Granny's Chocolate & Lemon Mousse

Lets be honest you really can't go wrong with a chocolate mousse, it just always hits the spot and this is my absolute favourite. This is actually one of my granny's recipes and she used to make this every single time that we went down to Cornwall to visit her and my grampa so it has a lot of nostalgic memories attached to it. 

Since my granny passed away a few years ago no one else in the family had made it until about a month ago when I suddenly remembered about it and fancied having a go at making it for myself. That same day mum sent me the recipe, I picked up the ingredients and whipped up my first ever chocolate and lemon mousse in memory of my granny. 

This is a ridiculously easy recipe and I love the hint of lemon flavour that comes through - lemon is never something I would have paired with chocolate but it really works! 

Ingredients

• 135g lemon jelly tablet
• 100g plain cooking chocolate
• 170g evaporated milk (chilled) 
• 300ml boiling water

Method

1. Place the cubed jelly, plain chocolate and boiling water into a blender and blitz until everything has melted and you have a smooth liquid. 
2. Place the chocolate lemon mixture in the fridge until it has the consistency of unbeaten egg white. 
3. In a deep bowl, whip the evaporated milk until very light and fluffy and then gradually beat in the jelly mixture. 
4. Pour into a serving bowl and refrigerate until set. 

See, it really is easy! This is the perfect dessert for any occasion and could be made in individual ramekins as personal servings. 

In the past month I've made this recipe 3 times and I think it's safe to say I ate at least 90% of the bowl every single time...woops...! It's just so tasty though and I cannot get enough. 

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New Home Inspiration

It's been a little while since I did a little round up of my Pinterest faves as life kind of got away from me without me realising. I'm in the process of buying a flat so the process of that and all the little bits and pieces that need to be sorted out have taken over my life! But despite all the chaos I always find time for a little bit of Pinterest browsing to brighten up my day. 

We're going to have quite a bit of work to do when we finally get the keys for our first flat and I genuinely can't wait for it. The great thing about this is that now I have a space to personalise is that I can start gathering some inspiration for how I want the rooms to turn out. Before you know sizings etc it can be a little tough - at least thats was my experience. 

Home Office

Some kind of office space is something that is super important to me and yet can be quite a challenge in a small flat. I'd love to be able to dedicate an entire room to being a home office but that's just not an option at the moment so instead I'm going to have to create an inspiring office space in the corner of my spare bedroom. Not ideal but there's so much inspiration online so I know I'll get it just right! 

Kitchen

As is typical in a London flat our kitchen is going to be small, and I mean really small. The photo above looks positively palatial in comparison to what we'll have! But in my opinion this is just a new challenge for us to make the kitchen as user friendly as possible and still have enough storage for all of our bits and pieces. I absolutely love the dark wood floors in the above kitchen and am very tempted to get this type of flooring throughout our whole flat! 

Bedroom

Onto the main bedroom, as with the kitchen, storage is going to be super important to us here and I'm hoping that my amazing dad will be able to put together some built in storage for us which will take the worry out of that element. This means I get to focus on the fun stuff, making the room cosy and relaxing so it's the perfect place to wind down at the end of the day. I'm obsessed with upholstered headboards which add a little bit of luxury to the space. I also love the colour combination of the teal and grey so this will definitely be making an appearance somewhere. 

Living Room 

The biggest space in our flat is going to be the living room and so I can't wait to get in there and start to style it so it's perfect for us. A corner sofa is an absolute must for us as we want it to be a super comfy space with lots of space for everyone to put their feet up and relax. Essentially the above living room is pretty much my dream and I will definitely be trying to recreate it! My only addition will be a dining table but I'm hoping to find a beautiful extendable reclaimed wood one that will go perfectly with the style that I have in mind. 

Bathroom 

Last but not least, the bathroom. I'm a huge fan of a long relaxing bath so I would love to have a big bathroom with a free standing bath, big shower and beautiful sink & counter top. Unfortunately at this point that is going to have to remain a dream as our bathroom is the size of a shoe box... The one thing I will be able to have is a big rainfall shower which I am ridiculously excited for. I'm hoping that despite its small size we can still make the bathroom a luxurious space although at this point I'm not entirely sure how to do it... 

This whole process of buying our first property has been a rollercoaster. For months and months we were looking at flats and putting on an offer only to have it be declined as someone offered more. It was incredibly upsetting - particularly for me as I get emotionally involved pretty quickly. So, when we finally had an offer accepted and everything started to proceed with the solicitors I finally got the opportunity to get excited and I am loving it. All that's left now is to exchange contracts and pick up the keys!

Sources: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

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A Coastal Weekend

Last weekend, due to it being a bank holiday here in the UK, was the perfect opportunity for Matthew and I to escape from the hustle and bustle of London and get out into the countryside. With having that extra day we decided to head down to Cornwall as usually it's a pretty long way to go just for 2 days! 

My grampa lives just the other side of Plymouth and I've been going there 2/3 times a year since I was born so it's very much a home away from home for me, and since my parents have moved house this secluded little Cornish village means so much more to me. It truly is my favourite place in the world. 

I got a little bit distracted for most of the weekend and completely forgot to take any photos for the majority of it so I apologise for that... But I did remember to crack out my camera when we headed over to Polperro, a beautiful fishing village on the south Cornish coast. The weather was incredible that evening and so the light was just stunning so I couldn't resist taking a bunch of photos of the quay and some of the winding passageways. 

The views speak for themselves so I'm going to leave this post here and let you enjoy them in peace and quiet. If you're ever down in the area I highly recommend going and seeing this place for yourselves. 

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Made.com Wish List

I can't believe it's less than a month until we are due to complete on our new flat! For months and months it felt like we were never going to find anywhere even close to our budget and then all of a sudden we have an offer accepted and they're talking completion dates! This is without a doubt the most exciting thing that I have ever done although also a little scary... 

But one of the many joys of buying your own place? Having a valid reason to spend altogether too much time browsing homeware sites to get inspiration for your new abode. As a Pinterest addict I already have lots of ideas in my head as to what I want the rooms to look like so now all I need to do is find the perfect affordable pieces, affordable being the operative word! However, after getting lost in the depths of the internet on more than one occasion, affordable homeware, or more specifically furniture can be more difficult to find than you might think! 

One of my favourite places to browse for furniture and home accessories has been made.com which although not altogether 'affordable' does stock some beautiful pieces and has given me a lot of inspiration and I'll be looking for dupes wherever I go now! 

1. Bourbon Vintage Storage Bench (£249) - the perfect hallway ottoman / bench! 
2. Cullen Marble Clock (£49) - no home is complete without a touch of marble and copper. 
3. Miller Floor Lamp (£129) - I have an obsession with tripod floor lamps so this is a must. 
4. Bari Corner Sofa Bed (£949) - a dark grey corner sofa isa must have for me and it would be such a bonus for it to double as a bed too. 
5. Tilt Rug (£249) - this would look beautiful on a dark reclaimed wood floor. 
6. The Rodnik Bank (£249) - cover up flooring you don't like with large rugs until you can afford to replace it. 
7. Stroller Desk (£379) - a home office area is a must for me but I'm also lusting a vanity table so this one that works for both is perfect! 

The next month cannot come fast enough in my opinion. I may have a million things to do between now and then to make sure that it all goes off without a hitch but it is so going to be worth it! I can't wait to share the transformation of my new place with you guys - I love interior design so finally having my own space is going to be the best! 

Where are your favourite places to browse for furniture and home accessories? 

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