All my single ladies - thinking of putting a ring on it?!

There are fewer things in life that are more thought about by some girls, than how they want to be proposed to.  A certain sister of mine will settle for nothing less than a husky drawn sleigh ride, under the northern lights followed by a romantic meal in the snow when the said event will take place - demanding much?!

The weird and wonderful is slowly becoming a lot more accessible to us ladies, with London's Sea Life Aquarium (one of my favourite places ever!!) offering a wacky water proposal for our leap year day of proposal opportunities (29th February).  Couples can book onto a private guided tour around the exceptionally atmospherically lit water wonderland, only to be met with a deep-sea diver greeting you with a sign of your chosen message!

Will this leap year make a splash?

Pop-Up!

I thought this video of an extremely innovative pop-up alphabet book from graphic and book designer, Marion Bataille, shows how something so simple can be so impressive!  Check it out.

Thai Prawn Fishcakes with Sticky Chilli Sauce!

I thought I'd share this little gem from BBC Good Food as it is super easy, tasty and healthy!!  This recipe serves 2 and should only take about 20 minutes so is perfect for a quick mid-week dins - give it a whirl and let me know how you get on!

Ingredients:

• 100g golden caster sugar
• 175ml rice vinegar
• 2 slices of root ginger
• a handful of chopped coriander
• 2 thinly sliced shallots
• 2 red chillies, seeded and diced (I'm a spice wimp, so only use 1!)
• 400g raw, peeled prawns
• 1 lime, zested
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• vegetable oil
• 1 carrot, finely diced

Method:

1. Heat the sugar and vinegar with a pinch of salt in a small saucepan until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes until syrupy and leave to cool.
2. Put the ginger, coriander, half the shallots, and half the chilli in a food processor and blend until fine. Add the prawns, lime zest and fish sauce and blend until chunky.
3. Grind in plenty of black pepper, mix and make 6 little, flat cakes. Brush both sides of the cakes with a tiny bit of vegetable oil and put on a baking sheet and grill for 3 minutes on each side.
4. Add the remaining chilli, shallots and chopped carrot to the vinegar syrup and mix. Serve the warm cakes with the sauce (if you can't be bothered with the saucy bit, they are deelish with shop bought sweet chilli sauce.)
5.  I usually serve them with greens or a crunchy salad - bon appetit!

Fabulous Fridays!

Every last Friday of the month, the V&A hosts specially themed evenings with live events, food and drinks while you browse the one-off displays and late-night exhibition openings.

In celebration of their new jubilee Queen Elizabeth II exhibition, this weeks Bright Young Things, on Friday 24th February (6:30-10pm), looks set to be a right royal bash as we're invited to step into the fabulous world of Cecil Beaton, the royal photographer with a love of all things glamorous.  So ladies, don your tiaras and flapper dresses, men, dust of your top hats and get down there to sip cocktails and boogie away to live jazz.  With drinks and costumes at the ready, guests are free to hear excerpts from Beaton’s Vogue diaries, watch theatrical sets, pose the night away and take in his masterpieces that capture his world of glittering beauty.

All events are free but places are designated on a first come, first served basis so get down there early to avoid missing a royal evening of glamorous fun.

Flipping Heck!

Guardian.co.uk

 On your marks, get set, flip!  

The combination of a good festival with one of my top favourite treats (pancakes) is a winner.  London clearly feels the same, as there are a selection of pancake events and races around the city tomorrow to mark Shrove Tuesday (21st February).  My pick of the bunch is the Parliamentary Pancake Race held in Westminster's Victoria Tower Gardens.

Now in its 15th year, three teams, consisting of Lords, MPs and Press (this could be one way to settle The Leveson Inquiry!) will be flipping mental as they race round the course in relays.  The event's rules and restrictions, which Natasha Kaplinsky is responsible for enforcing, clearly state that continuous flipping must occur throughout the race, the frying pans must not be used as weapons and the leftover flour and eggs must not be 'propelled' at any other participant or used as a distraction.

The event is used to raise the awareness of Rehab, a charity that helps people with brain and spinal injuries, disabilities and mental health issues.  It is free to watch and is probably one of the only times you'll get to see these high flyers whizzing around in silly hats.  Try not to let temptation get the better of you with all those extra eggs lying around...

For more pancake related fun, check out the Great Spitalfields Pancake Race, the Better Bankside Pancake Race, Poulters Company Pancake Race and the Leadenhall Market Pancake Race.

Celebrating 50 years of The Sunday Times Magazine!

Talk about bad timing!  The Sunday Times Magazine's 50-year anniversary bumper edition fell on the one weekend that snow swept the nation.  Being the drama queens we are here in England, it meant that newspaper deliveries to homes and newsagents were scarce.  As a result, The Sunday Times Magazine's hard work and efforts were a tad wasted.  

But Hurrah!  Luckily, there are still some remnants of their 50 year celebrations as the Saatchi gallery is hosting a free exhibition, showcasing the work of some of the world-famous photographers who have contributed to The Sunday Times Magazine since its launch in 1962.  With a selection of the publication's best photos from the last half a century, there are sure to be some breath-takers!  Hurry though, as it's only on until Sunday (February 19th).

Check it out!

100 greatest hits of you tube squeezed into 4 minutes - pretty good if you ask me!

Get snap happy in the snow!!

 I always get a bit carried away with taking a million photos of the same thing when it snows.  However, I think it's hard to do snow scenes justice in photos.  Before I went skiing at New Year, I read a top tips article about taking cracking photos in the snow, so I thought I'd share the best ones with you:

• Firstly, if you're as bad at skiing as I am, don't take your camera out on the slopes.
• Apparently, you shouldn't use your camera as soon as you come out into the cold from the warmth.  The camera (and it's battery) need to acclimatise to the change in temperature
• Don't have your flash on while taking photos in falling snow - it accentuates the snowflakes closest to you and makes them blurry.
• Don't let snowflakes fall on the camera as water can cause damage.  The article suggested putting the camera in a clear plastic bag, and cutting a hole around the lens to allow you to take clear pictures.
• Due to the light reflecting qualities of the snow, the camera often underexposes photos which makes the snow appear grey.  You need to manually set the exposure compensation to either plus 1 and 2 or you can also change it on your computer, after the photo has been taken.
• Try and include some level of detail in snow pics, as it is easy for them to just become a wash of white.
  
  Enjoy the snow and happy snapping!!

Hot Mulled Apple (with optional rum!)

The snow has finally arrived and there is no better way to warm up than by grabbing yourself a glass of hot mulled apple.  My sister introduced this to me at her Christmas film screening and I cannot get enough of it!!  It's super easy and is cosiness in a glass.  So give it a whirl and let me know what you think:

Ingredients:

• 2 cartons of cloudy apple juice (some recipes say use clear but I think cloudy's much better!)
• 1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled using a teaspoon (there's your McWhinney tip!)
• 1 lemon, cut in quarters
• 1 orange, cut in quarters
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• Grated nutmeg
• A pinch of allspice (optional)
• 4 cloves
• As an alternative option, some supermarkets have spiced teabags specifically made for mulled drinks.  You can use these instead of adding the spices individually, although they're often only available around Christmas time.

Method:

1. Put all the ingredients into a saucepan
2. Place over a medium heat and bring to a gentle boil.
3. Reduce heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes.
4. Strain the mixture and serve hot in mugs.
5. Make sure you let it cool a little and add an optional shot (or two) of rum - I know which version i'm choosing!

So get cosy and enjoy!

Fireworks!!

As some of you may know, fireworks are in my top 5 things in life so obviously i'm going to tell you all about a firework display in Greenwich this Sunday, 5th February at 6pm!  It will be right next to the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich and the park is staying open later than usual to allow optimum viewing and photo snapping opportunities!

For more info head here.