Bloody Brilliant Blogs #8

23.2.14


Here we are. Sunday night again… I know I say it every week but it does seem to come round sooooo quickly! 

Anyway, this week the blogs I've been loving are: 

Ginger Girl Says summing up exactly why I prefer Twitter to Facebook and Not Quite Enough's honest review of The Fable bar. I'm keen to check it out - being a big fan of books I absolutely love this booth! 



London Kat's post has reminded me that I still haven't been to BRGR.CO yet. This needs to be rectified immediately! 

With Pancake Day approaching I'm going to try this fab syn free pancake recipe from Dungarees & Donuts xo and how fun does this ravercise exercise look that Heroine in Heels posted about? Must check it out! 



And last but not at all least, my friend Hannah has just set up her blog. She's ace and v funny so go and follow her ASAP! 


Something I said I'd never do again - I JOINED A GYM

20.2.14



Valentine's Day. Yes, yes. I know I'm writing this a week late, things have been busy! Anyway, Valentines day, I don't hate it. I certainly don't really like it either. It's just a day where men feel the need to spend a ridiculous amount of money on flowers for their partners who say 'don't bother this year' but actually mean 'if you don't you're dumped.'

Panic flower buying men in Waitrose... 
I went to get Soldier a card with a strict criteria - it had to be really funny or it had to have an owl on. Morrisons provided neither of those things so I got him a bottle of his favourite rum instead. He was very pleased.

I got a card from him and one from my Dad. And an e-card and text from my besties.



Cute, eh? I felt very loved!!

In the evening Soldier went on his first works night out which I was more than fine with - it meant I could spend the evening with my latest crush/obsession - the new fancy pants Reebok gym I've joined.

OK. STOP laughing. I know you all know my awful success rates with gyms. If you don't, read this which will tell you all about the time I spent £444 on just one gym class...

But I'm hoping this relationship will be more successful.

Firstly it's BEAUTIFUL. Check out the reception area. Looks like a boutique hotel, right? And we all know I like the finer things in life...


Oh it's so beautiful. I certainly don't mind spending time there. The changing rooms are like a spa - they have GHDs! 

And the pool. Well the pool.... 

Fancy a dip?

So Valentine's night. I went to go for a gentle swim - and instead ended up in a aqua aerobic class. Which was hardcore. And my bikini bottoms aren't made for actually exercise, more sitting by a pool sunbathing, so they kept on falling down. I spent 45 minutes terrified that I'd be thrown out of my beautiful new gym for exposing myself. How upsetting that would be! 

Anyway, I had a lovely, smug Valentine's night, me and two other women doing slut drops in a swimming pool. Much better than paying a ridiculous amount of money for a set menu in an average restaurant with loads of couples who are all having forced fun.... So I win. Hands down. See you in the pool.  








Bloody Brilliant Blogs #7

16.2.14


What's that? Another week where all my fave blogs have been about food? Quelle surprise! 

Kim over at Lunacy of Ink's's Valentine's post made me chuckle. Her V day was about as romantic as mine was! And want to know what Valentine's was like in a top London restaurant? Read Another Fucking Foodie's post. 

Thanks to Not Your Average for the healthy food inspiration - lamb burgers and sweet potato chips. Mmmmmmm… And if you're looking for something a little less (well, a lot less…) healthy then you have to head to Wishbone in Brixton. Heroine in Heels post will make you DROOL. 





Spare Brides by Adele Parks

13.2.14


I've been waiting to tell you how amazing this book is FOR AGES. 

As you know, I love ALL Adele Parks books but Spare Brides I especially got very excited about when a copy landed on my desk. 

It starts New Years Eve 1920, the Great War is over and it’s a new decade of glamorous promise. But a whole generation are haunted by extreme tragedy and trauma…. 

Spare Brides is an emotional novel which follows four women in the pursuit of happiness in these difficult times. But to get what they want, what will they have to sacrifice?

As I travelled on the tube reading this I truly was transported to 1920s London post-war. You can't help but get lost in the plot and visualise the characters who you have extreme sympathy for. 

This novel is completely different to any other Adele Parks you’ve ever read – and it’s truly her at her very best.  



Bloody Brilliant Blogs #6

9.2.14



How is it Sunday again already? Where do the weeks/weekends go?! 

Anyway, here are the blogs I've LOVED this week….

I came across Teffy's Perks blog last Sunday - and I'm hooked on her posts. This one especially on Otto's Pizza left me drooling….


I loved Not Quite Enough's post on Brick Lane street art - made me feel lucky to live in East London! And Wander to Wonder's post on Borough Market made me realise I haven't been for ages. A visit is on the cards! 

I NEED to make this Nutella swirled banana bread from A Cup of Jo…. And who wants to look after Big Fashionista's Blogger Bear? I'm signing up to give him a holiday! 


Pizza + Bus = LOVE

6.2.14


When my friend and desk buddy Harriet said she was going to eat pizza on a bus, I had to ask her to repeat what she said. I mean, pizza! On a bus! How brilliant is that?


She said it was pretty amazing so I thought it was only fair that she shared the pizza bus love.


Here’s Harriet…..

Harriet AKA giddy schoolgirl
 
All aboard!

You know that unsettling feeling you get when you step onto a non-moving escalator? And no matter how many times you tell yourself: ‘It’s okay, body, just treat them like a normal, stationary flight of stairs,’ you still come over all dizzy and weird?

I experienced a similar sensation when I first sat down for dinner on the Big Red Pizza Bus, a restaurant in Southeast London. As the name would suggest, the venue is a real, beautiful bus. I expected the double-decker to move – because that’s what buses do – but not this one. It stayed put. And thankfully that disorientating feeling lasted all but a few seconds… 

Jump on
Choose your deck


Step aboard (no Oyster card needed) and take a seat on the lower or upper deck of this retired – but loved – transporter.

Put your Oyster card away!

The diner-style, candle-lit tables and original, checked bus seats sit four comfortably. There’s a few longer pews (no table) right at the back of the lower deck, too, where you might enjoy a few cocktails and, I assume, hang out with the cool kids!

Lower deck

The kind of cool kids you'll find at the back

The artisan pizzas are big and delicious (£6.95+) with generous toppings sourced from Borough Market. The menu also offers handmade Italian egg pasta and salads; though the chicken Caesar salad, in comparison to the pizzas, was disappointing.

Ooh, conductor, you're spoiling us

The novelty of eating on a GODDAM BUS didn’t wane throughout my 90-minute sitting and, by the end, I felt like a giddy schoolgirl (compounded when I rode the DLR home, sitting at the VERY front).

Unsurprisingly, therefore, Big Red is incredibly popular with children and, for this reason, the waiter advised me to book if I visited on a weekend.

I’m certain, though, to avoid disappointment, bookings will soon be mandatory midweek too as this quirky eatery seriously takes off. Not literally, of course! That would make for messy pizza consumption – like eating your dinner on a moving escalator…

INFO: The Big Red Pizza Bus, 30 Deptford Church Street, London, SE8 4RZ (next door to The Bird’s Nest pub).

There’s also an outdoor, heated terrace, and you can find details about their film, comedy and music nights (and more) here: www.bigredpizza.co.uk

Twitter: @thebigredpizza
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thebigredpizza

Bloody Brilliant Blogs #5

2.2.14



WARNING - all my favourite blog posts this week have been about my food. And I'm not even apologising. Read on and I promise you'll be left drooling…. 

Cocktails and Caroline never fails to throw up some culinary delights. I love venison sausages so will be making these not so naughty little toads ASAP….


Caroline also went to Vivat Bacchus and ate lots of cheese. THANK YOU Caroline for informing me of this place. My waist line might not be quite so thankful though… 

I have brunch envy of Wander to Wonder. Raoul's looks SO good. 

I'm lucky enough to have Hawker House on my doorstep. Not Quite Enough has left me questioning why I haven't been yet… 

And hands up if you like the sound of a mini egg cookie? 

Yeah. Me too. JUST LOOK AT THEM! Thanks Diary of a Diva