October 2018 / c1831

Pumpkin Picking

Tuesday, 30 October 2018

For the first time ever, I went pumpkin picking last week.

I've always been an avid follower of traditions and festivities, so I always carve a pumpkin, even at 23... But i'd never picked my own pumpkin, always just bought one from a shop. I don't know if it's a relatively new thing, but I can never remember pumpkin picking farms being around when I was a kid, not near me anyway. But, it was so fun! The farm was huge and there were several fields full of pumpkins of all shapes and sizes. We spent nearly two hours looking for the perfect pumpkins! (I'm a bit of a perfectionist and I had an image in mind of what I wanted).

There was something about it that was so enjoyable and made me feel so autumnal and cosy. I know i'm going to get even more satisfaction from carving my pumpkins because I picked them myself. And this is going to be something we do every year. I guess i'm just a big kid at heart...

What's your favourite thing to do in autumn?

The Perfect Autumn Cupcakes

Saturday, 20 October 2018

I can't believe how quick this year has gone, we're already well into autumn. Now that the colder weather has well and truly set in (other than last Wednesday when it hit 22 degrees??) my love for everything autumnal is coming out! That includes baking. I love baking in autumn and winter. There's something so cosy about it. Hellooo cinnamon!

I recently made these delicious spiced apple cupcakes with salted caramel frosting. They are the perfect autumn cupcakes! The cake part is light and fluffy, and anything with salted caramel gets a nod from me.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

115g butter
135g light brown sugar
65g granulated sugar
2 eggs
80ml milk
2 tsps vanilla extract
190g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground / grated nutmeg
1 large apple / 2 small applies

Salted Caramel Frosting:

115g butter
200g light brow sugar
80ml double cream
1/4 tsp salt
240g icing sugar

Method:

Preheat the oven to 200°C / 180°C (fan oven) and line a muffin tin with cupcake cases.
For the cupcakes, melt the butter and whisk with the light brown sugar and granulated sugar, until well combined.
Next, add the eggs, vanilla extract and milk, and whisk until smooth.
In a separate large bowl, whisk the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and gently stir until combined. The batter will have a few lumps but don't worry this is fine!
Peel the apple(s) and chop into small chunks. Add to the batter.
Fill the cases and bake for 20 minutes. A skewer should come out clean when the cupcakes are done. Wait for them to cool completely before frosting.
For the frosting, over a medium heat, melt the butter in a pan. Add in the brown sugar and two tablespoons of the double cream. Whisk this until the sugar is dissolved.
Next add the salt and allow the mixture to bubble for 2 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for around 30 minutes.
Once cool, beat in the rest of the double cream and slowly add the icing sugar until you reach the desired consistency. Use a piping bag to frost the cupcakes and if you want, top with a little slice of apple and a drizzle of salted caramel sauce.

This made 12 decent sized cupcakes.

Let me know in the comments if you try these and what you think! Happy baking!

Catherine x

Top Ten Under £10

Monday, 8 October 2018

I love blog posts or videos on this sorta thing as I love a good bargain! However, I'm genuinely terrible at making decisions. So ranking each product in order has been hard. I'm pretty happy with it now- quick read on before I change my mind again ha! Let's count down from 10 to 1.

10) Bourjois BB Bronzing Cream- £9.99

This was the first product to be featured in my Hidden Gem Series- the products that you don't reach for everyday, can often be overshadowed, but when you properly think about them, you realise how good they actually are. That is the perfect way to describe this. I love it because it's multi-use; I use it to cream contour, to darken light foundations and as a BB cream when i'm on my summer holibobs!

9) Sleek Highlighting Palette- Solstice- £9.99

This also just manages to make it in the under £10 category. With 3 powders and 1 cream, this is a beautiful highlighting palette that'll make you glow. And I mean glow!

8) Revolution Flawless Matte 2 Palette- £8

The newest addition to my collection in this list and I know I've spoken about this a fair few times on the blog already, but at £8 for 32 good quality shadows, it just had to be included. The eyeshadows are pigmented, blend easily and the palette has a huge mirror. You can find my full review >>here<<

7) Wet n Wild Eyeshadow Duo

Before the Huda Beauty palette came into my life, this bronze eyeshadow was my lil love. I wrote a post (The Bronze Eyeshadow Showdown) back in 2015 about my fave bronze eyeshadows, where I featured this. I classed it as my ultimate fave due to being pigmented, easy to blend and not creasing. It's not as high up in my list as it would be, since I don't wear it so much anymore. But for my first uni years, I would regularly just wear this for a night out- a sweep of colour and lashings of mascara- and be good to go. This is making me want to wear it again! (It does seem to be that old that I can't find a link to it anywhere, soz!)

6) Sleek Face Contour Kit - £6.99

I've had this palette in my collection for several years now, hence the battered packaging- I should probably get a new one! But this is a really good contour / bronzer which is not too brown, red or orange. The highlighter is beautiful too and is so pigmented you only need to dip your brush in.

5) Rimmel London Kate Nude Lipsticks- £5.50

I love several of the Kate Moss lipsticks. 107 used to be my absolute fave of all time, i've stopped wearing it so much now (i still love the shade) and have instead been reaching for 42 from the nude collection. It is perfect for a night out since it's so easy to wear and goes with just about any makeup look.

4) Soap & Glory Archery Brow Sculpting & Gel- £10

I love the Soap & Glory brow products. It was a toss up between this and the pencil and brush over which one to include. But this is one i'm using at the minute! Love is blonde is a great shade for fair eyebrows. I've often found that cheaper brow products tend to be either super dark or red toned, so don't look natural at all. That definitely isn't the case with this. The clear brow gel on the other end also sets my brows like glue. Winner!

3) Maybelline Lash Sensational Mascara- £8.99

The mascara I keep on re-purchasing. Whenever I need to replace it, I endeavour to try something new but always fall back on this. Why fix what's not broken hey?

2) Rimmel Stay Matte Powder- £3.99

This might not be exciting, or a product that stands out but it just had to be included when I use it pretty much everyday. I've used powders 5X more expensive and they've not done as good a job as this. Sometimes cheap is the way to go!

1) Collection Lasting Perfection Concealer- £4.19

This just had to be number one. The only concealer I know will cover everything and the only concealer I must have in my makeup collection at all times. Is there anything more that needs to be said?

Phew! I managed it! What do you think to this list? Any you wouldn't have and any products you think I should include?

Catherine x