Monday 17 December 2012

White chocolate rocky road

Oh my goodness there is nothing not to love about Rocky road, it combines some of my favourite flavours into one easy to make,  ugly but delicious treat. In the festive sprit I thought I would make some as a special treat for after Christmas lunch.

Mr Domestic will be away for work over Christmas so we are celebrating early this year so my darling doesn't have to miss out on all the fun.


Best ever rocky road


I think I've made a mistake in making it early.... How it's going to last until Sunday I don't know

To make your own...
500g good quality white chocolate broken up
3 Frys Turkish delight bars chopped
1/2 cup toasted  pistachios
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 packet of marshmallows chopped if they are big ones (about 2 cups) minus the ones you accidentally eat of course ;)

Line a rectangular tray with some foil
I'm a girl of modern conveniences so I melt my chocolate in a glass heatproof jug in the microwave in 30 second bursts until its melted. If you are more traditional sure go ahead and melt it in the bowl over a pot of simmering water, just make sure you keep the water well away from the chocolate- if will end sadly if you don't heed my warning

While you have got your chocolate melting away, combine all your other ingredients into a bowl.

Add in your chocolate and stir to combine.

Pour into the lined tray and leave in the fridge to set for at least an hour.

When set you can cut it with a hot knife into nice little portions to either wrap up as a cute little pressie or serve up on a nice plate to your friends and family.

Friday 7 December 2012

Summer lovely - beauty must haves for summer


In my previous life before being a mummy, wife, office worker, general domestic darling I was actually a beauty therapist sometimes make-up artist. Often in my job I was asked by my clients "what do you use?” It’s a good question really as I have been lucky enough to try a whole lota goodies and the benefit of seeing firsthand what works and what totally doesn't.

So in the spirit of the festive season I will share some great beauty finds with you, some very obvious, some not so much.

SPF - The cheapest best cream investment you can ever make. Seriously use it every day. You can either use it in a foundation if you are a religious make up wearer or a regular or tinted moisturiser if you don’t like the feel of regular sunscreen. Just remember that every time you walk outside, stand near a window, drive in the car you are exposing your skin to all those cancer causing, premature aging, skin thickening and pigmenting rays. Get the message? Ok good. P.S don’t forget to think about your chest and neck too ladies (and gentlemen) they need some SPF love too!

Water - Another totally obvious one is to make sure you are drinking lots of water (tea, coke or fruit drinks don’t count here) the skin is a good indication of inner health and if you are not drinking enough water, your skin can look sallow, dry and probably spotty from the build up of toxins in your poor body.

Exfoliation - A good quality AHA exfoliant- AHA stands for alpha hydroxy acid. Sounds scary and painful but it’s totally not. If you want that gorgeous soft baby faced skin, this is what you need to use. The exfoliant helps to remove the old dead layer of skin, get rid of blockages that cause spots and blackheads. If you need any more convincing, there is evidence to suggest that regular exfoliation actually helps prevent the occurrence of skin cancers!

Treatment serum or treatment cream for your skin type - This can be a bit pricey sorry but totally worth it for giving your skin the boost it needs. Personally I use Ultra C Facial Cream 23% by Ultraceuticals and it is awesome for a drier skin type.

I like something that helps to hydrate my skin, help refine the texture and give that nice glowy effect so this is perfect for me. If you have an oily skin, you probably want to look at something for helping control shine, keep oil production under control and help keep your skin clear of spot causing blockages.

Skin Illuminator - If you don’t have this in your make up kit, you should. I love the Radiant Highlighter by the body shop, particularly because it’s a pretty good price and isn't sparkly like a lot of others I have found.  


For daytime use, I like to add a little to my foundation to lighten up the coverage and give that gorgeous dewy skin effect. You can use it to highlight your cheek and brow bones too but just go easy here as you don’t want to look too shiny!

Lip tint - Another one I love from the body shop gets points because of the price factor but it also gives a gorgeous natural colour Lip and cheek stain

This was actually recommended to me by a very clever makeup artist about four years ago to use on brides who want something long lasting but natural looking (and kiss proof). Perfect if you want to liven up your lips without looking "done up" during the day.

Mascara - What woman doesn't love good mascara? I can't take credit for spotting this one either as an old beauty school friend posted this one on her pintrest board (Thanks Emma :) ) Beyond Amplifying Mascara by Designer brands.

This is awesome for those who like me end up with black panda eyes after a few hours of wearing regular or water proof mascara, the best bit is that it comes off like a dream in little black tubes with only warm water when you want to take it off ahhhhh.
***If you happen to be lucky enough to live in sunny Perth and are looking for a talented makeup artist you can look up Emma on Facebook here

Eye Shadow Quad/ Trio - The Swan Lake Prismatic Quad by Napoleon Perdis is a great palette that works on anyone, and allows you to create anything from a natural look all the way up to a super smoky

A matte pinky cream, a matte cool tone taupe, a shimmery cool tone bronze, a matte almost black chocolate. If you are on a budget, please don't let it put you off trying something like this or another quality make up brand, what you spend you get back in good colour lay down (when the colour actually shows up on your eyes) and something that will actually last the day or night rather than fading away to nothing.




Now I am on a roll, I could probably bang on for another couple of hours about beauty must haves but we will leave it here for now so as not to wear you out and these really are my top basics minus fake tan, foundation and blush, but we can leave those for another day.



Is there something you think I have missed or a recommendation you have? Make sure you leave a comment and share the love!

xo







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