Tuesday 30 December 2014

Things I'm Loving - December

Christmas and December are coming to a close, so now my December loving post needs to be written!

Linkee

At Christmas we always play many family games, this year our favourtie has been Linkee! This is such a great game, you can play it in teams or individually. The question master reads out 4 questions and the teams write down the answers on a piece of paper. The teams then have to come up with the link between the four answers. We have had such fun playing this game and I would recommend it to anyone who likes to play games with their family! Even Jamie Laing has tweeted about it!


Onesies

I have never managed to get a onesie that fits me, due to being short! I got a cute one for Christmas from Marks and Spencer kids section, which I wore on Christmas Day, but it isn't available online sadly! Here is my pick of my fave onesies, I think the fluffier the better!

Urban Outfitters - £50

Boohoo - £18

Very - Was £30 NOW £21

New Films Out

I have not seen any of these, but there are so many films out this month and in the New Year that I would like to see, I think a few trips to the cinema is in order, particularly as Orange Wednesday is ending soon!
IPhone 6

I treated myself to the new IPhone 6 in the middle of December as an early Christmas present to myself, I know I am a bit behind on this but my IPhone 4 no longer worked so I felt it was time for an upgrade! I love it, I love that it recognises my finger print to unlock the phone, and wow the camera is so much better, and 4G is super fast! Why did I not upgrade sooner?!

Wonder what January will bring!? xoxo




Sunday 28 December 2014

Malteeser Biscuits

I have made Malteeser biscuits for as long as I can remember. I first discovered these after a trip to Northern Ireland. We went to a cute cafe and had Malteeser Tiffin and afterwards it was my mission to recreate them. I baked them in my flat at uni and brought them home for the family to enjoy! It was my way of cheering myself up when all I wanted was to be home for Christmas!



I combined a couple of recipes and created the perfect biscuit.

Biscuit:
200g milk chocolate
100g dark chocolate
250g (roughly) digestive biscuits
150g malteesers
3 tbsp golden syrup
100g butter

Topping:
300g milk chocolate or (150g dark and 150g milk)

Melt the chocolate, butter and syrup together. Then crush the digestive biscuits and add to the metled mixture, add more or less as desired. Lightly crush the malteesers and add to the mixture also. Place in a lined tray and leave to cool slightly. Melt the chocolate for the topping and pour on top.

Leave to cool if you're not tempted to eat them! I find they taste better a couple of days later also!



Malteeser loving xoxo



Friday 26 December 2014

Christmas Day

I worked on Christmas Eve until 1.45, then took the long and boring drive from Sheffield to home. I had Radio 1 to keep me company which lots of good Christmas tunes.

I came home and cooked the family delicious Shepherds Pie Jackets which went down a treat.
We then did our usual Christmas tradition of watching a Christmas film with lots of delicious snacks. We watched Four Christmasses for the first time which was hilarious! We also set the table for Christmas Day.



On Christmas morning we awoke at 8.30 (much later than when we were kids!) and opened our stockings.  I got lots of makeup and baking things and also Jamie Oliver's Comfort Food recipe book. 
My favourite was my onesie from Marks and Spencer. As I am short its from the kids section! I am getting Ugg Boots when I finally get my discount from work. 


Stole my brothers glasses
 For Christmas dinner we had fish for starter, I had a salmon terrine and smoked salmon, another Christmas tradition!



Then we had the main course, the full roast works and it was yummy, turkey, gammon, potatoes, pigs in blankets, red cabbage, parsnips and carrots :) I was so stuffed!

Without gravy
With gravy
We then took some cute family photos, my brother has been in Vietnam for a year so it was nice to have us all back together. 


HAPPY CHRISTMAS ALL!! xoxo

Thursday 18 December 2014

Brothers Birthday

It was my brothers birthday last weekend and his favourite restaurant is Ask, so that was where we went!

We go to the one in Northwood which is a nice one, and the one McFly regularly visit!

For starter I had the Antipasto Classico Board, which came with salami, ham, olive tapenade, bread and salad.


For main I had Pollo Piccante con Pancetta Primi Pizza. This pizza is stone baked, and has a thinner crispier base. It was very tasty and I enjoyed it. I asked for mine with no mushrooms and less chillis!



However I will often have the chicken and mushroom risotto which is delicious, my brother had it this time!



We then all came home to homemade birthday cake which I made.





This was made with 3 eggs, the hummingbird bakery butter icing filling, then cocoa powder and icing sugar with water for the top, drizzled with melted white chocolate - yum! xoxo


Friday 12 December 2014

Christmas lights in London

I love Christmas and I love London, therefore I was super excited to get into the festive spirit and go and see the Christmas lights.

We got the train into Baker Street and then walked down Marylebone HighStreet looking in awe at all the posh shops and restaurants (wishing we could afford to visit!!). The lights here were simple, and cute. However we did get to visit the Conran Shop, which is one of my favourites stores on this high street simply because it sells such random things! We went straight upstairs to the Christmas Market which was a selection of cute huts with Christmassy bits and bobs inside and also real Christmas trees. The highlight was the snowman sitting at the Christmas dinner table!





Marylebone High Street ends up at the top of St Christophers Place, which is the cutest little street with lots of unique restaurants and shops, ending with a nice square with restaurants such as Carluccio's on it and Apostrophe.



After going down a narrow alleyway you end up on busy Oxford Street. Its hard to get a good picture as its so busy, but we headed towards Selfridges where we went to the Christmas Emporium on the top floor which was amazing!




Next we wandered down to New Bond Street and saw their lights which was super cute and like feathers, then ending up on Regents Street. The lights this year are sponsored by the new Night At The Museum film.



Just of Regents Street is Carnaby Street which had some cool headphone lights this year. Just off Carnaby Street is a little square called Kingly Court which has some unique, boutique stores and restaurants.



We then walked back to Baker Street stopping off at Langham Place church and the BBC Headquarters. These have been recently renovated and looked amazing. I would love to go for a tour of the BBC one day.


How amazing is London at Christmas. Next I need to visit South Bank and all the lights along the Thames! xoxo

Sunday 7 December 2014

Sunny Saturday Brunch in Sheffield

Yesterday morning was beautiful and sunny, so me and my housemate decided to go for a long walk and trample in the woods. We walked around Endcliff Park and Botanical Gardens and it was lovely.





We wrapped up in winter warmers and had a lovely stroll in the winter sunshine. There was not a cloud in the sky!



We then went to Couch, which is a fairly new cafe on Eccelsall Road. After living on the Eccy road for nearly 4 months, we regularly look inside Couch but have not yet ventured in!


We went for Brunch and sat on a nice table right by the counter.


For drink I had an iced mocha. I have never had an iced mocha and would normally go for an iced caramel latte however this was not on the menu! I enjoyed the mocha, but iced caramel lattes are still my all time favourite!

I then had the american style pancakes with maple syrup and boy were they good! There were 3 large pancakes and a generous bowl of maple syrup. Simply delicious!



We even got 10% student discount which was fab!

I very much enjoyed my brunch and will most definitely be returning! xoxo

Friday 5 December 2014

Lacrosse Christmas meal

Last night was our Lacrosse Christmas meal held at Vodka Revs in Sheffield.


We got ready super early as had to arrive between 7 and 7.30. We got ready and went to our friends to take some cute pictures before getting a taxi to Revs.

On arrival we were greeted with a glass of very sweet prosecco and we all mingled before being seated. We listened to the awards and then the food finally came. I had chosen turkey as my main, however I am pretty sure it was chicken that I was served. It also came with a very small pig in blanket, a teeny amount of stuffing and some potatoes. Then a bowl of brussel sprouts and parsnips and carrots was brought to the table for everyone to share. Unfortunately there was not enough to go around which was a shame. The whole meal to be honest wasn't that tasty, but that's what you get at a Christmas meal for 82 people!


I then had the brownie for pudding, which was served slightly warm with squirty cream and a bit of chocolate sauce. I thought it would be quite dry but it was alright! 


Although the food wasn't great it was lovely to spend the evening with all my lacrosse pals, sitting, chatting and drinking wine! 



We then moved onto a club called Viper Room's and had our own VIP area and danced the night away!


I love Christmas period and all the parities and loved my dress. I bought it off bay, but it was a Topshop number but only cost me £6!