Goodbye London... the beautiful Big Smoke.

Eight weeks ago I quit my job as a gossip columnist on a whim to find a new, rural life away from glitz, glamour and endless champagne knees-ups. 

There’s only so many times a girl can fly to the Oscars, the Cannes Film festival and attend glossy red carpet events without getting a bit bored of it all. I know, I know, I hate myself a little bit too. But that’s the truth.

So we (my husband and I) handed in the notice on our lovely north London flat, chucked our worldly possessions into boxes, dropped them off a self-storage unit and moved into a caravan in Hertfordshire. Stick with me…

We weren’t planning to completely check out of society - to shirk council tax, a TV license, gas, water and electricity bills and, er, reality. But we were a tad confused with what we wanted in life.

As the Dalai Lama believed: “The very purpose of our life is to seek happiness.”

Without wanting to get all philosophical we were a bit lost and weren’t sure what direction our lives were moving in. We seemed to be stuck on that flipping Spaghetti Junction in Birmingham. You know the road, the one off the M6 which gets millions of drivers frustrated and puzzled every day. It leads everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Well, that pretty much sums up our lives a few weeks ago. Baffled.

After a hectic and decadent six years in London, the thought of chilling out, kicking back with nature and seeing where the wind takes us was, to put it mildly, bloody exciting.

Anyone who lives in London knows all about the rental market burn. And the frustration of handing over nearly £1500 every month. Such a payday buzz kill.

We, like many Londoners, got caught up living a life of excess. We’d eat out most nights, in local pubs, quirky bars, restaurants in town. There’s no such thing as a ‘school night’ in the Big Smoke. Every night has the potential to accidentally turn into full-blown, drunken Saturday night stupidity.

A new restaurant would pop up and we’d “just have” to try it out. After all, London has it all, and in turn you feel compelled to try it all. As quickly as possible, before something new and even more intriguing comes along.

With this level of excess deeply denting our pockets and bank balance, we decided to spend a few months, or longer (eeeek) in a caravan. With a plan to seriously try and save some cash. And hopefully, one way or another,  try and figure out what the hell we want to do with our lives.

Moving House

I am in the middle of packing hell.
Totally forgot how stressful and relentless moving house was.

I'm on Day 6 of packing and feel completely overwhelmed by how much stuff I still have to either throw away, give to charity or find a box to pack it in. I tried to sell some stuff on Ebay, which was a total disaster. Ended up selling something that was about £65 for £2.20, as I didn't put a reserve price on. I'm a novice on Ebay and definitely won't be doing that again!

I will be back blogging as of Monday 28th October. In my new abode. Hopefully.

If not, I suppose I'll be carrying it around on the roof of my car, like these dudes.

Chocolate heaven - with Cadburys and Lily Vanilli

Mention the name Lily Vanilli to any foodies or East London hipsters and they’ll gush about her decadent, abstract and beautifully designed cakes.

The 29-year-old artisan baker owns a quirky cake shop just off London's infamous Columbia Road – after just five minutes in her kitsch space I felt like I'd walked into a cafe in uber-cool Williamsburg, New York.

Lily bakes for the likes of Elton John, Stella McCartney and the mistress of baking herself Nigella Lawson.
She’s a cool customer and has a great personality and style to boot.

A selection of Lily's cakes

I was invited to the Lily Vanilli bakery by Cadburys - who asked Lily to use her creative skills to make them a show-stopping dessert. After all, that’s what she does best.

Using vanilla floured Crispellos Lily created a chocolate tower masterpiece. Which, is not only a visual wow but is sure to taste amazing. Everyone loves the good ol' profiterole stack, or a croque-en-bouche for the more cultured amongst us, so Lily decided to re-create that.

Despite looking grand and extravagant the Crispellos Tower is actually really easy to make. So, if you fancy showing off in front of dinner guests in the run-up to Christmas this is desert to do it.

Lily explained to me: “It looks so impressive and tastes amazing, so it works on both levels. There’s no point in having a cake that looks sensational but tastes bland.

“A traditional French croque-en-bouche is made by stacking profiteroles in a cone-shaped mould and setting them in place with caramel.

“The Crispellos tower saves you having to faff around with hot caramel, which can burn your fingers.”

Lily and her chocolate masterpiece

Ingredients:

- Bags of Cadbury Crispelloa - the taller you want your masterpiece the more bags you’ll need
- 250g of milk or dark chocolate (depending on your taste preferences)
- Eye catching decorations – real fruit like raspberries, blueberries, cherries look great or edible decorations such as flowers, glitter and gold leaves. Use your imagination the wilder the better.

Method:

1. The first step is to melt the milk/ dark chocolate, this will be your glue to stick the Crispello’s together as you stack them on top of each other
2. The easiest way to do this is to break the chocolate into small chucks, put in a glass or metal dish and melt over a pan of boiling water.

3. Then you simply dip the base of each Crispello into the melted chocolate and stick on top of another piece to form a pyramid.

Lily melting her chocolate ready to start crafting her tower

4. Probably the easiest way is to start with a large square base, of say, 20-30 Crispellos and then add smaller and smaller layers until you reach a peak at the top.

5. Finally, when you are happy with your tower, it’s the fun part. Get experimental and creative adding lots of decorations.
6. Simply dip the bottom of each decoration into the melted chocolate and stick to the pyramid. Easy.

I’d be pretty impressed if someone made this party piece for me at a dinner soirée… beats soggy trifle any day.

A smaller version decorated with edible flowers and wafers

To make your own Cadbury Crispello Tower visit www.facebook.com/cadburyuk for the recipe and tips.

Good luck and shhhh... no-one needs to know how easy this amazing looking croque-en-bouche really is.

The Sunday hangover remedy

Like most people Sunday usually means the same thing:

a.) A big breakfast - always involving eggs

b.) The Sunday papers

c.) Roast dinner or something involving a chunk of meat

After buying an armful of Sunday papers, I make a pot of  tea (earl grey or if I have a chronic hangover PG) and spend the morning milling over the news.

Which usually turns into me gazing lovingly (and longingly) at the lifestyle supplement sections. I love the home and interior sections, also daydreaming over the recipes and travel pullouts.

Since doing a juice cleanse a few weeks ago (yep, I'm still banging out about that!), which I enjoyed and really benefited from, my Sundays now include juices.

And if you had a big Saturday night out, this is a perfect, painless and easy way to inject some goodness into your Sambucca and wine frazzled stomach.

The Sunday Sanctuary juice is delicate, green and frothy - packed with vitamin C, calcium, magnesium and folic acid. Perfect for soothing a boozy head and stomach.
The lime and mint adds a refreshing but sharp taste - good for a morning wake-up call.

The Sunday Sanctuary

 Ingredients:
1 apple
2 pears
1/2 lime (not peeled)
3 springs of mint
1 parsnip (not peeled)

This juice is so simple to make.
Just chuck all the ingredients into your juicer, exactly as they are.
No need to bother peeling or chopping into pieces.
To make sure you get the most out of the lime and mint - sandwich them between the
apple or pears as you fill your juicer.

Not sure why I poured mine into a chunky wine glass?
Must have still have Saturday night booze on the brain.
Anyway, just pour over some ice and drink while the froth's still soft on the top.
 

make-up free and hair unbrushed. Not a good morning look.

New bar - Trader Vics in the Hilton, Park Lane

Since quitting my job as a gossip girl, I can now go to parties and relax. Which, I can't lie, is bloody fantastic and very novel.
Tonight was the VIP re-launch of Polynesian themed bar Trader Vics in Mayfair. In the basement of the Hilton Hotel on Park Lane to be exact (originally opened in 1963).

We were all given Hawaiian flower garlands on the way in and Tiki cocktails were being handed out, made by bartenders in Hawaiian shirts.

The bar/ restaurant was ram-packed, with a sprinkling of celebs too - from Made In Chelsea, X Factor (Katie Waissel), TOWIE (Lydia Bright) and The Voice. However, I didn't have to worry about work, so just relaxed, had a good gossip with my friend Sam and tried a few cocktails. Perfect.




The cocktail list was impressive and each drink was served in different holders. Either a tall vase, coconut shell or quirky mug (see above).

COCKTAIL LIST:

Mai Tai - Trader Vics own world renowned creation (we tried it, it was amazing)

London Sour - Scotch Whisky, fresh orange, lemon and a whisper of almonds.

Gun Club Punch - Duck hunter special. A mixture of rum and fruit juices (potent, but very nice)

Samoan Fog Cutter - A legend says that this drink helped Samoan fisherman see through the fog

Bahua -  Snowy concotion of rums, coconut and pineapple

Honi Honi - Bourbon with the spice of the island (my favourite of the night)

Queen Charlotte Fruit Punch - A luscious combination of fruit juices

Wedding day tips...by Marvin Humes

Is it just me or do celebrities do everything these days? Years ago a rock 'n' roll star would go hell for leather at the age of 18, perfect their craft until late 40s, then retire and spend the rest of their days boozing and acting like a randy, bored teenage.
Nowadays to be a celebrity means you have to do everything - sing, dance, act, present a TV show, host a radio show, pen a novel, design a clothing range, create a perfume, release a cook book, star in a reality TV show... etc.

JLS star Marvin Humes is no longer just a boy band member, his CV expands everyday. He's now a pop star, dancer, model, TV presenter, radio presenter and club DJ.  He can even add a wedding planner string to his already over-clustered bow.

Despite doing a exclusive cover shoot and interview with Hello! magazine last year when he married Rochelle Wiseman (see it here), Marvin was happy to talk to me about his showbiz wedding and how he helped plan it.

So lads, if you're getting married or thinking about proposing, this could come in useful.
Marv explains how to deliver the perfect speech, what to plan, how to pick your groomsmen and dress them. But more importantly the secrets behind a happy marriage.

I wrote this feature for the October issue of Wedding Ideas magazine.

It's out in the shops to buy now.

Or you can check out the website here



Radio guest on BBC London

I'm always up for a chin wag on the radio.
So was more than happy to clamber out of my snug, warm bed at 7.30am on a Sunday to head to BBC London.

I was invited by Fiona Phillips to go on her brand new Sunday morning radio show to discuss the weekend's TV.

This included Strictly Come Dancing (how amazing was Abbey Clancy), the new X Factor boot camp twist (the horrible six chair line up, harsh!) and new sexy, gangster drama Peaky Blinders.
All squashed together with some general girlie-gossip.

To listen to our chat click below:


PS. If you haven't got round to checking out new BBC 2 show Peaky Blinders (Thursday 9pm), you are seriously missing out. It's fantastic. As I explain to Fiona. I'm a big fan!