The Wedding Diary Part One: Engagement

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

Well I finally did it. I managed to find someone who will put up with me for the rest of my life. Most little girls dream came true when my boyfriend of three years whisked my off to Paris on the Eurostar for our anniversary and proposed. I ecstatically said yes and upon our return bought far too many wedding magazines, and realised just how hard planning a wedding was going to be. Don’t get me wrong. I am not exactly fazed by planning big things. I planned the launch party for Frost Magazine and had over 300 guests. It went off without a hitch even though the venue canceled on us a few days before. I have also made a full length feature film. I have the skills and the staying power but what I don’t have is £21,000 to spend on a party. Only one person has mentioned the outdated thing of the women’s parents paying, all of my friends paid for their own wedding and I am not asking my parents for money. I am the editor of this magazine, a freelance writer and actor.

Somehow this is not even the issue. Neither my fiancee or I think it is reasonable to spend that amount of money on one day of your life. Other difficulties are that my family live in Scotland and my fiance’s family live in England. Getting all of these people together in a convenient, reasonably priced venue doesn’t feel like the easiest thing.

Also as a half catholic, half protestant agnostic I have found out that I cannot even get married in a church because I was not christened as my parents, quite rightly, wanted me to choose my own religion. If I want to get married I will have to attend church or do a course. Neither of these seem appealing and I don’t have a lot of free time.

So join my on my journey from engaged woman to bride. I will be writing lots of wedding articles and advice to go along with my personal experience. Please comment and tell me your thoughts and give any advice. We are planning to get married in June of next year so we don’t actually have much time to get everything done. It is all quite exciting and scary.

We have a brillaint article on buying the perfect engagement ring if you want to send it to your boyfriend to drop some hints.

Until next time, enjoy the sun.

Classic Coronation Chicken Recipe

Posted on July 29, 2013 by Frostie

Classic Coronation Chicken. Makes 3 loaded rice cakes
Coronation chicken.

Quite the classic. And it works just as splendidly on a rice cake as it does in your sandwich – especially with some rocket and a sprinkle of black pepper.
25g mayonnaise
25g crème fraîche
30g mango chutney
½ a tsp curry powder
½ a tsp lime zest
2 tbsp fresh lime juice
1/4 tsp salt
250g skinless, boneless, chicken breast fillets, cooked and diced
Handful fresh rocket
1 tbsp flaked almonds (optional)
Kallo Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt rice cake.
Mix together the mayonnaise, crème fraîche, mango chutney, curry powder, lime zest, lime juice and salt
in a large bowl.
Add the diced chicken and toss with the mixture until well coated.

Cover and chill until serving.
Layer your Kallo Cracked Black Pepper & Sea Salt rice cakes with the rocket, then top with a generous
dollop of the Coronation Chicken.
Top with the flaked almonds if desired.

Top Of The Lake DVD Review and Competition

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

Top of The Lake may be a television show but the talent behind it packs a cinematic punch. This cinematic punch shows in the quality of the show. Oscar winning writer/director Jane Campion and Garth Davis have teamed up with the Oscar winning producers of The King’s Speech, Top of The Lake looks beautiful, set in New Zealand the scenery is just stunning. Add in the beautiful cinematography and you have a show that is already worth watching.

The story however, is somewhat less beautiful, this is not a criticism, it is just hard hitting. Top of the Lake begins with a mystery – Tui, a 12 year old girl, walks chest deep into the freezing waters of an alpine lake in New Zealand. She is five months pregnant and won’t say who the father is. Then she disappears.

Robin Griffin is a gutsy but inexperienced detective called in to investigate. But as Robin becomes more and more obsessed with the search for Tui, she slowly begins to realise that finding Tui is tantamount to finding herself – a self she has kept well hidden.

Top of The Lake has a brilliant cast. It stars Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men), David Wenham (Lord of the Rings), Peter Mullan (War Horse) and Holly Hunter (The Piano). All of the cast is amazing. Elizabeth Moss takes the lead and as the detective on the story sees parallels of her own life with the missing Tui. She unravels as the search continues but will she find herself in the end? Top of The Lake has a lot of twists and turns and keeps you on the edge of your seat. It is an excellent, must watch drama. Don’t miss it.

The Top Of The Lake BBC DVD is available here or on Amazon or iTunes UK

RRP: £20.42 / £25.52

EXTRAS: BEHIND THE SCENES INTERVIEWS WITH CAST AND CREW

We have a copy to giveaway. To win follow @Frostmag on Twitter, subscribe or like us on Facebook. Good luck.

Sponsored Post

Tangy Salsa & Glorious Guacamole Recipe

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Frostie

Tangy Salsa & Glorious Guacamole

Serves 2-4

Why not whip up a tangy salsa or glorious guacamole the night before work for some dreamy desktop

dipping at the office? Delicious!

Tangy salsa

5 large tomatoes, deseeded and finely diced

½ a red onion, finely diced

Small bunch of coriander, chopped

Zest and juice of a lime

Salt and pepper

Glorious guacamole

1 ripe avocado

1 large tomato, finely chopped

½ a red onion, finely chopped

Small bunch of coriander, chopped

Zest and juice of a lime

Salt and pepper

For the salsa: Finely chop the tomatoes and onion, along with the coriander. Mix in the zest and juice of a

lime and season with salt and pepper. Leave in the fridge for a few hours for the flavours to marry.

For the guacamole: Scoop out the flesh from the avocado into a bowl. Add the chopped tomatoes and red

onion, along with the coriander. Mix in the zest and juice from the lime and mash with the back of a fork

before seasoning with salt and pepper.

Splendid with Kallo’s Chilli rice cakes

Katy Perry Shares Picture Of New Fragrance Ad Killer Queen

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

Katy Perry shared the first look of her new fragrance campaign on Twitter. The new fragrance is called Killer Queen and Kate looks pretty killer in the ad.

Katy tweeted: “I’m thrilled to reveal #killerqueen Own The Throne”. This will be Kate’s third fragrance. She told Women’s Wear Daily, “It took us something like 30 or 35 tries to get it right. I wanted floral [notes] like Jasmine, but I also wanted red velvet flower, which is incredible-it gives it the edge that makes it Killer Queen.”

We think Kate looks great. What do you think?

Made In Chelsea’s Millie Mackintosh On Bullies & Escaping The Chelsea “Bubble”

Posted on July 28, 2013 by Frostie

In an exclusive interview with The Sun’s Fabulous magazine out Sunday July 28, Millie Mackintosh, 24, reveals that she is still haunted by the bullying she suffered throughout her teens: “I was bullied to the point where I wouldn’t go to school. I was skinny, had glasses and wore braces to realign my jaw. I had full-on yellow hair after a home dye job and had really bad acne all over my forehead.”

Reality star Millie, who is currently planning her September wedding to rapper Professor Green, 29, says she’s much happier now she’s relocated east with her fiancé. And she gave her strongest indication yet that she won’t be returning for the next series of the hit E4 show.

She said: “I’m not going to create a drama just to be part of it…Chelsea is a bubble and not a healthy one. It’s that Gossip Girl environment and people just don’t grow out of it.”

Also in this week’s edition, you’ll find the results of the Fabulous Beauty Awards 2013. A whopping 95,746 readers voted for their beauty must-haves. For the fourth year in a row Cheryl Cole was crowned beauty icon and readers confessed to spending on average £25 a month on beauty products.

Fabulous magazine is available free in The Sun every Sunday.

SBC Leg Soothing Gel Review

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

SBC Leg Soothing Gel is a refreshing water-based gel which is great for tired and over-worked legs. I had never heard of SBC before but I loved the packaging which was simple but effective. It has arnica in it which speed up healing and is good for getting rid of bruises a bit quicker. It has a lovely smell and a little of the product goes a long way so it lasts a long time.

The ingredients are all natural, it has menthol, camphor, witch hazel and arnica. It gives an instant refreshing feeling when I put it on and in the long term made my overworked legs feel better. I injured my back at the beginning of the year so have been mostly exercising my lower body, this gel takes the strain of my poor legs.

The gel absorbs quickly and leaves legs cool and soothed. It is not sticky after application and the directions even say you can put it on over tights or stockings. It comes in an easy dispensable bottle and is a lovely blue-green colour.

Would I buy it? Yes. Good stuff.

Ethics: Not tested on animals.

Available from QVC UK and here

Christy Turlington Has Still Got It After 26 Years.

Posted on July 26, 2013 by Catherine Balavage

26 years after first working with Calvin Klein 44-year-old mother of two Christy Turlington is back and looking as amazing as ever. She took the Autumn Winter 2013 campaign from 29-year-old Lara Stone and, lovely as Lara is, it is easy to see why. Christy looks amazing in the shots from Mario Sorrenti and we want to know her secret. What do you think?

Christy 26 years ago (first picture) and now.