The Best Cookies

This weekend it was a milestone birthday for my Granny and I was given the job of making a dessert. I was looking through my Tanya Burr Bakes recipe book and found Sated Nutella Cookies. They sounded absolutely delicious so I started making them immediately. Mine turned out pretty good and they seemed to go down very well at the party and taste amazing. They are thine and crunchy and very tasty...
Here is the recipe:-

Ingredients:
- 200g Unsalted Butter, Softened
- 300g Caster Sugar
- 1 Large Egg
- 325g Self-Raising Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Sea Salt flakes+ extra for sprinkling

Method:

1. Preheat Oven to 180 degrees Celsius/ 350 degrees Fahrenheit/ Gas Mark 4.
2. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
3. In a large mixing bowl cram together butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Mix in the egg until combined.
5. Gradually, add the flour ad salt and mix until a dough forms.
6. Add the Nutella by gently marbling through the dough using a spoon or palette knife.
7. Divide the dough using an ice cream scoop and place each ball spaced apart from each other on the baking tray.
8. gently squash them down with your fingers or a back of a spoon and sprinkle a little bit of salt on each.
9. Then cook for 12 minutes- or until golden brown.
10. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack and leave to cool and set for 20 minutes before eating.

I found that whilst my cookies were in the oven they were "inflating" so when this happened I simply opened up the oven had got the same spoon and gently pushed them back down again and that seemed to work.

What I Do Daily And Why

At the moment I am really attempting to keep healthy and improve my dance by gaining strength in necessary muscles. I am also, trying to get more flexible.

Daily Goals:

- 250 inner thigh lifts (per leg)
- 50 sit ups
- 50 scissor crunches
I do these to strengthen my core and legs. I make sure that it really burns so I know it is really working. I tend to do these to music as I find it motivates me and gives me a rhythm/beat.


-eating 7 of my 5 a day
So I use this as a way of eating healthier and not allowing myself to eat anything sweet/sugary unless I have had those, that doesn't mean that if I have all 7 I have too eat something sweet but it means that if I fancy something then I can.


- Stretching my back/splits
I do this everyday as I know it will help with my dance, I compiled lots of different videos of stretches on YouTube into one stretching routine which takes about 30 - 45 minutes.


Future plans:

- Starting some exercise classes at a gym nearby
So there are a few gyms nearby which offer some classes and I really want to try  a spin, abs, pilates and maybe yoga classes because those are supposed to offer great exercises for dancers.


I know it is the Easter holidays and Lent has been and gone but I find it easier if it not under a time limit. Also, the Easter Holidays means time off so I can go to more classes then I could before.
I hope you are all having a good Easter and I will see you soon...
Byee xx

Too Good To Be True

At the moment I feel like so many amazing and exciting opportunities are coming up to do with my dance. But, I feel as if something is going to happen and one thing or another won't people right/ how I imagined. This may sound quite gloomy and depressing but I can just feel that something might happen just because. Let me know if you have been in any situations like this. Sorry for not posting in while. See you soon xx

My Ever Growing Make-up Collection...

Recently I have been obsessed with watching and reading Make up Collection videos and posts. So a week or so ago I bought some bits for my collection and thought that I should post about mine. I just want to mention a MASSIVE thank you for 1000!!
Any make-up lover/user will understand that you need a brush for each part (right?)At the moment I stand my brushes in a Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream mini perfume box. These are the brushes I own:

 From the left:
- Real Techniques Contour Brush= I love this brush for contour because it makes it look really natural and not like a line because it blends any product really well. I also use this for blush because it covers a smaller area with a more natural pigmentation.
- Real Techniques Pointed Foundation Brush=I don't really use this brush at all because I find that the shape is not very useful/ helpful as it is a bit too flexible and fluffy for my liking
-Real Techniques Buffing Brush= I really like this brush for finishing off blending and blending my highlight.
- Real Techniques Detailer Brush= I use this for concealer to cover up blemishes because it means I am not covering an area around a blemish I am just covering the blemish on its own.
- Real Techniques Expert Face Brush= I use this for foundation and concealer that I put under my eyes and I really like it.
- Eco Tools Precision Brush= I used to use this for highlight but recently I have gone off because I prefer my Real Techniques Brush
- Eco Tools Eye Enhancing Duo Brush Set= Again, I used to use these but now I use the brush that comes with an eyeshadow palette so I don't really use these anymore.
- Seventeen Powder & Blush Brush= I don't use this one and never really did because I didn't like how long haired and fluffy the brush was so I felt that I wasn't in control.
- Boots Powder Brush= I use this everyday for my powder because it works.

I store my makeup on top of my dressing table in Zoella's Drawsome Awesome set she brought out last year around Christmas time. These draws are made up of two long draws and two short draws. In the top draw store my Eyeshadow, Mascara and Brow products:

- Maybelline Palette The Nudes= I really love the shades and pigmentation from this palette. I have this palette for a while and used it lots and I haven't hit pan on any of the shadows yet because you really don't need to much of each colour
- NYX professional Make-up Hot Singles Eye Shadow - Day Club= I really love this single eyeshadow it is orange/ copper glitter colour and looks gorgeous on the lid
- Rimmel Glam Eyes Quad Eye Shadow - Smokey Brown= I use these shadows for my dance shows as the pigmentation is great and strong.
- Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette= I absolutely love this palette and the brush that comes with it because it is just amazing pigmentation, amazing colours, amazing durability.  

 - Dior DIORSHOW mascara = If you were wondering why I have two it is because the smaller one was a free sample I got with a bag I bought and the bigger one was for Christmas. I love this mascara because it isn't clumpy or heavy but it is lengthening and volumising.
- Benefit They're Real Mascara= A lot of people really liked/ like this mascara but I am not a fan because I feel like it really clumps my lashes together and feels really heavy on my eyelashes.

- Tanya Burr Perfect Brows= I love this brow palette because it has my prefect eyebrow colour (pebble) and a beautiful highlighter. It has a brilliant mirror so you can make sure what your doing looks good. Also, this product is really good for the price as some people would play £15-£20 for a product like this.








The next draw down is a shorter one and houses all of my 'face makeup':

- Rimmel London Lasting Finish Concealer= I have fallen in love with this concealer, at first I thought it wasn't right but now I have worked out how to use it and love it. This is what I use to cover blemishes because it has really good high coverage.
- Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer= This product is pretty much the only concealer that matches my skin tone and really nicely covers my dark circles under my eyes.
- Max Factor Mastertouch Concealer= I am not really fan of this concealer because it is low coverage and doesn't match my skintone properly it is a bit dark/orange (it is in the palest shade by the way)



- Rimmel London Match Perfection Foundation= I love this foundation, I love the colour, coverage and formulation because it doesn't feel like you are wearing anything. I haven't used this much as I went off wearing foundation but in the future I think this will be my go to foundation.

 - Natural Collection Pressed Powder= This powder is really nice when you want a warmer glow to your skin because it is coloured so it makes your skin look a little darker/tanned.
- Collection Primed & Ready Setting Powder= I really like this powder because it stops you from looking shiny but doesn't change the colour of your skin. It helps to keep on your make-up







the short draw next to that one is the draw that contains my lip products:

From the left:
- Barry M Satin Superslick Lip Paint - Shade 171= The formulation of this lipstick is really creamy moisturising, I am saving it for night time parties and things because it is quite dark.
- Collection Lasting Colour Lipstick- Amethyst Shine= This is one of my favourite  lipsticks because the colour nice and natural but also enough to know you are wearing some lipstick. The formulation is creamy.
- Lush Lip Tint- Sunkissed= This tint smells amazing and feels really nice on the lips the only thing I would say is that when you put it on it feels quite hard.
-Natural Collection Sheer Natural Lipstick- Autumn Sunset= This lipstick was one of my firsts and is a beautiful nude. The formulation makes it pigmented but not too creamy and definitely stays on for the day.
- No7 Match Made Moisture Drench lipstick- Pink Crush= This lipstick I have only really used for stage productions because it is really pigmented and quite pink.
- NYX Professional Make-up Butter Gloss- Angel food cake= This is a beautiful nude lip gloss which you don't need to put on top of any other lip product. Plus it smells of vanilla or something (really nice).
- NYX Professional Slide On Lip Pencil- Nude Suede Shoes & NYX Professional Make-up Lip Lingerie Lipstick- Bedtime Flirt= These two products match really nicely and a perfect dupe of the Kylie lip kit COCO K.
- L'Oréal Paris Color Riche Exclusive Nudes - J Lo's=  For me this lipstick is a bit too pale but on darker skintones it would look amazing
- Topshop Lips in Anon & Innocent= I really love the creaminess of these lipsticks as they feel really nice on the lips, they also have really nice colouring.

In the final long drawer I have products like Bronzer, Blush, Contour and Highlighter:

- No7 Perfectly Bronzed Bronzing Pearls= I love this product because it is a very obvious Bronzer which makes it look really natural
- Collection Blush Block= Is a very natural blush as it has all sorts of shades in it which means you swirl them all together to get the perfect colour.
- Seventeen Blush Powder -Plum Powder= This is a very pigmented blush which is quite tricky to blend but that is really useful/ helpful for stage productions.

- Seventeen Define & Conquer Contour Kit - Fair= This is a really good contour as it is easier to layer up and blend. It has a very good mirror so when travelling that is really useful.

- Natural Collection Highlighter Stick- Rose Glow= This stick is really creamy and easy to use, it makes a beautiful slightly pink shimmer which is very easy to blend and layer.

- Bourjois Little Round Pot Eyeshadow -Generose 02= I know this is an eyeshadow but it also makes a beautiful highlighter and surprisingly stays on all day and looks really beautiful

 So that is everything, this post is not me bragging about what I have it is just showing you guys what I like and dislike so it might help you if you are wondering what products are worth buying or not so you don't have to waste your money. I hope you liked this post. Thank so much for 1000!!!! it means a lot.
byee xx

 

From Cardigan to Cushions!

At the weekend I found a cardigan which I used to love but sadly no longer fits me. So I decided to turn t into cushions. I first designed these cushions to be: 1. fleecy with a fur and heart and the 2. a knitted one with 3 buttons down the centre. If you want to recreate the cushions I made with different (or similar) fabrics feel free to use this to refer too.

This was the original cardigan. To start, I detached the outer knitted fabric form the fleece lining and the sleeve lining. I also, detached the buttons and fir trim.

 

 I then used a different soft fabric for the back so I then cut out the pieces for the main cushion base. And stitched those together.

Then using the rest of the fabric I stuffed the cushions, this makes  it heavy and not quite as stuffed but I could have used some normal stuffing. I then stitched on 3 buttons down the centre of one and sewed the fir trim in a heart shape in the centre.

These are my two finished cushions and I love the way they look.
I hope you have had a good 2017 and Christmas...

 

 

My 2017 plan...

My 2017 plan is too keep a diary of everything positive this means that everyday I need to make something positive enough happen to write it down in my diary. So far, everyday has had a positive impact. Another thing I am doing is a workout and stretch routine every single day. So far I have only not done it twice because I was unwell, and didn't have time. I am doing this workout to gain more strength and stretching to get my splits safely. A third plan is to never ever take my amazing friends for granted. I know that at any moment something could happen and I could lose them, so I never want to take people who I am friends with for granted. I really want 2017 to be the year I treasure and learn.

2016 is coming to an end...

It is all very upsetting to think that Christmas decorations are starting to be packed away and Christmas food finished and everything Christmas has got to wait until next year. But this now means that it is time to turn over a new leaf and make 2017 a year we want to treasure forever because once it is gone there will never be one alike it. This thought crossed my mind the other day when I was dwelling o the fact that never again will the year 2016 exist and never will I be able to re-do anything I regret, so this year I am going to make resolutions and stick to them (even if it is only for the first two-three months) By turning over a new leaf I don't mean moving to another country, changing my name and paying £millions on plastic surgery to make me look like a different. Turning over a new leaf means to make goals and fulfil them before 2018 comes around. For most one of these goals has something to do with losing or gaining weight. Most even aspire to go to the gym three times a week (and blah blah blah) But I want to turn over a new leaf in the way I act and the way I could be a better friend  or have a nicer personality (ironing out the lumps and bumps).
This year I hope to achieve:

1. I want to be able to do the splits on both legs. The reason I want to be able to do the splits on  both legs is because I love dance and to make it easier I need to have better flexibility. To achieve I am going to stretch every single day unless I am ill or busy but everyone's muscles and bodies need a day off sometimes.
2. I want to exit my comfort zone (occasionally). I don't what to suddenly start taking drugs or do anything dangerous but I actually mean, that I want to do things that maybe I felt uncomfortable about before (school assemblies). I have a problem with feeling trapped and I stress. I am not sure why but it means that in assemblies or anything enclosed like that I sit right at the end, just in case. Luckily, I have the bestest friends anyone could wish for and they sit and the end/edges with me. I want to start acting like normal girls my age who don't care abut things like this and are happy to get on long plane journeys and like assemblies and sleep overnight in each other's caravans. At the moment I could not do anything like that but, I hope that from 2017 onwards I will be able to. A party I am going to will be testing if I can because last time I went I felt the need to stay outside in the freezing cold the whole evening but this time I have decided that I am going to be inside with the music and having a good time like everyone else instead of what I was doing last time.

I know there isn't many but I think that means that I have more of a chance of  achieving them. I hope you had a fantastic Christmas xx
What are your New Years Resolutions?