Wednesday 29 August 2012

How to: Dip Dye Denim Shorts

Hey lovelies,

So with my holiday coming up (the one that I'm now actually on) I decided to get a bit creative and taking some inspiration from Kirsty at Bows and Belles and her dip dye denim shirt post, I decided to re-vamp my old and unused denim shorts. They were pretty plain, dark denim and I never wore them so I had nothing to lose if it didn't work. I did it all for free as I just used what I had at home and have to buy anything so it was a really cheap and easy process which only took a couple of hours.

Firstly I cut my shorts as the hems were originally rolled up, so I unpicked the stitching and snipped away until they were at the length I wanted. I then folded the shorts in half and put a clip coat hanger on the shorts at the top so that they were level all the way across the bottoms.



I then filled a sink bowl with two bottles of Domestos bleach ( I did try one but it wasn't enough for how high I wanted the dye to go) and placed the shorts in the bowl so that just under half was immersed in the bleach.


I left them soaking and went back to check on them every 15 minutes or so to check their progress. Altogether it took about 1 hour 50 minutes to get them the white shade I wanted at the bottom. After about 1 hour-ish, it went a light blue which did look nice but I wanted it a bit lighter so left it.



As soon as they were white enough, I placed them in another bowl in the sink and ran cold water all over them before putting them in a bowl of cold water and white vinegar. I used a whole bottle of this to stop the bleach dying and running and then I put them in the washing machine for two washes.


Once they were dry I cut them up a bit more and using a nail buffer I rubbed over where I had cut to give it a bit more of a ragged-y look and hey presto, brand new looking shorts that are much more fashionable than they previously were and for free as all of the bits I needed were already at home.


The finished result...


What do you think of my new shorts? Is this something you'll try at home?

Love 
x

Tuesday 28 August 2012

Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stains ♥

Hey beauts,

I've been wanting to post this for ages but never got around to taking the pictures. The other week I accidentally fell into Boots and accidentally bought two Revlon Lipstains because I have zero will power and they were screaming out to me to buy them in all of their £2 off goodness. I wanted a coral-y orange colour to make a nice change from all my pink lipsticks so I chose Flame, but not wanting to be left out, Passion also persuaded me to buy it and I got that too. These are my first lipstains as my collection consists of mostly lipsticks and tinted lipbalms.

I would say that the pigmentation and the brightness of each are pretty good, although this could be because they are brand new, but I was quite impressed with how bold they are, as this is great for a night out as you can build it up to be even more intense if you like. The only problem I did find was that, although you don't have to apply a lot, they can go a little patchy so a few coats are sometimes needed, it just seems to depend on how much comes out each time.

As you would expect from a lipstain, the staying power is fantastic. I even tested it out (unintentionally) by eating fish and chips for my lunch, and it still looked as good after the meal as it did before which was amazing as you definitely don't get this with some lipsticks. I'm not entirely sure what the lip balm at the other end is for as it doesn't make much difference to the overall look, but I suppose for really dry lips it's a good addition as lip stains are quite drying at times. I have heard that they can dry out quite quickly so I'll have to keep my eye on that and see how I get on, I hope they don't though because I do love the colours.

Haha had to put this cheeky shot from the boyfriend taking the pictures. A mirror is deffo needed for precision, not as easy as lipstick!

 Flame...

Passion..
This one did apply easier and definitely looked less patchy.

I think for summer, Flame is my favourite as it's a gorgeous colour to brighten up day to day make up, and I think it would be the perfect transition from day to night make up, Passion is that shade of pink that will be cute all year round.


Have you tried the Revlon lip stains? What did you think of them?

x

Sunday 26 August 2012

Cabbage Soup Diet | Day 7

Hi guys,

I have to be honest, I got up yesterday and could not face the soup at all when I smelt it, so I binned it and decided to just finish a day early. The way it had made me feel the last couple of days were not worth it at all and I'd weighed myself and felt happy enough, one more day wouldn't have made much difference.

Instead I just stuck to fruit and then had chargrilled chicken and salad for dinner, so I stuck to healthy foods and counted my cals. Overall I lost 6lbs, which I'm really happy with. I'm not totally sure I'd do it again, definitely not in a hurry anyway, but I have enjoyed following the strict regime as it's really helped me avoid cheating and motivated me to continue just by counting down the days and reading what is/isn't good for you on certain days etc.

I would recommend it to people for a quick weight loss, maybe for an upcoming event or holiday but I would advise to take care. I'd also suggest to eat as much soup as you can to fill yourself up, as looking back I know I probably didn't have as much of that as I could have, but I was worried I'd run out and have to keep making more batches. If anyone is interested in following this diet, then good luck! In my opinion it does work, and i'll be interested to see what the following days/weeks are like, as I know after some quick diets you just put the weight back on really quickly. If anyone has any questions I'd be happy to answer them or give any advice on how I managed the 6 days or if anyone has any advice for me on how to improve if I do it again, I'd be happy to hear it :)


Love 
x

Friday 24 August 2012

Cabbage Soup Diet | Day 6

Heyy beauts,

Today wasn't as good as the other days. I woke up feeling really sick and faint and my arms and legs felt so weak, it was clearly the result of not having eaten properly/enough for the week. As I was at my friends I had to have something before I left so I had an orange as a little sugar boost because I had to drive home, and when I got home I ignored the soup because there's no way I could have had that at 10 am so I had one weetabix and a tiny bit of milk as I needed to go and get my eyebrows done and needed energy for that. I've been shattered all day and although the weetabix really helped give me an energy boost, I have been so tired, I've been napping so much this week!

My dinner today was Steak and vegetables and I could have had up to three steaks if I'd wanted! I could never eat that much so I just stuck to one and some green vegetables and although I couldn't finish it all it was nice to eat a real meal. I was supposed to have my soup at least once today but I didn't feel up for it at all so I just had some fruit for my lunch. I obviously didn't really stick to today's rules apart from having the steak and veg, but I think the whole diet finally took it's tole on me and I just did not want to eat it again. I'll probably have the soup again tomorrow and my dinner is brown rice and veg, so I will eat that. I haven't been unhealthy today so I'm not too fussed about not sticking to the rules but I could have sold my own arm for some bread or a doughnut. Only one day left and then I can eat what I want again, although I definitely won't be running to all the sweet things I'm craving, I'll still be good...promise.


Love
x



Thursday 23 August 2012

Cabbage Soup Diet | Day 5

Heyy guys,

Today was my 'Beef and Tomatoes' day, so I am allowed to eat up to 6 tomatoes, and up to 20 ounces of beef (whaaat) I would never be able to eat that much! I just got some sliced beef and cut up some tomatoes for it and had that for breakfast (yummy). It was nice to eat meat though and the tomatoes made a nice change too. These next two days are supposed to be introducing meat back into my diet again and it spices things up a bit, so it's not so bad.

I have been feeling pretty tired for the last few days though and I've been napping everyday, I don't have much energy to do much in the day either, probably due to the fact that I'm really not eating much at all but I am feeling better in myself. Drinking so much water is pretty hard though, because I'm just not often that thirsty so that's a bit of a chore but it's good for me so I can't really complain about that. Getting a bit hungry now so obviously my my soup is calling me... Looking forward to tomorrow - I get to eat steak and vegetables (and my soup at least once) so it'll be like a proper meal finally! :D

In other news...I dip dyed some old denim shorts yesterday so look forward to a post on that soon!

Love 
x

Cabbage Soup diet | Day 4

Heyy lovelies,

Quick update on today, not really much to report. It was the bananas and skimmed milk day today but I don't like milk so I skipped that. I did try a glass but just couldn't finish it, there's just something about it which I don't like. I did have 3 bananas throughout the day though and then had soup for my dinner followed by another banana for dessert. You aren't allowed to have more than 8 bananas in total but you can drink as much skimmed milk as you like and have your soup at least once, so it's not a particularly hard day but you don't actually eat much.

I wasn't as hungry as I thought I'd be or as I have been on the other days though but I am pretty tired, and don't have much energy. But in other news, I had a cheeky step on the scales, even though I shouldn't have and should have waited until Sunday, but I've lost 4lbs so far, so that's encouraging :D little bit of motivation to carry on anyway. Let's just hope it doesn't go up or something! I have also noticed a difference when I look in the mirror so, all's good so far.

P.s. Here is the soup - I've blended it now, it's much better, even though it does look pretty rank it tastes nice. I think the spices I added helped! :).


x

Tuesday 21 August 2012

Cabbage Soup Diet | Day 3

Heyy lovelies,

Today was a fruit and vegetables day which meant that I could fill up on fruit and vegetables of my choice throughout the day, as long as I had the soup at least once. I had watermelon and blueberries for breakfast and as I was going shopping I took an orange in the car to munch on because I knew I'd get hungry at some point. I then bought some carrot sticks and a fruit pot when I was at the shopping centre so I could stave off my hunger whenever I needed to and have the fruit for lunch. Although, the worst thing happened and I dropped my fruit pot on the floor in the Apple shop and when I went to get another they'd sold out :( so I had to just wait until I got home for my soup.

I had the soup for my dinner and I blended it tonight to be a little bit more adventurous, ha. It think I actually prefer it blended as it's not so watery, and then I treated myself to a few strawbs after. I've just been drinking water mainly, with the odd glass of cranberry juice thrown in for good measure, as that is one of the permitted drinks. I am also allowed to drink unsweetened teas, so I've had those occasionally.

I have been a bit peck today though, especially after dropping my lunch, but I've avoided all temptation and even avoided sweets, crisps and popcorn at my friends last night, so I think I deserve a gold sticker for that! 
Tomorrow is my 'Bananas and Skimmed Milk' day but I don't like milk so that should be fun. I might substitute it for just normal fruit, I'm not sure yet. I'll decide tomorrow - living on the edge or what! 

I will put a picture of the lovely soup eventually, but I keep forgetting to take one because when it comes to eating it I'm just so hungry! I will remember tomorrow (or thursday) though! :)

Love x

*Picture taken from http://indian-teenage.in/balanced-diet/

Monday 20 August 2012

Cabbage Soup Diet | Day 2

Hey guys,

So it's day two, and after eating just soup and fruit yesterday, I have to admit I did go to bed a bit hungry, but I just ignored it as it was only day 1 and I wasn't going to quit there. I obviously haven't noticed much difference as it's only been one day, but I haven't weighed myself again either because I heard that it can fluctuate a lot during the week with water retention and being a change to your normal diet etc so I'm not sure of the results so far, but I'm not worried. I don't seem to have put weight on anyway so it's all good, ha.

Today I struggled a bit as it was my 'vegetables' day, which meant I can eat any veg, especially leafy green ones as long as I have my soup at least once. As you can imagine, facing veg or soup for breakfast isn't the most appetising so I put it off until lunch. Probs shouldn't have done that but I just could not have had soup or vegetables any earlier in the day. I had soup at lunch time and then took myself some carrot sticks to munch on whilst shopping. For dinner I was then allowed a baked potato with a little bit of butter. I put some celery, green peppers and peas with it though as I hadn't really eaten many vegetables, or even very much all day, so it was an attempt to fill myself up for the night.
I'm going to my friend's tonight for a bit of a girls night in, so hopefully there won't be any temptations there because I could so easily eat some sweets right now.

Tomorrow is a fruit AND veg day, how exciting, ha! But at least that means breakfast will be easier and I'll try and be more adventurous with my vegetables. Mmmm.

x

*Picture taken from http://indian-teenage.in/balanced-diet/

Sunday 19 August 2012

No Carbs before Marbs: Update ♥

Heyy lovelies,

So my intentions were great and I really thought it'd be a breeze avoiding carbs for a little while, but after like 2 (maybe even 1) days I gave in to the little devils. I didn't really think how difficult it would be to avoid them when going out, or when eating at other people's homes, because I couldn't exactly turn down their cooked meals because of the carbs. So anyway, hopes of toning up/losing weight that way failed pretty miserably.

With a week to go until my holiday though, I thought I'd try the Cabbage Soup Diet, which is basically a 7 day speedy diet where you eat cabbage soup, and each day you eat different specified foods as well as the soup in an attempt to drop a few pounds, which is pretty perfect really as I only want to lose a few, not loads. Today is my first day, so I've made my big batch of soup which is actually more of a vegetable soup than just cabbage, as it has green peppers, spring onions, mushrooms, tinned tomatoes, celery in and any spices you want to add too. It's actually pretty yummy (for now), not sure how I'll feel about it 7 days later but thats for another day.

Today I also have to eat fruit - any fruit I like except for Bananas. So i've stuck to watermelon, which was amazing and refreshing after lots of Rosé wine last night, strawberries, blueberries, and oranges. Tomorrow is a vegetables day where I eat any veg I want, especially green leafy ones..not really looking forward to that for breakfast but we'll see how it goes.

So far, not so hard, although I am getting a bit hungry, but I haven't had dinner yet so it's all good! :) I'll update daily on how it's going and if I can see any difference. :) wish me luck...again.


If anyone else has tried this, I'd love to hear how you got on, and what you thought?

x


*Picture taken from http://indian-teenage.in/balanced-diet/

Saturday 4 August 2012

No Carbs before Marbs ♥

Hey lovelies,

I'm sure many of you know about all of the bikini body faddy diets and some of you may have even tried some before, but as someone who rarely sticks to any diets and really just eats what I want, I didn't want to go for something that meant I couldn't have proper food or proper meals. I'm not overweight but I have noticed the pounds creeping on lately, as I've finished Uni and come home to a permanently full fridge and cupboards and I've been on holiday to Turkey, where I obviously didn't begrudge myself any treats. So I thought, to feel a bit better about myself in time for my second holiday to Spain, I'd give up carbs for four weeks and exercise more often (I rarely exercise, the gym is not my friend) and see if it made a difference.

As someone who never weighs herself, I'm not going to bother with the scales as I'll be able to notice and feel if I've lost any weight and I can normally just tell in the mirror. I'm also going to try and eat 'little and often' as it's apparently the best way to lose weight, although I already find this hard as I normally consider weight loss to mean cutting back on what you're eating, so eating like this really does seem like cheating, but we'll see.

I'll update weekly to report on how I feel I'm progressing, if at all (I hope it does help a bit otherwise I'll get to my holiday with no change except a waste of 4 weeks! Ahhh) and tell you how easy/difficult - probably difficult - I'm finding it!


Wish me luck!

P.S. If anyone has done this successfully before and has any tips to share, please let me know, as anything to make it a bit easier is welcome! 

x

*Picture taken from http://indian-teenage.in/balanced-diet/

Friday 3 August 2012

Holiday Outfits ♥

Hey lovelies,

Thought I'd do a cheeky little post about a few of the outfits I wore in Turkey, as I haven't done an OOTD post for a while. I got a few things before I went away - actually,  pretty much all the things I'm wearing on the pictures are new. Ooops. But that does mean they may still be hanging around in the shops, especially in the 'Buy now or regret it later' sections.

Left: Dress Topshop, Belt: Primark, Sandals (Last Year): Primark, Necklace: Topshop
Right: Bandeau: Primark, Skirt: Topshop, Feather Sandals: Primark
Left: Dress: Topshop: Belt: Primark 
Middle: Dress: Topshop, Vans: Sister's Boyfriend :P
Right: Sunglasses: Primark, Bralet: Topshop, Sheer Maxi Skirt (Looks like trousers because of the wind): Topshop, Bag: Primark

These are a few of my favourite outfits that I wore out in the evenings. Obviously the bottom middle picture is a bit of a joke, I didn't actually wear huge size 10 vans with my dress, I actually teamed it with my feather sandals. All the outfits had to be floaty and cool enough to bear the hot Turkish nights so I opted for more skirts and dresses than shorts or playsuits this time. My fave outfit was the bottom right as I adore the straps on the top and my new skirt which is sheer from half way down the thigh. Oh, and it even has slits up the sides - perfect for the infamous Angelina Jolie leg pose ;)

What do you think of my holiday outfits?

x

Thursday 2 August 2012

How to: Giant Birthday Cupcake ♥

Hey lovelies,

So yesterday was my lovely mamas birthday and next week is my twin sisters birthday too, so as a little joint/early for my sisters treat I thought I'd make a giant cupcake birthday cake. I've seen them in lots of bakeries yet have never actually tried one but I found a mould in a catering shop so I thought I'd give it a try with my boyfriend. Finding recipes for a cupcake that big turned out to be quite difficult as each one seemed to say different amounts and the mould didn't have any instructions on it, so we ended up making it up a bit as we went along and working it out as best we could for ourselves, but luckily it worked and was deeeelish!

Unfortunately I haven't got pictures of every stage because some we got a bit ahead of ourselves and just carried on, but there are a few for you to check your progress :)

What you will need to make the cake we made:

A Giant Cupcake Mould 
250 grams of Self Raising Flour
250 grams of Unsalted Butter
250 grams of Caster Sugar
5 Eggs
4 tablespoons of Milk
1 teaspoon of Vanilla Extract
Buttercream fondant icing 
Pink (any colour of your choice) food colouring.
Cake decorations
Piping bag

Preheat oven to 200'c

Step 1: Cream the butter and caster sugar together until a smooth paste is formed


Step 2: Add one egg at a time with a little bit of flour and beat


Step 3: Add 1 tspn of Vanilla Extract and fold in the rest of the flour


Step 4: Add milk and continue to fold until the mixture is more smooth and liquid-y and easy to pour into moulds.

Step 5: Equally distribute the mixture into the top and bottom parts of the mould and place the bottom mould into the preheated oven first for 10 minutes, as this is slightly thicker and needs more time.


Step 6: After 10 minutes, place the top mould into the oven for 35 minutes.
Step 7: Icing - If you're cheating a little with the icing, like us, then pour the buttercream icing into a mixing bowl and add a few drops of food colouring, adding more when required in order to get the colour you desire.

Step 8: When the cake is ready, leave to cool before taking out of the moulds.
Step 9: Using a serrated knife, slice the bottom mould where it has risen, to make a flat surface for the top mould to sit on. Do this for the top mould as well, so that the top sits comfortably on the bottom.
Step 10: If you wish, you can add some of the buttercream icing to 'glue' the parts together like we did.
Step 11: Using a spatula, evenly coat the base of the cupcake in the buttercream icing so that all of it is covered.

Step 12: For the top, using icing in a different colour (or the same if you prefer), pour the icing into a piping bag and ice the top layer in whatever pattern you wish.


Step 13: Decorate the cake using flowers, hearts, sprinkles or whatever takes your fancy and carefully take off the messy icing plate to make it look neater(or just wipe the edges). Now share with the world and enjoy :)



Such a simple recipe for something that looks really complicated. I'd say the whole thing takes about two hours though with the decorating being so precise so quite a lot of time and effort is required. :) Happy Baking.

Have you ever made this before? Do you think you'll be attempting this yourself at home? 

x

Wednesday 1 August 2012

Wednesday Wishlist #2 ♥

Hey beauties

I haven't done one of these for a while because I've been shopping a fair bit recently but I have my eye on a few things for my next holiday and just general wear at the moment I thought I'd display them all in a little post :).


Left to right: Necklace- Topshop, Dress - Sugarhill Boutique, Skirt - Missguided.co.uk, Playsuit - Missguided.co.uk, Shorts- Missguided.co.uk, Hand chain - Topshop, Blouse - Topshop,  Colour change nail polish - Barry M,  Stacked ring - Topshop, Playsuit - Topshop, Shard ring - Topshop, Peplum top - Topshop, Shoes - Topshop, Skirt - Missguided.co.uk, Shorts - Topshop

Unfortunately I don't think the tiny amount I have in my bank account will stretch to all of these straight away so I think I'll have to pick out some favourites, although I think they're all perfect for my upcoming holiday to Spain at the end of August.

What do you think of my wishlist?

x

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