The Liebster Award - My Q&As

I've seen this tag go round loads of blogs and always wondered how people managed to whittle their blog choices down to just 11, so when Charli from Girl On The Moon nominated little old ME to take part, well I was over the moon! (sorry, dad jokes are over now). I think the award is a great way to broaden your blog-sphere, and I love discovering new corners of the internet, so hope you like my nominations too!

But first, on to answering Charli's questions...

1. Why did you start your blog?

I was obsessed with reading fashion & lifestyle blogs but always lacked the courage to start my own. So I guess I started Frankie's Weekend to prove to myself I could. I see it as a bit of a 21st century diary!

2. Where do you see yourself in 5 years time?

I'll be well into my late twenties (!). So you know; world famous, internationally acclaimed blog, pad in Chelsea, mansion in the Cotswolds.. ha. I'd like to be at the peak of my career, maybe with 'that' ring around my finger, and hopefully still blogging away!

3. What is one piece of clothing that you couldn't live without?

Any type of button fronted long-sleeved shirts. I have SO many- sheer, satin, cotton, chequered, you name it. They're incredibly versatile. You can wear them to work, styled up for an evening or dressed down with jeans and boots for the weekend. I also love the subtly tailored look they allude to.

4. What are your top 5 favourite make up products?

Chanel Soleil Tan, Toni & Guy dry shampoo, Rihanna's perfume Reb'l Fleur (massive guilty pleasure but it's soo good), Palmers Coco Butter & MAC Soba eyeshadow.

5. Winter or summer, why?

Summer. Hands down, twice over absolute winner. I love the sweltering heat. Yum.

6. What's your favourite breakfast, lunch and dinner?

I've recently discovered healthy oat pancakes so I've been having these with peanut butter for breakfast. For lunch I loooove the Tesco Finest chorizo and butter bean soup (naughty but so, so nice), and then for dinner anything with an Italian twist - it's my favourite cuisine! 

7. If you had £1000 to spend, what would you spend it on?

This probably changes each week / according to my current bank balance... at the moment either a Macbook Pro, or a new wardrobe from Mango.

8. What's your dream designer handbag?

I saw this Lanvin tote bag at an event I went to at a Flannels store, and I genuinely fell in love. Just look at it!

9. Whose your style icon and why?

I always drool over Mollie King (always looks flawless), can't get enough of Cara D (love the grunge element) and Lucy Watson is a total 'fashion-spo'.

10. What do you use to take your pictures for your blog?

I was very kindly given a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ62 by my boyfriend for Christmas and it's amazing. I'm not linking to it as I promised him I wouldn't check the price..!! But it's incredible and really easy to handle and carry around and isn't too intimidating - perfect if you're a beginner like me.

11. If you were stranded on a desert island, which celebrity would you chose to take with you?

Ooooh. This is the question I've been having the most difficulty answering. If it was a snowy island off Greenland or a jungle, it would have to be Bear Grylls purely for survival reasons. If we were just going to be chilling on a beach whacking out the baby oil, I'd say Binky Felstead! 

I'm nominating...

I Live This City

I Totally Paused

Some Films and Stuff

Fifi's Skinny Munch

Champagne & Chutney

Mascara and Cakes

Belle Nouveau 

Lux Life.

Char's Insights

Danielle Saint

A Day in the Life of A Northern Girl

My questions to you guys are...

1. Who is your all time favourite blogger?
2. Perfect snack?
3. If you had to give up all social media channels bar one, which would you keep and why?
4. What type of blog post do you enjoy writing the most? e.g make up reviews, restaurant posts, recipes etc
5. Favourite high street brand?
6. What celebrity would you like to be for the day?
7. What is your ultimate 'swear-by' cosmetic product?
8. What inspires you about blogging?
9. If you had to read only one book for the rest of your life, what would it be?
10. Gym or running outdoors?
11. What do you aspire to achieve with your blog?

Have fun! x

Book Club: What I'm Reading (part one)

Sometimes there’s nothing I like doing more on a weekend morning than fluffing up my pillows, wrapping myself in a duvet with an oversized cup of steaming tea and delving in to a good book.

If you follow me on Instagram you’ll know I spent the majority of last weekend doing just that. It’s been a bit of a treat for me because I haven’t been reading all that much since the summer.

I’ve made it a bit of a new year’s resolution to try and replace scrolling inanely through my Twitter feed on the way to work in the morning with reading, and so far so good.

I’ve just finished one book, jumped straight into the next one and bought two more books from Waterstones yesterday in a bid to get back into the swing of things.

First up, ‘Goodbye For Now’ by Laurie Frankel

My mum is always, always passing new books to me, recommending authors and forever borrowing books of mine in return. 'Goodbye For Now' was one of those recommendations.

Now I’ll admit, I was a little put off by the title. My assumptive mind whirred ahead and calculated that great, this was going to be a depressing love story. The quote from Glamour magazine on the blurb confirmed this: “A story that fans of One Day will love”. Don’t get me wrong - I really liked reading One Day - but I didn’t think I could take another love-meets-death tear inducing novel. Especially if I was going to be reading this whilst commuting to work!

Anyway, I cracked on. The novel centres itself around online relationships, algorithms and the blossoming romance between Meredith and Sam who meet through work. Sam is a computer ‘whizz’ and creates a programme allowing people to communicate online with dead loved ones. The novel follows the couple, along with Meredith’s cousin Dash (who, by the way, you will want as a friend) as they embark on a revolutionary business invention.

The thing is, I spent the entire length of the novel waiting for one of the protagonists to die. Because that’s what the title suggested. I’m not going to spoil it for you. But I think doing that ruined it a little for me.

Yes. It’s depressing. It will make you want to email (not ring – you’ll see why if you read the book) your nearest and dearest and tell them you love them. But even though death cements the entire novel you’ll feel surprisingly comforted too, and I think this is in part down to Frankel’s brazen approach to the topic.

Rating: 6/10 – this would make a cracking beach book. Easy to read with very likeable characters, and a poignant message carried throughout.

‘The Snow Child’ by Eowyn Ivey

This was another choice from my mum. She gave it to me last Christmas so it’s taken me thirteen months to pick it up. Actually, that’s not true, I’ve started it twice and put it back both times.

I love the cover design, but the first few pages don’t live up to that magical expectation – it comes across as bleak and soulless. Maybe that’s what Ivey wanted. Anyway I’d heard good things so persisted, and I’m glad I did. I’m only fifty pages in but already the spooky, unsettling, mysterious events are beginning to unfold and I can’t wait to find out what happens – I’ll keep you posted!

Next on my list (and chosen for their similarities to ‘The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo’ series) are ‘The Snowman’ by Jo Nesbo and ‘Until Thy Wrath Be Past’ by AsaLarsson. Got to love a crime thriller.

Have you read any of these? No spoilers!! But I'd love to hear your opinion... 

Homemade Crunchie Ice-cream

After all the fun and festivities Christmas brought with it, January seems like it’s going to be pretty awful doesn’t it? Strict healthy eating plans, curbed social lives and a severely dinted bank balance don’t really make for a fun four weeks… but enough of my negativity! I’ve got a treat for you.

It’s naughty. So you might not want to make it for a few weeks. By then we’ll definitely need something to feel guilty about.

I made this for a dinner party on NYE. It was so easy to throw together and went down an absolute treat (the fact that we’d each consumed a bottle of Prosecco prior to eating the meal definitely didn’t influence judgement. At all…)

You just need three ingredients:

•  4x Crunchie bars
• 1 can of condensed milk 
• 400ml double cream

(told you it was naughty!)

Unwrap your Crunchie bars and get ready to chop. Cut the chocolate honeycomb into uneven, random chunks. Keep the majority of your chocolate pile small and very bitty, but be sure to leave a few bigger, chunkier pieces intact.

Next, measure out 400ml of double cream and pour into a mixing bowl. Whisk the cream until it gets denser and denser, so that you’re left with a thick, stodgy looking mixture.

Take your can of condensed milk and pour the whole thing into the bowl with whipped cream.

Whip it all together until you’ve got rid of all the lumps you can.

Don’t worry if there are still lumps – above is how I left mine.

Then take your Crunchie bits and fold into the creamy mixture. If you haven’t already, nick a few large bits of chocolate and pop them in your mouth – just to test it. Pour the Crunchie in bit by bit until you can’t really see the honeycomb.

Take a plastic Tupperware box and line it with your mixture. Give it a ‘juj’ to ensure the mixture is evenly spread and then pop it (flat) in the freezer for 3 – 4 hours.

And you’re done! It looks a hell of a lot better served in a nice looking bowl.

P.S. if you cave before the end of Jan, I am not responsible!