NYC | A whistle-stop tour of Brooklyn

We designated our Saturday in NYC solely to Brooklyn. I've visited Brooklyn once before when my big bro and sister-in-law lived out there, but having not been for 7 years, I arrived armed with a new list of places to explore in the borough.

First up? Brooklyn Bridge
I can't recommend walking over BB enough. Travel guides usually say to walk Brooklyn > Manhattan for the mighty fine view, but I loved walking the other way and turning back to soak up the Downtown skyline (and to take the odd selfie of J and me).

Once over the bridge, we found ourselves in the DUMBO area, home to some ace stores and places to eat (hello Grimaldi's Pizza) and well as the view of the Manhattan Bridge.

Sadly for us, it started chucking it down with snow, and although pretty and wintery, it did scupper what we'd planned out, so we taxied it up to Williamsburg to check out the following:

JANE Motorcycles
Something from Joe's list, JANE is a coffee/motorcycle shop in one, with their own branded merch and some stellar motorcycle coffee table publications. Forget leaky exhausts and double leather garb, this is a damn cool place to visit even if you're not into bikes with their merchandising particularly being on point. 

Visit JANE at 161 Grand Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Catbird
I can't even tell you how long I've waited to visit the Catbird store. Like, literally, so long. Their delicate jewellery has been high on my wish list for a good couple of years, but rather than buy online, I wanted to visit the store itself.  As we'd been caught in the snow, I pretty much hurled myself in the shop soaking wet (not a good look) but left armed with two of their Memory Rings in rose gold to complement my engagement ring, and their Kitten candle - a new staple scent.

Visit Catbird at 219 Bedford Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11211

Wythe Hotel
This old factory converted into a 90 bedroom hotel is like the Ace Hotel of Williamsburg. The rooftop bar, The Ides, looks out onto the East River and the Manhattan skyline. Unfortunately for us, the snow clouds hampered our view so we drowned our sorrows with a couple of dark and stormies to a Fleetwood Mac soundtrack. I can't think of a more ideal way to spend a Saturday afternoon. 

Visit the Wythe Hotel at 80 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11249

A few other key Brooklyn spots to hit up if you're in the area:

Brooklyn Bowl - an ace bowling alley with a cool food and drinks area. We popped in for a bottle of Brooklyn Beer, but no lanes were free. Booking ahead is recommended.
61 Wythe Avenue, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Brooklyn Brewery - right next door to Brooklyn Bowl, visit here for brewery tours, beer (obvs.) and branded merch. Tours are on a first-come, first-served basis, to get in-line early if you're in the area. We didn't fancy waiting in the snow so much so gave it a miss.

79 North 11th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11249

Smorgasburg and Brooklyn Flea - the food market and flea market take place outdoors over the summer and move indoors over the colder months. They have more vendors in their two outdoor locations in summer, but it's still definitely worth a visit to the indoor market if you're visiting November to March, even if you're just in the neighbourhood to visit Berg'n (a beer hall founded by Brooklyn Brewery).

- Indoor Market (November to March) | 1000 Dean Street, Crown Heights, NY, 11211
- Outdoor Flea and Smorgasburg (April to October) | various locations in Williamsburg, Fort Green and Brooklyn Heights.

For more information visit www.brooklynflea.com

What are your top Brooklyn picks? 

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New York State of Mind.

Long time, no blog.

December is set to be one of the most exciting months, like, ever, though, so something that needs to be documented in detail.

In precisely 18 days (!), I'm off to NYC with J for New Year! Can't. Effing. Wait.

Most of my time recently has been taken up by Christmas shopping and all important NYC research.

I'm obsessed with the Love Taza guides - so well shot and edited, NYC looks a total dream in them. After watching these, basically I plan on swanning around NYC wearing great hats and buying a helluva lot of food.

Any NYC recommendations? 

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Sunday Sounds #1

Obsessed don't even begin to cover my feelings for SBTRKT's new track New Dorp, New York.

SBTRKT and Ezra Koenig is a match made in experimental heaven. Who'da thought it? 

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Homemade Almond Milk

Today sees the first in the series of The Weekend Edition. I'll be posting under this tag every Sunday morning, with something food-related to get your Sunday kick-started. Sometimes it'll be all about clean-eating, sometimes it'll be something downright dirty - that's just how I roll. First up, homemade almond milk.

Life on Instagram #1

Oh, how I love thee Instagram. For some people the first thing they do when they wake up (sadly) is check the socials. Not. Me.

Firstly, I curse the alarm for going off. Then, I check the socials. I just can't help myself. What's been going on in the world of the Gram, overnight? I need to know. Most people tune into Facebook as they open their eyes, however, I'm an Instagram girl all the way.

I've done a few of these posts in the past, but now I'm turning into it into somewhat of a more regular thang. A brief overview of life in pictures. So, here, for your viewing pleasure is what's been going down over at AMB in the past month or so.

1. Only a digital conference would have a hashtag cake / 2. Awesome braiding at the French Connection #canthelpmyselfie event, organised by the lovely Lauren / 3. Getting fancy for a wedding - obsessed with the River Island dress I wore. Pineapples til I die. / 4. Russian treats brought back from Moscow. Fact: Russian Vogue is 100% better when it's actually been bought there / 5. In love with anything nut-butter related at the moment - these goodies are available at Protein Pick & Mix / 6. All over the IQS way of eating? Check out these tasty raw cacao nib cookies I made. Taste a dream and good for you too / 7. Susie and Rob celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in June. I always love seeing their wedding photos / 8. Well done, The Drum. So, when is Downton back on? / 9. The collectable tin to end all collectable tins. Spiceworld the move on lime green VHS, in a limited edition Baby Spice tin. The holy grail.

1. Coffee from Newcastle's finest, Ouseburn Coffee Company / 2. Lobster-print napkins from Ikea / 3. It was our 10th birthday at work last month. These canny cards were sent out with birthday cakes to our clients / 4. My word. How comfy are Nike Free 5.0s? SLIPPERS / 5. Hitting up Whitby's amusements after a night in North Yorkshire / 6. Seafood treats down at Riley's Fish Shack / 7. Getting my run on in my new Asics. Less than 8 weeks until the Great North Run. In. Sane. / 8. Beautiful light on Seaton Sluice beach / 9. Food of the gods, Cal's Own pizza.

1. Super-green smoothie from Newcastle's latest culinary offering, The Naked Deli / 2. A weekend in the Lakes with Joe - what a view at The Drunken Duck / 3. To celebrate being 10,  DC did ten pin bowling at Lane 7 / 4. One too many Buddy's beers later / 5. York Races on a HOT Saturday / 6. Building my mug collection with this typographical gem from Repeat Repeat / 6. Another IQS-shaped recipe by yours truly - Banana Bread. Give it a whirl, it tastes mighty fine / 7. Surprise flowers / 8. Getting my caffeine fix at OPR's #Ocademy Brands and Bloggers breakfast - so lovely to meet so many local bloggers and finally put some faces to names.

What a busy few weeks!

Got a favourite Instagram account? Hit me up with links to your favourites.

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Recipe: Raw Cacao Nib Cookies

I'm on somewhat of a sugar-free tip at the minute thanks to the quite brilliant Sarah Wilson and her I Quit Sugar programme.

Ever since I first discovered Sarah's philosophy in January, I've been all over her way of sugar-free thinking, and trying out her recipes and ideas has been high on my agenda.

I'm going to full a post on things I've learned on IQS and how it's helped my training and general wellbeing, but in the meantime, here's a killer recipe for sugar and gluten-free cookies.

They are super-sweet (without any of the bad, bad, white stuff in there) and are a great fix when all you can think about is chocolate. Oh, and quick and easy to make to boot.

Cacao Nib Cookies (Makes 16 small cookies, or about 9 big cookies)
(adapted from Love & Lentils recipe)
What you'll need:

• 1 1/4 cups ground almonds
• 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
• 3 tbsp rice malt syrup ( I used Clearspring Organic Rice Malt Syrup)
• 1/2 desiccated coconut (I actually used coconut flakes, blitzed in the food processor)
• 1/4 cup raw cacao nibs
• 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp baking powder

1. Pre-heat the oven to Gas Mark 4/180C/350F

2. In a small mixing bowl, mix the melted coconut oil and rice malt syrup. In a larger bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients; ground almonds, desiccated coconut, cacao nibs, vanilla powder, chopped almonds, sea salt and baking powder.

3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix, mix, mix until you have a cookie dough consistency.
4. Line a baking tray with baking paper. Form cookie dough balls from the mixture, and spread these out evenly on the tray.

5. Pop 'em in the oven for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.
6. Cool on a wire rack. I highly recommend you try one whilst they're still warm. Dreamy.

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Recipe: Baked Eggs with Chorizo

I can't get enough of baked eggs at the moment. After a bit of a heavy night at a wedding last weekend, gooey, baked eggs were only thing to sort out our hungover heads.

As we both thought they were so damn good, they were top of the request list for Bank Holiday Sunday brunch this weekend. And to boot? They ain't too bad for you.

Just to make them a bit more special this weekend, I added the Spanish flavour powerhouse that is chorizo. So, if they sound like the perfect brunch to fit the Bank Holiday bill...Get. On. This.

Baked Eggs with Chorizo (serves 2, generously)

• 1 medium white onion, chopped finely
• Quarter of a good-quality chorizo ring, diced
• 2 x 400g chopped tomatoes
• 4 large handfuls of baby spinach
• 4 eggs (I used the beautiful Old Cotsworld Legbar by Clarence Court eggs)
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes / half a fresh chilli
• Salt and pepper
• Handul of strong cheddar cheese
• Salted butter, olive oil

Method:

1. Melt a small amount of salted butter and a teaspoon of olive oil in the pan. Add your chopped onion and sweat for 5 minutes until soft.
2. Add your diced chorizo to the onion and fry until the pieces started to crisp and release their lovely paprika oil.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes to the pan, stir and season. Cover and let simmer for 15-20 minutes until the mixture starts to thicken.

4. Add your spinach to the tomato sauce mix and cover for 2 minutes.

5. Remove the lid and the spinach will have wilted down. Give the mixture a good stir.

6. Crack your 4 eggs into the pan (I also seasoned the eggs further here with a twist of pepper) and cover for 5-7 minutes.

7. After a few minutes, remove the lid and they will have poached/baked in the tomato mixture. 

8. For a final bit of indulgence, top the eggs with a sprinkling of cheese and let this melt down for 2 minutes.

Voila! Perfect Bank Holiday brunch, non?

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Paul Smith - Design Museum, London

I always been an admirer of fashion designer Paul Smith; those iconic stripes, bright colours and the fact he still rides a bike to work in his studio everyday. However, after visiting the Paul Smith exhibition at the Design Museum, yesterday I am a bonafide PS fangirl.

What a DUDE. So down to earth, a breath of real fresh air in the often pretentious world of high fashion, who has such self-awareness and knowledge, it's really unparalleled in his field.

The New.

The start of the year for me is the time to reboot and refresh.

I tried to stick to some of my 2014 goals before Christmas to ease me in gently and so that when 1st January hit, everything didn't feel like a real uphill struggle.

For the most part though, I relaxed my exercise and healthy eating over the holiday and indulged in more than my fair share of all of the cheeses and more red wine than I care to remember (it tasted damn good at the time though).

I've made a list of not so much resolutions, but just goals for this year which I can work towards over X amounts of weeks or months depending on what they are.

I think some people fall at the first hurdle with 'resolutions' because they go full pelt in January and then their enthusiasm wanes and motivation goes out the window.  For some of my goals, I'm keeping these to six-weekly targets - this keeps things a little bit more achievable.

Here are some of my targets/goals/stuff I want to do in 2014:

- Money detox
I think this is usually the top of everyone's lists but this month particularly, I'm having a total budget overhaul. I already keep a monthly budgeting spreadsheet (sad I know, but canny interesting to see what all of your dollar goes on - £20 here and there in Space NK all adds up...) and need to try ad keep on track with this.

For January at least, I'm curbing unnecessary spending and focussing on planning my budget and how I can make this work in my favour in 2014.

Another thing is credit cards. If you overindulged a bit in 2013 (for me, our big American bonanza holiday really broke the bank, and I wouldn't change it for a second, but still have a bit of debt to pay off on in!) then January is the ideal time to take advantage of balance transfer offers.

The best thing I ever did was to consolidate all of my spendings on a 0% interest balance transfer credit card, which I'm paying off monthly. I'm also making a cull on credit card purchases in general unless I pay it off straight away. Difficult, but definitely needed to help me feel in control of my money again.


- Buy less, buy smarter
A girl I follow on Instagram put this lovely little resolution on from her resolutions last year, as this really resonated, I want to adopt this gem of a resolution this year.

For me it's buying less of things I don't need and buying things I know will last a long time, even if they are a bit more expensive immediately but will benefit me in the long run. For example, really great skincare (I'm obsessed with all things Origins at the moment), a new designer handbag - things with longevity.


- Keep active and healthy
I'm pretty good at doing the above in any case, what with healthy eating, running and personal training, but this year is all about improving my running (stamina and pace), continuing to eat clean and concentrating on strength and toning. I never really let these up in 2013, but I did have a bit more of a relaxed December (which was MUCH needed) so now's the time to get back on track.


What are your plans for 2014?

*beautiful diary above by Marjolein Delhaas (image from byaprilandmay) / Flip clock image by AMB

Bernicia Festival 2013

Now, I wasn't at the press launch today, but I can't bloody wait for Bernicia Festival - South Shields' own alternative arts festival happening on 4th August at The Customs House.

As a Shields girl, this is big business for the town. We have so many great artists and bands coming out of the area at the minute and I'm so glad there's a chance to see everyone altogether in one place.

Tickets are free but only on a lottery basis, so make sure you sign-up quick sharp to be in with a chance of seeing South Tyneside's finest Little Comets, Lulu James, Natasha Haws and my mates, Boy Jumps Ship.

Want to see more? Check out KYEO's line-up reveal and new from the press launch.

Urban Night Feast, Newcastle

Last night, Joe and myself headed off to Urban Night Feast, to sample the delights of some of the North East's finest street food vendors. Having heard brilliant things from the event on Thursday and Friday nights, I couldn't wait to dig in to some of the goodies on offer. 

UNF was held in the beautiful Stephenson Centre, an amazing industrial space behind Newcastle's Central Station. We arrived just before the night kicked-off, and my god, I'm glad we did as soon there was a hefty queue of hungry punters forming outside.

We kicked off proceedings with a pint from local ale-crafters, Wylam Brewery - Writer's Block for me and Red Kite for Joe.

Next we headed to the stall run by the brilliant team from, Broad Chare, one of my most favourite places to eat in Newcastle. We grabbed ourselves a Scotch Egg, beef and Newcastle Brown Ale pie and a pork pie with homemade piccalilli. I can't say enough good things about these 3 dishes - the scotch egg in particular was perfection. Warm and just runny enough in the middle. Delicious.

Next we sampled delicious salt and pepper squid from local fish supplier/seaside mecca, Latimers. The squid was cooked in front of us and was out of this world - perfectly cooked.

We stayed for a couple of beverages to soak up the atmosphere, and on the way out stopped at Riley's Fish Shack, from our local Tynemouth, for a fishy treat - and we weren't disappointed. We both had the Mackerel wrap - the fish and the flat bread were cooked right in front of us and I can honestly say it is one of the best things I have ever tasted. I can't wait to catch these guys at the Whitley Bay St Nicholas Festival and Tynemouth Christmas Fayre over the next couple of months. Follow them on Twitter to find out which foodie event they'll be at next - @rileysfishshack

The organisers of UNF really did a great job and the venue was absolutely packed. The vendors were a good mix of established North East chefs/restaurants and passionate new North East producers, all set against a fantastic backdrop with brilliant tunes to match - we heart CoolAid Events.
Same again next year please guys.

Best in show

I am unprecedentedly behind with the Spring/Summer 2013 collections.

Whilst I catch up on all things Spring, here's Prada's latest collection. 22nd Century geisha? That'll do me for SS13.

Sunday Love: Lee Jung

I can't get enough of these beautiful light installations at the moment. Well done Lee Jung.

All these things that I've done.

Life has been hectic recently. I haven't had time to think let alone to blog! This is me getting back on the horse. Here's how life has looked recently.

Clockwise from top right: Taken on our first night in the flat, this is our beautiful fireplace in the master bedroom / Emma Bridgewater Diamond Jubillee napkins at my Mama's for Jubilee tea / first day in my new job / One of our brilliant house warming presents, a Crystal Head Vodka bottle. We daren't open it!

Clockwise from top left: Gnaw dark chocolate from lovely Park View Kitchen in Whitley Bay / Finally framed, my Prefab77 Always in England print up in pride of place / Pret coffee / Breaking out the spotty trousers for a friend's birthday.

Clockwise from top left: Matching bling / New Stelton coffee press from the parents for our flat / the prettiest street in Tynemouth / Buying coffee from local artisan roastery, the Ouseburn Coffee Company. I can't recommend their Foundry No.1 and Coffee Johnny blends enough.

Clockwise from top right: brilliant laser-cut wooden business cards for new Newcastle eatery, Ernest / my favourite lip balm / new wine-coloured studded flats / Baby Angels with Guns ll preview night at fantastic local space, The Pure Gallery. We bought the Day of the Dead print!

Clockwise from top right: Testing out beauty products / a cycle up the coast with Joe / local ice-cream at Tynemouth market / another one of my favourite prints finally framed and up. It's all about The North.

Clockwise from top right: a reminder at Jesmond Metro station / the best kind of post, paper samples from GF Smith / celebrating my brother Adam's 30th birthday / finishing the Great North 10K in 58:16! Please excuse the ridiculous make-up free face.

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Normal posting duties to resume this week!

BuyaPowa's BlueSky Co-Buys

I really can't say enough good things about BuyaPowa. Some of my most recent and favourite cheap, beauty buys have been courtesy of their brilliant co-buying scheme - the more people that sign up for the deal, the lower the price goes. Care of BuyaPowa, I've bought some of my favourite beauty products at a lower price - Bobbi Brown's Black Ink Liner and the ultimate eyelash curlers by Shu Uemura.

When Leanne from BuyaPowa got in touch asking if I'd like to get involved with their latest Bloggers' Week, I jumped at the chance. For this particular blogger recommends series, they were after my summer essentials - beauty and non-beauty focused.

Now, we're not having much of a summer are we? But, I went ahead and recommended some of my staple summer essentials including my No. 1 essential - classic, black Ray Ban Wayfarer sunglasses.

For me, sunglasses aren't just a summer accessory - I wear them whenever the sun is out, perfect for protecting those eyes from the harmful rays of the sun.

I'm pleased to say that my recommended co-buy for Ray Ban Wayfarer's will be going live on BuyaPowa in a couple of weeks, meaning you too can get your hands on these brilliant, classic sunglasses for a low price.

Maybe buying these will bring the sun out? Here's hoping.

You can check out my recommended co-buy, along with other bloggers' recommendations over at BuyaPowa.

Bicycle Ride

Since getting my very own shiny, retro-style bicycle recently, I have gone cycling mad. Having recently moved into a flat with J, who's a very keen cyclist, I've been cycling round the pretty little streets of Tynemouth and bringing back treasures from Tynemouth Market (still haven't got my basket yet, this needs to be sorted!)

So, when I heard about Urban Outfitters' new collection of bikes, I was instantly interested.

Urban Outfitters Europe have teamed up with Create, creating a collection of 14 fixie bikes in 7 colourways, all of which are designed to be unisex.

Personally, I think delving into the bicycle market is a smart move for UO, and I'd definitely consider one of these fixies when I'm in the market for a road bike.

The bikes are available in 2 frame sizes [54cm and 59cm] are available exclusively online at Urban Outfitters. 

Beauty: Liz Earle & favourite new products

Over the the past 12 months, I've become completely obsessed with all things beauty - it all started with a love of nail art which has grown into a bigger love of new beauty products, not just for nails but across skincare and make-up lines - and of course, I've discovered some brilliant beauty blogs in the process (NB: gh0stparties and Sparkly Vodka)

I'm not saying I was a beauty novice before - I've always been a Chanel lipstick and perfume kind of girl, but never really sought out new products to try. Fashion and beauty sit very much hand in hand for me, so I'm not sure why I haven't delved into the brilliance of this industry sooner - I now read as much into beauty trends as I do fashion trends. Adopting beauty trends can be an easy access into the world of high fashion trends - catwalk looks can easily replicated at home and products are very much affordable for the average person; it doesn't cost much to look good.

My daily beauty routine has significantly changed in the past 12 months. No longer being limited to student funds, I have a (small) disposable income to spend on higher quality skincare, make-up lines and beauty treats; gone are the days of using Simple facial wipes (although these are good and practical for when I'm away or feeling lazy) but I'm very much a Liz Earle girl now.

The most significant change in my beauty routine has been the skincare products which I use, which have  resulted in my skin being clearer and softer than it's ever been before.

I'm currently using the complete Liz Earle skincare line; Hot Cloth Cleanser, Instant Boost Skin Tonic and Skin Repair Moisturiser. They complement each other brilliantly and as a result of using this skincare line, my skin has dramatically improved.

For that stubborn eye make-up (I daily pile on the mascara and black, black eyeliner), I've been using Caudalie's Cleansing Water as recommended over on Liberty London Girl -  a very, very gentle cleansing water which removes every last trace of make-up. This is a product I use probably a couple of times a week - it's slightly more expensive that an average cleanser, so I'm savouring every last drop.

Favourite new products

Primers have become a staple in my make-up bag. I can't believe that I hadn't previously used these under my foundation and they have quite literally revolutionised my make-up staying power. I'm currently using The Present by Philosophy (although I do have Benefit's The Porefessional winging it's way to me in the post to try out too). The first time I tried out this primer under my foundation, I had several complements saying I looked glamourous, which, after a long day at work, was a real surprise! The Present makes your skin look beautifully airbrushed and quite literally erases pores. A real keeper.

My good friend Catherine recently introduced me to Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion. My eye make-up seems to dissolve into thin air or crease heavily as the day goes on, and since purchasing this a couple of days ago, I can't believe how I ever managed without it! My eyeshadow and liner are kept firmly in place by this miracle product so I don't need to re-apply if going out straight from work.

Lastly, a new little addition to my make-up bag is Bobbi Brown's new Ink Liner from her Neons and Nudes Collection. I picked up this gem on Buyapowa and it's perfect for when I just want a quick flick of eyeliner for those rushed mornings before work.

What are your current favourite products?

Fashion: Urban Outfitters open in Newcastle upon Tyne - Part 2

Those lovely boys over at the North East's daily arts and culture dispatch, KYEO (Keep Your Eyes Open), have written about Urban Outfitter's new Newcastle upon Tyne store, including some thoughts from yours truly. There's also a thoroughly hilarious video to watch of the boys in-store, surveying UO's retail landscape. You can see my original post about Urban Outfitter's Newcastle's store here.