My Goals for 2015

This year I really want to make more of an effort working towards the life I want to live. I have a very long list of changes I would like to make which focus on three main areas: diet, fitness and life. I came across the book 52 Small Changes: One Year to a Healthier, Happier You a couple of years ago, and I really like the concept of making a small change every week. The bigger goals like "eat healthier" become smaller, more manageable goals like "eat 4 to 6 serving of vegetables per day". This gives you a chance to really focus on achieving that one goal each week. Sounds like a good idea to me, so I'm going to try it out this year and incorporate as many of the changes that I want to make as I can. Really, how hard can it be?

As with anything like this, everyone is different. Everyone has different goals, interests and capabilities. Hence why I am not going to be following the plan laid out in this book to the T, but simply as a guide. A lot of the changes laid out in the book are things I agree with, however some of them I am not interested in so I will be replacing those with one of my personal goals.
I wanted to document the changes I make on here, firstly for accountability but also to keep check of progress and to share my experiences. At the end of each week I will share with you the change I focused on, what I did and whether I achieved it. For this week I thought it would be a good idea to give you an idea of my end goals for each area.

Diet
Over the last few years I have become increasingly more interested in living more healthily. I have read a lot on what is good for our bodies and what isn't, however very little of this information I have actually put into practice. I have been trying to go dairy free for over a year now but never fully committed to it. I am admittedly addicted to sugar so would like to cut that out. I am considering going gluten free. I would like to eat a lot more vegetables, eat three proper meals a day and snack healthily.

Fitness
Currently I do not do any kind of exercise. This is very bad. I am unfit, I get out of breath easily and I have very little strength or stamina. I have never enjoyed sports, and P.E. was always the lesson I dreaded at school. However, now that I'm a bit older and a lot less active than I used to be, I really do recognise the benefits of it. I've got no specific goals for fitness, but soon as though I'm starting from the bottom any progress is good.

Life 
This category includes pretty much anything not covered by the previous two. Household, relationship, finance and self development goals included. I want to figure out what I enjoy and want to do with my life, get more organised, improve my money management and and stay in contact with friends and family to name a few.

New Year's Eve Makeup

We may not be going out for New Year's Eve this year but the occasion is a pretty good excuse to get dressed up. When it comes to New Year's Eve, I think it's the night to go all out when applying makeup. There's no holding back with the glitter, the smokiness or the liquid liner. Although I still steer clear of the disco ball look!

The Eyes
Before starting my eye makeup I stuck a short piece of sellotape at an angle on the outer corner of each of my eyes to create a sharp finish. I applied the shade Foxy from my Naked Basics palette all over my lids and blended the shade Faint through the crease. Then I blended Darkhorse from the original Naked palette into the outer corner of my eyes, adding and blending more until I was happy with it. Next came the Barry M Dazzle Dust in Bronze which I packed on all over my eye lids, followed by a little of their Fine Glitter Dust in Silver on top. I used my Maybelline Master Precise Liquid to create a thin line above my lashes, extending in the outer corners. My Rimmel Scandel Eyes Kohl Kajal in Black was used to line my upper and lower water lines. I added a little of the shade Faint to the outer corners underneath my eye and Half Baked from the Naked palette on the inner corner. Finally, I used the Max Factor Clump Defy mascara.

The Base
I stuck to my favourites at the moment, starting with the Bourjour Healthy Mix Serum Gel foundation in 51 vanilla. Under my eyes and on any blemishes I used Maybelline's Fit Me concealer in 15 and dusted over a light layer of bareMinerals Original Foundation in Fair to finish off. I attempted a little contouring using Bourjour's Chocolate Bronzer in 52.

The Lips
I went for a nude lip using Rimmel's Moisture Renew lipstick in the shade Notting Hill Nude with bareMinerals Marvelous Moxie gloss in Dazzler on top (a limited edition shade which I recieved in a gift box).

Hopefully you will still find this of interest even though New Year's Eve has come and gone, but I wanted it to show the makeup that I actually wore for New Year's Eve.
Happy New Year! I hope 2015 is the best year yet for everyone.

New Year's Eve Nails

 I decided to paint my nails before the weekend as we went to visit Michael's family, and soon as though it has lasted 5 days with no chipping so far it is going to be on my nails for New Year's Eve. I used one of the new nail polishes I received for Christmas, Essie's Chinchilly, as the base. On top I put Essie's Summit of Style, a recent purchase and the star of the show. It is beautiful top coat containing different sized bronze glitter. I am not a fan of yellow gold, so the bronze tone of this glitter polish is what I was drawn to and is what makes it quite unusual. 

What are you favourite glitter nail polishes?

What I Got For Christmas 2014

As usual, I was spoilt by all my family and my boyfriend this Christmas. I recieved more than I could have wished for and am very grateful. As a disclaimer, this post is not intended to show off what I got but simply because I enjoy seeing other people's posts like this. Also, I thought it would be something nice to look back on in the future.

Starting with the photo above, I was very happy when I unwrapped the Jo Malone Blackberry & Bay Body & Hand Wash from my boyfriend's Mum. It was a very thoughtful gift as she had remembered when I went into a Jo Malone store with her a couple of months ago and was longing to try some of their products. She also gave me the Cedar & Lemon Bath Fizzer from a local shop in Norfolk, The Natural Soap Company. 
From my Dad and his partner we received a huge box filled with food, about half of which was homemade (not pictured). The box included a cake, some truffles, bicsotti, crackers and some nuts. This was great as with myself and Michael working over Christmas we hadn't bothered to buy much food in! Tucked away inside the box was the La Maison de Senteurs Hand Care Purse containing a mini Hand Wash and Hand Cream in the Fleur d'Orangier scent.
My boyfriend, Michael, gave me many things that I had on my wishlist and he knew I wanted. Possibly my favourite was the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette which has been on my wishlist since it was released more than a year ago. The LUSH Mrs Frosty gift set, which was limited edition for Christmas but contains 3 products, 2 of which are from their permanent line: the Butterball, So White and The Comforter.

Michael also gave me the Tweezerman for Benefit Eyelash ProCurl Curler, the Essie Favourites to Fall For Duo containing Bahama Mama and Chinchilly, the scent and the large mug in the Cosmic print from the Monsoon Home range at Denby. The blu-ray boxset I received from my brother, as well as a box of Lindt Chocolates (not pictured).
From my Mum I received  the Stuffed Burger Press from Lakeland. Also, following on the tradition of getting a new Christmas tree ornament every year we received not one but 4 new decorations. The Ceramic Starbucks Red Cup Ornament and knitted bear were from my Mum, the bird was from Michal's Mum and the silver glass bauble was from Michael.

I am very thankful for all the presents I received. I hope you all got everything you wished for.

Pecan Blondies

I have a bit of an obsession with white chocolate. These have the flavour of white chocolate melted into a cake giving them a buttery, smooth taste. Nuts and white chocolate is a well known food combination, and rightly so. These are simply delicious. They may even be better than brownies!

Makes 16 squares

You will need:

175g White Chocolate
115g Unsalted Butter
100g Caster Sugar
2 Medium Eggs
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
125g Plain Flour
½ tsp Baking Powder
150g Pecan Halves

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180 C and prepare a 20cm square non-stick cake tin, greased and base-lined with greaseproof paper. Break up the chocolate and put it into a heatproof bowl with the butter. Put the bowl over a pan of of hot water and melt gently while stirring frequently.When the chocolate is nearly all melted, remove the from the pan and stir until smooth.
2. Stir in the sugar, and leave to cool for 2 minutes. (Don't worry if the mixture looks curdled at this stage.)
3. Put the eggs and vanilla into a separate bowl and whisk until frothy. Add to the chocolate mixture and stir well.
4. Sift in the flour with the baking powder and stir. Add 100g of the pecan halves and mix in.
5. Transfer the mixture into the prepared tin and spread out evenly. Scatter the remaining pecan halves over the top. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until a skewer inserted halfway between the centre and the side of the cake comes out clean.
6. Leave to cool (if you can resist!), before removing the cake from the tin and cutting into squares.

Butternut Squash and Pancetta Pasta

This has become another one of my favourite past dishes. It is so simple to make, yet so flavourful. I love the slightly sweet flavour of the butternut squash along with the salty flavour of the pancetta.

Serves 3

You will need:

225g Penne Pasta ½ Butternut Squash (Peeled and diced)
1 Small Onion (Diced)
155g Pancetta (or diced bacon)
1 tbsp Olive Oil
1 Clove of Garlic (Crushed)
½ tsp Dried Mixed Herbs
⅔ Cup of Chicken Stock
¼ Cup of Grated Parmesan Cheese

Method:

1. In a medium sized saucepan, add the olive oil and pre-heat over a medium. Add the pancetta and cook until it just starts to become crispy. Remove from the pan and set aside.
2. In the same saucepan, add the onion and butternut squash. Season lightly and cook for 12-15 minutes or until they start to develop some colour. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute.
3. Add the herbs and the chicken stock. Cook for 15-18 minutes or until the butternut squash becomes tender.
4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the package instructions. 
5. Add the pasta to the saucepan along with the cheese and cooked pancetta. Stir until fully mixed and serve immediately.

Goat's Cheese and Red Onion Filo Parcels

These were a bit of an experiment but turned out well. When doing our weekly food shop we saw something similar in the supermarket and thought we would try to recreate them at home. Using online recipes for guidance we came up with these. I think they would be perfect at a party as buffet food or canapés.

The picture above has still got some flour on the outside from the filo pastry. They still tasted good, but it might improve them if the melted butter was brushed on the outside of them before they were cooked. Here's a photo to show how delicious the filling was!

Makes 10

Ingredients:

1 pack Ready-Made Filo Pastry
125g Goat's Cheese
3 Red Onions
25g Walnuts (chopped)
2tbsp Butter
2tbsp Butter (melted)

Method:

1. Peel the onions and finely slice them into half-moon shapes. Add the 2 tbsp of butter to a frying pan on a medium heat. Once melted add the onions and cook for 45mins to 1 hour, or until the onions have started to caramelise and have reduced in size, stirring occasionally. Take off the heat.
2. Cut the goat's cheese into 10 chunks. 
3. Cut each filo sheet into 6 rough squares. Using a non-stick baking tray, start to prepare the filo parcels. Lay a square of filo pastry on the baking tray. Using a pastry brush (or your fingers if you don't have one), brush the top of the filo square with the melted butter. Place the next filo square on top at an angle to the first one. Again, brush the top with butter. Place another filo square on top, brush with butter and place the final square on top. You should have 4 layers of filo pastry, which each have been rotated slightly so they are at different angles.
4. Brush the melted butter around the edge of the layered filo in a circle. Place a small amount of the onions in the centre, then place a chunk of goats cheese on top and finally adding some of the chopped nuts.
5. Gather the edges of the filo pastry up around the filling, pressing them together to seal the parcel.
6. Repeat until you have run out of filo pastry and filling. Should make around 10 parcels. When you have finished preparing them, spread them out on the baking tray.
7. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for 10-15 minutes, or until they are becoming golden on the top and slightly around the outside.