Heading for winter sun...

Autumn has really arrived and I’ve waved good bye to all those yummy summer clothes I bought that sadly never saw the light of day. Luckily for Pashminas and Pearls, the banishment of the summer wardrobe is only temporary – no, I’m not moving to Australia, but I’m spoilt enough to be going on not one but two winter sun holidays!

The first is to The Oberoi in Egypt which I’ve already spoken about in a previous post (just Green Fingers and me). It hopes to be a thoroughly relaxing and romantic week away, with the odd bit of tennis and diving thrown in so as to keep GF occupied! Nothing worse than a whiney voice saying ‘I’m bored…’ while you’re just getting into a trashy novel.

The second (I’m trying very hard not to sound too smug) is to Antigua for Christmas and New Year. I’m lucky enough that GF’s family enjoy going abroad for Christmas and even more so that I’ve been invited too this year!

Two different holidays but both needing the same essentials. Top on my list were new bikinis. Seeing as out of the remaining ten weeks of the year, I’ll be spending three of them wearing bikinis (I’ll stop bragging soon…!), I felt it was justified spending money on a couple of great ones.

In the past it’s always been notoriously difficult to find a good choice of bikinis out of season, which either aren’t the unwanted sale items or that only have one or two in the collection. Luckily for me, I went to my bible that is http://www.sheerluxe.com/ and searched for bikinis – and there I stumbled across http://www.swimhut.com/. Fabulous is all I can say. Not only did they have a huge selection of brands, styles, colours, but they also have them at a range of prices and even have special offers on styles which aren’t left over from last season! There’s also the added bonus of free delivery and return which is always a huge plus point with on-line shopping, as well as express overnight delivery for those last minute panic buys! Also offering accessories such as cover ups, flip flops and towels, they also have a great range for the man in your life, so you can even guarantee he’ll make the right statement in beachwear too! Even better, Sheerluxe.com are currently running a promotion offering at 15% discount, so no excuse not to look good on the beach in the winter months.

A thoroughly satisfying shopping experience and I’m all set to go!

Domestic Goddess...?

Now that we’re properly settled into domestic bliss, I thought it was high time Green Fingers and I threw our first dinner party. With pictures finally up and our flat dust free, guest lists were drawn up and menus set. Wanting to show how Pashminas and Pearls could also be a domestic goddess, a successful dinner party was key ingredient. While seemingly effort and stress-free to your guests, the smoothest running and successful evenings are weeks in the planning, and are a finely tuned event!

Once you’ve got your ‘team’, so to speak, the next thing is move onto menus. There are obvious things to steer clear of I find, such as offal (and mushrooms when cooking for GF!!), there are always popular dishes which are sure to impress your guests. I made to die for mini sticky toffee puddings last weekend – simple, quick and easy, yet wickedly tasty and look fabulous! I love Delia's website - fountain of knowledge!!!!

Ocado is the saving grace when it comes to shopping for ingredients. I don’t know about you, but I always find I forget something crucial, even when I go prepared with a shopping list the length of my arm! Waitrose’s on-line store, Ocado, is fabulous, and takes the stress out of grocery shopping. You can take your time, avoid screaming children having temper tantrums in the middle of the aisle, and browse at your leisure! Each section is shown clearly, and you can do your shopping in categories as if you were actually cruising up and down each aisle. Booking times are so convenient too, with 1 hour slots, ranging from delivery costs of £0 to £3 – bargain I say!

Once the food, drink and guests are decided, it’s down to the final hours of preparation – the right level of lights, music, a beautifully laid table - fresh flowers or scented candles always make a lovely final touch too! Ipods are perfect for these evenings – when you’ve got a spare moment, rare I know if you’re anything like P and P, a dinner party ‘play list’ is essential, and means that you have never-ending music all evening, without having to change the CD!

The only thing not to look forward to now is the clearing up…which is usually left to the non-cooking half of the household I find, and when a dishwasher is an essential part of the kitchen!