The "no sugar" has already gone to hell, so I might as well do my best to uphold the others!
Sir Joshua is here!
It's been brilliant having my hunky boyfriend around. Everything is more fun when you're with the one you love, so Josh being in London is like London on crack for me!
To celebrate resuming our life of fun we went for a lovely dinner at a restaurant in Pilimco called The Orange. We shared some things, the best of which being champagne braised rabbit with homemade spinach gnocchi and green olives. I felt a little bad about eating a bunny, especially with a magician, but every bite so was incredible I forgot my guilt.
We walked off dinner for a bit before heading into a little pub on the Kings Road for some classic English desserts.
People are always making fun of English food, and rightfully so in some areas (like steak and kidney pie) - but I think I give England the award for the country I've visited with the best desserts.
Now that may sound absurd, but think about it...
In France everything is delicious, but it's also quite small and prissy. They have plenty of amazing and indulgent things, but I think of crepes and macarons as more of a snack than a dessert.
Greece is pretty bad on the dessert front. All they've got is baklava and I've never considered that a real dessert.
In Quebec everything is maple syrup flavored. Which is good at first because it's unique, but quickly became a bit to breakfasty for me.
Guatemala didn't even have dessert options. There were only things like guava paste. Gross.
Hollands best "dessert" is actually a dinner - panneokeon.
Italy is the absolute worst. They're so focused on amazing pasta, they never got around to perfecting sweets. Tiramisu is terrible. Pizelles? Please. Spumoni and all those gross, anise flavored cookies you couldnt pay me to eat. The only thing they've got going for them is gelato - but all of Europe has gelato.
Then there's England.
Sticky Toffee Pudding, Banoffe Pie, Knickerbocker Glory, Victoria Sponge, Millionaire's Shortbread, Spotted Dick, Jam Roly Polys, treacle tart - and of course Mince Pies!
All of these things are sweet, dense, homey, delicious treats that fill your heart with joy and your belly with toffee. A girl is never at a loss for something amazing and sugary here! And what makes it really fun is that we don't have any of these things back in the states. We've all been creme bruled and tiramisued to death in restaurants, so having them in the country they came from isn't actually all that exciting. But have you ever seen Eton Mess on a menu in America?
No. And it's really too bad, because it rocks your trouser socks.
Josh and I got a Sticky Toffee Pud' and Eton Mess to share, even though I could have easily licked both plates clean on my own. It was a very sweet ending to our first day together in London!
Last night we went to see Ghost The Musical, which had me in tears half the time and chills the other half, due to the amazing performances and voices of the two leads.
At the interval, I dried my eye's and asked Josh - who prides himself on being a film buff - how close the storyline of the musical was to the movie, since I haven't seen it in ages.
He contemplated and replied, "Very close. They just haven't done that scene yet with the pottery, you know where that great song plays in the background - (and then he dramatically sang) Take my breath away....."
This statment took my breath away because I was laughing so hard.
You mean, "oh my love, my darling, I hunger for your touch," I sang back.
Now I must state for the court that Unchained Melody was sung in the first 10 minutes of the musical. It also is the first thing everyone in the world thinks of when they think of Ghost. Some movie buff.
Josh did not find this event nearly as funny as I did. And will probably see no humor in my public account of it - but he did say he wanted to be mentioned more in my blog. So volia.
So after our two very fun days in London, today we head out to Gloucestershire, where Josh hosts a Magic Convention every January in a little town called Newent, where his friend Andi lives.
I am actually really excited to both go to my first magic convention, and also get a taste of what a little english town is like.
I googled Newent to learn more about what fun things are there.
Turns out, the highlight of life in Newent comes every September when there is a Onion Fayre, complete with contests for both growing and eating onions.
Peaked your interest have I?
This is from the Onion Fayre website.
"At 1pm the audience will gather at the main stage for the great Onion Eating Competition. Competitors come from far and wide to attempt this feat.
The first round of the competition is the Ladies event. Each entrant is given a 5 ounce peeled raw onion to consume in the fastest possible time The second round sees the men chomp their way through an even bigger onion, a whopping 7 ouncer, like it's an apple.
Once the onion is consumed the contestant has to hold their arms outstreched and mouth wide open for the judges to declare them the winner.
Fancy a go? Just leave your name with the team at the main stage and turn up at 1pm. Happy chomping - and don't forget the mouthwash!"
In France everything is delicious, but it's also quite small and prissy. They have plenty of amazing and indulgent things, but I think of crepes and macarons as more of a snack than a dessert.
Greece is pretty bad on the dessert front. All they've got is baklava and I've never considered that a real dessert.
In Quebec everything is maple syrup flavored. Which is good at first because it's unique, but quickly became a bit to breakfasty for me.
Guatemala didn't even have dessert options. There were only things like guava paste. Gross.
Hollands best "dessert" is actually a dinner - panneokeon.
Italy is the absolute worst. They're so focused on amazing pasta, they never got around to perfecting sweets. Tiramisu is terrible. Pizelles? Please. Spumoni and all those gross, anise flavored cookies you couldnt pay me to eat. The only thing they've got going for them is gelato - but all of Europe has gelato.
Then there's England.
Sticky Toffee Pudding, Banoffe Pie, Knickerbocker Glory, Victoria Sponge, Millionaire's Shortbread, Spotted Dick, Jam Roly Polys, treacle tart - and of course Mince Pies!
All of these things are sweet, dense, homey, delicious treats that fill your heart with joy and your belly with toffee. A girl is never at a loss for something amazing and sugary here! And what makes it really fun is that we don't have any of these things back in the states. We've all been creme bruled and tiramisued to death in restaurants, so having them in the country they came from isn't actually all that exciting. But have you ever seen Eton Mess on a menu in America?
No. And it's really too bad, because it rocks your trouser socks.
Josh and I got a Sticky Toffee Pud' and Eton Mess to share, even though I could have easily licked both plates clean on my own. It was a very sweet ending to our first day together in London!
Last night we went to see Ghost The Musical, which had me in tears half the time and chills the other half, due to the amazing performances and voices of the two leads.
At the interval, I dried my eye's and asked Josh - who prides himself on being a film buff - how close the storyline of the musical was to the movie, since I haven't seen it in ages.
He contemplated and replied, "Very close. They just haven't done that scene yet with the pottery, you know where that great song plays in the background - (and then he dramatically sang) Take my breath away....."
This statment took my breath away because I was laughing so hard.
You mean, "oh my love, my darling, I hunger for your touch," I sang back.
Now I must state for the court that Unchained Melody was sung in the first 10 minutes of the musical. It also is the first thing everyone in the world thinks of when they think of Ghost. Some movie buff.
Josh did not find this event nearly as funny as I did. And will probably see no humor in my public account of it - but he did say he wanted to be mentioned more in my blog. So volia.
So after our two very fun days in London, today we head out to Gloucestershire, where Josh hosts a Magic Convention every January in a little town called Newent, where his friend Andi lives.
I am actually really excited to both go to my first magic convention, and also get a taste of what a little english town is like.
I googled Newent to learn more about what fun things are there.
Turns out, the highlight of life in Newent comes every September when there is a Onion Fayre, complete with contests for both growing and eating onions.
Peaked your interest have I?
This is from the Onion Fayre website.
"At 1pm the audience will gather at the main stage for the great Onion Eating Competition. Competitors come from far and wide to attempt this feat.
The first round of the competition is the Ladies event. Each entrant is given a 5 ounce peeled raw onion to consume in the fastest possible time The second round sees the men chomp their way through an even bigger onion, a whopping 7 ouncer, like it's an apple.
Once the onion is consumed the contestant has to hold their arms outstreched and mouth wide open for the judges to declare them the winner.
Fancy a go? Just leave your name with the team at the main stage and turn up at 1pm. Happy chomping - and don't forget the mouthwash!"
Count me in for that one!
Whilst reading up on Newent and their onion obsession, I discovered that Newent is located just near the Forest of Dean, which may ring a bell if you are a Harry Potter fan.
The Forest of Dean is where Harry, Ron, and Hermione camp out in HP and Deathly Hallows while they are hunting horcruxes! It is also where Hermione once went camping with her dentist parents. I got VERY excited about this because I didn't know it was a real place! A trot through the forest is definitely on my list of things to do in Newent.
Also on my list is a visit to the sweets shoppe that Andi's parents own! I have always dreamed of literally being a kid in a candy store, filling up a bag of bon bons with a carte blanc!
I'm excited to meet some of Josh's "magic friends" and see them perform. There will be lots of shows, workshops and lectures over the weekend.
I offered up doing a performance at the convention - free of charge! I had a few great ideas for lectures for both the magicians and their spouses.
1 - "The Secret Life of Joshua Jay: Dating the Man Behind the Mystery"
2 - "No, He Doesn't Cut Me In Half": Coping with the ridiculous questions you get asked as a magicians girlfriend.
3 - "Mingling with Muggles" Tips for magicians on dating non-magic folk.
Josh was not keen however. His loss.
I guess I'll just have to mingle with the other magician's girlfriends and try to organize a hike to the Forest of Dean.
Cheers to the magical weekend ahead!
Whilst reading up on Newent and their onion obsession, I discovered that Newent is located just near the Forest of Dean, which may ring a bell if you are a Harry Potter fan.
The Forest of Dean is where Harry, Ron, and Hermione camp out in HP and Deathly Hallows while they are hunting horcruxes! It is also where Hermione once went camping with her dentist parents. I got VERY excited about this because I didn't know it was a real place! A trot through the forest is definitely on my list of things to do in Newent.
Also on my list is a visit to the sweets shoppe that Andi's parents own! I have always dreamed of literally being a kid in a candy store, filling up a bag of bon bons with a carte blanc!
I'm excited to meet some of Josh's "magic friends" and see them perform. There will be lots of shows, workshops and lectures over the weekend.
I offered up doing a performance at the convention - free of charge! I had a few great ideas for lectures for both the magicians and their spouses.
1 - "The Secret Life of Joshua Jay: Dating the Man Behind the Mystery"
2 - "No, He Doesn't Cut Me In Half": Coping with the ridiculous questions you get asked as a magicians girlfriend.
3 - "Mingling with Muggles" Tips for magicians on dating non-magic folk.
Josh was not keen however. His loss.
I guess I'll just have to mingle with the other magician's girlfriends and try to organize a hike to the Forest of Dean.
Cheers to the magical weekend ahead!
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