Posts Tagged ‘Christmas’

Friday’s Letters: Moving right along

Friday's Letters myfoxycornerDear Blog: Sorry for being a pretty shit blogger over the last few months. It’s been really good having another break, and it co-incided with a ridiculously busy time at work. I have to learn how to prioritize at some stage I guess! No guarantees for the future, but for now I am happy to be back to having a place to ramble.

Dear Edd: It’s so easy to take you for granted after 10 years of being around each other. So I’m apologizing in advance for each time I do this in the future, and also promising to try harder not to do so. Also we were pretty adorable at school. And I think we’re still pretty adorable now.

Dear Tofu: I’m getting pretty damn good at cooking you in new and delicious ways. Just call me the humble tofu master.

Dear Justin B: I don’t know what has happened and why I keep playing your song on repeat, but it’s more than a little worrying.

Dear Auckland Stardome: You were the perfect venue for a Christmas work function, well perfect for the aspirational space cadets like myself. I plan to be back to soak up all the incredible information but with less alcohol blurring my brain cells. I may bring some children with me. You’ve been warned.

Dear Ugly Christmas Jumper: I need you in my life. Along with every other Christmas related item I come across. (Note – after writing this I then impulse bought two Christmas jumpers for myself plus one for Edd jumpers so, yeah. No self control at Christmas time).

Dear Merlin: I’ve accidentally trained you to expect treats every time you jump on the bed and it’s getting a little out of control. How will I ever have kids if I can’t even manage your own simple expectations :/

Dear Coffee: I went one day without you and it was one day too long. Sorry for even trying.

Dear Contact Centre: I hope none of you have been reading by blog cause that would be a bit awkward, but you guys have been such an amazing place to work, and announcing today that I would be leaving your noisy confines was a pretty sad event. And yet I still can’t shake the incredible excitement I feel for next year. I am so excited. Almost as excited as I am for Christmas. Time for some change!

 

 

Christmas Fruit and Nut Fudge

Christmas Fruit and Nut Fudge Recipe
This post was promised last week…so I’m hoping that Sunday still counts because as per usual life has gotten in the way and what should have been easy to do took me forever.

I love making handmade gifts but am not a crafter or a DIYer so in place of glitter, mason jars and twine I go with good old chocolate for making gifts for those people who can be a little awkward or tricky to buy for. This fudge I came up with last year and then made recently for our #brunchclub goodie bags, and it seemed to go down a treat!

Christmas Chocolate Fudge Recipe

It uses my pretty standard chocolate fudge recipe and throws in some extra bits and pieces to bring in the festivity. Along with the rich dark chocolate and sweet condensed milk I add some nuts (what ever is handy but my current favourite combo is almonds and pistachios) as well as some dried cranberries and some dried ginger/candied peel stuff that I found and that looked mildly appropriate. The result are rich little morsels of smooth chocolate, crunchy nuts and chewy fruit. The overall objective: Christmas in every mouthful.

Ingredients for Christmas Fudge

Ingredients for Christmas Fudge

  • 375grams of dark chocolate (or thereabouts, use milk if dark chocolate isn’t your thing, although I totally recommend the dark variety, as in my humble chocolate loving opinion, it goes perfectly with the sweetness of the fruit)
  • 1 can sweetened condensed milk (around about 250g)
  • 100g butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • 1 cup slivered almonds that you have tried to hack into smaller pieces but in reality have just turned into a giant mess
  • 1 cup of crushed pistachios (not too crushed, just not whole? See above)
  • 1 cup dried cranberries (or some other form of delicious dried fruit pieces)
  • 1/2 cup of candied peel/ginger mix

Method for Christmas Fudge Recipe

  1. Put the butter, condensed milk, vanilla essence and chocolate all into a saucepan on a low heat. I put the chocolate in last and keep this pretty low in temperature as chocolate can be one fussy ingredient and the fear of it seizing on me makes me unusually cautious. Not cautious enough to use a double boiler, which you can totally do. Im cautious but also lazy I guess this indicates.
  2. Wait for this to all melt but stir it until your arm hates you. Or get someone who loves you to stir it. It needs pretty consistent stirring, again so that the chocolate doesn’t turn on you and ruin a perfectly delicious gift idea.
  3. Once everything is smooth and combined, take the mixture off the heat and throw in half of all your delicious extras (as in half a cup of each nut, 1/2 cup cranberries and 1/4 cup of the candied mix). Mix this all through then pour into a lined baking tray.
  4. Smooth the whole thing down with a spatula (not too smooth ’cause rustic is totally what we are going for) and then sprinkle the rest of your extras over the top, attempting to be even but in the end, this is an unrealistic expectation to set upon yourself so just go wild. Press this all down gently otherwise all this good stuff will go rampant when we cut it up and bag it.
  5. Set in the fridge for as long as you can, at least a few hours then take it out and slice it!Chocolate Fruit and Nut Christmas

Tips – If the mixture with the chocolate starts to get too thick or its not smooth enough add a little liquid. I use baileys (because I love to add this to everything) but you could just use a little cream.

Christmas Fruit and Nut Fudge RecipeToppings for Fruit and Nut Fudge

Being Lizzy, I forgot to take a shot of these all bagged up with Christmas ribbons, but a recipe post wouldn’t be complete without me forgetting a step. You can buy little resealable bags from places like Looksharp, which make life a lot easier. I then added some twine and ribbon to make them worthy of all the lovely bloggers but you could just eat it all with the purpose of saving all your friends and family the calories.

Christmas Fruit and Nut Fudge Recipe

The great thing about this fudge is that you can totally change it up as much as you want. You can go with white chocolate, macadamias and cranberries (this actually sounds like a good idea for my next fudge post…), chocolate and coffee liqueur with hazelnuts, peppermint chocolate (just add a small amount of peppermint essence and voila!). The opportunities are almost endless! Let me know if you end up making this or if you have any other amazing fudge recipes to share!Christmas Fruit and Nut Fudge RecipeChristmas Fruit and Nut Fudge Recipe

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Christmas Gift Guide: For the Love of a Cookbook

So I may not be the best at buying gifts for other people but I am really good at shopping for myself. And I really love cook books. So logically I decided that my first Christmas gift guide should be a few of my favourite cook books, some which I own, most which I don’t.

Cook books are great and anyone who says otherwise is lying to themselves. I read them when I’m sick, when I’m hungry, when I’m bored, when I’m curious, when I’m lacking inspiration or when I’m in a Whitcoulls trying to speed read a cook book so I don’t have to spend my dollars. The following 5 are a non-exhaustive but nonetheless excellent selection of choices, if I may say so myself.

Recipe Book Gift Guide

For the Baker: Bluebells Cakery and Little and Friday Celebrations.

Both of these are the works of great little cafe owners in Auckland which you should all go out and visit, and both feature a delectable selection of baked goods. Little and Friday Celebrations is their second cookbook and after falling in love with their first last year, I would love to get my sticky paws on this one. They also have an amazing range of gifts on their shop so if you have a foodie in the family, look no further. Bluebells Cakery do some damn fine cakes as I discovered from a recent cafe visit. This would be perfect for a cupcake fiend or just someone who wants to bring a little bit of delicious whimsy into their baker.

For the Family Cook: Everyday Delicious

Chelsea Winter’s recipes on Facebook always make me pause when furiously scrolling by and so I am 99% sure her cookbook would be full of great stuff. This is her second cookbook but either Everyday Delicious or At My Table would be the perfect choice for someone who loves making delicious, wholesome meals for the entire family. Or someone with 3 hungry flatmates who behave like a family. Chelsea won Masterchef for a deliciously valid reason.

For the Reader: Hungry and Frozen

I did not take any convincing when it came to buying the cookbook by one of my favourite blogs, Hungry and Frozen. I purchased this and then devoured every page (not literally) before bedtime. The recipes are creative and interesting and the fact that there is a whole section on making ridiculously wonderful toasted sandwiches should be enough to sell this on its own. Laura’s writing is amazing (go check it out) and this cook book is one I constantly find myself browsing. Also I made the chocolate red wine cake and it blew my socks off.

For the Vegetarian: The Revive Cafe Cookbook 4

I don’t know how Revive have managed to bring out 4 cookbooks and still come up with such incredible vegetarian recipes, but they do and any of their 4 books would make an excellent addition to a vegetarians cook book collecton (or anyone’s collection for that matter). The recipes are simple, fresh and healthy but still varied and tasty. The 3 revive cookbooks already in my possession are in constant use and are the more practical out of all my cook books. Someone has to buy me number 4 or else I will just have to keep buying food from their cafe everyday.

So there you go, 5 excellent gift possibilities, and what’s even better, they keep on giving. By that I mean to say, if you buy this for your loveable food maker friend they may just cook all the delicious things for you to eat. Sneaky, yup. Doesn’t take away from their excellent gifting quality. Are there any great cookbooks I should add to the list? Let me know down below, my cook book collection needs more friends.

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On how you can find out whether you have the Christmas gene too

So I’m just going to warn you all right now that me and Christmas have a pretty great thing going. I could apologise (I do this a lot) or just let you know so that if you want to avoid me around Christmas time, you can (and I will only be slightly offended, promise).

I know Christmas gets a bad rap sometimes, for being commercialised, for being all about the food, for being all about the presents, for being all about Santa etc etc. but I love it.

I love Christmas for its food, its presents, its santa and all that other crappy commercial stuff. But mostly I love it because it gives me an excuse to find ways to show people I appreciate them (and an excuse to sing the approximate lyrics to Christmas carols. All day long).

My Foxy Corner has always been about things I love, and being my favourite day of the year, Christmas is something that will most definitely feature here over the next month (just be thankful I don’t go on about it all year round). There will be recipes, gift guides, DIYs and lists, because at Christmas we make many many lists.

So to start off December here is my first list on how you know you have a Christmas gene (the science behind this is not yet peer reviewed or verified).

10 signs you have the Christmas gene

  1. You find yourself singing Christmas songs to yourself whilst in elevators with other people 
  2. You hate fruit mince pies (and fruit mince in general) but make a conscious effort to try and love mince pies because they are Christmas and you are Christmas and it just doesn’t make sense that the thought of them makes you gag.
  3. You find yourself covered in tinsel when there is no actual tinsel to be found.
  4. You rub pine needles on yourself so that you can smell like Christmas. Or when you realise you are allergic to Christmas trees you rub pine scented candle wax on yourself instead (its totally not as weird as it sounds…why do they not have a Christmas perfume?)
  5. You have automatically started replacing swear words with christmas related curses, ’cause swearing at Christmas just seems wrong 
  6. You find yourself doodling Christmas trees instead of love hearts, even though yours always turn out crooked no matter how hard you try
  7. You start watching Christmas movies on December 1 so that you can make your way through all your favourites
  8. You make your flatmates scared to come home when they know you have been decorating
  9. Everyone in the office comes to you with Christmas related queries
  10. Sometimes you dream that you are Santa but then the pressure becomes to much and its a relief to wake up in the morning and remember you don’t have to supply 7 billion people with presents.

I’m not saying I do all of these things. But I do.

A Glimpse into My Foxy Christmas

Hey Guys!

So as this year draws to a close I wanted to share a few photos from my rather hectic Christmas day. We have our Christmas routine down to a science now and I kind of love it. It involves 3 families, a few animals, lots of driving but also lots of presents and as the photos will show too much food. Also, thanks to my husband for all these awesome photos. I was far too busy eating.

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I love a Christmas tree with mountains of presents underneath. Best sight ever.

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Does anyone else get sad thinking of the moment all the decorations are packed away?

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Oooo Blurry lights….so arty

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I think my favourite part of Christmas is all the nibbles. Cheese and salami and crackers, Oh my!

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I also love bringing blue cheese to parties cause no one else likes it which leaves more for me!

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That face.

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Spider is not impressed by Christmas. Not at all.

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A day of family means wine is a necessity. Just kidding. But not really.

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Meet cookie the devoted yet extremely scruffy jack russell.

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Each time I spell Poinsettia correctly I give myself an invisible pat on the back.

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Watching kids open presents can be extremely satisfying. The end result is a wrapping paper bomb site.

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A better combination than tomatoes and fresh basil does not exist. Except maybe peanut butter and jam.

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A fresh take on an old classic (Waldorf salad)

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This salad was amazing. I was fed so much good food its not even funny.

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The best part about a Kiwi Christmas? The ham.

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This had whiskey in its glaze. It was fantastic.

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Okay I spoke to soon…The pavlova makes a worthy competitor for the ham. It wouldn’t be Christmas without one.

Our Christmas also involved turkey, a very cute baby, pancakes, our car deciding to break yet again, terrible Christmas jokes*, a hilarious game to end the evening and a game of mini golf to round off boxing day (which I very much won, highest is best right?).

What did your Christmas entail?

*My personal favourite: What do you get if you eat Christmas decorations? Tinsilitis! (okay, its funnier with a couple of glasses of wine I admit)

A Christmas Wishlist

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Hey Guys!

Thank goodness for Fridays. This week feels like it has gone on forever and the only things keeping me going have been Downtown Abbey and Callie cuddles. Oh and the thought of Christmas. Today I was supposed to be finding presents for other people but I ended up just compiling a Christmas wishlist for myself with a few things I have been lusting over. This potentially could be helpful for anyone buying me presents this year (*cough* Edd *cough).

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1. Black and white Little Critters necklace by Karen Walker (short)

I saw two beautiful ladies wearing this at a Benefit blogging event recently and fell immediately head over heels. This is something I think I will have to ensure I get for Christmas as I can’t see myself living without it. Because this is part of the cheaper Karen Walker line its retails for an incredible $55 and can be bought here. It is also available in white and mustard or white and red and for the love of me I still can’t quite make up my mind. Leaning towards black and white….

2. Marc Jacobs Honey Eau de Parfum

I love my Marc Jacobs Daisy but am lusting after this newer addition to the range. A sweet, fruity scent with honeysuckle and mandarin appeals to me and I can’t resist a spritzing it all over me when I walk past it in a store, everytime…  (“testing” it out guys). I am not sure how much this is in stores but on strawberry.net it’s going for $112.50 (100mL). To be honest I would pretty much be happy with any Marc Jacobs perfume. I love them all.

3. Treats from Little and Friday by Kim Evans

I love a good cookbook and lately I have been craving this one in particular. This would make a great gift for a lot of people (and just generally pretty on the coffee table…). I feel like a bit of a failure for never checking out the Little and Friday cafes but that doesn’t stop me drooling all over the pages in this book (which would be less weird if it was my own book and not one in the middle of whitcoulls). This can be ordered online here if you are interested.

4. & 5. Teapots from T2

One of my highlights for 2013 was seeing a T2 store opening in Auckland so it comes as not surprise that I have found two gorgeous teapots that I would rather love (well, just one would be fine as well). T2 is full of amazing gifts for any tea loving family member or friend so if you are stuck for ideas go and talk to the lovely staff in the Queen Street store. I can’t choose between these two tea pots but they are both too beautiful for words. This one feels a little afternoon tea at Downton abbey whilst this one is more of a fun, modern take. And both are blue! Winning all round.

6. Floral Vans

So recently my beloved Converse chucks have fallen apart so I am in need of  a new pair of reliable footwear. My instinct is to head straight for another pair of converse however I have found myself more drawn to Vans after seeing them in a few stores. Than, browsing the web today, I found this blue floral pair and my heart was set. These may be my next dream shoes. I haven’t found an NZ link for them yet but they can be bought online here. A great gift idea if you know someone’s shoe size (less ideal if you are just guessing).

7. Glasshouse Limited Edition Candle: Night before Christmas

So last up is a candle which is no surprise. I rarely buy these fancy Glasshouse candles but just sniff them obsessively like some sort of deprived addict whenever I go into Redcurrent stores. Firstly, Redcurrent is amazing (both online and instore) for gifts. They have pretty much anything for anyone (well anyone with class that is) and their baby things are to die for. Back to my current Candle pick I love all of the new range of Christmas candles but this plum/blackcurrent/lemon/lavender combination just feels a little bit magical. Buy it here!

What is on your Christmas wishlist this year?

Xx

 

Inside My Mind #4

  • I don’t think I have mentioned on the blog yet that I saw Wicked. Well I did and it was kind of mind blowing. The story I already knew was great from reading the book but the show did an amazing job of adapting the rather complex plot and combining it with stunning sets and a generally incredible production. The two leads were nothing less than perfection, I wanted to go back and watch it again the next day. Unfortunately due to my lack of endless funds for seeing the same musical over and over again I have had to settle for reading the book (settle may be the wrong word, it’s a great book!) and simultaneously singing myself the songs. It isn’t the same. Definitely the best show I have been to and the songs have not stopped running through my head (I’m looking at you Defying Gravity…).

  • Speaking of songs I have only just cottoned on to the popularity of Haim and although I think they sound a bit 90s I kind of love their upbeat songs, perfect for doing dishes or singing along in the car. I may be the last person to finally listen to them, not that this is unusual.
  • It is only Tuesday but it feels like Friday. This week has been full on so far! But also kind of productive which is always good. Although 90% of the time I feel like I am still just doing this:

  • Tonight I made another chickpea salad (I think it may be time to admit I have a problem/obsession) to go with homemade meatballs. I am enjoying trying new meals so much and love experimenting with new ingredients! Unless I fail, then I wish I had just stuck to the standard pasta bake we all know and love.
  • I am super excited for Christmas (to the slight amusement/annoyance of most of my work colleagues) and have been going a little overboard on creating paper based Christmas decorations for the office (sorry trees!). If you are looking for some ideas for Christmas decorating go check out this amazing post by Maddy (I definitely benefited from her help!).
  • I am nearly out of my Lush Dream Dream and cannot live without it for more than a few hours so may have to buy a big tub. This stuff is the only cream my skin just seems to drink up quite happily without turning angry and vengeful.
  • I am reading like 4 books at once at the moment and not finishing any which isn’t working so well. Listening to Inferno by Dan Brown on audiobook is a lot of fun, I love the focus on Florence and art history (good to know my Arts degree would be useful for something even if it is just so I can feel proud when I understand references).
  • I desperate to make some Strawberries and Cream cupcakes using the beautiful new season strawberries available at the moment but I can never find the time :(
  • Speaking of baking and delicious things in general I am heading along to High Tea with Dragon’s cooking class focusing on Christmas gifts (edible ones of course) and I am very excited.
  • I never know how to end these so here is a fox gif. I spend a lot of time looking at these….totally not weird.

At least I think it is a fox. Whatever it is I want one

4 Simple Goals… before 2014

Happy Monday!

Today I may have become slightly preoccupied with the idea of Christmas…I realize it is only early November but I decided its time to start preparing Christmas decorations for my workplace (anything to make it slightly less grey and office like). With some Christmas themed paper and a pair of scissors my Christmas bunting got underway! Regardless of my slightly premature Christmas excitement, today I wanted to post on a task that A Beautiful Mess has done the last couple years and I keep meaning to take part (4 Simple Goals before 2014).

The idea is to come up with 4 simple goals to try and focus on before 2014 comes along (in case that wasn’t grasped via the rather self-explanatory title). To be honest I am pretty terrible at goal setting (I dread this part of New Years almost as much as I dread waking up after New Year’s Eve) but maybe this slightly less intimidating task will fare better. With the focus on keeping the goals easy to achieve and on small lifestyle changes/trying out new things, I tried to stick to little changes that weren’t negative or too goal orientated. Despite being a little late to the party I enjoyed choosing 4 little areas of focus and I hope to bring little updates in the lead up to 2014 on how it all goes.

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Pretty self explanatory but I will  elaborate on each goal more in a specific update later on. These are small things that I would like to introduce into my life and I look forward to seeing how I can bring them to life.

Also check out a lovely blogger Tegania and her 4 Simple Goals (and enjoy her beautiful blog while you are at it).

Short post today but more on these later :) Hope you are all having a great start to the week (if not try introducing a little bit of bunting…it’s very therapeutic!)

P.s I just have to mention that I am going to the Wicked stage show tomorrow night and I am VERY excited. I have had these tickets for a couple of months now and waiting has been excruciating.

P.p.s CHRISTMAS IS 43 DAYS AWAY !!

Tuesday’s Top Ten: Lush Lusts

Hi All, Happy Tuesday!

For this weeks Top Ten post I thought I would do a quick round up of the ten Lush products that I am currently lusting over (by which I mean each week I got into their store and investigate then leave wishing I could buy them all). I have recently gotten more interested in Lush and I think it is because my skin just doesn’t seem to react well to much any more and so natural products have become more appealing. I also love Lush as a brand that is cruelty free and vegan (and the ladies at the Queen

Street office are super nice too!). To be clear, not affiliated or sponsored anyway, as per usual. Just a little obsessed…

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1. Dream Cream: Top of my list and a product I plan to buy ASAP is this soothing body lotion for sensitive skin. A best selling product and after being given a sample last week I now understand why. Filled with good stuff like chamomile and lavender this smells good but feels even better. Not cheap which is why I put it off but a little goes a long way so I think it is probably well worth it. $37.90 for 240g

2. Dreamwash: Another product that I have a sample of and have already enjoyed briefly is this shower soap that is, once again, soothing and suitable for dry, red skin. Full of all my favourite things like chamomile, calamine, lavender, aloe vera and essential oils I am a big fan. A little bit expensive for a shower wash, at $28.90 for 250g  so not something I would straight away shell out for.

3. Rose Jam Shower Gel: Staying on the tune of shower products, this shower gel is a gorgeous new Christmas product, scented with rose and lemon. I originally was lusting after snow fairy but after comparing scents I much prefer this slightly more subtle rose scent and find snow fairy a little sickly. $22.50 for 100g, other sizes also available.

4. Santa’s Lip Scrub: I already love the lip scrubs and am currently using the Mint Julips one (which smells amazing) so naturally I was drawn to the limited edition Christmas lip scrub which tastes of cola. Although this is a relatively simple product, at $12.50 it isn’t too expensive and would make a great gift paired with the lip tint below…

5. Santa’s Baby Lip Tint: A red tinted lip balm that is perfect to use after a little scrub and provides a moisturizing red tint with the flavour of a cola. A great combo with the scrub above, and at $12.50 is a nice treat or gift.

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6.Aqua Marina: This is another sample of a popular cleanser that I have yet to try. A pink mousse wrapped with seaweed it is definitely unusual but contains calamine and aloe vera to make it suitable for sensitive and irritated skin, soothing and cleansing. Excited to try this. $18.90 per 100g.

7. Sexy Peel Soap: I love Honey I washed the Kids but this strong citrus scent still outranks it as my favourite soap at Lush. I haven’t bought any but can’t wait to try it properly as the scents of lemon, grapefruit and lime are perfect for waking up to face the day. Yum. $7.49/100g

8. Angel’s Delight Soap: On the tangent of soaps, my favourite new soap is this sweet, colourful one. With cents of tangerines and gardenias the result is a sweet, floral and citrus scent. But mainly I just want it cause its pretty. $7.50/100g

9. Lemony Flutter: I don’t why I don’t own this product yet. This is a popular thick cream that is mainly used for softening cuticles but can be used basically anywhere dry. I love nail creams and seeing as this one is citrus scented (notice a pattern) I am a big fan of this one. At $19.90 for 50g it may seem experience but I know a little goes a long way (I always sample this when I pop into the stores).

10. Vanillary Solid Perfume: Ending with something quite different, I have been umming and ahhing over the Lush perfumes as I do tend to react a little to normal perfume and the idea of something organic and natural is very appealing. This little solid perfume is scented of, you guessed it, vanilla as well as jasmine. The end scent is a warm and grown up vanilla perfume, perfect for winter (but not so much for the season we are just entering). At $10.90 for 12g its not a huge commitment and so may be worth a try for those who like vanilla/burnt caramel scents, as I do.

Whew, I would happily go broke to own all ten of these (edd may not so much). What are the Lush products you lust over?

Xx

Inside My Mind #3

  • Today is Labour Monday in New Zealand yet for some reason I offered to do a ten hour shift instead of enjoy the sunshine. Crazy but just keeping the idea of the money in my mind.
  • Also Christmas is not far away (57 Days according to Christmas clock) and I am 80% excited and 20% terrified at how behind I am. 57 days seems like heaps of time but then I find out that people have already finished their shopping.

  • I have been trialling out Lush’s Dream Cream and I think I might be in love. It isn’t cheap so I am reluctant to shell out on the full tub but I know it will last ages and my skin seems to kind of love it. I also smelt the Snow Fairy shower gel that EVERYONE raves about and I couldn’t stand it…It is SO sweet. I much prefer the new rose jam scent. I must be crazy.
  • Edd sent me this link the other day. Unlikely animal friendships just make me happy.
  • Went to Barillia on the weekend so Mr 12 could experience thier dumplings. Was so excited to try the pork and chive dumplings which everyone raved about but unfortunately every single dumpling had an unexplainable big piece of prawn inside (which being allergic to seafood meant I couldn’t eat). I would still go back in a heartbeat but will have to be super careful in case something like that happens again.
  • I am about to start reading Allegiant and I am very excited. It must be the first time in ages I have bought a physical book from book shop full price (and not just the $2 books at opshops).
  • I am also currently reading The Magic (part of The Secret series) and although it is 80% cringeworthy I am hopeful that the remaining 20% will be useful in making me more grateful for what I have.
  • I am planning to start experimenting in cutting out certain food groups (e.g. doing a month gluten free) and seeing how it affects my skin as well as overall health. I think I will try cutting out gluten first of all so any tips on coping without wheat are very welcome.
  • Edd and I are about halfway through Breaking Bad’s final season and it is so intense! I feel like I am holding my breath for the whole episode. I will almost be relieved once it is all over I think.

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  • On less trendy tv show news I am officially addicted to Beverly Hills Nannies. It is sad and shameful but I thought I should just come out and admit it to you all. It reminds me of being a Nanny but is 100% more glamorous and way more social than my Nannying ever was. I knew I was a sucker for reality tv but I didn’t know it was this bad. Is there some kind of terrible tv rehab because I think I may need it.
  • I can’t wait for this day to be over so I can go home and sleep. Happy Monday everyone!

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