i love rococo

I'll start by saying that I wish blogging was more like the actual press, you rave about something and receive a whole load of it in return. Because if I was about to receive a large delivery of chocolate from the wonderful rococo (please note idiotic spelling mistake above, if it's any justification at all I have a stinking cold), I'd be a very happy girl indeed.

Whilst I am throughly in love with cakes, chocolate, especially the quality stuff has a big place in my heart too.

Not only are their chocolates delectable, and made in all kinds of weird and wonderful flavours (my favourite of all time is the sea salt, so much so that I can forgive them for making one using cardamon - yuk!) but the packaging is fantastic too.

Their store on the Marylebone road is a chocoholics paradise and offers truffle making sessions that would be perfect for a birthday or a hen do.

In the meantime enjoy the eye candy (pun intended!). The sweet chocolate cats are adorably twee aren't they?

http://rococochocolates.com/

the perfect getaway

By the time you read this, I may, or may not have booked a last minute holiday. Due to budgetary limitations it will probably be cheap and cheerful but in a perfect world I'd take off to the Perivolas hotel in Oia, Santorini and chill out in their infinity pool overlooking the Caldera and drink fine Santorinian wines.

Unfortunately a week in these this boutique hotel, formed out of Oia's traditional cave houses will set me back more than a fortnight in the Maldives. Still one can dream...

Check out their website for more travel porn at http://www.perivolassuites.gr/

macarons from paul

I had the pleasure and privilege of being in Paris for work on Monday, shopping no less. Although this sounds like a fun little jolly, it actually involves getting up at 3.30 am and parading up and down the main streets of Paris looking for inspiration. I can't complain too much though.

We all know that no trip to Paris is complete without macarons, and having carefully googled the locations of all of the branches of Laduree around town, we completely ran out of time and there was no choice but to buy from the Paul counter at the Eurostar terminal. Normally this isn't too much of a problem - the patisserie is pretty good and the do the best quiches and sandwiches to be found anywhere at Premier Vision and the macarons I have sampled in the past have always been good however, buying of their boxes of 12 minis this week, I was sorely disappointed.

The shells were chewy and cake like - the flavours odd and indistinguisable - one even tasted like bubblegum but was, I presume, intended to be strawberry. One of the fillings was a strange, thick jam. The overall experience was like eating macarons made by the Tesco bakery.

The most annoying thing was that there's a Pierre Herme in Galeries Lafayette - and we were even on the food floor. This has however given me the urge to take a little day trip of my own across the North Sea for cake eating and shopping

vintage boudoir: the reveal

Now that Mr LROC has become the proud recipient of his anniversary gift - it's time to share some of the stunning images.

I'm so pleased with the results and can't wait to get the telephone print blown up and on the bedroom wall.

I'll say again that Julia and her team are truly fantastic, not only are the pics great but I've received fantastic service from Sonja in the office too. The album is beautiful, with thick pages and a perspex cover. Although I'm not entirely certain the nipple tassle pics will become family heirlooms, that's the kind of make quality we're on about.

Anyway, here are a couple of my favourites (and some of the least rude!)

To book with Julia - firstly - get in there early as the sessions are super popular. Secondly call or email the studio or visit the website.

020 7042 9777

www.juliaboggiostudios.com

cupcake camp

I thought I should give Cupcake Camp London an honourable mention, since they contacted me, and the whole event is dedicated to raising funds and awareness for the North London hospice.

The event, which is happening at Halloween, aims to bring together both amateur and professional bakers to sell cupcakes to be consumed and judged by the lovely ladies from the Primrose Bakery. Held at Camden's Proud Galleries between 2pm and 5pm I plan to go along in a tasting capacity! Fellow cake bloggers, including An American Cupcake in London and Made With Pink.

This is taken from the press release....

Hosted at Camden's stylish Proud Galleries, Cupcake Camp London will be a mass-gathering of people who love to indulge in the darling of the baking world - the cupcake. Supported by live bands, competitions, prizes, a Create-Your-Own Cupcake Art room and a frosting bar; the focus of the day will be the delicious cupcakes donated by England's wonderful baking community. Whether you're a professional cake baker, an enthusiastic amateur, or just someone with a sweet tooth, this event is for you.

Organiser Daisy Coole said: "Bakers are encouraged to bring along their best creations to be judged by a fabulous panel, including the lovely ladies of Primrose Bakery - Martha Swift and Lisa Thomas. "We also need lots of non-bakers to drop into the event and raise money by eating the best cupcakes our capital city has to offer."

Cupcake Camps have ballooned in popularity since being founded last year as a tasty way to raise cash for charity. They attract anything from 250 to 1,000 participants and raise thousands of pounds for good causes.

London's first ever Cupcake Camp will raise money for the North London Hospice, spurred by Daisy's own experience with the 'fantastic community-centered charity'. Daisy, full-time musician and sometime baker, lost her father Bob Coole to kidney failure earlier this year. She said: "A serious addiction to baking cupcakes and my connection with the North London Hospice came into my life at the same time. Dad was a patient at the hospice and the nurses were simply amazing.They were caring and supportive to my Dad and my family, offering cups of tea and a shoulder to cry on as we sat with him for up to 24 hours a day. After Dad died, baking was a huge comfort and the physicality of it was very theraputic so I went on a baking frenzy.

"When Dad died I never got to say thank you to our nurses. This is my way."

sunday vintage

The lovely Kathy of 5678 vintage (who I often namecheck) is, as well as being a super friend, a blogger and etsy seller but now she is a vintage stall holder too! Along with our mutual friend Lena, she set up a stall in Hanbury Hall, just across from the Sunday Up Market.

Kathy has a fantastic eye and had a great range of dresses, blouses, accessories and shoes.

Hanbury Hall is also a great venue - it's basically a village hall in the middle of Spitalfields and unlike most of the markets has sofas to sit on, a changing room, coffee and tea and even a loo! There's even cupcakes, so I needed to give them a try. Unfortunately the woman selling them is a little on the crazy side - cakes are iced to order but the piped icing looks rather like it was done by an over zealous toddler. Although it was nice it did taste rather home baked, and not necessarily in a comforting way. Not worth £2 but sustinance non the less.

a new tattoo?

I've wanted a new tattoo pretty much since I got my first back seven years ago but somehow never found anything I loved enough. Birds have always played a big part but I wasn't sure about committing to a heritage style swallow. When I saw these fantastic bird silhouette tattoos courtesy of Drops of Jupiter's regular Tattoo Tuesday feature I knew I was home.

I just need to find somewhere to get it done - I'm thinking of the Happy Sailor on the Hackney Road. It's a silhouette afterall...

The site's regular feature is great inspiration for anyone looking for inspiration.

happy anniversary

Today is my first wedding anniversary(and just a month after our ten year first date one) - unfortunately we couldn't do anything too romantic as I'm off to Paris on a 5.25 Eurostar tomorrow but hey-ho! Yesterday we went for Mexican at Green and Red in Bethnal Green and on Friday Joss had a gorgeous bunch of flowers sent to my office. They were from Broadway Market's fantastic Rebel Rebel, who did my wedding bouquet, and he sent them a picture so they could try and recreate the look. Although this bouquet is less purple and more pink it's absolutely fantastic and smells sublime. The boy done good in this case so I thought I'd share below.

Happy Anniversary darling!

broadstairs and the end of summer

Last sunday Mr LROC and took a drive down to Broadstairs - in search of fish and chips, the beautiful cliff formations of Botany Bay and a sneaky way to try and extend what was left of the all-too-brief British summer.

We drove to Joss bay, namely because Mr LROC is also a Joss and everyone needs a namesake.

Walking along the beach, underneath the huge chalk cliffs gave me time to ponder on the nature of summer and of the kind of hope it brings. As a child in the school holidays the summer stretches out endlessly in front of us, every day is a new adventure. As an adult we eagerly seize the first warm days of the season, preparing hasty picnics and decamping to London's parks to drink cider and beer. Days in the park meeting friends turn into impromptu dinners out, then into the best evening you've had in ages with no plans made. You feel like this will continue indefinitely and the need to enjoy yourself becomes less urgent, so when the rain starts mid August and you have failed to fully potentialise the summer, the itch to go somewhere warm and sunny kicks in. To this end we are contemplating jetting off somewhere - cheap and cheerful is the name of the game but we are in disagreement with regards exactly where.

Even the word resort brings me out in a rash, anywhere with organised entertainment will have me wondering if the local pharmacy stocks cyanide pills; but Joss doesn't want to travel independently this time and spend a large portion of time riding planes, trains and automobuses. Having said that we can't afford the kind of elegantly arranged, thoughtfully put together trips that Black Tomato offers. So where will we go - we're currently at loggerheads with regards this, so watch this space. What we do know is we're planning on doing a mini tour of Vietnam in the new year - so maybe I can compromise and go bucket and spade this time around?

As you can see from the pics above I came across what felt like a personalised sign scribbled onto the sea defences - Eleanor fatty certainly seems to sum up how I feel at the moment. I'm not sure whether I can keep up with the required amount of cake eating and baking required to keep this blog up to date! I think a two week crash diet is required.

I'm in Paris tomorrow so no doubt will consume copious amounts of macarons and other delectable Parisian pastries but from tuesday onwards I'm having a healthy snack box delivered for my lunch from Graze so I'll feed back on that one if any poundage is lost. Afterall if we do agree on a destination there may be bikini wearing...

mildred's

Last Saturday, following a potter round the National Portrait Gallery to see the portrait prize exhibition and a few alpine lagers at the John Snow, we headed to a fellow Soho institution; vegetarian restaurant Mildred's.

London review of cakes has been a vegetarian for the last 14 years (with a recent foray into fish) so to have the entire menu to choose from is really quite a privilege. Everything is vegetarian and there is a wide selection of vegan, gluten and wheat free dishes too and the best bit is that it doesn't seem in the least bit sanctiminous or wholefood-y, in fact the dining room itself, the menu and the staff are all rather stylish in a Soho kinda way.

Beginning with an organic vegan abbey brewed Belgian beer, unusual because they are normally not veggie at all, called Daas. It rivalled the better known Belgians for taste and maltiness.

I went on the enjoy the artichoke crostini with lemon aioli and the burrito (which I was warned was hot but I have a seasoned habanero-liking mouth and found it completely fine) all of which were delicious. However it was the puddings that were truly divine - if only being meat or dairy free meant they were guilt free too.

I opted for the white chocolate and pistachio cheesecake, and my dining companion Kathy went for crumble, which in the photo below looks more like a kind of cheesey soup but that was just the copious amounts of custard it was served with.

Now I don't actually like crumble although I know thousands do, I've been soul searching about why this is for some time now and I've come to the conclusion that I don't like anything I was ever made to cook at School and was then served reheated at dinnertime, having been carted round for the best part of the day in a warmed up school rucksack. This all stems from the first time I ever made food at my first playgroup aged about 3; we made marzipan balls and I promptly vomited them up on the way home. Now I have to pick it off cakes lest I be reminded of those sweet balls gently patted by sweaty chubby baby hands. But I digress, and I was reliably informed that the crumble was muy deliciosa.

The cheesecake was perfect - just the right texture and with a gently baked crust. The addition of pistachios added a delightful crunch, and the base was crunchy, sweet and not at all dry.

Next time you're in Soho and fancy a meat free dinner in a great, casual little restaurant then give Mildred's a try. They also own Mrs Marengho's - a nearby deli and takeaway of the kind that makes me wish my office was near civilisation.

Walking back to the tube station, as the evening was beginning to get dark, I also had the chance to complete one of my first 'assignments' from Tom Ang's Digital Photography Masterclass. Purchased at a bargain price of £5 to help improve my photography skills, the first task was 'capturing city lights' so the neon lights in Soho's 'sex alley' - the thoroughfare connecting Berwick and Brewer streets seemed like the perfect place to begin. Let me know what you think.

a birthday picnic

On bank holiday Monday it was my friend's, the lovely Kathy of 5678 vintage, birthday. So we celebrated with a picnic in her little garden in Hackney which she styled perfectly with rugs, bunting and polaroids. I made marshmallow cupcakes and a now-famous coconut meringue cloud cake as well as salads and we drank Pimms all day long before heading to the local for a swift pint to conclude the day - bliss!