My First Blog Award!

Hello Curious Readers!

Big news today! I received a lovely email from Aimee at GirlTalk (please check out her site!) who has given me a Versatile Blogger award.

There are rules to the Versatile blogger award which are below:

Thank the person who gave you the aware by linking back to them in your post

Tell us seven things about yourself

Award Fifteen recently discovered new bloggers

I think this is a great way to spread a bit of wonder across the blogosphere and introduce you all to some new people so here we go:

Seven Things About Me

1. I am a makeup addict, I buy what I can't make and make my own makeup and eyeshadow primers
2. I am getting married in 2012 and having an alice in wonderland themed wedding
3. I have a degree in Applied Criminology with Psychology and would love to work for a crime based charity
4. I am addicted to films and own approximately 200 DVD's and probably have several from most genres known to man
5. I come from Italian/Irish heritage
6. I paint and my dream is to have a house big enough to display my paintings
7. I love to write and would do it professionally if I could.

Fifteen Newly Discovered Blogs

1. An American Cupcake In London
2. Heart Handmade UK
3. Two Crazy Crafters
4. Daisy Pink Cupcake
5. Pumped On Caffeine
6. The Adventures of Artsy Nina
7. Just Jen
8. Simply Stacie
9. Modern Earth Design
10. Educated Abroad
11. The Redhead Riter
12. Shopaholic Mommy's Must Haves
13. Momma Maven
14. The Fork In The Road
15. Punk Rock Momma

Congratulations to all those in the list! Thank you again to Aimee for giving me the award and I hope everyone has a good day tomorrow celebrating/avoiding the Royal Wedding!

Royal Wedding: I'll Have The Will & Kate Special Please

Hello Curious Readers!

The Royal wedding is now two days away, this time in 48 hours I shall be with fine friends eating fine food and drinking free champagne and watching the Royal wedding on a rather large screen at our nearby drinking establishment ;) In the excitement running up to the wedding I have a few posts related to the UK, Royals and Weddings to share with you so expect a few posts a day!

Firstly, I received an email today that I felt I just had to share with my UK based readers, Domino's the pizza monolith is doing possibly the best Royal wedding related deal I have heard of this week.

In celebration of the Royal wedding they are offering one free medium cheese and tomato pizza to any couple called William and Kate who go into their local domino's store. The offer is only available on Friday the 29th of April and before anyone has cheeky ideas of changing their names, you have to supply photographic proof and both William and Kate (not the real ones!) must be present!
Georgina Wald, Corporate Communications Manager of Domino's stated in the press release "The Marriage of PrinceWilliam to Kate Middleton is a national celebration and Domino's is delighted to be offering couples out there a chance to join in the excitement"  and I have to say I agree, many of the deals I have seen relating to the wedding of the year have been fun but Domino's is the funniest one, I can just imagine William and Kate turning up at their local domino's and vetoing the standard wedding food at Buckingham Palace in favour of a pizza!


For those like me, who are not called Kate and are not in a couple with a man called William, we can still celebrate in our own way as Domino's is doing their buy one, get one free deal from Tuesday 26th of April to Sunday 1st of May! So get down there and celebrate a historical event with a free pizza!

What a Difference a week makes!

Hello Curious Readers!

Firstly I would like to say a big thank you to my followers, without you all I would just be talking to myself and as fun as that may be, it is not nearly as rewarding as knowing people are reading my posts!
It has been over a week (okay nearly two) since Curiouser and Curiouser went live to the world and already the stats are looking promising, I feel I have you, loyal reader, to thank for that.

To see for yourself, here is a stat screenshot, taken directly off blogger, below:

Click to enlarge the picture

It isn't mindblowing, YET, but it is getting there and I could not be happier. I want to say thank you to The Lady Bloggers Society for allowing me to promote my blog and the ladies as Skinnyscoop.com for featuring my post about "Retrocises" both on their main webpage and on Twitter.

Until tomorrow, where I will be adding a DIY Tutorial for you all to follow, goodnight from the UK!

Drink and Cupcakes? Yes Please

Hello Curious Readers!

With the royal wedding literally DAYS away, It has got me thinking about my own wedding next year. A key aspect of any wedding is the all important cake (okay, it isn't that important unless you like cake...but I like cake so therefore it is important!). Purely for ease of use, my desire to avoid the cake cutting ceremony and just because they are fabulous with a capital F, we are having cupcakes. Cue the insane hunt for cupcake recipes ,we are obviously baking and decorating our own, it wouldn't be our wedding without the obligatory DIY.

So in my quest for the perfect cupcake, I have noticed an odd trend on Pinterest this week which is "cocktail" or "drink themed" cupcakes and I just had to jump on the bandwagon. The Boy and myself have a BBQ coming up for our birthdays and I have a feeling I may have to try out some of these recipes!

What about some yummy margarita cupcakes?

Pina Colada Cupcakes! One of my favourite drinks in cake form!

Coca Cola Cupcakes...really not sure about this. Either completely amazing or really unpleasant

Sangria Cupcakes. I love the idea of these for a gorgeous summer day, perhaps served with the drink too?

Of course we need to have Champagne Cupcakes on this list!

And finally just for my dad..... The GUINNESS CUPCAKE

If you have the recipe for any of these or feel like making them yourself, please email me to show me how it went. Send pictures and I will happily add them to the site! Also if anyone has tried Coca Cola Cupcakes then please enlighten the rest of us! Are they any good?
All thanks go to the people who supplied these images as I cannot take credit for them, towards the end of the month I will hopefully have pictures of my own culinary creations!

Garden Fun

Hello Curious Readers!

It is Easter weekend and it has been very busy here at Curious HQ. From painting the walls (The Boy) to doing some gardening (me), we have been spending the weekend practicing what we preach and doing some most needed DIY!

While he was painting, I have been moving and re planting herbs and while I was doing it I was thinking, I have a "wishlist" of items that I want for my home but no pretty pieces of decor for the garden! That is what inspires this post, what would I want to put in my garden if I had the spare funds at the moment? Why do I not spend the same amount of cash on my garden that I do on my home interiors?

So here is my ten piece wishlist of what I want for my garden to make the task of maintaining it more fun and to make it more beautiful, with the all important links so you can buy it for yourselves!

Alice in Wonderland Teapot Planter
Amaonas Aruba Cayenne Hammock
Antique Three Tiered Garden Shelf
Spotty BirdHouse
Wooden Garden Croquet Set
English Rose Garden Secateurs
Pink Bunny Rabbit Watering Can
Union Jack and Rose Doormat
Blossom Outdoor Fairy Lights
Vintage Style Garden Bunting

All items are from Amazon, dotcomgiftshop or Bombay Duck. Possibly my three most favourite places on the internet to buy home furnishings!

If you buy any then please send me an email to show it in use in your home, I would love to have a reader showcase, showing your beautiful homes, DIY creations or recipes!

Until we meet again, Happy Easter and happy DIY!

Friday Freebie: Easter Bunny Post Pretty

Happy Good Friday Curious Readers!

I have a present for you here on Curiouser and Curiouser! Something to make your own blog or website pretty and help inject a bit of wonder! It is a bunny themed Happy Easter Message for all your readers.

It is a post pretty that you can add to your own site and share with your own followers or just add to your site to help celebrate the season (please note that if you do add it to your site can you please credit me).

Just right click the image and click "save as" to download the file.

I hope you enjoy the first friday freebie, come back for more and to see what is happening here at Curiouser and Curiouser this week!

Feeling Fit? The New Workout of the 21st Century: Retrocises!

Hello Curious Readers!

I like to stay vintage here at Curiouser and Curiouser, do not get me wrong, I am all for modern equivalents to retro and vintage necessities. For example, I take my photos with a digital camera not film (although I do have a soft spot for film I must admit), I write these blog posts on a laptop not a typewriter and there certainly would not be a blog without the internet. But on the whole, unless it is a technological advantage, I have definite retro and vintage leanings!

I have a love/hate relationship with food, as the great grandaughter of an Italian women, the italian love of food courses through my veins, inevitably this love of food is not teamed with a super fast metabolism (is it ever?) so fitness is how I have to keep myself trim. I am definitely not as trim as I once was, letting myself go just a little bit when I met my Fiance but that is something I am working on with the help of salsacise dvd's and Wii Fit! So as you can see, when it comes to fitness I am definitely a modern girl!

But I did see something this week that is the perfect combination of my retro side and my desire to be fitter. I am an avid reader of The Guardian, a paper from the United Kingdom, I trawl through their website with an astonishing regularity and imagine my surprise when I found this article?

Entitled "Back to the Future Fitness", it lists the top ten nostalgic ways to get fit and I have to say, I loved some of their suggestions! In full support of their article, I hope they will not mind my reposting their top ten here, with my own thoughts and observations:

1. Raving

I am personally loving this idea! Too young for the raver scene in the 90's, I love the idea of dancing with glo sticks (yes they give you glo sticks!) in order to get fit. I love to dance and like the idea of a workout that does not feel like a workout! Gymbox is based in London and I can honestly say that if I lived in the capital I would be lining myself up for this one!



2. Hula Hooping

I actually do this! I have a weighted hula hoop and there really is nothing more fun (or more able to make you feel distinctly childlike!) than hula hooping! Great for those tricky stomach muscles, hula hooping can apparently burn over 200 calories an hour! I recommend playing some great music to get you into the mood for hooping.

3.Lindy Hop

Apparently developed in Harlem in the 20's and 30's, Lindy Hop is a form of swing dancing that sounds pretty complicated! Swings and throws sound fun though? Wonder if I can get The Boy involved?

4. Roller Disco

Awww I would love to try this but my history with rollerskates/blades is worrying to say the least! I think for this to work you would actually have to be able to move about a bit, I would be too busy concentrating on staying upright!

5. Jive

Originating from Lindy Hop, this is the ultimate in 40's and 50's style dancing for me. Sounds like great fun and I would love the chance to give it a go. I have a big soft spot for 50's music and seeing as my grandmother was the "Jitterbug Queen" maybe it is in the blood?



6.Vogueing

I have to admit, this just made me laugh when I read it. Based on the infamous "Vogue" dance where you adopt model like poses, apparently it is a testing work out, demanding angular shapes and high energy. I need to be a bit more free flowing with my dancing so I think I will give this one a miss!

7. Disco Health Club

Live DJ's where the workout turns into a club afterwards? Yes Please! Again, another one only the people living in London get to try, hopefully it will find it's way to my part of the country soon!

8.Rebounding

Another one I have tried! My mum is a HUGE fan of rebounding, she puts on some of her party tunes and bounces away the pounds. My only issue is that I need a very supportive sports bra before I start trying it!




9.The Retro Gym

A very back to basics approach with old style climbing frames, climbing ropes and beams. I remember this from when I was in school between the ages of 7 and 11, I enjoyed it then but not so sure I would like it now? At least I would avoid the climbing ropes for a while, my upper body strength is BAD. haha

10. Chap Olympiad

Lastly, this "retrocise" is less of a workout and more of a good old english annual event. Where egg and spoon races are the "workout" of the day. I also love that they do a cucumber-sandwich throwing event! This years Chap Olympiad is on 16th of July in London.

So those are the top ten "retrocises", what I want to know is which would you like to try the most if you could? Answer the poll and add additional comments as to why you chose what you did below! I had to pair up the Lindy Hop and Jive and the Roller Disco/Disco Health Club, I thought they were similar enough that you would forgive me for that one! But again, if you have a preference, feel free to comment!

www.skinnyscoop.com

Spotlight: The Blog Guidebook

Hello Curious Readers!

I am introducing a new topic onto Curiouser and Curiouser today. The "Spotlight" post is all about other people in the online community, whether it be a blog I particularly enjoy and would prompt you to look at, an interview with a fellow blogger or a person who is using social media, blogging, websites or the internet for a greater cause or to highlight their work in a positive way.

It is my way of giving back to this amazing community and sharing the wonderful people and stories I find throughout my adventures online.

Today's Spotlight is on the amazing people at The Blog Guidebook. As someone new to blogging, I can highly recommend their site. Their resources about blogging, providing valuable hints and tips to getting your blog out there, tutorials on bringing an extra bit of wonder to your blog or just for a supportive community are just what someone new to the blogosphere needs. Even if you are an old hand at blogging, I can guarantee there is something for everyone on the site so please make a visit to them.

Share the love, truer words were never spoken

DIY Tutorial: Homemade Sugar Scrub

Hello Curious Readers!

Today I am sharing my incredibly easy/super low cost homemade sugar scrub. Great for clearing out those pores and making your skin feel silky and luxurious!

The Key Ingredients 

• A Carrier Oil (I used avocado oil however I have also used normal sunflower oil and Grape Seed Oil)- The important thing to remember is to use an oil with a fairly thin consistancy so it does not leave your skin looking/feeling greasy.

• An Exfoliant (In this tutorial Natural Light Muscovado Sugar- I like to use sugar as it smells amazing and also tastes yummy if you accidently get some in your mouth!

• A Fragrance (I used Vanilla Essence as it is exceptionally yummy with the brown sugar)- There are many different fragrances/essential oils that are great for face scrubs depending on your skin type and they can be combined to best suit your skin. There is an excellent book available called Feeding Your Skin which can be found here. It gives you the best combinations for your skin and so many other lovely recipes!

Now For the Recipe

• First gather your ingredients and decide on what combinations you are going to use!
• Put 1 Cup (or however much you feel you wish to make) of the muscovado sugar into a mixing bowl.

• Pour approximately 1/3 of a cup of avocado oil (or a carrier oil of your choice) into the bowl.

• Mix the oil and sugar together, adding more of either recipe until you reach something the consistancy of wet sand.

• Next add your essential oils/essences, as this is just a simple all round scrub I am just using vanilla essence to make it smell yummy!

• Lastly put all the lovely scrub into a purpose made jar or use an old jam jar. Put on your bathroom shelf and use whenever you want to feel extra wonderful!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial, I personally LOVE this scrub, it is super simple, really cheap and leaves my skin feeling lovely. I especially like to use it before I go out for the evening as it leaves your skin so soft that any makeup you wear seems to go on so much better!

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UK Hit By DIY Easter Mania

Hi Curious Readers,

It has been a gorgeous day today, a bad day to be stuck outside in jeans! (note to self: dig out the summer dresses and skirts NOW). Had a lovely BBQ with the family and got some more brilliant ideas on what I can contribute to the blog over the next few months, my mum's special secret recipe for low fat potato salad being one!
I have been reading what the web has to offer this evening and according to the DIY Juggernaut B&Q, Easter is the time for home improvement. Here at Curious HQ we are already eyeing up the boy's old black wooden furniture and picturing cream paint and Cath Kidston decoupage prints!

Apparently many Britons improve their homes with simple light changes, with over 900,000 lightblubs sold over the season!

Loving this vintage style porcelain lightbulbs from modern50.com!

As a B&Q spokesperson said "The Easter Break affords a long weekend opportunity to crack the first DIY projects of the year and the the country is a hive of innovation with new ideas springing into people's homes". For those who want to read the full article then please look here: http://www.prnewswire.co.uk/cgi/news/release?id=82677

I definitely agree that Easter is a time for change in the home, whether it be organising that stack of books that have been laying in the corner since Christmas, having a complete spring clean or actually getting dirty with some paint.

So I hope you too will grab your paintbrushes, arm yourself with feather dusters and do something to improve your own wonderland this festive season. Look out tomorrow for some homemade body/face scrub recipes, who says your home is the only thing that has to be beautiful!

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Picture of the Day (POTD): The Little Mouths I Have To Feed

Hello Curious Readers,

Good Morning! Today I bring you, in my opinion, the cutest picture of the day I will ever post! This is a photo collage of my animals who I will inevitably be discussing in more detail throughout these pages in the future.

So here they are, the menagerie of animals owned by the boy and I.
Top Row from Left to Right: Roxy, Darcy
Bottom Row from Left to Right: Ranger, Keira ,Rufus

Ranger (the bunny) was our first addition to the family, including her sister Recon who sadly died two years ago. She was followed by Keira who suffers from a debilitating immunity disease, her health is carefully monitored and kept in check with the use of steroids.
Keira was quickly followed by Rufus who was a rescue cat who was abused as a kitten, due to this he can be rather nervous unless he is with us and like Keira, he can be a poorly boy at times and suffers from fits when frightened however he is a lovely boy and often likes to bring us "presents".
About a year after Rufus we obtained Darcy who despite being over two years old now is still a tiny little thing but the healthiest of the three! She is becoming a bit of a porker as all she does is lay in the sun or cause mischief.
Last but by no means least is Roxy, the puppy, who is about 18 months old. She is a Westie/Yorkie cross, full of beans who taught herself to beg on queue, much to the adoration of her many admirers!

We love them all for their many quirks and nuances and I can guarantee they will all feature on here, either together or apart haha.

Grab-A-Button and Be Curious!

Hello Curious Readers,

For all my future followers, here is the grab button for Curiouser and Curiouser, I hope you will add it to the sidebar of your blogs or websites and mention me here.

For someone not very techy, I am definitely learning how to use html and CSS coding and I am actually quite proud of this, I may reward myself with a cookie later. I have posted it here however it is also in my sidebar for you to find.

<a href="http://curiouserandcuriouserwonderland.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="Curiouser and Curiouser" src="http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j449/SarahEliza26/blogbutton-1.jpg?t=1302982818"/></a>

I have to thank the people at shabbyblogs.com, Mommy's Idea and The Graphics Fairy, either the images themselves came from the sites or the tutorial did! Either way, all three sites are a verifiable goldmine of information!

DIY Tutorial: Make Your Own Sugarpaste Roses

Hey Curious Readers,

In the spirit of getting this blog up and running I am going to be spending a few weeks blogging regularly (sometimes as often as several times a day), this will not be a regular event on the blog as hopefully I will get a job soon that keeps me busy but while I am not working I might as well add quality content to the site. However I will endeavorer to maintain a daily post even when I am busy.

This is the first of hopefully many DIY tutorials, this one in particular is about making sugarpaste roses for cakes/cupcakes however as the blog progresses I will add tutorials for a myriad of different things.

Firstly excuse the poor mobile phone pictures, I took them a while ago however I will attempt to replace them at a later date once I find my camera charger. I originally posted this on my page on the Offbeat Bride Tribe (for more info about Offbeat Bride see here)

I decided to teach myself how to make sugarpaste roses after realising that I wanted to make and decorate my own cupcakes for our wedding, my inspiration for out Alice In Wonderland cupcakes can be seen in the picture below:

Oooo the cupcake frosting, those whipped peaks of sugary goodness, I cannot wait till we make the trial cupcakes this summer (and trust me there will be a post on that!).

So without further ado:


HOW TO MAKE SUGARPASTE ROSES


Step One: Mould the sugarpaste (in the colour of your choice) into a conical shape. I actually made the tip of mine too think however at the end you will see a picture of one I made earlier where the appropriate thickness will be shown.

Step Two:  Take a piece of paste and roll it into a small ball. Place the ball in between two layers of cling film.

Step Three: Thin out the petal edges ( I find using your thumb works best) and remove from the cling film. Wrap the petal around the cone, surrounding the entire tip of the cone. You can see in my picture where making the tip of the cone too big can stop the petal surrounding it, see my picture and make sure yours does NOT look like that haha.

Step Four: Place Two more petals around the cone in a similar way, I personally like the place them over areas where the previous petal joins the cone (or other petals). Continue the next row with three petals, applied in the same way.

Step Five: The next row contains four petals to finish your rose.

Here are the two roses I have made so far, the one to the left  is the one shown  step by step here. The right is my "perfect" one, also known as the one I am actually happy with! The left is the one shown in this tutorial and typically, I managed to mess it up haha. You can see the difference the size of the tip of the cone can make, it made the rose a lot better, personally I prefer to daintier one.

I hope you enjoyed my first DIY Tutorial and have fun making your own yummy sugarpaste roses for cakes and cupcakes!