A Return to Blogging?

It has been a long time since I last wrote a blog post.  In that time I have become a Mum, alongside other life challenges such as returning to dance after the pregnancy and going through many related health issues.  As quite a different person from the woman who started this blog I have many questions with regards to how I might continue with it.  One major health issue I experienced during my pregnancy and after was quite severe eczema/ allergies, and even though the eczema has mostly calmed down now I still am left with incredibly sensitive skin.  This makes one of the main previous themes of this blog quite difficult to continue with.  My ability to test out and enjoy using cosmetics and skin care is now severely limited.  In particular lipstick is almost a no go area.  I’m still interested in things like baking and photography however now I have much less time for these activities between full time work and taking care of my daughter!  Despite the business of things the recent lockdown and my child becoming less of a baby and more of a toddler has perhaps provided space in my thoughts for my own personal development once again.  My interests may have changed but perhaps that is OK and rather than start a whole new blog, continuing this one and allowing it to change a bit in theme is a natural progression of growth as in life.  With all that is going on in the world writing a blog based on my limited and introspective experience of life seems a bit trite.  I hope a bit of normalcy and frivolity can be a necessary antidote to the apparent darkness surrounding us, and perhaps it is OK to escape the news from time to time and try and focus on small joys that we are fortunate to have and show in a way our gratefulness for them.  I do not know yet for sure what direction this blog will go in so for now I will leave this as a small introduction to a second beginning, what ever it might bring….

A snowy walk

A couple of weeks ago I took my camera out with me for a walk in the snow.  Normally it's too cold to stay out for long enough to take pictures but the temperature was just about warm enough to spend a few extra minutes outdoors.  So on our way to a cafe for some lunch I snapped some snow!

I love fairy lights and what could be more romantic than fairy lights, snow and a swing?!  I definitely needed that cup of tea to warm up after taking pictures in the cold though!

8 Things To Do When The Days Get Shorter

I'm one of those people that really struggles when the days get shorter, and it feels like you're living in an eternal night (mare).  I know there's lots of us out there who struggle so I decided to write up a list of the things I do to keep my spirits up and try to appreciate the cosier time year.

1, Candles - OK so this is an obvious one but my ballet coach once said to me that lighting candles in the evening helps her mood because the light they give off is natural light as opposed to the artificial light of a light bulb.  I have no idea if there is any science behind this but I do like the idea, and candle light is much more soothing than the glow of a bulb.  Bonus points if they're scented too.  I know candles aren't convenient though if you've got babies or pets so maybe try number 2...

2.  A salt lamp - I was on holiday in a seaside town and spotted some well priced himalayan salt lamps in the shops there.  It was something I had read about as being good for eczema sufferers (something to do with it giving off salt in to the air when warmed by the light of the bulb inside).  Well I will try anything once if there's a change it could help with my eczema but asides from that it gives off a really nice warm glow.  The light is very similar to the glow of a candle or a fire so if candles aren't your thing but you like the idea of the warm glow they give off I would really recommend you try a salt lamp.  I would have one in every room if I could during the dark wintery evenings.

3. A warm bath - There's no windows in our bathroom but this seems to matter less when it's dark outside anyway.  I love to run a bath with some salts or oils in it, light a candle and read a book.  It becomes a nightly ritual in the winter time and it really does help to relax you in the evening.

4.  Embrace winter fashion - It sucks that the weather is so dreary outside but autumn/winter fashion is appealing for so many reasons.  Treat yourself by buying the softest, warmest jumper/cardigan you can find so that you wont feel the cold when you leave the house.  Not to mention the gorgeous boots/coats/hats that you finally get to wear.  Getting experimental with your style could give you something to look forward to when you wake up in the morning.

5. Autumnal make-up - You can get away with darker shades of lipstick, eyeshadow or blush (not all at once though!) when the days are darker.  Whatever you like to experiment with, now is the time to do it.  I like picking out a darker shade of lipstick to wear out on an autumnal weekend.  Darker shades work so much better with autumn fashion than with summer clothes.

6.  Hot drinks - Whatever your favourite hot drink is now you get to drink it all. day. long.  I love drinking different kinds of teas and mix it up through out the day drinking tea after tea.  I pop out to the supermarket and grab myself a nice selection I can look forward to working my way through during the colder months.

7.  Baking - I haven't got my baking on yet but if there's a good time to get the oven on warming the house and filling it with yummy smells then this is it.  Eating hot food is much more appealing and enjoyable when it's cold outside and there really is nothing better than filling the house with the scent of a roast dinner or apple crumble baking in the oven on a chilly day.

8.  Go for a walk - A big part of enjoying the cold weather is staying indoors and getting cosy, but to keep up your mood I would definitely recommend getting out for a bit every day.  Particularly when the sun is still up.  Getting fresh air always makes me feel better so on a day off work I will still make sure I go somewhere for a little walk.  What better way to get out and about than to wrap us warm and walk to a cosy coffee shop for that nice warm drink?

On feeling like I should be 24

I'm in my last year of being in my 20's.  I feel like I've grown so much in the last decade I've been working as a ballet dancer but, I tell you, it's just now I feel ready, right now, to take on the job and the world.  I feel fully formed and experienced enough to go out there and find my place in it..... and yet, I can't help feeling like it's all too late.
How I feel now is how I thought I would feel at 24.  Self-assured, experienced, confident.  Let me say first of all that the world of ballet is very different to a conventional career.  Twenty-four probably sounds premature to the majority but a dancer's career is very short.  There's no university and you dive straight in to working professionally (if you're lucky) at the age of 18 or 19.  From then on you really don't have very long to make an impression and move up the ladder if that is what your ambitions are.  Many dancer's give up before they reach the age of 30 for various reasons; lack of financial security, injuries, the gruelling nature of the work etc. Very few make it to 40.
I didn't want to make this post about ballet but it's hard to explain my thoughts without giving it some kind of context.  Something that seems very much at the forefront of my thoughts right now is a lack of time.  I feel like I've enjoyed my twenties, done some good work and had a really good time, but now, I want to cement something, to do something definitive and memorable whilst I still have the chance and to make the most of the short time I have left of my youth.  When I was younger I don't think I ever looked farther ahead than 28.  I think in the back of my mind I thought my best work in this career would be done by then, and I would move on to the next phase of my life, hopefully moving in to an exciting new career.  Then I hit 28 and I still felt like I was 22, and had no where near achieved what I wanted to achieve yet.  The scariest thing is the realisation that I can't fit everything in.  The travelling and the second career and all the dancing I want to do, not mention starting a family.  In case you couldn't tell I've always been a bit over ambitious and a high achiever.   I can imagine a lot of women feel this way, that they haven't achieved enough yet in their careers and they face the burgeoning approach of soon being at the age they might want to start a family.  Probably I set myself too many big goals to reach and am now realising that there's no way I'll be able to get to them all.  Yet when I sit back and think about it, I suppose I'm glad for the ambition because it's dragged me to do all the interesting things I've done on the way there.  So maybe achieving the goals isn't what truly matters after all.  Perhaps you set them purely to give you a road to follow in the hope that it will lead you somewhere eventually, but the most important thing is that the journey will be interesting.

Till next time!

Twirlybirdie

Life Lately: London and Wedding Preparations!

Hello!

 I am back in my home town of London for work which is so exciting.  Being in London is like meeting up with an old friend.  One you haven't seen for so long you almost can't remember what it's like to hang out but once you meet up again it's like it's been no time at all.  It's so wonderful to have so many places to go and explore, particularly all the lovely coffee shops we can visit.
Starting a new job is always a slightly stressful experience.  I couldn't sleep the first few nights properly as we were also staying somewhere I hadn't stayed before.  It takes me a little while to settle in anywhere new.  I'm a week in now though and things are starting to feel more familiar.
I feel like I'm at a cross roads in my life and hope I'll use this time in England to try to figure out what I want next.  There's a part of me that would love to live in London one day and I know that if I don't try to do this soon I wont be in a situation where it's easy to do it for much longer.
Last minute wedding preparations are being made as the wedding is this month.  I can't believe it will be here soon!  I just bought my last bridesmaids dress at the weekend.  It was a lucky find as we only had one day to get it before the bridesmaid jetted off to America for another friends wedding.  I had quite specific criteria for the dress (vintage, short, gold. 40's/50's era) and was lucky to find the perfect thing in a size that fitted.  Things are coming together quickly luckily as I also had to find shoes for myself and finally managed to find the perfect gold sparkly pair in Dune (in case you hadn't noticed gold is in the colour scheme!).  So now as things become hectic and tiring with work I'm glad that I've only got a couple of things to do.  One of them being the last flower crown for the bridesmaids to make.  I'm enjoying the preparations now that the actual day is in sight.  I don't like to drag things out over a really long period of time!

When we went bridesmaid dress shopping we stopped at a nice cafe on Brick Lane and the cakes there looked amazing!  My fiancé ordered the Banana and Butterscotch cake which I had a taste of, it really was delicious.  The cafe was called Kahaila and I would recommend checking it out if you're around the area.

Sorry if the photos aren't as good quality as usually but I don't have my DSLR camera with me so I'm making do with my iphone for the moment!
I hope you enjoyed this little catch up.  I don't really have a lot of time to blog at the moment but I'd like to try to keep this little blog as up to date as I can manage anyway!
Till next time
Twirlybirdie :)

Why Blogging?

Hello!

How is your day going?  I thought I'd write a bit about why I blog and what I think attracted me to blogging in the first place.  I guess like most people I started reading other people's blogs before deciding to try to write my own.  I was really surprised by the number of beauty and lifestyle blogs there were out there when I first started looking and by how professional and enjoyable to read they were.  My full time job is being a ballet dancer and as much as I love my job and that world, sometimes things can get rather intense.  When I come home from work I can really really do with any method I can to switch off from my job and relax.  Reading and writing blogs has become the perfect distraction.
What type of blog appeals to me most changes from day to day.  I started off pretty obsessed with reading about everything beauty: every new release, every beauty favourites, every person's look of the day.... Then I would go through a phase of loving everything home related; followed by an obsession with every featured wedding post etc. etc.  Now I just pick and choose a selection of different posts to look at and I feel like I'm curating my own personal magazine to read.  That's also one of the great benefits of reading blogs, it's like reading a magazine except for free.  I love that the internet has given people the chance to express themselves and reach an audience if they feel they have the desire without necessarily having the right qualifications or job experience for the role.  I can understand why professional writers might find this distressing but if you're doing it for the love of it and for free than why should anyone stop you.  If you're making a living or a small extra bit of money on the side doing it then good for you, I don't see how that makes you any different from a smart business man or woman.
Being a dancer can be a lonely life because of the strange hours we work and the fatigue which makes it hard to get out in your free time.  Part of the appeal of blogging is being able to connect with others from the comfort of your own home who probably also have similar interests to you.  This is something that is often seen as a negative, connecting with people on-line as opposed to in real life.  I see plenty of people during the day at my job, and when time allows will happily pop out for a coffee with a friend.  Connecting with people in the virtual world of the internet is merely an addition to this.  The type of relationship you might have with an online community might be a completely new kind of relationship dynamic that didn't exist before the internet, but that doesn't necessarily make these relationships all bad.  The world is always changing and the internet is a big part of that, the pro's and con's of which this generation is having to navigate.
I really love taking pictures and enjoy a bit of writing and having a creative outlet to express myself by writing blog posts now and again when I feel like it helps me to fulfil those need.
What are you're reasons for blogging?  Do you also do it to cut off from the rest of your life and relax or do you do it for any other reasons?

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Books and french plaits

Hello!
I think it's time for a little life update mostly illustrated by photos!

I bought this book to read on a whim when I saw it was on sale in the shop.  I pretty much bought it because I liked the look of the cover, haha!  I doubt that's the best way to pick a book to read and I haven't got far with it yet but so far it's pretty unoffensive.  A bit whimsical and definitely based in a fantasy world, I sense it will be an easy and quick read.

The sun was shining and as I'm pretty obsessed with it I had to snap a picture.  I find my mood is hugely improved when the sun is shining and it really hasn't been much lately which is a big problem for me.  I take vitamin D and hope that helps me to stay positive alongside the exercise I do almost every day for my job.

I have an obsession with mini eggs.  They're my favourite chocolate treat.  As soon as they come out for Easter I'm all over them!  These were brought over by my family.

I've never been able to do french plaits until recently.  I have tried to on and off for years but found my attempts completely useless!  Suddenly I figured out how to do it by holding one of the strands in my mouth whilst I work with the other two and then swapping over when I'm ready to use that strand.  I usually do a side parting and then plat both sides all the way to the ends.  Then I fold them over each other across the bottom of my head and pin them securely with the end of each plait tucked under itself so the bobbles aren't visible.  It's one of my favourite styles to wear at the moment for ballet class.  It just means I have to start getting ready about 15 minutes earlier than usual because it can take me a little while!

  Sometimes for a night out I'll french plait down one side and then leave the rest of my hair loose or curled.  I'm not very good at doing fancy hairstyles so this is a huge improvement for me!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Birthday things

Hello!

I haven't written for a few days now, it's been a busy time.  I had my birthday/ hen party celebrations which also involved family coming over.  I also had an important work event to prepare for.  These things left me pretty drained of time and energy for other activities such as blogging.  Now luckily things are calming down again.  I thought I would share some photos from my birthday celebrations!

 Pom poms and heart garlands were hand made by my family.  They did them in lots of pretty colours which made for really pretty and simple decoration.  The top hat and wedding dress cut outs were for hen party games!

Some of the presents I got were this super awesome polaroid camera!  Also this really pretty patterned kimono and these Scandinavian vintage cup and saucers.  It was really nice to spend time with family and celebrate with friends.  I was lucky enough to have a couple of days off over Easter as well which meant I could relax a bit and really enjoy spending time with my family.

till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Life lately: Hyacinths and Muscle Pain!

Hello!

I hope you're having a good week.  After a recovery period I'm building myself up again for a performance mid April.  I'm just getting in to it at the moment but I know I'll have to commit to pushing myself again soon.  I had some pains in my left foot and big toe which I've been trying to manage and today I felt that they were on the mend.  I think I know what kind of treatment plan I need to follow at least that will get things back on track.

After last big performance I did I was given this beautiful hyacinth.  I went out and bought some soil so that I could plant it in a pot although when it come to flowers and gardening I have no idea what I'm doing.  The flower has sadly died since but I keep watering it in the hope that it will flower again!

Due to the stress I had preparing for last month's show I found I could only relax by reading.  This led to me finishing the first book my fiancé bought me for Valentine's day this year.   It was a fun and easy read.  Quite possibly the first time I have read a book in the young adult genre though, I was a bit shocked by some of the steamier scenes!  I need to get the full book review up soon as I've almost finished the book I've picked up since then!

Instruments of torture!  I bought these to roll out my painful tight muscles.  The small one I bought to roll out the muscles under my foot and thee larger one I roll out my glute with and also my back.  I feel so much relief after rolling out tight muscles on these.

The sun was actually shining for once so I had to get my camera out!    It's gone back to being overcast since then but I've decided that once the sun is out again I will get my camera out and try and finally take some nice photos of spring.
I have family coming over soon so I've been trying to spruce up the flat.  Today I bought some new scented candles to freshen up the place. I feel like a spring clean isn't complete without some scented candles!
I've been trying to write up some more personal blog posts in some pretty new notebooks I bought especially.  They still need some work though, or maybe I'm just not ready to share yet.  Hopefully I'll make headway with those in the not too distant future...!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Coffee Dates and a Blogging Break

Hello!

So I've been a bit absent on my blog for the past few days.  I had a really busy week with a difficult show that really just drained me of all my focus and energy.  For this particular role I needed to build up my stamina which meant going to the gym to train on days when my rehearsal workload wasn't heavy enough.  On top of the daily ballet class training this really took up all my mental and physical energy.  I couldn't even begin to thing about writing!  Once the show was over it took me a couple of days just to recover again after all that build up.  Normally I can read other people's blogs to relax but even that seemed like to much of a strain!  For some reason the only thing I could tolerate and manage to switch off my active mind by doing was reading my book.
I'm slowly waking up from the fog and feeling like I can think about taking photographs and start writing again.  I really feel I had a break from the internet and I think the break has been good for me.  The time away has given me some space to think about what sort of direction I would like to take my blog in.  Up to now I have just tried to keep it free and to write about whatever I feel and I've definitely found it easier to focus on lighter things such as what I've bought or make-up I like and I haven't really wanted to delve in to anything more personal.  I have been feeling though that I would like to write a few more serious posts now and again as little ideas for them keep popping in to my head.  So if that's something you're interested in hopefully I will have some more personal posts up in the near future!

Last weekend I decided to finally take my digital camera out of the box and haul it to town with me.  It's been a bit neglected since I got hold of my DSLR.  Once I started taking pictures with that I just couldn't stand that the quality of the photos I was taking with my digital camera were no where near the same.  Now I feel that this has been at the expense of my blog as I often can't bring myself to take my DSLR out of the house as it is so heavy!  I realised that imperfect photos were better for telling my story on here than none at all so I dug out that digital camera I spent so much on and then hardly used, and decided to pop it in my handbag as much as possible so I could get some pictures whilst we were out and about.
As usual free time coincided with my fiancé and I popping out to a local cafe for some coffee.  We've been going to this little place fairly regularly since it had a makeover, particularly as the prices are still quite reasonable and targeted more at students.  A lot of the other cafes and restaurants around here seem to have gone up market in recent times and become fairly unaffordable.  I suppose as part of the studenty vibe (?) this place seem to serve their drinks in a variety of quirky mugs and this time was no exception.  One of them was one of the funniest mugs I've seen in quite a long time!

My fiancé had this one!

Mine had a french press on one side and coffee grinder on the other!  Quirky but fun.
As usual we sat in the window seat because I love sitting somewhere with lots of light and we chatted away for a couple of hours.  It's one of our favourite things to do, particularly as we're so tired all the time from our job that doing anything more physical in our free time seems impossible.

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Life Lately: Lemon Drizzle Cake and Pink Tulips

Hello!

I think it's time for a life lately post as I haven't done one for a little while.  I had quite a quiet time at work for a couple of weeks which was lucky as quite a busy time is about to follow from right about now!

I've kept going with the baking streak I had been on since pancake day.  This cake was requested by my fiancé.  It was a lemon drizzle cake which I don't think I had ever made before.  It was really tasty and quite a bit denser than the carrot cake I had made before.  The recipe was super simple and you can find it here.  I personally preferred the lightness of the carrot cake but my fiancé preferred this one!

We bought some pretty tulips.  I requested the girly pink ones though I think my fiance wanted the yellow and red.  Hello spring!

I've been obsessed with this Green and Black's Organic Milk Chocolate with delicate flakes of Sea Salt.  Soooo yummy!  It's been on offer for a little while but recently went back up to full price again which is a shame because it's so expensive :(

I've been doing a lot of work on my wedding veil which I will have to write a full update post on soon!
I hope you have a great week

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Book Review: Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell

Hello!

I don't think I've ever done a book review before so this post is a first for me.  Yay!  I've talked about reading this book a lot on my blog already because it's a book that I didn't ever think I would get around to reading!  I bought this book years ago pretty much based on the fact it seemed to have a lot of praise for it and the title and the blurb appealed.  It was kind of an impulse purchase and as with any new book I was excited to delve in to it.  However, I just couldn't get going.
The first story is set in 1850 and written in the style of journal entries by an American man waiting to travel on a ship from the island he is on back to his home in America.  I really struggled with the journal style entry of writing and just couldn't get in to his story.  I picked up the book quite a few times over the years and each time I couldn't remember for the life of me what I had read before so I kept having to start at the beginning.  I think I sort of gave up hope on it but felt sad about that every time I saw it on the bookshelf.
When I heard it was being made in to a film I thought I should probably give it another try as I wanted to make sure I'd read it before I saw the film.  I didn't actually get round to it though until I saw the trailer for the film.  'Woah!'  I just couldn't believe this trailer was for the same book?!  It seemed unrecognisable to me considering I had only got in to the first plot and I finally realised that the book is written from the perspective of different characters at different points in time, including in to the far off future.  I hate to admit that seeing the trailer for the film was what got me excited to read the book but sadly it's the truth!
Realising that the whole book wasn't going to be written as a journal entry set in 1850 gave me the kick up the backside to persevere with that section, though admittedly I had to force myself, but finally I made it to the second character and time period of the book.  I did in fact still struggle with this book because each plot ends at a crucial moment in the character's story and then you feel as if you have to start a whole new book again with new characters that you have to learn to care about  Each time I had to start over without having the satisfaction of knowing what had happened to the character in the plot before I felt quite frustrated; but knowing that I would reach each story's conclusion eventually kept me going (as did the long baths I was having whilst I was reading and the knowledge that I could finally watch the movie once it was done!).  It is worth noting that each story is also written in a different style!  This made some sections easier for me to read than others.
So to be clear, there are six stories in all, all interconnected and once you reach the sixth story in the middle of the book you go backwards in time again and read the conclusion of the other five from where you left off.  Phew!  It is much easier to read once you reach this middle point and know you are going to find out what happened to all the characters.
This took me much longer to read that I was anticipating so if you want value for money in terms of entertainment length this book could be for you!  It was satisfying to reach the end and I liked that it was trying to say something; about human nature, power and almost good vs. evil in it's simplest terms.  There is lots to be taken away by the reader from reading this novel but it can also be a bit of a test at first.
In conclusion, perseverance is key!  I'm glad I read it and am looking forward to finally checking out the film.  I'm very intrigued to see how they approached the complicated plot in the film.
I hope this gave you some insight in to whether or not you would like to read this book!
Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Getting back into baking

Hello!

how are you?  My day has been very calm as it was a day off from work.  Recently I've started baking again for the first time in ages so I thought I would write a little about it.  The reason I stopped baking was because I saw a nutritionist about a year ago who thought my eczema could be linked to my diet and one of the things I was told to stop eating was wheat.  Of course almost all baking involves wheat flour and I resolved to try to find recipes that were wheat free.  This proved problematic as a lot of alternative ingredients aren't easy to come by where I live and if they are they tended to be expensive.  So I just put off baking anything for the longest time which was sad as I really enjoyed it.  I have to admit that I never really cut wheat out completely although I did reduce the amount I was eating dramatically.  My eczema has since cleared up and I managed to link it to caffeine as being the trigger.  So with the caffeine out of my life I figured if I was eating a little wheat now and then anyway my little bit of it might as well be my own home baked goods!
I started off with making some delicious pancakes for pancake day, you can see them here!  They were so yummy I almost immediately decided that I wanted to make some scones afterwards.  I found a recipe on my favourite baking site and within hardly any time they were done!

You can't buy clotted cream here so I just whipped up some fresh whipped cream myself after looking up the recipe to make clotted cream (8 hours in the oven? no thank you!).  The scones really were delicious, the only thing I wasn't so keen on was the amount of vanilla essence the recipe asked for.  I didn't even add the full teaspoon and I found it very overpowering.  I didn't glaze them either basically because I'm super lazy/couldn't bring myself to waste an egg!  I did read that you can glaze them with milk instead so maybe next time I will try that.  You can find the recipe I used here.

Once these were gone I asked my fiancé what kind of cake he would like me to make and he asked for carrot cake.  I quite like carrot cake so I set about finding a recipe and collecting the ingredients.  I found a lot of the recipes quite fussy.  In the end I sort of followed a few different ones and made a simplified version.  I left out the orange juice and any nuts or raisins that a lot of the recipes called for.  I also didn't have any fancy sugar so just used castor instead of soft brown which some asked for.  Quite a few recipes had a mix of spices in them which I didn't have either so I just went for cinnamon.  It came out really well though, particularly the cream cheese icing which was delicious!  I would definitely make this again though I would be tempted to try adding some fresh orange juice to the mixture next time!  I would say that this is the closest to the recipe that I used.  I should also say that I made half the amount of the icing this recipe calls for and I thought that was plenty!

It was sooo tasty!  Since then I have also made a lemon drizzle cake which my fiancé is enjoying but  I prefer this carrot cake more.  I really fancy baking some little cupcakes next.  I'm really glad to have gotten back in to baking, there's something very satisfying and therapeutic about it!

Till next time

Twilrybirdie :)

Pancakes for breakfast!

Hello!

If you read my last post you will know that I really enjoyed Valentine's Day this year!  Basically I spent a lot of time just doing things that I enjoy.  This didn't include the usual laying about and watching TV/ getting lost down the rabbit hole otherwise known as the internet.  No this time we were very productive but mostly just getting out and about doing things that we enjoyed.  It was like taking a little holiday in our home town.
Somehow pancake day falling on the following Tuesday felt like it was prolonging this proactive-ness in that if forced me to get out of bed in the morning and get cooking!  Normally I laze around in bed pressing the snooze button for at least half an hour (terrible I know but I set my alarm earlier than I need to because I know I'll probably end up doing this).  I'd never have the time to do any cooking in the morning before work after all that snoozing.  On Tuesday I was actually a little excited to get up and treat my fiancé to some pancakes for breakfast.

I decided to go for American style pancakes because they're my favourite.  I was a bit selfish as my fiancé prefers the crepe style pancake, but seeing as I was the one doing all the work.....
I used the same recipe I always do, the American Blueberry pancake recipe which I found on the BBC good food website.  It makes a lovely fluffy batch of pancakes though sadly I didn't have any blueberries to add in this time.  It's good that I got up as early as I did because it does take a bit of time to cook them all up if you're making four at a time like I was.

We ate them with golden syrup and they were delicious!  The recipe made far too many pancakes for just the two of us so I was able to store some in the fridge and have them for breakfast the next day.
It made a lovely change for breakfast to throwing things in the blender and whipping up a quick smoothie (or just dipping some biscuits in tea when I can't even be bothered with that!).  I think changing your routine around a bit like this can really make a difference to how you feel.  Now that I've done a bit of baking I want to get in to the habit of it again.  Next on the list of things I want to bake is some scones!   I just need to purchase a cutter first.

Did you enjoy whipping up some pancakes for Pancake Day?

till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

How we spent our Valentine's Day

Hi there!

How was your weekend?  I really enjoyed mine and had one of the best Valentine's Day's I've ever had!  I've been feeling a bit down and confused lately about my life and the direction in which it's heading (mainly career issues) so was really surprised to have such a great day on Valentine's Day as we had no specific plans.  I'm really lucky that I have my lovely fiancé and that we were able to spend most of the day together.  In the morning I went to my training class at work but before I left my fiancé presented me with a little gift!  I wasn't expecting a present at all and was really touched that he had remembered a couple of books I'd been looking at in the book store.  It really put me in a good mood so I went off to work happier than usual.

Having these books to read has given me even more incentive to get on and finish the book I'm reading at the moment, Cloud Atlas.
After the class I needed to go to the shops to pick up the present I was going to get for him...a home made cake!  He had been talking about how much he wanted birthday cake lately so even though this is exactly what I had done for him last year I thought he wouldn't complain if I made him a cake again.  I haven't baked for ages so it was really nice to get baking again!  Once the cake was baked we headed out for coffee and a cake (think there's a theme here!).
We went out to a really popular cafe at a really busy time but somehow we managed to find a table (!).  After a lovely time having green tea and cake we headed back home and booked tickets to go to the cinema to see The Imitation Game.  I also wanted to ice my cake but when I took a proper look at it.....disaster!  It seemed that the very centre of it was not properly cooked.  I wanted to throw it away and start again but my very level headed fiancé suggested we cut out the centre and make it a doughnut cake.  I was extremely sceptical but he was insistent that he wanted the doughnut cake instead of a new one (bless him).
We had a couple of hours until the film started so we went out for sushi but the restaurant was really busy!  We ended up going to a different restaurant instead and I had a nice light salad which was good because it left room for my favourite thing about going to the cinema....popcorn!
The film was entertaining.  I enjoyed watching it although was a bit disappointed that the script writers seemed to have taken so much poetic license with the story in order to make it more entertaining.  Some how parts of the plot didn't ring true for me but I thought that the acting was brilliant and it's good that it's highlighting such an important event in history.

Then we came back home and I iced the doughnut cake at my fiancé's request.  I decided to use blue food colouring in the icing but because of the yellow from the butter I used it came out green!  Green is my fiancé's favourite colour so in a way that was perfect.  Honestly it tasted pretty good!  We have been slowly polishing it off ever since.
I had a bath and read some of Cloud Atlas which was lovely and relaxing.  I'm getting much more into reading again and I can definitely sense that my brain is more alert!  After that we watched Endeavour on TV which was really beautifully filmed and the 60's costumes are just lovely to look at.
I really enjoyed my day and have to say it felt like the best day I had had in a while.  My fiancé and I both agreed it felt really good to be rushing around doing things we enjoyed for a change.  I think I learnt a little lesson in what makes me happiest that day.  Hopefully it's something I can apply to more days than just Valentine's in the future!

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie

Life lately: Shopping and bright pink lipstick

Hello!

It's been sunny here for the last two days.  Seems rather crazy after so many overcast winter days.  The snow is even melting!  I'm so happy, maybe I will be able to wear my new over the knee boots soon without worrying about slipping on ice.  I have a few random photos that I've taken recently that I thought would fit in to a nice life lately post.

Please excuse the mess in the background!  I've been really loving my oversized Mango jumper I bought in the sale a couple of weeks ago.  I've worn it with my new jeans as well as with my skirts.  It's lovely and snuggly and goes with lots of outfits.

I've been wearing my new jeans that I also bought in the Mango sale so much that I had to buy new socks to wear because I was running out before I'd washed all my others!  Normally I alternate wearing jeans and tights with skirts or a dress.  I looked for some in the sales too (of course, who wants to pay full price for socks?!)  After searching through some weird designs, and lots of Christmas themed ones, I found these cute stripy ones in nice shades of pink and grey.

I wrote about this Tophshop Lip Paint in my January favourites but I haven't posted a photo of me wearing it yet on here.  Because it's so bright I don't get wear it as often as I'd like but last weekend I just decided to go for it even though we were only popping out for coffee during the day.

Still in to the candle phase!  This one is an Air Wick one.  I don't usually buy these but saw them on sale when we went to the local hardware store to look for for boring stuff for the flat.  I think this one is called Orange with Winter Spice.  It's got a strong scent which I like as I want my scented candles to make the room smell nice even when they're not lit.  It also comes in quite a nice frosted glass which looks a lot more sophisticated than the Air Wick packaging suggests.  I'd definitely buy more of these in the future.

I also bought some pretty paper to try to make a friends birthday card with.  

So those were some snap shots from my last week! 

Till next time :)

Twirlybirdie