Friday, August 21, 2015

Shiny New Things

Living abroad has introduced me to so many shiny new things. I would have never known about these new favourites before I moved here so I thought I would pass along a few of the things I am totally into right now. 

Ginger Beer--This carbonated ginger soda is available everywhere and there are so many brands. It is much spicier and less sweet than ginger ale back home (some brands are spicier than others). I love trying new variations of ginger beer. It has the added benefit that ginger is good for an upset stomach and I've found that ginger beer helps with motion sickness (which can be particularly bad on buses, I've found).

Thornback & Peel--I stumbled across their printed handkerchiefs on Not on the High Street and was super excited to find that they have a store in Clerkenwell. I have now become a regular.

Thornback & Peel has amazing prints including pineapples, sardines, pigeons, rabbits, and many more. They make pillows, tea towels, lampshades...you name it. I originally went in for one handkerchief but ended up getting a lot more than that. 
The new season of The Great British Bake Off (GBBO) is back! GBBO pits twelve contestants against each other to compete for the title of best amateur baker. Each week has a theme (so far this season we've seen cake week, biscuit week, and bread week) with three challenges (signature, technical, and showstopper). GBBO is very popular here and I'm loving watching it live.
Living in London has more to offer than just 'Keep Calm and Carry On' merchandise, black cabs, double decker buses and red telephone boxes. I've discovered a deep affinity for Indian food, high quality locally made handicrafts, and publicly funded television. I came for the shiny bobbles but I stayed for the underlying culture of it all. Britain has so many more layers than I ever could have expected. 
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6 comments:

  1. J.K.B. YoungAugust 23, 2015 at 9:56 PM

    I love British Bake off! We need to have a British Bake off party and like bring goodies or something (if I could bake well, I might be as excited to bake as I am to eat said goodies).

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    1. Rachael SmithAugust 23, 2015 at 10:11 PM

      That sounds like so much fun! Ever since the first episode I've been wanting to try Madeira cake. I doubt I'd make a good one on the first try so maybe I'll just have to stop by a bakery :)

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  2. Alli_SmithSeptember 10, 2015 at 8:45 PM

    Ah, I am so jealous that you get the Great British Bakeoff! My roommate and I stumbled upon that show on PBS and we fell in love with it. It has actually ruined all American baking shows for me (We cheat through all of ours, and they do everything from scratch!) Anyways, we can't find it anywhere online to watch it and PBS isn't showing anymore episodes yet. :(

    Also, I'm binging on your blog today because when I got my new laptop I lost your bookmark somehow but I'm about caught up! :)

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    1. Rachael SmithSeptember 15, 2015 at 4:49 PM

      Isn't Bake Off the best? Every time a new episode airs I end up wanting to bake something new... so it's almost lucky that it only airs for a few months each year!

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    2. Alli_SmithSeptember 15, 2015 at 5:20 PM

      I always bake more after watching shows like this! Unfortunately, I can't seem to outsmart the iBBC and they keep giving me the "You aren't in the UK" message so I'll have to wait til it comes on PBS...

      I even downloaded a server proxy and found a list of UK proxy addresses to use but the iBBC is too smart for me apparently lol

      Delete
    3. Alli_SmithSeptember 15, 2015 at 5:21 PM

      I always bake more after watching shows like this! Unfortunately, I can't seem to outsmart the iBBC and they keep giving me the "You aren't in the UK" message so I'll have to wait til it comes on PBS...

      I even downloaded a server proxy and found a list of UK proxy addresses to use but the iBBC is too smart for me apparently lol

      Delete

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