Something Different

Hello  gorgeous followers, hope everyone is well and happy! I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend too : ) Mine was great, I ran revision on Saturday again (my last Saturday revision and stupidly early start until exam season in June!) then went for my monthly wander around Rochester with co-pilot Clare. We love to take in the quaint little antique and home shops before stopping for a gorgeous lunch in our favourite shop/restaurant! I stayed round Clare's Saturday night and then returned home this morning. Waiting for me were some beautiful Christmas presents from hubby's grandma which I loved and put a huge smile on my face : )

 Later today hubby and I decided to lunch out at Chiquito's which has just opened near our house, there will also be a Nando's soon right next door, by the looks of things today it is very nearly finished, woohoo! We devoured three courses which left us stuffed, so much so that I didn't even want any popcorn when we went to the cinema afterwards! We saw Warhorse which was amazing, I shed a fair few tears as did hubby! ; )

As I like to mix it up from time to time, today's post is a foodie one, a dish that I made recently and enjoyed immensely. Hubby and I both love an Indian takeaway, and I also love making healthy curries in the week too. My recipe for healthy chicken korma comes from my favourite Sally Bee cookbook and is a winner in terms of health and taste.

1) Chop up a range of veg, whatever you fancy and enjoy. I chose green beans, courgette and red pepper.

2) Over a medium heat, heat some olive oil and saute the two onions, a couple of chopped chicken breasts, two crushed cloves of garlic and a peeled and chopped medium apple. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes and then stir in 4 teaspoons of mild curry powder.

3) Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until the veg start to soften and the chicken has sealed in the spice.

4) Add 300ml of chicken stock to the pan, sultanas (if enjoyed, I left them out because I do not like them), and 2 tablespoons of tomato puree. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

5) Just before serving, add some chopped coriander and 4 tablespoons of low-fat creme fraiche or fromage frais to the curry and stir in well. Season with freshly ground black pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes but do not allow to boil.

6) Serve with hot cooked basmati rice, adding one spoon of creme fraiche to each portion as you serve.

Very yummy and healthy too! Well that's about all from me today, I am looking forward to a slightly more laid back week, final GCSE until June is tomorrow morning so things will calm down a tad (for a while anyway!) XOXO

Outfit of the Day

Hello dolls, happy Saturday to all! I am having another manic weekend again, well a bit of a manic week to be honest, finally getting some relaxing in now though, waiting for a nice takeaway and looking forward to X Factor! Thursday hubby and I saw Castor and Pollux at the London Coliseum, completely fabulous, we had an amazing time. Last night I caught up with my best friend over dinner, then we went to see 'My week with Marilyn' at the cinema. Again, very fabulous indeed, I loved the film and thought that Michelle Williams made for a superb Marilyn. Today I did a bit of shopping at Bluewater while hubby was playing hockey, I intended to buy my last few Christmas presents but got distracted with things for myself! Oh well there's always tomorrow! I bought some lovely things, which I will blog about soon : )

Just a quick outfit post today to share with you...

 I wore a long sleeved pointelle top by Free People at Urban Outfitters (love the little details like the neon green thread through the buttons!), a navy blue skirt and tan belt from Forever 21 (bought during my recent trip to Westfield Stratford) and my gorgeous and comfy tan boots with shearling cuff by Red or Dead at Schuh.

Well that's about it for today lovely readers, hope everyone is enjoying their weekend, more soon XOXO

Easy like Sunday morning

Hello cupcakes, hope this is finding you well on this glorious Monday. I am overly happy again today because of the changing season and the beautiful changes going on outside, I love driving to and from work at the moment, noticing the leaves gradually change colour and drop. I really am an Autumn person! While driving to work this morning, I heard on Classic FM that on this day, 192 years ago, John Keats wrote 'To Autumn'. Whilst studying Keats in year 13, 'To Autumn' was always one of my favourite poems, so I enjoyed this little piece of information : )


Today's post is a bit of a picture catch up of my weekend, and Sunday in particular. Sunday was a lovely day, hubby and I had a nice lie in which was much welcome after the strenuous events of the day before (see this blog post). We then had a little trip into town so hubby could get his hair cut (seriously overgrown, much like a scruffy, unprofessional student... he absolutely hates his hair long like that but claims to never find time to get to the hairdresser... men eh?!) I took the opportunity to buy a couple of birthday presents, as well as the majority of my Christmas cards (did I ever mention that I am organised??!). I also had a look around H & M and fell in love with about 10 new season items... will definitely be back soon to try on and purchase! In the afternoon, we went to the cinema to see 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy' which was an excellent film as the reviews had suggested. All in all a very pleasing day : )

Our Nutcracker tickets turned up! Eeeeee : )

What I wore: Dark denim ripped jeans River Island, leopard print pumps H & M, tiered top Primark, chunky knit cardigan (I have been waiting for the weather to wear my new super cosy cardi!) Primark. I also wore my heart necklace that hubby bought me from Agatha in Paris, and a pair of pearl stud earrings.

A couple of goodies I picked up in Superdrug. I have heard some excellent things about the new MUA range through other bloggers and in magazines so thought I would try a nail polish. I also bought a lovely natural peachy coloured blusher from one of my favourite brands, Sleek. This shade is called 'suede' and is from their new limited collection.

Awww mama's little boy : )

I know this may not be to everyone's taste, and I don't particularly love spiders but I was just so impressed by the work that had gone into this guys web! We have loads of spiders like this in the garden at the moment which is fine by me, yes I have to dodge them when I hang out the washing but better outside than in I figure!

Well that's everything for today, hubby and I have a fully loaded biscuit tin and are settling in for Corrie and Doc Martin! xoxo

Sunday Couples Shopping!

Hello Lovelies, how are you all? I am having a lovely weekend : ) Yesterday I shopped and lunched with my best friend, I got some new bits and pieces for my autumn wardrobe which I will be sharing over the next few weeks. In the evening, hubby and I went to see the new Inbetweeners movie which was really funny and completely lived up to my expectations. Today hubby and I had a nice leisurely morning, we slept in late, then got ready for Bluewater shopping centre. I have to say, hubby is not a huge shopping fan, however, we are beginning to think about buying a new TV so with that arsenal, I managed to tempt hubby there. So, we spent a pleasurable few hours looking at TV's, discussing whether a Plasma or LCD would be better, and 40 inches or 43... hubby also announced he wanted a projector screen : 0 ! I was like, hmmmm, great idea, but think we better wait til we move again, as it will be installed in our ceiling!! Lol, boys and their toys ; ) I purchased a few bits for myself too (while hubby was occupied in HMV and Waterstones!) and we ended the day in Ed's dinner, eating burgers, onion rings, coleslaw and chips : )

Ok, so I am trying to slowly introduce new season autumn colour into my wardrobe and wean myself off all the colour block brights of the summer, so today I wore my River Island dark denim jeans, my topshop tassell ballet pumps, my new Forever 21 sheer top and a lovely rust coloured chunky knit cardigan that I bought on my shopping trip yesteday, from Primark. I also wore a chunky new tribal style ring, also bought yesterday from Primark. I really like the co-ordination of colours in this outfit, and it is perfect for transitional dressing!

Lastly, can I ask you to vote for the picture I have entered of me and Woody in a facebook competition.. all you have to do is click on the picture of Woody I have posted at the top of my blog page, follow the link and it should be clear (you need to like the Westfield Stratford City facebook page, and then click on 'vote' on my picture) Thank you xoxoxo