Monday 31 March 2014

Pinocchio's, Canterbury

Pinocchio's is fast becoming one of my favourite restaurants in Canterbury, my nearest city. Mike and I popped in for lunch on Saturday and, as usual, it didn't disappoint.

It's an Italian restaurant in an unassuming building with simple, rustic décor and a glass-covered courtyard at the back that lets in lots of light. The owner, Massimo, and his staff are warm and attentive, and enthuse about the day's specials until your mouth is watering and you feel spoilt for choice without even having opened the menu.

 


We decided to start with some fragrant garlic bread, still warm from the oven, and a dish of olives.


The bread was seriously good. I could happily have ordered a bucket-load more of it and gorged myself on this alone, but that would have been a shame, because the pasta here is amazing and really shouldn't be missed.

We both ordered similar dishes for our main course. Mike went for monkfish and clams, while I chose a mixed seafood dish with monkfish, sea bass, scallops and king prawns. Both were cooked in a delicate cherry tomato and white wine sauce and served with fresh pasta, made on the premises.


Absolutely delicious.

I was much too full for pudding, but it would have been incredibly rude of me not to try the homemade cheesecake.



I have to confess, I was expecting the creamy type of dessert that I tend to associate with the word "cheesecake" and that's not what this is at all. Instead, it was somewhat crumbly and bitty in texture and although the flavour was pleasant enough, it was my least favourite course of the meal. There was nothing wrong with the dessert itself and Mike thoroughly enjoyed it. It was just, unfortunately, not to my taste. Massimo told us that it is made with ricotta cheese and is traditionally eaten at Easter time in Italy.

After a cup of peppermint tea (coffee for Mike) to settle our full stomachs, we enjoyed a leisurely drive home through the countryside and then got on with the very important business of lazing around for the rest of the afternoon.

Below is what I wore. As you can see, I kept it casual and about as simple as it gets.


 T-shirt - River Island, Jeans - Topshop Jamie (Can't find the exact wash, but these are very similar), Jacket - Warehouse (old), Boots - H&M (old), Sunglasses - Chanel (very old)

I hope everyone had a good weekend!

Kate x

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Wednesday 26 March 2014

Summer Dreams

I'm lucky enough to have two holidays coming up this Summer, and I must confess I'm getting pretty excited about them already. So much so that when I went shopping for jeans and jumpers recently - you know, stuff I actually NEEDED - I ended up coming home with these little beauties instead:



Dress and necklace - both Topshop. I can't find the dress in this colour on the website, but they have it in tomato red here 

It was the necklace that caught my eye first. I've had an unhealthy obsession with statement necklaces for a while now and it shows no signs of abating. I blame Made in Chelsea. Seriously, though, I think that Topshop have outdone themselves with this one. I really love the intricate detail of it, and the fact that no two sections are completely alike.



Understated it isn't, so I figured that pairing it with basic pieces was probably the way to go. The simplicity of this dress allows the necklace to do all the talking, while the complimentary colour instantly pulls the look together.

I'll probably style it something like this:


























Denim jacket - Topshop, about two years old, Clutch - Reiss, considerably older, Wedges - Zara, approx. 200 BC

I'm one of those people who feels cold at the slightest hint of a breeze, so the trusty cover-up is a
must for me even in sunnier climes, much to my husband's amusement. The wedges I've worn to death, but still love, while the clutch is an old favourite of mine for holidays. It's made from a sort of raffia material and I've always liked the contrast of that with the structured shape.

I've gone for quite a relaxed vibe here, but swap the jacket and wedges for a blazer and a sleek pair of heels and you'd have something much fancier. I also think the necklace would look great with jeans and a white t-shirt for a casual lunch date. So many possibilities!

Now I really can't wait to wear this outfit to dinner on holiday. I'm picturing a lovely fish restaurant at a harbour somewhere, a frosty glass of crisp white wine in my hand... Roll on Summer, I say!

Kate x


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Saturday 22 March 2014

The Beginning

Spring is full of new beginnings. The sun has woken up after its long Winter sleep, daffodils are blooming, there are fluffy ducklings gliding down the rivers and woolly lambs playing in the fields.  All in all, it feels like the perfect time to start a brand new blog!

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but I always seem to get itchy feet around this time of year. As the world around me opens up and blossoms, I start to feel this overwhelming urge to get out there and explore it.

Recently, my husband Mike and I decided to do just that, and so we jumped into the car and took a drive down to the Kent coast, not far from where we live. As is often the case with these drives of ours, we had no fixed destination in mind. Sometimes, half the fun of a Sunday outing is in the drive. With the sun warming your face through the windscreen, the radio on and your loved one by your side, what more do you need?

Well, of course, after a while, you start to need coffee, and this is generally when we stop.

On this occasion, we ended up in a little spot called St Margaret's Bay, where we were greeted by this rather lovely view.
 
As we later discovered, these white chalk cliffs are the first place in England to be hit by the sun as it rises each morning. How romantic is that?

We found a pub called The Coastguard nearby. It has a pretty terrace overlooking the bay, so we chose a sunny spot and sat sipping coffee to our hearts' content, watching the sun sparkling on the water.

We hadn't been to this area before, but we will certainly go back. Here's hoping there's plenty more sunshine and alfresco coffees to come over the next few months, and lots more adventures too.

Kate x
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