Last Minute Festive Treats and Gifts

Hey guys,
So today on Christmas eve eve I thought I would share with you some quick and easy last minute sweet treats if you need something for your party or you need a gift for someone I have two festive treats for you.

The first thing I'm going to show you how to make is peppermint bark its a cute little chocolaty Christmas treat.

You will need:

1200g of white chocolate (twelve 100g bars)

600g of dark chocolate or milk chocolate if you'd prefer (six 100g bars)

12 peppermint flavoured candy canes 

A baking tray

Grease proof paper

A ziplock bag

Two glass bowls

A sive

Two tablespoons

Two spreaders

A teaspoon

Okay so before we get started we need to put the Christmas music on to get us in the festive mood. I'm in love with the Michael Bublé Christmas album.

So you want to start by lining the baking tray with greaseproof paper. 

Now you want to put half of the white chocolate in the microwave for 30 seconds at a time and stirring it in between until it is completely melted. Once it's melted pour it onto the tray and spread it out evenly and put it in the fridge to set. 

While its setting you want to place the candy canes into a zip-lock bag, seal it and smash them up. I used a tea spoon to break it up. Once it was all broken up I decided to sive it to separate the dust from the broken candy cane.

Once you've done that the first layer of chocolate should be set so you can melt the dark chocolate like we did before and then just pour it straight on top of the first layer of chocolate and I decided to sprinkle the candy cane dust on top of this layer before I put it in the fridge to set.

When that layer has set we can melt the other half of the white chocolate as before and then pour it on top of the dark chocolate layer and then you want to sprinkle the candy cane bits on top them put it back in the fridge for a final time to set. 

Once it's all set you want to chop it up I neatened up the edges and then cut it into little

chunks. You may need to ask an adult to help you with cutting it up as I had to get my mum to cut it up for me as it was really tough but we did leave it over night in the fridge so that might have affected it.

 You could place them on a plate the chunks in little cupcake cases to serve as a sweet treat at your Christmas party.

This can also make a great gift you could just wrap them up with cellophane or you could simply make a small one. 

To make a small peppermint bark you do the exact same thing except with roughly 3 bars of white chocolate and 1 bar of dark chocolate (100g bars) and just three candy canes.

So the next thing I'm going to show you how to make is a super cute hot chocolate kit.

You will need  (for one):

Hot chocolate powder

Mini marshmallows

A candy cane

Two piping bags 

Two mini rubber bands

Festive washi tape

Curling ribbon

So you want to fill up a piping bag with hot chocolate I put in 4 teaspoons but just follow the amount on the back of the container. You want to tie that off with a rubber band, trim it down and place it inside another piping bag.

You then want to pour marshmallows into the bag until you can't see the top of the first piping bag then you want to tie the top with an elastic.

Now you want to decorate it I put some curly ribbon round the top and added a candy cane with some festive tape.

You could put it with a Christmas mug to give as a gift to someone.

I hope this has helped you if you were stumped on what to get something to finish off someone's present

Merry Christmas,

Charlotte x

Christmas Nails

Hello everyone, 

So I broke up from school for the Christmas holidays yesterday and were only eight days away from Christmas and one of my favourite things to do is paint my nails for Christmas and so I thought I'd share a Christmassy nail design with you that you can achieve in just four easy steps.

You will need:
Nail polish remover
Red nail polish - Sally Henson Runaway Red-y
Top coat - Barry M
Gold glitter polish - Colour Unlimited Nail Polish
Makeup sponge
Cotton buds

Step 1
Start by painting your nails red I did two coats to make it more vibrant

Step 2
Paint the glitter on to the sponge putting more at the bottom so it will have a gradient effect. Then dab the sponge on the bottom on the nail to transfer the glitter.

Step 3
Dip the cotton bud in nail polish remover and clean up around the edges.

Step 4
Apply a top coat to protect your design and your finished! You have beautiful nails for Christmas time.

Have fun painting your nail in this Christmassy design
Charlotte x

Christmas Gift Guide-Friends

Hi guys,

So as I'm sure we are probably all aware we are now in the wintery month of December and the countdown to Christmas has begun. So what I thought I would do is a gift guide it's for friends and family so you can find the category the person your buying for fits under and gather some ideas of what to get them. so hopefully this will help you out if your struggling for ideas for what to get people for Christmas.

The Sport lover-that sport and fitness obsessed friend
Tickets-you could buy them tickets to see their favourite  team play
A Team Top-you could buy them just a shirt or you could get it personalized 

The Makeup Guru-that friend who is always experimenting and trying out new brands
Gift Sets-a lot of brands bring out mini versions of their products 
Clarisonic-this would make a really good present for someone who is obsessed with skincare
A MAC Makeover-a one-to-one session with a MAC Pro I'm sure they would love and they have different packages for different prices
High End Makeup-I'm sure that anyone who is into makeup would really love to be given some luxury makeup like a Naked eyeshadow pallet 

The Fashion Stylist-the friend who knows whats in and whats out
A Shop Voucher-you could buy them a voucher for their favourite shop
A magazine subscription-if they are constantly buying magazines then why not get them a subscription to their favorite fashion magazine

The Music Mystro-the friend who always has headphones in their ears
Headphones-you can get really nice pairs of headphones for a variety of different prices
iTunes voucher-any music lover i'm sure would appreciate this gift 
CD-their favourite artists/bands album
Bluetooth speaker-these are really good and it means they can listen to their favorite music out loud without having to faff about plugging things in
Tickets-you could get them tickets to a music festival or to see see their favourite band/artist

The Film Fanatic-the friend that is always up to date with the current movies
A DVD
Tickets to the movies-you could buy them tickets to see a movie that they have been dying to see
Projector-there are lots of different ones that you can buy but the best one's I've seen you just have to slot you phone into them and it'll project the image on the wall

Part Person, Part Phone-we all have that friend that can't put their phone down
Juice Cube-this is great if they never put their phone down and are constantly on the go because this way they can charge their phone on the go!
Phone Case-a new phone case is always a good bet and a personalized one would be really cute

The Budding Photographer-that friend that photographs everyone and everything
Instagram Coasters-if they are constantly sharing their photo's with others on instagram then i'm sure they'd really appreciate this gift
A Digital Picture Frame-this would be a great gift as they could see there photos all the time

These were just a few ideas i had of course you can mix and match the gifts and they are all of varying prices
I hope this helped you,
Charlotte x

Top Tips for Christmas Shopping

Hello everyone, 
Now as much as I love shopping even I can find shopping for Christmas presents quite stressful the crowds and the queues to pay, so I thought that I would share with you my top tips on how to minimise your stress levels when Christmas shopping.

Online or instore?
Now this decision you need to make quite quick before the Christmas rush hits because otherwise your gifts will still be in the post and I'm going to admit I do a mixture of the two as you can find unique things in little high street shops as well as at Christmas markets there are many happening all over and you can get really cute Christmas decorations so there a great place to look but if your not a lover of shopping then online shopping might be best for you as there's none of the crowds and no queues to pay
Have a plan
Once you've decided where your going to shop you need to decide when your going to do it. Don't leave it till Christmas Eve to go beacause as we all know at Christmas things can sell out so they might not have the thing you ere looking for but if you've planned well when your going  then you should have another day you can go and get the bits you didn't manage to fort on your first shopping trip.
Make a list 
Have at least a rough idea of what your wanting to get and who your getting presents for
Set yourself a budget
This is really important or you can end up going overboard on one person and only spending a fiver on the other!
Organise your time
Once you've got a list then you'll have an idea of what shops you need to go in so work in a logical order so your not ping-ponging about this will also help maximise your time

So they are just a few of my top tips for Christmas shopping if your stuck thinking of ideas on what to get people whether they're close friends or family then fear not I will be writing two gift guides which are coming very soon 

Happy 1st of December 

Charlotte x

My Top Six Winter Polishes

Hello everybody,

So we are now fast approaching winter, the last few leaves are falling to the ground and with winter comes Christmas. The shops have put up their Christmas decorations and Starbucks have started making their Christmas drinks and yes I am aware that I've used the word Christmas a lot but I'm just really excited! Now one of my favourite things to do at Christmas is paint my nails Christmassy colours so today I thought I'd share with you my top six nail polishes for the winter and Christmas 3 colours and 3 glitters. I might show you how to do a Christmas manicure nearer the time but for now let's get on to the polishes.

I'm going to show you the colours first

Now this one I actually have on my nails now as I'm writing this post it's a dark teal colour and it only takes one coat for it to be opaque the only bad thing is it does stain your nails if you don't put on a base coat first. 

The second is another deep colour except this one is pink. I like this because as it get colder and darker during the winter months colour ends up being sort of lacking in my wardrobe so a great way to add colour without spending a lot of money is by painting your nails. 

The last colour is red of course you can't paint your nails for Christmas without the classic Christmas red.

Now on to glitters...

The first is a glittery blue I like this one because it's got the combination of little bits of glitter with big bits and it goes really nicely with the teal colour I mentioned earlier.

The next glitter polish is silver. I love this nail polish because it goes with pretty much every colour. 

Finally the last polish I'm going to show you goes perfectly with red for Christmas; it's a gold glitter polish.

See you next time,
Charlotte x

New York Haul

Hello everybody,

Today I thought I'd share with you everything that I bought while on holiday in America. So I went shopping on several occasions although i didn't actually buy that much. 

In Manhattan

The first thing I got was my Nike trainers that my parents bought for me. They are Nike free 0.5 in grey and Tiffany blue.

$100 from Niketown

I then had to buy some trainer socks as I didn't pack enough for the trip so I got these black and white mixed pack.

$5 from Forever 21

In Woodbury Outlet

I went into to Aeropostale and got three tops.

The first is this dark grey boy crop top that says where did all the fun people go? $6

Second is a very autumnal maroon colour floral crop top. $6

Last I got from Aeropostale a grey graphic top that's a lighter grey than the first one. $4

My Grandad, Rupert bought me this coat and its a black Hooded Parker. It's also really fluffy inside the hood and it keeps me nice and warm.

$70 from G.H.Bass & co.

I'm sorry that today's post is quite late and that I didn't take the photos myself I've just been busy revising for assessments that I've got all this week and next and it's been really dark here recently so I didn't want you to not be able to see the things I bought.

Charlotte x

What's in my Hand Luggage

Hey guys,

So this is the start of my America posts, I actually wrote this on the flight to Chicago but I'm afraid I've only just got chance to upload it because our flight from Chicago to New York got delayed and so we didn't arrive at my grandmas house until about 4am UK time so by the time we got to my grandmas we'd nearly been up 24hrs!! So as you can imagine I was vey tired but anyway when I was sat there on the plane I suddenly thought that you might like to see what l have in my hand luggage.

£32.00 from Accessorise

Okay so the first thing is my iPad, iPod and of course my headphones. 

I also brought along my portable charger so that they didn't run out of charge on the plane.

Next I have my notebook and pen which I use to write down ideas for future blogposts. 

I brought a book, magazine and puzzles from a newspaper with me for something to do I also have books on my iPad. I'm currently reading Pictures of Lily by Paige Toon and I really recommend it if you like a girly romancey type of book. 

I took a scarf and fluffy socks to make the flight more comfy and keep me warm.

Then last but not least I have my purse obviously so if I see something I like I can buy it.

There are sure to be quite a lot more posts on America soon so keep popping back throughout the next week for more. See you soon,
Charlotte x

Sweater Weather

Helloooo

Sorry I've not posted in a while life's just been quite hectic! I've had to revise for assessments (and still am), I had an audition for the school play, Calamity Jane (I got a part) and this last week my little cousin came down from Edinburough so I was spending time with her and to top everything off when I've had a spare few minutes the lightings been rubbish so I thought you'd prefer to wait a little and actually be able to see what I'm talking about! So today's post is actually about the current season! Which is of course autumn or fall if you live in America; and obviously with the colder weather comes out the sweaters, jumpers and cardigans so I thought I would share with you some of my favourites and that I'm sure to be wearing a lot through the autumn months. Oh, and quickly I'm going to America on Thursday to visit my grandma so they'll be some interesting posts on the way.

So anyway the first thing is this grey cardigan that i got from PRIMARK for £10.00; its really good to just throw on.

The next thing is this pink extremely fluffy hoodie. I love this it's so comfy and I put it on all the time especially in the colder months. Unfortunately I can't tell you where it's from as my grandma sent it me from America a couple of years ago.

This is another PRIMARK bargain I'm sure it was only about £3.00. I have another one in blue and I wear them like every week I swear they are really easy to pair with clothes that are already in your wardrobe.

This jumper I really like as it's so versatile you can dress it up or dress it down. If I'm dressing it up then I tend to wear a top with a decorative collar underneath it like the one in the photo. I think I got the jumper form George at ASDA and the top is from next.

The last one is this teal jumper, I've mentioned this before in a haul and I really like it as it's not to thick but still keeps you nice and warm. 

Charlotte x

Guide to Buying Winter Coats

Hey guys,

I know some of you might have been shocked when you read the title of this post but let's be realistic the time for buying our winter coats is being thrust upon us; and yes I do realise that we only just went into autumn or fall if your American. I do actually prefer fall to autumn but back to the point. Now I am quite fussy when it comes to coats; it has to look just right or I won't buy it.
-Make sure you try it on; don't just take it because it looks nice you need to try it on 
Next my style guide, a little guidance on what will flatter your figure best.
Apple-you should avoid puffed coats since they add bulk try to go for a coat that fits you snugly round the bust, a coat with a v-shaped neckline and falls below the waist line to the mid-thighs can give a slimming effect
I hope that this has helped you decide what style of coat to go for good luck coat shopping

So let's start with my top tips

-Think about what type of coat you want; think weather you want a fur coat, waterproof, thick coat, thin coat there are so many different styles so try and have some sort of idea of what you are looking for
-Try on a few styles; pick up a few different coats to try on then you can see which one suits you best
-Make sure you bear in mind the colour and pattern; think about your current wardrobe a coat with a bright, bold pattern will be trickier to mix and match with your wardrobe.


Pear-a coat that widens at the bottom will help balance out the width in the hips. Try and pick a coat that has a large collar or fur on the neck, it will draw people's attention upward.
Strawberry-a coat that hugs your upper body will help balance out your figure, try and opt for a coat with a single row of buttons rather than a double row. Also try and buy a cost with a small collar that is narrow and inconspicuous.
Hourglass-steer away from drop waists  and wide or baggy styles instead go for a cropped, fitted coat and maybe a belt to accentuate the waist.
Rectangle-try and pick a coat that will enhance your feminine shape, a tailored waist and flared bottom.
Next my top places to shop for coats

Now these are just places that I have seen when I was shopping or when I was browsing online I haven't actually bought my coat yet but I'm sure it won't be long before I have.

Charlotte x

A weekend in London

Hi,
This weekend just gone I went on a school trip to London and I thought I would share some of the photos with you. So here is my photo diary of my trip to London.

We travelled down to London on Friday and stopped off at the services for lunch. 

Then we carried on to the hotel and had a quick change before heading off to Planet Hollywood for dinner.

Then we went off to see Matilda at the Cambridge Theatre; it was absolutely amazing and the actors were really good. The coach didn't get back to the hotel till about 11:30 so it was a late night.

On Saturday we went to the Tate Modern, Madame Tussaudes and we also went on a tour of London. We woke up early and headed straight to Tate Modern which is a modern art gallery in London;after that we walked down Southbank and had some lunch before walking to the National Theatre to meet our tour guide. 

On the way down we bumped into some people who were helping people gain self confidence. They gave us all a wrist band saying 'redeem you self esteem' and a ballon. You had to write one of you insecurities on the balloon and then we went to the end of the pier and let it go. 

After we'd done that and then met up with our tour guide we got back on the coach and went on a tour of London. Our tour guide, Mary told us about everything and we stopped off at Buckingham palace and tower bridge. We saw the Houses of Parliament, the London eye, Big Ben and lots of other iconic buildings.

Then we went to Madame Tussaudes which was amazing the wax model looked really good we had our photo taken with the royal family. After Madame Tussaudes we went to pizza express for tea before heading back to the hotel where we packed our bags and went to sleep.

On the Sunday we had get up early again, and we headed off to Thorpe Park straight after breakfast. It was really fun I'm not a massive rides person but I really enjoyed myself.

 We set off home at 3:00 and arrived home just after 7:00.

Charlotte x