Review: Nutri Ninja Pro

Owing to Chip's diminutive size, and my weird craving for Oli's protein milkshakes he stashes away at the bottom of the trolley every week and hopes I don't notice (£3 a pop!), we recently decided to jump on last year's bandwagon* and buy a Nutri wotsit blender thing.

The theory was that I could have a daily protein shake to help boost my, er, protein intake, in the hopes that it would help Chip put on weight. But more honestly, it was an excuse to buy a gadget. And everyone loves an excuse to buy a gadget.

Anyway, decision made, we then did some googling and found out that pregnant women shouldn't take high protein supplements, rendering the whole purpose of getting one redundant, but we were too committed by then, so we ploughed on regardless.

We spent about three hours (no joke) in Lakeland trying to decide what the difference was between a blender, a juicer and a fancy pants Nutribullet thing. No one seemed to know. All the Lakeland staff insisted that a blender was basically the same as a Nutri thing but better cos they're bigger and you can do more with them. Like blend baby food.

Ha! Another good excuse! SOLD to the saddos desperate to buy something!

So we came home with the KitchenAid Artisan Blender in lovely retro red.

Everyone loves a bit of KitchenAid don't they? I wish I could bake just so I have an excuse to get the Mixer thing they all use on Bake Off and 'decorate' my kitchen worktop with it (sidenote: GBBO starts again next week - woo!).

Anyway we used our lovely retro blender once to juice some carrots, celery, ginger and apple juice. It created carrot sludge. It was not drinkable, at least not until after we'd strained it through a sieve and chucked away the good stuff. Lesson learnt: blenders do not make drinks.

It also broke the first time we used it. We couldn't get the jug to click back into the base. So we went back to Lakeland (very impressed with them actually, they have a brilliant money-back guarantee) in a grump and swapped it for the Nutri Ninja Pro. Slightly cheaper than the better-PR'd Nutribullet and slightly more ugly, but we liked its robustness, and the fact that it has some kind of artificial intelligence button that you press and it knows exactly how to blend what you've put in there to the right consistency.

The difference, we've learnt, between a traditional blender and a Nutri thing (these need a proper name, it's getting wearing now) is the power. I am sure this is obvious to the rest of the world but anyway. The Nutri things are super powerful, and really do obliterate the contents, meaning you can get near-drinkable consistency from whole apples and carrots. You do however, need to add a lot of water to them (or juice - no, not lost on me that this kind of defeats the point somewhat) to make them liquid enough to not need a spoon to 'drink' them with.

If you want proper JUICE, you have to buy a juicer basically (one where you can chuck everything in and it separates the pulpy stuff from the liquid). What these Nutri machines make are smoothies.

We've had it for a good few weeks now and my verdict is that it's a winner. We've used it every day, and our fruit consumption must have doubled. We mostly make the same thing: a blend of frozen berries, apples, oranges and limes, with some chia seeds chucked in for good measure (the only safe protein option for pregnant ladies). We also tried using low fat yoghurt with the fruit which worked well but needed honey as a sweetener.

Today, to mix it up a bit, we made lemonade with mint, honey and ice. It was quite 'thick' but tasted exactly like the stuff they serve up in jam jars in restaurants and charge you £4.95 for, so felt quite smug...

It may well turn out to be a gimmick, and we may well get bored of it in a month or two, but for now I'm quite pleased with our purchase.

There's only one thing to bear in mind if you get one. The likelihood is you will then walk around supermarket fruit aisles claiming things like 'kiwis are too nice to blend' and 'oh, but it seems a shame to blend a pineapple'.

And then the irony will strike you: in the First World, we're all slightly insane.

*apologies if you already have one of these. You probably all already have one of these, and have probably already got tired of it and relegated it to the back of the corner cupboard. I'm late to the party as always...

Snapshots from Wimbledon 2015

I've been rather obsessed with Wimbledon ever since I was on block release studying for my GCSEs. I remember spending long periods of time with the television on behind my piles of books, resulting in a rather cringeworthy obsession with Tim Henman... I even had posters of him on my bedroom wall (along with Sean Mcguire and Mark Owen, in case any fellow 90s teens are reading).

But I'd never organised myself enough to actually, you know, go to Wimbledon - despite living in SW19 for the past four years. So when I found out I was pregnant, I decided this was the year I was going to go. Another pregnancy bucket list item to be ticked off.

But again, I was unsuccessful in the ballot - cue much disappointment and hand-wringing. So when my friend told me about the resale tickets available to buy on Ticketmaster (how come no one knows about these?! the best-kept secret in live events!), it was a revelation. I had to keep pinching myself when we set off in a rooftop bus from the station on our way to the All England Club...

I'm pleased to say the day didn't disappoint. Can there be anything more perfect than a blazing hot English summer's day, filled with strawberries, Pimm's, shiny happy people having fun and a little bit of tennis too?!

Top tip: the strawberries were free! If you're an HSBC customer (which I am) you just show your debit card at the HSBC stand and they give you a voucher.

We had Court 3 tickets and were excited to see Marin Cilic and Venus Williams play. Venus Williams blew me away - she's a serious force to be reckoned with and her opponent Madison Brengle didn't manage to win a single game against her. I was completely mesmerised by Venus's strength - seriously, she seemed more powerful than the men we'd seen playing earlier that day. I don't think you can truly appreciate the energy of the players when you're watching it on TV. They are STRONG.

Something else that struck me as we wandered around the grounds was how beautiful everything was - and how much care and attention had gone into the floral displays, which were everywhere, and mostly in the club colours of purple, white and green. I couldn't resist taking pictures of them all...

We sat on Henman Hill/Murray Mound for a bit too, and enjoyed watching Djokovic on the big screen - such a fab atmosphere and if this is what music festivals are like then maybe I've misjudged them all this time... (Still not sure camping is 'fun' for anyone over the age of eight however).

Also, the gift shop is epic! Love a gift shop. Look what we found for Chip...

So cute!

Trouble is, it was such a fab day that now I'm determined to return every year. And of course next time, I'm going for Centre Court.

Drinking alcohol during pregnancy

Would you drink alcohol during pregnancy or not?

Another week, and there's another story in the press about the effects of alcohol on your unborn child. This latest report advises abstaining from alcohol completely throughout pregnancy, but most importantly in the first few months both before and after conceiving. If you don't, you apparently risk your child being brain damaged.

I’m lucky in that I don’t actually like alcohol very much. I never have and I don’t really know why. Wine makes me feel quite sick, and although I’m partial to the odd gin and tonic every now and then, if I’m honest I’d usually prefer a soft drink. Something poncey and full of sugar, like Amé or Bottle Green cordials…

So when I found out I was pregnant (which incidentally, was four days before Christmas, so possibly the WORST time of year to find out), I immediately assumed I wouldn’t drink at all. I probably had one or two alcohol drinks per week at most before I got pregnant, so it wasn’t like there was much to give up. And to begin with, I found it quite easy to avoid alcohol - even with various unwitting family members desperately trying to force glasses of Christmas champers on me. Being the designated driver always works as a good excuse.

However, deciding not to drink wasn’t really something I felt strongly about for the health of the baby. Actually, that sounds terrible - what I mean is that deciding not to drink wasn’t something I had to worry about much because I’m naturally not a big drinker, so it seemed easy to abstain. I was vaguely aware that in the UK they suggest you only have one or two units per week if you do choose to drink but I didn’t really think much more than that.

Then I watched an Exposure programme on it, ‘When Pregnant Women Drink’  (you can watch it below) when I was about two months’ gone. And it certainly put the frighteners on me. One memorable quote was an expert saying that taking heroin or cannabis is less dangerous for your unborn baby than drinking alcohol.

I did some more digging and found out that more shockingly, in most developed countries - places like the US and Australia, women are told not to drink ANY alcohol at all while pregnant. I felt quite smug that I’d been so ‘good’ over Christmas, New Year and my birthday and decided to continue avoiding it.

But then I started to talk to friends, and family, who said they had a few drinks every now and then while pregnant and had perfectly lovely healthy children. And one day I was celebrating something and thought, god, I’m such a bore, it won’t hurt to have ONE gin and tonic. It’s SO true that forbidden fruit tastes sweeter! I shared a G&T with Oli, and did really enjoy it. And then on his birthday earlier this month, while we were at The Pig hotel, I ordered a Pimm’s. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was in a good mood and suddenly I really really fancied a Pimm’s. I drank the whole thing (one and a half units I believe) and promptly fell asleep. I woke up later feeling really groggy and horrid.

Since then I’ve had about four thimblefuls of Prosecco at people’s houses, but that’s about it. And I steer from feeling guilty about it afterwards and thinking how pathetic I am for not being able to give up booze completely for nine short months, to thinking how ridiculous everything has become these days - with every week another story about how your health is somehow adversely affected by you having a cat, wearing a bra, writing with a biro, sitting on the loo too long etc etc. (Blame squarely placed with The Daily Fail for this.)

Interestingly in my many midwife and doctor's appointments, not once has alcohol been mentioned. I've been asked several times if I know I'm meant to take folic acid but that's about it for dietary advice. (That being said, I've probably been given a leaflet. I have a lot of leaflets).

So really, this post is more of a question, because I’m genuinely interested in other people’s takes. Would you and/or did you drink during pregnancy? What are your thoughts on it?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGN-JDfG_zg

Review: The Pig, Brockenhurst

Having heard so much about it, visiting The Pig has been on my pregnancy bucket list for AGES. But it's quite pricey and so I decided we needed an excuse to justify a visit. So thank you, Oli, for being born in June. And thank you, weather gods, for deciding to make Oli's birthday the warmest day of the summer so far.

I booked our room way back in February but even then, weekends were fully booked. This is a popular place, and you have to get in early. Without the option of a weekend away, we decided to go down on Oli's birthday (Thursday) instead and just stay one night. There was also only one type of room available when I booked: a 'Snug' room, the cheapest, which was actually fine by us as it was still £149, breakfast not included.

Billed as a 'restaurant with rooms', The Pig is SUCH a clever idea for fans of decent food and mini-breaks. Set in the most idyllic New Forest setting, this converted manor house is home to pigs (obviously), chickens, quails, bees and the most amazing kitchen garden. All the food cooked in the restaurant is sourced from within a 25-mile radius (much of it grown on site), meaning seasonal produce is the order of the day. It's a popular restaurant for those living locally, so booking a table even if you're staying the night is essential.

As with all holidays/restaurants, I like to do my research, so when I had a look on Tripadvisor last week before we left, I was quite upset to see a few negative reviews, saying the service was rubbish and the food was nothing special. We turned up on Thursday fearing the worst, but I'm SO pleased to say these fears were unfounded. Quite simply, it was paradise.

The Snug room was, indeed, snug, but it didn't matter; we were only there one night after all. The bed was big and comfy, the shower was powerful and the views from the room were stunning. But we didn't stay in the room for long, preferring to make the most of the glorious weather and explore the grounds... there's even a giant swing - perfect for sharing...

We'd booked a table for dinner at 7.30pm, but couldn't resist also enjoying a drink and some snacks on the terrace in the late afternoon. I broke all my pregnancy rules and had a Pimm's, but I paid the price when it made me fall asleep just before dinner, and I woke up feeling super groggy and a bit sick. Sorry Baby. It was, however, worth ordering just for the fact it CAME IN A BOOT!

Dinner is held in the most glorious conservatory - I clocked immediately that it was by Marston & Langinger. I loved everything about the decor here - it was just wonderful.

The menu changes daily, and we had an interesting mix of dishes for supper, from smoked salmon and chipolatas to tomato salad and cod with sea beets. There's (unsurprisingly) a LOT of pig on the menu, so if you're a vegetarian you might feel a little frustrated. They also had an amazing non-alcoholic cocktail menu, and my 'Piggletini' felt suitably special for the occasion.

I have to say, the best bit about the whole meal was the bread, served with home-infused olive oil and salt. I didn't get a photo, because basically we scoffed it too quickly.

Breakfast is served in the same room, and is a wonderful buffet affair, with home-made granola and super fresh fruits among the highlights. I also ordered a Full English, as, ahem, you know, I'm eating for two. The eggs (fresh from the chickens outside) were superb, and don't get me started on the sausage... Love a good sausage.

The Pig is my idea of paradise. The interiors are perfect, the atmosphere and service relaxed but with all the little luxury touches you'd expect from the price, the food is interesting and inventive and the setting is second to none. I hear they are also child-friendly, so once Baby Chip makes an appearance, I'm sure we'll be back.

Find out more about The Pig >>

Review: Vintage Salt at Selfridges

Things I learnt this week: Selfridges has a pop-up restaurant on its roof every year. To get to said pop-up restaurant you do not go to the food court on the top floor of the store, but instead have to find the secret lift next to Chanel (that's Chanel's fragrance counter, not the handbags) which whisks you off to the roof. A very friendly lady (wo)mans the lift to ensure you end up at the right place. When you emerge, you are greeted by this...

Vintage Salt is the third al fresco pop-up restaurant launched by Des McDonald, who was once Head Chef of the Ivy - serious credentials then. This year's incarnation is inspired by a traditional Cornish fishing village, with the menu and decor exactly what you'd expect from the British seaside. And bearing in mind the British weather, the restaurant has a retractable pop-up roof and sides, to ensure that diners stay dry no matter what.

We went for dinner on Friday evening, and unfortunately, after a glorious week, the weather decided to go all autumnal on us. But despite the fact we had to dine under the roof, the atmosphere was still pretty relaxed and it did genuinely feel like we'd taken a mini break to Cornwall for the evening.

The menu reflects the theme, with plenty of good British classics on it, such as fish and chips, kedgeree and lamb chops. Being a pregnant pig, I was more than taken with one of the day's specials, namely the Atlantic prawn and pink grapefruit salad...

I would actually go as far to say this was my favourite dish - it was huge for a starter (maybe it wasn't actually meant to be a starter - whoops) and anything with chicory in it always gets a huge thumbs up from me. I wolfed this down while my non-pregnant friends Susie and Vicky sat and drank their wine (only fair).

For mains, we all ordered the same, the dry aged beef burger. We had a bit of a giggle over the descriptions of all the dishes, deciding that 'dry aged beef burger' wouldn't sound nearly as appealing if it was just 'beef burger', and the same for 'minted jersey royals' and 'heritage carrots' (what is a heritage carrot exactly? don't all carrots have predecessor carrots?).

However, when our burgers arrived, we decided they did indeed deserve their fancy name. The smoked cheddar was full of flavour but not too strong, the relish was in fact a wonderfully barbecuey ketchup and the guacamole was the perfect 'side'. Susie and Vicky also treated themselves to truffled chips (these were yum, I nicked a few) while I had a pleasingly tart tomato salad.

Proper green tomatoes!

We were all thoroughly stuffed after our meal (me even more so, as you can imagine) but decided to round off the evening with some ice-cream which was perfectly pleasing, if not mindblowing. For those with more space left in their stomachs, the intriguing 'chocolate burger' - at one point wrongly delivered to our table - looked far more memorable.

Service was attentive but a little slow, and the place was as packed as you'd expect for a Friday evening. I was actually pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food and even though I still think eating in a department store restaurant will always feel a little canteen-like, I would actually pop back for lunch if I was on Oxford Street and wanted something a little more inspiring than the usual fare.

Vintage Salt is open Mon-Sat 11am-11pm, Sun Noon-6pm and takes bookings on the Selfridges website >

Review: No 11 Pimlico Road

Beautiful interiors and beautiful meals are two of my favourite things, so when I was invited down to have lunch at No. 11 Pimlico Road, I jumped at the chance. Describing itself as ‘an evolution of what has been termed over the last few years as a gastro pub’, the restaurant promises to ‘bring a fresher palette and a recognition of true all-day demand from morning coffee to nightcap and everything in between’.

My first impressions were overwhelmingly positive. The space is light, bright, relaxed and buzzy. It reminded me a little of a less-moody Riding House Cafe – no squirrel taxidermy here, but the same easygoing feel, making it the kind of place that can transition easily from breakfast meeting place to Sunday brunch venue to afternoon tea and after-work drinking haunt. The interiors were designed by hospitality specialists Fusion, who worked together with owner Mel Marriott to create a welcoming atmosphere that would work for people of all walks of life.

The design team looked to global trends – such as the relaxed all-day eateries in Australia, and the separate lobby areas in New York which protect guests from the cold – when envisioning the space. They also worked hard to make sure that the details – from the spindleback chairs to the zinc-topped tables – had a residential feel, making it a true home away from home. ‘The aim was for the look to be a reflection of the home, to create somewhere comfortable, somewhere not too prescribed and not cookie-cutter.’ Indeed.

The result is undoubtedly a success. Not sure what to expect, I had dressed up a little for the occasion, but didn’t feel out of place amongst the families and the young couples coming in for a cup of tea after a morning’s run. This might be Chelsea, but there’s no hint of snootiness in the air. Which is an achievement in itself.

Supporting the relaxed feel, the furniture is a mixture of restored and reclaimed. Fusion and Mel sourced a number of chairs, the waitress stations and sideboards from eBay, while local design guru Christopher Howe also provided elements as did The French House, an antiques shop in Parsons Green.

But what of the food, I hear you ask? I’m happy to say that it more than lived up to the interiors. I indulged in the most perfect Sunday brunch avocado, bacon and spinach sourdough bruschetta, while my other half went the whole hog and had a roast beef dinner. I tasted a bit of his beef and was jealous – this is definitely a restaurant that takes its food just as seriously as its ambience. All in all, I highly recommend it – it’s a charming place and you’ll find it suits your needs whatever time of day you choose to drop in!

Review: Royal Smushi Cafe, Copenhagen

Ah those Danes. Those stylish buggers.

I recently returned from a long weekend in Copenhagen with my sister. It was, sadly, freezing cold, meaning photographic evidence of my trip is scanty. It was just too cold to get my camera out. However, I did discover a hidden gem in our desperate quest to get warm: the Royal Smushi Cafe.

We stumbled across the Smushi Cafe quite accidentally. We were wandering down Amagertov, bemoaning our numbed fingers, and from the corner of my eye, I spotted the sign for the cafe down a little alleyway. We wandered in.

What we found was a true haven: the most wonderful space that, despite the crazy high ceilings, was amazingly cosy. I fell in love immediately with the large tea tins lined up behind the bar, while my sister was drawn to the selection of cakes on the quirky counter. Then I looked up and saw the wallpapered ceiling, with the stunning chandelier. And then I looked down and fell in love all over again with the white tiled ceramic 'parquet' floor (hello! WHY do we not see this idea more often?)

The cafe specialises in 'smushi' - its own invention, a combination of the words 'sushi' and 'smørrebrød' - the famous Danish open sandwich.

The smushi, and the cakes, were incredible. So incredible we returned three times.

If you're in Copenhagen, Royal Smushi Cafe is essential as a visit to Hay, methinks.

Dartmouth: my happy place

I'm alive! (As you will know if you're unfortunate enough to follow me on Twitter, where I never shut up).

Apologies for the ENTIRE MONTH I had off from blogging, but quite frankly I needed it. Things have been super brilliant, scary, exciting and stressful over at Decorum and we have, in fact, *drum roll* just moved into our very own office. This is rather unbelievably exciting, because it's a bit like all my childhood fantasies coming true. Do you remember playing 'shops', 'post offices' etc as a kid? No? That was just me then. Well, just BELIEVE ME, there can be little more exciting than a Staples-run to buy stationery for a real-life office, that you can set up exactly as you please - it made me feel about eight again as we stacked envelopes on shelves and opened packets of highlighters.

However, the success of Decorum has meant that I've developed a bit of an allergy to Wordpress. I look after six blogs for work now, all on Wordpress, so the thought of spending my free time also resizing images and fiddling about on this delightful platform became less and less appealing. Hence me avoiding poor Life by Lotte.

But it's 2014! January means one thing to me: getting older. Last week I celebrated my THIRTY THIRD birthday. This is very strange because I definitely haven't been alive for that long. But anyway. For the first year in forever, I decided not to have a birthday party. Instead I escaped to my happy place: Dartmouth. I hope to die in Dartmouth. Weird thing to wish for I know, but I am weird - I wrote a book about suicide.

O and I spent two nights staying in the wonderful Dart Marina. We always stay in the apartments because they are only a little bit more expensive than the hotel rooms and it means you get a bathroom each (which is always nice eh girls), a proper kitchen for making snacks, a fire, a cosy living room and you don't have to stress about having dried your hair in time for breakfast. I heartily recommend it.

Dartmouth is the best place in the world. I don't really want to talk about it too much because it already gets busy enough and even mentioning it makes me nervous of even more people turning up and hogging it, but there's nowhere on earth like it. It's stuffed full of independent boutiques, restaurants and lovely people with dogs who chat to you as you walk past. And opinionated seagulls.

The air is fresh and the views are incredible. I spent my birthday eating coronary-inducing amounts of cheese and cake and buying myself things from the wonderful galleries. It was perfect, and the perfect start to a new year.

2014 is going to be brilliant.

Listen to this

O will be touring with Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace next year, as the voice of their new show: Dance til Dawn. He sang live with them on this year's Royal Variety Performance - you can listen to him below. (And er, watch them too, if you like).

*proud*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MOXS7GYIJg0

Christie's Interiors Auction

Last weekend, I went along to my first ever auction, at Christie's. I'd always been curious as to what went on at a live auction, and had always thought that it was probably very intimidating and that everyone there was a millionaire art dealer, and that if I so much as sneezed at the wrong time I'd end up bidding £1m for an ornamental dog.

I've been to Chiswick Auctions many times before on viewing days, but Christie's is in another league entirely. I also had no idea that Christie's did interiors auctions! But they do. Embarrassing.  Mostly held on Tuesdays at their auction house in South Kensington. However, I went along on a Sunday to watch the first half of another sale, and have a wander round the viewing areas.

What fascinated me the most was that the majority of the bidding seemed to be taking place online - or on the phone. There were actually only a few people in the auction room itself, and the (charming) auctioneer mostly spoke above our heads - to a camera (I realised this after a few minutes of wondering if she had a problem with her neck). The pace was speedy but relaxed, and it didn't feel anywhere near as intimidating as I had anticipated. What was also interesting was that so much of the older pieces went to American bidders - they certainly love our antiques. I guess it's the Downton Abbey effect...

But best of all was the range of items on offer. Among the more, er, conservative pieces were some real gems, all guide-priced very reasonably. Albeit with Christie's sale charges yet to be added.

I especially fell in love with this beautiful shop cabinet, guided at £1,500 to £2,000. It was in pristine condition.

There were several other fab pieces that caught my eye too.

Buttoning is always a winner with me but I love this sofa most for its gold legs. Ridiculous.

These made me laugh. Possibly would look a little out of place in front of my two-bed maisonette...

If sofas could talk! Bet this has seen some interesting things.

And finally, I fell in love with this painting. I'm not much of an art fan, but I just thought it was beautiful... At £4-6,000 however, she was a little out of my price range.

I didn't buy anything as I actually need to get rid of furniture at the moment rather than acquire new pieces, but I do heartily recommend the Christie's auction if you're looking for something a little unusual that has heritage. I'm a huge fan of buying second-hand furniture - the quality of older pieces is usually far greater than anything you can buy today and prices are surprisingly reasonable.

You don't have to go to the auction itself to bid, as details of all Christie's sales are online. Definitely worth a look through the catalogues - I warn you though, it's a addictive! And don't even THINK of going near the fine jewellery catalogue...