Supper at Tiffany's

TE and I had our first Secret Supper Club experience last night!

Supper at Tiffany's

Supper Clubs are quite popular right now, but have been around for years.

It's basically an "underground" dinner party.  

Often, they are hosted by expats who want to share a taste of home.

So much more fun and interesting than a restaurant.

The chance to eat wonderful, homemade food in an informal setting

and to meet interesting new friends.   Sign us up!

Our hostess was Tiffany from Kitchen Conversations.  I met Tiffany at an expat bloggers lunch that I attended when we first arrived in London.  By day she's a scientist, but at night her passion for food takes center stage.

She's from Arizona and has been in the UK for over 7 years.  

Her specialty is Mexican food! 

Dinner was BYOB so we made a quick stop for wine and Corona,

hopped on the 47 bus and headed to her home in Southeast London.  

We were greeted with smiling faces, tortilla chips, guacamole and the best salsa I've had since we moved to London.  There were 13 of us around a large table.  After a sweet and tangy margarita, the feast began. 

Prawns in Chipotle Butter on Polenta

Oxtail Soup

Pork Tamales

Mole Poblano over chicken with rice and beans

Chocolate Chile Cake with Mexican Cinnamon Ice Cream 

 

 

 

 The flavors were amazing and rich! 

Everything tasted so good.

I didn't get a picture of the tamales, but they were perfect.

They were filled with a really generous portion of tender pork. 

The Mole Pablano is a dark chile sauce made

with nuts, chili and fruits with a kick of dark chocolate. 

It was served with both rice and beans topped with a quail egg.

And she served warm corn tortillas!  I was in heaven.

I wish you could taste this dessert.

The cake was gooey and moist, but not too sweet.

And that Mexican cinnamon ice cream is so special.

The warm cinnamon sits lightly on the back of your tongue.

My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

You might think it would be uncomfortable to sit down for dinner with a group of strangers.

But, from the minute we arrived the room was filled with laughter and chatter.

 German, British, Australian and American all came together over a fabulous Mexican meal.

Four hours later we reluctantly said goodbye.

We caught a train to London Bridge with a few of our new friends

laughing and chatting the whole way. 

Thanks so much, Tiffany, for such a special experience.

It was obvious in both food and atmosphere that you put your heart into it!

Her next one is scheduled for November 10th and

she is also planning an American Thanksgiving Supper Club on November 22nd.

They fill up fast so be sure to contact her soon.

If you had a Secret Supper Club, what would be on your menu?

xoxo

Selena 

And in the interest of full disclosure, this is NOT a sponsored post.  We paid the suggested donation gladly.  It was worth every penny.   And all opinions are my own.

I Spy Friday

So, I'm just going to share some random stuff with you today, a little update on life and some iPhone pictures. 

When we left Blenheim Palace we stopped at a pub for lunch and on the way out I took this pic with my iPhone.

Those are real flowers and I didn't tweak or edit at all.  Such vibrant colors.  Pretty, huh?

Last weekend we went to see We Will Rock You, the Queen Musical.

The music was obviously terrific.  The show was pretty good, too.  A little long, but good.

On the way we happened by The Sorting Office on New Oxford Street and saw some street art done by Mr. Brainwash.  He is an LA street artist made famous by the Banksy documentary.  I took a few quick pics, but the Exhibition has reopened and I'm dying to go back and explore some more.  If any of you Londoners want to join me, let me know.  

We also had a good dinner at Cabana which is a Brasilian Barbecue.

The cocktails were terrific!

And they have frozen yogurt.  Not sure how Brasilian that is but hey, it's nummy.

And I love the citrus colored kites.  

Since TE is going off to work everyday, my days are pretty boring and all blurring together.

I've been lucky enough to get out a few times to play Ladies Who Lunch with some fellow expat bloggers.  

Texpatriate and I had lunch at La Fromagerie which a a gorgeous Cheese Shop in Marylebone.  I would highly recommend it! And Becky from As a Yank in Yorkshire came over to my neck of the woods the other day for lunch at More Bar & Brasserie and a stroll to Borough Market.  We found these umbrellas.  

Aren't they pretty?  Even prettier on a sunny day.

Making new friends is certainly helping London feel more like home.  

The job search is progressing along... slowly.  It is difficult.

I love accounting.

No, really.  I love it!  I'm dying to get back to work.

I plan to write a post on the whole process soon.

Hopefully, when I've gotten a little further along.

I'm also working on getting my UK Driver's License which is a whole other process.

I'll be writing about that soon also.

In the mean time, to keep busy I've signed up for an Introduction to Painting at the Art Academy.

It's fun and frustrating at the same time.  It's completely new to me and I'm so not good at it. 

But it's fun to put on my Converse Sneakers and some funky earrings, hop on the bus for a few stops, climb three flights of stairs in a crickety, old London building to a messy art room with massive windows, 

listen to some classical music and get my hands dirty. 

I feel very young and very Londony.  

 

Now please realize that this is my very first attempt.

It's a bit wonky but at least you can tell what it is.

So, there's my last few weeks and and an update on life.

I'm also excited that the blog is seeming to take on a life of its own.

Lots of wonderful, new followers and some terrific comments. 

A special thank you to each of you who read and follow along.

Thanks so much for all of your encouragement and sweet words.

It means the world to me to have these connections.

Have a terrific weekend!!

xoxo

Selena  

PS.  Can someone who knows there their Comma rules please help me.  I feel like I probably should have used about 20 more then than I did in this post.

A Sunday Stroll at Blenheim Palace

After spending a Saturday exploring Shakespeare's birthplace,

we spent Sunday exploring the birthplace of another amazing Englishman...

Winston Churchill.

Blenheim Palace was built in Oxfordshire in the early 1700's.  It was (partially) built for John Churchill, the 1st Duke of Marlborough in honor of his great military service.  

The English Baroque estate has been the home of the Duke of Marlborough through the generations.

It is currently home to the 11th Duke and his family.  

In 1874, Winston Churchill's parents who are relatives of the family happened to be visiting

the estate when his mother went into labor a few weeks early.  

Did you know his mother was American?

We paid £20 each to tour the interior which is a bit expensive.  It was interesting and beautiful,

but it did feel a little odd to be handing over such a large sum of money to tour a private home.  They've put together an audiovisual experience that was a little silly.  

But, I am glad we stopped.  You have to see these grounds.  

They are just gorgeous and you can visit the gardens and grounds for only £11.

I even got to wear my butterfly wellies to avoid the mud!!

No pictures were allowed inside, so let's just take a walk around the grounds.  

 

 

 

 

I love this picture because of the white sheep dotting the hill.

I know it's a lot of pictures, but it was such a fun place to photograph

and I just couldn't narrow it down. 

I hope you enjoyed our photo stroll. 

xoxo

Selena