Urban Outfitters Bedding

Now the weather has turned (there's no point in denying it any more, is there?), I'm on the hunt for more bedding. I wasn't expecting to find such lovelies in Urban Outfitters.


Most of their duvet covers are under £100, and they're web exclusives. I'm not always a huge fan of the customer service from the website, I do love the prettiness.


This flower photo print is a much more interesting take on the floral theme.


This ruffle duvet cover is slightly more expensive at £125, but it's very fancy indeed. Overly girly? Yes, absolutely.

The only hard part will be deciding which one I want.

Sluttishly Easy: 3 Step Chocolate Sorbet

I’ve noticed recently that the sensitivity to lactose I’ve been suffering, and to tell the truth, blatantly ignoring, has become more of an issue. Milk headaches, bloating and blocked sinuses do not a happy Slut make.

Ever resourceful, and not one to let a little thing like dairy stop me from enjoying frozen dessert deliciousness, I have turned to ice cream’s cosmopolitan cousin, sorbet.

Not only is this recipe incredible, it’s also fantastically easy. This is good news. It’s also about as dairy free as you’re going to get, while still cream-a-licious.

This recipe was taken from my flatmate’s copy of Sweet Alternative by Ariana Bundy. I’ve reduced the amount of sugar from the original recipe as my teeth practically fell out as I was eating this last weekend.

You Will Need:

• 450ml filtered or mineral water (not sparkling)
• 225g chocolate
• 120g caster sugar

Make It!

• Heat water, chocolate and sugar in a pot until boiling.
• Take off the heat, and let cool completely, before pouring into an ice cream maker
• If you don’t have an ice cream maker, (I don’t) pour into a freezer safe container and freeze until hard.
• When hard, cut up into chunks and whizz in a food processor until smooth. Refreeze for another hour.

Some Hot Tips:

• I like to use at least 70% cocoa chocolate. I have a penchant for dark chocolate, and the sugar in this recipe takes the edge off the bitterness
• Do use caster sugar. Trust me on this. The last thing you want to eat is chocolate sand.

Maximum taste and minimum effort. This is a win/win situation folks.

Flickr image taken from Elana’s Pantry photostream.

Baking For Beginners: Strawberry Mascarpone Cream Cake

For reasons best known to myself (i.e. I have No Idea Why), I'd been on a bit of a strawberry buying spree and had 3 large punnets in my fridge and no idea what to do with them. A quick scooch round the interwebs pulled up this recipe on She Simmers which sounded rather scrummy and a good way of using at least some of the strawberry horde.

The original recipe calls for the use of gelatin in the filling and a chilling time of 5-6 hours. I was a bit unsure why you'd need gelatin to firm up a mascarpone and cream filling if you were chilling it for that long so I've gone with my own measurements (well approximately - I didn't actually measure anything out...) which leaves out the need for gelatin and the very long chilling time. Of course, the longer it's in the fridge, the firmer the filling will be. I found 30 minutes to be enough though.

You will need:

For the sponge
3 large eggs
170g (6oz) self raising flour
170g (6oz) caster sugar
170g (6oz) butter or baking margarine

For the filling (approximate amounts as I forgot to measure anything!)
Approx 340g (12oz) mascarpone cheese
200ml whipping cream
2-3 tablespoons caster sugar
Approx 300g (10.5oz) strawberries, chopped
5-6 large strawberries, sliced

You'll also need a springform cake tin.

Make it!

• First you'll need to make your sponge. Rather than creaming the sugar and fat then gradually mixing everything else in, dump it all in a bowl and mix until it's looking light and creamy. Not only is this much easier, it results in a slightly denser sponge which works better for this kind of cake. Pour the mix into your greased tin and bake until it's done (about 25 minutes on 200C should do it)

• When the sponge is done, let it cool and set about making the filling. Whisk the cream until it starts thickening into peaks. Add the sugar and mascarpone and carry on whisking until it it's very thick and looking like a marshmallow cloud of yum that you want to stick your face in. Fold in the chopped strawberries and set to one side.

• Now the sponge has cooled, carefully slice it in half and put the ring bit of the tin back on (if you took it off). Arrange the sliced strawberries around the edge, pushing them slightly into the sponge to help them stay upright. Spoon in the cream mixture and push it down so there's no gaps. Put the other half of the sponge on top and press it down firmly.

• If you don't have long to chill the cake, place a couple of plates on top before you put it in the fridge. Otherwise, cover with foil and put it in the fridge for however long you like. Once it's chilled, remove the ring and marvel at how pretty the strawberries look. Seeing as I had more strawberries, I dusted the top with some icing sugar and used some cheating squirty cream to hold the strawberries in place - which also worked as a slice guide when it came to sharing. Which unfortunately I had to do.

Kitchen Porn: Dish Bunny Washing Up Rack

I love kitchen stuff. Not just a little bit, oh no, I really love it. Dare I admit that I would generally rather buy lovely new things for my kitchen than buy a new dress? I love the whole process of making my own mark on a kitchen and having recently moved into the hubs house I have a huge amount of mark making to do!



I am very tempted by this rather fabulous Dish Bunny Washing Up Rack, £22.50 from Dutch by Design. Not only does it make me smile but I am hoping it will serve as a temporary distraction from the rabbit related lobbying I am currently being subjected to from the smallest member of our household!

Gorgeous Gardens: Animal Watering Cans

How does your garden grow? Water it with an elephant's trunk, and apparently you'll be set for horticultural success. And then there's the added bonus that you get to pretend to be a giant in a miniature jungle, with these animal watering cans by Hidden Eden. This small silver elephant will set you back £13.50, from Amazon.

This galvanised steel robin watering can is handmade, and holds half a litre in his little stomach. He might seem a tad prematurely festive, but imagine how adorable he'll look left out in the snow (especially when compared to the sad sight of my current plastic watering can, rotting to a sad death in a puddle of rainwater as I type). He's £14.85, again from Amazon.

Last but not least, this chubby piglet watering can is a cute budget alternative to those adorable micro-pigs that were all over the news a while back. It's £15.38, also from Amazon. Just don't go overboard and buy them all, as I reckon a metal menagerie might look a bit mad.

Bedside table manners with Plumo

After years of defiantly being a bag lady, I've been convinced the way ahead is to move in with my boyfriend. An essential condition of our cohabitation? Getting a good pair of bedside tables.

You may argue a sofa or a dining table is more domestically useful but let me explain. In our slightly Morecambe and Wise-esque relationship, the bedside table is an absolute essential for keeping a book or a paper close to hand, ready to be picked up when one of us is huffing or - more likely in my case - just won't shut up.

After renting Ikea-filled accommodation for years, I've been hankering after something a bit different. And I've been daydreaming about this Danish teak cabinet from Plumo since I spotted it for Retro To Go.

With its dark wood and simple shape, it fits perfectly into my fantasy decorating scheme for the flat and looks like it could even date back to the Morecambe and Wise era. It's got a drawer too, so useful for storing things like books, glasses and possibly a pipe (though that might be taking the comparison a step too far).

At £209 per cabinet, I've a feeling that price might cause our first in-bed squabble. However, if my dear boyfriend wants a peaceful night's sleep, I think he'll know what he needs to invest in...

Fashion: Moody and Farrell's Hello Sailor Reflective Collar

As a ladycyclist, it's a constant struggle to cheat death on the mean streets of London, let alone arrive at my destination relatively sweat-free. My best friend thoughtfully sent me a LOLsome Spiderman helmet; it makes me look as though I'm wearing a child's duvet cover on my head and therefore I've worn it four times. But then, this is a man who wears an oversize neon tabard and trouser clips whenever he leaves the house. Safety's an essential but, for me, so is style. 


My bike's pretty cute  so I went back to Bobbin Bicycles (where it came from) and found this great-but-a-bit-insane reflective collar: 

• 

Let's just say that passing trucks, lorries and other vehicles of doom won't be able to ignore you as you sail past in this bright red sailor collar. It's a mighty £72 but, hey, it means you'll look good AND you won't die. Probably*.

*Non-death not guaranteed.

Mr Yen's Impossible Things

Mr Yen's papercuts are always fabulous, but this one has totally captured my heart (it's an Alice in Wonderland quote, isn't it?) I want to put this above my desk once I've decorated. Maybe then I'll imagine lots of impossible things before breakfast as well. That will come in handy for writing, I'm sure of it.

The papercut comes unframed and it'll be cut to order. It's $45 and I really want to put coloured paper behind it to make it look extra pretty.