Lovebox 2013

A slightly belated post - I wont bother with excuses!

Having been allowed to leave work an hour early for the occasion, Friday afternoon couldn't have come any sooner. What more could you want than a London festival in the sunshine with friends AND Rudimental. Dreaming.

The girls loving Rudimental

I had the BEST time grooving away at the various stages (when I wasn't queuing for food/loos/drinks). Azealea Banks was headlining the main stage and her outfit was just mental. She honestly looked like a martian in a luminous green catsuit (with a thong-bearing cutout on the lower back/booty area) and a white contact in one eye. Although this statement was memorable, the highlight was undoubtably the amazing set by Rudimental. I just loved it and so did every single person there, no exception - well not as far as I want to know about as that would ruin the idyllic memories I have of the event.

Amazing British Sunshine!

As a festival newbie I was definitely converted to the loved up summer vibes and even the portaloos weren't going to get in the way of my amazing evening! I came home covered head to toe in the dust from Victoria Park so I felt really authentically dirty and festival goer-esque. And with the bonus of the amazing weather it definitely didn't feel like we were in the middle of East London.

Very good fun.

Key To Freedom

I have been useless this month. I have been so flat out with my internship and trying to catch up with old friends that I just haven't found the time (with the exception of the 45 minutes I spent writing how excited I was about doing all the things I had planned... which I subsequently deleted. Boohiss). Anyway I figured now was the time to put the laziness to bed because this is actually important!

So this month I am loving Key to Freedom...

Topshop have launched their new charitable venture and the result is beautiful. I have been lucky enough to get a sneak peek into the collection and I've fallen a little bit in love!

Key To Freedom Sarong - 100% Silk

Key To Freedom has been set up to support the Women's Interlink Foundation, a programme set up in West Bengal to help vulnerable women earn an income and develop skills. Many of these women have suffered from domestic abuse themselves, or been exposed to it from a young age. The project helps these women to escape from this violence and obtain independence from their backgrounds.

The beautiful Key To Freedom scarf in blue

Topshop have not only provided a platform to sell the hand made products to more people but they also have also helped the women to further develop their skills. 

The scarfs are large enough to wear as a sarong and would be the perfect holiday accessory. The range available in Topshop have been designed by Penny McIvor and hand dyed and sewn by the women of the project in India.

The pink is my favourite!

You can find out more information on the project, the process and Topshop's involvement here and purchase your own sarong here. Topshop don't take a cut and money from each scarf goes directly to the woman that made it - a wonderfully personal touch. That's £32 well spent I reckon.

You can also show your support via social media with #mykeytofreedom. 

Everyone has the right to freedom...

This is a step...

Recipe: Super Spicy Squid Salad

Super Spicy Squid Salad (see what I did there...)

So this is a really basic, quick and easy meal that I have put together (and eaten multiple times) in the last few weeks. I'm a big fan of spice, although on occasion have been to overestimate my tolerance to it! So this is to my taste and can be adapted to yours!

Ingredients (serves 2)

150-200g of squid - this can be ready diced squid rings or something fresher if you prefer
1 red pepper
1 onion
1 courgette
2 cloves of garlic
chillis to taste - can be fresh, from a jar or a combination of both
a dash of soy sauce

Prepare all the veg (and squid if needed). Using a nonstick pan on a medium heat, start to cook the onions and red peppers. I choose not to add oil in order to make myself healthier but feel free to add some if you want a fried option. Crush in the garlic, and add the chilli and soy sauce to taste. The courgettes can go in after about 2 minutes and once they start to soften slightly, put in the squid. It is really important not to overdo the squid as it can become rubbery quite quickly. The squid I use is ready to eat to save time so I just put it in long enough to heat it through.

I prefer this served warm but you could allow it to cool and serve over salad or other base. It really isn't anything fancy but it has been a meal I have enjoyed a lot recently without taking up too much time while I rush around like a maniac! Let me know of any tasty variations you find!

The Intern Effect

So a few weeks ago I was enjoying my final days (and very hot and sticky nights out) in Nottingham which came to a very abrupt end when reality hit!

A particularly pretty Snapchat from our final night out in Nottingham

As I got in to bed in the early hours of Saturday morning, it dawned on me that I had little over 48hours to get back to London, unpack and organise myself for my internship starting on Monday.

I have been lucky enough to secure a placement in the PR department for 6 weeks at a fashion retailer close to my heart. Naturally I was nervous primarily about what I was going to wear! Smart-casual is officially the most awkward dress code. Fact. Go to smart on the first day and you're trying too hard, go to casual and you're not trying hard enough! I settled on a lime Zara blouse (no longer in stock but can be found in black here), black jeans and my favourite pair of black heeled boots in hope that I couldn't go to wrong with that combination!

I arrived, collected my temporary security pass and sat in reception waiting to be collected by the press assistant. Waiting to meet someone you don't know is always a strange one as you don't know who you are looking for. Luckily after ten minutes or so a pretty girl who must be similar in age to me called my name and greeted me with a smile! She took me through the office - similar to any other office but with clothes, shoes, bags, accessories and mood boards everywhere (have I died and gone to heaven?).

I immediately realised I was going to have to muster up levels of self control that I have never executed before so as not to swoon at every rail I passed and would surely pass hundreds of times a day for the next six weeks. Blinkers on I followed on and we eventually weaved or way to the press area.

Time has never passed so quickly and without realising I'm almost half way through my third week! Multiple times have I looked at my watch to find hours have passed in what seemed like minutes. Surely that's a good sign? What's more, the weekends have actually been the slowest parts of the week so I'm not wishing away my free time. And one of the benefits of being unpaid is that the girls in the office are almost angry if I stay past 5 - even if they have hours left to do themselves they are insistent that I leave on time. I still feel a little guilty every time...

One thing that is noticeable is that I must be rushing around a huge amount. I made a conscious decision at the end of university to put my gym routine on hold and spend as much time as possible with my friends. BBQs, ciders and eating out almost reverse the hard work I had done on my waistline. However, it was a temporary sacrifice I was willing to make in order to make the most of my final few weeks, after all you are only a student once (YOASO). I was ready to get back to my healthier ways but have struggled to fit in as many trips to the gym as I had been getting used to. But somehow I am managing to progress back towards my pre-partying body which I was actually becoming relatively fond of! While I've been eating well, I really haven't had a chance to exercise apart from the occasional early morning/after work run so there is only one thing I can give credit to...

On the topic of running, I'm in love with my new trainers...

Photo from sportsdirect.com

Anyway...I am on my feet all day everyday, carrying bags to give to couriers, moving samples between departments, taking items to shoots or personal shoppers and always user time pressure. (I will post more about the day to day tasks at some point in the future as I hope that over the weeks I will get to see more and more of the department and what the girls do). I've decided to call this 'The Intern Effect'. Having initially thought the entire office must be starving themselves as part of their employment contract in order to make sure all the size 10 sample sizes were too big for them to borrow, I now realise how wrong I was. Cake and sweet treats are demolished in minutes so there is certainly no concern there. Everyone is running round all day and I'm convinced its why they are all so tiny! There is definitely truth in how much your job effects your weight. Although my legs are more exhausted than my brain by the end of the day, at least I'm getting a full body workout without even thinking!