Red Velvet Cupcakes

This week I made Red Velvet Cupcakes for the very first time! They are Jess' favourite, so as a Birthday treat, I whipped some up for her :) 

(I ended up with over 50 so a few others got treated to some as well!)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup butter (I use Stork)
• 2 cups caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 bottle red gel food colouring
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
•  
• Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting:
• 1/2 pack cream cheese (philly is good)
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 tablespoon sour cream
• 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 box icing sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix flour, cocoa powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.
2. Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on a medium speed 5 for about minutes or until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mix in sour cream, milk, food color and vanilla. Gradually beat in flour mixture on low speed until just blended. Do not overbeat. Spoon batter into as many paper-lined  cupcake or muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack then frost with Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting.
4. Vanilla Cream Cheese Frosting: Beat cream cheese, softened, butter, sour cream and Vanilla Extract in large bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BAAABES!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!! 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO JESSICA!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!!!!

HIP HIP HORRAY!!! 

Yesterday was Jess' Special day, so Jess, her boyfriend Jack, Kate and I all went to Wagamama's for lunch. We got free Sushi!! Boo ya!!! I Love you Jessie J and I'm glad that you had a totes amazing day!!! xxx

My Week In Photos

* Picked up a random new drink to try from the Chinese store. I went for a soya bean drink with mung bean flavour and tapioca balls. It was nice until I got the unexpected mouth full of the tapioca balls at the end (the texture was like rice pudding!).
* Had a BBQ!!!
* Tried another new drink. Rekorderlig strawberry and lime fruit Cider! It's so delicious! I will be chilling in the garden and drinking more of this over the summer! :)
* Had a yummy dinner of chicken, sweet potato and hummus with my friend Jody at her new house.
* Jody bought me some cupcake cases as a little present! They are too cute with little birds on them!
* Had a girlie nail painting night in with Jody, Lauretta, Minty, Princess and Khia.
* Minty did my nails in a nice pick and mix of designs (loved the little anchor on my thumb!)
* Indulged in some Ikea buns (also had Ikea Meatballs later on in the week).
* Browsed around inside a little vintage shop in Syston that I always pass by on the bus and never had the chance to explore.
* Bought myself some Yankee Candles.
* Bared my pasty white legs all week and walked barefoot on the grass.
* My Boyfriend James bought me a dress!...A really pretty dress!...And for no reason! :)
* It was Hello Kitty Day at St Martin's Square on Saturday. I saw Hello Kitty posing for photos and hugging kids.
* I saw an incredible dress in the window of Vintage shop Pink Pigeon! A Giraffe saying "CHIC FOR FUN"...what's not to love about that!?
* Bought a pretty necklace from a charity shop.

let them eat cake!

in preparation for my jubilee party next week (which i am hosting in my back garden and will be exclusively attended by my reluctant parents, unaware boyfriend, and constantly over-excited dogs) and because i couldn't wait to use my patriotic cup-cake cases (purchased from sainsbo's) any longer, i decided to trial my vision of a red, white and blue cake feast.

these vanilla (which makes up the white part of my cake feast) cupcakes are made from a dairy-free recipe, taken from vegan cupcakes take over the world, with blue buttercream and a red cherry on top, and they taste absolutely scrumptious! i've been making dairy free cupcakes for years now and i much prefer them to their eggy cousins. the texture is much more moist and delicate. i love them!

best of all, are the cases! i am a sucker for anything with a union jack pattern, so i couldn't resist these cases. little soldiers, polka dot union jacks, and red and white polka dots. god save the queen! i bloody love britain, and i am super duper excited about the next weekend... although i'm possibly more excited about being able to wear my union jack dress and jewels all at once without judgement than i am about the jubilee itself... oh well!

Nailed it! Roses

Models Own and WAH Nails have collaborated and launched six new nail art wraps featuring some of WAH Nails most popular designs including POW! (which I previously recreated a couple of weeks ago), Cuboid, Roses, Hearts, Leopard print, and Stripes. Each pack costs £7 and comes with a free Models Own nail file! PRETTY NEAT HEY!!!! :) They can be purchased at the Models Own Bottleshop, Westfield Shepherds Bush, or at Boots stores nationwide.

For my nails this week I have recreated the 'Roses' design and I must say that I am pretty chuffed with the results. As my hands/nails are pretty tiny (making it sometimes very hard for detailed design work) I opted to use a Sharpie fine point marker pen instead of a nail art pen to create the black line work around the roses. A clear top coat seals it all in! :)

Oh so Smelly, Oh so Good!

 

I am a sucker for lovely smelly things! I popped in to a little town called Syston, in Leicestershire, yesterday morning and came across the Paper Moon Home & Gift shop. The back walls of the shop were adorned with shelves of many colourful Yankee Candles!!! Being indecisive as usual, I spent ages just opening all the little jarred candles and smelling them all! I finally settled on getting the Strawberry Buttercream jarred candle, the Black Cherry sampler candle, and the Vanilla Cupcake wax tart (which you use on an tart/oil burner). Last night I lit the jarred candle and burned the wax tart next to each other for a lovely scent of Vanilla Cupcakes WITH Strawberry Buttercream!! The bedroom smelt INCREDIBLE!!! :)

You can buy Yankee Candles Online at www.yankee.co.uk or most department stores.

 

I have been loving the bath and shower gels by The Little Bubble Co (used to be called The Pink Cow). Jess first got me in to these as she had raved about how she had found an amazing shower gel that smelt like Murray Mints! She showed me it in Boots and I smelt it and fell in love! Since then I have also indulged in the Coconut Creme shower gel and the Vanilla Biscuit Scrub. The Strawberry Sundae shower gel is next on my list! :) What's also super great about them is that they don't test on animals, they are suitable for vegetarians, they contain no parabens and the fragrance is allergen free! HURRAY!! The bottles also have cute and quirky little phrases on them. Search for them in Boots to find out what! :)

 

Now I couldn't do a post about lovely smelly things without mentioning LUSH!! It's the shop that you always smell before you see! The scent draws you in and then..BAM!! You're amongst a wonderland full of amazing smells and beautiful colours! Bubbles are blown, hands are massaged, shower jellies jiggle, and bath bombs fizz and pop! :) 

My current favourites to indulge in the bath with are Ro's Argan Body Conditioner and the Rose Jam Bubbleroons for a Rocelicious Bath Time!! :) The smell is a beautiful balance of sweetness and floral and they leave your skin feeling super silky and beautifully moisturised with a heavenly rose scent that lasts ages!

My week in poor quality phone photos!

(because i regrettably rarely take my camera anywhere, and my phone is rubbish)

my week consisted of:

 

playing with headscarves whilst my boyfriend was working

performing at an event organised by my dear friend sebastian

and being harassed by zac the cat who is always hungry no matter how much you feed him

*not pictured* my amazing green leopard print jeans, neon pink and grey boat shoes and pearl collar from my mini primark haul - outfit post soon!

Happy Feet

Shoe Wish List

Geeky Leather Mid Heel Shoes with Buckle - £50 ASOS, F-Troupe Denim Canvas Sailor Brogues - £95 ASOS, Sperry Stripe Boat Shoes - £85 ASOS

My Week In Photos

* The Lovely Emma, AKA Eliza Delite, British winner of the World Burlesque Games, dons her crown!

* I purchased the 'Sail La Vie' lip stick from MAC's new HEY SAILOR! range.

* I Had a cold most of the week and chicken noodles were my saviour! 

* I donned my favourite boat shoes for the first time this year! (this means summer must be coming!!!)

* Had Lunch at Croques. They do amazing sandwich melts and wraps.

* Visited the Vintage Toy Shop in Leicester and admired the My Little Ponies amongst other things.

* Fell in love with the new Chinese Supermarket in Leicester. I will be in there all the time, considering it's only a couple of minutes from work. Bought some soya milk and tasty treats!

* Purchased a new pair of Vans as my old ones are on their way out and they are oh so comfy when you're on your feet all day.

* Stopped by Melton Mowbray on the way home.

Nailed it! Daisies

For Aimee, who after my last nail post, suggested daisies :)

Baked Goods

I've started to do a lot more baking so watch this space for more baked goods! :)

During the last couple weeks I've made:

* Vanilla Sponge with home made blackcurrant jam, cream, raspberries and chocolate flakes

* Banoffee Pie

*Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins

*Ginger Flapjacks

If anyone would like the recipes, just holla!

STYLE INSPIRATION: IRIS APFEL ACCESSORIES OVERLOAD

if i could ever be half as over-accessorized and unapologetic as iris apfel then i would be a very happy girl. colour! oversized glasses! so many bracelets you can barely lift your arms! i'm in accessories heaven.

 iris apfel, click through for an interview with intothegloss.com

it's my birthday soon, and this is my accessories wishlist (if i was a rich girl!): 

 paradise cluster ring, £10, accessorize - pyramid ring, £12, asos - mixed bracelets, £12, asos

 ice cream necklace, £20, topshop - eye bangle, £8, asos - flower and jewel drop earrings, £15, asos

 

multi-coloured bracelet, £8, asos - yellow wrap necklace, £8, asos - plastic ring, £8, accessorize

arm cuff, £10, topshop - wooden heart bracelet, £3, river island - lipstick brooch, £12.50, topshop

 charm bracelet, £8, accessorize - banana necklace, £6, accessorize

green interlinked bracelet, £10, asos - ombre stretch bracelet, £8, asos

Nailed it!

I'm going to start with one creative little hobby that I do in my free time....nail painting! The four designs pictured are ones that I've done already since coming back from my travels and being reunited with my nail paints again! (The comic ones are my current nails) I'm going to try and do different designs weekly to post online! Any suggestions for ideas will be welcome :)
Holly


Below: Orange with B&W Zig Zags, Cow Print, Pop Art Comic style, Pac-man.