Rain Drops

There is something cosy about the rain.

Aimlessly gazing out of a window which is peppered with raindrops, watching the world and how it looks different when it is wet. Peering high into the grey cloudless sky and wondering where it has come from.

Seeing the patio furniture, lifeless and cold and imagining sunny evening dinners being enjoyed around it. The toys in the garden left suddenly, when pitter patter, quickly come inside! The washing line, still upright, looks like I am trying to dry strings of rain beads. It's hoping to be used.

I notice all of the wildlife has retreated back to their residences. The birds have flown deep into their nests to keep warm. The neighbourhood cat is taking shelter under a car. The ants stop scuttling around and crawl down into their underground colonies.

Watching the bus stop for people who, once step off, run hastily back to their warm homes. The harsh rain and the cruel wind is too much to face. Dim lights flick on and televisions begin to glow into the ever approaching evening. This time of night when the bustling activity outside begins to cease.   

My son is in bed and for the first time in a long while my lamps are on and my candles are lit. I've turned off the television to absorb the peace of this rain. 
Yes I do love the summer, but seeing this rain tonight just reminds me that I do love Autumn too. And although its not here just yet, little signs show me it's not too far away.

Courtesy of Pinterest

My Cakes and Bakes

 

Peanut Butter Muffins

FAT Chocolate Drizzle Cake

Iced Sugar Cookies

Morning Oaty Muffins

Chocolate Brownies

 

Jubilee Victoria Sponge

Dark chocolate and Pecan cookies

Death by Chocolate Cupcakes

Vanilla Cupcakes

 

Easter Chocolate Nests

Pink Iced Cupcakes



4 layered Victoria Sponge



Chocolate Flake Cupcakes

Lemon Curd Tarts



Hazlenut Cupcakes with gooey Hazlenut centre



 

Easter Cake

Homemade Chocolate Truffles

What's in MY Make Up Bag?

Would you like to know what is in my make up bag?

 

Everyday

 



I don't use too many products - just a few key things. I used to wear so much including foundation, base powders, eye concealers, face concealers and in the end I just couldn't put up with the time it took to apply, the time it took to remove and the expense of it all! Here is what I wear on a daily basis.

From top to bottom: Benefit Eye Bright, Dior Shimmer Powder 001, Maxfactor False Lash Effect Mascara, The Body Shop Blusher brush, Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer Ivory 001, Autograph Illuminating Touch Light.

Benefit Eye Bright
I actually got this free in a magazine but I will definitely be buying this again. It lasts ages too. You simple apply a few smudges to the inside corner of your eye and it will highlight them, 'brighten' them and for someone with small-ish eyes like me it does wonders!

Dior Shimmer Powder
A friend once introduced me to this and I will never be without it. Its a blusher and cheek highlighter all in one and really makes your skin dazzle. I have had so many compliments on this and it shows well on pretty much any skin tone. They also do this in a bronze shade.

Maxfactor False Lash Effect Mascara
I have used almost every single expensive, top end mascara such as Dior, Chanel, Bobbi Brown and MAC but as I am now on more of a budget I think this is one of the best high street buys. Bit of an all rounder - adds length and gives a neat finish.

Rimmel Hide the Blemish Concealer
This was the first ever concealer I ever bought as I have always suffered with spots/red blotches etc and has a brilliant retail price of just under £5 I believe. I have strayed occasionally to try something new but I always come back to this. It just does the job.

M&S Autograph Illuminating Touch
This product is AMAZING. If you are someone that uses YSL Touche Eclat on a daily basis you will love this. I have always used Touche Eclat just to give that extra radiance but I was getting fed up of paying so much (even though I did like having this in my make up bag - its so pretty!) so I found a cheaper alternative in Marks and Sparks Autograph Beauty Range. You won't be able to tell the difference and it's a steal at £9.50!

Evening

 

I don't wear all of the below items on an evening out. I mix and match depending on the occasion i.e. meal, bar, night out etc. It's amazing just what a lick of lipstick can do to spruce up your evening look. 



From top to bottom: L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss, MAC lipstick in Creme Cup, Chanel eyeshadow pallet in 14 Mystic Eyes, Dior Ultra-Gloss in 856 Flash, Eyelash curlers, L'oreal bronzer duo in 101 Blonde Harmony and Rimmel Soft Kohl Eye Pencil in 061 Jet Black.

L'oreal Super Liner Carbon Gloss
Okay so I don't use this item all that much but I know its an essential to own a liquid eyeliner. I have the hope to one day master the art of those lustrous lines and cat like flicks. Too be honest, my eyes are too small and it just makes them look smaller. Maybe one day.

MAC Lipstick
I got this in June for my birthday and its a really lovely shade. Its a creamy dusty pink colour and can be worn everyday but actually really works for a subtle night look.

Chanel Eyeshadow Pallet
I have show a picture below of the colours and you can use a combination of whichever you want. I chose colours that would work for day and night and the bottom left is a sort of sheer sparkle. Every girl needs evening sparkle!

Dior Ultra-Gloss
I absolutely love this colour however I bought it just as matt lips were becoming the in thing. I should wear it more and I know 'what's cool' shouldn't matter but, the truth is, my hair sticks to my lips too much when I wear this. It bugs me.

L'oreal Bronzer Duo
Such a staple in my make up bag. I use it on holiday, nights out, in winter and in summer and really warms up my skin tone.

Rimmel Eye Pencil
I just do a nice thin line around the bottom of my eye close to the eyelashes. It doesn't close my eyes to much and just gives a slight smoky look.

Chanel Eyeshadow Pallet


Before I fell pregnant, I was in a world where I was earning decent money and I pretty much bought whatever I wanted. It allowed me to experiment with the designer products and opened my eyes to what is available and what suits me.
But whilst I am now being savvy and have found some cheaper make up alternatives, there are three things I believe a woman should never compromise on. 1) A good skin care routine 2) Good make up and 3) A good regular hair cut. So I will still put a little money away each week to be able to by my Dior Shimmer Powder because I know it works for me and compliments me. But I will no longer be buying everything else from designer brands. And what appeals to me are new colours, textures and finishes. Products that can be worn for different occasions and products with more than one use. It's all about finding a balance.

TTFN

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Ice Cream Blanket Tutorial Part 1

I was recently inspired to make this blanket after seeing the idea in a craft book I got for Christmas by Kelly Doust a.k.a The Crafty Minx - love the name!

The idea for the blanket is that instead of going out to buy expensive quilting fabric, you simply use old jumpers and give them a new lease of life. I love to upcycle things if I can. The other thing that appealed was that it doesn't necessarily matter how perfectly neat you cut everything out. I have always been scared of trying out quilting so this seemed like the perfect first step.

I also called it the Ice Cream blanket because I think the colours together look like pastel ice cream colours and it will be perfect to use in the garden, on the beach or for a picnic. But will also be cosy and warm in winter and make me think of sunshine days. You can choose whatever colours you fancy!

My quilt is made up of 30 10in squares. I used 4 jumpers - 2 I found in charity shops and 2 I found on e-bay. You ideally need mens large or extra large wool jumpers, however as charity shops and e-bay are frequently getting more expensive I opted for a cheaper wool mix. It's not going to be a best fancy blanket but it will still be warm.

First of all you want to cut out a template for yourself out of cardboard. I used an old cereal box. Out of each jumper you want to cut out 8 squares. Three on the front, three on the back and two out of the arms (cut down the hem of the arm and open out. Then press each.

You then want to lay the squares out in a design that you like. I went for a simple diagonal layout.
You can see on this above picture that I have sewn together the bottom two rows.

It's so simple. You want to sew the squares together in strips, for example the bottom row yellow to green, and do the same for each strip above. Then sew the strips long edges together, right side facing. 

In the above picture I am pinning together two long strips. It might help to press before you sew as the edges curled up on some of my jumper fabric.

 

 

Try to ensure when pinning and sewing that you join the seams as best as you can and flatten them out. This will create a neater finish.

 

 

Here is the front side of my ice cream blanket all sewn together. Unfortunately my squares aren't perfectly neat, but then again I think it adds to the character. That's what I am telling myself anyway!

 

So far this blanket has cost me under £10. All I need to do now is buy and attach a fleece backing and it will be finished. I'll show you that in part two of the tutorial!

 

Have you upcycled anything recently?

 

TTFN

 

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Where to draw the line?

I am pondering tonight. Pondering about our forthcoming holiday to France. Pondering about what we will fill our days with doing. Pondering about the journey there and then I realised I have a problem.

We are driving down to the ferry port the night before, which will take roughly 4 and a half/5 hours and then the following morning once we have reached France we are driving to Vendee which will take the same amount of time. Now to me this is great, after all, I'm used to driving to Nice in the South of France most years (which is my destination of choice but now baba has come along we wanted something a bit closer.) However, Benjamin gets fed up when we drive to Bakewell which is only 45 minutes away! If we so much stop at a traffic light, he senses it and starts squirming and it quite frankly stresses me out.

So I've been pondering about what I can do to prevent this happening. I thought maybe I could borrow my parents iPad and buy a holder to strap it to the headrest, download some cartoons and we'd be sorted...I can hear the peace now.

But then what use is that?  From the start, I've never wanted to be a parent to indulge my son in the latest gadgets or gizmos. I know he is only 21 months but I mean when he is older. I just don't think its necessary and what's wrong with good old imagination? I know he can't fully talk yet but what's wrong with eye spy and playing car games?

Courtesy of Pinterest

So where do you draw the line? My boyfriend, Luke is the youngest of five and his parents were really strict when it came to technology. One television programme after school only and then he had to spend the rest of his evening at some sport or hobby or with friends. And certainly no games consoles. In some way I found that quite refreshing.

Courtesy of Pinterest

I know technology is available to a wider audience and there are apps created for very young children, which is brilliant but I'm just not sure what I feel about this. I mean, I don't want my son to feel left out at school because he is not up to date with the latest gadget.

I suppose it is just finding a balance and moderating the amount of usage. I remember when me and Luke first met and went out for a meal, there were a couple on the table next to us with two young children about 7 and 9. The parents were chatting among themselves but the children were completed zoned out on Nintendo DS games. There meals arrived and they still didn't put their games down and the parents said nothing! I was astonished and said from that point on, if I were ever to have children that I would never allow that to happen.

Where do you draw the line? And also what tips do you have for travelling with young children?

TTFN

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Bargain!

I have bought the bargain of the year!

Recently I popped into my favourite charity shop in Duffield and came across a teapot. It's slightly annoying as I really hate tea but I love the idea of using a tea pot and cup and saucers. It was a pretty design - cream with a delicate strawberry print all over - and I thought for £1.50 I really ought to own a teapot.

I hadn't actually heard of the make 'Susie Watson Designs' but I decided to google it anyway until I discovered that this teapot is still retailing at £39 on her website here. I couldn't believe it! The sweet little old lady who had priced this obviously didn't know either! How kind of someone to donate this and allow me, Miss non tea drinker to buy it! I'm sure one day when I have a big gathering of people I will think 'oh yes, let me show you my new, expensive, designer tea pot!' but for the meanwhile it will look lovely displayed in my kitchen.

So there we go, make sure you keep an eye out and find a gem for yourself in these charity shops!

TTFN

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Home Sewn Top

Today I have FINALLY finished my first ever home sewn top! I am so chuffed, honestly, it has taken me so long. I am sure many of you out there are a whiz on the sewing machine and when you see it you'll be thinking 'I could have knocked that up in half an hour'! But this is my first ever home made garment and I have never set eyes on a pattern before. Oh the joys!

Although I enjoyed the first series of The Great British Sewing Bee, I never fancied venturing into this new territory as it scared me. I have been quite good at a making a few basic soft furnishing items but the thought of making a piece of clothing? Well...*shudders*

Anyway, I decided to pop along to my favourite local fabric shop My Fabric Place in Beeston where they have a fabulous array of patterns and fabric and haberdashery items (this is like heaven for me) and I chose a simple vest/t-shirt pattern, some dainty floral fabric and matching thread.

This isn't a tutorial as my mind boggles at how it actually ended up being finished! But it is - ta-da - and I wore it out this afternoon. I can safely say I AM PROUD... of myself...!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Out of everything I had to buy the pattern was the most expensive at around £10. The fabric was £5.99/m and I used a metre and a half. The thread was about £1.50. Just looking at the pictures - the top looks quite big but I think its the angle. It is made to a size 10 and fits perfectly.

 

I suppose you could say it's not a cheap top and yes you could nip into town and get one far cheaper, but that's not the point! With making your own item you can tailor it to your own body shape. For example, I have bigger boobs so I can alter the darts on the front of the top to fit nicely.

 

Maybe you should give it a go and try making something for yourself It creates the most unbelievable satisfaction!

 

TTFN

 

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Weekend Treat

On a Saturday I usually bake something so we can have it for afternoon tea with a nice cup of tea or coffee. It is also good to have something prepared in case anyone pops in to see us and then we have something to offer. If there is any left over it is used in pack lunches on Monday.

Today's treat I have baked is gingerbread. Good old gingerbread. I think it is possibly my all time favourite cake to eat. Second to fruit cake. Third to lemon drizzle cake. Fourth to...just kidding.

Recipe is taken from McDougalls 35th Edition Bakers Guide.

Ingredients

• 225g SR Flour
• Pinch salt
• 2tsp ground ginger
• 2tsp mixed spice
• 1tsp bicarb soda
• 50g soft light brown sugar
• 100g unsalted butter - I used Stork
• 175g black treacle
• 50g golden syrup
• 150ml milk - I used whole milk
• 2 medium eggs

1) Pre-heat the oven to fan 150, conventional 170, gas 3.
2) Grease and line a loaf tin
3) Sift the flour, salt, ginger and bicarb into a bowl. Stir in the sugar.

4) In a saucepan, melt the butter, black treacle and golden syrup.

5) Leave to cool slightly then pour into the flour mixture, along with the milk and eggs.

6) Beat all the ingredients together until smooth.

7) Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 50 minutes.

8) Once a knife or cake tester comes out clean, the remove the gingerbread from the oven.

 

 

I really wish you could smell this post. The spices from this cake ooze out and smell divine! What is good about this cake is you can quickly mix together the ingredients and sit back and relax until the cake is baked.

Why not whip up something nice this weekend and treat the family! Mmmm..or come round mine and have a slice of this gingerbread!

TTFN

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Quick and Simple

I absolutely love nothing more than getting into a good recipe, cooking a wholesome family dinner from scratch and using fresh ingredients. I rarely use packets or jars of sauce as I like to know what goes into everything I make.

...BUT...

Sometimes you just need that quick, go to dinner that requires no effort or thought. I don't know about you but this heat makes me so lethargic and demotivated. So tonight I am showing you a recipe I use for these occasions. Please excuse the not so perfect recipe pictures.

TUNA FISHCAKES USING 3 MAIN INGREDIENTS.

This recipe is enough to make 10-12 fish cakes. (I usually freeze a couple to bring out for emergency dinners for Ben)

Ingredients

• 300g pot Coleslaw - any variety you like; low fat, extra creamy etc.
• Half a bag of mashable potato's
• 2 x tins of tuna

Firstly boil the potato's and then mash with butter and seasoning (to your taste)

Once mashed, add the whole pot of coleslaw. Looking delicious so far, right?!

Add the tuna, drained of course.

Looking even more appetising? Next, take large golf ball size pieces and flatten on a baking tray.

Bake in the oven 190 degrees for 15 minutes or until a golden brown crust appears.

 

Et voila! Benjamin's portion and an adult portion. You could simply serve these with a summer salad too.

I know this isn't the most exquisite dish its simply something you can throw together in minutes which most families need on the odd occasion!

What's your family go-to quick recipe?

TTFN

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