Ciabatta Canapés

Although the party season is over there's no harm in a small gathering and we need to feed our guests don't we! So I'm passing on these super easy canapés for you and your guests to try!

You will need:

Ciabatta loaf

Bread knife

A small pot of olive oil

A pastry brush (you can always use a bit of kitchen roll if you don't have one)

A small jar of red pesto

A block of goats cheese

A jar of caramelised onion

Butter knife and spoon to spread the toppings

Get started by preheating your oven to 180-200C and then cut the ciabatta loaf into 1 and a half cm wide slices. While the oven is preheating, spread or dap a small amount of oil onto one side of the ciabatta and place them in the oven for a few minutes until slightly crispy. A small hint, it works well to do in two batches, while one is cooking, you can apply toppings to the cooked batch. First cover the cooked slices in red pesto, the amount depends on how much you like pesto, I tend to stick with a thin coat as pesto can be fairy strong. Next top with goats cheese and a bit of caramelised onion before putting them back into the oven for several minutes. While you're topping the second batch, keep an eye on the first in the oven and feel free to take out before or after several minutes.

Finally serve on a small dish to your guests. If you don't fancy goats cheese and caramelised onion you can always trade it in for Brie and cranberry on a green pesto base. Or feel free to attempt new combinations!

Winter Essentials

While we are all distracted by Christmas we tend to forget about the down come after all the excitement and by the time it reaches that point we all get depressed and most of the time, ill. I think they call this JANUARY BLUES. However January doesn't have to be blue, there are ways we can pick ourselves up through those bleak months.

I've put together a few essentials which I've found useful for these colder months. First off, Kiko's energy mask personally recommended by a member of staff from the Birmingham store. Before moving to Nottingham I'd never heard of Kiko and I must of been hiding under a rock or something because this is one of the best brands I've discovered so far. The products are cheap as chips but still have an amazing quality to them and often have products on offer (not that you need a sale to afford them!) The energy mask is a detoxifying black mask which you leave to set on a dry face for 10 minutes then wash off with warm water. Kiko sell a range of masks but this particular product helps cleanse the skin from pollution and impurities which is definitely something most of us will need after all the food we've inhaled this month!

A cosy tee. Strangely I've been looking for a top like this for a while but after not being able to find one for so long I think I just gave up. Then when shopping the other week, I went into Zara and saw it for only 5.99!! Generally Zara can be quite expensive but if you have a proper mooch around you can pick up from bargains, especially from their basics! This has to be one of the softest tees I've owned and I just thought it would be perfect for a cosy winter lazy day. To add to that lazy day, whats better than warm knitted socks?! Primark is always hit and miss but I discovered these boot socks along side the ankle socks. They are the ideal socks for lounging in, not too suffocating and keep your feet at a perfect temperature.

I hope these items are able to give you some sort of joy in the new year.
Merry Christmas!

Energy Mask (Kiko, £5.90 but currently on offer for £2.90 online and possibly in most stores)

Stripped Tee (Zara, £5.99)

Boot Socks (£1.99 for a pack of 3, other colours include charcoal and dusty pink)

Gingerbread bunting

I've decided to start one of my new year resolutions early and take advantage of not working this Christmas by baking lots! Although I want to rejoin the gym next year, theres no harm in a treat every now and again, after all baking on Sundays instead of lounging in bed all day counts as some exercise right? Gingerbread is always top of my baking list during the festive season and whats better than combining baking and home decor! The recipe I followed requires very little ingredients and the method to create this bunting is super easy to follow. 

You will need:

350g of plain flour

1tsp of bicarbonate soda 

2tsp ground ginger

1tsp ground cinnamon

125g butter

175g brown sugar

1 egg

4tbsp golden syrup

Start by adding the flour, bicarbonate soda, ginger and cinnamon into a bowl and mix. Next add the butter in and mix until it looks like breadcrumbs and finally stir in the sugar. After beating the egg and golden syrup together, you should add it to the initial mixture and clump it all together. When you've created your mixture, you need to briefly knead the dough and clingfilm it in the fridge for 15 minutes. While your mixture is in the fridge, preheat your oven to 180C and line a couple of baking trays with greaseproof paper. After your dough has been refrigerated, roll it to about 0.5cm thickness and cut your shapes out (during this step make sure you flour your surface.) Before baking pierce a hole or two in the chest of the gingerbread men and then put in the oven for around 10-12 minutes. Check your gingerbread and if done move them over to a cooling rack until hard enough to thread without breaking. Thread the biscuits with a ribbon of your choice and finally hang somewhere around your house (keep away from children or pet's reach!)

Daylesford organic farm

At last I'm home for Christmas from what seem to be the longest term of my life! I'm very excited to be back with my family and preparing for my favourite time of the year! I was straight into festivities as we headed off to Daylesford Organic Farm as soon as I walked through the door!

Based in the Cotswolds (and a few other locations), Daylesford farm caters to a specific audience by supplying only organic products ranging from food to garments. You're first greeted with a small food hall displaying perfectly every fruit and vegetable you can imagine, you can then wander into the cheese room (literally a small room with cheese in every angle) or you can choose to stroll down towards the meat and cakes. If you fancy it, after the food hall you can opt to browse around a christmas area where you can pick up decorations, drinks or home products or stop off at the cafe trying some of the fresh food, which unfortunately we didn't have time for! 

The farm continues as you walk around to the next shed which is filled with gorgeous flowers and candles. This can be slightly overwhelming if you're sensitive to scents! Surrounding the buildings lay gravel gardens with ponds and fountains and also a spa and cashmere shop for the wealthier of us all! 

PUBLIC MARKET

Two days in Singapore is quite a difficult time frame. We don't have tonnes of time to do all the touristy stuff but we also don't have very little time where we can prioritise it. I knew Singapore was known for its business and creative arts, the Gardens of the Bay is an example of the creativity within the city but also its markets, galleries and museums are extremely popular. Similarly to London, fashion students within Asia would make it their mission to visit Singapore and other places like Tokyo.

Choosing not to do an internship and travelling instead meant that I was going all summer without learning about the world of fashion communications. So I decided to develop my learning by making the most out of the creative industry in Singapore. We had previously been to loads of markets in different countries, but for Singapore I wanted to look for a different kind of market, perhaps a flea or a textiles market. When researching I came across a website that showed different arty events on throughout the month of August. Public Garden had an indoor market event on on the 21st August.

Public Garden aims to bring together independent businesses and creative individuals to interact, engage and learn, this is done through workshops and markets. The market displays a collection of entrepreneurs within the creative industry and allows the general public to wonder around and admire (and purchase) their work. On the weekend of the 21st, the market was held at Chjmes Hall, an historical church. The location was absolutely stunning, all painted white, the church stood on the grounds of Chjmes, a complex which combines entertainment, architecture and history. The area has a range of restaurants, bars and cafes which all surround the hall.

The instant you walk into the hall you are overwhelmed by the choice of stalls. We started from the right side as it was the least busy and snaked our way around to the left. I remember the first stall we visited, my eyes were drawn to the necklace of one of the girls behind the stall and thats when I noticed, Asians have a passion for statement accessories! As we continued round you could see the majority of the stalls were either accessories, stationary or food.

I think it is fair to say there was a lot of talent at this market and a lot of businesses which deserve the recognition.