White Wash...

...Colour of the Moment. 

I'm really loving white at the minute and want to invest in more pieces, apart from a basic t-shirt! I found these image on Pinterest and love them. I'm taking them as my inspiration for this and next season's 'colour of the moment'. 

Butterfly Cupcakes

I thought I'd share my favourite cupcake recipe. I made these a few weeks ago now but I have used the same recipe for years. Its so simple to follow and has the best results. I always adjust the recipe depending on what outcome I want. I didn't change the basic recipe for this but I did turn them into butterfly cakes. (Bring back the childhood memories)

You will need one 'cup' or measuring device. You will use the same 'cup' for everything so make sure its a good size and will make the quantity you want. 

You will also need bun cases or cupcake cases. Cupcake cases are much deeper, but this does mean you will make less cakes as a result. (pretty colours optional)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line bun tray with bun cases. 

Ingredients- 

• 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/3 cups sugar
• 3 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup shortening 
• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 2 large eggs

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add shortening, milk and vanilla. Mix with a wooden spoon at first to soften the butter. Then beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape side of bowl with a spatula. 

Add eggs to the mixture. Beat for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape bowl again. Beat on high speed for 2 minutes until well mixed. 

Spoon cupcake batter into cases until 1/2 to 2/3 full

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until you can insert a knife into the centre and it comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes in tray then remove and place on a wire cooling rack. 

Cut a circle into the top of the cakes. This can be as wide and as deep as you want. 

Then cut in half. This creates the wings of the butterfly. 

Repeat to all.

Follow instructions on box for butter icing. Instead of milk or water I add vanilla. 

Once combined, icing hollows of cakes and place wings on top

Finish with icing sugar on top. 

Et Voila! 

3 Looks Wishlist- ASOS

(Trousers- £35, Crop Top-£22, Gold Headband-£4, Zebra Slipper shoes-£35)

(Plazo Pants-£25, Structured Crop top-£25, Senso Leopard Print Sandals-£111, Gold Stack Rings-£12, Tube Ring-£7)

(Jumpsuit-27, Cheap Monday Necklace-£20, Heeled Sandals-£40, Kurt Geiger Bracelet-£21)

Weekly style inspiration #1

I was having a good ol' rummage through Pinterest the other day and came across so many inspiring images such as these. So I though I'd do weekly posts showcasing the styles that are currently influencing me and shopping. As you can tell from this post and my previous ones, I love black, white, simple style and jewellery. I love Pinterest and find it so influential! If you don't know what it is you should check it out, and if you do have an account you should check out mine. 

x

Pinterest- http://uk.pinterest.com/kvleigh/ 

The London Series

I thought I’d start a new city series, as I really enjoyed making the Newcastle series, even if it were only two posts long. And when it came to choosing the next city I obviously didn’t have to think for long. I’ve just completed 5 months internship in London, so it kinda made sense.

My reasoning for moving to London and living there for 5 months (as if I needed one) was because I got a placement with a London based Designer called Osman. I was a little scared about living in London, sharing a flat with 3 men I didn’t know (but the flat was great!) and surviving solely on my student loan but paying London prices! But after the first couple of days I was right at home! It probably helps that I’ve been to London numerous times and already knew it pretty well. But this was my chance to really get to know it, explore, and do things I wouldn’t necessarily doing if I was just visiting for a few days.

So my number one for the London Series is- Indulge in being a tourist! After 5 months I certainly didn’t feel like one but I never got fed up of seeing the beautiful sights, and honestly, waking up in London everyday was a dream come true! Even towards the end of my time there I would still snap pictures of the London eye, which luckily was opposite where I worked.

Make sure you visit all the typical tourist spots. I thought I’d been to London so many times I didn’t really need see the Buckingham Palace or have a walk around Trafalgar Square. I was wrong. Cause I loved it. I just couldn’t get enough of seeing the Union Flag, the beautiful historical buildings and going into the occasional pub. And lets face it, once you get full up of being a tourist, you can start to experience the little gems of London that only the locals know about.

My Top Ten Tourist Spots-

1. Buckingham Palace (get do better the Her Majesty)
2. Big Ben & Houses Of Parliament (iconic and two for one!)
3. London Eye ( One of my favourites)
4.  Oxford Street (Worlds most famous shopping street? YES PLEASE)
5. St Pauls (simply breathtaking)
6. South Bank (lively, cool and GREAT street food!)
7. Tate Modern (perfect for a rainy day or culture boost)
8. Trafalgar Square (ride on a Lion, why not)
9.  Tower Bridge (might even spot One Direction)
10.  Covent Garden (a classic)

Chocolate Orange Brownie

Upon my return home from London I was keen to get back into the kitchen to do some baking, as it'd been a long while since I'd made anything sweet for myself and my family. It was only after a request from my sister to make a delicious brownie for a saturday movie night that I stumbled onto this recipe. I've made brownies before, both from scratch and using a packet mix, but this is by far the best I have ever made! If i do say so myself. So I thought I'd share the recipes and a few tweaks I made to it. 

You can find the recipe here, where it is rate as moderately easy. I completely agree, and I'd go as far to say it is very easy to the experienced baker. I highly recommend the BBC GoodFood website. Its a great place for recipes with a bit of a difference and they're super helpful.

Ingredients-

(There are a few changes here in comparison to the web recipe)

1. 4 eggs
2. 120g Dairy Milk Chocolate 
3. 80g Dark Chocolate
4. 50g Cocoa Powder 
5. 100g Plain Flour
6. 200g Butter
7. Zest 1 Orange 
8. 350g Caster Sugar

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line a deepish brownie tin with baking parchment. I also lightly greased the sides as to stop the brownie from sticking then removing it. 

Put the butter, dark chocolate and orange zest in a non-stick saucepan and very gently melt over a low heat, stirring every now and then, until smooth – take care not to overheat it. Allow it to Cool.

Whisk the eggs and sugar together with an electric whisk until the mixture is pale, has doubled in volume and leaves a trail when the beaters are lifted. 

Gently stir into the cooled chocolate mixture. 

Sift over the flour and cocoa, stir in.

Pour into the lined tin and bake for 35-40 mins. Cool in the tin, then cut into squares.

And this is the end result! Slightly crumbly and difficult to cut as you can probably seen, but I think that was because I used a mixture of milk and dark chocolate. Prettiness aside, its the most beautiful thing I've ever made! Perfect with double cream or ice cream, or in smaller bite size pieces as a light snack. Try it!