Tea and Biscuits

Whaletail Cafe Lancaster

2015-04-08T09:21:00.002-07:00

This Easter weekend I visited Lancaster with my family and we headed straight to Whaletail Cafe for lunch as it's perfect for Vegetarians and Vegans. When we arrived the first thing I saw was the yummy looking cabinet of cakes!

There was so much choice for main courses and all sounded yummy!

The cafe was busy which was lovely and I loved the little touches like the daffodil on the table and the little play area for children.

I went for the Wild Mushroom and Walnut burger with Stilton mayo and it was really yummy, my Dad has this too.

My Mum and Grandma went for the Cashew nut, Aubergine and Lentil Rissoles with yummy salad and they both really enjoyed it.

The only disappointment of the visit was that everything was so yummy that we were too full for cake. However, all four of us shared this delicious Vegan carrot cake. I loved it so much that I asked my Mum to make it for my birthday coming up soon from the Whaletail cookbook which is available to buy. I will definitely be returning when I'm in the area again.

My Christmas Tree

2014-11-29T05:21:00.001-08:00

I don't know about anyone else but I'm feeling very festive already this year! I'm eating Christmas Tree shaped crumpets and Stollen bites with my Christmas Spice candle lit. I couldn't resist getting myself a Christmas tree and putting it up. It's actually pretty exciting because It's my first proper Christmas tree in my own flat. I thought I'd share with you some of my favourite finds.

I got the tree and lights from B&Q after much deliberation,

I also got these two 'origami' decorations which I thought were a little bit different. This little santa and snowman are from B&Q too.

Another two of my favourites are these two from Sainsbury's.

Finally, these three are from the range. I like the matte white ceramic of the tree and the snowflake and just thought the heart was adorable.

As you can see I went with a white theme, it wasn't intended but it just happened to be that all the decorations that stood out to me that were a little bit different happened to be white. I'm really pleased with how it turned out and I will of course add to it over the next few years.

Alton Towers Scarefest

2014-11-01T14:02:00.001-07:00

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Me and 3 friends went to Alton Towers on Thursday and stayed in the Splash Landings Hotel for the night meaning that we had two full days in the park.

On Thursday we arrived and after a delay getting into the car park we got on the monorail and took a relaxed attitude, we had a look around at the Halloween pictures and did some picture posing and grabbed some food.

This relaxed start didn't pay off too well on a busy day in half term and we only made it on about 4 rides. We then went to check into the hotel which had a lovely pumpkin display at the entrance. The theme of the hotel and the room was water and the beach, Our room had a beach carpet with sand and sea and my favourite touches were the pineapple lamp and the shaped shower gels. We had a room for four which contained a double bed and then bunk beds which I had kids activity packs on (none of us are children but it was a nice touch).

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After freshening up we headed back into the pack for our pre-booked slot in the Scarefest mazes at 7.45. Unfortunately, the time slot didn't seem to make a difference as we were waiting to get into the first maze 'The Sanctuary' until about half 8. However, Once we were in there it was a scary experience! The theme of the maze was based on the ride 'The Smiler', an institute to correct you and make you permanently happy, it seemed the procedure had its side effects as when we were walking around (with our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us), we were jumped out at by demented patients who liked to chase us, breathe on us and generally terrify us all. We then moved to the next maze 'Terror of the Towers' but unfortunately were asked to leave a couple of minutes in due to technical difficulties. There didn't seem to be as many actors in this one and we were asked to leave again before the end. We had hoped to get on a ride in the dark before the park closed at 9 but due to delays that wasn't possible and we headed back to the hotel.
The hotel had entertainment available but we chose to retrat to the room and we enjoyed playing with the smart TV.

Friday was an overall much more successful day, we started with the hotel breakfast which had lots of choice and was good. We then checked out and upgraded our park tickets from the previous day for only £6 each, we also recieved a hotel fasttrack ticket for all the popular rides (except smiler).
Keen and earlier than the previous day we got started with our fasttrack which worked out brilliantly, we got on 10 rides before even stopping for lunch. We chose then to queue the 2 hours for the newest and most anticipated 'The Smiler'. I'm so glad to say that I've ridden it as well as all the other big rides but it was so terrifying with it's 14 loops and the two unbelievably high elevations that I have to say I didn't enjoy it as I was just too scared. When it was dark we went on a few more rides and our final and 13th ride was Oblivion in the dark which was much scarier than in daylight, it was nice to see a proposal at the top too!

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Of all the rides I think my favourite was Thirteen which we went on twice, I had also not been on Nemesis- Sub Terra which was very surprising and I got suitably scared at the end when someone jumped out at me. The fasttrack and the success of the friday along with a pleasant night in the hotel made it all a very good experience.

West Midlands Vegan Fest 2014

2014-10-28T09:19:00.001-07:00

This weekend my Mum and I took a trip to Wolverhampton for the Vegan Festival 2014.

The first thing I was taken by was that it was a bargain at only £1 to get in, there was two whole floors of stalls, there was also talks and cookery demonstrations but we chose not to go to any. The stalls sold snacks, cold food, clothing and other goods. There was also a seating area with live music and hot food available.

Our plan was to browse all stalls before deciding on what to have for lunch, we then planned to go back for the things that we wanted to buy. This worked well until all this beautiful cake that we saw had sold out, there was lots of other alternatives thankfully!

For lunch we decided on a veggie burger, I had mine with 'cheese'.

We then went to one of the stalls and shared a giant chocolate twist!

Then it was time to go back and buy! Here is our haul:

My favourite stall of all was the Harper's Bizzarre candle stall, there was so much choice but we decided the yummiest was Bakewell Tart, Praline Ice Cream and my Mum bought Jaffa Cake for me, it's amazing! We also bought some recycled glass christmas tree decorations which I loved but they're all wrapped up until decorating time.

yaoh had 'buy one get one free' on everything so my Mum picked up some lip balms and bubble bath, we also both got a free sample of Mimi's Miracle foot scrub.

After tasting a sample we got some chocolate coconut milk from KoKo and we bought two tombola tickets and got some wine and some pickled onions!

We bought some Chicken Soup and Cheese and Onion Ten Acre crisps and then actually picked up some free BBQ and Sweet Chilli ones.

There was a few raw chocolate sellers there but our favourite was Sweet Revolution and we picked up these two bars.

Lastly, something really interesting to taste was the Egg Mayonnaise sandwich filler which was made from pasta and chickpeas, it was pretty good.

Whilst in the mood and in Wolverhampton we popped to Holland and Barratt to pick up a sos roll and some frozen bits.

I'd not tried the Country Pies before and they were really lovely and indulgent on a cold evening. I also really wanted to try the Booja-Booja ice cream as it's only made from water, cashews, agave syrup and cocoa. It was really lovely, I'd say as good as Ben&Jerry's!

The Autumn Tag

2014-10-18T07:19:00.001-07:00

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As I'm loving Autumn this year I thought I'd give the Autumn Tag a go.

1) Favourite seasonal drink from a coffee shop?
As I don't drink coffee I go for the seasonal hot chocolates, I like the Costa Black Forest hot chocolate and any Hazelnut hot chocolate. This year I'm looking forward to trying the Salted Caramel hot chocolate at Starbucks.

2) Accessories- Scarves, Boots or Gloves?
I never pull the gloves out intil it's snowing really but I love wearing boots all Autumn and Winter. I also love wrapping up in a scarf so I couldn't choose really.

3) Favourite music in Autumn?
My music choices don't really change by season but Bastille is great for those cosy nights in and nearer Christmas I love Kelly Clarkson's christmas album and Micheal Buble's.

4) Favourite scent of Autumn?
Well again, I stick to my Benefit Carmella perfume all year but the scents I do use more moisturisers/ shower products in the colder months so I tend to smell like Lush Snow Fairy or Cocoa Butter moisturiser.

5)Candles- Favourite scents?
My favourite is always vanilla but I also love christmas spice candles. My current favourite is a Homesense Grapefruit and Champagne jar candle, doesn't sound Autumny but it's great on a cosy evening.

6) What do you love most about Autumn?
If you hadn't guessed already, Cosy nights in with a blanket, pyjamas, the heating on and candles and lamps lit. It feels even better to be in watching TV when it's raining outside.

7) Favourite Make Up look?
Not much changes for me apart from going for a darker lip and the occasional smokey eye.

8) What are you most looking forward to about Autumn?
Going out and about and putting on my boots, a coat and scarf and picking up one of those seasonal hot chocolates. I love being out in the cold and coming into the warmth for hot drinks and a warm meal.

Feeling Autumnal

2014-10-11T12:21:00.001-07:00

All images sourced on Google

For some reason this year I am so much more excited for Christmas and Autumn than ever and here are some of the things that I love about Autumn-

Pumpkins

Wrapping up in scarves

Wearing my rabbit onesie

New Bambi pyjamas

Soup

Candles

Wrapping up in a blanket

Hot chocolate

Roast dinners

New mug

New coat

Cushions

Wearing boots

Lush baths

Staying in a warm bed in the mornings

Christmas decorations in shops

Lush Christmas

2014-10-04T01:13:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the launch of, for me, one of the most exciting things about Christmas- the Lush Christmas collection 2014 was launched!

Before we get on to that, there is also a Halloween collection which is pretty exciting too. We were talked through the two new oblong bath bombs- The Sparkler and Northern Lights, The Wizard bubble bar and the gorgeous Sparkly Pumpkin and the amazingly shaped Fairy Ring Soap.

Then I took a look at my favourites- the bubble bars. There are lots of gorgeous glittery additions like the christmas pudding and the snow angel which is half bath melt and half fizzer. The cute penguin and candy mountain are back! There is also a cute new hedgehog and the beautiful Star Light Star Bright bath melt (not pictured).

Having said the bubble baths are my favourites it wasn't actually those that took my eye the most this time. As a all time Snow Fairy fan I actually fell in love with the new Hot Toddy shower gel which has a rich spicy scent not unlike mulled wine. Santa's Lip Scrub also caught my eye as it has a more balmy texture than the other lip scrubs, great for the winter months. It also has a great cola taste.

Something else that caught my attention this year that normally wouldn't is the soaps. I rarely used bars of soap but on smelling Yog Nog I was in heaven, the creamy, spicy scent is so beautiful. Snowcake also caught my attention as it looks so beautiful.

On to the bath bombs and fizzers- again, these wouldn't normally catch my attention as I love bubbles and always think they'd be drying. However, Lush fizzers leave the skin feeling so soft that I had to give them a go! Again there are lots of fun christmas additions, many with glitter! The Butterbear was a winner with me as I love the butterball, I also think the Christmas Pud is so intruiging! The Shoot for the Stars bath bomb caught me with it's incredible scent of honey (not pictured).

Lush were great hosts- look at those tasty looking cake pops!

Lush very kindly let us make a Christmas Wish List of 3 products to take away with us. I chose Hot Toddy Shower Gel, Shoot for the Stars Bath Bomb and Santa's Lip Scrub. I also purchased a Butterbear and some Yog Nog Soap.

What do you fancy from the new collection?

A weekend in Shropshire

2014-09-22T08:31:00.001-07:00

This weekend it was time for another trip to see my parents in Shropshire.

On Saturday my Mum wanted to take me to 'Optimum Joy' a vegan restaurant that has not long since opened. We decided to share two mains- Spinach and Lentil Dahl and Butternut Squash and Courghette Bahjis with Rainbow Slaw. Both were really yummy and we ordered some bread too to go with the Dahl.

Then came the very best part- we shared an amazing chocolate fudge cake, yum!

Then with full tummies and after some mooching in the shops we headed to the Old Market Hall to see a screening of 'The 100 foot journey' with Helen Mirren. It was a really enjoyable afternoon movie and nice to watch it in an interesting independent cinema. The room had lovely wooden beams and grey suede seats with loads of leg room, there was even two seater sofas at the back.

On Sunday we had an explore around some country villages and came across a pub in the Joules chain and had a yummy sunday roast. We topped it off with Mum's homemade bakewell tart and custard when we got home. Perfect.

Summer Lovin' #6

2014-09-04T06:24:00.001-07:00

Some highlights of the last week and a half-ish of my holiday.

-some nice reading and TV days, I got a little obsessed with Catfish:the TV show

-I've loved having a friend who's moved in on my road and also lives alone so it's been nice to have people to watch TV with and cook with sometimes.

- a night out with the girls, reliving those student nights.

- I've been enjoying tea and cake with friends, it's especially tasty when it's free from John Lewis!

- a trip home to my parents with comfort food (sausage and mash and apple crumble and custard) and a walk through the fields and a rural church.

-a trip to Ikea to imagine my perfect kitchen and bathroom of the future.

- feeling very lucky to have a great friend who sent me a supportive message and gift.

I have to say I've really enjoyed making the most of this summer, and blogging it!

Summer Lovin' #5

2014-08-26T04:48:00.002-07:00

Here is what I've been up to this week-

Monday- I spent the day making a cake for my mums birthday. I wanted to make a vegan chocolate cake with peanut butter icing, unfortunately this took two attempts because I burnt the first one!

Tuesday- It was my mums birthday and her and my dad came to visit me. She was very excited to see the cake and the flowers I bought her. We then went into town to Las Iguanas for lunch. After some shopping we stopped at a veggie cafe to share a vegan chocolate torte and rum and raisin sponge cake. It was a lovely day and I think my mum had a good day.

Wednesday- I spent the day doing jobs but I did buy a new nail polish.

Thursday- I went to Lincoln to visit a friend. I saw her two new kittens and went to a tea house for the hugest and tastiest afternoon tea.

Friday- I picked my friend up from the airport and then we headed to our holiday cottage for the bank holiday weekend in Winster, Derbyshire. We arrived to see the amazing garden and view of the countryside. In the evening we ate at the pub in the village which was lovely, we then played card games and Disney trivial pursuit!

Saturday- We drove to Bakewell for lunch and I tried the traditional Bakewell pudding and custard- it was nice but very different to Bakewell tart! We then went to Matlock Bath which is just like a seaside town that isn't by the sea! We played on the 2p machines and went to the aquarium. After a food shop we had pizzas and curly fries at the cottage and played more games.

Sunday- we had a lazy start then went to the local pub for a Sunday roast. We then went on a walk, we took the public footpath and ended up in the woods and had walked four miles in the end! We then played a lyric board game and cranium.

Monday- Once we had left our cottage we headed back to Bakewell to the market. We then went to Chatsworth house, it was raining but we walked around the gardens a little. We looked around the house and I had an amazing cheesecake.

That's it for this week, only one week left!

Nottingham Food and Drink Festival

2014-08-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

On sunday me and a friend went to 'Nottingham Food and Drink festival'. It was a really good day. We stumbled across a glass blowing demonstration first and watched the guy make a glass swan and then a wine goblet with a coloured glass twisted stem. It was really interesting to see it made in different stages using the different tools.

After looking around some of the stalls we came across a cooking workshop and I learnt a lot about microwaves! I didn't know I could cook ratatouille in a microwave and I learnt an easy strawberry mousse recipe with only fruit, marshmallows and yoghurt, it was tasty too!

We also came across a wine tasting session, as a non wine drinker I actually still found it pretty interesting to know how it's made and where the different tastes come from.

At the end of out visit we headed to the biggest demonstration tent to see Levi Roots cooking. He was really funny, we of course had a 'reggae reggae sauce' sing a long and he cooked jerk chicjen and carribbean slaw.

We enjoyed looking around all the stalls and tasting some bits and bobs. At lunch we checked out all the options but I opted for a carribbean chicken wrap which came with rice and peas and slaw and ginger beer which was yummy. My friend went for a bison burger. Later we had delicious ice creams, I had ameretto and black cherry and chocolate flavours.

Summer Lovin' #4

2014-08-17T12:33:00.002-07:00

Although I've had busy days this week I've had lots of time to relax. I have been getting bored but I shouldn't complain.

Sunday- on Sunday me and friend went to Rugby to visit my old housemate and his very pregnant girlfriend. We took a gift and I could resist a cute little pink dress. Then we left them to it and got a yummy roast in a little pub.

Monday- I had a lazy day but went out for a walk to see the flooded river. I then went round to a friends for a movie night, we watched 'white house down'.

Tuesday- I went into town and got myself a new pair of jeans and some hair dye. I also had an iced mocha as I'm trying to get into coffee. Then I drove back to my parents to surprise my Dad for his birthday. I think he liked it, we had presents and cake after tea.

Wednesday- I got the train to West Bromwich to visit a friend, she showed me her place and where she works. Then we went to Merry Hill and did some shopping and stopped for a Krispy Kreme. We went to a pub for tea before I got the train home.

Thursday- I drove home from my parents while they were at work. When I got back I dyed my hair. I used casting creme gloss in the shade 'chilli chocolate'. I wanted to go red again but my hair to also be darker. It was less messy than when I've previously dyed my hair and I'm really pleased with the result. I also cooked a courgette tart.

Before and After!

Friday- another lazy day but I got washing done and cleaned all my make up brushes. I made a yummy homemade coleslaw to go with the courgette tart from yesterday and took a walk to Asda.

Saturday- chilled all day but walked to the library. Then went round to a friends who had just moved in on my road (yay!) and we had a takeaway and watched a film.

Summer Lovin' #3

2014-08-09T09:50:00.000-07:00

Another busy week this week, this is turning out to be a great summer!

Sunday- After last week's London trip I was exhausted but I enjoyed spending time with my parents and my Mum made a great banana bread.

Monday- I drove up from my parents house to my visit my Grandma in Lancashire, we went out for lunch did some homeware shopping then enjoyed the sunshine in the garden with an ice cream before a yummy chinese takeaway.

Tuesday- I took my Grandma to the beach today which was really lovely, we had another ice cream (naughty!) but this one was amazing! Then I made the long drive back to my flat.

Wednesday- I met up with a friend in town for bagels, I then did some successful present buying and we both went for an impromptu pedicure. It was my first one and I loved it, especially since I got to sit on a massage chair.

Thursday- Me and another friend went to Wollaton Hall, we enjoyed looking around the hall which is now a history museum. We had a picnic and then got up and close with some deer!

Friday- Today I spent the morning sorting and I had a make up clean out. Then I went to town and did some more present shopping. After present wrapping I treated myself to some DVDs and a book.

Saturday- I had a lovely lazy morning then met a friend for tea and cake and dress shopping.

Summer Lovin' #2

2014-08-03T08:56:00.000-07:00

What a lovely week I've had!

Monday- A friend came down from Birmingham and four of us popped to get some picnic food and went to Newstead Abbey. The grounds are lovely and I liked the hedge maze.

Tuesday- I had a bit of a sick day but enjoyed some chocolates and did some painting.

Wednesday- I met with a friend for lunch and we walked around the park in the sunshine.

Thursday- Met another friend for breakfast and had delicious pancakes then drove back to my parents house.

Friday- Got the train to London with my Mum, we shopped in Tottenham Court Road, Soho and Covent Garden. We then went back to the hotel to freshen up then we ate at 'Rabot 1745'- a Hotel Chocolat restaurant. I had mac'n'cheese pie which was yummy. Then we walked along by Tower Bridge and across it, I found this Julia Donaldson bench.

Saturday- We left the hotel and had bagels for breakfast, we then went to the Tate Modern. We went up to Soho to Beatroot Cafe for delicious vegetarian food, there was a selection of salads and hot food to fill your box. We also had a vegan blueberry and almond muffin there which was yummy. We then went to the Take One Picture exhibition at the National Gallery which I love as I trained in it at university. Before heading home we headed to Camden Town to 'Cookies and Scream' for a delicious but huge vegan cookie ice-cream sandwich.

This week has been a lovely one and the trip to London with my Mum was amazing, I love mini-breaks! What have you been up to this week?

Summer Lovin' #1

2014-07-27T10:20:00.001-07:00

As promised, here is my first of 6 posts to document my summer holidays. This week was shorter due to only finishing work on Tuesday but I still made the most of it.

Wednesday- I went shopping and treated myself to an M&S falafel salad and a Dior bb creme. Then had a Domino's night in with the girls watching the Commonwealth games opening ceremony.

Thursday- Spent the day baking Oreo cupcakes (but made time for an ice cream) then went to a colleague's BBQ which was lovely.

Friday- I traveled to my parent's house and iced a cake my mum had baked, then spent the evening watching a boys movie with my Dad.

Saturday- Took my mum shopping and got two dresses then went to the pub with my parents for a few drinks and watched my friend on the open mic night (there was also a rainbow).

Sunday- went food shopping with my Mum today and got some posh puds in pastel ramekins then traveled back to the flat.

Home/Ikea Haul

2014-07-25T03:16:00.000-07:00

This weekend me and my parents took a trip to Ikea. As it always takes us ages to look around so we don't miss anything, we stopped for a drink a couple of hours in. While in the cafe we sat by the window and watched the craziest storm ever. Then the lights went out. They came back on very quickly but we were then evacuated. The storm thankfully was passing then so we checked out the other shops on the retail park.

From next home sale I got this canvas for £6.

An hour and a half later we got back into Ikea and I was very pleased to purchase the bits and bobs that I'd put in the basket!

I fell in love with these glasses and they were only 50p each!

I also loved these plates, I didn't love the larger plate or bowls as much as the design was different but I got two of these side plates for £3 each.

Summer Goals

2014-07-23T03:09:00.001-07:00

Schools out for summer!

As I finish for the summer after a very stressful year I'd really like to make the most of if! I'd like to set myself a challenge this summer to take a picture or write a note about something good I've done each day and document it on this blog. I also have a few things in mind that I'd like to do-

1. Exercise more- I'd like to do more walking, swimming and yoga.

3. Bake and cook lots- although I've always baked I'd like to try and make some news things and cook proper meals all the time.

4. Sort and deep clean the flat- not very fun but it will be good to be de-cluttered and will make me feel better.

5. Spend some time away- I'm not going on holiday this year but I do have a weekend away and a trip to London planned.

6. Spend lots of time with family and friends- that's a given!

7. Have lots of tea parties with my leaving presents from work.

I will post weekly 'summer lovin' posts and hopefully have something to report each day.

Chorlton Cum Hardy

2014-07-06T08:40:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, My parents and I decided to take a daytrip to Chorlton Cum Hardy. I'd never been but we'd seen a few vegetarian and vegan specialist places and a recycled art gallery online that we wanted to check out.

When we got there it was a beautiful day, the town is quaint with bunting and planters outside of the shops. The first thing we saw was a cafe called 'On The Corner' which serves vegetarian food with lots of vegan choices. The decor inside is very quirky and each table has Kilner water jugs with mint leaves in.

I went for baked eggs with spinach and cheese, I can also recommend the chickpea dahl and the red bean and sweet potato stew. All came with lovely walnut bread too.

Something that I cannot recommend enough is the cake at 'On The Corner'. I could smell the chocolate and mint cake as I was eating and just had to have some! We also shared a slice of peanut butter and chocolate cake and both were amazing and vegan.

With very satisfied tummies we then explored the shops, there were lots of quirky gift shops and a few lovely boutique shops and the bicycle and vintage camera prints really caught my eye in this one.

Next was the recycled art gallery which I was completely bowled over by. There was tree pieces made from recycled paper and beautiful recycled glass pieces. I ventured to the back of the gallery to find a beautiful outdoor garden which I fell in love with. My favourite bits were the motherboard and electronic sculptures, the glass pond and the tinkling noise that the slate and gravel made under your feet.

Later on in the day we found Unicorn- a fully vegan supermarket which was really interesting and we bought loads of goodies home to try. I would definitely recommend Chorlton for a lovely day out.

Week Recap

2014-06-29T03:52:00.002-07:00

Yet another foodie week- of course!

Mid-week I had an after-school craving for yoghurt and granola that I had to satisfy. I also had a go at 'overnight oats' but with granola which was super tasty the next day.

A hard day resulted in my first 'Papa John's' which was yummy.

A Saturday shopping trip with a T-shirt theme. I love this 'happy' one from Primark but not as much as I LOVE the vintage ice cream one.

I also got a polka dot shirt from New Look and an adorable giraffe T-shirt.

In an attempt to be more organised I got this meal planner and shopping list set from the Paperchase sale.

I topped my shopping trip off with a trip to Pret and a yummy Avocado and herb wrap with pine nuts and parmasan in!

Sunny Weekend

2014-06-22T13:20:00.000-07:00

This weekend the weather has been really lovely. I was fancying a picnic in the sun so me and a couple of friends popped to M&S to get some goodies and spent a lovely afternoon in the park.

Then me and another friend went to go and see Malificent at the cinema. My review is that it was quite good, not as clever as I'd hoped and I didn't like the casting of Aurora and the Prince.

Today I decided to whip up one of my favourites, Banana Bread but with added naughty chocolate chips. It is absolutely delicious, if a little wide due to the silicone mould instead of a tin.

I was also treated today to an epic roast cooked by a friend, she never skimped on the trimmings and it was amazing.

Pretty much the making of a perfect weekend- sun, friends and yummy food. What have you been up to?

Peanut Butter Cookies

2014-06-18T07:30:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed by now that I love peanut butter, especially when it's with chocolate! I adapted this recipe from the Hummingbird Bakery cookbook.

Makes 12

110g margerine
200g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
100g peanut butter
160g self raising flour

-Preheat the oven at 180 degress
-cream the butter and sugar
-add the peanut butter, vanilla and egg and mix
-add the flour
-*optional* add 75g dark chocolate, chopped (I had less).
-Bake for approx 10 minutes or until brown on the edges.

Mine turned out a little undercooked so they were chewy but still very yummy.

Vegan Nottingham

2014-06-15T05:31:00.001-07:00

This weekend my Mum came to visit me, my favourite thing about her visiting me is that we always find new places to go. My Mum is Vegan and living in a city is great for finding alternative places to eat.

Friday night-

On Friday night we went to Las Iguanas who actually have a seperate Veggie and Vegan menu if you ask you it. As a meat eater myself I had the chicken flatbread with curly fries and a side of Nachos. My Mum had the Vegan Gringas which is a tortilla with refried beans and butternut squash, she had a side of Cassava Fries which I have to say were nice, slightly potato and cheesy tasting.

Saturday midmorning-

On Saturday we stopped for a coffee and cake at Cappuchaino and I was so surprised that pretty much all of the cakes were vegan, we shared a Vegan brownie.

Saturday Lunch-

For lunch we stopped for lunch at Broadway Cinema who had a lot of Vegan choices. I opted for the 'not dog' with vegan sausages and it was really yummy, as were the wedges. My Mum had the 'Veganwich'- Houmous, carrot and spinach.

It was really nice to eat at some new places and my Mum was so pleased that it was so easy for her to eat what she wanted as I know it can be quite tricky. If you are Vegan, I would also highly recommend Alley Cafe and Annie's Burger Shack.

Fathers Day Gift Idea

2014-06-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I've noticed that when it comes round to Fathers Day the gifts seem to fit with particular interests- football, gold, cars .etc. My dad doesn't fit in with any of these and doesn't particularly want for anything, doesn't really cook, isn't a jewellery wearer or whiskey drinker, so he's always found him hard to buy for. I've done the fun joke presents before but they soon loose appeal and stay at the back of the cupboard. I've done vouchers before but it's hard enough to get him to go out and spend them so this year I thought I'd try something different.

I decided to make a 'Boy's Night In' kit- my mum sometimes sees friends on a Friday night when my Dad is pretty knackered from the working week and he usually watches a film/TV, drinks beer and has some snacks. So I thought I would provide him with those!

In the 'kit' I put-

-a DVD
-a magazine
-chocolate
-beer
-crisps

and it's as simple as that! Of course there are lots of different variations of kits you could do- a BBQ kit, a football match kit .etc. I really hope my dad likes it and I hope you all have a good Fathers Day.

Tried and Tested Pins

2014-06-11T03:00:00.000-07:00

As you can probably tell from some of my recent posts, I'm a pinterest lover. Over the past year I've been very tempted by many recipes that I've pinned and I thought I'd share some tried and tested recipes.

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When I found the recipe for these healthy pancakes made with just banana and egg I had to try them out. The first time I made them they were yummy but I've made them since and found they are much nicer when made with a brown banana.

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In the summer I really got into making homemade pizzas and by putting grated courghette on them they stay really moist and yummy.

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I showed this to my Mum for my birthday last year- It turned out really well! The only tricky patt was that the malteasers on the edges kept falling off so it would have been impossible to do it on the edges too!

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I had a go at this yummy looking corghette tart but I added mozerella and pesto and took the squash out- it was lovely.

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I really loved this avocado pasta, it was lovely. The only thing I would say is maybe to add more garlic to make it a little more strong tasting (I love garlic!).

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I made these apple enchiladas with a friend but with the syrup we found them to just be too sweet, I think we added too much.

101 Things Update

2014-06-08T07:37:00.002-07:00

I have 1001 days to complete the 101 things on my list which takes me to September 2015. Here's how it's going-

Completed-
-Send someone a surprise gift for no reason- I did this with my friend Leanne and she sent me one back!
-Pay someone a surprise visit- I surprised my Dad with good news when my Mum was away.
-Go Veggie for a month- I did this back in 2013, it was surprisingly easy as I used to be veggie.
-Buy a house decoration from Next- My chicken egg jar is my favourite.

-Make the perfect baked cheesecake- vanilla chocolate chip- yum!

-Have gel nails again- a friend bought the kit but if I'm honest it wasn't great for my nails.
-Swim 30 lengths in 30 minutes- I used to love swimming and got back into it in the summer. It only took me about 5 visits to complete this so I think I possibly needed a more challenging goal!
-Go Ice Skating- I fell dramatically.
-Give up chocolate for a month- I did this in January 2013, the first month of my list, and it was really difficult!
-Travel in 1st Class on a train- my Mum treated me to this one and we got a nice little snack pack.
-Go on holiday with friends- it was only one friend to Barcelona but it was great.
-Go speed dating- it was great fun!
-Eat the tomatoes on my plate/sandwich for a month- this was easy enough but I quickly went back to taking them off my sandwiches!
-Visit the beach- Inglemells and Skegness.

In progress-
-Make the perfect macaroons- I tried once but they weren't perfect!

-Rewatch 10 Disney classics- (3/10)
-Read 15 new books (3/15)
-Try 5 new fruits (2/5)
-Try 10 new foods (6/10)
-Have a plant that lives longer than 6 months- I planted some strawberry plants in April that are actually growing!

To do-
-Take my parents out to dinner to say thank you
-Go to Rome
-Walk into a bar and make a new friend
-See Kelly Clarkson again- come on Kelly come to the UK again!
-Do race for life
- Have a pedicure- my fear of people touching my feet is getting better
- Make mince pies
-Go strawberry picking
-Make someone a birthday cake
-Have a picnic
-Don't wear make up for a week (go out as normal)
-Host a dinner party
-Go to Brighton
-Go to Loch Fyne.