Bringing the 90s Back, Sunnies Style

It was a rather inconvenient time to lose my sunglasses this weekend. With the sun bright and scorching my poor sensitive eyes are crying for shade. So yesterday I embarked on a sunglasses mission to find something new for my face this summer. Under the strict instruction of our dear Domestic Sluttery Editor I also posted several ridiculous photos of myself trying on the sunglasses. Security tags have never looked so hot. 

Surprisingly I find myself drawn to these round sunglasses. Usually I am an oversized aviators kind of girl, but there is something rather nostalgic about this pair. Suddenly I was transported back 15 years to my teenage self. I quite like them.

They are £16 from Topshop. What do we reckon, yay or nay to the 90s-esque sunglasses?

River Island Spring Lace Jacket

So although it's been rather warm lately, I've not braved forsaking a coat just yet. Unless the thermometer is soaring past 25C, I always like to have some kind of jacket or cardigan. But what to wear to complement the more delicate clothes that warmer weather inclines us to? May I present for your consideration this lace number from River Island?

I am quite in love with it to the extent that I have looked at it at least once a day since I spotted it a couple of weeks ago and I'm only a few £2 coins (hello saving!) from having enough money to buy it. The colour and the 3/4 length sleeves are the clincher for me plus the fact that it'll be easy to sling over pretty dresses and trousers and look a little bit smarter than a denim jacket which is my normal fallback.

How many coins have I had to save? £65 worth which is fairly reasonable for saying how much it'll be worn.

The boy and his poison: Sangrita

The 't' in this recipe name is critical, this is as far from a fruity, wine-shandy as it gets. I caught the name of the drink when it was mentioned by my cartoon idol Archer during a hungover TV binge on Saturday morning. Interest piqued I started researching.

Sangrita (which means 'little blood') is essentially a companion drink to a shot of tequila that dates back to the 1920s. Made primarily from seville orange juice, the spicy, sharp, citrus flavours perfectly complement a quick slug of the good stuff and not only does it make for a sophisticated change from the lime and salt ritual, it's also a far more appropriate chaser for any decent sippable tequila.

The definitive authentic recipe is hotly contested and led me to a bit of cocktail archaeology. Allegedly the drink originated from the left-over juices of a spicy fruit salad called pico de gallo. Most American recipes call for tomato juice, but from what I could find this is largely due to trying to recreate the red colour pomegranate juice gave the drink. In some there is also mention of grapefruit to recreate the Seville orange taste, or onion juice to enhance the taste of the chilli. I tried a few different combinations and ended up settling on one which was as authentic as possible whilst easy to make with store cupboard ingredients. Try the hollowed cucumber cup as well if you can. I'ts not necessarily authentic but it certainly makes for an impressive serving glass that adds to the flavour and experience.

For two shots you'll need:

• 50ml orange juice (freshly squeezed is the best)
• 1 lime
• 25ml grenadine
• 1 tsp of hot sauce (I loved it hot you may want to start with half)
• 1 cucumber

Then make:

• Juice the orange and lime 
• Mix all the liquid ingredients and chill for 30 minutes

For the cucumber cup:

• Take a cucumber and cut an 8cm length from each end. At this stage they need to be a little taller than shot glasses
• Slice the tips of the cucumber to make sure they’re stable and shot glass height
• Upturn the pieces and hollow them out with a teaspoon or melon baller being careful to leave about 5mm at the bottom.

Shoe Porn: Oasis Lattice Wedges

I've picked these red leather wedges for several reasons. They're going with the whole 'wedges I can walk in' theme that I seem to be following at the moment. But they'll also look gorgeous with that playsuit that Sara wrote about yesterday.

Aren't they yummy? At first glance, they actually look patent but they're not (they are leather, though). The lattice pattern is a nice tough:

They're perfect for spring and £55 from Oasis. I'm so happy they're making comfy summery heels. They can have all of my shoe money.

Birds at Breakfast

I confess: I have never used a toast rack in my life. But then, I've never had one with a little puffin perched on the end of it. Now, it's All I Can Think About.

Puffins are in my list of top five favourite birds (flamingos, parrots, robins and vultures make up the rest). Somehow, I don't think a vulture would look as cute in this puffin breakfast range from Heal's. It might add a sense of foreboding to brekkie. But puffins are cute! They've got fat little bodies and dapper little outfits. That's really all I want from my birds.

You've got a choice of the mug (£10), or the butter dish and the toast rack at £20 each. I want the entire set. They look all lovely perched together, don't they?

Sluttishly Simple: Ice Lollies

Hurray for sunshine! I've broken out my flip flops for the first time this year (and promptly dropped a heavy wooden drawer on my big toe - OUCH!) which means that Summer is finally on its way. Having been living on rich casseroles and hearty roasts for the last few months I'm feeling the need for some fruity vitamins and refreshing flavours.

These couldn't be easier to make. I picked up a set of 6 lolly moulds from the nearest pound shop and headed off to get some nice juices. Of course you can make your own juice if you have a juicer or a blender but when it's so lovely and sunny out I would much rather be out enjoying it than inside doing washing up! I bought a bottle of banana juice and one kiwi and banana but you can use whatever juice you fancy. I happened to have some frozen fruit in the freezer too so in they went but you could use fresh.

You'll need:

• fruit juice
• fruit

Make it!

Put your fruit into the lolly mould, top up with your fruit juice, put the lid on then freeze.

Tips:

Spirits don't freeze but you can make Booze Pops using wine and cider. I've made sangria versions of these using red wine, orange juice and fruit and they were surprisingly good! I tend to buy my fruit juices from the Eastern European supermarkets as they have really great ranges and combinations. Pineapple and coconut is also really good and cucumber blended with elderflower cordial and water is really refreshing. Watermelon and mint works particularly well, just pop your watermelon (without seeds) into a blender with a few mint leaves, blend and pour into your moulds.  

Baking for Beginners: Creme Egg Surprise Cupcakes

"Ridiculicious", proclaimed my friend Jo when she tried these. "These cakes are both ridiculous and delicious". She has a point. Baking a Creme egg into the middle of a cupcake sounds so sickly sweet that simply reading about them feels like it'll give you seven cavities. And yet they work - the mini egg gives you a sweet caramel hit halfway through, but isn't so overwhelming that you feel like you've had your annual sugar intake in a single cake.

I saw a photo of these cakes on Pinterest and knew I had to recreate them. After some trial and error, I can recommend freezing the Creme eggs first so they melt less in the oven. And don't push them too far down, or the hot baking tray will melt the chocolate and the insides will leak out. It'll still taste lush but won't look as pretty.

The fudge topping is really gilding the diabetic lily, but tastes oh-so-good.


Creme Egg Surprise Cupcakes (makes 10)


You will need:

For the cakes:

• 110g caster sugar
• 110g butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
• 2 eggs at room temperature, beaten
• 95g self-raising flour
• 15g cocoa powder
• Packet of mini Creme eggs, straight from the freezer

For the topping:

• Icing sugar, sieved
• Mini fudge pieces

Make it!

1. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / gas mark 4. Line a cupcake tin with cases.
2. Cream together the caster sugar and butter with an electric mixer or wooden spoon, until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs and vanilla essence.
3. Sift in the flour and cocoa and gently fold in.
4. Half fill each cupcake case with cake mixture. Pop a mini Creme egg into the middle of each and gently push down. Pop more mixture on the top to cover them.
5. Bake for 20-25 minutes until well risen, and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
6. Mix the icing sugar with water to form a smooth, thick consistency. Top the cooled cakes with it, then scatter on some fudge pieces.