A change will do you good

Recently I've gotten really into reading blogs again.

The past few months I've been whiling away many an evening on Pinterest which, although fun, isn't actually achieving very much. I gave up reading the Daily Mail online but another addiction seems to have crept up on me. And with Mother commenting that my iPad is "like an extension of your arm" I've realised that something has to change. I have therefore spent the past couple of evenings reading my current book of choice, finally filing my paperwork (a boring but necessary evil), and catching up with some of my favourite bloggers, the ones I can really relate to and inspire me to want to blog again.

Although reading blogs is still technically using the iPad it is encouraging me to start updating Lost and Found on a more regular basis and giving me plenty of inspiration along the way. Hell, I'm writing now aren't i?

Here's some links to a few of my faves.

The Beauty Crush - For fashion, beauty and lifestyle inspiration

Live Love DIY - For inspiration for the big move

Milk Bubble Tea - For all things gorgeous and to inspire me to keep my house clean

 Rachel Phipps - For all your foodie needs

 Jaclyn Hill - Super talented make up and beauty vlogger

The Daybook - For wonderful writing, fashion and lifestyle observations

 The Londoner - Because her adventures in London town (and the world) never get old 

 The Life Wardrobe - For giggles and fashion inspiration

Dim sum date

A couple of weeks back The Boy and I made the most of a sunny Sunday afternoon with a trip to Covent Garden and a spot of Dim Sum in Chinatown.

I love this area of London, even with all the tourists on the weekend, it's such a mish-mash of cultures, shops and people that I can easily while away a few hours exploring.

All the bakeries in Chinatown always tempt me with the varieties of sweet treats on offer, and the supermarkets and shops are the perfect place to pick up a kitsch souvenir or snack for the journey home.

We headed to one of our favourite Chinatown eateries for lunch, Dumpling's Legend.

As usual, we over ordered as you can see from the images above. We went for a variety of steamed (the prawn and chive and their signature dumplings are my favourites) and fried alongside some noodles. It was delicious and the more often we go for dim sum and the more I want to go back for more! Don't get me wrong, I love my lunches at Ping Pong with the girls but there is no substitute for the real thing.

As you can see from the picture below, I become particularly childlike when food is around. And throw in an Iced Lemon Tea and I'm in heaven.

One of the things that I love the most about Dumpling's Legend is that you can watch the talented chefs making the dumplings. One day I'd love to have a go myself, although I'm sure I'd be rubbish at it!

To find out more about Dumpling's Legend visit their website here.

Berlin, day three

I always find the last day of any trip to be a bit of a strange one, particularly as I have a tendency to clock watch (thanks Dad) and find it difficult to relax and enjoy the final few hours.

That being said, we got up early, left our luggage at the hotel and headed out for one final wander around the local area.

Both The Boy and I were fascinated by all the different types of art and graffiti that seemed to be around every corner.

After exploring Mitte some more we headed East to one of the main shopping districts (in a fruitless search for the Berlin Reiss store). 

We stopped by the Lego shop and picked up what may become the cake topper for our wedding cake.

Even though I'm now thirty, I love lego and so does The Boy (Christmas present idea *ALERT*). I think we could easily end up with a house where a room was devoted entirely to the stuff. If only our house were big enough.

Having searched high and low for Reiss we ambled back across town for lunch. 

We actually ended up going back to Weihenstephaner in Hackescher Markt which we went to on the first day, as it had a really nice area where you could sit and watch the world go by. Also, I had already spied what I wanted to eat and had been thinking about it for three full days.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you...a dish whose name I cannot find anywhere on the menu. God dammit.

My god, it was delicious. The Boy isn't one for wanting to go back to the same place twice but even he admitted that this was worth it.

We passed a couple of hours drinking beers and people watching in the afternoon sun before heading back to the hotel to pick up our bags. It was a wonderful weekend and one I'd definitely like to repeat sometime in the future, we're already looking at which other German cities take our fancy - and as my friend The Fashion Armoire has just moved to Dusseldorf perhaps a culinary adventure could be on the cards!

My week in photos 29

It's been a pretty quiet couple of weeks to be honest, the wedding and the house move are pretty all consuming so there hasn't been much time for photos, but here's a little snapshot of some of the things I've been getting up to lately.

 Clockwise from top left: Cheeky selfie in my new Primark jumper inspired by Milk Bubble Tea - Dreaming up our next travel destination (am thinking maybe Brussels) - Remainders of Bridesmaid Brunch sabotaging my diet - Everybody loves the front seat on the bus (especially if the view is this good) - Learning how to play Top Trumps on a lazy Saturday afternoon in the pub - My handy work on a colleagues birthday cake (turned out a lot better than I had hoped and even managed to stay in one piece on the journey to work) - A cloudy and cold Tuesday morning spend visiting the Bristol stores - A lovely afternoon in the garden in the sunshine, finally finishing my book

 Clockwise from top left: I don't care what anyone says, you can't beat Brinner for Dinner - A Sunday afternoon G&T in a new fave pub on Hayling Island - My current addiction: Mr Tom bars and a banana - A sunny Saturday afternoon at the bros flat in Southampton - Stocking up on wedding lace for the big day - An afternoon by the sea - Rocking my new Primarni necklace - Hitting the carboot sale jackpot 

Bridesmaid brunch

A few weeks ago the day finally dawned when I was to ask my chosen girls to be my bridesmaids.

Having sent them all texts telling them to meet me at my flat at a specific time it was with great excitement that I spent Friday night and most of Saturday morning cleaning the flat and setting the scene.

I wanted to create the feel of a party or celebration with food and drink to match that I knew they'd all love, so I settled on a variety of cakes, scones and clotted cream, gallons of tea and some fizz (although clearly not enough).

Obligatory mini Welsh cakes

As usual, I over-catered and we ended up with food to feed at least ten people. Having gone through three bottles the girls were unanimous, next time there needs to be less cake and more fizz. Even though it was only 11am, clearly my cake to fizz ratios were all wrong.

I made the girls a photo frame each as a gift using pictures of us together that I edited and had prints made of on Zazzle. They turned out really well and I'm thinking of doing one for myself with a group picture of all of us.

We've got many a dinner/shopping spree in the diary but mostly I just can't wait to spend the next 15 months planning (and laughing) with these four weirdos.