For The Love of August

Anyone that knows me knows I love a good white shirt. It is a wardrobe staple and an August favorite this year. In-fact it’s a staple all year round for me.

You’re going to need a white lace shirt for A/W14. It is a season must have and being a white shirt junkie, I am all over it. 

So lets talk shirts.

Shirt No. 1 is a laced collar, high street pick from Hollister. A shop that has first and foremost caught me by surprise this season. I spotted this gem amongst many other white shirts, but it was the detailed collar that lured me in.

Shirt No. 2 is out with the lace but in with scallops. An August must have for me this year is without a doubt this white scalloped collar from ASOS.  Can you tell, I’m all about collars this year?

I’ve worn this far more than I should have, but it’s a key item in my wardrobe that I have dressed up and down, smart and casual.

Shirt No. 3, I saved the best for last. Plain. White. Shirt. Need I say any more?

Mine is from Gap, my mum and I go crazy for these as they wash like no other and last an age! But you can find them in various shops in various fits.

My summer holiday suitcase was full of various tops and t-shirts but despite the variety and option I was still drawn into wearing my infamous white shirt – day in and day out.

But of course no white shirt can be worn without trousers, which leads me onto another fashion favorite of mine last month. My handy dandy French Connection Jeans. These are the trousers I have worn most with all of these shirts, creating an effortless chic outfit.

And finally, what I have been loving on my feet. Brogues.

I picked these up from Office, grabbing an awesome deal and let me tell you I was totally smitten with these shoes. The feelings of the shoes were not mutual. Cutting my feet up and giving me blisters. But there was something about them that I loved so dearly so I put up with them and lone be hold they’re now very comfy to wear.  I suppose it was the price I had to pay for the little price I paid, it would have been too good to be true.

The cherry on top was this H&M hat, a real bargain at only 12.99! I had made an extra effort into planning my outfit just so I could wear this gem.

My final fashion piece I have loved is this midi skirt.  It was the draw string that had me head over heels and as a result I have enjoyed every moment wearing it. So, where is it from you ask? Now that my friends, would be ASOS.

If there is one this I’d recommend to a beauty lover it’s the Sigma brush cleaning glove. My brushes and I have loved this all month long. It is almost like gifting yourself with new brushes each time you wash them, it’s that good! A dupe for this is the massage glove by Soap and Glory, stocked in Boots.

Having not had a manicure in what feels like forever, I have been relying on one nail polish to make my finger nails look presentable. And I fell totally in love with the formula and lasting power. Barry M Gelly in Almond. A grey with brown undertones compliments all skin tones giving a clean and chic polish.

Last but most certainly not least is a food favorite. Bounce protein balls.

A delicious, chewy power snack which is full of protein. The Coconut and Macadamia Bliss is by far my favorite, it tastes like coconut flavored cookie dough. Yum. 

Note: Keep your eyes peeled for a recreation of this recipe coming up soon on the blog!

Let The Bells Chime

Thursday the 21st of August was a special day to say the least. A very special woman in my life walked down the isle towards the love of her life.

Grab a cup of tea and a biscuit and lets rewind a few years. My beautiful aunt met her high school hottie at the age of sixteen, they dated but it never went any further than that. They both went their separate ways, got married and had children.

Unfortunately, both of their marriages ended. As always,  there is a silver lining in everything bad. (not to mention the fact that without her first marriage I wouldn't have my two lovely cousins). Fortunately many years later, my aunt and her high school hottie were reunited (talk about a good love story). They went out and the rest was history!

Four years on, Chris made the best decision of his life and asked Michelle to marry him. And she said YES. Duhh.

Excitement flew around the world, from England to Doha, everyone was over the moon about it. The next exciting step was the wedding planning. And after what feels forever, all the hard work came together and this was the outcome...you may need another biscuit to dunk in your tea for the rest of this!

We met my aunt at the beautiful Vineyard Hotel, where we all got ready with a glass of Prosecco and fresh strawberries. Don't worry the bride was not in her dress at this point! None the less the pamper session was in full swing.

A couple of drinks, some sandwiches and lots of laughs later it was time for my aunt to put her dress on. Might I also add it was beautiful (be prepared for this word to be used frequently, it sums up the wedding perfectly).

The dress was on. Michelle made a beautiful bride.

The pace of the morning picked up from here, we rushed straight down for pictures. But first her sons came to the room, her youngest only to surprise her with hi fantastic GCSE grades: all A's and A*'s - I'm glad someone got the brains in the family.

This picture may not be perfect,  but it certainly captured the happiness of the moment. And for that reason I am glad we are all laughing.

Here would probably be a good time to mention that myself and Freya were bridesmaid's for my auntie. These beautiful bouquets consisted of natural, fresh flowers and herbs that smelt devine.

All suited and booted; here is my auntie looking absolutely beautiful with her two sons either side.

One quick snap before heading to the wedding venue. All of us together: bridesmaids, flower girls and Jack and Ben who were walking  Michelle down the isle. Off we all went, my auntie and her two boys in an old Beetle car. And myself, Freya and the gorgeous flower girls in a VW camper-van. Very cool indeed.

 

Order of the day. 

After a magical ceremony the newly married couple were taken onto the lawn for a group shot. Thankfully the weather held up too!

Love and happiness all around. 

Drinks and canopies time. I must admit, mini burgers was an extremely good idea. Can you guess who this is? My twin brother. Much taller than I and I was wearing heels. Rude.

Yet another snap of a very important man in my life, my father. Who, for some reason looks as if he is wearing blue lipstick. Ha ha.

It was finally time to eat! This was the table placements, every table had a different plant.

Speeches and bubbles concluded a delicious meal with lots of laughter and tears (happy ones of-course).

I for one could not take my eyes off this cake, it most certainly tasted as good as it looked. Mmmmm.

The newly married couple who, even when cutting a cake, manage to look good!

A vibrant evening of dancing and some more eating concluded this beautiful day of celebration, I couldn't think of anything better. Even though I am not the best of dancers, neither is my dad (guess who i got it from). Having said that, both him and I were up there and dancing, I even learnt a few moves from him!

I am so blessed to have been able to spend such a magical day, celebrating the marriage of this beautiful couple. I can only hope for many happy days ahead with lots of love and laughter.

Homemade Healthy Butternut Squash Pizza

Eating healthily is a lifestyle choice I have personally chosen. However as much as I love it,  there is one thing I desperately miss. Pizza.

I  have done all I can to avoid it because it isn't categorized in the healthy eating department,  now it can be!

Ingredients  For  One Pizza

For  the base:

1 Butternut Squash (not too big)

1 Cup of ground almonds

1 Cup of Spelt Flour (Almond is an alternative to a non grain base)

3 Tbsp of Flaxseed

1 Tbsp Dried Oregano

A Sprinkle of Salt and Pepper 

For the Pesto Sauce:

1 Cup of Raw Spinach (a large handful)

A Large Handful of Plain Cashew Nuts

1/2 Cup of Fresh Basil (or 2 Tbsp of dried basil)

1/2 a Lemon Squeezed

1/2 a cup of Virgin Olive oil

Things you will need:

1 Large Sauce Pan

Cup Measurements (clink here to convert to grams) 

Food Processor 

A Shallow Baking Tray or Pizza Stone 

A Collider 

A potato masher (a fork will do)

And for the sensible people, an apron - take my word when I say it's going to get messy!

Instructions 

Step No. 1

To begin with, wash the butternut squash and cut it directly down the middle. Pop a large sauce pan on the stove filled with water to allow it to boil. Here is where it gets messy...spoon out as much of the seeds and pulp as you can. Next slice the butternut squash into small chunks (the smaller the less time it will need in the sauce pan). 

Step No. 2

Place all of the butternut squash chunks into the sauce pan and set your timer for 20minutes.

Step No. 3 

Once the butternut squash has boiled and filled the kitchen with a delicious scent, it is time to drain it of water. Pop it to the side in a bowl and leave to cool for a few minutes.

Step No. 4

Grab a small bowl and pop 2 tbsp of flaxseed with 2 tbsp of water and set aside for 5 minutes. In the mean time, grab a large mixing bowl and to that add in all of the dry ingredients (don't forget the last tbsp of flaxseed!)

Step No. 5 

I lied, this is the messy part! Pop your aprons on ladies and gents. Scoop out all of the butternut squash flesh from the skin and pop it into a small bowl. Tip: to make the next step easier grab a potato masher and mash up all of the butternut squash! (try to resist not eating it...I know I couldn't. Oops) At this point you're also going to want to pre-heat the oven to 200c. 

Step No. 6 

Add in the butternut squash to the large mixing bowl of dry ingredients (at this point add the flax seed and water mixture) and stir in with a wooden spoon. 

Step No. 7

Rub a small amount of olive oil to your pizza stone  or line your shallow baking tray with a good non stick baking sheet (I tried this the first time and it got stuck and turned into a challenge to even eat the pizza).

Spread the dough out evenly onto your baking tray or pizza stone, making sure to leave the crusts a little thicker than the rest. Pop it into the oven for 34-40 minutes.

Step No. 8 

Take this opportunity to wash the dirty dishes (you'll be grateful later I promise). 

As well as making the pesto sauce. Throw all of the ingredients into a food processor and wizz it all up until you get a pale green, smooth consistency. Leave to chill in the fridge until you need it.

If you're still left with some extra time, get out all of your toppings for the pizza (I put tomatoes, mushrooms and kale. Anything goes for this step, so pick whatever tickles your fancy)

Step No. 9 

Once you have a golden brown pizza base, take it out of the oven. Spread over the pesto sauce, leaving the crusts free. 

Now for the best bit, toppings! I put tomato, mushroom and kale (as you can see we didn't have a lot in the fridge, but thats the beauty of pizza - you can throw anything on it!)

Once you have a beautifully decorated pizza, pop it back into the over for 10 more minutes! 

Step No. 10 

Plate up, sit back and munch on a slice of heaven!  

Super Food, Green Protein Smoothie

If you don't already know I love a good healthy meal.  Having made 101 smoothies, ranging from poisonous to mind good; I have finally nailed the perfect green smoothie. Perfect for breakfast, lunch or even a snack at the 4 o'clock...when the dreaded hour of doom comes around where you could eat everything and anything in sight (we all experience it!)

So what is in it you may ask?

Ingredients:
1 cup of Spinach
1 cup of Kale
1/2 a small Cucumber (adjust to your preference)
1/2 a Frozen banana
A large handful of blueberries
1/2 a Lemon squeezed
1 Tbsp of Flax seed
1 Tbsp of Chia seed
1 Tbsp of Agave Nectar (for the sweet tooth's out there)
+ Protein (optional)

Making a smoothie is fairly self explanatory...throw it all a blender and ta'da.

But of-course a few snaps won't hurt anyone.

Spinach and Kale, a dark leafy green with an ugly name that puts most people off. It shouldn't. Since its high in iron, vitamins and minerals which are highly important for skin, hair an bone health. Putting it in a smoothie is a great way to mask the taste as well as incorporating into your diet.

For all those we a sweet tooth (I am extremely guilty of being one of these people) an alternative to adding refined sugar or artificial sweetener to food is Agave Nectar. And it tastes delicious too...score!

As well as eating healthily, a big part of a healthy lifestyle is exercise and fitness. Luckily for me, I'm a bit of a exercise bunny. I've started drinking protein shakes afterwards to help tone up. I have nothing to compare, but I have been using Protein World's'The Slender Blend' in the Vanilla flavor and it tastes great! Adding it to this smoothie creates a vanilla milkshake taste, naughty but nice.  

Tip! Prior to adding Flaxseed into your smoothie, soak them in a 2:1 ratio of water as this creates a gelatinous substance to thicken the smoothie. Flaxseed is a high quality source of protein as well as fiber and is also commonly known as a super food for this reason.

The same goes for soaking Chia seeds. Chia seeds are a concentrated food containing healthy omega-3 acids, fiber, antioxidants and calcium. Yet another super food.

And here is the end result.

Enjoy!

Summer Traditions

17st August

Following our summer tradition Ava, Alice, Sophie and I travelled down to Cornwall for the forth year running to start another short and sweet adventure.

Beginning our adventure in a jam packed car of girls, bags and most importantly food - the only thing that kept our mood swings at bay and prevented us from tearing each others heads off. Phew.

Three long hours of terribly great music and snoring we arrived at our destination; a beautifully small town call St Agnes. Also known as the only town with no 3G, first world problems and a half. But that problem was mended with a naughty but nice Indian take away. Yum.

Staying with three girls meant late nights and late starts to the day. We had breakfast (at 1pm...oops) none the less it was extremely enjoyable and how couldn't it be when you have a view like this.

The weather brightened up and the sea gobbled up lots of sand castles as time ticked on. It was still unbearably cold but at least it looked warmer (for Cornwall anyway).

After a truly exhausting day (not) we were still all worn out; it is hard doing nothing you know!

We made a slow trek back to the house, tucked up on the sofa and watched a movie. We ended the day with Leonardo DiCaprio on the television...I don't know about you but I couldn't think of anything better.

Today we rekindled old memories as this is the exact spot we have visited every summer for four years. Porthtowan beach is a sandy slice of heaven in Chapel Porth. 

Rewinding 3 years ago to our first adventure down to Porthowan beach. From left to right its Ava, Myself, Sophie and Alice. Photo genic isn't the first word that comes to mind. Lets hope as the years go on we get better, do you think they will?

Clearly not as we opted for the *look into the distance, back to camera* pose. Im betting my money on lasts years photo being better, who is with me on this one?

We haven't quite got it, Alice isn't looking at the camera and I can't say any of us look particularly happy. How we got into a bikini on a beach in Cornwall is beyond me.

Hooray! Four years of practice and we managed to nail a picture of us four. Notice a total outfit difference four years on, clearly we have all become total wimps towards the cold weather!

 Since we had the picture taking cracked it would have been rude to not have taken more than one photo!

Concluding our photo shoot with a coastal walk, taking in the beguiling view. 

Our final night topped off our adventure as we went into town for a delicious meal with a crisp glass of wine. Mmmm.

A polaroid snap of the gorgeous Ava and I at dinner.

Our short and sweet adventure came to a halting end far too soon. But none the less it was a wonderful couple of days with my three lovely friends, ones that I will hopefully have forever.