6 Ways To Relax

I feel like it is very important to take some time out to relax, whether it is before bedtime or just taking time out of your day. I suffer from anxiety so taking some time to do something relaxing that I enjoy really helps. 

1. Go for a walk, getting some fresh air and chatting to someone while walking can really help you to relax and get things off your chest if needed.

2. Have a nice soak in the bath complete with candles and a bath bomb. 

3. Drink something calming like camomile tea or a milky drink.  

4. Reading whether it be a good book or a magazine like I prefer.

5. Listen to some calming music, my go to song is anything by Ludovico Einaudi especially I giorni.

6. Getting creative losing yourself in art, colouring in, sewing, drawing or acting. I coloured this image in using an app called Colorfy. I love it!

I hope these tips helped and would love to hear if anyone has their own way in which to relax.

Store Cupboard Chocolate Cakes

I wanted to bake so I Googled the ingredients I had in my cupboard and one of the recipes that came up was this one. I adapted it slightly by decorating them with what I wanted. 

Here are the ingredients I used (they aren't all in the picture)

Ingredients

150g Plain Flour

30g Cocoa Powder

1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

1 1/4 Teaspoons Bicarbonate of Soda

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

175g Muscovado Sugar

115g Vegetable Oil

80g Milk

1 1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 Large Eggs

The recipe is really quick and easy once you have measured everything out.

Add the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt together. Mix them really well which you could with your hands. In a separate bowl beat the eggs with a fork for 10-15 seconds to loosen them well. To the eggs add the vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients.  Mix well together, a balloon whisk for 30 seconds should do it.

If you pour the mixture into a large jug it makes pouring into the cases easier. Fill the cases two thirds of the way up.and bake in the oven for 17 - 20 minutes.

Leave them to cool on a wire rack, they can be eaten naked or decorate them however you please.

I decorated mine with Nutella spread and Chocolate buttons, they taste amazing. 

Primark Haul

I went to Primark over the weekend, the one I went to in Liverpool is mahoosive and super busy. Not the best place to go for an anxiety sufferer but I did get some really cute things.

I have recently had a sort out of my clothes and cardigans is one of the things I am now lacking. I got these two Autumnal colours for a bargain £5 each. They are ideal for work or throwing on when I get cold which is pretty much all of the time. 

Instead of the suitcase sized 'handbag' I currently carry around, I really wanted a smaller sized across the body bag which is ideal for carrying around while shopping or just times when you don't want to carry a big heavy bag around with you. I like the colour of this one and it cost either £4 or £5.

I absolutely fell in love with this dress as soon as I saw it. It cost £13 which I don't think is bad at all. I especially like the lace detail on the shoulders and the berry colour.

I got these cute little lights to go round the mirror in my bedroom, you can't really see them properly here but they are round lights with a pointed bit on the end. They were £3 which is a bargain!

I got two packs of these super cosy tights. They are £3.50 each and are my go to tights when it comes to winter. They are super thick and have a fleecy inside, mmmm toasty.

Finally I got these cute polar bear slippers which were £3. I have since named them Paul and Phil and they are the cosiest slippers. 

September Favourites

My September favourites are quite random, there isn't really a theme but here they are...

I am a big fan of the Collection brand, remember when it was Collection 2000? It is very inexpensive and works just as well as higher end brands. I have been loving this contour kit. I have never contoured before but thought I would give it a try and I have not looked back. I couldn't imagine my make-up routine without it now. Once you have got over the initial what goes where and constantly looking at a diagram, it is easy peasy. Love Love Love!

Shade 107 by Rimmel in the Kate Moss range. I love the shade and staying power. It goes with a lot of outfits especially now were in Autumn. 

Love this Barry M Mustard shade. It's the Gelly Hi Shine range. Yellow is my favourite colour in all shades. Bright yellow for summer and this shade for the colder months. I love the colour and how it looks like shellac nail varnish.

I curled my hair a lot last month, it was just so quick and easy with my new wand. It took about 10-15 minutes to curl my hair before work in a morning. Its the Tresemme Volume Curl Tong.

Been loving the sewing magazines, I have gained lots of inspiration and ideas. Can't wait to get cracking to keep me occupied through the cold winter months. 

I saw this cushion and knew I had to get it straight away. I think it was £7, it was temporarily put in the living room and it instantly brightened it up.

I have been enjoying this pretty unhealthy snack, Nutella and digestive biscuits is just the best thing EVER! Mmm could genuinely just eat it right now.

Girly Shopping Day

I had a lovely day yesterday shopping with my Mum, Auntie and Cousin. We had a little look around the shops and had a lovely late dinner followed by cocktails. I am going to do a separate Primark haul post as that is where I got the majority of my purchases from. Here are a few pictures. 

We went to Liverpool for the day which is a fifteen - twenty minute train journey from where I live. We did a bit of shopping then ate in a Thai restaurant called Chaophraya (after many attempts I still can not say this.) I'll just call it Chao.

This is what I had to eat, I am addicted to taking photos of food. I had chicken skewers with a satay sauce for my starter and for my main I had deep fried sea bass with a creamy curry sauce and jasmine rice. The food was amazing.

I took this in the toilet of the restaurant. There is this fish tank separating the men and ladies toilet sink area. Here you can see the gents mirror if you look through the fishies home. I looked through and saw a random man. I nearly pooped my pants! It's a little bit odd but also very cool at the same time.

   

 

After our meal we went through to the cocktail place next door called Palm Sugar. We got discount for having just eaten at the connecting restaurant. I loved the huge statement décor.

I had a cosmopolitan and the others had a Bellini.

This is me with my mum enjoying our cocktails. I would recommend either of these places to anyone, Soooo when are we going again please?

Family Wedding Time

I love a good wedding, last week my cousin got married. I think you will agree that planning an outfit for the occasion takes a lot of planning and consideration. How to have your hair? make up? what to wear? what shoes? what bag? The dress I wore I got months ago from a monsoon outlet store. I instantly fell in love with it.

I went for quite subtle make up, one because I didn't have a lot of time and secondly I felt as though the dress should get all of the attention and my make up should just compliment it. Pink blusher, pink lips and a pinky gold smoky eye effect.

Just before the wedding I nipped to a beauty salon down the road to get individual eyelashes put in. It literally took the girl 10 minutes to do where as if I would have done them it would have taken me 2 hours. I absolutely love them and one week on, I still have them in. 

This is my cousin Neesha and a full length picture of my dress. For my hair I curled it using big barrelled curling thongs. I then clipped in an old necklace to jazz it up a bit. 

I really like this picture as we weren't posing and it just captured us laughing instead.

Myself and mummy bear, thought I would throw this one in to show my shoes. They were from the Very catalogue but a couple of years ago. 

Here I am with the beautiful bride, her dress was absolutely gorgeous and featured some 3d flowers which you can just about see at the back. It was such a lovely wedding, I can't believe it was a week ago now.

Three Work Outfits

Thought I would share three different outfits I wore to work last week. We had a little bit of sun so thought I would make the most of it and get my legs out while I had the chance. I work in an office so I have to dress quite smart. Also with it being a Golf Club there are certain rules about what you can and cant wear. This is pretty much my everyday style anyway but I do sometimes wish I could wear a checked shirt, jeans and some converse. (I apologise in advance for the dirty mirror and messy bedroom floor.)

Day 1 - I have had this skirt for years and I still absolutely love it, it was from the Very catalogue and the Love Label range. It was a little bit chilly so I teamed it with this long sleeve stripy top from Primark. I like the back of the top as there is a window of chiffon which is quite cool.

Day 2 - I got this dress last year from Primark and was only about £8. I have worn it quite a lot as you can wear it with tights, bare legged or in this case with leggings. I like how simple this outfit is. I think next time I would wear a statement necklace. 

Day 3 - Slightly similar skirt to outfit one but longer and pink. This was in the sale from Asos earlier this year costing between £10 and £14. I love it, I always feel really elegant when I wear it. The top was a ridiculous £2 from Primark (seems to be a Primark theme going on.)