Devon

I love Devon (apart from the tiny, windy roads), the landscape is so beautiful and towns and villages are so cute! I am so lucky to have my in-laws living up there (free holidays!) and we went to visit them last week. Apart from the weather being a bit pants, it was a lovely break, with beautiful dog walks. Me and my partner have recently taken up surfing too which is awesome, and I stood up for the first time last week! If you haven't been to Devon and are looking for a lovely place to holiday in the UK I would definitely recommend giving it a visit, I think you will fall in love with it like me.

Coffee & Walnut Cake Recipe

I can't bake. I have never baked anything successfully until this weekend. That's right this weekend I decided to try and bake a coffee and walnut cake! And it worked and its yummy! So if I can do it anyone can, so I'd thought I'd share my recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Ingredients

For the cake

• 225g/8oz unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 225g/8oz caster sugar
• 4 free-range eggs
• 50ml/1¾fl oz strong espresso coffee
• 225g/8oz self-raising flour
• 75g/2½oz walnuts

For the buttercream topping

• 125g/4½oz unsalted butter
• 200g/7oz icing sugar
• 50ml/2fl oz strong espresso coffee
• 12 walnut halves, to decorate

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
2. In a bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until very light and pale.
3. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, beating well to completely incorporate each egg before adding the next egg.
4. Add the espresso to the mixture and stir well.
5. Break up the walnuts into small chunks.
6. Add the flour and walnuts and stir well to completely combine.
7. Spoon the cake mixture into two lined and greased 20cm/8in cake tins.
8. Transfer to the oven to bake 30 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and the cake is golden-brown.
9. Remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.
10. For the buttercream topping, beat the butter and icing sugar together in a small bowl until pale and light.
11. Add the espresso and mix well. If the icing isn't as thick as you would like it just keep adding small amounts of icing sugar until it is at the desired consistency. 
12. Spread the buttercream over the top of each cake, then place one cake on top of the other.
13. Decorate the top of the cake with the walnut halves.

It is now ready to serve, enjoy :)

Magnitone Magic

I have suffered from adult acne for about two years now, for any acne sufferer out there I am sure you can relate to me when I say I would try anything to make it go away. I've tried numerous skincare products, herbal remedies, changing diet, exercising more... anything that has been suggested I have tried. This little pink brush although hasn't solely cured my acne, it has however played a big part in helping reduce it. When I brought the Magnitone cleansing brush, I remember thinking it may be to harsh to use on my face everyday, but I can honestly say its not! I use it in the evening everyday whilst cleansing my face. It is much gentler than using scrubs, I don't use scrub at all anymore! It gives a much deeper clean helping to remove daily dirt, dead skin and impurities, and helps unblock pores but without being harsh to the face and causing irritation. This is hands down one of the best beauty purchases I have brought and would definitely recommend it! 

Life is too short

'don't take things to seriously... enjoy the journey'

First post is over! A lot of bloggers feel a massive sense of pressure to post something meaningful and captivating for their first post. But I thought I'd take that pressure away and post an adorable little photo of one of my bunnies. This is just a little bit of a reflection post really I have taken life way to seriously, let things bother and upset me more than they should and spent to much time worrying about things that did't deserve the time. The aim of this blog is to capture the prettiness of life, and bring a smile to my readers faces. Life is way too short so what ever you do make sure you have fun, don't take things too seriously and most importantly enjoy the journey where ever it takes you!

House bunny cuteness

Awww I just came across this image on my Facebook, I love my little house bunny Benjy so much. Never knew how clever these little creatures could be and also affectionate! Watching him and his little girlfriend Bella binkying around the room, always brings great happiness and enjoyment!!