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!

Blogs I love to read

I love reading blogs (of course), so this week I thought I'd share some of my favourites with you!

I follow all sorts of blogs from fashion to lifestyle, home and health. I can relax and unwind in another world for a few minutes and get inspired to try out a new recipe, read reviews and check out some gorgeous items that nearly always end up on my wish-list. 

Some bloggers I follow because I love their reviews, some for their style and some because they take gorgeous photos and I love their writing style. Some are personal, some not so much but each one has a uniqueness. 

I could add so many more to this list but here are my top 6:

1. WRITE LIKE NO ONE'S WATCHING

Charlotte writes from the heart, and what started out as a lifestyle blog, has turned into a hugely successful mummy blog with all of the other lovely lifestyle bits in-between. You really get to know Charlotte and her family and this is such a genuine blog with some really inspiring writing (and great recipes!)

2. DOLLY BOW BOW

I mainly watch Kate via her YouTube channel as she does some great hauls and we all know I love to shop. Her home style is just like mine so I love getting inspiration. Again Kate started out more of a fashion/beauty blogger and has had a baby so she peppers her videos with her gorgeous little boy. Kate also has her own business selling jewellery and accessories so go check her out!

3. FROM ROSES 

I started following Rebecca because she loves a breton stripe...and if that's not a good enough excuse I don't know what is! She styles out black and white like a pro and takes really great photos with clean crisp backgrounds. 

4. MILK BUBBLE TEA

This is the sweetest blog ever. Becky mainly posts photo collections with explanations as to what she's been up to and the photos are always oh so cute. She's mixes lifestyle with life lesson pieces and it's a really lovely, easy read. Her sausage dog takes prime place on her blog along with Dairy Milk chocolate (two amazing things right?!).

5. VIPXO

 I started following Victoria's blog because she creates some great eBay basket wish-lists and I am a self proclaimed eBay whore (in the best way possible). Her posts are quick and snappy so perfect for reading on the commute. She's also posting her slimming world progress and meals which is great motivation if you're looking for motivation!

6. THE SKINNY CONFIDENTIAL

Lauryn is from California and writes like you're chatting with a friend. You might guess from the name she's really into healthy eating and being fit fit fit. She writes about anything and everything and it was her blog that got me onto oil pulling and thinking about charcoal toothpaste (yep..sounds weird I know). She's not preachy and she's funny to boot. 

 Let me know if you have a favourite blogger you think I might like!

WEEKLY MEAL IDEAS & RECIPE #3

Another week another food plan for dinner & a recipe! I've really been concious of trying new things recently as I just love looking forward to a tasty meal after work. Some are deliciously amazing and others...not so great (lentils with white wine & tomatoes I'm looking at you).

This recipe this week is a super simple Asparagus Tart. If you're not a fan of asparagus you could substitute for practically any veg you like.

Monday: Leftovers from night before

Tuesday: Fried rice with bacon, spring onion, peppers, sesame & soy

Wednesday: Chicken Tikka, salad, rice & chapati (with plenty of chutney's!)

Thursday: Halloumi with spinach & cous cous salad with a home-made mustard dressing

Friday: Cheeky fish & chip dinner with mushy peas 

Saturday: Asparagus Tart

Sunday: Roast dinner

ASPARAGUS TART 

Serves 4-6 

1 roll of puff pastry (quite frankly...who has the time to make puff pastry?)

7 tbs Mascarpone 

Asparagus

Zest of 1/2 lemon & a squeeze of juice

Handful of Basil

5 tbs Parmesan cheese (I kind of just guessed!)

Salt & Pepper

                                         

Roll out the pastry onto a large baking tray. Make sure you roll it out more or less straight from the fridge onto a cold tray to stop the pastry getting sticky if it's warm in your kitchen.

Cut the basil, grate the parmesan, zest the lemon and add all of the ingredients to a bowl along with the mascarpone. Squeeze in some lemon juice and season to taste. 

Score a 1cm line with a knife around the pastry (effectively the crust). Spread the mascarpone mix onto the pastry with a cold spoon and then add the asparagus. I always snap the asparagus before eating (bend the asparagus until it naturally snaps - the bottom section can be a little woody but you can eat this if you want to)

Pop into a preheated oven at around 180 degrees and bake for around 10-15mins. 

Voila! Cut & serve with a spinach & rocket salad dressed with some lemon zest and a little more parmesan.