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my 2014 via the medium of instagram

Apparently I became something of an Instagram addict this year (particularly the second half of the year, I discovered in making this post!), and I so rarely do monthly-instagram posts, I thought it might be a fun thing to do whilst I'm curled up on the sofa this New Years Eve, suffering from a particular evil bout of flu..

January was cold, and the start of my weight-loss journey, but was also spent in Edinburgh and Scotland, which was very exciting. February mean trips to London, for coffee, nutella brownies and art with my friend Tam. It also meant trips to Unravel for brightly coloured yarn. March was unseasonably warm, with strawberries and cream ate outside, sock knitting whilst watching The Good Wife, and celebrating Mothers Day. Apparently I did nothing in April but knit, but May was spent on a very sunny outing to the Southbank to see an old friend before she emigrated, more knitting and time spent outdoors. I also squeezed in a rainy trip to London before the beginning of June. June was more knitting, unexpected trips to A&E, exploring the Peak District and savouring every second at the allotment. I also sewed my first shirt, and enjoyed my first home-grown strawberries and cherries.

July involved more time spent at the allotment, and basically as much time outside as possible, at the nature reserve and the airfield, and speeding time in the garden, too. It was also the summer of iced coffee, homemade lemonade and some new glasses. In August I celebrated a milestone of losing 4st by admiring how my face had changed, making some tasty little chocolate protein bites, and saying a very sad goodbye to the allotment. It was also the month I learnt to make lemon curd, jam and chutney properly, and treated myself to some proper trainers, which was very exciting. I also went on walks to Savernake forest with my dad, ate at Le Comptoir Libonais with my mum, and made an almond cake for a friends birthday. In September I made an amazing blackberry yoghurt cake, and had a dessert-night in with friends - it was also the month that things turned colder, I was lucky enough to visit the Berkshire country fair and I made more lemon curd and jams than I care to count. Some fun nights in London meant early starts, and I spoilt myself by making amazing soups and wonderful cinnamon buns.

In October I stared full-time work, so my last few days before that were spent revelling in how nice autumn is in these parts, before bracing myself for some chilly morning starts and lots of coffee. I also treated myself to a new phone case, started a new book and bought a beautiful candle. October is the month of the Knit and Stitch at Ally Pally, so I took a lot of photos of the amazing view from the hill. I also treated myself to some new red lipstick, wore my mums ridiculously embellished bra for Breast Cancer Awareness, ate lots of homemade porridge and rice pudding.  I was also apparently pretty vain in October, but that's okay, right? Haha. I also spent time down in the New Forest for my mums birthday, and dipped my feet in the ocean. There was also time for more porridge, new handbags, shoes, candles and winter clothing before the month was out.

November was full of trips to the zoo, lots of coffee, alcohol, and long, sad car journeys up north. To compensate for hours spent inside a car, I dragged myself on amazing autumn walks and went out for burgers with friends. I also had some cosy nights in, ate pancakes, dressed in turtle-necks and trench-coats, and had a final, sad trip up north. Back home, things felt more wintry, finally, with soup and winter skies settling in. My December was full of heavy frost, eating clementines, and making croissants. I also put up the Christmas tree with my favourite baubles, and treated myself to some wine and chocolate whilst doing so. Christmas was truly upon us when I busted out the fairy-lights, sloe-gin and mince-pies, and the giant lopi sweater. I spent some time outside, enjoyed a beautiful sunset, and made some more croissants, too. I also received some beautiful presents, ate croissants on Christmas morning, settled in with a good book, and then got ill!

I hope you're all having a wonderful, safe NYE, and I wish you good things for 2015! 

all about that glitter: lips, nails and eye make up for new years eve!

Like Meghan Trainor and her penchant for bass and booty, at Christmas and New Year I am all about that glitter. I've recently been trying to mix up my makeup and try and get away from the eyeliner-flicks that have become my uniform, and what better time than December and January, when the festivities make it acceptable to wear glitter all day, every day. Plus, introducing flashes of glitter into your everyday makeup can help January not seem so long, dark and cold.
Read on for my favourite picks of nails, eyes, lips and some face staples to suit you for any situation at New Year..

E Y E S

My favourite thing is a glittery eye - whether thats mixed into a smokey eyeshadow, smudged along the waterline, or a wash of glitter along the lid with a sweep of liner. I particularly love creamy bases, my go-to's are the Illamasqua liquid metals - I have them in Superior (the blue), Surge (the gunmetal silver), and Solstice (the gold). They're great swept all over the lid or used as a base. I'm also a giant fan of the Chanel Illusion D'Ombre in Mirifique (black) and Epatant (silver). These look like an eyeliner or a cream base in the pot, but dry to a powdery consistency on the eye, which I'm a big fan off, as they are quick and easy to smudge into a smoky eye. I particularly love to use the silver Epatant with Urban Decay Zodiac - an amazing glittery green eyeshadow - all over the lid, with MAC Carbon (what should be a staple in everyones makeup bag, a true matte black) smudged along the lash line.

I also recently picked up this wonderful, matte grey Bobbi Brown Shadow Stick in Shadow which I've been using with my own little quad. It consists of MAC Copperplate (a cool-toned matte grey), Beauty Marked (an amazing glittery purple-black), Smoke and Diamonds (a beautifully soft, rich and pigmented shimmery grey) and a Grand Entrance (soft, shimmery champagne silver-pink): altogether they create a really beautiful smokey eye, particularly when paired with my new favourite eyeliner, the Bourjois Liner Clubbing and lashings of my favourite waterproof mascara, 17's Va Va Voom in Black.

N A I L S

Nails are one of those things you can definitely go all out with, I always think. If you're not that comfortable chucking glitter all over your eyelids, or worry over a red-lip, stick to eyeliner and paint giant chunky gold holographic glitter all over your fingertips. That particular culprit in question is OPI When Monkey's Fly, it's got amazing bits of gold foil and holographic glitter in, and looks great when layered over any dark polish. I'm really into dark greens at the moment, like Barry M Racing Green, and Essie's Styleonomics will forever be a favourite, with it's dark and gothy green-black. I received the green and white glitter Urban Outfitters polish in Snow Globe from a friend for Christmas and it looks particularly awesome over the Barry M green. You can never go wrong with a silver or gold at this time of year, but I find silvers suit my skin-tone better, so I'm more likely to reach for Leighton Denny Diamond Diva, with either an amazing H&M holographic glitter polish called Jo Is In The House layered over, or Essie's Hors D'ouevers (a sort of shimmery silver gold champagne colour) on top. And even though Christmas is done and dusted by December 31st, a dark or glittery red is a classic in my book, and my two favourites are China Glaze Ruby Pumps and the vampy dark red that is Essie's Wicked.

L I P S

This is where the glitter theme sort of falls apart, because please don't wear glittery lipstick, I beg of you. As you can tell, I'm not being that adventurous with my lipstick this year, and thats because I'm shunning all the dark vampy lipsticks in favour of nudes and pinks, and it's weird for me but I'm going with it. I'm adding my favourite reds in here though, just because.
On the red spectrum, my all time, absolute holy-grail of dark red lipstick is NARS Fire Down Below (bottom of picture). I actually hunted for years for this, and it's the best true dark red I've found, not a berry or pink hue in sight, but has enough brown and blue in to make your teeth whiter, and not make you look like you're from the 80's. Honourable mentions go to Illamasuqa's Encounter, a good all-rounder red, but if you want a more sheer lipstick, you could try something like the YSL Volupte Sheer Candy in #7, which can be layered to that darker red, but goes on sheer.

However, I'm big into the pinky-nudes (I blame a Kardashian sister, though I'm not sure which one) and these are all my current go-to lipsticks from MAC. From the top down (to the left of the gold YSL colour) is MAC Blankety, a new favourite and is a bit paler than my lips, which  I love. In the middle is an oldie but a goodie in Plink!, and at the bottom, my true my lips but better lipstick, MAC Hug Me. I've been using them with the GOSH lip-liner Nougat Crisp to make it last as long as possible. I've just realised that maybe this is was being an adult is like, and not doing an neon pink lip on a daily basis...

F A C E

When you've got a lot going on on your nails, lips, eyes, etc, I think it's always best to tone down the contouring for a day. That doesn't mean not making the most of what you've got though. I love Yves Saint Laurent's Le Teint Touche Eclat foundation - I wear it in BR10 because it's got a great, buildable coverage and still remains dewy and fresh faced, so you can use it accordingly where needed. When paired with it's sister translucent powder, YSL's Souffle D'Eclat, and then a little bit of NARS Albatross highlighter swept over cheekbones, it gives the dewy illusion with good staying power. I've also been really enjoying eyeshadow of late - a change from my usual eyeliner - so a good shadow primer is needed, and I've been enjoying the Rimmel Exaggerate. It's not god's gift to beauty, and there are much better shadow primers out there, but for it's price-point (£4.99) and if you're in a pinch and need it, it's pretty good. Also make sure to prep your lips before even going NEAR that red lipstick - I was given this amazing blueberry EOS lip-balm by a friend and I've been carrying it with me ever since. The egg shape still feels a little weird to rub on your mouth, but I'm getting used to it!

What will you be opting for on New Year's Eve? I mean, despite liver-damaging amounts of alcohol..!

weekend wanderings #44

(images from theglitterguide.com, junkaholique.com and tlvbirdie.com)

• I loved how Bonjour Luce showed us her Christmas in 5 photos, it reminds me of my own cosy Christmasses, curled up on the sofa with the Christmas lights on after a good walk - it's a shame I don't have a cute dog to accompany me.
• After a sunny couple of days, so many pretty photos of bright countryside appeared in my Bloglovin' feed and I loved Emily's at Eternal Sunday - I particularly loved her attire, I need to knit some new hats, clearly having 10+ isn't enough..
• I haven't been to London in an age, and I haven't been to Borough Market in even longer. I need to go and get me some Monmouth coffee, and maybe drop in on Aesop around the corner - Ruth's post makes my mouth water just thinking about it all..
• Generally I am not one for outfit posts, it's not really my thing, but I absolutely loved Milly's winter day outfit combo, that skirt is just amazing!
• I love a flourless-chocolate-cake, but making them for Christmas after such a rich meal seems too much for me and my stomach. At New Year, though, they seem like they'd fit in so well - with a glass of champagne or a festive cocktail, a super rich, heavy chocolate cake like this one from Kirantarun would go so well.
• If champagne isn't exactly your favourite tipple, though, how about a pear nectar and thyme mimosa? The recipe just says "use pear nectar" though, which is amazingly unhelpful, but it's giving me some ideas, anyway..
• I can't believe Christmas has come and gone but I haven't had a single glass of mulled wine yet?! There is still time, though. I think whilst the Christmas tree is still up I think its perfectly acceptable to make myself a mug or two.. Whilst I don't need a recipe per se, the photos of Charlotte's make me so thirsty for some!
• I don't like Christmas cake. There, I've said it, I much prefer a lighter cake, something without lashings of brandy and mixed peel and marzipan and then, oh god, the icing... It's too much. Emily showed us an amazing looking Genoa cake that I really think should replace traditional Christmas cake - it looks lighter and fluffier, and a lot less hassle than the traditional cake.
• I won't miss out on an opportunity for adorable pet photos at Christmas - Steph's lovely dog, Nico, doesn't disappoint. 
• One of my goals for the year ahead is to try and become less wasteful, more self-sufficient, less consumerist, too, and I want to try and make more presents for people. I received a lovely handmade body scrub from a friend, and it made me so happy that I want to make more things for friends over the coming year. These high-class handmade gifts in A+ packaging from Junaholique make me so excited.
• On a similar note, I'm keeping this around for next year: some simple, cute and last minute Christmas card ideas from TLV Birdie.
• There are so many cakes that I want to make in life, and I don't even really know what sorghum is, but this gingerbread sorghum cake with mascarpone cream cheese icing is calling me..

To round up this week, I've got a few admin-y bits to do.. I've found so many more beautiful things over this Christmas week (when I've actually had time to sit down and read blogs, and for the first time EVER, clear my Bloglovin' feed!) so some Christmassy bits and bobs may spill over into the New Year, but I'm sure you won't mind, right? (:

Also, I'd like to say a GIANT hello to all the new followers I've gained recently! Please, introduce yourself below and share your blogs, you might show up in a Weekend Wanderings next week..! 

And finally, the most exciting point for me, Uncia + Tigris is now found at unciaandtigris.com! That's right, I levelled up! Haha. The links still re-direct, but I'm now all professional sounding, haha.

boxing day breakfast or brunch: drop scone pancake recipe

Well hello everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas Day and are gearing up for 2015 nicely. I thought I'd show you all a somewhat indulgent idea for a breakfast on a chilly Boxing Day morning.. 

A drop-scone (or an american style pancake, if you like) is one of my favourite things to make. They're so quick, so easy, and so amazingly tasty. They're a thousand times better than the ones you buy pre-cooked, and the batter only takes minutes to whip up. They'd be an amazing thing to pull together for a New Year's Day breakfast (er, brunch?) if you're all feeling a little fragile, and unlike croissants, require minimal effort. The hardest part is basically wondering how many you can scoff down before anyone notices.. 

INGREDIENTS:
(makes about ten-twelve decently sized pancakes)
- 125g self-raising flour
- pinch of salt
- 25g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 25g melted butter
- 100ml milk

1. Sift flour into a bowl, and yes, this is a rare recipe when I actually sift it. Generally I can't be bothered, but no-one wants a lumpy pancake. Stir in the salt and sugar.
2. Make a well in the middle of the flour, and add the eggs. Pour in a little of the milk and begin to beat.
3. Gradually add in the rest of the milk until the batter has a smooth consistency and drops drop from the spoon.
4. Place butter in a microwabable bowl and heat until melted. When batter is ready to be cooked, add the melted butter and stir in.
5. Heat a frying pan until a bit hotter than a medium heat and add something to stop pancakes sticking (I usually use sunflower oil, but just a little.)
6. Using a tablespoon or an ice-cream scoop, spoon the batter into the frying pan and cook.
7. When the pancakes are beginning to bubble, and have gone solid around the edges, flip the pancake over and cook until golden brown.
8. If using a small pan and making several batches of pancakes, keep a plate warm in the oven with the pancakes on. Serve immediately and eat hot with lots of butter, golden syrup, blueberries, nutella....

Recipe adapted from one by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall.