Weekly Love: Week 137

Maybe because I’m a writer, while I love reading I mostly find it hard to truly switch off my brain to the point where I can really relax with a book. I think this is why I watch so many (mostly American) television shows, and I’m usually blabbing about my latest find in my Weekly Love posts. While I’m excited that my favourite shows like Scandal are back, I’m also happy its September because it means new shows hitting our screens. I’ve rather enjoyed the first couple of episodes of Forever. Okay, so it is nothing original; House M.D. meets Elementary meets whatever show I don’t watch with immortality in, but it has a good story, we can already see strong characters and I was sure I loved it after the first episode. I’ve also started Madam Secretary, which I’m not sure about. Does anyone else think it is like a weaker version of The West Wing?

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1. Post-flight tapas on the streets of Logroño City, Rioja with Campo Viejo. | 2. Pretty much my standard Autumn outfit right now: Rag & Bone Harrow Boots, Levi Skinny Jeans, Boden Everyday Jumper & a perfect fit petite Banana Republic trench. | 3. Jeff Koon’s ‘Flower Dog’ outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao. | 4. Afternoon tapas and local white in San Sebastián, Rioja. | 5. La Concha beach in San Sebastián. | 6. I never understood vintage wines until we opened a 1964 bottle of Campo Viejo after dinner at Rekondo. Words don’t really describe, but it was so unique, such an amazing experience, and has officially turned me into a real wine nut.

Great Denby Cake Off

I’m one of the judges on The Great Denby Cake Off at the moment, where you can enter to win all sorts of great prizes including some lovely bakeware and an £500 Denby gift voucher just for blogging about cake. The competition runs until midnight on 31st October, and is open to my American readers too. Click through here to the Denby website for more information, and to enter. I can’t wait to read and judge all your entries!
How-To-Make-No-Knead-Rosemary-Bread

For the second instalment of my new column over at Borough Market, sharing recipes and tips for people who are space and equipment poor (great for people who live in London or other space short cities!) I’ve shared my recipe for a No-knead Rosemary Loaf that you need very little counter space and no specialist equipment to make. Okay, so it may not be as pretty as a perfectly shaped loaf, but it still tastes amazing. Click through to the Borough Market Blog for the recipe.

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7. Bento boxes and gyoza at Tamago in Canterbury.  | 8. I’m working on a review of the Honey & Co. book at the moment, and the rose and cinnamon infusion from it (served in the brilliant infusion mug the guys at JING gave me) is simply divine. | 9. A flawless, gooey in the middle tortilla with chorizo, spinach and pimiento at La Tavina in Logroño. | 10. I’ve been reading Memory Keepers by my amazingly talented friend Natasha on the train over the last few weeks. If you like futuristic, novels I really recommend you give it a try. | 11. Carpaccio of red shrimp with guacamole, strawberries, raspberry, pomegranate and black olive sand as part of a 6 course tasting menu at Rekondo in San Sebastián. | 12. Divine brioche bread pudding at Salt. in Canterbury. Full review coming soon!

My Little Box Review

Before I moved to America I used to have a fair few beauty box subscriptions, but because none of them were that different from each other, I could not decide which one to maintain when I was back home after 10 months, so I opted not to receive one at all. Enter stage right My Little Box, the new (well, to the UK) monthly subscription box from the ladies behind Parisian newsletter service My Little Paris. Each monthly box is themed around a different style (London, Travel etc., I got the My Little Arty Box) and contains a mix of beauty and lifestyle products from both cult French brands, and their own (pretty awesome and cute, I can’t wait to get my hands on one of their adorably packaged lipsticks) makeup line. You also get a blogger magazine put together by some of our favourite faces. Each box costs £14.95 a month (a bit more than average, but you get a lot more for your money) and you can quit at any time. You can subscribe here on their website, and check out their past boxes here. Enjoy!

What have you been enjoying this week, and what do you have planned for the weekend? As ever, I’m having a chilled weekend in Kent, but I’m taking time to catch up with my best friend Kathryn over lunch tomorrow as we have not seen each other in a while. 

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