Have a wonderful weekend!

Happy Last Friday of January everyone! I hope you have cosy, fun and exciting weekend whatever your up to. As usual here are a view of my favourite posts from this week. See you bright (hopefully) and early on Monday morning! x

I’m still laughing after watching Meryl Streep doing sexy on Elle DeGeneres’s show. She’s epic and so beautiful!

I started using these tips for perfume on Monday and I can’t get enough of them. 4 Tricks to Make Perfume Last All Day that REALLY work. Thank you FP Brigette!

Do you think that Gold is the new Silver?

So nice to see that Zara have launched there Spring collection – finally some colourful clothes again! I really like this green coat and i’m loving the boho style that they have gone for. I’m a huge fan of the bell bottoms.

Brights + Whites

Lovely poster with Julia Child’s quote.

Wouldn’t this make a lovely Valentine’s card? Maybe a new DIY for the weekend?

What do you think of these tattoos? I actually think they are really pretty and actually quite elegant.

Can’t wait to watch the new documentary “A Film About Coffee”. I wanted to watch after reading Brandon Looper’s (director) quote: “No matter the quality of your cup, people who love coffee, love it. Coffee is about people, and people are what I’m interested in ultimately”. You should definitely watch the teaser.

A lovely Intimate Brooklyn Wedding.

 

 

 

Nectarine Tart with Hazelnut Sugar Coated Crunch

It’s Friday! What a joy! What are you up to this weekend? If your in London it’s meant to sunny on Sunday which will be a more than pleasant change. 

N and I are organising a romantic dinner for this evening and tomorrow I’m going to see an Art Exhibition with my darling friend and hopefully a walk by the river. I love walking by the river, even if it’s cold it’s so peaceful and calming. 

So, Nectarine Tart. I’ve been thinking about Valentine treats lately and wanted to come up with something that wasn’t chocolaty. I’m sure i’ll be baking some chocolate recipe for the day but this Rose Shaped Nectarine Tart with Hazelnut Sugar Coated Crunch is the perfect indulgent alternative. 

For the tart I’ve used a different recipe for Creme Patisserie, I think it might be my new favourite. It’s from a book N’s sister lent me called Il Cucchiaio D’Argento (The Silver Spoon) which is basically the Italy Bible of Food. It’s amazing! 

French Tart Shell/ Dough (adapted from David Lebovitz Tart Shell) 

This has to be my favourite Tart Dough recipe EVER! It’s so easy to make, it’s deliciously crispy and you can make in no time! I also use it for savoury tarts and just cut down the sugar by half. 

One 9-inch (23 cm) tart pan 

• 90g of butter, cut into cubes
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil 
• Pinch of salt
• 150g of all-purpose flour

Preheat the oven to 200 C. 

1. In a heat proof bowl combine the butter, water, sugar, vegetable oil and salt and place it in the oven. Leave it for about 15 minutes until all the ingredients have melted and the butter has begun to brown on the sides. 

2. VERY CAREFULLY (as the mixture can “spit” a little) remove the mixture from the oven and quickly dump in the flour stirring until it comes together and forms a ball. 

3. Once the dough has cooled down a little (enough to be able to handle it) transfer it into the tart pan and with you hands slowly mould it into place. 

4. Prick the dough with a fork and bake it in the oven for about 15 minutes or until it’s golden brown. 

5. Let the tart shell cool before filling. 

Creme Patisserie/ Crema Pasticciera

• 4 medium egg yolks
• 100g of caster sugar
• 30g of all-purpose flour
• 1/2 litre of milk
• A couple of pieces of lemon peel 
• 1 tsp of vanilla essence

1. In a medium bowl work the egg yolks and caster sugar together with a wood spoon. In the meantime, heat up the milk in a  small saucepan with the lemon peel and the vanilla essence. 

2. Slowly add the flour, constantly mixing, until the mixture has amalgamated and slightly thanked in texture. Poor little by little, always stirring, the boiling milk infused with lemon and vanilla until the eggs mixture is warm. 

3. Now add the egg mixture to the rest of the milk and keep stirring until the creme start to thicken, around 3-4 minutes. 

4. Strain the creme through a mesh strainer to get of any unwanted lumps and the lemon peel, cover with cling film and pop it in the fridge until your ready to use it. 

Nectarine Tart with hazelnut sugar coated crunch

• 1 French Tart Shell 
• 1 portion of Creme Patisserie/ Crema Pasticciera 
• 4 nectaries chopped thinly
• 2 tbsp jam (apricot jam is my preference) 
• 2 tbsp crushed hazelnuts
• 1 tbsp brown sugar

1. Take your cool French Tart Shell and gently fill it with the Creme Patisserie. 

2. Carefully layer the nectarine slices in a circle starting form the edge of the shell and finishing of in the centre creating a beautiful heart shaped design. 

 

 

3. Melt the jam with a little water in a saucepan and use this to brush the nectarines to give them a delightful glaze. 

4. Finally mix the crushed hazelnuts and sugar and quickly toss them in a frying pay until they begin to stick together and from crunchy clusters. Sprinkle over your finished tart and voila, you have a Nectarine “Love” Tart with Hazelnut Sugar Coated Crunch. 

The Benefits of Drinking Coffee

Depression

I’ve always had a wonderful life and I have always been lucky. Unfortunately this doesn’t mean that things turn out the way you wanted them too.

After I moved to London in 2007 and fell in love with my other half I decided to stay and complete my degree in England. I would have loved to enjoy University the way my colleagues did but I never got into it. By then I felt like I already wanted a home and a routine not the University’s halls of residence and many nights drinking yourself silly. Don’t get me wrong I love a party just not the sort of party I was finding at University. Long story short I concentrated on my degree itself and after 3 long but enjoyable years I had completed and received a First Class Mathematics degree.

It was during my last year at University that things started to feel not alright and the first panic attacks begun.

With the economy feeling like it was about collapse around us I took up a job offer to become a Financial Analyst in a Family Office. I started the day after my exams with a huge smile on my face thinking – I am going to be OK! I have a degree, I have somewhere I call home, I’m in love and now I have a job – all seemed to be OK.

Although I didn’t like the sector I was in, I enjoyed the job itself. I had my own projects within 3 months and I was using my Maths to a max, which is what I wanted to do. Where it went wrong i’m not quite sure but things weren’t going right. My body and mind were slowly giving up on me.

Depression is not a thing that I have ever been embarrassed about or ashamed of – it’s just really really shit. Depression is such a solitary experience and if anyone tries to interfere it just seems to make you feel worse. It’s hard to explain to your friends the blackness and loneliness that you are feeling. It’s hard to be friends with someone depressed in all honesty but it is one of the kindest and most noble things you will do.

I feel completely and utterly hopeless and I spend too much of my time finding everything wrong with the world. It feels like a cruel punishment for an act you haven’t done which slowly erodes you. You keep telling yourself to snap out of it, be happy, smile but it doesn’t change the way you are feeling. It’s hurts, so much, and the horrid thing is you get used to it.

But depression is a serious medical illness, a chemical imbalance, not a sign of personal weakness or a condition that can be willed away. However if you would of told me this while I was lying in a ball in a  dark room thinking I was going to die I would have told you to f*** off.

But I managed, I am managing. I started to see a wonderful therapist that I still see today and will do for as long as I want to share my troubles. I’m on antidepressants for the depression and tranquillisers for my anxiety attacks. Most importantly I actually want to look after myself.

It is such a slow process, and you get horrid ups and downs, but the good news is that there are some ups.

So aside from the meds and the therapy, which are without a doubt essential for me, I now concentrate on me.

I try to get enough sleep

I dance in the morning to my favourite music

I eat healthy (ish) and make sure to take my vitamins

I stay in bed for an extra 5 minutes in the morning just to stretch and breath

I surround myself with beautiful pictures

I wear pretty clothes and lipstick to make myself feel beautiful

I take the most indulgent lavender infused baths

Go to yoga class

I light candles all over the house

And most importantly, I put myself centre stage. It’s not over, I know it, but it’s better which is something you never think will happen.

I am now feeling ready for a new adventure, and it’s all begun with Cafe Cortado. I’m so excited to tell you about my plans and can’t wait to hear what you think of them.

Thank you for listening, X.

Encouraging words

Let’s get to know each other a little more…

Hello lovelies, sorry for missing out yesterday. I had a mad day rushing around Oxford Street wedding dress shopping! I can’t wait to share pictures with you! 

I think I am officially done with the wedding dress hunting and I’ve decided to sketch my own dress and have it made by a wonderful Polish seamstress that is based just up the road from me. I’m feeling slightly nervous, the first fitting is in 3 weeks, but am so excited to see the product of all my research. Are you married? What did you love about your dress? If your not married, what sort of dress do think you would like to wear? 

Anyway, until I can get some pictures to show you I thought it might be nice to get to know each other a little better. I’ve always been a particularly nosey person – I love meeting new people and am always intrigued by their background. 

I grew up in, what I think is, one of the most idillic places in the world, Mallorca. I was born at home in a small town called Es Carritxo and lived there for the first 18 year of my life. My younger sister and I lived between my mother’s beautiful home on top of the mountain and my fathers tucked away countryside home at the bottom of the hill.

It’s always around this time of year that I tend to feel a little home sick as the beginning of spring in Mallorca is just mid blowing. The things that i’m missing most at the moment is long chats on the beach with my girlfriends tucked under blankets, the amazing sunsets over the mountains (the air in Mallorca is like nowhere else), long cortados at the market and especially the fields full of almond blossoms. 

Now however I’m in London! I’ve been here since I was 18. I moved over to get some working experience and so started to work as a Personal Assistant in London after I finished school. I had never planned to stay longer than 6-8 months but, such a cliche I know, I ended up falling in love! 

Now it’s 6 years down the line and I live in my own beautiful apartment in west London with my cat and my amazing future husband. 

Do you live in a different country than where you grew up? Do you sometimes feel homesick? What things are you missing the most? Would you ever move back? If you did decide to move where would you go? I would love to move to Rome for a couple of years – its such an amazing city!

Have a wonderful weekend

It’s Friday – thank goodness! It’s been such a week, I feel exhausted. I have no particular reason for feeling tired but I get to the end of the week and just collapse. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s been a great January so far (I usually get a serious bout of January blues) but I just feel wiped out by the end of the week. How are you feeling my lovelies? Are you on the sunny side? Or are you feeling a little January blues? 

But – it’s Friday! What are you up to this weekend? I’m hoping for a weekend full of fun and a lot of sleeping too. 

I’ve started to go back to the gym which is a great success so I think I may be popping in this evening so then it’s done. There is something so satisfactory about going to the gym on a Friday, it makes me feel like i’m allowed to be more lazy on the weekend – is isn’t it silly? 

Aside from that I have brunch planned with one of my friends tomorrow morning where I will be having the most delicious scrambled eggs at Granger’s & Co.

Saturday night I have the house all to myself as Nic is going out with the boys so i’m definitely going to treat myself to some girly movies, cosy knit and bed socks on the sofa. I love having alone time once in a  while, this article made me smile because it’s exactly what I do on my special days to myself. 

We also have a new flatmate moving in this evening which will be fun – I took some of Joanna’s (from Cup of Jo) great tips to make the room look nice and cosy. 

I’m also looking forward to wearing my new supper stretch jeans that I treated myself too! I swear by them – they are SO comfy! 

And finally, if I get some time and feel like it, i’ll be getting onto more wedding stuff. Who knew that there is so much to organise?!? I’m taking it step by step which has helped me stay stress free so far and this weekends task is going to be Menus. I’m loving these so far: 

 

 

So what are you up to this weekend? Here are a bunch of cool links for your weekend, I hope you have a fab time and I’ll see you Monday! 

• How office tech & decor affect your prodcutivity 
• 41 Beauty Products that “Really Work” according to Pinterest – I’m a massive fan of the Tangle Teezer and I’m definitely testing the Aveeno Eczema Therapy cream
• Aren’t these home bar carts brilliant! 
• Beautiful wedding On Top of a Mountain 
• Amazing French Wedding Dresses 

 

P.S. Thank you SO much for all your support guys! I’m so happy your enjoying the posts, especially the chocolate cake ;). I felt so inspired that i’ve got my kitchen full of chocolate cakes trying to find the perfect recipe to share with you all. 

Lots of e-hugs! x 

Favourite Body Parts

 

Why is it that this time of the year we become particularly conscious about our bodies? Shops are full of diet meals, magazines are full of tips and tricks on how to look like superwomen in 2 weeks and every evening you are bombarded with adverts of the new “groundbreaking” diet that your missing out on. 

So today, rather than being over critical about our imperfections, let’s embrace our perfections! Lovely ones, what’s your favourite body part and why? Is it your eyes, nose, shoulders, smile, hands, breasts or maybe your ankles? Why not share and feel great about ourselves?

Wedding Inspiration: Tables

I’m ridiculously excited to tell you that I’m getting married! My fiancé and I are going to get married in a beautiful little town in Italy in July and I just can’t wait.

I must admit that it’s not the easiest thing in the world to organise a wedding from a different country but so far we have managed all thanks to Pinterest. We are dreaming of a relaxed and romantic feel wedding and here are a few pictures of inspiration that we have been sending our vendors. 

 

15 Minute Donuts made From Scratch

Happy Monday everyone! How was your weekend? I had a wonderful cozy weekend at home and i’m even happier that I did since it’s already Monday!

Over the weekend I decided to whip up a batch of these amazing 15 Minute Donuts – they really do only take 15 minutes! I loven having some treats around when its movie night and these were just perfect! Warm, fluffy and just the right amount of sugary crunch. 

This amazing recipe by Cooking Classy is so delicious that I dare you not to eat the whole batch in one sitting. 

Fifteen Minute Donut Recipe (adapted from Cooking Classy) 

• 190g of all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp of salt
• 60ml of milk
• 60ml of buttermilk
• 60g of granulated sugar 
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• Vegetable Oil for frying 
• Granulated sugar, cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar for coating

1. Preheat the oil over a medium heat in a non-stick fry-pan. 

2. In a small bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate medium bowl mix together the milk, buttermilk, sugar and melted butter. 

3. Using a fork slowly stir in the dry ingredients to the milk mix until combined (do not overdo the dough).

4. Once the oil has reached 180 C measure out roughly 1/2 tbsp of dough and using your hands gently roll into a ball (I found it easier with damp hands).

5. Gently place the dough ball in the oil and fry until golden brown on both sides. Carefully remove with metal tons or a fork and let them drain on a paper towel lined plate. 

6. To finish off simply coat them with sugar and voila! Simple right? 

I hope you enjoyed the recipe as much as I did. Do you like snaking on movie nights? Whats your favourite treat?