Relaxing In The Scottish Countryside

Demi and I are now on our Easter holiday and I have spent the first few days staying with two of my best buds in one of their lovely houses in the Scottish Countryside.
After going all out for the last week of uni with two birthdays, including my own, it was nice to finally have some fresh country air!
We went to the seaside, had some nice walks, and drunk lots of gin and tonic! - a perfect few days!
We even went riding, but I, not being a very seasoned rider, came flying off the horse! At least it gave me a good excuse for some extra drinks each night!
Also, the friend we were staying with had the cutest dog called Bramble. She was a poodle and I think probably the first 'big(ish)' dog I've ever really liked.

Feeding The Hens

Claire - Posing

Baking!

Pre-falling off horse

BRAMBLE!

Alex x
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Birthday Baking

So as yesterday marked the start of a weekend where I had nothing planned I knew that meant one thing and one thing only! I had to bake...

Also because of the fact that it is my dear friend, (and fellow blogger) Alexs' birthday this coming Tuesday, my housemate and I thought it would be a cracking idea to make her some birthday cupcakes! (I mean who doesn't love cake on their birthday?)

As my housemate has rather more work to do than me at the moment, I waved her off to the library and eagerly awaited her return in the evening to let the cupcake creating commence.

In the meantime, another friend of mine came round so we could make some goodies of our own to enjoy. We went for Banana bread with the hidden surprise of warm gooey strawberries in as an extra treat. I hate to admit it but our first attempt was an absolute disaster (charcoal would have looked paler next to it)... but anyway we kept calm and carried on. The second was a bit of a beauty if I say so myself. Here is a picture of our very strawberry Banana Bread:

 Banana Bread decorated with icing sugar and strawberries... Delicious!



So gooey and scrumptious!!

If you want the recipe for this beauty it can be found on the following website: http://www.loveveggiesandyoga.com/2012/03/strawberry-banana-bread.html There are also tonnes of other recipes on here to get your mouth watering, so definitely give it a look if you want some bakespiration.

Now for the cupcakes... We had intended to do red velvet but our red food colouring was doing a very bad job of turning the sponge red. Anyway, our take on red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, flaked dark chocolate savings and twisted strawberries to decorate.

 I've had this cakestand for ages so it deserved its 15 minutes of fame...

The proof is in the pudding?

The recipe that we followed for this was really simple and can be found here: http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/red-velvet-cupcakes-1.html I would, however, recommend you search round for some good (gel) red food colouring because ours didn't really do its job properly.

Anyways Happy Birthday Alex. Enjoy your yummy birthday treats and many happy returns!

Happy Baking all!

Demi xo 





Street Spice Newcastle

After a toughly won netball match on Saturday morning my friend, Charlotte and I decided some good food was in order. I had heard about a three day street food festival being held in Newcastle at the Life Centre called Street Spice. Being the foodie that I am, it was a must do on my list to attend. I just wish there was more stuff like this in Newcastle!

They also had cooking demonstrations

Charlotte and I spent about 40 minutes doing several laps trying decided what to eat but we both settled on a bread bowl with pulled pork, bbq sauce, cheese, cajun fries, and coleslaw. YUM! We both resisted the amazing cupcakes and bought half a pint each...lad lad lads.

I will definitely be keeping an eye out for more of these gastronomy events in the future and might convince Demi to take a trip next year with me to the food show!

For some funny reason the sun had been out in Newcastle all day so we finished off out chilled saturday with a few drinks in Jesmond. Fab day all round!

Alex xx

Celebrations on Call Lane

Hey everyone,

It has been a while, yet again, but was waiting for something to blog about! This weekend I made the exciting trip down from Newcastle to Leeds, for one night only to celebrate my cousins 18th Birthday.

Having relatives who live in Leeds has resulted in many a weekend trip and normally I leave with one nasty hangover (oh the perks of having a cousin who works at a nightclub). The usual mix of free alcohol and a crazy cousin to consume it with equal one horrible hungover mess. However, I thought this time may be different...

As it was a special occasion, I thought there was no better excuse than to dress up. I was told that we would be heading down to 'Call Lane' in Leeds where they have some cool bars within a hop skip and a jump of one another. We set up camp at Neon Cactus Bar for the night and headed downstairs for some free tequila and dancing. Alex (fellow blogger) made the trip down with me and we danced the night away. It was a fabulous occasion for my beautiful cousin. Happy Birthday darling. I think we (as you would say, 'parDDied in style') the Carnelley girls were out in full force so it was sure to be barrel of laughs, (Danielle providing most of entertainment for the evening). Thanks goes to Danielle, what a wonderful host she is!

So anyway here is what I wore...

Outfit:

Grey Crop Top: Topshop
Lime Green Midi Skirt: Never Fully Dressed
Black Court Shoes: Kurt Geiger
Gold Chain Necklace: Topshop

The Carnelley girls out in full force!

The B-E-A-U-tiful birthday girl

Alex and I

Enjoy a celebratory G&T (would be rude not to!)

If any of you are ever in Leeds take a trip to Call Lane for a few drinks, its definitely worth a visit! For more information on the bar that we went to here is their website, its a must for you tequila lovers of the world: http://www.neoncactus.co.uk/ 

Demi xo



My Birthday Wish List!

So it's my birthday in less than a month and, apart from me, the rest of my family hate surprises. This means if I want any presents I have to make a massive list that is circulated amongst everyone with gifts they can choose to get me. I suppose it means everything I get, I like, but I also like surprises. So I thought I would turn my present hunt into a blog post and give other girls some good ideas for their own birthday presents!

At the moment I'm loving little rope bracelets and have yet to get myself one. Urban Outfitters do some like the one below which are pretty inexpensive at £8. I also love this one off Etsy.          
                           

     

I also really like these sunglasses for £16 which I have tried on several times!

Carrying on with everything UO I saw this bag in one of the London stores over Christmas and fell in love. I have yet to acquire the money to buy it but might ask the grandpadres! 

I wanted a kind of bright but daytime wearable lipstick. I think Craving by MAC is perfect as a toned down raspberry shade.

My friends and family know how much I like painting my nails so I though I had to include a mini nail set on my list. I love this one by Jessica and also this Nails Inc one. Both seem perfect for spring and summer! 

I really want something small to boost the sound of my laptop and my dad actually has one of these. They are definitely worth the money.

If you are stuck for any other ideas this website, www.notonthehighstreet.com , has some really cute gifts that can be personalised.

Hope this has helped if you are just as stuck as me!

Alex xx

FOTN - Face of the Night #1

Demi and I thought that, since we go out so much, we should start blogging when we particularly like our outfits or makeup! SO... I am going to kick off with my make up from my latest night out. I thought to add a bit of colour with a pop of blue eyeliner and keep my lips toned down with a coral colour. Excuse the posey photos!... (List of products below)

Eyes:
No7 Fanomenal Eye Palette
Toasted eyeshadow - Urban Decay
MUFE Aqua Liner (No.5)
L'Oreal Telescopic Mascara

Face:
Esteé Lauder Invisible Fluid Foundation
Mac Limited Edition Blush in Dirty Plum
Mac Lipstick in Vegas Volt

Alex xx

How to bag yourself a Bargain!

Hey all,

Sorry I haven't written in a while, been having a love affair with the library, but as of yesterday I finished my exams so it gives me a few days to catch up on the things I love doing and have neglected slightly as of late.

As its January one thing that excites me after Christmas are the sales. If you get in quick you can bag yourself a bargain and those things you wanted before Christmas have been reduced so low that you feel your getting something you love without burning a hole in your pocket! So even though working my way through the racks of clothes can sometimes irritate me, I have found myself some gems which I thought I would share with you.

First, the cami-coat. Ok, so this one wasn't the original one I wanted but a very similar one. Urban Outfitters, naturally. This beauty was originally priced at a hefty £98 and even with UO's lovely student discount I couldn't have quite justified it at full price. It was £40 in the sale so I thought, brilliant £36 with discount. However, much to my surprise it rung through the till at £20 meaning I got it for a whopping £18!!!!! Its not the warmest of jackets, but definitely on trend.

 From the back, nice fur hood!

Secondly, for those that know me best, they know I have a serious shoe obsession. Therefore, I have been searching high and low for a new perfect pair of heels. Much as I hate to admit it I have been loving the courts, like those donned by Kim K with ankle straps. I got mine from Topshop, original price £99 and in the sale £27 with student discount!



My new shoes, chunky shapes, open toe and electric blue heel

And finally, I have a weakness for a chiffon shirt or two. Teamed with some nice skinny jeans or tucked into a skater skirt, they are effortlessly beautiful. I got this cream one from Warehouse for £12. I especially love the lace detail on the back its really pretty.

Lace detail- tucked in

Lace detail on the back, tucked out

So there's just a few of my bagged bargains, I wonder whether any of you got some beautys in the January Sales?

Demi xo
Photos by Freya Mortimer