The Liebster Award!

So I am very very late to the party with this, in fact the party may even be over! But thank you so much to Gemma Plumb, Roybn from robynisabella and Marta from MartaMeetsWorld for nominating me, thank you for noticing my little blog, everyone go and check these lovely ladies blogs, they are fab!

I love the idea of this award so much - getting new bloggers connected and showing appreciation for some of my favourite bloggers. I did not want to miss out on the opportunity to participate, so thanks again for the nominations.

These are the Rules :-

Each nominee must have under 200 followers

Thank and link to the nominating blog

Answer their 10 questions and propose 10 new ones for your nominees

Nominate a few blogs and tell them that they’ve been nominated

Write a post containing the questions

I will answer some questions from each nomination, hope you don’t mind!

1. If you could have any superpower what would it be and why?
If I could have any superpower I would love to be able to become invisible whenever I wanted, I think the things you would see could be very entertaining!

2. Dogs or Cats?
I am definitely a dog person, I have a 7 month old little Jackie Bichon puppy and he is adorable.

3. Favourite place you’ve ever visited?
My favourite place that I have ever visited (to date) would have to be New York City, I have only been the once but it has left a lasting impression on me and I am looking forward to returning this year.

4. Tea or Coffee?
Tea, tea, tea – I love tea. I’m not sure if it’s an Irish thing, but I can definitely drink tea until the cows come home.

5. What makes you smile even when you're sad?
My puppy that wee face could cheer anyone up!

6. Which is your favourite Chick Flick?
Mean Girls and Leap Year

7. Do you have a precious object? What is it?
A beautiful necklace my mum and dad got me for my 16 birthday when we were on holiday in France, and I lost it a few days later in France and managed to retrieve it (thankfully)

8. Where did your blog inspiration come from?
I have read blogs for many years now, I absolutely love following all kinds of blogs and I have always enjoyed writing from when I was in school. So I thought I would let the inner Carrie Bradshaw in me start a blog of my own.

9. What is your favourite food?
My favourite food would have to be pizza, glorious pizza!

10. What is your favourite TV show?
I have so many favourite tv shows, but one of my ultimate favourites is a bit of a throwback to my school days...One Tree Hill.

I nominate –

The Messy Hair Enthusiast

KEEP ON DREAMING BOY

Here are my 10 questions for you –

1.       What do you like most about blogging?
2.       What advice would you advice to someone who is considering starting a blog?
3.       Do you drive?
4.       Is the glass half full or half empty?
5.       What is your favourite season, and why?
6.       If you had a time machine what year would you go to, and why?
7.       Would you prefer to live in the country or the city?
8.       What is your favourite movie genre?
9.       What is your favourite brand of make up?
10.    What is your dream job?

Bernadette

Follow Me

Read more...

Not Just a Salad

Recently I have slowly but surely started trying to improve my diet and take up exercising with the overall aim of leading a healthier lifestyle. Working in an office environment all week and spending a lot of time on my laptop at home, I have found it has started to have an effect on my lifestyle. Mainly low energy and a bad appetite. Armed with my ‘To Do’ list I have started my journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Beginning with food, I have a collection of cook books that have been my go to when prepping my week day lunches and dinners. I have recently purchased Deliciously Ella, an inspiring story of Ella Woodward who has transformed her life through her diet. This book in particular focuses on only consuming food that is good for your body; natural plant based, dairy free and gluten free food. I feel that everyone would benefit from incorporating more natural food into their diet, and this is what I am aiming to do. Admittedly this involves me eating a lot of food that I have never heard of, never mind tasted.

I incorporated ingredients from a recipe in "Mary BerryCooks the Perfect - Step by Step” book and tips from Deliciously Ella to prep my lunch for last week and to my surprise it was delicious. I used a lot of ingredients that I have never tried before and I am looking forward to trying a lot more.

Quinoa Salad with Feta, Pomegranate and Fresh Herbs

·         Quinoa

·         Spring Onions

·         Peppadew Peppers

·         Lemon Juice

·         Olive Oil

·         Fresh Coriander

·         Fresh Mint

·         Fresh Flat-Leaf Parsley

·         Pomegranate seeds (my new favourite snack)

·         Feta Cheese

Do you have any good food/good lifestyle recommendations?

Bernadette

Follow Me

Read more...

What’s in My Bag? – Spring Edition

These have to be one of my favourite posts to read, trawling blogs to see what people like to carry around with them on a daily basis. As I’m new to the game of blogging, I thought what better way to get to know than seeing exactly what I carry around with me everyday?

Handbag

My handbag is a River Island Beige Cream Contrast Gusset Frame Bag that I got last summer, I started using it again recently and I absolutely love it. I find that the beige and black colour goes with everything, from heading to work or going out in the evening. I particularly love how the yellow on the inside and the buckle brightens the bag and adds a spring time pop of colour.

Clinique Make-Up Bag

I use my Clinique make-up bag to carry around my beauty essentials for the day this bag is actually quite large for daily make-up essentials but the handbag is big enough for it, so I thought why not?

Purse

River Island coral and beige colour purse, its bright, and beautiful and has plenty of card space and a zipped coin compartment, which ticks the boxes for me when it comes to purses.

Perfume

My scent of the moment is Daisy Dream by Marc Jacobs this floral but fruity fragrance is so fresh and beautiful; it is my current go to scent for this time of year.

Tangle Teaser

Since getting my tangle teaser at Christmas, it pretty much goes everywhere with me. Having long hair means you have to leave the house prepared for any pre-empted hair disasters.

Notepad

I got this little A5 notepad in Paperchase a few months ago to stick in my handbag and jot down ideas for blogs etc and I thought the pattern was cute. Even though I can take notes on my phone, there is just something about using the old fashioned paper and pen technique of crossing of list items that I find satisfying.

Hand Cream

Soap&GloryHand Food Hand Cream is my favourite hand cream of the moment the 50ml bottle is handy for my handbag. The non-greasy quick drying nature of the cream as well as the signature scent makes it s front runner for my handbag.

Phone

Samsung S4 Mini – not much else I can say on this, an absolute essential to my handbag!

Everyday Essentials

Glasses – Morgan brown and turquoise

Deodorant – Sure – Invisible Pure Compressed

Nail File

Carmex Strawberry Lip Balm

Bourjois Rouge Edition Velvet lipstick Happy Nude Year

Maybelline BabyLips Balm Repair

 What are your handbag essentials this season?

Bernadette

  

Follow Me

Read more...

Easter Aftermath

So Easter Sunday has been and gone, and you still have a mountain of chocolate? Even though I feel I have eaten nothing but chocolate for the past few days, the house still seems to be full of it. I thought I would use some chocolate eggs to make some treats that all the family could enjoy. And as the saying goes...”the diet starts tomorrow”...

Chocolate Nests

What you will need: Chocolate, Shredded Wheat, Cadburys Mini Eggs

I made these simple no bake Chocolate Nests and they went down a treat, using Cadburys Mini Eggs.

Break the chocolate Easter egg  into smaller pieces and melt slowly over a bain marie. Using a large mixing bowl break the shredded wheat into tiny pieces and pour in the melted chocolate and mix together until all the shredded wheat is covered.  Divide the mixture into bun cases and place mini eggs on each nest, leave to set... and voila!

Chocolate and Vanilla Milkshake

What you will need: Vanilla Ice Cream, Crushed Ice Cubes, Chocolate, Semi Skimmed Milk, blender.

With the sun making an appearance today, I thought an ice cold milkshake would be the perfect afternoon treat.

Break the chocolate Easter egg into smaller pieces, for this one I used a Galaxy egg and melt it slowly over a bain marie, drizzle the melted chocolate into your glass of choice.  Blitz the vanilla ice cream, milk and crushed ice cubes using a blender and pour into the glass. Grate some of your remaining chocolate over the top of the milkshake for an extra chocolaty flavour.

Cream Egg Chessecake

What you will need: Chocolate, Cream Eggs, 190g Philadelphia Cream Cheese, 250g Icing Sugar, 250g Double Cream, 1 pk Digestive Biscuits, Butter, Cake Tin, Greaseproof Paper.

Cheesecakes have to be one of my favourite deserts, so I thought I would make it for desert for Easter Monday, using some Cadburys Cream Eggs.

Base

Crush the digestive biscuits; this can be done using a food processor to save some time. Melt the butter in the microwave and mix together until the consistency you prefer is reached. I like the base of a cheesecake to be crumbly so I don’t use a lot of butter. If you would like the base to be very firm more butter would be required.  Line the cake tin of your choice with the greaseproof paper and place the biscuit and butter mixture into the tin and pat down using the base of a spoon, place in the fridge to set for 20 minutes.

Cheesecake

While the base is setting, you can make the cheesecake mixture. Break the chocolate egg into small pieces for mixing into the cheesecake mixture; you can also cut up one for two cream eggs to mix throughout the mixture but be sure to save some for the top for decorating.  Beat the double cream using a whisk until stiff peaks can be formed. Place the icing sugar and cream cheese into a large mixing bowl. Mix the cream cheese, icing sugar and chocolate into the bowl and fold in the double cream. Once the base is set pour on the cheesecake mixture and spread evenly.

Decorating the Cheesecake

Cut the cream eggs in half and place on top of the cheesecake, use the remaining chocolate to sprinkle over the top. You can also make yellow icing for an extra yolk effect, the yellow I used didn’t quite match the cream eggs yolk colour so as you can see I have covered it with melted chocolate, but you can never have too much chocolate, right? Leave to set over night for the best consistency.

Hope you enjoyed reading how I made use of my Easter Eggs, let me know if you try out any of these chocolate treats.

Bernadette 

Follow Me

Read more...