summer daze

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

the boundary rooftop, shoreditch

you may have noticed from previous posts that at the first sign of any slightly decent weather, i’m jumping up and down with glee, running to the nearest open space to soak up the rays, and making healthy summer recipes in the kitchen.

as a sydneysider living in london, i am constantly yearning for sunshine and heat and so i spent last week, with its practically uninterrupted blue skies, high temps and general gloriousness, in a state of utter bliss.summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

canadian visitors soaking up the sun

i miraculously managed to time leaving the office humdrum with the heat wave, and so have spent the past few days making the most of it with any on holiday/unemployed/chucking a sickie friend i could find.

on monday sarah and i met in green park to tourist-watch, gossip and top up her pre-holiday tan. she was heading to st tropez for a few days, the lucky thing, and wanted to ensure a nice base coat before departing. there was to be no jetsetting to the south of france for me, so i have been running amok in east london, making the most of my local sun traps.

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

fresh produce on hot days

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

plum, tomato and goats curd salad

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

with the temperature rising, i’ve been filling up on fresh fruit and mango sorbet, and serving my favourite steak recipe for dinner. for lighter fare on those really hot days, i whipped up a peach, tomato and goats curd salad.

using really good, fresh produce from my local organic fruit and veg market, i sliced up my tomato and peach, crumbled in the goat’s curd and made up a balsamic vinegar reduction on the stove top with a little sugar, allowed it to cool and poured the syrupy, fragrant dressing over the salad. simple, light and so flavoursome.

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

sunbathing session in the park

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

the following day was even hotter and sunnier than the last. i caught up with an old friend in town for the olympics, annamay, at one of my favourite east london rooftop bars, the boundary in shoreditch. we caught up on old times over a pitcher or two of singapore slings and nibbles in the scorching sunshine.

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

cooling off

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.comday four and the blue skies and sunshine were holding up, so i spent the day sunbathing in victoria park with a girlfriend. we spent hours soaking up the sun and listening to the opening ceremony dress rehearsals taking place just a stone’s throw away at the stadium. we got very excited to overhear the philharmonic orchestra playing chariots of fire – which we found out on friday night was to be the hilarious mr bean skit. i used the opportunity to bring out my favourite new accessory, a daisy chain head band, which to me just sings of summer.

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

a hot pink lace dress and a daisy chain sing of summer

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.comsummer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.comon friday the clouds returned, but it didn’t dampen our party spirit as we kicked off the olympics in very rowdy – and australian – style. more on that to come. i’m looking out the window as i type this and it’s – hurrah – blue sky again, so i’ll be off now to go do a happy dance. how do you celebrate the sun?

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summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com

summer daze, things to do in london summer, london 2012 olympics, london parks, victoria park, green park, the boundary shoredtich, london rooftop terrace, plum and tomato salad, plum, tomato and goats cheese salad, london sunbathing spots, peanut buttered blog, peanutbuttered.com