Helpful Hints for Sleeping

Morning Beautifuls,

I feel that everyone sometimes goes through hell trying to get to sleep. I certainly do.

Because of this, I have googled ‘how to get to sleep’ numerous times, reading millions of hints, tips, ideas and tricks and tried many of them. Some have failed, others have worked slightly.

Which is why it is now my turn to input into the numerous posts out there and share some of my hints for getting to sleep.

1. Don’t eat anything 1 hour before going to bed – I can’t sleep on a full stomach, it makes me sick. So I try now to not eat anything at least an hour before going to bed.

2. No electronics 1/2 hour before bed, either! – This is a hard one! I love watching videos and TV before going to bed. However, I know that if I don’t that I have a better night sleep and fall to sleep quicker. But yes, this is one of those rules I regularly break.

3. Download a sleep app – These things are incredible (although it does slightly contradict my previous point). The one I use is called ‘Relax Melodies’ and is a free app of various different sounds that you can play. I particularly love the ‘Music Box’ sound and ‘Butterfly’. This app has become my best friend recently as the sounds really help my brain rewind and stop myself from overthinking the whole previous day as I fall asleep.

4. Gentle exercise before bed – Go for a walk, do some yoga, anything gentle that gets your body working slightly.

5. Avoid doing activities during the day on your bed – Yes, sounds weird but I find that this is the worst thing I possibly do. Whenever I spend extended periods of time doing work on my bed, I find it more difficult to fall asleep that night. So, now I make sure that I do work on my table and leave my bed for sleeping. Or, reading, sometimes.

6. Try to wake up and go to sleep every day at the same time – Apparently, this sets a better time for your body clock. I have no idea if that is ‘scientifically proven’ or something, but I do know that if I do try and wake up at the same time every day, I find that I’m awake and more productive during the day. Plus I do sleep better during the night.

7. Hug something – Sounds weird, I know, but here me out on this one. I find that if you hug a pillow (or toy) into your chest when trying to fall asleep, you do end up being more relaxed and get to sleep quicker. That, or I am just really, really weird…

8. Don’t stress – the worst thing you can possibly do when trying to fall asleep is to get worked up about not being able to fall asleep. Believe me, I know. This is happened to me so many times! Just breathe and calm down!

That is all my helpful sleeping hints! Let me know if there is any that you know and have used.

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne

Liebster Award

Morning Beautifuls,

I nearly died of excitement when I finally logged onto my blog for this first time in a few weeks and found that the wonderful Sophie Samantha had nominated me for the Liebster Award (Which is challenging my spelling ability every time I try and write it!). She is one of my favourite bloggers and I really think you should go and give her some love!

So, the rules are:

1. Mention the blogger that nominated you
2. Include 10 facts about yourself
3. Answer the questions that were made by the person who nominated you
4. Make up some questions of your own
5. Nominate some people yourself!

Woah – this is exciting! I’ve never done a Leibster Award before, but, hey, there’s a first for everything! Lets get started!

10 Facts About Myself

Well, I’m going to link you to my 25 Random Questions for this one. I could be here for ages trying to think up facts about myself otherwise.

So onto the most exciting part! The questions!

1. Which country would you most like to visit and why?

Greece or the UK. Although the UK isn’t exactly a country, so I’ll stick to Greece for this one. I fell in love with Italy when I went there and I feel Greece is another place I could fall in love with. There’s a beautiful history to the area and all the pictures of it look gorgeous, sparkling and summery. My uni friend and I always joke about buying a Summer House there and going there every year during the Australian winter!

2. What is your favourite song at the moment?

Bumpers Cars by Alex & Sienna!

3. Is there a language you would like to learn? If you already know another language what is it?

I would love to learn French or Italian. I mean, I did both for a few months somewhere in my schooling, however I would love to be fluent enough in them to be able to hold a conversation.

4. What was the last movie you watched? And did you enjoy it?

This shouldn’t be so hard. I think the last movie I watched was ‘Aladdin’ on the train back from the country. Yes, I loved it – I love ‘Aladdin’, but then again, who doesn’t!?

5. Who is your favourite author? Or book?

I just finished re-reading Amy Ewing’s ‘The Jewel’ and ‘White Rose’ which are definately two of my favourite books at the moment. They are adventure, romance, intense storyline books with twists and turns you just don’t see coming and I have very strong feelings about them.

They. Are. Just. Really. Good.

I love Amy Ewing’s writing style and the way she creates the characters and storyline and background. Just everything.

6. Who are your top 3 inspirational people?

Wow. This is a good question. I live by the philosophy of ‘Everyone Has Monsters’ – weird but it makes sense in my head (maybe I should do I blog post on that?) so I always look up to those who push through the hardest of time. Anyway, enough rambling. My top 3 inspiration people would probably have to be Demi Lovato, Zoe Sugg and my mum. Weird mix, huh?

7. Where is your happy place?

Somewhere in the middle of a forest. Or my house. When I was younger I used to adventure into the bush behind my house and create little fairy gardens in the strangest places I could find – in a cave, beside a creek, in a strange-looking tree. So I think it’s only right that my happy place involves the quiet natural areas I love exploring.

8. What do you like to do in your spare time?

Daydream. It’s a bad habit. Or write blog posts. Or go on adventures. They are probably my top three.

Chill time usually involves binge watching random TV shows or YouTube though…

9. What would be your ideal, dream job? If you already have that, what is it?

Helping others. My ideal job would include travelling, blogging and teaching all mix into ones in areas in need. I would love to do an emersion trip teaching in somewhere like Philippines or Africa for a few months. I’m not very at staying still so I would love to have a job that give me the flexibility to move around and have new experiences. Honestly though, I have no idea. I’ll let you know what my dream job would be when I find it!

10. What do you see as being your main goal in life?

Be happy and make other people happy. I love helping people and showing people the beauty in the world. Wow, this got deep all of a sudden.

My questions are:

1. What is your favourite childhood toy?
2. What is the destination of the trip of your dreams?
3. When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up?
4. What makes you feel warm and cosy?
5. Would you ever go to another planet?
6. Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
7. Who is your favourite superhero?
8.What is your favourite quote?
9.What is your favourite movie series to marathon?
10. Do you like the beach or the mountains?

That is all of it completed. Yay! Thanks again to Sophie Samantha for the nomination. Here are the people I want to nominate:

1. Seagirll
2. Beautiful Beakers
3. Doves and Roses
4. LoveLexy
5. With All My Affection

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne

Bake With Me: Caramel Cupcakes

Morning Beautifuls,

I had a craving for cupcakes the other day – not sure where it came from, but all I really wanted was a cupcake. In particular, a vanilla cupcake with some sort of caramel icing.

Which every shop decided they would not have.

And yes, I was been picky.

So I decided to create my own cupcakes, going home and rifling through the cupboards to make this cupcake of my dreams.

Let me tell you, I think I found it!

Just between you and me, I may have eaten between six and eight of them over two days. They were just really good!

So good that I just had to share them with you! Honestly, these cupcakes were super easy to make, and surprisingly fast! The vanilla cupcake itself was the softest and smoothest cupcake in the world (and I may have eaten a few without icing as I iced some).

I did a lot of cupcake eating in those days, let me tell you that!

What you will need:

• 150g butter (at room temperature) or margarine (that doesn’t have to be at room temperature)
• 150g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 150g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence

In a mixing bowl, cream your butter/margarine and caster sugar until they turn light and fluffy. That seems to be your basic cupcake step, right? Once its fully mixed, add the three eggs, one at a time. I like to turn my kitchen aid/mix master down extremely low and add one eggs, turn it up to about medium until it is mixed in and then repeat with the remaining eggs. For me, this just seems to be the best way to mix the eggs and create a spongy, light cake (or cupcakes!). Next, add the rest of the ingredients (flour, baking powder and vanilla) and mix until the mixture turns a light, creamy colour. This can take between 3-4 mins!

Then comes the fun part! Pick your super awesome patty cases and spoon the mixture 2/3 of the way of the cases you picked! Pop them in a 180^oC oven for 18mins or until slightly browned and ‘bouncy’. Then, if you are impatient, you can munch on one while making the icing.

For the icing, I tweaked a butter cream recipe I used on a regular basis. In this recipe, you mix butter and icing sugar together, adding 10g more icing sugar than however much butter you use. Make sense? I honestly, just measure out some butter and then add however much icing sugar is needed for the icing to form a light, creamy, yummy texture. Then I spooned in two teaspoons of caramel sauce (which is one of the most easiest sauces to make from scratch) and mixed it well into the icing.

Using a star nozzle, pipe some icing onto your cooled cupcakes, then, using a small spoon, feel free to drizzle some more caramel sauce over the top. This adds to the flavour of the cupcakes and creates a more intense caramel taste!

The next step is to enjoy them (all!), or, if you are feeling really, really nice, share them with friends, family or work mates!

How to win friends and influence people – feed them cupcakes! These cupcakes have been the highlight of my week!

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne.

Five Product Makeup Look

Morning Beautifuls,

I hope you are having an incredible day/week/month/year! Mine has been pretty awesome so far.

A while ago, I wrote a post on a 3 Product Makeup Look, where, you guessed it, I only used three makeup products to create a super quick and easy makeup look.

Today I thought I would add to that idea and share with you a 5-product makeup look. I really love this simple idea as it is perfect for lazy days and shows that sometimes less is more! I definitely sometimes think so!

What are the products I picked?

Starting with foundation, I opted away from concealers and liquid foundations, deciding only to use a powder foundation over my face. Sometimes I love having a very natural skin look, only using a bit of powder to ‘correct’ my face (Correct? That isn’t right. Words have eluded me – I can’t think of the right one!). Anyway, rambling.

Next, I decided to add a bit of bronzer. One of my favourite things about bronzer is the fact that it can do three in one jobs on a really lazy day – acting as a bronzer, blusher and contour all in one. I especially love this W7 bronzer as I love its pigmentation, colour and shimmer. And it is really cheap!

This is when I panicked slightly and realised I only have three more items to pick. I had to pick a lip – or in this case, a lipstick – as I really do believe that a bit of colour on your lips definitely can make any look pop!

Then it was onto the eyes. I kept it simple – as usual – and decided to only use an eyeliner and mascara. I found that if you add a brown eyeliner to your top lash line and bottom lash line and then smudge it out, you can create a cheat version of a smoky eye. Then just brush on some mascara and you are done!

A makeup look with only 5 products!

Perfect!

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne.

New Clothes Haul Look Book

Morning Beautifuls,

Look book time!

Yay!

I bought loads of clothes the other day, and instead of just showing you them individually, I wanted to show them to you through potential outfits!

I have to admit, this has to be one of the most fun blog posts I have done – definitely my new way of doing clothes haul posts!

Outfit One

Look! New skirt! I love this brightly coloured maxi skirt as it is perfect fit and the colours work really well together. Matched with a pink skirt and cropped jacket bring out the pinky tones in the skirt. I love this gold necklace with it as well as it adds a bit of glam to the whole outfit! Yay!

– Skirt: Trade Secret ($10.00)
– Pink tank shirt: Target? Maybe?
– Gold necklace: Primark ($8.00 maybe?)
– Pink knit jacket

Outfit Two

I love this button up dress in its bright flowery pattern! The tie around the waist gives it a shape suitable for your body and allows you to play around with cute bows! Add a pair of heels or dressy sandals and you have created a perfect look!

– Dress: Myers ($30.00)
– Brown-gold sandals: Direct Shoe Warehouse ($12.00)

Outfit Three: 

I love these shorts – I actually bought two pairs, the second you will see in a later outfit! They are super comfortable and are great feel and length. Plus the patterns and belt are super cute! To keep with the comfort theme happening with this outfit, I decided to add my super comfy “boat” shoes and a plain white button-up shirt which I tied at the last two buttons. I love this idea with shirts as it adds a bit of a touch to a basic shirt – especially if they are a bit on the loose side!

– White shirt: Target
– Blue patterned shorts: Myers ($25.00)
– Tan boat shoes: Direct Shoe Warehouse (I think!)

Outfit Four: 

Another dress! This one is a bit different to any other dress I own as it has a slight “frill” on the bottom of it. For me, this made it a great dress as it had a really nice flow to it – perfect for spinning around! To make it a bit more dressier, I paired it with a new navy suit jacket – something comfy but smart and some nude wedges!

– White floral dress: Myers ($30.00)
– Navy suit jacket: Trade Secret ($25.00)
– Nude wedges: Direct Shoe Warehouse? I’m sure these have featured on my blog before!

Outfit Five:

This has to be one of my favourite outfits, mainly because I ADORE the look of this jacket! I love how it drops and, yes, it has lovely large pockets! Matched with the pink style of the shorts I bought, a black shirt and my awesome buckled boots and I would wear this look every day if I could!

– Long black ‘striped’ jacket: Myers ($50.00)
– Pink patterned shorts: Myers ($25.00)
– Basic black shirt: Kmart ($5.00? Maybe?)
– Black buckled boots: Some shop in Berlin…

Outfit Six:

My final outfit is this bright circle-skirt dress! I love this bright pattern and again, keeping it simple thought it looked amazing with a pair of black pumps! You could do so much with this dress, and the feel of the material makes it perfect for outfits in both summer and winter!

– Floral circle-skirt dress: Trade Secret ($15.00? Maybe a bit more, I can’t remember)
– Black pumps: Anywhere! These were from Payless Shoes

Hope you enjoyed this style of Clothes Haul and Look Book! I love the fun I had putting together all the outfits and having a mini photoshoot getting all the pictures! Maybe I’ll do another few in the near future 🙂

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne.

Bake With Me: Breakfast French Toast

Morning Beautifuls,

When it comes to eggs for breakfast, I get extremely picky. Some days I want poached eggs. Other day I feel like scrambled eggs.

Most of the time, I have a craving for French Toast.

Which is what I wanted this morning when I woke up.

I love French Toast for two main reasons – one, it is super easy to made and can never really go wrong, and two, it tastes AMAZING!

So, I wanted to share with you my quick and easy recipe – something you ca whip up on a lazy Sunday morning!

What you need:

• At least two eggs per person (this makes about 2 and a half slices of French Toast)
• 1/16 of milk per person (or, you know, a ‘dash’)
• Enough bread of whatever you desire (for me, thats wholemeal bread)
• A dollop of butter to grease your fry pan

Prep is super easy, crack your eggs into a container (preferably a square shape one that fits a piece of bread), add milk and whisk until a nice creamy, smooth consistence. Or until your tummy grumbles and you decide that your done with whisking.

Then plop a piece of bread in, flip it over so that both sides are coated in eggy goodness and put it in a fry-pan on low to medium heat. Wait about 2-5mins until one side is golden brown and the egg is at prime ‘cooked-ness’ before flipping it over and repeating with other side.

Then all that is left is to enjoy your delicious creations!

There are so many different ways to enjoy French Toast – you can add a spread of your favourite jam on top, drizzle it with a bit of honey or maple syrup, sprinkle it with some cinnamon or even enjoy it with some fresh fruit and berries.

For me? I love it plain. Nothing can beat plain French Toast!

Hope you enjoyed this blog post and that it made you hungry because there is never a wrong time to cook French Toast! Breakfast, lunch or dinner, you are definitely sorted! Even a sneaky midnight snack!! 👌👌👌

Love you all lots and see you soon!

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne 😊

 

 

Three Product Makeup Look

Morning Beautifuls,

For the past few months, I’ve been super lazy when it comes to makeup. I used to like getting ready in the morning and going through my usual makeup routine, however now I spend my time doing other things (like sleeping), only really giving myself five minutes tops to get ready.

Which is why this three product makeup look has become my go to look. I feel like it is a really simple (but effective!) everyday look, and gives your skin time to breathe from those ‘heavier’ makeup days.

Also it takes no time at all!

Firstly, you could use any similar products you have – I love these ones because they are small and compact and I can chuck them into my bag in case I want to top up my look throughout the day (which I don’t) or if I want to leave the house without makeup but maybe put some on later (which I have done!).

As this is a look that I wear on good skin days, I usually avoid concealers and foundations and go straight to a eyeshadow. I love wearing a colour similar to my skin colour, just slightly more bronzer and lightly. Mac ‘Gleam’ is a perfect colour for this for my skin and I love the shimmer in it! I brush this all over my upper lid and underneath my eye, making sure to go up to my inner corner and flick it slightly at my outer eye.

Next is mascara. I love Soufflé by W7 – it is very well priced but doesn’t feel cheap when on. The brush is also very fat, giving a full look to your eyelashes without having to coat on heaps of product. I find with this product, the less you use the better. It gives you a more natural look.

My advice for this look when it comes to lips is go for something natural with more of a brown tone that a pink. I fell in love with Mac ‘Persistence’ when I tried it in the shops and have been wearing it for days on ends – sometimes as the only makeup product I wear for that day. Rimmel and Maybelline also do cheaper alternatives and have a very good variety of colours. My other favourite nude colour that I own in Rimmel Kate Moss collection in 03. Its probably a shade lightly than the Mac one but as you can see it has been very well loved!

Hope you like this post!

Keep smiling,

Kay Anne

Sneak Peak: 12 Blogs of Christmas

Morning Beautifuls!!

I’m SUPER DUPER EXCITED today!!! Why? BECAUSE I GET TO START THE FIRST OF MY CHRISTMAS BLOGS!!!

Yes, I love holidays. Yes, I love baking. Yes, I love decorating. Yes, I love giving (and receiving) presents. So yes, I absolutely love Christmas.

WHICH IS AWESOME! Even though I’m not on holidays just yet. But it is a-okay to be excited a bit early. Its Christmas.

I’m pretty sure I’ve said the ‘C’-word enough now to warn you that it is involved in this blog. Now, I was going to do blogmas but seeming I am away and slightly preoccupied until the 12th, I decided to make my own Christmas blog idea and do – what I am calling – the 12 Blogs of Christmas. From the 14th of December up until Christmas, I promise you give you a Christmas-related blog post each day.

There. I’ve said it. I’ve committed now. And if there is any Christmas-blog you want to see me do, please feel free to let me know!

But, today I thought I would give you a sneak peak (which is maybe extremely influenced by what I am going to show you).

This is a present I received and opened only a few hours ago – Why I opened it early? Well, it was a homemade advent calendar. AND IT IS INCREDIBLE!! Best present idea? I think so! (Acknowledgement here to the incredible, amazing person who gave it to me –  You are amazing, thank you beautiful!). Apparently, it is full with all these new, wonderful beauty-related products I can test (and probably fall in love with) over the next few months. Only time will tell if that statement is true.

I am speechless.

Want a peak inside? Obviously! I did open the first six parcels in excitement (and may have tried two or three already…)

Can’t wait for the surprises to come! Advent calendars are the best!

Hope the Christmas joy is treating you well!!! Go deck those halls with boughs of holly!

Keep smiling!! Only nineteen more days to go!

Kay Anne

Spring Look Book!

Morning Beautifuls!

So, I know half of the world is in Autumn at the moment with spicy hot beverages and crunchy leaves, but the other half is getting into the hot weather connected to Spring. Which, funnily enough, is where I am.

Spring is my absolute favourite season at the moment. Cute little baby animals, bright spring flowers and the sun.

Yes, Sun. The sun actually comes out in Spring. I know, shocker!

I had so much fun doing my Winter Look Book that I was bouncing off the walls when I realised I had the opportunity to now create my own Spring Look Book! These have been my most loved outfits already, so I thought I would share them with you. Shake off those winter feelings, grab your pina colada (topped with one of those cute little umbrellas) and enjoy!

Outfit One:

• Flowery Navy and White Dress (Myer)
• Thick Black Belt (Target)
• Silver and Blue Butterfly Bracelet (Which I got from Fiji, but I’m sure you can find a similar one somewhere closer!)
• Stud Earrings (Lovisa)
• Flowered Flip Flops (KMart)

Outfit Two:

• Jumpsuit (Myer) – Can I say, how adorable is this jumpsuit! I love, love, love it to death!
• Aqua Clutch Bag (Colette)
• Aqua and Gold Bangles and Earrings (Colette)
• Aqua Belt (Target)
• Grey Lace-Ups (KMart)
• Sunglasses (Crossroads)

Outfit Three:

• Button Up Sleeved Shirt (Kmart) – I tie this up at the second or third last button
• Denim Shorts (Kmart)
• Blue and Brown Clutch
• Gold Owl Necklace (Collette)
• Gold Hoop Earrings
• Black Converse Shoes

Outfit Four:

• Sheer Purple Collared Top (Cotton On)
• Leopard Print Skater Skirt (Cotton On)
• Nude Flats (Payless Shoes)
• Purple and Orange Purse (Guess)

Outfit Five:

• Purple Singlet Top (KMart)
• Black Knit Shirt (Crossroads)
• Floral Shorts (Target)
• Nude and Black Flats (Dexflex Comfort, Payless Shoes)
• Royal Blue Bag (Forever New)

Outfit Six (And by far the most comfiest!):

• Black Three-Quarter Leggings
• Pink Diamante Sleeveless Shirt (Cotton On)
• Black Converse Shoes

Hope you enjoyed the looks!!! See you soon 🙂

Keep smiling!

Kay Anne

Product Review: Peter Alexander Pyjamas

Morning Beautifuls,

Is it weird to want to review Pyjamas? I’ve been dying to write this for a while now and with Christmas coming up I thought I better do it as it could help with present buying. If you are as terrible as me, the more ideas you can get the better.

I love pyjamas to death. If I could only wear one item of clothing for the rest of my life, it would be pyjamas. However, I have the major dilemma in Summer about sleeping and heat and pyjamas and all those lovely things that end up leading to sleep deprivation that everyone suffers through the boiling months. I have never found a pair of Summer pyjamas that do the psycho weather and are comfy and cute – I honestly don’t think pyjama factories take into consideration heat and comfort when making pyjamas sometimes.  For example, I need shorts – nighties are definitely not my thing. Which again brings me back to the major summer issues. See my problem?

Well, my wishes have been answered.

I have never been so impressed by Summer pyjamas before in my life.

S0, introducing my Peter Alexander pyjamas.

These are the most comfortable summer pyjamas in the world. The material they are made out of is so, so, so soft and the top is amazingly baggy that it is like heaven. Although the shorts are slightly short, they are lovely comfy material and are so amazing to wear. All the time. Every night. And during the days. Plus the design is amazing. I mean, its a rabbit with glasses and multi-coloured hearts!! Adorable.

  

Only issue is their price range. Yes, Peter Alexander isn’t that cheap, however I do think it is a great present idea as they have some incredible sales around Christmas and throughout the year. Plus their stock turnover is amazing, with new stuff coming in, with the diversity incredible and catering for different personal styles. As i am writing this, Super Heroes are they newest range out (I think). And they are pretty awesome! Yup, do give it a look! (Linked here!)

Keep smiling!

Kay Anne.