Friday 29 July 2011

Wellington Boots

Now, I know we're in the middle of summer, but here in Edinburgh in the not too distant past there were flash floods. And in the not too distant future, we're going to be back into a delightfully long autumn/winter. So you'll have to forgive me if today's post isn't in keeping with glorious summer weather. The colour of these caught my eye instantly, aren't they gorgeous? Common sense is telling me I don't need another pair of wellies, but they're just. so. pretty.


What a great way to add a pop of colour to grey, rainy days!

Love B x

Thursday 28 July 2011

Fourteen Days of Food: Day 11



Two foodie posts this week! I had planned on saving this for next Tuesday {in keeping with the pattern that has developed in these posts} but these were too tasty not to share. So, Day 11 comes in the shape of these delicious stuffed Romano peppers. I had only come across giant couscous in various pre-packed guises and I knew I wanted to cook with it on my own terms. Obviously when I finally stumbled across a box, I grabbed it up with both hands. This recipe is delicious and summery - we ate it as a side dish to pork chops - and is at once filling without being heavy. As usual, I can't give you exact measurements but the ingredients are as follows:

{enough for 2 portions}
2 romano peppers
olive oil
100g {roughly} giant couscous {I finally found some at Waitrose}
Feta
Mint {remember the fresh, frozen, pre-chopped packet from Waitrose?}
Chilli {I used the 'very lazy' kind}
Sea Salt & pepper to taste

I halved and deseeded the peppers before drizzling them with a little bit of olive oil and popping in the over to roast whilst I made the couscous according to the instructions on the packet. Put simply, I fried the couscous in a dash of olive oil until golden brown then added 200ml of cold water and stirred until it was all absorbed. Keep adding water until the couscous is soft. Once the couscous was cooked, I took the saucepan of the heat, stirred through plenty of chopped Feta {I really like Feta so I might've gone a bit over the top}, a good sprinkling of the frozen mint and a couple of teaspoons of the chilli. It gave it a pretty decent kick {by my wimpy standards} so go easy on that last step if you aren't a fan of hot dishes.
To finish, I simply spooned the mixture into the pepper halves {which had probably roasted for 20 minutes or so} before serving.

Enjoy!

Love B x

Parmesan Pencils


{here via here}

Wouldn't these make a perfect gift for a foodie? Shame there was only a limited first run of 500 created {and it sold out in a fortnight}. The leads in these giant pencils are actually flavoured parmesans - pesto, chilli and truffle - that you literally 'shave' over your meal. Genius. Not only that but they come with recommended portion sizes based on the scale on the pencil, as well as the calorie content of each portion. Love it!

Love B x

Wednesday 27 July 2011

Jumpsuits

Title says it all really. Jumpsuits. What do people make of them? I haven't yet brought myself to buy one, despite their popularity {I know, I'm late to the party}. I'm always slightly paranoid that they make me look like I have a very long, very flat bum - not a good look I'm sure you'll agree! Anyway, I feel myself being swayed by some of the options from ASOS. What do you think?




The full length chiffon and the slightly military-esque navy Mango piece are the stand out ones for me, but the sweet blue flower print one is pretty lovely too. I can imagine throwing it on with a pair of gold sandals for a quick example of easy summer dressing {can you tell in my head I look infinitely cooler than I probably do in real life?!}. The white chiffon & braided Chloe number is gorgeous too. I definitely think some of these would look perfectly at home in my wardrobe - perhaps I'll dip my toe in the proverbial water with the Mango number of the adorable day time flower print piece.

Anyway, yes, what do you think?

Love B x

Tuesday 26 July 2011

Fourteen Days of Food: Day 10


This is the last of the recipes from Delicious. I made the other two midweek suppers but to be honest, they were a fancy steak sandwich and a prawn pasta dish, neither of which I felt I needed to share. This was a different kettle of fish though. I've never cooked with Halloumi before - though I don't know why 'cause I think it's pretty delish. Anyway, aside from needing to stock up on the key ingredients {Halloumi and sesame seeds} this recipe was again, really straight forward. Quick yet vaguely impressive, it worked well for a mid week dinner {I'm rapidly acclimatising to working 8 - 6 again, and it feels good}.

Once again, for simplicities sake, the magazine suggested prepacked roast vegetables but to be honest, I don't really think it adds all that much prep time to chop a courgette, an onion and some peppers. I do feel I should let you in on a secret though. I always add half a packet of Mediterranean vegetable seasoning to my roast vegetables. I love the flavour, and frankly they taste better {to me}.  Makes a delicious, quick dinner even simpler.

The result is bright, colourful and perfect for a summery meal. The halloumi adds enough 'bulk' to the meal that I got away without needing to add any meat - a rare occurrence in our home. Well. I ought to clarify that. It left me feeling like I didn't need to add any meat. My boyfriend? For all there was a nearly empty plate, he kept reiterating that it was "more like a side dish".  In a nutshell, I think I can safely assume he's a carnivore: unless there is meat {or it's welcome replacement, carbs} it isn't really a meal. To each their own. I, for one, loved it. AND I was stuffed.


Ignore the ugly-ass plates. I need to buy some crockery that is not the stuff provided in our rented flat.

If anything, following these recipes has made me think a little more about the details of a meal and how much of a difference they make to even simple, mid week suppers. Paying attention to stuff like that has made me feel like I wasn't just chucking food on a plate for the sake of eating quickly, rather that I was taking the same care I would if I was making a 'nice' dinner. 

Love B x

Monday 25 July 2011

Today's Outfit: Simple


Dark Jeans + White Chiffon Top + Ballet Pumps = Perfectly simple and chic.

Top Zara, Jeans Dorothy Perkins, Ballet Pumps New Look, Watch ASOS, Bracelet Topshop

Love B x

Aamaya by Priyanka

I know I already showed you a photo of my little sale bargain, but I had to do a whole post on it. I am absolutely in love with these delicate charm bracelets from Aamaya by Priyanka.

Available on mywardrobe, I don't really feel I can justify spending £95 on a single piece of jewellery right now {even if the circle bracelet is lovely - definitely my favourite}. That's one of the reasons I was so pleased to happen upon this little bracelet in the Topshop sale for £2.50 {a little bit more in my price bracket}.  It has the same delicate feel to it, with a fine gold look chain, and the single wing charm is sweet. Whilst I think it would look nice as part of a stack of bracelets, I've been wearing it quite a lot by itself - I like the simplicity of it on it's own. 


What do you think? Have you seen anything else similar? I'd love more like this!

Love B x

Sunday 24 July 2011

Sunday Best

Time to round off the week with a snapshot of some of the things making me smile:


Delicate charm bracelet in the Topshop Sale


New cafe bowls from Anthropologie. I couldn't resist. Which leads into..


The dips I made to go in them when we had friends round. Well, I made the guacamole. Good intentions and all that.


Coffee & a vanilla fruit pastry with a friend {so delicious}


And finally, gorgeous yellow roses that came with the sweet note - "life is brighter with flowers".

I hope you all had a lovely weekend! What did you do?

Love B x

Saturday 23 July 2011

Today's Outfit: Black Chiffon



I say 'today's'. Technically, I mean last night. I even got my boyfriend to take this as we were out - hence the dark sky and the photo from my blackberry. Regardless - I wanted to show off this beauty. All credit for this find has to go to my sister - she bought it for my graduation and as soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to add it to my wardrobe. It's from a brand called Mint Velvet which, if you happen to look at the website, doesn't come across all that well, and to be honest, I don't know if I would've looked through the rails had I not known of this coat's existence beforehand.  Reduced down to £45 from £89 in the recent sales, it's a black chiffon trench coat with 3/4 sleeves and it is perfect as a throw on jacket on summer evenings. You're definitely going to be seeing this beauty again. Hopefully with a better photo that actually shows the detail on the jacket...

Chiffon trench - Mint Velvet, Top - Topshop, Jeans - Dorothy Perkins, Shoes - New Look, Clutch Bag - Zara

Love B x

Friday 22 July 2011

Feather



Despite being totally out of character {and out my clothing comfort zone}, I think I am going to need this feather gilet in my life. It's totally not something I would wear but I don't think this photo is doing it justice - in fact, I can't imagine an outfit less me. I'm imagining wearing it with dark jeans and boots over a black leather jacket and/or a fine knit grey jumper. In my head, it looks incredible for autumn/winter in Edinburgh. In reality, I don't know. Like I said, it's not the kind of thing I would normally wear. Still, I can't get it out of my mind...


Love B x

Thursday 21 July 2011

House Numbers


Isn't this a clever idea? I spotted it when I was out walking. I barely noticed it at first. Once you do though, you can't miss it  - a bit like those magic eye 3D puzzles {anyone know the ones I mean?}.  I think it makes a great departure from your average house number. Again, excuse the rubbish BB photo, should've taken my camera with me! I tried to find some more examples online but can't? Maybe I'm not looking in the right places? That or it's pretty original!

Love B x

Wednesday 20 July 2011

Cupcakes galore


A few weeks ago, my mum, sister and I took part in our local village fair by setting up and running our own cupcake stand.  "B's Buns" as we call it, is a long running joke in our family but we genuinely do enjoy baking and, I must admit, most of the time we aren't too shabby at it!

This was the second time we'd taken part in the fair, and we spent the bulk of the 24hours beforehand baking and icing 600 cupcakes. I can promise you, it's a bit tiring! Worth it though - we had a great day, made a bit of cash and I got to hang out with two of my favourite people doing something we love! Want to see?



                                                              

I didn't seem to take a photo of the miniature sponge cakes we did, which is a shame. My absolute favourites were the the strawberry cheesecakes. I must admit, we taste tested everything as we went along: by the end of our baking marathon we could barely face the thought of eating another sweet thing - tasting the buttercream icing was hellish!

My absolute favourites are these beauties. I'd iced cakes as roses before but it was my sister's idea to put them into bunches.  I have to say, I think they're absolutely beautiful - too good to eat almost! I think she came across the idea but couldn't tell you where for the life of me.




They looked so pretty!

Love B x

Tuesday 19 July 2011

Today's Outfit: Neutrals



If I'm honest with you, I love this combination of clothes. The combats are a pretty new addition to my wardrobe: I did have an ASDA version of the Houlihans {thank you student budget} and initially they held up their end of the bargain. After a while, however, the elastic waistband eventually gave up the ghost and stopped pinging back into shape. These are a welcome replacement {I had been searching for a while}. They sit just above the ankle and, even with a little bit of stretch, they are still slim fitting after a few wears. FYI, the colour in the second photograph is far more true to life. The top is one I bought back in winter, just as spring collections were starting to make an appearance and it's perfect for the changeable Scottish summer weather {glorious sunshine one minute, chucking it down the next}. It was also perfect for work - casual enough to be practical, but with enough interesting details {in the knitwear and the on the knee's of the trousers} that stop it being mundane.

Trousers Zara, Knitwear Warehouse, Ballet Flats Newlook.

Love B x

Fourteen Days of Food: Day 9

Sorry for the poor quality photos - I probably ought to think about a new camera. That, and I was rather hungry so I was somewhat rushing...


Second Delicious recipe here. Once again though, I ended up playing around with the recipe a little bit because I didn't quite pay thorough enough attention when translating the recipe into a shopping list. Consequently, I substituted a couple of ingredients, and skipped another entirely. No bother!

I substituted 'wholesome grains' for Merchant Gourmet mixed grains - not exactly a big substitution. I obviously don't know what the recipe would be like with the original ingredients but I can't imagine it would that be that much different/different really at all. The recipe also called for pre-roasted peppers. Having just bought ordinary peppers, with the intention of roasting them myself, I consequently completely forgot about them until it was far to late to add them to the recipe. Doh. The final substitution was a pre-mixed summer salad mix. I simply used the frozen chopped mint and coriander I had bought for the Thai rice along with some fresh chives.

No harm, no foul though. Dinner was delicious. Empty plates all round. The stew consisted of fried chorizo, chopped tomatoes with chilli, herbs, some chicken stock, red onion and the mixed grains {and technically, the peppers}. I'd post the recipe but I'm not sure if that's ok {am I worrying a smidge too much?}. Anyway, it was as simple as frying the chorizo and onions, adding everything else and letting the mix simmer for about 10 minutes. 

You could definitely taste the mint in this dish. I don't really think of mint when making most savoury dishes but it definitely gave the stew a 'summery' edge: it didn't feel overly heavy and was the perfect dinner for a gorgeous July evening.

I served it with 2 reduced fat garlic baguettes. A lot of food I know, but my boyfriend seems capable of eating a redunkulous amount of food in one sitting. I tried to hold back on eating too much garlic bread but even with it, the whole dinner is pretty healthy. Plus, there was enough left over for lunch - perfect!


Love B x

Monday 18 July 2011

Today's Outfit: New Shoes

I rarely buy new flat shoes, and when I do I am always reluctant to spend a decent chunk of money on them. On the other hand, I'm quite willing to spend money on high heels which seems ridiculous considering I spend much more time in flats. These ones from Zara were just too cute to pass up however. The pretty lace detailing on the back of this top is sweet too.



Jeans Topshop, Top H&M, Shoes Zara.

Have a good Monday!
Love B x

Time for Tea?

{available here}

My sister gave me this gorgeous tea cup and saucer set as a graduation present. She knows me so well! It's Vera Wang for Wedgwood and it is certainly making my morning cup of a tea a little bit more special {it is so dainty and pretty!}. I can't wait to add some more to my collection {namely so I'm not the only one with a teacup and saucer like some complete numpty}. I just love the weave pattern.

Love B x

Sunday 17 July 2011

Sunday Best

I know a lot of bloggers put together little lists of things that make them happy and I think it's a lovely idea to remind yourself of the little things that make you happy, however small. I've pulled together a couple for today - I think if there's any time I want reminding of the little things, it's that point on a Sunday evening where Monday morning has finally crept into my thoughts. I try not to linger on it too long though, Sunday evenings are too precious to waste fretting about Monday morning.

{dinner courtesy of Mr's Marks & Spencers}

{my favourite Jo Malone candle}

{fresh flowers on my dressing table}

It's the little things! I hope you had a nice weekend!

Love B x

Friday 15 July 2011

Today's Outfit: The Statement Necklace



Sometimes, the most simple outfit {in the case a classic white t-shirt and dark denim jeans} just needs that bit extra.  My current favourite accessory is this turquoise necklace. It brings just the right amount of interest to the outfit and the colour is gorgeous - absolutely perfect for summer. I love how just the one piece can transform even the laziest simplest of outfit choices. The photo definitely doesn't do the colour of this necklace justice - it is so vibrant in real life! I picked it up for an absolute steal from h&m and the compliments it gets are so lovely {most are aimed at knowing where it is from and how long ago I bought it}

White T-shirt & Statement Necklace both h&m

Love B x

Rainbow bright

For all my good intentions to branch out, jeans are {and will most likely remain} in pretty solid rotation in my wardrobe.  I recently dipped my toe into the water with coloured jeans, and now? Well now I want them in every colour I can lay my hands on. Slippery slope my friends, slippery slope. 

 





My current favourite pair are bright and pillarbox red {ankle length with a gold zip - I wore them the other day}.I've definitely got my eye on the same pair in bright green from Zara, or this green pair from Dorothy Perkins. I can only imagine how this is going to end up for me - much like my love of stripes, I can see coloured jeans taking over my wardrobe.

Love B x


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