Let It Snow!

This was the view from my window today - I do love the snow but I'm more than ready for the warm weather now please!

I took this photo using my new wide angle lense which I love, however I really need to get out more with it, I haven't really had a chance to use it properly yet.

Hope you're enjoying the snow if you've got it!

Let's Bake A Cake!

A cake with a difference...these cupcakes are made using sweet potato! Don't be put off, they are fantastic!

I baked these cakes a while ago, but came across my photos yesterday so I thought I would post about them. The recipe is from this book – not my recipe unfortunately – but it is too good to keep to myself, so enjoy J

Makes 12

For the cakes:

2 medium free range eggs

160g caster sugar

200g peeled and finely grated sweet potato

100g white rice flour

100g ground almonds

2tsp baking powder

¼ tsp salt

3tbsp coffee essence

For the icing:

50g unsalted butter

200g icing sugar, sieved

50g mascarpone

2tsp coffee essence

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4. Line the cake tray with paper cases.

Whisk the eggs and sugar in a large mixing bowel for 5 minutes until pale and quadrupled in volume. Add the grated sweet potato and whisk again. Whisk in the flour, ground almonds, baking powder and salt, as well as the coffee essence until they are well introduced.

Spoon the mixture into the cupcake cases, aiming for it to come four fifths of the way up each case. Place in the oven for 20 minutes until the cakes are risen and cooked. Don’t be alarmed if they are flat on top rather than dome shaped.

Whilst the cupcakes are cooking, make the icing. Whisk the butter with an electric whisk until pale and fluffy. Next, add 100g of the icing sugar and whisk together to create a paste. Beat for an extra 10 seconds at this stage to stabilize and appease the butter.

Add the mascarpone and coffee essence, along with the rest of the icing sugar, and mix by hand with a wooden spoon until all are combined in a happy and unified mixture. Refrigerate until the cupcakes are ready.

Once cooked, remove the cakes from the oven and cool them in the tin for 15 minutes. Ice the cakes, using about 1 tablespoon of icing for each one.

282 calories per cupcake.

This book is a lifesaver for anyone who can’t eat gluten, or is on a diet! My boyfriend bought it for me for my birthday and it’s the nicest cookbook I’ve ever seen! The author uses a vegetable or two in every recipe and until I tried it for myself I never really believed it would work or taste very good – but the cakes are absolutely divine. They are light, fluffy, and tasty and you would never guess what has gone into them. Taking cakes from this book to a party creates a brilliant talking point and I love seeing peoples reactions when I say ‘oh it’s made out of courgette – do you like it?!” I can’t recommend it enough, and I’m sure I’ll post more recipes from it because I do love to bake!

Lip Gloss Review

I thought I’d review my various lip glosses, but instead of giving them star ratings, to tie in with my blog title I’m giving out monkeys!

L’Oreal Paris Glam Shine 6hr Lip Gloss 6ml in Oriental Fuchsia

£8.19

They Say: “L’Oreal Paris’ first lips gloss that shines for up to 6 hours! L’Oreal Paris Glam Shine 6 Hours Lip Gloss offers a perfect balance between shine and staying power; just one sweep is enough to achieve plump, gloss looking lips”.

I Say: “I received this as part of a free gift in a L’Oreal offer, and I’m really pleased I’ve got it. The tube, colour and raspberry smell of this lip gloss are just lovely! I can’t comment on whether it really does last for 6 hours because I keep licking it off and re-applying, oops! The heart shaped applicator is a really pretty touch, but I find it just a little bit flimsy, especially when applying the gloss to my top lip and for this it gets four monkeys!"

Rimmel Volume Booster Lip Plump Gloss 6ml in Allure

99p from Fragrance Direct

They Say: “Plump it up! Up to 40% fuller looking lips with Collagen and Hyaluronic spheres. Immediate shine. Lasts up to 6 hours. Feel the lip plumping sensation!”

I Say: “I’ve had this lip gloss for ages; I bought it when I went brunette, before I was brave enough to wear lipstick, but I still wear it on the odd occasion now. The colour is a lovely red and tints my lips enough to make a noticable diffence in colour, and it is definitely shiny. There is a slight tingling sensation on my lips when I apply it, sort of like when you get toothpaste on your lips; not an unpleasent feeling. I used to wear this quite often, but I can’t say that my lips got any plumper from it and for this I’m only giving 3 monkeys!"

Benefit Lip Gloss 5ml in Friends in High Places

£14.50

They Say: “Look like a dream! Benefit’s luscious new lip glosses glide on with a dazzling shine that would never dream of being sticky!”

I Say: “I’ve never quite understood all the fuss about Benefit makeup. I have a few of their products, but for the prices they charge, they are really nothing special. I purchased this lip gloss at a discounted price – and I’m glad I didn’t pay the full price for it. It’s a lovely colour, but its pretty gloopy and sticky on my lips and the smell/taste of it is just so off-putting I don’t want to reapply it! An expensive brand doesn’t always mean superior quality, so I would defiantly recommend testing products out in store before you commit to buying something because of the label. The only positive comment I have is that the packaging looks lovely and for this it gets one monkey!”

Avon Glazewear Sparkle Lip Gloss 6ml in Cotton Candy

£5.50

They Say: “Dazzling formula gives lips an incredible glossy high sparkle finish that doesn't feel sticky. Sheer to medium coverage that's comfortable to wear, and won't bleed or feather.”

I Say: “This is a pretty good lip gloss. The tube is quite tiny, but you get 6ml in there, so definite value for money. The colour is lovely and pink, with flecks of sparkles that you can see on your lips in the light – the perfect night out lip gloss I think as the tube is so pretty too. On the photo the applicator looks quite ‘dry’ compared to the other, but I find I only need to dip it in the tube once to get a good covering. I’m taking half a monkey away because of the sparklies – it makes it less of a day lip gloss – but apart from that I really recommend this!"

Bourjois Paris Effect 3D Lip Gloss 7.5ml in Rose Lyric

£6.99

They Say: “Pout your way to the top! 3 dimensional shine, super glossy pumped up lips. A formula enriched with micro crystalline wax for a deep, voluminous and ultra-shiny result. The specially designed brush applicator delivers ultra-glossy precise results with ease.”

I Say: “I bought this in a rush because I needed another product to complete a 3 for 2 offer, but it has become my favourite lip gloss – the tube is pretty, the colour is gorgeous and the smell is lovely! The pink colour really shows up on my lips, and it’s so shiny that it really does have a 3d effect. The tiny brush applicator allows precision, and one coat is all it takes to get super glossy lips. All in all I can’t fault this lip gloss and I give it 5 monkeys!" 



In order of the reviews from the top - L'Oreal, Rimmel, Benefit, Avon, Bourjois

I hope you enjoyed the monkey review!

A Little Bit About Me

I thought I'd let you know a bit about me! I borrowed this little survery from Cupcakes and Cherries.

My blog name - Look! Flying Monkeys! - is a joke that me and my boyfriend have and I thought it would be funny to name my blog after it, even though it doesn't have anything to do with what I write about!

My actual name is Leah. If you pronounce it correctly the first time I'll be happy :-)

My boyfriend calls me Muffin. Or Monkey Pants. There are many more but I'm not saying!

I love photography and I keep a seperate blog for my photos here. I love going to the gym, reading magazines/books, baking cupcakes and muffins, shopping, cooking. 

At the moment my job title is Web Designer. Essentially I create emails for an online clothing company - at the end of the month I am changing my place of work - but I will still be doing the same thing. I'm going to be working for a small jewelley company which I am excited about.

Ideally I would love to be a photographer! I didn't really realise this until after University, but I'm aiming to start an Open University course in the Summer and get re-qualified. I'd love to be a wedding/events photographer and I'm so ready to start working my bum off to get there.

I love nothing more than coming home, taking every last scrap of makeup off, putting my lounge pants on and watching rubbish tv. Putting makeup on is lovely, but nothing beats that fresh, clean feeling.

Singing in the car is probably my most embarrassing thing I do; I only do it when I'm by myself though!

Graduating from University and getting a job within a couple months of leaving is one of my proudest achievements. I'm also proud that I regularly go to the gym even though after some of the classes I do I can hardly walk for days!

I like the fact that even though I'm quite shy and quiet, I don't let it get in the way of doing what I want to do, for example, going on many job interviews, taking classes/courses on my own because I can't find anyone to do them with me!

If I could change anything about myself I wouldn't be so hung up on what I weigh and how I look - I'm just never happy it seems!

If I could have anything in the world I would want just everything that I have now :-)  And longer hair!

New Nails, H&M and Eyelashes

Today was just going to be a nails post, but I got some exciting things in the post this morning so I thought I'd share!

First my nails. My dark red nails with bling bling didn't last very long as I kept pinging the little sparklies off when I was washing my hair, so I just took all the nails off and re-did them in candy colours. Definatley looking forward to spring!

These are the colours I used:

Barry M Berry Ice Cream, Barry M Blueberry Ice Cream, 17 Pink Lemondae, 17 Lemon Sherbet

And this is the finshed product:

My hands look really dry, eek!

So, onto the post - my first item was a H&M catalogue; totally unexpected, but very lovely!

Sometimes I find H&M a bit hit and miss, but there are some really lovely pieces in here, especially shoes, my favourite!

I also got fake eyelashes! I ordered these from this seller in Hong Kong around 2 weeks ago - 10 pairs for the bargain price of 99p plus 99p p&p. I have to say, I wasn't expecting them to be any good, but they are amazing! Really long and fluttery, and a perfect size for my eyes. The only thing not included is glue, but for 99p, what does it matter?

I put one on just to show the difference between them and my regular lashes - a definate improvement I think! Now I just need a night out to wear them!

A Bit Of A Haul

So today I actually feel a little bit better - I managed to get out of bed, wash and dry my hair and venture to the shops for an hour. After two days of being in bed it felt so nice to have a long hot shower, and have nice, clean hair! I still look a little puffy so I had to apply some makeup, but it really was the bare minimum, just so I wasn't so self conscious. I decided to go to Boots to buy some bits to cheer me up. A lot of the stuff I bought was on the strenght of reviews, either from other blogs or the Boots website, and a lot of it was on 3 for 2 offer. I was so stupid though, I bought a few bits from No7 and it wasn't until I got out of the shop I realised I had a £5 off voucher, oh well! I also went to Savers and Superdrug just to stretch out the trip.

No7 Total Renewal Micro-Dermabrasion Exfoliator 75ml

£11.00

I never really been happy with my skin, and after 3 days with a cold it's been left looking particularly dull and lifeless. I've been for quite a few micro-dermabrasions in my time, and while they are lovely, £55 a go is a bit much for me at the moment. So on the strength of 28 out of 32 5 star reviews on the Boots site, I bought this. It is supposed to even out skin tone and leave skin softer and more refined. I'll do a proper review of it after I've used it for a couple of weeks.

No7 Beautifully Balanced Purifying Toner for Oily to Combination Skin 200ml

£8.00

I haven't used a good toner for ages. They always made my skin look more oily and I wasn't a fan of them. However, I've read in a lot of blogs that No7 is very gentle on the skin so I though I would give this a go. I try and use product at night only so I don't get build up during the day. This bottle is huge, and I was suprised it was only £8. Hopefully it will work!

No7 Quick Cover Blemish Stick

£8.00

This was my third product in the No7 3 for 2 offer. I already own about 3 different concealers, but to be honest, none of them are giving enough coverage. I wouldn't usually spend so much on a concealer, but, after Fee from Makeup Savvy made it her best concealer of 2010, I though I would give it a go. Just from applying a swatch to my arm I can see the lovely creamy texture that my other concealers don't have. My main problem is my under eye area - other concealers seem to hightlight dark circles so I'm hoping this will cover them up. The tube looks so nice aswell.

Max Factor Lasting Lip Tint

£5.99

I'm not much of a lipstick person - I wore a bright red when I dyed my hair dark brown, but that didn't last long! And in the summer I might wear a nice pink colour, but I ususally focus on my eyes. I saw this Max Factor Lip Pen advertised on the back of a magazine, and I was intrigued! After trying all the colours, I decided to purchase No3 Pink Princess. It's quite a bit darker than it looks on the Boots website, but still light enough for me. It really is like colouring on your lips with a felt tip pen, but because the tip is small it gives a bit more prescision. Once applies the colour is lovely - more of a tint/stain than a full on lipstick; I will definately be using more of this product.

Ecotools Bamboo Deluxe Concealer Brush

£4.99

Seeing as I bought a lovely new concealer, I thought I would buy a lovely fresh concealer brush to go with it. I chose this brush by Ecotools; mainly because of the price; but now that I've opened it, I'm very pleased with the quality! The brush head is super soft, and I love the wooden handle, compared to a lot of brushes I own with plastic handles.

Neutrogena Visibly Clear Blackhead Scrub

£3.99

I'm not going to talk too much about this! My skin needs pepping up after the holiday season and this works!

17 Candy Collection Nail Polish

£2.99

Sherbet Lemon, Pink Lemonade, Clear

I bought these to start looking forward to Spring! I'm so ready for some warm weather now and I think candy coloured nails are the way to go. My old Barry M clear nail polish is getting a bit old now and these were on 3 for 2 offer so I picked up a new one.

St Moriz Instant Self Tanning Mouse Medium
£2.99

This was reviewd by Selina of Flying Saucer so I thought I'd give it a go! I have been using Dove Summer Glow Moisturiser, but this has to be applied every day and it gets a bit sticky and time consuming. This is basically a rip off of St Tropez, but seeing as I'm not a fake tan expert, I thought I'd start with this and see how I go. You can't really see from the photo but there is a small brown stain under the foam, so I guess it works fast as I only put it on for a few seconds to take the photo! I will probably save this for the weekend as it has to develop over a couple of hours. Once I have used it properly I will do a review.

Make Up Academy Lipstick Shade 12

£1.00

Thats right. One Pound! Ok, I admit I'm a bit of a latecomer to MUA, but the display my local Superdrug has always looked so manky I never bothered to look. But today when I went in it looked all shiny and new so I had a good old peruse and picked this lipstick. I'm not going to spend a fortune as I don't really wear it. This shade is quite nice, it's very sheer and pink, more like a bit of a lip gloss, but definatley something I can wear day to day. It doesn't seem to be too drying either but I have yet to leave it on for a long period of time.

Make Up Academy Nail Polish Shade 18

£1.00

I also picked this because of the cute pastel colour, to match my other nail polish purchases.

Their nail polish selection was quite massive, so if this turns out to be any good I'll be going back to get more!

Phew! This post is massive, congrats if you've read it all! My next post will be a lot shorter, promise!

2011

Happy New Year!

Last night was the first night in quite a few years that I stayed in, but I'm glad of it really.

Today is my mums 50^th birthday and she has been given some lovely gifts. My Dad, Brother, Boyfriend and I clubbed together and bought a gift voucher for a gorgeous spa near to where we live, so my mum can choose whatever treatment she wants; they do amazing things like entire body mud wraps, massages, facials etc. I’m definitely booking myself in for a treatment when my mum goes!

My cold is still hanging over me, and I feel the worst today – I’m writing this from my bed – which means that the tonight’s birthday dinner plans have been cancelled in favour of a Chinese takeaway. I feel so bad about this; my body has chosen the worst time to come down with a cold. We still have birthday cake to eat though.

The last two weeks have consisted of:

(lots of) Wine

Food

Glittery nail polish

Fake eyelashes

Fake nails

Fake tan

Makeup

Going out in the cold with not enough layers

Shopping!

No wonder my body has just given up!

I think its time to settle quietly into January and concentrate on getting back to the gym, back to eating healthily and back to drinking water, not wine!

This year feels like a fresh start for me – at the end of the month I am packing up the contents of my desk and starting a brand new job; I’m very excited about 2011!