Manc' Christmas Markets

Christmas Markets have become a firm festive favourite of mine, I just adore the combination of good food, drinks and independent shops situated in wooden huts! 

My festive craving was no different this year, I indulged in some nutella pancakes, mould wine and the famous Germany hot dog. Then drank my body weight in colour changing and Christmas inspired cocktails at Alchemist. What more could a girl want?

Merry Christmas!

DIY SNOWFLAKE GARLAND

This DIY Snowflake and Star Garland is perfect for back drops and adding a little bit of shine to your Christmas decorations. 

You Will Need:

• Sheets of plain paper (Amount depends on how many snowflakes you wish to make)
• Sheets of plain cardboard (Amount depends on how many stars you wish to make)
• Silver acrylic paint
• Silver glitter glue
• Scissors
• Pencil
• Needle
• White thread

Step 1.

Begin to make A5 sized squares using the plain paper and fold (View the link to the Youtube video below to find out hoe to make a 6 pointed snowflake).

Step 2.

Once you have folded your paper, mark on your snowflake design in pencil, either following the one's in the Youtube video or your own design and carefully cut out your snowflakes. 

Step 3.

Once you have cut all your desired snowflakes (I cute out 5), use the silver glitter glue to add some shimmer to your snowflake using a small pointed brush and leave to dry. 

Step 4.

Using plain cardboard, cut out as many stars as you wish, I used a template online and held my cardboard over my phone to outline the shape. This size can be whatever you wish but my stars had the width on an IPhone. 

Step 5.

Decorate your stars with silver paint and leave to dry.

Step 6. 

Poke holes at the top and bottom of the stars and snowflakes when dry, using a needle. (Be careful not to jab yourself!)

Step 7.

Measure your white thread to the length you want your garlands to be before cutting. 

Step 8. 

Attach the needle to the thread and begin to hoop through your stars and snowflakes alternatively. Make sure the thread is at the back of the shapes. 

Step 9. 

Tie a knot at the end of the garland before hanging using white tack or sellotape. I used a little bit of sellotape at the back of each shape to stop them from sliding down. Repeat as many garlands as you want!

I hope you enjoyed this DIY! You can adapt this DIY by just making a star or snowflake garland!

Be sure to check out my other festive blogs including another festive DIY blog post!

Merry Christmas!

DIY NOEL SIGN

Yes it is December which means it's time for sparkles and glitter. This DIY is perfect for an added shimmer in your room this Christmas and is easy and affordable to do!

You Will Need

• Plain NOEL letter blocks
• Dark Grey Paint
• Acrylic Silver Paint
• Silver Glitter Glue
• Painting sponges/ brushes

Step 1.

Make sure you have a clear area that is protected, I used bin liners to stop paint from marking my furniture.

Step 2.

Squeeze out the grey paint and put a small amount on a paint palette or plate along with the silver paint separately. 

Step 3.

Using the sponges, dab on the grey paint on the N, E and L and leave to dry.

Step 4.

Using a clean sponge, dab on the silver paint to the 'O' or the snowflake in this case and leave to dry. 

Step 5.

Continue to do a second coat on all letters to make the colours more opaque and wait for them to dry.

Step 6. 

Once dry, take the 'O' or the snowflake and using the silver glitter glue, line the edge of the shape with glitter. This will take longer dry than the paint, so make sure you're not tempted to touch it once finished too early to avoid the glue going everywhere!

Step 7.

Finally, when all the letters are dry, you can put them on display!

I hope you enjoyed this little DIY, I personally LOVE the sign and think it is very elegant and classy.

You can also purchase plain signs and shapes from hobby craft including an angel, Christmas tree and star if you wanted an alternative option.

Merry Christmas!

5 Things To Do This Christmas

1. Markets
Christmas Markets are hugely popular everywhere and in England we have plenty of good ones. My firm favourite has got to be the Manchester Christmas Markets, every year the city is brought to light with Christmas decorations, various wooden stalls, perfect food and drink and even an ice skating rink! You can buy anything, from homemade Christmas decorations to hot dogs and mulled wine. 



2. Theatre/ Pantomime 
I feel like going to the theatre is becoming a more popular outing and is not considered an 'old folks' thing, at Christmas time, there are lots of festive favourites from Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella and The Snowman. At affordable entry prices, it is certainly a winner for families. 



3. Festive Walks
There is something about walking in the breezy morning when the sun is shining that is just so peaceful, plus is free! There are many woodland walks across the country, including festive walks where children get the chance to meet Santa and his Reindeer's as well as picking out your own Christmas tree! 



4. Cosy Nights
As the skies begin to get darker and colder earlier, it is the perfect occasion for a Christmas inspired film night. Gather friends or family around the TV, with blankets and pillows at hand for the ultimate comfort. Stick on your favourite Christmas favourite film and demolish the many festive treats supermarkets and stalls are selling already. Also, get them hot chocolates and mulled wine down!



5. Craft Making Day
Instead of forking out on presents and decorations, have fun by making them yourself! Look online for fab Christmas ideas such as cookie recipe in a jar, making your own fudge and make your own Christmas sign for your room! Enjoy the day with others by blaring out the festive tunes and chomping on nibbles. 

One More Challenge

Hello everyone! As some of you may have noticed my blogging has been hit and miss at the moment, due to large amounts of final college work, part time jobs and living the life of a 17 year old. I hope you can forgive me. 

However, during my absence I signed up to do something exciting, challenging and maybe a bit out of my league... In May I will be taking part in the Great Manchester Run 10k running for the British Heart Foundation in memory of my Grandad. My target, set up on JustGiving was £250, but within just two week's I SMASHED that target and raised over £300. My fourth week is approaching in my bid to fund raise, I have set a new target of £500, already I have £448!

But why am I doing this you may ask?

I tend to do things on a whim. I do not fully think or consider the great time, effort and motivation, events or activities will take until I'm well in the depths of the challenge. This year I knew I wanted to raise money in some sort of way for this charity as they provide the UK with valuable research into saving more hearts! When I searched a list of events the charity was holding this year it included mountain hikes, London too Paris cycling and then multiple runs. I am not a runner. I walk and do yoga, that's about it for my exercise. So setting myself the challenge to run 10k within 3 months has become daunting and scary. Despite the feeling of fear, the support I have received from family and friends has been truly honourable and motivating. 

At the end of the day, a challenge is for a purpose, to prove you can accomplish something, raise money or make the people around you proud. 

So what is your challenge of 2016?

The Casual Look

Leather Jacket | WALLIS
Top | Primark
Jeans | Topshop
Shoes | Primark
Bag | French Connection
Fur Poof | New Look

For me, the most important thing about fashion, is comfort. I can not feel confident in an item of clothing I am uncomfortable in. My typical day- to- day look usually consists of jeans and a pretty top. As the weather in the UK is hit and miss at the moment, with frosty mornings but sunny afternoons, I'll either be wearing a simple leather jacket (as it goes with everything) or a pretty pastel winter coat to create a more sophisticated look. 

For shoes I tend to pick edgier shoes for more plain outfits like the one featured above. Any shoe that has a chunky heel and a peep toe, is a firm winner in my eyes in creating a more interesting look. I adore this pair of black peep toe boots from Primark, the peep toe combined with the long silver zip definitely makes the shoes look more expensive than £16!

Like shoes, bags play a large role in what makes an outfit good in my wardrobe. Whether a pretty decorated clutch bag to spice up a little black dress or a cute tote bag with the additional fur poof. This bag shown in the picture, was a Christmas present from my parents and I absolutely LOVE it. The long black strap makes it easy to wear, the size is large enough to fit the daily essentials, purse, phone, pouch ect. With the fur poof added, I think it creates a classic/ winters look, also, the bag is made up of two textures, the top flap is a black suede combined with the black leather for the base. 

Coat | Miss Selfridge

Hope you liked this post! Please comment!

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Autumn Buys

As it was pay day last week, I couldn't resist splashing the cash and revamping my wardrobe for autumn/ winter, so on Sunday my mum and I went on a shopping spree to Chester which is a cute city in the UK. After spending lunch time in a cafe called 'Mad Hatters Tea Room', filling up on baked sweet potato and hot chocolate, we hit the shops for some seasonal must haves. My favourite thing I purchased on the shopping trip was a Pandora Bracelet. Pandora bracelets are hugely popular as they can mean a variety of things from the charms you can buy. For myself, I wanted to buy a charm which was incredibly personal. Earlier this year my Granddad sadly passed away, so as a way to remember him and my grandma, I brought a beautiful angel wing in silver with a 14 carrot gold heart alongside the bracelet itself. I am ordering the ' Family', safety chain also. I also brought lots of essential items for the rest of the year.

New Look| £22.99

New Look| £19.99

Primark| £2.50

Primark| £6

Primark| Christmas Jumper: £12
Penguin Mug: £3

New Look| £14.99

A Weekend Away| Sunflower Maze

For the weekend, I have been staying at my Grandma's near Leicestershire for an action packed few days! On Friday night, we headed to the theatre to watch 'Sweet Charity'. For someone who rarely ever goes to the Theatre I was amazed at how much I actually enjoyed the play alongside the incredible atmosphere.

The following day was an early start, the sun flower maze! I first visited this popular attraction back when I was around 8/9 years old and fell in love with the place! Sunflowers are my favourite flower so being trapped in a sunflower maze in lovely weather was my ideal day out! The maze took us nearly 2 hours to complete and was actually set out to look like a Rugby Player which you could see when you finished the Maze by climbing a small hill. Afterwards, we went to the local Cafe at the Maze sight and demolished sandwiches and many cups of tea. Later that night, we got all dolled up and ventured for a meal at a local pub where I had Goats Cheese and Onion Tart followed by Blackberry and Blueberry Ice Cream!

Hope you enjoyed this blog post!

Adventure in Lymm

Today, my parents and I went on a little adventure to a cute and quiet village called Lymm in Cheshire. The Village is enclosed by many streams and canals, alongside old fashioned buildings dating back to the 1800's. For me, the local cottages, with colourful window and door frames, decorated in a combination of flowers and ornaments, was truly beautiful. The weather was fairly warm, which made the trip even more pleasant as we walked along the streams into the village centre where tiny cafes, bakery's and independent shops were perched on the stoned pathways. For lunch, we stopped off at the local pub in Lymm, right next to the canal, as it was nice weather we sat outside and ate! I had a Pasta Salad, to be honest the pasta looked more like rice, along with many vegetables, cherry tomatoes, avocado and a chilli dressing. I also purchased a little pink plant in a floral tea cup which was a bargain as just £3.99!

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crumble

Ingredients

200g Plain Flour

150g Softened Butter

150g Caster Sugar

300g Washed Rhubarb (roughly)

100g Raspberries 

75g additional Caster Sugar

Method

• Pre Heat your oven to 180 degrees and get out your individual ramekins or oven proof dish.
• Put the butter and sugar into a large mixing bowl before sieving in the flour. 
• Using your hands, rub the mixture until it resembles bread crumbs. 
• Once the mixture looks like fine bread crumbs, wash and slice up your rhubarb around 2 cm thick. The thinner the slices, the less time it will take to cook. 
• Put the rhubarb and raspberries evenly in the dish(s) before adding a sprinkle of sugar over the top to balance out the sharpness from the Rhubarb. 
• Evenly distribute the crumble mixture over the top, covering all the fruit and sprinkle some sugar on top again.
• Place in the oven and bake for 10- 15 minutes until the crumble is golden brown.
• Once cooked, leave to cool for 10 minutes before dishing up with frozen raspberries and ice cream!

Floral Cupcake Recipe

Ingredients 

200g Caster Sugar

200g Softened Butter

200g Self Raising flour

1 Large Egg

1tsp Vanilla Extract 

A Dash of Milk

Decoration

12 Cup cake cases

200g Icing Power

75g Softened Butter

A Splash of Milk 

Few Drops of Red Food Colouring

Sprinkle of Pink Edible Glitter

Sugar Paper Daisies 

Method

• Pre- heat your oven to 180 degrees and line 12 cup cake tray with pretty floral or spotty cup cake cases.
• Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl, until the mixture forms a smooth paste.
• Crack in one already whisked egg and mix in until there are no lumps in the mixture.
• Add in the self raising flour a bit at a time and fold into the mixture, gently ensuring no air is knocked out. Add a splash of milk if the mixture appears dry, the batter should be just about falling off your spoon and smooth in consistency. 
• Add the vanilla extract and stir in gently.
• Using a tsp spoon the batter into the cake cases, filling them 3/4 of the way up before placing into the oven.
• Bake for 10- 15 minutes.
• When the cakes are golden brown, turn off the oven and place cakes on a cooling track to cool for 30 minutes
• Cream together the butter and icing in a small mixing bowl, adding a dash of milk to combine the icing. 
• Add a few drops of red food colouring, or leave without if you want a white icing, and stir into the butter icing.
• Using a large nossel piping bag, spoon in the butter icing and begin icing the cakes creating a swirl from the outside- in.
• Put one sugar paper daisy/ flower on each cake and sprinkle some edible glitter.
• Place in the fridge for 15 minutes for the icing to set.

Enjoy. x

The Savoy| London

The Savoy| Tea & Sweet Shop

The Savoy

The Savoy

The Savoy Grill| Savoy Hotel

Last Sunday, my brother and I ventured to London to meet our Uncle for a day trip out. When we were younger, my uncle jokingly said ' One day I'll take you to a really posh hotel to wine and dine'. He kept to his word, as we defiantly wined and dined and the beautiful and famous Savoy Hotel. The Savoy Hotel as seen numerous celebrities including Marilyn Monroe and is one of the top hotels to stay/ visit to many.

We had lunch in The Savoy Grill, which is an Art Deco themed restaurant inside the Savoy Hotel. The interior was very dark and musky, large chandeliers and silver cutlery, really made the lunch extra special. For lunch I had a Beetroot Tart with Goats Cheese Curd for starter and for main I had Pork Tenderloin with Cabbage and a due with a glass of Rose wine. It was delicious. 

After having a further mooch around the hotel, eyeing up the lovely cakes and gaping at dozens of model- like ladies wearing beautiful gowns for a wedding hosted at the hotel, we took a brisk stroll to the National Gallery. The Gallery is the biggest Art Gallery in the UK, dozens of tourists approached the many marvellous artwork. Once we finished admiring the artwork and wishing I was better at painting, we headed for a pub on the River Thames. 

The National Gallery| London

London

View from Boat Pub on the River Thames| London Eye

It was rather warm outside so I was eager to have a cool lemonade, although there were no seats outside on the balcony of the boat, we sat inside for a quick drink. The view was amazing, across the river was the London Eye along with many other incredible buildings. Before i knew it it was time to depart from London and head home. 

Hope you enjoyed this post,

Thanks- Amy x