I'm loving the tennis at the moment, but...

Don't you just love it when a marketing campaign translates perfectly!?

Oh dear, back to the drawing board!

Exploring London: Brunch at Caravan and a stroll along Regent's Canal

Seeing as I live in deepest, darkest Wales and getting anywhere exotic is both time consuming and expensive, I decided to make the most of my trip east and spend an extra day in London on my way home.

One of my dearest friends had a free weekend and was able to meet me for brunch and spend the day exploring with me. Being based at opposite sides of the country, we don't get to see each other anywhere near enough, so it really meant a lot to be able to have a whole day together.

We met at King's Cross and headed straight over to the Granary Building, in the hope that we would bag a table at Caravan for brunch. We were in luck! Despite it being a Saturday morning, we were seated almost immediately and settled in for a long overdue catch up.

Despite not living in London, I have a very long list of places in the city that I'd like to eat and Caravan has been near the top of that list since it opened last year. Hey, how can a girl resist a place with a dedicated brunch menu!? A brunch menu that's served nearly all day on the weekend?? (Side note: I have never understood why so many places finish their breakfast and brunch menus at mid-morning - surely on the weekend no one wants to rush out and have breakfast at the crack of dawn? It's a meal to be savoured after a lie in and having spent a little bit too long in your pyjamas...!).

It was a sort of foregone conclusion that I'd choose the coconut bread with lemon curd cream cheese and strawberries, while my friend went for a slice of blackberry tart. I also had a freshly squeezed juice, which arrived quickly and really hit the summery spot. My coconut bread was tasty, though if I was to be critical, I'd say I had rather too much of the lemon curd cream cheese, which was delicious, but made the toasted bread quite wet. The texture wasn't my favourite and I think using the bread to make a coconut french toast (with the same cream cheese on the side) would have been a better choice. It was still a lovely fresh breakfast though. And the milk came in a mini milk bottle! Swoon!

My favourite thing about Caravan though was the atmosphere. It was so lovely to be in such a vast space, but to feel cosy and part of a relaxed, happy group of people at the same time. We weren't rushed at all, despite it getting close to lunchtime by the time we were finishing and it felt as though we could have stayed perched on our table all afternoon.

But there were other things to see! After admiring the incredible artwork that adorns the Granary Building and its neighbours (that silver stripe is incredible!), we set off on a walk along Regent's Canal. I had absolutely no idea that this canal existed, despite having seen it many times whilst at Camden Lock. We followed the path all the way to Camden, heading into the market for a quick explore and a hot chocolate, before getting back on the path and walking all the way to Paddington, where I would be catching my train back home from. We passed London Zoo! We passed house boat communities and beautiful houses in St. John's Wood! I even got to my favourite stretch of London, Westbourne Grove (though sadly too late in the day to hotfoot it to the Hummingbird Bakery for cupcakes). I saw parts of London that I'd never seen before and it was thrilling to see the city from such a different perspective. If you're looking for a different way to spend your time in the city, this was an easy walk, with plenty of places to stop for refreshments along the way!

Caravan, Granary Building, 1 Granary Square (off Goods Way), London N1C 4AA

A family reunion in Cambridge

What is fast becoming a scary number of years ago, I spent some of the happiest time of my life in Cambridge, meeting incredible people, making incredible friends and - sometimes - doing a bit of learning too.

There's something so very special about this beautiful city - the history, beauty of its architecture, the stories hidden in every nook and cranny. It's also blessed with the most gorgeous light, which only adds to its otherworldiness. It truly is a city to explore, to get lost in, to find yourself in, to absorb. I love it and only wish I could get back there more often.

Luckily for me, my lovely Daisy is also going through this most incredible of experiences. Life has meant getting to visit her hasn't been as easy as I'd have liked, but I couldn't resist the chance to spend time with her in this city we share, during the craziness of May Week. Brother number two also made the trip, so the whole gang was nearly all back together again.

We spent our time together exploring her college and mine, me reminiscing like a grandma about all the things we'd got up to in 'my time'. The wonderful thing about a place like Cambridge is that life, and traditions, go on...and on and on. This place that was so mine, so ours, for three years, didn't feel quite as mine any more. Overrun with another bunch of young things - owning it without realising that it won't be theirs forever, that they'll be replaced by the next group of recruits, who use the same words and have the same adventures. It's comforting, a little sad and exciting all at the same time. I am lucky - life is so very good and it was this place that really set me off on my path.

Food, as always, was plentiful and delicious. Aromi has arrived in Cambridge since I left, but I know it would have been a favourite if we'd been there together. My pizza slice was delicious and Daisy loved her arancini. The only downside was that the cafe is small and we had a bit of a scramble for chairs, but got there in the end. I suppose the fact that it was so ram packed speaks volumes for its food!

Another new addition is The Cambridge Brew House, a pretty flashy 'pub' that has replaced the much-loved Bun Shop. The place felt really cool, a great atmosphere, and we had lovely service, but the food didn't quite live up to our expectations. The ideas were definitely spot on - British tapas starters (think Scotch eggs and deep fried Cottage Pie), meats smoked and cured in-house and a long list of proper puddings, but the dishes we ordered just weren't as 'wow' as the menu had them billed. 

Regardless, our starters and main courses went down well and it wasn't until dessert (which we shared) that we really came unstuck. None of us could put our finger on it, but our chocolate tart definitely tasted of something other than chocolate. Spice? Cleaning product? We weren't sure. Of course, when asked, we did the typically British thing and said how lovely it had been and that we'd just been a bit too full to finish it - oh that classic British reserve!

My forever favourite restaurant in Cambridge - and one I'm always relieved to still see every time I go back - is Yippee Noodles. I have so many happy memories that focus around this place and the delicious food that it serves up - health on a plate! It's my top tip and a place I look forward to having many more happy meals at in the future.

Saying goodbye to Lewis and welcoming our cousin on day two, the evening descended to the only place it can when it comes to three girls sharing a room together - multiple cakes and face packs. I'm sure there would have been a film, only the cake was too good for us to concentrate on anything else! We laughed and laughed and, sure enough, I added another set of happy memories to the Cambridge bank.

Aromi, 1 Bene't Street, Cambridge CB2 3QN

The Cambridge Brew House, 1 King Street, Cambridge CB1 1LH

Yippee Noodles, 7-9 King Street, Cambridge CB1 1LH

Father's Day curry at The Viceroy of India, Swansea

It seems to me that most families have a takeaway preference and that, once a tradition is set, it's something that tends to stay with you. Even though Mr. O and I are now partial to a Chinese or Mexican, based on the options nearby, the takeaway food I love the most is Indian. Growing up, there was nothing more exciting than the announcement on a weekend afternoon that that evening there would be a curry. I'm sure the driving force between these decisions was usually my Dad, a man who knows his curry (and his curry leftovers the next day...).

So, as this year I was the only one of my siblings in town on Father's Day, it seemed only right to take Dad for his favourite. Fancying a change from our much-loved local, we went to The Viceroy of India on St Helen's Road in Swansea, an old haunt of my parents.

We kicked off our meal with a selection of starters which included some delicious samosas and really succulent kebabs. These starters all had a very fresh flavour and, for me, were a marked difference to the heavy (though delicious!) creamy curry sauces that I'm used to. When our mains arrived later though, these too were fresh and colourful and full of very natural, homecooked flavours. Between the four of us, we did a very good job of polishing them all off! The Aloo Sag in particular is highly recommended.

Located on a road full of competing curry houses, The Viceroy of India's decor is a little dated and 'curry house chic', but it really stands out for its delicious food and great team of staff. From beginning to end, the welcome and service that we were given was really exceptional and they definitely helped us make it a lovely Father's Day, for which I'm very grateful.

Dad, thank you for being so brilliant - we are all very lucky to have you! Love you.

The Viceroy of India, St. Helen's Road, Swansea SA1 4BD

Who's Molly? launch 'Japanese Sun'

Friday night saw us at one of Wales' most hotly tipped music events of the last few months - the launch of the brand new album from Swansea band, Who's Molly? Packed with properly catchy pop tunes, I haven't been able to get Japanese Sun out of my head since I picked up a copy at the launch, and I know it's going to be a permanent feature in our car this summer.

Twins!

The sold out gig was held in the Grand Theatre's Arts Wing and, though the throngs of teenage girls made me feel slightly old, I did my best to hold my own from the back of the crowd. The band's front man, Karl Morgan, has a brilliantly unique voice and really knows how to put on a show - I can't wait to hear more as they promote this album!

Told you the detox was going badly...

I love the colours and the freshness in this photo, it just makes me want to juice up some goodies, lace up my trainers and get outside for a run.

Sadly, I instead chose to follow my fresh juice up with this deliciousness instead. I am my own worst enemy.

I can't be the only one who thinks chocolate is an appropriate dessert for breakfast though, right? And surely I get extra points for eking out an Easter egg until June!?

Jamie Oliver's Pasta Peperonata

Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh...food, food, foooood!

The post-holiday detox has been a bit patchy. Tonight we tucked into this juicy-looking beauty, Pasta Peperonata, another Jamie Oliver creation that is high on our list of dinnertime staples. Jamie's recipe calls for low, slow cooking, which I'd highly recommend if you have the time, but if you're in a hurry or just left cooking too late, then we've found you can speed everything up with no major disasters. I'm also not a big fan of rigatoni, so we normally make this with pappardelle (favourite) or spaghetti (always in stock in our house)

I also love this one because it means we're left with half a pot of creme fraiche, my absolute savoury weakness...