RECOMMENDED READING!!

Apologies for my lack of blogging this week but I have been fighting off a chest infection and cold, which I know seems terribly ironic when we are in the full swing of summer but its true I swear! Anyway...although I have had somewhat of a 'writers block' in my lempsip induced coma I have had plenty of time to read...and read I have!

I thought I would do this post on my recommended reading...in other words the blogs that I am absolutely loving at the moment. I love reading other peoples reading material and I end up finding blogs I had never seen before. I think its a great way to showcase each other in the blogging world, so here it goes...

HANNAH MAGGS Now in all honestly I would be completely and utterly shocked if any beauty or lifestyle blogger wasn't a huge fan of Hannah Maggs, I would genuinely be dumbfounded and have to ask why? She is my blogger inspiration and it was her blog that gave me the courage to start blogging myself. She touches on a whole range of subjects, including beauty, lifestyle and mummy posts. Now even though I am not a mummy myself I find her posts really reach out to the 'every day' person. She is so relatable and her writing style is incredible! She has an incredible youtube channel as well but she hasn't lost her blogging touch as she still posts regularly which is something I love. Often when people start youtubing they forget about there blog and I am so grateful she hasn't! Honestly, every women should grab yourself a drink and go on over and check her out...you are sure to become addicted.

SAZBOMB I found Sarah's blog and twitter and instantly became entranced. Her blog posts are all things I love and things that I myself like to write about. She recently did a post on things she was grateful for and I thought this was a really sweet idea. Its something that I would like to do in my blogging future as I love to read what makes other people happy. She is also kindly featuring me on her blog next month and I feel so grateful, I hope my blog will grow just like hers has in the future.

CIDER WITH ROSIE I have recently stumbled upon Rosie's blog as I think I found her in someone else's reading material and have instantly saved it into my bookmarks. First off, I need to point out that her layout is incredible and I had serious blogger envy...everything you would want from a blog is there and its so easy to navigate. I sound like such a loser but these things are important to me! She has two series that have been so inspiring to me as I love to read them; her 'From my home to yours' which shares the most incredible recipes and her '10 things that have made me happy this week' which is just a total feel good read.

THE ROSE AND POSE Christina is a relatively new blogger and I am amazed at how far her blog has come...I can only hope that in 6 months time my blog will look as sophisticated and successful as hers. Her beauty posts are incredible and offer genuine advice and can we please just mention how amazing her photography skills are. She really pushes me to be more creative with my photos.

COCOCHIC Stephanie has been a really great help for a new blogger like me as she often does posts on how to make your blog better, how to get more followers and just generally tricks and tips. I have found it really useful in finding my feet in the blogging world! Her post on how to promote your blog using social media was really great as it outlined all the twitter chats that I never knew existed! I would really recommend her blog if you are just starting out as a blogger...well I would just recommend her blog in general.

A LITTLE SOAPBOX  Again, Jill's blog has been a recent stumble of mine and I am sure she is to become one of my favourites. She recently did a book review post and I absolutely love it. I rarely see book review posts and its something I would like to start doing and she has given me the confidence to do so! I love reading and I think this is a great way to share reviews with each other!

Who have all of you been reading? I am always looking for a new read and I have a very quite and relaxed weekend planned so it would be great to get some new reading material!

Much love

GYM - STAYING MOTIVATED

Happy Saturday ladies, hope the start of your weekend is going well! . I thought I would do a fitness post today, as its the only area I haven't touched on yet and it has become quite a prominent theme for me this week!

I've recently started a new job in which I am working 8:30am until 6pm, and I have really found it difficult to incorporate my gym routine into it. I thought it would be a breeze, I'd get up early and head to the gym before work or I'd make my way over after work...but it hasn't been quite that simple. After joining the London rat race (don't get me wrong I am loving my job), any extra hours of sleep I can get in the morning I take and I am quite keen to get home at the end of the day. So its safe to say, I've lost my motivation.

Lets just start by saying I am not a gym freak in anyway, shape or form but I try haha. Its been my goal for a while to get fitter, not for any particular reason just feel better in myself. I go through stages of bashing workouts out week after week and lulls where my membership card starts to collect dust...and since starting work I hate to say it but there is dust on my membership card. I realised this and felt angry at myself for not being as committed as I want to be and so I thought I would share some of my motivation tips which have got me back in the swing of things.

•    Set a goal but be realistic: People often set ridiculous goals for themselves, fail at it and then give it up. We are human and we are all guilty of this. We just need to be less hard on    ourselves. I aim to go to the gym three times a week and then if I can squeeze in a swim on an extra day or a class or something. This is realistic for me and I know that, so if I'm failing its purely down to laziness. However, saying this if I don't manage it one week thats fine...things crop up, its only when it doesn't happen week after week that I need to look at whats happened. I need to refocus and remember why I am doing it, why I want to do it.

•    Treat yourself to nice gym wear: There is nothing I love more than shopping, well maybe a few things. But when I buy something I want to use it and use it and use it. So recently I decided to head to Victoria Secrets and buy myself some new gym wear. I bought a new sports bra and two pairs of yoga pants and I have been so excited about it thats its actually pushed to go to the gym because I want to wear my new gear! I've decided that if I manage to go three times a week for a month I will buy myself a new pair of trainers next month.

•    Make it a routine: I thing a study was conducted in which it was found that it takes 12 weeks for something to become part of our routine...now that may sound like a long time but lets be honest...time flies by. I used to always go to the gym in the morning...that was my routine. I would get up and go and it worked for me. But since starting work thats just not been possible, so now I've made it my routine to go twice after work in the week and once at the weekend. I have no set days so I can choose any of the days in the week and any day of the weekend. I put my gym bag in my car so that I can drive there straight after work.

•    Use social media: Social media has been great for me in terms of motivation, we are surrounded by media and so its really useful if I am feeling lazy and I log onto twitter and Instagram that I am surrounded by fitness moguls and motivators. I have found Heidi Somers particularly useful, her videos, pictures and tweets really give me the kick up the a** I need to get going. Also Life pro fitness on Twitter makes me feel invincible and gives the sense that I can achieve anything. Its hard to keep ourselves motivated at all times but if we are getting motivation from other sources and people its really beneficial.

•    Switch it up: Don't just go to the gym and do the same thing over and over again, your bound to get bored...I certainly would. Use different machines, use free weights, use weight machines, use the mats and a swiss ball! You may feel self conscious at first, but a wise person once said to me...your all there for the same reason, no one is looking at you because quite frankly no one cares about what your doing there. Go to classes, go for a swim, go for a country walk even put some music on whilst your cleaning and have a good old boogie. All of these things increase our fitness which in turn gives us more confidence. In the words of legally blonde "exercise releases endorphins...endorphins make people happy'.

•    Gym buddy: I have found it quite helpful to have a gym buddy. Now this is not something I have ever really been a fan of, I like to work out on my own and thats that. But recently I've been going to the gym with my dad and my boyf and its been really helpful...you push yourself because you don't want to let the other person down! Gym's are social hubs so its really easy to meet people, if you don't have someone to go to the gym with maybe join a class like pilates or Zumba...your bound to make some fitness friends.

•    Your overall health: Bringing the health home. I've recently been trying to eat really healthily and make sure that I am getting plenty of fruit and vegetables. I never don't have something that I want, and I don't cut out carbs because for me a life without rice and pasta would just be incomprehensible. But I juice in the morning, I've switched to almond milk (except in tea because thats just wrong) and I only every eat turkey or chicken. Having healthier food has made me feel so much more alive that I have the energy to pursue exercise and I want to continue the goodness if that makes sense. Adjusting your overall lifestyle makes it easier to incorporate new things into it.

What do you guys do to stay motivated?

Much love

SKINCARE SAVIOUR - BODY SHOP HONEY AND OAT 3-IN-1 SCRUB MASK

I just don't know where to start or how to give this product the amount of credit it that its due. It is literally my go to product...my favourite product...my skincare saviour.

As  I have mentioned before I suffer from really dry skin and psoriasis, both of which can be an absolute pain to live with and a pain to find suitable products. I won't go into huge detail today but my skin is really playing up at the moment and my skin (especially my face) is feeling really dry and sensitive. It really can become annoying to find a product that won't irritate my psoriasis and when I found this, I could have honestly cried a little!

I have been told before by numerous skincare specialists and dermatologists that both honey and oats are really good for not only dry skin but psoriasis too...I am not sure about the science behind it is, but apparently its true. In fact, I was given a recipe by my dermatologist in which I was to mix oats and milk together and kind of smear it on my face as a sort of 'face mask'. I haven't really described it well, but I have to be honest it did work...but it was literally so so messy and I could never get the quantities right so I was walking round my house with clumps of oat on my face. It was safe to say it was NOT attractive. I gave that up quite quickly so you can imagine my joy when I found this.

I love having a wonder around the body shop...I love there products and I just really feel like they know what they are doing...I mean the clue is in the title, they are all about the body. I found this and literally couldn't believe my eyes, it was exactly what my determatologist had suggested but in a pot...in the shops and I didn't have to try and concoct it myself. I tried a tiny bit on my hand using a tester and instantly feel in love (Thats another thing I love about the body shop...the testers). 

Let me describe the product. First of all, it smells incredible, like a sweet, yogurty porridge. Now, that might not be selling it but it really does smell amazing. The product itself is really smooth, soft and creamy with really small refined oats throughout it. Enough to feel them on your skin, but not enough for them to become irritating or give your skin a deep exfoliation. It spreads on to your skin gloriously and is just so, so smooth. I usually leave it on my skin for 10 to 15 minutes and then wash it off with warm water. I usually do this once or twice a week (if my skin is feeling really dry and sensitive) and always on a Sunday!!

It gives my skin a really deep cleanse, but at the same time is really moisturising and conditioning. It is an instant pick me up and leaves my face feeling incredibly fresh. It really soothes dry skin and has been great for my psoriasis...I have found that it has been really great during one of my bad flare ups. 

It retails at £10.00 which you may think is really quite pricey but I think its actually really reasonable considering how long the pot has lasted me. You only need a small amount of it for it to work and the pot itself is 100ml. For a great face mask, I think that its a great price...especially considering its use of natural ingredients. Honestly, I really would recommend that you go and buy it and give it a try, you will not be disappointed. 

Do any of you suffer from dry skin or psoriasis? What are your go-to-products?


Much love

FERRERO ROCHER CUPCAKES!!

Happy Sunday everyone, I hope you have had a lovely weekend! I woke up this morning in a baking mood...I think its the weather, dull days are great for baking. I absolutely love baking, I would bake everyday if I had the time and loads of people to bake for! So I thought today I would share with you one of my signature recipes. Ferrero Rocher cupcakes! I came up with recipe on a whim really, as I wanted to make something ferrero rocher themed for for my boyfs 21st birthday a couple of years ago and this is what I came up with. Since then, everyone I have shared them with, or made them for have ABSOLUTELY loved them and they have become one of my classics. 

This recipe makes 12 medium sized cupcakes, but you can make less bigger ones or more smaller ones if you fancy. You will need:

125g baking butter

125g caster sugar

100g self-raising flour

30g coco powder

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon of milk

100g chopped hazelnuts

12 Ferrero Rocher chocolate

1 jar of Nutella

Gold decorations - maybe Dr Oetker gold balls or gold dust (optional)

Step 1: Pre-heat your oven to 180 degrees celsius and put your cupcake cases into a cupcake tin. Here I am using a silicone cupcake case which I would massively recommend as its easy to pop them out at the end. 

Step 2: Measure out your butter and caster sugar and beat them together until they are light and fluffy, I usually use an electric mixer but you can just beat together with a wooden spoon.

Step 3: Crack the 2 eggs into the butter/sugar mixture and whisk together lightly. 

Step 4: Measure out the self-raising flour and sieve it into the mixture. It is optional to sieve, but I feel that it makes the mixture lighter and more creamy. Then measure out the coco powder and sieve that into the mixture also. Mix together with your electric mixer on medium or your wooden spoon until it is completely brown and creamy (make sure there are no lumps). Add in a tablespoon of milk and mix through thoroughly.

Step 5: Add in 100g of your hazelnuts and fold them through the mixture until they are spread evenly throughout. At this point it is completely up to you how many grams of hazelnuts you use, I like to be able to taste the hazelnuts and I like it to give the cake a crunch so I add in a whole bag but you can add more or less. 

Step 6: Spoon one tablespoon of your cake mixture into the cupcake cases. Using a teaspoon flatten the cake mixture evenly through the cupcake case. Add one Ferrero Rocher chocolate into the centre of your cake mixture. After this is complete, add another tablespoon of cake mixture on top of the Ferrero Rocher and spread evenly using the back of a teaspoon so that you can't see any of the Ferrero Rocher.

Step 7: Once you have your cupcakes covered evenly (so they look like a normal cupcake and the Ferrero Rocher inside is a surprise), bake in the oven for 15 - 20 minutes. When the time is up, lightly touch the top of the cake to check that its springy. DO NOT USE A KNIFE OR CAKE TESTER AS YOU WILL CUT INTO THE FERRERO ROCHER INSIDE. 

Step 8: Take them out of the cupcake tin and put onto a wire rack to cool. Leave them for a minimum of 30 mins but if you can leave them for longer - preferably an hour or so, so the Nutella frosting doesn't melt when you put it onto the cupcake. 

Step 9: Once cooled its time for the topping. Now you can make a Nutella frosting by adding butter, icing sugar and a bit of cream...but I am absolutely obsessed with Nutella and love it just how it is, so I don't actually do anything to it. I just pipe it on how it is, as it is stiff enough to make a great topping on its own. But its completely up to you. Now you can either pipe the topping on or you can just spread it on with a knife and the back of a teaspoon. 

Step 10: When you've done this, it is completely up to you how you decorate them. I usually like to cover them with some chopped hazelnuts and either some edible gold dust or gold balls but I couldn't get hold of them today so I've just gone with chopped hazelnuts. But do whatever you want, maybe even add some crushed wafer to give it that extra Ferrero Rocher feel!

Step 11: Gobble them down with family and friends with a lovely cup of tea and enjoy!

Much love

KENDALL AND KYLIE AT TOPSHOP!!

Happy Weekend everyone, I hope you are all enjoying this lovely weather and are planning to crack out a few BBQ's.

In the words of Carrie Bradshaw "I have been cheating on fashion with furniture" since moving into my new flat. But I came to the decision that it was time to treat myself to one of the things I love the most and thats clothes and the timing couldn't be better as the Kendall and Kylie Jenner collection has just been released at Topshop...so I might have splurged a little!

I absolutely love the line and I think it has managed to portray all the things that are great about Summer in one line. The collection wanted to channel "a simple and vintage inspired way to do LA style" and they have done just that. A couple of the pieces I have purchased include:

This is the 'When In Doubt, Vacation Sweat' by Kendall and Kylie at Topshop and retails at £35.00. I absolutely love this sweater and can tell that I am going to get a lot of use out of it. I like how they have paired it with some denim shorts and I will probably wear it with some light blue denim jeans and a pair of white converse. I am really happy with this purchase as it can be worn throughout milder days in summer and through autmum and winter. 

This is the 'Floral Print Playsuit' by Kendall and Kylie at Topshop and retails at £45.00. I am not much a playsuit person and I think I have only ever owned one in my lifetime but I fell in love with this one when I saw it, I absolutely love the print on it. Its really bold yet understated at the time time. I also love how this can be dressed up with a pair of heals and chunky necklace or played down with a pair of brown goddess sandals. Its really versatile and will be great throughout summer and autumn. 

Finally, this is the 'Layered Maxi Dress' by Kendall and Kylie and Topshop and retails at £50.00. I was really contemplating whether to get this or not. Not because its not totally gorgeous but it did seem a little on the pricey side when I already have a black maxi dress but I did anyway. The way I managed to convince myself was because this maxi dress is a lot smarter than the more casual one I already have. I will wear this one to Summer BBQ's and date nights probably and I will most likely wear it with a pair of sandals and pair it with some gold accessories. Feel totally naughty for buying it but so glad I did. 

As you can tell I really did splurge on myself, but luckily I had some vouchers left over from Christmas so I didn't feel too guilty. The collection itself is on the pricier side but what can you expect from a celebrity line. I am really excited to the get the clothes (I ordered them online) and I know I will most likely wear them to death.

I think most of the collection has sold out on line which shows just how popular it has been but I think it is still available in most flagship stores across the country. I really hope they will be restocking though because there are a couple of other pieces that I wanted to purchase.

Did any of you manage to purchase any? What did you think of the collection as a whole? How would you wear the products above?

Thanks so much for reading 

Much love

**This post is not sponsored and all opinions are my own 

CLEAR SKIN ELIXIR SMOOTHIE - JASON VALE

Good Morning lovelies. Can I just start off by saying how incredible the weather is today! It’s so nice to have my patio doors open and it is actually starting to feel like summer.

I thought I would get everyone in the summer mood by writing this post on a smoothie that I have absolutely loved recently. I started juicing and smoothying (not sure if that’s a word but I am going to make it one) about a year and half ago when I purchased a nutribullet and I usually have one for breakfast and then maybe one again before I go to the gym. I just love the feeling I get after having a juice or smoothie…sounds so cheesy but I feel so alive! I have a newfound energy and feel less fatigued throughout the day. I would really recommend having a try…you don’t need to have a nutribullet you can use a juicer (but you cant put an avocado in a juicer) or just a normal blender. I am completely aware that buying fresh fruit and veg can be really expensive so I am not saying you have to have one every day, even one a week is a great way to get nutrients and vitamins in your body. It is so important for healthy functioning to get plenty of fresh fruit and veg into your diet and making juices and smoothies is an easy way of doing it.

Anyway onto the smoothie I have been loving. My skin has been certainly playing up lately as I have acquired some real dry patches and had some small breakouts so I have turned to the Juice Master - Jason Vale and I have been having his ‘Clear Skin Elixir’. I suffer from a skin condition called Psoriasis and have found that this juice really helps me when I am having a bad skin day. It includes:

2 apples (I have used Braeburn apples, but you can use whatever you like)

1 cup of spinach

¼ of a medium cucumber

1 stick of celery

½ avocado (ripe)

½ cup of cold water (you can use 4 ice cubes in stead)

All the ingrediants used have really special properties that really help with keeping the skin looking clear and healthy. Apples have pectin in them which eliminates any toxins in the intestine. Avocados have the essential natural fat we need in out diet with an added abundance of vitamins and minerals. Celery is a really good diuretic and works at reducing acidity and its really important for clear skin to have a diet balance of 80% alkaline and 20% acid. Cucumber again is an amazing natural diuretic which in turn will reduce fluid retention and is amazing for hair, skin and nails and finally spinach which is just one of natures greats, its really good for people with anemia and good liver and kidney functioning.

 

I literally just chop everything quite small and then put the spinach in first and then add a bit of everything layer by layer and then lastly I will add in the cup of water. I then screw the lid on top and blast it for around 30 – 40 seconds. I will then take it off and kind of shake it by hand for a couple of seconds and then will but it back on for a further 20 – 30 seconds.

I love this jar that I am using, I feel that it gives a really nice touch when you are having a juice as a snack or for breakfast. This one is really handy as well because it comes with a screw top lid, so its really easy to carry around with you. You can get these jars from most shops but I bought this one from Tiger for £2.00

I really hope you enjoyed this post. If you are really into juicing or you are just getting started I would really recommend checking out Jason Vale (also know as the juice master). He is just incredible and all his books make juicing so fun. The book I have used for this smoothie is called     ‘The Juice Master;Keeping it Simple’, p58 - 59.

Let me know if you try this juice out or please recommend any juices or smoothies you’ve loved. Thanks so much for reading.

Much Love