2012 magically transformed into 2013

Welcome to 2013 and i've invited all of my favorite things so far....

LIFE OF PI

A young man who survives a disaster at sea is hurtled into an epic journey of adventure and discovery. While cast away, he forms an unexpected connection with another survivor ... a fearsome Bengal tiger.

This is a beautiful film of survival, hope and the cinematography is AMAZING.

HAIM

This indie folk trio are my favourite sound taking my into the new year. Also they're sisters from California and they remind me of British seaside and the 90's.

MR IPHONE 5

I have never been one to follow to crowds on technology but being a lover of instagram, floral phone cases and solitaire the new iPhone won me over. I have no idea how I got by before. I think its lovely slim tall design suits any hand/manbag and white phones are wicked!

EAT MORE FRUIT

If i am bad at something, it's eating fruit. it's my official new years resolution is it eat more!

My new instagram site....

Followgram!

Happy late New Year!

It's 2013

Oh my I have just spent 7 weeks running a lovely pop up basil cafe alongside an ice skating rink in tunbridge wells and haven't had a second to myself or my laptop. My 2013 treats will be with you THURSDAY!

Love h&h x

LONDON Fashion Weekend - Review & Snaps

I spent the day at London Fashion Weekend yesterday and it was immense!

After going last February in the evening I opted for a daytime ticket this time to catch all things Autumn/Winter in the light.

 Somerset House was jam packed with fashionable attire starting with the south wing full of heritage brands such as Pringle of Scotland and Aubin & Wills, the west wing had the more premium brands such as House of Holland and Ducie and the east wing was full of upmarket brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, Robert Cavalli and many more.

The Showspace was full of sparkling jewellery, hair and beauty treats and the Vodafone lounge was in the back.

With all of that there were also lots of pop up shops in the first floor such a Levi's Curve ID store & bar!

Vodafone Lounge talk - Twitter with special guests:

Henry Holland - Designer

Carrie Tyler - Editor elleuk.com

Rosanna Falconer - Digital Marketing Executive, British Fashion Council

Rachel Bremer - European Communications Manager, Twitter

I stumbled in to the Vodafone lounge at just the right time. An intimate talk with Henry, Carrie, Rosanna & Rachel had begun expressing their personal views and advise about starting up twitter as a business and how to maintain it. Being a big Henry Holland fan I was really happy to catch this especially as he added his own witty comments to the talk and it was full of helpful hints.

The Catwalk

The three key trends showcased for this coming season were Kitchen Chic sixties bright prints, silhouettes, layering with eye popping knits to keep you warm in the up and coming winter chills, Sergeant Indigo with masculine shapes, military and lots of over sizing coats, parkas, trousers and shirts with Indigo this winters favourite colour and Lady Brocade with it gorgeous embroideries, metallic quilting you can't help but notice with this trend is full of sequins and velvet. My favourite show was the Sergeant Indigo, I loved the boyish clothes with pretty hair, messy buns and braids. I think this look can be powerful and sexy all in one.

It's dark but beautiful.

My Mini Gallery

My sexy House of Holland purchase.

I had a great day at Somerset House, my highlight had to be seeing the talk in the Vodafone Lounge, these talks with different special guests will be held each day so if you're heading down make sure you don't miss it!

http://www.londonfashionweekend.co.uk/

The Hot Salad. The Fashionable Food of Autumn/Winter 2012

Autumn/Winters favourite dish is THE HOT SALAD. The salad is an amazing creation because you can basically throw loads of your favourite foods into a bowl with a selection of leaves and raw vegetables and its super healthy. With the return of frosty mornings and jumper wearing evenings it can be easier to just go for a stew or pasta dish to warm you up but this year I want to introduce you to the wonderful world of hot salads and this doesn't mean toss you leaves in a pan because they will probably wither and die. This could mean roasting your peppers or butternut squash with chilli flakes, baked peaches and steamed kale. Below I have comprised a selection of super easy delicious hot salad recipes for you to try this season. If you a great lover of fruit and veg and wanting to be healthy this is for you. <3

Warm Aubergine Salad

Bake 2 aubergines with olive oil, galic, salt & pepper for 30 minutes.

Sprinkle fresh coriander & parsley and toss into a bowl of oven roasted tomatoes seasoned with paprika.

Add a bag of mix leaves & a squirt of olive oil and enjoy with a slice of ciabatta!

Kale & Pommie Salad

Steam a bag of kale for 8-10 minutes on a high heat.

Roast flaked almond nuts in the oven for a few minutes.

Cut your pomegranate a remove all you flesh and seeds into a bowl.

Add your kale once steamed and you toasted almond nuts with a drizzle of golden syrup & eat !

Fire Roasted Pepper & Mushroom (via vegan dad)

1. Roast peppers on the BBQ over med-hi heat for 12-15 mins, turning regularly, until skin is blistered and wrinkled. Place in a large bowl, cover with a plate, and steam for 10 mins.

2. While peppers are roasting, toss whole mushrooms in a bit of olive oil and place cap side down on the grill. Roast for about 10 mins, until mushrooms release most of their water.

3. Skin and seed peppers when they have cooled enough to touch. Dab off excess water and cut into chunks. Thickly slice mushrooms. Place peppers and mushrooms in a bowl, drizzle with a little olive oil, add lemon juice, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

4. Place in serving bowl and top with fresh thyme. Serve.

Roasted Butternut Squash Salad

Roasted a butternut squash with chili flakes, garlic, salt & pepper for around 30-40 minutes (for best result cut into strips).

Once roasted add to a large bowl with 100gm of spinach, add a little extra chili flakes and a sprinkle of seed mix. Delicious on a very chilly day!

Please share any HOT SALAD recipes you have & let me know how these go down.

(Ingredients and portion control is in your hands.)

X

Local & Live Festival 2012 - Review

Local & Live Festival has reached 7 years of live music in Tunbridge Wells and it has certainly grown into something wonderful.

Around 100 local artists are selected from a massive 300 to play this great free festival held in the Pantiles every year. Tunbridge Wells is full of talented musicians so at the bank holiday weekend you can catch all kinds of delights.

This year I also decided to volunteer at Local & Live so I collected money in buckets, sold badges & stickers and did lots of cleaning up after dark.

MY HIGHS

FRIDAY sadly I didn't see any of the acts as I spent the evening at Burlesque Fever at the forum.

http://www.twforum.co.uk/

SATURDAY I saw Matt Pound & Lieutenant Leek at the Acoustic stage which was a brilliant set of happy folky songs and some amazing guitar.

Tom Williams and the Boat which I have seen many times (Glastonbury, Secret Garden Party, The Forum) played to their usual energetic standard you can't help to dance to.

The Standard Lamps who I haven'e seen before played a variety of bluesy songs with a feel good vibe.

SUNDAY I loved the first act I saw Worry Dolls, two girls who can both sing beautifully and play various stringed instruments made me think of a mini warpaint.

The Varlies also played a great acoustic set set of feel good songs with a little appearance from one of their wives.

The Charlie Rivers Band were great to watch with a lovely alternative rock sound.

Intraverse who I have listened to since a young teenager never fail to impress with Max Pepe's amazing hair.

MONDAY I saw Quentin Holway at the Acoustic stage play a great cover of paint in black, Quentin has great stage presence and a great big crowd.

Billy Jupp is a wonderful character playing music from his up and coming album 'Chewing Soup' his style is very unique and worth a listen.

Goldie Reed a 25 year old girl with a beautiful voice, I was very much in ore of her dress sense too.

AFTER PARTY

I was lucky enough to go to an after party on Sunday evening in The Grey Lady exclusively for Musicians and workers. This was great late night fun with various artists from the festival on stage playing covers of everything from 'Stacey's Mum' to '(I can't get no) Satisfaction' I danced all night long.

Local & Live is a great festival to spend the summer bank holiday enjoying.

 In the Pantiles it feels very European and you can drink, eat and be merry in the great selection of independent cafes, pubs and restaurants.

SEE YOU NEXT YEAR. X

http://www.localandlive.org/

Charleston - An artists home and garden

This beautiful house situated just outside Lewis (near Brighton) is a wonderful place in the country where writers, painters and intellectuals known as the Bloomsbury group met throughout the 1900's-1980's to do what they did best. I visited this house yesterday and was blown away at it's loveliness. Gardens with colorful flowers, a large pond and the house it's self is a place worth a visit.

We took a tour through the house and saw magnificent paintings, needle work and a life for the Bloomsbury group which would have been rather taboo for the time.

You can visit Charleston between March-October and they also hold various creative workshops and events throughout the year.

Sadly I wasn't allowed to photograph inside the house but I have taken a collection of wonderful pictures to sum up my experience around the grounds and garden.

The smalls

Have you been?

What did you think?

tweet @herbsandheart #herbsandheart

Visit Charleston online http://www.charleston.org.uk/

Recipe of the Week # Veggie Love Burgers

Summer's favourite, the veggie burger! This is a super easy fun recipe to enjoy anytime! Vegan of course.

Makes 8

Ingredients:

1 pack of love soy mince (frozen)
1 red onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 slice of wholemeal bread
2 x egg replacement (no egg powder)
50g of plain flour
1 pack of Tofutti mozzarella style slices
A pack of salad leaves
8 wholemeal baps
Tomato chutney/burger relish
Vegetable oil
Salt & pepper to season
A frying pan
1 large baking tray
A hob
Oven

Make:

1. Chop your onion and fry in your pan with the garlic and saute for 2 minutes.

2. Add the love soy mince and fry for 5 minutes.

3. Mix in the chopped tomatoes & egg replacement to the pan.

4. Rip up the slice of bread and add into the mixture too.

5. Once your mixture has started sticking together take the pan off the heat and leave to cool.

6. Turn your oven to 200oc.

6. Now the mixture is cool you can start making pattys which your hands coated in flour, make each patty about the size of a normal burger. You should make 8.

7. Next you're going to fry off the burgers for around 2 minutes on each side and place them on the baking tray after.

8. Its time for the burgers to cook so place then in the oven for about 25 minutes, check them after 15, you may want to turn the oven down to 180oc.

Assemble

9. You could toast your burger baps if you like and then put a heaped teaspoon of your desired burger relish/chutney & a handful of salad leaves,

10. Place your burger on the leaves and a slice of the Tofutti mozzarella.

12. Put another teaspoon of the relish/chutney with a dash of salt and pepper.

13. Finish by putting the bap lid on top.

EAT!

You could always add a slice of avocado or gherkin for extra flavour!

If you want to BBQ your burgers, cook for around 8 minutes on each side.

<3