First trip to Barcelona!

I recently went on holiday to Salou in Spain and think I fell in love with the country, I have been Spain a few times as a kid but was too young to realize how gorgeous it is. I stayed in Cap Salou which is not in the city center of mainland Salou, it's more of on the outskirts so there isn't much there to do expect for one  or two bars and shops. 

We got offered a day trip to Barcelona and who wouldn't refuse that! It's one of them bucket list cities that you have to visit within your lifetime. You just have to.
From Cap Salou it's an hour and a half drive to the city center, I think it's safe to say Spanish roads are like death traps and the drivers have no problem with almost running you over to get to where they need to go. 

On our coach we got given a vocal tour of all the touristy stuff such as the,

Magic Fountain of Montjuic

Gaudi Buildings

Spain is one of them countries were you could visit again and again and never get tired of taking in the atmosphere and the culture, it has 2 large department stores jam packed with designer stores, including Pandora, Chanel and MAC. All of which are very expensive I priced up a small shoulder bag in a store 116 euros! Not on my budget. 

Other shops include Zara there are tones of Zara shops dotted around the center including Zara Kids, Home, Men and Women stores, there's something for everyone but the prices aren't. I expected the prices to be cheap as chips as Zara is a Spanish brand how wrong was I, they was just the same price as the imported English stores. I did pick up some body spray and perfume as they was only 12 euros, Bargain!

My favourite part of the trip was being driven around the city just to take it all in, it really is one of the best places I've ever been too, I will definitely be going again. I am disappointed in myself for not going to the hundreds of little bakeries and cafes witch where on every street. I would have loved to have gone to the Chocolate Shop but maybe next time.

This is a hotel!

The last part of the trip was touring the Camp New, getting to visit the biggest football stadium in the world was amaaaazing, I'm not even a football fan but it was so interesting. Standing on the bottom it doesn't look all that big, quite small actually but as you go onto each level you realize how big it is and how many people can fit in there at one time.

Seeing where all the players shower and pray was an unforgettable experience, I expected the sauna to be a lot bigger then it was but can't have everything.

One of my best memories was sitting in the seats which are normally occupied by the Spanish media and just taking it all in. 

Next on my list of places to visit is Granada, Madrid and Seville, to see what hidden gems they have to offer. 

Bake&Blush

Xoxox 

Collective Haul.

Haven't done a blog post in soo long mainly because I think I lost interest with my blog and didn't feel motivated to carry on, but I thought no I'll update it more often I'm aiming for once a week but we'll see.

Anywaaay, I've collected these items over the past month and I really do like them. 

I bought this as I had a MAC voucher left over from Christmas, I weren't too sure about this shade at first cause I'm really pale and this picture doesn't do it justice. On the lips its much more like a frosty pink and almost like a nude with a hint of colour. It's really flattering actually. This was my first time trying anything from MAC lovvee it.

This picture does not do this top justice its so gorgeous! I needed something quick for a night out and spotted this in Topshop it was £22. I'm not really a big lover of cropped tops cause I haven't got the figure for it, but I fell in love with this when I seen it. It's not too cropped with I prefer longer cropped clothes if that makes sense. I'll wear this with shorts or a skirt. 

Another book in the list of many which I own couldn't resist, Soz. 

When I read the blurb of this I thought it would be an updated version of Snow White but it's nothing like that. I love the main character Essie and I am really enjoying her and Dane get to know each other and enjoy a romance. It's jam packed with computers, codes and fighting, which at first I wasn't attracted to, but so far so good and I'm really liking it.

This is my new favourite dry shampoo! I usually get the Tropical flavor but this smells divine it's very sweet and fruity, I think this one combats the oil more then the tropical one but that could just be me.

Bake&Blush. 

Flapjack Attempt

I wanted a easy one bowel recipe after College to make so I thought flapjacks! Mine didn't go too well but I was happy with my first attempt. I always like to try and mix up the original recipe and make it different so I added marshmallows, chocolate chunks and peanut butter.

I started by getting my ingredients,

•  4 large squirts of golden syrup
•  175g porridge oats
•  one Kit Kat Chunky
•  175g butter
•  130g white and brown sugar
• one table spoon of peanut butter
• three hand fulls of plain marshmallows

Firstly I melted the butter over boiling water then added my brown sugar wait till that dissolved then added some of the white, I let this melt in together and made sure there was no lumps this time. 

When the mixture was a dark brown colour I added the porridge at this point I realized I
needed to make another batch because it wasn't going to fill my tray, so I made another when both mixture were done I lined my tray with parchment paper and began the finishing touches. 

Cutting a Kit Kat chunky up was a task! after nearly chopping my fingers off I got the chocolate shavings and chunks and sprinkled it over the mixture as well as adding loads of marshmallows (there my favorite) I then added a blob of syrup and spread that in and flatten the mixture.

It was then time to bake, cause I'm not the cleverest tool in the box I didn't time it properly so the marshmallows were a bit too toasted,  they was burnt but it was still really nice. I think adding brown sugar makes it taste nuttier and more savory then sweet.

Before going in the oven!

Always time for a selfie though

Its a bit over cooked, but its still fit. 

Bake&Blush

xoxoxo 

Red Velvet First Attempt

So today I attempted to make a red velvet cake, I'd never done of of these before and their always nice when I have them so hopefully mine will match ;)

My ingredients are. 

Hot chocolate drinking powder

Self raising flour

Baking powder

Vanilla frosting

Brown sugar

Red food coloring

White sugar 

2 eggs

Softened butter

I already knew how to make the basic base using the sugar and butter, I like making unique flavors so I used half of my brown sugar and half white sugar, I prefer brown sugar as it has more of a strong flavor and a more nuttier taste. 

The brown sugar was quite lumpy so in future I'll definitely be using a sieve, I creamed the sugar and butter together then added the eggs. After that I added a pinch of salt, the coco powder, baking soda and flour. Lastly was the food colouring. 

As the mixture was quite dark because of the chocolate I had to put loads of food colouring in. The first batch didn't go as red as I would have liked but ah well there's always next time.
I noticed the top of the first cake had visible lumps on the top which was annoying, the second one was fine with a nice road dome shape. 

I then crumb coated the two bases and left them to chill for about 15 minutes, when they was cool I covered them with the vanilla frosting I would have put loads more on it now as it's barely noticeable - lesson learned drench it in frosting!

I'm really proud of my first attempt at a red velvet cake, I know it looks terrible but I really like it and it tasted fab! Next time I will write down everything I do before hand so I know what to follow and how much of something to put in to the point. As the sponges are two different shades of red/brown.

The top crumb coat failed a bit like and the knife ripped a bit off from the top but the two bases are at least roundish better then my first cake so I'm improving slowly but steady baby steps!

Lessons learned!

Bake&Blush
xoxox