Aloha! Today I thought I'd do a little post about my charm bracelet, and what all the charms on it mean to me. My bracelet is probably my most prized piece of jewellery. It is a Links of London sweetie bracelet which I was given for my 18th Birthday by my parents.

My Charms:

A book - This was a gift from my mum's best friend. It was given to me at a time when I was starting a journalism degree and symbolised my love of writing. I never completed my journalism degree, eventually switching to do law, but I still love writing, doing so through this blog!

A cocktail glass - This was a gift from my auntie. Cocktails are my favourite things to drink, closely followed by Mexican beers!

18 - As the bracelet was bought for my 18th Birthday, my best friend bought me the number 18 charm to mark the occasion!

Pink Heart - This was a gift from my mum, because she loves me obv. 

Jukebox - This was from my granny. It symbolises my love for music. 

K - This one is self explanatory. The first initial of my first name. Because what's a charm bracelet without an initial charm!

xxxx 

TheSundayPost - 29th November

Aloha! Wow it's the end of November already! I know I say this all the time, but I have no idea where this year has gone!

Here is what I've been up to this week!

1 - Drinking hot chocolate and scheduling posts! I'm going to be taking part in Blogmas this year so I've been super busy thinking up ideas for posts! This will be a huge challenge for me as I am not the most regular of bloggers and I find it hard to blog when I'm working full time too!

2 - I don't get paid until tomorrow so money has been pretty tight this week! Of course, that also meant I couldn't full embrace the Black Friday sales. I did manage to pick up a few things which Mikey kindly lent me the money for!

3 - I had been going on all week about really wanting a burrito from a local Mexican street food place called Pinto. (I blogged about it here.) Mikey surprised me on Friday night by bringing one home for me! It was soooo good!

4 - I bought allll the wedding magazines. I genuinely think I have an obsession with them. I have to buy one whenever a new issue comes out! I've been cutting out all the pictures I like and adding them to my scrapbook, which I'm going to blog about soon!

So that is about it for this week! I'm away to put up my Christmas tree now! I know it's not quite December yet, but there's nothing wrong with spreading some christmas cheer!

xxxx

FoodieFriday // Texas Style Barbecue Beef

Aloha!

Today I have a little slow-cooker recipie for you all. I think this dish might be my absolute favourite meal. I love it so much I'm even considering demanding it for my wedding meal (in true Bridezilla style). Here is how you can make it too!

Ingredients for the rub:

- 1 tbsp caster sugar

- 2 tsp salt

- 1 tsp mixed spice

- 2 tsp garlic granules 

- 1 tsp onion powder

- 4 tsp smoked paprika

Other ingredients:

- 1kg beef brisket

- 2 onions, coarsely chopped

- 1 garlic clove

- 3 root vegetables (I use carrots)

- 2 tbsp barbecue sauce

- 2 tbsp soft light brown sugar

- 200ml hot beef stock

- 2 tbsp of malt vinegar

Method: 

1. Roll the brisket joint out flat and rub the spice mix into the surface of the beef. Leave to marinate for at least 15 minutes. I leave it in the fridge overnight for maximum taste!

2. Place the chopped onions, crushed garlic and root veg in the bottom of the slow cooker.

3. Stir the barbecue sauce and brown sugar into the beef stock, then pour over the vegetable layer in the slow cooker. 

4. Sear the beef in a hot pan and place on top of the layer of vegetables and beef stock. 

5. Put on the lid and cook on high for 7-8 hours until the beef is easy to pull apart.

6. Remove the beef from the slow cooker and shred into strips.

7. Pour the liquid in the slow cooker into a frying pan and simmer for a few minutes until the sauce has thickened up. Add the vinegar, then pour over the beef. 

8. Serve with your choice of sides. I like to serve either in a roll with salad, or with baked potatoes and corn on the cob!

There you have it, a very simple and super tasty meal which will impress!

Happy cooking!

xxxx

Dublin Photo Diary

Aloha! If you follow me on twitter or instagram, you will know that I recently went on a long-weekend trip to Dublin. Mikey has a lot of family in and around the Dublin area so it was a nice opportunity for him to see them all, and for me to meet them all!

I thought I'd do a little photo diary for anyone who is nosy like me!
So here is what I got up to!

Dalkey. About a 40 minute train ride out of Dublin. Mikey says on a hot summer day you could be in the South of France. It was a really pretty little place, definitely worth a day trip to if you are ever in Dublin. Lots of lovely little places to enjoy a bit to eat and a drink!

Mikey enjoying the first of many pints of Guinness that weekend.

After 2 nights in Dublin, we headed out to a tiny little place called Ballylanders. Mikey's dad is from that village, and his Auntie and Uncle were having a 40th Wedding Anniversary party nearby which we went along to. We spent the night there, then went for a nice long walk through the countryside to walk off our hangovers (I think I was still drunk when I woke up thanks to the barman giving us free pints!) These cows thought I was coming to feed them...sorry guys!

After travelling back to Dublin, we spent our last day having a walk around (the weather had finally cleared up), and visiting the Guinness Storehouse! 

The Storehouse was really interesting. They've done a really good job of making it an attraction which is really worth visiting. It's a must if you are in Dublin! Here we are enjoying our free pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar on the top floor. With panoramic views across the city, it's a lovely place to sit and enjoy a drink. 

Afterwards we had a wander around Temple Bar.

And I ended up in a sweet shop...obviously. I just love traditional sweet shops. I got a bad of tutti fruiti cubes and fizzle sticks which are 2 sweets I used to enjoy many years ago when I was a little girl!

And on our final evening we went along to Mikey's cousin's Ukulele club which is held in a bar in the city centre. It was a great night and they were all really good. We even got them to play 500 miles by the proclaimers which got everyone in the pub up dancing and singing! 

We had a great time in Dublin. It's definitely somewhere you should visit if you haven't already. I'm sure I will be back soon to see Mikey's family again.  

TheSundayPost - 22nd November

Aloha! Another week over, another week closer to Christmas! I can't believe it's now less than 5 weeks away!

Here's my summary of this week!

1 - The weather has been so miserable this week. It's been cold, wet and windy almost all week! Coupled with it being dark by 4pm, I've not been outside much!

2 - Cuddles with Smudge have been had. I'm starting to notice him ageing a lot more recently. He's not able to jump up on the sofa as easy anymore. Sad times :( 

3 - My dad is away to Florida on a golfing trip for his brother's 50th birthday so on Thursday night he took us out for a bite to eat at Pizza Express. I tried their new christmas starter, smoked salmon rillette. It was delicious! Then I had my usual choice of pizza, the pollo ad astra on a romana base!

My dad has been sent to Florida with a shopping list for christmas presents so hopefully he manages to find the things I've asked for!

4 - Saturday night, the weather was rubbish again so we decided to have a night in with telly and food. We got some steaks from the local butcher and I made a spicy chipotle sauce to go with them. Then afterwards we toasted marshmallows and enjoyed a few beers whilst watching X Factor, I'm a Celebrity and The Jonathan Ross Show. Sometimes it's nice to just relax at home rather than go out in the cold!

That's it for this week. Now we go into the last full week in November! Scary stuff!

xxxx

Christmas Wishlist // Baking

Aloha! I've always loved baking, but ever since bake-off, I've been in my kitchen every weekend creating sugary treats. There are quite a few things I'd like to add to my bakeware collection, so here is what I've put on my Christmas wishlist...

Cat Apron - £9 

I am forever covering my clothes in flour because for some reason, I've never bought an apron. I spied this cute cat print one in M&Co and I just love it. It's very me!

Cat Cookie Cutter - £1.50

Again with the cat theme, but this cookie cutter is dead cute. I'd forever be making cat shaped cookies if I had this.

Springform Cake Tin - £25

I already have a springform cake tin, but you can never have too many right? These are an essential for cheesecake baking and I'd like to be able to make extra cheesecake for family members, so an extra tin would be handy! 

Cake tins -£17.99

I love these Mason Cash cake tins, and they'd go really nicely with all my other bakeware. I definitely need more cake tins so I don't have to take my bakes into work in boring tupperware!

Preparation Bowls - £11.99

Nowhere seems to have these colours left, but these food preparation bowls are so nice. Lots of recipies involve mixing things separately but I never have enough bowls for that so these would be perfect. Also, whilst we are on the subject of Mason Cash bowls, I'd also love the "Good things come to those who bake" mixing bowl! 

Kitchen Aid Mixer - £404.10

Okay, this one is never gonna happen, but I'd absolutely love a kitchen aid mixer. They are just so grand, and pretty and I need one! And it has to be the hot pink one. Doesn't even go with my kitchen but it's so pretty. Who would have thought I'd be lusting over a mixer!

xxxxx

Alternative Advent

Aloha! As we are nearing that time of year again (where has this year gone?!), I thought I'd do a little post on the alternative advent calendars if chocolate is not for you, or if you fancy something different this year.

So here is my pick of the best alternative advent calendars!

Yankee Candle Carousel - £31.99

If like me you are obsessed with scented candles, then this is the one for you. There are lots of different scented tea lights behind each door, as well as 4 votives in the new season fragrances (berry trifle, bundle up, cosy by the fire & winter glow). It is quite pricey, but surely worth it for any yankee candle lover.

Lush 12 days of Christmas - £49.95

Now this one doesn't actually have enough windows to begin opening on the 1st December, but it was so cool I had to include it! Featuring favourites like the comforter shower gel, butterbear, and cinders, this is one I'd love to get my hands on! 

English Tea Shop - £11.20

If you love a good brew then this is one for you. Each box contains a different christmas themed tea bag, including Gingerbread Man & Candy Cane.

Bomb Cosmetics - £24.99

I like this one, it has the look of a traditional advent calendar, but it contains little soaps and bath bombs. Bomb cosmetics are a really good brand too with lots of lovely different scents so I'd imagine this one will be a (christmas) cracker *bad-um-ch*

Benefit - £34.50

This is out of stock online but it might still be available in stores. Again it only covers 12 days, but when it contains products such as Porefessional, They're Real Mascara, and Lollitint, who could complain?!

Make-up Revolution - £45

Another beauty calendar, but containing 24 full sized cosmetics, this one is pretty good value! And revolution's cosmetics are always really good quality so you can't really go wrong.

L'Occitane - £39

Again, this one has sold out online, but it might still be available in stores. I really love this one. It is super cute and I love all the products you get in it. And you know they are going to be excellent quality, and smell amazing! 

So that is my pick of my favourite alternative advent calendars for this year! 

Have you purchased an alternative advent or will you be sticking to chocolate?

xxxxx

TheSundayPost - 15th November

Aloha! I've finally managed to get out of bed on a Sunday morning to write a SundayPost!

This week I've been off work so I've had plenty of time for fun! Here is what I've been up to this week!

1 - Wedding planning. We seem to have hit a bit of a brick wall with it. Quite possibly my fault as I've had no time for it recently due to work taking over my life! Hopefully I can start getting things organised more in the next few months. We still need to settle on a venue!

2 - Mikey bought me these flowers. I love the ombre effect! Sometimes there's nothing better than having fresh flowers in the house!

3 - We went to Dublin! Mikey's dad is Irish so he has lots of family there but I had never been! We decided to take a little trip so I could meet all the family as well as do a bit of sightseeing! We had a great time with lots of good food and beers! I won't share any more photos of our time in Dublin as I'm going to do a photo diary of our time!

4 - On Friday we had a few friends over for dinner. I cooked my favourite dish: Texas BBQ Brisket. I actually think I love that dish so much I'd have it as our wedding meal!

5 - It wouldn't be right if I didn't take a moment to reflect on the horrific events in Paris on Friday night. I won't say much as emotions tend to run high at times like these, and people say controversial things, but all I would like to say is that all those affected by what happened are in my thoughts. I just wish the world could be a peaceful place :( 

xxxxx

October Favourites

Aloha! How on earth are we into November already?! Less than 8 weeks until Christmas!

I thought it would be fun to start doing my monthly favourites post again, since I've actually managed to blog a bit more lately, so here's what I've been obsessed with in October!

Food: I am still completely obsessed with Mexican food! I made this chipotle lamb stew at the weekend for Mikey and I's anniversary dinner. It was so tasty!

TV Show: It's gotta be Downton Abbey! I am so gutted it's gonna be over soon! I am likely gonna miss the final episode as we'll be in Dublin this weekend, but hopefully I can get some wifi to watch it on my iPad! I will be crying like a baby no doubt! They better not kill any of the characters I like!

Song: At the moment, it's Adele's new song, Hello. I'm also loving Beyonce & Naughty Boy's Runnin.

Beauty Product: Benefit Porefessional. It's made such a difference to my skin. As someone who suffers with both dry and oily patches, it really is a must have for an even application of foundation.

Candle: At the moment, I've had Yankee Candle Cinnamon Stix burning almost every night! It's all about the festive candles now!

Event: October has been rather quiet for us but 2 things I've enjoyed were visiting some potential wedding venues, and our anniversary on 31st October which we spent watching TV, eating Mexican food and drinking beers!

That's all for October, now the countdown to christmas begins!

xxx