Holiday outfits - Cyprus

 

Hello you,

 

This is probably a rather late post about holiday outfits but I have been so busy with work I've not managed to write this! I went to Cyprus at the end of September with my best friend Hazel. Having never visited Cyprus I was amazed at how warm it still was. We spent the majority of the time relaxing by the pool or lounging on various beaches and boats.

Pure bliss.

 

 

Outfit 1

 

White crop top - New Look

Skort - Boohoo Sale

 

I love this outfit, it is really simple. I would never usually be as daring with the colour of the skort, but you can get away with much more when you are on holiday. I paired it with some silver sandals and a really simple silver necklace.

 

 

(Excuse the messy room)

 

Outfit 2

 

 

Playsuit from Missguided

 

Outfit 3

 

Playsuit - Missguided

Shoes - Boohoo

 

This is my favourite outfit, I got it really last minute from the Missguided sale for only £14. Its a beautiful floral pattern and goes brilliantly with a tan.

 

Outfit 4

 

 

 Dress - Miss Selfridge

Shoes - Dune

 

This was another majorly last minute purchase. Only £8 from Miss Selfridge and I think I will be wearing it again and again. It's a really lovely material and my favourite colour at the moment Khaki. Paired with my favourite tan heels from Dune.

 

 

 Us on a day trip on a boat.

 

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog. I am hoping to write a post on Christmas Present idea's in the next couple of weeks. Take care, Nat xxx

Goodwood OOTD

What with racing season in full swing I thought it about time to do a outfit post. I live near Goodwood and Fontwell racecourses so there is plenty of racing days to go to over the year. My friends and I have been to the Goodwood Three Friday nights for the past three years with the likes of Rudimental, Gorgon City and Chase and Status. This year saw the mighty fine Idris Elba take to the DJ booth.

 

I chose a very simple white knee length bodycon dress from River Island, paired with bright blue shoes, matching necklace and a few Cloudberry clutch bags. Less is more!

 

Cloudberry Bags - Ritz gold clutch bag

Shoes - Dorothy Perkins

Necklace - H&M

 

Cloudberry bags - Lexington Clutch Nude Sparkle

 

 

I had my hair pulled back simply into a Fishtail plait by the talented Connie from Hackers Hair Salon in Arundel.

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions about my outfit please leave a comment. Go and check out the Cloudberry bags website. Much love, Nat xox

Easy peasy carrot cake muffins

I love carrot cake. What I don't love is the amount of fat and sugar in it. So here is an healthier option - Carrot Cake Muffins

Ingredients - Makes 12 muffins

Carrots - 330grams once peeled and grated 

Plain flour - 280grams

1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 teaspoons of cinnamon 

1 medium egg

120 grams of white sugar

90 ml almond milk

90ml vegetable oil 

1 teaspoon vanilla essence (I use vanilla paste)

3 tablespoons honey 

I used 80 grams cream cheese and kept adding icing sugar unti thick enough. You don't have to have icing, but its extra yummy. 

Recipe 

1 Preheat your oven to 190c and put 12 muffin cases into your baking tray.

2 Sift all dry ingredients into a bowl - flour, baking powder, bicarbonate, salt and cinnamon. 

3 In a separate bowl, break the egg, then add milk, sugar, vanilla essence and honey. Then add the oil.

4 Stir the wet ingredients in with the dry. Do not over mix, it will be lumpy.

5 Spoon into muffin cases and cook for 20 minutes. (Times may be different, check with a scewer)

6 Top with the icing if you want. 

 Let me know how you get on with these. I hope you love them as much as I do.

much love, 

Nat xxx

Apple and cinnamon porridge in less then 10 minutes

Happy Sunday,

Here is a very quick super healthy breakfast that is one of my absolute favorites.

INGREDIENTS

1  Apple

50grams oats

300ml unsweetened almond milk (or milk of your choice)

1\2 tsp cinnamon 

30grams sultanas

Optional

Fresh fruit for topping

Drizzle of honey 

RECIPE

1Put the almond milk and oats together in a saucepan on a low to medium heat.

2 While that's coming to the boil chop half of the Apple into small chunks.

3 Add the sultanas, chopped Apple and cinnamon to the saucepan.

4 Cook the porridge for another 4-5 minutes. It will thicken suddenly.

5 Pour into a bowl and top with fresh fruit and honey.

There it is. Super easy and so fast. 

Have a good Sunday.

Much love, 

Nat xxx

Banana, chocolate and oat muffins

Hello,

Here is a very quick and simple healthy muffin recipe. I have tried to use the healthiest ingredients.

MAKES 12 MUFFINS

INGREDIENTS

220 grams Self Raising Flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

A generous pinch of salt

110 grams white sugar

50g oats

2-3 large ripened bananas (number you use depends on size)

90ml vegetable oil

70ml almond milk (or your milk of choice)

1 medium egg

75grams chocolate chips

Few drops of vanilla syrup/essence

Optional - Chocolate to drizzle on top of the muffins once cooled

RECIPE - ever so easy

1- Preheat your oven to 180c and pop your muffin cases into a muffin tin.

2- Sift your flour, sugar, bicarbonate and salt together. Then add the oats and chocolate chips.

3- In a separate bowl mash your bananas up. Add to this the milk, oil, vanilla and beaten egg.

4- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix together. Do not over mix and don't worry if it's lumpy.

5- Fill all 12 muffin cases so they are full.  

6- Place in the middle shelf of the oven, bake for 20 mins. Check after this time with a skewer. If not cooked pop back in the oven for a few more minutes. 

You can drizzle with melted chocolate or leave as they are. 

Please ask if you have any questions.

Thank you for reading,

much love,

Nat xxx

Peanut, banana and cacao refrigerated oats

I have started the new year trying to eat healthier and to try and work out 3-4 times a week. At the moment I'm doing well. But it's only the 10th January!

I really struggle eating breakfast for 3 reasons - 

I have to leave for work at 8am and have lots of things to do before leaving

I can't stomach anything heavy very early 

I also can't be bothered to faff about making something

These are probably the same excuse for you reading this too..

But wait I think I have the answer. Peanut, banana and cacao refrigerated oats.

It's healthy, quick and is all ready for you in the morning. Perfect

Ingredients- 

1/2 cup of oats 

1/2 cup of almond milk (you can use any milk you prefer)

1 Tbsp Cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

1 Tbsp Smooth Peanut butter (crunchy if you prefer) 

1 Tbsp honey 

1 chopped banana

Optional 

1 Tsp Flax and Chia seeds 

Fruit to top and chopped dark chocolate to top 

Recipe- 

This is the easy bit. Place the oats, almond milk, cacao powder, peanut butter, honey, flax seeds and banana in a plastic container and mix together. I don't add the banana at this point. I prefer them chopped up on top. Put in the fridge overnight. 

In the morning take them out of the fridge, top with fresh banana or if you want a cheeky treat some chopped dark chocolate. 

So there you go-  the easiest, tasiest and healthiest start to those early mornings.

Let me know how you get on.

Much love, 

Natalie xxx 

My everyday make up routine

Hello you,

Merry Christmas and a happy New year to you.
I hope you ate your body weight in chocolates and mince pies! 

I thought I would share with you my everyday make routine, all the products I use and how. Most of my make up is a reasonable price I only have one or two more expensive (but well worth it) products. I am not a make up artist - and don't claim to be. 

*All of these products I bought myself*

The first thing I do is start by moisturising my dry areas on my face (chin, around my nose and under my eyes) I use Dove cream as I find this is what works best for my skin. Probably not the best but hey ho! I then moisturise my lips with my favourite lip butter by The Body shop - Mango lip butter.

 

I then fill in my eyebrows using Browzings by Benefit. This is the best eyebrow product I have ever used and is well worth paying extra. I then use L'oreal black eyeliner on the top of my eye, it's so easy to use and each pen that I buy always lasts several months.

Next is concealer and primer. I have always used Benefit Boing around my nose and under my eyes. It's in shade 02 light-medium. I then use Rimmel wake me up concealer over any blemishes and on my cheeks - Shade Ivory 10. I then use Dainty Doll eyeshadow base on my eyelid (bit strange I know) I find this stops my eyeliner smudging throughout the day.

I have used this foundation for about 3 years now. It's a favourite with lots of bloggers - Rimmel Wake me up foundation. I love the glow that it gives to your skin even when you might not be feeling brilliant. I switch between Shade Ivory 100 in the winter and Shade True Ivory 103 in the summer.
A make up must have.

I always set my foundation with a very light layer of Rimmel Stay Matte Powder in Transparent 1. It doesn't block my pores up and lasts all day.

This is the only part of my everyday make up collection that is slightly more expensive - But I think well worth it. Its the Guerlain Teracotta bronzer. At a pricey £34.50 (pricey for me) I buy this once a year as a treat to myself. The shade I use is Brunettes 03. Although when I re-purchase I will be buying Sun brunettes in 05 as my hair is now lighter. It has beautiful bronzes and oranges that really compliment your skintone. I LOVE this product.

 After I put my bronzer on my cheekbones, forehead and chin. I then put a small amount of Benefit blusher on the apples of my cheeks. I use Benefit Bella Bamba which they no longer sell. So the alternative is CORALista.

I don't have to worry about my eyelashes as I have eyelash extensions every 3 weeks. But I still put a quick coat on my bottom lashes. I tend to grab a cheapy mascara (Rimmel Volume Mascara)  but always finish it with Bare Minerals Locked and Coated (waterproof topcoat) which stops you looking like a panda!

My go to lip products for the past few months have been these two as you need some warmer colours in the winter. Seventeen Stay Pout by Boots Lipstick in Shade Rule Breaker with Rimmel Apocalips Eclipse over the top.

I couldn't be without my Tangle Teezer and dry shampoo. Both absolute life savers.

Body Shop Mango Lip Butter - £4
Dove nourishment cream - £3
Benefit Browzings - £24.50
L'Oreal Black pen eyeliner - £6.99
Benefit Boing - £17.50
Rimmel Wake me up concealer - £5.49
Rimmel Wake me up foundation - £8.99
Rimmel Stay Matte powder - £3.99
Guerlain Terracotta Bronzer - £34.50
Benefit Bella Bamba - £24.50
Rimmel Mascara - £5.99
Bare Minerals Locked and Coated - £10.50
Stay Pout Seventeen - £4.49
Rimmel Apocolips - £6.49

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask me. I have hopefully listed everything above. I use these 14 products every single day and love them.

 

I hope you had a good Christmas and have a fabulous new year.

Much love,

 

Nat xoxox

 

The perfect cupcake everytime

Hello you, 

Here I have the simplest vanilla cupcake recipe. It has 4 basic ingredients which all weigh the same. I have made a variety of cupcakes which were all OK but I wanted to master the classic vanilla cupcake. They are so light and fluffy - finished off with a beautiful swirl of vanilla buttercream.

VANILLA CUPCAKE INGREDIENTS

Makes 12 cupcakes

170g Unsalted Butter at room temperature

170g Caster sugar

170g Self raising flour

3 Medium eggs (they also weigh 170g)

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla extract 

RECIPE

1 - Preheat the oven to 170c or gas mark 3. Put 12 cupcake cases in the tins.

2 - Put the butter (at room temperature) and caster sugar into the mixing bowl and whisk on a high speed until creamy and pale. 

3 - Mix each egg in one at a time. Whisk for 3 minutes after adding all 3 eggs until light and fluffy. I always break my eggs into a separate bowl just to make sure the eggs are OK. This way you shouldn't ever get any shell in your cake mix!

4 - Mix one teaspoon of Vanilla extract into the cake mixture.

5 - Place all of the self raising flour into a sieve and put into the cake mix. Whisk the mixture for 4 minutes on high power.

6 - I use an ice cream scoop to put the mixture into the cases. All should be 3/4 full. Put into the preheated oven for 15/16 minutes until golden brown. Don't be afraid that they won't be done, these can be over done quite quickly!

VANILLA BUTTER-CREAM INGREDIENTS 

150g salted butter at room tempurature

150g - 250g icing sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla extract 

RECIPE 

1 - Whisk the butter on a high speed for 3-5 minutes until it changes from yellow to a pale colour. This will make it easier rather then trying to mix the icing sugar and butter at the same time.

2 - Add half of the 150g icing sugar and whisk on high speed with the butter. After this is all mixed add the other half of icing sugar. Doing this in two stages will stop you being surrounded by a cloud of icing sugar!

3 - Add 1 teaspoon of Vanilla extract to the buttercream and mix in.

(The reason I had 150g - 250g icing sugar is that sometimes you need a little extra to thicken up, or if you add other flavourings/syrups it needs less. So adding less means you can always add more.)

4 -  You can either use a palette knife to spread the buttercream on top of the cupcakes but I prefer to use a piping bag. Use whichever nozzle you like - I am using an open star (Not too sure of the actual name) Place the buttercream into the piping bag. If the buttercream seems too slack put it into the fridge for 10 minutes to firm up. 

5 - You can decorate the cupcakes however you wish. There are so many lovely glitters/sprinkles in the shops so decorate how you wish. I did a few different styles - I used pink and gold glitter, purple, pink and blue strands and chopped up chocolate. 

** Temperatures vary on different ovens. I have just written what I find works for me. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions**

Thank you for taking your time to read this, I hope this helps.

Nat xxx