Autumn!

Greetings! So currently sat in bed trying to keep warm in our rather cold housing (students= refusal to ever turn on heating) and thought it’d be nice to bore everyone witless again. I can’t believe we’re already in autumn and approaching Halloween and Fireworks Night! This is probably my favourite time of year; crisp, cold mornings (when it’s not drizzling), piles of fallen leaves, bonfires, lots of stodgy food, lots of layers to hide the insulation created by eating said stodgy food…I feel that this is going to have to be my theme for this blog entry (and probably the next few…just wait ‘til we hit Christmas!).

Hampstead Heath just starting to look autumnal!

Before I start on my autumnal theme I might as well talk about my day! I really ought to have spent it doing work but instead this afternoon I went to my favourite art shop to buy more fountain pen ink and ended up going for hot chocolate and a brownie in Covent Garden too! I feel I ought to spread the word about this little art shop as it’s really sweet and old fashioned and most people don’t realise it exists! It’s called L.Cornelissen & Son, and is situated near Tottenham Court Rd; seriously it’s like something out of Harry Potter as it still sells paint and ink in their pigmented forms (spot the one called Dragon’s Blood: http://www.cornelissen.com/pigments-gums-and-resins/gums-and-resins.html) and has all sorts of little odds and ends. If you’re in the area (it’s also near the British Museum!) it’s definitely worth a look even if you’re not that into art just because it’s a bit different (the leather art accessories that they sell are gorgeous too and I’m sure could be used for various purposes)! My afternoon was topped off by a strange Russian man approaching me at the bus stop as he believed me to be a fellow Russian (why do people think I’m Russian/ Eastern European?) and then attempting to get my phone number; after getting rid of him I also realised that the bus wasn’t going to be there for ages due to diversions and I’d waited there for half an hour for no reason!

You realise how sad your life is when you get excited by signing up to getting a veg box delivered…I have officially turned 40 before I’ve even hit 20! Sad as it may be, I’m really hoping that it’ll get me into veg a bit more as I’m one of those people who really needs to be forced to eat them normally. Even better all the produce is seasonal so it means all my cooking has started to take a decidedly autumnal turn. This week appears to be going well with me making squash cakes (bit like carrot cake…http://www.abelandcole.co.uk/recipes/gourdgeous-little-cakes…I’d recommend maybe using a little less liquid than the recipe calls for and don’t overfill the cupcake cases as I did as the whole batch ended up somewhat undercooked and a bit flat!), squash and red onion risotto and a beef and veg stew! It’s either going to be Spanish omelette or pesto gnocchi tomorrow me thinks, followed by stuffed baked apples! Abel and Cole are really worth looking at actually as they do a lot of reasonably priced fresh produce and some of their recipes are a bit different but really tasty looking!

Christmas Pressie please!

Autumn of course brings with it change in wardrobe and I’m currently lusting after lots of knitted things, especially the perfect knitted dress. I found a lovely one on Urban Outfitters but it’s a little out of my price range sadly so I may have to go and hunt round the markets one day (I really ought to be saving as I’m hoping to go away in summer but oh well!). Despite the fact that the drop in temperature has resulted in me practically hibernating, I am enjoying getting out the winter coats and I must admit that I always find there’s something vaguely “rom-commy” about trudging about Hampstead Heath in the cold with a long knitted scarf, colourful gloves and a shapeless, “tea cosy” hat! I highly recommend wearing said combination and heading to the Heath at about 12ish for the Farmer’s Market; there’s a little pasta stall that sells pesto pasta and lasagne which tastes even better when eaten in the fresh air by the ponds!

Lunch with a view like this is a hundred times better...

Anyhoo…I can hear the third instalment of the “Game of Thrones” series and Miranda Hart’s new book “Is It Just Me?” calling my name so I shall leave you all in peace…have a marvellous weekend (what’s left of it!) and a lovely week!