Monday, 27 October 2014

Review | Taylor Swift 1989 | prettylittlewriter

Apologies for being off the radar for a week or so, I've been having the time of my life down south in Devon for my niece's wedding.

I have been waiting for this day to come for months and finally it's here, the release of Taylor Swift's new pop album, 1989. I love Taylor incredibly and I knew I'd like anything she releases, but I wasn't sure when she announced this album was going to be pop instead of country, but my God she is killing it!


I thought I'd do a little review on the tracks and let you in on my personal favourites from the album!

I have found it particularly hard to select only a few favourites from every single one of Taylor's albums, and 1989 is no exception. Every time I think I've found my all time favourite, she comes along with another epic track.

1. Wildest Dreams
This is probably my current favourite from the album as it fits my personal life right now. The song is all about being with someone/meeting someone and sharing something special, and hoping that they remember you, even if it's only in their wildest dreams.
'He's so tall and handsome as hell, he's so bad but he does it so well, and when we had our very last kiss, my last request is, say you'll remember me standing in a nice dress staring at the sunset babe'

2. Blank Space
This song is all about getting into something with a guy and knowing that it is either going to be incredible or just burn down in flames but not even caring. I love this song because it's showing that Taylor knows exactly what she is doing when she gets into a relationship. 
'Saw you there and I thought, Oh my God, look at that face, you look like my next mistake'

3. Wonderland
A bonus track on the album, this song is all about falling into a kind of Wonderland with a guy; in their own little world just for them even after being warned by other people that it is a bad idea. 
'Didn't they tell us don't rush into things? Didn't you flash your green eyes at me? Didn't you calm my fears with that Cheshire cat smile?'

4. New Romance
Another bonus track, a very upbeat anthem all about not caring what others think and being different and young and reckless.
'Baby, we're the new romantics, come on, come along with me, heartbreak is the national anthem, we sing it proudly'

5. How You Get The Girl
Another really fun and upbeat song, all about the things a guy can do to win over that special girl. 
'I want you for worse or for better, I would wait forever and ever'

6. Shake It Off
Most of you will have heard this track already, and it is one of my favourites because it is just such a fun song and makes me want to dance whenever I hear it!
'Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play, and the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate'

7. I Know Places
Quite a dark track telling the story of a couple being hunted by what can be assumed as paparazzi, and finding places to hide and enjoy their romance.
'Cause they got the cages, they got the boxes and guns, they are the hunters, we are the foxes, and we run'

8. You R In Love
And finally, another bonus track that is all about finding an amazing love and all the little things that let you know that you are in love.
'Morning, his place, burnt toast, Sunday, you keep his shirt, he keeps his word'

Have any of you checked out Taylor's new album? Let me know what your opinions are in the comments! 


Friday, 17 October 2014

DIY Halloween Baking | prettylittlewriter


Today I did a little baking in the form of Halloween Cupcakes!

Now, I am no expert at baking, especially the decorating part of it all, however I think they turned out quite well!

The ingredients you will need are as follows;
2 Medium Eggs
Cupcake mix (or you can make your own if you find a recipe)
2 tbsp Vegetable Oil
60ml Water
Icing Sugar (Cupcake mix often comes with butter icing)
Food Colouring (If you want to make the icing a little more fun!)
Halloween cake decorations

The first thing you must do is set the oven to 180C or Gas Mark 4 to allow it to preheat.
Then add your cupcake mix, water, oil and eggs into a bowl and whisk for 2/3 minutes (by hand or electric whisk) until a smooth and creamy texture.


Next you add your mixture into your cupcake holders trying to spread as evenly as possible.


As you can see, this part can get a little messy, and there would have been 12 altogether had I not had a little accident with one of the paper cups!

Pop these into the oven for around 15-16 minutes, if you have access to a knitting needle or something else thin and long to test the middle of your cakes, do so! Sometimes they can look done on the outside but not quite finished on the inside! You will know they are done as the needle will be clean when you pull it out.


Icing

To make the icing, either use the butter icing that comes with the cupcake mix (you will need 60g of butter to add to the mix) or if you prefer to use icing sugar like I did, add teaspoons of water to it in a bowl and mix until smooth.
This is where I ended up making a mess! When making the icing, I added a little too much water to it, which made it very runny when applying to the cakes. I eventually figured this out and thickened the icing by adding more of the icing sugar to it. I also added some green and orange food colouring to the icing to make it a little spookier!

Once your cupcakes are finished, it is time to decorate them! 
You can add anything you would like to the top of your cupcakes, I chose to use Gelly body parts and sprinkles with some wooden Halloween sticks!



This little guy is my favourite!

Hope you enjoyed this post and are inspired to make your own!


Thursday, 16 October 2014

Primark Haul | prettylittlewriter

Just another Primark Haul!

Hope you enjoy this video! :)



Monday, 13 October 2014

How to | Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate | prettylittlewriter

After being inspired both by the cold weather and one of Zoella's Christmas DIY videos, I wanted to make my own Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolate and I thought I'd share the process with you!

Ingredients

Milk of your choice (I chose semi-skimmed)
Squirty cream
Terry's chocolate orange
Hot chocolate (not a necessary ingredient)
Marshmallows

Equipment

Pan
Mug
Spoon/Stirrer


First I turned on the hob and measured out the milk by simply pouring it in the mug to the amount I wanted and then pouring that into the pan and heating it up. During this be sure to continually stir the milk as you do not want to burn it.


I then added some Aero hot chocolate (which is not a necessary step unless you want your hot chocolate to be really chocolaty!) and stirred that into the milk.

Then I added about half of the Terry's chocolate orange ball to the milk and mixed that in until it was all melted. However half the chocolate orange ball was slightly too much so I'd recommend only putting a quarter in.


I then added some squirty cream and marshmallows to finish it off and voila! My little masterpiece :)


I hope you enjoyed this post and I would love to see you create your own Chocolate Orange Hot Chocolates, it's so simple! 


Thursday, 9 October 2014

Lush Haul | prettylittlewriter


From left to right; Father Christmas Bath Bomb, Northern Lights and Sparkler Bath Bombs, Snow Fairy Shower Gel, Magic Wand Bubble Bar, Snowman Melt and Sparkly Pumpkin Bubble Bar.







 Bath water after using Northern Lights Bath Bomb.




Bedroom Tour | prettylittlewriter

As many of you may know (if you're regular readers) I am now back at University in Lincoln.
That means I am reunited with my favourite place, my bedroom!

I absolutely adore my room and I just think it's so cute and homely, so I thought I'd share a short video of it with you all!


Hope you enjoy! :)


Tuesday, 7 October 2014

Florida Haul | prettylittlewriter

I recently uploaded this video to Youtube but entirely forgot to post it on here for those of you that read my blog but haven't watched my channel!

So here is my Florida Haul :)


Hope you enjoy! 


Halloween Decor | prettylittlewriter

I recently decorated my bedroom with some lovely Halloween items, so I thought I'd share with you all what I bought and how it looks!











 I love the cosy atmosphere all the orange lighting creates, whether that be from the candles or the pumpkin lights! 

I added Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon because he is the 'spookiest' soft toy I have :)

I hope you like this post, I would love to hear from you in the comments!





Monday, 6 October 2014

Halloween Baking | prettylittlewriter

Halloween is slowly approaching and I wanted to share some awesome baking ideas I've found through Pinterest. 

Halloween is my favourite holiday because I love to be scared! Watching scary movies and dressing up gives me a thrill.

I want to start the celebrations a little early by baking some cool cakes and cookies, so here are the ideas I have found that I am going to be trying out! 






The sandwiches are adorable and I will definitely be doing that with mine from now on!

Once I've gathered all the ingredients I need to make them, I will be posting tutorials on them and showing you all what the final result is, so keep checking back in the next couple of weeks!


Sunday, 5 October 2014

Halloween Movies | prettylittlewriter


October is upon us and with that comes cosy evenings by the fire, jumpers, candles and hot chocolate. But best of all is that we're able to watch Halloween films without judgement. 

I thought I'd share with you all my favourite Halloween films and hopefully make you want to watch them yourselves!

 Double Double Toil and Trouble (1993)

This movie features the incredibly talented Olsen twins, not to mention how bloomin' cute they are in this movie! 

The plot revolves around two sisters who's family home is about to be repossessed when they discover that their wicked Aunt Agatha is in fact, a Witch! Thanks to a moonstone she found in the past, Aunt Agatha can cast spells and do all sorts of evil tricks, even keeping their Good Aunt Sophia trapped inside her house. 
Twins Kelly and Lynn have to work together with others to defeat Aunt Agatha, save Aunt Sophia and save their family home.


Halloweentown and Halloweentown 2 (1998 & 2001)

Definitely favourites of mine, Halloweentown revolves around a family of children who have no idea that they have magical blood until their Aunt Aggie comes to visit at Halloween. Aunt Aggie wishes to start the eldest daughter's witch training before her 13th birthday or her powers will be gone forever, but before Marnie can master to art of Witchcraft, many obstacles have to be faced. 
Halloweentown 2 is very similar to the first, the family splitting their time between Halloweentown and their family home, but another baddie announces themselves and they have to defeat them.

 The Witches (1990)

This movie used to frighten me a lot as a child, and it still kinda does! The witches faces are absolutely terrifying!

The story begins with a young boy going away with his family to a hotel and stumbles across a Witches convention planning something evil. The boy has to figure out a way to stop them even after being turned into a mouse!


Scooby Doo and the Witch's Ghost (1999)

Not necessarily a Halloween film, but out of all the Scooby Doo animated movies, I find this to be the spookiest and most relevant to Halloween. 
The plot follows the Scooby gang as they visit Oakhaven, Massachusetts, at the invitation of a famous writer. The gang have to solve the mystery of a Witch's ghost that is haunting the town. 


Another favourite Scooby Doo movie is Scooby Doo on Zombie Island (1998). This is by far the creepiest and scariest Scooby Doo movie, and definitely my favourite! This involves the gang going off to a mysterious Island at the request of a beautiful young woman named Lena. Claiming that the Island is haunted, the gang have to solves the mystery of the 'ghost' and find out who is behind it all. 
There is actually a twist in this movie which I did not expect when I first watched it!