Julia Child

Today is (or would be) Julia Child’s 100th birthday, so here is a blog to commemorate her. I have to admit, almost everything I know about the lady I learned from the film Julie and Julia, however that is a very good friend, and I do recommend you watch it if you are at all into either food or blogging. I, as I’m sure you know by now, am into both, so it was a delight to watch.

Julia Child is widely thought to be the ‘inventor’ of home cooking. She first opened up the world of fine cuisine (specifically French) and taught the average housewife how to make it for herself. Of course, at the time she was aiming her books (and later TV shows) at women, but they are certainly not alienating to men. In fact, my fiance is baking her chocolate and almond cake as I write this. Sadly he is in Southport and I am in Hastings, so I do not get to sample said glorious cake, but at least I get to marry him soon!

I was intending to do some baking in her honour, however I don’t have time this evening (ahem, translate ‘don’t have time’ to ‘can’t be bothered’). Some housewife I am. But then, I am not a wife (yet), and I do work full time, with over an hour’s commute each way, so maybe I can be forgiven. And I don’t have to justify myself to YOU blank WordPress page! I’m sure that come the weekend I can whip up a baked delight, all in an immaculate pinny, perfect curls in my hair and a ribbon to top it all off. In reality, I do wish I was a ’50s housewife.

Nevertheless, here is a visual sample of some baking of mine from the not-too-distant past. This is a Mondrian cake my fiance and I made (back when he was just my boyfriend!) I hope you enjoy the visual feast!

Planning

Well, I’ve been engaged for a month now and starting to throw myself into planning for the wedding! We’re still at the ideas stage at the moment, as we haven’t set a date just yet, but oh boy am I loving the ideas! Bridal magazines and useful websites abound, and I’m filling up a scrap book of wonderful things.

Yes, I’m getting carried away, yes my wedding scrap book looks like a Disney film, but that’s the point of it. When you come up with any good idea, I think it’s important to let your creativity spill all over the place, and then reign it in to something useable. That’s the stage my brain is at with our wedding planning at the moment. The erratic, over the top, completely irrational stage. And that’s a good thing. Or that’s what I’m telling my H2B (husband to be) anyway.

This is, naturally, a humungous amount of fun. I am trying not to go completely bridezilla though. Our budget isn’t huge, and I really want to do a lot of the things myself, which means… getting crafty! Oh yes, think knitted wedding dresses, crocheted top hats and hand-sewn flowers! No, not quite! But I do want to put our personal touches on everything and make everything completely unique. So… watch this space! I’m sure I’ll be blogging lots about our plans over the following months.

I’ve also become completely obsessed with the website http://www.ukbride.co.uk

http://www.ukbride.co.uk/forum is the place to go to get stuck in–do go there if you happen to be a UK bride!

Also… here’s a picture of my engagement ring!

Matched – Ally Condie

ISBN: 0141334789

Matched is a young adult novel set in a potential future society. There are several of these novels around at the moment, but this one does taking a different stance to the likes of The Hunger Games and Uglies, and is a must-read for anybody who loved those novels. In this society, people cannot be trusted to make their own choices. In order to make everybody’s life the best that it can possibly be, each individual is given the correct food, career and spouse based on what will statistically work out for their best.

This is a book about striving for freedom amongst an oppressive society, a popular theme for teen fiction. Cassia, our main character, is perfectly happy with the life that has been set out for her and, like everybody else, doesn’t question it. That is, until there seems to be an error in her Match. As she realises that the Officials aren’t quite as perfect as she had thought, Cassia begins to question who she is, gets to know herself and fights to make her own choices.

Themes about words and literature resonate throughout this novel in a rather beautiful way. Condie’s phrases trip across the page in a way that is delightful to read and the heartfelt emotion is really quite touching. Longing to be with someone you are forbidden from seeing has long been a popular storyline, but this book still feels original and is certainly entertaining.

Rating: 8/10