Winter homes are happy homes

Helllllo,

If you've ever followed me on twitter (or low and behold met me in actual life) you will know I spend about 85% of my days moaning about how cold I am. I spend the other 15% moaning about how hungry I am.

But regardless of this, that cold snap between autumn and winter is probably my favourite time of year. I feel like it's the most interesting season for colours and sights and smells. I'm also quite a home-bird so the fact that it gets a bit colder and you're not expected to don a bikini and head to beach, or stay up all night eating undercooked barbecue food suits me quite well. I like a winter house to feel warm and cosy, like you just want to curl up with a book and eat marshmallows. (I'm not sure where I'm going with this - feel like I've slipped into some Beauty and The Beast alternate universe)

Anyway, basically I'm happy because winter home-ware is finally starting to emerge on the highstreet which means we can all stock up on blankets to get us through the harsh winter months! I've picked out a couple of things that I liked the look at in various winter ranges. I'm a big fan of candles, especially if they smell like Christmas and make the room feel like a little secret hideaway so that's definitely something I'm going to be investing in this season. Little touches here and there can make such a difference to a room especially when you're practically in hibernation.

Hope you like them, links in the caption as usual...

L-R Sequin Stag Cushion, Next // Tiffany's Gingerbread Cushion, H&M // Wooden Doily Coasters, Etsy // Stag Print Throw, Next // Stoneware Mug, Matalan // Foxy candles, Habitat // Fuschia Candle Holder, John Lewis // Polar Bear Duvet Set, H&M

I done dyed ma hurr

Heyyya,
The other evening my flatmate and I got a little bit bored so (as all normal people do) we decided to dye my hair! I'd already bought the hair dye ready for a rainy day when boredom struck but we were going out that evening so decided to do it for that!

I've always loved dying my hair, I think the first time I did it was probably when I was about 11 and I used one of those wash in wash out ones in a subtle red shade. I remember a boy called me "fire-head" for 2 days straight...so I kicked him. Luckily, I don't hang out with such intellectually-lacking children anymore so I usually dye my hair once a year with no name-calling.

Flatmate doing the dying - big thanks to him!

I decided for autumn I wanted to go a darker colour, usually if I'm dying my hair in the winter I go for a purpley shade but this time I went for a dark red. There's so many brands of hair dye all boasting vibrant, nourishing, long lasting, natural colour with bells on. In the end I settled for SuperDrug's own because I'm a massive cheapskate.

How scary is that model's face?!

The shade I used is from the 'Superdrug Colour Vibrance' range in '6:45 Maroon Red'. It was super simple to use, put it on dry hair for half an hour then wash out with normal shampoo and the colour enhancing conditioner provided.

I'm really happy with the colour, it's a lot brighter than I thought it was going to be but I like that. It's lasted really well, I put it in a couple of days ago and hardly any washes out in the shower so I'm hoping it'll last til Christmas!

Anyway  hope you like it. Lemme know (and if you've got any tips on how to make your colour last longer I'd appreciate them too - thaaaanks)

Thrifty Butternut | Recipe

Hellllo,

Normally when I go food shopping I'm really good! I am an obsessive list writer so writing a shopping list and sticking it suits me down to the bone! However, about a week ago I went to Asda and was ambushed by a butternut squash. I'm not sure what came over me, I had never cooked one before, I didn't know what to do with it and it sat sadly in my cupboard for a week. (This is literally as exciting as my life gets...sorry)

Anyway, today I decided enough was enough and I cooked the damn thing! I roasted half of it and made the other half in to curry and they're both absolutely delicious and considering the squash only cost me 95p it's a pretty cheap week's worth of dinners.

Here's my recipe for roast butternut squash:

First thing first, chop the bloody thing in half! This was really difficult for someone with no upper body strength (e.g me) so use a big knife! Scoop out all the seeds and keep them

Chop your squash into decent sized chunks and then lay them in a dish. Try to only lay them in one layer so that they all cook the same.

In a little bowl mix together some chilli flakes, cinnamon, mixed herbs, salt and pepper. If you've got a pestle and mortar now's the time to use it. I didn't have one so I used the back of a big spoon to smash them a little bit

Add some olive oil to form a herby paste. I also added a squeeze or tomato puree and some garlic puree (if you can't get hold of puree then it might be nice to put some whole garlic cloves in so that they roast with the butternut squash)

Smear this paste all over your squash making sure every chunk has some on it. Also, sprinkle some of the seeds you scooped out earlier over the top. 

Wrap the squash tightly in tin foil and bake at 180 until the skin becomes soft (this took about 40 minutes for me because my oven is rubbish but it could take as little as 20 mins). Once it's soft take the tin foil off and bake for another 10 mins.

There you go then! It's a little bit spicey so if you're not a fan of the heat you might want to use less chilli. I'm going to have mine for dinner tonight with some noodles and a bit of soy sauce! I also made a curry out of the squash but I haven't tried it yet. If it's nice I'll stick the recipe up here

Let me know if you make this yourself...let me know if you like it! 

You old tartan!

Heeeey,
Tartan is set to be a masssssive trend for winter! Everywhere I seem to go I see it and the worst thing is...I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT! I'm a massive sucker for the original red tartan pattern but also absolutely love the dark green style I've seen about on the high street.

Every time I walk into a shop I can almost hear my bank balance whimpering "No...stay away from the tartan Maisie...we don't think we'll survive it". Luckily so far I've managed to heed the cry of my debit card and refrain from any huge tartan expenditure. I don't think this inner strength will last long. It's freeeezing in Norwich and I've got my heart set on a tartan winter coat!

Alas, until I find one which will fit my student budget I'm stuck wasting my hours traipsing round shops and scouring ebay. Below I've made a little tartan covered wishlist all of which I'm adding to my 'When I Win The Lottery' list.

Hope you like it, and if anyone sees a budget tartan coat...let a sister know!

Red tartan faux fur boyfriend collar, River Island, £40 // Tartan and leather satchel, Cambridge Satchel Company, £140 //  Red tartan skater skirt, New Look, £17.99 //  Tartan ankle socks, Missguided, £3.99 // Tartan high wasted trousers, Urban Outfitters, £48 // Black and tartan contrast shirt, River Island, £15 // Leather collar tartan skater dress, Missguided, £14.99

Cut that out!

Heyya,

Loathe as I am to admit it, it seems summer is coming to an end. As much as I'm gonna miss the light evenings and warm afternoons I will definitely not miss this years summer trends. Crop tops and pastels are not my friends so I can't wait to fill my wardrobe with warm, autumn clothes!

Something I've been seeing a lot of and loving is cut out boots! I really like them, it's a great way to carry on a summer trend throughout the autumn months. Recently I saw a picture of a model wearing some nice cut out boots with a jazzy pair of socks on underneath, I thought this looked great. A really interesting and different way to accessorise.

I'm sure I'm going to have to invest in a pair of cut out boots soon. But luckily for me (and my bank account) there's plenty available on the highstreet. I've found a few that I liked and put them down below but I've also seen some nice ones in Primark (whyyyy don't they have an online shop?!)

Do you like the boots? Seen any nice ones? What other trends are you liking for Autumn?

Jeffrey Campbell Trane Cut-Out Shoe, Office // Lisa Cut-Out Block Heel, Boohoo // First Love Low Heels, Schuh

Black Cut Out, New Look // Limelight Black Leather, Office

Dark Red Cut-Outs, New Look // Anticipate Ankle Boots, ASOS // Stud Cut-Outs, River Island at ASOS