Every time I go shopping I go with the mission of adding a bit of colour to my wardrobe, but always seem to be drawn to the classic black and white.  My last shopping trip was no different when I picked up this monochrome printed top from H&M.  Sometimes I just don't think you can beat the classic black and white though.

Top - H&M

Jeans - Dorothy Perkins

Shoes - New Look

This is one of the most comfortable tops I now own!  It's so lightweight and comfy.  Perfect for this Spring weather where it's not quite warm enough for bare arms but too warm for a cardigan or jumper.  The clashing patterns are great for adding interest to a simple outfit too.

I have been feeling quite bored with my hair recently, this is the longest I've gone without having it coloured or all cut off.  I was contemplating going for the "lob" recently but was banned by my best friend who is getting married next week, as I am bridesmaid and she wants me to keep it long for the wedding.  So I have been trying a lot more updos out on it recently and this side braid has become one of my favourites for keeping it out of my face.  I have not quite perfected it yet but I hope with a bit more practice I'll get better and quicker at it.

Speaking of my friend getting married, I will be off to Santorini for her wedding on Saturday and I cannot wait!!  I'm hoping to get lots of posts up when I get back with lots of lovely new outfits I've bought for it, including my bridesmaid dress!  It's beautiful and I cannot wait to wear it.

One of my biggest weaknesses is cakes, especially with how much I love to bake, but as I am on a mission to get fit and healthy I'm especially trying to cut down on cakes and chocolate.  I have such a sweet tooth though and constantly find myself craving both.  So when I saw these cupcakes in my Hairy Dieters cookbook I thought I'd give them a try to satisfy my cravings in a healthier manner.

Ingredients

For the cakes:

200g Self Raising Flour

1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

75g Golden Caster Sugar

100g Blueberries

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

2 Large Eggs

150ml Fat Free Natural Yoghurt

2 tbsp Semi-Skimmed Milk

50ml Sunflower Oil

For the icing:

100g Icing Sugar

4-5 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice

Makes 12 cupcakes

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°c/Gas Mark 6 and line a muffin tin with 12 cases.  Beat the eggs, yoghurt, milk and oil in a large jug with a whisk until well combined.

2. Sift the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a large bowl and stir in the sugar, blueberries and lemon zest.  Make a well in the centre.  Pour in the egg mixture and stir into the flour mixture with a large metal spoon.

3. Divide the mixture between the cases and bake in the oven for 16-18 minutes until the cupcakes are golden brown and well risen.  Leave to cool.

4.  Mix the icing sugar and lemon juice in a bowl until smooth and runny.  Drizzle the icing over the cooled cupcakes and leave to set for at least 30 minutes. 

Now I'm not going to sit here and pretend that these cupcakes are as good as the real thing, but all in all they are not bad and satisfy my sweet tooth, especially with the tangy lemon icing.  If your not a big fan of lemons though you can just replace the lemon juice with water for a simple sweet icing.  I also recommend eating these the day they are baked or the next day at the most, as they do harden fairly quickly compared to normal cupcakes.

I am always on the hunt for healthy treats to bake so if you know of any please share them with me in the comments.

I love reading other people's posts about what they got for Christmas or their Birthday (maybe I'm just nosey) so thought I'd share some of my presents I got for my Birthday last week.

Now you all know that I love to bake but I also really enjoy cooking different things too, so my mum and dad got me these Wagamama cookbooks and I can't wait to try out some recipes from them.  I love Wagamama so being able to recreate some of my favourites at home will be amazing.

When it comes to perfume I have my two favourites and they're the ones I tend to stick to - Coco Mademoiselle and Miss Dior, but when I was in Boots shopping for perfume for a friend I mentioned to my mum how lovely this one smelt.  She obviously took note when I found this wrapped up for me.  I love the cute little bottles the Marc Jacobs perfumes come in and this one has a lovely sweet smell to it.

I haven't talked about it too much on here yet but I am on a bit of a health and fitness kick.  I have been trying to eat a lot healthier and am currently doing Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.  I have just started Level 3 and have seen a huge change in my fitness level and now I can use these weights I got for my birthday along with it I'm hoping I'll be able to increase it even more and get even more toned.  I've been wanting one of these Yankee Candle burners for a while and the Home Sweet Home melt has an amazing Cinnamon smell to it, so I can't wait to burn that.  My mum and dad also got me a voucher for a spa day at Eden Hall, which I recently went to for my friend's hen party and it was so relaxing.  I can't wait to go again.  Then I also got this aromatherapy bath and shower oil which is meant to focus the mind and calm your thoughts.  I haven't tried it yet but will be sure to do a proper review of it when I have.

My lovely cousin who is doing a work placement at Warner Brothers got me the Game Of Thrones box set, so I can't wait to finally catch up on those.  I've only watched Season 1 and have been dying to watch the other 3!  Then I got some vouchers and money from friends and family that I'm hoping to go and spend to get a few bits for my holiday to Santorini in a few weeks.

My friend Lisa, whose wedding I am going to Santorini for, got me a little goodie bag full of Makeup Revolution goodies.  I've been wanting to try some Makeup Revolution products for a while so these were a nice surprise.  Also can't wait to tuck into these chocolate truffles she got me, how cool is the packaging?!

Then finally I got this amazing book from my boyfriend.  Ever since I did A Midsummer Night's Dream at school I fell in love with Shakespeare and have wanted a classic copy of his complete works.  I have hunted high and low and they have either been in really bad condition or ridiculously overpriced.  Somehow he managed to hunt down this copy for me, which is over 100 years old from 1908 and is in amazing condition.  It is one of the loveliest and most thoughtful presents I have received. 

Jacket - Dorothy Perkins

Shirt - H&M

Trousers - Topshop

Boots - Office

Bag - H&M

I have to admit that I've never been a big shopper at H&M, I tend to struggle with their sizing and will end up coming out with stuff in all different sizes.  So I don't really like to order online because I'm never sure what size to order and there's not a store in my town, but recently a large store opened nearby and I've started to shop there a lot more.  The most recent things I have got from there is this shirt and bag.  The shirt was really reasonably priced at £12.99 and I really like the print, it goes with anything.  The bag is one of my favourites and I use it pretty much daily.  I like fairly simple bags like this that are neutral and go with everything so I'm not having to empty everything out and swap it for another bag all the time.  For £29.99 it is really good quality and very sturdy.  I also like how roomy it is with it's different compartments so I can keep things separate, I like a big bag to keep all my stuff in.  It is still available online here and I've got my eye on a few others including this one and this one.

It was my Birthday on Thursday and normally I like to take the day off and have a day out, usually the zoo, but this year I just wasn't feeling it.  Maybe it's old age kicking in!  So I decided that I was just going to have a nice relaxing day and see where the day took me.  I had a nice lie in and then got up and opened all my cards and presents.  I got some really lovely presents but haven't had chance to take any pictures of them yet so I will probably share them with you in my next post.

As I am trying to be a lot healthier this year I have got into the habit of exercising every morning and eating healthily but I decided that my birthday was a good excuse to forego this for a day.  So I went for a very unhealthy lunch with my mum and boyfriend at Ribs 'n' Bibs.  If you're ever in or around Lincoln I definitely recommend it, the food is amazing and they do the best mac 'n' cheese as a side that I've ever had!

Then I just came home and relaxed for the rest of the day.  In the evening some of my family came round and we had a few nibbles and popped some champagne.  It wasn't the most extravagant of birthdays but sometimes days like this are the nicest and as long as I'm with the people I love on my birthday I don't really mind what we do.

I hope you're all having a lovely Easter and have indulged in plenty of chocolate.  To celebrate I made these delicious Easter cupcakes and thought I'd share it with you in case you have any Mini Eggs or Easter chocolate you need to use up and want to give them a try.

Ingredients 

For the cakes:

100g dark chocolate, chopped

100g unsalted butter

125g soft brown sugar (dark or light)

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

50g self raising flour, sifted

2 packs of Rolos

Dulce de leche

Topping:

125g unsalted butter

240g icing sugar, sifted

2 tbsp milk

2 tbsp Dulce de leche

100g dark chocolate

Shredded Wheat

Mini Eggs

Makes 10-12 cupcakes

1. Pre-heat oven to 180°c/gas mark 4 and line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.  Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add the chopped chocolate and gently melt together.  Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

2. Beat together the sugar, eggs and vanilla extract, then add the melted chocolate and mix until fully combined.  Add the flour and mix again.

3. Chop the Rolos into quarters and stir into the cake mixture.  Fill the cases until they are about 2/3 full and bake in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

4. Leave the cupcakes to cool fully.  Then cut out the centre of the cupcakes to about 2/3 of the way down, I use a metal icing nozzle to do this and save the pieces of cake you have cut out.  Fill each cupcake with approximately 1tsp of Dulce de leche and then pop the piece of cake you cut out back on top.  This pushes the caramel down so you have a nice gooey filled centre with no gaps.

 5. To make the buttercream, cream the butter until light and fluffy.  Add half the icing sugar and beat until fully combined, before beating in the milk then the rest of the icing sugar.  Beat for a few minutes for a nice light buttercream and then mix in the Dulce de leche (you can add as much or as little caramel to the buttercream as you like but as the cupcakes are filled with caramel I like just a subtle hint of it in the buttercream).  Then pipe around the edge of each cupcake.

6. Melt the chocolate in a bowl over a pan of boiling water.  Then break up the Shredded Wheat and add gradually to the chocolate until it is fully covered by the melted chocolate and holds together.  Top the centre of each cupcake with the Shredded Wheat mixture and sit the Mini Eggs on top.

7. Leave to set and enjoy!

If you've been making or indulging in any Easter treats this weekend let me know, and I'd love to see if you give these a try, you can tag me on instagram or twitter.

Happy Easter!

I am sorry I have been a little MIA in the blogosphere over the last few weeks, I feel like I am having a slight mid-life crisis.  Probably a little prematurely so in my twenties, but recently I have been lacking the motivation and drive I really need to get things done and have really been questioning the direction my blog is going in.  I don't really discuss my anxiety and depression on here as I feel as though this blog is a part of my escape from these problems but sometimes it really affects my blog and makes me really self critical.  However I've decided to fight back, become more organised and get myself back into regular blogging.  And how better to start than with a little shoe haul post...

Shoes - Primark

I love these little brogue style t-bar shoes, they look a little brown in this picture but they're actually a deep burgundy colour.  I thought they'd make a nice change from my usual black loafers that I normally just slip on and they will look really cute for spring with some little frilly socks.  

Boots - Office

If there's one thing I love to buy it's boots!!  I don't know why but whenever I walk into a shoe shop it's one of the first things I'm drawn to and no matter what time of the year I find myself in a pair of boots.  When I saw these boots in the Office sale they instantly reminded me of the Chloe studded boots, something my bank balance would never allow, they were reduced from £80 to £44 and I knew I had to try them on.  When the shop assistant brought me the other boot to try on I noticed that it was a slightly different colour to the display boot, which had obviously faded in the bright shop lights.  Although it wasn't overly noticeable I mentioned it to the shop assistant and as they were the last pair in my size she said she could knock the price down a bit more for me.  Little did I know she was going to knock another 50% off for me, so I was really pleased when I got to the till and had got this £80 pair of boots for £22!  I'm thinking about making these boots more Spring/Summer friendly with some white denim, if I'm brave enough...

Shoes - New Look

In May I am heading to Santorini to be bridesmaid for one of my best friends and for the last couple of months have been on the hunt for the perfect pair of shoes.  My main criteria was that they had to be nude, make me a few inches taller and comfy.  Thanks to my little legs I had already had to have several inches taken off the bottom of my bridesmaid dress that landed in a puddle around my feet.  Although these are not exactly the bridesmaid shoes I had envisioned, I like how tall they make me feel and the chunky heel and platform make them a lot comfier and easier to walk in.  To be honest, as you can barely see them under my dress, I just wanted to buy a pair that I knew I could wear again and I can see myself getting plenty of wear out of these during the summer.