Shonie's Shortcuts

Once again I find myself wrapped up in bed, a mug of tea in one hand, a crumpled tissue in the other, praying that the mini Niagra Falls pooring from my nose dries out soon.
My situation is however a little more pressing today, as tomorrow I am playing potentially the most important gig of my band, Southern Sunrise, to date. We are competing to open Pinkpop, the oldest annual pop festival in the world.
The competition is called 'Nu of Nooit' (now or never) and is held yearly to decide which up-and-coming Limburgse band (band from the southern-most province of The Netherlands, Limburg) will have the honour of playing the opening slot at the festival.
We have already been whittled down from 85 bands to 25 and now we are competing in the semi-finals  over 5 nights, 5 bands playing against each other for 1 chance to move on to the next round.
In the morning we are also playing a radio show, the L1 Cultuurcafe, the biggest show of Limburg, which I suppose you could equate to a regional BBC Introducing show.
So you can see why I might be a little nervous for my nose to calm down, nobody likes the Rudolph look, especially when on stage under a spot light.
I didn't really have the energy for a proper post today, thus I have done something a little different.

Firstly, let me explain the post title. During my university years I had a housemate who insisted I would one day write a travel guide for Brighton called Shonie's Shortcuts, due to my uncanny ability to know the shortest possible route from A to B (I think laziness is partly to thank here, but lets call it efficiency). I think this is highly unlikely to happen, but it's got a catchy ring to it and I wanted to use it for something!
In these posts (yes, it will become a series) I will be telling you about my favourites of each month, essentially providing you with a 'shortcut' to the awesomeness rather than having to stumble upon it yourself through the crazy mess that is the internet!

So, here we go!

These necklaces are just stunning, so delicate but bold and sure to make a statement with any outfit! They are hand made by the lovely Nikki and Julia of Let's Swim To The Moon, along with an assortment of animal face brooches and other stony necklaces. I was given one of these as a gift from the girls when we played the opening of their pop-up shop in December, but I accidentally left it at home over Christmas and just got it back last week (so kind of cheating saying it's a January favourite)

I have found the new ultimate breakfast food! Breakfast quiche with a hash brown crust! I saw someone post this on a facebook group I'm in and, although I couldn't open the link they posted, I was so inspired I decided to try concoct my own version. I threw in bacon bits, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes along with the eggy mix, then crossed my fingers when it went in the oven (there wasn't much measuring involved in the process, so I was prepared for disappointment). As you can see, it looked pretty darn good when it came out and tasted even better! Arjan proclaimed it to be glorious, I think that's proof enough. I will write up a post with the recipe for this, promise! 

My favourite makeup of this month was tricky to choose, I've gotten a couple of new lipsticks that I really love, but the award has to go to my new Bobbi Brown Gel Liner. It is supremely good, lasts for ages, goes on so smooth etc etc. I could talk your ear off about this stuff, read my post about it here and find it online here.

By far my favourite thing to watch right now is Parks and Recreation. I know most people with any sense have cottoned on to how amazing this show is, but for those of you who haven't yet discovered its brilliance, WATCH IT!! I was catching up on episodes with my mum whilst I was home, it is one of the best written shows around and the comedy is so ridiculous but oddly believable. It's just perfect. 

Lastly, I will leave you with something that's on my wish list for February (I only found it today so physically can't get my hands on it any sooner). I am constantly looking for new gig dresses, something a little fun and with a pop of red (my favourite colour for shows to match our new sparkly red drum kit!) and this caught my eye while I was browsing the Mango website today, plus it's on sale! I need this in my life ASAP. 

Well, I hope that was enlightening to one or two of you, send us happy thoughts for the gig tomorrow and happy weekend everyone! 

  

Recipes: Crazy For Quinoa

I seriously need to get my act together when it comes to taking pictures for recipes! But hey, surely it's the actual recipe that counts, right?

Today's meal was the first one I ever made for our first fast-day, a lemony couscous with roasted vegetables, sounds potentially boring, tastes delicious! 

Couscous with roast vegetables: Serves 5

 350g Couscous = 865g cooked = 970 kcal

2 stock cubes = 60 kcal

1 onion = 46 kcal

2 cloves garlic = 8 kcal

lemon zest

salt

pepper

spices

1 tbsp olive oil = 119 kcal

200g feta =  264 kcal

3 Peppers = 120 kcal

1 courgette = 45 kcal

1 pack cherry tomatoes = 36 kcal

2 red onions = 80 kcal

1 tbsp oil = 119 kcal

1 cup mushrooms = 15 kcal

total = 1882 kcal

pp = 376 kcal

• Cut the vegetables into large pieces, leave tomatoes and mushrooms whole
• Put them in a roasting tray with olive oil, salt and pepper
• Put them in 200°c oven for 40-50 mins or until soft and browned
• Finely chop the onion and fry in a pan until softened
• Finely chop the garlic and add to onions, fry quickly until fragrant
• Add the cous cous and mix through the onions, then add the stock, cover with a lid and turn the heat to lowest setting
• After 5 minutes when all the liquid is gone, grate in the zest of 1 lemon, season with salt and pepper and crumble the feta in. Mix to combine and serve with the vegetables

This was how I made it the first time, however today we didn't have any couscous so I went with quinoa (pronounced keen-wah). It's the first time I've ever had it before and I must say, I was pleasantly surprised! It takes a little longer to cook than couscous and has much more of a bite to it but it wasn't unpleasant and I would definitely recommend it as an alternative to couscous in any recipe (although I still prefer couscous).
I added fresh coriander, roughly chopped, into the quinoa this time and served mine with a good dash of hot sauce and some fresh chili! Try and enjoy!

Outfit: Wrapping up warm

Fear not, I am back! I haven't posted for the last couple of days because I've been finishing up projects at home and yesterday I caught a flight back to the Nether-Netherlands.

Whilst I was home, I treated myself to a couple of things from the Dorothy Perkins 70% Off Sale with the last of my Christmas money. Normally I hate shopping online, I love the convenience, but because I am 'curvier' I find sizing can be tricky if I don't already know how things fit from that shop. This means that with most orders, at least half of it gets sent back because of the fit.
Oddly enough, when my delivery came from Dotty P's, the cardigan, jumper, skirt and tights all fit perfectly. However, when it came to the shoes, a lovely pair of white brogues with a little strap over the laces, I tried on one and it was absolutely fine, tried on the second and it felt a little roomy. I looked at the bottom of the second shoe only to discover that, although the label said it was a 7 (yes, I have flippers, I swim very well though!) the imprint on the sole said 8!
With clenched fists I cursed at the sky and solemnly placed the mismatched pair into their cardboard casket of rejection, Chopin's Piano Sonata No.2 playing in my head.

Anyway, lets not get bogged down with memories of beautiful items returned before their time, and instead celebrate the clothes that did make it!

I've fallen in love with this cardigan, it's thick, warm, soft and who doesn't love a good tartan print?!

Cardigan - Dorothy Perkins
Top - Zara
Skirt - H&M
Tights - Dorothy Perkins
Boots - F&F Tesco
Necklace - was a gift

Chicken show and Chunky Joe

I am exhausted, therefore today will be a photo dump.
We went to a chicken show (my mum is a chicken fanatic) and saw friends, it was really nice but all that fresh air has tired me out! So, although I probably could name every breed of chicken in these pictures, I won't, also most of you probably don't care that much....

(I also haven't bothered editing these, the lighting was really bad and not much I did was helping)

aren't these the cutest ducks ever? they're like cartoons with their tiny round heads and mini bills

And then Joe arrived aka Chunky Joe, a little hunk of adorbleness!

 appropriate clothing for a chicken show

My mum's friend, Elaine, won 2nd and 3rd for egg contents!