Amazing Chocolate Cake - Courtesy Of Tanya Bakes!

Hi guys! Yesterday I made an AMAZING  chocolate cake using Tanya Burr's recipe. To make this cake you will need:

For the cake:
140g self-raising flour
170g butter
170g caster sugar
3 eggs
30g cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

For the inside icing:
60g butter
110g icing sugar
cocoa powder to taste

For the topping:
 A 200g bar of chocolate
to melt, and chocolates like smarties, white chocolate buttons or Malteasers to decorate


Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 180°C . Line two baking tins with baking parchment. Cream the butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs,sifted cocoa, flour and baking powder and mix well. Divide the mixture into two baking tins and pop into the oven for 18-20 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

For the icing, whisk the butter, icing sugar and cocoa powder 
together and for the topping, melt the chocolate in a bowl over simmering water.

When the cake is cool, sandwich the two sides together with the icing and pour the melted chocolate over the top. Decorate with whatever you have in your cupboard - white chocolate buttons are amazing because they melt on top of the chocolate topping!

As you can see...the white chocolate buttons melted before I could get a photo of the cake!

I hope you enjoy baking this cake and comment down below for any more recipes and other ideas for me to blog about!

Welcome Back!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi guys, oh my gosh it has been so long since I've last blogged but I am temporarily back!
I am going to be blogging more often (once a week) after Friday 10th June.
I have been extremely busy with lots of editing and vlogging and exams exams exams.
I have been revising a lot and will not be able to blog properly until my exams are over so I hope you will be able to wait 2 more weeks!

All I can say is, there is lots to look forward to so make sure to check back on 11th June for the second installment!

Spring Break Is Over:(

Hi guys! Now that Spring Break is over and I am returning to school, it is going to become quite difficult to blog everyday or every other day so I will probably keep it to once or twice a week but still do check in because you never know when I might have a new post up!

Tips & What to Avoid with Thin and Thick hair

Hi guys! Thanks for checking in today, hope you are all doing well !  I was scrolling through my Pinterest feed and saw lots of hair tips and different ideas for hircare so today I wanted to write a blog on haircare because I have covered skincare and my daily routine but I haven't had the opportunity to blog about haircare!

Everyone in the world has different hair types: some may have long/short, natural/dyed, thick/thin hair and they can fall into even more categories. Today I am going to be focussing on tips and things to avoid with thick and thin hair. 

Thin hair.
Some things to avoid with thin hair are:

• Using too much product; it weighs your hair down
• Cutting your hair in layers
• Using conditioner on all of your hair, just do the ends
• Flat ironing/straightening the ends

Some tips for thin hair are:

• Use salt spray before blow drying
• Blow dry your hair upside down for more volume
• Dry shampoo is your new best friend
• Go for shorter haircuts to gain volume

Thick Hair

Some things to avoid with thick hair are:

• Washing your hair everyday, your natural oils will condition it
• Running your hands through your hair; it makes it stick up
• Using a bristle brush; they damage your hair
• Blow drying your hair; it will poof up

Some tips for thick hair are:

• Long layers add movement to your hair
• Try longer hairstyles to reduce volume around your scalp
• Buy extra hold clips and elastics
• Try ombre hair with light ends to reduce thickness

I did not solely think of these ides myself, credit to Buzzfeed.com for these ideas!  Comment down below for what my next blog should be!

10 Must Read Books!

Hi guys! Thanks for checking in to my blog; hope you are having a great weekend! I am writing quite a short blog today about 10 books you MUST read because it's the season to sunbathe in the basking sun... so why not do so with a great book in hand? That way, you can get a tan whilst also adding to the list of books that you have read!

                                            

1. The Maze Runner Series (by James Dashner) - The Maze Runner, The Scorch Trials, The Death Cure & The Kill Order.
2. The Fault In Our Stars (John Green)
3. The Hunger Games (by Suzanne Collins) - The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games:Catching Fire, The Hunger Games:Mockingjay
4. The Perks Of Being A Wallflower (Stephen Chbosky)
5. The Boy In The Striped Pajamas (John Boyne)
6. Divergent Series (Veronica Roth) - Divergent, Insurgent & Allegiant
7. Harry Potter Series (J.K Rowling) - there are 7 books which are a bit long to name but they are amazing!
8. Forest Of Ruin (Kelley Armstrong)
9. The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
10. Yellow Brick War (Danielle Paige)

These books are aimed at the Young Adults genres of mystery, romance, adventure and Sci-Fi among others.

If you have any other books you have read and would recommend; do leave a comment below because I would love to hear your responses and recommendations!

Spring Break - A Day In The Life Of Lorinda...

Hi Guys! A highly sought-after blog has been my daily routine (in general) after my skincare one was a hit and so I am going to give a general day in my life when I am not at school - one of those will hopefully follow up shortly - but for now I am going to be focussing on what I have been doing on the days I haven't been out with family or doing something different.

7:00am - I do not like to change my sleep schedule that's why I always aim to wake up at 7:00 (I am such a morning person)after I'm awake, I will check Pinterest, Snapchat and my email whilst in bed which only takes me about 10 minutes to do because I like to keep on top of my blog and social life especially while I am not in school. es me about 10 minutes to do because I like to keep on top of my blog and social life especially while I am not in school. 
7:10am - I will take a quick shower and get dressed and ready for my day; I like choosing what outfits to wear each day because this motivates me during the day!
7:30am - I will head to the kitchen and eat breakfast which usually consists of freshly squeezed orange juice and fruity granola or a slice of toasted seeded bread - breakfast is the most important meal of the day after all!
8:00am - I don't mind working out however I am a dancer so I will stretch for about 20 minutes and do yoga for a further 40 minutes just to calm myself and loosen any stiffened muscles. I find that working out in the morning really calms you and prepares you for the day ahead. After my workout I will make myself a smoothie to healthily fill myself up after losing all those calories.
10:00am - I will do chores around the house: hoover, iron, dishes or dust. It is very cliché but I love doing housework because it distracts me from lazing around doing nothing.
1:00pm - Lunchtime! I will help myself to a healthy, fresh salad  or some light pasta with cheese just to fill me up but not to much a I will often indulge in a fruit yoghurt later on in the day.
1:30pm - I will sit and study/do homework for about 2 hours but with 10 minute breaks after every 30 minutes and will either revise for a test or just do some general revision of a particular subject.
3:30pm - Revision is over and I will have a fruit yoghurt before my chill out time.
4:00pm - Very childish, but my chill out time is where I just sit in my bedroom and read my book in peace (I am currently reading Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix) for about an hour so I can just unwind and relax whilst still doing something productive and useful.
6:30pm - I will eat dinner around this time and dinner varies every night so it really depends on what my mum wants to cook, I especially love dinner time because the whole family gets together and just chills!
7:00pm - I will catch up on my favourite show; Keeping Up With The Kardashians or Dance Moms because I never have time to watch those shows when they are actually on.
8:00pm - Around this time I will sit down and plan my blog for the next day or whenever I am going to publish it and then I will write my next post and do all the content so that when the time comes to publish it, all I will have to do is upload what I wrote the night before!
9:00pm - Similar to mornings, I do not like to change my schedule so I try not to go to sleep any later that 9pm which ensures I receive a good 10 hours sleep although when I am at school it can sometimes change to 9:30 on certain occasions haha :P.
 I do have quite an action-packed day and it isn't always like this but it is most of the time!

Spring Break - My Daily Skincare Routine

Hi guys! Hope you're having a great weekend and thank you for checking into my blog! I was just thinking about what to post about when I realised I haven't shared my daily skincare routine. It is quite a simple routine which doesn't involve many different products but really good for your skin and I find that by sticking to this routine it helps prevent any blemishes from forming although if you have acne you should probably consider adding in your treatment for that in as well.

Morning: Cleanse + Moisturise   

1. In the morning I will hop in the shower after waking up and cleanse my face with Simple Kind to Skin Moisturising Facial Wash which I find very refreshing and doesn't strip my skin so it is very good to use in the morning.
2. After cleansing my face I will moisturise with my Nivea soft moisturising cream which I find very nourishing and is probably my favourite moisturiser out of the ones I have tried. It comes in different sizes (10ml makes for a very portable moisturiser whilst 200ml is more to stay in the bathroom)

Evening: Apply Treatments + Moisturise

1. At night, I usually follow the same regime as I do in the morning however I also add in one more element. I will cleanse my face with lukewarm water with the same Simple facial wash-the lukewarm water helps you get to sleep!
2. I will then moisturise - not too much because I do not want my skin to be to dewy - and just go over my whole face and neck.
3. I have very dry skin so at night I will also use a small dab of my Le Petit Olivier a L'huile D'argan for my face although you can also use this on your body. I do not use this in the morning because it's too oily and presents my face as being quite sweaty. I use a small amount for my face to absorb during the night so that when I awake the next morning my skin feels soft and not very dry.

I hope this has helped and if there are any must-have products which you use and find very good, leave comment down below and don't forget to like this blog for more!

                       

         

Spring Break - March Favourites!

Hi guys!
Today I am going to be doing a list of my March Favourites because March is now over and I actually discovered lots of new favourites! Lots of these favourites are quite reasonable prices so should be available to easily purchase.

My first favourite is this New Look lipstick/lipgloss duo (sold separately)-in the shade 'Mink' - because I really love the neutral colour it gives and the fact that the lipgloss is actually matte so it slides onto your lips before drying and giving the matte effect. They are £3.99 and absolutely worth it!

Yankee Candles are absolutely to DIE FOR. I have an obsession with this cinnamon stick scent because whenever it is burning, it fills my home with the most beautiful aroma of cinnamon which is absolutely divine. The medium one costs £18.99 and you can visit www.yankeecandle.com for more details.

I rarely ever have time to moisturise after showering so this Whipped Clean Soap&Glory 2in1 body wash and butter exfoliates your skin as well as washing it. Another favourite of mine from Soap&Glory and when it runs out, I will definitely be purchasing again! It costs £7 and can be purchashed from Boots.

My book favourite is Looking For Alaska by John Green which I loved so much I dedicated a whole blog post on (Spring Break - Day 2) and purchased for £7.99 from Waterstones but I'm sure that you can purchase it from Amazon or from a charity shop.

New Look truly has been one of my favourite stores this month, I also purchased a khaki bomber jacket around the beginning of March and even though the weather has still been quite chilly, it has surprisingly managed to keep me warm! I love the khaki colour and I purchased it for £34.99 although there are some cheaper alternatives which still look quite similar.

I hope you like these favourites and maybe even purchase them for yourself! Be sure to check out my blog tomorrow for more fun stuff!:))

Spring Break - April Fools Day!

Hi guys! Happy April Fools Day!
Today is going to be quite a short blog but I will be listing my top 5 favourite April Fools pranks I love to do to my own family and they are quite easy so you've probably heard of them before!

1. Cover toilet seat with clingfilm - this means that when the unlucky victim goes to do their business, it isn't actually going to go into the toilet but go all over them!
2. Change around the keys on the computer keyboard- this gets anyone who isn't very good at typing because it will make them get really confused when they realise the keys have changed around!
3. Replace the Oreo cream filling for toothpaste- this one is sure to stir up trouble when your family/colleagues try these!
4. Change a phone/computer to a foreign language setting- no need to explain this one!
5. Stop their mouse from working- just stick a bit of tape under the laser of the mouse to render it 'broken' when really they just need to turn it over and remove the tape!                                                                                                                       

I hope you'll find these tricks funny and easy to do (and hopefully your family won't hate you for too long!)

I will see you tomorrow for my next blog so check it out!

Spring Break - Revision Tips!

Hi guys! I'm sorry I was not active yesterday or the day before, I just needed a bit of a break because it can be quite stressful writing a blog for EVERY day but I'm back again! 
Have you ever lied in bed stressing out because you have a test the next day? Or didn't know how to revise properly so you just sat there reading through everything? Well, I'm going give you some tips and tricks on how to revise....

Don't be a procrastinator!

Scientists have proven that cramming in 2 hours revision is nowhere near as effective as doing 30 minute sessions with a 10 minute interval between each session. This is because after approximately 30 minutes of studying, your brain is fully engaged and will want to continue studying so that when you take a break, your brain is itching to get back to revising.

Here are a few tips and tricks I have learnt from revising myself:

1. Do not leave revision to the last minute, prepare days even weeks beforehand (if you are given early notice)
2. If you are a visual learner, use different colours to colour code what you need to learn as it will help you remember
3. Use revision guides/materials given to you by your teacher
4. Keep hydrated in order to keep your brain actively engaged
5. Study at a proper desk, not in bed otherwise you are very likely to fall asleep whilst revising (this is not revising is it;)?)
6. Make mind-maps to help you learn the important,key pieces of information you need for your test-not everything is relevant!
7. Finally..don't procrastinate!

I hope this helps you revise in the future and that you really take on some of these tips because I can GUARANTEE that they will help!

Spring Break - Easter Bakes!

Whenever a special occasion comes around, I love to bake different mini treats for everyone to enjoy! There a variety of different bakes so that there is surely something up your street and these are all do-able within a day so that if you are hosting an Easter party, there will be plenty of time for you to mingle with the guests as well as make incredibly delicious treats. Easter baking for me includes tonnes of creme and mini eggs and that's probably why you will notice they are in every recipe! I hope you have a lovely, chocolate-filled Easter weekend with lots of enjoyment:)

All credit goes to www.zoella.co.uk for these incredible bakes so check out her blog for more of these scrumptious yet quick and easy recipes!

Easter Marshmallow Rice Krispie Squares

90g butter

260g marshmallows

1 tsp vanilla

1tbsp butter

170g rice krispies

Easter Cupcakes

8tbsp butter

115g caster sugar

2 lightly beaten eggs

85g self-raising flour

25g cocoa powder (I use Cadbury bourneville)

Topping: 6tbsp butter

175g icing sugar

2-3 drops vanilla essence

36 chocolate mini eggs

Creme Egg Rocky Road

150g unsalted butter

250g dark chocolate, chopped

150g milk chocolate, chopped

4tbsp golden syrup 

180g mini marshmallows

150g digestive biscuits, crushed into chunks

150g white chocolate, chopped

8 creme eggs (full size, unwrapped)

Again, I hope you have a great Easter, made even better by these home sweet treats!

Spring Break!

                     

Hi guys!

With spring finally in full swing, I decided it would be great to document everything I am up to during my Easter/spring break (2 weeks long!) and share it with you guys.
Easter is the time of year where we bid farewell to Winter and welcome the forthcoming warm months of Spring where animals start to awaken from their hibernation and bring along newborns and what a perfect time to write anew blog post... than while little chicks are hatching from their eggs, my blog is opening up to the internet for the first time. 
It is with this philosophy that I am going to blog about my holidays as often as I can and write about everything from wardrobe changes to revision techniques for the coming school term; it's all here only one click away!

Check my blog tomorrow for Day 1 of my Spring Break!

                           

Baking, Travel, Style and more...

      

Hi! I'm Lorinda and welcome to my blog:)

I've never written a blog but I have been inspired by bloggers/vloggers such as Tanya Burr and Zoella and so here you go.....

I will be blogging about baking, school, travel, style and just life in general and it will be great to take you on this journey with me!
One of my passions is writing and I love to express the way I feel and what I am doing through the way I write as well as making the content interesting so that readers can relate to it. This is just a little project of mine that I am undertaking but if you do like it then feel free to comment, like or share this blog in order for me to attract a large following. If there is something you would specifically like me to blog about, please comment so that I can make this interesting for you as well as gain ideas of what content to share in order to have a successful blog!