Motivation #5

Travel Tips (Flight)

So if you've been following me for a while or so you'll know I've been planning this trip for donkeys years and finally the time is nearly here, no more counting down the months I am now into the weeks, WEEKS! 2 to be exact and a couple of days but we wont count them :)

With so little time left I need to start packing and preparing things to bring, clothes need to be washed, passport needs to come out, tickets need to be printed, toiletries need to be bought and bottled into airport safe bottles, the list is endless.

Today though I though I would give you some travel tips! as thats a topic which is dear to my heart, some people hate travelling and packing but for me its my favorite part of jetting of, all the preparation and packing ohh I do love it.

Anyway here are my top tips...

1) Always bring a sweater/jumper:
Even if you are heading to a tropical climate airplanes get cold and believe me you will suffer, some airlines do provide small blankets, but stay on the safe side and bring a sweatshirt with you.

2) Dont forget some slippers/fuzzy socks:
When I fly i usually wear sandals/flip-flops and my feet get cold, slippers are a great way to stay comfortable and warm at the same time. Most people take there shoes of on the flight and who wants to sit there with bare feet, put some socks on.

3) Bring a travel pillow to prevent a bad neck:
Unless your in first class and have a awesomely comfortable chair that reclines and massages you, then in sorry to say that you will be cramped in like sardines and be given no head support, bring along a travel pillow or one of those squishy pillow necks. Try and avoid the blow up neck pillows they are useless.

4) Soundproof headphones:
Trust me you wont regret it, screaming crying children the entire flight will not make you a happy person when you land. The airline headphones are rubbish so bring your own weather you have iphone earbuds or super expensive sound proof ones, it doesn't matter anything is better than inflight headphones.

5) Lip balm:
With the high altitude your lips will get extremely dry and sore so its essential to carry some lip balm along with you.

6) Hand sanitizer:
On board toilets are 60% disgusting and who knows how many germs are on the sinks and door handles, bring your own hand sanitizer to wash your hands so you avoid touching anything you dont need to.

7) Bring along some good reading material:
Weather your a book worm or a fashion lover, bring a selection of books and magazines to entertain yourself on your journey

8) Music:
Ipods/MP3 players are great for flights, the night before you fly load it with some new albums to keep you entertained, try not to sing to loud though, you dont want to annoy your neighbour.

9) Movies:
If your on a long haul flight there will no doubt be movies on the airplane screens but sometimes they dont have what you want to watch so load your ipad/laptop with some movies that you havent seen before,  this will also help the flight time fly by.

10) Snacks:
Theres just something about sitting on an airplane that gets you hungry all the time so buy some snacks before you go as airplane snacks are really expensive, just remember to check with your airline as some dont allow meat.

11) Water:
You will need to buy this once your get past airport security. Water is very important to stay hydrated especially on airplanes.

12) Eye-mask & earplugs:
Want to sleep but it light? want to sleep but its to noisy? Problem solved if you shove these in your bag before you jet off.

13) Dont forget your passport:
Numer one priority, without your passort you are going nowhere!

14) Stretch your legs:
Sitting down for long periods of time is never a good thing, so every 30 minutes or so do some feet and leg exercises and get up and walk up and down the carriage for a couple of minutes it will really help the circulation in your legs.

Thats everything I can think of so far, if you have any more tips for traveling please leave it in a comment below so everyone else can benefit from it to.

Thanks for reading,
Rachel Ward

Frozen Hot Chocolate

This is 'supposed' to be the time of year for ice-cream and cold drinks, well with the weather here we are more likely to turn on the fire and drink cups of hot tea. But nevertheless for you readers from hotter climates or where your weather is actually consistent with the seasons heres a little variation on a hot chocolate suitable for the summer weather. A Frozen Hot Chocolate...

What you will need:

• 6 cubes of your favoerite chocolate
• 2 teaspoons of hot chocolate mix
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 3 ice cubes
• whipped cream
• chocolate shavings

What You Do:

• Chop chocolate int smaller pieces and put in a double boiler over simmering water
• Stir until melted
• Add hot chocolate mix and sugar 
• Stir until melted
• Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth
• Cool to room temperature
• In a blender place remaining milk, room temperature chocolate mixture and ice
• Blend on high speed until smooth 
• Pour into a glass and top with whipped cream and chocolate shavings
• Enjoy on a hot summers day

Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed this little recipe,

Rachel Ward

Motivation #4

DIY: Teeth Whitener

I always been on a quest to get whiter teeth. I mean who hasn't ?
Anyway I dont want to pay a arm and a leg for a product which claims to do so much but in reality does nothing at all.
So instead I decided to try so home made all natural products which dont cost any money what so ever, so if they didn't work then I wouldn't be out of pocket.
I came across one DIY product that I have been using for a couple of weeks now and I love it. I works so much better than any store bought products or expensive dental range items and its so simple...

what you need:

• 1/4 cup baking soda
• lemon juice from half a lemon

what you do:
1) Mix two products together
2) Apply with a cotton ball or q-tip to teeth
3) Leave on for no longer than one minute then brush teeth and remove excess
4) Repeat 2 or 3 times a week for maximum results

I hope you found this useful !
Thanks for reading,
Rachel Ward

Decorating Made Easy With 'Just Bake'

A couple of weeks ago I was kindly sent some cake decorating products by JustBake that made making, creating and decorating cupcakes a whole lot easier yet still had that 'WOW' factor that every great baker loves to hear.

1.
Butterfly Sprinkles...
These sprinkles include a mixture or white, pink and yellow mini sugar butterflies that can be used to top cakes, cupcakes, biscuites or whatever takes your fancy. Me...I used them to decorate a batch of cupcakes which I will show you later in the post. They are so simple to use and can transform what was a plain cupcake into something all your family will be fighting over. They are small yet unlikely to break or snap as not one in the entire package was broken in transit which is defiantly a plus if you ask me as one of the worst things that can happen is for your decorations to break before you even have chance to use them. Not a problem with Just bakes Butterfly Sprinkles.

 

2.

Pink Flower Cupcake Decorations...

These Pink flower cupcake decorations are somewhat '3D' and have a lovely white detail in the centre of the flower. These are designed to top cupcakes although there not exclusively for cupcakes alone and of course can be used for other desserts and baking goods! I did use these for the cupcakes I made and they were perfect and so simple, they are a perfect alternative if you have limited time to create the perfect cupcake and instead of spending hours rolling out fondant or making gum paste to create your own flowers, simply spent less than 30 seconds opening the bag of pre made decorations and place them on your cupcakes! 

3.

Cupcake Wrappers...

Just Bake were kind enough to send me not one pack but two packets of cupcake wrappers in two different designs. The first ones are Pink Geometric Butterfly Cupcake Wrappers and the second Beautiful butterfly Cupcake Wrappers. If you havent come across cupcake wrappers before they are kind of like muffin cases but instead of pouring your cake batter directly into the wrapper I baked my cupcakes in basic cases and once baked and cooled I assembled the wrappers and dropped one cupcake into each wrapper which immediately gave great results. The wrappers allow room to ice and buttercream the tops of your cupcakes without any spillage or buttercream drooping down the sides which is a brilliant little advantage to using these wrappers as oppose to just a cupcake case. They also have a variety of different wrappers for all different occasions so if pink butterflies aren't your thing then im sure you will find something you like among there many other options. 

So I made a basic vanilla cupcake filled it with caramel and topped it with a pink vanilla buttercream, which alone would have been delicious but not visually spectacular and with these few items I was able to do just that and turn these plain looking cupcakes into cupcakes that looked like they belonged in the window of a bakery. Using the cupcake wrapper and sprinkles has been a revelation in my baking life and has made decorating a quicker experience for when I have little time to complete a job but still looks like I spent a lot of time decorating.

 

 

 Video Demonstration:

Thank you so much to JustBake.co.uk for your kindness and generosity in sending me these products and I can say I have true-fully enjoyed using them and will defiantly be making some purchases from you soon.

These cupcakes went down really well at a party I was hosting and everyone wanted more.

Thanks for reading,
Rachel Ward

http://www.justbake.co.uk/

DIY: Dreamcatcher Necklace

So I have an obsession with dreamcatchers and decided to create my own dreamcatcher jewellery starting with necklaces,

Enjoy...

Thanks for reading, (or more like watching) this post,

Rachel Ward