Tonight is...

Sister night. Which naturally equals social media, double stuff Oreos and milk.

Abbie's fantastically creative, interesting and fun YouTube channel is perfect for University students; check her out.

Flipping fabulous pancakes

Having recently rediscovered a love for pancakes - something to do with a Nutella-dripping crepe at Winter Wonderland maybe - I am celebrating Shrove Tuesday in a big way... with 15,000 different pancakes.

Mum is an expert flipper so I left the hard bits and grown up stuff to her.

As I tried my best to get an action shot.

      

It was really hard, okay!

Success!

I followed this triumph by filling the table with a menagerie of fillings and toppings.

As part of #Projectskinnyminnie I have one cheat meal a week and, as I promise I've been such a sweaty girl at the gym five days a week, I am allowing myself to consume an illegal amount of sugar tonight.

Here is my guide on how to fill your pancakes with delicious-covered diabetes and cellulite. Enjoy.

Pancake one (and two)

In true mouth-is-bigger-than-my-belly style, I started off BIG with my absolute favourite. Vanilla ice cream, Nutella, a drizzle of golden syrup and strawberries. So delicious I had TWO!

Pancake three

A hat-tip to tradition, lemon curd and sugar. (Started to feel pretty sick)

Pancake four

Nutella, ice cream and more golden syrup. (That didn't help)

Pancake five

More Nutella and ice cream. Looks aren't everything! (Sugar-related blindness is starting to kick in)

Pancake six

Didn't exist on account of being in the depths of a sugar-induced coma.

Although initially appalled at my ability to consume four different things in one pancake, Mum did give it a go. Her willpower didn't last too long and she was back on the lemon and sugar after one.

What do you think of my creations? Are you salivating or reaching for a bucket? Or the name of my Doctor to get me some help?

I hope you all enjoyed pancake day too. It's one of my new favourite days and one I think I will have to repeat at least once before February 2015.*

Until next time <3

*of course, once I have completed #Projectskinnyminnie

#ProjectSkinnyMinnie - week one

I want to dance like this, with a mouth full of these

But look like this

I want to be surrounded by my lunch like this

But inevitably still look like this

Yes, I know. Sad face.

Back to the real world of bananas, beetroot and a bowl full of broccoli, I am finding that life has played a cruel trick on me. A cruel trick indeed. Because no matter how happy that KFC, Chinese takeaway or Morrisons' sausage roll made me, it has also made me fat. (Medically speaking, 'overweight'.)

A Colonel's chicken-induced happy coma does not last. Actually it makes looking in the mirror pretty hard and I am 100% DONE!

In 15 weeks and two days, I am heading to the sunny climes of Bognor Regis with three fabulous friends for a deliciously cheesy and illegally fun weekend at Butlins (the adult version, no Rory the Tiger for me, thank you! And smirk you may, but the 2013 Summer Party was genuinely one of the best weekends of my life) and I want to be looking HOT! Deliciously and illegally hot. 

Enter #ProjectSkinnyMinnie which is a neat little hashtag-code for 'lose-two-stone-in-15-weeks-or-else'. (I know that's a tall order. The 'or else' literally means 'or lose it in the weeks after the 15 week mark')

With hen dos, weddings, holidays and festivals planned for the Summer, not to mention picnics in the park, BBQs in the park, and sunbathing in the park, motivation is plentiful.

Blogging my countdown has obvious benefits to my inspiration and progress, but I think it might be a humorous few weeks for you too - especially as Easter hops by and I have to somehow resist the seven chocolate eggs I seem to accumulate, as well as stepping into the unknown territory of the sports shop.

If you're on Twitter and Instagram, follow my hashtag #ProjectSkinnyMinnie where you'll find me (and occasionally my friend Samantha) as we count calories and count down the weeks until 13 June. And make sure you follow me too!

Until next time <3

Happy Valentine's Day

I love love. So here are the loveliest words about love that exist on the internet.

Break-out stress-out (and Boots haul)

At 25, aren't I meant to be done with spots?

Adult ache is, quite frankly, the most gigantic arsehole. Why, why, WHY!!

I spent the early part of my teenage years bathing in Clearasil and hoping boys secretly found spots sexy.

They didn't. Ugly duckling indeed. (Violins!)

And then, I found the key three: Cleanse, Tone, Moisturise. And Voilà, life was changed.

Although the products and methods are different, the process has, mostly, stayed the same and my skin and I have remained friends. We've had the odd spat and I resent the small fortune I've had to spend on concealer because of it, but smooth, glowing, clean skin has been the order of the day.

Until now. Is it the weather? Is it my - gulp -age? Is 2014 an evil skin witch? Is it down to my recent penchant for Sunday Bake-day? (probs) But I've really been struggling with breakouts and spots. I don't think I've had a completely clear face since before Christmas. This is NOT ON!

Cue an emergency trip to Boots. Let the break-out peace-out commence:

Simple Kind to Eyes eye make up remover - No oil, no stinging, no black eyes in the morning. It doesn't last too long but you can normally take advantage of its £3 price tag in a 3 for 2 deal.
Simple Kind to Skin deep cleansing face mask - A throwback to teenage years. No perfumes or colours and certainly nothing too fancy. By going back to basics, I'm hoping my face will thank me for it.

L'oreal Paris Skin Perfection 3 in 1 Purifying Micella Solution (catchy!) - The poor girl's Bioderma (which will be MINE as soon as payday rears its head) I'm on my second bottle after receiving one in a gift set for Christmas and I'm quite impressed. It's the best liquid eye make up remover I have used and is very calming and clean for the skin. At under £5 I would highly recommend this product if you're on a budget - just be wary it also doesn't last too long.

No 7 Essential Moisture Night Cream - If it ain't broke, don't fix it. I have been using this for around four years and I really notice the difference if I don't - cue breakouts and inexcusable dryness after misplacing my last tub for two weeks recently. The No7 range is fantastic if, like me, you have been lumbered with sensitive skin. There is no show and dance with this product but it does what it says on the tin and I have even woken up to find it still working its magic on my cheeks. At £9.95, it is the cheapest of the No7 night creams and I would highly recommend for a nourishing treat to wake with healthy and glowing skin the next day.

Super Facialist by Una Brennan Neroli Firming Lifting Treatment Mask - After hearing some great things from other beauty bloggers about this brand, I squealed with delight to find 30% off on some of the range. I'm going to do a separate review of this product as I'm really hoping for some other opinions on this. Stay tuned!

But to move things along and get my face back to a great place, I'm also going to follow the rules set by the AMAZING skincare blogger Caroline Hirons and get rid of the three C's - Coke, Cadbury's and Coffee (Revels!). Damn.

If you're also feeling the effects of that arsehole adult acne, are there any magic products you would recommend? What is going to give me the skin a 25-year old should have and stop me resembling a Clearasil-using, Tammy Girl-wearing, teenage boy-fancying 13 year old?

Until next time <3

Tonight is...

Channelling my inner Mary Berry (minus Mr Blue Eyes Hollywood *cry*) by making and decorating gingerbread.

(Is it that obvious I only have two different food colourings?)

Tonight is...

Writing, social media-ing and patting myself on the back for buying (and making) such a fabulous bed. Minnie included.

Castello Cream bedstead, Marks and Spencer.