Cooking with Kirsti #2

Thursday 6 December 2012







Why hello there!!

Another installment of Cooking With Kirsti ... today (well Sunday!) i made my first ever trifle. Decided to give myself a head start and do a practice run for Christmas Day. Very easy to do, so i'm pleased with that :) Here's what i did ...

Ingredients:
 
Jelly (strawberry)
Sponge fingers
Custard
Dream Topping
Flaked Almonds
Dark chocolate
 
Firstly i took my trifle bowl (i say trifle bowl, i don’t actually own one yet! I had to buy this Pyrex bowl when buying the ingredients as that’s all they had, lol) and laid sponge fingers over the bottom of the bowl as a base ... i think when i make this again i may use different sponge instead of the fingers but that’s purely for aesthetic reasons.

 
I then made up the jelly and poured over the sponge base. The sponge fingers then rose and mixed in with the jelly. At this point you could add some fruit pieces to the mix but i forgot to buy fruit when shopping! I left this overnight to set in the fridge.

 
The next day i poured a carton of custard over the jelly and sponge. As mentioned in my first cooking post I’m a lazy cook so i bought pre-made custard, you can make your own if you wish (and have the time!)

 
I then mixed up the Dream Topping. I have never even heard of Dream Topping before, my mum always uses whipping cream with icing sugar for the topping of a trifle but the boyfriend insisted i made it the ‘proper’ way so i hunted it down and gave it a whirl. O.M.G !! Why have i never tried this before, it was absolutely amazing ... i even licked the bowl!

 
To finish I quickly crushed up some flaked almonds and made some dark chocolate shavings and sprinkled over the top. I then left to set for a couple of hours in the fridge and viola! A simple, pimple trifle!
 
 
What trifle tips do you have?
 
xoxo
 
 
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Lee Stafford - ArganOil Deep Nourishing Treatment

Tuesday 4 December 2012





Quick review today of Lee Stafford's ArganOil Deep Nourishing Treatment. Recently my hair has turned extremely dry and frizzy in places so in a mad panic on night i splurged on the Boots website and treated myself to a whole bunch of treatments and conditioners to try and bring it back to life.

One of these products was Lee Stafford's ArganOil Deep Nourishing Treatment - a little expensive at £14.99 for a 200ml pot but luxurious and nourishing none-the-less.

This treatment was a thick white conditioner, you needed to use an 'egg sized' scoop and massage through from roots to ends. I found i only got 5 uses out of a 200ml pot which works out at an equivalent to £3 a use!

ArganOil Deep Nourishing Treatment is non-greasy and leaves your hair feeling soft and moisturised. I must admit that i didn't really notice that this product did anything special to my hair until the last use when i used about a dollop and a half to use up the pot - after i had dried and styled my hair it felt extremely soft and silky. Up until this point i hadn't been overly thrilled and i don't think i will be repurchasing. I cant really justify £15 on a conditioner that isn't a wonder product and that i only get 4-5 uses out of a tub.

I do love Lee Stafford's product (the Hair Growth products are fab!) but on this occasion they haven't worked for me.

Have you tried this product? What are your wonder products for dry hair?

xoxo

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All I Want For Christmas ... a xmas wishlist

Sunday 2 December 2012


 
On the first day of Christmas .... Tra la la la la, la la la laaaaaaaaa ...
 
I'm well and truly embracing Christmas this year! Yesterday i spent the day doing Christmas crafts and putting up a little pink tree with the boyfriend's little girl. We made angels and Santa's out of toilet roll tubes!
 
I put together a little Christmas Wishlist ... i don't for one second think I'll ever get a Chanel bag but hey, aim high ;)
 
Up until yesterday i didn't think there was anything i wanted for Christmas except maybe an iPad but a quick late night online window shop proved very fruitful and i found some little gems that I'd like to see in my stocking!
 
Anything Santa doesn't bring I'll add to my birthday list which is only 2 months away now, ha.
 
Also, i just need to add this was my first attempt at a product collage and I'm quite impressed. Teaching myself basic Photoshop skillz at half 7 on a Sunday morning is not what i envisioned but at least i achieved something this weekend :p
 
xoxo
 
 
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Lush Butterball ...

Friday 30 November 2012





Two nights ago, with the boyfriend at the pub i run myself a steaming hot bath, lit some new winter scented candles and let off a Butterball bath bomb into the bath. It was the most delightful bath EVER!!

Butterball has a heavenly vanilla scent, and silky soft moisturising cocoa butter chunks infused within it.

Mine fizzed and dissolved quickly but didn't leave any bubbles. I wondered if this is because i had this bath bomb for about 6 months or more but forgot about it during busy times and moving, etc. This is the second Butterball I've used and cant remember whether the first one let off any bubbles either - anyone know?

The scent is long lasting which i love and my skin feels thoroughly replenished after use. One note, it does leave a greasy residue around the bath afterwards so best to give the bath a quick wipe over when you get out.

I absolutely adore this product, i think this is actually my favourite Lush product! It is also a steal at just £2.45 :)


What's your favourite Lush product?

xoxo

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Cooking with Kirsti #1

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Lets rewind the clock 12 months shall we!

I was a very undomesticated chicka spending my time between living at home with my parents and living out of a bag at the bf's. Now i have my own place, do all of the cleaning (yep that's right Samuel i have named and shamed you :p ) and have some cooking skillz which have appeared from nowhere!

I'm hoping to share some of my cooking accomplishments here on the blog - the majority of them will be simple and quick #winfortheworkinggirl

Today we have Sausage Casserole:





Ingredients:

Sausages
Onions (I used 1 large white and 1 small red)
Peppers (Green, yellow, red)
Mixed Mediterranean veg medley (not pictured)
Herbs (Mixed herbs and basil)
Stock pot (not pictured)
Gravy granules (not pictured)
Casserole mix

I decided to use the slow cooker to cook the casserole as i put this on at about half 10 in the morning after breakfast one Sunday and did the housework while it was cooking, by the time i had finished a top to bottom clean it was lunchtime and ready to eat, yum!

Firstly i cooked through the sausages in the oven for 20 mins.

I get very confused with slow-cooker cooking. I have a cookbook dedicated to cooking all things slow and it always says to cook the meat and veggies first - surely this defeats the purpose of the slow-cooker!?

Anyways, while the sausages were cooking i chopped up the onions and peppers and fried them off on the hob until soft and then added them to the slow cooker.

I then added a handful of frozen Mediterranean vegetables, herbs (i used a shake of mixed herbs and a pinch of basil), a Knorr stock pot, a tablespoon of gravy granules (Bisto Best), 300ml of water and the contents of a Casserole mix packet (this was in fact a lamb version that you are meant to shove in a bag and cook in the oven but I'm a maverick and don't follow the rules :p )

I then added the sausages and stuck the slow-cooker on medium. It then cooked for around 3 hours; stirring occasionally.

I served this with Yorkshire pudding boats but #bloggerfail i didn't take any final pictures!

You may notice that some of the ingredients aren't pictured - I'm one of those cooks that scours the cupboards as they go seeing what else they can throw in or needs using up :) anyone else do this!?

It was a rather scrumptious dinner, albeit a little bit cheating with the packet mix but hey-ho ... I'm a busy gal ;)

Hope you enjoyed my first cookery lesson - let me know if you'd like to see more :)

xoxo

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I'm bring Emo back ...

Monday 26 November 2012

 

 
1. Bargain dress - ebay 2. oh haii there 3. MAC Cremesheen Lipstick - Lickable
 
My first OOTD since reviving the ol' blog!
 
I absolutely love this outfit (the bf does not!) It reminds me of cute Japanese/schoolgirl fashion.
 
This dress was an absolute bargain find on ebay for 99p, love it when this happens. Its exactly what i had been looking for :) I teamed it with a long sleeve black tee from Primark's basics section and some opaque tights.
 
Not seen in these pics but i was also wearing my Creepers! I think i shall call these my Marmite shoes as you either love them or hate them (most people i know hate them!)
 
And what do you guys think of the lipstick? Wearing MAC's Lickable which is a real bright pink! I'm still undecided.
 
xoxo
 
 
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I'm back, bitches!

Sunday 25 November 2012

 
Oh haii there BlogWorld!
 
After a rather long hiatus i have decided to bring my blog back to life. I just couldn't leave it as my last post being a million pictures of me from my younger days with some questionable hairstyles. Heavy blunt fringe anyone - cringe!?
 
I have no excuse as to why i went away for so long - i guess i just lacked the inspiration; that and living out of a bag for 4 days out of 7 doesn't really make for good blog content, y'know!
 
Some major changes have happened since we last spoke ... i moved out of my parents and into a fabulous house with my boyfriend :) :)
 
I've also become domesticated - who woulda funk it!?
 
I cook, i clean, i DIY! Amaze :)
 
And with that I'm hoping to introduce some new blog content to the table.
 
Before Kirsti @ The Notebook was predominantly beauty based with some fashion snippets here and there. I'm still focusing on that to an extent (well i have an overflowing box of goodies that i haven't even touched yet so expect reviews-a-plenty!) but I'm going to bring in some home and lifestyle pieces to show off my new house and skills mix things up a bit :)
 
So whats new in BloggerLand?
 
Hit me up with the goss.
 
What blogs should i be reading? Link me up to all the stuff I've missed
 
xoxo
 
 
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My Blonde Journey ...

Friday 9 March 2012

I was recently sorting through some old photo's on my laptop when i noticed the massive changes in my hair over the years. I couldn't believe the how many different cuts, colours and shades of blonde I've been through!

So i thought I'd show you my blonde journey ...



A natural blonde with black and purple streaks ...


Asymmetric style ...


Bleach blonde with black layers  ...


Bleach blonde with dark brown layers ...



A more natural blonde with light brown/caramel highlights ...


White blonde! ...








A mixture of bleach and caramel blonde highlights ...


Slight ombre look - white blonde tips with my natural blonde/highlights coming through ...


Blonde with turquoise blue clip in extensions ...

As you can see over the last 8 years i have had quite a blonde journey ...

I have dabbled with trying to achieve a more natural look and the beginning stages of taking my blonde hair on a darker route but in the end i always switch back to blonde.

I have finally found a shade that suits me perfectly and am loving how my hair looks :)

Here's how i decide which blonde is best for me ...





Do you like to experiment with your hair and colour? I'd love to see your hair journey's :)

xoxo



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Paris, je t'aime ...

Friday 10 February 2012



Hi all,

Just got back from a lovely break away in a country cottage in Somerset for my birthday #bliss. While casually checking my blogs stats yesterday night time i came across a bit of a surprise ...my traffic was coming from Paris Hilton ?!

After a bit of investigating it seems that my blog (this post in particular) was featured on ParisHilton.com on my actual birthday - happy birthday to me! lol.

w0w.

xoxo

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Maggie Angus Birthday Wishlist ...

Tuesday 24 January 2012



Totally in love with the Spring/Summer collection from Maggie Angus! You may remember last month i featured some little gems i picked up from Maggie Angus and have been left wanting more ever since ...

Was so excited to receive an email from Anna this weekend sharing her gorgeous new collection for SS12 which launches this Thursday - i love everything and have shared my Top 3 fave pieces above which I'll be adding to my birthday wishlist :)

Firstly is the Nautical Charm Bracelet from the 'Seaside Folly' range - navy & silver mirrored acrylic hearts, anchors and peace signs on a chain and toggle clasp bracelet. RRP: £25.00

The second item is from the 'South Pacific' jewellery range which is full of summery and tropical pieces. The Sea Charm Bracelet features gold mirrored acrylic charms on a gold plated clasp and toggle chain. RRP: £28.00

Finally my third item is from the 'Seaside Folly' collection - the Clouds Bracelet and Heart is a gorgeous silver and red mirrored perspex clouds/heart on a silver plated chain and toggle clasp. RRP: £26.00

All Maggie Angus items are wonderfully kitsch and unique - i love every piece and really hope i can grab a few of these before the Summer :)

Check out the new SS12 collection here: http://www.maggieangus.com/

xoxo

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