What I learned this time around

While in London, I frequented grocery stores for cheap eats and more unconventionally, recipe cards. Waitrose (pronounced way-troʊs) my favorite supermarket beating M&S hands down, had lovely recipe cards at their door and lovelier still a website with archived recipes. Of course I collected these cards along with their catering catalogs for Macarune inspiration.

As a digital marketer, I have to say I'm especially impressed with what Waitrose's website has to offer. Don't be fooled by the Web 1.0 looking nav bar and ever-so-simple layout. There are a million possibilities to this site. You can read a professional food blogger's post, SMS yourself ingredients to a recipe, create a recipe scrapbook, utilize unit conversion tools, plan a summer picnic or donate to charity. Naturally I'm hooked, although miles away from the actual store. Sure the navigation threw me off a little (there's a link to food, drinks and then "summer"?) but it's still quite an exciting web journey for,might I add, sadly domesticated folks like myself.

Gluten-free summer berry polenta cake, by Waitrose for Laurie's going away party


Even though I accidentally doubled the berries needed for the cake (word of advice: read the recipe!) it turned out edible

Other things I learned in England this time around:

2. It's pretty easy to spend hundreds at Myla (or as I learned, a little more than that)

...even though it's worth a million

3. UK Glamour and Cosmo openly publishes the word f*ck
4. BCBG doesn't exist in London! What does a girl do without Runway?
5. Beyond the borders of California, people are generally a lot less health-conscious when it comes to food
6. New words - mostly involving clothes because what else do I educate myself on besides baking?

British	American
Boot	Trunk
Cozzy	Bathing suit
One thousand three hundred	Thirteen hundred
Plaster	Bandaid
Playsuit	Romper
Plimsolls	Sneakers
Quid	Dollar (yes I kept getting this wrong)
Suspenders	Hold ups
Vest	Underwear (top)
Waistcoat	Vest

...and here are some I've always known having grew up in Malaysia. This may come in useful should you plan to visit England any time soon:

British	American
Bill	Check
Biscuit	Cookie
Chips	Fries
Crisps	Chips
Football	Soccer
G Floor	1st Floor
Jumper	Sweater
Lift	Elevator
Macintosh	Raincoat
Nutter	Mad person
Queue	Line
Sarny	Sandwich
Scone	Biscuit