Little Luxuries: The (Seasonal) Scent of a Woman

I have always aspired to be one of those women who has a "signature scent" - it sounds so grown up and sophisticated to be instantly recognised by a spritz of Chanel No. 5 or a waft of Dior Poison (both of which are always touted by the glossy magazines as iconic scents).

Alas, my attention span is not long enough to commit myself to one perfume for the rest of my life - there's just too much choice out there!

Guest Post: Crazy For Quinoa

I'm very excited to bring you Bella Forcella's first ever guest writer! 

In my previous posts you have met my mum and little sisters, and now I would like to introduce my cousin, Beth. 

Beth Sands is a healthy foodie and aspiring nutritionist, passionate about all things food related whether it be getting creative in her kitchen inventing recipes or travelling the world experiencing the local cuisine. She loves learning about the goodness in food and what nature's own pharmacy can do for us to make us feel better – in a delicious way! 







Rainbow Quinoa Salad with Tangy Lemon Dressing

Now that we are enjoying some lovely summer weather (sort of), I thought what better way to kick off my blog for Bella Forcella than with a nice simple quinoa salad that is perfect for bringing along to barbeques or picnics for a healthy option. 

Little Luxuries: Jo Malone Hand Massage

One of my absolute favourite luxury companies is Jo Malone. I'm just totally in love with everything - the scents, the stores, the branding, and possibly most of all with the free arm and hand massages they lavish on anyone who walks through their doors.

Yes, you read that correctly, Jo Malone boutiques give free hand and arm massages - and chocolates!!! And even better - the lovely Stylists don't give you the hard sell while you're blissed out over their counter!

I recently received an invitation through the post for a special edition hand & arm massage, showcasing a couple of new products - Geranium & Walnut Body Scrub and the new range of shower oils - and decided that me and my littlest sister deserved a bit of a treat!

Bella's Banana & Blueberry Pancakes

I know that banana pancakes are a bit of a blog cliché, but they're one of my favourite breakfasts so I wanted to show you how I make them!

This is a super easy, gluten free and, depending on how much maple syrup you drizzle on them, a pretty healthy dish.

Happy 4th July!

Wishing all of my American readers a very happy Independence Day! Hope you have a fun filled weekend xxx

Remember Your Dream

So, as of today, we've now had half of 2015. How fast did that go?

I don't really "do" new year's resolutions, I'm more of a "1st September new pencil case" kinda girl, so I can't do a revision of how I'm getting on with the goals that I set for myself at the beginning of the year. But I can look back over the past 6 months with a view to seeing if I want to change anything in my life so that I'm can get closer to my dreams by the end of 2015.

It's easy to get swept up in day to day life, caught up everyday minutiae. When you've had a tough day and all you want is a big glass of Chablis and half a pint of Haagen Dazs, it's hard to remember that you want to lose a few pounds. When you've got a million and one things on your to-do list you can easily forget that this year was going to be the year that you finally learn Italian.

Luck: Are you making enough of it?

Mr. Forcella and I recently had a conversation about "Luck". He said that until he had his health scare two years ago he had always considered himself to be a lucky person. I, on the other hand, said that I felt that the only really lucky thing which had ever happened to me was meeting him. I always thought that the good stuff happened to other people, leaving me feeling a little sorry for myself.

Well, what a load of crap - of course I'm lucky. I am unbelievably lucky.

Asparagus & Halloumi Salad

Following the success of my Roast Veg Bruschetta recipe a couple of weeks ago, I thought I'd share another of my quick & easy but super tasty dishes with you.

My Asparagus & Halloumi Salad is the perfect way to use all of the delicious asparagus that is currently in season and best of all, when served with a glass of chilled white wine, makes you feel as if you're on holiday.

This is a great vegetarian dish but the halloumi cheese has quite a meaty texture which should satisfy most carnivores!

Bella Forcella Christmas is here!!!

As there's only 6 months to go I have the proud pleasure of introducing to you my new blog: Bella Forcella Christmas!!!

As you well know, Christmas doesn't just happen. No, it takes months of planning, preparation and organisation. Christmas also isn't just a "holiday", it's a feeling - a state of mind, there's a reason why it's called "Christmas Spirit" (and I don't mean Bailey's).

Bella Forcella Christmas will be with you all the way to December 25th inspiring (and calming...) you with innovative decorations, thoughtful gift ideas and practical organisational advice.

You can expect the usual Bella Forcella approach to all things Christmas - lots of cocktails, yummy food, fun outings and plenty of shopping.

From beauty to entertaining and from gifting to decorating, it'll be all wrapped up in a stylish bow over at Bella Forcella Christmas.

Jump over to Bella Forcella Christmas now for the very first post and don't forget to follow on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and of course, Pinterest!

Point Grey - The Perfect Weekend

Sounding very much like the name of a Bond movie, Point Grey is in actual fact a large cottage in Welburn (near York) owned by my friends Karen and Caroline.

Point Grey - a holiday home, not a Bond movie

You may remember the amazing wedding I went to last year where the brides had created a teepee village in their back garden (Teepee Love). Well, they have now finished converting the house into a luxurious holiday home, which sleeps up to 10 adults in 5 double bedrooms, and invited myself, Mr. Forcella and a few of our other friends up for the weekend to give it a trial run.

Holiday Edit: Cape Verde

9 years ago I had never heard of Cape Verde, an archipelago of 10 volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa. Fast forward to 2015 and I have just returned from my 4th holiday there. Mr. Forcella and I love it so much there - the people, the climate, the hospitality - that we have spent 7 of our holiday weeks on the islands since 2012.

I Am 2!!

Two years ago today at 10.39pm I published my first ever Bella Forcella blog post.

I had been wanting to start my own lifestyle blog for nearly a year before I actually gathered together the courage to create my "Blogger" account. I was looking for a creative outlet and as I had always wanted to be a writer, a blog seemed the perfect place to explore further my love of beauty, food and interiors.

I genuinely love writing this blog - I get such a buzz as I create my posts and I hope that you enjoy reading them. I'm so excited about the possibilities of where I can take Bella Forcella and how I can grow it.

Roast Veg Bruschetta

I really like yummy food and I really like to cook, however I don't always have the time or energy to spend ages putting together a tasty meal.

So, what the solution? A list of quick and easy but largely healthy meals that I nearly always have the ingredients in my fridge / cupboard for and will get me and my husband and our guests if we have any fed in the minimum amount of time with the minimum amount of fuss.

Last night we wanted to do a supper for our friends who looked after our house whilst we were on holiday, but because we've just got back I didn't really want to get into cooking an elaborate dish. Enter - Roast Veg Bruschetta.

Little Luxuries: Sunday Chill Out

If you're anything like me, you'll always have a "to-do" list on the go. The items on my list vary in significance from "take laundry out of the washing machine" to "work out how to build a global business empire" - on the same sheet of paper.

To-do lists are great for organising your life and prioritising your day to day activities, keeping you on track to achieve your goals (even if that goal is just to change your bed sheets!) but the down side is that you have a constant reminder of what you should be doing. And the problem with always knowing what you should be doing is that when you're not doing it you can't really relax, even if you're taking a few moments out to watch The Real Housewives of Wherever [insert your own guilty pleasure here].

Icons

A favourite question of job interviewers is "Who do you admire?" and back when I worked in the corporate world, my  "I'm a serious and professional woman" answer would always be 'Mo Mowlam'. 

Dr. Mowlam truly deserved to be admired - a woman who not only got ahead in a man's world, she succeeded where decades of men before her had failed by overseeing the Northern Ireland Good Friday Agreement, all whilst suffering with a brain tumour - however the replies which I really wanted to give, the names of the women who really inspire me didn't seem appropriate in such a formal setting.

Moving On

The final episode of "Friends" aired 11 years ago today, and as a massive fan of the show, the final frame showing Monica's empty apartment is, for me, one of the most poignant moments in television history.

I was reminded of this scene yesterday as I packed up my flat and left for the very last time.

Back in 2011 my husband and I were lucky enough to be able to buy what Kirstie & Phil call a "city crash pad" in Leeds, which would ease the long daily commute from our "country home" (not as grand as it sounds!).

The outside of our converted warehouse apartment

Little Luxuries: Time for Tea

East Asian tea ceremonies elevate tea making to a meditative art form, with the rituals aiming to highlight the special and beautiful moments in everyday life - which is exactly the premise of  my Little Luxuries series.

I think it's important to savour the little things in life - to literally stop and smell the roses. It's these little things that add up to the big picture: fresh bed sheets, a bubble bath, clean fluffy towels. These small touches add a bit of luxury to the everyday routine and provide moments of sanity in an otherwise hectic life.

My Official Birthday

I've talked before about having the luxury to design one's own life, and I really am committed to making that happen.

One of the traditions that my husband and I have added to our calendar is that of the Official Birthday. Much like the Queen has two birthdays a year, so do we!

It's just really nice to have an extra reason to celebrate and make a fuss of each other. Our Official Birthdays fall exactly 6 months after our actual birthday and mine was yesterday.

You can get my Tiffany Breakfast Tray from Habitat

Introducing the Little Luxuries Series....

You may think that "luxurious living" is not synonymous with life on a reduced budget  (and please note that says reduced budget - everyone is on a budget, some are just larger than others!), or when, for what ever reason, you are trying to spend less. The Google definition of luxury is "a state of great comfort or elegance, especially when involving great expense". 

Well I agree with the first part but who says it needs to involve great expense?

Money, money, money...

One of the things I internally struggle with the most is personal financial responsibility. On one hand I want to be frugal, pay down my mortgage and save for the future but on the other hand I want to buy all of the shiny things that catch my eye and all of the wonderful lotions and potions that are going to make me beautiful.

For one reason or another I've had a pretty tough few years and I have learnt that shopping doesn't actually solve any problems (and makes you feel even worse when you get your credit card statement) but also that squirrelling away all of your cash, whilst satisfying to see your savings increase / mortgage decrease, isn't so much fun either.

As with a lot of things in life, you need a balance. 

Brighton Rocks... In Hebden Bridge!

Much has been written about the similarities between Brighton and Hebden Bridge - tolerant attitudes, an emphasis on contemporary design & style and the natural migration between the towns.

So it's appropriate that Element are showcasing the work of Brighton duo Goodman & Morris at their shop in Hebden Bridge.

The Power of Perfume

Coco Chanel allegedly once said “A woman who doesn't wear perfume has no future”.

I always thought that this was a bit of an odd quote.  Is it sexist – a woman won’t find a man unless she smells good? This quote was uttered sometime in the 1920s, so that’s not an implausible assumption, however when you consider who the quote came from – an unmarried owner of a business empire that bore her name – it’s unlikely. Is it suggesting that not wearing perfume would signify social death? Possible, after all Chanel was flogging the stuff.

However when I set myself the task of writing a post on the “Power of Scent”, I accidentally stumbled across what I think is the meaning of this enigmatic quip.

Where Does Your Scarf Come From??

Sooo, I have about a million scarves (give or take a couple of hundred thousand...) - I just love the way that they can transform an outfit. A scarf can take my usual jeans & t-shirt combo from "hanging round the house" to "lunch with the girls" in less than a minute.

But recently I bought a very special scarf.

#Scarfie

Hello there!!

Hello there, Bellinis! It's been sometime since I last blogged.

I'm not usually one to take a great deal of notice of astrology, however earlier in the year I read my 2015 horoscope (Scorpio, in case you're wondering...) and one of the things I read that stuck a cord was advice to "never explain, never justify" - things which I usually find myself doing a lot.

Therefore with that in mind I'll just say that the full spectrum of life - work, play, happy events and sad events - took over and sidetracked me from blogging over the past few months..

But I promise - I thought about you the whole time...

I'm really excited about getting back to blogging - I've got loads of new ideas and experiences that I can't wait to share with you all, so you'll be hearing much more from me from now on!

See you soon!!

xxxx

2015 - Happy New Year!!

I know it's a few days late but I'd like to wish you all a 2015 filled with Love, Happiness and Peace.

xxx