Saturday 24 May 2014

Zoe's Homemade Millionaire's Shortbread.

Hello everyone! It's Zoe!

First of all apologies for the absense. Both me and Karina have been mega busy doing college work and lots of other stuff! We've finished college now and we both plan to write regular posts now! 

A while ago I was bored an in need of something to do until I thought: I can do some baking! It's been a long time since I baked something and so I thought I would make my favourite, Millionaire's Shortbread. This recipe can be quite a tricky one as it's taken me several attempts to perfect. It's not for the impatient ones I'll tell you that! I am quite an impatient person so that will explain why it has taken so many attempts to perfect! Before beginning I had an idea to do a blog post on Millionaire's Shortbread so people can see how to make it! Everytime I Make Millionaire's Shortbread I will always use the Hairy Biker's 'Mum's Know Best' cookbook recipe. It is just the best one and it makes it so simple to read and is fully explained. So, here's how to make it! 

First of all, the base needs to be made. The ingredients you will need are: 



First you need to measure out the ingredients, mix the butter, sugar and flour to form a dough. (Make sure you wash your hands before kneading!)
Press the dough into a 23cm tin (the recipe says 23cm tin but if you dont have a tin of that size, just use one that you think would be suitable enough. Not to big otherwise the dough will go too thin and will burn in the oven and not too small because the dough will be too thick, it will take longer to cook and there won't be as many pieces when you cut it up!) You then need to cook it for 15 - 20 minutes at 190°C/Gas 5. (Keep an eye on it!) 



Meanwhile, You need to start the caramel. You will need: 



You need to pour the condensed milk into a big pan and add the sugar and butter. Bring to the boil and keep continuously stirring for 5 - 10 minutes. I say 5 - 10 minutes but you may want longer if you need it. You have to be so patient with it. It has to be a really thick mixture otherwise it isn't going to set. And I can tell you that from experience! Once it is done, take your shortbread you've baked and pour it over the top of it evenly and set it in the fridge for a little while. 



(The best bit about baking is licking the bowl. Yum!)
After you've left that in the fridge to chill for a while, you can melt the chocolate. You can have any type of chocolate you want (Nobody's stopping you from having two different types of chocolate and swirling it together if you like!) I went for some cooking chocolate because that's all I had in the cupboards. 


I melted the chocolate in the microwave although the correct way would be to set up a bowl over a pan of water on a low heat but it's quicker in the microwave. Put it in and take it out every 20 - 30 seconds to give it a stir until it's completely melted.) Pour it over the top and spread evenly. Set in the fridge again until it has completely set. (This might take an hour or so.)

Once it's set, go ahead and cut it into squares!


And then you're done! Now you can go and share it out with family and friends Or just keep it to yourself! After all you've made it. 

Hope you enjoyed this post about how I made these Millionaire's Shortbread! Let me know if you make some using this recipe and tell me how they came out! Good luck baking!

Until the next time,

Zoe

x




Saturday 10 May 2014

Zoe's Art.

Hello everyone! It's Zoe!

Today's topic for my blog post I thought I would talk about art. I'm always drawing whether it is digital or on paper. I am not the best artist but i've got to say that I am not that bad! I took GCSE Fine Art and within doing this I progressed my skills in Art through different mediums. I used to be rather good at painting but when finishing GCSE's I didn't really have time to continue using paints so it's been rather a long time since I properly painted (as in using oil or acrylic paints) something! 
(KickThePJ - Pencil drawing)
AmazingPhil (Signed - Biro & Watercolour Pencil background)
Danisnotonfire (Signed - Coffee & Biro)
I did however carry on drawing! I am very self taught when it comes to drawing. It has been a case of trial an error over the years. Some drawings go well and I'm quite proud of them and others go really bad and I want to tear my hair out! I think I have progressed quite well when it comes to digital drawings over the 3 - 4 years i've been doing it! I first got a drawing tablet and photoshop when I started Fast Track Photography (a story for another day) and I don't think i've put it down since! It seems every single time I go on the computer I draw at least one thing. 
(KickThePJ - One of my first proper digital paintings)
(The first drawing I did in Paint Tool SAI - I switched to SAI because it was way easier than photoshop *in my opinion*)
(Wirrow inspired drawing)
WorldOfTheOrange (Liguorilicious inspired drawing)
KickThePJ from 'Smokey Saloon' (Not really an inspired drawing. Just a drawing style I tried out.)
At this particular moment, the things I tend to draw the most is cartoons. I used to draw realistic drawings (and still do!) but I've always wanted to try and find a style of cartoon that I could draw all the time. Alas, I am yet to find this. I have tried hundreds of different styles of cartoons and nothing has stuck that I felt most comfortable drawing. Apart from the 'Adventure Time' style of cartoon. I really enjoy drawing this style. It's quite easy once you get the hang of it! 
(KickThePJ - Requested by someone on my Tumblr)
(KickThePJ & Me)
(KickThePJ as Finn the Human and his companion Fuzzwald the Penguin)
(Dan and Phil - Drawn for someone for Tumblr's Dan and Phil Secret Santa)
You might recognise that I have quite a collection of YouTuber drawings. I guess I draw YouTubers (especially people I watch regularly) because I'm so used to seeing their face that I know what their face looks like pretty much off heart. So the more you draw them, the more you get used to drawing their face and the better you get at drawing their face? (If you get what I mean...?) So that will explain why quite a lot of the drawings are PJ.

As far as physical pencil on paper drawings go, at the moment i've been working quite a lot with ink and water colour pencils. I just LOVE using ink. Granted it isn't the easiest to use and can be temperamental (ink can spread. Quite quickly) but it's good to use. Here are some examples of my most recent work (again sorry it is all about PJ! You should see by now why I draw him so much because you can see quite a vast improvement *I hope!*): 



I really think that water colour pencil and ink go well together and can look quite effective. 

Well that's some of my art! Please let me know if you liked my art and I would love to also know if people are interested in seeing more of my work? Have a nice rest of the weekend whatever you are up to! 

Until the next time,

Zoe
x

Thursday 8 May 2014

Bank Holiday Weekend

Hi everyone, its Karina

Firstly I'm really sorry I didn't post anything on Sunday, I had a very busy weekend, as your now about to find out! So therefore I will try and make this post extra long! :)

I had a lovely and very busy 5 day weekend! It all started Thursday night, with 3 of my friends from High School. As it was Rachael's 18th birthday we did some shopping and then had a lovely meal at Jamie's Italian. I had never been before so I didn't know what to except, but it was lovely, the food was very nice, we had a kind waitress and it was spent with 3 amazing friends.

Next was Friday, my college class got cancelled, then all of a sudden myself and Zoe had an unplanned day together in the city! We did lots of shopping and visited Starbucks where too many selfies were taken!! The day started out rubbish but ended up being brilliant!! I loved just wondering around the shops browsing and chatting. Zoe is one amazing friend. :)


It was then Saturday, were I spent the day with all my family and close friends celebrating my younger brothers 12th birthday. Firstly we went to TGI Fridays, all together there was 13 of us. Hardly any of us had been before so we didn't know what to except, but wow it was very yummy. I had a cheese burger for main and shared a chocolate brownie for pudding. I was so full afterwards! Also the staff all came to our table with a birthday cake and sang a funny birthday song with a dance, it was hilarious! Then afterward we all went bowling, although I had to leave half way through to go to swimming training, but then came back! Here are 2 photos of Emily and I.



Next was Sunday. As I previously mentioned I am part of a Synchronised Swimming Club and we had a competition in Nottingham. So I was up early and travelled with my club by coach to Nottingham. I had a brilliant day with all my friends and my team came first out of six, so that was good. We arrived back home at about 7pm then I went with my family to McDonald's (Celebratory dinner, lol).




Then finally it was Monday, it was a Bank Holiday which meant no school, college or work for anyone, so myself and my family and friends all went to the beach. We have a beach hut in the family, at Wells-Next-The-Sea, in Norfolk. So we are always at the beach! I had a great day, we all played a game of cricket which got competitive! Then finished the day off by eating fish and chips, which was very yummy!

Here are some selfies we took in the car!!


I then tried to get a photo with the 2 cutest people in my family, but somehow it got photo bombed!!


I had a long, tiring but fun and brilliant weekend, with some amazing people. Looking back its made me appreciate all my family and close friends and that I love them all.

What did you get up to this weekend? Was it as busy as mine!!

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

LOVE

KARINA
XX

Saturday 3 May 2014

My T-Shirt Collection.

Hello everyone! It's Zoe!

First of all sorry for not posting on Tuesday! College tired me out way too much so I didn't have any energy to do anything when I got home. I thought today I would talk about extensive t-shirt collection. I think it's safe to say that I have a problem. I am constantly buying t-shirts and it's got to the point where it just isn't funny anymore! I love buying t-shirts. Like A LOT. It's not uncommon to see me in a quirky t-shirt, jeans and converse. It's kind of like my signature look (If that's what you would call it!). Overall I have 31 T-SHIRTS. That's not including the 5 that I don't wear because 1 is signed (A limited addition 'Lady Hilly' design from The Hillywood Show *See above*) and the other 4 are some of my Twilight Saga t-shirts and don't fit me anymore and I don't have the heart to throw them out.  That's a total of 36 T-SHIRTS. It's crazy I know. This also doesn't include the 18 other that are just tops. So without further ado, here are *nearly* (The ones missing are: Dan Howell's king llama in space, Dan and Phil purple version, an all over print Marvel, front print coca cola, Summer in the City and a comic book style Big Bang Theory) all the t-shirts I own. 
 
  1. Galaxy all over print t-shirt - I am really into galaxy prints/anything with galaxies on at the moment so I love this shirt a lot. Same goes for my Dan Howell's llama in space t-shirt. (I call it Dan Howell's is because I saw him wear it at Summer in the City last year and just HAD to have it. Not because Dan was wearing it but because it was just too awesome not find where it came from and get it! Thanks to Tumblr I found it!) 
  2. Doughnut front print t-shirt - I love this shirt. I'm a sucker for bright and colourful t-shirts. Shame this one isn't an all over print t-shirt. It also came from Primark. 
  3. 'New Moon' t-shirt - Yes I know. I still own some Twilight Saga t-shirts from my Twilight phase (Story for another day..). I keep these for wearing about the house/work. 
  4. Twilight t-shirt - This one has "What if i'm not the hero? What if i'm the bad guy?" on the back. (shut up...)
  5. 'The Fault in Our Stars' t-shirt - I bought this last february when I saw the Vlogbrothers in London. I couldn't not get one. I didn't really own any bright blue t-shirts and it was a limited edition just for the tour. 
  6. Sheep Plain Lazy t-shirt - I have a funny feeling that this t-shirt cam from TK Maxx. This was actually the t-shirt I wore when I met Danisnotonfire, AmazingPhil and Emma Blackery for the first time in Norwich! 
  1. I am SHERlocked t-shirt - Very simple. Came from www.gettingshirty.com 
  2. The Beatles t-shirt - this t-shirt is quite faded now and I only really wear it around the house now. I got this from Primark. 
  3. Jack & Dean t-shirt - I bought this OMFGItsJackAndDean t-shirt at Summer in the City last year and I was very excited to see that they were selling them at the merch stall because I had wanted one for ages! I didn't want to buy one on the store they sell the t-shirts at because the shipping was horrifically expensive! 
  4. 'Keep Calm and Don't Scream' t-shirt - My auntie bought this for me from when she went on holiday and I kinda still love it. 
  5. 'Show Me Your Teeth' t-shirt - This is from The Hillywood Show's 'Vampire Diaries' Parody. My pen friend sent me this for my birthday a few years ago. 
  6. Bowler hat mustache t-shirt - I bought this from Primark again and I love it because of how minimal it is. 
  1. 'The Friendship Algorithm' t-shirt - Any fan of 'The Big Bang Theory' will know where this is from. Sheldon Cooper created a flow chart of sorts in the program that he believed would get him more friends. (Spoiler: he didn't.) My Mum bought me this for christmas one year and I ended up wearing it to SitC because I thought it would be an appropriate t-shirt to wear!
  2. #Content t-shirt - This is one of World Of The Orange's t-shirts. I am a MASSIVE fan of them! Again I bought this at SitC and it was meant to be limited addition but they are now selling them on www.worldoftheorange.com 
  3. I <3 <3 Gallifrey t-shirt - My good friend Leah bought me this t-shirt for my birthday one year. It's an awesome Doctor Who t-shirt. 
  4. Hairy Bikers tour t-shirt - The Hairy Bikers (the chefs!) went on tour a couple of years ago and I was really obsessed with cooking and baking at the time and so my Mum surprised me with tickets to go see them in Norwich! My Mum also ended up buying me a tour t-shirt. 
  5. 'Bazinga!' t-shirt - Yet another Big Bang Theory t-shirt! This time it's Sheldon's catchphrase! I own 3 Big Bang Theory t-shirts if you were wondering how many I had! This is another t-shirt I got for christmas. 
  6. Mickey Mouse t-shirt - I bought this t-shirt because it reminded me of Sherlock because he has the deerstalker and riding crop! The colours have faded quite a lot since I got it. Again from Primark. 
  1. Smiley face t-shirt - I bought this shortly after watching Chris Kendall in Alex Day's 'Good Morning Sunshine' music video. I thought the t-shirt was bright and happy and would make people smile if I wore it out (sounds lame I know...). I've worn and washed it so many times now that it isn't as bright yellow as it was which is a shame. I bought my one from Amazon shortly before Alex released the official ones on DFTBA Records. (I knew he bought it from Amazon anyway so mine was exact!)
  2. 'Keep Calm and Call The Doctor' - t-shirt - one of my favourite ever t-shirts. Again from wearing and washing it so many times it has faded a bit. This came from www.gettingshirty.com. 
  3. Giraffe t-shirt - I bought this from Durrell Zoo in Jersey when on holiday last August. Giraffes are my favourite animals so I couldn't resist getting one. 
  4. M&M London t-shirt - This is a more recent t-shirt as I only bought it last Saturday when in London with Karina for McBusted (see Karina's last post). This came from the M&M World store in Leicester Square, London. 
  5. McBusted tour t-shirt - Along with the M&M one I bought this one in London last Saturday. I couldn't not get one of the tour t-shirts because it was like two childhood bands coming together! 
  6. 'The Witch in The Fireplace' Karen Hallion t-shirt - This literally only arrive the post other day! I bought this t-shirt because I absolutely LOVE Karen Hallion's 'Fairytale Who' series! This one caught my attention because it's reference to one of my all time favourite Doctor Who episodes and was really cleverly put with Hermione Granger from Harry Potter! I bought this on www.redbubble.com/people/khallion. 
  7. And finally Sherlock 'Murder' t-shirt - This was the other t-shirt that arrived with the Karen Hallion. I have wanted this t-shirt for AGES! I follow someone on Tumblr called Geothebio and she is pretty much famous for doing drawings of Sherlock. She has a redbubble page and some fantastic and funny t-shirt designs! She also has Doctor Who, Avengers, Supernatural and lots of other fandom t-shirts designs! Check her out! www.redbubble.com/people/geothebio

So that is my t-shirt collection. I don't honestly think there will be a time when I stop buying t-shirts. I love the collection I have! I hope you've enjoyed reading this and looking at my t-shirts and hopefully you won' think I'm mental for having all of these t-shirts! Have a nice day whatever you're doing!

Until the next time, 

Zoe 
x

Thursday 1 May 2014

London & McBusted

Hey everyone, its Karina

So last Saturday (26th April 2014) Zoe, Dayna, Chelsea, Alice, Rachael and I all went to London, then we saw McBusted in the evening. We got the train at 1:30pm which meant we would get to London at 3:19pm! Here are some photos of us on the train being very excited!!

Once in London we went to Leicester Square, we did a bit of sight seeing and looked around, and as Zoe and Alice hadn't been in M&M World we took a trip there! And of course it was a keen opportunity to take many photos and selfies with giant M&M's!!


I then discovered that doing selfies while walking doesn't really work!!


It was then time for food, we went to a restaurant that most of us haven't been to before it was called 'My Old Dutch Pancake House'

Dayna, Me & Zoe (Waiting for food!!)

As the pancakes were quite big we shared one between two. Myself and Dayna had 'Hawaiian', Alice and Rachael had 'Four Cheeses' and Zoe and Chelsea had 'Amsterdammer', there we very nice. Then all 6 of us shared one pancake for dessert it was one with chocolate ice-cream and sprinkles, very yummy!


The next stop was the O2 Arena!


Once inside we all bought merchandise, I got a wristband and a keyring. We then found our seats and were surprised at how good the view was considering that are seats were quite high up, and of course, we took another selfie!!!! ;) By this point we were all very excited!





(I took lots of photos so if you want to see the rest Like my Photography Facebook Page. Also I filmed many of the songs so Subscribe to my YouTube Channel to see them.)

OMG McBusted were insane, they were amazing. If you have already seen them you will understand but if your going to see them, then make the most if it because you will have an amazing time. I sang every song, and screamed most of the time and left with basically no voice!

I got home at 2:15am, didn't get to sleep until about 3:30am, and had to be up at 7am!! Haha yep im mad!!

But I had an amazing day, mainly because it was spent with 5 amazing people and I love them all.

What did you get up to at the weekend?

Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed it.

Love

KARINA
xx