Picnic in Firenze

Lunch: lasagna, grilled eggplant, spinach and little onion bulbs - packed for me by a lovely Italian man at a cafe near Piazza San Marco, and consumed by me in the Giardino du Boboli. Just perfect!

Easter Feast

I could not have dreamed of a better way to spend my Easter weekend this year. I had hoped of a great big feast with family and friends, and it happened! Best friend, brother, new friends, fantastic food - just incredible, with such a beautiful setting to go along with it!

Happy Easter Everyone!

Hope everyone has had a wonderful Easter weekend!

Lots of love from Amsterdam xoxo

Image via Speakin Colours

Sunday Roast At The Roebuck

Last Sunday was a very long and very stressful moving day. Poor Nina from Paris had to endure the whole things with us! Its a part of her trip to London she'll probably never forget, but would like to I'm sure!

Anyway, once we finally got ourselves to Chiswick and could relax, we treated ourselves to three fantastic roast chicken dinners, lots of wine and even dessert! Best of all the weather was amazing and we got to sit in their lovely back garden in the sunshine.

If you're in the area, I recommend popping by, for more info click HERE xo

Presents From Paris...

Well, it was a present form Corsica, really, which might be even better! Nina, a present from Paris herself, came to visit London over the weekend and brought me this beautiful bottle of rose. Mmmm mmm it sure was delicious! When Nina and I get together we consume a lot of wine together. A lot. We LOVE wine. How much? Well, you can probably tell from the pictures above xo

London Goes Local

Dedicated Joli Lapin readers will be familiar with my previous posts about my obsession with Urban Farming and my increasing-frustration with high-mileage produce at the supermarkets. While on my way back from a lovely weekend on the Isle of Wight this afternoon, I pulled out my crumpled copy of last week's ES Magazine from my purse and slowly went through every article over the two-hour train ride #forgottopackabook #iphonedied

To my great delight, I came across their fantastic article on London's new localism movement - charting 'the decline of food miles and the rise of the back-garden entrepreneur.' I strongly recommend checking out the article straight away by clicking HERE, if you too are pro-local whether you are LDN-based or not! For those who do happen to be based in London, see their list of great locals below, and for those who aren't - well, don't you think it's about time you found out who your locals are?

ES Magazine's LOCALIST HOT LIST:

Ronnie's Quails and Chickens
86 Montpelier Gardens, E6 (07516 824 785; ronniesquails.co.uk)
Ronnie's eggs are available for collection or can be ordered via post. Chinese quail eggs, £4.50 for a dozen (plus £2 p&p).

Sipsmith Independent Spirits
The Distillery, 27 Nasmyth Street, W6 (020 8741 2034; sipsmith.com)
Sipsmith's Fairfax Hall and Sam Galsworthy create artisanal spirits including vodka and gin in their Hammersmith distillery, using Prudence, a handmade copper still. Sipsmith barley vodka, £14.84 for 35cl (half bottle).

The Giggly Pig
132 Petersfield Avenue, Harold Hill, Romford, Essex (01708 343 896;
gigglypig.co.uk)
Delicious sausages from ex-con Tracy Mackness's saddleback pigs, £3 for 6 sausages.

Hansen & Lydersen Ltd
3-5 Shelford Place, N16 (07411 693 712; hansen-lydersen.com)
Ole-Martin Hansen's smokehouse in Stoke Newington uses Scottish salmon, which arrives early in the morning and is salted, cured and smoked using a blend of juniper and beech wood. Queen Maud Royal Fillet, £40 for 650g.

Hubbub
(020 7354 5511; hubbub.co.uk)
Set up by former barrister Marisa Leaf, Hubbub delivers fresh food directly from independent local shops, including La Fromagerie and Christchurch Fish Co-operative, to most of North London.

Spence Bakery
161 Stoke Newington Church Street, N16 (020 7249 4927; thespence.co.uk)
This North London bakery supplies locals with delicious homemade scones, bread and sweet delights. Try the barley rye, £2.60, and frangipane fruit tarts, £18.

E5 bakehouse
Arch 402, Mentmore Terrace, E8 (07548 300 244; e5bakehouse.com)
Since opening in July 2009, this bakery has been supplying the East End with freshly baked sourdoughs, £3.20.Michel Roux Jr is a fan.

Pure London Honey
(07956 367 544)
Orlando Clarke uses non-chemical methods to provide delicious honey from both his King's Cross and Peckham hives. Available at Petersham Nurseries and many independent shops across the city, including the East Dulwich Deli.

The Hive Honey Shop
93 Northcote Road, SW11 (020 7924 6233; thehivehoney shop.co.uk)
Established in 1992, this is run by James Hamill who has beehives in Wandsworth. English wildflower honey, £6.95.

The Kernel Brewery
98 Druid Street, SE1 (07757 552 636; thekernelbrewery.com)
Founded by Evin O'Riordain in 2009, this brewery opens every Saturday selling Kernel's homebrew beer, which is also available in Selfridges, Borough Market and restaurants including Hawksmoor. Try the new coffee IPA, £2.50 for 330ml.

Growing Communities
The Old Fire Station, 61 Leswin Road, N16 (020 7502 7588; growingcommunities.org)

A community-led organisation supplying locally sourced organic vegetable boxes from £6 per week.

Dinner Is Served...

If only the tables I sat down to eat at each day looked as good as this...

Image via Belle Maison

Colours Of The Rainbow

Jackson picked up these colourful Ziganov cigarettes when he was last in Amsterdam - not good for you but they look lovely!