Stuffed Red Peppers ❤

This is becoming a bit of a habit now, I can't believe it's been so long since I've last posted on my blog! But what better way to get back into the swing of things than with a post about FOOD ❤ my one true love! I have been trying to eat healthier now since the beginning of the year and I've found that it's not actually as difficult as I had previously expected - yay! Today I'm going to share my recipe for the best stuffed peppers I've ever had (okay yes, they're the only stuffed peppers I've ever had, but that's beside the point)

• turkey mince (or quorn mince for vegetarians)
• garlic
• red onion
• tomato sauce/chopped tomatoes
• one large red pepper
• any cheese 
• salt & pepper

I used turkey mince instead of beef mince as it's a healthier alternative and although at first I was afraid it would taste like Christmas dinner I was pleasantly surprised when the flavour wasn't a million miles away from the beef mince I've grown up eating. First off you want to fry the turkey mince in a pan with the chopped garlic and onions, I made sure to chop mine finely as I didn't want any lumps but you can have them as big as you like. When the mince is fully cooked just add in the tomato sauce and salt and pepper to taste.
Chop the red pepper in half and get rid of the seeds inside; then you can begin to fill them with the turkey mix. Before putting them in the oven, sprinkle on some cheese and you're all done! They should take about 25 - 30 minutes in the oven at around 250, depending on how soft you want your pepper to be!

I hope this recipe was helpful!

xx

Mascara Review: L'oreal Miss Manga vs. Catrice Ultimate Lash Multimizer ❤

I know it's been a while but I'm back! This time with a mascara review :) I'll be comparing L'oreal Miss Manga Mega Volume Mascara (€13.49) with Catrice Ultimate Lash Multimizer Volume Mascara (€5.39).

The first major difference is the price. Granted you'll always pay that little bit extra for a more well-known brand but sometimes it's the lesser known brands that actually have the better products; it's all about trying new ones!

I had bought the L'oreal Miss Manga Mascara after I had heard people raving about it since early this year and at first I must say I was pretty impressed! It's not a bad mascara at all with its pretty pink and black packaging and the bend in the wand allows for easy application. The product itself does stay in place all day and I've never experienced any 'panda eye' effect with it which is always a bonus! My only critiques would be that it seems to dry up a little faster than some other mascaras, meaning you'd have to repurchase it more frequently. And being €13.49 I could think of a few other things I could be spending that money on - that's almost three Gingerbread Lattes from Starbucks!

The next mascara is Catrice Ultimate Lash Multimizer. I only purchased this one recently as I was looking for a new mascara and picked it up in a local chemist. I really hadn't been expecting much from it as I have purchased cheap mascaras in the past with less than satisfactory outcomes, but when I tried this out I was genuinely surprised. It really did add volume to my lashes and the looked completely different to when I had used the L'oreal Miss Manga. The brush is big enough to coat the lashes without leaving clumps behind and making the lashes stick together, which is great! It also has the same lasting power as the L'oreal and no panda eyes either!

It just goes to show that expensive products aren't necessarily the best!

xxx

Nectarine & Berry Smoothie ❤

Since it's actually getting summery around here I thought I'd do a quick smoothie recipe! This one is Nectarine and Berries but you can literally just throw in almost any fruits you have, although I'm not sure how a banana and orange smoothie would look too appetizing!

First up for this one you will need, 2 nectarines, 1 cup of raspberries, 1 cup of blackberries, half of a banana, 3 heaped tablespoons of low fat organic natural yoghurt and 2 teaspoons of honey/agave nectar.

 Chop up all of the fruits and throw them into a mixing jug, or a bowl if that's all you have. Blend for about a minute until there's no lumps and pour into glasses. These ingredients make 2 glasses of smoothie so just double up the recipe etc. if you want more!

To make the smoothie less thick you could always add some orange juice as you're blending, pouring it in gradually until you get the consistency you're looking for..

Enjoy!

Hayley 

xx

Penney's Purchases ❤

So I recently went to Penney's to pick up a few things and thought I'd share a couple of my favourite purchases!

The first thing I got was this Beauty Blender sponge and it was an absolute STEAL at only €1.50. I haven't tried either the Real Techniques Beauty Blender or the Original Beauty Blender, but this one works fabulously! I can't see either of the others doing a better job. And for the price of it I wouldn't really mind if it didn't last a really long time.

The next two purchases were a dark pink and cream floral crowns! Now I've been searching everywhere for one of these beauties that isn't extraordinarily expensive, like here for example, where the crown is selling for almost €23. I bought the two crowns in Penneys for €3 each!! They're sure to sell out super quickly so get down ASAP and get them before they're gone!

Here's the cream floral crown on:

More soon 

xxx

Red Velvet Cupcakes ❤

This is way overdue, but it's time for a new baking post! Three words, RED. VELVET. CUPCAKES. I see these literally everywhere and they look so cute and tasty! So I just had to make them in honor of my sister's return home from Scotland.

This particular recipe is from Odlums for the cupcake and Kraft recipes for the icing. The ingredients are:

175g Self Raising Flour

125g Caster Sugar

150g Butter/Margarine 

2 Large Eggs

2 Tablespoons Drinking Chocolate

4 Tablespoons Water

2 Teaspoons Red Food Colouring

1 pkg. Philadephia Cream Cheese, softened

1 tsp.  Vanilla

2 cups  Icing Sugar, sifted

Cupcake
Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F/Gas Mark 4.
Beat butter or margarine and sugar in a bowl until light in colour.
Add the flour, eggs, drinking chocolate, water and red colouring.
Beat well until mixture resembles a thick batter.
Divide the mixture into the muffin pan and bake for 20 minutes until risen and ‘springs back’ when gently touched.
Cool on a wire tray and then decorate with icing!

Icing

Beat cream cheese and vanilla in large bowl with mixer until well blended.

Then add sugar gradually, beating until well blended after each addition.

They turned out pretty nice actually!
More soon

xxx

Favourite iPhone Apps ❤

I've been meaning to do a "favourite app" post since I got my phone last October. So here it is! 

First off is Instagram, I think this is a fairly obvious one but I do really love it! I can spend ages scrolling through other people's pictures - because I'm so nosy! And I love how some people edit their pictures too, such a creative little app :) You can follow me here.

Next is Twitter, I've only gotten into this recently but I find myself using it more and more these days! I find myself waking up in the morning and checking Twitter to see what's going on in the world before I even get out of the bed! My twitter is here. 

Buzzfeed is such a handy little app for when you're sitting on the bus or waiting to go somewhere; there's loads of articles, quizzes and videos to look at from make-up and fashion to celebrity news and current affairs. It really makes the news much more exciting to read! 

Afterlight is the best app for editing in my opinion. There's a huge range of filters and lights which can be added to the picture, along with the standard editing tools like brightness, saturation and contrast. I'd have to say that I use Afterlight for the majority of my Instagram photos. It is 89c (I think) in the App Store but it's well worth it!

If you're looking for a good exercising app, Runtastic is pretty nifty. It can track the distance, pace and calories burned during whichever exercise you select, and it shows exactly where you traveled on the map! I've been using it for the last few runs/walks that I've been on and it's great to be able to keep track of everything on the one app.

I love finding cool apps to download and I'm forever looking out for new ones! I'd love to hear any suggestions, especially picture editing apps ❤

xxx

Tribal Swimwear ❤

Well, it's been a while since I've written anything on my blog, seriously been neglecting it! In my defence I've been super busy doing final year of my degree, but more on that soon!

I know it's only March, but I don't think it's ever too early to start planning summer outfits! Starting off with the summeriest of attire - the bikini! 

First off is this tribal print and black bikini top, €7 from Penneys, it's super cute and looks great with a summer glow! Whether you're a blonde, brunette or redhead the tribal prints fit with any hair colour! Best of all because of the black cups this bikini top can be paired with a simple pair of black bikini bottoms and still look chic!

These cute bracelets and rings are the perfect accessories for this tribal look, also from Penneys. The silver Filigree Cuff €5, Friendship Bracelets €3.50 each, and Ring Multi Sets from €1.50 and in stores from March.

Slip on these shoes if you need to pop from the pool to the bar or across some stoney sand, only €18 from Penneys and available at the end of April. These could definitely be a staple summer shoe!

To complete this beachy look and shield your eyes from the rays are these Round Frame sunglasses, only €2 from Penneys - although they could pass for Wildfox!

More soon!

xx

August Favourites ❤

Well, I think it's about time I did another favourites post! These are some things I've had my eye on the last month and are definitely going on my wishlist. It's a more autumn look because I think the days of sunbathing and bikinis are over for this year, sadly.. 

First off, I have been wanting a Wildfox jumper for SO long now. This pink one just looks adorable and would be so comfortable. Wildfox in general is pretty expensive but I wouldn't mind spending the money on a jumper, just as a one off treat! I think the jumpers are usually around €100, which is a lot, but they do some similar style jumpers on asos.com for less than half of the price.

Another thing is striped monochrome jeans; I've been seeing these a lot this month and I think they look really nice on and make legs look skinny - which can only be a bonus! I like the fact that they can be worn in summer or winter with boots or flats. These are from Mango and are $40 on the website, so they would probably be around €30 if the price is converted properly, put that rarely happens!

The boots are just amazing! I saw them in a video on Youtube recently and fell in love with them instantly! They're from the Rihanna collection in River Island and are around €100.

The black bag is €56 from handpicked.net and I found it on Polyvore. I like how it's quilted and I think black goes with any outfit.

I've always liked the indie nerd glasses and think they look really cute on anyone.These ones are €7.50 from shopzerouv.com, which I think is a pretty decent price.

The two makeup items here are a nail polish from Topshop in the shade 'Pink Powder' and Mac Pro Longwear Foundation.

Last but not least is a polaroid camera, this one is an Instax mini 8 from Fujifilm and is around €80. I've seen these cameras in places like Urban Outfitters for ages and I think it would be so cute to have one!

Hope you guys enjoyed

Have an amazing day

x

Hair Chalks: Are They Worth the Hype? ❤

I've been a big fan of colouring my hair crazy colours since I had pink ombré last year. I thought about doing it again this summer but then found hair chalks in Penneys. These ones were €5 and come in a pack with pink and purple. Looking at the brightness of the chalks I did expect them to be pretty vibrant, but they come out a lot more pastel, which isn't necessarily a bad thing either. I like the way the chalks fit into what looks like a mini GHD and you can easily pull it through your hair without getting chalk dust all over your hands! All in all, I do like these little chalks but if I was to take the plunge for pink ombré every day I'd definitely go with a hair dye.

Hope you enjoyed

Have an amazing day

x

Review: Lee Stafford My Big Fat Texturised Spray ❤

Today is going to be a review of Lee Stafford's 'My Big Fat Texturised Hair Super Spray' Matte Style. I think this is a really handy little product as it gives hair a really nice beachy texture, but without the salty smell. It also holds better than a lot of sea salt sprays I have tried in the past and I just love the fact that it's all pink!

I think the best way to use this product is firstly, not to use any heat on your hair. If possible, let your hair dry naturally. Then, when your hair is dry, spray the product directly onto your hair and use your hands to style it as you like. If you want to find out more about the product click here to go to the Boots website.

For the price (around €10) this product has lasted me quite a long time, and still has plenty left. I really like it for the summer months but I would also definitely use it in the winter as well because it doesn't have a beachy smell; it smells sweet and slightly perfumed which I like for my hair.

Hope you guys enjoyed!

Have an amazing day

x