Blogmas – Scavenger Hunt

Good morning friends,

Sunday afternoon we took a stroll around the beautiful town of Brading.

Each Christmas, my other half and I, take part in a Christmas quiz.

The Christmas quiz is arranged each year by one of our family friends, who picks a town for us to explore with a list of scavenger hunt style quiz questions

The quiz of 40 questions took us just under 2 hours whilst we strolled around the quaint little town.

Friends and family would normally take part in the quiz together in teams, this year was different but fun all the same.

Perfect way to spend a crisp Sunday afternoon

Kaya •

Blogmas – Ginger breadhouse

Good evening friends,

Christmas night, my partner and I, decided to construct our gingerbread house.
I had bought the house a few weeks ago from B&M for £5, which included a bag of white icing, multicoloured sweets, candy sails and candy canes.
I picked a couple more packs of sweets to decorate, and eat on the way.


For years I’ve wanted to play the Christmas hat drinking game.
A Christmas hat is placed on the TV – whenever a Character lines up with the hat to look as though you are wearing it, you have a drink.
We chose Die Hard, and yes, it IS a Christmas Film.

Well, for the duration of the film I had a drink or icing bag permanently attached to my hand.



Constructing the house was a bloomin challenge.

Yes we may of had a fair few drinks, but the sides of the house had crumbed in the box, which we knew would cause an issue when constructing.


The final product (during the few seconds it stayed together)

Yes the resemblance is uncanny


We decided to make the crashing house look deliberate, and eventually poured ourselves into bed at 1.30 in the morning.

The house went straight into the bin the next morning, safe to say it was memorable and a good laugh, maybe it’ll stand for a few minutes next year!


Kaya •

Blogmas – Festive Red Eye look

Good afternoon friends,

Last week my friend Katie and I decided to glam up and head out for a dinner date, just the two of us (pre tier 3)

When I’m with Katie, she gives me the confidence to be a little more daring and try the styles I want to, but usually stay safe

We had planned to go to a new Italian restaurant, and I thought a puffy sleeved, silk style, high neck patterned shirt… Completely out of my comfort zone, why not throw a red eye look to go with it?



As I’ve said before, a pink/red eye look can be mistaken for a eye infection if you’re not careful enough – and hopefully this isn’t what I look like!

A soft but bright festive eye, enough to be daring, but comfortable.

The StylLondon Devil Velvet touch pallett has an incredible formular. Easy to work with, pigmented, long lasting, and the colours are striking.


I’m not a massive fan of highlighters, but this one gave me that extra glow


I was tempted to go red on red, with a deep wine red lip, but opted for a classic nude lip with NYX Sandstorm, topped with Primark’s ‘Latte’ lipstick.

Next time I think I may incorporate more of the deep brown tone to give a smokier look, why not be a little daring?

Kaya •

Blogmas – Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake

Good afternoon friends,

Today I’m sharing a recipe, one that I’ve made before, but will no doubt become a new Christmas tradition.

This Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake, can be prepared, baked and decorated in just over an hour. A simple recipe, with the most delicious smooth, light and flavoursome cake.

Although Nigella labels this a cake, I wouldn’t personally, as it’s flourless and doesn’t have this consistency, I would say it’s more of a gooey spiced pudding.

Photo from Nigella’s site

Click on the link below for the recipe, or read on for the information and a few step by step pictures.

Christmas Spiced Chocolate Cake

Recipe

For the cake

• 150 grams chopped dark chocolate (I used 1 while Terry’s Dark chocolate Orange)
• 150 grams soft butter
• 6 large eggs
• 250 grams granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 100 grams ground almonds
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pinch of ground cloves
• zest of 1 clementine (or satsuma)
• 4 teaspoons instant espresso powder

For the topping

• juice of 1 clementine (or satsuma)
• 15 grams butter
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 50 grams flaked almonds

• 

Method

• Take anything you need out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. The only truly important thing, however, is that the eggs aren’t cold, so if they are, just put them into a bowl (I use the KitchenAid bowl I’m going to whisk them in later) and cover with warm water for 10 minutes
• 

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan/gas mark 4/350ºF. Butter the sides and line the bottom of a 23cm / 9 inch springform tin.

• Melt the chocolate and butter together in a heatproof bowl, in a microwave according to the manufacturer’s instructions, or suspended over a pan of simmering water, and set aside to cool slightly.

• Beat the eggs, sugar and vanilla together until thick, pale and moussy. They should have at least doubled in volume, even tripled. If you’re using a freestanding mixer, as I do, this is effortless.

• Gently fold in the ground almonds, cinnamon, cloves, clementine/satsuma zest and espresso powder, taking care not to lose the air you have whisked in, then, finally, pour and scrape in the melted, slightly cooled, chocolate and butter, folding gently again.

• Pour into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 35–40 minutes, by which time the top of the cake should be firm, and the underneath still a bit gooey.

• Remove from the oven, and sit it on a wire rack, draped with a clean tea towel, to cool completely.

• To make the topping for the cake, put the clementine/satsuma juice into a small, preferably non-stick, frying pan with the butter, sugar and cinnamon and melt everything together, then let it sizzle for a minute or so and begin to caramelize before adding the almonds.

• Stir everything together, and occasionally tip the pan to keep it all moving; what you want is for all the liquid to disappear and the nuts to look shiny and be coated thinly in a fragrant, orange-scented toffee.

• Remove to a plate and cool.

• Unspring the cake and transfer to a cake stand or plate; I am brave enough to take it off its base sometimes, but don’t if you’re scared. Remember this cake, however intense and elegant within, has a rather ramshackle rustic appearance on the outside.

• (My cake was curved at the top and a bit crumby, I flipped mine over, which I think looks more enticing)

• Scatter with the almonds, mainly letting them pile up in the centre of the cake, but drop a few here and there all over the top. And serve with the cointreau cream.

My cake did not look anything like the picture, it wasn’t as ‘stable’, but it tasted like a dream. I dropped off slices to family, and to our neighbour with a variety of double cream, whipped cream and custard.

If you give this recipe a go please let me know!

Kaya •

Blogmas – Boxing day at home

Good morning friends,

I hope this holiday season is treating you all well.

Most boxing days are spend with family and friends, with a buffet of Turkey and stuffing sandwich’s, board games, kids showing their new toys and bikes, and maybe a trip to town for the sales to pick up a few more treats.

Although this Boxing Day had non of the above, we made it our own, and still had a wonderful time.

After a long lie in, we had left over stuffing, pigs in blankets, and apple sauce in breakfast wraps with a few roasties. My goodness.

We spent a few hours cleaning the house, with Christmas movies playing in the background, and countless cups of tea!

For lunch we had a cheese board with home made sour dough loaf, crackers, Christmas cheeses, and more pigs in blankets.

We always seem to over buy on cheese at Christmas, not that this is a negative, in the slightest, but it’s hard to know when to stop!

After lunch we made a few calls to family and friends to catch up, and I did a little online boxing day sale shopping.

The weather’s been so cold, wet and windy and today, we decided to snuggle up in Bed and watch a bit of Wallace and Gromit… well, that was the intention.

2 hours later, we woke up after an unexpected nap? All of a sudden it was 5pm, dark outside, and feeling a little confused.

For the rest of the evening we played a few video games, The Graham Norton show, researched Wallace and Gromit and ate handfuls of chocolate coins

Why do they always taste better in coin form?

No dinner was needed, we were stuffed to the brim and about ready for bed again by 11.

How did you spend your boxing day?

Kaya •

Blogmas – Christmas Day Cooking

Good morning friends,

Christmas day for as long as I can remember is all about seeing family and friends, as many as you can cram into one day.

Multiple minced pies, crackers pulled and countless cups of tea. Well, we partly did that!

We had a relaxing morning, opening presents, listening to Christmas music

We only had a light breakfast and cuppa’s during the day, ready for our festive feast.

We social distanced with family, face timed and called loved ones.

And for the first time ever, I cooked Christmas dinner. In years past I would have assisted here and there, but this year I cooked Christmas dinner and all the trimming, and absolutely loved it.

I seasoned the chicken, I went rogue, shocker, taking it out every 25 minutes or so to baste it, as add the roast potatoes that seasoned in the juices, all was cooked to perfection.

I minted the lamb chops and smoothered the carrots and parsnips so that they were honey roasted.

Pigs in blankets were another ‘must’.

I had to be clever with the arranging of the trays, the doubling up and timings, but all went to plan

I over cooked, as we will have meat and stuffing sandwiches, chicken curry, chicken soup etc for meals through out the next couple of days

After dinner, and a sit down all was packed away ready for the next couple of days, watched Home Alone and had a tipple

Is it just my family tradition, or does everyone cook a little extra for the coming days?

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas X

Kaya •

Blogmas – FabFitFun Winter Edition

Good evening friends,

Yesterday we looked at the Autumn FabFitFun, which I loved, today I’m writing about the Winter Fabfitfun

Each box contains 8 full sized seasonal items with a mixture of beauty, home, fitness and fun.

All members can select 3 of the 8 items, with the option to upgrade and select up to 5 items, with early delivery, and a discounted price of paid for the yearly subscription.

Lilly Pulitzer™ Ceramic Mugs (Set of 2) RRP $42.00
These mugs were one of my choice items, and I didn’t have to take a second to select them. How vibrant, deep and beautiful are these mugs?
For a winter box, I’d imagine warmer tones, but do think they look lovely for all year round, perfect for a fresh winter morning.

Mobile White® Advanced Teeth Whitening Kit $89.99

I jumped back and forth with this product. I’ve tried teeth whitening strip’s before, but never really seen a difference and haven’t been that bothered, but never been tempted by a teeth whitening kit.

This teeth whitening kit comes with 4 gel solutions, and plugs straight into your mobile phone. How odd but clever. I’ll be sure to give this a go, and let you know what I think of it.

Laura Geller® Cinnamon + Spice Eyeshadow Palette RRP $45.00

First off, I love the name Cinnamon and Spice!

A soft pink, orange and brown, 12 pan pallette with a mix of Shimmers and matte shades for day and night looks. This pallette would be perfect for someone who plays with neutral shades, and would like a little extra sparkle, with a added bonus of a decent sized mirror in the compact.

I have a few pallets with similar colours on the go, so wont swatch this yet, but sure I’ll get alot of use out of it by spring.

The next other 5 items were selected at random by Fabfitfun, but I’m thrilled with them all.

TULA SKINCARE Rose Glow & Get It Cooling & Brightening Eye Balm RRP $30.00

This cool balm glides on the skin without tugging and can be used under or on top of make up. I’ve been using under make up, and can’t say I’ve noticed a glow yet, but my under eyes are smoothed, and my concealer does sit under my eyes better, than before without creasing or caking.

eparé® Cutting Board (Set of 4) RRP $19.95

This item seemed a bit odd,but once I unwrapped it, I was actually really happy to receive them. These cutting boards are practical, space saving, hygienic, flexible and easy to clean

B-Low The Belt Croc Card Case RRP $35.00
If you know me, you know I’m not a fan of any animal print or texture, but this card case is gorgeous. I love the colour, and how small and convinient it is.

This year, more than ever, like most people, have gone on more walks than I can count. It’s easy to throw a card and a bit of cash in this pouch, whilst out and about without lugging around a handbag, keeping it chic and simple

Daily Concepts® Daily Facial Dry Brush RRP $20.00

This Nylon bristles, Beechwood handle, cotton cord brush is used on clean dry skin to exfoliate and tone your face and neck.
I haven’t used a brush like this before, but it’s extremely satisfying. I thought this may be a little rough and harsh, but it wasn’t at all. I’ve only been using this for a few days, so can’t yet confirm if my face has become more toned but it is definitely softer and smoother.

Aesthetica Liquid Eyeliner RRP $21.00

This black liquid liner is Paraben-free, Gluten-free, Vegan and Cruelty-free
Although a black liquid liner may not seem like the most exciting item to receive, but it’s a staple in my beauty bag, so I was happy to receive it.

A sharp tip, gives a precise, long wearing, black cat eye that is long lasting.

$21 is more than I’d pay for a black liquid liner, but I can’t fault this product.

I’m thrilled with my winter box, and am certain to use every product.

As I said in my last blog, I understand how some people can be disappointed with what they receive, but for £60, of strongly recommend this subscription box!

Kaya •

Blogmas – Autumn/Fall FabfitFun

Good afternoon friends,

Today we’ll be reviewing the Autumn/Fall FabFitFun box

I meant to do this month’s ago, but kept forgetting, and then accidentally deleted my note on my phone with my blog post, so it’s a little later than any expected. No worries!

FabFitFun is a quarterly subscription box where you can receive, 8 full sized home, fitness and beauty products.

1 seasonal box is delivered every 3 months for $49.99 (around £60 including delivery to the UK), with a value of over £200

You have the option to pay for the yearly subscription of $179.99 for the 4 boxes.

I have decided to pay seasonally, and used a £10 off discount code (just Google it they’re available everywhere).

Each box comes with a magazine explaining what charity they are working with that season, interviews, product breakdowns, and a few discount code cards for your first order, for wines, hello fresh, and florists.

‘Basic Members’ like myself, can customized 3 of my 8 products.

For each customised item, you are given around 4 options to select the item you want.

You do have the option to hand pick a few more of the items, although I think it takes a bit of the fun out of it, as I love a surprise.

I have seen comments on the forum and YouTube videos of customers complaining about the products theyve received, but at the same time, if you have the option to chose a few of the select items, and you decide not to, then you can only blame yourself for being disappointed.

For my first customizable item, I had the choice of a back pack, tote bag, hair curlers or the styling cream.

I didn’t realise certain items aren’t able to ship to the UK, I was so bummed out, but then watched a few YouTube videos and confirmed id made the right choice.

SACHAJUAN Styling Cream + Finish Cream RRP $65.00

‘Make your hair soft and silky with the styling cream, then give your hair a defined texture with the finish cream’

My hair is long, thick, and curly, prone to alot of frizz.

I have found my hair to be a bit flat and dry recently, with greasy roots and curls not in tact.

I am not one to spend $65 on hair products, however, these are hands down the best styling and finishing creams I have ever used.

SOIA & KYO Woven Scarf with Fringe RRP £85

This 66” x 52” scarf-cardigan is versatile, to be used as a scarf, or to throw over your shoulders to keep you wrapped up and warm.

Vitamasques Multivitamin Mask Set RRP $30.00

These nourishing fibre sheet masks are filled with vitamins B3, B5, B6, C, and E.

Lay back for 20minutes and relax, and use and excess product from the pack to Smith over your neck.

Masontops® Glass Water Bottle with Neoprene in Turquoise RRP $35.00

I often, like many forget to stay hydrated. Holding up to 20 ounces, easy to clean, removed the waste of plastic bottles, with removable and reversible teal/black sleeve, I love this glass mason jar bottle.

8 Other Reasons Runway Clip Trio RRP $32.00

These hair clips are absolutely beautiful. 18k gold plated lead-free, nickel-free alloy metal, resin, I’m not really one to wear hair clips, but with these beauties Ill save them for spring and give them a go.

Voesh Pedicure in a Box Duo – Pumpkin Spice RRP $20.00

These 8 sachets of Sea Salt Soak, Sugar Scrub, Mud Masque, and Massage Cream are Vegan, Organic, Cruelty Free, Paraben Free, Sulfate Free, Phthalate Free, Aluminum Free, Gluten Free

Made in South Korea, these foot packs leave you relaxed with super soft, delicious smelling feet. Such a lovely idea for a pamper.

NatureLab Tokyo Perfect Repair Treatment Masque RRP $16.00

I wish you could smell how delightful this hair masque is. ‘Apply to freshly shampooed hair and leave for 3 to 5 minutes and rinse’, leaves hair soft and glossy without weighing it down.

The Beauty Crop Glow Milk in Blind Date RRP $19.50

I’m not overly keen on highlighters. I know they’re ‘all the rage’ nowadays, but I don’t see the hype. I may use this as a highlighter eyeshadow duo to get more of of the product. No doubt the shimmer is beautiful, as well as being Paraben Free, Sulfate Free, Phthalate Free and Aluminum Free

I absolutely loved my first FabFitFit box, it seemed a little pricey at first, but I’d much rather pay for 1 decent seasonal box, rather than 3 monthly ‘so so’ boxes that are filled with delux mini’s

I was shocked at the total of the box when I added it up, although It is worth keeping in mind that as any subscription box, well any products you buy in general, the price will always been increased slightly due to RRP

Total value $302.50

For £60 I’m thrilled with my items

Kaya •

Blogmas – The House Lounge – Pop up Bar

Good afternoon friends,

Last Saturday night, I went out for a proper night out… As Mickey Flanagan would say, ‘out out’.

Myself and 5 friends had arranged to spend our evening at the pop up gin bar at Northwood House.

Although most of us would know Northwood house as a historical building, which holds weddings, special events, and charity functions, for us, it was our escape to the gin bar!

The House Lounge: Pop-up Cocktail, Wine & Gin Bar takes place between 4th – 22nd December

The building was dressed to impress, without being over the top.

A alternative spin to Celebrate Christmas in style.

We booked a table of 5 (6 was our limit), 7.30pm-10pm

We had table service, therefore stayed sat at our sofas for duration of the evening, although the girls and I wore our masks to and from the table when we got up to go to the bathroom.

With some chilled tunes in the background, we had a little shuffle dance in our seats, as we weren’t able to get up and dance, but still, we had a wonderful time.

No booking fee was required, and drinks were reasonably priced. My drink of choice was pink gin and tonic, you can’t really go wrong.

Since I hadn’t been for a night out this year, I was a little out of sync with glamming up. I wore a Black off the shoulder dress with red flowers, black wedged heels and a leather look jacket.

I was intending to be a little more adventurous with my make up, but stuck with a traditional Smokey brown and gold eye with NYX Red lips

I posted a few of my pictures on Instagram last week, if you don’t already, say hi! Lifestyleadventurebeauty

Have you been to a pop up bar before?

If so, what did you think?

Kaya •

Blogmas – Christmas Biscuits

Good afternoon friends,

If you’re looking for quick, easy, classic Christmas style biscuits, I’ve got the perfect recipe for you.

Christmas Biscuits

I bought a pack of 10 Christmas cutters for just £4.99 from amazon, and a variety of icing pens and sprinkles from B&M for a few quid each

Ingredients
100g/3½oz unsalted butter, softened at room temperature100g/3½oz caster sugar1 free-range egg lightly beaten1 tsp vanilla extract275g/10oz plain flour

To decorate
400g/14oz icing sugar
3-4 tbsp water
2-3 drops food colourings
Edible glitter

Method

• Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5. Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.

• Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl until pale, light and fluffy.

• Beat in the egg and vanilla extract, a little at a time, until well combined.

• Stir in the flour until the mixture comes together as a dough.

  

• Roll the dough out on a lightly floured work surface to a thickness of 1cm/½in.

  

• Using biscuit cutters or a glass, cut biscuits out of the dough and carefully place onto the baking tray. To make into Christmas tree decorations, carefully make a hole in the top of the biscuit using a straw.

  

  

• Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until pale golden-brown. Set aside to harden for 5 minutes, then cool on a wire rack.

  

• For the icing, sift the icing sugar into a large mixing bowl and stir in enough water to create a smooth mixture. Stir in the food colouring.

• Carefully spread the icing onto the biscuits using a knife and sprinkle over the glitter. Set aside until the icing hardens.

  

A no fuss recipe, for relaxing and fun decorating fun by yourself or with family, FYI the biscuits go well with a cuppa tea

Kaya •