Things On My Life Time Bucket List.

Hello!

Everyone has a bucket list of some form or another, and I'm going to share with you mine!(but not all of it because we will be here for ages) Luckily for me, I've already completed 2 of the things off of it and can't wait to complete more!

1- Go to New York at Christmas time - DONE!

I've always wanted to go to New York in general but mostly at christmas! If you've read my previous posts you would of already known that I went to New York in December and loved it! Back when I was in year 9(2012) one of my Spanish speaking assessments was to write about travel in where you've been and where you want to go to and I believe that one of my sentences in the future paragraph was 'Quiero ir a Nueva York en Navidad' meaning 'I want to go to New York at christmas' and then went on why I wanted to go there. And the reasons why I wanted to was because of how magical it looked/is! There are lights, tree's and music just everywhere within' the main part of the city and it was just amazing!

2- See the Northern Lights in Iceland

I did geography a lot when I was in senior school, mainly because I choose to do it as GCSE, and I remember when I was in year 7 just flicking through a text book trying to find the page our teacher asked us to find, and I stumbled across the Northern Lights page. At that point I didn't really know what they were until I skimmed through the page a little bit, but my first reaction was 'that looks really cool' and then a year or two after that, a car advert came on using them within' it and that's when I then realised that I really wanted to go see them. Because of how amazing and colourful they looked! But HOPEFULLY, at the end of the year I'm going to take my boyfriend to Iceland for his 21st birthday and do the Northern Lights tour along with the Blue Lagoon - and if I do, I will certainly be vlogging it and eventually write a blog post about it.

3 - See Drake in concert - DONE(ish)

For those who know me well, they will know that one of my favourite artists(along side many others) is Drake. I was about 13/14 when I began becoming obsessed with his music and always wanted to see him live. And luckily for me, last year in July I got to see him at Wireless Festival in London along with many other artists. This is hence the ish part, meaning I saw him there but I would LOVE to see him in just his own concert. In 2014 he did a UK tour and one of the dates fell on my birthday and I REALLY wanted to go see him then, but unfortunately all the venues close enough to me were on school days/nights so I couldn't go. But I really hope and pray that he soon does another one so I can see him live again some day! but this then leads onto my 4th item...

4 - Go to a festival - DONE

So July 2015 I went to NewLook's Wireless Festival in Finsbury Park in London and it was amazing! The line up was so good. This included some artists like Drake, A$AP Rocky, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Major Lazer and many more. Unfortunately I didn't get to see much of PARTYNEXTDOOR as he was in the Pepsi tent at the back which was COMPLETELY packed to the point where you couldn't move or breathe so we saw about 10 minutes of him, which is better than not at all to be honest. But I got to watch the whole set for A$AP and Drake. For A$AP we were really close to the front of the crowed but me being small, I got very crushed and had really bad back ache, so for Drake we tried to move more to the back(also so we weren't late out to miss our coach) although, I wish I stayed at the front. But depending on 2016's line up, I really hope to go again and get the VIP viewing area tickets this time so I'm not squished!

5 - Go to Italy

By this list you can probably tell that I want to travel a lot.. so the next place that I'm dying to go to is Italy, specifically Rome and Venice if you want me to be precise! Reason being that I want to go to Italy is to see the amazing architecture and old historical buildings that remain there and to try proper Italian food.. mainly pizza! Because I just love all the 'Italian' food we get over here, such as pizza, pasta.. the lot! Also to get a bit of sun! For those who live in England, like me, you know that sun isn't a thing that occurs a lot here. It's normally, cold, dark and raining. So to be able to go somewhere which is warm and sunny would be so nice. Especially as I love getting a good tan!

6 - Own a pug!

I know this is so cliche and a typical girl thing but I really really want a pug! I'm a massive dog lover and has been wanting a dog since our family one got put down(rest in peace PK, 2007) but due to the illness that my dad has, we unfortunately can't have one! So instead I own everything pug, from pillows, to socks, to ear phones, to underwear.. the lot! But it still doesn't quite cut having a real one. They're just so cute,small and fat that it's hard to resist not wanting one, so as soon as I get my own home I'M GETTING ONE!

7 - Go to Disney Land

In July this year I am lucky enough to go to Disney Land Paris.. Not only to have a holiday and have fun in the park, but to also perform there! and I CANNOT WAIT! Back in April 2015 my dance school got a chance to dance is a West End theatre in London with a company called Mari Gras, and because of that, we were then invited to audition to dance at disney.. and we got it!(Obviously) but not only do we get to dance at Disney but we also get to go in the parade too! So this is an event that I will definitely try to vlog for people to see as it will literally be one of the best days of my life and I'm so looking forward to it!

8 - Travel North and South America

Yet again, another travel one. When I say 'Travel North America' I don't mean, spend 3 months out there travelling(although I would love to do that!) but I mean, try go to as many places within' the USA as possible. For example, I really want to go to California(LA and San Diego to be exact) Florida (Orlando and Miami) Canada (Toronto) and Brazil! I probably won't be able to go to ALL of these places but I really hope I at least get to go to a few, even if it's just two or three!


So these are 8 out of a million things I want to do within' my life time! All of them range a lot in what I want to do and I really hope I can do all of them! Especially the travelling ones, but obviously it'll cost a lot of money! (money I don't have right now)

My 2015 Favourites!

Happy New Year! I hope you all had an amazing christmas and an amazing new year! 2015 was full of so many different events and memories for me and I hope that 2016 will do just the same! But for my first blog post of 2016, I thought I'd do my first ever favourites - yep, my 2015 favourites! There is a range of categories of items that I have chosen ranging from technology, TV shows, to make-up and skin care! It was very hard to pick out these items as there was so much I could of chose from! But maybe that just means I might have to start doing monthly favourites!

So, lets start with beauty! I have picked the Esteé Lauder Extreme Sumptuous Lash Multiplying Volume mascara in black! I originally got this item as a sample with an ELLE magazine about a year ago and I just fell so in love with it that I needed to get the full product! I have very awkward eye lashes in the fact that it's very hard for to me find a mascara that works nicely with them and gives a good look, and thankfully this one does! and it does exactly what's in the title and lengthens my lashes. My eye lashes are about a medium length and are quite flat but this mascara really extends them and lifts them up. And it's an easy to build up mascara too so you can easily fit it to the rest of your make up! For example, if it's just a simple every day look you can just easily apply one or two coats and it'll be fine. But if you've got a bold going out sort of look, you can add a few more coats to thicken it up without it getting clumpy or look as if you've got too much on! So it's definitely my go to and this will forever be my favourite mascara!

My second beauty item is The Body Shop Honey Bronze Bronzing Power, in the shade 98313! This is their lighter shade and it's a matte one! I originally brought this item in August during my summer holiday as the bronzer I was using was a bit too dark for my skin tone so it came out a bit orange and it was waaay to shimmery for everyday which was what I wanted. So whilst I was on holiday I just went into The Body Shop to have a brows(without intending to buy a new bronzer) and I stumbled across them on the shelf and as I spotted them, one of the lovely sales assistance came across and asked if I needed any help. So I explained the situation to her about how I wanted an everyday matte bronzer so she sat me down and started comparing the colours to my face then sampled it on me. First she put the bronzer on then showed me how it looked without being blended, then she blended it in and showed me again and the results were amazing! So this is my definite everyday-go-to bronzer! Even I've been using it through out the winter to contour my face slightly as it's a very natural and soft kind of colour.

Third beauty item is my Real Techniques Exert Face brush. I first saw this brush being used in some YouTube make up tutorials and then they began creeping into some peoples favourites and I didn't really think much of it at the time, but then I started getting bored of my old foundation brush(which is one of the actual named foundation brushes which look like a paint brush) so I thought I might try this one out as it was on offer in Asda. And oh my, it did not disappoint! I can completely and utterly see the rave about them! They blend your foundation so nicely and it doesn't leave any streaky brush marks. also it really spreads your foundation out evenly, so I would definitely recommend this brush to anyone who wants a new foundation brush!

Speaking of foundation, my fourth beauty item is my NARS All Day Luminous Weightless Foundation in the shade Mont Blonc! I was using the Maybelline Fit Me foundation in the shade 115 and I got on really well with it but then when I went into the shop to get some more they no longer sold my shade, so I made the mistake in going for the next shade up as that was the lightest one they had. But now I regret it and realise it was a bad choice! For some reason, with that shade it just didn't agree with me at all. My face isn't oily or dry it's in-between but this one made my skin look extremely oily. The staying power was really bad and the coverage wasn't that great either. So then I decided it was time to change it because I hated how it worked on me. So whilst I was out in New York in December we went into Sephora in times square(it was a must) and I walked past the NARS section of the shop so I started looking at their foundations because I know loads of people talk so positively about them so I thought I'd give it ago. And now this foundation is the best one I've used in a while! It may be pricey but it's got such good coverage but it doesn't look cakey, it's staying power is so good and it doesn't make my skin look oily! It's just amazing and I will definitely be buying this product again!

My fifth beauty product is the Marc Jacobs Daisy Dream Eau De Toilette. Until Summer,I had never tried or brought myself a branded perfume, and I thought that should change! I don't know why but the first one that came into my head to buy was this one. I had never smelt it before I brought it so I instantly wanted it because it had the word 'daisy' in it(daisies are my favourite flowers) and the bottle was extremely pretty. But once I found a shop that sold perfumes, I went straight in and looked for this one so I could smell it and see if I liked it. I was very nervous that I was going to be disappointed with it when I first smelt it but I really wasn't. It's such a fresh sweet scent and I began to love it instantly! So I picked up the 30ml box and took it too the counter! You're probably thinking that 30ml is very small, and it is! The reason I got the 30ml is that, if I smell a scent for too long then I begin to get bored of it and go of the scent and I didn't want to go off this one! So I thought that if I brought a smaller bottle, I would use it very sparingly and often that I don't get bored of it, as it's such a gorgeous perfume!

My last beauty item isn't one you use on you. It's the No.7 Illuminated Make-up Mirror. I'm the type of person who suddenly gets the urge to try out new make up at 9-10 o'clock at night, and obviously by then, it's pitch black outside so I have to put my bedroom light on. But my bedroom light is one of them annoying energy saver light bulbs so it gradually gets brighter the longer you keep it on. But the light it gives when I'm trying to experiment with make up is rubbish as it's too dark for me to properly see what I'm doing. So when me and my mum were walking past boots the other day we saw it on offer so we went in and she so lovingly brought it for me. It's got a white/cold light around the rim of the mirror so you can turn it on whilst you're doing your make up so you can see properly what you're doing and it does it's job so well! Testing and experimenting with make up has become so much more easier and accurate now that I have this extra light that shines directly onto my face without leaving shadows! So if you're like me and have a light bulb problem whilst wanting to experiment with make up when you should be in bed, then this is the mirror for you! You can get it online and in-store in boots!

Skin care! I'm very lucky with my skin in that I don't get spots often and I don't have any reactions to anything, but that doesn't stop me looking after it! There are two products from the Clean & Clear range which are a god send! This is the Deep Cleaning Astringent and the Advantage Spot Treatment Gel! I started using the Deep Cleaning one back in 2010, this is when I was beginning to become a spotty teenager! and it worked wonders for me! I apply it every morning and every night before I go to bed and it's just amazing. It obviously doesn't stop spots or whatever completely but it really reduces the amount of times you get them and the redness of them, so I absolutely love this idem! But the idem I love more than this is the Advantage Spot Treatment Gel. This is one that I tried whist I was in New York because my room mate had it. I was saying to her how I was having a massive spot beginning to appear and she told me to put some of this on it and it'll be gone. So I put some on before I went to bed and I woke up the next morning and it had completely gone! Once I got home from New York I went straight to Asda to buy this item and it hasn't let me down since! Both of these products you can get in nearly every supermarket or drug store and they're not that expensive!

As some people know I love photography and hope to one day be a successful photographer.. so these next 3 items are photography technology related. But first one is my Fuji Film Instax mini 8 in the light blue colour. This is a small version of a polaroid, meaning it instantly prints out the pictures once you've taken them. I've always wanted a polaroid kind of camera as I love how the images are printed instead of saved digitally. It gives the photo such a vintage look to it and makes them look really pretty when they're up. For example, I currently have mind clipped onto a Light Up Peg Photo string! The camera itself is rather expensive and then it's very pricey to maintain as the film for it costs quite a lot! So I only recommend getting one of these if you're willing to pay out for it and use it wisely as you only get one chance for a good picture. But I take this camera around with me quite a lot incase I see anything that's worth instantly printing out. For example, when me and 2 of my friends when to Brighton we got a typically picture on the Brighton Pier and it looks so cool and I got lots of amazing shots of the New York City Skyline too!

My second photography item is my Canon 75mm-300mm Telephoto lens. For those who don't know what Telephoto means, it's basically a lens that zooms in quite a lot. I brought this item because I was sort of getting bored in how restricting my normal lens is. I mean it does a good job but I just wanted something more for the quality for my photos. So I went into a shop and brought a Canon magazine which told you all about the different lens' and it said that this one was very good for wildlife photography and some portraiture and for those who know me, I love portraiture photography! Most of my course work at college is all about pictures of people. I instantly fell heels deep for this lens once I had tried it. It gave the images such a good and professional quality to them. Only problem with it is, you have to be very far away to take the picture so you can't do anything up close. But because of the outcome it gives, I don't mind that! It's also fairly heavy too but it's copeable! It's also an expensive lens depending where you buy it from but you can get them so much cheaper on amazon!

My final technology item is my MacBook Air with the 13" screen. I have wanted a MacBook for absolutely ages and I'm so grateful that I've finally got one! I first started using the iMac in my first year of college for photography and my love for them just grew. I'm now in my second year of college which means I'm doing my A-Levels and I got one of these to help benefit me more for them as I use Photoshop and Final Cut Pro on mac at college for work - so being have to have these utilities at home makes homework so much more easier! It's so lightweight so it's easy to carry around with you and do work on the go, and the battery life lasts so much longer than a standard laptop and that's just a couple of reasons why I love it! This, again, is a pricey item but it is definitely worth the money! Only disadvantage of it, is that the memory is quite low. But you can always sort that out by buying an external hard-drive!

That's it for my 2015 favourites!  Apologise that it's very wordy and lengthy but I hope you had a wonderful 2015 and hope everyone has an amazing 2016!

Christmas Cupcakes

Christmas is over which makes me very sad! Christmas is by far my favourite time of the year. I love the lights, the trees and can't forget all the delicious food! But to add some extra christmas spirit into my home, I decided to make some cupcakes and decorate them all christmassy! And obviously I used my favourite Cadbury's Brownie Recipe!(shock) but as per usual, they turned out to me amazing!

For the icing on these we used the Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge icing as well as making up our own butter cream. The butter cream we made up our own measurements so I'm not going to give you any. Also on for the decoration we used some holly berry and leaf sprinkles as well as iced/sugar decorations!

Overall I think we made about 18, so my friend decorated 9 and I decorated the other 9. Because there was so many we obviously had to do them in two batches and unfortunately, the first batch didn't come out too well! Me being me, accidentally put the oven up too high and left them in for too long so they burnt ever so slightly on the top but that didn't make them any less delicious! but then once I realised the oven was too high, I wacked it down to the right temp and the second lot came out amazingly! But here are some of the final products. They definitely went down a treat with my family! I also have a short video on youtube of me and my friend making them. There's no speaking involved, just some jolly music whilst we make and bake! - https://youtu.be/GthfQL8nwWE

NEW YORK CITY

Hello!

2nd December 2015 is official one of the best days of my life! Purely because I got the dance to fulfil one of my dreams of going to New York City over the Christmas season, and oh my word it was amazing! It was everything that I was expecting and more! We were there from the 2nd December til the 7th December and I wished I could never leave! I went with college on this trip with our Art and Media department as I do both Photography and Film studies at college, so through out I had to juggle the two subjects around which was a bit difficult but I did it. But for this trip, I not only took pictures but I also vlogged most of it as it's definitely something I want to remember! So I'll leave all the links to the videos on my youtube channel for you to check out!

The first day, we land into JFK air port til about 5:30pm NYC time(10:30pm UK time) but then it took a while to get off the plane because they were having difficulty attaching jet bridge to the air craft. But once we managed to get off the plane and go through customs, we got straight on our coach outside the air port and headed off to our accommodation. We stayed in the YMCA Vanderbilt which is on 47th Street. Once we got to the YMCA we checked in, put our stuff in our rooms then headed back out to Times Square which was about a 20 minute walk away. By this time it was about 10:30pm, and even though I was extremely jet lagged, standing in the middle of Times Square was just one of the best feelings ever! It was so breath taking and worth the 8 hour flight!

The second day was an extremely long, tiring and foot aching day. In the morning we took a stroll up to central park which was a couple of blocks away from the accommodation and we walked through park til about half way up. It was so amazing to actually witness one of the most iconic locations in New York and to be actually stood where some of my favourite films were filmed, such as Elf and Sex in The City. It's filled with such colourful trees, people and lakes! We walked down the iconic row of tree to the Bethesda Fountain, then past the famous Boat House Restaurant, the Alice in Wonderland statue and then the lake were Stuart Little was filmed! After our long plod in Central Park we then went to the Museum of Modern Art(MoMa) this museum was HUGE and extremely pretty on the inside. If I'm going to be honest, most of it bored me quite a bit but one thing I loved seeing was Vincent Van Goghs Starry Night, it was actually quite amazing to be stood in front of it.

Once we had finished in the museum we walked over to the Rockefeller which was a block or two away. This is where we went right to the top of the building to view the New York sky line and oh my.. I thought Times Square was breath taking but this was just something else. As we got to the top(62nd floor) it was still roughly day light but the sun was beginning to set, so we managed to see the NYC sky line at sunset and at night all in one. This will be one moment that'll stay in my heart forever. It seemed so surreal just looking out onto the city which all the lights and buildings. I can't even describe how I began to feel. One side from the Top of The Rock you can see Central Park and Manhattan, then the other side you looked out onto the Empire State building with Brooklyn lingering the background. So I definitely and 110% recommend going up the Rockefeller Building if you're ever in New York. It's about $30 to go up, but it is SO worth it! It also had a lift were it had a transparent top so you could see yourself going up, but it also had images and lights projected on to it which was so cool and made the lift a bit more bearable!(I hate lifts, or did until the end of the trip) But after that we were meant to go ice skating but we were all so tired and our feet hurt so much from all the walking that we all went back to the accommodation to get into bed!

Third day: This is the day we got on the metro and headed down to Brooklyn! We walked half way along Brooklyn bridge which was such a nice experience, it had such beautiful views of the city and me and my friend even managed to write our names on the bridge. After the bridge we walked a few blocked up to where the 9/11 Memorial(Ground Zero) and One World Trade Centre was. First we looked at the North Tower memorial and stayed there for a bit... I think this is the only place in the big, noisy city where people are quiet, It was quite haunting in a way but a peaceful kind of haunting. Like knowing that there once stood a tall sky scrapper in that very spot that is now gone along with the thousands of people, but it was so pretty and bright that you didn't really think too much about the horror behind it. One World Trade Centre was the next place we went too after Ground Zero as it was directly next to it. We had to que for a while to go though some from of customs and then to get into the Sky Pod(a lift that goes up 1000ft in 60 seconds) Even the lift in there was entertaining because as you went up, there was a time line in how the city was built. Except, in this lift the screen went all around the outside so that it looked like windows. For any of you that have been to the Harry Potter studios in London, you would know that when you first go in there, you go into a small cinema like room to have a presentation and then once that presentations done, the screen rise and your revealed a little surprise(not spoiling it for those who plan to go) and the exact same happened in Tower One. Once you're at the 102nd floor you go into a small room where you stand to watch a little presentation on a screen, then once the presentations done, the screen shoots up and you have the whole of  New York right in front of you. My jaw dropped as soon as the screen went up and I've never been so amazed in my life. But that moment definitely topped the breath taking Times Square and The Top of The Rock.

After One World Trade Centre we walked over to the Staten Ferry terminal and took a ferry ride over to Staten Island. During the crossing you go past the Statue of Liberty which was so nice to see as it's also a very iconic thing for New York. Then once we got back over to Brooklyn, we took the metro to Canal Street in SoHo where some of us did some shopping.  My friend and I were dying to find a Victoria Secret and have a brows.. So we found it, and spend about a good old hour in there, purely because of how amazing the costumer service was. The lady who helped us was just so kind and friendly and help out so much, so I'll definitely go back there if I ever get the chance to go to New York again! By then it was quite late so we caught up with some of the other girls in our group and got a taxi home to go to bed!

Day four came, and by then the balls of my feet no longer existed! Well, that's what it felt like. We had done so much walking, and lucky us had much more walking to do on the fourth day! On this day we went to Grand Central Station and took the metro to Queens and went to the Museum of Moving Image(MoMi) This was definitely my favourite museum out of the two! There was so many amusing things in there, such as the original mask for the film Mrs Doubtfire. There was also some really fun interactive exhibits such as making your own animation or flip book! Unfortunately I never got to do the flip book one but I did make my own animation! and this will be in my New York Day 4 vlog for you to see! Coney Island was our next destination after MoMi. So we got back onto the metro and took a long ride down to Coney Island. Let's just say that Coney Island is one of the most beautiful beaches I have ever been too! It felt like such a romantic movie moment! This was also another place where I could of just stayed forever. Luckily we got there in time to also see the sun set which was such an amazing feeling. And this is where I also got to do a short photo shoot with one of my friends on the trip with me, and the pictures turned out amazing! So glad I got an opportunity to do a photoshoot on the beach of Coney Island. Unfortunately, Coney Island shut their very popular theme park over the winter, but even just walking past and looking at the abandoned theme park was still amazing. Now, this is where one of the high lights of the trip come into play. We got back onto the metro after Coney Island to go back to the accommodation(some wanted to go back to Canal Street to do some shopping) So the group of us got off at 59th street like our teacher said. Just to turn around and see both of our teacher doing the typical slow movie moment of 'NOOOOOO!' basically telling us it's the wrong stop. But we didn't think anything of it and thought they were messing around with us, but once we walked past a map in the station we soon saw that we were still over the water in Brooklyn and not in Manhattan. Ooops. But by now we were basically pro's in using the metro so we got back on the next train and got back safely!

So the last and final day... for this we packed our bags and got them ready to go then we took a leisurely stroll down past the Empire Building to the Flat Iron building where we found the coolest dog park ever! After that we dragged ourselves to the New York high line to walk along it. For those who don't know, the New York high line is an old railway track which has now been converted into a beautiful path for people to walk along! We hit the high line then my friend and I went off and did our own thing as the rest of the day was our own. So we took a hike back to 5th avenue area and did some last minute shopping before we had to be back at the accommodation for 3:30pm to get ready to get the coach to the air port. Whilst we were shopping we went into Urban Outfitters where I got some new Calvin Klein underwear then we went into Bath and Body works. We sadly don't get this in the UK, but I wish we did. It's a shop full of candles, body mists, body lotion and all that sort of stuff. And it smelt so good in there! I brought a body mist and a room spray from in there but I really wanted to buy lots of their 3 wick candles, but due to there being a weight limit for luggage I couldn't. Bath and Body works was only 2 blocks away from where we were staying so we took a really slow walk back to the YMCA but along the way we found this amazing pizza place that did slices of pizza the size of my face for 99c. So getting that was a definite must and a good way to end the day!

4:30pm NYC time came along and our coach was outside ready to take us back to the air port. By 5:30 we were going through customs to go on a sad. but shorter, plane journey home. Thankfully our flight back was only 6 hours long due us flying in the direction of the wind, but it was the sadess journey I've ever done. On the coach on the way to the air port we went over one of the bridges and towards the end of the bridge, if you turned around, you could see the whole of New York lit up through the back window. It was such an incredible but heart breaking sight. New York is definitely one memory that I'll never forget. I made so many new friends whilst we were out there too which was nice as well as discovering more about myself. I really really hope that one day I get to go back and relive every moment...


Day 1 & 2 Vlog - https://youtu.be/nqW6zxInNCM
Day 3 Vlog - https://youtu.be/DEBss4Z7zmg
Day 4 & 5 Vlog - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX1uOXBI5yQ

Bat Cupcakes

Last weekend was Halloween and for this year, I spent it baking Bat Cupcakes and other halloween themed cakes with one of my closest friends! Unfortunately our versions of the bat cup cakes didn't turn out like they should of done/the ones that inspired ours! But once again I used my trusty Cadbury's brownie recipe to create these incase cupcakes and we went along this step-by-step guide to create the oreo bats on top! It took us four hours to get a final piece but it was so worth it in the end!

So for the bat themselves you need mini oreos, normal sized oreos, icing, white chocolate chips and small brown M&Ms - but as I live in the UK it's extremely hard to get a hold of small M&M so we improvised and used milk chocolate chips, which worked just as well! I made 6 bats so I needed 12 of the mini oreos, 6 normal sized oreos, 12 milk chocolate chips and 6 white chocolate chips. The mini oreos take care of the eyes and ears, normal sized ones are used for the body and wings, white chocolate chips for the fangs and the milk chocolate chips for the eyes!

For the icing we used left over oreo tops and crumbled it up til its like a sand like consistency, so that it wouldn't clog up the piping nozzle. Then we put 200g of butter and 600g of icing sugar into a bowl to create the buttercream icing! After we took about 4 big spoonfuls of the butter cream and put it in the bowl which we smashed up the oreo in, and folded it until it was thoroughly mixed together.

For the rest of our cupcakes we used small sugar halloween themed decorations, 'Creepy confetti' and poping candy! For some of them we added extra colours down the side of the piping bad to add a little something extra to the butter cream so that they all didn't have just a boring coloured butter cream on them because it's halloween so we had too!

          

             

Pumpkin Carving

So we all know that halloween is this weekend and I'm sure many of you have plans! But for me, I spent my pre-halloween carving pumpkins with my best friend and on the actual day of Halloween I'll be spending it creating awesome cup cakes with another close friend of mine! Fortunately for you, we filmed this and put it on my best friends youtube, so I shall leave a link here for you!

I've only ever carved a pumpkin once before I did again this year, and lets just say they didn't go swimmingly either times! I did the same design this year as I did about 2 years ago, and yes, I did a pug - we all know I LOVE pugs! My best friend on the other hand, did what any other normal human would do and she did just a typical pumpkin face. Hers was definitely better than mine!

For the video we both made an effort and dressed up to make it a bit more fun and to get into the halloween spirit a bit more, especially as this is only really the acceptable time for adults to dress up. Jade dressed up as a dead Alice in Wonderland Doll and I dressed up as a cat. The preparation for this did take us an hour or two just to do all our hair and make up but as you'll see,  it was so worth it and Jade did amazing with hers! Unfortunately, we were going to do like a mini photo shoot so we could show what we had done but we ran out of time as we had so much to do! 

Sunday Baking

Cadbury's Brownie Cupcakes
Sundays are meant for jogger bottoms, baggy tops/hoodies, messy hair and no make up! but for me, as well as all of those, it's my usual baking day. From brownies, to pizza dough balls, to cheese and bacon turn overs. But for these past two Sunday's I've done a bit of a mash up of brownie cupcakes.

Last Sunday(20/09/15) I really fancied a really cute chocolaty cupcake like the ones they sell in a tea room near me, but everywhere I went they had sold out of the ones I wanted - so instead I decided to make my own.  The recipe I used is from the Cadbury's website. This is my go to website for anything I want involving chocolate! Even though it was a recipe meant for just a plain brownie, I used it to make cupcakes. And I loved them that much that I decided to make them again this weekend as I had ingredients left over. When I first made them and used the same measurements of ingredients I managed to get 18 cupcakes all together.

For the brownie itself you need:
175g of butter
3 medium eggs
250g caster suger

 75g plain flour

50g of coco power
175g of chocolate(of your choice)
1tsp of baking power(i only used this as I made them into cakes and wanted them to rise a little)
Cupcake cases

For the topping you need:
125g of butter
125g of icing sugar
50g of chocolate(of your choice)
A piping bag and nozzle
Cadbury's bar chunks(optional or anything of your choice)
Reeces Pieces bits(optional or anything of your choice)
- the first time I made them I used chunks of a Hershey's Cookies and Cream bar

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 180 ⁰C, gas mark 4. Grease and line the base and sides of a 20 cm square cake tin with baking parchment.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter in a bowl over a pan of simmering water. Cool slightly.
3. Whisk the eggs and sugar until thick and creamy, pour over the chocolate mixture and fold in.
4. Sift in the flour and cocoa and fold in the nuts. Pour into the prepared tin, making sure it goes right into the corners and bake for 25-30 minutes. The top should be crusty with a slight wobble underneath.
   
   Then prepare the buttercream by beating together the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, then beat in the melted chocolate. Place into a piping bag with nozzle and pipe onto the top of the cakes.
   
   
   

http://recipes.cadbury.co.uk/HomeCategory/RecipeDetails?r=47055 - brownie details
http://recipes.cadbury.co.uk/HomeCategory/RecipeDetails?r=48189 - icing details