No 5 complete: Make a Souffle

This was a scary proposition but I'm pleased to say turned out well. I tried a Gordon Ramsey cheese souffle recipe which can be found at http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2234/classic-cheese-souffle.

It took a while but it rose a good 5cm and was gobbled down by the family along with a nice salad.

No 21 complete: Hang something up in my house

My dad recently enabled me to complete number 21 on my list - to hang something up in my house. I was able to hang up a picture in my bedroom. And it was an added bonus that I've been wanting to put it up for near on 8 years now....

Finished work!

No 19 complete: Read the Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

It was a long book but I always wanted to read it because of the name association. And now its done! The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens, only a staggering £1.89 from Amazon in light of its 750 odd pages. A short summary can be found here but in essence it follows one main character, Samuel Pickwick on his many travels and adventures as he observes the world with other members of 'the Pickwick Club'. There are lots of interwoven stories within it, including Mr Pickwick going to court, jail, bringing about romantic matches, watching elections, chasing villains etc. There's many memorable characters, funny moments and much detail about the surroundings, including the food etc which I found amusing.

An enjoyable read, even though the language and descriptions were sometimes a little hard to get through at times. Would recommend heartily!

No 1 & 26 completed together: Portobello road market & a hummingbird cake..

'Portobello road, Portobello road, street where the riches of ages are stowed. Anything and everything a chap can unload is sold off the barrow in Portobello road.' Bed-nobs and Broomsticks 

My friend recently took me down to Portobello road market. We started at the Notting Hill Gate end of the road, went through the various antiques tables, then onto food, drink, flowers, odds and ends and finally clothes. I found it absolutely fascinating and will probably take others to see it. And whilst we were there we frequented the Hummingbird bakery where I tasted my first ever famous 'Red Velvet' cupcake. Delicious! 

We even got to see the 'Blue door' from the film Notting Hill (which is back to being blue, as it was apparently painted black for a while) as well as the travel bookshop. 

Thus I've now completed 10 from my list and am nicely a third the way through! 

No 16 complete: Download and play music on my phone

I have now sat down and figured out how to purchase and download music to my phone. And to check it worked I bought my first three tracks for 99p each (some nice Lionel Richie etc) and had the pleasure of listening to them on my phone. Now all that I need is for my new headphones to arrive so I can listen on the go.

No 20 complete: Watch three films made in 60's and 70's

Last night I finished my third old movie, thanks to my uncle and another friend. There are still a few movies I want to watch such as 'Gone with the wind' but I was pleased with the three I chose. I was even more pleased to note one of them were even made before the 60's and 70's. They were 'Casablanca' (1942), 'El Cid' (1961) and 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' (1966). I think I enjoyed Casablanca the most, followed by El Cid.

Short synopsis's below:

Casablanca: Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II: An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications

.

Eld Cid: The fabled Spanish hero Rodrigo Diaz (a.k.a. El Cid) overcomes a family vendetta and court intrigue to defend Christian Spain against the Moors.








The Good, the Bad and the Ugly: A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.

No 6 completed: Get a paid-for manicure

I went with my lovely cousin Amanda today to have my first ever manicure (I had a french manicure). We went to a place called Annas Touch of Beauty in Northwood and it was two manicures for £44. All really professionally done and a nice treat after being away.

No 15 completed: Eat own produce

I technically completed this a while back because my spring onions in my garden were ready for eating. But I wanted to wait for my first tomato which came this week. And there's a big crop that will hopefully follow it! Its inspired me to plant again for next year.

No 7 completed: The Godfather

It was a while back but I finally watched the Godfather via Netflix. I probably learnt a lot about the film from other films because I recognised quotes such as 'go to the mattresses' and 'I'll make him an offer he can't refuse'. It was interesting to see a young Robert Duvall, an Al Pacino whom I didn't even recognise at first and Diane Keaton . I didn't really follow completely what was going on (probably because of Marlon Brando's accent) and had to read a synopsis afterwards. But it was entertaining nevertheless. Not sure I'll watch Part II or Part III though....

No 13 complete: a visit to Buckingham Palace (God Save the Queen!)

Today I visited the State Rooms (19 of them) at Buckingham Palace with my Dad. Sadly we weren't able to take photos inside but it was fantastic and I'd recommend it to anyone. Each room was so grand, ornate and beautiful - I bought some postcards to remember it by. We had a timed entry at 11am and it took us about an hour and half to look round, with an audio tour and also a viewing of a special exhibition of the Queen's coronation.  

No 23 complete: Stir fry

The recent EMW conference in Aberystwyth gave me the chance to fulfill number 23 on my list - make a stir fry. Only thing is I hadn't counted on my first one being for 11 people for Sunday lunch. But with the help of Cristina and two woks plus other saucepans and dishes we managed it and with many laughs and smiles along the way. 

Ingredients: diced pork, egg noodles, beansprouts, spring onions (from my garden), garlic, ginger, soy sauce and other stir fry veg. Despite it sticking to the pans numerous times, it all got eaten, I learned loads and no one was ill - so all in all a success! I hope to make it again!

No 18 complete: ride in an open top car

The first activity completed on my list; nicely ticked off yesterday (1st Aug) as my uncle kindly gave me a spin in his new open top car (Mercedes). And it was the hottest day of the year so all smiles! The promise is to take me again as well. 

30 BEFORE 30

Confession: I haven't used this blog since 2007 but now i'm going to try and use it as a sort of online journal for this small project of mine '30 BEFORE 30'. 

Making a list of 30 things to do before turning 30 isn't new in any sense. There loads of people who do it and so as I draw near the big 30 I thought I'd have a go BUT put a twist on it. I'm not looking to attempt feats such as jump out of a plane, learn a new instrument or head to x number of new lands because to be honest I don't have the time or the money to get it all done before then (and truth be told, I don't actually want to jump out of a plane). 

But my list (below) is about ordinary every day experiences, what 30 things should I have really done by the time i'm 30 or maybe have always wanted to do in the back of my mind but for various reasons haven't got round to it. So now the motivation and deadline is set - to get them done before i'm 30! I may hear you say in surprise 'you haven't done that?' or 'you don't know how to do that?'' or even 'why do you need or want to do that'. This list is personal to me and so I can and will explain each one as I go. Some are big things that will take time, others smaller and a bit easier to do. I'm going to chart getting through each one in this blog so i can have a way of looking back on it afterwards. And I'll no doubt be relying on friends and family to help with quite a few of them in terms of knowing how to get them done. Feel free to journey with me by sending in comments, ideas and suggestions. 

30 BEFORE 30 (not in any particular order)

1) Buy a cake from a Hummingbird bakery
2) Eat at Brazilian restaurant
3) Go to a Pilates class
4) Take in the view from The Shard
5) Make a Souffle
6) Get a paid-for manicure
7) Watch the Godfather
8) Learn to do three types of knots
9) Make a Baked Alaska
10) Watch a rugby match whole way through
11) Read through the whole bible
12) Learn to play Backgammon
13) Visit Buckingham palace
14) Go to Hampstead Heath
15) Eat my own produce. 
16) Download and play music on my phone
17) Start a fire from scratch
18) Ride in an open top car
19) Read the Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens
20) Watch three films made in 60's and 70's
21) Hang something up in my house (cupboard, picture etc)
22) Make my own ice cream (three interesting flavours)
23) Cook a stir fry
24) Learn two new hair styles
25) Complete three levels in French Rosetta stone
26) Go to Portobello Road market
27) Make and fly a kite
28) Take a day trip to Paris
29) Learn five different origami

30) Eat Sushi