MUA Professional Haul | NEW Products

Hello, Lovelies. As we saw last week, I'm a big fan of Makeup Revolution. Super affordable prices but amazing quality? I'm there! However, MUA were kinda there first. Then MUR came in and stole their thunder. Terrible, I know! I don't splash out on MUA as often as I do, but I love their lip lacquers, and still buy the odd thing. So, when I got an email to announce some new releases, I thought it was the ideal time to dive back into the MUA life. 

I'll have first impressions of all of these up this week!

All of these products are from the professional range, which I can only assume means they're better quality than their standard range, and aimed at a professional make up artist audience building up a kit. I bought these products from Superdrug, which in hindsight I regret as they didn't have the full range, but we'll get into that in a second. 

First, I couldn't pass up this Correct and Conceal concealer palette, £6. I regularly use the Freedom concealer palette, which has far more shades than this palette. However, this MUA one has got larger pans, and deeper tones I thought I could use for cream contour. I love the fact this has got a white shade - just like the Freedom one - which I use to lighten up the shades which are just a touch too dark. I picked mine up in Light, but they actually had a fairly decent range of shades you can find here. However there's nothing for a super deep skin tone, in my opinion. Superdrug have got all the same shade options as online, which wasn't the case with another product. 

Next, is this Ultra-fine Loose Setting Powder, £4. I don't often set my makeup with powder, but I've been trying a lot of powders lately for the occasions I do. I've loved their hydro powder in the past, so I was super excited when I saw this. It claims to be 'delicate and colourless' with an 'invisible finish', which just sounds ideal doesn't it? This also claims to be suitable for every skin tone, which would of course make it ideal for a starter makeup kit, so that's a claim I'm excited to try out too. 

Finally, the product I'm most excited about is this Foundation Mixer, £4. I picked this up in Lightening Warm, but they've got another in Deepen Warm on Superdrug here, However, on their own website they've got a Dark option in the Deepen range, and a Cool option in the Lightening range. You can find these here. Being super pale, even the lightest options in most drugstore foundations are a touch too dark for me. I've seen similar products to this from a few other brands, but couldn't pass this up for £4. My main concern for this would be it changing the coverage and/or finish of the foundation, however I'm excited to see how it actually works. 

So, there you have it! I feel like MUA have been massively overlooked since MUR came around, but by the looks of things they're upping their game with these products. I'm definitely excited to see what else they've got in store from us this year after seeing these, and just hope the products live up to my expectations now! I'll have first impressions posts up throughout this coming week, so keep your eyes open for those if you're interested in how they performed. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The Mystery Blogger Award Tag | Get To Know Me!

Hello, lovelies! I was tagged by the gorgeous Cody to do the Mystery Blogger award tag. Created by Okoto Enigma, the aim is to get to know the person behind the blog whilst showing a bit of love to our favourite bloggers. I love little things like this, so I'm super excited to dive in!

The Rules

1. Put the award Logo/image in your post.

2. List all the rules.

3. Thank whoever nominated you and leave a link to their blog.

4. Mention the creator of the award and provide a link to their blog.

5. Tell your readers 3 things about yourself.

 6. Nominate 10-20 people.

7. Notify each one of your nominees by commenting on their blog.

8. Ask nominees any 5 questions of your choice; with a weird or funny question (specify)

9. Share the link to your best/favourite post of yours.

Tell your readers 3 things about yourself:

1. I'm a dog person. 

2. I wanted to be a vet until I was about 16

3. I don't like tea.

Do you  have a bucket list? if so what’s on it?I do! Loads. Get through uni, travel, learn new languages, own my own home, learn to drive... the list is endless.
What’s the one thing in your life that people get wrong about you?I think I can verrrry easily come across as a typical, mean, dumb blonde. But, I'm really not! I'm super shy, which can come across as a bit stand-offish. I promise I'm nice, though! And, I'm a bit dim at times which makes me seem a bit less intelligent than I am.
What’s your go to essential in your wardrobeA bomber jacket. I'm sure they've gone out of style now but I still love them. I won't be binning any of mine anytime soon!
What did  you want to be when you where 10?
A vet! 

If you could live inside a Movie which would it be? and why?
Ooooh, good question! Harry Potter, probably. Probably the Prisoner of Azkaban if I had to pick a specific film in the series. Do I even have to answer why?

My Question’s are!

1. How does your dream career differ from the career path you're taking?

2. If you could organise your own music festival, what would it look like?

3. Sweet or savoury?

4. What are your favourite and least favourite things about blogging?

FUN QUESTION: What super power would you like to have most and least?

I NOMINATE:

Louise

Leigh

Jessica

And anyone else who wants to do it because I'm rubbish at tagging people!

And, finally here's my favourite post so far!

Much love, Maxine xo

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Makeup Revolution Affirmation Palette | First Impressions + SWATCHES

Hello, Lovelies. The final in my Makeup Revolution first impressions of the week is this gorgeous Affirmation palette, £8. After picking up the flawless matte palette I reviewed earlier this week, I wanted to try a palette from the range with a bit of sparkle to it. I'd heard good things about this palette, so didn't hesitate to pick it up.

The first half of this first row didn't swatch very well at all, which instantly made me very nervous. However, I've applied them to the eye over a base and they apply really well. That's seemed to be a running theme with these palettes, for me at least. They apply so much better than they swatch, so that's maybe something to be aware of. The rest, as you can see, are very pigmented. I love the rusty, orange tones of the last two shades.

Now, this second row swatched beautifully. Those first two pale, shimmery shades are absolutely gorgeous for brightening an eye look up. Again, the warm toned browns are gorgeous, and staples for most looks. 

This third row is by far my favourite row, and I'd pay the £8 just for this in all honesty. How gorgeous are those shimmery shades? The purples are perfect for adding a bit of something to a look without it being a ton of colour. You can get some lovely, wearable looks out of this row whilst still being creative and stepping away from a warm brown smokey eye, which I like. The shades I've tried all, of course, apply well and blend beautifully.

This final row is ideal for deepening up a look and making it super smokey. There's a tone ideal for whatever combination you've used in the previous rows, right through to a black in the far right. Do I even have to say that the apply and blend wonderfully at this stage or can we just take it as a given? 

Overall opinion: I can't say enough good things about this palette. It's my favourite of the three I've tried by a mile. You can get such a huge range of looks with this. It's the ideal travel palette in my opinion. You've got the wearable shades on the left in a mix of matte and shimmer, and the darker shades for a more intense, smokey look. You've even got a few shades ideal to add a hint of colour, like the rusy orange shimmer shade, the range of  purples and that gorgeous blue-grey shimmer shade. If you only buy one of these palette, buy this one! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Makeup Revolution Acid Brights | First Impressions + SWATCHES

Hello, Lovelies. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I've been building up my eye makeup collection, and decided to invest in a few of Makeup Revolution's palettes. We've all heard of them by now; they're super cheap and typically amazing quality, so they're the first brand I headed for to stock up. Amongst my very grown up palettes, I couldn't let this Acid Brights palette, £4 pass me by.

The colours in this just looked too amazing to pass by. I've noticed I've gotten a bit 'safe' in my makeup lately, so I was eager to get back to the neon shades 18 year old Maxine loved so much. At £4 for 12 shades (that works out at 33p a shade!!) I snapped this up straight away. I've tried a few of the other palettes in this particular range and they've been a bit hit and miss, so this was probably the palette I was the most iffy about trying. However, I've been pleasantly surprised.

note that the bottom picture washed out the swatches a little.

When I first swatched this palette, the first thing I noticed was a few of the shades came out quite chalky and patchy, which made me a bit nervous. In particular, the white, yellow and purple. So, I tried these shades first in some looks and they were like entirely different shadows! They blended so well and weren't patchy at all. 

As for the rest, every other shade I've tried so far has performed well beyond my expectations. The khaki green shade is by far my favourite (I know, not a neon but it's so pretty). They've all been ridiculously pigmented, more so than they've appeared when I swatched them, and they've blended out well. 

The only real negative I've found so far is the shadows are quite crumbly, which means you can get a lot of fallout if you don't tap your brush off well enough beforehand. Again, it's nothing huge as it's manageable, but it's not ideal. 

Overall opinion: I'd 100% recommend this, especially if you're starting out with brighter shadows and/or on a budget. However, it's a great little palette for anyone, I think. There's a few niggles here and there, but nothing huge or unmanageable. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Makeup Revolution Flawless Matte Palette | First Impressions + SWATCHES

Hello lovelies!  I noticed recently that I've been focusing on face and lips a lot when buying new makeup, and my collection has fallen behind when it comes to new eye products. So, of course, Makeup Revolution was one of the first places I looked when I started to build my collection up, starting with this Ultra 32 Flawless Matte Palette, £8.

I've heard some amazing things since this came out, and since I'm going through a matte phase, I of course, couldn't pick up some palettes and leave this behind. At £8 for 32 amazing, matte shades it's such a bargain. Most are warm toned, with the exception of a few. But, I like that as it means I can create a lot of different looks with just one palette. You can go from something super simple, right through to a really intense smokey eye, and even add a bit of colour with the warm orange and pinky tones, and that lovely blue-grey shade on the far right. 

So, onto the swatches! 

When I first swatched the top row, I was fairly impressed. I know it's one of those cliche things all bloggers say, but these feel really buttery. I was very impressed with how the palest of these shades showed up, as they can often be the hardest to show pigmentation in my experience. I've used the first three in this row almost everytime I've used the palette, and they've applied really well. 

This second row contains one of my favourite shades in the palette, this gorgeous blue shade on the far right. It's absolutely beautiful, I'd pay the £8 just to buy this again in all honesty! The two warm, pinky shades in the middle are probably the two I've been using most, however. Again, they all apply so beautifully. No complaints here!

This thirds row is, without a doubt, my favourite. The third and fourth shades from the left are my absolute favourite types of shades. They just work with pretty much any eye look you're doing, and they're probably the most flattering on me personally. The first two in this shade swatched a little chalky, but overall another amazing quality row. 

For me, this final row is too similar to the row above to really be comment worthy. I've got absolutely nothing against the shadows themselves - the shades are all lovely, they're all pigmented and the ones I've tried have applied and blended well. I just feel like maybe this row wasn't needed when we've got pretty much the same one in the row above, yknow? 

Overall opinion: I mean, for £8 I really can't complain. Every single one of the shades is so pigmented, and they apply and blend so well. I've only had this a few weeks so I haven't managed to try all the shades properly, but I've tried the majority and I haven't had a bad experience with one. My only gripe, and it is minor, is the fact that those last two lines are just too similar for my liking. Overall though, this is a fantastic palette with an amazing shade range. I you haven't already given it a try, I 100% recommend it! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The November Playlist

Hello, Lovelies! It's been a while, huh? I'll save you the millionth where have I been post of the year and just skip straight to it! No promises or expectations for all this blogging lark, but I certainly hope to be about a bit more often for the last month of the year. 

Miss You - Gabrielle Aplin. 

100% the most played song of the month. I absolutely adore Gabrielle Aplin, and English Rain is one of my favourite albums of all time so you can imagine my excitement when I saw this little gem pop into my subscription box on Youtube. One listen in and it was the first song to make it into my little monthly favourites playlist on Spotify. Well worth a listen. Pinky promise!

Nathan Sykes - Famous 

Now, I'm not the biggest Nathan Sykes fan. I don't dislike his music, he's just not the kinda artist I'd choose to listen to, yknow? That all changed this month. I'm in love. Like, really. Kinda cemented by his live performance on the X Factor this year. But, this song is just amazing. I can't stop listening. 

 Unsteady - X Ambassadors. 

This isn't a new song. Apparently, it was featured on the Me Before You soundtrack, which I watched and loved. But, I've only just heard this song this month, someone. I found it on a random playlist on Spotify and I. Am. Obsessed. Not a knew one, but a good'un just the same. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The August + September Watchlist

IHello, Lovelies. I'm mentioned countless times here that I love me some telly! Whether it's a good old Netflix binge, sitting down with a cuppa and a soap or cringing at some reality tv, I'm there and watching eagerly. So, I thought I'd round up the shows I've been in love with over the last few weeks and share it with you guys. 

Could I really have done this post without Casualty? It's featured in nearly all of my tv loves posts, and I'm certainly not about to stop now. Any episode is a winner for me, but with the recent feature length episode and that helicopter scene, they definitely upped their game. I'm absolutely over the moon they've brought back Alicia, and can't get enough of the Hardy/Knight brother combo. Step aside McSteamy and McDreamy - Brit Doctors definitely do it better!

Ever since Rosanna Pierce started mentioning Suits in her Vlogs/on twitter/everywhere, I knew I had to give it a shot. I'll admit that when I started watching episode one, I just didn't get into it. I took a break, and sat down again a week or so later, and ended up binge watching 2 seasons in the week. Yep. It's addicting. Harvey Spectre is definitely my newest TV crush, very closely followed by Mike Ross. 

I've seen a lot of chatter about this recently, and it was definitely a Netflix binge. This at times was definitely a bit too obvious for my tastes; in particular, the commentary which in all honesty I found a bit silly. That said, I found myself suddenly deep into the second series when I'd only meant to be watching the very first episode to kill a bit of time. Definitely one of those "so shit it's actually quite good" shows. A bit silly at times, definitely a bit obvious at times, but addicting nonetheless. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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What I Eat In A Day | Vegan Recipes

Hello, lovelies! Who doesn't like food? I love food! And, nearly more than that, I love finding new recipes to try. Now, I don't always eat vegan, which is terrible I know, but I try to as much as I can. That said, I spend far more time than I should watching vegan what I eat in a day videos on youtube and jotting down the recipes to try, and I adore spending my time in the kitchen playing about until I've got a dish that I just can't stop eating. So, I thought I'd join in and tell you all what I eat in a day, along with the recipes so you can try them out too. 

Breakfast 

Now, this is pretty non-negotiable. I'm not one of those people who can sit down to a huge plate of pancakes or a cooked breakfast. I almost always have the same thing - porridge. I switch my add-ins and toppings around pretty often, but you can almost always bet on the fact that I'll be sitting down to a bowl of hot porridge on any given morning. Even the summer. Because I'm always cold. 

Recipe: 

This one is pretty simple. Add 1/2 cup of oats and 1 cup of your liquid of choice to a pan, and heat over a medium heat. About halfway through, add 1/2 a mashed up banana, a small handful blueberries and 1/2 tsp maple syrup and keep stirring until it's combined fully and your consistency of choice (I like mine pretty thick, so I cook for a longer time). The banana and syrup make this super sweet, but the tartness of the berries cuts through the sweetness really well. And, it's loaded with fruit so you're already well on your way to your 5 a day! Top with the remaining banana and a drizzle of peanut butter and you're good to go.

Lunch

Unlike breakfast, I try to have a different lunch every day. I get bored very easily, and if I have the same food too often I literally can't eat it again for months with the exception of a few things, but this veg soup is a super simple, versatile and filling meal. You could even double up the serving and have it with some crusty bread for dinner. I don't have a set-in-stone recipe for this, I just use whatever veg looks like it's about to go off with my go-to base of onion, garlic and chilli, so no matter what you've got you can just throw it in without having to go out and spend a fortune on new ingredients. 

Recipe: 
This makes about 8 generous portions. 

Cut up any veg you've got lying around into medium sized chunks. I used 2 sweet potatoes, about 7-8 carrots, and about 6-7 mushrooms in this but you can use anything. Finely chop one onion, and 1/2-1 chilli, and mince 3-4 cloves of garlic. Fry this off in a small amount of oil and a pinch of  smoked paprika until everything softens. Throw in your veggies and add enough veg stock to cover everything. Leave to simmer over a medium heat, stirring occasionally, until you can easily break apart the veg with your spoon (this will depend on what you use, but about 30-45 minutes). Leave to cool, then blitz everything in a blender. You can then divide into portions, and freeze what you aren't going to use. 

I forgot to take a picture, but here's one from last week! Sorry.

Dinner

Now, I'm not a fan of spaghetti. At all. But, this pasta bolognese is one of my favourite dinners. I switch out the spaghetti for whatever pasta I've got lying around, and even chickpeas if I fancy a change. You can also use this to top sweet potatoes, quinoa.. the list is endless! Topped with a nice helping of vegan cheese, you can't beat sitting down to this comforting pasta dish.

Recipe:
The sauce makes 2-3 portions. 

Cook your pasta according to the pack instructions. Chop 3-4 cloves garlic, 1/2 red onion, and cook in a pan with 1/2 a veggie stock cube and 1-2 tbsp boiling water. When the garlic and onion have softened, add 1 can chopped tomatoes, 1tbsp tomato paste/puree and 3-4 chopped mushrooms. Leave to simmer over a medium heat until the sauce is piping hot. Drain the pasta, add your sauce and toss to coat. Grate some vegan cheese over the top, and you're done! Freeze any portions you haven't used.

So, that's that! I didn't add snacks into this because I'll be doing a separate vegan snacks post soon, but I hope you liked these recipes. They're all so easy, but super delicious. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Back To School Haul 2016 | Maxine Studies

Hello, Lovelies! As I mentioned in my recent 'where have I been' post, I'm going back to college for the millionth time this year. I don't actually start until the 20th, so I'm a bit ahead of my own schedule, but I like to be organised so I've already got everything in and ready to go. Plus, for anyone going back a bit earlier, you might see something you fancy! I picked all this up over the last few week, and it wasn't until I was getting everything together and getting the last few things I realised I've accidentally got a bit of a colour theme going. 

I've still got a ton of stuff leftover from last year, so this isn't everything I'll be taking. I will be doing a "what's in my pencil case" type post soon with all the things I take on a daily basis, so keep your eyes peeled for that. 

Obviously, the first thing I needed was a ring binder. I just wanted one I could divide up, instead of having to carry a few different ones around, so I went for one of the bigger lever arch files. I love this baby blue one from Wilko's (£2), and the design inside is lovely. I'm not a fan of anything too 'busy', so I like that it's plain on the outside but cute and girly on the inside. To separate the folder up, I just got these subject dividers (95p). I won't need all 12, but they seemed a bit firmer than the cheap cardboard ones which always end up ripped and falling out after about a week in my folder, so I just picked these up. Much the same with these plastic wallets (89p for 50), they aren't anything fancy, but they'll do to stick any loose bits of paper in which is all you need them to do, really!

Next, of course, I had to pick up a notebook. Like the folder, I wanted to just have to take one, and I always tend to get the Pukka project pads, but I loved the print on this one and it was only £2 in Morrisons. I also needed a diary, because I'm a micro-planner and organisation freak! This rabbit one was, again, £2 in Wilkos, and I love the cute design on the front. It was hard to find one that wasn't either a plain block colour or aimed at a younger audience, but I thought this was a nice middle ground, and the baby blue colours go well with my accidental theme this year!

Like I mentioned, I've got a ridiculous amount of stuff left over from last year, so all I needed to pick up on the pen front was some ballpoint pens and some colouring pencils. For pens, I picked up this pack of Paper Mate pens in 8 different colours (£1.50) I normally go for a super thin nib on a pen because my handwriting is cursive and really 'loopy' and gets lost with a thicker nib, and I didn't notice that these ones were marked as medium. So, I might end up not really using these in the end; which is annoying. I didn't really want anything fancy with pencils, so I just picked up the first ones I saw, which ended up being this 30 pack from Wilko's. They were only £1.75, which I thought was a complete bargain for the amount you get. To stick all this in I picked up this pencil case (£1.50), which isn't anything fancy but it gets the job done and looks nice with all the other baby blue things I bought.

Of course, even though I've got a massive pile in the house, I couldn't walk past these books of sticky notes from Morrisons. I can't remember which and I've lost the receipt, but one pack was 50p and the other was £1. They're really cute, and a nice change from the typical neon or pastel colours you get, and I like the fact they come in a little book with loads of different shapes and sizes. Next, my course is assignment based, with a lot of posters and things like that, so I thought I'd get this 4 pack of glue (£1). You get two 21g tubes and two 15g tubes. I might not need it, but I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it! And, for £1 for 4 tubes you can't really go wrong. 

Finally, I picked up this USB. I have got one lying around somewhere, but God knows where I've put it so I obviously had to buy a new one. I ended up going for the 16gb pastel blue one, which was £5 from Wilkos. I wasn't going to get a 16gb one, purely because I don't think I'll ever need that much, but the 8gb was £4 and this one was £5, so I thought I might as well. Plus, just like with the glue I'd much rather have a load of spare memory space I don't use, than need it and not have it for the sake of another £1. 

And, breathe! I didn't think I'd bought that much until I came to write this post up! I still need to buy a bag, but I'm so fussy about what I want that I'd never get this post up in time if I had to wait until I'd bought one. Let me know what you've bought for going back to schoo/college/uni in the comments below, and definitely leave any links too! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The August Playlist | Recent Music Loves

Hello, lovelies! Fancy having a bit of a snoop around my playlist for this month and finding out what songs I've been loving? You've come to the right place! I've gathered together all the songs I've had on repeat over the past month or so into one handy little post. Good, eh?

Bastille - Good Grief 

I honestly couldn't have made this post without adding this song. I've been obsessed with it probably for a little bit over a month, but it's still one of my go-to songs even now. I love Bastille, and I think this may be my favourite of all their songs. 

Rihanna - Love On The Brain 

This is a very recent love, but a love all the same. Now, I'll be the first to say I'm not Rihanna's biggest fan. I don't necessarily dislike her or her music, it's just not something I'd seek out either. But, I stumbled across this song in another playlist and I literally had it on repeat for the next 2 days. Solid. Like, it's all I listened too. Seriously! 

James TW - When You Love Someone 

This is the first I've heard of this guy, but I sincerely hope it's not the last! It's one of those easy listening, stick it on in the background when you're reading or just relaxing songs. Then, you listen to the lyrics and you're like "oh. so it's like that". Very much like Jamie Lawson's Wasn't Expecting That, where you don't really listen to the lyrics but when you do you realise it's a lot more meaningful than you first thought.

What have you guys been loving this month? I'm always open to new music, so leave your links below. 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Life Update! | Mental Health, Education + Pets!

Hello, Lovelies! It's been a while, eh? Quite a bit has happened, and you wouldn't believe the number of times I've thought "I must blog about that" and then just haven't had the time to actually sit down and have a good old natter about life. I've got a ton of posts hanging around in drafts over the past month or two, but it didn't feel right to start writing them up and getting them posted without having a little catch up on where I've been, and most importantly where I'm going! 

First things first, we really can't have this post without mentioning my new little babies! I got kittens! I was originally just going to get Henry; but in the end, we decided to get his brother, Winston, too. They were far too attached to each other to separate them, and actually the morning I rang about Henry the people who had reserved Winston had rang up to say they couldn't take him after all, so it was definitely fate. Winston loves nothing more than sitting down on your knee and watching Youtube videos (I've trained him well!) whilst Henry is a bit more reserved. They've settled in with the other pets really well, too. Kaiser is in awe of them, and they've taken to him really well. The home they came from also had a German Shepherd, which was one of the main selling points in picking them, as it was important to us that they wouldn't be scared of Kaiser and that their first few interactions were positive; which is obviously a lot easier when they've been brought up with another big, slobbery dog. 

Henry is mostly black, and Winston is the one with a lot of white.

The next biggest thing has got to be my mental health. I've spoken in posts before about my mental health problems, but Thursday the 4th of August marked the day I was officially discharged after nearly 2 years in counseling! I also came off my medication about 2 months or so ago, which was a big step. I honestly couldn't be happier or prouder in the way that my life has changed this year. I've got a post in the works all about my mental health problems in more detail and how I coped with counseling, medication and things like that, which I'm really looking forward to putting together.

Another big change is my education! After many failed attempts, I'll be doing an Access to HE course this coming September. I'm keeping tight-lipped about the degree I'm hoping it will lead onto just in case it all goes tits up, but I'm beyond excited! It feels like everything's falling into place, and this just feels like it makes perfect sense. I've tried a few times before but it's just never been the right time for me, but with all the big improvements in my mental health; I think this is the right time, finally! I'll have a ton of posts up on applying to uni as a ~mature student, study tips, and all that kinda stuff once I get into the swing of things myself.

Let me know what things have been happening in your life that you're excited about below! 

Much love, Maxine xo

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The Almost Mid-Year Review | Looking At 2016 So Far

Hello, Lovelies! This was a slightly ad-hoc post. I didn't have this planned, but it popped into my head and who am I to say no to an idea? They don't happen all that often! So, I thought I'd take a look at the first 4 months of the year, review my new year's resolutions, and have a chat about the plan going forward. Let's do this!

One thing I want to discuss is the way that my mental health has played a part in the way the last 4 months have evolved. I mentioned briefly the history of my mental health in this post, and actually felt somewhat better until recently. I find that these things come and go with me. However, I've recently began counselling again, and am making steps to improve that area of my life. Although, of course struggling with your mental health takes it's toll, and I feel like that may be reflected in the way I've attempted to achieve the goals to far.

The first thing I wanted to do was be more organised with my time, which has pretty much been a non-starter! I tried really, really hard, but I'm a creature of habit, and sadly a lot of my habits are bad. This is definitely a goal I need to start working on, though. Hopefully in another 4 months, I can come back and tell you all about my success in managing my time. Until then, though...

I feel like the next two go hand in hand with me: worrying about pleasing myself instead of other's, and accepting that perfect isn't obtainable. I've really been struggling with this one, recently. I very much hold myself to other people's standards rather than my own. I feel like we're all guilty of doing this to different degrees, but this is a recurring theme in my counselling sessions, actually. If I'm happy with x thing, but Person A wants me to do y thing, then x thing is now a failure in my eyes. I think very black and white: perfect and useless, win and fail. I need to start to accept that the grey area exists, and I need to start choosing what shade of grey I am happy with. Something I've been working on in recent weeks, but certainly something that needs to be in the front of my mind in the coming months.

Next is blogging more, which is very hit and miss! I did perfectly, and then things wained. Although, I'm definitely getting the bug back! We'll see how this goes, I've noticed my want to blog varies with my mood, so hopefully things will only get better! Not the achievement I've wanted, but actually, all things considered, I'm happy with that I've achieved with this goal so far.

My final thoughts on the past 4 months as a whole: they haven't gone the way I intended. My motivation has dipped a lot, and life has certainly got in the way a lot more than I planned for. That said, I know that I could've done a lot worse, and actually I feel like I've put in place enough ground work to absolutely kill the next 4 months! 

How have you been getting on with your new years' resolutions? 

Much love, Maxine xo

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Indulgent Chocolate Brownie Recipe | Late Night Bakes

Hello, Lovelies! As I mentioned in my recent chocolate chip cookie post, I'm a baker at heart. When I'm bored, putting something off or just need to de-stress, I bake. I'm more of a sweet treats baker: I'm more likely to be found baking cakes and cookies than I am pasties and pies. And, one of my go-to recipes are these super simple, super indulgent brownies from Mary Berry.

Instead of chocolate chips, I once again prefer to use chunks: I'll normally add squares of rich dark chocolate for me, and Dairy Milk for my mum and sister. Again, I actually doubled this recipe, then halved it and made a batch for me and a batch for my mum and sister, as it's so easy to just knock up. This is definitely one of the easiest and tastiest recipes I know of. 

What you need: 

275g Butter; softened 

375g Caster sugar 

75g Cocoa powder 

100g Self-raising flour

4 Large Eggs 

100g Chocolate 

What you do: 

Preheat oven to 180c, line a baking tray 

1. Add everything to a large mixing bowl, and mix well. (I add the eggs + chocolate after I've mixed everything else, but that's personal preference).

2. Add the mixture to the baking tray, making sure the mixture's pushed into every corner, and spread evenly. 

3. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes (I'd check at 30-35 to be sure, then go from there) 

4. Leave to cool, then cut into even squares (or not, you do you) and turn onto a plate. 

These are really, really nice hot or re-heated, with a scoop of icecream on top. I microwave these and they come out fine. They should last 3-5 days in a sealed tin.

Much love, Maxine xo

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