7. BEDM // Bank Holiday Fun

Hi lovelies,

I've decided to take part in Rosalilium's Blog Everyday in May challenge! Obviously, I am few days behind but I'm going to start from today, and today's topic is: bank holiday fun.

So, how do you like to spend a long weekend off work? 

For a lot of people, a bank holiday is a great excuse to get together with all their friends and go out for drinks. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to do that this weekend and - to be honest - I think I actually preferred my quiet weekend in!

I hadn't been home since last Sunday, so on Saturday afternoon I came home to spend time with my family. I had a lovely evening on Saturday; I had a candle-lit bubble-bath, watched films with my sisters and drank lots of wine. It was perfect after a long, hard week at work with lots of added stress.

Then on Sunday, I had a long lie-in, cooked myself a delicious stir-fry, flicked through Cosmopolitan (which I bought purely for the free gift, is that bad?!) and then baked neon cupcakes for my sister's 13th birthday (I blogged about these yesterday, check it out!) 

All in all, it's been a very quiet, relaxing and chilled out weekend which I've used to re-fuel and catch up with my family. However, I can guarantee that, next bank holiday weekend (I'm already counting down the days...) will be a messy one!

How was this weekend for you?

Did you use it to re-fuel and relax, or did you get your glad-rags on and have a great night out?

Or did you do something different?

:)

Love,

Becci xoxo

6. Recipes // Neon Cupcakes

Hello lovelies!

I hope everyone is enjoying their long weekend as much as I am! I worked yesterday but was back home by 5 o'clock and had a lovely night in with my family, drinking wine & nibbling on chocolate. It was just what I needed after a hard week at work.

Today has been equally relaxed; I had a long lie-in, I cooked myself a delicious hoisin and garlic vegetable stir-fry and then baked some goodies for my sister's 13th birthday (which is tomorrow, eek!)

Neon Chocolate Cupcakes

At 13, I felt like I really wanted to express myself with what I wore (which led to some rather horrendous outfit choices) and I wanted to stand out from the crowd. So when I saw these neon sugar decorations (from Sainsburys) I knew they'd be the perfect decoration for a 13-year-old's cake, as my sister is a lot like I was at her age. 

I followed a very simple chocolate cake recipe which I had found online, and then added the neon sugars as a twist.

Ingredients (for the cake mix):

125g self-raising flour,

125g caster sugar,

2tbsp cocoa powder (I just used Cadbury's drinking chocolate powder),

3 eggs,

1tbsp oil (you can also use golden syrup for a sweeter taste!),

125g butter (preferably not salted)

Ingredients (for the topping):

150g icing sugar,

Approx. 3tsp water,

2 tsp cocoa powder,

Sainsbury's Neon Sugar

It's a very easy recipe to follow as all you do is put all your ingredients for the cake mix in one bowl, mix them using a wooden spoon (I wouldn't use an electric whisk) until soft and smooth, then spoon into muffin/bun cases or into a cake-tin that has been greased already. 

I then cooked my muffins for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven on gas mark 5/190 degrees/375 Fahrenheit  Once they'd cooled (about 10-15 minutes later) I covered the top of each cupcake with icing sugar and then sprinkled the neon sugars on top and left them to set.

I really hope my little sister likes these cupcakes! Next time, I'm going to make rainbow cupcakes and then decorate them with the same neon sugars as I think they're really good fun and very summery too!

Love, 

Becci xoxo

5. Lifestyle // Woah, long time no speak!

I didn't realise it was so long since I'd posted... I've been meaning and wanting to, but have just never managed to get round to it. Sorry (to anybody who actually reads this!), I promise I will update more frequently from now on!

So, what's been happening with me since I last wrote? Hmm, well...

1. I changed my degree to History. I didn't really enjoy studying Dr Faustus and found that I was preferring topics that touched upon history a lot more; I also had a proper think about which once I'd actually find interesting and, as history is an interest of mine outside of studying (although literature is as I love books... but not studying them!) I basically just though that history was a better choice for me! So far I've got 68% and 75% on my assignments which, I'm reliably informed, is good for a degree!

2. I have fallen off the healthy eating band wagon - big time. I lost 25lbs in just over 2 months, and then gained 7 of them back again in the last 2 months! However, I am motivated and determined to reach my goal weight (18lbs down, 52lbs to go!) and intend to write out a proper healthy eating plan, start preparing my own meals and get back into keeping track of exactly what I'm eating (I'm thinking fat, sugar, salt, etc. as well as the dreaded 'calories')

3. I lost my job, and gained another! The cafe that I work(ed) at unfortunately closed, out of the blue, a couple of weeks ago as it wasn't profitable enough, and it was a real shock to my system as I loved working there, knew everybody so well and wasn't expecting it at all. However, I started applying for jobs immediately and landed myself a catering job at a local bakery. The hours are really awkward (6am-12/1pm) but, I've found, it's actually fitting in with my studying really well.

4. My anxiety has been pretty bad lately. I don't know if I've ever touched upon this before (but I do intend to do a proper post about it one day, as I think more awareness needs to be raised regarding it, as people do tend to just kind of ignore it...) but the last few months it's gone downhill. Simple things such as meeting a friend for a coffee, or just going to the shops and even, on some days, getting out of bed, have been huge tasks but I'm trying to sort of 'get myself out there' (cringe) if you know what I mean. The best way to get over a fear is to confront it, so that's what I'm going to do; no more excuses.

5. I haven't baked anything in months! Seriously. I know. Seriously. My passion for baking seems to have dwindled recently which I'm really gutted about as I found it so theraputic and loved trying out new recipes! But my working hours, studying and general day-to-day life haven't allowed me to fit in any baking recently, or cooking, for that matter! I'm home all weekend so I'm hoping to pop something in the oven (oo-er).

Anyway, that's about it for me tonight! It's 8.30pm and I need to start winding down (getting up at 5am is never easy, not even after a full 8-hours sleep...) and getting ready for bed so, for now, I'll love you and leave you but I have lots of ideas for future posts so, for the time being, in the immortal words of Tilly (off of Miranda, DUH?) bare with.