My Notting Hill: Jamie Oliver's Recipease

When we first moved to England,

I would do a 2 hour commute

into London for work...

and then another 2 hours home.

(And I loved it.)

In the evenings,

the first hour was on the tube

getting to Paddington

where I would hop on a train

and haul my buns

back out to Oxford.

In London during commuter hours,

free newspapers are passed out

to commuters as the enter the tube entrances.

I love sitting on the packed-yet-silent tubes

and listening the ruffles of newspapers.

Because there's no cell service (yet),

it is like a time transport

to people reading books & papers.

(And I loved that, too.)

I remember reading the Evening Standard

on the tube one night

the first few months we lived in England.

There was 30-Minute Meal insert

by this English chef, Jamie Oliver...

he was cooking with exotic ingredients

like "rocket" and "coriander"

and making weird sounding things

like Portuguese tarts for dessert.

For some reason,

I kept the paper

and it's still sitting in my recipe book today.

Now that I've been here a while

(3.5 years already!),

I realize what a naive little pup I was.

Jamie Oliver is practically the king of the cooking scene here.

(And "rocket" & "coriander" is actually just arugula & cilantro. Oops.)

While I still don't have an affinity for Portuguese tarts,

I have fallen in love with Mr. Oliver.

He taught me to roast a perfect chicken, afterall.

And, now, he set up shop in our neighborhood

with the cutest place you ever did see:

RECIPEASE.

Cooking classes, cute baking goods,

take away meals for dinner,

gorgeous baked goods & coffee for easy snagging,

and of course- a restaurant with his yummy recipes.

It's a sweet place

that's easy to find

right above the Notting Hill Gate tube station...

Stop by. 

Either grab a coffee

or sit a while 

in the sunny windows upstairs

over a gorgeous plate of his yummy creatiions.

(I personally dig the thai green curry or the spiced carrot pancake with hummous!)

*    *   *

RECIPEASE

92-94 Notting Hill Gate

London W11 3QB

(other locations available here)

*photography by Noah Darnell

My Notting Hill: Talkhouse Coffee

Our friend Reuben is generally very nice...

except when it comes to coffee.

You should have seen the snarl I got when I asked if 

he had served instant coffee after we had dinner  at their house one night.

The death look was given and noted.

So when he says that a place by our flat has really good coffee,

we listen.

Well, actually, Tyler listens

and then takes me....

and then I remember that this was the place

 that Reuben was talking up so much.

Talkhouse sits on Portobello Road,

at the end of the market.

It's a small coffee shop

that discreetly boasts

that it's barista won 3rd in the 

World Latte Art Competition.

(Who knew such existed, right?)

But not only does Talkhouse serve coffee so fancy

that it could make a hipster feel insecure

but the food is top notch.

We reallllly love the St. John's custard donut

and the chocolate chip cookie sprinkled with sea salt.

Yum.

The lunch options are also really good quality

and amazingly fresh.

If it's nice outside,

snag a seat in the outdoor garden area

at the wayyyyy back of the shop.

(Just keep going, it's there. I promise.)

Enjoy this good, good place.

I know you won't be disappointed.

Talkhouse Coffee

275 Portobello Road

London W11 1LR

*photos by Noah Darnell

My Notting Hill: Honest Burgers

I'm not really a meat eater.

Most of the time,

I stick to veggies...

unless it's exceptionally delicious meat.

Like boeuf bourgignon at a favorite French restaurant

or pork barbecue sandwiches when I'm in the South...

or Chick-fil-A nuggets by the handful because they are goooood.

We don't really eat at ton of red meat,

so we save our burger splurges

for the best...

which means we don't eat them in England.

Burgers in England are gross.

I hate to be a downer, but it's just true.

They're nasty (in my Texan snob opinion)

for two reasons:

1. The cows are grass-fed and it makes the beef taste weird.

2. They use breadcrumbs in the patties so it makes them have

a weird, meatloaf-y consistency.

Now, a year ago,

I could have written off this entire

soggy island and it's soggy burger patties...

but I actually, have to allow for a few exceptions.

Now that the US darlings Shack Shake & Five Guys 

have come to town,

it is possible to get a good burger...

AND because Honest Burgers is here.

Since they are British and have created a good burger,

they get an extra gold star.

There are a few locations,

but we go to the one in Notting Hill

on Portobello Road

(duh).

They offer a really simple menu,

but it's a good one.

Go with the Honest burger (bacon, cheddar, carmelised onion relish)

 + homemade fries with rosemary salt.

Once your tummy starts protruding

with a burger pooch,

you'll singing John Cougar Mellancamp

and swearing to yourself that you were

back in the good ole US of A.

(Except you actually won't be... so don't sing... Just hum.)

*      *     *

Honest Burgers

189 Portobello Road 

London W11 2ED

+44 (0) 7229 4978

(Other locations available here.)

*photography by Noah Darnell

My Notting Hill: Book & Kitchen

Just off the craziness of Portobello Road,

there's a small street that I particularly love.

It's just a stone's throw away

from the madness,

but it's a tiny sliver of quiet & bliss:

Allsaints Road.

It is just... so cute.

It has small independent pubs & restaurants

dotting the tiny colorful street.

We love to go the Pelican 

for yummy pub meals

and for the sweet staff

that always treats Viola 

like a doll.

But on days when it's just me...

well, I like to go to a place

that's a bit quieter

and entirely quaint:

Book & Kitchen

This tiny shop is half bookshop...

half, you guessed it, kitchen!

It feels like a place 

that would make Kathleen Kelly smile.

The giant windows pour in sunshine

and the tiny back deck

is the perfect place 

to spend alone with a good book

or a wandering thought...

or you know, shame eating a piece of cake.

(I'll never judge you for that, you know that.)

Even though it has a a significantly smaller

offering than the large chain book stores,

this place gets my vote

for the best bookshop in London.

They have a children's nook

that is so cute and cozy.

When Viola gets older

and starts enjoying books

for more than licking,

I have visions of spending 

chilly afternoons down there with her.

Oh yeah,

 and the staff is crazy nice, too.

You're gonna love it here.

Book & Kitchen

31 All Saints Road

London W11 1HE

info@bookandkitchen.com

Photography by Noah Darnell

My Notting Hill: New Series

There are many great things about Dallas,

but let's be honest-

it's completely different from London.

While it suits many people's fancy

to have suburban convenience (hello, Costco!) 

and a calendar stuffed with sunshine,

I march to the beat of a different drum.

What can I say?

I'm a sucker for hauling my groceries endless blocks

and living in a tiny space

all for the sake of culture.

*      *     *

Starting tomorrow,

keep your eyes peeled for a fun new series

that I've created

with the help of my friend, Noah.

We've cruised my neighborhood

and picked some of my favorite spots

here in Notting Hill 

to share with you.

Part of me hates to share such "gems..."

but the other part of me just can't wait 

to give you some great new spots

and a peek into our life here in Notting Hill.

I'm sharing my favorites with you,

now do the same for us:

What's a favorite local find

near your home?

I'd love to hear about them!

*images by Noah Darnell

Come one, come all | Girls Night Out

Hey, wanna do dinner sometime?

I know a good pizza place

in Notting Hill- Otto.

(In fact, you've probably seen me instagram from it quite frequently.)

This won't be anything fancy or formal...

Just a way to hang out and get together

for some chatting and good food...

Like "good food" as in 

"two hot chocolate chip cookies 

straight from the oven

separated by a mountain of vanilla ice cream" good.

(aka- the best kind of good)

So who's invited?

If we've met before, you're invited!

If we haven't, you're invited, too!

If you just moved to London,

don't know anyone

and would feel super awkward coming-

hey, you're invited, too!

(In fact, you may need to be there the most. It's lonely being in a new country!)

* * *

Monday, Jan 13th

(yes, like this Monday)

at 6:30pm.

No pre-paying or anything

for this shindig.

Just RSVP to me

lauren@aspiringkennedy.com

so I can know how many people

will be there for the fun.

Happy Weekend!

*images via

Notting Hill: Family Style

When you live in Notting Hill,
the increase in rent
requires a sacrifice of the size of home
you could get in other areas of London.

So for us, 
"home" expands beyond the four walls of our tiny flat
and into the picturesque neighborhood that surrounds us.

The bustling market
full of once-loved treasures,
the pretty cafes that tempt you as you pass by
with their windows piled with fresh goodies,
and the endless sea of the iconic colorful houses
all come with settling in Notting Hill...

... and we think that's worth more 
than a second bathroom
or extra storage space.

So after our Houzz shoot the other week,

we jumped at the chance to have
Noah Darnell shoot some pictures of our family
wandering through the neighborhood.

I had every intention of sending these out 

as our Christmas cards,

but it never happened.

Luckily, I still have an amazing selection

of really sweet pictures from that day.

Some that mirror the images
Liz took of us for my bump shoot
around Notting Hill.

I love having our lives at this point in time captured.

I have no doubt that if or when we move on from our lives here,
I'll pour over these pictures
and long to relive these days again.

(Thank you, Noah!)

Started in the 0.4% and now... that face. 

*images by Noah Darnell

Weekend Rambles

This week was a long, tiring week.

There was nothing bad about it,
 in fact, it was packed full a lot of good/fun things.

If you follow my Instagram insanity,
you may have seen the non-stop line up 
that happened this week
Tower of London, Dover Castle, Canterbury Cathedral, Hampton Court, etc...
along with every tea room & bakery 
in between here & there.

But this morning we woke up groggy
with the immediate need to recover.

So we pushed the alarm to snooze,

cuddled the baby between us 

to convince her to sleep later,

and slept in till 11.

We walked around Portobello Road,

had lunch in one of our favorite pubs, The Pelican,

grocery shopped at the produce stalls & butcher,

queued up like lemmings for a cupcakes at Hummingbird,

and came home for an easy/early night back in the flat.

joining the masses all for a little bit of baked goodness. totally worth it, by the way.

Thanks for the hat, Caley!

A few hours out
with a day like that

and you'll be convinced

that the scales of life

are starting to tip back in your favor
and heavily on the side of awesome.

Except once we got home- 

the baby wouldn't nap,

the boeuf bourgnignon turned out to be more like boeuf soup...

and now, at 11:16, I'm sitting down

after cuddling a certain 7-month old 

who was definitely not wanting to go to bed.

(I suppose this was her form of payback for us conning her to sleep in?)

And perhaps this was my payback for her not going to bed?

Now I'm sitting here

feeling too tired to take a much needed bath,

defeated by the endless visa renewal whisper -talk

Tyler & I had while I rocked Viola,

and severely regretting offering my red velvet cupcake to Tyler

as he chomps in to it over an episode of Arrested Development.

Thank goodness tomorrow is a new day...

And for a husband who saved me the last bite of cupcake 
without me even asking.

*     *    *

Anyone have any special remedy 
for being really tired
and/or adding a few extra hours to the day?
I'll pay you in digestive cookies & ginger beer.

*all images original to Aspiring Kennedy