Weekly Love: Week 166

Happy February! I hope you’ve been enjoying the month so far, and got into the full swing of the foodie week that has just past. On Monday night we put together a Chinese feast to see in the year of the Monkey featuring crispy aromatic duck pancakes, homemade egg fried rice and my new favourite; homemade prawn toasts (who knew they did not have to be at all fatty and oily like the takeaway versions, just crisp and juicy!) And then Tuesday meant Pancake Day, with the traditional family argument over who gets the last crepe, anointed with fresh lemon and vanilla sugar. Honestly, I think I need to find more food festivals to celebrate! 

1. Sunny Saturdays in Canterbury. | 2. Enjoying the beautiful ‘The Lizzie’ blooms from Bloom & Wild which came right through my letterbox for Valentines Day. (You can get 15% off of your own arrangement – they come with easy to follow instructions – of letter box flowers by using the code RACHELBLOOMS at the checkout!) | 3. Buttermilk waffles with blush oranges and lashings of maple syrup. | 4. Joules bath times with their Blooming Relaxing Bath Soak and their Cottage Herb (a scent I’m totally obsessed by at the moment) scented candle (it is reduced to £6.95 right now!) | 5. A lunchtime Greek mezze feast at Zeus in Canterbury. | 6. Ruffled roses outside the Canterbury florist.

• Why yes, I do now indeed want to create my own house salad.
• Olivia has written a great guide to making time for yourself to watch television series. Not a problem I myself have (I watch far too much!), but helpful for some!
• She’s also put together a guide to the Seven Dials in Covent Garden I can totally get behind.
• 6 Questions You Should Be Asking Your Fishmonger. 
• What it took to get a bagel in the Soviet Union. 
• Mandi teaches us how to create an open closet system. I have a clothes rail in my room as well as wardrobe space, and I love it to be able to pick from rotating seasonal items. 
• Mulia has put together a fantastic Belfast food and drink guide. 
• This is a subscription service that sends you beautifully packaged books in the post. And they have a cook book subscription. (via Amy)
• This is the difference between short, medium and long grain rice. 
• Jacqueline has some great tips on how to get a better nights sleep. 
• Stephanie explains the Japanese festival of Setsubun, where you bring luck upon yourself for the year ahead by sitting and eating a giant sushi roll facing in a pre-determined direction. 
• Okay, so why have I never thought of making breakfast enchiladas before?
• Design Love Fest has put together a round up of all of the best places in Los Angeles to egt ice cream. As a true UCLA Bruin I must recommend Diddy Riese and their Mint Choc Chip filled M&M Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches – I used to live a couple of blocks away!

7. Walking past the fishing boats along Deal Sea Front. | 8. Unpacking two of my beauty heroes from my Feel Unique order: a recent find, Murad’s AHA/BHA Exfoliating Cleanser (which is strong enough to take my makeup and mascara off, but gentle and creamy enough for everyday use – not drying at all) and Moroccanoil, which has kept my long hair sleek and silky since 2012. | 9. The best thing about this time of year? £1 bunches of daffodils in white china jugs on the kitchen table. | 10. Pretty peach doorsteps in Canterbury. | 11. Family lunchtime at the Pop Up Cafe in Deal. | 12. Going for long, brisk and crisp Kentish country walks.

• Here are 24 ways to use cold pressed extra virgin avocado oil. My favourite? Getting it very very hot to sauté kale in, before finishing with a sprinkling of sea salt. 
• This is how you use makeup to conceal dry patches. This is a must if, like me you have really sensitive skin so have a few patchy issues during the Winter months! 
• Sara has written an absolutely brilliant post that I can totally relate to sharing tips for anxious drivers. I wish I’d known some of these when I had my old car. 
• Why you shouldn’t actually go for the second least expensive wine on the menu. 
• I‘m a Mexican food fiend, so obviously I’m all over this Spicy Black Bean Soup. 
• Anne-Sophie went to Bagan in Myanmar, and here are her travel snaps. 
• 21 things you didn’t factor in when you were a teenager planning your dream adult life. I have been thinking about a lot of these this week. The Sims has a lot to answer for! (via Amy)
• How to Determine a Wine’s Age and Origin (Without Looking at the Bottle).
• This is how you build a champagne tower. 
• In case you ever wondered, this is how to make Marbled Chinese Tea Eggs. 
• 5 Times Not To Save Money When Traveling. 
• Design Love Fest has put together a roundup of great hotels you can stay in when you’re visiting Los Angeles. You can read my review of The Line in Koreatown here, and can I also recommend one of my favourite spots, The Farmers Daughter in West Hollywood?

What have you been enjoying this week, and what do you have planned for the weekend? We’re taking my grandmother out for her birthday for lunch, and obviously these waffles will be happing on Sunday morning (with a side of another special Valentines breakfast item I can’t wait to share with you!) 

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