My 100 Things | #18 Go to a Christmas Market

So Blogmas is over and Christmas has passed. But I whilst I sit here in my food coma surrounded by empty chocolate wrappers, I thought I would write a slightly festive post about a recent trip to Manchester Christmas Market. Visiting a Christmas Market was on my list of 100 things to do this year so I am glad I've ticked it off - if I didn't do it at Christmas I wouldn't be able to. I'm even happier it was Manchester I got to visit because that's where I'll be studying next year and visiting got me a little bit more excited!

Anyway, I went with my best friend Robyn who now lives and works in Manchester. She is so grown up now, she has her own flat, earns a full wage - she pays bills! She's a proper adult now! Anyway, we went to the Christmas Market and spent many hours wandering around the little huts and spending far too much money. I got some Christmas Presents though...

We started the day by visiting what was probably my favourite stall of the day. It was called Sugar 245 and sold the most a-ma-zing marshmallows I have ever tasted! When we saw the stand we tried some of the free samples and exchanged the 'these are amazing and I can't speak because they are so good' look. Once we'd finished eating our way through the free samples we decided to buy a pack between us (we didn't want to spend all our money on the first stall).

Mmmmmmm, delicious!

I can't recommend them enough. We went for Chocolate and Orange, Vanilla and Blueberry and Blackcurrant and Champagne. They were all very delicious, so I may treat myself to some more from their website!

If you would like to check their website out, click here.

I loved the way Manchester Market was set out. There were little clusters of stalls set on a trail around the streets, and at every cluster, there was one stall that always caught my eye. In October (when Christmas Decorations come in to shops far too soon!) my mum saw a giant Santa that she really liked for our hallway, but she never bought it. Anyway, there were loads of stalls with similar things and I decided to buy my Mum and Dad a giant reindeer for Christmas! I really didn't think it through at the time because I had to get it home on the train along with my unnecessarily large handbag, and overnight suitcase...and my mum was picking me up from the station so I had to hide it in a giant bag - very subtle!
They liked it anyway!

These are similar to what is now in our my hallway! Cute!

I adore coffee! It's one of my favourite things! I got Dad (and myself) some coffee as a Christmas Present. I got the chocolate and caramel flavoured ones! I think they're going to be one of our favourites as they smell amazing! I can't remember what the company is called...argh, but hopefully I'll be able to pick some up from somewhere at some point!

Manchester Christmas Market has closed now, but it'll be back next year and I'm looking forward to going. I would completely recommend going to a Christmas market...it got me in the festive spirit!

Happy New Year!

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 24 | The End of Blogmas & Future of Headlined By Hannah

As the title suggests today is the last day of Blogmas :( I'm actually pretty sad about it. I thought it would be easier than it has, but it has been a lot of hard work - that doesn't mean I haven't enjoyed it though because I have.

December and Christmas are such a busy time anyway, I don't know why I decided to put all this extra pressure on myself. I won't lie...I have had a couple of meltdown's and tearful nights, but it's all been worth it, because so many people have read my posts and seemed to enjoy them. If you're someone who has read a lot of them...thank you...if you've read one....thank you too!

Anyway, I've also added to the title of this post ''Future of Headlined By Hannah'' - dramatic, I know!
I'm not stopping blogging, in fact quite the opposite, I'm really wanting to grow my blog next year, and put a lot of effort into it. I'm also currently working on the design of my blog, so hopefully in the new year it will be all swanky and sophisticated! I'm going to try to get all the changes done within a few days, but it may take longer if I have a brain block or just go really slow!

I'll be blogging three times as week as well from the beginning of 2015 - every Tuesday. Friday, and Sunday!
I'm really going to try to stick to this. Anyone who knows me, knows I don't give up easily, and with good organisation and planning I think I'll be OK!

There'll be all sorts of new posts in 2015 as well. I'm hoping to do a lot more posts on life, as I start to get out and about a bit more and get ready to go to Uni, and I'm looking forward to sharing all that with you!

That's the end of today's post. I hope you've enjoyed this short little update. I also hope you've enjoyed blogmas as this is the end of blogmas. Blogging three times a week will be a breeze now I've done this!

There may be a post from me between now and New Year....there may not be...ooooh the suspense!

Anyway, thanks for reading!

I hope you have a very Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year.

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 23 | Christmas Nail of the Week: Christmas Tree

This is my final Christmas related nail of blogmas, and I thought I'd keep it pretty simple. It's the design I'll have for Christmas Day (fingers crossed it doesn't chip in two days!) and I didn't want to go too crazy or out there....haven't decided what I'm wearing yet!

Anyway, here is the finished set:

I used:

Fearne Cotton - Silver
E.L.F Cosmetics - Mod Mauve
E.L.F Cosmetics - Metal Madness
The Body Shop - Top and Base Coat
The Body Shop - Nail Art Pen

What to do:

1) Paint all nails a really simple colour of your choice

Leave to dry (I left mine over night)

2) Place some sellotape in a triangle shape, and fill the triangle with a a glittery nail varnish, or a brighter one, of your choice

3) Add lines to represent tinsel, or dots to represent baubles.

4) If you have any nail varnishes with stars add one to the top of the tree!

See you tomorrow for the final day of blogmas...

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 22 | DIY: Homemade Christmas Gift

I love adding a personal touch to presents. There are a couple of friends, and a couple of people I work with I wanted to give presents to, but just couldn't think what to get them - but they all love food, so I thought that was a good place to start.

This is what my gift ended up looking like:

To do this I used (per present):

Homemade Chocolate Truffles
Homemade Peppermint Creams
2 Sweet Bags
A Jar
Ribbon
Gift Tag
Small piece of material

Apart from the chocolates I bought everything from The Range

What I did:

1) Add a handful of truffles to one sweet bag and a handful of peppermint creams to another

2) Layer these into the jar.

3) Cut out a piece of festive slightly larger than the lid of your jar.

4) Tie this around the lid with a piece of ribbon (a festive ribbon at Christmas of course!)

5) Add a little label saying who it's for, who it's from, and what's in the jar!

*TIP* Do this in a cold room, or by the fridge so you can take the chocolates directly out of the fridge and place them in the bags. I didn't do this, and under my hot kitchen lights they began to melt and some of the chocolate has squashed - sorry to whoever gets that jar! It's still made with love and thought though!

Hope you like this little gift idea. It'd be great if you were making the chocolates for yourself, and needed a last minute present idea, or if you have some friends who love food - like mine!

Merry Christmas. See you tomorrow for more blogmas.

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 21 | Recipe: Chocolate Truffles

A few year ago my I made some Chocolate Truffles for Christmas and they tasted AMAZING! But I haven't made any since. So this year I thought I would make some more. I took to the internet and found a James Martin Recipe on BBC Food and thought I would have a go.

The first attempt went in the bin (I'll explain why later on), but this is what the second attempt turned out like:

A very messy, but delicious looking plate

Carry on reading if you would like to see the full recipe:

You will need:

350ml Double Cream
400g Dark Chocolate, at least 60% cocoa solids, broken into pieces
3-4 tbsp. sifted cocoa powder
A variety of chocolate sprinkles (optional)

What to do:

1) Place the cream in a saucepan and heat on a medium heat. Do not let it come to the boil (I did this the first time I tried and the mixture spilt!)

2) Place the broken chocolate pieces into a bowl. When the cream is hot (slightly steaming) pour the cream over the chocolate

3) Mix well until the mixture is smooth and has the appearance of creamy melted chocolate

4) Set aside until the mixture has cooled

5) Place in the fridge for two hours until the mixture becomes firm

6) Sift the cocoa powder onto a plate. Using a teaspoon, curl balls of the chocolate and drop them into the cocoa powder and roll them about to cover them completely.

*TIP* You may need to place the chocolate back in the fridge halfway through creating the truffle balls, because a hot kitchen can cause them to go soft, and then it can get very messy!

7) Place them onto a plate to serve. (Or if you are preparing them in advance of when you need them, place into a sealed container and back in the fridge)

I think this is the perfect sweet treat to go with a cup of coffee after you've indulged in Christmas Dinner or an ideal Christmas Gift. Depending on the size you'd like your truffles it can make quite a lot, so would be a lovely gift for friends.

Enjoy...

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 20 | DIY: Christmas Table Name Place Cards

Every year we have Christmas at our house and this year there will be nine of us for Christmas Dinner. We've hosted for maybe the past four or five years now and each year we have recycled name place cards I made a long time ago. (It's much easier if we put name cards on the table, saves all the hassle of nobody knowing where they need to sit)

Anyway, this year we have decided to mix it up a bit and be very rock and roll and make new place cards!

It's something you can do really cheaply and I think adds a little bit of something extra to a Christmas Table.

A few days ago I went to The Range and picked up a few bits and pieces for not a lot of money.

Here is what I bought...

Here is what I ended up creating:

 

I made nine name place cards but here are just three.

Really simple, Really Quick, Really Affordable.

Hope you might get some inspiration from these...

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 19 | Recipe: Christmas Cake

I started making my Christmas Cake about a month ago because it was when I got chance and they last for so long it doesn't matter.

I thought I'd share with you a recipe that my Mum has used to make our Christmas Cake every year. It was originally a Delia Smith (a cooking queen) recipe and we haven't changed anything. It's tried and tested and is absolutely lovely so why change a recipe for success?

This recipe is for a heavy, dense, fruit cake, that serves 8 to 10 people.
The preparation time is 30 minutes, plus an overnight soaking, and the cooking time is 5 hours.

If you would like to make something that looks a bit like this, carry on reading for the full recipe:

You will need:

For the Cake:
450g currants
175g sultanas
175g raisins
50g glace cherries (rinsed, dried and finely chopped)
50g mixed peel (finely chopped)
250ml (approx.) sherry alcohol
225g plain flour
1/2 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter
225g soft brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 dessertspoon black treacle
zest 1 lemon
zest 1 orange

To Decorate:
500g Natural Almond Marzipan
500g White Fondant Icing
Decorations (i.e. ribbons) of your choice


What to do:

Begin this cake 24 hours before you wish to bake it...

1) Add the dried fruit and mixed peel to a large mixing bowl and stir in the sherry as thoroughly as possible.

2) Cover the bowl with a clean cloth and leave the bowl to one side to absorb the alcohol for 24 hours.

Next day...

3) Preheat the oven to gas mark 1 / 275f / 140c.

4) Sift the flour, salt and spices into a large mixing bowl (raise the flour high to give it an airing)

5) In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk the butter and sugar together until it is light, pale and fluffy

6) Now, beat the eggs in a seperate bowl and then add them to the creamed sugar/butter mixture 1 tablespoon at a time; keep the whisk running until the egg is fully incorporated. (If the eggs are added like this they shouldn't curdle, but if they do, don't worry, all problems will be solved at a later date)

 

7) When all the egg is added fold in the flour and spices. Don't beat the mixture as this will remove any air.

 

 

8) Now fold in the fruit, peel, treacle and grated orange and lemon zests.

 

Now grease an 8in/20cm round cake tin and line with greaseproof paper. (Because the baking time is a long one - tie a band of brown paper round the outside of the tin for extra protection)

9) Transfer the cake mixture to the cake tin and level out with the back of a spoon

 

10) Cover the cake with a double square of greaseproof paper with a 50p size whole in the top (it looks really messy but this is again for extra protection during the long slow cooking time)

11) Bake the cake on the lowest shelf of the oven for 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 hours. It may take up to 1/2 hour longer than this but do not check the cake, or even open the oven till 4 hours have passed.

Cool the cake for 30 minutes in the tin, then remove it and place it on a wire rack

 


If you wish you can leave it looking like this or you can ice it in a traditional Christmas Cake style.

To decorate:

1) Roll out the marzipan. Place the marzipan across the cake evenly. (Don't worry if it breaks no one will see this bit you can patch it up with any excess you have)

2) Roll out the icing and place evenly over the cake - be careful not to break this! Push the icing to the bottom of the cake and cut it off around the base of the cake.

3)Decorate the cake with anything you would like such as ribbons or specific cake decorations. You can get these from craft and cookery stores.

And that is it.....your cake may look a little bit like this, or it may not depending on how you've decided to decorate it.

 

 

Hope you've enjoyed reading this recipe! Merry Christmas!

 

See you tomorrow for more blogmas....

 

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 18 | My first Christmas Jumper

Yesterday I succumbed to buying my first ever Christmas jumper! I wanted to pick one up last year but never did, and I've been meaning to get one for this Christmas for the past month or so but just haven't got around to it. I went into Primark last week and they were basically all out of Christmas Jumpers! All my hopes of getting a Christmas Jumper had been destroyed...or so I thought - I went into a different Primark store yesterday and they had some Christmas Jumpers! Woooohooo! Oh yeah!

Anyway, I tried a couple on and ended up settling on a style I'd seen on somebody else last year and wished I'd bought!

Here am I rocking my Christmas Jumper....

 

 

I absolutely love it! I am slightly worried that the 3D carrot knitted nose will begin to get on my nerves after a while, but I'm sure the snowman cuteness will make me forgive the irritating nose. I also love this because the back of the jumper is the back of the snowman as well and it isn't just plain boring white or blue.

I'd really recommend going to Primark if you're looking for a Christmas Jumper. They are actually really good quality and super warm - I've heard Asda had some good designs as well but I'm not sure if they are still stocking them!

Anyway, my snowman doesn't yet have a name...any suggestions?

See you tomorrow...

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 17 | Present Wrapping-aholic

One of my favourite parts of Christmas is wrapping presents. I love to give gifts to people and seeing them all prettily wrapped just makes it even more Christmassy.

This year I've decided to go for the rustic look. I've gone with brown (very boring!) wrapping paper and then added cute ribbons, gift tags and bows, so the accessories on the gift are the main part of the wrapping and make it more interesting. Does that make any sense? I hope so...

 

I've spent the last few weeks looking around different places for different craft items I could use for my gift wrapping.

I've bought a lot from The Range and Hobbycraft. I also went into Paperchase, somewhere I thought would be really expensive but it actually wasn't that bad. I didn't get anything but they had a lot of small baubles (designed to put on your tree) that I thought would look good tied onto ribbons on a present, so I'll definitely get some of those for next year - I'm that into wrapping presents I'm already planning next Christmas before this one is done!

 

 

 

I absolutely love these little wooden gift tags I picked up from a shop that sold little gifts that was quite orientated around quotes and sayings, in a local shopping centre. I can't remember the price but they were less than £1 each and after Christmas they can be used as decorations for our Christmas tree next year. I think they are just super cute!

 

So that's it for today. A very short, very random post, but something I love - is it weird that I enjoy wrapping presents so much? I'm sure I'm not the only one!

 

Have a good day and I'll see you tomorrow.

 

Love, Hannah x

Blogmas Day 16 | Christmas Nail of the Week: Snowman

For this weeks Christmas Nail, I once again took to Pinterest to try to find a snowman design. I found one with the entire snowman on a nail and it was just to tricky to do...no matter how I tried something would go wrong each time. So I gave up and looked for another design. I came across a much cuter design and thought I'd give it a go...and this time it worked!

Here's the finished set:

I like the way the snowman is spread across three nails and a full size snowman isn't squashed onto one nail

I used:

What to do:

1) Paint all nails light blue.

Leave to dry

2) To your index finger and ring finger add brown 'twig like' lines
3) To your thumb and index, ring and little fingers add white 'snow' dots

Leave to dry

4) To your middle finger add a semi-circle from the tip towards the middle of the nail of white and some white 'snow' dots above the cuticle

Leave to dry

5) Add two black dots to the white semi circle and an orange triangle for the eyes and nose

And you're done. Finish with a top coat and you're good to go. I wouldn't recommend doing this in a rush because the stages each need to dry or the varnishes just run into each other.
Unfortunately this design does use quite a lot of different colours. The black could be substituted for the brown and vice versa so you would only need one of these dark colours. But you'll definitely need an orange....every snowman's nose has to be an orange carrot!

So there's another design...I hope you're enjoying these!

See you tomorrow

Love, Hannah

Blogmas Day 15 | Haul: E.L.F Cosmetics Nail Polishes

If you've read any of my other blog posts there are many where I have mentioned how much of a fan I am of the Smoky Brown E.L.F nail polish. I bought it the first time I ever shopped on E.L.F's website and absolutely fell in love. I really like the formula of it. It glides onto my nails really easily, and dries really quickly. I also like how after just a couple of coats I have a really strong colour, and even though when I bought it I was expecting a lighter colour, I was really pleased with it. After my first purchase on E.L.F was a success I signed up to the newsletter.

It was thanks to this newsletter that I found out E.L.F were doing a Christmas Advent Calendar type thing on their website. Everyday they would run different offers, and they other day I was very much attracted to the free postage! Since I loved the nail polish I bought so much I decided I would take the opportunity of free postage to get some more!

I picked up six different colours.

L - R: Glamour Girl, Metal Madness, Misty Haze, Smokin' Hot, Chocolate, Mod Mauve

I went for some darker colours, and others that I just thought would be really nice for Winter.

I particularly love the Red varnish. I think Smokin' Hot is such a funny name, and I love the vibrancy of the colour. I've been looking for a red polish for quite some time now, as I was really wanting one for Christmas. I think that this one fits the bill perfectly and with the same fantastic formula as a previous favourite, I think this is going to become a go-to bright in my nail varnish collection.

I really love the purple varnish I bought. Already in my collection I have a very old, very dark purple polish, that looks almost black once a couple of coats have been applied. I picked this one up because of the little bits of glitter. Now it's arrived and I've put it on my nails, I love the way it picks up the light and shines. It'd be perfect for a Christmas night out!













Those are a couple of my favourites and at the bargain prices they are, I think they are FANTASTIC!
I paid £1 for the Chocolate and Metal Madness polishes (they're being discontinued so it's while stocks last for those) and the rest were £2.50.

I was in desperate need of some new, Christmassy nail varnishes, so I don't feel too guilty for indulging in all of those - and it was free postage!

 

Anyway, that's all for today! Hope you've enjoyed this post!

 

Love, Hannah

Blogmas Day 14 | TAG: You Can Only Pick One Beauty Tag

I recently discovered Plus+ Beauty's blog and ended up reading through a whole heap of her recent posts. I saw this tag that I hadn't seen before and thought I would tag myself and post it for Blogmas Day 14 (can you believe we are already halfway through December!?)! Anyway, lets start the questions.

What is your favourite low-end brand?
Rimmel. Hands down. Their foundations are some of my favourites and I've never found I product that I really don't like.

Favourite High-End Brand?
I don't really have many high end products - I do have a Clinique mascara that I really love so I think I'll say Clinique. (Oh, but if I had an unlimited budget I would own the entire MAC lipstick collection!)

Favourite Primer?
I have two. For my eyes, I always use the Urban Decay Primer Potion. I've only ever owned one, and it seems to be lasting me a really long time - good value for money! On a daily basis I use the Nivea Express Hydration Primer, it's like a Primer and Moisturiser all in one, and is only a few pounds per pot!

Favourite Foundation?
Rimmel, Wake Me Up. Just love everything about it. Love the fact it has good coverage but doesn't look to cakey on me!

Favourite Concealer?
Collection, Lasting Perfection. I tried not to just buy this because everyone else was because I thought it would be a phase so I didn't own it for a long time. However, now I do, I realise what all the hype was about. It is by far the best concealer I've tried. It covers a multitude of sins on bad skin days.

Favourite Bronzer?
I don't really have one. I'm really pale so always find it hard finding the right bronzer for my skin tone. At the moment I'm using the Collection Bronze Glow Mosaic in the shade Sunkissed and I think it might even be too pale for me...so yeah, I haven't found one I like, don't really have a favourite.

Favourite Powder?
Collection, Lasting Perfection Powder. I like the powder because it does it's job but I really like the packaging. It comes with a handy little mirror and powder sponge...perfect for your handbag!

Favourite Eyebrow Product?
I have ginger hair and have major problems with my brows - there is a fine line between the invisible look and the painted on look. I think I'm finding the right balance though with a shade from an MUA eyeshade palette. I use shade 5 from the Undressed palette!

Favourite Eyeshadow Palette?
I have a lot of palette's and it is impossible to pick one. I'll say the MUA Undressed palette is a good one for when I go away because it's all neutral tones so that's a pretty basic one. But I also like the Urban Decay NYC palette (it's discontinued now I think) but it has a lot of really nice dark colours!

Favourite Eyeliner?
No7 Stay Perfect Eyeliner Pencil. I got this as freebie when I bought something else and I was pleasantly surprised. The black pencil is on one end, and then on the other end is a 'smudger' (that's a word right?) which is really handy to have.

Favourite Lipstick?
This is really hard. I have a lot of Lipsticks, lip glosses and far to many lip balms for one girl to ever need. I really can't pick. I'll say the Soap and Glory Sexy Mother Pucker Gloss Stick in Nudist. I think every girl should own a nude lipstick and this is my perfect one.

Favourite Nail Polish?
Any by Fearne Cotton, especially for Winter as I love the Darker shades. I got a few for Christmas probably two years ago now, and I don't have a particular shade I like, but I love the formula and it dries really quickly!

Favourite Beauty Tool?
My eyelash curlers. I can see a huge difference when I use them, and no matter how great the mascara is, my eyelashes always look their best when I've used and eyelash curler. I have one that I actually bought from H&M for about £6 a long time ago (I'm talking about four years!) and it's still going strong.

There you have it! Another tag done and another blogmas day finished. It was a really long post so if you're still with me, thank you for sticking around and reading all the way to the end.

 

I hope you enjoyed this post! See you tomorrow...

 

Love, Hannah

Blogmas Day 13 | Winter Haircare Essentials

If I don't use products on my hair it can be absolutely wild. I particulary think that during Winter it's important to look after it because it always feels so dry and looks lifeless if I don't.

I've been shopping recently and I have been trying out a few new products. I also have some go-to products that I buy over and over again. I thought I'd share a few with you...

 

I'll start with heat defence. This was something I always had in my cupboard but always forgot to use. I don't know why, I would just be so desperate to get my hair dried (it takes ages!) that I'd only think about using it 10 minutes after I'd turned the hairdryer on. I started to make a conscious effort of using it and I have seen a massive difference. The one I particularly love is this one by Schwarzkopf. I've used it for a while now and find that, unlike some other products I've tried, it settles into my hair quickly, so I can spray it on dry hair, take the straighteners to it, and it won't sizzle because my hair's become damp. It's really affordable and a little bit of product makes a lot of difference.

 

This is a new purchase and I've only been using it for a few days. I'd heard good things about Salt-Sprays and was eager to try one for myself. I picked up this one from the L'Oreal Studio Line range. I love it. It isn't sticky like I was worried it would be and I can instantly tell a difference when I've used it. It really adds texture to my hair without it being drying. My only drawback to this product is the bottle it comes in. I like the shape, but the nozzle is quite fierce, and a lot of product is fired out at once so be sure to hold it away from you hair so it spreads evenly.

 

 

Only a few days ago when I went into Boots were L'Oreal Studio Line products on 2 for £4. I decided I would repurchase a product I use whenever I have my hair wavy or curly. It's the L'Oreal Studio Line TXT Wave Creating Spray. I apply to wet or damp hair before I blow dry it as the heat helps activate it. Having said this, I also use it when I am allowing my hair to dry naturally, even though I'm applying no heat, it still has an effect. I would really recommend it if you have naturally wavy or curly hair, and want to keep these in place once your hair is exposed to the Winter Weather.

 

 

 

 

My final winter hair product essential is a dry shampoo. I bought the Refresh Me Quick Dry Shampoo from VO5 a few months ago and I'm still on my first bottle but I will be rebuying it soon as it is about to run out - a little goes a long way! It's the only one of their dry shampoo products I've bought, and I like it because it does what it says on the bottle - it refreshes my hair, giving it a bit of volume, really quickly. It doesn't leave any white marks like some other dry shampoo's do either. I like the fact it comes in different sized bottles as well - very handy for travelling!

 

 



 

So that's it, there are a few of my Winter Haircare Essentials.

I hope you've enjoyed this little blog post.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

Love, Hannah x

 

 

P.S All the products featured in this post were bought from either Boots or Superdrug incase you were wondering! Thanks, see you tomorrow for more blogmas!