Anthropologie // Alice in Wonderland

Long time readers will know all about my fascination with all things Alice in Wonderland. The shocking reality is that I no longer have my own copy of the book. I've been searching for years for my perfect book but to no avail. On one hand, I've been after a modern ish copy with a nice cover - one that I wouldn't be afraid to pick up and actually read - but on the other hand, perhaps an older copy, preferably with an aged leather cover. The latter I half expect to find by surprise one day tucked away in a old fashioned book store. This search has spanned years. However recently I noticed that Anthropologie were selling Penguin Classics with beautiful covers and was honestly so excited to find Alice in Wonderland in this design:

Anthropologie - £9.99

If you remove the jacket, the book underneath is just as nice. Plain white with silver lettering, it's simple and classic - just like the story itself.

The book itself has that lovely new book smell (you know the one). The pages are all higgledy piggledy, meaning that if you close the book and then look at the pages, rather than forming a uniform line, some of the pages stick out more than others. The pages themselves also have an amazing texture - sort of rough, like that of an older book. The pages add a rustic charm to the book - like it is a classic book restored and given a modern lease of life. And as I was on the quest for both a modern ish copy and an old fashioned one, it's like both these things have been rolled into one book.

And the last compliment... the illustrations. The book actually uses the classic Alice in Wonderland illustrations - the ones you will see on most Alice in Wonderland merchandise. You may even recognise the below example:

As well as the universally known, there are lots of illustrations I've never seen before. My favourites are of the weird and wonderful creatures she encounters:

It's a beautiful edition of the text, so if you or anyone you know likes Alice in Wonderland, it would make a lovely gift. Anthropologie also stock beautiful editions of other classics like Jane Eyre (Penguin Classics), A Little Princess, Anne of Green Gables and Heidi (Puffin Classics). For me personally, the classics never get old - but then I am a massive bookworm!

Lego exhibition: The Art of the Brick

Art has always really fascinated me. I love how a piece can mean different things to different people. When I first heard about an art exhibition coming to London where the art was made completely of bricks, I just had to go and check it out. And what better place to house The Art of the Brick than in... Brick Lane?

Without giving too much away, US artist Nathan Sawaya's collection houses a mixture of Lego sculptures, reconstructions of celebrated paintings, and photography where there's an 'Where's Wally / Waldo?' kind of process to try and spot the components made of Lego. Each exhibit comes with a plaque to describe the thought process and inspiration behind each piece of work - and extra little fun facts like how many bricks were used and how long each took to build.

Some of the pieces you just couldn't believe were crafted out of Lego. I've always seen Lego as being quite... linear? In that you can envisage building things that are square ish in shape, but probably wouldn't have a clue of where to start if building a sphere! Not that this fazed Nathan Sawaya... he tackled all shapes and sizes. For his work based on human emotion, the written accompaniments were meaningful, inspiring and a lot of the time, emotions that resonate in all of us.

This piece was called "Incomplete". The title and first appearances say it all. He commented how some days you give so much of yourself, but can feel like a part of you is missing

Here he was focusing on the aftermath of a hard period in your life. Notably the recovery and gradually growing stronger and putting yourself back together again.

I think this one says it all. The act of falling apart, feeling like you'll crack at any minute. Now I come to think of it, most of the themes were about a personal / inner struggle of some kind. But we've all been there.

After the exhibition, you walk straight into a recreational area with plenty of Lego to play with, as well as consoles where you can play Lego video games. In my few minutes as a Lego woman, I drove an ice cream truck with a massive snow cone on top. I drove that bad boy all over town, collecting coins and destroying everything in my path.

Originally the exhibition was only running until February but due to popular demand, was extended. If you do go, you are more than welcome to take pictures but you can't use a flash. I didn't mind this as I found each piece to have a greater impact without a flash - all the shadows create extra shapes so you can experience the very best of his work.

Ticket prices are cheaper if you go earlier in the week - Friday and the weekend cost a little more - and you can buy these on the door. CNN described this as one of the 'world's 10 must-see exhibitions' - and I have to agree!

#AOTBUK

Cinderella presented by Swarovski

From Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs back in 1937, to more recent titles like Frozen, Disney hasn't lost it's magic over the years. Watched and enjoyed by all ages, in recent years Disney has had a bit of a shake up with its classic films turned into live action movies. Take Snow White and the Huntsman for example. And let's not forget Maleficent, 101 Dalmatians and Alice in Wonderland. Beauty and the Beast is the latest announced to be given the live action treatment, already with Emma Watson confirmed as Belle. Rumour has it that Jungle Book and Dumbo will soon follow suit. But until then, our latest offering is Cinderella. Admittedly I haven't seen the film yet, but when I heard there was an exhibition in London for a limited time only, I just had to go and see it for myself. The highlight was always going to be the glass slipper. Weighing in at 1kg with a six inch heel and 221 light reflecting facets, it caught the light in the most magical of ways:

The exhibition contained costumes and props from the actual film. And some tiny critters...

Swarovski provided approximately 1.7 million crystals for use in the film and if you look closely, you'll see that lots of the costumes are adorned with crystals. Helena Bonham Carter's fairy godmother costume had the most beautiful Swarovski stars in the bodice. Swarovski provided 10,000 Aurora Borealis Swarovski crystals and butterflies for Cinderella's iconic ball gown - her make-up and hair also using light reflecting crystals.

We walked through reconstructions of the different rooms from the film. The ballroom was pretty grand...

Other than seeing the actual glass slipper, one of my other highlights was not only seeing the pumpkin coach, but actually walking through it in all it's fibre optic glory:

The exhibition itself takes about 20 minutes to walk around. There is a Cinderella themed Disney shop for afterwards if you wish. Being heavily sponsored by Swarovski, you do have an opportunity to buy your own scaled down glass slipper. Or a mini one if you like collecting ornaments. However the mini one will set you back £69 and the larger one? £1,395.

This exhibition is free to all. The organisers did allow you to pre-order tickets through Ticketmaster first, however due to high demand, these have since sold out. But fear not... you are still more than welcome to queue on the day in Leicester Square (nearest stations being Leicester Square or Piccadilly Circus) ... but please note that priority access goes to all those already with a Ticketmaster booking. Without a booking, the queue does get quite... epic. We were queuing somewhere between 40 minutes - 1 hour and the queue grew behind us, so I expect most people queued for longer. But the exhibition is free so you can't complain too much, and it was worth the wait. So if you're in London and can get yourself down to Leicester Square before it ends, it's definitely worth a visit!

EXHIBITION NOW CLOSED

Currently loving // H&M home

Whilst I still can't resist a coat or a pair of shoes, homeware is fast becoming one of my favourite things. Hoping to buy a house this year, I guess it's an understandable shift in behaviour. I have so many ideas of how I want particular rooms to look - colour themes, textures and materials - with plenty of images pinned and web pages bookmarked for inspiration. One of my favourite places for homeware is H&M. And I must say, lately everything in their homeware range is spot on. If you like copper and metallic touches, then scroll down for a feast for the eyes...

Like most other bloggers, I love a bit of copper. I don't know what it is that makes it so aesthetically pleasing. Maybe it's the fact that it goes with pretty much any colour and adds warmth to a room. As does gold. This gold pot is screaming to be filled with rings. And the hanging lanterns... just wow. I haven't really thought too much about a colour scheme for the kitchen just yet, but seeing this marble table cloth and cushion, I feel inspired. Back here I talked about how I was after a throw to replace the festive out-of-season one I still had on my bed - and I think I've found it! It's difficult to decide out of the grey or "mole" (a mocha sort of colour) but there is something about "mole" that is drawing me in. As is this sunflower candle. I imagine it must smell like summer. And just look at their magnolia candle - it's too beautiful. H&M do some really good looking candles and I honestly do believe that appearance wise, they could easily compete with those high end candles you always see on people's shelfies / flatlays. Another blogger must-have is the statement tray. The sort where you see beauty products / flowers / food / jewellery artistically arranged on said tray. I've seen immaculate photos of marbled mini dishes filled with rings and copper offerings, but this wooden tray had my name all over it. And let's not forget a couple of other quirky extras that caught my eye. Like this patterned pot which would be only too easy to fill with flowers. And that swan though. At first glance you'd think it was an ornament, but it's actually a bowl - multi-purpose item right there!

H&M are offering free P&P at the moment if like me you are tempted! Also some of the above items are up to 50% off for a limited time only - so well worth a look!

Have you ever bought anything from H&M home?

Recipe // Chicken and mushroom soup

Remember my seafood and miso soup? It was an experiment, but a very tasty experiment which paid off. Since then, I've adapted my recipe a little to allow for a different flavour combination - chicken and mushroom. So if you're kosher or can't stand seafood, this may be the one for you! This time around I didn't add rice noodles as being a complete idiot, I forgot to buy them(!) ...but this recipe works equally well without the noodles and is ideal if you're following a no carb / low carb diet. However if like me, you love your carbs, you can find noodle quantities via my previous recipe [same link as above].

You will need...

• x2 tablespoons of white miso paste
• 1 litre of water / vegetable stock / chicken stock
• 150g of mushrooms (I used shiitake mushrooms)
• x3 pak choi
• x2 chicken breasts
• 1 or 2 spring onions

Method

1. Wash and chop the mushrooms and pak choi. I cut the pak choi in half lengthways and kept the mushrooms fairly large as both will reduce anyway once you start to cook. Chop the chicken into small pieces / strips.

2. Shallow fry the spring onions and chicken until the chicken is cooked. Gradually add the mushrooms and pak choi.

3. In a separate bowl, mix together the white miso paste and water. You can add vegetable stock or chicken stock instead of water if you prefer - however I found the soup nice enough without stock. Add to rest of the ingredients in the pan.

4. Slowly bring to the boil. Once boiled, continue to simmer. You can add vegetable and chicken stock if you wish, but when I tasted mine, it had plenty of flavour already. Simmer for 5 minutes and then serve.

 Serves 2 people

Light, healthy and very quick to rustle up, it's the perfect soup to come home to after a long day at work. The chicken can easily be substituted for tofu too if you're veggie! If you decide to give this a try, make sure you Tweet me @Lucy_Angele using the hashtag #cookwithlucy or leave me a comment below because as ever, I'd love to see your creations!

Where to eat in London // The Diner

If there's one thing that I've learnt, it's that you can't go wrong with a burger. Tasty, satisfying and often flexible in terms of toppings, they can help a bad day seem less shit. Living in London, I have tried many a burger but there aren't many that match up to that of The Diner. Up until now, I'd only ever tried the Camden branch. Admittedly only ever late at night after one too many cocktails. But all the same, a religious experience each and every time. More recently I've wondered how good The Diner actually is? Was my perception being skewed by alcohol? To be a fair judge, I decided to try another branch AND not have alcohol beforehand. And let me tell you now, the burgers were every bit as awesome.

M. had The Diablo  - a burger topped with jalapeño mayo, bacon and cheese - and judging by his silence (a rare thing!) and beaming smile, it was going down a treat. My burger of choice is usually a classic burger with lots of extra toppings and sauces to personalise it how I like it. This time I opted for garlic mayo (a must!) and caramelised onions. 

No burger is a proper burger without a milkshake. I always sway towards chocolate milkshakes because... chocolate. But this time I wanted to branch out and try one of their hard shakes for a change. We went for The Choconaut - spiced rum, dark chocolate liquor and chocolate ice cream. Never did I think I could prefer a milkshake over Oreo cookie or chocolate brownie... but it happened. Heaven in a glass. We ate at their Spitalfields restaurant but there are plenty more located in London. You can find your nearest Diner branch here.

Have you ever been to The Diner?

The lipstick saga continues...

Brace yourselves. For what I'm about to admit isn't something you'd usually hear being uttered by an average blogger.

Scrolling through blogs and fashion editorials in magazines, you'll see red lip after red lip. Articles about red lippie being the perfect way to take your outfit from day to night, and berry being the coveted autumn / winter lipstick of choice. You'll even see vloggers filming at home, in their bedrooms, wearing the stuff.

And me? I am a lipstick virgin.

I don't own lipstick, nor have I ever worn it. Don't get me wrong - I'm not opposed to lipstick. I just can't pull it off.

Magazines tell me that with my fair complexion, pink is my colour. And that if I am to go red, I need to pick one with a pinky hue. I've tried sample after sample, and I just can't find one for me. Why not take a risk, you ask? But with the simplest drug store lipstick costing about £10, and then £26 or so for something more high end like Dior, it's not a risk I fancy taking. I know £26 isn't the end of the world, but at the same time, it's a lot of money to be spending if you get it home and realise it's not a colour for you. Once you've tried it, it's not like you can take it back to the store. And I wouldn't feel right selling a second-hand used lipstick on eBay. The other alternative would be to visit a make-up counter at a department store. But is it just me, or are the women on these counters really intimidating? How on earth did you gage a true representation of which shade of lipstick really suits you? These women are working on a commission basis - as fair as they're concerned, EVERY colour looks oh-so-amazing on you. Hence my cynicism.

I then considered my other options. Ideally what I needed was a lip palette - multiple colours for a single price. Last summer I tried several department stores and searched online, but to no avail. Blush palettes and eye shadow palettes were left, right and centre but lip palettes seemed to be an endangered species - very difficult to find. Then as luck may have it, one day I found one on ASOS:

Pop Mix rouge and lipstick set - £16.50

For less than the price of a high end lipstick, there are 36 different colours to choose from - reds, browns, pinks, peach, berry and bronze shades. I liked the fact this palette was multi-purpose and the colours could be used as blusher too. The colours are in cream form rather than powder, so easily blend to create as strong or as bold a colour you like. You may argue that a palette is less convenient and less portable than a traditional lipstick. However this particular palette is small, slim and lightweight and will easily fit into any clutch bag. One advantage of taking a palette like this with you on a night out would be that you could change up your look if you got bored of a particular colour. Have a nude lip when eating, then apply some of the more daring shades once you're finished with that wine glass!

Do you wear lipstick?