at his blog The London Foodie. 
The blog is also a really comprehensive guide to food & restaurants in London. 

Many thanks to Luiz, Ben, Felipe, Louisa & Ruth for a wonderful evening.

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Coffee & Cafe Shop Love

....there aren't many things nicer than spending a couple of hours in a cosy coffee shop on a Saturday afternoon in October or November

it's a refuge, a sanctuary, a home, a happy place....

reading a good book or newspaper

alone or catching up with friends

inhaling the coffee & cooking aromas

windows steaming up inside

ordering more than one coffee

soup & homemade bread

watching the world go by

My local coffee shop  - Nyborg's - is owned by two Danish friends and, happily for me, ticks all of the above boxes. It's small but perfectly formed. 

They serve Monmouth coffee, the best coffee in London & bake on the premises each day.

Go there at about 9.30am each day and you can get cinnamon bread, fresh & warm from the oven....some day it's the only way to start the day.

Sometimes the coffee chains - Starbucks or Caffe Nero - will do but it's the individual coffee places that draw you back time after time with their character & charm.

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I Heart London

Hi! I'm Sophie from The Littlest Things and I am so excited to be posting on Simone's lovely blog. She has been my little London life line while living in the UK and has made living so far away from home, so much easier! I love that I have such a passion for her home city :)
This is my London...

I don't know how it happened, but somehow, London has become my true home (temporarily anyway). After meeting a real Londoner over 5 years ago, I followed him over to the other side of the world and lived in the city for the whole year of 2009.
I fell head.over.heels.in.love with the place! It's kind of hard not to.
The city is full of so much awesomeness.

Since then, we have been living in the U.K, just not in London (and it's nearly been killing me; being so close yet still so far).
So, when I'm back there I feel instantaneously happy and so inspired.
These are some of the reasons why I love the city so much;

The British spirit

The London Eye

Hyde Park and rowing on the Serpentine

Sloane Square

Watching the changing of the guard

Leadenhall Market

The beautiful hotels

Fashion amazingness like watching the arrivals to the Burberry show

Westminster; Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament

The charming little houses

Borough market and it's cafes

Shopping at Westfield and Topshop in Christmas time

London at dusk.

I'm currently waiting for my new visa to get back there and am counting down the seconds until I step off the plane at Heathrow to the crisp London winter air.
The city is just magical.
There's no other way to describe it :)

Sophie writes the blog The Littlest Things....
a blog about life, style, fashion, food, travel & London life.
It's a gorgeous blog....a huge dose of energy and happiness.
It's everything that Sophie is....

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