Too Tired? Not enough play?

Are you too tired and finding that it's more work and less play? Here's some tips that the ever wonderful internet had to offer:

• Jump start energy levels - tips for an after work pick me up
• Increase Your Energy Levels  - from the website Dumb Little Man! (kudos for the name!)
• 55 Ways to Get More Energy - something in this list has got to work.

Life is too short.

My favourite Heston things

I am a big fan of Hesto Blumenthal because he is a genius. When you feel like a kid again, excited like when you could have ice-cream - well that is truly special.

Dinner by Heston opened up in the Mandarin Oriental in London. I booked it for a special occasion and  it would be one of my top ten experiences for 2012. As soon as you step into the restaurant, the aromas jump start your evening and you can't wait to tuck in. Not all the dishes will blow your mind, but I have to say most of the ones we tried did. And even just reading the menu got me bouncing in my seat. After the starter I was thinking about when I could make my next reservation here. A special mention goes to the fruit meat, steak and tipsy cake, which were all divine.

But sadly Dinner is not a place I can frequent so I settle for buying the products he puts his name to in Waitrose, and these are all real treats - duck and sour cherry sausage, salted caramel popcorn and the popping candy chocolate tart especially. I even ate the famous Christmas pudding that sells for ridiculous amounts on ebay - in some cases hundreds of pounds and I don't even like fruit cake!

But Heston doesn't always shine. The Hinds Head Bray pub was overpriced and disappointing. And his tv shows lack pizazz. The man is not a God but he is still a superhero in my book. Who would have thought a lanky bald guy could be so great? May they write songs about him and be entered int the history books. Long live the Blum!

You may also want to read:

• Pierre Herme macarons - St Germain's master magician 
• Cakes shaped like bags and shoes with afternoon tea at the Berkeley.
• Paris - The Designer Fashion Capital of the World.
• The Paris Belleville AAB Art Festival
• London Royal Wedding 
• How to be frugal in London 
• Chocaholics Heaven - M&M world London 

Spot That Actor - Where Were They Before?

From Sex and the City to Heroes to Mad Men, these television actors have been around. They are the faces that look familiar but we've no idea their name, or may be we came across it once but discarded it as useless information.

How many of these names do you recognise and how many do you remember from their previous roles?

I take a look at some of the popular shows on television and the supporting actors and actresses and where they were before.

• John Slattery - Before he was Roger Sterling on Mad Men, he was Victor Lang on Desperate Housewives (married to Gabrielle).
• Barry Watson - Before he was Todd in Samantha Who?, he was Matt Camden in 7th Heaven.
• Bridget Moynahan - Before she was Erin Reagan in Blue Bloods, she was Natasha in Sex and the City (Mr Big’s wife).
• David Anders - Before he was John Gilbert on The Vampire Diaries, he was Julian Sark on Alias and Adam Monroe on Heroes.
• Gale Harold - Before he was law professor Julian Parish in Hellcats, he was Jackson Braddock in Desperate Housewives (Susan’s boyfriend) and Brian Kinney in Queer as Folk.
• Jane Leeves- Before she was Joy in Hot in Cleveland, she was Daphne Moon on Frasier.
• Jennifer Esposito - Before she was Detective Jackie Curatola in Blue Bloods (Danny’s partner), Stacy Paterno in Spin City (Mike’s assistant) and Andrea in Samantha Who? (Sam’s best friend).
• Kim Raver - Before she was Teddy Altman on Grey's Anatomy, she was Nico Reilly in Lipstick Jungle, Audrey Raines on 24 and Kim Zambrano on Third Watch.
• Lyndsy Marie Fonseca - Before she was Alex in Nikita, she was Colleen Carlton on The Young and The Restless, Dylan Mayfair on Desperate Housewives (Katherine’s daughter), and Ted Mosby's daughter on How I Met Your Mother.
• Chris Bauer - Before he was Detective Andy Bellefleur in True Blood, he was Fred Yokas (married to Faith) in Third Watch.
• Jane Lynch – Before she was Sue Sylvester in Glee, she was Dr. Linda Freeman in Two and a Half Men (Charlie’s therapist)
• Masi Oka – Before he was Max Bergman in Hawaii Five-0, he was Hiro Nakamura in Heroes.
• Melinda Clarke – Before she was Amanda on Nikita, she was Faith Taylor on Days of our Lives, Julie Cooper-Nichol on The O.C. and Lady Heather on CSI.
• Richard Kind – Before he was Paul Lassiter in Spin City, he was Dr. Mark Devanow in Mad About You.
• Rob Morrow – Before he was Don Eppes on Numb3rs , he was Dr. Joel Fleischman on Northern Exposure.
• Ron Rifkin - Before he was Saul Holden in Brothers & Sisters, he was Arvin Sloane on Alias.
• Samuel Page - Before he was Sam in Desperate Housewives (son of Rex Van de Kamp and stepson of Bree Hodge ) he was ADA Casey Woodland in Shark.
• Sarah Chalke – Before she was Stella Zinman on How I Met Your Mother, she was Dr. Elliot Reid on Scrubs and the "second Becky" on Roseanne.
• Sasha Alexander – Before she was Special Agent Kate Todd in NCIS, she was Gretchen Witter in Dawson's Creek (Pacey’s sister).
• Shemar Franklin Moore - Before he was FBI Special Agent Derek Morgan on Criminal Minds, he was Malcolm Winters on The Young and the Restless.
• Stephen Collins - Before he was Charlie in Brothers & Sisters (Saul’s boyfriend), he was Reverend Eric Camden on 7th Heaven.
• Amber Evangeline Valletta plays Lydia Davis on Revenge and she was Allegra Cole in the movie Hitch.
• James Remar is Dexter's dad but he played Samantha's on again off again tycoon boyfriend Richard in Sex and the City. 
• Holland Virginia Taylor was the cougar Judge Roberta Kittleson in The Practice and Charlie's Mum, Evelyn Harper in Two and a Half Men. 

Will any of these actors be big like George Clooney, afterall he came from television once upon a time - I'll leave you to ponder that question?

House hunting in London

It is a truly grown up affair when you begin house hunting, talking to mortgage brokers, reviewing your finances and think about spending hundreds of thousands of pounds. It is one of the biggest commitments of your life - greater than weddings and marriages which don't last forever these days, jobs which have a shelf life of 3 years on average and friends who grow up and get busy with families.

Like any major  decisions, you need to do your homework, talk to as many people who have experience on it as possible, think carefully, don't be impulsive, assess the pros and cons and never ever be bullied or pressured by those horrible estate agents. They act like your best friend, and then they are your worst enemy, it is much like dating  - they call, then they don't call.

Buying property in London is a minefield of terminology and scary as hell - gazumped - when you lose a few thousand and have nothing to show for it.  There are lots of websites and books to help explain it all.

My favourite sites:

• the bbc mortgage calculator which tells you how much a mortgage will cost me and I can vary the interest rate to see how much it might end up hurting;
• zoopla for the sold prices - this gives you an indication of how much the property was ought for and how much property in the area has recently sold for.  You can search by address or postcode.
• findaproperty - which sometimes is out-of-date but it has a good advanced search function and is faster that many real estate agent websites which are slow and not always great for navigation.

The best advice I've read is to write down your non-negotiables and wishlist. This narrows down your search. It's important to be realistic based on your budget. Think also about the market - is it a good time to buy? Are you ready for this? Are you sure you can afford it?

You might want to check these out:

• Show me the Money! 
• Tips to Save Money on your Grocery Bill at the Supermarket
• How to be Frugal - Eating Out and Seeing the Real Londo

Like everything in life - you need to roll up your sleeves, work hard and find a little bit of luck. And just when you are about to give up, you never know what is around the corner. Happy house hunting!

The World As You Never Saw It - Yanko Tsvetkov Mapping Stereotypes

USA according to Common Sense - Map by Yanko Tsvetkov from http://alphadesigner.com/mapping-stereotypes/

The Bulgarian graphic designer who admits 'I’m not politically correct', Yanko Tsvetkov, has drawn up maps of the world with:

• The Ultimate Bigot’s Supersized Calendar of the World
• Europe According to Greece
• Silvio Berlusconi’s Europe
• Europe According to USA
• Asia According to USA
• Europe According to Gay Men
• USA According to Common Sense
• Europe According to Britain
• Male Appendage size by country

Asia is labelled Supermarket, the Aussies are bums, Canadians are Vegetarians, the Brits are frigid - it's not for the faint hearted.
 
Check it out: Yanko Tsvetkov Mapping Stereotypes webiste