....I almost had a duck!!!

I went grocery shopping today.

After bemoaning my lack of food yesterday, I decided I needed to change the state of things. So off I went to one of the major stores. I shop there most of the time simply because I am familiar with the way things are.

I don't like walking into a store and having to go around looking for every itsy bitsy thing I need. Yuck!


So today, I went shopping and guess what I stumbled upon - A DUCK! No, it wasn't alive - although now I think of it, that would have been entertaining.

I pick up this duck and the price is £18. I am looking at it and thinking to myself - roast, serve with potatoes, serve in a wrap, serve in a sandwich = 4 blog posts. And with that I decide to get the duck. Even though I have never cooked one before, I was willing to give it a try - what's the worse that could happen eii?

Then I notice the pack says "Use By 30th Sept" - err that is today! Okkkkkkay! This will change things a little. I am thinking "I have to make this today, not a problem. I will just have duck all week"

I ring up everyone I know who I can possibly ring up and tell of how I am buying a duck! "Yes! how cool is that? I am buying a duck and although I have never made one before I am going to!" - on hindsight, I shouldn't have done that.

For you see, when I got to the till and scanned the duck through, the reality of the cost hit me! Especially after I noticed duckie didn't smell as fresh as I would like.

Well, in true womble style I laid down my cards to the lady, "Look, I will take this if you reduce it because as it stands, if I can't eat it today then I have to bin £18 just like that". She was understanding. Maybe because we've become acquainted over time. So "Buzz" she calls over the lad who is responsible for reductions and explains the situation. Sit tight for the shocker.

"I cannot reduce this item. If you want it at the ticket price then fine, you can have it. Otherwise I will bin it"...... Ok, so I got a bit confused. Pardon me for being slow but I didn't quite understand..... he said if I pay the full price for duckie then I can have duckie but he would rather bin duckie than reduce the price???????? ....... Regardless of how you look at it, surely the store stands to gain by selling me the item. Throwing it in the bin means they don't get anything and that's just food waste. Harmful to the environment too!

So here I am, home, duckieless and quite sad.........I know my friends will ask. Everyone I told I was getting a duck. And I will say I lost him.

If you ask me (not that you will), I will say 'Sir Reductions' had his eye on my duck!!!!!!

My name is Lady,
and - I almost had a duck :-(

Image from: Duck hunt App

Meatpie - Lazy Remix

Lately, I haven't been doing much cooking :-( ....actually, that's not entirely true. I have been cooking. Just not making anything elaborate.

When I cook I like to go all out! Shop for fresh ingredients, stay in the kitchen for hours on end and make sure everything is picture perfect when served.


Sadly, I can't seem to find the time these days. Plus everywhere is still unfamiliar as I haven't explored my new city. I have no idea where to get certain food items, the supermarkets are quite far from my house and they are pricey compared to what I am used to.

Today I went visiting and I decided to go bearing gifts. Lol. Problem was - what to take with me. My fridge was full of cold air and I didn't have much time to spare.

I am a firm believer in buying staples - you know, those important things you must have: in your kitchen, bathroom, wardrobe.....the list is endless.

I decided on this recipe using staples I had in the freezer. All I did was a lazy twist on a traditional snack I loved growing up because I knew it was my friend's favourite (and I would get to eat some as well)

I started with Olive oil, 1 small onion, 1 stock cube, Thyme, Curry, Paprika and Peas.

Put 1 tbsp of any oil of choice into your heated pot/pan.

Once your oil starts to sizzle, add your onion (chopped)

After 3minutes, Add your beef mince and leave to brown. I am using 400g of mince

Add curry, thyme, paprika and your stock cube

Put in a handful of peas. I used just peas because that was all I had. I would usually add carrots and potatoes at this stage

Cook for 5 minutes and turn off your heat. Leave to cool.

Now for the timesaver - I like this brand of pastry because it is well flavoured and easy to work with

30 minutes before use, take your pastry out of the fridge and remove all packaging - carton and outer plastic wrap

Unroll pastry sheet out of blue plastic wrap

Cut up pastry into 6 squares of similar dimensions

Start stuffing each square with your cooled mince

Fold in the edges to make parcels like this. Brush with beaten egg (optional)

Arrange on a tray and bake for 20 minutes at 200 degrees/Gas mark 6. Leave on a rack to cool....

The entire process took me just under an hour and the smell of home baking was thrilling - without the hard work.

One thing I must add is - wait till your filling cools down completely. You can prepare it the night before and bake the next day.

I will say this dish was a success and worth trying, especially if you have kids and want to introduce them to cooking. Watch out when it comes to handling the knife! :-)

Womble Love xx

The Story of Kyle

One day, when I was a freshman in high school, I saw a kid from my class walking home from school. His name was Kyle. It looked like he was carrying all of his books. I thought to myself, “Why would anyone bring home all his books on a Friday? He must really be a nerd.”

I had quite a weekend planned (parties and a football game with my friends tomorrow afternoon), so I shrugged my shoulders and went on. As I was walking, I saw a bunch of kids running toward him. They ran at him, knocking all his books out of his arms and tripping him so he landed in the dirt. His glasses went flying, and I saw them land in the grass about ten feet from him. He looked up, and I saw this terrible sadness in his eyes.


My heart went out to him. So I jogged over to him, and as he crawled around looking for his glasses, I saw a tear in his eye. As I handed him his glasses, I said, “Those guys are jerks. They really should get lives.” He looked at me and said, “Hey thanks!” There was a big smile on his face. It was one of those smiles that showed real gratitude.

I helped him pick up his books and asked him where he lived. As it turned out, he lived near me, so I asked him why I had never seen him before. He said he had gone to private school before now. I would have never hung out with a private school kid before, but we talked all the way home, and I carried his books.

He turned out to be a pretty cool kid. I asked him if he wanted to play football on Saturday with me and my friends. He said yes.

We hung out all weekend, and the more I got to know Kyle, the more I liked him. And my friends thought the same of him. Monday morning came, and there was Kyle with the huge stack of books again. I stopped him and said, “Boy, you are gonna really build some serious muscles with this pile of books everyday!” He just laughed and handed me half the books.

Over the next four years, Kyle and I became best friends. When we were seniors, we began to think about college. Kyle decided on Georgetown, and I was going to Duke. I knew that we would always be friends, that the miles would never be a problem. He was going to be a doctor, and I was going for business on a football scholarship.

Kyle was valedictorian of our class. I teased him all the time about being a nerd. He had to prepare a speech for graduation. I was so glad it wasn’t me having to get up there and speak.

On graduation day, I saw Kyle. He looked great. He was one of those guys that really found himself during high school. He filled out and actually looked good in glasses. He had more dates than me and all the girls loved him! Boy, sometimes I was jealous. Today was one of those days. I could see that he was nervous about his speech, so I smacked him on the back and said, “Hey, big guy, you’ll be great!” He looked at me with one of those looks (the really grateful one) and smiled. “Thanks,” he said.

As he started his speech, he cleared his throat, and began. “Graduation is a time to thank those who helped you make it through those tough years. Your parents, your teachers, your siblings, maybe a coach — but mostly your friends. I am here to tell all of you that being a friend to someone is the best gift you can give them. I am going to tell you a story.” I just looked at my friend with disbelief as he told the story of the first day we met. He had planned to kill himself over the weekend. He talked of how he had cleaned out his locker so his mom wouldn’t have to do it later and was carrying his stuff home. He looked hard at me and gave me a little smile. “Thankfully, I was saved. My friend saved me from doing the unspeakable.”

I heard the gasp go through the crowd as this handsome, popular boy told us all about his weakest moment. I saw his mom and dad looking at me and smiling that same grateful smile. Not until that moment did I realize its depth.

Never underestimate the power of your actions. With one small gesture, you can change a person’s life.


Disclaimer: I did not write this. I saw this on facebook and was inspired so I shared. Please if anyone knows the author, let me know and I will reference accordingly. 

With love,
Lady Womble xx

a word on Jamie's Italian by Jamie Oliver

I remember visiting Jamie's Italian one fine evening.

I say fine because - well, that's what they say evenings are right?.....'She walked down the path one fine evening'......'It was a fine evening and the moon was shining brightly'......Ok, back to my post.


Yes! It was indeed a fine evening and I had booked a table for 8pm.

Because it was a surprise and I had an appointment prior to dinner time, I rang up to move my booking to 9:30pm. That was a busy period for the restaurant and they managed to find a place for me (Bonus point number 1)

On getting there, the place was pretty full as they had just opened and everyone wanted in on the action.....probably before it lost it's novelty.

The best part of the night was having our own waiter at the table - and he was Italian which added some flair to the experience. Having a native speaker read out the menu was BELLO! (Bonus point number 2)

To be honest, the meal was nothing special in terms of what was being offered. It's the standard you get with such places in terms of taste and price. But the ambience, service and experience makes it worth going for a visit. I loved it so much I tipped the waiter more than I have ever done before! :-| (and I am not stingy in that regard, we hope!)

The only thing I will say was I felt my bowl of pasta was a tad small. I asked for a large portion and what I got didn't quite do it for me. Maybe it's my ravenous appetite, maybe I am tight with my money but whatever it was, I was very close to calling the waiter back.....And I was going to ask for more incase you wondered! I was paying wasn't I? *valueformoney

Did I call him back? No. Only because I was keeping up appearances......It was a surprise dinner remember. You invite someone out, you have to be ready to stomach a few dents in your wallet.

Source : http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/

Source: http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/

Source: http://www.jamieoliver.com/italian/

Today I am giving out a Gift Voucher worth £10 to any Jamie's Italian restaurant in the UK (Locations: Bath, Birmingham, Bluewater, Brighton, Bristol, Cambridge, Canary Wharf, Cardiff, Cheltenham, Covent Garden, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Guildford, Islington, Kingston, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth, Reading, Westfield Shepherd's Bush, St. Albans, Westfield Stratford city, Threadneedle street, York, Sydney, Perth, Dundrum Dublin)

All you have to do is -     Follow this blog
                                     Leave a comment saying 'Jamie's Italian'

Terms and Conditions:    Gift Voucher is valid till 12th October 2012
                                      Please print to claim as digital versions will not be accepted
                                      Please read other terms on the voucher.


To all my readers elsewhere, please follow this blog, leave a comment stating your location and watch this space for something near you. Buona Notte.

Womble Love xx

P.S

Let me know what you think after you visit!

.....confessions of a raving Foodie (1)

I love food!

There, I said it....It's not a - 'I love you when I am hungry', 'I love you when I need a fix' or 'I love you when you are free' kind of love. It is a 'I love you no strings attached' kind. This is why I cook even though I have a fridge full of food, cook when I have someone coming over, cook when I am inspired, cook when I am hungry and cook when it will be much easier to just pop over to a chippy and buy something to eat.

So when I saw the Maggi cook in the bag seasoning on supermarket shelves, I decided to give it a go.



The recipe on the pack said to use 800g of ribs, I used 830g.

 The night before, I opened my pack of ribs and emptied a sachet of Maggi cook in the bag seasoning then left to marinate after covering with cling film. Although it says to pop everything in the bag, shake then cook, I like my food spicy......did I add that I threw in some crushed bird's eye chilli for extra kick? :D

What the cooking bag looks like when unfolded

The bag comes with a red seal to keep everything intact. I tossed in fresh yellow peppers for added flavour

Don't you dare laugh at my dish ...... it's cute!

It looks like a chicken in there .... or is it just me?

This was an easy to use and straight forward pack. Hassle free with no mess to clean up. Don't forget to put some holes in the bag. Make sure they are tiny as big holes will leave your ribs dry and they will take longer to cook.

Sorry I forgot to take pictures when they came out but I can tell you they served me well for days!

29.04.2010

So I got home today and decided to vacuum the entire house - yep, all 3 floors of it!

I start with my room and soon after *beep, this text comes in


'Hi Lady, want all images taken during your photo shoot on 29.04.10 at STUDIOLONDON? More than 90% OFF original the price! Reply YES or call'

Being the curious girl I am, I called.No reply. Moments later a man rings back to say I have 57 pictures, can't preview any but if I pay £70 pounds I get a link to all my pictures via email.

Ok, now let me give you a background story - A friend signed me up for a free shoot and when I got the call I thought - ah well, what will it hurt. Off I go to London and spend the day, time and money waiting for my pictures to be ready. Now I was expecting to pay for them - obviously, but when they said £3,000 for the lot I zoned out and switched to autopilot mode.

£3,000 for what? Pictures? Can I resell them? Will they feed me? Pay my rent? Will they lay golden eggs? *PAH!....They obviously noticed the blood drain from my face because I was then offered the soft copies for £824 (I never forgot the figure, it haunted me!) and I could pay instalmentally. Now, I am a Womble and I have a policy - if you can't pay for it in cash now, forget it. *delayedgratification.

2 years later filled with occasional wonder about what had happened to them and I get this? Apparently the Studio went bankrupt (not hard to imagine why!), was bought and now the new guys are contacting people on their database to offer them their pictures at a reduced price.

That said, I told Mr Caller I will ring him back.

In this day and age, £70 is a lot for 2 year old pictures I think. Don't know - to buy or not to buy .....

HELP!!

Picture not taken by me - Web Image

Barbie & Ken's Traditional Wedding - PhotographybyObi

Ok so I saw this post months ago and fell in love.

I shared it on facebook and ended up chatting with Obi. According to him, his wife made the costumes while they bought the props. After the shoot, everything went on ebay - this was one expensive shoot!


I honestly cannot express how in love with this post I am. I just have to share it here. For those who don't know, this is a good representation of the Yoruba culture portrayed.

At the end of my chat, I told Obi to please tell his wife she is AMAZING!!!!.......of course that was after bragging about the finesse of a woman's touch. Lol.

Please visit PhotographybyObi for entire album and tell me what you think. xx

my love for YOU

my love for YOU is like the sea,
just when the calm hits,
waves come crashing in


my love for YOU is like a meal,
even when i am full,
i have a dessert that leaves me with guilt

my love for YOU is like the sun,
the sooner i bask in it,
the faster it fades and welcomes the moon

my love for YOU is like a child,
naive,trusting.....yet unsure

my love for YOU is like a home,
one minute full of joy, the next bringing tears,

my love for YOU......though i lose words to express my love for YOU;
i know it's real.

London a la Golden Tours

Yesterday, I spent the entire day in London. I booked a place on the London by Night Open bus tour (Golden Tours). This usually costs £16 but I got it off Wowcher for £8 at 50% off.

I spent all week excited and looking forward to it and I will like to share my experience.

Getting to the venue was quite straightforward as the pick-up point is close to the Victoria underground station. I took the District line to Victoria station and experienced some delays. Getting to the station at  8:00pm, I rang the office to explain that I was running late as we were due to depart at 8:00pm! Since the description I got over the phone was quite vague, it took me 15minutes to get there and the bus driver was waiting as promised over the phone.

The top of the bus was full as was expected so I settled for the lower deck which was practically empty. During the tour, I was unable to take good shots as the driver whizzed throught the City. Overall, we drove past lots of landmark locations as promised but there was practically no stopping except at traffic lights. The tour was over after 1hr and 20 minutes and I admit, I did not have the best seat in the house. In my opinion, this was a nice experience and you can get some nice shots -  if you get a seat on top. I would recommend it for anyone who wants to see key parts of London at night and at half price, it's a steal. However, I believe the beauty of a tour is being able to linger at places that catch your interest.

At the end of the day, the choice is entirely yours :)

Here are some of the shots I got - through the window!

Always start the day with a hearty meal! (Let me know if you want the recipe)

First Picture through the window, the lights were on and when we asked, the Tour guide kindly turned it off. Everyone was so nice!

First shot of London Eye

Better View!

I like this motion shot a lot!

This time I had a black car driving past

Quite impressed with this actually, I could read the building name

Lovely Apartment building!

I kept this shot because of the motion

Through a window - is it obvious?

These atheletes are so inspiring, I had to take this shot, I was enthralled....

Piccadilly Baby!

Back at the station, heading home.......

I always love the adverts in the underground

What I am reading tonight

Worn while in London - Earring from Debenhams £6, Ring from Dorothy Perkins £8.50

I need to study my camera and maximise it's potential

Dress I wore on trip to London. Head turner - Warehouse £75

Web Image of my dress from Warehouse online

Pregolom.....why?

Today I decided to login to see what my traffic's like.......

Russia - 8
France - 1
Germany - 1



Was I excited? YES!!! I was so amazed and wondered if these people had to google translate my posts.....or, like in Brussels, are they able to speak fluent English and amaze the socks off me?

A search of my traffic sources proved otherwise - www.super-online-search.com and www.pregolom.com = nothing but spam.

So I am taking the advise I found and not clicking on the links. Apparently all I can do is ignore them as they can't be stopped or deleted.

Hope this helps someone :)

.....Countdown

September is officially here and I don't know how it crept up on me!!....One minute it was a new year and I had just started a new job, the next - all the supermarkets are stocking Christmas chocolates and sweeties.

Ah well, I am glad the sun has been out all week so can't complain *big grin.



With just 4 months left in the year 2012, there's still time to make plans and accomplish any goals set at the start. As for me, I choose self-love - best expressed over a plate of food!

Recently, I've been finding time for breakfast - let me know if you would like the recipe!