New hand mixer and potentially the best chocolate cake EVER!

After receiving a new hand mixer for my birthday, I have been desperate to try it out, but I was looking for the perfect opportunity.  I stumbled across this scrummy looking Chocolate Cake recipe on BBC food whilst looking for inspiration, and I am so glad I did. 

I was dubious upon receiving my new Dualit hand mixer, as I felt it would be more hassle than it was worth. How wrong could I be? Firstly, I was impressed with its sleek design, and its vibrant red colour. Secondly, I love how easy the mixer is to use. The mixer comes with three attachments; flat beaters, dough hooks, and balloon whisk. The attachments are super easy to attach/detach, and are dishwasher friendly which is always a huge plus! Finally, the mixer is much lighter than expected, making mixing easy, and you almost feel lazy letting the mixer do all the hard work! 

Dualit Hand Mixer

Now moving onto the important part...the cake! Without sounding big headed, it is without a doubt the best Chocolate cake I have ever made, no exaggeration needed! Know this could be down to me, the hand mixer or the recipe, I'm thinking its the later two! The hand mixer sure made light work of making the cake. 

Feel free to try out this fabulous recipe :) 

My favourite winter warmer recipe

The Co-operative Electrical  are currently hosting a competition,  in which bloggers are asked to write a blog featuring their favourite winter warmer recipe. Now I am a lover of competitions, and food so I really couldn't say no to entering! After all its a fabulous excuse to sit down with the family and eat my favourite winter dish, not forgetting dessert as well! 

My all time favourite winter warmer dinner has to be Cottage Pie with Yorkshire Puddings, with the emphasis on the plural of Yorkshire Puddings! The more the merrier! Using a simple recipe of  equal measures of eggs, flour and milk (recipe tip gained through watching far too many cookery shows) has not failed me yet. Cottage Pie is such a simple, yet satisfying dish, which never fails to please. Who knew such basic ingredients thrown together, could make such a delicious meal?

Cottage pie and Yorkshire puddings 

From this...

To this....

In less than one hour 

Now a winter warmer dinner can not not be complete without a delicious dessert. My current favourite (as it's continuously changing) has to be Chocolate Brownies. Now in my opinion a dessert isn't a true dessert without containing chocolate, so this dessert really does fit the bill! I stumbled across this Chocolate Brownie recipe on the internet last year whilst browsing for baking ideas, and it has remained a firm favourite ever since. The hardest part of the baking process has to be getting the oven timing just right, to produce a gooey chocolate center...fortunately this time I was successfully!

Chocolate Brownies 

From this...

To this...

In less than 30mins

If I was lucky enough to win this competition I would invest in some new kitchen appliances, to aid me in exploring new recipes, but also a new camera, so I can truly capture how delicious my food can be (granted this is not always the case). Improvement in my presentation skills may also be required to achieve this! 

House of Fraser Dream Valentines Day

This is my entry for the House of Fraser Valentines Day outfit challenge. 

As a single lady this valentines day, the evening is more likely to consist of PJs, chick flicks and large quantities of chocolate (cliched I know), rather than a glam night out, but I enjoyed the challenge none the less. 

As this Valentines planning is highly hypothetical, I thought I would go all out and share with you my dream Valentines evening...

Obviously a dream Valentines evening requires:

A dream outfit...

Dress -£25 Leather Jacket - £229 

Perfume  - £71 Mascara - £19.50 Heels - £59 (in sale) 

Necklace - £51 (in sale) Nail Polish - £14.50 Clutch -(in sale)


A dream man...

Ian Sommerhalder

or

Zac Effron

Now I'm not fussy (what with being single n'all) so either of these guys would do!

A dream location... 

New York

I was lucky enough to visit New York a couple of years ago, and it truly is the most magical city I have ever visited.

Cocktails...

Cocktails  

Dancing...

Dancing

I did say this was a dream valentine date, and in this dream I can obviously dance...

Finally, no date is complete without a cheeky smooch...

A cheeky kiss...

Kiss

In reality I would be equally happy with a quite meal at a local restaurant, but if Ian Sommerhalder or Zac Effron are free this Friday 14th I am not going to say no...

As this is only a dream valentines date, images have been taken from the internet, I hope I have credited all images correctly. 

Hearts & Bows Parka

I have been desperate to add a parka too my winter wardrobe for months now, so I really couldn't resist when I discovered this little beauty at Ark. It is an absolute steal in the sale at just £30. It arrived this morning, and lets just say I am wearing it (indoors) to write this...

Parka  - £30 (in sale)

So where should I start? This is the first item I have ordered from Ark, and I am impressed with the super speedy delivery. Having only ordered late Tuesday evening, it arrived this morning (Friday). I am so happy I made the purchase, after hours of debating which parka to buy, I feel I have made the right decision. At 5ft10 I often struggle to find coats the right length, particularly in the arm, but this fits perfectly. The parka is just the right level of thickness to leave me toasty warm, but without restricting movement. The parka features two large pockets at the front of the coat, which are fantastic for all the rubbish I carry around these days! The only thing I would say the parka was lacking, is a pocket inside of the jacket, which is a fantastic feature on all my other coats...but I am sure I will survive without!! 

There were so many items I loved on Ark, it inspired me to create a wishlist:

Boyfriend blazer  - £37.99 Boyfriend shirt - £23.99 Pug cushion - £24.99

Pants - £17.99 Jeans - £10 (in sale/currently sold out) 

Rampant Sporting

My Rampant Sporting gilet has to be the most worn item currently sat in my wardrobe. I would not be exaggerating if I said I have worn it most days since I bought it, which is over a year ago now! I felt this should be celebrated hence a blog post dedicated to the wonders that made my beautiful gilet +Rampant Sporting. Now, to say I wear my gilet far too often, photos of said gilets are sparse, and any photo seems to come hand in hand with an excitable pooch...

This is most likely because my gilet is worn primarily for walking the dog. It fits the bill perfectly, stylish, warm, plenty of pockets, and importantly its lasted really well. A year on and its still going strong. 

Rampant Sporting currently have a gorgeous selection of gilets, with the Clyst Gilet being my current fave. 

Clyst Gilet £39 (in sale)

My love for my gilet and Rampant Sporting led me to create my Rampant wishlist, as featured below:

Quilted Jacket - £119 Hoodie - £22 (in sale) Socks - £7.20 (in sale) 

Gingerbread PJs - £25 (in sale) Briefs - £14 (in sale)

My particular favourite, and sitting at the top of my rampant wishlist is the quilted jacket. If all my dreams were to come true, and I was to find it sitting in my wardrobe tomorrow morning this is how I would style it:

Quilted Jacket - £119 Jeans - £19.99 Jumper - £15 (in sale)
Boots  - £130 Satchel  - £22

I am currently a tad obsessed with Timberland boots so a pair HAD to feature on this blog post somewhere. I feel they go fabulously with the relaxed style, and teamed with the maroon and blue colours.

Jack Wills

I was lucky enough to win a £100 +Jack Wills gift card, in their stocking filler twitter competition, over the Christmas period. I received the gift card last weekend, and raced out to spend it the very same day. Having never shopped at Jack Wills I was pretty curious to find out what all the 'hype' is about...and since bringing home my beautiful purchases I can honestly say I can see what its all about! Lets just say I've barely taken my gorgeous Conniston Sherpa hoodie off since making my purchase.

Since making my purchases the above items are no longer displayed on line, which may be a testament to their popularity. I believe them to be currently out of stock, most likely due to the hundreds of shoppers (like myself) grabbing a fab bargain in the January sales. 

I love my Conniston Sherpa hoody so much I decided to create an outfit based around the hoody. I was inspired by a relaxed 'boyfriend' look, with the real splurge for the outfit being the Juicy Couture watch. I have been looking for a new watch for a while, and this is a definite favourite, unfortunately perhaps a tad out of my price range. I love the whole feel of the outfit and it is certainly something I would wear whether it was to hit the shops with friends or simply to walk the dog. 

Conniston Sherpa Hoody (not available online at present) Mango Ripped Boyfriend Jeans £19.99 (in sale)
Converse All Star Ox £45 Ribbon Rebel Velvet Panel T-Shirt £18 Juicy Couture Rose Pave Bezel Watch £156 (in sale)Brown Leopard Print Purse £15

Shopping at Jack Wills for the first time (obviously) involved a lot of back ground research, as I wanted to get the best items possible using my designated £100. The hours of internet window shopping in anticipation for my gift cards arrival inspired me to create a Jack Wills inspired wish list. Now if only I had the money to spend...

Heminton Parka £119 (in sale) Goodrick Hoodie £49 (in sale) Tilbury Bag £198 

Hartford Boypant Set  £19 (in sale) Holecroft Shirt  £39 (in sale)

Debenhams Winter Style Challenge

This post is my entry to the Debenhams Winter Style Challenge. I may live to regret taking part in this competition, as there are so many clothes that I love, but my purse is already bare! 

My first outfit is inspired by the numerous chilly dog walks I have been on this winter.  

Jumper  - £30 Leggings - £14 (in sale) Boots - £114.95(in sale)

Parka - £69 Hat - £12.60 (in sale)

Total £240.55

The Timberland Brown Leather Nellie Mid Boots are a definite fave of mine, and have been sitting on my wishlist far too long! Due to my love for these gorgeous booties, the rest of the outfit really had to fit around them...As to be honest I would be happy wearing anything, as long as I had these keeping my toes snug. My aim when creating this outfit really was to keep as toasty as possible on chilly walks with the pooch, but obviously looking good at the same time. As you just never know who you are going to meet amongst the muddy puddles. I love the winter berry seamed leggings, I have a similar pair myself. They make a lovely change from the standard black leggings, and add a burst of colour to any outfit. To be quite honest I am totally in love with this whole outfit!

My second outfit is my ideal outfit for a night out on the town with the girls. 

Dress - £75  Heels - £39 (in sale) Clutch - £16 (in sale) 

Perfume - £42 (30ml) Bracelet - £24 (in sale) Lipgloss - £16

Total £212

 For me a night out with the girls, isn't a real night out with hitting the dancing floor (and the tequilas, usually the latter first), and I truly believe these are the shoes to do it in. The heel is just the right height to make your legs look fab, but yet allow you to dance the night away, without a second thought for your poor feet (the tequila may help here also).  The Yumi Lace Sleeveless Dresses vibrant colour really makes a statement, and is sure to be a head-turner. If your wearing this fabulous dress, do make sure you pull out your best dance moves, as there will be eyes following your every moves (hopefully super hunky ones).  

I hope you love my outfits as much as I do.