I should have been...

in this 8th century castle for my birthday today, enjoying a lavish meal and good wine with Brunsli and Breadfruit. However, due to a minor(replace with major) mishap with my passport and the fact that being part of the EU doesn't really count for much when it comes to travelling to Spain, I had to cancel and stay in England. To say that I was disappointed would be a major understatement. Despite the fact that they weren't expecting me to be in the country, my family and friends rallied round to celebrate with me (and to cheer me up) throughout the weekend and today. On Saturday I went to Shish for a meal with friends; I have to admit to having mixed feelings about the food, I enjoyed my starter but wasn't enamoured with the main course. It has a great atmosphere and was packed on all floors, but I think it is a place to visit for drinks and snacks. We had post dinner drinks here and I loved it; the decor is great, it's a bit like popping into someone's house for a glass of wine!
On Sunday I enjoyed a mulled wine and mince pie evening at my Dad's, this was preceeded by watching the nativity story at the local church.
Today I was treated to breakfast in bed, a lavish lunch and then a wonderful Thai meal in the evening along with a large number of my family.
I had a fantastic birthday and feel lucky to have such wonderful people in my life; you all know who you are and I love you all.

Two Years!

This isn't exactly an anniversary picture as it was taken about six weeks ago; however it's the most up-to-date one I can lay my hands on.
As you can see, I am still very much a freestyle girl, although I am constantly plagued by my hair falling into my face! Lately I have been thinking about adding a little colour to my hair, only a rinse, but something to spice things up. As always, I'll keep you posted!

Posh Party Portrait

I attended the Christmas party of a very exclusive London hospital yesterday, it was held in a plush hotel in Park Lane. This company spend an awful lot of money on their staff functions and their 'more than £180 per head budget' seriously overshadows the fund I have to organise my work celebrations! One of the little extras they had on the evening was a caricature artist and of course I jumped at the chance to have mine done. I am not convinced by it's accuracy (but then caricatures aren't meant to be), but I do love it!

Twitterbug

Yes, I have caught it and can now be found twittering my every move (well not every single one) for those who are interested. It's a great way to get up-to-the-minute (almost) updates of those you know and those you don't!

If you want to keep up with me, check this out.

What are you doing now?

Come Dine With Me

I am fast becoming addicted to this programme! So much so that I have even considered taking part; I went as far as to see if they were looking for contestants in my area, (perhaps luckily) they weren't. So how does it work? Over the course of a week, five strangers, who consider themselves to be good cooks, host dinner parties for each other. At the end of each evening the other four give their host marks out of ten. Following the final dinner party the contestant with the most points wins £1000. I have thought about what my menu would be if I were on the show and I have a few ideas. But I wonder, if you were hosting a dinner party for people you didn't know, what would be on your menu?

BTW, you can catch up on past episodes here and if you just want recipes, they are here.