I have a feeling that the blizzard that has besieged the U.S. is headed for the U.K and we are going to get a lot of snow. Not as bad as New York, but bad enough to want to stay home with a warm cuppa instead of venturing out.
These bright sunny roses were in the supermarket on Sunday and I could not resist. I’ve filled a vase with them, long stems with their dark green leaves and yellow petals, lighting up the room. They’re bringing an instant cheer making the room feel cosy with their warm glow.
Not much else to say except, just enjoy the cheerful brightness that they’re bringing.
I don’t know if anyone else has the same thoughts about January. It’s a very long month, we put away the Christmas decorations finally, so they are now hibernating for another year.
My day literally begins and ends in darkness and in between are the working hours in an office. It can be a whole 5 days in an office that’s connected by an underpass from the Tube station straight into Canary Wharf, before I glimpse any daylight to wake up to at the weekend.
Last Saturday, I was running some errands and spotted these lovely roses. They are nothing extraordinary, just the type you find at the entrance of a supermarket. In this case Marks and Spencer.
They stood out, because they were the last bunch in white, flecked with a delicate green to their outer petals. I bought them on impulse, because they made me smile.
This week the roses will make some sunshine for me. I will look at them whilst inhaling and drinking a cup of espresso.
I’ve moved them to the dining table so their presence can keep me company, while the rest of the house sleeps on as I get ready to leave for work.
Every year, I look for gifts to give friends and family that are unique, thoughtful and show that their tastes or what they like have been considered and reflected in the gift.
On most occasions, their gifts to me have out done me in every respect, so this year to show my appreciation, the gifts I’ve made are uniquely personalised. Even better, I’ve not spent any time walking around shops trying to find something special, because the ingredients are already in the cuboard ready to be made into something special and take very little time or effort to prepare and make.
If you have ever tried the Shea Butter Hand and foot cream from L’Occitane or from Burt’s Bees, these are lovely little gifts to give and receive. The only thing is that there’s a possibility that someone else has had the same idea and purchased the very same. They smell wonderful, with a range of delicate scents and I must admit are lovely gifts to receive.
To make these Foot and hand Salves is very simple, easier than baking a cake in fact. All you need to do is measure out the ingredients, gently melt them in a jug in a pan of simmering water, add the essential oils and once melted, pour into your chosen containers. Personalising the scents makes these gifts unique, especially if you know what scents they enjoy the most.
Ingredients for the footsalve:
1 tablespoons of Argan Oil
2 tablespoons of Coconut Oil
1 tablespoon beeswax
4 tablespoons of unrefined Shea Butter
1/4 tsb of essential oils – a combination of Peppermint and Cedarwood (for the boys) or Peppermint and Lavender (for the girls)
To make the Hand Salve variant, you can change the oil and use Jojoba or Rosehip Oil, whichever you think their hands (or your own) will appreciate the most and add your choice of essential oils to add scent. Beeswax and the Shea Butter will emulsify and give the salve it’s lovely thick creamy texture.
Better still, if you want to make the Handsalve to treat age spots (after all, most beauty mags will tell you it’s your hands that show the first signs of aging) select the essential oils for their skin therapeutic benefits.
That’s it. All there is to it for making scented rich moisturising salves. Perfect as a gift or an indulgent luxurious treat. Hmm I think I’m going to find a bit of me time for a Manicure and try some of the handsalve I made.
Sweet Orange and Lavender Hand Salve, made with Shea Butter and JoJoba Oil
Last weekend, I decided to make some lovely Christmas gifts to give to friends and family. After a Sunday spent making these lovely gifts, I found myself succumbing to a cold which I have only just shaken off. It meant that I didn’t get round to writing this post until now.
If like me, you like scented candles, receiving one as a Christmas gift would be lovely. I love the gentle glow of candle light, it seems to calm and soothe the senses. I have a small collection of candles from L’Occitane in little metal tins, which gave me the inspiration for this little hand made version.
Making your own filled candles is so easy that I’m now addicted to making them, all you need is to find some containers, flame proof of course and some candle wicks for lighting the candles.
The wicks can be simple pieces of string tied to a stick so that it can dangle down to the bottom of the container (I’ve tried this using chopsticks and a metal Skewer) but it turned out that the cotton string I used didn’t stay alight.
After a bit of research, I found a company that makes ready-made wicks (already inserted into stablisers). They are actually called sustainers. Choose the ones that are pre-waxed and are labeled with the diameter (You need to make sure that the pool of the melted wax goes to the edge of your container) that matches the diameter of your container.
To keep the sustainers from moving, place a small amount of melted wax on the bottom, or if this is a bit fiddly, use Glue Dots – these won’t show as they are transparent.
Once the beeswax has melted in a jug over simmering hot water, add your choice of fragrance to the wax just before you are going to pour them into the containers. Personally, I prefer using essential oils.
I’ve chosen Cinnamon Bark, Sweet Orange and Ginger to fragrance these little candles. Just add 10 drops of each essential oil into the wax which is based on the dilution amounts in aromatherapy – 30 drops for every 100ml of carrier oil (The quantity I’ve put into the tins is approx 100ml in each tin. I’ve made two tins with cotton wicks and two with Cotton Wicks.)
If you’d like to make the candles as gifts, there’s just enough time to order the materials from Amazon in time to make up a batch.
Heres what you need:
You can get the beeswax from Amazon *in the UK here: or if you are in the US you can find it here.*
I also tried them with these wooden wicks* from Amazon, they crackle and sound like the crackling of an open fire. Perfect to sit and enjoy with a hot cup of coco at night. If your in the US, you can get these here:*
This is such a great facial oil for anyone of any age and would make a great Christmas gift if you are looking to find a gift that’s easy to make.
Rosehip Oil has been in the beauty news having been cited as the wonder oil used by celebrities such as Miranda Kerr. It is a natural source of Vitamin E which you’ll find in many skin care creams, used for it’s antioxidant properties to calm, hydrate dry and sensitive skin.
The oil is also rich in fatty acids such as linoleic acid (or omega 6) as well as linolenic acid (or omega 3). High in Vitamin C, it will help to speed up the healing process for skin damaged by burns, scars or age spots as well as hydrate and add moisture.
I’ve chosen this as it’s the dry oil, it does not leave any feeling of grease and absorbs very quickly into the skin.
With the properties that feel more like a serum than an oil, when I found it online, it gave me an idea for creating a nighttime facial oil that would help rejuvenate and revitalise skin.
With this oil, I have combined it with 3 other oils:
Jojoba oil, which also non-greasy and has a similar consistency to sebum. A liquid wax, found in the seeds/nuts of jojoba plant, it has anti-microbial properties and contains iodine which prevents bacteria from forming and is, therefore, good for skin that is prone to blemishes
Sweet Almond oil, not only does this oil contain plenty of vitamin E, it has lots of minerals such as Calcium, potassium, magnesium as well as vitamin D. Good for dark circles under the eyes, blemishes, fine lines, wrinkles and helps to firm skin.
Argan Oil, high in fatty acids it helps to restore skin’s elasticity and leaves skin feeling plumper and softer.
To give this luxury facial oil some fragrance, I have combined this with three essential oils, which also have skin rejuvenating properties.
Ylang Ylang Essential Oil- I’ve written about this oil in a lovely home made bath-soak. It has an uplifting effect and can give you feelings of joy and hope. It has a rich floral fragrance which should be used sparingly particularly for skincare purposes. As it helps to control oil production, minimises breakouts and helps regenerate skin cells, I’ve included this in the facial oil
Jasmine Officinale – is my favourite scent, reminds me of my early childhood, it is used in so many ways, I love its scent in green tea as well as in perfumes such as the Jo Malone’s Jasmine and Mint cologne spray. It tones dry, greasy, irritated skin and helps to fade scars and restore elasticity to the skin.
Lavender Essential Oil – there are so many uses for lavender, that it is one of the oils which I take everywhere and use it in so many ways. In a bath soak, foot scrub it’s lovely scent is relaxing and calming. It is also a good antiseptic so I like to use it as a room and linen spray. It helps to reduce age spots, fine lines and wrinkles by boosting the flow and supply of oxygen and nutrients, helping to boost the skin’s renewal process.
To make this facial oil, which I’ve called the Fourtifying Facial Oil, just mix the following together:
15ml of Sweet Almond Oil
15ml of Argan Oil
15 ml of Rosehip Oil
15 ml of Jojoba Oil
1-2 drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil along with 1-2 drops Jasmine and 1-2 drops of Lavender.
Shake the bottle thoroughly to combine. I’ve used a blue glass bottle with a dropper to make the experience the same as if the facial oil is one of those high-end beauty serums. You can of course just use a bottle with a stopper or small opening.
To use, only 1-2 drops of the facial oil is needed, add the oil to the tips of your fingers and smooth over your skin, underneath your usual night cream.
That’s all there is to it, now I’m looking forward to bed-time and waking up to soft glowing skin!
The Mademoiselle Privé exhibition for Chanel arrived on 23rd October and finished on Friday 1st November at the Saatchi Gallery in Sloane Square. It was a chance to take a sneak peek at the world of Chanel.
Although we had been busy, I wanted to visit the exhibition on Sunday evening before the show closed.
When we arrived, however, there was a long, long queue of people waiting patiently to get into the exhibition. Instead, I queued up the following Monday, the last week before the exhibition closed.
I’ve always considered Gabrielle Chanel to be an inspirational business woman.
I think of her as one of the first women entrepreneurs of the 20th century. She figured out how to be successful in business at a time when it was almost impossible to succeed as a woman. I can only imagine the kind of obstacles that she must have had to overcome.
Each room was a journey through her work. As you entered, the first exhibit was about her apartment and Salon in Paris. The accompanying App for mobile devices in Android or Apple used your location and revealed more about the exhibition as you walked through each room.
What I liked about the exhibition was that it told the story of her creativity through the eyes of the current Creative Director, Karl Lagerfeld. She taking the lead, he acting as the curator in a film that was part of the exhibition.
As I walked round, it made me wonder about her life, she must have had such an extraordinary will to succeed.
The exhibition included a recreation of the staircase in her Salon. It was mirrored, faceted along the curve of the wall along on one side, with a sleek elegant metal hand rail. It is said, that she designed the staircase so that she could stand in one place and see what was happening on every floor.
There was something about the detail in the design of the stairs that reminded me of the attention to detail of the cantilevered glass stairs in Apple stores that seem suspended in air.
If you have ever visited an Apple store, each of them has the same design features and a set of glass stairs. They are similar in a way, as both have gone beyond the products they designed and made sure their surroundings were stylised and designed to showcase their brand.
If she were alive today, I wonder whether she would be in fashion or whether she would have ventured into technology.
I loved the perfume and garden room exhibits, the boxwood in the garden was laid out featuring intertwining C’s.
I was expecting the perfume not only to be on display in terms of the iconic bottle designs but also the unmistakable scent of No5.
The perfume room was designed to be a visual impact to see rather than an experience in terms of scent.
Chanel No5 was launched in the 1920s and is still one of the best-selling perfumes today. At the time, it embodied what Chanel was searching for to describe femininity:
It was what I was waiting for. A perfume like nothing else. A woman’s perfume, with the scent of a woman.”
The ingredient that makes Chanel No5 ahead of its time was the use of Aldehydes which hadn’t been used in such quantities before Chanel. She worked with the Perfumier Earnest Beaux to create the iconic perfume.
He combined the aldehydes with Ylang-Ylang, neroli, as well as Jasmine, Mayrose, Sandalwood and Vetiver.
I think she must have liked to break with tradition and must have chosen to work with Earnest Beaux because he wasn’t afraid of challenging conventions as well.
I was thinking that in this aspect again, she was ahead of her time, breaking with tradition and innovating through her perfume, fashion and jewellery.
The exhibit included a number of workshops on the top floor, the Chanel No5 workshop was an opportunity to learn more about the fragrance.
I left the exhibition inspired by the notion that she was brave, took risks and never settled for anything less than perfection, even in the smallest details of her work. I think that’s what I learned, to strive for perfection in the detail.
hmm, I think some Chanel fragrance, will be on my Christmas list this year, either to give as a gift or to receive, something to wear to remind me of the exhibition as inspiration every day. Can’t wait…..
We knew the weekend would be special, it had been planned early on in the year. A celebration of my father in law’s 80th birthday which my mother in law had planned in great secrecy.
She had mentioned that the hotel booking was in central London, something about it being near Whitehall. This was some time ago and with getting the kids ready for school each day, work and everything else in between I forgot all about it until the weekend approached.
The address of the hotel is located at Number 2 Whitehall Court and called The Royal Horseguards Hotel.
We checked in last Saturday afternoon, that is my hubby and our two kids and headed for our rooms on the 8th floor. My parents-in-law had checked into the hotel the night before.
James Bond roof- top scene in Skyfall
As we looked out across the London skyline from our room on the 8th floor at the top of the building, we both commented almost at the same time that it vaguely reminded us of something we’d seen in a film, probably a James Bond Movie.
Turns out we were staying in a hotel a few feet away from the scene and shoot location for the Skyfall movie. The location of the shoot was at N0 3 Whitehall Place, the department of Energy and Climate Change.
Directly opposite the hotel is the street sign for New Scotland Yard, I think you can just about make this out in the photo with the Bus below.
Here’s the scene in the movie trailer:
Here’s some pics from the windows across the rooms on the 8th floor:
The Royal Horseguards Hotel was once apartments and built in 1884. It was modelled in the style of a French Chateau and adjoins the Liberal Club.
During both world wars, the building that is now the hotel was taken over by the Ministry of Defence and used by MI5 and MI6.
The 8th floor of the hotel is where the MOD held meetings and coordinated their activities during the wars, it was then known as Block Two.
It was easy to get carried away imagining the secrets, decisions being discussed, perhaps even, in the rooms we were staying in.
The opulence of the hotel and its history was breathtaking, we even managed to get a sneak peek into the Liberal Club, where a portrait of Sir Winston Churchill is proudly displayed amongst many portraits of national heroes.
In March of this year, the first Chief of Secret Intelligence Sir Mansfield Cumming was honored with an English Heritage Blue Plaque which commemorates his former London home and office at 2 Whitehall Court which is part of the Royal Horseguards Hotel.
He was known as “C” due to his habit of initialising papers. This tradition of adopting the pseudonym “C” continues today as each Chief of the service is called C. It inspired Ian Fleming to create the character “M” in the James Bond novels.
Nearby to the hotel are a number of London’s landmarks:
Trafalgar Square
Buckingham Palace
The London Eye as well as the beautiful views across the River Thames.
Although we live in London, it isn’t often that we take a moment out of the hectic daily grind to take-in the history and iconic scenery that surrounds us in everyday life.
As we looked across the rooftops, it was easy to imagine James Bond standing on the roof terrace planning a secret rendezvous. With the release of the next instalment of Bond’s adventures in Spectre this week, I’m looking forward to watching the film.
All in all, it was a fantastic way to celebrate such a big milestone for someone who has been the patriarch of the family. I couldn’t imagine anything else more fitting than this.
I’ve been baking with Oranges and Cinnamon this week and the delicious scent gave me an idea for a cellulite smoothing skin polish which is easy to make at home, packed with ingredients that will help firm, tone and smooth skin which might be looking a little bumpy because of cellulite.
Whilst there are many commercial products available, most health and skincare experts would agree that a healthy diet, combined with exercise to stimulate the circulation will help eliminate toxins from your system and therefore improve skin and muscle tone.
Now, I’m not what you call a gym bunny, so to help improve skin circulation, I’ve created a cellulite smoothing skin polish that can be used once or twice a week as part of a spa experience.
The Ingredients that made it into this Cellulite Smoothing Skin Polish:
Orange Peel
Orange Peel has excellent antioxidant property, containing Vitamin C an antioxidant found in many expensive skin care products, it also contains Calcium, Potassium, Magnesium, minerals which is great for skin. The citric acid in the orange peel that will help to exfoliate and brighten skin.
Root Ginger
Contains powerful antiseptic and cleansing properties, it increases blood circulation. With the heat from the Ginger grated into the skin polish it will gently warm and stimulate circulation to the skin.
Cinnamon
Cinnamon has been used in Asian and Chinese cultures both in food and herbal remedies for centuries. Cinnamon will boost circulation when applied to the skin and has been shown in recent studies to rid the body of toxins and boost the immune system.
Coconut Oil
Known in it’s ability to moisturise, it’s packed full of antioxidants which work to increase skin elasticity and firmness.
Argan Oil
Rich with Vitamin A and E, Argan Oil is mainly composed of fatty acids (80%) and antioxidants such as linoleic acid. It will smooth, add moisture and rejuvenate skin, no wonder skin care and cosmetic companies have been using this in many of their products.
Dead Sea Salt
The waters of the dead sea are renowned for their therapeutic benefits. Containing lots of minerals such as Magnesium, potassium, calcium chloride and bromides, it increases circulation and helps skin to retain moisture. It has been proven to be effective for easing muscle aches and pains. As the grains of this salt are fine, it can be used as the basis of the skin scrub.
If you don’t have Sea Salt to hand, then soft brown sugar can be used as an alternative.
How to make:
This is so simple to make, as Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, I have put a tablespoon of the coconut oil in a glass jar and in a jug of hot water to melt.
Once melted, combine the Orange Peel powder with the Coconut oil. (I have dried the orange peel first before putting it into a food blender and then blitzing it so it becomes a fine pebbly mixture which will mix better with the oils.) If you don’t have the time to do this, simply grate the orange peel.
Add one teaspoon of ground cinnamon. You can either use the pre-ground powder or grate some cinnamon sticks if you have this.
Grate some fresh root ginger, about a teaspoon or more if you are feeling brave as the heat of the ginger will be very stimulating.
Combine all these ingredients and make into a paste. Add 5-6 tablespoons of Dead Sea Salt and mix together so that the paste of coconut oil, orange peel, grated ginger and ground cinnamon is mixed thoroughly into the dead sea salt.
At this point the mixture will be a little dry and crumbly. Add a teaspoon or two of Argan Oil so that the mixture is soft to the touch but remaining granular for the scrub mix.
You can either use this scrub in the bath, or in the shower, apply a little at a time, rubbing and massaging the mixture in small circular motion into your skin.
You’ll notice not only does it smell great as the scent of oranges, ginger and cinnamon is released into the warmth of a shower or bath, but your skin will get a little pink and and you may tingle all over*, this is from the heat of the spices boosting your circulation and improving lymphatic drainage. The granular salt works to polish and improve the appearance of any cellulite, lumps, bumps and skin blemishes.
The mix can also be used as a bath soak. Just sprinkle into warm running water. It is particularly great for sore aching muscles or as a treatment for the symptoms of a cold or flu.
Once you’ve finished in the bath or shower, if you want to go all out and complete the spa experience, why not try making and using the pampering body oil to lock in moisture to your skin.
*Before trying this recipe, please do a patch test first in case of any skin irritation.
This rather messy looking cake, smells and tastes so wonderful because it is full of the warming scents of Orange, Cinnamon Spice and Chocolate.
Having found two 20cm spring form cake tins, this would make a simple sponge layered cake with a thickly indulgent butter cream icing.
Ingredients for the Orange Chocolate cake:
200g Caster Sugar
200g softened butter
4tsp Orange Juice
5tsp Coca Powder
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon Powder
3 Beaten Eggs
200g Plain Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder and the Zest of 2 large Seville Oranges
Orange Marmalade (for the filling)
For the Butter Cream filling:
(I have made this using a Sunflower Margarine as my hubby doesn’t get on well with Cows Milk, and used a dash of Orange Juice)
Icing Sugar (about twice the volume to the butter)
Butter or Marge
Pinch of Salt
Orange Zest
1 tablespoon of Milk/Orange Juice to taste and loosen the consistency of the filling to your desired consistency
To make:
Preheat oven to 180 degrees
Mix together the softened butter and sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. I mixed it together with a spoon rather than used an electric whisk.
Heat orange juice and then mix in 4 tablespoons of the Coca Powder to form a paste and add to the Sugar and Butter mixture, add the rest of the Coca Powder into the mixture and mix until all the ingredients are combined.
Beat in the 3 whisked eggs a little at a time until the mixture has combined to form a batter like mixture.
In a bowl add in the Strong Flour, Baking Powder Cinnamon and Grated Zest of Orange and combine. Sift this mixture into the batter like mixture and gently fold into the mixture until the two have combined into a thick cake mix.
Divide evenly between 2 Cake Tins (20cm wide). I have lined these with Grease proof paper, to help ease the cake out of the tins.
Bake in the oven for about 25-30 minutes. You’ll know the cake is ready when you put a skewer through and it comes out clean.
Cool the cakes on a baking rack.
I found a tip in one of Delia’s recipe books about how to remove cakes from a spring form cake tin. Put the cake on top of a tin can and push the side of the cake tin down, it should slide off the cake, leaving the cake on the base. Use a pallet knife and gently remove from the base of the tin.
Put a tea towel over the baking rack so that you don’t get lines on the cake. (I didn’t do this bit as I thought the lines would be inside the middle of the cake.
It will take about 20 minutes for the cake to cool completely.
For the Buttermilk filling – I made this orangey by grating the zest off another orange and adding this to the marge. Combine in Icing sugar and keep mixing/adding icing sugar until you get the consistency you want for the cake. I added a splash of orange juice as well as some Soya Milk to make the consistency a little gooey.
Once you have the filling made, spread a thin layer of Marmalade on each side of the cakes and spread the buttermilk filling on top. Sandwich the cake together, dust icing sugar on top and the cake is ready to serve.
For people who like to decorate, the cake would look great with butter icing on top and some of those jellied orange segments or fresh oranges to decorate. But I was too eager to eat the cake, so were the kids, so it just got a coating of icing sugar before being served for last night’s tea.
About a month ago, I decided that our windows were in need of repair. Seriously, they looked really bad and although neither I or my hubby were great at DIY, something had to be done as I was convinced the windows would fall out in the middle of one night.
So, with the purchase of some wood primer and white satin wood paint for wood, I started to sand down the windows. If you own an older property, you’ll understand what a relentless task it is to keep up with all the repairs that are needed.
As I painted, there were big gaps between the leaded windows and the wooden frames which needed to be filled. This was somethng I’d never done before, so looking up on YouTube I found an instructional video on how to put linseed oil putty into wood framed windows. Of course it looked easy, but was actually very fiddly. In the end, I managed to patch-up most of the big gaps, but there are a few that I haven’t managed.
Once painted, the windows looked fresh and clean, in stark contrast to the room which hadn’t been decorated since we first moved in over 10 years ago.
Lots of other jobs around the house had taken priority, namely my kiddies rooms first and a major extension to the side of the house to fit our growing family needs.
So, now whilst looking for the linseed putty in the DIY store, I mentioned to my hubby about getting some paint for the ceiling, where some of the paper had started to peel away and looked as if it was ready to fall.
At this point my thoughts were to just glue the paper back in place. My hubby had other ideas, he decided the paper had to come down.
If you’ve ever moved into a house and started to take paper off, only to find layers of paper underneath, this is bascially what we found underneath the first layer of paper. Seriously WHO puts embossed paper over more embossed paper?
So, with limited options financially, we couldn’t afford to get a decorator in. It meant painting over the ceiling to at least cover up the unsightly stains and ripped paper and bare plaster in places.
This of course meant that the walls looked tired and grubby as well. So a fresh coat of paint was needed here too.
It was actually choosing the paint colour that took the longest time.
Hubby wanted a big change, contrasting dramatic colours. Of course that would be ok if we could afford to change our drapes.
Personally I would have preferred an off white, simple neutral backdrop for our dark wood furniture. But marriage is about compromise, being in harmony.
So in the end we did choose colour, a sunny yellow for most of the walls, (my choice) with a dramatic strong accent wall colour in Teal. (Hubby’s choice)
Against this Teal, I think the dark wood sleigh bed looks great. (An investment purchase we made before the kids became our priority).
As for the windows, we couldn’t afford to replace the drapes or roman blinds that had been badly stained by spots of mildew from all the condensation comming off the wooden windows. I cleaned them and aired them outside in the garden. They look ok, since they were chosen for their period, vintage feel, my reasoning being if they were never trendy or in fashion to begin with, they wouldn’t look out of place with changing fashions or trends in interior design. I don’t think they’ve aged too badly.
There’s still a lot of work to be done of course. I’m looking out for some lovely containers to make some scented candles to fill the room with Ylang Ylang and Jasmine, scents that will remind us of our honeymoon.
Let me know if you’ve opted for strong colours in your home schemes.
