Karen Gillan

Wow, this photo of Karen Gillan is beautiful! I love her hair and her dress is gorgeous, especially with the clutch and those heels.

Chocolate cupcakes with orange cream frosting

So here it is, eventually!

Ingredients:
100g plain flour
20g cocoa powder
140g caster sugar
1.5tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
40g unsalted butter (room temperature)
120ml whole milk
1 egg
0.25tsp vanilla extract
Zest and juice of 1 orange
300ml double cream
50g icing sugar

1) Preheat oven to gas mark 3

2) Put the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder, salt and butter in a bowl and beat until you get a sandy consistancy and everything is combined. It should look like this;

3) Whisk the egg, milk and vanilla together in a separate bowl, then slowly pour half into the flour mixture. Beat to combine and get rid of any lumps. Don't over mix.

4) Fill a muffin tray with paper cases.

5) Fill each one about two thirds full.

6) Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

7) Take another bowl and pour in the double cream. Whisk gently until it starts to thicken, then sift in the icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tablespoon of the orange juice. 

TIP: If you over-whip the cream, just add a drop more (or some milk) and mix it through gently.

8) Enjoy!

The Biggest Loser Season 8 Finale

I'm watching the Finale of season 8 right now and I felt that I needed to write a post about it.

Over the last few months this show has really inspired me to try even harder to lose weight. I've been on a diet for as long as I can remember but I always find a way to mess it up...this show has inspired me to do things I would have never dared try before. I've learnt that exercise is as crucial as the calorie intake so I make sure I do at least 30 minutes every day and if I have to take an extra 15 minutes to make a healthy dinner while my family choose a less healthy option, then  I will.

In the last month I’ve lost 15lbs, making my total loss 94lbs and although it was my hard work that made that happen, I couldn’t have done it without Biggest Loser Club.

Its inspirational to watch these people work their arses off at the gym for 6 hours a day. They’re normal people like you and I, they have families, they face struggles every day, but they know they need to change their lives and that is exactly what they do. Watching the final weigh in and seeing how much they’ve all lost and how different they look is just amazing. It just goes to show that it can be done and anybody can do it, you just have to take the first step.

My sister is really supportive of me, but something she always asks is “What will be enough? When will you be happy?”. I don’t really have an answer to that… I don’t have a ‘goal weight’ because I don’t think the guidelines for ‘healthy weight’ are very realistic, but I know that once I’m a healthy size and I’m comfortable with my body, I’ll be happy.

The one thing I do know is that I don’t want to end up like Tracey. As far as I’m concerned, she’s taken it way too far.

A huge congratulations to Danny Cahill though, not only did he win the $250,000 prize (and free surgery to remove his excess skin), but after losing 239lbs he is the shows Biggest Loser to date. Well done Danny.

McFLY Super City!

Oh. My. Gosh. This is EPIC.The graphics for the actual trailer are excellent, I can't wait to see the site in full! They were right when they said this is something that has never been seen before. I bet the points scheme was Tom's idea, not only the brains of the band, but how fit is he looking?! Its nice to see a band actually giving back to their fans like this, I mean, just by buying some CDs and posting on their message boards you can save up enough points to see them sound check or get a phone call from them.
So, what do you think? Who's room will you be visiting? ;)
P.S. Did you hear "Shine A Light" being played in the background? Love that song.

    

Sink Or Swim

I was first introduced to Save Your Breath at Newcastle Uni. It was the 20th May 2010 and I'd dragged my sister along with me to see The Rocket Summer. Save Your Breath were supporting and with catchy songs and lots of energy, it was hard not to feel enthusiastic about their music, I fell in love with them instantly.

Recently the band have tweeted links to free downloads for “Stay Young” and “Sink Or Swim”, so obviously I downloaded both! (You can download them here)

As the intro starts, the song sounds like a typical Blink-182 song… and then the vocals kick in. Sink or Swim has lyrics that most people will be able to relate to and you can’t help but sing along. Stay young will always be my favourite as it holds some pretty good memories,  but for now I’m loving Sink Or Swim.

Add the band as a friend on Myspace, follow them on Twitter or become a fan on Facebook.

MUA

'Make Up Academy' is Superdrug's own brand of cosmetics and with each item costing just £1, I thought it was definately worth a try.

Superdrug boast; "Make Up Academy provides trend shades on a budget, allowing you to achieve the latest looks without breaking the bank!".

I have to say, I was majorly disappointed. For £1, its barely good enough for my 3 year old niece's make up bag. I applied the recommended 2 coats, followed by an additional 2 coats and I still wasn't satisfied. Its chipped already and looks no better than the crappy stuff found in a kids make up set from Poundland...

Let's go shopping!

After volunteering at church for the best part of the day, I decided to spoil myself and go shopping. I didn't actually spend much, but I got a super cute beret and some gloves!

Sorry about the crappy quality of the Panda photo.
Beret is available online, but I think the mittens must be an instore thing.

Autumn is upon us!

I love autumn. The crisp yellowy-brown leaves crunching under your feet, the cold breeze that blows despite the sun shining with all its might and the very idea of winter (and dare I mention the "C" word) just around the corner...I love it.

My absolute favourite thing has to be shopping though. Digging out the old cardigans and jumpers and getting rid of summer clothes to make room in the wardrobe for winter-wear. I've already started scouring websites looking for things to keep nice and warm in, so I thought i'd share some of them with you!
I think there are 3 essential items that everybody should own; Leggings, Ugg boots (or boots of that style) and jumper dresses. They are the most comfortable things in the world and they look so adorable.

The Best Is Yet To Come

When I first heard that Kids In Glass Houses would be releasing "The Best Is Yet To Come" as their next single, I thought they were crazy! Of the thirteen songs on their second album, Dirt, this isn't the one I would have picked...especially with such strong contenders on the album; Sunshine, The Morning Afterlife, For Better Or Hearse and Lilli Rose to name but a few.

However, after blasting it a few times and perving on both Aled Phillips and Andrew Shay in the video, I have to admit how wrong I was. The Best Is Yet To Come is an amazing song and I can't wait to hear it live when I see the band on tour again in November. Well done boys, yet another single you can be proud of! (Sunshine will always be my favourite though, sorry!)

   

Beth Ditto Collection

Has anyone seen the Beth Ditto collection, now available at Evans?
I'm loving some of the items in her collection, especially this cardigan, it's super cute!;

The only thing I'm not so crazy about is the price of certain items...but that's just my opinion!
Beth looks really beautiful in the video.

So, most of the people who have viewed my blog are from the USA, Brazil and the UK.
Thank you all for taking the time to read the things i've written so far and I hope you'll keep coming back.
I've had almost 100 hits already and I haven't even been live for 24 hours yet, that's pretty cool!
Don't forget to follow me here and on Twitter, there are some really awesome things to come over the next few months...I can't wait to share it all with you :)