Lazy Sunday Essentials

Image from Pinterest

I must say ... I think Sunday is my favourite day of the week! When I wake in the morning, with the sun coming through the curtains there's just this feeling of contentment. Still another day to relax and organise before the week ahead. The difference between a Sunday and Saturday for me, is that I usually chill in my pjs on a Saturday, thinking I have the whole weekend ahead of me. On Sunday I kick myself in to gear and get my chill on!

Image from Pinterest

Coffee - Being a serious coffee addict lover, it is the first thing I do on a Sunday morning. Either making a cafetiere if the other half is awake (usually not), or I will make myself a Lyon's coffee bag. The other half's uncle introduced us to these coffee bags over Christmas, they are exactly as they sound and I am not sure why they were not made earlier! Take the coffee bag and use them in the same way as tea, leaving it for longer if you prefer a stronger tea or less time for a weaker one. I must say they are super tasty, and the perfect slightly more indulgent coffee for a weekend.

Image from Brit+C0

Facial - I take the chance on a quiet Sunday morning to indulge in my weekly facial. I settle in my bathroom, watching a little catch up TV (at the moment: Bake Off!) and get to work. Lighting a candle, I'll start with a normal cleanser, cleaning away all the grime from the night before and follow on with an exfoliating cleanser. As I have oily skin I do not want to strip away too much oil, so do this once a week. I follow this up with a face mask giving my skin a deep cleanse, then on with a thick moisturiser, giving this time to sink in and then my eye cream. After this, I feel really refreshed and ready to start my day.

Image from TopInspired

Sunday Make-Up - Usually we will head out on a Sunday, for a quick shopping trip, a coffee, or my favourite ... a lazy walk along the river. So I never want to do a full face, especially after a facial, but I want to look alive. This consists of my Garnier BB Cream to even things out, MaxFactor Creme Puff Blush, My Holy Grail Mascara and Eyebrow Pencil, Maxfactor Masterpiece Max and Soap and Glory Archery Pencil and whatever lipstick I am feeling that day, probably something quite light and nude.

Image from StyleCaster

Clothes - Sunday's call for my Sunday uniform. This consists of some comfy jeans, usually my trainers, and the cosiest jumper I can find.

There is just nothing better than indulging in a lovely coffee, fresh faced and in cosy clothes ready to just chill.

What is your Sunday routine?

Interiors Trend // Jungle Fever

Image from Pinterest

Jungle and Tropical Prints have been popular for a couple of years and are still set to be big this year as well. Who wouldn't want to live in an urban jungle, with greenery and bright colours it is guarenteed to make you happy every time you walk in the room. So I have put together some of my favourite tropical inspired pieces.

Fabric

1. Jungle A Tana Lawn Fabric by Liberty. £22.50 per metre

2. Manila by Sanderson: £55.00 per metre
3. Jungle Beat by Matthew Williamson & Osborne and Little: £58.00 per metre

4. Soft Jardin Exo'Chic by Christian Lacroix & Designers Guild: £132.00 per metre

Wallpaper

1. Tropical Floral Wallpaper. B&Q - £12.00 per 10m roll

2. Tropicana Wallpaper by Matthew Williamson & Osborne and Little - £59.00 per 10m roll

3. Palm Jungle Wallpaper by Cole and Sons - £78.00 per 10m roll

4. Summer Tropical Bloom Wallpaper by Sian Zeng - £32.00 per 1m (£320.00 per 10m)

I know that working with fabrics and wallpapers can be a bit overwhelming, and making smaller additions will make the same impacts, adding a scattering of cushions to the sofa, a collection of prints on the wall or even adding a couple of home accessories will bring in the trend and brighten up your home.

Cushions

1. Waterfall in the Rainforest Cushion Cover by Wendy Townrow on Society6 - £14.00
2. Leafy Monstera Cushion by Kith & Kin - £56.00

3. Zingy Palm Print Linen Cushion by Suzanne Goodwin - £75.00

4. Rainforest Malachite Cushion by Designers Guild & Christian Lacroix - £110.00

Etsy Prints

1. Large Tropical Print, Watetcolour Leaves, Geometric, Hexagon by AycaAtalayCreative - £4.23

2. Tropical Paper Art Prints by ExcellentArtPrints - £7.49

3. It's A Jungle Out There 8x10 Print by OkSweet - £21.50

4. Set of 4 Tropical Leaf Prints by shelbydillion - £42.99

Home Accessories

Patterned Tray by H&M - £12.99

Happy Friday Tropic Bedding Set by BHS - £35.00
Tropical Glam Banana Leaf Print 5'x6' Rug by Nikki on Society6 - £56.00
Palms Wall Sticker by Zazous on Notonthehighstreet - £104.99

I don't know about you but I want to go and order a couple of prints now!

What do you think of the new jungle trend?

Recipe // Cooking the Season

This super helpful chart is from eatseasonably.co.uk

The easiest way to get the most out of your food and cooking is to use fruits and vegetables that are in season; this ensures that your dishes are extremely flavourful. The fruits and vegetables that are currently in season are ...

Bananas // Blood Oranges // Brussel Sprouts // Cabbage // Carrots // Cauliflower // Celery // Clementines // Kale // Kiwi // Leeks // Parsnips // Passionfruit // Pomegranate // Potatoes // Rhubarb // Savoy Cabbage // Turnips

For a quick, easy and tasty side dish, toss some Brussels, Carrots, Cauliflower, Parsnips, Potatoes and Turnips into a pan with some oil, garlic and rosemary. Throw them in the oven at 200C (Fan - 180C) for around 45 minutes. Easy! And will be super tasty!

Below I have rounded up a few of my favourite recipes using some more of these yummy foods ...

Seeing as Leeks and Potatoes are currently in season, of course I had to include my favourite Leek and Potato Soup:

Ingredients:

- 3 Sliced Leeks

- 4-5 Medium Potatoes

- 2tbs Butter

- 500ml Vegetable Stock

- 1.5tsp salt

- 1tsp dried marjoram

- 1tsp dried thyme

- Handful of fresh parsley

Serves 4

Method:

Add the butter and the leeks to a saucepan over a medium heat and cook for 10minutes.

Add all other ingredients except for the fresh parsley, bring to a simmer and cook for 20minutes.

Pure the soup, add in the fresh parsley, salt and pepper. Then serve.

Serving suggestion: Serve with roasted veg (Recipe above) and some chunky buttered bread.

And as a lovely desert why not make a Pear and Rhubarb Crumble with a Blood Orange and Pomegranate Cocktail ...

Blood Orange and Pomegranate Cocktail:

Ingredients:

- 60ml pomegranate juice

- 60ml blood orange juice (freshly squeezed)

- 4tsp sugar

- 500ml Prosecco

- Blood orange slices (to garnish)

Serves 4

Method:

Chill your chosen glasses in the freezer for 10minutes.

Add 1tsp surge per glass, 15ml of pomegranate juice and 15ml of the fresh blood orange juice, stir until dissolved.

Top with the Prosecco, garnish with the blood orange slices and serve!

Pear and Rhubarb Crumble:

Ingredients:

- 3 Ripe Pears

- 600g Rhubarb

- 100g caster sugar

- Zest and juice of an orange

Topping Ingredients:

- 200g flour

- 200g butter

- 150g light brown sugar

- 75g muesli

Serves 4

Method:

Heat oven to 200C (Fan 180C)

Mix all topping ingredients together with your fingertips until in a pastry type texture. Then set aside in the fridge to chill.

Chop the rhubarb and pears into small chunks, removing the pear skin. Put these into your oven dish, mixing with the sugar, orange juice and zest. Add on the topping and bake in the oven for 35-45minutes.

Serving suggestion: Serve with a nice dollop of cream and ice cream! Mmmmmmmmmm.

I hope you enjoy these recipes!

What are your favourite wintery, seasonal recipes?

The Fashion Edit // Sunday Date Day

Sunglasses // Jacket // Jumper // Necklace // Jeans
// Ring // Lipstick // Bag // Shoes

Motivational Monday // Simply Begin

This beautiful print is from SuccessCode on Etsy

We all need a little motivation on a Monday morning sometimes, so I thought I would start a new series of motivational quotes every Monday.

'The best way to get things done is to simply begin'

I thought this was the perfect quote to start with, because it's all about beginnings. I am going to use this quote myself this week and just take that small step to doing something that I want to do. For me at the moment that thing is running! Having signed up for a half marathon this, and it being one of my new years resolutions, I need to get started. So this week, I am just going to put on my trainers and head out of the door. No time or distance set, just run. Because it is just about starting! Most of the time taking that small step is all you need, and once you get going you can't stop yourself.

Print from BySamantha on Etsy

Well, I know I am super excited to tackle this week! Feeling refreshed, energised, with a coffee in hand and some exciting posts coming for the rest of this month ... let's get this week started!

What is your favourite motivational quote?

What's In My Bag // Kate Spade

I was so lucky to receive a new handbag and purse from my other half for Christmas; The Kate Spade Cedar Street Medium Harmony Shoulder Bag and the Kate Spade Lcey Continental Leather Wallet. I never expected these in a million years and feel so unbelievably bless. And with a new handbag comes a new (first) 'What's In My Bag' post!

Bag

The bag itself is the most gorgeous shape, it is a tote style shoulder bag in a similar style to the Louis Vuitton Neverfull. I have always swooned and drooled over all of Kate Spade's designs, they are all so gorgeous and cute. I did want something a little more sensible and suitable for day to day use and this size was perfect, and of course black goes with everything. The boy did good!

The bag itself is in a soft Saffiano Leather, this is a more grainy leather than the usual leather, meaning this it will keep it's shape longer and will not show up as many marks as a softer leather. Inside there are two small pockets and a larger zip pocket, and there is a lovely spotted lining on the inside of the bag. There is more than enough room inside the bag for all of your essentials, and I can not recommend this bag enough.

Purse
The purse that I am using is also a new item too, it is the Kate Spade Lacey Continental Leather Wallet. In the same Saffiano leather as the bag. It has three slots for note or receipts, twelve for cards, and a zip in the centre for your coins. It is super spacious and fits in my new bag perfectly! *cheesy grin*

Sunglasses

Living in London (well, England in general really!) you always have to be prepared, which means I am constantly armed with sunglasses. And usually an umbrella also, but I lost mine *note to self: purchase new umbrella!*. So the sunglasses I have are the RayBan Clubmasters, I love RayBans, they are such good quality sunglasses and seem to be the only ones that I don't break or lose. I already have the Wayfarers, and have had them for nearly 2 years and am totally surprised I haven't lost them yet.

Makeup Bag

I do my make up before I leave for work and carry a few things just in case I need to top up throughout the day or if I am going out somewhere. This one is from Designers Gulld but they don't make this one anymore, but you can find some similar ones on their website. The bits I like to carry are my Rimmel Stay Matte, The Eraser Eye Concealer, Lord & Berry Eyeline, Maxfactor Masterpiece Max, and my Soap, Glory Brow Archery Pencil & Clinique Chubby Stick Intense.

Hairbrush
Being a long haired lady, I need a hairbrush with me at all times. I love this little one from Wet Brush, it does the job and I love the sunshine colour! It also means I can spot it in my handbag.

Hand Cream

This hand cream is the best hand cream in the world. It is the Hemp Hand Cream from The Body Shop. It is quite thick and luxurious, although it soaks in really quickly. I cannot live without this and would recommend that you try this out if you can. It is gorgeous!

Notebook & Pen

I admit it ... I have a bit of a stationary obsession, with wayyy wayyy too many notebooks, but never seem to carry any with me. A few weeks before Christmas I was picking up the last few pieces and wanted to list everyone, and what I had bought to double check but had obviously forgotten all my notebooks, So I popped into WHSmiths and bought this one for a few pounds. And I love it!

Phone

As with most people, I cannot live without my phone. I have the iPhone 6, in a Skinny Dip Unicorn Case that my sister bought me. Enough said I think ...

Keys

These are my keys, I need them to get into my house. I have some home and work keys, a fob to get into my house, a trolley token (everyone needs one of those!) and a leather key ring from UnderCover!

I hope you enjoyed my first 'What's In My Bag' Post ...

What do you carry in your bag?

Favourites // December

Seeing as Christmas has just passed us by (in a flash!) I thought I would combine this December favourites with a bit of a 'What I Got for Christmas' and make it a bit longer!

Before I start, I just want to say the usual, this is not boastful, these are just my favourite posts to read so think it's only polite to write my own.

I think I will start with makeup, it is something that I gave really got into this year. I received the Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette and I never thought it would live up to the hype, but it truly does. The colours and the pigmentation of the shadows are amazing. They blend together beautifully, and the result on the eyes is just amazing. They stay all day and I cannot recommend them enough, totally worth the money. Another beauty item I am loving is the Beauty Blender, I have used versions of this before and thought they were OK, but my sister gave me the original for Christmas and the ones I have used before are not a patch on it. It just smooths out the whole of your face and make the foundation look natural. 

In the skincare and fragrance category is the LookFantastic Beauty Box, my boyfreind bought the Limited Edition Christmas Collection for me (October, November and December) and the combination of products in them is amazing, the October box included an Elemis Day Cream, Reve de Miel Hand Cream and a Balance Me Face Mask, the November box included a Korres Shower Gel, a Bellapiere Red Lipstick and a Kebelo Face Mask, and the December box included a Codage Face Serum, Eyelure lashes and a full size Eve Lom cleanser. They are amazing to get a trial of some more high end brands, and testing out what works for you. I am tempted to set myself up for the monthly box any way! For perfume I am loving, my classic Nina Ricci L'eau, this is just 'my smell' and I love it and a new one, Viktor & Rolf, Flowerbomb which is gorgeous, and so incredibly sweet smelling which I love. If you can get somewhere to give them a sniff then you should!

Probable my favourite favourite, would be my new handbag. The Kate Spade New York Cedar Street Medium Harmony Shoulder Bag (What a mouthful!) and the Kate Spade Lacey Continental Leather Wallet. They are just absolutely amazing, and beautiful and I feel like such a lucky girl to have received them! There is a 'What's in my bag' coming in the next few days so I won't ramble on about this now ...

I love the idea of buying people experiences for Birthdays and Christmases Experiences, giving them s memory instead of a physics item. Send And this year I received two, the gift package, chose your own for me and my other half from my Dad, and also for my sister so can do that together, and my little sister bought me indoor skydiving! Which I am super excited, and also super scared about.

And lastly, a couple of misc items from my Mum. She gave me a keyboard for my iPad, It is one of the most amazing presents ever, and has completely revolutionised how I use my iPad. Writing complete blogposts comfortably from my iPad, and the sofa! I would highly recommend one to you! And another really thoughful gift, which I think could be bought for anyone. And lastly, she bought us a set of martini glasses, a cocktail making book and a selection of spirits, such a lovely and thoughtful gift too and I cannot wait to tuck into those!

What are your favourites this month?