another round up: top 5 instagram accounts

i'm been sharing some instagram accounts i've been loving lately. catch up on part 1 here!

@andrewkuttler: he's all about the perspectives, colour, oh and emojis.

@cay_mae: i swear it's her use of blank space which makes her account so amazing.

@sheiku: the true definition of 'a picture speaks a thousand words'

@jimmymarble: he's just plain wonderfully wacky.

@kellysnapshappy: daily explosions of happiness.

pure instagram goals.

say hi to me @hevs_  !!

a good lemon drizzle cake.

what makes a good lemon drizzle you ask. a good, moist base. a zesty zing. and a light sugary glaze.

this has already been my second lemon drizzle cake in two weeks. well one was a loaf actually, so it doesn't exactly count. but mannnnn, lemons are so damn good. and not just in cake either, as lemon green tea makes my heart fuzzy too.

i am a total sucker for writing recipe posts these days as 1) every time i'm done with baking the sun has set meaning poorly lit photos and 2) well...the food just gets eaten before i manage to take pictures of it!

you would not understand the anticipation in my household as i carefully arranged the little pieces of lemon slices and fork for this post. *insert round of applause for not eating the cake straight out the oven*

and wow, i've just realised how much of a sucker i am with white balance too. to be brutally and sadly honest with y'all, i haven't picked up my camera in so long. maybe even half a year ya'no. ever since getting a smart phone, i would rather snap a quick photo for instagram and snapchat than busting out my camera, which in fact had been collecting dust, in a literal term. what a tragic story.

so as my craving has led me...i have been on the quest for trying out different lemon cake recipes. this one seemed to hit the spot this week, which was found from this website via pinterest. this doesn't have the lemon drizzle topping that i absolutely loveeeee however, so i simply poked holes in the cake using a skewer when it came out, and quickly put together a runny icing sugar mix with some lemon juice. 

yum yum yum. easy as 1 2 3

LEMON CAKE

Preparation Time – 10 minutesBaking Time – 50 minutesServes – 8
Ingredients

125g butter, softened
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups caster sugar
1 1/2 cups self raising flour
1/2 cup milk
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon

Method
 

Preheat oven to 180C. Grease and line the base of a deep 20cm cake pan with baking paper.

Beat butter, rind and sugar in a bowl until creamy and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Sift flour over the egg mixture. Add juice and beat for a few seconds. Add milk and beat until well combined.

Pour in prepared tin. Tap the tin on the worktop to settle the batter. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 50-60 minutes until golden and cooked through when tested with a skewer.

Stand cake for 5 minutes, then turn onto a cake plate or wire rack and cool completely.

If you want a quick lemon drizzle, simply poke holes in the cake using a skewer and mix together about 3 tbsp of icing sugar and some lemon juice to get it to a runny consistency. drizzle this over and voila!

I'VE REACHED ADULTHOOD!!! #18

it's ma burrrrthday!!!

the number 18; the number for responsibility, adulthood, and maturity. or maybe not quite maturity...but yeah. you get the idea.
i'm perhaps more freaked out than excited about being an adult. you heard of that 'toys 'r' us' theme tune - "i don't wanna grow up, i wanna be a toys 'r' us kid"? well...that's precisely me! as a kid, all you do is eat ice cream for breakfast and wonder if you should play 'mummies and daddies' or draw after lunchtime. mannn life was easy.

but the fact is, life will never be easy, and i gotta say, i'm thankful for the tough times too, especially in these recent years as it is through these situations i realise that God has continually blessed me. i'm thankful that God has known me before i was even born and that He has let me reach this big ole number; i wouldn't even be celebrating my birthday if He didn't decide to create me. my birthday is a celebration of life, and one of which God has given me. - this is the biggest gift i will receive on my birthday. there's so many people to thank too, for nudging me along to where i am now. i'm just pure thankful. *happy tears*

every year i wonder where time passes...literally, it passes at the blink of an eye, just like most adults i've met say. i'm not a child anymore; no "kid"-ing (haha?). i don't feel older, i don't feel like i've suddenly moved on from being a teen, but i do see that i have grown much closer with The Lord these couple of years and really learnt (and still learning) to be a child He wants me to be. so here i am, 18. let's take a look back at my 'childhood' years.

aged 1: swingin' and enjoying life

aged 2: spending much of my childhood with my cousin rita

aged 3: welcoming my sister on board to life

aged 4: still swingin' and enjoying life. mannn i spent my life in the park

aged 8: fruit and veg picking with my grandma and sis

10th birthday in tutus and tiaras.

one of best friends, maisy.

photoshoot with my family at painshill park

meeting up and spending quality time with my cousins

aged 14: decided to get baptised and follow Jesus!

aged 15.

got my first polaroid camera and couldn't wait to get snapping away

a surprise from my cute friends on my 16th.

aged 16: won a young british artists award for my painting and got it displayed at the mall gallery in london!

time to move on from secondary school! :(

my first ever short term mission trip to croatia

aged 17: loved it so much i decided to go again!

present: eating noodles.

life lesson #2: punctuality.

punctuality is key. 

i've always been taught to be punctual from a young age. always trying to resist running in to school on the bell, and always getting my homework in on time; i guess it's a good quality to have.

as i've gotten older and learnt the importance of deadlines and the whole 'pressure of time' thing, i've learnt that punctuality is so so important. last week, our class coursework draft was due in for english. i turned up with my 7 pages of typed words raring to hand it in but to my surprise, i was the only one that actually had it. i'm not sure what the others were thinking, or rather doing for the entire time i've been typing away, but i've learnt that through pushing myself to be punctual in giving in my work really benefited me. so whilst the rest of the class ploughed away, i was able to use the lesson to revise for my upcoming mock on monday and got into the good books of both my teachers. (and mannn did i really needed this, as i wouldn't say i was the best at english!)

so keep up, be punctual, you'll defo benefit from it.

chinese new year!

wow. can't believe i never got the chance to update a post on chinese new year!

needless to say, it was FULL of food! my grandparents are such awesome cooks, and there's always bound to be lobster noodles sitting on the table at any family gathering!

(the obligatory selfie stick version!)

chinese new year was such a good opportunity for our family to all get together, crack a few jokes, eat goooood food, and take crazily wacky pictures with my selfie stick. we really are a traditional family moving along with the trends eh? ;)

the smiley one.

the crazy one.

and totally not forgetting the famous red chinese packets, here's the lucky bum chums of the evening! now to get that jacket i've always wanted......

this year i've been blessed with a new kitchen and a new oven so the day before, i spent the entire afternoon baking up 4 trays of macaroons centred around the theme of chinese new year. recipes and a post coming soon, but to get you excited, they're sharon fruit, green tea and vanilla flavoured (with panda faces!).

happy belated chinese new year!