Traffic People S/S 13 Press Day

This week I was very kindly invited along to Traffic People to have a sneak peak at their S/S preview. Although i'd heard of the brand i'd never really paid it much attention but boy have I been missing out. Everything is right up my street! The theme next season is based on 1950's Americano style with lots of pretty prints and retro cuts. I adore anything vintage inspired so will be keeping an eye out for all these pieces.

The top yellow dress stole my heart as soon as I saw it - the midi length and vintage style will be perfect for next summer. The blue stripy dress also caught my eye - just look at the yellow piping. To be honest I mentally spent a fortune admiring all the gorgeous clothes!

Which is your favourite item of clothing?

Thanks so much to Lois at Carrot Top PR for the invite.

Read more

Thrifty finds #3

Yet another installment of thirfty finds, I just keep finding more junk to add to my collection! We had two jumble sales on a couple of Saturdays ago and it was like a treasure trove. Unfortuately I can't show it all off as my mum put the teacups and saucers in the loft.

001: Glass cake stand
My mother and I go week at the knees for anything glass - yes we have a problem and no we don't want any help for it yet. Although it would have been better if it had legs we really couldn't leave this cake stand behind. Especially when it was only a £1. We really needed another one to add to our 1648738 collection.

002: 80s crimpline pink polka dot dress
It's very rare I find any clothes when I got junk hunting as I tend to get drawn to the bric and brac. I spotted this among the mountain of clothes and pulled it out for a closer look. At only 20p I snapped it up and thought it'd be perfect for the summer months.

003: Glass trinket box
Once again this is not something I needed but when jumbles offer me things for 50p how can I say no? It'd be rude not too. I actually spotted something identical in the Boots Christmas catalogue for £12 I think so i've definately grabbed a bargain. At the minute it houses all my perfume samples which saves them clogging up my shelf.

004. Men's clothes brush set
Ok so this is perhaps the most pointless thing i've ever brought.  But it was only 20p and in absolute pristine condition and it's old. You all know i'm a sucker for anything that's a blast from the past. At the minute it's sitting on my bookshelves but I think it'll look lovely on display on a dressing table. Just need to find myself that dressing table...

005-006: Glass sugar bowl and milk jug
My mother like to think of herself as the hostess with the mostess so this sugar bowl and milk jug were her idea of a perfect find. To be honest we don't really need them but once again when things are priced at 50p they're hard to leave behind. Besides things always get broken and you can never have too much. The exact words we tell my dad whenever we come back from our bootsale and jumble sale adventures.

Also i'd love to know as always if you have any idea of what era these goodies are from. I'm guessing the glassware is the 1970s and the dress is  the 80s but I have no idea about the men's clothes brush!

Read more

Recipe: Strawberry sponge cake

I baked this cake a good few weeks ago for my boyfriend's dad's party and although it didn't get eaten there - we completely overdid it with the food - it went down a treat in my household and my mum's office.

As this is a Martha Stewart recipe all the measurements are in cups! Sorry I know how frustrating this can be for Brits.

You will need:
6 tablespoons of unsalted butter plus more to line the cake tin
1 1/2 cups of plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 large egg or 2 medium eggs
1/2 cup of milk
1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract
1 pound of strawberries
1 cup of sugar plus two tablespoons of sugar

1. Line the tin with butter. Try to be generous as you can as you don't want the cake sticking and all your hard work destroyed! I used tiny strawberries but if they're a bit bigger make sure you cut them in half. Don't forget to preheat the oven to 200 degrees.

2. Pop the butter and the cup of  sugar into a bowl and mix together using an electric mixer. If you're hardcore you can always do it by hand! Make sure it nice and fluffy.

003. Mix in the eggs - after they've been wisked together -, milk and vanilla extract. I like to use a wooden spoon for this instead of an electtric mixer but it's up to you!

004. Shift the flour and mix it in with the other mixture.

 005. Add the mixture to the cake and position all the strawberries in the cake batter. Spinkle the remaining two tablespoons of sugar over the strawberries. Pop it in the oven and bake it for around 45 minutes. Keep checking after 30 minutes though as some oven vary with cooking times. My fan oven seems to make it up as it goes along - no time is ever the same!

 Voila! A lovely strawberry sponge cake that you won't be able to stop eating! For something so simple it looks very eye-catching on the table even if I do say so myself. Keep in mind that the strawberries will sink as time goes on.

Read more