Swedish Meatballs & Pickled Cucumber

45 meatballs haha! Guess what I'm having for lunch EVERY DAY next week...

So.... I've been watching Masterchef Australia recently. A lot. Often. Constantly. I've never really cared for cooking food (only eating it) but recently I've been a tad more interested in how to do things properly.

I've always enjoyed cooking healthy, quick and slightly weird food that I personally like. The kind of food that I wouldn't like to serve others as it wouldn't wow anyone? The voice in my head while preparing a meal sounds a lot like Joey in Friends when he eats that weird cake; custard? Good! Jam? Good! Meat? GOOD. This mentality equals weird combinations. And I don't use any fancy 6-hour recipes - actually I don't like to cook after recipes full stop.

It sounds like I'm eating really funky stuff but to describe my style of cooking in a few words; cook everything on the highest heat possible - oven or stove (burnt food if possible - LOVE burnt food), substitute the carbs with roasted vegetables or couscous, top with mixed seeds and LOADS of sea salt. Also, where applicable - half a bottle of ketchup. I put seeds on everything because I love the crunchy texture. Maybe that's why I like burnt food as well? Nah - I just love the charcoal taste haha. On this topic - every time I use the toaster I turn it up to full blast, so I've had Lloyd screaming HELIINA from the kitchen several times, aggravated by his black piece of toast :')

Back to where I started off - I'm starting to dig the cooking thing. I've recently made pulled beef, slow cooked chilli con carne, home-made curry from scratch, and yesterday I made home-made meatballs and mash, pickled cucumber, onion gravy and lingonberry jam. A Swedish comfort food classic, guess I'm a little bit home sick. I also went to IKEA earlier this week which inspired me so that's why I spent about 3 hours preparing and cooking the below. I haven't decided yet if that makes me sad or not...

I'm not going to pester you with a recipe as I assume you all use google on a daily basis, I just wanted to brag a little bit. That's what social media and blogs are for right? Thanks for listening. Good talk.

It might not look much to you. But this is progress I promise.

Tom Dixon Lighting

Let's talk about lights, lamps and pendants. British designer Tom Dixon is one of my favourites when it comes to lighting. I love the elegant, modern, art deco feel his pieces has to them and I am indeed a sucker for white and gold when it comes to interior design.

I'm not gonna lie - I can't afford any of his stuff (unless found somewhere in a second hand shop in the middle of nowhere where the owner as well as browsing customers are unaware of the fact that there's a Tom Dixon piece in the corner going for £10) - but one can always dream. And one can always work towards one day being able to afford these sexy beasts.

My favourites;

Plain Round Pendant Light

£255 - here!

Melt Mini Copper

£370  - here!

Mirror Ball Gold 50cm

£515 - here!

And the grand finale...

Plane Chandelier

£4,500 - here!

Birthday Bash

I just realised I haven't posted anything here of my birthday, which was on the 27th March so almost a month ago haha... I'm a great blogger.

I don't think I will ever grow out of that feeling of waking up in the morning on your birthday (and Christmas for that matter) with butterflies in your stomach. And you lie there, listening for subtle sounds from the kitchen where someone is preparing your breakfast in bed and is just about to walk in with a tray singing happy birthday... But then you realise you don't live with your mum anymore and your passed-out corpse of a boyfriend is lying next to you snoring :')

This year I might not have been woken up with breakfast in bed, but Lloyd surprised me with an all Swedish breakfast with stuff he'd secretly bought from a Scandinavian shop here in London called Stockholm. We had meatballs, proper cheese, beetroot salad, Swedish bread and pickled gherkin. YUM. He's aware of my love for breakfast.

In the evening we headed to a pub in Twickenham called The Prince Blucher were there was food, prosecco and cake. The cake.. Let's talk about the cake. This is why Lloyd is the perfect guy for me:

A Big Mac cake. I mean it wasn't made out of meat (WHEN is McDonalds going to admit that there is 0% meat in their burgers?) etc, it was actually a cake. Also I'm not sure what signals this cake sends out about me as a person...

After that followed cafe patron (in plural), litres of wine, dancing on the table with a lamp on my head, finished off with some twerking, and then we headed to our flat to continue the dancing. One of the best birthdays I've had in years, thank you everyone for being there!! XX

Alone time is golden time

Boyfriend: Babe I'm working tonight...

Me: Aaaaw noooo I'll miss you :(

When really:

*Smirky emoji*

Missguided Flatform Creepers

Grab them here!

I mean, yes there is a small group of people in the world that managed to get their hands on the Rihanna x Puma creeper sneaker after the release a year ago and YES I would have loved to be one of those lucky people. But that is not the case.

So what the hell am I supposed to do when I find out that Missguided have been sneaky and manufactured look-alikes for TWENTY FIVE POUNDS? Obviously buy them in two colours. Well technically I only bought one pair as the black pair was one of my birthday presents form Lloyd :) £25, are you kidding me? They could have easily charged £40 for them, but this post is not about their poor pricing strategy...

I have also realised that a comfy chill-out-at-home outfit doesn't have to consist of a washed out sweatshirt you've had since you were 12 and a pair of tights with holes in the crotch area. I don't know how may times my boyfriend has pointed and laughed at me (probably partly in disgust) at my barely holding together tights... Not sexy.

So at the moment I'm all about cosy loungewear for the lazy days in. Which in my case is most days (haven't been to the gym for about 1,5 months hehehehehe). I ordered two co-ords, also from Missguided, and one of them is the black SUCKER below.

I'll still keep the old tights though. Just in case....

Speedy Blush

Collection Speedy Blush - buy it here.

Here comes a boring make up tip! Everyone in the UK knows that the brand Collection is a budget option for when you run out of something the week before pay day and you just can't afford anything else in the meantime. I bought this blush stick for £3 (!) as an emergency back-up and it has really proved worthy of my make up bag. 

I use this as a finishing touch after the rest of the make up is done, including blushing your cheeks with bronzer. This pink/peachy colour gives you a fresh, summery look BUT the best part is that it stays on all day as it's quite creamy. It gives you a light glowy highlight and can also be used as a base before applying your blush as this will work like a tinted primer.

Stick it on and smudge it out. Try it!

Whistles Nude Rada Platforms

Hey hey! Long time no see I know. Work is all I have on my mind at the moment, which I'm OK with.

Even though I bought these shoes a couple of weeks ago I still need to show them off, cause... Look at them. They're flawless. Nude, suede platform sandals with a sole made out of cork and wood. Perfect for any occasion if you ask me.

I'd been drooling over them online for a while but had involuntarily come to terms with that there is just no way I can buy sandals for £160. I just couldn't justify it - and I'm PRETTY good at that usually. I comforted myself with that "one day I'll make so much money that I can spend a month's salary on a handbag without feeling a thing...". It took some of the pain away, but not entirely.

But then, one sunny morning after my alarm went off just after 7.30, I received an email from Whistles stating that the yearly 25% discount code is now available in this month's edition of Grazia. Got dressed, threw my lunch box in my handbag and went down to the corner shop.

I had bought the shoes even before getting to work that day, calling the shop directly and paying over the phone. Haha you should have heard me, I was desperate. The next day they came delivered to the office and that was that story. I thought I'd share that.

xx