London Breakfast Club: Caravan

I finally visited Caravan in Exmouth Market last weekend. This is the place to go if you want to feel like a trendy Londoner while eating yummy food. 

We sat outside. Glancing around, I noticed that every single person was remarkably fashionable, even the babies. Not in the glitzy name brand way but in the artsy hipster way. Earthy colors, well-worn leather lace ups and sneakers, six or seven layer ensembles with messy hair and unique patterned tights. Plenty of big square glasses and baggy skinny jeans. How do people dress like this every day?  Is it effortless?  Do they spend a fortune on thrifted vintage and an hour getting ready every morning?  I don't know, but London is indeed the fashion capital of the world and I need to get my act together. 

Anyway. The vibe is trendy. The menu is trendy, too. All the brunch items were recognizable but most dishes had a twist. Creamy soy mushrooms. Baked eggs, tomato, and pepper ragout. (I don't know what ragout is. I bet it's French.) Ham and cheese muffins. For me, the obvious choice was cornbread french toast with bacon, rocket, avocado, and paprika-spiced maple syrup. You'd never put those ingredients together, right?  But you know it's going to be delicious. And it was. The downside was the portion size. It was plenty, yes, but I could've eaten twice as much. Maybe that's my own problem.

mb

Linking with love: inside Caravan, signage, outside Caravan

Camping in Dorset

This weekend Dave and I drove down to Dorset and camped on Northdown Farm, in between Osmington and Weymouth.

Gratuitous couple picture. Upon arriving at the campsite, before we got all gross and dirty from nature.

The forecast was iffy. But it only rained twice, while we were sleeping. Woo!

The farm campsite was fresh, spacious, an easy half hour walk to the beach, and close to lots of country pubs.

One day we drove to Weymouth, where the Olympic sailing events were happening. We couldn't see much - just a distant fleet of white sails, which was pretty - but we enjoyed iced coffees and scones at a cafe called The Tea Bush. We returned a couple days later for breakfast.  Yum. Recommended.

We intended on cooking for ourselves. I bought a new cookstove and everything!  But it was so windy, and the gas cartridges were moderately complicated, so we ended up going to pubs instead. Fish and chips. Pan fried sea bass. Crab sandwiches. Cottage pie. One morning, we acquired some boiling water from the campsite shop and made lukewarm oatmeal and coffee.  Cooking?  Check.

Dave and I have a long history of failed campfires. It's turned into a thing. Every time we (he) fail(s) to build a successful fire, I get sad and irritable. But on our third night, lo and behold, despite my skepticism, after an hour of poking and prodding, Dave built an awesome fire.  It was hot and cracklin' and it burned all our firewood down to ash. We were both very pleased. I started calling Dave 'Fire Maker.'

As always, getting out of London was refreshing. I've missed camping!

Happy Monday,
mb

PS, if any of you are following the Olympics, be sure to watch the USA v. Canada women's soccer match today.  The winner goes to gold on Thursday, and I'll be there!

Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies

If you like folk music, you should check out Harry Bird and the Rubber Wellies because:

1.  their album art is pretty

2.  their music is pretty great

3.  and my friend Molly knows them so it's like you know them too

My favorite song is The Butterfly Song. You can listen here. It's happy and folky and not serious.  And the lyrics make me smile.

oh, the more you have to struggle through

the sweeter victory tastes to you

from the ashes beauty flashes

that's the cry of the butterfly

trust me son, your life's about

to take an astounding route

you're a brave fella, young caterp-ella

i see you flying high in a fancy suit

I think so.mb
Linking with love: lyrics

Rain, job, life update

My blog lacks life updates.

I've been going through an awkward phase for the past two years. I've tried not to be all philosophical and Generation Why-ee on the blog. But every time I start writing life updates, things get 'philosophical' and Generation Why-ee real fast. So I delete everything and post some Instagrams! This is me inside a tree.

Here's what's happening. 

London is wet and chilly. Summer hasn't arrived and I'm not sure it will. June was the rainiest June since 1910, and we received 3x the monthly rainfall average in the first ten days of July. For as long as I can remember, the ten day weather forecast has consisted of rows of gray clouds with the occasional red lightening bolt.  Last week I couldn't find my raincoat and refused to buy another one, in protest. (I've since found my raincoat, thank goodness.) It's yuck. I know it's hot in the States, but I would give a little toe for sun and shorts and the sweet relief of a cold beverage. I like London when the sun's out. But the sun's rarely out. And in the never ending rain, it's soggy, dirty, and gray.

One quiet Friday afternoon at the bank, my dear colleagues were googling each other and stumbled across this blog. As they clicked through, I was mortified. I was also very thankful I choose not to discuss my job (in detail) online. If you ever have questions about investment banking or my role in the industry (is that vague enough?), please email me. My internship ends mid-August, and then I'm meeting Hannah in Italy for a few days of traveling. And then… no idea. 

I mean, I have ideas. Lots of them.

I've been busy applying for jobs, interviewing for jobs, worrying about jobs, discussing jobs for a few months now. My strategy targets the continental United States, London, and Australia. I'm covering all my bases. The search has its ups and downs. I love the rush after a good interview and the hope after applying for that perfect job that I'm overqualified for (which happened once, and 24 hours later, I was rejected, but you know… the hope in the beginning was great). I enjoyed writing my first four cover letters, but now I begin every cover letter by opening Word and grumpily typing 'JUST GIVE ME THIS JOB.' 

When I'm in a good mood, it's exciting 'having options' and being young and talking about the future. When I'm in a bad mood, I'm convinced I'm going to be broke, alone, and cynical forever. And if you send me articles about the bad economy, god help you.

I've come up with a system to help me deal with uncertainty. I list all my options and highlight the pros and cons for each.

Some examples.

No job, sleeping on my sister's dirt floor pantry in Alabama 
Pros: sunny weather, being near family, biscuits and gravy
Cons: no money, no friends, no Dave

Or,

Interning for free at a nonprofit or comms agency in Colorado 
Pros: sunny weather, work experience I want, Shelley lives in Denver
Cons: no money, no family, no Dave

Or,

Working in finance in London 
Pros: money, Dave, being in the same place for 1+ years
Cons:  the *&^**%&*! rain, professional angst, I miss my friends

Basically, I will enjoy and benefit from being anywhere, somehow.

Fun things I've done lately: a girls weekend with church folk, staying out til the sun came up, eating lots of pasta and pizza, reading good books. Tonight I might go to a surprise birthday party, if I convince myself to change out of my sweat pants and venture back outside (lame, I know). Next weekend we're going to a friend's wedding in Oxford. Then the Olympics, then Italy, and between now and then, I've got four days off to squeeze in.  

Life ain't too terrible.

mb

thank you [for daily bread]

Some things that made me happy in May and June...

* working on resumes together til 1am
* big windows, 7pm sun
* licks from a golden retriever puppy
* reading a good book in a single afternoon
* pad thai (first time!)
* indie plays in tiny theaters on Monday nights
* phone call from Australia
* Dave making me a tuna melt when I want a tuna melt
* second interviews
* cherries straight off the tree
* talking about life with Melissa over bad Italian martinis
* bike rides through fields
* Dave writing a book
* raspberry and ricotta scones
* praying together
* salmon
* Friday nights alone
* Modern Family
* Sunday lunch at Luis's
* take out curry & Ocean's Eleven
* iced lattes at Kaffeine near Oxford Street
* "give us our daily bread"
* Skyping Alabama folk
* five-day-old pancake batter still makes good pancakes

Most nights since September, I've written down two or three things I'm grateful for. Too soon to tell, but this might be the best habit I ever develop.

mb

The Capital Ring (and my sister met Obama)

London is great, but it's a city and when you live here, you do city things. Like going out for coffee and pastries, or beers, or your choice of ethnic food, or dancing, or theater. I love it all.  But most of it doesn't involve nature or exercise. And last weekend, I was craving nature and exercise.

Refusing to wallow in city woes (okay, I wallowed for a few hours), I did some research and discovered the Capital Ring, a 78-mile walking path around the edges of London, through some of the city's prettiest and oft forgotten green spaces. Despite gloomy weather forecasts, Dave and I headed to west London and walked seven miles through Wimbledon Common and Richmond Park. What a beautiful, blustery, refreshing day. We saw a historic flour mill, stood on the historic hill where Henry VIII hung out while Anne Boleyn was beheaded, watched ducks and squirrels, climbed ancient oaks, and most lovely of all, gave our legs a good stretching and our lungs some clean forest air. I'm going to walk as much of the Capital Ring as I can during the next few months. Nature's beauty aside, it's a fun way to explore new parts of London.

And oh yeah!


In case you didn't hear, my sister met President Obama on Thursday. 

Yes, they are smiling at each other in that photo, bonding over student activism and education policy, no doubt. And yes, this is the coolest thing my blog will ever report.


Analyzing my jealousy, I realized I may have a slight celebrity crush on Barack Obama.


Analyzing my crush, I realized it's because he's intelligent, witty, fun, not bad looking, and progressive... and because of this video.

I watch this video whenever I'm worried about jobs, unemployment, and the future. Yes, that's correct. I watch it every day. It makes me laugh and gives me hope and I temporarily forget about economic policies that may or may not be affecting my job prospects.  Thanks, Barack and Carly Rae (and whoever put the two of you together).

Love,
mb

Ricotta scones

Did you hear?

The Queen recently had her sixtieth anniversary of being queen.  Hurray!  The UK loves their Queen (for the most part). We got two days off and people flocked to London and fleets of ships sailed down the River Thames and there was an epic concert and Elton John wore hot sparkly pink under a brilliant fireworks show.

Melissa was visiting over this Jubilee weekend. We went to a musical, ate at a fancy restaurant, enjoyed an indoor British barbecue (it was raining, but my, what delicious salmon), and headed to the pub after Monday night's concert.

Perhaps my favorite part of the weekend, besides spending time with kinfolk, was baking scones. I was feeling grumpy and cold and unpatriotic and our afternoon tea plans had fallen through. So I baked scones. Ricotta and raspberry scones, recipe courtesy of Smitten Kitchen, to be exact.

They are amazing. Truly delightful. You don't even need to butter them (if you're American) or top them with clotted cream and jam (if you're English). They're perfect all on their own. I've baked them twice in the past week. I will bake them again before the month's over. Do try them for yourself, in honor of the Queen, or just because they are heavenly.

Linking with love: photo from Smitten Kitchen (best food blog ever)