CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: Sugar-free Apple Pie!

This Christmas I am going to be spending the day at my brother's and sister-in-law's house, along with my dad and my sister-in-law's mum. Everybody enjoys a few nice treats around this time of year, but it gets hard when someone in your family has diabetes. In this case, it's my brother. To overcome this I have decided that I am going to make a homemade sugar-free apple pie to take round to their house on Christmas day. This recipe is really lovely, and it's been adapted from this recipe here. 

*Just as a little disclaimer, I am not a chef, I just enjoy baking and cooking yummy food and drinks. I have taken the recipe I have linked above and made slight changes, but if you'd like to follow the actual recipe then click above!*

You will need:

• 400g of flour
• 200g of butter (cubed)
• 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2-3 tablespoons of water
• OR a ready made pie crust/ready made pastry

• 3 tablespoons of cornflour 
• 1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon
• 12 fluid ounces of sugar free (or no added sugar, if you can't find sugar free) apple juice
• Around 6 apples (The recipe calls for green apples, but I used normal ones so whatever you can find!)

Step One: You need to make your pastry! This is just a normal pastry recipe with my own spin on things: you can use whatever pastry or pie crust you like! To do this add the flour and butter into a bowl and rub the mixture between your fingers until it looks like breadcrumbs. This can take a while, so be patient. A tip from my senior school cookery teacher - use your fingertips and only lightly rub the flour and butter together, otherwise you'll melt the butter too much and the mixture will become oily and heavy. Once you have breadcrumbs grate the orange peel, to add some orange zest to the mixture to add it a hint of sweetness. Also add in the teaspoon of cinnamon and stir it lightly with a wooden spoon. Then slowly add the water, one tablespoon at a time. Make sure you don't add too much or too little otherwise the pastry will crack and be too dry, or will be too sticky and unable to work with. With each tablespoon you should be trying to squeeze the breadcrumb mixture into a ball shape, once you're able to mould it into a perfect ball shape you have pastry! Pop it into the fridge until you're ready to use it. 

Preheat Oven to 175°C (350°F)

Step two: in a small bowl (unlike the one pictured) mix together the cornflour, cinnamon and a 1/3 of a cup of the apple juice. Then set this aside.

Step three: Peel and chop up apples, placing them into the pie dish you're going to use for the pie. Once the pie dish is full of apples, similar to the photo above, you have enough apples.

Step four: place the apple slices into a medium sized pan. Cover these apples in the remaining apple juice. Leave these apples to simmer until they're soft. 

Step five: Whilst the apples are simmering, roll out your pastry until it's about 3mm thick - you don't want it too thick because you have to save enough for the pie lid. Once it's rolled out, put it into the pie dish - it doesn't have to look pretty (mine looks like a 2 year old did it) it's all about the taste!

Step six: Once the apples have become soft, add in the cinnamon, cornflour and apple juice mixture to the softened apples and mix until all the apples are covered in the cinnamon mixture. This mixture will become thicker, because of the cornflour.

Step Seven: Cover your pie with the top you want, this can be completely covered*, latticed** like mine or left out completely.
*If you completely cover it use a fork and make three or four stabs in the top of it to let air escape.
** If you lattice it leave the filling to cool completely, otherwise the pastry will become soft and will break really easily when you're trying to cross them over.

Step Eight: Pop your pie in your preheated oven for around 45 minutes or until pastry has turned golden. You can lightly cover your pastry in milk to give it a nice finish. 

And there you have it:
Sugar free pie!

CHRISTMAS HAUL! What I got for Christmas.

Just as a disclaimer before I get into this blog post: this is not a post of me bragging, or showing off. I enjoy reading and watching haul video's and blog posts, as I'm sure many others do. This is also for me to remember in the future to look back on for memories. 

We start things off with one of my favourite presents from this year: a Mark Hill hairdryer set from my sister! This gift set came in a lovely bag, which can be used as a handbag although I'm going to use it to store some beauty/bath products in. This set also came with a full size shampoo and a full size conditioner. This hairdryer is regarded as very good, and it is one of the higher end brands that you can buy on the high street. I'm not usually a fan of animal print things, but I think on this hairdryer it looks really funky and I love it!

This second present is a "where's the meerkat?" calender from my eldest brother and my sister-in-law. I asked for a calender with the squares big enough to write in - which this is. This calender is a 'spin-off' from the "where's Wally/Waldo?" series, I believe. It's a good calender, and has enough space to write notes in. 

This was supposed to be a surprise from my dad, but he ordered it through amazon and didn't realise that he was logged into my account, so the email came to me. I felt bad for him, but I told him just in case he thought he hadn't ordered it. He knew I'd wanted a new TV boxset and this one was on offer so I did hint at it, he bought me the film as a surprise. So far it's a really good series. Something i really like about the boxset is the layout of it. Inside the box pictured is a normal DVD case (but bigger to fit all the DVD's in) and inside that is the normal "book" layout to keep DVDs in, this book type layout comes out so you can flick through the DVDs with ease, and I thought that was really good. 

These knives were a gift, bought by me, from my dad. I needed some new knives for university because I only have one, and I thought these were really good because they're different so they won't get mixed up with my flatmates knives. This are Richardson Sheffield knives, and i bought them from TKMaxx. 

Pictured here are two presents I received. It's not secret I love LUSH so these gifts are pretty amazing. My brother and his girlfriend got me a gift set (she works at LUSH which is always useful!) which is called 'Shooting Stars'. Inside the gift box there was a large chunk of 'Rockstar' soap in the shape of a star, "Shoot For The Stars" bath bomb, "Star Light, Star Bright" which is a super shimmery bath melt, and "Gold Fun". These are all super nice, except I haven't tried Gold Fun yet so I'll keep you posted. My dad bought me the Lush Scent that you can see next to the gift box. This scent smells of "snow fairy" my all time favourite smell. It's described as candyfloss and pear drops, which I think is very true to scent. You only need one spray and it lasts all day, love it! 

My dad put these in my stocking (although it was more of a sack). I enjoy doing the more complicated painting by numbers, so my dad bought me one of those and also bought me a really nice set of paintbrushes to help me paint these paint by numbers - I'm so lucky, I love these. 

It's a bit risky buying me new food that I haven't tried before, as i'm not sure whether I'll like it. At first, all of these seemed to be pretty gross sounding, to me anyway. The "Ginger, fudge and Cranberry Granola" sounded nice, except I don't like ginger, however this tastes amazing and I'm going to try and get some more before they sell out of it. I'm not the biggest fan of nuts so the "hazelnut and caramel coated toffees" were a bit iffy, but they also taste amazing. The "milk chocolate nuggets" looked awkward more than sounded weird, but they also taste really nice, a bit like oversized white chocolate smarties. And everyone knows what Jelly Babies are!

My Aunty bought me a gift set which contained socks, a bath fizzer, and some really nice smelling foot cream which smells like berries. She also bought me some handwarmers which are literally little hot water bottles - so cute. 

This candle is from ikea and my dad put this in my stocking also. This is my favourite candle and it only costs 95p and it smells up the room - if not the whole house - in no time! They do run down pretty quick, maybe about 25 hours? But at 95p you can buy a lot more hours of candle-ish goodness for the same price as one higher-end candles. 

I bought myself these slippers from my dad on the New Look website when there was a sale. I ended up getting these for £2.50. They fit more like socks though because my feet are so big, but that doesn't bother me, they're cute anyway. 

Last but not least, my lovely new IKEA duvet, pillow and bedding set. <3
The best duvet I've ever had, the best pillow I've ever had and the prettiest bedding I've ever had, so happy with it. 

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: No time for Christmas Cards?

This idea was given to me by my friend Amy who is doing this, this year.

For whatever reason, running out time, not liking the idea, or wanting to put the money to better use, Amy is not sending out Christmas cards this year.

Instead she is using all the money she would have used on Christmas cards (and more so) to buy food to put in a donation trolley to go to the homeless this Christmas.

This is a beautiful idea, and to let others know you have done this you should take a photo and put it on Facebook, or on your blog, explaining all of this - if anybody doesn't appreciate this they are heartless and shouldn't deserve a Christmas Card anyway!

Have a search around and see if there's a charity bin like this near where you live!

Here's a picture of the stuff Amy donated to the food bin! 

5 Days to go so be quick - Amy's has to be in by the 23rd, so it will be similar in other places too!

CRAFTY CHRISTMAS: CHRISTMAS GIFT IDEAS!

Less than a month until Christmas!!!

This year I've been a bit inventive with my Christmas presents.

I don't have very much money this year and I have a large family so this year I decided to set each person a limit (£25 each). Within that I would also buy them a stocking or Christmas sack from poundland for their gifts to go in! This way they have a lot to open, it's not cheap but it's inexpensive and I don't have to spend a lot of money to make these presents look good!

These products are bath products from Lush, most of these were actually requested items which is always useful!
1. The Christmas Penguin this cute little chappy is a bubble bar. He costs £2.95 which isn't that expensive considering how adorable and Christmassy he is. He smells very fresh with a zesty citrus scent. If you've tried The Olive Branch shower gel you'll love him. I got him for my eldest niece - almost 13 - I'm sure she'll love him!

2. Lord of Misrule this bold bath bomb costs £3.30! Not the most inexpensive but it is definitely worth it. With a smell of sweet vanilla absolute and spicy black pepper this will be an exciting gift - it'll literally pop (because of the popping candy). Don't be fooled by it's green speckled colour though, once it's in your bath it will turn the water to a red wine colour! I bought this for my 10 year old niece, but I may suggest her exchanging it with one of her mums because of the adult-like scents.

3. Mrs Frosty can be yours for just £12.50! That equals out to be just over £4 per item, plus you get a really cute handkerchief. Inside Mrs Frosty you'll find: A small version of The Comforter (to me this smells a bit like Ribena - yum!), So White (apple scented bath bomb) and Butterball (my personal favourite bath bomb. Made with Shea butter it leaves your skin smelling and feeling gorgeous). I bought this for my sister who is in her thirties.

4. Ickle Baby Bot has been around for quite a while! I used to use these when I was about 8! They're the perfect little bath bomb for a young person OR for a person with sensitive skin. I believe they're the cheapest bath bomb available (money-wise) coming in at only £1.95. They're brilliant for your night-time baths because of the lavender oil scent infused within! These are for my 6 year old nephew who asked for these specifically!

5. Candy Mountain a personal favourite of mine costing ! This smells of the typical Lush smell - snow fairy. Sweet as anything it smells like candy floss...and look how pretty!!! I have one in my drawer that I haven't used because I don't have a bath at university, but every time I open this drawer the nicest scent comes out - I may never use it! This is also for my 10 year old niece! These cost £2.65

6. Another favourite of mine Magic Wand with the same smell as snow fairy once again you can't go wrong with this - especially for little girls (or big girls who act like Princesses, AHEM me AHEM) I got two, one for my 10 year old niece and one for my 12 year old niece! These wands are pretty steep though - £4.95.

7. A Lush come back but with a whole new design is Luxury Lush Pud. Over the years Lush have come out with quite a few different Christmas pudding bath bombs but this years is definitely the most colourful. Now I must admit when I first saw it I didn't think it was very Christmassy, in fact the only Christmassy thing about it is the name and the bit of holly on top, but who are we to judge? Maybe Christmas needs a bit of bright colour. After an exciting day of opening presents; cooking and eating dinner; being up since 5am what could be better than getting into a Christmas, lavender-scented bath? I got this for my 12 year old niece for £3.40

8. Finally we have Phoenix Rising. This beautiful bath bomb costs £3.25 and I think it definitely deserves that price. Look at the lovely colours of pinks and purples and gold. Not necessarily a Christmas bath bomb but it definitely fits in! Use this for a spicy smelling bath being full of cinnamon AND you'll come out of the bath feeling moisturised thanks to the cocoa butter!

These gorgeous Dipped Leaf Earrings from accessorize cost £12. I actually bought these for myself as a present to me so these aren't necessarily for Christmas, but how cute would these be if you opened up your stocking on Christmas day to find these?! They may be a bit pricey but they feel good quality and look gorgeous. They also come in silver if you're more of a silver jewellery-wearer and remember - students get 10% discount!

I have a niece who has just turned one and the Early Learning Centre is brilliant for that age group. For her birthday I got her Rosie Rabbit and her Motor Car for £10 and Ellie the Elephant for £4 and she loved them, so I decided to get her James Giraffe (on the left) for £4 too. Her mummy and daddy also asked for an easier shape sorter as the one they have is too complicated for the little one so I got the Rolling Wooden Shape Sorter for £12

I didn't buy these for anyone in particular, but Hotel Chocolat is soooo good for stocking fillers. Violet and Rose Cremes Selector for £3.75, Rose Chocolate Truffles for £3.75 and Blueberry Cheesecake Chocolates for £3.75 are a few examples of the beautifully interesting chocolates they make!

Me and my flatmates are doing secret Santa this year but what's a little £1 box of Celebrations going to hurt? I got mine from Boots!

My dad absolutely loves Calvin Klein One, the aftershave. So after umm-ing and ahh-ing over getting him the large aftershave or the gift set with the shower gel in as well for about half an hour (literally, the sales person must have thought I was an idiot!) I decided to get the gift set. It costs £16.50 from boots for a 50ml bottle of aftershave and 100ml hair and body wash. That's the same price as getting the larger bottle of the aftershave.

I love The Body Shop so when I saw they had an offer on (spend 5 pounds and get 30% off, free delivery AND a free gift worth £13) I had to buy some presents from there! I may have bought myself one or two...or five things also. Starting from left to right:
1. Banana Shampoo and Banana Conditioner both cost £4.50. These are for me, and are my everyday shampoo and conditioner however they can be used as a special treat for your hair as they are so moisturising - especially the conditioner. Another present that would be amazing would be some Lush shampoo and conditioner as they're expensive so not many people buy them for themselves. Just be careful to check the expiration date on them!
2. Reindeer, Snowman and Gingerbread Man sponges! Unfortunately I can't seem to find the gingerbread man one on the website, but there may still be some in stores. They cost £3.50 each and I was really surprised at how nice they are. From the pictures on the website I thought that they might be pretty small, cheap looking and not the greatest but they are so cute. They're pretty big in comparison to most sponges, and they are great novelty stocking fillers!
3. Long Handled Cactus Bath Brush. Probably not the sort of thing you'd give as a gift to someone - unless you've got them lots of bath stuff, then it might be cute? But I bought this for myself. I had heard about this thing called 'dry brushing' which helps to get rid of cellulite, helps to improve your blood flow etc. and I really wanted to try it. At £10 this isn't the cheapest - you can get one in Superdrug for about £3, or one in Boots for £10 also - but it is amazing. It's really strong, so it kind of tingles? (not sure if that's the right word) after you've used it. It really gets rid of dry skin and I would really recommend it. It feels really sturdy, which I imagine the £3 one from superdrug will not. 
4. Shea Body Butters! These actually really excited me. These are the 200ml ones which are worth £13 but I got one of these three for free with each of my orders (I made three orders because I'm cheeky!). You can also get cute little stocking filler ones for £5 which contain 50ml of product. They have so many different scents, this one I find is the most moisturising, everybody knows what Shea butter smells like and it's glorious but there are some fruity ones and a cocoa butter one too, I'd definitely recommend going to have a sniff!
5. Last but not least the Mini Shower Gel Collection. These cost £8 each and they're amazing to put in a girls stocking! I got these for my sister and my sister in law, and I'm sure they'll love them. They're 4x60ml bottles inside: Strawberry, Mango, Moringa and Satsuma scented. 

Shh..this is what I've got for my sister in law ;)
She loves making cupcakes so when I saw this calender I knew what theme her stocking would have!
This calender cost £10 from Waterstones or Paperchase, but I can't find it on either of those websites?! It's not even 2014 yet, what's going on?! This calender has a different cupcake recipe for every month of the year, and it's also one of those useful ones where it's a 14 month! It's all sparkly and lovely, I would recommend it if you can find it!
Keeping in the theme of things I also got her some silicone cupcake cases. You can get these from quite a few places: supermarkets, handy shops, paperchase! They're usually pretty expensive in comparison to paper cases, but they're really good because they conduct heat better and when you're done using them you just wash them up and they can be used again!
I also got her some little cake decorating things, which I'm sure you know where to find ;)

This picture and the picture above are books that have either been requested or that I think will be a cute little extra to a stocking.
My mum loves crafting and at the moment she's into making quilts (she made me a mini one which I love and is on my bed at university). These two books were on her amazon wishlist so I ticked them off and get them for her!
The doctor who annual is for my nephew, because I know he loves Doctor Who. If you have a young person in your family who loves a certain TV series or whatnot have a look and see if they have an annual for it, it will make a good thing for them to open to keep them out of your hair whilst you're making Christmas dinner!
The "A Tangle of Tails" book is for my 10 year old niece. It's three books in one and I think something like that - for any age - is good, especially if they're a bookworm. A good thing about Waterstones is that Children's books are laid out in age categories and Adult books are organised by genre so it's easy to find a book for someone if you know what they'll like!
I would really recommend the "that's not my..." books for young children. I bought two, one for my second to youngest niece (1 year and 8 months old) and my youngest niece (1 year and 1 month old). They help children learn textures and they're a nice short book for children to be interested with but also help them drift off to sleep in the evenings. 

Alcohollllll.
Never buy alcohol for anybody underage - it's bad!
On the left here there are 4 different types of lager. This came in a gift set from Tesco for only £5! It's called Lagers of the World Gift Set. I got these for my brother - who is 30 before you tell me off!
On the right you see some Southern Comfort and Pernod for my dad. I won't link you to them because if you keep an eye open around Christmas time you can find some good offers, usually, in your supermarket. They're expensive alcohol, but that definitely makes a good Christmas Gift!

These are for my brother - Guitar Cufflinks - these are from H Samuel and cost £15. My brother's recently bought himself a guitar and is learning to play it through an xbox game...well boys will be boys with their toys won't they? So myself and my dad thought that these would be a great novelty item for him. If  you have a male in your family who enjoys something, some cufflinks would make a really nice item if you can find something that resembles their preferred activity. For example: you can find quite a few golf ones - pretty good for dads!


Well guys that's it for now. I'll try and add some more as I go along with my Christmas shopping so keep posted.
Thank you for reading!
Leave comments on what you've asked for this year! I'd love to hear your suggestions for gifts too!