Category Archives: Scotland

Currys in the Kitchen Glasgow Blogger Bake-off

17 Friday Oct 2014

Posted by in Baking, Blogging, Food, Glasgow, Scotland

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On Sunday I went along to the Currys in the Kitchen Glasgow Blogger bake-off which was held at The Cookery School in the Jacobean Corsetry Building in Glasgow. The event was organised by Joe Blogs Network on behalf of Currys.

I’m no baker, in fact nothing kitchen related is my forte, so I was a bit nervous about going but I thought it would be fun all the same and it was 🙂 There were a lot of bloggers there so it good day for meeting other Scottish bloggers.

Group ShotImage courtesy of Joe Blogs Network

Once we had all arrived we split into teams of three to bake. I teamed up with Lynne and Paula who were both lovely, you can check out their blogs here and here. We tried our best but none of us were up-tight about creating masterpieces so we had a lot of fun.

Although we weren’t expecting to create masterpieces, the chef from The Cookery School, Danny McArdle  taught us well and demonstrated everything very clearly so I surprised myself by creating some cakes that I was actually proud to take home.

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Image courtesy of Joe Blogs Network

Danny showed us how to bake scones, cupcakes, muffins and a Victoria sponge:

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Danny also gave us a great tip for adding filling to small cakes like cupcakes. Use a tooth pick to make a small hole in the cake and twist until you it is big enough to insert the filing using an icing bag.

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Toothpicks are also really handy when it comes to decorating too:

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When we weren’t baking we were eating, so I can’t tell you which part of the day was most fun. We got to eat one of our scones with some tea and then later we had lunch, I had a lovely soup which I scoffed before I thought to take a picture of it (blogger fail I know) and then we were offered raspberry panna cotta’s.

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After we had made all of our bakes it was time to box them up: 

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I took a nice full box of cakes home as you can see. See that cupcake with the butterflies on it? I originally tried to make that a halloween cupcake which was topped with white chocolate and had the word ‘Boo’ written on it in milk chocolate but I messed it up quite a bit. This wasn’t too much of a problem as I just used a toothpick to swirl the 2 chocolates together to create a new design and hide my mistake. My top baking tip? Keep a toothpick handy. They can be used for everything from making it easier to fill cakes, decorating and disguising mistakes.

Once our cakes were boxed up it was time to find out who had won the competitions of the day (best baking tip in a tweet and best instagram pic)

Congratulations to the winners who won Kenwood Patissier Food Mixers

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The blogger on the left is Charlotte who was seated at the same table as me during lunch. She’s really nice and has a cool blog – coloursandcarousels 

The rest of us didn’t leave empty handed either, in addition to our bakes we also got to take home great goody-bags:

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I couldn’t believe we were all given Kenwood Kmix’s from Currys. Since I got that, a nice little recipe book and I learned a lot about baking on Sunday I’ll definitely be spending this weekend in the kitchen 🙂

If you bake too or if like me you want to start and you want some funky kit then check out Currys kitch range at http://www.currys.co.uk/

Thanks to Joe Blogs Network, Currys and The Cookery School for a great day!

If you want to find out more about the day or read posts from some other bloggers who were there then check out #currysinthekitchen on twitter or visit  http://techtalk.currys.co.uk/cooking-home-appliances/bloggers-bake-off-the-cookery-school-glasgow/

 

 

Visiting Hair by JFK

29 Monday Sep 2014

Posted by in Bargain, Edinburgh, Fashion, Hair, Nails, Reviews, Scotland

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A few days ago I attended a blogger/student event at Hair by JFK in Edinburgh. I took my friend Roxanna with me and we were both glad that we went along, it was a fun night. 

When we arrived we were whisked downstairs for some wine, cake-pops and sushi.

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While having some nibbles we were told about all of the treatments that we were generously being offered; manicures, fringe trims, hair styling(French braids etc) and makeovers by a professional make-up artist.

The first ‘station’ I came across was the nail station:

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One look at all of those sparkly colours and I decided that I was getting my nails done.  The lovely Katie Jane did my nails for me, she was very quick and friendly and I was very happy with the finished result. 

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Four full days later and my nails still look perfect. What’s more they look like I’ve actually had  them done, not like I’ve done them myself. I’ve not had many manicures but sometimes when I do get one I think it doesn’t look any better than something I could do at home but Katie tidied my cuticles and applied the polish flawlessy with the tiniest gap between the polish and the edge of my nails. If you are in Edinburgh and you would like to get your nails done then I really couldn’t recommend Katie enough.

While my nails were drying I met Connor the extremely photogenic hairdresser:

20140924_190429He was nice enough to give me a much needed fringe trim, I got my hair cut a few weeks ago (you can read my review here) and it’s the first time in years that I’ve had a fringe. It grew so quickly that I had already resorted to clipping it back and I had heard that some hairdressers won’t give you a fringe trim unless you are a regular (shocking I know) so I was really at a loss for what to do with it. Lucky for me and for anyone else out there with a fringe, Hair by JFK has:

20140924_193050The Bang Bar! A dedicated service for getting your fringe cut. Jump in for 5 minutes and walk out with a tidy fringe! On Fridays it’s free! Well sort of, Hair by JFK would like you to make a donation to The Edinburgh Dog and Cat home, donate whatever you can and you can walk out with a freshly cut fringe and a warm and fuzzy feeling from doing your good deed for the day.

Oh and by the way, you can even take your dog with you to get your hair cut. Seriously-it’s a dog friendly salon, there was a dog there when I was there. How cool is that? 20140924_193149Not only did Connor give my fringe it’s much needed trim, he thought that, seeing as I was already in the chair, he would throw a few curls into my hair for me. Thanks Connor 🙂

After my hair and nails had been done I had my first chance to get a good look at the salon while Roxanna was getting her make-up done.

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It is a very very cool salon.

The Hair by JKF logo is a zebra with a green mohawk and their philosophy is ‘Hair styling for the individual’ so I spotted a few zebras and several inspiring and unusual hair style ideas:

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With amazing styles like those above all around the salon, I wasn’t too surprised to find this either:

20140924_194442Once Roxanna was done getting her make-up done it was my turn:

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We were both glammed up and ready for our big night out at…McDonalds! Well, it was a school night and I had work in the morning, and it was the nearest place to the train station that was open…and I love McDonalds.

My night didn’t quite end there though, when I got home I opened my JFK goody-bag to find:

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How amazing is the calendar? That is the image that goes with September, it’s a dog/hairdressing calendar all the way through – told you they like dogs. Thank you very much to the team at Hair by JFK for the lovely treatments, the cool goody-bag and for being so friendly and welcoming. I’m sorry we were the last ones to leave!

Thank you also to Kelly at AJPR for inviting me along 🙂

For anyone who wants to know (that should be everyone who gets their hair cut in Edinburgh) you can find Hair by JFK at:

P.S If you are a student then your really should go check Hair by JFK out – they have their own student card and loyalty scheme with loads of discounts available.

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

 

Toast of the Town Photography Workshop

13 Sunday Jul 2014

Posted by in Glasgow, Photography, Scotland

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So on Saturday I was lucky enough to attend the Toast of the Town photography workshop hosted by Millennium Hotel in George Square ( a gorgeous hotel, see for yourself at http://www.millenniumhotels.co.uk/millenniumglasgow ) in partnership with Joes Bloggers and Dreghorn Photography.

The workshop was very useful and I learned how to properly use the ISO and shutter speed settings on my camera. I also learned the most important rule of photography – NEVER USE AUTO! 

We learned the basics about ISO and Shutter speed and then we got to practice with our cameras to reinforce what we had learned.

I am so glad that I learned about how to use my camera’s shutter speed settings because now I can go from this:

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20140712_131028We also learned how to pick the right background for portrait photos. My partner for background exercises was the lovely Laura from http://www.lifeasanhourglass.com/  and here are some of the images I took of her :

20140712_12373720140712_124116Then it was time to break for lunch.

20140712_132738I had a haggis bon bon, a mini burger and a venison sausage hotdog. I have never tried venison before but I was very impressed with the venison sausage, it was a little tough but tasted great. There were also gorgeous looking desserts on offer but I was too full to go and get one.

After lunch we visited George Square, Royal Exchange Square and Buchanan Street and were let loose to put our lessons into practice and take interesting photos.

I spent most of my time experimenting with what I had learned about ISO and shutter speed so I took a lot of rubbish photos but there were some that I liked:

Photos from George Square

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Photos from Royal Exchange Square

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Photo from Buchanan Street

20140712_150527At the end of the workshop I was given a nice goody-bag by Millennium Hotels which contained, among other things, a camera cleaning kit which will be very useful 🙂

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To see the pictures taken by other bloggers  during the workshop checkout #toastofthetown on twitter.

Thank you to Millennium Hotels, Joe’s Bloggers and Dreghorn Photography for a great workshop, I learned a lot!

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

 

Sleeping Beauty Salon Blogger Event

11 Friday Jul 2014

Posted by in Beauty, Nails, Reviews, Scotland

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On Tuesday evening I made my way to Edinburgh to attend a blogger event at Sleeping Beauty Salon. I was so impressed by the salon, it’s services and it’s staff that, although I don’t live in Edinburgh,  I am planning on travelling there to visit the salon again and get some more treatments.

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Upon arrival at the Salon I was greeted with cocktails and cupcakes.20140708_184043 20140708_184015

and handed a pleasantly  heavy goody bag (the contents of which were amazing)20140708_215701
Then I was told that the Salon was offering us lucky bloggers a variety of free treatments including:

  • Eyebrow threading and waxing
  • Manicures and pedicures
  • Shellac Manicures
  • Application of Nouveau Lashes from the Millie Mackintosh range

AND we could have as many treatments as we liked!

While I decided which treatments I would like to get I explored the salon and took some pics of it’s lovely decor and products:

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I then decided to have a manicure 

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This shade is called ‘sugar spice’ and it is from Shellac’s own polish range.

I also had some Nouveau Lashes applied, I chose the City lashes from the Millie Mackintosh range and I was really happy with how natural they looked.

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When I got home I opened my goody bag and was far from disappointed.

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I have already used some of the products that I received so look out for some reviews coming soon.

I received a voucher for a Hot Lava Shell Massage so I will definitely be visiting Sleeping Beauty Salon soon for that and I’m having some issues with my skin at the moment so I am thinking of booking a facial also – so look out for reviews of those treatments.

Sleeping Beauty Salon has a membership system  which for a fixed price of £550.00 for a year or £275.00 for 6 months entitles you to £50.00 worth of treatments every month. Members also receive significant discounts on all treatments and the salon also has a point based loyalty system. It’s easy to see why the chain has won so many awards.

You can find Sleeping Beauty Salons in Edinburgh, Inverness and Lerwick, to find your nearest salon go to  www.sleepingbeautysalon.com

I would like to thank Kelly at AJ PR for inviting me to this event and all the staff at Sleeping Beauty Salon for being so welcoming and friendly and for hosting this great event. 

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂

Why it is Dangerous to accept Gifts in Scotland

31 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in News, Scotland

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So yesterday I came across this article from STV about a wealthy man suing an ex-girlfriend for the cost of a designer handbag and a designer pair of shoes. Basically the man said the arrangement was a loan and he expected to be paid back and the woman claimed that they were a gift (although she had signed an agreement to pay the man back) Make what you will of the article but the article itself is not actually what interests me.

From reading the article I gathered that in Scottish law it is up to the recipient of a gift to prove that what they have received was in fact a gift, in other words if someone gives you a gift and then later claims it was a loan and takes you to court to sue you, unless you have proof that it was a gift you will have to pay them back. I have looked into this and it’s true, in Scot’s law there is a presumption against gifts.

I am the only one who thinks this is a bit unfair? Also, it’s not really the type of information that you are likely to know without looking it up.

So do we now need gift contracts? Have you ever made anyone sign a statement agreeing that a gift they have given you is a gift…I’ve never seen that happen at a birthday party.

You should be wary of getting into relationships with gift givers. If you’re new boyfriend or girlfriend treats you to a romantic weekend in Paris you may have to them pay them back for it.

I guess there is a silver lining, people who get ‘rinsed’ can now get their stuff back when they realise what has happened and people who loan each other money or items  and then don’t get their stuff back can sue eachother. Imagine how much stuff Ned Flanders could claim from Homer if they were real and lived in Scotland?

So what if your neighbour gives you their old lawn mower because they have bought a new one? Or someone treats you to a weekend away? or a wealthy relative pays your school fees? Or your parents buy you a car?

My advice would be to not accept anything that you can’t afford to pay back because at some point down the line you may well end up having to pay for it. Either refuse or at least have a pen and paper handy next time you are lucky or unlucky enough to be given a gift. I might make sure any future benefactors (not that I expect to have any) are recorded on video stating that they are giving me X,Y,Z as a gift.

Gone are the days of no take-backsies.

Thanks for checking out my blog 🙂 I would love to know your thoughts on this so please comment x