.....to err is human and also Wombly

I know, it has been ages since I showed my furry nose on blogger and frankly, no excuse will make up for it. I've been soooooooo neck-deep with work and everything else.

I'm sure most people experience the increased workload at the end of the year and it's account closing season. Having so much to do to ensure business resumes in January on a clean slate is one of the things people deal with. One thing I have learnt from living on my own and fending for myself is to respect my parent's on a deeper level. Lol. The life of a 9 to 5er isn't easy! Lol. Throw in a bunch of kids, bills and education = a hard knock life!

Yes, parents are indeed uber-amazing.

On a less amusing note, I am trying to upload pictures but failing woefully. Apparently Google has been storing all my pictures I uploaded here and now I've exceeded my limit. I need to create a public online account which I don't intend to do. Speaking of Google, I sent an email earlier and when I clicked the send button, Gmail gave me this message "You have written 'find attached' but did not include any attachements in your message. Do you want to send anyway?"

Is it just me or is it ridiculous the way companies disregard our right to privacy? I mean, what if I don't want what you are offering? Surely I should have a choice! Afterall, it's MY data.

I was going to upload pictures of what I've been up to but unfortunately, that's not going to happen no thanks to Google. I promise to research my options and hopefully find a way to bypass the system tomorrow.

Till then lovelies, please accept my apologies ......

Lotsa Womble love,
Lady xx

Avocado & Mayo hair mask

Recently, a friend contacted me on facebook expressing how shocked she was at the length of my hair. Lol. I did tell you my hair was a wreck at some point in my life. Also, we attended secondary school together where we all had to cut our hair - some rules are not worth explaining. Lol.

Anyways, she wanted to know what I did to get my hair this way. Like I said before, for me it's been a trial and error journey and I am improving everytime. Thankfully, my hair is patient......there are times I think I deserve to be bald!

Here is what I told her:

"Major thing I do is keep it wrapped up. If you look at my post on Birthday Blues, I have pictures at the end of how I wore my hair. I always keep the ends tucked away. I have worn my hair out only once and promised to never do it again. Some people have hair for it, others don't and I have figured out where my hair is in that range. Lol. Afros are cute, but some hair types suffer more than others.
I don't jump around following products and trends. It's my hair and it does what it wants so I let it. Lol. If you noticed, I use regular products. Always have. I am changing my hair routine and will blog about that soon but I am still using my cheap hair products till they finish. I am not buying £20 worth of shampoo when my 79p one is still here. When it finishes then we can talk, 79p is still money. Lol.
Moisture. I am not too good at this because wet hair = a whole new process of conditioning and styling. This is where I am failing seriously and why I am changing my hair care routine. Moisture is very important and by that I mean plain old simple free WATER. I have a body spray bottle that's empty so I washed that, put water and there you go. I recycle my containers instead of spending money buying this and that. When my body butter finishes, I use the container to mix conditioner and all that".

As far as changing my routine goes, I now deep condition with natural products. I like to try things out for a while before I give my opinion on them. This is my second time conditioning this way and I am definately sticking to it. Not only is it better for the environment, my hair loves it - which is understandable. I love food so it's understandable that my hair loves it too :D

I am recycling this container and using it to mix my conditioning hair mask

Remove the flesh of 1 ripe avocado

Mash in a container till smooth

I used 4 tbspns of mayonnaise. My hair absorbs products easily so I tend to use small quantities. Use as much as you know your hair needs.

Add 2 spoonfuls of honey and essential(s) oil of choice - a drop each

Mix till it's smooth.......kinda looks like baby food. Make enough for just one use. I won't advise storing in the fridge for later.

 I applied the conditioner to my hair, wrapped with cling film and went about my business. I know I said cling film is fussy in my previous hair post but I've decided to figure it out as it's better at generating heat. Leave for at least 20minutes then rinse out completely with cold water. Be sure to rinse your hair thoroughly to get rid of avocado bits and the smell of mayo.

Avocados contain essential nutrients, proteins, Vitamins A, D, E and K, B vitamins, magnesium, copper, iron, folic acid, potassium and amino acids which repair and replenish dry and damaged hair.
The proteins, vitamins B and E found in avocados can also increase the strength and elasticity of hair, giving it a healthy shine and texture.

One thing I will say is, this is quite messy to apply so wear an old t-shirt and do it over a sink. On the bright side, your hands get moisturized in the process of applying.......2-for-1, my kind of thing.

Later lovelies,
Lady Womble xx

Maybe I'm an oddball

Why I think so? Because I can't seem to find much this season that's particularly catching my eye.

For real! I love the season's colours and have been looking forward to visiting stores and maybe doing some shopping.

I received a £10 Oasis gift card from my lovely colleague which is due to expire tomorrow. I haven't gone shopping in over four months.and decided this was the perfect opportunity to look around.

Something always comes up and I never get the time to check out the stores. I hardly shop online because I absolutely hate the thought of having to return if it's not quite right. Returning stuff is a hassle for me. I already know what size I wear in the different designs I like but there's the bit where I love to see and sometimes feel stuff before I buy. Now the crazy thing is as much as I like to shop in store, I hate trying clothes on.......story for another day.

I took my camera to work in my bag as I had decided to visit my local Oasis store.....did I mention I love Oasis? It's my all time fave for work dresses. Anywhoooo, I went into town after work, camera in hand and after taking my first picture, my camera screen read 'Insufficient Memory'. I almost cried and screamed all in one second when I realised - I forgot my memory card in my computer after my last post.

So there, I finally make the time to go shopping and wanted to take you all along but I had to do the stupidest thing.......as usual. I didn't want to just go home and wandered around to see what fashion had to tell me. I went everywhere and not one thing inspired me enough to buy. Wait, that's not entirely true. I did find some pieces in Zara that I was inspired by........

At the end of my trip, I did buy something(s). Food from Marks & Spencer + some drinks from a Poundland and a 99p store. So there you have it, maybe I am indeed an oddball seeing as this season's fashion has failed to fully impress me. I will be checking online though because I think most of the best pieces have sold out due to the festive season and gift buying...........fingers crossed.

Vamp Shoe with heel back & high heel £39.99. Picture from Zara.com

Tartan Fabric Slipper £49.99. Picture from Zara.com

Basic Velvet Slipper £19.99. Picture from Zara.com

Slipper with Leopard print tassel £29.99. Picture from Zara.com

CC: Gnocchi con seta y gambas

Teeheehee! Don't throw a fit just yet! It's only Spanish! ;)

I have been having the time of my life! I got my first house visit yesterday from my dear friend, I'll call her MeJulie :D
 Anyway, my friend came visiting so I rushed home from work to cook a decent meal for dinner. Last week, I was invited to the coolest business dinner ever where I had my starter at one restaurant, main at another and dessert at a third! All the dishes were amazing and taking inspiration from my main course, I decided to create a dish of my own - Gnocchi with mushrooms and prawns.


I did not get to see the menu as every thing was chosen before we arrived at the restaurant (main course was at an Italian restaurant) As usual, I focused on the flavours and textures whilst eating to figure out what was what. My dish was served with chicken but as you will have noticed, I have a thing for my seafood any day. I am pretty sure there is something similar out there but this was my creation, recipe free :P Sorry I don't have regular measurements, I don't measure when I cook. Trying to break the habit for you all as you would have noticed from posts like this

Heat a saucepan

Add 1tspn of butter

I put in 1tspn of fresh garlic puree and leave for 2mins

Add your prawns (gambas) with a stock cube, thyme and black pepper. Leave to simmer for 3 mins

Add your full cream (I used a 150g tub) and leave to bubble for 5 mins

Chop your mushrooms (seta). You can use a mix of different varieties

In a frying pan, add 1tspn of butter

Pour in your mushrooms and fry till cooked

When cooked, add mushrooms to the sauce, stir and leave to simmer for 2 mins.

Fill a saucepan with salted boiling water

My potato gnocchi

Put your gnocchi in the boiling water making sure they are spaced apart. It should sink.

Once the gnocchi starts to float, it is cooked. This takes about 2 mins

Get rid of the boiling water

Mix a portion of your sauce and the cooked gnocchi then enjoy!

We are ready for our close-up.....

So there I was cooking up a storm and what did my friend say when I hinted I was cooking with cream - she wasn't having this for dinner. OOOOkay. Lol. I still went ahead with it and plated the dish then started cooking what she said she wanted. Now here's the interesting bit. Before I started the second dish, this had happened to the first in 10mins and I wasn't responsible....funtimes!

For my second dish, I served noodles with salmon chunks......again, seafood.

*No calories were counted at anytime pre or post production.

Night Lovelies xx

Patent.Leopard print.Suede

I had a new addition to my shoe family on my way home from my weekend trip .

My train wasn't due for 2 hours so off I wandered past the barrier gates to get dinner and see what Basingstoke had to offer.

The last time I got myself shoes was in May/June. Since then, I have been craving a pair of winter boots which I got as my birthday pressie

As much as I love style, I always make sure I don't buy anything I don't need. I mean, what's the point of having a wardrobe full of clothes, bags and shoes when there's only one me? As long as I have the basics, I'm good. So when it comes to shoes, as long as I have a pair in one colour, why buy another? Plus, I don't get to wear most of my shoes....and yes, I love my heels anyday.

I guess we can say I had myself an early Christmas then. From the moment I saw these shoes on the wrong aisle, I hunted the collection down.......sniffer dogs and all. Lol. I have always wanted black high heeled shoes, comfy enough to wear to work and functions. When I saw this one, although it was pricier that the plain shoes, I opted for it because it ticked my boxes and yet stands out in a subtle way, just like yours truly ;)

My feet love me for this! *hehehe

CC: Easy cinnamon cake

I got back from work and decided to make a cake.....I bought some baking ingredients last week and the milk needed using up.

You will need:

250g plain flour

150g of caster sugar ( I am not a fan of sugar so if you have a sweet tooth, use 180g)

75g of butter

2 medium eggs, lightly beaten

2 tsp of baking powder

1 tsp of ground cinnamon

200ml of milk

Extra caster sugar and cinnamon, to sprinkle

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees ( Fan - 160 degrees and Gas - 4).
Lightly grease a non-stick cake tin.

In a mixing bowl, cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy

Slowly add the eggs, beating at all times

Gradually fold in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and milk

Pour the mixture into the prepared cake tin

Bake for 40 mins until the sides just begin to come away from the tin

Mix together about 1 tsp of the extra sugar and 1/2 tsp cinnamon, sprinkle over the cake and return to the oven for 5 mins to glaze.

Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.

Hotel Loving.....I mean, Living.

I finally get to sleep in my bed!

Starting Friday, my weekend was all about long train rides, sleeping in a hotel and surprisingly heavy luggage.

I tell you, there are places I never knew existed until I had to catch a train at 6:00am, travelling for four hours and after changing trains and dealing with delays, arriving at my destination over an hour late.

Yep, did I mention that Wombles live busy lives? I was asked on friday, 'You have lots of time right? Considering all you get up to'. My reply, 'It's not about having time, I make time'

Here's where I stayed this weekend. Between the free breakfast and incredibly warm room, I can't decide what won my heart. Lol. As usual, I had to do something ditsy so I set off the fire alarm because I took a shower with my bathroom door open o.O

It's funny how people tend to sleep on one side of a bed regardless of it's size.

That's me in the mirror.......all covered in grey fur :o)

After ironing my outfit and going everywhere with a suit bag I get there and find this.....

Nope, I don't have a bathroom fetish......I'm just 'OCD' about the cleanliness of bathrooms

Detail on wall

You know it has to be on MAX! Lol.....until the place warms up

I will choose you again. Highly recommended.