Autumnal Baking: Spicy Baked Apple

So recently I’ve been in the kitchen doing some autumnal baking, and just to let you know I have a few related posts lined up. If you are a long time reader of my blog, you probably know I have quite a sweet tooth and since chatting to my dentist I’ve decided to cut sugar out of my diet where I can including thinking a bit differently about snacking.

I absolutely enjoy my baking, and saw this as a new creative challenge, to see what I could come up with which is just a touch more healthy. I think this was my first bake with this in mind and we are lucky enough to have an apple tree in our garden so at the beginning of autumn, I made a few things with the apples.

I used the spicy baked apple recipe from my trusty Easy Peasy baking book by Mary Contini as a guide to create an apple dish. I’ve never done a recipe like this before but there wasn’t really a lot to it, other than chopping up the apples, and putting a bit of spread, spices, sultanas, and nuts on the top with just a slight sprinkle of sugar to sweeten then popping it in the oven.

The result was surprisingly effective, the red in the apples made the dish look pretty and the taste was great too, particularly with adding a bit of spice. It would be a perfect healthy alternative to toffee apple to serve around Halloween/Bonfire time to warm you up, adding natural yogurt or no added sugar custard.

Let me know if you’ve ever made a similar dish 

or if you have some Halloween themed baking planned this month! :-) Xx

Faith in Nature Lavender Shampoo & Conditioner

Hi to you all and welcome back, today I’m going to be reviewing a shampoo and conditioner by Faith in Nature which I featured in a recent haul. I buy most of my toiletries on the Superdrug website, as they offer free delivery over £10 and have a wide range of cruelty-free products. I went for FIN, a natural, vegan brand on this occasion, as I wanted to give myself a treat. I’ve been eyeing the lavender scent for ages now, I would regard it as an autumn winter fragrance and also I like the calming properties. I paid £5.49 for the shampoo and the same for the conditioner and both are 400ml, though Superdrug do offers sometimes so you can buy cheaper from the brands extensive range.

So how did I get on with these? Wow I was really impressed, and I enjoyed using the products very much. The lavender and geranium scent was so lovely, and the formula of the shampoo and conditioner was spot on, my hair felt nourished, shiny and manageable after each use. I do like the sophisticated packaging too although I’ve spotted the newest FIN brand packaging hitting some of the shops, personally I prefer the old design but the new is more modern. Buy here.

Would I recommend these? Definitely. Either for yourself or even as a gift.

Have you heard of Faith in Nature? 

What scents in toiletries do you gravitate towards in the A/W months? :-) Xx

October Used Book Haul

I’ve been doing some secondhand book collecting from a variety of places including a café on my holls with a book corner to raise money for charity, and my local free bookshop which sadly has now closed which makes me sad. Jane Blonde and The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole were purchased for approx £1 each going towards charity and all the others are from the free bookshop.

Just for a little update because the free bookshop closed down, my Mum and I have started visiting our local library van and the book selection is pretty good plus you can order in books too. Out of this book haul I’ve already read the Jane Costello book and Laughter Lines by Des O’Connor, I won’t reveal too much because a review will be on its way.

Have you heard of any of these books? 

Are there any that you want to pick up? :-) Xx

Titles I picked up:

Jane Blonde by Jill Marshall

The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13¾ by Sue Townsend

Spectacles Autobiography by Sue Perkins

Here Come the Girls by Milly Johnson

Summer Nights at the Moonlight Hotel by Jane Costello

Laughter Lines by Des O’Connor

Autumnal Primark Haul

Hi - hope you are all having a good week. I’m back with a Primark haul, I had a nosy in there last month and picked up some lovely pieces. I haven’t been to Primark in so long and it was nice to have a good browse. They were starting to get all the autumn stock in and they also had a few great last season bargains. I did buy some Christmas presents so I won’t be showing those although I did get a few bits for myself.

I saw this red check scarf as soon as I walked in, and the material was so soft too, they did have some other colours but I preferred the classic red. I paid a bit extra for the super soft feel although I was tempted by the £4 scarves in bright coloured check designs. This scarf is huge, really cosy but it’s not been quite cold enough for me to wear it out yet but I can’t wait.

They had a selection of fashion scarfs for £1 in the sale, this peachy nude colour seemed a bit different and for the price I thought I would experiment and try to style it. Moving on my eyes were drawn to this cosy waterfall jacket, the fabric felt more expensive than Primark and the fit was nice. I’ve already worn it quite a bit this month with a scarf.

Lastly as I was walking to the queue I spotted this iridescent notebook, it looked so cool so I put it in my basket. I think the new Primark cosy socks shed a bit so I went for the bobbly cosy socks which are similar and just as snug, the colours seemed lovely too.

What I Bought:

Red check blanket scarf £6.00

Nude fashion scarf SALE £1.00

Cosy waterfall jacket £15.00

Iridescent slay slogan notebook £1.50

Cosy colourful bobble socks £2.00

Have you done any autumnal shopping lately? 

Let me know what shops you visited! :-) Xx

The Deli at No. 85 | Café Review

How are you doing today? I’m coming back to you with a review of a café I visited recently with my family. I love cosy cafes in the colder months, there is nothing better than popping in to one for a hot beverage and cheeky slice of cake. Keep on reading if you want to hear my thoughts…

The Deli at No. 85 is a deli and café located in Skelton, North Yorkshire. When we arrived we got a warm welcome and the service was excellent. There was such a lovely atmosphere in the café, it wasn’t too quiet or busy and I enjoyed browsing the deli section.

I went for a very indulgent and unique recipe mocha, and it was pretty incredible. I didn’t have a cake as the drink was very filling (and special!). My only one negative was that everything was a little more expensive that we are used too but we enjoyed our visit as it was a treat and I recommend them.

Do you like cosy cafes too? 

What is your usual drink or cake that you like to order? :-) Xx

Autumn Bake With Me: Vanilla Cupcakes

I often do baking content on my blog but it’s been a good while since I’ve done a photo diary of this so I thought I would revisit that idea. Today I’m going to be sharing how I made vanilla cupcakes which is a very easy bake and one where I could do a photo diary with more ease. I used a recipe from The Hungry Student Baking book by Charlotte Pike. The recipes are great in there and a perfect way to introduce yourself to baking.

Although the mixture went in the oven a little runny I didn’t need to worry as they cooked perfectly fine and the finished cupcakes were tasty and moist. I’ve recently been thinking about how to decrease my sugar intake and if I were to do this recipe again I might try swapping the sugar for sweetener. I have some ideas in my head ready to be put into action as well as some I’ve already done for more healthy bakes so stay tuned!

Do you like baking too? 

What kind of recipes are your favourite? :-) Xx

Autumn/September Misc. Haul

Hi – Today I’m coming to you with a miscellaneous early autumn haul. This is a collection of things I’ve accumulated lately including beauty, fashion and accessories. I’m most excited to test out this shampoo and conditioner set from Faith in Nature because I don’t think I’ve had the lavender and geranium scent before plus it seems fitting for autumn/winter. I was low on make-up remover and did a search on Superdrug for something suitable. B.Pure is a cruelty-free brand and their wipes have had a lot of positive reviews so we will see how I get on with those as well.

I was in town with a friend and we had a little look in River Island at the beautiful bags and purses but the prices were a bit steep. Later we went to Peacocks and I saw this rainbow glitter purse and knew I had to have it at a fraction of the cost. We have a shop called Store Twenty One near us and I often pop in for some amazing deals. They were selling t-shirts for £1-2 so I picked up three! The khaki and navy ones are giving me autumnal vibes. Lastly we went into a boutique called Robanora, they had some beautiful pieces at reasonable prices. The shop owner recommended this seahorse dress which ended up looking lovely on so I bought it.

What I bought:

Superdrug:

Faith in Nature lavender & geranium shampoo £5.49 (Buy Here)

Faith in Nature lavender & geranium conditioner £5.49

B. Pure sensitive micellar cleansing wipes £1.49 (Buy Here)

Peacocks:

Rainbow glitter purse £7.00

Store Twenty One:

Red acid wash t-shirt SALE £1.00

Khaki t-shirt SALE £2.00

Navy t-shirt SALE £2.00

Robanora Boutique

Seahorse dress SALE £10.00

Have you treated yourself to anything this month? 

Which item from my haul was your favourite? :-) Xx

Original Source Shower Milks

Welcome back. Today I wanted to share my thoughts on the Original Source shower milks. I have the cherry and almond milk as well as the lime and coconut milk. Original Source is one of my favourite brands for shower gels. Since a teen I’ve been using their lime and also lemon variety on and off for years. I’ve been wanting to test out the shower milks for a while, the new formula and scents intrigued me as well as seeing the pretty pastel bottles on the blogosphere.

So what did I think? They lathered well, were nourishing and gentle on the skin and the formula wasn’t too runny, it was actually quite thick. The packaging makes it easy to use in the shower too. The cherry and almond fragrance took me by surprise, it reminded me a little of playdough so I wasn’t sure. The lime and coconut was the winner for me, and was similar to the old lime scent but the products didn’t quite par up to the first range. 

I would recommend the mango, lime or lemon scent the most but a new one has popped up called rhubarb and raspberry which sounds promising. I had a browse on Superdrug today and they have slightly changed the packaging mainly the shape but also the general design. I have to say they are not as pretty to look at as the first branding sadly but they are on offer for £1.00 each if you want to grab a bargain. For those of you who do not know this brand is vegan and can be bought at most chemists and supermarkets. Buy here.

Have you tried these before? 

Did we have similar thoughts? :-) Xx