I heart New York City

Ah, NYC, you beautiful, beautiful place.

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll see that I've just come back from an unforgettable New Year trip to New York, where J popped the question!

Obviously I couldn't refuse and wow, the ring. What a ring! Joe chose damn well and proposed with the Anna Sheffield Oval Bea - a rose gold band with a rose cut Champagne diamond and two white diamonds. It is an absolute stunner and I just can't stop looking at it.

I'll be posting more about out NYC adventures soon but for now, I have some planning to start.

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Being LUSH

I vividly remember my first jaunts to LUSH as a teen - I was like a kid in a sweet shop, only instead of sweets, the counters were piled high with brightly coloured bath bombs. Nothing much has changed since then, and I still feel that kid whenever I step foot in-store. It's all quite Willy Wonka-meets-cosmetics when you think about it - solid shampoo bars, shower jellies and playdough substances which can be used as a shampoo, soap and everything in between.

I have to say, its probably one of my favourites retailers on the high street - all products is freshly handmade, always ethical and the brand is completely against animal testing to boot. That's the kind of brand I can get on board with.

My local LUSH has recently had a bit on an overhaul, and the lovely team kindly invited me down to check out the new fixtures and fittings. First thing I noticed? Lots of driftwood - a nod to LUSH's coastal home in Poole.

The staff, as ever, were terrifically knowledgable about all products and the brand and it's heritage, and their enthusiasm, something I've always loved, was at an only appropriate 110%.

One of the main things I was interested to learn about was their fragrance collection, Gorilla Perfume. There is such a story behind each scent, and I particularly loved the tale of Breath of God, inspired by Buddhist monks and the inhale and exhale patterns they use in prayer; the 'inhale' and 'exhale' notes of the perfume are both slightly different, making it masculine and feminine both at the same time. Deep.

Some of the guys who hand-produce fresh items were on hand to show us how to make Angels with Bare Skin, a fresh cleanser based on a medieval recipe, crammed full of good things for your skin - almonds, lavender and rose. A LUSH lady then demonstrated how when emulsified in water, the clay-like cleanser breaks down, making it much easier to apply to your skin.

As always, I loved just browsing around the shop and feeling like a kid again - who wouldn't want the psychedelic bath bomb, Granny Takes A Dip, livening up their soak in the tub? Go on, head to LUSH and treat yo'self.

LUSH Newcastle, Unit 1B/Chevy Chase, Eldon Square, Newcastle upon Tyne.

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Toon Eats

Something short and sweet this week's Weekend Edition, still with a foodie focus but sans recipe. Never fear though, I'll be back with something great to try out next Sunday.

As for this week, there's an abundance of food-related events happening in Toon, so what better time to big them up?

Firstly, NE1's Restaurant Week kicks off tomorrow. NE1 have teamed up with even more restaurants this time around to offer some damn good deals from 4th-10th August. I'll be hitting up one of my favourite restaurants, Caffe Vivo - £10 for 2 courses is always a winner.

Secondly, something I am hugely excited about. The Grazer a.k.a Anna Hedworth, North East food blogger and supperclub supremo, is opening up her hotly anticipated Cook House in the Ouseburn. Opening on Wednesday 6th August, CH will be open on weekdays from 8:30am-3:30pm serving breakfast and lunches. Anna will still be hosting her popular supperclubs here, along with a food school programme - first up is a demo from Charlotte Harbottle of Charlotte's Butchery on 1st September.

Where are you off to this Restaurant Week?

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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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Recipe: Coconut & Cinnamon Pancakes

Ah, pancakes. Surely the ultimate breakfast food, non? There's nothing quite like a syrup-glistened stack of those fluffy drops of heaven.

Now, the real deal doesn't do nothing for the ol' waistline, but here's a stack that's just indulgent enough to feel like the real thing whilst being kinder on the summer bikini diet. Oh, and paleo too!

Introducing Coconut & Cinnamon pancakes.

This recipe uses coconut flour, which I've used in pancakes in the past but those guys were a bit of the dry side, so here's a tip - always add a little bit more liquid that the recipe says.

So, wanna make pancakes?

Coconut & Cinnamon Paleo Pancakes (serves 1) 

• 2 medium eggs
• 3 tbsp full fat coconut milk (add 1 tbsp more to make the mixture a bit thinner)
• 1/2 mashed ripe banana (freeze the other half to add to smoothies)
• 1.5 tbsp coconut flour
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• Pinch of salt
• Coconut oil for frying

1. Mash the banana. Add the eggs and coconut milk and whisk until well combined.

2. In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.

3. Whisk together the wet and dry ingredients to form your batter.

4. Heat your coconut oil in a frying pan and add tablespoons of batter to the pan (I made mine slightly larger, so each pancake was around 2/3 tablespoons)

5. As soon as bubbles form on the surface (about 1.5 mins), flip the pancakes over and cook for around another 30 seconds

6. Serve! I had mine with organic natural yoghurt and frozen blueberries.

Do you know of any great clean pancake recipes? Hook a sister up. 

Supermum

Happy Mother's Day to my unbelievable Mum. The strongest woman I know and a constant inspiration. All hail Mama B.

Doing the do

My hair is currently a long, unruly mane, which needs an abundance of lovely products to get it looking spit spot day-to-day. Over the cold, cold winter months, my long locks been a bit dehydrated, so I've been trying to pump some moisture back into my tresses, and with few finishing touches from these products, it's starting to come up roses just in time for Spring.

January Girl

January has been jam-packed so far. From a night in Hotel du Vin, to trying out some of Newcastle's new food joints to my birthday, it's been a brilliant beginning to 2014. Here's some of the best bits so far.

1. Cotton Post calendar to keep 2014 in check / 2. Chanel Le Vernis Rouge Rubis - a gorgeous Christmas present / 3. Joe representin' at the match / 4. We lost the battle / 5. Obsessed with all things black, white and yellow at the moment / 6. Seeing my pals in action in Vice Canada's Guides to Newcastle / 7 & 8. A night in the unreal Hotel du Vin in Newcastle. Look at that room! Brilliant food, exceptional cocktails and a little bit of a sore head the following day. All signs of a brilliant Friday night. / 9. Favourite blend from OCC / 10. Going button-up in Celia Birtwell for Uniqlo / 11. Hangin' with my two of my favourites; Oliver and Bella / 12.  Happy birthday to me! Treats from Dover Street Market (underneath the wrapping was an unreal CDG wallet which has been on my wishlist for some time / 13. Gifts from my gorgeous team at work - my favourite espresso martini and a delicate gold necklace / 14. New kicks. / 15. Checking out Coop in Newcastle - just one of the many new food joints which seem to have popped up over night / 16. Perfect patisserie from the Pet Lamb girls / 17. An unreal birthday present; personalised hip-flask *inserts heart-eyed emoji* / 18. Unreal bait at North Shields Fish Quay's latest establishment, The Staith House (on the plate is slow cooked pork belly with langoustines, spinach and cauliflower puree). 

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

Step Into Christmas

We're well and truly in the midst of the festive season now. Houses are twinkling with lights and everyone is buzzing with excitement for the big man in red to make an appearance. As soon as 1st December hit, we put up our Christmas tree - after all, it only comes once a year so you may as well enjoy having the house glowing with lights for as long as possible.

We've gone for a fairly minimal theme of white and silver on the tree this year, with a few other Christmas treasures around the house for goos measure. I'm absolutely loving our Beatles bauble we bought in Liverpool a few weeks ago - it's taken pride of place this year.

Food and drink are obviously high on the agenda this month and something keeping me warm at the moment is teapigs gorgeous and very Christmassy, Spiced Winter Red Tea - think Chai but with a festive orange, clove and cinnamon twist. The smell is unreal! I'm also a bit obsessed with the idea of making my own mulled ginger beer - thinking about throwing one of these spiced tea bags in for a different twist.

I've got quite a bit of time off over Christmas and New Year, and absolutely can't wait to gorge on cheese and seasonal fayre. And, as for New Year? Well, Joe is working over Christmas so our Christmas Day is on New Year's Eve so we both get to enjoy a double celebration and bit of time off together in the New Year.

What are your plans this Christmas?

California Dreamin'

Last month, Joe and I headed off to California for a magical 10 days. We crammed an absolute load into our time there and took waaay too many photos (I'm still trying to edit them!).

LA and San Francisco are two of the most incredible cities I've been lucky enough to visit and we'll definitely be going back.

Here's a look at Cali through the medium of Instagram.

Straight from the airport to Santa Monica beach and a well deserved Coronarita / SMP / lovely typography a step away from our hotel / end of Route 66 / sunset / beautiful tiled floor in Blue Plate Taco / pastel prettiness / The Bean / Venice

Amazing fresh juices in Local 1205 on Abbot Kinney, Venice / cycling from Santa Monica to Venice / gorgeous milk glass, wish I could've brought some home - so cheap! / far too much money was spent in this brilliant store, Urbanic Paper / skaters at Venice Beach / the amazing menu in my most favourite restaurant EVER, Gjelina / homemade Chorizo pizza, broccolini, and chickpea and black kale stew / LA > SF / SF cable car - best way to commute around the city.

Super smiley on the tram / Defeating the meat at In-N-Out Burger / Fisherman's Wharf / cable car selfie / yummy cocktails at Local Edition / Traz / AMB <3 JM / GGB / lush seafood at La Mar

Had the most amazing ice cream from Polar Bear ice cream in Santa Cruz / just part of a huge graffiti in SC / surf shop / Santa Cruz / Santa Barbara Stearn's Wharf / amazing fish tacos in the sunshine / Paradise Cove beers with J / heaven.

An amazing welcome at the fabulous Avalon Hotel in Beverley Hills / BH / brilliant sign outside Avalon / poolside cocktails / Central Perk at WB Studios / living the dream / Universal Studios / J / jut a teeny tiny selection of my Whole Foods haul

The best burger I've ever had at Short Order, Farmer's Market / haulin' at Amoeba Music / Deus Ex Machina / Paris in LA at Bouchon Bakery / second visit to the truly wonderful Gjelina / mecca / kicking Joe's bum at table tennis in The Standard Downtown / last night cocktails at the rooftop pool / LAPL.

Music Slash Art, Newcastle upon Tyne

There's a new cool kid in Toon.

MSA (Music Slash Art) is the UK's first truly art integrated music venue, curated by the guys over at Unit 44 (over in culture hub, Hoults Yard), and at the end of last month it opened it's doors.

With specially curated installations providing backdrops for live performances, this is the ideal amalgamation to showcase the ever-thriving music, arts and culture scene in Newcastle.

The interior has also been decked out by contemporary design masters, Deadgood - if you haven't already checked out their range, get to it. 

Now, I haven't had chance to get down there for a nose around yet, but I absolutely cannot wait to see what this venue has in store.

All images courtesy of MSA / Full Fat 

Come Closer.

There is so much bloody great music coming out of the North East at the minute, I can't get enough.
I'm more than obsessed with Lulu James (from South Shields, what's not to love?!) and I literally can't get this song out of my head. If you haven't heard it, where have you been?

Recent Snaps: Feb/March 2013

The last few weeks have been a blur of work, cooking, weddings, running and a lot more.

Here's a snapshot of what's been going down.

Valentine's gifts from Joe - Coco Noir and pretty red roses / a surprise stay at the Malmaison as a Valentine's treat - Joe is a keeper / pretty gin packaging in The Wine Chambers, Tynemouth / Caroline Issa for LK Bennett clutch bag - see my blog post on the collection here / All hail the new issue of fabulous women's magazine, The Gentlewoman featuring non other than Queen Bey / a heart in a morning latte / picture wall at the Harbour Lights / Alvinos cocktail list in cassette tape format / the trial run bake for our Comic Relief Great British Bake Off event at work - my Chorizo & Leek pasties  went down a treat / artwork in the best coffee bar in Newcastle, 9 Bar / the ever-amazing coastline in Tynemouth, 5 minutes from our flat / Defense! / Nail art goodies from Quantum Beauty Company / A new addition to Joe's family - Lottie the beagle / the ace gramophone in the Crown Posada / Pennyhill Park for my cousin's wedding with my sister-in-law Nat; I'm wearing Topshop / Bella my niece doing her flowergirl duties / Forgot-me-not seeds as wedding favours / pretty Spring flowers for centrepieces / a much need health boost in the form of a Leon salad on the train from London / Mama and me...a #latergram  

& Other Stories

I know, I know: who hasn't blogged about H&M's new brand this week? But, it's all for good reason.

& Other Stories, created by the teams behind the brilliant high-street collections from H&M and Cos, now bring us this new brand. The brand's collections aren't depicted by trends, but 'stories' which will develop each season. They've integrated some brilliant video 'Shop the Story' sequences, showing the clothes on real people (definately where eCommerce is heading) and this week launched their London HQ on Regent Street.

The ready-to-wear clothes, accessories and shoes are the type of staples which you need in your wardrobe; simple colour, shapes and styles. My idea of utter style heaven. Pass me my credit card - here are my picks:

Block heel sandals £65 / Claire Vivier for & Other Stories Notebook Holder £29

Leather clutch £55 / Sleeveless shirt £39 

Knitted top £29 / Leather belt £29 

What's your favourite story this season?

& Other Stories

256—258 Regent Street

London, W1B 3AF 

Boilerhouse Hair - Newcastle, UK

This weekend, I ventured into pretty West Jesmond in Newcastle, to visit Boilerhouse Hair and Beauty Salon, to have my locks chopped. Now, before this appointment, I hadn't had my hair cut for 9 months (yes, very shameful), so a good cut was well overdue.

I arrived about 10 minutes before my appointment and was greeted by two lovely receptionists and Felix, stylist and junior manager, who would be doing my hair.

The ground floor of the salon is relatively small but was a hive of activity, and I was told I'd be having my haircut upstairs. Up the stairs was a light and very spacious first floor of the salon; Felix informed me that Boilerhouse had been through a huge refurb about a year before to transform the space into a luxury treatment environment.

Gorgeous floor length mirrors at every hair station, mock-croc armchairs beneath the hair basins and bespoke furnishings and purpose-built units throughout - everything was perfectly tailored to the salon. My favourite part of the first floor were the cool purpose built shelving units for hair colours and products - it made the salon feel like an old apothecary with shelves bursting with interesting things to look at and try out.

Up the stairs again to the second floor were where Boilerhouse's beauty treatment rooms could be found. The beauty arm to the business has only been in action around a year, but they offer some fantastic treatments and great deals (check out their blog for more info) - I'll be stopping by for Bio Sculpture gel nails when I'm in Jesmond next.

Back down on the first floor, Felix sat me down and of course asked, what I'd like to be done with my hair. Now, I like to be fairly low maintenance when it comes to my hair and haircare, and as I have a few weddings coming up this year, I wanted to keep it long, so thought a tidy and a trim would do the job. We decided to cut about 1/2 inch off the main length just to knock off those dead ends off and tidy up my long layers.

The salon use the Paul Mitchell range of products and over at the basins, my hair was slathered with a gorgeous smelling shampoo and then just the right amount of conditioner to make sure the ends of my hair were in fine fettle. Luckily for me, my hair is in a relatively good condition and very soft by nature, so I don't need too much conditioner, otherwise my blonde hair can look greasy.

After a shampoo, Felix started telling me a bit more about the salon. His parents, Kim and Steve, founded the salon nearly 30 years ago and have built up an incredible business. I learned that all of Boilerhouse's staff are trained in-house - a fantastic brand attribute, meaning that new people coming into the business are immersed in the Boilerhouse brand from day one.

Boilerhouse also provide hair stylists for school and college fashion shows in the Newcastle area, and also compete in many hair shows - their stylists' handywork can be seen here. They also have some interesting hair-styling projects lined up with a local university, which I'm interested to see the results in - watch this space.

Once the cut was done, I told Felix I really struggled getting texture into my hair. My hair is naturally poker straight (not as great as it sounds), so he suggested a liberal amount of Paul Mitchell Sea Salt Spray, followed by drying my hair with a large diffuser. Having never tried the diffuser before, I wasn't sure what the results would be but Felix assured my hair would have volume, texture and a subtle wave from the sea salt spray. He carefully spent a good 20-25 minutes drying my hair with the diffuser and the effects were bloody brilliant; my hair had a brilliant beachy texture, which I always find so hard to achieve and Felix made it seem effortless - I will definitely be investing in a diffuser to ensure I can achieve this look at home.

After a quick look in the mirror, I was set to go armed with tips on how to give my hair texture and body. Want to check out my 'do after a bit more primping and preening for a night out? Head over to my Instagram for more. 

Fancy trying out Boilerhouse for yourself? 

Find them on Twitter - @BoilerhouseHair, on Facebook - BoilerhouseHair and online at BoilerhouseHair.co.uk

You can check out their hair and beauty services online, and book yourself in for an appointment - I can highly recommend Felix; he listened to exactly what I wanted and made some great suggestions on how to style my hair going forward. What a gem. 

Boilerhouse Hair and Beauty Salon

Acorn Road

Jesmond

Newcastle

NE2 2DJ