September?

Okay I realise we are now well into September, but how I do not know. I feel like September crept up on all of us and I can't believe it is Autumn again already!

I have actually had 3 months off this summer (thank you university), but I still feel scared at how fast this year is going!

I took a look back at some of my Summer Goals from my blog post and thought it would be fun to share with you all how I got on...

1) Go swimming in the sea as often as possible 

 - I actually managed this one! I swam almost every single day in July as the weather was so amazing!

2) Go surfing so I can get good(ish) again

- Fail. The sea was basically flat all summer unfortunately

3) Get fitter - do more exercise like swimming/running

- Well success on the swimming front... the running thing was never gonna happen haha

4) Do sit ups every morning before breakfast 

- YES - at least for the month of June and then mostly when I remembered!

5) Eat more healthily, i.e. get into eating salads and fruit more

- I've been having a lot of homemade smoothies this summer which I have been enjoying

6) See as many of my friends as possible as much as possible

- I think I've done quite well on this one, I've seen pretty much all of my school friends and have loved catching up with them all and spending lots of time with them.

7) Read more books... I really want to see The Fault in Our Stars but I feel like I cant until I've read the book!

- So I watched the film without reading the book oops! I have read a couple of books though so thats a start.

8) Do a proper clear out of my room and throw away old things (this one will be hard for me as I'm a secret stasher/hoarder haha!)

- As if I was going to do this...

9) Do something really spontaneous

- Not sure I managed this one in the way I was thinking when I wrote it. Although my family went on a spontaneous(ish) trip to Italy (see previous blog post), even that was booked 3 months in advance haha. 

10) Develop my blog and create some good posts I'm proud of

- I have failed so much at my blog this summer but have just been spending lots of time outside and with my friends instead. I think it'll be easier when I'm back at university to get into a routine of writing posts!

11) Build a massive sandcastle

- Did this. It was great.

12) Learn how to cook more dishes and bake lots of cakes - kind of undermines no.5 but thats life!

- Baked many many cakes but not so much of the actual main course dishes... cooking at university could be interesting!

13) Make the longest daisy chain ever

- Nooooo I forgot about this one - off to make one now...

14) Watch as many sunsets as I can

- Most of the sunsets I watched I was doing no.15...

15) Have fish and chips on the beach

- Yay I had fish and chips on the beach several times with various friends and family. It's so lovely to eat on the beach and watch the sunset!

16) Drink 2 litres of water a day

- Whilst I definitely haven't managed drinking 2 litres a day, I have been drinking a lot of water this summer in replacement of other drinks.

17) Dance all night, to the best song ever...

- Does dancing till 2.30am count for this?

18) Sort out my clothes/re-vamp my summer wardrobe

- I haven't sorted them out per se, however I have bought quite a few new clothing items!

19) Spend as much time outside as possible (I really hope it stays this sunny and warm!)

- It's been such an amazing summer weather-wise so this one hasn't been hard at all

20) Make the most of every second!

- I've had such an incredible summer, I've had so much fun and I can't believe how fast 3 months went! 

Although I'm sad summer is over now, I'm so so excited about going back to university and seeing all my friends there again. I also cannot wait to start wearing cosy jumpers and trackies again and snuggle up watching films all day!

Did you all have a good summer? xo

Childminding = Cupcakes.

For the next few weeks I am childminding a lovely 8 year old girl. However she is very energetic so I have to come up with lots of things to "do" in order to keep her entertained!

Something simple and easy to do with children is baking, so we decided to make little cupcakes. Unfortunately we couldn't find a whisk... which meant all the mixing had to be done by hand. Despite an aching arm, they turned out very well and so I thought I'd share some photos and the recipe with you. 

Ingredients

200g Butter

200g Sugar

200g Flour

3 Eggs

Chocolate Chips

(plus Butter, Icing Sugar & Food Colouring for the butter icing)

Recipe

- Preheat oven at 180degrees

- Soften the butter and whisk until light and fluffy with the sugar

- Fold in the flour and the eggs until you have a smooth and creamy mixture

- Add the chocolate chips (this part is optional but we wanted as much chocolate as possible)

- Pour the mixture into cupcake cases... there was the perfect amount for 12 cupcakes

- Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes

Obviously our cupcakes were decorated by an 8 year old, so purple icing was a must, however if you wish to make more tasteful cupcakes then maybe leave out the food dye and chocolate toppings from the next part of the recipe!

Icing Recipe

- I actually normally just estimate measurements with icing and mix together butter and icing sugar until it looks creamy and smooth and tastes right, so I cant give precise measures for this! I did find that adding a splash of water helped my icing become smoother and stick together

- Add food colouring of any colour (we chose purple) and mix until the icing is fully dyed your chosen colour

- After the cakes have cooled, ice your cakes using a piping bag or spoons... we used spoons as it is a whole lot easier and we wanted to eat them as soon as possible!

- Add your toppings... we stuck Magic Stars and Smarties into the icing before it set

We actually left a couple of cakes without icing and for those we just stuck the chocolate toppings into the cakes themselves!

We didn't wait long before tucking in and they really were extremely good! I would recommend eating them fresh as I find cupcakes often taste best the day you make them. 

I would love to know what your favourite cupcake recipe is and also any ideas of fun things to make or do with an 8 year old girl!

xo

Summer Goals.

I love making lists, and I thought what better excuse than to make a list of my summer goals! I have technically already had a month of summer, however we shall overlook that and pretend July is the beginning (as it is for most people anyway!)

1) Go swimming in the sea as often as possible 

2) Go surfing so I can get good(ish) again

3) Get fitter - do more exercise like swimming/running

4) Do sit ups every morning before breakfast 

5) Eat more healthily, i.e. get into eating salads and fruit more

6) See as many of my friends as possible as much as possible

7) Read more books... I really want to see The Fault in Our Stars but I feel like I cant until I've read the book!

8) Do a proper clear out of my room and throw away old things (this one will be hard for me as I'm a secret stasher/hoarder haha!)

9) Do something really spontaneous

10) Develop my blog and create some good posts I'm proud of

11) Build a massive sandcastle

12) Learn how to cook more dishes and bake lots of cakes - kind of undermines no.5 but thats life!

13) Make the longest daisy chain ever

14) Watch as many sunsets as I can

15) Have fish and chips on the beach

16) Drink 2 litres of water a day

17) Dance all night, to the best song ever...

18) Sort out my clothes/re-vamp my summer wardrobe

19) Spend as much time outside as possible (I really hope it stays this sunny and warm!)

20) Make the most of every second!

So these are my summer goals... some more likely to be achieved than others but I think its always a start to have good intentions! What are your summer goals? I would love to hear some other ideas!

xo

Beach Hopping and Sea Swimming.

Living on an island is not all bad - we have the most amazing beaches! Lately the weather in Guernsey has been lovely and warm and so we have been going to the beach a lot to make the most of it. Growing up close to so many beaches means it is easy to take for granted the ability to just go and sunbathe on the sand or have a swim in the sea. However after being at university in England for a year I have come to appreciate my beautiful island a whole lot more! 

Today I went down to a little beach called Petit Bot with my parents for a swim in the sea. It was very cold but I'm proud to say I put my head underwater and swam out to a rock and back!

We then went on to another gorgeous beach called L'eree where we sat with our backs against the hot granite wall.

The sunset was absolutely stunning this evening - the colours were amazing and the clouds just added interest to the sky. (Sorry this photo isn't better quality... I took it in the car as we were driving home!)

I am looking forward to spending lots of time on the beach with my friends and family this summer - having BBQs, eating fish and chips, building sandcastles (no you're never too old), going surfing, jumping off rocks/walls/groins into the sea, playing beach games, watching the sun set...

Hopefully we'll have the weather for it! 

xo

I. Love. Wimbledon.

Tennis is something I really love, whether it is playing or watching. So for me I really enjoy watching Wimbledon on the TV, it gets me in the summery mood!

This time last year I went to Wimbledon with one of my best friends as a spontaneous trip from London! We didn't have tickets so got in the queue at around 5pm hoping to get in for the evening as people left. Whilst we were around queue number 13000 we managed to get in and had the best time!

Waiting in the queue was actually so fun as there were SO many people... we were worried we might not get in after all but it started moving quite quickly. We had a picnic tea whilst we waited and were even given a 'Guide to Queueing at Wimbledon' haha!

It was just so fun to walk around the Wimbledon grounds and watch various matches on the less popular courts. The atmosphere was incredible and it was especially fun to watch some tennis on "Murray Mound" or "Henman Hill" on the big screen!

Even though I'm not going again this year, I cannot wait to watch all the matches on TV, and if you are a fan, I would really recommend the Wimbledon app. It can be quite slow but it gives you all the up to date results and even gives you live scores as well as order of play!

xo

p.s. sorry I haven't been posting recently, I have been on holiday with my family in France (blog post to follow!) and so now I'm back hopefully I can start posting again more regularly :-)

May Favourites.

There are so many things I have been loving this month! Here are my May favourites:

1 - Wake Me Up foundation by Rimmel

I love this product! It gives really good light overall coverage and does not give a cakey foundation look at all. I also find it stays on pretty well for most of the day. Very good for an every day foundation as it's fairly cheap! (approx. £8.99)

2 - Quick Fix Facials from Boots

This is a gel like mask that you apply to your face evenly and let it set for 10 minutes after which you peel it off. I have found this to be such a lifesaver as it really helps even skin tone and reduce blemishes as well as hydrate my skin. I have really sensitive skin but have not had any reactions to it at all which means that I shall definitely be buying it again! (approx. £4.99)

3 - Master Precise eyeliner by Maybelline

The tip on this eyeliner looks like a very small paintbrush meaning, like the name suggests, it is extremely precise and gives you a very good line above the lashes. Very reasonable price and comes out very easily and dark black. You only need to sweep across your eyelid once which helps with accuracy! (approx. £5.99)

4 - Lip Butter (Raspberry Rose) by Nivea

This is such a lovely lip salve, I use it literally all the time! It makes my lips really soft, smells really good and isn't sticky at all. (approx. £2.10)

5 - Elemis daily moisturiser

This is actually a sample I got free in a magazine that I discovered recently and decided to try as I am allergic to pretty much all moisturisers and have been looking for a new one for a very long time! Surprisingly I didn't experience a reaction to this moisturiser and have found it to leave my face feeling fresh and hydrated. I will definitely be investing in a proper size of this moisturiser!

6 - I am recently loving hoop earrings! These are my favourites as I think they are so pretty and cute being so small.

7 - Tangle Teaser
I have dead straight hair and have always just used an ordinary hairbrush, however my Tangle Teaser has changed my life! I makes it so much easier to brush your hair when its wet or even slightly knotty and even with my hair I notice a difference in ease when brushing my hair. I now use it every day and barely ever use my normal hairbrush anymore. (approx. £10.99)

8 - I got this River Island purse after deciding that it was time to replace my purse I've had since I was about 14. It instantly caught my eye due to the beautiful pastel spring/summer colours and I couldn't resist purchasing it! (approx. £17)

9 - This bag from River Island makes me so happy! I bought it a couple of months ago but haven't gotten it out until recently as I was waiting for the sunshine. It's extremely bright, almost neon orange which is quite out there compared to what I would normally choose. However I am obsessed with orange at the moment and could't resist buying it... (approx. £20)

10 - Rimmel nail varnish is an unhealthy obsession of mine and I rarely make it out of Boots without purchasing a new colour. These two colours have been particular favourites recently as they're both bright and beautiful summer colours. Also as I mentioned earlier I have a real love of orange at the moment and so these nail varnishes are perfect! The colours are '705 Tangy Tangerine' and '440 Sun Downer' (approx. £2.99/£3.69 respectively)

I can't believe it is June already, this year has gone so fast!

xo

Disclaimer: I am not sponsored for any products, these are all my opinions

Cocktail Celebrations.

I've finished my exams!
As a celebration of the end of first year and to mark the official beginning of summer, I went to a pub called The Imperial (or The Impy) with a few of my course friends.
We had celebratory pitchers of cocktails and enjoyed a lovely afternoon in their orangery!

The cocktails were all such beautiful colours and I especially loved the Blue Lagoon... which tasted exactly as it looked - blue!

It hasn't really sunk in yet that my summer has now started and I no longer have to sit in my room revising or working! I can't wait to do lots of fun things with my friends and make the most of my ridiculously long summer! Bring on the BBQs and Pimms...

xo

Snazzy Stationery.

Nothing excites me more than getting new stationery at the beginning of a school/university year.

Now I'm in exam period this excitement for stationery has returned as I spend the majority of my days staring blankly at my desk and there is nothing like bright stationery to cheer you up!

These are three items that I particularly love:

1) My pink highlighter - there's something about it being pink that makes it much more exciting than say a yellow highlighter, but maybe that's just me...

2) My little sticky labels - I love these for dividing notes or marking something I want to go back to later, the fact they are multicoloured makes for a lot of fun too!

3) My diary - I don't know what I would do without this! It organises my lectures, my revision, my social life... everything.

xo

Lovely Lavender.

I love the smell of lavender and so my mum made me these beautiful lavender bags...

The lavender is wrapped in a pretty floral patterned material which is tied with a ribbon - so simple and easy to make but I think they would be such a lovely gift!

               


xo

Finally Summer.

Summer's here! The last couple of days in Exeter have been lovely and sunny and actually really warm!

I can't tell you how excited this makes me. Summer is by far my favourite month, the sun (and a tan) makes everything a whole lot better!

Having a 3 month summer after I finish my exams on Tuesday is the craziest thing and I have no idea what I'm going to do to fill it... I'm sure I'll find ways to fill it up pretty quickly though!

I only have just over a week left in Exeter now before I fly home to Guernsey so I'm going to make the most of it and spend as much time outdoors exploring and with my friends as possible.

xo

Exam Nightmare.

I've just come out of my second exam and I am pleased to tell you it was probably the worst exam I have ever taken. Everything I possibly didn't even know I didn't know came up and anything I did know was asked in such a way I still couldn't answer the question!

10 minutes into my hour long exam and I still hadn't written anything... I momentarily debated walking out and claiming an emotional breakdown but my conscience wouldn't let me.

So anyway it went very badly. However not as badly as the person whose phone went off repeatedly in the last 15 minutes of our exam and will now be charged £50...

I hope all your exams go better than mine did today - let's hope my one on Friday is better!

xo

Bluebell Woods.

A couple of weeks ago I went for a walk in the bluebell woods in Guernsey with my mum and gran.

The bluebells had just come out and the woods looked amazing! 

I love the colours in this photo, I think the bluebells give a really mystical and fairy-like effect to the woods. This photo also invokes adventure as I feel like it is inviting me to follow a pathway through the trees.

xo