Soup-er Sunday....Spicy Mexican Soup Recipe

I know it doesn't look all that appealing, and I've yet to get the hang of photographing food, but I made this spicy Mexican soup today and it was delicious! I like to cook something big and hearty on Sundays. I don't usually make a roast but I do like to make a huge soup or stew to keep me going for a couple of days. Also, it was pretty healthy till I added the Dorito's and the cream cheese ;)

Stuff you need:

• Bell peppers (I used one red, one green and one yellow because I like to make it look colourful.)
• 2 large red onions
• 3 large cloves of garlic
• 3 large fresh tomatoes (optional)
• 4-5 green chilies depending on heat preference.
• Taco seasoning (bit of a cheat, I used Discovery brand)
• One teaspoon of cumin (optional.)
• Coriander
• 1 small tin of sweetcorn
• 1 carton of kidney beans
• 1 jar of jalapeno peppers.
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• One cube of Chicken stock added to 500ml of boiling water
• Cream cheese
• Lime (optional)
• Doritos 

Directions

1. Heat olive oil in a large pan. Add the chopped red onion, minced garlic cloves and green chillies and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the bell peppers and chopped fresh tomatoes and continue to fry for another 5-7 minutes until softened.
2. Stir in the teaspoon of cumin, teaspoon of coriander and one tablespoon or so of the taco seasoning. 
3. Add the tinned tomatoes and the chicken stock. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.
4. Add the drained kidney beans, sweetcorn, some jalapenos and a small slice of lime, cover and cook for a further 10 minutes on a low heat.
5. Taste to see whether soup requires any more seasoning, add another teaspoon or two if it doesn't taste seasoned enough. 
6. Simmer with lid off for ten more minutes.
7. Stir a heaped tablespoon of cream cheese into the soup, this will thicken it up and make it taste devine. Add black pepper and coriander to taste.
8. Serve in a bowl with a tablespoon of cream cheese and some crushed Cool Original Doritos.
9. Have a taste-gasm.

I'm going to eat another serving now, I don't think it'll last me a few days after all...

Garnier Nutrisse Creme Light Brown 6 Review

It was time to dye my hair and I fancied a change so on a whim I purchased the Garnier Nutrisse in Light Brown (No 6). I usually go for a darker shade in varying brands which usually means for a week or so I have black hair as my hair is so porous and takes really easily, but this time I wanted to skip the black hair stage.

Stupidly I decided to look up reviews of this dye AFTER I'd decided to slap it all over my head. I found quite a few negative reviews about how it seems impossible to wash out and how it still stains towels weeks later, generally the reviews seemed not so hot, which left me a little wary when it came to washing it out...

The results: (FYI, my hair was a very dark brown as you can see in my profile picture).

unstyled, straight out of the shower blow-dried hair.

I actually quite like it. I don't LOVE it but I think it looks quite nice. It does seem to have lightened my hair a little and the colour is fairly even. I didn't have much trouble at all washing it out and after blow-drying my hair feels a little dry but mostly soft. It didn't smell that awful and it wasn't terribly hard to apply. I was hoping for an almost ash brown, and it does seem to have cooler tones to it now which I like.

view from above.

On to the cons, there isn't much product. I did only buy one box and I just about got it to cover all of my thick mid-length hair. I'm surprised it came out so evenly, actually, I was convinced I'd probably missed a few bits after the dye had all run out. 

The conditioner was fine, but usually my hair feels great after using the conditioners that come with hair-dyes, this time it was still a little dry. 

All in all, it was just fine. Not great, not bad, just average. Overall I would give it a 6/10 and may use it again in future. 

2014 Hair Stuff. Growing it long, ditching the straighteners, minimal dying.

image via Pinterest and here.

This year I'm going to attempt to have pretty hair. Long pretty hair.
I haven't managed to grow my hair long since my early 'teens, mostly because I get bored so easily and chop it off, but also because of the suffering I put it through. I've dyed my hair countless times, used straighteners on it almost daily for the past 10 years, and blasted it with hot hair-dryers. I also have naturally coarse porous hair which is really susceptible to any damage, it tangles easily and this makes having long hair a bit of a challenge.

I have been growing out a pixie I had over a year ago and my hair is now actually quite long, (just below shoulder length) and I'm aiming for another 6 inches.

To help grow my hair long quickly I'm going to do the following mostly obvious things this year, until I reach my desired length.

- Take a good multivitamin.
- Eat plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables and oily fish.
- Avoid applying heat to my hair as much as I can.
- Drink plenty of water.
- Not cut my hair (obviously!)
- Dye my hair no more than once every 2 months.
- Regularly use intense conditioners to limit the tangles (I usually get lazy with this.)

Also for the next 3 months (as of last week) I'm going to avoid my straighteners completely. I've already gone one week without using them so I'll see where I'm at on the 10th of April.

I wanted to give up the dying completely but I'm not quite ready to reveal my silvers just yet..

Good luck growing your hair out if you're trying! It's so tempting to cut it all off when it's misbehaving.

Kat x

Lunch-time Beauty Buys

So it's January, it feels like months since the last pay day and still so long until the next. I'm really skint but still couldn't resist buying myself a few things in Superdrug during lunch break at work. Luckily, Superdrug stocks the amazing MUA so I managed to get myself these 4 things for just over a tenner. (I was aiming for under a tenner which I would have been able to do, had there been any MUA matte lipsticks left in stock which are only £1!)

1. MakeUp Academy Professional Ever After Matte Palette - £4.00
I really like matte eye-shadows without any glittery bits that cheap ones so often have. I can wear any of these every day and all of the colours will suit my dark brown eyes. My favourite (which I bought it for, mostly) is the bluey-grey colour called 'Fog'. I also really like the darkish brown next to it which is called 'Truffle'. I'm a huge fan of these eyeshadow sets because they're so cheap and easy to carry around if I need a top up during the day. It'd be even more awesome if it had a mirror inside but that's just being fussy.

2. MakeUp Academy Undress Your Skin Radiant Under Eye Concealer - £3.00
I'm not really sure about this. I bought it because I had big dark circles under my eyes and had forgotten my usual under eye concealer. It took me a while of furiously twisting the bottom to actually get the product out and when I did I was underwhelmed.

3. Miss Sporty Perfect Colour Lipstick in Candy Cake - £1.59
In the photo it looks a lot darker than it actually is, it's really quite a light pink and matches my new favourite DM's in a similar colour which is why I bought it. Also, I'm getting a bit bored or wearing dark red lipstick which has been the colour I've been wearing the majority of the time for the past couple of months. I was going to buy an MUA lipstick but there were none left, and I really liked this shade. It feels nice on, I love the colour but it doesn't have much staying power.

4. MakeUp Academy Professional Blue Perfection Cream Blusher in "Dolly"
I was actually looking for a powder blusher but I thought I'd give this a go as I really liked the colour. I've been wearing a lot of light pink colours and wanted something in a peach colour for a change. It goes on really easily and makes me look a bit more 'healthy'.

That's all for now, I'm going to try not to buy any more make-up until pay day!

Kat

2014 New Year's Resolutions

Hi. This is my first blog post. How exciting!

My name's Kat, I'm 28 years old. I live and work in London and am crazy about all things hair/make-up/TV/cats/etc, and that's all for now until I manage to write an 'About Me' page.

I wanted to start the New Year with a post about my New Year's Resolutions seeing as one of them is to:

1. Start writing a blog. I've always wanted to start writing a blog but I just never seem to get round to it. I get too caught up with trying to figure out how to make a blog look pretty, thinking up ideas for posts, looking at other people's blogs, watching v-logs and making lists until I lose all enthusiasm, put on Netflix and totally forget about it. This time I've decided to just jump straight in and start writing, I'm not going to worry about how rubbish my standard blogger template is or exactly what topic I should write about. For the moment I think I'm going to write hair, make-up and general lifestyle topics.

2. Give up the cigs. I've been a social smoker for a long time but over the last couple of years I've started smoking more and more. I'm not going cold turkey but I'm cutting down until I can quit. Currently down to 2 a day, unless I drink... which brings me on to.

3. Drink less! I think I would like 2014 to be the year I stop embarrassing myself at work drinks, and the year where I figure out my limit and take myself home after a few drinks instead of being the last one standing (almost).

4. Be nicer. I know this one sounds really vague, but I'd like to do more nice things for the people I love, moan less, and be generally more friendly and less grumpy I'M STRESSED GET OUT OF MY WAY face.

5. Take better care of myself. Maybe I could try going to bed at a decent hour, getting up earlier to make a bit more of an effort before I leave the house once in a while rather than turning up to work in a hoodie, scruffy jeans and odd socks. Maybe I could paint my nails, or put my make-up on in the comfort of my own home rather than whilst being jerked around on the Victoria Line.

There are many, many more..
- Buy less take-aways
- Drink more water
- Eat more vegetables
- Learn to draw
- Be a tidier and more organised human being.

ETC, ETC....

Obviously it's all a bit much to tackle in one month, and I'm sure by the end of 2014 I'm not going to be a tee-total super-friendly yoga practicing vegan with lovely hair and a perfectly tidy house, but even if I've just given up the cigarettes and I don't scowl at people I'll be happy...