Winter Wishlist 2015 #BEDN

A few weeks ago I saw Rosalilium's 100 Things to Do in Autumn post and loved the idea of it. Even though autumn is my favourite season, it was a bit late to really enjoy anything in the blog post, so I sat down and made a Winter Wishlist. Just the other day Rosalilium published her 100 Things to Do This Christmas post, which you can check out here. I'm sure there will be some cross over of ideas but here are some of the things I want to do this winter and Christmas!

1. Make homemade gingerbread lattes

2. Go to carolling service

3. Knit some decorations

4. Decorate gingerbread houses with friends

5. Take pictures if it snows

6. Go to a Christmas Market

7. Make pine cone Christmas tree decorations

8. Make German Christmas cookies

9. Watch Christmas DVDs

10. Donate to charity (St, Vincent de Paul Giving Tree or a shoebox appeal or donate canned foods)

11. Make homemade Baileys

12. Make Christmas jumper

13. Celebrate 10 year anniversary with my boyfriend

14. Make a snowman if it snows

15. Board game night in

16. Christmas nail art ideas

17. Watch Late Late Toy Show

18. Cosy fireside night in knitting

19. Christmas house warming party

20. Make Christmas CD and playlist

21. Go ice skating

22. Make gingerbread cupcakes

23. DIY Snowflake mobile

24. Watch classic Christmas film in cinema if there is special showing

25. Have fun enjoying time with friends and family

26. Make a nice Christmas Day dessert

27. Do a Photo Every Day challenge for a month

28. Light some cosy seasonal candles

29. Send Christmas cards to friends

30. Read some festive books!

I'm sure I could go on and on, but I'd love to concentrate on these. I'm excited now to have things to look forward to doing! I've made a Pinterest board which you can see below, with some links to ideas for the stuff listed above. Let me know what you're looking forward to doing this winter in comments below!

Follow Breige's board Winter Wishlist 2015 on Pinterest.

Baking with Pinterest UK at Loaf, Birmingham

A few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of opening up my email and seeing I had received one from Pinterest UK! It was an invitation to join them in a bread making event with Loaf in Birmingham. I was so excited to receive this invitation that I replied saying ‘Of course!’. The aim was to learn how to make sourdough bread, a course that Loaf offers as a weekend course but was condensed to a few hours for us. This meant that some of the work was done by Loaf or the morning Pinterest event for us in the afternoon, in order to get it all done on time. We started with the rye sourdough, which we made and then topped with seeds and let them rise in their tins for a few hours. Here was my end result.

 

While we waited for the rye sourdough to rise, we were shown some techniques by Tom and Andy, bakers at Loaf. We were shown 2 ways to knead bread and got to practice them by making a wheat sourdough. Tom then showed us how to shape that dough into different bread shapes, from a simple dinner roll to a baguette. We then got to make a pita bread (very simple and cooks in only a few minutes!) and got to eat our pita with hummus and fresh salad. We also got to make delicious pizzas using the dough too. We had quite the feast!

 

 

Lastly, we had a friendly competition to make a fougasse. We were allowed to pick from a number of herbs and spices to make our own combination. I went with poppy seeds, sesame seeds and cumin. You cut the bread into pretty patterns, add the flavourings and bake. I came second in the competition, I was very proud at how well mine looked! I even managed, somehow, to keep it in tact until I got home so I could show my boyfriend. You have no idea how hard that was as it looked so so good!

At the end of the day, we got to go home with our rye sourdough and some sourdough starter too. I haven’t had the chance to use them yet (as I have barely been at home these past few weeks!) but I think I might bust them out this weekend and make something nice!

Not sure if I’ll be able to get them as nice as these loaves though!

Thank you to Pinterest UK for inviting me and for all at Loaf for their expertise and patience. I had a wonderful time.

My Frills Wishlist

So Frillseeker launched last Friday. What is Frillseeker you ask? Well, it’s the brainchild of Kirstie McDermott (co-founder of a Beaut.ie), a site for ‘Accessories, lipstick and really brilliant cushions’. For the little frills in your life that bring you big thrills. Everyone has those little (and big) things that brighten up their life. For me, I love nail polishes, blushers, mascaras, mugs, pretty cushions, bird prints and some 50s glam. In honour of Frillseeker launching, I’ve decided to put together a list of some frills I’ve been lusting after. Do I really need them? No. But would my life be more pretty with them in it? You betcha!

Up first is something flamingo, which if you read my last post you’d know I love me some flamingos! I’ve been lusting after this Kate Spade flamingo iPhone case for a while, it’s soooo pretty! I love loads of Kate Spade things, they are super cute.

Speaking of super cute, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Vendula London bags. I have a bag, wallet and two iPhone cases and I always get compliments on my bag (I have the crossbody bag version of this print). I’ve been wanting this one for ages, I love the print and the size of the bag. Drool!

                         

One thing I’ve lusted after for years is Tatty Devine jewellery, ever since seeing it featured in Elle Girl UK magazine as a teenager. I’m not a huge jewellery wearer but there’s something about this jewellery that stands out. I love these two pieces (fox brooch and Willow necklace), I think they are cute but not too loud (I know Kirstie is a massive fan of Tatty Devine statement necklaces, something I don’t think I’d be able to pull off!)

                                   

Sunglasses are one of my favourite frills and at the moment I have a big thing about cat eye sunglasses. The first pair are from ASOS, classic black that go with everything. The second pair are Kitty Shades from Nasty Gal, I love the bold, bright pink!

                

While I’m not a massive fan of Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Caroll (I’ve never read it!), I just adore this brooch by House of Ismay on Etsy. While this one is no longer available, she has loads of different pieces made with real pages of books, such a unique idea. And this book available from Plastic Land, look how pretty it is!! I’d be afraid that if I owned it, I’d stare at the cover instead of reading it!

                     

Sticking with books and Etsy, if I had this pin by Bean Forest, I would wear it as a badge of honour. I think if I was given a chance at a spree in a clothes shop or a book shop, I’d hands down pick a book shop! And this Ms Pac Man necklace from Kittnen is so cute, I love me some nerdy gamer chic!

                   

On to some sweet treats now, these lipbalms by Korean brand It’s Skin are just to die for. TO DIE FOR! They look like macaroons!! They make me squeal with delight! And on the right we have some Tunnocks Teacake coasters by Gillian Kyle. I’ve wanted this print for a while, she has all sorts on her website featuring this print, from cushions to bags to t-shirts.

         

Last but certainly not least are these little home decor pieces. On the left is a cushion featuring an old map of Ireland, from the Etsy site My Bearded Pigeon. There’s loads of other map prints, perfect for cartography nerds. And finally this little wall art from Etsy store Monkeymindesign is just adorable and reminds me that I need to get some wall art for my house.

I could go on and on, but I’ll spare you! There’s loads more over on my Pinterest board.  I might do another post later in the week for my favourite personal frills, things I own that I love. However until then, pop over to Frillseeker to see all the latest new fashion and beauty frills and much, much more.

Simple Bird Magnets

I’ve wanted to try this for ages since I first pinned it on Pinterest (unfortunately I can’t find the original source for that pin, if you know it please let me know!). I pinned it, collected some rocks and then completely forgot about it! Until one day I was feeling crafty and I decided I’d give it a go. I decided to turn them into magnets as I badly needed some new ones!

Making them was easy, just paint on your base colour of choice until it is opaque. Wait until dry. Then using a smaller brush, paint on your designs. Once dry, cover with a coat of varnish (if you want) and then attach the magnets (make sure you attach them correctly, that the side you have facing out will attach to your fridge properly) with a hot glue gun. Once dry you are free to use them! You can of course paint on different animals, I just really like owls.

These are my favourites!

Things I Like: #3 Bunting

It’s been over a year since I did one of these posts! I don’t know what it is, but I just adore bunting! I love when it’s put up around the town (usually for St. Patrick’s Day), I feel it just perks the place up. Lately I’ve been a bit bunting obsessed! Perhaps it’s because Queen Elizabeth’s Jubilee is around the corner and I keep seeing it featured in magazines! Whatever it is, I found some of my favourite bunting items from the interwebs!

This ADORABLE cake bunting is from Like Mam Used To Bake. I think I actually squealed with delight when I first saw it! If you go to to the post (click here), you’ll find a step by step guide to making your own. 

I think these nails are possibly the cutest I’ve ever seen. They come from Japanese blog hokuri, where there’s loads more nail photos (from what I can gather it’s actually a salon). It could be possibly to recreate them with some DIY Nail Art Stickers by The Beauty Department and a glitter nail art pen.

Next is this super fun bunting cushion from Debenhams. I think I might try recreate my own with some fabric scraps.

Of course, I couldn’t do a post about bunting without actually showing some proper bunting! Here’s a DIY post from Chez Larrson for making your own paper bunting.

If paper bunting is not for you and you’d like some reusable fabric bunting, Decor It Yourself on Threadbanger has this perfect tutorial for you!

Things I Like: #1 Cute Animal Pictures

Things I Like: #2 Smell

30 Days of Pinterest: A Look Back

Phew, it’s over! What a month. It’s a pity I got sick at the beginning as my motivation dropped a bit due to that. And there were times I thought I wouldn’t finish it but I’m glad I did! It’s the first challenge I’ve finished on time and it’s helped me in a number of ways. First off, it was good to write every day, I hope I’ll be more motivated to keep posting on a regular basis. Secondly, it was good to be a bit creative and to try new things. I enjoyed actually putting pins to use and will continue to do so.

The thing I enjoyed most was probably doing my nails. I used to have really short ones (due to biting) up until a few years ago. I’m only getting used to having long nails now!

I will probably do some more challenges, in fact this month I’m having a ‘Meatless May’, a month of no meat. It’s for my 25 Before 25 Challenge. I won’t be posting it about every day but I might do a few updates and recipes along the way. Two days in and so far I’m not missing meat. Here’s hoping there’s no BBQs this month!

Thanks to everyone who read and commented on my posts during the 30 Days of Pinterest. Whenever I felt like giving up and not posting something, I thought of all of you and it kept me going. So thanks again!

Have you ever done a challenge on your blog? Let me know and I might take inspiration for it next time I decide to do one!

30 Days of Pinterest: Day 30

Woo! Day 30. I managed to stick with it! I wanted to try today’s methods out on my own kitchen but fortunately it was never too dirty. So when I got the chance to clean someone else’s, I decided I’d try some of the baking soda tips I'd read here and here.

This is what the cooker hob looked like before.

When mixing up the baking soda, I added just enough water to make a thick paste. Then I spread on the hob and left for about 15 minutes before scrubbing off. This was the results!

Now, it does require some elbow grease to get the tough parts off but this has honestly worked better than any other products I’ve used. So when I moved onto cleaning the shower, I decided to try it there. Instead of making a paste, a just sprinkled the baking soda in the shower and scrubbed with a just damp sponge. This was a half way through shot, the right side you can see is nice and clean!

I also used it to unblock the drain, put the baking soda down the drain and followed with some vinegar. The result is a fizzing that helps unclog the drain. I also used it in the sink as well. I still have some cleaning to do so I’m sure I’ll find some more uses for it!

A nice side by side picture!

30 Days of Pinterest: Day 29

I really wasn’t in much of a mood to do anything today but figured I couldn’t give up, what with being so close to the end! I decided to look through my Nails board as it seems like doing my nails is something I’ve really enjoyed from this challenge.

So I remembered I got some sponges in my Essence Marble Mania Nail Art Kit and decided to give some gradient colouring a go. It was the best results but with some practice I think I’d get to like it! I got the inspiration from this website.

A rainbow effect,didn’t really go as planned though!

A gradient pink look. First finger on the left I used the sponge with the nail polish freshly loaded, the other two fingers I didn’t reapply the polish so it looked much lighter and speckledy. Which I liked. In hindsight,I should have put the middle shade on top.

I decided to try it with glitter. I think I like this one the best.

It was interesting, I think I would try it again but with a make up sponge like in the original pin. I think because it’s a ‘denser’ sponge or something it would be better. Have you ever tried it?

30 Days of Pinterest: Day 28

Today I knew I wanted to bake. And I knew I wanted to use up the bananas I had. I have two recipes pins. The first is by The Novice Chef Blog with her Banana Dream Cake. The second is by The Lady Behind the Curtain with her Caramel Banana Cake Roll. Both look and sound so delicious but when I looked at the ingredients and the methods, I decided I didn’t have some the ingredients and didn’t fancy going to get them. So I decided to make my own cake!

Banana and Butterscotch Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup of plain flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon baking soda

Butterscotch sauce (or caramel sauce)

Frosting

220g Philadephia or any cream cheese, softened

55g butter, softened

125g Icing sugar

Vanilla Essence

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F). In a bowl, whisk the eggs together for about 5 minutes until frothy. Add the sugar and whisk until incorporated.

2. Add the oil and stir to mix. Add the mashed bananas and mix until smooth.

3. Sift in the flour, baking powder and baking soda in 2 or 3 step, folding in with a spatula or wooden spoon until mixed. Add to two pre-greased baking tins and bake for about 10-13 minutes, until the centre is cooked.

4. Allow to cook in to pan for 5 minutes until transferring to cool on a wire rack.

5. To make the icing, mix the cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add a few drops of vanilla essence and mix in. Finally sift in the icing sugar in steps, stirring with a wooden spoon or spatula to incorporate.

6. To decorate, sandwich the cakes together with some icing (squeeze some butterscotch sauce on the icing before sandwiches together)  and then ice the top of the cake. Decorate with sprinkles (I used caramel flavoured ones) or some slices of dried bananas if you like. You can squeeze some more butterscotch sauce on the top if you like.

Ok, I have no pictures at the moment as I’m rushing to put this together, clean the house, finish eating dinner, get ready for the night and go out! But I will cake pictures tomorrow and edit!

The cake was yummy, not as dense as banana bread but more airy. The icing is slightly tart but it suits the cake and the butterscotch sauce as a bit of more sweetness to the cake. I'd definitely make this again!

Sprinkles close up!

30 Days of Pinterest: Day 27

We’re so close to the end of this 30 Days project! I started following Sorted Foods in Pinterest recently and when they pinned this recipe for a homemade chicken burger, I knew I had to make it before the week was over! I made one for my boyfriend the way it’s described in the video but the one I made for myself was the regular way with egg and flour.

Homemade Chicken Burgers (2 different methods)

Ingredients

Chicken breasts

Red or green pesto (I used green as I had it on hand but in the original recipe they use red) [this is only for pesto burger]

1 bowl with flour in it and 1 other bowl with a whisked egg in it [for the non-pesto ‘classic’ burger]

Breadcrumbs

Salt, pepper and any other seasoning you’d like

Oil

Method

1. Place the chicken breast between two pieces of cling film. Using your palm or a rolling pin, flatten on the breast until it is half the original thickness (be careful though because if you are too heavy handed, you will tear holes through the meat).

2. For the pesto burger: Using your hands (or a spoon but hands are better) coat both sides of the chicken breast with pesto. Coat evenly with breadcrumbs. Season with a bit of salt and pepper (I also used a small sprinkling of chilli flakes).

3. For the classic burger: Dip and coat the breast evenly in the flour bowl. Then dig and coat evenly in the egg bowl before transferring to the breadcrumb bowl where you will, yes you guessed right, dip and coat evenly! Season with salt, pepper and any other seasoning of your choice.

4. Place a frying on the heat and add a glug of oil. When the pan is hot enough, add the chicken breast. I think a medium-high heat is best here, not too high though as you might burn the chicken). When that side is nice and golden, flip over and cook the other side. Cook until it has cooked through entirely (I cut mine in half as I wanted to ensure it was cooked properly inside).

5. Serve whichever you want to! With a burger bun, between some nice bread or just on it’s own would be perfectly fine. I served mine with some fresh French Loaf with Edam cheese and ketchup, along with creamy cheese potatoes and sweet corn.

30 Days of Pinterest: Day 26

I own stacks of make up. LOADS. I love it, but I don’t wear a huge amount of it. In fact, I rarely use it. I don’t really during the day (unless I’m feeling particularly crap about myself then I might lash some on). Even when going out I tend to favour a toned down look.

I also love looking at make up tutorials on YouTube. At times I’ve tried them out but I’m a bit rubbish at it. None the less, I scoured through some of my favourite beauty gurus on YouTube the other day and went on a pinning spree. Today I decided to try out a smokey day time look by Ask Me Makeup. I love all the looks Amy does and I wish she would post more often as the way she films is stunning.

Anyway, here’s my take on that look!

Full face shot with flash

Close up of eye with flash

Close up with no flash

Close up with no flash

No flash

I was impressed with the results. When I first put it on, I thought the black liner was a bit harsh but once blended it’s not so bad. I think a brown would be better for a day time look though. It’s subtle but adds a bit of definition which I like. I also think this look would be easy to bring to an evening look by adding some dramatic liquid liner.

Here’s how to do it!

1. As this is a smokey look, I’d suggest doing your eyes first before doing your base, it will help at the end as it can get messy and you won’t have to fix your face.

2. Apply an off white to the entire lid of the eyes. Then apply an eyeshadow base

3. Apply the same off-white just below the eyebrows (1).

4. Apply a light taupe (or a colour a shade or two darker than your natural skin tone) to the crease and on the eyebrow bone (2). Blend well. This step is to add slight definition to the eyes without adding too much colour.

5. Take a nude shimmer of your choice and apply it evenly to the entire lid (3)

6. Using a soft black (or brown) eye pencil, run along your lash line and lower lash line (4). Depending on how dramatic you want the look, you can make the line as thick or as thin as you like. In the video the lower waterline is also lined but I don’t like doing that on myself. Smudge the line outwards with a flat angled brush or a cotton bud to take away any harsh lines. Then to set the liner, run a small bit of matt black along the line.

7. Take the same nude shimmer and run it from the inner corner of your eye to about 3/4 of the way out (so just below the number 2 in the picture) and blend in. This will help take the a bit of the edge of the eye liner and make it blend in a bit more. Do the same with the lower lash line.

8. Using a dark brown, bring it from the outer corner of the eye (where your liner ends) up to the crease and blend inwards for about 1/4 of the eye (5). Make sure it is blended well.

9. Finish your eyes by curling the lashes and applying 1 or 2 layers of mascara (I used black but again I think brown would be good for day time).

10. Apply your base, concealer, a natural blusher and slick neutral lip balm or lip gloss.

And you’re done! And here’s a list of products for anyone interested.

Base- No.7 Beautiful Skin BB Cream in Fair for Normal/Oily Skin

Concealer- Soap and Glory Kick Ass Concealer in Light

Eyeshadow Primer- Catrice Stay On

Off White Shadow (1)- Essence Soft Matt Eyeshadow in 01 Velvet Passion

Taupe Colour (2)- No.7 Aniversary Eye Trio Fabulous 40s (light brown shade)

Nude Shimmer (3)- Sleek iDivine Bad Girl Palette (2nd shade on the top left)

Eyeliner (4)- Opia Eyeliner in Black (Penney’s/Primark)

Matt Black Eyeshadow (4)- MUA in Shade 20 Matt

Darker Brown (5)- No. 7 Anniversary Eye Trio Fabulous 40s (darker brown shade)

Mascara- Maybelline Full n Soft in Black

Blusher- Maybelline Dream Touch Blush in the Peachy Shade (can’t seem to find a shade name or number!)

Highlighter- Benefit High Beam

Bronzer- Essence Bronzing Compact Powder Matt in 02 Love to Be Matt (used to contour a bit)

Lip Gloss- Bourjois Rose Exclusif in 01 (this one changes colour due to the pH of you lips)

30 Days of Pinterest- Day 25

The other day I picked up the Essence Marble Mania Nail Art kit. It contains 1 nail art brush (just what I need!), 2 sponges and 2 wooden sticks. The wooden sticks are used for water marbling nail polish. It’s something I’ve wanted to try for a while and had pinned from Hey, Nice Nails blog. And here’s the results!

Left hand

Right hand

I think it’s a fun idea, I wanted to try out some new colours I had bought during the week so I stuck with a neon theme (instead of trying the pastels again!). The results are very ‘Big Fat Gypsy Wedding’ish! I would try it again but with different colours. Here’s how I did it.

1. Fill a glass or bowl with warm or room temperature water (make sure it’s not too cold or else the nail varnish will seize a bit and it won’t work).

2. Prepare your nails with a base coat that is opaque (I used two thin layers of white but you can use another colour. Though I think white is best as it’s so neutral). It’ll give a better result, help the pattern come out clearer.

3. Tape around your nails (sides and above the cuticles). This will help make clean up a lot easier.

4. Once your ready, open the lids to all the polishes you want to use. It’s better to have all the lids open so you can work faster.

5. Drop the colours in the order you wish in concentric circles (so like creating ripples with a stone in a pond). I used 5 colours but you can use less and repeat a few times. Using the stick (or toothpicks), drag it through the polish to create swirls and designs.

6. Place your nail on top of the water, making sure it’s completely submerged. Wait for 10-20 seconds for the polish to dry (blowing in it will make it happen faster).

7. Using the stick, drag it around the outline of your fingernail to gather it all up (once the polish is dry, it will have the same sort of consistency as that manky milk skin you get when you overheat milk). Take your nail out of the water.

8. Repeat for all the nails. Once dry, remove the tape and top with a topcoat. Clean up around nails with nail varnish remover.

These are my favourites

 

Here’s the colours I used, in order of what I dropped in first.

Missguided Summer Splash Nail Polish in MissChievious

Essence Colour & Go in Lime Up!

Essence Colour & Go in C’est La Vie!

La Femme Beauty in Ultra Yellow

No. 7 Stay Perfect in Me! Me! Me!

Top coat- Sally Hansen Insta-Dri