OOTD: Wedding guest

Dress-New Look  Shoes-New Look  Clutch and Jewellery-Old

 This weekend I had one of the best of times at my friend's wedding, and luckily for us it was a really nice day with the sun shining brightly. I had bought everything I was planning to wear before the Summer-with all the new prom dresses out I just couldn't resist!- but you could definitely still find similar items for sale now. My dress was a feminine shell pink and had a lace overlay, and the shoulders were embellished with pearls and white sequins. My shoes were a slightly paler shade of pink and the 3" heel made them perfect to dance in for most of the night, even though in the end I had to give up and wear the flip flops or "dancing shoes" the bride so nicely provided for us (thank you!).

The venue was at a golf club in Essex, so it was the perfect place to have a ceremony outside. 

xx

Banana and Chocolate Oat Cookies

After Easter the abundance of Easter eggs in my house was just getting too much, so I had to find a way to use up all the chocolate. 

What did I do? 

I found a very simple egg-free, wheat-free and banana-full recipe which is so quick it hardly requires any weighing.

Here it is:

3 ripe bananas

100g melted butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 large handfuls of porridge oats

handful almonds, ground or chopped

2 handfuls of dried fruit

a pinch of cinnamon

100g chocolate, chopped into little bits

Makes about 25

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees, and line a baking sheet with greaseproof paper.

2. In a mixing bowl mash the bananas, add the melted butter and the vanilla, giving everything a good mix.

3. Fold in the rest of the ingredients.

4. Space out the cookies on the baking sheet so there is enough space for them to expand. Roughly the size should be about 2 tsp each. 

5. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden. 

They are best enjoyed when warm!

xxx

Discovering York

I visited York last week and I have to say it is a beautiful town bursting with history, food and culture. The weather was slightly chilly for April but we had such a lovely day it easily made up for it!

Clifford's Tower

Inside of the tower

York Minister

wonky windows?

The day started with us going to visit the Clifford's tower -which has so many steps you cannot imagine- and we saw the majestic York Minister while walking around the city and taking in the other charming buildings.

We saw some of the quirkiest things there and also many talented street performers. This Yoda was trying his best to float!

Chocolate Shoes!

We were lucky enough to catch the Chocolate festival which is on this Easter weekend. Many stalls had gorgeous creations which tasted delicious thanks to the talented people which made them. One stall even had chocolate shoe sculptures which definitely looked to good to eat!

xx

Christmas in Naples

How does it manage to be so sunny in full winter?

Have you all had a nice Christmas? I can tell you I have, as I went to spent it and New Year's with my family in Naples. If there is something I love about that place, it has to be the chaotic markets, the food and the beautiful landscapes which are framed by the persistent sunshine.

this seagull was just demanding to be photographed

Especially in the festive period the narrow streets are bursting of tourists exploring the market and shops, hunting for something special to take back with them. Pasta, Neapolitan playing cards, or different ornaments, they really have anything to suit everyone taste. The markets are also bursting with stalls that sell different books for a total steal.

Different musicians entertain in the piazza while you can sit and enjoy some nice food in the restaurants close-by. The cakes are sooo heavenly and you have to eat the pizza there too, as Naples is the home of it. 

mmmmmmm.........pizza

However I also love all the art they sell there as its full of rich colours, and many street artists are fantastic. Too bad I couldn't fit a print in my luggage, or I would have bought a couple!

All The Small Things

There are so many things we do during the festive season, but maybe because of families and friends, school and/or work, or general procrastination, you never have enough time to add all the little details you would want to add to things.  This year I have tried to try different things for Christmas, here's my list:

Be more creative
I usually wrap things up with the usual wrapping paper every year, so this time I decided to be different. I decided to give one of my friends a memorable Christmas present by wrapping it up in Iron Man comics. Obviously photocopied and not real. Anyway she loved it.

Then I had bought a present for a friend but later walked into another shop and found a scarf I knew she would absolutely love. What did I do? I gave her both presents, using the scarf to wrap the first one up.     2-in-1.

Embellish
I love the festive sparkle. I have tried to embellish dull looking blouses with some sort of beads or lace or pretty material. I like to vary the beads in size,so different focus points can be given to the piece of clothing.

Statement jewellery is so now and can really refresh your wardrobe, so I made my own necklace to wear with my favourite warm winter jumpers. And yes, I do love pearls. 

Tree decorations 

I am really trying hard to get in with the Christmas spirit this year so I made a couple of decorations to put on the tree.........

How d'you like them?

D.I.Y. | Cinnamon And Chocolate Festive Lip Scrub

With the weather turning colder our lips may be becoming chapped and dry, and I know that just using lipbalm won't solve it. The only way I can make my lips nice and soft this season is using lip scrubs.You only need oils and sugar for a home made one and they are so easy to make. Really.

Since it's nearly Christmas one of my favourite festive flavours has to be cinnamon (hmmmmm the smell) I had the great idea to mix it with another a flavour I love-chocolate-and the final result was quite impressive.

Here's how to:

You need 1tsp caster sugar and a little less than 1tsp of whatever oil you want- I chose olive. Then add 1/2tsp cinnamon and 1/2tsp cocoa powder. Mix it all up and voilà.

 And did I mention cinnamon is also good for making lips look plumper? It also smells good and tastes sooo chocolatey I'm sure you'll love it- I know I do!