Travel: Mallorca / Palma

Last year I went to the island of Mallorca, Spain for three days and had the best time. Palma is a such beautiful little city and it really pleasantly surprised me. It might have a reputation for being very mainstream, cheap and filled with regulars but it was much more than that. I stayed by the harbor on Paseo Maritimo and took a nice morning and evening walk after my steak dinner, spent a day shopping and walking around the centre, and another day on a boat snorkeling. I also went to Magaluf for a day but let's just say it's not somewhere I would go back to!!!

I would recommend taking a map and going out to the streets without guidance for adventure's sake, but if you want to be super organized the See Mallorca website has some great directions in detail here.

One of the best parts of the trip was how cheap everything in Zara was! I wish I'd bought more.Some photos below...

On the Paseo Maritimo by the sea...this street is filled with nightclubs, bars, cafes and restaurants

A horse carriage by the Catedral de Mallorca

The stunning Catedral de Mallorca

Very gothic

Interesting decorations on the walls by the Paseo Maritimo

Boat trip

Bikini from TK Maxx

Top bought on a street market in Palma

Great shopping street and area filled with cafes

Placa d'Espanya, where I took a bus and found small cafes, a long clothes market and lots of local buzz!

Cathedral grounds

At the Platja de Mallorca...an extremely long beach where you can take a bus from one end to the other

New Finds: Topshop culotte shorts

It seems that I am still in denial about the current London weather, as I can't stop looking at and buying summer clothes that are impossible to wear at the moment. Another one of these purchases was in Topshop today...I bought these cute and versatile culotte shorts in cream. As I am petite, short skirts and flowy type of shorts suit me well. I won't be wearing it to work but I can't wait to wear it out as soon as it gets warm! Here is how I would style the outfit...

1. A great item to have in the wardrobe now is a gray swetshirt like this T by Alexander Wang one. You can feel comfy and on trend at the same time...perfect. £154

2. I have this River Island necklace in a different colour and I wear it with almost everything...gives that little bit of glam to any outfit. £12

3. Topshop Culotte shorts in cream, timeless and cute! £28

4. I know everyone is wearing this style now, but they really are the ideal sexy shoe. Celine and Balenciaga is the way to go but if you can't afford it these Mango ones are just as pretty for only £74.99

5. Amazing bag available in H&M, reminds me of Celine again and it's only £39.99

In detail...

Topshop

H&M

River Island

Five Best: Easter treats

Easter...a time to spend with family, usually under a blanket and eating chocolate all day!! With even four days off, it's kind of like Christmas?? We got a delicious classic Lindt Gold chocolate Bunny at work yesterday, and I've now done a bit of research into some more interesting Easter treats below...

1. This luxury Godiva Classic Easter Egg is not only in stunning packaging, but it actually contains an assortment of small wrapped eggs, poussins and core chocolates inside of its milk or dark chocolate shell, £40

2. Another cute and pretty chocolate bunny, the Pierre Hermé Lapin Lait is only 22 euros and is 45% cacao. It is garnished with small Easter eggs (Intense, Pietra, Mathilda, Corso and Sensation) and crunchy eggs made of nougatine with dark chocolate and milk chocolate with Pietra hazelnut praline and dark chocolate

3. Carluccio's by far have the most quirky and unusual egg I have seen so far, the 'boiled chocolate egg' for only £2.95. So cute! It's the size of a regular hen egg and is skillfully crafted by hand to look soft boiled. At first it seems it is solid milk chocolate, but the best bit is the soft and mouth watering hazelnut filled bottom half. Buona Pasqua from Carluccio's!

4. For someone who likes something a little different, Green & Black's have a tasty ethical and organic Mint dark chocolate egg for just £6. Great for after dinner nibbles or with coffee too!

5. This delicious looking Heavenly Hazelnut Lindt Easter egg is my favourite. I am a huge fan of Lindt, and this luxurious egg is made of smooth milk chocolate rolled in roasted Piedmont hazelnuts and coated with a final chocolate layer. A moden dar masterpiece created with love by the Lindt Master Chocolatier! £19.99

And below, the alternative Easter egg...for pets! I love it :)

£2.65 from Pets at Home (Eggs available for dogs, cats and small animals)

Happy Easter everyone! I'm off to a huge manor house in the countryside for a spa weekend...post to follow.

London: Crazy week

I've had the most manic week at work and even managed to go to Leeds to help out my colleagues open this year's biggest shopping centre in Europe - Trinity Leeds. After months of hard work, I was really happy to be able to be a part of the opening and see the team's efforts come into fruition. The big opening show was curated by designer Henry Holland who created the world's longest designer dress for the big moment. The dress is 15 metres long - equivalent to three double decker buses - and 480 square metres wide. Before it was unveiled, Cirque Du Soleil principle artist Colette Morrow performed a beautiful routine in a similar Henry Holland sparkly yellow bodysuit. See some photos below.

I also went to Portobello Road on the weekend and bought some gorgeous 18th century vintage plates for only £15. There is a lovely lady with a great stand just opposite All Saints, and she sells cute tea cups and plates which are reasonably prices, check it out!

Colette Morrow performs her silk routine

Henry Holland observing his creation at rehearsals

The opening moment

Dinner on the train from Wasabi, yum!

Cameras at the ready for ribbon cutting

My Jamie's Gold Club member card...can't wait to use it!

Vintage tea cups on Portobello Road

18th century plates I bought on Portobello Road

My new Twenty8Twelve jeans with a colourful spotty pattern, love them!

Desire: Caroline Issa for LK Bennett

These gorgeous and quirky heels are designed by style icon and fashion director of Tank magazine Caroline Issa, for LK Bennett. With detailed flower embroidery inspired by her recent trip to Thailand, these courts just scream out hippie vibes and summer time glamour. Offset perfectly by a delicate ankle strap and pink heel cap with cute pom poms swinging from the heel, they are definitely a statement shoe. Wear with all black or all white!

Caroline Issa for LK Bennett Parrot embroidered cotton pointed toe court shoes, £250

Food: Tate & Lyle's Tasting House

Today I was invited to Tate & Lyle Sugar's Tasting House which is basically my dream house! And I mean literally...I think I dreamt this once, can't believe it came true. I ate my way through eight themed rooms filled with cakes, biscuits, cupcakes and anything edible that you can think of. Heaven!

This 'Hotel' is a creation of more than 14 artists who spent 2,000 hours baking and 900 decorating with more than 600 kilos of sugar! There was 2,000 macaroons, a rug made of 1,081 hand stitched meringues, 20 kilos of marshmallow garlands, a bath filled with caramel-coated popcorn and windowsills made entirely from fudge.

The eight tasting rooms were themed according to Tate & Lyle's new range of sugars inspired by regions from around the world (see more details below). I really enjoyed the cocktails served in vintage teacups, the mango cake and the cake filled egg shells. I might even try to make these soon, they were so much fun to eat.

I have to admit I am not a great cook and I am one of the many people that see sugar just as, well, one type of sugar. I had no idea there was a huge variety and what you could create with each type of sugar. The tasting house really showcased the versatility of golden and brown cane sugars and got me thinking about what I can experiment with next.

The tasting house (68 Dean Street, 11am-7pm) is open to the public tomorrow for one day only...you'll regret it if you don't go.

Take a look at some photos from the event...

Mmmm...Gorgeous cupcake surrounded by caramel coated popcorn...look at that detailing!

Even the staircase had macarons everywhere!

Cute

Loved all the details in the rooms like these mini bottles of water and cocktails served in vintage tea cups

All the Tate & Lyle sugars on display

Beautiful details in the house decor

Doghnut tower?

Cupcakes in a shabby chic cage

T&L logo on a skull made of pure sugar

More macarons!

Yummy display

Me in my favourite room

Popcorn filled bath tub...too cool!

A rug made of meringues...what!?!? Genious

Still in my favourite room...spot the Marie Antoinette themed edible pillows and edible book. A lucky competition winner gets to spend the night here!

Tate & Lyle's new British inspired Golden Syrup Sugar...try it out when you make fruit desserts, marvelously moist cakes or to create shimmering glazes of sweet and savoury dishes

Details on the full range to help you pick:

Mayan Inspired Golden Caster

Delicious in: light sponge cakes, sugar-rich icings and billowing meringues

South Pacific Inspired Golden Granulated

Perfect for: making feather light pancakes and to balance the flavours in juicy orchard-druit tarts

British Inspired Golden Syrup

Splendid for: adding to fruit desserts, marvelously moist cakes and to make shimmering glazes for sweet and savoury dishes

Guyanese Inspired Demerara

Fab in: hot drinks and as a decorative touch to rich butter biscuits and oozing fruity crumbles

Caribbean Inspired Light Muscovado

Excellent for: breakfast and tea-time treats, luxurious muffins, fudgy brownies and crisp cookies

Mediterranean Inspired Light Soft Brown

Delicious in: a wonderful caramel sauce, for pouring over popcorn or to enhance fruity preserves and for adding a zing to cold meats

Mississippi Inspired Dark Soft Brown

Wonderful in: spiced aromatic fruity puddings, succulent pastry-topped pies and rich meaty stews

Barbados Inspired Dark Muscovado

Great for: adding extra depth and strong treacle-toffee notes to savoury barbecue marinades and classic fruit cakes

Available from Waitrose, Ocado and Tesco

www.tateandlylesugars.com