Not just dreaming of gazpacho

Hola amigos! TGIF!

My tickets are finally booked for Spain and I have less than 3 months left here in beautiful New Zealand. This summer has been amazing - I have barely seen rain and the sun has been shining all summer long. There has been one thing however that I have been missing and that is my favorite summer cool-down drink/soup Gazpacho.

When I was living in Spain the first time I was taught how to make Gazpacho from a lovely Spanish woman I was staying with (back in 2008). And ever since then I have been drinking cartons of gazpacho throughout the long summer spanish days. It is so common to drink there you can just roll into the local shop and buy a carton of it in whatever size you want. It is perfect when it is so hot your appetite is off and you do not feel like eating.

There is such a variety of recipes but here is one I used today and it was a total hit with the family.

Ingredients:

1Kg of Ripe tomatoes

1 small green capsicum

2 cloves of garlic
1/2 onion
3 Tbsp of Olive oil
2 Tbsp of White wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Method:

1. To first remove the skins of the tomatoes place the tomatoes in a boiling pot of water for a few seconds. The skin should start to split.
2. Remove them from the water and peel the skin off.
3. Put the tomatoes in a food processor along with all other ingredients and blend until smooth
4. Pour into a jug with a lot of ice and drink!

Olé!!!!!!

Snow balls - Raw treats!

This is a very simple and delicious recipe for all sweet-lovers.. No processed sugar added and simple raw ingredients to take away the guilt of enjoying this sweet and tasty surprise.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Raw cocoa
1/4 cup Extra virgin coconut oil
1 cup Coconut
1 Vanilla bean pod
A pinch of sea salt


Method:
1. In a big bowl mix all ingredients till it is mixed well and has a sticky consistency
2. take small amounts and roll into balls with the palms of your hands
3. Roll the ball in more coconut and put into a storage container
4. Place in the fridge or freezer for at least an hour

So delicious and easy to make!

Beauty update: Olive&Coconut Body Butter

My big brother is currently visiting from China for a family friends wedding - Plus it is winter there right now so he came to grab a few rays of sun. He works as an explorer for a Chinese mining company in Mongolia so spends much of his time either on the field in the middle of nowhere or running around Bejing at the office. We all know that the pollution levels in a big city like Beijing have to take a massive toll on your skin as well as working on the field in the Mongolian desert you have to deal with things like... extreme cold, living in a tent for weeks, no showers, crappy food and long hours working. Needless to say I quite happily assumed him as one of my patients and set about creating a body butter for him that will protect his skin form the harsh conditions and stop it from drying out constantly.

Ulziit Ovoo Exploration camp - My brother uses the Mongolian
yurt as sleeping accommodation.

I have chosen in this body butter to use extra virgin olive and extra virgin coconut as my base oils as well as use my usual ingredients of coco butter and beeswax. I have also put a decent amount of pure lanolin to this mixture to really fortify the skin during those cold months.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 cup Extra Virgin Coconut Oil
2 Tbl Beeswax
2 Tbl Coco Butter
2 tsp Pure Lanolin
1 cup of water
30 drops sweet orange essential oil

Method:
1. In a double boiler slowly melt together all ingredients minus the water
2. In a separate pot at the same time slowly heat the cup of water till almost boiling
3. Take both pots off heat and let cool for 10 minutes
4. In the food processor scrape out all of the oil combination and pulse for 10 seconds
5. Slowly add the water to the oil mixture keeping the processor at a low speed constantly
6. Once all water is added pulse again for 10 seconds
7. Mix in the essential oil of your choice and pulse again for 5-10 seconds
8. Pour in pots and let cool before sealing.

Enjoy!

Trend Report : Print Mixing

Print Mixing is one of the scariest trends at the moment, but I think it’s one of the most exciting and liberating. When in life have we had the opportunity to break all the fashion rules and actually look awesomely cool doing it?

Celebrities are starting to hook on to the trend, but it still hasn’t reached that totally commercial market just yet. I still think this is an upcoming trend which will make others envious of your eclectic and quirky style. There are a few tricks for those shy of jumping straight in, a la Dries Van Noten (my favourite print mixing designer, who I think actually coined the look almost a decade ago)

 I’ll go into the different ways to wear mixed prints further on, but first take a look at some of the famous stars rocking this look! (Including the amazing Miranda Kerr - right-, who would look good in a big black sack anyway, but hey!)

Whitney Port

                                           Gwen Stefani                                          

Miranda Kerr with raggamuffin & friend

If the idea of print mixing seems intimidating or like a bit of a visual overload, you can tone it down a touch in the following ways...

Print Mixing for Wimps :

1.                                      Keep it tonal, i.e. blue print with blue print

Keep it Tonal

2.                                               Mix a neutral print with a neutral print

Neutrals Together

3.       Keep each print to two or three colours max, so there is not too much going  on at once

4.       Another easy way to wear, is to match your print with a stripe (see below stripe top with floral pant) Stripes are so common place that people don’t think of them so much as a print, meaning you can get a relatively watered down version of this look, quite easily

Having an oufit made up of two of the same type of print, but in different scales and/or colours is another fun way of mixing print. For example, large spot with small spot or large scale stripe with small scale stripe. See below :

Stripe on Stripe

                                               

      Stripe with Floral in Neutral Tones

Stripe as an Easy Mixing Piece

GET THE LOOK

From left: ASOS, Karen Walker, ASOS, Kate Sylvester 

...and I LOVE this clutch, so let's end on a fab note! :)

ASOS

x

Changing it up!

People who know me know I have serious issues with spending money on clothes.. I either buy a LOT and end up regretting the bad choices in clothes I made OR I just buy nothing and my close friends over the years have constantly provided me hand-me-downs. I am the youngest of 3 children so the excitement of receiving these second hand items is ingrained in my very being.

Fellow wolverine Kimberley is a perfect example of one of the many people who provide me goodies - However her hand-me-downs are often in perfect condition and barely touched... the joys of working in the fashion industry!

My bank account is drying out this month after a busy summer and instead of being able to buy new things I dug up a few garments and my sewing machine and set to work...

My first items were: A hand-me-down singlet from my friend Hechan (This must be at LEAST a few years old now, a bit out of shape but I still love to wear it!). I always wore this singlet tucked into high waisted pants or skirts but found it was too long and so sometimes looked a bit strange... Next was my awesome acid-wash high waisted jeans I got from my lovely friend Erika and her store Vintage-Me. These jeans either shrunk or my legs have got fatter... so to the point they no longer are comfortable to wear and I am always scared I am going to split them!

So I made the grey singlet a crop top with a pocket made from the left over denim from my jeans. I love high waisted pants so I just chopped off the tight legs on my jeans and now they are a pair of nice shorts for the summer!

It wasn't till after I made the alterations that Kimberley told me to blog about it, so I apologise for the 'Before' photos! I just had to dig up what I could find!

My second item: A play-suit bought from a second-hand store in Toulouse, France with my friend Raukura. I LOVE this playsuit and have worn it so much over the past few years that it started to get a bit raggy looking. From the beginning this playsuit was quite a lot too big for me but I didn't mind at all. Now I have taken the floppy sleeves off and hemmed it with a blue ribbon. I also took it in quite a bit from the 2 front seams. I love it!!

Get creative this summer and save your money I say!!