Review: Bill's Islington, London

I could not quite contain my excitement last week when I spotted a postcard for the new Bill's Cafe in Islington. For a few years now, we've been fans of the Bill's in Brighton (pictured) and Lewes - they're almost always the place I get to spend time with my dearest and oldest friends, catching up over Eggs Florentine (which fyi in England is pretty hard to come by!) and giant milkshakes. So earlier in the week, with the draw of a free bottle of wine to celebrate their opening, we decided to try out the new location.

To start we had some veggies with hummus to share and got started on the house wine. The hummus was lovely but the carrots/celery were a little on the thin side. Anywho, we got on with enjoying our meal and for main both had the Bill's burger (pictured) - me with guacamole, him with cheese. The burger was delicious - served in toasted brioche, which I have to tell you I was sceptical about, but nevertheless the combination of buttery bread, avocado mush and home-made burger worked. 

Next up dessert. I ordered the cheesecake with lemon curd and he ordered the pavlova. Unfortunately they were all out of pavlova so instead he ordered an ice cream sundae. Both were nice, although staff had failed to notice the pumpkin seeds that had attached themselves to mine before serving and R enjoyed feeling like a 5-year-old eating his sundae.

So what did we think? Well, I think we both agreed that the atmosphere just wasn't the same. The food was great, but the reason we love Bill's so much back in my home county is because of it's warm, relaxed atmosphere. Perhaps it's because they haven't quite found their feet but Bill's Islington felt like it had been Londonified in a way. Oh well, just another reason for our move to Sussex.

Megan xo

Budget style survival - how not to spend money on clothes

So, I'm broke. El skinto. Brassic.

And it's tough. As much as I obsess over ethical foods and fashion I am a terror of consumption and, as him can testify, I buy too many clothes. As part of my 9-5, I attended a workshop about defining sustainable fashion consumption and we spend a lot of time discussing what drives women, in particular, to shop. Because let's face it, my closet takes up twice as much space as my man's and it goes the same for almost all my girlfriends too.

Within the discussion it was uncovered that research is suggesting women don't shop to buy into the trend-led nature of fast fashion. But the key reason women buy more than they need is because of how their clothes make them feel.

It made my heart sink a little bit to hear that. That women might feel they need to buy material happiness and also, that I'm more than likely to be one of those women. I'm not gonna lie. Buying fashion makes me feel good.

While ideas were played out for how we deal with modern fashion gluttony, such as training women to shop like men or teaching mending skills at schools. It led me to thinking that perhaps for women, including myself, to be more sustainable fashion consumers, actually, we just need to make ourselves feel great in whatever we wear.

A tough feat I know, but to start us/me off, I put together 10 tips for how to feel great in your fashion:

1. That dress you've had for 4 years, that has seen better days. Don't get rid of it. You've had it that long because it never fails to make you feel good. Because when you feel good, others will think you look great - holes and all.

2. Never lose sight of your personal style. I let this happen because I thought my style was no longer in vogue. And actually, my style not being in vogue made it cooler. Individuality wins.

3. Always shop in thrift stores/charity shops. This will be where you'll find that one-of-a-kind dress which never fails to secure compliments. The reason people like it is because it's unique and they want one. Don't let yours get away.

4. Do-it-yourself. Sewing is surprisingly easy and will open up your wardrobe to endless opportunities. Vintage tea dress in organic cotton for £10 anyone?

5. Make a plan. At the beginning of the week I try to plan all my outfits for my working week and use this as an op. to try new things/experiment with accessories/etc. Not only does this save me lots of time, but for some reason planning outfits on Sunday night creates way better results than 5 mins on Monday morning at 7am.

6. Buy lipstick. Compared to a new outfit, a new lipstick starts at around £4 and it will completely revolutionise how you feel about your look. I have about 20 shades on rotation at the moment, my current fave is Barry M Lip Paint in Baby Pink. Think Thakoon's pink hair sort of pink - delish.

7. Buy nail varnish. Step 6, repeat with nails, join pinterest, search nail art. Nuff. Said.

8. Always have a plan B. Some days an outfit planned out earlier just won't feel good/right. Maybe it's the weather or just a mood - but when I'm in a nasty fashion funk, I pull out my fail-safe, feel-good outfit. This is usually step 1.

9. Host a clothes swap. Easiest way to detox a wardrobe guaranteed.

10. Ignore the media. The majority of the images you see are not real. As someone who has worked in fashion, I know the process photographs go through to make models look perfect and no-one has legs that perfect!

Megan xo

Seasonal cooking - Broccoli and anchovy pasta

In this week's Riverford box we got some purple sprouting broccoli. The Roman relative of the standard green stuff, we decided to make it the star of tonight's meal with a classic Italian-style pasta dish.

First heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saucepan, once the pan starts to warm, pour in boiling water. Grab a large handful of spaghetti (this should be enough for 4 people) and hold in the pan until it starts to soften, bend in the pasta until it's submerged.

Next pour in a tin of anchovies (around 6-8) including the olive oil in a large frying pan and heat gently. Remove the leaves and, once washed, put about 12 florets cut to 5cm long of the purple sprouting broccoli in the frying pan. Use a wooden spoon to break up the anchovies and coat the broccoli in oil.

Next add two mashed garlic cloves and a tablespoon of capers to the frying pan. Continue to cook on a low heat until the broccoli just starts to soften. Add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, a good pinch of dried chilli flakes and 250g of rocket, stir and remove from the heat. Drain and throw your pasta into the saucepan, mixing everything together.

To finish, sprinkle with Grana Padano, or a similar Italian hard cheese. A tasty, quick dinner for Monday night!

Happy Mother's Day - banana brunch muffins

After calling my mum, to wish her a lovely mother's day and check she had received her presents (a pair of sheepskin slippers and jewellery starter kit), in honour of all mums out there I decided to make banana brunch muffins. These are great if you have a bunch of over-ripened bananas to use up and are delicious with a nice cup of English Breakfast tea.

(Adapted from the BBC Good Food Breakfast muffins)

Pre-heat your oven to 180 C and prepare your muffin tin, I made cases using greaseproof paper, but muffin cases will work fine. Sift 125g wholemeal flour, 125g plain flour, 2 tsp baking powder together and add 100g fairtrade dark muscovado sugar. Throw in a handful of currants and a couple of pinches of nutmeg and cinnamon.

Next in a separate bowl pour in 100ml sunflower oil, 2 beaten free range eggs and 2 tablespoons of milk. Mash in 4 bananas and mix together until all the large pieces of banana have disappeared and you have a lumpy liquid.

Pour the dry ingredients into the liquid and use a large wooden spoon to bring both mixtures together. Mix until you have one lumpy mix, don't worry about it being smooth - over-mix and your muffins might be too heavy.

Put two large tablespoons of mix into each muffin case, then put in the oven for exactly 20 minutes. When ready, remove the muffins from the oven and leave them to set in the tin for a few minutes. Remove from the tin and place on a rack to cool down. To serve, we like to slice them in half and smooth on crunchy peanut butter. Enjoy!