H&M Collection

Khaki sequin pocket embellished stretch jeans

I recently picked up some items in H&M's new SS13 collection. 

These khaki jeans are pretty comfortable and the sequin pockets work for both the day and night look.

White floral pattern mini dress

How I would love to be at a beach restaurant wearing this cute dress right now :) Loving the floral pattern.

Lime jeans, white transparent top

These jeans were a steal on sale, spring hasn't even arrived in London and I am ready waiting with bold bright colours!
The detailing of this top immediately caught my eye, perfect for day/night.

Stretch twill trousers, striped cardigan

This cardigan would be more suitable for a casual tee and jeans but I just couldn't be bothered to change again! These stretch twill trousers are high waist so will be perfect with a shorter top and heels (also available in green)

Circle printed flared skirt with side pockets

Love these knee-length skirts, this one has a bit of a flare to it so when wearing it all I want to do is spin round and watch it twirl!

H&M have released a 'Conscious Collection' and I think its great that they are focusing on sustainable work. Its also one of the first and largest fashion companies in the world to publicise its supplier factory list and also the first fashion retailer in the world to launch a global system to collect old clothes and help them into a new life!

The other week I took into the Oxford Street store a bag of old clothing that was no longer wearable and they put it in for recycling and I also got a £5 voucher off my next shop!

H&M are the number one user of organic cotton in the world and this year raised the support for higher wages and yearly wage reviews for garment workers. That's also pretty good going!


This year H&M had it's Paris fashion week debut featuring the Autumn 2013 collection.

The show was set throughout the rooms of the extravagant and gorgeous looking Museum Rodin (Musee Rodin)

Love this coat!

Would have loved to have taken my SS13 wear outside in some sunshine but the cold wet days of London won't allow it!

But I am sure anyone would rather be here...

Beyonce collaborating with H&M for its summer campaign. The range will be available from May in stores worldwide and online.

(Image credits: hm.com)

Goodman's

Wearing some lovely new open-toed shoes was definitely on my mind but the weather in London has frustratingly still not worked itself out, we had snow today, at the end of March, I think that speaks for itself!

Last night I met Andrew for dinner at Goodman steakhouse in the city near where he works. We have been to this one before (they have 3 in total) but it was the very first one we went to probably about a year ago and actually as much as we like Goodman's I think the one in the city was our most favourite experience.

For a start, on that occasion we had a waitress from the US and I personally think it makes such a difference because the service they give is 9 times out of 10 second to none and she was extremely friendly. Then we had a really nice starter which they haven't had on their menu since and I can't for the life of me think what it was but it was so darn good. The steak was incredibly good, no words needed for that and then we both had desserts which were amazing; an unbelievably good 'eton mess' and Andrew had a 'chocolate brownie sundae'. Unfortunately I don't have any photos from that occasion but this time when we booked online, it asked if we had any special requests and cheekily I asked for eton mess! Surprisingly a few days before, they phoned Andrew to say they could do the eton mess so I was already excited! :)

Andrew had the special to start; scallops with spinach and pancetta, whilst I was unsure between the lobster cocktail and the prawn tempura. A little bit of me wishes I went with the lobster cocktail because I have had the prawn tempura before but I really like the prawn and it has a cajun mayo that I really didn't like the first time but now, love! :)

Scallops with spinach and pancetta

Tiger prawn tempura, avocado, cajun mayonnaise

For main I had the USDA fillet steak and Andrew had the bone in rib-eye. For sides we got spinach with chili and garlic, green beans in butter and maldon salt and mashed potato. The mash wasn't as good as I thought it would be and I would definitely order the chips next time.

(Butterfly) Fillet Steak and pepper sauce

Andrew struggled what to pick for dessert and he liked the idea of a taster plate so he asked if they could do one. Our waitress checked with the chef but it wasn't possible because it would end up wasting a lot of ingredients, if we really wanted it they said they could do it but would have to charge £20. Not really worth it. So she asked if he also wanted an eton mess to which Andrew replied, 'go on then'. 

We really didn't need two! These things are HUGE. 

AMAZING Eton Mess! Seriously. Truly.

So as we got stuck into this mountain of sweetness, Andrew starts to realise just how good this really is!

'Ok, so this stuff is really good'

'No, seriously why didn't you tell me about this? The chef needs to know just how good this is'

'I don't actually like meringue but this is the best'

'Why is this not on the menu?'

'No seriously. They should rename their restaurant 'ETON MESS and STEAK'

His words. Not mine.

Strawberries, meringue, ice cream, cream and strawberry sauce - heaven! DEATH by strawberry !

Lets Shop!

Zara: leather panel top, yellow cotton tweed dress; Louison Paris cosmetics bag

The colour and leather panelling of this top is ideal for the smart or casual look - and this yellow tweed dress is perfect for Spring/Summer (they also have it in pink). I also saw these 'Louison Paris' cosmetic bags in Selfridges the colours and detail are so beautiful!

Zara: Green quilted jacket

Loving this green quilted coat, I actually saw it on someone a while ago and really liked it. I was prepared to buy it however when walking through Zara I glimpsed over at the sales section and was surprised to see a bunch of winter coats - I then walked closer thinking, hmm wonder if they have that green one... surprise surprise there it was, on sale and I couldn't help but smile :)

Black and white strap heels with gold studs

Saw these shoes the other week and couldn't decide on them so walked away - ever since, I have not been able to get them out of my head!!

I don't think I would really wear them but don't know what it is about them

I can just picture wearing them outside some café in Paris in the sunshine sipping on coffee :)
Andrew said, 'and when have you ever done that?!'.
He is right, we have been to Paris once and I loved it but it was pouring down with rain and wouldn't stop. Not quite the picture I had.

But us women picture these things when we see shoes, right? Or is it just me! And usually his first question when I buy something (apart from that its nice) is, where would you wear that?
Urgh! I hate that question. Us women don't think like that. We see something we like. We want it!

Anyway, I have bought a few shoes recently so I should stop being so greedy.

I think its just this London weather, its been SO SO cold, strong winds, rain, sleet, snow, sunshine all in the space of one week... four seasons in one week may sound like fun but its horrible!!

Spring hasn't even arrived and doesn't look like its ready to - these shoes almost bring some glimmer of hope that Spring is just round the corner :)

This was the other morning. It didn't last long!

A beautiful day in London

Happy weather wherever you are!

Sephora Collection: Express Nail Polish Remover

I love this little genius tub of foam!

When I saw the word's 'it's magic!' on the front I was somewhat sceptical (not the words that made me buy it) I liked the concept and it actually works surprisingly well.

It's definitely fast acting and a lot easier than the usual way of removing nail polish and its one less product to worry about (those pesky cotton pads) so it does make it really convenient, especially for travelling.

Basically inside this little tub of genius is thick foam, with a very narrow hole in the middle for your finger. You dip a finger inside and you let it do all the work. Sometimes it helps to twist and turn it a little against the foam but it soaks the nail polish right off quick and easy, its so efficient.
As you may have guessed, the foam is soaked in the solution, so its effectively a 2 in 1 product.

It almost feels less messy than the usual way and if you only need to correct one finger its perfect - no need to worry about cotton getting stuck to the other drying nails, just pop a finger in that needs redoing and viola! It's ready!

At somepoint I had a little incident and somehow managed to turn the thing upside down, I was surprised to see how much liquid came out! (so try not to do that!). I was actually worried it may have dried it out a little so I got my usual nail polish remover and poured a bit back into the foam for it to soak up! I don't know how long this product will last but its handy to think it could be reusable by refilling it.

Unfortunately this product isn't available in the UK because disappointingly Sephora isn't. Pah! :(
I did find an identical product from Bourjois, but I didn't like it anywhere near as much. It didn't seem as effective and quick and the foam wasn't as soft.

I will definitely stock up next time I am travelling. This almost makes you want to change your nail colour a lot more often!

Love. Love. Love.

Note: Some of Sephora's bottles seem to say 'instant nail polish remover, its magic!' and others 'express nail polish remover, its terrific!' but the bottles are exactly the same.

Pros:
Free from, parabens, sulphates, phthalates, GMOs and triclosan
Really fast and easy
No strong nail polish remover smell
Ideal for travelling

Cons:
No Sephora in the UK
Not available in the UK
Wish there was a foot version! ;)


Sephora Express Nail Polish Remover, available at Sephora.com or on Amazon.com

Cipriani, London

Today I got invited to Cipriani restaurant for lunch, or the 'C restaurant' as its now known (Not sure why they changed it, I will have to google it - but I preferred the original and it sounds a lot more Italian!)

Although I am often close by I have never actually been. Its a very old style Italian, quite well known and the majority of the time its buzzing. I was glad to try it to see what all the fuss was about.

Disappointingly I don't have any photos because of the guests I was with but also I more or less demolished most of my food before attempting to even take a photo - At least thats saying something for the food!

I can at least tell you what I had which was so delicious. We started off with Bellini's, always a good start :) I didn't really like the glass (a version of a very tall shot glass which felt a bit strange). For my main I chose the 'tagliatelle lamb ragu special' (Andrew would be very surprised at me because even though I am not vegetarian, I am very fussy with my meat and certain meats I don't touch, lamb is one of them and he knows the amount of times I have said no to having it)

On first bite it tasted really nice but the 'Friends' episode where Phoebe goes to dinner to meet Mike's parents and they feed her veal, somehow got into my head! Hahaha! If you haven't seen it you can watch it here

The dessert vanished in about 2 minutes! 'Meringata alla crema', in other words Vanilla Cream Meringue cake... its was Delizioso! :)  Really, its worth going back just for that, maybe with some tea ;)

It looks a bit like this but without the crust and instead of the bottom layer it has vanilla layers running through it.  Hmmm Yum! :)

Kiehl's: Ultimate Strength Hand Salve

In colder months I always struggle with dry hands and lips. Even when I moisturise/protect, an hour or so later they feel dry again. A month ago I got a sample of the Kiehl's ultimate strength hand salve. The day I used it I was surprised to find my hands were soft for the rest of that day (even through washing). I continued using for a week and was so impressed I went straight to Kiehl's and got this hero.

I think the reviews on the Kiehl's website speaks for itself, 5/5 stars (or little hearts in their case)
Apart from the fact it keeps my hands soft, one thing I do love about this is that it melts right in and you don't have to reapply every hour. How quick it works is just brilliant.

At the time I went to pick this up from Selfridges the tips of my fingers were suffering the most, so dry they felt rough. The assistant said to me she had 4 people come in that day with exactly the same problem and bought this stuff. I have no idea what causes the tips of your fingers to become so dry but clearly this stuff is the cure!

Hands down the best hand cream for dry hands and I have tried a few. A product that actually does what it claims. Its not the cheapest hand cream but you don't need much so it does last and it does the job so its worth it.

I have the 75ml and it easily fits into my bag (although I do tend to carry a big bag but it is almost travel size!)

Pros
Melts right in, no residue
Immediate results, hands stay soft
Don't feel the need to reapply

Cons
Some may say the scent, but I don't mind it and its barely noticeable

Kiehl's Ultimate hand salve, 75ml and 150ml. Available at Kiehls.com, Selfridges, SpaceNK and other department stores.

Sunday: Pita Salad

Today was a good day for food making in the kitchen :)

Breakfast started like most mornings with a delicious green smoothie.

Spinach, banana, strawberries, wheatgrass, miracle matcha

Voila !

This was followed by some yummy scrambled egg and smoked salmon. I used duck eggs as apparently they are the best but I am not sure I can really notice the difference, actually my duck eggs look a bit dry but it was still nice!

Duck eggs, smoked salmon, black pepper, toast

I find a lot of salads can be a little boring but the more ingredients involved the better - Andrew does love a salad so when he was making his I couldn't resist to make some concoction of my own!

Smoked salmon, pesto mozzarella, hummus, gem lettuce, beetroot and stuffed pita

We aimed to use as many different ingredients as we could out of our fridge. I also decided to use up some pita so it wouldn't go to waste.

Toasted pita stuffed with chopped mozzarella, avocado and tomato
 I liked how the pita looks a bit like a crab :)

Andrew loves his meat so he added some plain ham, serrano ham and chorizo

I also decided to try out some healthy oat bars I found on Pinterest the other week

Oat bars mixed with blueberries

I then made a slow cooker spaghetti bolognese, yum! (sorry the photo is a bit out of focus)

...It's ok to finish with some bubbles and chocolates right? ;) ♥

Happy Sunday!