Vanilla and Chocolate cupcakes

I made these delightful cupcakes for my sister's birthday and they were too good not to share!  They're super quick and easy to make and they always come out so well.  This recipe is tried and tested, I can guarantee you will love them.

 To make the cupcakes: (Makes 12 cupcakes)

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
140g margarine
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
¾ cup milk
1 ¾ cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla essence

1.      Cream margarine and sugar together.

2.      Add eggs and mix well.

3.      Add flour, milk and vanilla essence alternatively.

4.      Add baking powder, mix well and spoon into patty pans.

5.      Bake for ten minutes.

6.      Once baked to cool completely.  After cooling, use a knife to cut a small circle in the top of the cupcakes and hollow it just over half way down.

For the icing:
1 cup softened butter
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted
5 cups icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla 
3-4 tablespoons milk

1.  Whip butter and cocoa together until smooth in a large bowl.  Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar.  Slowly stream in milk until frosting reaches desired consistency.  Scrape sides and whip again until light, fluffy and smooth for 1-2 minutes.  

Think Pink

Mr Price shirt | Cotton On sweater | Zara jeans | Woolworths booties | Forever New bracelet | Michael Kors watch | Mr Price necklace | Victoria's Secret iPhone cover

The weather is playing tricks on me lately.  First thing in the morning I'm generally layered up from head to toe.  I roam around in a big fat hoodie for ages before I'm brave enough to get dressed.  By lunch time though, it's boiling and I'm pulling off all my layers.  I wore this for dinner with le bf's family on Monday evening and while taking these pictures I was so warm I thought I'd made a mistake in my clothing choice but  once we were at dinner I was so grateful I had my booties and a sweater on because it was chilly again!  

I'm off to Cape Town tomorrow and I still haven't got a clue what to pack so this could get interesting.  I guess I'll just have to pack for all kinds of weather.  I'm super excited about this trip by the way.  To see what all I get up to, follow me on Instagram @arumlilea for fun snaps of the trip.  

Easter Weekend

Woolworths tee | Factorie pants | Woolworths heels | Forever New purse | scarf {gifted} | Lovisa rings| Elizabeth Arden Electric Pink lipstick

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Weekend!  It's been so wonderful to stay at home and relax with the family.  The season seems to have finally changed.  It's so cold in the mornings now and the leaves have started changing to the beautiful gold and bronze colours that I love.  This past weekend I've definitely had to whip out the layers.  I don't know if I'm ready for the cold whether yet!  Anyway, this is what I wore over the weekend.  

Happy Easter

 Happy Easter to everyone celebrating today.  I've just been to church with the family and now we're having tea and hot cross buns, one of my favourite traditions.  We're having a big lunch with the family later and I couldn't be more excited.  I hope you have a wonderful day with your family!

Batiste Dry Shampoo

Okay, let's be honest.  We're all looking for short cuts in our busy lifestyles.  I'm one of those people that always seems to be in a rush.  I've got spare shoes and blazers in my car and I take my make up bag wherever I go because I'm always in a mad dash from here to there.  Since I've started working it's been ten times worse.  Today I'm going to share something with you that is going to save you so much time.  This little pearl of wisdom comes in the form of Batiste dry shampoo.

I picked up this dry shampoo at Clicks to give it a try and I immediately fell in love with it.  I've always been the girl that always washed my hair every two to three days.  This dry shampoo actually doubles that length of time and keeps my hair looking so fresh in that period.  Not only does it keep my hair clean, it also adds such a fantastic amount of volume that I can't even get from a good blowout.

I've tried two types of Batiste dry shampoo, the Tropical one which smells like summer and the XXL volume.  I'd say my favourite is the XXL Volume because I'm simply a lover of big hair and it does add more volume than the Tropical one.  They both keep my hair clean and looking great throughout the week though so I tend to alternate between them.  These products have really impressed me and even more so because I get to do more in the evenings than merely sorting out my hair. 

What to wear to a sports game

H&M sweater | Zara denims | Cotton On sneakers | cap {old} | Scaft {gifted} | Michael Kors watch | ALDO purse

Over the weekend I went to watch a rugby game at the stadium and I thought I should do a post on what to wear to a sports game.  Le bf plays basketball for his university and I generally go and watch him play his weekend games.  While I'm all for heels and cute dresses, I'm afraid that just doesn't quite cut it in a stadium or on a basketball court.  

This is what I wore to Sunday's basketball game.  I generally opt for jeans, a great sweater and a scarf.  The sports stars might be working up a sweat but I freeze on the side lines!  Practical shoes are a key element in this sort of outfit.  You don't want to be climbing stairs in the middle of big crowds in heeled boots.  For the rugby game I threw on something similar and my leather jacket too because I refuse to shiver when I should be enjoying myself and I'm so glad I did.

Did you get up to anything exciting this weekend?  It would seem that I had a very sporty weekend even though I'm nothing of the sort.

Life through my iPhone

It's Friday and I couldn't be more excited!!!  This week has been such an incredible one so I thought I'd share a few of the snapshots I've taken on my iPhone recently to fill you in on what's been happening.  This weekend I'm having a braai/bbq with friends and heading off to watch rugby which is something I honestly never do.  Perhaps I should do a post on what to wear to a sports game.  What do you think?  Anyway, excuse my ramblings, here are we go: 

1.  Last night I attended the Mr Price #mrpvip event and they had a s'mores bar. A s'mores bar guys!!!  With a curtain of marshmellows and sugary clouds of happiness.  2.  At the Woolworths #stylebynight event on Wednesday, Irina and I found this mirror and just had to make use of it.  3.  Shashi Naidoo and I are obviously quite taken by the whole hats and faux fur trend this season.  4.  Yummy virgin cocktails.

1.  Le bf and I had a movie date.  2.  I'm currently obsessed with these shoes.  Bright yellow does stirs a dance party within my soul.  3.  I came home one evening to this beautiful delivery of champagne glasses and the most precious card from Amy of Cupcakes & Couture. 4. I'm loving midi rings and red nails.

1.  Lunch date with le bf at Tasha's with these delicious burgers!  2.  Nothing beats relaxing on my bed with tea.  3.  When catching up over "coffee"  I generally opt for a chai latte (not a fan of coffee but a huge fan of cinnamon).  4.  Sun-downers on Fridays should always look like this!

Have a wonderful weekend!  Thank you so much for reading!

Florals

Forever 21 sweater | Mr Price pants | Europa Art shoes | Forever New bag | Michael Kors watch | Forever New necklace | Elizabeth Arden lipstick

So these floral pants have been working a serious rotation.  I'm trying to get maximum wear out of them before the winter weather sets in.  Hope you're having a great day!  Thanks for reading!

Weekend Basics

Foschinis hat | Woolworths tee | LEGiT pants | Woolworths heels | Blackcherry bag | Sass Diva necklace | 

Michael Kors watch

I bought this hat a couple weeks ago and I've been dying to wear it but hadn't had the chance until this weekend.  It's still very warm during the days so whatever I wear needs to be light enough for the heat but also warm enough that I only need a light jacket in the evenings.  With the beginning of the change of season on our hands, I thought it would be the perfect time to whip out my hat.  I'm a little bit crazy about it!

This weekend I spent out with my friends.  We've had dinners, drinks, lunches and celebrated a birthday over burgers and milkshakes which was so much fun!  I also went a little blonder this weekend so my hair is now the lightest I've been since high school!  You can't see it in this picture but in my next post you will be able to!  Did you get up to anything exciting this weekend?  I'd love to know!

April Make Up Favourites

I've got a couple new favourite items that I've added to my daily routine and I think they're so good that they need to be shared.  I find all these products really effective and worth every cent.  If you've used any of these products, I'd love to know your thoughts on them in the comment section down below.  Right!  Let's get started!

Concealer

1.  MAC Pro Longwear Concealer:  I'm currently loving this concealer because it really is long lasting.  It's a lot lighter than MAC's concealer that comes in a pot but it still has full coverage so even if you have a foundation that doesn't provide full coverage, this will pull your make up all together and add a dimension of light to your look.  A little of this concealer really goes a long way so I'm convinced my bottle is going to last a long time!

2.  Elizabeth Arden Flawless Finish Correcting and Highlighting Perfector: this product comes as a pen with a brush on the end and a pump on the top to release the concealer on to the brush bottom.  My pump delays the release of the product to the brush which is an unfortunate manufacturing fault.  In any event, I really do love this product.  It glides on smoothly and it's very light so I don't feel like I'm sitting with a face full of make up.  It adds a beautiful effect to the overall look of your make up.

Foundation

3.  Charlie Longwear foundation: This foundation I bought for my trip to Zanzibar because I didn't want to use my (expensive) Estee Lauder foundation when I'd be spending all day swimming in the sea.  I was actually so impressed with it that I've since bought another bottle.  It has a dewy finish which is great for a healthy summer glow but it can also be set with powder to give a matte finish.  It really does have staying power, provides good coverage and at less than a quarter of the price of the Estee Lauder, it's an affordable gem for everyone's make up bag.

4.  Estee Lauder Double Wear foundation: I have spoken about my love for this foundation on the blog before.  It will always be one of my favourite make up products.  It gives great coverage and once it's been applied, it sets with a matte finish.  No powder needed.  This is great for combination or oily skin because it sets without powder but  I sometimes find that if my skin is dry in winter, this is going to dry me out a little more.  If you have a dry skin type, you'd probably prefer the Charlie foundation.

Make up remover

4.  Dermalogica precleanse wipes: I'm generally not a fan of make up wipes because they dry out so quickly that by the time you're half way though the packet, it feels as though you're using tissue paper to try and remove your make up.  These, however, are fantastic.  They're quite oily so this makes the process a whole lot easier as your make up slides off rather than needing you to scrub with force to get it off.  They're perfect for late nights when a long skin routine seems as daunting as climbing Mount Everest.  These smell also delightful which is also a win!

5.  Rimmel Gentle Eye make up remover:  This is my go-to make up remover.  It isn't very oily so it doesn't leave residue on your skin but rather leaves it feeling refreshed and cleansed (even though it isn't a cleanser).  My bottle has lasted four months too which is always a win!