New York #1

Hi all, sorry for the unintentional blogging break!!  My PC has been in to be 'fixed' but I'm still not entirely convinced it's sorted so I'll get as many posts done whilst it IS still working!!

So, it turns out that turning 40 is not so bad after all! ;)  I had loads of fab presents (shoes, jewellery, personalised gifts, a clutch bag, restaurant voucher, Jo Malone perfume & enough pennies to go & treat myself to my fabulous Tissot watch that I've been lusting after for months!!) & of course, the highlight of my birthday was our trip to New York.  I'm going to have to do a couple of posts as there are mannnnny photos.......!

Hubble & I flew down to Heathrow the day after my birthday as we were staying at the Ibis hotel the night before (absolutely brilliant hotel btw for anyone needing to stay at Heathrow airport!) our flight to JFK.  We flew with Delta, an airline we've never used before but they were great & we wouldn't hesitate to fly long haul with them again.  We landed in grey, drizzly weather but we were quickly through customs & in a cab on our way to Manhattan & our base for our holiday, the Sheraton Times Square.  We were an hour early for official check-in but we asked at reception & our room was ready straight away.  Unbeknownst to me, Hubble had emailed beforehand to let them know we were celebrating my birthday so they kindly had upgraded us to a larger room on a higher floor & gave us a voucher for a full breakfast the following morning!  (We could just see Central Park from our room!!)  We dumped the cases & then headed straight out into the now-sunshine.  Times Square was only a 6 or 7 minute walk from the hotel so we headed there, where I promptly entered my first Sephora!  We spent a couple of hours wandering round & then ate before walking back up to Central Park to enjoy the sunset.  Jetlag was seriously setting in at this point but we forced ourselves to stay awake until 10pm (3am our time!)

Day 2, after we'd enjoyed a fabulous breakfast, we knew it was going to be a sunny, hot day so we wandered down to the Empire State Building.  I was surprised that I remembered so easily where all the landmarks were & was off leading the way like it was only yesterday since I'd been there - rather than the 22 years it actually was!!  

We did some more exploring - and shopping - then Hubble had to buy shorts & trainers as he was sweltering in the 28 degree heat!  That evening, we headed to Top of the Rock as I really wanted to see the sun set from up there & it was absolutely stunning watching the low sun reflecting off the skyscrapers & then the sky turning dark.  I didn't want to leave......

I'll leave this post at this point & let you enjoy (hopefully!) some of our photos from the first 2 days.

*hmmmm, the fact that it's taken 3.5 hours to upload these photos leads me to believe that my pc is still poorly, grrrr!!!*

A day oot in Auld Reekie

 

 

 

 

Very rarely these days do Mr F & I get the chance to have a whole day to ourselves so when my mum came home after visiting my sister for 6 weeks & offerered to do the school runs etc. we jumped at the chance!  I'd received a fair amount of pennies for my birthday a couple of weeks back so we decided to go to Edinburgh for the day so I could go to John Lewis & Harvey Nichols & spend them!!

 

I love Edinburgh so much, I would live there in a heartbeat.....I just need to do some serious praying to the Lottery gods first though!  We normally take the train through but we find more often than not, there are never any seats on the return journey so have to end up standing for an hour & a half.  Not good at all when you've paid good money for a ticket, in my opinion.  So this time we decided to use the park & ride just beside the Forth Road Bridge which turned out to be so fast & easy, I just think we'll use this option from now on!

 

Anyway, I had a very successful day & picked up a load of new skincare & cosmetics.....and the obligatory pair of new shoes of course!  No shopping trip is complete without new shoes but instead of a pair of sky-high heels, this time I opted for the sensible-but-damn-comfortable ballet flats from Clarks. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.  MAC Viva Glam 1

2.  No7 cream blush Maple Silk

3.  Soltan Gradually Golden for face

4.  L'Oréal Nude Magique CC Anti-fatigue

5.  Stila Prime Pot

6.  MAC lipliner Spice

7.  Revlon Lip Butter Red Velvet, Raspberry Pie & Pink Truffle

 

I also purchased more of my favourite cleanser, the fabulous Cleanse & Polish by Liz Earle & a lip balm from Kiehl's, a range I've never tried before but I'm loving the product so far.  I also bought a new make-up pouch & some mini handcreams from Cath Kidston to keep in my handbag rather than the great big tubes I normally stash in there & finally got my hands on some Real Techniques brushes.  These things are like gold dust around here, they're always sold out but a full review of these will follow.  And finally, every trip to Edinburgh involves a visit to Bravissimo for new undies.  I was fitted by the brilliant & very patient Brigit & came away with 2 new sets.

 

Mr F wanted to go to the Hard Rock Café (again!) for lunch where I enjoyed quite possibly the tastiest steak I've had in a looong time & a couple of beers went down well too!  So that's me well & truly spent up for quite some time now.  Well, except for this fabulous bridge camera that I have my eye on that is!  I may have to do quite a few eBay & carbooting sessions to raise the funds for that one though!

 

À la prochaine!

 

 

 

 



Another year older.....

So the dreaded day has been & gone, I am now another year closer to being 40!  I was having a conversation with Mr F last year about what I wanted to do for my fortieth birthday as I never celebrated my 18th, 21st or 30th birthdays.  To be honest, I'm not sure if I want a party or not.  Part of me wants to have the mother of all hooleys & I like the idea of a Rockabilly themed fancy dress party....but part of me wants to just have a quiet night with my friends, drowning my sorrows (said with tongue firmly in cheek!!)

 

The one thing however I am 100% certain about is that in the December following my 40th, I would love for us to have a Christmas shopping weekend in New York, sans enfants (sorry kids!)  Ever since I spent the summer months there when I was 18, I've wanted to go back at Christmas time.  It makes me tingle with delight at the thought of seeing NYC decked out in all it's yuletide glory....the Rockefeller tree, the ice rink in Central Park, FAO Schwartz, Macys, sipping hot chocolate in Serendipity3.....I could go on!!!

 

When I suggested this, I also suggested that we start saving for it now seeing as we are notoriously bad at spending our savings on doing up the house!  So last Christmas Day arrived & I had one present left to open.  Inside was one of those money pots that have no way of opening unless you smash them open.  This way, once the money went in, it was staying in!!  However, this is what it said.....

 

 

Now, I know it's not a big deal but seeing as my hubby knows that turning 40 is not something I'm relishing, I can't quite understand why he got me a pot with this written on it!!  Oh, don't get me wrong, the idea was fab & in the 4 months since I've had it, it's rather full already but I hate the fact I have to walk by it every day for the next 2 years, sat there on my chest of drawers screaming at me "LIFE BEGINS AT 40!!!"  Yeah, thanks for that one Mr F!!!

 

I, on the otherhand, bought him something far more practical for his birthday last month......an iPhone controlled helicopter!  See, much more practical!  Birthdays......who'd have 'em.........?

 

 

 



 

Choccywoccydoodah

It was Mr F's birthday yesterday (he is so not impressed by being halfway to 50 now!!) so I baked him the old family favourite, Chocolate Cake.  Now, this is no ordinary chocolate cake, it is simply the best chocolate cake, in my humble opinion of course!!

 

Many years ago I started out on a mission to find the best chocolate cake I could & after baking, & sampling, too many to mention of the things, I finally had that hallelujah moment when I found this recipe.  All of the previous recipes I'd tried before this one had been ok.......but that was it, just ok.  Not brilliant or truly delicious or anything I'd particularly bake time & time again.  Until this little baby!!

 

 

 

When I first read the recipe & saw it contained Coca-Cola (or any other full-sugar cola drink!!) I thought it'd be really sugary sweet & a bit bleuurgghhh, truth be told.  But I've never been so happy to be proven wrong!!   It has never failed & I've passed on the recipe to many people who have also loved it & is now a firm family favourite.  So if you're after a really moist choc cake, that will stay moist for days after (not that it lasts longer than a day in my house!) then this is the one for you.  Thank you James Martin!!!

 

 

 

Chocolate Cola Cake                    180C/350F/Gas4              Lined 24cm tin

 

Ingredients

250g self-raising flour

300g golden caster sugar

3 heaped tbsp cocoa

generous pinch bicarbonate of soda

250g butter

250ml cola drink

125ml milk

2 eggs

1tsp vanilla extract

 

Frosting

100g butter

2 tbsp cola

2 tbsp cocoa

200g icing sugar, sieved

 

Method

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa & bicarb into a bowl.  Melt the butter & cola gently in a pan.  Beat the eggs into the milk & add the vanilla extract.

Pour the butter & cola mix into the dry ingredients & mix well but gently.  Add the milk & eggs & mix well.

Pour the batter into the tin & bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Remove from the oven & cool while you make the frosting.

Melt the butter, cola & cocoa in a pan.  It may or may not split but don't worry if it does.

Pour onto the icing sugar & mix well.  Leave to cool down & thicken slightly.

Spread the frosting onto the cake while it is still slightly warm.

Devour!!

 

 

I've also adapted this cake slightly before by omitting the vanilla & replacing with pure orange extract & orange zest or peppermint extract to make choc orange or choc mint cake - obviously!!  It also makes great cupcakes, just lower the oven temperature to 170C & bake for 20-22 minutes.  Makes around 24 cupcakes.

 

I hope you try & enjoy this heavenly cake as much as we all do!!
Bon appetit!