Home Style - Cheap Stationary Storage

Hi there Folks,

As both myself and my boyfriend are students, we have a lot of stationary floating around our house. And I'm sure that if you're students or have kiddiewinks then you're in the same boat.

So I thought I would share a cool but inexpensive way to store your pens and pencils which incorporates a bit of recycling and a yummy treat too!

That's right, Ben and Jerry's pots! After we finished with them we just gave them a really thorough rinse out and let them dry properly and there you have it! They look really cute and funky and it also means you can indulge in a little ice cream time to boot! You could always coat the inside with PVA glue or something similar just to protect it, but we didn't and they're still going strong after 2 years.

Does anybody have any more recycled storage tips that they would like to share? Please do!

Ciao for now,

JB

Out of This World.

Hi there Folks,

I first discovered nail polish jewellery through SayAnything Br00ke's YouTube where she talked about a seller on Etsy called Ginger Kitty Designs who makes nail polish jewelley. After watching some of the videos on them, I decided that seeing as I have an abundance of nail varnish I should have a try myself.

Now I love Galaxy nails...they're a whole lot of effort but I think they look so wonderful when they're done. So I decided to do my take on a Galaxy design, but in necklace form. I really love how they always turn out a little different than the time before, so I thought I would make you a picture tutorial so that you could try it out at home if you wanted.

Firstly you will need the following:

Polish Colours (L-R): No7 Stay Perfect Top Coat, Revlon Galaxy, MUA Shade 1, Collection 2000 Hot Look Sherbert Lemon (30), Miss Sporty Lastig Colour (No Name), Natural Collection White, MUA Shade 2.  

A clear glass cabochon 

Silver plated cabochon back

Small silver plated jump ring (approx 3mm)

Silver plated chain (any size you like)

A blob of Blutac

Nail polish (see above colours for reference)

You will also need: tweezers, 4 small pieces of sponge, a piece of paper and super glue.

Now for the photo tutorial.

1. Place your cabochon upside down on the Blutac to secure it. Paint one coat of clear polish and let dry and then one coat of your chosen glitter polish and again let dry.

2. The galaxy needs to be build up in layers. Firstly place a small amount of the dark blue polish on the paper. Use your tweezers to hold a small piece of sponge, dab in the blue paint and stipple along the outside of where you want the centre of your galaxy to be. The black line is where I'm planning to have the centre so the blue is acting as a blending colour into the black background. Let the blue dry.

3. Take your pink polish, dab on the paper and stipple as before, this time along the inside edge of the blue you placed down previously and let dry. 

4. Then take the yellow and stipple it alongside the pink and also a little further towards to centre and let dry.

5. Next take your white and stipple it down the centre of the galaxy, i.e. along where the black line is running, then let dry.

6. Finally, once all the stippled layers are dry paint two coats of black polish over the design. Let this dry then place another coat of clear varnish over the top and leave to dry thoroughly.

7. Once entirely dry, flip your cabochon over and your galaxy will be revealed! You now need to decide which way up you would like you galaxy to sit. Add a small amount of super glue to your cabochon back and glue the cabochon into place.

8. Finally, attach your galaxy pendant to your chain using the jump ring and voila! You have your very own galaxy necklace.

Here's a close up of the finished product :]

Have any of you ever tried this or would like to try it in the future? If so please share! I've made quite a few different designs and think it gives such a lovely effect. I may well do some more tutorials on these in the future.

Ciao for now,

JB

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Lets Cook - Pulled Pork.

Hi there Folks,

Today I'm going to share with you how I make pulled pork. I saw the original recipe whilst watching Food Network UK (you can find that here) and decided to adapt it a little to what I had in my cupboards and what I knew myself and my boyfriend would enjoy.

My boyfriend follows a low carbohydrate diet and so therefore the creamed beans in the recipe were out of the question. So I served my pulled pork with cheesy swede mash and pan friend sprouts as I know he thoroughly enjoys these low carb foods.

On with the recipe....you will need:

A pork belly joint (whatever size is suitable for your family)

500ml chicken stock

2 onions

Oil (I use canola, but olive is fine)

Salt and Pepper

Now the first step I'd never done before until I read the original recipe, but I've tried it twice and had some yummy crackling so I'll keep doing it. You need to boil a full kettle, hold your pork belly vertically with some tongs and pour the whole boiled kettle over the skin of the joint.

I then generously add oil, salt and pepper all over the pork belly and skin and give it a good rub down.

Peel and cut your onions in half and place them in your roasting tray to act as a little seat for your pork belly to sit on.

Place the pork belly on the onions and put into an oven preheated to 220˚C for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes add half your stock and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. If after this your crackling still looks like it needs a bit of work, add the rest of your stock and return for a further 20 minutes again.

Once your crackling is nice and crispy (be it after the first 40 minutes, or after 60 minutes) turn the oven down to 130˚C and place your pork in for about 2.5 hours. Keep checking and topping up the stock if needed.

Once the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15-30 minutes. Once rested remove the crackling and shred. Serve your pulled pork with whatever you do so desire and ENJOY! (I certainly did!)

Ciao for now,

JB

Film Review Friday #1.

Hi there Folks,

As with my 'What I'm Loving' posts, I felt I wanted a couple of posts that I could do on a weekly basis for you all. Now I LOVE going to the cinema. The invention of Orange Wednesdays means that me and my boyfriend can enjoy and lovely date night without breaking the bank! Although we haven't been able to go to the cinema as much recently due to us both working throughout the summer, but we both start back at uni on Monday so our regular Date Wednesday can resume...yaaay!

So as I didn't get to go to the cinema this week I'm going to talk about the film I got to see last week which is Lawless. I don't want to give anything away about the plot lines in these posts so I'm just going to tell you whether or not I like them and if I would recommend them or not.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film, I went into the film having not seen any trailers or read anything about it, so I had no clue what it was about. I think Shia LeBeouf played an excellent role and I really enjoyed his character. Tom Hardy was also really good. He plays a hard man so well! And Jessica Chastain was just beautiful, so glamorous and gorgeous.

I'm not sure you would enjoy this film if you're only into 'girly' films because it certainly isn't girly. I'd say its mainly drama, with some action and romance thrown in. But I would definitely recommend giving it a go if you don't mind that genre of film.

Has anybody else seen any films recently that they recommend? I need to choose one to watch next Wednesday!

Ciao for now,

JB

Bargain Beauties.

Hi there Folks,

As a student, I really like to try and save money where I can. But the thing is...I'm a girl. A girl who loves make up, nail varnish and pretty much anything shiny! So you can bet that I was super excited when I discovered that Poundland sells a stash of pretty decent make up and nail polish products for, yes you guessed it, £1!! (I know that after the documentary on it the other night it might be a bit controversial...but I don't care!)

I reguarly read AThriftyMrs' Blog and she has posted several times about the little gems she's found chilling out in Poundland, so I thought that I too would share the little treasures that I have found.

Today I'm going to show you my nail varnish. I love love love that you can pick up Revlon nail varnish in Poundland. Below is my little stash, I managed to pick up some lovely pastel colours for summer time, a lovely jubbly shimmery purple with foil style flecks in it and also a beautiful emerald green which has a matt finish that I intend to use once they weather starts getting a little more wintery.

So the colours are (L-R): Blue Lagoon (004), Minted (028), Sunshine Sparkle (042), Royal Cloak, Emerald City (032), and Rendez Blue (745). 

I will definitely try post some pictures in the future of how they look on the nails too. And stay tuned for an upcoming post on my Poundland make up goodies.

Has anybody else picked up some bargains from Poundland recently? If so please share!

Ciao for now,

JB

What I'm Loving #1.

Hi there Folks,

So I've decided that I wanted to have a couple of regular posts that I do on the same day every week, just to have a bit of consistency, ya know? So Wednesdays are going to be 'What I'm Loving' and will just share things that I'm really enjoying or using a lot of that week.

So first of all this week I'm really loving my new baby niece! She was born last Friday and I've been to visit her and my mum and sister yesterday and she's just so beautiful! And so teeny tiny too, I can't get over it, just look at her little hands!

I'm also really loving my Skullcandy headphones. I do a lot of walking to and from work and then also I've spent time travelling to my sisters by train and I'd definitely be lost without these babies! Especially as I forgot my book so I only had my music for entertainment. These are the Lowrider model and I bought them from TK Maxx for £16.99 I think, which was a really good deal. I really rate Skullcandy, they have really good sound quality and this particular model fold up so I can store them in a little pouch and don't have to worry about snapping them.

Finally I'm loving my Olympic scarf. I got it from Next and they were reduced to £1! I've been eyeing them up for a while but kept putting it off, but I couldn't resist for that price. My mum got one too and wore it with pride all yesterday. It's got the red and blue lion motif on it and all these little stick men doing different sports, I love it. I thoroughly enjoyed the Olympics, we did so unbelievably well and I was so sad when it finished, so I'll reminice when I wear my scarf.

That's all for this week...stay tuned for next weeks loves.

Ciao for now,

JB

Home Style - Floral Lanterns.

Hi there Folks,

I just thought I'd share a really cheap but lovely looking piece of home decor that I found in...wait for it....Poundland! I know after last nights programme Poundland is probably a bit controversial now, but seriously I feel that £1 is ridiculously cheap and I doubt you would find something like this cheaper elsewhere.

So the item in question is these lovely little tealight lanterns. 

Aren't they sweet?! Well I think so anyway. As you can see in the photo I have them sat either side of my bookcase and when they're lit up at night they cast a lovely little floral pattern onto the walls which feels very cosy and calming...they're so cute!

Has anybody else got any bargain homeware that they would like to share? Please feel free and we'll all have beautifully decorated homes that don't break the bank!

Ciao for now,

JB