Can't get enough of Jamie Oliver?

Take the 319 bus to Clapham Junction and take a cooking lesson at Jamie Oliver's Recipease. The front of the pepto-pink establishment is a food-to-go and kitchen shop, and the back is set up for cooking classes and demonstrations.

When we arrived we found out that our cooking lesson was going to be "Mexican Street food" and you could hear the groan coming from our Texas gals.....~"We know how to make Mexican!" But we were reminded that this was "Jamie Mexican" flavored with a little Jamie flare.

Our menu certainly had flare! We prepared fish ceviche, gorditas (yummy corn fritters), soft chicken tacos with chipotle sauce and fresh salsa verde.

It was a morning of chopping, grating, frying, simmering, and laughing.... but the best part was eating! I know I will go back for another class .... maybe the Thai green curry, Vietnamese street food, or authentic Bouillabaisse. All prepared with a little Jamie flare!

As Jamie says,"Cooking is about happy smiles all around the table!" Love that!

Australia Day - Jan. 26

g'day mate! I hope you didn't miss it...Thursday was Australia Day and here in London our Aussie friends, Tim and Sandra, know how to celebrate! We all gathered at our favorite neighborhood pub....The Orange. Sandra was the perfect hostess and welcomed us by explaining that if we were "down under" she would tell us to don our thongs, get frocked up, grab our mate or pick up a few sheilas, sink a few handles and the night'll really go off!

And then she translated for the Americans....put on your flip-flops, change out of your business suit, grab your spouse, or pick up a few girls, have a beer, and get ready to party!

Good on ya Tim and Sandra...it was a ripper!!!

Cute dog Madame!

Do you recognize these dogs? I saw them everywhere at Christmas time. Little kids were dragging them all over the malls and I thought they were so cute I secretly wanted one! This is the window display in one of the posh stores on Sloane Street. When the door opens, the gust of wind (and there always is one in London) catches the dogs and their little feet move just like they are real...very clever display, don't you think?

Quite Saucy

It's that time of the year again....a 3 hour bus ride to Stoke-On-Trent for the sales at all our favorite pottery places. For those making the trip for the first time it can be overwhelming, For others (some of whom have made the trip at least 5 times!), the lists come out and the mission begins!

Becky is shopping for those extra pieces of Spode Blue Italian - recently bought out by Portmeirion. This is her wedding pattern, and she is following in her Mother's footsteps with a whole collection of this Blue and White China safely packed away in storage waiting for her return to the States. (This only reminded me that my girls laughed when I pulled out my wedding china at Thanksgiving...)

Portmeirion is always a popular stop! But my favorite is Emma Bridgewater!

I purchased a few more baking dishes and bowls for my collection: Toad-in the-Hole & Cottage Pie (inside) Baked Eggs & Onion Tart...... Apple Crumble & Lemon Meringue (inside) Banana Bread & Butter Pudding...... Mashed Potato & Peas (inside) Spring Greens & Calabrese..... And my favorite ....... a gravy pitcher..... Quite Saucy!

I did not know until someone pointed out to me that the recipes for all these great British dishes are on the back of each dish. A bonus!!!

Write yourself slimmer?

Put pen to paper...and write yourself slimmer! The secret to slimming could be as simple as picking up a pen according to an article in the Daily Mail. Researchers have found that women who write about what matters most to them each day lose significantly more weight than those who don't. When women in the study were weighed after four months the group who wrote had lost an average of 3.4lbs while the others had put on 2.7lbs. Experts believe that, just as we eat when we are depressed, making ourselves happier acts as an appetite suppressant. Well I say...WRITE ON! It's another good reason to continue blogging .....

and eating......sensibly!

Happy 30th Birthday!

To celebrate Kate's 30th birthday I have added a new site to my side bar. Check out "What Kate Wore" and we can all follow The Duchess to her events. Not only will you see great pictures but the inside scoop on where she shops, the designers, if the outfit is a repeat performance, and other tantillizing details! Also check out the side bar for "William and Catherine"... click on the archive box to see a complete photo album of all their latest events. I am obsessed.... (obsess- verb- to preoccupy or fill the mind of (someone) continually, intrusively, and to a troubling extent: (as adj. obsessed)!!!

The Iron Lady

I can't think of a better way to spend a January Saturday afternoon than at the movie 'theatre'. The new release, The Iron Lady, was spellbinding...not at all what I thought it was going to be. The fact that the film is set in the present, with the former Prime Minister portrayed as mentally and physically frail, having flash backs of her days in office made me review my own life. How well do you remember the 70's? I personally loved the scenes of London (you know she lives just down the street!) , the styling (pearls were non-negotiable!), her grit and conviction as a middle class woman fighting her way through a world dominated by upper class men. It goes without saying that Meryl Streep is fantastic in the role and deserves to be an Oscar contender! But I would agree with David Cameron who launched an attack on the film saying it concentrates too much on Margaret Thatcher's dementia rather than celebrating an amazing woman. Whatever your opinion, it is certainly worth a date to the movies!

Followed by a beverage and conversation at the Pub across the street...a brilliant Saturday!