Baking Lately - the adventures and happenings at United Cakedom

I wouldn't say I loved my job at Sainsbury's, as an online shopper, but I didn't hate it either. I loved being a witness to the sun rising and to scenes like the one above. I loved having my whole day ahead of me, but most of all I loved my co-workers. It was a comfortable environment and we were a great team of people. The only thing that made me want to change my job is that I was tired of dragging myself out of bed at 3:30am for a 4pm start. Picture below was taken on my last day and you can see how tired I am. 

I have found another part time job that suits my lifestyle better. It's just another change in a year of changes. I am looking forward to a new challenge, but sad about leaving behind two years of essentially some really great friendships. There are a handful of people I will be keeping in touch with, and the rest well let's just say thank goodness for Facebook!

One of things I did before I left is bake this Coffee and Walnut Cake for a charity bake sale going to BIBS, the local charity that our branch is currently supporting. Recipe can be found in Nigella's Kitchen on online here! 

I was told it was big hit and I got pictures of people eating it and the empty plate! The bake sale it's self was a big hit and it raised money for a great cause! BIBS (Babies in Buscot Support) is a registered charity that supports babies and their families in the special care baby unit (Buscot Ward) at the Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading. 

This cake is one of many things I have baked lately, but haven't shared with you all! A lot of what I have been baking is stuff I not only have baked before, but also blogged. Here are a few of the things I've been Baking Lately: 

Strawberry & Cream Muffins 

Banana Bread 

(I haven't actually blogged this, but the recipe comes from the hummingbird bakery cookbook.) 

Muesli Flapjacks

So, that's a quick update on what I've been up to lately! I am still baking, but not as frequently nor as experimental as I used to be. I have also been a terrible baking supporter and have missed most of the Great British Bake Off this year. Think I will spend the rest of my Sunday trying to catch up with it as it is the semi-finals this week! 

It is my hope that once I've settled into my new job and I get a new routine set I will have more time to not only bake, but blog and get back into the blogging world! I have missed it as I have been dealing with real life stuff. 

I was all ready to get my Jamberry business off the ground and running and I've literally done nothing in regards to running it as a business, but I am still buying and using them! My latest manicure is called Ribbon Dance and I'm very pleased with it! 

United Jamdom

A link to my sight if you want to check them out! 

There are a lot of new styles for Autumn/Winter! 

Thanks for reading! Do you have a favorite cake or cookie or pastry or bread and so on recipe that you bake over and over again? Leave a comment below I would love to know! 

notes: This post has not been sponsored in any shape or form by any of above mentioned people/places/things! Please see my contact/policy page above for more information! 

My New Adventure with Jamberry Nail Wraps UK

I'm about to embark on a new adventure. I have slowly been adding more lifestyle things to my blog like days out and beauty tips/products and stuff. This will probably be a one off post about this as it's a separate thing, but as is this is my longest running space in the world wide web I wanted to share it!

For the last couple of years I have been seeing my friends back home post pictures of their fun manicures. Manicures of nail wraps that go by the name of Jamberry. My sister even bought some for my nieces and they are super cute and I totally wanted some! Unless my friends sent some to me I didn't have anyone to buy them off of here.

That all changed when I started to see things on Instagram and Facebook about Jamberry launching in the UK! I started reading up on it and how I could get involved. I then sent out for my free sample and joined some great Facebook groups before deciding on becoming a prospective consultant myself!

In the past I have always been skeptical of these sorts of selling schemes, because they seem to be too good to be true. But with minimal commitment it's for me to make what I want out of it! There is a minimal yearly target not a monthly one, which allows me the freedom to space it out as I choose fitting it around my life more easily.

Before I got involved I needed to know and understand how it all worked and was relived to know it did not function as a pyramid scheme. Instead it uses a multi-level marketing business model. Which in a nut shell means it focuses on selling the product aka nail wraps, not on recruiting more sales people. However, that doesn't mean you can't recruit people to sell under you. In this type of business model if you want to progress or get promoted so to speak you need to recruit new people.

Saying that if this post has inspired you to become a consultant please don't hesitate to contact me!

You can contact me by 

or by email lisa.smoothjam@gmail.com

on Facebook,
Instagram,

or on Twitter

On to the product! The nail wraps are really easy to use and are applied with tools you probably already have in your house. All you need is alcohol wipes/liquid, nail scissors, cuticle pusher/orange stick, nail file, and hair dryer/mini heater. They last up to two weeks, are vegan friendly, and come in 300 different colors, patterns, and styles! At £15 a sheet and the 4 for the price of 3 offer you can't go wrong! Each sheet will give you 2 manicures and 2 pedicure - that's a pretty good deal!

I made a wish list that is way too long to share in full on here, but here are my top 12 I can't wait to get my hands on! Make your own wish list on the website linked below and see what sort of patterns and styles there are!!

Don't worry my blog isn't going to turn into a Jamberry sales point! It's a one off post telling you about my new adventure! Although I might have an occasional update, but if you'd like to know more follow any of the links above where there is a wealth of more information! If you'd like to make an order be sure to follow the link to my page here!

notes: All opinions are my own - I wrote it to promote myself and is in no way associated directly with Jamberry. This article is very useful when it comes to telling the difference between Multi-level Marketing and Pyramid schemes. Visit the official Jamberry website for more information. All the images are mine or branded images I'm allowed to use for promotional purposes.