Make Your Own Terrarium

It is my boyfriend's birthday this weekend and he is notoriously impossible to buy gifts for. However, a few weeks ago we went to a great botanic garden and he was really interested in the cacti and succulents in the greenhouses. He has always appreciated a handmade gift so I decided to make him a terrarium this year. Terrariums have become really popular as great house decorations that are easy to look after, but instead of paying a fortune for one I can show you how to make your own so that it is cheaper and more personal. Your friends will be dying to know where you got it from!

You Will Need:

• Glass container
• Potting soil
• Aquarium gravel (I used aquarium gravel so I wouldn't be left with loads left over)
• Sand (I used a small bag of sand for bird cages for the same reason)
• Cactus or Succulent plants

First off, you need a good place to buy your plants from. I got mine from a Cornwall based company called Surreal Succulents. Their prices are reasonable (avg. £5.00 per plant) and they have a wide variety to choose from. They also offer you advice on how to care for your plants if you are new to gardening and they also distribute overseas.

Instructions:

1. Firstly, clean the glass container you are using by running it under the cold tap and remive and stickers or labels from it.
2. Pour the aquarium gravel into the base of the glass container (Tip: tip the container on its side if you are worried about breaking the glass). The gravel should be about 3-4cm deep. The gravel looks good but is also useful as this will provide drainage when you need to water the plant as your container won't have any holes in the base.
   
3. Next you will need to pour the soil on top of the gravel. Pat the soil down so that the base is firm but make some dips where the roots of your plant will go.
   
4. Carefully place the plant into the hole you have made in the soil and use your fingers to secure it in place by patting the soil down around the base of the plant.
5. Now that the plant is secure, begin to pour the sand into the container. Keep turning the container around so that you get an even coverage and try to avoid getting too much sand on the plant.
   
   
   
6. Wipe the sides of the glass to remove any residual soil or sand and then you are done! If you want you can add little ornaments as well, just make sure your plant has enough space to grow.

Here is the practice attempt...

...And here is the larger one I intend to use as a gift!

Tweet

Sunday Roast Leftovers: Chicken Noodle Soup

There's a chill in the air as Autumn is settling in which means it's time to start up the great British tradition of the Sunday Roast. As much as I love a roast dinner, there is always loads of meat leftover and, personally, I am not a fan of cold roast meat sandwiches so here is my alternative use for leftovers:

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:

• Leftover chicken meat
• Chestnut mushrooms
• Dried noodles (Tip: to save money, I use one pack of cheap super noodles)
• 1 Small tin of sweetcorn
• Spring onions
• Savoy Cabbage
• 1 Chili
• 1 Small piece of fresh ginger
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• Sesame or peanut oil
• Soy sauce
• Fish sauce
• ½ Lime

To Make Stock:

• Chicken bones and leftover skin
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Onion
• 2-3 Garlic cloves
• Boiling Water

All you need for delicious Chicken Noodle Soup after a roast dinner.

Recipe:

1. Chicken stock is the base of your soup and always tastes one hundred times better when it is made from scratch, rather than shop bought or stock cubes. To make your stock, remove all the meat from the roast chicken carcass and set it to one side.
2. Place the bones, any left over chicken skin and meat juices into a pan and cover in boiling water so that the whole carcass is submerged.
3. Roughly chop up a carrot and an onion and add these to the water along with some peeled and crushed garlic cloves.
4. Leave the stock to simmer for about 40 minutes, if necessary, add more water.
5. Once the stock is ready, drain the liquid through a colander into a separate pan and discard the carcass and vegetables.
6. Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add the chopped ginger, chili, garlic and some of the spring onion.
7. Add the chicken meat and fry it for a few minutes so it picks up the flavours, splash in some soy sauce and fish sauce, then add the whole lot into the chicken stock.
   
   
   
8. Leave the soup to simmer for 10 minutes so that the stock develops the heat from the chili and all the flavours.
9. Give the soup a stir and add the chestnut mushrooms, sweetcorn and the rest of the spring onion.
   
   
   
10. Leave to simmer, until the mushrooms have reduced in size, then add the strips of savoy cabbage.
11. Add the noodles a few minutes before you are ready to serve. Taste the soup, it may need a little more soy sauce and fish sauce or if it doesn't have much of a heat to it, add a little more chili.
12. Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze into the soup and Enjoy!
    
    

    

    This is a great recipe for winter as the garlic and
    chili will help fight off any colds!

Tweet

Chic Guest Blogger: Make Your Own Face Scrub

I was talking to my friend, Becky, the other day about skin care routines. Her skin was looking great and I wanted to know what her secret was. Turns out she's started making her own face scrub and so I begged her to share her secret with this blog. So without further ado, here is my first guest blog post written by Becky:

Ever spend countless hours staring at the range of facial scrubs high street stores like Lush or Body shop have to offer? Then, when you realise the extortionate prices, resign yourself to the fact that you’ll be washing your face with Tesco own brand soap for the rest of your life? I know I do.

Or... I did!  Recently, I discovered the economic benefits to making your own face scrub. Not only is it super cheap, easy and kind of fun, but it also feels really good to have a product that you’ve made yourself so you can be absolutely sure of what it contains.

For your own face scrub, you will need:

• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (you can use coconut, rose or lavender oils but these tend to be a bit more expensive and you need to go to a speciality store for them)
• Sea Salt OR Brown Sugar
• A small container which can be sealed.

Instructions:

1. For my scrub, I used extra virgin olive oil (literally, the same oil you use to cook with) and San Francisco Sea Salt. I bought mine from San Francisco whilst on holiday, and I am definitely not going to suggest that you fly to San Francisco to do the same! If you want to purchase some, it costs $13 (£7.99) for a 2lb bag of bath salts which will last you around 4-5 months.
   
   
   
   Make sure you buy the bath salts, not the San Francisco face scrub as they are incredibly expensive in comparison.  Otherwise, feel free to use normal sea salt, or for a less abrasive and gentler scrub, I would recommend brown sugar.
   
   
   
2. Take your container, and empty one teaspoon of your chosen oil into it.
3. Add roughly 6 teaspoons of your chosen exfoliate to the oil.
4. Using your hands (don’t be scared to get messy!) rub the salt into the oil until it is all mixed together. The scrub will not stick together, but should form clumps. If the scrub is too oily then simply add a bit more exfoliate!
   
   
   
5. Voila! Your scrub is ready for you to use!

I like to use mine every two to three days, alternating it with a softer scrub such as Tea Tree face scrub (£3.69 from boots). The scrub is also best kept in the fridge too as it keeps it fresh and cool for your skin.

Happy Scrubbing!

Tweet

Cheap and Chic Holiday Destinations: Budapest

A lot of people, including myself, will have just been on holiday and you may already be thinking about booking one for next year. As the mornings and evening start to get darker, we need these sorts of things to spur us through the Winter months, right? Well, before you go ahead and book let me make a recommendation for a cheap and chic European holiday for you:

BUDAPEST, HUNGARY

Budapest is a fantastic holiday destination, especially if you live in the UK & EU as the flights won't cost you much. I chose to fly with EasyJet as they are super cheap and it was a short flight, they only cost £150 for a return flight. Budapest is an up and coming city with a lot of development potential, fantastic views and architecture. It is perfect for anyone who is after a relaxed atmosphere, culture and luxury.

Where to Stay:

I booked the holiday through third party companies, which is a great way to save some money. I stayed in a five-star hotel called The Corinthia, which cost only £65 per night when booked through a third party called Prestigia. The hotel should have cost £285 per night, so this was a fantastic saving and I would always recommend scouting around for great deals like this.

The Corinthia has all the grandeur of The Grand Budapest Hotel and
 I was able to stay here for a fraction of the price.

I would highly recommend staying at The Corinthia Hotel, it has fantastic reviews on Trip Advisor and it is a beautiful hotel, well worth it if you can get a good deal. The hotel room also came with free access to the most amazing Royal Spa. Thermal baths are a huge part of Hungarian tradition and there are a lot of them to try out, especially if it's free with your hotel. I took advantage of this one every day!

The Royal Spa at Corinthia Hotel is a perfect example of the beautiful
 architecture and luxury that awaits you!

What to Do:

There are so many great things to see and do in Budapest so here is a rundown of a few of my favourites and how much they cost with the current exchange rate (400HUF - £1)

1. Hungarian State Opera House:
   The Opera House is easily one of the most beautiful buildings in Budapest and the whole thing is coated in layer upon layer of gold leaf. You can take tours of the Opera House for £7.00 per person (or concessionary prices for students). However, if you visit while there is an Opera showing, you can get a ticket to watch a performance for as little as £1.50! A fantastic and cheap way to see the Opera House at its finest and to truly appreciate the acoustics of this magnificent building.
   
   
   
   
   
2. St Stephen's Basilica:
   
   St Stephen's Basilica is another grand and beautiful building, in the centre of Budapest that you can go and look at for free! The décor inside and outside is breathtaking and it's easy to see why it is the most visited building in Budapest. You can also pay £1.00 to climb to the top of the dome (or take the lift if you don't fancy the spiral staircases!) where you will get magnificent views of the entire city. Another cheap and fascinating activity.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Margaret Island:
   
   Margaret Island is a beautiful island in the middle of the Danube River. There is a spectacular fountain there which is powered by music and once an hour songs are bust out of the speakers as the fountain begins to perform. On a sunny day, Margaret Island is a great place to hang out with a picnic and relax in the gardens and it won't cost you a penny. A truly tranquil island that will make you forget you're in the middle of a bustling city.
   
   
   
   
   
4. Mátyás Church and Fisherman's Bastion:
   
   Entrance to Mátyás Church costs about £5.00 but is worth every penny. This was possibly one of my favourite activities. It was so spectacularly decorated, I was in here for about two hours because there is so much to see, no two pillars or walls are the same. The Fisherman's Bastion is just outside of the church and offers spectacular views of the rest of the city across the river. Another cheap day out as it is easy to walk to and there are plenty of cheap places to eat nearby, this church is absolutely worth a visit.
   
   
   
   
   
5. Ruined Pubs (Szimpla Kert):
   
   Where once there stood the ruins of an old factory, there is now a fantastic open air bar and cinema. Szimpla Kert is one of many "Ruined Pubs" in Budapest. These individual pubs are huge part of the alternative art scene in Budapest. The drinks are cheap (you can enjoy a pint of beer for just over £1.00) and take in the fantastic and surreal artwork all around you and perhaps hire a shisha. This is a great place to spend a lazy afternoon in Budapest without spending a lot of money and is definitely worth a visit.
   
   
   
   
   There is so much more to see in Budapest, but hopefully some of these great spots will inspire you to consider it for your next holiday destination. A chic and cheap holiday with an alternative feel.
   
   

Original Cost: £868
C-I-Y Cost: £358 (inc. flights, 3 nights in 5* hotel & activities)

Tweet

Charity Shop Bargain

Check out this great deal I got today! I saw this hat in the window of a local charity shop for £2.50.

Always, always look in charity shops for gems like this because you won't get them cheaper anywhere else.

Happy shopping!

Chic on the Go: Make Your Own Breakfast Croissants

When you have to leave early for your morning commute, time seems to fly by and it's hard to fit breakfast in. So why not take it with you? When it comes to a chic breakfast, Parisians do it best with the delicious croissant (or pain au chocolat for sweetooths). Croissants are so easy to make and taste miles better when you make them yourself, rather than buy them from the supermarket or Starbucks. They are also incredibly cheap to make, you are being ripped off if you're paying more than £1 for them. I read this recipe in the Primrose Bakery Book and it has been a favourite of mine, my friends and family so why not give it a go?

Ingredients:

• 300ml warm water
• 1½ tsp active dried yeast
• 500g strong white bread flour
• 45g granulated sugar
• 2tsp salt
• 20g skimmed milk powder
• 250g unsalted butter

This is all you need to make delicious croissants.

Recipe:

1. Measure the water into a jug and stir in the yeast, set it to one side until the yeast rises to the top and goes foamy on top. (Tip: You should be able to comfortably places your hands in the water, if it is too hot the yeast will die.

   

   The yeast should start to foam on top like this.

2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl (flour, milk powder, sugar and salt). Sift them and then stir to make sure they are well mixed. Cut the butter into small chunks and mix it through the dry ingredients, be careful not to over mix. (Tip: If there are still chunks of butter, this doesn't matter as they will melt during the cooking process.)

   

   
   

3. Stir in the yeast mixture and stir until the dough starts to form, it should have an elasticated and quite wet texture. When the dough is formed, wrap it in clingfilm and place it in the fridge overnight. (Tip: If you are making these in the day, I find a few hours is enough time for the dough to expand.)

   

   As you can see, there are still quite visible chunks of
    butter in the dough, this is perfectly normal.

4. When the dough is chilled, remove it from the fridge and place on a well floured surface and begin to roll the dough into a large rectangular shape. At this point put the oven on to 200°C.

   

   The dough should be quite elasticy and it will try and spring back
   to its original shape so you have to be quite vigorous.

5. When the dough is rolled out, fold it over three ways like you would fold a letter. Then roll it out again and repeat this process three times.

   

   Layering the dough helps to add the airy lightness to the pastry.

6. Cut the dough into long rectangular strips and then cut them from corner to corner to make long triangles.
   
   
   

   

   
   

                                .
   
7. Roll the triangles up, startling from the wide end.

   

8. Once rolled, place the croissants on a baking tray and glaze them with either milk or whisked eggs.

   

   Egg glazing will give them a shine but if you
   don't have any milk works too.

9. Cook for up to 30 minutes, check on them halfway through but be sure not to leave the oven door open long. Once they are golden brown and crispy on top, remove them from the oven and enjoy!

   

   Washed down with an americano,
    a truly Parisian chic breakfast.

Tweet

Another Wagamamas Favourite: Raisukaree

I'm going on holiday tomorrow so I needed to use up as many perishable ingredients in my fridge as possible. Luckily, the ingredients that I had were almost perfect for making Raisukaree (another Wagamamas dish that I love). Raisukaree is a delicious coconut and lime Thai curry that I highly recommend you try and this recipe is a brilliant imitation of the Wagamamas dish.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 250g King prawns (or chicken if preferred - one fillet per person)
• 2 Tbsp soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp thai red curry paste
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• chopped root ginger
• selection of vegetables (this recipe: 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 1/2 cauliflower)
• 1 chopped onion 
• coconut milk (or creamed coconut but you will need to add milk/soy milk)
• 1 red chilli (or chilli powder/flakes but this is less potent)
• 1 chicken stock cube
• ground coriander
• garam masala
• 1 lime
• rice
• peanut and sesame oil (not essential but adds a lovely, subtle Asian flavour)

Recipe:

1. Prep the vegetables, cutting them into bite-sized chunks and strips to add some texture. Also finely chop the garlic cloves and fresh ginger root.
   

   
   

   

2. Heat the peanut oil and sesame oil in a pan until very hot and add the onion, garlic and ginger. They should sizzle as they hit the pan. I managed to get both the sesame and peanut oil from Lidl very cheaply for £1.19 per bottle recently and you only need to use a small amount.
   
   
   
3. After a few minutes, add the rest of the chopped vegetables. (If you are using chicken, this is the point to add it) Once the vegetables start to cook, add the Thai red curry paste, soy sauce and fish sauce.
   
   
   
4. Turn the heat down to simmer and add the coconut milk, along with any spices you are using (eg, garam masala, ground coriander, chilli powder). Simmer on a low heat and start cooking the rice.


5. Once the rice is almost cooked, add the king prawns. These only need to cook for 3-5 minutes as they start to go tough if they are overcooked.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Once the prawns are cooked, serve with rice and naan bread. Garnish with a wedge of lime and enjoy!
   
   
   
   
   

Wagamamas Cost (per person): £11.75
C-I-Y Cost (per person): £1.65

Tweet

Chic Your Room

When I moved into my flat, my bedroom was bright pink and covered in Disney princesses. Hardly ideal for anyone over the age of ten...

It was one of the first things I had to change because the garish colours were keeping me awake at night and it wasn't exactly somewhere I wanted to chill out in or show my friends. However, I had just finished university and I didn't have a job lined up so I needed to do it as cheaply as possible. Here is how I turned my room from a Disney nightmare to a chic and sophisticated chill-out zone on a budget.

First of all I had to get that garish pink off the walls, so I painted the whole room white. This took about three or four coats of paint as it was such a hot pink. I used Wilkinson's own brand white paint as it came in huge cans for about £6 and I needed a lot of it! I probably ended up using two 5L cans of white paint to cover it all. The white made the room seem much larger than before so I decided I would keep that colour and accent it with another colour. I chose one of my favourite colours - mint which cost about £12 from Wilkinson's (look out for offers, I bought it when all paints were 20% off). I painted two of the main walls mint to add a bit of warmth to the room. Already, it looked miles better!

I also had a tapestry, that I had bought from Urban Outfitters whilst I was at university, which I used to cover up one of the white walls to add some pattern and a few brighter colours to the mix. Tapestries are great statement pieces for any room and can be hung on the wall with a few pins or also used as a throw on a bed or sofa - the choice is yours! This tapestry cost me £20 as I was able to nab it in the sale.

Urban Outifitters have a wide range of tapestries
 to brighten your rooms

So now that the walls were looking great, I needed to do some work on the furniture. When I moved in there was a dilapidated chest of drawers that were on their last legs, quite literally! These had to go, so I went at them with a hammer (which really wasn't difficult as they were now mainly held together with glue). I unscrewed the handles and kept hold of these in case I needed them later on. There was also a matching desk, which was just as broken so I took this apart also but salvaged the shelving unit to store DVDs on.

I kept one piece of the original furniture, which was an old red mirror that I had acquired several years ago from some work colleagues. However, this too was showing its age and was in need of a bit of TLC. I bought a can of gold spray paint (also from Wilkinson's - that shop has EVERYTHING!) for £5 and sprayed the frame to make it look a bit more glam.

A bit of gold spray paint helped
revive this old mirror

However, after throwing out half my furniture, I was now in desperate need of some more. New furniture is ridiculously expensive, especially chests of drawers. So I went charity shopping. I managed to acquire all of my furniture from The British Heart Foundation. It didn't all look great at first, but with a bit of imagination and DIY (or rather CIY) you can spruce it up and make it exactly what you want. In total, I spent £60 on furniture and this got me a huge chest of drawers, a bedside table and an ornament shelf.

The bedside table was pretty tacky when I bought it, but I could see it had potential. Its previous owner had sprayed it gold (gold spray paint doesn't look good on everything!!) and they had put a bit of what looked like blue carpet underneath the glass top. I repainted it white, leaving the feet, interior and handle gold. I also removed the scrappy piece of carpet and replaced it with a scrap of Cath Kidston fabric I had that luckily was the perfect size. (Tip: Always fold over the ends of the fabrics to get a neat finish.)

This £15 cabinet just needed a lick
 of paint and a bit of fabric

The chest of drawers was pretty much fine, but it did have some very ugly little grey knobs for handles. I took these off and replaced them with the ones I had salvaged and spray painted gold.

With a new set of knobs, this chest of drawers
 looks great at just £30

The ornament table was perfect, I needed something to display all my trinkets and photos on and this slotted perfectly into one of the corners, this was a very lucky find at only £10.

A great charity shop find at only £10

The finishing touches were also super cheap and easy to come by. I got this great lamp off ebay for £12.99, it's beautiful, gives off a light and casts a lovely pattern on the walls. 

I love this lamp, just £12.99 on eBay

I also use high quality sheets of wrapping paper as posters, this is a cheap way of decorating your walls as they only cost about £3 - a lot of money for wrapping paper, but not so much for a poster! 

Wrapping paper makes great posters

Finally, I remembered that my mum had a lovely pair of curtains from her old house that she was no longer using and I asked if I could have them for my room which she very kindly obliged. So it was goodbye to the Disney Princess blind and hello to free chic silk curtains!

These free curtains went great with the colour scheme

So to completely redecorate and furnish my room it cost about £100. Half of which went to charity, which is great! Always keep an eye out for pieces that have potential and don't be afraid to ask friends and family if they've got anything you might need.

Tweet