monthly resolution fail

Source

Oh hey...you remember those monthly resolutions I did way back when? I kinda stopped posting/doing them around April time which was not intentional at all! I broke my wrist in April so it kind of limited me in terms of coming up with new resolutions but then my wrist healed and then life just got in the way. BUT...

I'm picking up my monthly resolutions again starting in September! I'm pretty excited because I was beginning to lose sight of doing something positive each month and my chart was looking kinda pathetic with only 4 months worth of resolutions posted!

Have you been keeping your resolutions from the beginning of the year?

Vanessa

x

recipe \\ chocolate orange cupcakes

Apart from cinnamon and apples, and white chocolate and raspberry, I think chocolate and orange is one my favourite flavour combinations. There something silently brilliant about this pairing and I do enjoy snacking on a Terry's Chocolate Orange once in a while (especially at Christmas time!)

I had a chocolate orange loitering in my fridge unopened (yes, I keep my chocolate in the fridge, anyone else do that?) and I had a hankering to make my lovely trust chocolate cupcake recipe. Marriage made in heaven? I think so.

Ingredients
175g butter
175g soft brown sugar
3 large eggs
175g self raising flour
4tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp milk

Method
1. Cream the butter and sugar with an electric whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in one at a time.
2. Sift the flour and cocoa powder into the mixture and mix well. Stir in the milk.
3. Divide into paper cases lined in a cupcake tin (this should yield around 12) and put in a preheated oven at 180 degrees celsius for around 20-25 minutes.
4. Leave to cool in the tin for around 5 minutes then transfer onto a cooling rack to cool further.

Swirl on some chocolate buttercream and carefully place a segment of chocolate orange to finish off. Admire the beauty and then devour with gusto. 

Bon appétit!

Vanessa

x

favourite android apps

Technology has introduced to us some very handy dandy apps that now we can't seem to do without them. As a blogger, I'm always trying to keep on top of social media and the only way I can do that is via my mobile when I'm out and about. I thought I'd take you through some of my favourite and most regularly used apps on my phone.

I must be in the minority group of Android users but I'm sure most of these are available for Apple users also.

Yes, I am on the Instagram bandwagon. I did delete it for a while but I found I missed my daily dose of photographs too much so I re-installed it. Such a great photo sharing app and I love sharing my own photographs. It's like my life through rose-tinted glasses.

Twitter is again one of my most used apps and I'm sure everyone is familiar with what it does. I think I'm more of a random tweeter but I also love scrolling through my feed in the morning either catching up with other bloggers or reading their thoughts. My Twitter is @ParisianOrchid if you fancy reading some random musings of my life.

The Starbucks app is brilliant if you haven't already got it. It's free and you can save up rewards or 'stars' as they call it per transaction and once to get 15 stars, you get a free drink (ANY SIZE!) You can also connect your Starbucks cards to it too so you can pay for your drinks by scanning the barcode. It's so helpful when I don't want to faff about with getting cash out and so convenient as well. 

The Uniqlo Wake Up alarm is such a lifesaver in the mornings. The alarm wakes you up by playing soft music and saying 'Good Morning' to you. It also recognises where you are so it'll tell you what the weather is like that day as well. You can also set it to greet you in different languages too. I woke up to my alarm speaking Mandarin to me for about a month!

Some other useful apps I use are Facebook (obvs) and the Cineworld one is great if you're a regular cinema go-er like me and fancy catching an impromptu movie. I think I have a modest amount of handy apps on my phone and don't like to clutter it up with too much otherwise I'd never be off my phone!

What are some of your favourite Android apps? Any good recommendations?

Vanessa

x

review | toni & guy casual sea salt spray

If you remember my review of the Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray, you'd remember the amount of scrunching involved in getting the perfect beach look. It was just wasn't to my liking but I have since attempted to get the beach hair look again with the Toni & Guy Casual Sea Salt Spray and I have been loving the results so far.

I'm not sure if it's because my hair is a little longer than the last time I tried a sea salt spray but the results from this is brilliant. After towel drying my hair, I spray this in my hair and brush it through. Then I leave it to dry naturally or with a hair dryer if I'm short for time. It gives my hair movement and it doesn't leave a heavy matte texture after which I was finding the Bumble & Bumble one did. Mama Orchid also commented on the smell of it which I really like. 

This is an excellent alternative to the Bumble & Bumble Surf Spray and is priced at a pocket friendly £7.19. 

Have you tried any other sea salt sprays to get the perfect beach look?

Vanessa

x

current loves #2 | the non beauty edition

animal crossing | ailee | the blue umbrella | harry potter

Every spare moment I get, I literally cram it in with everything! With long and often weird shift patterns at work, I find it hard to fit in every day life stuff in it but here is what I have been loving lately.

Ever since upgrading my Nintendo DS Lite to a 3DS XL last month (with the help of my work colleague!) I have been loving playing Animal Crossing. It has now become part of my life to find out the turnip prices for the day, pay off the loan on my house and dig for fossils. It's brilliant! If you have a 3DS and you're playing Animal Crossing, let me know so I can visit your town!

My love of Kpop is not stopping any time with my recent discovery of Ailee. Her voice is phenomenal! Her EP, A's Doll House is brilliant and I listen to it all the time. And isn't she beautiful?

I went to see Monsters University the other day and I always look forward to the Pixar Short Films more than the actual film sometimes! The Blue Umbrella is a beautiful short and of course I cried. Go to see Monsters University just for the short if you're not a big Monster's Inc fan (and why wouldn't you be??)

Oh HP, I will probably never grow old of it. It's not even a current love...it's a forever love. Always. 

Vanessa

x

review | wear it up

With the hot weather coming and going in Scotland, it's always handy to have a hair tie lying around for those impromptu moments where wearing our hair down is just too much. 

I certainly have been loving these colourful hair ties that also act as cute wristbands. These are made from elastic material that have just been knotted at the end. They are not supposed to give you that weird kink in your hair once you let it down and I find that they are great for the standard pony tail or a messy bun if you're feeling adventurous!

You can buy these elastics pre-made from Etsy or Ebay but I bought mine from Dorothy Perkins where you can get 4 for £2.00! Or you can buy the elastic separately and make as many as you want!

Vanessa

x