Carve it up!

I have to admit that I have done absolutely nothing for Halloween......apart from admiring everyone elses' efforts that is! (And thinking that it all looks like a lot of hard work...)

Being an arty type, my favourite part of Halloween is the carving pumpkin and a quick scout around Google images brings up some impressive "art!"

Some people have too much time on their hands.....but respect anyway!

Cake pops: Top tips!

Evening! I just found some pictures on my mobile form the last time I made cake pops. This was only the second batch I had ever made but they were so much more successful due to a few small tricks.

Pink cake pops with sprinkles

The most obvious difference was that I used proper lolly sticks, bought from Hobby Craft. They are longer than regular lolly sticks which makes it easier to dip and allows you to use a larger ball of cake mixture.

The second tip is to leave the cake pops in the fridge for a while before dipping them. This allows the chocolate around the stick to set so they are less likely to fall off, and also when the cake mix is cold it means that chocolate coating cools more quickly when you are dipping them. (Does that make sense?)


The only problem with this is that you have probably melted all your chocolate in order to dip the sticks, but then you have to leave it whilst the cakes are in the fridge. I worked around this by doing about 5 at a time and then sticking them in the fridge.......then I dipped another five etc and when I came to doing the coating the original ones had been refrigerated for long enough to be cold. Some people put them in the fridge overnight but then I guess they must only melt a little chocolate at a time.

We also bought some "oasis" foam from Hobby Craft. It's the stuff you use for flower arranging. It worked so much better than my DIY cardboard box idea. Don't they look great?!

It took a lot of time to get the chocolate coating to the right temperature.....too hot and it took ages to set, too cold and it wouldn't smooth out. We used regular white chocolate with some red food colouring in it to make pale pink.

The real secret to successful cake pops is PATIENCE. The whole process took about 2 hours I think which is really mental when you only get about 20 cake pops for all your efforts! And one last look at the finished product....

How to make perfect cake pops

This was my first attempt in case you hadn't seem them:

How not to make cake pops

I hope this helps you in your quest for perfect pops!

Bad day turns good

Hiya. Well, this morning was not so good. I woke up feeling super unhappy. (Sad face!)

Luckily, I am quite good these days at looking on the bright side of life and trying not to dwell on the less silver side.

So here are a few things to be thankful for:
1) I can eat stilton again. (Although now I'm allowed it, I'm not that bothered. Typical.)
2) It's my birthday next month and my lovely boyfriend has promised to order me this:

Playsuit £40 from River Island

3) I could go on a rollercoaster if I wanted to.
4) I don't need to save my money for a while so I can now buy clothes again. And get my hair cut.
5) I don't have to go around the shops thinking "will that stretch?"
6) I now know that I get pregnant quite easily.
7) I could go on holiday next month if I wanted without worrying about feeling sick on the train/tube/flight etc
8) We don't have to worry about trying to sell the house by next May.
9) I could go running again. If it wasn't so cold...

I can't think of a number 10......I'm also thankful for all the lovely support I have had from friends and family and work :)

Another thing I spotted today was this amazing necklace on the Swarovski website...

Passenger Angel Cat Pendant £82

It's a little cat with wings! Hard to tell from this picture but trust me that it's super cute.

So there you go. Oh, and I have another follower! I thought I would be stuck on 20 forever.....
Hello!

Update

Unfortunately it was bad news today. The baby had not been growing properly....
So I might be MIA for a little while as I get myself together and then it will be fashion as usual. I have already decided that a new pair of heels are in order for my birthday next month and also some new skinny jeans.

Trying to make the best of it by doing the things I wouldn't be able to do otherwise  :(

Long weekend

The title might suggest that I'm having a long, relaxing weekend but I'm not. I started to bleed on Friday night so went down to A and E.... I now have to wait til Monday morning to go back to the hospital before I can find out if things are ok with the baby :(    So I'm playing the waiting game.

Above is an outfit I had on the other day to go shopping at Gunwharf Quays. It was still strangely warm outside for October...

Hence the summery sandals!

I'm spending my time today lusting after some new Converse trainers and deciding whether Ugg Evera's might be a better choice. I tried a pair on at Gunwharf and they were so comfy....but Converse are an everlasting classic!

These are my current Converse:

I made the mistake of buying them a little small so they are starting to crack at the sides.

And here are the choices for new trainers!

Womens Converse All Star X Hi Shearling Trainers £68 from Schuh

Womens Ugg Evera Trainers around £75

Both have a shearling lining, both are neutral....the Uggs are more expensive but possibly more comfortable.
Decisions, decisions.

As I may have mentioned, it's my 30th birthday next month. I was thinking of getting a new camera but I'm not sure what to go for. Also, I thought getting a Kindle might be good. Again, undecided.

What to do? What to do?

Girl Crush: Millie "Made in Chelsea" Mackintosh

I have a new (ish) girl crush. Millie Mackintosh from "Made In Chelsea" is definitely the most stylish girl on the programme!
I'm not a fan of the other girls....Caggie has a stupid name, Binky has a stupid name....Rosie has totally flat hair and is obviously going to turn out to be the one that Hugo cheated on Millie with!
So that leaves the lovely Millie! Let's check out her fashion..



Millie Mackintosh in nudes

Hugo always looks so scruffy next to her!

This was by far my favourite outfit but unfortunately I can't find a full length picture!
The group went shooting and the girls rocked the English Heritage look to perfection!

Blue carpet style. Not long til she makes it to the red carpet!

The perfect winter outfit

This girl knows how to rock a hat!

Retro cute with a Chanel bag

So jealous of her tassle Mulberry bag!

And sadly, that is about all the pics I could find on google :(   

I'm definitely aspiring to her long, shiny hair......

Hop,skip,jump!

Ok, so I've been a bit lame on the blogging front recently....but that's because I haven't bought anything! Until now...

Check out my new bunny ring!

It was only £2 in the Miss Selfridge sale and I thought it looked pretty similar to the Me and Zena one that everyone and their dog has been blogging about. It's actually bronze in colour....

I also found a bargain dress for £10 in New Look, part of their Pussy Boutique range.

I don't know if you can tell but it has tiny, white horses printed on it. And a nice, stretchy middle that will hopefully grow with my tummy! I don't think it was actually supposed to be reduced to £10 as it came up at £25 on the till. Their loss!

What esle? Everything else is pregnancy related and therefore probably quite boring for you! I've been testing a few pregnancy related products.

Sea bands are my new saviour against morning sickness.

They are £12 and work through acupuncture. I don't even care if it's a placebo effect as any relief from the sickness is fine by me!

I've also been trying a stretch mark oil by Superdrug but I remain unconvinced as yet.

And that's about all. I will try and fit in a few more posts around sleeping and feeling sick!