What We Love Wednesdays!! Idaho? No - U'daho!

Happy WWLTh!!!

We have some very exciting news to share with you all!!!

We just booked flights to go to Idaho for Christmas this year!

Christmas, you say? We’ve barely passed this Christmas!! – We agree, but when it comes to international flights to relatively small places, the earlier you book the cheaper the flight! And so, we’re already singing Christmas tunes. *Fa-la-la-la-laaa, la-laa-laaa-laaaaaa*

Christmas in Idaho!!

Don’t worry, Laura promises to keep the Christmas wrapped up until October (wrapped up, get it?? Hilarious!), and enjoy the summer. But we realised, we haven’t yet told you all about the wonderful magical place that is Idaho, where Laura grew up, and as it is where we want to eventually end up together, we thought there was no better time to do a WWLW on it!

Laura:

Laura and her favourite little girl, Abby!

Laura has lived in Boise, Idaho since she was 8 or 9 years old. It is grouped in the Northwest states in the USA (NOT Midwest, okay guys? Get your Iowa away from my Idaho!) and is an absolutely beautiful place. We could go on about it for hours (Sarah can think of even more reasons why Idaho is amazing than Laura can!!), but we’ll try to pick out our favourite things about it.

The mountains. Idaho is lucky enough to be part of the Rocky Mountain range, which means there are amazing views and skiing everywhere. Laura grew up with a ski resort only an hour’s drive away, and 2 more 3-4 hours drive away (very short distances in the US, British readers!!). When Sarah came with Laura home to Idaho for a month after we left Australia, we got to go skiing together at our favourite resort, Brundage Mountain in McCall, Idaho.

We love Boise downtown. That’s the capital of Idaho, and where Laura lived. It’s an amazing little city, with a small, but vibrant and alternative downtown area. One of our favourite places is Flying M Coffeehouse, where our friend Julia Green’s art ***see her work HERE*** has often been displayed, and Laura spent many evenings there growing up drinking hot chocolate on gay Wednesdays (coincidence or prediction of the future?? We'll never know)!! Sarah and Laura did a photo shoot at 'Freak Alley', where local artists paint the buildings in downtown Boise.

Our photoshoot at Freak Alley, and bottom right, one of Julia's window displays at the Flying M Coffeehouse

The river is wonderful. Boise River runs right through the centre of the town, and throughout the summer, it’s a Boise tradition to float down it in rafts, inner tubes, even air mattresses! The most ingenious thing Laura’s seen on it is a cooler full of drinks, floating in the river alongside its owner’s inner tube, tied by a rope – it keeps the drinks ice cold, even on the hottest of days!! Laura hasn’t gotten the chance to take Sarah to Idaho in the summer yet, but we are sure she will love it!!

(Photos from Pinterest + Tumblr)

We bleed blue for Boise State football. In the American football season, the whole town goes crazy for our University football team. We are the first team in the country to have a field that is not green – we love the ‘smurf turf’!! Even better than watching the boys play is the city of Boise on game day. Every car flies blue and orange flags, everyone wears the colours, people tailgate (In the USA, this is a party that happens at the open tail gate/boot of a car/truck/campervan – much more fun than a British tailgate!) for hours beforehand, and some restaurants even do BSU game day specials! Sarah has gotten into the fun – she’s attended a few games (sat next to Laura’s Dad for the American football crash course), hung out at a proper American tailgate, and now owns much more blue and orange clothing than the average Londoner!! Go big blue!

The single best thing about Boise, and about Idaho, is something that Laura has really missed living in London – seasons. Where in London you seem to get cold and rainy, or warm and… rainy, and occasionally beautiful sunshine, Boise gets 4 distinct seasons. Summer is hot (100+ degrees F, 35+ degrees C) and perfect for festivals, river floating, ice cream and hiking, autumn is picturesque with bright coloured leaves everywhere, crisp air, a classic American Halloween and American football, winter is snowy and cold, and people enjoy skiing, snowboarding, and sitting by the fire drinking hot chocolate, and finally, Spring is gorgeous – it gets warmer, the flowers come out, it is a wonderful time of year. 

Bottom left - that is a lake in the summer, and the snow was up to Laura's thighs!! And she is TALL!

Sarah:

Giddee-up cowgirl!!

Boise was actually the first place Sarah's visited stateside so of course that makes her more than just a little biased when she says that 'Boise is the best place in America'.  Sure, she thinks Vegas is amazing, but as far as a place to grow up or live goes, Boise wins hands down. From Sarah's point of view, she was on to a winner from the moment she found out that it was the 'Potato' state (and we all know how Sarah loves her spuds!) it also helped that it had every kind of landscape - from beautiful hills to rivers, from beach to ski slopes, Boise was like something out of the movies. When people ask Sarah about Boise now, they get a sales pitch that starts with 'OMG you have to go!!' and ends with 'It's such an amazing place!'. As with all American states, it has more food outlets than you will ever need, 24 hour access to pancakes, milkshakes and fast food, but Boise also has the Treefort alternative music festival (oh, it's officially the 'City of Trees' as well) and Sarah's nickname in school was Tree! (Random fact!!!) As yet, Sarah has only seen the city in autumn/fall and winter but that has led to her experiencing a Corn Maze ***See our homemade horror short film HERE***, a Festival of (Christmas) Trees, a trip to natural hot springs - even with snow on the ground, singing round the city Christmas tree, a Christmas parade, skiing on slopes that have just opened and witnessing 3 Boise State home games- tailgate included! She's spotted elk, moose and deer crossing the road - oh and hanging out in the front yard. And been to her first American high school and as expected she thought it was just like the ones on TV!

So as we're sure you can see, Idaho is a wonderful place and you all should go there. 'Real America' is often overlooked in favour of places like L.A. and New York: as wonderful and unique as those places are, we'd always recommend going to a place in the USA that is less touristy, and more how the rest of us live to get the 'true' experience. We are so excited to get to spend another 2.5 weeks in Boise, Idaho this year!!

Have a great Easter weekend!!

Love always, 

Laura & Sarah xo

Happy Birthday to Laura's Little Brother!!

In honor of my speaking to my little brother on his 21st birthday today, WWLW has been moved to tomorrow (WWLTh?) as its just too great to rush. So please check back then, and in the meantime, enjoy this tribute to the one person who does not want a trip to England, much to my disdain :)

I miss you so much, Jas!!

Lots of love,

Laura & Sarah xo

Tips & Recipes from the UN-Domestic Goddess: Cottage Pie!!

Happy April!! By request :) I have a cottage pie recipe for you today – an old English classic, and perfect for Easter weekend!!

Interestingly, a cottage pie is with beef, but the same recipe with lamb is shepherd’s pie! So if you’d prefer to make a shepherd’s pie for Easter, you can follow the same recipe!

The beauty of this dish is that veggie wise, you can add pretty much anything you have in the fridge! I’m doing the recipe the way I have done it before, but feel free to improvise! Making and baking will take about 1 hour.

**Apparently I didn't take any pictures of this, so I'll do it when I make it this week and add them in for you! Oops!!**

What you’ll need to make a dish for 3/4 people:

• ·         3 medium/large potatoes, quartered
• ·         Milk and butter to taste
• ·         Mince meat
• ·         1 large chopped brown onion
• ·        4 large carrots, chopped
• ·         1 can of green beans
• ·         1 clove garlic, chopped finely
• ·         1 pint of beef stock
• ·         1 tbsp all purpose flour
• ·         1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
• ·         A touch of red wine if you have some open (I know I usually do! ;D )

 1.       Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees C/395 degrees F. First, we’ll make the mash. Boil the potatoes until soft, then drain. Mash the potatoes, then add milk and butter to taste.

 2.     In a large, deep pan, fry the onion, and carrot for 5 minutes, or until soft. For the last minute, add garlic. Put in the beef with one quarter of the stock, and cook, stirring constantly until the meat is browned. Add the remaining stock with the green beans and the red wine, season with salt and pepper and leave covered to cook for 10 minutes.

3.    3.  Put the flour into the pan, and stir until it has evenly dissolved and sauce has thickened slightly (approx. 5 minutes)

4.     4.   Place the mixture into an ovenproof dish (mine is 7’’ x 5’’ I believe) and cover with the mashed potato. Sprinkle cheese on the top, and bake for 30 – 35 minutes until the top is brown and crisp. Serve hot.

So there you have it! Simple, delicious, hearty, and you can make it as healthy as you want with more veggies!! And some say it tastes even better as leftovers, so it’s a great mid-week dish.

Please let me know how yours turned out, and I’ll post a picture of yours on this blog!

Bon appétit, 

Laura xo

What's Happening, Hot Stuff?? - 1st April 2012

Welcome to this week’s What's Happening, Hot Stuff?? or should that be 'welcome back' as we have been somewhat AWOL in the past weeks. For this we apologise, and would firstly like to blame London for throwing such a good St Patrick's Day celebration - check out our Facebook page for photos - secondly Sarah's Mum celebrated her birthday so she disappeared to Reading for the weekend and thirdly London had it's hottest March since 1957 (or something) so we headed out into the world minus the laptops! Oh and the Egg Hunt continued.

And so without further ado, we shall bring you up to speed with the goings-on that have caught our attention since our last WHHS.

There is a 12-week consultation on lifting the ban on gay couples marrying in a civil ceremony in England and Wales, organised by the government - and in one of the proposals, current civil partnerships could be converted to marriages if couples wish. Yay, we would much rather be civil-married than civil-partnered!

Equalities Minister Lynne Featherstone said: “I believe that if a couple love each other and want to commit to a life together, they should have the option of a civil marriage, whatever their gender. Marriage is a celebration of love and should be open to everyone.” – ahh, it’s always nice to see someone who shares our views getting the chance to speak so publicly.

The consultation document says the government proposes to:

•             enable same-sex couples to get married through civil ceremonies.

•             retain civil partnerships for same-sex couples, including the ability to have a civil partnership registration on religious premises (on a voluntary basis and retaining the ban on any religious elements forming part of the registration).

•             allow transsexual people to change their legal gender without having to legally end their existing marriage or civil partnership.

•             make no changes to how religious marriages are solemnized.

Responses must be received by 14 June 2012 – so go fill it in if you haven’t already! http://www.c4em.org.uk/

In other marriage news, it was announced today that the awful Cardinal Keith Michael Patrick O’Brien is to make a sermon today where he is expected to announce a partial reversal in the Catholic Church’s opposition of civil marriage equality for gay couples. Although the Church will continue to oppose same sex marriages happening within religious institutions, it appears to concede that same sex civil marriages will be a reality regardless of its opposition.

In a sermon, leaked to PinkNews.co.uk, he is expected to say: “Over recent weeks there has been much discussion of so-called ‘gay marriage,’ proposed by the both Scottish and British Governments under the guise of civil marriage equality. My attitude towards homosexuals and homosexuality remains firmly entrenched in the Catholic teaching, with which you are all familiar. We in the Church opposed the introduction of civil partnerships for gay couples even as some amongst us now say that we have supported them for many years.” The Cardinal is expected to add that he has listened to the ongoing debate “with interest and concern” and that he has read Home Secretary, Theresa May’s article in The Times where she makes it clear that the Government will proceed with equal civil marriage despite Church opposition. He also expresses his lack of understanding, having never had what “people would call an adult relationship.”

A Downing Street source told PinkNews.co.uk: “We are glad that the message is finally getting through to people that civil marriage equality does not encroach upon the Church. This sermon shows that miracles can happen, especially on a Sunday.”

The cardinal’s sermon is expected to finish just before midday and PinkNews.co.uk understands it will be mirrored in sermons by other Catholic leaders across England and Wales including by Vincent Nichols, the Archbishop of Westminster. – He's backtracking completely on what he said a few weeks ago - Let’s hope this isn’t an April Fools!

And good news for Exeter, as it played host to one of the biggest gay pride celebrations in the South West, with a 50 m long rainbow flag floating down the High Street to Exeter Phoenix.  According to the BBC, hundreds of marchers including firefighters and the local police took part in the celebrations, which were led by the Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service. Roads were closed to normal traffic along the route of the parade on Saturday, thereby commencing a weekend of back-to-back events. The chairman of the Exeter Pride Committee, Alan Quick, told the BBC: ”Exeter Pride is a celebration of our lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans communities. It is about us having pride in our contributions to a vibrant and diverse city, and the city having pride in us.” We wish we were there!!

This comes as a recent ‘Equality South West’ reveals disturbing survey results; one in eight gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people living in South West England have been the victim of homophobic abuse in the workplace. The survey found that 40% of respondents did not feel safe in their own home while one in six have been a victor of abuse or harassment after dark. This is so sad and just shows that there is still a long way to go to gain equality.

As National Women’s Day showed us we are still fighting to get women on an equal footing in the world of work, take a look at this enlightening video, I think some of the statics might surprise you….

This week, the National Organisation for Marriage, America’s leading group fighting same-sex marriage, is hitting headlines. Rev. Ralph A. Martino, senior pastor at First Church of Christ (Holiness) USA in Washington, D.C. a black pastor and a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage, found a leak of the organisations confidential memos this week revealed its plans to defeat marriage equality campaigns by "fanning the hostility" between blacks and gays.

"The strategic goal of this project is to drive a wedge between gays and blacks -- two key Democratic constituencies," states one of the memos. "Find, equip, energize and connect African American spokespeople for marriage, develop a media campaign around their objections to gay marriage as a civil right; provoke the gay marriage base into responding by denouncing these spokesmen and women as bigots," continued the memo, part of a set of documents that emerged as a result of a Maine lawsuit and then were leaked by the Human Rights Campaign. Ooops someone getting into trouble for that!

You may have also seen that this September, Nepal is set to host the country’s first – and indeed Asia’s first – national games for LGBT persons. The games will showcase LGBT sportspersons competing in games and sports including volleyball, football, athletics, martial arts, tennis and more. Sunil Babu Pant (yep, Mr Pant J), head of the group and organiser of the games, said: “There will be five teams from each region of the country. And we expect over 200 people to take part.” Nepal will soon become the first country in Asia to give equal rights to its LGBT population, which means citizenship IDs for trans persons and legal recognition for marriage between same-sex couples.

In good news, this week Gay Star News exclusively revealed today (1 April) the Olympics has come out to say that it plans to add a gay pink ring to the flag. The International Olympic Committee will unveil new flag at London closing ceremony for Russia and Brazil games to push LGBT sport. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is to alter the Olympic flag for four years in a global drive to tackle homophobia and transphobia in sport. The new flag will be unveiled at the closing ceremony of the London 2012 games and will be used for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia and the 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It will also fly during the Paralympic Games in both countries. Wow, its a great idea and a wonderful show of support on an international stage, but crazy that it will go into practice right before the Russian games - as they are still trying to get that 'Don't say gay' anti gay propaganda law passed!!

Not long now......

And speaking of the Olympics, Sarah spent Tuesday afternoon watching helicopters flying over outside her window wondering what was going on only to find out that the commotion was all because James Bond star Daniel Craig was invited to open the London Olympics as 007 from Queen Elizabeth herself. The highly anticipated sporting event is set to be introduced by a short film starring Craig being appointed to open the ceremony by Royal Appointment, the Sun reports. Her Majesty herself may even be set for a cameo role in the introductory film, although spokespeople for the Palace have remained tight-lipped. We presume our invite for a cameo is in the post – I mean, we can just pop in - we don’t need a helicopter!

We will leave you with Pepsi Max's latest advert as it made us smile - while it will NEVER taste as good as DC -they certainly make good ads!

Until next time.....

Laura & Sarah xo