Simple But Tasty #2: Spaghetti Carbonara

I love pasta dishes – my hips and thighs don’t though! However I had to share this with you. It’s definitely tasty, but maybe not quite so simple. But, I figure if I can cook it right the first time, then everyone else can as well! I used this recipe to feed three, however that was at a push. Adjust quantities as you see fit.

You will need:
8 rashers of back bacon (smoked or unsmoked)
3 garlic cloves (crushed and diced)
1/2 of an onion (or more if you prefer)
3 eggs
200ml double cream
75g of grated Parmesan cheese
Spaghetti (portions are up to you – I just guessed!)
Mushrooms (as many/little as you want – I added a few for my boyfriend and flatmate)
3tsp olive oil

1) Start the spaghetti to cook. It can be left to it’s own devices while you’re preparing the sauce.

2) Heat the oil in a frying pan and throw in the diced up onion and garlic. Chop up the bacon (removing as much of the rind as you can) and throw that into fry as well.

3) While the spaghetti is boiling and the bacon frying, mix up the 3 eggs, the double cream and cheese in a bowl together. It won’t look very appealing. But it will when it’s all combined!

4) When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it. Pop it back into the pan and add the now fried bacon, onion and garlic before adding the sauce. Mix it altogether on a lower heat until the cheese is basically melted and it looks and smell delicious.

5) Serve immediately – add a salad or some garlic bread to make a real meal out of it.

I found a lot of the ingredients where just guesstimations. You’ll know how much of everything you’ll personally need for whoever your feeding though. Enjoy!

Summer is here…

Picture from Flickr, artist and link unknown.

Exam’s are finished. University is finished. Summer is well and truly here. The sun is shining, the birds are chirping and I don’t have very much to do for the next three months. Just working, tanning, playing on the various consoles the flat I’ve moved into has and, of course, blogging! I have a small pile of products to review for you and lots to talk about.

Look out for:

• Herbal Essences Perfect Ends shampoo and conditioner
• Bourjois Healthy Mix Foundation
• Bourjois Brush Concealer
• The Body Shop Sweet Lemon lip butter
• The Body Shop Vanilla body lotion
• A yummu spaghetti bolognaise sauce which is so easy

And a lot more. I hope everyone’s well and looking forward to summer!

The Body Shop Haul

I paid for express delivery (£3.99) for my order for two reasons: 1) I was paying so little for my actual order; and 2) I actually move into a new flat on Wednesday 2nd, so I was concerned that standard delivery would not reach me in time, especially with the amount of orders they must be recieving. Checking the website, the 30% off offer is still running and at the time of writing this (11.30am), standard delivery was free, though I’m not sure how long this will last for. Remember to get an extra 20% off on top of the 30% by checking this post from yesterday.

I bought four items – one was actually a repurchase, but I’ll get to that. First, I want to show you my favourite thing from my haul:

Hello Face and Body brush! Normal price £14, but with the 30% off it was only £9.80, then with another 20% off it was only £7.84! I think that is a really bargain – almost have price (44% off for any maths geeks who care)! Let’s have a minor close up of those lovely soft bristles:

I can’t wait to use this – it’s just so soft and luscious. I’ve only ever heard good things about The Body Shop brushes. Let’s move on though.

I had problems with my camera today, so for those of your who are having a bit of trouble seeing the photo, it’s Sweet Lemon Lip Butter. And it smells amazing. I actually wanted to buy the shower gel as well from this new range, but sadly it was sold out. The Lip Butter normally retails for £5, but 30% gives you £3.50 and then the extra 20% off meant I only paid £2.80!

I almost don’t want to use it. It looks so nice and I might just carrying it around with me to smell it at regular intervals. The smell is a real sweet lemon – nothing like your washing up liquid by the sink which smells more like disinfectant. I might get the body butter to match this after I finish up my next purchase.

Vanilla Body Lotion. Which at 200ml, is a lot smaller than I though it would be. Normal price is £7.50, 30% off price is £5.25 and the extra 20% off meant I only paid £4.20. And for a bottle that size, I’m glad that’s all I paid. It really doesn’t look like it’s going to go a long way. It does, however, smell exactly how vanilla should smell – warm, slightly sweet and a little bit musky. Not at all like the over bearing sweetness of the Treacle Moon vanilla range.

The last purchase of my haul is the repurchase. Sorry for the blurry picture, so for those who are having trouble seeing what it is, it’s Vanilla EDT (30ml). Normal price is £8.50, 30% off is £5.95 and the extra 20% off meant I paid £4.76! I’ve been running out of perfume since March, but haven’t had the time to go out and find a new designer smell I like (because I don’t like to stick to the same perfumes from designers if I can help it – I might miss something even better). This though will tide me over until I get a chance to nip into town (which at the rate I’m going right now won’t be for another two weeks!). Pretty much the same as the body lotion though – smells exactly how vanilla should. I love wearing this perfume.

I really can’t wait to try out my new brush as well as the lip butter, and hopefully I’ll be able to get reviews up for at least one item from this haul. A lot of the products are classics, but it’s always nice to get a new perspective on things (especially when companies are constantly changing the formulas and what not),

And as you can probably see, I’m still studying for exams – I have one on the 1st and the 2nd of June. The 1st is going well and I’m not worried about that, but the 2nd… not so much. We’ll just have to see I suppose.

I hope everyone’s well and has a wonderful weekend. More from me next week or the week after!

Body Shop – 30% off! Plus extras!

Can’t believe no one else has mentioned this today, yet! 30% off The Body Shop (in store and online, I believe), plus if you shop online you get FREE standard delivery on everything! As an extra treat, use VOUCHER20 or SUMMER20 and get 20% extra off! I managed to get a body lotion, lip butter, EDT spray and make up brush for less than £20! Reviews to come! And more blogging as well soon – almost finished my exams.

Review: Simple Kind to Skin Hydrating Light Moisturiser

I’m bringing the first blog post in almost a month to you from the middle of a revision session. I’d also like to add that the book above was actually taken out the university library and some one had already highlighted it – score!

Anyways. My skin is horrific. It’s dry, it’s shiny, it’s spotty, it’s clean – it really just can’t decide. I had been using the Garnier Gel Moisturiser I was going to review, but that was just making my skin extra dry (and it was just horrible). I needed a moisturiser which was thick enough to really make my skin take a drink, but not so heavy it was going to take a year to dry. Enter Simple’s offering, which was on a £2 special in Asda last week – not too sure how much it is normally. What do you get for your pennies though?

The box is full of little promises: “Smile, it’s simple… when your skin’s happy and fresh faces, you feel healthier and happier too. Our Hydrating Light Moisturiser is a perfect blend of active ingredients and vitamin goodness to keep your skin replenished and hydrated. Perfect even for sensitive skin.” It also boasts two vital vitamins, pro-vitamin B5 and Vitamin E as well as two skin loving nutrients of glycerine and borage oil seed. To be honest, I’m not sure what all that means – but I bet it’s good things. And as with all Simple product there are no perfumes or colours, which is something I can really get on board with.

And a simple bottle. Easy to hold and easy to use, espcially when this is how you dispense the product:

It’s taken me a good week to be able to get the moisturiser out without either getting too much or not enough. This is a little bit of a flaw with this product – a pump would have worked a lot better.

Nice and thick, without being too thick. IT’s not trying to run away from my hand into my lap, that’s for sure.

And it rubs out to a nice thin layer. It’s easily absorbed into skin and dries off pretty quickly.

This is where I should mention that when they say light, they mean light – this is definitely a day time formula and for real results this would probably have to become part of a day and night routine. It has helped with my dry skin on my face, but I’m still having a few problem areas.

Definitely value for money if you can get it on special offer, and if it’s less than £4 then I’ll probably end up buying it again. I’d give it 3.5 out of 5, with points lots of the design of the bottle and for being just a little bit too light. Comes in 125ml size.

Review: Tesco Vitamin B Face Scrub

Tesco is cheap. And simple. It is a super market after all. A few months ago everyone was raving in the blogosphere about their Vitamin E range which is cheap as chips – the scrub above was a bargain at only 72p when I bought it two months ago. It’s your standard size facial product and can be found in the skin care/bath/hair aisle of your local.

I don’t think this product. At all. And calling it a scrub is a disgrace.

Sorry about my veiny hands. But have a look at that splodge of the face wash. There’s bubbles, sure, but no scrubby bits. The only time I have ever felt any “scrub” from this product is when I had to use it as an emergency hand wash. On my face is just feels like a horribly soapy face wash.

It also tends to leave a filmy residue which isn’t very pleasant and the smell is a bit discount washing up liquid, to be quite honest. If you use a cloth, it does the job and get’s your face fairly clean, but it’s most definitely not for me. It creates too much of a lather and is just really runny as a product.

Out of 5, this gets a low low low 1. The one is for the price – as a bargain face care range I’m sure it does the job, but I won’t be buying again. I’m keeping it in my bathroom as an emergency product, but secretly I’m just hoping my flatmates will use it all up.

Blogsale #1

My first blogsale. I just need to get rid of this stuff (and I need the money!). I have feedback on eBay and on Livejournal’s TSUK if anybody would like to see it. This stuff must goooooo!

Terms:
- No trades; I really need the extra space and money.
- Price includes postage and PayPal fees.
- I can do offers on more than one item.
- Make me an offer on stuff anyways, as long as it’s not completely ridiculous, I’ll probably say yes.
- I won’t be able to post these until Tuesday as I’m at uni all day tomorrow.
- I can get more accurate measurements no problem.

Please note that I will be at work from 1.30pm until 10pm or so, so may not be able to get back to you until tomorrow morning.

Clothes:

1. River Island Black and Silver Sparkle Vest-Dress, size 12 -  £7
  
- Comes to mid thigh
- Quite stretchy
- Worn a handful of times
- Cost about £16 brand new last summer.
- Closer view of the sparklyness. It’s looks grey, but it is most definitely black with silver sparkles:

2. Primark Grey and White men's cardi - size Men's Small (Would fit a 10 to 14 I reckon!) - £4
 
- Worn once
- No missing buttons or pulls

3. Miso (Republic) Brown Knit Jumper with Plait Sleeves - size 10 - £7
 
- Worn twice, if that
- Would comfortably a size 12
- Sleeve details:

4. New Look Bubble Hem and Sequin Grey Dress - size 8 - £10
 
- Quite heavy to post
- Better for bustier ladies; I'm a size 12 with 30E/F boobies and it was still a bit scary to wear for fear of a slip!
- No missing sequins as far as I can see
- Only worn once

5. Dorothy Perkins Black Embelished Neck Dress - size 10 - £12
 
- Only worn once and was about £30 new!
- I pull up the bottom hem and make it kinda bubble dress-ish, if you can imagine what I mean. Makes it quite short though!
- Detail of neck:

- No missing sequins - they just wouldn't lie flat!

6. New Look Grey/Black/Slate Yoga Pants - size 10 - £4.50
 
- I'm not sure what to name the colour, they're kind of faded black, but that's the colour they were when bought
- Normal leg length, about 32 inches or so.
- Stretchy waistband, the tie is only for decoration.

7.Internacionale Black Short Shorts - size 10 - £5
 
- Made of a sort of polyester so they’re a little bit shiney.
- I had a do a quick mend job on the hem on one of the legs, didn't get a very good picture though:

-It definitely needs neatened up - I can do this before they're sent out, or I can knock the price down if you want to leave it and do it yourself.

9. Quiz Grey and Silver Short Pleat Skirt - size 12 - £6
 
- Invisible zip at the back
- The buckle is only decoration, I stitched it down as it just kept coming apart
- Size 12 is the upper limit of this skirt - probably better for a size 10!

10. Logo Black Pleat Skirt - size 14 - £4.50

- Worn a lot, but still a strong black colour
- Invisible zipe at the back or side - can't quite remmeber.
- Definitely not for a size 14, a size 12 is the upper limit for this skirt!
- Sorry it's creased, I can iron before sending out!

11.Warehouse Embelished Neck Top - size 12 - £5
 
- Worn once or twice
- Close up of the sequins:

- Various sizes of beads and sequins
- Close up of the one imperfections:

- The sequin is still attached, but I'm not sure how to tight it up. I can have a fiddle with it, or leave it like that for a little bit cheaper.

12. Quiz Black Sequin Detail Top - size 12 - £7
 
- Lovely stretchy top
- No sequins missing
- Definitely for the brave - makes boobies redonkudonkulous!

Jewellery:

13. TopShop Pearl and Bead Strechy Bracelet - £4.50
 
- The ribbon can be untied to make the bracelets individual, I think. Never tried!
- Only worn once.

14. New Look Long Dull Silver Necklace - £4
 
- Long length - reaches just below my boobs.
- TopShop had a similar necklace, but it was much more expensive!
- Worn a handful of times.

15. I Love You Necklace - £3.50
 
- Worn a handful of times.
- Some slight yellow discolouration on the chain, I couldn't get a brilliant picture of it though. It's about an inch a half long.
- I don't know how easy it would be to clean off the discolouration.

16. H&M Silver Heart Necklace - £3.50

- This is slightly longer length than most normal necklaces. Hangs somewhere in the middle of my cleavage

17. Tiny Turtle Necklace - £3.50
 
- Worn once
- The turtle is kind of wooden and the chain is gold coloured.

18. Mini Piano Necklace - £3.50
 
- The charm is a distressed gold colour and the chain is gold colour
- The lid of the piano opens, but I couldn't get a very good picture:

19. Pink Plastic Bow Bracelet - £4
 
- I think it's about six inches in length, can measure on request.
- Fastenings are gold coloured.

Leave a comment if you’re interested in anything.

Coming soon…

Long break is long. I’m going to try and not let it happen again, I promise! Coming soon to Not So Fabulous:

• A review on the Tesco Vitamin E Scrub which was a bargain at 72p or so. Everyone was talking about them a while back, but I didn’t see many reviews!
• A review on Garnier Skin Naturals Fresh Day Cream/Gel (I’ve thrown out the box so I’m not too sure of the actual name at the moment).
• A review on the DiorShow Black Out mascara I bought (mentioned in my last post).
• A new series on weight loss and staying fit. I’m trying to lose weight, and I want you all to join me on my journey.

See you all soon!

Small Haul: Chanel and Dior

About 3 weeks ago there was a Debenhams Spectacular sale… thing. Beauty normally get’s about 10% off or so, which is good enough for me.

I needed some new mascara and a new setting powder so I thought why not treat myself? I ended up buying DiorShow Black Out and Chanel’s Poudre Universelle Compacte (in translucent).

Obviously the powder doesn’t look anything like that any more I got both of them for less than £50 – which is a lot to spend on two items of make up, I know. I’m regretting it a bit now. But the mascara is brilliant and is only going to get better over the next week or two and the powder is ok. I might do reviews on both later.