Behind The Blog

Hello everyone, just a quick post from me today to say that I've been featured on the incredible Karen's blog series "Behind The Blog" over on her blog Confetti&Curves. It was so sweet of her to feature me and give me a chance to write a wee interview type post over there. I'd love you to go check out my answers and while you're there, have a look around Karen's blog - it's one of my favourites! (here's the link)

You might have noticed that I've been a bit absent around here, and if you were expecting a proper post today then don't be disheartened - I'll be posting regularly again as soon as my exams finish (tomorrow -eek!) and starting on Sunday (yes, this Sunday coming!!) I'll be posting everyday as part of The Twelve Days of Blogmas. I'm really quite excited.

Thanks for reading!

Healthy Apple & Berry Crumble

The other night I was sitting trying to go through some lecture notes when I had a real craving for pudding (and to procrastinate). The only issue was, that I had nothing in the house and I had been trying to eat healthier and skip the puddings. I started searching online for some healthy puddings and after reading through several I decided to try making an apple and berry crumble.

I used frozen raspberries for this, but if I'd had a selection of frozen berries I would have used them. Frozen fruit is so much cheaper than fresh, and makes no difference when you are baking!

I'm in love with this recipe - it contains minimal butter, lots of fruit and honey instead of sugar - so it's definitely a healthy option. And because its baked in a ramekin, the portion size is set too!



Serves: 5

Ingredients
7 tbsp oats
2 tbsp flour
0.5 tbsp flaked almonds, chopped
0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp melted butter/margarine
2 cups frozen berries
1 cup apple, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the oats, flour, almonds and cinnamon. Add the honey and melted butter and stir to combine.
3. In a medium bowl, mix together the frozen berries and apple.
4. Split the fruit mixture evenly between 5 ramekins and evenly sprinkle the oat crumbs on top.
5. Bake for 35-45 minutes, until the berry mixture is bubbling and the apple pieces have softened.

Let me know in the comments if you guys try this recipe out! I'd love to hear your ideas for more healthy puddings I could try.

Taking a break

I'm really sorry but I won't be posting a proper post today. The post that I had scheduled I just wasn't happy with and so I'm choosing to take a break today rather than posting something just for the sake of it.

With my end of term exams coming up, I'm going to be cutting back from posting on Wednesdays and Saturdays to just posting once per week. Don't worry though - as soon as my exams are over I'll be posting much more regularly (did someone say blogmas....?)

Lush first impressions

So I've got something to admit to you. Until very very recently I had never tried a Lush product. Nope, not one. Before I moved to Aberdeen I didn't have a nearby store but I've lived here for over a year now and I've never been near the Lush store here. It took my sister and friend giving me Lush products for presents for me to try any, and now I'm wishing that I had much, much sooner.


Sweetie Pie shower jelly (£3.75)
These shower jellies are supposed to be the combination resulting from a bottle of shower gel and a bar of soap having a baby. I think that these are a really fun idea that kids would probably love, but unfortunately for me I just couldn't get on with it. For starters, the jelly smelled very strongly of cherries. The jelly was also really hard to use and I just couldn't get it to lather at all. I also kept dropping it in the shower!
Would I repurchase? No


Rock Star soap (£3.50) - "Smells like Teen Spirit"
This soap is awesome. For starters, just look at it! The scent is really hard to describe, but the Lush website says that it smells like seaside rock. The scent really lingers on your skin too and it leaves your skin feeling really soft.
Would I repurchase? Yes yes yes

Twilight bath bomb (£3.50) - "Let the sun set on worries"
This was my first Lush bath bomb and to be honest I didn't really get all the hype before I used it. Oh boy, was I wrong. For starters, it looks gorgeous with the moon and stars imprinted on it. It smelt fantastic both out of and in the bath - the Lush website describes it as a lavender smell, but I wouldn't be put off by that if you aren't a huge lavender fan. The bath water changes from a pale pink to a deep mauve colour and a fair few bubbles form too. The water feels so silky and my skin felt so smooth and moisturised.
Would I repurchase? Yes, but I'd love to try some of the other bath bombs first.

There we have it: my impressions of a few Lush products. Leave me some recommendations of other products to try in the comments!

Where the magic happens...

And by "where the magic happens" I mean the room where I spent countless hours sat at my desk meeting deadlines for university, or writing blog posts or watching TV. And a fair few hours sleeping too. I promised you guys a room tour in one of my recent posts, and so here it is!

I guess that the first thing I should point out is that this is my bedroom in my house at university (i.e. where I actually spend most of my time). However, since I rent this it does mean that I don't have a say in the furniture - not that any of it is horrible, I just wouldn't choose to have that type of wooden furniture.

First up, in the above picture you can see a mirror which hangs on the back of my built-in cupboard. This mirror was £9.99 I believe from poundstretchers - bought the day after I moved in and I realised that my new room didn't have a full size mirror!

On top of my large chest of drawers I keep a small mirror, my makeup bag, my makeup brushes and a wicker basket of skincare items.

My parents came and visited me in October and we went to Dobbies where they bought me this little plant tray and I got to choose some plants to fill it with as a housewarming present. I chose an Opuntia (the one that someone told me looks like Mickey Mouse) (£2.99), at the back is a Haworthia (£1.99) and at the front is a Succulent (£1.99). I really really love this little collection of plants!

Above my bed I have my quote wall. Yes, each one of these square photos has a different quote on it. Some are motivational, some funny, some just kind of poetic. I found the majority of these on tumblr/pinterest/instagram and the others I made myself. I can't quite remember which website I used to print these but they arrived already cut to be square in a very short time frame!

The fairy lights are battery powered from Primark for a few pounds and despite what the lighting in the picture suggests (fairy lights always look better with the curtains closed) they do extend in a heart shape around all of the quotes.

I'm so so happy that I get a double bed AND one with a good mattress! You spend so much of your life in bed (and some myself more than others) that it makes a huge difference if it is comfortable. I have flowery bedsheets from Debenhams (old) with a raspberry coloured undersheet, a cosy blanket and three cushions. The front one is three French Bulldogs sat on the doorsteps with the different coloured doors! 

Next I have a candle from Primark (£2.00) on my windowsill as well as a reed diffuser which smells like clean laundry. In the corner you can just about see my keyboard, and I also have an acoustic guitar between my keyboard and another free-standing wardrobe (I forgot to take a picture from the other end of my room, sorry!).

Above my desk I have these three posters, again I'm sorry about the lighting - sometimes having such a huge window with loads of natural light is a curse not a blessing! Below I have a few more square photos, this time of myself with my friends and family.

There we have it! Thanks for reading! Let me know in the comments what your favourite feature of your bedroom is.