Wicked Wednesdays

"Oh, for the love of food!"

If you work a 9-5 job, there's a 95% chance that you hate Mondays. It's a fact. However, I prefer Mondays to Tuesdays. Think about it: on Monday you are still feeling the benefits of a weekend full of brunch, lie ins and a lazy read of the Sunday papers. But then Tuesday and Wednesday (aka Humpday) strike. You know that the weekend is truly over and there is still such a long time until 5pm on Friday evening, at which time nothing stands between yourself and a bottle of wine/beer/gin. So what is the answer? Food glorious food of course! 

Whilst watching Spring Kitchen on BBC2, Lorraine Pascal wooed me with her delectable desserts, and so I decided to adapt the recipe and make a boozy version (if it's in food it doesn't count, right?) 

PEAR AND ALMOND AMARETTO TART

You will need...

For the tart
375g pack of ready-rolled dessert shortcrust pastry
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
3 tbsp plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 medium egg
1 tbsp amaretto liqueur
2 tins of pear halves

To Serve
Pot of single or double cream, depending on your preferences
3 tbsp amaretto
Few drops of vanilla essence

1. To make the frangipan (almond filling), first beat/cream the butter and sugar together until smooth. Then slowly add the flour and almonds, and then the amaretto and egg and beat until smooth and soft, but obviously there may be some lumps here and there with the almonds. 

2. Place the shortcrust pastry into a tart tin or dish. Don't feel guilty about buying ready made pastry, this is meant to be as quick and easy as possible. 

3. Spoon the frangipan into the pastry case and level it over. 

4. Then place the pear halves on top like this... 

5. Put it in the oven at 180c or Gas Mark 4, for around 45 minutes, or until it looks golden and delicious. It does look a little beige in colour, so I suggest serving with strawberries and raspberries to brighten it up.

6. If you have any leftover pears and pastry, you could make these cute little tarts like we did, using raspberry jam (that was flavoured with whisky). Cook until the pastry is crisp and the jam is bubbling. 

7. To make the cream topping, simply whisk some single or double cream and add some amaretto and vanilla essence to your taste. 

I hope this recipe is easy to follow. If you do one thing over the next few days, make these tarts - they are truly scrumptious!

Yaasica Lucia XXX

Pin Up to Pick Me Up

"Some days there`s nothing for it but to go back to bed, but mostly I try to put a face on and turn the day around. I try to remember we all have those moments — even people you admire." -  Dita von Teese 

Sometimes, we all have one of those days, weeks or months. We just want to get back into bed and watch back to back episodes of whatever show we are into (mine is currently Season Two of The Carrie Diaries). The only thing we want to say to others is simply, Can U Not. But often, that is not possible. We cannot shut ourselves off from the world, due to work, university, children, or general daily life. Therefore, one of my favourite ways to break the monotony of the daily grind is to try out a new look, and I've been taking inspiration from two of the best Pin Up Girls... 

Lana del Rey and Dita von Teese are two of my favourite fashion icons. I love the way they mix old Hollywood glamour and retro, vintage style, with modern twists. I was lucky enough to see Lana del Rey perform live last year and it was one of the best moments of my life, total goosebumps, spellbound, starstruck kinda moment... but enough fangirling for a minute... 

If I had the confidence, the body and the money then I would emulate these beauties every day.

My latest look of the week has been influenced by Lana and Dita, and and I have attempted to wear a bandana without looking like a lost gang member or a J Lo backing dancer circa 1999... 

Bandanas look great in a casual updo that takes a short amount of time. I put my hair into a high ponytail, and fluffed it up with hairspray. I teased my fringe to get a little more volume before pinning it to the side. I tried to create a 'victory roll' but it was late at night so had to give up. 

The look works well with Rayban Clubmaster style sunglasses, although I must admit that mine were £2 from Primark!

I also tried the look with my hair down with loose waves, which I also think worked well but isn't as quick as the first look. 

I finished with a slick of my favourite satin matte red lipstick, from Topshop in Screen Siren. I was blessed with a beauty spot above my top lip, which I hated when I was younger but now I've come to like it. Many hollywood stars used to draw them on, using eye liner, which I think looks great. 

Dita von Teese said that glamour is about creating illusion. And sometimes, when you aren't feeling your best, a slick of red lipstick and a £1 bandana are all that you need to do that. 

Yaasica Lucia XXX

Let me know what you think and whether you have tried this look :)