Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

  Hello everybody!
  This week’s blog post is a bake! Since it’s around the end of October, I’m sure you all know that Halloween is right around the corner! So for this month’s bake I bring to you - some Halloweeny/Autumnal Pumpkin Whoopie Pies! If you’d like to know how to make them carry on reading...  

 

 Makes: 20
 Prep time: 25 minutes
 Cooking time: 15-20 minutes  

Ingredients
 420g plain flour
 1 teaspoon salt
 1 teaspoon baking powder
 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
 1 tablespoon ground ginger
 340g light soft brown sugar
 225ml vegetable oil
 1 tin (424g) pumpkin purée (or home made pumpkin puree)
 2 eggs
 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract

  For the filling:
 200g unsalted butter, softened
 500g icing sugar
 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
 300g full-fat cream cheese     

Method
 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper or grease 2 bun tins.
 2. Put all the dry ingredients, except the sugar, in a large bowl and mix.
 3. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil until well combined, then add the pumpkon purée, eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
 4. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine.
 5. Using a small ice cream scoop with a release, scoop 20 balls of dough and space them apart on the baking tray or place a scoop of the mixture into the bun tins.
 6. Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.
 7. Make the filling by creaming the butter in a bowl and slowly adding the icing sugar and vanilla paste/extract until fully incorporated and smooth - you might need to pop it in the fridge for 5 minutes as stirring the cream cheese can sometimes make it watery.
 8. Sandwich the cakes together with a thick layer of cream cheese filling and enjoy!  

   

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! These tasted so amazing and are definitely a bake for autumn. The pumpkin really made it but I’m sure there are other combinations that would taste great! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!  

My Top 10 Halloween Costumes

  Hello everybody!
  This week’s blog post is a Halloween post! With only 9 days to go I’m sure you’re in the Halloween spirit! If not, I present; my top 10 Halloween costumes! If you haven’t got a Halloween costume yet, this will help you. I will be giving you a few ideas of how to wear the costume.  

  #1 Clown, especially Pennywise
I find clowns terrifying so this is definitely appropriate for Halloween. The movie ‘It’ recently came out so I’m sure most of you have already ‘met’ Pennywise and this is such a relevant costume right now, I had to include it.   

 How to style this costume:
 I think the things that make Pennywise so recognisable are his red balloon and outfit. An easy way to make his outfit is get a white dress and stick on some red pom poms and everyone will know who you are. Oh, and don’t forget your red balloon.  

 

  #2 Vampire
 Vampires are such a classic for Halloween and this is why it has made my list. There are new ways people are styling them every year which is why there’s a vampire for everyone.   

  #3 Zombie
I love the Zombie costume because there are so many takes on it. You can chose other characters that have become a zombie and you have yourself a Halloween costume that has your own twist on it and will look super effective.  

      


  #4 Ghostly Ghoul
  I like this costume because it can look elegant and very creepy which is my kind of costume!  

  #5 Devil
I’m actually doing this for Halloween this year so I had to include it! It’s also a classic which you can interpret in so many ways!   

  How to style this costume:
  A dramatic red sparkly eye and a recent trend, ombré lips, red with black outline looks effective for a devil. Don’t forget your horns and trident!  
  

  #6 Skeleton
When you think of Halloween do skeletons come to mind? Of course they do! This is such a classic and probably the most Halloweeny you can get for boys costumes.   

  #7 Krazed Jester
I think what could make this costume effective is the way you act! It would be so much fun to act all silly for a night, so if you dress up as a jester for Halloween, record yourself acting crazy and send me a video to my Instagram (@ISayBell_Blog).   

  #8 Sugar Skull
This is such a pretty costume and I think the makeup looks beautiful and colourful. I think it would be great fun to do with a friend to create the ultimate ‘Halloween Friendship Goals!’ Perhaps try doing half sugar skull and then normal glammed up side?   

  

  #9 Witch   
Of course I had to include a witch. It wouldn’t be a Halloween costume list without one. I remember when I was younger my Halloween costume was always a witch. I would still do a witch, but maybe with a slightly different twist.     

  #10 Creepy Doll I really like this idea because as someone who’s a girly girl this is the perfect costume. It’s the perfect combination of pretty and creepy!   

  How to style this costume:
  I like the idea of a cracked porcelain doll. To do this all you need is white face paint (or a cheap foundation in the lightest shade, since face paint can be drying or can irritate the skin) cover your face with the face paint/foundation and use eyeliner to draw cracked lines to finish the look.  

     

  That’s all for this weeks blog! I hope you enjoyed! I have a challenge for you; make a list (I’d reccomend using your phone because you’ll probably almost have that with you). Write down all the costumes I’ve listed and if you go to a party or even if your in town tick off the costumes that you see people wearing! I hope you enjoyed this weeks blog post! Love you all!

  Byyeee from ISay-BOO!!!!                  

Quotes

  Hello everybody!  
  This week’s blog post is dedicated to quotes. There are so many different quotes so I thought I’d share a few of my favourites with you. If you have a favourite quote please leave it in the comments below as I would love to read them!    

  ▪️ Congratulations! You’re not perfect! It’s ridiculous to want to be perfect anyway. But then, everybody’s ridiculous sometimes, except perfect people. You know what perfect is? Perfect is not eating or drinking or talking or moving a muscle or making even the teensiest mistake. Perfect is never doing anything wrong – which means never doing anything at all. Perfect is boring! So you’re not perfect! Wonderful! Have fun! Eat things that give you bad breath! Trip over your own shoelaces! Laugh! Let somebody else laugh at you! Perfect people never do any of those things. All they do is sit around and sip weak tea and think about how perfect they are. But they’re really not one-hundred-percent perfect anyway. You should see them when they get the hiccups! Phooey! Who needs ’em? You can drink pickle juice and imitate gorillas and do silly dances and sing stupid songs and wear funny hats and be as imperfect as you please and still be a good person. Good people are hard to find nowadays. And they’re a lot more fun than perfect people any day of the week.  

  ▪️ For what it’s worth: It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.  

   ▪️ People get scared when you try to do something, especially when it looks like you’re succeeding. People do not get scared when you’re failing. It calms them. But when you’re winning, it makes them feel like they’re losing or, worse yet, that maybe they should’ve tried to do something too, but now it’s too late. And since they didn’t, they want to stop you. You can’t let them.  

   ▪️ The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.   

  ▪️ Sometimes walking away has nothing to do with weakness, and everything to do with strength. We walk away not because we want others to realize our worth and value, but because we finally realize our own.  

   ▪️ I’ve learned a lot this year … I learned that things don’t always turn out the way you planned, or the way you think they should. And I’ve learned that there are things that go wrong that don’t always get fixed or get put back together the way they were before. I’ve learned that some broken things stay broken, and I’ve learned that you can get through bad times and keep looking for better ones, as long as you have people who love you.  

   ▪️ I decided, very early on, just to accept life unconditionally; I never expected it to do anything special for me, yet I seemed to accomplish far more than I had ever hoped. Most of the time it just happened to me without me ever seeking it.    

   

  That’s all for this weeks blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what your favourite quote was from this list. These quotes, I think, really open your mind and make you think in a positive way . I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!  
  Byyeee!!!!  

Milkyway Phone Cases

  Hello everybody!

  This weeks blog post is kind of a haul... I will be showing you some of my favourite cases from the website, Milkyway! They have such beautiful cases on their website so I thought I’d share some with you! One of the main reasons this website is so great is they provide cases for both apple and samsung phones, and you can buy your case for so many phone models!  

If you want to look further at their website here is the link:
  https://shop-milkyway.com/

  Clear phone cases and covers:

 #1 Tropical palm leaves - clear TPU case

 #2 Constellation - clear TPU case cover  

 #3 Slay - clear TPU cover  

  #4 Best friends donut - clear TPU case cover    

 #5 C’est la vie - clear TPU case cover  

 #6 Swatches iPhone & Samsung clear phone case cover 

 #7 Oh my deer - clear case cover    

  Chrome iPhone cases and covers

#1 Chrome shiny TPU case - banana leaves    

 #2 Chrome shiny TPU case - cactus   

 #3 Happy camper chrome shiny iPhone case  

  That’s all for this week’s blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what your favourite phone cover is and whether you’re going to be ordering one or already have one. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!    

Pop-Tarts

  Hello everybody!
  This week’s blog is a bake I’ve been wanting to do for ages... pop-tarts!! I’d never eaten pop-tarts before this bake which made it even more exciting. This bake is inspired by another baker called Tanya Burr, her bakes always look incredible so I wanted to try myself.    

 

 Makes: 6 
 Prep time: 40 minutes
 Cook time: 20-25 minutes  

  Ingredients
 250g plain flour
 2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
 1/2 teaspoon salt
 200g cold butter
 1 egg, plus extra for brushing
 1 tablespoon milk  

  For the filling:
 1/2 jar (225g) strawberry jam
 1 tablespoon cornflour  

  To decorate:
 200g icing sugar Pink food colouring
 Sugar strands
 Ready-made strawberry sauce (optional)  

  Method:
 1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/GM4. Line two baking trays with greaseproof paper.
 2. To make the dough, mix the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl, then rub in the butter with your fingertips to a breadcrumb consistency. Mix in the egg and a tablespoon of milk until a dough forms - add a little more milk if it’s looking too dry.
 3. Heat the jam and cornflour over a low heat until it’s loosened. Set aside to cool slightly.
 4. Roll out the dough to 3mm thick. Cut the dough into 8cm x 14cm rectangles - you should get at least 12 rectangles. I made a template from laminated cardboard to get the sizing correct.
 5. To assemble, lay out six rectangles on the baking trays. Add a teaspoon or two of the jam filling to each square, leaving a 1cm border around the edge. Brush the edges with egg and lay the remaining pastry rectangles over the top. Use a fork to press down around the edges, then poke a hole in the top of each one. Brush each tart with egg and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
 6. To decorate, combine the icing sugar, food colouring and a little water in a bowl until you have a thick icing.
 7. Spread a layer of icing over each tart and sprinkle with the sugar strands. Drizzle with strawberry sauce, if desired.

        

  That’s all for this weeks blog post! I hope you enjoyed! This was quite a challenging blog but definitely one to try! They tasted absolutely incredible and there are so many different flavours to chose from and so many more cute ways to decorate them! If you make these please tag me on Instagram @ISayBell_blog as I’d love to see your take on them. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!  
  Byyeee!!!!