Homemade Recipes!

Baking Birthday Cupcakes!

It was my dad's birthday a while ago on June 17th, but his party is not until this weekend as him and my mum went away on holiday straight afterwards. My mum is doing a little buffet for it, and so I volunteered to make some cakes and decorate them for it. 

I cheated slightly with the first lot, by buying some pre-made fairy buns and icing them with plain white icing and jellybeans/ sprinkles. This is mainly because they are for the little children coming, and they don't really appreciate intricately decorated or well made cakes!

For the rest of the guests though I spent a bit more time and effort. I made some cake mixture using the standard recipe that I always use: 2 medium eggs, 4oz self raising flour, 4oz butter, 4oz sugar and 2 teaspoons of vanilla essence. This makes around 15 large cupcakes, or 20 smaller ones, depending on your appetite!

I wanted to use a Leeds United theme for the decoration (my dad is a die-hard fan!) so I also added some blue food colouring to the cake mixture to create royal blue cupcakes. They take just over twelve minutes to cook in a fan oven on 180 degrees depending on the depth and size of them. Once cooled, I made some butter-cream using margarine and icing sugar, coloured it yellow, and piped it onto the top of the cakes using my piping instrument which is a god send and so easy to use. Before the icing set I added little white balls onto the top of the cakes, completing the blue, yellow and white Leeds colour scheme. I don't think it will be very obvious until I tell people, but subtlety is always a good thing I find!

Weekly Update!

Bowling, Brewdog & A Lazy Sunday!

This week has been a bit of a mixed bag really, I've had my nails done again, gymmed a lot ready for Beni and had a test drive in a Toyota Aygo which I loved. I was pretty nervous as I've never done one before, but once I'd got the hang of it, it was fine.

On Tuesday I went to the Trafford Centre with Charlotte and Emily as I wanted a bit of a mooch about. I only bought something small (see previous post on latest purchases!) but it was nice to get out of the house and catch up with the girls.

I went for a few drinks at The Greyhound on Thursday, and on Friday after a quick tea of pizza and garlic bread, Sam and I went bowling! Although I lost miserably it was really good fun and something a bit different to do which was good.

Yesterday after work we went out to celebrate my friend Smeed's birthday. We had predrinks at his house and then headed into Manchester to Brewdog bar and Venue nightclub afterwards. Smeed and Emily both got really drunk so we left at around 2am to escort them home - not that we were much better!

Today we had a lie in and then went to The American Bar for pancakes for breakfast. The food was great (Sam had the full English) but the service was pretty poor so I wouldn't rush back to be honest! This the evening we chilled out in front of the TV and had a lovely chicken casserole for tea made by Sam's mum. We popped out later for some chocolate biscuits and sweeties as a treat and I also bought a magazine to catch up on the showbiz world. I love Sundays!

Recent Purchases

Kurt Geiger, Cath Kidston & Fossil!

As there isn't much for me to blog about this week, I thought I would do a more picture based post for a change showcasing my latest retail therapy splurges. I feel like I have bought quite a few items of clothing gradually over the past few months, mainly due to a change in weather (my sandals and summerwear were so last year!) and an upcoming holiday to Benicassim festival in Spain. It also helps that I have a much healthier bank balance than when I was a student, so can afford to replace some of the staple pieces that were looking rather tatty - mainly heels - and hell, just to treat myself now and again.

My first buy this week was a pair of insanely high Kurt Geiger shoes. I have a pair of KGs already, bought a few years ago from Cheshire Oaks, so I knew that a size 6 would be a perfect fit. They make me about six foot tall which is amazing, even if they do make me taller than Sam! I got them for just £39 reduced from £130 as a late birthday present from Mum and Dad, thanks to Money Saving Expert for alerting me to the more than 50% off sale!

My second purchase was a cute little Cath Kidston bag bought with some of my Selfridges vouchers that I received from my lovely colleagues at the pub. It is plastic coated and a decent size, so I am intending using it as a beach bag/ nannying bag. It is just one big compartment except for a little pocket that is perfectly sized for a camera/ iPod/ phone, so should do well for Beni! It was only £14 in the sale too.

My third and final (for now) newest item was bought off eBay. It is a pair of 50s style cats eye sunglasses by Fossil. I found some similar ones at Cheshire Oaks and loved them, but had already spent quite a lot and didn't want to part with another £50, so I reluctantly left the shop. I am glad I did now though as I won these babies for only £23 including postage. I really like them as I have found a lot of the cat eye style ones are a little OTT, and I don't want to look like Edna Everage!

I think from this post that you can probably tell I am a bit of a bargain hunter, and my friends know me for it (and are a little jealous!). My thrifty services are available whenever the shops are open!

Homemade Recipes!

Spanish Style Chicken Casserole

Last night, Sam came to my house for tea, and with my parents currently on holiday, I thought I'd cook something nice so that Jasmine and I are getting some decent sustenance! I started by frying cut up chicken breasts in olive oil until they were browned. I then added onion and did the same.

Next, I added a tin of chopped tomatoes, a glass of dry white wine, half a teaspoon of garlic paste, a squirt of tomato puree, a pinch of oregano and seasoned with salt and pepper. I left this concoction bubbling for about half an hour while I set the table and then enjoyed a glass of wine (well, it was already open!).

Five minutes before serving I added some prawns and salami that I roughly pulled apart. The recipe that I was vaguely following said to use chorizo, but I didn't have any! I served it with rice and it went down a treat.

With this being a Spanish dish as it has aspects of paella in it, you could also add some red onion, chilli or peppers - in fact, you could add or leave out whatever you want based on preferences, which is what makes this such a great versatile meal. 

Weekly Update!

Bargains, Birthdays & Father's Day!

As is evident from previous posts, this week was my birthday, and so aside from celebrating that (copiously!), not a lot went on this week. I went to the Trafford Centre on Wednesday with my parents to get my present (a bargain Karen Millen purse) and we had tea at Las Iguanas. As it was my birthday I got a free main course, and a free cocktail which I thought was really good. 

I chose the Xin Xim as my main, described on the menu as, 'Exotic, creamy, satisfying. Lime chicken in a crayfish & peanut sauce with rice & fine green beans. Toasted coconut farofa to sprinkle, sweet plantains for fun. Pele loves it.' It was delicious and I loved the unusual way it was presented - in a clay bowl for me to serve myself. I had a dessert as well, the creamy caramel cake, and mum got the aztec chocolate fudge cake and we shared them both. Mine was amazing, layers of sticky cake sandwiched with dulche du leche and served with blueberries - yum!

On Friday we had a chilled night in, with a takeaway from Man Zen, and I popped home to see my sister Jasmine arrive back from university which was nice. On Saturday I worked and then had a hockey ball (see previous post) and today it is my dad's 50th birthday as well as Father's Day, so we went for a meal at Francs in Altrincham with some family friends. It was a set menu, I had mushrooms cooked in a tomato sauce with Gruyère cheese, followed by roasted lamb with potatoes and vegetables, and finally blueberry frangipane with vanilla ice cream, which I cannot commend highly enough!

I am just about to head off to Sam's now for the end of a tea party his mum has put on for the family, so will no doubt be eating more food - it has been an indulgent week!

Having a Ball!

Bowdon Hockey Summer Ball

Last night I went to Bowdon Hockey, Squash and Cricket club with Sam for their annual Summer Ball. It is quite a formal affair, so I loved the opportunity to dress up and have a lovely five course meal. I wore a dress from River Island that I wore to a wedding last summer- it is quite punky in style, with a big 50s-esque pleated skirt and elasticated straps across a completely open back, with a flourescent orange zip up the front. I love it as I think it shows my personality off perfectly.

We arrived at 7.30pm and had a glass of champagne before sitting down for our food. We had a melon and summer berry mixture with serrano ham and a champagne sorbet for starter. I don't like melon, but because there was plenty of other things on the plate, I didn't feel uncomfortable not eating it which was nice. For the main course there was beef steak with a red berry and shallot jus on a potato rosti served with vegetables. The steak was done just how I like it (medium well) but I think a few people were a little disappointed that it wasn't more rare.

For dessert there was chocolate torte with summer berry compote and ice cream. It was very rich so I didn't eat much of it after the heavy steak, but I ate the fruit and the ice cream, which was bursting with vanilla pods, and tasted divine. There was a short gap and then tea, coffee and amaretto biscuits were served, followed later on by a cheese and biscuit board which was left out for the remainder of the night, and I definitely took advantage of it!

Throughout the meal there were various sources of entertainment, there was a magician wandering around doing card tricks, a band who did some easy going background music whilst we ate, before livening up for when people headed to the dancefloor (some people went in between courses!), and there was also a raffle and charity auction amongst other party games. The band weren't great vocally, but people got up regardless, so it didn't affect things too much!

Everyone looked so elegant and gorgeous, and the drinks flowed all night, so it was a really fun evening. It didn't end too late (just after 1am) but I was completely shattered so we walked into Hale and got a taxi back. It was a nice change of scene for a Saturday night!

My Birthday Part 2!

Bistro 156, Didsbury

It was my actual birthday yesterday, and so I went with Sam and four friends to Bistro 156 in Didsbury for a meal in the evening. It was somewhere Sam had suggested, and I literally knew nothing about it, and have never been to Didsbury, so was majorly trusting him!

When we walked in I instantly liked the atmosphere. It is quite small and quaint, but is decorated in deep purples and olive green and gold, so it has a more luxurious, plush feel to it. There is probably space for 26 people to eat in there, so it is quite cosy, and I liked that you could see into the kitchen so you could watch the chef at work.

They had a set menu on, where it was £18 for two courses, or £20 for three, and the variety was good - there were five choices for each course, plus a couple of specials for each. I chose the pate with bread and chutney for a starter, it was gorgeous, and the portion was very generous, I could have had that as a main! Following that I had prawn, mussel and chorizo paella, which was served with a whole chicken breast on top. It was very flavoursome, you could tell it had been bubbling away for a while. I couldn't finish it all, as to be honest I don't think the chicken was needed as well as the paella, perhaps if you were just opting for the two courses it would be less daunting!

To finish I had a trio of desserts; there was a raspberry crème brulee (my absolute favourite!), amaretto ice cream and a Spanish style orange cake. It was served in little tea cups on a platter which looked so sweet, and was the perfect size to end a lovely meal. We had a couple of bottles of wine and with a generous tip it was £80 for the two of us, so was a bit more than usual but still not too extravagant. It was my birthday after all!

Weekly Update!

Piercings, Ball Parks & Huge Pizzas!

This week has been good fun, even if I do feel awful today (see previous post for explanation!). On Monday I was in Chester with Sam, and then I worked the evening, although it was fairly quiet so I got to finish earlier than usual. On Tuesday I went into Manchester and got some new piercings! I had three microdermal gems placed just above my bellybutton, and though they are the most painful piercings I have had done (they weren't too bad, just all my others have been practically painless) they are so worth it as I love them!

That afternoon I went to Ikea with Sam and my mum to buy a bedroom unit I have wanted for ages, and I made it by myself on Wednesday, which I was very proud of! On Thursday it was back to work as usual, and I had Aum all day so took him to Ants In Your Pants, a big children's indoor ball park near to my house. We had lunch there which was actually really good, I had homemade broccoli soup with wholemeal bread and it was delicious.

On Friday Aum had a friend round to the house, so I took them to Pizza Express for lunch as a treat. The kids menu is really good value there, three courses for just £6.65. I had a full sized pizza, which was definitely full sized, it must have been 15 inches wide! It had artichokes, mushrooms, ham, olives and chicken on and a pesto base. I just chilled out in the evening after a fairly hectic week so far, despite being off work for half of it!

On Saturday it was my birthday night out (see previous post) and today I have spent recovering, and have just finished a gorgeous roast dinner courtesy of Sam's mum. It is all I've managed to eat all day!

My Birthday!

Cake, Champagne and a Horrific Hangover!

Yesterday was the day I celebrated my birthday with all my friends, as originally I was supposed to be away for the weekend directly after it. Six of university friends came down from Lancaster, and they met me in the pub that I work in before I finished. We went home and had a lovely chilli for tea courtesy of my mum, and then the girls went upstairs to get ready while the boys watched the football downstairs.

I wore a mint green dress from H&M that I bought whilst in Chester, with a thin gold belt and nude T-bar heels. It looked pretty summery, but I didn't care! The rest of my friends arrived between eight and half past, and we started the drinking!

I opened a bottle of champagne for us all to share, and my mum had made me a marbled chocolate birthday cake, which my friends insisted on having candles in so they could sing to me. Suitable drunk, we got a minibus into Manchester to Factory, where I had sorted out a guestlist so we got in cheaper (and I got in for nothing!).

The rest of the night is a bit of a blur to be honest! Apparently we got home at around 3am, and ordered cheesy garlic bread which was delivered to the house - I have no idea who delivers so late! - and then we all crashed out in beds, including a couple of my friends who hadn't intended staying! 

I was sick during the night, much to my surprise, and again this morning, so have spent today in various states between horrendous and awful, not managing to eat anything for most of the day, and having a whole house to tidy up after a party, not fun. It was an absolutely brilliant night though, and everyone said they enjoyed themselves, which is always a good sign. Same time next year!

Candid Article 16

Snow White and the Huntsman - 4 stars ****

This is one of those films where there has been a surplus of anticipation for its release, and little mystery surrounding it. We’ve known who was cast in it, been shown pictures of costumes, and heard behind the scenes rumours from the minute director Rupert Sanders shouted ‘ACTION!’. However, perhaps one of the details that wasn’t broadcast to the world, was the actual plot. Maybe this is because everyone is presumed to know the tale of Snow White - originally by the Brothers Grimm - and this therefore sets up the first surprise for the audience: that this is no ordinary fairytale.

The film begins as one would expect, with a sultry female voice declaring ‘Once Upon A Time’ and going on to explain how a King and Queen had a beautiful daughter with lips red as a rose, hair black as a raven’s wing and skin white as snow. A harsh winter kills her adoring mother, and shortly afterwards an enchanted army is set upon the grief- stricken King. After his soldiers defeat them, he finds a prisoner (Charlize Theron) in the back of a carriage and, enchanted by her beauty, forgets his heartache and marries the woman the next day.

Ravenna, as we later learn she is called, is no innocent hostage, but a powerful sorceress, consumed with the desire to become ‘fairest of them all’. Hours after her marriage, she kills the King and steals his throne, throwing a young Snow White into a dungeon to prevent her beauty from surpassing her own.

Some years later, Snow White (Kristen Stewart) manages to escape from her prison cell, fleeing into the ominous Dark Forest. Enraged, the Queen hires a Huntsman (Chris Hemsworth), a drunken widower who is one of the few to have tackled the forest before. However, upon finding Snow White he is startled by her purity and innocence and is unable to kill her. He vows instead to help her reach the castle of Duke Hammond, to reunite her with childhood friend William (Sam Claflin), so that together they can defeat Ravenna, and reclaim Snow White’s throne.

Thus far, the story sounds much the same, but I think the main difference between this film and its folk-style counterpart, is that the gothic, scary elements have been drawn out and heightened to provide a more sensory based and modern feel. The enchanted mirror morphs into a gold hooded man who delivers the results of who is fairest. The Dark Forest, far from Walt Disney’s tame perception, contains pools of black writhing snakes, and a floor that turns to flesh eating maggots upon contact. It feeds upon peoples’ fears, so a plethora of dark magic ensues. Ravenna seeks out pretty young maidens, and sucks the youth from them in order to retain her striking looks, a process that we see graphically used upon Lily Cole in her cameo as Greta. There is also a scene where the evil monarch is seen surrounded by dead birds, using a sadistic contraption to pluck out their hearts for her to eat.

It is not all doom and gloom though. The seven dwarves (who of course are still featured) are a loveable bunch of drunken merry men played by some of Britain’s finest actors, including Ian McShane, Bob Hoskins, Nick Frost and Ray Winstone. They are definitely a source of light relief amongst the drama and chaos. In particular there is a gorgeous scene where they have just learnt Snow White’s true identity and purpose, where the frozen world they are used to is beginning to come back to life. The cinematic effects used to portray the Fairy World are top-notch and form a stark contrast to the dull grey lands created by Ravenna.

One of the only flaws in this film in my opinion, is the acting ability of Kristen Stewart. Having made her mark on Hollywood in the hugely successful Twilight saga, this was her chance to prove to the world that she was a diverse and capable thespian. There is no denying that the girl can act, and her appearance is Snow White personified, but I felt that the way in which she portrayed the character was eerily similar to that of Bella Swan, even to the extent that her kissing scenes could have been cut and pasted and you wouldn’t have known the difference. It is a shame that amongst such a high calibre of stars, (Charlize Theron in this is BRILLIANT) that one weak link reduced the credibility of the movie as a whole. I would still highly recommend Snow White and the Huntsman though, even if it is just to appreciate that a classic fairytale can be altered to such a degree as to change the focus completely. It is also difficult to fault the hard work that has clearly gone into producing such a visually high quality piece of cinema.

Traveller's Tales...

Chester

Sam and I decided to make the most of the extended Bank Holiday and go away somewhere for a couple of days. After ruling out the Lake District due to extortionate prices, we decided upon Chester instead. We caught the train just before midday so arrived before one. We dropped our bags at the hotel, which was conveniently right by the station, and then walked into the town centre.

We had a coffee in Caffe Nero, and then spent the rest of the day exploring and doing a spot of shopping. It was pouring down (and I wasn't dressed very appropriately for it!) so we went to the hotel at 4.30pm to check in and start getting ready for an evening out. 

We left at 6ish and had a drink in a pub before going out for an Italian at a restaurant called Sergio's. We shared bruschetta to start, and then I had a creamy chicken and mushroom pasta, while Sam had a spicy calzone and we shared a bottle of wine. To say it was an Italian, which I find are usually quite easy to get right, this one was outstandingly good, and the menu had loads on that I fancied so I would recommend it.

After tea we went to a place called BarLounge, where I had a cocktail called an Aviator and then lots of Disaronno and cokes! We had a fun evening and even did some shots! We stopped for one last one at The Living Room before returning back to the hotel.

The next day wasn't quite so rainy, so after checking out we went for a walk in the park and then stopped for some brunch at Blue Moon Cafe, a 50s style diner on the river. I had gorgeous homemade fish and chips, while Sam opted for a full English breakfast, which was huge!

Because it was the Jubilee weekend there was a parade in the centre of town, and lots of people were dressed up or milling about, which provided a great atmosphere. After a quick dash around Primark, we caught the train back to Ashley and were home at 3pm; giving me just enough time to dash home and unpack before starting work at 6pm. I could get used to this mini-break malarky!

Weekly Update!

Meals Out, & Meals In!

There's not a great deal to say about this week, having already done posts on my trips to Wales and Chester, which have taken up the majority of my week apart from working at the pub. From Wednesday I was off work from nannying as they were on holiday, but Monday and Tuesday I had Aum all day as he was off school, and with the weather being nice we spent Monday in Stamford park and had a picnic. We were there for a couple of hours and then he had a football lesson so I got some time to sunbathe back at his house. On Tuesday we went into Hale and had a coffee and cake in Costa Coffee which was nice, and then I babysat until 9.30pm.

I got back from Wales on Friday (see previous post) and that evening Sam and I went into Hale for a meal and some drinks. We started in Piccolinos, and then ate at Earle, which was amazing! I had black pudding bites with mustard for a starter, followed by ham, pea and mint risotto topped with a breadcrumbed poached egg and a parmesan crisp. I have wanted to eat there for a while as I had heard good things, and I wasn't disappointed! We went to La Vina afterwards for a couple of drinks, and Lydia joined us after she had finished work.

On Saturday after I had finished work I went round to Sam's and he cooked a meal for me and all my friends, there were nine of us! Abi was visiting from New York, so it was cool to all get together and have some good food and drink. We had bread, salamis and olives with balsamic vinegar as nibbles to start with, with mojitos to drink, and then went and sat in the dining room for the main course - chicken stuffed with basil and mozzerella, wrapped in parma ham, with crushed new potatoes, green beans and broccoli. It was delicious! Emily made some cute little jubilee cupcakes for dessert as well which was great, and then we went downstairs to continue drinking. People left at around midnight, and we went to bed as we are going to Chester at lunchtime today - a great weekend so far!

Traveller's Tales...

Menai, Wales

My friend Hana is studying for her Masters in Marine Biology at Bangor University. This week, she offered up an open house, and seen as I had the week off work, I jumped at the chance for a roadtrip.

I set off at 3pm on Weds, and it was a really good clear run up so I arrived just after 4.30pm. The weather wasn't great but it wasn't raining and was fairly mild, so we walked to the supermarket to get some ingredients to make cupcakes, and took a detour on the way home to Church Island, which had the tiniest little church on it, it was adorable! Back home, after we had made the cakes and eaten a quick tea of tuna pasta we drove to South Stacks where there is a lighthouse and lots of pretty flowers to look at. It was freezing up high so we didn't stay long - but we did have a cheeky paddle in the sea anyway!

On Thursday we woke up bright and early and had a hearty breakfast as we were climbing Snowdon. It was drizzling a little but we were prepared with waterproof trousers and jackets and hefty walking boots so it didn't deter us. When we eventually got there and began the ascent, the rain got much heavier and we were drenched after ten minutes! There were some gorgeous views despite the tough climb, and we managed to walk faster than the steam train that goes up the mountain which we were pretty chuffed with!

We only went halfway as it was pretty ridiculous how wet we were, and once we had slightly dried off we drove to Betws-y-Coed to have afternoon tea. The place that we went to was amazing - for £18 we got triple decker salmon and cucumber sandwiches, scones with jam and cream, chocolate cake, tea bread, carrot cake, meringue, apple crumble cake and brownies for two people! It was definitely well deserved after our walk (although we didn't eat it all, we left with a doggie bag!).

Afterwards we drove home and showered and got ready to go into Bangor. We went to a bar called Fat Cat for BOGOF cocktails; we had a French Martini and one called a Cherry Bakewell which was delicious. We saw Snow White and the Huntsman at the cinema (see next week's post), and then went home super tired to bed.

On Friday the weather was slightly better, with no rain and fairly clear skies, so we packed up a picnic (including some pink champagne) and headed to Newborough beach. Because we were in such a secluded bay we wore our bikinis and sunbathed, there was no wind at all and we stayed for most of the day so it was really relaxing. We walked back along the clifftops which was lovely, and then I drove home at 5pm once we had got back to Menai. A perfect start to a week off!