Bye Bye Curls

I have always said that I was born with 'bad-hair genes.' Curly, unruly, frizzy and totally annoying. When I was growing up my Mum would rake through my hair with watermelon spray and a wide-toothed comb. With an Italian background it was really no surprise that I came out with what looks to be in pictures, a wig on my head.

When I was young I used to hear: 'It will grow out;' 'The curls were drop.' Liars, I used to think, and it turns out, I was right. When I hit 16 the frustration of never being able to do anything with my unruly curls reached fever-pitch. I longed for the sleek, straight hair that every other bloody person in my class seemed to have.

So I did a little research. I would do anything to get results and I stumbled across Yuko. Yuko is a Japanese permanent straightening system which promises to ditch the frizz and the curls. And let me tell you, it works just a treat.

Four years ago I decided to take the risk and bite the bullet. The decision was one of the best of my life and I have returned every year for a touch-up when my curls grow out from the root. Every time I leave I am surprised at the quality and how brilliantly the treatment works on my locks.

Now remember, getting a cowboy to perform this treatment on your hair is a major mistake. So do your research. But trust me, if you're looking for a hair-changing treatment, make Yuko your friend.

Biscuiteer Anyone?

Just last week I came home to a little surprise from one of the loveliest people in my world:



These beautifully decorated biscuits were brilliantly made by the people that you will find here: http://www.biscuiteers.com/ They say that you should 'say it with icing' and that's exactly what my friend did after I'd been poorly for a quite a while.

Each individual biscuit is perfectly made and iced into an individual item. My 'get well' kit included miniature slippers, a thermometer and plaster. And just as my friend said 'it's certainly better than the real scary medical things.' That I know to be true.

I just can't imagine a better gift to come home to, it put quite a smile on my face and when I tucked into them last night, the smile got bigger. They not only look beautiful, but taste gorgeous too. The icing is to-die for and the biscuit? Oh so perfect.

So thank you to my great friend and to the wonderful people at Biscuiteers who came up with such a brilliant and innovative idea. Their designs are endless and they even create personalised biscuits for the likes of you and me.

Give them a little glance, I'm sure you will be whipping out your credit card and putting it through their online checkout soon.

I'm off to eat a slipper. 

Because I Deserve It

Sometimes in life, you just fancy a little (well, not quite so little) treat. You feel that you have been good enough to award yourself with some of your hard earned (come on, come on) cash which is, just sitting in your bank account.

Well that was exactly the kind of mood that I was in today -

I just deserved it

And so, I treated myself to this little maxi:

At £100 this certainly isn't the cheapest in Warehouse's range - but it certainly is the best. This Magnolia Print Maxi Dress fits like a dream with a metal ring around the neck - it falls over everything which you want it to fall over and is the perfect length, colour and material for a warm summer night.

It truly is a treat to wear, how can you not adore this beauty? Well I certainly couldn't and it is now hanging in my closet waiting for its first outing.

Chef's Picnic

Now when I do a picnic, I do it up good. I'm not talking sarnies, sausage rolls and quavers, no, no, no, no. It's more of a luxury salad, stuffed artichoke kind of affair. I do them, how they should be done:



Now that is what you call picnic food. I'm talking potato wedge and green bean salad with a vinaigrette dressing, pea and various parmesan rice cakes, fruit skewers, lemon and herb drumsticks, greeen chilli and walnut salad with white beans. melon and cucumber salad and a fajita assortment.

Don't be jealous, you may get an invite next time. But be sure to like this kinda food because in my house, that's just how we roll.

Windsor Wedding Fever

Don't know if you heard, but there's a little wedding come up. Two people called Wills and Kate? The mind boggles.

So in celebration, I took myself to Windsor to see just what all the fuss was about.

Here is what I got up to:



For top ice cream visit Mauds and for a top lunch, head to the Two Brewers - located at the top of the Long Walk - adjacent to the castle gates.

Scared of the Sun with THESE Legs

When the sun came out last week everybody rejoiced, I swear I heard a little delight across the whole of the UK as people ditched the bus and decided to walk instead to work, and finally dug out those last year sandals which we didn't expect to have to use for another couple of months.

But somewhere inside, I felt a little dread and a lot of worry. I was certianly nowhere near summer ready. I was as white as a ghost, nails not quite the perfect colour and winter clothes still being worn. So, I figured, if I was ever going to brace the UK's pavements again, I had better get prepared and get myself ready.

TASK 1: TAN
I'm not much of a sunbed user, I've heard the horror stories and to be honest they have stuck. As for fake-tan I swear I am the only person in the world who it doesn't work on. Think ridiculously dark and streaky and you're thinking about me when I give it a go. So instead, I popped along to trusty Boots and gave this a whirl:

This is St. Tropez's gradual mousse tanner. It slides on like a little dream and a little goes a long way. It gives you that kind of summer-kissed look, not the I've-just-come-home-from-the-sun look which we all want to keep away from.

TASK 2: NAILS
I am a slight nail-obsesser, I'm talking, probably paint them about three times a week. My nail polish collection is utterly ridiculous and I probably haven't seen my bare nails in about 5 years. So when the sun put its hat on it was time for some summer colour baby! This is what I'm talking about:

Yes, I'm talking block orange and bring purple, from my best nail friend, Barry M.

TASK 3: SUMMER CLOTHING
My summer sandals from last year were looking well past their sell-by date and so I thought, there really is no better excuse, to visit the beloved Topshop.

LONG MAY THE SUN SHINE.

Mama's BBQ

If there's one thing my Mum does well, it's a BBQ. It is big, it is huge, it is yummy. We're not just talking sausages and burgers, on no my friend, the list is endless. Olives, 5 types of cheeses, a variety of sausages, marinated chickens, homemade italian bread, raspberry and stilton salads...the food just keeps coming and coming. So when the sun shone on the weekend, I knew for certain that dinner was going to be a big event - and I was right:

Are You Freakin' Kidding Me?

Just last week I popped along to the Docs in hope of a few answers. I was praying for an easy and quick response, you know the kind, 'eat more cake and the symptoms will just go.' No? Never heard that before? Our Doctors need retraining.

Anyway, I had a few things on my mind that I was certainly not hoping for, with one of them being, a wheat intolerance. 'Please God,' I thought, 'do not let them tell me I have to give up all things wheat.'

After a lot of deliberation on his and my part he came to a conclusion:

'I think you have an intolerance to chocolate.'

'Are you freakin' kidding me?'

'No.'

Oh-my-God. Does that even exist? I thought not, apparently it does. Whenever people tell me they are giving up chocolate for lent I give the usual response: 'why the hell would you do that? Freak.' Usually, they do not have a good enough answer that satisfies my questioning.

So I have now gone 12 days without chocolate. I have joined the weird-band of people who give up chocolate, although, mine is certainly not for fun. Yes, that's right, 12 days. For a person that usually would kill for something like this...

(Eaten 3 days before the bad news)

... it has proved, well, pretty difficult. Now I am not quite at the sweating and shaking stage, but when I bypassed a chocolate torte this afternoon, I was nearly at breaking point.

Wish me luck.

*Screams into pillow*



The Most Perfect Italian Pesto and Pumps

The majority of the time, when it comes to cooking I am, as my friends say a 'precision cooker.' That means that I measure, I weigh, I certainly do not estimate.

This is probably a transferal from my super-organized, pain-in-the-ass, have to be on time and everything looking perfect life. Yep that's right, I'm an organised super-freak and dare I say it, am slightly proud of it. It has always served me well. I am certainly never late, I plan everything down to the last detail and in my years I have not once missed so much as a train, plane or bus.

But when it comes to some foods I just throw this all out the window and throw caution to the wind. My Mum is always telling me to 'take a few more risks', 'go on, have a risky, naughty day' she says.

Now I haven't quite gotten that far yet. She advises that one day I leave the house slightly later in the morning, or perhaps one day, pull a fake sickie. But I can proudly say that when it comes to making pesto, I pull it all out of the bag. (Small steps people!)

With some foods, measuring and weighing is just not needed, sometimes it is just better to go with your gut, no not the rumblings, but rather what it is telling you. Too salty? Too spicy? Then fix it in a matter of seconds.

When it comes to my pesto, this is the mantra I like to stick to and so I am passing it over to you. Give it a go.

You simply require a basil plant, olive oil, garlic, and pine nuts. Throw it in a food processor how you see fit and give it a taste. It's pretty liberating. Enjoy.

Meanwhile, I have been searching for the perfect ballet pump for absolute yonks. I wasn't looking to spend a fortune because I like a few colours but wanted them to be, well, just right you know? And I finally found them:

Topshop

Perfect for running around in. 

The Easiest Lemon Chicken in the Book

Ingredients:

1 whole free-range chicken

2 lemons halved

Handful of fresh sage, parsley, tarragon

2 whole garlic cloves peeled

Olive oil

How to go about it:

1. Cut up the whole chicken into sections. Place in oven tray.

2. Drizzle over olive oil - don't go easy.

3. Put all of the herbs in and mix around.

4. Place in the lemons, halved.

5. Pop in the garlic cloves.

6. Swirl it around.

7. Pop in oven at 220, for around 50 minutes or until ready.

So that's it folks, it really is that easy and according to my meat-eating family it tastes utterly gorgeous, much like a spit-roast.

In other news, aren't you loving the sun? I went out today in jeans and just a floaty long top. That's right, not a coat, or scarf in sight. I felt completely liberated after our long, hard winter.

Enjoy your chicken.