Nail Art (Done Well!)

Recently I've become increasingly interested in the world of nail art - I'll blame my cousin and those lovely contributers to http://www.hellogiggles.com/ for this! While there's been a trend for the obscene when it comes to nails (yes, I mean those stilletto nails that GaGa wears - v.v.v scary!), my own interest has come from the interesting and intricate nails people have been coming up with - find a few of these designs below and feel free to add your own!

Converse Nails - While I think the ship may have sailed for me getting away with these, I LOVE them!

Retro Design Nails - I adore all the turquoise/aqua around at the moment and these nails would go amazingly

These pink ombre nails are a great way of heading into summer and could be done with a variety of colours

Show your patriotic side for the Olympics and Jubilee with these Union Jack nails - stylish support!

Loves Me, Loves Me Not Nails - HELLO?!?! These nails are FABULOUS!

Dansette Vintage Record Player

Oh my, I have been neglecting posting fabulous things to this blog - apologies all round! I have been busy  searching for and buying my first car after passing my driving test at the grand age of 30 and have been spending time crusing up and down Central Scotland trying to get to grips with Fergal, as I have called my lovely Toyota Aygo. Why Fergal? Well, it means "brave man" in gaelic, which is quite fitting if you saw my driving!

Anyway, back to all things fabulous - please find above a picture of my latest obsession, the Dansette Tempo Portable Record Player from the 60s. Scan through eBay and you'll find a good number of Dansette record players for sale, some cheap, some not-so-cheap, some working, some nothing more than a pile of parts - Dansette portable record players, if listed, are probably near the top of the pile in terms of desirability, with a few bids already placed for it. I began to want one of these badly after re-watching "Secret Diary of a Call Girl", where Belle has a retro record player in her house in Series 4, and since then and doinf my own research, one of these babies became top of my "NEED" list........I just can't wait to get out all my Dad's old 70s rock LPs to play on it!

Calajanara Restaurant, Conca Azzurra Hotel, Amalfi Coast, Italy

While the weather has been improving, I'm somewhat impatient when it comes to the changing of the seasons, wishing I could wear my linen capris and espadrilles combi already! Thoughts of what I hope will be the summer to come automatically makes me think of my time in Italy last year and the places I have still to visit, leading to this post of the Calajanara Restaurant on the Amalfi Coast.

The Restaurant is part of the Conca Azzurra Hotel situated in a small fishing village on the Amalfi Coast - it has it's own private lido and is a mere 20 metres from an amazing cave, Grotta dello Smeraldo, which has on the floor an underwater nativity scene made from ceramics produced in the nearby town of Vietri.

The Calajanara has an amazing sun terrace used during the summer months, as seen above, with marvellous views of the coast and Capri and serves an variety of locally-sourced seafood and delights. Of special mention is the restaurant's olive oils, made from olives from trees on the grounds of the hotel.

Later inn the evening, guests can gather in the glass-roofed Winter Garden, enjoying an aperitif or leisurely after dinner-drink beneath the star specked sky. Smokers have the chance to indulge in a puff of the finest tobacco in the Cigar Bar. The perfect place in which to pick up that special souvenir or gift item, La Conca Azzurra's Art Shop Caffè stocks an exquisite selection of coral jewelry and artistic ceramics. I wish I had a chance to visit this restaurant on my travels, but that just gives me all the more reason to go back!

Sweet Home-made Treats!

With the recent surge of baking programmes (my favourite being Great British Bake-Off, which is mostly due to the silver fox that is Paul Hollywood (http://www.paulhollywood.com/)), I have been trying out my own baking skills at home with mixed results. I have been finding it hard to resist adding my own touches to recipes as I often do when cooking meals and as Mary Berry will tell you, baking has to be precise to get results. Rather than being disheartened by my lack of baking prowess, I've been searching for recipes even I haven't been able to mess up and found I am great at knocking together a tray bake or refridgerator cake! I love the simplicity of these little morsels and with most having very little baking, I can play around with the recipe as I go along. Below I've posted a few pics of the next recipes I'll be trying after finding them on the net and wanting to take things to the next level:

Triple Layer Fudge Mint Oreo Brownies - oh yes!

Homemade Snickers Bars

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bites

Food shouldn't have to be complicated to be tasty so try out a recipe for yourself today!



Howl Clothing Chanel T-Shirt

In honour of the launch of http://www.karl.com/ I've posted a t-hirt first released in 2009 by Howl Clothing which I have often admired. 'P*ssing everywhere isn't very Chanel' is a quote attributed to Karl Lagerfeld which hangs on a notice in the men's bathrooms in the Chanel HQ, and as most women will tell you, is a life lesson most men could learn from! The tee is was also available en français, as Karl would have wanted s'il vous plaît:

Vionnet Colour Block Heels

I'm a sucker for a statement shoe and these Vionnet pumps would look amazing with a smar or more casual look. They are a great way of introducing the neon trend into your wardrobe without being too full-on, but would equally look amazing with just a black dress and coloured clutch for a event.

Diet Biscuits by Fonderia

We are now into Lent and am sure, like me, most of you will have overdosed on pancakes yesterday in 'celebration'!

For most people, this spells the beginning of a period of giving up vices - therefore these biscuits from Fonderia may provide the discouragement from sweet treats you are looking for.......



Courtesy of http://fonderia.tumblr.com/