Camden Passage and Upper Street - Islington

Today I had a day off work, so myself and mum decided to venture into London for a 'foodie' day. We headed to Islington after the area was recommend in 'A Foodies Guide to London' by Cara Frost-Sharratt. 

Islington is an area that I have never really visited or heard of as a place to go, however it is very up and coming. Upper Street is the main high street full of many boutiques, cute shops and an awful lot of restaurants, cafes, delis, bakeries etc! The closest tube is Angel on the Northern Line.

We first headed to Camden Passage, which is a little street off Upper Street, famous for its antiques. 

Unfortunately we chose the totally wrong day to visit and because it was a Monday most of the places were shut. (The antiques market is on a Wednesday and Sunday.) However you still got a feel for the place and a couple of the restaurants were open and I still managed to take some pictures! Places that caught my attention included The Breakfast Club, Issy's Milky Way and Fredericks. 

Next we wandered up the high street heading north away from Angel station. There are so many restaurants along the street, some places even have more than one restaurant on the same street! 
Some restaurants I will definitely be visiting were: Pasha Restaurant which specialises in Turkish food, it had a lunch deal for 2 courses for £8.95 and looked delicious. Desperadoes a Mexican restaurant also caught my attention of somwhere I would like to go back and visit as I love Mexican food! Lastly Ottolenghi looked delicious and had a queue out the door for people wanting to takeaway or eat in. The cakes and sweet treats in the window also looked divine!

Ottolenghi

We were not feeling like a large lunch so visited Euphorium Bakery which was recommended in the above book! Now there are two of these on Upper Street, one at number 79 and one at number 202! I had a sausage roll and a hot chocolate and my mum ate salmon and spinach brioche with a latte. I cannot say I was totally amazed by this place but there was a nice atmosphere and it was good to visit for a quick bite to eat! I also enjoyed sitting by the window people watching and seeing the many red buses go by! I will definitely explore elsewhere when returning to Upper Street as there is so many other places to choose from!

Where have you recently discovered to visit? xoxo

Things I'm Loving - March

So I thought I would do another post and make this a blogging tradition for me!
March has gone super quick, and it only seems yesterday that I was writing this for February! However here are a couple of my faves from March! :)

1) Scrunchies

So it looks like my favorite hair accessory from the 90's is back for 2014 and I am absolutely loving it! I have a couple of scrunchies and cannot seem to wear a ponytail without one now! I have a navy 'bunny' scrunchie from H and M (below) and some neon ones too from Forever 21 (which can be seen in my previous blog post). I think they look great for the spring/summer and will brighten any outfit. I already want some more and here are my faves!

H and M - £3.99

Topshop Gimham Scrunchie - £4.00

Topshop Colour Border Scrunchie - £4.00

Urban Outfitters Vintage Renewal Scrunhies in Floral - £4.00

Urban Outfitters Floral and Geo Print Scrunhies - Was £8.00 Now £4.00

2) Ant and Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway 

I am so happy this is back on the screen, to make any Saturday night better! I think the two of them are brilliant and not to forget little Ant and Dec! I particularly like 'I'm a Celebrity Get Me out of Ear!', I think this idea is fantastic and utterly hilarious!!

3) TOWIE

I am not ashamed to admit - I LOVE TOWIE! I am so happy the new series has started and look forward to my Wednesday and Sunday nights to snuggle up and watch all the dramas unfold. I think one of the main reasons I love this show so much is because of the amazing eye candy, particularly Mario, Dan and Lewis. My favourite story line so far has been Fran and Diags' relationship blossoming, I think they make a cute couple and Diags deserves someone amazing. I have to admit I cannot get enough of the drama and of course the many fights, fallout's and breakups!

4) Sunshine

We have been very lucky with the sunny weather weekend, and me and my friends and family have made the most of the weather, from chilling in pub gardens, picnics, walks and bike rides. Its not very often England gets any sunshine, so we like to make the most of it when it arrives! However seeing girls in short shorts is taking it a bit too far, its only March!

5) Friends

This may sound cheesy but this month has also shown me that my girls are the best therapy you need! Just seeing them and spending time with my friends makes everything better. I think sometimes I take them for granted which I shouldn't do and this month has shown me to make the most of any opportunity with them. <3

6) Danio Yogurts

This may seem very random, but in March I have completely addicted to the new Danio yogurts which had been widely advertised. There are many flavours to choose from and I cannot quite decide my favourite but all are delicious! These are strained yogurts and are high in protein and low in fat. The yogurt is super thick and there is a fruit layer at the bottom of the yogurt. I would recommend trying one of these for your lunch!

What have been your highlights from March or what are you looking forward to in April? xoxo

No make up selfie

So recently facebook has been flooded with pictures of girls taking a selfie without makeup on and then a picture of them donating to cancer research UK or Breast Cancer Care. This viral social media campaign has raised over 2 million for cancer research which is absolutely incredible!

However, I have chosen not to take a selfie, and put it on facebook, I have donated to two charities close to my heart, one of them being cancer research. 

The reason behind these make up selfies is ‘dare to bare’, and so firstly my reason not to take one is, I often go out without make up on, so for me it is not a big deal. 

Secondly, it is like taking a picture without make up on it a big deal and for some people I guess it was, especially those who love to plaster the make up on! However in the scheme of things, this is not a ‘brave’ thing to do compared to an individual and their families who are actually dealing with cancer. To me it is like people are comparing wearing no make up to cancer, which it is not at all. 

Thirdly, the campaign is claiming that women not wearing make up is not normal. Looking at all the pictures on facebook, my friends look absolutely stunning without makeup on and I think it’s horrible the society we have become that young girls feel they need to slap on the makeup to look beautiful. Beauty is within.

Additionally, people have taken these pictures, and sure they have donated to Cancer Research which is fantastic, but then putting a hashtag such as #canceraware. However writing this or a picture of an individual’s face doesn't make anyone any more aware of the signs/symptoms of any type of cancer.

I understand this social media campaign has been a great success and I am very pleased that it has raised a staggering amount of money for a charity that affects many people. However a greater awareness of cancer is also required and I think that the true message has been hidden behind vanity, particularly in many cases where individuals and also celebrities have edited their photos etc. Taking a selfie is not exactly a brave or challenging thing. Maybe a 5k run, or a marathon, or cycle ride is a better way to raise money for charity, where you have to push and challenge yourself.

I will be running the Colour Run for Dreams Come True. Although it is only 5km, I have never run a race before and am very unfit and have little stamina. My training has already begun for it and I aim to complete the race without stopping (which is something I currently struggle with!)

 Keep donating to charities all around the world, they all need the support and awareness they can get. Challenge yourself, sign up for Race for Life, do a charity bake sale, use your imagination and do something daring for a charity that is close to your heart.

Good luck xoxo

(This article by the BBC I found very interesting.)

Spring Wardrobe - Forever 21 & Topshop

So yesterday was officially the first day of spring so I have decided to share with you my recent purchases to brighten up my wardrobe and bring some colour to my outfits.

Last week myself and a friend headed to Oxford Street in the sunshine! We started in Topshop and walked down Oxford Street ending at Forever 21.

I have a love hate relationship with Forever 21. Sometimes I go and come out with nothing, or something I go and come out with an array of new clothes. Luckily this time was a success, and I was completely in love with everything in the shop! I knew it was going to be as success as soon as I walked in and picked up the aztec crop top below instantly!

Aztec Crop Top - Forever 21 - £5.50
Cream crop top - Forever 21 - £8.75
Set 3 scrunchies - Forever 21 - £1

My favourite item was the neon green skirt, it is made of a strange material and has a skater skirt feel to it, but also body con too! It was only £10.50 a complete bargain! Perfect to wear on a night out with a crop top and heels. When the weather gets hotter in the summer the skirt will be ideal with a beautiful necklace and some sandals.

Neon green skirt - Forever 21 - £10.50

I also treated myself to two flower necklaces, ideal for Spring/Summer 2014. The necklaces in forever 21 are excellent value and their collection was amazing, there was lots to choose from and I wanted them all! I cannot wait to go back to pick up some more! I think I have a slight addiction to costume jewellery!

Forever 21 - £8.40

Forever 21 - £11.65

Finally from Forever 21 I also bough a plain cream crop top (picture can be seen at the top), this is a very versatile item and will look great with a chunky necklace and some shorts in the summer, or some jeans when its cooler.

From Topshop I treated myself to a pair of light blue 'Joni' jeans. I think Topshop make the best jeans around, and they always fit me perfectly. The Joni jeans were no exception and are the perfect highwaisted skinny jeans.I think the light denim is perfect for spring. They look great with the pineapple top (from Forever 21) tucked into them, with some ballet pumps.

Topshop - Joni Jeans £36

Forever 21 - £7.25

I also bought a white basic crop top from Topshop. I recently bought some short denim dungarees off eBay and think the white crop top will be perfect to wear underneath the dungarees in the summer with a pair of converse!

Topshop - £10

I think these perchases will be perfect in the sunshine and I cannot wait for the sun to come back out so I can wear them! Where have you been shopping recently and what was your favourite purchase?

Happy sunny shopping! xoxo

Captain America: The Winter Soldier UK premiere

Last night I was fortunate to get a ticket to go the the UK premiere of the new Marvel film, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.

The premiere was held at Westfield London, the blue carpet was in the middle of the shopping centre. We got to walk down the blue carpet just like the celebs do! However as we were not celebs we got rushed along it and told to move on, and we did not have time to take nearly enough photos. If I am honest with you, we were treated like cattle being moved along. Didn't see Chris Evans or Scarlett Johansson being told to 'move on'! Anyway, rant over, I still got to walk the blue carpet!

As the cinemas in Westfield are upstairs, the blue carpet took us up two flights of escalators, once you got upstairs and passed the stars of the show on the blue carpet it was a lot quieter and easier to enjoy yourself and take pictures. We were fortunate enough to bump into Philip Schofield and his wife! We got a few pictures with him, which was nice, he was a very friendly man as was his wife!

All the screens were used for the premiere in the Vue, 9 in total! We were in screen 1, row C. So very near the front!

I must admit I did not used to be a fan of Marvel films, however after attending the Thor: The Dark World premiere before Christmas I have started to really enjoy them. I also must admit that I have not seen Captain America: The First Avenger. However, this did not matter as I understood what was happening in the film and thoroughly enjoyed it. There are an awful lot of fighting scenes in the film, but you expect that with Marvel and I wish there was more focus on the story, however the boys will love it, I just wanted to see more of Chris Evan's toned torso ;)

I also made Captain America Cupcakes to mark the occasion and these were sold at a charity bake sale, apparently they were a success and someone even reserved one which makes me happy!!

I would definitely recommend going to see this film, there is action, romance and also some humor! Let me know what you think!! xoxo

I Can't Sing - The X Factor Musical

Last night me and my friend saw I Can't Sing The X Factor musical. We preview tickets for only £20, which is bargain for a night at the theatre. When we arrived we were told our seats and had been changed to better ones which was good as our original seats were behind a pillar - thanks Palladium! To top this off, there were three empty seats next to us, so we moved along for an even better view! We were three rows from the front!!

I don't really know how to describe this musical, its written by Harry Hill and is so wacky, out of this world and crazy! The story is completely bonkers, its takes the mickey out of the X Factor, but kinda glorifies Simon.

However the stage production, costumers and dancing is amazing. The actors are so talented, it made me wish I kept up dancing and made me want to get back on the stage! There is so much for your eyes to see, and lots of special effects (even magic) and lots of outfit and stage changes too.  I won't spoil it but the special effect at the end was my favourite bit!

It is also very funny, the jokes are adult humour and brilliant! It is definitely a light-hearted musical to go and watch for a good laugh!

I don't know if I would choose to see it again, however it is a musical I can tick off my list that I have seen in London's West End.

Thanks for a great evening Simon Cowell! xoxo

Oxfordshire walk and pub lunch -The Swan Inn

Spring is most definitely here so my family and I decided to take advantage of the clear blue sky's and temperatures of 15c and go on a long countryside walk with a pub lunch. We drove to the beautiful and quintessential village of Burford in Oxfordshire and did a long walk with a pub lunch in the middle.

We visited The Swan Inn in Swinbrook. It was a beautiful pub where in fact David Cameron took President Francois Hollande for lunch recently. As it was a Sunday they were mostly serving Sunday lunch, however I had half a chicken and skinny chips served with harissa mayo - delicious! The choice for starters, mains and also puddings was superb.I wish I could've had a starter and a pudding but my main course was so filling! The pudding that took my attention was the bramley apple crumble served with cinnamon ice cream. According to a little note on the menu this is what Cameron and Hollande ate so it must be good!! 

Sun Glasses - H and M
Scrunchie - H and M
Scarf - Morocco
Jumper - New Look 915
Hoodie - Topshop

Wellies - Town and Country
Leggings - River Island

I will most definitely be back to this pub and also do the walk again, the views were simply stunning and it was English countryside at its best! 

Enjoy the sunshine xoxo 

The Scone Debate

I recently watched Mary Berry Cooks on BBC 2 and have been craving a warm scone with clotted cream ever since. So my little brother and I made some scones this afternoon. I thought I would share the recipe with you as it is very simple and also super quick, so ideal when you want to whip up something sweet in a rush! This is not Mary Berry's recipe from the programme, however we found this recipe in a newspaper and it has been a firm favourite ever since!

Vanilla Scones
Serves 9

225g self raising flour
2 tbsp caster sugar
55g butter
140ml milk
2tsp vanilla extract
beaten egg or milk to glaze

- Pre-heat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas6
- Mix the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a bowl. Cut the butter into pea sized cubes and rub into the flour with fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs
- Mix the milk and the vanilla. Pour into the flour and mix to a sticky dough with a spoon.
- Dust the work surface with flour and scrape the dough onto it. Dust more flour on top of the dough. With hands pat into a square 2.5cm thick
- With a knife cut the dough into 9 squares, then put onto a greased baking tray. Glaze with milk or beaten egg
- Cook in the oven until golden for approx 15 minutes then cool on a wire rack

(Berries, sultanas, raisins or currents can also be added to the mixture to create fruit scones. If you want to make the scones look perfect than of course a cutter can be used!)

These scones are best served warm, with jam and clotted cream :) Unfortunately I am allergic to strawberries, so I just had mine with clotted cream!
Mary Berry said on her show that there is serious debate in the which is the correct order to put the jam and cream on the scone. I found out that in Devon they put the cream fist followed by a dollop of jam. But in Cornwall the tradition is a layer of jam followed by the cream. How do you like yours?

There is also big debate on the way to pronounce the word scone.
Is the scone gone or to does the scone go home?!

I shall leave you with that thought, Happy Baking! xoxo

Things I'm Loving - February

So February has gone pretty quick and we are suddenly into March.I thought I would take a look back at things I loved in February.

1) Jumpers 

I love jumpers without hoods at the moment, and my wardrobe seems to be full of them. As we are slowing arriving into spring, jumpers are great as they keep your warm but a coat isn't needed I just sling on my leather jacket from Warehouse. My favorite 3 jumpers are below:

Star Wars - Darth Vader - from work

Bicycles - Camden Market

Jumper - H&M
Necklace - H&M
Leather Jacket - Warehouse
Leggings - River Island
Trainers - New Balance
Bag - Forever 21
Scarf - H&M

2) Chunky necklaces

I cannot seem to get enough of chunky jewellery, it can be added to any outfit to make a statement. A plain black dress with an added necklace can complete the outfit. My favorite necklaces can be seen below:

Topshop

River Island

3) Treggings

They aren't trousers, but they are not leggings - treggings! I am loving on these at the moment and think they look great to work but also on a night out. I wore my treggings from River island on a night out in London.

Crop top - Topshop
Treggings - River Island
Heels - New Look

4) Tartan

Tartan is for life and not just for Christmas.
I recently wore a tartan bow in my hair to work, and had many comments throughout the day telling me that Christmas was over. I love tartan and think it should be wore all year round. I particularly love my tartan treggings from Topshop. I team these with a plain black top, or black leotard, chunky gold necklace and heeled black boots or pumps.

Topshop

5) eBay

I am loving eBay at the moment to sell unwanted books, clothes, gadgets etc. For the past couple of weekends it has been free to list items, which is great!
A couple of tips for you. The best time for an item to end is on a Sunday night at around 6/7pm. Therefore put your item for sale on a Sunday night for 7 days or a Thursday night for 10 days. This will ensure that the item ends at peak time so that you will hopefully make the most money. You want to avoid having your item finish at an awkward time of the day where people will forget about your item or be busy. Also ensure that you take clear pictures of the item you want to sell and give an accurate and honest description of the item - you don't want to receive a bad review!

6) The Brit Awards

Who didn't love the Brits! James Corden's last year, Beyonce's stunning performance and the weird acceptance speach from Alex Turner. It gets better and better every year, and this year sure did not disappoint. Did you agree with the winners?

7) Secrets of South America with Billie JD Porter

This was a 3 part series shown on BBC 3 and I was absolutely hooked. With the upcoming Football World Cup and the Olympics being hosted in Brazil, Billie travel's to South America to see what it is like to live there. The documentary is fascinating and looks at the extremes some young women go to enter beauty pageants, how the young generation of South America are very sexually active and experimental and also the amazing coming of age parties thrown for 15 year olds. I would thoroughly recommend watching this very insightful documentary into the lives of those living in South America, to those living in extreme poverty in the slums to the very wealthy.

8) Clean Bandit - Rather Be

I was loving this song in February, it is very catchy and spent 4 weeks at number 1. I would be very surprised if you haven't heard it!

Let's see what March has in store for us! :)

xoxo

Lemon curd & blueberry loaf

On Saturday I tried out a tasty recipe from bbcgoodfood, for lemon curd and blueberry loaf. It was the perfect day to try out the recipe as the sun was shining and outside was feeling more 'spring like'. This is definitely the perfect recipe to bake and eat on a lovely spring afternoon.

The addition of the yogurt and the lemon curd means that this cake is very moist and will last a couple of days, which is an added bonus. The lemon is not too strong but not too subtle and the blueberries add a delicious fruit twist.

I used 100g of blueberries rather than the stated 85g as this didn't seem enough.

Try out the recipe yourself and let me know what you think!

Happy baking xoxo

Recipe from http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/358609/lemon-curd-and-blueberry-loaf-cake