Dans mon sac il ya...

Happy Friday lovely ladies!! Hope you have all had a fabulous week, I have had another nice relaxing week, and on Thursday I picked up my A Level results for my class which were very pleasing so I am a very happy girl : )

Today I decided to do a 'whats in my bag post' as I am always fascinated by other peoples similar posts (guess I am just a bit nosy!!) : )OK so the main items I carry on a daily basis are (from left to right, top to bottom)

1) My D & G sunglasses - I have lots of sunglasses but my favourites are my D & G pair, they are classic tortoishell, oversized and very glamorous.

2) My Vivienne Westwood purse - I bought this for myself as a birthday treat last year and I love the monogrammed style and gorgeous gold Westwood logo on the top.

3) Bottle of water - I always carry water, my favourite is Evian, or sometimes I use my bobble bottle (a water bottle with a filter) although I tend to keep this for exercise.

4) My keys - Hehe obvious one here, I have my own car key, a key for hubby's Audi, a glossy pink 'C' and a diamante 'D' (Now I am married, I need to get a 'B'!)

5) My butterfly notepad and swarovski pen -My notepad is my daily lifesaver and completely essential! I use my notepad for writing daily to do lists, monthly to do lists, ideas for blog posts, ideas for days out, appointments, anything really! It keeps me organised and makes me feel sorted and calm. My pen is pretty and filled with little swarovski crystals : )

6) Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream -Essential! This product has won so many awards, Elizabeth Arden originally designed it to soften her horses hooves, and it is now a must have for softening chapped skin and lips. I use it all the time.

7) Calvin Klein 'Beauty' perfume - I always carry perfume, this is a current favourite, it smells delicious!

8) Lipglosses - Lancome juicy tube, Maybelline color sensational lip pen (blogged about here), Bobbi Brown lipgloss and Elizabeth Arden eight hour cream lip balm. I always carry a good selection of lipglosses and lipbalms as I like to be spoilt for choice! Every bag I own has about 4 lip products in, plus I have lip balms stashed all over my house too... : )

9) Iphone - Another cannot-live-without item! I use my phone for organising myself, facebook, emails, checking the news...

10) Lancome palette - As well as lipglosses, I like to keep an eye palette in my bag too. This one has some really nice neutral colours, and the added bonus of a lip cream tray below the eyeshadows.

11) Nail products - As I blogged about here, I have been trying to improve my nails after wearing acrylics for many years. I therefore use the award winning Leighton Denny crystal nail file which is really kind on nails and lasts a lifetime. I also carry a hand cream and another award winning product, CND Solar Oil, which come in a nail polish type bottom, but is an oil that is painted onto cuticles to soften and strengthen them.

My bag is a Jasper Conran slouch bag that is very roomy so perfect for my day to day life!

Before I go, can I just ask for you to vote for me in a facebook competition? I have entered a 'family portrait' picture (me and my bunny!) and I would love you to vote for me! To make this easier I have added the picture at the top of my blog, if you click on it it will take you to the facebook page where you can vote. I think you may have to 'like' the Westfield stratford city page first, and then you can vote for my picture! Thank you so much xoxo

Sunday Inspirations

Hello lovely followers, hope you are all good and have had fabulous weekends! I have had a lovely weekend, yesterday was a very productive and rewarding day (see what I got up to here) and today was a lot slower paced. Hubby and I went into town as he was itching to spend his HMV voucher he received for his birthday, and I couldn't say no to a bit more shopping! Later, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law visited with their son which was really nice. Late afternoon I went for a run which felt great, although the heat made it harder than usual. Still, I do love to run, so I didn't mind too much : ) When I returned, I set about making dinner, trying a new recipe from my Sally Bee recipe book (which I blogged about here)

This experimentation was more than just a bit of fun: I am becoming acutely aware that the summer holidays are drawing to a close, and with this in mind, I am starting to think about our new routine. Being a housewife this summer has been brilliant, and I have truly enjoyed experimenting with different healthy dishes. I am all too aware though that upon return to work, I will no longer have the time or energy to devote to time consuming meals of an evening. I will probably arrive home around 6 0' clock and will need to plan my evenings to fit in cooking, exercise, TV, reading and marking. I am too health conscious to just accept my fate of quick, less than healthy dishes, and believe that it will simply require a little strategic planning to stay on the straight and narrow! With this in mind, I tried out todays dinner, and am pleased to say it ticked all the boxes: healthy, quick to prepare and filling.

Step 1 - Chop up your vegetables (pretty much anything goes, I used grated carrot, courgette and cherry tomatoes) and an onion. Put all the veg in a big bowl and add to this 1 cup of rice (I used wild rice), 400ml chicken stock, 2 tablespoons of tomato puree, a splash of worcestershire sauce and olive oil and lastly a good shake of oregano, thyme, garlic powder and black pepper. Mix this together with a spoon.

Step 2 - Make your 'parcel' by folding a large piece of foil in half. Add your mixture to the middle of the foil and then fold the sides up to resemble a bowl. Add one chicken breast to the top of the mixture and use a spoon to cover the chicken with some of the mixture. Step 3 - Fold the foil so that the parcel is fully covered and put in the oven for 45 minutes.

Step 3 - Fold the foil so that the parcel is fully covered and put in the oven for 45 minutes.

Step 4- Remove from the oven and eat! This recipe worked really well for me and the end result was delicious. It was quick and easy to make, but still very healthy (which is my main priority) and I think it will be a great recipe that can easily be chucked together in the morning before work ready for the oven on arrival home!

As well as cooking, I have also been trying new nail designs today and I love the result! I recently bought the beige NYC shade in Oh SoHo sweet and today I spotted the blue glitter NYC shade in Lights-Camera-Glitter. I painted the beige shade as a base coat and then applied 2 coats of the blue glitter over the top. I have to say, I was a little wary of the glitter as I have not worn glitter nail polish since I was about 13, but with the explosion of nail art recently, (and with my nail lady still away on holiday!) I have been more willing to experiment. I really like the larger blue glitter pieces and the subtle silver sparkle all over (which is not that visible in the picture).

Lastly: lipglosses! I tend to buy a lot of lip products and have many favoutites including Lancome juicy tubes, MAC lipglass and Bobbi Brown lip gloss. I also like cheaper brands as, lets face it, lipgloss is lipgloss and is never going to be that long lasting, so why pay more than necessary??! Today I tried 2 new 'matt' lip gloss type products. The Maybelline color sensational lip stain smells gorgeous and leaves a lovely pink tint behind that is long lasting and natural looking. The Collection 2000 Cream Puff is another 'matt' product and again leaves behind a nice tint that is not too strong, and lasts a fair while. I really like both of the products and they make a nice change from the usual lipgloss look I favour.

Well thats it for today, until next time dolls xoxo