A Stroll Through Culpeper Community Garden

We live across the street from the Culpeper Community Garden. There are always people in there working on their plots, or business people relaxing and eating their lunch amongst the hum of the bees and the chirping of birds—it's quite a serene place.

I decided to take a stroll through the garden and practice with my camera. My husband has a natural eye for photography, so I let him handle the DSLR while we were in Barcelona because I didn't want to risk ending up with crappy pictures. I kind of regret not taking the reigns since I had such a good time playing around with the camera in Brighton last week, but oh well, ya live, ya learn.

I have so much to learn about shooting with a DSLR camera and right now I am still only using the automatic, flower and landscape settings, but with every time I go out and wander about, I am getting more and more comfortable. 

I am using the Canon EOS 100D, which is the UK version of the Canon Rebel SL1. Does anyone have this camera? Any suggestions or tips? I would love to hear anything that can improve my photography skills!

*linked up

EAT&DRINK: KIPFERL (ISLINGTON)

I'm not all that great with food porn.

I am a hungry girl that is all too consumed with her need/desire for carbs. There is rarely a second in between my plate being placed down in front of me and me digging in. Not only am I always starving, I am typically "hangry". Definition: angry due to hunger.

I was especially lacking in self-control while on a date at Kipferl simply because the food was just that damn good! 

I apologize for the shotty and half eaten pictures ahead of time. In fact, you should probably expect shitty food porn from this blog at all times.

KIPFERL.

Kipferl is located on one of the most adorable side-streets in Islington called Camden Passage. Camden Passage has great furniture & clothing boutiques, coffee shops and vintage finds. It's so quaint; it literally has something for everyone.

I am smitten with Kipferl for a few reasons--
First, it's local. Second, it is a coffee house by-day and restaurant by-night.  Third, in the world of restaurants, culturally, it's different!

James and I are not picky eaters, and we enjoy trying different foods. We are hoping to visit either Switzerland or Austria for a ski weekend, so we might as well get acclimated with the food ahead of time! I was excited to get a good review of Kipferl from a local friend, so I went in with high hopes.

I found the Kipferl menu to be on the modest side which was a relief to me. No need to overwhelm your customers with choices-- no one can pronounce the authentic Austrian names anyways!

James and I ordered a couple of Austrian beers and a couple of starters. Unfortunately, the starters didn't make the photo sess. (Revert to that lack of self-control I mentioned earlier.)

We got the Grilled Goat Cheese on Red Lentil Salad and the Mixed Salad. Goat cheese is my JAM! I love it in any way, shape or form. Seriously, I could eat it every day. This appetizer was no exception. I wanted to get territorial about it, hoard it, but then decided to share since James just got back from a work trip. 

I had better be nice. 

The Mixed Salad was very refreshing. It was a combination of carrots salad, potato salad and regular salad? Not sure if I got that 100% right, but I would recommend it if you're looking for something lighter.

We didn't have to wait too long for our main dishes. Like I told you, mama's hungry. James ordered the Panfried Veal in a Mushroom and White Wine Sauce, and I ordered the Schweinsmedaillons, which is pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon with paprika cabbage and seasonal vegetables. 

James loved his dish. I think he got it specifically for the mushrooms. I don't like mushrooms, so he never gets to eat them. Though he was thoroughly pleased with his meal, it wasn't the most photogenic plate, so we didn't snap a shot of it.

My pork dish was very delicious and visually appealing! Bacon wrapped pork, I mean, helloooo?! I will order this again before venturing onto something else on the menu. It was thattt good!

Other traditional plates on the menu were Kasespatzle and Wiener schnitzel. Obviously there is more, but you can check out their menu for yourself!

We settled our bellies with another beer for James and some sparking for moi. 

Once again, I am sorry for featuring the remains of what used to be a beautiful plate. This desert (Kaiserschmarren- thick, shredded pancake with raisins and morello cherries) passed by earlier in the night and I knew that I needed it. It looked like funnel cake, and I LOVE funnel cake! So I convinced James that I needed it and we made a little extra room for something sweet.

After feeling very satisfied with our first Austrian restaurant experience, I can tell you that I will seek out other Austrian restaurants.

Though I can not speak to the Kipferl coffee house, I am sure it is a lovely experience. I will definitely stop by soon!

For more information about Kipferl check out their website at:
http://www.kipferl.co.uk/

WEEK ELEVEN

The countdown begins!

T-Minus seven days until we are back, partying in Charlotte with all of our friends. Woohoo! Let the good times roll my friends!  As you can see, I am very excited. I am officially starting to pack TODAY and the meticulous selection of proper travel clothes will commence. Seriously, we both can't wait to be home and even though our trip is going to fly by, it is so worth it to be able to see everyone around the holidays!

Talking about weeks flying by-- this past one did just that! Tuesday I attended my first girls' night.  I was lucky enough to be introduced to a couple of these ladies while we were out the other night.  It was refreshing to see some familiar faces, but it was also nice to spend time getting to know other ladies in their group that I hadn't met before.  Everyone was super friendly. We lounged around, drank champagne, ate some seriously delicious nibbles and to top it of, love actually was playing in the background.  SIDE NOTE: I've watched Love Actually a million times, but this was my first time watching it since we now live in London.  It was surreal to see all the places around town on the screen. I LIVE THERE! I LIVE THERE!   The girls' night was a success and we plan on getting together regularly after the beginning of the year. I'm really looking forward to it!

Thursday,  I went to the Isabella Blow exhibit which was absolutely to die for. I will definitely be going back again.

We decided to go out for James' 31st birthday on Friday because most of our friends were heading back to the States this past weekend.  Kristen and Adam stopped by the flat briefly for a drink and some snacks before we headed out to the restaurant.

I got us a reservation at Le Mercury, a quaint French restaurant with a very reasonable menu-- all the starters were 4.95£ and all mains were 9.95£-- I mean, hello??! 

We ordered lots of food and drinks, and overall, I was very satisfied with our dining experience--we will definitely go back to try more options. After dinner we headed out to do some drankin'! We stopped in to the Kings Head, which is an awesome pub that stayed open until 2AM (which is rare) and they had live music. I was in heaven! We even got a little craaaazzzzzyyyy :)

The rest of the weekend was pretty low-key. Saturday, we mosied around Islington and Sunday consisted of football and lounging. A pretty solid week, if I don't say so myself!

xo, 

team starnes