A Salcombe Day Out

We hadn’t been home since before Christmas so some countryside loving was definitely in order! We packed up the car and road tripped it home for a weekend of beach walks, copious amounts of food and Mummy and Daddy B tlc!

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We hope that you’re having a great week and that February is being kind to you.

A & J x

My January Favourites

Who says January needs to be the most miserable month….. I say snuggle up, grab a cuppa and watch my January Favourites

Do subscribe to our channel and give us a thumbs up if you enjoyed.

A x

My Favourite Green Juice

I’m a self confessed juiceaholic.  Today I’ve uploaded a video showing you how I make my favourite green juice.  I use the term juice loosely, it’s more smoothie like in consistency.

You Will Need:

• 1 cup coconut water
• 1 handful spinach
• 1 handful kale
• 1 generous handful frozen mango
• 1/2 an avocado
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)

Let me know what you think and do pop any of your favourite recipes in the comment section below.

A x

Get ready (for a show) with me

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year.  This festive season I was up at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton playing the part of Wendy (yet again) in Peter Pan.  I was lucky to be part of such a wonderful company, and I decided to do something a bit different this year and give you a little insight into my preparations before the show.

I hope you enjoy and do let me know what you think.

A x

Healthy Hot Chocolate

We are hanging our heads in shame that we haven’t posted in a while.  Life has been busy with me off playing Wendy in Peter Pan up at the Royal and Derngate in Northampton and Jamie snowed under with some exciting projects.

As ever we have been burning the candle at both ends and fighting off the sniffles, so on my day off I raced back to London to recharge my batteries ready for the festive period…which for me means two shows every day.

I was curled up by the christmas tree in front of the fire like a very contented purring cat, but one thing was missing…hot chocolate, and I was determined to make it as healthy and nourishing as a hot chocolate can be.

YOU WILL NEED (serves 1):

1 tbsp raw cacao

1 mug almond milk

1 tbsp coconut sugar (ours is with ginger)

1 tsp almond butter

Now if you’re the impatient type like me you’ll whack it all in a pan mix it together and serve, which is great, but, if you want this to be a super special hot choc then a bit of patience will make all the difference as Jamie proved.

STEP 1 Add the cacao, almond butter and a splash of the milk and mix into a thick paste.

STEP 2 Add the sugar.

STEP 3 Start trickling in the rest of the milk continuously stirring.

STEP 4 Pour into your mug and ENJOY!

The wonderful thing about this hot choc is not only does it taste delicious but at the same time you are filling your body with wonderful natural goodness such as healthy fats, antioxidants, minerals, protein, vitamin b, d and e (the list goes on…) and more importantly not filling it with processed white sugar and other impurities.  I don’t think I’ll ever drink normal hot chocolate again when I know that I can drink this one totally guilt free.

Let us know how you get on in the comment section below.

A x

Cheeky Chia Chocolate Mousse

I have been completely inspired by the likes of Deliciously Ella in my quest for a healthy body and mind.  I follow some great accounts on instagram and drool over food every time I log on.

I have made small changes to my diet with rye bread instead of wholemeal bread, gluten free pasta, almond milk, eating avocados like they are going out of fashion, mixing flaxseed, chia and bee pollen in my food and juicing like a green goddess.

The one thing I miss……chocolate and sweet treats!  Of course I’m no saint and still eat chocolate biscuits and goodies when I fancy, but I am on the hunt to find healthy alternatives that taste as good as their naughty counterparts.

I tried this Choco Chia Pudding courtesy of Clean Eats Charlotte last night.  It is made using two ingredients….yes TWO – I love this easy cooking malarky!

It was SO easy to make and looks rather dreamy…

You Will Need (Serves 1):

• 150ml Rebel Chocolate Mylk
• 2 tbsp Chia Seeds

Mix them together and leave to set in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.  That’s it!  Bish Bash Bosh!

The chia seeds expand and thicken the mylk into a mousse like consistency.

Rebel’s Chocolate Mylk is made of spring water, coconut milk, date nectar and cacao and is unbelievably delicious.

My verdict…..

It’s not chocolate mousse, it’s rather an odd texture with the chia seeds becoming this kind of jelly like substance, but you do feel like you are eating something far more naughty than it is.  It’s a great sweet guilt free pick me up, but I’m not going to lie, a little GU pot of joy is still going to be beckoning me over!

Have a go and do let me know what you think in the comment section below.

A x

 

Goodbye NYC

Our final day *sob sob*! We hadn’t had a proper American breakfast yet so we headed to the Upper West Side in search of pancakes and boy did we find them at the Metro Diner.  It is the usual thing to queue for brunch in NYC so we happily joined the queue brimming with a mixture of locals and tourists and sussed out people’s plates of food around us.

The size, oh the size- 3 huge pancakes were brought out EACH but my god they were good. I went for strawberry and banana swimming in syrup and Jamie went for bacon.  This was not the ‘canadian’ bacon we have back home but proper bacon bacon!

The tea amused me as they just bring you hot water without the tea bag in it and then refill it with hot water  – bleurghhhh.

This place was great, nothing fancy just a proper American diner.

Jamie had a couple of meetings to fit in before we left so I met Ashley and we went for a stroll through the park in the glorious sunshine grabbing a juice en route.

They have juice shops like we have coffee shops!

The park was alive with families making the most of the weather and we happily chatted away exploring more areas of the park.

With very heavy hearts we headed back to the airport.  I could have stayed for ages but one more day would have been perfect!

One thing that struck both Jamie and me about New York was how friendly people were and how willing everyone is to help. We had people walk us to the subway and always helping if you were lost.

I downloaded a couple of great apps and the maps work offline so with us constantly wifi hopping it was a lifesaver, although saying that New York is so easy to navigate with its grid system.

Everywhere is more or less walkable, it is far more condensed than London.  Wifi is in lots of stores and on the underground – although this is temperamental. It was refreshing to be back to the days off “I’ll meet you here at this time”.

With Jamie off a lot, I had a lot of time on my own.  I felt like I got as much out of New York as I possibly could in the time, and experienced lots of different areas rather than just the tourist hotspots. I didn’t for a moment feel unsafe and Jamie didn’t feel worried leaving me alone.  I just walked and walked and soaked in the atmosphere of this incredible city.

Having Ashley was a God send as she could take us to places we’d never have known existed, and already we’re feeling very sad not seeing her all the time!

An amazing city that I promise I’ll go back to soon and if you get a chance to go you must.

What have I learnt? – that being spontaneous gives you a proper zest for life and to live by this word more.

A x

NYC day 1

Last week I did the most spontaneous thing I think I have ever done.  Jamie had some meetings in NYC and I decided to tag along which was a fantastic excuse to see my wonderful friend Ashley who lives out there and experience the city that never sleeps.

I’ve never been to the Big Apple and now reflecting back as I sit in London typing away I have completely fallen in love with the city.  It buzzes and has a proper positive ‘can do’ energy about it that is infectious and I would go back right now given half the chance.

We’d heard great things about air bnb and decided to book accommodation through it wanting to get a real flavour of the city; I have to admit I was slightly apprehensive.  However, we found a great place to stay in Brooklyn- how Gossip Girl did I feel!! – I felt like I was going to run into Dan any moment.

Air bnb was great for us  – we left first thing in the morning and arrived back late.  The subway was right across the street and we zipped into central Manhattan in 20 minutes. It added to our overall experience in so many ways as you really felt like you were submerged in living in New York.

Jamie went off to his meetings and I had a list of places I just had to go….Macy’s and Bloomingdales were very high up this list so what was the first thing I did- yes sorry!

I met Ashley at Macy’s and we went for coffee.  I’d like to say that we went somewhere brimming with culture, however we were so desperate to catch up that the Starbucks in Macy’s was calling our names.  This is no ordinary Starbucks though, it is hands down the poshest one I have ever been to.

We walked and we walked and we walked.  To the Rockefeller Center, Bloomingdales, Radio City Music Hall, via the Magnolia Bakery for cupcakes – well if it’s good enough for SJP it’s good enough for us.

 

Down Fifth Avenue, Park Avenue through Central Park, Times Square.

 

My little legs were delighted at the prospect of a quick cocktail.

However this cocktail had to be slurped down as we had an important engagement that night….a Yankees game.

 

Jamie loved it, I however felt my school rounder games were more interesting *hangs head in shame*.

The atmosphere is amazing and it was great to experience but it amazed me how often they don’t even hit the ball.

Then every 5 minutes you are interrupted with some sort of crowd cam or advert.  My favourite part was the sand sweepers breaking into a rendition of the YMCA.

Tiredness started to take over so we decided to avoid the crowds and snuck off before the last innings when it looked like certain defeat for the Yankees.  Of course being us it was the talked about game the next day as the Yankees had suddenly come back in the last innings.  Oops!

Join us tomorrow for day 2…

A x

NYC day 2

Waking up super excited at the day ahead, we leapt out of bed and quite literally hop skipped and jumped across to the subway.

A local market was on in Union Square on 14th street so we grabbed fresh juices and breakfast muffins and soaked up the sunshine before Jamie had to dash off to more meetings.

I did some more exploring whilst I waited for him. The New York Library.

The Post Office.  They certainly don’t do things by half here!

With the weather being so stunning we decided to walk the High Line from 34th street down to the Meatpacking District.

The High Line is the old railway line that sits above the city.

It is so well thought out with little seating areas and food stalls along the way and the views are wonderful.

This would be up there with one of the best things I would recommend to do.

I was told that there was a restaurant at the end that served the best pulled pork burgers and we reckoned that it must be Bubby’s.

This was the most fabulous restaurant full of locals…two actresses were on the table next to us and were making us try their cocktails and helping themselves to our mac n cheese – this just doesn’t happen in London.

If you are in this area go go go.

We walked down to the river and caught sight of Lady Liberty in all her glory.

Ashley came to meet us and we went for an adventure around the area.  We were deep in discussion…

The Meatpacking District used to be as the title suggests, but now is super trendy and we have earmarked it as the area we want to live in.  Of course it is eye wateringly expensive – think of it as Shoreditch crossed with Sloane Square.  We walked for miles around the West Village, Greenwich Village and Chelsea ending up in Washington Square which was stunning.

Jamie had an evening meeting so I went for a potter around Chelsea Market.  This isn’t like a normal sort of market, rather than stalls it is made up of lots of little shops.  You can buy anything from jewellery to bread or stop for a glass of wine.

In New York there are lots of areas just with tables and chairs where you can rest your feet and soak it all in.

I did a lot of this.  

I was so overwhelmed that I was finally here and overwhelmed at the vibrancy of the city.  We finished off our wonderful day with late night bubbles and a charcuterie board opting for a window seat to watch the world go by.

A x

 

NYC day 3

Our adventure into town today was certainly that..an adventure.  Just like in London, at the weekend the subways are all up the creek, but a girl took us to the shuttle bus (rail replacement service) and all was fine.  See I told you the locals are great! I was delighted to have experienced another mode of transport reliving all the programmes I used to watch as a kid on Nickelodeon.

A mad dash for Jamie to make a meeting ensued but we got to go in a cab! The cabs are so much cheaper but you have to remember your 20% tip!

I grabbed a cuppa in the Upper West Side and went for a leisurely stroll through Central Park, past the Jackie Onassis reservoir across to the Upper East Side.

I had to go here and experience Blair Waldorf’s neighbourhood (sorry Gossip Girl reference – I’m slightly hooked at the moment!). People in this city are mad for running I felt quite out of place walking in the park!

The Upper East Side is where the big museums such as the Guggenheim and the Met are.  The sheer size of the buildings in this city is what certainly struck me!

I stumbled across a ‘run for life’ and happily cheered on the runners feeling very at home.  See two days and I was hooked!

That afternoon we had very kindly been given tickets to If/ Then the musical at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

The theatre was stunning and I am a huge Idina Menzel fan so couldn’t believe my luck that I was going to see her on Broadway.

I liked the show it was refreshingly different and the songs were nice – I didn’t feel that there were stand out songs but you fall in love with the characters and I sobbed my way through the second half.  Serendipity is the running theme and about half an hour later we had our own bit of serendipity!

Our friend Alex is opening in Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time on Broadway and our friend Katy is the Associate Director.  Both fellow Brits!  With them being super busy and us packed to the rafters we knew that meeting was going to be tricky so we got them some goodies to drop off at stage door.  We quite literally bumped into Katy at stage door and Alex was walking down the stairs – a wonderful case of serendipity in a city far from home.

There were so many things we were still desperate to do but hey not fitting them all in means we have an excuse to come back.  We decided that we had to see Grand Central Station which is awe inspiring.

 

 

A where’s wally moment…

 

Our friend Poppy had recommended a restaurant called El Centro for supper (54st 9th av) and as soon as we stumbled across it we knew she had come up with a gem.

A mexican with delicious cocktails and heavenly food! It buzzes with locals and quite a theatrical crowd.

The photos didn’t come out very well – I think I was just too excited at the amazing food to hold the camera steady…or even remember to take a photo, but do go if you’re in the area.

We were both gutted that tomorrow was our final day but we still had some more time for exploring before our flight and so were going to make the most of it.

Join us for our final day in NYC tomorrow

A x