Spring Colour: Mandarin Red

Dear Lovelies,

This beautiful colour is a guarantee for instant good mood! 

Vibrant like orange but with more depth due to the high content of red: Mandarin-Red!

For those of you who are lucky enough to be able to wear a shirt in that colour please see my suggested combination colours below.

Those of you who can't wear yellow-y warm colours without looking ill: don't worry, you can still accessorise! Just make sure that this colour is the star of your outfit and keep the rest simple (unless you LOVE colourblocking, then try hot pink!).

What's your favourite colour at the moment?

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly

Recipe: Wonton Raviolis

Dear Lovelies,

No cooking skills, patience, time or any of the above?
Here's a bullet proof recipe which is not only simple, but really quick and healthy too!

It takes approximately 25 minutes and for 2 people you'll need:

♥ 1 pack of Wonton Skins (20 should be plenty)
♥ 300g Mince (beef or pork)
♥ 2 Leeks
♥ 1 Egg
♥ Spices (Paprika, Cumin Seeds, Salt, Pepper)
♥ Bread Crumbs and Tomato Sauce

♥ Start by preparing your mince. Put it in a bowl, add the egg, 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce, 6 tablespoons of bread crumbs and 2 teaspoons of paprika and cumin seeds each.
♥ Add salt and pepper to your liking and stir well.

♥ Place a little meatball the size of a Hazelnut in the middle of a Wonton Skin and squish it a bit so you can easily fold the Wonton into a triangle.
♥ Extra Tip: If you want to be certain that your Wonton Raviolis won't come apart, simply run your finger under water and then over the edges of the Wonton skin to moisten it before you fold it over.
♥ Fold every corner and push the edges down using a fork.

♥ Wash the leek thoroughly and cut it in strips approximately the thickness of a thumb so it cooks quickly.
♥ You will have mince leftover which you can use to prepare little meatballs. Put them in the frying pan with the leek and crank the heat up (no oil necessary).

♥ Once your meatballs are nice and brown all over, add approximately 750 ml of water and when it boils slowly slide your Wonton Raviolis in.
♥ Let it simmer on low heat for 15 minutes, cut one little meatball to see if it's cooked through and Voila! Enjoy it while it's hot!

 

Oh and for those who are wondering about the difference between a Wonton and a Ravioli? It's simply the amount of egg used to produce the dough. There's typically more egg in Ravioli dough.

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

Bikini Trend 2013 - Mix & Match

Dear Lovelies,

Have you noticed how many bloggers have a shaggy rug/flokati that they put their outfits on to? It's become a huge trend and everyone seems to have the same sheepskin rug :-)

So I decided to show you my two favourite bikinis on my rug in the lounge room and I have to admit it looks cool.

But back to the bikinis: I've mixed and matched and recommend that everyone should try it! Mix your pattern bikini bottoms with a plain bikini top or vice versa and create completely new looks!

I'm in love with this beautiful Emerald green colour and the crisp white of the left bikini and I love geometrical patterns at the moment combined with plain fringe bikini tops on the right.

Left: South Beach via Asos *here*
Right: Top - Lookbookstore *here*; Bottom: New Yorker

What's your favourte bikini pattern or colour at the moment?

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

Spring Beauty Haul

Dear Lovelies,

Isn't it the same scenario every year? During winter you totally forget that you have feet because you had them wrapped in at least one pair of socks (sometimes even two) and when the first warm spring day comes and you unpack your Steve Madden flats from the silk paper in their winter-sleeping-place you are shocked by what your feet look like in them. Their first day in freedom and you wish you'd taken as much care of your feet as your Steve Madden flats.
Shocked and I admit a little digusted I went to my nearest pharmacy and bought a little sping package (not only for my feet) which made me feel good.

Here are my spring essentials:
 

1. "Daily Oil Elixir" Schwarzkopf, $8.95
"Oil" makes you think of greasy immediately? Try this haircare product! Not only does it smell fantastic, but just one pump is enough as a leave-in treatment to nourish your hair and make it shiny. Or use several pumps as an intensive treatment for your hair over night or before you wash it.

 

2. "Dry Shampoo Bonny Blonde", Polished London, $4.95
Dry Shampoo so you don't have to wash your hair for one more day?? I admit that sounds ferral! But dry shampoo has another advantage which many people don't realise: It gives you more grip, so your hair is easier to style. The new generation also comes with colour particles for blonde or brunette hair - adding a nice shimmer to your hair.

 

3. "Chubby Stick Intense", moisturising lip colour balm, Clinique, $35.00
I don't know about you but come spring and I almost feel light as a feather. I want the same feeling for my lips - nothing heavy and sticky. The Chubby Stick is more like a balm but with intense colour.

 

4. "51074 Today's News", nail colour, Australis, $6.95
A nice bright coral colour - just what I needed after winter!

 

5. "Daily Face with SPF 30", moisturising face sunscreen, Le Tan, $8.95
Although "climate change", "UV levels" and "Skincancer" are always present topics in media, not many women realise,  that it is essential to protect their whole body from UV rays. Wear sunscreen on your face, even when your foundation or makeup has an SPF! This Le Tan one is my favourite as it has only a hint of colour in it AND has a matte finish!

 

6. Pedicure File, no name, $6.95
When a simple foot stone isn't enough - that's all I'm going to say ;-)

 

7. "Wash Off", instant spray tan, Le Tan, $15.95
I'm not a huge fan of fake tan. I still have pictures in my head of this girl at my school who everyone called "carrot" (teenagers can be so mean!). Most products nowadays are so good that they won't make your skin turn orange - thank god,  but when the natural exfoliating process of your skin kicks in most products leave you patchy. Not this one! Simply spray it on, let it dry for 60 seconds (after that it won't rub off on your clothes) and when you shower simply wash it off!
Perfect for my winter legs which are so white they blind me (and other people).

 

Which ones are you're favourite products at the moment?

 

 

With Love,

 

 

Coffeebeanlilly

Lemon meringue pants and denim polka dots

Dear Lovelies,

I thought twice about buying this denim shirt as this trend reminds me of my childhood when denim-everything was super modern and my parents loved to dress me up from head to toe in denim.

Although this is at least 20 years ago it seems like I have a denim trauma :-) I bought the shirt anyway beacause of its cute white polka dots and the snug fit. So I came up with an outfit that breaks the denim look up and makes the outfit appear 'fresh' and the opposite of outdated.

Pants: Zara | Shirt: Target | Shoes: 5th Avenue | Necklace: Zara

Gotta love lemon yellow!

Spring is here!

Show me your favourite denim outfit by posting a link in the comment section below!
With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

 

Skirts? Shorts? SKORTS!

Dear Lovelies,

I'd seen this beautiful thing on so many German blogs a few months ago when spring hit the European fashion scene. Being on the other side of the planet however, meant that Zara obviously focused on stocking warm and wooly things.
When the spring collection finally hit Australia, I was the first through the door. I went into the changing room with every single colour of these "things" available and when the shop assistant asked me "How did you go with the skorts?" I didnt even realise she meant me... What did she just say? Skorts? What the hell is that? My beautiful thing all the sudden had a name. It's not a skirt and not shorts, it's something in between. SKORTS!
Unfortunately I've been busy working and catching up with Game of Thrones, which meant my skorts had to live in the drawer a bit before I had the chance to take these photos.
I love them, there's endless possibilities to combine them! Here's one suggestion. Enjoy!

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly

Stripey Pants and Mint

Dear Lovelies,

You can clearly see I can't get enough of black and white clothes. I love my stripey skirt *here just as much as I love my stripey pants.

I'm sorry if the photos appear to be a little blurry - this is the beautiful Australian winter sun shining brightly onto me :-)

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly



 

Pastels

Dear Lovelies,

We're still in the middle of winter but this winter I wanted to escape the common winter blues and match my clothes according to my new lifestyle feeling. The super-mild Australian winter (23 degrees today and sunny!) made me leave my greys and blacks in the closet and dress in pastel colours.

Once you figured out what your skin tone is you can easily pick the right pieces/colours which will make you look vibrant. In my case my skin tone requests cooler colours, colours that have a tinge of blue in them, so I chose a mixture of light blue (that's the most obvious cold colour containing blue, haha), mint, pastel pink and a lippy in cherry red.

Now that I look at my photos I would say it's also a pretty good outfit for wearing in the office on Casual Friday, don't you think??



Pants: Just Jeans | Pullover: Target | Shoes: Windsor Smith | Blazer: Portmans | Bag: vintage

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly

Handmade Jewellery by Butter & Scotch

Dear Lovelies,

l've been following Christy from Butter & Scotch for a while now on lnstagram and always liked her sense for quality and clean designs. She makes beautiful classy necklaces and bracelets in silver and gold, using fine details and often Swarovski elements which add beautifully to your Arm Candy collection.

But she also has a more playful side, so when I saw this little fire stone elephant bracelet in her second shop on Etsy -PetitBijouxBoutique- I immediately fell in love.
So please have a look at her etsy site: http://www.etsy.com/shop/PetitBijouxBoutique
 

 

With Love,


Coffeebeanlilly

Stripey Skirt and Pastel Pink

Dear Lovelies,

In the following pictures you can see my love for monochrome outfits combined with pastel colours AND my love for pretty little details like the Above-Knuckle Rings.

With Love,

Coffeebeanlilly



Blazer: Target | Skirt: Portmans | Boots: Zara