Local Gems: The London Plane

How was everyone’s weekend?  The highlight of mine was a visit to The London Plane, which has been on my brunch bucket list for ages now. I met my friend Asa there on Saturday for a leisurely meal/catch up sesh, and the place did not disappoint! It’s a restaurant, bakery and flower shop all in one – gorgeous blooms greet you on a cheery cart outside the entrance, and there’s an even more extensive selection to pick from inside.

The interior is bright, airy, and just begs to be Instagrammed. (Seattle friends, if you’ve been there, I’m sure you can attest to this!) The bakery selection looked incredibly tempting, but I’d heard rave reviews about the curried avocado toast, so my mission was clear.

It was just as delicious as anticipated. Now I need to plan a return visit to try some of those yummy baked goods! Pistachio cardamom cake, I’m coming for you…

Have you been to The London Plane? What are some of your favorite brunch spots?

♥ Mil

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Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, you guys! It’s been a very long week and I’m excited to do some serious relaxing this weekend, and perhaps enjoy an out-of-control ice cream sundae (see #1 below). I’m even more excited to go wedding dress shopping with my friend Sarah, who’s getting married next summer. Yay! What are you up to this weekend? Before you take off on any adventures, here are a few fun links for you to enjoy.

1. Local restaurant Vivo 53 is adding some insane sundaes to their menu. Topped with everything from ice cream sandwiches to macarons, they are truly a sugar coma waiting to happen. Who’s going to help me eat one? (425 Magazine)

2. I really loved this post about breaking out of routines that may be holding you back. As a creature of habit, I can totally relate. (Gal Meets Glam)

3. Oribe is expanding their horizons with a makeup collection and skincare line! I’m definitely going to need every single product. (Allure)

4. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child premiered last week, and with that, J.K. Rowling claims Harry’s story is now officially over. Hmm…we’ll see. (Vanity Fair)

5. This list of things everyone but you is doing this summer will make you laugh. (Medium)

Have a great weekend!

♥ Mil

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Fresh Strawberry Pie

I’ve had this pie recipe drafted to share for a few months, but am just now sharing it. While the peak of strawberry season has passed us, you can still find ripe and delicious strawberries for an affordable price this time of year.

As you should know, I’m quite the pie aficionado. I love it in all forms and in all seasons, but fruit pies are definitely my favorite. When it comes to fruit pies, I like them to taste as fresh as possible. Why use fresh fruit if you’re just going to make it taste canned? This recipe really hits the mark when it comes to tasting fresh, mostly because only half of the berries are cooked.
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Fresh Strawberry Pie
Serves 6-8 (or 1 if you’re me)

2 pounds fresh strawberries
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 unbaked pie crust
Optional: vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to top

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Directions: Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Dice 1 pound berries or process in food processor until they reach a similarly chopped texture (my favorite shortcut).
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Scoop berries into a saucepan and cook over medium heat. Add sugar to the pan along with the lemon juice and stir to combine. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 3 tablespoons water. Pour into the strawberry mixture and stir vigorously. Cook on low heat for 8-10 minutes or until mixture thickens, making sure to stir frequently to prevent lumps. Check to make sure your sauce isn’t cloudy before you remove it from the heat, so you know that the cornstarch has fully cooked.
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While the sauce cools, place pie crust into 9″ or 10″ pie plate. Crimp the edges and then lightly prick the bottom and sides with fork about 30 times. Place a piece of foil inside the pie crust, lightly pressing around inside bottom edges of crust. Fill with dried beans (or pie weights if you have them) and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and remove beans and foil. Return it to the oven and bake for 5 minutes until edges are golden brown. Note, you can reuse these beans. I store mine with my baking supplies in a little baggie marked pie beans.
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While the crust cooks, cut the remaining strawberries into halves and mix into your cooled sauce.
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Let your crust cool for a few minutes and then pour the strawberry mixture into your baked pie shell. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours, or until the pie is set. Serve topped with whipped cream or with ice cream on the side.
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The final product seconds before I attacked it with a fork. Plating a slice is for suckers.

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What’s your favorite summer time pie? I’m also a big fan of blackberry or boysenberry pies, but these varieties of berries are hard to find in this area. Someone in Seattle send me a care package of berries!
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XOXO,
Jules

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Life Lately

Hi friends! It’s been a while. Thank you for your patience with my absence and a HUGE (insert Donald Trump’s voice here) thank you to the ever wonderful Mil for taking on an extra load of blog responsibilities.
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I wanted to pop in to share some life updates. As you may remember, in February my husband and I relocated across the country from Seattle to Durham, North Carolina. It’s been a big change and frankly a bit of a rough transition for me. I’ve spent the last 6 months job searching and it turns out that it’s pretty hard to meet people when you don’t have a job and coworkers. As an introvert, I initially enjoyed the alone time, but at a certain point enough was enough! I’m finally starting a new job next week so hopefully a new network of friends will follow.
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What I didn’t share was that I was also pregnant when we made the move. My husband and I are expecting out first child and we couldn’t be more excited (and scared)! I’m just about in my 8th month of pregnancy, so before we know it we’ll be welcoming a little baby boy into our lives. The nesting urge has hit me hard, so I’ve been busy hanging pictures and busting out DIY projects. Hit me up if you want to know about my no sew DIY baby bibs…
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Had to do at least one belly shot. I think I’m about 6 months pregnant here.

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In anticipation of this life change, we’ve been doing some traveling. My husband and I took a trip to the west coast of Ireland for a “baby-moon,” and it was incredible. The weather was in the 70’s every day. We never had to break out our rain jackets and Nick even went swimming in the ocean!
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Quick selfie at the secluded sandy beach we found on one of our drives

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The Cliffs of Moher which were featured in Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. They took my breath away at sunset.

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I was also able to visit a few of my friends both in New York City and Los Angeles. Got to get those solo girlfriend trips in while I still can! Mil and I are trying to figure out when we can reunite, although it looks like at this point I’ll have baby in tow. After finally getting to live in the same area again, it’s been a real drag going back to a long distance relationship.
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Hanging out with my friend Veronica who lives in Brooklyn. She made us the cutest hipster knit baby hat with yarn from the farmers market. Our baby’s going to be so cool.

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Anyway, that’s what I’ve been up to. What have I missed? Anything juicy in your lives or in the blog world? For the past few months I’ve also completely detached from social media, with the exception of a few Facebook pop-ins, so I’m horribly out of date.
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XOXO,
Jules