We all love.....Animal Videos!

We all love a cute animal video, it's what YouTube was invented for right? Mix cute animals with a comedy voice over and you have a winning formula! Consider my delight when I was shown these over the weekend... This is my favorite one of them all! :) Check out the channel here: http://www.youtube.com/user/klaatu42 ENJOY!

Gift buying for newborn babies: 8 simple rules

One of my best friends from school brought a bundle of joy into the world last week. Little Thomas weighed in at just over 8lbs and is so cute (I promise you I’m not getting broody).

This was a big deal. Firstly my lovely friend Katie is the first of my best friends to have a little baby. Secondly I am many years away from being a uncle (my brother and sister are younger than me, both in stable relationship, but no way a baby is on the horizon yet). I'm really looking forward to seeing this little one grow up!

So, after this little one was born, plans were made to head down, with Pete, to visit the new family. But then it struck me...what do I get a new born baby?

Being a man, in my mid twenties and gay, I had no idea where to start!
Do you get wine and chocolate for the mum?
A bottle of champagne for the new parents?
Baby clothes for the little one?
A teddy bear to commemorate the occasion?

Luckily, I work in an office with a lovely bunch of women. Some have had babies, others are getting broody while others always know what to get for this type of occasion. A quick email to the "Sisters" of the office and a chat long chat to one of my work mates, I knew exactly what to get....

So, if you are in the same situation as I was, here are a couple of ideas...
DO get chocolate and wine, It's something post pregnant women crave (apparently)
DON'T get any baby bibs, apparently they aren't that useful as the baby won't be eating solids for a while and when they do, parents will probably get a plastic bib as they are easier to clean.
DO get some nice baby clothes, most department stores have some good items, but I was told to go to H&M, because they are quite reasonable.
DON'T get expensive items for a new born, they will grow out of the in a flash.
DO get a baby sleeping bag, they will last for about 6 months and it's something different.
DON'T get baby boots, as most people get them.
MAYBE get some products, like Burt and Bees. (if you want). The products are environmentally friendly and contain natural ingredients, which is good for the mother and the little one.
DO get a teddy bear, you can never get enough of them...

With these tips in mind, you can never go wrong!

Got any more advice for a buying baby products? Please leave a comment below!

Quick Little Dinner...Chicken, cheese and mushroom pasta.

I know the picture isn't very representative of the food that I made, but it was bloody delicious!

Anyway, at this time of year, I am trying to save the pennies! So, I’ve been doing as much cooking as I can at home and making food to take to the office for lunch (It's amazing how much you can save by not spending £5+ a day on Lunch.) Also, being a busy bumble bee, I haven't got time to create a feast every night. I want to spend my evenings letting my head relax and not spent in the kitchen.

Over the weekend, I put some of the culinary skills to the test and tried to use what was left in my fridge. It's amazing what you can do when you only have a couple of ingredients to work with.

So, if you fancy trying it. Here is the recipe for chicken, cheese and mushroom pasta..<

Pasta
1 clove of garlic
2 chicken breasts - one per person you are cooking for
Half a tub of mushrooms - add more, less or none at all
Tub of soft cheese
Olive oil

1. Slice up the garlic, mushrooms and chicken.
2. Put a teaspoon of olive oil in a frying pan, once hot, start to fry the garlic
3. After about 1 min add the chopped chicken to the pan
4. While this going on, put your pasta on to boil and leave to cook for the recommended time
5. Once the chicken has been cooking for about 6-7 mins, add the mushrooms to the pan
6. Let the chicken, mushrooms and garlic fry until you are happy that the chicken and mushrooms are cooked through
7. About 3-4mins before the pasta is finished, add the the soft cheese to the pan with the chicken, mushrooms and garlic
8. Stir this until the cheese melts
9. Drain the pasta
10. Once the cheese is melted, add some salt and pepper and serve with the pasta

Very simple and filling dinner. Doesn't take long to make and you can enjoy it watching your fav TV program!

Always good to find a great little place!

So, the cafe around the corner from my house has just re opened after a 2 month refit.

I had only been in once before on the way to work before it closed. It was small, but did coffee and greasy spoon style breakies.

But after if 2months away, Baba's (near Greenwich station) is back with more space and a new lick of paint. A big full English (sausage, egg, bacon, beans, mushroom, toast and bubble&squeak) WITH COFFEE, will only set you back £5.50! Bargain!

I think I know where I will be going for my weekend hangover cure! :)

Places to visit...British Library

I needed to get some work done on #deartuesday so I headed here.

It's a great place to vist, some cool exhibitions and an extraordinary building.

I went for the free wifi, work space and coffee. It's a busy place, full of students doing the same thing as me. But I found a place to set up shop.

I would recommend going if you need a bit of space and some where new to work. Wifi is quite slow due to the amount of people using it but it's nice not to bs in the office right?

I ♥ Greenwich Park...

An amazing autmnal day in one of London's most beautiful parks!

What could be a better place to eat delicious food from Greenwich Market on a Sunday lunchtime with my boyfriend?

Getting stuck in London...

What do you do? It's 3:30 am, you've had an awesome night, a few drinks and have spent the last 3 hours dancing to some cheesy music. Really enjoying the Spice Girls medley the DJ played...oh wait, maybe that’s just me...

Anyway, your a useful London person and you iPhone is full of apps. The tubes have stopped running and you know the only way home is a night bus or a cab. Checking your London Bus app you realise that its going to take you about 2 hours and 3 changes to get home. Do you really want to risk getting a bus to Elephant and Castle at 3:30am and knowing you are going to have to use your iPhone...muggers are going to love you.

So you think about how much you have spent that night and chat to your companion about what to do next... I don't want to spend 2 hours on a night bus and I've got enough to half a Taxi home, but can only really afford £15. Your companion, who can see your a little bit stressed pulls over the nearest cab...How much is a cab to Greenwich from here mate? £50 the cabbie replies and drives off. You're stuck...

This happened to me a couple of weeks ago, it had been a great night out. My bf and I had travelled to Clapham for a friends leaving do, he was off to Australia and we had spent the night in the Two Brewers. We were wishing my friend good luck on his travels, having a bit of a boogie and hanging out some of our new Twitter mates who also were there. We had an awesome night! Yes the Spice Girls bit was true too, I forgot how many words I remembered from there medley of hits! It made me want to dig out my albums...but I resisted when I got home.

Anyway, I was really stuck. I really didn't want to have to be waiting for a bus at Elephant and Castle or even New Cross at that time in the morning, I didn't want to become a statistic. That cabbie was definitley taking the piss as well, I mean £50...what was he thinking we were, a pair of mugs!

Luckily I remembered something I had read during the week. Being a bit of a Twitter addict (as you know) and being really interested in the local services using Twitter to benefit the community I had read about a London cab service, @Tweetalondoncab. I had followed the service during the week after reading an article in the Guardian and thought I would give it a go, even though it was 3am and I was in the middle of Clapham. All you have to do is follow the service and send them a DM with your request. So I did...

After thinking all hope was lost and constantly refreshing the Twitter app on my iPhone I got a message saying that a cab was on it’s way and that it would be £25...genius I thought, this has even saved me a little bit of money.  For safety they tweeted me the cab number plate, colour and the cab drivers name. It's too easy in London to get done by a mini cab service that I didn't want to risk it.

5 minutes later, our cabbie turned up, we jumped in and had a really nice journey back to Greenwich. He was a lovely driver, very happy, chatty and even more happy to talk about the service. It was strange in London to find a cabbie who actually wants to talk to you and be friendly, we were really lucky.

Arriving into Greenwich, he capped the price off at £25 and even dropped us to the door!

So, the next time you are stuck in a strange part of London and you don’t want to jump on that scary night bus, tweet a London cab! :)