Foolproof American Pancakes.

 OK, so we've all had an ultimate pancake fail at some point, I've sure had my fair share. Walking shamefully 

to the bin, pan in hand, flopping your pathetic mound of, lets face it, scrambled eggs into the bin.... sigh.

 Well not this time!  

After a lot of trial and error I've finally got an Instagram worthy pancakes recipe down, seriously ANYONE 

can make theses bad boys. 

You will need. 

-3 large free-range eggs

-115 g plain flour

-1 heaped teaspoon baking powder

-140 ml milk

-1 pinch salt

To start with you need to separate the eggs! Put the whites in one bowl and the yolks in another.

Pop the flour, milk and baking powder in with the yolks and mix into a smooth batter. 

Back to the whites and you need to whisk them until they form stiff peaks. 

Now your going to want to gently fold the whisked egg whites in to the batter until the two are combined.

And that's it, its now ready to use. 

To fry the pancakes your going to want to get a good non-stick pan on a medium heat, as long as its a 

decent pan you shouldn't need any oil. Pour some of your batter into the pan and fry until you see 

bubbles start to form in the batter, this means they are ready to flip. Continue to fry the other side for a 

few minutes until your pancakes are nice and firm and both sides are golden brown. This batter should 

make between 6-8 pancakes, depending on how big you want them.

 Now for the fun part. You can top them with whatever you like, my favourite is banana and maple syrup. 

Yum. 

Enjoy!

Hannah xo 

What's in my makeup bag?

So it's time to have a peek inside my makeup bag for today's post. Here are the products I've been
reaching for recently.

For my base I like to start with the Maybelline Baby skin primer in 'cool rose' . The rose tones in this primer cancel out the dullness in your skin making you look more awake. Its a really affordable product that acts as a brightening base for your foundation. Speaking of which, I have been using the Lord and Berry cream foundation , something I wouldn't have usually reached for until now. I've been having problems with my skin over the past couple of months, which has made me make a swap to a heavier coverage foundation. The Lord and Berry one does the trick just fine, its a semi matte finish and I tend to use the Lord and Berry loose powder to set everything in place. To add some well needed colour and structure to my face I go in with the HD bronzer In light/medium, This is a warm tone bronzer but I do use this to add a subtle contour to my cheekbones. For a healthy looking glow I add Nars Blush in the shade 'Gina'  I absolutely love this blush for adding a peachy sheen to the cheeks, I find that the colour suits nearly everyone and is an instant radiance booster. After all my Face makeup is done I head north to the brow department, If I have recently tinted my eyebrows I tend to skip this bit altogether but when they are looking a bit lacklustre I use my trusty Bobbi Brown eyeshadow in the shade 'grey'. I have been using this shade to fill in my brows for years its the perfect colour for EVERYONE! The problem with most eyebrow products is they are too warm toned and too harsh, but this shade is perfect for a natural looking brow. On to eyes and its my favourite palette the Clinique 'all about shadow quad' in 'morning java' , the shades are really pretty and amazing quality. This palette makes eye makeup so easy in the mornings as the whole eye look is there picked out for you. Over too mascara and this category changes all the time, but for now I'm enjoying the Benefit Roller lash, the brush is thin and bendable which makes for easy mascara application. Thumbs up. Finally for the Lips Ive been loving the Clarins Joli rouge lipstick in tea rose
I find that this is the perfect nude shade for every day, its a creamy lipstick with hydrating qualities, tea rose is a really subtle 'your lips but better' colour. To apply all this makeup I reach for the Lamora makeup brushes  these are really affordable high quality brushes, they are super easy to clean and would make a great gift for someone who likes makeup.
So there we go, a roundup of all the products I have been using recently. let me know what's in your makeup bag!
Thanks for popping by,

Hannah xo 

Healthy Smoothie Recipes!

Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm certainly not a "clean eater" (I am addicted to cookies! Real life Cookie Monster right here!) But I do try my best to throw the occasional healthy treat into the mix. A really quick and easy way for me to do this is to make a smoothie! so I have compiled three of my favourite recipes that I think you might like!

Mango and Banana breakfast smoothie (The yellow one ^)

-half a cup of frozen mango 

-1 banana (chopped) 

-1 cup of almond milk 

-a squeeze of lime 

-1tbsp of natural yogurt 

-tbsp of oats 

This one is my go to for a healthy breakfast. Super yummy and a great source of slow release energy with the banana and oats. (Top tip: the lime juice brings out the flavour of the mango!) 

Strawberry Flax immune boosting smoothie ( The red one ^)

-1cup of frozen strawberries 

- 1cup of water 

-2tbsp of flax seed 

- 1/4 tsp of matcha powder 

- a squeeze of orange 

This is a really nice fresh summer drink! It's also high in vitamin C (strawberries) and anti oxidants (matcha, flax seed).

Chia blueberry protein smoothie (The Purple one ^) 

-1 cup of blueberries 

-1 Tbsp of soaked chia seeds 

-1 1/2 cups of almond milk 

-1/2 scoop of protein powder 

This one is great for a healthy source of protein, so any of you gym bunny's this is the one for you! plus you can add flavour through your favourite protein powder.


 I hope you enjoy these recipes, comment below your favourite!

xo

Hannah 

Pamper Night

I can't think of a better way of spending an evening then having a little pamper session, am I right ladies?! I like to start my 'Me' time with a bath, my fave thing to pop in the bath to completely relax myself are pink Himalayan rock salts. I got mine from TK MAXX but you can get them online here, they make my skin feel super soft and cleansed, as well as making me feel super chilled and ready for bed! ( I have the best nights sleep after using these!) While I'm in the bath I like to put on a face mask  to give myself a mini facial! For this I reach for the Aesop Parsley seed mask which is amazing for clearing my skin when I'm having a spotty moment! When I've hopped out the tub I slather on the Beauty sleep body lotion from Neals Yard, this smells out of this world!! packed with essential oils it leaves my skin feeling really soft and nourished. And for the second step of my facial I use the Neals Yard wild rose beauty balm! This balm is an all round essential for me but for my pamper facial I use it as a moisturising face mask which makes my skin feel hydrated and fresh! After I have finished up with the moisturising I always paint my nails! this time i'm using Master plan from Essie which is a really gorg nude shade! And of course while I'm doing all this I have a candle burning, my current fave is the Diptyque roses mini candle! Hope you enjoyed hearing what I get up to during my pamper night! let me know what products you love to pamper yourself with below in the comments! 

Hannah 

xo

On My Bookshelf ..

Now I won't admit to being a big reader, I'm rather fussy when It comes to books and apart from the entire harry potter series I have to say I don't find myself in the  "lost in the pages, struggling to put down" situation very often. Thats just not me. When I come to choosing a book shamefully I tend to be  the one drawn In by fancy covers on the shelves, then I'm two pages in and already bored and flicking through netflix, I know I'm terrible.  Having said all that I do have a very small  tiny library of books I have managed to get to the end of.  Everybody's reading tastes are different but I do have a few I can personally recommend to you so I thought I would share them with you today.

GRACE A memoir - Grace Coddington

So before reading this book all I knew of Grace Coddington was the fiery red head and creative director of american vogue. But throughout the book Grace takes you on the journey of her life from small town welsh girl, to one of the very first super models, to starting at vogue. Her witty style shines through in the writing, as you travel into her life, learning as she did what the fashion industry is all about. Its one of my favourites, truly indulging with some early photos of vogue shoots! A journey of graces life and fashion its self. Highly recommend, every girl should read it.

The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald

One that I had to read at school but that I instantly fell in love with, Gatsby is probably my fave novel next to Harry potter of course! Fitzgerald's writing style is so true to the 20s, descriptive and lavish, you instantly dive into the luxury of the Jaz age exploring life for the characters, who's personalities stick with you forever. This undisputed classic is top of my recommendation list! Not to mention Baz Lurman's film representation is amazing!


The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

This book is true writing elegance, a novel that fully immerses you in the characters lives from a god like view point.  Zusak's style is truly unique! Though it takes some getting used too as the entire book is  narrated by death ( I know its a strange one) I really enjoyed reading this one and thats not something you would hear me say often!

Looking for Alaska - John Green

Lastly one I read last summer, Looking for Alaska is a complete whirlwind of life and death and a book that I would recommend to any teenager! I'm not including any spoilers so you will have to read it yourself but its 100% my fave John Green novel!


Hannah xo

Date & Banana Loaf

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I absolutely love baking, it's something I've always found very therapeutic, plus you get a tasty treat at the end! A couple of weeks ago I decided to try and create my own recipe for a date and banana cake. After tasting something very similar at a friends house I was inspired to make my own. The recipe is mine but I have to give some credit to Mary Berry as it was slightly based on a recipe I found in one of her cook books. Though I'm sure you will find similar variants else where  if there are any ingredients that don't take your fancy. This cake is a gorgeous tea time treat and perfect for a summer picnic!

//

You will need: 

250g of self raising flour 

115g of caster sugar

85g of butter 

2 eggs 

45g of ground almonds 

250g of plain yogurt 

2 mashed bananas 

8 stoned and roughly chopped dates

1 tbsp milk 

1tsp baking powder 

1 handful of pecan nuts for popping on the top (optional)

//

Step 1

Pre heat the oven to 190C/370F and line a medium bread loaf tin with grease proof paper.

Step 2

Place all dry ingredients (bar the pecan nuts) in to a mixing bowl and mix together.

Step 3

Melt butter and mix with eggs. Then add all other wet ingredients together with the butter and egg mixture and stir together thoroughly

Step 4
Add wet mixture to the dry ingredients and mix ( I use my kitchen Aid but electric whisk will do)

Step 5

Bake for about 40 minutes, but check regularly. The cake should be nice and brown on the top and make sure to do the knife test before taking it out.

Step 6

Leave to cool for 30 minutes (if you can resist).
Pop the kettle on and enjoy!

 Hannah xo

Hello Internet!

Well I will start with an apology as to why I haven't posted in nearly a year! Things have been pretty up and down my end! with school, work and family life!  I didn't feel I had the time to create good content for you guys. I am so passionate about the things I want to share that it didn't feel right to give you half hearted, rushed posts! I feel my life has definitely settled down now,  to a point where I feel I can really concentrate on my blog, as its something I love to do! I have loads of new ideas and I will be trying to mix lifestyle and beauty related post as much as I can! Im so excited to be posting again! you can still find me on Instagram and Facebook! expect posts very soon! 

Hannah 

xo