Farewell 2014 - reflections on the year and my final photo-a-day images

Oh, 2014. You have been a memorable year. A year of excitement, adventure, change, challenge and reward. A year, in short, of living life to the full. I started it in the city I grew up in, working with people I'd known for years, and filling weekends with familiar sights and people. I am ending it in a new country, with a new job that was not known 12 months ago, learning new cultural references and visiting new places.

As with all years (all things), there have been downs as well as ups, but I wouldn't change a thing.

2014 in pictures - 365 of them

As with previous years, I set some goals for 2014. I like looking back at this time of year and considering how my intentions panned out. The eight I had for 2014 were...

Tweet

And so this is Christmas...

...nearly.

Christmas decorations in the City of London

Despite saying on Sunday that I was organised for Christmas, it is still a surprise to find it is the 23rd December. Not only is Christmas in two days, 2014 will be over in just over a week. Incredible.

I'm not taking my laptop to the Lake District, so while I'll still be online to some extent, this will be my last post until we're back in London at the start of next week. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday period between now and then. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, and regardless of how you choose to spend the day - very warm wishes for a happy 25th December and the days around it too.

Christmas decorations in Fortnam and Mason

In case you need any last minute food inspiration, I'm closing with a round up of some recent recipes that caught my eye, as well as some Christmas favourites from Bite-Sized Thoughts.

Tweet

365 project: November photos

This will be my second last photo set for 2014, and December marks the closing stages of my 365 project. Truthfully, I think I will be glad to bring the project to a close - my focus on careful and creative photos has faded and I am becoming lazier again with snapping shots for the sake of them! Nonetheless, I am still enjoying a greater focus on photography and this month has brought new challenges with shorter daylight hours and gloomier skies.

I think my favourites this month are numbers 5, 8, 14, 25 and 28...the last image (outdoor ice skating at Canary Wharf) because it sums up a Christmassy London so well.

1st: London at dusk (#1) / 2nd: London at dusk (#2) / 3rd: London at dusk (#3) / 4th: London at night (#1) / 5th: London at night (#2) 

Tweet

In my kitchen - December 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

December! I am starting to get quite excited for the end of the year and its associated festivities. Christmas isn't really evident in my kitchen yet, but it is very evident in London. Community markets are popping up everywhere, and I am spoilt for choice with outdoor ice skating rinks.

I'm sure my kitchen will be Christmassy before long, but in the mean time, here are some of the other things happening in it this month.

There have been more treats from Ruby's of London vegan stall at the Greenwich Markets. Some of you may remember me trying one of her caramel pecan cupcake earlier in the year. I didn't love that, but absolutely adored the vegan orange and carrot cake I bought on this occasion. (And it truly was in my kitchen, because I took it home!)

Ruby's of London vegan orange and carrot cake, with 'cream cheese' icing

Tweet

365 project: October photos

It has just dawned on me that my photo a day challenge is close to being done. I appreciate that two months is still a reasonable amount of time to cover, but after taking 293 photos, I can see myself managing the remaining 61.

Of course, this is largely due to my flexible approach to a photo a day. Increasingly, 7 photos a week is my approach and that is reflected in some of the photo sets for October. Photos 16 to 20 were taken on our recent visit to the Tower of London, the first 'big' tourist attraction we have visited. Now that summer is over and there are fewer tourists around, we are able to start working through our list of more notable 'To See' places. The Tower was fantastic, and we spent over 4 hours touring the various buildings and walking the grounds. The moat filled with poppies, part of WWII commemorations, was amazing too. As an additional bonus, we narrowly missed seeing the Queen!

Another recent outing is featured in photos 21 to 25, taken at Knole Park in Kent. The grounds include Knole House, which we didn't visit on this occasion, and a deer park, which is home to around 400 deer that roam as they wish. Deer aren't something we have in Australia, so I was besotted with every animal we saw and wanted to photograph all of them.

Throughout the photos, you will also see evidence of my love of autumn colours and leaves. At the moment, I don't think a day goes past without me taking joy from trees or fallen leaves or both. It is a beautiful time of year.

1st: Rainbow chard / 2nd: Kent walking / 3rd: Kent sunshine / 4th: Tonbridge castle / 5th: Tonbridge views 

Tweet

In my kitchen - November 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

Ah, November. To me, it signals the start of the end of the year and the justifiable start of Christmas festivities. This year, it also brings shorter days and signs of approaching winter. Northern hemisphere November is novel and more than a little exciting.

There are some signs of the changing season in my kitchen. I still have strawberries in the fridge and tomatoes on the windowsill, but there have also been cravings for porridge, chai spices, and hot hearty meals. 

End of season tomatoes (yes, that is a vase they are in)

There are also some products from Borough Market in my kitchen. I have wanted to visit the market since we stayed near it on our first night in London, way back in June. It lived up to my hopes and expectations.

Pippin and Pearmain apples

Tweet

Out and about in England: Tonbridge and Oxford

Today's post steps away from recipes to share some recent trips out of London. We still haven't ventured too far from England's capital, but recent day trips have whetted my appetite for more exploring.

Tonbridge castle

Tonbridge is approximately 30 miles south-east of London, in the heart of Kent. As with many towns in the area, it started as a market town and still has a traditional high street, albeit now with modern shops. The town isn't too far from where my grandparents live, but inexplicably I'd never visited it before. I think we tended to head to nearby Tunbridge Wells when in the area, as that is larger and has more shops.

High Street buildings 

Tweet

In my kitchen - October 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

In my kitchen, there is exciting produce. I am finding my local vegetable stalls delightful for unexpected (and cheap) fruits and vegetables. Last week, a highlight was rainbow chard. I've never seen or had it before, so am quite in awe of the colours!

I also picked up an enormous bowl of blueberries for £1. I put a fair chunk of them into a blueberry tart, the recipe for which shall come in due course.

Tweet

365 project: August and September photos

This is a jam packed photo post! With Vegan MoFo last month, I am only sharing my photo-a-day images from August now, along with my September's photos. In the mix are sunny skies and early autumnal colours, a marker of the weather shifts seen over the last 8 weeks. It is still mild and mostly sunny in London, but the days are shortening, leaves are changing colour, and there is a crisp note in the air most mornings. I'm delighted: I love autumn, and autumn in England is entirely new to me. All of my past UK visits have been in summer or winter, so this time of year is novel and exciting.

My August photos seem a long time ago now, and include an unexpected number of flowers! I particularly love those in #6, as they were given to me my sister and her boyfriend on their visit. The cycling hedge man in  #8 is another favourite.

1st: Reflecting / 2nd: Confident bird / 3rd: Flower markets / 4th: Canal side / 5th: Before I die...

Tweet

365 project: July photos

I think I say something similar every other month, but how is it August? Not only are we more than half way through the year, but it is nearly 2 months since we left Australia for the UK. I think I'll be remembering 2014 as the year that flew by, even more than usual.

With another month behind us, I do have another set of photographs to share. As always, there is a little overlap with images shared elsewhere, but hopefully enough new content to provide interest too.

I think my favourite images this month are days 8, 29 and 31. I also love the planting featured in day 28.

1st: Measuring post / 2nd: Queen Alexandra / 3rd: Literary bench / 4th: Spirals / 5th: Under the Thames

Tweet

In my kitchen - August 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

In my kitchen, there has been a batch of vegan 'pebble road' (rocky road minus the nuts and cherries, and with biscuit chunks and dried fruit).

Vegan pebble road

You see, I finally went to Whole Foods. What is more, London's largest Whole Foods. As you may understand, it was a trip I made without Mr Bite. I exercised great restraint, but did come away with vegan marshmallows and a few other luxury items. I enjoyed some of the mallows plain and put the rest into the above chocolate slice.

Tweet

365 project: June photos

It is quite odd looking back at my photography for June. There is a clear transition, mid-month, from Australian scenes to British ones. It is hard to believe that 4 weeks ago I was still walking my Australian suburb. It seems a long time ago, and a long way away.

The start of June has two more street art photos, continuing a theme prompted by Johanna and seen in my May photography. I have yet to see much street art in London, which suggests I'm either not paying attention or I haven't explored very widely (I am quite certain it is out there!).

There is a little bit of overlap between the photos in this collection and those in my recent London posts. I apologise for the double up, and hope you can find some new images to draw you in...

1st: Local robot / 2nd: Busy mind / 3rd: University architecture / 4th: Glow man / 5th: Birthday 

Tweet

In my kitchen - June 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

In my kitchen, there are finally signs of packing. Mr Bite's spousal visa arrived a few weeks ago, and we are set to fly to London next week! There is suddenly lots to do. There is also way too much food for us to eat. It turns out I am not good at running down food supplies.

Around boxes and surplus rice, beans and flours, there are some items worth sharing. Coconut sorbet is amongst them.

This iced dessert reminded me of the coconut sorbet I had in Madrid - in itself a lovely thing. Like the Spanish equivalent, it sat at the slightly creamy interface between sorbet and ice cream. Coconut water and sugar make up the bulk of the ingredient list, but a small amount of coconut cream adds the creaminess and sets this apart from standard sorbets. I highly recommend trying it if you get a chance to do so.

Tweet

In my kitchen - May 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

In my kitchen, there is a new cookbook! I won it via a giveaway hosted by Janet of The Taste Space. The win was a delightful surprise, because I had completely forgotten about entering the giveaway.

I am delighted with the book, because I want to make just about every recipe it contains. Some particular highlights include kale and soba noodles with a ginger chilli sauce; chilli, peanut and coconut soup; and homemade vegan ice cream including a raw maple pecan variety.

Tweet

365 project: April photos

Another new month, and another photo recap. With a third of the year behind us (!), it seems possible now to imagine this project through to its end. As with March, April's photos were not all taken on the day allocated to them, which is really helping with the practicalities of the project.

One of my favourite images this month was #20, capturing a streak across the sky from a recent plane. I took the photo using the panoramic setting on my camera, and as a consequence, it doesn't really fit in the collage images below. To do it justice, I am posting it in its own right here too!

Tweet

365 project: March photos

With April upon us (and upon us for nearly a week now!), it's time for another photo recap, this time for my March photo-a-day snapshots.

March was the first month when daily photography became challenging, which I think is a combination of time passing (months 1 and 2 were always going to be easier than the rest of the year!) and time seeming in short supply in March. I expected that going away would help, and it did, but it also meant that home and work were correspondingly busier around the trip.

Given the above, my March photos were not all taken on the day I have allocated them to. Some days I took several photos I liked, and I have taken the flexible approach of spreading them out over consecutive days if needed.

Here are the 31 resulting images...

1st: Lazy days / 2nd: Edible summer / 3rd: Peek a boo / 4th: Convent by night / 5th: Bird (#1)

Tweet

In my kitchen - April 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

In my kitchen, there is So Good's new almond and coconut milk. I try to test new non-dairy milk products in order to update my non-dairy milk review table, and this one was a delightful discovery. I actually enjoy it plain, which is very unusual for me with milk. While it is sweetened, it is also lower in sugar than So Good's regular almond milk. 

The downside? It does contain carrageenan. It's getting harder and harder to avoid that ingredient in commercial milk alternatives.

Tweet

365 project: February photos (plus ballet at the quarry and bouncing stonehenge)

Having done a post summarising my January photo-a-day photos, I thought I would continue on and summarise each month as the year unfolds. Here, obviously, we have February.

Featured in the February photo set are snapshots from two outings not yet mentioned on the blog. The first was our attendance at the Western Australia Ballet company's Ballet at the Quarry. Mr Bite gave me tickets for my birthday last December. It was the first time in a long time I had been to the ballet, and the first time Mr Bite had been at all. The modern adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, set to Radiohead music and appropriately titled Radio and Juliet, was a good choice for both of us.

Ballet at the Quarry - amphitheatre seating

The Quarry Amphitheatre is an atmospheric place, with grass tiered seating surrounded by towering limestone walls. We took a picnic and the hot day transitioned beautifully to a cool, clear evening.

The second outing was our visit to the 'Sacrilege' bouncing castle, part of the Perth Festival activities. It provided a full-scale bouncing version of Stonehenge, and was free for children and adults alike. We had enough of bouncing after about 5 minutes, but it was very fun!

Bouncing Stonehenge

Activities and outings explained, here are my 28 photos for February...

Tweet

In my kitchen - March 2014

I am linking this post in to Celia's monthly In My Kitchen event at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

It's March! The start of Australian autumn (we have a lazy approach to season changes, marking them as the first of the month) and, I hope, the start of cooler weather. The cool change is yet to happen, but I have high hopes for its impending arrival.

Kale, blueberries (defrosted from frozen), sweet potato

While I'm waiting on the weather to change, summer still features in my kitchen. My love affair with sweet potato continues, and it is featuring more often than not in my salads and smoothies. 

Tweet

365 project: January photos

With January over, I'm one month into my photo a day project for 2014. Taking a (non-food) photo a day has, to date, been both easier and harder than I expected. The easy part? If I throw my camera into my bag, there are many opportunities each day to capture an image that is interesting or picturesque. The hard part? There are 11 months left of 2014 and that leaves a lot of photos ahead of me. It's a little daunting to realise that I have taken just 31 of 365 potential photos! Fortunately, I have approached this goal with a healthy dose of realism and if I miss a day, or a week, or even a month...it won't matter. 

For now, here are the first 31 images. Welcome to my January in photos!

1st: Scarborough beach cycle path / 2nd: Busy bee / 3rd: Car wash whirl wind / 4th: Missing puzzle piece / 5th: Dry creek

Tweet