New blue

I have been searching for the perfect blue vanish for ages now.

Bobbi Brown have just released 2 limited edition shades, one being that same blue that has been missing from my collection for 'oh so long'.

It is priced at a reasonable rate, long lasting and beautiful for the last few weeks of summer!!

Donut

Whoever invented the hair donut is a living legend to my early morning starts.

The hassle of straightening my hair in the mornings are over now.

All you need to complete this look is some hairspray, hair pins and a hair tie.

It's simple.

My hair donut was purchased at H&M

Absence makes the heart grow fonder....

I have been a bit useless lately with a new job and holiday to marbs. But I'm back in the land of blog.

The sun has most definitely got his hat of today. After continental breakfast in the garden, I am waiting on the sun lounger for the uni clang to pick me up....

It's finally wedding time for my little Doo, soon to be Mrs. James.

As we are all scattered around the country, I don't get to see the JB's that often (JB's= Jail Birds- derives from when we all lives next door to Bristol prison in 2nd year).

The first of the girls to get hitched so I have packed the waterproof make up.

The weather looks fab for tomorrow- bring on the champers (and port fines).


Pictures to follow :)

The infamous red sole

I find myself constantly browsing the Internet window shopping the louboutin website.
I think every girl needs a classic pair of black louboutins in their wardrobe
http://us.christianlouboutin.com/shoes-1/platforms/sky-high/daffodile-160mm.html

For those of you with a love for those beautiful red soles...

There is currently a museum up in London with all the work of Christian Louboutin that I am taking my mum to in a few weeks.
The tickets are £10 which sadly doesn't include a free pair of shoes, but if you are a shoe lover like me, it looks amazing.

http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2012/christian-louboutin

Time capsule

Every year around about the same date and month, 3 of my friends and me reunite for our time capsule ceremony... when I say ceremony, I mean a few bottles of wine and a good laugh.

As a group of girls who have been close for the last 7-8 years, we have seen each others lives unveil, develop and change dramatically. 

Sometime a few months will go past without seeing each other, yet when we do meet up, we always have a good catch up and laugh like it was only yesterday that we last spoke.


We first made our time capsule in the summer of 2009 sitting in the garden on a beautiful afternoon. One of my friends had just got back from a few months abroad, it was before we all headed to uni and we all believed our life revolved around the boyfriends we were with at that current moment in time (it is safe to say that those relationships lasted long!!!)

We thought this time capsule idea would be a good way to see how dramatically our lives change from year to year.

Some of the goals we have set each other have included- BE SINGLE. get over your ex, move on, have an open relationship and not jump from relationship to relationship.

Other goals have been career driven and uni orientated.

So far we all have managed to achieve all set goals!!

This year really proved to me just how much we really have grown up in the last few years.

In the next 12 month, 2 of us saw ourselves getting engaged and 2 goals involved living with boyfriends. 

I love the career driven and loving women my friends have become. 

It just opened my eyes to how much we have changed over the years....

 

Jubilee pavlova

To celebrate this bank holiday jubilee weekend I have made a patriotic pavlova.

All you will need for this piece of art is:

4 egg, 225g caster sugar, 1 teaspoon corn flour, 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar, few drops of vanilla essence. Then double cream and icing sugar and fruit of your choice. 

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4258/pavlova  

Go creative with the fruit on top and enjoy your long weekend.

Hen Doo

Recently, I went on a wild weekend for my old housemate Doo's Hen Do.

She is soon to be marrying a marine so there were a few outdoor/army orientated activities.

It was one mass- uni- reunion of all my dearest uni lot from 

The weekend events took place in a beautiful barn conversion just outside of Oxford at Owl Barn. Sleeps up to 12 guests and perfect living area to host some serious pre- drinking and party games.

http://www.staycotswold.com/content.php?p=staycotswold_overview

Best thing about this picture (other than the fact none of us have their eyes shut) is my hot blue KG amelia heels.

London Girls...

Tea and dim sum...

My new favourite places in London dine has got to be ping pong.

If your a fan of green tea- you will love the tied green tea wrapped around jasmine blossoms. I was captivated by the gourmet natural tea selection that they have to offer with fresh flower buds that open up before your eyes.

www.pingpongdimsum.com/

Affordable prices and the restaurant fills up pretty quickly due to the high quality of food and service.

After a hard days shopping for summer dresses- finished the day with a beautiful blueberry and caramel expresso eclaire and a cocktail at sketch

It is worth a wonder to sketch for a quirky early evening cocktail- cream tea or evening meal.

http://www.sketch.uk.com/

Summer mad

As this weather is so incredibly hot, all I want to do is sit around eating calippo's and drinking smoothies. The best thing about summer is the summer fruit.

Mid morning smoothies are going down a treat.
Any fruit that I have in the fridge will do.
Today my smoothie choice was strawberry and raspberry. Any smoothie will need a banana just to thicken it up a bit and a fruit juice of your choice. Today I went for tropical.

Go summer smoothie mad.

1 banana,
a generous handful of chosen fruit,
a glass full of fruit juice
and a good blitz in the blender....

A love affair with cake

This recipe is a light Victoria sponge, filled with strawberry jam and cream.

All you will need to make this is:

Ingredients for a simply sponge cake

Double cream/whipping cream

Strawberry Jam

Fresh Strawberries

Icing sugar

The recipe I used for the sponge was a good old Delia Smith recipe.

http://www.deliaonline.com/recipes/type-of-dish/sweet/victoria-sponge-cake.html 

While the cake is cooling, slice up some fresh strawberries into halves and mix up some chantilly cream. 

http://frenchfood.about.com/od/pastrycream/r/vanchantilly.htm

Once the cake is cool, evenly spread a layer of strawberry jam and cream in the middle.

For the top of the cake, pipe cream in a design of your choice and top with strawberries.

...A perfect summer- time cake.

Puggle Power

So adorable...
This lil fella is a pug/beagle cross. I am without a doubt getting myself one of these as I can't resist.

Take me away....

Bank holiday weekend I got whisked away to the Cedar Court Grand Hotel and Spa- York.

http://www.cedarcourtgrand.co.uk/ 

The hotel was stunning, beautiful high ceilings and dreamily-comfortable beds.

Even the bathroom made me feel like I was in a roman bath.

 

The restaurant served up some of the best lobster I have ever tasted...

 

Then there were the cocktails...

The cocktail menu was by far my favourite part of my stay...generally due to my cocktail obsession, that and the fact that the mojito's were to die for.

The raspberry mojito was killer.

and the mai tai and spicy tai were divine.

I was very impressed by my stay.

It was a very romantic getaway.

 

All in all, york is stunning and I would definitely go back for more...

 

Something for the eyes...

A little eye candy for the ladies...

Adam Senn...

What A Treat...

(the dot dot dot's represent how speechless I am...)

 

http://www.dolcegabbana.com/dg/perfumes/the-one-sport/man/

The dip dye revolution

This week I have definitely been tempted to join the 'dip- dye revolution.'

I am in love with Ashley Simpson's new look and have been debating doing this exact look with my hair.

It is also very similar to Drew Barrymore's gorgeous dip dye locks.

The rich brown and golden colours really compliment each other.

http://www.look.co.uk/pictures/hot-celebrity-hairstyle-trend-dip-dye-hair/drew-barrymore-hit-the-marni-for-hm-launch-with-her-infamous-dip-dye-hairsty

Or you could try a look like Lauren conrads' ombre side-swept curls for more of a summer look.
The colour suits her down to the ground. So simple and so beautiful....

Since the new dip dye craze has been made more and more popular, different celebs have been coming up with some crazy new styles. 

This rainbow hair styled by Made In Chelsea's Gabriella Ellis has got to be my favourite.

 

The joys of cleaning

Its that time again when my bedroom looks like a bomb has hit it....

I find myself doing anything and everything I can think of just so I don't have to participate in that painful act they call "cleaning."

A week of self- distracting myself by:- baking, dying my hair unnecessarily, painting my nails numerous times, window shopping, online shopping, daydreaming and generally going blog-mad... 

The time to clean has finally arrived, I have to attempt to tidy my pigsty of a room.

 

And we all know what really happens when girls clean...

Lesson to be learnt= hire a cleaner.

Pucker up

There are 2 shades of lipstick that I swear by and cannot live without...

Over the last few years, I had tried so many different brands of lippy until a friend of mine introduced me to MAC lipstick.

My ultimate favourite shade for evening wear and just to generally brighten up my face is the Saint Germain MAC lipstick. 

Sometimes I am a bit cautious about trying a new lipstick but I have really got on with this brand. It has a lovely, subtle scent about it that isn't like other brands I have tried.

My second favourite shade is the Myth MAC lipstick.

Both are long lasting and show up beautifully. 

I am forever finding myself magically appearing back at the MAC counter ordering myself a different shade to try out.

I have even got my mum hooked on this brand.

http://www.maccosmetics.co.uk/product/shaded/168/310/Lipstick

True and utter lipstick bliss....

Time Bomb...

Based on the assumption that "you don't realise what you have until its gone."

Why is it that most guys minds work much like a ticking time bomb? 

It's always the case that as soon as I begin to forget about someone, they start worming their way back in again.

After months of being knocked back, finally letting go...and eventually moving on....the clock in their head starts to tick...

Almost like a time bomb goes of in their head, as soon as I begin the transition and stop giving a monkeys about them anymore...they finally start fighting.

Tock...."If I text her enough, will she come running back"...Tick..."Has she started seeing someone new"...Tock..."Have I lost her for good"...Tick...Tock...


If you don't want to loose someone....don't let them go in the first place because now its too late.

Beauty and the beast

The last few weeks I have finally given someone new a chance.


He has a personality that shines stronger than anyone I have ever dated but he's not my 'usual' type.


I don't think I can even count on my fingers the amount of times I have had my heart broken... I seem to make a habit of pursuing relationships with the "treat them mean, keep them keen men" and it does me no favours.


Gradually I have become close to someone new, but he isn't my usual sporty player type. Maybe that's where i have been going wrong....and maybe a nice guy is finally what i need.


It has made me wonder if looks really are as important as I first thought; when it seems you can fall head over heels for someone based purely on personality.

Strawberry Obsessed...

Ok, so lately i have developed a small obsession with a certain berry they call the strawberry... And I have gone a bit strawberry mad...

*Strawberry nail art*

The colours are just Barry M- spring green, Barry M- shocking pink and Rimmel London- lemon drop.

After applying a base coat of pink, I zig-zag the green and dot on the lemon. Et voila 

Strawberry Cosmo

As the long summer evening are drawing nearing, I wanted to think of some drinks for this summer other than just the standard jug of Pimms or glass of bubbly wine.

And as there are no good cocktail bars near my small town, I have decided to start making my own.

First was my Strawberry Cosmo...

It takes no time at all and tastes delicious.

To prepare this, you will need to freeze a box of strawberries over night.

Then in a blitzer, crush some ice and strawberries. I used 5 strawberries per drink.

Once crushed, spoon into glasses and measure in the vodka!!

Next pour into the glass half orange juice and half cranberry juice 

Top off with some lime sparking water (or a dash of lime cordial.)

And enjoy...

Bad Hair Day

A friend at uni introduced me to this magic dust a few years ago known as dry shampoo. From that day onwards it became acceptable to roll out of bed and head to a lecture without washing my hair scoring me extra time in bed...result.

After a few minor mishaps caused by not rubbing the dry shampoo in properly and therefore walking around all day looking like a 21 year old granny with people staring at my grey roots. They then released dry shampoo for brunettes. After finally mastered the dry shampooing technical, I haven't looked back since.

I never thought this magic dust could ever fail me, until today.

After a hectic weekend and snoozing my alarm several times, I woke up late to find an empty can on my bedroom floor.

Panic!!

Hair stuck to my face and 8.00am fast approaching...I was out of options. Committing fashion suicide (and doing something that no woman should ever do) the Alice band was going to have to make an appearance at work today... a great start to the week.

Sweet tooth

I had a mini dinner party last night and needed a quick and simple desert. 

So i made some mini lemon meringue pies, they are dead easy to make and taste amazing served with ice cream or single cream....

All you will need is 350g homemade short crust pastry, lemon curd, 2 egg whites and 120g caster sugar. 

Pastry:

I usually use the Delia Smith cookbook as my mum has used her recipes ever since I was a little girl. http://www.deliaonline.com/how-to-cook/baking/how-to-make-shortcrust-pastry.html (or for those who need a quick and easy cheat- ready to roll shortcrust pastry bought for your local supermarket works just the same)

Once the pastry is made, roll thinly and using a biscuit cutter, cut the pastry to fit into a muffin sized baking tray. Press down lightly and line with baking paper and weighted baking beans.

Bake for 5-10 minutes (180 degrees.)

Remove from over, remove baking paper and beans and bake for further 4-5 minutes until lightly golden.

Leave the pastry cases to cool.

Meringue:

Use the egg whites from 2 large eggs and whisk until firm.

Slowly add in 120g of caster sugar and continue to whisk.

A good test that the meringue is ready is to hold the bowl upside down and if it doesn't fall out...its ready.

Fill each of the pie cases 3/4 with lemon curd.

Top with a swirl of meringue and bake for 5-10 minutes (180 degrees) until meringue is golden brown.

The mini pies are delicious served hot or cold.

A piece of string

The word 'EX' is (at this present moment in time) a bit of a sore subject to me but I have started to base my assumption of some men on a 'piece of string theory.'

My EX, for example, will play hard to get, and cut contact for a week or so. This is what i call the 'releasing of the string' that holds us together.' He then leaves me holding on to the end of the string for just the right amount of time until he finally decides that its time to reel me back in again.

Last night I experience one of his tugging the string attempts with a 3 word long text (and not the obvious 3 words that a guy should say when he misses a girl or loves her....nope) "how are you?"...Realising that a response was not worth my time, I have now cut myself free from this invisible line of string that holds me to him.

<A sigh of relief>

Until the next time I suppose...

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Life is just beginning....

I think I have become a bit of a hermit this weekend...with my new found obsession for pinterest and the idea of starting up a blog...I've bearly left my bedroom in 48 hours. I'm now on my 5th cup of tea and it's not yet lunchtime.

So a little bit about me....

When I was younger I always dreamed about being a little bit richer or thinner or more popular....wanting the clothes that other girls had etc. After finishing uni last year, I really feel that life is just beginning at 22.

I now sit and wonder about real things like....where will I be this time next year, when I will meet my future husband, how many children will be have (and the list goes on...)

BUT, my aim for this next year is to stop planning my life and live in the moment, "BE THE UNEXPECTED", live a little bit wilder, be more creative, be a 'do-er' not a 'thinker' and stop over analysing myself. 

So here is my blog- the first step on my journey of "how to be a little bit more unexpected."