Banana Milkshake - Healthy yet yummy

Hey guys,

Todays post is a delicious banana milkshake which is super yummy and filling. I always make these milkshakes and lost weight after having a baby by combining a morning shake with creams and exercise.

Here is the recipe. I use almond milk as it is much better for you and your skin

3/4 cup almond milk
 1.2 cup natural yoghurt
3 drops of vanilla essence
1 tsp honey
1 banana
1 tbsp oats or flaxseed with Vit D

Just throw this into all into a blender and mix. The banana has potassium which is really good for you. This milkshake oozes with protein to keep you going, especially after a gym workout. Try it yourself. All natural ingredients and good for you.

Trip to St Omer (and French towns reviews)

Living in East Sussex means that I am within an hour of the channel tunnel. This makes a petite weekend very possible for me. In the last year I have been to Le Touquet and Lille, Le Touquet being my favourite. It has a certain up market ambience, beautiful scenery, gorgeous high-end boutiques and shops, no wonder it is referred to as 'the rich peoples playing ground'. We stayed in The Westminster which is a hotel and a tres chic one at that.

Lille in comparison, has the boutique shops, in fact a lot of shops and cafes. It seems less exclusive but is worth a visit as the canal is a focal point.

So this last weekend I went to St Omer. St Omer was about 40 minutes away which is very accessible. This trip was incredibly historic. The airfield was a major one in both world wars and has both a first world war (English built) hanger and a second world war (Polish built) hanger next to each other. A couple of years ago a a monument was erected by Air Chief Marshal Sir Brian Buridge and Lieutenant General Jean Patrick Gaviard.

Air Commodore Peter Dye, Personnel and Training Command RAF said the idea is:

The Royal Air Force are here to commemorate the efforts and achievements of the men and women of the British Air Services. We are also here to recognise the debt that we owe them, to reflect on the values of courage and self sacrifice — values that continue to be important to the Royal Air Force.

St Omer itself also oozes history. The catedral and train station are worth a visit. 

We went to the main square and ate dinner. Restaurants, cafes and patisseries were open until late and this was on a sunday. Many people, like myself, sat outside watching the sun go down. A different experience from the other two places but certainly an enjoyable one. 

Park St Omer

Beautiful manicured gardens 

 

Me in the flowers

Alexander in Brown cords and a shirt

And our hotel 

The Memorial 

Thank you for reading. My next trip is to Amien and En Fleur in a couple of weeks and Arras at Christmas as I've heard about the excellent Christmas Markets

Holidays to Bandol (French Rivera)

I recently took a vacation to Bandol which is situated on the Southern French coast 1 hour and a half away from Nice.

Instantly, my thought was Monkeys wardrobe. So I got onto planning his looks.

The holiday started with a brief flight from London Gatwick to Nice.

Bandol and view from room

Flight over.

I wear- White Blazer, White Jeans and Black and white top

Alexander- Blue Blazer- m&co
Chinos- baby Gap
Top- Polo Ralph Lauren

First day

Beautiful rocky walk

Getting ready for

Nights out

 Tropical shirt over blue vest.

Summer Beach FUN plus hair

As always I spend a lot of September at Camber Beach, East Sussex. Being one of the only sand beaches during the summer it is heaving with tourists. By September kids are back at school and the water temp is at its hottest, ideal for me.

Here is my summer beach fashion for this year

Top- Primark

Baby wetsuit JOJO Maman Bebe

Bikini- Primark

Top- organic cotton @Zara. Jeans old hollister

To get the jeans..

I cut out two squares and then cut a line down one edge. This means I can wear them very rough like the last picture or fold then back like the previous picture.

To get the beach hair..

Go in the sea and let the ends get wet. Just the moisture of the sea will help. On your way out crinkle your hair. Then play or chill and let it dry. Then add some Charles Worthing Texturing and volume spray. You will end up with these perfect beach waves. 

To get children to like swimming..

Alexander hates the water. To get him to start liking it at all I would get him to play with his watering can and buckets. This time we went he couldn't wait to go in. Hold their hand and play games. Pretend to look for fish and crabs. Always make sure they are wearing suncream and a hat in the hot sun light. Also get them a UV suit to protect their skin.

All from Dansoutacontrol and Monkey Maximus for today.  

Spring lookbook #day1

Hey guys,

So i've decided to do a spring lookbook. Here is a sneaky peak with a video to follow later on :)


So this outfit is from Topshop. It totally plays on the new season colours and designs and gives a cheeky playful day dress look. The detailing around the neck criss cross is very flattering for the curves. I am loving this dress and would wear it with soft curls

 Stay reading for ten different spring styles

Dans x x

Breakfast smoothie

A while back I made a lifestyle choice to adopt a healthier eating pattern. Since then I have experimented with foods, diets and exercise with the help of a dietician and a personal trainer. I have finally found a routine that works for me.

This post is a 'breakfast smoothie' recipe

What you need:

Almond milk (flavour of choice)
Banana
Kiwi
Spiritula, wheatgrass, flaxseed of multi detox mix powder ( Have been using flaxseed with added vitamin D lately). These can be puchased from Holland and Barratt or online (Amazon). If these are too pricey than my suggestion is oats.
Honey (Manuka) or dates -  I alternate between to two

Instructions:

Blend all together

Drink up!!

Autumn lookbook

 For a while now, there has been an autumnal feeling in the morning air, and now it is safe to say autumn has settled. Alas, that means the apples in the orchard are to be picked and hearty crumbles and pies made. Nights are spent by the fire and days are spent taking cosy walks. Not only does autumn bring new sensation, we all re-think our wardrobes, swapping the shorts for skirts and tights, and the straw hats for tote richer coloured ones. This season kick started with the all inspiring fashion shows. I was lucky enough to get by louboutins into London fashion week on day five. Here is a round up of what we can expect for spring 14.

1. Whites - yes white is back! But this time it is teamed with high contrasting colours and is bolder than before. 
2. Casual jumpsuits in the style of formal suits. This excellent combinations is one of the best outcomes in fashion. Teaming a formal suit in a more casual ways is a trend most designers are catching onto. And why not, with such decadent results. Not only chic and stylish but bringing comfort forward a lot. 
3. Greens and purples made an appearance in many shows, namely top shop. Topshop have been busy perfecting their statement colours.
4. Bags- the best bag has to be the new mulberry range and my personal preference is the red colours. Red is an exciting daring colour to pull off. 
5. Blues- all these lovely high contrast blues and blacks. 

Below are some photos snapped at LFW