A marsipan day

What better way to celebrate the 30th birthday of one of your childhood friends, than to take her to a sumptuous chocolate and champagne afternoon tea at the Winter Garden?

Surrounded by palm trees and elegance, we stuffed ourselves silly on a delicious selection of sandwich fingers - organic egg mayonnaise and mustard cress, chicken, tarragon, and creme fraiche, oak smoked Scottish salmon, and the classic cucumber sandwich on fluffy white bread.

We quaffed sparkling glasses of Rose Tattinger Reserve Brut Champagne, sipped warming cups of the Winter Garden's bespoke tea, and then gorged ourselves into stupors on our tower of chocolate! For those not in the know, the tower of chocolate includes such delights as a white chocolate and mint macaroon, chocolate dipped strawberries, chocolate and raspberry creme brulee, a milk chocolate and banana pot au chocolate, and a dark chocolate and mango 'dream'...

There were also chocolate chip and fruit peel scones served with jam, clotted cream, and chocolate hazelnut spread but, our poor little tummies could take no more! So, we had them packed up for this beautiful lady to take them home for later in her special Landmark shopping bag.

An assortment of London

So here a few of the things I've been up to in London over the last two of weeks...

I had a dinner date with the lovely Miss Mara, and we ate baked cheese that had a use-by date of her 30th birthday!

I went to the Sunday Up Market and indulged in a Kooky black forest cupcake and a coffee...

... And later, in a Kooky peanut butter whoopie pie and a mulled wine!

I experienced my coldest day yet in London this year - one degree, with much evidence of Mr Jack Frost on the ground!

I lost the Thames. I'm sure this is where I left it last time.

And, I wondered down Oxford Street two hours before the shops opened on a Sunday, when there were no crowds, and found some fun Christmas display windows!

The shoes of huzzah!

These are lovely swing dancing shoes.

These are lovely swing dancing shoes that I bought.

These are lovely swing dancing shoes that I bought because I could afford to.

These are lovely swing dancing shoes that I bought because I could afford to and I was celebrating.

These are lovely swing dancing shoes that I bought because I could afford to and I was celebrating because I have a job!!!

Finally! A a little pre-Christmas miracle happened in the shape of the perfect opportunity met with perfect timing. On Monday, not more than an hour or so after I bombarded a wide selection of recruitment agencies with my CV, I received a call which lead to an interview on Tuesday, which led to a job on Wednesday! Huzzah! Said job is with an events company (huzzah!) and goes through until around mid-April (huzzah!), and they're absolutely fine with my pre-booked Christmas holidays (huzzah!). It's in a location where I don't have to contend with delayed trains on the tube (huzzah!) and therefore save money on transport (huzzah!), the team seem to be quite fun so far (huzzah!), they finish early on Fridays (huzzah!), and today, they invited me to their Christmas party next week!

Suffice to say, I'm just a bit happy at the moment.

Oh deer

Things have been reasonably quiet for me here in London town. I managed to score two weeks of work at a medical practice which was a saviour because heaven knows the agencies I'm registered with aren't helping an awful lot with keeping me in bread and milk!

So, I've been working 8:30am-6pm for the last two weeks, which means I've been out of the house from 7:30am-7pm for the last two weeks, only to come home, head out to the gym for another hour or so, then come home, cook and eat dinner, and fall into bed. The weekends I don't seem to remember overly well. Not due to me getting up to exciting adventures, but moreso because they've been filled with necessary things like grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning, and shopping for a coat.

I did manage to have a lovely girl date with Mara on Sunday, during which we scored a free bottle of wine due to the bar staff's incompetence! Huzzah for bar staff who forget to add bottles of wine to tabs!

So - I don't have any photos to show you from my recent weeks, however, I did wander down to Richmond Park a little while ago, and was lucky enough to stumble across the deer that run wild throughout. The park is huge and wild and roaming, and is a brilliant place to relax as long as you're nice and toasty warm!

What did I say? Wild and roaming.

My very first deer spotting!

Unfortunately, I hadn't come equipped with my SLR, so these point and shoot mementos are all I have at this stage, but future wanderings to this park may produce some closer shots.

Now, I have a couple of interviews with agencies lined up this week... wish me luck!

Thank you

They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years contemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

Lest we forget.

Mothers day

I think we can all agree that mum's are pretty special people. My mum, however, is even more special because she makes the best cake in the world - a banana sponge roll, which is a home made sponge, wrapped around some fresh cream and bananas, and covered in a delicious chocolate icing topped with desiccated coconut. Mmmm.... I used to have to beg and plead for this cake to be made but, since I've moved out of home, my requests get results at a much higher success rate! It appears absence makes the mum cook favourites. Either that, or she's finally realised that I am indeed her favourite child... (Don't tell my brothers!)

Today (again, in Aussie land) is Mum's birthday, and I hope that she is being treated like a queen! I'm not going to blather about the usual soppy stuff Hallmark says you should say about your mum. My mum is a strong, stubborn, loving, argumentative, caring, and beautiful woman with gorgeous red cheeks, a habit of dying her hair odd colours, and a secret softer side that not everyone gets to see. I know that my mum's heart is choc-full of love for her family and on her birthday I want her to know that my heart could just about burst with how much I love her back.

I love you Mum, even more than I love your banana sponge rolls (and that's saying something!), so I hope you have a fabulous day, and that you get at least five extra hugs from everyone you see today to make up for the ones that I can't give you in person (Dad - please make sure they deliver).

Happy birthday my dearest Mum!! xx

Orange season

The area in which I live in London is surrounded by gorgeous parks and is therefore completely enveloped by beautiful deciduous trees at this time of year... I couldn't resist taking a few photos of all the autumnal colour on my walk the other day...

I had my first day at work today! Actual office work - huzzah for not having to stand on my feet for eight hours straight, cleaning up after shoppers who can't be bothered putting things back where they got them from! It's so toasty and warm and the girls I work with are lovely and I get to sit down if I want to - it's the simple things that make me happy right now :-)