My Enamel Pins

  Hello everybody!  
  This week's blog post is about enamel pins, one of my new obsessions! In case you don't know what an enamel pin is; it is a small pin worn on clothing, often worn on the lapel of a jacket. Enamel pins can be ornamental or can indicate wearer's affiliation with an organisation or cause. I absolutely love them and I sure you will too. Most of mine are from Ale-Hop with 2 exceptions.    

In this set there are...
  ▪️Sombrero
  ▪️Pending speech bubble
  ▪️Red lips
  ▪️Blue cocktail
    

  In this set there are...
 ▪️Pink retro car
 ▪️Margarita cocktail
 ▪️Colourful stag  
   

In this set there are...
 ▪️Toucan
 ▪️Yellow airplane
 ▪️Pink flip-flop
 ▪️Not really sure what this is, lol!... any ideas...?   
    

This an individual pin...
 ▪️One Love Manchester        

These are antique pins... 
▪️Coca-Cola
▪️Heart design
▪️Glittery purple, blue & white target
▪️Cancer support
▪️American flag
        

  That's all for this weeks blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know which one your favourite was in the comments below. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!  
  Byyeee!!!!              

Coconut and Raspberry Loaf

  Hello everybody!  
  This week's blog post is another baking post. Since it is now officially summer, I thought I'd do a summer bake! As you can see from the title of this post, I'm doing a Coconut and Raspberry Loaf. I haven't done a loaf in a while so I enjoyed making one again.    

   

Serves: 8 - 10  
Prep time: 30 min, plus cooling  
Cook time: 55min - 1hr 5min    

Ingredients:
 175 g (6oz) unsalted butter, softened, plus extra to grease
 50 g (2oz) desiccated coconut
 175 g (6oz) caster sugar
 3 medium eggs, beaten
 175 g (6oz) self-raising flour
 150 g (5oz) raspberries    

To decorate:
 15g (1/2oz) coconut flakes
 1 medium egg white
 175 g caster sugar
 Pinch cream of tartar
 1 tsp Malibu, optional
 Freeze-dried raspberries, optional, ground  

To store:
  Un-iced cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. Once iced eat within a day (as the icing becomes granular).     

Method:
 1. Preheat oven to 180C (160C fan) mark 4. Grease and line base and sides of a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with baking parchment. Spread desiccated coconut thinly on a baking sheet. Cook in oven for 20min or until very lightly toasted (it can catch quickly). Empty into a bowl; set aside.
 2. In a large bowl beat butter and sugar with a handheld electric whisk until light and fluffy - about 5min. Add eggs, beating well after each addition.
 3. Fold in flour and toasted coconut. Fold in raspberries gently. Spoon into prepared tin; spread to level. Bake 55min-1hr 5min, or until a skewer inserted into centre comes out clean. Cool in tin for 10min; remove; cool on a wire rack.
 4. Meanwhile, spread coconut flakes on a baking sheet and cook in oven for 2min, or until lightly toasted. Set aside.
 5. Transfer cooled loaf to a board; remove parchment. For the icing, put egg white, sugar, cream of tartar, pinch of salt and 2 tbsp water into a heatproof bowl; mix with a handheld electric whisk. Put bowl over a pan of simmering water; keep whisking until mixture is thick and sugar has all dissolved (9-10min). Whisk in Malibu, if using. Spread quickly over cake. Sprinkle over coconut flakes and freeze-dried raspberries, if using. Serve in slices.

       

That's all for this week. I hope you enjoyed! If you make this make sure to tag me on Instagram (@ISayBell_blog) or on Facebook (@ISayBellblogOfficial). It tasted absolutely incredible and it was definitely a pleasure to make. I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!  
Byyeee!!!!

Summer Outfits

  Hello everybody!
  This week's blog post has a similar theme to a post I did in March. Last time I did Special Occasion Outfits, but this time I'm doing Summer Outfits!! What I do in this type of blog is find a fashion website or brand and pull together an outfit based on the items I like. For these outfits, I'm using River Island with the exception of some Wellington boots in the 'Festival Look' from Hunter.  

Beach
 

Barbecue
         

Summer shopping  
   

Festival  
   

Cruisin'
   

Pool party
    

Sleepover  
   

Summer nights
      

That's all for this week's blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what your favourite outfit was- my favourite was Cruisin'. Also let me know what theme of outfits I could do next time! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!                    

Monthly Favourites

  Hello everybody!  
  This week's blog is yet another monthly favourites, I have seven items to show you which I've really been enjoying this month and perhaps you have been too..?

   ▪️ Black Ted Baker bow detail large shopper bag
   ▪️ L'oreal travel exclusive ombrée palette
   ▪️ Essence glow & care luminous nail polish 05 Love And Care
   ▪️ Primark wild fig scented candle
   ▪️ Magnum double coconut ice-cream
   ▪️ Windin app game
   ▪️ Children of Eden by Joey Graceffa    

   

  That's all for this week's blog post! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know if you have any of the items shown or are planning to get them! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!  

Fathers Day Trifle

  Hello everybody!
  This weeks blog post is a special baking post for Father's Day. So let me start by saying Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there!! As you can see from the title of this post, I'm making a trifle. I asked my dad what his favourite cake or dessert was, and he told me, "trifle", hence why I'm making this today. I'm sure lots of you will know what a trifle is, but then, I know there are lots of you who won't! A trifle is an old fashioned, cold dessert of sponge cake and fruit covered with layers of jelly, custard and cream.

 

 Serves: 8
 Prep time: 1 hour
 Difficulty: Easy  

  Ingredients:
 2 packets of strawberry jelly
 8 trifle sponge squares, broken up
 2 cans of ready made custard
 1 600ml pot double cream
 6 tablespoons of icing sugar
 1 large punnet of strawberries
 1-2 drops of vanilla essence Sprinkles (optional)     

Method:
 1. Make the jelly by following packet instructions.
 2. Lay the sponge squares at the bottom of a large glass bowl. Pour the jelly mixture on top of the sponge and leave to set in fridge.
 3. When the jelly has set, open the cans of custard and pour on top spreading it evenly.
 4. Wash the strawberries, remove the hull and slice in half. Place around the side of the dish with the cut side facing out.
 5. Pour the cream, icing sugar and vanilla essence into a separate bowl and, using a hand held mixer, mix until it is light and fluffy.
 6. Spoon the whipped cream on top of the custard. 
 7. Place in the fridge to set for at least 2-3 hours.
 8. Take it out, top with strawberries or sprinkles or both, if desired and enjoy!
  Tip: To make a different trifle you can change jelly flavours or simply add some fruit to the jelly.  

 

Thats all for this weeks blog post! I hope you enjoyed! Once again, Happy Father's Day! I hope you've had an amazing day! As usual, it tasted scrumptious! I will see you next week with another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!         

June Playlist + Musical.lys

Hello everybody!   
This week's blog post, as you can see by the title, is a "playlist and musical.ly compilation" I know I mention this in every blog with this theme, but, if you don't know what Musical.ly is, it is basically an app used for lip-syncing. You have a large variety of songs that you can lip-sync to and post them for all your friends to see.   

 This month, I am lip-syncing to the most popular songs on the app so here is the link which leads to the musical.ly compilation on my YouTube channel: 
  https://youtu.be/e78PJlfU0Kk   

 Now I move onto the playlist, I do my playlists on an app called Spotify which most of you will have heard of. My Spotify username is @ISayBell.Blog if you want to follow me! The songs on the playlist are the songs that are in the video, but you can listen to the full versions! So... the songs that are on my playlist are:
  ▪️ In the Name of Love by Martin Garrix & Bebe Rexha
  ▪️ That's What I Like by Bruno Mars
  ▪️ Stay Zedd & Alessia Cara  

 Here is the link for that:
   https://open.spotify.com/user/isaybell.blog/playlist/03DlrXhUeKOgKtmQzaOkSP     

 

 That's all for this blog post! I hope you enjoyed reading, watching and listening! These blogs are a favourite so it always makes me happy when it comes around to doing them! They're quite rare blog posts since I only post them once every two months! Love you all! 
 Byyeee!!!!

Questions You Have Never Been Asked Tag

Hello everybody!
This week's blog is a Tag! I'm doing the 'Questions You Have Never Been Asked Tag' I have chosen this because I think it helps you to find out more about me and also, I can find out more about myself (if that makes sense)!! I hope you enjoy discovering these random facts about me and play along too!   

  1. What was your favourite TV show when you were a child?
  I loved Charlie and Lola.

  2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister? 
  Zoella, because she inspires me so much and I just really like her.

  3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother? 
  Harry Styles, because I love singing and I love his music.

  4. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married? 
  I have no idea.... 24, 30, 42.... never....?

  5. Can you do the splits? 
  Nope, I'm probably the most inflexible person you'll ever meet.

  6. How old were you when you learned how to ride a bike? 
  I was nine years old.

  7. What is your favourite candle scent?
  I have a few:
  - Baby powder
  - Pineapple and coconut
  - Lavender and salt

  8. How many countries have you been to? 
  I've been to six countries:
  - Gibraltar
  - Spain
  - England
  - Italy
  - France
 - Portugal 

  9. Is anyone in your family in the army? 
  My "grandma's cousin's daughter" is in the army and here is an interesting fact - the main character in a UK TV series called 'Our Girl' was based on her, this distant relative of mine!

  10. How many oceans have you swam in?
  Two; Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea.




  11. What would you name your son if you had one?
  James, I don't have a reason other than I like the name.

  12. What would you name your daughter if you had one?
  I change my mind a lot, so I don't really have one at the moment, but I do like Tiffany and Eliza.

  13. What's the worst grade you got on a test?
  I got 6/15 (40%) on an algebra test once.

  14. What did you dress up as on Halloween when you were eight? 
  A witch.

  15. Have you read any of the Harry Potter, Hunger Games or Twilight series? 
  I have the Hunger Games books, but I just haven't got round to reading them yet.

  16. Would you rather have an American accent or a British accent? 
  I have a British accent already so I'll stick with that.

  17. Have you ever taken karate lessons? 
  No, and I don't think I intend to.

  18. What language, besides your native language, would you like to be fluent in?
  Spanish.

  19. What’s the first amusement park you’ve been to? 
  Disneyland Paris.

  20. Do you know who Kermit the frog is?
  Obviously!  


 


  21. Do you spell the colour as grey or gray? 
  Grey.

  22. Is your father bald? 
  Nope.

  23. Do you know triplets? 
  No, but I do know seven sets of twins!

  24. Do you sleep with a nightlight? 
  Yes, I can't fall asleep when it's too dark.

  25. What’s the name of your favourite restaurant? 
  Pizza Express.

  26. What would your parents have named you if you were the opposite gender? 
  Tomás Leon.

  27. Who’s your favourite person in the world? 
  As an exception, I'm choosing two; my parents.

  28. Would you rather live in a rural area or in the suburbs?
  The suburbs.

  29. Can you whistle? 
  Nope, but I'm still trying to learn.

  30. Have you ever had Indian food? 
  Yes, lots of times!!! And I love it.   



  31. Do you eat breakfast every morning? 
  Yes, I don't think I'd survive until lunch if I didn't.

  32. Do you take any pills or medication daily? 
  No.

  33. What medical condition do you have?  
Luckily, I don't have any.

  34. How many times have you been to the hospital? 
  Three, I think.

  35. Have you ever seen Finding Nemo? 
  I know lots of you will be shocked about this answer, but no I haven't.

  36. Where do you buy your jeans? 
  I bought my last two pairs from F&F and Bershka.

  37. What’s the last compliment you got? 
  My friend said she liked a playsuit I was wearing yesterday.

  38. How many pairs of shoes do you currently own? 
  I own 15, but only 8 pairs actually fit me.

  39. What flavour tea do you enjoy? 
  My fvaourite is chai tea.

  40. Do you usually remember your dreams in the morning? 
  Sometimes, depends how memorable it was!   

      

That's all for this weeks blog! I hope you enjoyed and played along too! Comment your answer from one or more questions, as I'd love to see your answers! I will see you next week for another blog post! Love you all!
  Byyeee!!!!