Product Empties #3

It's been a long long time since I last did a Product Empties post, I'm so rubbish at remembering to keep empties to photograph there should be a lot more, but I've still managed to keep quite a few for this post to share with you. I've also been trying out different products since my last post of this kind so hopefully you'll get to see some new products.

Baylis & Harding Hot Chocolate Shower Gel (set) - This shower gel was part of a gift set I was given at Christmas and I loved using it. I find that some things that claim to be chocolate scented don't actually smell like chocolate whereas this shower gel does. And I'm now using the gingerbread one that also came with this set!

Possibilities Strawberry Souffle Shower Gel - This shower gel lasted me such a long time it's a really big bottle and I like how it even gave you a recipe on the bottle which is a little bit odd for a shower gel but if you wanted to re-create the scent into something edible you can with these.

Batiste Dry Shampoo in Cherry - Getting up at 6am and not having time to wash your hair in the morning and having to do it the night before is when dry shampoo comes in handy, with Batiste there are so many scents to choose from and this Cherry flavour is one of my favourites.

Bourjois 123 perfect foundation - This foundation was recommended to me by a couple of my friends that have used it but I have to say I really didn't get on with it at all, I think I had the lightest shade but that still wasn't light enough for me.

Revlon Colourstay Foundation - Now this foundation is actually my favourite foundation, I have the one for combination/oily skin as they also do one for dry skin and I love it. I'm even onto a new bottle of it now, it applied great (best with a beauty blender) and I find the shade matches my skin perfectly.

Maybelline Collosal Mascara - One of my favourite mascaras, I like to always try and use different mascaras because there's so many out there but I found myself going back to this one because I just liked it that much.

Ted Baker Liquid Eyeliner (set) - Finding the best liquid eyeliner can be tricky and especially within a gift set you don't know what you're going to get but with this one it was a winner. Super thin pen and easy to apply, so sad it ran out as I think they only sell it as part of this gift set.

Garnier Micellar Water - When the Garnier/L'Oreal micellar waters first came out I tried the L'Oreal  one and absolutely loved it, but then when I'd read some of the comparison reviews between the two most people seemed to prefer Garnier's especially due to the size and bottle, and after trying Garnier's too I have to say I do also slightly prefer this one too.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Pink Grapefruit Daily Scrub - This was the first one of this product I'd ever tried and I have to say I really loved it. I'm currently using a different facial scrub at the moment but when I run out I think I might have to go back to this one.

Abigail x

April Showers Bring May Flowers

If you're a regular reader of my blog you may know that over the past year or so my interest in photography has grown a lot and just keeps on growing. I love taking photos of anything and everything, especially in Spring and Summer when the sun and flowers are out. Some of my favourite things to photograph are landscapes and sunsets and sunrises and flowers. And now that we're into May this year already there are a lot of flowers and blossom around now so I thought I'd share with you some of the photographs I've taken lately.

Abigail x

My Top 5 places i need to visit in London

For someone who loves London and all the touristy and very British things you can do there, I've surprisingly only been twice before. Once for the day on a school trip when I was 10 and last year for the weekend with a couple of friends you can read the post about it here. I'm hoping to go back to London later this year and also next year and maybe then I'll be able to tick a few of these things to do off my list of things I need to do and see in London.

Image sourced here.

1. Visit the Cereal Killer Cafe - I think I'd first heard of the cereal killer cafe when I saw someone post a photo of it on instagram and since then it's been on my list of places to visit. I love the choice of cereal you get to choose from, there are so many, most of which it wouldn't be easy to find in the UK every day. And the little extra toppings you can add such as kinder hippos, with the cute glass bottles of milk to pour onto your cereal and a nice cup of English tea it sounds like the perfect breakfast.

Image sourced here.

2. Go and see (and take lots of photo's of) Buckingham Palace - I don't think this would be a place that is on a lot of peoples places to visit list nowadays as I don't think that the Royal family interest as many young people as the would have done a few centuries ago maybe. But I find something interesting about them and the fact that not many other countries still have a Royal family so I think it's something that we should appreciate.

Image sourced here.

3. Visit the V&A Museum - Also known as the Victoria and Albert Museum, being interested in art and design and fashion and textiles for quite some time now this place has been on my list of places to visit for a while with so many exhibitions to see which are always changing with something new to see.

Image sourced here.

4. Visit the Tate Galleries - Both the Tate Britain and Tate Modern Galleries are in London and I've not yet had the chance to visit either of them, studying art courses over the past few years and writing essays on some of the pieces that are in these galleries I think it's somewhere I definitely need to visit.

Image sourced here.

5. Shop in Westfield in London - I do like to shop but even the architecture and design of this place makes me want to visit it even more.

Abigail x

Chocolate Brownies Recipe

Mother's Day was quite a while ago now, which shows just how long I've been meaning to write this post for. For Mother's Day my brother and I decided to bake some chocolate brownies. I've attempted to bake brownies before but they've never gone quite right and turned out quite cakey, so as I thought these have gone the best so far I thought I'd share the recipe with you all.

I think where I may have gone wrong when making them previously from other recipe's is that I don't remember ever adding ingredients such as nuts and vanilla, which I think made a big difference, although these aren't necessary at all - especially if you're allergic to nuts!

Ingredients:

• 140g dark chocolate
• 140g butter
• 175g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 115g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 55g walnuts
• Ice cream

They also tasted just as good with ice cream as they did without, but as our first tasting of them after our meal we had ice cream on top which went well especially as the brownie was still warm.

Method:

• Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees (gas mark 4)
• Melt the chocolate and butter together in a bowl over the saucepan of water, then set aside.
• In a mixing bowl whisk together the eggs and sugar.
• Then in another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.
• Then fold the egg egg and sugar mixture into this and add the vanilla, chocolate and chopped nuts.
• Mix well together and then add to the tin and place in the pre-heated oven for 25-30 minutes (although I didn't need quite this long for mine, more of 15-20 minutes)
• When they're done set them aside to cool slightly and cut into squares and you're ready to go!

There you should have your perfect brownies - even if they don't look perfect I bet they taste it! Let me know if you decide to use this recipe as I'd love to see how they turn out or if you have a favourite chocolate brownie recipe, I wouldn't say no to making some more!

Abigail x

Primark Haul - Spring 2015

A couple of weeks ago now I popped into Primark to see their Spring collection. I'd watched a lot of Primark hauls before (and after) going and saw they have so many nice things at the moment. Although in the store I went to it wasn't as good as I'd hoped because it's only a small store in a town, but I did manage to pick up a few things which I liked so I thought I'd share them with you.

This jumper is the first thing I picked up from these and I have to say I think it has to be the cosiest jumper I own. I did buy it in two sizes too big for me, not only because who doesn't love a baggy jumper? But also because it was in the sale for just £3 and it was the smallest size I could find, and I just couldn't leave without it. Next up is this black vest top with a scalloped edge all the way around with the shape of flowers cut out from each 'scallop' shape. I remember when these scallop vests came into fashion quite a few years ago now and I never managed to get my hands on one, then I think they just disappeared, or maybe I've just not seen any around but I really love this style and thought it'd be great for the spring/summer weather. I actually went into Primark looking for this blouse (as well as other things I didn't manage to find) and this is the only colour I could find it in although I was originally after it in white but nevertheless I actually really love this colour, it's a kind of mint green and quite sheer. I like the zip detail on the front and how it could either be worn just as a blouse or with the zip undone and a bandeau or vest underneath. The final item I purchased from Primark was this gorgeous black hand bag. I've been in the need for a hand bag as the one I'm currently using is getting a bit knackered and when I saw that it was just £12 and looked so much more expensive I just had to buy it. I have however since then had to return the bag as there was a problem with the zip, I'm not sure if it's the kind of zip they used with this bag as it was rough and hard to open and close or whether it was just the one I picked up.

Have you managed to find any great pieces for Spring lately?

Abigail x

Etsy Wishlist

I'm sure you've all heard of Etsy, but incase you haven't it's a website which you can have your own account or even business on. Where you can sell your handmade and vintage items and gifts. I'll hopefully be selling some of my own handmade gifts on there soon so keep your eyes peeled for that, but as I was browsing on there the other day I thought I'd create a little wishlist.

Above The Knuckle Rings - Jewellery is one of the most popular things on Etsy, in my opinion at least, so I had to pick out at least one piece to show you. I love these above the knuckle rings and you get 8 in a pack which I think is a lot compared to what you usually see in high street stores.

Mason Jar Light - If you could see my room you'd know that I probably have some kind of light obsession, from fairy lights around my fire place to candles and even electronic candles. And this mason jar light has to be next on my wishlist!

Dip Dyed Gift Tags - I've actually started making my own gift tags recently but when I saw these I thought it was such a good idea to dip-dye them and it means that every single one will be unique too.

Moleskine Notebook - I'm all about notebooks lately, whether they're for jotting down blogging ideas, ideas for projects at uni or just general to-do lists - or maybe even my secret plan to conquer the world....

Sweater Weather Is Better Weather Jumper - Let's face it, everyone's dying for Spring/Summer weather to hurry up at the moment but we all know sweater weather is better weather, right?


What are your favourite finds on Etsy?


Abigail x

Pinterest Post #12 - Easter

As you all probably know, pinterest is full of things to make and bake and with it coming up to Easter this weekend I thought I'd share with you a few Easter ideas and treats. You can find more that I've pinned on my Easter pinterest board, but here are my top five.

Candles in Egg Shells - This looks like such a good idea especially for Easter, painting the egg shells also could make a cute display of different colours as a centerpiece for an Easter meal.

Easter Chick Cupcakes - I love baking but I don't think I'd have the patience to be able to make something this detailed, it almost looks too good to eat though!

Easter Bunny Cake - Now this is my kind of cake, whoever thought of this design for a cake is just pure genius. I'd love to try and bake this and I think children would be pretty entertained with this too.

Pom-Pom Easter Bunny - This could be a cute Easter gift to give someone who maybe doesn't like/or want chocolate for Easter, plus it's handmade which is also nice to give.

Bird's Nest Bites - These look much easier to make, and I love the cuteness of them looking so much like bird nests. Plus you don't actually need to bake them which makes them easier and quicker too.

What are your Easter plans?

Abigail x

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