Paris with Cote Restaurant

Back in January I had an amazing surprise - I won a competition! Hand on heart I hardly ever win things, I'm not a serial competition enterer but I had such a lucky December when i saw Cote running a competition on their new Instagram channel I thought, why not! I mean who ever wins these things, I forgot all about it so was over the moon when an Instagram message popped up on my phone from Cote restaurant in January to say I'd won a weekend away in Paris. I mean...Paris...the city of romance, amazing food and so much culture you could burst! I was ecstatic and told everyone at work in earshot. Sad but true.

The lovely people at Cote booked our Eurostar so we could enjoy almost 3 full days in Paris and a hotel for two nights so central it was a 30 second walk to the Louvre - dreamy.

Adam took me to Paris for my 30th Birthday but we also went to Disneyland so there were still so many places I wanted to tick off my list this time around. We decided to walk almost everywhere as the weather was so sunny and bright it seemed a shame to miss everything around us stuck on the metro. My lovely friend Melanie from work wrote me a list of 'must do's' since she's half French and I ticked pretty much everything off her list! Below is what we did over 2 and a half days - we could have squeezed in more I'm sure but it was just fantastic exploring and taking our time:

Day 1 - Stroll around the area you're staying and find one of many amazing cafes for lunch. I had Salade de Chevre Chaud which was on my list to eat - a salad with thick slices of duck and goats cheese on toast. Delicious. 

Day 2 - Go to a traditional bakery for breakfast. We actually went to a bakery around the corner from us- Mason Kayser. Visit the Louvre (they open at 9am even on Sunday so get in early to beat the crowds!), head to Saint-Paul and eat amazing Falafel at L'as du Falafel. Yes you may have to queue for an hour but believe me it was well worth the wait! It started raining so we queued but you can takeaway too. Visit the shops (a few gems amongst the well known labels), stroll down to Bastille, stop off for a glass of something red at and  thenoff somewhere fab for dinner. We went for Ramen (I know I know we were in Paris but it was really good!).

Day 3 - Visit Galeries Lafayette for amazing architecture and oh so many labels! Walk up to Monmatre & get photos of the city, see the Basilica of Sacre-Coeur, head down to the Moulin Rouge, stop for lunch, walk down to Jardins Du Trocadero and relax by the fountains and up to the Eifel Tower. Phew! 

A HUGE thank you to Cote for offering such a fantastic prize1 Head over to the lovely people at Cote Brasserie on Instagram as they're still running some fab competitions. This month you can win a Theatre Break in Glasgow (a city I loved living in when I did my MA). Good luck if you enter and let me know if I missed anywhere off my Paris must-do list! 

April Favourites - Rimmel & Collection Make Up

I could while away so many hours mooching around the make up department checking out new products, so when I popped into Superdrug recently for some new foundation I couldn't help having a look around the sparkly new offerings!

I'm quite pale so sometimes struggle to find foundations that are the right match. I've got a Rimmel Foundation at the moment but fancied a change for Spring so plumped for their Rimmel Lasting Finish 25hr Foundation with comfort serum £7.99 which is apparently sweat, heat and humidity proof! It's a little darker than my usual colour but it adds a nice hue for Spring Summer. I wore this when I went to Paris last weekend (a post to come on that next week!) and it certainly stood a full day out and about so I'd highly recommend if you're looking for a good medium to high coverage foundation at the moment that still feels light on the skin,

I also picked up a new Rimmel Kate Sculpting Palette £6.99 from their Kate Moss range. Sculpting isn't going away any time soon so this contouring 3 step system is a great 3 in 1! The colours are perfect for so many skin tones however my one gripe is the highlighter isn't as shimmery as I'd like, it's very subtle but that's just my taste. 

From top to bottom: Highlighter, Contour, Blusher

My final purchase was the new Collection Illuminating Primer  £4.99. I've almost run out of my Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot primer and fancied a change to something not so matte. This primer comes in two shades for either cool or warm tones, I went for the cool shade which is a shimmery pink and although it looks very shimmery in the tube it goes on very smoothly and leaves a very subtle irredencence to the skin so it's great for popping on before foundation to give a little bit of a glow.

Superdrug have 3 for 2 across all make up at the moment so great to stock up if you need a few items!

Recipe Time with Simply Cook

I love a variety when it comes to food and can't eat the same things week in week out but oh my days it gets hard trying to think up different meal plans! Yes spaghetti bolognese makes it onto my recipe list fairly often as does a good old chilli but I love the new era of food delivery boxes or recipe help. So after trying a few expensive food delivery boxes and not being able to afford to keep them up I heard about Simply Cook so had to give them a try.

After browsing though their lovely list of recipes you pick your favourite 4 and will receive a little box of recipe cards along with base ingredients to make your meal happen. All you need to do is shop the big essentials e.g. chicken, rice, veg. etc and they can even email you the ingredient list so you don't forget. I know, I did think £8.99 for the herbs and spices however you get really condensed pots of product and it's great quality plus the meals so far have all been SO TASTY as well as healthy and no more expensive then my normal shop. 

Here's my favourite meal from last week and how you can give it a go (I've added in a guess of the herbs and spices plus an extra pepper so you can make it however it won't be quite as good as Simply Cook's version!) 

Spicy Cajun Chicken Quinoa 

What you'll need:

2 chicken breasts

70g dried quinoa

70g dried apricots, cut in half

100g ready to use puy lentils

1red onion, sliced

100g frozen peas

Garlic Paste (buy or make from 3 cloves of garlic, pinch of tumeric & a little water)

Cajun spice (buy or make from salt, garlic powder, paprika, black pepper, onion powder, cayenne pepper, oregano, thyme, and red pepper flakes until evenly blended)

Chicken Stock

 Tzatziki (optional)

Coriander (optional)

Heat the oven to 200C/180C  and toss the chicken breasts in the Cajun Seasoning and place them on a lined baking tray. If you can marinade earlier in the day or overnight it'll be even tastier. When the oven is hot bake the chicken breasts for 20 mins.

Bring 400ml of water to the boil in a saucepan. When boiling, stir in the Chicken Stock. Add the quinoa to the stock. Give it a quick stir then reduce the heat to medium and cover with a lid. Let it simmer for 10 mins. If you want to be really lazy (I definitely was!), try the microwaveable quionoa from Sainsburys - already flavoured and so tasty! 

If you're doing the quinoa the proper way once it's simmered, add the apricots and lentils and cook through for 5 mins more.

Heat 2 tbsps oil in a frying pan over high heat and add the sliced onion and peppers and stir-fry for 1 min. Add the garlic paste and stir-fry for 1 min and then add the frozen peas and stir-fry for 2 mins more.

Remove the chicken from the oven and set aside. When the quinoa is fully cooked add it to the frying pan with the onion, peppers and peas and mix together thoroughly on a medium-high heat for 1 min.

Divide the quinoa between 2 plates and top with the cajun chicken and some yoghurt on the side with coriander sprinkled over if you have some.

If you want to try a box for £1 (if you don't like them you can cancel after your £1 box but I'm sure you'll LOVE it). then click here Remember you can choose to have a new delivery weekly or monthly so if you're like me have a week off meal planning per month. 

Let me know what you think! 

Where have I been?

I'm here to take my own advice! Canvas from Primark Home £3

So yes...hi, it's been a good old while hasn't it! I'm back, rather sheepishly after too much time off due to a) wondering why I was writing this blog in the first black b) not having the time to write anything half decent and c) comparing myself to other incredible blogs and feeling a bit, well, pants.

I work in the social media world 9-5.30 and teach singing at the weekends and this year I've really felt the struggle to juggle my time and give myself space to think creatively to really dedicate the time needed to nurture my little corner of the internet. 

BUT I can't deny it, I love writing, I love documenting fun little activities or amazing food and lets not get started on my love of clothes, make up and a good old bargain. So I'm back, and have vowed to post at least once a week, to really get involved in this community and to just enjoy it. I love reading blogs and still regularly sit on my lunch and read my faves along with a few vlogs. but it's hard not to compare, or wonder how they find the time to post so much content or how I don't have the latest must have camera or lighting. But I should just be me and put silly self doubt and just get on with it!

So there you have it. Tiny violin is back in it's case and I've already got my next couple of posts almost ready to go! So you'll see a new post every Friday morning with the first coming on the 8th April.

Hope you're having a lovely week

I've got braces

Happy Valentine's Day! A random post for today you might think but hey, I'm working from home and multi-tasking during lunch so what better time to update you.

So yes...I now have braces, C-Fast braces to be precise. I've always had minor issues with my teeth since a teen where I had a retainer. I have a wonky front tooth and lets not even go there with my bottom teeth but thankfully they're pretty well hidden! As a teen I was offered fixed braces top and bottom for 2 years as well as two teeth out. I politely declined at because just weren't cool back then, hardly anyone I knew had them.

WHY DID I SAY NO?! If I could go back I would tell my 14 year old self to get them done, I'd be thankful when I'm older and I wasn't cool anyway so no one would have cared. But hey ho, here I am years later paying to get them sorted. Now I know, they aren't horrendous and don't affect my life but they were getting worse and making me feel quite self conscious so after almost 5 years of umming and ahhhing about getting them done I took the plunge!

They're more obvious in real life but this due to lighting!

So here they are! I originally wanted Invisalign because they're almost invisible and can be taken out to eat and the results are really fast however I was quoted almost double the cost of my C-Fast and these beauties only take up to 6 months! They are clear however they're in no way invisible. I've had them in for a month now and I'm used to them but it took a good week to get past the discomfort and the fact the braces felt huge. Tip for anyone else considering braces - when they tell you the things you can and can't eat...follow it! I ate a curry a week after having them fitted and stained them which still hasn't totally gone. Ha!

I'll be sure to update you but I can already see some movement and am having the wires changed tomorrow so it's all looking positive! I've decided to get them whitened as well once the process is over, another thing I've always wanted but couldn't justify the cost but I thought I may as well since I'm going through with the braces.  

I've loved hearing people's brace stories so if you've had them or are considering them let me know!

Zara feather bag - Product of the Month

Happy weekend! What a week it's been, I've had a lot of work on with a showcase event for lots of lovely journalists and bloggers in my normal 9-5. I don't usually talk about my job too much on here but it was an amazing event and went really well so the late nights were well worth it! 

So onto my item of the month - how gorgeous is this bag from Zara?! My lovely auntie got me a voucher for Christmas and after putting about £300 worth of product in my basket (does anyone else always do that??), I remembered I was on a tight budget and stuck to the price of my voucher. 

This little beauty is £29.99 from Zara and I LOVE IT.  I don't have lots of bags, just a select few and my trusty black going out back (also from Zara) which I've had for a few years, has certainly seen better days.

This bag is faux suede with silver feather detail, silver chain and a sturdy boxy body. It'll go with so many outfits and is a really great size. Hope you like this little suggestion and have a lovely week! 

2016 is well & truly here

Well I'm very late with this but Happy New Year! 

I had an amazing 2 whole weeks off work over Christmas and really switched off. I went back home to Manchester and spent quality time with my friends and family and had so.much.fun. I'm starting to really miss home, what an almost 2yr old nephew and 3 pregnant friends it's been a tug on the heart strings to come back to London but more about that in another blog post! 

I didn't check the blogging world at all but it's been REALLY hard to get back into my usual work routine but now I've made a list of blog posts for the next month I'm ready to start enjoying my blog again and have some goals for 2016. 

So New Year, it's a funny old time. I've always liked NYE, you get to get dressed up, party with friends or family, toast to a new year and make lots of resolutions you probably won't keep. But, as I've got older, it's not the big deal I thought it once was. London is expensive, the fireworks are amazing but once you've been stuck in the middle of crowds at 2am trying to get on a tube/train you'll never want to attempt it again. Everyone lives so far away - gone are the days of a house party unless you fancy a jaunt to zone 6 where your friend lives and maybe/definitely sleeping on the floor. 

Since I've moved to London with Adam, we've never had NYE together as he used to work in a pub and always ended up working  (all about the dollar), so this year we decided to keep it casual and go to the local pub. Only I hadn't thought ahead, even 3 weeks before the night everywhere was booked up. Thankfully we managed to get one of the last tables at a nice pub in Blackheath, we'd eat, drink and get home in time for the fireworks. 

But....I ended up winning tickets to the Sky Garden thanks to View London! Thank goodness I checked my work emails from home, there was the email saying I'd won a competition and to just rock up at 9.30pm. A live band, free champagne and view of the fireworks, YES PLEASE! I rarely win things but have had a lucky streak recently (shame I didn't win that huge lotto jackpot this weekend!).Huge huge thank you to View London for this amazing NYE and also ASOS for the most gorgeous dress I've ever worn!  

It was so beautiful, the cocktails were incredible, staff were lovely, the view amazing, and the band really made the night. At £150 a ticket I'd never splash out for New Years Eve but it was really special and something I won't forget. If you're in London I'd recommend a visit, they are open all day so you can grab a bite to eat and see London in style. 

Hope you had a fabulous new year whatever you got up to! 

Winter Skin Saviour

You wouldn't know it was December today with the spring-like temperatures but boy does the up and down of hot to cold play havoc with my skin this time of year. Thankfully the lovely people at Nutricentre got in touch to ask if I'd like to review one of their beauty items. Nutiricentre specialise in American imports of health items you can't always get elsewhere in the UK alongside staples for a healthier lifestyle and practitioner advice. I plucked for their Jason Natural Vitamin E Oil from Nutricentre.com £9.89

 I won't lie, I don't really know what the numbers and letters stand for but I presume it's the concentration of the oil in the same way you can get stronger vitamin tablets! Vitamin E is well known to help combat anything from sun damage to dryness and the great thing with this oil is it can be mixed into your daily moisturiser and used on your body & face.

I've been using this for a good two weeks now mixed into my usual body lotion and face moisturiser and it's so lovely and light but I've really noticed my skin has felt moisturised for longer. I'm prone to small patches of eczema in the winter and popping on some concentrated oil and massaging in has really helped to ease it.

If you have any magic winter skin tips let me know as it can't be 15 degrees in December forever!

Product of the Month - This Works Sleep Range

Sleep is a big deal for me. I've been working 7 days a week at the moment so getting a rested nights sleep has never been more important! In London, living on a busy road I have no trouble drifting off but waking up numerous times in the night is a problem. Heading home to Manchester I sleep through the night as I have lovely quiet dark room so any help to get close to this blissful nights sleep is always welcome!

Cue This Works and their absolutely amazing Sleep range. The aim of their range is promote a good nights sleep and with lavender, eucalyptus and a hole host of other natural oils, I'm already addicted.  I've tried their This Works Sleep Stress Less £12 and Sleep Plus Pillow Spray £16. Stress Less is a roller-ball of oils you can pop onto pulse points, the spray is exactly what it says, a pillow spray. The strap was a samples size but I'll definitely be investing in a full size (even Adam loved it's soothing scent). It really helped me and Adam dift off quicker and although I still wake up in the night, I'm finding it easier to drift back off to sleep. I have the bath and show products on my wishlist for the perfect relaxing end to the night. 

I'm pretty strict with my bedtime routine (because I know how crabby I am if I don't have enough and 6am starts are no fun on a few measly hours!)

My tips for a good night's sleep

1. Don't eat or drink too late. I try to eat before 7.30 if possible so I give my body time to digest and relax.

2. Before bed, set some time aside to organise anything you might need for the next day. I set up my workout gear for the morning (I can hardly function at 6am so this helps a lot!), decide on my clothes for the next day and write any 'to do' lists for the next day. This way you won't have any small jobs niggling on your mind. 

3. Leave your phone in another room. I turn my phone off and leave it in the living room so I'm not tempted to sit and scroll through Instagram or check emails etc. 

4. Treat bedtime prep as a bit of you time. I like to moisturise my hands and feet, pop some cuticle oil on, add a slick of Elizabeth Arden 8hr cream to my lips and roll on my This Works oil. I know, glam it is not but you'll feel so much better for it in the morning! 

5. Read - I'm guilty of not giving myself time to do this. I love reading but most of time time I'll get trough a couple of pages and already be nodding off. 

6. If you're anything like me and need a nice dark room to be able to drift off in, invest in some blackout curtains or even a eye mask. 

Marble Mac Cover & Clock

Marble Mac laptop cover from the wonderful eBay! 

Marble is everywhere. Pop over to Pinterest and you’ll see what I mean, I’ve well and truly immersed myself in this trend (along with everything copper).

Adam isn't so keen on the copper theme – especially my tray from h&m which he thinks looks like small baking tray. Yep.

I've seen this Macbook cover over on so many blogs from the US or Etsy but the shopping was £££. Knowing me I needed to find a cheaper alternative! Step in eBay and a few week wait for delivery from China and boom. Mac transformed!

Also whilst we’re talking marble I've actually just ordered this gorgeous solid marble clock from Next at a bargain busting £12!! I've seen similar clocks on Made.com and it's a great copy for this Amara clock at over £200! 

Happy shopping! 

Jo Malone

Jo Malone to me just screams sophistication. Everything from the elegant stores, the stunning scents, to the way they box every item with such care, it's pure luxury to me. I've never had a perfume before however I did get a candle for Christmas a few years ago which was so beautiful I didn't want to light it! 

I had a mini break in Bath recently and popped into Jo Malone to test some scents to pop on my Christmas wish list. The staff were so attentive but not overbearing, after explaining what I liked and testing a few samples I decided I was in love with Peony & Suede Blush. This is a romantic floral scent. which is strong (as you'd expect from Jo Malone), but not overpowering. The assistant asked if I had 15 minutes for a complimentary hand massage and as we weren't rushing anywhere I said a big fat yes. 

Adam reclined in the man chair and I was poured flavoured water, my jewellery was placed in a little black fabric pouch and I had an amazing massage. I was told that the Earl Grey scent really compliments the Peony so I had my hands are arms washed in the Peony Shower oil which was so silky soft and had  scent that really stuck which I'm not used to with shower or body oils. I was then moisturised with the Peony & Blush body crème and spritzed with the Earl Grey perfume. The layering created something I've never experienced before, I couldn't stop smelling my arms and hands for hours afterwards!   

Jo Malone has a large range covering all types of scent from floral to citrus to woody so there's really something for everyone, Yes it's expensive but the quality you're getting is worth every penny. If you pass by a Jo Malone and haven't been in, I'd suggest popping in and trying out some scents (and getting a mini massage too!), you won't leave empty handed! 

Stylist Live Event

Stylist Magazine has made many a commute more manageable and I was lucky enough to get free tickets to their recent Stylist Live event in London last weekend! The event promised champagne, stalls galore with discounts, tasters, free styling, fashion shows, inspirational talks and just a whole load of fun and I wasn't disappointed.

Accompanied by my gorgeous friend Ruthie, we headed to Angel on Sunday ready to experience some serious style. We were greeted with branded tote bags and a glass of fizz which went down surprisingly well for 11am! After a quick photo or two we went to check out the catwalk presented by Edith Bowman.  It had a handy info card with all of the labels included in each segment of the show which contained a great mix of brands set to some kick ass tunes meant we had a fun 45 minutes and drooled over a lot of items.  

12pm and the main space was super busy but we managed a cheeky photbooth snap, picked up some great samples from Lindt and Green and Blacks and found our other favourite stands. Aveda, GHD and Rush were offering hair styling for free along with Nars and Clarins offering make up help and discounted treatments. Unfortunately for us the queues were over an hour or waiting lists were fully booked but who was I kidding - my hair is so short there's next to nothing can be done with it!  

We still managed to do some of our own testing on the Nars counter where I fell in love with this bright pink lipstick named Fanny £24 and Ruthie was coveting their perfect nude Brigitte lipstick. Both have now gone onto my Christmas wish list.

We dined on a healthy lunch of salad and smoothies (only because the Mac & Cheese stand was heaving), listened to the fantastic Katie Piper give a talk on inspirational woman, purchased a couple of presents from the This Works sleep range, which is amazing by the way, and headed on home.

It was a lovely way to spend a Sunday and hopefully there'll be many more of these types of event in the future! 

What's New - Home

First of all....sorry for being SO quiet of late! This was not my plan at all I had so many posts lined up to write but then I got mega man-flu type ill. It knocked me sideways for the best part of two weeks  which is so unlike me. As well as that my non blog job has been crazy busy meaning any lunchtime blogging went out of the window, and then I went away for a lovely few days in Bath (a short post on that coming up this weekend!), so all in all a blooming busy month!

So, here I am, I've been aching to get back into writing! 

Right, homeware. One of my favourite addictions. I love how the smallest things can make a big difference at home but that also comes at a price, and the price for me is space. I'm like magnet to little trinkets, flowers, photo frames, candles, you name it, I'll want to buy it. But those of you that know me, my London flat is smaaaaaall. So to spread out the lovely little things I found this simple ladder shelf:

I saw an almost identical shelf in M&S in real wood but after some shopping around I managed to find this beauty for £37.95 on Amazon. It came flat packed but was super simple to put up and I think it looks pretty lovely! It's slim so can go in the smallest of spaces and they also have short ones to have as an alternative bedside table which is a nice idea.

What do you think? Do you have any little home gems you've purchased recently? Let me know!

Home Scents

Yankee Candle Clean Cotton Decor Diffuser £21.99

A gorgeous smelling home is just so comforting to me. Candles, diffusers, oils or wax tarts, I've got them all! So I thought I'd run through some of my favourites and give you some ideas if you're not a candle/diffuser obsessive like me! 

1. Candles

I hold my hands up, I'm a candle addict. Not so much over summer (that's diffuser or wax tart territory), but as soon as it starts to get darker in the evenings, boom, those scented candles are out and lit faster than you can say yankee candle. 

For a start, they give off a romantic glow whether you'e having a cosy date night in, friends over to watch a movie or having your very own pamper night (and wine...don't forget the wine), they give a gorgeous glow. Secondly, they smell amazing, if you pick the right candles. I used to be a sucker for a cheap Ikea or Matalan scented candle but spend those extra pennies and the scent you'll get will last the whole burn, not just the first time. 

I always ask for candles for Christmas or birthdays and these are just some of the gems I've either used before or have waiting to use this winter:

Lily-Flame Fairy Dust - £9 or they do jars for £12 sweet smelling and oh so pretty!

The White Company Pomegranate - £20 and a double for Jo Malone Pomegranate Noir at less than half the price. Rich but not overpowering.

Jo Malone Wild Fig & Cassis- £42 I got this as a gorgeous gift and it was one I found hard to light because Jo Malone is always so beautifully packaged (and expensive!) but the scents are out of this world and travel through the whole house.

Yankee Candle Fireside Treats - £21.99 but you get a lot of candle for your money with up to 150hrs or burn time and all of their candles smell good enough to eat.

2. Diffusers

Diffusers are a great way to get a great scent with ease, and especially great if you have small children and don't want candles lit. Yankee Candle is the BEST diffuser I've ever used. The oil is long lasting and the one above is from their new decor range (sadly sold out in Clean Cotton which I have). I used one brand recently and the oil disappeared with a week - what a waste of £12. This will leave your house smelling fresh all.the.time. Win. 

3. Tarts or Oils

I also have a tart burner/oil burner because obviously, diffusers and candles are not enough for me. You can use oils or little wax tarts (or melts as some call them). You pop them in as a whole piece of heavenly scented wax, light a tealight and it dissolves into sweet smelling oil. Great thing with melts or tarts, they harden once you've burnt the candle and are super easy to remove. Perfect if you don't want a constant scent and want to mix scents up.  

So many lights and candles...bliss.

4. Where to Buy

You can buy straight from the websites I've linked to but for some, take time to shop around as there are always sales, discounts or end of line sites where you can save some money. QVC is another great place to buy Yankee candles as they often have special offers on the whole range (plus easy pay instalments which is amazing). If you're thinking ahead to Christmas, make sure you use Topcsahback to get money back from your purchases (i'm obsessed with cashback!).

If you've tried some brands I've not mentioned I've love to hear about them as I'm always wanting to try out new scents!

WEEKLY MEAL IDEAS & RECIPE #4

It's starting to get a little cooler now which means for me, there's always a bit of a switch away from salads and light meals to warming, comforting foods like cottage pie and homemade soups. That said, with this weeks recipe I'm definitely still trying to keep the summer vibe alive! Paella. Now it's not seafood because as much as I try I just don't get on with seafood. You could easily add some prawns into this dish but for me it's a lovely chorizo and chicken paella and it was super easy apart from a lot of checking back that it wasn't sticking. One point - make sure you have a large pan as my pan was full to brimming with this dish which made it very tricky to not make a total mess on the cooker. 

Dinners:

Monday: Cottage Pie

Tuesday: Homemade pizza with salad and coleslaw

Wednesday: Chicken & Chorizo Paella

Thursday: Piri Piri Chicken with giant cous cous & corn on the cob

Friday:  Tuna sweetcorn & mayo with jacket potatoes and salad

Saturday: Pepper & goats cheese bake, potato wedges & salad

Sunday: Turkey Kofta with rice, spring onion, & tahini dressing 

CHICKEN & CHORIZO PAELLA

Serves 4-6

2 cloves garlic

1 onion

1 carrot 

1 pepper

fresh parsley (dried works ok too)

chorizo 

chicken breasts (I used three)

olive oil

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tbs tomato puree

chicken stock

300g paella rice

frozen peas

lemon

Peel and chop the garlic, onion and carrot and on another board, the chorizo & chicken. Get your pan and heat up your olive oil and add in the chorizo. I like my chorizo crispy so I crisped this up and then added all of my other chopped ingredients. Start to fry and add in the paprika and parsley, fry for 5 mins. 

Chop your pepper and add this to the pan and fry for 5 more mins. Stir in tomato puree, crumble in your stock cube and then add in the paella rice. Stir so it all gets coated and then add in 750ml boiling water along with salt and pepper to taste.

Pop a lid on, bring to the boil and then let it reduce. Simmer for 15 mins but keep a eye on it and stir every now and then

After 15 mins add in your peas (and your prawns if you're that way inclined), and stir through. ADd the lid and cook for 5 more mins. 

Serve up and garnish with lemon ready to squeeze over!

Serving suggestion - LOTS OF SANGRIA! 

What I've Been Loving This Week

I lust over things...a lot. So instead of storing these on my iPhone I thought I'd share them with you!

Like a mini little Pinterest if you like! 

1.  New Look A/W stock

I've curbed my shopping habit over the last couple of months, and I'm finding new season emails landing in my inbox hard.work. I'm on a really strict budget as I just want to get my huge career development loan paid off in the next year so I might have to unsubscribe from a lot to stop the temptation! Saying that, I had a look at New Look online (naughty) and they've got some lovely pieces and below are a few currently sitting in my wishlist!

1. Navy large face watch   2. Burgundy Top   3. Gold Leaf Ring

4. Burgundy lace bra   5. Black pom pom keyring   6, Camel Bag

2. Inspirational quote

If you follow me on Instagram you might have seen this little quote but it's really stuck with me this week. Life hasn't taken the path I quite thought it would, and that's quite scary sometimes but it's so important to take a moment to breathe, think about all of the positives in life and really be grateful. I may not have the glittering musical theatre career I once dreamed of (yet!) but I've achieved some of my dreams already and if I hadn't done certain things then I wouldn't have met the amazing people in my life and wouldn't be right where I am now. Things happen for a reason and when you're in the wrong head space it's hard to see that it might be for the best and you know what, it usually is!

3. Phone wallpaper

I love mixing up my wallpaper backgrounds as I get bored of the same old thing. I flit between designs, drawings, paintings, photos or inspirational words. It just makes me feel cheery when I look at my phone so here's the one I'm loving at the moment.

5. Plantable seeded wrapping paper

Wild About Paper came up with the genius idea of wrapping paper with seeds embedded into it so it doesn't just wrap the gift you're giving,  you plant the wrapping paper to give flowers or even vegetables! Such a cute idea and it's the gift that keeps on giving. Eco friendly and perfect for green fingered friends or wrapping a new house gift. My fave - the wildflower because it'll look amazing in the garden once it starts to bloom

My Weekend #1

I like the idea of a little mini diary of weekend fun, I'm really trying to make the most of my weekends before going back to teaching on Saturday's so I thought I'd share some of it with you! Of course - I won't be updating you on the weekends where I just veg out in front of Netflix, drink wine, and shop online...that would not make for an interesting read!

This weekend was a mix of relaxation and activities...fave! Saturday started our quite lazily, I had to wait in for a food shop (I couldn't be bothered with an Aldi trip), Adam popped out to the pub to meet friends and I settled on down to watch Into The Woods - yep I have an MA in musical theatre and was even in this musical once and hadn't watched it yet. I remembered every.word. It's just magical so I'd recommend a watch, even if you're not a musical fan, it's not a show tune 'tits and teeth' musical!

Adam came home early from the pub (CUE SHOCK), complete with a beautiful bouquet of flowers! This is a twice a year affair and it was such a lovely surprise and made me go all gooey and girly. Vom I know. The flat was nearing a sauna so I popped on a dress, put a million grips in my hair to get it off my face and headed out to the local park. It has a farmers market on a Saturday that we just missed, but it was still bustling with families as there's a lovely little lake, play area and lots of green space full of people having picnics and lazing around. A little pit stop on the cafe for ice cream completed a lovely little walk just 15 mins walk from the flat - amazing when you're in London! 

This bad boy burger with a side of frings (see what they did there), was courtesy of Fatboy's Diner just over the river from the O2. We met up with Laila (Adams sister) and her fiancée Nick & traipsed in the rain in search of what we were told would be one of the best burgers ever. Bold claims. It was a lovely old fashioned American diner but it's tiny and had a 45 min wait. By the time we finally ate I'm happy to say it was worth it - maybe not the best ever but really really good. Plus the lovely people there gave us a discount for the wait so that was a welcome surprise!

Fatboy's Diner - London

Street loveliness at Trinity Buoy

The rain finally stopped and we decided to walk the 20 mins to the Emirates cable cars and head over to the O2 for a drink. You just pay on your oyster card and head on into a car. I was feeling so brave until we got up to the highest point and felt a little wobbly - I don't think I'm scared of heights until I'm up there and having experienced vertigo a couple of times I just nibbled on yet more ice cream (trying to get my quota in before summer ends!), and looked at the floor until we started the decent! 

The O2  from a cable car

We then finished with a g&t or two (beer for the boys) in Brooklyn Bowl and headed on home as it was way later than we expected. We had a couple of friends to see on the way back and I had my bake off cake to make for our work competition  - which was a complete stress by the way. Bakers I salute you!

I hope you all had a fabulous weekend!