Do you know the Muffin Man? (He Lives on Drury Lane)

 

Santa brought me a fantastic book called "Cookies, Muffins + Cakes", as you can tell by the title, it's right up my street! After flicking through it and dribbling, I muffins my first go yesterday with rather pleasing results.

I went for the Berry Cheesecake muffins, cooked up a storm and out came these bad boys:

 

You can just about see the cream cheese in there, you put it in the middle of the muffins so that when it came out of the oven it was melted and all gooey. Now I just need to choose what to make next!

Eyelash Wishes

I've given these Eylure Individual Lashes a few goes now so I think I'm getting quite good at them. They're semi permanent individual false eyelashes, and are meant to last around a couple of weeks, although in my experience if you get more than a week out of them you've done well.

The pack include some glue, some solution for removing them (although I've never touched it as they usually fall off in their own time) and the lashes themselves.

They come in three different lengths, so I'll start with with the shortest ones in the inner corners, and then move out to use the longest ones at the outer corners. They're flared and have a little knot at the end, you just dab the glue on, place them on your lash line and hope for the best!

It's a bit fiddley and takes a bit of practice, but I really like the results it gives, especially as it lasts longer than a usual strip of falsies and is cheaper than the cost of getting a professional set.

Have you ever gotten eye lash extentions or tried these eylure ones?

 

LBDs for NYE

We're in that awkward time of year when Christmas is over, yet the tree is still up and (some of us) aren't required to work for a few days. So what do we do? Well I browse the internet for New Years Eve inspiration. I'm not lucky enough to be on the guest list for any swanky, dressing-up occasions, but if I was below are the looks I might very well be adopting.

 

Dress: Rare Opulance £105 | Shoes: Kurt Geiger C'est £175 | Bag: Accessorize £30 | Earings: Forever21 £4.90

 

Dress: Dorothy Perkins £42 | Shoes: Kurt Geiger Emma £75 | Bag: Acessorize £35 | Ring: Topshop £8.25

 

Dress: French Connection £140 |  Shoes: Kurt Geiger Grass £75 | Clutch: Forever21 £10.50 | Coat: House of Fraser £40

Which is your favourite and what are you plans for when the ball drops?

Chelsea, Chelsea I believe

Last week was the world’s first Online Fashion Week as hosted by Vogue.com

Lots of activity happened including:

Christopher Kane, Alice Temperley and David Gandy chatted from aboard the London Eye (not all together, sadly); Selfridges gave away a £500 shopping spree every day of OFW; Cheryl Cole talked us through her new shoe collection; January Vogue cover girl Florence Welch got the action underway; Matches gave one lucky winner a spring/summer 2012 must-have each day ( including a Christopher Kane dress); Christian Louboutin unveiled his first ever European transactional website, exclusively here; the 100 most influential people in the digital world (from bloggers, to editors, to retailers) were unveiled; Donatella Versace joined the OFW party; Mulberry gave away a limited-edition Bayswater bag; Victoria Beckham gave readers her bestcareer advice; and our Twitter account was hijacked (only for an hour a day), by the industry's biggest names - from Matthew Williamson to Anya Hindmarch.

You can see all of the action here.

Dune were one of the partners and set up a competition to win a gift voucher of theirs. To my surprise I won and a shiney gift voucher arrived the very next day!

I went for the Knicknack Double Buckle Chelsea Boot, and I have to say I am chuffed!

I've been eying up Chelsea Boots for ages (see my earlier post) and am very happy now I have some.

The sale has also just started at Dune, and they have some glittery shoes that had to be prized out of my hands because I'd have no where to wear them to. :( But if you've got any parties coming up or are looking for something a bit more special for Christmas or New Years I'd recommend popping in!

My Week in Photos: 11th December

 

First up, I cracked open the advent calendar! I've got a Where's Wally one, and yes, I have managed to find him.

Second, the Starbucks red cups are in! I've never really paid attention to these before, but now I am an official coffee drinker I have seen the light and they are amazing! This was a Praline Mocha a believe and I finished it off with a slide of chocolate yule log. What? It's Christmas!

Third, I entered a competition with @Dune_Shoes and Vogue Online Fashion Week and to my surprise I won! They sent a gift card the very next day (Bravo ladies, bravo!) and I promptly purchased a very fine pair of boots, details coming soon. Some of us were just born lucky I guess! :)

Fourth, I went to the Clothes Show Live on Monday and whilst there were lots of bargains and deals and some lovely clothes and make up, there was also a chocolate fountain which was worth the trip up to Birmingham for alone! Who can resist a chocolate fountain?? (I certainly can't)

What have you been up to this week?

Snapshot: Listening, Watching, Reading, Winning, Wanting

Listening: Florence’s cover of Drake ‘TakeCare’ from the Livelounge. This really is SUPERB. If you haven’t already listened to it, get ready for something amazing! I love Florence and she really delivers on this song:

Watching: I’m a Celeb final. I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here finished last week and my-not-so-secret love of Mcfly, especially the uber cute bassist Dougie Poynter definitely were the main reason I was hooked on this. Slightly odd but endearing Dougie did it in the end, and now I’m just hoping (fingers crossed) that his band mate Harry can do the same on Strictly Come Dancing next weekend. (If you want my prediction it’ll be him and Chelsee in top and second places, but which way round I can’t call!)

Reading: COSMO!

Winning: A new game I downloaded for my phone called Line Runner. It’s very simple and addictive and I’ve been playing it on the train every day. You’re a stick man and have to jump over and roll under little blocks to get as far as you can, sounds silly, but once you’re hooked it’s hard to put down! My top score is 827 on track one. Can anyone beat that?

Wanting: I’ve spied some star printleggings on Missguided.co.uk and am desperate to get my hands on them!

One to watch: Felicity Jones

 

Felicity Jones is a young British actress from Birmingham. She's recently been chosen to front the Dolce and Gabbana's cosmetic collection campaign, as well as already having worked with fashion house Burberry.

Her acting career started in a children's programme I remember watching, Worst Witch, and she has since gone on to hit the big screen, staring in Like Crazy, The Tempest and Chalet Girl all in 2011.

In 2012 I'm predicting big things for this girl. She's already got the biggest fashion houses on side, and her striking "English Rose" looks, as well as her enviable style mean, that she can turn heads on the red carpet as well as on screen.

She seems to favour summery-mint shades, her sky blue Mui Mui dress with an embellished waist band in the top left is stunning, as is the sophisticated elegence of the Calvin Klein number she wore to the Power 100: Women in Entertainment Breakfast (bottom left)

What do you make of Felicity Jones' style?

Let’s All Get Naked Again!

The 1^st December brought excellent news to many a beauty addict, the cult palette, Urban Decay’s Naked Palette, is to return for a bigger and better sequel. The Naked2!

Now I don’t need to rabbit on about the amazingness of the original Naked Palette, as lots of you will already own it and be a convert, but it’s a great set of 12 eye shadows which can be combined to create looks suitable for any occasion. If I could only ever use one eye shadow palette again, it’d be this one.

The Naked2 looks very much along the same lines, a combination of matte and more shimmery shades all in neutral hues of soft browns and greys.

I’m particularly looking forward to the black shade at the end, Blackout, as finding a jet black eye shadow I always find particularly difficult.

A few select bloggers have managed to get their hands on it early (Lipglossing and Vex in the City), and judging by their reviews and photos it’ll definitely be worth a purchase.

The wait will be over for us Brits from 9^th January, when you’ll only be able to get it from Debenhams. From February 6^th you’ll be able to get it from House of Fraser as well, for £36. (A bit pricey, but I think it’s worth it)

Coveting for Christmas

1. Luella's Guide to English Style | 2. Warehouse Faux Snake Phone Cover | 3. Couture Couture by Juicy Couture Solid Perfume Bracelet | 4. Warehouse Premium Leather Stud Cuff | 5. Warehouse Faux Fur Slipper Boot | 6. Forever21 Plaid Trapper Hat | 7. Miss Selfridge Oat Slipper Socks | 8. Miss Selfridge Cosmos Printed Legging | 9. Accessorize Poison Arrow Ring | 10. Kurt Geiger Elliot Red Court Shoe | 11. Barry M Lip Paint Set | 12. Benefit Bright and Badder

With Christas a mere 22 days away, I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to share those things I am secretly coveting for Christmas.

What's on your wish list for this year?