Life. Lately.

Happy New Year!

I can't believe that it is already 2013! How crazy is that??

Life has been good lately. Hectic but incredible. Here is a quick summary of what has been happening in my life recently!

So I turned 28... I spent my birthday with my boyfriend and we had a London tourist day! Can you believe I've lived here for 4 1/2 years and yet still hadn't been on the London Eye or visited the London Dungeons?? Well, now I have! ;)

We were unable to take photos at the London Dungeon so I can't show you how good it is but wowza! It was good. In fact it was really good. Although it is a little pricey, the whole experience lasts for around 90 minutes, being led from creepy room to even creepier room and I was loving every minute of it! I'm not going to tell you anything as I wouldn't want to spoil the surprise but if you ever get the chance, I urge you to go! Like now, if you can!

My second treat was FINALLY going on the London Eye! We chose to go in the evening as I think the London lights look magical in the dark and I was not let down. The city looked beautiful :)

Last month we both finally got some time to concentrate on making our flat feel more homely as well as making it look pretty for Christmas! What a difference our efforts made! We unpacked most of the boxes (yes, we still hadn't unpacked...) and moved a few pieces of furniture around to make room for our lovely Christmas tree. Home sweet home!

And... I'm saving the best for last here... We have a new addition to our home. We got a kitten!!! Funnily enough, I'd been planning on buying guinea pigs for weeks. I'd even almost bought two the weekend before but there was no suitable cage at the time so I had to let them go. So take two of buying guinea pigs and we tried a different pet shop. This one had an adorable little kitten in a cage who shyly crept up to us and watched us with the most beautiful blue eyes. I think it was love at first sight. We both fell for her! We looked around the rest of the pet shop but we couldn't get interested in anything else. So we went back to her and started discussing whether we could actually look after a cat in our home properly. I couldn't even believe we were having this chat as my boyfriend has told me many times that he is not a cat person. But he was as in love with her as I was! We chatted to the store owner and asked everything we needed to ask (which was a lot as we knew nothing about caring for cats!). In the meantime, our little cat was sick and my rescuing instincts kicked in and I knew there was no going back. So we bought her. I still can't believe it!

So, I introduce you to our new little friend, Polly! Isn't she the cutest??

We called her Polly because she sits on your shoulder like a parrot. It's her favourite place :) She has settled in fast and already struts around like she owns the place. She stopped being sick after a couple of days and she's now eating like there's no tomorrow! She's already growing so quickly!!!

Here's a little video of her playing with her first toy :)

I expect you'll be hearing a lot more about Polly in the future ;)

Hannah xo

Recipe Box: Peanut Butter Cake

Hello!

Things have been so hectic lately, gearing up for Christmas, making our flat a home and spending as much time as possible with my man in his downtime before he flies off to the Alps for Christmas!

I wanted to bake a really special cake this weekend and I found the perfect recipe ;) Peanut. Butter. Cake. Does it get better than that?!

Quick, easy and absolutely delicious!

Hannah xo

Sweetest Blog Ever?

Howdy!

I just stumbled across an adorable blog which only makes me want a little doggy of my own even more (I never thought this was possible!).

It's called Dog Shaming and is my new addiction :)

Need proof of the cute factor?

I thought you'd like it ;)

Hannah xo

Shop Till We Drop: All Things Scalloped!

Oh, if I had more pennies...

ASOS Leather Scallop Edge Satchel

Gorgeous golden glitter garland from stephlovesben

I love this sweet little dress from Forever 21

Scallop love! So pretty :)

Hannah xo

Beauty: Jojoba Oil

Source

I've been learning about skincare lately, and in doing so I've had my best face ever for the past month or so! :) One of the ingredients I've added into my daily routine has been Jojoba Oil or Liquid Gold as it has been described. 

It is a highly versatile oil, produced from the seed of the jojoba plant. It is used for many purposes but the main one seems to be for dry skin conditions. I've been using it as a make-up remover before bedtime only, as it is slowly absorbed and gives your face a glossy sheen! It's also good for skin as not only does it not clog pores, it actually helps to unclog pores while it moisturises :)

You can also add a few drops to your normal moisturisers and your bath. Jojoba oil is also good for dry scalps and bringing dry hair back to life. Simply warm up the bottle in a bowl of hot water, shampoo your hair as normal and then massage a few drops of oil into your hair and wrap in a warm towel for 5 minutes. Rinse well (and I mean well here, otherwise you'll end up with a big gross oily head of hair like I did!) and condition if you so desire. 

It may seem pricey (my bottle cost me around £15) but as you're only using a few drops at a time, your bottle will last for a very long time. It's natural so no weird chemicals you've never heard of! And as I said, my skin looks great at the moment!

Have you tried jojoba oil yet?

Hannah xo

Recipe Box: Courgette Chocolate Chip Cookies/Tray Bake

Hello!

I had a bit of time along with extra courgettes today so I decided to make some veggie cookie goodness! My lack of baking trays (I only have two!) meant that the cookies didn't have enough room to spread out which led to a massive cookie tray bake bonanza... Hey, I'm not complaining, they taste great!!

I recently bought a set of cup measures so I'll finally be joining the cup crowd! ;)

Ingredients

• 2 cups of sugar.
• 1 cup of butter.
• 2 eggs, beaten.
• 4 cups plain flour, sifted.
• 2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda.
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon.
• 1 teaspoon salt.
• 1 cup grated courgette.
• 1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips. 

To the kitchen!

• Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius. 
• Cream the butter and sugar together, add beaten eggs. 
• In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bicarbonate, cinnamon and salt together. 
• Add the two bowls together, and once mixed, add in the courgette and chocolate chips. 
• Once everything is well mixed together, arrange dollops of the cookie dough a few centimetres apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet. You may need more than one sheet!
• Bake for 20 mins and leave to cool on a wire rack. 
• Enjoy warm if possible! 

Hannah xo

Recipe Box: Okra Stir Fry

Hi there!

So, for a while now I've been seeing this strange-looking vegetable in the supermarket and I've been wondering what on Earth it is. My sources told me that it's something called 'okra'. I'm a huge fan of vegetables so I couldn't let it go untasted for too much longer ;)

So, I bought a few lady fingers and used this recipe to help me try okra. I wasn't sure what to expect because I kept seeing words like 'slimy' and 'fuzzy' pasted all over the interweb but okra is seriously yummy! I loved the sliminess, how weird is that? I'll definitely be using this strange but delicious vegetable again soon :)

Here are my before and after photos!

Before - a pretty yet fuzzy vegetable

After - part of a delicious stir fry :)

Hannah xo