wedding wednesday - take a leap!

Today is the 29th February - a very exciting day as it is a leap day! 

It is also the day (traditionally) for a girl to propose to her loved one...

So on my first Wedding Wednesday post, I thought it appropriate to share this competition that the Park Plaza Cardiff are running - they are offering a chance to win an overnight stay at this gorgeous hotel, complete with breakfast and a cheeky bottle of bubbly thrown in.  Very romantic and appropriate yes?

All you have to do is send them the most imaginative marriage proposal in 140 characters - tweet this to @ParkPlazaCardiff or post on their Facebook page, and describe how you would propose to your partner. The winner will then have the perfect opportunity to make that proposal a reality!

This competition will close on 23.59 on the 29th February 2012. Park Plaza’s board members and the Editor of @Tiara Magazine leading wedding magazine will judge the entries and a winner will be announced on 1st March 2012.

Good luck all you brave ladies out there who are going to take this leap!  I wish you all lots of sparkly diamonds and even more sparkling champagne!

(P.S - happy birthday to everyone out there who has a birthday on this special day)

xx

Tuesday treat!

I love pasta

I could eat it every single day if I could! 

I also love goat's cheese...

 So when I stumbled upon this asparagus, goat cheese and lemon pasta dish from Smitten Kitchen I jumped with joy!  It looks so delicious and I can't wait to try it this week

Mmmm...tasty...

Serves 6
1 pound spiral-shaped pasta
1 pound slender asparagus spears, trimmed, cut into 1- to 1 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon plus more for garnish
1 5- to 5 1/2-ounce log soft fresh goat cheese (the pre-crumbled stuff will not melt as well)
Fresh lemon juice to taste (optional)
Cook your pasta in a large pot of well-salted water until it is almost tender, or about three minutes shy of what the package suggests. Add asparagus and cook until firm-tender, another two to three minutes. Drain both pasta and asparagus together, reserving one cup of pasta water.
Meanwhile, combine olive oil, lemon peel, tarragon and cheese in a large bowl, breaking up the goat cheese as you put it in. Add hot pasta and asparagus to bowl, along with a couple slashes of the pasta water. Toss until smoothly combined, adding more pasta water if needed. Season genersously with salt and pepper, and lemon juice if you feel it needs a little extra kick.

xx

five things friday

I am so glad that it's nearly the weekend...even though it's raining...again (typical).

Here are the five things that are currently making me extremely giddy and excited...

-  True Blood series 4 - how good is this series so far?!  And I've only watched 3 so far! Eric is just the best character ever...and the writers are genius.  Fantastic TV.

- I love this navy shirt dress from Red Herring...in fact I have to buy it....like today...

- Salmon.  How can you not like salmon?  I've been eating it a plenty this week....especially smoked salmon.  I made a delicious (if I must say so myself) salmon fillet with broccoli, asparagus and quinoa meal last night....topped off with hollandaise sauce.  But alas....it wasn't a homemade sauce....I cheated slightly and bought a packet (sshhh)

- I have a little thing about owls...so when I saw one of my girl crushes wearing an owl jumper at the recent Burberry show...I nearly jumped with glee!

       

- This upcoming wedding fair in Brangwyn Hall  on the 4th March - Something Kinda Vintage.  It looks amazing, with many exciting exhibitors going.  If you want a vintage wedding....get your tickets ladies! Tickets range from £2 to £4 depending on if you want tea and cake! All proceeds go to Singleton Breast Care Unit, so a very good cause.

xx

               

Inspiration

My current hair inspiration is the lovely Jessica Stroup from 90210...she's really making me want to chop my hair off!

 

                                                           image via http:// 90201.org

But alas I can't...well at least not until after my wedding...which is not until November, but that's enough time to grow it back...right?

Sigh.

five things Friday...

I've started and deleted this blog a few times now, but this time I'm determined to stick it through!

So...to start things off, I've decided to post about five things that are making me happy this Friday...

1)  Um...well it's Friday of course, the best day of the week.  The weekend is approaching, and I have an extremely lovely and girly weekend coming up - wedding dress shopping with my mum and my sis (I'm getting married in November)


2)  Dreaming of decorating my hallway...

                                                                   image via pinterest


3)  My big fat juicy orange I have sitting on my desk ready for my morning snack (I'm having a big craving for oranges these days)


4)  This blouse....

                                                                  (Dorothy Perkins)



5) Trying out this new foundation from Maybelline

Happy weekend peeps! x