Hip, Hip, Hurray!

Happy days! Today is Norway's National Day and it's always super fun to celebrate. I've spent the morning at the beach which has made a nice change from the usual colder weather in May.

We will continue the celebrations tonight with drinks and dinner together with good friends. I am also crossing my fingers and toes that Norway wins Eurovision Song Contest this year, our artist is actually pretty good! If you want a re-cap of last year's Norway Day you can click on this post.

Have a fantastic day!

Xx I

Aveeno's Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream

My PM Skin Care Routine is pretty much the same as my AM Routine with the exception of three things. I don't apply SPF, I double cleanse and I use a night cream to make my ZZZZs more effective.

The night cream I have been using for the last six weeks is from Aveeno and it's called the Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream. It contains Total Soy Complex and Vitamin B3 which together works to achieve the glow aka more radiant skin. It targets dullness, texture, blotchiness, tone and brown spots and all you have to do is apply a little at night to your face and neck and Aveeno does the rest for you. It has a nice scent and I have hardly made a dent in it after over a month's use. At $19.99 it is also very kind to the wallet.

Seeing as we are moving towards winter, the Total Soy Complex is a vital ingredient because it contains Vitamin E which is so important for hydration and more glowing skin in the morning. I apply a little of the Positively Radiant Intensive Night Cream at night and wake up with fresh and dewy skin. I have my winter skin care sorted thanks to Aveeno.

Are you a night cream fan? What is your favourite?

Xx I 

This product was provided for consideration. It has not affected my opinion. Click here for my disclosure policy.

Don't forget to enter the Bobbi Brown Giveaway!

Vanilla Cupcakes with Hazelnuts, Dark Chocolate and Nutella!

Donna Hay is one of my favourite food doyennes and her recipees are always amazing. I have four of her cookbooks and I constantly go to her for inspiration. Good food can be simple, delicious and affordable. For Mother's Day yesterday I wanted to make something sweet for my Mother-in-Law and I found the recipe I wanted in Donna Hay's A Cook's Guide which is an amazing collection of recipees.

Let me pre-face the caloriffic post that's about to come with the fact that I was sipping on a beautiful green smoothie whilst baking. It was one of my best yet and I mixed two cups of baby spinach, two cups of water, a banana, a pear, half a lime, two kiwis, two tablespoons of LSA and two tablespoons of chia seeds. Deeeeeelight!

The recipe I used for the vanilla cupcakes is really easy. Just mix 185 g plain flour, 3/4 teaspoon baking powder, 1 cup sugar, 125 g butter, 2 eggs, 3/4 cups milk and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. After having done that I went rogue and added 100 g dark chocolate and a couple of handfuls of hazelnuts, both perfectly chopped. 

I then filled up twelve muffin cakes to the rim and went rogue again. I decided to include a teaspoon of Nutella in the middle of the mixture. I then baked the cupcakes for 27 minutes on 160 degrees.

They came out perfect and I had to eat one just to be sure. The gooey Nutella in the midde was so good and the vanilla/hazelnut/chocolate flavour really came through.

I then added a truckload of buttercream frosting which the cupcakes really didn't need since they were sweet enough.

I then garnished the cupcakes with some dark chocolate and hazelnuts and voila, the job was done.

The verdict from my Aussie family was very positive and the cupcakes got rave reviews. I should know seeing as I'm enjoying a leftover one right now.

Are you a cupcake fan like me?

Xx I 

New Purchase: Peter Alexander + Hollywood by Michael Kors

It's getting colder by the day and I have been doing two things; Upping my hot water and lemon/lime intake in the morning (1 litre is a great way to start the day), and I have been stocking up on my favourite pyjamas from the Pyjama King himself - Peter Alexander. The items I have bought over the years are still as good as new. Yes it is a little more expensive, but it lasts and the designs are gorgeous.

A couple of weeks ago Peter Alexander had a 20% sale on selected items and I picked up some of my favourites. The donut slippers are so cute and a perfect fit. They keep my feet warm in the morning and at night and are like wearing air, they are so light!

The moon and star pyjama pants are super comfortable. The pattern is beautiful and I love the attention to detail with the felt star and moon on the waist-band.

The most exciting item was definitely the navy onesie in a waffle fabric. It's got Penny, the PA logo on the left and the rest of it is a fabulous combination of grey and navy. It's the one I've been wearing the most, although I have been wearing all of my new PJ's.

PA does great packaging so I wasn't surprised when my pancake pyjamas came in a cute little fleece bag.

The pancake stack PJ's is a cute longsleaved top and fleece pants. Wearing it makes me very hungry for pancakes, but can you blame me?

In non-related pyjama news, I was away with work last weekend for an event and I managed to forget my Travalo so I went on the hunt for a Priceline to pick out a new perfume. After trying a few I picked out Very Hollywood by Michael Kors. 

It truly is a beautiful fragrance and I will be doing a review on it soon.

Xx I

PS - have you entered the international giveaway yet?

The Wedding. Part 3.

The bride and groom had a fantastic idea for their first day as man and wife. Seeing as a couple's wedding day goes really quickly, they decided to invite the wedding guests for a barbeque the next day. The weather delivered again and it was another stunning day! Bundeena in the National Park south of Sydney is an absolutely gorgeous spot and I can't believe I haven't discovered it until now. I would love to stay here on a lazy holiday for a week or two. There are plenty of nice beaches and the water looked spectacular. It's also just about an hour's drive from Sydney so it's great for a road trip, even for a day.

The wedding blooms were proudly displayed and I thought they looked even better on day two. So many pretty colours!

These blooms were on the wedding car and they made for a beautiful house decoration. Not that the surroundings needed it. It was so great to spend more time with friends and family and the bride and groom were blissfully happy.

Most of you will agree that the best way to cure a hangover is to go back for day two. I wasn't feeling too dusty but it was more the lack of sleep that was getting to me. I decided that it wouldn't hurt to have a delicious cocktail in a mug. The mint leaves added a bit of greenery too.

I also had a cider or two. The Strongbow ciders are always delicious and refreshing. I'm not a beer drinker so when I want to drink something from a bottle I go for cider. It's perfect in the sun on a beautiful day.

We also pulled out bean bags and I was just so comfy, I pretty much stayed there all day.

As the sun set on a fantastic day, I couldn't help but being reminded of the midnight sun in my home town. It was a spectacular sight and I felt very lucky to be there.

After all the wedding extravaganza was over we needed a couple of days with lots of sleep and then we were back to fighting form. It was such a lovely weekend!

Click here for the first wedding post and here for the second wedding post.

Xx I