Aloha! I haven't done a Foodie Friday post for a little while so I thought I'd show you how to make the lemon drizzle cake that I baked recently! I have to say the Great British Bake Off being back has really inspired me to get in the kitchen and bake my own sweet treats!

You will need:

2 unwaxed lemons

275g granulated sugar

175g unsalted butter, softened

200g self raising flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

3 large eggs

How to: 

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius (or gas mark 4).

Line the base of a 2lb loaf tin with baking paper and butter the tin.

Grate the zest of the lemons and add to a food processor, along with the butter, flour, baking powder eggs, and 175g of the sugar

Blend until the mixture is combined and is thick and smooth. 

Spoon the cake mixture into the loaf tin and level the surface.

Bake for 35 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Whilst it is cooling, squeeze one of the lemons to get about 3 tablespoons of juice. Mix this with the remaining 100g of sugar. 

Turn the cake out of the tin onto a wire cooling rack, removing the baking paper. 

Turn the cake the right way up and make about 50 deep holes with a skewer.

Gradually spoon half the lemon sugar over the top of the cake, allowing it to coat the top throughly. 

Leave for 5 minutes and add the rest of the lemon sugar. 

Leave to set for about an hour or until the sugar has crystallised. 

Cut into thick slices and enjoy with a tea or coffee! 

Enjoy baking this one! It is one of my favourites!

xxx

Ikea Haul

 Aloha!

Mikey usually plays golf on a Saturday afternoon so this is usually my time to go for a little wander around the shops and see what bargains I can find! So on Saturday just passed I took a little drive out to Ikea! Here is what I picked up!

Lime Plant Pot £5.25 - I actually bought this to store all my lotions and potions in which are currently sprawled all over my bedroom! It's so pretty and an absolute bargain!

Candle Dishes 60p each - I like to use funky looking beer bottles as candle holders but I needed something to place them on so the wax doesn't spill all over my table! These are exactly what I was after and at a really good price too!

Mini Cacti £4.50 for all 3 - I've been after a cactus for so long but I've never seen them anywhere so I was super happy when I found them in Ikea! They also do large individual ones for just £3 (they don't come in a pretty ceramic pot like the mini ones) but they never had any I liked so I settled for these!

100 unscented tea lights £1.75 - I use these in my wax tart burners so I go through them super fast. I was running out of the pack I had so I picked up these. They should hopefully last me a while now!

Full Length Mirror - £1.74 from Dunelm Mill

Okay so this isn't from Ikea but it was such a bargain I has to show you it! 

It's not really the colour I was looking for but I plan to buy a tin of spray paint and spray it a different colour (either white or silver, I'm undecided), then decorate it with fairy lights! I'm really pleased with myself for this purchase! 

I'd love to see your homeware bargains! Leave me a link in the comments below! 

xxx

TheSundayPost - 23rd August

Aloha! So another week has flown by and it's almost September. The countdown to Christmas will be starting soon! (X factor starts next weekend, that's usually a good indication of how close it is!) I just don't know where this year has gone!

Here is what I've been up to this week!

1 - I had a little shopping trip on Monday night which involved buying this cat car freshener from New Look. It's very me haha!

2 - We actually had a pretty decent week of weather! This is the church next door to my work where I have been sitting eating my lunch and catching some rays. It's such a lovely peaceful place to sit, and it beats eating at my desk!

3 - Can't believe this was my first frappuchino of the Summer! It was goooood!

4 - We finally booked flights for a little trip to Ireland! I'm super excited as I've never been before! We are flying into Dublin and hiring a car to travel round Galway, Limerick and Cork before heading back for a night or two in Dublin! Guinness factory here I come! 

5 - Saturday was spent with a trip to Ikea, then hanging around my mum's house waiting for Mikey to come off the golf course! Whilst I was there, Smudge decided to claim ownership of this Amazon box. He's a strange one. 

6 - I made tacos!! They were pretty damn good if I say so myself! Now if only I could teleport back to Mexico...

So that has been my week! Can you believe this post is actually going up before 10pm on a Sunday?! I'm off to bake some lemon and blueberry bread now. Have a lovely week! 

xxxx

Workwear Haul

Aloha! You may or may not know that I recently started a new job! Of course this called for a new workwear wardrobe! My workwear was getting tired and the summer sales were on so I went off on a hunt for some new items! Here is what I found!

Cami Top - £3 at F&F at Tesco

Okay so strictly speaking this is not workwear but I decided to chuck it in this post anyway! I'm really pleased with this buy! £3 is a total bargain and it will look great with my high waisted black jeans!

Blouse - £7 at F&F at Tesco

I actually had my eye on this a couple of weeks ago so I was delighted when I went back and it was in the sale! I've already worn it a few times and it looks lovely either tucked into a skirt or worn loose. 

Skirt - £14.99 at New Look

I've got a similar skirt to this from last summer but I picked this one up and couldn't put it back as I loved the pattern on it!

Shoes - £17.99 at New Look

I love these shoes! They are something a bit different from the usual plain black court shoes! 

Skirt - £3.80 at Sainsburys

Bargain or what?! I had a leopard print skirt previously but it got caught on so many things that it was ruined! I couldn't believe the price tag on this one so I just had to buy it!

Gypsy Blouse - £4.50 at Sainsburys 

I have a navy skirt that I bought recently and I have nothing that really goes with it so when I saw this gypsy blouse in the sale I snapped it up! I like the pattern on this. 

Cardigan - £10 at Sainsburys

I'm slowly replacing all the cardigans in my wardrobe as they are getting a bit tired. This one feels lovely and for only £10 I can't complain! It will go with most of my work clothes too which is always a bonus! 

So that's all the workwear I've been buying recently! Tesco and Sainsburys both have some amazing workwear collections just now! I'd buy everything if I could! 

xxx

Keratin Blow Dry

Aloha! I've had super unruly hair for such a long time and it made it impossible for me to do anything with it! So about 2 weeks ago, I got a keratin blow dry in the hope of solving my frizzy hair problems!

Keratin is the key structural component in your hair, and if you get your hair dyed a lot (like me), or you blow dry and straighten it a lot, then you can damage the keratin in your hair, leading to dry, often frizzy hair! 

A keratin blow dry involves applying a large amount of keratin oil, allowing it to seep into the hair for a while, then blow drying it into the hair.

And the results are great!

As you can see, the treatment has made such a difference to my hair!

It used to take me over 30 minutes to dry my hair, now it takes just 15 minutes, and I don't even need to straighten it afterwards! 

My hair feels sleek and smooth and has regained it shine! 

If you suffer with dry, frizzy hair, I highly recommend you speak to your hairdresser about getting a keratin blow dry! 

xxx

Tanya's Tarte Train

Aloha! I'm a member of so many groups on Facebook for people who love candles. Sounds sad, I know but I enjoy looking at the candle bargains other people have been buying. I recently saw an advert for a subscription box by a small company called Tanya's Tartes. I've blogged about them here previously! So of course I had to sign up for this! My first box arrived at the start of the week and I thought I'd do a little review for you all to see!

There are 9 scents in total, all for the bargain price of £9.95 a month. And what's even better is that they just send you a paypal invoice. Don't want to recieve that months box? Simple, you just don't pay the invoice! Of course, there's not much chance of me skipping a month!

The only scent I wasn't very keen on this month was Lemon Drizzle Cake. It's strange because I love lemon drizzle cake, but it made me feel a bit sick when it was burning (maybe because I had a migraine when I lit it, silly moo).

All the other scents I absolutely love! RringaDding has got to be my favourite! I can't put a finger on what it reminds me of, but it's just gorgeous. A sweet, strong smell. 

Bluebell & Euphoria are new scents for September and we all got a sneak peak! They are both lovely. Bluebell of course smells like the flower. Euphoria is a lovely musky smell, like a lovely men's aftershave.

If you are looking for a nice scented wax subscription box, then I would highly recommend this one! It's amazing value for money, the tartes smell wonderful, and they last for ageees! 

xxxx

TheSundayPost - 16th August

Aloha! As usual here is my roundup of what I've been up to this week!

1 - I went to Home Bargains again...I'm loving how easy it's becoming to get hold of American candy! I've had an obsession with it for years!

2 - As it's the Edinburgh Festival, lots of my English family have been up visiting! This photo was taken on Thursday when we all met up at the apartment they were renting for the week!

3 - On Saturday I decided to bake a lemon drizzle cake instead of tidying my house. I feel I made the better choice.

4 - I also had my hair darkened down a bit! The blonde was becoming too high maintenance!

1 - We treated ourselves to our first takeaway in ages this weekend! It was gooood!

2 - And for the first time in many years, I got a fortune cookie with my meal!

3 - Mikey bought me presents! Of course they were Yankee related! And cakes. I love cakes!

4 - And because it was such a lovely day, we went for a lovely walk today. I saw my swan friends. The babies are getting so big!

That's been it for this week! Next week will probably be rather quiet! 

Have a lovely week everyone!

Another Primark Haul...

Aloha! I've been let loose in Primark again!

This time I had some birthday money to spend and decided to get some new pieces to update my wardrobe a bit!

So here is what I've been buying!

Silky cami top - £8

I love this top! It feels lovely and it's a pretty pattern. I like to wear it with skinny jeans and a black cardigan (or blazer if I'm looking for something smarter!)

High waisted skinny jeans - £10

Talking of skinny jeans, I also picked up these! They are definitely the comfiest jeans I've had in a while, and they are super soft too!

Cream Jacket - £15

I picked this up for wearing to work. I've yet to wear it as it instantly got warmer after I bought it, but I'm sure I'll get plenty use out of it in the Autumn!

Black Jacket - £15

I've had this on a few times already as the material is a bit thinner than the one above! Again I bought this for wearing to work! It looks really nice with a black pencil skirt and a colourful blouse!

Nightdress - £4.50

Haha this was a bit of a novelty purchase! I needed some cooler PJ's for the warmer months and this fits the bill well!

PJ's - £8

How could I say no to these?! Reese's is my favourite chocolate product so I just had to have these!

So that's all my recent Primark purchases! I have to say they have some pretty awesome things in just now!

xxx

TheSundayPost - 9th August

Aloha! This week has been a long one!

I started my new job on Monday and so far it has been going well! It's super tiring though! As you can see, I was so drained on Friday night that I fell asleep on the sofa spooning the cat! 

I've been trying to have a relaxing weekend to get my energy back for the week ahead! Today my mum and I went to Jo Malone to use a voucher she had for a hand and arm massage! It was a lovely afternoon and I felt super relaxed afterwards! The smell of all the products is still clinging to my skin now! After our massage we went to one of the pop up bars for the Festival and sat outside enjoying our Edinburgh Gin and Prosecco cocktails! We both tried the Rhubarb gin and it was delicious!

Have a great week! 

xxx

Superdrug Haul

Revolution Palette £4 

Revolution Pro Fix Spray £5

MUA lipsticks £1 each

MUA Extreme Curl Mascara £3

Aloha! I recently decided I was in need of some new make up as I hadn't bought any for a while so I nipped into my local Superdrug for a look! 

I picked up this palette of eyeshadow first. I haven't bought eyeshadow in forever. I used to have terrible problems with my eyes and dust allergies, so non creme eyeshadows just didn't work for me! But so far, I've used this palette every day and had no problems! The consistency is great and they stay put all day!

Just to make sure my eye make up stays nice all day, I purchased this Pro Fix make up spray. My foundation is terrible for rubbing off during the day so I thought this might help. It mostly works very well. I don't find I need to re apply my foundation by lunchtime after using this which is great! 

New job called for new lipsticks! I bought a deep red, dark pink, and a nude colour so I have a choice depending on what outfit I'm wearing. These are great, and a bargain at only £1 each! 

Finally, I picked up this extreme curl mascara for £3 as a replacement for my Soap & Glory one which has run out. I have to say, this one works really well and gives my lashes a nice curl without the need for curlers! 

So that's been my beauty treats for this month! I have to say, so far I'm really pleased with all the products I've purchased! 

xxx

Excellence Playa Mujeres

Aloha! Or should I say, Ola! This post is super late, so apologies for that!

In May we went on the holiday of a lifetime to Mexico, and I'm finally getting round to writing about the fabulous hotel we stayed in! 

It was called Excellence Playa Mujeres and was situated about 25 minutes North of Cancun, on the Caribbean coast of Mexico. Need I say more than Caribbean?

It was five star, all inclusive and it was hands down the most perfect hotel I've ever stayed in.

I don't think anywhere will be able to match it (so much so that it's pretty much certain we will be honeymooning here!)

So if you don't believe me, have a look at the photos below and see for yourself!

I spy with my little eye...TEQUILA!

I need a rain shower in my life again. 

Jacuzzi bath, the best place to relax after a day in the sun, with a margarita in one hand and a corona in the other!

In case you needed a snooze in the sun, there's a bed on the balcony!

For some reason I never took a photo of the bed! It was super super comfy though!

There are also beds on the beach. See, pure relaxation everywhere!

Room service lunch! The food was absolutely brilliant! There are 9 a la carte restaurants. I tried them all, and they were all really really good! My favourites were Chez Isabelle, Spice, Flavour Market & Basmati!

The was the lobby area, looking down onto the Martini Bar. This was a cool place to relax after dinner. The cocktails were amazing (all premium brand btw) and there was usually a sax player or singer to entertain you!

And if that's not enough to persuede you to go here, then there is a theme night every night. From Casino Night, White Party Night, Caribbean Night and, my personal favourite, Mexican Fiesta Night! 

I could go on forever about this place. It was my idea of paradise.

Why take my word for it though, go see for yourself!

Book Here or visit your local travel agent!

xxx

TheSundayPost - 2nd August

Aloha! It's that time of the week again - Sunday Post time! 

Here is what I've been up to this week! 

1 - I nipped into Primark to buy 'a few new things for work'. £45 later and I had a full bag, including these amazing Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Pj's! I've been after short Pj's for ages as my bedroom is so hot! (I think it's because the hot water tank is in the cupboard through the wall). 

2 & 3 - I received my first muscle food order this week! So far I've really enjoyed everything! If you don't know who Muscle Food are, go check them out. They sell lean meats delivered to your door for amazing prices. Full blog post coming soon on this! 

4 - It was my mum's birthday on Wednesday, so this called for another Cuckoo's Bakery cake! This time a retro sweetie cupcake. It was delicious, as always! 

5 & 6 - Friday was my last day at my job, before I move on to my trainee accounts job tomorrow! This called for a gallon of cocktails at lunch, obviously. I also received some wonderful presents from my colleagues, which I am super grateful for!

1 - Just a picture of a Yankee Candle car jar. Obviously. 

2 - On Saturday, I finally got a keratin blow dry on my overpowering mane of hair! So far it's been amazing. My hair is silky smooth! 

3 - It wouldn't be me without instagramming some food! This was my peri peri chicken and stir fried noodles, made using my Muscle Food chicken breasts! Look how big they are! 

4 - This was part of my leaving present! My colleagues know me well!

5 & 6 - And finally, today I was attending an amazing blogger event in Glasgow, hosted by the amazing Charlotte at Colours & Carousels! I had a great time, full blog post to come! 

So now the Sunday dread has begun as I prepare to get ready for the working week again! Only this week, it's really Sunday nerves as I start something completely new tomorrow! Fingers crossed I settle in well! 

Have a wonderful week everyone! 

xxxx