Yummy Biscuit Recipe

You can't beat a good biscuit so if you fancy trying out some baking then why not make these delicious biscuits?

The recipe's really easy to follow and the biscuits are absolutely delicious. They're so yummy that they don't even need to be decorated but if you do feel like brightening them up a little then some tinted royal icing (you can buy the powder from good supermarkets) would be perfect! My recipe is below and is adapted from one on BBC Good Food. To decorate them, pick a few different shapes for the biscuits and and a few different colours for the royal icing, pop the icing in a piping bag and get creative!

If you need some inspiration then there are some easy ideas below. You can find the original blog posts from the decorated cookie here and here.

I took inspiration from the first picture and made the cookies below - they're not perfect but that's why they're so great. It doesn't matter if your biscuits don't turn out as perfectly as the ones above because they're made by an expert. If you make biscuits for your girlfriend or anyone else then I'm sure they'll love them no matter how they turn out because it's true that it's the thought that counts!

If you want to make the little eyeballs to give your cookies some character then read on because they're really easy to make. Get some baking parchment, some white royal icing and some black royal icing. Then squeeze a tiny dot of white onto the parchment, then a tiny dot of black straight afterward (then they'll blend into 1 shape). To speed the process up then you can pipe about 20-30 white circles, then black and continue until you've used all of your icing. Leave them to dry for about 24 hours, peel them off of your baking parchment and stick them to your cookies with a little bit of royal icing. These cookies are really easy to make and look really cute - they make perfect presents too! If you want some suggestions for how to give them as presents then keep your eyes peeled for a future post...

Love from lila xx

Are You Really Sure You Know What She Likes?

Present buying can be difficult so why not use this list as a starting point to knowing what she likes?

Have you ever gone into a shop and not been able to decide between colour options or flavours for a present? Armed with this list you should be better prepared for deciding what she would love most when you start the dreaded present buying! Before you go asking her what she likes (so that you can complete the list!) have a read of the notes below so that you understand what I mean by each one and then have a look at the list of ways that you can find the answers without necessarily telling her what you're up to.

Here are some notes on the items on the list.

• Chocolate Flavour = Dark/Milk/White
• Chocolate Brand = Galaxy/Dairy Milk/Green & Blacks/Lindt etc
• Takeaway Style = Chinese/Indian/Pizza etc
• Designer (Clothing Store) = Ben de Lisi at Debenhams/Ted Baker etc
• Accessory Designer = Ted Baker/Radley etc for Handbags/Purses etc
• Earring Style = Hoop/Stud/Dangly
• Jewellery Material = Gold/Silver/Platinum etc
• Animal Print = Zebra/Leopard/Tiger etc
• Pen Style = Gel/Roller/Biro/Fountain

Hopefully all of the others are self explanatory. On top of those favourites there are also a few more essential things that you need to know before you go out shopping!

• Clothes Size - both top and bottom (sometimes they can vary)
• Shoe Size
• Bra Size
• Knicker Size and Style - thong/brazilian/short etc (this can vary from clothes size so ask specifically!)
• and Leg Length and Waist (in case you intend to buy her some jeans)

You can get her answers to the list in one of three ways.

1. Casually asking her one or two per day and filling in the list bit by bit.
2. Asking her outright for her answers to each one (or asking her to fill in the list). You can tell her that it's for your present buying assistance or not.
3. Making it into a challenge to see who can answer the most questions correctly about the other (don't forget to save hers with the correct answers!).

It's also a good idea to ask regularly as she's likely to change her mind frequently but I hope that armed with this list you will feel much better prepared for the dreaded christmas (and birthday, and anniversary and valentines) shopping now so get out there and get buying stuff that you know she's going to love! Good luck as always.

Love from lila xx

Spell It Out...

If you're having trouble thinking of a christmas present for a friend or your girlfriend, then why not make them something to put on display in their room?

You can use any words or name and decorate it in any way you like, making it perfectly personalised! The set in the photo below was a birthday present for our friend, called Joe who is a big fan of superhero films. If you wanted to make one to give as a present then you can buy papier mache letters (or shapes - a love heart?) from good craft shops and decorate them with paper, wrapping paper, photos, fabric, paint or anything else you can think of. If you choose letters then you could spell out their name, 'love', 'me & you' or just about anything at all!

So if you fancy making her something special and unique this christmas then why not spell out how you feel about her? She'll love that it's personalised and she'll love that you put the effort into making her something special and unique!

Love from lila xx

Doing Surprises

So you're planning to surprise her by turning up to see her? Read on...

If you've ever thought about surprising her after a lecture/work/at home/with dinner/with anything really that she doesn't realise is going to happen then I've got just 1 hugely important tip for you!

Turn up earlier than she's expecting.

Curious? Well, you may have to spin her a story to get her where you want her or to find out where she'll be at a certain time so that your surprise can actually happen. If so, she's going to be expecting you at a certain time. For the surprise to really work, you need to get there before she's expecting you otherwise she'll just get annoyed at you for being late - no matter how good your surprise is!


Too obvious? Whether you knew it already or had just never thought about it, I wanted to make sure that you knew because a tiny effort to surprise her can have a hugely positive effect when executed perfectly!

Love from lila xx

5 Reasons Why Her Best Friend Should Be Yours Too!

Your girlfriend's best friend is your best resource for help with all things girlfriend related, from present buying to why she may be annoyed with you! Don't believe me? Read on for five reasons why her best friend is the best tool in helping to keep your girlfriend happy...

It makes sense doesn't it really? Everyone knows that all women talk (and moan) about are clothes, make-up and yes, boyfriends - we are a little more complicated than that but I'll keep it simple. That means that your girlfriend's best friend knows a lot about you and what things you may be doing wrong or right. Don't shy away from the best friend, ask for her help! There are five very good reasons why her best friend is useful to you;

1. She wants to make her best friend happy, just like you, so she's more than likely to help you out with any big romantic plans you may have.
2. Your girlfriend is highly likely to chat about things she would like to buy or receive with her best friend. Therefore the best friend is/should be a wealth of knowledge when it comes to buying presents for your girlfriend.
3. Girls talk. There's a very good chance that your girlfriend and her best friend have the occasional moan about annoying things that you boys do. There's an equal chance however that they will also say 'awwww X did this yesterday and it was so sweet'. If you ever want to find out what your girlfriend might be annoyed about you doing or what she may really love that you do, ask the best friend!
4. Women like shopping. They will also have lots of experience shopping together and will know each others' tastes well. If you're stuck for present ideas or would like to buy clothes but aren't sure what size or style - ask the best friend to tag along on a shopping trip.
5. It will make your life loads easier. You're likely to spend a lot of time going out with the best friend (and her partner) and it would make it a lot easier for everyone, including your girlfriend, if she knows that you get on well with each other. Besides, if the best friend wasn't an amazing person then your girlfriend wouldn't be friends with her!

So don't forget that if you ever need help, the best friend will always be there and ready to help you do anything to make your girlfriend happy because that's her job and she loves your girlfriend as much as you do. Just remember to thank her for all of her help because she is, and always will be an amazing best friend, to you and more importantly, your girlfriend!

Love from lila xx