To watch the vlog, subscribe to our YouTube channel; producing it now. Some of our craziness will be revealed for the first time: Our first week in the US was spent working our asses off (well, at least I was) to get stock readyfor Christmas. After that three nights were spent at a wedding in San Jose, California. This is the place where I started developing a taste for beef. We enjoyed Cali thoroughly but Chicago... ...I could live in Chicago - that was my opinion when I first visited in May-2012 on a two-day trip; after over a week there this time around my position stands. There aren't many places I can say that about.
We went to a few museums but we loved the food most. Below are my ratings; they are all cheap, cheerful and very tasty. Ina's and Over Easy are my top picks. If you want to try Ina's get there fast because they are closing soon. Irazu on N. Milwaukee - 4/5 Good Costa Rican food, lively vibe. Cafe Ba Ba Reba on N. Halsted - 4/5 Lively, youthful vibe. Has an English country feel to it. I didn't like their bread at all though, it was hard and didn't taste too fresh. Other than that, I enjoyed it. Nookies on N. Wells - 4/5 This was a trip down memory lane. During our May-2012 trip we ate all three meals at Nookies - breafast, lunch and dinner. What can I say, we're creatures of habit, we had been eating lots of junk in Indiana before we got to Chicago so when we found Nookies we knew we were on to a good thing. Demera on N. Broadway - 5/5 I love Ethiopian food Trattoria Sapori on N. Halsted - 4.5/5 Good food for sure. Deleece on N Southport- 3/5 We only ate here because we were watching The Color Purple next door. It was okay; I don't remember much about this food experience to be honest. We'd just had to walk through lots of rain so I wasn't in a good mood to start with and Deleece didn't change that! Toast on Webster - 5/5 We went to Toast twice because it had a fab atmosphere and was conveniently located for where we were hanging out. The Cheesecake Factory on Michigan Ave - 4/5 Portions are way too large but the food is good. Ina's on Randolphe - 5/5 Ina's is closing in Dec-13 (proprietor retiring) which is sad because it is awesome and has great traditions. E.g. cellphones are completely banned. I hear they have even asked a senator to get off his phone before! Ina has written a recipe book so that her great food can live on after Ina's. Fork on N. Lincoln - 4.5/5 Another delicious breakfast. Lou Malnati's on N. Lincoln in Lincolnwood (the original shop) - 3.5/5 I liked the history of the place but I personally didn't like their pizza dough, Harry did though - said it reminded him of school. I prefer Domino's pizza above all pizza joints, they've just got it like that. Over Easy on Damen - 5*/5 Believe the hype on yelp. After my meal I wanted to call the chef out to discuss opening a franchise in London - I didn't want it to be the end. Jamba Juice on Michigan Ave - I enjoy their juices. Healthy, fresh and refreshing. Chipotle (somewhere downtown) - I love Chipotle. On our way to the airport we saw a Chipotle and knew the trip would not be complete without it so we made a quick detour. The Museums we visited. Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) - okay but not much art; DuSable Museum of African American History - lots of good quality art. I especially like the section on Harold Lee Washington; National Museum of Mexican Art - there isn't much art but it was good that they even have a museum of Mexican art imho. Other culture We watched and LOVED The Color Purple, it's currently my favorite musical.
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I am feeling so crazy inspired right now!
Whenever I go to a museum I always come out feeling so creative but the elBulli exhibition at Somerset House is on another level of inspirational. This restaurant was started in the mid 1950s by a German couple, the Schillings. elBulli actually stands for "The Bull dogs" which were Mrs Schilling's pets. Marketta Schilling herself lived there until she died in 2007. However, ownership had long ago passed to Ferran Adrià in the early 1990s who transformed it into a 3 Michelin Star restaurant. This weekend I was left thinking Heston Blumenthal was a genius but if that is the case then Ferran Adrià is a culinary deity. The guy is on some other tip. Some of the videos and images of the foods he created looked like foods I ate at The Fat Duck and I am convinced that Heston took some inspiration from Ferran Adrià. In fact, the association I independently made between the two was just confirmed by a Wikipedia article that states, and I quote, "Along with British chef Heston Blumenthal, Adrià is often associated with "molecular gastronomy", although like Blumenthal the Catalan chef does not consider his cuisine to be of this category." In July 2011 elBulli was closed for 2.5 years of research; I have no idea what new methods they are coming up with all I know is I definitely want to visit elBulli when it reopens. Ferran Adrià is also working on the elBulli Foundation, a museum that will be dedicated to the history and methods of elBulli over time and Bullipedia, an educational resource and creative portal for professional chefs. What Adrià has done to food, I would love to do to hair products: basically, completely ignore all the currently accepted ingredients and perhaps methods and create something completely new: a super detangling, super moisturising hair product line for natural hair. God knows I would certainly benefit from it. What an inspirational day.
We've only just admitted to each other that whilst we enjoyed the culinary birthday I had planned we did very much feel out of place amongst these Bentley wielding, Michelin Star eating, designer clothes wearing hot shots. I'll take you to the start... ...back in May I was walking around Blackheath village with my cousin Cecillia when I told her I was at a loss with regards to what to do for my awesome husband's 30th birthday. She knew I'd bought him a couple of cook books for our first anniversary and he'd recently very successfully taken up the challenge of learning to cook; consequently, she suggested taking him out somewhere really special, somewhere known for it's culinary delights. I totally agreed - enter: the world of Michelin Stars. I had very limited knowledge about Michelin Stars but I knew they meant "great quality food" and the more Michelin stars you had the posher your nosh. 3 michelin stars are the most you can have and the UK has only four such restaurants - the whole of the US has 11 such restaurants, this demonstrates just how very rare the accolade is. I won't take you through all the deliberating I went through but ultimately we ended up going to:
Then the next morning, I told him. "Remember that video we watched?" "Yeah?" Harry said. "Well, we're going to The Hand & Flowers for lunch!" He smiled, "Phew, I thought you'd booked a cookery course and I wasn't up for doing any work!" I continued, "We're also going to the 3 Michelin Star Fat Duck for dinner!" "Two places in one day?" "Yep." He looked happy but worried. I knew it was probably because he thought I was wasting money." We then watched the video below which incidentally was a continuation of the series of Masterchef, The Professionals, that we had watched the night before: After watching these three videos we were officially both excited. I gave Harry his first birthday present: a white shirt that I had personally designed on iTailor. The Hand & Flowers Of all the places we went to this is the one I felt least out of place in. The desserts we had here were my favourite of all three restaurants because they were more hearty. The prices are also A LOT more reasonable so we'll be going back here. Just to give you an idea of how popular the place is, the restaurant was booked up for weekends for about 12 months in advance! They also have 4 rooms to let but could I get one? Oh no, not 3 months in advance, as at May every weekend until February 2014 was fully booked! The food in pictures: After lunch at The Hand & Flowers we wanted to take a walk but were actually quite tired so we decided to drive to our cottage for a nap. Clematis Cottage, Bray
When we got to Clematis Cottage I gave Harry his second birthday present: another custom designed shirt from iTailor, this time in blue. After hanging out and posting some pictures to instagram we slept for a while before getting ready for dinner at the 3 Michelin Starred The Fat Duck; our first experience of dining at this level. The Fat Duck The Fat Duck's 14 course taster menu is something else. The food comes along with a fair amount of abracadabra and without someone there to explain it, you wouldn't have a clue what you were eating. It goes without saying that the staff were all extremely polite and professional. Also, although the food was extremely complex it didn't matter who you asked, they knew exactly what it was and how it was made. Bookings at The Fat Duck are almost impossible. They open up for booking at 09.55 a.m. exactly two months in advance. I had a friend on hand trying to get a booking from that time alongside my attempts. I failed, she succeeded after about 3 hours of trying! The Food: I wasn't quite sure if I was "full" after the Fat Duck; there was space there for more but I decided it was because the food was so tasty rather than my stomach not being satiated. Anyway, the whole experience had lasted over three and a half hours so we were both tired. At this point, Harry didn't even know about Le Gavroche. The next morning after having breakfast, going for a walk and showering I presented Harry with his third and final birthday present: another iTailor shirt in a different shade of blue to the second, "One for each decade you've lived. " I said. "Not one for every year I've lived?" he joked! I also told him we were going to Le Gavroche. He looked unhappy: "That's too much," he said, "I've had enough of fine dining. I feel guilty now." To be honest, I was feeling guilty too by this point. I did think the indulgence of the day before was plenty to keep us going for months to come but I knew tonight was extra special, tonight his mum, dad, sister and brother-in-law would be there. I knew this would definitely make a difference to him and I wanted to tell him but I couldn't. We spent the day walking along the Thames in Marlow. Some of the houses along the riverbank were insane. One private residence had a garden so large there were two gardeners on motorised mowers tending to the lawn! It could not have been a hotel because there would have been hotel patrons in the yard enjoying the river views on what was a gorgeous summer day but it was grand enough. Le Gavroche We left Marlow at a good time and arrived in the Mayfair area 30 minutes before the dinner booking but there was a problem: the "surprise entourage" were running late. I had to stall a very annoyed Harry for 30 minutes...Harry's sister Whatsapped us a picture complaining how late she was working and I thought, nice touch, but... ...in the end we still arrived about a minute before our group. In fact they were metres behind us and I thought Harry would see them. I pushed him across the road to Le Gavroche and I lied that I needed the loo to buy a little more time for the crew to get to the restaurant. The toilet was downstairs near the still empty dining area. Luckily Harry used the loo too and took his time, as usual. When he came out of the toilet I wasn't sure how everything would go down, I had always imagined us arriving at the table and the family whispering "surprise" - I don't think you shout in these types of places! I was still thinking about what to do when the waitress said: "Would you like to be shown to the table or do you want to go to the bar for a while?" I don't even know if she knew the conundrum I was in so I said bar and Harry fortunately agreed immediately. He still looked a little unhappy (although that could have been because he'd lost his wallet earlier that morning!) The family were at the top of the stairs at the bar and I said to Harry, "Do you want to sit there?" Pointing to an empty seat next to his dad. He looked up not recognising the four people sitting there for an instant and then he realised he was looking at his fabulous fam. We hadn't seen them for a month. He grinned the happiest grin I had seen all day and we were shown to our table. The food was fabulous, however, the crowning moment of that event happened when Michel Roux Jr of the Roux chef dynasty came to our table. I had made a request via a waitress but didn't dare to hope. He posed in a picture with us AND signed autographs. We were all star struck and indeed very happy. It was a beautiful evening.
I enjoyed these two days but I am actually happy to return to my normal life. For us, being in these places was a real treat, something very special - but, what do the have mores do to get that "I'm having a treat" feeling? For us, dinner out at the restaurant chain Giraffe is a treat so this culinary adventure was a SUPER TREAT. I am left with one desire now: to take a journey through the thoughts of a Have More to see the relative contentment of their life and lifestyle, I'm just curious. Anyhow, to a great life with Harry and many more years. I am shirking work, yes! Stumbled upon this video on English accents. Reminds one that even within the US and the UK accents vary. There is no correct one. Views as at 1 July 2013: 16,037,360 This is the second take. I prefer the first because it was more "real". Videos that go viral unexpectedly usually are. It's good too though.
Views as at 1 July 2013: 877,191 Some people have naturally great, photogenic skin. I'm not one of them! This week I received several inquiries about how I maintain good skin so I decided to create a video. In my teens and early 20s I used to get pimples all the time but now I rarely do and I think it's because I have a good skin routine. When I stop doing these things my skin starts to flare up, so here's what I do: 1. I drink eight 250 ml glasses of water daily.
This does not include coffees, teas, juices. If I drink a herbal (i.e. non-caffeinated tea) without any sugar, e.g. a peppermint tea I will include in my water count but anything else does not count. All my water is drunk at specific times:
2. I jog I have no idea how this works but when I stop exercising my face starts to look less good. 3. I wash my face twice daily I do this almost without fail. It's easy enough because I also shower twice a day. Sleeping with makeup is an absolute no-no. 4. I rinse my face off with cold water after washing my face This is a must to close the pores. I even do it in winter. 5. I do not wipe my face with a face cloth I stopped doing this over ten years ago. Face cloths harbor so much dirt. 6. I use Dr Miracle's It Formula for my face I have been using them for about 3 years now and I think they are very good. The system consists of a facewash, toner and a cream. None of them smell good but they work! The pack lasts about 6 weeks. 7. I use Maybelline Dream Matte Mouse Foundation - Cocoa This foundation looks so good on me that about 10 other people started using it because of me including my mother, two sisters and cousins. 8. I should exfoliate weekly but I don't! Because I am doing everything else correctly skipping this one thing does not appear to be too problematic for me. When I do exfoliate I love St Ives' scrubs. They are very good and they smell great. Personally, I don't think Rihanna is showing too much flesh in this picture. If my booty was that toned it would also be out and about regularly. The image amuses and entertains me.
The fact that she got back with Chris Brown? Well the way I see it, she's a grown woman and she knew 100% what she was getting into. People get quite heated about Rihanna and her antics but Rihanna has clearly expressed that she doesn't try to be anyone's role model, she's out having fun and being true to herself. I respect that. That said, young girls do look up to, admire and emulate her so I'm cool with her acting crazy but only to a certain extent. If she took pictures of herself taking a class A drug and posted them to Twitter, I wouldn't be impressed. The pictures she took of herself smoking a spliff a while back are borderline, I would like to hope that any kids I had would be smart enough to know that's stupid. What do you think? Let's let Riri have her fun or "get it together, girl!"? Rating: 5/5 When I walked into Django all I knew was that it was a violent film. I had no idea it was about slavery and the civil rights movement of the 1860s. I had seen an interview where a UK reporter had talked about how the film encourages violence. Having seen the film, I don't agree with that view at all. No mature adult would watch Django and think "I need to get me a gun!" The whole civil rights movement is something that's not taught on the British curriculum and it is certainly something I am very curious about. When I was a teenager one of my aunts told me that my great, great, great (I don't know how many greats) grandmother was on her way to the ships but the chief of the village fell in love with her so she was saved. I have no idea how true this story is, I still haven't asked my dad but it makes me even more curious about the whole era. I was horrified by the scene where the dogs were let loose on the fighter that didn't want to fight anymore; I hated the scene where the slaves were forced to fight. The beatings were evil and the rules designed to subjugate black slaves utterly demoralising. We should never forget that the slave trade initially started out with all races. It wasn't only black people that were slaves. However, it became policy to only use black slaves because we were the only ones that could survive in the heat. Other races got ill and died pretty quickly. We are uniquely born with a natural sunscreen, the colour of our skin and our afro hair. What I loved about Django Unchained is that it empowered Django from the start. He went from slave to hero. Samuel L Jackson pissed me off so much in the film! I wanted to jump through the screen and woop his ass. Django was very well acted by Jamie Foxx and the guy who saved him was a legend too. He brought to mind that even then not every white person was a racist. This is a film definitely worth watching. 7:30 a.m. The one: "absolutely, positvely the only person on earth you are meant to be with. soul mate and best friend." (urban dictionary) Some people look back at their life / history and can identify two, three or more people that they could have married and been happy with. When I look back, I think every single person I dated or had a crush on would never have worked, I think,'That would have been a train wreck!' That said, the number of people I've met and known well over the course of my life is finite so I can't definitively argue for or against the theory of there being just one, "the one". It does confirm to me, however, that those of us that do find a good companion are supremely fortunate. It also part-explains the high divorce rate: in a world where men and women are both earners the realisation that you married the wrong one will inevitably lead to a break up. What's the point of this blog? Well if I died tomorrow I just want this up for posterity! Year 1 of marriage was great and I remain certain that I married the right mate. 8.30 a.m. My husband will tell you that one of the reasons I put so much energy into my "random thoughts" and "books" blogs is so that if I ever died my family would have these thoughts to hold on to. On the BBC this a.m. a story was aired about a tragic accident in which a white man's black wife was killed by a speeding Mercedes. He set up a blog on Life as a Widower to talk about his grief. Please show you support by following @lifeasawidower and liking Life as a Widower. The whole story felt even more sad to me having just woken up and written about my "one". For a very long time now women have been vehicles for men's procreation, recreation and domestic organisation. Yes, those times are changing but not very fast. I spent a few hours this morning at the National Portrait Gallery in London where they have a photography exhibition going on; whilst I enjoyed the exhibition overall, I thought there were one two many images of women in the nude with the worst offending images being those of naked children. Exhibit 1 Without the vagina, this picture would have been okay. There's art and there's excess and personally I think this is excessive exposure. There wasn't even the hint of a phallus anywhere in the entire exhibition. Exhibit 2 This young girl who is justing reaching puberty is the niece of the photographer. Firstly, I hope she got the mother's permission to take the image but secondly, even if she did get that permission why would you send this to a public exhibition? This young girl is far too young to consent. She can't comprehend the consequences of such nudity at all. She could be tomorrow's prime minister and surely no one of such a calibre wants photos of themselves in the nude. Exhibit 3
The most offensive picture. This child is four year's old and her father cut her hair whilst she was naked and then took a photo. One person I was with said she probably thought, "There's papa taking pictures of me again." The little girl looks unhappy and the caption says it's because she doesn't like having here hair cut...hmm? The father must be deranged to want every Tom, Dick and Paedophile looking at this image of his innocent child. I'm surprised the judges didn't call the police on him. |
By Heather
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