New hair yay!

I'm going to sound like a stupid Dove or Special K or Activia advert right now, but it's so true that when you feel confident about how you look, you have a brighter outlook on life and feel better about everything you do.

And there are few things I love more than getting my hair done to boost my mood - whenever I leave the hairdresser, be that after just a blow-dry or a cut and colour, I sassy walk home, unable to resist checking myself out in every window I pass (and trying not to sniff my hair too much in public because that would be weird.)

Last week, I paid a visit to a Headmasters salon for the first time. There are tons of salons and I'd heard such good things from my friends, but had yet to get around to visiting. I'm one of those awful people who waits till her hair is super straggly and horrid before actually sorting it out, but hey. Life is expensive.

One of the best things about Headmasters, however, is they regularly have offers on such as 50 per cent off colour which, let's be real, makes a huuuuuge difference.

Getting your hair done is pricey. But I love it SO much.

I love the whole experience of a visit to the salon. I love having my hair played with, I love being pampered, and I love the excitement of a transformation.

My hair was long overdue a cut (cheers to my sister and her brutal honesty for pointing this out), but I decided I wanted a little more of a change so decided to go for a balayage.

I wanted to be blonder, but still look natural. It needed to be noticeable, but subtle. I'm a picky customer.

But folks, I was so so pleased with the outcome. The wonderful Clare Hollywood from Headmasters worked her magic and I am so so chuffed. I feel like a new woman! Well, the same woman but with better hair, perhaps. (Apols none of these pics are great cos they're nighttime selfies but what can ya do?)

The great thing about colouring your hair with an ombre balayage is that it's so low-maintenance and it continues to look good no matter how much longer your hair grows.

And I'm excited to be a little blonder. Change is good, after all.

The dreamy waves, however, were sadly not a permanent affair. I am either cursed or blessed (I can't make my mind up) with deadly straight hair. Whilst it is indeed easy to manoeuvre and very low-maintenance, it's also just a bit meh. A bit flat. A bit boring.

Sure, I could curl it, which I do occasionally, but I'm too lazy to do it often.

So I've decided just to embrace the straightness. And this is where my new fave hair styling product comes in...

The kind people at Revlon generously sent me their new Pro Collection Salon One Step Hair Dryer and Styler to play with. Yeah, it's quite the name. Essentially it's a hair brush and hair dryer in one. So yeah, a gadget you never knew you needed.

But I'm a big fan - it leaves my hair super sleek and got rid of any sneaky kinks.

The brush is very easy to use - you simply plug it in, choose the power setting (dependent on the thickness of you hair) and gently brush your hair, miraculously drying and smoothing it at the same time. No frizz allowed.

You want to use it on towel-dried hair (otherwise you may be there all day), but it's more efficient than I was expecting, taking probably just a smidge longer than a normal hair dryer.

I also like the styler because you can use it with your head at any angle and don't really need a mirror either.

It's not too loud, which is always good, but it is quite big so not the most portable of stylers.

The first time I used the styler I was concerned it would leave me with really dried out ends, but that wasn't the case at all.

So now I can go around with sassy hair and check myself out in every window again. (I need to stop this.)

Also how adorable is this ballerina necklace? I've received tons of compliments on it so just wanted to let y'all know it's from Ted Baker. So cute, right?

I love the rose gold and as a gal who did ballet for 20 years, it will always have a special place in my heart.

Aaaaand this concludes the blog post of probably the most selfies ever. Were I a Serious Blogger I'd have got someone to take a million pictures of me on a fancy camera, probably outside houses in Notting Hill. But I'm not. Sincere apologies.

An autumnal bread-making workshop at the Jamie Oliver Cookery School, London

I love bread. Who doesn't love bread? Everyone loves bread.

And yet, despite this fact, it's not something I've ever made. I don't tend to buy it much either. But that's not to say I don't demolish a bread basket when given the opportunity.

As you may know, I bake a lot of cakes. Love me some cake-baking.

But bread? Well I've always thought it was difficult and just a bit of a faff what with all that proving and whatnot.

So when I was invited along by Curry's PC World and Hotpoint to the Jamie Oliver Cookery School for an autumnal bread-baking masterclass with a few fellow bloggers, I was mad keen to go along and find out just what exactly is involved when creating bready delights.

It was a beautiful autumn day when I arrived at the cookery school - sunny but with a crispness in the air - which was just perfect for what we were going to be making: crusty white rolls, focaccia and a walnut and caramelised onion wholemeal loaf. YUMMMMM!

The cookery school is delightful - it's bright and beautifully decorated, with all the kitchen equipment of your dreams.

After tea, coffee, biscuits and fruit upon arrival (well, you've gotta fuel up for all that baking, right?), we donned our aprons and hit the kitchen, where the fabulous head chef Gabby was going to instruct us in how to become the next Paul Hollywood.

First up: crusty white bread rolls.

After an expert demonstration, it was our turn, and we were encouraged to experiment with different shapes. I decided to try plaited loaves and ended up making two extremely unequal ones. Oh well.

Glazed and sprinkled with pumpkin seeds before baking, I think they turned out pretty nicely though.

So proud of my work. Domestic goddess. Who dis.

And it had all been incredibly quick, with just a little prove and a quick bake. Of course, it helps when all the ingredients are not only laid out but measured for you. Such luxury. Plus, the snazzy Hotpoint ovens meant everything baked perfectly evenly which as any baker will know, is not always the case.

Next up, focaccia. I always thought this must be incredibly complex to make, but it's so damn simple. Who knew? (Probably everyone who's ever made focaccia.)

We ground up some sea salt and rosemary to go on top...

Spread it all over the dough and that was pretty much it.

And alongside the focaccia we baked our third creation: wholemeal bread filled with walnuts and caramelised onion. Oh yes.

We had to knead our dough for a full ten minutes and then let it prove, but after that it was just a case of stretching it out, covering it with caramelised onions and walnuts, rolling it up and finishing with an egg wash and pumpkin seeds. Simples!

I was rather pleased with how these came out too.

Yumma.

Hard work done, it was time to sit down with a glass of prosecco and enjoy the fruits of our labours. 

I don't wanna brag, but everything was delicious, and the bread went down a treat with the best fondue I've ever had and a bowlful of classic pumpkin soup (recipes here!)

I had had so much fun meeting like-minded people, learning more about bread-making and eating delicious things. How lucky am I to get opportunities such as this? 

And I'm definitely feeling inspired to do more bread-baking in future too. Are you?

A healthy Indian-inspired supper club with Mira Manek

A little while ago, I was fortunate enough to be invited to a supper club hosted by Mira Manek. I'll be honest, I'd never heard of Mira, but after being promised "an Indian inspired Spring Feast of old family favourites with a healthy, new age twist" I was definitely in.

Healthy Indian chef Mira is on a mission to change the perception of Indian food as greasy, heavy and unhealthy. Sure, gluten-free, vegan, refined sugar-free recipes are everywhere these days, but has anyone applied the concept to Indian food? Not that I knew of. I was intrigued and excited.

The supper club was to be held at the beautiful members' club, Grace Belgravia.

It was a wonderful setting and just the right sophisticated yet informal vibe.

After a chai cocktail (or two) we sat down at the table to commence our 12 course feast.

Yes, 12 courses. Your eyes do not deceive you. I KNOW! Smocks ahoy, am I right?

Now before we go any further I should apologise for my photos - I wasn't planning on blogging about the evening so only had my phone with which to take pics. But then I loved it all so much I realised I simply had to share the evening with you all and introduce you to Mira and her food because I think she is fantastic.

Alright, let's kick this dinner off!

So, sweet and spicy padron peppers - an always delicious classic - plus an Indian summer salad with kale, dates and strawberries. I'm not usually one for fruit in salads but this totally worked and I loved the crunch of the flaked almonds on top too.

Grilled mushrooms with walnut pesto. I'm not a huge mushroom lover but I gave these a try. The walnut pesto, however, I thoroughly enjoyed.

Mung bean and sweet potato rosti - bloody loved these. Let's be real, anything topped with avocado is going to be a winner in my books. Which brings me nicely on to...

Spiced courgetti and noodle (I wanna say they were brown rice noodles?) slaw with roasted chickpeas and avocado. I absolutely adored this dish. I have no idea what was in that sauce to make it so creamy whilst also vegan but it was fantastic.

Tamarind quinoa bhel with chilli tahini. Love me some quinoa. This was particularly light and refreshing which was nice.

Masala grilled aubergine with dill yoghurt and pomegranate seeds. Alongside the courgetti, this was my fave dish of the evening. The aubergine was perfectly cooked and I loved the crisp topping.Had to pick off the devil herb though, as per.

Oh blast. There was also a red lentil dahl with garlic labneh and hazelnuts but I appear to have omitted to take a photo of it. How very unlike me. My sincerest apologies. Can I make it up to you with some pudding?

Yeeeeaaah... Pudding is always the way.

The most vibrant fruit salad of fresh mango, kiwi and watermelon.

Warm, spiced chia kheer with spiced apples. I'd never had warm chia pudding but I loved this and I loved the Indian spices.

This cheesecake though. Oh, this saffron lime cheesecake. I'll be honest, I rarely choose a cheesecake for pudding but this was just sensational, and I could scarcely believe it was gluten-free, sugar-free and vegan. It was so tasty!

And to finish off our most epic of feasts, Indian fudge. What this actually was was the cheesecake base crumbled up. As my friend Jenny pointed out, it's not really fudge like we know, but it was delicious. So delicious that despite having enjoyed 11 courses previously, I had to be dragged away.

It's safe to say I practically rolled home.

I can't even tell you how much I loved all the food though. Mira is so clever and creative to make such beautiful, exciting, delicious dishes that are actually relatively good for you. And I'm so excited that she's going to be bringing a cookbook out next year too. Keep your eyes peeled, gang! In the meantime, there are some fab recipes on her website here.

Do you like the look and sound of Mira's food?

The best things I ate in Madrid

You may be expecting this post to be full of tapas, paella and churros. But it's not.

When I recently went to Madrid for a long weekend to visit my dear sister, Holly, who's been living in the Spanish capital for the past nine months, she'd basically planned the whole weekend around where and what we would eat. Can you tell we're sisters?

That is exactly how I like to spend my holidays.

Because she's now practically a Madrileña (albeit with slightly fairer skin and greener eyes than your average Spaniard), Holly knows a lot of the best places to eat in the city. And because she knows me, she knew exactly which places I'd most love.

And would you look at that: I totally loved everything.

It strikes me that Madrid has a great food scene - whilst there are of course lots of traditional restaurants and tourist traps, there are also lots of healthy juice and salad bars, trendy eateries and modern bars. One of my favourite areas, Malasaña, was bursting with cute, quirky, interesting places to eat and drink and was buzzing with life both day and night. Oh, and it really got going at night.

So, here are some of my faves!

For breakfast and brunch

Llallao

There are branches of this fun froyo shop all over the city, and I loved it. Despite the fact that they don't open till 11am, if you fancy a late breakfast I thoroughly recommend one of their breakfast parfaits: layers of froyo, three fresh fruits, two crunchy toppings (think granola, nuts or crumbled Oreo) and two sauces.

There's so much to choose from and they're really good value too. I had strawberries, mango, granola, walnuts, strawberry compote and honey. Totally delicious and perfect on a hot, sunny morning.

Zoco Comidero Bar 

Everyone knows Sunday mornings are made for brunching, and it's no different in Madrid. Holly and I are both big fans of pancakes and smoothies, and having absolutely loved her first visit to Zoco Comidero Bar, Holly decided to go back with me in tow, and I'm so glad she did.

Although not really near anything - you wouldn't stumble upon it - Zoco (are we on first-name terms now? I hope so) is a trendy little place serving fresh, fully homemade, healthy, organic food. Whilst tempted by a smoothie bowl, I decided I couldn't not go for pancakes. And so, peanut butter chia pancakes occurred. They. Were. Delish.

I believe they're also made with oat flour, dairy-free, and with all those chia seeds and fruit on top, not too unhealthy, I like to think. There was homemade vanilla peanut butter both on top and sandwiched between the pancakes too which I LOVED. They were incredibly filling and actually a total barg at 5.50€ (you wouldn't get pancakes in a London restaurant for less than a tenner!).

Holly went for the spinach pancakes with homemade Nutella which were unfortunately somehow not as good as the first time she had them but the staff made it up to her with a free slice of cake which was lovely. Our smoothies were dreamy, dairy-free and delicious. Mine was peanut butter and coconut, whilst Holly went for the chocolate-banana-coconut one. I loved it all.


For lunch

La Hummuseria

As soon as Holly told me about this place months ago, I was dead keen to go. And it did not disappoint. They serve real, authentic houmous with various different toppings and sides. It's simple and so so good. I went for the houmous topped with pine nuts and almonds and it was just fantastic. So smooth!

The houmous is served warm alongside the fluffiest warm pitta breads you've ever seen. We had some tangy but sweet baked cauliflower too, which I thoroughly enjoyed. The houmous is really filling but you know I was scraping out my dish. I loved all the crockery and just a heads up, the homemade lemonade is cracking too.

Juicy Avenue

I really wish Juicy Avenue existed in the UK. It's just a casual place but perfect for a quick, healthy lunch, breakfast or general refuel. They serve freshly-made smoothies, juices, salads, wraps, bagels, froyo, crêpes and breakfast treats, and I wanted to eat so much on the menu. There are lots of healthy options too.

I had the quinoa bowl salad which was spinach, kale, quinoa, goats cheese, walnuts and sundried tomatoes, served in a spinach wrap. It was scrummy. Alongside it I sipped the Cleanse juice, which was apple, cucumber and lime. It was wonderfully refreshing and divine. Everything was so green!

Holly had a less green but equally tasty falafel, mozzarella and avocado bagel with a mango, papaya and coconut smoothie. Yums.


For dinner

Goiko Grill

There are a few branches of this chilled burger restaurant around Madrid, and I can see why it's so popular. The menu features some of the most inventive burgers I've ever seen, as well as the option to make your own. Now, despite being someone who eats vegetarian 90% of the time, I love a good burger. And although I was tempted by many of Goiko's offerings, I couldn't not go for the Elvis: a beef burger with peanut butter and caramelised banana. I KNOW!

Even I, peanut-butter-on-everything-please girl, was unsure about this one. But it totally works! It more than works. It nails it. The caramelised banana, the salty, melty PB, the juicy burger... It was beyond. Oh, and the burgers come with yummy barbecue potatoes too which were also v tasty.

La Pescaderia

To celebrate Holly's 21st birthday, we went out for dinner with a group of her girlfriends, and La Pescaderia was the restaurant of choice. Despite the name, they serve a lot more than fish, and the food is all just fantastic. You know when you can't put your finger on why something is so delicious but it just is? That.

I had a pumpkin, mango, goats cheese and seed salad (yes, I really like goats cheese salads) and it was just perfect. So so tasty. We shared sweet potato crisps and padron peppers, and the other girls enjoyed avocado-shrimp-mango dishes, feta salads, chicken wings, kebabs and patatas bravas. All with cava, obvs. It was wonderful.


For drinks

Pez Baker 

When exploring Madrid on foot in summer, frequent stops for hydration and a sit-down in the shade are a must. One of the loveliest places we stopped was Pez Baker, one of Madrid's many cafe/restaurant/bars that serve coffees and cakes as well as cocktails.

We dropped in for juices - multi-fruit for Holly and veggie (beetroot and carrot) for me. They were tasty and refreshing and I loved the vibe of the place. I have no shame in admitting I love a mason jar beverage!

Circo 

Word on the street is this is the place to go for the best mojito in Madrid. Granted, theirs was the only mojito I tried in Madrid, but it was really good. The interior is super cute and should you not fancy a cocktail, I happen to know you can get a glass of wine for a mere 2.25€. OR, brownie and ice cream. How great is that? It was late at night (for British people, not Spanish) and we were having mojitos, wine and brownies with ice cream. I love it.

Lolina 

Speaking of beverages and pudding, enter Lolina. This delightfully retro cafe is all about cocktails and cake, and they even match them together in pairings. It's all 70s inspired which I thought was a lot of fun, and they do tasty dairy-free shakes and smoothies too.

As the clock struck midnight and it became Holly's birthday, we were in Lolina to celebrate with a chocolate muffin and a glass of wine for the birthday girl. It was wonderful.

Oscar's Terrace

And if you fancy something really snazzy, head to the terrace on the top of the Room Mate hotel where you can admire the view, recline on loungers or dip your toes in the pool whilst sipping a drink. I KNOW!


So as you can probably see, we had a delicious long weekend. What do you think of the food scene in Madrid? Big thanks to my sister Holly for being such an excellent food guide!