Midweek Meals With Capsicana*

Cooking is one of my all time favourite things to do. I love getting a load of fresh ingredients and making something I've never made before, though this year I haven't experimented too much and I really hate that. I know I've said a few times this year and some of you might be sick of it, but 2017 definitely hasn't been what I wanted it to be (so far) and I've not been well on and off for months now so that's meant I've just not wanted to cook. Anyone else like that? When you're a bit ill or down, you just can't be bothered and end up reaching for all the bad stuff? For months now either George has been cooking or we've been sticking to easy, homemade meals, on the nights I just don't feel like experimenting. The last few weeks though I've really tried to get back into it, so I was thrilled when a package arrived from Capsicana encouraging me to create new midweek meals, and I couldn't wait to share them with you!

Capsicana are a relatively new authentic latin american brand, and they sell a variety of quick cook sauces all inspired by real american dishes. Capsicana was founded by Ben Jackson when he was travelling with his dad in Texas in the late 90s. It was then that he started trying proper mexican food and his love of chillis and latin american food began. The range has 4 different sauces - Brazilian Chilli and Coconut, Cuban Chilli and Lime, Mexican Chilli and Honey, Peruvian Chilli and Lemon, don't all of them sound amazing? I knew these would all be right up my street and I made sure to test myself with some new meals with them. I made something different with each sauce so I thought I'd do a little review of each one and show you what I made and how it went!

Chilli and Honey - Huevos Rancheros 

I'd wanted to attempt Huevos Rancheros for such a long time but had just never got round to it so when I found a recipe on the Capsicana website for it, I was determined to try it. It's basically a tomato chilli sauce, with 4 eggs baked on top and you can dip fresh crusty bread into it - HEAVEN! It was really easy to make, just finely dice an onion and pepper, soften in a hot pan, add in 2 tins of chopped tomatoes, the chilli and honey sauce and leave to simmer for around 15 minutes. When the sauce has thickened, make 4 spaces in the pan and drop in 4 eggs, add a large lid to the pan and leave for a few minutes to ensure the eggs cook through. You can then put the pan on a table, and just dip in some fresh crusty bread, we even had nachos too and it was just incredible! The sauce was delicious and it was a perfect, comforting meal which I can't wait to make again.

Chilli and Lime - Fajitas

Straight away I knew I wanted to use this sauce for fajitas. Fajitas are probably my favourite meal and we have them most weekends so it made sense to use one of these spicy sauces for it. I decided on the chilli and lime and it was perfect! It coated the chicken so well, made a really nice, sticky sauce and just went so well with everything else we like to have in our wraps. The picture doesn't look the prettiest, because lets face it fajitas are hard to photograph well! but there was some of the chicken mix, golden rice, refried beans and sour cream. I loved that the sauce was spicy and that the chilli was the main flavour but the zestiness of the lime with each bite was so good! Chilli and Lime is such a good combination and I'd definitely use this sauce for fajitas again!

Chilli and Lemon - Chicken & Halloumi With Rice   I really wasn't sure what to do with the Chilli and Lemon sauce just because a lemon sauce wouldn't be my first choice usually. We ended up trying it though with chicken in pittas with halloumi and it was so nice! The chicken was a little bit zingy because of the lemon but had a nice kick from the chilli and together the flavours were great. The sauce coated the chicken really well and there was the perfect amount! It was so nice to have it like this as it was almost a bit like nandos, just homemade and a bit cheaper! We had to have it with halloumi as it's literally the best cheese ever and we also had it with some golden rice because I just love rice. 

The only sauce I haven't got round to using just yet is the Brazilian Chilli and Coconut. I'm sure it will be just as nice as the others though and I'm excited to try another new meal at some point! I might even do a full recipe post when I use this sauce if anyone is interested.

I've absolutely loved using these sauces and they really have inspired me to try some new meals! Especially the Huevos Rancheros, there is no way I would have ever attempted that otherwise but it was such a delicious meal. I think the Chilli and Honey sauce was probably my favourite out of them all just because of the meal I made with it, though I'd definitely pick the others up if I saw them in a shop too. If you would like to try some of these for yourself, they are available from Sainsburys, Waitrose and Whole Foods and are priced at £1.80 or you can find more info on the website here. They are so versatile and could be used for so many different meals, I definitely recommend if you want to spice up your dinners and try something new!

Have you ever tried anything from Capsicana?

*sauces sent for the purpose of this review, as always I only work with brands I feel are relevant to me and my blog

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5 Reasons I'm Looking Forward To Autumn

Autumn has been my favourite season for such a long time. I genuinely wait for it all year round and never take it for granted once it arrives. There is just something about it that makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside and I really don't think there is anything better than snuggling up on a cold and rainy autumn day. I know I've spoken about my favourite season before on my blog but can you ever really have too many autumn related blog posts? I don't think so, I could talk about it all day! I wanted to write about my 5 reasons for loving it so much and I would love to know if you feel the same!

Everything Looks Beautiful

 Does anyone else agree that crisp autumn leaves all over the ground just look beautiful? I absolutely adore seeing leaves all over and I love going for long walks in Autumn so I can kick them all up and take lots of pretty photos! I really enjoy getting wrapped up and going for a walk around a park or somewhere similar and just seeing Autumn everywhere, the start of frost on the ground when it's really cold and red leaves everywhere I look. 

Getting Cosy

One of the reasons I hate summer is because I just can't get comfortable in the evening. One of my favourite things ever is getting cosy on the settee with candles lit, a hot cup of tea and being wrapped in a blanket but during summer that's literally impossible. As soon as Autumn comes and it starts to get cold, I take every opportunity I can to get so cosy and snug on the sofa. There is nothing better than a hot cup of tea, a pack of biscuits and a good film or tv show while some gorgeous smelling candles are burning. I'm so excited to stock up on a few autumnal candles this year, one of my favourites is Leaves by Bath and Body Works but I've ran out of that now, and also my Brown Sugar Allspice one from B&M. They have some new ones out now for about £3 so I think those will be so perfect for Autumn!

Comforting Meals 

During Autumn and Winter I love making real comfort food - pies, stews, casseroles, roasts, all the good stuff. I do sometimes make meals like it throughout the rest of the year but when it's boiling hot outside, it's horrific standing by the oven and it genuinely ruins the experience for me. I like taking my time preparing meals and during the colder months I can do that. I love a good pie with mash and veg, and slow cooker casseroles with dumplings are incredible on a cold day! I really can't wait for more meals like that this year.

Hot Bubble Baths

I get through so many bath products and Lush bath bombs during Autumn and Winter! Some people seem to be able to deal with and enjoy hot baths all year round but that is not me. I like cold showers throughout summer and boiling hot baths towards the end of the year. I just adore a bubble bath with a bath bomb fizzing away, with some candles lit and a good book. I still have quite a few Lush products to get through and I know as soon as Autumn comes they'll be gone within a few weeks.

Christmas Is On The Way

 I suppose the main thing I love about Autumn coming, is the fact that it means Christmas is finally on the way! I know Christmas is probably most peoples favourite time of the year but I genuinely look forward to it all year round and just count down the days for it. I love Christmas day surrounded by presents with George, eating croissants for breakfast, drinking bucks fizz and preparing the dinner. I'm so excited for this year especially, I think it's going to be really special.

I just can't wait for Autumn to properly arrive now, I'm so ready for it! Do you love Autumn? What's your favourite thing about it?

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Dobell Groomswear Review*

It's time for another little wedding post and I'm so excited about that, as it's making it all become so much more real! I really don't want to give much away about the wedding and as I've already mentioned in previous posts, we're keeping actual details of it all really quiet but I'm really enjoying doing a few wedding posts every now and again, now we're really into planning and it's getting closer. Todays wedding related post is about something that George has actually been trying out over the last few weeks, and it's some gorgeous shoes from the groomswear site Dobell. When I saw that they were looking for bloggers recently to feature some groomswear bits on blogs I jumped at the chance as I knew George would love picking something from the site and it just seemed perfect timing!

After taking a good look at the site and not really needing any proper suits or anything like that, we decided shoes might be a good option, 2 reasons, 1 because they will be perfect for the wedding and 2, because they are brilliant for George to wear to work aswell. You can't go wrong with a good pair of smart shoes like this and they can definitely be used more than just once on the day so these really were such a good option.

Dobell had a wide range of shoes to choose from but the ones George went for were the Black Contemporary Dress Shoes which retail at £44.99. He went for these because they really did look like just what he needed, they were smart and classy, but also looked comfortable which is pretty important too! They arrived quite quickly, in a smart box, each shoe carefully enclosed in a cloth bag to ensure no damage was done in the box or during delivery. This was actually really nice to see as it wasn't expected but just little things like this show care and thought has gone into ensuring the product stays in the best possible condition. It was also good to see on the bottom of the shoes how good the grip was, as there is nothing worse than sliding about in new shoes and not being able to walk comfortably in them in winter!

The shoes looked really nice on the pictures online but so much better in real life. They looked amazing quality and felt it too and we were both so happy with them. I know it's just a pair of shoes but smart ones like this can be really expensive and we already have enough to save for at the moment so these were such a nice thing to recieve. George got them in a size 8 and they fitted perfectly. I'm always a little bit worried ordering shoes online that they'll arrive and then not fit and then there is the hassle of sending them back but we really didn't need to worry about that. They looked lovely on, go so well with smart trousers and most of all, were really comfortable. George didn't have a bad word to say about them. 

We're both so impressed with Dobell and everything about these shoes is brilliant. They are true to size, look as good as they do online, arrived quickly and are such a reasonable price. I couldn't recommend Dobell enough if you're planning a wedding and need some decent priced groomswear and it's also brilliant for ushers and guests too. Aswell as being able to buy suits, shirts and shoes just to name a few things you can also buy the little accessories you might need for a wedding, such as cufflinks and ties, again for really affordable prices. If you want to have a look at the wide range they do, check out their website here and have a good browse!

*Shoes were sent for the purpose of this review. As always I only work with brands I feel are relevant to my blog

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Ghost Dream Perfume Review*

I only posted a review of a perfume a few weeks ago but today I have another for you and it's all about the Ghost Dream perfume! I was so happy when I received an email a few weeks ago asking if I'd like to give this a try, I genuinely couldn't believe it. I had a strong feeling I was going to love it, and it sounded perfect for me. I love adding a new perfume to my collection so this has been such a welcome addition!

The Ghost Dream perfume is a new one they've released, only this year and like their other fragrances, it's sure to be a hit. This perfume has been created for women who want to embrace their feminity and independence and is described as captivating and mysterious, just like Malaika Firth who is fronting this campaign, isn't she beautiful?! This has a very floral scent and it opens with delicate Rose Essential and Moroccan Orange flower. The heart of the perfume is Egyptian Jasmine and Violet, and then woody notes are revealed of Ambroxan Musks and Patchouli, giving a sharp edge to an otherwise very feminine fragrance.

Aswell as a beautiful scent, it also has a geometric, gem like bottle which I adore. Designed this way to stray away from their usual, iconic perfume bottles, it replicates the facets of healing crystals calming qualities and it looks incredible under a light. When I first took this out of the box, I couldn't stop looking at it! I love that it's different to their other perfumes. Aswell as having such a unique shape, it also has a little bit of colour through it, the different shades of blue are just stunning when the sun catches it.

I can be a little bit fussy with perfume sometimes but I can honestly say I adore everything about this! The scent is one of the best I have ever had the pleasure of smelling and it really has become a new favourite of mine. I love the strong floral scent of it, it definitely isn't too sweet which I find sometimes with certain perfumes but this is just perfect and also has great staying power. I can spritz a bit of this on in the morning and I'll be able to smell it late into the afternoon too which is always nice, as I hate having to keep spraying more and more on throughout the day and then I end up needing more within a matter of weeks! I know I've already mentioned the bottle but I really am so impressed with it. I think the way a perfume bottle looks is just as important as the scent, and I've been known to be really picky about this in the past (poor George trying to find a perfume for me our first christmas together as he knew I was very specific!). This looks gorgeous on my bedside table with my other perfumes and I find I'm reaching for this more than my others. I know I'll be buying this in the future and I definitely can't wait to try more fragrances from Ghost.

I just wanted to say aswell, the outer packaging is also so lovely. I love the cloud affect and just think it would make such a perfect gift. I know buying perfume for someone can be a little tricky sometimes depending on what they like but this really is beautiful and I know it will be one I consider for people in the future!

If you would like to give this a go, it's currently available nationwide in stores Superdrug, Boots and the Perfume Shop. Prices are £27 for 30ml, £38 for 50ml and £48 for 100ml. I couldn't recommend this enough, treat yourself!

Have you ever tried a Ghost perfume? What's your favourite fragrance?

*Perfume sent for the purpose of this review. As always I only work with brands I feel are relevant to me and my blog.

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