Gem and Jo Bake Again

So if you saw our last post you'll know that we had a BBQ to celebrate the end of summer. For dessert we decided to keep things simple and we baked brownies and chocolate chip cookies. When we say keep things simple, we really kept things simple and we decided to use easy to bake items. These really cut down on the time need to make them and they turned out really delicious. Also Gem cannot cook without burning the whole house down so easy bake is the way to go!

We decided to begin with making the Home Cook Chocolate Fudge Brownies as these required a bit more time in the oven than the cookies. These were super easy to make. We just added all the ingredients into a mixing bowl and blended them together. What was great about the Home Cook brand was that it came with it's own baking tray that could be thrown away when the brownies were baked. This meant that we didn't have to do much washing up, and if there's one thing that we despise with the intensity of a thousand suns, it's washing up.

After taking the brownies out of the oven and perhaps eating one or two while they were still hot, we started to make the cookies! We picked up Odlum's Quick Chocolate Chip Cookie mix.These too were super simple to make (well in reality all you really do is mix!). Like the brownies, you only need a few ingredients such as some water, butter or margarine and mix it all together! Simples! 

The next part is the best! You get a hand full of dough and roll it into a ball in your hand, then stick it down on a lightly greased tray and press a little with your finger tips! 

Then stick the tray in the oven and bake them puppies until golden brown!

Both of these easy bake products were simple and easy to bake and tasted amazing when they were done! We will definitely be getting the Odlums Cookies again, they were absolutely delicious and had just the right amount of vanilla! 

Check out Odlums Here

Check out Home Cook Here

Both of these websites have tons of recipes and baking tips that will have you baking like a master in no time! 

Thanks for reading guys, let us know if you've tried either of these recipes or if you have a favourite recipe by Odlums or Home Cook! 

Until Next Time, 

Gem and Jo's End of Summer BBQ

We are starting back at college very soon and we have to face the fact that our summer is pretty much up! So in order to come to terms with this quite depressing notion, we decided to have a bit of a bbq with our friends, to say farewell, adios, au revoir, aloha, slán and auf wiedersehen to summer (That's goodbye in five languages for those of you who didn't get that!).
So in order to have a properly good shindig we felt the need to firstly make bunting. what kind of a party would it be without bunting, not a very good one in our opinion! We made it using A4 paper, string, and paint and strung it up in the trees to make the place look all sorts of pretty!

Next we prepared all the food because whats a bbq without food, its just a bunch of people hanging around! We decided to have a pretty laid back menu with burgers, sausages, salads and whatnot. We got pretty much all of this from Aldi, which meant everything was super cheap and really delicious! Seriously, their meat rivals some of the best butchers in Dublin (which Jo wouldn't know  since she's an ole veggie head). 

For dessert we baked!!!! And boy did it taste good! But you'll have to wait and see what we made in our next post, which will be up soon! 

We also made smores, cause what would a barbeque be without smores? They're kinda mandatory at a bbq! To make them we put rich tea biscuits on some tin foil wrapped trays and topped each with a marshmallow and a piece of chocolate (however we may or may not have eaten half the bar before it reached the tray!). You just have to stick the tray under the grill for a few minutes and voila! Top with one more biscuit and shove it in your mouth! (A glass of milk is advised).

As we are all of drinking age (yes we are adults even though we don't act it all the time!), we decided to make a bit of a cocktail to serve up with dinner. Now Jo is a bit of a peach fiend, anything peach flavoured or scented she must own, so peach schnapps was a must. We added that to equal parts orange juice and pineapple and passion fruit juice, gave it a swirl and poured it over ice for  super summery liquid-y deliciousness. 

Just before everyone arrived we set out some really cute little candles in jars, for the ambiance you know? It made the place look really cute and cosy!! Plus the candles were citronella, which kept the flies away, who likes flies all over their burgers? Not us! 

We had a really good night and it was a nice end to a great summer! The food was delicious (thank you Jo's mammy, we weren't really allowed near fire. That would have put everyone at risk!) and it was great getting to chill and goss with our friends before the hectic-ness of our final year of college takes over. 

As always, thanks you guys for reading! We really do appreciate it when we look at our stats at the end of the day and realise so many people have read our stuff!

Let us know in the comments if you liked this post! 

Until Next Time, 

Gem and Jo's Summer Scents.

We love smelling nice, I mean who doesn't? So we decided to share with you what smelly things we have been loving this past summer.

Jo's Summer Scents:

Victoria's Secrets Aqua Kiss Body Mist - €12.00

Victoria's Secret Love Spell body mist - €12.00 

Zara Limited edition eau de toilette

M&S Essential Extracts Coconut Milk Shower gel 

Ted Baker Body Scrub 

Gem's Summer Scents:

Christina Aguilera Perfume and Body Lotion €25.99

Get it from Boots 

Imperial Leather Skinkind in Raspberry and Lime Blossom. 

Get it in Tesco for €1.29

Armani Code Perfume €52.00

Get it in Boots

Soap and Glory Mist You Madly Body Spray. €7.61

Get it from Soap and Glory

Yankee Candle Summer Scoop Tealights. €6.99

See the whole Summer Scoop range Here

Gem and Jo Take on H&M Face Masks

While we were out and about in Dublin city center yesterday we popped into H&M for a little look and we saw a whole rack of face masks that looked super interesting and in the wise words of Macklemore "It was 99 cents!" (i.e. the face masks cost just 99 cents, hello bargain!).
We picked up 3 different masks to try, one for each of us and one for Jo's sister, Jenny!

First off we used Clarin's Gentle Peeling smooth away cream, to get rid of any residual makeup and whatnot!

Afterwards our faces were super smooth and ready to receive those gorgeous smelling H&M face masks!
Jo's Pick:

So my pick was a raspberry smoothie pore cleansing mask and boy does it smell good! I applied this all over my face, avoiding the eye and mouth area and waited for it to dry for about 10-15 minutes. I then rinsed it off with a facecloth and warm water and then marveled at how soft my face was.
I think this mask really did it's job and at only 99 cents, I will definitely be re-purchasing! Also the smell of it made it a real pleasure to have on my face.

Gem's Pick:

Right, so I picked a cucumber peel off mask because I really liked the idea of it peeling off my face! Yes I am that childish. Anyway this mask smells good, does good and feels good. All that for just 99 cents seems to good to be true, right? Nope, it is the utmost truth and I think everyone should buy these masks so they can revel in the amazing feeling these masks give you!
The cucumber really soothed my skin after a long day of wearing makeup and the fact that it peeled off meant every piece of grime was gone from my skin. Like Jo I left my mask on for 10-15 minutes until it was dry, some parts were still a little wet but that's because I piled it on! A thin layer would dry pretty quick if you weren't willing to sit still that long!

Jenny's Pick:

Jenny picked a grapefruit deep pore cleansing mask which funnily enough was bright green when she put it on her face! Now Jenny has quite sensitive skin and this mask stung a little at the very beginning but before long the stinging had stopped and she felt it was actually quite comforting. Like Jo's this mask had a creamy texture but a cooling effect on the skin which she said was very refreshing!

We had a little competition going on as to who would laugh first and crack their mask before the 10 minutes was up and with the lot of us singing Backstreet Boys and 5ive, it was tough but we stuck it out and in the end had wonderfully soft and supple faces!

We definitely recommend these face masks and will 100% be going back for some more! You can find them at H&M stores.
Check out their website here
Thanks for reading, as always and let us know if you have ever tried these face masks, or any other brands in the comments below!
Until next time,

Gem and Jo's OOTD

Well good day to you guys! We had a college thing we had to go to today so we decided to show you guys what we wear to college most days. The weather in Ireland is unpredictable so we dress for the worst, unfortunately today was really cloudy but extremely humid so we died in the heat for the most of the day! Sigh, you can never get it right in this country!

Gem's Outfit:

Jacket: Tommy Hilfiger. €102.00

Top: Primark €6.00 

Jeans: Primark €19.50

Shoes: Converse €55.00

Jo's Outfit: 

Cardigan: Primark/ Penneys €12.00

Top: H&M €14.00

Jeans: Primark €16.00

Sandals: Spanish Boutique €35.00

Flower Bracelet: River Island €10.00
Wooden Bracelets + White Bracelet: Primark €3.50
Silver bracelet: Pandora 

Thanks for reading guys and as usual let us know if you have any of these items and what you like to pair them with! We love to hear from you!
Until Next Time,

Gem and Jo's Polish Picks

It's that time again! Here are our polish picks for this week!

Gem's Pick:

                                   

So this week I decided to stray from the blues that I usually wear and try a green instead. The green varnish I'm wearing is from Primark and was part of a set of 4 nail varnishes which were only €2.50 from the P.S. range!! I thought it was a brilliant bargain until I used the polishes. Unfortunately for all you girls out there who love a bargain, I am sad to say that when it comes to polish, the more expensive, the better the quality. 

                        

First off, it takes about 5 layers of polish for this to become opaque and even then its not total cover. And to make this worse, it seems to take forever to dry! You need about 3 hours to apply it and after all your hard work and dedication to making dinner with your elbows to avoid ruining your nails, the varnish just cracks anyway. I love the colour of this polish but the formula is just poop.                     

                                

I applied a layer of Topshop's Mermaid holographic nail polish to my ring finger for a bit of sparkle and thankfully it stopped the Primark polish from chipping. 

To be honest, these pictures (and any others I took) don't show the true colour of this polish, it's more of a Kelly green than a mint. It just doesn't seem to photograph very well. 

I would love to be able to recommend every nail polish I use to everyone, however we all know that there are a few dud ones out there and this just happens to be one of them. The only recommendation I would give this polish is for parents who want a first time polish for their little kids to try. It comes off easily and doesn't stain your nails so it would be perfect for kids who aren't allowed nail polish in school. 

You can get it from Primark stores, check out their website Here. 

Jo's Pick:

This week I decided to go down the green route as well and painted my nails using Barry M's nail paint in the colour Mint green (way to be creative with the names there, Barry M!). This is a really pretty, creamy mint green colour (as you might have guessed from it's name!).  

This nail polish gives off a really pretty shine which I love about it and it is super opaque after only two coats. It does however take a little long to dry compared with some other fast drying nail polishes but that's not much to ask since it really lasts for a long time on the nails. I tend to be really hard on my nails,but this didn't chip easily at all. I was actually super impressed. 

You can find Barry M nail paints in Boots for  about €4.59, in the UK and Ireland. Unfortunately I don't believe that you can purchase this in the US but hopefully they'll rectify this soon. Check out Barry M's website here.

So there you have it our lovelies, our polish picks of the week. Let us know what you think in the comments below, and as always thanks for reading!

Until next time, 

Gem and Jo Make Cookies

                         

Now it's a well known fact among our friends and family that Gem should never, ever be allowed near an oven or cooker or any sort of electrical equipment but lately we discovered Betty Crocker's Easy Bake range and hallelujah!

All you have to do for these baked goods is add an egg, water and oil. Then you stick it in an oven (with guidance if you're Gem) for about 20 minutes, give or take, and voila! You have cookies! 

Here's how we got on with Betty Crocker's Easy Bake Choc Chip Cookies: 

                                 

So this is what the box says you need: 

1. A medium egg( preferably free range!) 

2. 2 tablespoons of water

3. 4 tablespoons of vegetable oil (we had none so sunflower had to do, oops!) 

4. Of course, the cookie mix you get in the box. 

                             

After you mix everything together into a stiff dough, slap a blob onto a non greased baking tray or some parchment paper and stick 'em in the oven at 190 for 10-15 minutes depending on your desire of crispy-ness! 

                       

Enjoy the wonderful, wafting smell of cookies throughout your home and after 10 minutes and some icing sugar you'll have these bad boys:

                          

Now if you're a more experienced baker you can attempt to mold these into pretty little shapes before you bake them but we went with the ole original round shape! (Mostly because we tried to mold them and it was a little bit of a disaster, maybe next time!) 

If you are like Gem and would like to bake cookies without killing family and friends and burning your house down, why not try Betty Crocker's Easy Bake Range! It is seriously as easy as it sounds! 

The hardest part is mixing it into a dough, that takes some serious arm muscles! 

Thanks for reading and happy baking! 

Until next time,