May so far

 

An extremely picture heavy blog, but I thought it'd be a nice way to catch you all up with what I've been up to. 

I've been so busy lately with exams and LEAVING SCHOOL and what not, that I've been absent from blogging for a while.

Anyway, the pictures above basically some up the first two weeks of May for me. First of all it was my best friend, Olivia's, sweet sixteen in which we all went out for a rather indulgent buffet and had a mini 'get together' with the girls at hers. She really deserved something special and I think we gave her just that.

And on Wednesday it was my Leavers Day. We all came to school dressed in our finest attire by glamorous transport and strutted around school for a while before going for a lovely meal at a quirky little joint in my local area, and then to an after party. Our transport choice was a vintage charabanc that featured in BBC One's drama The Village, it even landed us a page in the local newspaper! Fancy I know!

I'm not too sure how I feel about leaving yet. I guess I just have my exams to concentrate on. The past couple of months have been tough for me, but I can see summer on the horizon and I'm so excited!

I took so many pictures, but these are a few of my favourite that either a friend or I took!

Easter treats

Easter isn't Easter without a piece of incredibly indulgent chocolate cake.

Ingredients
175g good quality dark chocolate
175g unsalted butter
175g caster sugar, plus 1tbsp
4 large eggs, separated
150g ground almonds
85g plain flour sifted with 1/2 tsp baking powder
chocolate eggs to decorate

For ganache:
200ml half-fat double cream
250g good quality dark chocolate
50g unsalted butter

1. Heat the oven to 180C, 160C fan. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Allow to melt stirring occasionally, then remover from heat. Cream the butter and sugar, then beat in the egg yolks one at a time.
2. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff, add 1tbsp of the sugar, whisk to stiff peak stage.
3. Fold in chocolate into the butter mixture, then fold in the almonds. Add the egg whites mixture, flour and baking powder, alternately, a quarter at a time, until all has been added. Divide between the tins and bake for 20-25 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.
4. For the ganache, heat the cream in a heavy-based  saucepan. Place the chocolate and butter in a large bowl, pour over the hot cream and mix to combine. Set aside to cool and thicken. Spread a little frosting on the top of one of the sponges, then repeat with the remaining sponges, stacking them on top of each other. Cover the top with the remaining ganache. Decorate with mini eggs.

Per serving: 669-558 calories, 47-39g fat (24-40g saturated), 51-43g carbohydrate.

Recipe c/o Women&Home- Good Food.

Happy Easter,

   

Dare to be British

Playsuit|Shirt|Necklace|Chelsea Boots: All Topshop (yawn)

I am going to conform to all the other miserable Brits and have a good ol' moan about this unseasonable weather!

It's hard to believe that this time last year we were bathing in glorious sunshine, prancing around in pretty tea dresses and crop tops, and today I woke up to a think blanket of ankle-deep snow and bitter, cutting winds. I just hope Spring makes a welcome appearance sometime soon; I'm bored of wearing big winter coats and thick woolly jumpers!

Anyway, we may as well enjoy it while it lasts; it may be the last snow we see for a few months (fingers crossed!) And it's quite pretty, isn't it?

Sunshine, Daisies

Here is my humble submission for Money Supermarket's Passion For Fashion 2.
Unknowingly, I have based each one of my outfits around ditsy daisy prints, but, then again, nothing says summer more than cute little floral patterns!

|Skirt: ASOS|Bralet:ASOS|Headband:Crownandglory|Heels:Office|Bag:DorothyPerkins|

I like to think I can imagine Paloma Faith totting around in this outfit: the bold print, the striking silhouette, the towering shoes and the dramatic head gear; all perfect for her, albeit a tad less flamboyant than her usual get-up!

|Playsuit:Topshop|Top:Topshop|Shoes:Topshop|Sunglasses:TheLittleDeer|Necklace:GingerPickle|

|Bag:Chicwish|

When I think of 'casual' I envisage slouchy tees and comfy shoes. I love this playsuit from Topshop (another daisy print, is it getting boring yet?)  and I was determined to dress my outfit around it. The colours vividly remind me of moss lingering on bark and wild flowers. Along with the accompaniment of this quirky compass necklace; this is outfit reminds me of venturing through forests on a warm summer's evening.

 |Bikini:UrbanOutfitters|Sunglasses:Topshop|Headband:MissSelfridge|Shoes:Topshop|Bag:Accessorize|

So I love the old-fashioned big knicker trend that keeps returning every summer in the form of 60s inspired bikinis. And I love contrasting colours and patterns (OK, so this daisy thing is definitely getting boring!). So for me, this outfit is ideal for strolling along the beach in, if only the Great British weather holds out this summer!

In Berlin Part Zwei

I promised myself that I would fill an entire post bursting with photographs; but, instead, would pick out my favourite few photos that some up the Berlin trip. 

And that's what I did. Except 'few' is maybe not the right word. But all of these photos are the ones that feature my favourite people or that spark a particular memory so they are the ones that mean the most to me. So I had to share them.

Below is a photo that pretty much sums up my feelings from the day we packed up our suitcases and headed off home...

 

Rhiannon x