Monthly Archives: December 2009

23.12 outfit

23rd December 2009

2 sleeps to go! Wow.
Many thanks from Mum and myself for her birthday wishes, she had a lovely day despite the dire weather conditions.

Speedy outfit post today, though it is actually what I wore yesterday.

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With both my brother home, and dad off work until the new year and general holiday going ons, I’m not sure how many outfit posts there will be,
depends on the lighting in my bedroom more than anything (hit and miss at the best of times!)

Anyway,
off to get finished with those last minute details so Christmas Eve can be enjoyable and relaxing,
what have you got planned tomorrow?

xxx

Posted in outfits

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22.12 Special

22nd December 2009

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Happy Birthday Mum!
Have a truly special day. With lots of love
xxx

Three days to go! As promised, here is the recipe for shortbread, found on www.allrecipes.co.uk

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Ingredients:

250g (9 oz) plain flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

225g (8 oz) butter

100g (4 oz) caster sugar

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 170 C / Gas mark 3.
2. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix to combine. Chill until dough is easy to handle, about 10 minutes.
3. On a lightly floured surface roll dough out to 5cm (1/4 in) thick. Cut into desired shapes and place on ungreased baking trays.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Have fun making it! I did.

And finally (I have no outfit to show from the past couple of days due to dressing to beat the cold and snow)
Check out my latest addition to my collection of muchlove jewellery

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I can’t get enough of Anna’s gorgeous pieces.

xxx

Posted in family, food, jewellery, recipes

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20.12 slacker

20th December 2009

Woah, I’m slacking, this is outfit was worn on Friday, although it’s been so cold out it didn’t last long before being covered up with leggings, cardigans and god knows what else.

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I’m glad the recipe and photos went down so well, I will try and share what I bake more often,
who actually made them? What did you think? They proved a hit here, so much so, I’ll be making more tomorrow when I do the rest of my Christmas baking. I must dig out my shortbread recipe
a) so I can make it, and b) so I can share it!

Five days to go now, the big day will be over before we can blink! Busy week ahead with last minute preperations and my Mum’s Birthday on Tuesday.

Tonight I’m meeting up with friends to exchange gifts, I’m excited but worried they wont like what I’ve got them!

If only life were this simple eh?

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Oh to be a cat!

Posted in christmas, flash, outfits

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19.12 Baking

18th December 2009

Hello, and happy Friday,
I’m glad I’ve created some excitment for my giveaway…stay tuned for that!

I also wanted to say a great big THANK YOU for the kind words and support regarding my letter to my 16 year old self,
words can’t explain how much that means to me.

It is now ONE WEEK today till Christmas (eek) and having been awake since some un-earthly hour, I found myself at a loose end with an overwhelming urge to bake.

So I did, the first of my holiday baking (still to come, shortbread, puff pastry christmas trees and peppermint creams)
Today I bring to you, Cornish Fairings.
Not typically associated with Christmas, but these cookies are made with ginger and mixed spice and that makes them perfect for this time of year. They come out wonderfully chewy and quite a lot like gingerbread; just much easier to make, I think this recipe took me half an hour from start to finish!

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(why yes, the first tray did overbake a little!)

The recipe I used is from the Christmas edition of the Somerfield Magazine (small UK supermarket chain)
The recipe makes around 18 cookies.

You’ll need:
225g (8oz) Plain Flour
2tsp Baking Powder
2tsp Bircarbonate of Soda
2tsp Ground Mixed Spice (or, if you dont have that, cinnamon)
2tsp Ground Ginger
100g (3.5oz) Butter
100g (3.5oz) Caster Sugar
60ml (4tbsp) Golden Syrup

Method:
1. Preheat oven to 200*c, 400*F, gas mark 6 (you might want to set it lower if you have a fan oven).

2. Sieve together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and spices.

3. Rub in the butter using your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, then add the sugar.

4. Pour in the golden syrup. Mix well until you get a fairly stiff consitency (at first mine was a little dry, so I added a touch more syrup)

5. With floured hands, roll the mixture in to about 18 walnut sized balls. Place these on a greased baking tray allowing space for each cookie to spread.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 10-12 minutes (mine took just under 10) until golden brown. Leave to cool for a few minutes (until they are hard enough to move) and transfer to a cooling rack.

The cookies will keep in an airtight tin for up to five days.

Enjoy!
xxx

Posted in baking, food

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18.12 tease

17th December 2009

Good Morning lovelies,
in the spirit of Christmas, I’m teaming up with a fabulous cookware site to offer my USA/CANADA readers a fantastic giveaway…
however, before I start the fun, I wanted to build up some suspense (aren’t I so kind?!) by bringing you a little sneak preview of what is in store.

I’m also doing you a HUGE favour, as this site is a real treasure trove for those last minute gift shopping needs!

With everything from funky aprons to Rachel Ray cookware here are my top three picks.

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Sushi apron $19.95

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Owl oven mitt $7.95

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Rachel Ray mini muffin pan (which I could give my right arm for, so cute!) $19.95

Go and have a look at the site,
indulge yourself and see if you can guess which fab product I’ll be giving away.

www.cookware.com

…stay tuned for a review, too.

(UK readers, don’t feel deprived, there will be a UK only giveaway for you asap!)

Also, please check out Red Boots Blog,
she does a fantastic and touching series of letters written by readers to their 16 year old self.
It’s a wonderful idea, and incredibly theraputic to do,
you can see mine here, read others or write/submit your own.

Posted in baking, giveaway

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