honest burger.

Nestled in the heart of London's Soho lies a tasty, meaty, hidden gem: behold, Honest Burger.

From the outside, Honest Burger is small and unassuming. Inside is pretty much the same - plain wooden tables and chairs are crammed together in a small room, and the only decoration is a huge blackboard which takes up one wall, proudly displaying the menu and specials. It looks more like a greasy spoon cafe than a trendy burger joint, but don't let the simple decor fool you - Honest Burger is all about good quality British produce in a warm, friendly, unpretentious environment. 

Unlike other burger places in London, the menu is simple - a chicken burger, a veggie burger and three types of beef burger, all accompanied by a delicious red onion relish. You can have your plain, with cheese or the Honest Burger, which comes with smoked bacon and mature cheddar cheese. I went for the Honest Burger (obviously) and asked for my burger to be cooked medium-rare. When it arrived it was dripping with juices, perfectly pink in the middle, and surrounded by a mountain of homemade fries, washed down with a homemade lemonade; refreshing and adorable in a jam jar style glass.

And while the Honest Burger was melt-in-the-mouth delicious, the real treat were the house fries - oh lord, the fries. Cooked with the skins on and sprinkled with rosemary salt, they're the perfect combination of crispy on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. And they don't skimp on the portions, which is perfect for a girl like me who thinks that less is definitely not more. 

I'm slowly working my way around the burger joints of London in the hopes of finding the perfect burger. Next stop - Patty & Bun!

What's your favourite burger place? 

bedroom inspiration.

When you live in a rented house on a limited budget, it's a challenge to transform your bedroom from four beige, boring walls into your own lovely little haven. So in the mean time, I'll keep lusting after these beautiful bedrooms to keep me going!

wednesday wishlist.

mother's day gift ideas #1

 budget

Do it yourself! You don't have to go posh to enjoy a good old fashioned afternoon tea. Hunt around the charity shops, car boot sales and flea markets for delicate china cups and saucers and cake stands, get a simple white table cloth and voila, you have your own shabby chic afternoon tea. There a millions of easy recipes to help you make your own cakes - I recommend scones, a Victoria sponge and a carrot cake - or if you're less of a Nigella and more of a Mr Bean in the kitchen, cheat and buy them ready made!

blowout

afternoon tea for two at the grosvenor hotel, london

This is afternoon tea at its finest. Sip tea from bone china cups with your little finger stuck firmly out in five star luxury. Munch away on delicate finger sandwiches, sumptuous scones oozing with real clotted cream and strawberry jam, cream puffs and fancy French pastries. At £59 it's certainly a blowout, but you'll be spoiling your mum rotten and this gift will place you firmly in her good books for the forseeable future!

What are you doing for mother's day?

beauty and skincare haul

L-R:  Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang, Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey and 17 Mirror Shine in Belle.

After trying to find Bioderma on my travels across Europe, I came to the conclusion that it's stupidly expensive anywhere other than France, so I caved and ordered the Bioderma Sensibio Micelle Solution off eBay! It arrived today and I've been eagerly anticipating taking my make up off tonight and trying it out. It also came with a sample of the Bioderma Sebium Intensive Care, and everyone loves a good freebie, right? 

I picked up La Roche-Posay Effaclar Mat and Effaclar Duo during a 2 for £15 deal at Boots. After seeing them explode across the blogosphere, who could resists an offer like that? I've been applying the Effaclar Duo at night before my moisturiser and the Effaclar Mat as a primer in the mornings, and so far I'm loving both of them, so watch this space for a review!

I also snapped up a few beauty bits 'n' pieces while I was in Boots. As well as re-purchasing my trusty Maybelline Master Precise liquid eyeliner, I bought the Collection Illuminating Touch Brightening concealer on a whim to see how it shaped up against my Holy Grail concealer, the Collection Lasting Perfection.

And because a girl can't have too many lipsticks, I went ahead and bought Revlon Just Bitten Kissable Balm Stain in Honey, 17 Mirror Shine lipstick in Belle and Rimmel Apocalips in Big Bang.

Finally, my guilty impulse buy was the MAC Paint Pot in Constructivist. I've been lusting after this for ages, and as I was checking out the new Harvey Nichols Beauty Bazaar in Liverpool I finally caved and bought it.

What have you bought recently?

 (Sorry for the poor picture quality, they were taken on my iPhone and not my camera)

The Fast Diet.

Hands up who has body issues. C'mon, ladies, don't be shy! I freely admit to looking in the mirror and seeing cellulite, bingo wings and a definite lack of the 'thigh-gap'. And, like most women, I've tried various fad diets in the hopes of shedding those few extra post-Christmas pounds that are stubbornly clinging on to my hips and thighs for dear life. 

I'm a girl who likes my food - give me a big ol' roast dinner over teeny tiny courses at a Michelin starred restaurant any day - but sometimes I find myself eating when I'm not hungry. Bored? Have a snack. Upset? Raid the fridge. And no matter how healthy I try and eat or how often I exercise, this cycle of boredom-binging keeps that little extra weight clinging on. 

Enter the Fast Diet. Thrust into the media spotlight by journalist and fashion editor Mimi Spencer, the diet is built on the basis of intermittent fasting i.e. abstaining from eating for short periods at a time. Now, don't be put off by the word 'fast' - there's no starving yourself for a day (thankfully!). The diet restricts you to 500 calories for two non-consecutive days a week. And on the plus side, you can generally eat what you like the rest of the time, including that slice of birthday cake or a sneaky bag of mini eggs at Easter. There are loads of recipes in the Fast Diet book and on the website to help you get started, and the food is far from boring. A diet which includes omelette for breakfast and carrot, red pepper, tomato and lentil soup with rosemary, thyme and chilli for dinner doesn't sound too bad!

I'll be posting weekly updates on my weight loss, how I'm feeling and any recipes I've discovered along the way. Wish me luck, this is definitely going to be a challenge!

What diets have you tried? Would you try the Fast Diet?

liz earle february essentials.

Having been blessed with acne-prone, sensititve skin, I'm a huge believer in sticking with what I know and love, and Liz Earle is definitely a brand that I love.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past couple of years, the Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser has been a firm blogger favourite, with words like 'Holy Grail product' and 'best cleanser' being flung around left, right and centre. Liz Earle is definitely my Holy Grail cleanser (you can find my review on it here) and I've been dying to try out other products from their skincare range for months. So when I went online to re-order my cleanser and try out the Instant Boost Skin Tonic, I saw this February Essentials set and almost keeled over.

At £41 (with free P&P), this skincare set is an absolute steal. You get the full range - the Hot Cloth Cleanser (including 2 muslin cloths), the Instant Boost Skin Tonic and the Skin Repair Moisturiser - as well as a choice of their Intensive Nourishing Treatment Mask, Brightening Treatment Mask or the Deep Cleansing Mask. That's just over £10 per product! And when all four products together at full price cost £60, it's definitely a deal that you'd be mad to miss out on.

I went for the range for combination/oily skin, and chose the Deep Cleansing Mask as my complementary product. Now, if you need me, I'll be sitting in front of my letter box waiting for the postman.

What do you think of Liz Earle products?