How to | Jaffa Cake - Cake!

Hello everyone! I really am BEYOND sorry that I haven't posted in almost a month, everything just gets so hectic. I have been meaning to post again for what feels like forever, but it's hard to get back into a routine when you are out of it, you know? It's like going on holiday, so essentially I just took a blog holiday and now I am back wahey! so lets get on with the post...

Have you ever wondered if you could make a cake that is a giant jaffa-cake? 

(a Jaffa cake is like a biscuit, that has sponge, with orange jelly on tip, and then covered in chocolate)

For the sponge cake:

♡ 100g caster sugar

♡ 100g softened butter

♡ 2 eggs, beaten

♡ 100g self-raising flour

♡ 1 tsp baking powder

♡ 1 tbsp milk

For the jelly:

♡ 135g of Hartleys Orange Jelly

For the topping:

♡ 500g of dark chocolate (or any chocolate of your choice, but dark chocolate would be appropriate as the cake shall be sweet anyway)

Method:

1. Prepare the jelly by following the instructions on the jelly pack, and then leave for the required time (I suggest you make the jelly make about 2 hours in advance or longer, so the jelly is definitely set when it comes to making the cake.)

2. Heat oven to 190C (or fan 170C/gas mark 5 for gas cookers). Afterwards, then butter one 20 cm sandwich tin and line with non-stick baking paper. Then, In a large bowl, beat all the cake ingredients together until you have a smooth, fluffy batter (the ingredients can go in any particular order)

3. The mixture needs to be transferred into your sandwich tin, and then smooth the surface of the cake mixture with a spatula or the back of a spoon, then bake for about 20 mins until golden and the cake springs back when pressed. Turn onto a cooling rack and leave to cool completely, this is very important.

4. Whilst the cake is cooling, melt the chocolate using a water bath (out the chocolate in a glass bowl, and let it float in boiling water) or use a microwave. Also, get the jelly out ready to use.

5. When the cake has completely cooled, placed the jelly on top on the sponge cake, ideally as close to the middle as you can get it. Then, pour the chocolate evenly all over the cake, so that it roughly covers all the sides and the top. If you have some spare chocolate, drizzle some over the top for a little extra detail. 

6. Leave the cake in the fridge until the chocolate has set, and then dig in! ♡

That's the method we used anyway! I really hope this works for you, and if not, then I am extremely sorry!

If you give this a go, please email me photos or tweet them to me, only if you want to! :)

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~Thank you for reading!~

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Christmas!!

Hello everyone, so If you can't tell by the sudden chirpiness of the general public, the Christmas lights, and Micheal Buble's Christmas album being sold everywhere suddenly, IT'S CHRISTMAS! (well almost) 

I may be 15, but at heart when it comes to Christmas I am still 5. I literally love everything about Christmas- the food, the tree, the presents and so much more. But this year, I have really gotten into the Christmas spirit. 

An example of extreme Christmas spirit syndrome would be that recently, I have been going to bed at like 7:oo pm, just so I can read a lovely Christmas book  in bed, wearing my Christmas reindeer pyjamas, with a hot chocolate and a candle! If you are stressed, that is definitely a very festive way to de-stress and relax!

Seeing as I am so into Christmas this year, I thought it would be nice to capture it, and so I have took some Christmas photos which I would love to share with you! 

So grab a festive drink , a festive song, (my favourite is 'Baby Please Come Home') and 'ave a browse!

These tree decorations are truly the cutest little things, especially the gingerbread man decoration attached to a little heart aw!

I decided to be creative and add bows to the tree - it's actually really simple, just tie a bow around a branch of your Christmas tree with festive ribbon.

 Whilst looking for Christmas decorations, I found this really nice candle called "Mistletoe Kiss" by Bath Cosmetics, which has a fresh yet festive smell, it smells of cinnamon with a slight hint of orange. However, it doesn't smell like you would imagine it to with that description, but it smells nice... (wow A* for candle description Carys, well done)

My little Christmas book! If i'm honest, I picked up this book because I saw 'John Green' on the front cover, and that enough sold it for me! Let me know if you want a book review of it :) 

Well we are so so close to Christmas, it's mentally in touching distance! 

I hope you all have a beautiful Christmas and New Year, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, then I still hope you have a nice relaxing break :) 

(Here is my favourite Christmas song by the Christmas legend Micheal Buble - what's our favourite festive song?)

Thank you for readingggg!!

P.S (Here is a fun game ((well not fun but entertaining i guess)) you could go back all the way through this post and count how many times I say 'Christmas' - the title does count...oh how fun my blog posts are, I even include a little game for you! anyway off your pop and get counting haha)

Time To Be Nosy

• Hello everyone!! Woah, how long has it been? I actually hate the fact that I haven't posted for almost a month, everything just got so hectic and it's about to get even more, but I needed to post, so here are some questions from tumblr that I thought I would answer! Feel free to answer them yourself! (if you do, leave me a link to the post!)


1.When did your last hug take place? 
Today actually, I think it was with my mum :) 
2.Are you a jealous person? 
Extremely - I hate it about myself. 
3.Are you tired right now?
Tired would actually be an understatement, so yes haha. 
4.Do you chew on your straws? 
Yes! Who doesn't?! I sometimes do it if I'm out somewhere with people I'm not yet comfortable with, as a way of comfort. 
5.Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? 
Nooooo, I'm the type of person who needs their sleep in order to function. Plus, when I get overtired I get extremely grumpy, so I think so the best of my friends & family, I should make sure that I never stay awake for 48 hours aha 
6.What should you be doing right now? 
Doing homework, but even the thought of it is stressing me out... 
7.Are you a heavy sleeper? 
I would say I'm an average sleeper, I sleep heavy enough to not get woken by house sounds, but I sleep light enough to know when to get up. 
8.Are you mad at someone right now? 
um, I think mad is a strong word, I just get frustrated easily at things,not just directly people. 
9.Do you believe in love? 
As cheesy as it is, yes absolutely. I believe that everyone has someone for them out there, someone who will make you happy whenever you see them & will be there for when you're sad. I wouldn't say that the purpose of life is to find love, but I do think it exists. 
10.What makes you laugh no matter what? 
Funnily enough, I find silly little things more funny than comedians - it could literally be an picture or a funny story that will set me off. I think I prefer these like that but they are unplanned for, like when someone falls over (as long as they laugh to) I can't help but laugh, but with comedians all the jokes are rehearsed and they don't have that randomness about it. 
11.Who was the last person you talked to? 
My mum again - I can't remember why but I'm pretty sure it was just something like "Can I have a cup of tea" 
12.Will you get married?
I can't predict that, but I hope so one day (preferably to a band member) 
13.When was the last time you smiled? 
I smile all the time, even when I'm sad. I'm smiling whilst writing this actually. 
14.Does anyone like you? 
This is a bad question because how would I know, but based on the fact that I regularly embarrass myself & my school uniform is unflattering to say the least, probably not. 
15.Who was the first person you talked to today? 
My mum haha. 
16.Who do you feel most comfortable talking to about anything? 
Probably my closest friends - I can trust them with anything. 
17.What are you NOT looking forward to? 
EXAMS! I'm dreading the exam season, I could barely handle one exam within the space of two weeks let alone 6 within the space of a week oh my god...also growing up, I see why Peter Pan ran away to Neverland ahah 
18.What ARE you looking forward to? 
Summer In The City, Concerts, Seeing Lee Evans live, Christmas, My Birthday, Leaving School... I also look forward to little things like listening to music after school, I always make sure i have something to look forward to otherwise I have no motivation. 
19.Do you plan on moving out within the next year? 
Absolutely not! I'm only 15! I don't even plan on moving out until the year after next, or the year after that, or the year after that, or the year after that etc 
20.Are you a forgiving person? 
Yes - which is probably a bad thing in most situations. I forgive people for doing something wrong even If i don't want to, but If i can tell that they are giving an sincere apology or are generally nice 99%, then yes I will forgive them because I would like them to do the same for me if I ever offended someone. But sometimes, I forgive people who don't even apologise or aren't nice, purely because I can't be bothered with the fuss of being in a strop. 
21.How many TRUE friends do you have? 
Probably about 4, but only time will tell. 
22.What’s the last thing you put in your mouth? 
Garlic Bread - mmmmmmm 
23.Who was the last person you drove with? 
My dad, see I wish I could be like "my best friends because we went on a road trip" but you have probably figured out by now that my life isn't that interesting. 
24.How late did you stay up last night and why? 
10:30, because we had a day off today but I was still tired so I decided to go to bed before 2 am for once. 
25.If you could move somewhere else, would you? 
Temporarily yes, I'd love to live in a different country for a while but I know I will always come back to where I live now. 
26.Who was the last person you took a picture of? 
Myself on Holly's phone, a left her a pleasant picture or me that wasn't so pleasant ahah. 
27.Can you live a day without TV? 
Yes, TV is soooo bad nowadays, you can only watch Come Dine With Me or Four Weddings on most channels. There are only a handful of GOOD Tv shows. 
28.When was the last time you were extremely disappointed? 
I regularly get extremely disappointed mostly over little things, but the last time I was really dissapointed was when I walked out of my English exam thinking "there goes my predicted A* in English" ooo that was a terrible exam... 
29.Three names you go by.. 
Carys (my actual name) 
CCarysm_ (my twitter name) 
Caribou (My nickname my family gave me) 
30.Are you currently in a relationship? 
No, and I'm ok with that because it's my fault for having extremely high standards thanks to band members. 
31.What is your all-time favorite romance movie? 
I haven't really watched many, but obviously something like Romeo and Juliet or Titanic because Leonardo DiCaprio is my favourite actor...although both films end sadly but they still make me feel fuzzy inside. 
32.Do you believe that everyone has a soul-mate? 
Yes - everyone seems to marry if they want to. Like, I see some couples and think "they are meant for each-other" so yes I do. 
33.What’s your current problem? 
I want to travel and go out and live my life but I can't because of money issues and obviously Education as apparently it's more superior to happiness. 
34.Your thoughts of long distance relationships? 
Nothing's impossible - you just have to trust that person enough and think is it worth it, if they make you happy then I don't see the harm in trying. You do what they say "Distance only makes the heart grow fonder". 
35.How many kids do you want to have? 
At the most 3, at the least 2. I want a boy first, then a girl but I'm not too fussed.




Thank you for reading! I hope you at least mildly enjoyed it :)
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Harry Potter Land | Warner Brothers Studio Tour #2

Hello everyone!! So a couple days ago, I uploaded a blog post called "Harry Potter Land| Warner Brothers Studio Tour #1" which it part one of m trip to harry potter world & this is part two for however was interested haha!

Also, on my reactions bar at the bottom of each post, I noticed someone rated part one as boring which I haven't got a problem with because that is your personal opinion but sorry for it being boring! 

I shall try and jazz the part up a bit the best I can :)

Voldemort and the gang ha

 Mrs Umbridge's office

 An actual Butter Beer omg! It tasted like cream soda with syrup and whipped cream, I think those are the main ingredients actually ha

 Me and my sister outside privet drive :)

 Harry Potter's family house

The wax statues used in Goblet of fire & others:)

Diagon Alley wowee

~Hogwarts omg~

well that's it! I hope you enjoyed this & I hope you all get a chance to go to harry potter studios!

*I should probably say that I wasn't paid to write about my trip nor paid to visit, I just really love harry potter haha*

~Thank you for reading~

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Harry Potter Land | Warner brothers studio tour #1

Hello everyone!! so on Thursday, me and my family embarked on a literal magical journey to the wizarding world of Harry Potter in London! I will admit it, I am a secret potterhead & i'm not afraid to admit it! 

The first harry potter film (Harry Potter and the philosophers stone) came out in 2001 when I was 3, so I have basically grown up with flying cars and magic spells, a bit deceiving & disappointing to reality but it was so nice to watch the harry potter grow and finally visit the sets that I spent most of my younger years 'oohing' and 'awing' at!

I'm not even exaggerating when I say that I screamed when I saw the harry potter sign!

((I strongly suggest around now that you once again grab a cup of your preferred hot drink & 2 biscuits!))

*Spoilers alert now, if you are going soon or plan to go soon, don't read!*

 Me and my fabulous mother outside of the entrance!

My very excited self putting my hand in Rupert Grint's hand print! (it looks like I have 2 mutate hands im scared)

 ACTUAL chess pieces from the ACTUAL first film! 

My hand is Daniel Radcliffe's hand print *squeals* 

 All the portraits and pictures of harry potter characters that were in the entrance (yes the camera already came out in the entrance)

I found Luna Lovegood's potrait! After many years of deciding, I can say that Luna is my absolute favourite character because her character is so random but yet wise, I love it! There is also another reason why she is my favourite character and that is because of how the actress, Evanna Lynch got the role of lovely Luna. 

Evanna Lynch wrote to JK Rowling at the age of 11 to look for hope I guess as she was severely anorexic and was literally fighting death. To her surprise, JK Rowling responded in the way a counsellor would, saying how "anorexia is destructive, not creative, and the brave thing was not to succumb to it."

Obviously, this lead to back and forth letters to each-other when eventually Evanna mentioned how she would love to be in a film & so JK Rowling accepted this and said that she could play Luna once she got better! All it needed was a lot of fighting and movitvation from her idol and Evanna beat Anorexia and lived on to play Luna in the harry potter films, ultimately because JK Rowling saved her life and gave her something to fight for! True Story.

Harry's cupboard under the stairs!

The great hall! where all the houses sat for meals and those are the actual costumes worn by Gryffindor members :)

just some of the costumes :)

The costumes from the yule log ball :) 

Harry, Hermione, and Ron's wigs which i actually don't understand why they have these because their hair looks exactly the same in real life?! 

~~~~Luna's shoes and various costumes~~~

More costumes from harry potter omg I'm so geeky

 Gryfinndor boys dormitory

Gryfinndor common room 

 Harry's invisibility cloak &Ron and Hermione's outfits

 Philosophers stone im crying

 I always wanted a remembrall for some reason hmm

The Weasleys house! Things were actually moving as if magic o0o0o see what I do there 

Well this post is quite long so I think I shall make a part 2? if you want! I love doing posts like this because its so like a diary entry, so you look back on them and think 'aw that was a nice day' & I like recording the memories, whether you like reading them is a different story ha! 

~Thanks for reading~

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Arundel Castle | family day trip

Hello Everyone!! So sorry for not posting more but I was getting stressed over my first shift at my first job (which actually went fine, despite the back-breaking work and 11 hour shift) but now that its over I am feeling relaxed and ready to blog again :) So last Friday, me and my family decided to go to Arundel Castle and see what it had to offer! It was a really good day because when I was younger, we always used to visit castles so it was really nice to relieve that experience. Unfortunately, we went aloud to take pictures of the rooms inside of the castle but around the castle we were. I would recommend grabbing a cup of tea/coffee (or whatever drink you prefer) and a biscuit, lets get started!

 ^This is Arundel Castle, the family who inherited it actually still live in it today, woah.^

 ^ This is the castles courtyard, it would of been a good shot if that tree wasn't in the way! ^

^ this was the chapel, I'm not religious but it was quite nice. ^

^ This was outside of the chapel, I just thought it was a really nice little garden but how do those palm trees survive in England?! ^

^ this was one of the gardens, and honestly it was so so beautiful! It reminded me of the gardens out of Marie Antoinette if you've seen it. ^

^ This was a really interesting decoration because obviously being in a garden it has the nature theme, hence the holly leaves made out of bronze to decorate the pillars, but inside of this little hut was nothing but walls which were made entirely out of sticks, moss and all things nature! It was really interesting to see and it reminded me so so much of the lost boys hut that they made for Wendy in Peter Pan! ^

^ This was a fountain within a fountain within a waterfall and can I please have this garden?!^

^ I just really loved this fountain ok^

^ This is me and my dad! I think I was laughing and he was pulling a funny face, and that's why I really like this photo :) ^

^ My mum and dad, so cute aw^

^ This is the church opposite and part of the garden ^

 ^ this was so cute, a little arch way made out of branch and beautifully coloured flowers!^

^ What a creative way to decorate! Just tree stumps used a plant pots! ^

^ This was such a interesting fountain because the crown on top of the water was being twisted and turned but the momentum of the water, nothing else was keeping it floating, I found pretty impressive^

Well that was my day out! It was so lovely and if you live in southern England you should definitely go and check this castle out! 

I think the next blog post is going to be extremely exciting, or if it's not the next one than it's the one after next! but hope you are all enjoying the sun or summer holidays :)

~Thanks for reading~

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