Our Visit to Portmeirion - part 1.

If one post from me today just isn't filling your Porcelain Agaric appetite then pop over to By The Lock where the lovely Chloe has posted my vegan Peanut Butter Sundae Hair Mask recipe. Her blog is an ecclectic mix of crafting, cooking and wonderfulness in which you will find plenty to make your eyes happy.

Back to our camping adventures, it turned out that our campsite was right opposite the estuary to Portmeirion. This amazingly, strange place was designed and built by Clough Williams-Ellis in 1925-1975. He bought the site in 1925 for around £5000 and based it on a typical Italian city. I loved visiting here so close to finishing Elijah's Mermaid because some of that was based in Italy so it really immersed me in the feeling of it all.

 

This place is just so strange to walk around, its all so contrary in a way, very beautiful and quirky though. If you are in North Wales it is definitely worth a look around, you can easily while away most of a day there immersed in all the candy colours and fresco-esque buildings. We even caught up with my aunty and uncle there and spent a lovely few hours wondering around and drinking tea. I took a lot of photos here so I will be sharing more of these when I need a camping fix in the week. 

Hope you have had a fantastic bank holiday Monday <3 

Much Love

xkx   

Kitchen Glamour - Refreshing Face Mojito.

I love Mojitos, they are the epitome of summer fun and frolics. So with spring in full throw and the promise of summer getting nearer I was inspired to make a mojito for my face. My pot of mint is thriving under the windowsill, I love rubbing the leaves as I walk past and smelling the fresh scent. I put about 3 healthy springs in this refresher, mint is really good for the skin, not only can it be soothing for irritated skin, but its high amounts of salicylic acid loosens up dead skin cells, which can help stop your pores from clogging. Mint also has vitamin A in it which means that it can strengthen and balance oily skin.

The other ingredients in this face refresher are 2-3 slices of cucumber, 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and the zest of an orange. I have raved about cucumber in my 3 Ways to Combat Puffy Eyes post. Cucumber is 90% water so its cooling and hydrating for your skin, the cucumber acts as the liquid ingredient of this recipe. I also zest an orange into this, this is optional but I think it adds a lovely zing to the aroma. Citrus is also amazing for the skin because of its high content of vitamin C, it can tighten pores and make your face look and feel a lot fresher, you can read more about how oranges are good for your skin here. The last ingredient I add is caster sugar, this helps to grind everything into a pulp in the pestle and mortar.

Once you have all your ingredients ready, put them into a pestle and mortar and grind away until it is a pulpy consistency. You could pop it into a food blender if you wanted. Once you have your face refresher ready you could place it into the fridge for half an hour just to chill it down or you can use it straight away. I massage the pulp around my face (over the sink to catch any drips). Once I have used all the pulp I rinse it off with some cold water and towel dry. This makes my face feel wonderfully soft, refreshed and ready to slip out for an evening of adventures. 

Hope you have a great, glamourous weekend <3

xkx

Kitchen Glamour - Citrus Tea Bath Soak.

To celebrate it being Friday again I thought I would share how to make a natural, vegan bath soak that will leave you feeling refreshed and rather delectable. This recipe is really easy and once you have the idea you can play around with what you put in your bath soak. Bicarbonate of soda is one of the important ingredients, is what's known as 'Baking Soda' in the USA (it took me a while to decipher what the UK equivalent was.) You can find Bicarbonate of soda in the home baking section of most supermarkets. Bi carb softens the water, I have put 6tablespoons in and it seemed to do a nice job but you will have to experiment because the water hardness in your area is probably different to mine. Start with 6 tablespoons and adjust as you feel fit. 

I have used loose leaf tea because that is what I have in the kitchen, but this is the perfect recipe to use up those herbal teabags you may have lurking in your cupboard. You need about 10 teabags for a herbal bath, what better way to use up those old health kick remnants? You could also use teabags you have used over the past couple of days as well.  I have used green tea because it is full of antioxidants and will give your skin a subtle glow. Camomile because the fragrance is relaxing and it is gentle and soothing to the skin. It is very rare but some people are allergic to camomile so if you are one of these people do not put it in your bath.

Citrus fruits are as yummy for your skin as they are for your insides. Citrus is packed full of antioxidants, vitamin C and vitamin E. Using citrus fruits on your skin can freshen, moisturise and rejuvenate. This is mainly because of the alpha hydroxyl which is a natural exfoliator, this means that citrus will cleanse, unblock pores and it will help you to get rid of  those pesky old dead skin cells.   

So once you have all your dry ingredients together, chop the citrus fruits up. This can be as neat or as rough as you like. Next go and get an old pair of clean tights (I usually have loads of these lingering in my underwear draw because I just can't throw some of them away). Now you can either use the foot end or if there is a hole there, just chop a good length out of the leg and tie a knot in one end. You will need to put everything, apart from the Bicarbonate of soda, into the tights. I put the section of tights over a pint glass because it helps me fill the tights up with the rest of the goodies, it also will catch any of the juice because you don't want to waste that! When it is full of all of the ingredients tie a knot in the top. Put the bath sausage under the running water of your bath and pour  the Bicarbonate of soda on top, the water will turn a rather impressive orangey green. I used a pink grapefruit so the colour may be less dramatic if you use a regular one. Now all that is left to do is to pretend you are in a cup of herbal tea and glow about how very gorgeous you are. You can also keep the section of tights and wash it to use it again for another soak, good huh?

Hope you have some lovely baths <3

xkx

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding.

Ed loves pudding so it is pretty difficult for him to decide which ones are his favourite, but rice pudding is definitely in his top 5. A lot of cow's milk doesn't really agree with Ed so he thought he would not be able to have rice pudding again. I tried to make him some with soya milk but it was a disaster, it just went brown and tasted funny. My mum had more patience with the soya version and had a lot more success. But I thought that coconut milk maybe a little easier to make rice pudding because it has more fat in it that soya milk, and this seems to make the rice fluffy and silky.

This rice pudding is absolutely beautiful, it's thick, smooth and the rich tasting coconut just transports it to heavenly pudding land. I used 1oz of sugar in this so it is sweet when the coconut is reduced down, as I don't have a sweet tooth I may reduce that amount next time. Ed is very happy with it though because he has a humongous sweet tooth. We usually have jam on rice pudding but I really don't think this needs it because it is like the little black dress, simple, chic and you don't need to accessorise with the right one.   

This recipe is in imperial because I stole it off my lovely mum, but it was my idea to use coconut milk so I'm not ripping it off completely. 

2oz Pudding Rice

1oz Sugar

1 Knob of butter (or vegan alternative)

1 pint of coconut milk (if you use a can just rinse the can out with water to make it up to a pint. You can also use soya milk or cow's milk depending on your dietary preference.

A generous flurry of Nutmeg

Just put it all in a saucepan and simmer gently for 20-25mins. Stir now and again to make sure the rice isn't sticking to the bottom of the pan, you will know when it is ready because the rice with be soft and it will have a beautiful pudding sheen. Now if you use coconut milk or cow's milk you can eat the pudding straight away because the consistency will be thick and moorish. If you have used soya milk it is best to leave it to cool then heat it up a while later, this will give you that nice consistency. I grate nutmeg in whilst I'm cooking and at the end because it reminds me of home, just taste as you go along and add as much as makes you happy.

This bowl of pudding with definitely cheer up a rainy, grey Saturday evening. Hope you are having a great one.

xkx 

Kitchen Glamour - 3 Ways to Combat Puffy Eyes!

My eyes are super sensitive, they get puffy if any random allergies flare up, I have used make up wipes, there is a lot of dust around, basically they are the equivalent of a High Society Victorian lady who has forgotten her smelling salts. I have found that if I can take care of them as soon as the they start to inflate I have a better chance of restoring face status quo.

I have tried quite a few different things ranging from natural remedies to over the counter creams. But these are my favourite three 'go to' remedies. 

Cucumber is lovely and you will probably have it lingering in your fridge. Cucumber is 90% water and if you chop two slices of cucumber straight out of the fridge they are wonderfully cooling and hydrating for your eyes. 

Tea bags are an age old remedy for eyes that are in desperate need of R&R. The tannin in the tea bag gently reduces swelling and discolouration whilst the caffeine will help get your eyes back to their sparkly selves. Regular black tea is the best to use, keep some tea bags after you have made yourself a cuppa, let them cool (or put them in some cold water for a few minutes) give them a gentle squeeze and lay them on your eyes. You can put them in the fridge before you use them so they are nice and cool if you have the time. Lay them on your eyes for about 20 minutes and relax, I usually do this before bed so I can really chill out. After 20 minutes take the tea bags off and rinse your face with some cold water or you will look like a tea stained panda! 

The third trick I have up my sleeve is aloe vera, I usually use this if my eyes are feeling itchy and grainy. I chop off a little bit and squeeze the goo out and massage around my eyes. You can put the rest of the aloe in the fridge to use again if your eyes persist in being pests. You can pick up an aloe vera plant from about £5 and they are so useful, I keep one in the kitchen because they are brilliant to use on burns.

I have found that none of these are miracle cures that work right away, I will use a combination of these methods 2-3 times a day to get the best effect. Hope these tips will help your tired, puffy, peepers <3

xkx 

Kitchen Glamour - Coconut Lemon Sour Scrub.

I was sitting on the sofa the other day painting my nails after I'd had a shower, as I was paying close attention to my hands I realised just how awful they looked. The skin on them was dry and lifeless; they were crying out for some summer sun. The UK is barely providing any sun at the moment so I decided to concoct a scrub based on a tropical cocktail, a much cheaper alternative to a sun soaked holiday that's for sure! This scrub will exfoliate and moisturise all in one go and it gives you that little bit of extra love because it is heated over hot water. This means that it is lavishly warm and syrupy on your skin with a super delicious fragrance.

All you need is 2 tablespoons of lemon juice (you could use lime), 1 tablespoon of flaked coconut oil and 2 tablespoons of Demerara sugar. I'm using Demerara here because this is an all over body scrub so I like to use a sugar with larger grains, if you want a gentler scrub use caster sugar. 

Mix these ingredients up over a bowl of hot water so the coconut oil turns to its liquid state and it is ready to use. Scrub it all over your hands, massage it in really well for a couple of minutes then rinse the mixture off with some warm water and towel dry. DO NOT use soap to wash this off because you want the coconut oil to lounge on your hands and soak in. The coconut oil will not take long to quench your parched skin and because of the lemon juice you will not find your hands feeling like a oil slick. 

My hands felt and smelt absolutely amazing after this scrub. You could pay a lot of money for this treatment out trust me. Using the above amounts will easily make enough for your hands and face, but this scrub would be a great one to use all over your body, especially before a shower. Just be careful not to get too slippery before getting in the shower. I don't want you to be covered in bruises, even if you will have beautifully nourished skin!

I hope you try this because it really feels like a treat, a sure 'pick me up' when your are feeling like you need a little bit of scrubbing love. Let me know if you like it.

xkx

P.S. It is so good that even Ed asked if I could make him some hehe.  

Tuesday Teacup - Minty Splash.

Even though spring has been very shy raising its head above the frozen earth this year, the brave little mint plants have been battling on, and the first sprigs have pushed their way up through the soil. So I decided to pick a few sprigs and make some fresh mint tea.

Mint tea is absolutely amazing for digestion. If I have indigestion, have had a large meal or my stomach is giving me some trouble I always make some fresh mint tea. Mint is so easy to grow and is pretty indestructible, we grow it in pots outside the front of our apartment but it will grow really well on window sills if you have nowhere else to put it. To make a cup of mint tea all you have to do is pick some sprigs of mint, give them a really good wash then put them in a cup and cover with hot water. I love the taste of mint tea just as it is, it can be an acquired taste at first so if you are not too keen add a teaspoon of honey or agave syrup.   

Happy tea drinking <3

xkx

Kitchen Glamour - The Zingy C Exfoliator.

Kitchen Glamour is my new weekly post where I will be sharing my homemade cosmetics that I have created from items that you probably have in your kitchen cupboards. I will be posting Kitchen Glamour every Friday to give you little sparks of inspiration so you can look fabulous for your weekend of adventuring. Alongside the recipes I will also show you some of the more random ingredients that I make sure that I am never without. The vast majority of Kitchen Glamour will be Vegan friendly too. 

This is The Zingy C Exfoliator and I found it has been my salvation in battling against wintery skin. A ripe kiwi fruit is the main ingredient in this for 2 reasons: the first being that I only like to eat under ripe kiwi fruit so I needed to find a use for the ripe ones, and the second reason being that kiwi fruit are amazingly nourishing for your skin! The kiwi fruit is bursting with Actindin which is an enzyme that dissolves protein, this means that it is a natural chemical exfoliant that powers through the dead skin cells on your face. Kiwi fruit also have super high levels of vitamin C and E, this means that this fruit is an awesome antioxidant and that plays an important role in supporting the production of collagen. Even the little black seeds are useful as they are stuffed full of omega 3 acid and alpha lipoic acid which can help balance out the oil in your skin and give it a slight tightening effect which helps to reduce those pesky large pores! 

So all you need for my Zingy C Exfoliator are sugar and a ripe kiwi fruit. Peel the kiwi fruit and mash it up with a fork (you could use a food processor or a pestle and mortar if you want to crack the goodness out of those little black seeds). Once you have a nicely squished kiwi fruit then this one is really up to you and how much extra exfoliation you want. 

Add between 2-4 tbsp of sugar to the kiwi pulp. I use caster sugar because the grains are small and I find that it is quite gentle, Demerara would be a lot more scratchy for example because the grains are larger! Start with adding 2tbsp then see if you are happy with the consistency, if not add more. Once you have a mix you are happy with apply in circular motions to the face (over a sink is preferable unless you want a fruity bathroom floor). I take off the excess and leave on my face for a few minutes then rinse off with warm water, but if you have the time you could leave it on for 15-20 minutes then wash off. Watch out for the sticky bits under your chin too! Finish off with a flurry of facial moisturiser and you are ready to go out on the town with your glowing skin. 

Hope you have lots of lovelyness planned for the weekend. We are off to take Doris for her MOT retest tomorrow *eeep*.

xkx

Cheap and Easy Face Exfoliator. (Can be made Vegan too)

I did a whole load of work today at the allotment and biked there and back, so when I got home I was ready for a hot bath and a nice relax. When I got out of the bath I decided to whip up my favourite facial exfoliator. This is a really easy and quick little product that you can make with ingredients you probably already have in the cupboard. All you are going to need is honey and sugar. To make it vegan just swap out the honey for maple syrup, it works just as well and smells amazing! Honey and maple syrup are both really nourishing for your skin so which ever one you use will be giving your face a treat. 

Runny honey is preferable (if you are using honey) than the set one, but if set is all you have just warm in it a cup, in a bowl of hot water. I use caster sugar because I find that granulated is slightly more scratchy, but once again granulated is fine just rub more gentle when you apply it. If your skin is really sensitive you could probably even try using Demerara sugar because the grains are smaller so it would make a gentler exfoliator. 

Once you have your ingredients ready just add 1tbsp of honey (or maple syrup) to 1tbsp of sugar and stir it together so it creates a paste like texture. 

It should look something like this when you have finished mixing.

Now all you need to do is apply it to your face with your fingers and gently rub in a circular motion. When you feel that you have exfoliated enough wash it off with some warm water. I finish up by wiping my face with a wet cotton wool pad just to get rid of the last few, pesky sugar grains.

And there you go, super soft, sweet, exfoliated face.