Things I'm Loving - May

So May draws to a close and June is round the corner! In 9 days I will be flying to America to work in Walt Disney World Florida, so June is going to be a pretty amazing month.

Now for my May favourites :) 

1) Jelly Shoes

I have a pair of pink jelly shoes, which have featured on my blog. I didn't think I would wear them as much as I would. They are so comfy, I've even worn them on a night out! 

Here are my favourites! 

Nina Heeled Jelly Sandals - Topshop £26

Mint Green Jelly Sandals - New Look £9.99

JuJu Maxi Low Jelly Coral Exclusive - Office £20

2) Yeo Valley Yogurt

Yeo Valley yogurt was on offer in Waitrose so we decided to try them, and it was the best decision ever. The yogurt is so delicious, my three favourites are:

Greek Style with honey

Raspberry and Passion fruit

Mango and Vanilla

3) Flower Bun Holders

I have recently purchased some pretty flower bun holders, which also have featured on my blog. I think they make a messy bun look pretty. 

Asos Daisy Hair Bun Holder - ASOS £6.00

Pink Floral Top Knot Hairband - New Look £2.99

Multicoloured Flower Bun Top Hair Garland - River Island £8.00

Enjoy June! :) xoxo

Rainy Adventures in London

Yesterday I had a foodie day in London looking at the latest trends and sampling lots of delicious food followed by an evening up The Shard.

First stop was Selfridges food hall. I love Selfridges food hall there is so much there and many different products that you would not find in your standard supermarket.

My favourite was the bakery counters, Lola's had a counter in the food hall and also Selfridges had their own counter. We bought a selection of 'Cronuts' from here. I have never tried a Cronut and was excited to try this new craze. For those who do not know what a Cronut is, its a mixture of a croissant and a doughnut and has been brought over from America - of course!! ;)

We sampled the mini Salted Caramel, Vanilla and Red Velvet. These were just fried croissant with flavoured icing. My favourite was the Salted Caramel as it was the most moist and had the most flavour. We also tried a large Banana Cronut. This had banana cream filling in the middle. I am not a fan of banana flavoured things, but this was amazing. The banana flavour was so subtle and  very tasty!

We then headed to Covent Garden and Soho, we had a nosy in Hummingbird Bakery. We wanted to stay for a cupcake and a drink but there was no seating free. Instead we went next door to L'Eto Caffe. I have always wondered past L'Eto and looked at their cakes but never been in. I think that inside was a bit of a let down and nothing special. However the lemon meringue pie that I had was quite nice, but nothing special!

In the evening we went up The Shard. We had booked tickets in advance so despite the rain had to go up. The view at 8pm was not great, we could hardly see anything as the rain was covering the view and there was a lot of mist. We had chosen to go up at 8pm as sunset was meant to be at 8.59. However with the awful weather did not see the sunset, which is very upsetting!

When the lights came on after sunset the view improved slightly, however I would love to be able to go back up when the sun is shining and I can actually see the beautiful sights and landmarks on London! I personally think they should offer half price return tickets or something when you go up in bad weather, as I feel it was a waste of £50.

However my highlight of the trip up The Shard was the lift. You woosh from floor 1-33 in literally seconds. Then from floor 33 to 68 just as quick. I was very impressed with the speed, and hate to admit this may have been the best part of the experience- which is a shame!

Here are a couple of pics from the day!

View From the Shard

Lola's Cupcakes

Candy Kittens - Selfridges

Selfridges

Lola's Cupcakes

Selfridges

The View from The Shard

The View from the Shard

Hummingbird Bakery

Selfridges

Selfie with Tower Bridge!!

Selfridges

L'Eto Caffe

L'Eto Caffe

Tower Bridge

London Eye

Love xoxo

Jack Wills Tee and Rucksack

I do not own much from Jack Wills and rarely visit the shop. However I needed a new rucksack for travelling as my current one from New Look recently broke. I was scrolling through instagram and noticed a beautiful Jack Wills one, the Eastfield Backpack. I looked it up and it was £59.50, a bit too expensive for me!

A day later JW did 25% off bags and shoes, and the rucksack was advertised at £22 on the main page, my lucky day!

Eastfield Rucksack £59.50*

I bought the rucksack and arranged to pick it up in store (that's free!). However I noticed I was charged £29 instead of £22. I tweeted @JackWills_Help and they gave me a £7 gift voucher - excellent customer service! 

I went to pick my rucksack up and as I had picked it up in person was entitled to £5 any purchase in store (clever that!!). I had my £7 voucher to spend so it would be rude not to.

I found myself a beautiful white top, prefect for the summer and ended up paying only £12 for it! 

Hardwick Top £24.50*

A very happy shopper! Thanks Jack Wills xoxo


*pictures taken from ASOS and Jack Wills - picture not my own 

Cake Pops

My dear friend bought me a belated present of Cake Pop's starter kit. The two kits were from Lakeland, the first being the mould/tray the cake mixture is cooked in. The second being a pack that included a stand, sticks and presentation bags.

I had never made cake pops, and took the rainy afternoon as the opportunity to make them.
Firstly I made the mixture and halved the recipe on the back of the packaging (as the recipe made 40 and I didn't need that many!)

Recipe

60g butter, sofened

75g caster sugar

90g self raising flour, sifted

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1.5 tbsp milk

1) Cream the butter and sugar together until well mixed and fluffy.

2) Add the vanilla and eggs, and mix well

3) Add the flour and milk and mix until well combined

4) Place the mould onto a baking tray then spoon the mixture into the cake mould, ensuring each cavity is full. Close the mould.

5) Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees. 

6) Once cooked, and a skewer comes out clean leave the cake pops to cool

7) Once cooled push a stick into each of the pops

8) Dip the cake pops into icing or chocolate and decorate as desired

The silicone tray and presentation kit can be bought from Lakeland :)

Happy Baking :) xoxo

Oreo Milkshakes

As you can probably tell by now, I am addicted to Oreo's. At the weekend I decided to attempt Oreo Milkshakes. Whenever I go for a drink at a cafe that sells milkshakes I will without a doubt choose the Oreo Milkshake. So I decided to try and make them myself - they are quite expensive to buy in the shops, and don't cost much to make at all, especially as Oreo's always seem to be half price at the supermarkets. 64p for a packed, would be rude not to!!

The recipe too be honest is all about guessing and depends on how 'Oreoy' you would like you milkshake.
For example the first batch I made my mum said was too Oreo flavoured, but I loved it, and the second batch I made I used less Oreo's and mum loved it!

You will need good quality ice cream for this, not the fake super white stuff you can buy. I used Kelly's of Cornwall Clotted Cream Ice Cream.

I used 4 generous scoops of ice cream and 7 Oreo's broken up with a dash of milk, whizzed up with a blender until smooth. Then gradually added 100 ml of milk until a smooth milkshake was formed.
However you may use more or less Oreo's depending on the strength you would like and more or less milk, depending on how thick of thin you like your milkshakes. For me this was perfect, however for my mum she preferred only 4 Oreo's.

I then poured the mixture into a glass, topped with squirty cream and a sprinkling of crushed Oreo's. I finished the milkshake with a mini Oreo.

Rachel Reviews: Solero Mojito Ice Lolly

I think a mojito is my favourite alocoholic cocktail to drink. My favourite being mango or raspberry mojito, you cannot beat a sunny day with a cold mojito, so when I saw the Solero Mojito Ice Lollies in the supermarket I just had to try them.

I noticed that the packaging said, contains rum for adults only so I had no idea what to expect, however was willing to give it a try!

The ice lolly lives up to its name and surely tastes of an ice cold mojito. In the centre are strange jelly like pieces which taste of citrus, mint and rum. The texture I have to admit is quite odd and takes a while to get used to, however adds a bit of excitement and difference to the lolly. Although I can tell these jelly pieces will not be everyone's cup of tea!

To my disappointment the packaging for the lolly was just plain white, however I guess they need to cut costs somewhere and the box looks great! It was the box in the freezer section that drew me to the product with its vibrant green packaging. However I guess when sold individually they will have the Solero Mojito wrapper. 

I would definitely recommend these ice lollies for a warm sunny day or after a BBQ as they are instantly refreshing without the calories of alcohol from a real mojito - 55 calories per lolly.

I wonder how many it will take to make you tipsy?! xoxo

Cost:
£2.49 for a pack of 3
£1.20 singularly 

A sunny Saturday at Grey's Court

Today we drove to Henley to a National Trust property called Grey's Court.
We did a large walk around the edge of the estate over the Chiltern Hills. The sun was shining and it was the perfect day for a walk, it felt like summer had arrived! I even managed to get slightly burnt!

We then visited the grounds, heading firstly to the Tea Rooms for a well deserved coffee and cake. I opted for an elderflower presse and Raspberry Eton Mess Victoria sandwich. It was delicious and has inspired me to make this sometime soon!

After this we climbed the tower and were treated to beautiful views of the house and gardens. The gardens looked spectacular, with a variety of flowers and the stunning wisteria.

We then explored the gardens and enjoyed going through the wisteria tunnel and taking many pictures. We then found out that the wisteria was 120 years old! Wow! I wish I could have a massive wisteria tree in my garden with its lilac flowers!

We then explored the fruit, vegetable and herb garden. My favorite seeing the orange plant as I had never seen one before!

Here are a couple of pictures from the day! :)

What a lovely day! :) xoxo



Outfit:
Trousers - River Island £20 - similar here
Jelly Shoes - New Look £9.99
Daisy bun holder - ASOS £6
Top - H&M Basics £2.99
Denim Jacket - H&M
Bag - Topshop - very old!
Glasses - Primark £1
Watch - River Island £15