Muji Madness

Living in London is great for a lot of reasons, but my favorite reason is the accessability.  We have at our fingertips some of the best food, shopping, and sights in the world.  I'm excited to have discovered a Muji walking distance away from our flat.  Muji is a Japanese retail company with stores all over the world.  Their of top quality products range from gel pens, organizational products, clothing and furniture.  The best thing is that Muji products are reasonably priced.  This weekend, I snagged a set of gel pens for my new desk, the cleaning system (so cheap and super easy to store!), a storage box for my closet (I think I need at least two more), a trash bin, and a sushi omelette pan.  On my list of things to buy is the guest mattress/footstool for my office.

A little Italian right around the corner

Before I came to the UK the first time, I had really low expectations on the food.  I'm glad to say that there is the same caliber of food preparation that you would expect from a leading world city.  I'm also glad to say that we found the most magical little Italian restaurant just around the corner from our flat.  You know the kind.  The maitre d knows you by name.  The wine list is extensive, but just enough to be accommodating and not overwhelming (they have my Bellavista on the menu).  The type of place where they just start bringing meats, and breads to your table before you even order.  Behold! Osteria dell'Arancio!!

Below is a sampling of the items we enjoyed.  The standouts were the octopus salad, which the waiter said was the most "chef-y" item on the menu (which, of course, sold us on the item) and the spicy pappardelle dish I had as my main.  Oh, and, yes, that is bacon wrapped around those lamb chops!

I'm excited because we are headed back for dinner on Jan 29 for a Barolo tasting.  We are going to bring some friends and try some free top of the line wines.  Can you think of a better reason??