Osez-Moi!

Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

I  have wanted to write about this perfume for a while now, but I recently was given some from my lovely auntie which has encouraged me to tell you about it. It's Osez-Moi! by Chantal Thomass, I never usually go on about perfume as it isn't something I wear often but just more than a month ago my little cousin gave me a tester for this and I have to say... I fell in love with it straight away! However it was only a tiny tester and lasted about a week or so. I was disappointed when it ran out as this is the first perfume that I have really liked plus its not exactly cheap, its not as expensive as many other perfumes but for me its way out of my price range! When I opened it I was a bit in shock as I had no idea I would get it, but I am very grateful.

I absolutely love it as it smells quite fruity and isn't too harsh. I am very fussy about perfumes and the way they smell as most perfumes smell so strong and you end up tasting it as someone walks past! This is quite subtle but it lasts all day and doesn't loose its scent.
So even if you never really like perfumes as some smell too strong, I would recommend this one as it smells gorgeous and isn't harsh!
If you have a favourite perfume I would love to know as I always struggle to find nice ones!

Just another Christmas post!

As you may know already I am a big fan of Christmas and especially decorating! I always look forward to getting all the boxes out of the loft each year to turn the house into a christmasy palace. I decorated last week in between college and work and I think it turned out okay! The fireplaces are the main bits to decorate and I love hanging the stockings up as they always look nice and add a bit more to the room.

My favourite part is choosing the tree, we bit off more than we could chew this year with this tree as it is around 10ft and we needed to trim some branches! But I think decorated, it looks lovely and the smell of pine is the best. Christmas is also a time for eating way too much! As my whole family experienced first hand at this years Christmas Dinner. It looked lovely and cosy with the fire lit and the table set but there was far too much food for us all!

We had some adorable salt and pepper shakers which you can see above (Santa and Mrs Claus) and some lovely hand made Christmas wine glasses. Overall it was a really nice dinner and we all enjoyed our selves a little too much with the after dinner Christmas trivia which my brothers girlfriend brought over from America, it was for kids but at least it was entertaining!
I also took the chance to decorate my room and I found this scented candle which smells amazing, its 'citrus ginger spice' and smells so nice! I have never really had a scented candle which actually makes the room smell, but this one works really well and I love it. (I think I will have to buy some more!) It was from Matalan in the home section and it was only £3 so not expensive at all. It was only a in a plain glass jar (see picture) but I decided to make it look a bit more festive by adding some ivy, pine cones and a few bells.

I hope you all have a really nice Christmas this year and enjoy yourself!

Christmas Cake Pops (Instructions Typed)

As it is was the Christmas meal on the 14th, and I am the baker of the family, I was assigned to make some Christmas cake pops! Last year I made snowmen and Christmas puddings which looked really cute it was a shame to eat them, this year I have made some Christmas trees and presents! Please excuse the quality of the pictures as they were taken on my phone so are not as good.

Last Year                                                  This Year 

They are not perfect, but they are very tasty! Unfortunately the candy melts didn't work as expected this year so they were not dipped and perfectly smooth, but the hard work payed off and they were very popular amongst the family and have almost gone! If you would like to make then read on until the end.
I love making cake pops as they give me something to focus and concentrate on, and once they are done they are worth it! I always make these on special occasions for example this year I made cauldron pops for Halloween which turned out better than expected!

If you would like to make cake pops, the instructions are below! 

Ingredients

8oz Butter

8oz Sugar 

4 medium eggs 

8oz Self raising flour 

1 teaspoon Baking powder

Frosting

Candy Melts 

&

Any other decorative things you want

You will also need cake pop sticks, and something to stand the cake pops up in. Either a Styrofoam block or a cake pop stand.

1. Make a plain sponge cake,

Mix butter and sugar until smooth, whisk in the eggs, sieve the flour and baking powder together (Gradually adding a bit at a time) until smooth. Then pour it into then put it into the oven at Gas mark 6 for 17 minutes, use a cake tester to test the middle, if it comes out clean then your cake is ready.

(If the outer layer may start to burn because the middle isn't done, turn down to gas mark 4 and put in for longer, keep testing.)

2. Allow the cake to cool then cut it into four and rub the cake together over a bowl, do this until it all crumbles in to fine pieces. 

3. Add the frosting a bit at a time until you feel like the cake will stick together with out crumbling. (You may need to mix this in with your hands!)

4. Mould the cake into small-ish bite size balls and then place on grease proof and place them in the fridge to harden or place them in the freezer for approx. 15 minutes and no longer otherwise they will freeze! 

5. Melt some chocolate and dip the end of the stick into it, then push the stick no more than halfway into the cake ball. Place that in the fridge to harden and set.

6. Time to decorate!! Melt your candy melts (If you over heat them and they aren't runny enough to dip, add a tiny bit of milk) Then carefully dip your cake pops. Do not put pressure on the stick or leave it over the heat too long as the chocolate will melt and they will fall off the stick. 

7. Gently hold the cake pop over the chocolate and tap your wrist whilst slowly turning the cake pop as this will get rid of excess candy melt. 

8. Place into your stand, add any more decorations and you're done!!

This may seem like a lot, all you need is patience and free time but they are worth it!

If you try to make some I would love to see the result! So let me know how it goes :)

It's beginning to look a lot like....

Christmas!

I cant help it. I am far too excited for this years festive season! This time of year is like being transformed back into my younger self when I looked forward to Christmas all month. 

But this year one thing has changed...

I am organised! I have bought all my Christmas presents and I have wrapped them. Yes. I may be a little too over excited.. or I just have far too much time on my hands to do something productive! But hey ho, tis' the season to be jolly right? 

The towns tree and decorations are up and soon enough it will be time for another decoration fest for me! I am in charge of decorating the house and I have already picked out the decorations I will be using. I love Christmas as it never fails to revert me back to my childhood, with all the memories and bringing to family together to celebrate another year. I love it! 

However working with the public you do get a few 'Ba humbugs' now and then, but it's nice to see the majority of people buying Christmas presents with a smile on their faces, and to see some Christmas spirit in amongst the chaos. 

I know I haven't posted for a while but I aim to get into the blogger mood over the following few weeks and show you some of the things I do in preparation, like make some awesome (If I say so myself) cake pops for the annual family Christmas meal! And possibly some 'Christmas Crafts', also a Christmas Essentials or something similar! So I hope you look forward to them as much as I am! 

Last Years Decor!

Speak soon!