Nails of the Day - Turquoise & Gold

I saw this technique on favourite how-to site The Beauty Department last week and just had to give it a go. I used my  turquoise shade from last summer's Topshop collection ("Gone Fishing") as the base and Barry M's foil effects gold paint for the top. The full tutorial is here, but it's such a simple process I didn't...

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Monchel-sur-Canche: Trout Fishing

My final [extremely overdue] post on my mini-break to France is by far my favourite. The tiny commune plays host to the River Canche, meaning the local trout farm gets pretty lucky. Right on the side of the road, you can just turn up, grab a rod and catch yourself some dinner.   Now,...

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What I've been up to lately...

Forgive me readers, for I have sinned - it's been two weeks since my last post. Two weeks? 'I hope she's got a good excuse', I can hear you thinking...well, I haven't. Long days at work and general lethargy about life have had me getting home, hiding under the covers and not resurfacing until the next day. While I...

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Brightening up a dull day...

Today has been a bit of a bad day. My first day back at work after a week of galavanting around the countryside (French & English); it was raining, my alarm went off at 5.30, I was hungry all day after a week of eating whatever I wanted, my feet were killing after a week of not wearing heels...I could go on (but don't worry,...

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Monchel-sur-Canche: The Diamond Jubilee, from across the channel

Although I jumped at the chance to spend my week off in France with family, I felt a teensie pang of guilt every time I heard people talk about their Jubilee plans - the whole world seemed to be descending on London and here I was, leaving for the middle of nowhere in a different country, missing out on all the celebrations.  I...

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Monchel-sur-Canche: Simon's Prosciutto Chicken

I'm sure you'll all have tasted, or even made for yourself, at least one version of this recipe - I've tested two recipes myself and have probably tasted around three more - but this version created by Simon, my 13-year-old cousin, is definitely the best and also the simplest. His nifty trick of putting the courgettes at the...

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Monchel-sur-Canche

As you may well have gathered from a flurry of excited holiday-related posts, this week I hopped over to France for a few days to spend some time with my Auntie & cousins in their beautiful holiday house in Monchel-sur-Canche, northern France. This tiny rural town plays host to a trout farm and at its last count...

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Holiday - a trick for packing light

Heading on holiday is always an exciting time, but when faced with the dreaded instruction "pack light" I can get a little panicked. I can always cut down on some areas (my housemate Kieron will forever be a God amongst men where I'm concerned after he helped me pack for a two-week trip to America last summer and turn up with...

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Florence & Fred pop-up shop

For a few days last week, Tesco in-house fashion brand Florence & Fred hosted a pop-up shop in Covent Garden's Piazza. A few of us headed down after work on Friday to see what all the fuss was about.... There were no tills in the store and no rails full of multiple garments - instead, you picked a single...

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Making me happy all week long

The last week at work before a holiday is always a tough one. Time seems to drag, and simultaneously speed by, leaving you worried you'll never get everything ready in time. Here's what kept a smile on my face all week, through the panic-purchasing of euros and the over-crowded bank-holiday-ready commute: Jubilee decorations...

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