Hot Cross Buns - Apple and Cinnamon

I love them. I hate ordinary hot cross bun becuase of the peel. Peel is wrong. These delicious things are peel free. Just lovely bits of apple and sultanas and some cinnamon to make them a bit more interesting.

A fabulous snack or breakfast or lunch. Try toasted with butter. Or not toasted with butter. Or not toasted with no butter. Not sure about toasted with no butter.

And buy one get one half price. What more could one want? Well BOGOF actually. Or for a pack of four to cost 10p, with a free M&S bag thrown in.

Good Friday is one week away. Get them while you can or else you'll have to wait about 8 months for them to reappear.

Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow

First of all I would like to blame my boyfriend for the gaps between blogposts. Who knew a boyfriend would take up so much time.

Anyway I wanted to tell the world about my love of Benefit Creaseless Cream Eyeshadow and in particular the Birthday Suit shade.

I use it everyday (excpet the days I stay at his when I use a 17 make up set i got for Christmas). I use it for work; I use it for nights out. It is subtle but apply a bit more and it's not so subtle.

I used to apply with my finger but I got upsold when restocking in Macy's in New York and now use a brush. I regretted my falling for the upselling but now am happy about it. Never really wore the blue mascara I got upsold as well though.

I like a lot of Benefit stuff but I worry about wasting it becuase it's not cheap. However, I replaced all my other eye shadows with this one and so it feels like value for money. After my friend showed me her new "Hello Flawless" I may have to buy that too. Over dinner we discussed how, as you reach thirty, you realise you may actually have to reapply make up during the day. I knew this but was in denial but maybe it is time to take the plunge and do it.

I am alerting you to this now because I fear "Birthday Suit" is being withdrawn. There is no trace of it on the Benefit site. Buy it now people. I will be. Two. Or maybe three.

Duo Boots

Last year I realised that knee high boots were not going away. They had been going as a good-thing-to-wear for over a decade and yet I had never owned a pair. Frankly there were two reasons. Number 1: the price of them, they are not cheap. You've got to love them. And Number 2: most importantly they wouldn't zip over my calves.

I don't know how I found out about Duo Boots but I'm really pleased they did. They do boots in 21 different calf fittings. So whatever your calf size: average, more than average (hand in the air), less than average. They do load and loads of styles casual, smart, calf length, colours, really high heels (definitely not for me).

Basically you measure your legs, order them online and they deliver to you. They have shops in Bath and Manchester (where you can get the boots right away) and fitting rooms in London, Edinburgh and Amsterdam where you can be measured and try them on before placing an order (and they are delivered to you). I went to the London fitting room on Saville Row and recommend that because I'm not sure I would have ordered the correct size.

Price wise –not the cheapest but as expensive as a good high street shop. And there is a sale on at the moment.

Ooh, they also do shoes… so tempting.

Marks and Spencer

There are loads of reasons why I'd like to recommend Marks and Spencer. But there is one particular one on my mind and in my tummy).

Marks and Spencer are now selling entire packets of coconut chips (you know the yellow and pink coconut wheels from liquorice allsorts. Love them.

Parsnip, Beetroot and Carrot crisps

I like crisps but I'm not an obsessive fan. I can take or leave them really.

But I just discovered Parsnip, Beetroot and Carrot crisps and they are my new latest obsession. They are a bit sweet so it is like a savory and sweet snack. I only wish they were cheaper really. 90p for 40g in eat and 70p for 25g in Pret.

Photo credit: Dilona

The little dry cleaning place practically inside Holborn Station

Because my trousers are now hemmed properly (and pressed for £6.50) and my cardigan with the hole looks like the hole was never there (for £2.50).

I'm a happy lady.

Photo credit: Fimb

Chrome

OK this is more of a review than a recommendation. But I feel like I need to say something about it after two weeks of using it. I have one very big reason (for me) to recommend it and two reasons why it won't be my only browser.

But before I start let me explain. Chrome is Google's new internet browser software. If you are my mum that means it is like Windows Explorer. You know, the big blue e that you double click to get on the internet.

I converted to Firefox a few months ago but when Google announced Chrome I thought I'd have a go. The main reason was that I use quite a lot of Google applications – notebook, calendar, igoogle, blogger, talk. I thought that being a google browser these would be more integrated into the brower – WRONG. They are better integrated into firefox as it happens.

The second thing that Chrome hasn't mastered (in my opinion) is RSS feeds. [Quick explanation: RSS feeds are a way of knowing if a website or blog have been updated and the content delivered to you without you going to the website itself to look for it]. I know that Google have a reader application but as none of their applications seem to be easily accessible from the browser it seems an oversight when compared to Firefox or Internet Explorer.

So why might I recommend it at all? Well apart from the usual "challenge the dominance of Internet Explorer argument" my reason is the spell check.

My name is Claire and I cannot spell. I can tell you where to put apostrophes but my typing fingers work faster than the spelling bit of my brain which has never been that reliable.

However when writing forum posts or comments on blogs etc. Chrome comes up with a red wiggly line under mis-spelt words, Now, like any spell checker it's not perfect. And you can't right click to get a list of alternatives. But it is great for me who is used to the horrible feeling of noticing a spelling error just as I click the post button.

So not an overwhelming recommendation but it is in beta (whatever that means) and so things might improve…

Photo credit: Randy Zhang