19/30: CDWM II: My starter

Having already told you a little about the preparation I did for my Come Dine With Me evening, you know that I was getting ready for a Mexican evening. And that is why, when my guests turned up, I answered the door to them wearing my embroidered top from Ecuador and one of the four [...]

2 Comments Posted in: 30 for 30, CDWM, food, friends, nablopomo, photos, video

12/30: Happy birthday to me

What a long day. It started early in Salzburg, with my boy and a surprise cake, sparkling candle and singing and ended in England with my girls and more surprise cake, celebratory fire and singing. In between came a lot of talking in German, a flight home, my traditional failure to unpack properly, if at [...]

3 Comments Posted in: 30 for 30, celebrate, food, friends, nablopomo, photos, salzburg, travels

4/30: Friday night

I had an evening out with Suzy tonight – a good way to end the week. We ate at a regular haunt of ours, Frankie & Benny’s. We love the music and the food’s pretty good, but we can never remember the name quickly enough (I blame Ben & Jerry’s), so it gets re-christened every [...]

8 Comments Posted in: 30 for 30, being me, friends, nablopomo

3/30: CDWM II: Helen’s dessert

One thing we talked about on this Come Dine With Me evening was holidays and our need for them. While Helen was preparing food in the kitchen Suzy and I told Lauren about how we’d been talking about a desire to have a relaxing holiday for once – no running for trains, or getting rained [...]

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CDWM II: Helen’s main course

See that beautiful sunset on the wall? That’s a photo taken on one of the cruises that Helen and Steve have taken. There are such wonderful sunsets at sea, with no buildings getting in the way. We’ve had some fabulous evening skies recently that keep making me think it would be a good idea to [...]

1 Comment Posted in: CDWM, food, friends, photos, video

CDWM II: Helen’s starter

Greek salad, fried courgettes and tzatziki

Any meal that starts like this has to be a winner. Am I right? I’m right. Helen’s Come Dine With Me evening had a Greek theme, with little blue and white menus laid out at each table setting. While we demolished the olives and feta, Helen was busy putting the finishing touches to the starter [...]

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NYC: Last day in Manhattan

We were pretty exhausted by the time our final day in New York City dawned. We had the day marked as one for a bit of shopping, a bit of wandering and going with the flow. For starters we’d organised a late check-out, which was very much the kind of flow we were happy with. [...]

4 Comments Posted in: friends, new york, photos, travels

NYC: Lower East Side

A little email back and forth with Richard led to us having lunch (unfortunately not with him) at a place of his recommendation: Spring Street Natural. It was a busy restaurant, but we were soon seated and I ordered some lovely scrambled eggs mixed up with salmon, broccoli and peppers with a side of fries. [...]

6 Comments Posted in: food, friends, new york, photos, travels