The Best Things in Life in December

December is a busy month for everyone but it's been even more so for us as we get ready to move Not Dogs to Oxford for the Oxford Christmas Market from the 11th to the 21st December... there's been times we've definitely needed to remind ourselves to...

Katie

The Best Things in Life...

I love gift buying for others in December! One of my favourite places to go for the perfect present is Not on the High Street, the hard part is trying not to go too overboard with all the unique gems and personalised options to choose from. We wrote a blog post all about why we like the company so much & what inspires us most about its founders & you can have a little read here: http://www.bykatieandjane.com/2013/11/not-on-high-street-perfect-place-for.html

When it’s bitterly cold outside there is nothing I love more than lighting the room with candles. We recently attended a Red Magazine Network Event with founder of The White Company; Chrissie Rucker and we came away with a lovely gift bag which included the limited edition Symons Candle, a gorgeous mix of smooth white amber with crisp, cotton cedarwood and delicate peony (so it says on the website!) It not only smells beautiful, it also looks very stylish in its glass holder too.

We’ve spent lots of the month so far in planning meetings, and one of our favourite spots to visit to work and socialise is Middleton’s The Fig & Olive, set next door to the amazing Coppice Garden Centre which has just unveiled all its Christmas delights in time for the festive season. It’s well worth a visit to find some truly beautiful items for the home, finished off with a lovely spot of lunch too.

Christmas is the perfect time to...

Remember how lucky we all are. Christmas can be the best time for some and a sad time for others, and sometimes we get so wrapped up in it all that we forget how lucky we might be! This year we will be serving up Not Dogs at our local Homeless Shelter on Boxing Day and between 11-12pm each day at the Oxford Christmas Market we will be donating profits from every Not Dog sold to Oxfam.

My favourite thing to cook at Christmas is...

Christmas Spiced Caramelised Onions and haven’t we been cooking up a storm! These will be served on top of our 8” juicy Not Dogs in a bun this week and finished off with a sprinkle of good old English Stilton and the name; Santa’s Stilton Surprise of course!

The pin that sums me up at the moment is...

Jane

The Best Things in Life...

The Cotswolds is my third favourite place in the World and we try to visit as many times during the year as we can but I do love it best in the Winter. We went for the day starting with breakfast in Broadway at the Market Pantry before heading for a 5 mile walk to Broadway Tower where we had the most amazing views over 13 counties. We then drove to Kingham for a late lunch at The Wild Rabbit, somewhere where I'd wanted to visit for a while - we were not disappointed! Created by Daylesford Organic's Lady Bamford The Wild Rabbit is a beautiful take on a traditional English inn with a cosy pub, bright open dining area and a place to stay too. The food was delicious and it was lovely to watch it being cooked from our table by the very smart chefs; the staff were second-to-none and the styling of The Wild Rabbit is absolutely gorgeous. Of course no trip to The Cotswolds for me would be complete without a visit to the Daylesford farm shop where I stocked up on their amazing range for Christmas.

Having so many things to look forward to on my Countdown Keeper app... Oxford, a Christmas Eve meal with friends, Christmas Day (of course!), New Year in Southwold, the start of 2015 and Bali in February! Before we launched Countdown Keeper I didn't use countdown apps but now I love to put everything I'm excited about in there!

The return of Starbucks' Egg Nogg Latte! I usually wait until December to purchase my first Eggnog Latte (no nutmeg!) but this year I couldn't contain myself once I saw those famous red cups! What makes me love Starbucks even more is their Selfridges Birmingham store is one of only two in the country to be adorning their festive drinks with gold sparkle - all the other stores are silver - plus I had a field-day buying lots of gold glittery cups!

Christmas is the perfect time to...

Relax with friends and family... I like to plan the food, presents and outings in November so that December is less stressful and I can actually enjoy the whole festive month. I always look forward to having a casual Christmas and Boxing Day and then prepare for our annual seaside visit to Southwold for New Year.

My favourite thing to cook at Christmas is...

Nigella Lawson's Chocolate Pistachio Fudge. I adore this green-studded fudge and make it every year to give as gifts and to snack on straight from the freezer at home. It's such a simple recipe from Nigella Express, although I never seem to be able to find already-shelled pistachios so you can usually find me standing in the kitchen for quite a while taking the shells off! The mix of deep sweet chocolate and salty nuts is just perfect!

The pin that sums me up at the moment is...

The Best Things in Life in November

Katie

Best things in life?

My favourite night of the year; Bonfire Night! Each year in Kenilworth, a local town to Coventry, we watch the incredible firework display over the ruins of Kenilworth Castle, while not one, but three bonfires brightly burned last Saturday evening. The exciting atmosphere, wrapping up warm and hot sugary mini doughnuts might have something to do with it being my favourite night too!

Paperchase – one of my favourite places to shop, but it’s so much more than just stationery! The recent Christmas collection had us both hurrying around the Paperchase pop-up in Selfridges as we excitedly gathered up orange and purple festive delights, you’ll be able to see the full scope of our work (and yes there are purple and orange Christmas trees) at our wooden log cabin at the Oxford Christmas Market in December where we’ll be serving up lots of Not Dogs!

Christmas spices – it may be early for some, but as we will be spending most of December at the Oxford Christmas Market, we have been busy in the kitchen cooking up some special festive recipes featuring Nutmeg, Cinnamon, Cranberry and Stilton – not all together of course!

My favourite piece of art is...

Chosen in light of Armistice Day this week and is a statue of a soldier that sits on my bookcase at home. Each year we visit the War Memorial Park in Coventry to hear the beautiful remembrance service that takes place around the central cenotaph that I usually run around in my local park. There is no truer or more poignant thing to hear than “For your tomorrow, we gave our today”.

My top album is...

A golden oIdie! A recent road trip with my sister resurrected my teenage love for Whitney Houston – too many hits to mention, so I downloaded the album I used to have and now I can spend many a journey belting out a tune (or ten!)

The pin that sums me up at the moment is...

Jane

Best things in life?

The Bali Bible Instagram account is my new favourite account especially as Katie and I are busy planning our first mini-retirement to the island in February. The account accompanies the website which was created by an Australian couple with a big love of Bali who detail the best spots in Bali from hotels, restaurants, bars and beaches. Even if you're not going to Bali, their inspirational, uplifting images across social media brightens the gloomiest day!

The White Company is one of my most adored brands and listening to founder Chrissie Rucker at a recent Red Network Event has only strengthened this. Chrissie is one of the most inspirational women I've had the pleasure of listening to; she's so honest and down-to-earth. Her love for all things white sparked the idea for the business but you can see it's only succeeded due to her dedication to customers, quality and her enthusiasm for the brand.

The Sunrise by Victoria Hislop was brought for me for my birthday and I've just started reading it and I love it already. Victoria Hislop is my favourite author; I have read her first book The Island numerous times as well as listening to the audiobook over and over again - I simply never get bored of her Mediterranean tales.

My favourite piece of art is...

This print of a French scene which reminds me of childhood summers spent on the beautiful, tiny island of Embiez in the South of France. My parents and I would pass the days relaxing on a secluded beach, swimming to the rock islands and enjoying fresh seafood picnics!

My top album is...

A toss up between Ben Howard and Jamie Cullum... I can't pick! Both are new amazing albums from two outstanding male musicians, who I admire very much. Ben Howard's new album 'I Forget Where We Were' has a laid-back emotional vibe whereas Jamie Cullum's 'Interlude' brings all the songs to life with jazzy ups and downs thrown together in a way only Jamie can!

The pin that sums me up at the moment is...

The Best Things in Life in October

Summer is over and it's off into Autumn we go. Although beautiful, hot sunny days are behind us, the pretty falling leaves and Autumn colours are coming which gets us very excited! Here's our favourite things in life in October...

Katie

Best Things in Life?

Quorn… We’ve had a summer experimenting with Quorn for our tasty Not Dogs and the more I’ve researched into the brand and mission it’s been refreshingly surprising to find out the untold story of the work for sustainability and the passionate people striving to help the environment and us! To find out more here’s a link to a recent study I’ve enjoyed lately.

Photo Books… For my birthday gift this year Jane created an amazing photo book filled with memories of our summer adventure this year, to have a book to pick up from time to time and flick through means that I can be reminded of the fun we’ve had in this lovely little keepsake that’s just mine to enjoy!

Tiny Temporary Tattoos… I love this predicted trend at the moment, stylish temporary tattoos made in metallic colours like gold and silver. Spotted during Paris Fashion Week and not long after on Beyonce, I’m excited about watching this trend grow and already there are some inspiring creations surfacing on Instagram.

My Woman of the Year is...

My fellow Katie & Jane adventurer, Jane Whitehead. I’ve spent more time with Jane over the summer than I have with anyone else, and when it’s 4am in the morning and she is perfectly topping our vegetarian hot dogs (no standard is ever dropped!) while I’m running down the queue talking to our customers apologising that we only have 12 hot dogs left, you realise that there must be only a handful of people in life that can be on this kind of adventure with and make it work. This summer was all about pulling together, being resilient and remaining happy, positive and inspired despite all the twists, turns and pressure, and we did it! Here’s to the future…and so much more fun.

The Most Important Thing I've Learnt in the First Year of Owning a Food Truck is...

To not be afraid to stand out if you really believe in something. Sometimes it’s hard for others to see your vision, (these ideas always start out a bit crazy!) but the belief you have in the idea, making it a reality and finding out people like it as much as you is honestly the best part!

My Current Favourite Pin...

Jane

Best Things in Life?

New Autumn/Winter Shoes! I have realised I have a shoe rotation system (sad I know!) and this is the month to pack away my Spring/Summer shoes mainly consisting of Havianas (and jelly sandles this year!) and get out my Autumn boots and Winter Uggs. On a recent trip to Rome I brought two pairs and have spotted some similar in Red magazine since!

Miranda Kerr Empower Yourself - after buying Miranda Kerr's first book, Treasure Yourself, in Melbourne a few years ago I've been patiently awaiting her next publication Empower Yourself which features affirmations for living healthily and feeling positive. I had to wait three weeks for it to come over from Australia but it's worth the wait and is a really inspiring, positive read for people of all ages.

The Honestly Healthy Cleanse - Having spotting the inspiring author, Natasha Corrett of Honestly Healthy on Instagram, I really enjoyed her regular posts so decided to pick up her and her business partner, Vicki Edgson's, latest book 'Honestly Healthy for Life'. I loved it so much that I also got their first book 'Honestly Healthy: Eat with your Body in Mind, the Alkaline Way' published in 2012 and discovered the Honestly Healthy Cleanse which I am now doing. The 5-10 day cleanse is not a detox - I was pleasantly surprised to see how much gorgeous meals I'd be eating along with green juices and snacks. I'm only on day three at the moment but feeling very good!

My Woman of the Year is...

Katie McDermott! Co-founder of Katie & Jane, Countdown Keeper and Not Dogs, and one of my best friends is an inspiration to me; she works amazingly hard yet has fun with everything she does, she is there for me no matter what and we work so well together as a team. I'm very proud that she's recently been recognised by Nivea and Stylist magazine as an 'inspirational female who encapsulates the bring it on generation' so take my word for it and go and vote for her now here! 

The Most Important Thing I've Learnt in the First Year of Owning a Food Truck is...

It's God-damn hard work... but worth it! Maybe naively I didn't think pulling a food truck and selling vegetarian hot dogs up and down the country would be as hard as it's been, but I also didn't imagine how much fun I've had too. 18-hour shifts with no breaks, long queues and 'interesting' customers have made it the hardest work of my life but because of all the passion we have for creating a long-lasting brand that people love - the hard work is so worth it! It's not about making a quick-buck for us (we haven't!), it's about seeing the look on people's faces when they see our little purple truck or bite into their first Not Dog - that's what it's all about!

My Current Favourite Pin is...

A Stylist Celebration!

We're very proud to be featured not once but twice in this week's edition of the fantastic Stylist magazine.

Firstly Not Dogs is featured in the article '23 Courses to Make You Rich' in the magazine's 'In the Money' section where they focus on the next big industries and the skills to learn to help you launch a new business. Looks like we're onto a winner with Not Dogs as Stylist's research with Mintel show that 'the rising demand for healthy fast-food will spur the growth of gourmet food trucks' although we wouldn't call us 'gourmet' by any means - our food is just something we, and thankfully many other people, enjoy!

Secondly, I get to gush about my amazing co-founder Katie as she's made it through to the final 25 of the 'top ambitious, strong and adventurous women' in Stylist and Nivea's #bringiton30 competition. As it states these inspirational 25 women are forging their own paths in life and business from creating charities to travelling the world they are all very worthy candidates but, being biased, I'm voting for Katie of course and would love you to do the same!

Katie's piece talks about how Not Dogs was created, the passion we have for our business and how we want to disrupt the world of vegetarian food in a positive way. But, as an extra encouragement for you to vote, Katie is not only a fantastic business women but a supportive, funny and amazing individual too and I'm very happy to be able to call her my friend and co-founder!

Vote for Katie here: http://www.stylist.co.uk/home/microsite2/nivea

And you can pick up a free copy of Stylist magazine featuring us this week.

Thanks!

Jane x

The Best Things in Life in September

The summer months are now over so it's time to look forward to a new fashion season, getting cosy with open-fires or searching for some Winter sun in a faraway country! Think we'll do all three! Here are our #bestthingsinlife for September...

Katie

Best things in life?

The month of September! One of my favourite months as it’s my birthday! But also because it signifies a fresh start and instead of miserable memories of going back to school it reminds me of new uniform, the latest cool lunch box to pack my sandwiches into and of course new school shoes! I’m looking forward to motivating myself to end the year on a high, and will of course be adding all of the things I have to look forward into my Countdown Keeper app – who needs Summer hey?

We both love Nivea products and Stylist magazine, so when we found out we’d made it into their #BRINGITON 30 shortlist, a competition designed to find 30 (under 30) go-getters and dream-makers with big stories to share, we were absolutely stunned! The judges are Jenny Garrett (LinkedIn Top 10 Power Women 2013), Gemma Crisp (Stylist’s Assistant Editor) and the Nivea Team – our fate is now in their hands!

Long coastal walks – I enjoyed a long weekend in Saint Agnes in Cornwall to get September off to a good start by walking along the rocky coast from Saint Agnes to Peranporth, stopping for a birthday toast and some delicious Cornish ice-cream! We also took in the sights of St Ives too which was beautiful!

The musician that inspires me is…

Stevie Wonder! There are so many artists and bands that I love and listen to everyday, but this time 2 years ago I was watching Stevie Wonder headline Bestival on my Birthday while all my friends serenaded me with ‘Happy Birthday’. It sounds naïve but I had forgotten just how many amazing hits he has and it was a true inspiration to watch him delight thousands of people, especially while he sang ‘Isn't She Lovely’ with his daughter on stage.

The pin that sums me up at the moment…

Jane

Best things in life?

My birthday weekend in Cornwall. I was surprised by my best friends with a weekend away to Cornwall and what a weekend it was! We ate amazing food at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen and Lewinnick Lodge, surfed at Fistral Beach and then spent the whole afternoon drinking champagne and eating pizza at the beach bar. It was lovely to spend time with my favourite people and just enjoy each other's company, drunken dancing included!

Getting through a summer of festivals! Not Dogs has made the summer of 2014 a very memorable, fun and exciting one although it's been the hardest work of my life! All the good times outweigh the tough times and we may be mad but we will be back at even more festivals around Europe next summer which I'm very excited about!

Books! My birthday list this year was very conservative although it did have tonnes of books on it from cookbooks to business books - a very varied bunch. I jumped straight into The Fault in Our Stars by John Green which I haven't been able to put down since my birthday - fantastic book so far!

The musician who inspires me is...

Beyonce... of course! I've loved Beyonce since she was in Destiny's Child although it's been since she released her latest visual album 'Beyonce' that I've really felt inspired by her. I find her strength outstanding; she's a mum, wife and businesswoman and one of the only entertainers who doesn't seem to have a problem singing and dancing (amazingly) on stage!

The pin that sums me up at the moment…

The Best Things in Life in August

A packed July is now over and we're looking forward to an even busier August filled with festivals, food, travels and hopefully sun! Here's our 'Best Things in Life' for this month...

Katie

Best things in life...
The French Language! On our recent trip to Aix-en-Provence, a place I’d never visited before, we got to practice our French a little. It was so lovely to be in a place surrounded by the French language, and it ignited my motivation to carry on using my Duolingo app to improve my understanding!

Turtle Bay in Birmingham has already been a highlight for August, the Caribbean food, atmosphere and cocktails were delicious, and I can’t wait to visit again soon!

Seeing all the great feedback we are getting about Not Dogs! We’ve had lots of people tweeting us in advance of Boardmasters this week & we’re so excited to take the little purple food truck to Newquay for some sun, sea, surf and veggie hot dogs.

The journey that changed my life was...

A travel adventure in 2010 with my friend Lynds; we visited Hong Kong, Bali, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, LA, Las Vegas and Vancouver. Taking in so many different cultures, the everyday drifting between cities and the traveller way of life opened me up to so many possibilities and gave me perspective in my life just when I needed it.  Hiking Franz Josef Glacier, skydiving over Lake Taupo, partying with Fijians were just some of the many highlights. Whenever I hear Sinatra’s Moon River, I always think of Lynds and our trip of a lifetime…

Two drifters off to see the world. There's such a lot of world to see. 

We're after the same rainbow's end-- 

waiting 'round the bend, 

my huckleberry friend…

My three favourite quotes on Pinterest are...

Jane

Best things in life...

Making time to see friends and family after a very busy few weeks! I've been slightly neglecting those closest to me while our business schedule is so full but actually seeing them less makes me have even more fun when I do catch-up! I cooked a meal from Jamie Oliver's 15 Minute Meals cookbook and it was lovely but... definitely longer than 15!

Laura Mercier bath treats - these products are my favourite of all time. I was brought the gift set containing a candle, scrub, lotion and bath creme and I simply love having a sweet smelling bath using all the products!

Aix-en-Provence - a recent visit (read all about it here) reignited my love for this beautiful spot in the South of France. I've been visiting every summer since I was little and my latest visit really made me appreciate it... I can't wait to go there again very soon.

The journey that changed my life was...

My first visit to Australia... I fell in love with the country and Melbourne in particular when I travelled up the East Coast in 2011 from Melbourne to Cairns. I adore the changing landscapes, the outdoor life, the people and the amazing food. I've since returned to Melbourne and both trips changed my life as I'm determined to live in the city one day!

My three favourite quotes on Pinterest are...