Tag: london

Country Living Christmas Fair

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Back in September (when I was still lost and unemployed) I did a placement with Country Living magazine. It was one of the best placements I have ever done. The people were beyond lovely, the magazine is beautiful, the work was interesting and the tea rounds were frequent – what more could you ask for?!

I love my new job, but I would be lying if I said I wasn’t missing the Country Living world (just a little bit…!) So, to get my slice of all things British, rural and homegrown I went along to their Christmas Fair this weekend.

Covering the length of the country with fairs in London, Harrogate and Glasgow, the Country Living Christmas Fair brings to life everything the magazine stands for. Arts and crafts, homegrown businesses and delicious food all come together to kick start the festive season. You do need to get your elbows out a bit, but it’s such a fun day full of inspiration for stocking fillers, how you’re going to present the Christmas table and more than enough tree decorations.

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Christmas is hard to ignore in London at the moment, and while it’s still a little early, now is definitely the time to start thinking about presents and festive plans! If you missed the Christmas Fairs this year, Country Living also do Spring Fairs around Easter time. If you’re organised enough to begin considering all things bunnies and chocolate, pencil it in.

Merry Christmas!

The Camel Coat

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Every autumn I fall in love with this coat, and every winter I forget about it. It’s not made of strong enough stuff to take me through winter as the cold draws in, but for now it’s perfect. As we cling on to the remnants of autumn, I thought it deserved a special mention.

I found this coat four years ago in Australia, at the market in Melbourne. I had completely failed to pack a coat for the Melbourne winter and while it has nothing on what we suffer here in London, it was still a bit chilly. This coat found me just when I needed it! I wore it everyday for the rest of that holiday, and then I brought it home and have worn it every autumn since.

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This coat was a bit of a bargain. If I remember correctly, it was around the £15 mark… Because of this, the quality isn’t the best it could be. The buttons are a bit wonky, there are some loose threads, the stitching meanders around and it isn’t lined – but I think that just adds to its charm!

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Quite unusually for me, this coat is double breasted. Normally I run a mile from double breasted coats – I just think they look so strange on me when they aren’t buttoned up, they look too big and flap around awkwardly, and buttoned up they just seem a bit fussy. For some reason though, for this coat it works. There’s not too much excess material and it fits nicely done up. One of the things I really love about it is it easily smartens up an outfit, but it can still be worn casually. Win win!

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The main attraction that I wanted to chat about was the colour. While not completely crazy, the colour is a fairly unique brown camel, and it tends to make my outfit’s statement whenever I wear it. Even owning this one, I am definitely guilty of looking at other similar coats and just thinking ‘that would never go with anything!’ That couldn’t be further from the truth with this coat.

Believe it or not, I find that I can chuck it over anything! It’s easy to pair with dark colours (like I’ve done here) though I tend to stick to blacks and navys.One of things that really helps with this is the buttons. Because the buttons are black, they instantly tie in the other dark elements to any outfit. I think that this is a great thing to consider when buying a coat that’s a slightly bolder colour. Think about the hardware, the buttons and any other accents rather than obsessing on the bolder-than-usual colour. Generally, the plainer the coat the better as you want the colour to be the statement, but keep an eye out for those details!

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What’s your favourite coat for autumn? Do you like to play with colour in your outerwear, or have you always stuck to black?!

London Lunchtime: Muriel’s Kitchen

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This Friday, Mum came to London. With holiday to take and not visiting the city as often as she used to, a girlie day was in order!

After spending the morning hiding from the rain in the V&A (an absolute must on the London museum hit list) we had worked up an appetite. We wandered back towards South Kensington with rumbling stomachs and greedy eyes, and stumbled upon the most perfect little place. Allow me to introduce you to Muriel’s Kitchen.

Muriel’s never fails to catch my eye when I’m in the area. Nestled behind South Kensington tube station, I have looked longingly into the cake filled windows many a time as I’ve rushed past. Fortunately this time, we didn’t have to rush anywhere.

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Muriel’s Kitchen takes inspiration from traditional family recipes and firmly believes in the kitchen being at the centre of the home. Inspired by and named after the founder’s own grandmother, Muriel’s is meant to bring some homeliness to London’s hustle and bustle. It has offerings from breakfast to bedtime and only uses the finest, British sourced ingredients and many of the recipes are some of Muriel’s own. With locations in Richmond, Soho and South Kensington, Muriel’s’ chefs prepare and cook their meals fresh everyday. Where they can, they buy direct from family-run businesses.

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If that’s not enough to draw you in, then the interior sure will. Again inspired by Muriel, the restaurants pay homage to her 1950s kitchen. Crammed full but beautifully bright, noticing the details around you is part of the fun of waiting for your meal! Pots and pans cover the walls, prints, mirrors, plenty of plants and recipe books cover every surface. It has a wonderfully country style (despite being in the centre of London!) and everything that you can see seems unique, with its own back story.

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But anyway, we should get onto what we’re all really here for… the food! Muriel’s is special in having menus that change with the seasons, so they are always making the most of the freshest, seasonal ingredients. Their food seems to accommodate everyone from dawn till dusk, with grab and go options as well as offerings for those who want to hang around. It certainly makes a nice change to locating the nearest Pret, grabbing your regular lunch and running back to the office!

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Standing out of the way of the busy workers grabbing their takeaway box or soup before running out of the door, we were shown to a table. After a quick perusal of the menu we decided to go for the English Sharing Platter. Platters are always a fun way to share and compare, and having stood by the kitchen watching the food get prepared there was plenty we wanted to try! I chose raspberry lemonade (a bold reminder of summer in such a seasonal restaurant) and Mum went for the Boosting Juice – apple, pear, beetroot and carrot.

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The food arrived quickly and we could barely wait to tuck in! Our sharing platter came with a homemade scotch egg, chicken liver pâté, butternut squash and feta quiche, cheddar, caramelised onion relish and rustic toast. As you can probably imagine, it was delicious.

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Particular highlights were the quiche and the toast, which was delicious, thick bread. I would say that it can be shared by no more than two, and if you’re especially hungry it might not satisfy the both of you. There’s also a lot of cheese and pâté to a fairly small amount of bread, so we ended up ordering extra. Never a bad thing (as we got to sample even more of their breads!), but just something worth keeping in mind. Some kind of fruit might also have been a nice addition, but otherwise it was delicious and beautifully presented.

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Full but with just enough room for a little something sweet, we crossed the road to visit one of my favourite Kensington spots, the Hummingbird Bakery. If you are in London and haven’t been already, just go. Cupcakes have been quite a thing for the past few years, but the Hummingbird Bakery’s cupcakes are hands-down the best.

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We were amused to find their counters quite light on cupcakes by the time we arrived. Clearly we weren’t the only ones to get that Friday lunchtime feeling and decide that a treat was in order!

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The choice may seem a little overwhelming but trust me when I say that red velvet is the only way to go. With cream cheese frosting and a ridiculously light, red sponge they are absolutely delicious. If only every Friday could be a foodie adventure through London…

Speedy London Breakfast: Gail’s

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Today is my first London post! While I don’t live in London (yet…) I do spend a large chunk of my week there, working at the office and camping in my boyfriend’s room. This post will be the first of many!

An early wake up call and an hour to spare before work called for a breakfast stop. Luckily, I knew just the place.

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Popping up all over London now, Gail’s Artisan Bakery was originally founded when it proved impossible to find the perfect loaf of bread in the UK’s capital. Fortunately for us, with Gail’s on the block that is no longer a problem.

Gail’s entices you with naughty delights and a quiet space to sit and enjoy your treats. You can choose from a vast selection of breads (of course!) but also pastries, cakes, sandwiches and excellent coffee. Although the Gail’s we visited is surrounded by offices and building sites, you wouldn’t know it looking out of the window, as they have an outdoor seating area enclosed by greenery.

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As it was quite early in the morning and we didn’t have a lot of time, we didn’t opt for the brunch menu (but if you have more time, you definitely should!) Instead, we couldn’t resist the pastry selection.

After much (much) debate over which to choose and how many, we settled for the classic croissant, a pain au chocolat and an almond croissant.

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As we had hoped, they did not disappoint. The pastry was beautifully flaky and they made for a very filling, delicious breakfast! The staff are really friendly and if you go there reasonably early on a weekday morning, like we did, then you pretty much get the entire place to yourself and (more importantly) first choice of the pastries.

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If dragging yourself out of bed to go out for breakfast isn’t your thing, then I imagine the cake selection for a lazy afternoon tea would be an equally special treat. Just pick a time, grab some friends and share the bread and cake around … what more could you ask for?!

Hello!!

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Hello! Welcome to my new blog. It seems that the whole world is setting up a blog these days so having been a long time admirer of the blogging world, I thought it was about time I did my own.

My name is Sarah and I am a recent graduate of Newcastle University, launched into the real world to fend for myself. I have just got a job at The Field magazine as Editorial Assistant (a miracle that I thank my lucky stars for daily). Magazines, as you may or may not know, is a tough old industry to break into, so in the age old situation of “beggars can’t be choosers”, my job is part-time. While I’m having a great time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, after just one week I’ve discovered that Tuesdays and Fridays are a bit dull. OK, perhaps not the Fridays (when are Fridays ever dull?), but definitely Tuesdays.

It turned out that a boring Tuesday was exactly what I needed to finally kick start me into writing the blog that I’ve been umming and ahhing about for well over a year.

So – here it is! Expect ramblings about books (I love books), food (I also love food!) and a bit of beauty and fashion if I ever feel that my photography skills are up for that challenge. I also plan to talk all things magazines to pass on what I’m learning, my ongoing struggle with running (the thing that I really do love but remembering that can be freaking hard at times) and whatever else takes my fancy!

Hope you enjoy! Lots of love, Sarah x