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Showing posts from January, 2017

Cosy Treats - Rock Cakes

I've been seeing and reading a lot of things lately about Hygge, which I've heard described as the feeling or mood created by taking genuine pleasure in the simple things in life.   There's  pictures of cosy knits, warm drinks, soft materials, books and baking. I think the concept of Hygge is a beautiful one from what I've read so far, it's something I plan to read more on in the coming months. From what I gather I think a lot of us have higgle in our lives maybe we just don't realise that that is what it is.   I can look back over things my grandparents used to do, like sitting together of an evening reading their books in front of the fire and eating freshly baked cakes or treats.  They just enjoyed those quiet moments together and if they were stressed it wasn't something I ever saw, I saw the quiet relaxed moments and maybe that's what Hygge was for them. Anyway, I was looking at the pictures of some of the beautiful cakes and biscuits and star

What's My Signature Style?

If you're like me, it may have taken you a while to figure out your signature style with a few missteps along the way.    When I was a child I didn't really go in too much clothes, make up on the other hand was a staple from a young age a tool to hide behind.   In a way make up is still a mask for me, but not in the sense of hiding myself any longer I use make up to find the best version of myself. The same goes for my clothes, it took a long time for me to become comfortable in my own skin and therefore comfortable in the clothes I wanted to wear and to become comfortable with what suits me.  I'm now thirty something, so the experimental  clothing of my early twenties is over.  I've changed my look several times over from the colour and style of my hair I've been brunette, red head and blond.  I've adjusted my makeup from the influence of my youth the colours of the 80's when I was first learning to put on make up - I remember a lot of blue eyeshadow

Brunch Time Baking

There's nothing better than the smell of fresh baking.  I love to bake and I love to try new things.  This is a recipe I've been playing about with this idea from Sainsbury's since Christmas for a mid morning pick me up. You will need:  Puff Pastry - ready rolled is ideal  Jam / Mincemeat - for the filling - as you play with the recipe there are loads of other things you could use  Cinnamon - around two table spoons (for sweet toppings)  Sugar - around two table spoons (for sweet toppings)  You can use any filling/topping you like - for example tomato and cheese (probably a hard cheese like parmesan would be best) to create a pizza like twist.   Step one  Preheat your oven to around 180 degrees  (fan) 200 degrees   Pepare a a baking sheet with grease proof paper - you can at a push use the paper that comes with your pasty  Mix the cinnamon and sugar together - you can keep this in a bowl or as I do put it in a dispenser like and unused

Sales Shopping

Everybody loves a good sale, there's some kind of chemical reaction that gives you pleasure when you find a bargain.    Sales are starting earlier nowadays, you no longer have to wait with bated breath for 26 December to dawn and go rushing out at silly o'clock in the morning to be first in line to grab your deals.  Believe me having worked a couple of Boxing Day sales and having seen people queue from 2am on Boxing Day until stores would open at 5am, I am never surprised by peoples interest in grabbing a bargain. However, this year I would say I have been a selective sale shopper.  I haven't purchased any clothes mainly because I did buy a few bits in pre Christmas sales and so didn't need anything.  I also made a promise to myself to be more careful with my pennies in 2017.   That being said I have purchased a couple of items;  Jewellery  My style when it comes to Jewellery is more classic and sparkly.  I can be a bit of a jewellery magpie I'm attr

New Year Goals

Happy New Year!  It's the start of 2017, the first page of this years blank book, what will you write on yours? Last year I set myself some 'resolutions' which in the most part I achieved.  So here I go for 2017 planning what I want to achieve this year; Writing Related Goals & Resolutions   Lets start off with the love of my life - my writing. 1. The Poppy Garden Last year I wanted to finish my novel The Poppy Garden and publish is for Remembrance Day, which I did, so this year in relation to this book project I will work on Marketing and promoting it to as many readers as possible. This book is a personal one for me, if you've read my blog before you know it comes from my Grandfather's personal dealings with PTSD, it's probably the hardest thing I've ever written and was a true labour of love. As an independent author the marketing and promotion is all down to me so I need to work on a strategy for that this year. 2. A New Proje