The Little Life Of Lydia

Thursday 30 January 2014

Bluegrass BBQ.

A few friends and I went out for dinner to celebrate a birthday.

We headed to our favourite new restaurant in town: Bluegrass BBQ, where meat is slow-roasted for up to 18 hours. And the atmosphere is relaxed and laid-back with Folk and Country & Western music playing in the background.

The team in the kitchen include the only 'non-American Grand Champion of the Jack Daniels Invitational BBQ contest.'

Oh Yes.

It sounds good, doesn't it?

We headed straight to the burgers, I ordered the BBQ Chicken Hot Deli Sandwich.

The stripped chicken is placed in a toasted Brioche bun on a pile of lettuce & tomatoes, topped with Bluegrass's own cheese.

It tastes seriously good.

Matt ordered the Pulled Pork.

All of the meals come served on plastic trays with handfuls of chips thrown on.

Each table has its homemade, special sauces, no ketchup here!

These include my favourite, the Carolina, an amazing, sauce with hints of mustard.

Now, back onto the meat.

Lisa and Tim both ordered the Bluegrass Burger, topped with cheese.

The chips are cooked skin-on with plenty of seasoning.

I think I'll stop with all these food photos, before I get too hungry!

If you're ever in South Buckinghamshire, I definitely recommend taking a trip to Bluegrass BBQ.

Lydia

Tuesday 28 January 2014

In The Jungle.

Over the weekend I headed over to a friend's house for her '21+1' party. As you may guess by the title of this post, the theme was JUNGLE.

I love fancy dress.

Unfortunately I was running late (as usual) so was unable to get an outfit photo. However, I did wear a leaopard print dress, black heels, and leopard print make-up.

The house was really relaxed, with dark rooms, with plenty of disco balls.

One of the many outfits on display. I think onesies were a God-send for a few people!

David, one of 2 Giraffes, and Hannah, the wonderful birthday girl!

We were loving the pair of Giraffes. So easy!

I think these guys may have had practice of their posing, or it may be slightly worrying!

After a few hours of dancing, games, posing, and much more it was time for the cake.

Hannah was looking lovely as a jungle girl.

I loved this, writing birthday wishes on a large canvas, something I'd love to have and read years on.

We finished the evening on large sofas, playing mind-twisting games before heading home, and straight to bed.

I'd love to thank Hannah for such a lovely night.

Lydia

Thursday 23 January 2014

The Best Coffee & Walnut Cake.

Ever since she came on BBC, I have loved Nigella Lawson and her cooking, a lot! During a very busy week, I had an afternoon off and decided I would try her Coffee & Walnut Cake, and I am glad I did.

I have changed this recipe slightly so the cake is milder.

Start by pre-heating your oven to Gas Mark 4/180°C/350°F, and greasing/lining two 8 inch tins.

Blitz 50g Walnut Pieces and 225g Caster Sugar in a food processor to a fine powder.

In a bowl, mix 225g Unsalted Butter with 200g Plain Flour, adding in 2 Teaspoons of Instant Coffee dissolved in 1 Tablespoon of Boiling Water.

Continue mixing and slowly add in 2.5 Teaspoons of Baking Powder, 1/2 Teaspoon of Bicarbonaate of Soda, 4 Large Eggs, and 2 Tablespoons of Milk.

Mix into a smooth batter.

Divide this mixture into 2 tins and bake for 25 minutes, or until they bounce up after gently touching them.

To make the icing, whisk 175g of Unsalted Butter until smooth. Slowly add in 350g Icing Sugar, to avoid a cloud of powder add 2-3 tablespoons at a time.

Towards the end, add in 2.5 Teaspoons of Instant Coffee in 1 Tablespoon of Boiling Water.

Spread the Icing on the cakes, and layer, decorate with 10 Walnut Halves.

Enjoy!

Lydia

Friday 17 January 2014

Outfit Post: Sparkly Necklaces.

The lovely people at Jasper's Jewellery in Dublin sent me a lovely Necklace & Earring set last week, so I thought I'd share with you one of the ways I've been wearing it this week.

But before:

The packaging made me very excited to open the Jewellery, to me, an early (or late) Christmas present! Free Worldwide Delivery made this post even more better.

Back onto topic.

Outfit:

Top & Leggings- George at Asda

Blazer- Tu Clothing

Skirt- New Look

Boots- Evans

Handbag- Fiorelli

I love the simplicity of the necklace, making it great for so many outfits and occasions, and the earrings complement it so well!

As a gift to you, my lovely readers, you have a €5 voucher for their website, great with Valentine's Day coming up!

All you need to do is use the code 'thelittlelifeoflydia5' at the checkout.

Lydia

Tuesday 7 January 2014

A Winter's Walk Through A Flooded Park.

Hello! As a country, we have been experiencing some pretty crazy weather over the past few weeks, with coastal areas being evacuated and flooding near to rivers, because of this my sister and I took Tilly, our beloved springer spaniel, to Higginson Park by the Thames in Marlow. We knew that the pathway would be flooded but could not believe how badly flooded it was:

Yep. Those are benches in the river.

This amount of flooding called for one thing: Wading through the water:

After a short walk, Tilly soon got jealous and decided it was time for a swim as well:

Good thing I've got Hunter Wellies!

I relish in the fact that I live so close to beautiful surroundings, and I have an excuse to escape doing anything every day to enjoy it. P.S. get a dog if you want this!