Lush at Easter

I can't deny I have a big little obsession for Lush! I was never really interested a year or so ago as the smell used to give me a headache every time I went into the shop. The kind of scents I like and food I even like has changed quite a lot over the last few months and so I've been drawn to Lush more than ever before.

Knowing the easter stuff was now in store I had to pop in and see what goodies were available! There were quite a few new products, some I loved the smell of, others not so much so this is what I ended up coming away with.

'Bunch of Carrots' are super cute and make me feel really festive. You can get a good three baths out of these if you use a carrot in each bath. They have that typical sweet lush smell which fills your bathroom if you keep them in a little basket, just make sure not to eat them. I'm sure they don't taste as good.

'Fluffy Egg' is one of my favourites from the range as it smells like candyfloss which is a very similar smell to Snow Angel. Its very sweet but once mixed into the water it creates a wonderful scent. I also love the name of this bath bomb, it makes me think of my sister!

'Hoppity Poppity' is another fun little bath bomb that I had to pick up! Its so adorable for one but I also loved the fresh scent of this one. The herbal scent makes for a really relaxing bath as it fizzes away where the popping candy inside adds some fun and excitement to your bath time. 

'Secret Garden' is a wonderful name for this bath bomb. It reminds me of the film that I used to love so much as a kid. Anything which relates to good memories in my lifetime is a winner for me. This has the wonderful smell of fresh flowers and roses! Perfect for a pick me up when you just want to wind down in the evenings, book in hand and the lights dimmed for that mood setting.

These have certainly given me some happiness while I've been using them, I'm just sad that I never saw any of the other bath bombs I have seen on the website like 'Harvey' the rabbit and 'Immaculate Eggception' so I'll just have to wait until the next range comes out. Definitely give Lush a go if you ever pop by one as it will change your bath times forever!

What has been your favourite from the easter Lush collection?

Happy Sunday! Its only a week to go until I can have an easter bath while easting a hot cross bun at the same time. Can you tell I'm excited?

Love Khrissie x

British Baking - Chockie Tea

So its the weekend and whats better than chilling out and doing a spot of baking? The good thing about having three housemates is that they can test all my creations for me so I know your getting the best recipes, I am sure they will agree.

Today I have a recipe for you that is quintessentially British! Its important to be proud of where you come from, because it makes you who you are, from the accent to the humour and quirky ways of doing things. There are lots of things about Britain that I love, one of the main things being tea! On my trip to Asia I don't think I had a cup of the good stuff the whole time I was away, mainly because they just don't make it the same over there. Green tea on the other hand is pretty nice but I love the proper builders tea with a dash of milk and one sugar. (I'm not particular at all!)

This is a really tasty cookie recipe and tastes like your drinking a cup of tea without actually drinking it. Its a weird concept but it really works. I dipped the cookie in tea coloured chocolate to add an indulgent feel to the cookie and to make it feel as if its been dipped in the tea. Everyone loves chocolate so you can't go wrong, but if you have not got much of a sweet tooth you can leave it off.

Ingredients: (Makes 12)
125g butter
3 black tea bags
100g light brown soft sugar
125g caster sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
225g self-raising flour
pinch of salt
100g white chocolate
100g milk chocolate

To make:
1/ Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2/ Melt the butter in a pan or microwave (dont boil). Once all melted add in tea leaves
from the tea bags and mixed until combined. Wait a few minutes for the butter to cool.
3/ Add the sugars to the bowl and mix in the butter and tea mixture until blended.
4/ Combine the egg and vanilla into the mix and stir well.
5/ Sift in the flour and stir in slowly until combined into a dough.
6/ Either roll out the dough into a sausage shape and cut into even cookies or roll into little balls and squash slightly.
7/ Place the cookies on a baking tray, giving enough room between the cookies as they will spread.
8/ Cook for 7-10 minutes depending how soft or crunchy you want them.
9/ While the cooking are baking heat up a pan of water and melt the chocolate in a bowl above the water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl otherwise the chocolate will burn. Melt the white chocolate first, adding in the milk chocolate to achieve your perfect tea colour.
10/ Allow the cookies to cool for a few minutes before dunking them in the chocolate and allowing them to cool (if you can)
There you have it! Your very own British biscuit!

 

These really are tasty! and if you want more of a biscuit just give them a little longer in the oven. 

Now I am looking at these again I'm going to have to bake some as I have some spare dough left over from making this batch. If you want to refrigerate the dough like I do and make them fresh each time you fancy one then you can. Your friends will love you for it to!

I hope you enjoyed this British recipe and like the taste of them as much as me and my friends do. 

So what do you think of using usual flavours in cookies and biscuits? Do let me know if you make them, I'd love to see some pictures.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend

Love Khrissie x

First try... Bobbi Brown

Hello there! You're probably wondering who I am as I have been away so long! Since the end of January I was away for two weeks as I won a Contiki trip to Asia, which was amazing! It was always something I have wanted to do and to be able to do it when I did, was perfect for me as I felt like I was having a mini quarter life crisis at the time. The trip really opened up some new doors for me and  helped me discover a few things about myself which I didn't know before. Two week was a perfect amount to be away but I don't feel like I have fully 'discovered' as much of myself as I want to just yet, so new trips are going to be planned soon!

I have been super busy since and have been trying to write posts for a while but I haven't had time as I have been ill and had too much life stuff to do. I dont want to have lots of excuses but this blog is for me and a hobby that I want to love and if I put too much pressure on myself I will begin to hate it, but I'm here now and I'm excited to be back!

To start my next post ( I am going to make ever effort to post at least once a week from now on) I am going to be talking about a beauty brand I shockingly haven't tried yet for some unknown reason. Thanks to my mum and sister for getting me these gifts I have finally been able to give some a try. I have to admit, as soon as I laid my eyes on them I became a little bit addicted. Not only are the products beautiful, with some gorgeous packaging but they apply lovely too!

This first product is one of Bobbi Browns staple beauty items, the shimmer blusher. This is the aptly named 'Coral' which is the perfect amount of pink to orange ratio on the cheek. Perfect for spring as it gives a beautiful golden glow to the cheeks with its golden flecks running throughout.

Next I got given some mini products, which included this mini lipgloss (too cute!), an eye cream which is below and a baby eye makeup remover which I am all more than happy with, mainly because I love mini anything! After using them for a while I think I'm going to have to pick up a bigger version of the eye cream as it feels wonderfully smooth and cooling on the eyes, although a small amount really goes a long way with this product so this one will last me a little longer yet. The lipgloss is a pretty shimmery colour and suits the blusher really well. The eye makeup remover is actually pretty good! I was worried about the oily consistency at first but it really helps to remove that stubborn mascara without scrubbing at your eye.

Last up is my favourite product from the bunch! I first of all wanted this purely because of the packaging!

I love the old school design of the crest on the outer packaging, embossed in gold and finished off with a faux ribbon design. Once you open the box you instantly fall in love! The wood effect packaging with the gold trim and simple type is just beautiful and something that could happily live on my dressing table. It took me a long time to actually use it as I didn't want to make any mark on it, but I finally caved in and was really happy with the result. The shimmer brick in 'Copper Diamond' itself is gorgeous! It highlights your face in such a way that your skin looks so glowing and healthy, you actually want people to look at you, a must have for the S/S months.

I hope you enjoyed a look into the beginning of my Bobbi Brown collection. I cant wait to add some more products to it, especially if the packaging is just as pretty. What products do you love from Bobbi Brown? I'd love to know any recommendations.

Now I've got the blogging bug back I'll be posting and interacting on social media a lot more from today. So watch this space for a lot more recipes, fashion posts, beauty and some DIYs in the next few months.

Love Khrissie xx

If you have any questions about any of the products just write a comment below and I'll get back to you as soon as possible!

Healthy Snacks: Coconut Bites

Today I am going to share with you a recipe that I tried and tested from a wonderful blog called 'My Whole Food Life'. I've been reading a lot of food blogs lately as I have been on the hunt for a healthier version of some of my favourite foods like pizza. I am definitely not one for starving myself on these fad diets, which in all fairness are never really good for you as your weight ends up yo-yoing when you do decide you want to indulge on a pizza.

This year is all about being happy and I am not 100% happy with my body. Its not completely terrible but its not all that good either and rather make myself unhappy by sweating all my spare time at the gym and starving myself of the foods I love, why not just make some small changes that can in turn can make a much bigger difference.

I came across this post and once I tried it I just had to share it with you, specifically from an amateurs perspective. We all known that you see these amazing pictures of these wonderful food, try them and they end up looking like something the cat dragged in! This a gluten free recipe is surprisingly easy, its gluten free and can also be vegan if you find alternatives.

Prep Time: 5 minutes 
Cook Times: 20 minutes

To start of with you are going to need:
1 1/2 (173g) cups raw pecans 
12 medjool dates (remove pits)
1 cup (230ml) sweetened condensed milk (vegan)
1/2tsp sea salt
1 cup (100g) unsweetened shredded coconut
3/4 cup (110g) dark chocolate chunks

You can either buy a set of weighing cups here or use the conversion.

Instructions: 
Preheat oven to 350 
Measure out your raw pecans and add them to your food processor with your pitted dates. Add in the salt and whiz up until the mixture starts to stick together.

Line a glass dish, around 8inches wide with parchment or greaseproof paper leaving some extra at the edges. Add the mixture to the dish, making sure all the base it covered and press down with a fork.

Next pour a cup of the condensed milk over the mixture, making sure it is evenly covered. You then need to weigh the coconut and chocolate chunks and sprinkle them on top of the condensed milk. Lightly press into the condensed milk with your fork.

Then just pop in the oven for 20-25 minutes. This is where you need to catch up on some YouTube or blogs, as time seems so stop as soon as the smell of warm chocolate fills the air.

Get out of the oven and place on a cooling rack until completely cool and slice into whatever shape you like. Now this is even harder but let me tell you, its the best wait you will have. To me it tastes like a bounty with the coconut in, (so of course you can substitute it with whatever you like) but knowing its pretty healthy for you there is no guilt of shame after you have devoured a few slices.

As you can see its a gooey and chocolatey piece of heaven! Get it in the fridge quickly to make it less messy and enjoy it all to yourself, knowing you could be getting 1 of your 5 a day! 

I hope you have enjoyed todays recipe, please let me know if you make it.

I'm going to be doing more in the near future and even going to try my hand at making my own.

Have a lovely rest of the week guys!

Love Khrissie xx

Travelling the UK: The Lakes

Happy New Year everyone!

I'm glad to be back. Christmas was wonderful with all the family, catching up with friends, over eating and playing board games. It came and went so quickly that it was New Year before I could say 2015. For the New Year I went up North with my partner to see his family who I had not seen in months. We travelled up on the Mega Bus on New Years eve and enjoyed a takeaway, played more games and set off our own fireworks into the new year, it was wonderful. The next few days were spent seeing the rest of the family until it got to the 3rd Jan.

On the 4th of Jan it was mine and Nicks 5 year anniversary of being together (if you want to here how we met etc let me know) and so we thought we would celebrate it in a different way. My New Years resolution is to be happy and part of that is doing more of what I love. Travelling and seeing new places is one of them so we thought we would head to The Lakes for the day with his parents. I've always wanted to travel back to The Lakes since I visited it as a kid and fell in love with it.

Kendal, UK

Kendel, UK

We left Wakefield at 8:30am and headed for Skipton, a quaint little town in the heart of the countryside. It was the perfect place to stop for a cup of tea and a tea cake before we carried on the rest of the journey. Next stop was Kendel, this was another small market town, full of cute shops and beautiful limestone houses. One of those places you could imagine spending your days when you were a little older. It was lovely to just walk around and take in the beauty of the place. After a quick stop at Costa and a cream cake (my favourite) we headed on our journey up to the lakes. 

If you follow me on social media you would have heard I got a new camera from the boyfriend at Christmas, he really spoilt me and I am so grateful for it. I've been wanting to learn how to use a camera properly for years so this was a perfect way for me to learn. He got me the Nikon D3300 which is a lovely size and looks quite simple to use with some practice. I thought this trip would be the perfect time to test the camera out to see how it compared to my little canon camera. All photos shown in this post are the results I got from it. On first impressions I'm quite impressed. So I spent a lot of my time just looking around and trying to spot opportunities where I could take a snap and practice my composition and instinct in finding beauty in the most simple of things.

After a short drive we arrived in Windermere, which took my breath away as the view of the lake came into site. It really is a beautiful place, tucked up in the heart of the Peak District just waiting for you to discover it. If you ever have a chance to explore the UK you should definitely pay a visit. I am sure you will not be disappointed.

We spent a good while here just looking out onto the distant hills and feeding the swans and ducks which seem to populate most of the area. It was lovely to be somewhere away from our usual surroundings of London and discovering how beautiful our country can really be.

Our last stop was a 15 minute drive to the other end of the lake in Ambleside. Not much different to the other towns we have visited but beautiful all the same. There were a lot of B&Bs in this town so the perfect place to stay if you want to visit the Peak District for a few days. I was thinking how nice it would be a to have your own little B&B in that area. It would be a lovely business to have if you did not like the hustle and bustle of the overcrowded cities.

The sun set around 4:15pm that day so as it got dark we decided to head back home. We were lucky enough to see the sun set behind the hills of the lakes which was stunning. My first sunset of 2015! It was a wonderful day and I'm really pleased we decided to go. It made for a wonderful start to the New Year as it kept me super busy, just enjoying the simplicities of life with some of my favourite people. Definitely make the most of each day you have, even if it is something simple and never put too much pressure on yourself to do anything as it will just make you feel terrible.

Plan a trip around where you live, its a lot cheaper than going on holiday abroad and you can still have as much fun. There might not be the hot sun to lay around in but who wants to spend all their days getting sunburnt when there are all the places in the world which you have never seen before.

Are there any places you want to visit this year?
I've decided I want to go to Scotland for my birthday this year as I have never been before and I cant wait to spend more time doing more of what I love! I'm going to leave you with this beautiful picture I managed to get of the sunset as we are heading home. Life is beautiful so live the adventure!

Love Khrissie xx

A resolution for us all!

Resolutions are great because it makes us all think in a positive way! We tell ourselves what we want to change so we are happier people, but why is it so hard to keep those promises? It's because we put too much pressure on ourselves to make those changes and normally ask ourselves to change a lot all at once.

This year I'm going to have one resolution and it's very simple: 'To be happy and make other people happy' 

So no matter what that might entail I don't have to put pressure on myself to be a whole new person as soon as January 1st begins because who cares if we have flaws, are slightly messy and put on a bit of weight over the holidays, we were happy doing it so why punish ourselves? 

Things for me are going to change in 2015 with being happy in the forefront of my mind but for now I'm gong to focus on the things that make me happy right now!

My friends, family and my wonderful boyfriend are something I never want to change as they make me the happiest of all! I'm spending my new year with the boyfriends wonderful family and enjoying a takeaway with some fireworks to finish and to be honest I can't think of anything better. 

Thank you to all who have read and commented on my blog and helped to make it grow to what it is right now, I can't wait to see where the new year takes me! 

Have an amazing evening and I'll see you in 2015 for the beginning of a happy life! 

Love Khrissie 

Always being thankful

Hello guys,

It's been a while since I've blogged but life has really been so busy, especially when Christmas was just around the corner. Thanksgiving in America has also  happened which always makes me wonder why this is something that happens only once a year and only in America. Its way more important than Valentines, Easter, Halloween and even Christmas in some circumstances. A lot can happen in a year, most of which you could never expect in a million years.

So many sad stories of friends, family members getting ill or even passing away, own family issues and news stories about other people around the world having to deal with sadness. Knowing that you cant do much about many of these things is not a nice feeling, which is why I think so many people become blind to a lot of these situations.

Going into 2015 is where Im going to change the direction of this blog, mainly because of the over saturation of beauty and fashion where every few blogs have the same reviews about the same things, and quite frankly I hate following the crowds. I want to do something more meaningful and something where I can actually help people to stop some of this sadness, even only for a minute. I will be donig more DIYs and will include fashion and beauty but I want to help solve problems, help you be more confident or realise how pretty you are and show you how important life is to live, instead of being so obsessed in an online life.

I hope you will come along on this journey with me because I'm pretty excited about it. Since I was a little girl I have always wanted to help people, whether that was helping an old lady cross the street or understanding those people with deep issues and telling them it will be okay.

So watch this space ladies and gents,
2015 is going to be a good one!

Love Khrissie x