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

New Jewels

Hi dolls, hope your are all having a lovely week, almost Friday now yay! After the beautiful sunshine we have been enjoying in the UK this week, the weather was not so good today, raining constantly for much of the day. Luckily I had done all my shopping and trips out and spent the day packing and organising for our festival trip tomorrow! I am sooo excited and have everything prepared which makes me even happier. The suitcase is packed and sorted into day and night outfits, I have packed an extra bag of food and snacks, and lastly, I have printed all of the information I previously researched, including details of restaurants, castles and historic houses to visit, and directions to our hotel and the festival. Oh and i've packed the festival tickets, don't want to forget those! Hubby is home from work now so all we need to do is take it easy and wait for the fun to begin!

Anyways, todays post is a showcase of some new jewellery I have bought recently. I keep seeing gorgeous little gems everywhere I go and I can't help indulging! One shop I am really looking forward to visiting next week is Forever 21, which has opened a new branch on Oxford Street. I couldn't find it (did I ever mention I am rather directionally challenged!) when I visited Oxford Street the other day, so hubby has promised to help me find it when we head to London next Tuesday. I keep reading about how good the shop is, and how brilliant the jewellery is, so I am very excited!!

From top to bottom:

1) Shimmery green stone set on gold ring from H & M - £3.99

2) Amber gem stone drop earrings from New Look - £4.99

3) Bright pink and purple peace charm necklaces from Topshop - £1.50 each (in sale)

4) Silver with gemstone flower ring from New Look - £4.99

5) Long silver chain with large purple stone necklace - £1.99 from Boots (in sale)

6) Gold chain and charms necklace - £12.99 vintage from Rokit Covent garden

7) Long chain gold necklace with turquoise stone - £1.99 from Boots (in sale)

I love the green stoned ring from H & M, and the necklaces from Boots were a complete bargain! I only noticed them by the door as I was leaving and couldn't resisit as they were such good value! Love the vintage necklace too as it is different and very 'ghetto gold' (Carrie's phrase for cocktail gold jewellery!) Hopefully I will be showcasing some of this jewellery this weekend at the festival!

Hope you like, I can't wait to share my festival outfits with you all when I get back! Enjoy the weekend, hope the weather is beautiful for you!! xoxo

A day in the City

Hey sweeties, hope you are all having a lovely week : ) Today was another sweltering hot day in the UK and I decided to spend it in the capital. I had arranged to have lunch with one of my best friends which was very fun, not to mention delicious! We went to a restaurant called Plateau which is a gorgeous fourth-floor restaurant, looking our over Canary Wharf. We both had amazing spinach and mozzarella stuffed tortellini for our mains, and I had a set vanilla cream with strawberries and basil jus for dessert. Divine! I spent the rest of the day shopping, flitting between the shopping centre at Canary Wharf and Oxford street. It was pretty busy but I was determined to shop well, buy myself a few treats and make a mental note of the new season trends beginning to filter through!

One of the shops I was most impressed with was H & M. Now, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with H & M. I find some seasons very strong, full of got-t0-have-it purchases, and other seasons quite poor. Spring/summer 11 was pretty good so I was kind of thinking autumn/winter 11 would not be so good but I am pleased to report that I was wrong! The main trends I noticed today were muted autumnal colours such as burnt oranges, browns and dark yellow, heritage items such as tweeds, checks and padded jackets and gilets, metallic fabrics used in jumpers and cardigans, and a strong continuation of oversized jewellery, in rich golds and jewel tones. I was a bit of a kid in a sweet shop in the Oxford street branches, as they have so much stock that is more current than any other branch I have visited, and I am so ready to start working on my A/W wardrobe! I will save my purchases for another post but I will show you some of my favourite pieces from the new collection:

From top to bottom:

1) Pendant bracelet £7.99 - A lovely example of how chunky, oversized jewellery is still leading the way.

2) Chiffon blouse £24.99 - I love the wide turn-up sleeves of this top, I thimk it would look fab worn casually with jeans and chunky beads.

3) Oversized chiffon blouse £14.99 - A fantastic price for such a gorgeous piece, I would tuck this into bright shorts and wear with wedges.

4) Heritage jacket £19.99 - A fantastic price for such a key item! I really want this in my autumn wardrobe, I love the suede elbow patches!

5) Cable knit jumper £24.99 - Chunky knit styles are all over the high street at the moment. I cannot imagine buying them yet in this weather but come September, I will begin to invest.

Hope you like my selections, let me know what you think! xoxo