Up Your Street.

When in doubt, wear black

Since moving to London its been hard to get out. I don't really have any friends down here, no near-by family, so I have pretty much spent all my time alone in my room. This weekend my boyfriend has come down for a visit and we decided to explore around where I'm living. Having walked pass this place every day on my way to and from work I was dying to go in. It always had cute fairy lights in the window, cakes and comfy looking chairs. It was much bigger inside than I first thought, I probably couldn't see pass the cakes! The ceiling is covered in old chandeliers, hence its name; Le Chandelier. We picked two enormous chairs at the front, next to the cake, of course. There is no end of things to look at in this place, from all the different chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the cabinet with different teas , a bar, suggesting they are open in the evenings as well, and of course, the table of cakes. If you hadn't already guessed, I had cake on the mind. I kinda shared a slice of red velvet cake (I ate practically all of it), and also had a hot chocolate. I'm quite picky when it comes to hot chocolate, I hate it when places put cold milk into it, making it immediately drinkable, which is great if you're on the go and want to drink it straight away, but it's not ideal when you're wanting to sitting around and warm your hands on it. Argh, rambling. ANYWAY, what I am trying to say that this hot chocolate was nice and hot and chocolatey, everything a hot chocolate should be. Who knew so much could be said about my preferences in hot chocolate! Loves, Y xx

After a bus, plane, bus, train, walk and car journey, I am back from Poland. It was amazing. The accommodation was above and beyond what my girlfriends and I expected, we were located in the heart of the old town and had an incredible view over a river. When we arrived we were a little taken back to discover it was still Christmas in the old town, there were Christmas trees, an ice skating rink, stands selling drinking chocolate and sausages and projections on the buildings of falling snow. It was quite beautiful magical actually. On the first night we were wiped from travelling so had a wonder around to find our bearings, ate a sausage from the stall in the square because we were starving then looked for a supermarket to get some food in for the next few days. On our first full day we explored the city proper tourist style. We visited The Grave of the Unknown Solider, walked though the park, found the presidential palace and university and visited Warsaw Rising museum to learn more about the city. In the evening we decided to see how the Polish do it and hit up some bars and clubs. With the cheap vodka flowing things got silly and I will leave it at that! Then next morning, I woke up more than a little worse for wear! Damn you cheap alcohol. After a huge bag of crisps and a bottle of iced tea I was feeling a little better and we decided to cross the river to visit the mysterious 'pointy' building we's spotted from our apartment. Turns out it was a very impressive Cathedral! We took a wondered around and found another amazing church building. By this point the sun was starting to go down and we headed back to the flat having planned a night of traditional Polish delights, not before stopping off for a pre-dinner treat of doughnuts and chocolate waffles! Oops! Polish food was as expected, hearty and filling! We all opted for a mixed Polish Dumpling dish. In my opinion, they were a cross between Dim-Sum and ravioli. Very nice, but very filling. We had planned on going ice skating but ended up chatting in the restaurant. Instead we got a cup of drinking chocolate and had a walk, before going back to the apartment to chill, chat and pack. I wish I had had more time in Poland and the chance to see more of the country, I will almost certainly be returning at some point in the future. I know it doesn't seem like the most obvious place for a short break, but you wont regret it. And you certainly can't argue with £6 Bison Grass Vodka from duty free on the way home! Here are a few pictures from my weekend, I wont put them up because there are too many!

Before Christmas two friends and I decided that we wanted a few days away together. Not sure how Poland came about, doesn't initially spring to mind as a destination for a long weekend get away with the girls, but I am super excited. Im not someone who can pack lightly, so it is proving challenge trying to cramp everything into one of those small hand luggage sized pull-alongs. Packing products is a nightmare you can't take anything bigger than 100ml. ARGH. I went and bought some super cute teeny tiny travel sized products today. Here are my essentials for the weekend! I would have been better to buy some empty bottles and fill them, next time I guess! The face wash as a giant sample that came with another purchase, which I have been meaning to try, so this weekend is a good a time as any! Luckily my perfume is exactly 100ml and all my other liquid products are fine to take. Weeee, I'm excited! See ya later! Loves, Y xx

Thought I'd just do a quick post updating you on why I've been slack in posting! Last week I moved from Lincolnshire to East Dulwich in London, so its been a little hectic! I'm soo happy to be here though. I love the amount of choice and culture in London. I love variety and seeing new things every day. I'm still trying to find my footing and I'm sleeping in the spare room with family. But I'm here now so thats all that counts! Can't wait to explore! Loves, Y xx

This week I tried out a Fresh Face mask by Lush. I get really dry skin in the winter so needed something to rehydrate my skin, whilst still being gentle on it. The woman in the store was really helpful and recommended that I try their BB Seaweed mask. As all of the Fresh Face Masks are made with fresh, active ingredients, with no preservatives, they need to be kept in the fridge to keep them from going off, but they can last for up to three weeks. I used my every other night before bed as my skin was very dry. As it came out of the fridge it was a little cold, but quite nice to use after the shower when my pores were all open. Its quite a thick consistency, and had quite big bits of seaweed in, which got in the way when i was trying to spread it on evenly. The millet flakes gently exfoliate, the rose reduces redness and the olive oil moisturises. I left it on my face between 10-15 minutes, some people like to keep it on for a shorter amount of time, or even longer, its whatever feels right for you, you can usually tell when its ready to come off when it's dried and gone a little tight. After taking it off my skin felt incredible. It was so soft and my redness was drastically reduced. The only criticism I have is the smell, but it's not enough to deter me, the mask is for my dry skin, not for my sensory enjoyment! Once this pot is finished I will be going back for another one and another one and another one. And, as you can see on the picture, if I take back 5 empty and clean pots, I get a free face mask! Loves, Y xx

I bought a blender. And it's amazing. I love you blender. I bought this blender with a better diet and healthier lifestyle in mind. Having over-indulged over christmas I thought it was time for (another!) health kick. And thats howI fell in love with a blender. Its a Breville Blend Active, and it does something that no other blenders (that I know of) are doing - it blends juices and smoothies in the bottle. You simply fill the bottle with anything you fancy, screw the blender cap on, turn it upside down and attach to the blender unit. Then reverse and swap the blending lip for a leak-proof lid and take it with you. So far I have only experimented with smoothies and juices, however knowing the blades are able to cut through ice, I feel Mojitos are on the horizon! Here are two juices/smoothies I made today. On the left is a blended juice- cloudy apple juice, freshly squeezed lime and mint. On the right - frozen berries, orange juice and a splash of water.

This week I had to come with an alternative to sweet birthday cakes or cupcakes. I didn't want to make something boring and they were for a diabetic who usually misses out on getting to make a wish and blow his birthday candles out. So I wanted to make something that would be safe for his diet, that would look like cupcakes and that he could blow candles out on. I found a recipe for cheese muffins online and after doing a trial run and finding them a bland I thought I would tweak it and make it my own. These are the finished muffins! I used 5 types of cheese; cheddar, parmesan,, blue cheese, cream cheese and a Swiss cheese slice for the stars on top. Probably went a little over board on the cheese and I guess you can take out what you don't like and add what you do. You can also add other things like bacon, sweetcorn, onions, peppers, anything you like really! Most of this recipe is the original one I found on the internet, I will put my improvisations separately at the end of the ingredients list, nothing is exact as much of it was guessed! But be creative as you can, makes baking more fun! Ingredients - 225g self-raising flour 50g plain flour 1 tsp baking powder ½ level tsp bicarbonate of soda ¼ tsp salt ½ level tsp Dijon Mustard 70g cheddar cheese grated 150g Greek yogurt 125ml milk 1 egg 30g Parmesan plus some for sprinkling on top 40g Stilton 500g cream cheese 2 slices of Swiss cheese for star decorations What you need: Weighing scales, measuring jug, fork, 2 mixing bowls, 12 paper muffin cases, muffin tin, cheese grater, sharp knife, tablespoon, cooling rack. Method - 1. Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. 2. Mix together the self-raising and plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and mustard in a bowl. 3. In a separate bowl, mix the cheddar, stilton, parmesan, oil, yogurt, milk and egg. 4. Combine all the ingredients and divide between the muffin cases in the muffin tin, sprinkle some parmesan on top, then place in the oven for 20-25 mins until golden. Remove and cool slightly on a rack. 5. Mix the cream cheese in a bowl with some seasoning and some mixed herbs if you feel so inclined. Put this into a piping bag with a medium round nozzle. 6. Once the muffins have cools pipe the cream cheese mix on top. 7. With a star cutter, or any other cutter of choice, cut the stars out the cheese and place on top of the cream cheese frosting. 8. Eat :) Loves, Y xxx

Bubble tea is currently my favourite drink. Whenever I'm travelling around I search for the nearest bubble tea shop. There isn't any stores selling bubble tea in Lincolnshire but I've had a sudden craving for them so I'd write about them to distract myself from booking a train to Sheffield where I know the nearest shop is. For anyone who doesn't know, Bubble tea is a Taiwanese tea-based drink, with either a fruit or milk base. The 'bubble' or 'boba' in bubble tea comes from the tapioca balls placed at the bottom of the drink, which can be sucked up and eaten with the drink. There are many variations of the drink, which include flavours, tea types, or no tea at all and popping juice tapioca. Personally, I favour milk teas with fruity popping boba. They have become very popular in the UK and you can find one in almost every city now. Here are a few pictures of some I've had in the pass. I know they look a bit weird, and their probably not for everyone. But honestly, give them a go, you might surprise yourself! Here are a few I've had in the past.... Bubbleology in London LOL Bubble Tea in Sheffield aobaba in Kingston, London Loves, Y xx

I got a parcelgenie though the post today! Look how cute these little hand wrapped gifts are! My boyfriend travels quite a lot and sends me these little gifts to brighten my days! If you own an iphone or an android phone and you don't have this app, you need to download it now. It's the sweetest little free gift messaging app. Its free to download, then all you do choose a gift to send, add a personal message and phone number of the recipient. They then receive two texts, one with the message and another asking for a delivery address for their gift. It's that simple. And all the gifts are packaged small enough to fit through a letter box. Download it now and let someone know you're thinking about them! Loves, Y xx

Make up has very much become something that is embedded in my daily routine, I'm one of those people who hates being caught with no make up on and puts it on even if I'm not going anywhere. I don't usually wear enough to look drastically different without it, for me it's more of a confidence thing. Having quite uneven, sometimes blemished skin, I know that once I have a bit of foundation and concealer on, I will have the confidence to walk tall and look people in the eye. Here is a natural every day look and the products I used for it. Left to right: No7 Stay Perfect Foundation in Cool Vanilla Mac Prep + Prime Primer Soap & Glory Hocus Focus (It has new packaging now, but I'm pretty sure it's the same product!) Rimmel 1000 Kisses in Endless Blossom Left to right, top to bottom: Bobbi Brown Eyeshadow Pallet (used here on my eyebrows) - It's an old pallet so it's not available any more, but check their website out for more incredible eyeshadow pallets. Mac Studio Fix Pressed Powder in NW20 Mac Cremeblend Blush in Something Special Bare Minerals Concealer (used here as an eyeshadow) in Summer Bisque Here are the make up brushes I used to apply this look. I use these ones pretty much every day. Most are pretty old, but I keep them fresh my washing them frequently! Left to right: Clinque Shader Brush E.L.F Angled Blush Brush - This isn't available on the website anymore, they do have a really similar one E.L.F Small Angled Brush Clinque Blusher Brush Clinque Foundation Brush Clinque Shadow Brush I forgot to include the felt tip eyeliner and mascara I used, they were No7 Stay Precise Felt Tip Eyeliner in Black and No7 Intense Volume Mascara in Black. Hope you enjoy this look! Loves, Y xx

Today I have dedicated to my top three favourite things from the week. For anyone who knows me, I have a serious cushion addiction. If given the chance my bed would be lost to cushions. Now, I know many people question the practicality and point of cushions on a bed, my boyfriend in particular has grown very tired of taking all the cushions off before bed, putting them on again in the morning and then repeating it all again before bed. He just doesn't get it. This hasn't stopped me introducing cushions onto his bed though! This week I have spotted a gorgeous feather filled knitted cushions on the Laura Ashley website and better still they're in the sale! YEY! Here is a link to them. http://www.lauraashley.com/cushions/elsham-knitted-cushion/invt/elshamcush?colour=natural When it comes to hair I'm pretty sure we all want what we don't have. I have quite thick, straight, soft hair, with no volume what-so-ever. What I want is light wavy hair with lots of texture and volume. VO5 have this amazing Instant Oomph Texturing Power. I just put it in my roots and rub it in. It kinda matts up the hair giving texture and volume. Oh, and it smells nice as well! Lastly my favourite thing from this week is this cookbook. I adore cooking and eating. But before the eating comes cooking. This book was a christmas present that I have only just got around to looking through properly. With so many tasty looking recipes it was hard to pick one but I decided to make some muffins.They were delicious, which consequently meant that in my household, they didn't last a day. I wasn't able to take a photo, but I will next time! Loves, Y xx

"> I have been seriously lusting over this lipstick since forever. I found it on pintrest ages ago and after I saw it, I had to have it. Much to my disappointment I could't find any UK retailers and I wasn't prepared to pay the shipping for one lipstick, so gave up trying and forgot about it. I then came across it again a few months later and found that there were now a number of UK retailers selling a selection of Lime Crime products! YEY! I dropped numerous hints before Christmas about it and santa pulled through! If you haven't heard of Lime Crime then you are missing out. They produce the most amazing cruelty-free, vegan products in colours you could only imagine. I couldn't love this lipstick anymore. It goes on like a thin lipgloss and dries perfectly matte. It stays on all day, like seriously, its doesn't budge. Now I have my eye on all the other colours in the Velvetines range! The colours available in the UK are limited, but if anyone knows how to get my hands on the full range please share your secrets! As it was a present, I don't know where it was bought, however here are some links to websites that sell it in the UK! http://www.cocktailcosmetics.co.uk/brand/lime-crime http://www.cutecosmetics.co.uk/lime-crime-90-c.asp http://www.love-makeup.co.uk/lime-crime-makeup-m-13.html Loves, Y xx

Can someone please reassure me I'm not the only one who has a nightmare finding a pair of skinny jeans that fit correctly? They're either too long, too short, untrue to size or they stretch and sag after a few hours of wear. Before christmas, I purchased and returned four pairs of unfit 'skinny jeans'. I found after a day of wearing them they were stretched out around my knees, loose around the waist and saggy around my bum. Having complained to the various retailers the jeans were purchased from, I was able to get my money refunded and continued my search. I am pleased to announce that my quest is finally over. Warehouse have checked every box! They are true to size, fit comfortably and stay skinny for days and days of wear. They are a little long, but the problem is my small legs and not the jeans! I loved them so much in black I went back and got them in navy blue as well! This is the link to the black pair, the navy ones are the same but I can't find them on the website. They are new so should be in most their store at the moment! http://www.warehouse.co.uk/supersoft-skinny/jeans-&-jeggings/warehouse/fcp-product/5013042077 Loves, Y xx

Hello! Is there anyone out there? I'm new to blogging so please be kind. My name is Yasmin and I'm from pretty much all over, born in London, grew up in Lincolnshire and just finished my degree in Marketing in Leeds. I have decided to start a blog to share my love for fashion, beauty, food and interiors, all found up your street. Well, I hope enjoy this blog and I would love to know what you think :) Loves, Y x