Hannah Bakes- Mum's Victoria Sponge

Since taking this cake into work (as it is my birthday on Monday) I have had so many compliments on how yummy it is. I have decided to share it with you guys! Also why do you have to bring cakes in on your birthday? Shouldn't you be treated with cake!? But anyway here's the recipe...

It is my Mum recipe so I have decided to call it Mum's Victoria Sponge 

6oz of self rasing flour

6oz of marg

6oz of caster sugar 

3 eggs

1 tea spoon of baking power

2 round cake tins

- Cream together the marg and sugar with a electric hand mixer.

- Add the eggs a little bit at a time with a spoon full of flour and mix.

- Add the rest of the flour and baking power, a bit at a time until smooth and creamy.

- Half the mixture between the two cake tins.

- Bake for about 25mins on 180 degrees. Until fork comes out clean.

Buttercream 

2oz of marg

6ozish of icing sugar

A few grips of vanilla essence 

- Soften the marg with a fork and add the icing sugar a bit at a time.

- Add in the vanilla essence and a tiny bit of cold water if needed to soften it.

Spread the butter cream on one half of the sponge and some strawberry jam on the other, sandwich together and dust with icing sugar.

I hope you like this recipe! It goes down very well with my lot!

Just Hannah 

January Favourites

Soap and Glory Sugar Crush Body Scrub

It's not very often I find a scrub I will love enough to use regularly but this one I have. It has been part of my bath/shower routine pretty much all month.  I love the limey, fresh scent as it really smells good enough to eat! It is also a great scrub, it feel harsh enough to get that last bit of fake tan off but not so harsh that it stings. I find it great to use on damp skin so it is quick and easy to do.

Revlon Colourburst Balm Stain in 001 Honey

Essie Button mentioned this in her 2014 favourites and I had to buy it! It is the most simplest and wearable lip colour I must have, it is now my go to lip colour for work and more or less every other day! A handbag staple!

Clinique High Impact Mascara

After trying lots of other cheaper mascara last year discovered I had two mini sizes of this! I always use to buy this one full size and once I started using it again and I instantly fell back in love! It gives great volume and length to my lashes and is easy to use and mess free. It removes so well too and the brush is so soft on my sensitive eyes.

Spa Find ReMineralize Plus High Strength Body Balm

I have started to try and get into the routine of applying a body balm/butter before I go to bed. This balm is lovely and rich and thick, it rubs in well to the skin and leaves it feeling soft and so smooth the next moring. The fragrance is beautiful, not to over powering like some body butters are, it is fruity and fresh, just my kinda fragrance. I find it particulary good on drier areas like elbows, knees and legs.

Yankee Candle Tarts

Since getting my burner and a whole host of candle tarts for Christmas I have been burning it nearly non stop. I have a cherry one buring at the moment and I love the rich scent. I am looking forward to burning this vanilla honey one next. 

What have been your favourites this January?

Just Hannah

£10 Shopping Budget

It was my day off last week and I was in serious need of a new makeup fix. You properly know the feeling, a long week at work dragging on like nobody’s business? As it was just after Christmas and pay day seeming like 10 years away I decide to give myself £10 to spend on makeup and this is what I got…

A pretty good haul for just £10.00 don’t you think? Well I did spend 50p over but you know close enough!

To start with I picked up the Revlon Colourburst Balm Stain in Honey. I had recently watched Essie Buttons rave about this lip product in a recent video and knew it had to be mine. I love simple nude lip colours that are easy to apply for daytime wear at work. I have a few of the matte balms already and this one does not disappoint. I bought this in Superdrug and it was on offer for £5.00!

Next I found the Collection Little Mix All About The Eyes Palette for only £2.50!!!! I have seen lots of reviews on this last year saying it was a great capsule budget palette. It’s not like I don’t have enough gold/neural eye shadows already but this will be perfect for when I'm traveling or away from home. Recently I have been wearing a lot of gold shades so I most definitely put this to good use.

I then spent a good while looking for my last purchase… I didn’t need a mascara or blusher as I have enough at home to last me way into 2016 and I didn’t want to buy a new foundation just yet and for £2.50 I’m not sure you would get a great one?! (Can you even buy a foundation for £2.50?)

I headed to MUA, a great budget brand and I spied the Undress Your Skin Shimmer Highlighter in Iridescent Gold! I bought the pinky one early last year and I was really pleased with it so this was my break the budget purchase, being £3.00 I was 50p over! I loved the pink one and use it a lot in 2014 so I know the gold one would get a lot of use especially due to my love of coral blusher and gold eyes at the moment.  

This £10.50 shopping spree hit my shopaholics spot without breaking the bank. I might try and do this for a few months while I save for an excited 2015 and 2016! I think I got quite a lot for my money as I looked out for offers, I love a bargain!

What would you buy if you only had £10.00?

Bye for now

Just Hannah

Hannah Bakes- Easiest Fudge Ever

I love to bake and last year I shared with you a few of my creations so I have decided to start a ‘Hannah Bakes’ series of posts.  Below is the recipe for the most easiest and moreish sweet treat ever… Fudge. I have made this every Christmas for years and always get so many complements on how yummy it is It would make a great Valentine ’s Day gift for your other half or a lovely present for a grandparents birthday.

Ingredients

125g of Milk Chocolate (you can use dark if you want a slightly darker colour)

50g of butter or marg

¼ cup of evaporated milk

3 cups of icing sugar

A 20cm square tin

 

Method

1.)    Grease and line your tin.

2.)    Break up all of your chocolate and melt either in the microwave or in a saucepan. Be careful not to over melt your chocolate or burn your chocolate.

3.)    Add the butter/marg and continue to melt.

4.)    Once melted take off the heat and add the evaporated milk.

5.)    Sift in the icing sugar a little at a time. Towards the end of mixing it in you will find the mixture will become VERY stiff! It’s a good work out for your arms and totally worth it in the long run!

6.)    Press into the tin evenly. You can leave it plain as it is or add a topping of your choice. I decided this Christmas to press broken up Malteasers over the top.  You could use Oreos, white chocolate chips, drizzle chocolate over the top or use Haribo jelly hearts for a Valentine ’s Day theme.

7.)    Leave in the fridge to set for a few hours or until it has become firm all the way though to the touch.

8.)    Remove from the tin and cut into little squares.

Why not give it ago at the weekend!?

Just Hannah x

TAG- The Would You Rather Tag

1) Would you rather lose all of your mascaras, eye liners, lipsticks and lip glosses or lose all of your palettes and eye shadows?

Hmmm tricky one! Ummm I think I would prefer to lose all my mascaras, eye liners, lipsticks and lip glosses than my eye shadow palettes! As long as I got re-purchase them the next day!

2.) Would you rather chop off all your hair or never be able to cut it again?

I would rather chop it all off and then let it grow again!

3.) Would you rather have a coral cheek or a pink cheek?

Tricky Tricky… I love Benefit Coralista but I think a pink cheek more classic and goes with more lip colours so pink.

4.) If you had $1000 to spend, would you rather buy clothes or makeup?

Some very nice clothes and a handbag… and shoes!

5.) Would you rather apply lipstick as eyeliner, or eyeliner as lipstick?

Lip stick as eyeliner if I had to!

6.) Would you rather only shop at MAC or Sephora?

Sephora as there is more choice! It’s like an Aladdin’s cave in there! *dreamy*

7.) Would you rather only use one eye shadow color or one lip colour for the rest of your life?

One eye shadow I think a nice bronzey colour. So you can dress it up or down.

8.) Would you rather have dark nails or bright nails all year round?

Dark nails all year round… I love the look of dark short nails

9.) Would you rather give up your favourite lip product or your favourite eye product?

Favourite lip product I think… there still would be a lot of choice!

 10.) Would your rather never be able to paint your nails again or never use lipgloss?

Never wear lip gloss…I don’t actually wear lip gloss its way too sticky for me!

11.) Would you rather shave your eyebrows and have none at all or sharpie them in everyday?

Oh god! I dunno!! Shave your eyebrows off…. If I had too!

12.) Would you rather live without makeup or nail polish?

Live without nail polish. With my job I can’t really wear nail polish on my hands so I only really wear it for my days off then remove it! (I wish I could wear it everyday tho!)

I hope you like this tag post! I really enjoy doing tag posts!

Suggest a tag for me to do in the comments box below! Thank you

Just Hannah x

One Year Blog Anniversary!

I have never ever stuck to a New Years Resolution that I know of, but YES as of now I have kept one for a whole year! On the first of January 2014 I posted the first entry on Just Being Hannah. I have manage to post at least once a month (just!) and I'm pretty proud of what I have achieved. It might not look a lot to some but to me it is!

I have found out a few truths about blogging over the first year of Just Being Hannah...

Do you agree? 

1.) That's becoming a superstar blogger doesn't happen over night or over a few months or even in a year.

2.) It's pretty hard work to blog regularly with a full time job and busy life. Even when you want to blog life gets in the way.

3.) You seem to collect a lot of beauty products and they start spilling from bathroom cabinet to dressing table and onwards until they take over your life.

4.) You check your Boots points total every time you buy anything in there then you way up if it's time to spurge them yet! Hmm and what on?  

5.) Muji storage is your new best friend. 

6.) Taking good photos with good lighting is hard work and more or less impossible in winter.

7.)Yankee candles are a blogger essential.

8.) You debate starting a YouTube channel more or less everyday, then remember how you hate the sound of your own voice. 

9.) When something new comes out you want it... No you NEED IT! 

10.) You develop an obsession with notebooks and pens, to jot down any blog post idea anywhere.

11.)You wish you were doing/going to all the cool places and holidays every other bloggers seems to be going on. And think your life seems pretty crap. (but it's not!!).

12.)Your mum/boyfriend/sister forever makes comments about how many products you have and always say why don't you use up what you have got first?

13.) Going to Costa and taking an artistic photo of your drink is really cool, then up loading it to instgram and watch the likes fly in.

  

14.) You think about going on a spending ban every few weeks... Then you get temped to the shops... Game over!

15.) You learn not to rush ideas and not to worry that you haven't posted at all this week even though some people have posted 5 times and it's already Thursday. Every blogger is different with different things happening in there lives. Go at your own pace and who cares if you haven't posted in a month, it's you life and its your blog and it's not a competition or a race.

Overall I have really enjoyed my first year of blogging and I will defo carry it in into 2015. I will try to blog more regularly and more structured. I'm aiming for one post a week so let's see how this goes...!

I have learnt that it's not all about the numbers of followers, views and comments it's more about you and how your blog has made you feel or how it has given you a new least of life. My blog has given me something to focus on and is changing my worrying and anxious mind set. I'm not to fussed about the fact I don't get 100s of comments on every post (or any post!) or I don't have 1000s of followers, it's something for me and that I'm proud of know matter now small. 

I really love the bloggers community and hopefully in the new year I will get involved with more blogger chats on Twitter because when I have joined in I have really enjoyed them. I have made some blogger cyber friends too! 

If you are reading this and thinking about starting a blog... Do it! Do it for yourself and enjoy doing it. Don't make its a chore and something you have to force yourself to do, post when you want and not when you have been made to feel like you have too!

Catch you next time
Just Hannah
xxxx

My Top 5 Go to Make Up Items of 2014

I found it pretty hard to pick my top make up products of 2014 (the list would have gone of for a while!) so I have decided to tell you about the top 5 I always pick up.

Maybelline Colour Tattoo in On and On Bronze
I have a few of these  in different colours but this one is defiantly the most used one. It's a great base for one and lasts all day on me. I also find it to be a perfect day look with some bronze shadow on top and along the lower lash line but you can add a flick of eyeliner and it is a great night look. Nice and Simple!

MUA Shimmer Highlighter
I bought this right at the start of 2014 and I got so many complements on what I was wearing on my cheekbones! I don't wear it every day but paired with a simple pink blush is just gives an added dimension to the look. I think they now do this in a gold so I think I will invest in that in the new year and at £3 why not.

Revlon Colourburst Matte Balm in Elusive
Every blogger around fell in love with these during 2014 and I was know exception! This mid tone pink is my favourite colour as it is just so wearable. You do have to make sure your lips are nice and moisturised and not dry and flaky but that's nothing a lip scrub can't sort out! I only have 2 of these and I have been very resistant in not buying any more but I might have to perk my self up with another one during the start of 2015.

Bourjois Volume 1 Seconde Mascara
I LOVE this mascara, I have rebought and I will do again! To be honest I think its all about the brush, this brush is a pretty large plastic one, some people hate plastic mascara brushes but each to there own. When I first used it I was blown away with how much length and volume it gave my stubby lashes! If you like a plastic brush you need to try this!

Laura Mercier Foundation Primer
This is unlike any foundation primer I have ever used! I have used lots of silicon based gel ones before which yeah they sort of work but I don't really like the gel like feel on my skin, but this one is out of this world! It's a kind of cream consistency which most people with an oily skin with scream at! But I sinks into the skin perfectly and after a few minutes I apply my foundation and it goes on amazingly! It also has very impressive staying power. I don't use this everyday but if I know I'm going straight out after work or I have a special occasion/meal/night out I will most defiantly pick this up! I got this free in a Lastest in Beauty Box so I'm gonna use it sparingly as the full size one is pretty pricey.

What have been your go to products of 2014?

Just Hannah xx