Let's Bake! // Carrot Cake

Hi all!!!

As promised, this is now week 2 of my Let's Bake Blogs!!

The lemon and poppy seed friands I made last week went down an absolute treat at home. Meaning I ate 2 and Craig decided to snaffle the rest! He's a friand monster!!

So this week the baking challenge was carrot cake!!
Now please bear in mind I am not a great fan of carrot cake and have never made one in my life. But it turned out amazingly well!!

The sponge was fragrant and soft with just the right amount of spice and the frosting on top was creamy and fluffy.

There isn't really much else to say regarding this recipe. The quantities were spot on and the finished product was lovely with a nice cup of tea.

The recipe I worked from

The finished article!!!

Now there is a great chance that the soft cheese frosting could have been a little stiffer, however I think as it was a little softer, the finished cake gives the appearance of american iced cupcakes which is sort of cute! I opted not to fill the middle of the cake with the frosting as my mum does not eat frosting and I really wanted her to try some. Luckily, the cake was really nice and moist and so the sponge did not go dry or taste clarty! 

If you are looking for a gorgeous carrot cake recipe than this one is definitely a hit with me! 

What shall I bake next week guys?

Leave me a comment down below with your suggestions and i'll be sure to comment and try and make as many as I can in the upcoming weeks!

xx

A Little Bit Of A Giggle...

As some of you may or may not be aware, I am part of an independant theatre company in Mansfield called Zodiac Theatre.  So this post from is from us, in hope that we can bring some joy and some laughter into your Friday & Saturday night!! I
t is that time of year again where in 10 days time, Zodiac Theatre company will be opening the doors of their performance space for our next show.

In contrast to what we have done previously and themes we have previously been a custom too, as a group we listened to your comments regarding something maybe a little more light hearted this time. Something not as dark and sinister!

So with that we are pleased to bring you, Imaginary Lines...

Do you ever have that want or that need to imagine how certain conversations or actions may unfold in front of you? Do you ever hope that an experience will go just the way you imagine it in your own head? Well even if you don't, these characters do!
Come with us on a humorous look through the lives and times of our five characters. Who know's what the play has in store for them!

Zodiac will be performing at Create Theatre, West Notts College on 24th & 25th July 2015. Doors will be opening at 7pm with the show starting at 7:30pm. With only a two night performance schedule, be sure to ring 07403018430 to reserve your tickets now!

Our Facebook Page! Please Like And Keep Checking For More Show Updates!

We would all love to see you there so much! So if you enjoy theatre, have a free night or are looking from some light hearted comedy, please come along and lose yourself, in Imaginary Lines!!

Let's Bake // Lemon & Poppy Seed Friand!

Hello all!!!!

So university is nearly over for me, I have a few holidays at work and for my birthday in May, Craig bought me a lovely new toy to play with! So whilst I could just bake goods for us and eat them, I have decided to do a weekly segment on my blog where I show you what I bake in the coming weeks!

Now disclaimer, I am not a good baker. I can cook well. Very well, but I cannot bake for the life of me!! I will share with you the good AND the bad if it comes to it (hopefully not as I am really trying to get it right). If a recipe goes wrong, I will show you the aftermath. If things look nice but taste gross, I will tell you. Either way you will be able to witness my awful baking and appreciate it for what it is... a lesson learned!

The inspiration behind my weekly baking comes from a new recipe book I purchased at Costco Wholesale about  a week ago. It is this Retro baking book, published by woman's weekly australia. In it are hundreds of recipes for cakes, tarts, biscuits, breads and all things sweet!

My beautiful mixer

I decided to start with something I have never tried before and definitely have never attempted to make, Lemon & Poppy Seed Friands.

From The Retro Baking Book

What is a Friand you say? I didn't know until I researched into the recipes myself! A Friend is a small, light french cake, traditionally made with ground almonds and melted butter. Little flour is used to create a fluffy and light base. Many different flavours can be used in a Friand, ranging from fruity drizzles to sweet toppings of melted chocolate.

Now in the instructions it says to beat gently with a wooden spoon, but I do not own a wooden spoon. So i decided to defy the instruction and use the beating tool on my mixer. I used it on the slowest setting and with a slow bowl rotation to try and mimic a hand beaten texture. I know this will upset many bakers and for that I am sorry!!!!! One day i promise I will invest in a wooden spoon to beat things with!

And this is how they turned out!

 The friends turned out rather well considering I did't know what one was until I started baking them! They are lovely to eat with a lemon icing glaze and sprinkle of icing sugar on top! It says to eat them whilst they are warm and that is that best advice with these little beauties. As the mixture contains lemon rind, every so often you get a lovely burst of citrus alongside the almond flavoured sponge.

After a sneaky bite!

It would be rude of me not to show you the inside of the cake!! A light fluffy centre full of taste and flavour. The only bad thing about these is the amount of pure sugar went into making them! But for my weekly treat, I guess I can overlook that!

Baking Week 1 has been a success!!! Next week by popular demand, aka Craigs demand, I am making my first every carrot cake!!

Hopefully it will look like this beauty!!!!

Thanks for reading guys and keep checking back for more baking updates!
Have you ever had a friand? Let me know in the comments below!

Bye xxx

I Like Mondays, When Mondays Are Like This...

It's Monday!

The hellish day of the week. The day of the week where if I had all weekend off I would be really upset to wake up to! Not today though! I still got to have a really nice lie in just catching up on some news, said bye bye to Craig before he went out and wake up in my own time for once!

Since I climbed out of my little pit, I have deep conditioned my hair with a Treseme hair shot, put another coat of colour on my nails ready for the week, packed my case, had a realllllly long, lovely shower, took the doggy for a walk, had some lunch and I am now sat here in my wonderful new chair, enjoying the last hour before I have to go out!

The weather is beautiful so me and pooch decided to go on a wander around the local lawns to get some exercise, it's still a bit chilly mind so make sure to wear a coat if you do venture out! It was really nice to just let her run around a bit on a long lead whilst I sat and tried to take pictures of her rolling around in the grass.
It is soon hard to take cute pictures when pooch is so excited!!

Today marks travelling day for university so it is always a toughie when I know I won't get to see Craig again till Thursday, but all that means is i'll be super excited on Thursday when he walks in form work and I am there waiting for him!

Boring post, I know, however I just though I would give you a daily round up of what's been happening so far!
Enjoy the snapshots!! I was feeling very fresh haha!

My New Pride & Joy!!

The Formula For Silky Soft Hair!!

My Favourite Nail Colour!

Just Chilling With Piglet!

Piglet!

Shameless Selfie ;)

It's Sunny & My Living Room Is Back To Normal!

Lazy Sunday!!

Yayyyy it's been a lazy Sunday kind of day!

Today I have done some good things though, I applied for my third year of student finance finally! It's not like I'm already half way through the year or anything! Whoopsies!
I also booked train tickets for my travels tomorrow to Cambridge.

I always feel so excited to go spend the week in the city, but also really sad that I am leaving Craig and the tribe for the majority of the week. Oh well, they get on just fine without me and it will probably be a lot more peaceful for them.

I can tell right away that the diet is going to go straight out of the window too! We have to eat out every night and when there are beautiful pubs and restaurants to eat at on every road, you find it hard to maintain any sort of healthy eating :(

This was just a little post so you know what my Sunday has been about. As it says in the title, today has been a lazy day and sometimes, that is completely necessary!

Love to you all,
Speak soon!!

Bye xxx

How about you? It's been 6 months now...

So guys,  it's been a while!!!

It has been so bloody long since i've thought about unleashing my thoughts on you again!
So what has happened in the last 6 months? Puppy had her first birthday and grew into a full size doglet! I now refer to her as Piglet (cute nickname I know) and she does not leave my side for a second when we are together. I'm a piggy momma now!
Once again, I let my hair grow... Then I cut it all off again! However, I have now started regularly going to a proper hairdressers to keep my tresses trimmed! I'm being a good girl for a change. I had a promotion at work, the team have made it a real easy transition for me with minimal stress which was super nice. I've gained friendships in some amazing people.
We put on a show! The play went fantastic and we had some amazing reviews. I feel very proud of the group and will continue feeling proud over the years to come I am sure. They are good juju!
The drawers in my bedroom collapsed, meaning I am now saving to get some new ones that match my corona wood dressing table. I'm not going to lie, the saving isn't going so well when you live near many departments stores with make-up counters throwing new lip colours at me every week! Damn you department stores ;) I am my own weakness and I also have no shame in admitting that.
I started the third year of my studies at university having passed my second year with no resits! This makes me feel clever beyond belief.


but i still ache

i still have my bad days

i still come home some nights and cry for no reason

i still eat soo much comfort pizza

The thing is, no matter what you do and how much you try, without professional help I will always feel what I feel. My chest will always beat faster in social situations. My palms and my feet will always sweat a little when I'm having a panic attack. I will still have shortness of breath in a room full of people. I will have my 'shut down' moments when too many things are buzzing around in my little brain. I've started to come to terms with this in my own little way.
The world is made up of billions of people. We all have different personalities, thoughts and emotions. Some people experience anxiety. Some people experience depression. Some people experience mental illnesses not as well known. Some people experience physical illness. Some people do not experience any of this. But it's not what we experience that defines us as a person. It is how we deal with it. Yes some people may have the ability to brush it off without a care in the world. To others it takes a lot to accept what they are dealing with. For me, I was scared. Scared that it would never go away. I only came to realise that the more I acknowledged it was there, the more it stuck around. I could pity myself and worry till the cows came home, but I was almost feeding my 'little visitor'. The more I thought about it, the more it appeared.

I'm not saying it's that easy for everybody. At the end of the day, everyone deals with situations differently. But it is what we experience and how we respond that make us who we are. And I think that it really something to think about. In fact, I think it's bloody fantastic!

My life is far from perfect. I still need to lose 7 pounds, I have a gym membership being paid for that isn't being used. I have deadlines at uni that are getting closer and closer without me even noticing.  I am a pretty average person really. That's how I like it. I am human. I have my faults. I have my blessings. But don't we all?

I'm ready to take life head on. Are you?

It Happened!!!

So hey guys, guess what I am going to do first...

Yep, thats right, apologise! I am so so so so sorry for not being present on this blog. I'm not ashamed to say that I fell off the literary wagon for a second. This is key though...I am not ashamed. I'm finally having the courage to hold my hands up and go 'Sorry, that's just how I am'!
Yes, I love this blog.
Yes, I want to go on date night.
Yes, I will clean the car on my day off.
Yes, I am feeling ok.

The sad thing is only 50% of the above 'Yes' statements are true. I love my blog and I want to go on date night. Sorry Craig, I won't clean the car. Sorry everyone but I am not feeling ok. But that is ok and I am beginning to see that now! Now I do not feel shameful about how I feel.


You tend to find that blog posts toward the end of December months are usually an update on what Father Christmas dropped down your chimney, how much food you willingly ate over the two, maybe three, day period or what New Year Resolutions you are going to uptake as of the 1st January ....!

That was originally what I was going to post about in the new year alongside an obligatory, 'I will blog every week'  resolution, however something changed today. Today for me hasn't been a good day. Having been up the majority of the night coughing and wheezing in an upright position, the day didn't start well, nor did it continue to improve. The weather meant that many people were forced to ring in at work and so even though I looked like the corpse of many a dead cattle, I wrapped up in my winter warmers and trudged through the snow to work. That was until two hours later, it was thought it best that I go back home and stop infecting the world with my 'Walking Dead-esque' lurgy!
So what happened when I got home? Nothing. A big, fat, nothing. I pulled on my comfy jimjams, whacked up the heating to a tropical degree and crawled into bed full of beechams all in one (flueous goneous potion is my preferred term), and drifted in and out of consciousness for a good six hours!

It wasn't until half past 6 that I realised it had happened. I woke because I heard a stirring downstairs and moments later I heard a booming sound running up the stairs. And he was there. He was there just looking at me, asking me how I felt. Did I want a glass of water? Did I need more medicine? Do you want some food? And it was in that moment, right there, that I felt truly grateful for this life. In front of me stood a very tall, very cold man, who above everything only wanted to help me. I don't give him enough credit. Without going into a ridiculously generic speech about how amazing and wonderful he is, well he is quite amazing and wonderful. Through everything we have overcome I cannot believe we are here all those years later.

So after Craig had left to go out, I couldn't really face being asleep for much more of my day so I just lay down and started thinking about what I am grateful for. Much like the Americans do on thanksgiving. It started with things such as;
1. My family - Everyday gets harder but also that little bit easier
2. My friends - You guys are the glue to my bricks of life!
3. My career - You've taken a strange, but incredible turn!
4. My house - I have a sturdy roof over my head.

Then somewhere down the list, it turned to this...;
12. My health - Yes! I have my health. I may not be the most sane person you will ever meet, but I have my health. I suffer from panic attacks, so what?! I cry at ladies dropping bread in Asda, so what?! I do have anxiety of many forms, so what?! I may even be slightly depressed at times, but so what?! It could be so much worse than that. So for now, I will take what hand i've been given and from this moment on I am all in! Some people don't have half the opportunities that have been thrown my way. For some people, such simple tasks take months to perfect. I will no longer wallow in self pity and respond to this self destruct button that I have lurking somewhere in my body. What is the point?
Then after a few moments had passed, I smiled. I may be slowly turning into a zombie like creature thanks to the infamous flu, but right now I am in a happy place. So my mission for tomorrow is throw as much vitamin C down my throat as possible, steam all the cold out of me in a long hot bath and dose up on Flueous goneous ready for mad Monday at work!

As for resolutions... I won't be doing them this year. Instead, let's take a look at what happened this year that made it incredible!!

I went fishing for the cry first time!

My pooch makes me laugh every single day!

This happens nearly every night at bed time!

Eternal love for you guys! Waltzer kiddies!!

Me and Craig became hardcore kids!!

Primark released the BEST line of jimjams I have ever seen!!

My love <3 

Candid camera moments!!

Doglet's first snow night!!

This is for you Mullens!!

Prom July 2010

 This was me and Craig back in 2010 at my sixth form prom. We were young, thin and sort of cute in a way! Who would ever know that nearly 5 years later, plus one house, two cats, a dog, many hairstyles, day trips and laughs later we would look so much better together haha! Honestly, i thought stress and growing up was meant to be a bad thing! Craig if you are reading this, I love you with all of my body. You are my shining light, the one thing that keeps me constant. Let's just hope we keep growing up and keep making cute ass pictures together until we are old and grey!!

These days...

Specsavers Ball December 2014

And he still brings me a chip butty when I ask him too!!

I'm happy.
I will continue to blog.
I'm sure I will still be having many a dramatic moment in many months to come.
But I will be taking a more positive direction and I hope I can keep you all thoroughly entertained whatever I choose to blog about.

This was me, coming to you from my sickbed, because I needed to talk to somebody...and it might as well be you guys! I'm off now to get even more sleep and taken even more medicine. I love you, you crazy bunch!!

Peace out!
xxxxxxxxxx