Wednesday 29 October 2014

Disney Adventure - Day 1

I feel like all i ever do is apologise about my bad blogging & how i haven't blogged in ages! I have litterally been so busy.. So once again i apologise for my lack of blogs but i have been on holiday.. so bare with me whilst i catch up! 

Me and my bestie (lifewithoutafunsponge.blogspot.co.uk) shortly decided that once we had got back from America we would book a cheeky mini break to Disneyland Paris! This first blog is mainly shopping and food, so you will have to keep an eye on my blog over the next couple of days for the real Disney magic! I just couldn't fit it all in one post...

Emma actually lives in London so we got a lie in before jumping on the Euro star from St Pancreas International which was very handy! Our train ride to Lille Europe was so quick & also full of people going to watch the football match, which wasn't ideal as they didn't serve ANY alcohol.. We changed at Lille Europe and caught another train to Disneyland Resort  (Marne-la-VallĂ©e/Chessy). This literally comes up inside the Disney resort which is perfect!

We headed over to the Disney Village which was about a 2 minute walk from the train station in search for a quick snack and some wine as we hadn't eaten since the morning.. We ended up in an American Diner having a massive meal and drinking cherry coke.. this was not the wine and snacks we originally planned out but how can you resist a cheeseburger and a cherry coke? The American Diner was called 'Annette's Diner' it was decorated like something out of Grease and the servers even wore roller blades which was pretty cool! The food was delicious and the service was super quick, i was really surprise as it does look a little run down from the outside & somewhere you would go with kids for a quick meal. I would say it wasn't even that pricey at about 13 euros for a massive burger and chips!! I would 100% recommend.. expecially if you just want a quick bite to eat. However, we did walk past the next day and the que was MASSIVE! So i would advise booking, i think we went at a weird time and got very lucky!



 As we hadn't even checked in to our hotel yet we decided to head over to the taxi rank to try and get a taxi to our hotel. We were both surprised at how much he charged us 15 euros when his meter said 6! It was literally so close to the park! Naughty French taxi man! Our hotel was such great value for money (I got no photo's because I'm a bad blogger and was too excited for what was about to happen - Sephora & Michael Kors..!) It worked out at about £179.00 including all city taxi.. this was for 3 night stay for 2 people in a small studio apartment equipped with a double bed, flat screen TV, little kitchen area, en suite & a free Disney shuttle which was a massive perk (even though we decided to walk both days) we then discovered our hotel was about 2 minutes from a massive shopping centre including an outlet store...!!
 

 The little purpose built outlet with restaurants was really pretty, they had court yards surrounding the shopping centre and also inside, the shopping centre itself is called Val d'Europe! If your in the area i would check this out, it's a great place to go to kill some time and do some shopping. However, the outlet is open on a Sunday but the inside shopping mall isn't so make sure you go Monday - Saturday. After we had done some shopping we had a lovely glass of red wine & headed back to the hotel for an early night in preparation for our busy 1st day at Disney!

Jess 

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Sunday 19 October 2014

CUPCAKES | Chocolate Oreo

 Hey Everyone! 

This is the first cupcake recipe I'm going to share on my blog with you guys! And an absolute favourite of mine and friends in my friendship group, whenever i offer to make cupcakes i always get begged to make these ones!
  


The below recipe makes between 16 - 18 cupcakes


Sponge Ingredient's
200g Plain Flour
40g Cocoa Powder
240g Caster Sugar
16 - 18 Whole Oero's
3tsp Baking Powder 
2tsp Vanilla Extract 
2 Eggs 
80g Unsalted Butter 
200ml Skimmed Milk 

Sponge Method 
  1.  Preheat your oven to 180c / 160c (if using fan) and pick some cupcake cases. I normally go for the brand Cuplitt as i find these to be the sturdiest brand and best size. 
  2. Place one whole oero in the bottom of each cupcake case 
  3. In two separate bowls, firstly sift in the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder - whisk this dry mixture together combining all ingredient's. 
  4. In the second bowl beat your softened butter and sugar together until the mixture is combined, then add your vanilla extract and the eggs 1 at a time and whisking them slowly. 
  5. Combine and mix the two mixtures together with the milk and beat until you have a smooth mixture 
  6. Divide the mixture evenly amongst the case and bake in the oven for 18 - 20 minutes 
  7. Once cooked, pop a skewer in the middle to see if they are cooked! If the skewer comes out clean, they are and can be places on a cooling rack to cool!  
Oreo Butter cream Ingredient's
175g Softened Unsalted Butter 
4 Crushed Oero's 
1- 2 tbs Skimmed milk 
1tsp Vanilla Extract 
350g Sift icing Sugar
Butter cream Method 
  1. Combine the softened butter in a bowl with the sifted icing sugar 
  2. Once mixed thoroughly add the milk to soften 
  3. Pop your Oero's in a food processor and whizz them together, then add the crushed Oero's to your butter cream mixture. 
  4. Once all the mixture is combined use a 1M Wilton nozzle and pipping bag to top your cupcake. I then finish by either popping in half a full sized Oero or a mini one!
And there we have it, always a crowd pleaser! What's your favourite cupcake recipe? 


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Thursday 16 October 2014

Zoella Fizz Bar Review

As soon as Youtube sensation Zoella brought our her new beauty range i knew i had to try it! I popped down to my local Superdrug and picked up the Fizz Bar! I do eventually want to try the whole collection however they only had a few bits left.. I believe it's been very popular! This was the last Fizz Bar on the shelf.. so i was pretty chuffed with myself when i found it!






On first impressions i loved the packaging, it's so cute! I love the polka dot and lace effect on the wrapping! I feel like it really does fit the 'Zoella' image perfectly! The bar has 8 fizzy squares which you can break off and pop in the bath, i really enjoy this as sometimes i feel a whole bath bomb is a complete waste, you pay £3 - £4 and it's gone in 5 minutes which is a shame! This is perfect, you just break off 1 or 2 squares and pop them into the bath! The bar itself is white with little 'z's' its a pretty big bar & fantastic value for money for what you get. It feels a lot more high end then drug store! 

The smell is a gorgeous sweet and floral scent which isn't over powering at all, its so fresh & the perfect scent to add to your bath time routine! After i popped in two squares they fizzed away, it doesn't bubble up your bath so be warned! It made my bath water a cloudy colour which looked silky soft to touch! After i got out the bath i also noticed how soft my skin was.. and the smell lingered for a while as well! This range is SUCH great value for money, this bath fizz bar was only £5.00 from superdrug! If the candle smells anything like this lovely bath fizz bar i will be purchasing this next!


What Zoella product is your favourite? 

Jess 
 
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Sunday 12 October 2014

FAVOURITES | September

 Hey!

I'm aware it's no longer September and it hasn't been for about a week... BUT better late than never! As i explained in my previous post I was really poorly with food poisoning & then annoyingly caught a cold! As you can tell my health is superb.. However i really wanted to share with you guys my September favourites & i didn't want to miss out on doing this post!

1. Garnier Ultimate, The Sleek Restorer Shampoo & Conditioner 
I had seen a few of the beauty bloggers on YouTube using this & i was intrigued so as soon as i needed a new shampoo and conditioner i popped down to my local Tesco and picked up the sleek restorer shampoo & conditioner. My hair was feeling a little dry since having it bleached so i went for the shampoo which had coconut oil and cocoa butter in it. It lathers up lovely and the smell is gorgeous! At first i thought the product was a little harsh for my hair as i had to use quite a lot of the conditioner after the shampoo as it was feeling knotty. However after blow drying i was SO impressed, my hair was silky smooth and it was feeling less dry within days! It's about £2.79 for the 250ml bottle.. but they always have deals so make sure you look around before purchasing!


2. Tangle Teezer, Compact 
If you don't have a tangle teezer in your life, your insane! Get yourself on the internet and get one now! This isn't really just a September favourite as i've had one for a few years! However, i have particularly been enjoying it recently as the weather is windy and wet my hair tends to get very knotty! I have the tangle teezer compact in leopard, i used to have the original which i would say is a slightly larger and better size if you have a lot of hair! They are curved to sit in the palm of your hair & the compact is perfect for your handbag! It brushes out the tangles and knots so gently & leaves your hair silky soft.. it is absolutely perfect for coloured hair! They are around £10 - 15 depending on which one you decide to go for!




3. Soap & Glory, Archery Eyebrow Pencil and Tint 
So, if you no me... i have NO eyebrows, well i do have them but they are incredibly white blonde! Which is the most annoying thing in the world! I haven't yet managed to find a eyebrow pencil which is blonde enough to give me eyebrows but not so dark that i look insane. I have just started to use this product in the last month & i have had some great results.. my mum & boyfriend both noticed i had eyebrows & how nice they looked today so i guess that's a plus! I went for the 'Love Is Blonde' shade but you can get  a darker version of this in 'Brownie Points'. It has two ends, one is like a felt tip end which you brush on and the other is a crayon to fill in any gaps. I personally think the felt tip end is a weird shade and doesn't suit me however i love the crayon end! I would recommend this product however i don't feel like its perfect.. I'm going to carry on my journey to finding the best eyebrow pencil.. so watch this space! This pencil is £10.00 & can be purchased from boots!


4. Simple Home, Yankee Candle.. Vanilla Frosting 
Oh maaaaaa gawd, this smells AMAZING! It literally smells like someone is cooking vanilla cupcakes in my bedroom the WHOLE time! I first bought it in a small version.. which was gone in like 2 weeks.. We lit it every night because the smell was so delicious.. i accidentally stumbled into the candle isle in Tesco & had to buy this jar!! I have it burning away now, it is the perfect smell to go into the winter season with! It was £9.00 for the a medium jar! I actually thought this was a large.. but having just looked on the website you can get an even bigger one!!


What have you been loving recently?? 



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Monday 6 October 2014

We Kicked Cancer's Butt!

Sorry I've been a bit absent from the blogging world all week, i went to see the 1975 at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday & have had the worst case of food poisoning ever. I mean, 6 days later i still feel like my stomach is trying to hurt me.. However with a few tears and almost backing out due to being so ill.. Yesterday me & two friends ran the 'Pretty Muddy 5k' on Clapham Common! We have been fundraising for ages and had even had a bake sale last Sunday, so i decided to man up and get stuck in! So far we have managed to raise £360.00 absolutley smashing  our target of £200.00 and feel so grateful to all our lovely friends and family that have supported us. I know its not a marathon but it's my first race.. I'm an awful runner & it was a massive challenge (expecially being ill)! It was a really great event and much more fun than just a running 5k! I just wanted to share a few snaps from the day!






Please excuse the fact i look like i have peed myself! Next time i will for sure wear black leggings..

Jess x
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