Relaxing At The St Pancras Spa

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 25•12

On Monday, I was lucky enough to head off to the St Pancras Spa for an afternoon of blissful relaxation. The spa is located in the St Pancras Renaissance Hotel – an absolutely incredible place (Paul and I considered spending the first night of our honeymoon there, but would have needed to take out a second mortgage). It was the first time I’d actually stepped foot inside the hotel, and the decor was as incredible as I’d hoped – extremely high ceilings and wonderful Victorian tiling, not to mention the odd majestic staircase here and there.

The spa was much more modern in comparison, with hints of Africa and Asia in its decor. I won’t say much more here as I’ve written up a full review over on Wahanda – but suffice to say that the pool room is one of the most impressive I’ve seen (thanks to its incredible tiling) and the facial I experienced was a real treat for my tired winter skin.

If you want to learn more about this special spa, have a read of my Tried & Tested post on Wahanda. Alternatively, head to St Pancras and look for the giant, sprawling Gothic building next to the station – you can hardly miss it.

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A Weekend In Rochester

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 24•12

At the weekend, Paul and I headed off to Rochester to escape London and spend a relaxed weekend with friends Hayley and Will. We managed to pack a fair bit in, from discovering historic Rochester to buying lots of pappadums, sampling Hayley’s delicious cooking and rocking Rock Band like no one has even rocked it before.

Here’s a brief overview of some of the things that make for a great afternoon out in Rochester, should you be tempted to meander that way (don’t go knocking on Hayley’s door uninvited though – she’s my friend, not yours…)

A Soviet Submarine

Whilst walking from Strood station, we noticed a rather unlikely looking vessel moored on the River Medway. Decorated with a Soviet hammer and sickle, it certainly had us doing a double take – but no matter how many times we blinked and cleaned our glasses it was definitely there. A subsequent session on Google revealed that this was the Black Widow submarine, which operated until 1994 and could hold 22 torpedoes when fully armed. A far cry from its heyday, the Black Widow now has a hole in her and is listing to one side. She’s still a pretty impressive sight though – especially if you weren’t at all expecting to see a vintage Russian war vessel in the middle of Kent.

Rochester Castle

I hadn’t been to Rochester Castle since Year 7, on a school trip during which I recall us having to dress up as monks. This time there was no monk action – we just had a quick wander around the outside of the keep, which is still impressively intact. Hayley informs me that you can go up to the top should you wish too, although it’s a pretty steep climb. Instead, we contented ourselves with admiring the imposing houses nearby, and inspecting the big cannon which points out across the river.

Rochester Cathedral

We nipped into the cathedral for a quick look – there was a service going on in one part of it which we didn’t want to disturb (although we were glad to have caught the choir). A huge building, the cathedral is beautifully decorated, and contains a variety of interesting plaques for those who like to soak up a bit of local history. A leaflet is available to guide you around some of the more notable sights, if you have a bit more time to spend – and there are even helpful volunteers on the door willing to answer any questions.

Shopping in Rochester

Whilst the retail-challenged boys slipped off to the pub (where we later found them doing a crossword together, how sweet) Hayley and I hit the shops. There are a good few interesting homeware shops and even more charity shops – one, Demelza, turned out to be a real treasure trove, with some lovely vintage clothing at almost giveaway prices. We also visited an Aladdin’s cave of an antiques shop and a well-stocked wine store, where Hayley managed to pick up an unusual oak-aged chardonnay.

On our walk in to Rochester, we visited the Reena Food Store. This was hugely exciting for me, as there is nowhere near us where we can purchase authentic Indian ingredients – so we filled up several bags with store cupboard staples and snacks. From rasmalai to pani puris (both of which apparently contain gluten – I’m gutted) the shop stocked all the Indian treats which I find it pretty hard to track down outside of Tooting/Drummond Street.

Hayley’s House (AKA CookEatHappy HQ)

After our adventures in the main town it was back to Hayley’s house for food, wine and Rock Band. Hayley is the brains behind the cookery classes at CookEatHappy – so it was no surprise that she’d planned a detailed menu to spoil us with. We began with pappadums, served with her homemade pineapple and cumin chutney, tomato and red onion relish and tindoori raita (all incredibly moreish. Still thinking about them now, in fact). Then, whilst the boys and I headed upstairs to test out our Rock Band skillz (a tip from me to you – the drumming gets easier when you ditch the sticks) our gracious hostess set to work on the main course.

For the main, we ate kori gashi (a hot chicken curry with a thick coconut sauce), lemon and cardamom brown rice and cabbage with mustard seeds. This was followed by Hayley’s homemade berry sorbet and some squares of dark chocolate, perfect for rounding off the meal.

But the gastronomic excitement didn’t end there. Hayley made us a brilliant the breakfast the next day, including a whole loaf of gluten free poppy seed bread for me (no one had ever made me gluten free bread before). This was served with bacon and maple syrup, sparking an addiction which now sees me desperately wanting the week to go faster so that it can be Sunday, henceforth known as maple syrup day, once more.

We had a truly lovely weekend (even if it did flash by extremely quickly) and would thoroughly recommend Rochester to anyone looking for somewhere to visit. I may be a bit biased, but I would also thoroughly recommend checking out the CookEatHappy website – Hayley has some great curry making classes coming up for you to get stuck into. And hell, who knows? She might even throw in some Rock Band tips, too.

 

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Dalida – Salma Ya Salama

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 23•12

I thought I’d post this video for you this evening, for no other reason than that I’ve just played it three times in a row and I thought I’d share the love.

I’m off to tidy the house now (sigh) but keep an eye out for posts later in the week on our lovely weekend in Rochester and today’s trip to the beautiful St Pancras Spa.

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‘That Day In Paris’ By Jan Szafranski

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 18•12

Copyright Jan Szafranski 2011

Although it looks as though it belongs on the wall of a gallery, this incredible picture is in fact currently hanging in our living room. The artist, Jan Szafranski, is Paul’s very talented uncle – and he gave us this artwork in celebration of our wedding, last September.

Entitled ‘That Day In Paris’, the picture has all sorts of personal touches to it, reflecting the role that Paris, music and the saxaphone play in our lives. Jan’s even managed to cleverly incorporate our faces into it – look closely and you can see us on the cover of the newspaper in the background.

Jan expressed his thoughts on creating the paitning and the inspiration behind it on Facebook the other day, and I hope he doesn’t mind me quoting him here:

‘It’s different than the last few pieces I’ve worked on (in terms of content) but is still a digital painting (hopefully this medium will gain more recognition now that Hockney is presenting a major exhibition at the RA with his digital paintings). The style I hoped would emulate a classic style of ’60s photography, and I was inspired by a photographer friend’s collection of almost black-and-white Parisian street photos. I loved the tonal qualities of these photos and wanted to reproduce them for the couple (as he had proposed in France). Originally I was going to paint the groom playing the sax, but changed my mind and made it a busker, hoping that it created a suitably romantic feel. I also added a stack of morning papers carrying the headline and photo of them into the background to personalise it (now that it was no longer a portrait. I am happy with the decision (and hope that they are too)’.

We’re extremly happy with the decision, and proud to own something so incredibly unique. I think it goes without saying that we really will treasure this picture forever.

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WIW #16 – feat. Strand of Silk Scarf

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 16•12

Yesterday was Paul’s birthday, and we headed into Central London with friends Emily and Dave to mess around in the arcades at Namco’s, see Stewart Lee perform live and eat at Bodean’s (a bad experience for me from a gluten-free perspective, but that’s another story). What do you wear to do all these things? All your finery, of course…

I was sent this beautiful scarf as a present by Strand of Silk, a company which I am really fond of and which sells contemporary fashion designs by Indian designers. The scarf was beautifully packaged and a real treat to receive, so I wanted to wait for a special occasion to do it real justice (and yes, that special occasion just happened to be running around Namco’s, where, incidentally, I also discovered I have a real knack for shooting basketball hoops. Who’da thunk it?)

The sequin detailed scarf, by Abraham & Thakore at Strand of Silk

Dress: Vintage (given to me by my lovely sister-in-law)

Bag: Chanel

Ankle boots: Primark

Dalida: The ultimate black and white accessory

Faux fur-trimmed cape: M&S

I rather enjoyed messing around with monochrome – it’s going to feel pretty strange swapping to pastels and brights for the spring and summer.

 

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Sunday Stumble #3

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 15•12

Today is Paul’s birthday – happy birthday Paul! We’re off to see Stewart Lee (on stage, not at the pub or anything) and hopefully grab some form of food, so I’ve cheated and written this post yesterday. If that makes any sense?.

I’ll stop wittering. This week’s stumbling has introduced me to some great photos, craft projects, recipes and random facts – here are some of my favourite finds:

How to make paper pencils

When I was younger I experimented with covering Bic biros in fabric (like you do). They looked prettier than before, but it didn’t give the most satisfactory of results. Imagine my excitement, then, when I discovered this tutorial for making your own beautiful pencils. I can’t wait to give it a go myself – after a bit of research I’ve found that Mod Podge is available from HobbyCraft, and HB leads can indeed be purchased from Amazon. If it goes well, I may even share the results on EG – so keep an eye out.

Make a memory jar

This is a very sweet idea, although I think it’s probably the sort of thing you’d do for a few weeks and then accidentally forget about. Or, if you’re a chutney fiend like me, you might risk cooking up a batch of something, finding you didn’t have enough jars and rudely evicting all of your memories (that sentence will make more sense if you read about the concept of the memory jar – I’m not suggesting pickle panic causes amnesia).

The world’s deepest hotel room

This incredibly unusual hotel is set inside a 16th Century silvermine in Sweden and would make a bit of a change from your average Holiday Inn. I think being so far underground would make me a bit anxious to be honest – as far as novelty hotels go, I’d be much more interested in an igloo.

What happens when you give thousands of stickers to thousands of kids…

A feel-good Stumble, this series of images sees a pure white room turned into a riot of colour by thousands of bright stickers. The overall effect is pretty impressive, and you can’t help but imagine how much fun the kids must have had with this giant 3D sticker book.

To begin stumbling yourself and discover all sorts of weird and wonderful things, just go to www.stumbleupon.com.

 

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Homemade Herb Oil

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 14•12

Ready for another slightly blurry picture of something homemade in a bottle? Ok, so last time it was a jar – but you know what I mean. I’m pretty proud of my various attempts at preserving, and I intend to share the latest whether you like it or not. So there.

I recently mentioned my desire to have a go at making herb oil in my post on River Cottage preserved lemons. The herb oil idea also came from my River Cottage Handbook No.2 - Preserves, and I’m extremely pleased with the result (if not with the photo).

Making the oil is incredibly simple – all you need to do is pack a Kilner jar with fresh herbs of your choice (I went with basil, rosemary and thyme as they were all I could get hold of, but there are plenty of possiblities) and pour over some good quality olive oil to cover. Leave to steep for a week in a cool, dark place, then strain to remove the herbs (you could always add some of them to some roasted vegetables or a roast chicken to avoid too much waste).

The herb oil is an interesting green colour – not exactly beautiful, but not off-putting, either. It smells fantastic, and tastes absolutely wonderful as a dip for bread. I can’t wait to use it in all sorts of dishes, whether drizzled over food to give extra flavour or used in stir-frying. I’ll also be making more and experimenting with different herbs and perhaps even some fiery chillies to turn up the heat a bit.

Next up from the River Cottage Handbook? I’m eyeing up the recipe for mint syrup, to be diluted as a cordial or added to green tea for a refreshing Moroccan drink. Yum…

Update (16/01/2012): Since writing this post I’ve been reading up a bit more about infused oils, and it looks as though they can develop harmful bacteria quite quickly, with the possibility of leading to botulism poisoning (eek!). The River Cottage Handbook doesn’t mention this in its recipe, but it might be a good idea to do a bit of research first – and it’s definitely a good idea to make sure your herbs are dried properly after washing, to refrigerate your oil after adding the herbs and to use it relatively quickly.

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Wishlist: Face Color Rouge Ladurée

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 12•12

In my eyes, Ladurée can do no wrong. The macaroons are incredible, the shops are beautiful and the Champs Elysées restaurant and bar are enough to make me pinch myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. So when I heard that the brand was collaborating with Japanese cosmetics company Albion on a new range of makeup, I knew straightaway that I would love it.

I just didn’t expect to love it THIS much (by which I mean I would definitely consider swapping one of my cats for a blusher. Probably Manon, as she keeps waking me up in the middle of the night)*

The collection, which is named ‘Les Merveilleuses de Ladurée’, consists of concealers, blushers and powder puffs, all packaged to perfection in pastel pink, with the addition of fantastically OTT cameos and gold flourishes. It’s not subtle, but then neither’s Ladurée – and that’s half the beauty of it.

My favourite piece in the collection is the Face Color Rouge Ladurée (pictured). This dainty blusher has been formed into individual rose petals, and is just so beautiful that I could actually cry.

Unfortunately, there is good reason to cry: the range is being launched in Japan, and won’t make its way to Europe until later in the year. Looks like there’s nothing for it but to comfort eat macaroons to get over the disappointment.

 

*This isn’t true. I would never swap Manon, I love her dearly. For the most part.

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Daydreaming: Rasa Gurukul Cooking School

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 09•12

I think it’s pretty safe to say that Rasa is currently my favourite restaurant. I say restaurant – it’s actually a chain of restaurants, but I’ve so far only visited the Charlotte Street branch. Offering authentic southern Indian food inspired by the home cooking of Kerala, Rasa stands out from most other London-based Indian restaurants (a fact that also results from its colourful pink shop fronts). Eat there and you’ll spend the next few weeks desperate to go back again – I know I certainly did.

I first ate at the Charlotte Street restaurant with my good friend George, with whom I shared a basket of the delicious pre-meal snacks (complete with a dish of seven different chutneys and pickles) as well as some fantastically aromatic main courses. I quickly returned with Paul, who was also impressed by the attractive decor and moreish dishes. It was Paul who looked up the chain’s website and discovered two very interesting things: a) that the different London branches have slightly different menus – some are vegetarian, whilst others serve meat and b) that there is a Rasa Gurukul School in Kerala, aiming to teach people the ways of traditional Keralan life.

The Rasa Gurukul School is the stuff that daydreams are made of (a misquote in more ways than one, I know – pipe down, Shakespeare geeks). Not only will the courses run there teach you to cook beautiful, authentic food, but you’ll also get the chance to practise traditional Keralan farming methods, as well as to learn yoga and meditation and even try your hand at being a blacksmith. I think it’s the sort of thing most people dream of, really (hence the popularity of books and films like Eat, Pray, Love) – the chance to escape the stress of busy working life and take some time out just to learn and to be.

Courses at the Rasa Gurukul School last two weeks, six months or a year (how incredible would that be?). According to the website, a stay at the school will help you to ‘re-master the trick of happiness in day-to-day living’. A typical day begins at 5.30 am with yoga, prayer and meditation – this is then followed by a farm visit, breakfast preparation, breakfast, more farm work, then cooking, oil making or utensils making with a traditional blacksmith. After lunch you might find yourself learning about Ayurveda or making jaggery, before gardening, meditation and attending a relevant lecture before dinner.

It all sounds absolutely wonderful (although doesn’t specify if you could keep the cooking side purely vegetarian – if not, my phobia of seafood might prove a bit problematic). There are no prices available, which I think is just as well – after all, why not keep the daydream alive a little bit longer?

 

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Folksy Fun 32

Written By: Angharad - Jan• 08•12

As an avid cross stitcher, I’m a big fan of embroidery – although there’s still a lot for me to learn in this area. It’s no surprise, then, that I love to see people trying out stitching in new and innovative ways. Forget old-fashioned cross stitched countryside scenes and bunches of flowers (although I love them too!) – Folksy is full of people using their imagination and creating fun pieces that would make any purist cry.

I don’t know about you, but I absolutely love the simplicity of this comic inspired embroidered plaque by Folksy seller SamGibson (as well as this fun lipstick design). The plaque would make a great gift for anyone who loves handmade crafts (or comic books!) and would be sure to be a talking point wherever it was hung.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m about to decamp to the wonderful Phoenix pub in Denmark Hill for an afternoon of cross stitching, reading and sweet potato wedges. Bliss.

Posted in Home & Decor | 1 Comment »
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