a bit of sour in the sweet

so let me start by saying that i am not a cooking person. in any way, shape or form. my unlimited number of cooking disasters are enough to write a book, but instead i decided to write a post. but, recently i have discovered quite a miracle, perfectly  illustrated and written for my-non-cooking-self to understand, The Hummingbird Bakery. my usual consecutive trend was broken when i made the soft squared brownie, proud of my rare accomplishment, i then tried the blondies - white chocolate brownies, a personal favourite. once all the chocolate had been melted, stirred and cooked, i searched the book for something different, and i came upon this lovely lemon bars recipe, being quite fond of sourness, i decided it was time for a change, and a less-chocolate one. 

the wonderful book i recommend to all

lovely little lemon bars, perfect with tea.

...waited so long for summer

this past week, i have been clearing out my jumpers and woolly tights, making space for summer shorts and light blouses, thanking the sun for making an appearance. with temperatures in the 20s, my friends and i all knew that this weather could not be wasted, as a rare occasion it was, considering we live in England. so the day started with some-what a tiring start at the gym, making sure that the chocolate we would consume afterwards would be guilt-free. what i personally admire at the gym is the TV's attached to the equipment, i mean, the gym was invented too make our generation less lazy and healthier, and somehow they have mixed what made us so inactive blended with this century's exercise. after this some what healthy start, we made our way to the park to eat our way back to the gym, with bagels, waffles, chocolate and the occasional apple, it certainly lifted our moods. next we wondered around aimlessly, trying hard to take urban pictures, climbing a thousand flight of stairs to reach the top of a car park where we have the nicest view on our town, possible. things got thrilling when we decided to take a daring picture by the edge of the wall, with the whole of about 10 meters (i'm guessing, i actually have no idea but it definitely felt that high) underneath of us, trying so hard not to fall we certainly did something different and surprising amusing. once we bought our milkshakes, we had the brilliant idea to walk alongside the river, feeding the ducks and trying ever so hard to skim pebbles, miserably. 

overall, the day definitely involved burning calories but also laughter and some moments of fear.

 kimiya eating her ice cream

kimiya and vicky 

kimiya - cardigan, forever 21 - blouse, H&M - skirt, zara - brogues, monsoon

vicky - jumpsuit, jack wills - jacket, H&M - shoes,pink converses 

the neccessities in the bag...

during a long car ride, i was looking through my bag, for a source of entertainment, to find receipts from Christmas presents and last years Bikini. so i thought i would clear out my bag and decide what is necessary, and what weighs me down. quickly finding out that there were so many pointless things in my bag, empty gum packets and pen lids without pens. amused by my own handbag, i got a bit carried away throwing things away, unaware of gift receipts and the clothes they could of bought me.  

what is in my bag:

As i went shopping today, i updated my company issue for the teen vogue ( espically because the teen vogue was a Hunger Games Special and i have a slight interest in the Kardashian-Jenner family).

There is also my favourite perfume currently - Balenciaga.

14,000 things to be happy about, it always make me smile and when i first got it i couldn't put it down.

A gameboy

Nail polish - L'oreal, it is the new pink.

A random button. 

 reading glasses, that i thankfully found in my bag.

sunglasses, even though i live in england - RayBan.

A Picture of me and my best friends at Abercrombie, it makes me happy.

My purse from Texas.

Brick phone.

YSL make up, in case a spot decides to make an appearance with my JW brush.

Purple ipod and oversized headphones.

A list, one that i made with my bestfriend to complete in 2012 and another one i made with a friend of things i should complete in a lifetime.

Camera case

Clutch that goes in my bag, that usually holds my camera, so i can easily get it.

never too old for a milkshake or two...

 With it being our friend’s birthday, we all went to an-all-American restaurant, Gourmet Burger. Apart from the fact that the chips didn't come with the burger, we had a lovely night. generally being an annoyance to the rest of the restaurant, forever wanting more Oreo milkshakes and erupting in laughter every so often. everyone got dressed up, the little black dress made its appearance along with skirts and heels, it was all very exacting, spending 5 days out of 7 in the same school uniform, it was nice to see everyone’s different styles. once we all remembered who ordered which burger, we piled on the sauces and shared out the over-priced chips. the restaurant, literally took us back into time, with little pots of metal containing the salt and pepper, surrounded by brick walls and wooden tables, personally loving the vintage feel. then the candles got blown out and the laughter softened, we made our way up the great British high street.

we were rather excited by the salted peanuts

kimiya's outfit.

vicky's outfit

the amazing burger and fries.

vicky's first milkshake.

Vicky's outfit- blouse & jeans - sandro, necklace - anthropologie, shoes - andre.

Kimiya's outfit - blouse, H&M - denim jacket, Pull & Bear - polka dot skirt, Forever 21 - shoes, Monsoon - Necklace, Forever 21.

my little mill in the snow.

every holiday is the same for me, an 11 hour car journey to the middle of France, where i visit my family. in the summer, the weather is too hot, so i spend my days by the lake but in the winter, everything is perfectly white, covering any holes in the ground. my house is a mill, surrounded by hundreds of acres , in the summer they are occupied by cows and horses but in winter everything is so peaceful. waking up and walking to my grandma's, making cakes and waffles, looking after my rabbit, then starting a fire when the heating doesn't work in the evening. i change, everything changes. i am definitely not the same person over there, i'm calmer, calories have no meaning, loneliness has no existence. on the other hand, everyone knows everything about you and your family, the closest clothes shop is about half an hour away, internet is unheard of and a meal shorter then 2 hours is rare.

my little house under the snow.

casual outside shower.

my two small homes, filled with so much laughter.

me walking on my frozen swimming pool (not your traditional kind).

me looking like a chipmunk, ready to ski.

a day in Paris is a day like no other

on my way home from the snow, we felt it necessary for a quick stop in the the forever fashionable city called Paris. admiring the Eiffel tower and walking down Rue Saint-Honore, wishing to buy bags from Chanel and shoess form Louboutin i came across a lovely little boutique shop called Biscote.my favourite shop at the moment is without a doubt, Sandro but with dresses at £200, it isn't where i do my daily shopping but affordable is what attracted me to enter the perfectly designed Biscote shop, but quickly realising how identical they bags looked from the over-priced runway bags. hesitating for what seemed like a day, i went for the look-a-like Celine bag, with tassels to show the difference. ridiculously proud of my bag, the rest of the day involved eating macaroons at Laduree and wondering why my house didn't have a view on the beautiful city.

i'm not saying they are identical but this is as close as it gets for me to own anything similar to a Celine bag. 

 this season, orange/coral is now my obsession. 

this is the Biscote collection.

the view i had from my room on Paris. 

Biscote bag - £49

wondering why i don't own a celine bag...

I would just like to admire Céline bags and wonder why i don't own one. The detailed stitching, attaching each smooth leather piece together. The perfect mixture of black, brown and beige, perfectly finishing off an outfit, yet unfortunately not mine. I have for many years, wondered why there isn't a designer bag in my wardrobe, recently my obsession has switched from the Marc by Marc Jacobs collection to this Particular bag. Personally, i think this bag, will forever be an iconic item in fashion such as the Hermes Birkin Bag - which is also a must have, but that is on a complete different scale of wishes (and prices sadly), and in twenty years it will still be in fashion, because can it not be?

If only I owned this, life would be a better place.

once there was a teapot...

For my birthday (Vicky) my unique best friends got me a teapot and a mug. My new tradition is now everyday i go home and have Herbal Tea in my teapot, make a Tea for my Mum and one for me. Both the Teapot and the Mug, are labelled just in case i got confused. I officially named my Teapot Tempest, because for me Tea has the power to over-come anything, and make things better for just a little bit ( plus it has very little calories).

On the left, Tempest the Teapot and on the right my lovely labelled Mug.