Watching… A little romance is therapy for the heart.

Le Mal by Jean Paul Gautier. 

This little beauty was a rediscovery in my final eve of procrastination for revision but now I am finallyyyy free of a life in the library and can chill out again. Its been a long time coming and I'm pleased to say that I never have to do revision for exams or essays over Christmas again. 3rd year finals are done and now its just on with the 2 dissertations. Oh Sussex, you do know how to spoil us!

I'm heading home for just over a week and I literally cannot wait! Chill out time, good food and evenings of wine with mummy is going to be combined with some job searching, socialising and possibly a little bit of sale shopping. The perfect was to end one term and begin another. 

If you haven't seen the advert, which was aired originally a few years ago, give it a watch. I promise you won't be disappointed!! <3

Wanting… The Whistles Slogan Sweatshirt (and some sleep!)

A little bit of Asos browsing last night revealed this beauty. Unfortunately its out of stock or my bank balance would have been very unhappy! Its ridiculously over priced but I love the simplicity of the design, sentiment of the slogan and cut - Whistles are great with their tailoring in my experience. 

Worded clothing always seems a bit 90s - in the wrong way - to me. But when Whistles are doing it you know its good! And after all, at least its not the same slogan that 100s of other people have 'chosen' looking like they've fallen straight out of Topshop! Navy is the perfect colour to throw on with some leggings and ankle boots on these chilly winter days. Accessorise with a chunky snood and a couple of statement bracelets and you're good to go. The perfect outfit for chill out days.

Now just hurry up and get it back in stock Asos? 

Here's to carefree enjoyment of life! (Starting tomorrow once finals are over, of course!)

Cooking… A beetroot love story

Beetroot and I have never been friends. My whole family love it but I just have never been a fan. I'm not sure if its texture or taste or purely the colour that I, and whatever top I'm wearing at the time, turn a gorgeous shade of whenever I attempt to prep it but in my 22 years I've not once enjoyed it!

That was, until mummy decided to add this little dish into her Indian repertoire when cooking a couple of months ago. She is the best cook so it was rude not to try, despite being adamant that I would hate it. All of the ingredients I love, apart from the dreaded beetroot of course, but those big lumps of purply red sure are off putting! So, you can imagine my absolute shock when I discovered that the dish was absolutely delicious!! I'm still certain that this is the only way to eat the stuff and for it to actually taste nice but if you're yet to be converted give this one ago and you may just have to alter your opinions. And if you are a beetroot fan then I have it on good advice that this is near the top of the list of how to eat the stuff! Tangy, spicy and covered in coconut milk, it really is delicious. 

Ingredients:

2 tbs vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp grated/finely chopped fresh root ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds, coarsely crushed

1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

A pack of pre cooked beetroot, cut into wedges

A tin of pure coconut milk

1/s tsp ground cardamon seeds

Grated rind and juice of 1 lime

Handful of chopped fresh coriander leaves

Sea salt and black pepper

One

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and when hot, add the garlic, ginger, cumin and coriander seeds and chilli flakes. Stir fry for 1-2 minutes. Add the beetroot and fry, stirring gently for 1 minute before adding the coconut milk, cardamon and lime rind and juice. Cook over a medium heat for a few minutes.

Two

Stir in the fresh coriander and season. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature…

<3

10 things that have made me happy this week...

Image 

1) Fabulous fabulous Christmas celebrations with the fam, extended family and yet more family!! So.much.food.

2) A school reunion like no other. I loved 6th form and going back to see everyone in that setting was slightly strange but more over really lovely. We ended with a little bit of a pub crawl and some very good catch ups!

3) Crisp cold days. Boots, leather gloves and big cosy jumpers. It really doesn't get any better!

4) Secret santa with the girlies and making plans for years to come; I just don't think we can resist when we're all together!

5) Seeing the boy after a 3 week break. Being apart definitely makes you realise what you have and for us, living 2 minutes apart at Uni I think having breaks only makes us better.

6) Heading back to Brighton. Yes there are horrible horrible exams but its so lovely to see everyone and the stories from New Years eve are pretty unrivalled!

7) Our litre and a half bottle of Prosecco on NYE. There is something distinctly classy about drinking it out the bottle, I'm sure of it!!

8) Knowing that in 7 days I get to go home again and have a proper 10 days of chill out time. I literally cannot wait!

9) Whipping out the fur scarf. I found my favourite mink coloured faux fur scarf upon my return to uni and had forgotten quite how much I enjoy wearing it.

10) Finally getting to use my super gorgeous new bag, which I am more than a little bit in love with, purchased with some Christmas money from Daddy! I couldn't resist the lipstick either!

2014

I've tried to shy away from a 'new year, new me' style of post as to put it bluntly, I find them to be rather dull. We can all say that we'll make a list of things we want to change about ourselves and stick to it but let's be honest, how many of us actually do?

As we move well and truly into the new year and after some fab celebrations on the eve itself I can't help but consider where this year will take me. I don't want to resolve to change who I am, simply, in the least cringey way possible, continue 'growing up' and finding out what it is that I actually want to do with my life. And that in itself seems like a pretty big ask right now!!

This year brings several big steps, leaving Uni, graduating in June and finding a real job being top of the list. I love Uni but I'm excited to move on and can't wait until exams are over so that I can properly start sorting out the next steps. Job applications take a longgg time! Fingers crossed this time next year I'll be living in London and doing something that I love - thats my aspiration and will be my 'resolution for the coming year. It will be a test in many ways but I think I'm finally ready for it!

Oh, and of course worrying less about other people's dramas, thats a big one, and now seems like the perfect time to implement it!!

Happy 2014!

And we danced all night.

The last few weeks have been a bit sporadic with regard to blog posting so I thought I'd start off the new year with a little catch up of my going's on! There's lots scheduled over the next couple of weeks, including my Christmas Hamper posts with some gorgeous recipe's for pressie inspiration at any time of the year! 

Top: 

The stunning Christmas tree for my sister's first Christmas in her new home; the gorgeously grown up Ona; views over the Stour Estuary on a wintery morning.

Middle: 

So many chocolates have been consumed over the past couple of weeks, these get the gold star of approval!; OCs supper: 130 men, 7 girls, of course; discovering my boobs, it was a big moment for us all!

Bottom: 

Girly catch ups with my favourites; new year frivolities; library moments.

Top:
Sarah went to Durham and got a new car (we couldn't resist the ridiculousness of this pic!); getting ready sesh :)

Middle:
The outdoor christmas tree and views over the green; my favourite niece, New Years outfit.

Bottom:
The first midnight of 2014; one of my favourite pressies from my big sisters with pics of every big family occasion over the couple of years - its gorgeous!

<3

From sale sedation to Mulberry's menagerie

January sales, love them or hate them they're pretty hard to resist. From Christmas eve if not before the shops are filled with bright red sale signs and the shoppers seem to take on a whole new characteristic, fighting among the rails for a bargain!

I love a good bargain as much as the next person but this year, as I sit in the library revising for two horrible exams I'm feeling incredibly uninspired to shop. I did Westfield before Christmas; we were there for 8 hours, it was a pretty good stint, but there was nothing I wanted. And I really do mean nothing, apart from most of the Zara stock of course but thats a given! Nothing stood out. Bad fabrics, poor cuts and overpriced pieces for the designs and everything in all of the shops I visited was the same as the last. This winter for me has been all about the long suede boots, a few days of Chelsea's and big oversized knits and not a lot of other statement pieces.

So, in the time when my bank card would usually be bearing the brunt of my severe lack of revision, when the bloggers are all posting their 'best of the sales' posts and when everyone else is still getting over the New Years hangovers, I'm incredibly pleased to have spotted the new Mulberry campaign this morning. Fronted by the babe that is Cara and shot by Tim Walker the Alice in Wonderland-esque shoot is quaintly British in style, and the location is the same mansion that was used in the A/W campaign. I'm swooning! The name is iconic, the products are sexy and cool and its one of those brands that everyone needs a little bit of in their wardrobe. The flowers only serve to uplift the drear that we've felt over the last couple of months with the saturation, and lack of inspiration, on our British high street.

The art director Cooke Newhouse comments: 'The spring 2014 campaign was a beautiful but naughty tea party with Cara and her ark of animals — the perfect Mulberry moment. They didn’t have the best table manners, but Cara was very forgiving.'

The campaign gives hope that Spring, and a bit of a revamp of the high street, may finally be on the way!