Sundaze 125

Happiest of end-of-July Sundaze to you, dear reader!

I feel rested and joyful this weekend which is a real surprise considering how much I’ve managed to pack in. I took last weekend ‘off’ from posting a Sundaze because I felt seriously burned out and as though I should simply spend my Saturday evening chilling. And chill out I did: Harvey cooked us a delicious dinner and we listened to some music before respectively playing games (him) and reading a book (me).

This week was usurped by news of a new Prime Minister (certainly not mine) and the European heatwave. It. Has. Been. Hell. I saw a fitting meme earlier in the week and will never find anything more accurate.

Moreover, I worked from home twice this week and it felt like a dream. I’ve been working in-house for a client since February and whilst it was a welcome change from my routine, it was also beginning to drain me. Ah the freelance life — it’s never simple.

Heatwave mania

Us Brits love nothing more than talking about the weather, but this week it was not so much a mundanity but a necessity. The UK enjoys summers of 22°C, so it is of course a concern that temperatures hit 39°C on Thursday. In fact, it’s terrifying. Climate change is real and it is reaching home shores. It’s not ‘a great tan’, ‘a point of conversation’ or ‘about time England got a summer’, it’s the product of years of human destruction upon the globe.

I’d highly recommend reading reports by the BBC and the United Nations, and overall educating yourself about the effects of climate change. And in the short term, investing in a handheld fan, reusable iced coffee cup and reading my hot weather essentials post 😉

Country pub dinner

Louise and I headed out for an oh so wholesome country pub dinner after Pilates class. There’s an adorable dog-friendly pub that’s super local to us and we hadn’t visited in ages. So when we spotted they had a vegan menu, we were onto a winner!

It was so fun hanging out with my sister and Milo, and I was blown away by the vegan offerings. What a novelty for our local country pub to begin serving plant-based dishes! I already can’t wait to go again.

Dishoom date night

Harvey and I headed out for date night in London on Friday! We rarely head into London anymore, especially given I now commute in five times weekly again. But it was nice to get out of our town and even nicer to visit my favourite restaurant, Dishoom! It was our first time there since going vegan and we were not disappointed at all.

For the record, you NEED to order the Gunpowder Potatoes, Bowl of Greens, and their Chole Puri — puffed puris with a hearty bowl of spiced chickpea curry. Absolutely heavenly.

New-in to the cookbook stash

Apparently despite the busy week, all I want to record in these digital pages is food. But I ain’t mad. My copy of Love & Lemons Every Day arrived earlier this week and I had to include it in this week’s Sundaze. The recipe book is HUGE and it’s an informative read as well as packed with plant-forward recipes. I’d say it’s 85% vegan and the vegetarian meals are all adaptable.

What I love most are the pages full of handy cheat sheets, meal plan ideas and informative pages filled with notes on where to get your nutrients.

Pick it up on Amazon here, and read Jeannine’s incredible food blog, Love & Lemons.

Podcasts I’m loving

I’m really into podcasts again at the moment! I still read on my commutes to and from London, but when I’m on the Tube and during my editing/researching sprints at work, I’m loving podcasts.

Berkhamsted Revisited is a nostalgic teenage diary podcast. The hosts are from a town near me and were born just a year after me, so it is all SO relatable! The Love Island: Morning After podcast is a dream for slow mornings when you need a pick-me-up: it’s hosted by Kem and Arielle. I’m still enjoying The Lady Vanishes, which is such a heartbreaking and intriguing missing persons’ case podcast. It’s incredibly insightful and my heart goes out to Sally every time I listen. Lastly, the awesome Megs’ new podcast series Listen Louder is a must-listen!