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BE BACK SOON!

Hello! Just popping by to say sorry for the lack of posts, etc. I've been pretty busy with my usual job which means very long days and getting straight into bed when I get home or out to meetings or catching up with friends! ZZzzzz!...BOY...I'm tired.

I'll be back up and running soon I hope. In the meantime, thanks for sticking around!! Most appreciated!

XoXo

FEATURED! Nail Art - Retro Cloud

Hey friends.
I'm honoured to be featured over at Here Comes The Sun Blog showing you how to do a simple retro nail art design! Click HERE to find the tutorial!

Have FUN!

DIY Valentine's Gift: Wrap it up with kisses!

Why not make your valentine's gift that extra special and wrap it up in your own kisses! It's sure to make your other half feel extra loved!

Materials:
Paper 
Sellotape
Lipstick
Ribbons/twine
Hairspray (optional)

Start with your piece of paper. Any will do that can be easily used to wrap a gift so you don't want it too thick. 
Apply lipstick and start kissing! This step can be rather embarrassing but it's also FUN! You could use different shades to give your wrapping paper more dimension and make it a little more interesting. 
You don't need to do this but if after you've done all your lip prints and want to seal it you can spray hairspray over the paper to stop the lipstick from smudging. Spray the can a good distance from the paper and then leave for a few minutes to dry if necessary.
Wrap up your gift & tie some pretty ribbon or twine around it. 
Tah-dah!

 Enjoy giving those extra kisses to your loved one this Valentine's day! Xoxx

Collars & bows

Since I got married, shopping is one of those things that has become a treat but it's taught me to appreciate what I already have & when I do get to treat myself I love what I've bought even more! (I still get confused with 'brought' & 'bought' - I totally looked that up!) Anyway, I still do a little window shopping/wish list keeping so I thought I'd share with you my faves!

Ps. My mother taught me 'it's easier to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission'. But of course...I always ask for permission!

CUTE COLLARS

 

I know I am so far behind the times but I'm finding a new appreciation for cute collars/collar necklaces! Sam bought me a clip on collar chain for christmas and it's one of my favourite things to wear when I have a shirt on. It makes such a big difference to any outfit so I think they'll be a schweeet collection in the near future! LINKS one, two, three, four, five, six

BOWS

Some really cute accessories with bows/bow prints on! I absolutely adore them. I have found most of them on asos but hey...they had the cutest bows! LINKS one, two, three, four, five, six

Enjoy window shopping!

Yummy Scrummy Chocolate Brownies

Believe it or not this was the first time I've made brownies! I know, right!? It surprised me too actually, I've eaten brownies a hundred times but never actually made them. I found this recipe on the bbc good food website. They are seriously GORGEOUS, gooey and chocolatey. Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream & squirty cream!

Ingredients:
185g unsalted butter, 185g dark chocolate, 85g plain flour, 40g cocoa powder, 100g milk chocolate, 3 large eggs, 275g golden caster sugar

- Put the butter & chocolate into a bowl and melt in the microwave for 1-2 minutes. Let it cool a little.

- Turn the oven on to fan 160C/conventional 180C/gas 4. Using a shallow 20cm square tin, cut out a square of non-stick baking parchment to line the base.

- Chop up the 100g milk chocolate into good sized chunks. 

- Break 3 large eggs into a large bowl and tip in the golden caster sugar. With an electric mixer on maximum speed, whisk the eggs and sugar until they look thick and creamy. The mixture should look pale and double in volume by the time you've whisked enough. 

- Pour the cooled melted chocolate over the egg mixture, then gently fold together with a rubber spatula being careful not to knock all the air out.

- Sieve the flour & cocoa powder into the bowl with all the liquid and mix in the chocolate chunks.

- Poor the mixture into the prepared tin and put into the oven for 25 minutes. Leave to cool until it's ready to cut into squares.
They can keep in an airtight container for up to two weeks or in the freezer for a month. You'll have to make a big batch to freeze because you'll want these to be ready at any time for a quick cheeky chocolate pudding!

Enjoy!

Whatever may pass & whatever lies before me

 

Hello friends!

I've been away for the last few days in Nottingham at a Church Leader's Conference which was just what I needed. We had such a refreshing few days spending time with God, good friends, great speakers & engaging worship! I only wish it lasted longer but I feel even more fired up for life and excited about God's plans our future.

I'm also working a little more on the site. You might see that I've been changing a few things on the blog. It's a work in progress (& probably always will be) but a few pages are under construction and will be developed over the next few months so thank you in advance for being patient! 

You can check out the new 'about' page and I've added a 'we believe' page so you can check out what our church is all about & the vineyard movement which is what we are part of. I wanted it to be a part of my blog because it's a huge part of our life & if I didn't I wouldn't be giving a true portrayal of myself. If you've got any questions please feel free to email me!

Anyway, just checking in to say I'm back & will be getting back on top of things very soon!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

P.s. I'm a poorly girl. This calls for a pasta dinner & some sort of gooey chocolate pudding! Then I'm trying this because apparently it's a miracle medicine & my mom reminded me of it today!

DIY Valentine's Gift: A jar of love

Hello!

Personally, handmade gifts mean everything to me. It means so much that someone has taken a lot of time & effort to make something special. Sam is not a creative type at all really but he make the sweetest handmade cards and really tries with handmade gifts because he knows that's what I love. There's nothing like a really meaningful gift that someone has really thought about. 

Here I'm going to show you a really SIMPLE DIY that you could make for a loved one this valentine's day. 

Materials:

Mason/Kilner Jar

Ribbons

Lace

Twine

Buttons

Paper

Scissors

Pen

Heart-shaped punch 

All the above are optional, you can pretty much use whatever you can find in your house to create this.

Start by choosing some bits & pieces to decorate your jar and literally start putting it together. As you can see in the below photo I've stuck in place a piece of lace around the base. I used a little bit of glue from a glue gun to keep in place. Then I've tied some twine around it, cut a small heart out of red paper and tucked that in.

Choose some ribbon to go around the top and secure in place again with hot glue.

Cut strips of card or paper out and write out reasons why you love the person you are making this gift for. That's the beauty of something like this, you could make it for ANYONE! Your parents, best friend, husband, etc. Write out as many as you like, the more the merrier obviously!

Fold up all the strips so they have a little something to open out (like a present every time!) I also used a heart-shaped punch to cut out little heart to scatter inside. It just adds a little extra cute-ness!

Add a tag and voila! This is really easy, simple, inexpensive and quick to create! Go for it and make someone feel loved!