Thursday 17 March 2011

If only I was older and wiser...

I'd maybe be able to act on some of my fantasy wishlists!

Today, I've been yearning for Jonathon Saunders' acid brights, up now on Net-A-Porter.


Quite bright, I must admit... But I feel that it would be suitable for the spring days ahead!

(Jonathon Saunders dress, Crumpet cardigan, Proenza Schouler bag, Aurelie Biderman bracelet, Marc by Marc Jacobs bracelet, Lanvin brooch, Lanvin ballet pumps)

Ah to be able to afford even just one of these cute things!

Xxxc

Wednesday 16 March 2011

Having Hair...

I've been musing a lot about my hair lately.


I'm relatively low maintenance about the shiny brown mane sprouting from the top of my head, but I often wonder whether paying more attention to it might reap more rewards.

I get it cut about every 5 months - I'm lazy and I still go to my hairdressers in London that I've been to since I was teeny-tiny.



Thus, it doesn't happen as often as it should. Otherwise, I rarely blow dry my hair - maybe once a month?! Though it goes in waves. Sometimes I'll use my hairdryer every day for a week, then it'll sit gathering dust in the corner of the living room for months at a time... Naturally dried, my hair is mostly straight, but with a frizzy, curliness to the back. It's usually bouncy enough, and I tend to throw the front section around, and side part it roughly.

Since starting work full time, I've got used to also sticking mousse in my hair, as I air dry it while I walk the twenty minutes down the road to my office. Doing anything complicated with my hair before I drag myself out of the house would significantly reduce the amount of sleep time I get. And I do love my sleep time!

I tend to use Lee Stafford's Ddouble Blow Volumising Mousse, though it is supposed to be used in tandem with hairdrying... I find it easy to use, and good at taming some of the frizz.

Ddouble Blow Volumizing Mousse Photograph
However, I have been finding lately, that it is prone to making the roots of my hair a little lank.

I have also used the hairspray from the same range, but I find that that is too solid-making. If I ever remembered while I was in Boots, I think I'd probably invest in some Elnett hairspray, though I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to associate it with anything other than afternoons spent playing with my Gran's heated hair curler set, when I was sub-ten!

Otherwise, I always use a mixture of Redken and Aussie. I have used Redken since forever, as it's bought by my parents from our salon. I used to use their conditioner, but my hair has always needed intensive taming, and I started using Aussie 3 Minute Miracle (Luscious Long) about two or three years ago to supplement, and then replace the Redken. I've tried replacing the shampoo, as Redken is rather expensive, but I have to admit, I've never been able to find better... A few times, I've replaced Aussie with my housemate's Head and Shoulders conditioner, which worked rather well. Odd thing, that premium shampoo seems worth its weight, while I think you can generally get away with spending less on conditioner, and still having awesome hair. (Not that I think my hair is awesome, but it does have its' moments!)

Oooooh! On an Aussie related note, I managed to completely bugger up posting about their Christmas Fete in London... Crappy of me. I took Claire (the wonderful, sadly departed from blogging, A View From Here writer-turned-lawyer...) and we had a wonderful time sampling spicy prawns, sugared almonds, mulled wine and taking silly photos!

Disclaimer: the rather weird makeup was Not My Fault! Never tell a makeup artist to do "Anything" while in a darkened room, and without knowing whether they have an instinct for what colours suit people... Oops!



Right... Off to find food!

Night night.

Xxxc

Tuesday 15 March 2011

Shades of Grey

So, I've always been a fan of grey... I have grey jeans, grey cashmere jumpers, grey socks, grey coats, but NOT ENOUGH GREY DRESSES!!! (Or shoes.)

Oh YMC Button Up Smock Dress, where have you beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen all my life?!?!?!

Image 1 of YMC Button Up Smock Dress

Probably worn with these Finsk Wooden Wedge Ankle Boots...
Image 1 of Finsk Wooden Wedge Ankle Boot

And how cute are these little Paul Smith Jackie shoes??? Got to love the pop of orange! I own so few flat shoes, due to a shin splint / ankle problem that confines me to heels (Oh woe!) but I think I could make an exception for these in Fantasy-Shopping-Land!

sdlp-257g-buc-676

Definitely the thing to wear with this awesome See By Chloe little jersey piece! (Okay, Admission Time: my other grey dress is my corset print SBC dress featured here... Oops! =D)

Image 4 of See by Chloe Donkey Print Openback Dress

Seriously... I want a donkey.


from inkyfool.blogspot
Night night!

Xxxc

Monday 14 March 2011

Can I...?!

An addition to yesterday's post...

Emma Ball - Barley Farm - Cake Tins

Seriously... Most awesome cake tins EVER?!?!?!

Xxxc

Sunday 13 March 2011

Caaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake!!!

So, in an effort to be prouctive this weekend, Boy and I made CARROT CAKE!!! No camera, so no photos, but here's a pic off ze interwebs to get your mouth watering...

Image from caketodays.com

It is awesome, though as the cooking instructions say cook for an hour - rather than the 12 - 20 minute in the oven cakes I normally do, I think I might cook it for less time next time we make it, to compare consistency...

As I'm celiac, and dairy and potato free, cake is always something we make at home. This one was a ground almond and rice flour base, with an egg and muscovado sugar binding agent. (We used dark muscovado instead of light - which is what the recipe called for.) The fruit / veg elements were lots of carrot - obv - and a zested and squeezed orange, plus sultanas, vanilla essence, baking powder, cinnamon and toasted pecans and hazelnuts. (We added hazelnuts, as we didn't have enough pecans, and I think it made the cake more awesome!) For frosting, we didn't use the cream cheese version in the recipe, but I mixed random amounts of soy butter and icing sugar, with a few drops of warm water, vanilla essence, cinnamon and zest and a bit of juice of a lemon. Nomnomnom.

If anyone wants the actual recipe, it's in the AMAZING book Red Velvet and Chocolate Heartache. I do so love that book. The Chocolate Full Stops are my go-to cakes - particularly in muffin form. Everyone loves them, though opinion is divided over whether it's the book-recommended Coffee icing or my own Cinnamon-Choco-Vanilla-Buttercream on top that makes the best experience. I've also had successes with the Christmas Cupcakes as gifts for the festive season (though some of the ingredients are an arse to find), and Orange Squash Cupcakes, which were loved at a lunch party. The Blondie is scrummy though we substitute Dark Chocolate for White and Blueberries for Raspberries. Courgette and Camomile Cupcakes are a particular favourite of my Mother's... My Dad prefers the American Vanilla Cupcakes. The Chocolate and Peanut Butter Cupcakes, while not my favourite, were very much enjoyed as an after exams reward, and I swear it was feeding Banana and Sticky Toffee Cake to my friend's long-time crush that brought them together at last... The Coconut, Lime and Blueberry slice recipe convinced our Chinese Geology PhD housemate that I was a gift sent from heaven last year, and the Rosewater Fairy Cakes were rather guiltily enjoyed by all when I took them to work while I was interning in the fashion press office a couple of years ago.

So all in all, £12 well-spent... (It was on offer in Waterstones at the time - it's £20 RRP - and I'd say it was worth that too!)

So how can I spin cake into fashion???

Well, I'm rather in love with all the carrot-cake colours out there in stores, so here's a selection of my favourite you-could-almost-eat-them pieces...
Topshop Unique Woven Wedge Sandals
Image 1 of TBA Organza Ballerina Print Skirt
TBA Organza Ballerina Print Skirt

Whistles Cobra Print Dress
Topshop Knitted Contrast Trim Top
I'm seriously contemplating hunting out those shoes, though Topshop shoes have never fitted my horrendously-hard-to-find-comfy-shoes-for feet... And the TBA skirt is top of my purchase-when-I-have money list. I have their mushroom skirt from last season, so I'm hoping it might be equally reduced in a sale at the end of this season!

Hmmmmm. All this writing has made me hungry. MORE CAKE TIME!!!

Xxxc