How to make Easter nest cakes with a hint of Nutella

Hi everyone,

Welcome to my first food post! For my first post is something great to make over this weekend (and super easy to make with children). I am going to show you how to make Easter nest cakes.

Here's what they will look like:

I rate these an EASY make and suitable to make with children.

Prep/cook time: 15mins

Total time: 2hrs15mins

Equipment you will need:

• A cupcake tin
• A heatproof bowl
• A saucepan
• A rolling pin (or similar)
• A mixing spoon
• Scales
• 2x teaspoons
• A sandwich bag (optional)
• Cupcake cases

Ingredients you will need:

• 250g Milk Chocolate
• 4 Shredded Wheat
• Mini eggs
• Nutella (optional)

Method:

*Don't forget to wash your hands*

1. Using your scales and heatproof bowl measure 250grams of chocolate. For reference I am using Dr Oetker fine cooks' milk chocolate 35%. Also, take your cupcake cases and place one in each hole of your cupcake tin.

2. Take your sandwich bag and place all of your Shredded Wheat inside. Use your rolling pin to crush the Shredded Wheat. TOP TIP: Using a sandwich bag helps keep the washing up to a minimum as you can keep it in the bag until it is needed at step 4. It also creates stops the Shredded Wheat from flying everywhere.

3. Time to melt the chocolate. You can melt it in the microwave but I feel it impairs the taste and the chocolate can split. So for this reason, I will be using the bain-marie method. For this, take your saucepan and fill it half way with water. Place it on the hob/stove and bring to a simmer. Now you'll need to get the bowl of chocolate and place it in the saucepan. It will need to fit like the picture below. Keep stirring the chocolate until it has fully melted. After it has melted, remove the saucepan from the heat and remove the bowl from the sauce pan. *Remember the bowl will be hot!*

4. Take the bag of crushed Shredded Wheat and pour into the bowl of melted chocolate. Stir together until the Shredded Wheat is fully coated in chocolate.

5. Now you will need your cupcake tin with the cupcake cases already in them. Take your spoon and spoon the mixture evenly into the cases. You can use a teaspoon to help slide the mixture into the cupcake cases.

6. Now for the messy part! With clean hands, make a well with your fingers in the middle of the nest cakes ready for the Mini eggs and the optional Nutella.

7. This step is optional. With your teaspoons, spoon a little Nutella into the well you just made. This will act as a kind of glue for the Mini eggs and it's just because I love Nutella!

8. Now you can place 2 Mini eggs into the centre of each nest cake. There will be some Mini eggs left over at the end of this step to eat later.

9. You will need to create a space for the tray on a shelf in your fridge. Place the tin into the fridge and leave to set for 2 hours or until they have set (the cakes have hardened). This is an ideal time to eat those left over Mini eggs from the previous step whilst you are waiting for your Easter nest cakes.

10. All that's left to do now is take the Easter nest cakes out of the fridge and eat them! Enjoy!

I hope you have a lovely Easter weekend! What are your plans for the weekend?

Tasha x

March blog and YouTube favourites 2017

Hi everyone,

I've been wanting to do this for a while now but I have been so swamped with everything else. I also know we're well into April now, but better late than never.

Frist up is Claire!

A bit about Claire: 'I'm Claire, 21 year old from Glasgow! I'm super new to blogging but have always loved writing and sharing my experiences with others. I love animals, makeup and all things crafty and love to meet new people!' Claire blogs over at clairelouiisexo.co.uk and you can find her Twitter here. I love Claire's style of writing. I love reading her posts even her posts on university, as I didn't go I don't know what it's like. Claire's posts on university are a great insight and a lot of people relate to them. I definitely recommend checking Claire's blog out. I have recently enjoyed Claire's A-Z of self care post and she is looking for contributions towards this.

Next up is Charlene.

A bit about Charlene 'I'm Charlene McElhinney. A 20 year old blogger & aspiring blogger from Glasgow, Scotland. I also created and run #beechat twice a week which is an online community that hosts twitter chats twice a week, a snail mail campaign & promotes people's work. I'm a professional writing student in the creative industries and have a huge passion for writing. I'm a cat lover, a mental health advocate, a massive fan of Coronation Street and an avid reader. I love people watching and getting to know new individuals. The world is full of unique individuals and that's what makes it so precious!' Charlene blogs over at charlenemcelhinney.co.uk/ and also has a YouTube channel CharleneMcElhinney. Charlene is a great writer and also has her own poetry book on Amazon. I have recently been enjoying her Easter Break series. Find her on Twitter here.

Steph from Steph's World is next.

About Steph: 'I am a Lifestyle Blogger from West Midlands who blogs mostly about Beauty, Theatre, Days Out Activities, Baking, Monthly Favourites and anything in between. I have been blogging for about a year now and love to collaborate on posts and also be a guest blogger as well as hosting guest blogger series on my blog.' Steph's blog is lovely and easy to read. I have recently enjoyed her London Photo Diary post as it has made me want to take a trip into London. Find her on Twitter here.

Time for Single Vegas Girl.

A little about Single Vegas Girl: 'I'm a girl testing all the dating apps while living in Vegas and blogging about it at a friend's suggestion.' Her post's will either leave you laughing at what goes on the sights or thinking 'what just happened?!' as there is some completely weird and wonderful things that happen to her, especially the Tinder Barney is a dinosaur post. I enjoyed this one as it left me thinking about the character from my childhood on Tinder. Find her on Twitter here.

Next up is Aqy.

Aqy blogs over at skinnydecxflatte.blogspot.co.uk/ and also has a YouTube channel here. Here's a bit about Aqy: 'I'm a fashion and lifestyle blogger who enjoys sharing her personal style on the world wide web.' Aqy offers great posts on outfits she puts together. I love the fact that at the end of the month she also puts together a photo diary, like this one I liked of March. Find her on Twitter here.

On to Leah.

Here is a little about Leah 'I'm 19 years old with a 6 month old baby', Leah blogs over at theprescottfamilyblog.wordpress.com/. Leah blogs about everything from, motherhood to Mental Health. Leah puts great posts together and I really enjoyed this moving post of Leah's all about being Housebound. Find her on Twitter here.

Next up, Lola Mia.

Lola Mia blogs over at lolitabonita.co.uk/ and also has a YouTube channel here. A bit about Lola Mia: 'I am a food and lifestyle blogger documenting my journey to a healthier lifestyle with chronic knee pain.' Lola Mia's food and the places food she visits makes my mouth water! I loved the look of her Triple Chocolate coconut pancakes. Find her on Twitter here.

Katie from lifewithktkinnes.com/ is up next.

A bit about Katie: 'I'm a lifestyle/student blogger living in Glasgow and blogging my thoughts and experiences as I try to travel the road to being a "real adult" because no, 21 years old is not really an adult. I love doing absolutely anything so if I do anything new it'll probably appear on my blog within a few days!' I loved reading her Lanzarote mini break as it brought back memories for me when I went at a young age. Find her on Twitter here.

Next up is Jordan from www.sweetsandmascara.com/.

A little about Jordan: 'College student aspiring to be a journalist one day, coffee-addict, travel guru, and fashion stylist to many.' Jordan's blog is all about lifestyle and beauty. This is one particular post I enjoyed of Jordan's Travel Tuesday Walt Disney World.  have always wanted to go to Disney World and posts like these make me want to go even more! Find her on Twitter here.

Next up is Francesca Sophia.

Francesca Sophia is a YouTuber over on her channel, Francesca Sophia. Here's a bit about her: 'I'm newbie YouTuber who tries to keep it all real - vlogging my redundancy, talking about how your bra fits, everything I can!' Her video on Why Job Hunting Sucks couldn't be more real. I also love the fact she says it how it is! Find her on Twitter here.

On to The Frugal Teen.

A bit about the Frugal Teen: 'Money and lifestyle blogger who is giving YouTube a go! I love psychology as well as money saving and getting to know new people.' I love her Chatty Video, I love chatty style video's and as it says in the title this is just that. She also has a blog over at thefrugalteen.wixsite.com/thefrugalteen. Find her on Twitter here.

Last but by no means least Sophia.

Sophia blogs over at www.sophianeve.com/. A bit about Sophia: 'I'm Malaysian & I can't wait to travel around the world. I'd Probably settle down in Edinburgh or Brighton.' I love here posts on covers like this one: This week music 4. I love finding new people to listen to and her posts provide just that. Find her Twitter here.

If you would like to be in my April round up complete the form below and pick one of your posts or videos you have created in April. I will be picking 5 from the form this time.




Tasha x

Lush Giveaway winner!

Hi everyone,


So today I am announcing the Lush Giveaway winner, drumroll please...

Keziah!

Congratulations Keziah, I have sent you an email and will tweet you. If you could reply to me in the next 48 hours that would be great!

I am planning another giveaway so keep an eye out! I will be running a poll on my twitter (@itsatashathingg) so you can vote for what you would like to see.

Tasha x

My Little Star Boutique Jewellery*

Hi everyone,

As a Mummy there is one thing I love to have and that is stuff personalised with my daughters name or initials on it.

The lovely Gemma over at My Little Star Boutique sent me a set of 3 bracelets. There are no other words to say other then I am in love!

My Little Star Boutique offer women's fashion, gifts and accessories, beauty products, quirky children's fashion and jewellery that can be personalised.

Here are the bracelets I received personalised:

To start with, they came in amazing packaging! They were sent in a very pretty padded holographic postal envelope and on opening I found the lovely soft drawstring bag protecting my 3 bracelets.

When Gemma mentioned to me about the fact she could personalise the bracelets to have Darcie's initials on them, I thought for a minute. Darcie has 3 middle names, including her first name and last name that equals 5 initials. I sat thinking 'it's probably going to be to big to fit.' I was very wrong! Gemma came back saying that was fine and handmade the bracelets for me. I have had so many compliments. It is very rare my boyfriend compliments my jewellery, but when he looked at these he couldn't believe how lovely they were. He found it even more special that they had Darcie's initials on. I have small wrists and find it difficult to find bracelets but these fit lovely! They are elasticated so will fit different sized wrists. I received these in great time as well! For being handmade I thought they would take longer, but I would say I had these in about a week or so!

They are honestly the most beautiful bracelets ever! They are lovely and shiny and are great quality. The stuff on My Little Star Boutique is brilliantly priced and I would recommend anyone to have a look at what Gemma sells! Don't forget to give her a message to ask about having things personalised!

You can find My Little Star Boutique here:

Instagram

Facebook

Twitter

Tasha x


*I received this product in return for a fair and honest review*

ProBlo VolumizeMe comb review*

Hi everyone,

So a couple of weeks ago I was sent a ProBlo VolumizeMe to try out and review. I'm pleased to say I've tried it out and I love it!

I have tried a couple of backcombing combs before. One was middle of the range and the other being a very cheap one. Both seemed okay, but there was something about them that left my hair a little, unfinished maybe? This is why I was so pleased to try the PloBlo VolumizeMe.

So here is what the comb itself looks like:

It's unbelievably easy to use! I used mine alongside my Bed Head by TIGI 'Queen for a Day' thickening spay. Even though my hair is due for a cut and is a little heavy, it still worked wonders. The bristles seem to be just right to backcomb and to have the ability to smooth. The comb is very easy to grip and it just feels nice. I think it's a great price at £15 as it has that luxury feel to it and it works!

You can use the end of the brush to part sections of your hair. After doing that you can start to backcomb the section of your hair, holding it straight. You can then put the piece of hair you were holding straight down and use the comb to smooth the hair over. Finish with spraying your choice of hairspray to hold.

I used the Bead Head thickening spray after instead of hairspray. I spray this all over to give a textured, messy hair look.

I have a before and after picture of what my hair turned out like. Sorry the pictures aren't great, my boyfriend took them and is learning the whole blog photography thing. I don't think it does enough justice.

Before                                               After

I would definitely recommend the VolumizeMe comb for all sorts of hair types. I mean, I probably have one of the worst hair types, extremely fine, thin, very straight and it's long! This comb still works for my hair and would work for shorter and/or thicker hair types.

I obviously went for a messier look because that's what I was feeling. However, you could definitely make a very sleek and polished look with this brush due to it's smoothing ability.

I already have my eye on the CurlMe Duluxe set.

You can find the ProBlo VolumizeMe here: ProBlo Group VlolumizeMe

ProBlo Group social media:

ProBlo Group Facebook

ProBlo Group Twitter

ProBlo Group Instagram

Pro Blo Group YouTube

You should seriously give them a follow. There's some great tips and some luscious hair on their social media platforms.


Have you tried anything from the ProBlo Group?


Tasha x

*I received this product in return of a fair and honest review*