Instagramming…

Tags

Instagram, Just living

Hey! Long time no post.

I know, I know… I have been terrible with the blog.

But, hey, juggling pregnancy, loads of work and redecorating a flat (which, in my case, has been a far, far more stressful experience than the pregnancy itself) is not easy and something had to be compromised. It appears that, at least temporarily, the blog is the weakest link.

In the meantime, and until I find time & energy for a decent update, I’ll be sharing bits of my life here. (please say hi if you happen to drop by!)

 

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A restaurant

Tags

Gail's, Gail's Kitchen, London restaurants

And now for something completely different…

I would like to tell you about this restaurant I visited last Saturday: Gail’s kitchen in Bloomsbury, off Tottenham Court Road.

As you can guess from the name, it shares the same owners as Gail’s bakeries, but it offers a different concept: a variety of small dishes to share. Perfect for a lunch or a light (depending on how many little dishes you have) dinner.

We found it by surprise on our way to visit Habitat/Heal’s and it was like coming across the perfect little oasis amidst the ubiquitous Pret, Cafe Nero et al. It was calm, comfortable, beautifully decorated, with attentive service and, the most important, innovative and tasty food. We only sampled 4 or 5 dishes but wish we could have tried many more (and one day we will, we will…).

Here a few pictures of the place and the dishes we tried…

Stoneground polenta chips with fresh tomato salsa & sour cream

Burnt aubergine & goat’s cheese ravioli with shaved fennel & butter

Sticky chicken with roast garlic, heritage carrots & almonds

Pizza bianca with slow roast tomato, fennel salami, mozzarella & pistou

There was also an a-m-a-z-i-n-g brown sourdough & raspberry ripple ice cream, which I forgot to photograph.

The bottom line: if you find yourself hungry and around Tottenham Court Road/ Bloomsbury area, head to Gail’s Kitchen.

Merry Christmas

Tags

Christmas, Little chocolate thief

Over the last 2 weeks…

Tags

Chanel, Christmas, Dogs, Etoile Isabel Marant, Hipanema, London, Nestum, Porto

… I re-edited a paper for the 27th time. And it’s finally done.

… I travelled to Portugal for a pre-Christmas visit to my family and to my (their) dogs, Lola & Conchita. They are very cute and energetic. We say they should work in the circus because they jump a lot and can stand up on two legs for a long time!

… I bought and wrapped many, many gifts. (Honestly, this picture is just about one-fourth of them!)

… But Christmas shopping aside, I stayed at home with my family most of the time because the weather was really miserable. 7 days of rain and cloudy skies.

… I had to replace my Shiseido multi energising cream (which I liked a lot) and decided to pick up Chanel’s Hydra beauty gel creme at the duty free. I’ve used it for over a week now and so far so good.

… Also bought a new Hipanema bracelet (from here). Can’t wait to wear it.

…My mother organised a little pre-Christmas dinner with some of my close family while I was in Porto. Giacomo wasn’t there but we brought a little bit of Italy to the dinning table having pandoro with mascarpone cream (recipe here, in Italian) for dessert.

… I got several pictures sabotaged by Conchita

… I arrived with a suitcase full of English gifts and I left with a suitcase full of Portuguese gifts, Nestum (my favourite cereals) and other delicacies (Port wine, and lots of salted codfish, obviously, which is the ‘official’ Portuguese Christmas food).

…Back to the airport

…And ready to board back to London.

… where I fell sick with labyrinthitis. Absolutely horrible.

… As soon as I recovered a bit (and I’m still not fully recovered)  I put on my new Flavia shirt. Finally, after months of lusting I got it and I love it!

… I also went to the Hollywood Costumes exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum with my husband. I really didn’t want to miss it because we booked the tickets several weeks ago and most of the dates are now sold out. Fortunately, I felt I recovered on time!

… And since we’re in the neighborhood, we took the opportunity to visit Harrods as well.

… I hardly ever go to Harrods. But I love their Food Hall! We got ‘inspired’ by it and ended up buying some fresh pasta and seafood while there…

…For a bit of home cooking!

… I sent out several Christmas cards and I’ve received a few. My favourite is this one, drawn by my 5-year-old friend Maria. (yeah, that’s me and her on the cover.)

… And I’m now ready for my very first Christmas in London. Just me and my husband. Exciting :)

Wish you all very happy holidays!

Sweet happiness

Tags

Food, Ottolenghi, Sweets

…is when you unexpectedly find a new treat you LOVE:

… a peanut butter cookie with marshmallow filling and dark chocolate and crumbled peanuts topping. By (the master) Ottolenghi.

My Sunday

Tags

Operation declutter, Tidying-up is necessary

…was mostly spent working at home.

But it is OK. It’s too cold to be outside and working on Sunday (hopefully) means my week will be slightly more relaxed.

On the other hand, working on Sunday also means that all sorts of domestic chores I usually handle during the weekend (like tidying up my closet, ironing clothes and several other super-fun activities) will have to wait a few more days to be completed :(

A few snapshots from my afternoon…

From top:

• new favourite Dyptique scent – Choisya. I like light scented candles and this one has the most delicate orange blossom fragrance. If I have to work on a Sunday at least I make sure I work in the most comfortable and pleasant environment possible :)

• Love is sweet: rice muffins and my new apron. My friend Rosa (who besides being a stunning beauty – old-school Italian diva, really! – great cook and overall lovely girl, is also a talented amateur photographer and videomaker. Hi Rosa!) posted a picture of these muffins on facebook yesterday and I HAD TO get the recipe because I love rice and all rice-derivatives (and because I’ve a considerable surplus of rice flour at home that I need to use as soon as possible). The ‘Love is sweet’ apron was a surprise gift sent from Canada by the super-sweet (and also super-pretty :) Anabela, as a thank-you gesture for a tiny little help I gave her. Muito obrigada, Anabela!

• New batch for ebay (?): I have too many clothes. It’s a fact. Most days I live happily with it. Lately, however, it’s been making me feel uncomfortable (my husband will be pleased to read this...). I need to declutter. I’ve stuck to the 1-in, 1-out rule but it isn’t enough. These are the likely candidates for my next Ebay sale. APC, Whistles, See by Chloe, Vanessa Bruno. All lovely, all underused.

• Magazines, magazines: I’ve a small magazine addiction. I buy too many of them.  I keep (collect?) them for too long. There are piles of magazines everywhere. To be read (I’m really behind. Still reading the September issues) and also to be thrown out. This is another area of my life where I also need to declutter. I’ve already decided I’m not going to renew some of my magazine subscriptions and I’ll stick to a maximum of 2 magazines/ month. The goal is to be more selective and to cut on the ‘disposable readings’. In the long run, less magazines, more good books. Hopefully.

• Makeup & jewellery boxes: I try to keep all my makeup and all my jewellery in acrylic Muji boxes… but I invariably end up with a very messy dressing table, with piles of makeup products, bracelets, earrings and necklaces everywhere, by the end of the week. How do you store these items? How do you manage to keep them all tidy and well organised? 

Yeah, I guess you get the picture. I’ve been very much obsessed with organization and tidiness lately…

October

I’m so happy with my purchases in the market this morning: chestnuts, kaki fruit (for me they will always be called diospiros, its Portuguese name) and a pomegranate.

Three of my favourite foods. They remind me of my childhood and of how much I love this month. The crisp sunny days, the golden leaves on the trees, the huge kaki fruits from my grandmother’s tree, the baskets full of walnuts and chestnuts in the markets, the sweet new wine (‘vinho doce‘), my brithday, my brother’s birthday, the beginning of school (in Portugal, when I was a child school used to being on the 1st of October. Yeah… those were long, proper summer holidays) and the re-encounter with friends. Ahhh… so many good things squeezed in 31 days.

October, I love you.

Roman Holiday

Tags

Roma

Ciao from Rome! A quick post to share some bits of my day yesterday…

Sun and blue sky. How amazing! A little bit of summer in late September.

My breakfast always has to include bread, butter and coffee with milk (homemade jam is very much welcome too). Otherwise, it’s not breakfast. My husband calls it the “Portuguese breakfast” because my parents have exactly this same thing every morning. But maybe this not really a Portuguese thing, just my family’s.

My outfit for the day (didn’t wear the jeans shirt in the end because it was too hot). A nice dress to meet my husband’s grandparents for lunch.

A walk in the park on the way to grandparents’ house.

At the grandparents’

The most delicious red fruits tart for dessert.

Back at ‘home’ to do some work…

The floral dress came to Rome with me.

Ready to go out for dinner. Whistles silk shirt (from 1 or 2 yrs ago) and the usual grey jeans.

Roman “street food”.

Face-to-face. Giacomo and his friend Adriano. Adriano is our ‘sartorialist’ friend (I need to post a full picture of him here. Such a good style).

(Giant) Bruschetta.

And Roman pizza.

Welcome to the Carbs Kingdom!

Weekend

Tags

Etoile Isabel Marant, Food, London, Whistles

• amazing London sky • our park • my Whistles handbag • my Whistles necklace • our tacos at Taqueria in Westbourne Grove • my relaxed Sunday outfit • little Venice • Isabel Marant Etoile Flor and Lecia shirts in Liberty •

Yesterday

Tags

APC, Baking

• I wore this APC Madras dress by Jessica Ogden

 

(I cannot pose for pictures. It’s a fact. I asked my husband to direct me but I just couldn’t stop laughing and making crazy faces. These are the best I could get)

• We had our lovely friends Luís and Diane over for lunch. They announced they are engaged and getting married next year. Yay!
I have to send them this little book – a must for any couple planning a wedding:

(Scenes of an Impending Marriage by Adrian Tomine – find it here or in any good comic bookshop)

• We ate a massive pasta dish cooked by Giacomo (sorry, no photos. We’re too voracious) followed by delicious sorbet from la Piccola Dely (an Italian deli near our flat) and this lime & yogurt cake baked by moi

(picture and recipe from This is Glamorous)

If you like baking you should definitely try this recipe. It’s very easy and the result is super yummy.

• I tried to watch Lord of the Rings (my second attempt). And I gave up, much to my husband’s disappointment. Yes, visually stunning. No, story doesn’t work for me. I know, I’m part of the minority on this :(