Christmas/Winter Wishlist

Hello guys. Here we go with the Christmas themed blog posts, and yes I am starting early. After Halloween, I am feeling so Christmassy and believe it or not I want the tree up now. Too early?..

Here is a little wishlist, (that has made me want to go shopping so bad, being a student is terrible sometimes), I have created with Christmas and the Winter months in mind. So yes, that means onesie, tartan, Christmas jumper loving time.

Zara Grey Flat Hide Ankle Boot

The shape of these is so peculiar it is definitely a love it hate it kind of boot. The ankle cutaway gives the boot a little edge and would look great with a dress and black tights! Need these in my life.

Red Tartan Blanket Scarf

Who doesn't have a tartan object in their life? This little beauty is beautiful and would look great teamed up with a leather jacket.  

Limited Edition Embellished Dress

This is by far the best Christmas party kind of dress I have seen, pretty much ever. The embellishment over the whole dress is simply stunning and the low back makes it special. The frill at the bottom of the dress reminds me of "The Great Gatsby" film! The only problem with this beauty is the price. Offt.

Grey Faux Fur Onesie

It is that time of year again where all the onesies can come out! This one looks so warm and cosy, especially on those cold nights. I love the fact it has a fur hood, so you can get even more cosy! AH!

Reindeer Grey Christmas Jumper

So Christmas is not Christmas without a stupid jumper from Primark. However this one is amazing. Team it with a white shirt and a black skirt and it would look great! I will still be cracking out my Primark one this year. 

Peter Pan Fur Coat

This is such an elegant coat. Something I wish I could pull off. The bit fur collar would keep you warm in the cold days and yet you will still look amazing. Best of both worlds I say! Love it!

Reindeer Fairisle Socks

I love any themed socks and these are brilliant. Topshop do a range of Christmas socks, get on that hype ha! 

Atlantis Barry M Nail Polish

Sparkly nails are a must for Christmas and winter. I have tons from Barry M, great application and pigmentation! :) 

What is on your Christmas/Winter wishlist?

Raspberry Swirl Butterfly Cupcakes- Gluten and Dairy Free

Hey guys, we are in November now and if you are having Summer-time sadness, I have an inspired recipe to bring back a little bit of the Summer. By bringing back Summer, I mean bunging in a few Summery fruits in cake mix ha! I joke, but seriously that is basically what it is. I have took Jemma's recipe from Jamie Oliver's youtube page (view here) and adapted it to be dairy free as well as gluten free! Even the buttercream is gluten and dairy free too. This was the first time I had tried this recipe and they tasted so good! Will be making them in the very near future indeed. On to the ingredients...

Ingredients

Raspberry Goo:
300g frozen or fresh raspberries or any fruit of your fancy.
1/2 cup of sugar

Cake Mix:
125g gluten free flour mix (I used Dove's)
125g caster sugar
Pinch of xanthan gum
125g of dairy free butter (I use Pure's sunflower spread)
2 eggs
1.5 tbsp almond milk or soya

Butter Icing:
140g dairy free butter
280g icing sugar
1-2 tbsp almond milk

Method:

1. Heat raspberries and sugar in a sauce pan and simmer for 25-30 minutes.
2. Sieve the whole raspberries so you are left with a goo/raspberry liquid.
3. Leave to cool till later.
4. Mix butter, sugar, flour and xanthan gum for the cake mix in one bowl.
5. Add eggs and milk and mix till smooth.
6. Add a tbsp of raspberry goo to your cake mix and swirl gently in.
7. Be careful not to mix the goo in too much with the cake mix.
8. Add the cake mix to your muffin trays and bake at 180 degrees for 20 minutes.
9. Once cooked leave to cool.
10. Mix your butter and icing sugar for the topping.
11. Add the milk and whisk till nice and thick.
12. Add a bit of the goo again to the butter icing, being careful not to mix too much.
13. Cut circles out of your cakes and add the butter icing to the left over holes.
14. Cut the circles in half to create wings and place them in the butter icing.
15. BAM YOU ARE DONE! NOMNOM!

These are by far the best cakes I have tried in a long time. I have been figuring out what cake to make for my 21st and I think I am going to make loads of these bad boys. If you try this recipe out, feel free to tweet me up with your pictures at www.twitter.com/rachellwhitee

XTREME SCREAM PARK FUN AND YUMMY PUMPKIN PIE!

Last week I got the chance to go to the Xtreme SCREAM park in Melton Mowbray. If you haven't heard of this before, it is basically a park with several different "scary" attractions for all you thrill seekers! These attractions are basically mazes which you have to find your way through. Other than finding your way out in pitch black, you have "actors" scaring the crap out of you. All fun, I say!

Xtreme SCREAM park in Melton Mowbray has 5 frightful attractions:

Stilton Hall Hotel & Spa- New for 2014. Inside there is over 50 rooms you get to explore. The spa room was probably my favourite. I needed a good massage ha! As written on the website, "Escape and feel the pleasure, we will transform you, beauty or beast? Prepare to experience relaxation beyond your worst nightmares."

The Pie Factory & Pig Man's Paddock- New again for 2014. This was one hell of a scary attraction. Chain saws rawr-ing and claustrophobic inflatable walls where you couldn't see the end! As said on the website, "Step inside the doors and make your way through the complex of scare maze horror attraction to discover the gruesome process of slaughter in a hell that extracts human flesh of the finast quality."

Dungeon-  "The undead have been released, centuries ago buried alive in this dark horror maze the bells of the long forgotten Zombie monsters of the dark are ringing, they have been unleashed, at night they hunt for food. Human Flesh."

Curtain Chaos- This one was probably one of the nicer attractions of the night. Not as scary and as we went on this one first, I felt it was a build up to the more scary ones. "The Oxford Dictionary states that Coulrophobia is the irrational fear of clowns. Once inside this labryinth of colour and noise you will discover that this phobia is not so irrational. Curtain Chaos scare maze is a sick and twisted fantasy overrun by rogue clowns." If you have a fear of clowns..this one is not for you. Ha!

Farmhouse of fear- "Brave the claustrophobic corridors and dark passageways of the ancient Melton Mowbray's farmhouse haunted Halloween scare maze. The Leicester farmers are here to bring back those childhood nightmares. Experience strange haunted happenings, you never know who you will bump into at every turn in this fun and frightening Halloween scare maze."

Overall I had such a great night being scared the hell out of. Weird idea for some. However if you are a thrill seeker and want to go to this particular one. Here is the website!

I thought as this post is all Halloween themed, I would post a little gluten and dairy free pumpkin pie recipe. It didn't come out of the oven looking as appetising as I would have liked, but it does taste slightly good hah!

Recipe adapted from "Gluten Free Home Maker" which you can find here.

Ingredients:

1 pie crust recipe with gluten free flour

1 small pumpkin or puree

150g sugar

2 eggs

115 ml almond milk or any dairy free milk. (coconut milk would work great!)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Method:

1. Prepare the gluten free pastry and blind bake for 15 minutes in the oven at 170 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients together and mix with a fork.

3. Roll the pastry and add to a 9 inch pie tin

4. Add the filling carefully into the pie tin.

5. Cover the whole pie in foil being careful not to let the foil touch the filling.

6. Bake for a further 40-45 minutes.

7. Let it cool and enjoy with some whipped cream.

Hope you all have a lovely Halloween!