Sunday 31 March 2013

Carrot and Meringue Cake | Recipe


I always like to make a cake whenever we have a family gathering. My family isn't very big so I always have loads left over and never know what to do with it - this occasion was no different! For Easter I decided to make a lovely carrot cake with meringue icing and thought I'd share the recipe with you! It looks amazing and is dead easy so definitely worth a shot!

Thursday 28 March 2013

I really do Heart Holi!

Paint splattered Tatty Devine...
Hulllllo,
Last night I was lucky enough to go to Tatty Devine's 'I Heart Holi' party! I applied for the free tickets online and I really wasn't sure what to expect - I lucked out and had a really great time!

Me and my friend Jennie after the paint...
The party was to celebrate Holi also known as the 'festival of colours' which is a Hindu festival which celebrates (among many other things) the beginning of spring. The night started with everyone wearing white in a huge white room in I Heart Studios in Bermondsey. I had opted for a very cheap £5 dress from Primark which I saw at least a dozen other people wearing that night (obviously someone had sent out a memo!). When we were queueing outside in the freezing cold I suddenly got worried that maybe this was a wasted journey and it wasn't going to any good but as soon as I walked in I knew we were going to have a brilliant night! We were greeted with complimentary cocktails provided by Midori, a melon flavoured liqueur. I of course tried all 3 cocktails on offer and my favourite was the rainbow one, pretty and tasty! I didn't think they were that alcoholic but my squiffy head this morning begs to differ...

Rainbow cocktail
Midori cocktails
There was also make overs provided by Llamasqua, nail art from Nancy Mc, an Iheart photobooth and loads of Tatty Devine give aways so all sorts of lovely stuff! Considering the event was free I was totally gobsmacked by the amount going on!
Halfway through the night came the really fun part! It's a tradition at Holi do throw coloured powder paint at eachother. Paper bags of powder were passed around and mayhem broke out! It was totally beautiful with bright colours everywhere. Everyone's white dresses were now a big mix of pink, greens, blues and oranges! Although it was safe to say I was left wishing I hadn't worn my glasses because I couldn't see a thing...

Colourful flowers

Delicious rice - seriously couldn't get enough of this stuff

Looking a bit more colourful after the paint...still with a cocktail in hand




Tuesday 5 March 2013

Rihanna For River Island

L-R Rihanna wears - Split Side Maxi and Double Top Straight Jeans with Cropped T-Shirt 
Last night Rihanna officially launched her collection for River Island and like the lady herself it is the perfect mixture of grunge and glam - I am definitely a fan. The cuts and shapes of the line are definitely rooted in the 90s (check out that denim shirt skirt below) but the collection has a very dark colour base (with the occasional pop of bright yellow) which I think brings it fully up to 2013. Overall I really like the line! I think the cuts are really interesting, especially the use of knotting as seen in the yellow dress below and the knotted vest. Also, as an extremely vertically challenged individual, this may be one of the only times I've looked at a maxi skirt and thought I could work it with my wardrobe! 

My favourite pieces from the line are the the Double Top Jeans (as modeled by Ri-Ri herself above) and the dipped hem stripped shirt! The shirt is an obvious choice for me, I'm an absolute sucker for all things dipped hemmed and button uppable but the Jeans are like nothing else I would usually pick! I think it's because they're so incredibly 90s I wouldn't feel out of place strutting onto the Saved By The Bell set in them, but at the same time the straight leg and turn up keeps them really up to date. Whatever it is...I want them! 

Overall I'm really impressed by Rihanna for River Island - it doesn't feel gimmiky or over-branded like some other celeb lines *cough Kardashians for Dorothy Perkins cough*. It feels like it has definite shelf-life and could go a long way! 

L-R Black Crop with Black Split Maxi Skirt / Grey Crop with Grey Split Maxi Skirt / Yellow Tie Dress / Denim Shirt Skirt
Some of my favourites....
Top - Black Trucker Boots £95 / Cropped White T-Shirt £20 / Black and White Shirt £45
Bottom - Black and White Tank £20 / Knot Vest £18 / Roll Sleeve Tank £20
So what do you think of the collection? Love or loathe? Favourite items? I'd love to hear what you think...

Sunday 3 March 2013

Make It Hightstreet | The Oscars 2013

So the award season is came to a triumphant end with The Oscars. It's really the going out party you could hope for from such a glitzy award season I've had a super time how about you? Of course many of the best dresses were saved til last - Jennifer Lawrence seems to have walked away with an all round thumbs up from the blogosphere for her stunning pale pink Christian Dior Courture gown. For me, Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen really took the biscuit! Her swept back hair and smokey make up was stunning - a million miles away from when she hit the screens as Karen in Mean Girls. Amy Adams in Oscar de la Renta and Sally Fields in Valentino brought a touch of princess to the event with long flowing dresses. With Sofia Vegara missing from the evening due to illness it fell to classic sex-sirens Halle Berry and Catherine Zeta-Jones, plus newcomer Samantha Barks to bring some vavavoom. Halle looked every inch a Bond Girl in a silver sequined Versace number (designed especially for her of course), Ms Zeta-Jones looked classic Hollywood in a gold and nude Zuhair Murad dress and Samantha Barks totally pulled off the plunging neckline in Valentino. The same can't be said for everyone, there were a few dresses that didn't quite knock it out of the park for me. I was a little disappointed with the Jennifer's, both Aniston and Garner went for very simple, slightly bland dresses. Jennifer Garner went for a simple Gucci number which from the back looked exquisitely detailed but from the front just looked a bit meh whilst Jennifer Aniston's red Valentino gown was just...I don't know I just didn't care about it which is probably worse than hating it. Also Adele was back to what she knew best in  black Jenny Packham, I hope she'll branch out into colour again at some point...
On a last note, a lady who has been my favourite all awards season Anne Hathaway. She of course looked beautiful in a soft pink Prada dress with detailed bows at the back and it would have been a perfectly nice dress if I hadn't loved everything else she wore so much! Compare this to her BAFTAs dress or her Screen Actor's Guild Award Dress and it just falls a bit short. But I loved her styling, the hair and the jewels from Tiffany's was all very Audrey Hepburn and went beautifully with her Best Supporting Actress Award...

Charlize Theron in Christian Dior / White Peplum, AX Paris for New Look, £30

Samantha Barks in Valentino / Plunge neck maxi, Asos, £22
The adorable Quvenzhane Wallis in Armani Junior / Navy tulip dress, Asos, £40

Saturday 2 March 2013

Pinterest my interest...

So after many days of persuasion from my flatmate I have signed up for Pinterest. Much like Tumblr, I'm pretty sure I'm doing it wrong, but I like looking at all the pretty pictures so I don't really mind.

Anyway, if you have Pinterest (I'm sure many of you out there do what with me being WELL behind on the trend) I would really appreciate a little bit of interaction on there. If you comment below with your username or address or whatever it is I will probably follow you

You can find me at www.pinterest.com/maisiemaizz there'll be a profile with my miserable mug on and a couple of boards. If you don't wanna follow that's cool...you can just tell me if I'm doing it right haha

On a sidenote, if you ever do read any of the posts on here please please please let me know! I would absolutely LOVE to hear from someone even if it's literally just a "hello. I read this." I would still appreciate it!! Thanks so much!

Dats wot ma profile luks lyk

Friday 1 March 2013

Make It Highstreet | Brit Awards 2013

Last week the Brits rolled into town highlighting all the awesomeness that is British music (plus a couple from over the pond). To be totally honest I wasn't amazed by the dresses on show. Of course there were a few beauties on show, Taylor Swift, for example, looked absolutely stunning in black paneled Elie Saab - I can't get over how much her style has matured in the last year! Jessie J took the plunge in a low cut Versace gown, a lot more demure than what we're used to seeing Jessie in, I liked it but I'm still a fan of her old trademark bob-and-fringe. I was a bit gutted really that so  many of the big names missed the mark with their dresses, Gemma Arterton, whose dresses I am usually drooling over, looked like she was getting ready for Comic Relief in a red, sequined Jonathan Saunders ensemble. More granny than glamour. Lana Del Rey also disappointed in a thoroughly dull number which I was amazed to discover was by Chanel - considering the amount of designers and stylists that must be lining up to dress this lady I don't understand how she ended up with such a boring dress. Lady of the evening, Emeli Sandé also fell short in a ruffled LBD, just a bit samey really. Not wanting to end on a negative note some ladies definitely brought the vavavoom! Jourdan Dunn worked those pins amazingly in a micro yellow mini from Balmain and Bérénice Marlohe looked every inch a Bond girl in Donna Karan - pure old school Hollywood!

Alexa Chung in Valentino / Cream Playsuit, New Look £24
Jourdan Dunn stands out in Balmain / Mimosa Mini Dress, French Connection, £80
Delilah wears Michael Kors / Keyhole Skater Dress, Asos Petite, £15