Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Thirty

'Medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.'

(Dead Poet's Society - Robin Williams)

This week started in (not so) sunny Bergerac; we all went into the town centre for a wander along the riverside, had a coffee and cookie outside the church and had a look around the Maison du Vin - a tourist centre and wine shop. Luckily the sunshine came out in the afternoon so we could spend it sunbathing by the pool and indulging in a little Aperol spritz, and then we had a lovely meal with Claire's family along with lots of wine and chatted into the early hours.

On Tuesday my flight wasn't until late afternoon, so we went for a walk in the forest in the morning, waved goodbye to the Morris clan, then I chilled out and read for a bit before partaking in some shopping (I got a tasselled necklace and some navy silk cigarette pants from Promod) before catching my plane back to Liverpool. I drove straight to my parent's house for tea and collected Ferryn, it is so good to have her back in the flat with me after almost a month!

My track for this week is by Purity Ring who I adore, I saw them back in 2015 at Manchester Cathedral which as a venue really complimented their music and quirkiness. Although this song didn't strike me at first it is definitely a grower, so I am looking forward to hearing the rest of their new material.

Wednesday was the dreaded first day back at work, although it was a very relaxing one due to Aum's jetlag; we went for lunch at The Village Cafe in Hale and I finished at 4pm! On Thursday I took him to see Despicable Me 3, which was a pretty funny watch actually, and in the evening I had my first date with S, who I matched with on Tinder the day I landed from LA, before I deleted it again. 

We met in Spinningfields and he took me to Manchester House for a couple of cocktails which was a decent choice in my eyes - we sat outside on the terrace but swiftly moved inside when the rain started! He is very easy on the eye and charming, but made a couple of comments that wound me up a tad, so I wasn't entirely sure. We moved on to Crazy Pedro's for food after, (where I finally got to try the chicken, waffle and maple syrup pizza I've fancied for ages) and had a final couple of drinks in Fazenda, and the longer I spent with him the more I got a glimpse of the guy under the bravado, who I decided was worth a second date to suss out!

 On Friday Aum had a playdate with his friend Max, and we went to Bistrot Pierre in Altrincham for lunch. I just had a simple tomato and basil soup but it was hearty and flavoursome, and made me feel healthier than going for steak or mussels with chips like I normally would there! 

Yesterday I was up bright and early to catch a train to Chester to attend the races. We met at Navigation Road station to all get it together, enjoying a few road drinks en route. We arrived in the city and walked to Carlucchio's for brunch (latte, Aperol spritz and an Italian take on eggs Benedict) and then went into the raceground, equipped with a hip flask of gin! I gave myself a limit of twenty quid for bets, and won a couple but only a few pounds, still fun though and there was a buzzing atmosphere as usual on race days. The weather stayed warm so we got on the Pimms and had an ice cream, and then once the last race was finished we went for espresso martinis and nibbles at The Olive Tree, a Mediterranean restaurant. We stopped for a final couple in a little pub by the station before we got the train home a little worse for wear!

Today I stayed at Mum's for cake and a dog walk, and now I am home and doled up to go for my second date with S - a bar crawl around Manchester starting in Allotment - update to follow!

UPDATE: Started as we meant to go on with a shot of tequila and a prosecco in the first bar! Then went on to Rosylee for a cocktail (very quiet but interesting drinks menu and swanky interior), had a food break - cobb salad - in West Corner a New York style diner, further cocktail and a shot of Patron in The Fitzgerald, and then a last glass of wine in Bluu at the end of Thomas Street. Unusual being out on a Sunday but was a welcome change, enjoyable company and scored an unexpectedly dreamy kiss when I was dropped off home afterwards. Happy girl!

Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Twenty Nine
'The secret is here in the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it. And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day...'
(The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho)

I am actually writing this from Bergerac in France, although the majority of my week was spent back in LA revelling in the last five days of guaranteed sunshine. On Monday I went back to Beverly Hills to sample the celebrity favourite Urth Caffe for lunch, where I had a chicken and broccoli quiche and a Spanish coffee that had a cute dove created in the foam. I started reading The Alchemist whilst there, and finished it within 2 days, such an interesting book - I would recommend for anyone who feels a bit stagnant or is questioning direction in their life, it has a real positive message. I had a bit of a splurge in Sephora before heading back to collect Aum, and that evening we stayed in for tea as the hectic weekend had caught up with us.

On Tuesday I visited the Hollywood Forever cemetery, where legends such as Judy Garland, Johnny Ramone and Chris Cornell are buried. It was a beautiful, peaceful place with fountains and landscaped gardens, and I was the only person there which made it an incredibly serene experience. Afterwards I felt completely the opposite after going down the Walk of Fame, which was noisy, rammed with tourists and pretty tacky to be honest; I am glad I can tick it off the list of sights but wouldn't rush back. That evening Aum's dad arrived so we took him to Santa Monica to a seafood restaurant called Water Grill, where I had orecchiette pasta with Ecuadorian shrimp and wilted spinach. The place had a trendy brasserie kind of vibe with great views of the beach so was fun to sample it.

On Wednesday we went for my final American breakfast experience of the trip, at Headlines Diner again as I was leaving early on Thurs. I spent my last day sunbathing in the garden, packing my suitcase and buying a few last minute presents for people, and then we went back to Rize in Venice for tea where I shared some belly pork for starter, then had a coconut milk Thai curry and noodles washed down with a passion fruit mojito. I waved goodbye and embarked on the epic trip home on Thursday, and landed back in rainy Manchester on Friday morning. Being incredibly jetlagged I cancelled plans for drinks with my friends that evening in favour of tea and a sleepover at my parent's, but it was bliss!

Unfortunately upon arrival back in the UK I learnt the awful news that Chester Bennington from Linkin Park had taken his life, which not only upset me, but being a huge fan of the band and having loved their music since I was first introduced to their Hybrid Theory album by my cousin as a little mosher in high school, it brought back lots of memories and made me very nostalgic. Therefore it only seems right that my track for this week is a favourite by them, as it is impossible for me to choose just one.

Yesterday I went into the city centre to meet Laura and Abi for brunch at Pot Kettle Black in Barton Arcade, where I had a gorgeous dish called N'duja which was a tomato, smoked mozzarella and pecorino stew with poached eggs in the middle, served with sourdough toast - it is making my mouth water thinking about it! We had a wander around town and then I headed back to mine to pack a suitcase (again) ready for my flight to Bergerac today, before scoffing an Indian takeaway at my parents last night.

My flight today was at 12.20pm but from Liverpool, so I drove and left my car, although I walked in the completely opposite direction so ended up having to order an Uber to save missing my flight - blonde moment! It was slightly delayed but I arrived before 4pm and met my friend Claire at the airport; I am staying at her family home so her mum collected us both as she had just landed from London where she now lives. Our uni friend Laura arrived a few hours later with her husband Dickon and their little boy Ernest who is two and a half, and we had some dinner and a few glasses of wine whilst catching up on each others' lives. Looking forward to exploring a bit tomorrow.   

Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Twenty Eight
'Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality'
(Lewis Carroll)

Week two started with the latest addition to my tattoo collection - a little key that is an amalgamation of the ones inside Anberlin's Lost Songs album cover. Jasmine and I have always loved the band since I took her to watch them as her first ever gig back in 2007, and we saw them again in 2012, and also their final tour before they broke up in 2014 (still not over it!). I would never get an obvious band tattoo, but this has meaning to us both whilst still looking unrelated. I had it done at High Seas Tattoo Parlour on Melrose by a sound young guy called Joey, who works with a single needle for really dainty designs. 

That evening Aum and I went to a Persian restaurant called Flame for tea, that is around the corner from our house. We shared some houmous and pitta bread, and then he had lamb kebab whilst I opted for a layered chicken and saffron rice dish with barberries in called Zereshk. The service was great and the food amazing, and there was plenty leftover for lunch the next day. 

I heard my track for this week in a taxi and asked the driver what he was playing - to which he told me this. It took me back to my emo days,  so thought I'd throw it into today's post as a bit of a curveball.

On Tuesday I took a trip to Beverly Hills to do some shopping. It is all very lavish so I didn't quite have the budget for any spending, but it was fun wandering around Rodeo Drive people watching, and I stopped for lunch outside in the sun at the original Cheesecake Factory. I had mushrooms in a cheesy pesto sauce followed by a slice of their chocolate turtle cheesecake: a brownie base with hazelnut and praline mousse and topped with a swirl of ganache (the 'turtle'), a huge slab so it lasted me two sittings!

On Wednesday I went back to Santa Monica to Bloomingdale's where I got a lovely '50s style halter dress and a dusky rose lace skirt for $20 each, and that evening we went to The Grove, an outdoor shopping area with a stage for live music, a farmer's market selling food from all over the world (I had a Turkish pizza), and a number of quirky shops. I couldn't resist getting Ferryn some funky doggy treats from The Dog Bakery, they were shaped like cream cakes but made with animal friendly ingredients like cream cheese, peanut butter and mashed carrots!

On Thursday we went for breakfast at Mary & Robb's Westwood Cafe, a five minute walk away from our house, and then during the day I headed to the Abbot Kinney area of Venice to check it out. It is super trendy around there (and very Instagrammable); loads of incredible bright coloured graffiti, hipster bars, bohemian clothes boutiques, and a short walk from the canal system, which feels very European. I managed to snap my sandals so had to walk around on the boiling concrete barefoot looking like an idiot for about half an hour, but I eventually made it to the boardwalk where I got hold of some flip flops, albeit two sizes too small. I bought a pretzel for lunch and sauntered along the ocean's edge until school pickup.

That evening we ventured a bit further afield to the Pacific Palisades to a seafood restaurant called Gladstone's which was definitely worth the extra distance. We all shared the macadamia shrimp and then I had a lobster roll for main, washed down with some much deserved prosecco after my shoe ordeal. The waiter (who looked and sounded just like Samuel L. Jackson!) wrapped the boys' leftovers up in gold foil to look like giant animals which was a friendly gesture that they were thrilled with.

Yesterday we all had a much needed lie in, and then went to Venice beach for a couple of hours. Jen and I sat chatting in the sun whilst the boys expelled some energy playing in the sea, and then after having a mosey along the boardwalk we went to 26 Beach for lunch, which was hands down one of the best meals I have ever had. For main I ordered the Crab Royale - a scramble of eggs, snowcrab, bacon, spring onions, avocado and cheese served 'Hawaiian style' on top of brown rice, and then Aum and I shared the S'mores french toast, stuffed with Nutella and marshmallow fluff coated with biscuits and topped with cream, strawberries and chocolate sauce. Out of this world!!

That evening just Aum and I headed up into the hills to check out the Hollywood sign and take some photos. The view of the city from there is beautiful, and it was all the more impressive as we were there for the sunset. A lack of wifi meant it was a struggle getting home, I eventually had to steal someone else's Uber, but we made it in the end!

Today has been another busy one, cramming in as many sights as possible with it being the last full day the boys have. We started in Beverly Hills at Walter's Cafe for breakfast, and then caught a cab to Downtown LA to The Last Bookstore. Anyone who knows me will confirm that I am an absolute sucker for books and libraries, and TLB is California's biggest new and used book and record store, so basically heaven for me. It has a vault full of first editions, sofas dotted everywhere, a huge poetry section and cute little independent art and knick knack shops on a gallery upstairs, totally worth a gander if ever in the area.

After dragging the boys around we then took them for a treat at The Ice Cream Lab, a 'molecular creamery' which uses liquid nitrogen to freeze the cream and flavour ingredients to order, apparently making it the freshest and best tasting ice cream around! I had 'Salt Lick Crunch' - pretzels, caramel and sea salt - and the boys had 'Blue Velvet' literally a blue velvet cupcake including cream cheese frosting, both of which had vanilla ice cream as their base. 

We then caught a cab to the Griffith Observatory, a science institute with the best views of LA as it is high up in the hills, and the boys got to watch a Tesla demonstration and do some interactive experiments. We went home after a tiring day, and ordered $160 of sushi and gorged ourselves for tea!! 

Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Twenty Seven
'In fairytales, the princesses kiss the frogs, and the frogs become princes. In real life, the princesses kiss princes, and the princes turn into frogs.'
(Paulo Coelho)

This has been my first full week in Los Angeles! I always enjoy the freedom I have when I visit America each year with work, as I get time to myself whilst Aum is at camp to explore, but then there is still the safety net of having a routine to each day and having him around for some company in the evenings/ weekends. Someone else paying for everything is a definite bonus as well! This year is even better as we are here with his cousin Euan and his nanny Jen, so I have an adult to chat to (and have a drink with) and he has another kid to play with - smiles all around.

Monday was their first full day at camp, and I was still suffering a bit with jetlag, so didn't do anything too outlandish. I found a local yoga studio called Laughing Frog that offered unlimited classes for two weeks for just $30, so I tried a session there which was really uplifting and enjoyable. I always find yoga in the US is so much more immersive and spiritual than in the UK, there is less focus on pushing yourself and hitting goals and more on learning about your body and respecting your limits, which in turn removes the pressure and usually results in me accomplishing much more than back home.

After that I headed home, got ready and went for a wander around the local shops in Westwood village where we are staying. It is a lovely little area, there is an Urban Outfitters, Victoria's Secret, MAC and a few other units so it is perfect for a chilled amble - I bought some navy fluffy sliders that I'm hoping are kind of 'so bad they're cool', we shall see; ten year old boys usually give an honest opinion! For tea that evening we went to Beverly Hills to a Chinese called Xi'an where I had stir fried asparagus and king prawns and scallops with cashew nuts, delicious!

My track for this week is my number one song by one of my all time favourite bands, Alexisonfire, who I have been lucky enough to see live twice, but are sadly no longer together. I listened to this walking along the beach in Magaluf a few weeks ago, and it came on my iPod again as I was walking back from dropping Aum at camp this week. I like how the heaviness and screaming vocals often contrast the place I am in or what I am doing at the time, and it takes me back to being a fifteen year old getting drunk and running around a mosh pit!

On Tuesday I got an Uber to Santa Monica, which has a beach, old style pier and a commercial area, and is about 15/20 minutes away. I had a look around the shops as there's a large pedestrianised area on 3rd Street, then grabbed a triple cheese quesadilla from a beach shack for lunch before spending a couple of hours on the sand. It was July 4th so there were lots of families and couples having barbecues and relaxing so there was a great vibe to the place.

On Wednesday we got up a bit earlier to go out for breakfast at Headlines Diner. I had a short stack of pancakes with bacon and scrambled egg, which I knew I would slightly regret and feel sluggish at yoga afterwards, but I couldn't resist. I did a bit of work and caught up with some TV (Love Island of course - thank god for my firestick) and that evening Jen kindly looked after both the boys so I could go to a Sofar Sounds gig in Venice. 

It was super bohemian, we all sat on raffia rugs on the floor surrounded by fairylights, and performances came from Jim & Sam, a married couple who have set themselves the challenge of performing 365 days in a row (they were on 247), Matthew Cuban who did some brilliant performance poetry, and The Sledge Grits, a four piece band who are all sisters, and totally kicked ass. The lead singer was only 17 but had a beautiful soulful voice that was way beyond her years.  

On Thursday we discovered the apartment we were staying in not only had a gym and a climbing wall, but an insane pool up on a terrace that was a proper little sun trap, so after an energising run home from camp drop off I spent the day sunbathing there. The weather has been glorious since we arrived and it was a comfortable 28 degrees, so it definitely gave me chance to work on my tan. That evening just Aum and I went to an Italian back in Beverly Hills called Da Pasquale (Jen and Euan fancied Mexican) where I had a calzone filled with parmigiana, oh my god it was incredible!

So F is out of the picture, since he has totally ghosted me! It's the first time it has happened to me, and I find it really baffling. Do people think you are going to cry your eyes out or hurl abuse or something if they say they aren't interested? I'd much rather be told where I stand than to have someone I've been talking to for the best part of a month randomly stop speaking to me with no explanation, it's plain rude. The fact that a phrase has had to be coined to describe someone not being able to admit their feelings I just find really sad. We'd only had three dates and I am halfway around the world in an amazing place though, so I didn't dwell on it for too long.

On Friday after yoga and a lazy day, we got takeaway food, took the boys up for a swim and then got an early night as we were up at the crack of dawn yesterday to go to Universal Studios. It took us about 35 minutes in a taxi to get there, and when we arrived we were persuaded to upgrade our tickets to VIP passes, so we got a buffet breakfast in the VIP lounge (I took full advantage of the pastries available), unlimited queue jump for the rides & shows, a behind-the-scenes tour on a luxury bus (air-con was needed!), a guide who fully planned our itinerary for the day, and a fabulous all-you-can-eat lunch in a gorgeous restaurant that included sushi, steak, homemade crepes, petit fours and shellfish risotto cooked in front of you, amongst lots of other scrummy options.

It was an extra $275 per person, (about 218 quid) so pretty steep, but the average queue wait time for each ride was 90 minutes, and it was a blistering 34 degrees, so we figured it would mean we could do the whole park in one day and save paying again to come back to finish everything. There were also other perks such as free bottles of water all day, a leather goodie bag with suncream etc in, and free secure phone charging points, and our guide looked after our bags to save us waiting for the lockers, which even with a queue jump ticket for the rides ($220 alone) you still had to wait up to half an hour for. Definitely a luxury that I myself couldn't justify paying for, but it made it a much better, more comfortable experience for us all so our bosses were happy for us to go for it.

We were at the park for over 10 hours, so were exhausted when we got in, but we had an awesome action-packed day, getting soaked on Jurassic Park, drinking butterbeer and 'casting spells' with the wands the boys bought at special areas in Harry Potter World, learning all about setting people on fire and cutting off limbs in the Stunt Show, and seeing real props and sets from some of Hollywood's biggest movies on the Backlot Tour. So lucky I get to do this as part of my job!

Today we had to move to another accomodation nearby where we are staying for the next two weeks, it sadly doesn't have a pool and is a bit further from the boys' school, but is much bigger and better equipped, and my room has a full wall of mirrored wardrobes so I am happy! Once unpacked we went for a traditional American diner style breakfast at Cafe '50s (malted waffles with blueberries and a peanut butter cup milkshake FYI) then after a bit of a rest for a few hours (new poem up on Instagram here), we took the boys for ice cream on Santa Monica pier, and for dinner at Rize, a Thai restaurant where I had a king prawn pad thai, and a cheeky margarita. Not quite sure how we're going to top this week!

Weekly Musings

2017 - Week Twenty Six
'I'm not for everyone, but once you taste my energy, you'll always be thirsty.'
(Sylvester McNutt) 

Most of this week was spent getting organised for coming to America with work, I dyed my hair, researched stuff to do (helped greatly by re-watching Made in Chelsea: LA) packed, and managed to cram in a couple more dates with F. The first was on Tuesday, where we met in PLY bar in Manchester and then moved on to Lost in Tokyo. Again, I had a great time, we spent the majority of the night laughing which is always a positive, and the time flew by. We saw each other again on Friday evening, he came to my flat and we had some food and a couple of bottles of wine, and watched and bitched about Love Island (!) it was a really welcome break from the stresses of holiday prep and helped me to switch off and relax ahead of the mammoth journey ahead.    

This week The Maccabees were in Manchester for two nights for their farewell tour, and although I didn't manage to make it to either gig, I haved loved them ever since being dragged to watch them at Benicassim in 2012 so felt it necessary to pick my favourite song of theirs for my track this week, gutted that they have disbanded but I'm crossing my fingers that a reunion won't be too far away. 

Yesterday I was up bright and early as I had to be at the airport for 10am as Aum and I flew to LAX at midday via London Heathrow. After a quick pit stop brekky in Costa my dad nipped down to see me off as he was working which was a nice surprise. The 17 hours spent travelling actually passed fairly quickly and I managed to get a bit of kip, as well as watching Collateral Beauty (oh my gosh, such a weepie) and the new Beauty and the Beast, which was easy viewing. It was about 3am UK time by the time we had touched down, collected bags and caught a taxi to Westwood Village where we were staying, so after greeting Aum's cousin and his nanny Jen who we are sharing an apartment with, we collapsed into bed pretty much as soon as we could!

Today we woke up super early as we were still on English time, so we were up, dressed and out for breakfast by 9am, crazy for a Sunday. We walked five minutes around the corner to the main shopping street near us and stopped at The Corner Bakery for food. I had pancakes with eggs and bacon, drowned in butter and maple syrup - the brunches and breakfasts here are a major part of what I look forward to on our U.S trips!

This afternoon the boys had their orientation at UCLA for the summer camp they are here for, so once we had sat through a talk Jen and I were free until 9pm, some much needed downtime after nearly 48 hours of non-stop children-watching. I spent the time unpacking and had a bit of a nap, and we grabbed some sushi for tea on the way home from collecting them that was just from the supermarket around the corner, but it is all made fresh and tastes incredible. Desperately in need of some sleep now though, it's 7am in the UK!