Reading

...reading verse can be like eating chocolate, so much more pleasureable when you allow it to slowly melt inside you, so much less rewarding when you snap off big chunks and bolt them whole, all but untasted.

-The Ode Less Travelled by Stephen Fry

Walking on Sunshine

Last weekend, the Pumpkin and I ventured on unknown territory: we went shopping for outdoor sportswear. As you all know by now, I'm not adventurous nor am I an outdoors-y person. Don't get me wrong, I love brisk walks through nature just as long as they are followed by coffee, cakes and cute villages; hence our holiday to the pitoresque yet rugged lake district.

Stemming from a long line of fervent citytrippers, I've been brought up to believe that culture and shopping are the bare necessities of any holiday. Vacation is a time to spoil and enjoy yourself and not time to get back to basics which is also why I've never set foot in a tent. My family simply doesn't do nature so our trip to the Lake District is causing quite a commotion.

Seeing as neither of us have any outdoor gear we went in search of the perfect pair of walking shoes. I arrived at A.S. Adventure in my weekend stilettos and immediately saw that I was out of my league as I was surrounded by an army of big, brown and above all brutish shoes. Despite my reservations, I found a pair of shoes that fit perfectly and have pretty pink laces. I know, I know but I couldn't resist. I even got a matching pink fleece. They'll probably see this city girl coming a mile away, which might come in handy if I fall off a cliff.


On Sunday we decided to try out our shoes and went for a 15km walk. The roads in the lake district can be pretty steep, wet and rugged so we couldn't actually test all their capabilities, only check if they were comfy which they were. It was like wearing warm and fluffy slippers, too bad they made me look a tad butch or I'd be converted. The Pumpkin will confirm this, outdoor sportswear and I don't mesh well. And neither do long and unprepared walks because I was moving like a 90-year-old woman by the time we got back.

We've got our shoes and rucksacks now, so all that's left are the rain and windresistant outfits seeing as the weather over there will be 17°c and cloudy at best. I can hardly wait!

Raspberry Friands

I haven’t baked for weeks, mainly because I’m not allowed to eat any baked goods seeing as they’re high in cholesterol. It’s really hard to resist conjuring up pastries and cakes if you’re not supposed to use eggs or butter. I started using soy margarine now which should remove the dreaded artery clogging substance from my veins so I have to eat some “butter” but eggs or the yolks at least, are definitely banned.

Now that the picnic season is upon us, I’ve been lured into the kitchen once again to create some tasty bit sized summery snacks that will do my adorable polka dotted picnic blanket justice. I personally love a picnic, it’s the only kind of al fresco dining people without a garden can enjoy.

Anyway, I stumbled upon this Australian delight this week: blueberry friands, small cake like tarts with a little butter (which I naturally substituted with the soy equivalent) and no egg yolks! They were all out of blueberries at the market so I made a raspberry version. Feast your eyes on these babies:

• 50g soy butter, melted and cooled
• 100g icing sugar
• 25g flour
• 85g ground almonds
• 3 egg whites
• 80g blueberries or raspberries

1. Preheat the oven to 180C. Pop some cake cases into a cake tin.
2. Sift the flour and icing sugar into a bowl, and add the ground almonds.
3. Whisk the egg whites until foamy.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and tip in the egg whites. Add the butter and gently stir to make a soft, smooth batter.
5. Fill each cake case about three-quarters full. Top each with a few berries and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and springy.
6. Leave to cool on a cooling rack and dust with icing sugar.

Martians discover a book

No matter how many times I see this video, it cracks me up every time .

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

When I had my wisdom teeth pulled three years ago, I was forced to stay at home for several days because I resembled a chipmunk who had OD’ed on blueberries. Luckily my friends lavished me with loads of box sets of, in their opinion, must see television shows. Yes, I am a child of the digital age and therefore watch too much TV.

Out of all of those shows, one stuck with me: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Seeing as the pumpkin also read Bossypants (how cute is that?), we started talking about live sketch shows and I remembered that Studio 60 is a lot like 30 Rock, minus the overall silliness.

Written by the talented Aaron Sorkin, who was also responsible for The West Wing, Studio 60 proves that TV can also be an art form and yes, you can quote me on that. Not many shows have such clever plotlines, snappy dialogues or realistic yet quirky characters brought to us by a phenomenal cast. Yes, my friends Studio 60 is amazing. It's a biting satire of television and an insightful behind the scenes look at what it's like to create a weekly SNL-like show but more importantly it's funny, heartfelt and dares to go the distance by tackling controversial topics with style and flair.

Aaron Sorkin is the heart and soul behind the series and in my opinion on of the best screenwriters in Hollywood. The way he is able to mix politics, cutting edge topics and genuine emotion baffles me. No matter what subject matter people throw at him, he delivers and rightfully deserved that academy award for best screenplay this year. It's still beyond me why they cancelled this show after only one glorious series.

Now the point I was getting at, was that I bought the complete Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip collection for the ridiculous price of 7,50€! Who knew topnotch entertainment came so cheap?

An Object of Beauty

The latest novel by actor / comedian Steve Martin is something very peculiar. I hadn't read any of his books before but I wanted to find out if, like so many actors turned author, he could actually deliver (as opposed to Ethan Hawke for example). An Object of Beauty is a without a doubt a very beautiful book, literally, if you get the hardback version at least, which is filled with lovely reproductions of the paintings that are mentioned in the story. The paperback version is pretty basic.

An Object of Beauty follow Lacy Yeager's career over the past 20 years as she takes the New York art scene by storm. There isn't a lot of plot or character development to tell you the truth, none actually but what makes this book interesting is Martin's depiction of the contemporary art world. It's fascinating to see how this world has evolved over the past two decades, how the economic crisis affected the art scene, how auction houses work, the value of beauty, the importance of modern American art,... if I'm boring you already than this book is not for you. If you're not interested in art, don't go there because that's all this novel has to offer.

Lacy Yeager seriously got on my nerves to be honest, because she's not particularly likable nor is she despicable, she's somewhere in that dangerous grey area where you just don't care. Instead of creating an actual human being, Martin has created a reflection of the zeitgeist which works well in this satire just try not to take anything seriously.

I expected more from Martin, a lot more. He is a good writer and was able to give a clear picture of something he truly cares about. As a non-fiction book, it would probably have been a lot better because the characters are flat and the story consists of Daniel Franks, a guy Lacy met at college who secretly loves her, telling us what happened to the object of his affection over the past years, so as a novel it doesn't really work. I am however intrigued by Martin. He's shown a lot of potential as an author and as an art connoisseur, it's just hard mixing both.

Thursday's trailer