The month that was: April 2016

What happened:
B-Side went off to my editor - make sure you pre-order it to get your copy delivered automatically on May 17th - and I continued writing the first draft of Found. It's only 15 days until B-Side is out, and you'll also be able to pre-order Found soon. Hurrah!

We had a few visitors in April. My friend came to visit me from Scotland, which involved a visit to Madame Tussauds, one of my best friends came over, plus our baby niece, Esmé, came to visit us in London for the first time. I'm still utterly thrilled with our new home, and I love living in Wandsworth.

Lastly, I celebrated my birthday at home in London. I had originally planned a mooch in Richmond Park but the snowy weather was so odd (and it was so cold) - instead, we had a lazy day at home, followed by dinner at Chez Bruce.

What I ate:
I finally made it to Dishoom, and I can't believe it's taken this long to eat there. We went for lunch when my friend was visiting (you can't book for dinner unless there are more than six of you so you have to queue outside - no thanks) and the food was so tasty. I especially recommend the Pau Bhaji (below left) and the Dishoom chicken tikka, though we were all *very* happy with all the dishes we ordered. (We ordered a lot!) We were also invited back for breakfast on Dishoom, which was a lovely gesture - Olly and I went along for a late breakfast and really enjoyed our naan rolls (below right).

We also had dinner with my friend at Roxie Steak, which is a South African meat restaurant. They have restaurants in Earlsfield, Putney, Fulham and Clapham; if you're in the mood for steak and are south of the river, give them a go. The sirloin steaks were beautiful, but I make a better chimichurri sauce, if I do say so myself!

I also tried out ramen at Bone Daddies for the first time (above left). It was nice, but I much prefer the flavours of Pho if I had to choose a broth-based dish to eat. Byron opened in Wandsworth, so we went along to welcome them to the neighbourhood (above right) and take advantage of their 25p burger offer. 25p, right? I know!

For my birthday we went to Michelin-starred Chez Bruce. The food was so beautiful, and brilliant value, and we'll definitely be back. Review coming soon, but my starter was my favourite. The little bursts of tomato in my spring minestrone soup were exceptional, and the pig's head croquettes with wild garlic oil were divine.

The next night we headed to Skylon to have drinks with Olly's parents, followed by dinner at Troia. Troia is an odd-one because it's rated in the top 600 restaurants in London on Tripadvisor (out of 17,000), but the menu is super touristy (Turkish food mixed with pasta and fish and chips). We gave it a go, ordered Turkish dishes, and actually had a very tasty meal. Result!

What I watched:
Finally! OK, it wasn't the publication of the next book, but the new season of Game of Thrones that aired in April. The fate of Jon Snow wasn't revealed in the opening episode, but I have a feeling my theory about what happens to him might just be right...

At the cinema we watched Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, which wasn't great. (That says something because Henry Cavill is one of my faves.) The dream sequences in it... dream sequences are never an acceptable narrative technique. Ever! But, we saw The Jungle Book in 3D, which was a delight! (Phew.) We also went to see Captain America: Civil War in 3D, which was better than I thought it would be. Team Iron Man for me!

Other films watched: Jurassic World, The Emperor's New Groove, Walk of Shame, Stardust, Clueless, Bedtime Stories, The Legend of Barney Thomson, Walt Before Mickey, Bad Words, The Intern, The Young and Prodigious T.S. Spivet, Notting Hill, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Lilo and Stitch, Entourage, Chalet Girl, Sicario, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., The Overnight and Life as We Know It.

What I read:
In April I read ten new books, reread five books, including Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and I abandoned reading one book. My favourite book was The Queen's Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler, and I can't wait for the next two books in this series (out later this year). I also read the last two Shopaholic books (Shopaholic to the Stars and Shopaholic to the Rescue) and whilst I found Stars to be very meh, I felt we got more of the old Becky in Rescue. (Thank goodness!)

How was your month? x