BLOGGED: #TriedAndTested #WhereToEat #Review #Food Mmm! Lunch at The @Crumblin_Cookie @thecookiejar_ Leicester

I recently discovered the wonder that is The Crumblin’ Cookie Cafe in Leicester. I am ashamed to say that despite living and working in Leicester for the past 3 years or so, until recently, I had never been in! My loss, I assure you! 

I decided to take a peek at their menu and house zine (Yes! They have their own programme of events in magazine format - it’s soo cool!) and chose their scrumptious Eggs Benedict (with perfect homemade hollandaise sauce… I was in AWE!), a freshly baked chocolate brownie and hot vanilla milk with Marshmallows. MMM! I also got to meet the lovely owners - Katie & Tinny!

They kindly showed me round the place so that I could take a few photos and I was surprised to find that the place has 3 floors! Including a basement bar and stage area AND a roof terrace! Blimey! 

Most impressive too, was their cute little house Spaniel Pup - Daisy! Soo cute!

I thoroughly recommend this place if you fancy a nice change from the likes of The Orange Tree, Firebug, Taps, The Almanack and other young & trendy bars dotted around Leicester. They often host great gigs downstairs at The Cookie Jar venue and exhibit work by local artists on their walls. The space can be hired for private parties too!

Overall, I found it a very warm and welcoming place, perfect for popping by and having a coffee and a slice of cake and a good natter with their friendly owners, in the heart of Leicester city centre. I recommend it to all!

“More Than Just A Coffee Bar…” Indeed! 

Follow them on Twitter: @Crumblin_Cookie

Check out their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/TheCrumblinCookie

The Crumblin’ Cookie

68 High Street  City Centre, Leicester LE1 5YP
0116 253 1212

Meet Daisy… She even has her own fan club!

There’s a brilliant outside seating area too. The perfect sun terrace for catching the last of the summer’s rays.

The Cookie Jar - Such a cool downstairs bar area!

Photography © Lucie Kerley

BLOGGED: #TriedAndTested #Beauty @LizEarle Cleanse & Polish Regime. Buff-ting your skin!

I recently bought myself one of the highly-acclaimed Liz Earle ‘Naturally Active Skincare’ Cleanse + Polish Kits. It arrived beautifully packaged and came with a lovely little note attached! This isn’t the first time I’ve used the range. I was initially introduced to the brand by my Aunty Tracy, she of the fabulous Christmas gifts. It was 2005 and I’d just started university. I can still remember arranging my Liz Earle Products with pride on my little bathroom shelf. 

And so… 7 years on, almost to the day, I am revisiting the brand and in doing so I am being taken back in time by the familiar fragrances and deliciously creamy texture of the cleanser and toner kit. An ‘Essentials’ starter kit will cost you £24.25 and includes: Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser 30ml tube, Instant Boost Skin Tonic 50ml bottle, Skin Repair dry/Sensitive 15ml tube, Skin Repair normal/Combination 15ml tube and 1 pure muslin cloth. I particularly LOVE the scent of the combination of vitamin E, hydrating organic aloe vera and rose-scented geranium used in their Instant Boost Skin Tonic, priced at £13.50 for a 200ml bottle.

This is a brand that works. It is ethical. It is full of ‘naturally active’ ingredients that soothe the skin and really do give a ‘polished’ effect. The customer reviews speak VOLUMES!

The photos above are taken during and after using the creamy cleanser and toner combo. I HATE not wearing make-up, but I felt that this review needed photo-proof of just how nice (if I do say so myself…) your skin looks and feels after using it, a great base for applying your make-up. The box also contained a few samples of various shades from their Liz Earle Sheer Skin Tint Make-up range, in my case it was their 002 Beige shade that suited my skintone best. A 40ml tube will cost you, £21 and gives you a lovely dewy look!

If I remember rightly, my Aunty had to order the products online as they weren’t available to buy at this point (c.2005) in any stores. Now, it’s a different story! John Lewis now stocks the range, as do Fenwicks and other Boutique stockists. 

They are right to say that the  award-winning routine is a ‘daily pamper’. The addition of the hot cloth to remove the cleanser is FANTASTIC for sorting out dull skin and cleaning clogged pores.

So THANK YOU Liz Earle. A JOY to use!

Photography © Lucie Kerley

#WhatIWore @VEROMODA Sequins, #Primark Skater Dress & @TightsPlease @Pamela_Mann Back seam tights #OOTD

Last day of Summer? Yes, it certainly feels like it! It’s that time of year again when we’re going to be wearing tights with everything! Not just for fashion’s sake, but also mainly for warmth!

I decided to whip out a pair of Pamela Mann Backseem Sheer Black Tights from my TightsPlease Blogger Challenge Goody Bag and wear them with my new Raspberry and Black striped Skater Dress from Primark for around £13, a AW11 Vero Moda Black fine-knit jumper with gold sequin detail and my Topshop Leopard Print Loafer-style slippers.

Hello Autumn/ Winter! 

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Notting Hill, London // C.A.R.N.I.V.A.L 2012 Style with my besties!

As is now tradition amongst our uni friends, we meet up each year at Notting Hill Carnival for a bit of Street Party fun in the form of a bit of bump & grind Garage action, Reggae classics, Salsa beats and Urban Hip-Hop. This year was no exception! We were in fine form! The music and the atmosphere was pulsing and the dance moves on display from our group of friends was something that couldn’t be missed! It is truly a let your hair down kind of event. I wondered what mood the British weather was going to be in and so decided to wear my Topshop Leopard Print Flippy Skater Dress, my YBDfashion Lama Peach  Paige Summer Cowboy Ankle Boots, a chunky Forever 21 Gold Chainmail-esq necklace and my TightsPlease Charnos Black Sheer Striped Tights, with my Topshop Casual Military Shirt worn over the top for when  and if we stopped partying away the weather turned cooler.

The gorgeous Rosalind Brabner aka @RozBeautique of http://www.urbanretreat.co.uk/and me.

Joe Mitchelmore aka @MadeByOthers http://www.madebyothers.com/  and me.

The lovely Sarah Plant aka @PlantSarah of http://fermentzine.com/ in her cute little summer dress!

The gang getting down to a bit of Craig David Garage action. Sophie O’Leary-Smith @solearysmith Marcos Eleftheriou @Marcosdot and Melly Talbot.

A little ‘Outfit of the Day’ sneak peak. I love my khaki green suede fringed bag, a gift from JMG’s Aunty. Lucky me!

@BillyFinnegan and Joe Mitchelmore

JERK CHICKEN TIME!!!!!

Melly, Sarah, Laura Rayner @LetsTryHard and me.

Joe and Melly.

Laura and Marcos Eleftheriou of BFC. Check out the British Fashion Council’s BFC/ Vogue Designer Fashion Fund - deadline for applications is 12th November 2012!

BFC/Vogue Designer Fashion Fund 

The Fund provides one British based designer with £200,000 and access to high level mentoring support - additional awards of mentoring and business support may be allocated to finalists at the judging panel’s discretion.

The aim of The Fund is to assist talented British designers with the potential for commercial growth to start making the transition from a developing creative business to a global fashion brand.

In order to be eligible for this scheme, designers must have an established business based within the UK. They must have UK and international stockists and support from key media. The winner must demonstrate a clear vision for their business and how The Fund will contribute to their growth with a focus on creating a global brand.”

Melly and Sarah.

Julie and Emily.

Emily O’Brien.

Billy

Ste Curley @stevejkcurley and the beautiful Typographer Sophie O’Leary-Smith @solearysmith

My girlies!

Billy & Nat.

Marcos

Salsa dancers in the street.

End of the day… tired tired feet from all the dancing. I resorted to swapping my heeled boots for my ever-so-comfy Schuh Leopard Print CABE Flatforms. BLISS!!

Photography © Lucie Kerley

Friday Night Posh Dinner / #TriedAndTested @FollowGousto Recipe Almond, Rosemary & Pepper Lamb Ragu - 30 mins

Fancy a change from good old beef Spag Bol?

Well, with a little help from the clever people at Gousto, we tried and tested their imaginative take on the good old Ragu dish and retired our jar of Dolmio to the back of the store cupboard…

Here’s what we made:

Almond, Rosemary & Pepper Lamb Ragu.

A delicious dish with tons of flavour! The sun dried tomatoes, rosemary and peppers went very well with the lamb and the almonds added their extra-special and rather unusual crunch to the dish. We will definitely be cooking this again! MMMM! It tasted fab with a good old bottle of red - Chianti from the CO-Op in our case.

Photography & Review © Lucie Kerley

Film & Edit © jmgcreative

03.07.12 :: How to get #DIY Wavy Beach Hair at home with a £24.99 @tresemmeuk Curling Wand from @Argos_Online in 10 steps!

1. Blast your freshly washed hair dry with a hair dryer. I use a Tangle Teezer, from £9.95 at Urban Retreat, to get the ‘lugs’ out of my ever-so-knotty hair. I’m wearing my Caro Turquoise Blue & Pink Beautiful Floral Print Kimono Dressing Gown, £43.99, a gift from JMG, from the Maya Rose Boutique.

2. Tools of the trade. I use the Phillips CareControl Ionic Hairdryer to quickly blast my hair dry roughly using my fingers, my sister’s trusty hand-me-down GHD’s, and a Tresemme Curling Wand, £24.99 from Argos. I first experienced the joys of a Curling Wand when having my hair done at Rachel Hammond at Highcross, in Leicester. Having mastered the art of curling my hair with straighteners some years back, I was amazed at just how quick the Curling Wand was compared to using *GHD’s or a similar straightening device. *I still use the GHD’s to straighten my fringe mind you!

3. Section hair into a ‘long-hair-and-a-pony’ or half-up/half-down type ‘do. I usually divide the bottom section into 4 separate pieces to get the wave that I like best.

4. The Curling Wand is more forgiving than using Straighteners when curling you hair as they are much much hotter (so hot, in fact, that it comes with a safety glove to protect your bare hand from the heat!) and, therefore, can handle slightly chunkier sections of hair.

5. Lay the curling wand on top of the section of hair you wish to curl and then wrap the hair, from underneath, up and over the wand. Hold hair onto wand for around 25-30 seconds depending on how easy your hair is to curl. Unravel the hair and whilst holding the bottom of the section of hair, shake it out loosely. 

6. Once you have done the bottom section of your hair, slowly work your way up, taking down small sections of hair and adding them to your finished waves. Leave an inch or two uncurled at the end of your hair to keep waves from looking too uniform. The more natural and organic looking the curl… the less of a ‘Chav-with-a wet-look-perm’ you will look!

7. When you have reached the top of your hair and have curled all sections, take smaller random sections of hair and curl them separately to add movement to the look.

8. I have a very straight full fringe and so to soften the look slightly, I grabbed the longer pieces of side fringe and wound them gently around the Curling Wand.

9. Because I’d blasted the hair roughly, it was still a little bit damp, even after using the Curling Wand, and so I decided to twist the hair a and pin it up to set the curls further.

10. Spritz with a liberal dose of Tresemme Freeze Hold Hairspray, £4.99 for a large 500ml can from Boots.  and your Beachy Hair is finished!

The finished look… Tousled and wild! Just how I like it! Now find a field and roll in it.

Photograph by Heather Tait - more to come from this shoot… messing around in farmer’s fields and such lark!

24.05.12 :: Home-made Simple Summer Fishcakes Enjoyed Al Fresco.

This is the BBC Good Food Simple Fish Cake recipe that I used. Click the image for recipe.

Tonight I wanted to make something that was tasty, summery, and could be conjured up using the few ingredients that I already had in the fridge/ cupboard or garden. I didn’t have any fish fillets as the BBC Good Food ‘Simple fish cakes’ recipe suggests, instead I had two frozen battered cod fillets which I carefully peeled the batter off and then placed into a pan of milk with a finely chopped red onion to boil away nicely.

I made my mash potato using the two remaining jacket spuds sat forlornly on my shelf and decided to root some fresh herbs from the garden to add a bit of tasty goodness to this simple dish. I opted for lemon thyme and parsley with some finely chopped red chilli and 5 finely sliced spring onions. I added this herby mix to the mash potato and flaked fish to form the basis for the fish cakes.

They were a little bit sloppy and so I needed to dust them with quite a bit of flour before dunking them in the beaten egg and covering in a dusting of fresh brown bread crumbs. I used 4 slices of toasted brown bread, finely grated, to make my crumbs. I then popped them in the fridge for 30 minutes as instructed to firm up a bit and then set about making Roasted Red & Yellow peppers stuffed with a simple lemon and herb cous cous, then popped them in the over with a drizzling of olive oil for around 25-30 mins.

We then fried the fish cakes on each side for a few minutes until heated through and golden brown on each side.

Finally, to accompany our fish cakes, we both had sliced cucumber and green salad, toasted pitta bread, garlic & red pepper houmous, guacamole and a drizzle of sweet chilli dipping sauce. mmm.

They were delicious! I think they tasted even better eaten in the garden whilst sipping on a glass of brandy and dry ginger.

To see my step-by-step photos of how I made them read on…

Read More

14.05.12 :: When I tried the Racer Front Vest look inspired by @afterDRK

A simple @HM charcoal grey vest worn backwards a la @afterDRK with my @TheHulot Prussia Tan Leather Satchel, my @SwaggaandSoul Daisy Leather Biker Jacket and @LamaPeach Paige boots from @YBDfashion. Check Shirt, Wooden Tribal style faux-ear tunnel and my Leather & gold cuff are from @Topshop. The red paisley scarf is vintage, a gift off my nana. Make-up-wise: I opted for Boots 17 natural dark brown eyeshadow and Urban Decay Glide-on eyeliner pencil in ‘Stash’ for a smokey eye look, and a couple of coats of Dior Diorshow Extase Mascara in Black. 

I’ve been working from home all day today so I thought I would give this Racer Front look a go without the risk of anyone apart from my boyfriend thinking I’m a twonk and have gotten dressed half asleep… basically by turning what is meant to be a Racer Back vest the wrong way round… Da da! I saw this look worn by the beautiful @afterDRK on her fab blog, read it here: BACK TO FRONT | @afterDRK and wanted to see how it felt… 

I thought it looked quite cool but JMG was a little wary of my chest falling out of the sides… Which is fair enough. Ideal for those of you with pert little breasts like Kate Moss… However if you’ve an ample bosom you have to be a bit careful of any accidental side-boob appearances… Either that or choose a vest with a slightly tighter in fit.

Photos: © Lucie Kerley