hertford house

Tucked away behind Oxford Street is a real gem of an art gallery. Hertford House was the London home of the Duke of Manchester before becoming home to the Marquess of Hertford (I don't understand these things either..). The Marquess was a real art collector and made his home the perfect store for his wide and varied collections. On Saturday, we popped over for an explore and were taken away by the beauty of the interiors, not to mention the killer old masters collection. 

We couldn't stop gasping when stepping into each room; the beautiful flocked wall fabrics, dripping chandeliers and French, walnut furniture. It's really incredible seeing interiors like this and so close to the hideous swarm of Oxford Street. 

Interiors aside, the art on display is astonishing; enough Reynolds' and Gainsboroughs to open its own gallery plus Canelettos, Titians and Rubens. Amazing! We were also surprised to find a small opera group rehearsing for a recital that evening, which was really wonderful. There was something very surreal walking amongst the incredible artwork with the velvety sounds of opera echoing throughout the rooms. 

Hertford House also holds an amazing collection of armour, which I was originally not interested in but it was SO COOL! Do you know how heavy chain-mail is?! I can tell you now, it's crazy heavy! This is definitely a place to come if you have small visitors in town, or even just to release the inner child in you. 

After, we popped to The Wigmore, a new luxe pub next door to The Langham Hotel. I'm biased about it (my company designed it), but for good reason. Naturally, the interiors are second to none, but the drinks are also delicious and very reasonable. We stopped off for a gin punch and some Bloody Mary Chips. I recommend both! I've also been told the pie and cheese toastie is a must so we will be back for more. Week nights it's incredibly busy but during the day on the weekend it's perfect and quiet. Grab a velvet armchair and settle in for the afternoon.

Meet you at the bar - or Hertford House!





L. 

bookworm

I have always been a reader - not the type who would stay up all night under the covers or queue outside Waterstones all night long- but I have always read. I am not ashamed to admit, though my friends are horrified this is true, that I have never been a Harry Potter fan nor Tolkien either. Friends gasp in horror when I admit this little fact and they reel back and ask, "well, WHAT did you read then?!". My childhood was not filled with wizards, hobbits and dragons; it was filled with animals, accidental princesses and village gossip. I whiled hours away reading Dick King Smith (I truly believed I was Sophie for about two years) before graduating onto the likes of The Princess Diaries and then finally nabbing mum's trashy village gossip novels once she was done with them. I loved them all. 

Now, at the age of 25 I am a member of not one, but two bookclubs. Yes, it's a slight strain and feels like I have homework every night (which I haven't done tonight, gawddd) but it has revived my love of reading once more. Since I no longer have a train commute to work (I walk), I fill my time with podcasts and though I love this, I do miss reading. Hence the bookclubs - they are forcing me to read and read books I wouldn't normally think of picking up. So, drum roll please, I have a catalogue of books to recommend, just in time for whiling away these wintry evenings. 

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
The Circle by Dave Eggers
All The Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doer
Stay With Me by Ayobami Adebayo
A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle
And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Attwood
Little Women by Louise May Alcott (for old time's sake)

I am in the middle of The Secret History by Donna Tartt and I'm loving it. It's not new (I think it was written in the early 90s) but I had never heard of it before. I'll let you know if I can finish all 700 pages before Bookclub #2 at the end of the month! 

Yes, that is my colour-coordinated bookcase... 

Happy reading!





L.  

grown up banana bread

There are a few food and drink items that one matures to with age – coffee, olives, red wine – and banana bread has been one of those for me also. An odd one perhaps as most of my pals have been munching on that soggy bread since they were babies, but not me. I pin this down to two reasons; the smell of over-ripe bananas makes me gag and the mushy, wet consistency of a traditional bread leaves very little to be desired. However, I think I have found the perfect recipe which makes a light, fluffy bread still with a deep banana taste.

As with all banana breads you need to use brown bananas. I like to eat my bananas when they are firm…*ahem*… but when I have forgotten about a hidden away banana and it goes brown I now leap at the chance to make my banana bread.  

You will need:

2 brown bananas

140g caster sugar

140g softened butter

140g self-raising flour

1tsp baking powder

2 eggs

(Mug of tea optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 180* and line a loaf tin with baking parchment. Cream together the sugar and butter until pale in color and light in texture. Add the eggs, one at a time and then combine the mashed bananas. Fold in the flour and baking powder mixture with a wooden spoon and pour into your loaf tin.

Pop on the middle shelf for 30 minutes. This may vary in time depending on your oven so check the mixture after 30 minutes and bake for an extra 5 if still wobbly to touch. 

Whether eaten for breakfast with Greek yoghurt or eaten as an afternoon treat, this banana bread with satisfy your needs and won't leave a soggy taste in your mouth! Next time I'm going to add some chopped walnuts to give it a bit more crunch - why not try blueberries too? 

Bon appetit!




L.