Tumblr Wishlist/Inspirations

Im obsessed with adding/reblogging photos to tumblr! This is just a little post sharing some photos that I admire from my tumblr - hellyhearts.tumblr.com I know these aren't fitting with the season, but with the weather being miserable and cold these definetly make you feel a bit happier :)

I have a bit of a pastel obsession.. this might be evident ;)

 Anybody got any tumblr links then leave below :)

Helen xX

Choctastic Hazelnut Slice

This along with rocky road is one of my favourite things ever. This recipe if from years ago when I was still in school and didnt even know rocky road existed (traumatising, I know!) Its the ultimate treat  but it is no friend to the healthy diet but its worth it! here goes..

What You Will Need:

200g Milk Chocolate

50g Butter

175g Condensed Milk

150g Digestives (Crushed)

25g Hazelnuts

Method:

Break the chocolate into small pieces and melt slightly in the microwave. Stir chocolate to help any lumps melt. Note: it should only be slighly melted at this stage

 Add the condensed milk and butter and place in the microwave until it is fully melted. Be careful not to burn the chocolate . A test test is always due at this stage ;)

Stir the mixture to make sure it is completely melted, now add the hazelnuts and crushed digestives

 Now once you have a firmer mixture you want to grease and line a baking tray and spread the mixture evenly into the tray

 Now grate up some chocolate and scatter on top.
Place in fridge to chill for at least an hour and a half










NOW EAT! :D

Enjoy!

Helen xX

Lazy Girls Shortbread

I named this the lazy girls shortbread as it only requires 3 ingredients and not a lot of effort... but tastes delicious! Variations can be made such as adding chocolate chips or spices but I am just going to share the basic version to show that baking doesn't have to be difficult at all :)

What You Will Need:

125g Unsalted Butter (At Room Temperature)
55g Caster Sugar
180g Plain Flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 180 degrees

Beat together the butter and sugar until smooth

Stir in sieved flour to form a dough

Cut into rounds, using a cutter and place onto a greased baking tray. Each round shound be approx 1cm thick

Sprinkle some more caster sugar onto each round

Bake for around 10- 15 mins  in the oven until they are golden thus depending on how big/thick you have made them (Best to keep an eye on them so that they don't over bake)

Cool on a wire rack and EAT!

See... told you it was simple! ;D

Happy Baking!

Helen xX

Paul's Boutique Polly Padlock Bag

The Polly Padlock Bag by Paul's Boutique..also known as the love of my life ahah I think this is the most favourite bag I have ever owned :D I got it for my 21st of my parents a few weeks ago and I am in loooooove. Its made out of really good quality material, beautifully lined and comes with a nice embellished logo and charms. Its a good size too, which is essential for me as I tend to carry everything with me for those "just incase" moments ;D Just thought I would share a few pics :) If you would like to purchase this bag click here

Thanks for reading!

Helen xX

Savoury Cheese Scones: Scone Sunday Part 2!

The second part of my "Scone Sunday" recipe :) In the last post I shared a recipe on how to make sweet cherry scones but here I'm going to share how to make some savoury cheese scones, which are delicious! There is a slight variation on the basic recipe i used last time..

What You Will Need:

225g Self Raising Flour
Pinch Of Salt
55g Butter
50g Cheese
150mls milk

*OPTIONAL* 25g caster sugar ( I personally like to add this just to take out some of the bitterness, don't worry it wont make the recipe go too sweet)

Method:

Preheat oven to 220 degrees

Mix together the flour, salt and sugar (optional) and rub into fine breadcrumbs

Grate the cheese, and stir in

Make a 'well' in the centre and add enough milk to make a soft dough, using the knife to mix

Knead gently on a floured surface and flatten to 2cm thick

Use a cutter to cut the scones into rounds

Bake for 10 to 12 mins

Enjoy!

Helen xX

Cherry Scones : Scone Sunday!

Today I will be sharing two variation recipes on a sweet scone and a savoury scone (click here). Fair enough to say I am a scone addict and unfortunately they aren't the healthiest of snacks..but we dont care haha. Firstly I am going to share my cherry scones as personally they are a favourite of mine. Amazing with some butter and jam :) and that all important cup of tea ;)

yum!

What You Will Need:

200g Self Raising Flour
50g Caster Sugar
50g Butter
100ml Skimmed Milk
50g Glace Cherries


Method:

Preheat oven to 220 degrees

Sift flour into large bowl

Rub in butter til the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs and add sugar

Add the cherries

Make a 'well' in the centre and add enough milk to make a soft dough using a knide to mix

Knead gently on a floured surface and flatten to 2cm thick

Use a cutter to shape scones

Bake for  10-12 minutes (remember to keep checking!)

Happy Baking!

Helen xX

Lady GaGa: Born This Way Ball

Eeeeeeeeeeeee one of the best nights of my life! :D Really surprised myself by saying that at the end of the show. Didn't anticipate it would be as good as it was, but I was pleasantly surprised. She put in a lot of work into the concert with her signing, dancing, outfits, stage props and the general concept of the tour;was something I had never seen before.It was definitely worth the expensive ticket and all the travelling down to London. London is very FAR from where I live (like the other end of the uk) but it was a good excuse for a little holiday and a shopping trip...ooh the shops.. I think I was in heaven, my bank balance definitely felt it anyway haha.


I was lucky enough to see Lady GaGa both on the Saturday and  the Sunday as I was given another ticket as a birthday present from my friend yaaay! On the Saturday we managed to get to the front row after queuing from the morning...dunno how I managed to survive queuing all day. I have zero patience and sitting on the stones in the blistering heat was unbearable at times. But made it to front row and I didnt faint. I saw her previously in 2010 in Glasgow where I managed to push myself to the front and then faint..total fail. This time it was in Twickenham Stadium so it never felt too hot as it was open air. I cannot believe how CLOSE I got to her when she came over to where I was standing she was literally right in front of me :D

Que evidence..

Taken by me and uploaded to my youtube :)

Also recently there have been extremely unflattering photos of her looking maybe a little heavier from what we are used to. But thats all they are. UNFLATTERING, She is by no means fat. when I saw her on stage right in front of me she still looked small.Certain angles can make anyone look awful. All in all, I had a really good time. Couldnt think of a better way to mark my 21st! :)

Now for some pictures ..

see how close :D

 

oh and just casually standing outside her hotel.. ;)



Thanks For Reading!

Helen xX

" Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams.If you are wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you it doesn't love you anymore"

Lady GaGa

Colour Me Lilac

My Next Hair Adventure!

After previously having pastel pink dip dye hair, which you can read about here . I have decided to to the same with lilac. Most likely this time I will try and make it a lot lighter, possibly like the first two pictures below. I want more of a subtle look. I have purchased more dye from La Riche Directions range as I was so impressed the last time. Not sure whether I will need to dilute the dye with conditioner this time as I did previously but I will be doing a blog review on my experience when I get around to dying my hair. I have ordered the white toner and the colour lilac. Below are some of my hair inspirations  although I am not brave enough to dye my whole head lilac(would defo clash with most of my wardbrobe..cant have that at all ;D ), I do really like the look of it! my main inspiration for doing this look again is christina Aguilera hair in her new music video. I think her hair/extensions look amaaaaazing! 

Photos from weheartit!

 The style I'm after :) slightly lighter though, fingers crossed!

"I just wanna be myself

And I want you to love me for who I am

I just wanna be myself

and I want you to know, I am my hair
...free as my hair"

Lady GaGa

Thanks For Reading!

Helen xX

Fudge, Ginger & Cinnamon Cookies

Sooo one morning before college this week, I ran out of some ginger cookies and the craving was too much to bare;) so I made these super easy cookies to have with my cuppa in less than 20 mins...

What You Will Need:

50g Caster Sugar

50g Soft Light Brown Sugar

75g Butter

2 Tbsp Golden Syrup

150g Self Raising Flour

Fudge pieces ( As many as you like)

1.5 tsp Ginger

1.5 tsp Cinnamon ( I added a tad more)

Method:

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

Cream together caster sugar, light brown sugar and butter

Add the 2 tbsp of syrup and stir in

Now add the cinnamon, ginger and fudge pieces and stir in

Sieve in self raising flour

Mix together with wooden spoon

Using your hands, roll the dough into balls and slightly flatten on a greased baking tray and put in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes

Remember to check on the cookies so that they don't burn or get too crisp, we want them to be crisp on the outside and softer in the centre :)

*I apologise about the rubbish lighting in the pictures. I didn't anticipate this to be a blog post as it was so last minute but as they turned out well I decided to share :)*

Enjoy!

Helen xX

Chocolate Fudge Rocky Road

Out of all the things I like to make, rocky road is by far my favourite. I absolutely love it, there are so many varying recipes. I have never tasted a batch of rocky road either bought from the supermarket or made by someone else to have the same universal taste. The version I am sharing with you is a little more rich as its based around a chocolate fudge recipe.



What You Will Need:

350g cooking chocolate
1 (397g) tin condensed sweetened milk
2 tablespoons butter
Crushed Digestives (as many as you like, depending on how rocky you like your road ;D )
100g marshmallows
50g glace cherries, chopped


Method:

Break up the chocolate and place into microwavable bowl, melt slighly and add in the condensed milk and butter.

Melt in the microwave on full power, opening often to stir it and to make sure it doesnt burn, which can happen all too easily if you dont keep an eye on it

When the chocolate fudge mixture is ready add the crushed biscuits, marshmallows and cherries and stir in. Add as many as you like, you can also add other ingredients such as nuts, maltesers m&ms, fruit pieces, white chocolate chips :)

Place the mix into a greased tin and place in the fridge for at least two hours

Slice the rocky into bite size pieces and enjoy! mhhm <3

Happy Baking!

Helen xX

Beauty Product Haul/ Review

It is near impossible for me not to go into Superdrug without spending anything; mainly as its the only decent shop where I live. I know how sad right? haha. So here is a small haul and review on my most recent purchases.

HAIR

AUSSIE - It was buy 2 for £6 quid so I picked up a deep treatment and some heat protection spray. Aussie is definitely one of he best haircare brands, in my eyes anyways. They always leave my hair in fab condition, which is very important as my hair is bleached.I rarely use heat on my hair at all, except on my fringe, as I want to maintain the good condition of my hair as it has taken a while to get to this stage. This is why I bought the leave in heat protection spay to save my hair from being fried from the straighteners. It is enriched with Australian jojoba seed oil to prevent hair from drying out and to give it amazing shine. Perfect! :D The product smells lovely too, as do all Aussie products. They seem to have a similar smell, which is refreshing and clean.

I always have a Aussie deep treatment in as I like to use a variety of conditioners etc on my hair as I get bored easily, this is by far one of my favourites :) Its called the "3 minute miracle luscious long deep treatment" Its basically for long hair in need to some tlc. I can finally say now, that I have long healthy hair after two years of stopping using heat everyday and from cutting it short to get rid of  the damage. The treatment contains Australian eucalyptus extract with avocado oil to help deeply moisturise, revitalise and nourish tired long hair and all in 3 minutes ;D and repeated use im sure. I definelty noticed a difference in the texture of my hair after one application.. According to Aussie it "cares for dry and damaged hair by helping to reduce breakage associated with combing" thus being another reason i have turned to using my tangle teezer daily. I will be posting a review here shortly.

Provoke touch of silver twice a week brightening shampoo had been on my list of things to try for a while and I am so glad I did. Long gone are the horrible brassy tones that used to dull my hair inbetween appointments. This stuff is amazing! it is a violet pigment that neutralises orange/yellow brassy tones in bleached hair and dullness in grey and white hair. It is a toning shampoo so that is why it is only recomended that it is used twice a week to avoid colour build up. i.e patches of silver/purple tones in your hair. It it around £3 and definitely an essential for bleach blondes!

TAN

My trusty Solait tan in medium/dark. This is a tan I purchase constantly and always have extra bottles in just in case I run out (atm i have 3...). I love the dark colour it gives and how it doesnt have that horrible digestive biscuit smell that many fake tans have. Instead it has a caramel scent. It is also tinted so you can see where you have applied it. It also givs a slight bit of instant colour which later develops into a much deeper richer tan.It costs around £7. Much much better than frying your skin in the sun, for sure.

For when I dont want such a dark tan I picked up L'oreals sublime bronze gel self tan. I had never tried a gel tanner before, so was interested to see how this would apply. It applies very smoothly and glides on without having to rub in too much. One thing though, it claims not to be greasy but I I found it to be; but not so bad that I wouldnt use it again, as I like the light natural tan it gives. It claims to mimic the colour you would naturally go after being in the sun. Over all for under £10 and by a realiable brand, I am impressed.

SKINCARE

I purchased these items to remove my make up. The nivea daily essential wipes are more for the lazy days when I want my make up off quickly and easily. They are very moist so can get stubborn mascara and foundation off without too much hassle. Skin is left feeling soft,cleansed and refreshed, lets be honest at the end of the day or a heavy night out there is nothing better than taking off your make up! Also very handy to have in your handbag or taking on holiday with you. The Johnsons face care cleansing lotion is gentle which is perfect for sensitive skin. It lifts away impurities, including waterproof mascara (bonus!). I usually squeeze on to a cotton pad and move in circular motions over my face till all traces of make up are removed. It has a pleasant clean scent and both are reasonably priced, which there always being some sort of deals on the wipes.

MAKE UP

Eyelure lashes are my second faves after elf ( I have a review on my last post ;). Superdrug had an offer to buy 2 for £8  saving £2 so I thought why not. I love the shape of these, they flare out towards the edges. Perfect for the cat eye look. The glue that comes with them is amazing, also, so I do not have too much trouble applying them. Overall I would say thy are great quality and if taken care off they can be reused. I am keen to try Katy Perry's range by eyelure, love the packaging! Finally I have jumped on the Revlon Lip butters band wagon and I am glad to say I have! I picked up strawberry shortcake, not the type of pink I would usually go for, but I am really liking it. These butters are so moisturising so there is no need to prime with lip balm at all and the colour pay off is great ( at least in this colour). I will defo be picking up many more colours from this range as they are quite long lasting and dont crack and look gross after a few hours from application.

Thanks for reading!

Helen xX