Neon. Neon?

As you have noticed, I tend to stay away from bright colours. Let alone neon.
And yet somehow, between the beautiful weather and a couple outfits seen on blogs and in shopping vitrines made me crave something in a bright, yellow, neon colour. Me???

When I mentioned this to a friend in a shop, she (probably wisely) suggested it’s time for us to go sit down in a pub for a while, safe from anything in that questionable colour. While she dragged me away, trying to distract me like a child with every possible way (‘help me find sandals!’ ‘oh, look, Body Shop!’), my mind lingered on the thought of neon. Of course, having seen these didn’t make it any easier:

This is the gorgeous Carolina Engman from Fashion Squad, her Fluorescent Messenger Bag from Werelse x Mango, and a neon necklace from H&M that I still can’t find online or in store :(

And this is the ingenious Emily from Cupcakes and Cashmere (great decor, fashion, food and DIY blog), wearing the Sparkle and Fade Urban Outfitters skirt.

Of course, I want the bag, the necklace, and the skirt. But I want to be smart about this. First of all, I will never forgive myself spending this much money on neon. Second of all, I haven’t made up my mind on wether I would actually wear neon fabric or if I should stick to accessories? Like this oh so tempting Anthropologie satchel, maybe?

Frankly, I’m still hoping to find something a little less pricy, because I have a feeling that in a season from now I will look at it and think ‘what an idiot.’ I’m generally trend aware but resist the fashion victim status (look at me trying to talk myself out of it). Maybe I should just find neon nail polish and calm the **** down? (Ahh sweet worries, it’s so good not to have deadlines ;)

I’ll let you know what comes out of it, and you let me know if you hunt that necklace down, deal?

xx

Summer Accessory Treats

These are my latest purchases: sunnies from H&M, bracelet from Forever21 and bangle set from French Connection. Wood and gold seems to be my theme, I realised only later when I saw it all together on my desk.

Lately when shopping all I feel like are the most basic of basics; I buy and wear mostly white tees, jeans, maybe a maxi black skirt, when it’s really warm out. I guess because I want the less possible fuss when I already have the heat to deal with? So to not be too boring to myself clothing wise, I thought I’d invest a little in some accessories that would pull my simple outfits up a little.

Having said that, I have also experienced some neon cravings… This, coming from the person who hates yellow, doesn’t go near orange and is suspicious of bright green and blue… Will see what comes out of it, maybe it’s for the best that I’m off the high streets, safe in my Normandy retreat ;)

xx

Greek salad

Iceberg lettuce, red onion, tomato, feta cheese, black olives, couple drops of lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper

This is the type of thing I’ve been eating in this weather. Refreshing and light, yet filling enough. It’s very simple, but it always makes a table pretty ;)

Off to the park, next post will be from France ;)

xoxo enjoy the sun!

It’s summer today

Not sure how long this will last, but it finally feels like summer in London.
Hence the holiday feel and the silly nail polish colours ;)

The colours here are Blue Moon and Strawberry by BarryM.
I’m off to enjoy some more sunshine!

P.S. I recently had a cooking crisis, where I was unable to make anything edible for a week… Don’t ask… It’s a sad story of many lunches tossed. But I’m recovering, and so far the couple salads I’ve made were delicious – food posts coming soon ;)

Words for Mom 2

Here’s the promised – and belated – second part to the words posted a couple weeks back ;)

aegis |ˈējis|
noun [ in sing. ]
the protection, backing, or support of a particular person or organization: negotiations were conducted under the aegis of the UN.

eschew |esˈCHo͞o|
verb [ with obj. ]
deliberately avoid using; abstain from: he appealed to the crowd to eschew violence.

fraught |frôt|
adjective
1 [ predic. ] (fraught with) (of a situation or course of action) filled with or destined to result in (something undesirable): marketing any new product is fraught with danger.
2 causing or affected by great anxiety or stress: there was a fraught silence | she sounded a bit fraught.

intrinsic |inˈtrinzik, -sik|
adjective
belonging naturally; essential: access to the arts is intrinsic to a high quality of life.

palimpsest |ˈpalimpˌsest|
noun
a manuscript or piece of writing material on which the original writing has been effaced to make room for later writing but of which traces remain.
• something reused or altered but still bearing visible traces of its earlier form: Sutton Place is a palimpsest of the taste of successive owners.

throwback |ˈTHrōˌbak|
noun
a reversion to an earlier ancestral characteristic: the eyes could be an ancestral throwback.
• a person or thing having the characteristics of a former time: a lot of his work is a throwback to the fifties.

Last exam next friday, then I’ll get my life – and my blog – back ;)

xx

Пельмени aka Pel’meni (or Russian Meat Tortellini)

Dough: flour, egg, water, salt
Filling: ground beef, ground pork, onion, salt and pepper
To serve: butter, sour cream 

These go into the ‘comfort food / childhood food’ category for me. Very little ingredients are needed, the preparation time can be a bit lengthy but if you get your friends to join in, the division of labour can really speed things up. Once the dough is ready and meats are mixed, one person can roll little circles out of the dough and another can assemble. You’ll see what I mean, by clicking here for the step-by-step recipe with pictures in Russian, and here for the English version. Now that I’ve made (and eaten) (very fast) my first portion, there’s a lot more rolling and assembling waiting for me in the kitchen. I plan on just making tons of pel’meni and freezing them in batches so that I can have some, fuss free, whenever. MOUHAHAH evil laugh ;)

If you haven’t tasted these before (because you’re supposedly not Russian / Ukrainian / from ex-USSR), chances are you won’t really get it. They are shaped like tortellini but the meat filling makes them rather plain. Give them a try though, maybe with a little spicy tomato sauce? But if you do know what I’m talking about and are yet another Russian(/-ish) starving student living abroad with no pel’meni at proximity, then I’ve most probably made you drool / call your mom / book tickets to go home / or even possibly run to the store to get the ingredients. I’m warning – it’s not hard to make but a little physical (because of the dough) and time consuming. So if you’re tired and hungry, you might just have to eat some pasta and cry ;)

Spinach and feta pie

Pie: Puff pastry, feta, spinach (I used frozen), greek yoghurt, egg, salt and pepper
Tomato sauce: onion, garlic, olive oil, a bit of sugar, a bit of balsamic vinegar, canned tomatoes

I’m quite proud of this pie because I made the recipe up myself. Just preheat the oven to about 200C, then combine feta cheese (crumble it with your fingers), yoghurt, and egg. Defrost the spinach in a little pan, let it cool a bit then combine with the rest, season lightly (remember feta cheese is salty in itself so don’t overdo it). Line a baking sheet with baking paper, and unroll the puff pastry on it. Fold the sides of the pastry in and spread the cheese and spinach mix on it. Bake for about 15-20 min, serve with the tomato sauce, and maybe a little extra yoghurt on the side. Voila! This dish has been successful with my guests so far, and a pie is always impressive – even though it takes about 5 minutes to throw it all together. ;)