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| My beautiful bouquet of Roses |
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| Coconut juice...done the right way |
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| Blue nails! Courtesy of Essie (Mint Candy Apple) |
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| Impromptu family tea party |
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| Feeding my growing obsession for interior design and tumblr simultaneously |
Monday
Five Things
Thursday
The Good Girls Drug
I started getting into blogs about a year ago.
I realised blogs gave a much more refreshing experience to browse the internet and find all sorts of write-ups from recipes to lifestyle tips, and all from people you can relate to.
Plus, once you find one you start to read regularly, the rest follow suit.
The Good Girls Drug is a blog written by my best friend, N and its one of those reads that never fails to make me smile by the end of her humourous posts. The blog was originally started as a way to unwind for the author, and I find that the readers can also easily associate with what she has to say.
You can check it out here.
If you would like to take a look at some of the others that I follow, head to my Blogroll.
I realised blogs gave a much more refreshing experience to browse the internet and find all sorts of write-ups from recipes to lifestyle tips, and all from people you can relate to.
Plus, once you find one you start to read regularly, the rest follow suit.
The Good Girls Drug is a blog written by my best friend, N and its one of those reads that never fails to make me smile by the end of her humourous posts. The blog was originally started as a way to unwind for the author, and I find that the readers can also easily associate with what she has to say.
You can check it out here.
If you would like to take a look at some of the others that I follow, head to my Blogroll.
Say it with Song
I received a very special gift yesterday. A three-volume mixtape, and I love every single track on it.
And it isn't just a bunch of songs jumbled together, they've been carefully divided according to different tempos and themes.
There's just something incredibly romantic about the notion of someone searching through their music library to pick out songs that make them think of you. Call me cheesy, but I'm going to keep these forever...
Monday
Top Banana
Ladies and Gentleman, I present you with a delicious recipe to the ol' classic Banana Bread.
This is an easy little loaf cake you can whip up in five minutes, pop in the oven and tuck into with a steaming pot of aromatic ceylon tea (or any other tea for that matter!)
All you need is:
4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (use Demerara sugar for a slightly healthier alternative)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour
...and your best Chef's apron
(N.B. No need for a mixer for this recipe)
Begin by preheating your oven to 175ºC.
Grab a large mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon, start by combining your butter with the mashed bananas. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla, then sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in. Add the flour last.
If you are a fan of nuts, fold in some chopped walnuts at this point.
And hey presto, you're just in time for afternoon tea!
This is an easy little loaf cake you can whip up in five minutes, pop in the oven and tuck into with a steaming pot of aromatic ceylon tea (or any other tea for that matter!)
4 ripe bananas
1/3 cup melted butter
1 cup sugar (use Demerara sugar for a slightly healthier alternative)
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
pinch of salt
1 1/2 cups flour
...and your best Chef's apron
(N.B. No need for a mixer for this recipe)
Begin by preheating your oven to 175ºC.
Grab a large mixing bowl, with a wooden spoon, start by combining your butter with the mashed bananas. Mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla, then sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and stir in. Add the flour last.
Finally pour the mixture into a buttered loaf pan. Bake for one hour.
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| Banana Bread |
Parisian Princess
Academy Award winning actress, political activist and mother of one; French belle - Marion Cotillard has a multitude of titles to her name. Although she is most famous for starring as Édith Piaf in the award winning La Vie en Rose, she first caught my eye in Christopher Nolan's Inception.
In my opinion, she is a bonafide beauty queen.
With her Belluci-esque charm and elegance, she recently reignited my infatuation for her in the latest blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises, where she stole the spotlight from Catwoman - Anne Hathaway.
Here is the enchantress herself, gracing the cover of Vogue's Age Issue
In my opinion, she is a bonafide beauty queen.
With her Belluci-esque charm and elegance, she recently reignited my infatuation for her in the latest blockbuster The Dark Knight Rises, where she stole the spotlight from Catwoman - Anne Hathaway.
Here is the enchantress herself, gracing the cover of Vogue's Age Issue
Tuesday
A Little Less Conversation, a Little More Action Please
For most, it may seem like a peculiar time to be looking forward to fresh starts - as that kind of thinking is usually reserved for the gregorian calendar's new year, January 1st. However, with the whirlwind arrival and departure of Ramadan, the holy month in the Islamic calendar (for those who don't know), it really gets a person thinking as to how one can perform to their maximum potential, in all aspects of everyday life.
I'm a to-do list kinda gal, and without fail, twice a year I sit down and formulate all my thoughts and goals into my journal. Eagerly scribbling down one after the other, they range from the classic 'must go to the gym 3 x a week' to the broader 'spend more time with my loved ones'. Of course having all these wonderful objectives on a piece of paper is easy peasy, but reaching those targets can get somewhat tricky when we lose sight of them on a day-to-day basis.
As a result, more than halfway through the year, you wake up and realise - wow, I've hardly gotten anything done *insert quivering*. So, I suggest, in moments like these, rather than dwell on the fact that you haven't gone as far as you had imagined in achieving what your heart desires, use it as a source of motivation to put your words to action and re-energise yourself. If you find those goals too scary for the time frame you had in mind, adapt them a tiny bit, there's no danger in modifying them. This way its likely you'll stick to it, rather than cross it out altogether.
During exam season, when panic would take over me for the declining amount of time I had left to study, my best friend N would calm me down with her wise advice, saying 'you can get anything done as long as you put your mind to it'. And she sure was right, as the proof was in the pudding (in this case - my exam results)!
I'm a to-do list kinda gal, and without fail, twice a year I sit down and formulate all my thoughts and goals into my journal. Eagerly scribbling down one after the other, they range from the classic 'must go to the gym 3 x a week' to the broader 'spend more time with my loved ones'. Of course having all these wonderful objectives on a piece of paper is easy peasy, but reaching those targets can get somewhat tricky when we lose sight of them on a day-to-day basis.
As a result, more than halfway through the year, you wake up and realise - wow, I've hardly gotten anything done *insert quivering*. So, I suggest, in moments like these, rather than dwell on the fact that you haven't gone as far as you had imagined in achieving what your heart desires, use it as a source of motivation to put your words to action and re-energise yourself. If you find those goals too scary for the time frame you had in mind, adapt them a tiny bit, there's no danger in modifying them. This way its likely you'll stick to it, rather than cross it out altogether.
During exam season, when panic would take over me for the declining amount of time I had left to study, my best friend N would calm me down with her wise advice, saying 'you can get anything done as long as you put your mind to it'. And she sure was right, as the proof was in the pudding (in this case - my exam results)!
"The best way out is always through - Robert Frost"
Saturday
Homemade Croissants
“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” - Virginia Woolf
Personally, I always preferred baking to cooking ever since I was little. It all began when I joined cookery club in Primary school and we would bake all sorts of sweet little treats every week, only to take them home to gobble down in a matter of minutes. That's not to say I have baking skills to rival Nigella Lawson but I do get a thrill out of making something delicious from scratch.
Now since I've been in Baku-my hometown, for summer holidays, I've been having cravings for authentic French croissants.
Regrettably I still haven't managed to find a decent viennoiserie to satisfy my doughy desire. After some trial and error, and a disastrous first attempt that ended up with dough as tough as nails, I found this gem of a recipe (that even includes supportive youtube tutorials). (N.B. A tip before you eagerly begin making your treats - the amount of work you actually need to do isn't too long, but you need to make these over at least two days due to the amount of chilling time the dough needs, so plan in advance!)
Ms. Sandra's recipe proved to be a success and I ended up making a dozen buttery, flaky croissants.
The recipe is for plain pastries but I added some ham & cheese, and grated some chocolate right before rolling them into shape. Enjoy!
Personally, I always preferred baking to cooking ever since I was little. It all began when I joined cookery club in Primary school and we would bake all sorts of sweet little treats every week, only to take them home to gobble down in a matter of minutes. That's not to say I have baking skills to rival Nigella Lawson but I do get a thrill out of making something delicious from scratch.
Now since I've been in Baku-my hometown, for summer holidays, I've been having cravings for authentic French croissants.
Regrettably I still haven't managed to find a decent viennoiserie to satisfy my doughy desire. After some trial and error, and a disastrous first attempt that ended up with dough as tough as nails, I found this gem of a recipe (that even includes supportive youtube tutorials). (N.B. A tip before you eagerly begin making your treats - the amount of work you actually need to do isn't too long, but you need to make these over at least two days due to the amount of chilling time the dough needs, so plan in advance!)
Ms. Sandra's recipe proved to be a success and I ended up making a dozen buttery, flaky croissants.
The recipe is for plain pastries but I added some ham & cheese, and grated some chocolate right before rolling them into shape. Enjoy!
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| Homemade pastries |
UPDATE: Baku now has a very authentic viennoiserie, everything in store is baked by a French chef and trust me when I say it is absoluteley delicious, Bakuvians and tourists, if you don't believe me, you can find them here.
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