Chatty 2017 Goals

I'm aware that we are a couple of weeks into 2017, so this is a little bit late, but I really wanted to post a New Years Goals post - not only so you can enjoy reading it and get inspired, but I can look back on it if I need reminding or motivation! I've called it 'goals' rather than 'resolutions', as I feel like goals are easier to stick to and sound a bit more positive than resolutions do. Let's go!

Blogging - this is sort of self-explanatory, but I want to blog more reguarly. It's not like I'm unorganised and don't plan my posts - I honestly do - but I just find myself with little time after all my college work is done. The winter lighting is also quite difficult. I'm determined this year to improve my content and to blog more often.

I've also set myself a goal of reaching at least 300 Bloglovin' followers. I know that followers aren't the most important part of blogging, but I'd just like to see my number steadily increasing. I've been reaching around 150-200 views per post recently, which is a lot for me! (If you want to follow, click the + button on the right hand side to go to my Bloglovin' page - thank you.)

Happiness/Self-Love - the last few months, I have been a lot happier overall, and I'd really like this to continue. I am really going to focus on my positivity this year and try to make people around me happier. It's so cliche, but your happiness is the most important thing - anything could happen, so you need to make the most of every moment. I'm thinking of doing a full blog post on this soon - let me know below if this is something you would be interested in reading.

Learning To Love My Body - you may have noticed on my Instagram (if you don't follow it, the pictures are displayed at the top of my blog) that I have been posting more 'full body' pictures . It's been really nice to finally start feeling happier with my body and embracing my curves, which I used to hate. I'd really like to be able to say by the end of 2017 that I love my body and not be afraid to look in the mirror, or only see my flaws.

Getting Good Grades/Getting Into University - this was one of my goals last year, and I managed to get BBB at AS Level, which I was really pleased with! Unfortunately, due to the A-Level structure changing, these don't count towards my final A2 Qualifications. I need 3 B's to get into university to do a primary education teaching degree, and pass a few entry tests. I really want to get onto this course and kick-start my career, so this is my academic goal.

So, there we have it! 4 fairly simple, personal and academic goals! Let me know in the comments what your goals are for this year :)

Katy x

Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

I did a blog post on my fairy cakes (read it here if you haven't already) and many of you seemed to really enjoy it, so I thought I'd do a second installment. Today, I'm going to be sharing with you a trusty recipe that I've used for months. It never fails to produce incredible cupcakes either.

This is also a super simple recipe, so even if you consider yourself to be 'bad' at baking, you shouldn't be able to mess this one up!

The ingredients you will need are: 

• 225g/8oz of plain, unsalted butter 
• 225g/8oz of caster sugar
• 225g/8oz of self-raising flour
• 4 free range eggs
• Just under one teaspoon of vanilla extract
• Two chocolate bar blocks to break up into the mixture

Weigh out the amounts for the sugar and butter, pouring them both into a large mixing bowl. Using a hand mixer, Kitchen Aid or just a wooden spoon (if you have the effort), cream these together. Once you have done this, alternate between adding an egg, then some of the flour mixture and so on. 

Now the fun bit - break the chocolate squares up into 2 bits each (split them in half) and add them to the mixture. I like to do this gradually - add, mix, and so on - just to I can see how the mixture is absorbing the chocolate and if there is too much/too little. 

Pop them into the oven for around 10-15 minutes on gas mark 5 or 190 degrees Fahrenheit, but keep an eye on them.

Icing Stage

Break up two blocks of chocolate. After putting them in a bowl, put the microwave onto the 'medium' heat setting and leave for between 30 seconds - one minute. Stir in any remaining chunks and carefully apply to the tops of the cakes, putting on decorations straight after (the mixture dries extremely quickly). 

Let me know if you try this recipe below, or just your general thoughts.

Mixer used (highly recommend): available on Amazon 

Katy x