Sunday walk in beautiful Gower

This weekend we were woken up by glorious sunshine pouring in through the windows of our little seaside flat. It was the perfect weather for an escape to the countryside and so we grabbed our sunglasses, mum and dad and jumped into the cars for a short ride into Gower.

For all the love we have for European adventures and exploring new parts of the world, it's weekends like this one that make us realise how lucky we are to call this beautiful peninsula home. Wandering our way around the clifftop path, we were treated to incredible views, lush (in the true sense of the word) green fields, followed by the the bluest of blue waters below. 

It was so lovely being outside in the sunshine, enjoying spending time with our family and making each other smile. Mum and I took photos and gossiped, Dad and Mr. O talked football results and caught each other up on their latest work adventures. We clowned about like kids and let the sea breezes blow away all of the cobwebs, feeling fully refreshed for the new week ahead.

Bundling back into our cars, we headed home for bowls of Dad's famous chicken soup, reminding me of the Sunday evenings of my childhood, when we'd come home from a walk and enjoy a supper of tomato soup in front of 'The Borrowers'. 

The perfect end to a perfect day.

Farmer's Market in Utrecht

So, we've made our big move. Well, I say that, but we've basically made the biggest step so far in our big move, which isn't even really a move at all. 

Anyway, the time for living out of a suitcase is here and Mr. O and I have arrived in Utrecht for our longest visit, hands down beating our longest stay to date of three nights on the trot. I still can't quite get my head around the fact that we're doing this (I'm so excited!) and I'm just trying to focus on trying to soak it all in and having the best time, rather than the fact that I can't so much as say 'goodbye' in Dutch (hello is, thankfully, very easy - 'hallo!' - while thank you seems to have an endless number of variations). 

Anyway, can you believe it, it was almost as though Utrecht knew we were coming - a farmer's market! On a Sunday! Just around the corner from our flat! If ever a girl needed a sign that she'd come to the right city, this was surely it!

I think Utrecht and I are going to get on just fine. Can't wait to explore some more!

A perfect summer day

The one downside to our lovely, teeny tiny flat (apart from the fact that it's teeny tiny), is that it doesn't come with any outdoor space. It's weird, but this is the first summer that I've really missed having a garden or even just a small, private space outside, to curl up with a book or enjoy a meal in the sunshine.

But what we do have, right on our doorstep, is the most beautiful of seafronts (ok, yes, I'm biased, but on a sunny evening, it's pretty hard to beat). This summer, Mr. O and I have decided to be brave and claim that seafront as our very own garden. Aside from our frequent walks, the last few weeks I've been reading out there, taking phone calls out there and, more recently, we've eaten out there. We've had a couple of strange looks, but I like to think that actually, it's just made other people smile to see the area being so thoroughly enjoyed!

The best bit about eating outside? Why, we're just that little bit closer to our local ice cream parlour! We still have to battle the infamous queues, but it's delightfully worth it. Even if it does mean that my ice cream machine is even less likely to make a repeat appearance any time soon! 

And when you've got an ice cream sundae in your hand and your boy by your side, the only thing that could complete a perfect day, is strolling home with a view like this one...

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

Deep in the depths of our (small amount) of kitchen storage, lies a wondrous contraption that doesn't see the light of day nearly enough. It's not a bread maker, slow cooker or blender...it's our ice cream making machine.

I can hear your cries of shock and incredulity - how is this thing not seeing constant action, churning out an endless stream of delicious ice creamy goodness? I know, I know, it's practically a crime against humanity, especially given our love of the cold stuff.

Having made a mediocre batch of chocolate ice cream pretty soon after buying the machine last year, Mr. O and I decided that 2013 would be the year of the ice cream machine. So far, we've managed to make one more batch - we're dreaming big, as you can see! 

But what a batch it was! Inspired by Mr. O's love of oatmeal raisin cookies and the best ice cream I ever tasted (at Creole Creamery in New Orleans, just in case you wondering...), we chose a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin ice cream, which I found on Brown Eyed Baker's blog and which she adapted from David Lebovitz's book 'The Perfect Scoop'.

Tempted to make your own ice cream? Our machine is an attachment to our Kitchenaid, so it's easy to use but requires pre-freezing before you can make anything. Means being spontaneous is a bit tricky (maybe this is why I'm not running my own ice cream empire already...?), but it not the size of a house, so there's that. And it makes a nice fluffy ice cream which, if you eat it straight from the machine (rather than freezing it in a tub) is perfectly melty, just the way I like it. The Oatmeal Raisin recipe is recommended - next time I might try adding some cookie chunks though too.

Also, a warning - ice cream making is a messy business:

Shocking.

Hitting the streets in Uplands

Mr. O and I were finally in town at the right time to catch Swansea's newest street market in Uplands this weekend! We missed the first one last month, but I've been really excited to experience this new event, especially as the organisers seem to be very keen to create a market that not only gives local traders a chance to show of their wares, but that utilises public space for arts and culture and that also provides a platform for community growth and regeneration in this creative area of the city.

The market this morning was absolutely buzzing with an incredible atmosphere, lots of people out on the streets, chatting and seemingly just enjoying being part of the event itself. The market is already oversubscribed, with a waiting list for pitches, but of the traders that were there, there was a good mix of food producers, craft and homeware stalls. I was also really impressed by how many local shops had taken pitches (The Lazy Frog and The Gower Kitchen, to name just two) and how the effect of the market seemed to be spilling beyond the stalls themselves and into all the nearby cafes and restaurants - exactly as the organisers had hoped, I'm sure!

I'm pretty rubbish at taking photos at markets, because I'm always worried about how annoyed the stallholders might get - silly I know and something I'm going to have to try had to get over.

After wandering for about an hour, taking it all in, we decided to stop for lunch at The Gower Kitchen - hard to resist as it's pretty much our favourite restaurant in Swansea, but also because there weren't as many street food options as we'd expected. Lunch was delicious though - just look at Mr. O's pork dish! I, of course, couldn't resist a burger, especially as I had the chance to add not only bacon, but Welsh rarebit too. Unbelievably good, something which Dad agreed with me on!

Sod's law, we're probably going to miss the next couple of markets too, but I'm really looking forward to coming back in a few months time to see how this new event continues to grow.

Uplands Market (last Saturday of every month, except August when it's the 3rd Saturday), Gwydr Square, Uplands, Swansea SA2 0HD

The Gower Kitchen, 39 Uplands Crescent, Uplands, Swansea SA2 0NP

French patisserie, Dutch bakers, Welsh backdrop...

Mr. O has been away on business in The Netherlands without me. Though I've really missed him, the upshot to this (other than a couple of nights of having THE WHOLE BED TO MYSELF) is that he brought me home some presents. Some rather beautiful, edible presents in fact.

We took these gorgeous little macarons out into the sunshine and felt rather decadent as we ate them sat on a wall overlooking the sea. It was quite a step up from a cone of chips and a wooden fork. He's pretty worried that I'm going to get used to this sort of high flying living - moi!?

Looking for a French patisserie in Utrecht? Mr. O got these from Bond en Smolders in the city centre (and assures me that there are plenty of other patisserie-style treats for me to choose from there too, woohoo!).

Bond en Smolders, Lijnmarkt 9, 3511 KE Utrecht, The Netherlands

Lunch at Cafe Ninety Three

Mum, Daisy and I have been making the most of all being in the same place at the same time over the last week, especially whilst the weather is so incredibly lovely. A recent lunch hour catch up took place at Cafe Ninety Three on Newton Road in Mumbles.

Cafe Ninety Three has been open for a couple of years, but, after a slightly awkward first visit, Mr. O and I have never been back. Now that's something I'm sorry for - turns out they serve up some pretty good cakes! We managed to restrain ourselves on this occasion (though I'm told people travel to Mumbles especially for their Chocolate and Guinness cake), but just look at how pretty their salads are...

I went for the Warm Chorizo option, whilst Daisy had Salad 93 and Mum chose the Chef's salad. All were colourful enough to feel healthy, yet had just enough of the good stuff to be delicious too. Virtuous food and a not quite so virtuous gossip led to the perfect girls' lunch.

Cafe Ninety Three, 93 Newton Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 5TW

Summer evening in Swansea

These summer evening are just so beautiful, aren't they? One evening this week I was able to escape outside right as the sun was starting to set and the light was gorgeous, especially as I watched the little boats bobbing about on the water. I tried to just enjoy the moment, but couldn't resist sharing the few snaps that I did take...

It's evenings like this that make me absolutely love where we live...leaving is going to be tough!

The Coalhouse, Oxwich

If there's one thing that should be abundantly clear from the pages of this blog, it's the fact that I properly love my food. Sadly, my cooking leaves a little to be desired (I'm blessed - Mr. O is a fantastic chef), but when it comes to eating good food, I'm your girl.

So, you can imagine how excitedly I've been listening to news of a new restaurant, recently opened at Oxwich Bay. The Coalhouse occupies an old 19th century building, right on the beach itself. When the invite came to join the ladies of my family for lunch, they didn't need to ask me twice!

We picked a beautifully sunny day for it and the weather really made the restaurant sing. Light and airy, with some quirky decor thrown into the mix, the indoor space felt welcoming and relaxed with other diners close enough to create an atmosphere, but not so close that you could hear peoples' conversations. It really reminded me of beachside restaurants in Australia, a fact helped by the large doorways opening up onto the outdoor terrace. We weren't lucky enough to bag a table in a window, so we ate our lunch indoors before moving outside for coffee and dessert.

So far, so good. The only downside for me was the food itself and, unfortunately, for this I have no one to blame but myself. Coalhouse's menus focus on (very!) locally sourced fish and seafood and so for someone with an aversion to both, as you can imagine my choices were a little limited. I went for the club sandwich, which looked great and tasted fine, but it was a very standard cafe lunch. The fish dishes chosen by my sister, mum and grandma though looked incredible and - I'm reliably informed - tasted incredible too. I was left feeling that they've rightly focussed on what they are passionate about, but that it would have been great if the non-fish option didn't seem like quite so much of an afterthought in comparison.

For dessert we shared a Creme Caramel and Marmalade and Frangipane tart. Both were delicious! We loved eating them overlooking the sea and soon wished we hadn't decided to share.We also were big fans of the mustard-coloured tea cosy that came our way.

Service during our visit was fine, though I've also heard others say not so great things, though hopefully these are just teething problems that will settle down quickly.

Other than that, it's great that Coalhouse seems to be taking what its doing so seriously and that there's another restaurant in Swansea where good food is matched by great surroundings. So often in this city you'll come across places with no ambition and no thought behind what they're offering and so this new restaurant is a really welcome addition. I only wish I liked fish.

The Coalhouse, Oxwich Beach, Gower SA3 1LS

UPDATE: A few months on and there seem to be more meat options on the menu! Hooray!