Better Late Than Never...Lippmann, Cupcakes & Other Lovely Stuff

I know I petty much missed the Happy Valentine's Day Bandwagon but it's better late than never right?!

So how was it? I hope that it was full of love and happiness with the special person in your life. And for those of you that don't have a special person at the moment, I hope you made the most of the opportunity to go to a bar and know, without any awkward questioning or an ounce of doubt, that every guy in there was most definitely single!

I spent mine at home since I have a fiancee who is away in Australia....boooo! He sent me some lovely gifts though including a cute little Koala Bear toy (yep, there's a big kid right here!) and a new nail polish - Deborah Lippmann 'Across The Universe'. I was toying with not mentioning that since I noticed my blog seems to be increasingly looking like a nail polish blog! It isn't though...really...I promise!

  

I drank some beautiful sparkling rose wine, enjoyed half of an M&S Dine In For Two (how sad does that sound?!!) and then finished off my romantic evening with myself by indulging in one of the total fail brown coloured Red Velvet cupcakes I made. 

They actually taste delicious, seriously, seriously good! I guess the English red food coloring just isn't as strong as the American stuff though?!

If you care to see if you have more luck the recipe I used is from the scrumptious (be warned though, you'll probably end up baking something and then eating the whole darn lot!) Bakerella.com!

xxx

 

Recipe: Festive White Chocolate and Peppermint Treats

Since it's nearly Christmas there really is no better time to make yourself some festive treats. I've been really busy since arriving back in England but these white chocolate and candy cane treats are so quick and easy to make. I whipped them up yesterday. It is after all the one time of year where over-indulging is actually expected! You can also package these up nicely and give them away as homemade gifts, you're friends will love you for it!

There isn't really a recipe, I just adapted it from something else I'd made before. All you need is white chocolate (melt it down in the microwave for 2 minutes) and candy canes (which are surprisingly difficult to find in England but if you're living in America it should be much easier). Smash the candy canes up inside a plastic bag to make small fragments.

Put the candy cane pieces into a strainer and sift into the white chocolate. This means you only get the smallest pieces in the mixture.

 Mix it together thoroughly to get an even distribution of the peppermint pieces.

Next you need to tip the mix out onto a cookie sheet lined with greaseproof paper. Sprinkle the larger pieces of the candy canes on top of the chocolate. Then, put the whole lot into the fridge for about 15 minutes or until it has set.

Take it out and break it into large chunks then try not to eat it all at once!

I actually decided to do this version after I made a Festive Chocolate Treat with pistachios and cranberries for a guest post I did for the lovely Daryl at Roots, Wings, and Other Things. The recipe and method for it (with lots of pictures) is on there from later today. So make sure you go check it out! Here's how it looks, it tastes just as good as you imagine!

Pistachio and Cranberry Chocolate Bark - Check out the link above for my guest post about this.

Packaged up nicely as a DIY Homemade Christmas Gift.

I have another very busy day ahead of me but I promise in the next few days I'll be posting pictures from my lake district trip!

Not long until Christmas now, I'm getting excited, are you?

xxx

Cupcakes and Pick-me-ups!

Sometimes life calls for a little pick me up.

My pick-me-ups include vacationing, shopping and eating sugary treats! It just depends how big of a pick me up is needed at the time as to which I do. Oh and a little thing called money.

This last weekend I was having a few pangs of homesickness so it was time for a small scale pick-me-up. Because I'm English nothing offers comfort from homesickness like a nice hot cup of tea. Tea is not complete without something to dunk in it though as any true English person will tell you.

So I decided to whip up a batch of oatmeal and raisin cookies. They're my absolute favorite cookie especially since I found this great recipe here. They seem so wholesome and hearty. I love the spice of the cinnamon and the super sweet raisins. This recipe produces perfectly crisp on the outside, chewy on the inside cookies!

They were delicious. Luckily for me {and my waistline} my boyfriend ate most of them!

Unfortunately I might be needing to bake another batch pretty soon because I'm sick. On Tuesday morning I woke up and the world started spinning when I tried to stand up. I thought I just had head rush but every time I moved my forward or backwards it set off the spinning sensation again. Obviously I headed to the doctor right after I'd finished my {very stationary} day at work. He told me I have positional vertigo which means whenever I move I get that head rush feeling. It's a lot like being drunk but without the fun part. It'll take at least a week to go away but could be longer. I also told the doctor I've had a bit of an on-going cough and he gave me a check up and told me I have bronchitis. So now I'm taking a pile of pills each day and hoping I'll get better soon. In the meantime I'm going to make the most of having a valid excuse for needing to eat cookies and these....

Every cloud has a silver lining. You might not see it at first but take a look and you'll find it!


xxx

Leave me a comment and let me know what your favorite pick-me-ups are!
Also, if you've not entered my giveaway yet then do so here!