Recipe: Tagliatelle with Vegetable Tomato Sauce and Garlic Bread

As with most of my recipes this is a 'use any vegetables that are about to go off' recipe. It has a few key ingredients that I would say is necessary but beyond that everything is optional and changeable. I've put a star next to the key ingredients and then everything else can be switched out.

I took some photos of the finished product and I do realise that nobody would actually serve pasta in glasses as a main course but I thought it would make some cute photos so that explains that.

Another thing; I know this isn't that summery since pasta is usually quite stodgy and its a comfort food and it's thought to be quite high carb and calories but this is actually quite a healthy recipe if you look at the ingredients. The only fat in the tomato sauce is the olive oil and if you use extra virgin olive oil it has a lot of health benefits and you can use the bare minimum needed to cook the vegetables, plus its 3-4 tablespoons for two servings. As for the cheese, only a small amount is grated on top but it can be skipped or just use something like parmesan that is very low fat. The garlic bread could be skipped but I only used the tiniest amount of butter and a small sprinkling of cheese so I added it, plus it makes the meal more interesting with the crunchy texture since all the vegetables in the sauce are very soft after the cooking.

Ingredients:

Serves 2

Pasta:

* 5 balls of tagliatelle

* 3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

* 1 jar of tomato passata or 1 can of chopped tomatoes
* 1 stock cube and 500ml of water (or the amount on the box)
* 1 medium sized red onion
* 1 clove of garlic
Half of a red bell pepper
1 medium sized carrot
1 courgette
A handful of plum tomatoes
* Black pepper
* Herbs for seasoning - use dried or fresh, I used onion salt, oregano and basil but regular salt and mixed herbs is also fine

Garlic Bread:
* Baguette slices - any bread is fine for this but I find baguette tastes the best
* Garlic butter or regular butter with some garlic powder or crushed fresh garlic mixed in
* Cheese - parmesan, mozzarella or cheddar would probably suit the best

Method:

Pasta:
Simply peel and chop up the vegetables to similar sizes except the garlic and onion. For the garlic you want to either crush it if you have a garlic crusher or just mince it really small with a knife, the onion you want to cut in half lengthways (so if you chop off the top and end then stand it up and cut down the middle) then slice it up finely (doesn't have to be precise but you don't want big chunks of onion).

Next cook the vegetables starting with the onion and garlic then leaving a few minutes in-between add the rest of the vegetables starting with the harder ones first. So with my vegetables the onion and garlic went in first, I let them brown before adding the red pepper and carrots, once the pepper had started to brown and soften I added the courgette and tomatoes. After adding the last of the vegetables cook for a couple of minutes then add in the tomato passata along with the spices. Stir altogether and add the stock that is dissolved in hot water. Stir together.

The sauce is pretty much complete and at this point you just need to turn down the heat so that the sauce is still bubbling gently and let it reduce down to a thicker consistency. Depending how you like your tomato sauce it should be ready after 20 minutes.

I find that now is the best time to cook the pasta since that should take around 15-20 minutes depending which type and brand you use.

Garlic Bread:
It is probably easier to prepare this first then put it in a preheated oven to cook whilst the sauce is reducing so everything can be served together.

Simply spread the butter on the baguette slices and top with cheese. If you are using slightly old parmesan (when its been open for a few weeks and has started to dry) it is usually harder to melt so a few drops olive oil on top would be helpful or just use a bit more butter since I spread it very thin.

Put it on a baking tray and into an oven at 230˚C and cook for 15-20 minutes until the cheese has melted and has started to brown.

If you cook everything in this order it should all be ready at about the same time. To finish off, grate some parmesan over the tomato sauce and sprinkle some black pepper on top. I like to serve this with some fresh salad and I just mix it in with the pasta and spoon the sauce on top of it.

Apologises #2

Hi! I can explain! I thought that after exams when we went back to school everything would be really relaxed since it was open day season for universities and there were a few subject trips going on which would mean the teachers would be sympathetic and not do too much in lessons. I was wrong, very very wrong. Both maths and chemistry went full speed ahead starting all the A2 courses so I was constantly catching up on work that I'd missed. I also had a biology field trip for 4 days so that meant more catch up work. So that is why I wrote one post then stopped again. However, now it's the summer holidays and I am actually, kind of, free now so I'll quickly write up the 9 posts I missed then post once a week like before.

Pre-emptive outfit

I took my last exam this morning and left school smiling non stop! This also means that after I've written 9 posts I'll return to my normal posting schedule of once a week on Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday.

I applied to go to a one day course at SOAS which is The School of Oriental and Asian Studies, this is one of the universities that come under 'The University of London'. My course is in International Law and its a taster day. I'll write more about these kinds of thing in my student series so students at the GCSE/A Level stage and look into it and apply for similar courses if they want :)

I was choosing an outfit and my cousin was free so we did a mini photoshoot of an outfit I may wear for this course tomorrow, which is why I titled this preemptive. Also, it's not too clear in the photos but I tried out the Benefit 'They're Real!' gel eyeliner pen at the counter today. It comes out on Saturday and I paid a £5 deposit to make sure I could get one - I love it that much! I'll probably write a post on it soon after.

I've listed the shops/brands that I bought everything from, but I'm pretty sure that except the Pandora rings and jewellery from Accessorize, I purchased them quite a while ago so shops aren't likely to stock them, sorry!

Tshirt: Daily Look

Skirt: River Island

Necklaces (top to bottom):

Hope: Orelia

Rhinstones: Accessorize

Turquoise stone: River Island
Prescription glasses: Osiris (Specsavers)

Shoes: Toms

Anklet: Accessorize

Rings:

Dark blue stone: Pandora

Turquoise stone: Accessorize

Nails:
Light: Topshop 'Disclosed'
Darker: Topshop 'Air Kisses'

Tiara ring: Pandora

Earrings (top to bottom):

Ball closure ring: starter ring from tattoo/piercing shop

Star: Fat Face

Clover: Accessorize

Circle: Accessorize

Bag: River Island

Apologies and explanation

Hi! I'm really sorry that I haven't done my weekly post and including this week I have 5 to make up. I just want to quickly explain. Even though I said I would continue posting during exams, my exams haven't been going too well and I've been going through a lot of personal stuff also therefore I decided to stop posting and put more focus into my exams then make up the posts after I finish.

I have 2 more exams on Monday and Tuesday next week, then on Wednesday I'm in London for a one day course I signed up for. This means that for the most part I will have the free time to make up my 5 posts and write the post due for next week and resume my normal 'schedule'.

If it's reassuring in any way, I do have a few of the posts planned out - just from stuff I've done or thought about recently:
- I went shopping in London with a friend last week so I'll probably do an outfit and haul post since I didn't buy a lot;
- Quick fix beauty tips for after the gym or swimming or the beach;
- I've been thinking about starting a 'student' series, talking about university applications and extra curricular stuff people my age can do because I've researched quite thoroughly into it and I know some schools don't really offer many of these opportunities;
- A mini series about beauty DIYs;
- 'Summer legs' DIY.

To finish off, sorry for not posting and not writing a little note explaining that I wasn't posting but I hope you'll come back to find the new content next week. :)

Stephen's Story

I never actually even thought of writing about this but I saw the newspaper at the train station after my exam and this has stuck with me since. Originally I thought I'd write about nails since this week is supposed to be a beauty post but that can wait.

RIP Stephen Sutton 16/12/1994 - 14/05/2014

If you live in the UK and have seen the newspaper headlines today or recently you should know what I'm talking about. This boy is 19 years old and died from his cancer yesterday morning. His name is Stephen Sutton and has been label as 'inspirational' and a 'legacy' by many. I'm inclined to agree. Below is the short film on his website explaining his story and his aims. Whilst watching this video I cried so have tissues at the ready!

His website is http://stephensstory.co.uk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/StephensStory?fref=ts

Twitter: https://twitter.com/_StephensStory

I guess what I'm trying to say is that it's so amazing that even though he received heartbreaking news he carried on like nothing had changed. In fact, in his speeches, he often said his diagnosis was a 'kick up the butt' to take life more seriously and not take things for granted. Originally his Facebook page was set up to document his progress with his 46-item bucket list with the most important being to raise £10, 000 for Teenage Cancer Trust (a charity). Now, 4 years after his diagnosis, 2 years after being told he was incurable and a year after he started his Facebook page, he has raised over £3.4 million for Teenage Cancer Trust. 

This is the last sentence in his introduction and I think it very adeptly describes his journey and reasons for publicising his story 'This is not a sob story, this is Stephen's Story!' If nothing else, let this show you that no matter how old you are, if you want to, you can make a difference, you just need to believe and work for it.

This is a paragraph from my personal statement draft explaining why I want to study law:

'I want to study law to help people. There’s a saying that knowledge is power and this is how I live my life. The more I learn and understand about the law, the better I can help people. I would like to become a barrister and ultimately, a judge. For me, this career path is not about the earning power, but how I can help those in need. I want to give a voice to the people who don't think they have one and help them in a situation when they feel wronged and unable to fight back. Child advocacy in particular interests me. Children’s opinions are not given enough weight in cases that involve them making them feel isolated and alone. Although the law is supposed to help them, they often feel as if the adults are making all the decisions not taking into account their thoughts and feelings.'

There's also a personal reason which has inspired this. But the point I'm trying to make is that whenever I've told people, both my age and adults, they scoff. Adults look at me and you can see that they are thinking 'oh how cute, a 16 year old with big dreams to change the world, the real world will shock you'. I disagree though, I think that if you want to make it happen and you try, there's nothing to stop you from doing your part. I'm not saying I think I can single handedly bring about world peace or even make a significant difference, but even if I can help one person for the better I will have completed my goal. Plus, as I always say, you could help that one child that could grow up to cure cancer. So you never know what the knock on effect of one good act could be.

Feel free to comment about your views on this subject. Or what do you think about Stephen's Story?

Quick note/update

I've just been editing this blog since something about it was annoying me. I still haven't really figured it out. But, I just wanted to write this quick note to say that:

1) I know, I need to add a few more pictures and probably less waffle - I'm working on it;

2) The pictures aren't the best of quality right now - again, I know, it's just that it's a lot easier to take pictures and upload them onto my mac from my iPhone since they automatically since over wifi and I do have a little digital camera and a pretty dSLR that takes gorgeous pictures, it's just with exams and everything I don't have the time to fiddle around with that yet, plus, the pictures I've been uploading aren't really anything special to require nice photography - if you bear/bare (I don't know, they both look wrong) with me, in the summer I'll probably take some nice pictures and make the current posts less dry

3) Even with exams, I'll try to keep up with my current schedule of posting (once a week, with interchanging beauty then lifestyle posts) since I sat down and figured out the topics of the next 10 or so posts and have notes or drafts for most of them

Bye for now!

How to: PROCRASTINATE PRODUCTIVELY

If you are still a student it is probably 'exam season' for you now. Which inevitably means a lot a lot a lot of procrastination. I'm pretty sure everyone does it even if they don't admit to it. The definition of procrastination, for those of you who may not know it, is: 'to put off doing something, especially out of habitual carelessness or laziness' (according to thefreedictionary.com). If you're supposed to be revising or preparing for your exams but are reading this instead, then you are procrastinating.

So the productive part is relatively subjective. I say this because not all of these tasks are that productive nor are they likely to be necessary to be completed at the exact time you are supposed to be working, so technically, not productive. But on the other hand, they kind of are productive because you'll have accomplished something meaningful/worthwhile - er, if you consider these tasks to meet that criteria.

In my own little world, being about to argue that roundabout and somewhat twisted logic means that I'll make a good barrister (lawyer) someday. Feel free to disagree. Most people often do.

So, the key to procrastinating productively is to choose tasks that need completing at some point in time and bring forward the point in time in which you choose to complete them. Here is my list:

 - Tidying my room - this is a big one for me, my room is perpetually messy and every time my mum sees my room she gets angry and starts yelling, so it's very hard for her to tell me off for not working if I'm tidying my room instead so double win;

I bought and built this chest of drawers from
IKEA in the Easter holidays. It was originally
£75 but the day we went there was a promotion
and it was £55. It has two shallow drawers at the
top with 4 more deeper drawers below. I added
some functional decoration on top so it'd look
pretty next to the boring wardrobes.

- Organising small parts of my room - this kind of comes under tidying but sometimes I just shove all my books haphazardly onto my bookshelf or clutter my desk with desk-related items (i.e. spare stationary, random bits of paper, textbooks etc.) so this needs organising at some point and when I get bored or don't feel like tidying I'll sit and make one small part of my room very neat and tidy - as a side note, my mum isn't usually too impressed since collateral damage is that clutter is created in other parts of my room and it's only a small section of my room;

- Washing my hair/hair mask/face mask/painting my nails/tweezing eyebrows/shaving legs - I would classify myself as a girly-girl but I am also very lazy so all of these things can be a bit of a chore to me (my hair is naturally on the drier side so even if I don't wash my hair for a week it won't look greasy or unclean), so sometimes when I don't want to work, I'll take an early shower and spend forever on my hair and legs then come out and do the whole beauty pamper thing - again, my mum isn't very impressed when she walks in and sees me tweezing my eyebrows or painting my nails instead of working but on the plus side I feel so great after I've finished;

- Food/grocery shopping - in the UK supermarkets there are also home sections where you can buy bathroom stuff so that comes under this 'heading', my two brothers will eat pretty much anything except for 'healthy stuff' so I cook all of my own meals and go food shopping with my mum then come home and organise the fridge, I also got the second ensuite so I have to make sure I have shampoo/body wash/ hand soap etc. - my mum can't really say anything about this although I'm quite certain she knows sometimes I just go because I have a shopping problem and I don't feel like working, but on the other hand I think she likes that I'm quite independent so she knows she won't have to worry about me when I'm away at university and after that;

- Clearing out my wardrobe - again, similar theme to the first two except recently a few 'clothes for cash' places have sprung up where I live so that's nice (I'm told the clothes go to charity and from Googling that does seem to be the case but I'm not 100% sure) but I'm a bit of a hoarder and I buy way too many clothes so sometimes (a lot of the time) I'm made to keep half the stuff I wanted to get rid of because it's still so new, I know it's quite wasteful, but I'm a teenage girl who apparently has way too much money;

*on the theme of the 'clothes for cash' I'm sure you know about websites like 'musicMagpie' where you can sell CD's, DVD's, electronics and branded clothing; I've also found a site called 'WeBuyBooks.co.uk' that buys books (duh) CD's and DVD's; and Amazon have a trade-in store for books and games - I've found that for musicMagpie, downloading the app on my iPhone and scanning the barcodes is a lot easier than typing in the code then copying it and pasting it onto the WeBuyBooks search bar to compare the price is the best; it's worth comparing the prices on even a couple of sites since prices can vary by quite a bit so might as well get the highest amount;

- Eating - again, I think most young people do this, and why not? I'm trying to break this habit since I'm trying to tone up and get a nice summer body, I find that in the holidays I measure my day by the time before my next meal because cooking also takes up a significant amount of time, especially when there are a billion vegetables to slice or dice or peel or do something to.

Hope you've found this post amusing and I wish anyone taking exams good luck! Comment below if you have any requests for my next post or just a random comment because you're bored of work :)

SHOPPING HAUL

Hi!

You're probably a bit confused as to why I seem so overly enthusiastic. Or maybe you don't care. However, let me quickly explain, haul videos are literally my favourite videos to watch by beauty youtubers, and I do this with my friends as well so, I'm excited.

Since I don't make Youtube videos (comment if you'd like me to?) photos will have to do. Originally I wanted to style some looks with the clothes I've bought but since it is exam season, everyone's busy so I don't have anyone to help me and I don't really want to post cringey photo-of-the-mirror pictures, plus they wouldn't show the whole outfit anyway. Apologies, just blame all my friends for taking their exams a lot more seriously than me.

Warning: I waffle on quite a lot in this post because I absolutely love shopping, if you can't be bothered to read it all just scroll down and look at the pretty pictures, and I'll post reviews/styling advice later on.

Without further ado:

So I ordered a few bits from Debenhams when I saw their points event, it was something like 750 points if you spend £50 and since I had just been paid and it finished that day I thought 'why not?'. I did originally only go on the website to find the price of a clinique mascara. I also bought some stuff from Bershka because a person I watch on Youtube mentioned their leggings and I need some leggings so I looked through the rest of the site, too.

And Friday after school I went to Westfield shopping centre in Stratford because I had a Victoria's Secret promotional gift card and I didn't want to waste. I didn't actually end up having that much money on the card but I need the retail therapy after a week of mocks. I also went to Urban Outfitters since I had 3 store credit cards which I didn't think I had a lot of money at but I had accumulated quite a bit so I spent an hour trying on clothes and spending all that money. With my leftover money I debated between some Pandora jewellery or some more Victoria's Secret and it worked out that I could just about afford both, so I bought both and now I'm broke. But very happy!

Let's start with Bershka. I bought these black leggings, a white stroppy top and 3 cropped tshirts. I'm actually returning all of the tops because none of them were what I expected. The white tshirt is very see through and the fit of the other two cropped tees just aren't very flattering on me, the colour also doesn't suit my colouring either. If I'd bought them in a medium instead of small and different colours I'd probably have kept them since they were quite cheap and seemed quite good quality. The white top I really didn't like the fit of. It seems to be the kind of top which only look good on really really thin people, which I'm not so I don't like how it looks on me.

At Debenhams I bought the Dior mascara primer, a white shimmery eyeliner from Urban Decay and the bottom lash mascara from Clinque. I've always wanted to try the bottom lash mascara since I have very thin and short lashes which makes it hard to apply mascara. I've also wanted the Dior mascara primer for ages but I'd just bought the Urban decay version so I couldn't justify it before and the eyeliner was because I want to try out the look where you have shimmery white eyeliner or shadow right about black eyeliner so it's quite dramatic but still a daytime look. I can't really explain it but I've seen it in movies and on magazines and I've wanted to recreate it. (I'll probably do a mascara primer post soon-ish comparing the Urban Decay and Dior and whether it works.)

Next, shopping trip. I just bought one ring from Pandora. I really really love their jewellery and I personally prefer more expensive, branded rings over costume jewellery rings because they fit better and last longer. I also think they look nicer too, but this is just my personal preference.

At Victoria's Secret I bought things from their 'Pink' range, I guess it's the slightly more affordable section aimed at younger women. I bought 3 tshirt bras (this just means they're supposed to look smooth and seamless so you can't see the edges under your clothes) and a pair of sports shorts. I'm not going to put a picture of my underwear online so here are the shorts. These are running shorts with a lining and sooo comfy. The material is really thin so it keeps you cool.

Lastly, Urban Outfitters. I love this store so much so I was really happy to see how much credit I had. I bought a plain grey tshirt because I love tshirts and the brand BSG have the comfiest tshirts I own. I bought this midi skirt that matches. I actually thought they were leggings when I picked them up but it's just a very fitted - bodycon almost - midi/maxi skirt. I say that because on my 5ft 2" frame its about half an inch above the ankle so it fits as a maxi skirt on me so I know it'll be midi on taller girls. there's a knee length split in the back to make walking possible and it's made of stretchy jersey material. I bought a pair of shorts in similar print because this print is pretty and its in fashion right now so it's found everywhere and I really like the neon piping. That's what sold me really. That and, I bought a few pairs of cottony shorts in this style from UO last summer and they were so much comfier and cooler than denim shorts. And I had some money left so I bought these cute rose fairy lights to decorate my room because they look absolutely adorable!

Comment if you'd like me to do some reviews or styling posts! Or just comment on your thoughts about some of the things I've bought.

Tattoo?

I'm trying to be more organised now so I've set a weekly alert on my calendar that will notify me a couple of days in advance so I can come up with an idea of what I want to write and make sure that I have enough time along with all my school work and exam revision. I'm going to aim to post every week on either Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Just thought I'd let you know.

Up until recently-ish I've not really thought too much about tattoos and probably would've said no if someone ask me if I wanted one. But just under a year ago, some stuff happened at home, my friend talked about what tattoos she wanted to get and I read this really amazing book series called Reason to Breathe by Rebecca Donovan and I was hooked.

The way those three things link is that I want to get a tattoo for a meaningful reason not just because it's in fashion right now or I'm a bit bored because it's a really permanent thing on your body that you have to live with. I'm not exactly sure what I want but I have plenty of time since the legal age is 18 and there's still a month and a half until I'm 17. I could probably find a place and get one quite quickly but my problem is, if they are willing to break the law (tattooing under 18's is classed as assault but it's just a small fine for first offence) then how trustworthy are they? Obviously there are exceptions like if it's family or a close friend but the closest I got was I need parental consent and my mum's view is 'not even if hell freezes over' so that's that.

I got distracted last night whilst I was trying to cram for a mock exam today and started googling tattoo photos for inspiration so I thought I'd post a bunch of photos and my tattoo ideas. I really love looking at stuff like this because some people just have the most amazing tattoos and it's beautiful if it's done right.

I saw this photo and then I became obsessed with poppies, I'm pretty sure that I want to get a watercolour poppy tattoo first - or one of my first. Oh, yeah, I'm planning on getting at least one tattoo on my 18th birthday so I'll probably do some sessions with an artist and figure out how I want it to look etc. Yes, I've looked up all the tattoo parlours in the city I live in, I'm a bit obsessed/addicted. I think that this style of poppy would look nice on the pad of my thumb curving to my wrist maybe, but I like the way the placement of this person's. Also, something about the poppy has some deep meaning to me but I don't really know how to explain it. I'm also trying to see if I can find somewhere to make a poppy picture like this for me to stick onto my mirror or wall.

After seeing these and a few other artist sketches on the tattoo artist's own watercolour tattoo designs I started looking into them and they're just sooo pretty! I quite like the whole tribal thing with the headdress, dream catchers, feathers and birds and the vintagey/tribey way these are drawn. Again I just have that meaningful feeling when I look at some of these so I may get a small feather or scattering of birds. I think that something like this would look so pretty on the collarbone and around that area or maybe the hipbone where the sexy v is, not that I have a defined one but I'm working towards it!

I've seen a lot of photos with pretty much this exact tattoo so 

I don't want to get one like this but I like the sentiment behind it

This is such a pretty design, it incorporates two of the things I
had on my list of tattoo ideas and it seems quite meaningful

I LOVE the whole bird thing, the symbolism

of freedom and the dip dye is quite pretty

but I don't want to get something I'll regret

in 5 years

This just looks so cool that I couldn't
not include it in my post, don't think
I'd get anything like this though

This is one of the most unique tattoos I've seen, it's
simple and elegant and really well placed

Just to finish off, here's my current ideas list:

- Collarbone

- Side of upper arm

- Rib

- Hipbone

- Side of hand

- Thumbpad

- Feather

- Watercolour poppy

- Ravens

- Dream catcher

- Girl watching the moon (this is a design that I can picture in my head but I haven't been about to draw it or find a picture of it, I'd probably spend quite a while working with an artist to try and create this design)

- 'You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only choice you have'

- ' Life has enough pain to make the joy sweeter'

- 'True morality it to live and love fully, fearlessly and without condition'

- Small, thin scrawly script?

What do you think about tattoos? Would you ever get one and what would you get? Feel free to comment and discuss!

*Update 8/5/14 I've just been scrolling through my Facebook not doing much and I came across this video http://www.upworthy.com/you-might-see-tattoos-in-a-new-light-after-you-see-them-on-this-woman?c=ufb3 I thought it would just be something boring or an ad as is the norm for Facebook now but I was pleasantly surprised. I think it eloquently sums up the reason that I want to get a tattoo, especially the design in my head that I'm struggling to get onto paper.

How to: MAKE INSTANT COFFEE TASTE BETTER

I've been trying to fix my sleeping pattern since I've been on school holidays so I've been sleeping at ridiculous times. This is my least favourite part of the holidays since a) I feel gross for a few days whilst I'm trying to fix my sleeping pattern and b) it signals the end of the holidays which is why I need to be waking up at a decent time.

The way I fix my sleeping patten is to sleep at the time I've been sleeping at, so after 2am, then set an alarm for 9:30am and gradually make it earlier to the time I need to wake up for school. This results in getting a very small amount of sleep for a few days while trying to adjust but it does work since you're so exhausted you sleep earlier which in turn makes you wake up earlier. Then voila! You're up at sociable times again.

This means that I have to drink coffee to stay up in order to not mess up my sleeping pattern again however, we only have instant coffee at home since my mum doesn't want to pay for a coffee maker or nicer coffee. Fair point to her since she earns the money but that just means I complain a lot then she snaps at me for being ungrateful, you know typical teenage stuff.

I usually buy an americano from starbucks which is just black coffee diluted with hot water, an espresso is concentrated black coffee. However, black instant coffee tastes too gross to be drinkable so I like to add some soy milk and vanilla extract to make it taste better. Another thing is to drink it when its in the hot to warm stage since the coffee tastes worse and worse the cooler it gets.

I used to prefer mochas since black coffee was too bitter for me and an easy way to do this would be to add an equal quantity of hot chocolate powder and instant coffee, a drop of vanilla, then stir in the milk first and top up with hot water. If you want a slightly more authentic coffee shop taste you could use hot milk instead of hot water but this is a lot higher in calories.

What are your views on instant coffee? and what do you like to add to make it taste a little better?

Benefit Brow Bar Review

I thought I'd publish a third post to make up for missing the past 2 weeks and I've had the half written post saved for a while now.

I had my eyebrows done at the Benefit counter in Debenhams during my lunch break a few weeks ago and decided to write a review since I searched for ages for reviews before deciding to go to them but couldn't find many.

I opted for waxing and tinting because I'm a bit lazy with makeup so I hoped that tinting would mean that my eyebrows would look quite groomed and full without needing to fill them in. This was the first time I had my eyebrows done here and I was pleasantly surprised.

In the past when I tried makeup products at the Benefit counter they usually put too much product on my face and it didn't look very nice so I was hesitant to try the Brow Bar. However, the brow service was different, except at the end when she filled in my brows but put a little too much product for my taste.

I already have relatively dark hair so I don't think the tint did much since my problem is that the hairs are a bit fine but it was good to try it and see. The technician mixed it quite quickly in a paper cup and applied it with a cotton bud. It didn't sting or anything and was done quite quickly. My brows looked a tiny bit darker when she finished but I probably wouldn't have it done again.

I really liked that she took her time and carefully shaped my brows. I had my brows waxed both above and under the arch since I prefer that look. Afterwards she carefully tweezed my brows to further define the shape, I was pleasantly surprised how much detail she used instead like at some places where they just wax and pluck quickly and then finish. She also trimmed the lightly too long hairs at the beginning of my brows and waxed off a lot of the fine, stray hairs surrounding my brows instead of just the small area surrounding my brows.

All in all I really like the finished result and will definitely go back. I don't have any photos right now but will be sure to post some quickly. I was also given a loyalty stamp card that gives me a free tint next time I go in so I'll have that done again but I reckon it will be a similar result to this time.

Recipe: Fajita Salad

I thought that I'd follow up the last healthy eating post with one of my favourite meal ideas that follow some of those guidelines to give you an idea of how easy I've implemented them in my diet. Just think, if a 16 year old can do this then it's not going to be too hard!

I don't really like to follow recipes since its a lot of hassle going back and forth when cooking and most recipes have so many ingredients that I don't have when I want to make that meal so I just improvise with whatever I have in the fridge, also with something like this you can add whatever vegetables you'd like and more or less depending how hungry you are.


Ingredients:
As I've mentioned above you can add any vegetables you like in this but I'd say to keep the fajita theme/flavour red onion and red/yellow/orange peppers would be the essential base flavours. Other vegetables I like to use are mushrooms, I prefer the big flat ones, courgette, aubergine, carrots and tomatoes. If you're just cooking for one I'd say to use 1 or 2 portobello mushrooms, quarter of an aubergine, a whole carrot, half of a red onion, half of a courgette, a handful of cherry or plum tomatoes or 4 medium vine tomatoes and half of a bell pepper or a handful of the small peppers.

For meat I use a couple of quorn fillets cut into strips or half a pack of fajita strips if I'm feeling lazy. For meat eaters I'd suggest a small/medium chicken breast or half of a large chicken breast, cut into strips. Chicken is typically used in fajitas but I guess you could use a similar quantity of other meat if you'd like but I don't know if it'd taste as good with the spices.

For spices I use paprika, cumin, salt and black pepper. For a single serving use 2 teaspoons of paprika and half a teaspoon of cumin or more of either if you'd like a stronger flavour. A pinch of salt and sprinkling of pepper would suffice or more pepper if you prefer - I wouldn't add more salt just because it's not that good for you.

I'm still not sold on the non-stick pan coating so I like to use about a tablespoon of oil, I use a bit more if I'm cooking mushrooms and aubergine because they tend to need it but if not I'll use a bit less.

I like to have some fresh salad so I use about half of a bag of small salad greens or quarter of a large bag but just use however much you like or none if you don't like salad greens. I also like to only cook half of the tomatoes and keep the other half fresh on my salad.

I prefer to use store bought dips because I'm too lazy to make my own guacamole and salsa and it seems a bit pointless to make it for one. There are also a lot of herbs and stuff needed that I wouldn't use elsewhere and end up wasting. Plus there are usually healthier versions in some supermarkets, I know sainsbury's have a 'better for you' range or something like that.

If you like to have some carbs I found these crouton-like things that are wholemeal and taste really good. They're called 'Krisprolls'.

Method:
I realise all the veg have different cooking times but I throw them all in the pan with the spices and cook until they all look similar. For quorn I put that in the pan with all the veg at the start but if you're using meat cook that until its almost done then add all the vegetables and spices and cook until everything looks done. Once thats cooked plate it up and you're done.

Sometimes if I find that it tastes a bit bland and plain I like to grate a bit of parmesan and red leister since they're the cheeses I like. I think cheddar is more often used in fajitas but it doesn't really matter to me.

Minor changes for a healthier and lower calorie diet

I'm going to start off by apologising for missing the last 2 posts. I don't really have a reason but it's the Easter holidays so I've been feeling lazy.

Ok, onto the post. These are a few ways that I've found to lower the calories I consume each day just to lead a healthier lifestyle and like most females out there I want to be a little slimmer. These ideas are meant to be minor changes in your diet and I've found they're pretty easy to implement and keep to, especially if you just add a few at a time. I think minor changes are always more effective since it's not a completely different change from the norm so you don't suddenly bounce back to an unhealthier diet since the new one isn't all that different. 

*I realise that I talk about calories quite a bit but sometimes its more important to check the fat percentage than the calories since it's healthier to eat more calories that are nutrients than less calories that are all fat

- Drink more water - people tend to forget about the calories they drink when trying to cut back so this is one of the easiest ways to lower your daily calorie consumption; alcohol, fizzy drinks and even fruit juice are all quite high calorie - there are about 228 calories in a large glass of red wine, the equivalent to 6 sugar cubes in a can of coca-cola (138 calories) and 88 calories in a glass of orange juice although those are 'good for you' sugars, also, I'd like to point out that diet fizzy drinks although only less than 1 calorie they are packed full of chemicals and other things that are probably not too great for you so you're probably better off drinking zero calorie water

- Eat more vegetables - I like this one because it makes cooking meals a lot easier, vegetables are mainly water so they are very low in calories, not to mention all the vitamins and minerals that are essential for a healthier diet, in fact, raw celery is actually negative calories because more energy is needed to chew and digest it than can be absorbed from it; the simple way to implement this is just to increase the amount of vegetables in each meal and eat your vegetables first - this way you fill up on veg and meat and feel too full to eat that much carbs

- Have greek yoghurt for a snack instead - biscuits, chocolate and crisps are tempting snack ideas but I can never just eat a few then I just feel either guilty or a bit sick if I eat too much, it's better to eat a dessert after lunch to satiate the sugar craving than continuously snack on biscuits since they are so high in calorie, also greek yoghurt is more filling and healthier there are so many health benefits that you could look up

- Eat less cheese - this is a bit more specific than the previous points but cheese is actually quite high in fat and is usually eaten in conjunction with other proteins so it's not an essential part of any meal, I tend to use it to add some flavour to an otherwise boring meal so sprinkling less would lower the calories and fat in a meal, also choosing a stronger cheese may give you more cheesy flavour whilst eating less cheese and switching to a lower fat cheese such as parmesan is another contribution - people tend to group all the cheeses as the same thing but each type has a different fat content just as it has a different taste, parmesan is one of the lowest fat cheeses and it has quite a strong flavour

- Don't eat 2-3 hours before bed - I like to put this restriction on myself since it helps me to ignore the craving to snack late in the evening when I'm not actually hungry, also, by not eating before sleeping for the night it forces your body to use up calories consumed in the day and fat stores during sleep as opposed to storing the leftover calories consumed in the day and using the energy from the snack - however, this doesn't apply to drinking water, for some reason people think that drinking water makes your face bloat in the morning, I don't think its true but either way a tiny bit of bloating is better than dehydrating since water is essential to the body and it helps wash away toxins in the body, I think salt consumption is a bigger contribution to bloating anyway

- Substitute salt for herbs and spices - this is a healthy diet tip more than lower calorie consumption but it's important nonetheless, I remember a few years ago there were a lot of government campaigns to make people aware of the health problems of too much salt in the diet - coronary heart disease is just the tip of the iceberg - so an easy way to eat less salt is to add herbs and spices when cooking instead of lots of salt, I also never add salt to my meal when I eat out - it's also been shown that some spices such as cinnamon can help regulate blood sugar and reduce cholesterol levels and cumin improves digestion and immunity, if you don't believe me just Google it; if you're not a big fan of these spices just add a pinch to your meal and you won't even taste it but you'll still get the health benefits

- Only eat when you are hungry - I don't know if it's just a teenager thing to snack when bored or if adults do it too but I find when I have a lot of time with nothing to do sometimes I'll go looking for food just to have something to do, I guess the easiest way to combat this would be to be organised and plan out what to do for the day, I don't mean a crazy time schedule for every minute of every day but have a list of things to accomplish for the week or a few activities that you can do if you have time such as going to the gym, reading a book, talking to that friend you keep forgetting about, tidying or organising a room or part of a room, food shopping, planning meals etc.

- Eat more low GI foods (wholemeals, mainly) - I realise that GI doesn't really make a lot of sense for most people, myself included but it's a relatively simple concept: high GI foods are quickly digested and the reneger is used up quickly so it causes a spike in the blood sugar, low GI food take longer to digest so are used up slower giving a gradual increase and decrease in the blood sugar - these are the slow release energy foods which claim to give a 'fuller for longer' feeling which makes sense to me; I was shown a graph similar to these in a biology exam I took recently and it really helped me to understand the differences, low GI foods are usually the wholemeal varieties since they are more fibrous so take longer to digest, 'white' carbs have the fibrous bit taken off during processing which is what makes it easier and quicker for the body to digest

- Eat vegetables for breakfast - it's the western culture to eat sweet things for breakfast but it's actually more beneficial to eat protein and veg this is because fruit and bread is slightly acidic which is not the best for your acidic stomach first thing, however veg is slightly alkaline which helps to neutralise stomach acid so it helps 'settle' your stomach, I don't know how to describe the feeling but I just feel better after eating veg but like most people since I'm not used to it I don't really want to eat veg or protein first thing - I guess an easy way to eat veg would be a green smoothie but the blender is too noisy in the morning for my parents, another thing would be to eat a bit of fruit first thing or a slice of wholemeal toast or some porridge then a couple of hours later eat something with veg and meat

- Eat more smaller meals - this is not the most practical thing and I struggle to do it but it has been shown to help burn fat, this is because you are keeping a relatively steady blood sugar level which keeps the metabolism at a steady relatively high rate which equates to the body using more energy, the easiest way to think about this would be to use the graph above and just think of the blood sugar level as the metabolism - you'll use more energy if you keep your metabolism at a steady high rate than if it keeps spiking when you eat your three meals infrequently

I've just realised that this post has become quite long and I've not even finished so I'll just leave it at that and maybe write a part 2 if it's highly requested :)

Feel free to comment with your tips and ideas for a healthier diet and if you think that any of these work.

How to: AVOID JURY DUTY

Hi everyone! Sorry that this post is a couple of days late but I spent the past week at a residential course and on the day that I left I also had an exam so I didn't have time to write a post in advance to post on Thursday when I was away.

The course was about criminal law which is why I have chosen this topic today. I just want to start by saying:
a) this post is not serious, I don't actually recommend you do any of these things purely to avoid jury duty;
b) these are random facts I learnt throughout my course, which was an intro to criminal law issues for 16 - 17 year olds so they may not be completely factually correct
*c) I am not making light of or being disrespectful in any way but I realise that it may sound like it so I've written this little disclaimer to avoid being offensive.

Moving on then,

Almost anyone over the age of 18 can be conscripted for jury duty and it is often very difficult to successfully appeal and not serve. Depending on the severity of the case, jurors may be required to stay in protected accommodation ie. mafia cases. For lower risk cases jurors are required to commute and their expenses are subsidised up to £40.50.

How to Avoid Jury Duty:

1) Have a criminal conviction - criminals broke the law so there are doubts about how they could 'serve' the law to others;

2) Don't register to vote - only registered voters can be conscripted for jury duty;

3) Become a member of the House of Lords - it's seen as a conflict of interest similar to the fact that the Lords have no say in any bills passed through parliament regarding taxes;

4) Become a politician, doctor, minister or join the armed forces or police force - some jobs are exempt from jury service since they are considered too important to society to be taken out of their jobs and it could be seen as a conflict of interest;

5) Be older than 71 or 65 - you can be excused from a criminal case if you are older than 71 and do not want to serve and no one over the age of 65 can serve on a civil case (criminal cases are the cases where you are prosecuted by the crown or the police and civil cases are where people sue each other)

*6) Have a mental disability - if a person is considered to not have the mental capability to make rational and logical judgements then it would be unethical to conscript them as jurors

I doubt that this is a complete list but these are bits I picked up throughout my course. I apologise if I've offended anyone, this was not my intention.

Has anyone served jury duty? How did you feel about it? One debate that we had was 'Should jury duty be abolished in Britain?' I'd love to hear your views :) Feel free to comment.

Spring Fragrances

These are my three favourite fragrances and I think they are perfect for the spring. They are all very light and floral and just smell like sunshine and good weather and smiles. I realise how idiotic I just sounded but that's what these fragrances make me think of when I smell them. Another plus, since these are on the pricey side they last for quite a while and change slightly throughout the day and of course smell different on different people.

Left is Vera Wang Lovestruck Floral Rush;
Right is Emporio Armani Diamonds Rose and
Middle is Kenzo Flower in the Air.

I like these perfumes because they don't smell sickly sweet or too musky. I think something light and fresh with a hint of floral is perfect for the daytime since it is not too overpowering and it suits my age (teenager).

I would recommend going and trying out these perfumes a few times before buying them since it would be a waste of money to buy it and then never it. Also, depending when you ask, sometimes department stores - I go to Debenhams - will have samples but you do have to ask the sales people about that. I think the Vera Wang and Armani perfumes are on offer at Boots so now would be a good time to purchase.

Last thing, I've noticed that quite a few stores in the UK are now selling atomisers. Atomisers are these clever spray bottles that can transfer perfume from your bottle into the atomiser so you can travel with it or keep it in your bag. Debenhams sell a couple of different brands and they have an offer that if you buy the Travalo brand they will fill it up for free with any perfume of your choice. I opted for a pack of the two small atomisers and chose two perfume samples - the Kenzo above and Balenciaga Rosabotanica. This would also be a good way to decide if you like the perfume before you spend that amount of money on a designer perfume.

You plug the bottom of this atomiser into the top of your perfume
 once you remove the cap and then press down
and the perfume will go into the spray tube.

Why are you a vegetarian?

I must start by saying that I am not a vegetarian but I thought the title sounded engaging and interesting. However, I will, at some point in the near future, do a vegetarian 'trial month'. I wanted to do vegan but a) it's probably easier to ease myself into this and b) I've become allergic to nuts so I would struggle to get protein into my diet.

This was the third or fourth lesson on genetic diversity and our teacher was talking about selective breeding. To sum up what could be quite a long recount, animals aren't treated very kindly to produce the vast amounts of meat and animal products we, in the western world, consume. Additionally, the animals are interbred to have certain characteristics - like more muscle - that make them more profitable and this generally causes defects that worsen the quality of life of the animal. A simple example would be cows: there is a high demand for dairy products so cows are bred to have larger udders and a longer lactation period (lactation = secretion of milk). This all sounds fine until you look into it more closely - in practise what happens is that after a cow gives birth the calf is taken away after a few days and the mother cow is milked continuously for long periods of time every day. Producing milk takes a lot of energy for the cow and it unnatural for the cow to be producing that quantity of milk for that period of time. This significantly shortens the life span of the cow.

Hearing this in the lesson just made me feel worse and worse. A few years ago I watched a video about KFC factory farmed chickens and it was so horrifying that I've had maybe 2 KFC meals since seeing that video 2 or 3 years ago. This is the link https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWrEljTIItU but if you google it there are plenty of other similar ones.

You're probably thinking, ok, random how does this link? Well, seeing how badly animals are treated so that I can have that bit of chicken on my plate just makes me feel so guilty. Those 2 KFC meals I ate did taste pretty good but I felt quite bad the whole time so I didn't enjoy it as much as I used to. No, I am not exaggerating. Like I said at the beginning I want to become vegetarian and possibly vegan since not eating the cow doesn't mean they won't be treated badly so I can eat cheese. But right now I have quite a lot of exams to prepare for and everything at school is frantic so I don't have the time to cook vegetarian dinners (I have to make my meals since I'm trying to be healthy and my mum generally provides unhealthy dinners for my brothers).

But, when I finally start my vegetarian month you'll be informed. Would you like me to post a diary or journal about it?

How do you feel about vegetarianism? Would you do it? Does this kind of thing affect you?

*obviously there are other reasons why people are vegetarian,  comment below if you would like me to talk about vegetarianism again*