In to blue

I got all my errands run today (even had time to make a birthday dinner reservation at the OXO Tower) and made 1 of the 2 flavors of cupcakes I wanted to make. I decided to make the Samoa cakes first. Amazing!

I am totally loving navy blue right now. Navy blue is not exactly a spring color but the way the weather has been acting lately, I still consider this the end of winter. I was so lucky to have snatched up this stunning dress at Mango the other day. This will definitely be my birthday dress for 2010.

image[via]

Check out this awesome suit from...Sainsbury's. I know it's a little weird to be buying your clothes from the grocery store, but this could be a contender for my Nice trip in May.

image[via]

And finally this beautiful dress from Anthropologie. Anthro just recently opened their doors in London. I can't wait to go in and have a look for myself. 

image[via]

Big day of baking

Tomorrow I'm free from classes (thanks to a teacher's strike) and free from work, so I've decided to do some marathon baking (on top of about one billion other errands I need to run).

I'm going to start with some cupcakes to celebrate my birthday, which is this Saturday. Strawberry Shortcake is one of my favorite desserts and it just so happens one of the blogs I follow just posted a recipe for Strawberry Shortcake cupcakes! How lucky! I am a little dismayed because the recipe calls for cake flour, which doesn't seem to exist in London. I've found out how to make a substitution, but I'm a little nervous since I'm no pro. I don't want to mess up my own birthday cupcakes.

The second batch I'm going to make is for Easter which is the day after my birthday. These are especially for the mister because he loves caramel sauce and coconut. I found this awesome recipe for Samoa Girl Scout cookie cupcakes. This specific blog has a couple recipes involving Girl Scout cookies - I LOVE it.

I am on the hunt for more baking supplies such as liners. If anyone knows of any good shops in London, drop me a line.

image[via]

Paris in 2 hours or 26 billion pixels

I'm sitting at my desk staring out the window dreaming of a vacation down to Paris for a few days to check out the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay.  (Unfortunately the trip to Zurich never worked out. But, that means I have money to go elsewhere.) Since the view out my window is pretty boring (a view of the War Horse sign and theatre) I thought it might be nice to share an incredible view of Paris.

image[via]

Apparently, this image file is the largest ever made at 26 gigapixels, which is 26 billion pixels! I'm not sure that the photos due Paris justice or if the feeling of being in Paris can ever be captured on film, but it certainly beats my current view.

Spring Cleaning

I cleaned out my closet this weekend. There were a few items I noticed that I hadn't touched since I brought them across the pond just about a year ago. (Yes, it's just past my 1 year anniversary in London!) I was actually hoping to get rid of more than I did, mainly so I can stock my closet up with new clothes.

image[via]

I hit Oxford Street today but that was just for some essentials from John Lewis. Since I've been doing a little more baking and cooking these days I always find I am short on kitchen appliances. I always make it work, but am really excited about my 2 new additions: a zester and mini food processor. Now, what to bake next...

Smithfield Bar & Grill

On Friday the mister and I met up after work at Smithfield Bar & Grill for some drinks and food.

Where: 2-3 West Smithfield (between Barbican and Farringdon)

The Scene:  Hopping after work drink spot with 2-4-1 cocktails until 8, live music in the bar and chic decor

Delight: 25% off the food bill and lively atmosphere

Disappointment: over priced pub food

We both arrived early for our reservation so we decided to take advantage of some of their drink specials in the bar first. The 2-4-1 cocktails were pretty weak but still contained some alcohol and at £7.50 for 2 it's not a bad price for the area. They only had 2 beers on tap, Guinness and Becks, which was a little lame, but they were rocking bottles of Boston's Sam Adam's Lager, which I didn't get but still appreciated.

I was absolutely loving the decor of the bar and restaurant and the vibe of the place was really great as well. A decent after work crowd but not too busy and by 7:30 they had a solo guitarist playing acoustic covers of Lady Gaga's bad romance!

image[via]

When we moved to the restaurant it was pretty dead, but then again we were dining pretty early. We ordered the garlic bread starter which was literally toasted hamburger buns with a cup of melted butter and a head of garlic. DIY garlic bread if you will. When you have to assemble your own food, I get a little ticked (why am I eating out then?) but this was a little ridiculous because who wants to eat whole cloves of garlic and the starter did not come with a garlic press.

After a few cocktails and a very average starter I was craving something familiar; some chips. I went for the scampi and chips and the mister went for the Sirloin steak. The Smithfield Bar & Grill boasted a 28 day aging process on their beef so it seemed like a promising order for the mister. The steak that came did not look like a sirloin cut (or at least not a sirloin cut you would get in the US) but the mister said it was tasty.

My meal was good. You really can't go wrong with scampi and chips. The scampi was priced at £17 which I would have considered a bit of a rip off had we not been getting the 25% discount, but again these are probably reasonable prices for central London.

I probably wouldn't go out of my way to make it back to Smithfield's Bar & Grill, but if I was in the neighborhood I might drop in for a drink.

St. Patty's day for a sweet tooth

I have a major sweet tooth, so when I saw a recipe for Irish car bomb cupcakes I knew I had to try it out. One doesn't generally bring out cupcakes to the pub so I needed another excuse besides just the holiday to try out these cakes. And I got my wish when a friend of mine invited me to her birthday party last Saturday. She (and her friends) are total booze hounds (in a good way) so I knew these cupcakes would be a crowd pleaser.

I've never baked with beer (Guinness) or alcohol (Baileys Irish Cream and Jameson’s Irish whiskey) before so I was a little nervous when the cake came out of the oven really sticky.  

image [via]

The cupcakes turned out great and although the frosting was almost like taking a shot and eating sugar at the same time, they are very festive and would consider making them again for St. Patty's day.

image [via]

Next up on my list? Starbucks VIA was just launched in the UK and I found this recipe on the Starbucks website. I need to start going to the gym everyday if I'm going to be baking every week.

Cheese roundup

I tried a great (read: efficient) cafe on Drury Lane today for lunch. Ecco Cafe is a small, loud cafe where placing an order is somewhat reminiscent of scenes from Seinfeld’s epic episode, 'The Soup Nazi'. Only in so much as you have to know what you want to order when you reach the counter.

Where: 186 Drury Lane (Covent Garden)

The Scene: Tiny, bustling cafe with good lunch specials

Delight: Fast service, value for money

Dissappointment: Average food

Their menu consists mainly of pizzas, which are a good value at £4.75 for eat in. I however was not that hungry so I just got a sandwich. I ordered the prosciutto, mozzarella, basil and tomato grilled sandwich. It was pretty average but edible and with a diet coke my tab came to about £3.50. It's hard to beat the value and tastiness of Pret's sandwiches but I would consider going back to Ecco Cafe for their cheap pizzas.

image[via]

I know...I need to branch out from Italian, sandwiches and sushi. I'm working on that.

Speaking of eating, this International Cheese Award Festival winner looks amazing and I would absolutely die if I went to a cheese award festival.

image[via]