So, anyway, here are a few things that have made me smile that I thought I would share with you since I've been gone...
1. Coachella Valley Arts and Music Festival
I love twitter because so many people interact with each other, especially about Coachella. 'The Hills' and 'The Lo Down' author Lo Bosworth quoted it as 'the best weekend ever' and HOUSE Actress Olivia Wilde was obviously jealous she couldn't attend, as was I. But not just jealous - INSANELY jealous, and to make matters worse, Lauryn Hill played a set. LIVE. I guarantee one of these days I will get out to Los Angeles and dance around just as enthusiastically as Vanessa Hudgens did.
2. Coveting Chanel
Anytime I see a Chanel bag, something inside makes me melt. Its one of those things that once you get, you know you'll keep it forever. I'm happy to wait around for it, but I know when I get it, I'll hold onto it and treasure it forever.
3. Broken Bells - The High Road
I love this song - it's completely mellow and perfect to listen to whilst doing your day to day at the weekends. This is my first broken bells song that I've actually listened to and can't wait to hear the rest of the album. Listen!!
4. Abercrombie and Fitch Store, Burlington Gardens, London
This place is the best place in London for single ladies to go to for the best part of an hour, and the worst place for people in relationships, as the first thing you think of, going on simple physical aspects only, is surely there's no way my 'normal' boyfriend will ever measure up, and for about ten seconds you'd be right. All the guys who work at this store are blessed in the looks department, so much so, you feel like tracking down their parents and shaking them by the hand, and not only that, since all the REALLY good looking men just stand, smile and dance at you whilst smelling of the signature A&F cologne which takes things to another level, somehow I felt completely nonchalant of the fact that I was spending £54 on denim shorts.
5. Pictures that make me smile
Sometimes all you need is to take 5 minutes out of your day to look at a series of pictures to make your day immediately feel OK again. Pictures do this for me. So here is a small set I'm loving...
5. New Cookbooks inspiring me from season to season -
I love Sophie Dahl as a cook, and as a model - but always love trying out her recipes. Her previous effort, 'Miss Dahl's Voluptuous Delights' and her TV show, was always a guilty pleasure for me, along with a glass of white wine and some almond Green and Black's Chocolate. Even though I have recently changed my diet quite drastically and become a vegan, I'm sure I am still going to find beautiful and easy to follow recipes that I can cook and eat with voracious pleasure from season to season, as this book will of course, aim to point out. Even though I am a vegan, I am partial to a tiny bit of meat and I have been eating the odd meat dish, as I don't see my vegan choices as a diet, but as a long-lasting lifestyle choice, or for as long as possible so I reckon its OK for me to embrace my carnivore animalistic side from time to time and indulge in a burger or some good old fashioned fried chicken.... but in the meantime, when I'm a vegan, I feel like I'm eating as healthily as I can, so I'll be taking my recipes from here as often as possible!
This description of the book from publishers Harper Collins is my favourite...
A beautiful seasonal almanac of inspired recipes from model turned writer and cook Sophie Dahl. Speckled with musings, anecdotes and intimate memories, Sophie’s latest cookbook offers budding gastronomes scrumptious recipes and tantalising glimpses into her glorious past, filled with polo-necked exes and Indian ramblings, and covetable present.
Having honed her natural instinct for combining the best that every season has to offer, From Season to Season is Sophie at her passionate best. Sophie captures the comforting abundance of Autumn with her Squash and Parmesan soup, the redolent warmth of a summer garden in full bloom with Grilled Peaches with Pistachios and Ricotta, and the burgeoning crispness of Spring with Butter Lettuce Lobster and Pea Salad. Sophie’s guileless charm with just a hint of a glamorous older sister’s worldly wisdom has seen her move gracefully from one career triumph to the next, winning her countless fans with her first cookbook, Miss Dahl’s Voluptuous Delights, published alongside her successful first BBC cookery series, The Delicious Miss Dahl. Stunning photography and Sophie’s delightfully quirky illustrations make this lovingly crafted hardback the ideal gift for anyone who relishes good food and a bit of indulgence.
2. Plenty - Yotam Ottolenghi
Yotam Ottolenghi is a world renowned chef and although not associated with vegetarianism, this book brings together a collection of his best vegetarian recipes.
With his fabulous restaurants and bestselling Ottolenghi Cookbook, Yotam Ottolenghi has established himself as one of the most exciting new talents in the world of cookery and food writing. This exclusive collection of vegetarian recipes is drawn from his column 'The New Vegetarian' for the Guardian's Weekend magazine, and features both brand-new recipes and dishes first devised for that column.
Yotam's food inspiration comes from his strong Mediterranean background and his unapologetic love of ingredients. Not a vegetarian himself, his approach to vegetable dishes is wholly original and innovative, based on strong flavours and stunning, fresh combinations. With sections devoted to cooking greens, aubergines, brassicas, rice and cereals, pasta and couscous, pulses, roots, squashes, onions, fruit, mushrooms and tomatoes, the breadth of colours, tastes and textures is extraordinary.
Featuring vibrant, evocative food photography from acclaimed photographer Jonathan Lovekin, and with Yotam's voice and personality shining through, Plenty is a must-have for meat-eaters and vegetarians alike.
3. The Kind Diet - Alicia Silverstone
Words can't explain how awesome I think this book is!! I've loved Alicia ever since I saw her in Clueless, and even though she hasn't really managed to make her mark quite as strongly or resonantly since, she's still a comedic actress who deserves to be acknowledged for this fantastic cookbook. Alicia has been a vegan for a long time, and splits the book into several different themes, all in a very in depth but laid back way which doesn't pressure the reader into believing that in order to embrace veganism, you have to live on a boring diet of beans and soy curd. That is simply not the case. I can't wait to read!
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