Thursday 29 May 2014

No-fuss Shepherd's Pie








Beware: Do not read on an empty stomach. 

As this is the second time in one week that I have made this shepherd's pie, and both times it came out perfect, I thought I would share with you my recipe. I think it's traditional to have lamb mince but I used beef mince as I don't eat lamb. I would say this is a pretty simple recipe and is very filling, definitely a bonus. It's supposed to serve four people but me and my boyfriend each take half. (*awkward silence*)

The ingredients you will need: 

1 onion 
3-4 normal sized carrots
900g minced meat (Beef or lamb)
600g of potatoes 
5 dl beef stock 
allround bbq marinade for cooking (instead of worcester sauce)
2 tbs tomato puree 
2 tbs of milk 
85g of butter 


Start off by cutting the carrots into coins and chopping up the onion. I used a cutting machine to make the onion very fine, but that's just me. Pop them into a frying pan with a little bit of oil and cook till carrots are a little soft. (The smell of cooking onions is amazing) Then add the mince and cook until done after that you drain any excess water. You then add the tomato puree and bbq marinade or worcester sauce. Unfortunately, they didn't have any worcester sauce in Sweden so the marinade had to do. Stir for a couple of minutes and then add the stock. Once it starts to simmer, put a lid on for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes take the lid off and let it simmer for another 20 minutes. 

In the meanwhile, peel then boil the potatoes. Then mash them up in a bowl and add the butter and milk. Once the meat is ready put in oven dish about the same size as the one in the photo. Then add the mashed potato on top. Smooth it out and then put in the oven for about 25minutes. 

All in all it probably takes about an hour and half to make in total. That may be a long time for some, but it is totally worth it. I also wanted to mention that you shouldn't be worried if it's a bit liquidy after you put in the beef stock and simmer it. It's normal. I wouldn't recommend draining it. It's meant to be like that to keep the meat moist when put in the oven. 


Hope you enjoyed reading :) 
xoxo 

Do let me know if you end up using this recipe. You can tweet me at @mllekarenanne and I'll retweet you. 

Other places you can find me: 

Twitter    





Saturday 24 May 2014

OOTD #3

I've been waiting a while for it to get warm enough to wear this t-shirt dress. It's now safe to say that it is plenty hot. This is one of the three items I purchased at Primark when I was in the UK. If you think it looks like a pj dress, then yes, I'm not going to lie, I did pick this up from the pyjama section, but I thought that it would look good as a casual t-shirt dress on hot days like this. It's made of very soft thin cotton and is airy which is extremely handy when it's 27 degrees. I'm also wearing a pair of green turtle shell sunglasses from &otherstories, which I'm really loving at the moment. They are very unique as they have chains on the side and are held down by plastic weights in the same colour as the sunglasses. I have also jazzed up the look with a pair of gold eagle earrings and tall chelsea boots. 










 ♥ Short sleeve dress - Primark 
 ♥ Sunglasses - &otherstories
 ♥ Chelsea boots - Office 
 ♥ Earrings - Ur&Penn 


Hope you enjoyed reading :) 
xoxo

Do you like this outfit? Let me know what you think. 

Sunday 18 May 2014

Have you discovered? ll Eye Shadow



I'm carrying on with the have you discovered series and today it's all about eyeshadows. I have a few that I would like to share with you all as I couldn't pick just one. The eyeshadow palette is by E.L.F and the three creamy eyeshadow sticks are by Victoria Jackson.


First up are the 6 eyeshadow shades by E.L.F which I probably use all the time with my everyday make up look. Normally when buying a palette there are usually some colours that I would use more than others, or not use at all, but with this palette I use all of them. There are some I use a little bit more than others but I love all of the colours. You can create both day time and night time looks with this palette. I absolutely love this palette and its such good value. I bought it fo£3.95 on E.L.Fs website but I'm not sure if they still sell this one anymore.



In the top photo to the right are three eyeshadow sticks that came as a set. They are really compact and have a twist mechanism which makes them really practical. The one I use the most is definitely the rose gold champagne colour. I think it's such a beautiful colour. The black one is really good for smokey eye. It doesn't have to be as dark as in the picture if you press lightly it will leave a lighter layer. Not only do I love these because they are really good, but they also have sentimental value as they were a gift from my mum for my 18th birthday. I'm not entirely sure where you can purchase these. I've only seen them on a U.S  site but they must be accessible in Europe. If you are able to find them I definitely recommend you buy the set. 

Hope you enjoyed reading :) 

xoxo 

Would love to hear what your favourite eye shadow is. Leave a comment below. 

Thursday 15 May 2014

My first time in Notting Hill








During the week I was in the UK I went to visit a friend that lives in Notting Hill. I was really excited as I had never been to Notting Hill before. I had only ever seen it in the well known movie 'Notting Hill.' So, we went out for lunch and had a lovely catch up as I hadn't seen him in a while. But before we stuffed ourselves with yummy food, he showed me around. I got to see the beautiful pristine white houses all in a row, as well as the really colourful ones. He showed me some of the places where the movie had been shot and then, lastly, he took me to Portobello Road.

Portobello Road is a place where they have a massive market all along the street. The people are selling all kinds of things. There were vintage stalls, food stalls, second hand stalls and hat stalls. I ended up buying a fresh coconut from on of the stalls. It was so tasty and refreshing. I would definitely recommend going there if you go to London and if you like markets.  

After a little wonder about the stalls we started getting hungry so my friend recommended we go to this Asian restaurant called E&O and as it was nice and sunny we decided to sit outside. The sushi and dumplings were so delicious, but my favourite would have to be the tiger prawns dipped in garlic salt and chilli sauce. Mmmm they were to die for! I'm so glad he recommended this place, I would definitely recommend this place too and will probably be going back sometime soon hopefully hehe.

Hope you enjoyed reading :)

xoxo 


Thursday 8 May 2014

My Favourite Spring/Summer Nail Polishes


It's finally starting to feel a bit more like spring here in Sweden, although it's still a little chilly. Here's to hoping summer is soon on its way. 
So today I thought I'd share with you my favourite Spring/Summer nail polishes.
It was pretty hard picking out my favourites, as there were so many to choose from that I just wanted to choose them all, but that would defeat the purpose of 'my favourites' (*cross eyed smiley face*). But in the end I picked out my top 8. 



First up are two nail polishes from Mavala which is a Swiss brand and the cheapest compared to the other nail polishes. The first one on the left is called Hong Kong and is a nice light orange with a slight tint to it. I use this one when I want to make my hands look a little more feminine and sophisticated, if that makes sense.  The second one is called Freshy, a nice and bright pink, which I use when I feel in a girly but statement type mood. 



Then there's the Models Own called Jade Stone which looks similar to the Barry M one but is slightly darker. As you can tell, I'm really into green. 

The reddish orange coloured one is from Hot Makeup in the colour Passion. It's not really a spring or summery colour, but I always like wearing red nail polishes. 


Both of these are from Barry M, the one on the left is called Greenberry and the other one is Blueberry. I was a little sceptical at first, but as they were 3 for 2 at boots I thought I'd buy two pastel colours to try them out and they actually really grew on me. I think they are a must have if you like pastel colours. :)



I really love this pink from Sally Hansen in the colour Ballets Rouge. It's sort of a darker baby pink. I think it really compliments the skin.

Lastly, on the right, is a nail polish from Kiko and I think it's called Spring Green. If I had to choose one favourite out of them all, it would have to be this one. Green is my favourite colour so I guess there's no surprise as to why it's my favourite. I just think it's such an interesting colour and actually looks good on nails.

Hope you enjoyed reading :) 

xoxo 

Which colour is your favourite?
If you have any nail polish favourites, I'd love to know. Just leave a comment below.

Sunday 4 May 2014

April Glossybox ll Spring Beauty Prep


This month I received my April glossybox quite late as there were loads of bank or festive holidays which delayed postage, so I was a bit worried that it wouldn't turn up at all. But it finally came after all the impatient waiting for the sms so that I could go pick it up at the post office. I also waited a little longer to do this post so that I could test the products first. 





Emite Make up Lip Brush L312 (New Release, Org. price 180kr) 

I must admit that I'm not much of a lip brush type girl, but I did nonetheless test it out and I thought that it really wasn't anything special, especially for it's rather expensive price. I guess it did make it easier to put on the lipstick more precisely, but took more effort and the lipstick didn't really show like it does when you put it on straight from the bullet. However, I might experiment with this brush and maybe use it as an eyebrow or eyeliner brush, we'll see. 



YU-BE - Moisturising Skin Cream (Org. price 169kr/33g)

I actually really like this skin cream it smells like and reminds me of tiger balm. Very moisturising!  I'll probably use up the whole tube, as it isn't very big, by the end of the week. Apparently it's supposed to be a best seller in Japan. However, I probably won't re purchase it as it is quite pricey and there are cheaper moisturisers that do just good of a job.


My two favourite products in the glossybox!!

L'Oreal Paris - Nude Magique Blur Cream (New Release, Org. price 169kr)

I was over the moon when I saw that I got this new release product in my glossybox. Basically, it's a primer that helps minimise pores and I think it works really well, hell probably just as well as the benefits POREfessional. I'd say it's a good dupe. I got it in the shade medium to dark skin, though I don't see why it has a shade, as it doesn't really seem to matter, but if it did I would probably be an in between of light and medium. But, like I said, I don't really think it matters. Would love to know if there is though. So if anyone knows please do tell :) 


Etre Belle - Liplift Peel (Org. price 129kr)

This couldn't have come at a better time. My lips are getting so confused with the weather in Sweden and are peeling constantly. The lip peel comes in a lipgloss tube which makes application that much easier. All I have to do is spread it around on my lips and keep it for a minute or so and then wash it off and the dead skin has come off. Definitely recommend this product. It works absolute wonders! 




Ldb - Body Lotion (Org. price 39kr)

I absolutely love the smell of this body lotion. It has a very unique sweet and sour scent. Since I have pretty dry skin it doesn't really keep my skin moisturised enough. It soaks in and after an hour my skin is dry again. So I wouldn't recommend it to people with dry skin. I do really love the smell though will probably just use it as hand cream or something. 


Rating for aprils glossybox: 6/10

Overall, I liked what I got in my glossybox this month, though probably my least favourite out all of them, but what really made this box was the l'oreal and etre belle products in my opinion. I definitely would re-purchase them. That's why I gave it a six out of ten. Regarding the other products I probably will use but won't re-purchase any of them. 

Hope you enjoyed reading :) 

xoxo