Oreo cupcakes

So, yesterday I got a bit of a telling off from colleagues; I've been forever promising home-baked treats and am yet to bring the goods. My excuse is the daily commute as I never seem to have time for much else in the evening after I fit in a run, some munch and a catch up with family.

So I decided that last night I'd prove them wrong and make something really quick and easy that still looked tasty and set me at Great British Bake-off standard... Well, not quite but getting there. Betty Crocker is a revelation, saving me so much time and effort with this and many other recipes; I challenge anyone to find a replacement for her as I'm yet to succeed in doing so!

If you know me you'll know I love baking and normally it's something I would spend hours doing, but when your a little stuck for time, simple solutions are a god-send. Here's one of them, oreo cupcakes. All you need is three simple ingredients, Betty Crocker chocolate fudge cupcake mix, vanilla butter cream icing and of course, oreos.

All you have to do is pop an Oreo into the bottom of each cupcake case, whisk up the simple cupcake mix, adding two eggs, some milk and water and spoon the mixture into the bun cases. They take 15 minutes to bake and while your waiting the oreos will be softening in the mixture, leaving them tasty and creamy when their finally ready.  (it does advise to add some oil to the mix, but I always leave this out to make it feel a little less naughty!)

For the frosting it was yet again Betty Crocker to the rescue; all you have to do is mix her vanilla butter cream icing with some crushed Oreos. These cupcakes are all about the generous portions; what's that people say, if your going to do it, do it right! Take this on board and heap the frosting on top of the cupcake, decorating with an oreo (if you have any left!)

Safe to say these went down a treat in work; I brought some round for my friends' colleagues and think I converted a few of my own to my oreo ways. I couldn't eat any until tonight as I have a weekly weigh in, but boy was it worth the wait! 

What are your favorite simple recipes? With minimal spare time at the minute I'm always on the look out!

Pinterest Inspirations #1

As I've mentioned before I'm totally addicted to Pinterest and since becoming an avid 'pinner' I've found so many projects which I want to individualize and try out for myself. These posts are that exactly, creating projects which I've seen on Pinterest and making them my own. You can find me on Pinterest here and the link to this project here; it's originally taken from http://www.spearmintbaby.com/ one of my favorite blogs/sites for DIY ideas.

Before starting this project I made a prototype to ensure I had enough (pretty) buttons; if you need to buy some more eBay or Amazon are great places to get them for cheap, a 50g bag costing about £2.

Prototype complete, time to move on to the real thing. I decided to create a mixed media piece, using white linen instead of canvas and stitching through it in pink, yellow and green thread. After this I got to grips with the UHU and affixed buttons to the canvas in an L shape; this can get a little messy but the saving grace of UHU as opposed to superglue is it's a lot less messy and you can't glue your fingers together.

This is such a quick and easy project and requires little preparation. Affix the buttons to the canvas and build up on this, filling in any spaces with more beads, buttons and glitter.

Finito!

The Grass is Always Greener in Ireland

Since moving back to Northern Ireland I've had a little more time (and money) to revisit all my old loves; one of these is photography, and of course, Ireland is such a pretty muse! As per a lot of places in the UK, rain is never far away, but when the sun does come out to play it brings with it the best opportunities for some photos!

After a sleepy 5am flight home following graduation week, I was picked up at the airport by my Nana and went straight to Portrush. Anyone from Ireland will be familiar with the Antrim coastline, as will (most probably) anyone who has ever visited. It is absolutely gorgeous; home to the Giants' Causeway, beautiful far-stretching beaches and known for its' golf and water-sports. For me it holds many of my childhood memories and so will always have a very special place in my heart. I only had my iPhone with me, so all photos were taken from that but I think you can still see why this is such a special place for many; the golden sand seems to go on forever and if you get down early enough you can have your own personal section of beach. Later in the day it transforms, being filled with parents, children and grandchildren enjoying their holidays, playing bat and ball and settling down for their picnic on tartan rugs.

The rock pools are amazing and such a fun thing to bring little cousins to; we visited when it started raining and the beach was a no-go and found this little crab (below). It's always amazing to witness children seeing an animal for the first time, obviously this one was a tad scary to them!

Like every city, Belfast also got into the Olympic Spirit and even on a very rainy day on my way to an interview, I had to get a picture of the City Hall showcasing the Olympic Rings...

These are the first three proper photographs I have taken with my new camera, a Panasonic Lumix DMC-GF3, a graduation present to myself. I have SO much to learn about photography and am determined that before I travel the world this will happen; I don't want to be one of those people with an amazing camera but absolutely no knowledge of how it works! Can anyone recommend some good photography tutorials/blogs/books?

I entered these into a competition where we were asked to depict Ireland through a series of photographs; there was a big gallery event/voting event and the first photo (below) came second! I was absolutely over the moon considering the subject is a five minute walk from my home, and plus it's given me a little more confidence in my photography abilities; granted, there's still a long way to go!

This guy is undoubtedly my favorite...

I hope you enjoyed this post and it's given you a little peep at rural Northern Ireland :) Hopefully I'll get out to take some winters day/snowy photos soon! Our weather has been so terrible lately I'm waiting for snow already...

Good books don't give up all their secrets at once

Recently my life has become a repetitive stream of early mornings, train commutes and long days in work as a legal marketing assistant. To combat the inevitable boredom of a 50 minute commute (each way), I have become a bookworm, with Amazon succeeding at keeping me within the depressing confines of my overdraft! I may be skint, but I have come across some absolute keepers along the way...

After my Summer affair with the Hunger Games which I absolutely adored and the 50 Shades trilogy, which I was quite honestly happy to finish, I decided to stick to novels for a while and find some new favourite authors! Here are some of my sleepy commute reads....

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky

This was one of the most surprising books I've read in a long time; the style and layout were poles apart from anything I have ever read before and the content was on one hand very close to home and yet, at other times quite alien to read. The novel is written in a series of letters from the main character Charlie to his 'friend', detailing his experiences of his teenage years as a boy who wants to live life to the full but is too socially awkward to 'let go'. I loved this book because it brings you as the reader back to your teenage years and every time you really appreciated or were overwhelmed by a moment in your life.  Amazon link here.

"Charlie is attempting to navigate his way through uncharted territory: the world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends; the world of sex, drugs, and the Rocky Horror picture show, when all one requires is that perfect song on that perfect drive to feel infinite. But Charlie can't stand on the sideline forever. Standing on the fringes of life offers a unique perspective. But there comes a time to see what it looks like from the dance floor. "

I don't want to give too much away here as the movie is out now in cinemas however I've included the trailer below for a peep!

HEFT by Liz Moore 

This book was bought on an absolute Amazon spree and to be honest when the delivery arrived I had forgotten ordering it, but alas, I can safely say I will never forget the story; out of all three books mentioned this one is by far my most recommended! The story follows 550 pound, overweight Arthur Opp and on a tangent, seventeen year old, high schools' 'Mr Popular' Kel Keller. I was particularly interested in the story of Arthur as he commented on his life, unrequited love, lack of confidence and unfulfilled dreams. Liz Moore does an exceptional job of describing relationships, family history, debates and arguments and slowly but surely explains how these two individuals are linked and the role they play in each others lives. I was hooked from the first page and quite unsurprisingly the book ends with such an emotional cliff-hanger that you remain hooked to the very end, wishing there was 'just one more chapter' as you don't feel quite ready to say good bye to the characters. That in itself, I believe is testament to Moore's success with this novel; she doesn't finish the story with a definite ending (so to speak), but I think this is her way of keeping the characters alive, by leading us to believe there is far more to come. And who knows, maybe one day there will be. Amazon link here.

The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

"It is never what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different - unimagined, unprepared for, unknown..."

Quite honestly I bought this book for purely aesthetic reasons, and in the process discovered quite an interesting read. I wouldn't rant and rave about this novel as it doesn't have much in the way of shocking or nail-biting story lines; what Karen Thompson Walker does successfully however, is intricately detail the life of Californian Julie and her family, and quite an unimaginable thought, the slow disintegration of the world. This happens quite simply through the elongation of the standard 24 hour day, leading to devastating consequences. The author really does catapult you through the journey with Julie, however, if you're after a book to keep you hooked I wouldn't buy this. If you want a read which makes you appreciate what we are so lucky to have, this book is definitely for you and will make you a lot more grateful for the minute things in life, as minute as the successful running of the 24-hour clock. Amazon link here..

 

If any of these tickle your fancy I'd definitely give them a go; if you do, or have any suggestions for ones I should try, let me know! I've made my way through a mountain of books recently so need some ideas!