Cretan Olive Oil Farm

Guys, I told you I went to Crete a few weeks back and I will be uploading some pictures of my holiday there. I have selected to put up pictures specifically on the Cretan Olive Oil Farm  because this was like a mini treasure island for me. I was so excited to find the place, visit it and explore and then leave happily with a bag full of purchases.

Cretan Olive Oil farm is situated in Elounda, Crete and it is a homely shop, farm and garden producing authentic local products such as olive oil, olive soaps, pottery etc.

I am always in search of authentic products which are handmade and I like knowing where my items come from and how they are made. Here everything is laid out in front of you. Once you go to the farm, you're immediately welcomed by one of the friendly staff who take you to tour the place and inform you everything you need to know about their local products.

Take a look at the pictures!

This donkey is called Dora and she is soo adorable. I wanted to go back just to see her again!

Below is the machinery used to make olive oil before modern technology arrived.

(Donkeys are used in the olive oil making process. They ran the machine - not the one below! So it's good news that, hopefully, donkeys are no longer needed for this task)

Pottery everywhere

Olive oil. It's Cretan. Authentic. Yummy. Good for you. What else do you need?

These are some of the best honeys I have tasted!!

Just incredible.

They have an online shop and I think they ship worldwide. Shipping costs are quite expensive though but the products are reasonably priced.

If I do visit Crete again, I won't miss the opportunity to go to the Cretan Olive Oil Farm. A must see, do and buy.

Diane von Furstenberg EDP - Pure Class

I am in awe yet again of another scent. 

Hear my story on this beautiful captivating fragrance.

 Let me introduce the Diane von Furstenberg eau de parfum - my autumn/winter potion.

I first noticed this on display at a department store and because I haven't seen it before I decided to sample it on a clean crisp strip of paper. Looking at the bottle itself, I wasn't sure what to expect. When a bottle is in a simple form like this, it tells me a message. A message that the price you are paying for and the quality you will expect is not to do with the bottle but the fragrance contained in it. So I was curious. When I first smelt this however, I was repulsed. Yes, that's right. I immediately made up my mind that it was a horrible perfume targeted at much older women, certainly not below 50 years of age perhaps. I moved on to the next set of perfumes to test.

However, on another occasion I decided to give this another try. This time on my skin. Again, the first impressions left me repulsed. I quickly wiped it off on the sleeve of my coat. An hour later the base notes sunk in and I was entranced. I was so so surprised because the smell was immaculate. No exaggeration there. I was gripped. The scent on the sleeve of my jacket remained for an entire day, maybe even more. On my skin it settled so nicely, I couldn't stop smelling myself (haha)

So anyway, that left me puzzled. I wanted to test it again to make sure it really was the perfume I sprayed on. I made my way to the department store, sampled it the same way I did, on my skin and on the sleeve of my coat. Waited for the notes to work their magic. Waited. And waited. And there it was. The scent that captivated me.

If you like Chanel No.5 scents, you will most likely love this. I don't think this scent is for everyone. I definitely think this is a mature scent. It is a scent that I have learned to love and I am in awe. I am now liking its top notes and middle notes too! I cannot wait to spray this on every morning and at the end of the day, I don't even need a re-spray because this perfume stays on for a long long time.

So that is my story of my Diane von Furstenberg perfume =)

I got this refill spray from a friend. So handy for when you want to top up and fits in just about any handbag!

Currently watching the Omar series!

Helllooo everyone....!

I know I have been dormant recently. I was in Crete a few weeks ago for a week long late summer holiday - pictures to follow hopefully! ^.^ 

I also have a backlog of things to blog about. It has been such a busy fast paced few weeks for me so I find it hard to find some time to blog!! =( 

Anyway from today, I will be watching the series of Omar. It was streamed on MBC during ramadhan and its popularity surged so much so that english subtitles are now available for it. I was so excited when I heard that because the series was highly recommended soo many times to me but I am still in the process of learning Arabic, so this might even help me better my understanding of Arabic.

I'm watching it on Youtube.

I know some of you will have already heard about this, but for those of you who haven't and are interested, spend your time watching this. It's better than what is on TV, you can take my word on that.

Kahve Dunyasi, my kind of cafe

 Kahve Dunyasi resembles a coffee shop that is warm, friendly and just happens to be located in central London. I haven't dined in yet but it is definitely one of my top places to sit in. I am always in search for unique and authentic types of places because they're very interesting to explore and I learn something new in the process whilst indulging in what original goods they produce.

This place has a variety of chocolates to choose from and a good selection of macaroons, cakes and muffins which will leave your taste buds craving for more. They also serve numerous types of drinks, from turkish coffee to your normal cappuccino. Cold beverages are also available. You'll be spoilt for choice.

For now, I got these macaroons. I will definitely be posting more pictures of the place once I dine in. If you're curious, find out more about them here.

 Don't you just love the way they packed these?!

My verdict: My standard of macaroons has the bar raised as high as Laduree's standard. And comparing Kahve Dunyasi's macaroons to my expectations, I have to say, I was not in the slightest bit disappointed. I will be definitely getting more of these if I get the opportunity to. At £3 a box, this is a real treat. The macaroons are so yummy and so well made that they crumble gently and melt in your mouth. Yum. Enough said.

My baking disaster

This was my first ever attempt to make a biscuit known as the Napolitaines. It all started out well. Ingredients laid out in order. Recipe to one side, read and re-read. Equipments out, polished, clean, each one on the kitchen counter.

I used this to shape out my cookies.

And this is where the disaster happened. At the final stage of the recipe. I used either the wrong type of food colouring or I used too much of it (although I only used 2-4 drops per half cup!). It tasted bitter and very very strange, leaving me with no choice but to scrape off the already set icing sugar.

It is also the first time I have used food colouring, so perhaps my lack of inexperience shows here.

Also I just about made the dough well so it attained the right consistency, not too sticky and not too crumbly so it breaks away as it is rolled.

And so because of this, I won't be putting up where I got the recipe for this on here as I don't think it's a great recipe to use. Certainly would not recommend it. I will make this again and next time I will get it right! And then, I will put the recipe up on here to share with you all.

Voyager 1: 22 years & 4 billion miles away

A picture taken 22 years ago, 4 billion miles away by Voyager 1. 

Watch it and listen. It's a tragic, touching and amazing reminder of planet earth and our race. I think it puts things solidly into perspective and it has a sorrowful look at what has been and what is yet to come.

Our purpose here can be made better, if only we all do our bit.

The best facial is free

Exactly as this blog title puts it, the best facial is free and if you haven't already guessed from the picture below, yes, it is facial steaming.

I feel like a lot of us have forgotten how facials were done many many years ago. 

Put your face masks aside and along those your creams, your exfoliators, your face muds and try a facial steam.

TV, magazines and newspapers nowadays concentrate on selling us so many products, a large percentage of which are for our faces because let's face it, our face is one of the most important features and people pay a fortune to maintain and achieve a black head free, spot free, blemish free look.

I honestly think facial steaming works so much better than any face masks I have tried including high end products out there. It feels so natural and so simple. Do it once a week and see if you notice a difference. I certainly did and I do my best to maintain my weekly routine. It gives amazing results to oily skin and to those who have blackheads. I'm telling you this works just as well as if not better than using nose strips!

I have sensitive skin and my session usually lasts for 5 minutes but I would advice first timers to try 2 mins and gradually increase it by a minute but do not exceed 5 minutes unless your skin can take it! You know your skin better than anyone else.
Make sure the water is boiling hot and that you use a big enough towel to cover your head over the steam.

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If you want to treat yourself or make it more interesting, try adding a drop or two of scented oil to your boiling water. My favourite is lavender.

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Or you could try some toners & steamers from Lush. Pop one of these steamers in the boiling water and it fizzes slowly releasing its aromas. I have tried one of these but cannot remember which one. However I would not recommend it because I felt like it didn't last very long and for what it is, it is pretty costly.

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My favourite type of facial steaming is minus the oil and toner.

I prefer the natural simple way because I think it is amazing just the way it is.

Let me know how this works out for you =D

My trip to Bicester Village

During the weekend I went to Bicester Village. It's a chic retail outlet in Oxfordshire consisting of very much liked brands such as Burberry, Mulberry, Dior (and the list goes on). So many people turned up to shop despite the on and off outbursts of rain on the day.
If you do plan to shop there, you will need a good amount of savings because almost all the shops are high end designers. As you will see from these pictures, my purpose of visiting was not to shop, but to capture the scenes at the village, window shop and soak in the atmosphere.

The last 2 pictures show my only purchases.

I got this checkered shirt from Jack Wills & my favourite Yuan Zhi candle from Molton Brown.