Spring Summer 2015 Clothes wish list

I don't know about you, but as soon as the weather begins to get warmer, I'm busy removing the Winter clothes from the wardrobe and looking at things I would like to buy in the shops for Summer. 

I definitely don't have the same excitement when it comes to Winter. There is no great hurry to clear out the summer clothes and stocking up on jumpers just doesn't have the same excitement. 

In today's post I thought I would share some clothes that I have been lusting after in the shops for Spring and Summer 2015.   

This year La Redoute have outdone themselves with their Spring and Summer fashion.  

The Mademoiselle.R pink and black cotton printed dress (£39) is perfect for Summer.  Laurent Clement sandals (£39) are beautiful and would be a great accompaniment with the dress.

Normally I steer well clear of shorts and jumpsuits mainly because I can never find any that are flattering. But these shorts (£29) with soft draping detail are perfect.  

This Liberty print jumpsuit (£69) is so beautiful and the back lace detail makes it perfect for day and evening. 

The shorts will be perfectly paired with these Lance gladiator style sandals (£59) from Dune.

Or maybe you want to add a little bit of silver sparkle to your jumpsuit, Dune Jinas (£55) might be the perfect sandal. 

Very have a wonderful Fearne Cotton double layer dress (£69) that I am also loving. Better still it has just been reduced in the sale to (£37.95).

What clothes are on your lust list for Summer?

www.laredoute.co.uk

www.dunelondon.com

www.very.co.uk

Horniman Museum and Gardens

Do you ever have those weekends, when you want to get out and do something different? 

Last Saturday we decided to head to Forest Hill (South East London) to visit the Horniman Museum and Gardens (open daily 10.30am-5.30pm
admission to the museum and gardens is free).  

The outside is beautiful with mosaics and wonderful carvings in Doulting stone.

The museum sits on the site of Frederick Horniman's original home a Victorian villa, which was converted into a museum in 1891. Frederick was a Victorian tea trader and philanthropist. 

First on the list was visiting the gallery packed full of historical taxidermy. For those of you who do not like this sort of thing look away now. 

The Walrus below is massive in size and has a commanding pair of tusks.

Most of the taxidermy is over 100 years old, collected during the Victorian and Edwardian periods. A time when naturalists and collectors were exploring and travelling the globe.   

Next up on our visit was the aquarium, a journey through the seas and oceans. It costs £3.50 for adults and £1.50 for children. 

There is something very relaxing about watching pelagic jellyfish in their tank floating around. 

We had a wonderful day mooching around the museum and finished off eating an ice cream in the wonderful gardens. This is the perfect place to bring little ones to burn off some steam or have a picnic. 

If you ever fancied petting a cute alpaca, then your in luck. In 2013 a new animal walk was opened that lets visitors walk through the close encounter enclosures to see and pet sheep, goats and alpacas.

Every Saturday in the gardens they also have a wonderful farmer's market 9am -1.30pm. Want to see what is on offer and the food being sold take a look here.  

How do you spend your perfect weekend?

100 London Road
Forest Hill
London 
SE23 3PQ

www.horniman.ac.uk

Joanna's Restaurant

Joanna's restaurant on Crystal Palace high street has been a FoodieForce family favourite for years. My parents used to take me there as a child and it holds some wonderful memories for me. 

The restaurant was set up in 1978 by the Ellner family and has been a neighbourhood favourite ever since. There lovely son William runs the restaurant now. 

The restaurant can best be described as modern British cuisine. Once through the front door you are taken into a friendly bar where people come to relax after a hard day’s work with a wonderful cocktail.The restaurant has dark wooden panelling and beautiful art work that adorns the walls. 

Joanna's offer an a la carte menu containing choices from chicken, steak, seafood, and burgers.

For starters we begin with Sourdough and salted butter (£2.50).

English Asparagus, butter and parmesan (£8)

I liked that the chef didn't scrimp on the parmesan. 

The other half opted for chicken liver parfait, onion confit and brioche (£7.50).

I was reliable informed that the parfait was delicious and combined brilliantly with the sweetness of the brioche. I cannot tell you as it was devoured very quickly. 

Our mains, I choose a 28 day aged prime rib-eye steak (350g) Bearnaise & fries (£28.50). 

The steak was a sizeable portion and you would have to have a mighty appetite to finish this dish. The quality for the price was not great as it had a considerable amount of gristle. 

My view is if you are going to do steak and charge nearly £30 the quality has to be exceptional. In my mind you cannot beat the Gaucho Grill.

The herb roasted whole black bream (£16) was cooked perfectly and was delicious.

For sides garden peas, chervil (£3) and Jersey Royals (£3) were the perfect accompaniment to the fish. 

I must admit that by this point I am rather full but nothing beats sharing a dessert and Joanna's have lots of lovely choices. For those of you who find it hard to choose just one dessert, Joanna's provide a tasting plate (£9.50) with sizeable portions.
Chocolate brownies, honeycomb ice cream, baked honey cheesecake, mixed berries, plum, almond tart and lemon Crème fraîche. 

We had a lovely evening. Top tip if you’re visiting the restaurant Monday-Thursday Joanna's have a wonderful set lunch and dinner; two courses cost £15.50 and three courses £20.

If your visiting the lovely Dinosaur Park at Crystal Palace, Joanna's is also the perfect place to stop for breakfast or Saturday brunch. 

56 Westow Hill, 
Crystal Palace,
London, 
SE19 1RX

www.joannas.uk.com

Le Restaurant De Paul

For me food is a passion, I love whipping up a storm in the kitchen and watching with delight as people eat my creations. Food is the first thing I think about in the morning and probably one of the last things I think about before I drop off to sleep. I even dream about food whilst I am asleep. 

I love when people share my passion, and it is for this reason that I love the Paul restaurants, boulangerie and pâtisserie shops. They share my passion for good French food and the traditions of baking that is steeped in family history.

If any of you reading this like making your own bread or want to learn how to make the perfect loaf, Paul also run bread making masterclass (£75) you can find out more information here.

The Paul shops are spread throughout London but my personal favourite restaurant has to be the one in Covent Garden. It is in the perfect location to stop off after a hard mornings shopping for a small pick-me-up. 

If you pop in during the afternoon, they also do a wonderful afternoon tea. 

But for lunch my personal favourites are the saucisses de Toulouse (£10.50). Traditional Toulouse sausages serves with buttery potato mash and Bordelaise sauce.  

This is the perfect comfort food, traditional sausages and wonderful mash. 

When in France I love to have a Croque Monsieur (£5.95). One thing I can tell you is that the British cannot pull this off.  Paul's ham, Emmental cheese and cream in toasted Paul Pan de Mie and tomato is top notch and as good as it gets. 

All good lunches need to be followed by a yummy pâtisserie and Paul's have so many wonderful cakes. As a foodie it is very difficult to choose. For those of you that have a similar challenge here is a little trick. Offer to go halves with your lunching partner in crime. This way you get the best of both worlds. 

Tartelette fraises, nothing beats crispy, buttery pastry, filled with crème pâtissière and topped with strawberries.

I could happily eat these all day and I almost did, before I remembered that I had to relinquish half in order to get half a tartelette citron.

Lemon cream is delicious it has a wonderful tartness and is the perfect way to finish off a meal. But there are plenty of other delicious alternatives too. 

If you could have anything for lunch what would you choose? Do you have a favourite lunch spot?

Le Restaurant de PAUL

29 Bedford Street, 

Covent Garden, 

London 

WC2 9ED

www.paul-uk.com