Rocky Road 'Christmas Pudding' Cupcakes

Hullo, my Pixels!
I've been very naughty again and haven't posted in about two weeks or so. Finishing college before the Christmas holidays just took up too much of my time and I had a bit of a brain burnout. Luckily, I received an email from a wine company, Yapp, about their Christmas time recipe competition - here. I haven't been paid to create this post or anything like that, the prize just seemed like an amazing thing this time of year. Personally, I don't drink wine, but my parents are big fans, so in the spirit of giving around Christmas time, £150 worth of wine for them to spend seemed appropriate.

Book Wishlist

Book Wishlist by rainbowriots

Covered in Cats

Hullo, my Pixels!

I hope you're all doing well, and I'm definitely not trying to kill you with the following cuteness in this post - I swear. I don't quite get how some people refuse to like cats. They've always been a big part of my life, but I also really like dogs, too, I've just never owned one before. Cats are so much less hassle to look after as well! I just fancied doing a more personal post by featuring my four little kitty cats, especially as we recently got a new one. Prepare yourselves for the 'awwwhs' which you're sure to say after seeing these photos.

White Pearl Lady

Hullo, my Pixels!

I recently ordered quite a lot of nail varnish from Superdrug - naughty. I just wanted the Models Own nail polish in Absinthe, but it turned into another six Barry M polishes, not sure how! I did save £10 though, as they were on offer 3 for 2, but I also had a few points on my Beautycard to use. I'm featuring these two specifically today as I found myself reapplying this more than once in a row, so I know I love it.

Haircare Advice Wins

Hullo, my Pixels!
This post pairs up with another one I did a little while ago, which was haircare advice fails. I thought it only made logical sense to do a more positive and more helpful 'wins' version, as I know some people would find that useful, so enjoy!

Relax, Refresh and Recuperate

Hullo, my Pixels! You may (or may not) have noticed I've been away from the blogging world for a week or so. This wasn't intentional; I was just a very naughty blogger who didn't schedule enough posts in advance to allow for being so busy during the half-term holidays. Rookie mistake, I know. We went away to my grandad's for a few days and then had to go to a wedding all weekend - neither places had internet! Seeing how I've been so busy lately, I thought it would be pretty obvious to do a post on how I've been chilling out and trying to avoid unnecessary stress.

Blogtober | Halloween Costume Reveal

Halloween by rainbowriots

Blogtober | Facts About Me

Hullo, my Pixels!

I always seem to find it quite difficult to think of 'interesting' facts about myself when I actually need to think of it, so I'll keep it short and do five facts.

Blogtober | Most Embarrassing Moment

Hullo, my Pixels!

I'm sure you're all absolutely dying to know what anecdote of personal embarrassment I'm going to tell in today's Blogtober post. Now I look back on it, what happened was quite funny, but at the time I found it so terrifying. There's probably loads of other, more embarrassing things which have happened to me over the years, but this is the one which has stuck with me and immediately jumps straight to mind.

Haircare Advice Fails

Hullo, my Pixels! Haircare is something we all seem to struggle with at some point or other in our lives, whether you suffer from greasy or dry hair, split end problems, dying failures, the list continues! This is just a quick list of supposed 'tips' which were meant to help your hair, but hindered mine more than anything.

Blogtober | Things I'm Superstitious About

Hullo, my Pixels!

Now, I'm not a very superstitious person; I don't believe black cats are bad luck, nor do I believe that certain objects can be lucky, but for some reason there's always been one thing I've believed in and done since I was younger, which involves crossing your fingers.

Blogtober | A Letter to my Younger Self

Hullo, my Pixels!

I love writing things like this, as it feels quite therapeutic and helpful in the way that it makes you reconsider what you're doing right or wrong in your life currently. It's ridiculous how much most people change within a year, personality as well as outward appearance, so if you actually sit down and think about all the changes, it seems insane!

Blogtober | Who Would Play Me in a Movie

First Time Tag

Hullo, my Pixels!
Prepare yourselves to read a lot of questions with a lot of answers! I fancied like completing a tag today, something a bit different from my normal stuff. I did intend on completing the 'British Tag', but I swiftly realised I'm a terrible British person as I don't like tea. I came across this tag on Justine's blog where she tagged anyone and everyone to do it, which is what I'm going to do. I'd love for absolutely anyone to complete this tag, as I feel the random questions let your readers find out a little bit more about you as a person!

Blogtober | Favorite Book

Hullo, my Pixels!

Blogtober also seems to be 'Praise Chuck Palahniuk Month' for me. I never realised how many things he's said or done that I really enjoy. I also found out that he's working on a Fight Club comic follow-up to the book, which is extremely exciting for a fan like me.

Blogtober | One Beauty Product You Can't Live Without

Hullo, my Pixels! I don't really wear make up - I've never worn foundation, bronzer, concealer, anything like that, and I barely use any other beauty products, so discovering which product I use the most wasn't too difficult.

Blogtober | Favorite Editing Tools for my Blog

Hullo, my Pixels!
Very late post again today, but I've had such a busy day. Had a meeting at college, as well as a lesson today, got home and 'napped' for TWO HOURS as I just felt so blehhh. Then in the evening I went out with my parents to our local Corn Exchange to go see Omid Djalili, if any of you like him. He was absolutely amazing for a stand up comedian, really puts on a good show, especially as we were in Row D; I'd definitely recommend going to see him if you ever get the chance!

Blogtober | Pet Peeves

Hullo, my Pixels!
I feel like this was a really good prompt to just dispel any held back anger you may have collected during October, because ranting about things people, but not about anyone specific, always seems to lift a weight off of my shoulders. I'm not typically a very moan-y person, but the occasional, contained rant every now and again seem to be quite healthy. Even deciding what the proper way to pronounce 'rant' is can inspire a huge heated debate between people!

The Purple Countess

Hullo, my Pixels!

I actually discovered this nail varnish in a fellow blogger's post; Katie over at Katie Louise wrote a post on her favorite Autumn/Winter nail polishes which you can read here, and wowwww, so many different colors! I also really loved the Models Own nail varnish in Absinthe, but sadly my Superdrug doesn't have that color in stock anymore, so I'll have to order it online but it is seriously beautiful - worth checking it out.

Blogtober | Dream Vacation

Hullo, my Pixels!
A rather late post in the day for Blogtober today, been so busy with a-levels today. I knew Blogtober would be a bit difficult to get done early some days, and my scheduling/writing posts in advance soon went out the window!

Blogtober | My Biggest Fear

Blogtober | What Makes Me Happy

Hullo, my Pixels!

Today I had a really good day, so the prompt of happiness seemed too fitting. I made my parents and I dinner tonight, which is a new thing, but they really enjoyed the meal (macaroni and cheese with squash and spinach, if you're wondering) so that put me in a great mood. The photo of the dragonfly is also something I'm extremely proud of, as I think it looks super interesting, and I felt lucky to be able to get such a photo.

Halloween Gift Ideas

Halloween Gift Ideas

Blogtober | Share a Secret About You

Hullo, my Pixels!
I found this prompt a lot more difficult compared to yesterday's Blogtober, and I thought that one was going to be the toughest! I've been sat thinking about this one for about two days now, and then I realised that even though I might not have many personal 'secrets', a lot of things people in person know about me, the blogging world obviously doesn't get to see that side, which suddenly made it a whole lot easier.

Blogtober | I'm An Expert At...

Hullo, my Pixels!

I really struggled with this prompt today, I honestly couldn't think of anything I'm an 'expert' at. I'm good at being good, but that's just silly. Video gaming is where my heart lies; I have over 300 games on my shelves, as well a Steam library of about 70 PC games. I'd class myself as an 'expert', just because I've played different games for so many years of my life, it's difficult to not be atleast above average.

Blogtober | Fall Fashion

Hullo, my Pixels!

I took this photo a while ago, but the berries reminded me so much of Autumn, especially the way they're not just one tone of red; they're all crinkled and bruised. I definitely had to use it for one of the days in Blogtober as it was just too perfect for Autumn.

Blogtober | Favorite Quote and Why

Hullo, my Pixels!

It might seem a bit late, but I've decided to start Blogtober half way through. I was undecided for ages whether to do it or not, but hey, better late than never! In case you're wondering, the 'Day 15' graphic I created is Chuck Palahniuk; most people probably know him as the author of Fight Club. I'm a massive fan of the book as well as the movie, but he's actually the person who created my favorite quote.

Cookie Bottomed Vanilla Cupcakes

Hullo, my Pixels!

I wasn't entirely sure how these were gonna turn out, as I've been trying new recipes a lot recently, but I was very happy with the overall result. Also, I'd love to know if there's any specific recipes you'd love for me to try and attempt. Good crumble recipes would really be appreciated, too, as I wanna make one of them soon!

Shopping in Brighton

Hullo, my Pixels!

I don't think I've ever returned home from a quick break away with so many shopping bags. I bought about half of the stuff on one day, half the other day, but my arms hurt soooooo much. The things we do for shopping, hey?

Lush, Glorious Lush

Hullo, my Pixels!

I'm quite late to the Lush party, but I'm so glad I finally got to visit and buy some things (by some things, I mean probably too many things) and it was just so exciting. Although I did get quite overwhelmed on the first visit, and had to go in again a couple days later whilst in Brighton to do a proper shop. The smells and whole atmosphere are fantastic - the staff are so friendly, and all the other shoppers seem just as excited as you are! I'll put links to the products on their website just in case you feel like you need something, or want to check out the ingredients a bit further.

Lemon Surprise Biscuits

Hullo, my Pixels!

These biscuits really do have a pleasant surprise. They look so plain from the outside, but my oh my are they tasty! All of my family were very happy with the end result of these, especially considering I'm so used to baking cupcakes and nothing much else. This recipe has some ingredients which are the American names, so I've put the British versions in brackets, just in case you get a bit confused, like I did!

Life Hacks to Learn Religiously

Hullo, my Pixels!

Fabulous Magazine comes with The Sun newspaper for free, so whenever my parents randomly buy The Sun, I have to have a look through Fabulous. Usually I come across delicious-looking recipes whilst reading, but this time a very handy article caught my eye. Anything to reduce stress in my life is always worth a read, and I definitely needed to share these tips and tricks because they're super duper handy!

Brighton 28/08 - 01/09

Chocolate Butterfly Cupcakes

Hullo, my Pixels!

Another tasty recipe my cousin and I decided to try out. Again, like with the hazelnut shortcakes, we had a bit of artistic license with the original recipe. My cousin actually didn't have any dark chocolate to melt into the cakes (shameful, I know!) so we had to improvise a bit with chocolate and caramel spread.

Purrfect Parrots

Product Inspection | Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick 'Kiss of Life'

Hullo, my Pixels!

I finally decided which shade to buy after many weeks of deliberating - so today we're looking at the Rimmel Kate Matte Lipstick in the shade 'Kiss of Life' #111. I don't actually wear much make up at all; sometimes I wear a little bit of eyeliner, other times it'll be mascara, but that's the only two, so trying to commit to a certain shade of lipstick was a tough decision. I noticed that the shade I bought actually matched the red tube, which I thought was pretty cool.

Roasted Hazelnut Shortcakes

Hullo, my Pixels!

These shortcakes definitely don't look that exciting, but wow are they tasty. They require next-to-no effort to make, as the standard recipe only includes five ingredients, although I'm pretty sure a pinch of salt barely counts as a separate ingredient. This recipe also makes 18 biscuits, but it's extremely easy to alter to the amount you would like to make, whether that's more or less.

My Plug Collection | Stretchers

Left to right: 1.6mm, 2mm, 3mm, 4mm, 5mm, 6mm, 10mm and 14mm.

Hullo, my Pixels!

These totally look normal, right? I know, I know, they look crazy, but stretching up for me was never actually painful, even if it is pushing a huge spike thing into your ear. I'll admit though, the red one on the end was ridiculous and did cause me to have my first blowout. I'll spare you the gross details, but basically because of the blowout I had to take the stretcher out and my ear nearly healed up completely, so I had to start again from 4mm back up to 14mm. Not fun.

Elephants on Acid and Other Bizarre Experiments

Liebster Award

Hullo, my Pixels!

I was super excited when I saw that Just Sophie had nominated me for the Liebster Award! It's definitely very much appreciated as I'd always seen this mysterious award floating around since joining Bloglovin', but didn't actually see myself being nominated by anyone. Personally, I really like the idea of this award because it shares smaller blogs and lets them be recognised for who they are and the content they're creating instead of just the larger blogs getting all of the limelight. Thanks again to Sophie for nominating me, make sure to go check her out and without further ado, let the award commence!

My Plug Collection | Spirals & Miscellaneous

Hullo, my Pixels!

We're ever so close to the end of this series now, only one part left to go after this - and don't worry, it's a lot shorter than all of the others have been. You can find part 2 of the series here, if you haven't seen it already! These are probably the most awesome looking... things in my collection, but they're sooo impractical most of the time. Sadly, I haven't bought any of these online, they're all from local shops, but I'm sure it's possible to find similar styles on piercing jewellery websites.

Product Inspection | Simple 'Kind to Skin' Light Moisturiser

Hullo, my Pixels!

Eeee, are you as excited as I am for my first beauty review?! I can tell you're strongly nodding your head in agreement. Today we'll be looking at the Simple Light Moisturiser which is part of their 'Kind to Skin' range. My skin is definitely the normal combination skin type, but I've been thinking about buying a moisturiser for ages as I get quite dry skin around my nose and on my cheeks where my freckles are, and that's when I came across this. I actually bought this in Lidl for £1.99, so even cheaper than it should be! I thought that was the perfect opportunity to try it out as it was such a low price. You can buy it in Boots currently for £3.99, and I'm sure other places sell it for roughly the same price, too.

My Plug Collection | Plugs

Hullo, my Pixels!

Time to continue on with my collection of jewellery all dedicated to my stretched ears. This second part covers plugs - which are just the solid, filled in pieces of jewellery to 'plug' the hole in your ear. I really like plugs because you can have so many unique and creative designs on them, there's bound to be something for everyone! Again, like in the first instalment of these posts, I'll link you to the plugs online (when possible).

Spicy Vegetable Tofu

Hullo, my Pixels!

This recipe is definitely my go-to easy peasy lunch when I'm at home. It's so quick and simple to cook, as everything is cooked in the same frying pan - less washing up to do, too (which is something I always prefer)!

My Plug Collection | Tunnels

Hullo, my Pixels!

This is going to be the first part of a four post-long series dedicated to my jewellery collection for my beloved stretched ears. I understand stretching your ear lobe piercings isn't to everyone's taste - I've definitely had many a grossed out reaction to mine, but you get used to it.

Disappearance to the Warner Bros. Studio Tour

Hullo, my Pixels!

I just wanted to apologise briefly for my absence before starting the main blog post. I've realised now that I take forever to draw anything because I lack the creativity and I kinda suck at digital art still, so I've intended to change my blog over to focus more on getting to use my new camera and encourage that hobby. From now on, posts could include places I go, my opinion on products, films, books, etc, food, literally everything and anything with the occasional drawing thrown in as and when I finish them.

Hopefully, this will encourage me to start writing blog posts again because I really enjoy taking photos and messing around with them on Photoshop and what not, so without further ado, let's go into the magical world of Harry Potter!

Despicable Me

Hullo, my Pixels!

I think what you've just witnessed is what I can only describe as a cowboy Minion (from the movie Despicable Me & Despicable Me 2) riding a cow. This just happened to be what my friend asked me to draw, months and months ago, when I was absolutely stuck and needed an idea. It took me sooooo long to finish it but I can honestly say I'm very pleased with it, if I do say so myself.

Seeing Double

Hullo, my Pixels!

I would like to welcome you properly to the New Year, with an adorable little nickname for you all (if I eventually get an actual audience to classify as my 'Pixel Family') and another new drawing, like I promised you.