Dream Big

Top- River Island
Jeans- Miss Selfridge
Coat- New Look
Bag- H&M

I know it's the most over used English topic of conversation and I'm am sick of talking about it myself, but where the hell did the sun go. We were tempted, treated and teased with a week of sunshine and warmer weather, and just as I found my perfect pair of new-season sunglasses (I was being very picky, but finally found the right pair in Next!) and my winter-blues mood had finally lifted, we were slapped in the face with the disappointment of the typical, unpredictable English bloody weather. Take off your sunglasses and put back on your coat! Eugh. I'll just hope and pray that, that wasn't our summer.

But anyway, weather rant over. These photographs were taken by my ever-so lovely boyfriend, Matt, as we took a stroll around the harbour, walking off our food baby from the giant pizza we'd just eaten. (You'll see, said pizza, on my Instagram!) Even though the clouds do look rather grey the sunset was beautiful. It was a lovely, chilled out weekend, just what was needed before Monday morning came around, again, to start the new work-loaded week.

This weeks Stylist magazine has been my motivation for this week as it includes an article on their top '100 inspiring quotes for life.' If you haven't had the chance to read it yet, download it on your phone and have a peak. When I see 'motivational quotes' plastered all over Instagram and Facebook I scroll past and choose not to read them. They bore me. Sorry. However there were a few inspiring ones in their top 100 that made me think, "Week, come at me!" So here are my favourite 3...

"If your dreams don't scare you, they're not big enough." Ellen Johnson Sirleaf (President of Liberia)

"Everything will be OK in the end. If it's not OK, it's not the end." John Lennon

"Be who you are and say how you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind." Dr Seuss

Tea Time

Katie Alice Teacup

Last week was my birthday week, Friday was my actual birthday, but I've felt so spoiled that my birthday in fact lasted the whole week with various family meals, nights out, lunches with friends and a lot of cake! (if you follow my Instagram, you'll have seen the ma-whosive cake my flatmates bought me!)

So the past week has been pretty busy, and full of sunshine, which is why the posts on here have been lacking. But I thought I'd begin with a post that features a beautiful teacup, by Katie Alice, that was a birthday present of the lovely Hannah, and Hannah!

The pastel flowered cup is a perfect size for a decent cup of tea, or in this case, tasty orange hot chocolate from Whittards, so after a busy week, the following weeks are made up of essays and assignments. I momentarily forgot about university, because of all the fun and food, but unfortunately the time has come to get my head down and finish my second semester units before easter starts in April, so I can enjoy some guilt free relaxing, in the sun I hope.

I was bought so many amazing presents from family and friends, which will be featured on here shortly, along with a some spring wardrobe buys, as I'm preparing for a major shopping trip soon. But for now, this blog features the beautiful tea cup and saucer, gorgeous orange hot chocolate as well as a side of white chocolate and the new strawberries and cream Lindor chocolates. (They are a certified way to my heart!)

Girls, Girls, Girls!

My weekend consisted of watching 27 episodes of Girls (that's a lot of hours I know, but I kinda got addicted!) I know I'm super slow on the up-take and that I'm kinda a year late but I'm not usually one to watch TV series when they're shown on TV (It was only a year ago that I finally watched the first series of Skins) I was also a bit sceptical of Girls but I watched the first episode and was hooked! The girls are so relatable, funny and loveable that I watched as many episodes back to back as I could  until I fell asleep.

I know you've already probably seen it and you're like, 'yes Amy, we already know how great it is' but I've only just realised how good it is and I really wish I was a little bit more like each of them...

Hannah- We could all do with the confidence she has with her body, I love her, I don't give a shit attitude. She is also really witty, without even trying. I can't help but laugh at her honesty!

Marnie- I want her, eye brows, nose, lips, eyes, everything basically, she's gorgeous. Aside from that however, her drive to stay positive and stay perfect (even though she's regularly crapped on from a great height) is inspirational.

Jessa- Firstly, I'd like to have the length of her hair (mine just doesn't grow past a certain point!) but I'd also like to be as care free and open as she is. She'd try anything and doesn't judge anything! She's great, I want to be her, but I'll settle to be here friend.

Shoshanna- Well, she's a character. I do like her vulnerability but in season 3, episode 7, her out burst of honesty is fantastic. She's better when she's drunk!

Adam- Is it weird that I kinda find him attractive, maybe, sort of. There is just something about him that is lovely. I think he won me over when her ran topless, whilst on FaceTime to Hannah, to her house to pick her up in his arms when she was having a slight mental break down. Too cute!

So I'm waiting patiently, (not so patiently) for the rest of series 3 to be aired on Sky. Can't wait!

LDN

Top- River Island
Scarf- TopShop
Coat- New Look
Bag- H&M
Jeans- Miss Selfridge

London is always a good idea, especially when the sun shines bright and amazing food is involved! The girls and I visited London to go to the Isabella Blow: Fashion Galore! exhibition before it closes next sunday, I had been recommended it by many so I couldn't let it go a miss and I wasn't let down. 

If I'm honest I haven't really visited many exhibitions but this one is the best by far. Not only was the clothing and accessories that were showcased amazing, but the journey you're taken on makes you feel like you knew her personally. Quirky boxes (with legs and arms!) showcasing little notes and magazines prints inside, many videos of her, so many mannequins with her clothes on, that all had seen much love and affection from the worn out seams and broken heels on shoes- making you feel like you knew her that little bit more. The exhibition moved through many rooms and floors to finally a video of a catwalk show in 2007, which was in honour of her following her death. I completely recommend you visit if you get the chance.

Once we had made our way round the exhibition our tummies grumbled so we treated ourselves to a meal (and pudding) at Garfunkels, before we walked around the city admiring the sights, and the sun. We then grabbed a coffee and rested our throbbing feet and took home shortly afterwards. 

My next visit will be to see the David Bailey exhibition at the National Gallery. That exhibition is on till June, so that'll happen once this uni work has been handed in!

True Beauty

Today, females in particular, rarely feel proud of their bodies. We always want to manipulate and change our appearance. With the opportunity for 'New Year fresh starts', it's time to kick old habits and feel good in our skin. I interviewed Pamina Brassey, a breast cancer survivor, who loves and cherishes the body she is in.

Beauty. Who gets to decide what is beautiful?

Why do we choose to modify our bodies with make-up, surgery and the ever-changing new diet craze in order to fit into a 'beauty ideal'? Our perspectives are changed and influenced by those around us, who seem to make us forget what we already know- that we are all different and unique.

The media, I think we can all agree, plays a big part in influencing our decisions on what we should all agree on as 'beautiful'. We are bombard with images of airbrushed celebrities and supermodels that give us an unattainable beauty ideal.We all know the photographs aren’t realistic and in their true form, yet we still conform to the beliefs that this is the ideal we should be aspiring to. Beauty shouldn’t be limited to what our culture and society has decided but instead celebrated for its uniqueness and individuality.

Pamina Brassey
©Ragged Crow

Perhaps it is only when you’re faced with a life-changing experience that you truly appreciate your body for what it can be and how it can survive, not just what it looks like.  How often do you look in the mirror wishing you could alter, nip and tuck your body to fit these beauty ideals? And how often do you admire your body and thank it for keeping you alive?

Pamina does. Pamina Brassey is a breast cancer survivor, a beautiful, confident woman who didn’t let her experience get the better of her. ‘The catastrophic blow of a cancer diagnosis is a huge set back, my confidence waned and I felt like a neutered cat, grateful to be alive. It took time to get myself back to where I was before surgery.’

In 2010, 49,564 women heard the phrase, ‘you have breast cancer’. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in the UK, but 8 out of 10 women survive and triumph over the illness, Pamina is just one them.

Pamina Brassey
©Ragged Crow

‘The breast is an object of female beauty and male adoration, losing one made me question my sexuality.’ Gender is a social construct, an idea that has been created by society allowing us to understand the idea of men and women by categorising us. Women have a slim hourglass figure, men are physically strong and tough. So does the absence of breasts make a woman no longer a woman? Hell no!

Pamina Brassey explains, ‘Cancer isn’t sexy but survival is.’ A phrase that can be used as an inspiration to many women out there experiencing cancer themselves.

We can’t keep hating ourselves and wishing for better, we're stuck together for life so why not enjoy it and appreciate it. Let’s start to concentrate on the positives and our favourite things about our body, whether that is a physical trait or a personality trait. Pamina believes that ‘beauty is within and a glorious state of mind. It’s something you find within yourself and cherish. It’s the glow of happiness through self fulfillment.’

So who is deciding who is beautiful? I am certainly not prepared to have my mind controlled by someone behind a desk that criticises women on their looks making us believe we don’t fit in. I want to have a say, and hey, I say everyone is beautiful and you should believe in yourself as much as your body and I do. Pamina sometimes has to ‘put on a brave face and get on with it.’ So, despite the lump and bumps and the oddities that you would rather live without, be proud of the skin your in.

Does Pamina’s fight and determination make you feel proud of your body and what it can do? Doesn’t it make you want to ‘stick it to the man’ and be proud of your female beauty no matter what size or shape you are?

So lets show some girl power and choose to love and respect our figures and promise to always stand by our body just like it has always been there for us.

Love is in the air...

It's Valentines Day of course, who could forget? But love is also in the air because I've been busy making little chocolate truffles, and everyones true love is chocolate! I thought I'd be smushy and use heart moulds, but really, it doesn't matter what they look like, I just want to eat them! 

I found these recipes on the How To Do That website and Betty magazine (I by no means thought of them myself) but I thought I'd try them out and see if they turn out at all like the pictures on their websites. 

They are super, super tasty. The strawberry filling is completely worth the effort! Find the recipes below. 

Happy Valentines Day everyone!

Strawberry Truffles

Filling

150g of strawberries, halved

150g white chocolate

Chocolate coating

150g of milk/dark chocolate

20g white chocolate

A few hand fuels of sprinkles (or toppings of your choice)

-Place strawberries in a saucepan, at medium heat, with the lid on, to stew. Stir frequently to stop them sticking.

-Once the strawberries have turned mostly to liquid, take off the heat and add the white chocolate. stir in until mixed together.

-Strain the paste into a bowl, through a metal sieve, to take out any large strawberry lumps and the seeds.

-Place in the fridge over night to cool completely.

-Melt some white chocolate and with the wrong end of a spoon, place some in the bottom of the moulds. (This will create a marble effect once they've set)

-Melt the milk chocolate and pour into the mould to cover fill them up completely.

-Shake the mould to stop any air bubbles and wait a few seconds. Then tip the moulds up-side down to get rid of the excess, scrap over the moulds with the flat of a knife to scrape away the over-flowing chocolate.

-Pipe the strawberry mixer into the moulds, nearly to the top. (If you don't have a piping bag, just use a sandwich bag instead.)

-Spoon the rest of the milk chocolate over the strawberry to finish off the chocolates. Add sprinkle/toppings to the bottom of the chocolates if you wish.

-Place in the fridge until set, pop out of the moulds, eat and enjoy!

Chocolate Truffles

Truffle

300ml of double cream

1 1/2 tbsp. of caster sugar

300g of milk/dark chocolate

1 thumb sized piece of unsalted butter

1 pinch of sea salt

Topping

75g white chocolate

Chocolate sprinkle (or any topping of your choice, nuts, dried fruit etc)

-Heat the cream and the sugar in a pan on a low heat. Make sure the cream doesn't boil, heat until you see small bubbles forming.

-Take off the heat and add the broken up chocolate, butter and salt. Mix until the chocolate has melted, the ganache should be glossy.

-Cover and place in the fridge over night to cool completely.

-Using a tea spoon, scoop a some ganache and form into a ball with the tips of your fingers. (This is super messy! Prepare to get chocolate everywhere!)

-Place them back in the fridge to cool and harden slightly.

-Whilst they are in the fridge, melt the white chocolate ready for dipping.
-Dip each ball of truffle into the white chocolate to cover half, then dip into sprinkles (or topping of your choice) place onto a plate or small cupcake case and pop back in the fridge to harden once again.

- Once the chocolate has set, eat and enjoy!

Good things come to those who wait

Coat- New Look
Shirt, Bag- H&M
Jeans- Miss Selfridge
Boots- River Island
Lipstick- Mac: Rebel

Last week I managed to find this beauty of a shirt in H&M, I've been looking for a new baggy style checked shirt for some time now, I will admit that I have seen many I like but they are all so expensive, naming no names (There all in Urban Outfitters of course!) I just can't afford to be spending £40 a shirt! Thats a months shopping! So when I found this one for £14.99, minus the 20% student discount from Unidays (which ends tomorrow so theres not much time!) it would have been rude for me to run it away.

I really have been trying not to buy unnecessary items (this shirt was of course necessary!) because of living on a student budget n'all that as well as not being able to find my self a job yet means that, until I do, I have to be sensible and cut back. (proving to be more difficult to actually do than it was to write that sentence!) However, there is a light at the end of every tunnel as my birthday is fast approaching. Well, it's still a whole month away but thats close enough. Close enough for me to start writing a birthday wish list. 

I braved the blustery winds and wet weather to go to the high street today for the first time in over a week and everyone seems to have had a re-stock! Every shop had many items that tickled my fancy! Tops, Skirts, Bags, Purses, Coats, you name it I wanted it. My light at the end of tunnel is that I can suggest these items as birthday presents, meaning I don't have to buy them and that I don't have to wait to long either! However I do know deep down I won't actually receive any of these items as the list is rather long (endless) but a girl can dream right?