A Visit to the Weeping Window

Yesterday my mum and I went to visit the weeping window poppy display at St George's Hall in Liverpool. Unfortunately I missed out on the display at the Tower of London so I was excited to hear that they were bringing it to Liverpool.

The display was absolutely breathtaking, I love the concept of the display and the idea of what each poppy represents.

The poppies will be touring up until 2018. If you get the opportunity to see them then definitely take it. 

This is my windswept look, the display was closed at the time I went to visit so I couldn't get as close as I would have liked but it didn't really matter. 

I had to run back and get a night time shot before we got the train home, how beautiful is this image. 

Festive Biscuits

I feel like doing a bit of festive baking on Christmas eve is a must. I made these biscuits which have cocoa powder in and orange essence, the icing is also orange flavoured.

These were really simple to make, it was just butter, sugar, egg yolk, cocoa powder, plain flour and orange rind. The icing was made from icing sugar, orange essence and egg white.

These taste absolutely amazing and the orange flavour makes it extra christmassy. The biscuit cutter was from pound land.

I would like to wish everyone a very merry Christmas and I hope you all get lots of presents. thank you all for taking the time to read my blog, I have been blogging now for about 7 months and intend to continue in the new year with fresh new ideas.  

Last Minute Christmas Shopping

I did some last minute christmas shopping last night, I just needed something for two of my aunties which I got within half an hour thanks to the boots three for two offer. I somehow ended up doing my brothers shopping too.

I love going Cheshire Oaks at Christmas time especially due to the mahoosive tree they have there. I didn't get the chance to take a picture of it as I was rushing around the shops...but here is me with some gigantic baubles. I always feel festive when I go there.

 
We obviously had to have a little food pit stop. I could never get bored of Wagamamas, I think it's because I don't eat Japanese food on a regular basis. I always feel like it is super healthy too! I went for the Miso soup and the chicken and prawn Donburi, it was absolutely amazing. You need to try the flowering jasmine tea too.

It looks like someone is enjoying their chicken ramen. We had a successful shopping trip and I am all set for christmas.

Gift Wrap Idea

I wanted to get creative with my gift wrapping this year and have a theme throughout. I decided on tartan and brown as a colour scheme and also sourced some ribbon and twine for decoration.

I made these gift labels from a bit of the brown paper I got and a bit of twine, they were really simple to make and cost hardly anything to make. 

I got this tartan paper and twine from Asda which I think look really cute together. 

Hmmm, probably should have put my flash on here. I love a bit of tartan, must be because of my Scottish roots. 

I went for brown paper and twine for a couple of things. I was running out of ribbon so thought I would try it. It looks quite plain but I like it.

I think this is my favourite, there's so much you can do with plain brown paper. The paper and ribbon were both from Ebay and didn't cost very much. 

If you have been extra good this year then you will get a candy cane, I thought this was a nice little touch. 

Day Trip to Amsterdam

Last week my boyfriend and I went to Holland for a few days, we stayed with Marcus' Uncle who lives there.  I loved how relaxed it was there and everyone was super friendly. Here are some pictures of our day trip to Amsterdam.

This is where we got the train from to Amsterdam, the trains there are really efficient and are bigger than those here having a second floor to ensure more people getting a seat.

I was shocked at how good the weather was for December, it got chilly later on but for the most part was clear and dry. 

Going there definitely made me want a bicycle, its the way to travel over there. There were numerous times I nearly got ran over by one.

We decided to take a canal boat ride, it was recommended to us and we thought it would be a really good way to see the City. This was taken just after we had set off. 

                                     

This was part of the light festival that was on while we were there. The sentence was written in light by Massimo Uberti, it made me smile every time I saw it. When I first saw it I thought why just today? As I thought about it more it reminded me to live in the moment and that maybe sometimes we need reminding that we are loved or to reinforce to others that we love them. That was my interpretation anyway, I feel hearing this will have the same reaction as every time I saw it.

The boat trip was lovely, we got to see the city both when it was light and as it was going dark. It lasted about an hour and a half for the route we went on. We got off at the Anne Frank house, it was a shame we didn't get the chance to go there...hopefully next time. After the boat ride we got some tea, had a couple of drinks at a cute bar we found, it had heaters outside and blankets. We then watched a ballet by the very talented Netherlands Dans Theatre who Marcus' Uncle is the creative director for, it was called 'School of Thought' and was absolutely incredible. It was especially cool seeing a bit of the behind the scenes and meeting the dancers.

I forgot to take photos of this, hope your liking the better quality from my shiny new camera.

Magical Disney Wedding

I went to my friends wedding which was at an absolutely gorgeous venue, it was essentially a giant glass house. For a day in December the weather was pretty good, it was a little chilly but that was to be expected. It was the most perfect, magical day and I was honoured to have been able to shared it with them.

                                          

This was me and my boyfriend ready for the day. I wore a midi spotty dress that has mesh pleats, it was from Asos and was in the sale for £22-£28, my fur coat was from Newlook which I got months and months ago for only £5. Absolute bargain! My necklace and bag were also both Newlook. 

The ceremony was just beautiful, after the ceremony we all got a nice hot festive mulled wine...mmmm!  

                                                       

My shoes were from Primark but I got these a few years ago. My plan was to wear red shoes, red bag and red lips but I couldn't find a red bag anywhere. 

                                           

I was in work for a couple of hours before the wedding so I didn't have the most time to get ready. I curled my hair before work and was surprised it actually somewhat stayed in. I went for a subtle smokey eye using pale colours, I wore false eyelashes for a more dramatic eye and a red lip. 

                                                      

                                                       

There was a slight Disney theme which I loved, the table plan was Disney themed with each table being named after a different Disney film. We were sat on the Beauty and the Beast table. The favours were the cutest, they were handmade mini mouse decorations. I am definitely going to be hanging mine on my Christmas tree. (By the was Pimms is a nickname that my friend calls me.) 

                                           

Here I am with the beautiful bride, just look at that dress. She looks like a real life Disney princess. The day was incredible from start to finish. Congratulations guys. 

November Favourites

My November favourites my have a slight Christmas theme, just a slight one but I think that's allowed. 

I got this sample free with my feel unique order, I ordered a couple of Christmas presents from there and I got to choose two samples which I thought was really good. I love this blusher, it looks super pink but there is an added shimmer in there which makes it look more subtle once applied. I may have to get the full size version.

Nice little winter nails. I thought these would look cute with a little snowflake sticker on and some gems.

These have been a life saver, my hair has got a little dry with the colder weather so these little guys have really put much needed moisture back into my hair.

Christmas jim jams. These are from George at Asda and I absolutely love them. The matching top and trousers are adorable and are soo cosy.

Everyone needs a christmas jumper and I like how this one isn't obvioulsy christmasy as it can be worn after christmas. It is from boohoo.com and cost £15. I have been enjoying wearing it and feel the need to go iceskating...wearing this jumper.

I love Rolo yoghurts, I go through phases as I sometimes forgot about them but last month I was loving these.

I feel like its only right to put afternoon tea in considering I had one three times last month. They are just the best.

Coffee Cupcakes

I made these cute little coffee cupcakes which were delicious and super easy to make. I am obsessed with coffee cake at the minute and the thing I like about it is you can just spontaneously make these as the ingredients are usually in your cupboards already. I borrowed the recipe from Nigella but adapted it as originally it was a coffee and walnut layer cake.

Ingredients

For the sponge:

• 225 grams caster sugar

• 225 grams soft unsalted butter

• 200 grams plain flour

• 2 teaspoons of instant coffee

• 2 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate soda

• 4 large eggs

For the buttercream frosting:

• 75g softened unsalted butter

• 175g icing sugar

• 2 teaspoons instant coffee

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180c. Cream the butter and sugar together, make sure the butter is soft as this process will be much easier. 

     2. Sift in the flour to ensure no lumps get into the mixture, make a little well in the middle and add the eggs. 

3. Add the baking powder and bicarbonate soda. Put two teaspoons of instant coffee into a mug and add a tiny bit of boiling water just enough for the granules to dissolve, too much water will make the mixture too runny.

4. Put some cake cases in to a cupcake tray, I used a silicone one which I find really handy. Spoon the mixture into the cases and bake for approximately 12-18 minutes. Do the cocktail stick in the middle test to make sure they are done then put them on a cooling wrack.

5. While the cakes are cooling, its time to make the buttercream icing. Beat the butter until soft, sift in the icing sugar then as before make up another coffee and boiled water mixture. Again not too much water. Add this to the icing sugar and butter then mix well.   

6. Make sure the cakes have completely cooled down before adding the frosting. You can pipe this on but I just used a teaspoon and used circular swirling motions to create a little bit of texture. 

                                                                                    

Local Christmas Lights Switch on

Every year on the last Saturday in November is our towns Christmas lights switch on, I always look forward to it as it makes me feel super festive and its always a good turn out.

I got into the Christmas spirit with my Christmas jumper on, you can't really see it but it is red with giant ice skates on. I really like it as you could wear it after Christmas. It was a really cold evening so I decided to wrap up warm with my red cable knit fur earmuffs, a scarf and big warm coat.

Sooo, we kinda missed the light switch on and parade. My boyfriend was working and we just got there too late. As we were walking down we got to see the fireworks though which were incredible.  

We still walked around the stalls and I got a nice mulled wine, there was still lots to see and the lights look really pretty.

Here's a rubbish image of the lights, you can kinda make them out. I promise to take a better one of them once I get my new camera which I have just ordered. Eeek exciting.