Dear Santa ... (#4)

To be fashionable and glamorous even at boring meetings!

Marc Jacobs laptop cases is the answer!

Christmas Feeling

I am finally starting to get into the Christmas feeling...
I wandered around Covent Garden at my lunch break and loved all the Christmas lights and decorations. There is nothing cosier and warmer than a Cath Kidston inspired Christmas!

How are you going to decorate your tree this year? I am thinking vintage and glittery decorations and lots of colourful and dotted candles!

Dear Santa ... (#3)

Dear Santa, I need your help here.
I know this bracelet is something I would like for Christmas, but the problem is: which colour? You decide!

Plumo

I receive many catalogues in the post these days, some I just ignore as they are not at all close to my taste, others I eagerly await for and enjoy flipping through. Today, I have discovered a very cool catalogue and online shop, Plumo. The catalogue is very well done, much more than the website, the photos are superb and I quickly fell in love with the style.

These are just a few of my favourite picks, some of which I hope to own soon!

Mono lace dress, 339 GBP

Chime earrings, 30 GBP

Mica bracelets, 18 GBP each

Cibollo candlesticks, 39 GBP each

Viola flower quilts, 119 GBP each

Dear Santa ... (#2)

Item # 2 on my wish list must be this dreamy cardigan by Orla Kiely.
Much cheaper than the first item, Santa!

Vodka Party

It's Sunday morning and I am blogging. It's a beautiful day, sunny and warm, but I am inside my flat, posting a blog. This means: I am hangover! I don't feel to go out, take a nice, long stroll along the riverside and have a pic-nic at the park, things I would otherwise do on a sunny Sunday morning.

Yesterday night Rob and I hosted a vodka party to get rid of some bottles of vodka Rob took back from his recent trip to Moscow. Every single dish had drops of vodka in it and of course we only drank Screwdriver!

We had a great night, the food was amazing and the vodka at some point started going down like water!

As some of our guests asked for the recipes, I thought to share them here in case you are interested as well (all recipes for 2-3 people):

*Scallops with vodka and lemon juice*

1 pound of scallops

1 tbs of olive oil + 1 teaspoon

2/3 cup of vodka

1 tbs lemon juice

1 teaspoon of lemon zest

Rub the scallops with a teaspoon of olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat the remaining oil in a pan. Add the scallops and cook on each side until golden brown. Add vodka, lemon juice, lemon zest and stir.

I served these with white rice and boiled peas.

*Drunken Shrimps*

3 tbs of soy sauce

2 garlic cloves sliced

2 red chillies

2 tbs of lemon juice

olive oil

12 jumbo shrimps

1 lemongrass stalk

1/4 cup of vodka

Place soy sauce, garlic, chillies, lemon juice and olive oil in a pan. Add shrimps and lemongrass and stir. Marinate for ten minutes. Heat the pan with the mixture and cook for 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and add vodka, return to the heat and cook for 1 minute.

I served them with bread but they would be lovely with brown rice.

*Vodka and Salmon Penne*

350g of penne pasta

50g butter

1 big slice of smoked salmon (cut in little pieces)

1 cup of double cream

2 tbs of tomato salsa

1 shot glass of vodka

1 tbs of fresh parsley

Melt the butter in a pan. Add salmon, tomato salsa and parsley. Stir and add the double cream and vodka. Cook the penne aside and once ready mix to the condiment.

*Dark Chocolate, Almond and Vodka Cake*

170g butter (melted)

50g almonds (grounded)

lemon zest

170g plain flour

150g dark chocolate

1 tbs of yeast/baking powder

100g sugar

5 eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla essence

Preheat oven, 180C. Melt the chocolate in a small pot (I used 70% dark chocolate). Pour the chocolate in a bowl and add sugar and butter and mix well. Add eggs, flour and almonds, vanilla essence and lemon zest. Mix and Add vodka and yeast. Mix it all and pour it into a baking tin ( I used a small, round one). Wait for 10 mins and then put it into the oven and cook for 50 minutes.

*Screwdriver*

450g Vodka

1050g orange juice

Mix vodka and orange juice together. Add ice.

Enjoy!

Dear Santa... (#1)

Eight weeks between now and Christmas and I am dreaming about my gifts...However, gifts are never as good as we would like, isn't that right? We wait so long to finally un-wrap all those gifts under the tree and out of ten we are lucky if we like two.

So, how about posting what we like on line? Let's make it clear! Let's give some hints! Then they can't say they didn't know!

Dear Santa, this is what I love. Every week I will post an item I like, take note!

#1 is the beautiful Neely bag by Mulberry. It's a big gift (£650), I know, but I have been good this year!