Lucy Loves...

Thursday 5 March 2015

Valentine's Day 2015

Hello my loves,

How are we?

I know it’s late, but thought it would be nice to share what my fiancé and I got up to on Valentine’s Day. We decided to celebrate on the Friday as we knew everywhere would be mobbed on the Saturday.

We booked a table for two at Jamie Oliver’s place in Glasgow. I cannot recommend how amazing the food was. Please don’t go in expecting Jamie Oliver to prepare your meal himself as that won’t be happening but you could definitely see his personality through the dishes.

Before we set off for Jamie’s we exchanged our gifts. I got Guy a Ralph Lauren hooded sweatshirt and he got me chocolates, a beautiful purple orchid and a Bluetooth speaker (ideal for me as I like to listen to spotify in the tub). We were both delighted as we were not expecting much from oneanother as we had just bought our house so it was a lovely surprise.

The starters, main and desert were so rustic yet beautifully served. I love it when you go somewhere and the dishes are more homely than a typical restaurant. The plates are traditional as well as the stands (tomato puree cans) for the antipasti board!

For my starter I had the antipasti plank which included cured meats, mozzarella, cheese, olives, capers, coleslaw and a pickled chilli. Guy had the pate which he demolished in a matter of seconds then decided to steal some of my starter!

For my main I had the free range chicken with wild mushroom sauce served with seasonal vegetables and lemon rocket. I don’t usually order chicken when I’m dining out as I don’t find it very exciting but for some reason I really fancied chicken for a change. Mushrooms aren’t really my thing but they totally worked with the chicken and the lemon rocket was so tasty as it was zingy and refreshing – I’ll have to try and recreate it at home. Guy had the prawn linguini which he enjoyed. Both mains also came with polenta chips which we had never had before. They were massive and sooo crispy, very tasty!

For desert I had the chocolate brownie with popcorn while Guy finished with the lemon meringue cheesecake. I was extremely satisfied with my desert as it wasn’t an overwhelming portion and the popcorn was a delightful extra. I think Guy was a tad full by the time his desert rolled in and couldn’t finish it. That’s what happens when you’re starving and demolish your starter and main at break neck speed!

We will most definitely be returning to Jamie’s. The atmosphere was lively but not too loud where we couldn’t hear one another speak. The décor is rustic and has an industrial feel to it with the exposed ductwork.

If you are ever in the Glasgow area, or have a Jamie’s in a city near you then give it a go!

xoxo

Questions of the day:

- Have you ever been to Jamie’s Italian?

- What’s your favourite Italian dish?

We've Moved!

Hello, hello hello!!

It's been so long my lovelies. My apologies for being MIA lately, I do however have a fairly reasonable excuse…we bought a house!!

So since my last post (oh my god, last year?!) some pretty big things happened…

First of all, my boyfriend of nearly (at the time) 6 years proposed to me the night before my birthday. Words cannot describe how truly delighted I was. I knew after a few months of being with Guy that he would be the man I marry and now that he’s proposed I could not be happier! He really is my best friend.

My beautiful ring <3

An engagement gift from my boss :)

However, we both agreed the wedding planning would be put on hold as we were currently renting and really wanted to buy. Buying a property has been on our minds for quite some time now so a couple of days after we got engaged we began looking.

At the time, we were told that it was a ‘buyer’s market’ which meant that buyer’s were getting great deals as property prices were slightly lower than usual. So it was fairly easy to find properties online that we liked at affordable prices. I’m not going to lie to you though, the months we spent trying to find our ideal home were an absolute nightmare! We lost a few houses to other people putting an offer in before us, which was extremely disheartening.

The day finally came, mid-October, where we viewed a house that we fell in love with! A three bedroom detached in a family friendly estate that we initially thought was too good to be true. But after reviewing the Home Report we decided to put an offer in and were moved in by the 20^th of December.

Please note, do not move 5 days before Christmas, seriously! Stressed doesn’t even cover it!

Our Christmas tree, Lilly had no problem settling in once this bad boy was up!

We are now settled into our sweet little house and couldn’t be happier. Lilly seems to be very at home here too :-)

Our finished bedroom <3

So that’s the main reason I haven’t posted in a while. I adore blogging and really want to get into a habit of it in 2015!

xoxo

Questions of the Day:

- If you’ve recently moved, how did you manage the stress of it all?

- Any recommendations for future posts?

Monday 7 April 2014

Lucy Loves...Linguini Gamberoni

Howdy peeps!

I've been meaning to do a recipe post for ages, as my boyfriend is an ex chef and cooks up a storm in the kitchen. Some times when I'm lucky he lets me help ;) I am so lucky to have a man that cooks for me, and its never a frozen meal you wack in the oven. No sir, this food is to die for! We are very lucky as we have the exact same taste when it comes to food, i.e. we will eat ANYTHING. But some of our favourite dishes include fish and pasta.

So we decided to combine the two. Guy whipped up some Linguini Gamberoni which includes big fat king prawns and chorizo. This dish is so light but satisfying at the same time. I think it would go down a treat on a warm summer's evening with a cold glass of white wine : )

Serves 2 greedy people (like us)

Ingredients:

Linguini - 1 pack (decceco brand)
Olive oil - 3 tbsp.
Chorizo - 100g
King prawns - 200g
Dried red chilli flakes - 1 tsp
Garlic cloves - 3
Shallots - 2 small or 1 large
Red onion - half
White wine - 1 glass

Tomato puree - 1 tbsp.

Fresh parsley - handful

Salt and pepper to taste

Optional - 1 tbsp peach jam infused with naga chilli. This adds sweetness and spice if you like it hot but isn't essential.

Preparation:

Chop the garlic and shallots as finely as possible. Cut the chorizo in half length ways then chop up the chorizo so it looks like little half moons. Thinly slice the red onion. Finely chop the parsely once don't run through again.

Cooking:

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add a handfull of salt and place the pasta in.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a pan until hot.
Add the chorizo until it starts to turn golden and releases it's paprika rich fats.
Add the chilli flakes and cook for 30 seconds then add the garlic and shallots.
Cook for two minutes adding the wine and tomato puree just before the garlic starts to colour.
Reduce by two thirds (this should only take a couple of minutes)
Now add the peach jam and a ladel of the pasta cooking water.
Then chuck in the prawns and red onions cook for 30 seconds.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Now remove the pasta and drain.
Combine with sauce adding the parsley and serve immediately as sitting for too long will over-cook the prawns.

Although I mentioned at the start of this post that the pasta would be ideal with an ice cold glass of wine, but we had ours with a fruity little cocktail. So any drink of your choice will go perfectly!

Did you like this post? Let me know if you would like me to do more cooking posts : )

xoxo

Motivational Monday #3

Hello Lovelies : )

Apologies for not uploading my weekly motivational Monday post last week. As usual, things got hectic!

I have just finished writing my To Do List for the week ahead and thought what a perfect time to look up some motivational and inspirational pictures for this weeks motivational post! I think this week's lot of pictures are my favourite so far...

Hope you liked this weeks selected images/quotes! If you have any favourite quotes that really help motivate you, let me know in the comments below!

xoxo

**All images sourced from Google Images**

Sunday 30 March 2014

March Favourites!

Ugh, cannot believe it's nearly the end of March already! Jeezo!

Favourite Beauty Product

Benefit''s They're Real Mascara

One word to describe this product? AMAZING! Honestly, this is a product I can safely say does what it says on the tin. A combination of the wand and the formula really lengthen and thicken my lashes. I usually use at least two different types of mascara on my lashes as I feel that it helps achieve optimum results. But with this product, I feel that I don't need to use any other products on my lashes to thicken and lengthen as it does both without clumping.

Favourite Hair Product

L'OREAL Silver Shampoo

This has probably been a favourite of mine for a couple of years now. I tend to use it whenever I feel my hair is starting to get a brassy tinge to it. It is a deep purple colour and has a thick consistency to it. I always see results after I use it so you need to be really careful you don't leave it on for too long as it will make your hair a pale purple shade, but if you like that go for it! I was rocking the grey/purple look last summer and I loved it!

I get this product online for about £7 depending on what site I use.

Favourite Smell

Jo Malone - Pomegranate Noir

Guy got me this perfume last year for my birthday and since then I had only worn it on special occasions. But recently I have been wearing it alot more. I am so in love with the smell. Its so fresh but a little spicy and makes the perfect spring time scent.

Favourite Food

Homemade burger, chips and pakora

Guy whipped this up on a Sunday night and it was ah-mazing! I have to admit that the pakora was the best ive ever had. I don't feel as guilty when I eat fatty foods like this which are homemade as I know exactly what's went in to it!

Favourite Song
Paramore - Last Hope
I'm not gonna lie, Paramore's new album is general is frickin' awesome, but their song last hope is one of the best. I love Hayley's voice, she's so talented.