Thrifty But Glam

So I was bought this awesome Christmas present by my little sister I was genuinely touched, not only did she put a lot of thought into it, but the actual nail polish colours are beautiful! I've never heard of the brand creative colour before, and was quite intrigued to try it out. I am impressed!  The pigment colour was fantastic and it was really easy to apply.  The picture above is metallic blue layered with black and silver glitter.  Unlike most metallic colours, the blue only needed one coat!  Admittedly if I wasn't layering with the glitter I may have done two coats as when I held my nails up to the light it was a little patchy in places. The brush was standard, no frills, but easy to use.  My only complaints were that the glitter varnish got quite gloopy towards the end of my second hand (the bottle was open for less than 8 minutes), and the thin layers took forever to dry!  Seriously I was having to wait between 10-15 minutes unt...

If you haven't read it yet, I would recommend that you seek out part one of the review, that can be found here . Firstly the more observant of you will notice that this post is almost 7 months late!  In fact I thought my hopes of a follow up were dashed when I accidentally manged to delete all the photographs I had taken for part two.  If it wasn't for a reader asking about the follow up, it may have never made it into print!  Now waffling aside, I must make an apology.  As the original photographs are lost forever, I have had to scour my facebook page for photographs that were taken around about the time I did the second application and some more recent photographs for you to compare with.  These photographs are not the best, but they should help highlight the subtle changes in shade. I should start by saying that I was thoroughly unimpressed with the second application.  My hair was only slightly lighter and despite rinsing for almost an hour, it da...

I would like to wish all my readers a very Happy New Year! :) This week I have been getting really excited about the prospect of new starts, of saying goodbye to the old and a big HELLO to the new, and of putting the past behind me! It is no secret that 2013 was not a good year for me and my family.  We had a family bereavement, a failed business, hospitalization, severe ill health, finance worries and another year of us not realizing our dream of Parenthood.  In fact, to sum up 2013 in one word, it would have to be; dire. However for all the bad things that have happened, I count my blessings for all that I do have.  I always try to learn from my mistakes, and I genuinely feel that for all the struggles I am a better person. So this year will hopefully see me taking a more relaxed approach to life - I'm not superwoman and it's about time I stopped trying to become her. 2014 is the year to make memories - to stop looking to the future, and instead to focus o...

Some of you may remember that I over-hauled Nigella's frangipane mince pie recipe a few weeks ago, well I had already made these bad boys and stuck them in the freezer ready for Christmas.  Now they are defrosted and nearly gone  I thought I better share the recipe with you. This recipe is perfect for those with littlies that like to feel they are helping to bake, as there is very little cooking involved - the majority is weighing and mixing :) As with all my borrowed recipes, this involves a few tweaks to make it personal to me :) Baking isn't about rigid directions, it's about adaption, experimentation and most importantly having fun! Ingredients 250g dark chocolate 150g milk chocolate 175g salted butter at room temperature 4 tbl spoons golden syrup 125g amaretti biscuits 75g chocolate cookies 150g hazlenuts 150g glace cherries 125g mini marshmallows Method Chop the chocolate into small chunks and place in a pan with the butter and ...

Now regular readers will know that I have a gluten free version of this recipe here , but I somehow forgot to share the original recipe, so after a lovely family member requested it, I figured it was time to write it up :)  I whipped one of these up for a family gathering over Christmas, and have fallen in love with it all over again! Equipment Food processor with blade attachment - for turning the biscuits into crumbs, you can use a freezer bag and rolling pin, but I prefer this way 20cm spring form tin - you can go larger or even a bit smaller, but ideally it should be spring form as removing the pie from the tin otherwise will be a nightmare Microwave - for melting the butter Mixing bowl Electric whisk - good luck if you decide to whip cream by hand Pestle - for pressing the biscuits into the tin, clean fingers or the back of a spoon can also be used Spoon Knife and Chopping board Hob and Pot Ingredients 1 405g tin of condensed milk (for those ...

Okay, so the last few months have seen me go from posting once a week, to barely once a month, and I sincerely apologize.  With the smell of New Years Resolutions in the air, I am going to make it up to you with 3 easy recipes.  One of them, (bannoffee pie) is kind of my signature piece, and a definite family favourite!  Just don't let any of them know it's actually a doddle ;)  The other two are more recent trials, and I'm sure they are set to become regular requests too. Join me in adding festive calories to the waist line, and most importantly enjoy!

Christmas may be over, but there are only a few days left until New Year's Eve, and quick party food ideas are a must! Embracing all things 70s (and my love for cinnamon whirls) I decided to over-haul a party favourite - the sausage roll. The humble sausage roll is much loved, but seeing as I was planning to use cheats puff pastry, (ready made) I felt these need a little extra to make them special - STUFFING! The great thing about these is that you can mix and match the sausage and stuffing flavours :) Ingredients 1 block chilled jus roll puff pastry (500g) 400g sausage meat - you can use sausages, just split the casing and squeeze out the meat Half a pack of 170g sage and onion stuffing Milk to glaze Salt and Pepper Flour for rolling Method Remove the puff pastry from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature (about 20 minutes) Make up the stuffing according to the directions (remember to halve the amount of water if only using half the pack) ...