Sweets & Treats | lifewithluce

Hello again! In this post I'm going to share with you different snacks that i've enjoyed and found over these holidays from recipe books, on Pinterest or on Tumblr. Ever since I was a young girl i've always found food a big fascination whether its due to the taste, appearance or aroma, I found myself admiring food wherever and whenever. I think my dad's influence has brought me up to be more intrigued and adventurous when it came to food. He always encouraged me to try more different foods, I think my first seafood dish was when I was only three! However, as much as I adore seafood I wont be including any seafood dishes in this post, i'm simply going to surround this post around 'sweet treats'. So more of a baking approach rather than a cooking approach :-) Enjoy!

I know if i'm ever a bit peckish, I occasionally like to prepare myself a little fruit salad. Raspberries, blueberries and banana are a must, but I do like to add other fruits in also just to give some extra taste. It's always nice to have it on muesli too on a morning, with yogurt, dates and seeds, perhaps with a drizzling of maple syrup just to finish it off and give that added sweetness. 

This picture caught my eye instantly, these carrot cake doughnuts are simply to die for. The fact I adore carrot cake and doughnuts in the first place makes this tasty snack so much more appealing. A lovely idea and I could imagine being quite filling so it ticks all the right boxes for me :-) 

SMOOTHIES! I can't get enough of them, homemade or shop bought, smoothies are definitely an all time favourite of mine. I love the fact you can experiment with so many different flavours and make them look so attractive. The top ones are mango, coconut and banana which I can imagine to taste divine. The second image of the smoothies is actually called a Blueberry Muffin Smoothie, so obviously blueberry is the main flavour in that, therefore personally another tasty and refreshing one to try out. Also, a bonus to smoothies aswell is that they're healthy so you can have one everyday and not feel guilty afterwards.

As you may know from one of my previous posts, i'm a sucker for chocolate chip cookies. So there was no question about it that I just had to include them in this post. They are my absolute ultimate snack and they're just so ideal if you're ever craving for something sweet but not too filling. The great thing about them is that they're actually really simple to make and you can go make some of your own by following my chocolate chip cookie recipe on this blog. 

Now, energy bars are such a great snack to put you on. they're healthy, tasty and give you plenty of energy for the day ahead. They're useful for if you're doing exercise because it gives you that boost of energy you need and plus they're also quite sweet due to the syrup content so can be seen as a little treat too. The only downside I can think of is the ingredients needed to make them, if you have plenty of time on your hands these are the perfect little snack to produce.

Cake pops are a new favourite of mine, yes they are a hassle to make but when you get them right, you really do get them right. I tried to make some a couple of weeks back and they didn't turn out exactly the way I wanted, they were very sweet and the texture wasn't great. However, I love the idea of them and you can go all out on the decoration. I've chosen pastel colours to represent the cake pops in this post, I think they look adorable and appealing too! A great little sweet treat to have whatever the occasion. 

Banana cake, yes some people could turn their noses up at this, although personally I find banana cake scrumptious. My mum's homemade banana cake is divine and it's an ideal way to use up those ripe and unwanted bananas in the fruit bowl. I used to have this as an after school treat when I went to primary school and when my mum picked me up and I saw a slice of banana cake wrapped up in kitchen roll I had the biggest grin on my face ;-) Such a lovely treat to snack on.

I hope you've enjoyed reading this post, I know I enjoyed writing it. I think I might do some more food posts in the future, not too sure what exactly about just yet. Bye for now! :-) 

My Kitchen Diner | Interior

Hello lovelies, now this post is based around my kitchen diner and the interior that comes along with it. I know for a fact that I adore looking at interior magazines and online and exploring different designs of rooms, especially kitchens. I've recently had my kitchen and dining room converted into a kitchen diner. It was so SO tiny before and now it's so much more spacious and welcoming. Before we had a new kitchen put in, it was difficult at parties and family/friend get togethers to communicate with others when preparing food as there was a wall between the kitchen and dining room. I'd say having converted the kitchen and dining room into a kitchen diner it has changed my life for the better. Not only my life has it changed but also my mums and close family members too.

We wanted to go for a modern yet retro theme for the kitchen diner, although I do like the vintage theme also, we wanted something a bit more original and quirky. So, I have gone around my kitchen and dining room and taken a fair few pictures for you to see and enjoy. This may even give you some inspiration and ideas if you're re-decorating or converting to a kitchen diner, for layout and interior design purposes. :-)

The Pantry

Kitchen +Breakfast Bar

The Bureau

Dining Room

Few Homely Touches

Mums Wall Art

Well I hope you enjoyed this post, I quite like making these kind of posts, think I might do some more interior posts like this again sometime. Until next time, bye for now x

Favourite Closet Designs

Hello everybody! Yes it's been a considerable amount of time since I last did a blog post so therefore I came to the decision of posting a new one. This one is basically revolved around closet designs. I think there are such great and ideal ways of storing clothes, whether that's just a few items on a clothes rail or perhaps in an elegant walk-in wardrobe. I believe there is some exquisite fascination of mine on closet designs that I would like to share with you. I've been doing my research for this post and found some really different and quirky designs of closets, however i've gone for a more girly and plain approach to this.

 In my case, less is more. Enjoy! :-)

I find open closets even more stylish if the clothes are colour coordinated. Not only can you find your clothes easier but it looks much more chic. That's a bonus for me personally. As you may have noticed, I have gone for a white closet colour scheme, the reason for this is that I find that the clothes stand out more and it looks so much more classier than a brown, black or oak wardrobe/closet. This post has really made me want to go out and get a new wardrobe, as mine is so tiny and my clothes are getting crammed inside. Hopefully one day I can have a walk-in wardrobe in my own home :) 

The second picture of the clothes rail really caught my eye, it's beneficial for storage space, you get to show off your clothes, you can decorate it, for example wrapping fairy lights around it and I think they're funky and original. The other designs are fairly similar, I like the way that accessories are included such as bags and shoes, it makes the designs much more intriguing and fashionable. 

I hope you've enjoyed this post, you never know it could've inspired you to make your closets look cuter and girly; even for boys ;') Have a nice day/week/month, till next time, bye!:-) :-)   

40 things before I die | lifewithluce

First of all, I just want to take this opportunity to say how sorry I am for taking so long to do another blog post. I have been so so busy and I just haven't found the time due to coursework, revision etc. That aside, I hope all you lovely readers are okay and doing alright :-) Still can't believe how many of you read this, it's crazy! I never thought it would be this popular in a million years, but honestly I'm so flattered to hear your lovely compliments about my blog.
Right, so due to how little time I have I thought I'd do a bucket list sort of thing, I'm just sticking to 40 points though. . Oh, I will be doing a more detailed and interesting blog post in the near future, hopefully when I have more time! Hope you enjoy reading :-)

1) Travel the world
2) Go to university
3) Have two children, hopefully a boy and a girl
4) Hopefully qualify as a teacher, photographer or an interior designer
5) Travel in first class on an plane
6) Get married
7) Visit Vietnam, Japan and Thailand
8) Conquer my fear of spiders and wasps
9) Go to Harry Potter World
10) Pass my driving test
11) Decorate my house
12) Go to loads of festivals
13) Buy 10 lush products
14) Purchase decent straighteners and curlers
15) Learn to write in traditional Chinese writing
16) Take my family on holiday
17) Go to prom
18) Go to New York
19) Buy a homeless person a coffee
20) Chill by a fire on a beach with blankets and wine with my future boyfriend, aw
21) Go skiing in the French alps
22) Jump out of a plane
23) Grow my own vegetables :-)
24) Watch my favourite films when I was younger with my children
25) Hopefully get proposed to in Venice, Paris or on a Caribbean beach :') *hint hint*
26) Grow old with someone I love
27) Ride an elephant
28) Make up a fake name for my Starbucks cup
29) Go up the Empire State Building
30) Go Christmas shopping in New York and London
31) Ice skate in New York at Christmas
32) Jog through Central Park
33) Climb a HUGE mountain
34) Travel the world with my bestfriend or boyfriend
35) Go to Bora Bora or St Lucia for my honeymoon
35) Compose my own music on my guitar
36) Watch the sunset go down on a romantic holiday:')
37) Read all the books in my bookcase
38) Own a car
39) Be a great mum :-)
40) Live everyday like it's my last.

Thankyou for reading and i'll try and post after my exams in a few weeks. Have a fab day:') Bye!x

May Favourites | lifewithluce

Hello everybody! I've been looking at various different blogs recently and i've noticed many bloggers have being uploading posts on May Favourites! So me being me, i've literally been loving so many new things this month and decided i'd share them with you all :-) Oh and I just wanted to say a HUGE thankyou for 1K page views, that's crazy, I never thought it'd hit that amount in just a few months :-) Thanks again everyone! :*

It was kind of a must have to include my new obsession this past week, American Horror Story is definitely a programme for you older viewers as it's rated an 18, but honestly it's so good. It's quite explicit and gruesome so make sure you watch it with the right kind of people. The characters are amazing too - especially Tate! The plot is so interesting and engrossing which I find is really important in an on going series. From the title you can tell it's horror so prepare yourself before watching it, well I do anyway! I'm not actually a great fan of horrors but this is definitely an exception. I highly recommended this programme, it's so addictive!

This book has become really popular recently and I just had to get involved in the whole craze of it. As soon as I began reading this book, I knew instantly that I was grabbed and then realised what everyone was talking about. I haven't read all of this book but i've been enjoying it so so much. If you haven't got this already, go to the shop right now and get it! To say that i'm not a big reader this has definitely inspired me to read more. It's basically about this girl who suffers from cancer, a cancer support group and a boy and a girl who fall in love, not to give anything away :-)

As I said a couple of blog posts ago, I mentioned how I desperately needed some new sunglasses, I did have in mind on purchasing circular glasses but these just caught my eye straight away. After some deliberation on which colour to get I thought i'd be a bit different and go for clear pink. Its arms are tortoise shell print so it adds that extra glam :-) They're so cute and if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter you'll see me wearing them. Plus the glasses case is really cute too, they also come in loads more different colours! Not to mention this gorgeous weather recently, these definitely came in handy! 

These topshop, blue, checkered leggings are my current favourites by far. I bought these just the other week and when I tried them on in the changing rooms I knew I had to buy them. They go with so many different tops and shoes of mine too, they're so ideal for any season really! For topshop these leggings were not that expensive, £22 I think they were, but I don't know for certain. You can also buy them in black checkered also, but I do own a lot of black and I didn't want to buy something else in that colour. 

Lastly, I wanted to show you my new purse in this gorgeous, bold, green colour. As my last purse wasn't that ideal for notes I had to get a larger one. This one is from Accessorize and I bought it for just £17! Unfortunately, it's not leather, however it still looks classy and due to the bold colour you won't be losing that out of your sight anytime soon! It goes really well with my bag too, as that's a royal blue handbag. 

Thanks for spending your time reading this and I'll be posting again sometime next week. Hope everyone's exams have gone alright this week, I know i've been very stressed! Bye for now! :-) x

More About Me | lifewithluce

Hi everyone! Sorry i've been a bit late on posting this past week. It's been so stressful with revision and schoolwork at the minute, so I apologise about the delay! As i've realised, i've been getting quite a few page views recently so I thought i'd share a bit about myself for you lovely viewers. Because of this decision, i'm willing to answer some questions that you guys may be wondering about. Here goes! :-)

1. What are you wearing?
     I'm currently wearing my cute, flowery pyjama bottoms and my creamy cosy, Topshop jumper.

2. Ever been in love?
    At fifteen, i'm sure there will be many of you thinking, "oh no, she's much too young to understand the concept of love..." However, yes, I believe I have/am with my current boyfriend.

3. How tall are you?
    I'm 5"4.

4. Favourite show?
    Definitely American Horror Story

5. Something you miss?
    I'd have to say primary school and the friends that came with it. I also miss being a kid and doing 'fun' things. But, more importantly, I miss my dad.

6. How old are you?
    I'm 15 years old.

7. Zodiac sign?
    I'm Aquarius.

8. Qualities you look for in a partner?
    A sense of humour, down to earth, not too serious, a happy person and obviously a good smile:-)

9. Favourite quote?
    "Live life with no regrets and do things that make you feel happy"

10. Loud music or soft?
      Soft - indie folk.

11. Where do you go when you're sad?
      To my mum, friends or the attic window- it's a great place to think- I know, i'm weird😂

12. Favourite actor?
      Leonardo DiCaprio or Evan Peters;)

13. Favourite colour?
      I don't really have one, but if I had to choose, it'd be a duck egg blue or a pale pink.

14. How long does it take you in the shower?
      10-15 minutes

15. Ever been in a physical fight?
      If you could count me punching a girl in the nose in year two, then yes :-D

16. Fears?
      Losing loved ones and being alone in a scary place..

17. Last time you said you loved someone?
      My mum, yesterday.

18. Last book you read?
      The Fault in our Stars

19. The last thing that made you cry?
     A film

20. Last show you watched?
      Breaking Bad.

21. Last person you talked to?
      My mum.

22. The relationship between you and the last person you texted?
      One of my boy bestfriends

23. Place you want to visit?
      Thailand

24. Favourite food?
      Pasta

25. What instruments you play?
      The guitar

So, that's it for this week! I hope you enjoyed this post, I know it's a bit different to what I normally do but I thought i'd share with you some personal things about myself. Thanks for reading:-) Bye for now!

Making Cookies | lifewithluce

Hi everyone! As I absolutely love chocolate chip cookies I thought i'd give you the most perfect yet simplest cookie recipe i've ever used. For as long as I can remember I've always had a passion for baking and I have such fond memories of baking buns, cookies, cakes, etc with my mum. The recipe i've taken this one from is the Be-Ro Home Recipes, which personally I find is a god send and I literally depend on this recipe so much throughout my baking. So I hope you enjoy reading this post, I thought i'd do something a bit different today :-) 

Ingredients needed:

Margarine - 100g (4oz)  
Soft light brown sugar - 75g (3oz)
Syrup - 2 x 15 ml spoon (2 tbsp)
Self raising flour - 175g (6oz)
Chocolate chips/chocolate chunks - 100g (4oz)
Milk - 2 x 15ml spoon (2 tbsp)

1. Firstly, heat your oven to 180'C, 350'F, Gas Mark 4 and then grease two baking trays. 

2. Then, beat the margarine until soft (I tend to get a creamy, white kind of colour), add the sugar and cream together until light and fluffy.

3. Afterwards, you'll need to get the rest of your ingredients and stir them all together and mix well! Make sure you sieve the flour before adding it into your bowl.

4. Once you've mixed all your ingredients together thoroughly, use your hands or a spoon to dollop the mixture onto your baking tray. Make sure they're not to wide or too small and try to keep them all an even size :-)

5. Then put them in the oven to bake for around 8-10 minutes. 

6. After being in the oven just check if they're cooked by either slightly touching the tops of the cookies or listening for any sizzles. Once they're baked, just place them on a cooling rack to cool.

7. Then, place them on a plate and for extra delight just make yourself a brew (proper Yorkshire), enjoy! :-)

Ta da!

Well guys, that's it for this week! I really hope you've enjoyed reading this post and hopefully it will inspire you to make some gorgeous cookies also! I think I might do a personal post next week so be sure to check that out soon! Have a nice week all! :-)