How To Make Your Family Happy

As hard as I tried to please everyone last week, 

it was inevitable that at some point I would fail.

And fail I did, majorly.

I knew Lizzie would love Topshop, and I knew my mom and dad wouldn't like it...

 but since we had already spent a lot of time doing museums and art galleries, 

I thought it was fair to take her on a little shopping trip.

Oh boy did I think wrong.

Enter major family meltdown.  

While I'll spare you of the finer details, 

I will say that I was super pleased that the next activity on our itinerary was 

Borough Market....

If my family can agree on anything, its food.

Actually thats a lie, sometimes we can't agree on food.

But we can agree on eating.

And what's better than a food market for that - everyone can pick what they want!

My mom and Lizzie split a curry...

And my dad got his double burger fix.

I of course opted for a more veggie friendly option...

And Nick got a hotdog

(no homo)

On top of that we inhaled the stinky smell of raclette cheese melting away...

We also purchased lemon polenta cake (oh my gosh yum!)

truffle oil and truffle paste among loads of tasty free samples.   

All I can say is...

Thank God my family likes food as much as they do...

Otherwise the meltdown in Top Shop could have escalated to something like this....

Yes those are riot police and that is paint splattered on the front of Top Shop.  

Don't worry it wasn't our fault.

Lot's of protesters took London by storm on Sunday.  

Eeeeeeeeeeeeek.

But let's not talk politics here.

In other news, to recover from last weeks eating spree

I am currently on my first day of a 3 day juice only detox.

I feel pretty bitchy, so wish me luck.

Then on Monday the husband and I are starting Crazy Sexy Diet.  

21 days of no gluten, animal, sugar, alcohol or caffeine!

Operation get healthy is on!

Who's with me?

Turkish Market

We stumbled across this little Turkish market when we were shopping for house stuff the other day.

Then we came home and made a feast out of olives and baklava.  

Everything was delicious.

Markets everywhere are definitely a benefit to living in England.

My response to the market man's question of

Ginger apple, pistachio, or coconut baklava?

Yes, yes, and yes.

What can I say?

This girl likes to eat!

...and my arm fat is now reverberating in the air like my 8th grade teacher at the chalk board. 

Her A$$ was so big you could use it as a table.  

It stuck out parallel to the floor I tell you.
...and it appears I am on my way there.

Hello weight watchers....

Hyde Park Market

I LOVE the market.  

I think most foodies do.  

Since I left my hometown a bunch of these little markets 

have sprung up in random parking lots.  

Seriously why couldn't this trend have started sooner?!

No pesticides on dem apples.  

And how massive is that okra?

I'm salivating.

Heirloom tomatoes.

This dog has a mohawk and a skull and crossbones leash.  

What a bad ass. 

You can thank me for my crazy dog lady,

 stalker paparazzi camera skills later.

We ran into my Aunt Niki and my cousin Olivia.

My favorite thing about being in Cincinnati is running into people 

EVERYWHERE.

Olivia got a belgium waffle from the waffle guy.

He's pretty famous around these parts for his awesome waffles.

And lucky for most of you, 

should you have a waffle hankering, he ships all over the US.

I got a crepe -

the contents of which spilled all over my new Anthropologie skirt.

I'm really not having much luck with clothes lately.

Borough Market

Ever since we decided to leave London, I've been on a mad dash to finish as much of my London To Do List as possible.  So today Nick, his mum and me headed out to check Borough Market off the list.

(Why do boys make such silly faces in photos?)

And let me tell you, it was every bit the food lover's paradise I heard it would be.  Plenty of good street food, fresh produce, cheeses, chocolates, wines, fish, and meats.  We were out of groceries so we stocked up on some veggies at this stall.

And they had the most fabulous looking mushrooms.  We couldn't leave without a few handfuls of them.  I went for the King Oysters and Nick's mum chose the Chanterelles.  Anyone have recipe suggestions?  I've never cooked with King Oysters before, but they looked too fun to pass up!

We were getting pretty hungry at this point and Nick and his mum picked up two kangaroo (yeah like actual kangaroo) burgers to chow down on.  Apparently they tasted just like regular hamburgers.  Meanwhile I went to the stall across and picked up some hot apple cider to warm me up.  They asked me for I.D.  - who would've thought apple cider was alcoholic?  The guy must've thought I was a bit of a drunk ordering an extra large at noon, but at least there was plenty for sharing.

Then I got hungry, and I ordered the most delicious veggie burger.  Look at this beauty...

It was a halloumi burger with pesto and hummus on whole wheat.  It was just perfect.  I was in street food heaven...

We were so tempted to buy so many things, but we were trying to be good.  I am kinda kicking myself for passing up an amazing looking chocolate truffle stall.  But we couldn't leave without a bottle of white truffle oil.  We have a bottle which we purchased in a little souvenir shop on a layover in Charles de Gaulle, but it is surprisingly terrible.  We think the French were taking advantage of our silly tourist selves.

But this bottle is a winner.  Pure liquid gold.  I already used it on roasted asparagus for dinner tonight, and lets just say they were a big hit!

Borough Market was a vibrant charming little place, buzzing with people, smells, sights, and sounds to create a great atmosphere.  I wish we did our grocery shopping here every week, and I'm glad I get to cross it off my list!