The Big Easy

American fast food took over London in 2013. There were pop-up burger, hotdog, milkshake and BBQ places everywhere! One of the places I've been wanting to try for a while is The Big Easy. 

The moment you walk in to The Big Easy you feel like you're in America - the checkered table cloths, the enormous portions diners are devouring. The only thing a bit un-American is how little space the restaurant occupies, meaning the tables are really close together. In America this restaurant would be 5 times the size and they'd have free refills of Diet Coke.

We ordered the extra meaty ribs and the half chicken intending to share but I just loved my ribs too much to sacrifice stomach space for the chicken. A delicious lunch all and all!

Wildlife Photography exhibit 2014

Another year at our favourite photography exhibition in London. You can see years past here: 2013, 2012, 2011. Last years exhibition was just mind blowing with so many breathtaking photos. I wasn't as impressed with this years selection but there were still a few amazing photos, especially in the kids 11-17 range. 

The overall winner

A fogbow, like a rainbow but made of fog

Winner of the kids competition

One of my favs

That's a pelican's mouth. Can you see it?

The story behind this photo is amazing. "What Nick aimed to do was show the tree as it couldn't possibly be seen from the ground, where 'you have no idea of the majesty.' To photograph the breadth and height of this giant involved a complicated pulley system rigged up in a neighbouring giant, three cameras, pictures taken in tandem at set intervals from top to bottom, and a complex computer exercise stitching together the final mosaic of 126 images.

Wedding dress shopping

On Sunday I ventured out to Wimbledon with one of my girlfriends for some wedding dress shopping! She tried on several dresses and she's found one she likes. I didn't want to post the front runner but this dress came in a close second. Isn't it gorgeous!? I love the neck line on her, the lace is so delicate and beautiful and the back, which I didn't get a pic of, is a key hole. I can't wait to see this girl walk down the aisle in August! 

Mapping out my 2014

London has so so so SO many things to see, places to shop, little nooks to explore and restaurants to dine in. I read about so many places to go but when it comes time to book, I'm always frantically searching Time Out for that restaurant that I read a review about that I think starts with a H....

So I'm getting organised and mapping my to see and eat list on Pinterest. I've just begun but please follow along and suggest some places!

A good new year's resolution

I love a good new year's resolution. The Type A in me loves making lists, which makes new year's resolutions so much fun! Inevitably on my list every year are the likes of: sleep more, don't be a lazy ass and go to the gym and things I love to do but want to make more time for (baking!).

This year as I was writing out my list I realised that every single one of my goals was focused around just enjoying my life more. Because I can't have goals that aren't specific and time-bound, I simply titled my list, Enjoy Today.

Refinished floors

About a month ago we had our floors refinished. You may remember they were black, which some people really loved but I wanted a lighter, wood, color. It was a real gamble because we had no idea of the state of the floors underneath the paint. There is one super funky board in the hallway, which I will shortly be covering with a rug, but other than that, they turned out wonderfully. 

You can just see the black peaking out from underneath our rug

The new floors. A bit log cabin-y but hopefully our decor will make them feel really modern. You can also
see we've painted some test patches on the stairs and I think we've settled on a very light grey color for the stairs.

We decided to retire the rug. It's main purpose was to lighten to the room but now that we have such light floor, we just don't need it anymore. It's amazing how much bigger the room feels too.

Now, on to investigating our next project - taking down the plaster on the wall with the painting (see top pic) so that we have a full brick wall. 

Olympic Studios

Barnes has a new movie theatre, Olympic Studios and the mister and I tried it out for the first time the other day to see The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (which I would definitely recommend!). Olympic Studios was actually quite famous in it's previously life as a recording studio in the 1960's. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix all recorded there!

The movie theatre is brand-spanking new and it is divine. I'm not a big movie-goer but given we have this beautiful theatre in our backyard now, I think I could be persuaded to see more. Plus it has a lovely new restaurant inside as well, making dinner and a movie a cinch.

The festive entrance

Popcorn and white wine