Wonky Summer Pasta

This is one of my favourite quick dinners and make it nearly every week. Another from Jamie's 30 Minute Meals, we often have the ingredients in the fridge so it also serves as a perfect last minute meal. So simple but really delicious and is also great with ripped, grilled chicken or smoked salmon.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 egg yolks

125g Parmesan cheese (although we use Pecorino because it's cheaper)

Zest and juice of 2 lemons (use with caution - I find juice from just 1 lemon is plenty)

A small bunch of basil

500g fresh lasagne sheets (although we use dried tagliatelle)

Method:

Separate 2 eggs and put the yolks in a big serving bowl.

Add 3 tablespoons of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper to the bowl of yolks.

Grate the Parmesan and tip into the bowl with the lemon zest and juice.

Reserve some of the basil leaves then split the rest of the bunch in 2 halves.

Pound one half in a pestle and mortar to make a paste, chop the other half. Add both to the bowl.

Mix everything together well.

Stack the lasagne sheets and slice them into thin strips. Add to a pan of boiling water with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook until soft. If using dry tagliatelle, boil until soft.

Use tongs to move the pasta into the bowl of egg mixture so some of the cooking water comes with it. Stir well and sprinkle over the reserved basil leaves and grate over some extra Parmesan if desired.

What Happened Missoni?

What happened to letting those gorgeous prints of yours speak for themselves? Where is the subtlety, the class or the simple shapes of garments past? Where did all that fringing, frill and fuss come from?

Missoni's S/S 2012 collection has definitely taken inspiration from a bohemian/gypsy vibe. Perhaps mixed with a little flamenco. I love the colour palette - vibrant blues and canary yellow, rich burgundy and splashes of ochre - but I have to say, that's about it. I'm not sure why Angela Missoni has gone down this path but I feel like it's been taken a little too literally. The whole thing is over the top and you're so busy looking at all the bells and whistles that you forget what you were there for in the first place - the prints. And don't even start me on the shoes...

Such a shame. But then again, this is only my humble opinion.

♥ 5 Things

I have been absent from my blog for almost a week now. When you hear about the disaster that was my domestic life last week, you'll understand why.

We are currently having our bedroom repainted and bathroom re-tiled and painted (yay!) because they were crying out for some attention. We moved all our stuff (including ourselves) into the lounge so the work could be done and assumed we'd only have this inconvenience for a couple of days. We were also told not to use the shower so as to let it all dry out before it's re-tiled. But life never runs quite so smoothly, does it?

On Saturday, after the bedroom had been finished, we planned to move all our things back in but went in to discover that half the carpet was soaked through. After some investigation we found that a leak has been coming from the back of the washing machine ever since it was installed threeweeks ago. So not only had it leaked into the cupboard it lives in but under the floorboards and into the bedroom as well. So not yay. Three days later and we are still waiting for the carpet to dry and a plumber to visit. Ergo, we're still sleeping on a sofa bed with piles of stuff around us.

To add insult to injury, on Saturday night we had another surprise waiting for us. The toilet is also leaking. Luckily it's not the waste pipe but any kind of toilet issues are hardly ideal. We now can't use the bath/shower, toilet, washing machine or bedroom (basically half the apartment) until it's all sorted out. Amoungst my exacerbation of the current state of our humble abode I was not really in the mood to blog nor had any inspiration other than "How to cope with DIY nightmares" so decided I was better off leaving it a few days.

Anyway, with all of this going on I was grateful for the happy surprises in life to keep my spirits up.

A silky safari-style shirt I found in the Banana Republic sale.

Free limited edition Karl Lagerfeld Diet Coke given away on Bond St. last Saturday plus my Shellac manicure in a buttery nude.

Tip - Most Saturday's someone is giving away something so if you're in the area, it's worth taking a wander down. This week it was ice cream outside Mulberry.

Personally embossing the hang tags on my Mum's Coach handbag

Free Nails Inc. polish and this fortnight's copy of Grazia given away outside Kensington Gardens. I love a freebie as much as the next person.

I also managed to finally get round to uploading a few more (better quality) photos taken at the Burberry show, click here to see them.

Burberry Prorsum S/S 2012 - A Sneak Peak

I haven't quite had time to gather all my photos from the show yet and will obviously fill you in on how I got that illusive ticket but I was too excited to wait until tomorrow* to show you something! Here are the photos I took with my terrible Blackberry camera and a quick shot of my outfit.

The back of Anna Wintours iconic bob

Model Jordan Dunn and the front row including (from left) Ellie Goulding, Kanye West, Sienna Miller, Gemma Arterton, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Mario Testino, Andy Murray and Kim Sears.

Model Cara Delevingne

The Finale

All clothes - Zara. To see a better photo of the shoes and trench, click here and dress, click here.

Ticket to Wonderland

I urge you to see the full show and report on Vogue.com or Style.com. An amazing collection.

*As promised but decidedly late - additional photos taken of the show

♥ 5 Things

It's been a mixed bag this week of fashion week prep, uni prep, poring over Vogue.com to see photos from the New York shows, apartment renovations and working at Coach - because even fashionistas have to pay the bills.

These are just a few things that have made me smile.

My new Moleskine diary

- complete with little reminder stickers and "Reward" note at the front.

The Philosophy by Alberta Ferretti show

- everything was just so beautiful and feminine (apart from the deliciously tailored tuxedo jackets)

The best of the rest

Oscar De La Renta
Reminds me of a Chanel skirt suit. I love the Tweed colour combination and billowing pussy-bow blouse.

Marchesa
Just stunning. I can't even imagine what went into the creation of this dress. So many things to mention but my favourites are the layering and detail over the bust and nearly invisible fabric over the shoulders.

Marc by Marc Jacobs
Makes a statement with the colour and 50s style. The extra fabric on the waist reminds me of a little girls swimming costume.

Juan Carlos Obando

I love the monochrome and leather combination and clever use of knotting fabric.

All catwalk photos courtesy of Vogue.com

J'Adore Dior

Love this advert! Makes me excited for the buzz of LFW!

Today's Details

Photos of my outfit details from today including heels I bought from Zara last week (just the right height - not too high, not too low - and seriously comfortable) and a Zara trench I've had for a couple of years and couldn't be without, especially in this stormy hot-one-minute-raining-the-next weather.

Trench and heels - Zara

A messy pony/loose bun

Nude nails (Essie Vanity Fairest) with glitter tips (Aurora by Star Nails)