October Favourites

Oh October, you were a bit of a weirdo. Stubborn clouds and driving, icy rain meant I finally liberated my giant knits and coats from the back of the wardrobe, only to be nonplussed when the thermometer soared back up to 21ºC at the end of the month, leaving me sitting outside during my lunch break in a thin t-shirt, craving ice cream. I didn't have much time to sit and ponder the meteorological mayhem though, since October has been my busiest month since graduation! Here's my highlights from this month, as seen through the bleary lens of my increasingly senile iPhone:

Strolling through Westbourne Grove to peruse the Aladdin's caves of Ottolenghi (incredible caramel mascarpone cheesecake!) and Melt Chocolates. Every year my parents buy me a little bag of Melt goodies for my birthday, and I'm convinced their salted caramel truffles are the best out there. Their raspberry puree-filled white chocolate and mint truffles are pretty special too.

Realising that losing stuff on the Internet can sometimes be cathartic. I was extremely annoyed when I lost all my Chrome bookmarks as well as the contents of a few notes on Evernote due to computers not syncing properly or generally malfunctioning, but accepted the losses as a chance to start afresh. My bookmarks, for one, are much neater now...Yup, there's always a silver lining.

Scoffing a deliciously doughy blueberry cinnamon roll with Alex at the Soho branch of Nordic Bakery during their Cinnamon Bun week! Nordic Bakery is a perennial favourite for our foodie/coffee dates (I enthused about it way back in June) - I'm addicted to their pastries and wi-fi free, minimalist interiors. I made pinwheel pastries using their cookbook last Christmas, so perhaps I'll attempt making some cinnamon rolls if I'm feeling brave this year.

Learning about different industries while on work experience in two separate companies this month! I interned in the publicity department at Penguin Press, where I sent out hundreds of books, ran around the Science Museum on a research trip and helped out at a talk given by the inimitable Harvard professor, Michael Sandel. Then last week I was given a short crash course in public relations at communications company Blue Rubicon, working on eight different accounts that allowed me to write tweets, come up with a list of Roald Dahl's most memorable quotes and work out which politicians might have an affinity for red squirrels. Yep. I certainly wasn't bored this month. I had a great time at both, and hope I've learned enough to be a few steps closer to a job! 

Catching up with WIRED during my lunch break over a cup of chai and some biscuits. Tea and biscuits really do make the world a better place. And WIRED always makes me feel that I'm improving my brain a smidgen (in a way that my Cosmo habit doesn't...)

Getting my exhibition on with Alex! We went to see three different exhibitions together - Late Turner at the Tate Britain, The Art of the Brick at Truman Brewery and Sherlock Holmes at the Museum of London. I didn't have the opportunity to take any photos at Late Turner due to having to stow my trusty Canon away in the cloakroom, but seriously enjoyed it, having watched the much-acclaimed Mr. Turner in the morning before the exhibition. I'd recommend going to see both - in the same day if you possibly can! I'll be blogging about the other two exhibitions in due course.

Chuckling at a wonderful sign in the car park of the Hand and Flowers gastropub in Marlow. Probably one of the best meals I've eaten this year, I can't wait to review it! Sadly, though, the pictures suffer from dark restaurant syndrome. Clearly should've brought one of these along with me.

Developing square eyes in front of the TV! With cold weather comes couch potato season, and I've been glued to programmes like Grantchester, Doctor Who, and most of all, the new season of the Apprentice, my guilty pleasure! The contestants are all so dislikeable, though the best ever boardroom happened this week, with a triple firing of all my least favourite candidates. Also, don't tell anyone, but like the rest of the population, I went to see Gone Girl at the cinema. And I actually slightly preferred it to the Gillian Flynn novel. Bookworm sacrilege, I know... I'd love to know if there's other bookish types out there who liked the film better too, at least to assuage my guilt!

I'm behind with my Bloglovin' feed as usual, and can't wait to read all the October posts. I'm looking for more blogs to read ('tis the season to be a social recluse and choose laptopping over bar-hopping), so link me to your monthly favourites or let me know what you've been up to lately! 

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