BT Art Boxes

The British Telephone box. An icon really. It’s one of those ‘have to take’ photos tourists do when in London (along with a picture of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace). So I when I was wandering around Covent Garden I was curious as to what all the jazzed up and made over telephone boxes were about. Turns out it’s the BT Art Boxes, a project to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee as well as raising money for Child Line’s 25th anniversary by auctioning off the boxes. Here’s some of the pictures I took.

The last two were found at Trafalgar Square. There are loads more dotted around the city, click here to see them (you can also view by map to see what’s close to you). I’m a bit sad I didn’t know about them until I stumbled on them, otherwise I would have made more of an effort to find some more! Especially the one that has been made into a couch! And even though I’m back again in London next week, the exhibition ends on July 16th. So if you are around London before then, keep an eye out for them!

My Summer Playlist!

A few of my favourite songs this summer!

Azealia Banks Liquorice. Azealia Banks blew up over her with 212, which I do find catchy but I only heard Liquorice two nights ago and I instantly love it. It makes me want to dance! It reminds me of something, I can’t put my finger on it though!

I only first heard Do My Thing by Estelle and Janelle Monae last night but it’s so darn catchy! Two of my favourite artists so I would have been surprised if it disappointed. Luckily it doesn’t!

I still LOVE Maverick Sabre’s Let Me Go as much as I did last year but I am also enjoying Katy B’s Live Lounge version. It’s completely different but at the same time still has the essence of the original. (I’m willing to forgive the fact she doesn’t use the correct lyrics!).

Even though I had heard of Wallis Bird a few years ago, I never checked her out til now. I love Encore but this at the moment is my favourite of hers. A catchy little ditty!

Another Live Lounge one here! This time it’s JLS doing a cover of Labyrinth’s Earthquake with a little sample of Do It Like A Dude by Jessie J.

It failed to impressed me the night of the Eurovision but by the next day Euphoria by Loreen was stuck in my head. A great one for the club!

Another good one for a night out dancing! But then again, most of songs Calvin Harris does are!

I only just discovered Vitamin String Quartet the other week. They do string versions of loads of different music. I chose this one as it was the first I heard and I think it’s amazing!

Finally, I was loving this one during the Euros. We may never had had a chance to get out of the group stages but it’s still a cracking tune. And the Irish are fantastic fans!

What are your favourite songs of the summer? Let me know in the comments below!

New Year’s Resolutions Update!

Sorry I’ve been absent for a while. Despite having loads of ideas in my head I have a bad case of writers block! So I thought I’d try a post like this to try get the flow going again!

My last New Year’s Resolutions update was at the end of March so I’m due my ‘half way there’ post.

1. Be more healthy and exercise more

I wish I could say this has happened but not really! Well, since doing the Vegetarian for a Month challenge I’ve been eating more vegetables (still not huge fruit fan, despite having a major sweet tooth).

2. Get a job

Not yet but still trying!

3. Cook 12 new savoury/dinner

I’ve made 8 so far (as well as making old recipes as slow cooker versions).

4. Make 12 new sweet dishes

11! One more and I’m finished. All have worked out except one, my Coca Cola cake.

5. Finish reading all the books I’ve started (There’s about 20-30 of them).

Overall I’ve read 22 books, though four of those are cookbooks which I don’t tend to count so 18 books so far. Out of the 18,only 4 are books that had to be finished from 2011 or 2010. I’m so bad at that, I hear and want to read of so many awesome books so I tend to finish them before the books I’m reading. Here's my Goodbooks list for 2012 so far.

6. Watch 50 films I’ve never seen (while completing the A-Z list I started last year)

23 so far, so almost half way there. Which is good, as I find I slack the most with the film list. I haven’t finished the A-Z yet but that’s because I’m trying to knock off some of the IMDb Top 250 for my 25 Before 25.

7. Learn a new skill (as of yet I have not decided).

Still haven’t decided! Well, I’m leaning towards crochet, I’m just hoping to find someone who can show me it in person as I get super confused with videos and books!

25 Before 25: Korma from scratch

This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I love chicken korma, I sometimes think I could eat it every day for the rest of my life! So I couldn’t wait for Meatless May to be over so I could make this. Yes, I know I didn’t specify it had to be a chicken korma and that I could have made a veggie one. But it was part of the reason that challenge wasn’t too difficult, the thought of being able to make this once it was over kept me going. But it’s definitely a recipe that can be made veggie easily, just omit the chicken and change to vegetable stock. Or if you wanted you could make it a lamb korma, the choice is yours.

I decided to do it in the slow cooker, as I want to try as many meals as I can out in it. Also, it’s perfect to use on hot days, it doesn’t heat up your kitchen. I adapted my recipe from this one on allrecipes.co.uk. And I’ve added other changes I will make when I go to make it again.

Slow Cooker Chicken Korma

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped

3 garlic cloves

4 chicken breasts, chopped into large chunks

1 tbsp oil

25g butter

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp ground tumeric

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp gram masala

300ml chicken stock

Few handfuls of frozen veg (I used carrots, peas, broccoli and cauliflower)

1 tbsp sugar

75ml cream (I used coconut milk, but I found my resulting korma wasn’t creamy enough for me. I would probably use cream or better still coconut cream next time around)

2 tablespoons flaked almonds or cashews

Salt

Method

1. In a blender, blitz the onion and garlic until you get a coarse paste.

2. In a frying pan, heat the oil and cook the chicken until evenly browned. Remove and add to slow cooker.

3. In the same frying pan, melt the butter. Add the onion and garlic paste and cook over moderate heat for 3 minutes. Add the spices and cook for another 1 minute.

4. Mix in chicken stock, sugar and pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and then transfer into the slow cooker. Add the vegetables.

5. Cover and cook for 5-7 hours on low heat or 3-4 hours on high heat.

6. Add the cream and nuts. Serve with rice and naan bread.

25 Before 25: 1 month as a Vegetarian

I think I can pin point my reasoning for wanting to try this. When I was 12/13, I read The Teenage Vegetarian Survival Guide and it was just something I wanted to do. Vegetarianism wasn’t new to me. While no one in my immediate family was vegetarian, an older cousin of mine was. Though now that I think about it, I can’t remember if I ever asked her why she became vegetarian. My aunt was also vegetarian at one stage as well as an uncle in America also at one time being vegetarian. So nothing entirely new for me.

It’s taken me over 10 years to actually try this challenge. And I don’t know why. But I’m glad I did. Eating fruit and veg isn’t my strong point but it was interesting to try new dishes as well as to jazz up some old favourites. I enjoyed the challenge of going out and having to eat the vegetarian option. I am grateful that whenever I went to one friend’s house, her aunt (who’s a vegetarian) always made some extra veggie dinner if I was eating there. And I’m proud my boyfriend stuck to the challenge too (except for once when he ate a hot dog after a 4am charity walk. Apparently it doesn’t count if it’s for charity!).

Plus, it was all worth it in the end, to achieve something. To stick something out and not lapse. It proves that I do have will power and it’s something I aim to remember every time I think I don’t. And while I can’t see myself turning veg any time soon, I do try to have one or two meat-free dinners a week (and it sometimes turns out to be even more than that). I just need to now focus on eating more fruit and veg in general!

Nails of the Week!

I managed to get my hands on Max Factor’s Fantasy Fire the other week and couldn’t wait to give it a go! It’s got a purpley-pinky sheen to it and while it would definitely give certain colours another dimension, I decided to try it over purple, as I thought it would help enhance and slightly change purple.

I used it over Catrice ‘Forget-Me-Not!’, a sparkly deep purple. Here’s a picture of before.

And after, with Max Factor ‘Fantasy Fire’ as a topcoat.

There’s a subtle difference, the Fantasy Fire adds a bit of pinkiness to the shade and I think it helps to warm it up a bit too. I will be using it again over other shades in the future so keep an eye out for it!

Guinness Store House

I’ve spoken before about being a tourist in my own country (here and here). So when I heard a friend of mine was going to the Guinness Store House I thought it would be a great opportunity to try out something ‘touristy’ that I had never done before. It was a beautiful day too and it was great to get out and enjoy the weather.

Lovely brick buildings.

Once you’ve gone through and paid, you come to a tour guide who gives a brief speech about Arthur Guinness and the lease that was signed. And that’s the end of tour guides then. You get to see the lease in a glass display in the ground.

Loads of different Guinness bottles from the years gone by.

For there you progress through different parts of the building which deal with things such as how Guinness is made and the ingredients, how it’s stored and transported, different advertising and memorabilia, various things Guinness sponsors, interactive computers with test your knowledge of alcohol, cafes, bars etc.

Indoor waterfall

Entry to the Store House also includes one free pint of Guinness. This can be redeemed either at the Pour Your Own Pint bar or else at the Gravity Bar (where they pour it for you). However, if you want to do both, you can buy an extra ticket for the Pour Your Own Pint for a fiver and your original entry ticket for the Gravity Bar. I decided to use mine at the Pour a Pint bar. Here you are taught the main steps in pouring a perfect pint of Guinness. Very interesting!

From there, we went to the Gravity Bar. What a beautiful day for a beautiful view!

The Spire looking massive!

I had a great day at the Guinness Store House, it was very interesting and well worth it. I’d recommend it to tourists and locals!