Chocolate cookies with gooey chocolate centres

I need to stop making such unhealthy things. I made these yesterday and they are just delicious! Best enjoyed warm with a cup of tea and a good book.

Ingredients:

• 150g unsalted butter/margarine at room temperature.  
• 150 g caster sugar.
• 1 medium egg yolk.
• 25g unsweetened cocoa powder.
• 200g self raising flour.
• 100g - 175g chocolate chopped. (I used plain, you can also use milk or white). 

Method:

1. Preheat the  oven to 190°C or gas mark 5.
2. Cream butter and caster sugar together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Then mix in the egg yolk. 
3. Sift in cocoa powder and flour and then mix together. 
4. With hands, work the mixture into a dough. Place the mixture in the fridge for 20-25 minutes. 
5. Break off small pieces of the mixture and work into small ball shapes. Flatten the shapes onto a baking tray, so you have 10-14 flat circular shapes on the baking tray. 
6. Add a square of chocolate to the middle of each circular shape, and then wrap the chocolate up so you have little parcels. 
7. Bake for 8-10 minutes, making sure that they don't burn. 
8. Allow to cool slightly, but serve warm. 

I find that with these cookies, they are always best served warm. When they cool down significantly the chocolate in the middle hardens which makes them less pleasant to eat. If you're planning on eating them over a few days don't add the chocolate pieces.  Enjoy!

♥

Ps I saw this awesome post/feature on Blythe Ponytail Parades that I simply had to share. I love the idea of swapping photos. It's so interesting to compare photography styles!

Sunday link list

It's been ages since I've written one of these posts. I think I've only done one before anyway. Basically I share some of my favourite posts throughout the week. I don't share everything I've read and enjoyed because the list would be too long. This week I am sharing posts that got my creative juices flowing and posts that I found inspiring. I hope that you enjoy them as much as I did!

♥ These 5 simple photography tips are inspiring me to get more creative with my camera. 

♥ This Tree of hope illustration is absolutely gorgeous. I love it when people share their illustrations online. I wish I was good at drawing! 

♥ This Heart Favor Box DIY is so cute and I want to try it out. I love the idea of putting a little something in it to give to my boyfriend on valentines day.  

♥ Bree recently shared her experience with scoliosis and I found it inspiring how open she was about it. She handled the experience with such strength and her story is truly an inspiration.

In other news, Vanessa from smashion asked if she could interview me, which I was pretty excited about. Smashion is a website from which you can buy some preloved pieces, kind of like thrifting but from the comforts of your own home! I'm definitely going to be buying some things from there in the future. Anyway, if you want to see my interview you can here. 

I also guest posted on CharlottesWeb sharing a personal story on what makes me happy. You can check it out here. I hope that everyone has had a lovely weekend, what have you all been up to? My sunday has been quite a chilled one yet again. I'm off to do a spot of baking soon, and then I'll be taking part in the #bbloggers chat on twitter. For those who aren't aware of what #bbloggers is, you can find out more about it here. 

If I follow the light that I deem the brightest

On my face - Estee Lauder Double Wear (Shell) Topshop cream blush (neon rose), Maybelline great lash mascara, Benefit Moon Beam, Elf therapeutic conditioning balm - strawberry creme. Rimmel Stay Matte pressed powder - pink blossom.

Kudos to anyone who recognises the song lyrics in my title. I am rekindling my love for Bombay Bicycle Club since they popped up on my ipod a few days ago. I especially like this song, it's been on constant replay since hearing it. The uplifting beat leaves me in a happy mood. I apologise for the slightly blurry photo today, it was basically the only one where I wasn't looking gormless or angry in, I need to work on my camera face. 

Lately I've just been testing out the products that people in my last post expressed an interest in. I know I said I have used the products since Christmas and I have, but not as much as I'd like to. I also just wanted to post a simple post today with just me in! I wanted to break up the whole beauty reviews with a different post, as I want this to be a lifestyle blog and not a beauty blog. I mainly aim to post about things that interest me, the recipes I share on here are of things I've personally made and find yummy, I post about the beauty products that I'm interested in, bits of personal photography and little thoughts etc. I also realised that some of you may not even know what I look like really as I don't often show my face on here. I don't know about you but I always feel more in touch with someone if I can see a photo of them or know what they look like. It makes me connect to their blog much more, if that makes sense? 

What do you look for  in a blog? What makes you subscribe to a blog? Is it just one thing or a mixture of things? Would you subscribe simply because they have a pretty layout, or post pretty photos? Or do you have to be interested in what they post to subscribe? Ahh so many questions and I'm not asking for any particular motive, I'm just interested. Have a good evening! 

If she wants me

My monthly make up haul! I didn't buy all of this in the past month, honest! Some of the items were Christmas presents, and others were bought with Christmas money. I usually don't spend that much on cosmetics, especially not high end expensive make up, but they're always on my Christmas wishlist. 

L-R Topshop cream blush in neon rose. Topshop lipstick in ohh la la. Benefit brightening face powder in dandelion. Collection 2000 cream puff (moisturising lip cream) in fairy cake. Collection 2000 cream puff in cotton candy. Collection 2000 lasting perfection concealer  in fair. Models Own nail polish in sophie's pink.

L-R Benefit "that gal" brightening face primer. Benefit the POREfessional primer. Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation 1C1 Shell. MAC Select foundation nw15. Benefit benetint. Benefit "hello flawless" custom powder cover-up in shade 'I love me'.

I do apologise for the state of some of the boxes, they don't look as grubby in real life. I'm never sure whether to keep the boxes or not, my boyfriend's mum told me to throw them out but I can't bear to chuck out some of them. Do you throw out the boxes?  

Anyway, the point of this post wasn't to show off my newly acquired make up collection, it was just to show what bits I had and if any of you were interested in a review of any of the items? Just leave me a comment and mention which item/items you want me to review and I will get to it! I've already had a good few weeks to try out most of the products, so I can whack up some reviews quite soon really. That's not to say I want my blog to become soley a beauty blog, I still like my daily life, recipe and tattoo posts. I'm just in a bit of a make up review and blog about mood at the moment after publishing my NARS Gilda blush review. 

Chunky oaty chocolate chip cookies

I've not posted a recipe in ages and I know how some of you like my recipe posts and I love cooking (especially desserts) so here is another one. I shared another cookie recipe here but I thought I'd share a more winter appropriate cookie recipe. This one has the addition of oats which I always think of as a more winter food. To me there's nothing better than snuggling up on the sofa with a book, a cup of tea and a jumbo oaty cookie. I love baking on Sundays as well. Sundays in my house are very relaxed and consist of magazine reading, long showers and a spot of baking. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup of flour (plain)

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons of butter or margarine

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 large egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup of oats

3/4 cup of plain chocolate chips

1/2 cup of walnuts - chopped. 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). 
2. Line baking tray with greaseproof paper. 
3. Mix flour, baking soda and salt in a mixing bowl until they are well blended. 
4. In a saucepan on low heat gently melt the butter. Once melted remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in brown sugar and granulated sugar. Use a wire whisk to mix together until the mixture becomes a smooth and thick consistency.
5. Whisk in egg and vanilla extract. 
6. With a wooden spoon stir in the flour mixture, then add the oats, chocolate chips and walnuts until all the ingredients are combined. 
7. Using your hands form the mixture into twelve equal sized balls and place onto baking tray. Make sure that there is a decent gap between them as they'll expand whilst cooking.
8. Bake for 15-20 minutes (or until golden brown), and serve warm with a nice cup of tea.

These are just so perfect for winter. What is your favourite winter dessert?

 Oh and before I forget, I'd like to thank Rachel from Cold Knees for a blog award. I'm not very good at thinking of seven facts about myself but here are a few:

• I am scared of jumpy dogs. If one tries to jump up at my I scream and run away. Chilled out dogs I'm ok with.
• I wear make up designed for oily skin but in reality my skin is as dry as a bone. 
• I will soon be starting an OU course in Design & Innovation. My passion for web design/photography/graphics was sparked off by this blog. 
• I hate bananas. 

I hate choosing who to pass the award onto as there are so many blogs I'd like to pass it to. Here are just a few though: 

Hat full of sky, A Very Sweet Blog, Dont Call Me Fashion Blogger, Cold Knees, The Grace Note, My Lady Boudoir, Flirty Dresses.

Oh, and if you have a fashion, beauty or lifestyle blog, please check out the facebook page that my friend made, we are trying to get a community of bloggers there. I know it blurs the line slightly between 'blog life' and 'personal life', but I guess you could make a facebook account especially for it if you were worried about that but wanted to join, or just adjust privacy settings on your account. Anway the link is here and you can also click the badge in the sidebar.

I'm now off to read the newly redesigned Company magazine with a cup of tea and a cookie.What are your plans for this sunday evening?

NARS Gilda blush review

I received NARS Gilda powder blush for Christmas from my boyfriend's parents. I told them what colour I wanted because on the site it looked like a soft coral colour. I was honestly so excited by this product, I know that NARS Orgasm is always raved about but that seems to divide opinions more so than the other colours.

Anyway, back to NARS Gilda. I opened it in the evening on Christmas day and it looks much scarier in the pan to what it does on the website. In the pan it looks very vibrant and I was just thinking 'how is a pale girl like me meant to wear this colour?' My thoughts were almost confirmed when I was reading reviews on it (after I'd received it, oh dear) and lots of reviewers were saying that they felt it looked really great on their tanned/dark skin. I thought I'd made a mistake asking for this blush for Christmas. I was under the impression that it was a soft coral, it's not like I'd wittingly opted for the Taj Mahal or Exhibit A (click here to view). They'd definitely be too bright and unnatural on my skin. The thing is, what attracted me to Gilda more than anything is that I love coral blushes. I have dark hair and pale skin and I prefer the way they look on me compared to pinks. I do like some pinks, but gold shimmery ones are just not me.

I felt like I should give this blush a go, even though I was a little disheartened with the reviews that it received and how it looked in the pan. I wasn't disappointed as the blush is a gorgeous colour, I was just worried that it wouldn't suit me. 

L-R Nars blush packaging, Nars blush (Gilda) in artificial light, arm swatch in artificial light, Nars blush (Gilda) in natural light.

I don't really understand the point of an arm swatch, seeing as I'm not going to be using the blush on my arm, but I thought I'd add it anyway. I just included the pictures of the gilda in natural and artifical light so you could get an idea of how bright/scary it looks in the pan, but how much more wearable it looks in natural light. These are the most accurate representation of the colour I could get with my camera,  I think they're pretty accurate, especially the last picture where it looks much less scary!

The blush retails at £20.50 for 4.5g and you can find them here. The powder is finely milled which means that it has such a lovely consistency and when I was doing the arm swatch it felt almost creamy to blend (it was unblended on my arm in the picture). The quality of the blush means that when you are applying it the powder isn't going everywhere and it's easy to blend, because don't you just hate it when you are applying blush and you can't blend it properly so you have areas of really bright and pigmented colour surrounded by areas of faint colour? Like all NARS blushes are renowned for, it is very highly pigmented so lightly sweeping the pan with my blusher brush is all I needed. The colour lasts well on skin, I did the arm swatch yesterday at about 8pm and it was still on my arm when I got up in the morning, and only when I had a shower did it come off. It is more matte than other NARS blushers (I've not tried the others, but I've seen plenty of pictures and reviews), and Gilda has no shimmer in it.

I know that it looks almost orangey in the pan in artificial light and on my arm swatch, but for my arm swatch I applied it heavily and more than I do to my cheeks, and I never think artificial light is an accurate representation of a product's true colour. I think the natural light photo is a very accurate representation and I don't think it looks at all different in the picture to what it does in person. Anyway, once I blend it into my cheeks, I think it gives a nice warm flush to the cheeks without being too overpowering. I love it. It's been the only blush that I have worn since Christmas and I own several BeneFit ones and the raved about Topshop Neon Rose, but I can't get enough of the gorgeous glow it gives to my cheeks. Below is a picture of how it looks.

Other make up - Estee Lauder Double Wear Foundation 1C1 Shell, BeneFit Hello Flawless Powder in Ivory, BeneFit Benetint, Rimmel Day 2 Night Mascara. Rimmel Glam Eyes Liquid Eyeliner.

I apologise for the slightly gormless look on my face, I don't think I've mastered looking into the camera with a normal expression yet, I just find it a bit awkward. As you can see though, it just gives a subtle warm coral glow, but nothing too unnatural or garish!

I'd definitely recommend this blush to everyone and anyone who was willing to look past the price tag, as £20.50 is really expensive. The quality is excellent and you just need the tiniest bit so I can see this blush lasting me a good while. I've used it for almost a month now and I've not even made a dent in it. NARS do so many blushes in so many different colours you're bound to find one which suits you, but I'd recommend this one for both fair and dark skinned girls alike, if you're more of a coral than a pink person.

Short Version

• NARS Gilda, £20.50, 4.5g
• Was worried about the colour in the pan at first, looked quite vibrant. 
• Powder is finely milled, almost creamy texture, easy to blend, well pigmented and long lasting. 
• This blush is more matte than other NARS blushers, and has no shimmer.
• Colour looked more subtle and softer if applied lightly. 
• Extremely happy with product, would purchase again, even if it's slightly expensive. 

What colour blushers do you wear?

Take me out tonight

I spent a week in Cambridge recently catching up with friends and family. It's my hometown and I've never shared it on my blog because I really haven't visited in so long. It really is the most wonderful place to stop for a coffee, Cafe Nero is situated rather perfectly opposite King's College chapel (first picture). The plethora of pubs and restaurants makes it the most ideal place for a well deserved catch up with friends and as much as I love London, Cambridge holds so many dear memories for me. 

It's back to normal now that the holidays are over. I know I've not blogged as much as I'd have liked to, I am hoping that will change now that I'm not staying with family. I like blogging in my own little space and doing my own thing and sharing it on my blog. Over the holidays I wasn't in my own space and I wasn't doing anything particularly noteworthy. I have some e-mails about the ad swap I need to answer and a few tweets I need to reply to, and now it's back to normal life.

Oh, and I just forgot to say I noticed the comments about the grey weather in my photos! When I was in Cambridge it was clear blue skies (although very cold), for most of the week. I just happened to take photos at a time where the skies were overcast - oh dear! 

You are my favourite

Ah I'm sorry for it being a while again until I posted. I made a vow (to myself) to not take long breaks in blogging, but at least my break wasn't as long as last time. I do have a genuine excuse for my absence though, it is pretty unbelievable but I was ill again. This winter hasn't been very kind to me at all. Firstly I got tonsilitis, then on wednesday I felt fine during the day and then during the evening I was struck down by some awful stomach bug. I am feeling better now though, so hopefully I wont get ill again this winter. 

It felt like ages since I went to central London. With regards to shopping, I know a lot of visitors would like to visit places like Oxford Street, and maybe a lot of Londoners do as well, but it's generally a place I avoid at all costs especially over the christmas period. Also with being ill and everything, I've not really wanted to venture too far from home. On wednesday (before I got ill), I went to the Da Vinci exhibition in The National Gallery. I'm not the biggest appreciator of art. I know some people can spend hours looking at the same painting, appreciating it and dissecting its meaning, for me it's a minute glance before I move on to the next. That being said, the Da Vinci exhibition was really interesting, and there were some great paintings, so if you're in London I'd recommend it. 

I took a few pictures of Trafalgar Square when I was in central London on wednesday. It has to be one of my most visited places, simply because it is so close to many of my favourite places.

Where is your favourite place to go to in your city?
xo

Happy New Year & Sorry

I feel like I have missed so much in the blogging world! My cold got worse and then I got tonsilitis which meant I spent most of my days in bed in the lead up to Christmas. I wasn't doing anything interesting apart from watching tv so I didn't have anything to blog about either. Then with Christmas and New Year celebrations I have had no motivation to do anything other than veg out in front of the tv eating rich food. I've not even seen my family yet so I still have christmas presents to receive from them, which will be nice. How was your Christmas and New Year celebrations? I hope everyone had a lovely time. 

I have quite a lot to mention so I apologise for such a sporadic post today. Firstly, I was lucky enough to win Becky May's giveaway over on the The Flower Girl which was a really welcome surprise as I was really wanting some new jewellery, and when I saw the giveaway I instantly fell in love with the necklace. Isn't it beautiful?

I was also mentioned on Kaelah's blog Little Chief Honeybee on her things I love thursday post, which was an honour as I really enjoy reading her blog. It's one of the first blogs I came across and it's one of the few popular ones I've actually carried on reading. She's down to earth, lovely and she has a huge readership but she really does value her readers by replying to tweets/e-mails, mentioning smaller bloggers in posts etc. You can check out her blog here. It has motivated me to start mentioning more bloggers in posts and get more social too. Regardless of popularity, I am amazed that bloggers of any size mention me in posts or put me on their blogroll, so thank you to everyone who has! It makes me feel happy whenever anyone does, and I always try to return the favour by adding bloggers to my 'daily reads' blogroll.

Oh, and another thing. You may have noticed I have changed my blog layout (again!) I sort of redesigned it so that there wasn't lots and lots of clickables to detract from the post/ad swap features. The pages I saw that were generating the most interest are on the left sidebar, and my blogroll is under 'daily reads' at the bottom. I also added two new buttons which are keeping in with the blog's theme, which you can find under 'grab a button'. I feel weird with layouts. I tend to post a variety of things and although I love a layout which is really personal and colourful, I often feel as though some of the photos I publish clash with the background and don't look good, if that makes sense. I'm starting an OU course in February in web design. I might need a few blog volunteers to allow me to redesign their blog (of course, how they want it), for projects etc. I don't know yet but I assume I would. So I'll keep people posted on that! 

I feel like I've just talked and talked today! So I will cut it short. Happy New Year everybody! xo