Autumn Baking ~ Chocolate and Caramel Cupcakes

Hello lovelies and Happy Autumn!

I have already seen conkers laying under trees, yellow coloured leaves falling, the weather is very blustery and the evenings are getting darker a lot sooner. Who else loves this time of year?

This inspired me to make some cupcakes that are fitting for the start of the season, so I opted for a soft chocolate sponge, with a delicious caramel buttercream swirled onto the chocolate sponge, topped with a piece of Cadbury's Caramel bar.

I feel like the flavours of caramel and chocolate swirled together create such an autumnal taste!

Here's what you'll need to create your own version of them ~  

For the cupcakes ~

Your choice of cupcake cases

🧁 175g Unsalted butter/Stork (softened)

🧁 165g Caster sugar

🧁 3 Large Free range eggs

🧁 1 tsp Baking Powder

🧁 115g Self Raising Flour

🧁 40g Cocoa Powder

🧁 4 tbsp (Boiling) Hot water

For the buttercream ~

🧁 140g Unsalted butter/stork (softened)

🧁 280g Icing sugar

🧁 1-2 tbsp Milk

🧁 1/2 tsp Caramel flavouring

🧁 1 Bar of Dairy Milk Caramel

Cupcake Method ~

1. Preheat the oven to gas mark 6 (200c) and line your tin with the cupcake cases

2. Mix together your softened butter and caster sugar to create a soft whipped yellow mix, then combine your eggs and sift in your flour and baking powder.

3. Mix your cocoa powder with the hot water in a mug and create a runny paste, then add to your mixture and combine into a delicious chocolate mix.

4. Spoon an even amount of mixture into each case, with enough room for them to rise.

5. Pop them in the oven for 20-25 minutes

6. Whilst they're baking I always like to start making my buttercream, that gives the buttercream more time to harden in the fridge.

Buttercream Method ~

1. Mix the butter with the icing sugar, adding the icing sugar gradually, or you'll feel like you're in a sugar snow storm.

2. Once these are combined add your milk 1 tbsp at a time to get the preferred texture and then add caramel, I use 2 tsp, but have a little taste to decide if you'd like more.

3. I leave it to harden slightly in the fridge for around an hour, this helps the piping.

4. I love to swirl the buttercream onto the chocolate cupcake and pop a piece of Cadbury's caramel bar on top!

This was honestly super delicious and my family loved them!!

What are you planning on baking this season? Let me know in the comments below..

Kellie x

Girly Wishlist ~ Summer 2020

Hello lovelies,
I hope you're all keeping well in this strange and uncertain time.
I wanted to do a bit more of a happy post, just to give you a moment to take a step back from everything going on currently.

I have put together my 'Girly Wishlist' for Summer 2020, since a lot of us are at home a lot more and  online shopping is even more popular than before. I follow a lot of beautiful Instagram's which are full of pink positivity and inspiration, which leads to my wishlist getting even longer!!

The first thing I saw was on Thania's Instagram, this Canon pink printer ~ Being in lockdown has made me realise how much I rely on using my printer at work, which I'm very lucky they don't mind us using for personal use too! I saw this pink one and loved it, it's really fun and matches with my pink theme of life perfectly. It's so handy to have a printer at home, it really helps make life a little easier.

This is a really fun one ~ A foot spa! Sometimes it's not always possible to get a salon done pedicure, so this is such a good idea for a home one! To go with this you could use some scented salts to pop in there and some nice foot cream ~ My favourite one is Lush's 'Pink Peppermint'.

Louis Vuitton have released a collection of pastel dreams this season! Pale pink, lilac and lemon shades cover these pieces with the LV monogram in white to join it. It's absolutely beautiful!
My favourite piece from the collection is this Neverfull MM bag.

I think this has to be top of my wishlist, a baby pink Kitchen Aid! Having more time at home I've been cooking and baking a lot more (I would've baking more cakes if I could get hold of some self raising flour), but it's really shown how much of a passion I have for it. I think this would be a great addition to my ever growing baking tools. Especially as I'm hoping to dedicate more time to learning more ideas and techniques!

When lockdown started here in the UK I decided to place an online order to try some Elemis skincare, as I had heard so many good things about the brand. I have combo skin/oily and it's also very sensitive, so trying to find skincare to cater to all this can be quite tricky. I was really impressed with how it's been working, so one of the next products I'd like to purchase from them is the 'Elemis Pro Collagen Rose Cleaning Balm', I really am enjoying the original one (on the very few days I am wearing make up) and think the rose one sounds delightful!

Just before Christmas I had quite a lot cut off my hair, (6 inches to be exact), my hair was down to my waist and it was getting too unmanageable, it was forever in a plait that resembled Elsa! I've been loving different styles with it and I'm still contemplating whether to have some sort of long fringe. I saw a video from 'Freddy My Love' and how she styled her hair ~ One of her recommendations was heated rollers and her hair always looks so perfect and not a strand out of place, so I'd love to try them and see if I can recreate her look!

Lastly, I've been loving coffee a lot more, a caramel latte to be precise (iced or hot) and over lockdown I found sachets of iced coffee to do at home, so I have been loving them! I used to be a barista for my first job, so I'd love to have a coffee machine at home to still try making pretty lattes with seasonal flavours. The pink would look perfect with the KitchenAid too!

I hope you all are staying safe, well and please look after yourselves.

Kellie xxx

Self Care Sundays ~ My pamper routine and tips to relax

Hello lovelies!

Over the past few months I've seen a lot of people using Sunday's as 'Self Care Sunday's' and I absolutely love the idea!!
I think it's really beneficial to dedicate some time your yourself at least once a week, to reflect and look after your mental health, this way you can also organise and prepare for a productive week ahead.
I find if I'm not organised, I lose track of all the things I need to do and that causes me to be anxious.

My number one 'Self Care Sunday' tip is probably the most popular choice... A pamper morning or evening!
Taking some time to make yourself feel better should always be a priority! I personally love to start with hair care, washing my hair, using a nourishing hair mask and some macadamia oil to leave it feeling silky smooth, I also use a heat protectant spray which is very important for your hair care if you're using heat. Next up is a warm bubble bath, lately I have been changing products to cater to my sensitive skin, I've found the brands Aveeno, Oilatum and The Body Shop 'Shea' have been an absolute dream for my skin, has lessened irritation to my skin and it's becoming clear and glowy ~ Even through the winter months. Whilst in the bath I love to also pamper my face with a face mask, the best I’ve found for my skin so far is Lush’s ‘Mask of Magnaminty’, but for Christmas I was gifted these two different masks to try, The Body Shop’s ‘Aloe’ sheet mask and Superdrug’s ‘Fruit Sorbet’ peel mask, which I’m excited to see if they help improve my skin!

Next is nail care, I have recently made the choice to stop damaging my nails with false and gel nails. I have very tiny nails that aren’t very strong, they break a lot and struggle to stay long naturally, so I’m hoping by using strengthening nail polishes and taking different precautions I can improve them. I am loving the ‘Sally Hansen’ nail strengthening polish and Essie’s range of ‘Treat and Colour’ nail polishes, combining having nail colour and protection!

After I put on a cosy pair of pjs, I like to light a candle, usually a Yankee Candle tealight, around this time of year something like 'Soft Cotton', it's a light and fresh scent pre-springtime. I like to have a hot cup of tea and a large glass of water. I have put together a list of things you could do to relax over the day or evening...

~ Read some of your current book, or start reading one! I have a little pile of books I need to start reading, including some Megan Hess and 'A Little Princess'. I also have a 'GoodReads' account which I love, it's a reading progress app and it can introduce you to a whole new world of books. My username is 'KellieSaunders1'.

 ~ Yoga and stretching. I have learnt how much my body benefits from making sure my muscles are stretched and it helps strengthen them, I feel much better within myself from this. Not just physically, but mentally too, some time to do something good for your body.

~ Write in your planner and make lists - This is something I love to do everyday, but especially ready for the new week ahead. I love writing my to do list down and ticking it off feels like I've accomplished more and it's a visual thing, I also forget all the little things otherwise, so it's feels me not become overwhelmed.

I'd love to know in the comments what you love to do on your 'Self Care Sunday's' and I hope you've had a restful Sunday!

Have a wonderful week :)

Kellie Jo xxx

My Cosy Christmas 2019 ~ Decorating, going to London, baking and 'What I Got For Christmas'

Hello lovelies!

As 2019 and this decade draws to a close I wanted to do something a bit different this year, I wanted to do one big blogpost on all my Christmas festivities, instead of just dedicating one to the gifts I received.
I hope you all had a healthy, safe and magical Christmas, filled with sweet treats, fairy lights and pretty parcels wrapped in ribbons and sparkles.

I started to put up my decorations at the end of November, as I saw so many pretty home decor photos on Instagram I couldn't wait any longer! Especially as I had been collecting new baubles since they started popping up in shops in October!!

I have a 6ft white tree in a corner of my bedroom (don't believe it's actually 6ft though, as it's the height of me and I am only 5'3), I love to decorate it with white lights and my colour scheme for the tree ornaments are pink, white and gold with touches of silver.

I also picked up a few additions from Matalan to add to my room this year, they coordinated with the colour scheme and are beautiful. A pretty white plaque that says 'Baby it's cold outside' in rose gold and wreath full of pink, silver and light green baubles encased with silver tinsel, which is the perfect addition to the door, with the wreath hanger leaving the door damage free too!

I always love visiting London when it's the festive season, so Jamie and I planned a full day there. We started by going to my dream cafe 'Peggy Porschen' in Belgravia and it did not disappoint! As we approached I spotted the famous polar bear this season and got to capture my own photo of him! We sat at a beautiful baby pink table and had a pot of Peggy's English breakfast tea to start and two cupcakes, Jamie had a cookies and cream one, whilst I had a mint choc chip cupcake, with a beautiful pastel snowflake on top. 

Once we drank our tea and our cupcakes were eaten, Jamie really wanted to visit the National Science Museum, so we took a trip there which was brilliant, we learnt and saw so many things.

On the way to the science museum we walked past the National History Museum with their famous ice skating rink, which was a pink dream this year!

We then went along to Harrods, which I was most excited about to do some Christmas shopping!

I was expecting it to be busy, but I didn't quite realise how busy, it did become a tad overwhelming. I still made the most of being in such a magical department store, we looked at the gift level and purchased presents. We then looked at my favourite part of Harrods, the Chanel, Dior and Louis Vuitton section, I just loved all the beautiful bags, they're such a dream!!

Next on the agenda was Winter Wonderland and Oxford Street! We had a stroll through Winter Wonderland looking at rides, food and the stalls for gift ideas, it's such a festive place to go and we loved it! We really only went to Oxford Street to visit the Disney Store, especially since they have opened a new floor dedicated to Marvel and Star Wars which Jamie and I really enjoyed browsing, they had some of the costumes and mannequins there too.

As always, I have to bake something seasonal! 

This year I decided on gingerbread! I hadn't made gingerbread for years and what inspired me to do so was this cute baking set I found in Home Bargains, the gingerbread cutter and gingerbread spatula, I used Mary Berry's recipe and used chocolate icing to attach small coloured chocolate buttons to create a face and buttons. I took them to a family party and to work, I had great response and everyone said they were delicious!

Here is a very exciting part, some of my lovely gifts!

I was a very lucky girl this year, I got extra spoilt!!

My main presents from my Mum and Dad was a new Google Chrome laptop, which has made me extra excited to create new content for my blog and the most beautiful pair of UGG slippers, they are the most pink sparkly slippers I have ever set my eyes upon and they make me feel like I'm stepping on fluffy clouds. 

Jamie's main present to me is the beautiful Ted Baker bow suitcase set, I have wanted this for such a long time after seeing my friend Sophie and Freddy My Love reviewing them and they are brilliant quality.

Some other bits I got from everyone include a beautiful musical carousel, an Estee Lauder Youth Dew set with Megan Hess' illustration on the cover to keep as a beautiful storage box, a Laura Ashley nail kit kept in a vintage looking baby pink tin, 'A Little Princess' book with the prettiest hardback cover, a Marie make up bag set, the cosiest Marie fluffy hoodie and a new planner for 2020!

I wish you all a wonderful, safe and healthy new year, maybe celebrate with a glass of bubbles and a box of macaroons!

Kellie xxx

A magical autumn day ~ Entering the world of Harry Potter

Hello lovelies!

To celebrate the start of autumn (and a belated birthday present to him), my fiance, Jamie and I took a trip to the Harry Potter Studios in Watford, London.

We woke up at 5am, to get ready and get to the studios for 9am, luckily we took an early slot so we missed out on a lot of traffic and we also got to witness the beautiful start of the day.

Upon arrival we were greeted with the giant chess pieces from 'The Philosopher Stone' and pictures from the films. I felt so lucky we had such beautiful weather for the day. 

As we stepped into the ticket checking lobby I couldn't help but notice the walls, a fantastic illustration of Hedwig and lots of Hogwarts letters.

When we got guided to the main lobby I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the Ukrainian Ironbelly, the actual dragon that destroyed a lot of Gringotts hung above me! The lobby contained all things sweet and foody, Starbucks, an eatery and the best of all...'The Chocolate Frog' cafe, I'll talk about that a bit more towards the end of the post.

At the start of the tour we visited Harry's first home, 'The Cupboard under the Stairs', it had every little piece of prop from the movie, even Harry's little figures that he played with.

After this you get shown into a mini cinema room and shown a wonderful video with some behind the scenes of the movies. Once you have watched this, suddenly the screen lifts into the ceiling and the grand doors that lead to 'The Great Hall' appear before your eyes!

The Grand Hall seemed so much smaller than in the movies, we saw all the characters costumes and props on the tables, it was one of the most magical moments of the tour!!

It felt cosy and inviting, especially with a roaring fire.

Another fun addition they added to the tour was spotting 'The Golden Snitch' hidden around the studios.

After viewing 'The Great Hall' you are lead into a huge studio with a mixture of all things from the movies, there was a lot to take in,

One of the first things we saw were props and costumes from 'The Yule Ball' in 'The Goblet of Fire', including Hermione's infamous pink gown and a decadent chocolate feast!

One of my favourite things about the tour were the costumes and make up, Fleur Delacour's beautiful blue dress and cape had a dedicated station, Luna Lovegood and Gilderoy Lockhart had a rail full of their costumes and it was so magical that they were the original costumes!! 

Walking through we saw everything you could think of from the movies, the talking pictures, the Gryffindor common room and the Gryffindor boys room, you could tell who's bed was who's due to their trunks being under their beds with initials attached. They had a brilliant boxed frame containing every main characters wand!

They had a lot of props from 'The Goblet of Fire' around, including the 'Golden Egg' clue!

Another one of my favourite parts of the tour was seeing Dumbledore's office, it felt so special to be there, including seeing Dumbledore's pensive memories all bottled up and turning.

They also had a cabinet filled with all 7 horcruxes, which for some reason felt so satisfying seeing them altogether. You could really see all the detail that went into creating them.

Next we stepped into Professor Slughorn's potions class, they had buttons set up so if you pressed different ones something magical would occur, including spoons stirring a cauldron with no one doing it!!

Around the area we visitied Hagrid's hut, with Hagrid and Fluffy to welcome us, I adored the wheelbarrow and pumpkins beside his hut, it felt super autumnal.

Dolores Umbridge was one of my least favourite people in the movies, I found her utterly annoying, but my goodness, I do love everything pink! 'Shades of Pink' is where I felt most at home ;)

The Forbidden Forest set up was absolutely brilliant! We walked right through different pathways, with fog filling the air to mystical creatures, Buckbeak was 101% my favourite to meet, such a beautiful character.

They also has a pathway leading to...the spiders...I didn't realise this until I came face to face with it!

The spiders always scared me in the movies and it didn't change face to face! I have to say the way they made it and executed the whole 'Forbidden Forest' was absolutely amazing!

Even if you don't like the spiders it is really worth seeing, even if I was scared.

It seemed like every time we stepped into a new section I felt more magic than ever, it certainly didn't stop when we stepped onto Platform 9&3/4 and Hogwarts Express. We made the most of this part of the studio, taking photos with props and the express, they also had a mini shop here, with some gift shop items you can't purchase at the end, so it's definitely worth having a look in there, I made a little purchase!

We found ourselves halfway through the tour, so we stopped for lunch and tried the infamous...Butterbeer!! It was as delicious has I had heard, the best way to describe it is, the main drink is like a caramel fanta, with a topping of bubbley, caramel cream. Whilst drinking our butterbeer and eating lunch, we had a view of 'The Knight Bus' and 'Privet Drive', I had to get a photo on the bus and it was fantastic to enter Harry's home and see the Dursley's living room full of Hogwarts letters! We walked past Godric's Hollow, which felt quite somber, but understandable with the house's history. We got to have a walk across Hogwarts 'Wooden Bridge', we were so happy that we could, because I heard if the weather conditions were bad it can be too unsafe.

Just a little selfie at one of the make up stations, it was so interesting to see all the products they used from hair to make up, one thing I spotted was a very old 'Mac Studio Fix Powder'!

One of the newest additions to the tour is 'Gringotts Bank', they have done an absolutely marvellous job with putting the sets together here! They have an extra special segment within the bank, but I won't spoil that in case you haven't seen it yet!! 

I was blown away with the beauty of it, the sparkling chandeliers, the architect and how they displayed every part of it.

I didn't think it could get anymore magical until I stepped onto 'Diagon Alley', my goodness I remember the first time I watched Harry step onto 'Diagon Alley' at 5 years old and wishing I could do that, now 23 and I finally got to and it felt so special.

We walked past 'Ollivanders wand shop', 'Weasley's Wizard Wheezes' and 'Florean Fortescue Ice Cream' shop!

Following on from 'Diagon Alley' we entered something super special...The real Hogwarts!

When filming outside shots of Hogwarts, they used this giant model, I can't imagine how long it must've taken to make, as you walk about the model you see every tiny bit of detail and it's really a work of art!

When you have finished the tour you find yourself in the best gift shop you could possibly think of, just as you enter you will find a wall full of wand boxes, each one has the name on of a cast member and there is one for every single cast member! I was overwhelmed looking at all the lovely gifts and collectable items, I especially loved 'Honeydukes'. To finish off our trip we couldn't leave without having a treat at the 'Chocolate Frog Cafe', I chose a chocolate brownie milkshake, it is quite possibly the best milkshake I have ever had, the gold sparkles was the perfect finishing touch!

In the lobby at the end we noticed they had a small costume display of the 'Fantastic Beasts' characters, which really ended the tour on a great note. I hope they add more features from Fantastic Beasts to the tour as a whole.

I thought I'd show you a mini haul of what I purchased at the studios!

One of the items I knew I wanted from the start was Hermione's collectable wand, so I picked that up. I also purchased a chocolate frog from Honeydukes and from the Platform 9&3/4 shop I picked up a train ticket! Jamie very kindly treated me to a collectable Dobby, whom I adore!!

I hope this post has put you in an autumnal mood and feeling ready for the season!

I highly recommend visiting the studios, it is an amazing experience!!

Have you ever been to the studios before? What was your favourite part?

Kellie xxx