The month that was: August

What happened:
August started with being evacuated from The Shard and having to walk down from the 32nd floor of the building - thank goodness we weren't all the way at the top on the observation deck! We'd gone to the Aqua Shard for dinner and had just ordered when the fire alarm sounded and we had to leave. To be honest, we weren't impressed in the short time that we were there so we didn't stick around for the long wait to get back inside.

The following weekend we headed to Stratford to the Lee Valley Velopark as Olly (and the men in his family) had a date at the velodrome, which was fun to watch. You don't realise how steep the sides of a velodrome are, but they are, and I'm glad that I was watching from the sidelines instead of participating!

     

I had a lazy long weekend by myself (and with Comps, of course) whilst Olly was in Belgium at the Grand Prix, which I spent writing and making espadrilles. Yes, you read that right! I made a pair of espadrilles using some The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric, and you can find out how I made them here. (Found is still on track to be out later this year.)

     

Finally, I had a signature facial at Liz Earle - see what I made of it here - before heading to Kent for a family wedding. I can't believe that's another month that's gone and we're now in September!

What I ate:
Because of the aforementioned evacuation, instead of eating at Aqua Shard we ended up going to Roast for dinner - I last ate there about five years ago, but the standard has remained the same. If you want generous portion sizes with beautiful British flavours, do book a table there.

     

The service can be quite hit and miss at Wahaca, though they'll always tempt me back because I absolutely love their pork pibil tacos. We headed there for lunch at their Westfield Stratford branch after our visit to the velodrome, and the pork pibil tacos did not disappoint. (But, then again, they never do!)

However, I did have a disappointing lunch at Big Easy in Covent Garden. The service was dreadful, and they kept getting our orders wrong - a real shame as I've eaten there before and enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if I would return now. I hate it when that happens!

What I watched:
I implore you to watch Paddington as soon as you can as it's an utter delight and an awesome feel-good film - it's definitely my favourite film that I watched in August. I also watched: Insurgent, The Breakfast Club, Almost Famous, Gone Girl (and then had to reread the book), Pompeii and Delivery Man, plus I rewatched Shrek, The Baby-Sitters Club (yes, *that* BSC!), Interstellar, Warm Bodies, Richie Rich, Deep Impact and Inception.

What I read:
In August I read 27 books and abandoned reading 7 books. I really enjoyed The Longest Holiday by Paige Toon, The Story of You by Katy Regan, Finding Audrey by Sophie Kinsella, Somewhere Only We Know by Erin Lawless, The Good Girls by Sara Shepard, Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover and rereading Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn.

How was your August? x