Room Snippets

I'm a little obsessed with home decor on Pinterest and love picking up little ideas for my room and although I've always found the idea of 'Room Tour' a little invasive, I do love having a snoop of little bits and bobs so I thought I'd share a few snippets of my room here. I'm a bit white crazy as I think it makes my room look a lot bigger & brighter, but I like to fill it with colourful trinkets and pictures to make it more fun and less...clinical? So go on, have a peek...

If you'd like to know where anything is from, just ask! 

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Recipe: Apple & Blackberry Crumble

I'm a girl with a sweet tooth and with the return of The Great British Bake off, I've been trying my hand at baking.  The one thing I love to bake the most is a crumble. It doesn't matter what kind, any kind will do, but my absolute favourite is Apple & Blackberry. So I thought, why not share this super easy recipe so you can get your Mary Berry on...

You will need:

- 200g of plain flour (I like to use wholemeal)

- 100g of sugar (plus an extra tablespoon or two)

- 100g of butter

- 3 large cooking apples

- A couple of handfuls of blackberries (ooh, so technical)

So, here goes:

1. Start by peeling the apples and carefully slicing each one up. I like to pop the already sliced apples into a bowl of water while I finish of the rest to keep them from browning too much.

2. Once all the apples are sliced start placing them on the bottom of your crumble dish in an even layer. Don't worry too much about any little gaps as the blackberries will fill these.

3. Then pop on the blackberries and spread evenly over the apples.

4. You will then need to sprinkle some sugar over the fruit to avoid your crumble being too sharp. You want it to be nice and sweet. I use two tablespoons of sugar for mine.

5. Now the base is ready you can move on to the actual 'crumble' part. Start be sieving your flour into a mixing bowl.

6. Now you can add the sugar and the butter. I like to cut the butter into smaller squares before adding, just to make the next step a little easier.

7. Start to rub the mixture between your finger tips quickly and keep doing so until it looks like...

This!

8. Pour the crumble mixture over the fruit and pat down with the back of a spoon until all of the fruit is covered.

9. It should then look like the below. Then place into your pre-heated oven at gas mark four for 30-40 minutes or until your crumble is a golden brown.

10. After 40 minutes remove from the oven and admire your crumble! 

11. Serve up hot or cold with a drizzle of cream or a big dollop of custard, and enjoy.

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My Top 5 Lipglosses

I've never really been a lipgloss kind of girl, the stickiness always annoyed me and if there is a gust of wind or even a slight breeze that glues my hair to my lips then, well... I give up. But lately, I've found myself reaching for a gloss more and more and I've actually been enjoying wearing them.

Here's a round up of my top 5 favourites, and the good news is; none of them are sticky, hurrah!

L-R : Kiss me Coral - Apple Strudel - Heartcake - Clear - Pink Out Loud 

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipgloss - I have this in the shade 'Kiss me Coral' and it looks great slicked over the top of Mac's Lady Danger. This gloss contains SPF15 and its super moisturising. Perfect for Summer time.

Nyx Butter Gloss - Apple Strudel is my favourite butter gloss shade as it gives a beautiful, natural peachy lip. This gloss really is buttery as the name would suggest and it smells so good!

Bare Minerals 100% Natural Lipgloss - While sorting through my make-up collection the other week I found this and have re-kindled my love for it. I have it in the shade Heartcake and I'm not sure if it's been discontinued but I've managed to find here. This is a really pretty pink with a gorgeous warm shimmer. It's not completely non-sticky but it's still a favourite that I tend to wear more on an evening out.

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker - I've had this for a while now, so I'm not sure they still sell this particular gloss, however there are plenty to pick from here. This is just a basic clear gloss which I prefer to wear over the top of bold lipsticks. Being a lip-plumping gloss it does tingle a little upon application which I don't mind. But it doesn't tingle quite as much as my next pick...

Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Extreme Plump XL - Well, that's a mouthful isn't it! Pink Out Loud is probably my favourite gloss ever. It's super tingly for the first 5 minutes but leaves my lips sleek and shiny. It looks great on it's own or over a nudey/pink lip for a pretty pout. 

Are you a lipgloss kind of girl? Which are your favourites?

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WISHLIST #4 - MONOCHROME EDITION

Top - Bag - Shoes - Jeans - Lipstick - iPhone Case

Despite us having probably the nicest UK Summer in a long time, I've been finding myself drawn to mainly monochrome things while shopping, rather than bright bits fit for the Summer season. 

I've been a tad obsessed with stripes for a while now, and while I've already got too many striped tees, I'm still eyeing up this basic black & white Breton box tee. I find stripes so easy to wear, and in monochrome too, you can't go wrong.

Kate Spade is a brand that is always on point and I can roam the website for hours, lusting after pretty much everything including the Cedar Street Maise bag. I've mentioned this bag before, only in the colour dark geranium, but I feel like black would go with absolutely everything. Dream bag.

Dare I say that I actually like Birkenstocks? I've always thought they were, well...ugly. But I've somehow been converted into thinking they're actually pretty okay. I've seen them styled in ways that look cool rather than frumpy and now I've found myself wanting a pair. I love this two-strapped pair, especially in white.

I'm jumping on the bandwagon now, with this pair of ripped Jamie jeans. Topshop are my favourite for jeans as they always fit me perfectly, although I've never had a pair of Jamies before.  Ripped jeans seem to be everywhere at the minute but this pair are ideal as they're not too OTT. I think I'll be taking a trip into town tomorrow to get myself a pair.

Nude lipsticks are my go-to lately and this YSL Rouge Pur Couture lipstick in the shade Beige Tribute is perfect. With a bronzed face and a casual smokey eye this lipstick would look amazing. 

Lastly, another Kate Spade item. I already have one too many iPhone cases (okay, maybe 5 too many), but I'm a sucker for pretty things so when I saw this cute scalloped case I obviously put it in my mental shopping basket. As it's made of silicon this would be ideal for me as I drop my phone more times than I would like to admit. 

What's on you wishlist?

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What's in my bag?

I'm a bag lady and always have been. I used to strut around my house, aged five, with at least 4 bags strategically hung over me. I'm also, as I've mentioned before, a bit of a Mary Poppins, cramming everything but my kitchen sink into what ever bag I've chosen that week. Sometimes, obviously, I'll just quickly grab my purse, keys and phone and dash out of the door but most days my poor bag will be stuffed. I'm still mostly using this bag because it is the perfect size for everything I need plus a little bit more.

Here's a quick round-up of what you can usually find in my bag.. Go on! Have a nose:

- Purse: I got his little navy gem in Mango while on holiday as my one was knackered. I love the leather look of this purse and it's the perfect size, with a zip and enough card slots for all of my many (unnecessary) cards.

- iPhone: Obviously. I'm addicted to the Buzzfeed app at the moment, especially the animal section. This had me laughing and 'aww'-ing in equal measures.

- iPod: A necessity for any stroll or train ride. I've been listening a lot to George Ezra & Warpaint lately.

- Sunglasses: 'Cause we're actually having a proper Summertime this year!

- Diary: I'm trying to cram a lot of things in to my month off so keeping this moleskin diary in my bag keeps me nice and organised.

- Keys: No-one likes being locked out.

- Water, a snack & some chewing gums: It's hot, I'm always hungry and sometimes snacks are smelly.

- Hair bands & Kirby grips: My hair is wild and will mostly do as it pleases, so sometimes a quick top knot is needed.

- Concealer, deodorant and hand cream: All hand-bag must-haves. Period.

- Lipbalm: This Burt's Bees lipbalm has recently become my favourite balm ever. It really moisturises my lips and stays on for ages despite my frequent snacking and constant chattering. 

What's in your bag?

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5 Things: Make-up Staples

I'm obsessed with make-up. There's nothing I don't like about it; buying it, organising it, wearing it. But lately, I've become abit lazier with applying my face and I've actually been kind of enjoying it. While I've still got a bit of a holiday glow going on I gather I can get away with wearing minimal make-up and I've been making the most of it before Autumn sets in and my foundation makes a come-back to cover the dreaded red nose and not-so-cute rosy cheeks.

I've been mainly sticking to these 5 staples lately:

Seventeen Va Va Voom Mascara - I've said it before and I'll say it again. I love Seventeen Mascaras. They always make my lashes look long & thick and never seem to budge (until cleansing time). Hurrah! Va Va Voom is a favourite that I've re-purchased at least three times.

Rimmel Wake Me Up Concealer - This is the concealer for any under-eye issues as it instantly perks up & brightens and as it's reasonably full-coverage it also hides any blemishes perfectly. 

No 7 Stay Perfect Amazing Eyes Eyeliner - I've been using this in the shade 'Brown' to lightly fill my eyebrows and it's working better than most prodcuts I've tried. I also double up and use this if I want a little something more on my eyes. I just glide it along my lashline and smudge a little for an easy, casual smoky eye.

L'Oreal Paris Color Riche Collection Privée - For someone who is usually all over a bold lip I've been really loving a nude lately. This shade 'Barely Peach' is the perfect pinky peach colour that really is a my-lips-but-better colour. This looks amazing with a bit of a tan and stays put for a good few hours.

The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Powder - I recently picked this up while there was a 3 for 2 going on...Instablur & another Camomile Cleansing Butter were my other purchases for those wondering. I picked up the shade '02 Fair Matte' and it blends perfectly giving a warm glow with no orange hint in sight. I cannot stand shimmery bronzers as they looks so un-natural so this matte bronzer is perfection and is now definitely my favourite bronzer. Also, can we just admire how it looks?! SO pretty.

 What are your top 5 staples?

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