Flippin 'eck!

Pancake Day has arrived! 

I was reminded of this last week whilst queueing for my OK! in Sainsbury's. This lazy person's short cut, see left, was on offer in a bargain bin on route to the till. I know the idea isn't to buy ingredients for pancakes, but instead to use what we have left in the larder before lent, but this is taking it to a new level! (Although admittedly, I doubt I'll be giving anything up for lent so I should hardly be preaching about the ins and outs of Shrove Tuesday).

Are people such poor cooks that they can't mix a cup of flour, 2 eggs and some milk? How hard can it be?

I was looking forward to getting the whisk out and the boyfriend even offered to do the mixing. Our fillings of choice were the classic lemon and sugar and a new one for us, banana and chocolate spread. 

I managed 5, how about you? Are you a buyer or a mixer?

Birding

Lately I have been coveting pendants. In particular birds and words. Never before have I taken such a keen interest in birds. I am becoming a bird watcher, does that make me a twitcher?

Accessorize are offering lots of lovely birds, I found this Bird in a Cage pendant (£10) rather special but was weary of somebody over excitedly making a play for it and giving the poor thing a heart attack. 

I was in the shop on Saturday for so long that the boyfriend had to go and 'wait outside'. By doing this he thinks he can coax me out like a terrier in a rabbit hole, he's wrong. I ended up choosing a word, Forever (£6). It was tough going for a minute. 

A few years ago I saw word pendants as  school girl chic, and not in a good way, but since the famous 'Carrie' pendant I have grown to like them. This, of course, depends on the word you choose. At the Clothes Show I saw a 'Special' pendant and was about to part with my pennies when my friend reminded me of what 'Special' can sometimes mean.  It was an awful shame. 

Any other twitchers out there?

The Angel

For 2 days this week we haven't had hot water at home and in February it can make a girl mardy. I decided  an evening out was well deserved. 

People had told me good things about The Angel  so at 4pm I decided to try and book, rather last minute I know but if you don't buy a ticket you can't win the raffle. They had a table, we were in.  

I'd been told to expect an old man's pub with horrid toilets and excellent food. An unusual combination. I rang the boyfriend and ordered him to down tools and come home early, a rare occurrence but when cold showers were on the cards for the following morning he really had little choice. 

So glad I made that call, the food was delicious. Rack of lamb for me, Wood Pidgeon and Black Pudding for him, with lovely fondant potatoes and buttery veg. Yum. I was looking forward to jam roly poly and custard but it had a night off unfortunately. Instead I settled for rice pudding which was delicious and very vanilliary. He had the eccles cakes which were served with thick, generous wedges of cheese. A good choice. 

My sources were right, it was full of old men, the toilets were horrific and the food was excellent. We'll be going again! 

Tonight I'm dressing up and going out with the girls for cocktails and dancing. They'll be no old men and I'll be too drunk to care about horrid toilets. 

Life is good. 

Girls Aloud

I'm a huge Girls Aloud fan so was mega thrilled when they won their 1st ever Brit last night for Best Single with The Promise. I'm not ashamed to admit that a small tear was shed. 

Its been a long time coming, six years, so Sarah was definitely on the money when she screamed: 'It's about time!'! It certainly was. 

The girls looked stunning, a sharp contrast to how they looked when they started out, in particular Nicola. Shes my favourite, must be a ginger thing, I was a massive Geri fan too. I loved Nicola's dress, she has impeccable taste and looked like a porcelain doll. 

I would get married in that dress!

I'm looking forward to May when I'll be seeing Girls Aloud with my friends in Birmingham. Get your twinkly wands ready girls!

x

Bread and Butter

I'm never one to keep quiet about new discoveries and fab finds and this place definitely qualifies. 

A friend and I planned to meet today, I owed her after she kindly bought me dinner last week and subsequently sent me home drunk (and on a school night!) so we headed to Tib Street (Manchester) for a Bread and Butter fix. 

It's the sweetest place, very pink and girly and we frequent regularly. I adore their cup cakes and was so impressed by their Guinness Cake that I stole the recipe and had a go myself, with huge success! (Nigella does an excellent version)

Their main offering are yummy piadinas with fillings like homemade meatballs and mozzarella, spicy chic pea, onion marmalade and mozzarella (my personal favourite) and minted lamb, although this has recently turned into Moroccan lamb which doesn't work so well. As an extra you get a small serving of homemade coleslaw and salad. 

It can be quite hit and miss, depending on what you choose but for the mega cheap prices, plentiful peppermint tea and glorious sweet offerings you have to keep going back. They did once stock Twinings Rose Tea but haven't had it lately which is a shame as it tasted just like turkish delight, I loved it. 

I'm all for supporting local businesses and when the seats are heart shaped I simply can't resist. 

I've heard a few negative comments (only a few, mind) about the service but whenever I go in the staff are all really friendly and the service speedy. Plus some of the girls who work there look rather fabulous and their outfits are always worth a look. 

Often on a Saturday when the boyfriend is otherwise engaged I'll treat myself to Glamour magazine and lazily sit with a latte and huge slice of cake before wandering round the shops trying on shoes I can't afford. Perfect. Well, nearly, perfect would be being able to afford the shoes! 

Check it out!

x

Ps- Today Nigella's website (which I love love love) directed me to the cutest website - http.//www.coxandcox.co.uk

Jog on? How rude!

Please accept my apologies in advance, today I need to rant. I did warn you I might. 

Have you ever wondered why people feel the need to constantly use phrases like 'at the end of the day' and 'you get me, yeah?'? To me, it simply highlights their lack of intelligence and inability to extend their vocabulary beyond irritating idioms. I asked people in the office their thoughts and they all agreed, adding that phrases like 'can we touch base?' and 'at this moment in time' are hugely overused and meaningless. 

A fairly new one that I find truly annoying is 'innit', especially when used at the end of a sentence. (Well, mainly then because most of us have lazily shortened isn't it to innit and thats quite acceptable) 

"Lets go to the pub, innit' If this is you then you sound like a moron! A friend at uni was guilty of this and it made me want to slap her. 

Recently a friend's brother told me to 'jog on'. I couldn't decide whether it made me feel 100 years old or glad to be past phrases like that. End of, that's another. Thankfully my boyfriend has never thrown that me at me during an argument but when he does I might have to consider replacing him. 

The misuse of the word 'literally', 'I literally died I was so hungover' or 'that electricity bill was literally an arm and a leg'. No, it really wasn't. 

Does saying 'no offence, but...' qualify you to say something offensive? 

I admit that some idioms are meant to be fun and I am guilty of using some myself, in particular the phrase 'how rude' and the overuse of the word 'like'. "I like, love those shoes!' But I am trying to cut back. Honest. 

Ok, that's enough, rant over. I even bore myself sometimes. 

On a far more cheerful note I returned to Marks and Spencer yesterday for the white version of the underwear set I bought last week. It had to be done! Now I'm much less worried about being run over. 

The underwear strike is over

For ages now I have worried about getting run over. Apart from the obvious concern of dying, theres the thought of the ambulance people seeing my ill-fitting bras and cheap cotton knickers from Next (sometimes with a hole in). Oh the shame!

Yesterday I decided enough was enough! 

I had the aftertoon off work to meet up with my friend Lesley. We had a lovely lunch in Bluu  of fish finger sandwiches and skinny fries with a glass of pink for me and red for her, yum. 

(Please check out Lesley's fab boutique hotel in Hebden Bridge)

Anyway I digress....

After Lesley went home I had a few hours to kill before meeting another friend for another glass of wine (heck its difficult isn't it?) so decided to tackle the underwear situation. 

Next didn't offer me much and New Look was quite frankly just cheap and horrid so I headed to Marks and Spencer. On first glance I didn't like much but then found and tried on the lovely set in the picture. Pretty, practical and wouldn't make even the cruelest of ambulance staff laugh! 

Underwear shopping? Done! 

I want never gets

Just a few things I've been wishing for lately...

Gucci by Gucci

This new Gucci perfume is delicious! Love the packaging too.

Elizabeth Arden's new Eight Hour Lip Protectant (£15.75)

I have a rather disgusting habit, I pick my lips (gross, I know!) and have tried every lip product going. Normally my budget would be a lot less than the RRP for this but I'm thinking it could be worth the extra pennies. With Valentines coming up maybe someone will treat me?

Lunch at The Modern

I tried to book The Modern last time my mum and her husband visited but it was fully booked. The menu looks gorge! This Friday I am meeting a friend for lunch and this could be a contender but is a little extravagant so far from pay day. Oh, the waiting!

Pink Suede Pointy Flats from New Look (£25)

Oh heck, aren't these fabulous? I recently bought the black patent ones and took ages deciding which to choose, I figured rainy Manchester wouldn't be so kind to pink suede. I still have Christmas gift vouchers so may have to make a return trip! It wouldn't be so wrong would it?

A renewed OK! magazine subscription.

I have bought OK! every week without fail (well, nearly every week, I did go on strike once when I was getting fed up of Kerry Katona) for years now and as a birthday present my work bought me a 3 month subscription. Each Wednesday I would sneak out into the communal hallway where I live (normally in slippers and half an outfit) to check the post box! The only down side to a subscription is that you have to wait an extra day but it does save queueing in the Sainbury's round the corner from work, and it means you avoid the chocolate aisle!

The third Jennifer Worth book, Farewell to the East End.

I have a huge interest in Midwifery and have loved this series. The final is out in April so I am waiting, not so patiently! I keep meaning to write to Jennifer and congratulate her, its on my to-do list. Jennifer, if you are reading, please keep writing!

Lulu Guinness Cameo Tiny Umbrella (£25.00)

My nana has lots of cameo jewellery so whenever I see it I think of her, combined with Lulu Guinness, who's designs are amazing, this umbrella would be perfect, especially as recently my rather beautiful polka dot brolly went missing. Stop, brolly thief!

What's on your wish list? Don't be shy.

x

Love

Whilst taking a break from typing reports at work (yawn) I was scouring ASOS for cute accessories and found this fab necklace. Its a copy of the LOVE keyring Jenifer Hudson's character, Louise from St Louis, gave to Carrie in the Sex and the City movie. 

Tomorrow I will definitely be making a purchase! 

It was amazing to hear they are making a sequel, I loved the first movie. Bring on 2010! 

Pink Tulips

While out and about on Saturday I came across this little beauty. Isn't she lovely? At £35 she was a little pricey (sob sob) so instead of crying about being in the red I treated myself to a bunch of pink tulips instead, much cheaper at £3. They are equally beautiful although sadly will die after a week (so the label tells me). 

I love floral print, its so feminine and romantic. Plus the shape of the tulip is so flattering, nipping in the waist and showing off the legs.

White tights are on my wish list at the moment and would go perfectly. With a twin set and pearls and pink patent round toes, any girl would look a doll. 

Simply delightful. 

Dreams

I have wanted to write for a long time now. I remember walking the family dog as a child and making up stories in my head, always promising myself I would write them down. I was never a child that did, instead one that imagined and day dreamed. As a result, my dream remained one that only grew in my head. 

During the lead up to new year I carefully thought about what I wanted 2009 to bring. Along with a smaller waist and more money in the bank, predictable I know, I decided my want to write needed to be realised.  

I have poured over books, recipe introductions, restaurant reviews, magazine articles and for a short time thought, I wish those were my words. But in fact, I don't, I would rather my own words. Why be anybody other than yourself?

Instead of choosing just one topic for my blog I plan to ramble about lots. When I try a new restaurant I want to share my impressions, when I fall in love with shoes I can't afford I want to show off their beauty, when customer service is shocking I want to rant, when I'm harbouring a secret I want to whisper it. 

Quietly I have wondered who will read, who will pay attention, if anybody at all. I hope someone out there does, for the moment though, I am happy to ramble, audience or no audience. 

If there is someone who has found me please say hi and leave a comment. 

x