The Lil(le) Black Dress

Now that winter is well and truly on it's way, why not do a post about a really hot summery daytrip in July, eh? The occasion was The Manbacon's 35th birthday, and I'd spent the previous two weeks frantically arranging tickets to Lille, and making sure that he'd booked that day off, while keeping the trip a surprise from him. I also managed to make myself a little black dress for the trip, in between everything else. 

It's difficult to make out many details on this dress, but it's made with black jersey (from the op-shop, of course), to a bodice pattern by Sew Vera Venus. The pattern itself is only available in one size, for busts between 35 to 37 inches, and is meant for woven fabrics. Since I usually wear a 34" bust, I simply 'cheated' and made the seam allowances slightly larger, instead of faffing about with grading it down. I figured that since my fabric had quite a bit of stretch to it, it wouldn't really matter too much if I accidentally took too much in.  

Once the bodice came together, it took no time at all to make a skirt from the rest of the fabric (simply two rectangles joined at the side seams) and attach it to the top. I also cut a long strip of fabric and sewed it into a tube, to make the spaghetti straps for my dress. Probably not the best idea to use a flimsy strip of stretchy jersey to hold up your dress - I spent many minutes throughout the day tugging at the bodice and tying and retying the straps and as they had a tendency to stretch and head south as the day progressed. 

Other than that little problem (which seems to have finally sorted itself out - the straps seem to have stopped stretching), the dress itself was a dream to wear, especially on a filthy hot, humid summer day. I've since worn that dress several times, putting it to the test by cycling and even getting tangled in blackberry bushes while wearing it, and it's held up wonderfully. 

As I mentioned above, it was a pretty disgustingly sweaty type of day, so we passed the worst of it in the seemingly under-hyped treasure that is the Lille Natural History Museum (Musee d'Histoire Naturelle). There was almost no one else there except for us and the staff, so we explored the collections in peace. There's plenty of wonderful taxidermy animals in it, including the rather magnificent Ron Swanson-like snow leopard above, as well as a little tableau showing how they mount the animals for display. 

The twitchers among you might also be interested to know that the museum has a vast collection of stuffed birds, all displayed in beautiful old vitrines, including hundreds of jewel-toned hummingbirds. These were breathtaking, I spent ages staring at them trying to memorise every single detail. There are a few displays of dinosaur fossils, although nowhere near as spectacular as the displays at the Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences. And, almost forgotten in a hidden corner upstairs, is a rather lonely little axolotl. It's quite a small musuem, but it's got such a still, old-fashioned air about it that it's easy to lose hours in there enjoying the various exhibits. 

Dress - self made, pattern from Sew Vera Venus, handbag - vintage, belt - Sainsburys, sunglasses - vintage

Musée d’Histoire Naturelle

19, rue de Bruxelles
59000 Lille

France

The Red House

Well, this post is a little late. Okay, more than a little - I went to the Red House last August Bank Holiday, so a whole year ago, in fact.  Located a short walk away from Bexleyheath train station, it was built and lived in by William Morris and his family, and was a gathering place for a host of Pre-Raphaelite artists. It is currently managed by the National Trust, and features a wealth of paintings, furniture and artworks created by Morris and his contemporaries, especially Edward Burne-Jones. 

We chose to explore the house without a guide, and so could spend as long as we wanted admiring the various nooks and crannies of the place. The house is surrounded by a rather large garden, which, despite being nearly the end of summer, was still in bloom, full of lazy dahlias and fragrant herbs. We packed a small lunch, and spent some time on a bench in front of the main house, just taking it all in. Anyway, less talk, more photos... 

   

Red House

Red House Lane, Bexleyheath

DA6 8JF

Mocha Choca Madeleines

Having chanced upon some madeleine tins while in Calais in November last year, I returned to London with all the best intentions of churning out try after tray of the tiny delicacies. I would be making madeleines every weekend, my kitchen would be filled with edible seashell shapes in all colours of the rainbow, all with different flavours. Best-laid schemes of mice and (wo)men, and all that...and so the tins languished in my kitchen cupboard for the next few months. 

Anyway, Ari sent me a link to that John Whaite off the GBBO's* recipe for madeleines flavoured with chocolate and coffee. They sounded tasty, and not too complicated. So I gave them a go. He also includes a recipe for a cocoa-flavoured dipping sauce, but I left that out and simply dusted with icing sugar instead.

*That's Great British Bake-Off for those of you not au fait with today's yoof slang. 

Mocha Choca Madeleines (adapted from John Whaite's recipe for the Telegraph)

Ingredients
100g salted butter
2 eggs
100g caster sugar
1 tsp coffee extract (I used this)
85gms plain flour
15g cocoa powder

Directions
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.

- Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then set aside.

- Put the eggs, sugar and coffee extract into a mixing bowl, and beat with an electric whisk until light and fluffy, and tripled in volume. This should take about 12 -15 mins.

- Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the egg mixture, then pour in the butter. Gently fold these into the egg mixture until smooth and silky.

- Fill the madeleine moulds about 2/3 full, then bake for 8 - 10 mins or until the madeleines look slightly browned around the ages. Turn them out of the tin as soon as they are baked or they will stick. Lightly dust with icing sugar or cocoa powder (optional). 

First Aid

If you find yourself with a cut, a scrape, a bruise, or a wound of any sort...please do not seek me out. My stall at the Tea Rooms may have a rather impressive collection of First Aid kits, bandages, and various lotions and potions, but they're all rather, erm, old. Strictly for display, or to frighten off some squeamish friends. 

Rocks and Bones

You don't expect me to miss out on dinosaurs, do you? Even though I'd already been there on my first trip to Brussels, I had to revisit my favourite Belgian museum again. There's something pleasantly old-fashioned about this place - the beautiful wrought iron stairs, awkwardly posed models, and the glass-fronted cases in the geology section. Having lots of big dinosaur skeletons around don't hurt either. 

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences 

Rue Vautier 29

1000 Brussels

Belgium

Villa Royale, Paris

Nope, there's no need to adjust your screens. The Villa Royale, which was our home for our four nights in Paris, is indeed this colourful and OTT. Oh why yes, I did go to Paris again, a mere month after my last 24-hour trip there. Why? Mainly because I just wanted to spend more time eating tiny cakes and walking around Paris, and also because it was a big-number birthday for me. I was completely enraptured by the blinged-out decor when searching for a hotel online, and to top it off, there was a whopping 30% off the price. Sometimes the stars just align...

Anyway, the Villa Royal certainly lived up to my expectations. All the photos above were taken in the lobby, and I haven't even got to the rooms yet. Each room is named after a notable French person - we got the Edith Piaf room, which had French windows that opened out onto a little balcony overlooking the Place Pigalle. 

Now, Place Pigalle has a reputation for being seedy and rowdy, and is lined with neon-lit sex shops, so may not be the ideal destination for some, but I really enjoyed staying there. I liked the neon lights, and the liveliness, and the general energy of the area. Aaand it's only a 5 minute stroll from the famous Moulin Rouge, as well as being very close to Montmartre and Rue des Martyrs, a street lined with yummy food shops and restaurants (more on that in a later post). 

Our room was on the small side, but then again, most rooms in Paris seem to be small. It's a very crowded city, after all. Anyway, who goes to Paris to spend all day in their rooms?! By the way, did I mention our room had pink silk walls? And a princess bed? And pink padding on all the doors? All in all, a delicious girly confection of a room. I did feel rather sorry for Manbacon, although he did say that he liked it a lot more than other more minimalist hotel rooms. I'm sure he actually loved it too.