Weekend #4

This weekend was a good one as we FINALLY spent it in London after J managed to get the weekend off call. I have a trip to France next week so won't be seeing each other for a while so it was nice to get out and see the sights. We had a lovely day planned on Saturday where we were going to go to Richmond and hire out a boat on the river as the weather was supposed to be lovely. Long story short, it wasn't. We didn't realise the boats aren't in the park bit of Richmond, they are in fact on the Thames so we were wandering around for ages and the the heavens opened! Lucky we both had a sneaky coat in our bags.

After our afternoon of sunshine and fun was rained off, J (shockingly) suggested that we head to Westfield. Now this is a man, like most others, that has a loathing of shopping and all related locations so I thought I would grab the most of the opportunity as I had never been before, even after living in London for nearly a year now! We weren'r really on the hunt for anything but it was somewhere indoors that we could mosey around for a bit, and a sight to see if you haven't been before - it's HUGE! We followed this up with a big scrummy burger and skinny fries from Gourmet Burger Kitchen (also somewhere I had not been before) and headed home for a much needed sleep.

Today we went to Oxford Street, again on J's suggestion - I don't know what is getting in to him?! We just went for a mooch around and to see if there was anything in the sales that we fancied. Although there wasn't much, it was still nice to have free time walking around Central as usually I'm only there at work or rushing around like a crazy thing at lunchtime. We had a very naughty lunch - a 'Wox Box' which is basically a box stuffed with Chinese/Asian style food so naturally lots of caramel chicken and special fried noodles went my way! We figured we could justify it as we were walking it off ;)

We spent the afternoon ambling around the National Portrait Gallery (another new spot on my map, I am sounding rather useless here) and then walked through Trafalgar Square and along Whitehall (past Dave's house!), past Big Ben and in to St. James Park which was nice. Again being touristy is not something I do often so it was really nice to take in some sights, especially as the weather was on our side this time.

After a tense game of Football (Can't say I was paying too much attention as I had my head buried in my comp!) and a long weekend of walking and sightseeing, I am exhausted! I think that this song is one that is extremely apt. for this weekend in particular. I love the soothing voice of Joe Purdy and his songs bring back some very good memories so this is the Sunday sound I am loving this evening.

E x

The Roebuck Pub, Chiswick

After a really positive work, my housemate suggested that we should go out for some dinner to celebrate. She also managed to do all of the weeding around our house (a mammoth and well overdue task) so a well deserved treat was needed. We toddled our way down to Chiswick High Road and in to a pub called the Roebuck.

This pub has a really lovely feel with big oak tables outside the front and little mini church pews and rickety tables inside. The main feature, and the one we headed right for (wine in hand) was the gorgeous beer garden. This little gem also stays full of sunshine in to the late evening which is handy thing to note. It was practically idyllic, sipping on a lovely citrusy New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc and chomping on some chilli stuffed olives in the sunshine - heaven!

We were getting a bit peckish for something more than olives so had a quick squiz over the menu and were both very taken by the char grilled cote du bœuf, big chips, served with chop house butter (which was amazing!). I did order my steak rare, however when it arrived it was more medium but luckily the meat was so tender that this did not matter too much. It was seasoned perfectly and the house butter was so yummy - lots of finely chopped parsley and red onion in it as well so lots of delicious flavours.

Aside to the scrummy flavours, it was also presented in a really great way - this pan weighed a tonne!

I just managed to get this quick snap (although you can see I had already sampled the corner!) before diving in, it was smelling far too good to hang about. I would definitely return for this yummy steak - I would just insist on it being a little less cooked next time. All in all, it was the perfect end to a really positive day which could have gone a lot worse!

E x

Weekend #3

So today has been a perfect mix of relaxing and being productive. I was down in Southampton this morning until this afternoon and then waved goodbye to J as he went off rowing and I stayed in bed with a cup of tea, reading some of my favourite blogs. I planned to make my way back to London but the weather was lovely and sunny so I sat in the garden and painted my nails and generally relaxed. I also managed to catch up on writing lots of blog posts which was nice as I don't often get time for this. It's usually a last thing at night jobby.

Getting back to London before nighttime means that I have managed to get on top of the mountain otherwise known as my washing pile. It's a good job I have lots of clothes/underwear or I would run out all the time!

An exciting thing that happened this week is that we moved offices at work on Friday. This was a very long and very tiring day - if you were in or around Covent Garden you would have seen us shifting everything down the road! I very glamourously piled my tower, screens, keyboard and mouse on to my desk chair as a makeshift trolley and wheeled it down the road to the new office space. Sadly there is no lift so four trips up and down four flights of stairs later I was set up and it was time for a cup of tea. Although not before I made another trip back for the coffee machine, I then proceeded to spill the contents on the dregs tray all down myself - smooth.

The new space is really nice so going to work tomorrow will be a bit different. Even though it is still in Covent Garden, it is at a different end so I'm sure there will be lots to explore. Sadly for my bank balance (not for me!) I now have to walked past Zara AND Mango on my way to the tube and will find this hard to resist.

I like to end of my weekend with some Sunday style music, chilling myself out before heading back in to central for another hectic week at work. At the moment I am really enjoying listening to Julia Stone. I have always been a fan of her music, with her brother Angus (making up Angus and Julia Stone) but her solo stuff has really caught my attention. I know their music often divides opinion but for me, it is just what I want to listen to when driving/relaxing/unwinding. It is good weekend stuff! One of the comments reads "she sings like butterflies and honey" and I think this sums her voice up just perfectly.

Goodnight, E x

Happy Birthday Joey!

Today is my baby sister's birthday so I thought I would dedicate this post to her, featuring some lush pics of the two of us ;) 

Sadly I can't be at home to celebrate with her so here is another cheeky gift...muahaha!

Happy birthday Joey, Love Lizzo x