Kim Sears

Forget Kate Middleton its all about Mrs Murray to-be's lucious locks!

Her caramel hue is so natural and beautiful she is my new hair crush.

Lovely lovely hair, well, thats my view anyway!

Until next time

Hollie xoxo

Beautiful Skin

Liz Earle cleansing products are my absolute favourite skincare brand. Not only have they won numerous awards for their beauty brand but they have recently been added to the CoolBrands list 2012.
Their Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth cleanser is amazing and my skin always feels so soft, clean, fresh and blemish free, its the best cleanser I have ever used!
I have been using it since January this year and I have no plans to try any other cleanser- ive definately found my perfect match! The formula is just right for my skin type, one of their USP's is the fact that their product will work for any skin type which is unusual, everyone I know who has tried this product always has praise for it!

I hope you will try it too- it comes highly recommended!

If you go to their website http://uk.lizearle.com/ every month they have fantastic offers which for only £41 you will recieve the Cleanse & Polish Hot Cloth Cleanser, Instant Boost Skin Toner, Skin repair moisturiser (with an option to select the most suitable for your skin type), 2 muslin cloths AND an extra product may it be a shampoo, make-up product or moisturiser (which is different each month) which I think is fabulous.
The cleanser lasts for about 3-4 months, the toner a bit longer and the moisturiser, well, that can last up to 6 months ( depending how sparingly you use your products!)

Look forward to beautiful skin :)

Until next time

Hollie xoxo

Hunger Games

I'm sure this is a novel most of you are familiar with even if you have not had the pleasure of reading it yourself. 'The Hunger Games' I can honestly say is such a fantastic read for those of all ages and intrests! Please do not be a skeptic and think its just a fad- believe the hype!
Having just finished the second installment ('Catching fire') of this fascinating triology I am expecting delivery of the 3rd ('Mockingjay') and I cannot wait to see how everything ties together- and how things will end for our heroine Katniss Everdeen et al. Each book has literally left me wanting more and a cliffhanger as to what will happen next?!
Without giving too much away the thing that has intrigued me most to this book is the perspective of how a post apocalyptic world might function and how the future may look.
I just cannot recommend these books enough and they are definately in the same league with great modern fiction such as Harry Potter and The Twilight saga. Seriously just a great fantasy read and perfect escapism you can get lost in but with relevant modern and futuristic ideas.
If you are not 'book person' just try it, I guarantee you'll get sucked in! My boyfriend has not completed a fiction novel since school and has never been into reading but absolutely loved it.
We watched the film version last night and it portrayed the great story and was a good reflection of the novel. Although it didnt stick to everything thing in the book they had to condense it somehow so I commend their efforts, well worth a watch!

Until next time,

Hollie xoxo

Come dine with me

Tomorrow evening I shall be hosting a dinner party with my boyfriend James for our friends Gina, Ben, my younger sister Amy and her boyfriend Adam. I am cooking two lasagnes from scratch- one meat and one vegetarian as Gina does not eat red meat, but atleast there will be second helpings for the rest of us or an alternative option which I think is nice.
I shall serve the Lasagne with fresh salad, deli coleslaw and a nice piece of  french bread on the side accompanied by red wine and various other drinks for dessert...(I presume)
Adam insists I should bake some of my famous vanilla cupcakes which I will serve as an after dinner treat (providing I have time). All in all it promises to be a fabulous evening with good food and good company. (What more could you wish for?)

Here is my lasagne recipe incase you want to try it yourself. Bon appetit!

I use:

450g lean mince
Lasagne verdi (around 8 sheets should be enough- and I think the green looks prettier)

Medium onion chopped 

150g ish (about 5 medium) mushrooms, chopped

Tin chopped tomatoes

Italian herbs

Veg oxo cub

3 cloves of garlic (well its usually 2 but i luuurvee garlic and it keeps the vampires away ;)

Salt and ground pepper to taste

Tomato puree

Chop onion and soften in olive oil (or veg oil whatever you have).  Add mince and brown. Add tomatoes and herbs (about 2 tsp but depends on your taste).  Crumble in the oxo and add 200ml boiled water (from kettle), 2 tablespoons tom puree and stir.  Add the chopped mushrooms.  Bring to the boil and then turn down and leave to simmer for at least 50 mins stirring occasionally.  The sauce should reduce and get thicker, but if it gets too thick add a bit more water – or even better a splash of red wine!

For the vegetarian option- basically the same method except instead of cooking the meat, roast vegetables in the oven for 45mins using olive oil to keep the vegatables moist. I use 1 aubergine chopped, 2 medium courgettes, 1 can of tinned chopped tomatoes, 150g mushrooms, 1 onion, 50g black olives and I add mozzerella in addition to the cheese sauce.

When the sauce is cooked make up the cheese sauce:  knob of butter/marg – melt in pan.  Take off heat and add a couple of tsp cornflour or flour to form into a paste.  Add milk gradually (not over the heat), about ¾ pint and constantly stir until it thickens.  Grate in cheddar cheese and stir until melted.

Put together lasagne by putting a layer of meat first, then lasagne sheets, then meat sauce and cheese sauce and lasagne so you have three layers – the thirds layer of lasagne sheets should only have cheese sauce on top then grate some more cheese on top of that!

Once you have put it all together you can let it cool down and cover with foil and put in fridge.  Cook in the oven on about 160ºC for about 45 mins – you can judge by see that it has browned and also if you inserted a knife in the pasta to make sure it is soft…if the pasta still seems it needs a little longer but it has gone brown, cover over with the foil and cook for another 10-15 mins.  You’ll know!

Happy cooking!

Until next time,

Hollie xoxo

Quote of the day

Sometimes we read something that strikes a chord with ourselves. For whatever reason it speaks to us personally and we can apply it to our daily lives to put things into perspective. I came across such a thing today whilst trawling instagram for 'pretty things' to look at and I found the words of the lovely Miss Audrey Hepburn;

"For beautiful eyes...
Look for the good in others,
For beautiful lips...
Speak only words of kindness
and for poise...
Walk with the knowledge that
you are never alone."

Such a sweet sentiment and one of many classic sayings from this hollywood beauty.

Until next time

Hollie xoxo