Little Good Harbour, Barbados

I have a confession to make. I've already booked three trips for this year. Future times of immense pleasure and happiness: 3 / Current bank balance (even after January pay day): 0... I've got my priorities straight.

I'm currently looking forward to Valentines in Paris (who's a lucky girl? Me apparently), March in South East Asia, and May in Marrakech for my friend Harriet's wedding (It's going to be like SATC2 in Abu Dhabi - fashion-wise, not erm jilting wise. Ahem). I could not be any more excited. With that in mind, it's time to write up my Barbados trip from last year. I've been saving this post for January because it's now officially high season there, the sun is baking hot, the clubs are open, the piñas are flowing and there are still some cheap flights in the BA and Virgin January sales. 

Barbados is a great couples get away - when I say couples I mean you and your mum, your bestie or your partner in love. I say this because having been all around the island, I wouldn't go back to stay anywhere other than the West Coast, which even in the high season remains quiet. Think sandy coves, palm trees, tropical breezes, beach bars on stilts. Relaxation is the order of every day. It's generally too hot to do anything else in high season, but on the West Coast I doubt that you'll want to.

We stayed in The Little Good Harbour Hotel, which we found and booked through my trusted favourite Mr & Mrs Smith. Visiting their website alone is a treat for the eyes. Having forayed into the world of travel advertising I'm well aware that this sensation is achieved through a wonderfully manipulative blend of great copywriting and design but I'm a self-confessed sucker and I'm hooked. They also have never let me down. I know a lot of you might have done a little bit of eye rolling just then because as we all know luxury comes at a price, but you may not know that Mr & Mrs Smith have added a 'Budget Boutique' collection to their offering, where rooms start in the £50s... don't say I don't treat you well.

The Little Good Harbour is a haven of privacy and under-stated luxury rolled into one. We had our own little house on stilts, fully fitted with a kitchen and fridge, from where we whipped up fresh breakfasts and lunches, always accompanied by my home-made cheats' piña colada (recipe here) but in the evenings we ate out. Barbados has become something of a culinary haven over the years - the rich Brit holiday and home makers out there have had something to do with some of the more nouveau cusine oriented places, but when you happen on truly great, simple Carribean cuisine, that's where the most special meals are to be had. Little Good Harbour is home to one such place: The Fish Pot, where locals and tourists travel from miles around to sample fresh lobster, yam mash, curried goat and the works. 

The East and Southern Coasts are a little more windswept and 'surfier' so this can be fun to visit. We spent some time on The Crane Beach playing in the waves and jumping off the rocks. The best way to access the beach is through The Crane Hotel, which is a beautiful 1890s build though a little run down. You can pay $20 dollars to go in and use the pool for the day but that's redeemable against food and drinks so you're not really paying

For a special night out.

It's a toss up as to whether The Cliff or L'Acajou at The Sandy Lane Hotel were better - so naturally I'd recommend blowing your budget and going to both. The Cliff has incredible views out over the sea and you eat just inside the cliff edge, surrounded in candle light so it feels very special. The Sandy Lane provides old-school British Colonial grandeur - think grand pianos and marble ball rooms. The food is French nouveau cuisine with a Bajan twist. The Fois Gras with caramelised rhubarb was one of the best things I've ever eaten in my life. 

For a pre-party bite

I'd head to Tapas near Hole Town. The fish is fresh, the menu diverse and they have a great selection of crisp French Chablis to send you on your way. Oddly enough the Bajans seem to be obsessed with Chablis - it's one of my favourite wines so I wasn't complaining but I've never seen so much of it on menus anywhere before or since.

Things to do:

Take a trip on the Jammin' catamaran. Run by the friends and family of Rhianna so you can't go wrong. When we went, we partied with Cover Drive who were topping the global charts at the time. The rum flows all day and the food is totally incredible - mini patties, jerk chicken, sweet and savoury breakfasts. They take you on guided snorkels of different reefs and introduce you to the friendly giant turtles, which you can stroke as they feed them. 

Night life:

Harbour Lights - go on a Wednesday for party time, it's open bar with a sea view. Be prepared to get down and dirty to an incredible mix of ragga and hip hop. People don't dress up much for this early evening - there will be shorts and flip flops around, but later on the Bajan ladies come down in their stilettos and hair done, nails done, everything did so you can basically wear what you please. 

Hole town - this is a little town with 2 night-life streets 1st street and 2nd street that are both worth a wander down. There are lots of good restaurants there, serving whatever you're in the mood for. The best club there is probably Priva - but you should go on the weekend not a week night unless it's properly high season, in which case any night should do. 

For a watering hole before Priva, Lime Grove restaurant and Lime Bar are the places to be - this is a thai restaurant and bar in a little courtyard in Hole Town. It's really good, upmarket and incredible value - more of a luxe local hang out than a tourist place as set back from the road so much better than the other bars. 

Get booking as soon as you can to make the most of January flights and if you want to know any more then get in touch and I'll try to help.

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Franco Manca, Brixton Market

It's been a fair few years since I was holed up living as an art student in Camberwell. In that time, Brixton Market has turned into something of a food-fest. It's not every week that an NW5 girl gets invited South of the river, but I've been looking for an excuse to check out Franco Manca for aaages, so I lept at the chance last week.

Arriving at Brixton Market, I was undecided whether to head to F.M. or to Honest Burgers but decided to simply let the queue length decide for me - a bit like tossing a coin. Franco Manca definitely won out with their 20 minute queue vs the 45 minutes that we could have lost outside of Honest Burger (which can also be had in Soho anyway). In the summer, the neighbouring @seven bar will serve you a cocktail whilst you wait (unofficially), in the winter, ask nicely and F.M. might put a beer in your hand.

Once the wait is over, the menu is deliciously simple and all the pizzas cost around £6 or £7. The pizza bases are all sourdough, which is so much tastier than other bases and much better for you too, so you can allay any cheese-guilt you might have otherwise felt. Nice additions like ricotta make inspiring choices, extra toppings cost between 50p and £1.50, there's a meat and a veggie special and you can choose from a tricolore or a mixed salad with Franco dressing as a side. 

Their wine list is also incredibly well priced. We got a lovely bottle of organic red for the bargain price of £13.95. It's cold, as the restuarant is basically open to the air, so go prepared to keep your coat on and your feet nicely tucked away in winter boots. 

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Collage inspiration: Kurt Schwitters at The Tate Britain

Review by Elle:

The Kurt Schwitters exhibition opens tomorrow at The Tate Britain. Flo and I went down there with our family for a bit of a sneak preview last weekend. 

I know I've said it before but I love The Tate - both Flo and I have been members for years. The Tate membership is something that I couldn't recommend more, as it gives you access to the gorgeous member's bars where they serve subsidised wines and you can go to see all the exhibitions as many times as you want. It's a lovely thing, to be able to take your friends, family or a date to see something knowing it's pre-paid and it makes you get out more to see more art. 

Kurt Schwitters was working during and after the second world war mostly in Germany and Britain. His early works are my favourites: intimate collages made up of adverts, bus tickets, newspapers and photographs or prints. Putting on my best philistine hat, my first reaction to these was simply to enjoy the elegance of old typographies and advertising bits and pieces. Look out for a cutting of old Basset's Liquorice Allsorts packaging. My inner ad-geek was very happy. 

It has become very fashionable for exhibitions to contextualise the artworks as part of the curation by including swathes of historical documents. I'm often a little put off by this (again with my philistine hat on), and would prefer to enjoy the gallery without feeling that sense of guilt - that I'm not doing it 'properly' by ignoring the wordy bits. I have to say though that in the case of The Schwitters exhibition the non-art materials were actually very interesting, adding depth and personality to your experience of Schwitters - the best bit of this was a Dada sound recording of hi s voice. We also liked the inclusion of letters to the Royal Academy about 'alien' art not being properly credited following on from when artists fled Germany to England and were put into camps to properly ascertain who they were. My advice: Go to see this with a lot of time on your hands and someone equally as interested as you.  

I'm a big Tate fan but am more likely to be found hanging out at the members bar of The Modern than The Tate Britain of a weekend. Every time I go to The Tate Britain I'm reminded of how much I love it, how great the permanent collection is and how nice it is to be in a quieter environment. If you fancy the livelier bustle of Tate Modern afterwards, you can always get The Tate Boat between them and then mosey over to The Maltby Street market for afters. 

There's a lot of great collage to see at the moment.  I'd also recommend Perspectives on Collage at The Photographer's Gallery - another great space. Flo and I came away from our weekend feeling inspired. I've got a new piece of writing that I'm working on (watch this space), whilst she set about making personalised collages, that could be used for birthday cards or thoughtful gifts. 

Collages by Flo:

I made this collage using pages and adverts from an old Vogue and a newspaper page  that was incongruously about the situation in Lebanon (note to self - read piece of newspaper before using). That said, a newspaper cutting can firmly locate something in a specific time, just as the type sets of Schwitter's collages do, and there is a poetry to that.

Once I had made it I cut a square out of an A4 white page and used it as a sort of view finder to find the best section of the collage and keep it. If it was for a card I would mount it with thicker card to give it some depth.

I might use this one as a cover to my little moleskin notebook.

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Juice Club

The answer to all your hang over hang ups lies in the new Selfridges Juice Club. Located on the ground floor, just inside the food hall - come here for a break between shops or just because you're in the area. We're always dropping into Selfridges to wander around the Willy Wonka style sweet and chocolate section anyway so this just gives us another excuse. An added bonus to geting your health kick here is that it will be served up by the very charming Scott. 

We are jealous of Scott's lime juicer

You choose a base juice, add other notes and then choose your final 'health shot'. We invented two non-alcoholic cocktails with Scott's advice. We've given them very creative names...

The Elle and Flo:

watermelon, cucumber, lime and chili shot

Scott was not sure about the chilli until we made him try it

The Flo and Elle: 

pear, celery, ginger and collagen shot

Apparently "all the girls from beauty come for the collagen shot - sure they do Scott, it's definitely got nothing to do with you ;-)

We've heard that the Acai berry shot is the best tasting shot but Scott had run out. Next time, we'll be adding a dash of that.

We also tasted...

watermelon, pear and lime (the best seller)

apple, carrot and ginger (classic)

A little birdie tells us they're about to open a bigger venture in Covent Garden this week too so follow them on Twitter for more.

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Selfridges' Smoking (hot) Salmon

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Weekend newsflash - we just came across an amazing foodie deal and got so excited that we hopped straight onto the nearest wifi to write up for you immediately.

The infamous Hix smoked salmon (smoked on the very roof it's sold under at Selfridges) is currently selling at 75% off. 

The perfect Sunday night supper after a weekend of indulgence has to be Scandi style salmon and salads. Tonight we're making horseradish hot potatoes, beetroot and watercress and avocado mint salads to accompany our bargain buys. We can't share pics, as we've not made them yet but here's the salmon. 

We are big fans of Hix. Our favourite is the Soho branch, though the new East London eatery is lovely too. We've been buying the salmon since he started selling it in Selfridges last year - it's usually £5.50 per 100g but currently selling for just £1.40. 

The Selfridges own English Creamed Horseradish: £3.99. Not even a spenny penny

Get it as fast as you can. It'll be back on as usual soon. 
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Shaking it up

Call me fussy (most people do), but bringing beer, vodka and wine to a party is akin to pushing the snooze button. I just about drink tonic water as a mixer and every now and then will have a rum and coke (always full fat) - but I wouldn't sit around sipping fizzy pop all day at work so I don't particularly fancy drinking it on autopilot for 5 hours at a party. 

The same principles should apply to hosting at home. You might not bat an eyelash at buying a couple of £10 cocktails to catch up with friends out, but the idea of investing in some lovely spirits and liquors and making them at home yourself doesn't come naturally. 

You don't have to set up the full works of a cocktail bar as I've done here to enjoy your investment either. All it takes is a jar of olives, some vermouth and a little vodka to take the edge off when you get home from work and without dying your teeth a lovely shade of streaky plum a la red wine either.

Drinks should be like small events, punctuating conversation or dancing. Crafted, cradled, savoured. Here's three unusual cocktail recipes that won't break the bank, you can bring to a party or you can make for yourself after a long hard day.

First of all, get the basics in: 

Bitters (Angustora are the most commonly found and liked ones)

Vermouth (that's Martini blanco to start with) If I'm out of this, I'll use just a splash of white wine

Ice in the freezer is a must

A couple of lemons and limes hanging around your fridge (or lemon juice if you're super lazy)

A shaker - I prefer boston but they're less readily sold than this kind which you can buy from trusty John Lewis

If you like your martini dirty (I do), then green olives in brine are also a must

For a filthy martini:

Place a couple of olives and a small splash of brine in your shaker. Pour in a double shot of vodka and half a shot of vermouth (if you like it wet). Muddle the olives in the vodka with the end of a rolling pin or the bottom of a spoon if you haven't invested in a muddler. Then add ice, shake quickly and vigorously and strain into a martini glass. Take a couple of whole olives from the jar, spear them with a cocktail stick and drink.

For a blooming marvelous royal

This is a wonderful alternative to a kir royale, and makes you look well fancy pants when you're hosting at minimal effort. You can buy your hibiscus flowers in syrup here. Then all you need is some prosecco and you're done. I usually bring the flowers to the table in the glasses and pour for the guests so they can see their flower bloom - it's all in the drama dahling. 

The gentleman's sour

I love a good sour. For those of you who don't know, a sour is made when you take a liqueur or spirit (adding gomme or another sugar syrup - honey will do when using an alcohol that's not already sweet), and then shaking it hard with bitters, egg whites and lemon juice and then pouring over ice. A beautifully frothy, sharp-yet-smooth drink best garnished with a maraschino cherry.

This year, in an inspired moment that had my friends giving me funny looks, I decided to make port sours. Port is slightly lighter and less sweet than a liquor so made for an interesting alternative. When not additionally sweetened you end up with a lighter, more tart alternative to my usual favourite - amaretto. 

So at the risk of appearing as high maintenance as me but to the benefit of your taste buds, mental well being and health (well you won't drink a whole bottle if you're making cocktails): go forth, experiment and enjoy!

P.S. I know I owe those of you who asked a 'being good and keeping it dry' January post - I've got a lovely new juice bar review coming your way soon - in the meanwhile avert your eyes, though if you got to the bottom of this post it's probably too late - whoops.

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