Thursday 31 March 2016

Lemon Drizzle Slices

 A mash-up between this recipe from Lakeland (basically only created to try and flog you their mini rectangular loaf tin) and this recipe from Mary Berry (who is too fabulous for words).



I love lemon drizzle cake. If I'm out somewhere and that's an option on the menu, it's a no brainer. I am all over it. With a capital all. I love the light sponginess paired with the sharp citrus taste; it's such a perfect mix (and goes great with a cappuccino). So I went a-googling to see if I could find a relatively straight forward recipe. I found a couple that sounded doable but I don't like to bake huge portions (because wasting home-baked goods physically hurts my soul) so I kept searching until I found one, or in this case two, I felt confident in.

The reason this is a recipe mash-up is because the baking utensils vary slightly (there was no way I was rushing out to Lakeland to buy a mini loaf tin set), so I used Mary Berry's expert advice to bake this as one complete cake in a traybake tin. Sure, I could've used Mary's recipe in its entirety but I liked that the Lakeland version included ground almonds as I feel like they add an extra little summin-summin.
Prep time: Around 30 mins | Cooking time: 35 mins | Makes: 10 slices

INGREDIENTS:
  • 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
  • 175g golden caster sugar
  • 2 unwaxed lemons
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 200g plain flour
  • 2 tsps baking powder
  • Pinch of salt
  • 50g ground almonds
  • 2 tbsp milk

METHOD:
  1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas mark 4. Lightly grease a tin of 30cm x 23cm x 4cm and line with baking parchment.
  2. Cream the butter and caster sugar together until pale, light and fluffy.
  3. Grate the zest from the lemons (reserving a small amount to decorate), and add the rest to the mixture. Beat the eggs and gradually add to the mixture - stirring well each time.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using a large metal spoon, fold into the cake mixture, then fold in the ground almonds. Then add the milk and the juice from one lemon and mix until smooth.
  5. Pour the mixture into the tin and use a spatula to smooth out the top.
  6. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle of the the cake comes out clean. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then ease out onto a wire rack and leave until completely cool.
  7. Once cooled, sprinkle remaining lemon zest over the top of the cake and cut into even slices.
~ Eleanor xo

Tuesday 29 March 2016

Easter Weekend Scenes

When your daily FitBit step count goes down and your pre-10am chocolate consumption goes up, it can only mean one thing: it's Easter! Also, rain. By the gallon.

I love Easter, I always have. So many great memories from my childhood centre around this time of year and I can't help but feel positive and upbeat. Even now, while the rain hammers down outside, I've still got my positive pants on. This is my first Easter break with a full-time job, which means I'm now part of the mass revelling in a much anticipated four-day bank holiday weekend, as opposed to two/three whole blissful weeks off from education. Still, I'm really digging it. Despite the seemingly never-ending downpour.

This weekend has been about indulging in the sweeter things (to put it mildly), enjoying the simplicity of how happy seeing a bright blue can make you (especially after Storm Katie attempts to uproot everything), and planning for the upcoming weeks. Also, lots of productive blog post writing and photo taking. Hooray for me.
Good Friday dawned as, to coin a much-loved British phrase, a gloriously sunny day. Spring was well and truly in the air and it was the perfect antidote to the hectic last couple of weeks. 

I drank large cups of coffee, basked in the sunlight and caught up with my favourite TV shows of the moment before deciding that the afternoon would be the perfect time to learn how to grate lemon zest (spoiler alert: it's much harder than it looks #lemonjuiceEVERYWHERE) by baking up some lemon drizzle slices. Because as we all know, I’m basically Mary Berry. I also took the opportunity to try out courgetti for the first time; I liked it, but it’ll never quite be pasta *deep sigh*.
Saturday rolled around and the heavens opened. Of course, this being our natural habitat, we were undeterred and headed out as planned to a newly discovered Farm Shop not far from our house. I love discovering new places; especially those that include fresh, organic and free range produce (because I’m both a middle class wannabee and about ninety years old). We picked up some delicious looking meats, honey, sauces and some bantam eggs in preparation for some mighty meals to come.

We also stopped for a little nose around the farm itself, where (in between laughing at how strange geese are) I clocked a beautiful barn conversion that doubles up as the farm’s B&B during the summer months. Just look at it. This is why #Goals was created.

After a quick coffee break at Le Starbucks (I seriously can’t get enough of these vanilla bean macchiatos), we headed towards home to cook up an immense fish pie dish for dinner because apparently it’s tradition to eat fish at Easter. What ever the reason, I am on board.
Easter Sunday dawned with a bright blue sky which meant I was able to slip on my Ugg boots and hot-foot it to my car in time to retrieve the Easter eggs I’d bought as a surprise for my parents. (I had to disclaim that the chocolate had been sitting in my car since the previous Monday so if they were melted and/or broken, I was not liable...).

Instead of chocolate eggs for breakfast, we poached a few of the bantam eggs we'd found at the farm shop the previous day and toasted up some sourdough bread to serve them on. The morning was going blissfully well and pleasantly slowly until the rain began to fall once again. After an obligatory lunch of roast lamb (I opted instead for roast chicken as lamb is the one meat I can’t stomach), we settled down for a cosy afternoon session on the sofa (me blog post writing, my parents detective show watching) while the storm well and truly hammered outside. It was a welcome change to not suffer from Sunday night blues, but instead indulge in a two-hour documentary about the queen. Wait, how old am I again…
I think the world and its wife woke up on Easter Monday thanks to the battering of Storm Katie. Luckily the majority of our garden was left intact (apart from the roof lining on top of our summer house which was ripped and half missing – we later spotted this in a heap at the bottom of our neighbours garden #SozMate. Meaning my parent's first, and rather unexpected, task of the day was to hit up Wickes, buy some replacement lining and somehow attempt to fix the thing, all while the wind continued to whip pretty ferociously. I enjoyed watching the events unfold from the warmth of the living room with a frothy latte in hand).

Eventually the sun re-emerged and the ‘I’ve got to go back to work tomorrow’ blues were momentarily silenced. I took the opportunity to prepare for the week ahead as best I could, then curled up with my new favourite magazine, a bar (or two) of Easter chocolate and a homemade berry smoothie.



Unsurprisingly, the majority of events this weekend revolved around the weather. That's just how British I am. Sorry about that.
~ Eleanor xo

Friday 25 March 2016

Five Things

1. LOOKING AFTER MY (CLEARLY DEFUNCT) IMMUNE SYSTEM
After spending a rough two weeks battling a nasty throat infection (followed by a cold) and feeling hugely sorry for myself, I've decided to take serious action and invest in these immune-boosting products. Obviously, I'm well aware that I could be buying into something totally bogus, but if there's even a tiny chance that these extra vitamins and what-not will help to keep me ship-shape-and-shiny, I'm down with it.

2. MY GROWING 'BOOKS I'VE READ THIS YEAR' PILE
Admittedly, it's growing slowly due to life being ceerazy and it being near impossible to find downtime where I'm awake enough to process words, but growing it is. Right now I'm really digging thrillers, which is something I never thought I'd say... it must be my advancing age.

3. CADBURY'S MINI EGGS POPPING UP EVERYWHERE
Anyone who knows me knows that I am sucker for Mini Eggs. I just love them. It's 100% a good thing that you cannot buy them all year round because I would be the size of a house (and probably eternally sick because of the amount of sugar in them). So when Easter rolls around, I am all over them - and finding packets popping up all over the office means I get to sneak a few whenever I can and it brightens my day.

4. THESE TWO SHORT WORK WEEKS
Thanks to the Easter holiday, we Brits get a four-day weekend at the end of this week (score!), plus it means that for the next two weeks, we only work four days. It's like music to my ears! I'm looking forward to chilling out, scoffing some chocolate (see point 3) and just generally having a nice time.

5. WATERMELON, PEACH AND RASPBERRY JUICE FROM BILL'S
I love going to restaurants that put as much effort into their beverage menu as they do their food menu, so naturally when I saw this freshly made juice on offer, I had to order it. Especially considering it would be way to much effort to attempt to make this at home - have you seen the size of watermelons? Where on earth would I keep one of those?

~ Eleanor xo

Thursday 24 March 2016

Link Love #17

  1. Nine surprising facts about coffee {via Harper's Bazaar}

  2. A recipe for skinny chocolate mug cakes {via The Sunday Chapter}

  3. Five tips for making better (and faster) decisions {via Ivanka Trump}

  4. Tips for creating brighter, whiter Instagram pictures {via Couture Girl}

  5. Motivational quotes to help get you through any week {via Career Girl Daily}

  6. A recipe for a paleo spinach bread {via Emilie Haaber}

  7. Nineteen canine Instagram accounts you should be following {via Buzzfeed}

  8. Thanks to Vanity Fair, we get to watch celebrities recite Kanye West's craziest tweets {via Refinery 29}

  9. Kate Middleton's first solo interview is all kinds of cute {via Redbook}

  10. Amazing photos of Highclere Castle, AKA, Downton Abbey {via Town & Country}
Keep it real, amigos
~ Eleanor xo

Tuesday 22 March 2016

Things To Do Now it's Spring

AKA, things I'm excited for because we're now into my second favourite season of the year. I agree, not such a catchy title, but we digress. Sunday officially marked the first day of Spring *throws petals in the air and dances*. I'm feeling rather smug that I was already aware of this before Facebook shoved one of its obnoxious announcements in my face and asked if I'd like to share it with all my Facebook friends. Errr no thanks, Mark.

While this overcast seven degree weather doesn't exactly inspire bright positive thinking, I always see Spring as the perfect time for something new. Whether it's a crazy makeover, or clearing out all the clutter you've hoarded during the winter, now is the time for change. Possibly. If you want...

1. Order iced beverages
Last week (on the one of the only sunny days we've had so far this month), I tried out the new vanilla bean iced macchiato from Starbucks and it was all kinds of tasty. My cravings for iced coffee began way back in mid-February so knowing that it'll soon be socially acceptable to order them on the daily makes me super happy.

2. Easter egg hunts
Because you can never be too old to enjoy wandering around your grandma's mahoosive garden in your favourite floral jim-jams hunting for tiny chocolate eggs and wondering how you missed a bright purple box standing out like a sore-thumb in a flowerbed.

3. Make smoothies
Fresh fruit is all the rage during springtime, especially when raspberries and strawberries come into season, so making fresh, clean smoothies is a no brainer. I like to mix mine with almond or coconut milk so it's healthy and filling.

4. Have that clean out
I cannot express how much I need to do this. Even more so because it was one of my New Years resolutions and I've done so well keeping them thus far. I have no idea where anything is and it's all getting a bit much. Not to mention I could be accused of being a bit of a hoarder if I don't get a grip sometime soon...

5. Pack away your boots
And all the rest of your overly wintery clothes. As much as I love it, I'm secretly looking forward to not having my enormous duffle coat as part of my outfit everyday.

6. Burn your favourite spring scents
Goodbye sickly cinnamon, hello chamomile & violet!

7. Instagram all the flowers
Tulips, daffodils, crocuses, anything that looks remotely flowery and will suit a VSCO filter over it.

8. Visit somewhere you love
Like the great outdoors! After months of cowering inside away from the cold, marathoning films and American detective shows, now's the best time to ease yourself back into life outside four walls.

9. Make the most of the light evenings
I am loving seeing the evenings grow lighter each day; it's a lot easier to power through working late when you aren't hurrying back to your car in the pitch black. The days suddenly seem so much longer and I actually have a desire to use them.

10. Plant something
I shall be planting sunflower seeds because they're some of my faves and I'm secretly looking forward to how tall they'll grow. Because yes, I am five.

11. Get your hair done
I'm not entirely sure why this is a Spring to-do because you can get your hair did all year round but I suppose there's something uplifting about chopping off all those split ends and ridding yourself of a wintery haystack.

12. Pastel nail colours
We all know I don't like to stick to seasonally appropriate nail polish colours, but that's not to say I won't be wearing pastelly pinks, blues and whites just like everyone else. I'm not a crazy person.

13. Try something new
Because why the hell not?

~ Eleanor xo

Thursday 17 March 2016

Throwback: Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans, Zaandam, The Netherlands

It's no secret that one of my all time favourite places in the world is The Netherlands. I spent several of my childhood summers in various different parts of the country (thanks to Centre Parcs) and I just fell in love with everything about it.

From the freedom of being able to bicycle everywhere (the flat roads were always a treat), the endless green fields, the windmills and adorable tiny villages you can unknowingly stumble upon, to of course, the food: the chocolate, the cheese and then some.

A couple of years ago I visited the most adorable neighbourhood in North Holland called Zaanse Schans. I imagine this is what my version of Neverland would look like because this place is so unbelievably beautiful that I'd happily stay there for eternity. Dating back to the 18th and 19th century, Zaanse Schans is home to eight perfectly well-preserved windmills and other historic houses, as well as museums, tiny boutique shops, a clog making factory, a pancake house and (in Spring) more daffodils than you've ever seen in your life.

With Spring right around the corner, and my wanderlust to return to the area at an all time high, I couldn't really resist sharing this place. Holland, you are #goals.

~ Eleanor xo
You can find out more here

Thursday 10 March 2016

Five Things


1. EXPLORING HOLBORN
I rarely get to visit London these days (even though I live about a forty minute train journey away), so when I discovered that I was spending Friday living it large in our London office because we had a meeting planned, I was secretly super hyped. Holborn, as it turns out, is mega cool. Too cool for me, definitely. Maybe it's because the sun was shining, but this corner of London is truly spectacular. The number of kitch coffeehouses I strolled past during my lunch break (where I may or may not have found myself slightly lost and with a Google Maps app that refused to load) was crazy. And because I'm majorly uncool and embarrassing, I wanted to Instagram every single one. In the end I opted for the Holborn Grind, which is only a couple of doors down from the office.

2. PLAID SHIRT OVERLOAD
I'm ready to admit that I may have a problem. The number of shirts I've bought in the last few months is borderline preposterous. Nobody needs to own this many shirts. Especially when they all look practically identical. I just can't help myself, ok? Stripes, checks, navy and white are my four weaknesses when it comes to clothing. (If you're wondering, I picked up this navy check shirt and checked dress from Forever 21 this weekend. I love them, but I hate myself.)

3. CELEBRATING MOTHER'S DAY WITH SWEET PEAS
When we were kids, my sister and I had a tradition where we'd always buy our mum sweet peas on Mother's Day. I can't quite remember why we did it, or in fact, why we stopped, but this year I decided to bring it back and hot-footed it over to one of her favourite garden centres to purchase a pot. Sure, I looked a bit lost while picking out what I felt would be the perfect colour combination, and then I had the mahoosive task of trying to keep the plant alive for seven days, but the look on my mum's face when she opened it told me it was worth it. I'm such a suck up.

4. HOMEMADE SPELT ROLLS
Nothing on this earth makes me happier than freshly baked bread. Except perhaps peanut butter. But you can put that on bread so the point still stands. I have always loved our family breadmaker and because of that, I know it's a gadget I'll always have in my home, even when I'm old and grey. Making bread is so easy to do and I find it so comforting. Recently we've been using the breadmaker to create various doughs which we then roll out, shape into balls and bake in the oven. Spelt flour is one of my favourites and these rolls taste delicious!

5. UPPING MY FITBIT GAME
I've had my FitBit now for almost three months so I'd say I've pretty much got the hang of it. For a while I mostly just wore it to see how many steps I did each day without really thinking about it. The numbers weren't bad, but being the competitive person that I am, I became determined to increase my daily step count and improve my ranking on the leaderboard at work. I can't exactly compete with the people who are marathon training or who walk eleven miles to their nearest train station, but I find wearing my Flex a really good motivation to actually get up and take my lunch break outside, have a brisk walk around Windsor, get some fresh air and be back at my desk for a productive afternoon. Even when the weather is shocking (which it really has been recently) I feel so much better knowing I'm doing something good for myself.

~ Eleanor xo

Tuesday 8 March 2016

50 Thoughts you have as a morning train commuter

One day last week I got to re-live the delight that is: early morning train commuting to London. Doing it for one day was quite enough for me and it's kind of hard to believe that for years I spent the entirety of my summer's doing this every single day. How did I not lose my sanity? Well, I think I probably did, I've just chosen to black out that part of my life in fear of never being able to walk out of my front door again.

But alas, as I love a good complain and generally making fun of my life, here's what went through my head during the experience:
  1. Ok! Here we go. Gonna get the train and I'm not going to have a single ounce of road rage what a strange new concept this is.
  2. God why is this platform so long. If I have to walk any further I might as well walk all the way to London.
  3. Oooh oooh sun shiny day!
  4. Everyone's looking sufficiently miserable. Must mean I'm in the right place.
  5. Ooop here comes eager beaver dressed in his finest bicycle shorts.
  6. Christ why isn't lycra illegal.
  7. Lining up on the platform ready to get myself on the train wooohooo. Keen bean queuing up with time to spare.
  8. It's delayed.
  9. The train is sodding delayed.
  10. Signalling failures. How. Why. This is 2016.
  11. Oh lovely, bicycle shorts is now chowing down on a hot cross bun. Is he aware that a) it's literally 7:34 in the morning and b) hot cross buns are disgusting?
  12. Wait, why are you pushing in front of me?
  13. Excuse me, Sir, I know you're wearing a suit and tie but have you heard of queuing etiquette?
  14. Erm hello I was here first!
  15. Oh no you did not.
  16. I can do this. I am a strong independent woman with functioning elbows who's not afraid to use 'em.
  17. Do you people have any concept of PERSONAL SPACE SEND HELP.
  18. Just breathe. I'm not in my car now, there are no walls to protect me if profanities begin bursting from my mouth.
  19. God it's cold. Stupid March.
  20. Think warm thoughts.
  21. It's not working.
  22. FINALLY the train is here.
  23. Oh good, I'm glad we all queued FOR ABSOLUTELY NO REASON SIR WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO SQUEEZE PAST ME CAN YOU NOT???
  24. K, on the train. In one piece. With my belongings.
  25. SEAT! THERE'S A SEAT.
  26. Wonder how many enemies I just made by accidentally knocking them with my handbag. Stupid thin aisles.
  27. Alright, I'm sitting comfortably, got my iPod playing some tunes, now to sit back, relax and enjoy a smooth ride to London.
  28. Are we there yet?
  29. How has it only been three minutes?
  30. Imma just sit and people watch for a while.
  31. Yo, bright coloured tie wearer, is there coffee in that tumbler or gin?
  32. Could be gin.
  33. Oh crap, he's spotted me. Act cool.
  34. La la le laaaa
  35. Good God there are actually people working at this time of the morning before they've even reached the office?!?!?! 
  36. Didn't even known ThinkPads were still a thing.
  37. Wow I wish I'd thought to pick up a Metro. This is so boring.
  38. Crap. Where's my ticket? I have my ticket right, it's here, and it's valid? It is, isn't it? Oh my gosh what if I got it wrong. Am I going to go to prison????
  39. Lol, no big deal, it's in my purse where I left it.
  40. Glad I didn't overact because that would've been embarrassing.
  41. One hundred per cent that woman is now hastily applying concealer under her eyes because she just saw my face. #Life.
  42. How loud is my music? Wait, do you think people can hear the Hannah Montana soundtrack I'm listening to?
  43. Oh no, we're cool.
  44. Better tweet that I'm on my way to London so everyone knows where I'm at.
  45. Almost there almost there.
  46. I like how judgey everyone is on this train. These are my people.
  47. Unless they're judging me. Like under-eye concealer woman over there. You definitely are not my people.
  48. What's the announcement saying? Oh yay, we're here!
  49. Let me just stay seated for a sec while everyone makes a mad dash for the exits.
  50. Smooth and casual. I got this.
Now, back to the reality of driving to work and attempting to get a grip on my uncontrollable road rage. Basically, I can't win.
~ Eleanor xo

Friday 4 March 2016

Photo Diary: February Round Up

Yellow tulips are my spirit animal. I know that's not possible. But you know what I mean.
I mean, does this even need a caption?
Wondering why these cups aren't available all year round @ Starbucks, Windsor
When prospective clients swing by the office and the place basically becomes a florist @ Windsor, Berkshire
All New York everything
My sister sent me a picture of a sign she'd seen. I've no idea what she's insinuating...
Let the countdown begin!
Ooops more tulips can I get a "yolooooo"
The thing I find with February is that every year I get pulled into the same trap of thinking it's a super short month so it'll fly by. But of course, that isn't actually true (and it definitely isn't this year considering it has twenty-nine days).

So it basically feels like it's been winter for about twelve years and I'd very much like that to turn around sometime soon. And that's not just because my new favourite find, car windscreen de-icer, is about to run out and I'm loathed to buy more when spring is theoretically so close around the corner. Oh what life would be like if I lived in a country where my day's were not so ruled by the weather. Sigh.

But here's some other stuff that went down in February:
  • I tried out windscreen de-icer for the first time and holy moly I have lived a very sheltered life up until this point.
  • Reading Gone Girl caused me physical pain after I managed to drop it spine first onto my foot and I bruised like a peach.
  • I finished reading Gone Girl and while I thought the plotline was super cool, I am still pretty miffed at the ending. Does the author wanna like, write a sequel maybe? Please?!
  • I promptly stopped drinking sparkling water daily after I read an article about how it strips the enamel from your teeth.
  • I bought a hilariously cute Valentine's Day card from Etsy but the card that arrived was not only incorrect, but Tinder themed.
  • I had a lot of bad luck with deliveries in general.
  • I stopped kidding myself and decided to take off my FitBit at weekends.
  • I then realised that by doing that, it would appear as though I only did sixteen steps at the weekend so decided to start wearing it again.
  • As much as I love Megan Fox, New Girl just isn't the same without Zooey Deschannel.
  • I'm trying to perfect my Australian accent so sometimes while I'm driving I talk to myself in an accent. It's weird. I know.
  • After about six months of telling myself it was something I needed to do ASAP, I finally created a spreadsheet containing all of my finances. I should probably consider getting a life sometime soon.
  • My 'channel my inner #GirlBoss' New Years resolution is coming along fabulously.
  • I got to see the skyline of New York (while my feet were firmly on the ground in Windsor) as my sister FaceTimed me while she was in the new One World Trade Center. It was awesome.
  • I celebrated six whole months of continued full-time employment.
  • A holiday to my favourite place in EspaƱa was booked for June.
  • Apparently February 23rd is National Toast Day and I'm totally down for celebrating that.
  • I discovered that both the town I work in and the town I live in are in the running to get their own Monopoly boards so that's exciting.
  • I watched Big Hero 6 for the first time and I swear it totally destroyed me.
  • It looks like reading thrillers before going to sleep gives me very colourful dreams...
  • My favourite app, Mailbox, shut down and I am honestly bereft.
  • I had a couple of holiday days to use up before the end of the month so I enjoyed some long weekends and felt like a total truant.
  • Leonardo finally won that Oscar. 
I'm also drowning in chocolate so the thought of Easter coming up makes me feel slightly nauseous.
~ Eleanor xo

Wednesday 2 March 2016

February Favourites

February has been a month consisting of a lot of chocolate (see exhibit A: New York haul and exhibit B: my food diary), I mean, a lot a lot. As in, 'how have I not developed diabetes' a lot. I'm not complaining, I'm just wondering how long I've got until my arteries decide they can no longer deal with how I'm treating them. But alas, let's not dwell.

Embarrassingly, my most favourite thing that's happened this month is getting to witness the evenings get progressively lighter. After a long day, it definitely boosts my mood to see even a tiny slither of light still coming through the clouds. Now all that's left is the warmer temperatures to match! Please? Anyone? Hello?!
  1. Brooklyn Nine-Nine
    I really loved this show when the first season aired on E4 like a million years ago, but when the second season came out, my social life was obviously far too hectic for me to be able to find time to sit down and watch each episode every week so I found myself flagging way behind and ultimately, giving up entirely. Until a few weeks ago when I somehow managed to catch the first episode of the new season and was reminded why I digged this show so much in the beginning. And thanks to my trusty pal Netflix and his bro 'automatic next episode play', I whizzed my way through all unseen episodes and I now I'm totally hooked once again and wishing Jake Peralta was my real life best bud.

  2. Korres Sensitive Cleansing Gel
    Don't get me wrong, I loved the Ren cleansing gel I was using before this, but I like to play the field when it comes to skincare, so when I saw this, I knew I had to try it out. (Also it was on special offer so it was basically fate). This gel is way more foaming than I'd probably like it to be; I mean, I suppose the whole lathering thing means it's actually doing something to my skin, but when it's 6:45am and I'm trying to wash my face, it more often than not ends up in my eyes and up my nose. Still, it smells absolutely amazing and that, as we all know, is the most important thing to me.

  3. Tossed: The Healthier Eating Place
    If you're a lover of exceedingly expensive, yet massively healthy (and tasty) lunches, then this place is about to become your Mecca. Whenever we have client meetings up north, we always swing by Tossed at a service station on the M4; the breadth of food choices is astonishing and it all looks so so tasty. What's great is that it's all made fresh (and you can totally tell), but if you can't quite find what you're looking for, they'll make it for you right there and then. As it's usually a quick pit-stop for me, I opt for either the tomato, mozzarella and pesto wrap, or chicken and avocado baguette.

  4. Anthropolgie Zodiac Sign Trinket Dish
    I spotted this dish in Anthropologie months ago and just knew I had to have it. I'm super into this whole zodiac/constellation trend that's going on at the moment and this is just lovely. The dish is the perfect size to sit on my nightstand and house the jewelry I wear each day, my watch, FitBit, hand cream, Peanut Butter Cup wrappers, lip balm and any other crap I decide to bestow upon it. The blue and gold combo is gorge and if you look underneath the dish, it has the shape of the star sign and its corresponding trait (which for Leo is 'Fearless').

  5. Blackberry Monin Coffee Syrup
    A couple of months ago I'd have thought putting fruity flavoured syrup in my coffee was pure insanity. And then the winter coffee shop menus came about and everything changed. I found myself drawn to the Winter Berry latte from Caffe Nero and once I learnt their secret ingredient (that's actually not very secret...) I couldn't not find me some blackberry syrup. So now weekend afternoons are reserved for a warm cup of coffee with a drop of blackberry flavouring and a side order of Cantuccini because as we all know, I'm super fancy.
Catch you on the Spring-side.
~ Eleanor xo