Thursday 30 August 2012

Syrup And Waffles And Cream, Oh My!



 
Toasted waffles drizzled (ok, more like poured over) with Golden Syrup and topped with a teaspoon of clotted cream... What could be better? It's hot and cold and melty and sweet and delicious, and oh so easy to make. And it can definitely be eaten for breakfast or dessert. Or a late night snack.
 
I've been looking at other tempting breakfast type recipes over the last few days too:
 
Chai Waffles from Ezra Pound Cake (If I ever get a waffle iron that is!)
Breakfast for Dessert from A Beautiful Mess (Doughnuts and Ice Cream!)
Boozy Baked French Toast from Smitten Kitchen

Tuesday 28 August 2012

It's Brunch Time!


My friend Rebecca came over from Belfast yesterday for an interview and stayed the night, and this morning she treated me to an early birthday brunch at Henri in Stockbridge. It was delicious: I had a decaf cappuccino (which had real chocolate flakes sprinkled on top - yum!) and a brie and ham baguette, and Rebecca had a latté and a smoked salmon and cream cheese baguette. And we got brownies to go, of course!




 

Wednesday 22 August 2012

All The Skirts

Skirt from Marks And Spencer, top from H&M, belt unknown

I'm having trouble getting my boyfriend to take outfit photos this week: he's been working extra hours, and when he is home it's usually too dark to take photos.

I've also been having trouble motiviating myself to do things over the last few days. It's just been one of those weeks. I have a part time job, but I'm looking for full time work and have been for some time now. I'm very lucky in many ways. I have a wonderful boyfriend and family, wonderful friends, and a very happy life. It is just disheartening sometimes when I am turned down for a job that I really want, and even though I know logically that I will get a job eventually, there are times when I can't just smile and pretend I feel fine.

Anyway, I thought I'd show you some of the gorgeous under the knee skirts that my sister has given to me. I love the materials and colours, but I'm having some trouble with the length. I'm just not used to wearing skirts this long. Some people pull them off wonderfully (like my sister) but I always feel a little silly. What do you think? Apologies for the mirror photo! I hope you are all having a lovely week so far.

Oh, and yes, that is my (our) bedroom! The bed is not usually that messy, I promise: I had just taken all the sheets off to wash them!

White Stuff

Kew

Kew

White Stuff

Marks And Spencer

French Connection

Wednesday 15 August 2012

It's About Time...

...for an outfit post! Recently, it's either been raining when I want to get some photos taken or I'm re-wearing something that I've already used on this blog. Or I'm just wearing jeans and a comfy hoodie, which does not make for an exciting outfit!

Dress and blouse from French Connection, shoes from Schuh

I actually wore this blouses pretty, pastel twin in this post, but I felt that this one deserved it's very own post anyway. I love layering tops over a simple dress like this, and I think the coraly-red (totally a word) colour of this blouse is particularly stunning against the black. It's a nice outfit to wear when it's cloudy but humid, like it has been recently.





And there is my boyfriend, pretending to give up and walk off! While wearing my handbag of course.

In other news, me and my boyfriend have watched many an episode of Man V Food in the past and last night I discovered that there is a food challenge right here in Edinburgh: just up the road in fact! Afterz, an ice cream parlour not far from where I live, offers the Titanic Ice Cream Sundae Challenge which involves eating a huge sundae in 15 minutes. The sundae is pictured below! I'm not sure we'd manage that, but we might have to venture down and share a sundae soon.

deadlinenews.co.uk

Sunday 12 August 2012

A Change Of Climate: Book Review


A Change of Climate by Hilary Mantel is one of the most absorbing books I've read recently. Set in England and Africa, it is about a couple from Norfolk, the Eldreds, whose memories of their time spent as missionaries in South Africa and Botswana and the tragedy which occured there have shaped their lives and the lives of their four children.

The book begins in England in the present, where the couple live with their family. Ralph, the father, is the director of a religious charitable trust and the Eldreds have opened their home to 'sad cases', as the children learn to call them. While the children have grown up knowing very little about what came before, it has still insidiously affected the lives of the whole family.

The reader is subsequently taken back to the past, learning about the couples upbringing and their time spent in South Africa. The climax is delayed, as the novel keeps cutting back to the present, and I just couldn't put the book down during this section.

It is a family saga, which encompasses a myriad of issues: marriage, evil, betrayal, injustice, forgiveness, and charity. Each character is engaging, each part of the story fascinating in its own way, and I would recommend it very highly if you are looking for a book which will make you think, as well as keeping you captivated from start to finish.



He took one of the peaches and cut into it. It was a yellow-fleshed peach, its skin as rough as a cat's tongue, and its ripeness spread out from the stone like a bloody graze.

It was cooler than Anna had expected, and the air seemed thin. She shrank away from the hooting and snarling of the traffic and the mosaic of faces in the street. At midnight a noise brought her to the window of their modest hotel. Hailstones - frozen chips of ice, an inch and a half across - rattled at the glass. The bombardment lasted for five minutes. It stopped as suddenly as it began. For an hour, deep in the watches of the night, the city was quiet, as if holding its breath.

Thursday 9 August 2012

Thursday Things


My chocolate mint plant had (has?) greenfly. Or something similar, and similarly icky! Can indoor plants get greenfly? After a quick Google, I have learned that apparently yes, they can, because indoors, the bugs are seperated from their natural enemies! My boyfriend noticed the problem: I rarely wear my glasses, and I couldn't see the tiny little bugs until I looked very closely. He sprang into action, wiping the plant with soapy suds, and it seems to have got rid of most of them. But I confined the plant to a different room: I don't want tiny little bugs in my bedroom!

Does anyone have any tips for keeping indoor plants healthy and bug free? Or any suggestions for plants (herbs especially) that thrive inside? Since we decided to stay in our flat until January I feel much more at home here, and it's nice having some plants around. I love being able to pluck off a few mint leaves to boil with some new potatoes, or add some fresh basil to a tomato sauce.


My boyfriend tried his first Pimms yesterday! It was really sunny, so we stopped at a little pub with seats outside on the way to see Jim Jeffries perform for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It wasn't really my thing, but it was nice to go to our first festival show. We saw the fireworks go off around the castle too which was lovely. Everyone in the street just stopped what they were doing and watched. We're hoping to see Paul Merton's improv show next week.

Chocolate mousse: the well known cure for sore teeth!

I had to go to the dentist to get two fillings done today, and my mouth has only just stopped being half numb, so now now I'm going to go and eat some soup and chocolate mousse! Hope you're all having a good Thursday.


Tuesday 7 August 2012

Currently Loving...


Bunheads! I am a die-hard Gilmore Girls fan and I have not been disappointed by this new offering from writer Amy Sherman-Palladino. While it is certainly not a Gilmore Girls replacement (nothing could be), it does have parallels, and it is wonderful in its own right. I can't wait to see where it goes!


Maple and pecan twists are just delicious. It's very tempting to eat one for breakfast every day! I want to try making something which incorporates these flavours, maybe Joy the Baker's Maple Pecan Muffins or the Maple-Pecan Pie Squares from Ezra Pound Cake (pictured above). Or The Pioneer Woman's Pecan Pie with her Whiskey Maple Cream Sauce. Or maybe all three!


The gorgeous flowers which are everywhere at the moment: buddleia and roses are blooming along our street, and there are pots overflowing with flowers outside almost every house. The photos above were taken in the Royal Botanic Gardens, which is so beautiful at this time of year.

Sunday 5 August 2012

Introducing The Book Section


The photo above shows one of the piles of books in my bedroom. My mum sent most of this pile over from Ireland recently, and I'm gradually starting to make my way through it. And the book by Danny Wallace is on loan from my friend Sarah, who knows how much I love his articles in Shortlist! There has never been a time in my life when I have not have not been reading at least one or two books. My parents read to me every night when I was young, and as soon as I could read on my own I began to devour books at a very rapid pace. Reading has always been one of my greatest passions.

I love the fact that I can escape to a completely different time, place or situation depending on which book I choose.

I love the feeling I get when I read a book that is impossible to put down.

I love being able to read a book and then discuss it with other people, especially my mum.

I love relaxing with a book before bed. It always helps me to sleep.

Sometimes I love how fast I read, but sometimes it makes me sad that I finish books that I love so quickly.

There are some books that I love, simply because they remind me of the time that I read them first, and what I was like then.

There are some books, like the Anne of Green Gables series, which are so precious to me because they offer me comfort. Reading one of them is like being wrapped up tight in a blanket on a cold night with a warm cup of tea and nothing to worry about.

I love browsing in second hand bookshops for hours on end.

Sometimes I love reading something which challenges me; at other times, I love reading something funny and distracting.

I love bringing books with me no matter where I go: I completely understood the Gilmore Girls episode where Rory brought a book to a party in case she got bored!

So far I have shied away from discussing books on this blog, but it feels wrong not to include something which is such a huge part of my life. So I have decided that from now on, as well as my fashion based posts, I will write little reviews of the books I am reading. Books are definitely something to be shared, and I like the idea of having a record of the books that I've read which I can easily look back on. And if I can introduce somebody to a new book to fall in love with, that would be wonderful.

Do you love reading too? I'd love to hear what you think.

Thursday 2 August 2012

Leopard Print and Pimms

Top and bra from Urban Outfitters, shorts from Topshop

Trying out a flowery Snuffleupagus nose!

Owl necklace from Topshop

I had a very special visitor last weekend! We drank lots of Pimms, watched a ridiculous amount of Teen Wolf (she promised I'd be addicted by the end of her visit, and she was right!) and had so much fun. It was great to catch up and have some relaxing, girly time. And she bought me an early birthday present! The cute black top, and leopard print bra above. Even though she's really not a big fan of leopard print! Hopefully I'll be able to showcase some of her outfits here one day, because she's incredibly stylish.