This Cake Will Make you Friends

02nd July 2011

3oz Self Raising Flour
1oz Cocoa powder
4oz Butter
4oz Caster Sugar
2 Large Eggs
As much chocolate as you can get your hands on; broken in to chunks (I used about half a large bar of dark chocolate and half a bag of white chocolate chips)

Mix everything together in a large bowl.
Spread evenly in to a baking tin.
Cook on 180c for around 20 minutes; this may be inaccurate, I can only go by my oven which does as it pleases…basically until a clean knife/skewer inserted in to the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Allow to cool.

Take in to work and watch everyone become your new best friend.

Happy Weekend

xxx

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Snacking Saturday (er, Friday); the luxury edition

01st July 2011

I’m not going mad (I promise), I know that today isn’t Saturday, but I’m going out after work today and I’m not sure what time tomorrow I’ll be back, so you get my review a day early…lucky devils!

This week’s snack is very much a luxury product…courtesy of Joe & Seph’s gourmet popcorn.
The brains behind this operation were kind enough to send me a couple of flavours to try, after I expressed an interest in just how up-market popcorn could get.

The popcorn came beautifully packaged inside a box. Whilst seeming simple, the plastic pouches managed to look sophisticated thanks to the attractive labelling, and served their purpose perfectly at keeping the popcorn fresh.

I was sent the Salty Caramel and the Smooth Caramel, Pepper and Chilli to try.

The Salty Caramel was my favourite (but I am biased, I’m not really a spicy fan). Buttery and rich…perfectly fresh, the salt cut through what could have otherwise been an over-powering, sickly sweet sensation.
The popcorn was still crisp, as opposed to the soggy effect you can get when it’s sat around too long…you’d have been hard pushed to tell it had been popped over a week ago (by the time I got round to munching). This stuff was addictive. My hand kept travelling to the pouch for more.

I tried a piece of the Smooth Caramel, Pepper and Chilli then passed it on to my Dad to try, knowing he could give a better verdict. Again it was noted how fresh the popcorn was. His only complaint was that he couldn’t detect the pepper, but the chilli and caramel complemented each other suprisingly well, and again, it was an addictive nibble to have.

Joe & Seph also produce an exciting range of savoury popcorn, including the intriguing Goats Cheese and Black Pepper.

Would I buy these again?

Sure, if money was no object. At £4 for an average of 90grams of popcorn these really are on the higher end of the snacking scale. Fortunately for Joe & Seph the quality mixed with innovative flavours mean I can see them doing well, and the fact they sell gift jars and tins to mix and match the perfect flavour combinations mean I can not only see myself purchasing for me, but also as a gift for my foodie friends…
but only as a very special treat.

So there we go…this isn’t an every day snacking Saturday (Friday), but I thoroughly enjoyed my first foray in to luxury snacking.

What would your dream flavour be?

xxx

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Work on a Budget

30th June 2011

Last week I had an e-mail from sofeminine, inviting me to put together the best bargain outfit that I could come up with under £50 (and they’d foot the bill). The timing of this was fantastic, as I’ve been starting to ponder how to get a decent workwear wardrobe on a budget. I’m lucky because my job is pretty lax when it comes to what we wear, and at first my standard dresses etc seemed to fit in just fine; but now I’m working there more, and I’m more involved in “front of house” I wanted to invest in some more classic “worky” clothes…but didn’t want to spend a fortune.

My outfit came via Topshop. Somewhere I can only ever afford to shop during the sales. The trousers were £20, reduced from £45 and are the perfect fit and length on me. I’m not a trousers girl, except for work, and I am loathe to spend a lot of money on them, especially as they so rarely fit right…but these do…and although not a traditional colour, they are smart, comfortable and (for once) a quality that will last.

The top, I bought in three colours; a paler blue and a white as well. These were an absolute bargain at £5 each down from £15. It gets hot and work, so loose cotton is an instant winner and that that kind of price, I’m not going to say no!

I would have been able to get some flat, sensible shoes within the budget too, but I opted not to purely because I have NOwhere at all left to store new shoes!

My outfit, as well as the other bloggers who took part will be showcased here, so you’ll be able to pick up all our hints and tips for shopping on a budget.

What are your top budget shopping tips?
Mine would be..

-Shop the sales.

-Look for pieces that are good quality, and won’t date.

-If you see basics at a good price, buy in bulk!

-Don’t buy anything you only like because it’s cheap; it’s a false economy!

xxx

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Aussie Summer Soiree

29th June 2011

As a fairly new recruit to the Aussie Angels this was the first event of theirs I’ve been too, and also the first time I’ve had a chance to meet other bloggers. I had NO idea what to expect and nervous is probably not a strong enough word.

Fear not. Bloggers are lovely. Lovely lovely lovely. I would however like to formally apologise for talking rubbish pretty much the entire day (who didn’t envy Hayley having to travel back with me?). Check out the epic venue, gorgeous girls and Amy’s AMAZING candyfloss hair!

I barely took any photos (what kind of blogger am I?), so the ones here come courtesy of Hayley and the lovely Emma at Aussie…

Huge thank you to Aussie, again for such an amazing time! I can’t wait for the next one!

xxx

P.S. if anyone has any good luck vibes going spare, my Nan is having a hip replacement today.

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work that heat

28th June 2011

Case in point of how humid it has been here; my hair was dead straight Sunday night. Yesterday I woke up to…

Yeah. I was un-amused.

And it left me with a dilemma. The site I work at on a Monday isn’t know for it’s warmth, but we have a lot of glass, which basically meant greenhouse!
After much frustration I went for my coolest weight skirt and a sheer blouse. It kind of worked. With the aid of a fan in the office.

The big reveal of my latest Sarenza ambassador purchase! As many of you guessed, I opted for some Jeffery Campbells. At the time the weather was vile and I found myself planning ahead for winter (with a resigned view to wearing them most of the summer, too). As soon as they arrived, the weather got gorgeous, so no modelling of them yet!