My 22nd Birthday!

So, it was my 22nd birthday on Sunday 3rd January and I had such a lovely day. It was one of my better birthdays and I was very happy all day long (I was smiling a lot). I thought I would share with you what I got up to and show you how spoilt I was! Firstly, I received a lot of wonderful gifts, including many items from Pandora (a new charm and two gorgeous rings) which I absolutely love and cannot stop wearing them because they are so pretty. You might think I like Pandora, eh!

The Halloween Edit: Nails, Make Up and Films

One thing I really love about Halloween is people's spirit, whether it's making an effort to dress up, buying/making Halloween inspired food, watching scary movies or carving pumpkins. It's a lot like Christmas nowadays, and I really love that so many people get involved, whether old or young, and in any small or big way possible.

First of all, I have seen some really great make up looks floating around various social media sites, and I am in absolute awe in some of the creativity of some bloggers. I wish I have some of the talent that so many of you have, but I have done a little experiment of my own, in trying to create some Halloween inspired nails. As shown in the image above, I think I did pretty well and have received some good responses from people and I am very pleased about them. I think with a little more practice I might try doing some more designs in the future. I'd recommend trying the pattern on my little finger because it is really simple to create, and you could even do it in red so it looks more like blood.

Next, in preparation for my Halloween plans, I have purchased some more of my favourite lashes the Eylure No. 83 volume lashes. Eylure create some amazing lashes, and they last absolutely ages, so there is no problem with them on a night out. They have a new limited edition princess collection out, that have sparkles on them, so I am quite keen to get my hands on some of them too. Also, I am a big fan of dark red and plum lipsticks, and they go perfectly with the spooky Autumn season. The two pictured above are Rimmel's Kate Moss lipstick #30 and Bourjois' Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick #14 which are both divine dark plum shades, and are very long lasting so also perfect for a night out. My only debate will be deciding which one to wear out!

Top: Rimmel, Bottom: Bourjois

I am not really a big fan of horror movies, because they're scary, but I can handle watching some especially if I am not alone. So I have decided to compose a small 'Halloween films to watch' list. I am going out in the evening, but will be sure to cram in some scary films during the day before I go out. Here are some of my film suggestions:

1. Any of the Saw films (pick any one, the first few are the better ones in my opinion)
2. Dawn of the Dead (a must if you love zombies)
3. Halloween (could possibly be an obvious one)
4. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974 - I always find older films scarier)
5. Sleepy Hollow (two words: Johnny Depp)
6. The Nightmare Before Christmas (you can watch this at Halloween and Christmas!)
7. Shaun of the Dead (actually one of my favourite films)

How are you going to be spending your Halloween this year? Do you have any further suggestions on make up looks, or films to watch?

P.S. A big thank you to my lovely friend who designed and created my Halloween themed post header. Just look at how cute the pumpkin Mickey Mouse is!

Bank holiday dullness

So, on Friday my mom went on holiday with her friends to Benidorm in Spain for a long girly weekend away and I was left very jealous. We didn't have the best of weather over the bank holiday weekend (rainy and dull as usual) and my mom was messaging me to let me know she was melting by a pool, how unfair does it get?

But, my mom did bring back some lovely gifts for me; a cute key ring (I love sugar skulls), koala bear car fresheners, and a little Eeyore (I love Eeyore!). They are such cute little gifts so I thought I would share them with you.

My bank holiday weekend was a little dull thanks to the weather, but I did get to be very lazy and lie around watching films, so it was not all too bad. I know a lot of people did some more exciting things for their bank holiday, so maybe I will have to think of something to do next time. However, I did cook a pork joint yesterday and my family and I had some of the tastiest hot pork sandwiches for our tea. Food would probably have to be the highlight of my bank holiday! You have to love those simple things in life :)

How did you spend your bank holiday?

Lunch And Shopping!

On Friday, myself and my friend decided to go for food (this being my main concern of the day), and for a bit of shopping at the Merry Hill Shopping Centre in Brierly Hill, near Dudley.
We actually ordered so much food, and eventually came to the conclusion that our eyes were in fact bigger than our bellies. This left us with questions such as, why did we order our nacho starter to come with our main meal? And, why did I order that extra bowl of chips? Nevertheless, it was a yummy meal and exactly what I was waiting the entire week for!

Now, onto the shopping experience! What we really went shopping for was to look for graduation outfit ideas, but we did get a little sidetracked... However, my friend did manage to order a very pretty dress which could be her potential graduation outfit, so not all was lost during this trip. But for myself, I got distracted by all the autumnal clothes that are in stores. In my head summer is basically over and I am so ready for fluffy socks and jumpers. But, I have to be very budget friendly at the moment whilst I am still looking for work so I could not possibly purchase all the pretty things I really liked. Of course, I did buy a couple items that I will make full use of (this is the reasoning I used when buying them), and so I shall share them with you.

First off, are these two lovely fine-knitted jumpers from H&M. My eyes first found the grey knitted jumper, because the majority of the clothes I seem to wear are black and grey. However, this red number also called out to me as I browsed through the rails, and I simply could not decide between either of them so I just bought them both, as you do. They are perfect fine-knits for the autumn transitional weather! And, I just cannot wait to wear them. Also, there are more colours available in store which are tempting to purchase as well.

My final purchase of the day was this camel toggle coat from Primark. It was just one of those items that I simply couldn't walk past, and I did find myself again in great difficulty in deciding whether to buy the camel coloured coat or the black one. I eventually picked the camel one because I already have black coats, and this one will fit in nicely when autumn rolls along. It is very nice and warm with a lovely sheepskin-lined hood, but I am still on the fence as to whether or not I should keep it. What do you think?

What clothes are you purchasing in preparation for autumn?
Thanks for reading!

How to: simple vanilla cheesecake in 4 easy steps!

My completed cheesecake.

Hello! I know I said I was trying to be healthy, but it is Father's Day soon (on Sunday) and my dad loves my cheesecakes so I thought I would make him one - this is totally for him, honest! I normally just make a simple vanilla cheesecake, and I thought I would share with you how I make it, because it only takes 4 easy-to-do steps. Albeit, it normally takes me two nights to make it because I like to leave my mixture in overnight to get it how my dad likes it, but you could do it in one night. And I really need to work on my smoothing skills, but you get the idea. So, here we go!

What you'll need:

• A baking tin (7/8")
• A bowl
• Wooden spoon/ rolling pin
• Electric mixer

Ingredients:

• 250g digestive biscuits
• 100g butter
• 1 vanilla pod/ or vanilla extract
• 600g soft cheese
• 100g icing sugar
• 284ml (a pot) of double cream

How to: 

1. Use a rolling pin or wooden spoon to bash up the digestive biscuits into small crumbs. Melt the butter and then add both the crumbs into a bowl, then mix until the crumbs are thoroughly coated.

2. Scoop the mixture into a round baking tin and press down the crumbs firmly and make sure the layer is even. Then pop into the fridge to chill for at least an hour. (I leave it in overnight).

Cheesecake biscuit base.

3. Remove the vanilla seeds from the vanilla pod (or use extract) and add them into a bowl with the soft cheese and icing sugar. Beat with an electric mixer and slowly pour in the double cream until mixture is thick. Then spoon this mixture onto the biscuit base, making sure there are no air bubbles and the mixture is even (use the back of a spoon or a spatula).

Cheesecake mixture ready to apply to base.

4. Leave the mixture to set in the fridge overnight before un-moulding from the baking tin. Useful tip: place the base on top of a can and slowly pull the sides of the tin down. Then place the cheesecake onto a serving plate, et voila!

The can trick!

Have you tried this or do you have any tips or ideas on other cheesecake recipes?