Birthday haul

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I was lucky enough to receive lots of money and gift cards as presents from generous family and friends. The money and gift cards were very welcome as I needed to buy lots of new clothes due to going down a clothes size in the last year. Half my wardrobe has been given to charity shops, so my birthday money gave me the perfect excuse to go shopping!

I had lots of New Look gift cards as it's a commonly known fact that it's one of my favourite shops, so here's what I treated myself to from there...

New shorts! You can find them here and here

Black slingback court shoes

Peplum top. So pretty!

Flat white shoes - now out of stock

Lots of dresses! I'm only giving a little preview of these

as I'm saving most of them to wear on my honeymoon

A few people also gave me money for my birthday so I went shopping in Cardiff a few weeks ago... I love a bit of guilt-free shopping. 

I love Superdry tshirts! Coincidentally, mint and pink are my favourite colours

at the moment.

Short Disney onesie from Tesco

I've been waiting for these two DVDs to be re-released for ages... 

they both happened to become available just after my birthday! Thanks, Disney. 

Disney Princess bag from the Disney Store. £2.50! 

New bags from Primark. I couldn't choose between black/white

and coral/stone so had to get both! £6 each

A few make up items

I made the most of various sales and online discounts to make sure I made the most out of my birthday money and got the best value for money I possibly could. I'm really pleased with my haul and think I did quite well!

Do you have any of these items? Have you written a haul post lately? Send me your links, pretty please! 

Valentine's surprise... salted caramel brownies

Regular readers of my blog will remember from last year's Valentine's post that I'm not a big fan of Valentine's Day. I don't believe in going all out and spending loads of money on one day every year... shouldn't we do little things every day (which don't necessarily cost lots of money) to show people that we love them?

Anyway, even though I never make a big fuss on Valentine's Day, I decided to bake a chocolatey surprise for Neil. I love baking and I hadn't had a chance to bake anything since before Christmas, so this also gave me a good excuse to use my new baking goodies!

My new apron!

As soon as I read Kaz's blog post on her salted caramel brownies, I knew I just had to try this recipe and that it was the perfect baking adventure for my surprise Valentine's Day treat. I made chocolate brownies last June which were rather amazing, so I thought it would be interesting to make a different kind of brownie this time.


Ingredients

180g plain flour
3tbsp cocoa powder
300g dark chocolate
150g unsalted butter
150g caster sugar
220g soft brown sugar
4 eggs
1tsp vanilla extract

50g chocolate chips (optional - I had some left over from a previous baking adventure!)
1 tin of Caramel
1 tsp salt

Can you tell that I shop in Tesco?

Method 

1. Preheat the oven to 160C and line your baking tin with baking paper. 

2. Place the chocolate and butter into a bowl over a pan of water and stir on a medium heat until it's all melted. I had to use a cereal bowl and a milk pan because I didn't have a large heatproof bowl... this is not recommended! Let's just say that the bowl was very full. 

3. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla extract to a bowl, then add the chocolate/butter mixture and mix until smooth. I forgot that I was supposed to use two types of sugar so only put the caster sugar in... I then added the brown sugar a bit later on when I realised that I'd left it out. I don't think it made much difference, but just bear in mind that there are two types of sugar to add. I used my electric mixer... works like a dream!

4. Sieve in the flour and cocoa powder and beat the mixture until it's all combined. I also had to add the brown sugar here as I forgot to do this in step 3, and I also added the chocolate chips at this stage. My mixture was extremely thick at this point... possibly this was because I added the brown sugar at the wrong point. I used the electric mixer for a minute or two but then had to switch to a wooden spoon. As you can see from the photo below, my mixer was a bit clogged up!

5. Put half the mixture into the baking tin, making sure it's spread evenly. This step was very tricky as my mixture was so thick, so mine wasn't spread particularly evenly.

6. Add the salt to the tin of caramel, making sure you mix thoroughly. Add a layer of caramel on top of the brownie mix, making sure that you leave a small gap around the edge. 

7. Layer the remaining brownie mixture on top of the caramel. Again, this was very difficult as a result of my super thick mixture and I didn't quite have enough mixture left to cover all the caramel, as you can see below. 

8. Bake the brownies in the oven for approximately 30 minutes, then leave to cool before cutting up and serving. Mine were extremely moist and gloopy when they came out of the oven so I couldn't even cut them into squares, but the mixture solidified as it got cooler. As you can see, it didn't matter that I hadn't covered all the caramel with the brownie mixture as the top layer of chocolate seemed to be magically spread evenly after it came out of the oven. 

I was very worried when the brownies first came out of the oven as I couldn't cut them into chunks due to the moistness of the mixture, but they turned out fine in the end. I cut half the mixture into chunks (after I'd left it to cool for a while) and put the chunks into my new baking tin. I then put them on my little table with chocolates, a lit Yankee Candle and Valentine's card ready for Neil's arrival. I know, I know... I needn't have bought the chocolates, but the hazelnut praline in these Cadbury chocolates is so good!

Neil had also ignored the 'no presents' rule and arrived with a beautiful bunch of pink and red flowers and a little chocolate rose. We're a sneaky pair!

What did you get up to on Valentine's Day? Did you bake anything? Send me your links!

Amazon v Play

I do a lot of online shopping. Most of this shopping is for other people's birthday and Christmas presents, but I do also do a lot of browsing which involves adding numerous things I'll never buy to my wish list.

Although I browse a lot of high street websites such as New Look and Debenhams, I do most of my online shopping on Amazon and Play. I know some people refuse to use sites like Amazon and Play because they feel that they're taking business away from local retailers, but I'm always looking for a bargain. When I was in university, Play used to the first place I went to for CDs and DVDs. However, in later years, Amazon took over and I rarely visited Play at all. The pendulum is now switching back the other way and I prefer Play again... I've summed up the pros and cons of each site below.


Amazon

Amazon is a trusted retailer and I've ordered countless items from this website over the years. Books, CDs, DVDs, clothes, bedding, gadgets, jewellery, random novelty gifts... you name it, I've probably bought it from Amazon. It's a great place to look for birthday and Christmas presents as there's such a huge variety and a big choice of sellers, and I rarely have any issues with delivery delays. I've also never received a faulty product from Amazon. I love their pre order price guarantee, and their customer reviews are always really useful. Lastly, I absolutely love my Amazon wish list. It's currently packed full of wedding paraphernalia and a few DVDs and books I've had my eye on for a while. I also love the fact that I can buy gifts for people from their own wish lists as I know I'm buying them exactly what they want.

However, one thing has put me right off Amazon over the last few months. They've now started charging for delivery for all items under £10 which are dispatched directly from Amazon. This is a real pain as very often the items I want to buy are under £10, and I certainly don't want to fork out for delivery charges when I've never had to before. If I have to pay an extra £3 for a DVD to be delivered, I'd prefer to buy it from Tesco so that I can get some Clubcard points. Amazon did originally say that this charge wouldn't be applicable for DVDs and books, but it's now been rolled out to these items too. It's particularly annoying if I want to buy an item that's £9.99! This delivery charge has been a big factor in my conversion back to Play in recent months, and I suspect that many other people will feel the same.

Before anyone comments on it, I'm steering well clear of the tax avoidance issue in this blog post. This is not the place to discuss it!


Play 

Play was taken over by Rakuten in the last year or so and is now a marketplace website. Although this puts a lot of people off, I think it's actually improved the choice available on the website. Items are often cheaper on Play than they are on Amazon, and there's a bigger choice of sellers if you're looking for a brand new item. Delivery is always free on Play so there are no hidden charges. Play has a great selection of clothes with reputable brand names, and you can also get Quidco cashback when you buy from Play which is a huge bonus for me. Play has also introduced Rakuten Super Points which work the same as Tesco's Clubard points. You earn one point per pound, and every point is worth a penny. You can eventually save up enough to buy an item with your points, which means you effectively get this item for free. Play's customer reviews are also very informative and, although they often don't have as many reviews as Amazon have, they are slowly increasing in quantity as more people discover Play and start buying items from there.

Do you use Amazon and Play at all? Which is your favourite?

My favourite dresses of 2013

It's New Year's Eve! I don't see the point of specific New Year's Resolutions as I like to make regular little resolutions throughout the whole year, so instead my last post of 2013 will focus on my four favourite dresses from the last year. Superficial? A little bit, but there is method in my madness.

Seeing as I would like to actually enjoy wearing dresses next year rather than dreading the occasions where I need to wear and/or buy a dress, I think this post is actually quite significant. I will still be wearing my jeans, hoodies and Ugg boots very frequently because I love them more than life itself, but I am going to make a conscious effort to dress up a bit more if the occasion calls for it. I must embrace dresses and all the fuss that goes with them.

So here are my favourite dresses from 2013... I'm not one to throw dresses away after I've worn them once, so these lovely dresses will definitely make more appearances in 2014!

Probably my favourite dress ever.

It's from Tesco!

My Christmas party dress, from Boohoo. 

Excuse the awkward mirror pose.

New Look sale!

Primark's best

What were your favourite dresses in 2013? Can you recommend any good websites or stores for me to browse through in 2014?

Happy New Year / Blwyddyn Newydd Dda!

I've been baking again... Chocolate chip muffins!

Life has been very busy for the last few months so I haven't baked anything since my beautiful chocolate brownies back in June. When I found out that we were having cakes in work after opening our Secret Santa gifts, I decided to get back on the baking bandwagon!

I dug out my Mary Berry 'Cakes and Bakes' book and salivated over all the possibilities for about half an hour. Although I loved my chocolate brownies, I wanted to try a different challenge. I eventually decided on the rather tempting Chocolate Chip American Muffins (page 60). The muffins were really easy to make and went down very well at the Secret Santa gathering. They did taste very good, even if I do say so myself. I followed the recipe literally to the nearest gram, but people must have thought I'd put extra chocolate chips in as the muffins were so very chocolatey. I definitely wasn't going to complain about that, and neither did anyone else!

The finished product (ignore the mess on the tray...)

Recipe (makes 12 muffins)

250g self-raising flour

1 level tsp baking powder

50g butter

75g caster sugar

175g plain chocolate chips

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

250ml milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C / Fan 180C / Gas 6. Place your muffin cases into the 12-hole muffin tin. I didn't specifically buy muffin cases, I just used large cupcake cases. 

2. Measure the flour and baking powder into a large bowl then add the butter and rub into the flour until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. I recommend that you take off your rings before doing this, and I also wouldn't recommend trying to do it with long nails! Stir in the sugar and chocolate chips. 

3. Mix together the eggs, vanilla extract and milk, then pour the mixture all in one go into the dry ingredients. Mix quickly with a wooden spoon to blend. Don't panic if the mixture isn't totally smooth after stirring, it's supposed to have a lumpy consistency. Spoon the mixture into the paper cases in the tin, filling each one almost to the top. I'll be amazed if you can do this without making a mess... look at the mess I created!

4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until well risen and firm to the touch. Leave to cool for a few minutes in the tray then lift out the paper cases and cool the muffins for a little longer on a wire rack. I don't have a wire rack, so I just cooled them on a different baking tray!

And there you have it... it really is as simple as that. What shall I bake next?

The Body Shop's never ending Satsuma shower gel

You might remember that I wrote a blog post about my Body Shop Satsuma Shower Gel back in April. In that post, I said 'I'm pretty sure this bottle will last for months'. It definitely did last for months... I've only just finished it!

I've used this shower gel pretty much every day for the last 8 months, sometimes twice a day. I used six squirts every time (I know, I have a very precise technique), so I wasn't even being stingy. These 750ml bottles are fairly expensive if they're not on offer (£12), but the longevity of this bottle proves that they're well worth the money. I've paid £3 for shower gel from Tesco in the past which has only lasted for 6 weeks or so, so it's worth paying more for a product which will last so much longer.

The Satsuma shower gel is listed as a best seller on the Body Shop's website... I can see why!

I'll definitely miss my amazing Satsuma shower gel and its beautiful aroma, but I'll be starting on the Lemon bottle from the Body Shop next. Look out for the review in a few weeks!

My Disney advent calendar

I have a Disney advent calendar. Is anyone surprised? I've always had an advent calendar for as long as I can remember, and I have no intention of stopping this tradition. It makes me feel extra Christmassy and enables me to eat a little piece of chocolate every morning for 24 days. Win win!

My Disney Princess advent calendar was £1 in Tesco, so the cheapest one I could find. I do love advent calendars, but I won't spend a fortune on them. You can tell it's cheap as it doesn't have a little foil covering over the chocolates and doesn't have an image behind each window, but luckily I love the taste of cheap advent calendar chocolate. 

I would have preferred to have seen Belle (from Beauty on the Beast) on the front instead of Cinderella as she's my favourite Disney princess, but unfortunately I don't work in Disney's design team. Cinderella is at the bottom of my Disney princess list... I have a feeling most people will disagree with me on that. Love the film, dislike the princess. 

6 windows down, 18 to go!

What advent calendar did you buy this year?

A busy weekend!

Last weekend was a bit hectic, so obviously I had to blog about it. I love using my blog to document various events and photos, even if they might seem mundane to other people. Isn't that what a lifestyle blog should be all about?

It all started with an awards ceremony at the Vale Resort on Friday night. A campaign led by my organisation had been shortlisted for a Welsh Housing Award... we won! It was a lovely evening (with amazing chocolates) and it gave me a chance to wear my beautiful new dress. I love the lacy detail... this might be my new favourite dress.

This dress is from Tesco, believe it or not!

Neil and I went to McArthur Glen in Bridgend on Saturday afternoon to do some Christmas shopping. I was absolutely determined to finish my Christmas shopping this weekend, and I always get some great bargains in McArthur Glen. It didn't disappoint, and I even managed to spend some money on myself... two pairs of jeans for £37 in Gap. Gap jeans are the only jeans which fit me properly as they actually cater for short people, so I was very happy with this bargain. They were originally supposed to be £39.99 each! I really wanted to post a few photographs of the presents I bought for other people, but I'm not risking it in case they happen to stumble upon my blog. That would be highly unfortunate.

Beautiful Christmas tree in McArthur Glen

We obviously had to pop in to Sidoli's for a break...

After finishing our shopping, we drove to pick Liz up from the bus station then went back to my flat to watch the rugby. I'm not going to comment on the result! We then went to Tenkaichi and ate a LOT of food, then went back to the flat to watch Black Books and play Scrabble. I won... I never win anything two nights in a row. Another lovely evening was had by all. 

On Sunday morning, I drove to Cribbs Causeway with Liz to meet Amy, another university friend. Our Christmas shopping trip to Cribbs has become an annual tradition and it's always a good chance to catch up on all the news and to blitz the last few bits of Christmas shopping. I loved the Christmas decorations in the shopping centre... 22 days to go!

Very similar to the decorations in Cardiff's St David's 2 shopping centre

Palm trees and Christmas trees... why not?

Pretty decorations in John Lewis

No visit to Cribbs is complete without a visit to Pizza Hut

After a very successful two days of shopping, I've actually finished my Christmas shopping! However, after such a busy weekend of catching up, eating and shopping, I feel as if I need another two days off just to recover. I'm definitely not complaining though, I love productive and sociable weekends. 

What did you get up to last weekend?

Jewellery picks of the month

I own a lot of jewellery, to put it mildly. Bracelets, rings, earrings, necklaces... I love them all. I've usually got a few items to go with every outfit, and I think accessories can really brighten up whatever you're wearing. They can also dress an outfit up or down, depending on what look you're going for. I've got a few summery favourites for this month which I thought I'd share with you. All these items are either neutral colours or very colourful which means they go with almost anything. Bonus!

Bracelets from New York and Downtown Disney in Florida

Rings from Epcot in Florida. So summery!

Earrings from New Look, Claire's Accessories (about eight years old!) and Tesco

I'm can't wait to buy more jewellery when I go back to Florida in a few weeks' time. I'm planning to come back with lots of Disney earrings! Do you love jewellery? What are your favourites? 

Happiness is... #2

It's time for the second instalment of my 'Happiness is...' posts. If you want to know more about the background of these posts, you can read the first instalment here. Again, I've linked to previous blog posts where relevant so that you can read about what makes me happy in a bit more detail.

So here are another 25 little things which make me happy!

26. Hot chocolate with marshmallows
27. Christmas
28. Receiving a random card or letter
29. Having a Pinterest binge
30. Making chocolate brownies
31. Surprising someone I care about
32. Writing my packing list before I go on holiday
33. My extensive collection of teddies
34. Eating at The Harvester
35. Finding something amazing in the sales
36. Poached eggs on toast
37. Novelty socks
38. Not having to pay council tax in February and March
39. Receiving my new Tesco Clubcard vouchers
40. Getting good grades
41. Going to the cinema
42. Playing with Tara and Homer
43. High School Musical
44. Having a lie in
45. An overwhelming sense of relief after weeks of stress
46. Eating a churro
47. Reading the Harry Potter books
48. A clean and tidy flat
49. Watching Friends... it never gets old!
50. Meeting up with a friend I haven't seen or spoken to for months and just picking up where we left off


That was very therapeutic... what makes you happy?

Summer bargains

You all probably know by now that I'm off to Florida in September. I've lost weight and gone down a clothes size or two since I went last April, so I needed to buy a brand new holiday wardrobe ready for this year's trip. I love it when I have an actual legitimate excuse to go shopping. especially if it's because most of my clothes are too big for me!

I've been purchasing items steadily since the beginning of the year rather than buying them all at once just before going away. This means I get to spread the expense between a few pay packets and I can also keep an eye out for spontaneous bargains. I've trawled a lot of internet sites and charity shops... I love a bargain.

I think I've nearly finished shopping for holiday clothes now, and I've managed to do it pretty cheaply considering I had to re-buy nearly everything. I thought I'd share some of my favourite new summer clothes with you in this post, and I've provided links to the items where I can and where the items are still available. Enjoy!

Dresses

£14 from Primark

£13 from New Look

£5 from Primark

Playsuits

See previous blog post for details

£23.60 in the Debenhams sale. See my Duffy the Disney Bear 

blog post if you want to know why I'm holding a bear!

Shorts

Absolute bargain from Play at £6.99 each. I'd have paid over £30 

if I'd have bought these from a proper surf shop!

Skirts

£3 from a charity shop, originally from New Look

Vests

£3 each from Peacocks. These are a lovely fit, even if they do look creased!

Shoes

Trainers - £6.99 from Primark

White flip flops - £4 from Tesco

Blue flip flops - £3 from Tesco

Swimwear

In the sale in Debenhams. Got to love Mantaray!

Accessories

Minnie Mouse sunglasses case - £3.75 in the Disney Store sale

Sunglasses - £4 in a random shop in Cardiff's Queen's Arcade

Black bag - £2 in a charity shop

White bag - £5 from Tesco

Spread over seven months, I've managed to buy a new holiday wardrobe without breaking the bank. I've even managed to wear some of these clothes in this country in the last few weeks as it's been so hot. Bonus! 

Has anyone else been shopping for summer clothes? Any last minute bargain ideas for me?