Girls Gone WILD!!

...hardly!  Last night was a deligtful blend of girls, gossip, grub and gulping. Sorry tried to stick with the alliteration - I'm sure you get the idea.  The meal was a big success, especially with the help of my little sous chef's Amelia, Liz, Maddie and Lily. Although, apparently I'm bossy in the kitchen! Very exciting!  Check out the pics of the menu, food and the gorge flowers Lily brought me! 

 

C is for Cookie...That's Good Enough For ME!

Mister is away this week so am having some girlies over tonight.  Started the preparations yesterday...baked about 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies and made them into ice cream sandis. OR, as I have now renamed them...Ice DREAM sandis!  Will let you know how they go over!

Flash Back

Woke up this morning and instantly began daydreaming of tomorrow night when another episode of Glee will be on! YAY!  Started thinking about the main character Rachel, and how she has two dads....which then all of a sudden reminded me of the hit 1980's show, My Two Dads!! REMEMBER?? I used to LOVE that show.  Paul Reiser (Mad About You)?  Giovanni Ribisi (Friends, Lost In Translation)?  Was trying to recall if there was any kind of gay undercurrent, but really don't think there was, which seems SO ridiculous in retrospect.  How times have changed.  Might need to youtube a couple epis later today while the Mister is watching the Chelsea game....I'll report back!

Other Mentionables

Saturday afternoon we went to Dover Street Market, the always fashion forward concept store in Mayfair, for a quick shop and lunch at Rose Bakery on the 4th floor.  I had an open faced warm sandi with ham, leeks and parmesan.  HEAVEN.  I've decided I'm SUPER into leeks right now.   Also managed to run into two ex colleagues from my last job.  Wasn't nearly as awkward as it could have been though - phew!

Dinner was at The Clarendon, a "trendy" gastro pub near our flat.  It's pretty inside and our waitress was super nice (American of course), but I wasn't blown away by the food.  My steak was actually cooked perfectly and quite tasty, but nothing on the menu jumped out at me.  Usually there are one or two things I'm dying to try, and last night I actually found it quite difficult to decide on anything.  Maybe worth going for a drink though, for the nice atmosphere and friendly service.

After dinner we traveled east for Tanya's bday drinks at Green & Red Bar, a fun Mexican restaurant with a downstairs drinking area.  It had a fun vibe, delish margaritas and it wasn't overly crowded, which now that I'm not 25 anymore (a recent development mind you), I thoroughly appreciate!  

The Bill PLEASE!

Friday night had the inlaws in town, so rushed home from work and the Mister and I cooked up a feast.  Steak and guiness pie and I made some Bill Granger blueberry and pear crumbles in my Le Creuset ramekins.  Delightful!  And while we're on the subject of my hero, Bill... I have BIG news to share!  On Saturday I stopped in our neighborhood cookbook shop Books for Cooks to pick up a Bill book for my friend Tanya's bday.  I started chatting with the lady at the register about rumors that Bill might open a resto in London when she told me that Bill has officially relocated from Sydney to London and is living right here in NOTTING HILL! WELL...you can imagine my reaction.  O.M.G.  Don't think the lady was super impressed with me, and might be warning Bill of a stalker in the hood, but all I'm saying is KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED MY FRIENDS!!  KEEP YOUR EYES PEELED.

FIRST WEEK

I am RELIEVED to announce that my first week at the new job went splendidly!  Think I'm really going to enjoy this one, and hopefully make some new friends too.  On Wednesday I had a long "working lunch" with the Account Director from the PR Agency we use.  I went and met her at her offices, in the middle of nowhere...got a little lost along some desolate residential roads (Check out my panic pic above) ...but it all worked out in the end, as she was super nice and young and cute and loves Gossip Girl! PHEW!  We had lunch at High Road House, the latest installment from Soho House.  It was very similar to the Electric (also part of the Soho House group) in decor and food, with a fun buzzy vibe.  I had a delish pork and cider pie, and we shared a chocolate melty cake for dessert.  Nailed it!

Wednesday night met Sally & Liz for a catch up sesh at the Carluccios in South Kensington!  Chain restos are not usually my first choice, but I have to admit the food is good at Carluccios and it is always packed.  I had a wild mushroom pasta, which was surprisingly tasty, but I think anything carby would have been after all the wine we drank - YIKES! Thursday was a bit of a hangover nightmare.  Made it through the day with only one slightly idiotic comment.   When asked where I was from in California, I replied, "Outside California."  Yup.  New hire's a sharp one.  REAL SHARP.

New LaPoo Era

Started my new job yesterday! So far so good!  I already have an email address, desk, computer and a phone from this decade!  Still in the stages of having not much to do, so feel a little guilty, but I know that will change soon enough.  Also have scoped out a couple potential friends.  They won't know what HIT 'EM!