Friday 26 June 2015

Mystery Parcel

Hello Lovelies!


Last week a mystery parcel arrived. I have to admit I did think this was the swap I was doing with Scarlett but it turns out it wasn't! After much, much pondering I discovered that the parcel had been sent by a very lovely friend who had a feeling that I'd been having a hard time recently.


Inside was this cute little Hello Kitty case, on the front was a note saying Open me!


Wow! So much Hello Kitty!


Hello kitty and candy! What more could I need?


I'm so lucky to have such lovely friends! Thank you so much!

Ta-ta for now,
X

Tuesday 23 June 2015

Gift Box Swap with Scarlett Juzzle!

Hello Lovelies!


It's an exciting post today! A while ago I arranged to do a gift Trade with Scarlett Juzzle of Pastel Dreams and Rainbow Skies! (Go check out her blog, it's so cute!) We settled upon a budget, a date to swap and a theme! We decided as we both love super cute and Japanese things that the theme for this swap would be Kawaii! So off we went to shop for a swap before packing up and posting out! Quite handily both boxes arrived on the same day so we could open them roughly at the same time!


Here's my box from Scarlett! I knew who it was from immediately! Look at all the super cute kitty, Rilakkuma stickers and sweet tape! I have to admit I was super excited when it arrived!


I think most of the Berkshire area probably heard me squeal when I opened the box, My first reaction was 'Oh my gosh! So much Rilakkuma!!!!!' I don't think I've ever been so happy to open a gift like this.


Here is everything that was in the box, even now looking at the photo makes me smile, there's just so much here. Scarlett really, really spoiled me and I'm so, so grateful to her. There's just so much here!! Candies, stationary, tape, stickers, lunch boxes, a bag and a plushie!


She even put in some cute little stickers - I have plans for these already!


Super cute Rilakkuma stickers! I do love stickers, I'm already planing what to use these ones for.


The Rilakkuma kitty is one of my most favourite prints, so I'm very pleased to have this. I'm currently using this mug at work.


Rilakkuma Bento, Panda cookies and Pudding flavoured choco. My lunch box recently broke this was perfect timing! The bento is a perfect size and there are little sections you can put in or take out. The panda cookies were so tasty, they were a caramel flavour, I've not had them before but I'd definitely buy them again. I really enjoyed the pudding choco too - I think it's supposed to be creme caramel flavour!


Rilakkuma tamago bag! How cute is this? It's a perfect size to fit the lunch box in - I'm currently using it as a handbag.


Korilakkuma plushie! Everyone's favourite mischievous bear! I do love this, she's so soft!


Korilakkuma memo pad - This is the perfect size to fit in a handbag - it's got different printed paper inside too.


Scarlett also included lots of kawaii stationary! This is perfect as I was planning on buying some shortly for an upcoming project!


Hello Kitty Pencil, Hi-Chew Candy and more stationary! I love Hi-Chew!


I also found this cute little envelope inside the box.


Inside was the sweetest letter I've ever received. This made me feel so loved! I'm always a bit unsure about what people think of my blog/site so this really made my day.

I want to say thank you so much to Scarlett for making this swap so special and wonderful. I've been having a rather stressful time recently so this really made me smile and cheered me up, thank you for being so kind and generous!

Ta-ta for now,
X

Saturday 20 June 2015

Teatime Treasures will be at Hyper Japan Festival 2015!

Hello Lovelies!

A quick shout out for one of my dear friends who has a stall at the Hyper Japan Festival this year! (10th-13th July!) They'll also be hosting CD signings with Die Milch!!! Go find them at stall Y44 in the Kawaii Fashion section for all your Lolita and Kawaii Lifestyle needs! You'll be able to find Sanrio and San-x, Sailor Moon and Lolita brands Haenuli and Atelier Pierrot for sale!  If you want to check out what will be available at Hyper Japan, or stay up to date with announcements you can check out their facebook page here:



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Teatime Treasures are pleased to announce our stall location at HYPER JAPAN Festival 2015! Come find us at stall Y44 in the Kawaii Fashion section!!


You'll also have the fantastic opportunity over the long Hyper weekend to meet Coco and Mocha of Gothic & Lolita unit Die Milch, so come get your photos and CDs signed by the band! 

We'll see you there! 
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Please drop by and check out Teatime Treasures, I'm sure you'll be able to spot me around too!
(More on my Hyper Japan Plans later!)

Ta-ta for now
X

Monday 15 June 2015

Max Factor Colour Elixir lipstick - Ruby Tuesday

Hello Lovelies!

Today I thought I'd share with you a new lipstick I recently tried! This is Max Factor's Colour Elixir lipstick in Ruby Tuesday. I received this as part of a SoPost campaign.


I was really surprised when it arrived as I was expecting a sample, not a full size lipstick, which was pretty amazing! The outer case is a gold metal with a clear base which has a little of lipstick in so you can easily see which colour is which with out having to open the case.


Inside the lipstick has a big X imprinted on it for Max Factor - the wind up mechanism was smooth and went up and down easily. (Always a bonus so you don't waste the product!)


Colour swatch! This was super bright and pretty, I always love bright reds but I'm never quite sure they suit me. The lippy was very easy to apply and you can build up the colour. The formula is quite creamy and smooth.
 

And a bonus photo of me wearing it! I really quite like this lipstick, so much so that I've worn it pretty much every day for a week straight, and bought another in a different shade! It lasts really well too, I've only had to reapply it once or twice after lunch!

Have you tried out this lippy? Let me know your thoughts!

Ta-ta for now,
X

Thursday 11 June 2015

Shopping spree!

Hello Lovelies!

With summer fast approaching, and the United Kingdom having a sunny spell, I decided to take a visit to Reading to treat myself to some new spring/summer clothing. Primark currently has a gorgeous range of clothing in (and the usual questionable items!) So I thought I'd take a few photos of the items I brought to share with you!


Style Icon jumper - How cute is this? It's quite a light sweater so it's perfect for chilly evenings!


Minions T-shirt: I couldn't resist this, I do love the Despicable Me films! The only thing I'd say about this is that it's rather short in the body. I'd probably wear it with high waisted shorts or jeans.


Shorts! These were on offer at £3.90 a piece - they had a wide range of colours and styles available for purchase. I may have to go back to get more as they are pretty comfy and made of a nice denim material!


Lavender socks: Cute and reduced to a £1.00 too!


Pink floral skinny jeans: These are really comfy though a little on the short side for me (I'm 5'8) so I'd probably roll them up a little and wear them as cropped trousers.


Cropped leggings: these have a sweet lace trim, pretty light and comfy for the summer.

So that's it for now! Have you treated yourself to anything new for the summer? Let me know in the comments below!

Ta-ta for now
X


Monday 8 June 2015

Let's Cook! Victoria Sponge (BBC Recipe)



Hello Lovelies!

It's a Let's Cook today! I tried out a recipe for Victoria sponge cake I found on the BBC Good Food website (Granny's Victoria Sponge). Now, the reason I tried out this recipe rather than than my go to one in my Marguerite Patten Every Day Cook book is that the book has vanished! I have no idea where it's gone but I'm sure it'll turn up sooner or later! So in the meantime I decided to give this a go.


Go Get


200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
200g caster sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 medium eggs
200g self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
about 6 tbsp raspberry jam
250ml double cream, whipped (NOTE: I didn't use this as I decided to use butter cream instead)
Icing sugar, for dusting

Go Do


Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Grease and flour 2 x 20cm sandwich tins. I cheated on this as I hate greasing tins, I have a cooking oil spray which is super handy - you just spray the tings with it and drop in the greese proof. (NOTE: I also find cutting out greaseproof paper a pain to get it the perfect size, how ever most pound shops sell packets of it in a variety of sizes! You get quite a few tin liners for your money too!) You can see the pre-greased tins in the photo above.


 Place the butter, sugar and vanilla extract into a bowl and beat well to a creamy consistency. You can either do this with a wooden spoon or an electric mixer. 


Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time, then stir in the flour and mix well. ( You might find the mixture curdles if you do it too quick((I did!)), if this happens all you need to do is beat in a little of the flour to bring it back to normal).


Divide the mix equally between the cake tins, try and smooth out the tops as best you can and place into the oven and bake for about 20 mins until risen and golden brown.
  

Optional: Find yourself a super helper who will sit on your feet whilst your trying to mix cake batter!


The cakes should spring back when gently pushed in the middle when they are cooked. When ready, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 mins in the tin, before turning out onto a wire rack and cooling completely.


In the mean time whip up your cream or buttercream.


Once your cake is completely cooled, place the bottom of your cake on to a plate - if you're intending to move this about/take it anywhere you might find it a good idea to put a little put of jam or butter cream under it so it doesn't slide about.


Place a large spoonful of cream onto the cake.


Spread it out right to the edges.


Spread your chosen jam on to the top part of the cake whilst its still on the rack, again try and get it right to the edges.


Place the top half of the cake on the bottom and press firmly but gentley to sanwich the cakes together.


It should look something like the above!


Here's the stencil I mentioned earlier - you can just dust your icing sugar straight on top, but I was trying to be fancy!


You can just about see the pattern.


 Pattern close up.


There you go! Tasty cake perfect for afternoon tea! I would say unlike the usual centrepiece I use this didn't rise nearly as well/maybe I should have doubled up the mix for my tins? I usually get gigantic sized Victoria sponge!

Ta-ta for now,
x