I'm mooooving.

Alright I think - think - I've sorted out my issues with Wordpress, so now I'm over there instead! I feel kind of like a traitor towards Blogger, not going to lie, but I've heard so many good things about WP I might as well give it a go. Same URL - http://leadwiththehips.co.uk - but my Bloglovin page is different, and you'll have to re-follow me (please re-follow me).

I hate the layout, but I'm going to have to get on board with it. I'll fork out for the upgrade when it's payday ...

Serious case of blog stress.

Okay guys, you might have to bear with me for a few days. I made the ridiculous decision to try and move my blog over to Wordpress (apparently you get more traffic, and I'm an attention whore) and it's causing me a whole load of grief. My domain name's playing up, all the formatting in my posts has decided it's going to do whatever it likes, and I hate - HATE - the themes available. They're making me surrender all creative control and I'm not happy about it.

Please cross your fingers for me, and send good vibes.

What I did in Barcelona.

I have a ridiculously big post for you today, showing you about a million photos of Barcelona, and telling you all about what I did. Because it's so picture heavy (still only about a 20th of what I took), just click on the jump to view the rest of the post! 

In short, I had an amazing time. I've been to some really amazing cities, but Barcelona is easily the most beautiful. I've never been so tired either - we only went for 4 days, and felt as though we needed to cram in as much as possible! There's so much to do, and I'm already planning another trip. We stayed in Hotel Peninsular, which is just a small, very basic hotel right in the centre. The location was fab, couldn't have asked for more, and we got breakfast so it did the job nicely. I'd recommend going for something a little fancier if you can afford it, but if you're on a tight budget it's really fine!

We arrived at Barcelona airport sort of mid-afternoon, so we had time for a bit of exploring. We wandered round the market, which is absolutely AMAZING. So many incredible fruits and vegetables, about 5 times the size of anything Sainsbury's offered. Seafood and meat and spices I've never even seen before, and don't get me started on the chocolate stalls, I could have stayed there for hours. 

Just look at these amazing ice lollies! I didn't get any because it was cooooold, but they were only €2. How tempting does that mojito one look?

How to travel in style.

So, I'm off to Barcelona tomorrow, with my uni course. I'm a little excited, not going to lie. I plan to cram the 5 days full of as much tapas, seafood, fresh fruit, sightseeing and Sangria as possible. Led by my stomach, me? Never ...

I have a list of things I want to do - I've not been to Barcelona and I want to make the most of it in case I don't go again. My list consists mainly of taking photos of various bits of architecture including the Sagrada Familia, and visiting La Boqueria food market. Every day. Fortunately the hotel we're staying in is right near the market, so I can gorge myself as much as I like. We're also going to be visiting all the Zaras and H&Ms in sight, and I think a trip to the Bershka head office will be in order too. I foresee me spending far too much money.

But, in order to get to Spain, we're going to have to take a 2 and a half hour flight. I love airports (hello, duty free?), but I can't be bothered with flying - it's boring and uncomfortable, and drags no matter how long the flight is. And then airports are like a fashion parade, you undoubtedly get the odd person strutting around in heels looking ridiculously stylish, like they've just swaggered off the catwalk in Milan. I can't be doing with that, I need to be comfortable. But that's a little bit difficult when you need to take into account so many different things. The climate of the country you're leaving from. So, er, England. Can anyone predict the weather in England? The BBC certainly can't. The climate of the country you're heading to. Is it going to be a lot hotter or colder than where you've left from? The temperature of the plane. Bet you £50 it's sweltering when you get on, then freezing cold an hour into the journey. The length of the journey. If you're flying overnight and are going to want to sleep, pyjamas are ideal. Right? Your stingy little hand luggage allowance. Want to take a change of clothes? Don't pack anything heavy.

Anyway enough rambling - here are my best tips for how to stay comfortable but still look like your normal, fabulous self when you're travelling.

1) Thin, stretchy layers are your best bet. I usually wear a couple of thin layers with some form of knitwear/hoody over the top, then you're nice and warm but can cool down quickly if you need to.

2) Wear a pashmina - they're thin but keep you nice and warm when you wear them as a scarf, and you can use them as a blanket too. Get one in a nice bright colour! Ebay do them for about 2 quid.

3) When it comes to shoes, you should go for ballet flats. They're comfy enough to plod around in all day and they're easy to take off if you need to remove your shoes in security, or if you want to curl up and sleep on the plane (good luck with that).

4) Don't wear jeans! I don't care if they're Leighs or Mollys, they're just so uncomfortable. They'll come down at the back and expose your bum to the world every time you shift in your seat a bit, and the button at the front will dig into your stomach. Stick to trusty leggings. I also like tights, as long as they're not too small for you they won't fall down and they won't restrict any movement or comfort.

5) Jazz up your outfit with a statement piece of jewellery. I tend to just wear a nice necklace - it makes it look pretty but it's easy to remove for security if you need to, and if you get uncomfortable you can easily cram it into your handbag.

6) No belts! Uncomfortable, and the buckle will only set the alarms off. And despite any of your best intentions, you won't be felt up by an attractive male member of security.

7) Take some thick, cosy socks in your handbag. The plane will get cold, you'll be thankful for them! Having warm feet makes a big difference.

8) Overall, keep it nice and simple.

I'll be wearing black tights, ballet flats, a simple skater dress, a cardigan, leather jacket and a scarf. It's warm, functional and still looks good. Or at least, I think it does (don't dispute me, a lot of effort went into this outfit planning!).

Colour of the year - Emerald.

So, according to Pantone, the colour bigwigs, the colour of the year is Emerald. I like this colour, so that's cool with me. Last year the colour was tangerine, and that never seemed to make it to fashion - I'm hoping this will be different because I want to wear it! Eyeliner, clothes and nail polish, I am so on that.

Pantone say about their choice: ''Emerald, a vivid verdant green, enhances our sense of well-being further by inspiring insight as well as promoting balance and harmony. Most often associated with brilliant, precious gemstones, the perception of Emerald is sophisticated and luxurious ... Also the color of growth, renewal and prosperity, no other color conveys regeneration more than green. For centuries, many countries have chosen green to represent healing and unity.'' I just like it because it's pretty, and it looks good with my hair. At the minute, I'm loving deep green so this will be a nice summer update. Also, I once read that after black, medium green is the most slimming colour. If that's not motivation enough, I don't know what is.

I have decided that for the Summer (for some bizarre reason, I've been daydreaming about Summer clothes. I don't even like Summer clothes) I need a floaty, emerald midi skirt like this little Modcloth number, and a nail polish. And a cardigan. And some jeans. And maybe a Cambridge Satchel - I feel the need to own a Cambridge satchel, despite the fact it would be nowhere near big enough for all the rubbish I carry around with me. So please cross your fingers for me that Topshop, New Look and ASOS listen up and start stocking some green!

Welcome to 2013.

Happy new year, and sorry it's a few days late! I've been at home with the boyfriend for the past few days, it's lovely to see my dogs and my parents again (and to get all my food cooked for me, not going to lie). So, it's 2013. I'm not one of those people to jump straight into a green juice detox whilst treadmilling 27 times a week as soon as we hit January 1st - I still have a load of Christmas chocolate left, for a start - but at the same time I see nothing wrong with seeing the new year as a fresh new start. There's no doubting that it's easier to diet when you're surrounded by gym offers and the media bullying you into it, than when Christmas is coming up and it's practically law to overindulge. However, rather than make myself some new year's resolutions, which I'm doomed to fail at instantly, I've decided to follow suit with a load of other bloggers and make myself a list of 13 things to achieve in 2013. Some slightly silly, some deadly serious, but I'm determined to complete them all. Wish me luck ...

1) Complete the C25K running program.
Okay, so this will be my fourth attempt. Apparently I'm not very good at sticking to things. If you've not heard of it, C25K (also known as Couch to 5K) is a running program which aims to get you from absolute beginner runner status, to being able to run 5 kilometres without a break. It's bloody hard work for someone as unfit as me, but it definitely does work. I stopped last time because my gym membership ran out (I think. It was either that or I just got lazy) but I got about halfway through, and ran for 20 minutes without a break. It hurt like hell, but at the start of the program I would NEVER have been able to do that! This time I'm determined to complete it, continue running afterwards, and be able to call myself an actual runner.

2) Visit a new country.
One of my big aims in life is to travel a lot. Or, er, to go on a lot of holidays. I've been lucky enough to go on some fab holidays thanks to my parents, but now I'm a poor grown up student I don't know how much longer I can keep relying on them to drag me along too! I'm going to meet some friends in Belfast in February so that'll be this one ticked off the list- hopefully I'll get to visit somewhere else too. I'm thinking Tunisia, Greece or Italy, if I can persuade the boyfriend/fund it?

3) Go on more nights out.
Slightly controversial one here, but I want to go out more, and I want to get drunk more. I'm a student and I live 2 minutes away from one of the main clubs, yet I only go out once a month or so. I have no excuse! I enjoy it when I go - I like getting dressed up, doing my make up nicely, gossiping with my friends before we go out, then getting nicely drunk and dancing til my feet hurt and I have to stagger drunkenly home to the boyfriend who will likely come and get a burger with me. It's fun.

4) Create more baking recipes.
Three of my absolute favourite and most used recipes are ones I've created myself from scratch through an awful lot of reading and research online. And if I do say so myself, they are damn good cakes. I want to develop some more of my own recipes, so I can be extremely proud and smug when I get complimented on my baked goods.

5) Take more photos.
I have no desire at all to become a cracking photographer with a brilliant camera. I don't have the time or the patience (that's a lie, I just don't have the patience) to spend hours setting up the perfect photo, with impeccable lighting and angles and blah blah blah. Nor do I want to end up living my life through a camera lense, rather than viewing things for myself. I fully respect those that do love serious photography, but it's just not for me. I do have a pretty decent camera on my phone - a HTC One X - though, so using that I really just want to take more casual photos to document my daily life. My phone has 1256 photos on it - about 600 of them are my recent trip to Florida, and I bet another 500 are of my dogs. No joke.

6) Eat at a Michelin starred restaurant.
I like food. I like food a lot. And I like eating out - who doesn't? I've eaten at a few pretty fancy restaurants, but never one with a Michelin star. I follow a lot of food blogs, and I get so ridiculously jealous of all the yummy looking, gourmet food served so I've decided this year, it'll be me. I'll start saving up now ...

7) Learn more French.
I did French at GCSE and kind of hated it at the time. Then I completed it, ended up with a good solid A and realised it wasn't actually that bad, and really I was okay at it. I go to France a fair bit, and I'd really like to be able to speak more of the language.

8) Use my sewing machine more.
This year, I want to complete more little sewing projects. Don't get me wrong, I do use my sewing machine - last summer I made a cracking little apron for myself, and for Christmas I made some of The Londoner's Heat Up Brown Owls for a few of my family and friends. But this year I want to use it more - I plan on making myself a few pretty cotton summer dresses, and expanding my skills a bit.

9) Develop a healthier relationship with money.
This is a biggie. I need to start budgeting, and spending less of my money on Costa and cheap make up. I'm not happy with my overdraft, and I want to try and get it sorted out. I'm going to start totting up what I spend on little bits and bobs each week, and stick to a solid budget. I will hopefully get a paid placement this year, which will help me out a lot, but I don't want to fall into the trap of just spending more when I get more income.

10) Cook more healthy and exciting meals.
The past couple of months I have gotten sooooo lazy. We have been living off chicken dippers because we've been too lazy to cook - my mealtimes consist of me lusting after beautiful, healthy looking meals on Pinterest whilst I shovel crisps and Lindor truffles into my mouth. As of now, I will pick 3-4 meals a week which I definitely want to try, and the rest of the week will be decent salads, jacket potatoes, the odd Weightwatchers ready meal (they're quite nice, and I don't feel guilty about then) and maybe, maybe (definitely) a takeaway every so often.

11) Make more of an effort with my appearance.
We've all done it - we get into a rut with our hair and make up. My aim this year is to follow the advice of the countless magazines I read and try all the new beauty trends. Same goes for my clothes - I want to make more exciting choices, and have less of the typical dress-cardigan-scarf-pumps-tights combo which I seem to live in.

12) Snack less.
This was originally 'get down to 9 stone'. But to be quite honest, I'd rather not be weighing myself all the time, I don't know how I'd look at 9 stone or even if I'd be happy with it, and I just can't be bothered with all the hassle. So I've changed it to 'snack less'. Snacking is my absolute downfall - I do it when I'm bored, i.e. all the time - so I'm going to try and break the habit. Even though I'm only a size 10 so hardly obese, I've still been bothered by my weight and how I look around my stomach for years and years, and I just think 'well why should I have to get so unhappy about something I can change?' So hopefully this, combined with numbers 1 and 10 should all help me become a little bit fitter, slimmer, and all round happier with my body.

13) Continue with this little blog.
And hopefully by this time next year, it won't be such a little blog.

Belated Merry Christmas.

I was going to post this last night, but I was far too busy watching the Strictly Christmas special, eating and playing on the Sims (priorities). I hope you all had an absolutely lovely Christmas, you got everything you wanted from Santa and you ate far, far too much. I was a very lucky girl presents-wise, and I also ate more than I thought was humanly possible. It was so good to see my family again, I hadn't been home in a couple of months (damn you New Look. BTW, the sale's dead good) and I missed my dogs ridiculous amounts. I'm going back next week though when I get a few days off work after the mad Christmas period, I'm excited! Here's a couple of little updates on my day.

My present haul. Including, but not limited to: clothes from Topshop, River Island and Missguided (you did good, Mum); cookbooks; The Sims 3 Seasons and Assassin's Creed 3; lots and lots of chocolate; Christmas Cookie Yankee Candles; a Lush gift box, Marc Jacobs Dot perfume and plane tickets to Belfast in February to go and see my friends.

Rosie the Border Collie, reluctantly modelling my new earmuffs. I bribed her with her new treats.

Bella the Greyhound, in her jingle bells collar and a Christmas bow on her head. She was getting in the festive spirit.

Christmas dinner. Need I say more?

Like I said, I hope you all had a brilliant day. I want to see photographic evidence please, let me see your dinner and presents, and anything else you want to show me! I'll be eagerly awaiting links to images, and I'll stuff my face with chocolate in the meantime.

My Insta-month.

Jumping on the Instagram bandwagon, here's the wild and crazy happenings of my last month. Follow me, thanks, katechilds_.

Our Christmas tree, put up on the 1st December. Giddy with excitement.

Candles during a 2am powercut. 'Ohmygodddd we have no internet, ring the emergency power number' (We did. I shit you not. Also note the advent calendars, eeeee.)

Xmas specials at Costa: what my diet currently consists of.

Not the sort of car you expect to see parked on the uni campus. Anyone know if Patrick Stewart owns a Lambo Gallardo?

Okay you can't actually see the meat, but I assure you these were very big, tasty burgers. They had bacon in.

Birthday night out? Yes please.

Gotta love a cheeky Graze box.

Models Own Emerald Black.

My first foray into nail extensions. Painted by myself, don't trust anyone else.

Does the healthy couscous cancel out the camembert inside the filo pastry?

My attempt at the Londoner's gyros. Seriously tasty.

Sneaky Costa smuggled into my lecture.

Putting the star on top of the tree!

Firework display on bonfire night!

The diet of a student. Atrocious, right?

Making friends at a belated Halloween house party (I was Little Red Riding Hood).

My new baby, my Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1. We're inseparable.

Shotting wine because you're too drunk to reach for the correct bottle?

Chris the boyfriend looking after Scooby because it's cold, he's a good egg.

Xmas present for Mummykins, get your own here.

I'm officially allowed to call myself a grown up now I wear lipstick in the day, right?

Salmon and sweet potato cakes with roasted veg (I probably had treacle sponge afterwards, though).

Buy one get one free on pineapple, might as well make the most of it.

Poor, poor attempt at snowflake nails.

Making my own mint flavour coffee syrup, who needs Costa? (I still do.)

Ultimate Chocolate Cake.

Sorry I've been MIA for like, the last week. I had a ridiculous amount of work to do for uni: I had to write up company profiles for 12 lingerie brands and compare them and stuff. That doesn't sound like too much, I know.

I ended up with 55 pages and 15000 words. I'm only a second year, I did so not sign up for this! Kidding, it was alright - I'd rather be looking at pictures of pretty, ludicrously expensive bras and suspender belts than writing up a report on critical path or something equally THRILLING. I also got to play on Photoshop and make pretty cover pages (the boyfriend was clearly loving our living room floor at this point).

ANYWAY, on to the real point of this post. I present you with my recipe for the Ultimate Chocolate Cake (capitalisation 100% necessary). It is my own recipe, honed to perfection, so if you change any of it I'm going to have to come round and beat you. It's the perfect mix of rich, chocolatey, gooey, cakey-ness and you need to go and make it pretty much now. I don't have any photos of the method because when I'm making it I'm far too excited for it to be done so I can stuff it in my face, so there is no time for artful photography. It's also ridiculously simple so if you can't follow these instructions without photographic help you should probably stick to boxes of cake mix, sorry.

I should also probably mention that you are unlikely to ever eat anything else with this much sugar in it. I won't tell you how many calories are in one slice ...

Ultimate Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• 220g self-raising flour
• 350g caster sugar
• 90g cocoa
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt

• 2 large free range eggs
• 200ml buttermilk
• 110g butter, melted
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

• 100ml medium strength coffee

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170c (I think I have a fan oven. If you don't, best do it at about 190c). Grease and line two cake tins and set aside. The lining might seem like an unnecessary extra step but all you need to do is cut out two circles and stick them in the pan, and it'll make your life so much easier when they come out the oven. I use these 8 inch pans - I have 4. I love them. I like 8 inch pans because I prefer a slightly taller cake with a smaller diameter. 
2. Okay, onto the baking. Stir together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Don't be tempted to add more baking powder to make the cake rise more - it doesn't need it with the self raising flour, it's a big-ass cake anyway. And it could actually have the opposite effect and make it sink. It also might seem like there's a lot of salt but it cuts through some of the sweetness and brings out the chocolate flavour. 
3. Add eggs, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla and beat for a couple of minutes until smooth. If you don't want to buy buttermilk just add a splash of lemon juice or white wine vinegar to regular milk and let it stand for a few minutes. 
4. Stir in the hot coffee slowly until smooth and completely incorporated. Don't worry, it won't make the cake taste of coffee, it just brings out the chocolate flavour and makes it all moist (mmm) and amazing.
5. Pour batter evenly between the two pans and bake on the middle rack of oven for 30-35 minutes, until a skewer comes out clean. 
6. Allow to cool for 5 minutes in the pans, then remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack. I like to flip them upside down to cool because they'll have undoubtedly formed a dome shape whilst cooking and this flattens it out a bit (alternatively you can slice off the dome bit and eat it. Yum). 
7. When completely cool, ice (see below). Sandwich two layers together on a plate - or cake stand if you're posher than me - with a healthy amount, then dollop the rest of the frosting on top of the cake. Smooth it all down the sides, and then level off on top. I also use a damp cloth to wipe the excess stuff from off the plate - I am extremely messy. I don't bother trying to smooth it all out, I like it when it looks messy and swirly. 
8. Cut a slice and devour like your life depends on it. 

Buttercream Ingredients

• 400g icing sugar

• 150g softened butter (not gonna lie, I just use Stork)

• 75g cocoa

• Milk – add a splash at a time until you reach a nice thick, spreadable consistency.

Method 1 - by hand

1. Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa together into a big bowl (it's an important step, just do it you lazy bunch). 
2. Stir in the softened butter as much as you can. Don't worry about it when your hand slips and you end up covered in a cloud of icing sugar. Happens to the best of us.
3. Add milk until it's a nice thick, smooth consistency. Beat for a few minutes.

Method 2 - mixer

1. Sieve the icing sugar and cocoa together into the mixer. Add the softened butter and whack the mixer on on a low speed until they're incorporated - it should be sandy.
2. Add the milk bit by bit, mixing in between additions.
3. When the consistency looks about right, whack it on full and leave it for about 5 minutes. This will get loads of air into the buttercream and it'll be super light and fluffy. You'll also need to use less because it will increase in volume. You can store the leftovers in the fridge (I don't know how long for,  but a long time). 

Mmmm.

Enjoy.

New Look - New Job!

I've got a job. Ka-ching! I'm now a Sales Advisor at New Look over the ridiculously busy Christmas period, and fingers crossed if I impress them they'll keep me on afterwards. Xmas temp one day, senior buyer the next. Hey, everyone has to start somewhere, right? Here's my current wishlist of things I want need. Yes, this includes sequin shorts.

Wanderlust.

I have a serious case of wanderlust at the minute. Things in England are currently wet, windy, and utterly miserable, and I'm bored. I've been dreaming about booking a flight and jetting off somewhere beautiful, hot and sunny, and leaving all my cares and worries behind for a few days.
Somehow I don't think my overdraft would appreciate it.
I do, however, have an interview at New Look tomorrow for a nice little PT job while I'm at uni, so please cross your fingers for me. My dreams might be a tiny little bit closer then!

A week on the sunny island of Santorini, lazing by the pool and licking tzatziki off my fingers?

A few days in Croatia, swimming in the sea and snarfing seafood, bread and salads?

Or even a long week in the Bahamas, lying in the sand and eating jerk chicken and mahi-mahi.

So, anyone up for it?


N.B. All images obtained from The Londoner because I am sickeningly jealous of her life and blame her wholeheartedly for my current need to go away.

Current favourite app: Pattrn

Android users, get your phone/tablet/other crazy gadget loaded with Android OS out, and follow my instructions.

1) Open Google Play store.
2) Search for Pattrn.
3) Download it.

Not gonna lie, it's simple. It's an app loaded with gorgeous patterns (no, really?) which you can set as your wallpaper or share it via Facebook or whatever. I just use it to make my tablet look pretty. Here's a screenshot showing some of my current favourites - just click on it to make it bigger:

Now go and play.

Happy Birthday to me! (Plus a sneaky NOTD).

I'm 20.
I'm not a teenager any more.
Does this mean I have to start tidying up after myself, and stop eating sugar cookies for breakfast, lunch and tea? 'Cause I really don't think that's going to happen, so I'll just have to continue to tell people I'm 19. My presents included an utterly indecent amount of chocolate, meaning all my recent diet attempts will go down the pan. But will I care when I'm sat on my arse watching Great British Bake Off re-runs, stuffing my face with mini Hotel Chocolat slabs? Er, no.
Anyway, I've given up attempting to battle with Origin in order to install my new Sims 3 Expansion pack (seriously, I'm not growing up) so I've done a nice little NOTD for you.

Inspiration: EVERYTHING currently in River Island.

Sorry it's small, it was a bit spur of the moment so the picture quality's not great. No natural daylight or something like that (I don't know what I'm talking about). It's also messy round the edges, but it's cool, doing the washing up fixes that.
Laters, I'm going to go and eat some more chocolate.

Attempt #57252.

For the fourth or firth time, I'm joining the world of the bloggers. I'm going to stick to it this time, too. 

Have a cheesy, poor quality webcam shot of me pulling an awkward smile.