Boots of Spanish Leather

Wow it's been a long time since I've been on here. I would love to write about all the exciting developments that have been happening, keeping me away from day dreaming and blogging, unfortunately there are none.

That said there have been a succession of delightfully uplifting small developments which have kept me chipper these last few days despite battling Planet Hoth - like conditions in London town and an illness which I can only assume is the bubonic plague for a modern generation.

A delightful surprise Christmas bonus, paid perfectly on time (the moment I finally finished all my Christmas shopping and exhausted my overdraft and pleads to the boyfriend to 'up the budget' again) lead to my second happy moment - a pair of the most lovely yet non-weather appropriate boots.

While some (most) people are blessed with normal shaped and sized legs, I suffer from an affliction known as cankles. These strange shapeless collections of bad genes may keep me steady during even the most undulating bus journey, yet when it comes to dressing them my options are limited.


Until today, at aged 26 I finally bought my first pair of knee high boots (right now a fanfare is playing in my head, and people are chanting my name)

Sheltering from a particularly cold coffee run in Topshop over my extended lunch hour (it's Christmas - time is meaningless) I wandered into the shoe section and found these teddy-bear-esque beauties.

WhileUsually I would avoid the humiliation of trying them on and forcing a nervous sales assistant to politely whisper 'stop forcing the zip, it's just not happening' however thanks to the Christmas rush, the floor was delightfully unattended leaving me to play with the display items (and the fantasy of having normal pins)

Moments later, and to my absolute delight I was comfortably zipped and practically dancing with joy. Which is exactly when the previously unavailable floor staff appeared.



These boots of Spanish leather are made up of a soft camel suede and lined with a caramel sheepskin lining, the inside leg holds a zip to keep them from slouching, finished with a leather boot (to provide some much needed water protection) and a thin, flat wooden sole and perfectly hone the Annie Hall 70's look which seems to be filtering into the Spring/Summer 2011 collections.



Right, now to wear them in the snow and no doubt ruin them forever.


Merry Christmas! x

Image courtesy of Topshop

Who likes short shorts?

I’ve never been one to play along with the seasons. The boy often believes my body temperature is completely unaffected by external conditions, leading to the affectionately termed ‘ice wall’ he often builds in bed with the duvet. Although today's weather has definitely managed to get through...

It’s good to see that fashion this season has also decided to brave the cold snap and has dared us to get our legs out, albeit from behind the relative safety of some thick black opaque tights.

During my somewhat lazy weekend, The Rhonda Shorts  from  French Connection became the latest welcome addition to my haphazardly chosen winter wardrobe.

The black cotton fabric of these little beauties sets off the vibrant pattern well without being too bold and makes them versatile and wearable. A concealed zip and flat double catch fastening adds to the flattering finish. Despite residing firmly in the ‘short-shorts’ camp, the generous cut glides over any lumps and bumps (I’m a size 12) providing a surprisingly sleek silhouette. Also available as a skirt version - but I believe shorts are more fun.


Their debut outing was dressed down for the local pub with a loose knit camel jumper from Topshop  and an old but much loved pair of skyscraper black studded suede ankle boots, accompanied of course with the obligatory tights (maybe two pairs for next time).

In case the evening evolved into a more suave affair, underneath the jumper nestled a skin tight scoop back body to add a hint of flesh and a vintage cameo with gold chain. Perfect pub to club attire.

As it happens, the ‘suave affair’ ended up being three people in my flat watching a DVD. But at least I was well prepared.

Image courtesy of French Connection.

Toon Pie

I hail from the glorious land of Newcastle Upon Tyne, synonymous with cold weather, topless football fans and of course, the nectar of the God's; Newcastle Brown Ale. This week my Sunday morning was spent fawning over  the delightful Cheryl while watching last nights repeat of The X Factor during which a few pangs of homesickness arose. This pie was indeed the perfect cure.

50g unsalted butter 

2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 

4 tbsp oil (I used olive oil) 

25g plain four 

3 tsp sweet paprika 

900g stewing steak 

2 white onions, roughly chopped 

150g button mushrooms 

2 carrots, roughly chopped 

400ml Newcastle Brown Ale 

300ml good beef stock 

1tbsp tomato puree 

1 bay leaf 

2 sprigs fresh thyme 

Salt and freshly ground black pepper 

300g of ready rolled puff pastry 

1 egg, beaten

Dry the meat in kitchen paper and sprinkle on flour paprika and ground black pepper and mix so all the meat is coated.

Heat the oil and half the butter to medium, in a large lidded pan and fry off the meat in small batches till the flour coating browns .

Place the batches of brown meat to one side as they become browned in the casserole

Next, using the same pan add the onion and garlic adding a little more oil if needs be. scrape the browned flour and juices on the bottom of the pan and mix with the veg as they fry until soft

Return the browned meat and its juices to the pan and add the mushrooms and carrots and cook until soft.

Stir in the tomato puree, so a paste is formed on the contents of the pan and then pour in the brown ale a little at a time so a sauce is formed by stirring through the casserole. Add the beef stock a little at a time until the sauce reaches your desired consistency

Sprinkle in the thyme and bay leave and salt to taste. Bring the mixture to a low simmer and leave on the stove for 1 1/2 hours. Checking on it occasionally

Once cooked, season the mixture and tip into an ovenproof serving dish. Brush the edge of the dish with the beaten egg.

Roll out the pastry Pinch the edges of the dish so that the pastry will stick to it and trim off any remaining pieces of pastry from around the edge.

With the trimmings and any other left over pastry, make your decorations. The Traditional left pattern works well (today I went for something slightly more creative to celebrate the Toon Army's victory  over Arsenal)

Brush the pastry top thoroughly with the remaining beaten egg and place on a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the pastry is golden brown on top. Serve with a good helping of mash, Yorkshire pudding and a good old bottle of Dog.

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Bitter Sweets

        






Remember Remember…. to put this sparkling treat on the cocktail menu and you’ll be rewarded with plenty of oooh’s and ahhhh’s of your own against the backdrop of tonight’s fire works.

Serves 4-6, you will need:

4-6  white sugar cubes,

Angostura Bitters

Vanilla extract (not essence)

1 lemon, cut into wedges
1 bottle of medium-dry Champagne or  Cava

Sprinkle 2-3 drops of vanilla extract and 2 drops of Angostura Bitters onto each sugar cube and leave for 30 seconds.

Meanwhile squeeze 1tsp of lemon juice into into the bottom of each glass and  rub a wedge around the inside rim.

Drop one sugar cube into the middle of each glass and top up with the bubbly.

This works best in Coupe style champagne glass, if using a flute style glass give the sugar cube a gentle stir for 5 seconds just before serving.

As the bubbles disolve the sugar the drink becomes infused with a delicate sherbet flavour – delicious.

Serve with sparklers and a smile.

Pick me up's

Working in the Square Mile, it's a love hate relationship. I love that I can walk to work in no time at all, I love that I am never more then 10 paces away from a Pret A Manger whenever I feel the pang for one of their irresistible Bakewell Tarts...I hate that lunch hours rarely exist meaning any last minute clothing emergency buys involve a post work mission to the dreaded West End, or worse - Westfield (one bad experience visiting during Christmas with a hangover and I've never been back)

Luckily the clever bods over at Warehouse and Coast have developed a wonderfully simple 'Reserve and Collect' service where I can happily peruse the goods online, drop them into my virtual basket and request that they are put aside for me at the nearest store, happily both are located moments from my office door.

No payment is required until you collect in store, it's simply a reservation which will expire in 2 working days if the items are not collected. What could be better then combining the convenience of online browsing with the 'no-commitment' option of in store shopping?

With Pay-day panic taking over my brain last week, I eagerly indulged myself and reserved some treats online, admittedly expecting a slow response...to my surprise I received a text from both stores moments later letting me know that the items I had my beady eye on were ready when I was. Perfect.

Here are some pics of the goodies which later made up my hassle free, very last minute Friday night outfit

 Button Dress - Warehouse.com

 Christa Bracelet - Coast.com


The service is currently available in selected stores but will be being rolled out nationwide soon.

All images from Coast.com and Warehouse.com

I Met Hal..

Yey for Halloween, my favourite none reason to celebrate is upon us.

Since I've been spending the last few weeks perfecting my Pumpkin carving skills, with the help of the discount veg isle in Tesco I've had to develop cunning ways to disguise my habit with cooking (or destroying the evidence as I like to think of it...)

Spiced Pumpkin Soup, Serves 4-6:

The flesh of one small pumpkin, roughly chopped
1 onions, finely diced
1 Shallot finely diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp curry powder
2 tsp ground cumin
500ml Veg/Chicken stock
100ml single cream
4 tbsp olive oil
Pumpkin seeds

Heat half the olive oil in a large 'cauldron', add onion, shallot and garlic and cook until soft not coloured. Add the pumpkin and cook until softened and golden. Add curry powder and cumin and stir until all the ingredients are coated. 

Add all the stock and bring to the boil, then simmer for 10 mins or until the pumpkin is very soft. Add the cream and return to the boil. Finally blitz the mixture with a hand blender until smooth.

While the soup is cooking, toast some pumpkin seeds in a dry pan – for about 45 seconds stir and toss the seeds ensuring they don’t burn. Serve the soup with a swirl of olive oil and a sprinkling of seeds.

And the best bit about it all – meet Hal, my dinner guest for the evening;

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The very hungry Catapilars....

My naturally ‘free range eyebrows’ are often in need of a decent tidy up at the hand of a professional with a good tub of hot wax. I’ve learnt the lesson all too often that ‘tweezing’ them is up there with cutting my own fringe and making my own clothes. Turns out that vital link between my hands and eyes just does not exist (as pictures of me, aged 12 with a bald patch and wonky hemline with atest to)

Despite there being a plethora of beauty salons around London town, I often struggle to find an appointment that I can make after work. Luckily I’ve found The Beauty House 5 minutes from Old Street and Barbican Stations, tucked away in a forgotton street in Clerkenwell that fits nicely into my walk home (via waitrose)

Introduced through the wonder of coupon website KGB Deals I secured a eyebrow wax and eyelash tint for a mere guilt inducing £3. On my arrival the small salon was not exactly a Glen Eagles spa but did the trick, a friendly receptionist greeted me and I was soon whisked away to my private treatment room.

A record breaking 30minutes later I was happily plodding home, checking out my the newly refined upper half of my face in car windows. Despite my eyebrows being naturally different heights (I spent weeks as trying to raise one and it never went back down) Sam dealt with them expertly, they are the perfect length and shape.

Having previously been left with 2 week long panda eyes at the hands of a stropy Benefit therapist I was nervous about having my eyelashes dyed again but the flattering ‘blue-black’ colour has added definition and volume making my eyes look bigger and more awake, without mascarra. Even better, I wasn’t left with a single tell tale sign – no black rings or bloodshot eyeballs.

 All together a bargain package, well executed. The salon may not be high end but if you’re in need of a cheap and fast tidy up out of office hours this is the place
Sample prices:

Eyebrow wax : £7
Manicure: £16
30Mins Facial: £25

I started a blog

By age 26, having had a few years in London town, I thought there would have been a bit more to my repertoire by now. Nothing as profound as having climbed a mountain or spent a gap year babysitting orphaned monkeys in a war torn jungle, no, more like I'd know how to bake a really good cake, have a local pub (maybe where they say my name as I walk in a la ‘Cheers’…maybe not) have read more books, taken more photos and told more people about it all.

Anyway, this is how I'm getting on.....