I'm finally sharing that I am on Patreon! I've had this Patreon page set up in various forms for well over a year and never took the plunge to finish it, start sharing content, and make it live, but now I have.
Patreon, if you don't know what im talking about, is a site where you can pay a membership fee to access exlusive content. It's a great way to support your favourite creators to make a consistent income and for me it will help me be able to continue to invest time into my business, both my shop, youtube channel and social media platforms. I'm hoping with Patreon to be able to invest in equipment, develop new lines of products, and create more video content for you all.
What I'm most excited about is having a space where I can feel safe and create a community. I find other social media platforms a bit too open to really discuss what is happening in my life, the plans i have for my business, the products im working on. I also really want to be able to discuss which books I should illustrate next, and talk about a love of reading in a way that I feel like other platforms are too one sided for.
I have 4 tiers to choose from.
Did I mention you can also get a 15% off discount to my shop too?
If you would like to sign up, you can do so here: https://www.patreon.com/georginathelibrarian I can't wait to see you over there!
]]>If you follow me on Goodreads (you should!) it will come as no surprise that i've discovered a new reading obsession at the moment. I am officially hooked on Hannah Swensen mysteries. Never heard of them? I wouldn't be surprised as i've yet to see them in a bookstore (though we have a healthy amount in my library). They're set in Minnesota USA and I have to admit, a tad twee. The murders are a bit predictable and the characters have that American charm, but lets be frank, I'm not reading for the killing, I'm reading for the baking.
The mysteries are lead by main character Hannah, who owns her own bakery and cafe, the cookie jar, and peppered throughout are little gems of recipes so that you can bake the delicious morsels they're talking about. I've made a total of 4 baked recipes in the space of two weeks since starting to read these stories and I would have made more if it weren't for the fact James would have complained that there were too many choices in the house!
Now, since reducing our animal product consumption I have been on a mission to veganise my favourite baked goods, so I decided to do that with Hannah's recipes too. The first one I tried was her Blue Blueberry Muffins, so called because you mix blueberry pie filling into the batter. I've never actually made blueberry muffins before that I thought tasted like blueberry, as one of the characters says, they taste like a vanilla cake with the odd blueberry throughout, but these taste like blueberry! They lose their blue tinge when cooked, but they smell and taste amazing. The crunchy crumb on top adds texture and they are perfect for a mid morning snack.
The recipe is a little complicated as I dont think i've ever come across blueberry pie filling in the UK so you do have to make that, but it's fairly straightforward. I have stuck to cup measures just because i have several cup measures in my kitchen and find them quite easy, if you don't have one, feel free to convert or just use your favourite tea cup as a measure.
]]>If you follow me on Goodreads (you should!) it will come as no surprise that i've discovered a new reading obsession at the moment. I am officially hooked on Hannah Swensen mysteries. Never heard of them? I wouldn't be surprised as i've yet to see them in a bookstore (though we have a healthy amount in my library). They're set in Minnesota USA and I have to admit, a tad twee. The murders are a bit predictable and the characters have that American charm, but lets be frank, I'm not reading for the killing, I'm reading for the baking.
The mysteries are lead by main character Hannah, who owns her own bakery and cafe, the cookie jar, and peppered throughout are little gems of recipes so that you can bake the delicious morsels they're talking about. I've made a total of 4 baked recipes in the space of two weeks since starting to read these stories and I would have made more if it weren't for the fact James would have complained that there were too many choices in the house!
Now, since reducing our animal product consumption I have been on a mission to veganise my favourite baked goods, so I decided to do that with Hannah's recipes too. The first one I tried was her Blue Blueberry Muffins, so called because you mix blueberry pie filling into the batter. I've never actually made blueberry muffins before that I thought tasted like blueberry, as one of the characters says, they taste like a vanilla cake with the odd blueberry throughout, but these taste like blueberry! They lose their blue tinge when cooked, but they smell and taste amazing. The crunchy crumb on top adds texture and they are perfect for a mid morning snack.
The recipe is a little complicated as I dont think i've ever come across blueberry pie filling in the UK so you do have to make that, but it's fairly straightforward. I have stuck to cup measures just because i have several cup measures in my kitchen and find them quite easy, if you don't have one, feel free to convert or just use your favourite tea cup as a measure.
]]>On my 30th birthday this year I decided to take on a 365 project, I knew that 30 was a special year to me, over the past few months I had really grown into myself, I was starting to better understand who I am, what I want from life, and what makes me truly happy. I wanted to commemorate that by recording the thing that drew me the most each day. It could be a sketch, a doodle, a painting, I just wanted to create each day to remember this year.
I merrily set about drawing my first drawing, and my second, and then it happened. I hit a snag.
I learnt something new about myself within days of starting my project, I learnt that I get stage fright when it comes to sharing what I create on Instagram. There is something about sharing online which creates enough pressure that I am scared to put onto paper what I want. It felt like I was performing in some way and I just could not get past it. I promptly decided that perhaps sharing online wasn't the way forward for me.
There is always this discussion in the online art community about "accountability" and using Instagram to make you do something, I decided that day that I don't need to be accountable to anyone but myself, and that I would go forward how I wanted. When I feel under pressure I run away from it, it loses its fun and becomes a chore, where as when there is no pressure I will sketch and doodle to my heart's content.
I had also made a little plan for myself whereby I would work through my sketchbooks one by one, filling each page in turn and seeing my progression through the pages. That fast went out the window too. I am not a one book kinda gal. I love paper, I will not philosophise about it too much as it could completely take over this post, but I love paper, and notebooks, and using whichever one I fancy for however long I feel, before moving on. It is the way I am with notebooks and planners, and evidently with sketchbooks. I couldn't force myself to stay in just one sketchbook, so I decided not to, I have my sketchbook for random bits, and ideas, and proper pieces of work, and I supplement that with my journals. I've just got into Traveler's notebooks, more on that in a post soon, but I have found them the perfect place to journal, or do single little drawings for when the whim takes me.
So, what of my 365? I still try to draw everyday, it may take me 400 or 500 days to complete my 365, but I really couldn't care less. I like that I record things when there are things to record, and I am not just drawing for drawing's sake. I work full time on top of running my shop, so some days the inclination is just not there and that is A-OK!
I like to think that rather than pushing for 365 days of drawing and risking burn out, I am instead fostering a healthy habit. I still post my occasional doodles onto my feed, but it isn't an everyday thing, and that makes me happy.
]]>On my 30th birthday this year I decided to take on a 365 project, I knew that 30 was a special year to me, over the past few months I had really grown into myself, I was starting to better understand who I am, what I want from life, and what makes me truly happy. I wanted to commemorate that by recording the thing that drew me the most each day. It could be a sketch, a doodle, a painting, I just wanted to create each day to remember this year.
I merrily set about drawing my first drawing, and my second, and then it happened. I hit a snag.
I learnt something new about myself within days of starting my project, I learnt that I get stage fright when it comes to sharing what I create on Instagram. There is something about sharing online which creates enough pressure that I am scared to put onto paper what I want. It felt like I was performing in some way and I just could not get past it. I promptly decided that perhaps sharing online wasn't the way forward for me.
There is always this discussion in the online art community about "accountability" and using Instagram to make you do something, I decided that day that I don't need to be accountable to anyone but myself, and that I would go forward how I wanted. When I feel under pressure I run away from it, it loses its fun and becomes a chore, where as when there is no pressure I will sketch and doodle to my heart's content.
I had also made a little plan for myself whereby I would work through my sketchbooks one by one, filling each page in turn and seeing my progression through the pages. That fast went out the window too. I am not a one book kinda gal. I love paper, I will not philosophise about it too much as it could completely take over this post, but I love paper, and notebooks, and using whichever one I fancy for however long I feel, before moving on. It is the way I am with notebooks and planners, and evidently with sketchbooks. I couldn't force myself to stay in just one sketchbook, so I decided not to, I have my sketchbook for random bits, and ideas, and proper pieces of work, and I supplement that with my journals. I've just got into Traveler's notebooks, more on that in a post soon, but I have found them the perfect place to journal, or do single little drawings for when the whim takes me.
So, what of my 365? I still try to draw everyday, it may take me 400 or 500 days to complete my 365, but I really couldn't care less. I like that I record things when there are things to record, and I am not just drawing for drawing's sake. I work full time on top of running my shop, so some days the inclination is just not there and that is A-OK!
I like to think that rather than pushing for 365 days of drawing and risking burn out, I am instead fostering a healthy habit. I still post my occasional doodles onto my feed, but it isn't an everyday thing, and that makes me happy.
]]>Today's March Meet the Maker prompt is achievements, and it got me thinking about what i would consider to be my biggest achievement so far. I've not made a secret of the fact that my art journey has been a tumultuous one. If you had told me at 18 that I would open a shop with illustrated products that i had made myself I would laugh in your face, albeit nervously, as a teenager I was discouraged from an artistic path to the point where I shied away from it, so for me my biggest achievement is this, my presence on the internet where I share my creativity.
As a child I loved to create, my favourite TV show growing up was Art Attack with Neil Buchanan (I wasn't so fond of The Head though, he was creepy) I loved watching Neil make things, paint and draw and always had a plentiful supply of art materials to hand. Coloured pencils were my absolute favourite.
When I moved up to senior school however that all changed. I went from having great fun creating things, to painting and drawing creating anxiety over what my teacher would say. From my very first piece of homework my teacher was negative, her comments full of derision, she would draw big lines through my work ruining the good bits as well as the not so good. At the time we had just moved back up to Lincolnshire after a couple of years in Northamptonshire, I was at a new school with very few friends and I was also put in a random group because they didn't have my SATs results yet, that first piece of homework was done at my Grandma's where we were staying while we were waiting for the people we had bought our house from to move out (they were being difficult!) and I worked really hard on it, so her big red lines were heartbreaking. It continued over the next 3 years, I remember feeling the dread in my third year that i had the same teacher yet again, and the only respite I remember having was when we briefly had substitutes cover her classes.
When it came time to choose GCSE topics she said i would be wasting my time taking art, and that i would never make anything of my lack of skill. I soon gave up and listened to her, I must not be any good. I dropped doodling, I stopped watching art shows (I couldn't bear to watch Art Attack or Smart anymore) and I feigned disinterest. Secretly I still yearned to create, to play with colour and line and produce something that I at least thought was good, but her voice was always there, critiquing. I would visit my friends who were working on their GCSE projects and feel mournful that I just wasn't good enough, but i'd look at theirs and fail to see where mine fell down.
I took the path of working towards a career in books or science, aced my English exams, went on to do A Levels and a degree and in that time I drew one picture. One. It was a sketch of a teddy bear which I had received for my 21st birthday. I never showed that picture to anyone, because there inside my head was that voice again, critiquing.
By the time i finished my degree I needed a new creative outlet, so I started knitting and created this blog, I ventured into sewing and then decided I wanted to print my own fabrics to turn into knitting bags, if you look back far enough you can find them. To design fabric I needed to draw, so I bit the bullet and bought a tiny sketchbook and started to put pencil to paper. I designed some Alice in Wonderland patterns that I loved, but when it came to the idea of selling them I just couldn't do it. That little voice kept telling me they weren't good enough, my Dad encouraged me to open a shop (the original iteration of my current Etsy shop) but I chickened out, parents are always supposed to think your stuff is great right?!
Fast forward to 2015, my life had gone through some major upheavals and I needed an outlet, something to do that allowed my creativity to grow. My natural instinct is and has always been to reach for the art materials when I felt troubled but I had always shrugged off what I was doing like I was ashamed. I had started drawing little pictures in my filofax, the changes to my life had been so great that at that point, the little voice in my head was critiquing everything I did so I was less bothered about it picking apart my art (Newsflash, that was my anxiety in my head there). I'd draw things I'd eaten or done or bought that day. My cousin had bought me a beautiful notebook which had handmade paper inside and I decided to keep my recipe planning for this blog in there, complete with drawing the process and the finished article. Determined to get over my mental block I shared a drawing I had done for my kitchenaid mixer in a planner facebook group, it was a new toy that I wanted to make a note of using in my filofax and Bake Off had just started back on the telly so I wanted to mark that too. It blew up! I got requests to turn that drawing into stickers, so I started doing some more drawings, banners, florals, envelopes and more, and sharing them. The overwhelming positive response from the planner community finally made that woman's voice die, people loved my little drawings and the shame fell away. I only wish I had shared something sooner.
From there it has taken me a while (2 years to be exact) to get to a point where I was happy to create art, call it art, and sell it as art, Last year i tentatively posted my prints in my shop and made my first sale. My first sale of a piece of art from someone who doesn't know me, isn't obliged by being family to say something is worthy of putting on the wall. The feeling was euphoric! It is from there that my rebrand has stemmed. No longer am I just The Librarian, and my shop The Library Designs, I am embracing the direction my creative path is leading and rebranding my shop to be Georgina The Librarian, Illustration. Over the next few weeks you will slowly start to see my new branding appear over on etsy to fall in line with this website. I'm very excited about this new direction, it finally feels like I am embracing something I have hidden from for years.
This is a big leap for me, but I have never been so sure of the step i needed to take. And to that teacher, *blows raspberry*!
]]>
Today's March Meet the Maker prompt is achievements, and it got me thinking about what i would consider to be my biggest achievement so far. I've not made a secret of the fact that my art journey has been a tumultuous one. If you had told me at 18 that I would open a shop with illustrated products that i had made myself I would laugh in your face, albeit nervously, as a teenager I was discouraged from an artistic path to the point where I shied away from it, so for me my biggest achievement is this, my presence on the internet where I share my creativity.
As a child I loved to create, my favourite TV show growing up was Art Attack with Neil Buchanan (I wasn't so fond of The Head though, he was creepy) I loved watching Neil make things, paint and draw and always had a plentiful supply of art materials to hand. Coloured pencils were my absolute favourite.
When I moved up to senior school however that all changed. I went from having great fun creating things, to painting and drawing creating anxiety over what my teacher would say. From my very first piece of homework my teacher was negative, her comments full of derision, she would draw big lines through my work ruining the good bits as well as the not so good. At the time we had just moved back up to Lincolnshire after a couple of years in Northamptonshire, I was at a new school with very few friends and I was also put in a random group because they didn't have my SATs results yet, that first piece of homework was done at my Grandma's where we were staying while we were waiting for the people we had bought our house from to move out (they were being difficult!) and I worked really hard on it, so her big red lines were heartbreaking. It continued over the next 3 years, I remember feeling the dread in my third year that i had the same teacher yet again, and the only respite I remember having was when we briefly had substitutes cover her classes.
When it came time to choose GCSE topics she said i would be wasting my time taking art, and that i would never make anything of my lack of skill. I soon gave up and listened to her, I must not be any good. I dropped doodling, I stopped watching art shows (I couldn't bear to watch Art Attack or Smart anymore) and I feigned disinterest. Secretly I still yearned to create, to play with colour and line and produce something that I at least thought was good, but her voice was always there, critiquing. I would visit my friends who were working on their GCSE projects and feel mournful that I just wasn't good enough, but i'd look at theirs and fail to see where mine fell down.
I took the path of working towards a career in books or science, aced my English exams, went on to do A Levels and a degree and in that time I drew one picture. One. It was a sketch of a teddy bear which I had received for my 21st birthday. I never showed that picture to anyone, because there inside my head was that voice again, critiquing.
By the time i finished my degree I needed a new creative outlet, so I started knitting and created this blog, I ventured into sewing and then decided I wanted to print my own fabrics to turn into knitting bags, if you look back far enough you can find them. To design fabric I needed to draw, so I bit the bullet and bought a tiny sketchbook and started to put pencil to paper. I designed some Alice in Wonderland patterns that I loved, but when it came to the idea of selling them I just couldn't do it. That little voice kept telling me they weren't good enough, my Dad encouraged me to open a shop (the original iteration of my current Etsy shop) but I chickened out, parents are always supposed to think your stuff is great right?!
Fast forward to 2015, my life had gone through some major upheavals and I needed an outlet, something to do that allowed my creativity to grow. My natural instinct is and has always been to reach for the art materials when I felt troubled but I had always shrugged off what I was doing like I was ashamed. I had started drawing little pictures in my filofax, the changes to my life had been so great that at that point, the little voice in my head was critiquing everything I did so I was less bothered about it picking apart my art (Newsflash, that was my anxiety in my head there). I'd draw things I'd eaten or done or bought that day. My cousin had bought me a beautiful notebook which had handmade paper inside and I decided to keep my recipe planning for this blog in there, complete with drawing the process and the finished article. Determined to get over my mental block I shared a drawing I had done for my kitchenaid mixer in a planner facebook group, it was a new toy that I wanted to make a note of using in my filofax and Bake Off had just started back on the telly so I wanted to mark that too. It blew up! I got requests to turn that drawing into stickers, so I started doing some more drawings, banners, florals, envelopes and more, and sharing them. The overwhelming positive response from the planner community finally made that woman's voice die, people loved my little drawings and the shame fell away. I only wish I had shared something sooner.
From there it has taken me a while (2 years to be exact) to get to a point where I was happy to create art, call it art, and sell it as art, Last year i tentatively posted my prints in my shop and made my first sale. My first sale of a piece of art from someone who doesn't know me, isn't obliged by being family to say something is worthy of putting on the wall. The feeling was euphoric! It is from there that my rebrand has stemmed. No longer am I just The Librarian, and my shop The Library Designs, I am embracing the direction my creative path is leading and rebranding my shop to be Georgina The Librarian, Illustration. Over the next few weeks you will slowly start to see my new branding appear over on etsy to fall in line with this website. I'm very excited about this new direction, it finally feels like I am embracing something I have hidden from for years.
This is a big leap for me, but I have never been so sure of the step i needed to take. And to that teacher, *blows raspberry*!
]]>
It is no secret in this little space of the internet of mine, that I love food. I have always loved food of all kinds, especially if they're sweet, and when I look back most of my memories revolve around food. My mum cooking, baking, teaching me how to whip up our favourite family recipes, be it the traditional Lincolnshire Plum Bread, the perfect Victoria Sponge, or something brought home from her work as a school cook.
Food is central to my life.
Now, I am not going to say that everyone who's life revolves around food has an unhealthy relationship with it because I'm pretty sure that not everyone does, but a couple of years ago i realised that I in fact do have an unhealthy relationship with it. Food makes me happy, making it, consuming it, sharing it with others, but it had started to have an impact. I was feeling sluggish and run down after eating, I had previously battled with a chilli intolerance which was starting to subside but in its place I seemed to be reacting to anything and everything. Bread made me hiccup, dairy made me bloat, and meat made me feel sick. Alongside this James was mysteriously vomiting, and was referred to several nutritionists.
I distinctly remember the first thing I started to go off of were potatoes, they were starchy and there were just so many of them. I found myself craving green vegetables like no other and one of the illest times I have ever been was when on holiday in the US in 2015 where I felt so undernourished I was miserable and constantly nauseous.
It has taken me a long time to add everything together and come to a decision, about a year ago I started to make some changes, I swapped regular milk for oat and coconut, I went for free from bread in a bid to eat just a tiny morsel without hiccupping, and after James was told he could no longer process iron properly, we reduced our red meat consumption to an occasional treat.
A few months on I am now completely dairy free. I have converted my baking to vegan recipes, and now Ben and Jerry's is available in vegan form I am happy to finally be able to enjoy my favourites without dairy. I have found my favourite substitutes (hello Oatly Barista and Tesco grated dairy free mozzarella) and my favourite sources for recipes (Minimalist Baker is fantastic!) and i'm actually finding it, easy.
Throughout this process I have been doing more and more research into a plant based lifestyle. Spurred on by some of my favourite people taking the plunge (ONR, In Colourful Company Ladies, Holly Exley and Frannerd to name a few) I have been researching more and more about vegan and plant based ways of living. With James's lack of meat consumption and my lack of dairy it feels like we're pretty much half way there already so i don't think it is out of my reach. I am going to strive to reduce our animal product consumption down to bare minimums, and only on special treat days. increase our plant intake and hopefully feel even better for it.
I have already noticed the benefits, I ate a pizza last night (not the one above, that beauty is from Zizzi's and is completely vegan. Last night's was mushroom and black olive, best topping combo ever, if only to be beaten by the love it or hate it inclusion of pineapple) and felt zero ill effects, no bloat, no bluergh and no asthmatic coughing from the cheese.
I hope that this will be the start of a new lease of life for me, i'm not going to punish myself if I don't manage it all the time (got to improve on that healthy me-food relationship) but I am going to strive to be better when it comes to animal consumption, and consider my choices a little more.
]]>
It is no secret in this little space of the internet of mine, that I love food. I have always loved food of all kinds, especially if they're sweet, and when I look back most of my memories revolve around food. My mum cooking, baking, teaching me how to whip up our favourite family recipes, be it the traditional Lincolnshire Plum Bread, the perfect Victoria Sponge, or something brought home from her work as a school cook.
Food is central to my life.
Now, I am not going to say that everyone who's life revolves around food has an unhealthy relationship with it because I'm pretty sure that not everyone does, but a couple of years ago i realised that I in fact do have an unhealthy relationship with it. Food makes me happy, making it, consuming it, sharing it with others, but it had started to have an impact. I was feeling sluggish and run down after eating, I had previously battled with a chilli intolerance which was starting to subside but in its place I seemed to be reacting to anything and everything. Bread made me hiccup, dairy made me bloat, and meat made me feel sick. Alongside this James was mysteriously vomiting, and was referred to several nutritionists.
I distinctly remember the first thing I started to go off of were potatoes, they were starchy and there were just so many of them. I found myself craving green vegetables like no other and one of the illest times I have ever been was when on holiday in the US in 2015 where I felt so undernourished I was miserable and constantly nauseous.
It has taken me a long time to add everything together and come to a decision, about a year ago I started to make some changes, I swapped regular milk for oat and coconut, I went for free from bread in a bid to eat just a tiny morsel without hiccupping, and after James was told he could no longer process iron properly, we reduced our red meat consumption to an occasional treat.
A few months on I am now completely dairy free. I have converted my baking to vegan recipes, and now Ben and Jerry's is available in vegan form I am happy to finally be able to enjoy my favourites without dairy. I have found my favourite substitutes (hello Oatly Barista and Tesco grated dairy free mozzarella) and my favourite sources for recipes (Minimalist Baker is fantastic!) and i'm actually finding it, easy.
Throughout this process I have been doing more and more research into a plant based lifestyle. Spurred on by some of my favourite people taking the plunge (ONR, In Colourful Company Ladies, Holly Exley and Frannerd to name a few) I have been researching more and more about vegan and plant based ways of living. With James's lack of meat consumption and my lack of dairy it feels like we're pretty much half way there already so i don't think it is out of my reach. I am going to strive to reduce our animal product consumption down to bare minimums, and only on special treat days. increase our plant intake and hopefully feel even better for it.
I have already noticed the benefits, I ate a pizza last night (not the one above, that beauty is from Zizzi's and is completely vegan. Last night's was mushroom and black olive, best topping combo ever, if only to be beaten by the love it or hate it inclusion of pineapple) and felt zero ill effects, no bloat, no bluergh and no asthmatic coughing from the cheese.
I hope that this will be the start of a new lease of life for me, i'm not going to punish myself if I don't manage it all the time (got to improve on that healthy me-food relationship) but I am going to strive to be better when it comes to animal consumption, and consider my choices a little more.
]]>
This week has been one of real achievements for me, I finally feel like I am ready to get back to "normal". I have a bank holiday weekend ahead of me, with little planned, but what is planned will be relaxing, fun and with friends. This is the life I have craved for the past two years and have been too busy worrying about to enjoy.
Here is what has made this week great...
- Making plans to see friends.
As I write this, the weather is beautiful and in a little less than an hour I am popping to my friend's house for a countryside walk and tea and cake afterwards. I love that I have friends that I can do these sorts of things with, friends who get that this is something I love and would like to share the experience with me.
- Gouache.
Finding a new painting medium to play with is like being given a brand new game as a kid. I want to explore its limitations and see what I can create all the time. Gouache is new to me, it is like a watercolour/acrylic hybrid, in that you add water but it stays opaque, and I am in love!
- Book recommendations
Getting new book recommendations is one of my favourite things, and when I got one in the middle of this week I decided to down tools, have an impromptu Lush bath (with butterbear FYI) and start reading, and a great decision it was to.
I am always in the market for book recommendations, so please feel free to share them below :)
- When my organisations skills are en point.
I am really reaping the rewards of spending a little time to prepare before jumping in feet first at the moment. I have a few things I am working on that are exciting but time consuming and taking the time to make lists and think about the process before i begin has been refreshing. I am ready for it!
- That fuzzy guy up there.
Bert never fails to bring a smile to my face, he has been the best decision we ever made, and although he keeps losing his collar far too regularly, he is my baby and can do no wrong. Except when he tries to steal the whipped cream from my hot chocolate, no-one touches my hot chocolate!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Landline by Rainbow Rowell, the previously mentioned recommendation has me completely hooked!
Eating: The Pecan Pie Easter egg James brought home last night, he knows me so well.
Spending my time: Hopefully, Im making no concrete promises, blogging my adventures this bank holiday. Fingers crossed I don't chicken out!
Have a great Easter!
]]>
So this week has been a mixed bag of highs and lows, I have kept on top of my anxiety consistently and feel strong, however I have had a couple of blips, and I have some big events coming up that I know are going to challenge me, so I am going to try and keep this blogging thing rolling throughout that. Slow and steady wins this particular race at the moment.
But lets just have a little moment to "Yay!" that in posting this I managed to reach my monthly goal of two posts this month, who knows I might even manage three! I am excited!
So without further a do, here is what has made this week shine...
- Laughing out loud.
I am that person that rarely laughs out loud, I occasionally will do a sort of Marge Simpson chuckle, but a real belly laugh doesn't happen often for me, especially lately. Well tis past weekend I did a lot of this, we spent the evening in Leeds with some friends to celebrate James's birthday (28! Where have the years gone, one of our friends reminded me he will be 30 next year!) and we had a fab time, eating great food, bowling (i lost by a large margin), shooting pool and generally having a good time. It was like the ultimate treat for my brain.
- Capsule Wardobe-ing. Sort of.
I say sort of because I haven't gone whole hog on this, but I cleared out probably half of my wardrobe in the past week. Got rid of lots of things that no longer fit, were no longer my style and I just didn't reach for. It has been So. Damn. Cleansing. I hadn't realised quite how much I was carrying around with me just by owning lots of clothing that didn't make me feel happy.
I haven't gone so far as to take out of season things out of my wardrobe because our weather is so changeable but it is nice to look in there and know that I am happy to wear everything.
- Finding my planner groove, and creating new designs.
I am going to try really hard not to turn this whole blog into planner central, because the whole point of a lifestyle blog is that it covers multiple topics, but I am really loving my setup right now and am seriously considering doing a post or video about it. Going back to the DIY inserts i mentioned in my last post has been like coming home, they are perfectly tailored for how my mind works and I do a little happy dance whenever I use them. Something about this just makes me want to create, I have always been a creative person but right now I find myself reaching for a pen whenever I have a minute of downtime and that never fails to bring a smile to my face.
- US P.O.Boxes
This is a weird one and completely superficial but if, like me, you are always lusting after things that do not ship out of the continental US, you need to check out Vyking Ship. They effectively provide you with a US address, you have all your bits and bobs sent to it and they consolidate them and send them on to you. It is absolutely fantastic for those items you have to remove from your cart because they don't ship them overseas. I have used a couple of these companies for materials for the shop and by far Vyking Ship is the best, their customer service is amazing, they photograph everything they receive at no extra cost and the forwarding costs so far have been the cheapest. (This isn't sponsored, but if you do want to set up an account with them you can get $5 off your first shipment by putting 4159 in the referral box) It is life changing! Currently I have Rifle Paper Co, Papersource, Sephora and Madewell orders planned for after my Birthday.
- Healthy eating. Big time!
This one sort of leads on from my last one where I mentioned my morning smoothie. James and I have made a promise to ourselves that we are going to make more of an effort to eat clean. We aren't going full on whole30 or back to paleo, but we are making sure at least half of our weeknight meals are healthier. So far I am loving Jamie's Everyday Super Food, Anna Jones's A Modern Way To Cook and River Cottage Veg Everyday for this, and we picked up Cook Nourish Glow last week while grocery shopping to dip into as well. You know when James lets me buy a healthy cookbook during the weekly shop that it has got serious!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window and Disappeared - I have joined a new reading group so I am reading this in readiness!
Eating: Tea and Cake, James and I are having a little day out sofa shopping on saturday and have already decided we will have a little treat in the middle.
Spending my time: In the down moments I plan to organise my recipe books (possibly a post to come there) and making note of all our favourite recipes and which page they are on because it is a pain to try and remember where each one is. This blog isn't called The Librarian for nothin'!
Have a fantastic weekend! :)
]]>
So this week has been a mixed bag of highs and lows, I have kept on top of my anxiety consistently and feel strong, however I have had a couple of blips, and I have some big events coming up that I know are going to challenge me, so I am going to try and keep this blogging thing rolling throughout that. Slow and steady wins this particular race at the moment.
But lets just have a little moment to "Yay!" that in posting this I managed to reach my monthly goal of two posts this month, who knows I might even manage three! I am excited!
So without further a do, here is what has made this week shine...
- Laughing out loud.
I am that person that rarely laughs out loud, I occasionally will do a sort of Marge Simpson chuckle, but a real belly laugh doesn't happen often for me, especially lately. Well tis past weekend I did a lot of this, we spent the evening in Leeds with some friends to celebrate James's birthday (28! Where have the years gone, one of our friends reminded me he will be 30 next year!) and we had a fab time, eating great food, bowling (i lost by a large margin), shooting pool and generally having a good time. It was like the ultimate treat for my brain.
- Capsule Wardobe-ing. Sort of.
I say sort of because I haven't gone whole hog on this, but I cleared out probably half of my wardrobe in the past week. Got rid of lots of things that no longer fit, were no longer my style and I just didn't reach for. It has been So. Damn. Cleansing. I hadn't realised quite how much I was carrying around with me just by owning lots of clothing that didn't make me feel happy.
I haven't gone so far as to take out of season things out of my wardrobe because our weather is so changeable but it is nice to look in there and know that I am happy to wear everything.
- Finding my planner groove, and creating new designs.
I am going to try really hard not to turn this whole blog into planner central, because the whole point of a lifestyle blog is that it covers multiple topics, but I am really loving my setup right now and am seriously considering doing a post or video about it. Going back to the DIY inserts i mentioned in my last post has been like coming home, they are perfectly tailored for how my mind works and I do a little happy dance whenever I use them. Something about this just makes me want to create, I have always been a creative person but right now I find myself reaching for a pen whenever I have a minute of downtime and that never fails to bring a smile to my face.
- US P.O.Boxes
This is a weird one and completely superficial but if, like me, you are always lusting after things that do not ship out of the continental US, you need to check out Vyking Ship. They effectively provide you with a US address, you have all your bits and bobs sent to it and they consolidate them and send them on to you. It is absolutely fantastic for those items you have to remove from your cart because they don't ship them overseas. I have used a couple of these companies for materials for the shop and by far Vyking Ship is the best, their customer service is amazing, they photograph everything they receive at no extra cost and the forwarding costs so far have been the cheapest. (This isn't sponsored, but if you do want to set up an account with them you can get $5 off your first shipment by putting 4159 in the referral box) It is life changing! Currently I have Rifle Paper Co, Papersource, Sephora and Madewell orders planned for after my Birthday.
- Healthy eating. Big time!
This one sort of leads on from my last one where I mentioned my morning smoothie. James and I have made a promise to ourselves that we are going to make more of an effort to eat clean. We aren't going full on whole30 or back to paleo, but we are making sure at least half of our weeknight meals are healthier. So far I am loving Jamie's Everyday Super Food, Anna Jones's A Modern Way To Cook and River Cottage Veg Everyday for this, and we picked up Cook Nourish Glow last week while grocery shopping to dip into as well. You know when James lets me buy a healthy cookbook during the weekly shop that it has got serious!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out Of The Window and Disappeared - I have joined a new reading group so I am reading this in readiness!
Eating: Tea and Cake, James and I are having a little day out sofa shopping on saturday and have already decided we will have a little treat in the middle.
Spending my time: In the down moments I plan to organise my recipe books (possibly a post to come there) and making note of all our favourite recipes and which page they are on because it is a pain to try and remember where each one is. This blog isn't called The Librarian for nothin'!
Have a fantastic weekend! :)
]]>
This week has been really interesting for me, I have felt happy and light and in control in a way I haven't for a very long time, so I wanted to document those happy moments with a post to ease myself back into things a bit. Here is what has made me happy this week.
- The Sunshine! There is absolutely no doubt that sunshine has been a big contributor to my mood this week, it has felt bright and like spring is nearly here, and i cannot get enough of that feeling.
- Lemon water and green smoothies. I have been trying to get myself back on track for the past month health wise, i have been cycling on our indoor bike most days and going for the odd walk when it wasn't too damp or wet (asthma hell when it is!) but still something wasn't quite right and in my heart of hearts i knew it was what i was putting into my body. I had been watching a few of Ashley from That is All's videos on youtube as we share a love for Rifle Paper Co. and she mentioned a while back that she had started a detox plan where she was drinking lemon water in the morning and shared a recipe for a great green smoothie. Now i love baked goods far too much to go whole hog on this but i have implemented drinking lemon water on the regular and making sure i have a few green smoothies a week and I am feeling full of energy so I will be keeping it up!
- Planning in my Kikki K planner. I received my Kikki K wellness planner at the beginning of February and it has taken me a while to figure out how i wanted to set it up. I knew i didn't want to use the inserts that came in it as I am using a smaller planner as a wellness planner, but what i really love are the Inkwell Press inserts, unfortunately they 1. don't currently ship to the UK and 2. are completely sold out, so I had to improvise.
After a lot of mooching on pinterest and instagram i think i have it just how i want it. I made myself some watercolour and floral themed inserts and used Rifle Paper Co wrapping paper (bought from MoonKo, my new favourite shop in Sheffield) to make dividers and I think I have found peace. I still love my Erin Condren planners for journalling and memory keeping, but day to day I am loving my Kikki K! As soon as Inkwell press release new inserts though i am on that!!
- Finding my reading mojo again. This is the big one really, I have really let my reading habit slip over the past few months, and when i was reading I wasn't enjoying it as much, i didn't become deeply emersed in the fictional world while reading which is the thing i love most about it. Over the past few weeks I have read some great books that have got me back into that groove, and I am back to updating my Goodreads again. Mainly I have been reading on my iPad but I have also been loving audiobooks for while my hands are busy or i am driving, I am currently working my way through the Harry Potter books using Audible, I signed up and got a free first credit and now I am officially hooked!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch, its a real hoot!
Eating: Cinnamon rolls, I have been meaning to bake them for weeks!
Spending my time: Relaxing with family, my sister and her partner and my aunt are back home to visit so we have a family meal to cook and its mothers day!
I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
]]>
This week has been really interesting for me, I have felt happy and light and in control in a way I haven't for a very long time, so I wanted to document those happy moments with a post to ease myself back into things a bit. Here is what has made me happy this week.
- The Sunshine! There is absolutely no doubt that sunshine has been a big contributor to my mood this week, it has felt bright and like spring is nearly here, and i cannot get enough of that feeling.
- Lemon water and green smoothies. I have been trying to get myself back on track for the past month health wise, i have been cycling on our indoor bike most days and going for the odd walk when it wasn't too damp or wet (asthma hell when it is!) but still something wasn't quite right and in my heart of hearts i knew it was what i was putting into my body. I had been watching a few of Ashley from That is All's videos on youtube as we share a love for Rifle Paper Co. and she mentioned a while back that she had started a detox plan where she was drinking lemon water in the morning and shared a recipe for a great green smoothie. Now i love baked goods far too much to go whole hog on this but i have implemented drinking lemon water on the regular and making sure i have a few green smoothies a week and I am feeling full of energy so I will be keeping it up!
- Planning in my Kikki K planner. I received my Kikki K wellness planner at the beginning of February and it has taken me a while to figure out how i wanted to set it up. I knew i didn't want to use the inserts that came in it as I am using a smaller planner as a wellness planner, but what i really love are the Inkwell Press inserts, unfortunately they 1. don't currently ship to the UK and 2. are completely sold out, so I had to improvise.
After a lot of mooching on pinterest and instagram i think i have it just how i want it. I made myself some watercolour and floral themed inserts and used Rifle Paper Co wrapping paper (bought from MoonKo, my new favourite shop in Sheffield) to make dividers and I think I have found peace. I still love my Erin Condren planners for journalling and memory keeping, but day to day I am loving my Kikki K! As soon as Inkwell press release new inserts though i am on that!!
- Finding my reading mojo again. This is the big one really, I have really let my reading habit slip over the past few months, and when i was reading I wasn't enjoying it as much, i didn't become deeply emersed in the fictional world while reading which is the thing i love most about it. Over the past few weeks I have read some great books that have got me back into that groove, and I am back to updating my Goodreads again. Mainly I have been reading on my iPad but I have also been loving audiobooks for while my hands are busy or i am driving, I am currently working my way through the Harry Potter books using Audible, I signed up and got a free first credit and now I am officially hooked!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch, its a real hoot!
Eating: Cinnamon rolls, I have been meaning to bake them for weeks!
Spending my time: Relaxing with family, my sister and her partner and my aunt are back home to visit so we have a family meal to cook and its mothers day!
I hope you have a fabulous weekend!
]]>
So in case you missed it, I have been a little absent lately, if you follow my social media it may not have appeared so, but definitely in this little space I have been. I wasn't sure whether to write about it or not because I generally try and keep this a jolly little place but I realised that in order for 2016 to be different I need to discuss what happened, I need to process how I have been affected and develop a way to control it. Also being honest, blogging is one of my "homeworks" (I'll get into that more soon).
For pretty much the whole of 2015 I had been struggling with ever increasing stress. I can't remember when it started, probably I have been stressed for a long time but over the past year it has continued to increase, and has now morphed into anxiety. I know anxiety seems to be the thing to have at the moment, but I wanted to share my experience. As young professionals it is so easy to become overwhelmed, and it is important to understand your limits.
You may recall that at the end of 2014 I had a major allergic reaction, I had hives covering my whole body and was in A&E twice in 24 hours unable to breathe., as a result of that I have been on a high dose of anti-histamines ever since. That allergic reaction also triggered (I'm not a doctor so forgive me if this is wrong, but it is my understanding) underlying mild asthma, previously so mild i didn't even know i had it, and made it into a roaring monster, that was why I couldn't breathe.
It took several months to try and sort out my medication, get me to the point where I could breathe when outside in the cold, and still now if it rains my capacities are vastly reduced. My fitness was obliterated but me being me I kept trying to find ways I could keep moving, countryside walks, cycling in the summer, and an exercise bike for the colder damper days.
Now I can understand why you may be thinking "so what?" at this point, lots of people have asthma, but to go from being perfectly healthy and full of life to not even being able to go out to the dustbin without taking your inhaler is hard. Really hard. All of this I generally managed, I am a highly organised individual and I generally had a schedule to manage.
On top of my health issues I was also going through a crazy time at work, I've mentioned several times about big projects I had been working on, and they have been constant for the past year, the past 6 months particularly so. I had also been covering two full time jobs, my own and a maternity leave cover, and although I do not blame my work because we were all very stretched and understaffed, I did not have enough support.
I went on holiday at the end of August, a trip which should have been a break, a trip my family and I have been dreaming of for years, but as we were going to Florida it was pretty full on. We crammed as much into a week as possible, and the combination of exhaustion, jet lag and working right up until the night before we flew left me spinning out of control. My carefully maintained control over my world was thrown out of balance and as much as i desperately attempted to claw it back I could not.
My stress levels were so high when i came back from my holiday that I kept believing I was having asthma attacks, which turned out to be panic attacks and eventually I was so unable to cope that i broke down and sobbed in the stack at work with my team around me. They were amazing, and told me enough was enough and it was time to do something about the situation. I couldn't cope, I had lost all concentration and my memory was a black hole.
After seeing my doctor they diagnosed work based stress and I had to be referred to occupational health, work were pretty good at this point, I was determined to keep going for as long as I could because the nature of my job is that if I am not there to do it there is no-one else to pick up the slack, It is just waiting when you come back so taking time off just made me panic all the more. Carefully I managed my workload and learnt to delegate and prioritise it properly. Now two months on I am awaiting my first CBT appointment, my workload has been reduced by my maternity leave colleague returning and I am beginning to know when I am pushing myself too hard.
Throughout all of this I lost the ability to do the things I loved, the only one I kept up was my Etsy shop (because I knew if i closed that I would be admitting defeat) I stopped blogging, I stopped reading, I stopped baking or cooking anything except a cycle of repeated basics. My personal library grew dusty and for the first time in my life I could be found sitting staring mindlessly at the television for stretches at a time (I'm really not a TV person, this was a bad sign!)
As part of my CBT homework getting back to those things I love is on the cards, I have spent my christmas break reading christmas mysteries, baking cookies and mince pies and dipping my toe back into the online world in a real way. I have filmed a few snippets of my break which I hope to turn into a vlog (though I don't talk in it, because I forgot to, duh!) and maybe that will be something that will develop a little more during 2016. I am thriving designing items for my shop and hope to grow into making greetings cards this year, and finally, I want to write. I want to share adventures and happy moments and I hope that you will share with me.
See you soon!
]]>
So in case you missed it, I have been a little absent lately, if you follow my social media it may not have appeared so, but definitely in this little space I have been. I wasn't sure whether to write about it or not because I generally try and keep this a jolly little place but I realised that in order for 2016 to be different I need to discuss what happened, I need to process how I have been affected and develop a way to control it. Also being honest, blogging is one of my "homeworks" (I'll get into that more soon).
For pretty much the whole of 2015 I had been struggling with ever increasing stress. I can't remember when it started, probably I have been stressed for a long time but over the past year it has continued to increase, and has now morphed into anxiety. I know anxiety seems to be the thing to have at the moment, but I wanted to share my experience. As young professionals it is so easy to become overwhelmed, and it is important to understand your limits.
You may recall that at the end of 2014 I had a major allergic reaction, I had hives covering my whole body and was in A&E twice in 24 hours unable to breathe., as a result of that I have been on a high dose of anti-histamines ever since. That allergic reaction also triggered (I'm not a doctor so forgive me if this is wrong, but it is my understanding) underlying mild asthma, previously so mild i didn't even know i had it, and made it into a roaring monster, that was why I couldn't breathe.
It took several months to try and sort out my medication, get me to the point where I could breathe when outside in the cold, and still now if it rains my capacities are vastly reduced. My fitness was obliterated but me being me I kept trying to find ways I could keep moving, countryside walks, cycling in the summer, and an exercise bike for the colder damper days.
Now I can understand why you may be thinking "so what?" at this point, lots of people have asthma, but to go from being perfectly healthy and full of life to not even being able to go out to the dustbin without taking your inhaler is hard. Really hard. All of this I generally managed, I am a highly organised individual and I generally had a schedule to manage.
On top of my health issues I was also going through a crazy time at work, I've mentioned several times about big projects I had been working on, and they have been constant for the past year, the past 6 months particularly so. I had also been covering two full time jobs, my own and a maternity leave cover, and although I do not blame my work because we were all very stretched and understaffed, I did not have enough support.
I went on holiday at the end of August, a trip which should have been a break, a trip my family and I have been dreaming of for years, but as we were going to Florida it was pretty full on. We crammed as much into a week as possible, and the combination of exhaustion, jet lag and working right up until the night before we flew left me spinning out of control. My carefully maintained control over my world was thrown out of balance and as much as i desperately attempted to claw it back I could not.
My stress levels were so high when i came back from my holiday that I kept believing I was having asthma attacks, which turned out to be panic attacks and eventually I was so unable to cope that i broke down and sobbed in the stack at work with my team around me. They were amazing, and told me enough was enough and it was time to do something about the situation. I couldn't cope, I had lost all concentration and my memory was a black hole.
After seeing my doctor they diagnosed work based stress and I had to be referred to occupational health, work were pretty good at this point, I was determined to keep going for as long as I could because the nature of my job is that if I am not there to do it there is no-one else to pick up the slack, It is just waiting when you come back so taking time off just made me panic all the more. Carefully I managed my workload and learnt to delegate and prioritise it properly. Now two months on I am awaiting my first CBT appointment, my workload has been reduced by my maternity leave colleague returning and I am beginning to know when I am pushing myself too hard.
Throughout all of this I lost the ability to do the things I loved, the only one I kept up was my Etsy shop (because I knew if i closed that I would be admitting defeat) I stopped blogging, I stopped reading, I stopped baking or cooking anything except a cycle of repeated basics. My personal library grew dusty and for the first time in my life I could be found sitting staring mindlessly at the television for stretches at a time (I'm really not a TV person, this was a bad sign!)
As part of my CBT homework getting back to those things I love is on the cards, I have spent my christmas break reading christmas mysteries, baking cookies and mince pies and dipping my toe back into the online world in a real way. I have filmed a few snippets of my break which I hope to turn into a vlog (though I don't talk in it, because I forgot to, duh!) and maybe that will be something that will develop a little more during 2016. I am thriving designing items for my shop and hope to grow into making greetings cards this year, and finally, I want to write. I want to share adventures and happy moments and I hope that you will share with me.
See you soon!
]]>
So, lets kick off all things holiday with my prep beforehand. I think I have mentioned before that I hadn't been on a proper out of this country holiday for many many years before we went to Florida. Usually in that sort of position i would have been hyper organised, researching everything under the sun. I bought the guide books but didn't have time to read them, I scouted out shopping locations but didn't really figure out what i wanted to buy, and I had a mountain of paperwork for the journey. I really felt like my prep skills were way off! I even did a mad last minute dash around the shops a week or so beforehand and I may have had to buy a new suitcase the night before I went!
One thing I did remember to prepare for was the beauty side of things. I suppose it is the blogger in me, I wanted to make sure my skin was ready. I did a bit of research and picked up a couple of new things on the market to try out, as well as using some old favourites.
St Tropez in shower gradual tan sounded like an absolute life saver to me. I absolutely hate waiting for body moisturiser to sink in, so was not enjoying every day applications. I have to admit though, as much as I loved the concept of this it streaked every single time. Maybe if you have an amazing extractor fan in your bathroom and it doesn't get all foggy in there you would be ok, but I found the moisture in the air just made this stuff run down my legs. I ended up going back to my old faithful, St Tropez Everyday gradual tan instead. If you are very fair skinned, the sort that burns before it tans, this is the most natural colour for a tanning product I have found. It is more expensive than say the Dove version, but I find this to sink in fairly quickly, apply evenly and the colour that develops is never too far towards any colour spectrum. It just looks natural.
One product I knew I would have to break out was the Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream. My feet are not my favourite feature and though i try my best to keep them in tip top condition, a couple of months of wearing my Birkenstocks had left them a bit dry on the heels. This stuff is great though, within a couple of applications I thought my toes were pretty much flip flop worthy! I would definitely recommend this one.
To go along with the treatment my feet were getting, I gave my toes a bit of a polish too. I wanted something soft that complimented my planned outfits so went for this Essie number, Salt Water Happy from the summer collection. I always think you can't go wrong with Essie, they are my favourite brand and their polish stays on my toes for weeks. I picked up their Gel Setter top coat to go with this, and I really like it, it goes on slightly thicker than a normal polish and when capping the ends of your nails really does seem to last longer without chipping.
I am a fan of gel nail polish, I don't get my nails done regularly because i worry it will ruin them but I did get a gel manicure a few days before my holiday. Unfortunately one pesky nail just would not stay on, I hate when the polish splits and peels, so i had to perform a hasty removal late on the night before our flight! At that point it was Essie to the rescue, a light slick of polish had me looking neat and holiday ready again.
This Veet Spawax stripless wax kit was the thing I was most excited to try before my holiday. I had heard so much about it and as I am no stranger to at home hair removal I loved the idea of this, you melt the wax, smooth it on and pull it off, the wax itself acts as the strip!
I had been prepping my legs well for a few weeks before hand with my favourite body scrub, the Soap and Glory Breakfast Scrub as I was regularly tanning by that point, and I wasn't worried about this hurting as I regularly epilate my legs. My first few goes I used this on my legs and underarms and though it was great for use on my legs, I wouldn't try my underarms again. The main problem I had was applying the wax thickly enough and consistently so that it formed a complete strip. This was easy to do after a couple of tries on a long flat surface like your legs, but applying it to the underarms meant it was uneven and I kept managing to rip it in half when removing, which became quite painful. If you are thinking of investing in this, by all means do, but be prepared to practice!
Overall I was a little disappointed by some of these, and I do sort of wish I had stuck to my old faithfuls, but then if you can't try new things when you're going on holiday, when can you?!
Do you have a set holiday prep routine that you have down to an art or are you like me, bumbling along trying to cram too much in?
]]>
So, lets kick off all things holiday with my prep beforehand. I think I have mentioned before that I hadn't been on a proper out of this country holiday for many many years before we went to Florida. Usually in that sort of position i would have been hyper organised, researching everything under the sun. I bought the guide books but didn't have time to read them, I scouted out shopping locations but didn't really figure out what i wanted to buy, and I had a mountain of paperwork for the journey. I really felt like my prep skills were way off! I even did a mad last minute dash around the shops a week or so beforehand and I may have had to buy a new suitcase the night before I went!
One thing I did remember to prepare for was the beauty side of things. I suppose it is the blogger in me, I wanted to make sure my skin was ready. I did a bit of research and picked up a couple of new things on the market to try out, as well as using some old favourites.
St Tropez in shower gradual tan sounded like an absolute life saver to me. I absolutely hate waiting for body moisturiser to sink in, so was not enjoying every day applications. I have to admit though, as much as I loved the concept of this it streaked every single time. Maybe if you have an amazing extractor fan in your bathroom and it doesn't get all foggy in there you would be ok, but I found the moisture in the air just made this stuff run down my legs. I ended up going back to my old faithful, St Tropez Everyday gradual tan instead. If you are very fair skinned, the sort that burns before it tans, this is the most natural colour for a tanning product I have found. It is more expensive than say the Dove version, but I find this to sink in fairly quickly, apply evenly and the colour that develops is never too far towards any colour spectrum. It just looks natural.
One product I knew I would have to break out was the Burt's Bees Coconut Foot Cream. My feet are not my favourite feature and though i try my best to keep them in tip top condition, a couple of months of wearing my Birkenstocks had left them a bit dry on the heels. This stuff is great though, within a couple of applications I thought my toes were pretty much flip flop worthy! I would definitely recommend this one.
To go along with the treatment my feet were getting, I gave my toes a bit of a polish too. I wanted something soft that complimented my planned outfits so went for this Essie number, Salt Water Happy from the summer collection. I always think you can't go wrong with Essie, they are my favourite brand and their polish stays on my toes for weeks. I picked up their Gel Setter top coat to go with this, and I really like it, it goes on slightly thicker than a normal polish and when capping the ends of your nails really does seem to last longer without chipping.
I am a fan of gel nail polish, I don't get my nails done regularly because i worry it will ruin them but I did get a gel manicure a few days before my holiday. Unfortunately one pesky nail just would not stay on, I hate when the polish splits and peels, so i had to perform a hasty removal late on the night before our flight! At that point it was Essie to the rescue, a light slick of polish had me looking neat and holiday ready again.
This Veet Spawax stripless wax kit was the thing I was most excited to try before my holiday. I had heard so much about it and as I am no stranger to at home hair removal I loved the idea of this, you melt the wax, smooth it on and pull it off, the wax itself acts as the strip!
I had been prepping my legs well for a few weeks before hand with my favourite body scrub, the Soap and Glory Breakfast Scrub as I was regularly tanning by that point, and I wasn't worried about this hurting as I regularly epilate my legs. My first few goes I used this on my legs and underarms and though it was great for use on my legs, I wouldn't try my underarms again. The main problem I had was applying the wax thickly enough and consistently so that it formed a complete strip. This was easy to do after a couple of tries on a long flat surface like your legs, but applying it to the underarms meant it was uneven and I kept managing to rip it in half when removing, which became quite painful. If you are thinking of investing in this, by all means do, but be prepared to practice!
Overall I was a little disappointed by some of these, and I do sort of wish I had stuck to my old faithfuls, but then if you can't try new things when you're going on holiday, when can you?!
Do you have a set holiday prep routine that you have down to an art or are you like me, bumbling along trying to cram too much in?
]]>If you follow any of my social media channels it will not come as a surprise to hear that I like coffee, I like it sweet and syrupy, I like it full bodied and artfully decorated, and I like it iced with whipped cream. I have built myself a little Sunday morning routine lately, it tends to be the day I do the most work on my shop and I like to get up early so that I can get plenty done. My first stop has become coffee, a steaming mug sweetened with a syrup or a drizzle, either brewed in my mocha pot or run through my fancy espresso machine. It has become a Sunday morning tradition.
I love my little Sunday routine, but I will be honest a few months ago I rarely drank coffee it didn't come in a branded cup. I am really picky, I hate instant coffee, even the fanciest brands just don't get it right when it comes to instant coffee (no offence to Littles, my go to for instant, it is probably our hard water that still makes it taste funky). I often would be too lazy to make proper coffee at home, I hadn't perfected the art of steaming my coconut milk just right, so I would simply go without, I classed myself as a tea drinker and that was that. When Beanies asked if I wanted to try their coffee, I thought i would give it a try but I didn't have high hopes, I didn't think it would make me a regular coffee drinker.
My ground coffee game changed the day I received my parcel. I am officially the girl that uses a cafetiere and takes up a whole shelf in the kitchen cupboard at the office, I wander back and forth with my little Bodum pot wafting amazing smelling real coffee around. This stuff was that good that i didn't care if it looked pretentious!
The flavour I got was Pecan Pie, I love pecan pie, this coffee had some strong memories to live up to and man did it blow me away. I honestly cannot get over the smell!! I can't help it, whenever I open this bag I have to have a sniff, I drink my coffee sniffing before every sip. It truly smells amazing, and the best part about the smell is that it actually translates into true flavour.
Though Beanies did send me this bag to try, I have since picked up the cinder toffee ground coffee from the supermarket (also amazing!), and I am itching to try some more flavours. I currently have Irish coffee, christmas pudding and death by chocolate all sitting in my basket on their website waiting for me to hit the button.
For now I am rapidly working my way through this bag, and finally feeling like i have found my at home coffee fix!
Have you tried Beanies coffee? Do you have any other amazing brands you recommend I try?
]]>
If you follow any of my social media channels it will not come as a surprise to hear that I like coffee, I like it sweet and syrupy, I like it full bodied and artfully decorated, and I like it iced with whipped cream. I have built myself a little Sunday morning routine lately, it tends to be the day I do the most work on my shop and I like to get up early so that I can get plenty done. My first stop has become coffee, a steaming mug sweetened with a syrup or a drizzle, either brewed in my mocha pot or run through my fancy espresso machine. It has become a Sunday morning tradition.
I love my little Sunday routine, but I will be honest a few months ago I rarely drank coffee it didn't come in a branded cup. I am really picky, I hate instant coffee, even the fanciest brands just don't get it right when it comes to instant coffee (no offence to Littles, my go to for instant, it is probably our hard water that still makes it taste funky). I often would be too lazy to make proper coffee at home, I hadn't perfected the art of steaming my coconut milk just right, so I would simply go without, I classed myself as a tea drinker and that was that. When Beanies asked if I wanted to try their coffee, I thought i would give it a try but I didn't have high hopes, I didn't think it would make me a regular coffee drinker.
My ground coffee game changed the day I received my parcel. I am officially the girl that uses a cafetiere and takes up a whole shelf in the kitchen cupboard at the office, I wander back and forth with my little Bodum pot wafting amazing smelling real coffee around. This stuff was that good that i didn't care if it looked pretentious!
The flavour I got was Pecan Pie, I love pecan pie, this coffee had some strong memories to live up to and man did it blow me away. I honestly cannot get over the smell!! I can't help it, whenever I open this bag I have to have a sniff, I drink my coffee sniffing before every sip. It truly smells amazing, and the best part about the smell is that it actually translates into true flavour.
Though Beanies did send me this bag to try, I have since picked up the cinder toffee ground coffee from the supermarket (also amazing!), and I am itching to try some more flavours. I currently have Irish coffee, christmas pudding and death by chocolate all sitting in my basket on their website waiting for me to hit the button.
For now I am rapidly working my way through this bag, and finally feeling like i have found my at home coffee fix!
Have you tried Beanies coffee? Do you have any other amazing brands you recommend I try?
]]>
It is pretty safe to say that August was a really busy month for me, one of the busiest I have experienced in a long time, and I have found it oh so very hard to get back into my normal routine.
I had a crazy busy month in the shop and received over 50 orders! For only opening in July I was super proud of that, and it kept me really busy. In the run up to my holiday Bert had to be dashed to the Vets as we thought he had lost an eye (he hadn't thankfully!) and we had a major crisis at work and my line manager was on holiday. All pretty stressful stuff. Add a whirlwind holiday on top and you have the recipe for needing a week in bed.
At the moment I find myself sat at the computer staring at it, mind completely blank. I forget to do things, like season the pork for today's dinner. I am really hoping that at some point soon jet lag will finally die a death (today is the first day since I got home where I have actually managed to stay awake through the whole afternoon) I will get back into my work groove and finally start creating again.
I have about 4 different going on holiday posts planned, a Sephora haul, a carry on post etc. I am going to space them out though so this space doesn't get too florida heavy. If you are the sort of person who doesn't holiday much and then oh my god is going on holiday in less than 2 months and hasn't done anything at all, then these will be for you, as that was me in a nutshell. I hadn't been on a flying somewhere holiday for about 7 years, and I chose to try and cram Florida into a week. Mad I know! My experience was that I a) overpacked b) didn't plan enough and c) needed to get far more rest prior to the trip. I will go into it all in another post, but it sure was an experience!
I have put a few things in place ready for that time when my brain will kick into gear and I will start needing to make things. I ordered some studio lights the other day, something I have been considering for a while. Our home, though lovely, isn't ideally suited to taking photos, when I take the shots for my midweek meals series I am actually cooking them on a midweek evening, I often have to adjust the exposure as the evening ticks on. I have also been seriously considering getting back into youtube for a while, mainly to have another outlet for my planner loving side, but there is nowhere I can film with consistent lighting while I spend an hour sticking stickers in my diary, so lights have been purchased, they should be here next week.
Speaking of planner stuff I may have gone a little craft crazy and stocked up on a few art supplies, I have so many ideas bubbling in my head, I just currently lack the concentration to actually doodle them. My shop, which you will now see has a button on the sidebar, will also feature in a special blog post, where I go through how I opened it. I really struggled to find the info i needed when I opened, so I thought talking through my experience would be useful.
So, readers old and new, lots planned, fingers crossed I manage it all this September!
]]>
It is pretty safe to say that August was a really busy month for me, one of the busiest I have experienced in a long time, and I have found it oh so very hard to get back into my normal routine.
I had a crazy busy month in the shop and received over 50 orders! For only opening in July I was super proud of that, and it kept me really busy. In the run up to my holiday Bert had to be dashed to the Vets as we thought he had lost an eye (he hadn't thankfully!) and we had a major crisis at work and my line manager was on holiday. All pretty stressful stuff. Add a whirlwind holiday on top and you have the recipe for needing a week in bed.
At the moment I find myself sat at the computer staring at it, mind completely blank. I forget to do things, like season the pork for today's dinner. I am really hoping that at some point soon jet lag will finally die a death (today is the first day since I got home where I have actually managed to stay awake through the whole afternoon) I will get back into my work groove and finally start creating again.
I have about 4 different going on holiday posts planned, a Sephora haul, a carry on post etc. I am going to space them out though so this space doesn't get too florida heavy. If you are the sort of person who doesn't holiday much and then oh my god is going on holiday in less than 2 months and hasn't done anything at all, then these will be for you, as that was me in a nutshell. I hadn't been on a flying somewhere holiday for about 7 years, and I chose to try and cram Florida into a week. Mad I know! My experience was that I a) overpacked b) didn't plan enough and c) needed to get far more rest prior to the trip. I will go into it all in another post, but it sure was an experience!
I have put a few things in place ready for that time when my brain will kick into gear and I will start needing to make things. I ordered some studio lights the other day, something I have been considering for a while. Our home, though lovely, isn't ideally suited to taking photos, when I take the shots for my midweek meals series I am actually cooking them on a midweek evening, I often have to adjust the exposure as the evening ticks on. I have also been seriously considering getting back into youtube for a while, mainly to have another outlet for my planner loving side, but there is nowhere I can film with consistent lighting while I spend an hour sticking stickers in my diary, so lights have been purchased, they should be here next week.
Speaking of planner stuff I may have gone a little craft crazy and stocked up on a few art supplies, I have so many ideas bubbling in my head, I just currently lack the concentration to actually doodle them. My shop, which you will now see has a button on the sidebar, will also feature in a special blog post, where I go through how I opened it. I really struggled to find the info i needed when I opened, so I thought talking through my experience would be useful.
So, readers old and new, lots planned, fingers crossed I manage it all this September!
]]>
So this weeks midweek is technically closer to the weekend, but I wanted to hold back because I am making this today for our tea and thought for some weird reason that meant I had to post it on the same day. Weird right?
Today we have my all time favourite comfort food, the food I judge a restaurant by, the beautifully simple creation that can make a rubbish day better, Macaroni Cheese. If this is on the menu, I order it. It has completely put me off many a restaurant loved by all (Byron's Mac is awful, burgers good, mac not so). If i don't know what to make for tea and is raining outside I reach for my cheese.
This recipe is absurdly simple, and open to variation. I have only two stipulations, you must use at least one of each type of cheese, and you must add a large grind of black pepper. Trust me.
You will need:
50g plain flour
50g butter
700ml milk
400g macaroni
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon chopped into slices
1 pot cream cheese
1 small block of strong relatively hard cheese (I use Extra mature cheddar)
1 block hard pungent cheese
Black pepper.
- Start frying your bacon, you need it low and slow that it goes really crispy and the fat renders.
- Set your macaroni on to boil in oiled and salted water.
- In a saucepan, melt your butter over a low heat. Once melted add your flour and stir, cook for a few minutes before gradually adding the milk. Stir all of the milk into the flour/butter paste before adding more.
- Grate your cheeses. I have not specified amounts for these because it entirely depends how cheesy you like your macaroni cheese, what is absolutely essential is that you use a minimum of 3 cheeses, soft cream cheese, extra mature cheddar and parmesan are the basics. I often use more, adding gruyere and goats cheese into mine (I do not recommend blue cheese such as stilton or dolchelatte), the basics will do if you don't have more to hand though, and you need a ratio of 1 part parmesan to 2 parts soft cheese to 3 parts cheddar.
- Once all of the milk is incorporated, mix in your grated cheeses. Remove the pan from the heat and stir, letting the residual heat melt it all together.
- Add your bacon, and this is important, also add the rendered bacon grease into the mix. you are not going to add any salt to the sauce so you need as much of that bacon flavour as possible. Stir.
- Drain your pasta and add your completed sauce to the pan the pasta was cooking in. The little bits of residual starch water in the pan will help make the dish super smooth.
- Now the most important step of all. Pepper. Do not skimp on this step, it is important to add this once everything is mixed together so that you can taste it as you go and get the right amount. I like mine to be highly speckled once stirred, and for the heat to complement the sharpness of the cheese. In all honesty, all macaroni cheese is inferior if it does not contain a good grind of pepper.
I make a huge batch of this and attempt to store it for a few days, usually it lasts until the next day if I am lucky, sometimes James eats it all before i even get a leftovers packed lunch out of it!
Let me know if you have a favourite cheese combo for this in the comments!
]]>
So this weeks midweek is technically closer to the weekend, but I wanted to hold back because I am making this today for our tea and thought for some weird reason that meant I had to post it on the same day. Weird right?
Today we have my all time favourite comfort food, the food I judge a restaurant by, the beautifully simple creation that can make a rubbish day better, Macaroni Cheese. If this is on the menu, I order it. It has completely put me off many a restaurant loved by all (Byron's Mac is awful, burgers good, mac not so). If i don't know what to make for tea and is raining outside I reach for my cheese.
This recipe is absurdly simple, and open to variation. I have only two stipulations, you must use at least one of each type of cheese, and you must add a large grind of black pepper. Trust me.
You will need:
50g plain flour
50g butter
700ml milk
400g macaroni
6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon chopped into slices
1 pot cream cheese
1 small block of strong relatively hard cheese (I use Extra mature cheddar)
1 block hard pungent cheese
Black pepper.
- Start frying your bacon, you need it low and slow that it goes really crispy and the fat renders.
- Set your macaroni on to boil in oiled and salted water.
- In a saucepan, melt your butter over a low heat. Once melted add your flour and stir, cook for a few minutes before gradually adding the milk. Stir all of the milk into the flour/butter paste before adding more.
- Grate your cheeses. I have not specified amounts for these because it entirely depends how cheesy you like your macaroni cheese, what is absolutely essential is that you use a minimum of 3 cheeses, soft cream cheese, extra mature cheddar and parmesan are the basics. I often use more, adding gruyere and goats cheese into mine (I do not recommend blue cheese such as stilton or dolchelatte), the basics will do if you don't have more to hand though, and you need a ratio of 1 part parmesan to 2 parts soft cheese to 3 parts cheddar.
- Once all of the milk is incorporated, mix in your grated cheeses. Remove the pan from the heat and stir, letting the residual heat melt it all together.
- Add your bacon, and this is important, also add the rendered bacon grease into the mix. you are not going to add any salt to the sauce so you need as much of that bacon flavour as possible. Stir.
- Drain your pasta and add your completed sauce to the pan the pasta was cooking in. The little bits of residual starch water in the pan will help make the dish super smooth.
- Now the most important step of all. Pepper. Do not skimp on this step, it is important to add this once everything is mixed together so that you can taste it as you go and get the right amount. I like mine to be highly speckled once stirred, and for the heat to complement the sharpness of the cheese. In all honesty, all macaroni cheese is inferior if it does not contain a good grind of pepper.
I make a huge batch of this and attempt to store it for a few days, usually it lasts until the next day if I am lucky, sometimes James eats it all before i even get a leftovers packed lunch out of it!
Let me know if you have a favourite cheese combo for this in the comments!
]]>
Good Morning everyone! (it is just about morning) How are you all?
Man have the past few weeks been hectic, I opened a shop, I have had multiple sales in said shop, I had no internet for a whole 4 days because someone cut the lines, I am considering making youtube videos again (if you are from really far back in the day, we are talking years, I used to do youtube) there have been celebrations with friends and family, days out and a whole lot of work, crowned with a miserable sick day last monday. It has been a bit of a whirlwind, but I have to admit I have never felt this good about what I am doing with my life, I feel creative and productive in new ways, I have realised that I am actually really good at something (drawing) and people like my stuff. Nothing can really explain how happy that has made me.
Today is a glorious day and I shall be spending most of it inside, unfortunate but necessary, as I have taken a long weekend off from work in order to get stuff done. I have a mountain of tasks I need to sort out for my shop, I am taking a break from finishing off my latest design as we speak (read?) and I have the mammoth task of getting ready for my summer holiday, which is in T-minus 22 days and I have nothing sorted, I haven't even made a list! I will be heading to my Mum's in a bit to sort out seats and boarding passes and what on earth I need to be taking with me, I am really so not a holiday person, I have been watching every holiday packing and carry on packing video on youtube, and maybe a few USA hauls to get ideas too. ; )
So a few things lately that have really made me euphorically happy:
- Opening my Easy shop, I went from "oh maybe i will do that" to "its open!" in the space of about a week, as an eternal procrastinator on the big things in life I honestly never really thought I would do it until I had done, it is the first time in my life I have really acted on a big complicated decision and I am so glad I did. Mr Branson was always one of my Dad's idols, and my Dad always used to get on at us to take chances and always say yes, I like to think he would be very proud of what I am doing right now.
- Sausage dogs, we visited our friends in Norfolk the other weekend and they have the most adorable sausages, and now I really really want one!
- Watercolour painting, I have never been one for paint, I am more of a doodler, but I have developed i real love for the soft edges of watercolour. I am planning a couple of little homey DIY's featuring the stuff.
- Lemon Vanilla Frappuccino's, I am almost ashamed to admit how many of these I have consumed in the past 2 weeks (five...) If you love lemon curd, lemon cheesecake, anything lemony and sweet, get yourself to Starbucks pronto!
- Lots of lovely new readers, It always gives me a little smile to get my Bloglovin' update! Welcome, have a seat, would you like a cup of tea and a biccy?
- Music! I have always loved music, I am a listener rather than a player, but i recently invested in a new set of headphones as Bert chewed through the wire on my old ones. I now have a new love and I will be featuring my favourite ways to listen in a special post on sunday.
- Spending time with my family, it was my Grandma's 80th birthday a couple of weekends ago, and it is rare for us all to get together. We had a gorgeous meal, there was a beautiful cake, and we all gathered the next day in my Grandma's front room just like when we were little. It warms my heart.
- The cups of tea that periodically arrive at my desk while I beaver away. I am eternally grateful for that man of mine, he has always said I should sell my creations and I never took him seriously, he is being very supportive about how time consuming setting up has been and I love him for it.
- Bert is officially a grown up cat, he had his first successful hunt the other day, and although i was grossed out and don't deal well with small dead rodents, I also felt quite proud, he has really developed from being the meekest creature ever into being a proper cat.
- Author talks in cosy settings. I went to see one of my favourite local authors (David Mark, brilliant crime writer if you are in the market for something new) speak at Lindum books last week, I have seen him before but he is always a joy, he is brutally honest about other authors, always has funny anecdotes to share and is so full of energy. Definitely worth checking out.
- My cousin visiting from New Zealand, we only see him about once a year, and he is always a hoot to be around!
- Tiny raspberries and Blueberries, perfectly ripe. I honestly thought I would get fruit from my plants this year, although they are only small harvests, they were delicious.
- Sending good old fashioned snail mail to my sister in New Jersey, all too often we iMessage, email or catch up via snapchat, it was nice to write to her.
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Something fluffy, I have finished my super secret project I have been working on so I can get back to normal reading!
Eating: Healthily, time to enjoy summer's harvest.
Doing: Visiting the angel of the north, fingers crossed the weather holds out!
Spending: lots of money on Holiday stuff I imagine!!
I am sure I could ramble on about more, but I will stop there for this update, fingers crossed I can get back in the swing of things, I have missed these little posts :)
Have a great weekend!
]]>
Good Morning everyone! (it is just about morning) How are you all?
Man have the past few weeks been hectic, I opened a shop, I have had multiple sales in said shop, I had no internet for a whole 4 days because someone cut the lines, I am considering making youtube videos again (if you are from really far back in the day, we are talking years, I used to do youtube) there have been celebrations with friends and family, days out and a whole lot of work, crowned with a miserable sick day last monday. It has been a bit of a whirlwind, but I have to admit I have never felt this good about what I am doing with my life, I feel creative and productive in new ways, I have realised that I am actually really good at something (drawing) and people like my stuff. Nothing can really explain how happy that has made me.
Today is a glorious day and I shall be spending most of it inside, unfortunate but necessary, as I have taken a long weekend off from work in order to get stuff done. I have a mountain of tasks I need to sort out for my shop, I am taking a break from finishing off my latest design as we speak (read?) and I have the mammoth task of getting ready for my summer holiday, which is in T-minus 22 days and I have nothing sorted, I haven't even made a list! I will be heading to my Mum's in a bit to sort out seats and boarding passes and what on earth I need to be taking with me, I am really so not a holiday person, I have been watching every holiday packing and carry on packing video on youtube, and maybe a few USA hauls to get ideas too. ; )
So a few things lately that have really made me euphorically happy:
- Opening my Easy shop, I went from "oh maybe i will do that" to "its open!" in the space of about a week, as an eternal procrastinator on the big things in life I honestly never really thought I would do it until I had done, it is the first time in my life I have really acted on a big complicated decision and I am so glad I did. Mr Branson was always one of my Dad's idols, and my Dad always used to get on at us to take chances and always say yes, I like to think he would be very proud of what I am doing right now.
- Sausage dogs, we visited our friends in Norfolk the other weekend and they have the most adorable sausages, and now I really really want one!
- Watercolour painting, I have never been one for paint, I am more of a doodler, but I have developed i real love for the soft edges of watercolour. I am planning a couple of little homey DIY's featuring the stuff.
- Lemon Vanilla Frappuccino's, I am almost ashamed to admit how many of these I have consumed in the past 2 weeks (five...) If you love lemon curd, lemon cheesecake, anything lemony and sweet, get yourself to Starbucks pronto!
- Lots of lovely new readers, It always gives me a little smile to get my Bloglovin' update! Welcome, have a seat, would you like a cup of tea and a biccy?
- Music! I have always loved music, I am a listener rather than a player, but i recently invested in a new set of headphones as Bert chewed through the wire on my old ones. I now have a new love and I will be featuring my favourite ways to listen in a special post on sunday.
- Spending time with my family, it was my Grandma's 80th birthday a couple of weekends ago, and it is rare for us all to get together. We had a gorgeous meal, there was a beautiful cake, and we all gathered the next day in my Grandma's front room just like when we were little. It warms my heart.
- The cups of tea that periodically arrive at my desk while I beaver away. I am eternally grateful for that man of mine, he has always said I should sell my creations and I never took him seriously, he is being very supportive about how time consuming setting up has been and I love him for it.
- Bert is officially a grown up cat, he had his first successful hunt the other day, and although i was grossed out and don't deal well with small dead rodents, I also felt quite proud, he has really developed from being the meekest creature ever into being a proper cat.
- Author talks in cosy settings. I went to see one of my favourite local authors (David Mark, brilliant crime writer if you are in the market for something new) speak at Lindum books last week, I have seen him before but he is always a joy, he is brutally honest about other authors, always has funny anecdotes to share and is so full of energy. Definitely worth checking out.
- My cousin visiting from New Zealand, we only see him about once a year, and he is always a hoot to be around!
- Tiny raspberries and Blueberries, perfectly ripe. I honestly thought I would get fruit from my plants this year, although they are only small harvests, they were delicious.
- Sending good old fashioned snail mail to my sister in New Jersey, all too often we iMessage, email or catch up via snapchat, it was nice to write to her.
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Something fluffy, I have finished my super secret project I have been working on so I can get back to normal reading!
Eating: Healthily, time to enjoy summer's harvest.
Doing: Visiting the angel of the north, fingers crossed the weather holds out!
Spending: lots of money on Holiday stuff I imagine!!
I am sure I could ramble on about more, but I will stop there for this update, fingers crossed I can get back in the swing of things, I have missed these little posts :)
Have a great weekend!
]]>Mangetout you have grown to be absolutely ferocious, you're everywhere despite your new larger poles and wires, but we forgive you, because you are delicious.
Strawberries, few, precious and delectably sweet. Next year do be more generous with your fruit.
Supermarket Basil, I thought you long past it but there are fresh new leaves on your tops.
I don't know if anyone has ever told you, but did you know, gardening can be mighty rewarding.
]]>
Mangetout you have grown to be absolutely ferocious, you're everywhere despite your new larger poles and wires, but we forgive you, because you are delicious.
Strawberries, few, precious and delectably sweet. Next year do be more generous with your fruit.
Supermarket Basil, I thought you long past it but there are fresh new leaves on your tops.
I don't know if anyone has ever told you, but did you know, gardening can be mighty rewarding.
]]>
What with all the nice weather we have been having James and I have been making an effort to have lighter, summery dinners, no easy feat when fish and poultry are excluded from the meal plan (James doesn't like them).
One of the meals I have been falling back on has been my variation on Jamie Oliver's Steak Sarnie. I am not usually a fan of sandwiches at all, his is pretty epic but we discovered that it can be made that little bit better with the addition of my favourite garlic mushrooms.
This is a bit of a luxe sandwich, no doubt about that, but if you want something really filling, a proper meal, but which isn't too hot or heavy for humid days this is a great one. Creamy mushrooms add depth to the meaty steak, while the peppery rocket and the fragrant peppers add a zing that cuts through and keeps things fresh. This is a bit of a party in your mouth kind of meal!
You will need:
1 Steak, thick cut. I used sirloin, but good rump will do.
1 Large ciabatta bread
2 handfuls of rocket
Roasted red peppers, either shop bought or home made (see this post for how I made mine)
1 Clove Garlic
2 Tbsp Creme Fresh
100g Mushrooms
Handful fresh sprigs of thyme.
Olive Oil drizzle.
- Start by getting your mushrooms on the go. You need to set a small frying pan over a medium heat and melt a knob of butter with a drizzle of oil. Finely chop your garlic and toss it into the oil.
- Slice your mushrooms and put them in the pan, coat them with the oil/butter combo and then allow to slowly cook.
- Slice up your peppers if they aren't already and set aside. Time to prep your steak. Salt and pepper each side, drizzle with your olive oil and then sprinkle with a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped from the stems. Work the seasoning into the meat with your fingers.
- Get your grill pan ready, it needs to be very hot. Stir your mushrooms to keep an eye on them while the grill pan heats up. Grill your steak, I like mine rare so I only cook for a few minutes on each side, if you like it well done cook it for longer. Once done to your preference, place on a board and cover with foil to rest.
- Once your mushrooms are browned, turn the heat down to low and add your creme fresh. Stir gently and season with salt and pepper and let bubble for a couple more minutes.
- Turn on the grill in the oven, slice your ciabatta along the full length and toast the cut sides lightly under the grill. Once done, drizzle with olive oil and top with rocket.
- Time to slice up your steak, do this on a diagonal. Once sliced up mix with the sliced red peppers so that the juices mingle. Pile the peppers and steak on top of the rocket in the ciabatta. spread the mushrooms evenly over the top and pop your lid on your sandwich.
- Cut down the middle and share, we both only ever manage half each!
Let me know if you tried this, and let me know what your favourite sandwiches are!
]]>
What with all the nice weather we have been having James and I have been making an effort to have lighter, summery dinners, no easy feat when fish and poultry are excluded from the meal plan (James doesn't like them).
One of the meals I have been falling back on has been my variation on Jamie Oliver's Steak Sarnie. I am not usually a fan of sandwiches at all, his is pretty epic but we discovered that it can be made that little bit better with the addition of my favourite garlic mushrooms.
This is a bit of a luxe sandwich, no doubt about that, but if you want something really filling, a proper meal, but which isn't too hot or heavy for humid days this is a great one. Creamy mushrooms add depth to the meaty steak, while the peppery rocket and the fragrant peppers add a zing that cuts through and keeps things fresh. This is a bit of a party in your mouth kind of meal!
You will need:
1 Steak, thick cut. I used sirloin, but good rump will do.
1 Large ciabatta bread
2 handfuls of rocket
Roasted red peppers, either shop bought or home made (see this post for how I made mine)
1 Clove Garlic
2 Tbsp Creme Fresh
100g Mushrooms
Handful fresh sprigs of thyme.
Olive Oil drizzle.
- Start by getting your mushrooms on the go. You need to set a small frying pan over a medium heat and melt a knob of butter with a drizzle of oil. Finely chop your garlic and toss it into the oil.
- Slice your mushrooms and put them in the pan, coat them with the oil/butter combo and then allow to slowly cook.
- Slice up your peppers if they aren't already and set aside. Time to prep your steak. Salt and pepper each side, drizzle with your olive oil and then sprinkle with a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme, stripped from the stems. Work the seasoning into the meat with your fingers.
- Get your grill pan ready, it needs to be very hot. Stir your mushrooms to keep an eye on them while the grill pan heats up. Grill your steak, I like mine rare so I only cook for a few minutes on each side, if you like it well done cook it for longer. Once done to your preference, place on a board and cover with foil to rest.
- Once your mushrooms are browned, turn the heat down to low and add your creme fresh. Stir gently and season with salt and pepper and let bubble for a couple more minutes.
- Turn on the grill in the oven, slice your ciabatta along the full length and toast the cut sides lightly under the grill. Once done, drizzle with olive oil and top with rocket.
- Time to slice up your steak, do this on a diagonal. Once sliced up mix with the sliced red peppers so that the juices mingle. Pile the peppers and steak on top of the rocket in the ciabatta. spread the mushrooms evenly over the top and pop your lid on your sandwich.
- Cut down the middle and share, we both only ever manage half each!
Let me know if you tried this, and let me know what your favourite sandwiches are!
]]>
Skirt :: Boden | Tee :: Gap | Shoes :: Clarks | Sunnies :: Chanel (Similar) | Cardi :: Old
A few weekends back, on a glorious sunny June day James and I headed into Lincoln intent on wandering around the cathedral quarter, for it was the 40's weekend, and it was set to be a good one!
We set off fairly early, parked up and set off up steep hill, admiring the taped up windows, period dress and quaint window displays. We had to stop off for some homemade fudge at Roly's after sniffing it being freshly cut on the way past.
Our ultimate goal was to head to the Castle. I had been really feeling like I missed out having already had plans on the day that Libraries and Heritage staff got to visit for free prior to opening and had a hankering to visit. When you hear so much about a project you want to see the end product! We had a wander around the vehicles parked at the top of the hill, I posed next to a lorry like the one my grandma drove in the war (awful picture, won't be sharing!) and admired an old Lincolnshire stagecoach bus before heading over to the castle.
The grounds are free to enter, so lovely if you just fancy sitting on the lawn and enjoying an ice cream. If however you want to walk the walls, visit the victorian prison or see the Magna Carta you have to pay. Tickets are tiered, but honestly the best value is to just get the all in ticket!
We ended up purchasing the Castle and Cathedral tickets, I have always wanted to go see the Wren library at the Cathedral and have yet to manage it. It has funny opening hours and, determined to do it this year, I figured if we already had the tickets it would remove a hurdle. The Castle and Cathedral tickets set us back £16 per person, but they also include a return trip within 6 months, obviously we only live 20 miles away so we will be taking advantage.
We started with a stroll around the walls, the view was spectacular! We climbed the turret, saw the graves in Lucy Tower (where they used to do the hangings) and even spotted a couple having their wedding pictures taken. I absolutely loved this part of the trip, there are little boards telling you little details all the way round, the tree in the middle of Lucy Tower was a surprise, and the tranquility in the little room below the turret was serene.
I think the couple having their pictures taken really lucked out, it is probably the best place in the whole city. Right at the front you have an amazing view of the cathedral, and while we were up there we also got a fly past of the Dakota, prizes for best wedding picture of the year would definitely be heading their way!
After we had our fill of the view, I was desperate to go to Prison, to visit of course! Lincoln's retired victorian prison is pretty special as it was built during the hight of the separate system. The prisoners were kept separated always, during exercise (in the crescent shaped yard) and even while in the chapel. It was a bit eerie to imagine that they would have been preached to while confined in wooden boxes.
This all went to pot when they ended up with too many prisoners of course! One of the things that struck me was how similar to the modern prison it was, though just smaller, there were hardly any cells at all. Of course they didn't have a prison library, but the prisoners were taught to read and write while there, so that little pile of books did give me a little smile.
The last part we stopped in on was the Magna Carta. I have never really been that fascinated by it, but honestly I think i just didn't know the story. The dramatisation in the theatre is brilliant, especially for helping keep track of which king was which. Guides were on hand to point out the little details too. I love that we know that the Lincoln Magna Carta was definitely destined for Lincoln and not simply pinched as it has "Lincolnia" written on the back, as you would an address. I was struck by how small it was, and of course we got to discussing the one that has recently been found with the guides. I know from experience that cathedrals are notorious for having sprawling collections and no records, so who knows how many will have survived tucked inside other volumes in years to come!
I am really looking forward to heading back, which is not something I would usually say when it comes to visiting an attraction. The wall walk alone is worth another visit. If you have a weekend spare and fancy a trip to Lincoln make sure you add this to your list!
]]>
Skirt :: Boden | Tee :: Gap | Shoes :: Clarks | Sunnies :: Chanel (Similar) | Cardi :: Old
A few weekends back, on a glorious sunny June day James and I headed into Lincoln intent on wandering around the cathedral quarter, for it was the 40's weekend, and it was set to be a good one!
We set off fairly early, parked up and set off up steep hill, admiring the taped up windows, period dress and quaint window displays. We had to stop off for some homemade fudge at Roly's after sniffing it being freshly cut on the way past.
Our ultimate goal was to head to the Castle. I had been really feeling like I missed out having already had plans on the day that Libraries and Heritage staff got to visit for free prior to opening and had a hankering to visit. When you hear so much about a project you want to see the end product! We had a wander around the vehicles parked at the top of the hill, I posed next to a lorry like the one my grandma drove in the war (awful picture, won't be sharing!) and admired an old Lincolnshire stagecoach bus before heading over to the castle.
The grounds are free to enter, so lovely if you just fancy sitting on the lawn and enjoying an ice cream. If however you want to walk the walls, visit the victorian prison or see the Magna Carta you have to pay. Tickets are tiered, but honestly the best value is to just get the all in ticket!
We ended up purchasing the Castle and Cathedral tickets, I have always wanted to go see the Wren library at the Cathedral and have yet to manage it. It has funny opening hours and, determined to do it this year, I figured if we already had the tickets it would remove a hurdle. The Castle and Cathedral tickets set us back £16 per person, but they also include a return trip within 6 months, obviously we only live 20 miles away so we will be taking advantage.
We started with a stroll around the walls, the view was spectacular! We climbed the turret, saw the graves in Lucy Tower (where they used to do the hangings) and even spotted a couple having their wedding pictures taken. I absolutely loved this part of the trip, there are little boards telling you little details all the way round, the tree in the middle of Lucy Tower was a surprise, and the tranquility in the little room below the turret was serene.
I think the couple having their pictures taken really lucked out, it is probably the best place in the whole city. Right at the front you have an amazing view of the cathedral, and while we were up there we also got a fly past of the Dakota, prizes for best wedding picture of the year would definitely be heading their way!
After we had our fill of the view, I was desperate to go to Prison, to visit of course! Lincoln's retired victorian prison is pretty special as it was built during the hight of the separate system. The prisoners were kept separated always, during exercise (in the crescent shaped yard) and even while in the chapel. It was a bit eerie to imagine that they would have been preached to while confined in wooden boxes.
This all went to pot when they ended up with too many prisoners of course! One of the things that struck me was how similar to the modern prison it was, though just smaller, there were hardly any cells at all. Of course they didn't have a prison library, but the prisoners were taught to read and write while there, so that little pile of books did give me a little smile.
The last part we stopped in on was the Magna Carta. I have never really been that fascinated by it, but honestly I think i just didn't know the story. The dramatisation in the theatre is brilliant, especially for helping keep track of which king was which. Guides were on hand to point out the little details too. I love that we know that the Lincoln Magna Carta was definitely destined for Lincoln and not simply pinched as it has "Lincolnia" written on the back, as you would an address. I was struck by how small it was, and of course we got to discussing the one that has recently been found with the guides. I know from experience that cathedrals are notorious for having sprawling collections and no records, so who knows how many will have survived tucked inside other volumes in years to come!
I am really looking forward to heading back, which is not something I would usually say when it comes to visiting an attraction. The wall walk alone is worth another visit. If you have a weekend spare and fancy a trip to Lincoln make sure you add this to your list!
]]>
Hello everyone, happy Friday!
Friday this week is sort of lost on me, as I decided on Wednesday to take the rest of the week off. I had accrued a lot of time in lieu working on my big project, and it is now pretty much complete (Yay!!) so as exhaustion was about to hit I decided I needed to have a bit of a break. So today feels like Sunday, hope you all had a great weekend! ;)
These two days have been invaluable though, I got to claim back some much needed sleep, work on a few home things that needed doing (my mangetout are out of control, they needed reigning back in big time!) and it gives me a chance to get back into my blog schedule. I have so many food posts coming your way over the next few weeks you would be forgiven for thinking that all I do is eat, I also have a couple of fun days out I documented that I want to share too.
So without further ado, here are a few of the best moments of this past week:
- Saturday night BBQ's with friends (though we missed those who couldn't join us) ending in s'mores made with homemade graham crackers.
- The combination of exhaustion and exhilaration I felt Tuesday when all the boxes were packed, labelled and lined up to come back to my office, I cannot explain it, except that if you have ever moved house it is fairly similar.
- Baby kittens Olive and Daisy, who I met last night and was too busy cuddling to take pictures of, they are adorable and now I want to get Bert a friend.
- The first ripened strawberry from my plants, I was so excited to see it, and since I plucked this little guy from the stem more have ripened too! A large vat of cream is in order.
- The bunch of flowers waiting for me when I got home Tuesday, James never fails to surprise me.
- Whizzing up homemade hollandaise in the blender for poached eggs on muffins. Breakfast of kings.
- All the lovely new Bloglovin followers, hello, and welcome!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Blog posts, time for catch up and comment time!
Listening: I'm a little obsessed by the new song by The Weekend, he sounds exactly like Michael Jackson and I am baffled every single time I hear it.
Doing: Possibly a visit to Lincoln Cathedral, definitely more bike rides.
Hope you all have a great weekend, lets hope the weather holds out and stays glorious!
]]>
Hello everyone, happy Friday!
Friday this week is sort of lost on me, as I decided on Wednesday to take the rest of the week off. I had accrued a lot of time in lieu working on my big project, and it is now pretty much complete (Yay!!) so as exhaustion was about to hit I decided I needed to have a bit of a break. So today feels like Sunday, hope you all had a great weekend! ;)
These two days have been invaluable though, I got to claim back some much needed sleep, work on a few home things that needed doing (my mangetout are out of control, they needed reigning back in big time!) and it gives me a chance to get back into my blog schedule. I have so many food posts coming your way over the next few weeks you would be forgiven for thinking that all I do is eat, I also have a couple of fun days out I documented that I want to share too.
So without further ado, here are a few of the best moments of this past week:
- Saturday night BBQ's with friends (though we missed those who couldn't join us) ending in s'mores made with homemade graham crackers.
- The combination of exhaustion and exhilaration I felt Tuesday when all the boxes were packed, labelled and lined up to come back to my office, I cannot explain it, except that if you have ever moved house it is fairly similar.
- Baby kittens Olive and Daisy, who I met last night and was too busy cuddling to take pictures of, they are adorable and now I want to get Bert a friend.
- The first ripened strawberry from my plants, I was so excited to see it, and since I plucked this little guy from the stem more have ripened too! A large vat of cream is in order.
- The bunch of flowers waiting for me when I got home Tuesday, James never fails to surprise me.
- Whizzing up homemade hollandaise in the blender for poached eggs on muffins. Breakfast of kings.
- All the lovely new Bloglovin followers, hello, and welcome!
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Blog posts, time for catch up and comment time!
Listening: I'm a little obsessed by the new song by The Weekend, he sounds exactly like Michael Jackson and I am baffled every single time I hear it.
Doing: Possibly a visit to Lincoln Cathedral, definitely more bike rides.
Hope you all have a great weekend, lets hope the weather holds out and stays glorious!
]]>A bumper this week for you today as I missed last friday. The past two weeks have been one word, hectic!
I am sort of in the eye of the storm for the big project I have been working on, half way there and the past few days have been all about getting ready for the next leg, which i know if going to be super tiring.
At home I have been working on something new. I have always been a stationery nerd, I have mentioned my filofax and how much I love it to blog plan before. I have always made my own inserts, but recently I have branched into making my own decorative stickers too. I have been ordering them online for ages and the shipping from the states is extortionate, ten packs of stickers from Etsy actually covers the cost of my die cutting machine alone! I finally made my first sheet with the correct cutting settings last night and I am so proud!
James went galavanting last week, he was at Le Mans with work as his boss was in the legends race. It was the first time we have been apart for more than a night since we moved in together and it was honestly weird. I found myself not realising what time it was, and missing the company quickly. He had a great time, came back lobster red, and it was an experience not many get to have so for a huge Le Mans fan it was a dream for him.
Here are a few things that have made me happy this fortnight:
- Ice cream, and fruit smoothies, I got a box of 7 mangoes for £4 last weekend from Sainsbury's, my freezer is overflowing!
- High fives after a job well done, teamwork really is so satisfying and I have one of the best teams around.
- James walking back through the door after being away, just sitting down with a cup of tea and updating each other about all that had happened, I missed him so.
- Bert looking out his little door at the outside world, he is convinced it is a window just the right hight for him.
- My Mum inviting me around for tea after James had been gone a few days. It was so nice to spend a bit of Mum - daughter time, and we had fish and chips!!
- Waking up to find my sourdough starter bubbling away. Post to come soon!
- Driving over the Humber Bridge on Sunday, I have never driven over before and it really is a beautiful little drive.
- Doodling, if I thought mindful adult colouring was fun, its nothing on doodling my own little designs and then sticking them in my diary. My next challenge is to draw a teacup, not as simple as it sounds!
- Admiring everything in the summer sales, I am on a no spend now until my holiday in August, all I am allowed to buy is things I will need, like shorts. Summer dresses are not really suited to rollercoasters.
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Lots and Lots, I have been invited to be on the panel for something and have 5 proofs sat waiting to be devoured.
Listening : James Bay, can't get enough of him!
Watching: The Good Wife, Mum and I started it when I went round for tea and I am hooked! Thanks for the heads up Rosie!
Eating: BBQ, Please hold up English weather!!
How has your fortnight been? Have you done anything fun? Let me know in the comments :)
]]>A bumper this week for you today as I missed last friday. The past two weeks have been one word, hectic!
I am sort of in the eye of the storm for the big project I have been working on, half way there and the past few days have been all about getting ready for the next leg, which i know if going to be super tiring.
At home I have been working on something new. I have always been a stationery nerd, I have mentioned my filofax and how much I love it to blog plan before. I have always made my own inserts, but recently I have branched into making my own decorative stickers too. I have been ordering them online for ages and the shipping from the states is extortionate, ten packs of stickers from Etsy actually covers the cost of my die cutting machine alone! I finally made my first sheet with the correct cutting settings last night and I am so proud!
James went galavanting last week, he was at Le Mans with work as his boss was in the legends race. It was the first time we have been apart for more than a night since we moved in together and it was honestly weird. I found myself not realising what time it was, and missing the company quickly. He had a great time, came back lobster red, and it was an experience not many get to have so for a huge Le Mans fan it was a dream for him.
Here are a few things that have made me happy this fortnight:
- Ice cream, and fruit smoothies, I got a box of 7 mangoes for £4 last weekend from Sainsbury's, my freezer is overflowing!
- High fives after a job well done, teamwork really is so satisfying and I have one of the best teams around.
- James walking back through the door after being away, just sitting down with a cup of tea and updating each other about all that had happened, I missed him so.
- Bert looking out his little door at the outside world, he is convinced it is a window just the right hight for him.
- My Mum inviting me around for tea after James had been gone a few days. It was so nice to spend a bit of Mum - daughter time, and we had fish and chips!!
- Waking up to find my sourdough starter bubbling away. Post to come soon!
- Driving over the Humber Bridge on Sunday, I have never driven over before and it really is a beautiful little drive.
- Doodling, if I thought mindful adult colouring was fun, its nothing on doodling my own little designs and then sticking them in my diary. My next challenge is to draw a teacup, not as simple as it sounds!
- Admiring everything in the summer sales, I am on a no spend now until my holiday in August, all I am allowed to buy is things I will need, like shorts. Summer dresses are not really suited to rollercoasters.
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Lots and Lots, I have been invited to be on the panel for something and have 5 proofs sat waiting to be devoured.
Listening : James Bay, can't get enough of him!
Watching: The Good Wife, Mum and I started it when I went round for tea and I am hooked! Thanks for the heads up Rosie!
Eating: BBQ, Please hold up English weather!!
How has your fortnight been? Have you done anything fun? Let me know in the comments :)
]]>
I have a bit of a confession to make, Quiche, the perfect picnic food, is not my favourite. I loathe quiche Lorraine, it actually now makes me feel a bit ill. I find it far too imbalanced for my palate, I need some greenery in there.
I do however have a particular quiche that I love, and that is the Higgidy spinach, red pepper and feta quiche, usually crustless. Now Higgidy quiche this is not, it is really no where near as theirs is béchamel based, but this brings a little bit of those Mediterranean flavours into an easier make version. You can whip this up on a Sunday, pop it in the fridge and cut off a slice to take for lunch every day.
You Will Need:
1 batch of shortcrust pastry, or to make your own: 280g Plain Flour, 60g Lard and 60g Butter, 1tsp Poppy Seeds, splash or two of milk.
1 small red onion sliced
240g Spinach
3 Small red peppers, roasted and peeled
Feta Cheese
70g Cheddar Cheese, grated
3 Duck Eggs, or 4 standard normal eggs
For the Béchamel, 40g Butter, 40g Flour, 230ml Milk
- To Make my favourite pastry, cut the fats into cubes and put in a dish with the flour and gently toss with your hands to coat. Put the dish in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from the freezer and put in your food processor. Pulse while slowly adding milk until just combined. Season with salt and pepper and add the poppy seeds. Work together with your hands into a ball and cover and rest in the fridge.
- While the pastry rests, roast your peppers if you intend to do so. Turn your oven up as high as it will go and put the peppers in on a baking tray for 30 Minutes. They are done when the skins are charred. Allow to cool and remove the stems and skin. Slice up, make sure to store any you have left over in an airtight jar.
- Time to sauté your onions in a small knob of butter until just golden, add your spinach and toss until wilted.
- Remove your pastry from the fridge and roll out. Grease your dish and add your pastry, crimp the edges if you want to be fancy, then blind bake using baking beans at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.
- Make your cheats béchamel (not really béchamel at all, i know) by melting your butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix to make a roux. Cook for a couple of minutes before slowly adding your milk, mixing all the time. Once the milk is all incorporated and the sauce has cooked for a couple of minutes more, remove your pan from the heat and add your cheddar to melt into the sauce.
- Whisk your eggs. When the béchamel is cool add the eggs and whisk together. Remove your crust from the oven and lay the spinach and onions over the bottom of the crust. Pour over your filling evenly and top with pepper strips and crumbled chunks of feta. Be generous, I was far too mean with my toppings!
- Cook in the oven for 40 minutes until golden on top.
Do you have a favourite Quiche recipe I might like?
P.S. What is it about the word Quiche, I cannot help but capitalise it, maybe because of the Q and the Queen?! I have had to go back and grammar check the whole post for errant capital Q's!!
]]>
I have a bit of a confession to make, Quiche, the perfect picnic food, is not my favourite. I loathe quiche Lorraine, it actually now makes me feel a bit ill. I find it far too imbalanced for my palate, I need some greenery in there.
I do however have a particular quiche that I love, and that is the Higgidy spinach, red pepper and feta quiche, usually crustless. Now Higgidy quiche this is not, it is really no where near as theirs is béchamel based, but this brings a little bit of those Mediterranean flavours into an easier make version. You can whip this up on a Sunday, pop it in the fridge and cut off a slice to take for lunch every day.
You Will Need:
1 batch of shortcrust pastry, or to make your own: 280g Plain Flour, 60g Lard and 60g Butter, 1tsp Poppy Seeds, splash or two of milk.
1 small red onion sliced
240g Spinach
3 Small red peppers, roasted and peeled
Feta Cheese
70g Cheddar Cheese, grated
3 Duck Eggs, or 4 standard normal eggs
For the Béchamel, 40g Butter, 40g Flour, 230ml Milk
- To Make my favourite pastry, cut the fats into cubes and put in a dish with the flour and gently toss with your hands to coat. Put the dish in the freezer for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove from the freezer and put in your food processor. Pulse while slowly adding milk until just combined. Season with salt and pepper and add the poppy seeds. Work together with your hands into a ball and cover and rest in the fridge.
- While the pastry rests, roast your peppers if you intend to do so. Turn your oven up as high as it will go and put the peppers in on a baking tray for 30 Minutes. They are done when the skins are charred. Allow to cool and remove the stems and skin. Slice up, make sure to store any you have left over in an airtight jar.
- Time to sauté your onions in a small knob of butter until just golden, add your spinach and toss until wilted.
- Remove your pastry from the fridge and roll out. Grease your dish and add your pastry, crimp the edges if you want to be fancy, then blind bake using baking beans at 180 degrees for 25 minutes.
- Make your cheats béchamel (not really béchamel at all, i know) by melting your butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix to make a roux. Cook for a couple of minutes before slowly adding your milk, mixing all the time. Once the milk is all incorporated and the sauce has cooked for a couple of minutes more, remove your pan from the heat and add your cheddar to melt into the sauce.
- Whisk your eggs. When the béchamel is cool add the eggs and whisk together. Remove your crust from the oven and lay the spinach and onions over the bottom of the crust. Pour over your filling evenly and top with pepper strips and crumbled chunks of feta. Be generous, I was far too mean with my toppings!
- Cook in the oven for 40 minutes until golden on top.
Do you have a favourite Quiche recipe I might like?
P.S. What is it about the word Quiche, I cannot help but capitalise it, maybe because of the Q and the Queen?! I have had to go back and grammar check the whole post for errant capital Q's!!
]]>
Coat :: Barbour | Top :: Gap | Jeans :: Next
Scarf :: Zara (old) | Boots :: Kurt Geiger (old) | Bag :: Mulberry
Way back on Valentine's day this year, we made a little trek out to Spurn Point. James had been earlier in the month for a car do and I hadn't gone with him, he was exclaiming about the wonderful view and how much I would love it, so he surprised me with a day trip out and insisted we go.
The whole journey there the clouds above seemed to be getting heavier and more ominous, the forecast was far from brilliant and I was wondering if we shouldn't make new plans. We carried on though, James determined that I experience the point. On the final approach the clouds shifted and the sun shone through. It doesn't look it in these pictures but the sky was a lovely blue for most of our visit, and I was so glad that we had continued on.
We arrived, parked the car and set of wandering. I handed James the camera (he doesn't claim to really like photography but he does get snap happy when I hand him the camera, there were lots of pictures of waves!) and simply enjoyed the power of the scenery. Spurn Point is one of those magical points in our landscape where the water crosses in high tide, meaning you can stand in the middle of the small width of beach and on your left have crashing waves thundering onto shore, and on the right completely calm water, safe habitat to sea birds. It was almost eerie how large the contrast on the two sides, especially as you progressed along the point to either side of the ruined wall where the difference really could be felt.
We did a lot of wandering along, admiring the view, collecting pretty rocks and trying not to disturb any habitats. We didn't make it to the end unfortunately, the trip had been a surprise to me until we were on our way so I wasn't wearing the best footwear and at that point my asthma was no where near under control, so I struggled a bit. I am however determined to go back this summer and make it to the end.
]]>Coat :: Barbour | Top :: Gap | Jeans :: Next
Scarf :: Zara (old) | Boots :: Kurt Geiger (old) | Bag :: Mulberry
Way back on Valentine's day this year, we made a little trek out to Spurn Point. James had been earlier in the month for a car do and I hadn't gone with him, he was exclaiming about the wonderful view and how much I would love it, so he surprised me with a day trip out and insisted we go.
The whole journey there the clouds above seemed to be getting heavier and more ominous, the forecast was far from brilliant and I was wondering if we shouldn't make new plans. We carried on though, James determined that I experience the point. On the final approach the clouds shifted and the sun shone through. It doesn't look it in these pictures but the sky was a lovely blue for most of our visit, and I was so glad that we had continued on.
We arrived, parked the car and set of wandering. I handed James the camera (he doesn't claim to really like photography but he does get snap happy when I hand him the camera, there were lots of pictures of waves!) and simply enjoyed the power of the scenery. Spurn Point is one of those magical points in our landscape where the water crosses in high tide, meaning you can stand in the middle of the small width of beach and on your left have crashing waves thundering onto shore, and on the right completely calm water, safe habitat to sea birds. It was almost eerie how large the contrast on the two sides, especially as you progressed along the point to either side of the ruined wall where the difference really could be felt.
We did a lot of wandering along, admiring the view, collecting pretty rocks and trying not to disturb any habitats. We didn't make it to the end unfortunately, the trip had been a surprise to me until we were on our way so I wasn't wearing the best footwear and at that point my asthma was no where near under control, so I struggled a bit. I am however determined to go back this summer and make it to the end.
]]>
This post has been a long time coming, after all when is it finally acceptable to start posting about ice cream recipes? While in gale force winds and torrential rain? Dont think so!
But, June is here, as I sit writing this the sky is blue and birds are twittering, the sun is hitting the hedge outside the window and Bert is basking on the doorstep. It is officially Ice Cream season.
This particular recipe sort of came about by accident. I had one of those brainwaves while eating something else, it went something along the lines of - Rosie getting me addicted to raspberry and nutella pancakes - ooo raspberry ripple ice cream would be good in a pancake - wonder if you can put nutella in ice cream - How can I get the base to taste as close to pancake as possible - Recipe.Born.
I think this is pretty close in taste too, the buttermilk base has the same slight tang that savoury pancakes with a little lemon juice have, and the raspberry syrup really packs a punch. Obviously the nutella isn't molten, but adding it in warm means that it doesn't freeze solid, it is instead slightly chewy and soft a complete surprise!
You don't necessarily need an ice cream maker for this recipe either, as you could whisk it periodically while it is freezing to break up any ice crystals, but an ice cream maker does mean you keep the pretty swirls and they are fairly inexpensive if you want a basic one.
Ice cream base recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery's new book Life is Sweet, which is well worth investing in!
You will need:
1 pot (235ml) of double cream
1 pot (235ml) buttermilk
135g Caster Sugar
6 Large Egg Yolks
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
1 punnet Raspberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of Nutella, gently warmed in microwave.
- In a pan combine the double cream and 100g of the caster sugar and simmer over a medium heat. In a jug, whisk your egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until thick and pale.
- While whisking, add 1/4 of the warm cream mixture to the egg mixture to warm it up, keep whisking to avoid scrambled eggs. Add the egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the cream/sugar mixture to make a custard. Put the pan back over a low heat and constantly stir until thickened. When ready the custard should coat the back of a spoon and a line drawn through stay crisp.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla and pinch of salt. Cover the custard with cling film, with the film actually touching the custard, not just the pan, and put in the fridge to cool.
- While the custard cools, put your raspberries and granulated sugar into a pan over a low heat. Allow the fruit to break up completely stirring occasionally. Once all of the fruit has broken up and the mixture resembles a syrup, sieve the syrup to remove the fruit pips. Allow to cool.
- Once your custard is cooled (around 45 minutes) churn it using the instructions for your ice cream maker. Mine requires me to turn it on, pour in the custard and wait around 20 minutes. Easy as that!
- Once your custard is churned, begin to layer it with the raspberry sauce and warmed Nutella in a freezer safe container. Once you are finished layering, take a blunt knife to give it an extra swirl, pop the lid on and freeze for a couple of hours until truly set.
- Scoop and serve in a waffle cone for the best flavour, and if you have extra raspberry syrup left over don't forget to drizzle that over too!
]]>
This post has been a long time coming, after all when is it finally acceptable to start posting about ice cream recipes? While in gale force winds and torrential rain? Dont think so!
But, June is here, as I sit writing this the sky is blue and birds are twittering, the sun is hitting the hedge outside the window and Bert is basking on the doorstep. It is officially Ice Cream season.
This particular recipe sort of came about by accident. I had one of those brainwaves while eating something else, it went something along the lines of - Rosie getting me addicted to raspberry and nutella pancakes - ooo raspberry ripple ice cream would be good in a pancake - wonder if you can put nutella in ice cream - How can I get the base to taste as close to pancake as possible - Recipe.Born.
I think this is pretty close in taste too, the buttermilk base has the same slight tang that savoury pancakes with a little lemon juice have, and the raspberry syrup really packs a punch. Obviously the nutella isn't molten, but adding it in warm means that it doesn't freeze solid, it is instead slightly chewy and soft a complete surprise!
You don't necessarily need an ice cream maker for this recipe either, as you could whisk it periodically while it is freezing to break up any ice crystals, but an ice cream maker does mean you keep the pretty swirls and they are fairly inexpensive if you want a basic one.
Ice cream base recipe is from The Hummingbird Bakery's new book Life is Sweet, which is well worth investing in!
You will need:
1 pot (235ml) of double cream
1 pot (235ml) buttermilk
135g Caster Sugar
6 Large Egg Yolks
1tsp Vanilla Extract
Pinch of Salt
1 punnet Raspberries
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons of Nutella, gently warmed in microwave.
- In a pan combine the double cream and 100g of the caster sugar and simmer over a medium heat. In a jug, whisk your egg yolks and the remaining caster sugar until thick and pale.
- While whisking, add 1/4 of the warm cream mixture to the egg mixture to warm it up, keep whisking to avoid scrambled eggs. Add the egg mixture into the pan with the rest of the cream/sugar mixture to make a custard. Put the pan back over a low heat and constantly stir until thickened. When ready the custard should coat the back of a spoon and a line drawn through stay crisp.
- Remove from the heat and whisk in the buttermilk, vanilla and pinch of salt. Cover the custard with cling film, with the film actually touching the custard, not just the pan, and put in the fridge to cool.
- While the custard cools, put your raspberries and granulated sugar into a pan over a low heat. Allow the fruit to break up completely stirring occasionally. Once all of the fruit has broken up and the mixture resembles a syrup, sieve the syrup to remove the fruit pips. Allow to cool.
- Once your custard is cooled (around 45 minutes) churn it using the instructions for your ice cream maker. Mine requires me to turn it on, pour in the custard and wait around 20 minutes. Easy as that!
- Once your custard is churned, begin to layer it with the raspberry sauce and warmed Nutella in a freezer safe container. Once you are finished layering, take a blunt knife to give it an extra swirl, pop the lid on and freeze for a couple of hours until truly set.
- Scoop and serve in a waffle cone for the best flavour, and if you have extra raspberry syrup left over don't forget to drizzle that over too!
]]>
Coming to you a little later this week, no real reason, I just hadn't decided what I was going to say yet.
This week has been a real rollercoaster, I had some pretty low days the beginning of the working week, a bit of a pain after having a brilliant weekend. The back end of this week though I have really started to feel like I am back in control of things, I got loads done at work, had some really productive meetings, and the first phase of the big project I have been working on is now in motion and so far has gone without a hitch.
I am the first to admit I can be a control freak at times, so when things aren't perfectly arranged I get a bit stressy. It has been nice to get back to being calm and controlled. I have also come up with a new way to plan my blog posts and get things organised too, which is really helping. I am planning a weekend full of sourdough starter growing, gardening, and relaxation. The weather is supposed to be wonderful so I hope it lives up to it!
Here are a few of the little things that have perked up my week:
- My hoover being returned on Monday was no joke one of the happiest moments, I hate a messy house, and I have a cat that sheds and my other half works with cars, it is a constant battle and without my favourite weapon I was a bit lost. I felt zen upon its return and I know that is oh so sad!
- On said Monday, I worked from home, and I really did miss getting to make proper coffee for the rest of the week. At the moment I am working my way through a bag of The Lincoln Coffee Company's espresso roast and I love it for flat whites.
- Perfectly ripe cherries with breakfast, I even love the process of pitting them by hand.
- Bert was exposed to catnip for the first time the other day and it was so cute to watch! He loved the stuff!!
- James and I wandered the castle walls in Lincoln last weekend, it was a beautiful day, the view was fantastic and we were up there for the fly over by the Dakota, which was wonderful to see. The best bit of it though was spotting a couple having their wedding photographs taken on the walls in front of the cathedral as the plane went over, you could just tell they would be beautiful :)
- Popping to a local hangout for tea and cake on Wednesday evening with James, it isn't something we would usually do midweek, and it really helped put me in a good mood for the next few days, the lemon cake I scoffed was delicious too!
- My veggies in the garden are doing really really well, I am so proud! I think I will be overrun with beetroot though, better get planning some recipes.
This weekend I will be:
Reading : Some manuscripts for a top secret project I have been invited to contribute to, very excited about them!
Eating: Hopefully some home made ice cream
Doing: Visiting the Garden show at the Showgrounds, with my mum. I'm hoping she will help me navigate the crazy world of plant choosing!
I hope you all have a great weekend, let me know if you have anything fun planned :)
]]>Coming to you a little later this week, no real reason, I just hadn't decided what I was going to say yet.
This week has been a real rollercoaster, I had some pretty low days the beginning of the working week, a bit of a pain after having a brilliant weekend. The back end of this week though I have really started to feel like I am back in control of things, I got loads done at work, had some really productive meetings, and the first phase of the big project I have been working on is now in motion and so far has gone without a hitch.
I am the first to admit I can be a control freak at times, so when things aren't perfectly arranged I get a bit stressy. It has been nice to get back to being calm and controlled. I have also come up with a new way to plan my blog posts and get things organised too, which is really helping. I am planning a weekend full of sourdough starter growing, gardening, and relaxation. The weather is supposed to be wonderful so I hope it lives up to it!
Here are a few of the little things that have perked up my week:
- My hoover being returned on Monday was no joke one of the happiest moments, I hate a messy house, and I have a cat that sheds and my other half works with cars, it is a constant battle and without my favourite weapon I was a bit lost. I felt zen upon its return and I know that is oh so sad!
- On said Monday, I worked from home, and I really did miss getting to make proper coffee for the rest of the week. At the moment I am working my way through a bag of The Lincoln Coffee Company's espresso roast and I love it for flat whites.
- Perfectly ripe cherries with breakfast, I even love the process of pitting them by hand.
- Bert was exposed to catnip for the first time the other day and it was so cute to watch! He loved the stuff!!
- James and I wandered the castle walls in Lincoln last weekend, it was a beautiful day, the view was fantastic and we were up there for the fly over by the Dakota, which was wonderful to see. The best bit of it though was spotting a couple having their wedding photographs taken on the walls in front of the cathedral as the plane went over, you could just tell they would be beautiful :)
- Popping to a local hangout for tea and cake on Wednesday evening with James, it isn't something we would usually do midweek, and it really helped put me in a good mood for the next few days, the lemon cake I scoffed was delicious too!
- My veggies in the garden are doing really really well, I am so proud! I think I will be overrun with beetroot though, better get planning some recipes.
This weekend I will be:
Reading : Some manuscripts for a top secret project I have been invited to contribute to, very excited about them!
Eating: Hopefully some home made ice cream
Doing: Visiting the Garden show at the Showgrounds, with my mum. I'm hoping she will help me navigate the crazy world of plant choosing!
I hope you all have a great weekend, let me know if you have anything fun planned :)
]]>Today is all about gratuitous cat pictures, because it is Bertie's first birthday! Happy birthday fluff ball!
I love looking back through these pictures, for a ginger tom he is fairly small for being fully grown, but it is nice to remember just how tiny he used to be. Picture number two up there he is sat on James' shoulder.
Even though he is a big boy cat now and goes out into the garden (no joke it has taken him a whole year to brave this, and he still hasn't realised that his cat flap is a door not a window) he will always be my ball of kitten fluff.
Happy first Bert Day riddles, and thank you for the past year of adventures xx
]]>Today is all about gratuitous cat pictures, because it is Bertie's first birthday! Happy birthday fluff ball!
I love looking back through these pictures, for a ginger tom he is fairly small for being fully grown, but it is nice to remember just how tiny he used to be. Picture number two up there he is sat on James' shoulder.
Even though he is a big boy cat now and goes out into the garden (no joke it has taken him a whole year to brave this, and he still hasn't realised that his cat flap is a door not a window) he will always be my ball of kitten fluff.
Happy first Bert Day riddles, and thank you for the past year of adventures xx
]]>My local city has been getting a lot of press lately, the castle is having its official opening with Princess Anne next month, the Magna Carta will be there too, and it seems that the anniversary is really making Lincoln's best step up their game.
I thought it would be nice to point you to my favourite spots in the city in case you fancied visiting. There are plenty of things to keep you busy for a day or two like The Collection museum, the Usher Gallery, the Cathedral and Castle as well as the numerous ghost walks and tours of old Lincoln. As a visitor though it is often the little places that get overlooked, or are hard to weed out from the Patisserie Valerie's, so I thought I would give them some love.
librarian-lincoln2 librarian-lincoln1First stop, Stokes at the High bridge Cafe, perfect for light refreshment before venturing up the hill, and conveniently located right in the middle of the high street, this cafe is built on the medieval bridge over the river Witham in a tiny tudor mews house and it has been there for donkeys. Stokes offer a huge range of teas and coffee varieties, along with lots of Lincolnshire specialities such as local plum bread. As this is down the flat part of town I like to have a drink and a snack here after I have visited all the normal shops and before I head up to the good stuff, though it does house a full cafe upstairs if you need something more substantial.
If however you aren't peckish until you get half way up the hill, I also highly recommend Stokes at The Collection, where they make the most delicious fresh crepes!
My Pick :: Their Full house hot chocolate with everything on it and a scone with butter, they are freshly baked on site and still warm, beautiful.
Time to get moving to the local shops. Lincoln has a pretty big hill in it called Steep Hill. It is quite steep and defeats many, but there is a bench half way in case you struggle. Lots of locals avoid this area because it is a bit of a climb but I have to say it is a gold mine for quirkiness.
librarian-lincoln-4 librarian-lincoln3Goodies is the first stop on our tour up the strait and is a traditional english sweet shop full of jars of nibbles to choose from. The owner still rings up your purchase on the old till and is always happy to recommend his favourite, especially from the wall of chocolate behind the till! Goodies has been a go to for many many years for me, even more so at christmas when they dress in Victorian outfits, fab!
My pick :: Jazzies, the milk chocolate ones, they take me back!
librarian-lincoln5Right opposite Goodies is the Cheese Society, a must for any cheese lover, they boast a wide range of British and european cheeses and suitable accompaniments. They are great about letting you sample something before you buy a wedge of the stuff and if you have a certain type of cracker in mind they will find the right cheese for it, impeccable service! If you love cheese and fancy a treat for lunch head to their cafe around the corner, it is tiny so gets full quick but well worth the wait if you need to. Hands down the best macaroni cheese I have ever eaten.
My pick :: Lincolnshire poacher, of course!
librarian-lincoln6Further up the hill now and just after the bench on the right you will come across a delightfully blue coloured shop called simply 44, as it is number 44! If you need a quirky gift or just fancy treating yourself to some beautiful hand made jewellery this is stop number one. Lucie the owner is lovely, and very particular about what she will stock, I would happily buy everything in there if I could make room in my house!
My Pick :: The beautiful selection of greetings cards, you are guaranteed to find one no-one else will send
librarian-lincoln7Head up into the Bailgate area past the Cathedral and you will find the best bookshop in Lincoln, Lindum Books is part owned by an old colleague of mine and well supported by our team at work. They host numerous author events in partnership with The Collection and stock used and new titles. I love that their selection is limited but carefully curated, a nice balance of popular titles and the slightly obscure.
My Pick :: Check out the shelf of Persephone Classics, they always draw me in.
librarian-lincoln8I can only describe this place as my dream shop, it has interior nick nacks and kitchenware that can only be described as beautiful, I mean just check out that window display! the best selection of Keith Brymer Jones I have ever seen, this place is perfect for gifts for the discerning.
My Pick :: Besides the Keith Brymer Jones mug in the top picture? The selection of Weck jars is a must for any organisation freak.
Shopping over with, it is time to head back down the hill, it is far easier going in this direction. Be sure to have a drink in Widow Cullens Well if you fancy as they do some different ales, and ogle at the chocolates in the luxury chocolate shop.
librarian-lincoln11 librarian-lincoln10 librarian-lincoln9Get right to the bottom and at the Stonebow take a left instead of heading straight on, along here is my new favourite place to eat or drink in Lincoln, The Angel coffee house. A great atmosphere with hands down the best artisan sandwiches I have come across, this place wins my heart every time. They also make the best flat white, serve a huge range of fancy teas and cater to a variety of dietary requirements. Drop in and say hello to the girls, or hang around for one of the many events they have going on.
My Pick :: Without a doubt, flat white and the caramelised onion and goats cheese focaccia bread, toasted. Sandwich of dreams!!
Suitably re-fuelled, feel free to wander the rest of the city centre, I am still finding new little gems as I wander around. Lincoln is one of those cities that appears to be ever changing, and I like it.
]]>My local city has been getting a lot of press lately, the castle is having its official opening with Princess Anne next month, the Magna Carta will be there too, and it seems that the anniversary is really making Lincoln's best step up their game.
I thought it would be nice to point you to my favourite spots in the city in case you fancied visiting. There are plenty of things to keep you busy for a day or two like The Collection museum, the Usher Gallery, the Cathedral and Castle as well as the numerous ghost walks and tours of old Lincoln. As a visitor though it is often the little places that get overlooked, or are hard to weed out from the Patisserie Valerie's, so I thought I would give them some love.
librarian-lincoln2 librarian-lincoln1First stop, Stokes at the High bridge Cafe, perfect for light refreshment before venturing up the hill, and conveniently located right in the middle of the high street, this cafe is built on the medieval bridge over the river Witham in a tiny tudor mews house and it has been there for donkeys. Stokes offer a huge range of teas and coffee varieties, along with lots of Lincolnshire specialities such as local plum bread. As this is down the flat part of town I like to have a drink and a snack here after I have visited all the normal shops and before I head up to the good stuff, though it does house a full cafe upstairs if you need something more substantial.
If however you aren't peckish until you get half way up the hill, I also highly recommend Stokes at The Collection, where they make the most delicious fresh crepes!
My Pick :: Their Full house hot chocolate with everything on it and a scone with butter, they are freshly baked on site and still warm, beautiful.
Time to get moving to the local shops. Lincoln has a pretty big hill in it called Steep Hill. It is quite steep and defeats many, but there is a bench half way in case you struggle. Lots of locals avoid this area because it is a bit of a climb but I have to say it is a gold mine for quirkiness.
librarian-lincoln-4 librarian-lincoln3Goodies is the first stop on our tour up the strait and is a traditional english sweet shop full of jars of nibbles to choose from. The owner still rings up your purchase on the old till and is always happy to recommend his favourite, especially from the wall of chocolate behind the till! Goodies has been a go to for many many years for me, even more so at christmas when they dress in Victorian outfits, fab!
My pick :: Jazzies, the milk chocolate ones, they take me back!
librarian-lincoln5Right opposite Goodies is the Cheese Society, a must for any cheese lover, they boast a wide range of British and european cheeses and suitable accompaniments. They are great about letting you sample something before you buy a wedge of the stuff and if you have a certain type of cracker in mind they will find the right cheese for it, impeccable service! If you love cheese and fancy a treat for lunch head to their cafe around the corner, it is tiny so gets full quick but well worth the wait if you need to. Hands down the best macaroni cheese I have ever eaten.
My pick :: Lincolnshire poacher, of course!
librarian-lincoln6Further up the hill now and just after the bench on the right you will come across a delightfully blue coloured shop called simply 44, as it is number 44! If you need a quirky gift or just fancy treating yourself to some beautiful hand made jewellery this is stop number one. Lucie the owner is lovely, and very particular about what she will stock, I would happily buy everything in there if I could make room in my house!
My Pick :: The beautiful selection of greetings cards, you are guaranteed to find one no-one else will send
librarian-lincoln7Head up into the Bailgate area past the Cathedral and you will find the best bookshop in Lincoln, Lindum Books is part owned by an old colleague of mine and well supported by our team at work. They host numerous author events in partnership with The Collection and stock used and new titles. I love that their selection is limited but carefully curated, a nice balance of popular titles and the slightly obscure.
My Pick :: Check out the shelf of Persephone Classics, they always draw me in.
librarian-lincoln8I can only describe this place as my dream shop, it has interior nick nacks and kitchenware that can only be described as beautiful, I mean just check out that window display! the best selection of Keith Brymer Jones I have ever seen, this place is perfect for gifts for the discerning.
My Pick :: Besides the Keith Brymer Jones mug in the top picture? The selection of Weck jars is a must for any organisation freak.
Shopping over with, it is time to head back down the hill, it is far easier going in this direction. Be sure to have a drink in Widow Cullens Well if you fancy as they do some different ales, and ogle at the chocolates in the luxury chocolate shop.
librarian-lincoln11 librarian-lincoln10 librarian-lincoln9Get right to the bottom and at the Stonebow take a left instead of heading straight on, along here is my new favourite place to eat or drink in Lincoln, The Angel coffee house. A great atmosphere with hands down the best artisan sandwiches I have come across, this place wins my heart every time. They also make the best flat white, serve a huge range of fancy teas and cater to a variety of dietary requirements. Drop in and say hello to the girls, or hang around for one of the many events they have going on.
My Pick :: Without a doubt, flat white and the caramelised onion and goats cheese focaccia bread, toasted. Sandwich of dreams!!
Suitably re-fuelled, feel free to wander the rest of the city centre, I am still finding new little gems as I wander around. Lincoln is one of those cities that appears to be ever changing, and I like it.
]]>Hello all, hope you are all well. Yet another funny week this week, I have been all over the place since last Friday, and had a trifecta of technology issues. My Ice cream maker started leaking coolant (my local cookshop were brill and replaced it immediately) The Dyson man came to fix the hoover and couldn't so has had to take it away so the house is covered in cat hair, and I cracked my phone screen, twice in 6 months after 2 whole years of never breaking it once!! Not good.
On the plus side I have been on some lovely adventures, acquired some lovely new things and I am off on another one today for work. I am heading to Peterborough today to meet up with my chartership mentor, so a bit of a drive, but then I get to look round what I think will be a fascinating library, one for the blind, so I am looking forward to that.
Here is what has made me happy this week:
- I upgraded my camera, there's nothing wrong with my Olympus, and it is fantastic for being unobtrusive, but it isn't a big boy camera. I want to have the option of a full DSLR if I need it. I talked the chappy in London Camera Exchange into a pretty steep discount too so I am calling it my bargain camera!
- I worked from home on Tuesday and James popped back for his lunch, it was lovely to see him mid way through the day unexpectedly :)
- Bert is now a proper goes outside cat! We have ordered him a cat flap, and his favourite place to go is down the side of the garage where he can look through the hedge to the lane and bird watch.
- I had a great day on Monday, my Mum, sister and I popped to Stamford. We decided to do Burghley another day as the weather wasn't great and we wanted to explore the grounds, and instead pottered around the lovely little shops there. I restrained myself in The White Company, so I was proud.
- It was James' sister's birthday on Tuesday and we celebrated with a big BBQ on Monday evening, it was good to sit around with brilliant food and chat with everyone. My favourite type of meal is a relaxed one.
- Hope and Greenwood Cherry vanilla Chocolate coated Marshmallows. I will say no more.
- Cycling down the road to pick up some fresh Duck eggs from the farm. I am really getting into just hopping on my bike and pedalling around, soon the villagers will say oh there goes the crazy woman in the yellow coat!
- The flowers above are of the lone plant in our garden that isn't vegetables. It was already there when we moved in and I was going to rip it up because it looked dead, but it has flowered so beautifully this year I am definitely going to keep it.
And This weekend I will be:
Doing : Relaxing Hopefully! It has been a busy old month, but we are heading to the vintage day at the Tailgate in Lincoln tomorrow.
Eating : The smaller of the two tubs of Rhubarb and Custard Ice Cream I made last weekend that has crystallised a little bit, I think I let it melt too much before putting it in the freezer. Oh Well! Here is hoping the other tub was a success.
Reading : Something new! I have finished Girl on the Train, I think I will maybe review it as I don't have an immediate love or hate for it. I think I will now read something terribly fluffy though to lighten the mood a bit.
Wishing : God speed to Tonia, little sis, who is flying to New Jersey today to be a councillor at an american day camp for a few months, she is going to be taking pictures and handling social media, good luck kiddo!!
I hope you all have a brilliant weekend and the weather stays nice for us!
]]>Hello all, hope you are all well. Yet another funny week this week, I have been all over the place since last Friday, and had a trifecta of technology issues. My Ice cream maker started leaking coolant (my local cookshop were brill and replaced it immediately) The Dyson man came to fix the hoover and couldn't so has had to take it away so the house is covered in cat hair, and I cracked my phone screen, twice in 6 months after 2 whole years of never breaking it once!! Not good.
On the plus side I have been on some lovely adventures, acquired some lovely new things and I am off on another one today for work. I am heading to Peterborough today to meet up with my chartership mentor, so a bit of a drive, but then I get to look round what I think will be a fascinating library, one for the blind, so I am looking forward to that.
Here is what has made me happy this week:
- I upgraded my camera, there's nothing wrong with my Olympus, and it is fantastic for being unobtrusive, but it isn't a big boy camera. I want to have the option of a full DSLR if I need it. I talked the chappy in London Camera Exchange into a pretty steep discount too so I am calling it my bargain camera!
- I worked from home on Tuesday and James popped back for his lunch, it was lovely to see him mid way through the day unexpectedly :)
- Bert is now a proper goes outside cat! We have ordered him a cat flap, and his favourite place to go is down the side of the garage where he can look through the hedge to the lane and bird watch.
- I had a great day on Monday, my Mum, sister and I popped to Stamford. We decided to do Burghley another day as the weather wasn't great and we wanted to explore the grounds, and instead pottered around the lovely little shops there. I restrained myself in The White Company, so I was proud.
- It was James' sister's birthday on Tuesday and we celebrated with a big BBQ on Monday evening, it was good to sit around with brilliant food and chat with everyone. My favourite type of meal is a relaxed one.
- Hope and Greenwood Cherry vanilla Chocolate coated Marshmallows. I will say no more.
- Cycling down the road to pick up some fresh Duck eggs from the farm. I am really getting into just hopping on my bike and pedalling around, soon the villagers will say oh there goes the crazy woman in the yellow coat!
- The flowers above are of the lone plant in our garden that isn't vegetables. It was already there when we moved in and I was going to rip it up because it looked dead, but it has flowered so beautifully this year I am definitely going to keep it.
And This weekend I will be:
Doing : Relaxing Hopefully! It has been a busy old month, but we are heading to the vintage day at the Tailgate in Lincoln tomorrow.
Eating : The smaller of the two tubs of Rhubarb and Custard Ice Cream I made last weekend that has crystallised a little bit, I think I let it melt too much before putting it in the freezer. Oh Well! Here is hoping the other tub was a success.
Reading : Something new! I have finished Girl on the Train, I think I will maybe review it as I don't have an immediate love or hate for it. I think I will now read something terribly fluffy though to lighten the mood a bit.
Wishing : God speed to Tonia, little sis, who is flying to New Jersey today to be a councillor at an american day camp for a few months, she is going to be taking pictures and handling social media, good luck kiddo!!
I hope you all have a brilliant weekend and the weather stays nice for us!
]]>The first thing we did after the new year this year was to take a trip to Whitby. I hadn't been since I was at senior school and even then I don't think I had visited the Abbey. I had fond memories of high summer, eating ice creams and visiting John Bulls rock shop and frolicking on the beach after our coursework had been completed.
This trip was quite different, being at the opposite time of the year, but the memories of this visit have stuck with me more. The absolute serenity I felt wandering around the grounds, peaceful was absolutely the word. Nothing can describe the stillness that surrounded the ruins, as if they were in their own little bubble. Being a generally on the go person, it felt almost alien to be so still, so calm.
The day was a bit grey and bleak, but that only added to the atmosphere. The waves crashing on the rocks almost looked like the sky was pummelling the earth, and the patterns in the rock told the story of the regular beating from the elements during their long lifetime.
As we wandered along the sea wall the sun finally broke through the cloud, making for a beautiful sunset shot, and a beatific smile on my face for the journey home.
]]>The first thing we did after the new year this year was to take a trip to Whitby. I hadn't been since I was at senior school and even then I don't think I had visited the Abbey. I had fond memories of high summer, eating ice creams and visiting John Bulls rock shop and frolicking on the beach after our coursework had been completed.
This trip was quite different, being at the opposite time of the year, but the memories of this visit have stuck with me more. The absolute serenity I felt wandering around the grounds, peaceful was absolutely the word. Nothing can describe the stillness that surrounded the ruins, as if they were in their own little bubble. Being a generally on the go person, it felt almost alien to be so still, so calm.
The day was a bit grey and bleak, but that only added to the atmosphere. The waves crashing on the rocks almost looked like the sky was pummelling the earth, and the patterns in the rock told the story of the regular beating from the elements during their long lifetime.
As we wandered along the sea wall the sun finally broke through the cloud, making for a beautiful sunset shot, and a beatific smile on my face for the journey home.
]]>So this was going to be a recipe post, before I realised that I made the blood orange curd inside these in February and took no pictures. Thus I just thought I would tease you a bit with the pictures of the Macaron I have been working on, next time I practice them I will make sure to do things properly :)
Have you ever made your own macaron before?
]]>So this was going to be a recipe post, before I realised that I made the blood orange curd inside these in February and took no pictures. Thus I just thought I would tease you a bit with the pictures of the Macaron I have been working on, next time I practice them I will make sure to do things properly :)
Have you ever made your own macaron before?
]]>
This week was national Vegetarian week I believe, and i just so happen to have been working on this post for a few weeks now and realised it would perfectly coincide, so i thought I should share.
A few weeks ago I dropped into the farm shop on the way home from work and picked up a seasonal veg box. I have been trying to be more conscious of the fruit and vegetables we buy, for a while there we were getting into the nasty habit of not using things up and I hate wastage. I like the boxes from our local shop, they feature lots of items we would use up without even thinking about it (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower) and then they add in a couple of seasonal items that I have to exercise my brain for (asparagus, beetroots and leeks). I thought it would be nice to show you how I use those slightly less run of the mill items when I pick up a box.
If you don't have a local farm shop to supply your veg box, Riverford Organics deliver all over the country from one of their many "local" farms (they deliver from the one nearest to you) and were the original organic veg box delivery service, I was seriously considering one of these services before our farm shop started selling veg boxes, and they offer a huge variety of options.
Asparagus and Lemon Pasta ::
This one is all The Queen's own (Nigella Lawson from Nigella Summer) though I have adapted the amounts and method slightly, it's a bit different from the typical asparagus with hollandaise but equally delicious so I thought I would share.
You Will Need ::
1 large bunch of Asparagus
125ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic
Juice and Zest of a Lemon
Enough Penne for two
Handful of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
- Snap the woody bits off the bottom of the asparagus, and chop them into pieces roughly the same size as your pasta. Put your asparagus into a pan top steamer to wait.
- Put your pasta on to boil in a large pan of salted and oiled water. Put a frying pan on a low heat with the Extra Virgin Olive oil in it, chop your garlic and add it to the pan, cook it very slowly until just golden. Do not burn it! When it looks like it is just starting to turn gold, put your asparagus steamer on top of your pasta pan.
- Remove the frying pan from the heat and add the juice of your lemon. Stir, after a few minutes more your asparagus should be steamed, remove from the pasta pan and when the pasta is cooked (should be about the same time) scoop it into the frying pan. Add the asparagus and stir, adding the parsley and lemon zest last.
- Serve into bowls and top generously with parmesan cheese.
She never gets it wrong does Nigella! Fresh and delicious.
Leek and Cider Welsh Rarebit ::
This is my version of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe from River Cottage Year, and it is far far superior (Sorry Hugh!)
You will need ::
2 Leeks
50g Butter, plus extra for frying
50g Plain Flour
Half a Bottle of Apple Cider or a glass of tart fresh apple juice.
100g Cheddar, grated, plus a healthy grating of parmesan cheese.
Worcestershire sauce
English mustard
4 Slices of bread, toasted.
- Slice your leeks finely and sweat in a frying pan over a low heat in butter.
- In a saucepan melt your butter, then add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook the floury taste off for a few minutes, then add your cider or apple juice. I have to say, using the cheap sweet concentrated apple juice really won't work with this, it needs to be tart fresh real stuff, or cider, you need the tang.
- Stir over a low heat until you have a thick sauce. Add your grated cheddar and stir until melted. Season with pepper, a blob of mustard and a good splash of Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the leeks.
- Take each slice of toast and place them on a tray or in a griddle tray. Top each generously with the leeks mixture and then scatter over the parmesan. Splash with Worcestershire sauce and pop under the grill. Keep an eye on it, we don't want it to burn, we just want the parmesan to melt into the rest of the sauce and go slightly brown.
Serve as is, or with a salad if you want to make it healthier.
Roasted Beetroot and Butternut Squash Galette ::
All my own this time, don't be afraid of peeling the beets, simply wash your hands between each one to prevent stained cuticles!
You Will Need:
1 batch of shortcrust pastry, or to make your own: 280g Plain Flour, 60g Lard and 60g Butter, 1tsp Poppy Seeds, splash or two of milk.
4 medium sized beetroots, or 3 large, washed.
1 Butternut squash, peeled and sliced fairly thinly.
1 red onion.
Half a pack of Feta Cheese
1 Clove Garlic
Small amount of olive oil
Egg wash
- Make your pastry, In a shallow dish cube your lard and butter and coat in the flour, put the dish in the freezer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from freezer and put into food processor, slowly add splashes of milk while the processor is on until the pastry has barely come together. Add your poppy seeds, pulse slightly to distribute. Remove pastry from mixer and lightly work together into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roast your beetroots, chop off the leaves and any particularly scraggly roots. Take a square of foil for each beet and while still damp from washing wrap each one individually. Place into a baking dish and roast on a high heat for half an hour, or until you can easily push a blunt knife into them.
- When your pastry is rested, take out of the fridge and roll out thinly, directly onto a floured baking tray. slice your onion into thin rings and distribute around the middle of the pastry, leaving at least an inch free from filling around the edge.
- Once your beetroots are roasted remove them from the oven and turn the heat down to around 170C. Take them out of the foil and peel the skins off with either your fingers, or I find it easiest to use a blunt knife to scrape them away. Slice them thinly.
- Arrange your squash and beetroot on top of the onions, I wanted it to look pretty so I alternated, but you don't have to as it is a little fiddly. Crush your clove of Garlic over the top and drizzle the whole thing with a little olive oil. Crumble over your feta.
- Begin to very carefully fold the pastry edge up and over the top of the fillings to create a lip, pleating where necessary. Brush with egg wash and slide into the oven. Cook for around 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
Serve this warm on a spring afternoon, or it is also delicious packed up for lunch or a picnic.
]]>
This week was national Vegetarian week I believe, and i just so happen to have been working on this post for a few weeks now and realised it would perfectly coincide, so i thought I should share.
A few weeks ago I dropped into the farm shop on the way home from work and picked up a seasonal veg box. I have been trying to be more conscious of the fruit and vegetables we buy, for a while there we were getting into the nasty habit of not using things up and I hate wastage. I like the boxes from our local shop, they feature lots of items we would use up without even thinking about it (potatoes, carrots, cauliflower) and then they add in a couple of seasonal items that I have to exercise my brain for (asparagus, beetroots and leeks). I thought it would be nice to show you how I use those slightly less run of the mill items when I pick up a box.
If you don't have a local farm shop to supply your veg box, Riverford Organics deliver all over the country from one of their many "local" farms (they deliver from the one nearest to you) and were the original organic veg box delivery service, I was seriously considering one of these services before our farm shop started selling veg boxes, and they offer a huge variety of options.
Asparagus and Lemon Pasta ::
This one is all The Queen's own (Nigella Lawson from Nigella Summer) though I have adapted the amounts and method slightly, it's a bit different from the typical asparagus with hollandaise but equally delicious so I thought I would share.
You Will Need ::
1 large bunch of Asparagus
125ml Extra Virgin Olive Oil
3 Cloves Garlic
Juice and Zest of a Lemon
Enough Penne for two
Handful of Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley
- Snap the woody bits off the bottom of the asparagus, and chop them into pieces roughly the same size as your pasta. Put your asparagus into a pan top steamer to wait.
- Put your pasta on to boil in a large pan of salted and oiled water. Put a frying pan on a low heat with the Extra Virgin Olive oil in it, chop your garlic and add it to the pan, cook it very slowly until just golden. Do not burn it! When it looks like it is just starting to turn gold, put your asparagus steamer on top of your pasta pan.
- Remove the frying pan from the heat and add the juice of your lemon. Stir, after a few minutes more your asparagus should be steamed, remove from the pasta pan and when the pasta is cooked (should be about the same time) scoop it into the frying pan. Add the asparagus and stir, adding the parsley and lemon zest last.
- Serve into bowls and top generously with parmesan cheese.
She never gets it wrong does Nigella! Fresh and delicious.
Leek and Cider Welsh Rarebit ::
This is my version of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's recipe from River Cottage Year, and it is far far superior (Sorry Hugh!)
You will need ::
2 Leeks
50g Butter, plus extra for frying
50g Plain Flour
Half a Bottle of Apple Cider or a glass of tart fresh apple juice.
100g Cheddar, grated, plus a healthy grating of parmesan cheese.
Worcestershire sauce
English mustard
4 Slices of bread, toasted.
- Slice your leeks finely and sweat in a frying pan over a low heat in butter.
- In a saucepan melt your butter, then add the flour and stir to make a roux. Cook the floury taste off for a few minutes, then add your cider or apple juice. I have to say, using the cheap sweet concentrated apple juice really won't work with this, it needs to be tart fresh real stuff, or cider, you need the tang.
- Stir over a low heat until you have a thick sauce. Add your grated cheddar and stir until melted. Season with pepper, a blob of mustard and a good splash of Worcestershire sauce. Stir in the leeks.
- Take each slice of toast and place them on a tray or in a griddle tray. Top each generously with the leeks mixture and then scatter over the parmesan. Splash with Worcestershire sauce and pop under the grill. Keep an eye on it, we don't want it to burn, we just want the parmesan to melt into the rest of the sauce and go slightly brown.
Serve as is, or with a salad if you want to make it healthier.
Roasted Beetroot and Butternut Squash Galette ::
All my own this time, don't be afraid of peeling the beets, simply wash your hands between each one to prevent stained cuticles!
You Will Need:
1 batch of shortcrust pastry, or to make your own: 280g Plain Flour, 60g Lard and 60g Butter, 1tsp Poppy Seeds, splash or two of milk.
4 medium sized beetroots, or 3 large, washed.
1 Butternut squash, peeled and sliced fairly thinly.
1 red onion.
Half a pack of Feta Cheese
1 Clove Garlic
Small amount of olive oil
Egg wash
- Make your pastry, In a shallow dish cube your lard and butter and coat in the flour, put the dish in the freezer for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes remove from freezer and put into food processor, slowly add splashes of milk while the processor is on until the pastry has barely come together. Add your poppy seeds, pulse slightly to distribute. Remove pastry from mixer and lightly work together into a ball, wrap in clingfilm and rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
- Roast your beetroots, chop off the leaves and any particularly scraggly roots. Take a square of foil for each beet and while still damp from washing wrap each one individually. Place into a baking dish and roast on a high heat for half an hour, or until you can easily push a blunt knife into them.
- When your pastry is rested, take out of the fridge and roll out thinly, directly onto a floured baking tray. slice your onion into thin rings and distribute around the middle of the pastry, leaving at least an inch free from filling around the edge.
- Once your beetroots are roasted remove them from the oven and turn the heat down to around 170C. Take them out of the foil and peel the skins off with either your fingers, or I find it easiest to use a blunt knife to scrape them away. Slice them thinly.
- Arrange your squash and beetroot on top of the onions, I wanted it to look pretty so I alternated, but you don't have to as it is a little fiddly. Crush your clove of Garlic over the top and drizzle the whole thing with a little olive oil. Crumble over your feta.
- Begin to very carefully fold the pastry edge up and over the top of the fillings to create a lip, pleating where necessary. Brush with egg wash and slide into the oven. Cook for around 30 minutes, or until the squash is tender.
Serve this warm on a spring afternoon, or it is also delicious packed up for lunch or a picnic.
]]>Coming at you live from my desk eating peanut butter toast while having another sneaky day off work today, yay for extra long long weekends!
So far this Friday consists of breadmaker bread making, vats of banana bread making (five bananas!!), and lots of kitten fuzzles (fyi, kitten is only going to be a kitten for like two more weeks! He is one the first week in June).
This weekend should be full of twirly skirts, vintage cars, pub lunches and family catch up's. I cannot wait. I hope you have a great one too!
Here is this week's happies in a nutshell:
- Cycling back home on Saturday into a headwind and making it all the way home, James was ready with the truck in case I was defeated but I kept going and simply took my time. It felt so good to achieve that little milestone.
- The two hour nap that Bert and I took once I had completed the item above, I said I completed it, not that I did it without being knackered!
- Catching up with old friends, discussing news and events and houses and such, there is really nothing lovelier.
- The pure bliss I felt when I floated out of the treatment room in the spa on Monday, my friend and I had treated ourselves to the day and I was hella nervous! I had such a lovely time and felt so stress free afterwards.
- The Boden skirt I ordered was originally delayed, but it has arrived! It is quite possibly the summeryest thing I own, it reminds me of an ice cream parlour :)
- My incredibly supportive little team at work, they make stressful days feel so much better and I am eternally grateful.
- Bert will now venture off the deck! He has turned into a little explorer!
- The beautiful flowers that are beginning to bloom on my succulent, I had no idea that it was a blooming plant, and I feel a bit dumb admitting that, but they are so pretty.
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Girl on the Train, I will finish it this weekend, I will!!
Doing: Hopefully catching up with my little sis as she flies to the U, S of A on Friday, and I won't see her until we meet up in Florida in August! (OH MY GOD so excited, finally feels like it isn't that far off now!)
Eating: Copious amounts of banana bread now that all of the birthday cake is finally gone.
Hope you all have a great time this bank holiday! :)
]]>Coming at you live from my desk eating peanut butter toast while having another sneaky day off work today, yay for extra long long weekends!
So far this Friday consists of breadmaker bread making, vats of banana bread making (five bananas!!), and lots of kitten fuzzles (fyi, kitten is only going to be a kitten for like two more weeks! He is one the first week in June).
This weekend should be full of twirly skirts, vintage cars, pub lunches and family catch up's. I cannot wait. I hope you have a great one too!
Here is this week's happies in a nutshell:
- Cycling back home on Saturday into a headwind and making it all the way home, James was ready with the truck in case I was defeated but I kept going and simply took my time. It felt so good to achieve that little milestone.
- The two hour nap that Bert and I took once I had completed the item above, I said I completed it, not that I did it without being knackered!
- Catching up with old friends, discussing news and events and houses and such, there is really nothing lovelier.
- The pure bliss I felt when I floated out of the treatment room in the spa on Monday, my friend and I had treated ourselves to the day and I was hella nervous! I had such a lovely time and felt so stress free afterwards.
- The Boden skirt I ordered was originally delayed, but it has arrived! It is quite possibly the summeryest thing I own, it reminds me of an ice cream parlour :)
- My incredibly supportive little team at work, they make stressful days feel so much better and I am eternally grateful.
- Bert will now venture off the deck! He has turned into a little explorer!
- The beautiful flowers that are beginning to bloom on my succulent, I had no idea that it was a blooming plant, and I feel a bit dumb admitting that, but they are so pretty.
This weekend I will be:
Reading: Girl on the Train, I will finish it this weekend, I will!!
Doing: Hopefully catching up with my little sis as she flies to the U, S of A on Friday, and I won't see her until we meet up in Florida in August! (OH MY GOD so excited, finally feels like it isn't that far off now!)
Eating: Copious amounts of banana bread now that all of the birthday cake is finally gone.
Hope you all have a great time this bank holiday! :)
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