Pistachio and Vanilla Cake

Today is not only Mother’s Day but my Grandma’s birthday too, which of course meant cake – and an impressive one at that! After scouring the internet in search of the perfect recipe I found this one here from the BBC Good Food website which intrigued me for sure. Now when it comes to special occasions, I always like to push the boat out on the flavour and look of the cake and this one definitely ticked all the boxes - scrumptious, light and extremely inviting. The flavour of this is pistachio - as you can probably tell from the title ;) - and vanilla with a sweet cream cheese filling which is perfect for the warmer weather we've been having.

Beauty Buying Tips

As many of you know, there are beauty blogger chats every week on Twitter using the hashtag '#BBloggers'. There's a different topic every time and anyone can join in! It's so great as you can talk to other beauty lovers and bloggers about different products and exchange makeup tips and tricks - uber uber useful indeed! 

The Key To Happiness

Lately, I've been thinking that I want to put a personal spin to my blog, so have come up with a new, weekly feature in the form of a mini series. I haven't really given it a specific name and it's basically going to be on all the little things I have thoughts on - or 'wonder' about - and want to share with the world - a little bit like last Friday's SprinkleofGlitter inspired motivational post - which doesn't necessarily relate to the theme of my blog. This is the first post and I hope to at least carry it on for a couple of months, so here we go. 

I'm in the last year of my A Levels and with under 3 months to go until my last exam, I am a little stressed to say the least. Even though I've been a model student *cough* this year and even started to revise around Christmas time, I'm finding it incredibly difficult to comprehend how little time I have left and the volume of revision I still have left to do - absolutely petrifying - and as a result I find myself wishing away the days until it's finally all over and behind me. The worst bit is, if I'm not careful I'm going to be old and grey before I know it without appreciating my life as it is now and all the people around me. 

Note: Appreciate everyday as it could be your last (deep but true)! 

Classic Victoria Sandwich

The Victoria Sandwich is a classic in cake land and is actually pretty easy-peasy to make. The ingredients are very similar to those which I used in my 'Mini Lemon Sponges' Recipe - which a lot of people seemed to enjoy (most viewed post and all that) - just in bigger quantities! I've made this version the real traditional way so haven't put any butter icing in the middle, just jam, which definitely makes for a lighter cake (and a little healthier)! The method I'm about to give, produces a wonderfully light cake as a result which is perfect with a hot cup of tea or a hot beverage of your choice! Make sure to check the photos below the method for clarification along the way - enjoy!

Motivation is Key

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE - It's nearly the weekend and that calls for a massive sigh of relief, *phew*!  I thought I'd try a different sort of post today on the topic of 'motivation'. It's something I can sometimes struggle with but once you know tips on how to spur yourself on, you're laughing. So here we go.

Source

No matter what task you set yourself upon, it will take will power and motivation to follow through and make something of it. It can be all too easy to give up and think 'I will do it tommorow' or 'that can wait' but with this, you'll never achieve your up most goals. Motivation is always key. As the quotation goes, 'Never leave that 'till tomorrow which you can do today'. 

The Spring Edit

In the UK it seems as though Spring has well and truely arrived, which can only mean two things - pastels and a lighter base (oh and Easter is just around the corner)! At this time of year I love to spice it up and opt for a different range of products to coat my face in to give me a more natural look. The products featured above are just some of my must-have products I include in my daily makeup routine at the moment and I love them.

The Healthy Pancake

I love pancakes - who doesn’t - and am always interested in new tasty recipes and giving them a whirl, so when I stumbled across this one on Bloglovin, I just had to give it a go. It's not your everyday pancake mix due to there being no flour but oatmeal instead (I just used standard porridge oats) and oh-my it's a good find.

Topshop Nails

I, like most, love my nails in pristine condition and cannot stand it when nail polishes don't live up to my expectations or standards. Now when I say 'standards', I mean that the polish has to feel nice on my nails, dry reasonably quickly, have good durability and not require a topcoat - too much phaf. Pretty simple really. I wrote a review on Tanya Burr's nail polish a couple of weeks ago and although I was in love with the colours, I wasn't quite so on how long they took to dry. This Topshop one however, seems to be perfect. 

Champagne Afternoon Tea || The Dorchester

Our trip to the Dorchester for Champagne Afternoon Tea had been long in the waiting as we booked it over 3 months ago now. My sister and I thought that it would be really nice to take my mum for afternoon tea as a late birthday present and a celebration of her getting a new job, and what better way to celebrate than at the Dorchester. We opted for the 'Balcony Vintage' option which was perfect. The sun was streaming through the windows and the waiter and waitress were incredibly lovely, all we needed was a glass of champagne *que le waiter*.

Beauty/Fashion Wishlist

(Left - right, Top: NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in 'Mount Blanc', 'Honey' by Marc Jacobs Perfume, SEPHORA Hourlass Ambient Lighting Blush in 'Ethereal Glow', Escentric Molecules 'Molecule 01'. Bottom: Nike Free Run Trainers, IPhone 5s, ZOEVA Rose Golden Luxury Set)

I always find myself with a huge list of beauty products and fashion items that I so desperately desire and therefore am always on the countdown to payday. At the moment, the picture above shows what's at the very top of that extensive list, with the NARS Sheer Glow Foundation in prime position.

What's In My Makeup Bag

I always love having a nosey at what others have in their makeup bags and thought that I'd share the contence (hardly) of mine - well my essentials at least! I think it's interesting to see what people are loving and opens a whole aray of new products to me that I really should be giving a try. Some of these products here are featured in my most recent'Beauty Haul Post' which I posted at the weekend and have so far been really impressed by. So where to start? Lets go straight in at the deep end and chat about foundation.

Shrove Tuesday || Pancake Tower Galore

IT'S PANCAKE DAY - only one of the best days of the year. I mean, who doesn't love an excuse to stuff their faces full of pancakes dripping with maple syrup? Not me that's for sure! As a family we always used to make the crepe pancakes (really thin) from scratch (of course) but a couple of months ago that all changed when I came across an American pancake recipe. Now when it comes to American pancakes, I'm not really that big of a fan but these homemade ones are incredible - especially after being doused in lashings of maple syrup and banana - it creates a mouth sensation! 

Beauty Haul

As many of you may know, Boots have been offering a mix 'n' match 3 for 2 on most of their products recently and I just had to take advantage of this (naturally)! This offer came just at the right time as I have been wanting to purchase a large number of products for weeks, even months now and this was the perfect opportunity to get what I wanted and save some pennies in the process. Some of the products featured in this haul, although new/recent discoveries, have already made it into my makeup bag, beauty must haves (expect a post on this in a few days time - yay) and beauty routine - a real win! This haul features all the products that I've bought over the last couple of weeks and I hope to do an in-depth review of my favourites sometime soon! On with the haul then.