TRIP TO MANCHESTER!

Until earlier this month, I had never been to Manchester, and if I am being honest, I was not entirely sure what to expect; however, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by my little visit!

Although I had never been to the area before, my fiancé, who is an avid Man City supporter, is somewhat of a regular to the area (for obvious reasons), and so he was able to show me all the best places around.

We began our trip with a compulsory visit to the Etihad Stadium and gift shop, in Sports City.

As you can see, my lovely fiancé was VERY excited! 

After what seemed like hours, Man City's biggest fan, aka the fiancé, finally picked a new Man City shirt to take home, and off we went again. (I must say, I really do approve of the retro-style shirt he picked out!)

Our next stop was in Rusholme, a small suburb outside the city centre, where and I quote, "there is the best sweet shop in the world", otherwise known as, Sanam Indian and Pakistani Restaurant and Sweet House.

I just love the bright colours of the sweets!

We choose a selection of yummy looking sweets, including an Indian version of good old coconut ice - my favourite kind of sweet! Although I was incredibly excited to try our sweets, I was a little apprehensive about how expensive they might be, especially as we had a box full, but luckily for me this whole box cost just £5 - such a bargain!

Once we had enjoyed our little 'snack', shall we call it, we headed off in search of my brother's flat, where we were spending the night. After accidently getting lost in Bolton, we finally made it.

Pretty soon after we arrived, my brother took us to a local eatery that served a delicious selection of cakes - perfect for an evening snack!

There was such a lovely selection of desserts to choose from, including a slightly strange sounding, mint custard dessert and chocolate brownie combination, that I felt spoilt for choice. However, I stuck to what I know, so to speak, and choose a gorgeous chocolate orange dessert (pictured above). For anyone who doesn't know me, I have a real 'thing' for chocolate and orange combinations, making this just perfect for me and my orange-loving, sweet tooth!

The following day I spent the afternoon exploring The Trafford Centre with my brother and his girlfriend, whilst my finace attend a work event in the city.

I must say that The Trafford Centre was so much more than impressive, it was totally gorgeous and best of, was packed full of all my favourite fashion stores. I think it is safe to say that I totally fell in love...

NAILS NAILS NAILS: Rimmel's exclusive Rita Ora collection!

I wasn't planning on blogging today, but when I popped to the shops earlier this morning and caught a glimpse of Rimmel's new nail varnishes, which I must say are absolutely beautiful, I just couldn't resist writing a sneaky little post.

A small selection of the 12 colours available - eekk!



These pretty little beauties are part of Rimmel's new 12 shade collection created in collaboration with Rita Ora.

The best thing about this little collection, apart from the fact that Rita's face is on every bottle of course, is the mix up of hot and cold colours, including strong sexy colours, such as orgasm (nail varnish name) red and slightly softer tones, such as breakfast in bed (name of nail varnish) - not to mention the somewhat quirky names!

The Recipe Read - Banana Loaf

Although I initially aimed to write a 'Recipe Read' post on a weekly basis, with my current university schedule it hasn't so far been possible, but hopefully in the next few weeks I should have a little more free time, so be sure to watch this space!

For this week's very late recipe post, I decided to bake a simple banana loaf as its fruity flavor makes it a perfect treat for the upcoming summer weather - fingers crossed for lots of lovely sun!

 

Although slightly different to a classic banana bread recipe, this banana loaf is just as tasty and much more simple to make, not to mention slightly cheaper too, so perfect for anyone on a budget. Plus, the best thing about this yummy recipe is that it is a perfect way to use up any slightly worse for wear bananas that are lurking in your fruit bowl - waste not, want not, ay!

To bake this delicious treat you will need:

140g of butter
140g of caster sugar
3 medium free-range eggs
140g of self-raising flower
1 tsp baking powder
2 ripe bananas

You will also need:

A loaf tin
Greaseproof paper
A wooden spoon or an electric mixer
A large mixing bowl
A fork for mashing the bananas
A set of scales

The method:

Start by pre-heating your oven to 180 degrees, then butter and line your loaf tin with greaseproof paper.

Then gently cream the butter and sugar together until it is smooth and fluffy. [Helpful hint: pop the butter in the microwave for 30 seconds to soften it slightly to make mixing easier!]

Then add the eggs and stir into the mixture.

Once the eggs are completely mixed in, begin sieving the flour and baking powder into the mixture, folding in small amounts of flour at a time.

Next mash the bananas in a separate bowl and then add to the mixture, making sure to distribute evenly throughout the mix.

Finally pour the mixture into the loaf tin and pop in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, checking occasionally until golden brown and completely cooked.

Despite the delicious aromas coming off your freshly baked banana loaf, be sure to leave it to cool for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack, and attempting to devour, as not only will it be very hot it may also collapse. You have been warned!

Happy baking!

Review: Rimmel Space Dust

As I have said before, I am a Rimmel girl through and through. From foundation to nail varnish, Rimmel has always been one of my favourite, go-to brands, and that is why I was so excited when they bought out Space Dust just before Christmas.

Until Rimmel Space Dust was introduced, I must admit that I wasn't all that sure how I felt about glittery nail polishes.

You see, what I always found, was that I didn't particularly like the look of regular nail polish finished with a glittery top coat, for some reason it never looked quite right, not to mention the fact that the glitter always seemed to refuse to spread evenly out... I also found, that when I applied the glittery varnish to my naked nails, bare of a colourful under coat, my hands felt just that little bit too plain - perhaps I am just a bit too fussy when it comes to my nails!

When I saw Space Dust advertised online last November, I wasn't too sure what to make of it. It looked perfect, thick and full of glitter, exactly what I has been waiting for - a glitter polish that was made to be worn solo!

Luckily for me, 'Santa', aka my lovely fiancé, brought me a pot of this pretty polish for Christmas, and since trying it out, whilst munching a festive breakfast of smoked salmon and poached eggs, I can honestly say I haven't looked back.

For me, the best thing about this polish is the thickness of it, along with the clever textured formula of glitter used as a base, instead of the usual clear affair.  I also, absolutely love the way it is quick and easy to use, how it dries nearly instantly, and amazingly, how without any sort of top coat, it seems to be pretty chip resistant!

Rimmel Space Dust is, most definitely, the answer to my glitter polish prays, as it can be applied straight to naked nails, giving a major, professional looking, wow factor, with just two quick-drying coats!

PANCAKE TIME - Yes, I know I am nearly a week late!

I may be a few days late with the Pancake Day post, but that's just because I ended up going out for dinner on the day itself, and by the time I got home I was sadly just too full to even consider a late night snack.

However, this meant that last night I was able to treat myself to a stack of pancakes - a perfect weekend treat!

I must admit that although I can cook, pancakes have always been my weakness; the batter is either to thick or too thin, and regardless of the amount of oil I use, they just always seem to stick.

But, this year there was one mighty difference, my new non-stick, Tefal frying pan - all I can say is...total lifesaver!

For once, almost perfect pancakes!

Pancake cooking aside, for me one of the best parts of pancake day is the toppings. The problem is, I literally love everything, from sweet to savoury, from simple lemon and sugar, to dill, smoked salmon and cream cheese. I am a total foodaholic.

This year however, due to a combination of a lack of funds, and me being in a totally sugar craving mood, I stuck to topping my pancakes with sweet treats.

If I am making pancakes myself, as a pose to popping to a pancake house, I tend to stick to the old classic of lemon and sugar, as I love the balance of the sour, fruity lemon juice and sweet sugar. However, this year after watching my partner make a delicious looking nutella and banana pancake, I just could not resist a taste.

Yummy nutella and banana pancakes!

Although a lot sweeter than my all time favourite, lemon and sugar, this yummy topping of nutella and banana makes for a great treat for anyone, who like me, has an incredibly sweet tooth.

The Recipe Read - Gluten Free Chocolate Mousse Cake

Welcome to the first ever post from my new series, The Recipe Read.

After noticing that a few other fashion and beauty bloggers have recently embraced their inner foodie, I decided that I too, would start my own mini cooking series.

I decided to start with this yummy mousse cake recipe, one, because it's full of chocolate and I am a self confessed chocoholic, and two, because it's gluten free!

This cake is just so good!

I must admit that when my fiance first made me this delicious chocolate mousse cake as a Saturday night treat, it didn't even cross my mind that it was gluten free, and so people like my mum who suffers from gluten intolerance and often struggles to find new gluten free foods to try, could also enjoy it.

To make this tasty treat you will need:

300g of dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
55g caster sugar
6 eggs
extra butter to grease the tin

You will also need:

A cake tin with a removable bottom
Greaseproof paper
A hand held or preferably, an electric whisk
A mixing bowl
Heat proof bowl
A set of scales

The method:

First, pre-heat over to 150 degrees, and grease and line cake tin with grease proof paper.

Then, bring a pan of water to the boil, place heat proof bowl on top of saucepan and add butter and chocolate, stir continuously until completely melted. Remove from heat and leave to cool slightly.

Then crack eggs into a separate mixing bowl, add sugar and whisk until the mixture becomes thick and mousse like. (If done by hand, this takes about half and hour and a lot of elbow grease!)

Once a thick mousse mixture is formed, slowly fold the melted butter and chocolate into the mixing bowl and stir gently until the chocolate is completely mixed in.

Slowly pour the mixture into the greased cake tin and place in the middle of the over for about 20 minutes, or until it appears part-cooked.

Once cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool for around 40 minutes before serving.

Happy Baking!

Apologies!

For anyone who regularly reads my blog, I do apologise for my recent absence from the blogsphere! I've been struggling to balance my life - it turns out that writing a dissertation is much more time consuming than I first thought!

However, I promise to manage my time more efficiently from now with more regular posts coming up in the next few weeks!

So, remember to pop back and have a read!