I've Moved...

Hi guys,
This is just to let you know that I have moved my blog to WordPress and I will be posting there most of the time although I may occasionally post here. I would love it if any of you who read this would take a look. I will try and post on Wednesdays like before but a lot like this blog became it will probably be a little sporadic! To go to the website click here or go to www.abigailhyde.wordpress.com if the link doesn't work.

Thank you so much for reading this blog and I hope you like the new site!

Abi

Reeces Peanut Butter Core Cupcakes

Hello guys,

Recently I watched a video posted by Tanya where she and Zoe (aka Zoella) did some baking so because I hadn't baked in a while it made me want to bake! A while back I had the idea of a peanut butter core cupcake recipe and on Saturday my friend Emily came over and we did a few hours of baking! The inspiration for this was Reeces peanut butter cups (which a friend of mine has been eating lots of at the moment!) as they have a chocolate outside and a peanut centre.

Makes 24 Cupcakes

You Will Need:

For the centre:

• 45g unsalted Butter (Room temperature)
• 160g smooth Peanut Butter
• 125g icing sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla Extract

Alternatively you could use 24 Reeces peanut butter mini cups

For the cupcakes:

These are just a Mary Berry fairy cake recipe so if you have a favourite that makes 24 cupcakes then use your own however I used:

• 200g softened butter
• 200g caster sugar
• 4 eggs
• 150 self raising flour
• 50g cocoa powder
• 2 level tsp of baking powder

For the icing:

For the icing I used two different icings for a twisty affect however I used milk instead of dark chocolate for the chocolate butter cream so because the two colours didn't have a distinct different the swirl of colours wasn't noticeable. So make sure you use dark chocolate. To simplify it you could just do one type, but check your using the right measurements.

For the Peanut Butter Buttercream

• 210g icing sugar
• 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 50ml milk
• 55g smooth peanut butter

For the Chocolate Buttercream

• 420g icing sugar
• 55g butter
• 85g dark chocolate
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 3-4 tsp milk (add more if mixture is to stiff)

Method:

To start preheat the oven 200 C/ Fan 180 C

To make the filling:

1. Combine all the ingredients for the peanut butter core in a bowl then mix. 


2. Separate the mixture into 24 1 inch balls for the centre of the cakes.

For the cake mix:

1.Combine all the ingredients in the order they are listed above, in a bowl. 
2. Pour the mixture into 24 cases and fill them only halfway. Then put the peanut butter ball in the centre and cove with the rest of the mixture. 

3.Put in the oven and bake for 12-18 minutes.

Once the cakes are out of the oven and fully cooled pipe the icing on top.

For the icing:

1. Mix the ingredients for each flavour in separate bowls using a spoon or an electric whisk. 

2. Then put two strips of peanut butter icing down the side of an icing bag. Then fill the bag up with chocolate buttercream and pipe the cakes. 

3. If you run out of mixture I would suggest using a new bag rather than trying to put strips of peanut butter icing down the sides of a sticky piping bag! As I used milk choc rather than dark when I piped the similarity of the icing colours meant there wasn't a real swirl however they tasted just as good!

I was very happy with how these turned out as they were delicious! If you try these or have a question leave me a comment. Have a lovely week,

Abi
♥

Spring Time

Hello guys,
Well it's finally getting into the part of Spring where it's nice and warm all the time. This makes all the flowers come out and blossom takes over the trees, So I spent a lot of time just taking photos in my garden of my cats and of some of the flowers. So I wanted to share them but also make the post a little bit more chatty!

As I said, in England the weather is finally getting warmer so there is more sunshine and we have seemed to have gotten past 'April Showers'. I love springtime because of how everything just seems to light up and there is so much more colour. For starters my closet! I love Winter and Autumn fashion; reds and oranges are gorgeous and big jumpers and leggings are so comfy. However I have a lot more pink and pastel clothes! So it is nice to be able to wear those things again as well. I also feel more happy to be healthy compared to the colder months because when it gets hotter there are so many more fruits like mango, strawberries and of course raspberries, which I have been growing in my garden for the last few years.

In primary school during Lunchtime my friends and I used to sit in the field at my school and make Daisy chains and I was so good at making them! So when I was outside in my garden with my cat and I noticed a little patch of daisies, I had to make myself a little flower crown! It's also nice for my garden to have all the pops of colour again and I think the long cold Winter makes me a little bit more grateful!

I hope you've liked this post as it's a little different from my others. Have a lovely week,

Abi

♥

Disney Princess Lessons: Snow White

Hello guys,
As I mentioned in a previous blog post I am a massive Disney lover and the other day I was watching Snow White and I had an idea. I'd been thinking a lot about how I could include some Disney related posts into my blog and then I had the idea of doing a collection of blogposts where I look at the important values a Disney film teaches. Disney Princess films are loved by most, but especially young girls so it is important for these princesses to be a good influence and bring out positive characteristics in them. So I am going to be sharing with you what I have learnt from each Disney princess film, starting with Disney's first; Snow White.

Jealousy is Harmful

In the film the Queen, who consults her magic mirror everyday, is told that she is not as beautiful as Snow White so she plots to kill her. Granted, this is extreme it still teaches that jealousy harms not just others but yourself too. Her judgement, self obsession and jealousy get is the way of her happiness.


Kindness and Friendships are very important

Snow White's heart shone through as she was beautiful both outside and in. Her kindness makes other people want to help her; the huntsman let her go and the dwarfs let he into there home. Her friends rush to try and save her and are always at her defense.


People aren't always what they seem

This is both positive and negative. The obvious negative example is when the Queen disguises herself as an old women and tricks Snow white into eating her poisoned apple. Yes, Snow White was very naive to take food from a creepy old lady so I guess don't take food from strangers is a good lesson too! A positive example of this though is Grumpy the Dwarf who appears as hostile and unwelcoming towards Snow when she first arrived but ended being very attached to her. I think that it shows giving people a chance is important and always showing them kindness even if it's not returned straight away.



Thank you for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this post.  Look out for more like this, with the next being Cinderella, who is Disney's second princess.

Abi

♥

Something New!

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Hey guys,
First of all sorry for not posting on Wednesday, I hadn't planned ahead this week and then I suddenly had a lot of work I wasn't expecting so I didn't have time. 

Secondly I am now on Bloglovin and I would really appreciate it if you would follow me with the link above. I think you would then get notified whenever I publish a post. If you don't have a blog but would still like an account that's fine as you don't need a blog to have one.

Just a short post today but I will be posting again on Wednesday. Please leave a comment if there is anything you would like to see. Have a nice week, 

Abi
♥

Little Things

Hey guys,

One of my friends Charlotte has an amazing blog which I always enjoy reading that you should defiantly take a look at! I have left a link so just click on her name. It has so many lovely beauty posts and lush reviews that have persuaded to go to Lush and indulge in another bath bomb! Recently she posted a couple of posts saying the things she loves. I loved reading that post because it was filled with little things that we sometimes miss but when I think about I really love! So this inspired me to think about all the little things which I love and that make my day that little bit brighter!

1) Tea - I am another Brit who just loves tea! I think tea is magic; whatever life throws at us, we have a tea! You're cold? Have a tea. You're sad? Have a tea. You're ill? Have a tea. But the thing is most of the time it does make things better! Maybe it really is magical...

2) Cats - I am definitely a cat person and while I don't hate dogs, cats will always be my favourite. I have two cats (named Beebo and Hector!) which we got what I was 8 years old and they just make me happier!

3) A warm fire - Sitting by a fire (with my cup of tea of course ;) is just very relaxing. It's quite mesmerising watching all the all the bright flames almost dance around the logs, especially in Winter.

4) Disney Movies - If I'm in a bad mood then the one thing that is sure to cheer me up is a Disney movie. I don't care if it's a classic like Cinderella or something new like Tangled they're all timeless to me! My favourites though are Tangled, Hercules, Mulan and Aladdin.

5) Photography - One of my favourite things too do is too take photos and it has to be one of the best things about blogging! Especially of Nature and things like Mountains which make me feel so small!

6) Church - My Church is full of wonderful, life long friends who are as close as family. There is a real community of love in my Church and I always feel grateful for the encouragement they give me.

7) Laughter - I love a good joke and if someone is crying with laughter it's probably me! But as well as being made laugh, someone laughing at something I've said just makes me happier.

8) Inside Jokes - I love it when someone says something normal too everyone else except one other person and me because of the memories behind them!

Always loved reading!

9) Reading - As much as I love binge watching Netflix and watching Disney I love a good book! Ever since I was little I have loved reading, getting engrossed in a story line and characters, not stopping reading until I've finished! I love the sound of pages of a book being turned too, I'm not sure why, maybe it's because it's a very familiar sound!

10) Aeroplanes - If someone asks what super power I would have if I could I will always say flight and flying in an aeroplane is the closest thing I think I will ever get to that! It also is a great place to take photos whatever the time of day or weather because everything looks amazing!

I have decided to leave it there for now because otherwise this post will be very lengthy! I hope this blog post has made you think about the things you are grateful for, that make you a little bit brighter that you don't always notice. Thank you for reading and enjoy your week,

Abi

♥

A Trip to France - 9 Days in Photos!

Hey guys,

For the last couple of weeks the reason I have not been blogging is because I have been skiing in France! I had such an amazing time so I wanted to write about it. But then I had the idea to do a picture post because I always enjoy them and as per usual I took a lot of pictures...

The 6 AM flights definatly weren't the highlight of the week however I did get some lovely shots of sunrise because I had the perfect seat to take some photos!

Where we were skiing was close to the border between France and Switzerland and the first two of these photos where taken at one of the highest points, which is just over the French border. I thought that the clouds touching the mountain just looked stunning so had to stop skiing to take a photo! The last photo is the top of the run I enjoyed the most, called 'Prolays'.

My younger brother Will had the excellent idea of toasting Marshmallows and as there was already a fire burning in our chalet I thought it was a great idea and just had to join in!

I don't have many pictures of me actually skiing but I do have these two! I am not the best skiier at the moment as I have only skiied for a couple of weeks so I ski mainly blue runs however I have tried a red run too. Skiing is so fun and I am hoping to go again in the next couple of years!

We went into the town a couple of times to do a bit of shopping and stopped in a Café called Beanies. It had the most delicious smoothies and milkshakes so I of course chose a raspberry smoothie!

 Near where we were staying there was a big forest with a long river flowing through it. When we got back from skiing on one day going to the forest was a very scenic place to walk and the sound of the water was relaxing too.

The 'Lac de Montriond' was very near where we stayed so we went to have a look. There is a cafe on the opposite side of the lake so we walked round which was well worth it despite the length because the view from that side was stunning as the mountains where in the background as well.

On our last day of skiing the clouds where very low and in runs higher up than the one in my photo you couldn't see past 50m around you. It was magical as I've always wanted to be in the clouds, but at the same time terrifying because you can't see much at all. After 50m everything just melts into white nothingness. In the second photo we where high enough to be above the clouds with blue sky again, but 200m further down we were surrounded by cloud again!

As quickly as it came the holiday was gone. Although it was sad too leave I was happy to be home after a fun but exhausting week of skiing. I didn't take many pictures on the way home as I read for all of it however I did take this because you can see the huge shadows that the clouds make!

I hope you like this type of blog post because I haven't done one before, maybe it's sometime I should do more often? If you have any ideas for blog posts leave me a comment below. Have a great week,

Abi

♥

Easter Cupcakes!

Hello guys, 
So as it is getting close to Easter I wanted to do an Easter themed bake. After a few ideas I thought that do Carrot cake cupcakes, because of the Easter bunny. 

Easter does mean more to me than just chocolate however I think that the whole celebration whatever your beliefs are is fun. So here is the recipe, if you have any questions please leave me a comment.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes:

3 medium carrots, peeled and grated

100g soft light brown sugar

80g unsalted butter, softened

80g Golden syrup

2 medium eggs

150g self-raising flour

½tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

For the Icing:

50g unsalted butter, softened

110g low-fat cream cheese

225g icing sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

For the Chocolate decorations:

50g white chocolate

Green food colouring

Orange food colouring

Method

1) Melt the white chocolate until smooth, but not too runny. If you are using a microwave take it out every 30 seconds and stir to make sure it doesn't burn. Then split your chocolate 2/3 in one bowl and 1/3 in another. 

2) Add orange food colouring to the bowl with more chocolate and green to the other. Then put some orange into a resealable plastic bag and snip a tiny but of one of the corners so there is a thin whole to pipe with. Pipe lots more carrots onto a piece of baking paper (or whatever shape you choose) then you need in case some break. Once you have done do the same (in a different bag) do the same for the green and add leaves to your carrots. Leave in the freezer/fridge on a tray so they set

3) Preheat the oven to 180°C, which is 356°F. Line a cupcake or muffin tray with 12 cases.

4) First grate the carrots. Then combine the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a large saucepan and melt together over a medium heat. Remove from the heat, then stir in the self-raising flour, salt, bicarbonate of soda, ground cinnamon, grated carrot and eggs. Mix well until you have a smooth batter

5) Pour the mixture into the cupcake cases and bake for 20-25 minutes until risen. When the cakes are done put a cake tester or skewer into one of the cupcakes. If it comes out clean they are cooked. Then cool on a wire rack.

6) Meanwhile, prepare the icing by combining the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla extract together in a large mixing bowl. It is really important you use full fat cream cheese otherwise your frosting will be to runny. If needs be drain your cream cheese before you put it in. Beat using an electric whisk until smooth. Now you can pipe the icing on or just spread on with a spoon.

7) Finally get the carrots from the fridge and if they have set gently remove from the baking sheet and put onto the cakes. Now display on a cake stand and you have finished!

I hope you have enjoyed this blog post, and that you have a very Happy Easter. I am going on holiday so probably will not be blogging for the next two weeks. I'm going skiing in the french alps and am extremely excited!

Abi

♥

Spring Phone Wallpapers!

Hello guys,
A few months ago I posted a blog post sharing a few cute phone wallpapers that where perfect for the Christmas season and it is my most popular post! So I decided that to do another post like that would be a good idea because you guys seemed to like that. If you have any other suggestions of posts you would like to see, leave me a comment. 

The first wallpaper here I think is really chic and I like how the gold is used because it's such a pretty colour. I downloaded the design with an A because my name begins with an A however you can download this wallpaper with an letter. To do that click here.

This next design is really lovely because of how bright and colourful it is. I think that the flowers and the font just work perfectly but it may be a little busy for a home screen, so I will be using it as my lock screen. To see more designs click here.

These design I think is very sweet and girly and I love it! There are two other designs that are of a similar style, so click here to take a look at them. They also come in a size for a desktop wallpaper too.

I think this wallpaper is very chic with the calligraphy style writing and I really like the quotes. It comes in lots of sizes so click this link if you want a better fit for your phone/ laptop. There are also lots of other cute designs on the page if you like this style.

These final two are my home and lock screen at the moment. I think they are so pretty and I like how they match. There are lots of others to choose from however, and it was hard to choose just two to download. There are some cute desktop wallpapers too.

So that are my favourite wallpapers to use from Spring. Let me know what you think in the comments.

Have a lovely week,

Abi

♥

Giveaway!

Hello Guys,

So about a month ago I won a YouTube giveaway from Julia Zuniga, and she gave me four lovely products from the brand 'Younique'. I hadn't heard or tried any products from Younique however I have been really happy with them. So today I will be telling you what I have won!

The thing I was the most excited to receive was the mascara. The mascara I received is called 'Moodstruck 3D Fiber Lashes+' and I am very impressed! I didn't realise this before but Bunny (aka Grav3yardgirl) tried this and she too was impressed. 

The next product and also what I use the most is the blending buds. These, for those of you who don't know, a quite small egg shaped sponges used for blending makeup and they are extremely useful. This is what I use the most out of everything I have received and the smaller blending bud is the perfect size for under eye concealer.

I also received a lip gloss which is so pretty and pink and a little thing I really love about it is that it has a mirror on it which means it is perfect to put in a bag because just in case you forget a mirror and have to re-apply, there is a mirror on the product. The shade of the lip gloss is Lovesick.

And finally my favourite product is the lip liner I received, which I got in the shade Pouty. The shade is gorgeous and I use it so much. It lasts a whole day so is very useful. Out of everything I would recommend this product the most. For those of you wondering what it looks like on, this shade is the one Julia uses in most of her videos, I will leave a link to one here.

Thank you for reading, again I apologise for the huge gap but recently I've been quite busy and last week I was sick and spent three days at home! Please check out Julia's channel here, it is really fun with mainly beauty videos but a few others too. Also if you have any questions about Younique, then leave her your question in the comments of her videos. 

Have a great weak,

Abi 

♥

Exciting News!

Hello guys,

I am a massive High School Musical and I could probably recite for you all three of the incredible films if I tried! I know every song and a year or so ago learnt the 'we're all in this together' dance. 

The movies came out when I was quite little so when my cousin told me they where making these films up to High School Musical 20, I believed him! Although that hasn't happened they are one step closer to reaching that - High School Musical 4 has been announced! Although the original class will not be in the film I am still excited to watch the instalment as it will also feature more of West High Knights, which will be quite interesting! 

So because Disney will be writing the storyline about a whole new class they will obviously be casting new people for the roles and unfortunately the auditions aren't international! I did look up straight away if I could audition but I don't think I will be able too! However it will be nationwide.

So what do you think, will HSM 4 be a success or will it not live up to the first fees standards! 

Sorry I haven't blogged in a while, I will hopefully be posting more and have a few planned already! Have a great week,

Abi

❤️

I'm a Disney Addict!

Hello Guys,

So as some of you may know I love Disney. A lot. If someone said something that's a line in a Disney song, usually accidentally, I will often burst out into song! Which is quite embarrassing sometimes! I of course love watching the movies and something fun is noticing the hidden Easter eggs (for those of you who don't know a Disney/Pixar Easter egg is something or someone from one film 'hidden' in another, but it doesn't affect the plot at all) for example Rapunzel and Eugene going to Elsa's coronation. 

Some clever people who notice these things have made theories online and share them with the rest of us Disney lovers! For example 'Where Elsa and Anna's parents on their way to Rapunzel and Eugene's Wedding on their boat trip?'

A while ago I found the very nerdy Disney website named 'The Disney Theory' and I got very excited! It has a lot of interesting additions to the Disney magic and is defiantly worth the read!

The link is: http://disneytheory.com/

Have a lovely week,

Abi

♥

New Years Resolutions

Hello Guys,

I hope that you are enjoying the new year and that if you have started work or school again it has been as enjoyable as it can be :) ! I know that it is a quite late but today I wanted to talk about New Years Resolutions! I have never really thought about making a New Years Resolution but this year I have decided I have so I wanted to share with you what I am aiming to do this year.

Blogging Once a Week
I have been quite inconsistent with my blogging since December so I am making myself a goal to blog just once a week! Ideas are always helpful so if you have any please let me know in the comments what you would like to see.

Exercise Once a Week 
As some of you may know I am playing the role of Penny Pingleton in my schools production of Hairspray! I used to do Trampoling, Netball and Nike Training after school but because of rehearsals that hasn't been possible. I started running about September last year and would run every Saturday but I became quite unmotivated when it got colder and wetter. So this year my aim is to run 5k every Saturday morning at the park nearest my house. This is organised by Parkrun and it's cool because it gives you your time, personal best, what others have done this week at your park etc so it's a great way to set yourselves goals and see if you have improved over time.

Read One Book a Month
I enjoy reading and it is great to do but I didn't find much time to read much last year so this year I am trying to read a minimum of one book per month. At the moment I am reading 'All I Know Now' by Carrie Hope Fletcher, one of my favourite Youtubers who has played various West End roles, including Eponine in Les Miserables, who she has played for the last few years so is leaving soon :(. Click on her name to check out her channel I'm sure you will enjoy it. Other books I may read are all the Harry Potter Series because I love them!

Do you have any resolutions? If so please let me know I always enjoy reading you comments.

Have a great week,

Abi
♥