10 #aupairproblems

1. When the kids are being loud on a Saturday or Sunday morning.
2. When you cleaned the house during the day but the kids come back from school and this is the same mess as yesterday. 
3. When the kids can't poo without putting it everywhere and you have to clean if you're going to the loo after them.
4. Poundland, Primark and Whetherspoon become your favourite places because they fit your au pair salary.
5. When you have to work during the weekend.
6. When all the family put their dishes next to the dishwasher and not IN the dishwasher.
7. You go to bed (sleeping or not) at the same time as the kids because you don't want to stay downstairs with the parents.
8. Sometimes you buy the food you're guilty to ask your host family to buy for you.
9. When "stop, "don't", "come on" and "hurry up" become your most used words. 
10. You question yourself about your wish to have kids in the future or at least you know how you will bring them up. 

London + Arsenal game

Brownie

Ingrédients:
-200g de chocolats à cuire
-200g de sucre
-3 oeufs
-100g de farine
-150g de beurre
-Noix de pécan

• Préchauffez le four à 180°C (th 6).
• Dans un saladier, battez les œufs entiers avec le sucre. 
• Faites fondre le chocolat et le beurre. Le mélange doit être bien lisse. Ajoutez au mélange œufs/sucre.
• Ajoutez la farine et mélangez le tout. 
• Versez dans un moule beurré et enfournez pendant 25 min. 

Easy bolognese sauce

Ingredients:

1 large onion chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1 tbsp olive oil

500g lean minced beef

1 tsp mixed herbs

100g mushrooms sliced

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 can of condensed cream of tomato soup

Sauté the onion and garlic in the oil for 2 or 3 minutes. Add the beef and mixed herbs and sauté until the beef has changed colour. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook ober a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Season to taste.

Lemon & elderflower drizzle cake

Today I did a recipe from the 'Cake making' book of Ruth Clemens (buy here). I recommend this book because it is very helpful and give lots of tips. So if you are a beginner you NEED to buy it!!

Ingredients:

Cake 

175g butter

175g caster sugar

Zest of 2 lemons

3 large eggs

160g self-raising flour or 160g plain flour + 11g bicarbonate of soda

Juice of 1 lemon

Drizzle

Juice of 1 lemon

110g caster sugar

2 tbsp elderflower cordial

• Preheat the oven to 160°C (fan)/Gas mark 4. Line the loaf tin with baking paper or a paper liner.
• Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add the lemon zest and mix until evenly combined. Add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition until the mixture is light and fluffy again. 
• Fold in the self-raising flour until the cake mix is even.
• Finally stir through the juice of 1 lemon. Don't worry if the mixture curdles, the acidity from the lemon juice will often do that. 
• Fill the loaf tin with cake mixture. Level the top roughly with the back of a spoon and bake in the oven for 50 minutes. Do check the oven after 35 minutes and if the crust is going very dark cover it with a sheet of foil for the remaining baking time. 
• remove the cake from the oven and mix together the drizzle: lemon juice, elderflower cordial and sugar, stirring well to combine. The sugar will still be granular in the mixture. 
• Keep the cake in the tin and using a skewer prick holes right across and all around the top of the cake-aim to go three quarters of the way throught the cake, not right to the base. Lots of holes are needed for the syrup to soak the cake evenly. 
• Now spoon the drizzle over the cake slowly, allowing it to run down the skewered holes before adding another spoonful. Make sure you evenly cover the entire top of the cake until all the drizzle has been added. Set aside for the cake to cool completely and then remove from the tin and serve.

For me it went dark 15 minutes before the end so check regularly after 35 minutes in the oven

So good!

London, January

Places visited: Notting Hill, Portobello Road market, Kensington, Maida Vale, Camden, Waterloo Bridge

I met one of my oldest friends last Saturday with two other girls. It was fun and we were happy to spend the day in quiet and pretty places. We started to walk around Notting Hill and the famous Portobello Road market: it was midday so very crowdy. We saw a stall selling huge pastries (see picture below), we were literally drooling and I personally thought of it for the rest of the day. I will definitely go back and buy some! Then we had a walk in Kensington. It is very quiet, posh and the architecture of the houses is stunning. I don't think a saturday is the best moment if you want nice pictures because people are at home so cars parked in the front ruin the photos.

After lunch we decided to see "Little Venice" so we took the tube to Maida Vale and we walk around the canal. This place was a beautiful gem! You don't feel like you're in London. A quick break and we headed to Camden town. It wasn't the first time I went there but my friends were pretty impressed. It is always a good idea to go in Camden: it's trendy, nice, crazy, young... We stopped in a pub before going on our visit in the City and around. We wanted to see the famous monuments during the night.
I really advise you Waterloo Bridge if you want a beautiful view of London. On a side you can see the London Eye and Big Ben, on the other side you will see St Paul's Cathedral and skyscrapers. 

Here are some of my photos:

 

Guildford

I am really satisfied with my day in Guildford. The city is really cool with its cute little streets and there are all the shops and restaurants you need. I couldn't be happier to live 10 minutes away from here.