Jun 14 2013

Graduation Mortar Board Cupcakes

I first got inspiration for these cupcakes from Pinterest, where you’ll find an array of awesome Graduation themed cakes! This week we were invited to a Grad Ball Pre-Party which we were asked to bring something for sharing with us. Therefore I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to create our own Mortar Board Cupcakes!

Due to time and financial constraints (it’s the end of term!) we didn’t bake the cupcake bases ourselves, but any simple sponge recipe such as these easy vanilla cupcakes from BBC Food will do. For the Graduation Hat cake toppers follow these steps!

What you’ll need;

Fairy Cakes – Homemade or shop bought, we chose Tesco Everyday Value Fairy Cakes
Milk or Dark Chocolate
Reese’s Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (Miniatures) – Available from Asda Supermarkets
After Eight Chocolates or Supermarket equivalent
Mini Smarties or Mini M&Ms
Twizzlers (also available from Asda) or Strawberry Laces

How to;

1. Prepare the decorations by melting the chocolate, removing the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups from the foil and cases and cutting up the Twizzlers into thin strips.

2. It’s easiest to make the Mortar Board hats first and then add them onto the cupcake base. Start by adding a layer of melted chocolate to the base of the Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup and placing the After Eight chocolate on top. Hold and let them stick together.

3. Next add the mini smartie and strawberry lace tassel to the top of the hat. Stick by dabbing chocolate onto the smartie before placing it onto the After Eight, do the same for the Twizzler. Next add a layer of melted chocolate onto the top of the cake – stick the Mortar Board hat onto the melted chocolate and make sure it stays upright.

4. Let the chocolate set by leaving for 1 hour at room temperature or for 15 minutes in the fridge and there you have it! Some very easy to make Mortar Board Graduation Cakes! Enjoy the strange combination of Peanut Butter and Mint flavours… Comment below if you have any other suggestions for ingredients. Happy Graduating y’all!

Jun 14 2013

Grad Ball 2013

Tuesday evening saw the most spectacular night of our university life… well, according to the invitation anyway. Trent’s Grad Ball was hosted by Example, Rudimental and Everything Everything. Apparently Example was to unwell to play at Southampton uni’s Grad Ball the night before so it’s a bit of a lottery as to whether he’s turn up! But he did! Anyway, today’s post is about my outfit and beauty regime behind the night. I haven’t done a beauty blog in a while so I thought this would be a good excuse!

The Outfit

In aid of saving money – the only new item in this ensemble is the necklace! So if you see something you like, it might not currently be available to purchase. I love the colour of this skater dress, I thought it matched the black and gold accessory theme well. It was comfortable to wear all evening and stood out nicely in photos.

Dress – Textured Pleat Tunic in Magenta from Topshop. I bought this about a year ago, it was only £26 which can be considered a bargain from Topshop!
Bag – Another Topshop item, this one is older than a year – it has a long shoulder or cross-the-body strap as well but I thought it would look best as a clutch with this outfit.
Shoes – Black stilettos from New Look. A staple item in every girls wardrobe no?
Necklace – Diva by Miss Selfridge. Adding a black and gold necklace links the whole outfit together matching the bag and shoes with the magenta dress.

Beauty Regime

I have shared most of my beauty tips in previous posts such as In my basket I have a… and Spring Glow but here’s a little update for you. My favourite tanning produce still has to be Palmer’s Cocoa Butter Formula Natural Bronze which helps to gradually build a subtle tan within a few days, while deeply moisturising your skin. Veet® EasyGrip™ Ready-to-Use Wax Strips are a new addition to my beauty regime, so much better for your skin than shaving.

L’oreal – Elnett Satin Hair Spray
Kevin Murphy Anti Gravity Styling Product, recommended to me by my hairdresser – it’s the best oil free volumiser and texturiser. For bigger, thicker hair, apply to wet hair and dry in.
Miss Dior fragrance for women, my favourite perfume!
Sure Deodorant - click the link to read my detailed review.
Sally Hansen - Airbrush Legs, click for my review!
Parmer’s Coco Butter Forumlar
Superdrug - Beauty Parlour Anti Cellulite Gell
Veet Wax Strips

Make-up

1. Too Faced - Diamond Edition. I love this collection of make-up, founded by Jerrod Blandino and Jeremy Johnson in 1998, Too Faced injects creativity, colour and innovation into the cosmetics industry. My Aunty Evelyn gave me this jewelry box make-up collection which includes 8 Eye Shadows, 6 Lip Glosses, 2 Blush Powders, a Shimmer Powder, Brow Powder, Eye Liner Powder, Bonzer and Face Powder. Really and truly I need to buy a new set as all my favourite colours are running down. But this is a useful go to for going out make-up for me!

2. Powder Brush from Boots

3. Benefit – Dallas, Face Power gives your complexion a natural-looking glow.

4. Boots – No7 Beautifully Matte Mousse Foundation, light as air… and give your skin a powder soft finish with this dreamy soft mousse colour.

5. YSL - Touche Éclat, I never leave the house without it. Purchase from Cheap Smells for a discounted price.

6. Rimmel – BB Cream, claims to be a 9-in-1 skin perfecting product. 9 in 1 is a little excessive I know, but according to Rimmel inside this bottle you’ll find a primer, moisturiser, pore minimiser, concealer, coverer, smoother, mattifier, brightener and, er, protector. Believe what you will!

7. Eye Shadow Brush from Boots

8. Models Own – Double Ended Applicators, these are the best eye-shadow applicators I have every bought. They maybe small but the high-density foam applicators hold your makr-up secure in just the right consistency before dispensing it in gradual smooth amounts. I totally recommend these!

9. Barry M – Super Soft Eye Crayon in Black

10. Rimmel - Black Liquid Liner

11. Benefit – Bad Gal Lash

12. The Vintage Cosmetic Company – Nancy False Lashes

13. Benefit – Posie Tint

14. Benefit – Pore

15. Bourjois – Taille Crayon Sharpener

16. Soap and Glory – Arch De Triumph

I also created a Vine when sorting out my make-up for Grad Ball.

A photograph of my housemates and me at the Grad Ball pre-party

Jun 9 2013

Cooking up a treat: Student Barbecue

Some of my regular readers may have noticed that I’ve been a little quiet recently. Well, having just complete uni I have been swamped with coursework, deadlines and job applications. I can now share with you that I’ve secured a job! Whopee! I start on the 17th of June and will be moving to my new house share in Parson’s Green, London (South-West) the weekend before. So you can look forward to some London food blogs most likely on their way!

Before getting back into the 9-5 regime I’ve been enjoying the sun (English sun, believe it or not!) up in Nottingham with my housemates from university. Yesterday we had a BBQ and I thought it would be nice to share with you all the good food we made and how to rustle up a cheap student style feast!

Let’s start with what you need

A disposable BBQ – available from all major supermarkets and will only set you back around £2
A lighter or match – to, er, light the BBQ
Some meat (of your choice) we went for Beef Burgers and Leek and Potato Sausages
Corn-on-the-cob and tin foil for cooking it in
Halloumi cheese
Bread rolls, baps, buns, cobs whatever you call them.
Salad
Sauces (we opted for Ketchup)
Cold beverages to wash down the delicious food.

Start by lighting the barbie – light the paper through the grill by tipping the disposable BBQ up. Make sure you put it somewhere sturdy and on a surface which wont burn (i.e. avoid decking). Leave the flames to die down and the coals to have a layer of greyish white ash on them. It usually takes about half an hour for it to be ready. Place the meat all over the entire grill available, the centre will generally be hotter. I’ve been told that cheaper meat doesn’t cook as well on a BBQ (e.g. Smartprice Sausages) so try and get something with a higher meat content. If you’re struggling to light the BBQ then check out the advice on The Student Room.

Make sure you cook the meat for long enough. It’s not as much of an issue for Beef Burgers but very important that sausages show no pink meat in the middle. If you’re not sure whether they are cooked properly, just cut them in half. Serve your burgers in a buttered bread bun, with ketchup, salad and a slice of grilled halloumi cheese.

Cook the sweetcorn (corn-on-the-cob) wrapped in tin foil. The corn will turn a brighter yellow colour when it’s ready to eat, serve with a knob of butter.

If you’ve never had barbecued halloumi cheese before then you are missing out. I’ve only ever cooked it under the grill before but this was like a whole new tasting experience. Simply cut into 2cm wide slices and place on the BBQ, keep turning over until both sides are looking well cooked. I love boarder-line burnt BBQ food so let it get nice and charcoaly – the mixture of textures, crispy, squeaky and soft made it a delicious nibble.

We chose to wash down our BBQ food with some cans of Kopparberg Mixed Fruit Cider, which went down a treat. Once you’ve munched through as much food as you can, let the disposable BBQ die down and leave outside to cool. It often requires at least 12 hours until it is safe to dispose of. Left over barbecue food the next day always goes down well so don’t worry if you’ve cooked too much!

Happy BBQ-ing y’all! Share you’re favourites by commenting below.

For more foodie photos follow me on Instagram.

Jun 3 2013

Recipe: Rhubarb and Orange Pudding

Today I’m going to show you how to make this delectable delight. My lovely Aunty Helen grows fresh fruit and vegetables in her garden and when we last visited she gave us a handful of rhubarb. Instead of cooking up a classic crumble, I decided to have a rummage through the recipe books at home. I came across this recipe for a Rhubarb and Orange Pudding Pie in The Hairy Bikers’ Perfect Pies cook book. Although not really a pie, this pudding has a base made of bread soaked in a sweet vanilla custard, topped with pink poached rhubarb. Keep reading for a step-by-step recipe.

Let’s start with the ingredients.

3 large eggs
100g caster sugar, plus
1 tsp extra for sprinkling
200ml double cream
200ml semi-skimmed milk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
50g softened butter,
plus extra for greasing
8 slices white bread, crusts removed
125g fine-cut orange marmalade

Rhubarb topping

1 tbsp water
50g caster sugar
375g young rhubarb (5-6 slender stalks) trimmed

You’ll also need a 1.2-litre pie dish, a measuring jug and scales.

Step 1 – Making the sweet vanilla custard

Crack the eggs into a large jug and add the 100g of sugar. Beat, using a whisk or fork until smooth.

Step 2 - Making the sweet vanilla custard

Add in the 200ml of double cream, 200ml of semi-skimmed milk and half a teaspoon of vanilla extract and stir. Set aside and move onto step 3.

Step 3 – Bread base

Generously butter 8 slices of white bread on one side, then cut off the crusts. Cut each slice into 4 triangles.

Step 4 - Bread base

Spread each triangle with a little marmalade. Butter your pie dish and line the base with about 12 of the bread triangles, butter side up. You should have about 2-3 layers.

Step 5 – Bread base

Cut the remaining 4 triangles in half again and overlap them around the edge of the dish like the petals of a flower.

Step 6 – Adding the custard to the bread base

Pour the yummy vanilla custard you made earlier slowly over the bread. Try and pour some over the small triangles around the sides as well. I recommend resting a spoon behind each petal when you pour the custard to prevent the liquid from spilling over the edges. Leave the custard soaked bread base to set for 20 minutes.

Step 7 - Preheat before you cook

Whilst you wait for the bread to soak up the custard pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees celsius / Fan 170 degrees celsius / Gas mark 5. Bake the pudding for 25-30 minutes until puffed up and beginning to brown. Whilst the pud is in the oven, let’s make the rhubarb topping!

Step 8 – Rhubarb topping

Cut your rhubarb into 2 cm lengths, add them to a colander and wash under tap water.

Step 9 - Rhubarb topping

Add 1 tbsp of water and 50g of caster sugar to a non-stick frying pan over a low heat. Add the rhubarb and cook gently for about 6-8 minutes making sure you turn them over using a spatula to ensure both sides are cooked.

Step 10 – Rhubarb topping

Once the rhubarb looks like this, take it off the heat.

Step 11 – Putting the pudding together!

Take the part-cooked pudding out of the oven and spoon the rhubarb and any sugary juices into the centre. Sprinkle both the rhubarb and bread with the reserved teaspoon of sugar.

Step 12 - Putting the pudding together!

Put the pudding back in the oven 15 minutes before serving. Cook until the bread is crisp and golden and the rhubarb topping is hot (around 8-10 minutes should do it). Serve warm with some extra cream or vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

Apr 11 2013

Iittala Springboard Project

My love of Iittala products started in the Summer of twenty-twelve. Whilst interning for a Creative Social Technology start-up, I’d spend my lunch breaks in Shoreditch’s Pitfield Café. An extension of the Pitfield lifestyle store, the Pitfield Café brings a community umbrella, a gathering place to socialise or work. With an array of healthy salads, flatbreads, cakes, brownies and fluffy meringues to choose from, it’s only right that such delicious food is served on such delightful chinaware. My English Breakfast tea was brought to my table in a large blue Iittala mug from the Taika collection, matched against a white Taika saucer it looked so pretty! After almost a month of consuming flatbreads daily my internship ended. As a parting gift, I received my first cup and saucer set from, you guessed it, Iittala.

At Christmas I was lucky enough to see my small collection of Taika items grow, as I continued to purchase the occasional item to complete colour sets. Being the ridiculous twitpic-er and instagram nut that I am, I would get carried away hashtagging images of my everyday use of Iittala tableware. For this reason, it’s not really surprising that Iittala spotted me as a fan as their products! Through Daydreamer, I was contacted by Iittala’s Digital Experience Marketing Director. They asked whether I’d like to take part in a Springboard project, which involved taking photos of all things spring and sharing them through social media with the hashtag #IittalaSpring!

I was delighted (and flattered!) that I’d been asked to take part. My instructions for the Springboard project were as follows, contribute some photos to the Springboard inspired by the theme Picnics and stripes and the joys of spring and share via Instragram and Flickr using the #IittalaSpring hashtag. My images would then be used to help create a visual collection of inspiring, beautiful objects and photographers on the Iittala website.

Instagram Flickr

The Springboard is now live…

…and available for you to view on the Iittala website www.iittala.com/spring-2013-theme5. Another great thing about this project is that there’s still a chance for you to get involved! Take part and win a 500€ Iittala gift card. Simply create your own Springboard on your favourite image hosting site and share it on the Iittala Facebook pages. The best entry will be featured here on iittala.com and the winner will receive a 500€ Iittala gift card!

How to enter the competition

Take up to 40 photos inspired the joys of spring. About 25 photos would be ideal.
Upload your photos to your favourite image hosting website. For example, you can create a Facebook photo album, or a Flickr album, or upload your photos to Instagram and tag them with #iittalaspring, or you can share them via another similar image hosting website, as long as you can provide a working link to your image collection.
Give your Springboard theme a name.
Post the link of your Springboard with the heading “Iittala Springboard competition entry” and the name of your theme on our Facebook wall at Facebook.com/Iittala

Stay tuned for more information on the project as I’ll be writing a post at the end, showing you my favourite images from the collection. Happy photoshooting!

Apr 10 2013

Q&A: The Little Brown Book

This week Daydreamer caught up with Ella, the blogger behind The Little Brown Book.

As a regular reader of her restaurant reviews, bar visits and market trips, I was keen to get in touch with the person behind those brown pages. With an influx of London foodies blogs to choose from at the moment, it’s hard to stay faithful to one writer. Read on to find out why The Little Brown Book is worth returning too, as Ella shares stories of her annual High Tea Feast, the most underrated restaurant in London and what she thinks the London food scene is missing.

Bio in 140 characters…

The Little Brown Book is a guide to London wining and dining, exploring new and established restaurants and bars to find hidden gems we all wish we knew!

When did you create The Little Brown Book, and what made you decide to start blogging?

I moved to London at the end of 2012 and couldn’t help but become totally obsessed with experiencing all that the restaurant and bar scene has to offer. I began collecting business cards from all the places I visited and stuck them into my little brown book so I could refer back when asked for advice on where to eat and be merry! It seemed like the next logical step to have a little corner of the Internet so that I could pass on my new found wisdom to other inquisitive souls.

What’s your “Unique Selling Point”?

The Little Brown Book is a clean, quick and simple pedestal for quirky recommendations in London. I love fashion, art and design and always try to find restaurants and bars with a creative feel and buzzing atmosphere. I research where I’m going beforehand so rarely have many negative things to say and I think its far more helpful to advise people where to go rather than where not to!

What’s your day job?

Most of my days (and sometimes nights) are taken up studying Law. Writing my blog gives me the perfect excuse to ‘need’ to have a break and hop, skip and jump to my next adventure!

Can you cook?

Yes, I absolutely love cooking. Ever since I could walk I fancied myself as a bit of a chef! My most recent obsession is Thai green chicken noodle soup, which I would happily have on tap during this ridiculous weather that England has been blessed with at the moment! Tea parties are my guilty (or not so guilty) pleasure and each year, I create a High Tea Feast with everything in miniature, taking inspiration from restaurants like Sketch in London.

What has been your all-time favourite restaurant experience to date?

I can’t get enough of The Crazy Bear Group. They have restaurants dotted over the country and when we’re all home, my family hop on down to the Stadhampton branch. They have a Thai restaurant which is covered ceiling to floor in velvet; (I’m a bit of a fan of OTT)! I can’t help but stroke the walls and grin at the golden masks poking out around us. The tables are huge, round, gold serving platters and instead of spending hours drooling over the faultless menu; we often end up ordering most of it! There is also an English restaurant with a ceiling covered in wine bottles. I love the bravery of the design team and recommend this fabulous restaurant experience to everybody with a taste for the exotic or exciting!

Most underrated restaurant in London?

Pix Pintxos is a (sort of) tapas bar where everything is served in miniature and on sticks. All the food is intricately presented and mouthwateringly delicious. Nobody seems to know where I’m talking about when I start gushing praise for this place but I hope I can spread the word! It is the perfect venue for a date or a quick lunch with friends although with the food spread out over the bar for you to choose from, it is very easy to forget that payment will be required at the end of the meal!

How do you decide where to visit next?

I read the eating section in Timeout every Tuesday morning and have a whole stack of them in my room dating back to October when I moved to London to look through for inspiration. Sometimes I will wander round the city and stumble upon my next little gem but mostly I’ve heard about places through friends or via websites like barchick.com or justopenedlondon.com which are both great when you’re at a loss!

How has blogging in general changed your outlook on food/restaurants?

I have always loved and been aware of the interior decorations and design of almost any room I walk into. I think that blogging has heightened this and from the moment I enter a bar or restaurant I look out for the little details that others may not have noticed. The environment is equally as important as the food and I’m always ‘that person’ who hasn’t even glanced at the menu when the waiter comes to take my order because I’ve been far too distracted by what’s going on around me!

What do you think the London food scene is missing?

London is crying out for two things. Firstly, 24 hour breakfast with pancakes and waffles. I can’t be the only one who weeps at the thought of 2am McDonalds! Secondly, a really great fondue restaurant with a three-course fondue menu. I’m talking cheese to start with, then meat for the main and chocolate for dessert. You may not be able to eat for a week after but I truly believe it would be totally worth it!

Details

BLOG - www.littlebrownbooks.blogspot.co.uk

GOOGLE+ - Ella Rose P

INSTAGRAM - instagram.com/ellarose24

TUMBLR - littlebrownbooks.tumblr.com

PINTEREST - pinterest.com/littlebrownbook

Inspired by Ella’s suggestion of a three course fondue restaurant? Have a read of my meat fondue recipe for a homemade experience!

Mar 31 2013

Meat Fondue Recipe

Meat Fondue or Fondue Bourguignonne consists of a fondue pot filled with hot oil into which diners dip pieces of meat to cook them. Since the 1950s, the name “fondue” has been generalised to other dishes in which a food is dipped into a communal pot of hot liquid; traditionally a dish of melted cheese is served in a communal pot over a portable stove and eaten by dipping long-stemmed forks with bread into the cheese. Today’s post is going to demonstrate my take on a beef fondue recipe with a home-made Diane sauce.

Image: instagram.com/emmarosetully

Ingredients

Beef Steaks, a cut of your choice
Salt & Pepper for seasoning
1 Onion
2 Cloves of Garlic
Half a pot of Double Cream
A cup of Brandy
Worcestershire Sauce
Olive Oil or Butter for the frying pan
Fresh Parsley
Fondue Set
Sunflower Oil for cooking meat fondue
Sides to accompany the dish – we chose fries and salad

Method

Step 1

To start, we will be preparing the Diane sauce and seasoning the meat. Cut the onions and crush the garlic, add to a frying pan and let them begin to sweat (add oil or butter to the pan first). Whilst the onions and garlic are softening, season the meat, slice the meat ready to cook, place in a bowl and cover with cling film.

Step 2

Pour the oil into a medium sauce pan and start to heat on high, test how hot the oil is by dropping small pieces of bread into it and seeing how quickly it cooks. Chop the parsley ready to add to the dish.

Step 3

With the onions and garlic softened and still on a high heat – add a cup of brandy into the pan, be careful as it may set alight! Immediately turn the heat down to low and cook until the smell of alcohol has gone.

Step 4

When the brandy has reduced, add the double cream, parsley and Worcestershire sauce to the pan. Taste the sauce and season with salt and pepper to your preference.

Step 5

Test the oil is hot enough by dropping bread into it, all the above can be ready in 15 minutes. Pour the hot oil into the fondue saucepan and light the flame to keep it hot. Now for the fun bit! Using the fondue long-stemmed folks cook pieces of meat by resting them in the hot oil. Add some Diane sauce to your plate and enjoy with fries and salad.

Meat Fondue vine.co/v/bIuv2TYPMBm

— Emma Rose Tully (@EmmaTully) March 30, 2013

Happy Easter y’all!

Mar 27 2013

Review: Aurora Restaurant

I’m happy to be reviewing another hidden gem in the city of Nottingham, Aurora a restaurant which brands itself “Eclectic Modern British Cooking”. Located in the heart of Nottingham’s iconic lace market, I discovered Aurora through Trip Advisor where it is currently ranked #17 of 622 restaurants in Nottingham. As if being in the top 20 of restaurants in Nottingham wasn’t enough to go by anyway, I was persuaded further by a review on the Nottingham Post.

“Aurora is a real find and one of the best restaurants I have ever been lucky enough to review for this paper. Go now before it gets booked up!” (Nottingham Post, August 31, 2012).

Where the food is described as exquisitely presented, flavoursome, deliciously rich and buttery and melt-in-the-mouth tender, how can anyone say no? My friend and I booked a table for two at 7pm earlier in the day, as it was a Tuesday I was unsure whether booking was necessary but the lady on the phone told me I may as well as I’d made the effort to ring. Hidden down Stoney Street, making our way down some concrete stairs surrounded by sea blue walls is a black and white paneled entrance to the basement restaurant.

We were greeting by the Head Chef, who smiled as we entered the room. “It’s cold outside!?” he explained as we embraced the warmth, instantly feeling welcome by his words. Being the first customers there for the evening we were able to choose where we’d like to sit. Sat down we took in the interior of the room. The open brick, hanging baskets, colourful lamp shades, modern wallpaper, cream seating and furry cushions were completely to my taste. The design is modern yet classic with a personal touch. Our two seater table was large and provided plenty of room to relax, I immediately felt comfortable as I began to read through the menu.

If you thought you might know which direction this review is going in, the next part might throw you. As the somewhat ‘exclusively’ discovered Aurora is more affordable than one might first assume. Guests can choose between a two course meal for £16.95 or three for £19.95 (evening price). With dishes such as Seared Haunch of Venison, Tatrte Tatin and Smoked Mackerel Escabache for a starter you can already see the value for money you are about to receive.

I chose the Seared Haunch of Venison, Red Berry & Cabernet Sauvignon Vinegar, Puy Lentils to start. If I had to choose one word to describe it, it would be exquisite. Beautifully presented on a rectangular stone plate I wanted to take in all the different flavours together in my first mouthful. After achieving this, I was in heaven. The venison was delicious, cooked to perfection teamed with the warm puy lentils on the base on the dish, matched with the ‘chili sweet’ red berry jam and the tangy vinegar shallots.

My friend chose the Red Pepper Tatrte Tatin, Blue Cheese & Lemon Oil Dressing. I’d like to say I’ve never seen her enjoy a dish so much before, but we hadn’t reached the main course yet… So for now, I’ll tell you that she thoroughly enjoyed it. I had a wee taster, I’m not sure I’ve ever tried a Tatrte Tatin before, so for my first I have to say that it was lovely. Warm and beautiful in red pepper flavour, the bright pink tatrte tatin sat on a bed of crumbled stilton cheese and fresh salad leaves.

To follow I chose the Heart of Rump Steak, Hand Cut Chips, Sun Dried Tomatoes, Herb Salad & Peppercorn Sauce. As in most restaurants, the steak came with a £2 supplement to the set menu price. My friend chose the Thyme Roasted Chicken Breast, Confit Rabbit Leg, Wild Mushroom, Green Beans & Red Wine Jus. As a lover of chicken she often tries to go for different things when out to eat to avoid the whole “she always goes for the chicken” thing – but this dish seemed unavoidable. I must say it was delicious, the chicken was so moist and juicy. I dislike mushrooms so was unable to sample the complete dish. Tasting the confit rabbit leg alone, which was served in two triangular battered shapes, was a little on the dry side, but my friend assured me that with the mushroom sauce it worked perfectly.

My steak was gorgeous, medium rare as requested it was cooked perfectly. I loved the peppercorn sauce, which was very strong in flavour, it certainly wasn’t for the fainthearted as it had quite a peppery kick to it. I loved it. The chips were boiling. Too hot to eat in fact, so I stabbed some of them with my fork a couple of times. That solved the only problem I had, to simply say “the chips were too hot” is ridiculous and really it only knocks 0.5 off the otherwise 10 out of 10 meal.

For desert there was a selection is chocolaty, cheesy and fruity options to choose from. I was completely undecided, so had to ask our waitress for her advice. She told us that the Hot Chocolate Fondant with Chocolate Orange Textures and the Vanilla Cheesecake, Amaretto, Homemade Marshmallows & Brandy Snaps were her favourites. I was slightly tempted by the Duo Poached Pear but took her word for it and chose the cheesecake with my friend opting for the chocolate fondant. Not at all disappointed with her advice, the cheesecake was delightful, very light which I was glad about after the first two courses. The homemade marshmallows were my favourite part of the dish and the fresh fruit which all complimented one another well. I tried some of the hot chocolate fondant which was decorated with white chocolate, orange segments, orange peel, sauce and berries. I’m always wary of choosing a chocolate desert with a three course meal because I fear it will over fill me, but that was a perfect size and the orange textures made it a dish not to miss out on again.

Our experience at Aurora was wonderful, we had a lovely relaxing time. The restaurant wasn’t at all busy, which may have put some people off but it didn’t affect our experience at all. The chef came out to speak with us between courses and explained that it isn’t usually this quiet, a kind gesture we thought but unnecessary as it didn’t bother us at all. That said, it was a great opportunity to compliment him for the delicious food we’d been served. Aurora is a unique find, somewhere you’ll receive good service, great food, all for wonderfully great value. Including a £15 bottle of wine, our bill came too £56.85. So pleased with our evening we split the cost and paid £30 each offering a generous tip (for students!!! ;-D). We both had such a lovely time and would recommend Aurora to anybody.

Details

ADDRESS – 47 Stoney Street, Lace market, Nottingham, NG1 1LX

CONTACT – 0115 941 3816

OPENING TIMES – Tues & Wed, 12pm – 2.30pm and 6pm – 9pm. Thurs, 12pm – 2.30pm and 5.30pm – 9pm. Fri, 12pm – 2.30pm and 5pm – 10pm. Sat, 12pm – 3pm and 5pm – 10pm. By popular request Aurora is now open Sunday lunch starting at 12pm till late afternoon.

WEBSITE – www.aurorarestaurant.org

FACEBOOK – www.facebook.com/Aurora-Restaurant

TWITTER – @auroranotts

Mar 25 2013

Q&A: Oh Beauty

This week I caught up with Nick Whitmore, Managing Director NDistribution Limited, owners of Oh Beauty to discover the ins and outs of a start-up online beauty shop. In the following Q&A Nick reveals his golden rules of business, the beauty trends to look out for this Spring/Summer and key advice for those hoping to break into the industry.

Oh Beauty bio in 140 characters…

Oh Beauty is a brand new internet beauty & cosmetics store. We have exciting new brands and lines flying in every month!

When did you create Oh Beauty, and what was the spark that launched it?

We launched Oh Beauty in early February 2013 after many months of planning. We’d already dabbled in the beauty industry with a low end website, but we soon realised it wasn’t up to the job, so Oh Beauty was born!

The spark that launched it would probably be noticing how much make-up and cosmetics my girlfriend goes through. I thought if other girls consume half as much as she does, there must be a business opportunity in there somewhere.

What is the mission/purpose of Oh Beauty?

We want to offer the best selection of beauty products at the lowest prices (with free delivery on everything!). We want Oh Beauty to be the one stop shop for everything ladies could ever need to make themselves look (and smell) beautiful – and of course feel great.

Right now our inventory is looking a little sparse but we’re working really hard to source new brands and we’ve got some exciting products coming in very soon.

We’ll be launching a few brands of our own too, for cost conscious beauty addicts that aren’t too keen on forking out money for high street brands. We want to cater for all budgets.

What is your favourite part of being a fashion/beauty start-up?

Interacting with our customers. Our customers really appreciate that we work hard to make them happy – it’s always nice when we receive “thank you” calls and emails.

Another of the things I love about the business is the funny looks I get from my old school friends when I tell them that I sell false eyelashes and fake nails for a living!

What’s your golden rule of business?

My golden rule in business (and in life in general) is just to be honest and transparent. Too many companies and people out there make silly claims or promises they can’t keep – which is all well and good until they let you down. I like to be open, honest and transparent with everyone – whether it’s my employees, suppliers, parents or my friends. In business and in life in general, honesty really is the best policy.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve been given?

Don’t shout or get irate at anyone, because you’ll never get the outcome that you want. Be reasonable and composed and you’ll be listened to (achieving the desired outcome in most cases). This works in life in general – not just in business!

What’s the one thing you wish you’d known when you started?

Exactly how hard it is to make a name for your business in the beauty industry! It’s extremely competitive, and there are a few household names that really do have the industry locked down. Carving out a chunk of the market for ourselves isn’t easy, but we’re going to give it a damn good shot.

Which entrepreneurial company do you take most inspiration from?

It’s a tough one because I don’t really have time to look at what others are doing, but if I had to answer it’d be Morph Suits. I know we’re in totally different markets, but I love the way their business centres on social media. Their day to day interactions with fans/followers/customers are great – I think that they really set the bar in social media marketing and I really enjoy checking out their channels when I have a chance to. Social media marketing is going to be important for us going forward, and I’d like to think we’ll be able to replicate what they do through our own social channels.

What are some beauty trends we should look out for this spring/summer?

Over the spring summer you’re going to see a lot of new products from emerging brands like Invogue and Eye Candy. The former has a great range of “budget” nail polishes that have just gone on sale (they’re budget in terms of price, but very, very high quality colours). Eye Candy also has a range of premium polishes, and an array of false lashes. There’s also the new “So Eco” range of make-up tools which I have a feeling will prove to be very popular as people start to discover the brand.

We also expect the new Katy Perry Color Pop range by Eylure to be extremely popular – as well as their new Naturalite Triple lashes.

Any advice for people wanting to break into the beauty industry?

My advice for people trying to break into the beauty industry is to have a plan and stick to it! It’s not just about having a plan though – the one thing that’s most important of all is to be realistic. I have people approach me with all kinds of weird and wonderful ideas on a daily basis – they plan to launch global beauty brands on a budget of £100, or launch a brand that’s going to outsell high street names overnight.

The best advice I can give to people looking to get into the beauty industry is to be realistic and be unique – every product needs a “unique selling point” – something that stands it apart from the competition. If anyone does need help and guidance on a personal level, they’re always welcome to contact me – I’m happy to help! I mentor a couple of people looking to make it big in the beauty industry – and we’re always looking to source products from exciting new brands and start-ups.

Thank you to Nick for contributing to the Q&A, an interesting read for beauty industry enthusiasts and budding entrepreneurs.

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CONTACT - hello@ohbeauty.co.uk or 0800 559 3877

WEBSITE - www.ohbeauty.co.uk

FACEBOOK - www.facebook.com/ohbeautyuk

TWITTER - @OhBeautyUK

If you enjoyed reading this you might also enjoy 65 years of Eylure, Spring Glow: Beauty Secrets Revealed and In my basket I have a…

Mar 20 2013

Fancy Dress: I’m a Barbie Girl

Last week I had plans to attend a Barbie & Ken fancy dress birthday but unfortunately I was unwell and therefore unable to attend. That aside, I’d still love to share with you my pre-planned fancy dress outfit because, who knows, it might come in useful another time!

Most of us know Barbie as the popular toy and fictional character featuring in the childhood of most girls lives. Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls, she has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for fifty years. Living the life of a beautiful blonde, Barbie has an on-off relationship with her boyfriend Ken (Oh-la-la!). In her life, Barbie has owned over 40 pets, a wide range of vehicles, a pilot’s license and had careers as a Doctor, Astronaut, Ballerina, Chef, Singer and SCUBA diver to name a few. Her vast portfolio of talents make’s it simpler than you’d first assume to choose a specific Barbie doll for your fancy dress outfit!

Rock Chick Barbie

Whatever theme Barbie takes on, she always remains glamorous – Dolls, dolls, dolls. After a little research, I chose to dress as Rock Chick Barbie, a doll with some controversy behind it. A rock chick Barbie, with dyed pink hair and a chest and neck covered in tattoos has been criticised by parents’ groups according to the Telegraph in October 2011. Mattel, the manufacturer, described the doll as a ‘funky fashionista’ who is ‘ready for fun in fashion – forward form’ and rightly so in my opinion. All this rubbish on ’overly-sexualised and inappropriate’ is over the top. It’s a doll for pity-sake, a doll with attitude.

Outfit Inspiration

First place I always look for inspiration when creating a fancy dress outfit is Polyvore. In the top right hand corner there is a search field. On the drop down select “sets” and enter a search term into the field. I also use Polyvore to piece together outfits, to see what they look like together before I consider buying particular items etc. Have a look at my profile here.

Miss Selfridge’s Barbie Collection

Miss Selfridge have recently launched a range of clothing that are adorned with Barbie. Check out a review of the range over on Female First. This was an obvious first choice of a key outfit piece. Unfortunately though, most of the items cost £20 and above, and knowing that I’ll only wear them once or twice I couldn’t justify the price. So next best option – eBay. A stroke of luck allowed me to purchase the Barbie Allover Print Body in black for a cheeky £7.99 including postage. It was on sale second hand and in my size.

Twinkle Trove

The next essential item for the outfit is some Barbie branding. Barbie branding – in the form of a logo necklace. eBay seller Twinkle Trove was the perfect find, offering Large Barbie Name Logo Pendant Charm Necklace. Silver Plated. Cute and Kitsch. As I was attempting the Rock Chick look, I chose the Black Glitter colour but there are various other colour combinations available.

With two key items in place, I just needed to put together the rest of the outfit and focus on the make-up and accessories. Check out the image below to see my Polyvore inspiration board for the outfit.

Make up

I was inspired by the Rock Chick Barbie make-up tutorial by Makeup By Ariel, but wanted to put together a look that suited me and I was comfortable in. That said, bright pink needed to feature. In preparation I followed my Spring Glow: Beauty Secrets Revealed regime so that I’m not as pale as a ghost. My make up tool kit included all my usual essentials, featuring of course the new Eylure false lashes. As I was unfortunately unable to attend the event I can’t share with you a finished look, but hopefully the ideas and links in this paragraph provide some inspiration!

There’s only really one way to end this blog post isn’t there? Introducing ”Barbie Girl” by the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua. Released in May 1997 as their third single overall, and the first United Kingdom release, it was an undoubted hit with teeny-boppers all over the world!

Mar 3 2013

Rocky Road Recipe

It’s about time I shared with you my very special Rocky Road (Chunky Choc Bar / Chocolate Fridge Cake) recipe. It’s very simple to make and what’s great about it is you can try out different ingredients each time you make it. This recipe makes around 20 pieces usually – but the more fillings you add (e.g. biscuits, nuts, etc) the more it makes. In this example, I made enough for about 30 pieces!

Ingredients

350g (12oz) plain chocolate
115g (4oz) butter
400g (14oz) condensed milk
1 packet of digestive biscuits
50g (2oz) raisins
115g (4oz) dried apricots or peaches
115g (4oz) french glacie cherries
50g (2oz) peacans, hazelnuts or any nut of your choice
Couple of handfuls of mini marshmallows

Instructions

1. Line a tray with cling film – make sure the tray is big/small enough to fit on a shelf in your fridge.

2. Break the chocolate into small(ish) pieces and place in a microwavable bowl. If you prefer to melt chocolate on the hob, then set up a bain marie. As I used a microwave, I melted the chocolate first in one bowl then melted the butter in a separate bowl after.

3. Combine the melted chocolate and butter in a bowl (or in our student lifestyle case, a saucepan!)

4. Next fold the condensed milk into the mixture. You will see the consistency change quickly to a thicker jelly-like mix.

5. Next you need to break up the biscuits. On this occasion I chose McVities Digestives – but you could go for Rich Tea Biscuits, Ginger Nut, whatever tickles your fancy. Tips for breaking biscuits up include…

a) Remove biscuits out of packet, place into a sandwich/freezer bag. Tie the bag and bash the biscuits inside by using a rolling pin or similar utensil.

b) Alternatively, place biscuits on a plate and cover the plate with a layer of cling film. Then bash the biscuits under the cling film using a utensil or your hands.

Both techniques produce adequately crushed biscuits!

Next fold the biscuits into the chocolate mixture.

6. The next step is to start adding all the extra fillings. I chose to add the marshmallows first, in order to make sure I added the right amount to suit my preference. Next I added the cherries and nuts. My nuts of choice on this occasion were pecans and macadamia!

7. As one of my housemates isn’t keen on dried fruits I took out a third of the mixture and placed into one side of the tray for chilling. After that I added raisins and dried apricots to the remainder of the mixture. Once I’d thoroughly mixed all the ingredients together I placed the rest of the mixture in the other side of the tray!

8. Place the Rocky Road in the fridge and leave for about 12 hours. It doesn’t take this long to cool, but it’s best to leave it overnight before cutting.

9. Lift the Rocky Road out of the tray by picking up the edges of the cling film. Cut the Rocky Roads into one person portions. I prefer to have them cut into small squares (or cubes) but it’s up to you what size you want.

Rocky Road without dried fruit pictured above

10. Serve the Rocky Roads at room temperature and store in a cake tin or Tupperware at room temp also.

Rocky Road with dried fruit pictured above

There you have it! Enough Rocky Road to keep all your friends and family happy.

Feb 27 2013

65 years of Eylure

Fake Lashes, Faux Lashes, Falsies, False Eyelashes, whatever you choose to call them… they are popular. I’d say 50% of my friends use them religiously when they go on a night out. But did you know, eyelash extensions have been around since 1916, so although we all think they are part of today’s fashion they have in fact been intensifying the eyes of us ladies for years!

The invention and use of false eyelashes began in 1916 when director D.W. Griffith was making his film Intolerance. He wanted actress Seena Owen to have lashes that “that brushed her cheeks, to make her eyes shine larger than life“. The first false eyelashes was made of human hair woven through fine gauze by a local wig maker.

In this post, I’m going to tell you about Eylure lash extensions. Eylure lashes were first developed by a partnership of makeup artists and costume designers, David Henry and Eric Aylott, who began making lashes as well as wigs, beards and moustaches for some of the biggest names in the film industry. Their Eylure lashes proved popular with some many Hollywood leading ladies such as Elizabeth Taylor (famously creating her look at Cleopatra), Marlene Dietrich, Joan Collins, Ingrid Berman and Sophia Loren.

Eylure lashes were revered for creating an instant effect on camera, far better than any other makeup product. Little did they know at that point that they were on the verge of perfecting the biggest news in beauty enhancement since the discovery of the lipstick! Word spread quickly throughout the film industry and their eyelashes were in high demand, so in 1948 they decided to make their famous lashes available from retail shops.

By the 1960s Eylure had become established as a must-have item when the emphasis for false lashes changed from film to regular, everyday wear – becoming a beauty essential. Since then Eylure has continued to rise in popularity and is now firmly established as a celebrity favourite.

Eylure became part of the Original Additions portfolio in 1991. From a background on stage and screen, the Eylure brand has been at the forefront of eye enhancement for over 65 years now. They have expanded their range over time to offer everyone the very best tricks of the beauty trade. To celebrate their 65th anniversary they have launched a vintage style lashes collection! The collection includes four special edition anniversary lashes inspired by the pop culture of the 60′s. The four styles are called ‘London Calling’, ‘King’s Road’, ‘The Chelsea Look’ and ‘Queen of Mod’.

In the UK, your best bet for Eylure shopping is Boots or Superdrug! As a student I receive 10% discount in Superdrug with an NUS Extra card so I always head there first for my eyelash purchases. I took some snaps of the Eylure lashes available from both Boots (below left) and Superdrug (below right) in the Nottingham stores – as you can see the choice is huge! In Boots I didn’t spot any of the 65th year anniversary collection available but all products were on offer at buy one get one half price. Funnily enough in Superdrug, the same offer was available! So get down to either of those stores now to stock up on your lashes.

All four special edition styles are priced at £5.25 and come in iconic retro packaging, very swinging sixties! I purchased the King’s Road lashes which are full with volume and length – I chose these as they were the most similar to the usual style I go for on nights out. The Queen of Mod lashes are statement full lash-look whilst The Chelsea look is more of a flirty style, perfect for Made in Chelsea fans. Finally London Calling offers a choppy length for a more feline finish. Be quick to snap up your choice of Royal Britannia lashes soo

My tips for applying lashes!

Firstly cut the false lashes to the size of your own lashes – I usually snip from the inside lash as those are the shorter but if I’m not in the mood for big lash flicks then I snip from the outside

Next, ensure the lashes are curved so they fit along your lash line better – sometimes they are too straight so I usually wrap the lash around my little finger and hold it for a few seconds.

Thirdly, apply the glue to the lash. Leave for 2-3 minutes then reapply another layer of glue.

Whilst your waiting for the glue to get sticky, prep your own lashes. Applying false eyelashes works best when you’ve already got a little mascara on your eyelashes.

By now 5 minutes will have passed, the perfect amount of time for your double layered lashes to be applied!

Everybody has different techniques for getting them on your lashes – personally I recommend using the other end of a pair of tweezers to press the corners down.