Black Boots With An Edge

I am such a black boot enthusiast. I can't remember a time I didn't own at least a few pairs. They go with everything and there are so many different shapes and styles that you just can't go wrong and will always find a pair right for you. I remember there was a time when I would only wear black boots, but then trainers came into my life and everything changed but that doesn't mean I don't love a good black boot still, because I blooming well do. 

These boots I'm talking about are from a love at first sight situation, I saw them and instantly knew I needed them. The Next Perspex Heel Ankle Boots* are a perfect boot to add to your collection for all year round. I love them because of the perspex heel and it adds a little bit of interest to something so classic, that everyone knows and loves. 

I'm obsessed! 

What are your ideal black boots? 

Lorna x

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Happy 3rd Birthday Studs and Dreams

3 years! Wow. I can't quite believe it. 

This little space on the internet of mine has become a little bit more than just that... a little space on the internet. It means more than you can imagine and I feel as though if one day I woke up and it was gone and I couldn't blog anymore it'd be like losing an arm or a leg. I love it that much and its a part of me. 

The world of blogging and YouTube now has changed so much since I started and it's got a whole lot of different connotations and feelings associated to it than when I decided to start, but I want to let you know that my feelings towards it haven't changed since I started. I do it because I want to, not because I might be sent XYZ product, or get to go to XYZ, that's just a bonus and I'm not going to lie and say it isn't nice. I love writing and taking pictures of things I love and this has been my outlet for that and I can't explain how happy I am that I bit the bullet and started this. It's given me so many opportunities and has changed my entire outlook on life and I'm so grateful for that. 

I thought I wanted to be a Photographer or Artist before I started Studs and Dreams but this has given me the opportunity to see something I loved - digital, social media, writing etc. - in another light and I'm excited for the places it will continue to take me and give me the opportunity to experience. But overall, I just bloody love writing about the things I love... mostly beauty and food at the minute... and it makes me so happy that some of you seem to enjoy reading it too. Who'd have thought anyone would have ever stumbled across this site after I started it? I surely didn't. 

Like I mentioned before, blogging has changed so much and although it's incredible that it now has so much more importance, relevance and is respected a whole lot more, it just means that people are jumping on the bandwagon for the wrong reasons and I just want to let you know that it's okay to be writing about the things you love just because you love doing it. And you know, it's likely you'll go a whole lot further as you'll keep going too. 

I'm not saying it's been an easy ride to this point. I haven't loved every day, I haven't always blogged regularly and I always take breaks from it, but I'm not a full time blogger and this isn't my job, so that's okay and I make sure not to pressure myself about it because at the end of the day, I do this solely for fun. It's my hobby, a time consuming one maybe, but it incorporates all of the things I love and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

Perseverance is key, and I'll carry to persevere and write and upload to Studs and Dreams until it doesn't become fun anymore. And don't worry, I can't see that happening any time soon... I wouldn't describe it like an arm or a leg for no reason you know. You don't just wake up one day and decide you don't like having your arm there anymore do you? Well this is the same thing and I'm going to keep writing and loving doing this. 

Thank you so much for the past 3 years and I'm so excited about what the future holds. 

Lorna x

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Eating in London: National Vegetarian Week at Zaika

I love a good Indian. I used to hate any sort of spice but since I got into it, I've been in love. I was invited down to try out Zaika of Kensington* during National Vegetarian Week and I just couldn't turn it down. I don't eat meat so this was perfect alongside my love of great Indian food and so excitement was probably putting it lightly. 

The restaurant is beautiful. So luxurious making eating and drinking there a total experience and I loved it. We started with some poppadoms alongside a tomato chutney and a beetroot chutney. You can't have an Indian without these right? They were great and the chutney flavours made a nice change from the usual lime pickle and mango chutney and tasted incredible. 

The first course was Papdi Chaat - spiced chickpeas, wheat crisps, yoghurt, blueberries and tamarind chutney, Broccoli - tandoor cooked spice crusted broccoli and Aloo Tikki - potato cake with coriander, served with tamarind chutney. This was incredible and can be seen in the first picture. It looks beautiful and tasted even better. I always worry that although I like a bit of spice, it might be too hot for me but this wasn't the case at all, not for any of the courses and it was heaven. Served with a Sauvignon Blanc, Marloborough, New Zealand White Wine, my favourite of the evening and it really did match the dish perfectly. 

Next up was Mix Sprout & Potato Sheek - mixed sprouts and potato skewers served with mint and dry-ginger chutney, Paneer - Grilled Paneer with pickeled marinade served with a Cannonball Chardonnay, Sonoma County, California White Wine. This was incredible. The Paneer was the best I've ever tasted and it's got me completely sold and totally obsessed. I could eat this dish again and again. 

Onto the main and we had the Palak Paneer - Paneer with onion-tomato masala, cumin and garlic tempered pureed spinach, Aloo Gobi - Baby potatos and cauliflower tossed with onion, tomato and chaat masala served with Dal Makhni - slow cooked black lentils, Zaffrani Pulao and Truffle Naan and a glass of Malbec, Humberto Canoloe Estate Patagonia, Argentina Red Wine. These were all served in gorgeous copper pots and all tasted incredible. I love trying a bit of everything and so I think that's one of the reasons I fell in love with this meal. 

For desert we had Mango Kulfi and a Chocolate Brownie served with a Tokaji Late Harvest Ferment Desert Wine. This was a lovely way to finish off the meal and we were so full. 

This honestly was one of the most incredible meals I've had in a long time. It tops off all of my favourite Indian restaurants (as mentioned here) and I couldn't recommend it enough. You won't miss the meat or seafood, trust me! 

Lorna x

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A Speedy Blow Dry

I'm all about ease and speed, and if you've been reading my blog a while and have seen my Lazy Girls Guides then you'll probably know that. I rarely ever blow dry my hair because it's such a laborious process that I just can't deal with regularly. Why would I waste my time doing that when I could be air drying my hair and getting on with something else? Plus it's better for your hair, less heat damage and all that. That was until a few of these products came into my life and it made the process a whole lot easier and that bit faster. 

Schwarzkopf's got2b Mind Blowing range is perfect for the perfect speedy blow dry. I've got the Express Dry Styling Spray* and the Fast Dry Hair Spray* and they both work wonders. A quick spritz pre-blow dry with the styling spray and post-blow dry with the hair spray and it speeds up the process while making sure it lasts. There's no point in going for something speedy if you're going to have do it again soon after right? 

Starting the blow dry off by washing your hair with a great shampoo and conditioner like the Richard Ward Keratin Sleek Shampoo* makes sure your working with a great base. This range smooths hair and hydrates and adds gloss to your finished blow dry, meaning you don't have to add any extra products to sort this out. Though if you do find that you really struggle with Frizz and something like this wouldn't go the whole way to sorting it out then I'd recommend adding in the John Frieda Frizz Ease Anti Frizz Primer* to your hair before drying and this will sort that right out! 

A few products to help with your speedy blow dry but trust me, that's all you need, any more and it would probably weigh your hair down and make that blow dry last no time at all. Tried and tested, trust me! 

What do you use in your blow dry routine? 

Lorna x

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Fathers Day Gift Guide

This probably isn't the usual way a Fathers Day Gift Guide would start, but I thought I'd change things up and show you a snap of little me and my Dad back in the day cause you know, it's blooming cute!

Fathers Day and well, any day that I have to pick something out to buy my Dad is always a struggle and so I thought I'd write up this post about what I'd recommend picking up all of the hard-to-buy-for Dad's in the world because it can be so difficult. I love my Dad to pieces, he's my world, so when it comes to these days where I want to find something special for him and I just can't it can become such a stress but I've got him a few things in the past that he's loved and so I'll share those with you and a few extras I've thought of recently for in the future. 

Personalised gifts are perfect for those Dad's that have it all. One year I got my Dad a pair of personalised photo cufflinks and he loved them. I put a picture of me on one, and my brother on the other and it's something he still talks about to this day. Forever showing them off when he wears them and I'd totally recommend getting a pair for yours. Photos are always great, so just a photo of you both, maybe one of your whole family in a nice frame is something that will always go down well! Who doesn't love a picture to look back on? Budget friendly and Dad's love them. 

If you're looking for something personalised then Not On The High Street is great. I've fallen in love with it ever since I saw it. It's genius, there's literally something for everyone! If you're Dad's into music, gardening, food etc. There'll be something amazing that he'll love and likely never seen before. I think shopping in stores like this gives you the chance to have that element of surprise as they just won't expect it. StreetHub is another great one and where I got this Scrabble board for my Mum for Christmas. Firebox and Bouf are well worth a look too! 

If nothing on any of those sites take your fancy, perhaps making some sort of hamper would be best. Fill it with all of their favourite things and make it look pretty with tissue paper etc and you have the opportunity to spend as little or as much on it as you want, budget friendly - bonus! I did this one year for Christmas, covered the box in wrapping paper and tinsel, wrapped everything up individually and filled it with lots of different food items like cheeses and chutneys. He didn't realise the box was all for him and was super excited that he had the most presents which was very rare as he is so hard to buy for! The opening and unwrapping is the best bit right? 

Maybe you don't fancy buying him something physical, taking him out for dinner or drinks or to the cinema (like I did at Barber and Parlour / Electric Cinema here) and spend some quality time with him, he'll love that! Or perhaps you could send him on into the blue experience days or similar. These are great and give him the opportunity to try out something super fun and get a great memory in the process!  

Try not to overthink it, something simple would work wonders trust me! And if all else fails, cook him dinner or bake him a cake and he'll love that too. 

What are you getting your Dad for Fathers Day? 

Lorna x

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An Easy Peanut Butter Milkshake

Calling all you peanut butter lovers out there! This one's going to be especially for you (and quite a bit for me too...) 

As soon as I spied Peanut Hottie on the shelves in Sainsbury's I fell hook line and sinker. It started with a sachet to try it and then I went the whole hog and got myself a tub, which the rest of my house enjoyed rather a lot too. I'm talking a hot chocolate that tastes just like nutella - chocolate and peanut butter - genius! And you know, there's just a plain one out there too if you don't fancy the chocolate all the time. Hot peanut-y goodness, yum!

When I was contacted by Peanut Hottie challenging me to create a milkshake perfect for summer out of their Peanut Butter Drink* and Chocolate and Peanut Butter Drink* I was totally game. I had never thought of using this beautiful product in this way! So for a super easy milkshake add a couple teaspoons to some milk, stir and you're good to go... but if you're feeling a little bit more fancy and after something a little more luxurious then I've got you're back too. 

I got a little experimentational when creating my milkshake and it tasted like heaven. I added a mixture of Haagen Dazs Vanilla Ice Cream, Almond Milk, Chocolate and Peanut Butter Peanut Hottie and Reeces Peanut Butter Cups into a blender and you know the drill, blended it up to create, well basically, heaven in a cup. It tasted delicious! And I'll definitely be going back for more... 

I didn't think I could fall in love with Peanut Hottie any more than I already was, but they've gone and done it and showed me that Peanut Hottie isn't just for the colder wintery months, but that it's perfect for summer too!

What would be in your ideal milkshake? 

Lorna x

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The Longest Lasting Eye Shadow Sticks For A Smokey Eye

I've gone and done it, I've only fallen in love with Charlotte Tilbury makeup. The one thing I really didn't want to do... I know it might sound strange, but I always tried to steer clear of blog posts talking about the gorgeous, gorgeous products coming from the Charlotte Tilbury range because from a first glimpse and the amazing things I've heard, I just knew I'd become obsessed. I'm not just talking any obsession though, I'm talking the type where you HAVE to buy the products, and I mean have, because it verges on a need. You feel me ladies? 

There's just something that feels so much more exciting and special when you've got a Charlotte Tilbury product in your hand. It just feels like pure luxury. From the packaging straight down to the actual product, there's nothing here I can actual fault and so I'm going to get down to the dirty and talk to you about my new favourite eye products, the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon in Amber Haze* (left) and Golden Quartz* (right). 

If you're looking for some amazing quality eye shadows to add to your collection, then you're completely in the right place. The Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon's are a range of eye shadow sticks/pencils, with shades specific to your eye colour with shades that would work for day and night. I love this idea. It's great for those that may not know that much about what shades work for them and you know, for the rest of us beauty addicts too. I'm a total brown shadow gal, I have about a billion in my collection, but I've opened up my arms SO widely to these beauties. They are the most pigmented eye shadow sticks I've come across. They're so creamy and easy to blend out for a more natural and at the same time they are so pigmented that they can be layered to create a more intense eye. I know you might wonder how they last so long if they really that creamy, but they set and they then won't budge for a long long time. It was such a difficulty removing these from my hand, but I put up with for blogging purposes, ya know? 

They cost £19 each, but I cannot tell you how great that is for the quality. Don't do what I did and try and keep away from these. You don't want to be missing any time having them in your life, trust me. 

I love just wearing these on their own across the eye with a slick of mascara during the day and adding them into a more intense smokey eye for the evening. I just can't get enough of these Charlotte Tilbury eye shadow sticks, they're literally the best I've tried. It was definitely love at first swipe... 

Have you tried the Charlotte Tilbury Colour Chameleon's? What shades are you eyeing up? 

Lorna x

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