Christmas Gingerbread Cupcakes with Toffee Icing

Hello lovely readers!

With it getting closer to christmas (37 days to be precise!) I was in the mood to start getting festive. Christmas time is my favourite time of the year. The twinkly lights, trees and present get me excited. But what gets me beyond excitement and into utter happiness is the food. As a food lover I dont just enjoy eating but also cooking and baking. With this in mind I decided a way to britten up my boring monday afternoon study day was to make some festive cupcakes. Thought I would also post incase any of you would also love to try them at home. Happy Baking!

For the Cupcakes you will need:

150g butter/margarine
150g soft brown sugar
3 eggs
150g self raising flour
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Ground Ginger
1 tbsp Milk
For the Icing you will need:
200g butter
50g soft brown sugar
2 tbsp milk
200g icing sugar

 Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

 Combine the butter and sugar in a bowl and creme together. This is much easier if the butter is at room temperature.

 When mixed together it should look something like this.

 Then add the flour and spices to the mixture. This does become very thick.

 Add the 3 eggs one at a time. Make sure to mix it in-between each egg to help it to combine.

 This should make it look creamy like this.

 Then add the milk.

 Put into a muffin tray with cases. Then put in the over for 15- 20 mins.

 While the cupcakes are baking, make the icing. Combine the sugar and butter. I tried to use margarine for this and it didn't work :(

 Put this into a saucepan over low heat and stir until it has melted down to produce a syrup then put to the side to cool.

 in another bowl mix the butter and icing sugar.

 then add the syrup to the icing mixture.

This is how they should look when you are finished! I hope you all have as much fun baking them as eating them. I would love to hear your favourite sweet treat at christmas time. 

Halloween

Happy Halloween lovely readers!

I thought I would share with you the ways I made this Halloween so fun!

I started my lovely night with dressing up as a spider (well with a spider on my face!)

I started by using silver eye shadow and then putting a dark grey in the eyes crease and in the outer corner. I then lined my top lashes with black liquid liner and the bottom with black eye shadow.

I then drew lines, with eye liner, spreading out from the centre of the eye 

I joined these with curved lines. This made the web for the spider :)

On the other eye I did a smaller web but drew a spider attached to a thread. 

I then decided to make a Halloween candle to put in the middle of our dining room table for at dinner time.

 You will need red or orange paper, glue, scissors, tissue paper, a glass jar or old candle holder, tea light candle and  tape.  

Cut Halloween style shapes into your paper. Make sure that it is the right length and width to fit around your jar. 

 Stick the tissue paper to the back of the paper.

Then tape both ends of the paper around the jar and add a candle. Nice and spooky! 

My brother and I then made a awesome haunted house gingerbread house. It was so much fun to make and I really enjoyed making it with him as we decided to just put all the sweets we could find on it!

So yummy! 

I hope you all had a brilliant Halloween spent with friends and family.
Please comment below and follow for more posts :)

Halloween Nails

Hello lovely readers!

As I'm sure you are all aware it is nearly HALLOWEEN!!! Time to dress up spooky. I was going to post this on Friday but I couldn't wait any longer. So here is my tutorial on how to do these spooky nails.

 First I started with a red (or you can use orange), gold glitter, nude, topcoat, white nail polish and a permanent marker. I ended up just using the permanent marker instead of the white for the web but you can choose whichever colours you would like :)

 I then painted my nails alternate colours. Mostly because it would annoy me if it wasn't symmetrical

I then added the gold glitter to my thumb and pinkie nails. I find that having these two nails plain stops your nails becoming overly busy. But its Haloween so go willllddd.

I then decided to make my other nails into a web, ghost and a pumpkin face. Although my skills at drawing are not all that great. I found that using a permanent marker was the easiest way to do this by just drawing instead o spilling black nail polish everywhere!

And this was my final design for my nails! I also think this would look really cool with a purple base as well! I would love to see your Halloween nails :)

Hope this post got you all in the mood for Halloween. This is my little way to celebrate! (May post again on Friday with more Halloween fun, so stay tuned)

Hope you all have a really fun Halloween and eat lots of candy! 

"Witch and ghosts make merry on this last of dear October days."

Do more of what makes you happy

Hello lovely readers! Hope you are having a fabulous weekend! (sorry this post is late)

This week I thought I would make a post on what makes me happy. I was speaking to many of my friends this week and I realised how negative people become when they are stressed (myself included). You get stuck in your little bubble of studying and forget to reward yourself for your hard work. Personally this is the only way I get things done. From this I decided to make a list of 15 things that make me happy and maybe some of these we may both share;

 1) Pampering myself. This usually includes a lovely bubbly bath where I get to try out new products and experiment with my hair and makeup. I really enjoying trying out new styles and it helps me to relax. I light a few candles and love to paint my nails. Every christmas and birthday I get bought nail polish. I have no many that I am having to try to use them all before they dry out!

2) Eating. Now I don't mean that every time you feel down to eat a litre tub of ice cream... but a little square of chocolate has actually been proven to improve your mood and help your brain re focus. (Don't mind if I do!) :D

3) Walks in the park. I really enjoy walking as it helps to clear my mind. I find that If I challenge myself to find 10 beautiful things it usually makes me feel much better.

4) Spending time with friends. I like to spend time with my friends joking around (usually shopping or at the beach)

5) Sitting in the fresh air. When I have a lot of work to do I find that sitting outside gives me a different setting and helps to clear my mind. I am a big believer of making sure I get fresh air everyday.

6) Reading a good book. Personally I find reading books a great way to calm down after a stressful day and I just enjoy reading A LOT. My favourite series at the moment it the Hunger Games Trilogy (read 5 times SOOO GOOD) and the Divergent trilogy.

7) Watching a movie. I find that sitting with my family to watch a movie on a friday night with a piece of pizza is bliss. Recently watched Noah and was glued to it. I also am a suck up to romantic movies. Anything cheesy really improves my mood ahahahah. I suggest the notebook to all you romantic lovers out there. ;)

8) Spending time with my cousins. I have a very close relationship with my cousins and I really enjoy spending time with them. I really enjoy being able to play with the younger ones and see their imagination run wild.

9) Painting / drawing. I love to paint and create things. I am no way good at any of the things I create but I find that picking up a pencil or a paintbrush helps me to express myself and helps me to focus on something positive.

10) Spending time with my Rabbits. Just a small hug from a little bundle of fluff can really brighten my day!

11) A hot drink of milo or hot chocolate with marshmellows.... HEAVEN!

12) Laptop time. Spending time on Facebook. Watching youtubers such as Zoella and Sprinkle of Glitter and writing these blog posts.

13) Taking pictures. I do enjoy taking pictures of what I see and do and looking through past photos bring back lovely memories.

14) Singing. Now I am not good at singing AT ALL. But I love being able to put on some music and dance and sing around my living room usually joined by my little cousins. :)

15) Helping others. I find that after I help someone it makes me feel good. I find it very annoying when people are not polite (for example holding doors open or not saying thank you). I think that being polite is a small way of making other peoples day. Even a smile can make someones day that bit better!

I hope you all had a great week and if not I hope that this blog post can maybe cheer you up a little. Remember your family and friends are there to support and help you. Sharing a burden can help make you feel better.

Any suggestions for my next blog post?
I would love to hear what makes you happy!

"It is not how much we have, but how much we enjoy, that makes happiness"- Charles Spurgeon.

Study Tips and Tricks

Hello readers!

Hope you are as excited for the weekend as I am!

I thought I would do this post as I am currently undertaking my final load of exams. I feel like I have picked up some handy tips for studying that may help you prepare for your exams and I thought I would share them with you. Here are a few ways to feel motivated to start studying...

1) Find what time suits you - Some people are more productive in the evenings than in the morning. Personally I find that getting up early means that I have a bit of time for procrastinating without wasting my whole day. Whatever time suits you make sure you stick to it as much as possible. This helps to build a routine and helps get your time management under control.

2) Music - This can help some people study. I find that unless I type in 'study music' into spotify and listen to that, I find myself listening to the lyrics and singing along.

3) Actually doing stuff- starting to study is the hardest part. I find myself doing anything else to put it off (Im sure many of you can relate). Due to this I have to make myself daily timetables. This makes me get jobs done and still reward myself throughout the day. By reward I mean 15 min breaks every hour. This is the best way to maximise your brain activity and helps you to remember information without becoming drowsy. I find that in the mornings I do some exercise to help wake me up and get my brain oxygenated for a great study session. I find that breaking down what you will need to know for your exam is a great way to start. Put them into sub headings that you can cross of when you have been over them. This method makes sure that you have covered everything before you are sitting in that exam hall. I find re writing notes (in a different way) into a separate notebook in handy. This way all of your study notes are in one place and condensed in a way that makes it easy to read and remember. I suggest also watching videos related to that topic. This really helps me to understand the topics and see it taught in a different way. It is also very beneficial for me to write on study/flash cards and have another person test me and in tern, explain the process. This helps me to see which topics I need more work on.

Studying can take many forms. It can include the things I said above and others such as physically doing the experiment you are revising or getting out of your desk chair to explain a topic using actions. Other ways include recording yourself talking about a topic and then listen to it again.

4) I find that the most important thing to do is to stay calm and make small goals. If your goals are too large this will stress yourself. Instead of putting on your timetable "Study Biology" put "Study respiration, photosynthesis, leaf structure" etc etc. This way you can tick of the tasks more frequently making you feel like you are getting somewhere in your study. This also helps to give your study time a structure.

5) Space - People work better in different environments. Personally I find that I have to be in a quiet spot away from any distractions due to my great ability to put things off. I find that my desk is a very good place to sit. Some people work better with other people around them providing a buzz of noise to get them studying. Others need to study in groups. I find that my desk helps to motivate me to study. Yes this sounds silly. But I love stationary and little bits and bobs to make it look pretty. I really enjoyed setting up my desk that I actually wanted to use. I find that my little routine of lighting some candles help to calm my mood before starting. I suggest finding somewhere to study and always studying in this spot.

Here is a few ways I organise my desk ;

My calendar is always close by so that I can check when projects are due. I find that a clear desk makes for a clear mind. 

 I like purchasing pretty notebooks to keep myself organised and motivated. The smallest things can help you to get started. 

 I have a small picture frame with a photo of my last biology camp. Every time I look at it it brings back happy memories and helps to remind me of why I am working so hard. Also I find that little personal items makes the desk feel more homely and a happier place to sit. 

 I enjoy lighting a few lightly scented candles and putting on my lanterns to get myself in the studying mood.

My little jewellery tree is also on my desk. Not because it has anything to do with studying, but because I think it looks pretty :)

Any more study tips you can think of?

I wish you all good luck with your exams. They will be over before you know it!

"The secret of getting ahead is getting started" - Mark Twain