White Chocolate, Raspberry & Mascarpone Cheesecake ♥

One of the goals on my bucket list form 2014 is to bake something at least once every two weeks so you can be guaranteed to see some tasty treats appearing on the blog this year and today's recipe is incredibly delicious - white chocolate, raspberry and mascarpone cheesecake. I love the sweetness of the chocolate against the tart taste of the raspberries, the mascarpone makes the topping so creamy, it really is heavenly. Everybody loved this and you get eight generous slices out of one cheesecake so there's plenty for all. Tyler Lee even had a sneaky indulgence in this and ate all of Jacek's slice of cheesecake, at least I know my recipe was tasty enough for him! This recipe is super simple and it involves no actually baking so there's no chance of anything going wrong. This is the perfect indulgent treat to enjoy after a stressful busy week, remember desserts is stressed backwards so why not enjoy this mouth-watering cheesecake?

Ingredients

300g cream cheese

250g mascarpone cheese 

300ml double cream

500g digestive biscuits

Two 300g white chocolate bars

Two punnets of raspberries

Three scoops of butter

Method

1. Crush the biscuits in a food processor. Add butter to the crushed biscuits.

2. Put the biscuit mixture into a spring-form tin and pat until flat all over. Leave to set in the fridge for half an hour.

3. Begin melting the white chocolate in a glass bowl over a heating saucepan.

4. Mix the mascarpone, cream cheese and double cream in a food mixer. When smooth add in the white chocolate and stir. Fold in some raspberries, leave the rest for decoration.

5. Pour the mixture into your spring-form tin on top of the biscuit base. Use the back of a spoon to smooth out the mixture making sure the top is quite flat. Decorate the top as you wish with the leftover raspberries.

6. Leave to cool in the fridge until the topping is set.

7. Serve, eat, enjoy!

 

miamoo ♥

Recently Tyler Lee and I were very kindly sent the miamoo travel pack to try out and after reading the product descriptions I was really looking forward to using them as part of my baby boy's bathtime routine. miamoo is the brainchild of Saira Khan, a lifelong sufferer of sensitive skin. After trying many different lotions and potions throughout her life Saira decided that there had to be something better out there and hence miamoo was born. miamoo has an ethos which I am a big supporter of, to never use any harsh or nasty chemicals and has a no tear formula, perfect for babies sensitive eyes. miamoo believes that everybody has the right to be happy and comfortable in their own skin and for me it's extremely important that my baby boy is comfortable in his own skin and not suffering with dry, sore skin.

The miamoo travel pack comes in a clear plastic zipped bag which is perfect for easy storage, preventing leaks and for taking the products on your travels. The packaging is super cute, I love the little cow logos and the baby blue labels are very pretty. The pack contains six 30ml products and a wipe down cloth -

Splashy Wash - A refreshing citrus body wash

Fresh Locks - A soothing shampoo for healthy and bouncy locks

Baba Oil - A sensual oil great for babies hair, skin and baby massage

Huggy Lotion - A non-greasy daily moisturising lotion

Spritz and Wipe - A refreshing  multi-use citrus spray packed with minerals

Cheeky Cream - A natural barrier cream

The products are designed to work as part of a three-step baby skincare routine - 1. Exfoliating Wash with Splashy Wash, Fresh Locks and Spritz and Wipe, 2. Moisturise with Huggy Lotion and Cheeky Cream and 3. Massage with Baba Oil. Although it's quite simple I think this is a great and very effective three-step routine as for me it's important to form a skincare routine with my baby boy for him to follow throughout his life. He gets dry skin on his face and legs so following this routine has been great for us to combat that. The products smell gorgeous, not like traditional baby products but I couldn't stop smelling my baby after his bath, he smelt so lovely. Splashy Wash is bursting with lemon oil and aloe vera and the citrus sent is so lovely, the aloe vera is so soothing for his delicate baby skin too. The Fresh Locks shampoo is infused with lavender and geranium and has such a calming scent. After use Tyler Lee's hair was very shiny and his curls looked so bouncy. Tyler Lee actually found the three spray products quite amusing, giggling every time I sprayed him with one so it's great that he was enjoying his skincare routine! The Spritz and Wipe has lime oil and minerals which are great for cleansing the skin and the Baba Oil is the perfect product to massage your baby with before bed as it has lavender and sweet almond oil which has very calming properties, great for making baby drift off into a peaceful sleep. My favourite product by far out of the travel pack is the Huggy Lotion. This is a gorgeous creamy moisturiser with sweet almond oil and marshmallow extract which drys into the skin so quickly and leaves it incredibly soft. The dry skin is now gone of my baby's legs and he is baby soft again. I absolutely love this product, I think I need to invest in the full-sized product. The final product as part of the travel pack is Cheeky Cream which is a natural barrier cream and this actually blends into the skin very well leaving it protected against wetness, dry skin and all the soreness that comes with it. A small amount of this product goes a long way so it's great value.

Tyler enjoying his Splashy Wash Bath.

Tyler with Huggy Lotion on his face.

This travel pack is perfect for parents on the go or for parents who are taking their little one on holiday and don't want to be bringing full-sized products. I loved the scents of the products and how soft they made Tyler Lee's skin. The only issue I have with them is the spray tops. Even though my little one loved the spray motion falling on his skin I think this only spurred his curiosity of the products and as you can see this made him put it in his mouth (he does this with everything!). I worry that the spray top will fall off and be a choking hazard. I'll have to watch my curious baby with these products but overall I'm very impressed with them and shall definitely be investing in the Huggy Lotion.

The miamoo travel pack is  £15.00 and is available from the miamoo website. miamoo have very kindly offered my readers a 10% discount on their full-sized products using the code Blog13 at the checkout.

#Project365 Picture Number 28 - So Easily Distracted ♥

My baby is so easily distracted, he has the attention span of a nat just like his mammy. He never normally sits and plays with toys, he's too interested in chewing on them so today I was surprised when he took a liking to his LeapFrog house and was playing with the little birdie part on it, my favourite part of it also, I love the voices of the birds! However, the minute I turned the television on he dropped the house and stared intently at the screen, not even really interested in what he was watching, just entertained by all the different voices and colours. I'll have to learn not to turn the television on again while he's playing. I really want him to begin playing with his toys and learning some things from them. I guess all these things will come with age and when he decides that he doesn't want to chew on them anymore.

MAC - 'Peachykeen' ♥

I have been lusting after a peach toned blush for a long time now and initially went to my local MAC store to find 'Pinch O' Peach', however, I was left disappointed, twice. I was told the second time that this blush wouldn't be coming back into stock in the store so I decided to opt for something quite similar in terms of colour. I wasn't too keen on 'Peachykeen' in it's pot (no pun intended!), it looked darker than I what I wanted but when I swatched it on my hand it really won me over. It's actually a lot lighter than it appears and as it is a sheertone shimmer blush it has a gorgeous shimmer effect which is great for highlighting the cheekbones. I wear this blush now almost everyday and am such a fan of the colour. It lasts all day for me and the shimmer effect is really beautiful when it's captured by light but this may not be for people who prefer a matte look. It's a great, versatile blush colour which can be worn with a whole host of different makeup looks. It is super blendable so doesn't look over the top even if you apply more than you should have. I'm glad to have this blush part of my makeup collection  and even if I am still secretly lusting after 'Pinch O' Peach' this is a good alternative for all the peach toned lovers.

Stay pretty people!

Living Arrows - Week 4 ♥

Your children are not your children. They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you, And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts, For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls, For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you. For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

*By  Kahlil Gibran

I am taking part in I Heart Snapping's weekly Living Arrows project, a photography project to capture an image which represents childhood to you through the actions, likes, dislikes, looks and movements of your own children. Below is my picture for the forth week of Living Arrows. Can you believe that it's the last week of January already? Oh how time flies when you're having fun! This week I took Tyler Lee out into our garden for his first proper exploration of it. We had a scorching hot summer but the baby was far too small to enjoy our garden. He now loves being outside, looking at the birds, playing with the stones, both picking them up and kicking them with his feet. He likes to look up at the sky and the trees and have a quiet think for himself. I love this picture, to me he looks like a little angel who just landed in his garden. The way the collar of his jacket pops out reminds me of angel wings and he's so cherubic with his golden curls. I love the scene behind him, it looks like an off the beaten path wilderness and the black and white has really enhanced everything. I simply love this picture.

Urban Decay - 'Zodiac' ♥

This weekend I finally had the chance to wear one of my new Urban Decay eye shadows 'Zodiac' from their Moondust collection. This shadow is absolutely stunning in it's pot and I think it was equally stunning when applied. The shadow has a charcoal coloured base which comes off looking quite green toned. It is sprinkled with shades of gold, green, silver and blue microfine glitter, it truly sparkles. I'm delighted that my camera picked up on the different shades of glitter in this eye shadow. I loved when this eye shadow caught the light, it was truly stunning. I used another Urban Decay eye shadow 'Melt' to cover my whole eyelid and layered 'Zodiac' on top, I love the contrast of the very demure 'Melt' against the very vivid 'Zodiac'. This shade was very long wearing and considering I didn't use an eye shadow primer I'm quite impressed with it's longevity. I loved the shade and got a lot of compliments on the colour with people asking me which shadow it was. There is some fallout from this shadow during application as it's heavily glittered but that is to be expected.  This shade is definitely not one for day wear but it's a special eye shadow to wear on those girlie nights out and special occasions when you want to add a bit of sparkle to your makeup look. Lets face it, what girl can resist a bit of sparkle now and again? I know I can't!

Eye shadows used - Urban Decay 'Melt' and 'Zodiac'

Mascara - Maxfactor Lash Silks

This eye shadow is available from Urban Decay and is €18.

Stay pretty people!

#Project365 Picture Number 26 - Baby Mozart ♥

My baby is a musical prodigy! Okay not really... he does love the piano though and is quite skilled at it considering he's only eleven and half months old. He likes to feel the keys and bash away on them using both hands, he even places his hands on the black keys like a pro. It took me a lot of practice to be able to play piano with both hands! He really enjoys hearing the sounds of the piano and laughs a lot while playing. I think we have to invest in some piano lessons when he's older if this keeps up! He's a little baby Mozart, I wonder which song I shall teach him first. Chopsticks?

The Miracle Tea That Makes My Baby Sleep Like A Dream ♥

I can't complain about lack of sleep, even though I became a mother for the first time in February, I'm one of those lucky mothers whose darling baby boy has slept for twelve to thirteen hours a night since he was six weeks old but still, we've had some bumps along the road, some very early wake up calls - four o' clock in the morning is quite a dark and boring hour and quite a cranky baby who really wasn't himself. His father and I went on a mission to find something to soothe his stomach, something which we're convinced he's been having pains in and with my fiance being Polish he told me about melissa tea or 'dream tea' as he called it which helps people drift off to a natural sleep. We thought it was worth a shot and that tea would be very gentle on his stomach. Jacek picked up a 200g container of this melissa tea from our local Polish shop and I can't even tell you how much of a miracle it's been for us. Tyler Lee is no longer cranky, he's an absolute joy to be around and is the happy and smiling baby he once was. I now wake up before him, yes before and I could sleep for Ireland! 

He has been sleeping from six in the evening until half eight in the morning without waking up in between. He also takes a nap at midday now and is so relaxed. So what is this miracle tea you ask? It's BoboVita Herbatka z owoców natury z melisy i jablek, a tea specifically for babies which can be given from four months on. It contains natural fruits, apples and melissa or lemon balm as it would be known in English. These ingredients are so soothing and relaxing for babies and have really worked to calm my baby boy and make him drift off into a deep sleep, one which I hope is full of wonderful dreams. This tea is caffeine free so won't have any negative effects on babies health. This tea has worked wonders for Tyler Lee, not so much in the sleeping sense as he always slept a lot but it's great to have him sleeping until a reasonable hour in the morning now and he is so much happier within himself.

Enjoying his daily bottle of tea.

This tea should be available from most Polish shops and this container was €5.25, money well spent. I'm going to buy some more tomorrow, lets hope this miracle keeps up! If you try this tea with your little one please do let me know how you get on.

Where Rainbows End Blog Hop - Number 3 ♥

Hello and thanks for stopping by my little blog! I went on the hunt for a blog hop to participate in but sadly couldn't find any so I thought I'd begin my own so I created the Where Rainbows End Blog Hop. I hope that you'll all link up, have fun finding new blogs when you'll hopefully fall in love with and have some great posts to follow from your newly found bloggers. You can link directly to your main blog or your favourite post from the past week, it doesn't matter, just enjoy it! Please let me know if you've followed my blog by leaving a comment on this post and I'll be happy to return the favour! Have a fabulous weekend everyone, happy blog hopping!

Stay pretty people!

Mothercare Baby Boy Clothes Haul ♥

During the week I ventured into Mothercare where I was delighted to see that they still had their sale going on, although the sizes available were very limited and it was very hard to find anything in size 9-12 months for my baby boy but having rummaged through the rails I found some seriously adorable finds which were absolute bargains! I discovered clothing from the Little Bird by Jools Oliver Range and I am in love with the designs. I'll be looking out for further collections from her and checking the Mothercare website for them as they are exclusive to Mothercare. 

The first thing I spotted was this adorable little romper suit with white and red body suit underneath. This is perfect for summer and I think my boy will look super cute in it. It reminds me of old fashioned baby clothes which I am such a fan of so it was something I just had to get him. It has a sailboat design which is lovely for warm summer days by the beach. I cannot wait to see him wearing this. This was €11.75.

I also picked up this rainbow and toadstool design babygrow. I love anything with a bit of a fantasy and fairytale vibe so I thought this would be lovely for Tyler Lee. The Peter-Pan collar on it is so sweet too. Jacek isn't took taken with this, he thinks it's very girly but I'm not a parent who adheres to these gender stereotypes. This comes with a matching hat and bag. This was €17.50.

I also picked up Tyler Lee's first summer t-shirt of the year, purely because it says 'Mummy's Little Star' and he is my star! This wasn't in the sale and was €5.50.

I picked up the navy and toadstool design jumper for autumn as it's 18-24 months and I think it's adorable! It reminds me of Super Mario and I think it'll be gorgeous with a pair of jeans. This was €12.60.

The design on the second babygrow I picked up also sports toadstools and rainbows but also some other retro looking symbols, it's so funky and unique! It also came with a little soft rainbow rabbit toy too. This is another on I can't wait to see on Tyler Lee. This was just €8.00.

Finally I picked up a pair of pyjamas in the same design as the babygrow with the toy rabbit. The retro design is so unique, I just couldn't leave them behind because they are so cool! I'm crazy though because these are aged 2-4, they'll be hanging in Tyler Lee's wardrobe for a long time! These were €11.00.

Everything I picked up bar the t-shirt is from Little Bird by Jools Oliver. Aren't they just adorable? I'm excited to see her future collections, the only downside is that the clothes are quite pricey when not on sale. I do think the uniqueness of them may be worth it though, you'd never find these kinds of designs in any other high street store, at least not to my knowledge. I also love that the majority of these clothes are gender neutral, they can be worn by both boys and girls.

Do you like what I picked up? Do you have any of these clothes for your little ones?