How to: cheat at baking brownies

I am a little ashamed at how lazy I have been. Brownies are really ridiculously easy to make. There is no excuse.

But hey, I was in the shop and thinking about baking something as a team reward (they have been stars all festival) but I was knackered and couldn't be bothered (er, sorry team). Then I saw this.

Oh, go on then.

It's super easy. Pour brownie "mix" into bowl, add egg, water and oil. Stir until it is fairly smooth (a couple of lumps are fine).

You could just stick it in a dish and bake from this, but I decided to put a little bit of effort in (ha) and jazz them up a little. First walnuts...

Then marshmallows (plus a separate dish with no marshmallows for my veggie friends).

& chocolate drops on top of both. This is so indulgent it makes me feel a bit ashamed. I promise to not eat them all. They are for SHARING, it is okay.

Bake for 20(ish) minutes, make sure it isn't too gloopy (a knife should come out clean near the edge, but can be sticky in the middle) and leave to cool.

Tada! These aren't well-behaved-cut-into-equal-rectangles brownies. They are gooey, messy, lovely, reward brownies. MMM. Well done Betty Crocker!

Fringe survivor

The festival came, took over my peaceful city & put about a million tourists in my path. I took full advantage by seeing as many shows as I could fit in, staying up til 5am more times than I should, dancing, laughing & having a great time. This was also my busiest time at work (which was almost all about the festival), so it really felt like it took over my whole life.

Now I'm knackered, a bit poor and glad to have spent the day on my sofa.. but, ah. It was great.

2011 festival show count:

• Assembly Gala (Rock the Ballet, Paul Daniels, Jimeoin, Pink Noise by Fork & more)
• Dead Cat Bounce
• Late n Live (Patrick Monahan, Axis of Awesome)
• Auld Reekie Roller Girls (obviously not a show, but definitely part of the fringe!)
• Hannibal Buress
• The Pajama Men
• Pete Firman 
• Late n Live (Randy, Rich Hall, James Sherwood)
• Part three of the Qatsi trilogy
• Frisky and Mannish
• Diane Spencer
• Neil Gaiman and Audrey Niffenegger
• Amnesty Stand Up for Freedom (Mark Watson, Ed Byrne, loads & loads more)
• Sammy J and Randy
• David O'Doherty
• Michel Faber (with Romola Garai)
• James Robertson and Irvine Welsh
• Piff the Magic Dragon

... phew. Bring on September (and SLEEPING).

How to: leopard print nail art

I see leopard print nails everywhere these days (well.. on blogs I mean, not in real life!) but have never given them a go, until now! Turns out they are super quick and easy. What a joy.

Here's how to do it...

1. Paint your nails your base colour. I've gone for a light yellow (so the leopard print effect will really stand out).

2. Once your base is dry you can start adding the little splodges that make up the spots! I've gone for a lilac colour (so used two coats on each dot) and place these randomly around each nail. Try to leave space between each dot (better to have only a few than too many!), and put them in a slightly different position on each nail.

3. Try to wait until these spots are totally dry (shouldn't take too long) then get your nail pen, kirby grip or cocktail stick (all are brilliant for this!) to draw little circles, c-shapes and dots around each of your splodges. Don't worry about being neat - this looks best when each nail is different and a little uneven.

Once you've drawn round all of your splodges, fill in any gaps with little black dots or c-shapes.

& that's it! It takes about 15 minutes (if that) and most of the time is spend waiting on the different layers to dry.

p.s. the festival is still going strong (I am flagging, slightly) but I'll write a recap post with everyone I've seen at the end. Today I've got afternoon tea at the Book Festival followed by Irvine Welsh, then the So You Think You're Funny party at Gilded Balloon. Phew!

p.p.s (sorry!) I managed to fix (aka properly set up) subscriptions for this blog, so if you would like to get regular updates by email then you just add your email address in the box on the left. Thanks!

Using curling tongs

Now, I know that being able to curl your hair isn't a big deal. Loads of people do it. Probably every day. But I've never been able to, and it's been such a bother as my hair naturally wants to curl (but always looks like I've been hanging out in a hedge if I let it dry naturally). I feel a bit cheated.

The reason this is a big deal for me is because FOUR YEARS ago my very kind sister bought me curling tongs as a birthday present, and all I've ever been able to do with them is burn myself. After a few painful attempts I gave up, and they've been stashed away in my room ever since. But, aha. I am braver now with hair! So I took them out and tried again... 

It's so exciting! It's really messy and scruffy (of course) because I didn't even try to section it, just went a bit mad at any bit of hair that I could see. But look! It even curls at the back...

Oooh.

I think the best lesson I learned was to twist the hair round the tong from root to tip, and hold for longer than you think (15 seconds ish) on each section so it really takes the curl. Next time I try it I'll definitely be doing my hair in stages to avoid finding any forgotten bits (which happened) and try to work out how to curl my hair & keep my fringe straight, and not look like a mushroom (er. Hmm).

Still, exciting!

Models Own sale

I almost wished I hadn't seen this, but I did, so I have to tempt you too. (This clearly only applies to people who like nail varnish). Currently Models Own are offering 50% off everything with the discount code FIFTYFIFTY. Luckily the code lasts for seven days, as the website is going pretty mental and won't let me check out (although it is lunchtime, so this makes sense!).

I'm going to get the nail art pen (which I've wanted for a while and will mean NO MORE kirby/broken brush) and the pastel set. I feel so indulgent.