Life Lately #3

At my cousin Nicola's wedding, me (second from right) with all my cousins

With my best friend celebrating my 21st birthday

More birthday celebrations

Birthday celebrations with the family! Me and my baby sister - can you believe she's five years younger than me?!

Celebrating the end of university! *sob*

I cannot believe how fast 2014 is flying by, and we're already halfway through June! I've been absent for the last three months because I've been focusing all my attention on my dissertation, but I can't tell you how happy I was went I logged on yesterday to find out my views had gone up from 5,000 to 13,000. It means the world to me that you guys are still coming to the site and reading through my posts! So here's a quick little life update on what I've been up to, before I jump back to blogging everyday (and perhaps even more).

1) Dissertation - of course this had to come first. This is the biggest piece of work I have ever done, and probably ever will. It was a pretty stressful and tiring process but not as bad as I imagined. I was lucky that I tried to get organised so I didn't have any long nights or 72 hour stints in the library - well hopefully it was because I'm organised and not because I did it wrong!

2) Wedding bells - my cousin Nicola got married back in April so I travelled up to Hereford for the wedding and got to catch up with all my family who I hadn't seen in months. The wedding was in this wonderful old country house, and luckily it was a nice sunny day (mostly).

3) Time away - my boyfriend and I went for our second weekend away in beautiful Bath for his birthday at the start of May. We stayed in the most beautiful hotel ever, the Queensberry, and spent the days doing all the touristy things like sightseeing and shopping. It was great to get out of Bournemouth for a couple of days, spend some time together and enjoy a new place.

4) BIRTHDAY!! - yes that's right, I turned 21 back at the end of May! I was incredibly spoilt by my wonderful family, friends and boyfriend and it was one of the best birthdays ever. I celebrated by going for dinner and cocktails with my closest friends at my favourite beach-side restaurant. 

5) Finishing university - dissertation done, two weeks of newsdays checked off and now I am officially finished! Three years have gone so fast, but it really has been the best time of my life. Although I wish I could have relaxed and enjoyed my first year more, I definitely learnt some valuable life lessons and made the best friends I could have wished for.

6) Job hunting - now I've said goodbye to university it's time for the real world to start, and yes I am absolutely terrified! Although it's wonderful to see so many paid opportunities out there it is scary to think about all the other people with the same degree, or better, who will be applying for them as well. At the moment all I am hoping for is to get a full time paid job, which will allow be save and enable me to move to London to pursue my dream of working in magazines. 

It really has been a busy three months, but now it's all over and I have lots of free time to work on my blog and give it a big redesign. I'd love to hear your feedback if there's anything you'd like to see on the blog, or if you've got any recommendations for me then drop a comment below!

Beth xxx

The Online Positivity Challenge

Image source - from We Heart It

When I read this article published by Cosmo I found myself in complete agreement with them and Body Gossip. Far too often we use our Twitter, Facebook and other social media channels to complain, bitch or argue. I'm lucky that on my Twitter I follow lots of lovely, inspirational bloggers and magazines, but not a day goes by where I don't plenty of negative things. I don't know about you - and maybe it's just me - but my Facebook is full of people complaining about everything and anything, or using social media as an excuse to write a very pointed, bitchy status without actually naming the person involved (come on guys, we all know who you're talking about). While we all may enjoy a bit of drama once in a while - especially if it doesn't affect our life - it does get a bit repetitive.
So for the next week I will be joining Body Gossip and Cosmo Online on their Online Positivity Challenge. On all my social media I will only be posting and sharing positive and inspiring thoughts and pictures, and I encourage you ALL to do the same. Hopefully then when we all log on to our Twitter or Facebook, we'll feel happy instead of envious, angry or upset. Life is hard, and we all need a bitch and a moan, but think how much good we could all do together if we stayed positive for just one week.

Here are some thoughts to get your started!

1) What has inspired you in the past week?
I'm finished my degree in about four months time, so I'm starting to look for internships and jobs. While it's encouraging to see so many *paid* opportunities out there, it can be disheartening to know a lot of people will be applying for the same one. I'm lucky that I've found some jobs that I really want and know I would be good at, so it's inspired me to really get stuck into my university work and try my best.

2)Who do you know doing good in the world?
Some of my closest friends. One who is always off raising money for charity and another who has trained incredibly hard to become a veterinary nurse, hearing her stories is so inspiring.

3) What was the last thing you heard that made you think your city/country/area was a great place to live in?
On days like today where it's warm and sunny, Bournemouth is a really amazing and positive place to be. I think it's got something to do with being by the beach in good weather, it just instantly puts everyone in a happy mood.

4) Who are your style icons?
My friends and the amazing bloggers I follow! Thanks to Twitter I have found so many amazing fashion and beauty blogs which have inspired me to try something new. Pinterest is also amazing for finding new ideas

5) Which celebrities or public figures do you admire?
Jennifer Lawrence (who doesn't) for keeping things real, and being a positive role model for women everywhere. Cameron Diaz and Gywneth Paltrow, both for being so laid back. Helen Mirren and Judi Dench, they are both amazing actresses and prove you can look fab at any age.

Will you be joining the Online Positivity Challenge? Let me know so I can follow you!

Beth xx 

Mississippi Mud Pie

I introduced my housemate Sophie, who blogs over at Sophie Says, to the Great British Bake Off this week and she loved it. So we decided to spend Wednesday afternoon making a Mississippi Mud Pie (seeing as it was Pies and Tarts week). This recipe is literally like a brownie in a pie crust topped with a mountain of whipped cream - delicious but a bit of a naughty treat!
But it turns out cooking in a student kitchen is not so easy as cooking at home. We realised we didn't even have a mixing bowl so we made a quick trip to Asda to pick one up - along with a rotary whisk. Then after making the pastry and leaving it chill for an hour we realised we didn't have a rolling pin either - a highball glass makes a very good substitute though!
Our first bake in the new house was a great success and I wanted to share the recipe with you all. Like the Scandilious Chelsea Buns these do take up a lot of your time, what with making the pastry and the two stage cooking process, so I recommend you try out this recipe when you've got a free afternoon to yourself.
Oh. And make sure you have all the equipment before you start the recipe!

For the pastry

• 260g plain flour
• 110g butter or Stork cubed

For the filling

• 150g dark chocolate cubed
• 50g unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp golden syrup
• 6 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 300g soft brown sugar
• 300ml double cream whipped into stiff peaks
  

Ready to bake

1. Combine the butter and plain flour in a large bowl until it resembles breadcrumb, then slowly add a tablespoon of water until it comes together loosely. Be careful not to use too much water or you will end up with a sticky dough, we used about 4 tbsp. 
2. Wrap the ball of dough in clingfilm and leave to chill in the fridge - this will make it easier to roll out.
3. After the hour is up roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface to about the thickness of a pound coin, carefully pick the dough up and lift gently into a buttered, fluted 23cm loose bottomed tart tin.
4. Put a sheet of greaseproof paper over the dough and fill with baking beans (or rice) and partially blind bake for ten minutes, then remove the paper and beans and bake for a further 10 minutes.
5. In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan melt the chocolate, butter and golden syrup together until smooth. Take off the heat and leave to cool slightly.
6. Whisk the eggs with the brown sugar and vanilla egg extract until they are well combined, then pour in the cooled chocolate and beat together until smooth. Make sure the chocolate mixture isn't too hot or it will scramble the eggs!
7. Pour the chocolately mixture into the pie crust and bake in a pre-heated oven at 170C for 30 minutes. You want it to be set with just a slight wobble.
8. When the pie is cooled top with the double cream and add some chocolate flakes

This pie is very rich so will serve 8-10 people, make sure you eat it quickly because it's topped with fresh cream. But I doubt it will be in your fridge for long!

Beth xx

Leibster Blog Award

The lovely ladies over at 20/30 GLAM very kindly nominated me for a Leibster Blog Award. I've only recently discovered this fantastic blog, run by Ashley and Julie, after they left me several lovely blog comments so I encourage you all to head over to their page and start reading!

So what is the Leibster Blog Award?
It is a German word meaning favorite, dearest or beloved. The Liebster Award is a great way to raise your blog's profile and is perfect for blogs which are new or small. This helps blogs get new followers as well as helps you to find new and interesting blogs to nominate! 

The rules:

You have to link back to the person that nominated you.

You must answer the 11 Liebster questions given to you by the person who nominated you.

You have to nominate another 11 bloggers who have under 200 followers to pass the award to.

You have to come up with 11 other questions for your nominees.

You have to notify the bloggers whom you have nominated.

Some bloggers can also include 11 random facts about themselves but this is optional.

Here are my questions from 20/30 GLAM

1. What made you want to start blogging?
I'm currently at university doing a degree in journalism, so a blog is good place for me to practice my writing and also build up my portfolio. I'm also a huge beauty junkie so here I can ramble on about everything I love and get to meet lovely like minded people in the process
2. What are your top 5 fave blogs?
Picking just five blogs is so hard! But at the moment I've enjoyed reading What I Heart Today, LLYMLRS, The Nailasaurus, Tattologist and Vivianna Does Makeup
3. Who is your hero and why?
My parents! They've done so much for me and my brother and sister. They've always supported us and encouraged us to aim high. I appreciate them so much more now that I live away from home.
4. Favorite Actor/Actress?Ryan Gosling - because he's beautiful - and Keira Knightley. 
5. Favorite 3 movies?
Gangster Squad, The Green Mile and Bridget Jones. Although I did see "About Time" in the cinema yesterday which was amazing and I encourage you all to go and see! But I don't think it counts seeing as it's just come out.
6. What is your fave makeup brand?
I love Benefit, the products are always great quality and the packaging is so pretty. Sometimes it's a bit out of my student price range so drugstore wise it would be Bourjois or Maybelline.
7. Describe your style in three words.
Constantly ever changing! I can never stick to a style a like for very long, I'm always swayed by my friends' beautiful clothes of blog lookbooks.
8. Married or single? If married, how long?
Single and have been for a year now.
9. Fave place to vacation?
We don't do a lot of vacations but we did have a lovely holiday in Cyprus so I'd love to go there again.
10. What are your hobbies/Interests?I love to write and I'm a constant reader. On holiday I read a 300 page book in 24 hours. You'll usually find me with a book in hand and sometimes reading two books during the same period. I love socialising with my friends, going for a drink or a nice meal out and I like to keep fit - usually doing exercises classes. One of my favourite hobbies is cooking. 
11. What is your fave "thing" in the world?
Workwise - my laptop. It has everything on it and I've nearly had a breakdown when it's died on me (twice in the last three months). Sentimentally - my photos. My grandma, who passed away ten years ago, always kept loads of photo albums and I hope to do the same. (hope I interpreted that question right!)

My nominees!

Luscious Lane
Gingerly Pale
The Beauty Blogger
Rainbow Crush
The Human Mannequin
Locked in a Bow
Hester Lierre
Drained Beauty
Life of a Make Up Junkie
Chesire Cat Chats
She Wore Chic

My questions

1. What is the one beauty product you couldn't live without?
2. What's been the best thing about starting your blog?
3. Favourite book and why?
4. Top three things on your beauty wishlist?
5. Favourite memory?
6. Summer or winter?
7. What's the best thing been about summer 2013?
8. Top blogging tips?
9. Where is your dream holiday destination?
10. Do you have any tattoos/ want any tattoos?
11. Early morning person or night owl?

Can't wait to see the answers

Beth xx

Decadent brownies

If you watched the Great British Bake Off on Tuesday you would have seen the bakers whip up some delicious dessert. My favourites were the petit fours that made up the Showstopper challenge but nothing says dessert to me like a decadent chocolate brownies, generously studded with milk and white chocolate chunks, served warm with a big dollop of vanilla ice-cream.
Making brownies hasn't always come easy to me. My first attempt was during a school cooking lesson where I added a tablespoon of baking powder instead of a teaspoon and then they exploded all over the inside of the oven. The next attempts created brownies that weren't rich and gooey, were too cake like in texture and, on one peculiar occasion, came out of the tin a reddy, brown colour.
This recipe has taken some perfecting but now it never fails to make the most gorgeous, squidgy brownies. I even took a box with me when I moved into uni halls and they really helped to break the ice.

You will need

• 200g dark chocolate
• 180g unsalted butter or Stork
• 85g plain flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 275g caster sugar
• 100g each of white chocolate and milk chocolate 

Try to get the best quality dark chocolate and cocoa powder you can afford as these give the brownie it's rich, deep chocolate flavour. If your budget is tight you can skimp a little on the milk and white chocolate and they are just extra bits. You can remove them completely if you prefer or replace them with the same amount of chopped nut - walnuts would work well

The next steps

1. Put the cubed butter and broken up dark chocolate into a bowl over a saucepan on boiled water and make sure the bowl isn't touching the water. Leave the pan on a low setting (mark 2 for electric hobs) and leave the chocolate and butter to melt together. The trick is do it over a gentle heat so the chocolate doesn't split. Stir occasionally.
2. While the chocolate is melting I like to prepare the other ingredients, so measure out your flour and cocoa powder and seive them into a small bowl. Chop up the milk and white chocolate into bitesize chunks, taking care not to let the knife slip on the chocolate.
3. When the dark chocolate and butter have melted together to form a glossy dark brown liquid, take off the heat and leave to cool.
4. Crack 3 large eggs into a bowl, add the sugar and whisk on the highest setting until it is thick, creamy and doubled in volume.
5. When the dark chocolate mixture is cool, pour into the sugar and egg mixture and gently combine together. Then sift in the flour and cocoa and combine until you have a thick, unctuous batter. Sprinkle in the chocolate chunks and swiftly combine.
6. Pour into a greased and lined tin and spread into an even layer. Bake in the middle shelf of the oven for anywhere between 25-35 minutes. It varies from oven to oven and from batter to batter. You want a brownie that is just set and starting to come away from the edge of the tin.

Enjoy warm with double cream or ice cream of cold with a cuppa. Anyway you like.

Beth xx

Scandilicious Chelsea Buns

I have fond memories of Chelsea buns, going to the local bakery when I was younger and getting to pick which cake I wanted. For me it was always a toss-up between the Chelsea bun or the Belgian bun. The Chelsea thick and square, with a light dusting or sugar, a soft bread like inside crammed with delicious fruit, and the Belgian, smaller, flatter and covered in thick white icing with a glace cherry in the middle. It was often difficult to decide between the two.
After the second episode of the Great British Bake Off focused on bread last night it seemed only fitting to make a dough-based recipe today. While I was going to try my hand at a loaf for the first time, I figured we're more of a sweet household so a treat that could be enjoyed with a cuppa would be much more appreciated.

My friends know how much I love to bake and one of them got me "Scandilicous Baking" by Signe Johansen for my birthday, it's a lovely little book full of all different types of Scandinavian recipes, from breads and flatbread to little savouries and sweet pastries. Unfortunately this is the first time I've had the chance to use it, but when I decided I wanted something dough based I dug it out of my moving boxes and had a flick through.

I will warn you now, making Chelsea buns is not for the faint-hearted or time conscious. You have to work with a very sticky dough because it's enriched with butter, milk, sugar and eggs. It makes for a difficult time rolling out - I was chucking flour everywhere it an attempt to shape it up. The recipe also took me about 3 and half hours in the end - luckily that wasn't constant work. You have to leave the dough to rise for an hour, then once you've rolled in out, filled it with the delicious butter, sugar, spice and fruit filling, rolled it up again and cut it into rounds, you have to leave those to prove for another half hour. While the end result is undeniable delicious I wouldn't recommend baking them if you're in a hurry or you're whipping up something quick for pudding.

I finished these little lovelies off with a sprinkling of demerara sugar and a marmalade glaze. Although they're a lot smaller and flatter than traditional Chelsea buns, they are still pretty delicious - I love the kick of cinnamon and hint of allspice that goes with every bite. Do you fancy making these? You can find the recipe here.

I did burn my thumb quite badly making these though and I've had to type this one handed. So I'm going to go off and feel a bit sorry for myself  - why do the tiniest burns hurt so badly!- and eat one of these!

Beth xx

Aqua zumba - what you need to know

Image source

Morning everyone, it's an early post from me today because I'm off campervan-ing with the family in a few hours. We're not sure exactly where we're going as we've left it a bit late to try and book a site on a bank holiday weekend (and the last one of the year) but I imagine it will be north Devon/Exmoor way.
Last night a friend and I went to our first ever aqua zumba class. We had such a brilliant time that I couldn't wait to share it with you. Originally we were just looking at going swimming for a couple hours at our local pool but when my friend said they were doing aqua zumba classes I jumped at the chance.
I've done a couple of zumba classes, as well as playing on the wii, and I've always enjoyed it. It's a bit of a cross between aerobics and latin dance, luckily for me you don't actually have to be a good dancer you just have to be able to shake your thang!
If you've ever done a zumba class then you will know that just because they are fun does not mean they are easy! You spend the whole hour moving/dancing/shaking around, exercising just about every muscle on your body - including the ones in your face if you happen to get the giggles like me - and by the end you feel hot and sweaty but elated that you've completed the class. Aqua zumba is just as much of a good workout but in different ways.
I was really excited to start, but feeling a bit nervous about what the class actually entailed but when the instructor put on the music - the first song was "do the locomotion" brill! - and start doing the moves you just have fun. You start off with basic warm up moves like jumping jacks and running on the spot before going on to more aerobic based moves, leg lifts, squats, lunches etc. The instructor does the moves from the side of the pool and while they might look easy on dry land, in the water with all the resistant pushing against you they are much harder. Try walking a few steps in the water in one direction before spinning back and walking a few steps, and repeat, and you'll see what I mean! The deeper in the water you go, the more resistant you get and the harder the moves are.
The second half of the class is much more dance based so expect to be wriggling you hips, doing turns in the water and slightly more complicated step moves. It's such a laugh - especially if you go with a friend.
What I love about aqua zumba is it doesn't feel like a workout at all. Because exercise in water in non-weight bearing you don't feel likes there is as much pressure on your muscles. You can feel them stretching out and they might ache slightly afterwards, but the next morning it's all completely gone. Plus being in water means you don't get red and sweaty!
You do feel a bit silly at first, especially if the pool have kept one lane open for normal swimmers who stop now and again to watch you, biut the great thign about it being in water in that no one can see what moves you're doing under the water they can just see you bobbing along to the water.
While I encourage you all to go and try out aqua zumba this class is only for the water confident. While you'll mostly be in the shallow (if you're petite) to the middle (if you're taller) parts of the pool there are parts of the class where you have to support yourself in the water, take your feet of the floor and move your legs in the water.

Do you like the sound of aqua zumba? Or have you already been to a class?

Beth xx

Amazing apple cake

If you follow me on Twitter - and if not, why not? Do it now! - you'll have seen countless tweets from me last night about the Great British Bake Off (sorry about that!). That's right, it's back on our screens. We have weeks stretching ahead of us watching the home bakers whip up delicious goodies and trying not cry when their crème patisserie curdles and the oven just doesn't play ball.
Although me and my sister like to pretend we're baking experts when we're watching GBBO - "that chocolate cake is way too dry", "what is that!!" - I do actually enjoy a bit of baking. It's probably something to do with the fact that I have a sweet tooth, so I can spend all afternoon baking and then have a delicious treat to stuff my face with after. But I have had my fair share of baking disasters, in school I once added tablespoon of baking powder to some brownie mix instead of teaspoon, they rose so much they pretty much exploded over the oven and since that it's taken me years to get brownies right!
Last night it was all about cake, so this week I'm sharing a recipe for a delicious apple cake. I do love this cake, although the main reason I'm making it is because we have a glut of cooking apples in our garden and my mum is pestering me to use them before I head back to uni in a couple of weeks. Although I will be remembering to put sugar into the cake batter and not salt like poor Toby did last night.

Apple tree

You will need: 

• 3-4 large cooking apples
• 225g butter at room temp.
• 275g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2tsp vanilla extract
• 350g self-raising flour
• 2tsp baking power
• Few drops of lemon juice
• Demerara sugar
• Cinnamon (optional)
• Large rectangular baking tin (around 27cm x 20cm)
• Greaseproof paper

Before you say anything - you will need about double the amount of apples!

Get Baking

1. Pre-heat the oven to: 160C for fan ovens | 180C for normal oven |
2. Butter the tin and line with greaseproof paper. I like to leave a little extra hanging over on the longer sides so I can pick the cake out of the tin easily.
3. Peel and core the apples and then cut them into thin slices, about 1cm thick. 
4. *TOP TIP - get a large plastic jug and fill it with cold water and add the lemon juice, then when you slice up the apples pop them straight into the water and it will stop them going brown*
5. Beat together the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and combine
6. Sift in the flour. Because it's such a large amount of flour I like to do this is two batches to ensure I get a lovely lump-free batter. If it looks too thick then add a splash of milk!
7. Pour half of the batter into the prepared tin, then add a layer of apple slices, sprinkle the slices with demerara sugar and a pinch of cinnamon (if using), I just think cinnamon goes so well with apple. Then add the rest of the cake batter on top, add the remaining apple slices and some demerara sugar
8. Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and the sponge springs back when you press the top of it
9. Lift the cake out of the tin - using the handy greaseproof paper handles - and leave to cool on a wire rack

I like to cut this cake into bars, perfect to enjoy with a cuppa, which is what I'm about to do!

Has the Great British Bake Off inspired you to get baking? Share your recipes below

Beth xxx