Sharkett Sisters: May 2018

STATEMENT EARRINGS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM

May 21, 2018

Statement earrings are big for 2018...Literally, huge! And you've probably noticed that they are a big thing in our wardrobes too! We're all about the bright and beautiful - and it's usually the bigger, the better in our case. It's pretty much a go big or go home situation in our current earring collection. But you do you!

We've gone ahead and put together a list of our faves, but if you're looking for something a little less, then there is still plenty out there. You've just got to choose a pair that you love, and the earring confidence will come with it!

Of course, Zara are killing it with this trend, as they pretty much rule the high street earring scene all of the time! These wooden earrings are a perfect summer statement earring. The oversize wooden hoops with the green thread wrapped around gives the earrings a tribe kind of vibe and definitely packs a statement.

How gorgeous are these bright pink beaded earrings?! We love the neon pink and love channelling our inner Barbie even more, with all pink accessories! They are the perfect way to liven up an outfit.

These shiny rhinestone earrings are a lot smaller compared to some of the statement earrings on the high street, but they still make an impact. We love the geometric shapes too!

These geometric earrings are very similar to the ones above, and perfect for our occasional matching sister style days! We're absolutely obsessed with the red border and incredible turquoise colours in the stones and rhinestones, they are just gorgeous.

1. Bershka 2. Zara 3. Zara 4. Topshop 5. Mango 6. Mango

The earring scene is pretty crowded with tassel earrings at the moment and while we absolutely LOVE them all - how gorgeous are the Bershka layered green ones! - there are also some incredible beaded, metal and plastic ones out there too! The Zara flower earrings have incredible holiday vibes and we just love the Mango bead earrings if you want a big earrings with a little less going on.

1. Bershka 2. Bershka 3. Topshop 4. Bershka 5. Mango 6. Stradivarius

Can we just take a moment to appreciate how amazingly colourful this grid is?!

We are really loving the geometric shapes being used in a lot of the statement earrings. The threaded geometric earrings from Mango are just incredible and the colours are perfect for summer! And if it's a summer carnival vibe you're looking for then look no further than these earrings from Stradivarius. Beads, tassels, pom poms...you name it, these earrings have it!

This really is just a fraction of the incredible earrings that are on the high street. You're best bet for a statement earrings is definitely Zara, but Bershka, Topshop and Mango have really upped their game - and we are obsessed!

Let us know your faves, and always feel free to link us to anything you think we will love - we love a good recommendation!

Thanks so much for reading this post!

Please follow us on Bloglovin', Instagram and like our Facebook page 'Sharkett Sisters' to see more from us! See you next time!

Lots of love,

Antonia and Imogen x

baking

GOATS CHEESE, BACON AND NEW POTATO QUICHE

May 14, 2018

Happy Monday! Who's excited for a fresh start to a new week?

With the weather picking up, we thought it was time to crack open the family recipe book and get making our favourite spring/summer recipes.

Something we absolutely love in the warmer weather is a quiche! It's a fresh and delicious meal, and is perfect for when the sun is out. Our favourite quiche to make is this is this extremely tasty goats cheese, bacon and new potato quiche. We're HUGE lovers of goats cheese, and that paired with the salty bacon makes for the most delicious quiche you will ever eat.

If you don't believe us - or even if you do - then you better grab yourself some goats cheese and get your bake on...

Ingredients:

1 roll pre-rolled shortcrust pastry (or shortcrust pastry case)

1lb 2oz new potatoes

10 rashers bacon, streaky or otherwise

2-3 basil leaves, roughly torn

5oz goats cheese, crumbled into chunks

(we usually throw in a bit more because we love it!)

3 eggs

140ml double cream

2floz milk

Pre-heat the oven to 190ºC fan, and lightly grease your tin with butter. Line the tin with the pastry, leave a little to hang over the edge. This will be cut off after the pastry has been cooked to make sure it doesn't shrink.

Prick the base with a fork and then bake blind for 18 minutes. You can do this using baking beans or rice on top of greaseproof paper inside the pastry. Baking it blind first means that hopefully there should be no soggy bottoms!

Once baked, removed from the oven and then brush with egg whilst hot to seal the pastry before filling. Reduce the heat of the oven to 180ºC fan.

Meanwhile, cook the potatoes for around 8-10 minutes or until just tender. Allow these to cool slightly before slicing thickly.

Roughly chop 8 of the bacon rasher and fry in a small pan over a medium heat until the bacon begins to crisp.

Mix the potatoes with the fried bacon and basil leaves, and then arrange in the pastry case. Crumble the goats cheese into large chunks and then scatter evenly over the filling.

In a small bowl, beat together the eggs, cream and milk. Season with salt and pepper and then pour carefully over the filling. Make sure to leave a small gap, around 1 cm from the top to make sure the filling won't overflow in the oven. Roughly chop the leftover 2 rashers of bacon and arrange over the top of the quiche.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes, until the filling is just risen and set in the centre, and the bacon on top is crisp and browned. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin.

Serve warm or cold with fresh salad.

Sisters tip: savoury rice, or cous cous is also a very delicious pairing with this quiche!

We really hope you liked reading this post, please let us know if you have a go at making this quiche or even just put it on your recipe list for summer!

Make sure to follow us on Bloglovin', Instagram and like our Facebook page 'Sharkett Sisters'! and we will see you next time!

Lots of love,

Antonia and Imogen x

fashion

ARE YOU SUMMER SANDAL READY?

May 07, 2018

Hey guys, we hope you have had an amazing, relaxing bank holiday weekend!

The weather has been absolutely glorious here in London and across a lot of the country so we got to thinking - are we sandal ready for summer?

We have bought quite a few pairs of the past few weeks in preparation for our holiday to Turkey in just under 3 weeks - yay! So we wanted to share our purchases with you and a few others that have snuck there way onto our wish lists and make sure that you are ready for more of this lovely weather!

To start off we have these super gorgeous leopard print strappy sandals from Topshop. Leopard print is right on trend at the moment and goes with absolutely everything while adding a bit of interest. And, you know you are onto a winner when you can wear them the first time without a single bit of rubbing.

Since, the sandals above are so comfy and come in so many colours, we thought it would be silly not to buy another pair, especially when they are just £18. These gold metallic sandals are very pretty and the perfect sandal for the evening too. We just love them!

These have very quickly become my favourite sandals! They are the softest sandal I have ever put my foot in, usually a new sandal is a guarantee of blisters, but not with these delightful things. They are £22 from Topshop and also come in black and nude but I immediately fell for this gorgeous dusky pink.

If you're in the need of a few pairs of sandals and don't want to break the bank, Primark is a really good place to start! You can get 3 or 4 pairs for the price you would pay for one at most places on the high street and speaking from experience, they are pretty good quality! Being so cheap means that once you've got your basic, wear-with-everthing pair you can go for something really fun without spending a fortune and worrying about not wearing them enough! We love these super fun pom pom embellished sandals, they will be perfect for adding a bit of excitement to a plain outfit!

How pretty are these sandals?! Another great find from Primark, this pair are a perfect holiday evening sandal. The sparkly embellishment makes them just a bit dressier than your average sandal. And you always always need at least one pair of black sandals!

These sandals are the perfect thing for throwing on everyday in the summer, the neutral colour means that they will go with absolutely everything! We love the Valentino vibes coming from the studded straps and these were another Primark bargain at £6!

1. Silver star sandals- Zara 2. White studded sandals- Kurt Geiger 3. Snake print embellished sandals- Zara 4. Triangle detail sandals- Aldo 5. Flat tassel sandals- Mango 6. Metallic sandals- Aldo 7. Embellished sandals- ASOS

There are a great selection of sandals all over the high street at the moment, especially in Zara! We love the Silver star sandals from Zara so much, they are so cute and hey, we haven't got a silver pair yet. We're also in love with the tassel sandals from Mango. They are perfect for those time you just don't want to deal with straps and look gorgeous too!

1. Ankle tie embellished sandals- ASOS 2. Leopard pony skin sandals- Kurt Geiger 3. Embellished slip on sandals- & Other Stories 4. Pearl embellished sandals- Zara 5. Leopard strap sandals- Zara 6. Studded leather sandals- ASOS 7. Embellished strap sandals- Kurt Geiger 8. Floral espadrille sandals- Topshop

As we said before, your summer wardrobe just isn't complete without a pair of black sandals. And these studded black sandals from ASOS would be a perfect go-to pair for the season. We really love the ankle tie embellished sandals from ASOS too, the gold leaves are really pretty and would be the perfect finishing touch to an outfit!

Thanks so much for reading this post, we hope you enjoyed it and found a bit of summer sandal inspo! Which were your favourite sandals in the post?

Please follow us on Bloglovin', Instagram and like our Facebook page 'Sharkett Sisters' to see more from us! See you next time!

Lots of love,

Antonia and Imogen x

baking

COCKTAIL CUPCAKES | BRAMBLE

May 01, 2018

Oh hello cocktail season!

Summer is soooo close we can feel it, and what makes a day in the sunshine even better? A cocktail of-course! So we're back at it again making our fave cocktails into delicious cupcakes!

We did a few of these recipes 2 years ago and they are still to this day some of our most popular posts with you! Especially the gin and tonic cupcake recipe (search cocktail cupcake in our search box to find out more)! To kick off this years cocktail cupcakes we have a classic Bramble. Made from gin, lemon juice and blackberry liqueur, this cocktail is refreshing and delicious, and firm favourite amongst us and our friends. Inspired by the divine Bramble cocktail we have made a delightfully light lemon cupcake, filled with a gin soaked berry compote and topped with a berry buttercream. Here's what you will need to make Bramble cupcakes...

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes...

6oz butter

6oz caster sugar

3 eggs

1 lemon, zest and juice

1tsp baking powder

6oz self-raising flour

4 tbsp gin

For the centre...

1tbsp berry compote

1/2tbsp blackberry syrup

60g blackberries

2 tbsp gin

For the buttercream...

4oz butter

12oz icing sugar

2tbsp berry compote

For decoration...

Lemon slices

Blackberries

For the centre of the cakes you will need blackberries, gin and then any kind of berry compote, coulis or jam you would like - blackberry flavour would be perfect if you can find it!

First, chop the blackberries into large pieces and place in a bowl along with 2 tbsp of gin. Leave these to soak for 10/15 minutes before adding in the berry compote and blackberry syrup. Set this aside until later.

Start by pre-heating the oven to 200°C/180°C Fan/Gas mark 6, and lining a cupcake tin with cupcake cases. (This recipe made 16 for us but this will depend on the size of your cases)

To make the cupcakes begin by beating together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then, beat in the eggs and the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Sift in the flour and baking powder, and mix until fully combined and smooth.

Spoon the mixture into your lined cupcake cases, making each around 2/3 full. You can bake this in two batches if necessary. Place the tray in the centre of your pre-heated oven and bake for 15 minutes, until golden brown and springy to the touch.

When the cupcakes are out of the oven and still warm, use a cocktail stick to poke several holes in the top. Then using a spoon or pastry brush, drizzle 3 tbsp of gin over the cupcakes and set aside to cool.

When the cupcakes have cooled completely, cut a small hole into the top using a small knife on an angle, eating the bits of cake as you go. Obviously that last step is not serious but definitely a recommendation! Fill the cupcakes with the blackberry compote.

The last step is to make the buttercream: In a large bowl, beat the butter until light and creamy and then mix in the berry compote. Beat in the icing sugar one spoonful at a time until smooth. If you feel the buttercream needs to be thicker, just add extra icing sugar until you feel happy with the consistency. Spoon the buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle.

Pipe the buttercream straight into the cupcakes swirling from the outside in. And then finally, decorate with blackberries and a little slice of lemon.