Monthly Favourites

  Hello everybody!

  This week’s blog post is a monthly favourites! I can’t believe it’s almost August already! Summer is going too quickly. Most of this month’s favourites have a Summer theme. 

▪️ Beaded shell anklet - I’ve been wanting an anklet for a while now and when I went on holiday recently, all the small beach shops had them and I was looking for the perfect one and I found it! I knew it was the right one because I’d been looking for one with shells on it; check! I also wanted it to have turquoise on it; check! If you read my monthly favourites last month you’ll know I got a turquoise Thomas Sabo bracelet so I wanted the anklet to match.

▪️ Springfield red jumpsuit - This jumpsuit is very formal but stunning. The trousers part is culotte style which is perfect for summer. I like to pair this with a big chunky gold necklace and gold sliders, but you could definitely pair it with heels to make it more formal.

▪️ Koala Bay shibori crochet bikini - When I saw this bikini I fell in love with the design and colour. It is a royal blue shibori, which is a type of tie-dye. It’s cream coloured crochet detailing makes it look stunning and just adds a bit more detail.

▪️ Carrefour tie dye round beach towel - I’d seen these kinds of towels all over Pinterest and Instagram, but never had one until I found this fun, brightly coloured beach towel which I just had to buy! It’s huge and comfortable to chill on at the beach or pool and it’s great to sit on with friends and chat! It has colourful tassels around the edge which makes it that bit prettier!

▪️ Straw beach bag - I’d been wanting a small/medium sized beach bag to carry my water bottle (coming up next!), towel, books, etc. When I found this one, I really liked the simplicity of it and at 6 euros it was a bargain compared to some other bags I’d seen, so I knew I had to get it!

▪️ Carrefour water bottle - Since it’s summer I need to be drinking a lot of water and I know it might sound silly, but I found that with regular plastic bottles I wasn’t drinking as much as I should be so I got this pretty reusable water bottle and I’m drinking way more water! Better for the environment too!

▪️ Plant Nanny app - I’m sure some of you have heard of this app. Basically, this app reminds you to drink water. There’s a cute plant inside of your phone that you have to take care of and the way you take care of it is by watering it. So every drink you have is helping your plant grow. I think this app is really helping me drink more water because it’s a motivation.

▪️ Carrefour Tie-dye patterned Lilo - It’s summer so of course I need a lilo! It’s brightly coloured tie-dye design gives me all the summer feels! It is also great for chilling on in the pool! 

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! This blog post is making me realise that I have a thing for tie-dye and bright colours! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

Coconut and lime cake

  Hello everybody!

  This week’s blog post is baking! I’m glad to be back baking since it’s one of my favourite things to do. For this months bake, I’m doing a coconut and lime cake - perfect for summer with a zingy and tropical taste. If you want to know how to bake this; carry on reading!

Serves: 8

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 40 mins

Ingredients

175g butter, softened

175g self-raising flour 

175g caster sugar

Finely grated zest of 2 limes

3 eggs 

40g desiccated coconut

For the topping

4tbsp caster sugar

Juice of 2 limes

2tbsp desiccated or shredded coconut

Method

1. Heat the oven to 180C, Gas 4. Grease a 500g loaf tin and line the base and short sides with a strip of baking paper long enough to overhang at each end.

2. Place the butter in a large bowl. Add the flour, sugar, lime zest, eggs and coconut and, using an electric mixer, mix until soft, smooth and creamy.

3. Spoon the mixture into the loaf tin and level the surface. Bake for about 40 mins until golden and just firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out clean.

4. While the cake is still warm and in the tin, mix together the caster sugar and lime juice for the topping and spoon over the cake. Sprinkle over the coconut and leave to cool in the tin. To remove from the tin, run a knife along the long sides to loosen and lift the cake out of the tin holding the overhanging paper at each end. Slice to serve.

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! The outcome of this bake was incredible and so delicious. Perfect for a summer party! If you make these I’d love to see, so tag me on Instagram @ISayBell_blog. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

Swimwear

  Hello everybody!

  I hope you’re all enjoying your summer! This week’s blog post is kind of a follow up from last week’s blog post. If you can’t remember, last week’s blog post was “Beach Day” so for this week’s blog, I’ll be showing you some of my favourite swimwear. So without further ado, here is some swimwear I like.

#1 H&M black triangle bikini top (£12.99) + H&M black bikini bottoms (£8.99)

#2 New Look white gem embellished ring strappy front swimsuit (€34.99)

#3 New Look bright blue rainbow trim triangle bikini top (€14.99) + New Look bright blue trim Hipster bikini bottoms (€12.99)

#4 Zaful cactus print bandeau bikini ($23.25)

#5 Zaful cami palm leaf print bikini ($24.49)

#6 Calzedonia Indonesia one shoulder ruffle bandeau bikini top (£25.00)  + Calzedonia Indonesia Brazilian bikini bottoms (£18.00)

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! I’m so happy it’s summer because it means I can buy new cute bikinis and go to the beach and pool! I’d love to know what your favourite bikini is! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all! 

  Byyeee!!!!

Beach Day

  Hello everybody!

  This week’s blog post has a Summer theme and is based on something I love a lot... the beach! I had a day at the beach and it made me realise how much I like (and some parts, dislike) the beach. I thought I’d talk through what a day at the beach is like for me.

Preparation...

I like to wake up quite early so that I can get down to the beach and pick a spot right by the sea. For food, I pack a picnic of veg, tortilla, crisps, cold meats and bottled water is essential. After preparing the food, it’s time to sort out a beach bag with balls, bat and ball, a frisbee, a magazine, sunglasses and sun cream. I also prefer to take my own chair and towel to sit on and a beach umbrella. I have recently got a brand new beach towel that I absolutely love and you will see it in an upcoming monthly favourites! Once I’m fully packed I drive (or sometime walk) to the beach!

What to do at the beach...

▪️ Sunbathe

▪️ Swim in the sea

▪️ Play bat and ball

▪️ Play volleyball

▪️ Have a picnic

▪️ Take photos

What I like about the beach...

Sunbathing is necessary if you like getting a tan. I like to sunbathe, but sometimes I just get too hot and have to have a dip in the water... (or a few hours splashing around, like I did today with my friends). I really enjoy playing in the waves (as long as it’s safe). Having a beach picnic is also so much fun; I enjoy having nibbles and helping myself to food. Nothing beats walking to the nearest beach bar getting an ice cream a bit later on in the afternoon and eating it on the beach - so amazing and refreshing. 

What I dislike about the beach...

I know that a beach is all sand but sometimes I hate it. Especially if it’s really hot like it was when I went today. It makes walking around very difficult and it feels like your feet are scorching. Now this one is often unavoidable, but I hate it when you’re swimming and your foot whacks into a big sharp rock, ouch! Burning; this is really obvious but I had to include it. Make sure you put on lots of high-factor sun cream so that you don’t burn!

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! I’d love to know if you like the beach or whether you prefer the pool... I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!

Seafood Paella

  Hello everybody!

  Today’s blog post is slightly different. Instead of baking I’m cooking! I have started to cook quite a bit now, but I never share it with you. I thought for my first cook I’d make a seafood paella. I love seafood and I love paella and I love putting them both together so I thought since it’s Summer this would be a perfect cook for this week’s blog post. If you want to find out how to make this amazing paella, carry on reading!

Serves: 4 people

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

  Ingredients

▪️1 onion

▪️ 1 red pepper

▪️ 1 garlic clove

▪️ Mixed seafood (I used prawns, mussels, clams and calamari)

▪️ 2 tbsp olive oil

▪️ 2 tbsp white wine

▪️ 300g rice

▪️ Pinch of saffron

▪️ 2 fish stock cubes

▪️ 700 ml water

▪️ 1tbsp tomato purée

▪️ 1/2 lemon

  Method

1. Slice the onions, chop up the peppers and garlic.

2. Cook the onions, garlic and peppers in the olive oil until soft, then add the white wine and simmer until it has evaporated.

3. Add the rice and stir until coated.

4. Dissolve the stock cubes in 700ml of boiling water, and add to the pan with the saffron and tomato purée and stir through.

5. Simmer for around 15 minutes or until the rice is almost cooked. If needed, add more water to allow for the rice to cook until almost tender.

6. When there is still some liquid, mix in the clams and calamari, and arrange the mussels and prawns on top, pushing them into the rice slightly.

7. Cover with a lid and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, or until the mussels and clams are open and the prawns are pink and cooked through.

8. Garnish with lemon.

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! This tasted absolutely incredible and I will definitely make it again. If you don’t like seafood you can make it with meat or vegetables. Let me know whether you want me to do more cooking in the comments below. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee!!!!