Foodie Penpals October (Rebecca)

(C'mon Mr Postman, I can't wait to open my parcel!) This month I was paired to send a Foodie Penpal parcel to Rebecca, a blog reader, so we thought we'd share the items she enjoyed - thank you for the lovely feedback Rebecca & I hope your move goes smoothly!I’ve been into cooking and learning new recipes for some time now, so when I stumbled across the idea of Foodie Penpals last month, I was really excited to become a part of it. The idea of receiving a parcel each month, filled with treats and ingredients that I wouldn’t normally think...

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Birthday Spoils

As I passed another birthday milstone, I find myself being spoilt like crazy. I have had the loveliest birthday celebration days (5 in total!); full of laughter, warmth, goodies, naked chefs(!?) and everything I love.It can be hard in London, meeting great people in such a large busy place can be difficult, so I'm lucky to be surrounded by some of the best.From Birthday hugs and dances, Hazlenut Truffles,8 hour brunches,Krispy Kreme Guilt & Social saladsBirthday Cakes,Scrumptious Hampers to explore,to Champagne Truffles,two Hairy...

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7 Random Acts of Kindness

There are two schools of thought; one that say that a random act of kindness can't really be random if you tell everyone; it needs to be done quietly and not lorded about. I think I'm more aligned with the second school of thought - share it, and who knows what you may influence, even subconsciously. I like a challenge which is why I picked 7 in 7 days; and have tried to carry out kindnesses that can have an effect on a personal level. Just recently I've had a random middle-aged lady look up at me and smile. I didn't quite know what to do, before...

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Goodmans Review. Truly Scrumptious.

This Steak restaurant was a dream. It was scrumptious. Absoloutely delicious. My mouth is already watering.I did drop a clanger, announcing two days before (bearing in mind that the table was booked about a month before) saying that I didn't like Steak. The looks on their faces? Priceless. The fact that they believed me? Incredibly funny.Photos nicked from the Goodmans website(I meant to take photos but managed to leave my phone/camera behind twice. I guess it wasn't meant to be!)After a pre-dinner aperitif in Mayfair (to a background of remixed...

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Tales from a Secondhand Wand Shoppe - E-Book Review

Charting the adventures and mis-adventures of two gnomes, I lighted on this e-book, and thinking it sounded delicious, appealing to my love of Terry Pratchett I devoured this in an afternoon or so. Really funny, slightly discombobulated (a few editing errors which make things a bit odd) I think Robert P. Willis is someone that I'm going to keep an eye out for.Basically, two gnomes selling wands (one from a shoppe, one from a cart - often being moved on) join forces. "City ordinances are broken. Neighbors are annoyed. The Constable becomes involved....

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An Unexpected Birthday Present

London based Kiwis get 36 hour long birthday days. At the strike of midnight KST (Kiwi Standard Time) the day of our birth, it's officially our birthday as the Earth begins it's slow rotation of the day.The upside is 36 hours of messages, cards, birthday cake, toasting, merry making and catching up with friends.The downside is that a lot of the people you love are pretty far away. But it makes you appreciate a hundred times more the family you make over here on this side of the world.(Fyi, I haven't been drinking at 8am this morning, it was...

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London Living: Kings Cross/St Pancras

It occured to me the other day, train stations are interesting creatures. They aren't places that you'd normally go for a visit (unless a trainspotter), they are gateways for large numbers of people walking in, waiting, perhaps browsing then dashing off to their exotic/fun/work destinations. But we rush through them so quickly, and when we do stand there, we are generally staring at the boards wishing away our waiting time that we don't always get a chance to appreciate the sheer beauty of the buildings holding up the boards.London has...

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Kiwi Cooking: Ginger Slice

At the moment I'm having a love affair with Ginger, and this is my absoloute favourite way to eat it. It's not particularily healthy, but it's scrumptious and really easy to make.On reflection, I think I know why I have been into Ginger - it's so autumnal: soft, spicy, dancing on the palate. Combine this with a biscuit base, golden syrup and icing sugar. Warms the cockles of your heart.  I remember making this when I was 12, in the 'home economics' class at primary school, and it hasn't ever lost it's place in my heart. The recipe is found...

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Foodie-in-Training: Pomegranate

An ancient Egyptian symbol prosperity and ambition, pomegranates have recently made a comeback as a superfood. Consisting of small jewel-like seeds (arils) full of liquid, encased in pith and a glossy outer skin, they chock are full of antioxidant vitamins.Apparently aril juice (the seeds) provides about 16% of an adult's daily vitamin C requirement per 100 ml serving, and is a good source of vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), potassium and natural phenols, such as ellagitannins and flavonoids (Source).I've been seeing them everywhere,...

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London Living: Ghost Tours

There is macbre side to any City & Town, and London, due to the size and importance, is no exception to this. We love the chance to explore London in new and unusual ways, so when a good friend of mine was given a birthday present of Ghost Bus Tours, we thought it'd be a scream to join her (sorry, couldn't help myself).So yesterday, on a verrry wet Saturday evening we lined up in the pouring rain to board the 'Ghost Bus'. It was halarious. With a loop starting near Trafalar Circus, taking in St Pauls, and Southwark; it was the funniest,...

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Downsides to being the 'Right way up'

When you move away from home overseas for any length of time you know there are going to be normal things that you miss; family, friends, knowing where things are (I think it really takes about 6 months to wrap your head around a new place) and local delicacies. Most of these are patched with video conferencing, time and really really expensive ex-pat shops, which helps, but can sometimes not be quite the same.I'm lucky, and have a lovely, tireless local to help me (thanks hubs!) but I still get frustrated  at...

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Adventures of the Benign

The last couple of weeks have been amazing, watching the leaves turn lucious jewel tones, sucking up the pumpkin flavoured everything (yes, I have an addiction - it's nice not having to search the earth to appease it this year. I've even bought Pumpkin spice favouring syrup - it's so good!)It's a lovely cosy time of the year - the weather settles down (into a lot of rain) but it's so good when you're curled up inside listening to the raindrops on the window with a nice soup bubbling, the heating gently on and something good to read. Bliss.&nb...

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Lurking through the internet (where to find the London Kiwi Adventures)

Adventures of a London Kiwi is branching out into Social Media. Well, selectively! I've always been a big blog reader, but since starting the blog, I've discovered and become addicted to reading & discovering new blogs through a few different social media platforms.(Here's a cute picture of our beast to reward you reading a probably fairly boring post!)I thought I'd share them because I'd like to get to know you, and I also wanted to pass on the internet sites I've found helpful. Click Me to add me on TwitterThis is an addiction I can't seem...

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