It's National Cupcake Week!

Nomnomnom, I've had about 3 already today (diet out of the window - bad girl!)

These gorgeous cupcakes come from The Little Cake Parlour in Shawlands, Glasgow. They offer a wonderful selection of cakes and can even design to your requirements. Check out their website here.

Think it might be time for me to try my hand at baking my own cupcakes so any tips on buying in supplies or best baking methods then please do let me know in the comments :)

x

Festival In The Sky ... photos!

It was over a month ago I dined 100 feet in the air and really can't believe I have taken so long to share the finer details with you. It's been a hectic Summer to say the least.

So one drizzly Saturday back in August, the other half and I went on a little jolly through to Edinburgh to take in the sights of the Festival and unleash the daredevil within by taking part in Festival in the Sky.

Festival in the sky is the 100ft dining experience that some of you may have watched on this years Big Brother and for the period of the Edinburgh Festival it graced West Princes Street Gardens available for any brave foodies to take on!

I was lucky to get quite a special 'flight' on the crane as it was a 45 minute session with Hotel Du Vin chef Matt Powell (who spookily resembles Heston Blumenthal). Before the flight took off we were given a safety chat then we were shown to our seat and strapped in securely. Fortunately the sun split from the skies by the time we were seated and ready to go - perfect weather conditions.

As we took off, I was surprised at how smooth lift off was and how quickly we reached our 100ft limit. We already had a plate of food in front us but we weren't allowed to uncover it until we had reached the sky. In the centre of the table Matt Powell and another chef (can't remember his name for the life of me but he was a lovely man) prepared the main dish and chatted to us about what he was doing. We were also joined on the flight by our host Ben who was there to keep us amused with facts about Edinburgh and make sure our (plastic) glasses were overflowing with Cava :)

Our starter dish was a smoked salmon salad with a selection of cheeses, pate and chutney. It looks delicious, it tasted delicious. Matt then went onto prepare a pork sausage salad which again was very tasty. Despite the good food, nothing took away from the gorgeous views of Edinburgh Castle and the rest of the city.

Before I knew it our 45 minutes had ended and we were on our way back down, satisfyingly full and a little bit tipsy on Cava ... so obviously that called for obligatory post flight cocktails at nearby Tigerlilly.

Festival in the sky was a great experience, much less scary than i had imagined and double the fun.

x

Vintage Vegas

Last week marked my good friend Lorraine's 30th Birthday and for the occasion she held a Vintage Vegas themed birthday party.

The Vegas theme is something we are no stranger to ... Vegas comes in the form of a club night up here in Scotland, mostly taking place in Glasgow and Edinburgh. It's not your usual club night with swing hits from days gone by, Vegas girls dancing on stage and alongside the revellers as well as a mini casino. It has also been known to play host to many burlesque acts. It's such a fun and unique night out, it was no surprise that Lorraine chose a similar theme for her party.

We bought Lorraine a very special cake and cupcakes for her birthday, all Vegas themed of course ... FYI, they were delicious!
Being Vintage Vegas themed, this meant we all got the chance to dress up, we had Vegas girls, flapper girls, Elvis, Dean Martin, Gangsters and even a cowboy ... from outta town obv!?
I wore a short black sequinned dress with suspender tights by Henry Holland with lots of pearls and a fascinator.... unfortunately the only photos taken of me were from behind so nothing to show and tell i'm afraid other than my attempt at vegas nail art ...

Sorry for the blurry photos ... I did want each nail to look like a playing card but painting on these shapes were hard enough although i did try it out on my thumb. As usual, i used a kebab stick to paint on the shapes and a tooth pick for more delicate characters.

Oh and here is one of the only photos of me from the night, yes it was from behind but it's rather fitting for me ...

... re-applying the slap! Beauty bloggers are never off duty! ;)

x

Ombre Hair

Ombre hair, it's everywhere at the moment.

Ombre hair is when the ends of your hair graduate to another colour, usually lighter and blonder ... almost like you have let your roots take over your head.

This hair trend seems to come and go every few seasons but it's one easily done at home as a DIY job and also relatively easy to change once you are bored of it.

I don't see many redheads sporting this trend, it's usually blondes or brunettes that seem to look best with it. But guess what? This redhead is going to give it a go!

I don't usually go for the trendiest of trends, I like to pride myself in remaining a l'il bit different but this is something I can't resist. I am booking in this week hopefully as I am just too scared to do on my own although it sounds easy enough. I am the type to get too slap happy with the peroxide and will end up bleaching my whole head so I am putting my trust in my hair fairy instead :)

Stay tuned for the results, fingers crossed I love it!

x

Matching my cuticles with my cuffs

I was asked twice this week if my nail colour was the infamous Particuliere by Chanel but in fact it was a far humbler and much less expensive dupe in the form of Barry M's Mushroom.

I initially dismissed this colour thinking it was too similar to Eyeko's posh polish but Barry Ms version is slighty darker and is almost like for like with Chanel Particuliere. Can't help feeling smug about that one ;)

Anyway, here it is as I wore it this week ... shoddily applied, yes, but notice how it's a perfect match for my favourite leather jacket? And the choice wasn't even deliberate, I only noticed while I sat waiting on my train to work. Neat.

This has been on nearly a full week and has only just started to chip ... and remember I have no dishwasher and don't wear rubber gloves so that's a mean feat to hold up with being dunked in and out of water every night.

I think Barry M polishes are around the £3-4 mark and I do believe they are on 3 for 2 at Superdrug at the moment ... so get your hands on it - it's a winner!

x

Show Orchid

I am loving bright lipsticks at the moment but often find them hard to wear and your lips need to be in tip top shape to carry them off.

A while ago I raved on twitter about my new favourite pink lipstick and finally I am getting round to showing you all what it is.

I present to you Estee Lauder Pure Colour Gloss Stick in Show Orchid.

The pure colour glosses are a relatively new addition to Estee Lauder lip range and this particular shade comes as part of the gorgeous Blue Dahlia collection which I previously blogged about here and here and here.

Show Orchid is a gorgeous blue based bright pink which looks iridescent in it's tube. The point of the pure colour gloss lipstick is that it's basically a lipstick and gloss in one go. It gives a sleek, smooth, high shine finish without the gloopiness of a lipgloss. When applied this lipstick literally feels like it is melting onto your lips and feels super moisturising which is helpful for keeping lips in lovely condition to show off the gorgeous colour.

The formula contains Prismatic pearls add multi-dimensional volume and amplified light reflection which helps create a fuller looking lip. Always a win in my eyes.For being a bright lipstick, it's not overpowering and is surprisingly easy to pull off without being too 'in your face'. The glum photo above doesn't do justice to it's vibrance or colour but you can see the lovely glossy pigmented lip it creates.

Has anyone else tried this range yet? What brights are you lusting after?

x

Can a leopard change its spots?

I have always been partial to a bit of leopard print although I try to avoid the Bet Lynch/Pat Butcher look - however hard that can be.

Leopard print can be difficult to wear and I certainly don't recomend wearing a lot of it at once. I prefer my animal print to be in the form of a statement piece ... a scarf, a bag, shoes, maybe even my nails ... with the rest of the outfit toned down to avoid looking too busy and loud.

Last week I purchased another statement leopard print item for my wardrobe, this time a pair of boots. I was drawn to these as they look very like a pair of louboutins that I spotted Victoria Beckham and Cheryl Cole wearing in a magazine. Ugh, how naff am i?

Boohoo.com

Anyway, I spotted a much cheaper version on Boohoo.com for £30 and thought I would order and see what they are like. In real life the leopard print is furry. Not like expensive horse hair furry but like fuzzy felt furry. This makes them look a l'il bit on the cheap side, however, despite this they are very comfortable even with such a high heel and I figure that worn with the right outfit, they would make the animal print statement I am after.

Oh, and they have a red sole ... clearly trying to rip off Louboutin but I'm not complaining ;) For only £30 I thought they were worth keeping and I am sure I can introduce them into an otherwise dark and dreary Winter wardrobe.

Christian Louboutin

What do you think? Are you partial to animal print or is it strictly for Bet Lynch in your books?

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