Kitties

Hello all,
Hope you are doing well!
So... It's December! Happy December everyone!
I blogged a total of zero times last month. I apologise for being absent, and I hope you can forgive me. I have no real explanation other than that I didn't feel like blogging, my mental health has been up and down, and I've been very busy at work.

Before I disappeared I promised to blog about my London adventures, and I'm still hoping to do that. Anyway... This outfit is from the beginning of September, right before I went to London with my darling family. I remember that it was very warm in London, but in northern Sweden it was autumn for sure. And now in December there is not a leaf in sight - just a whole lot of ice and occasionally (I'm sad to say it is occasional, damn global warming) some snow.

Anyway, you can never go wrong with black and white. And while it is minimalistic and classic, I decided to quirk things up a bit with a fun print.

I fell in love with this blouse when it first arrived to ModCloth. It has a super cute collar, and the print is darling! There's one cat with flat ears, one ear is black (in the very middle in the photo above) that I've decided is my very favourite. It would for sure be my cat, it looks so sweet. I'm a cat lady without a cat!

Blouse: ModCloth (here)

Skirt: H&M (old)

Cardigan: Zara (old)

Tights: Primark (old)

Meow!

I'm sorry the blogging has been so sparse during the autumn, but I update my Instagram (@curlsncakes) regularly - so follow me there if you want updates. As for the blog - I'm hoping to get back into it.
Hope you're all having a nice December day!

Much love,

Goodness me, I'm singing

Hello all,

Hope you are doing great!
I just uploaded a video... A cover (!!!!) to my youtube channel.

I was soooo nervous filming this, but you've got to start somewhere, right?



It's a song called Burn from the musical Hamilton - which I LOVE! And believe you me, it is some serious love!

Anyway, have a look at the video if you like!
Thank you!

Much love,

Three layers of yum

Hello all,
Wow! I'm still here... I'm so sorry I've been silent for so long and without notice. I was super busy and then I just felt like I needed a little break from the blog. But to hopefully make it up to you, I have a recipe for you today.

This recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook by Tarek Malouf. I was actually lucky enough to be able to go to a Hummingbird Bakery Shop in London. I had a chocolate and caramel cake and it was soooo good *drools*.

Today's recipe is a glorified brownie, with three layers of goodness. The bottom is a regular brownie layer, but it isn't quite like my other brownie, it's a bit cakier and not as dense (although still very rich). The middle layer is a classic cheesecake layer with cream cheese, eggs, sugar and vanilla. And to top it off there's a  layer of raspberry cream!

It really is a delicious combination. I adapted the original recipe quite a bit, with different amounts of several ingredients, and I substituted all the icing sugar in the original recipe to regular caster sugar, because I like caster sugar more. The original recipe is out there on the web, just search for it. I will share the recipe with my adaptions.

Cheesecake brownie with raspberry cream

Adapted from The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook from Tarek Malouf.

Brownie layer

INGREDIENTS

• 200 grams dark chocolate, chopped
• 200 grams butter
• 200 grams sugar
• 3 eggs
• 110 grams flour

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 175°C. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over hot water. Whisk the butter and sugar thick and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the flour, little by little, until it is all incorporated. Lastly pour the melted chocolate into the batter. Mix well. Pour the batter into a pan that is about 30x20 cm. Even the batter in the pan, and DO NOT bake! Prepare the cheesecake layer.

Cheesecake layer

INGREDIENTS

• 400 grams cream cheese
• 150 grams sugar
• Vanilla powder (to taste)
• 2 eggs

DIRECTIONS

Whisk the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until a thick batter. Add the eggs, one at a time. Whisk at a  bit higher speed at the end, but be careful not to over beat it. Pour the cheesecake batter over the unbaked brownie batter. Now bake the brownie/cheesecake for 30-40 minutes. Bake until the cheesecake layer is firm, the edges of the cheesecake layer should be golden, but the middle should be pale. Let the brownie/cheesecake cool and then cover and put in the fridge for at least 2 hours (preferably over night).

Raspberry cream layer

INGREDIENTS

• 3 dl whipping cream
• 3 tablespoons vanilla sugar
• 250 grams raspberry

DIRECTIONS

Mix and sieve the the raspberry to get a smooth purée. Whisk the whipping cream with the vanilla sugar until it is firm then add the raspberry purée and mix well but carefully not to lose the air in the whipped cream.

Spread the raspberry cream over the cheesecake layer, and even it with a spatula. Decorate with more raspberries or sprinkles.

The sprinkles are as always from Sweetapolita's Etsy shop.

Hope you are all doing super well and that autumn is treating you good.

I'll be back soon!

Much love,

Zebrawood & Champagne

Hello all,
Hope you are having a nice day!

I wore this outfit during my week+ in London, which I will blog about very soon. You might remember the pinafore and blouse, as I've worn them together before, but that time it was cold. I was in Sweden and winter was coming on fast, so I photographed the outfit indoors.

This time around, it is my favourite time of the year - Autumn. And since I was in London, which is way further south than where I live in Sweden, it was surprisingly warm. So I switched things up by wearing this outfit without tights and with open(-ish) shoes! I also added a unique wooden watch from Jord, that was sent to me. If you like the look of the watch, continue reading -- because I have an exciting giveaway in collaboration with Jord!

I used to love wearing watches when I was a child. It made me feel like an adult, like I was more important if having to check up on the time. I basically continued wearing wrist watches all the way until uni. In university I had a lot of lab work, and I wouldn't wear my watch because I was afraid I might ruin it during the lab, get it dirty or contaminated. So I stopped wearing watches, and since I still work in a lab setting, I never really picked it up again. That was until this was sent my way.

I had previously seen Jord's wood watches after I read a blog post by Emma of Emma's Looking Glass (here), and I remember thinking it was really neat that they make their watches from wood. So when Jord contacted me for a collaboration, I knew instantly which watch I wanted, since I had already considered buying it for myself. Jord very graciously sent me the watch I wanted, which is a watch in their Frankie series. The wood it is made of is Zebrawood which is native of West Africa, and has a very unique appearance with its contrasting dark and light grains. The face is a Champagne colour, which makes the watch minimalistic but very striking in all its natural glory. I think this is the perfect Jord watch. "Jord" means "Earth" in Swedish, and this lovely watch has an earthy feeling to it.

Blouse: Miss Patina (old)

Pinafore: Miss Patina (here)

Watch: c/o Jord (here)

Shoes: Asos (old)

While I was sent this watch, I will of course be completely honest in how I feel about it.
Wearing it is easy, and while I feel like it's the perfect watch for this season, I don't think I'll have any trouble styling it for any season as it is so neutral. It's comfortable on the wrist and sits well, but it is larger than any watch I've ever had, so it does take a bit getting used to it's size. If you wear big watches a lot I don't think you'll even consider its size because it's not exactly big, it's just bigger than my old watches. Personally I love it. I think it's very unique and sharp. I just love that it elevates an outfit. I've never had a watch that adds to the outfit, they've all been pretty non-descriptive so far, but this one from Jord is far from!

If you want to look more at the watch I have click here.
And if you want to look at all of their women's watches click here.

If you want a Luxury Wood Watch from Jord, then here is your chance!
Jord has very kindly offered to host a giveaway with me, where you can win a $75 e-voucher!

To enter click HERE

The competition will end on the 25th of September of this year.
And anyone who enters will also get a $20 e-gift card!

This is your chance to get your very own wood watch, so make haste, don't waste it!

I will be back with more of my London adventures on the blog soon!

I hope you have a very nice day!
Much love,