John Lewis’ 2014 Christmas advert
Nothing says “Christmas is coming” quite like John Lewis’ annual Christmas advert.
Here’s this year’s present.
What do you think? Do you like #Montythepenguin? I’ll admit that I cried the first two times I watched it. (It’s definitely an improvement over last year’s bear advert, but not as good as the 2011 version)
10 things that Americans don’t realize are offensive to Brits
Be sure not to confuse this with a peace sign, okay?
I’m enjoying this BBC America list of 10 things that Americans don’t realize our offensive to Brits — particularly taking our plates away and describing something as “quite” good! Anything they’ve missed?
British sweets
Have you heard of Fiona’s Sweetshoppe? They do a line of imported candy from the U.K. in the U.S. My husband got a few different types for his birthday and I’m excited to try it – particularly the sherbet lemons, which I’ve never tried, but sounds so very Harry Pottery, I can’t wait.
What’s your favorite British candy?
Another year, another coffee and walnut cake
My husband celebrated his birthday on Saturday, which, of course means one thing: Coffee and walnut cake.
I was running around on Saturday morning, making a nice birthday breakfast, getting ready to take my daughter to a birthday party, wrapping presents, brushing teeth and negotiating the time it would take to bake the cake. Thankfully, I had blogged last year sending a message to Future Me about the ease of cooking this Nigella Lawson recipe and Past Me was entirely correct.
It was a breeze to make. 10 minutes prep. 25 minutes in the oven. Then boom! Done.
The difference between U.S. vs. U.K. ebola news coverage
This bit by British comedian Russell Howard made me LOL. Enjoy.
Gracepoint vs. Broadchurch
David Tennant and Anna Gunn star in “Gracepoint.”
Have you been watching Fox’s new show “Gracepoint”?
It’s the new 10-episode mystery, based on the successful BBC drama “Broadchurch.” Set in a Northern Californian fictional seaside town of Gracepoint, the mystery begins with the disappearance of a young boy. And I am positively hooked!
As I understand it, the first couple of episodes of “Gracepoint” and “Broadchurch” are identical from scene to scene, including main character Emmett Carver, played by Scottish actor of “Doctor Who” fame, David Tennant (although Tennant puts on a dubious and often criticized American accent in “Gracepoint”) but that is where the similarities end. I haven’t seen “Broadchurch” but I understand that the killer is different in “Gracepoint” and that they’ve taken the plot a different direction.
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26 times Waitrose outright ruined the lives of decent people
For Waitrose fans and foes alike, this might bring a smile: Buzzfeed.com’s collection of 26 times that Waitrose outright ruined the lives of decent people. I love these #firstworldproblems. My favorite is #4.
And for the record, my #firstworldproblem with Waitrose would be the following: “I’m looking for eggs. Just eggs. How am I supposed to know what to pick?” Check out the Waitrose egg selection. When was the last time you found “Clarence Court Old Cotswald Legbar mixed weight British free range eggs” in the supermarket?
So hi, hi, American pie
I did something very American last weekend. I baked some apple pie.
I’m not a pie maker, but the whole autumn-ness of this season struck me and I decided I needed to eschew crumble for something doughy, flaky and piping hot. My husband picked up some really good pie crust from the Co-op – so much better than Pillsbury (hey, don’t judge me, I don’t judge you) and it proved to make all the difference.
A cornershop
I spotted this on sho & tell blog and had to share! Lucy Sparrow’s Cornershop resembles your average Spar shop or British news agent, but all the items are hand knitted! Take a look!
Whew! That’s a lot of knitting! Incredible! More on Lucy Sparrow at her website.
Choc Noodle?
So, when I first moved to the U.K., I discovered Pot Noodle.
To the untrained American eye, you’d think this creation was a Cup Noodles lookalike. But noooo… Cup Noodles is a completely different, dare I say, beast of a noodle in a cup.
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