A is for Alexa!

I have a massive love and obsession for all things Mulberry, the quintessentially English brand has everything I look for in a designer; it's classic, reputable, stylish and produces clothing, handbags and accessories of an extrememly desirable quality. So when I got a brand shining, new, Mulberry handbag for christmas to say I was delighted was an understatement; I was over the moon!

My new bag comes in the form of the black, Alexa Camera bag. It's the perfect sized bag and can be worn across the body, over the shoulder or in the crook of your arm. I've been sporting the across the body look as I'm so used to having my Bayswater in the crook of my arm and it is so nice to have my hands free, it makes such a difference, especially when out shopping!

Alexa in all her glory!

Made from the finest Buffalo leather, it's butter soft to the touch. She has a spacious main compartment with another little zip pocket at the back, inside which is perfect for all those small bits and bobs that are so easy to misplace. Even though she may not be as big as the original Alexa, there is still plenty of room for all those essentials! I have managed to get aeverything I need plus more in mine and I carry ALOT of stuff!

A view from above

Additionally, there is a pocket at the front with the classic postman's style lock, signiture to Mulberry and two adjustable satchel straps adding a certain je ne sais quoi. I really love how although the bag is smaller they haven't scrapped any of the Alexa's original features and have kept the satchel straps which in my opinion, play a large part in of the beauty of the bag. The detailing is beautiful, with a carefully plaited handle giving structure to the bag as well as tiny little Mulberry trees engraved on the studs all over the bag; it really is the little things which complete it. Attached on either side are two D-rings with a long shoulder strap attached, adjustable to whichever length you require.

Up-close and personal!

It's no wonder that Mulberry's sales have hit record highs when they are making bags like the Alexa. It's sure to say that if they continue to produce handbags of this quality then I'm sure they will continue this success in the future. Mulberry bags are classic, timeless and age beautifully and they certainly won't lose my custom, that's for sure!

Cooking up a Storm

I love baking. Fact. I love Christmas. Fact. So it made complete sense for me to do some Christmas baking, so the minute I returned home from Uni that is exactly what I did! I began with Brownies, ok so not very Christmassy, but still who can resist a good brownie?! I used a recipe from my mum's friend in the village who is an amazing cook/baker, so I was hoping for the best and that her luck would rub off on me and it seeemed that it did; they were the best brownies I have ever made, firm, but still chewy and gooey and not too cakey. Perfect. Even if I do say so myself! I used white chocolate and caramel chocolate for the chocolate chunks which worked well and they went down a treat with my family, who I think were quite surprised by my skills!

I wasted no time in continuing with my baking whilst I was on a roll! Next up, I made mince pies. This was my first time so I wanted them to be successful. I made my own mincemeat, which turned out really well. Apart from the small incident with reading (or not reading) the resipe correctly as whilst I was putting all the ingrediants in the bowl there seemed to be an awful lot, until my mum discovered I was not making 2lb like I had told her, but 6lb!! That'll teach me to read the recipe; got a bit more than I bargained for that day I can tell you!

The 6lb of mincemeat in all its glory!

From this 6lb I made...

Mincepies!



Fruit Squares!

And....

A Mincepie Tart!

All in a days work!! The mincepies got demolished and the fruit squares and the tart have been frozen for future consumption. I'm glad I froze them or else I think my family and I may have turned into mince pies. A lesson learnt, but a very yummy one at that!

Nail Art: the art of a steady hand

My blogging has been simply atrocious for the past month or so, uni work took over everything including me pooor little blog. Then of course Christmas arrived and rushing around getting last minute presents seemed to fill my time in the lead up to the big day completely. But now Christmas is pretty much over I am aiming to get myself back into my usual routine of riding, gymming, doing uni work and of course BLOGGING! Consider it back up and running as I hope to get my usual weekly posts back on track.

As you can probably imagine many things have been happening since the beginning of winter and as usual I have lots I want to say; I know, I know, nothings changed! So I shall begin with my new craze for nail art!

I started wearing Barry M's crackle polish when it first came out and I tried loads of different colour co-ordinations and styles. I liked them so much that I thought it would be great if I could create my own nail art without having to pay salon prices and it seems I may have found the perfect answer to my wish; Andrea Fullerton! She does a range of nail polishes as well as nail pens in a huge variety of colours which are really goot for creating your own nail art. The one I bought has a pen on one end and a really thin brush on the other so you can creat spots/stripes and of course anything else you can creatively think of.

Before I found the brand I did of course try the DIY approach using a normal nail polish brush. I wanted to do spots but needless to say it didnt work as the brush left massive splodges on my nail, so I was delighted to find a pen that has a nice, fine tip; all you need is a steady hand!

Here are some of my creations, the black patterns have been created with the black pen and the leopard print I did by dipping a pencil in the polish and doing it that way...professional, not! I need to get some other coloured nail pens so that's my aim for the end of the holidays! Enjoy!

Dots

Leopard Print

Ladybird and dots

More Leopard Print

The Ring Finger Manicure

Women take the Reins!

Women take the Reins: A Documentary profile on Heloise Lorentzen

Galloping towards the goal, Heloise spots the opposition and gets ready to ride-off her competition.

Polo is exhilerating, fast-paced and certainly not for the faint hearted. It seems that men have predominantly dominated the sport since it began, so is this why so few women are competing at a professional level? With twelve years experience, professional polo player and coach, Heloise Lorentzen tells me more.

Click here to listen to the interview.