3 quick and healthy snacks

I'm still trying to eat well and although I've managed to lose 6lbs since Christmas, I'm still carrying 1lb of Christmas weight. Those burgers and cakes clearly aren't helping matters. I was very kindly sent a yummy selections of goodies - more coming later! - from Nairns to help me keep on track with my healthy eating. The brand may be known for their oatcakes but they've also got some wheat-free oat crackers in their repertoire too. Perfect if you're not too keen on oatcakes! I've got my three favourite toppings to talk about - it makes a great change from munching on a bag of crisps at your desk!

Cream cheese and smoked salmon
This is such a classic and very tasty. I find the tiny individual pots of Light Philadelphia are perfect to take in your pack lunch. Simply smear some on a cracker and then top with a piece of salmon. Not too much as you don't want to overpower the cream cheese. Plus smoked salmon is very salty!

Guacamole and sundried tomatoes
I could easily eat sundried tomatoes like sweets. They're a great supplier of vitamin C and A as well as offering your body much needed calcium and magnesium. This will help your blood pressure. They provide the perfect accompaniment to zesty lime of the guacamole. I think this one is my favourite - it will work well with avocados too. I just find they go off a lot quicker - I can never use them up in time!

Low fat Hummus and chutney
This may sound a bit odd but it really does work well together. The sweetness of the chutney pairs great with the grainy hummus. You can never have too much hummus in your life right? Make sure you get the low fat version - it tastes exactly the same but you can save important calories.

Do you have suggestions for toppings?

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Places to stay: Malmasion Oxford

Perhaps the reason why the boyfriend and I have been together eight years is because we both like slightly unusual things. Or he just amuses me by going along with slightly unusual things. One such unusual thing was booking me a nights stay in this amazing hotel as a birthday present. It is a converted prison in a medieval castle with a lot of the period features on show. The staff were extremely kind and helpful, they even tried to book us a table in town for dinner. But atlas, it was fully booked. We stayed in the superior suite - the lovely boy cheekily paid for an upgrade - and it consisted of three cells knocked together. It still has the cell down intact too. If you go down to the ground floor you can actually see a cell how it originally was.

I may have let out a little squeal when I spotted the roll top bath - filling it up to the brim on Sunday was pure heaven. We didn't touch the mini bar as we were too poor, but they had absolutely anything you could ever fancy. I loved the little touch of the bath robes and we kicked ourselves when we saw the DVD player. Games Of Thrones is crying out to be finished and we could totally have spent the entire evening in bed. The room was by far one of the best we've ever stayed in and we made that excuse when we trudged off after eating too many burgers to get into bed. At least we made full use of the room eh?!

Despite him remarking at least three times - 'The amount this cost me, we went to Berlin for the weekend' - it was certainly worth the money. The boyfriend has a very nice idea of taking me away for the birthday the kind soul he is. Sometimes in life you have throw caution to the wind and splash out. A little bit of luxury is what makes the world go round.

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Oxford City Guide

Christchurch College
If you're a Harry Potter fan, no trip is complete without a wander around this college's grounds. The building is absolutely beautiful! You'll certainly recognise some things! It's a £4.50 entrance fee and you can stroll around to your hearts content.

The Randolph
Like I mentioned in my pervious post, my boyfriend surprised me with afternoon tea. The Randolph is a gorgeous old-fashioned five star hotel in the heart of the city. It's very charming! It's a lovely place to go if you're celebrating a special occasion. We opted for the yummy full afternoon tea which consisted of a selection of sandwiches, fruit scones with clotted cream and jam alongside afternoon pastries. The bakewell tart was my favourite!

Malmasion Oxford
I love a quirky place to rest my head and this hotel ticked all the boxes. It's set in a converted prison in a medieval castle. It's so luxurious and definitely somewhere to book if you fancy a little treat. I won't say too much as I'm going to write a separate post on it later this week.

The Vaults and Garden Cafe
I found this on Trip Adviser when I was researching some places to stop for breakfast. It's set in the Church by All Souls College, not too far from the high street. You join a canteen style queue as you place your order on what homemade food you'd like to sample - get your partner to grab a table as it gets very busy! We opted for the full breakfast which consisted of organic eggs, air-cured bacon, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms and giant butter beans in a tomato sauce. It was pricey at £7.95 but it tasted delicious. Sometimes it's worth splashing out!

St Johns College
Lily mentioned this was her favourite college so we set off to hunt it down. This college was free to enter and it has gorgeous grounds. If it was a little warmer, we would have spent a lot longer exploring.  It's so cool to think that people actually study and live here and the incredible history that the walls could talk about.

Cafe Loco Oxford
This was a recommendation from Hannah - when she mentioned it was Alice In Wonderland themed I was sold. It's again quite pricy - sense a theme? - but the portions were a good size. It's a great place to go for lunch after you've visited Christchurch. It offers table service which is great after you've been on your feet all day. I opted for a tasty pesto, mozzarella and roasted vegetable panini to help refuel before we headed off home. Make sure you get a cake from the takeaway section!

 

The University Church of St Mary the Virgin
I'm a sucker for a good view so I was very excited when I found out you could climb up the church tower for £4. After quite a lot of huffing and puffing, we finally reached the top and were rewarded with some stunning views. It was such a bright day and we could see for miles. It was well worth the dollar and provided some gorgeous pictures. Try not to lean on the wall as my boyfriend got pooped up on the cooing pigeons nesting there!

Oxford University Museum of Natural History
After spending a small fortune, we decided to venture to the museum after reading it was free. It's not too big but you can still whittle around an hour in there taking in all in. They had a good selection of dinosaurs - always a winner in my book - and some cool stuffed animals. There's a cafe upstairs too if you fancy some cake! It's set in a beautiful building.

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A weekend in Oxford

Last weekend I was whisked away to Oxford as a special birthday treat from my boyfriend. We spent the weekend milling around the city and wandering in and out of the beautiful colleges. The boyfriend got serious brownie points for booking a surprise afternoon tea in a swanky hotel and for requesting a room upgrade. I'm still dreaming about the divine roll top bath! It was just the relaxation we needed to recharge our batteries - we always seem to go at 100mph most days. In fact we ended up in bed at 9.30pm after a cheeky Byron with a bottle of Kooperburg and American Pie on telly. Rock and roll indeed!

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Review: Dishoom

For my annual birthday meeting with the Dream Team girls, I opted for a lunch at Dishoom. Modelled on a Bombay cafe, this delicious gem offers Indian food with a hint of Iranian influence. You'll definitely see the Middle Eastern inspired dishes. This it's not Indian food as you know, there's hardly a curry in sight! Instead you'll be presented with pure Indian comfort food. Mouth watering lamb chops, calamari, dhal and kebabs are all on the menu.

Hannah managed to persuade me to share - only child over here! - and thank god she did. It's the best idea she's ever had. We opted for a delicious concoction of moreish Okra fries, charred Panner Tikka, smokey Gunpowder Potatoes, garlicky lamb chops, rich Black House Dahl, fragrant Basmati Rice, decadent Chicken Ruby, molten cheesy naan and a fresh plain naan. Sounds like a feast eh? Everything was absolutely delicious. We ordered just the right amount of food for three people and left with very full bellies.

Personal highlights included the addictive okra fries and the tantalising creamy tikka panner. I'm already planning a trip back!

Have you ever ventured to Dishoom?

 

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Can't you find a little room inside for me?

Outfit:
Grey leopard print tunic: Topshop
Black duster coat: Topshop (similar)
Black super soft skinny jeans: New Look
Black pointed heels: Primark (similar)
Silver boyfriend watch: Fossil
Amazonian Butter Red lipstick: c/o Tarte via QVC

I'm finding I'm wearing a lot of jeans. Quite often when I wade through my endless supply of clothes in the morning, I'm picking up jeans. I don't know what on earth is happening either - those midi skirts are gathering dust. Maybe I've had too much of a good thing recently and fancy a change. I do know that these jeans are keeping me warm in this cold snap! I also know that this top has fast become one of my favourite things to wear. I bought it thanks to a birthday voucher - thanks E! - and it's been worn far too much already. That's always the sign of a good purchase.

Can we just chat about this lippie? I was given this lipstick via work and have fallen in love. Come payday and I'll be buying a few more. I've already got a Tarte blush which I picked up in NYC last year and have been meaning to sample a few of their products for ages! Any lipstick recommendations?

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Recipe: Rocky Road

Sometimes you fancy a sweet treat but don't want to spend house slaving over a cooker. This is where rocky road comes in! It's so simply yet tastes to good. I loosely used Nigella Lawson's recipe but added in a few of my extras instead - it was just what I already had in the cupboard.

Ingredients
300g of good quality dark chocolate
1 packet of oreos
125g of baking margarine
3 tablespoons of golden syrup
100g of mini marshmellows
1 box of malteasers

1. Break the chocolate into squares and melt in a large saucepan alongside the butter and the golden syrup .Keep aside 125ml/or 1/2 cup of the mixture.

2. Pop the oreos and the malteasers into a freezer bag and bash with a rolling pin. You'll want crumbs and small chunks of chocolate.

3. Fold the biscuit mixture into the melted chocolate in the saucepan. Then add the marshmallows.

4. Tip into a nine inch square tray and spread evenly. Pour the leftover mixture on top and smooth it over.

5. Refrigerate at least for two hours but overnight would be best if you have the time.

6.  Cut into 24 fingers, tuck in and enjoy!

As always tweet me if you make them - I'd love to see some pictures!

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How to update your wardrobe on a budget

If you're anything like me, you believe that buying clothes to fill your wardrobe is what makes the world go round. Even if it's bursting at the seams. But once again if you're anything like me, you'll also not have a bottomless purse. I don't know if I've mentioned - jokes I know I have and I'm boring myself - but I'm saving for a house. Snore. But I also want to add pretty things to my wardrobe. So I've got a few tips to share if you too are looking to update your wardrobe on a budget.

1. Decide exactly what you need.
If you're anything like me, you shop with your heart rather than your head. I often buy frivolous things only to get home and realise I don't actually have anything to go with it. To save myself from spending needlessly, I had a proper sort through my wardrobe to help me find what I was missing. As a result I have a long list of things I need rather than what I want. It may be a boring way to shop but it saves you from having to stare at endless clothes still with the tags on.

2. Adopt a one in, one out policy.
I'm a hoarder but I force myself to always try and get rid of one or two things before I take the plunge to buy something new. If you haven't worn it in a year, seriously think about getting rid of it. That way you can spend the money you get from flogging it on eBay, on new clothes. You don't have to break into your precious bank account and it's basically free money. That's what I tell myself anyway.

3. Become a discount code queen.
There are so many websites out there offering various discount codes so before you decide to hand over some dosh, make sure you check them out. Every little helps! Also try to get items delivered to the store too if you can as this will save you on postage costs.

4. Invest in decent pieces.
Buy cheap, buy twice as a wise woman once told me. This is so true. Those £8 Primark pumps might seem cheap as chips at the time but when you're having to buy three a month because they fall apart, they're not. Invest in a good quality coat, shoes and handbags. It will save you money in the long run.

5. Shop your statsh.
Get absolutely everything out in your wardrobe and go through piece by piece. I can almost guarantee that you'll find items of clothing you completely forgot you owned. It's just like going shopping! But without having to burn any plastic. I've often come across old favourites that I've fallen in love with all over again.


Do you have any tips to share?

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Top 3 brunch places in London

Recently I've become a massive fan of going out for brunch. Especially in London where the options seem to be endless. Below are three of my favourites so far - I'm still yet to try every place but believe me when I say I'm working on it!

1. Caravan, Kings Cross and Exmouth Market
Kings Cross has really had a makeover in recent years and it's full of little cool places to eat. None more so than Caravan in Granary Square. This industrial looking place is very trendy. The menu comes on a wooden clip board, the milk in mini milk bottles, the unisex loos which confused my dear old nan) and the canteen style tables. This only makes me love it! I had the baked eggs complete with smoked sausage and delicious crusty sourdough. The Greek yogurt proved to be the perfect partner to the tomato and pepper mixture underneath the fried egg. The portion was the perfect size and kept me full till lunch. I've also sampled the jalapeno cornbread which gets a massive thumbs up.

2. The Riding House Cafe, Fiztovia
Located just off Oxford Street behind Topshop, this brunch place is the perfect place to fuel up before a hard days shopping. That chorizo hashbrown pictured? I'm still dreaming about it! With a perfect runny poached egg on top, it was absolutely delicious. I've also gobbled down the avocado on toast which was equally tasty. I must give a shout out to the staff who are very attentive but also don't rush you. They let you take your sweet time having a catch up which is always a plus. So many places slam the bill on the table just as you've eaten your last mouthful. Once again I love the cool industrial vibe of the place and am a sucker for somewhere trendy.

3. The Breakfast Club, Hoxton, Spitalfields, Battersea and Soho
Blogger Cliché it may be but there's a reason why The Breakfast Club is all over your Bloglovin' feed. You'll be rewarded with huge portions and exploding taste buds when you order here - I've only been to the Hoxton branch. After much deliberation I opted for the breakfast burrito oozing with chunks of chorizo, scrambled egg, charred roasted peppers, juicy Portobello mushrooms, creamy guacamole, melted cheddar and a spicy pepper sauce. Heaven on a plate. You'll definitely get your money's worth here and there's something for everyone to munch on.

Any brunch places you'd like to recommend? I'm always on the lookout!

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