SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 85

Hello and HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY! I’m delighted that you are spending a few minutes of this special day with me here for Sundays With Celia Vol 85. We are all in some way connected to Mother’s Day, whether or not we’re a mom ourselves. So I hope that today you are honoring your mother, or being honored for being a mother, or enjoying a little of both. In any case, it’s an important day to thank the women in our lives for the sacrifices and contributions they make.

The second week of May is always doubly fun for me because I get to celebrate both my birthday and Mother’s Day. I feel a bit sorry for my family however, who are saddled with trying to make each event special and separate. I have to hand it to my husband who is a master at pulling off both a birthday celebration and Mother’s Day in a way that always makes me feel very happy and loved, even on the years when they actually occur on the same day! This year beautiful flowers arrived from my DC dwelling son…

and from my Chicago dwelling son…

And my husband went shopping at one of my favorite stores, Williams-Sonoma, where he got me something I had been longing for for some time now, a Sous Vide. He also got me a vacuum sealing system which seals food in an air-tight pouch. Those pouches of food get submersed in water along with the Sous Vide that cooks the food to a designated temperature which it never exceeds. It’s precision cooking at its best.

Here’s a really great video from Bon Appetite that explains Sous Vide cooking much better than I can. I can’t wait to try mine out, and think I’ll make a steak just like the chef in this video does. My husband will LOVE that!

We also celebrated with a birthday cake made from a favorite recipe I have on the blog. It’s called Super Moist Banana Poppy Seed Cake and it’s one of my favorites. If you’re like me you often end up with over-ripe, browning bananas which you hate to throw out. It’s just this type of banana that’s perfect for making this cake. Click here for the yummy recipe.

Plus last night my bestie Cindy had a lovely, intimate Birthday dinner party for me. So I enjoyed a special week of celebrations for which I’m very grateful.

Looking Back On Sunday

This week I shared with you our recent visit to Mercado Little Spain in NYC. It’s a new venture by Spanish Chef José Andrés that’s being billed as a Spanish Eataly.

As a Spanish American I had high hopes that it would be great, and that it would bring a new awareness to how wonderful Spanish food can be. Sadly, for the most part, it was a disappointment for me. If you missed the post I hope you’ll take a look at it by clicking here.

One thing I did like about Mercado Little Spain was the interesting assemblage of chandeliers that decorate one ceiling of the Mercado. But hey, we don’t go there for the decor, do we?

Visiting Covent Garden in London

As I’m not shy of saying here on After Orange County, I’m very fond of all things British, and will never tire of going to the UK. It was really fun to end our recent cruise in the port of Southhampton, which afforded us the opportunity to spend 3 days in London at the conclusion of our trip. So we scurried off the ship at 8:00am, anxious to get to London, about 90 minutes away. I had arranged for a van service to transport us there, where we checked into the VERY NICE Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel. I will dedicate an entire post one day soon to this lovely hotel. We got settled in quickly because I wanted to make the most of our first day in London, and had my sights set on going straight to Covent Garden.

Conveniently located just across the street from the hotel was an underground station that whisked us right to Covent Garden in a few minutes. As a Southern California girl, where public transportation is nonexistent, I’m always a bit intimidated and reluctant to use public transport. But we found the London Tube to be easy, safe and inexpensive, and I felt proud of myself for successfully navigating my way around London in this manner. It sure beats the expensive London Black Cabs.

Just outside Covent Garden station you find yourself in the heart of this charming, West End neighborhood, which is the main theatre and entertainment area. Tourists and locals alike fill its elegant, car-free streets, which are home to many elegant shops.

Most of the streets are pedestrian-only, but you can also rent these great looking bikes, complete with a shopping basket in front, to make your way around.

Most of the streets are cordoned off to car traffic by barriers, and each street is also decorated with lovely carts filled with plants and flowers.

All throughout the area they also had benches and garden swings festooned with spring flowers. People were lining up to take photos ensconced within them.

It was a nice ode to the arrival of spring and we were lucky to be there on a beautiful sunny day.

Dining In Covent Garden

The streets are filled with pubs and cafes. We arrived around lunchtime and we were hungry, so we decided a pub lunch was in order. All of them are super charming, so it was difficult to decide.

We ended up deciding on this pub called The Salsbury.

After a pint and some fish and chips we were fortified and ready to hit the streets.

Shopping In Covent Garden

There are many fine shops in Covent Garden. We explored Apple Market, which has many vendors selling arts and crafts.

There was a very good looking cafe adjacent to the market called Buns & Buns that I wished we had discovered before going to the pub for lunch.

And you need not go to Paris to enjoy macarons. There is a lovely Ladurée, complete with outdoor seating in Covent Garden square.

Visiting Petersham Nurseries

But the main reason I was so set on going to Covent Garden was because I was bound and determined to visit Petersham Nurseries. I have been following Petersham Nurseries on Instagram for sometime now, and had fallen in love with what they do. They actually got their start outside of London in Richmond, where their original nursery, garden shop, cafe & tea house are located. But since I didn’t have time to go there, I was anxious to see their Covent Garden shop. My blogger friend Elizabeth, The Vintage Contessa, told me that our American Garden Shop and Cafe chain Terrain (which I blogged about here) was copied from Petersham Nurseries.

So come on inside and let me show you around. It was a sight to behold. Pure eye candy.

So, they sell a little bit of everything to do with the home, from furniture, to tabletop items, to decorative accessories, to plants, flowers and even bakery items from their cafe.

There were beautiful bud vases…

and amazing scented candles…

a beautiful collection of stationary, serving pieces and mirrors…

baskets and lanterns and plants…

and more plants…

beautiful ceramic items…

and unique, handmade tableware.

But I think my favorite items were the bakery goods from their cafe and the beautiful floral arrangements.

If I lived in London I know I’d be a regular customer, but as a tourist I simply couldn’t take advantage of most of the wonderful items they had for sale. But I sure enjoyed looking. I hope you enjoyed looking too!

Stay tuned and next week I’ll be taking you with me to Windsor Castle, just outside of London. This is where Prince Harry and Megal Markle live with their new baby Archie, and it’s also where they were married. I can’t wait to show it to you.

Happy Mother’s Day! I hope you are enjoying a wonderful day!

So there you have it: SUNDAYS WITH CELIA VOL 85

Thanks so much for dropping in!

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All opinions expressed in this post are my own. Unless otherwise noted, all photos are the original property of Celia Becker @ www.AfterOrangeCounty.com and may not be reproduced without specific permission.