Brownie Skewers and Pineapple Mimosas | Summer Treats

I am a snacker. There's no two ways about it really: I'd rather graze all day on small meals than *shock horror* be confined to only eating real meals a couple of times a day. It's probably down to my hatred for routine, but also has a lot to do with my general love of all things food. 
As summer started to hit in the UK (I say that now mid torrential downpour, but it did happen for a week or so, I promise), I really got the urge to try my hand at making some cocktails. If you've read my final cocktail night post, you'll know that I love the idea of making my own cocktails! Plus, I'd seen some really cute brownie skewer recipes on Pinterest, and just HAD to give them a whirl.
So, I set about to baking and creating to bring you these goodies, which, btw, pair perfectly for when you have guests over. Not only are they the perfect sweet nibbles, put this cocktail is remarkably easy to make. Before y'all cocktail buffs get all aggressive on my butt, these are only 'sort of' mimosas, as they contain sparkling wine rather than champagne #sorrynotsorry. 
The brownies
 I used Zoella's white chocolate brownie recipe for the brownies, which is fast become my favourite brownie recipe of all time. Seriously, you need to give them a try. My housemates devoured them, and I practically had to elbow my way through to get a peek. 
So, once you've got all of your brownies whipped up, ready and cut into squares, you can get started on the skewers. Be very careful when skewering the brownies; they're a little fragile and it took me three or four heavy handed attempts before I was careful enough to get one on without it crumbling. Then chop some strawberries in half and get your marshmallows ready. I used a pattern of marshmallow - brownie - strawberry - marshmallow - brownie - strawberry. You can arrange it in any way you desire. 
Then you're good to go. If you're feeling super fancy, drizzle the skewers with a compote or melted chocolate.
The mimosas (ish)
What you'll need: - Sparkling wine - Pineapple juice - Lemonade
You're totally welcome to use homemade lemonade or pineapple juice for this, and it would be totally #culinarygoals, but I just wanted a quick and simple cocktail making session, so went for the shop bought varieties. 
Traditionally the cocktails would be served in champagne glasses, but you can use whatever kind you want! You basically fill the glass up one third with sparkling wine, then one third with pineapple juice, and finally one third with lemonade. We garnished ours with a piece of kiwi fruit (going for a tropical vibe naturally), but why not experiment?
I really hope you enjoyed this post - let me know if you give either recipe a go! 
What's your favourite snack to make for guests?
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Homemade Avocado and Raw Honey Facemask

Face masks really are my thang, and my sensitive skin means that the more natural a face mask is, the better my skin reacts to it. As someone with combination to dry skin, this face mask works absolutely perfectly for me. The combination of the natural oils in the avocado, as well as the coconut oil and olive oil really make sure that your face is replenished in terms of its essential moisture. Obviously the face mask is quite oil-heavy, so it is one that I would only do once a week or once a fortnight, just to give my skin a chance to reach its optimum moisture levels without getting greasy. 
Ingredients (makes 3-4 masks):
- 1/2 avocado - 1 tablespoon raw honey - 1 tablespoon olive oil - 1 tablespoon coconut oil 
How to make:
- Ensure that the coconut oil is melted - Blend all of the ingredients (I only mashed them which is why I have yucky green lumps all over my face in the picture!).  - Smoosh onto your face and leave there for 15 minutes before washing off.
This is such a wonderful face mask for giving your skin a deep cleanse without using any chemicals. If you give it a go tweet or Instagram me your pictures - I'd love to see them!
What is your favourite homemade face mask?

Homemade Natural Hair Mask to Restore Vitality and Strength

As someone who has recently had uber-long hair, I've had to appreciate that it does take time and a bit of effort to keep it looking nice. So, hair masks and deep conditioning are things I try to keep up with doing from time to time to give my hair that a little extra pep. However, hair masks can be quite expensive, and often have a lot of added chemicals that aren't brilliant for your hair, so here's my homemade recipe - it'll cost you about £1 to make and have brilliant results (even if your male housemates do think you're insane for wandering around smelling a little eggy for an hour or two!).

Depending on your length/thickness of hair, the ingredients will need to be tweaked a little. When my hair was the length in this picture I used two bananas, two eggs, a couple of tablespoons of honey and about six tablespoons of olive oil. But as it is now (just below shoulder length), I would halve the recipe.

So, here are the benefits of each of the ingredients:

Banana

Helps to repair damage as they contain potassium and protein. Also helps to moisturise the hair.

Honey

Full of nutrients which not only help to restore dry and damaged hair, but also encourage the growth of hair follicles.

Olive Oil

Helps to encourage your hair's natural shine as well as softening it. It also aids the development of a healthy scalp.

Egg

The protein in these is great for strengthening hair as well as encouraging growth.

Finally, I would suggest that when you wash it out you use two rounds of shampoo to make sure you wash everything out. I found that it made my hair super soft, and helped to keep it volumised. Blend the ingredients together rather than mixing to make sure you don't end up with little lumps of banana in your hair - I learnt this the hard way, and believe me, it was not fun! Rub it into all of your hair, especially your scalp for maximum effect and leave it in for at least half an hour.

What is your favourite recipe for a homemade hair mask?

Love and Light

Steph