Kinder Bueno Cupcakes

We've moved! Still crazy recipes, indulgent cakes at Spinach and Specs :) 

I love love love Kinder Bueno's and I've been meaning to try this for ages! It's so creamy and reminds me of being younger with the kinder eggs and playing with the toys. I wanted to capture this so I hid a few little toys in the cupcakes too... well I wish I had but no they aren't that cool. :( Oh well! I think if your going to do this, be prepared to fill your kitchen with hundreds of Bueno bars because its so hard to get that flavour just right! If you like the mix of white and milk chocolate with a hint of hazelnut that's the recipe I have here! But if you really want the proper full flavour, you'll need to use a lot more crushed bars than me.. I'm going to try again. You haven't defeated me yet Mr Bueno.

What Does 200 Calories Look Like?

So for all of you who are still going with your new years resolutions? ;) Anyone? No? well this is just to illustrate that 200 calories of one food is not the same as 200g.  

Cereal

Celery

Fresh Pasta

A Letter From God To Man

I tweeted this video a few months ago and just recently came across it again. Scroobius Pip is just such a genius with words, he is so clever in clearly putting his points across. But he's not offensive with it. I love his spoken word, they way he tells them and how they're written. Here's my favourite:

If you liked this, you should definitely check out Magicians assistant by him too.

Until Next Time xo

Ale & Cider Festival, Martins Jerked Meat!

So, the plan was just a casual drink until we realised that the Ale & Cider society had a festival going on in the students union. Obviously how could we turn it down? For £10 at the entrance you get your entry, a free pint glass and 5 tickets for drinks of your choice. Which was amazing because they had everything! Mead, Wine, Ale, Cider and luckily for me an Ale that was more like a larger, I need the fizz. It was such a good experience, a huge change from the usual drinking scene with glammed up girls and scouting boys. It was just a very chilled out atmosphere, with a folk band on stage and everyone just having a good time, drinking and laughing. Amazing way to spend a Thursday night. 

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Until Next Time xo

H&M Spring collection wish list.

I love H&M, the have such amazing style and although keeping with the trends of the season offer something a little different to the norm? A few favourite things from their upcoming spring range, which is gorgeous. 

They're Real.. Benefit

The lovely ladies from Benefit, sent us some products to try and review while at the Birmingham bloggers meet up. I was so sceptical when I got this. I've always thought that I have really teeny tiny lashes, no mascara's ever really enhance my lashes. Just make them look clumpy. My physics teacher once said they looked like little furry bumble bee legs.. Great. 

My pathetic excuse for eyelashes, hahaha!

With - Without

But it goes to show you get what you pay for. At £18.50, I would never have considered this product. I only pay around that much for foundations and powders. But I will from now on! Those £5 mascaras literally get me no where. A shame really. What do you think? Long and curly aren't they!

Until Next Time xo

And in the morning, I'm making waffles!

If you didn't get the title, it's donkey from Shrek. Because donkey is awesome. Since pancake day has just blown over and everyone loves a waffle, I thought I'd share a recipe. The best thing is it's the same as for pancakes! You just need to add more seasoning... cinnamon, vanilla extract or whatever! But most importantly, baking soda. Without this, you'll just be cooking some really dense and heavy pancakes.

Ingredients:
250g Flour
7g Baking powder
20g Caster sugar
2 Eggs
457ml milk
30ml Veg oil
Pinch of salt

Mix the flour, baking powder, salt and eggs.
Next add sugar and mix well.
Add milk and oil, continue stirring.
Grease pan, toastie machine or waffle iron with butter or oil. 
Cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes. 

Until Next Time xo

Elk Head

I love this necklace from OASAP, but I think I may start wearing it double wrapped. I prefer shorter necklaces, but its gorgeous non the less. I'd been looking for an animal skull type jewellery for a while, finally a great priced piece. What do you think? Kind of dark, but gorgeous all the same?

You can click here to get yours, its only $10 too bargain I love it.

Until Next Time xo

Maison Blanc

Every time I walk past this shop window I fall in love. Little macaroons (which everyone keeps raving about), very delicate pastries and gorgeous looking cakes. The price is pretty up there and after a few days of indulging in the Cake Boss TV series, I really really wanted me some delicious bakes. But I was disappointed. When I get an impulse I'm sure my friends and family could tell you that theres no stopping me, even money is no boundary. I just go a bit crazy. And so I did. I spent £22 on these desserts, which with my student budget is probably why I was so disappointed. More to the point, I got there 1 minute before they closed and luckily they let me in, so I didn't really have many options to choose from at 6pm on a Friday night. But hey, I was there and had some major cravings. So I picked the prettiest looking and of course the infamous macaroons. (I did try to bake these before as so many bloggers have) Let me tell you. They may look great in pictures, but the truth is in the bite. They need to be crunchy on the outside and a viccy sponge texture in the middle. These were as such, but wow was it an almond overload. Very bitter and I didn't realise these were stuffed with some strange fillings. To say the least I don't like macaroons. As cute as you are little fellas, I wont be ordering any more. Although I must say they are beautifully packaged.

Happy Valentines!

Happy valentines to all you loved up people, heres some cute photos.

Until Next Time xo

Firmoo Glasses Giveaway!

Studying optometry means I have a real passion for eye care and sometimes even with the NHS vouchers it can get a little pricey can't it? The range over at Firmoo is genius. A very quick and easy process as long as you have your prescription at hand. (Just call or pop into your opticians from your most recent check up to get yours) Then they get delivered straight to your door with no awkward pick up times. What more can you ask for? They have an extensive amount to choose from and you can even go old school, upload your own picture and try them out. There are 4 sets of $30 designer glasses gift vouchers to be won. Plus if over 30 of you enter, one of you will have a chance of winning a pair free! 

Shop now

Wally and Wenda

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Good luck all,

Until Next Time xo

Top 5 bad beauty habits - Sleeping with Make-up #5

Sleeping beauty eh? If your confident enough around your other half as they should make you feel. Then theres no problem sleeping with your make-up off! If your just lazy and can't be bothered. Shame on you. You should have bad skin! There have been so many times when I've come home exhausted, sat down on my laptop and fallen asleep in bed with a full face on and the TV still going. But if like me your aiming for that glowing minimal make-up face, then you need to keep a routine. 

You should know what day is a mask day, when your next exfoliating and if your running low on toner or moisturising. This having been said over moisturising is another beauty sin! But I'm trying to keep this at 5! You need to learn your skin type, where the problem areas and blemishes are to intensely moisturise and keep on top of it.

Until Next Time xo

Faster Than Domino's

So I thought if all those Pizza places from those American films can get a pizza to you in '30 minutes or it's free...' Either what sort of pre-made crap are we eating. OR I can do it in 30 mins..

No but really, I just thought I'm hungry for pizza. Haha. This recipe is so simple and literally takes only 30 minutes. I think it's relatively healthy, well a lot if your comparing it to any fast food place's food.

The best thing about pizza is that there are no rules! You can pretty much do what ever you want, so this just makes it even easier if your a student or just in a rush getting home. All you need are things you have around the house that take your fancy at the time. 

Take 200g plain flour

1 sachet of yeast

150ml of warm (Not boiling water)

Mix until a thick goey dough forms.

The key is to not add any more flour, even when your rolling.

Then just make a sauce with tinned tomato's, whatever seasoning you like, then into a blender.

Add toppings - cook for 15/20 minutes at 200 celsius. 

What do you think? Maybe I'll try doing a few gourmet mix match recipes? But for now, this was just so quick and simple!

Until Next Time xo

Top 5 bad beauty habits - Expired Make-up #4

This is something I'm sure no one thinks about. Make-up going off? Going mouldy. Starting to sweat? Yeah, some make-up just seems to last you forever? That one back up mascara that you've had in your drawer for ages, years, but it's actually teeming with bacteria that can destroy your vision! Scared yet?
Always check your make-up for expiration. If your saving and saving it and just don't want to waste it because it was just too expensive, maybe you should try out some cheaper brands? Find a nice fit for you that you know you could easily throw away if you didn't use in time. Or just use up your usual make-up and just grit your teeth and bin it if you should.

The cheat sheet bin list.
Mascara/ Eye liner: 3 months
Foundation: 1 year

Lipstick: 1 year

Cream Shadow: 12-18 months
Powders and shadows: 2 years
Make-up sponges: Replace weekly.

Until Next Time xo

The (ever so slightly) Perfect Valentines

It's creeping up! We've got one week to go. Are you buying into it, are you not? Either way as I've said it's a chance to spend a no distractions night with your partner. Visit your favourite places, eat your favourite dishes and indulge in each other. Here's a snap shot into my perfect Valentines, Chocolate covered strawberries (who knew these were so good! I've only just tried them, hello delicious!), jewellery, rose petals, champagne and pamper! If you haven't heard of Savonnerie London yet, where have you been? If you love to pamper yourself and relax they have just about everything you need elegantly packed for maximum indulgence.

Looks like romance just exploded all over my room. I bring you, The (ever so slightly) naughty weekend kit. It's everything you would expect from a classy kit for lovers. I quote 'There are no rules to love, but may we suggest...' yes, yes you may! This gorgeous kit comes with a Honey cake natural soap, Love soak relaxing bath therapy, Vetiver massage oil, Angelic body dust, Tender kissing glaze, Velvet blind fold, Instruction card and a luxury burgundy feather. Well that was a mouthful, this weekend kit really is jam packed to last all weekend. So you can run a bath for two, take a dip in the sensual aroma of the love soak and then follow with your massage oil. I'm not giving too much away with the instructions because that's a cheeky surprise for you. But it gives some suggestions of how to get the best experience from the products.

(That white one is a meringue covered strawberry!)

Cute little shells in the massage oil! N'awww!

I'm in love with the love soak. It really is just so relaxing, the smell is so gentle and calm, but the salts itself dissolve completely in warm water so there's no gritty bath when you get in. The petals gently float around you and when you get out your skin is completely moisturised and far from oily. Love soak is packed with jojoba oil, honey and exotic ylang ylang, we all know how good those are! The whole Savonnerie range is completely natural and free from those harsh chemicals, bonus. The attention to detail and quality in this box is really what makes it feel so special.

By now your probably as in love with this kit as I am! You can click here to buy yourself a treat. If your single this year, I hope this post hasn't mad you sad! You can still indulge and be your own valentine, click here to see what I've got in mind ;)

Happy Valentines all.

Until Next Time xo

Arc Vs DIY Erica

It's very bad to say, but my mac does get neglected. Not in use. I'm on it pretty much 24/7 unless I'm walking, otherwise I'm using it... Surprised it hasn't exploded yet! It's the same with all things you get, at first you don't let any dust touch it! Then you freak out the first time you drop it, then by the 10th time. Eh? It'll survive. But since I spent the majority of my loan on this last year, it's my baby and has all of my work on it. I wondered WTF am I doing?! So, I decided I needed somewhere safe to keep it. At £39.95 a pop, I thought... no. Just no way. I knew there had to be a cheaper way. 

Sugar and Vice Giveaway Winner

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If you didn't win this time, check back soon! More giveaways coming.

Until Next Time xo

I want S'more!

I'm pretty obsessed with American snacks and devastated that Twinkies are not in production anymore! But they can never stop S'mores! If you don't know what they are, its usually a camp fire treat where you squish a toasted marshmallow between two biscuits and some chocolate. Here's my take on a cupcake - S'more fusion. You'll probably want to pick up an exercise DVD when you get the ingredients too. 

OOTD Oasap

An outfit for the day. Thought I'd go with an American top since the Superbowl is on. Even though it's not a football top. I love the clean contrast a white top gives, so simple and fresh. Teamed with a tanned belt and shoes. Simple, simple denim look. What do you think? You can get this top by clicking here. 

I got this T from an online USA store, OASAP which has some amazing items. Most of their clothes are one size so I was a bit worried. But hey, it fits! I'm pleased, the texture is quality and thick. I love it. I've also got a gorgeous elk head necklace to show you soon. What do you think of my new hair, bright eh?!

Until Next Time xo

Top 5 bad beauty habits - Reapplying Make-up #3

How many of you do this? Personally, I never have. Unless I'm having a massive and important day I probably never will. I only carry around an eyebrow pencil in my bag, just incase some rubs off and I'm left with half an eyebrow. I don't like reapplying simply because I put so much time into layering my make-up in the morning that just adding more on top would completely counteract all my work. But the science of it is simply just rubbing in the germs and grim from the day into your skin even more. Not only this but again with your brushes it just adds to the bacteria festering in them!

The effects? Reapplying will block your pores and can leave you with pimples and acne. So if your trying to hard to hide them, just be sensible and help yourself out. If you really need to reapply, bring make-up wipes in your bag and give yourself a quick wipe over first. 

Until Next Time xo