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Side Projects
Hey 🙂 it’s Claire- the lesser spotted Claire. I know I haven’t posted anything on here for ages, but that’s because I’ve been busy with work and life admin. I’ve also been busy over the last few months working on two side projects, which have taken up a lot of my time which I’m massively excited to tell you about. One of these projects is an online magazine Little Things That Shine, which can be found here. Little Things That Shine has a range of features, such as book and film reviews, articles on self- acceptance and travel posts. I love it- it’s such fun to write. My other side…
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Sunday Photo
Ladybower Reservoir, The Peak District
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Tapas at Salvador and Amanda
Salvador and Amanda is a beautiful and authentic Spanish restaurant, located in London’s Leicester Square. Although it’s been there for around 15 years, I wasn’t actually aware of it until my team held our Christmas party there last month. The restaurant boasts a surrealist art- deco interior, in which patrons are encased in curtained- off sections. We had the Christmas menu, which is a selection of the normal menu, but I’m pretty sure the standard menu is just as tasty. It was some of the best tapas I had eaten outside of Spain. The meatballs were succulent and the croquettes de queso gained such a fanbase we had to ask…
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Lemon Victoria Sponge, The Yorkshire Bridge
Only crazy (or tough-as-nails) folks go walking in the Peak District on a bitterly cold winter’s day, right? But it is totally and utterly worth it when you can duck into a cosy warm pub afterwards for a hot chocolate and a slab of Lemon Victoria Sponge, like this one: The Yorkshire Bridge, Ladybower Reservoir
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The Barbary, Covent Garden
Being labelled ‘the best restaurant in London’ gives The Barbary in Neal’s Yard a lot to live up to. The little sister of established London eatery The Palomar, the restaurant takes its inspiration from the Barbary coast. Good thing the food is amazing then…read my review on Weekend Notes here
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Tea at Betty’s
It’s a bit cold and wintry outdoors and there is nothing more I like than snuggling up in the warm when it’s chilly outside. Do you want to know another thing I like though? Afternoon tea! Now, my trip to Betty’s tearooms in York for afternoon tea was quite some time ago- August 2017- but I think it’s time for a throwback. Also, I think something as special as afternoon tea at Betty’s deserves a mention. I’ve always wanted to go to York and was delighted when I managed to make a visit there for my 29th birthday. One of the places that you absolutely need to visit in York…
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Festive Treats
Happy New Year! Today is the 6th January and is therefore traditionally the last day of Christmas. I hope you’ve all been enjoying yourself over the last few weeks and indulging in a few festive treats. I definitely have. A lot of people are on post- holidays diets (which I don’t hold with) because they’ve over indulged a bit too much. Below I’ve posted a few pictures of the festive treats that I have indulged in over the last few weeks. Brownie and cream Three- trio mousse Christmas Pudding Okay the last one isn’t actually something I ate because I don’t like Christmas pudding but it looked gorgeous. What festive…
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Very Easy Mince Pies Recipe
Hope you’ve all been enjoying a wonderful Christmas time! I certainly have and one of the things I’ve been doing is taking the opportunity to bake some festive treats. I love mince pies and especially enjoy making my own. If you have some mincemeat left over, or fancy extending the Christmas festivities (after all, Christmas doesn’t officially end until January 6th), then you might like to give this recipe a try. It was given to me by a colleague, who got it from the BBC Good Food website. I guarantee it makes gorgeous mince pies. Ingredients 225g cold butter, diced 350g plain flour 1 sugar 100g golden caster sugar 280g…
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The Woodin’s Shades, Bishopsgate
Last week I took part in a charity run for World Aids Day, which was exhilarating and rewarding. I’m not a runner so to even do something like this is a big deal for me. I’m a believer in rewarding yourself after you’ve exerted yourself, so I visited a pub in Liverpool Street to refuel afterwards. You can read my review of the pub here.
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Vegan Junk Food
As some people may already know, one of my good friends, Anna, and her partner are vegan. Before meeting them, I didn’t know much about veganism. Since they came into my life in 2013, I have spent time with them, educating myself about the vegan lifestyle and what it entails, which has been somewhat of an adventure to me. I recently went up to visit Anna in Bristol, which involved a food tour (details of which will be in a forthcoming post!). She also took me to try dirty vegan food at Vx, a Bristol eaterie which specialises in vegan junk food. I tried the nachos, which proved to me…
