Cornflake Cake - The School Pudding favourite

Well the title is a little mis-leading as I was always in the chocolate concrete with pink custard camp, but coming a close second and slightly easier to make is the Cornflake cake, which I promised to share, so here it is.

Best described as being a sweet pastry base topped with jam and cornflakes and it can be eaten as it is or served with a whole lot of custard. Absolute heaven in a bowl!  Here is everything you need with regards to Utensils and Ingredients!

Utensils

23inch fluted baking tin - mine is a quiche/flan tin but it does the job

Baking beans if you’re making your own pasty (read below)

A wooden spoon

Parchment paper

Baking Beans

Spatula

Ingredients

Depending on your love for making pastry, you can cheat and just buy a ready made pastry base or the ready rolled shortcrust - I’m not one to reinvent the wheel when it comes to pastry, so the ready rolled will do. However for those of you who are a little less lazy, you will need:

• 180g/6oz Plain White Flour
• 80g/3oz Unsalted Butter
• 30ml Water (Cold)

Then for the filling, which is the best bit and it is of course really simple to do and takes less than 10 minutes!

• 135g/5oz of Golden Syrup
• 65g/2.5oz Butter (unsalted)
• 30g/1.1/4oz Soft Brown Sugar
• A pinch of salt 
• 100g/ 3 3/4oz of cornflakes - if you like it crunchier, add a bit more
• 100g/ 3 3/4oz of Strawberry Jam - must be seedless

Now whatever brands you do and don’t choose to use is entirely up to you, but I used the ones you probably are thinking about in your head right now! 

Method

I feel like I am back in Hone Economics, I assume that’s still the fancy name for the class that teaches you to make rock cakes, also known as scones (scownes for the rest of you).

If you are making your own pastry. Place the flour and butter in a food processor/bowl and blitz/mix until the mixture becomes like breadcrumbs. Then add water and again blitz/mix it until you can form a soft dough - then let it chill for an hour. If you have the ready rolled stuff, roll it out and add it to your baking tin and leave it to chill in the fridge for up to 30 minutes as this gives you time to put the oven on to pre-heat to 180°C (160°C fan). 

When you’re ready to bake, line your pastry with parchment paper and fill it with baking beans and then bake it for 15 minutes. Whilst that is cooking away, you can make the filling.

• Firstly, you need to melt the butter, syrup, sugar and the pinch of salt in a pan, once it is completely melted and looks like caramel, stir in the cornflakes and gently, using your spatula, mix until everything is covered, if you want to add more cornflakes, then do, I always end up adding more because I like crunch.
• Take your pastry out of the oven, check it is slightly golden in colour and allow to rest for a few minutes as you give the cornflake mix a final stir to check you are happy with the consistency. 
• Grab the jam and spread it across the pastry base, it is much easier to do if the base is warm. ensure the base is entirely covered with jam
• Get the cornflake mix you have just made and spoon it on top of the jam and spread it out so it is even

Once you have completed those steps, it needs to go into the oven for around 5 minutes. Once those 5 minutes are up, leave it to one side to slightly cool and harden before serving. 

Or if you are like me, have a taste test whilst it is still hot!  

That is it! 

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Build A Home That Represents You

There are many things that we all want from our homes. Most of us desire comfort and security above all else, for one thing. But something else that you might well want from your home is for it to represent you in some way, for it to feel like your home and not just anyone’s. There are a lot of benefits to this, including generally being happy with your life and enjoying being in the home. But how can you actually make it a reality? In this post, we will look at how to build a home that truly represents you.

Image Source - CCO Licence

Put Your Personality In The Walls

One of the easiest and most essential ways to do this is to think about decorating your home in some kind of manner which ultimately represents your personality and who you are. By doing this, you can ensure that you are going to feel so much more at home, and your guests are going to get a stronger sense of who you are as well, which can help with the whole process. That could be as simple as having paintings and pictures up that you like, or even thinking about which colours most closely represent your style and personality. Either way, it will work.

Construct Your Own Design

If you have the opportunity to build your own home from scratch, that is one of the surest ways to get your own personality into the home, so that’s something that you might want to consider too. By constructing your own design in this way, you can essentially make it so that the very structure of the home speaks to you, and that’s something that will then always persist and be the case with that building - something that is attractive to many people. You might need the help of professional architects for this, but it’s worth doing it right.

Image Source - CCO Licence

Try Something New

Whatever you do, one of the main things to remember is that you need to try and do something entirely new. If you manage to do that, then you will find that you are much more likely to make the place yours, and to really get your personality out of it in a big way. Whereas, if you are simply going along with the old lines, it is much less likely that your own personality will shine from your home. It’s not always easy to come up with original ideas, but it’s worth it, even if it takes time to perfect.

Include Your Pastimes

What do you love to do? If you are at a loss, you can look to the answer to this question to discover what you might need to do in the home in order to make sure that it represents you fully and truly. Having your pastimes represented in some way ensures that there is no doubt who the whom belongs to, and you will feel so much more at home in it as a result of this too.

*this post contains PR samples, paid for links and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Catipilla Cat Cushion

It is fair to say that my two fur kids rule the roost, spoilt, pampered and pretty much doing as they please at all hours as the mister and I run to their every need.  Having just redecorated a big part of our home, I am keen for neither kitty to fall in love with glossed wood and scratch it.  To that end, Catipilla is a wonderful source of advice, help and even better than that, they have some solutions with a great back story to share.

I was kindly gifted two of the resting point cushions, the amazing thing about these cushions is that they can be used with the Catipilla High Plate, which you can fix to your walls for your kitty to jump up on and watch over you from a high space.  My cats love to get as high as they can around the house - on wardrobes, tops of doors and now the Kallax unit which we recently built. With all that in mind, we opted for the cushion, which we can put in some of these spaces for them to lay in comfort.

The cushion is made from 100% waterproof materials, so it an be placed both indoor and outdoor, depending on where you kitty loves to sleep and lounge and if you do have a kitty how prefers the outdoors, as one of mine does, the material is also UV resistant and won't fade in the sun. There is a hidden zip on one side and usually, Hector would spot it and attempt to open it and so far after a good few weeks of use, he hasn't yet found it! The zip means that the cover can be removed and washed to keep them clean. 

As you can see, we have both the black and cream coloured cushions and both cats love both of them, with one getting more of a say than the other as to who uses which. We currently have one cushion on the floor near the Kallax and one on top of it so they can pick and choose.

Every year I am asked if I intend to do a Gift guide for cats and I have one almost finished to share and Catipilla will be featuring because these are such amazing products and they cost just £16 each which is more than half the price of the last cat cushions we had, and these are by far better quality.  I now have my eye on a few more products that I think both boys will absolutely love.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Say It With Champers - Personalised Champagne

Who doesn't love a bottle of bubbles to celebrate something new - promotions, new arrivals, weddings, birthdays, engagements or just because it is Friday and you have survived the week!  Say It With Champers is a small business, run by Didier Penine who has a passion for personalised champagne - but possibly not like anything else you have ever seen.  Say It with Champers are a family owned business, one who at present is so unique, they produce their own champagne making them the only personalised Champagne company that has a family produced Champagne.

I was kindly contacted and asked if I would like to personalise my own bottle of champagne, well not an opportunity I was going to pass up if I am honest - champagne and personalised are two things I am living for right now.  We all send gifts to people for various reasons, possibly over the last few months we have relied more on sending things via a delivery service because we cannot meet in person, Say It With Champers is the perfect place to send something a little bit special.

For those who don't know, I got married on Christmas Day, many reasons why we chose that date, but that's our day. So I chose a bottle of champagne that was personalised to the two of us for this celebration (read it is all mine). The bottle I chose was a Classic Brut, but there are other options available such as Rose Champagne and the fun part is designing your own label and again for this there are various options, some to help you with your thinking cap with messaging and words and if you want something more bespoke and more tailored, there is help on hand for that too.  Once you have created your label, you get the opportunity to review it before heading to the checkout.

Once your bottle has been created and personalised, it arrives within 48 hours, the cost of delivery being built into the price, so no surprises at the check-out, however if you need it quicker, there is an option for a 24-hour delivery service too. Prices start around £40, though there is some fabulous offers on right now. 

I was really impressed that my bottle of champagne arrived in one piece, it is so well packaged and protected, so you can rest assured it will get to its destination safely.  So if you have any kind of celebration coming up then Say It With Champers will tick every box you have and it will be a gift that someone won't have had before!

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Pinterest Worthy Home?

One of my go to places for blog inspiration, recipe ideas, crafts and even DIY help is Pinterest, it also happens to be my biggest source of traffic for my blog! 

I have mentioned the use of Pinterest on my blog quite a few times, particularly when it came to renovating my bathroom and making plans for both the lounge and hallway with changes and currently on my hallway board there is a whole host of choices between Engineered Wood flooring and the Parquet that is similar to what we currently have. For the lounge, I am still stuck on deciding if it should be a new carpet, keeping it plain with a coloured rug, though my obsession with PomPom rugs is still very much there.

Now we all would love to have that brand new feeling to our home and achieving that Pinterest-worthy look does often seen unachievable with the white walls, marble effect kitchen worktops and the open plan kitchen and diner, but we can't all have that. So, taking my inspiration from Pinterest, I do have a few ideas I want to incorporate.

1 - Gallery Picture Wall. I love seeing people use their Instagram to show off the latest prints they have from Desenio or a store on Etsy and between Instagram and Pinterest, I have started to build my own gallery wall, making it a mixture of my own artwork and photos. 

What I love is that there is no right or wrong way to choose how to hang your pictures on the wall, there are no rules.

2. The Sideboard.  We have noo room for a coffee table to style books on, I even have a coffee table styling board on Pinterest because they fascinate me. So instead we have a sideboard which houses candles, a few books and then some stationery for when we work from home. But on top, there is a nice bit of space which now houses my electric wax burner, a few books and a lantern. What I love is that it makes the corner of the room much cosier than it once was, but there is still room to add a candle or two, but it is a work in progress.

3. Plants.  I have shared the outdoors, my concrete terrace on Instagram a fair few times, showing off the homegrown veggies that we have somehow managed to grow. It all stems from my obsession with tomato plants, which remind me of my childhood and from there we have added onions, spring onions, runner beans, peas, beetroot, garlic, coriander, basil, chives, parsley, potatoes and carrots. But inside plants are where my attention has moved too and once again, Pinterest has been my inspiration. In the bathroom, I now have my Cacti and a recently added Aloe Vera, both fairly easy to look after and maintain. 

However, I am now pretty taken with water plants and, like this one again a Pinterest thing and have my eye on a few ideas.  I would ideally like to have at least one plant in every room!

4. Lights.  I really hate the light fitting I have in the hallway, it has been there since we moved in and now the hallway has been painted. As my hallway is fairly short, we need something that allows a lot of light, particularly in the winter months, so block colour, for me, wouldn't work. 

My current light shade of choice is this Hiko Easy-To-Fit from John Lewis, it has been sat in my basket for a few weeks now and at £55 it isn't as expensive as others that I also like.

I have kept my list quite small, I wanted to create something that was achievable and didn't turn into a bucket of stress. As one task is completed I will add another one to it and so on, until I have got as far as I can go. I am definitely not someone who is a master of interior design, but I am enjoying making a few changes to my home.

Do you use Pinterest and are there any changes you want to make?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

My Home Ideas 2020

Having been working from home since the last week of March, my usual 'break time' routines have changed from a natter with my work colleagues to putting the washing on, washing up, playing with the cats or cleaning the bathroom, all the jobs I did before work, after work or on the weekend!

What I have loved is changing things around and making the lounge cosier, the bedroom less cluttered, the kitchen also looks less cluttered and the local charity shops have done very well on the book and old clothes front. It is amazing how just a few small changes can make such a difference.

Textures and layerings are something I have an obsession with. Flooring can make all the difference to how a room looks and whilst underneath our carpets we have Solid Wood flooring that I really don't like as it is too light, we have instead always had rugs in the centre of the room. What I love about having a big soft rug is that in the winter months, it adds warmth to the room. But a rug doesn't have to be one colour, it could be bold, it could be a funky pattern or it could be a homemade rug of pompoms, something I have seen on Pinterest a few times and just love the look of and something I would love to do.

In the lounge, we have a sideboard which became a bit of a dumping ground for keys and wallets and the drawer was full of 'stuff' that just got moved around, a useful space really not being useful.  So, I chucked everything out and basically started again. 

Now on the top, we have a vase of flowers, a few candles and my Electric Wax Melt Burner, which creates such a pretty pattern across the walls and is much cosier than before. New cushions and a few throws have changed how the room looks and as I use it to work from home, it is also practical too.

Have you used your time off during lockdown to do something with your living space?

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

From House to Home

(AD) If you follow me on Instagram, you might have noticed that I have shared a bit more homelife - the cats, the bathroom, books, flowers and my insanely pretty wax met burner, don't worry I am not about to start sharing Hinch lists or anything like that, but working from home does lead to doing those jobs you have never quite finished or completed.

When we moved into this place well over 10 years ago now, it was nothing like we had agreed when we signed all the legal papers. It took 3 months from exchange and completion to actually move in and boy oh boy was it a nightmare. I had cleverly arranged for all our furniture to arrive on the day we moved in, the broadband people, I was going to sort all the bills out and ensure we had done the Council tax and so on... when I opened the door with the keys, well... someone had been living here that was obvious. In the middle of the bedroom we had furniture that was not mine, there was no skirting boards, light fittings, curtain poles and door handles had been removed - all those annoying things that you need. To put everything right, it takes time, it takes money and of course patience.

The hallway is quite easily the most used part of the house, we all walk through it several times a day and whilst the skirting boards have now been fixed in place and we have finally started to hang pictures on the wall now it has been decorated. The one thing we still haven't done is changed the parquet flooring*, part of which suffered water damage when we had a leak from the flat upstairs. Instead, we have just made do because the bathroom renovation cost a little more than we had budgeted for, but worth every penny.  

Slowly but surely, we have made this house a home, granted as time goes on things need replacing and fixing - again the fridge freezer is being a nightmare, so that is the next purchase, but oddly, I have enjoyed doing little bits here and there, changing one room at a time.

Is there a room in your house that you are working on right now?

*this post contains PR samples, paid link and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Why use wax melts in your home

Using wax melts is a fun way of fragrance your home, a great way of avoiding the use of household chemicals. Wax melt is made from the same material as a candle. 

The method of using both is very different from each other. A scented candle is required to be burnt to release its aromas while a wax melt is heated. Most scented candles contain paraffin which can be harmful to your health. It can also cause discoloration to your walls and curtains. Using soy wax melts contains no paraffin and you will get cleaner fresher aromas.

Soy wax melts

Soy wax melts are made from soy-bean oils, they are fragrance with essential oils. Soy wax melts have a lower melting point than normal wax, be sure to store it in a cool dry place to preserve its fragrance and prevent it from melting. People that often react to paraffin within normal wax melts, using soy wax melts are a great alternative.

How to use wax melts

Wax melts are required to be heated, this can be achieved with an electric wax melt burner or an oil burner. Using an oil burner requires a tea light, the heat fro the tea light will melt the wax. Some people might be restricted using this method in the presence of children. An electric wax melt burner requires no open flame to melt the wax. A heated plate is heated, and you can melt your wax by a switch of a button.

Once there are no more aromas coming from the melted wax you will need to dispose of the old wax and replace it with a new one. Or you can simply add essential oils to your old wax melts.

Be creative with wax melts

There are hundreds of different scented wax melts to choose from, you can mix different aromas to your choice to create your own unique aroma. It is also very easy to create your own. You melt some old candles until liquid in a pan, and add you're essential oils. Place the liquid wax melts into a muffin tray, wait 24 hours for the wax melts to cool down.

Which wax melts to choose from

Some cheap wax melts are scented with chemicals, be sure to go for the essential oils used as a fragrance. For the best quality aromas go for soy wax melts.

If you are looking to fragrance your home with natural aromas be sure to check The natural gift for their great products.

*this post contains PR samples and/or Affiliate Links unless indicated otherwise - you can learn more on my Disclaimer page.

Kiss Air Candles - The Ice Cream Parlour collection

When someone says candles and Ice Cream, the two probably shouldn't go together right? Wrong!  They very much do. Today Kiss-Air Candles have launched their new Ice Cream Parlour Summer collection and within the range, there are going to be five new candles, all of which have been inspired by popular ice cream flavours and all sound good enough to eat.

The Ice Cream Parlour collection will include scents such as Mint Choc Chip, Salted Caramel, Mango Sorbet, Rum and Raisin and Black Cherry scented candles.  I was kindly sent Mint Choc Chip and Mango Sorbet and all I can say is that I wanted to eat them not burn them as soon as I lifted the lid to see how good they smelt and whether or not they did remind me of ice-cream - they did!

Mint Choc Chip** is the first one I lit and it smells very much like a Mint Choc Feast Ice-cream to me, the kind I always want on a hot summer day because it cures my craving for chocolate whilst being cooling at the same time.  

This candle is spot on with an equal mix of being peppermint and bitter chocolate, both scents you can detect separately and together and it smells so good, seriously amazing and it is neither over the top sickly sweet or pungently minty, for me the mix is just perfect. Combining notes of peppermint with a twist of bitter chocolate chips, this is a massive thumbs up from me.

Mango Sorbet** is made up of a refreshing blend of exotic ripe mango, lemon and raspberries all rolled into one to create what can only be described as heavenly.  The kind of scent you want to burn on a hot spring/summer day and one that reminds me of a Calippo ice-lolly that I love to eat to keep refreshed and hydrated during the summer. One alight, the scent, which is not at all overly sweet or sickly, quickly fills the room and lingers really nicely. 

For me Mango Sorbet is a scent that everyone can love, male or female and when it is alight, it smells exactly as you expect it to.

The candles I have pictured above are the large tins which have an RRP £8.50 and have a burn for up to 30 hours. As always, candles do come with warnings, one of them being ensure you don't leave them burning unattended and take extra care when handling the metal tins because they get really hot. I would also advise placing all candles on a heat proof mat when burning the candle.

If you like the look and sound of Kiss-Air's Ice Cream Parlour Collection, look out for them as they launched today and prices of the products differ depending on their size.  

What do you think to this collection?  Do any of the scents catch your attention?

Best ways to Inexpensively Furnish your Home

You don’t need to spend a fortune in order to have great furniture. There are loads of ways to furnish your home for less. Here’s how to go about it.

Up-cycle

It’s no longer about just recycling these days, but about taking unwanted items and either enhancing their quality or using them for a different purpose than what they were designed for (e.g. wall-mounting old bicycle handlebars as coat and hat racks). There are so many different things you can come up, you’re really only limited by your imagination. If you like the rustic look and want to introduce some quirky or funky elements to your place, this is a great way to go about it. Up-cycling is a great way to achieve a totally unique look in your home and you won’t have the guilt of adding more rubbish to landfill. For more great interior design ideas, you can always check out display homes from home builders such as Coral Homes.

Shop second-hand

There are unbelievable savings to be made by buying second-hand furniture. Make sure you shop around as some people expect far too much for their items, while others might even offer things for free as they just want them gone. If you’re searching online, see if you can set up and save a search, so that you automatically get email notifications whenever new items matching your description are listed for sale.

Swap your stuff

Swapping is becoming increasingly popular and there are now a bunch of swapping websites dedicated to linking people who want to swap their items with other people. Also, ask around your circle of family and friends and see if anyone is up for exchanging things.

Discount furniture

Affordable furniture doesn’t necessarily mean cheap and nasty. There are a number of discount furniture outlets out there who offer quality furniture at very reasonable prices. This is usually because they can buy in bulk and pass on the savings to you. Online furniture stores often offer items on Sale and Clearance as well. You can choose just one or two pieces of furniture or buy entire dining, bedroom or outdoor suites. This is a great way to save money, especially if you want to direct your money towards owning your own home.

Op shops and markets

This is a great way to pick up some funky vintage and retro pieces to add some flair and originality to your furniture collection. By shopping at second-hand stores and markets, you can often pick up an absolute bargain.

Restore and re-upholster

You can breathe new life into old and damaged pieces by stripping, sanding and either staining or painting them with exciting, modern colours that really make a statement. If you’ve got a tatty old sofa, don’t throw it out. Pay a visit to a restoration company and take a look at some of the stunning colours and patterns now available in upholstery fabrics.

Furnishing your home doesn’t need to cost a small fortune. Just use a bit of creative thinking and employ some of the methods above to make your house feel like home for less.

Do you do any of these? Do you have any hints or tips?

**Guestpost

Moulin Noir and the Disney Villain!

I am a big fan of classic French furniture.  Having just come back from a few days away in France, we went sight seeing and got to see some fantastic houses and we had afternoon tea in a fantastic classic French Hotel and in every room it was so spectacularly decorated that I wanted to bring home one of the bedroom suites, sadly I wasn't allowed to take photos but I did get to look in every room which was either white or black, this included the tea room and the main dinner room.

When you think of French furniture, you think classic, well finished, handcrafted and decorated which is exactly what this was.  The walls were a deep rooted purple and all of the furniture the deepest darkest black I had ever seen with the most intricate detail I have ever seen, it is something I can imagine being in the bedroom of a Disney Villain.  Then there is the velvet finish which really gives it that extra wow factor for me.

When I got home I typed Moulin Noir into my search engine and found a lot of similar styles to the ones I had fallen in love with in France, tradefurniturecompany.co.uk has the styles which are the most similar and this is what they look like:

Image Source

I absolutely love the bed and the vanity table with the mirror and the stool, the detail is just amazing and I can well imagine the bench sitting at the bottom of the bed for my three cats to sleep on.  If only I had a house big enough to show off styles such as these.

Do you like this type of furniture?  Is there a style which you wish you could have in your home?

*In collaboration with tradefurniturecompany.com

My £2 challenge!

Now we are almost a month into 2014, most people will have had their credit card statements, seen their bank account and are thinking about next Christmas as well as other activities and events in between and there is one thing all of these things have in common - Money!

As I have spent hours reading and commenting on other blogs, scrolling up and down sites such as Facebook, Money-saving Expert, and Twitter I have discovered that there is a wide range of different money-saving methods out there. For example, when it comes down to saving money, whereas some people prefer to work with financial services providers like Aspiration, others prefer to do things a little differently. That being said, if you would like to learn more about the different ways that financial services providers like Aspiration can help people to save money, you can take a look at these aspiration online bank reviews. As for me though, over the years I have attempted spending bans. Many of us are currently doing them as well as looking for other ways to save some money and I am sure we can all manage to save just £2 per day from the change we have in our pockets, wallets, or floating around in our handbag.

Once the money to save has been found, for me it needs to be out of sight, so this is my money box, Freddie the Frog and I have had him since my University days when I used to put all kinds of coinage into him and whilst he is looking a little older and a little bit battered, he is the perfect size for this challenge.

We all have loose change in our handbags, pockets and purses and I don't know about you, but I do find it rather annoying and heavy and am always wondering what to do with it.  So what I am going to now do is keep all of that change at the end of each day and try to ensure there is a minimum of £2 and then I put it into the frog.  Naturally I would prefer to have £1 and £2 coins but as long as it adds up to £2 that will do and if I have a little bit more change that will also go into the frog.  Then by the end of the year I should have no less than £730 which I can either use beforehand when buying Christmas Presents or leave it until the New Year and have a good old spend in the sales.

It is now 13th January and I already have £30 in my frog, £30 I would have probably just used on things I didn't need!  Putting that into perspective, it is almost a Naked3 Palette!

Is anyone else doing anything like this or have you tried it in the past?