December

Catcher in the Rye Book - Amazon 
Deep Sleep spray - The Body Shop
Cranberry spray - The Body Shop
New Shampoo bar - Lush
Tartan top - Topshop
Rose Jam Shower gel - Lush



(Apparently I like red items in December?)

'Your Hips Are Rolling And You Love It Like You Should'

What's In My Shower

Hello m'lovelies, 

Am I the only one who freaking loves to watch the 'whats in my shower' and 'whats in my fridge' type videos?  Maybe i'm just incredibly nosy but I think it's so interesting and way great way of finding out new products. Looking at the photos now I realise that there seems to be a pink/red theme - not on purpose - but we'll go with it. My shower gels change every time I run out which is quite quickly as I use practically half the bottle, I just get so bored of a certain smell after a while but if I keep on switching every shower then I would never use up anything and seems as Christmas is coming up (bath/shower gifts galore) I'd best use them. Pink grapefruit is one of my favourite scents so when I heard about the Neutrogena line I just had to buy everything! (moisturiser and face wash are in my bedroom, I meant everything) I have used it for years and it's never let me down. The current shower gel is a body shop strawberry which does what it says on the bottle, not much I can say about it other than the smell is gorgeous. Herbal essences is a shampoo that I will only get when it's on offer as £4 for a bottle is still a bit much for me as my hair is fine with the cheapest of shampoos, but saying this the smell of it is amazing and although I haven't seen a difference in my split ends I also can't say that they've gotten worse...

Enjoy your day!

Haul

Hello m'lovelies, 

Whilst out shopping I popped into forever 21 and found this jumper, I (obviously) love the pattern however I know that some will hate it but either way I think it was around £17 which isn't bad, although quite over sized it's not the warmest of jumpers i've owned but under a coat or even over a smaller jumper it will survive the British *cough* winter *cough*. The next lot are just a variation of makeup and jewelry, a 5th repurchase of the collection concealer - if you don't have it, buy it now. - also a new lipstick in 'sweet tart' as well as a matte top coat from bourjois as my old one went a bit er mouldy?

Enjoy your day!

Cut Out Boots

Hello m'lovelies,  

How have you all been? As you can clearly see by the post, I have done a little shopping and bought these beauties from Linzi for £38. There are different varieties and colours of buckle to suit your style, although I haven't worn them for a long period of time yet they were comfortable in the store when I tried them on - will do an update once I have worn them.

I loved the style of these shoes the second I saw them and they have become quite popular with topshop, river island and newlook all selling a similar style. The sole also is really thick, hopefully meaning it will last for longer! 

Enjoy your day! 

'He Did The Monster Mash'

 Bit of a different 'ootd' as it was halloween, hopefully you can guess that I was Sandy from Grease in her end rebellious stage. What did you all dress up as? I want to know! Already making plans for next year ;)

November

Blouse - H&M
Lemony Flutter - Lush (hand cream) 
Cardigan - Forever 21
Real Techniques Brush - Boots
Scarf - Newlook 
Boots - Linzi

Birthday Haul 2013

Hey Guys, so an extremely belated but still relevant birthday haul, It goes without saying that I am incredibly grateful for all of my gifts and was so shocked at how spoiled I was this year; so please do not feel the need to leave a negative comment about this post. 

(I Also got some beautiful shower/bathy things from a best friend but as they were in the shower, slightly wet I thought best to leave them out of the photo)

I had a lovely day as was lucky enough to only have 2 lessons - woop! And spent all my free periods with my bestie Charlotte and then had a Zumba lesson with my other two bests Emma and Jess, after which we all went out to a meal to celebrate with all of my other friends.

-Also, my main present was a standing mixer however I forgot to take a photo of it as it immediately went into use in the kitchen and as it wasn't in my bedroom I forgot-

Bon Appétit!

I've been thinking of starting a new section on my blog for a while, tell me what you guys think about it! It will basically consist of me posting my photos of my breakfast, lunch and dinner - to some of you this may be the most boring thing you could think to read but i absolutely love reading these sorts of posts, hope you do too.

 Breakfast - tea and an apple 

Lunch - tomato and vegetable pasta

Dinner - salad with steamed new potatoes 

October

Book - Frankenstein
Body butter - The body shop
Lipstick - Mac, Please Me
Lipscrub - Lush, Santa's
Tea - Teapigs, Chai Tea
Brushes - Starter collection, real techniques
Candle - Yankee Candle, Vanilla Chai

NOTD - Poppies

Summer Haul

Hey Guys!

As anyone from England will tell you, our 'summers' are never the same as photos of sunny days and high heats but more cloudy, rainy days with cold winds. However this summer miraculously was scorching hot and beautiful but as we are not used to this the mad rush for real summer clothes began...

 Shorts - Topshop £25

 Shoes - Primark £4

 Top - Primark £5

 Books £10

 Necklace - Clair's Accessories £7 Bracelet - Accessorize £2

Skirt - Topshop £5

What's In My Summer Garden Bag

Hey Guys!

As the weather has been beautiful this summer I have been in the garden almost all the time, blogging, doing my nails, reading, revising and just relaxing so this is what is inside the bag i use and the contents. 

1. Suncream/after-sun - self explanatory but it's been so sunny and hot that suncream is a must!

2. Nail polish kit - the purse containing three nail polishes to, guess what? paint my nails, I love painting them and sunbathing is the perfect way to pass the time whilst they're drying

3. Revision/work - As this was during exam season I had revision to do and doing it outside sitting in a sun lounger somehow makes it a lot better 

4. Books/kindle - If you're a bookworm then reading material is an essential for sunbathing

5. Pencil case - Either for revision, work or drawing I always like to have at least a pen with me

6. Phone - also self explanatory as I always try to have my phone in hearing distance 

7. Lipbalm - I recommend having one with spf in as then you don't need to worry about suncream
8. Hairbands/bobby pins - as it gets hotter I hate having my hair down and so these are a must, I also like to throw my hair up in a messy bun whilst working or revising
9. Ipad mini - An ipad is just like a mini laptop and so is useful for anything but is mostly used for instagram, youtube, tumblr and imessage as a break between revision sessions

This is the bag I use, it's a huge beach bag and so fits everything in so is perfect

Bakes! - Lemon And Poppy Seed Cake

Hey Guys!

For a recent dinner party I was asked to make a cake of my choice, after 'umm'-ing and 'ahh'-ing for a few days I finally decided on a lemon and poppy seed cake from my hummingbird bakery cookbook.

Equipment

24cm Ring mould -greased & dusted.

Various bowls to mix and weigh in

saucepan 

handheld electric whisk and/or freestanding electric whisk

Ingredients

85g unsalted butter

245g caster sugar

grated zest of 1 1/2 lemons

15g poppy seeds (plus extra to decorate)

165ml whole milk

235g plain flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 a teaspoon of salt

3 egg whites

Lemon Syrup

juice and zest of 1 lemon

50g caster sugar

Lemon Glaze

Juice of 1 lemon

250g icing sugar

 Firstly preheat your oven to 170c, gas mark 3.

Cream together the butter, caster sugar, poppy seeds and lemon zest in a large bowl.

Slowly add the milk in stages and beat well (don’t worry if it looks slightly split at this stage).

 

In a separate bowl sieve the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add this to the butter mixture in 3 stages, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl beat the egg whites until they form stiff peaks.

Fold this gently into the cake mixture.  Don’t beat or you will lose all of the air that makes the cake light.
Pour into mould and bake for 30 - 35 mins until golden and the sponge bounces back when gently pressed and when you stick a knife/skewer into the sponge it comes out clean.

Whilst the cake is cooking make the lemon syrup by mixing the sugar, lemon zest and juice in a saucepan and gently boiling it until it has reduced by half and a thin syrup has formed.
When the cake is cooked remove from the oven and spoon over the lemon syrup whilst it is still in the tin and still warm.  This makes the cake wonderfully moist and forms a sugar crust on the bottom.  Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes.
Turn out onto a wire rack.
Make the icing whilst the cake is cooling by mixing the icing sugar and lemon juice together until smooth and glossy.
Once the cake has cooled, spoon over the glaze and let it run down the sides of the cake.  Sprinkle with a few poppy seeds.

 Enjoy! :)