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Wednesday 16 September 2015

OOTD: Getting Organised






Top - Dorothy Perkins
Pinny Dress - Dorothy Perkins
Coat - Ark
Bag - Debenhams
Shoes - Office 

You might remember this pinny and turtleneck combination from a recent shopping haul post, well today I got an opportunity to wear it!

I've moved back to university and this week is a busy one of settling back in, reuniting with people I haven't seen since June and getting everything lined up for the next year. I'm lucky because I was able to keep the job that I did last year, but this year I also want to get more in to sports (I'm even considering joining a sports society) and get some much needed work experience to get me ahead of the game when it comes to graduate jobs. If the next two years go even half as quickly as the first one, it's going to get around to graduation really quickly and I want to have the best CV possible!

These shoes were an absolute bargain in the Office sale at only £32 - I've been wanting something like this for a while and was evening considering splashing out £90 on the Dr Martens version, but these came along just in time. They're really wearable and the thick sole makes them practical and helps to avoid the primary school look.

What did you guys wear today? 




Tuesday 15 September 2015

Real Student Food: Sweet Chilli Wraps

This is the first post in what I'm hoping will be a new feature on this blog: Real Student Food.

As a university student, I have the sometimes difficult task of cooking for one person a lot of the time, and when I've looked to student cookbooks or online recipes, they often don't cater for just one person, and the portions can be difficult to size down (seriously, what am I supposed to do with the other seven eighths of a bell pepper?) so I've found myself improvising.

I'll be posting my meals with the prices of the ingredients and the price per portion, as sticking to a budget is a key part of student food.

A lot of the food I make is incredibly simple, I try to be healthy where I can, the so called 'Freshers 15' is a real issue for students and one that I hope to avoid.

Today's recipe: Sweet Chilli Wraps with chips and salad.


Price of ingredients:
Salad leaves £1
Chicken Goujons £2
Tortillas £1
Chips £2 
Sweet Chilli Sauce £1.50 
Total: £7.50

Price per portion:
Salad leaves 30p
Chicken Goujons £1
Tortillas 25p
Chips 25p
Sweet Chilli Sauce 10p
Total: £1.90

Simply cook the goujons and chips according to the packet instructions, wrap up the chicken with the sauce and salad leaves and serve with chips and salad leaves. 

This recipe does leave about half the pack of goujons, these can be covered over with foil and put back in the fridge for a couple of days or frozen so that they last longer. The remaining tortillas can also be frozen for use at a later date. The salad will go off quickly, so I'll try to incorporate that into my meals as a side for the next couple of days. 




Sunday 13 September 2015

Room Tour

Inspired by the lovely Amy over at The Creative Outlook, when I moved in to my new university flat I took some pictures to show to you all.

Student accommodation has a bit of a bad reputation, and it is partly deserved, as the rooms do look slightly prison cell-like when you first walk in. However, some pretty bedding, a few posters and putting things on the shelves really do make all the difference. 

Here is my room this year. 


Various posters. I adore my Alice in Wonderland Spineless Classic, which is the entire book printed on to one page in a gorgeous design! They are available in lots of titles so you can view the full collection here


Shelving. Full of stationary (I have a slight obsession with Paperchase) boring theory books which I'll actually have to study very soon and photos that I got printed using Snapfish. I was very impressed by the price and speedy delivery of my photos. 



My bed. The bedding and fairy lights are from Wilko and the blanket was made by my aunty as a moving in present last year.

Let me know what you think in the comments! 

Friday 11 September 2015

New Buys

I'm now pretty certain that we have reached autumn, and for me that means lots of chunky knit jumpers, scarves and being able to wear all the black I want without looking quite so strange.

I went for a different approach to taking my photos today, using my brother's very plain bedroom wall as a background. As much as I love my own bedroom, my covered walls don't lend themselves quite so well to product photos. Let me know what you think in the comments!

Here are my most recent purchases. 


Scarf - New Look

I am a huge fan of tartan and this scarf is a fantastic way to incorporate it in to my daily look. The rich shades of purple, orange and navy also look great for autumn. It is also incredibly soft and will be lovely to snuggle in to as the weather turns colder. 


Jumper Dress - Next

Also available in cream, this jumper is one of the most comfortable things I've ever owned and I can't wait for the depths of winter to come just so that I can wear this! Teamed with either tights and Converse or leggings and Doc Marts, this jumper makes January 9am lectures seem almost bearable. 


Blanket Wrap - Boohoo

You may remember my recent post on blanket wraps, where I was searching the internet in search of the one. Well, I finally decided on Boohoo's version of the trend. The black and white check pattern means that it will be very wearable. It's also incredibly warm and will almost feel like I'm still in bed during bleak November mornings. 



I rarely seem to return from a shopping trip these days without having bought some kind of black top and this outing was no exception. This style is all over the high street at the moment, but the one in Dorothy Perkins really took my fancy. A very wearable piece that will see me through a lot of "what should I wear?" stresses. 


Jumper - Primark

I am a huge fan of the turtle neck trend that seems to have taken the high street by storm. A lot of people slate Primark but I think that it cannot be beaten when it comes to basic pieces like this that might only be on trend for one season. As the jumper is quite thin it will be great for layering during this changeable time. 


Bag - Primark

This bag was an absolute steal - it was only £7 and look how much detail is on the flap! With a magnetic flap closing, adjustable strap and inside zip pocket, this is a perfect bag to carry essentials in when I feel like mixing it up from wearing black all the time

What were your favourite pieces?
Are there any trends you are loving this season? 




Wednesday 9 September 2015

Rainbow Piñata Cake

Piñata cakes have been all over the internet recently. So when me and David decided to have an afternoon baking, it seemed the obvious choice. Although the cakes appear very effective, they are in fact incredibly easy to make.



For the cake mix I stuck to a tried and tested recipe. 

150g self-raising flour
150g caster sugar
150g butter/margarine (I use Stork when making cakes)
3 eggs

As a lazy baker, I'm a big believer in the all in one method, simply beat all of the ingredients together until you end up with a light, smooth mixture. 


To create the multi-coloured marble effect, split the mixture in to three bowls and add a full tube of Dr Oetker's Food Colouring Gel to each bowl. We used blue, yellow and red. 



Then spoon a little of each mixture in to the tin at a time, and gently swirl together with a knife to create a marbled effect. 


Bake both tins for 20 minutes at Gas Mark 5 until golden and risen. 

Once the cake has cooled, using a sharp knife cut a crater into the top of one cake and into the bottom of the other and fill with your chosen sweets. We chose jelly babies but any kind of small sweet would work. 


To ice the cake, beat together 150g stork and 150g icing sugar together until light and creamy. Use the icing to sandwich the cake together and to cover the top and sides of the cake. Finish with sprinkles of your choice. 


And there you have it! 

Have you baked anything recently? 

Thursday 3 September 2015

Blanket Wraps

September is finally here and autumn has officially begun. The last few weeks haven't been particularly summery here in the UK, and as a student who is itching to get back to uni, I'm especially keen to get some autumn staples together.

One item at the top of my list is a blanket wrap. Definitely not as practical as a coat but snugly and warm all the same (and pretty cool) this is a must for AW15,

Here are some of my favourite styles. 

Alice Check Boarder Blanket Cape



Multi Checker Board Wrap

Which is your favourite?