Hot Chocolate Gift Sets - Three Ways ( DIY )

I am feeling VERY Christmassy ! OH MY GOSH I'M SO SO SOOOOOO EXCITED !!! :D

* Annnndd Breathe *  

As you can tell I'm feeling the festive spirit and am ready to sing carols from the rooftops hehe . I always say that I'm going to make lots of my Christmas presents myself and then I never get around to it. But this year me and my best friend have been really into making things so every Saturday we've been scrolling through Pinterest and flicking through endless magazines for inspiration and then coming up with ideas for quick and easy Christmas DIY pressies that you can give to anyone . Yes, even the person who you didn't realise you were friends with until they presented you with a gift making you feel awful upon the realisation that you have nothing to give them in return !

Everybody loves hot chocolate and earlier in the year I posted my recipe for an extremely yummy hot chocolate which you can find here ( You'll need it if you're going to try and make any of these ) . These gifts are all based around the mixture people need to make this recipe, so marshmallows and chocolate chips and I came up with three fun and easy ways to present them .

 

Gift #1 Packets Of Love 

 

Take a cellophane bag ( I found these in poundland ) and fill it with with two bags of chocolate chips and then a handful of marshmallows. Fold the top of the bag down and then cut some Christmas themed wrapping paper so that it folds neatly over the top on the bag and staple it to the cellophane bag. I then stuck a few snowflakes in the corner ( I bought them at The Works for £1 ) and wrote the recipe on the back of the wrapping paper and Voila :) 

Gift #2 Marshmallow Goodness 

 

Fill a mason jar halfway up with chocolate chips and then on top, layer up some normal sized marshmallows. When I've made these before I've used edible ink pens to draw little faces on the marshmallows and that had a really nice affect ( If you want to do this you can buy eidible ink pens in lots of different colours from hobbycraft at £3 each ). Then all you have to do is tie on a tag with instruction on how to make up the hot chocolate on ! 

Gift #3 Give It A ( Chocolate ) Shot ! 

 

For this one a bought these cute little test tubes ( From The Works for only £1 ) and filled them with the hot chocolate mixture so they would be little shots of hot chocolate that you just tip into the cup and then make according to instructions I wrote on the tag. Then I stuck one of the snowflake decorations on the lid before screwing it back on and popping it in a cute Christmas themed mug ( From asda for £1.50 ) and surrounding it with folded tissue paper. You can then tie it in a cellophane bag and that saves a lot of time wrapping ( especially if you're anything like me and can't wrap anything square aha ) . 

These are all really easy to make and everybody appreciates something cute and home-made. I'd love to hear how they go if you try them out or which idea is your favourite ! What are your favourite things to make at Christmas ? Let me know in the comments :) 

If you want to make any of these, you can find the recipe to pop on the label and how to make the mixture here : 

http://myhappybubblexx.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/recipe-hot-chocolate.html

I can't wait to make more Christmas DIY's to share with you ! 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

How To Christmas Shop Like A Pro !

Apart from all the singing and how much happier everybody is, the one thing that I really enjoy is picking out presents for the people I love. Christmas is a time for putting smiles on peoples faces and it's so much fun planning what I'm going to buy ( Or make ) people to make it extra special for them!

Every year, I go up to York for their Christmas market ( It's all in little huts and lit up with fairy lights, it's absolutely beautiful ) and do the majority of my Christmas shopping. But as much as I love shopping, it can get a little stressful. So to help avoid the stressful parts of Christmas shopping I've put together a list of how to Christmas shop like a pro ! ... Or at least someone who's trying quite hard ;)

• Make a list ! .. Or 3 ! I have a notebook that my I write all my Christmas related lists in. I have four sections to my note book, Things to blog, things to make, things to bake and things to give. In the things to give section I have a page for each person where I list my ideas of things to buy them, prices and my budget to spend on them. I take this with me when I'm shopping as I'm walking round I add to the lists so I can compare Ideas for presents before I buy them and make sure I stick to the budget !
• Take A Tote Bag. There is nothing worse than buy five bags of shopping and then when you're walking back to the car and your feet are killing, all five bags snap at once all over the street ! Tote bags completely remove this risk so you can just enjoy shopping to your hearts content and they have some really cute Christmas themed tote bags on the Cath Kidston website :) Especially if you live in the UK, I would definitely take a tote bag because of the new 5p plastic bag charges.
• Dress so you feel amazing and happy and confident, but are still comfortable ( especially if it's a long journey ). It's so much nicer to go out for a days shopping when you really dedicate the day to yourself and dress for success. If you don't own an outfit that makes you feel like a princess and as if you can take on the world, then go get one ! 
• Take a coffee break .... well hot chocolate :) Why is this important? a) Costa has some really yummy Christmas themed hot chocolates at the minute ( Caramel and Fudge Hot Chocolate, Yes Please ! ) plus they're all in really cute cups with Christmas designs on like penguins and Santa ^.^ b) have you ever bought something for a friend because you're running out of time and "it will do" .. and then gone into the next shop and found the perfect present AND it's half the price ? Well this is the solution ! Go around all the shops first, noting down everything you like and then take a break and have a sit down in a cafe. Go through all the things you've found and THEN go back and buy whatever you've decided on !

I hope these tips help you and I'd absolutely LOVE to hear your tips and tricks for Christmas shopping ! I'm really excited to go to York next weekend and really get into the Christmas spirit :) What have you got planned for Christmas ? Let me know in the comments ! 

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :) 

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Dr Seuss | Quotes Posts !

I LOVE Dr.Seuss. I mean, who doesn't ? He rhymes everything, makes everyone smile and teaches us more than we thought a funny cat wearing a hat ever could ! I couldn't resist making a quotes posts purely of his genius , ENJOY !

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple"

"I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles will have troubles with me ! "

"Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them."

" I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities"

"Today I shall behave, as if this is the day I will be remembered"

"I'm glad we had the times together just to laugh and sing a song, seems like we just got started and then before you know it, the times we had together were gone."

"I'm afraid that sometimes you'll play lonely games too. Games you can't win 'cause you'll play against you "

" Remember me and smile, for it's better to forget than to remember me and cry."

"If things start happening, don't worry, don't stew, just go right along and you'll start happening too."

"So be sure when you step, step with care and great tact. And remember that life's a great balancing act. And will you succeed? Yes ! You will, indeed! ( 98 and 3/4 percent guaranteed ) . Kid, you'll mountains. "

"You know you're in love when you can't fall asleep because reality is finally better than your dreams "

" Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, Nothing is going to get better It's not."

"It's not about what it is, it's about what it can become."

Which is your favourite ? I usually pick a favourite and let you know in brackets underneath but I just couldn't ! Dr.Seuss Is brilliant to quote, do you have a favourite author to quote ? Let me know in the comments :) I hope you're having a wonderful week and are feeling the Christmas spirit as strongly as I am ! Have you got any plans for Christmas yet ? :)

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Gratitude!

Hello !

Recently, I've noticed a lot of the American and Canadian Bloggers that I follow, Talking about celebrating Thanksgiving. In England we don't actually celebrate Thanksgiving so I didn't really know very much about it so I asked Crystal ( You can find her lovely blog here ) and she explained to me that ( apart from eating lots of yummy food ) it's all to do with being with your family and thinking about all the things you're thankful for ! I think this is a brilliant thing to be doing because think how much happier you would be if you were thankful for ALL the little things we have in life. I thought about it and then I decided to make a list :)

Things I'm Grateful For :

• Cats ( They always calm me down and give great cuddles )
• Carrie Hope Fletcher and her endless positivity
• My dads humour and our inside jokes
• That taken aback smiley look that people do when I say "have a nice day" and they're not expecting it
• My best friend kindness
• People who comment nice things on my blog
• Everyone being different but no one being completely alone ( whatever they think )
• Smiling
• My physical health
• Hope
• Authors writing books that make me think ... or make my heart melt ( I'm not picky hehe )
• My boyfriends heart and mine being made of the same thing... I'm not sure what that is exactly, I assumed glitter ;)
• Doctor Who

These are just a few off my list ! A while back me and my best friend decided we wanted to improve our general well being in a few ways and one of them was to start a gratitude diary. We really wanted to use an app because It's easy to forget about a notebook and I always set my alarm before bed so I would always have my phone to do it :)

Then we came across Grid Diary. Grid Diary is a brilliant app, it takes about 10 minutes each night to answer 10 questions that I've set myself ! Some of mine are things like: What are 3 things you're grateful for ? What are three things you appreciate about yourself ? What are 3 good things that happened today ? I even use it to keep track of if I've meditated that day !

I've been using the app a few months and loving it so I had to share it with you guys because I knew you'd all love it too ! I think it would really help to boost your positivity and well being and when you look back you have a very long list that you've built up of good things about yourself and things you're grateful for :)
 

Let me know in the comments, five things that you're grateful for and if you've tried using this app. I'd love to hear what you think of it !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Sweetest Love Quotes #2 | Quotes Posts !

A while back I wrote a post called "Sweetest Love Quotes " Because I'm a hopeful romantic who spends way to much of her time on pinterest ! Those qualities mixed with my obsession with quotes, meant that there was NO WAY I could of fitted all my favourite love quotes into just one post so I'm back again with some more ! I will warn you, quite a few of these are quotes from F.Scott Fitzgerald because I've become ever so slightly obsessed with his love quotes recently !

" They Slipped briskly into an intimacy from which they never recovered"
- F Scott Fitzgerald

" She Lived with hurricane eyes and he fell in love with the way the waves collapsed onto her cheeks"
- Christopher Poindexter

He's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of , his and mine and the same. "
- Emily Bronte ( This ones my favourite because it's exactly how I see my boyfriend ^.^ )

" Well , I can't describe her exactly - except to say that she was beautiful. She was tremendously alive."
- F.Scott Fitzgerald

" Their eyes met, and in an instant with an inexplicable, only half conscious rush of emotion, they were in perfect communion "
- F.Scott Fitzgerald

"The Buddhists say if you meet somebody and your heart pounds, your hands shake, your knee go weak, that's not the one. When you meet your 'soul mate' you'll feel calm. No anxiety, no agitation. "
- Monica Drake

" I will love you if I never see you again, and I will love you if I see you every Tuesday. "
- Lemony Snicket

"We are all a little weird and life's a little weird. And when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love."
- Dr Seuss

" She wanted to crawl into his pocket and be safe forever "
- F.Scott Fitzgerald

" I fell in love with her courage, her sincerity and her flaming self respect. And it's these things I'd believe in even if the whole world indulged in wild suspicions that she wasn't all she should be. I love her and it is the beginning of everything."
- F.Scott Fitzgerald

I really hope you liked those ! Let me know your favourite in the comments and what you think defines loves in..... 10 words ! That should be an interesting challenge hehe :) I'd also love to know if any of you have read any of F.Scott Fitzgeralds books and if you have which would you recommend ? I'm reading The Great Gatsby at the minute and absolutely LOVING it, wayyyy more than I expected to !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Reasons To Have Faith In Humanity

I've noticed recently that the phrase "Erghhh, I've lost faith in humanity " is frequently used and often without a lot of thought and it upsets me. I know this is often said without meaning but it's a big, negative, degrading statement and for someone who depends on enthusiasm and positivity to keep going, it's a scary statement.... an it makes me sad. So I decided to be prepared for it because here on Don'tBurstMyBubbleXx we specialise in positivity so I thought I'd make a collection of reasons to have faith in humanity that we can remind people of when they think they're losing it !

Music : There's so many different types and endless songs and pieces that have been and are still to be composed, but people all like different types of music and yes the music is different but from Justin Beiber to Brad Paisley to Slipknot.. it's all music and that links all of us . Isn't it amazing that one thing can be so flexible to fit anybody .

Charity : How much money do you think all the charities in the world raise every year out of pure human kindness ? It's A LOT . Things like treatments for cancer, life saving aid to countries suffering natural disasters, education for children in poverty ridden countries and so SO MUCH more ! Purely as a result of human kindness !

The Hopeful Notes : I've talked about Carrie Hope Fletchers Hopeful notes before on Don'tBurstMyBubbleXx endlessly but essentially they're positive messages on post it notes left for strangers to make them smile ! Random Acts Of kindness like this are done for know reason just to make a stranger smile because why on earth not ?

" Have A Nice Day " :  Shop assistants tell you to " Have a nice day " ... isn't that just really nice ? I know some of them have been told to say it to the customers but they're saying it and be honest with yourself, how likely is it that they're being insincere ? Would they honestly in reality like you to have a bad day ? I like to think not :) If they don't tell you to have a nice day I think it's nice to assume they're having a rough day and just forgot so why not tell them yourself :)

We've come a LONG way : Okay, yes the world isn't perfect, not by a long way. But were learning, were improving . Bad things are still happening and that's awful but we will learn and with a lot of hard work develop as a race become even better . It is important to focus on where we can improve in a helpful and practical way when working out how to proceed but it's still important to recognise how far we've come ! Only recently, gay marriage has been legalised, there's equality among races and feminism is making great strides, our technology is more advanced than ever and who knows what disease we'll cure next ?

These are just a few of the main, general ones that I wanted to talk about today but I've made a pinterest board to go with this post ( that you can find here ) filled with lots of heart warming stories and examples of reasons to have faith in humanity ! I would love to hear your ideas and reasons in the comments !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Wall Tour !

Hello There !

A few months back I did a tag and as part of it I mentioned the massive collage I have on the wall next to my bed and how I used it to keep me smiling on tough days ! The whole Idea for my wall was based around something Carrie Hope Fletcher said :

" Things haven't always been this bad, therefore they won't always be this bad. "

So I made my wall as a reminder of the times that made me smile and bits of motivation ! A few people in the comments asked to see more of my wall so today I decided to do a wall tour for you before I have to take it down to move house at some point next  year !

Here are just of a few of my favourite bits ! I broke them down into sections to make it easier for both of us !

The Carrie Stuff :

1. Carries Face ! I've told you many times how much I love Carrie Hope Fletcher and everything she stands for, this woman is such an inspiration to me . So as you can imagine I was quite excited when my boyfriend got me a signed poster of her for my birthday ... I screamed so loud I had to go downstairs to reassure my mum I wasn't being murdered !
2. The original sign of the hopefuls that one of my friends drew me :)
3. Last December Carrie was on the final arena tour of War of The Worlds and my lovely dad took me to see it and I may or may not of cried. I mean I was only nine meters away from Carrie AND I had chocolate ice cream ... anyone would've got overwhelmed hehe .
4. Yes this is another of her signed posters with lyrics from one of her songs called " Running Through Rivers" On and her own illustrations :)

The Boyfriend Stuff :

5. About one and a half years a go now, I went with my boyfriends family to the Harry Potter Studios in London . They were amazing ! We drank butter bear and saw the amazing set and I bought a toy pygmy puff in the shop !
6. Here's some ice skating tickets from our 2 year anniversary and tickets for a film we went to see , I keep all our cinema tickets somewhere on my wall :) There's also a tag from one present he bought me that he wrote one of our favourite song quotes on .
7.Our Lets Go list hasn't been updated in a while we made it to remind us of all the things we want to do together like get matching Christmas pyjamas and go strawberry picking ... because were cool like that haha .
8. A friend that I don't really know any more drew this of me and my boyfriend in our teddies in a science class one time ... it's not the most accurate ( I don't and never have had green hair hehe ) but I do love it and its right next to my bed .

Little Reminders of Stuff :

9, 10, 11. Love, Live, Laugh. I found these really cute cut out letters for 40p each so put them together to make these words the features of my wall :)
12. I love Doctor Who and when I saw this article about the 12th Doctor ( Peter Capaldi ) making a video to comfort a young boy who had lost his grandma and it was really heart-warming to see his act of compassion so I wanted to remember it to help me remember that kindness is always necessary. I'll link to the video here !

Stuff to Keep Me Going :

13. A letter my best friend wrote me to read when I'm feeling down, I keep this by my bed where I can always get to it . My best friend is honestly the most caring, sensitive, kind young woman I have ever met and I don't know what I'd do without her.
14 and 15. I have a few little phrases and quotes on scraps of paper around my wall like " You are not in this alone" and "Life isn't about finding yourself, life is about creating yourself " .
16. When I was about 12 I got cast as the lead in our schools musical Olivia and it was a massive boost for my confidence and one of the few times I've actually got the chance to perform in front of an audience. Musical Theatre is such a big part of my life and I'm happiest when I'm singing so I always keep the programme from that performance to remind me of how happy I was then :)

I really hope you enjoyed seeing a few of the bits and bobs I keep to help me stay motivated and inspired around my world map . I use the map to remind me when stuffs going wrong that there's a lot more than just that in the world !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of love, Marianne xxx

Popping Candy Apple Pops !

I absolutely LOVE bonfire night ! The fireworks, the pretty lights, that wonderful feeling of being with all your family and friends stood around a bonfire and ... Toffee Apples ! I've always loved eating toffee/chocolate apples but they're impossible to eat while looking in anyway dignified hehe . So when I saw the idea of making apple pops and making them into mini caramel apples on Pinterest I was beyond excited ! But I always hate the idea of working with hot caramel because it can be dangerous, it's easy to get burnt and I'm ( not to brag or anything ;) ) generally quite talented at being a safety hazard in the kitchen even without boiling hot sugar flying around everywhere hehe ! So I was thinking about how I could make these better and make them in a way that would be safe and fun to make with children ... Then it hit me ! I should mix all the yummy things in the world together , add it to the dignity retaining idea of bite size apple pieces and Bamm ! Chocolate, Popping Candy, Toffee Apples ! And that .... was something I HAD to share with you hehe :)

What You'll Need :

• Apples
• Toffee Sauce
• Popping Candy
• Chocolate
• Cake pop sticks
• Melon Baller

Step One : Use a melon baller to get a small ball of apple !

Step Two : dip the apple ball in toffee sauce

Step Three : Roll the apple in popping candy ( The toffee sauce will make it stick )

Step Four : Melt some chocolate in a bowl and dip a cake pop stick in it to make sure the apple stays on then put the apple on the cake pop stick .

Step Five : Cover the apple pop in the chocolate and then sprinkle with a little popping candy for decoration !

Leave to dry and voila ! The perfect fireside treat with your dignity fully in tack hehe :) I'd show you a picture of the ones I made but I sort of, ever so slightly.. ate them ... Umm sorry ;)

Have a great bonfire night and let me know in the comments what your favourite part of bonfire night is !

Stay Strong <3 Stay Smiley :)

Lots of Love, Marianne xxx