Weekend Bake | Skinny Chick Easter Nests

A no-cook Easter Weekend make for the family, to get you in the chocolate spirit. This recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson's How To Be A Domestic Goddess:

Ingredients (Makes 12):

400g dark and milk chocolate (adapt the ratio of bitter/sweet chocolate to taste)

100g Shredded Wheat (about 4 nests of Shredded Wheat)

2 packs of Milkybar Mini Eggs (enough for about 3 or 4 eggs per nests)

1 tablespoon Golden Syrup

25g unsalted butter

Method:

1) Place 12 muffin, cupcake or fairy cake cases in a muffin tray.

2) Break up 100g of Shredded Wheat in a large bowl.

3) Melt all of the chocolate and butter in a smaller bowl, by placing over a saucepan of boiling water.

4) Stir the melted chocolate and Golden Syrup into the Shredded Wheat until fully combined (NOTE: This needs to be done quickly, before the chocolate is too set to cover the Shredded Wheat fully).

5) Place blobs of the mixture in the muffin cases and decorate with chocolate eggs (I used white chocolate Milkybar eggs) and Easter chicks.

Christmas Craft: How To Make Joy Jars

With Christmas 4 weeks away this is the second in my Christmas blog series. Christmas and New Year can be a reflective time of year and is also often difficult for many people. Why not help the cheery mood along by making a Joy Jar? A joy jar you say? What's that? Okay, so I definately didn't make this idea up, but my version is called a Joy Jar and makes a great crafty gift at Christmas.

First cut out strips of nice paper or card. Then decorate a clean jam jar with glitter, stickers, ribbon or whatever takes your fancy. Put the pieces of paper or card in the jam jar. Finally, write a message on a gift tag explaining to the receiver of your present what they have to do with it. Every time they feel that something nice has happened to them in the coming year they have to write it down and put it in the jar. When the year is over they can look over the year and feel cheery.

Finally, finish off the jam jar with some pretty ribbon and the gift tag and you have a ready-made Joy Jar!

Carpe Diem xx

2013 Travel Series: How To Pack Stage 3: Last Minute

The final and often most important stage of packing is not actually the packing itself but the 'last minute' stuff. It's likely that you will be using the vital things you need for your trip up until the last hour or so before you leave (i.e. toothbrush, hairbrush, phone), and you might therefore forget to bring the extras that aren't packed securely in your suitcase. To avoid this why not try these tips to avoid stress:

1) Make a 'do not forget' list on a Post-It, index card or journal to tick off before you leave

2) Keep a pile to one side of the clothes that you want to wear on the day that you leave to travel. Plan your 'travel outfit' at the same time as you plan your holiday outfits and pack your clothes

3) Make sure you keep everything that you might need accessible when travelling (medication, travel itineries, passport, etc.) readily available, for example in an outer pocket of your suitcase or in your hand luggage. I keep my important documents in a clear Rapesco folder

Carpe Diem xx

5 Days Camping In A Cottage: A Photo Diary

Carpe Diem xx

2013 Travel Series: How To Pack Stage 2: Packing

Organise everything that you want to pack in your bag or suitcase into designated piles. Start by packing towels, trousers, and tops in the bottom. Put the stuff that you will need to access easily on the top (jackets, shoes, etc.), as well as anything that might get damaged, creased or squashed.

Where possible compartmentalize your stuff into bags and containers to reduce damage from spillage or dirt. One tip I learnt last year is to roll your underwear and pack it into separate compartments in your suitcase/bag (see top left).

You can do this with the Eagle Creek Pack-It system: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Eagle-Creek-Pack-It-Tube-Pacific/dp/B002YIP89E/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_S_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=6QT9LQJEIZT2&coliid=IVJUSMH5E4G6B&psc=1

Love this jewellery organiser/roll: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Umbra-Little-Jewellery-Travel-Organiser/dp/B00A9SPC0G/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=6QT9LQJEIZT2&coliid=I9U688G67A3FK

Carpe Diem xx

My Graduate Gap Year Update: Moving On and Growing Up

A quick update on my at-home graduate gap year: 

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about deciding to have a kind of at-home graduate gap year where I would focus on things such developing transferable skills, blogging, work experience and travelling in the UK. 

This is my original blog post:

http://cupcakesandcosmeticsbyclare.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/my-stay-at-home-graduate-gap-year.html

I graduated last week. For the first time in my life I don't have a permanent paid job, am not in education or training, and I have no idea where I'll be in a years time. Have I become a NEET? Here's a quick update on the way my plans are going at the moment:

Travelling: Still not enough savings to go to Asia, but I have two holidays in the UK planned for the next month, so I'll be blogging about those adventures soon!

Work: For the past month I've been volunteering 2 days a week at my local charity shop, yesterday I helped hand out Meals on Wheels to housebound people, and all of next week I working at a children's holiday club. I never really expected to be volunteering so much of my time for free but the experience is amazing and it is very fulfilling work.

Blog: As some of you might notice there are a few changes here! There are now ads on my blog and I'm blogging around 6 times a week. I love writing and hope you all enjoy reading.

Here's to uncertainty!

Carpe Diem xx

How To Improve Your Photography: Get The Most From Your Camera

1) Framing - Look at framing your image in different ways by using your surroundings and environment. A well-framed photo is much more aesthetically pleasing!

2) Angles - Take a series of photos of the same thing from different angles. Angles create interest in photography and diagonals can make or break a photo. Build a diagonal into your photo and work on the 'rule of thirds', with the central focus of your image in the bottom right hand corner third.

3) Lighting - Natural light creates the optimum conditions for taking a photo while the light in dark rooms or on sunny days can be either took dark, bright or synthetic. Try taking your camera outside on a sunny spring day for ultimate photography. Try it and you will perfect the Facebook profile pic!

4) Close ups - some of the most innovative and interesting photos are ones which focus on the mundane, small details of life that otherwise go unnoticed. Use a close up setting on your camera to take photos of small patterns, the texture of animal skin, etc.

5) Back ups - to get the most from your camera make sure that you print copies, back up on your computer with Google Dropbox (the Cloud), or save onto a USB drive so that you never lose your best shots. In the age of the digital camera it is all too easy to lose a photo forever.

6) Handbag - keeping a small camera in your bag or handbag is a great way of making sure you're always ready to capture a special moment or inspirational scenery. I have a Sony Cybershot for on the go and a Fujifilm Finepix for 'professional' shots.
7) Intention - Finally and most importantly, before picking up a camera think about what you want to photograph. Not the landmark or person but what you want to convey and why you want to take it (as a memory, for sentimental reasons, etc.).

Carpe Diem xx