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Here is what I am currently reading. I have zero ability to read one book at the time so consequently I always have many books on the go.

1. 52 projects: Random Acts of Everyday Creativity - Fun projects to jump inspire your creativity. Lots of ideas for writing, photography, creating, etc

2. Living Out Loud - Filled with activities to fuel a creative life

3. A Slice of Organic Life - Get closer to the soil without going the whole hog. This book inspired me to start a garden. I started with a few small pots of rocket but now I have tomatoes, bell peppers, courgette and potatoes plus an herb garden with 8 or 9 different varieties.

4. Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spirtual Guide to Health & Happiness. In the book, Freston discusses her 8 pillars of wellness which include: meditation, visualization, fun activities, conscious eating, exercise, self-work, spirtual practice and service. All good stuff.

5. Where Women Create - Inspirational work spaces of extraordinary women.

6. At Home With White - Filled with beautiful interiors ]]> Books http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=305 Wed, 2 Jul 2008 22:32:20 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=304

I might be too old for a lemonade stand but I can still make lemonade. Here is my favorite summer recipe. Perfect for hot summer days. Now all I need is a front porch and a rocking chair.

Best Lemonade (& Easiest Recipe Ever)

3/4 cups white sugar
8 cups water
1 1/2 cups lemon juice

How to:

Combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Allow to cool to room temperature, then cover and refrigerate until chilled.

Juice the lemons until you have 1 1/2 cups of lemon juice. Throw away the seeds but keep the pulp. In a pitcher, stir together the chilled sugar mixture, lemon juice and the remaining 7 cups of water. Add ice. Serve. Garnish your glass with fresh lemonade.

I promise this is better than anything you can buy from a store. Enjoy!



]]> Foodie http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=304 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 22:15:15 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=303

We visited my husband's family near Brighton this past weekend and decided to visit Arundel to have lunch and do a little bit of shopping. I had no idea that Arundel was so cute. There were lots of cute little shops and everything was reminded me of France. I bought a great little French market basket that is perfect for trips to the farmers market on Sunday.

We had a great lunch at Arundel House, which is a both a restaurant and a boutique hotel. Our food was excellent. I had a brilliant asparagus starter, crayfish tagliatelle and rhubarb cheesecake. Did I mention I am crazy about rhubarb at the moment? The service was excellent and one of the staff even gave us a tour of the hotel rooms. My husband was so inspired he was ready to stay overnight but unfortunately I had to veto that idea because I wanted to go strawberry picking and plus we had absolutely nothing with us that would've warranted an overnight stay.

We ran out of time in Arundel and I felt like I was rushing to get everything done but I definitely would go back. There is a beautiful castle that I missed and would like to go back to see.

Arundel House
11 High Street
Arundel
West Sussex
BN18 9AD
]]> Bars & Restaurants http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=303 Tue, 1 Jul 2008 21:51:57 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=302
I recently discovered Redwood Bay in Bath. The owners started the store in 2001 after they were amazed by all the retail choices in NYC (Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma, Restoration Hardware, which now has a gorgeous children's line by the way). With so much choice, they found themselves stuffing their suitcases with great homewares and they wanted to find another way to bring all these great products to the UK.

The store has lots of New England influences and you can find everything from Williams Sonoma cookbooks to Barefoot Contessa cake mixes and Smith & Wollensky steak sauces. Definitely a good find for Americans who are looking for a taste of home.

Redwood Bay
8 Upper Borough Walls
Bath
BA1 1RG
www.redwoodbay.co.uk ]]> Shopping http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=302 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:15:40 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=301

We have so much beautiful rhubarb from the garden and I am struggling to figure out what to do with it all. I was thinking up recipes on my run tonight and came up with my own version of rhubarb crumble. I'll give it another ten minutes in the oven and we will see how it turns out.

Summer is in full swing and I have been busy over the past few weeks meeting with our architect and structural engineer as our housing project swings in to full gear. I've also been sampling paint colors, lots and lots of paint colors and my walls look like a poor attempt at a patchwork quilt. Lots of travel coming up with weekend trips to Belgium and Paris in July and August and then two weeks in Italy in September. I will be back to regularly scheduled blogging soon.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!]]> General http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=301 Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:44:53 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=300

Since living in London, I have developed an appreciation for French interiors. I found a paint color from Brissi called Parisian Grey and have just ordered this chair for my guest bedroom. ]]> Home & Garden http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=300 Mon, 9 Jun 2008 13:08:18 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=299 I love the symmetry, structure and balance of topiaries and they are absolutely everywhere in London.













]]> Home & Garden http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=299 Tue, 3 Jun 2008 22:19:00 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=298

After much anticipation, I saw Sex & the City Movie last night. If you haven't seen it yet, you may want to stop reading now.

First, let it me say. It was wonderful and I want more. I have never seen crowds like that before in my local cinema ever. I tried to purchase tickets last Friday for Wednesday night's opening and both the 7:30 and 9:00 showings were already sold out so I was forced to convince six friends to leave work early in order to make the 5:30 showing.

After seeing the movie, I realized how much I miss the show and how sad I am now that it is finally finished...for good. (It is finished, right? Because it would be more than ok with me if the SATC powers that be wanted to continue the series or make another movie) Because I don't want to let go. I want to know if Charlotte has more children or if Steve and Miranda manage to stay happy forever. Will they have another baby? Will Miranda ever learn to relax?

A new and surprising addition to cast was Louise (Jennifer Hudson) Carrie's personal assistant. I loved her "Louise" Vuitton. I don't watch American idol and haven't seen Dreamgirls but I love Jennifer Hudson and want to see more of her.

Am I the only one not happy about the situation with Carrie and Big? My heart hurt so much for Carrie and I couldn't believe what happened. I would NOT have been able to forgive him and I don't think he deserves Carrie. After the scene with Carrie attacking Big with the flowers, Charlotte's response was priceless. In fact, Charlotte was priceless throughout.

I was upset for Miranda too but somehow what Big did seemed so much worse. Steve was an idiot but at least he was extremely sorry. Big seemed to be so conscience of how much he was about to hurt Carrie but did it anyway.

I was happy with the way that Charlotte and Miranda's stories resolved themselves but less pleased for Samantha and Carrie. I can't say much more without giving everything away but it seems to me as Samantha is kind of without a happy ending. Doesn't she deserve love too?
]]> General http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=298 Thu, 29 May 2008 23:55:53 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=296

I first discovered Belazu Balsamic Vinegar at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen restaurant. Fifteen has a wonderful side salad made with this balsamic vinegar and I loved it so much that I asked our waiter what it was and brought two bottles home from the restaurant the same night.

When I was close to running out, I thought I was going to have to stop by Fifteen on my way home from work to stock up but with a little research I also learned that Waitrose sells it as well.

For the past couple of weeks, I have been eating a simple salad with rocket, spinach, romaine or whatever kind of lettuce leaves I have in the house, a drizzingly of a good olive oil, Belazu Balsamic vinegar and a little bit of fresh parmesan. It is absolutely my favorite salad and takes about a minute to make.

I am not normally a balsamic vinegar person but this one is much thicker and sweeter than balsamic vinegars I've had in the past. It's great for dunking bread and drizzingly over oven roasted summer vegetables like courgettes, auberine, peppers, onions, etc.


]]> Foodie http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=296 Mon, 12 May 2008 22:53:44 +0100 http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=294 When Interior Designers Alison Jackson and Tricia Tallon found it difficult to find dining room chairs, they decided to create their own company and The Dining Chair Company was born.

They have a large selection of both traditional and contemporary styles and you can can also choose from a selection of upholstery fabrics. If you want to take a closer look at their stuff, they have a showroom near Sloan Square.

Some of my favorites are below:


Look, my chance to own a little piece of Helen Green Designs with this chair she created for The Dining Room Company







Photo Credit: The Dining Chair Company ]]> Home & Garden http://londonalamode.com/index.php?itemid=294 Sun, 6 Apr 2008 22:35:00 +0100