Like i mentioned in my previous post Lazy girl guide to cooking, I have learned to cook an array of different meals since moving out and over the last year I have learned some tips and tricks to make my food cook quicker and taste better. The best thing I have done is invested in kitchen appliances! Making a great home cooked meal everyday can be very time consuming and take a lot of energy so at the minute I have two appliances which help me out a lot.
T H E S L O W C O O K E R
Best invention ever made, there I said it.
For someone who gets anxious about cooking various meats, my slow cooker has become my life safer. I always worry that I haven't cooked meat enough or that I'll cook it too much and ruin the taste but with this, I can leave the meat in the cooker all day and know neither will be a problem. I'm still trying different things out in it all the time but my favourite meal to make is a roast with shredded chicken, it is the easiest thing to do and saves you fathing while watching everything else and entertaining the family on a sunday. I mention how to make shredded chicken in my previous post so pop over if you want to try it.
I found out how to make shredded chicken on Pinterest of all places, it seems there is a H U G E cooking community on it! I always thought it was more for clothing and interiors but I was just looking in the wrong place. I look on Pinterest for most of my meal ideas now because there is something for everyone and with slow cookers, you can cook basically anything in them! Chicken, Pork, Lamb, Mince, Lasagna, Pasta, Potatoes, even a deep dish pizza. If you want to see what I have been pinning on Pinterest click on my Slow Cooker Recipes board.
Lastly, the best thing about a slow cooker is you can place all your ingredients in there in the morning, go out all day and when you get home in the evening the food is cooked and ready for you. I know i am going to be using my slow cooker even more in winter because it means I can spend more time during the evening in the bath rather than cooking. goals
T H E S T E A M E R
This is a recent addition to my kitchen collection bur I have fallen in love with it already and use it most days. I bought a 3 tier Russel Hobbs steamer from Argos which aren't too expensive and stack away really easily.
I bought one of these because I was tired of spending all night in the kitchen standing over my hob boiling my veg. I love veg and i like to have it with every meal but boiling it can be a nuisance especially while your in the middle of cooking a roast. My mum suggested I get a steamer and I haven't looked back since.
Like the slow cooker, you can cook most things in the steamer from veg and potatoes to fish and chicken. On a daily basis I throw baby potatoes and veg in with some breaded chicken in the oven and we have a easy, quite healthy meal. One of the reasons I bought the steamer was so I could cook different vegetables more regularly. Callum doesn't like broccoli whereas I love it but i never saw the point in boiling some just for me . With the steamer I can throw some in with some peas and carrots and it is no extra work for me.
Having both of these appliances make cooking a roast dinner for my family a breeze! I have my meat in the slow cooker, my vegetables in the steamer and my roast potatoes in the oven and I still have room on the side (and time to dance around the kitchen to Mamma Mia)
I am planning to write another post about some recipes I have been making lately and both of these tools will feature heavily in it! Hope I haven't made you too hungry reading this!
You would have seen in my last post that I recently picked up the Clinique Take The Day Off makeup remover to try, now after I have been using it for a few weeks I thought I would compare it to my holy grail Simple Micellar Water. As you should all know I am a budget girl through and through only springing out for certain skincare pieces which I know work way better for me then the drugstore equivalent I have tried.
P A C K A G I N G
Not that you should judge a book by its cover but we all know the packaging is what attracts us to look at a product in the first place. For the most part both bottles are relatively similar with both being clear plastic bottles but the Clinique bottle is more appealing and expensive looking, I can't lie when I put all my Clinique products together on the side they do look good. But what the Simple bottle lacks in cuteness it makes up for with size. You know everyone always tells you size doesn't matter? It does when it comes to skincare products. The Simple bottle holds more than 3x more product than the Clinique bottle and is more than 1/3 of the price. You can't argue with maths although the Clinique bottle would be better for traveling.
F O R M U L A
When it comes to formulas these two products couldn't be any more different. The Clinique remover is oil based so the product separates in the bottle when it is untouched. Many times I have poured some of the product out before I have remember to shake the bottle and I get a face full of oil! I am learning and haven't done that is a week tho. The product also leaves a residue on the skin afterwards that I tend wash off straight away otherwise my skin is slimy for a while, afterwards you can't deny your skin feels amazing though like you have just had a facial. My skin is always super soft after I have used this product and unlike the Take The Day Of Cleansing Balm that I tried before, this product doesn't irritate my eyes.
As for the Simple cleanser it is exactly what it says on the tin (or bottle), you wipe your makeup away with a cotton pad and your done, no need to wash your face afterwards. My skin has always liked this micellor water and I really like you can get sensitive formulas as well as my skin can be unpredictable sometimes. I find with this cleaner you don't a lot of product to remove the majority of your makeup which makes my night routine even quicker.
P R I C E
Now for the all important price... I normally buy the Simple Micellor water for around £6 which is extremely good for your money but at the moment, the product is half price and £3 for the 400ml bottle which is a steal. As for the Clinique makeup remover I purchased the 125ml bottle from Boots for around £14 if you compare it to some other skincare brands isn't actually that much.
C O M P A R I S O N
I know no matter what I will also have a bottle of Simple Micellor Water in my skincare collection because it comes in really handy and I know it will always work for me. I do like to branch out with my skincare though and Clinique is one brand that I really like to try new products from. I swear by their moisturizers and feel like my skin benefits from using their products regularly. If you are looking fo ]r a bog standard does what it says on the bottle then the Simple Micellor water is the one for you but if you like the more luxurious feel then try the Clinique makeup remover because it does remove all your makeup and leave your skin feeling super silky.
Its time again for another YouTuber round up post but with a twist. Normally I talk about beauty bloggers 90% of the time but most of my time now on YouTube is spent watching vlogs and families on the site. I thought it was about time I gave them a shout out since I haven't done a round up since February last year!
Starting off with my new favourite mummy vlogger who I have been obsessed with for the last few months. I first found Rebecca from Rebecca Lamb, a mum of two who lives in the dales, when I was searching aldi food haul videos, I am not ashamed to say I am obsessed (dont judge me...) I love watching her family vlogs and her day in the life videos, I feel like I know the family and if I was ever in the Dales I would hope I would have the courage to go over and say hi. Her two boys are so cute, Steve is so down to earth and their house is a big old fashioned cottage style house which I love. I will leave a speed cleaning video of hers below which I am obsessed with watching at the moment.
Next up I have another mummy vlogger who I found after becoming obsessed with cleaning videos and family vlogs. Lucy from Lucy Jessica Carter is a mum of two who uploads everything from cleaning videos, food hauls and makeup and clothing hauls. Her two boys are absolutely gorgeous and I love her grey stylish home. I love watching her weekend vlogs with her family and seeing what they have been up too. She has a great photo gallery wall in her living room which I have so copied! I will leave her day in the life of mum video.
Lastly for this post I have the ever cool Emma Hill. I originally found her YouTube through her blog website and fell in love with her style and manors. I love her style of clothing and I wish I could pull off the light denim jeans and blazer look. Later on in life I hope I can adopt that style and look as cool as she does. Her seasonal wardrobe clear outs are one of my favourites to watch purely to see how many pairs of jeans she actually owns goals and I will leave my favourite below. Emma is originally from Cornwall but now lives in London with her husband Simon who is hilariously unimpressed with Emma most of the time. Her style of home furniture is so chic as well, I need her bathroom and plant area!!
Starting off with my new favourite mummy vlogger who I have been obsessed with for the last few months. I first found Rebecca from Rebecca Lamb, a mum of two who lives in the dales, when I was searching aldi food haul videos, I am not ashamed to say I am obsessed (dont judge me...) I love watching her family vlogs and her day in the life videos, I feel like I know the family and if I was ever in the Dales I would hope I would have the courage to go over and say hi. Her two boys are so cute, Steve is so down to earth and their house is a big old fashioned cottage style house which I love. I will leave a speed cleaning video of hers below which I am obsessed with watching at the moment.
Next up I have another mummy vlogger who I found after becoming obsessed with cleaning videos and family vlogs. Lucy from Lucy Jessica Carter is a mum of two who uploads everything from cleaning videos, food hauls and makeup and clothing hauls. Her two boys are absolutely gorgeous and I love her grey stylish home. I love watching her weekend vlogs with her family and seeing what they have been up too. She has a great photo gallery wall in her living room which I have so copied! I will leave her day in the life of mum video.
Next up is the last of my favourite mums of YouTube and that is Rebecca from Mrs Meldrum, Rebecca is a mum of three girls and living in Scotland. I love Rebecca's ascent, her style and her husbands love of golf. She has the ability to make any clothing look amazing on her which means her hauls are lethal to my bank balance. I will leave her supermarket autumn look book which I love everything in. I also love watching her speed cleaning videos because she has a great kitchen to watch being cleaned, does anyone understand that or am I just being weird?
Lastly for this post I have the ever cool Emma Hill. I originally found her YouTube through her blog website and fell in love with her style and manors. I love her style of clothing and I wish I could pull off the light denim jeans and blazer look. Later on in life I hope I can adopt that style and look as cool as she does. Her seasonal wardrobe clear outs are one of my favourites to watch purely to see how many pairs of jeans she actually owns goals and I will leave my favourite below. Emma is originally from Cornwall but now lives in London with her husband Simon who is hilariously unimpressed with Emma most of the time. Her style of home furniture is so chic as well, I need her bathroom and plant area!!
Make sure you take a look at all four ladies channels and subscribe if they are your kind of people! If you have anyone else who you think I may like leave their channels below! :)
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