Summer Salads

I'm happy to announce that summer has finally arrived. In true British fashion, the end of last week was raining heavily, but quite suddenly the sun decided to show it's face, and yesterday it became very, very warm. For the first time this year I actually wore shorts and went on a long bike ride. It's been great and I really hope the weather stays like this for a while.

It is also the time of year for salads. I love salads. They're very good for just chucking ingredients together that you may have left in your fridge. Today I'm going to show you my favourite savoury and my favourite fruit salad. These are perfect for a summer Sunday tea.

Savoury salad - This is a simple chicken salad. I cook the chicken simply by boiling it in a pan. Whilst it's cooking I cut up all the vegetables and place them on a plate. For this I used a few pieces of lettuce as a base, 1 avocado, 1 radish, chopped cucumber, plum tomatoes and beetroot. When the chicken is done I place it on top of the vegetables and then drizzle a french dressing over the top. It's incredibly delicious and colourful.

Fruit Salad - This salad doesn't use many ingredients but what it does include is very delicious. I began with mango for the first layer and added lychees on top of that. I then scooped over some passion fruit and finally sprinkled over blueberries. This ended up being so yummy.

To finish off I made a glass of pomegranate and elderflower cordial. I love delicious cordials and this is one of my favourites. 

So that's it for the first of, hopefully, many salads this summer.

Birch Box May 2014

I received my Birch Box a bit earlier this month, and I'm glad to say it's a good one. This time it's in collaboration with Harper's Bazaar, and the box in particular looks fabulous.

The theme on this one is the great outdoors. Now it's getting warm(ish) it's time to look at beauty products that are suitable for the outdoors, whether that be sunning it on a beach or camping in a field, and the idea behind this box is to show what products are good to use.

I won't lie, I love this month's box. There are some really great things included. Usually there may be one thing I'm not so bothered about but I have been excited by it all this month.

Aromatherapy Associates Revive Morning Bath and Shower Oil - First off I'd like to point out how gorgeous this smells. It really does give off an invigorating scent. The idea of this one is to add it to your bath or put it on your body before showering to revive you for the day. A 55ml bottle retails at £39.00, so I'm not sure if I'll pick this up in the future, but I'm looking forward to trying it.

Benefit They're Real! Mascara - I pretty much love this mascara. I tried it out and it really does make my eyelashes look great. I think a good mascara is a staple of an everyday routine. However,
I get through mascaras quite quickly, I'm not sure I'm prepared to pay £19 every time.

Soigne Nail Lacquer (full size) - I received mine in the shade Persimmon which is a red/orange colour. Normally I stay away from reds and pinks as they're really not what I go for, but I am really tempted to use this.

Beauty Protector Protect & Shampoo / Protect & Condition - I am very much looking forward to trying these, but as I think they'll be great to use when I go away, I'm going to wait until then. They smell really great and I love the packaging.

Liz Earle Beauty Co. Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser - I think I am the most excited about trying this as I am looking to try some better cleansers. This one has apparently won lots of awards, so it has to be great, right? But secretly I have fallen for the fact that it also comes with a little muslin cloth. The idea behind this one is to use the cleanser over dry skin and then use a wet muslin cloth to wipe it off.

Ciate Dolls House Collection

Scouring around ASOS one day I came across this; Ciate Dolls House Nail Polish Collection. It wouldn't be unfair to say that I can be a sucker for packaging and this one just looked too cute to pass up. Luckily the colours are gorgeous for spring. It comes in 5 mini bottles, which is just right for one on each nail of a hand. The varnishes have very cute names which ties in with the doll house theme.

The varnish itself goes on very matte and powdery. It is incredibly fast drying so it is good for doing your nails in a short space of time. However, I'm not overly fond of the matte effect as it just doesn't feel right on my nails. The paper doll shade in in particular, has the same effect as painting your nails in Tip Ex. A good top coat does give some shine, and makes the nails look beautiful. I used Topshop's top and base coat for the top coat and I used Sally Hansen's Miracle Cure for the base as it really smoothed out my nails. 

One of the biggest downside of the polish is that they chip very easily. Within hours of putting on, chips had appeared. 

The overall effect though is gorgeous, and I absolutely love the look of my nails with each colour. You can see below how they come out. It really is the perfect look for spring.

Boots Haul

Two days ago I bought far more than I should have from Boots, and most certainly spent more money than I intended to. I had picked up more than what is in the picture to buy, particularly the Bourjois chocolate bronzer, but I was ambushed by a lady from the Benefit Counter who tempted me with an exciting makeover, and I thought it was best to be a bit more careful. It didn't take me much convincing to have a makeover to be fair. As I've mentioned before, I've been wanting to try Benefit products for a while so I jumped at the chance to give them a go. My wallet didn't thank me for it though.

I had a really great makeover at the Benefit counter and she showed me some really great products, I particularly like the two below (obviously as I bought them) but there were a few more I'd like to go back and get one day. The first is Gimme Brow. It really made my eyebrows pop. I have never seen them so defined. The second is the Rocketeur blush which was such a beautiful shimmery shade. She used this along with Watts Up on my cheekbones and it just made my face look amazing. I completely loved it.

One day I may go back for these, but for now this is what I bought from Boots on my last trip:

Boots Large Patterned Mirror - This was needed so much. I have been using the little mirror in my concealer kit to do my make-up, but it's only really big enough to see my eyes. Now I have a mirror for my whole face, I can see everything. It also it really cute so it's win-win really.

Sally Hansen Miracle Cure - I have been having problems with my nails peeling recently, and it doesn't look like it is curing itself any time soon, so I thought I'd try something to help them along the way. I picked this one as I have heard good things about Sally Hansen products, and it was actually a decent price compared to others they stocked. I have given my nails one coat, and so far, so good. It's really made my nails smooth and given a protective layer.

Frizz Ease Dream Curls Shampoo & conditioner - This is not my usual shampoo and conditioner, but the offer was a bit better on this one, so I thought I'd give it a try. As I have naturally curly hair, I like to get haircare products that will help them more defined.

Soap & Glory One Heck Of A Blot - I've seen recommendations for this translucent powder over the internet, and Soap & Glory is a brand I really love. How could I not try it? So far I really like it. It makes my face look great and is really mattifying. It has quickly gone into my bag ready for touch-ups throughout the day.

Benefit The POREfessional - This was a product that I have seen bloggers all over use, and as soon as the Benefit lady put it on me I could see why. This has very quickly gone into my make-up routine.

Benefit Boi-ing - This is such a brilliant little concealer. It is amazing what a big difference it make. As soon as the Benefit lady dabbed it on my face it covered up my blemishes well, and just made my face look great.

Real Techniques Expert Face Brush - I have been wanting a new brush for my foundation for some time. I have been using the Real Techniques Foundation Brush, but it is a bit small. This one is the perfect size. I really love the Real Techniques brushes. They are so soft but sturdy and feel great to use.

Benefit Triple Performing Facial Emulsion Sample - The Benefit lady used this on me and she gave me a little sample. I really like it as it felt light on my skin and weirdly smelt great too!

Meal For One - Creamy Salmon Tagliatelle

The majority of the time I cook for myself. I find I don't feel like putting a lot of effort or time into the meals I make, because, you know, they are just for me. I think a lot of people these days also have to cook just for themselves so I wanted to put some recipes together which are suitable to make when you're on your own.

This recipe doesn't involve very much, the majority of it can be made in one pan and it doesn't have very many ingredients, and what it does have can be used for any other recipe you may want to make that week. It's a very delicious dish with very little effort. A perfect meal for one.

You will need:

1 ball of Tagliatelle // 200ml Milk // 1 salmon fillet // 3tbls cream cheese with chives* // pepper // half a lemon // 2 broccoli // 3 asparagus

* I bought Philadelphia with chives. Any cream cheese will do, and you can add in your own chives. I think fresh chives would give the best taste

What do do:

1 - Wrap the salmon in tin foil and put it in the oven at 190C fan for about 30 minutes.

2 - At about 15 minutes in, add the tagliatelle to a medium pan of boiling water over a medium to high heat. Cook as directed on the packaging (it's usually about 10 minutes). 5 minutes before the tagliatelle is due to finish, add in the chopped broccoli and asparagus.

4 - when finished take of the heat and drain. Leave in the colander for the time being.

5 - In the same pan, prepare the sauce. Add in the milk, cream cheese and a bit of lemon juice until it all melted in, add in the tagliatelle and veg and take off the heat once it is all covered in the sauce.

6 - Finally remove the salmon from the oven, flake it up and fold it into the pan. 

7 - Plate up, and then they're done! Eat and enjoy!