Gift idea // illusion chocolate from The Amazing Chocolate Workshop

If you watched this year's Bake Off, you will know all about illusion cakes. But have you ever seen illusion chocolate? I hadn't either until this year. It was at London King's Cross station that I first saw The Amazing Chocolate Workshop - a company specialising in made-you-look marvelous chocolate creations. From tools and household items to flowers and makeup, no stone goes unturned. I remember being in awe that the things in front of me were chocolate.

Whilst they looked incredible, there's always that thought in the back of your mind. Will the chocolate taste as good as it looks? And how long does it keep for? And the answer to this... 6 months. So a pretty long time. I tried some samples and oh my. I can imagine it being incredibly hard eating such beautiful creations. But trust me, as soon as you bite into that chocolate... zero regrets.

I picked up some pieces for Christmas but didn't go too mad because as you can imagine, artisan chocolate like this rarely comes cheap. Here's a little sneak peak of what I picked up:

Pasta

They also had a cute pasta wheel / cutter, but it would have taken me over budget. Or I may have had to sacrifice some pasta. And I actually like the amount of pasta here - it makes for a nicely packaged gift box. I had some spare dollar left over from my sister's Christmas present and seeing as she loves pasta, I thought these would be perfect for her!

Tool kit

I picked these up for my father-in-law who loves chocolate. 

How incredible is the detailing on the Stanley knife??!

Flowers / garden

I picked up a couple of boxes of these for my Mum's side of the family as they love gardening. A shortage in flowers (one of their more popular items!) meant I grabbed the last two that day. I was after a few of the smaller flowers rather than these big 'uns... but I actually think the larger design fills the box quite nicely, so it worked out well.

The cellophane makes it difficult to photograph how extraordinary the detailing on these are (those flower petals though) but on the plus side, they are beautifully packaged and should keep well.

The Amazing Chocolate Workshop have been making the rounds for the last few weeks across most London mainline stations. The best way to track them down is via their Twitter account (I Tweeted them this week and they got back to me fairly quickly!). They should be in town a few more days, but alternatively they also take orders online.

A great idea for a last minute gift. Tasty as, sure to raise a smile, and who doesn't like chocolate??!

This is not a sponsored post, I wrote this of my own accord and wanted to share what I think is an incredible product line!

How to have a spa night for £50 or less

Lately my mind has been - for lack of a better word - busy. I find myself having to work later and later meaning that I don't get much of a social life, let alone any chance to relax. When Ocean Finance offered me a chance to relax in line with their company ethos of making people's lives as easy and as stress-free as possible, it sounded ideal. I contemplated going to a spa but realised that I barely have any time to relax after work as it is - so having a night in would be treat enough. I lit candles in the bathroom to create a relaxing atmosphere, poured out a glass of wine, put on a nourishing face mask and ran a bath, introducing both my new Lush bath bombs into the water gradually. Their pumpkin bath bar left the water all sparkly whereas the Dragon's Egg was more volcanic and erupted mesmerising swirls of orange into my bath.

I used Body Shop's passion fruit shower gel, foaming it into massive suds onto a bath puff that I picked up for just £1 in Primark. It was so nice laying there, taking my time, not worrying about what I had to do next (I'm notoriously bad for never being able to switch off). I finished my glass of wine and lay there until the Dragon's Egg finished spinning around like a spinning top, and all the bubbles had started melting away. Afterwards I moisturised my skin using Body Shop's passion fruit body butter. I luckily managed to get the shower gel and body butter in an in-store offer for only £9.50.

I also swear by Body Shop's Peppermint foot care range which I used lots at uni to help sooth my legs when I'd been on the go all day. Taking a trip down memory lane, I picked up a bottle of their Peppermint Reviving Leg Gel which is quite honestly a miracle in a bottle. One of the things that makes me feel the most relaxed - and this may sound weird - is having clean and moisturised feet. I picked out a pair of festive socks from Primark - because it's never too early to start thinking about Christmas! - with the softest, cosiest fleece lining.

I went downstairs with M. and the rest of the bottle of wine (Malbec, a personal favourite!) and watched a film with pizza and a bar of Galaxy. There is something so soothing about Galaxy chocolate. If you just hold it in your mouth and let it melt, there's nothing quite like it. I'd ordered Jurassic World using Amazon Prime's next day delivery. Not exactly a typical chick flick for a relaxing night in.... but I find watching any sort of film relaxing!

Thank you so much to Ocean Finance for giving me an excuse to treat myself for once! The beauty of having a night in as opposed to a spa day, means that I have plenty of products left to enjoy multiple bath nights with - and lots of burn time left in those candles!

SHOP THE POST

Lush Dragon's Egg bath bomb - £3.50

Lush Sparkly Pumpkin bubble bar (no longer online) - £3.65

Body Shop passion fruit shower gel & body butter (not currently online) - £9.50
Body Shop Reviving Leg Gel - £7

Primark star candle tea lights - £1 each

Primark pineapple & ginger candle - £2

Primark bath puff - £1

Primark face mask - 90p

Primark festive socks - £2.50

Galaxy - £1 from Tesco

Tesco Finest Malbec - £6

Jurassic World - £9.99 from Amazon

Grand total = £50.04

What's your idea of a relaxing night in?

*although Ocean Finance very kindly provided me with budget for my relaxing night in, as ever, all words and opinions are my own!

Review // Sainsbury's popping candy chocolate spread

At the weekend I like to mix things up a bit and go for a different sort of breakfast to what I'd usually have during the week. With weekends you have the luxury of time - so you can spend a little longer cooking / preparing / enjoying every mouthful. Porridge, toast and cereal - my rushed foods of choice during the working week - are officially outlawed.

I first purchased Sainsbury's popping candy chocolate spread last year and I was pleasantly surprised with how nice the chocolate was. I was led to believe that it was just a limited edition jar - so imagine my surprise when I popped into my local store recently and found the very same product - in bright shiny new packaging - still gracing the shelves:

 Sainsbury's popping candy chocolate spread

As a nod to my first year at uni when I lived in halls, I enjoyed my chocolate spread with croissants (my staple diet in my first year... not even joking...). There is nothing more satisfying than sawing a croissant in half, crumbs tumbling everywhere, and spreading that chocolate spread which starts to crackle as soon as it makes contact. Or pulling the flaky pastry apart with your hands, and dipping into chocolate. The crackling in your mouth is an extra bit of fun - and very apt given that we are in firework season!

Having croissants for breakfast really made me excited for my impending Paris trip - not long now! Thanks Sainsbury's for still stocking the awesomeness that is popping candy chocolate spread. Nom.

Movie night // Cadbury's Marvellous Mix-ups

Now autumn is drawing near, the nights are getting colder and the days are becoming shorter. It's the perfect time of year to stay in and hibernate. And by hibernate, I of course mean snack yourself silly and indulge in a movie night. My latest discovery has been two-fold: Cadbury's Marvellous Mix-Ups and the perfect heart shaped bowls to pour them into:

Elsewhere bowls like these can cost £5 a pop, however I was lucky enough to discover mine in the local pound store. I can imagine getting so much use out of these. Perfect for holding olives and other assorted snacks at dinner parties, popcorn for film nights and fresh fruit in the summer months.

Marvellous Mix-Ups come in different varieties - I believe there is a Maynards one? But I honed in on the Oreo one. And am such a convert, that I need to pick them up whenever I see them. Containing chocolate coated in a sugar shell (think mini eggs), chocolate buttons (milk and white), and mini Oreos, there's nothing not to like about them.

All that's left is to do is pick out a movie, prop up your pillows and get comfy. Hunk optional ;)

What's your idea of a good movie night?

7 Easter craft ideas for kids (and big kids!)

Easter and chocolate. A partnership that has been going strong since the 19th century. They go hand-in-hand together, like salt and pepper or bread and butter. As appreciative as I am to still receive Easter eggs, the excitement of receiving an Easter egg - and chocolate in general - is kind of lost on me now. Maybe I've just hit that age. Earlier this week I found lots of inspiring Easter gift and craft ideas on Pinterest - perfect if you have children and want ideas for the up-and-coming bank holiday weekend. But equally inspiring if, like me, you don't have children yet. Has Easter become monotonous? It doesn't have to be...

How cute are these jam jar vases?
Fill them with Easter treats, bright cereals and sweets

Candy carrots are easy to make - just place orange sweets into an icing bag 

Rabbit food! Fill with dried snacks like cereal, pretzels and mini biscuits

Carrot play dough! I'm in my 20's and I'm still excited by Play Dough!

Egg shell candles in egg cups

A packet of Forget-Me-Not seeds is a cute gift idea

As is home made carrot cake in a jar with a home made gift tag and twine:

All the above pinned from Pinterest

There is now even a market for pets. With safe Easter treats for dogs that aren't chocolate:

Pets at Home - £1.75                                                    Pets at home - £5

In recent years advent calendars have evolved to variations without chocolate as discussed here and here. So maybe it will only be time until Easter eggs follow suit. Because if faced with a choice between an Easter egg filled with sweets or an Easter egg filled with beauty treats, I know which one I would choose. Especially if there was a speckled egg effect nail polish inside. Because nothing says Easter like having your nails resemble Cadbury's mini eggs!

What would be hiding inside your ideal Easter egg?

Sales: a summary

The January sales. What did you make of them? I’ve spotted some pretty sweet buys on all your blogs :) Did anyone else feel that they were a bit a shambles this year? The savings weren’t even that great. £5 off a skirt? Oh why thank you. How very generous of you. And I recognised so much old stock. Last year’s rejects no doubt.

I dedicated one day to get my sales fix. The day was executed with military precision. Up at silly o’clock, there at silly o’clock and done late morning before all the crowds and craziness. Here’s a summary of my January purchases:

Primark:

Still in possession of many Primark vouchers (incentive for doing a Primark survey), I couldn’t resist this bed throw - a total steal at £3!

Plus a couple of pairs of wellie socks – a nudge to book up for a festival this year!

They’re perfect for lining boots in this cold snap we’re having at the moment.

River Island:

I bought this River Island skirt and it’s a few sizes too big. Like on a drastic scale. Why do we do this to ourselves? Crazy low prices can inspire such madness sometimes! 

But it was only £5 and I can easily sew it in.

Topshop:

This Topshop coat and boots had to be returned. LOVED the wedges but they were pointed and far too narrow. Think they would’ve crippled me. The coat had really annoying hook and eye fastenings and was way too much hassle to deal with. I did however keep a black mini skirt which I can’t find *rubbish blogger* It’s a size smaller than I usually take (oh the joys of sale stock…) but it fits like a glove. It’s so refreshing to be able to wear a non-flippy skirt that doesn’t everyone give everyone an eyeful when it’s windy out!

French Connection:

Originally £180, I paid next to nothing for these in the sale thanks to a generous reduction and a French Connection voucher I already had. I do like Chelsea boots but was after something a little bit different to the ones you see on everyone. I love the strap detailing – an added quirk that satisfies the rock chick in me. If you like them, they’re still selling them on ASOS.com - but for £126. Silly.

Yankee:

As much as I love Yankee candles, I can’t justify spending that much on candles. I jumped at the chance to buy their mango and peach scented candles for £3.22 

And I was lusting after this gift set before Christmas - but I was never going to spend £20 for a pack of sampler sizes:

I was ecstatic to find them reduced down to half price in the sale. Christmas cookie, Mountain pine… I’m all set for Christmas next year. WIN.

Boots:

I don’t really go to Boots for jewellery but I couldn’t resist this ring. I love the design so much. I think this is the sort of ring I’d choose out if I ever got married / engaged. Except with nicer stones instead of these cheapo ones that keep falling off!

I also feel the need to share the late Christmas presents I received from friends:

Very cute mug and hot chocolate set

Another mug which sums me up well

Check out my friend’s awesome knitting skills! 

Such a cute and alternative way to decorate a gift!

Last but not least... this cookery book which I 

have been experimenting with this weekend:

Raspberry and white chocolate cupcakes.

They just melt in your mouth. NOM.