Floral Shirt

Well I have had a  week like no other but have somehow kept my head above water. Thank God it's the weekend - I'm catching up with old friends, lunching with mum and shopping for a week away next week.  Wearing this out tonight for dinner. 

Zara Shirt | Zara Trousers | J.Crew Heels | Mulberry Bag

What's in my Make-up Bag?

My handbag contents is pretty boring - sunglasses, keys, iPhone, make-up bag so I didn't think a 'what's in my bag?' would have been any fun so thought I'd share a what's in my make-up bag. This is my day-to-day make-up bag that I use on work mornings and keep in my handbag for any random touch-ups.

Clockwise: Tender Love & Carry Make-Up Bag $12.16 (on sale), Hourglass Arch Brow Sculpting Pencil $48, Chanel Powder Brush #1 $65, Paul & Joe Lipstick Refil in Pret-a-porter $25.34 & Paul & Joe Lipstick Case $14.19, Clarins Beauty Flash Balm $46.20, Geurlain Terracotta Bronzing Powder 02 $52, Lancome Effacernes Longue Tenue Concealer $53, Dior Creme de Rose Smoothing Plumping Lip Balm $30, Maybelline Great Lash Mascara $11, Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua Foundation $45, Paul & Joe Lip Pencil Duo $26

I Scream for Ice Cream

This fun ice cream print shirt has been on serious rotation all summer. Probably not entirely work appropriate but very me so I wear it into the office anyway.  I discovered it on Sheinside, a very new to me website that I wasn't sure to trust given the too good to be true prices (this shirt was $23 less 15% discount for signing up to the website). Yes my order took over a month to get to me from China, and the quality isn't fabulous, but for fun cheap fashion I'll shop from them again.

Sheinside Shirt | Vintage Skirt | Canape 770 Heels  | Mulberry Bag

Beetroot, Chickpea, Orange & Quinoa Salad

I've started a few, for want of a better word 'resolutions' this year. Nothing too fancy - drink more water, no chocolate before 12noon, two chocolate free days a week, eat lunch every day (I used to skip lunch most days and then binge on whole bars of chocolate in the afternoon). These might sound easy but I wanted something achievable so I'd stick to it. So far so good. For lunch I've been taking salads from home and this quinoa salad has become a firm favourite. 

I've actually been eating a lot of quinoa, but find if I don't cook it with lemon, herbs and salt it can taste like polystyrene. Adding these ingredients at the beginning with the water makes for a much tastier quinoa without adding a noticeable flavour to the rest of your dish as it just seems to absorb.

1 bunch baby beetroots, trimmed and quartered
Olive oil
Sea salt
1 cup quinoa
1 lemon
Dried herbs (I used parsley and oregano)
3 tablespoons cup olive oil
3 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange juice
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
3 big handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Sea salt and ground pepper, to taste
1 fresh orange, peeled, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces

Preheat the oven to 190ºC.

Place beetroot on baking dish, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt. Bake for 30 minutes.

While the beetroot is roasting, make the Quinoa. Add quinoa to 2 cups of boiling water, the juice of one lemon, some dried herbs and salt and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Remove the beetroot from the oven and set aside to cool.

To make the dressing, combine olive oil, orange juice, soy sauce, vinegar, and honey in a glass and whisk. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl combine the warm, cooked quinoa, chickpeas and baby spinach leaves. Pour in the salad dressing and toss lightly. Season with sea salt and pepper. Gently add the beetroot and fresh orange pieces. Don't over mix or your salad will go red.

A Little Leopard

Sportsgirl Tank (on sale) | Vintage Skirt | Balenciaga Bag | Zara Flats | Ray-Ban Sunglasses

Ridiculously hot in Melbourne, sleepless nights, swims down the beach and not much else going on this week.

YouTube Obsession

This is more like a confession but I am OBSESSED with youtube!! What started as me looking for online reviews on hair curling wands a year or so ago has grown to a full on addiction to the lives of 'youtube beauty gurus' and sadly sometimes their boyfriends (Jim Chapman). I started watching Tanya Burr as I couldn't believe how she could transform her face with make-up. Don't get me wrong she is a beautiful young 20-something but with some eye make-up and careful conturing she looks like a sexy vamp. To be honest, I am more fascinated at the amount of product these fresh faced young women are putting on their faces and how much older they appear than I am about learning how to apply liquid eyeliner but I do pick up some great tips and beauty recommendations. My recent favourites are Vivianna Does Makeup and Essie Button and both of these girls have led to my recent purchases of Alpha-H Liquid Gold (A-Mazing!!), Hourglass Arch Brown Sculpting Pencil ($48 but is the perfect powder/wax consistency, I swear) and Dior Creme de Rose lip balm. Ok, so at $30 (for lip balm!!!) I probably didn't need this but the packaging is so darn cute and my initials are CD...yep, this YouTube thing is not good. Prior to this I've changed foundation to Chanel Vitalumiere Aqua (thanks Fleur De Force), bought a Clarisonic Mia, Shu Uemura eyelash curlers, Bumble & Bumble shampoo and conditioner, Oribe Texturising Spray and the list goes on. Seeing how their reviews can obviously influence a 30-something women, it's no surprise that these young ladies are doing this 'Beauty Guru' business full time, turning a hobby into a career and raking in the cash. Check out their youtube videos and try not be influenced, I dare you. I'm off to go see what the SacconeJoly's got up to yesterday. That is a story for another day...

Tanya Burr before and afters 

Banana & Raspberry Bread

While I was recovering from my surgery last week, and getting really sick of tea and toast, my gorgeous mother made me this delicious banana and raspberry bread as an alternative for when I needed a little something extra. Although I didn't bake it myself, it was too nice not to share the recipe.

2-3 ripe bananas, mashed
3/4 caster sugar
1/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/4 cup olive oil
1 1/3 cups self raising flour
1/3 cup macadamia nuts, toasted, roughly chopped
125g fresh raspberries
1/4 cup white choc chips
1 tablespoon icing sugar, to dust

Preheat oven to 180°C. Grease a loaf tin and line the base and 2 longest sides with baking paper. Combine the banana and sugar in a large bowl. Stir in the buttermilk, eggs and oil. Add flour, macadamia nuts and store until combined. Gently fold in the raspberries and whit choc chips. Pour into prepared tin, smooth the top and bake for 1 hour or until a skewer inserted into the top comes out clean. Stand in the pan for 5 mins before transferring to a wire rack to cool. Dust with icing sugar.