Breakfast in my house is a bit hit and miss. With a baby to feed, I often end up eating what he doesn't and soggy toast is not my favourite thing..

I had been searching Pinterest for quick and easy breakfasts that I could make ahead of time and I pinned a lot! But one thing that stood out for me was granola. A few weeks back, a friend of mine said that she had been making her own granola for the week and it was really easy, so I thought I would give it a try! After reading a few recipes, it was easy enough to create my own.

You will need:

And if you like it sweet, add a grated apple into the mix!

Method:

First steps, pre heat the oven at 175°c/350°f/Gas Mark 4. While the oven is heating up, mix all dry ingredients together and put in an oven proof dish. Bake for 15 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes. You don't need to be religious with the 3 minute stir, I just like filling my house with the smell!

Mix the wet ingredients together (including the apple if you have decided on a sweeter granola!). When the 15 minutes is up, take the dry ingredients out of the oven. They should smell incredible right about now! Add the wet ingredients and stir thoroughly. Everything should be covered equally.

Once everything is combined, you will want to thinly layer a baking tray with your mix. It is fairly important that it is a thin layer as you want it to bake evenly.

Put back in the oven for a further 15 minutes. It should start to go golden and smell even better!! Once the time is up, turn the oven off, but leave the granola inside for a further 5 minutes. 

Remove the granola from the oven and allow to completely cool. Once cooled, you can store in an air tight jar for around 3 days.

Personally, I have this with yogurt or even by itself as a snack. You can add raisins, chocolate chips, etc to make it perfect for your own taste. This recipe is a great base!

ENJOY!

Let me know how it turns out for you!

Coconut Oil Hair Mask - Tried and Tested!

I have insane hair. Check this out!

Now, if you have read my post about Coconut Oil, you will know that I am obsessed. I have seen so many people trying out coconut oil hair masks, that I thought I would join in.

I do use coconut oil on my hair, but I was a little cautious about using it on my scalp and roots. My hair literally never gets greasy (I am lucky, I could literally not wash my hair for a month and it would not be greasy) - so I was hesitant to make it greasy! What if the coconut oil doesn't wash out properly?! My scalp is always super dry - so I thought that I would give it a go.

First, I started by parting my hair and massaging melted coconut oil straight onto my scalp. I made sure that my head was covered but not overloaded. It felt so good!!

Then I moved down my hair with the oil, all the way to the tips.

I tied my hair into a bun on top of my head, and left it over night.

Now this was not a very pleasant experience.. I had to basically wrap my hair in a towel for the whole night so I didn't get my pillow covered in oil!

To rinse the coconut oil out of my hair, I used a standard Tresemmé shampoo. It took just two shampoos before the oil was out of my hair - but I did do a third rinse, just in case!

The result?

Now, for my hair, this is amazing!!

It was so soft and my scalp felt so hydrated.

Try it!

Festival Essentials!

I have been to a couple of festivals.. Glastonbury and Reading specifically. I am a lot luckier than your average camper though. Greg works for the medics team - therefore we get a different camp site with showers and security! Wooo! So I must admit - I am more used to glamping than camping..

However, I thought I would give you the guide to festivals and what you MUST bring and what not to bother bringing.

Enjoy!


Tent

Now, think wisely. Greg and I took a four man pop up tent to Glastonbury thinking we would not need more.. After one night of rain, we had to travel about 10 miles to get a new tent. The tent we got was amazing. It had bedrooms and kept the water out amazingly well.

Remember not to go to huge though because you may not find a spot!

Toilet Roll and Wet Wipes

This is one you must NOT forget. There will more than likely be toilet roll available - but what if there isn't?! Also, it is normally left in the rain when the weather is rubbish. With the lack of hygiene, I find the wet wipes a welcoming site. The majority of the toilets are drop loos or porto-loos, so you do not need to worry about what does and doesn't flush.

Emergency Stash

Duct tape to fix snags in the tent

A torch to navigate

Earplugs for that early night (that will probably never happen)

Sleeping Gear

It will get cold at night - do NOT think it won't!

Make sure you have a sleeping bag, pillow and blow up mattress or foam ground matt. I bring a full tracksuit to sleep in for warmth (also, when you get comfy in your sleeping bag and finally get a little bit warm, you will need to pee - so at least if you are wearing trackies, you can make a non-embarrassing dash!).

Rain Coat

I got an amazing coat from Primark that is festival specific. Isn't it cute!?

Umbrellas are the most annoying thing to bring at a festival when you are out and about - too many people! I would advise you to keep one at your tent for when you are walking to the loo at night!

Sun Cream and Sun Glasses

It will be hot and you will get burned. EVEN IF IT RAINS! Bring after sun too!

Keep the sunnies cheap as they will probably be broken or lost..

Money and ID

I would recommend bringing a card and some cash - and keeping both separate, just in case.

ID is needed for some tickets and obviously, any booze!

Toiletries

This is personal to everyone - personally, I bring: toothbrush and toothpaste, a small shower gel, a normal sized hand soap, shampoo/conditioner, body spray, deodorant and face wipes.

Gum is also a good idea!

Clothes and Shoes

If the festival is for 5 days, bring 7 pairs of clothes and 8 pairs of underwear. If it rains, you have a back up pair (or two)! Bring socks! Lots of them.

Wellies are essential - and so are welly socks! Make sure you have decent walking shoes and never let your feet stay wet.

Don't even bother with flipflops or dolly shoes!

Medical Information

If you have ANY medical history that you would want your doctor to know, you must keep some record of it with you at all times. Write down the medication you are on and/or medical condition on a piece of paper and keep it in your wallet if you do not already have something that states this.

You would be surprised at the amount of people that this would be beneficial to - especially if something happens to you when you are by yourself.

If you do take medication, make sure you bring enough of it with you! Although at Glastonbury and Reading there are amazingly equipt hospitals on site, they can not be expected to carry what you need.

Water Bottle

Bottled water is an essential - but pricey part of festival camping. I once bought a small bottle of water for £4!! A beer was almost the same price.. I almost choked. Everywhere I went, there were taps with drinking water. This is free!

Charging Bar and Cheap Phone

You can pick up a cheap pay as you go phone from almost anywhere for £10 or cheaper! This is handy for emergencies.

You can pick up cheap charging packs for your phone - they hold 8 hours or so charge - definitely an essential for any festival goer! It is only fair that you let your parents know you are safe on occasion! Even at 25, my mum still expects her texts :)

Food and Drink?

Personally, I bring a couple of packs of noodles, just in case money is running low. I really love festival food, so I am happy buying food whilst I am there - it is pricey though!

Bin Bags

A mega essential for your laundry and rubbish. Trust me, bring at least 5!

Bum Bag

Last but not least - the most important!! A bum bag! I know, it sounds embarrassing, but who will be embarressed when your bag gets snatched or your backpack gets raided. Now I didn't want just any bum bag. I got mine made! Check out this beauty!!

This was lovingly made for me by Jane of Loopy's Place. I contacted her via her Facebook page after reaching out in a crafts forum! We worked together and she made me the bag exactly as I wanted it! I am so grateful and happy with it :) you must check her out!

Remember, they literally sell everything that I have listed - so don't panic if you forget something! Just be prepared to spend some serious money.


What are you festival essentials?

Old Candle Jars and Wax Melt Recyclable!

Ohhh you will be thankful for pinning this later!

Ever buy a candle in the most gorgeous jar and don't want to throw it away after the candle has burned out? Now you don't have to!

I keep them all. Literally - all! I use them for coffee, sugar, pasta, buttons, you name it!!

Now, what about when you finish a gorgeous smelling candle - it breaks your heart a little, right? Here is how to use ever last ounce of the wax to keep that gorgeous smell going a little longer.

Below was my favourite candle. I didn't even like to leave it burning for too long as I love the smell so much. Then it ran out.

Here is how to keep the jar AND reuse the wax.

You will need:

Your old burned out candle

Pippet

Silicone mould

Kettle and water

Kitchen roll

Put your empty jars on kitchen roll - now seriously guys, this is the important bit because you might get burned!

I would recommend that you do this in a bowl of some kind, that can take the heat. In the unlikely event of the glass cracking, you do not want to be covered in boiling water AND melted wax.

Stand your jars appropriately and pour boiling water in the jar, all the way to the top. Do this slowly and listen - if the glass makes any noise, stop and bin it.

After about 10 minutes, the wax will have all floated to the top. Grab your pipette.

Gently use the pipette to suck up the melted wax - be careful not to get any water in the pipette.

Pipette the wax into your silicone mould. Leave to dry. Now this doesn't look too pretty - but the end result is, I promise :) 

When they are dry, pop them out and they are ready to use as wax melts!

Cute huh?!

Leave the jars to cool overnight - when they are cooled and the wax is solid, pop it out.

The wax disc can also be used as a wax melt - it just isn't as pretty! 

Make sure the glass jar is cleaned and tadaaaa! 

What would you use yours for?

Can I Freeze It?!

I love saving money - who doesn't?! Sometimes, I go to the supermarket just to see what I can get on offer. 

Things that are reduced are always great - but I want to know how to make them last. There is no point in buying things that will go rotten the next day!

Here is what I have discovered you can freeze to make the most out of your money!

Meat

Meat in any form can be frozen. I bulk buy meat at Costco, separate it into bags and freeze it. That way, I only need to defrost what I need, and I can fit more into my tiny freezer!

Cheese
Yes, cheese! I buy the biggest, cheapest block (although I say cheap - I still go for good quality) and I cut it up and freeze it. Grated cheese freezes well too.

Chilli Peppers
I bought these when they were reduced from £1 to 10p! I chop what I need off them when I am cooking and put the rest back in the freezer. I store them in a little tub.

Ginger
 It is one of those things that I do not use a lot of - so I keep a little bit in the freezer for when I need it! It cuts and grates pretty easily when frozen too.

Bread

In any form - it can be frozen. We normally have a mixture of pittas, sliced bread and bread rolls in the freezer. These rolls are yummy brioche rolls from Costco - they were only £2.49 for about 20!

 Eggs
YES! Eggs! Crack them into an empty ice tray and freeze - defrost them as you need them. I have tried this twice and it has worked perfectly - they don't take too long to defrost either!

Onions
Normally, you can get bags of 10 or more onions for less than £1 - but when you only have two people living in your house - there is no way you will use them all before they go off! I chop them all up and freeze them. I normally have two different cuts - long and chopped - like this:

Milk
I always buy a large bottle of milk and decant it into smaller containers and freeze them. This doesn't save an awful lot of money, but it does mean that I always have milk! You can also freeze cream.

Yoghurt
I make lollies out of yoghurt in the summer - they are lovely and can be filled with fruit!


There are more things you can freeze - and as I find them, I will write a new post! :) Enjoy!

The Sun and Your Skin

My beautiful Mum is in her 50's and doesn't have one wrinkle on her face. Why? Because she has always protected her skin from the sun.

I have ridiculously sensitive skin - about a year or two ago, when I went near the sun, my whole face would get this bumpy, itchy, red rash. My doctor said I might have a mild allergy to the suns rays (I thought this was insane..). I had noticed however, that the only time I got this rash was when I hadn't put an SPF on my face before I went in the sun. Since, I always use a moisturiser in the morning with an SPF of 15-30 and my face certainly thanks me for it!

Even in the colder months, the suns rays are still very much present and it is important that you protect your skin as best you can.

Did you know that overexposure to UV radiation from the sun (or sunbeds) is the main cause of skin cancer? 8 out of 10 melanomas in the UK are linked to being over exposed to UV rays from the sun.

DID YOU KNOW!? You are more at risk of skin cancer if you have:

- Fair skin that burns easily -

- Lots of moles and/or freckles -

- Fair hair -

- Light coloured eyes -

- A family history of skin cancer - 

- A history of sunburn -

The last one is really interesting. A history of sunburn is one of the most common causes of skin cancer in the UK - so why do we allow ourselves to get burned?! Sunburn at any age can double the risk of melanoma - getting sunburn once every two years can triple the risk!

Nothing upsets me more than seeing children that have been allowed to be burned by the sun. I believe it is a parents duty to protect every ounce of your child - most importantly, their health!

Here are my 8 top tips on keeping your skin safe in the sun!

1. Educate your children!
If you encourage good habits early on in life, they will grow to protect their skin!

2. Make sure you are dressed for the sun!
Make sure they are dark coloured, made of synthetic fabrics and DRY! 
REMEMBER: if your clothes are wet, their protection can be halved.

3. Wear a hat!
For me - a hat is not something I need as my hair covers my neck, ears and shoulders. If your hair doesn't, a hat is worth while. Make it fashionable! This one is especially important for kids - but I can understand how much of a challenge it is to get them to keep one on!

Personally, I love this hat from TopShop - it is just £22 and can be found here

4. Stay in the shade!
Unless the structure is thick, it may not eliminate your exposure to the sun, but it does reduce it.

5. Sunbeds are not your friend!

They cause premature ageing of the skin AND UVA induced damage. Sunbeds will make you wrinkle and sag waaaay before your time!

Why not try fake tan instead?!

6. Wear sunglasses!

Your eyes are important and too much sun exposure can cause cataracts. Sunglasses help to prevent this. Your eyelids are also super sensitive as they are not exposed to the sun as much as the rest of your face. Make sure that the sunglasses block out 100% of UVA and UVB rays (they will almost always state this on them), and if they are from the UK - look for the "CE" mark or a UV 400 label. Just because you have picked a dark pair of sunnies, does not mean they are actually blocking the harmful rays - they can cause more pupil dilation and actually let more light in your eyes!

I'm hooked on Primark sunnies - they cost between £1-3 and are amazing!

7. Suncreen!

Now, this is a no brainer - however, I have learned some interesting facts..

Wearing sunscreen to do the gardening, to go for a walk and for general activity in the sun, this can reduce your chance of sunburn. However, if you are intentionally exposing your skin to the sun for long lengths of time - it may give you a false sense of security and encourage you to stay in the sun longer than you normally would.

Be aware and keep covered!

Use a decent factor - a minimum of SPF15 is recommended in the UK and apply it regularly and evenly.

It is recommended that you use around two teaspoons for your head, arms and neck and around two tablespoons for your whole body.

8. Know your skin!

If you have moles - get to know them. You need to keep an eye out for any changes - a change could mean a sign of skin cancer.

Check for ABCD!

Asymmetry - is your mole symmetrical?

Border - are the edges of the mole irregular, blurred or jagged?

Colour - the colour of the mole should be one shade.

Diameter - is the mole wider than 6mm?

If the answer is no to the above - see your GP - better to be safe than sorry!

I hope you have found this useful! Now go out there and be safe!!

To see where I got my information from, and for more information, please visit Cancer Research UK

Disclosure: I am NOT a doctor - all opinions stated in this post are my own. I have researched what I have stated and referenced where relevant. Thank you for reading :)

Internet Free Day?

Even typing the title - I cringed!

I am definitely addicted to the internet and social media - big time. Even when I am talking to people, I sometimes get distracted and peer into my phone.. I know - rude, right?!

I also felt like I was neglecting Greg.. It is so nice to just relax and chat to him about nothing in particular, after work - however, normally I ignore him! I take out my laptop and type away until it is time for bed - then I go on my phone!

After definitely feeling like I have a problem, I decided to start taking internet free days. 

Now, 90% of my job is internet based, so obviously it doesn't include work!

Thursday and Sunday - I don't open my laptop and I don't check my phone (other than for texts or calls) and I give Greg my complete attention!

This will give us more time to tie each others heads together..

Do you have an internet free day in your house? How do you manage your time with your loved ones?

Re-Growing Scraps?

I have always wanted to have a garden where I can grow my own things. I do have a wonderful garden but I have no time to plant or maintain vegetables. So when I heard that you can re-grow lettuce and spring onions - two of the things I use weekly if not daily - I got excited!

I did some research (not gonna lie.. Mainly Pinterest research..) and it looked pretty simple!

Did you know you can freeze spring onions? I didn't, I ended up buying a bunch and them going off before I finished them. I decided to chop what I had, and keep the ends.

Then, I put the ends, upright in a glass with about 2cm of water - just enough to cover the roots. Make sure you keep an eye on the water as the days go by. These suck the water up!

Next, I did the same with the ends of the lettuce. I put just enough water to cover the root of them.

I sat both near sunlight - but not direct sunlight though!

The spring onions started to sprout after a few days. Next thing I knew, they looked like this!

I almost gave up on the lettuce, but on day 5, they looked like this! Yay!

After over a week, they looked like this!

Verdict? It works and is definitely worth a go! Fun for kids too :)

What do you re-grow? What are your tips!?