a festive shop update...

Some new festive earrings for my etsy shop...

Snowball Earrings - sterling silver and vintage glass

Look out for another suitably Christmassy green glass necklace coming soon.

Pin It

fish and chips..

But in a more civilised way....

We stopped by one of the newest restaurant additions to Cambridge yesterday, The Sea Tree on Mill Road. An 'alternative' fish bar providing the usual favourites as well as some other interesting additions. I'd spotted a good review over on Not Another Food Blog, so after a mornings shopping/elbowing through the crowds we went along to rest our weary feet.

I opted for the battered calamari with salsa verde and the hubby (still getting used to saying that!) had cod and chips. Both were great, the chips especially - handcut with skins on! Everything is made to order and there is lots of choice. I particularly like the fact that they do a range of freshly made sauces - things like tartare sauce, aioli, sweet chili and the aformentioned salsa verde.

They also have a little fishmongers section with the seasons fish on offer, things like salmon, rainbow trout, sea bream and haddock. I think they do shellfish on occasion too.

Will definitely be stopping by again, this is a great addition to Mill Road and its good to have some kind of fishmongers option that isn't the local supermarket.

Pin It

A bunny - Daily!

I really love this blog. Simple and cute. And it normally arrives in my reader at the end of the day, a bit of cute fluffyness is a good way to round off the day.

I can't pick my favourite one, they are all cute but how about this one for ohmygodhowcuteijustwanttoswishitscheeks ....
Image courtesy of Daily Bunny - www.dailybunny.org

Pin It

Amsterdam

The first leg of our honeymoon was Amsterdam, somewhere I've wanted to visit for a while.
The city was lovely, the buildings very much what I had imagined and very picturesque indeed. We took a boat tour and saw lots of the sights and learnt about the history.

And we did go for pancakes too at the Pancake Bakery! Absolutely huge dinner plate size pancakes topped with anything you can imagine.


Foodie wise the Pancake Bakery was excellent but you must also visit Tempo Doeloe, an Indoniesian restaurant in Amsterdam, brilliant food and very popular - we had the goat! http://www.tempodoeloerestaurant.nl/

Pin It

Review: Trinity Restaurant, London

I've never written a restaurant review before, so there seems is better place to start than with the restaurant we ate at for our wedding.

The Trinity Restaurant situated in the Clapham Old Town area of south west London and has a focus on seasonal produce, the tables were even decorated with little autumn squashes of various shapes and sizes.


We opted for the set lunch menu which is very good value at £20 for three courses. And of course champagne to start!

The champagne was served in beautiful painted floral flutes, lovely for a special ocassion such as this.
The menu was varied, with three options for each course (a larger menu is also available for smaller parties). The starter options were Jerusalem Artichoke Soup, Potted Foie Gras and Liver Pate and Grilled Sardines on Toast with Piperade and Toasted Pinenuts.

I opted for the Grilled Sardines on Toast, mainly because I have wanted to try proper fresh sardines for a while after only being offered horribled tinned sardines by most shops! They were beautifully fresh, not overcooked. I must admit I didn't know what 'Piperade' was when I ordered. It was a mixture of peppers, caramelised onions and possibly tomatoes, almost like a chutney, but made fresh.
Others on our table ordered the Potted Foie Gras and Chicken Liver Pate, which was served in a little La Parfait kilner jar on a small wooden board - nice little details to make the dish unique.

Main course options were the boldly named 'Trinity Fish Pie', Roast Fillet of Cod with Taramasalata or Roast Anglian Beef with Triple Cooked Chips and Bone Marrow and horseradish cream.

Well of course I couldn't pass up the last option. I'm pretty sure most of my decision was based on the prospect of triple cooked chips, and I was not disappointed. The chips were thick, crisp and incredibly fluffy inside - I think they may have been cooked in duck or goose fat because they were very flavoursome. The beef was tender and cooked pink, as it should be.
The bone marrow was a brilliant inclusion and went down extremely well with everyone who ordered the dish, it was nice to see a restaurant using 'cuts' that aren't always used and cooking them well. I think the horseradish cream could have done with a bit more of a kick to it, which would have cut through the richness of the beef and bone marrow more.

Others had the Roast Fillet of Cod, which was also served with fresh mussels - something which probably should have been included on the menu, but wasn't, the suprise addition of mussels was well received, although I'm not sure how well it would be if someone had an allergy.



I chose my pudding before I had decided on my starter, being the chocoholic that I am. It was a Valhrona Chocolate Pot with Salt Caramel Ice Cream - perfect for me. With the description 'Chocolate Pot' I was expecting more of a rich set chocolate mousse but it was in fact closer to a fondant or a chocolate sponge, which is actually what I preferred. Extremely rich, the salt caramel was a lovely addition. The pudding was a little crisp on the outside and meltingly soft inside. This is definitely a pudding for someone that can cope with a lot of chocolate, be warned!

They were also kind enough to decorate mine and my new husbands plates with the words 'Congratulations' - very thoughtful and a wonderful touch.


All in all our experience at Trinity was brilliant, the service was attentive but not pushy and the staff were knowledgeable and friendly. This is a restaurant that is obviously working up to a Michelin Star and I do hope they achieve it.

We'll be back!

Pin It

Handm@de Cambridge - 5th December 2009

I'm doing another Handm@de Craft Fair!

Its under a month away and will be held on the 5th December from 11am to 5pm at the Cambridge Guildhall - right in the centre of this lovely city.

More information on the website - www.handmadecraftfairs.co.uk and over on the blog http://handmadecambridge.blogspot.com/

Please come and say hi! I'll have lots of new pieces and jewellery that will only be available at the craft fair.

In the meantime I am getting prepared, this may include an obligatory trip to ikea for random table decorations ;)

xx

Pin It

We're back!

We are back from the honeymoon :)

The wedding day was lovely and all the places we visited on our honeymoon were great, Amsterdam was by far my favourite - which is handy because its the closest, will definitely be going back!

Check back for holiday snaps later, my little camera started to fade a little on the way round but it lasted the whole trip.

Things are up and running again in all my shops (Etsy and All Things Original) and I am thinking towards Christmas now - lots of new jewellery coming soon!

xx

Pin It