OOTD Summer Afternoon Tea

OOTD SUMMER AFTERNOON TEA

SWEATER: Glassons

PASTEL SKIRT: AliExpress.Com

BOOTS: Number One Shoes

I chose the pastel blue skirt for it’s bright summer colour and I paired it with a long sleeved fluffy sweater (it was a little windy). The textures contrast nicely for a preppy style. I wanted to keep it casual so I added a pair of neutral toned boots.

Halloween Ghost Cupcakes

Halloween Ghost Cupcakes 

It’s almost Halloween and I’ve just finished baking these adorable and spooky Halloween treats. They’re a vanilla & chocolate chip cupcake frosted with a silky mock cream to

ensure they’re characteristically white and their mouths and eyes are decorated with mini chocolate chips. Could it be any easier? Not to mention, they’re ghost shaped. ‘Nuff said.
To begin with, you’ll need a silicone ghost shaped mold. Can’t have ghost cupcakes without a ghost mold, can we?
I found this one at second-hand store but I’m sure you can find one online or at a baking supply store.


The Cupcakes:

👻 If you love light and fluffy cupcakes then I’d suggest using this recipe here,

which was featured on my blog last week where I made low fat mini cupcakes.

They’re sweet and soft and just delicious. I added a sprinkling of chocolate chips to mine for extra flavour.
By this point, you should have a fresh batch of steamy, hot cupcakes which we’ll place on a baking rack until fully cooled. This takes around half an hour.
Once cooled, if your cupcakes have a overstepped their boundaries a bit, take a serrated edged knife and trim the tops off carefully. This will become their new flat bottoms.
Now it’s time to frost them! 

The Mock Cream:

👻 185g butter, cut into cubes👻 3/4 cup caster sugar👻 2 cups cold water👻 1/2 tsp. vanilla essence

👻 Place butter and sugar into a mixing bowl and beat using an electric mixer until light and fluffy (5 minutes)
👻 Add 1 cup of cold water and continue mixing for 1 minute
👻 Pour off as much water as possible from the mixture and beat again until smooth
👻 Add another cup of cold water and repeat the process, pouring off all the water
👻 Add vanilla essence and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy
(Use the same day. Do not refrigerate or the mock cream will separate)

The Decorating Process:
👻 Begin my outlining your ghosts using the mock cream mixture
👻 Fill in the remaining area with the mock cream
👻 Use a butter knife or a small spatula to evenly spread a thick layer of mock cream over the cupcakes

👻 Once smooth, carefully add two chocolate chips for the eyes and one more for the mouth

Voila, your ghost cupcakes are finished and ready for Halloween!

I’ll be posting more Halloween tutorials throughout October so keep an eye out and Happy Halloween!

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes

Mini Vanilla Cupcakes

Hi, there! Today I’m going to teach you how to make these super cute mini cupcakes! They’re low in fat and carbs and due to their portion controlled size are low in calories too! Making them the perfect after dinner snack, with only 60 calories and less than 3 grams of fat!

If you’re someone who finds themselves eating extra calories just before bed then be sure to keep reading so you can prepare these cute little snacks in preparation for those sugar cravings!

Ingredients: 

♥ 115g Butter/Margarine, softened
♥ 50g Sugar
♥ 2 Eggs, lightly beaten
♥ 2 tsp. Vanilla Essence
♥ 115g White Flour
♥ 1 tsp. Baking Powder
♥ 1 tbsp. Milk

Let’s Get Started!

♥ Preheat your oven to 180°C and prepare a 12 hole mini muffin mold

♥ Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and combine until pale and fluffy

♥ Incorporate the eggs 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing thoroughly after each edition

♥ Add vanilla essence

♥ Sift the flour and baking powder into the mixing bowl and fold in carefully with a large spoon or spatula until fully incorporated

♥ Fold the milk into the mixture and…

♥ Your batter is completed!

♥ Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin mold and place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean

♥ add a sprinkling of chocolate chips or m&m's for some added sweetness and flavour♥

I hope you give this recipe a try!

Kawaii Box October 2014 Review

Kawaii Box is a monthly subscription service containing hand picked items from Japan and Korea. I have been receiving a Kawaii Box subscription for four months now and am extremely impressed with it's contents. For just $18.90 a month you receive 10 - 12 unique kawaii products, usually themed, which are shipped at the beginning of each month and arrive about 2 weeks later. I was super excited to receive my first Kawaii Box and even more so this month. October's Kawaii Box featured a total of 11 adorable items!

Each Kawaii Box comes with a cute handwritten note! I also received another 10% discount voucher for the online store Blippo which sells kawaii items similar to those featured in the Kawaii Box!

Puccho Gummy Candy (grapefruit): These candies looked so cute I couldn't wait to taste them! So, I'm sorry for the open packet in the photos (ˆ ڡ ˆ) This candy has a similar consistency to gummy bears and taffy.. inside the candy are small gummy balls which are slightly more chewy than the rest of the candy. They've captured the flavour of a grapefruit well and the candies are slightly bitter and very very yummy! I'm not sure how many are in the packet but they are all individually wrapped similar to Hi-Chew candy.

Jewelry Seal Fashion Sticker: These sticker sets are a very common item featured in the Kawaii Box. These pink pearl stickers are quite large although there are some smaller stickers included. I may use these as a laptop decoration given their size, but I'm sure it'll look cute all the same (・ω・)b

Rilakkuma Phone Charm: The Kawaii Box is yet to disappoint me with their adorable monthly phone charms! This month I received this dessert themed Rilakkuma phone charm. Rilakkuma's head appears to be sitting upon a dessert with cream and berries ԅ(¯﹃¯ԅ)

Furyu Phone Charm: The Furyu Corporation appears to be a business which manufactures cat plushies and I was lucky enough to receive this cutie in this months box! It's so fluffy and cute, I can't stop rubbing it on my faaaaace!

╰(*´︶`*)╯

Neko Pencil Sharpener: I was thinking, just the other day, that I almost had a whole set of kawaii stationary.. All that was missing was a cute pencil sharpener. But look who arrived today?! This cute yet sturdy pencil sharpener is just the thing I needed to complete my set!

=＾● ⋏ ●＾=

Bow Hair Bobbles: So how cute are these? Okay, so my Mum may have neared conniption while tying my hair with these when I was little ('cause they're so gosh darn difficult!) but how can I resist when they're just so sweet. The perfect pigtail accessory ٩(๑❛ᴗ❛๑)۶

 

Patterned Face Cloth: I'm afraid to say that this doesn't trump the Harry Potter face towel in the bathroom.. All the same, it's a very cute and bright pattern and I'm sure it'll add some colour to any bathroom!

Panda Note Set: This is just too cute for words! The set includes one panda note card and one envelope. The cutie who receives this from me is very lucky, just saying (◔ᴥ◔)

Sweets Parade Cupcake Stickers: Okay, so not only are there tons of cute cupcakes in this sticker set but they've also included forks! Forks! I cannot wait to decorate something (everything) with these adorable stickers.. and forks ✺◟(∗❛ัᴗ❛ั∗)◞✺

Pencil Case: I'm not sure where this comes from as it doesn't have any kind of logo written anywhere on the bag. I'm not even sure if it's a pencil case, actually.. Anyway it's super cute and has now become my new makeup travel case. I was fooled, however, by the two zips at the front. There's only one pocket. They both lead to the same pocket. That's almost as bad as pants with fake pockets. 

SRSLY?(ﾟ┏Д┓ﾟ ;)

Well, that concludes this months Kawaii Box, which I was super duper happy with! If you have a chance, pop on over to Blippo.com and browse their super kawaii products (I also hear they've got some amazing DIY Candy Kits) (っ˘ڡ˘ς)

Have an amazing Halloween and hopefully I'll be able to film some tutorials!

Totoro Plush Backpack Review

Aliexpress is an online wholesale store created by Alibaba.com. Sellers purchase items in bulk and are able to sell their products at very low prices. The majority of products featured on Aliexpress have free shipping and are shipped using China Post Airmail, which takes on average 15 - 30 days (including weekends). There are, of course, faster posting options at a higher price. 

This adorable Totoro backpack is currently my 6th item to have been purchased from Aliexpress, so I have been able to review the site accurately. I tried to put off writing this review for at least a month so I was able to test the quality of the bag, which I can now say is 100% reliable.

I purchased and paid for this item on the 20th August 2014 and received it, approximately, 2 weeks later. it was wrapped securely and tightly in its packaging. Once unwrapped, I determined that the product was in perfect condition and identical to the photos featured on the sellers page. The bag cost US $16.00 and the shipping was free.

There is one large pocket in the middle of the bag and smaller pocket at the front. The zipper for the larger pocket is a large gray pompom which is very easy to find and open. The smaller pockets zipper is just an ordinary zip. Both have stayed firmly attached to the bag throughout the month I've owned it and I have been using it daily for school.

The bag is made of cotton and is very soft and comfortable to wear. It also has adjustable straps, so you can wear it at any length and a hook so you are able to hang it up.

My only complaint for this product are the very limp ears. In the pictures above I have attached safety pins connecting the ears to the bag which cause them to be stiffer. However, without the safety pins, the ears fall limply forward. This isn't uncommon in bags of this kind though, therefore I wasn't particularly surprised. 

The rest of the bag definitely exceeded my expectations and I am very happy to have bought it. I love the bag and you'll look very cute while wearing it! I'd recommend this bag to anyone looking for a cute novelty backpack for school or daily use.

Thank you for reading this review! ♥

Kawaii Box September 2014 Review

Kawaii Box is a monthly subscription service containing hand picked items from Japan and Korea. I have been receiving a Kawaii Box subscription for three months now and am extremely impressed with it's contents. For just $18.90 a month you receive 10 - 12 unique kawaii products, usually themed, which are shipped at the beginning of each month and arrive about 2 weeks later. I was super excited to receive my first Kawaii Box and even more so this month. September's Kawaii Box featured a total of 11 adorable items!

Each Kawaii Box arrives with a cute hand written note! In this months box I also received another 10% discount code for an online shop Blippo.Com! Which stocks Kawaii products from Japan and Korea.

Polka Dot Headband: Oddly enough, I already own two of these headbands in pink and navy blue so it was a surprise to open my kawaii box and discover another one! These headbands are super cute and the bow is adjustable so you can wear it on the middle of your hair or off to the side.

Alpaca Coin Purse: I've been seeing these cute little alpacas in plush form all over Tumblr for a while now and I'm happy to have received such a cute little coin purse this month. This sweet alpaca will fit easily into any purse and can even be attached to a keychain or zip.

Loom Bands: I'm going to be honest here, I'm not altogether sure what these are. They've become quite popular here in New Zealand recently and are called Loom Bands. From what I've seen you're able to make bracelets using them so I'll be sure to give them a go!

Moustache Shoelaces: These super cool shoelaces feature a blue polka dot moustache pattern and I can't wait to find the perfect pair of shoes to put them on!

IceCream Phone Charm: How cute is this squishy phone charm?! It even has sprinkles! Very cute and I'm considering attaching it to my school bag..

Kitty Donut Phone Charm: Another dessert phone charm! How lucky am I?! I've seen so many cooking tutorials on how to make these donuts. I might have a go re-creating this phone charm!

In the mean time, enjoy these kawaii donut tutorials:

How to make Rilakkuma Donuts!

Totoro Donuts and Pusheen the Cat Donuts

How to make Cute Kitty Cat (and dog) Donuts

Rilakkuma Snack: I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this treat. I'd gathered from the adorable packaging that inside was some kind of breadstick, possibly similar to pocky. The snack is a breadstick but with a much different flavour than pocky. It's sweet and very yummy and I can't get over how cute the box is!

Card Holder: This is probably the most useful item I received in this months Kawaii Box! I rarely use my wallet and struggle to find places to keep my money cards when I'm going out. But with this cute card holder I can attach it to the inside of my bag and even to my belt loops without the need to carry a big wallet or worry about misplacing my card.

Sweet Cat Notebook: Isn't this so adorable? Inside this pocket sized notebook is pale pink unlined paper, perfect for doodling or writing notes. Another cute notebook to add to my collection, which currently takes up most of a drawer. Would you believe that I haven't bought any of them?

Hamu Hamu Town Hamster Cutouts: Er.. I'm not really sure what these are. They're cute little hamsters cut out of cardboard.. Maybe for arts and crafts?

Fruit Nail Art Stickers: Don't take my word for it, but I'm assuming these are a nail art decoration? They're perfect for summer and will add a cute and fruity touch to any manicure!

Kitty Headphone Jack Charm: Lastly, I received this cute headphone jack charm! This is my favourite item this month and it's just so adorable! I'm not sure whether it's a character, so feel free to comment below if you know ♥

Overall I am extremely happy with the products I received this month! However, if you are considering attaching the keychains and phone charms you received in your Kawaii Box to anything (bag, wallet, phone etc.) be aware that these are not particularly high quality products and I have already lost 2 keychains that have fallen off my school bag so be careful if you're using them in this way.

Subscribe to the cutest monthly subscription service here!

How to make Cookie Monster, Owl & Graveyard cupcakes!

The SPCA is hosting their annual Cupcake Day! My Mum and I are helping out our local SPCA and we decided to bake some yummy cupcakes to sell at the bake sale.
We baked and decorated a total of 36 cupcakes with 3 different decorations, which I'll be showing you in this tutorial! 

Cookie Monster Cupcakes!

♥12 Cupcakes

♥Desiccated Coconut

♥Vanilla Frosting 

♥Blue Food Colouring 

♥White Chocolate Buttons 

♥M&Ms 

♥Small Biscuits

♥1 Dye your vanilla frosting blue 

♥2 Pour your desiccated coconut into a bowl and dye it blue (you will need a lot of food colouring)

♥3 Spread a thin layer of blue frosting over your cupcake

♥4 Dip your cupcake into the blue coconut. Make sure to coat around the sides of your cupcake.

♥5 Using white chocolate as an adhesive, glue your M&Ms to your white chocolate buttons to create Cookie Monsters eyes.

♥6 Cut slits into the cupcake marking where you will place the eyes and the cookie.

♥7 Place the eyes and the cookie into your Cookie Monster Cupcake to complete him!

Owl Cupcakes!

♥12 Cupcakes

♥Chocolate Frosting

♥Oreos 

♥M&Ms 

♥1 Slice your oreo cookies down the middle (try to preserve the icing on both sides) 

♥2 Attach an M&M to each oreo half using white chocolate 

♥3 Frost your entire cupcake with chocolate frosting 

♥4 Position the owls eyes onto the cupcake 

♥5 To create a beak, place an M&M between the owl eyes 

♥6 Using a toothpick or bread knife, pull the frosting into spike shapes above and between the eyes and voilà, your owl cupcakes are complete!

Graveyard Cupcakes!

♥12 Cupcakes

♥Chocolate Frosting

♥Chocolate Oreos 

♥White Oreos 

♥Bone Mould 

♥White Chocolate 

♥1 Melt the white chocolate and pour into the bone mould. Place in fridge to set. 

♥2 Crush the chocolate oreo cookies into fine crumbs and add in a few white oreos 

♥3 Frost the entire cupcake with chocolate frosting 

♥4 Dip small parts of the cupcake into the cookie crumbs 

♥5 Remove the chocolate from the mould and position on the cupcakes (work quickly because the bones will melt) 

There you have it, three adorable cupcakes for any occasion! Not me mention they're very yummy too!