Tanya Burr's Millionaires' Shortbread

I love whipping up a good treat in the kitchen. Henry very kindly treated me to Tanya Burr's new book Tanya Bakes as he knew I had my eye on it. My friend Charlie and I made the Millionaires' Shortbread as soon as we got the chance and it was absolutely delicious! I can't wait to make more recipes, they're so simple and easy to follow. 

We filmed the baking process, the video is below & the recipe is also in the video description box! 

There's a Summer Clothing Haul coming next week, so make sure you Subscribe! 

Enjoy xxxxx

Tea, Cake & County Living

 We live in a world where we tend to be glued to our iPhones, iPads, Laptops and TV screens. I definitely spend far too much time looking at screens - in both work and play. I'm always looking for new hobbies that don't involve the internet, social media or screens, as I know I'll feel better, stop time wasting (we've all refreshed Facebook multiple times just in case everyone's uploaded in the last minute...) and probably even sleep a little better.

The other day I took the time to flick through a copy of Country Living, with a cup of tea and slice of cake and it was delightful. Firstly, Country Living makes me feel like I want to live in a cosy country house, have a huge garden full of wild flowers and home grown fruit & veg and pick up the next National Trust membership... (Granny alert and proud!) But secondly, I took that time to switch off and zone out from the online world and to read interesting articles and admire the stunning photography. 

My issue is, I don't always think about picking up a magazine on a food shop, until after, when I'm at home and wishing I'd thought about it earlier, which is where a magazine subscription service comes in. When magazine.co.uk got in touch, I thought their easy and affordable magazine subscription service sounded like a great way to subscribe to some new magazines, so they'd arrive on my doorstop every time there's a new issue.

Being the UK's leading magazine subscription website, magazine.co.uk have so many fantastic magazines to choose from. Vogue & Glamour for the fashionistas, Good Food & Baking Heaven for the foodies and Country Living & Ideal Home for the interior obsessed. I definitely recommend them if you're looking for a new glossy magazine to be on the doorstop each week! 

This post is in collaboration with magazine.co.uk, but all opinions are my own.

Stay Hydrated & Protected This Summer

With the beautiful hot weather we've had recently I wanted to talk about the importance of staying protected and hydrated in the sunshine. We've all has sunburn, we've all felt a little light headed after realising the only drink we've had all day was that morning coffee and some of us might of felt a bit worse for wear after a day in the heat. 

I love the smell of suncream, it takes me straight back to all my favourite summer holidays. I do not like, however, the stickiness of suncream - that tacky feeling that lingers all day and I've always found that Garnier's Ambre Solaire range is the best. I picked up Factor 30 from the Light & Silky range and a travel size Factor 50 for my face and for my scar on my wrist. I recently learnt how important it is to cover new scars when exposing them to sunlight. Your scar tissue will tan, but unlike your skin it will not fade, so make sure you cover up any new scars that will be in the sunshine this summer. 

Don't forget to protect your hair too, especially if it's been coloured. I love this Phyto Plage Protective Sun Veil, it's a spray oil. It smells delicious and is easy to chuck in your bag to top up throughout the day, especially after swimming! 

I definitely do not drink enough water! I use an app to try and track my water intake and keep it high, but if I'm honest I go through phases with it. One of the ways I try to combat this is making detox water, to give the water a little bit more taste. I used mint and lime here, but you can use absolutely anything really - strawberries, lemon, raspberries, blackberries, rosemary, anything.

I know this will be nothing new, but it's so important that I just wanted to pop up a little reminder on here. 

What have you been up to in the sunshine recently? :) 

Life Lately :: Busy Bee

So much for me announcing that I'm back... hello again blog. I really have missed you.

Let me update you all a little and explain why things haven't been too frequent on here or my YouTube channel. You may know, I finished my degree at the start of June and moved out of Brighton at the end of June. I already miss my little life in Brighton and I can't wait to move back there one day. Since I've been home, we've been redecorating my bedroom, which in case you haven't done it before, I'll warn you it is so much effort if you've not got painters and decorators coming in to do it for you. We've nearly finished all the sanding down, filling in, first coats, second coats, under coats and gloss coats and soon I'll be able to stop sleeping on the sofa and I can start making my room my own again! 

On top of this I've also had some seriously exciting jobs going on. You might of seen this blog post on Joe & Polly's Wedding and the wedding video I filmed for them... well I'm incredibly excited to say that their wedding was featured on Rock'n'Roll Bride with lots of lovely photos and my video! It quickly became the most popular weddings on Rock'n'Roll Bride... ever! 

I then got the opportunity to be the photographer for the Johannesburg - A South African Experience Exhibition at Lights of Soho, to celebrate South Africa and Mumford & Sons new mini-album 'Johannesburg'. It was so much fun, with some incredible music from The Very Best, Beatenburg & Jeremy Loops, wine tastings and some insane photographs lining the walls of the gallery. 

Due to these jobs (which I'm by no means complaining about!), spending my days covered in flecks of paint and having not one free surface to take nice blog photos on, I've fallen way behind on my blog. I've got a list of post ideas and videos ideas ready to go, I just need to find the time and quite literally the space to photograph, write, film and edit them. I've got a backlog of a few mini vlogs from my last term at uni that I'd like to get up on my channel so keep and eye out for those. 

I know I'm in a much better headspace when I'm in the swing of things on here, I love knowing that I've got photos ready to go, posts ready to publish and ideas on the go, so I'm determined to get back on it now things seem to be a bit calmer.

Phew. That was a ramble so give yourself cookies if you're still reading by now! 

See you very soon, promise. xxx