Bee Satisfied

Last week I had three different style advice requests off friends which were all very satisfying to address. My style file contained in my brain is the most amazing thing I possess. It works so quickly I feel I have style mega bytes contained inside. Yet when it comes to other matters my brain seems the most clumsy, stagnant thing ever, 'does not compute' seems to be a relevant mode of operation when it comes to remembering all teh school activities and other things.

I've made great progress over the years and don't seem as prone to losing all my possessions as I used to. Why my parents ever gave me responsibility of childhood toys, photos and other items is beyond me. Move by move I've managed to inadvertently lose or misplace or forget to collect all manner of items. This does actually make me sad but I'm just about making peace with myself for my vast incompetence in this area.

Whilst I'm not a hoarder I do need to smarten my act up on how to store items and keep them safe. I always need to declutter as I fail to sort out items even such as the post on a daily or weekly basis. You can come to me for style advice but don't think about life laundry matters! I finally managed to finish Girlynomics and this has freed me up to attend to the home. It really does need finishing off. We've only managed to properly decorate the living room and we have been here for 4 years. It is the age old issue of time and money.


Something that I've always tended to and put in some graft is the garden. Despite the old testament rainfall and flooding we've been having the garden is coming alive and can be attended to.The birds and bees plus a few snails are setting down roots at MDS gardens. I couldn't snap my little friend the Robin (he is too shy but he comes everyday and he has a favourite place for his food) nor the playful go getting Blue tits but they actually leave a lot of droppings as evidence! There is also another bird (don't know what it is) who loves our garden for worms. I'm finding a great deal of satisfaction in the wildlife activity and my growing plants.

  I had 3 bees buzzing around in the garden

 I had to avoid stepping on this snail & I called him Sarkosy in honour of the fact today was the French Presidential Elections. He was lucky my friend wasn't around as he is southern French and would have examined him to assess his edible potential.

 I picked a handful of mint to make mint tea which I love and in my garden it is free compared to £1.85 in Carluccios

As well as cooking Sunday lunch which was roast chicken followed by rhubarb crumble, the rhubarb was from the garden too, I oven roasted some tomatoes that no one was eating and left them to cool in the oven. I just ad herbs and olive oil and they are nearly the same as sun dried ones!

 

Having had an extremely satisfying weekend of pottering, I must take a deep breath and make the coming month of May my sort the house out month!

Boden Allowance

Last Friday I drove miles and miles from London to Aberystwyth. It was a long overdue visit to a place I used to live. It really was the Wild West of Wales with driving rain and mist once I'd got past Swansea -I had to do a detour to drop the petit garcon off in Bridgend, short story his grandparents were there for weekend. My arrival in Aberystwyth was wet not the bathed in sunshine and glory I had hoped for!

Still a good time was had by all mainly at the newest and possible the best ever addition to the town ultracomida Seriously it is the best place I have ever been to in the UK.

Best olives ever!

 

What was to become our midnight feast

That night after meeting with friends and hosting a Stella & Dot trunk show which was great fun I stayed with my friend Rachel at her gorgeous house in Borth.

My view at 7am from the bedroom - there were two guys out in it surfing!

We had a late supper and of course started on the wine! Earlier in the evening I said I liked the stripy tunic that Rachel was wearing.This was met with hoots of laughter by one and all as it was from Boden! My universal fear of Boden is well known.

To cut to the point Rachel took me on a tour of the Boden catalogue and refilled my wine glass and that was how we found ourselves at midnight discussing and choosing items from Boden and listening to Smooth radio, where once we would have been talking boys and listening to Massive Attack!

I now have a Boden wishlist. I'm going to attest that all the items are stylish and trendy and can be clarified as useful for my yummy mummy life - oh heck Johnnie I''m yours!

Still I learnt something far more important than my fashion whims...Friends and Food are the best things in life xx

Punching with Polenta

Despite my love of all things Italian, I was a polenta virgin. Polenta is really peasant food but as with all things artisan polenta was appropriated by the gourmet chefs as a new addition to high end restaurants and thus it was introduced to the aspiring middle classes.
Until last Sunday, I have steered a wide berth of anything to do with polenta. Truly I feared it. However Mr MDS is a purveyor of Olive the foodie magazine and it recently had a review of Tom Aikens new cook book Easy accompanied by a recipe for Lamb rumps with rosemary and parmesan polenta. Mr MDS loves a bit of lamb so I decided to be brave and surprise him with a Sunday lunch that wasn't roast chicken.


The ruddy polenta wasn't peasant prices! In fact it cost £5.20 in Waitrose but I did love the authenticity of it and the packaging. I set to Mr Aikens polenta recipe and it was a winner. Everyone wolfed the polenta down even the petit garcon. The lunch was aided by a discovery all of my own - a Ravens Wood Californian red Zinfandel, the year was 2007. I chilled it first in the fridge and it really suited the wine.


I'm not sure if I can reproduce the recipe but just in case I'd be infringing copyright etc. I won't. But as it is Father's day soon maybe the recipe book would be a good present accompanied by a bottle of Ravens Wood.