Happy Hump Day!

Hey my lovelies,
I hope you've all had an AMAZING Christmas!! I had a great time with my family in the Netherlands going to Christmas Mass and enjoying a (massive) nine course Christmas dinner. Then yesterday I went with my parents for an overnight trip to Bruges, in Belgium which was such a beautiful town and now today I am on my way to Berlin to ring in the New Year there with a group of friends!

After the last few days I definitely feel the below applies ;)

For example check out this amazing hot chocolate I had in Bruges! 

It was basically a giant bowl of hot milk and you got an (edible) chocolate cup filled with little chocolate chips to whisk into your hot milk. To die for delicious.....

Think a January Detox will be required ;) Happy Hump Day! 

xoxo Roz

Christmas Biscotti Recipe =

At Christmas time I love preparing baking treats as little gifts for my family and friends. Last year I made delicious 'white chocolate rocky road' which was a huge hit with my family. So this year I was again on the look-out to find something to bake that I could wrap up and place under the tree for them to enjoy! When I found this recipe I was excited because I had never made biscotti before and with the additions of cranberries, pistachios and white chocolate it made it perfect for Christmas...

Christmas Biscotti

♥ Ingredients:

3-1/4 cups flour

1 tbsp baking powder 

1/2 tsp salt

1-1/2 cups sugar 

145g (5 oz) unsalted butter, melted

3 large eggs 

1 tbsp vanilla extract 

zest of one orange 

3/4 cup white chocolate chips 

1/2 cup dried cranberries 

1 cup green pistachios 

♥ Directions:

Start by sifting together the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a separate bowl use a hand (or stand) mixer to beat the sugar and melted butter together. Then and the eggs, vanilla extract and orange zest. Beat on medium-high until combined. Now add all the dry ingredients, and mix on low speed just until it's combined. If you over-mix the biscotti will start to get tough. By the end of the mixing you should have a stiff, but slightly sticky dough. Time for mix-ins! Add the dried cranberries, the pistachios and 1/2 cup of the white chocolate chips. 

Doesn't the look of this bowl just scream Christmas? Stir until everything is mixed together!

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F) degrees, and cover a baking tray with parchment paper. Divide the dough in half and form it into two rough logs on the baking paper and use your hands or a scraper to press each into a bar roughly 30cm by 10cm. Bake the Christmas biscotti logs for 30 minutes, until they're golden brown.

After they come out of the oven, let them cool for at least a half-hour before slicing them. Use a very sharp serrated knife to cut the biscotti into 5cm slices. If you use a lot of downward pressure the logs have a tendency to crack, so try not to press down and instead to just gently saw back and forth. Place the sliced Christmas biscotti back on the baking sheet and return it to the oven for 15 minutes to crisp up. Now at this point don't let your dad in charge. I did this and said to my dad please take them out of the oven after 5 minutes because I was heading out to quickly visit someone for a Christmas Eve cup of coffee. But when I got home to marvel at my perfect biscuits, he'd somehow forgotten them in the oven and they were soooooo burned. Black and inedible. He did feel very guilty so had quickly whipped up more of the recipe so we could re-bake. I was mad but it's Christmas so HAD to forgive him ;)

Anyway after they are baked, the Christmas biscotti is technically done, but I like to add just a little decoration. Melt the remaining 1/4 cup of white chocolate chips and drizzle the cooled biscotti with white chocolate! Yummmmm....

Now you can wrap them up in cellophane to present them to family and friends. These biscotti are delicious on their own or 'dunked' into a cup of tea or coffee! Let me know if you make them and how they turn out :) Hope you have all had an amazing Christmas!!! xoxo

Perfect Christmas Crinkle Cookies!

Here is the recipe for the delicious Christmas Crinkle Cookies I made this morning. I'd found this recipe a little while back on one of my favourite food blogs 'Iowa Girl Eats'.  They just looked so pretty and seemed surprisingly easy to make so I wanted to give it a go myself. And guess what, they taste just as good (if not better) as they look!! A soft, fudge-brownie  style cookie....yummmm. Enjoy :)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
Makes approximately 25 cookies

♥ Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup icing sugar

♥ Directions:

In a bowl mix together cocoa, sugar, vanilla and vegetable oil. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until mixture is smooth. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt. Mix into wet ingredients in 3 batches, mixing until just combined in between each batch. Cover the dough and chill for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F) degrees. Scoop out one tablespoon of dough, roll it into a ball between your palms and roll in icing sugar. 

I was so excited one I started to see the cracks appearing in the cookies!!

Place on a non-stick sprayed, or parchment paper lined, baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. Let cookies cool on the baking sheet for 2-3 minutes before removing to a cooling rack.  

And then show them off to all your friends and family, they are bound to be impressed ;) 
And they will dissapear in no time. Mmmmmmmm! xoxo

I wish you...

.....a Merry Christmas!!! ♫

I am back home in the Netherlands at the moment to celebrate the holidays with my family. I arrived on Friday night and spend most of yesterday in the kitchen; baking up a storm! I love baking for friends and family so Christmas time is no exception. Want to see the goodies I made?

♥ Christmas Crinkle Cookies!

♥ Christmas Biscotti!

I will share these two (delicious) recipes hopefully later today or tomorrow :)

But for now I want to wish you all an AMAZING Christmas time with family and friends

And remember......

xoxo Roz

Fashion must have; the white silk blouse

For a while now I have been looking for the perfect silk blouse and I finally found one at Zara that I really liked. This classic staple (and in my opinion a must-have in any girls wardrobe) has the ability to adapt to any sort of look; from classic to bohemian, from elegant to tomboy chic. There’s virtually endless ways pair it, layer it, transform it. I liked the pocket and shoulder details on this shirt. 

Here is a recent simple outfit of the day with my silk blouse: 

♥ Silk Blouse with front pockets from ZARA (buy here for £39.99)

♥ Black leggings with knee seam from ZARA (link)

♥ Black leather flat riding boots

♥ Tiffany Silver Bead earrings (link)

Then later in the day I added on a blazer and scarf for a bit of warmth...

♥ Black Jersey Blazer from ZARA (link)

♥ Leopard print tube scarf

♥ Watch by Michael Kors

Love this shirt, wore it out the other night for dinner with a beige tank top, dark blue skinny jeans and knee-high heeled boots. So simple, so elegant and so comfortable! Think this new shirt will get lots of use :) Have you got yourself this fashion must-have item yet? xoxo

Weekend Brunches: Lowry & Baker +

Wow aren’t the days are just flying by at the moment! The other weekend I discovered this fantastic wee brunch cafe in Notting Hill that I thought I’d share. Lowry & Baker is a seriously cute cafe on Portobello Road, up where it’s a bit quieter so you do not get swamped by the thousands of tourists. The set up is very casual with lots of mismatched tables and chairs and it has a basic counter right smack-bang in the middle of the cafe for preparing food. This place is so tiny that the food is actually all prepared right there behind this counter on a little portable kitchen stove; it feels a bit like walking into your friends kitchen!    
They have a regularly updated chalked-up menu on the wall with delicious breakfast or lunch choices plus an impressive display of muffins, cakes, pies and banana breads to lead you even further into temptation. I personally don’t drink a lot of coffee but have been told the coffee here is excellent too (Monmouth brand).
I chose the poached eggs on toasted sourdough with mashed avocado and smoked salmon! I love how the food and drinks are served on vintage tea plates! Plus the fresh flowers on each table are such a lovely touch.The poached eggs were perfection; there is a real art to cooking the eggs JUST right!!This yummy breakfast certainly disappeared from that pretty plate rather quickly ;) If you are ever in London or Notting Hill I definitely recommend checking this place out. The perfect weekend chilled out breakfast spot..
Lowry and Baker
339 Portobello Road
London W10 5SA
020 8960 8534   
www.lowryandbaker.com

And yes it’s that time of the week again....
Happy Hump Day everyone :) xoxo

December Glossy Box =

Only one week until Christmas! I however felt like it was Christmas already when my December GlossyBox arrived at my desk a few days ago! Seems the Glossy Box team are feeling the Christmas cheer because their last box of 2011 is a beautiful red instead of the usual soft pink and is packed full with lovely Christmas goodies. Think this is my favourite box so far!

This month everyone received a Rituals foaming shower gel, a Deborah Lippmann nail polish (plus nail polish remover mits) and a lipgloss by Cargo. The remaining two items were different in everyone’s box. I got the Blink+Go Hi Definition mascara and the MeMeMe Seventh Heaven FaceBase.

Here is an outline of the products I got:
♥ Rituals – Yogi Flow Foaming Shower Gel, 200ml £6.50
♥ Deborah Lippman "Razzle Dazzle" Mini (8ml) Nail Varnish
♥ Stripped To Go nail polish remover mitt (retails at £14 for pack of six)
♥ Blink + Go Hi-Definition Mascara
♥ Cargo Cosmetics Classic Lip Gloss (mini)
♥ MeMeMe Seventh Heaven Moisturising Facebase

I was very excited to find the Rituals foaming shower gel in this box because my brother and his fiancé seem to be addicted to the stuff. They’ve raved to me about it many times and every year when one of the big department stores in Holland has their annual sale, they stock up on buying the Rituals foaming gels in bulk! So I was very keen to give this product a go and see what the fuss was all about. Now having tried it, I completely understand their love for this product. The foaming gel is just delicious!

It has a gel-to-soft foam formula which makes it feel like you are having a bubble bath in the shower. Very soft and creamy plus the Yogi Flow smells amazing. It has ingredients like Sweet Almond Oil and Indian rose which not only make your skin smell divine but also make it feel moisturised and luxurious.

Once this bottle runs out I am definitely buying more because am keen to try the other varieties. My brother seems to swear by the Hammam Delight!

I also love the Cargo Cosmetics Lipgloss. I hadn't really heard of this brand before so that does show the advantage of the GlossyBox concept, exposing you to great products you might otherwise not find.

The classic lipgloss (travel size) I got was in the shade 'Serengiti' which is a iridescent peach colour. It has a lovely shiny, sheer non-sticky formula and the colour is so pretttty!

The Razzle Dazzle raspberry glittery nail polish by Deborah Lippman also looks perfect for the festive season, cant wait to have a play with it :)

Did you get your December GlossyBox or do you spot some products in here you'd like to have??
A GlossyBox subscription is £10 per month (plus V.A.T and p&p) from Glossybox.co.uk.
You find my previous review of the Glossy Box Experience here.

Loving my picnic blanket poncho >

Wow in less than two weeks time it will be Christmas time! Last weekend me and my flat-mate decided to get into the festive spirit by buying a Christmas tree for our home ♥ I just love the smell of real Christmas trees and for me a fake tree just won't do! We wondered down to Portobello Road Markets and after browsing the stalls we picked up this little beauty :)

I'm wearing my new 'Klara Poncho' from Gina Tricot that I bought in Olso! 

I spotted this poncho in the shop and just fell in love with it. My friend saw it too and liked it but felt it reminder her a bit too much like a picnic blanket haha. For 99 NOK which comes to about £10-12 pound I felt it was a bargain and something that would definitely fit well into my wardrobe this winter!

I also love that you can wear this poncho in many different ways as you can see above and below.

Wear it loosely, wrapped around your shoulders or held together with a belt...

..or wrap it round your neck like a thick warm scarf! Definitely am super glad I picked up this 'picnic blanket' poncho. I love the red and black combo and it's so warm and cosy. Perfect for indoor but also for outdoor over a leather jacket to keep warm in the crisp winter weather. 

We proudly carried our Christmas tree home and it now stands beautifully decorated with lights and red, gold and purple baubles in the lounge....

And smelling DIVINE too I might add; Christmas....bring it on :) xoxo

Where the magic happens!

As far as music goes I have to say I have an appreciation for a very wide range of music. I love listening to different things depending my mood and location. I love Pop, Rock, R&B, Dance etc. However if I had to give my preference to just one genre of music then I'd have to say (what I’d describe as) 'soft rock'. This is more the kind of albums I'd actually buy as opposed to just stuff I listen to on the radio. Under 'soft rock' I personally mean musicians like coldplay, the Script, James Morrison, the Fray etc. As far as bands go I’d probably say Coldplay is one of my ultimate favourites. I have bought every album as soon as it’s come out and saw them live in Auckland (NZ) about 3 years ago.

Last week Coldplay had two sold out shows in London at the O2 Arena and I had tickets to the Friday show!!! As soon as the dates were released I diarised it and ensured I was available and online the moment they went on sale. After frantically trying to manoeuvre my way around an overloaded ticket site I luckily was able to secure two tickets. Me = OVER THE MOON! And as expected the show was…….AMAZING!
Thought I’d share some pictures :)

♥ The O2 filling up with people. Feeling rather excited!

♥ We all got given these wristbands....

♥  and this is what happened with them during the concert :)

♥ The talented Chris Martin and his band!

♥ Amazing sets & lighting!

♥ Thanks Coldplay for a FANTASTIC night!

And yes; it's that time of the week again....

Love this!
Happy Hump Day everyone :) xoxo

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation

I'm definitely a big fan of Bourjois foundations and regularly use their Bourjois 10 Hour Sleep Effect Foundation and Healthy Mix Foundation. I think their foundations have a lovely light texture that provide medium coverage and feel great on the skin. So I was really excited to try their new 'Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation'.

Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation contains lychee, goji and pomegranate extracts, which work to erase signs of fatigue and achieve a revived and even complexion lasting 16 hours. It's new blending gel texture promises to glide onto the skin for an even, natural finish with no 'mask' effect.

I have been using this foundation almost daily and am loving it! Where the original Healthy Mix let me down, being a little drying (review here), the new gel formula is gorgeous. First of all, let me clear one thing up, this foundation is not actually a gel. It's just a more serum, liquidy texture that gives your skin a radiant glow and stops your foundation from drying out after a few hours wear.

The foundation comes in 6 shades. I use #53 in Light Beige.

This is a recent look I did using the Healthy Mix Serum Gel Foundation

So overall I think it's a great foundation because it blends really nicely, provides medium long-lasting coverage and smells fresh and yummy too! And for only £10.99 I think that's a steal :) You can buy it online here. 

To apply my foundation I have been using a new brush by KIM Professional Makeup recently.

KIM F251 Face Brush 

'Large round brush designed specifically for application of wet make-up. The white synthetic and soft hair combination allows for maximum colour and liquid retention'. It's very similar to my MAC 187 Stipling Brush that I usually use. I definitely prefer applying my foundation with stipling brushes over flat foundation brushes because I feel it gives a more 'airbrushed' finish. 

Brunch in my winter woollies..

Back in November Australian restaurateur and food writer Bill Granger launched his first restaurant in London. Bill is internationally renowned for his easy-going approach to cooking and particularly well-known for his way with brunch. The New York Times actually christened him the ‘Egg Master’! And as you know I love my brunches so as soon as Granger & Co opened its doors in my local hood, I just couldn’t wait to check it out! So on a sunny autumn Sunday morning two weeks ago me and my flatmate excitedly walked down to Westbourne Grove to secure ourselves a seat for brunch.

Unfortunately we weren’t the only people keen to admire Bill’s famous eggs which meant we were told that there was a TWO HOUR wait for a table. But still keen as beans we decided to put our name down on the list, grabbed a coffee at (amazing nearby café) Ottolenghi and browsed around Portobello Road to kill some time. After about an hour our tummies were starting to grumble very loudly so we headed back to see if a table was close to being ours. Luckily we didn’t have to wait much longer and got seated in the buzzing new restaurant. After reviewing the menu (with drool-worthy items like ricotta hotcakes and sweet corn fritters) I decided on the famous Bill’s scrambled eggs with a side of gravlax. I also got a fresh mint tea, which is one of my favourite drinks. I have to say we weren’t too happy with how long the wait for our food was but the place was packed and buzzing with people and with it being the first weekend they were open, a wait was to be expected. After quite some time the food finally arrived and I have to say….YES it was worth the wait. These eggs, oh-em-gee, seriously divine!!! His secret……..cream. Yes not good for the waistline but sooooooooooo good for the soul ;)

If you want to try to make Bill Granger’s (heavenly) scrambled eggs at home, here is there recipe! (Link) I’m definitely planning another visit to Granger & Co in the near future to try the sweetcorn fritters (they looked amazing) and also the evening dinner menu. Had you heard of Bill Granger before? I definitely recommend a little visit to Granger & Co to spoil yourself to the world’s best scrambled eggs. Yes….you’re worth it ;)

Granger & Co
www.grangerandco.com
175 Westbourne Grove
London W11 2SB
T 020 7229 9111

Outfit wise I was wearing some comfy white winter woolies!

♥ Jumper: white cable-stitched sweater with openings from ZARA in Medium (online here for £35.99)    

♥ Demin Skirt by GAP (as seen here) 

♥ Black woollen knit knee high socks from H&M

♥ Black over-the-knee-high boots (as seen here)

I love wearing my denim skirt in fall and winter paired with knits, tights and boots and this white woolly definitely kept me cosy and warm. And the big smile on my face? Yes this photo was taken after consuming the best scrambled eggs ever ;)  xoxo

Velkommen til Oslo!

Hey lovelies

This last weekend me and a girlfriend went on a little Norwegian adventure to Oslo!

A while back we secured some super cheap (£30pp) return flights to this lovely Scandinavian city. I'd been to Norway and Oslo back in my teens but couldn't wait to go back to walk around the city, explore the sites, browse the shops and soak up the culture. Here some pics from our trip :)

♥ Breakfast at our city hotel. Bread with chocolate spread, nommmm.....

♥ Gløgg - a special Norwegian christmas drink!

♥ Saw lots and lots of antlers

♥ Watch out 'Moose ahead'

♥ Oslo Christmas Markets, got us very much in the Christmas spirit

♥ The lovely Oslo waterfront

♥ Famous art at the Vigelands Park

♥ Besties together in Oslo

♥ Me at new Oslo Opera House

♥ Best brunch ever at Food Story in Grünerløkka

I pretty much ate my body weight in meatballs, pork belly, smoked salmon & chocolate mouse cake!

♥ Amazing sculpture in the Oslo Harbour

I seriously think I suffer from:

And seeing it’s Wednesday again, here are some of my favourite travel related quotes:

“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” - Mark Twain
“Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”- Ralph Waldo Emerson
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” - St Augustine
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” - Henry Miller
 “Not all those who wander are lost.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

Happy Hump Day :) Only 17 sleeps until Christmas….. xoxo

Orly – Birds of a Feather collection

Right on trend for fall and winter is Orly’s latest AW11 nail polish ‘Birds of a Feather collection’! Dazzling metallic shades paired with sophisticated neutral lacquers gives a twist on standard fall hues! The shades in the collection represent the vibrant plumage found on some of the world's most exotic birds.
The collection contains 6 striking colours; (L-R) Fowl Play is a multi-dimensional purple sparkle,  Lucky Duck a rich green, Nite Owl a neutral beige shimmer, Peachy Parrot a beautiful orange coral shimmer, Sea Gurl a stunning gun menal grey shimmer, and Sweet Peacock a peacock blue shimmer.

Orly’s new collection definitely reflects themes as seen on the AW11 catwalk, for example Gucci’s AW11 runway show which featured gorgeous jewel toned gowns and lot’s of ruffle and feathers!

The other day I tried Sweet Peacock on my own little fingers:

Sweet Peacock is a striking electric blue polish with a silvery foil finish. I have to admit I was a little shocked when I first put this on my nails because the colour was just SO intense and blue!

The formula of this polish is amazing. The Orly polish applied like a dream, this was after only two coats. It was already pretty much opaque after just one coat which is pretty impressive for such a high shine/glittery polish. Plus it's also very long lasting!

This is definitely not a nail polish for the faint hearted, because you will attract attention when wearing it. But if you are not shy to shine and love blue then this is just gorgeous! I wasn't sure if it was quite me to start with but it definitely grew on me, I loved seeing this bright shade on my nails :)

What do you think of Sweet Peacock or any of the other shades from the 'Birds of a Feather collection'?
I'm definitely keen to try Nite Owl after seeing some swatches online! xoxo