Ten Perfect Summer Drinks

 blueberry lemon fizz / lavender french 75 / watermelon mojito

clementine & red wine spritzers / mint cucumber & lime crush / blackberry meyer lemon gin tonics

 apple & elderflower fizz / iced chamomile sun tea / lemonade with orange blossom water /

and finally this vermontucky lemonade by the fabulous Deb Perelman from Smitten Kitchen


I'm definitely going to be trying some of these, so many delicious berries everywhere right now....
and with the weather so hot in London, these summery drinks are perfect - and a great way of getting your children to consume lots of fruit (not the alcoholic ones obviously!)

My new favourite food blog Spoon Fork Bacon has some great suggestions for drinks &
delicious fruit ice cubes....

Which one of the above would you choose?
(recipe links available under each image)

Photo Mood . white . shadow . freshness

The heat is getting the best of me. 

Can't get any proper work done, my brain is a melted mush and I'm in dire need of cool and shadowy places to hide and do nothing. Come back rain...you're forgiven!

image source:

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6

Happy Week-end!

Miami Beach

School finished today for my daughter....my son finishes next week.

The academic year that I thought would never end....did.

I made it. She made it. We made it.

To say it's been quite a year is an understatement.

So much has happened....ups & downs.

Good and Bad.

A tentative start, a very fraught & unhappy middle....the ending of the year has been slightly happier....thankfully.

As always, the holidays have arrived at just the right time.

This week-end we will be basking in the glorious sunshine, spending time outdoors as much as possible....and tomorrow I am meeting up with my oldest & much loved friends, my University girls....I cannot wait. Good times await!

And I wonder if the Royal baby may arrive this week-end, I think he or she might, exciting!!

You know that I love a good movie, but it seems like ages since I've seen a really good film at the cinema. 

I recently discovered the Gallo Film Club - free to join up online & when you do they recommend films, wines & other fun accessories for your movie night.

We took up their recommendation for "New York, I Love You"....

Andy Garcia, Bradley Cooper, New York City, the concept of "everyone has their own love story...."

what's not to love, as they say?

Our wine recommendation of a Gallo Cabernet Sauvignon was perfect :)

They have a great range of film suggestions and trailers,  along with wines to go with & facts about your movie.

Check it out here....

Happy Week-end! 

strawberry mint tart

Summer Style : Picnic Accessories

1 Voile Bunting/ 2 Kandelini/ 3 Bright Colourful Jars 

all Cox and Cox

Summer is here and here's a selection of some of my favourite picnic accessories....

I especially love the two bottle bag & the glass drinks dispenser.

Lots of bright colours to brighten up your summer table or your holiday....and all very portable.

101 Picnic dishes to make in 20 minutes or less....

Two Bottle Bag /  Extra Large Beach Bag / Extra Large Summer Bag

3 Tier Stacked Glass Drinks Dispenser / Picnic Tote /  Stacking Plastic Wine Glasses

Garden Party Drink Jars / Animal Motif Picnic Blanket / Family Coolbag

Knife, Fork, Spoon Napkins / Picnic Basket / Gelato spoons

Wine & Cheese Basket for Two / Picnic Bag / Paper Cups

Ten Perfect Summer Salads

asian quinoa salad / zucchini, feta & mint salad / quinoa salad with asparagus, peas, avocado & lemon basil dressing

thai coconut cucumber salad / white bean salad with peas & mint / chopped vegetable watermelon & feta salad

moroccan quinoa salad / the perfect picnic pie / sweet potato & couscous salad 

italian potato salad

The weather in London is hot, hot, hot and -  suddenly - all we want to eat are salads, ice lollies & ice cold drinks.

I'm also collecting some great salad recipes to take with me to Italy next month....

here is my round-up of some of the best & tastiest salads to be found on the internet....

enjoy!

(links are provided under each image)

Recipes via....

What Katie Ate

The Soho

Two Peas and Their Pod

Smitten Kitchen

Love and Lemons

Green Kitchen Stories

Kitchen Corners

Home Flowers Snapshots

Some white flowers for my white Scandinavian Kitchen. 

And, for a change, the weather is lovely outside.

Enjoy the weekend everyone!

PS: I normally keep my cooking herbs in that flower pot, thus the 'herbs' written with chalk.

Summer Style : Eating Al Fresco

 
all images via Pinterest

It only takes a few consecutive hot & sunny days here in London and we've all managed to convince ourselves that summer is here to stay.

There's nothing better than eating al fresco....even the simplest of meals seems to taste better eaten in the open air, preferably in the sunshine. 

Plus possibly a view....of the sea or endless green fields.

A fabulously set table is wonderful but if you haven't the space - or the perfect table - simply take a summery tablecloth and put it on the lawn.

Some colourful/fun plates, some tealights in jam-jars if it's evening-time....

add some french bread, a bowl of salad, some cheeses or meats and a large jug of water flavoured with lemon or lime....

and you have yourself a pretty good picnic.

Above and below are some of my favourite "al fresco" images....

I think simple is the way to go....it doesn't have to be expensive whatsoever and I think the fact that you can throw it all together relatively quickly makes it even more appealing.

Great lighting also adds so much, there are so many options....
alternatively, a row of tea-lights dotted around the table always looks so pretty.

Add multi-coloured or mix & match chairs & tableware,

When we're in the south of France during August, dinner is often on the beach....

and very often consists of just 4 or 5 items....

a baguette, good cheese, tomatoes, salad, olives....

these are the meals & the times that my children remember....me too actually.

There's something special about being outside, the freedom, the space....

these the evenings you want to go on forever.

I cannot wait to be in Italy this summer!!

Normann Food - 12 Summer recipes for you

This Summer, the entrance hall of Normann Copenhagen's flagship store will be transformed into a huge cook book. The concept is called Normann Food and it consists of 12 easy Summer recipes, illustrated by beautifully styled photographs, where both the ingredients and Normann's kitchen accessories are paramount. In addition to the colourful large-scale installations, there will be recipe cards (in Danish and English), available to anyone that visits the store or places an order on-line throughout July. 

all images via Normann Copenhagen 

If you liked these examples, you can find more images and recipes, including the ones from Normann Food 2012, here. 

And I don't know about you, but those poppy seed pastries seem to be calling my name!

A Happy & Hot Week-end!

So happy it's Friday and the start of what is going to be a super-hot week-end in London....

summer is here and there's no looking back.

I have ice cream & ice lollies in the freezer, flip-flops on my feet & sun-cream at the ready :)

Wimbledon fever is here, as I type I am awaiting Andy Murray's semi-final match on Centre Court, great excitement if he makes it through to Sunday's final.

When I was at school my friend's father was an umpire at Wimbledon & the train line that ran behind our school went straight to Wimbledon, we'd often catch the train down in the evening & get free tickets from the people who were leaving for the day.

We were tennis obsessed, I've always loved Wimbledon.

I met the lovely Edd Kimber (winner of the first series of The Great British Bake Off) at a blog event yesterday and have been inspired to bake a fabulous birthday cake for my husband's birthday this week-end....I also got to try my hand at making cake pops, not quite as tricky as I thought and definitely lots of fun!

Edd is a fantastic baker and I also found this fabulous ice cream recipe on his website yesterday, perfect for a summer picnic.

Happy Week-end, hope the sun is shining where you are....

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