Homemade Gingerbread Men Presents

A lot of people don't know this about me but I love to bake. Rarely do I bake for myself though, it's usually for the family & friends as I find once I've baked something I no longer want to eat it (maybe it's beacuse I insist on licking the bowl & spoons once used!) One of my favourite things to make & my favourite festive thing are gingerbread men. They are so easy to make & you can blast the Christmas tunes and have a really fun afternoon if you have nothing else to do!

 

Here's what you need.

350g/12oz plain flour, plus extra for rolling out

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cinnamon

125g/4½oz butter

175g/6oz light soft brown sugar

1 free-range egg

4 tbsp golden syrup

 

I used double the amount of ingredients as I wanted to make LOADS! (I have a mini man cutter & other shapes and made around 100 biscuits!)

 

 



 

1. Put your oven on at 180 degrees. Sift the flour, cinnamon, ginger and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl.

 

2. Add the butter and mix with a electric whisk.

 

 

3. Lightly beat the egg & golden syrup in a bowl and then add to the mixture. Whisk the mixture together until it clumps together.

 

4. Knead the mixture for a few minutes, wrap in clingfilm & put in a fridge for 15 minutes.

 

 

5. Using plain flour on a surface use a rolling pin and roll out bits of the dough until about half a centimetre thick. Get your cutters ready!

 

 

6. Add baking paper to your tins and pop your shapes into the oven for about 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Wait to cool down.

 

 

7. Use writing icing decorate your army of men however you want!

 

 







 

Finally gift wrap away. I opted for old pasta bake jars, covered the lid with some wrapping paper and put some twine around it. I think it looks rather cute & everyone I have given one to so far seems to like the idea!

 

A thoughtful yet inexpensive Christmas present!

 



 

 

 

Beauty Wishlist (Pleeeeeease Santa)

 

A few things I wouldn't mind seeing under the tree come Christmas morning. I know I will not be receiving a Clarisonic Mia as 1. It's pretty extravagant at £120 and 2. I didn't ask for one. Perhaps I will put some Xmas money towards one! I always mean to pick up Benefit's Hoola but always end up buying prettier things from the counter. I love Diesel's Loverdose it's such a rocker fragrance & it's such a reasonable price. I'm starting to get low on my Extreme Elasticizer and the Charles Worthington Moisture Seal seems to be a somewhat cheaper and more accessible replacement. Essie's mini winter collection is so bright it will carry me right through to summer. The turquoise colour is amazing! Would really like to try Ciate's vevlet manicure but I know I would just make the biggest mess everywhere but it would make for perfect New Year Eve nails! Finally you already know I'm lusting after the Clarins lotus oil but me and Mia did swatch some Stila products the other day & I fell in love with their face and lip pots which give the perfect creamy colours! And who on this earth doesn't want the a YSL lipstick. At £24.50 a pop I would much rather someone else got this for me!

Tomorrow marks the 1 year anniversary of my blog so definitely keep anm eye out as I will be giving something away which is nice and festive!

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

Today is the first day I've really started to feel Christmassy. All of my family are coming up on Boxing Day & my Sister has to work Christmas Day so I was feeling a bit down as I have noone to play with. I may be 22 but board games are a huge part of the day for our family!

 

I decided to go and tackle a huge chunk of Christmas shopping as today is my only day off work all week! I had a bit of a headache but coffee helped.

 

I opted the standard gingerbread latte first but was naughty and also got a Creme Brulee one to have at home whilst I was wrapping! Creme Brulee is my favourite dessert in the word and I loved this so much!

 

 

I am the worlds worst wrapper; everyone knows the present is from me because it's the one that is half wrapped with a whole roll of cellotape all around it & a square package ends up looking like a pyramid...you get the idea. I told everyone I was going to make my presents look amazing this year and picked up this fairisle print paper, ribbon & tags from The Card Factory and spent over an hour wrapping 7 presents. I am very pleased with how festive it looks.

 

The tree is all up and decorated! We went for the same as last year, a little circus theme with lots of magenta and turquoise (the same colours as my bedroom and my fave)!

 

I popped into a vintage shop in Northampton & picked up a few (cough £100 worth of bits). I am disgusted with myself. We have a charity Xmas jumper day  at work & I got this large mens jumper which is so festive and warm it's unreal. I will keep this for years so it's a good investment!

 







 

 I picked up my Christmas cards! I always get Charity cards as it's a simple way to give a little something back. These are from Tesco & have little puns on them such as "Christmas Fishes"! Tesco are donated £250,000 made from their cards to Cancer Research UK and they have loads of different selections to choose from.

 

That's my happy little day done and I am offically cream crackered so hot chocolate in my new jumper is on the cards!

 

The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Oil

I've never used an oil on my skin before (perhaps the odd bit of baby oil to remove stubborn mascara) but never as a step in my skincare routine. As you know I have been suffering with terrible breakouts and it really can knock your confidence especially when I am usually lucky and have good skin!

 

I've seen Anna rave about using facial oils, in particular the Clarins Lotus Face Oil but at £30 a pop and not knowing whether it would anger or help my skin I sought a cheaper option.

The Body Shop Vitamin E Facial Oil - £11

 

 

I went in to buy some presents and there was an offer on which meant I got 30% off and a £5 voucher because it was my birthday in November meaning that I managed to snag this for £1. Ooooooh yeah.

 

You get 15ml of product in the vile which comes with a little pipette dropper which I love reminds me of my good old chemistry and biology A Level classes! Sad but true. 15ml isn't a lot of product but you only need 3 drops for the whole of your face so I think this would last you a good 2 months.

 

This oil is for dry skin which I only have in certain places but I still apply this all over my face. I've been using this for about 2 weeks now and really love the extra step in my routine, my skin feels a lot more mositurised, plumper and just more nourished really.

 

Now The Body Shop say this product is a pre-moisturiser to use in the morning but I tend to put this on, let it sink for a good minute and then apply moisturiser just before bed. Although my skin doesn't feel greasy I still feel like I have product on my face in the morning so just cleanse. I have tried the oil in the morning but felt by the afternoon my face was a little shinier than usual, I think the mixture of oil, moisturiser, foundation etc just is a bit too much for your skin to cope with.

 

I think I may have to indulge myself and buy the Clarins one but this is a pretty good high street find!



November Favourites

A few things I have been reaching for lots this past month!

 

 

Lee Stafford Poker Straight Flat Iron Protection Mist

 

I haven't done a full review of this as I feel a heat protection either works or does not. Saying that, I really like this as it's not overly scented, doesn't make hair feel greasy or crisp; it just acts as a protecter and adds a nice dash of shine. That's all you need really!

 

Benefit They're Real Mascara

 

Loving this mascara I really think it is one of the best ones out there & so totally worth the price tag. I actually got asked if I was wearing fake lashes and I was not (love my Dad's genes of long lashes)!

 

MAC Studio Scuplt Concealer

 

My skin has been one huge nightmare this month (I think a mix of working lots, late nights & cold weather are to blame) so this has been my holy grail!

 

Sleek Face Contour Kit

 

I've never been a huge blusher girl but I love a contoured golden glow even in the winter. I always think a bronzed look makes you look healthier too!

 

Ayuuri Natural Moisturising Indian Rose Face Cream

 

This huge tube is really thick and is just a lovely no bother face cream that I apply in the morning & before bed!

Bye bye Laptop.

My laptop died last night at 22:37.

 

I took it upstairs plugged it in & went to the bathroom. When I came back my room was smokey and smelt horrible. I just ran around with it shouting for my Dad to help but alas it was too late.

 

I need to recover my hardrive which I hope doesn't cost lots as there's 6 years worth of photos on there!

 

I was going to get a MacBook Air anyways but now have to struggle to find the remaining money (which I would have got for selling my laptop).

 

So blogging will be a little irregular for a little while!

 

Hope everyone else is having a better day than me!

Christmas Party Outfit from Missguided.co.uk

In the 4 years I've worked at one of my jobs I have never been to a Christmas Party. This year I plan on getting on IT. I've even booked the next day off work so me & my friends can eat bacon sandwiches in our PJ's & watch films all morning and hopefully we can rope our friend Chloe who will be freshed face into delivering us Mcdonalds at lunchtime (I know she will read this so this is us offically asking) ;)

 



I am going to let Missguided help me with my outfit this year. A wonderful site with some beautiful clothes with even more amazing prices. Now I have got a selection of their dresses on the way to my house for trial but I must only pick one. I've added a few extra dresses I loved to this list in case you need some help picking one for a special occasion.

 

1 - £39.99

 

 

 

I love the print, colours and sequins. Just not sure if I would get too hot with all that gettin' low and what not! Oh and I'm not sure if shoulder pads would be my friend. I like the fact this dress is the statement piece so you don't need any jewellery and can wear simple black shoes with a clutch.

 

 

2 - £34.99

 

 

<3 the studs. I think this dress would be best for girls with a more athletic body type as it will give you lots of curves on top! I would wear lots bracelets with this instead of a necklace as you would want to keep the focus on the studs!

 

 

3 - £16.99

 

 

I think this is one of my favourites. I think it's quite classy but still party-esque with the split up the leg! Definitely a dress for taller girls like myself!

 

4 - £26.99

 

 

Such a lovely colour and I think it would suit most body types!

 

5 - £39.99

 

 

 

This is the prettiest dress ever!

 

6 - £34.99

 

 

 

Again loving the baroque print I think it's a really elegant print that makes any outfit worthy of going out!

 

 

So they are my top picks, I spent hours trying to choose my favourites out of Missguided's 1000+ dresses. As you can see I numbered all the dresses and would love it if every viewer would comment and say which one is their favourite so I can make an informed decision!