Seven Happy Things #8

You know those weeks in which you have so much going on by the time Sunday rolls around the week seems to have flown and you have no idea what you've done? That's the kind of week I have had. I know this week has been pretty hectic but the days have all muddled into one and I'm finding this Sunday post quite hard. Maybe I should write down my things from the day as they happen. 

• At the beginning of the week I had a day of just running errands and getting grown up things done. Productive days are great.
  
  
• Tuesday was a baking day. I made Shortbread biscuits, you can find the post about them here. I used my Disney Cookie cutter for the first time and the biscuits looked adorable!
  
  
• I have been letting my hair grow for over a year now. I really should have gotten it cut before now but I just couldn't do it. However, I took the plunge this week and got most of it cut off. I absolutely love it. All the dye has been cut out of it too now so I'm back to my natural blonde colour now.
  
  
• If you read Friday's post, you will know that I had an accident with my camera and it has died. I have spent the last week looking for a new replacement but I am lacking in funds at the moment so for awhile camera photos will have to suffice. I was really worried about the quality being very poor but I was surprised by the pictures I could achieve using my phone.
  
  
• I popped into Boots on Friday after an interview and treated myself to a blusher and a nail varnish. I am very bad at treating myself, I rarely do it these days so I was very happy with my purchases.
  
  
• Yesterday morning, I got up early and made chocolate and raspberry cupcakes. They were amazing and I ate too many of them. I cannot wait to share the recipe with you guys next week!
  
  
• Sunday has found it's way around again and as I am writing this I am contemplating taking a nap and then eating the rest of the cupcakes I made yesterday. Sunday's are not my favourite days. 

That has been my week! I'm feeling very nervous right now, I'm hoping for good news tomorrow, trying to send out positive vibes.

 I hope you all had a wonderful week, let me know what you have been up to! 

Best Ever Shortbread

I have decided to call this the "best ever" shortbread because I have tried a lot of different recipes and chopped and changed between different ingredients to get the perfect shortbread. It may seem super simple (which it is) but I found that depending on how much of each ingredient you use and which sugar you use, the end result can differ. I also added a little something extra in the form of vanilla sugar that my Mum happened to randomly pick up last week which proved to be the perfect addition to these biscuits.

Unfortunately, there was a fatality while I was baking these biscuits, my camera fell off the kitchen counter and onto the tiled floor. The lens has gone all funky, and because my camera is a bridge camera, the lens is attached so therein lies the problem. The pictures of the biscuits in the making were taken on my camera, before it's incident but the pictures of the finished product were taken on my phone, hence the horrific quality. If anyone has any recommendations on a good DSLR that isn't too expensive, I would really appreciate it.

You'll notice that I took this opportunity to use my Disneyland Eiffel Tower cookie cutter and also that I then got annoyed with using it so the rest out with a circle cookie cutter instead. In theory, it seemed like a great idea to use my Disneyland souvenir, but it turned out not to be so practical as it is an awkward shape. They did come out looking adorable though and I will definitely be bringing it out for special occasions.

What I would usually do with shortbread, would be dip one side in chocolate or drizzle some melted chocolate over the top. However, we didn't have any chocolate in the house at the time I was baking these. Don't worry though, this problem has been rectified and we are now fully stocked with chocolate. This recipe makes about 20 cookies, depending on what shape you decide to cut them into. Happy baking!

Ingredients:

300g plain flour
150g caster sugar
50g icing sugar
200g butter, softened
1tsp vanilla extract
1tbsp water
4tbsp vanilla sugar/caster sugar, for sprinkling

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the butter, two types of sugar and vanilla extract with an electric mixer. You need to mix this really well, until there's no chunks of butter left. 

2. Gradually sieve the flour into the bowl. Combine together with your hands. 

3. Add in the water and continue to mix together. Wrap in cling-film, place in the fridge for 30 minutes.

4. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas Mark 4. Grease a baking tray or line with parchment paper. 

5. On a floured surface, roll out your dough to be about 1cm thick and then cut into your desired shape.

6. Place on the baking tray. Using a fork prick a few small holes in each biscuit then sprinkle with sugar.

7. Bake for 20 minutes, or until slightly golden. 

8. Remove from oven and place on a wire rack until completely cooled. 

June Favourites

It seems that I'm slightly late to the party with this month's favourites. It's been a hectic week with lots of exciting news. My Thursday post was going to be my favourite shortbread recipe but that will have to wait until tomorrow, so keep an eye out for that. Back to the task in hand, what I have been loving this month! 

Coconut & Almond Leave In Conditioner - This product featured in my hair care post, so it is a staple in my hair routine. However, when I went to Paris earlier this month, I couldn't bring it with me as it was over the 100ml liquid limit and I was unable to find a travel size spray bottle in time. In those five days without it, I realised how much I rely on it when my hair is wet. I drench my hair in this before I brush it out after I shower and it makes it so much easier to brush through. I have just got all my hair cut off into a bob though so I don't think I will need as much of those but at just €2 a bottle, I will definitely continue to pick this up.

Simple Kind To Skin Moisturising Facial Wash - I used this facial wash to wash my face after removing my make up with a wipe. It removed every trace of my make up and left my skin feeling so soft. The boy also used this, while it did leave his skin moisturised, it also broke him out, which just goes to show how products work differently on different skin types. This is just a travel size but I will be repurchasing a full size when this runs out.

KIKO Nail Laquer in 344 Light Misty Green - I mentioned this in my Paris Haul, I got the colour wrong though. None of the nail polishes have names on them, just numbers, that don't match up to the names or numbers shown online. I had been looking for this colour for such a long time, so when I saw this one I knew it had to be mine. I've had it on my nails ever since returning home. It takes just two coats to gave a very opaque colour and there is minimal chipping with this polish.

Aussie 3 Minute Miracle Reconstructor Deep Conditioner - Again, I just have a travel size of this product but I do have a reason for this. I find that with Aussie products my hair gets used to them really quickly so I only use it once every so often. However, I used this for the second half of this month and I found that it took a lot of the frizz out of my hair, as well as making it smell uh-mazing. I may have to pick up the full size.

So that is everything I have been loving this month. I usually have a TV favourite too but I am still making my way through Gilmore Girls (still perfect) so that's pretty much all I've been watching this month. 

Leave a comment below telling me what your favourite things have been this month! 

Summer Make Up Wishlist

Estee Lauder Pure Colour Blush in Peach Passion

Tarte Amazonian Clay 12-Hour Blush in Flush

NARS Blush in Gaiety

YSL Rouge Volupte Shine in Pink In Devotion 

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Antwerp

Essie Nail Varnish in Sunday Funday

Soap & Glory Brow Archery 

Benefit They're Real Push Up Liner

L'oreal True Match Foundation in Natural Ivory

So those are my top picks for make up this summer! I love corals and bright pinks. I'm also dying to try S&G's Brow Archery, I never usually do much to my eyebrows but this needs to change.
 What are your favourite picks from my list and what beauty bits have you been lusting after? 

Seven Happy Things #7

So, if you've been hanging around these parts for awhile now, you'll know that I usually post these on Sunday mornings, or early afternoon. Today has been an extremely slow day though, I am lacking motivation. However, I have just had dinner (quorn shepherds pie, it was yum) and now I'm ready for action! Ready to write a blog post, at least.

This lovely little blog I have reached 100 followers on bloglovin' earlier this week. I woke up to an email about it and it really brightened up my day. Thank you so much to everyone that reads, comments and follows. I really appreciate it.

I received an email from a lovely girl asking for some tips on blogging. Now, I am in no way an expert and there are definitely waaaay better bloggers she could have asked but it meant a lot that she asked me. I hope I helped.

I've managed to keep up with reading blogs this week, which I am really happy about. I tried to comment on as many as possible as well. I enjoy when people comment on my posts, it's always nice to make other people happy too.

Yesterday, the boy and I went to see The Fault In Our Stars. I read the book quite awhile back now and he is currently reading it. We both loved it. I presume everyone has seen it by now but if you haven't, you should. Bring tissues, I cried through most of it.

This week's baking post was Mini Cherry Pies. I was a bit hesitant about this one, I wasn't sure how well it would go down with everyone. A lot of people (myself included) prefer something chocolate-y. People seemed to really enjoy it though, my taste testers were also impressed. 

I've started mixing up my make up slightly this week by using the Make Up Revolution Iconic 3 palette. I'm completely amazed by how pigmented it is. It has made it into my make up bag, replacing my MUA palette.

As I mentioned above, the been keeping up my blog reading this week. However, I haven't been keeping up with my Youtube subscription box, so videos have began to pile up. I am looking forward to curling in bed this evening with a cup of tea and catching up. 

That is my week, summed up into seven happy bullet points. I hope you've all had a wonderful week. Summer has been coming in and out of Ireland this week. I'm not a massive fan of the sun (sorry) so I am patiently waiting for Winter. Let me know what's been making you happy this week!