Nancy Whittington-Coates

I have something a little different today my lovelies, a bit of a DIY job you might say! I was very kindly given a very nice grey leather look clutch bag with heavy chain detailing recently and although it was lovely as it was I couldn't think of many of my own clothes it would really go with. I don't own much grey as I tend to go for black or brightly coloured pieces usually and the style although lovely felt a little too 'serious' for my liking. I thought it needed a touch of kitschy fun adding to it, and so I got out my paints!

As you can see from the photo above I just used regular acrylic paints. As the name suggests they give a plasticy finish for want of a better word, and so won't rub off or come off when in contact with water like most other paints would. Now I always knew leopard print was what I wanted to go for but originally had planned to do the centres in hot pink, but when I'd finished adding the black I decided I liked the monochrome look and left it as it is.

It was ever so easy, I started by doing random splodges over the front of the bag in white, unevenly spaced so it didn't look too uniform. Once they had dried (which doesn't take long with acrylics) I went in with the black paint around each splodge leaving a gap or two and then adding some smaller slodges around the big ones. I just grabbed something leopard print and followed the pattern basically and it turned out great.

I like the effect so much I might have a look on eBay for some more leather look items to paint!

Ever since I was a little one I have wanted blonde hair. Not just any blonde hair, the palest blonde hair possible.

My mum and dad were really awesome and let me foray into the world of blonde when I was about 12 and had a head of highlights done. I liked the look and kept it up for a while but never felt I had achieved quite the level of blonde as I desired. I then went into my teens where I tried every hair colour and cut possible (to the point where I had shaved sides painstakingly dyed leopard print with pink and black dyes!) eventually settling on black when I grew out my punk hair and wanted to go for a more ladylike look with Betty bangs and a head full of extensions while the sides grew back. Here's a little snapshot of a few of the do's I had through my teen years, with bonus terrible eyebrows and lots of piercings!

The blonde bug had stayed with my through this time and soon I was back wanting the Marilyn look and started working on getting my hair from black to platinum at about the age of 18. I didn't know what I was doing and didn't know that hair colour removers existed or that vitamin C mixed into your shampoo works a treat at stripping colour from your hair, so I just went ahead and bleached it. A lot. Too much. WAY too much. After three bleaches my hair was the colour of Irn Bru and just would not get any lighter. It was done, and no matter what I did it would not lighten, so I did the only thing I could think and dyed it all bright pink as that was the only colour I could think of that would cover the orange. It was probably a good thing that I did this as my hair was really really ruined and semi permanent bright colours like Directions are very moisturising.

Despite the fact that my hair was like pink hay, after about a month or so I tried bleaching it again and after a few goes got to as light as I thought I was going to get and stuck with it, just bleaching my roots from then on. My hair was trashed, but eventually with lots of conditioning, being careful while bleaching and getting my hair cut regularly I had semi-decent hair again.

I get asked often what products I use and how I have managed to maintain this colour for nearly 8 years without losing all my hair so thought I'd do a little post! I really wouldn't recommend the DIY method if you want to go from dark to platinum after my experience of hair that is stretchy and bubblegum like when wet, and when dry a frizzy, straw-like barnet of doom. I'd recommend doing it gradually and getting a professional to do it for you, but once you are blonde if you wish to maintain it yourself you could try using the products I do which are as follows...

So first up, the bleach itself. If I was less lazy I'd use a separate powder bleach and developer cream with a toner applied afterwards, but as I am a lazy so and so I currently use L'Oreal Paris's Feria in shade L01 Extreme Platinum Power. It is a strong one so takes my hair to as light as I want it in one application, toning it too to a vanilla like pale colour. I would recommend getting a friend to help apply it so you don't overlap onto already lightened hair when you're doing your roots avoiding as much damage as possible. One of the main reasons I love this product is the fantastic toning conditioner that comes with it - you get a really generous tube and it does wonders to my hair helping it be as smooth and silky as possible while keeping yellow tones at bay.

Also to help keep my hair snowy rather than creamy I always add a little squeeze of Matrix Total Results So Solver Shampoo to my normal shampoo whenever I wash it. Now this stuff can really dry out your locks so rather than use just this as my shampoo I just add the teeniest amount to my normal shampoo which I will show you in a moment. I bought a one litre bottle of this stuff for £20 three years ago and I'm only just using up the last bits now! It's definitely worth the money - looking at pictures of my hair before and after I started using this stuff the difference is so noticeable even though I use the same bleach. I went from creme brulee to ice maiden in one fell swoop (or shampoo to be correct).

So, I actually rotate between two or three different shampoo, conditioner and mask ranges because I feel like my hair kind of 'gets used' to them if I use them too long and that it builds up a coating if I don't change it around a bit which stops them working as well. My current favourites are the two ranges above, the L'Oreal Paris Hair Expertise EverStrong range and the John Frieda Full Repair Hydrate + Rescue range. As I said before, I like to add a small amount of silver shampoo to my normal shampoo and then I create a mix of the conditioner, hair mask and toning conditioner that comes with the bleach to condition my hair. It may seem a bit much but I come away from it with tangle free, shiny and soft hair so I don't mind the extra work!

Finally I wanted to let you know a few of the styling products I use. Now I always blow dry my hair which I am fully aware a lot of people tell you not to do if you bleach your barnet and they are right it is better not to, but I like to use additional conditioning and volumising products which just wouldn't work if I was to let my hair dry naturally.

I towel dry my hair and then apply John Frienda Luxurious Volume Thickening Mousse to just my roots - the difference this makes to my finished look is amazing. Bleaching has thinned my once thick hair and made it a lot more fine, which coupled with my naturally poker straight locks can equal a pretty drab do, but if I blow dry my hair with this mousse I come out with thicker looking hair that is volumised at the roots and looks much much fuller.

To the ends of my hair I apply either Avon's Advance Techniques Damage Repair 3D Rescue Leave In Treatment or a little Hask Argan Oil from Primark, or a combination of the two. A little goes a long way with both and I make sure I don't get this stuff on my roots to avoid a greasy look.

I then give everything a quick spritz of Elnett Satin Heat Protect Styling Spray and get to blow drying, elevating my roots with my fingers while drying it to add more height. I use the 'curls' version of the spray, only because it is the same thing I use when heat curling my hair and it works just as well for blow drying - it doesn't create a curl it just helps your heat style set and last longer.

Another thing which can be bad for bleached hair is washing it too often. I know this sounds odd, but washing your hair removes the natural oils that your scalp emits which actually helps your hair. I wash my hair every other day and if my do is feeling a bit lack luster or greasy looking on the second morning I give my roots a quick spray with Batiste Cherry Scented Dry Shampoo and give it another brush to disperse it through my hair and I'm left with hair that looks freshly washed, just not quite as shiny as usual.

Well I hope this answered some questions and helped some of you lovelies out, if you have any questions do feel free to drop me a comment and I'll come back to you as soon as I can!

Hi lovelies! Sorry I've not been posting as often these last few weeks, it's been pretty hectic over here and I've been trying to do way too many things at once resulting in hardly any of them being done, bleugh! There have been some nice distractions come my way in the form of some pretty clothes popping through my door and this was my absolute favourite!

Now I already knew the dress would be lovely because I had seen it in person at the bloggers dinner but I was intrigued as to how it would fit with it being a non stretch fabric. I flitter between a size 22 or 24 in dresses like this and decided to go for the 24 which was definitely the wise choice as it's a perfect fit.

The neckline and the length of the dress are bang on for my tastes and the weeny cap sleeves are a very cute tough. The dress is fully lined as you can see below and the printed fabric is just beautiful and such good quality, thick but not too heavy and with a slight sheen. The pleats to the waistband are engineered perfectly and give a fabulous full look to the skirt while the panelling to the body is right on the mark not only making it fit the bust wonderfully but also giving a slight illusion look that slims the silhouette down a little.

As the dress is such a classic style but the print more contemporary, I decided to take go a bit edgy with a feminine twist for the rest of the look teaming it with a lace biker jacket and grey holographic pumps with stud like gems to the heels.

If you're looking for a lovely occasion dress that will suit nearly every figure and won't break the bank I can highly recommend this baby. Beautiful and elegant yet with a modern print and flattering, comfortable fit this is the kind of dress everyone should have in their wardrobe should the need arise for a frock to wow a crowd!

As I mentioned in the title of this post, I have done my first outfit video! It's a little nerve wracking and I saw 'erm' about a million times as I was nervous but I'm quite pleased with it as a first attempt! Mega props go to my lovely boyfriend for filming it and putting up with my silly demands!

Please let me know what you think of the video and if you'd like to see more. Any tips and advise as to what I could do differently to improve it next time would be most welcome!

Bardot Printed Prom Dress - Look Magazine for Simply Be *gifted*

Lace Biker Jacket - Forever 21+ (no longer available but this lace jacket is cute)

Holographic Pumps with Diamante Heels - M&S

Hi loves! I'm here sharing some of the recipes that have caught my eye recently while I've been trying to add something new to our weeknight menus, there were so many that I've bookmarked I had a hard time narrowing it down to just a few!

First up are these Broccoli Parmesan Fritters from the food bible that is Smitten Kitchen. I love fritters of any kind (especially my sweetcorn version which you can find the recipe for here) as does my lovely Pete but as they're fried we don't tend to have them too often. These will definitely be made this weekend though!

Now, Pete loves cinnamon and I adore rhubarb, so this Cinnamon Layer Cake with Strawberry Rhubarb Swiss Meringue Frosting sounds like the perfect cake for us. I'm also a sucker for any dessert with more than two layers as they look so decadent and impressive!

It's a bit of a running joke that whenever we visit our favourite Indian buffet restaurant I eat about ten little shot glasses of the fruity aromatic yoghurt puddings they have at the dessert station, especially the pink rose water scented ones! I definitely want to try making these Kesar Aam Srikhand desserts which use mango puree and cardamom mixed with the strained yoghurt, although I'm kind of scared I'd eat the whole batch as soon as it was made!

There's a little Vietnamese cafe nearby that serves these lovely spring onion filled crispy pancakes that are cut into slices for dipping into gingery soy sauce and I adore them. I've never tried making them at home so I might give this Shrimp Scallion Pancake recipe a go myself soon!

Usually I'm not a massive quiche fan unless it's made by certain people haha, but this Fresh Herb Quiche from Martha Stewart looks dreamy and I try and cram as many herbs as I can into my cooking during the summer. Washed down with a Strawberry-Ginger Caipirosca on a hot weekend afternoon in the garden this would be perfect-a-mundo.

I've been on a bit of a pasta lull recently not really fancying it that often, but this Capellini with Chive Blossoms and Creme Fraiche looks fresh and zingy and exciting, not the heavy super sauced stuff we usually get over here in the UK.

Do you know what the perfect summer dessert is? It's pavlova. A crispy chewy cloud of meringue topped with a snow peak of softly whipped cream and a mountain of deliciously sharp fruit to cut through the sweetness and creaminess. This Pavlova with Rhubarb and Pistachios is definitely the next one I'll try!

Friday nights are made for cocktails and sweet treats and cinnamon rolls are very near the top of our love list. Gooey and soft and spicey and sweet, you just can't go wrong so I'll be whipping up a batch of these Overnight Cinnamon Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting in the very near future! I think an almondy orangey cocktail would be the perfect partner for these doughey treats so I'll be topping up the cocktail shelf with the ingredients for this Black Almond Cocktail this weekend too!

Have you found any awesome recipes recently? Please share them with me if you have!

Kesar Aam Srikhand

At times I'm one for letting myself get really down in the dumps. It's really hard having to have a grown up job that your heart just isn't in so you can pay the bills when all you long for is to use your creative skills to earn a living and sometimes I let that eat me up. When that happens I see to spiral into sadness for a few weeks and then something in my head will click and I'll force myself to see all the things I'm lucky to have in my life, no matter how small or insignificant they may seem.

I know that I'm not the only one to feel this way and even if you don't get sad for the same reasons as me I know we all go through a period of sadness every now and again. Here's the list of what is currently making me happy, why don't you doodle down your own list to look at any time you're feeling blue?

1) Sitting with Pete and having a freshly made cappucino and a caramel waffle cookie on Saturday mornings.

2) Cuddles with Cleo.

3) Being able to afford our pretty little cottage, bills and food.
Even though I get down about money every now and again because we can't afford holidays and I can't buy a better car I should feel lucky that we never have to scrape together the money for our rent and bills. Sure sometimes we have to have a month of not so nice dinners, but at least we can still afford dinners unlike an awful lot of people in the world and I shouldn't forget that.

4) Having great parents and parents in law that are supportive and loving.
I've been kind of blown away reading people's posts about being bullied by their parents recently. Sure they didn't like a lot of the hair styles I chose when I was younger but they're never put pressure on me about my weight. They've helped me with diets when I've wanted to do them but never tried to force me into it or say unkind things.

5) Having lovely friends.
I purposefully only keep in touch with people who are kind, intelligent, open minded, lovely individuals as I don't see the need to have people in your life that you don't really want there. Don't surround yourself with negative and unsupportive people, I made that change over the last few years and I can honestly say that it's lovely not to have drama in my life or be forced to put an act on in front of certain people. My friends love me for me and I love them for them, no need for fronts or lies.

6) Working in a great team of people I really like.

7) Having adventures booked in throughout the rest of the year so I have lots to look forward to.

8) It's sunny for once!

9) Now I've had my birth control implant removed last week I'm already feeling 70% less like a crazy person! (sorry if TMI!)

10) Having a great relationship still loving my boyfriend just as much, if not more, than when we first got together over five years ago.

11) Out little garden is lovely on a sunny morning, we just need to get the elderflower tree branches to the tip so I can sit out there again!

12) Sipping tasty cocktails on a summer evening is the best.

13) I can see roses from the window in my home office and they're gorgeous!

14) Walks around town on a Saturday morning are my favourite.

15) I love feeling like a real little family when Pete and I snuggle up on the sofa to watch a movie and Cleo climbs up to sleep on my side.

Hi beautifuls! Just a really quick post, I'm really really pleased as Plus Model Magazine have featured me in their Blogger Fashion Spotlight this week! They've said lovely things about my style and I've shared some of my fashion tips and attempted to define my style.

You can read the article here!

x o x o x

Yesterday I spent a lovely afternoon at my local Taking Shape store in Leicester. Taking Shape is a relatively new brand to the UK having started out in Australia and although I've had a look on their website a few times I've never took the plunge to buy anything so I was really excited when I was asked if I wanted to visit the store to check it out! On to a train I hopped and after a short walk I arrived at the lovely shop...

When I say lovely shop, I really mean it. It's big and bright and airy and I was so happy to see such an amazing array of colours before my eyes! I was also very happy that they had air con, because boy was it toasty out yesterday! I was met by the lovely team and was shown into a changing room where one of the stylists Liz (I do hope I have that name right, I'm awful with names!!!) had picked out some pieces that she thought I'd love - and was right! She was so helpful and friendly and helped me throughout the visit, such a nice lady!

As I was trying on I got speaking to quite a few of the other ladies in the changing rooms and they all told me how much the loved the store, the clothes and especially the lovely staff and the brilliant style advice they gave. One lady told me she had visited the Nottingham store too but thought the Leicester ladies were better with their advice - go girls! All the staff seemed to have really good knowledge of all the pieces in store and the different brands available at Taking Shape and knew most of the customers by name which was lovely. All the customers I met had come in on an off chance and fallen in love with the pieces and the staff and had become regulars which stands to show how great of a shop it is!

Another great service available at Taking Shape stores is a free personal styling experience which I think is a fabulous idea and so useful for large ladies who are unsure what shapes and styles would work best for them. There are lots of difference session available such as Find Your Shape, Travel In Style, The New You, Wardrobe Revival and you can even book a birthday styling experience or have a Style Party with a group of friends!

Now onto the lovely pieces I tried on...

The first piece that had been picked out for me was this super feminine little number. The colours were spot on for my skin tone and hair colour and I loved the fullness of the skirt, it was a nice heavyweight fabric too which meant despite it being stretchy fabric it hung really well and skimmed over my lumps and bumps. This would be the kind of dress that would be perfect for me to wear at a vintage fair as it was so comfortable and had that vintage feel with the cut and the print.

Second up was the fab monochrome number which featured some really clever panelling which had been edged in black making it stand out, a detail that I really liked along with the exposed zip to the back. I was surprised by how much I liked the square neckline with the non stretch fabric - if only my boobs were a bit bigger and the fit on that area would have been perfect but as mine are a little small compared to most other ladies of my size there was a little gaping, but nothing a few simple darts couldn't have fixed!

Now this dress was a mega bargain at only £35 in the sale and was so beautiful. The deep, rich purple was fantastic and the black lace overlay to the bust was gorgeous. The smart shape of the skirt meant you had a nicely fitted upper and flared bottom which was very flattering. I was given this very pretty sheer over jacket to try on over the top which was also so so flattering to my figure, hugging under my bust and defining my waist and again hanging beautifully. The laser cut out detail to the bottom was great too making it a little more contemporary.

This dress was fabulous for my pear shape as the stretchy t shirt like upper was fitted to my bust while the flared skirt emphasised my waist and fell beautifully hiding my tummy. What is immediately evident is that a great deal of thought has gone into the design of everything at Taking Shape, I was really pleased to notice that they add a little extra length to the back of their dresses so you have a constant length all the way round - if you're anything like me your bum can make the back of dresses ride up higher which can be very frustrating! They also don't skimp on fabric - the skirts are so full and fabulous!

This maxi dress was fabulous and the flowers were really neon in person with pretty sequin details. The heavy beading to the neckline was great too but sadly it was a smidge too short for me - I'm just under 5' 8'' so find this quite often.

Unsurprisingly this dress was one of my favourite things, solely because of the amazing print and lilacy colour scheme! I actually ended up taking this number home with me I loved it so much and know I'll get a lot of wear out of it at work. The photo realistic flowers are beautifully coloured and placed and it kind of looks like two dresses depending which side you look at because the shades change from the lilacy blue to paler pinks and yellow - just wonderful! The wrap was really cleverly designed as an overlay that was a little oversized so it hung in a really great way ending on the waistline.

Unfortunately the black dress above was only available in a size smaller than I usually take but I tried it on anyway and it did fit, it was just more figure hugging. It was a lovely damask style print with lace and chiffony overlays, really unusual and a bit gothic glamour!

Now, my favourite piece of the day and another thing which came home with me was this amazing bed jacket made from a stunning printed satin. This was another mega bargain, originally priced at £95 and down to £25 in the sale. It's a long time since I tried something on and loved it as much as this, Liz thought it was quite funny how taken I was with it! Seriously though, look how it hangs and how the tie emphasises my waist - I can imagine Marilyn swooshing around her home in something like this. I am genuinely in love!

Taking Shape sell a great little selection of gift ware too including candles and infusers, hand creams, soaps and little home accessories. I couldn't resist this super fun sleep mask and this pomegranate candle with moulded orchid lid smells divine, at only £5 it was a steal and the mask was only £3 too!

If you have a store near you I highly recommend you head in for a trying on session some time, a lot of the pieces I tried looked a little meh or old fashioned on the hangers but when put on looked amazing and I can't exaggerate the great quality of everything. Give it a go!

Hi sugarpies! So I'm here with my second outfit video, this time with something a little more daring and trendy, namely a horizontal striped pencil skirt and a monochrome cropped tee!

Yep, breaking two of the biggest rules wearing things that silly people tell you that fat girls shouldn't wear, but I say why the hell not! The whole horizontal stripes makes you look wider thing is a load of rubbish (or at least Stephen Fry said so on QI so I guess it must be true) and if someone is offended by seeing a but of your cute chubby tum then butts to them! If you think you look great in it that's all that matters and I can genuinely say I felt great in this outfit, but that said I don't think I would ever have tried something like this if it hadn't been for this wonderful lady Tess Munster.

(image source)

If you don't know who Tess is (which would surprise me as she is pretty darn famous now!) she's a plus size model based in California and is pretty flipping amazing! Tess is the only plus size model that I can really relate to mainly because she's a similar size and shape to me, unlike nearly every other PS model I have seen. She also has lots of tattoos like me and seems to have pretty similar tastes when it comes to clothes and style and things like that. When you grow up in a culture that tells you that looking like I do (plus size, tattoos, unconventional hair and make up) and liking the things that I do is weird and to be made fun of it's really incredible to see someone so similar who is so confident and doing so well (especially in the modelling industry) and I know it sounds a bit weird but my confidence has grown by seeing Tess do so well.

But anyway, I love Tess and what she is doing to help encourage body confidence at any size or appearance is great and you should check her out if you're unfamiliar with her and her #effyourbeautystandards movement.

So to the outfit I'm wearing... I decided to try a few crop tops after seeing Tess wearing them and looking really cute because we're of a similar size. I actually saw a photo of her in the skirt I'm wearing here too although not with this top! Both items are from Simply Be who are currently my absolute favourite high street retailer, mainly because they're the only place I can find on trend items in my size that aren't faffed about with to make them acceptable for fat girls i.e. making things longer and baggier to cover us up like a lot of places do. Simply Be really let you celebrate your shape and express yourself through fashion and I loooooove them!

The skirt is definitely one of my new favourite pieces, I got it in my local Leicester store on Saturday. I was really pleased to see it in there because I'd been eyeing it up for ages online but not known what the fit would be like so I grabbed it along with the matching top and tried it on. I just wasn't feeling the matching top for some reason but I had a feeling in my mind that the monochrome crop from another matching set that I already have would look really great and thankfully when I got it home and tried it it did!

The skirt is a textured waffle type fabric which works really really well for this style and with the stripes - I'd been worried that the white would show my undies through but because its a nice thick fabric it doesn't, yay no VP! It's stretchy as is my preference for a pencil skirt and I think it's pretty true to size, I got my normal size and it was bang on and it was the same with the crop top.

I managed to nag my little sis into posing in a few pics with me hoorah! She's so darn perdy!

Monochrome Twosie Crop Top - Simply Be - £35.00

Stripe Waffle Jersey Pencil Skirt - Simply Be - £30.00

Gold Gem Slipper Shoes - New Look - Sold out but these are similar!

You can watch the video here, there's a silly bit at the end from when my Dad was helping me film - you can hear my fabulously Leicester accent and watch me pull silly faces haha!

Yup, another crop top. Sorry if you're getting bored of em, but they're pretty much my new love. So comfy and cool in these little bursts of heat we're getting and I think they look pretty bitchin' with my staple pencil skirts. If you're confused as to why I just used the word 'bitchin' since we're no longer in the 90's and what the title of this post is all about, they're references to the comic/movie Ghost World. I'll explain a little more later on...

I got this shirt while on a little jaunt to Sheffield with my guy and my lil sis and her boyfriend on Saturday. The traffic there and back was hideous so we didn't have as long there as we had wanted but we found a few cool little shops while waiting for Stefan to get his hair cut at a cool little barbers called Savills. One of them I fell in love with, it was called Collard Manson and was super creepy and weird - I bought some glass tumbler paraffin candles with religious icons on which I've been looking for for AGES (I love Christian are despite not being religious) and a carved wooden pen with an angry bunny on it. Turns out there's actually one other store and it's in Nottingham which is super close to me so I'm looking forward to a lil trip there soon!

This tee is actually from H&M and is from the regular sized section rather than H&M+ (which in my opinion pretty much always sucks unless you're looking for plain boring stuff), it's a size large but as it's an oversized style I figured I'd give it a go and it fits pretty much perfectly I'd say! It's a nice thin, soft fabric so it hangs nicely and the back is slightly dipped, although that could just be because it's an unhemmed cut edge to the bottom and they are all probably a little different.

I've teamed it with my favourite black velour pencil skirt which was part of an old Claire Richards collection for Fashion World. I'll be mortified if it ever gives up the ghost as I wear it at least twice a week! Despite it being pretty warm this weekend we were getting bursts of rain so I figured boots would be a smart choice and threw on these lovely studded ankle boots from Simply Be. They're super comfy, I chose the EEE fit so I could wear socks over my tights. I absolutely adore them and although they're £65 which some may consider a little pricey they are leather and seem well made and I know I'm going to get lots of wear out of them.

As for accessories I grabbed my favourite tote bag that I got from New Look a lil while ago. It has a lather look main body with 'wings' of faux suede dotted with lots of little studs and works with so many outfits as it's such a classic shape brought up to date with the multi textures.

I didn't want to take away from the print of the shirt so didn't wear a necklace but I grabbed a pink gerbera hair clip and a pink feather butterfly clip to add to my hair and my gorgeous Betsey Johnson shades that I nabbed at a bargain £12.99 at TK Maxx a little while ago. Betsey makes my favourite sunnies, they're always so fun and kitschy! These are a gold glitter base with purple and black leopard print and gold mirrored lenses, ridiculous and amazing!

So as I mentioned earlier, this top immediately made me think of the movie Ghost World and specifically the character Enid who drags her poor, socially awkward new friend Seymour (Steve Buscemi!!!!) into a 'private shop' and borrows money off him to buy the cat lady mask you can see above. When I got the shirt off the rail I actually saw that it's Batman branded so is clearly actually a Catwoman shirt, but Enid is cooler then Catwoman so I'm sticking with my interpretation!!!

Meow & Mask Crop Top - H&M - £12.99 (it was £9.99 in store...)

Black Velour Pencil Skirt - Simply Be - No longer available but these are

Studded Ankle Boots (E or EEE fit) - Simply Be - £65.00

Black Studded Tote Bag - New Look - No longer available but this is similar

Pink Gerbera Hair Clip - Gift but this is similar

Pink Feather Butterfly Hair Clip - Primark - No longer available but these are similar

Betsey Johnson Gold Sunglasses - TK Maxx - No longer available but these are similar

I hope you had a lovely bank holiday weekend, did you get up to anything exciting?

My absolute favourite band ever is The Bouncing Souls.
Despite not being religious I absolutely love Christian art and collect old paintings and any kitschy religious icon stuff that I can find.
I had a proper shaved sides mohawk/mohican for about a year in my teens with the sides dyed leopard print.
I have a tattoo of a swallowther (a swallows body with a panther head) which was completely unplanned and done by my friend Chin when I was helping him out at a tattoo convention.
My first blog was a food blog and you can find it here.
My first 'proper' non retail job was at a wedding invitation shop. Brides be crazy yo.
It's pretty much my goal in life to look and smell like a delicious dessert - my favourite perfumes and vanilla, candy and fruit based scents.
In my teens I started apprenticing as a tattooist but had to give it up when I moved into my own place cause I had to pay bills. I wish I had carried it on...
I absolutely love The Moomins and collect anything Moomin related that I can get my hands on!
My favourite foods are french fries, freshly made onion rings, home made pavlova with lots of whipped cream and lemon curd and passion fruit pulp, calamari, doughnut peaches, Oreo Dairy Milk, a good rare steak with bearnaise sauce and palmier pastries from Laduree.
I find it really hard to sit and watch a show or movie at home without doing something else at the same time and it drives Pete crazy!
I love playing Super Princess Peach on my Nintendo DS when I can find the time.
I'm only really interested in books, films and tv shows set in beautiful eras of the past because enveloping myself in a time of politeness, gentility and glamour makes me feel safe and happy. I love Poirot for just this reason!
I studied textiles print and design, media studies and an extended award in fine art when I was at school, but I hated being there and quit half way through my A levels.
I get a bit nervous in lifts because I got stuck in one while on a school trip to Paris because it was too full and just stopped moving - it was pretty scary as we didn't know how high we'd gone up but it turned out we were only about a metre from the bottom!
I used to run a mail order bakery service and sold cakes through a coffee shop in town, but stopped as it took up all of my spare time.
I've been told I'm a good singer and even started lessons to perfect my style but I get really nervous and don't like to sing in front of people so I stopped!
I was born and have lived in the same place all my life - I need to escape to somewhere new for at least a few years!
The first CD I bought was a compilation of Motown songs and the first single was a cassette tape of the first Spice Girls single!
I have always wanted to be a platinum blonde even as a little girl, ever since I first saw Marilyn Monroe.
I used to play the double bass.
I adore cities and long to live in a fun one some day, the countryside is great for relaxing holidays but the quiet freaks me out a little!
I haven't been on a proper holiday to another country since I was six years old, the closest I've got is a weekend in Copenhagen visiting family and a few days in Paris with school. One day Pete and I hope to be able to afford a trip to San Francisco, Florida and Las Vegas. I'd also love to visit some towns in the southern states like Charleston and New Orleans.
I have bad acne and can't find a cure and it depresses the crap out of me, thank the lord for full coverage make up.
I really like doing stuff on my own and am more comfortable doing so. I freak out about letting people help me do things, but sometimes I get really lonely and miss my friends an awful lot - sadly most of them have moved away in the last year so I'm a bit of a loner at the moment...
I'm pretty much always cold.
I blog as a way to use my creative skills and to stop myself going mad from having to work jobs that I hate and have nothing to do with my passions! I'm so glad I started because I've met so many lovely people and it keeps me sane!

I love posts like this, do share yours with me if you've done one too!

Wedding season is upon us my little honey bees and I know it can be a terribly stressful business finding a wedding guest outfit. If you're looking for something comfortable, eye catching and unusual I would highly suggest having a peek at this baby from Taking Shape.

It was the print that originally drew my eye to this piece and the gorgeous palette of lilacs, blues and pinks which always work so well with my bleach blonde hair and super pale skin. It kind of makes me think of unicorns for some reason... it's kind of a crazy magic eye stylee print perhaps that's why? Eep I'm rambling now.. ahem...

The dress itself is currently on sale for £52 which for the quality I think is pretty darn good. The body of the dress is fully lined and it's cut so beautifully, the body is engineered wonderfully to flatter and hide your tummy and if you're more of a standard shape than my mega pear shape it will be a bit sexier as the top will be a little more fitted - darn my small chest!!!

Because there are so many colours in this dress you'll have no problem choosing accessories as you could pick out pretty much any shade, but I went for gold shoes and a gold clutch cause that's my thang! I actually used this at my SIL's wedding, again it mixes textures which you know is a big plus in my eyes. And there's glitter. There should always be glitter.

I think the picture below shows just how crazy wonderful the print is... it looks like a completely different dress depending which side you look at!

Silver Bloom Dress - Taking Shape - £52.00

Gold Glitter Clutch Bag - Dorothy Perkins - No longer available but this is terribly similar and in more colours!

x o x o x

Well it would appear that another weekend has bought another online window shopping sesh! As I don't like to feel like that time was wasted I thought I'd share the current things I am lusting after...

I have absolutely no idea where I would wear this Summer Garden Butterfly Head Piece, probably just around the house while cleaning, but isn't it divine? If I liked festivals I would probably wear it to one of those, but I am really not a fan of mud, drunk people and disgusting toilets so I will most likely not be attending one this year.

I'm not massively into the whole 90's revival that's happening at the mo (it's just not really my thing as I find big jelly shoes, dungarees and scrunchies a bit clunky and un-elegant) but I do like that it has brought holographic stuff back into fashion. This Monki Isabel Holographic Clutch Bag is reasonably priced compared to others I've seen and a good size so I know I could fit all my junk in it, hoorah!

Don't you think Paul & Joe have lovely packaging? This candy-tastic Triple Cheek Colour in Berry Berry Sundae is so darling I don't know if I could ever bring myself to use it, but boy would it look sweet on my dressing table.

I feel as if I haven't bought any new make-up for aaaaages and that must be rectified!

I'm sure you have all heard about Ciate's Shell Manicure set but just look at the pink version, it's like confetti! Can you think of anything more perfect for a Summer party?

My mother in law is a big big fan of khaki green eye shadows and I think it must be rubbing off on me a bit as I love the look of this Clarins Eye Quartet in Forest.

I hadn't seen any Charlotte Tilbury make up in person until lovely Sophie (of Tattooed Tealady fame) showed me a lovely quad palette when I popped over a cup of tea and I was astonished by how beautiful the colours were. All of the CT items you can see above are available as the Vintage Vamp Look Gift Box - at £165 I won't be getting it any time soon but it's definitely going on my birthday list!

I've seen so many people wearing Candy Yum Yum from MAC recently that I'm surprised I haven't taken the plunge and purchased it yet, but I'm trying to save money for my August and September adventures. Let's see how much longer I can last...

It's no secret that I adore Scarlett and Jo, I've gushed about my love for them often enough, but aren't these new pieces just GORGEOUS?

The delicate, pale palette against the black background on this Floral Print Prom Dress is just fabulous whereas the bold red blooms of this 2-in-1 Poppy Prom Dress go completely the other way into the realms of dramatic and sexy.

My favourite of all however is the Floral Print Kimono. The florals in question are quite clearly pansies which are one of my favourite flowers and I do adore the colour combination of purple and green as it is so seldom used and creates such great impact!

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I think I've picked far too many items from H&M's homewares section to comment on them all individually, just looking at them will show why I picked each piece - they are all either glamorous, rustic or bright, kitschy and fun. My favourite piece of all I think is the apron, I long to wear it while whipping up my next cake recipe!

Have you spotted anything lovely recently that you're just dying to splash your cash on?

For me Summer clothing is all about fun. Bright colours, fun prints, sparkles... but it's got to be comfortable too. I get uncomfortable enough in the heat already without also having to deal with clothes that constantly need adjusting or something too constrictive, especially if I'm exploring a new city or taking a walk in the countryside. This outfit would be pretty much my ideal city break outfit if I was heading for somewhere warm - a comfortable light stretch dress plus sensible but cute shoes and fun accessories, a winning combination.

The dress itself is from Simply Be, the unusual floral print caught my eye and I love the palette of pinks, purples and oranges. The hot pink waistband is a great detail and it features my favourite three quarter sleeves so I don't feel the need to wear a cardigan with it. There are also handy pockets for keeping lightweight emergency things in... like sweets!

One of my favourite things about this dress is the fabric which is soft and lightweight but with stretch and what really surprised me is that it doesn't go slightly see through in the area where it stretches such as over the chest which I find happens with lots of thin, stretchy fabrics. Truth be told, I think I should have sized up one in this style - I actually flit between a 22 and a 24 in this style of dress and went for the smaller this time so I suppose it isn't really sizing up it's just going for the higher end of my size!!! If you're well endowed in the chest department I think I would recommend sizing up though for a more flattering fit.

Isn't this necklace AMAZING? I was sent it by the lovely Sugar & Vice team and it's one of my favourite pieces of jewellery ever! S&V items are always packed beautifully and I'm always astounded by the quality of the pieces I own, if you've never checked them out I suggest you head to their site ASAP and have a browse, there's about 25 pieces I want to add to my jewellery box!

I added a little (a lot) more glitz to my outfit with my intensely glittery hair bow from Crown and Glory which I actually purchased for my sister in law's wedding earlier this year. It is seriously one of the most wonderfully spangly things ever and I'm determined to collect them in every colour - there are 30 to choose from so it may take a while, eep!

For shoesies I decided to go with these lovely peach suede babies that I got for a tenner in the Office sale a few years ago, they have a little weeny one inch heel and so are perfect for walking around in and I get so many compliments when I wear them - I wish I'd bought the mint green and lilac versions too but they only had peach in my size at the time.

I completed the outfit with my Claire Richards saddle bag from Fashion World more for practicality than style as you can fit a decent amount in it and the catch makes it fairly secure, although it does annoyingly come open of its own accord sometimes when it's full!

Multi Floral Dress with Contrast Waistband - Simply Be - £55 *gifted*

Gin or Death Necklace - Sugar & Vice - £13 *gifted*

Claire Richards Saddle Bag - Fashion World - £45 *gifted*

Peach Suede Bow Midi Heels - Office - No longer available

Medium Glitter Hair Bow in Palma Violet - Crown and Glory - £6.00

Hi honeys! So I'm starting a new feature called Dress & Dessert. I love dresses and I love dessert and I wanna combine them into double posts featuring both an outfit and a recipe! First up I thought I'd double drop some citrussy fun on y'all!

I've wanted this dress for a while now but was always kinda worried that the yellow wouldn't go well with my hair, but when it went down to £14.50 in the Simply Be sale a few weeks ago I figured I'd give it a try. It's actually a lot more neon than it looks in the pictures which works to my advantage and thankfully doesn't make my locks look all brassy! It's a nice light cotton and has a cute cut out at the back as well as an exposed zip which is a nice detail on an otherwise standard cut of dress, obviously the cutesy lemon print also helps make it something more special!

Lemon Print Dress - Simply Be - £22.50

Gold Slipper Shoes - New Look - No longer available but these are similar

Red Bow Necklace - Primark - a few years ago but this is similar

So the recipe as promised is for the easiest pudding ever. It's also one of Pete's favourite desserts ever so gets made quite a lot, for dinner parties too as it's a major crowd pleaser.

Just three ingredients, a jar of lemon curd, a 600ml tub of double cream and some meringues, smashed up into lil pieces. Whip the cream to soft peaks, spoon in the curd and give it another whip until you have the thickness you desire. Now just spoon or pipe into your chosen dish (I used little champagne coupes) and if you fancy add a little decoration - I went for bronze sugar crystals this time but in the past I've used little rice paper butterflys, edible glitter and white chocolate shavings.

This also makes a gorgeous ice cream or semifreddo like substitute - just double line a cake tin or loaf tin with cling film, spoon in the lemon cream and smooth over the top and then put another layer of cling over the top. Freeze for at least two hours, then cut into slices and serve (it helps if you let it defrost for about 15 minutes before you peel off the clinge film).

I hope you're having a lovely weekend so far lovelies!

On Sunday my lovely friend Lill and I headed into Leicester, the nearest city to my little town Loughborough, for a spot of shopping and afternoon tea at St Martins Tea & Coffee. I love a good afternoon tea, although have only experienced it before at someone's home or at tres fancy establishments in London, so either a very relaxed or a very formal setting. I think St Martins gets the experience just right, it's such a welcoming environment with its mish mash of furniture and wall full of books and board games, and yet when you are presented with lovely stands overflowing with dainty treats and a big pot of tea with beautiful china tea cups you can't help but sit a little straighter and attain a slightly more formal demeanour - I have to mentally stop myself sticking out my pinky finger when taking a sip of tea. The tea by the way was very lovely, I'm not sure which of their teas it was but it was right up my street and I fell in love with the tiny milk bottle that came along with our cups and teapot!

As for the edibles I get the impression that what you will receive changes day to day based on what quiches they have in and what sandwiches whoever makes them fancies doing which I absolutely love. We had a ham quiche and a tomato quiche and both were lovely - the pieces were cut into bite sized chunks too which I was a fan of as I didn't end up with pastry crumbs down my top as so often happens in these situations... The sandwiches we had were cucumber with mayonnaise and black pepper and then prosciutto with I think a Westcombe cheddar with a little chutney and nice peppery salad leaves. I'm not a chutney fan as a rule but these were lovely and just the right amount was used to lift the sandwiches up to the next level.

Now for the cakes. I'm pretty well versed in this kind of thing as I ran a mail order bakery for just under two years and I have to say I was very happy with the selection we were given. The cupcakes were truly lovely, some of the best I've tried with interesting flavour pairings, moist cake and creamy frosting that wasn't too sweet so you could taste the cake as well as the topping. The rocky road type slices was very good and the peanut butter brownie fairly good too as were the macarons - I'm a bit of a brownie and macaron snob so am hard to please in this field but they were both much better than a lot of others I have tried and I wouldn't say no to them if someone handed me one. There was also a scone that Lill had and I went for the vanilla slice which is one of my favourite pastry treats and was quite delicious with lots of gelatine stabilised cream in the middle and just the right amount of jam - yum! Finally we had some little slices of cream and jam doughnut finger which although is just a supermarket bought treat is lovely and offered a lighter bite in amongst all the other rich, sweet goodies on the tower.

As I said earlier the cafe itself is very lovely, a mix of lots of different textures and time periods create a very eclectic but cosy atmosphere. I love the display of tea tins and jars of their roasted coffee beans which is one of the first things you see when you walk in and as you look around you spot lots of other wonderful tea and coffee related ephemera. If you're in need of a new teapot or stove top espresso maker (a kitchen essential in my books) then just head here and you'll be well sorted, you could also pop in and buy some lovely little presents like pretty printed and filled tea caddys and there's even a selection of greetings cards on offer.

St Martins is pretty big too as there is also an upstairs seating area where most of the events take place. I love this side of St Martins, they offer loads of courses and classes and you can even head there to watch a movie every now and again when Film Tramp turn up with their portable screen and show a film accompanied by tasty treats. The next one is Chocolat accompanied by choccy treats from Chocolate Alchemy a lovely little chocolate shop in my town. There are sewing socials, coffee clinics, life drawing workshops, tea tastings, butchery classes and much much more. It's such a great community spirit and I think it adds something really special to Leicester city centre.

Last but not least one of my other favourite sides to St Martins is the deli counter! Everything is sourced from independent companies and the range on offer is great - olives, cured meats, fancy scotch eggs, delicious pickled garlic cloves and semi dried tomatoes, artisan truffles and even amazing olive oil! You can also grab a bag of their house tea and coffee blends to take home with you if you so desire.

I absolutely love St Martins and what they have brought to this little bit of town. I'm so happy to have somewhere like this so close by and I know I'll be making many return trips in the future, I highly suggest you stop by if you're in Leicester and grab a snack and a coffee - you won't regret it.

Throughout June and July you can get afternoon tea for two for only £20 - head here to buy your voucher and make sure you book in advance!

A City Break Adventure - Modcloth Uniquely You Campaign by misswhittington

Right now as the weather is fine and sunny I'm daydreaming of jumping on a plane and heading somewhere in Europe for a city break. Naturally this daydream also involves a fabulous outfit fit for a day's exploring, full of shopping, coffee shop breaks and sightseeing.

I've put together a board showcasing my perfect outfit for such a day using the ever eye catching colour scheme of red, white and blue against the classic styling of the Vivacious and Vibrant Dress in Noir which is currently available at Modcloth. It's such a lovely shape with its sexy cut away neckline against the ever flattering and cute skater style base with a nice full skirt. The adorable little cap sleeves really float my boat too, how sweet!

I'm a sucker for laser cut out detailing and love the way cobalt blue looks with my bleach blonde hair so these shoes immediately jumped out at me, they have a nice chunky heel and ankle strap too so I bet would be comfy to boot. I decided to team them with a matching coloured bag as I'm a fan of the old fashion rule of always matching your shoes to your bag, this one looks like it would hold all my shopping trip essentials too like my purse, phone, camera, bottle of water and any trinkets I might find in the little shops I venture in to.

Naturally I had to have some red lippy with me and on days where you'll be rushing around you need something that will stay put and not need re-touching every five minutes, so up steps Limecrime's Red Velvet Velvetine to the rescue - it's a liquid that dries to a matte finish and stays put for hours on end. Lovely stuff. To set off the red lips I've added a super cute red rose necklace and some kawaii-tastic heart shaped sunnies, then to echo the white in the waistband of the dress I'd finish the outfit with a white floral headband and a lovely lacey fan should the heat get too much for me - oh mercy!

So what do you think of my outfit? I'm off to Bruges in a few months and although it will likely be a little colder by then I'd love to get myself something similar to wear while adventuring with my little sis!

Don't forget to head over to Modcloth to take a look at their other lovely dresses, I'm planning on doing an order soon as I've spotted so many frocks and shoes that I've just fallen in love with!

A picture of the Not Another Bill June 2014 packaging with smile sticker

A picture of the Not Another Bill June 2014 box open showing gifts

I think I am in the minority here, but although I love surprises I don't think I'd really enjoy a beauty box subscription. I kinda hate sample packets of stuff and as I have such crazily sensitive skin have to be really careful about everything I use so I get the feeling I'd be a bit disappointed. I have however found an alternative subscription box that I have fallen in love with from Not Another Bill.

This is one for the fashion and lifestyle product lovers and is a monthly subscription. At a cost of £18 it may seem a little steep, but you have to think you aren't getting tiny sample products here you're getting full size items (other than the sweets in this box), plus there is no additional postage cost so I actually think the price is pretty reasonable.

When you sign up to Not Another Bill you can choose your subscription length or choose to pay monthly with the option to cancel at any time, you are then asked to select from different categories of gifts that you (or your intended recipient) would like to receive such as home wares, fun and nostalgia, men's lifestyle, women's lifestyle, jewellery, art, stationery, craft or you can pick the 'surprise me' category. You can also add any additional info, for example I asked not to be sent any earrings as I have stretched ears so wouldn't be able to use them. Even the signing up process is a stylish affair with an excellently designed website - this attention to detail is carried through in their emails and in the packaging when you actually receive your box which I absolutely adore.

I had a dispatch email last Saturday to say my box had been shipped and excitedly checked my post every day until it arrived in a lovely kraft brown and black striped box - it fit right through my postbox so no need to collect it from the post office hurrah! I ripped open the box and had a shuffle through before reading the packaging note describing what I had received...

My main gift this month was a beautiful stone rolling pin from a Danish company called Hay which is a lovely shade of jade green. It's beautifully heavy and smooth and is actually perfectly timed as my old wooden rolling pin made it's way to the bin last week so I was in need of a new one.

Second up was a bag of lovely dried oregano from a company called Daphne and Chloe which had scented the whole box so upon opening it I was hit with a lovely delicate herbiness. I'm yet to use it but you can tell it's something special just from how vibrant a green it is!

Lastly there was a little packet of sweets resembling large, misshapen, shiny chocolate eggs from a company called Lavolio. On reading that it was a nut selection I wasn't that enthused, but my oh my when I tried them... these are something very special, the crisp shells give way without too much force to a soft creamy chocolate and then a crunchy fresh nut - I received almonds and hazelnuts mainly and one that had no nut, but had a fruity truffley centre and I just can't put my finger on what fruit it was. The tiny yellow sweets were little shards of caramel brittle again covered in chocolate and a crisp shell that worked perfectly with the richness nuttiness of the other sweets. I headed over to the website immediately after devouring these babies and was pleased to see they're packaged in sweet printed tins usually so will make excellent presents for lucky people in the future!

As you can tell I was really pleased with my box, I already can't wait for next month's to arrive!

So, this weekend. I was expecting so much more sun! It was pretty grey round here but I guess the upside was that it wasn't cold. I kind wish it worked the other way round too, sunny but not hot, cause I really can't cope with too much heat. Thankfully I managed to catch the couple of hours of good sunshine on Saturday night before we headed out for dinner with mine and Pete's families. Us kids paid for the parents as our Father's Day present to the dads and it was a really lovely night out. Sadly the restaurant was really busy and very loud so it wasn't the most sociable of occasions, but the food was amazing and everyone had a great time.

This isn't actually what I wore out to dinner but was my outfit from earlier in the day and I managed to get my lovely Pete to snap some pics in the back yard before I changed into some fancier for the evening. I bought this shirt last Sunday when I went shopping with my friend Lill, when I saw it in H and M I made a grab for it straight away much to Lill's amusement - I just couldn't help myself the print is so silly, cute and naughty! It's a size large from the regular section rather than their plus size line and fits me just fine, it's a nice stretchy, fine tee and is very soft. For £7.99 I think it was a bit of a bargain, as was the cute pink basket bag that was £5.99 and I had picked up a few weeks ago again from H and M but on a trip to Sheffield. Pete dubbed it 'the most useless bag in history' as it won't protect anything from the rain and things could fall out of the holes, but hey I love it cause it's silly and bright and unusual so I don't care!

The skirt I bought at the start of the year and have featured before but I really wanted to team it with this tee and bag and the sandals are also old, like a few years old in fact, but I love them and wear them every Summer and also have them in purple. The sunglasses were gifted to me by the lovely owner of Claireabella's Closet last December at a vintage fair that we were both doing. I actually hadn't worn them until now but they seemed the perfect match with this kooky ensemble and I think they're pretty fabulous.

Ice Cream Tee - H and M - £7.99

Striped Midi Skirt - ASOS Curve - £19.99

Pink Basket Bag - H and M - £5.99

Silver Bow Sandals - So Fabulous! at Littlewoods

Leopard Oversized Sunglasses* - Claireabella's Closet

(if an item is not linked and priced it is no longer available online)

Have a lovely week sweetpeas!

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*This post contains items that were gifted for review. For more information head to my disclaimer page.

One of the things I was the most excited about when we moved into our little cottage was the sweet back yard because I just couldn't wait to sit out there in the evenings with friends drinking cocktails with lots of candles lit around us and some tunes playing on the radio. Every year when summer comes around I head to my local homewares stores to see if there are any pretty new garden decorations or some new acrylic jugs and glasses that I can add to my collection. I have a bit of an obsession with mercury glass too. And mirrors hung in gardens. Ahem.

So anyway, you can understand why I was excited to hear that Aldi would be releasing a garden collection this June just in time for the hot weather. They very kindly offered to send me a black outdoor lantern* to have a look at and get a feel for the collection and I must say it's very lovely! These are going to be on sale for just £7.99 which I think is really impressive for something so stylish. As you can see they're a really good size too, a standard pillar candle fits in with lots of room to spare and to make it even prettier you could add some pebbles or glass beads or some flowers snipped from your garden like I did. There will be another kind of lantern on sale too which is white and has more of a vintagey feel if that's more your thing!

The range includes pretty things for the garden like a giant roman numerals clock (£17.99) and decorative metal border stakes (£2.99) in a range of nice designs but also includes bigger items like a fire pit (£19.99) and a pedestal barbecue (£27.99). If you need some extra seating they're got you covered too with a pretty wooden bench (£39.99) or a rattan effect furniture set (£149.99) which looks like it includes two chairs, a sofa and a table.

If you need to do some neatening up before adding your new pretties to the garden you can pick up an electric lawnmower (£34.99) or a petrol hedge and bush trimmer (£98.99) but if you're feeling like a bit of relaxed pruning is more your thing why not pick up a three piece cutting tool set (£9.99) and a foam kneeling pad (£1.99). As I have a traditional terraced garden I just have cobblestones, wooden decking and plant borders so it's pretty low maintenance, although that cutting tool set would sure come in handy when I need to prune my elderflower tree!

The garden collection goes on sale this Thursday the 19th of June so make sure you head to your local store early to snag any pieces that have taken your fancy! I think I'll be heading to my local store to check out the clock as I'd love to hang it from my wooden fencing over the decking, is there anything that you like the sounds of?

To keep up to date with my future posts and other adventures just follow me on

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*This post contains an item that was gifted for review. For more information head to my disclaimer page.

My Pete just loves mozzarella sticks. He loves anything cheese related really, but when it's hot and crumbed and with a sauce (like little camembert bites with cranberry sauce) he gets really happy. I have a hatred of deep frying and there are only two occasions when I'd make the effort to do it - when I'm making calamari or tempura (my favourites) or when I'm making a treat for my guy.

A few posts ago I shared what I got in my Not Another Bill box this month which included some lovely dried oregano from Mount Taygetus in Greece and I'd been trying to think of a recipe where this could really show what it's made of and be a forefront flavour. When I think of oregano the first thing I think of is marinara sauce, that unctuous tomato sauce rich with garlic and herby zing. The obvious choices would have been to use a batch as a pasta sauce over meatballs or as a base for a pizza but I wanted to try something different, so I tried to think of a pizza-like dish that didn't involve making any dough and would be a nice Sunday treat for Pete and I and settled on these babies.

Remember to get the dry block mozzarella rather than the balls kept in liquid - you want as little moisture as you can when frying things or you'll get a storm of spitting fat which is no fun for anyone. I used panko breadcrumbs cause they go mega crispy but feel free to use normal breadcrumbs or polenta, you'll just get a smoother looking finish and a bit less of a crunch - panko are available in most supermarkets nowadays though so you shouldn't have too much trouble finding them.

Herby Mozzarella Sticks with Pizza Flavour Dipping Sauce

Makes 18 sticks serving 4 as a snack or starter

Sauce Ingredients

140g tin of tomato paste

1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin for a stronger flavour if possible)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp garlic granules

1-3 tsp sugar

salt and pepper to season

75-100ml hot water

Mozzarella Stick Ingredients

400g block mozzarella cheese, cut into thick sticks (I got 18 out of my block)

3-4 tbsp plain flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

60-70g panko breadcrumbs

2 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to season

oil for frying, something bland and with a high smoking point, I used sunflower

Sauce Method

Mix all ingredients in a small pan (add the sugar and salt and pepper to taste) and heat over a medium heat until the flavours have come together, the sugar has melted and the sauce is hot, about 5 minutes. Use as much water as you need to get the thickness you desire adding it little by little, I make it quite thin to make dipping easier. Spoon into little dishes or shot glasses for dipping the sticks just before serving.

Mozzarella Sticks Method

Pour enough oil into a heavy bottomed pan to be about 2 inches deep and set over a medium high heat while you coat your sticks.

Mix together the breadcrumbs, oregano and salt and pepper and place in a shallow dish. Put the flour in another shallow dish and the beaten egg in another.

Roll each stick into the plain flour to coat, then dip into the beaten egg ensuring it is properly coated and then roll it in the breadcrumbs so you have a nice think coating. When each is covered set it aside on a clean plate, it's easiest to get them all coated and then fry in batches than it is to coat and then fry one by one.

Take 3-4 sheets of kitchen roll and place on another plate on a cool surface next to your heating oil. Drop a breadcrumb or pinch of flour into the oil - if it sizzles and browns quickly the oil is ready, if not leave it to heat up a little more until this works.

Fry your sticks in batches, I did three at a time as I used a smallish pan. When they start to get golden give them a flip with some tongs or a slotted spoon to make sure all sides get nice and brown. When they've reached the colour you desire and are nice and crispy take them out and lay them on the kitchen roll to soak up a bit of the oil. If it takes too long for the crumbs to brown the cheese will melt too much and you'll have a big mess on your hands, so make sure the oil is hot enough for the sticks to cook in less than a minute.

Serve up your sticks with a little pot of sauce and start dipping!

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Some (possibly) interesting things you may not know about me...

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Weekend Wish List

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Local Love - Afternoon Tea at St Martins Tea and Coffee, Leicester

A City Break Adventure Outfit for the Modcloth Uniquely You Campaign

Not Another Bill - June 2014 Subscription Box Review

Summer Sundae

Get your garden in ship shape this summer with Aldi!

Herby Mozzarella Sticks Recipe with Pizza Flavour Dipping Sauce