New Home, New Beginnings

"There are always flowers for those that want to see them" - Henri Matisse 

Hello everyone! As promised, I've got another article for you today, to cement the fact that I am making an earnest return to the blog. I thought I’d give you a little update on some of what I’ve been up to since I’ve been away. As you may know, I used to live in East London, in the hipster paradise of Victoria Park Village.  As much as I loved living there, I’m thrilled to have moved to a fantastic area of North London, with a flat directly opposite Finsbury Park (the Highbury and Islington side). 

Our flat is just off of a busy, slightly dodgy main road, and looks a bit rough around the edges. However, walk to the other end of the street (Wilberforce Road) and we have one of the best café/deli/wine bars in north London, which I had to try out as soon as we moved in. 

Fink's Salt and Sweet is an absolute gem. The décor and furniture is minimalist and Scandinavian inspired. 

The menu is great, from Hansen & Lydersen salmon, to house granola with berries and yogurt, to flavoursome crunchy chicken salad sandwiches on sourdough. We chose the chicken sandwich, along a toasted English muffin topped with bacon jam and Sharpam Rustic Cheese, accompanied by a well presented latte. 

I love the peppermint green crockery they use, which contrasts nicely with the grey furniture.  The portions are a little small, so I would order a few things and share them between you.

There will be many more North London themed blog posts coming soon, especially as I live amazingly close to Upper Street in Angel, which is famous for having the most restaurants, shops and bars on one street in the whole of London.  Boris Johnson lives there too, although I’m yet to bump into him as I leave the office. 

We have gradually put our stamp on the new flat and it's turned from a house into a home, however cliché that may sound. These days in London, its hard for the average graduate to afford to live in a super modern, high tech flat, so there has to be some compromise. By filling the place with ornaments and plants, it makes it so much nicer to live in. Here are a few things that have made a difference... 

Pictures and cookbooks 

Real life chilis!

Paperchase have been doing the loveliest postcards recently, which cost 60p each. I bought a few and stuck them in £1 frames from Tiger, to make a cheap yet effective wall display. Similar things from Urban Outfitters can cost 10 times the price. Disclaimer: I am not, and never will be, an interiors expert. I just like pretty things. 

An effective and inexpensive way to make any room nicer is to fill it with flowers and candles. One of the best places in London for those is of course, Columbia Road Flower Market, which is the cutest little street between Hoxton and Bethnal Green. It is always, always packed out with people from all walks of life, on Sundays, both browsing and buying. I recommend turning up either at 8am, or alternatively around 1.30pm or 2pm, when you can get some bargains. We managed to get a bunch of roses and a bunch of lilies for £5 all in – so much cheaper than ordering from Interflora. 

 Mary Berry Jug, £8 in the sales

Tesco also do a cracking bunch of brightly coloured flowers for £3, which last around 2 weeks and smell beautiful. 

How to Be Parisian Wherever You Are, available HERE

I’m quite into the whole Parisian chic thing at the moment, as you can see from my reading materials etc. I know I'll never be a true Parisienne, but one can dream, right?

Coco Mademoiselle perfume, Chanel

Milkshake tumbler (used to hold makeup brushes/pens), Ikea £1.50

Lantern, Ikea, £2

I have a few little nooks in my room which I don’t like leaving bare, so I used an Italian Chianti wine bottle as a mini vase (I just liked the label), and added some candles and a lantern. 

Star Lantern, Ikea, £2

Monogram Candle, Oliver Bonas, £4, similar HERE

These are all simple ways of cheering up a flat without breaking the bank. 

That's all from me for today. Up next: I'll be reviewing a new, 'secret' cocktail bar in the heart of Soho, west London. I drank a cocktail from a ceramic wellington boot... but more on that next time! I'll also be doing a beauty based post soon too, I promise!

Love, 

Yaasica Lucia XXX

La Renaissance

"Like the Pheonix, we can observe in our own lives that disintegration brings with it transformation and rebirth."  - Donna Labermeier

I haven't written in a long time, and suddenly I feel awful about neglecting my blog. For so long, it was a way of expressing myself, taking my mind off of 'things' from the past and the present, a way of using my creativity to entertain others. Whether it was writer's block or external influences, I haven't picked up my pen and notepad since last July. However, one of my best friends RD has been encouraging me to write again for months now. Finally, I feel like the time is right to start again. So, hello again old readers, and welcome to new ones.

I thought I would start again gently, similar to the first trip back to the gym after a festive season of Baileys, cheese and general excess. This post is going to be focused on two food based favourites in my life at the moment - Pie and Eggs. Please be aware that I haven't turned into an obese crazy cat lady while I've been away (here's a happy, smiley, non craycray selfie to prove it)

I just love food, soz. 

These foodie loves are slightly naughty, but I'm having like, a Pie Renaissance, or a Pienaissance as my flatmates called it, which I think is rather nice. So here are my very rustic, basic and easy recipes of my Pies du Jour.... 

BEEF STEAK AND GUINNESS PIE - SERVES 4

Ingredients
1 red onion, 1 white onion. 2 sticks of celery. 1 bottle of Guinness. 500g of quick cook beef strips. 1 Knorr Rich Beef stock pot. 1/2 an OXO cube. Olive oil. Plain flour. Sheet of puff pastry. 1 egg. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Method
1. Heat some olive oil in a large saucepan, and chop the onions and celery into bitesize chunks. Fry said chunks in the oil. 
2. Dust the beef lightly with flour, and add to the pan. Crumble in the oxo cube and give a good stir until the beef has browned. 
3. Put stock pot in a mug of boiling water, and add to the pan. Give a good stir and scrape the bottom of the pan as you go. 
4. Add half the bottle of Guinness.
5. Cover for 15 minutes to infuse and reduce. Drink the other half of the bottle of Guinness while you wait (or wash up, whatever you prefer). 
6. Pour the mix into a pie dish and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. 
7. Cover with the pastry sheet, brush with egg, and bake at 180c for around 40 minutes. 
8. Serve with vegetables - we had kale, carrots, tenderstem broccoli, and new potatoes tossed in butter and fresh parsley. 

CHICKEN AND LEEK PIE - SERVES 3-4

Ingredients

Couple of chicken breasts. Leeks. Red onion. Knorr Chicken stock pot. Single Cream (I use Elmea). Sheet of puff pastry. 

Method
1. Fry chicken, leeks and onion in oil until the chicken has browned.
2. Prep the stock pot as before, and add to pan. 
3. Add a glug of cream, salt and pepper to taste. 
4. Pour the mix into a pie dish and allow to cool for about 10 minutes. 
5. Cover with the pastry sheet, brush with egg, and bake at 180c for around 40 minutes. 
6. Serve with veg, I had mine with tenderstem broccoli and it tasted great. 

If you look closely, you will see that I've topped my pies with cute little bunny shapes, because its spring now, and because, well, bunnies. You can use whatever shapes you like. 

If you have leftover pastry, don't throw it away. On Sunday evening, I topped the end of a sheet with Dolcelatte blue cheese, red onion, cherry tomatoes and spring onion, and baked it for 20 minutes. It made an easypeasy, pre-pub snack, and tasted great too. I know pastry isn't the healthiest food in the world, but everyone once in a while, its ok to treat yourself. Besides, at 150 calories per portion of Puff Pastry, as long as you add plenty of veg, it can be part of a decent meal. 

Recently, my cooking style has been more focused on taste rather than presentation, a more rustic approach. After working 9am-6pm in a fast paced job in real estate, the last thing I'm thinking about is whether my pie has neat edges. The other evening, I made new potatoes tossed in fried, buttered leeks. It didn't look amazing but my dinner guest was suitably impressed. I'm taking so much inspiration from Rachel Khoo's book, The Little Paris Kitchen. Its definitely worth a read and has great ideas for even the smallest cooking space and sparsest store cupboard. 

The Little Paris Kitchen, Rachel Khoo, available HERE

Eat Yourself Calm, Gill Paul, available HERE

I also recommend the "Calm Mood" and "Smart is the New Sexy" playlists on Spotify (thanks Katie), to both read and cook to. Just don't be too alarmed when vintage Enrique Iglesias pops up, por favor. 

Onto my slightly healthier food of choice, the humble poached egg. I recently worked out how to use those slightly alien looking silicone poachers (put a lid on the saucepan! Who knew?!). 

A really easy brunch idea is simply poached eggs, smoked bacon and half a chopped avocado. Simple, healthy and satisfying. Serve with Columbian ground coffee (arguably the best kind), fresh orange juice, and the Sunday papers. I mean... look at those yolks!

When you work long hours, its hard to socialise properly, and so I jumped at the chance of an early Saturday breakfast with a friend. We went to the The Hoxton Hotel, in Holborn. I've reviewed their first hotel in Shoreditch HERE, but their newest opening in Holborn is hella snazzy and less "East London" than its older brother, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. 

The hotel has a restaurant called Hubbard & Bell which has gorgeous decor, friendly staff, and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner. We both went for the Eggs Benedict - poached eggs and ham, on an english muffin, topped with hollandaise sauce. The latte was made perfectly but I'm not sure if I liked the glasses they were served in. I also had a green juice with kale, apple, cucumber, celery, pineapple, lemon, spinach, parsley, and ginger. It was tasty but in a way where you're not sure whether you're enjoying it or whether you may gag. But you know, health etc. The rest of the menu looked amazing too, and next time I'll be trying the sourdough pancakes with pineapple and brown butter, yum. 

So that's me for today. I promise, promise, promise that I'll be back TOMORROW with another post, which will have more details about what I've been up to when not eating, at around 6pm GMT. Please come back and have a read, tell your friends, tell your family, shout it from the rooftops that I'm back :) 

In the meantime, don't forget to check out my Instagram for daily posts: https://instagram.com/yaasica_lucia/

Lots of Love, 

Yaasica Lucia XXX 

Make up article coming soon, too!