This way up ....
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
I'm a bad cook. Sort of. Actually I'm more of a reluctant cook. I have to profess to not having a love of cooking. I have a sister who loves food, loves to buy food and loves to cook. I have a sister who likes shopping. Guess which sister I take after?
However, 7 years ago when stuck at home and pregnant and with time on my hands, I had to take to the kitchen. It seemed only fair if the Grump Meister was out working during the day, he could at least come home to a hot meal at the end of the day. And so began my cooking adventure .....
.....well actually as the Grump Meister would like to tell most people - it never actually took off. I can put a hot meal on the table but I'm not saying all the ingredients compliment. Classic example of last week's roast chicken dinner. Roast chicken - fine. Roast new potatoes - fine. Carrots and Broccoli - fine. Nice chicken gravy made from the yummy bits at the bottom of the roasting tray - fine. But I didn't stop there did I? Roasted red peppers and tomatoes done with balsamic? Sounds fine when eaten with something else or stirred in to a pasta dish but it did not go with the traditional roast chicken dinner. Sometimes I just don't know where to stop. But like I said to the Grumps bemused face "the veggies needed using up". And I have to confess to only having roasted my first chicken about a year ago. Yes it has taken me till the age of 40 to roast a chicken. Even now, which way up the chicken goes in the oven perplexes me somewhat. I have been known to take a picture on my phone and send a picture of the roast chicken to the hubby with the message "is this the right way up?" The first time I did this, it amused him so much, he showed the text and accompanying picture to his work colleagues. Thanks bud - your dinner is in the cat
But I'm getting better - practice makes perfect - once a fortnight we do a roast chicken midweek as this makes for a fairly easy dinner. The boys get some veggies and don't object too much and there are always leftovers for the next meal - we're having chicken curry tomorrow now that young Ben has switched on to curry. It has been a long time coming but Grumps is mighty proud that Ben now eats curry. It's like a badge of honour, a rite of passage, his boy eats curry! Beer next!
One right way up chicken
Lazy roasties
Ta dah!!! And that's Ben's hand trying to sneak some chicken skin!
Not before me - young man! Age before beauty!
Anyway, that's what we had for dinner last night (minus roasted veggies in balsamic) and it doesn't look too bad even if I do say so myself and to solve the dilemma of which way up the chicken should be - I now have a picture of a roast chicken taped to the inside of my kitchen cupboard door showing me which way up the chicken goes!
No excuses anymore for upside down chicken a la Sue
But hey - I've got the hang of it now! Sort of.
And just for anyone who's interested. This is my way - everyone is different.
Chicken.
Stick a cut lemon up the chicken's bum. I have attempted to stick one down it's neck before. The lemon is to add extra flavour and moisture (Grump's words). Olive oil on skin (I use a silicone pastry brush to brush it around - don't like getting my hands dirty). Salt and black pepper. Bob in oven.
Lazy roasties.
Par boil some new pots. Bung in tray. Olive oil over top. Shake about. Crushed sea salt. Bob's your uncle.
This Bob is a popular chap isn't he?
Simply Gorgeous
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
These are just simply gorgeous.
Nothing much more to say apart from I will take them all!
White Jeans ... finally.
Sunday, 10 June 2012
Good things (aka white jeans) come to those who have inordinate amounts of patience and are prepared to take on the might and wrath of the God of No White Jeans. But I have defeated the aforementioned God. I have found my pair of white jeans.
My particular pair are the Relaxed Skinny jeans from Next. Yes - I did say Next. Not Topshop, not H&M, not Gap, not Zara even. They're from Next. They're not too skinny so there is no mummified sausage leg effect and the denim is also a nice weight which is very important as I have found the thinner the white denim - the cheaper they look. And because they are a "relaxed skinny", I was able to size down - every girl needs a morale boost!
And, maybe it's just me but I just happen to think that white jeans can look very bad if you get them wrong because there is nothing like a pair of Daz white jeans to really say "look how big and wide and white my bottom is". I'm not saying I've got it totally right with the pair that I've got or that I look fabulous - I just look better in these than all the other 20 pairs I tried on. Previous years, I'd always eschewed white jeans thinking they were uncool (Liz Hurley has a lot to answer for) but after seeing so many bloggers upping the anti in their whites, I thought it was time for me to get with it.
So I cannot beat Lucy from Suburban Style for her 30 ways to wear white jeans (such a mad but brilliant blog post) but I can show you just a few ways of how I might choose to wear white jeans this year.
Chilled and fresh.
Blogger style.
Relaxed and easy
My particular pair are the Relaxed Skinny jeans from Next. Yes - I did say Next. Not Topshop, not H&M, not Gap, not Zara even. They're from Next. They're not too skinny so there is no mummified sausage leg effect and the denim is also a nice weight which is very important as I have found the thinner the white denim - the cheaper they look. And because they are a "relaxed skinny", I was able to size down - every girl needs a morale boost!
Cheap and cheerful belt - be gone!
And, maybe it's just me but I just happen to think that white jeans can look very bad if you get them wrong because there is nothing like a pair of Daz white jeans to really say "look how big and wide and white my bottom is". I'm not saying I've got it totally right with the pair that I've got or that I look fabulous - I just look better in these than all the other 20 pairs I tried on. Previous years, I'd always eschewed white jeans thinking they were uncool (Liz Hurley has a lot to answer for) but after seeing so many bloggers upping the anti in their whites, I thought it was time for me to get with it.
So I cannot beat Lucy from Suburban Style for her 30 ways to wear white jeans (such a mad but brilliant blog post) but I can show you just a few ways of how I might choose to wear white jeans this year.
Chilled and fresh.
Jack Wills gingham shirt (old)
Smaller checks work better for me with white jeans - less yee hah!
Not sure if I am keeping this - I fear it may be a little too fashionable for me!
Citrus sharp and bright.
Topshop fine knit jumper (sold out)
Looks good with grey contrasts
Coral Brights
River Island skeleton shadow mens scarf (old)
Soft and calm
Florence & Fred eau de nil pashmina (old)
Relaxed and easy
Jack Wills grapefruit pink cotton cardigan (last year)
Grey Primark vest
Love the colour pop on this.
And then it all got too much. Respect to Lucy for doing 30 outfits. I gave up after 6.
Last but not least, white denim has been an interesting lesson but I got there in the end. Do you think it was worth it and are you loving or loathing?
Bugbears
Friday, 8 June 2012
Big breath ......
- When one of your favourite shops has a discount code offer and you finally go and order the item you want, to find it has sold out in your size. (Yes - the Wilpshire cardigan in red is totally sold out)
- When your new jumper pills after the first wear.
- When your ivory cashmere jumper sheds over all your dark clothing.
- When your white cat rubs up against your black leggings / tights / dress / suit / anything.
- When you buy a pair of shoes and you get home and you find that one pair is a slightly different shade to the other.
- When you buy something at full price and it goes in to the sale a day later.
- When your hemline is 1 inch too short for you to be comfortable.
- When you nearly finish ironing something and then find a mark which didn't come out in the wash.
- When your dry clean jumper which you chanced in the wash comes out significantly smaller
- When you get sauce splash back on your white top.
- When the stripes are not aligned on your top/dress.
- When the item you thought would go with everything in your wardrobe - doesn't go with anything in your wardrobe.
- Jeans which give you that strange camel toe crotch effect.
- White jeans/dresses/skirts/trousers where you can see the garment pocket lining showing through.
- Sleeves which are too tight around the arms. We don't all have stick arms.
- The pj bottoms you took up because they were 5 inches too long, shrink in the wash and are now 2" too short.
- You find a white hair that got missed when you dyed your hair last night.
- Your espadrilles are not waterproof.
- You and your friend come out of the changing rooms wearing the same clothes. She looks ten times better than you.
- When your husband says "what are you wearing??" with a faintly bemused expression when you model your latest fashion find.
- When the only bag in the Plumo sale is the only bag not in the sale. Why????
I only had 20 until Plumo sent me an email to say they had a sale on. Pah!
What have you got to add?
Rat a tat tat! Who's that?
Thursday, 7 June 2012
It's the nice Parcel Force man who comes to my door bearing a huge box!
I've not actually been that naughty. I've been culling my wardrobe for about a year and stockpiled a mountain of clothing which was just a little too good for the charity bag. I finally mustured up enough energy to do a little ebaying and have now reaped the rewards into my Paypal account. And did you know that the number of shops online which now allow Paypal as a method of payment is increasing by the day - neither did I till this past week!
I've had my eye on the Kurt Geiger Kook sandals for a little while. For some reason, I have been irresistibly drawn to them like a magpie to all things shiny and glittery. They had them in a nice chic snakeskin version but no, I wanted the glittery ones. My sensible head was saying "get the snakeskin" but my inner child was saying "glitter!!!". There was a 25% off discount code going round last week from Marie Claire and so I finally got round to ordering the Kooks ....and the Krimbles. Krimbles - who mentioned anything about Krimbles? Err, it just so happened there was another pair of sandals I had my eyes on and it seemed to make sense to order them both and save on the postage costs and maybe keep one pair (or both). Gosh, I'm good at selling to myself.
So one huge box containing two smaller boxes later .....
We have one pair of Kooks!
I've had my eye on the Kurt Geiger Kook sandals for a little while. For some reason, I have been irresistibly drawn to them like a magpie to all things shiny and glittery. They had them in a nice chic snakeskin version but no, I wanted the glittery ones. My sensible head was saying "get the snakeskin" but my inner child was saying "glitter!!!". There was a 25% off discount code going round last week from Marie Claire and so I finally got round to ordering the Kooks ....and the Krimbles. Krimbles - who mentioned anything about Krimbles? Err, it just so happened there was another pair of sandals I had my eyes on and it seemed to make sense to order them both and save on the postage costs and maybe keep one pair (or both). Gosh, I'm good at selling to myself.
So one huge box containing two smaller boxes later .....
Box of Good Things
We have one pair of Kooks!
All that glitters is good!
All that is tan, is good with me too.
The Kooks fitted and glittered but most importantly, they were comfortable. Comfortable - sounds like a dirty word doesn't it? In a mummy's world - that is very important. Pre-kids, I wore my heels high and proud and sometimes painful. With kids - comfort is the way to go (with a lttle nod to style where possible).
The Krimbles are a slightly higher end version of my Primark wedge sandals featured in previous posts. I need them like I need a hole in the head but I like them so that's my reason for ordering. I don't drink, I don't smoke, I'm a good girl - I am allowed these shoes paid for by my Paypal proceeds because I didn't really use real money.
I make a convincing argument don't I?
I make a convincing argument don't I?
Jubilee
Tuesday, 5 June 2012
My nod to the red, white and blue theme. It will do.
Red Etienne Aigner Bag
Primark Peacock Scarf
Whistles Breton Top
Falmer Heritage Skinny Jeans
Carvela Krimble Sandals
We had a little wander down in to the village to see the Jubilee shenanigans. Thankfully the weather picked up though the sky was distinctly pale grey as we set off.
Where is everyone?
They're in here!
Red, white and blue!
Honest - that's the Queen!
Left, right, left, right.
Wait for us!
Face painting for anyone who wants to be face painted!
Catch me if you can!
And the band played on ...
Jubilee biscuits - tasted better than they looked
Jubilee buns - only for those with a sweet tooth (aka Ben & George)
And then home for a nice cuppa! It is the Queen's Jubilee after all.
Nice cup of Earl Grey and a tooth meltingly sweet Jewel bun.
The village is only small and as we set off we started to think "Where is everyone?" but it turned out that most people had gone to the church to see the mock Coronation of the Queen. I took a few snaps, Ben took some as well but I have to admit that his were even more blurred than mine so between the two of us, this is the best of what we have of today.
The Baking Belles had set up in the church where we bought our buns and didn't they do a lovely job? Of course the boys chose the most colourful and sugary confections known to man and the most colourful and sugary one just happened to be the Jewel bun - the one Ben said he picked especially for me.
My familiar mantra when around children springs to mind. "Errr.....do I have to?"
Did you have a good Jubilee day?
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