OOTD: blue chevron shirt





Outfit:
Blue chevron shirt: Boohoo* (similar)
Beige midi trench coat: ASOS
Distressed blue denim jeans: F&F (similar)
Gold pointed leather loafers: Topshop
Poppy red Lily bag: Mulberry

This is a weekend staple for me. My shirt collection is slightly getting out of control. It's a simple, comfortable outfit that's perfect for mooching around town and meeting friends. The holes in these jeans are getting bigger and bigger but that's exactly how I like them. I'm dreading the day they fall apart on me. I wore this for Hello Kitty afternoon tea with my favourite blogger pals but more on that gem later on in the week. These gold leather loafers are the most comfortable pair of shoes I own. They were an absolute pain to break in and I think my feet weeped for about five days. But once that was over, they fit like a glove so it's worth taking on the pain for a while. Something to bear in mind if you feel like taking the plunge!

Today I am off to Copenhagen for three days and am so excited to finally visit Scandinavia. I booked the trip for my boyfriend's birthday so looking forward to eating out way around the city and coming back 10 stone heavier. We're going to try and take it easy to make sure we come back relaxed. Which means no ridiculously early alarms and lots of lounging around the apartment eating Danish pastries. Most of the trip is planed around food stops but we do have a few must-visits on our list. See you on the flip side guys!


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Recipe: cous cous, rocket and feta salad with harissa dressing


I've only recently become a salad convert. I used to avoid them like a plague but I think I just hadn't experimented much. Warm vegetables, cous cous or pasta, leaves and a good dressing is what works for me. A little bit of cheese makes everything ten times better too! Lakeland sent me a handy Kilner salad on the go airtight jar. With a small metal cup that slots in the top, it's the perfect trick to combat a soggy salad. No more sacrifices for lunch at work!


Ingredients:
1/2 bag of mixed salad leaves
100g sweetcorn
50g cous cous
100g feta cheese

For the dressing:
1/2 teaspoon of harissa paste
A pinch of sea salt
3 tablespoons of olive oil


Method:

1. Cook the sweetcorn in a pan with boiling hot water. This should take about 10 minutes. Let it cool down.

2. Cook the cous cous according to packet instructions. Let it cool down.

3. Layer the heaviest items first. So start with the cous cous then the sweetcorn, and salad leaves.

4. Put the chopped feta cheese in a separate tub.

5. To make the dressing, mix all three ingredients together and pour into the silver dish that slots into the top of the jar.

It couldn't be simpler! It's a really filling salad for a work lunch - the salty feta cheese and spicy harissa work perfectly together. As always, I'd love to know if you make it so please do tweet me.


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Exploring the UK: how to spend 24 hours in Bristol


Last weekend I travelled down to Bristol with four of my favourite people for a weekend of laughs, food and lots of gin. It was such a lovely weekend and I'm suffering from major blues having to come back to real life. Bristol is such a fun, vibrant and great city that I thought I'd put together a little guide to make the most of 24 hours in the city



Where to eat
Bristol is home to an incredible food scene and I wished we fitted in more meals. We started our Saturday with a bang with brunch at Porto Lounge.  Located in the Fishponds area of the city, it overlooks Victoria Park. Looking to fuel up for the day I opted for the Vegetarian breakfast, but judging by noises of appreciation, the pancakes were an excellent shout. Piled high on the plate was a courgette and sweetcorn fritter, crispy hash browns, juicy baked beans, sweet slow-roasted tomatoes, sautรฉed button mushrooms, wood-roasted peppers, fried egg, spinach and a slice of wholemeal toast. A beauty of a breakfast and one that went down very well indeed!


For dinner we plumped for for a bite to eat at pizza and cider specialists Stable in Harbourside. I've been to the branch in London so was pretty excited to see how the two compared. It's a fantastic place to go with a group of friends as you simply wander up to the bar to order your pizza and drink - no headache of spilting the bill! The pizzas as predicted were absolutely delicious thanks to the thin crispy base and generous toppings. As a massive fan of Caribbean food, I decided to go for the special of Jerk chicken. Spicy, tender chicken, salty bacon and a combination of red onion and fresh spring onions was topped gooey mozzarella cheese on a tomato sauce base. It had a great kick to it and I was pretty sad when it was demolished.



Where to drink
We started our night with a couple of cocktails at The Milk Thistle. Hidden away in a old building and accessible only by an intercom, this classy, old-fashioned bar has a cocktail menu to die for. It felt like we had stepped back in time and set up shop in someone's living room. The staff were fab and we put the world to rights in front of a stuffed badger wearing sunglasses. As you do. I'd fully recommend booking a table here to kick off your night.

We ventured towards Harbourside and further into town to a bar called Kongs. With an industrial vibe, this bar boasts retro arcade machines, a ping pong table and table football. The perfect place to hang out with a couple of gin and tonics while laughing with friends. It had a really diverse crowd and was somewhere I could imagine spending the night. But we had a club beckoning us so we only stayed for a couple.

Like I mentioned, in a bid to hang onto our fast disappearing youth we decided to hit the town hard and ended up at Pryzm, a stones throw away from the Habourside. Full to the brim of stag and hen dos, I haven't been to a club like this for years. But it was so much fun! With seven themed rooms, five bars and two clubs, it was absolute massive but we spent our time in the cheese room dancing to the likes of Five and Spice Girls. The floor was sticky, only plastic glasses were allowed and I lost count at the amount of people who trod on my feet. But it was so good to dance until 4am with my favourite girls and really let our hair down. I was feeling pretty smug at stumbling in my friends house at 4.45am but was soon feeling very sorry for myself on the train home.



What to do
Bristol is a great place to just wander aimlessly, soaking up the quirky streets. I would definitely recommend a self-guided Banksy walking tour. We managed to spot his most recent street art above - the girl in the pearl earring. I know people have mixed views on street art but it's something I really enjoy seeing. It's just a shame some people have tried to devalue a few pieces by chucking paint over them. A walk along the harbour is also a fab way to whittle away a few hours. For only 90p you can get a short boat journey across the harbour to S.S Britain. If shopping is your jam, head to the undercover Cabot Circus for an incredible selection of shops, restaurants and bars. We actually hid out in the crazy golf to hide from the rain!

This is my second visit to Bristol and each time I visit I fall in love a little bit more. I'm very grateful for having a friend there and will try not to leave it so long before I visit next!


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A Essex based lifestyle blogger who lives a champagne life on a lemonade purse!

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sophie.warner89@yahoo.co.uk.

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