Sunny Monday in London

Hello dolls, hope your Monday was just fine and the weather is nice where you are! Today was pretty warm here in the UK, and I spent the day in London with 3 of my closest friends, for a delicious lunch at one of my favourite restaurants Cafe Rouge (I had my favourite, french onion soup to start, baguette poulet for my main and tranche au chocolat for dessert). Later, my friend Clare and I took a little trip to Oxford Street where we spent a good hour in a shop new to the UK, that I have been desperate to visit... yes ladies, I finally made it to Forever 21!

My first impressions of Forever 21 was that it was huge, very girly (decorated in pastel pink and white), with fairly good merchandising, and clear 'zones' so you knew where to go for what. The changing rooms were a good size with proper doors (I personally dislike curtains) and the lighting in the changing rooms was pretty good. The queue at the till was long, but the staff were numerous, and therefore waiting time was minimal. The range of clothing was very good, with a style for everyone. Oh and the prices were amazing! I knew it was a cheap shop but I was particularly impressed with the quality and fit of the items, especially considering the low prices.

My new purchases! I bought 2 sheer tops (love that style as so easy to dress up and down), one in a print and one classic cream colour. I also bought a kind of slouchy long sleeved jersey top in a dark orange that I think will be great with jeans. Lastly, I bought the gorgeous shimmery cuff and horn necklace. All in, 3 tops and 2 pieces of jewellery cost only £48 so I was very impressed. I will definitely return to Forever 21 when I am in London as the styles are great and the prices even better!

I got home at about 7 0 clock tonight and was surprisingly hungry (after my huge lunch!) but pretty tired, so I wanted to try another recipe that was both healthy and quick. I decided on super healthy sausages and beans (another recipe from my Sally Bee recipe book)

Step 1 - Cut your sausages up into smaller pieces (each sausage into 3 to 4 pieces is perfect). Put to one side.

Step 2 - Chop up your chosen veg (pretty much anything goes, today I used carrots, celery, green beans, peas and courgette). Chop up one onion and peel 2 cloves of garlic.

Step 3 - Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan and then add the sausage pieces. Cook on a medium heat for 7 minutes until the sausages are browned on all sides.

Step 4 - Add your vegetables (including the garlic which can be crushed right in) and let cook for another 5 minutes until the onion is beginning to soften. While this is cooking prepare 400ml of chicken or vegetable stock, and drain and rinse one tin of mixed beans and one tin of lentils.

Step 5 - Add your beans and lentils to the pan and pour on your stock. Add a good couple of sloshes of worcestershire sauce too. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 15 minutes (by this time the carrots will have softened and your dinner will be ready). Around the same time, begin to cook your rice (or whatever you plan to serve the stew with).

Step 6 - Add 1 tablespoon of wholegrain mustard to the stew to taste and a generous sprinkling of black pepper and parsley. Serve with the rice and enjoy!

* Sausages often get a bad reputation but as long as you buy minimum 90% meat content they are actually healthy - I usually buy mine from a butcher to be sure.

xoxo