I first made these cupcakes a few months back near Halloween. Obviously pumpkin is more traditionally a Halloween ingredient but I think the cinnamon and spices in this recipe make the cupcakes deliciously festive, and I've been making batches non-stop for the past few weeks as a Christmassy treat. I honestly think this is the best cupcake recipe I've ever tried - I literally just can't stop eating them! Here's how I made a batch of 12:



Ingredients
For the cake:
- 120g Plain Flour
- 1/4 tsp Salt
- 1 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp Mixed Spice
- 240g Unsalted Butter
- 120g Casted Sugar
- 1 1/2 Eggs
- A few heaped tablespoons of tinned pumpkin (I got this from Waitrose if you're struggling!)
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla Essence
- Splash of milk

For the icing:
- 120g Cream Cheese
- 30g Butter
- 250g Icing Sugar
- 1 tsp milk
- A few drops of vanilla essence


After that, I added the sugar and beat again for around 2 minutes, before adding the eggs and pumpkin and mixing thoroughly. Next, I added the Vanilla essence and milk and beat on a low speed for another couple of minutes. 

I then popped them in the oven for around 25 minutes.




I took the cakes out after 25 minutes of baking, and checked they were cooked through (prod them with a fork, if it comes out clean you're good!).

Now for the real world! Congratulations to you if you've graduated this year.

Cute Stationary. I'm currently half way through writing my dissertation, and I'm pretty sure cute notebooks and highlighters are the only thing making it slightly more exciting! I'm such a stationary lover, and I find it so much easier to get organised if I have a nice place to write lists and plans. This notebook is from Cath Kidston, it's a5 so a perfect size to throw in my bag and carry with me. The inside is just as cute as the out, there's a different design on every page. The highlighters are from Paperchase, and London notebook from Tesco!

Revlon Photoready Cream Blush in Coral Reef. I'm loving this lately, it's such a fresh, natural looking colour and the consistency is lovely. I won't say too much about it as I'm going to post a review on Friday.

Primark Cat iPhone Case. I think this is so cute. I'm a bit of a cat lover so anything like this is definitely going to win me over. I'm sure it was only £3 as well, bargain!

Strawberry Hand Sanitizer Gel and Soap and Glory Hand Food. I hate the smell of regular hand sanitizer, it reminds me of hospitals, but until I picked this one up in Primark I'd never found a scented hand sanitizer that actually smelt nice. This one smells like sweets and scented gel pens (anyone remember those?) which in my opinion is a lot better than hospitals! However, like all hand sanitizers this is very drying, so I always like to keep a hand cream in my bag. After not using Hand Food for the past year, I've found myself loving it again!

Daisy Chain Necklace. I love chain necklaces, but sometimes I feel like they're a bit too heavy and harsh looking. This one is the perfect compromise, the daisies make the necklace a bit more girly and suited to my taste. I've really been enjoying wearing this lately!

What have you been loving lately?

Follow me on Twitter and Instagram :)

1&2 - I spent the beginning of January wandering around Paris, visiting all the tourist-y places and eating a lot of pastries. I had the best time, I love Paris and can't wait to go back. You can read about what I did in this post.

3 - I've been loving using this Seventeen nail art set lately. I can't say I've got a steady enough hand for really intricate designs, but I can try! I've been finding tutorials from One Nail To Rule Them All and xAmeliax really useful!

4,5&6 - I went on a few weekends away in January, meaning I spent a lot of time both eating in restaurants, and eating Domino's, oops! I visited my sister in Liverpool and found this cute Polaroid on her wall of my 21st birthday. I also took advantage of her cute bike and went on a little ride (around the room... it was raining!).

7 - I posted my first outfit post the other day. I'm definitely not a natural poser, I felt so awkward just standing there!

8 - This has been my view pretty much every day throughout January. I've just started writing my dissertation for uni so a lot of my time is spent researching, writing up research, looking back through research, everything else to do with research!

9 - This kind of links with the last photo, to distract myself I spent a good half an hour yesterday organising and trying on my lipsticks. It's amazing what seems important when you're trying to put something off!

If you want to keep up with what I'm doing throughout the month you can follow me on Instagram and Twitter :)

In January 2013 we saw a LOT of snow, which has been a running theme for the past few years. First few months of the year = a very real possibility of snow. We made the most of the freezing weather by getting out in it and acting like excited children! January this year also saw me pass my driving test, after putting it off for a good few years! This was something I was really proud of and glad to have finally achieved.


In July I was lucky enough to escape once again, this time to Lanzarote with a group of friends. We had a truly relaxing time enjoying the sun and making the most of being next to the sea.

I turned 21 in August and was well and truly spoilt! I spent a memorable day with friends and family in the sun. The rest of this month was spent enjoying time with my sisters, taking trips to Liverpool and indulging in a few too many barbecues! Who can blame me? We actually saw the sun this year!


In September I began my third and final year of university, which was both scary and exciting! So far I've noticed a huge increase in the work load, but also enjoyed every project. After a relaxing, long summer it was nice to throw myself back into working hard. In September I also went camping for the first time. Although it was a fun weekend with friends, it's safe to say I'd much prefer to be in the comforts of a safe, sturdy, (not going to blow away in the wind) building.


In October I spent time visiting a pumpkin patch after deciding the pumpkins in the supermarket were way too small for my liking! I also spent a great Halloween night (dressed as a skeleton) with friends. This is also the month I began writing this blog, as well as spending a lot of time working on new projects from university.


November brought a lot of deadlines! So most of the month was spent working hard (But enjoying it!). I worked on projects looking at celebrity culture and it's history which I really enjoyed, as well as developing self promotional material such as business cards and cv packs. The creative side of these projects really appealed to me and motivated me! Taking a break from hard work, I managed to spend time watching fireworks with friends at Himley Hall, as well as getting a head start on my christmas shopping!


In December I enjoyed too much chocolate, and some would say too many novelty nail designs! But that's what christmas is for. I spent the month finishing university projects, visiting the German Christmas markets in Birmingham and wearing hideous Christmas jumpers at parties with friends.


2013 was an exciting, fun filled year for me! I'm already eager to see what 2014 brings. As for resolutions, I did make one, but had forgotten it by the next day! So that goes to show the value of resolutions to me. For now I'll just hope to have as good a year as 2013!

Happy New Year.