Sorry :(

As you may have noticed I haven't been posting anything recently. This is due to a number of things.
1) I have had "The Virus" that is going around and haven't been able to do anything and have had to be in bed for most of the time.
2) I have been in and dated with work and I just haven't had the time to do anything! (not even shop!).

Hopefully over the next few weeks I will be able to get back into doing more blog posts for you guys!

Have a lovely day!

Hair tricks

I went out the other night and I realised I left my backcombing brush at my friends house, I was planning on having my hair in a slicked back pony tail with a strong red lip as the statement piece. I needed my backcombing brush to slick back my fly aways (a necessity!). I  looked all around my bathroom for something else to use and I came across an old toothbrush I gave to my friend to use once.

This worked AMAZINGLY! 

It does the exact same thing as the backcombing brush and with a spritz of hair spray of a coating of gel I was ready to go out without any flyaways distracting from the look.

Have a lovely day!
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Haul #1

I went shopping today and I made a few cheeky purchases...here are some pictures of what I got!

My main purchases

The first shop I went into was Zara, I got 3 items of clothing here

Black Jumper

The first was an oversized Black jumper, I'm not sure what is written on the jumper but I just got it to bum around in during the day at home. This jumper was reduced from £22.99 to £5.99

T-shirt Dress

The next thing I got was a T-shirt dress, it is a silky material at the front and the back is just a plain black cotton material. This dress was £19.99  to £9.99

The last clothing purchase I got was a simple T-shirs, it was the only item of clothing I got which wasn't in the sale. 

T-shirt

T-shirt Pattern

The T-shirt has a red and black Yin and Yang symbol on the front, it has a slightly rubbery feel to it. the sleeves are folded up at the top which adds a more feminine feel to it. This was £15.99, I think it was in the "new items" department in Zara. 

I went to Boots next on the hunt for a new round barrel brush. I got a barrel brush and a Scrunchie hair tie for my hair. 

Hair Brush

Hair Brush Packaging

             The brush is from Goody, I got it because it had a mixture of bristles. The hair brush is good and ideal for thick hair because it actually gets through it! I use this hairbrush when I blow-dry my hair, the brush allows me to get a lovely curl in the tips of my hair, which I love as it adds more texture to my hair. £12.99


Next up I got a Scrunchie, it is black velvet from Boots it was around £4.99. I really like this Scrunchie because it can give you a whole different style to your look and possibly make it more vintage or 'indie'.

Scrunchie

Scrunchie in Hair

Last up was Waterstone's (book store). I needed a new book to read and I thought I would read The Notebook, by Nicholas Sparks. I decided to read this because I watched the movie the other day and I thought it would be a very cute read. £7.99

The Notebook

Have a lovely day

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Blow-drying your hair

I have medium length, thick brunet hair. I have layers in my hair to make my hair lighter around my face, if I let my hair dry naturally it has a slight wave to it. I like my hair when it is natural but sometimes I want a change so I will either curl it or straighten it. At the moment I have been straightening it with my GDH's...I know these are good straighteners, but lets be honest heat isn't the best thing for your hair. I was browsing Youtube and the internet and I came across videos and posts about blow-drying your hair straight. I thought it was worth a try and I am hooked! I love how you can make your hair pin straight or have little curls at the ends of your hair.

Here are 2 Videos I watched which gave me the inspiration;

and.....

Oreo Cookies

Today the weather was awful and there was no way I was going to venture outside in the rain. Instead I thought it would be perfect to make cookies for the family. Here is what I made;

Oreo Cookies:
cooks 18-24 cookies

Ingredients -

• 2 sticks unsalted butter.
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar.
• 1 cup sugar.
• 2 large eggs.
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract.
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour.
• 1tsp salt.
• 1tsp baking soda.
• 10-12 oz chocolate chips.
• 1 pkg Oreo Cookies.

Dry Ingredients

Mixing dry and wet ingredients

Instructions -

Cookie Dough

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Add butter and sugars to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and the vanilla and beat until combined. 
3. In a large bowl, sift the flour, salt and baking soda with a wire whisk until combined. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add the chocolate chips and mix.
4. Use an ice cream scoop to place a scoop of cookie dough on top of an Oreo cookie. Place another scoop on the bottom of the Oreo. Seal the edges together by pressing and cupping the dough in hand until the Oreo is completely enclosed. Shape into a thick patty. Repeat with remaining cookies and dough.
5. Place the stuffed cookies on the prepared baking sheet a couple of inches apart and bake for 11-15 minutes, until the cookies are cooked through. Let cool for 5 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack.

Oreo's coated in Cookie Dough

Cookies out of the oven

Cookie from the inside

Source: © 2012 The Picky Palate Cookbook by Jenny Flake

Wanelo

Today I came across a website I thought I should tell you about. The websites called Wanelo, Wanelo stands for "Want, Need, Love" is it an American website. It has loads of pictures of cool things from outfits to nail polishes to mens clothing, you can click on the pictures and you are then taken to the website the picture is from and you can buy the item in the picture. You can create your own "wish list" and you can also share the pictures with your friends. It uses the same concept as Pintrest etc.

Feel free to check it out! http://wanelo.com/trending

Have a lovely day
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Manicured Nails

Today I had some free time and my nail polish was chipping so I thought it would be the perfect excuse to treat myself to a new manicure. I don't have any time to get my nails done professionally during the week, which means I have to do it myself. Here is a step-by-step guide on how I do my nails.

Step 1:

I find it best to lay out all of my materials I will be using before I start doing my nails so then I can do everything in one go in front of the TV and no get distracted.

I start off by removing any previous nail polish from my nails with any nail polish remover I have at the time. At the moment I have Boots Clean off Nail Polish Remover, I use this with normal cotton pads. I then wash my hands with warm water to get rid of any residue left on my nails and hands and also to soften my cuticles.

Step 2:

I then file back my nails, they had to be short today as I have to play netball on Saturday. It is best to file your nails in the same direction every time to reduce the risk of damaging your nail.

Next I take the cuticle tool and push back my cuticles. I then use the reverse side of the cuticle tool to remove any dirt from underneath my nails (gross I know!). I now just massage some of my Crabtree & Evelyn hand cream. I let this settle and soak into my hands for a bit so it works best.

Step 3:

Now to start painting, I start off with my Essie base coat, only 1 coat is needed. The base coat is designed to strengthen your nails and also keep the nail varnish on your nails for longer.

Next is the colour, today I am using a light pink french manicure colour to keep it subtle. the colour is "Rimmel London French Manicure". I use 2 coats of this to make the colour slightly stronger.

Finally I top off the nails with Essie top coat, this seals off the nail and prevents the nail polish from pealing and means it stays on for longer.

This is my day to day nail look, because it doesn't look like I'm wearing nail polish but it protects my nails because in the winter they are very weak and peel easily.

Have a lovely day
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