All Of The Almond Milk: Damson & Co, Soho

If you follow me on instagram you are probably familiar with my obsession with almond milk, especially in coffee. I don't drink normal milk - there's always been something I didn't quite like about it, so stopped drinking it probably 3 or 4 years ago now. I've always gone for soya at coffee shops instead but having researched more into the disadvantages of drinking it, I started ordering almond milk where available, and have been obsessed ever since. Not only is it the perfect non-dairy milk for coffee (unlike soya, it's easier to steam & froth), the taste also compliments the espresso shot really nicely. I really want to get more of my friends & family into drinking almond milk (it also tastes great on cereal, in porridge, in tea etc), so I thought I'd share some of my favourite places for almond milk coffee in a few blog posts.

This first post is dedicated to the amazing Damson & Co on Brewer Street in Soho. I discovered this lovely cafe (turned gin bar in the evening, yet another plus) on the blog catfoodisgoodforyou, who has a very handy map of where to find almond milk coffee in London. I'm so glad I gave it a try, and I often return more than once in one day just to drink their lovely coffee & experience wonderful service.

Almond Milk Cappuccino

 All the waiters & waitresses are so lovely and helpful - which is actually often rare to find in Central London. Although small, they don't mind you staying a long time and I often find myself spending a good few hours here. This is also because of it's great location - many of my castings are in Soho so if I'm ever early or having to wait to get an off-peak train after my audition, this is always the place I choose to pass the time!

Their crockery is adorable and very instagram-able, but more importantly, their coffee is incredible. They are brilliant at getting the strength just right and they steam their almond milk like nowhere else in London - it's so rich and creamy and frothy! I always order an almond milk cappuccino and I am yet to find a better one elsewhere. The only negative I can find about Damson & Co is that their only decaf option is Chicory coffee - which to me tastes too sweet and is not nearly as nice as their usual caffeinated espresso.

Almond Milk Latte

I am looking forward to taking my friends to Damson & Co for coffee and hopefully getting them as obsessed with it as I am!

Damson & Co on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DamsonandCo

Damson & Co on insta: https://instagram.com/damsonandco/

Damson & Co on twitter: https://twitter.com/damsonandco

Liv xx

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Brighton

This is going to be a quick post because it's really only a procrastination from a handful of monologues I've got to learn for tomorrow. Yesterday I returned from a long weekend in Brighton with my lovely friend Jess. We have both wanted to visit Brighton for a long time so decided a few weeks ago to book our trains and two nights at The Artist Residence Hotel. 

Despite the awful weather when we arrived on Saturday, we quickly headed for the North Laines where we meandered around the many shops. I bought way too many cards and some incredible tea from the most amazing tea shop called The Bluebird Tea Co. Luckily Sunday offered us some better weather so a walk down the seafront was definitely necessary! Our hotel was close to the West Pier but we also wandered down to the actual Pier, which provided some lovely views of the seafront in the sun.

The West Pier

After exploring more of the Laines, we discovered 42Juice where I had the most delicious almond milk latte. I was actually really impressed by how many places in Brighton served almond milk, as it's usually quite hard to find it in coffee shops outside of London. I'm still perplexed as to why establishments choose to serve soya milk (which I don't drink anymore) over it!

We found our two days in Brighton was the perfect amount of time to explore and discover the shops and cafes - it was always hard narrowing down where we would have our afternoon slice of cake. There is a really cool vibe to the whole town - and our hotel proved no exception! The Cocktail Shack downstairs was incredible, as was the room, the staff, the breakfast - I couldn't fault anything! I really hope I get to stay there again soon, if not in Brighton, then in their two other hotels in London & Penzance.

Hope you enjoyed the pictures, have a lovely weekend

Liv xx

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B-A-N-A-N-A-S

If you're anything like me, you'll remember the spelling of bananas simply because of Gwen Stefani. And if your family is anything like my family, you'll always have a few bananas sitting unloved in the fruit bowl. Yesterday I decided to make a banana loaf to satisfy my sweet-tooth cravings and conquer the fruit bowl. I couldn't find a recipe I liked (aka had the majority of the ingredients for) in our cook books so decided to trawl the internet for inspiration - FYI, finding good recipes only for them to be in American measurements (cups) gets pretty frustrating. 

I managed to find a recipe of Sophie Dahl's which was posted on her site 'At The Kitchen Table', which I then had to adapt a bit as I typically still didn't have enough of all of the ingredients. After a failed choc-chip muffin attempt last week (which I obviously won't be posting more about), I was so happy when this loaf cake turned out wonderfully, with the stamp of approval from my family too - especially my Dad, self proclaimed King of the Banana Loaf. I added chocolate chips on top to fulfil my chocolate addiction - I would completely recommend it (it added that extra yum), but if you'd rather kid yourself you're being healthy without them, or save this recipe for over lent, feel free to leave them out - it's still a kick-ass banana loaf recipe without them. The method written isn't one I found online - none were that explicit, more like 'throw everything in' so I had to try and work it out myself - as it turned out so well, I thought it would be better just to explain the steps I followed/made up!

The Ultimate Banana Loaf

Ingredients: 75g soft butter, 150g soft brown sugar, 1 tsp agave nectar, 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 1tbs vanilla extract, 170g spelt flour, 1 beaten egg, a pinch of salt, dark chocolate chips, your very ripe bananas (I used two and a half as it was all I had, but feel free to add more - the original recipe said 4!)

You will need to preheat your oven to 180c (160c for a fan oven or gas mark 4)

Method:

1. Mash your bananas with a fork, then add your soft butter and egg and beat. Then add the sugar, agave nectar and vanilla extract and stir in with a wooden spoon. 

2. Sieve in your spelt flour and add your bicarbonate of soda and salt then beat again. If your butter looks a bit funny (as mine did at this point) - don't panic (as I did).

3. Spoon the mixture into your pre-lined loaf tin and sprinkle chocolate chips on top, if you wish. Bake for an hour, or until your take tester comes out clean.

This is delicious eaten warm out of the oven or cold. Feel free to gently re-heat it later, if you enjoy your banana bread warm or toasted!

Liv x

(this recipe was based upon that of Sophie Dahl, which is credited here: http://www.sophiedahl.com/2014/03/banana-bread/ - this will also be useful if you're American as it contains your metric system!)

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3 Best of January: Make-Up

As I mentioned in my first blog post, I am a self-confessed make-up obsessive. I am constantly on the look out for new products and during January I both discovered and re-discovered 3 products which have invaded my normal day-to-day make up routine, which I thought I'd quickly share with you all. Given I often ramble on and on whilst talking about make-up, I'm going to try and keep it brief.

MAC Strobe Cream - I only have the mini version because with this product a little goes a long way, and it means I can take it in hand-luggage. It's both hydrating and luminous - I dab it under my eyes and up my cheek bones after moisturiser but before my base make-up...it's magical.

NARS Radiant Creamy Concealer (Shade: Vanille) - Hands down, the best concealer I have ever used for my under-eyes. It balances good coverage and a natural finish to perfection - I blend this out with my Real Techniques contour brush (my favourite for any concealer blending). It brightens and conceals, which is why I also use this around and down my nose, but my local NARS counter recommend not using it on spots as the radiance it gives will just draw attention to them....which is never what we want. If I could buy every girl I know one of these, I would.

Anastasia Beverly Hills Brow Wiz (Shade: Taupe) - The products I own the most of are definitely those for brows, but this has already become my favourite. The product is cool-toned and natural-looking, adding just enough extra colour and thickness to my brows without looking drawn on at all. It also has a spoolie at the other end, which saves space in my make-up bag - always a plus! If you, like me, found the dip brow pomade's too hard to work with for day-to-day make up, and prefer something natural and perhaps similar to the MAC 'Eyebrows', this is definitely the product for you - and the colour range is great too. Anastasia Beverly Hills is hard to get hold of in the UK, but you can get it off BeautyBay and Cult Beauty where they also have a useful table system to help find your shade!

Liv x

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