The Perfect Summer Salad

One of the best things about the summer season is all of the fresh foods which you tend to get more of and also have more of an appetite for. Exotic fruits and gorgeous salads are those foods which summer would just not be the same without!

Salads are great to eat as they're so light meaning you can eat them on their own or alongside something like bread to make it more filling. They are great to have at lunch times out in the sun and of course they are super healthy too!

Here is a really simple idea for a salad which you can whip up in about 10 minutes and is so delicious. 

There are three key ingredients for this salad:
1) Spinach (Baby spinach works well)
2) Asparagus
3) Cherry tomatoes

Firstly if the spinach is already washed then just place into a bowl. Then chop the asparagus in small pieces and the cherry tomatoes in either halves or quarters.

I like the use garlic to add more of a flavour, so if you are also a fan of garlic then dice some garlic finely and leave this separate for the moment.

Next take a pan, preferably a shallow one however it does not matter too much. Add some olive oil to the bottom and let this heat up. Then when you think it is hot enough, add the garlic and let it sizzle for a bit. 

You then add in the asparagus and cherry tomatoes. Keep stirring so that it doesn't stick and add some seasoning like salt and pepper and some herbs such as oregano. Lemon is also another great flavouring so add lots of squeezes of lemon.

Let it simmer on a medium heat for a round 7 minutes. You can check the texture of the asparagus and judge yourself when it is done according to how you like it.

Then you simply add this mix to your bed of spinach, mix it in and taste. It may need a little more salt and pepper and maybe some more lemon but this is all up to you according to how it tastes.

And there you go! A quick and easy salad that tastes amazing! I just love how the tomatoes are a lot softer and juicier after cooking it, which contrast well to the crispy crunch you get from the asparagus. 

The tomato and asparagus mix is also great to put in bagels with houmous. I tried it out the other day and loved it. Was an amazing lunch time idea!

I hope you enjoy it if you do decide to try it out. I 100% recommend it and it definitely beats the ordinary salads you may be used to. 

You can also add a variety of other things to it such as broccoli and red onion, so go wild and experiment!

Jaina...Xx

Summer Nails :)

Pastel colours are one of my favourite things about the summer season. A few months of light, bright and beautiful colours is what summer is all about!

So the exam was finally over and I was back at home relaxing. One thing that needed to be redone however were my nails and with the time I had on my hands, I was feeling creative!

 

The problem I always seem to have when painting my nails is which colour to choose. This time it was between , the two colours which I love at the moment, my Barry M mint green which I purchased recently and a Topshop one which is a bright nude/light coral kind of colour. So I thought as I was in a creative mood, why not try both?

Firstly I chose the base coat to be the mint green and painted all of my nails that colour with around 3 coats. I then let it dry for a good while and carried on doing some other things once they were dry. A couple of hours later I went back to them with some sellotape. Yes an odd thing to need for doing your nails, but it works a treat!

I placed the sellotape diagonally across half of each nail and then painted the coral colour over the half which did not have sellotape covering it. This is a great tip as you can be as messy as you want, which is perfect for me as I have the most shaky hands. 

After doing this make sure you have given it a good while to dry before removing the sellotape.

I was so pleased with the outcome! However it seemed like there was still something missing... glitter! I rummaged through my nail box and found the perfect glitter nail varnish with shades of light blue. The brand itself is not a well-known one however just look out for a clear based nail varnish with light blue glitter, I am sure many brands will have a similar type to the one I used.

The two coats of glitter and WOW it looked great. The outcome was amazing and I could not be more pleased with my summery nails. To show them off I even decided to go and take a few photos in the garden with a nice summery backdrop :)

And there you go... my beautiful pastel nails! I really love this half half idea and I will be trying it out for all seasons, I can already think of so many amazing colour combinations to try out.. :)

Jaina...Xx

My First Post

Hello Readers,

Welcome to my fashion & lifestyle blog! I aim to bring you interesting posts each week about my life, what I get up to and those things I love! 

At the moment I am a student at Sussex university and am going into my final year in September. Sussex was an amazing choice as it meant I got to live in Brighton- one of the most vibrant cities in Britain. I hope to bring you many Brighton-related posts as well as all the other places I will travel to!

 Enjoy the blog and please leave your feedback and any comments you may have :)

Now that the sun is finally shining over us after what seemed like a never-ending winter, I will focus my next couple of posts on the summer season which is of course my favourite season of the year!

Jaina...Xx