365 pics

This blog is moving

2010-08-31T23:46:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone out there in blog land!

I just wanted to let you know that I'm in the process of moving this blog to a new location. In the next few days, I'll be doing some internet magic and hopefully everything will transfer over smoothly.

But in the mean time, if you'd like to subscribe to my new blog, there are a couple options:

You can visit the photography section of my new blog.

Or you can visit my main blog, which also includes cakes, writing, travel and general musings.

Please excuse the dust while I'm in the middle of the relocation and redesign...and thanks for reading!

365: California, here I come!

2010-08-19T22:35:00.001+01:00

After 24 hours of travelling (11 of them on a plane) and six-ish hours of sleep, Hubby and I got in our horrible little red rental car and drove for another 16 hours to get ourselves to California!

At some point, the consequences of the trip hit me and some silliness ensued.

Luckily, I got over it by the time I had to get back in the driver's seat and we made it to the Bay Area safely.

In time for Hubby to get some much needed sleep and for me to stay up until 3am working on the wedding cake.

(22/7/10)

365: Docklands in progress.

2010-08-19T22:31:00.000+01:00

This photo was taken at Heathrow. We had lunch before our flight at...well, some restaurant in the airport and this was a (really bad) mural on the wall.

While the mural itself was poorly made (it had really bad seams where pictures were stuck together and it didn’t have any respect for London’s actual geography, putting Battersea Power Station next to Tower Bridge), one section of the mural showed some of the Docklands buildings being constructed.

Not sure if it’s my building being built or not, but it might be.

(Oh, and sorry for the bad photo quality...this one was taken with hubby's phone - the cameras weren't in easy reach)

(21/7/10)

365: Lights at Nandos

2010-08-19T22:18:00.000+01:00

I really like these lights.

The lovely copper colour, the unusual dome shape, the cool reflections that make it look like the bulb is floating upside down in the middle of the fixture...it all works very well together.

(20/7/10)

365: My new hair!

2010-08-19T22:14:00.000+01:00

Woo! A girl that I work with is currently attending hairdressing school and she agreed to give me a new haircut.

She did a really good job, too. Look at all those lovely layers.

Too bad I’ll never be able to keep it looking that shiny and smooth. Even if I get up an hour early (which I won’t do – I care more about sleep than I do about my hair) to straighten it or do whatever people do to hair, it’ll never look this good again.

(19/7/10)

365: Goodbye to Greenwich Market food stalls?

2010-08-19T22:11:00.000+01:00

There has been talk of the Greenwich Market food stalls being shut down in the next month.

And since this is the last weekend that we’ll be around before we go on holiday, we decided to have one last trip and enjoy some of our favourites. Because when we get back, they might not be there.

There is a lot of talk about what’s going to happen to the market. With the Olympics being nearby and the re-opening of the Cutty Sark, Greenwich is going to be an even more popular destination in the next few years than it is right now. And of course the people who own the market want to make the most of it – but the people aren’t happy about it.

Hubby and I love this cosy market with the delicious food. The crafts are fab too, but by wandering around the market on any given weekend, it’s obvious that it’s the food that draws people in. Then they stay for the crafts. I personally think that getting rid of the food stalls would be detrimental to the entire market.

There’s also talk that the market owners, who own many of the buildings around too are feeling pressure from their other restaurant/pub tenants about the customers that these businesses lose to the market.

But they’re all dire eateries and if it the food market weren’t there, I for one wouldn’t eat at any of the other restaurants in the area – except for one of the big chains like Pizza Express or Subway. There is the exception of the Gypsy Moth, which is very good – but as far as I can tell, it’s not one of the pubs in question anyway.

Sorry, Admiral Hardy. If the Greenwich food market shuts, you still won’t have my customers.

Why don’t these pubs that surround the market embrace the food stalls – invite the eaters in to use their seating, as long as they buy a drink in the process, what’s the problem. It’s a well known fact that pubs make the majority of their money off the drinks – not the food.

Hubby and I go to Greenwich Market nearly every weekend. We enjoy the unusual foods, the great atmosphere and seeing all the crafts. Our primary reason though is for the good lunch and if the food stalls weren’t there any longer, we’d probably not come anymore – at least not unless we had a specific need for a handmade gift.

We’ve signed the petition and are keeping our fingers crossed that when we get back it’s still there.

(18/7/10)

Update: 14/8/10

First lucid weekend back after the holiday and we thought we’d go see what was going on at the market. We were so happy to see the food stalls all there! According to the owner of one of my favourite stalls, they’ve now got until the end of October. He didn’t seem very confident that it would go beyond that though.

The petition is still available to sign online.

365: I am the Icing Queen

2010-08-15T22:24:00.000+01:00

So when practice wedding cake 1.0 was dismantled, the fondant around the top layer stayed intact.

Just the right size for a crown!

(17/7/10)

365: Duck bank

2010-08-15T22:13:00.000+01:00

Remember my accidental duck collection?

Yeah, well it actually extends beyond the bathroom. I have a ducky bank too. He holds unusual coins that I find.

He was an Easter pressie one year - I think he came from Marks and Spencer's and he was filled with sweets!

(16/7/10)

365: Umm, excuse me?

2010-08-15T22:06:00.001+01:00

Okay, okay, I know this really was meant to say "No Parking"...

...but isn't it more fun to fill in the blanks with something else?

Or maybe that's just me. :-)

15/7/10

365: Dome at Canary Wharf

2010-08-15T21:51:00.000+01:00

I quite like this glass dome - it looks up at One Canada Square - the (current) tallest building in the UK.

I say 'current' because there are at least two buidings in London that are under construction. Both of which will end up taller than the towers in the Docklands. But for now, little 50-storey One Canada Square is the biggest.

(14/7/10)

365: Bathroom lizard

2010-08-15T21:37:00.001+01:00

This is our air-freshener lizard. He lives on our bathroom mirror.

He was originally a car air freshener. And a terrible one at that - the scent lasted about two hours. But he lived in Hubby's car until the car died and we moved to London - and then the lizard came with us.

(13/7/10)

365: There are baby coots under there

2010-08-15T21:32:00.000+01:00

I'm just not fast enough with my camera.

I waited around for ages after this to see if the mom coot would stand up again...but she settled down to sleep. So you'll have to believe me that there were fluffy little cootlings in there.

(12/7/10)

365: Anniversary in Oxford

2010-08-15T21:22:00.000+01:00

One year after our wedding, here we are!

On our actual anniversary, we spent the day seeing the 'dreaming spires' of Oxford, but got tired of sightseeing. Plus with hubby's bum knee, and the horrible heat, we decided to find something more laid back to do before our train trip back to London.

So we went to see Shrek!

After that, we had one of the most horrific train rides I've ever been on. Second only to being stuck for 5 1/2 hours outside of Milton Keynes on a sleeper train that had been delayed due to a suicide on the tracks some hours before.

This train ride, which should have been a 10-coach carriage headed to London was instead three carriages - packed full of people and only one window would open on our carriage. And it's about an hour and a half journey...and it was one of the hottest days of the year.

By the time we stumbled off the train in London, we were feeling horrible. So we went home, got a Chinese takeaway and melted into the sofa. Glad to be home, thankful for the cool breeze coming through the window and of course each others' company.

11/7/10

365: Blenheim Palace

2010-08-15T21:08:00.000+01:00

During our anniversary weekend in Oxfordshire, we spend a day at Blenheim Palace.

One of the biggest houses in England, Blenheim Palace was the home of Winston Churchill so as well as the amazing gardens and architecture, there's a section of the house dedicated to Churchill's life.

We spent most of the day exploring the grounds - which were landscaped by good ol' Capability Brown, including everything from an artificial lake and a waterfall.

We had a fabulous day, which even included a lovely cone of rum raisin ice cream and once we were done, we caught a bus to Oxford and found our hotel.

(10/7/10)

365: The Feathers Hotel, Woodstock

2010-08-15T20:41:00.001+01:00

For our anniversary weekend, Hubby and I went to Oxfordshire.

The first night, we stayed at The Feathers, a lovely boutique hotel in Woodstock. We stayed in the suite, which had - as well as a gorgeous bathroom, massive comfortable bed and walk-in closet - this amazing bathtub.

It was a really hot night, so after our fabulous dinner, I soaked in a nice cool bath. I'm not usually a bath fan - but I was able to make an exception this time.

For my complete review, see my article on Travelbite.

(9/7/10)

365: Oops!

2010-08-15T20:29:00.002+01:00

On the 8th of July, I forgot to take a picture.

Boo!

365: London sign

2010-08-05T01:48:00.000+01:00

Hee, hee! I noticed this sign while sitting in a pub with Hubby and my friend Sarah near King's Cross.

It definitely made me laugh.

Sarah lives in France now and was just visiting her parents for a few days, so we just got a short visit with her, but it was really nice to see her!

7/7/10

365: Practice wedding cake 2.0 in progress

2010-08-05T01:37:00.000+01:00

Practice wedding cake 2.0 was in white. Mainly because I couldn't be bothered to colour the fondant blue. But colouring fondant wasn't something I needed practice with. :-)

I was really happy with how smooth my fondant turned out on this one. I don't think I've ever had smoother, actually.

For more about this cake, see my Sweet Stuff blog. :-)

6/7/10

365: London sunset

2010-07-15T21:00:00.001+01:00

We sure do get some pretty sunsets out the back window.

My guess is that since the sunsets are sort of behind the city, the light reflecting through all the smog has something to do with it.

They're always lovely and colourful though.

(5/7/10)

365: Greenwich hairstyles

2010-07-15T20:45:00.001+01:00

So this might be the strangest street theatre I've ever seen.

There was Japanese-ish music playing in the background and they chose people from the audience to get wacky hairstyles.

I'm not sure how happy this girl was with what was being done to her head...but it was definitely something different.

(4/6/10)

365: My ten piggies

2010-07-15T20:30:00.001+01:00

Okay, so I took this photo at a funny angle.

And now I don't recognize these as my feet.

I always see them from straight on. They look so unfamiliar like this.

Yeah, so I'm sure that makes me sound a wee bit crazy.

(3/7/10)

365: My new cake forms!

2010-07-15T20:15:00.002+01:00

I never thought I could be so excited about styrofoam!

Mum sent these to me. This way I can practice decorating, without having to spend the time and money on baking cake...and there's the calories I'll be saved from eating, as there won't be cake sitting there, calling to me.

(2/7/10)

365: Canada Day at Trafalgar Square

2010-07-15T20:00:00.001+01:00

Oh Canada!

Okay, so I was actually pretty disappointed by the Canada Day celebrations at Trafalgar Square. There were a handful of mediocre food stalls and some very loud techno music.

Nothing really screamed 'Canada' to me about it, except for the presence of bison burgers and Canadian Beer...oh and all the people sporting maple leafs.

And the most interesting photo I took was simply the new piece of art on the Fourth Plinth. A nice giant ship in a bottle. Nelson's ship, to be precise. Quite lovely actually.

Canada House was flying the flag with pride in the background though.

(1/7/10)

365: More flowers

2010-07-14T23:48:00.000+01:00

I see these every day when I get off the bus.

They're lovely and bright. And they help me start to forget the day - and put the horrible commute behind me.

(30/6/10)

365: My accidental duck collection

2010-07-14T23:44:00.000+01:00

Has this ever happened to you?

You have something that you like. It's not your absolute favourite thing in the world, but it's nice.

Then, somebody sees that you have that thing and gets you something similar.

Then, another person sees that you have two of said item and thinks you're collecting them, so they get you one too.

Then you see one that you like, and realise that you've already got a bit of collection brewing, so why not get another one.

Next thing, you know, you've got 20 rubber ducks in a bathroom the size of a shoebox.

Yes, that's my accidental duck collection. There's also a duck bath mat, duck shower curtain, duck hand towels and duck shower curtain hooks.

Oh, and the giant, duck too. He's about a foot tall.

And there's the tiny 1/2 inch tall duck.

(29/6/10)