Thanksgiving and Turkey

Happy Thanksgiving! Thanksgiving is not celebrated here in Europe although it would be great to be enjoying a four day holiday and a feast like this! This looks like a great simple guide to roasting a turkey.

Without the distraction of Thanksgiving, Europe seems to be already full on in Christmas mode even though there is still a month to go. I have family coming to visit us this year so will start planning our menu soon.  We are off to London in a few weeks time and I'll need to purchase some food things there as it's not always easy to buy what you want here in Switzerland.

One of these things is a turkey.  It's quite difficult to find whole turkeys here and when you do they can be very expensive.  Also, there will only be four adults at our Christmas dinner and I don't want to be stuck with turkey for days on end so I'm thinking of a roasting a turkey crown (just the breast part) this year which I definitely won't be able to find here! 

This turkey crown with lemon, parsley and thyme looks delicious.

And this crown looks like it will be tasty and fragrant with the pancetta and rosemary covering.

I'll write up about the sides I'm planning as well in future posts.  Including pigs in blankets ... Something I'd never heard of until I moved to England! Have a great weekend.  MP

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Travel Candles

Whenever I go away I always try to remember to pack a travel candle. They can add a touch of luxury to even the pokiest of Parisian hotel rooms and it is also nice to sit outside by candlelight when renting a summer villa.

Travel candles make a great gift. I used to love buying them from L'Artisan Parfumeur as they came in such beautiful packaging, but it looks like they are currently only doing one fragrance in the smaller size at the moment.

Tocca travel candles have lovely scents and come with a handy small box of matches.

I have added this Diptyque set of five 35g candles to my Christmas wish list this year. There is also a box of 10 votives available exclusively through Space.NK.

Less expensive options could include the natural soy candles by Pacifica.

If you are staying somewhere warm, it can be a good idea to look out for travel candles containing lemongrass or citronella oils as they are a natural mosquito repellent.

Many other companies make travel candles. The candles that L'Occitane or Muji make that come in tins with lids can be great for travelling as you don't have to worry about the glass votive breaking.

Do you ever pack candles when you are travelling? Do you have a favourite?

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Holiday Rental Essentials - Liquid Soap

In my household, liquid soap has to be one of the "can't live without" items and I love seeing one in a holiday rental.  In the dozens of places we have rented over the years, I can count on one hand the number that have provided a liquid soap. AD is always super organised and brings a small packaged soap to use but I know that 95% of you wouldn't do that! 

My favourite liquid soap is the Lavender Shea Butter liquid soap by L'Occitane. This is where AD and I met working many years ago and a great perk of the job was to try all the product.  Nearly 15 years later and having worked my way through many different brands of liquid soaps I still love the smell and texture of this one.

Another popular liquid soap brand is Compagnie de Provence which look great in any bathroom. I can never go past the fig.

On a trip to Provence last year I saw many different brands of Savon de Marseille. Hopefully we'll be able to find a great one to stock one day.  I am wondering if cost is the main reason why liquid soap is not often provided? I guess that's something we'll find out once we start letting our place (once we buy it!).  On my trip back to NZ last year I came across range of no nasties, no chemicals products made by a company called Eco Store. This Coconut and Vanilla handwash below looks like a great option to provide in a rental as it's available in a 5 litre bulk volume making refills more cost effective.  It's also made from seven naturally derived ingredients and contains wheatgerm oil to leave your hands feeling soft after washing.

Whilst we are talking about soaps ... I have come across these ProVenDi soaps in the lakeside public changing rooms dotted along Lake Geneva.  On further research I discovered that these classic French soap holders are popular in public toilets, schools and factories across France.  Doesn't sound very glamorous!  But they are so practical and it would be a great idea to have one of these mounted outside somewhere (perfect for post fishing) or in a laundry.

What do you think?  Is liquid soap a holiday rental essential?  MP

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Hello Kitty Planes

I travelled by bus for half an hour today across London to visit a friend. The novelty of being on the bus wore off for my toddler after about the first fifteen minutes.

It's times like that when I can't help thinking ahead to the 24+ hour journey that we have got coming up in February next year from London to New Zealand.

I think the flights could be so much more enjoyable (for her) if we were travelling on one of these Eva Air Hello Kitty Jets that had their maiden Taipei-LAX voyage back in September.

The Hello Kitty experience starts with their pastel website and runs all the way through to the check-in experience (boarding passes, fragile stickers etc) and then it is Hello Kitty overload on board the plane (seat cushions, meals, toilet paper, in-flight entertainment etc)!

The Taiwanese airline EVA Air is currently flying five different Kitty-themed planes to Japan, Hong Kong, South Korea, China, Guam and Los Angeles. A European schedule could be on the cards so we'll keep an eye out for that.

I think it could make someone quite happy!

You can check out some other airline and cartoon collaborations here on Conde Nast Traveler.

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Images: 1 & 2, 3

Traditional Bach

The ultimate goal for AD and I in a few years time is to buy a beach house. In New Zealand a beach house is called a bach, derived from the term bachelor pad. Traditionally they are unassuming, laid-back structures which fit into the natural surroundings.  A great example below:

I was recently looking through some baches and I came across this great example of a new build in Kapiti Island, near Wellington in New Zealand which manages to retain the charm of an authentic bach. 

A simple and practical kitchen and dining area which lead out onto a deck and lawn with an amazing view:

The bathroom opens directly to the outdoors enabling an easy post beach shower.

This is definitely a bach I could see myself spending a lot of time relaxing at! For more pictures click here. All images via dwell.com.  MP

Friday Baking - Chocolate Banana Loaf & Christmas Treats

I would love to bake more than I currently do but at the moment I just can't seem to find the time.  My eldest daughter loves to help out now though so maybe we will start seeing more home baked treats in this house ... hopefully!  Whenever we talk about baking my daughter always wants to make a banana cake.  I have used this recipe from The Primrose Bakery Book at least 6 times and it always turns out well.  It's so easy to make with around 10 minutes preparation time before baking for close to an hour.  It would be a lovely present to take around to someone's place for Christmas and how cute to be wrapped up like this?

Image via Ira Rodrigues

With Christmas fast approaching I hope to be baking some more goodies.  The two recipes I definitely want to try are Nigella's Rocky Road and Nigel Slater's truffles.

We'd love to hear what your favourite Christmas baking recipes are! MP

Soludos x We Are Handsome

There are some fashion collaborations that just make so much sense. While the one that hit the headlines last week was Isabel Marant for H&M, I am loving the look of this limited edition range of Soludos x We Are Handsome espadrilles.

As with all limited edition collaborations you have to get in quick if you want to buy them. Some other fun footware collaborations currently in stores are these below.

Nike x Liberty

Comme des Garcons Play x Converse

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Images: 1-3, 4, 5

Holiday Rental Essentials - Blankets and Pillows

When thinking about letting your holiday house to others it could be a good idea to think about what you might find in a typical hotel room and then try to replicate or improve on those ideas for your guests.

As a side note, have you come across OneFineStay before? It is a holiday rental site, where they ensure that you will get the fluffy towels, five star linens and complimentary toiletries that you would find in a nice hotel. Definitely worth checking out!

Hotels nearly always have spare blankets and pillows stored in the wardrobe. So, that is what we are recommending this week for our holiday rental essential items.

I would suggest that you provide one blanket and one extra pillow per bed. If the pillows that are on the beds are firm and thick, then maybe go for soft and thin ones for the spare pillows.

There seems to be no shortage of pillows to choose from at Blakes Hotel in London. The Corfu Suite pictured below was voted the winner of the Sexiest Bedroom category at the first ever [Mr & Mrs] Smith Hotel Awards held earlier this month.

On our recent trip to Ibiza the villa had those extra long pillows that you often find in Spain. They were really thick and really hard. Not very comfortable! I ended up using the small pillow they had placed in the baby cot.

And, as much as I love those warm balmy nights where you need nothing more than a cotton sheet - unfortunately there are also nights when you need to snuggle under a blanket.

Pretty self-explanatory this week so I'll leave it at that!

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Armchair Travel

It is becoming easier and easier to travel vicariously through the lives of others.

The key means of escape via 'armchair travel' might once have been to read a book or watch a television programme or a movie. It could be argued that these are in fact still the best ways in which to lose yourself in another place. But today I am having a quick look at some of the other ways in which you can discover far-flung destinations without taking a step outside your front door.

Much has been made in the past few months of so-called Instagram Envy. You can read more about that here or here if you haven't come across the term. I think I have a pretty good idea of what it is!

I love to look at the super-styled series of #followmeto photos that Murad Osmann has taken of his girlfriend as they have travelled around the world (the picture below is in Bali).

I have noticed that many bloggers, including the lovely Oh Joy now encourage their readers to follow along with their trips via Instagram and Twitter before they return from their holidays and write up a full trip report.

Joy was recently in Mexico and I have to say that Mexico is currently at the top of the (long) list of places that I want to visit. Three years ago it seemed that all the blogs that I was reading featured a trip to Palm Springs. Now - they all seem to feature Mexico.

Check out the Citizens of the World website to get more travel inspiration. The image below is one they took at Cenote Calvera in Tulum, Mexico.

Beer and Beans is another site with beautiful travel photography. Their picture below is also from Tulum, Mexico.

As for Pinterest, I could spend all day pinning images of places that I want to go to (not to mention meals that I want to eat, cocktails I want to drink and clothes I want to wear at all of these exotic locations).

We have got our own Bamboo and Blue Tumblr where we have been posting images of things that remind us of summer - including lots of great places to travel to.

Holiday rental site airbnb now features a wish list feature where you can collate your own list of properties and browse those made by others. Like Pinterest, this sort of activity can be likened to 'falling down the rabbit hole' and you will lose all sense of time!

Last week I read in the Guardian that Google Street View has now successfully mapped all of the canals and alleyways of Venice. Yet another fun way to discover different corners of the world while you are stuck at home!

Do you indulge in 'armchair travel'? If so, let us know what is your favourite way to discover new places?

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Images: 1, 2, 3

Bar Carts

Whenever I come across an antiques market on my travels I always look out for a bar cart. In the 3.5 years that I have been living here I have only found one that I liked in Provence that was close to 1000 euros.  Not quite the cheap bar cart I had in mind.  I am sure that a drinks trolley will be utilised very well at our future beach house but even a well stocked tray will make a nice addition to a room.

I love the gold bamboo detailing of this one below.  See the before picture here.

This one below is a great option and is available for sale here.  The cane detailing on the top would work perfectly in a beach house.

A more practical option (and only £50!) is to use the versatile Ikea Raskog kitchen trolley and it's the perfect summer colour.

Failing a bar cart, a simple tray is a must have and great option!

Images: 1, 2, 3

Mulled Wine and Sangria

The dark and cold weather we are currently experiencing in London always makes me feel like a nice cup of mulled wine (or glühwein as it is called in Germany).

I haven't yet perfected a recipe for mulled wine as I usually only make it when we have Christmas parties. I stick a large pot of it on the stove, greet guests, then get back to see it has mostly evaporated!

You can make mulled wine as easy or as complicated as you like. Supermarkets here in the UK sell ready mixed bottles of mulled wine - you simply heat them up. They also sell small muslin bags of mixed spices that you can add to your own red wine. Or you can make your own mix.

This year I am going to use this recipe from Flourishing Foodie (pictured below). I like the sound of the addition of unsweetened apple cider and the mix of different citrus fruits.

To me, Sangria is like a summer version of mulled wine.This year we had a delicious Cava Sangria at Yemanja in Ibiza. It was made at the table, with an entire bottle of Cava poured into the fruit mix. It was really tasty and refreshing - ideal for a lazy weekend brunch. When the weather warms up I will definitely be trying to recreate that drink.

As I said above, I usually only make mulled wine if we are having a Christmas party. It seems to taste best when you come across a stand selling some when you are out on a freezing, snowy December night. We aren't actually planning on having a party this year, but MP and her family are coming to stay just before Christmas, so I will make the mulled wine along with a glazed ham when they visit.

For now, this Winter Sangria by Simple Bites (pictured below) could be a nice recipe to try.

Cheers! Have a great weekend!

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J Crew London Opening

The iconic American retailer J Crew opened it's first London shop last week on Regent Street.  When looking through images of the opening I was expecting to see lots of beautiful clothes.  Instead I was captivated by the metallic robots!  They were designed by a seriously talented Brooklyn based design duo called Confetti System who also dressed the windows for the big occasion.

Back to the clothes ... after having a good look through their website it was hard to choose any stand out pieces as I could quite happily wear everything they have!  I have been looking for a sweatshirt recently so I would definitely want this to bling up my day:

In an recent interview, Jenna Lyons the Creative Director said that the perfect Christmas present was a pair of cashmere socks as no one ever buys them for themselves.  So true! Happy shoppping!  MP

Images: 1 & 2, 3, 4

Holiday Rental Essentials - Coffee Makers

I wouldn't say that I can't function without coffee in the morning, but I definitely wake up and look forward to a cup. In fact, I sometimes look forward to my morning cup of coffee when I am going to bed the night before...

Everyone has their own preferred method of making coffee, so for this week's post of holiday rental essentials I am just going to suggest that a place should provide some means of making coffee (and instructions if necessary).

Out of interest - what method do you prefer? I have a Nespresso machine at home so I usually use that. However, I normally take a cafetiere (aka French press or plunger) when I go to a holiday rental as we have been caught out too many times with nothing.

The Paris-based American pastry chef / food writer David Lebovitz wrote an interesting post on his blog about things he takes when he is a guest at someone's place. It was fascinating to read all of the reader's comments that followed his lengthy list of 'essentials'. David likes to take a moka pot to make coffee. Many of his readers said they also took those, or other methods of making coffee.

We might look at all of the items that people wrote about in that post another day. One reader said they go as far as to take a can of WD-40 so they can fix any squeaky doors!

As MP wrote in her post last week - it could be nice for a holiday rental to include a packet of coffee in a welcome pack as well as a list of local cafes.

Next summer - wherever we end up going - I think I might try the cold brew method of making iced coffee. It sounds easy and delicious. I've bookmarked this recipe from Kitchen Treaty.

Let us know your thoughts. Are you happy with instant coffee? Perhaps you prefer tea? Or do you think holiday rentals should provide a particular piece of coffee-making apparatus?

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Milan Travel Guide - Navigli District

The Navigli district in Milan is the perfect place to sample the amazing Milanese aperitivo scene and is a great destination to spend the evening. The word Naviglio means canal and in Navigli the canal is surrounded by bars, restaurants, art galleries and design shops which makes a very fun and picturesque setting.

Milan's happiest hour runs from around 6 - 9pm and although the cost of your drink maybe slightly inflated (we paid 10 euros for a cocktail) you can help yourself to a complimentary buffet spread. We randomly chose a bar along the canal called Straripa and it was great! AD recently wrote a post on whether there is too much planning done these days and I must admit I like to know that the place I'm going to has good reviews but at the same time it's a nice feeling when you can just stumble upon somewhere that's equally as good as somewhere you've spent a lot of time researching. The bar we chose had lots of people sitting outside (always a good sign) and the set up looked like fun with a dj standing in the car and surrounded by heaped platters of gorgeous Italian food.  (Images below via Trip Advisor)

The buffet was impressive.  There were platters of vegetables like grilled courgettes and aubergines, an assortment of salads and more platters of salami and ham.  There was also a hot buffet which had roast potatoes, lasagne, pasta, chicken nibbles.  At one of the other bars we walked past their buffet even included a chocolate fountain!

We had such a nice time enjoying our drinks and sampling the food and the girls loved it as well.  They didn't need dinner after that!  I started wondering whether this was something you could put in place at UK bars?  Thoughts?

After we left the bar we wandered up the canal to a restaurant called Pizzeria Tradizionale recommended by my husband's colleague who is based in Milan. The restaurant was just what we needed ... casual and good with kids!  The girls managed to break a bowl as they were fighting over the fried croquettes in them but the waiters were very friendly and didn't make us feel bad.  Even though I was quite full from all the aperitivo snacks I managed to polish off a lovely plate of freshly grilled sea bass.  As we left the restaurant around 8:30pm all the bars and restaurants were full with people spilling out on the pavements surrounding the canal happily enjoying their drinks and snacks. Definitely a place to visit when you are in Milan!  MP

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Choosing Colours

Do you ever buy something that you think is perfect, and then see it a few weeks, months or even years later in another colour and immediately prefer the new colour? 

As much as I love the minimalist 'shades of white' look seen in many Scandinavian homes, and the look that many modern homes in New Zealand have of concrete and wood in shades of grey and black - I am definitely a colour person. 

I tend to buy things that I like without much thought as to whether they will go with anything else in my house. I often buy them because I like the colour. Then I later discover them in an even better colour. For example, I'm loving this new salmon pink colour that the Alvar Aalto Vase by Iittala comes in. But, I already have a blue one.

As for Le Creuset, I have to stop myself from buying a new dish or pan each time they bring out a new colour! This latest Marseille blue, said to be inspired by the "majestic coastline, beautiful sea and effortless style of Southern France and the Côte d’Azur" would be ideal for a beach house.

I think when we buy our bach it might be nice to stick to a white and blue colour scheme. You can follow some of our future bach style inspiration on our Bamboo and Blue Pinterest board - where we are pinning images featuring bamboo and blue.

What are your thoughts on colour? Do you have a palette that you strictly adhere to? Or do you change with the seasons and thereby end up with a whole rainbow of colours in your house?

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