Recent Bakes

I used to spend weekends baking with my Mum in the kitchen and loved it so much. I picked up on so many little techniques that she used. When you're truly interested and invested in something is when you actually pay attention!

When choosing my GCSE's i chose Food Technology as one of them. And as much as i enjoyed the practicals, i found the theory easy as i felt like i actually understood everything. It was one of the best results i got in my GCSE's as i was never very academic and instead loved cooking and sports!

Nowadays i bake whenever i can. I dont take it too seriously and honestly, I'm not artistic! Im not sure i would be capable of doing this as a career, but i still can't help but feel slight jealously of seeing friends-of-friends small baking business's grow so much.

Here are a few cakes I've baked recently. They have the same basic recipe just with either cocoa powder, coffee or vanilla. 

Chocolate Cake (for my friends 30th)

Victoria Sponge

Coffee Cake

Latitude Festival 2018

I have wanted to go to Latitude for so many years but this year was the first time i actually bit the bullet and went. Its only 30 minutes from my house and 5 minutes from my boyfriends house so it was so convent and easy.

We stayed for the duration of the festival on a weekend ticket that cost £200 per person. Whilst we were there we ate loads of good food, listened to good artists and danced the nights away at the raves in the woods & the disco shed.

The Killers headlined this year and other acts included Rag n Bone Man, Liam Gallagher and Alt J.

It was such a good long weekend I'll definitely be back next year!

I met Tanya Burr!

Black Bear Burgers

2017 Roundup / Reflection

2017 didn't bring much in terms of change, I have the same job, the same friends and the same personal & family life but that doesn't mean it's a negative thing, change isn't always good and it's nice to have a content sense of belonging. 

I'm blessed to have such supportive and loving people around me. It's so comforting to be surrounded by like-minded people. 

The start of the year was spent working hard and planning my first trip to Sydney. March soon came around and the trip was complete in a flash. I saw some amazing land marks and spent quality time with one of my best friends Melissa. 

My boyfriends 21st birthday was in April. I wanted to do something really special for him. I researched SO many different places and finally decided to take him to Boa Vista in Cape Verde. This was booked for September. 

I had a long and hard summer season at work with no leave booked due to my trip to Sydney in Spring and my boyfriends surprise booked for September. It felt like it was never ended and honestly drained me. Work consumed me which I find happens a lot due to the hours and days I work if I have nothing breaking it up. 

Late summer my boyfriend lost his job, and I knew it was possible to get sabbatical leave at work. We planned a 3 month travelling trip to Australia. Although we had his birthday holiday to look forward to, we both needed a change and now felt like a good time to grab it by the balls! 

September eventually came around and our trip to Cape Verde was truly amazing. It felt so special and my boyfriend was so grateful and over the moon. 

Just a couple of weeks back at work and our trip to Australia was here. I said goodbye to my work colleagues which was a little emotional! (Even though I haven't left for good). 

The last few months of 2017 were spent in a Campervan with my love, travelling, siteseeing, exploring, eating copious amounts of frozen yogurt, playing candy crush as we had no wifi for the most part, drinking beer, swimming in the sea, sunbathing and seeing where the wind would take us next. 

-Reflection-

2017 has been a balance between hard work and exploring. I definitely have a taste for travelling now, so watch this space for 2018. 

My love for blogging is ever growing. I completely love writing and I created a happy place for myself here when I wrote my first ever post many years ago. I find it so therapeutic and relaxing. I wish I had more time to put 110% effort into my blog as it's something I would truely love to do. I have lots of creative ideas, it's just finding the time to sit down and make it all happen which isn't possible a lot of the time due to my work life. However I will always have a commitment with my blog and and commitment to myself to put effort and love into my blog as it's not just a hobby but something I thoroughly enjoy. 

Good luck and well wishes to everyone for 2018. Lets make it the best year yet. 

Im Going Travelling...

If all goes to plan i should be going away at the end of October on a big travelling trip. We will be starting in Australia and spending a few months travelling around the gold coast. We're not sure whether to go on from there or come back after Australia but we have a few ideas floating around at the moment. Nothing is set in stone just yet. The idea is to potentially land in Brisbane and hire a camper van. I never realised the amount of effort that goes into planning a massive trip.

We spent a long time deciding on a destination. But obviously thats the first big decision to make. Australia both appealed to us, and its such a popular place to travel that we figured doing a popular route would teach us all the tricks we need to know when travelling so that when we travel different countries in the future we have some knowledge behind us, rather than going massively off the beaten track for our first big trip.

Next we decided on a time length. We new that going in our winter would be ideal for my work, and it would be Australias summer. Going for a few months means we can really make the most of it and relax at the same time without it being too stressful and intense.

A camper van seemed perfect for us as its our accommodation and allows us to travel. When i went to Australia in March we were going to get a camper van, I'm really glad we didn't as it wouldn't of worked because we were really central in Sydney. Whereas a trip like this seems perfect for a camper van. This is definitely the thing that is going to cost us the most money whilst travelling, but we can justify this as it is our home and car for a few months and we need to be comfortable. We are thinking about hiring a mid-sized camper van to ensure we have enough room. As we will be there for Australias summer we need to make sure we don't overheat!

Nothing is set in stone for our trip yet and we are still planning to make sure we get everything as right as we can. We could even change our mind and choose a completely different destination! But for now these are our plans.

If anyone has any tips for travelling, especially in Australia please let me know, it would be much appreciated.

How To Stay Positive

Its so easy to get yourself in a rut about things in life. With me, its usually something so small irrelevant that I let get to me. Then something else so small will get to me as well. (Talk about kick myself once I'm down!) And before i know it I'm in a viscous cycle of bad moods, hating life and being so negative; and no one else is to blame than myself!

Whether its your job, body image, money or even the weather. You have to realise that if you're not to blame for the way you feel then its out of your control and you have to accept it. If you could be to blame its time to make some changes to get yourself away from the negative vibes!

1) Surround yourself by positive people.

Being around people who genuinely bring you happiness is so important. Whats the point in spending time with negative people who also bring you down?

2) Be grateful.

Instead of thinking about what you don't have, why not be grateful for the things you do have? 

3) Treat yourself.

A little retail therapy never hurt anyone. Treating myself to something, even a nail polish can really cheer me up sometimes, its the small things. I have a long week coming up at work, so I've booked myself in for a massage and facial at the end of the week so i have something to look forward to. This is a bit extravagant and i won't be making a habit of this, but for a one off, why not?

4) Make time for YOU.

Lives can get so hectic, before we know it every minute of our time is taken up. Clear your schedule if you can. Even a free hour in the evening to have a bath, exfoliate, shave your legs and use a face mask! Its surprising what a bit of 'you time' can do!

5) Eat well.

I know this is a typical one, and something most of us struggle with. But a bit of healthy eating didn't hurt anyone. I truly feel better and positive once knowing what I've put into my body is benefitting my body. Don't restrict yourself, but eat in proportion.

6) Look out for someone else.

Its amazing how a small gesture towards someone else can really make you feel good about yourself. It works both ways, knowing you've made someone else's day should really make you feel great too. Even buying a work colleague a coffee.

7) Recognising other's emotions.

Is someone else feeling down around you and that having an impact on you? Try and find out why they aren't okay and if theres something you can do to help. 

Personalised things that cheer me up and keep me positive and happy....

1) Clean bed sheets

2) Baking

3) Coffee

4) Walking my dogs

5) A new bag/top/jeans/shoes

6) A boiling bubble-bath.

7) Hair wash day

8) Homemade smoothies

9) Having plans in place to look forward to

10) Making an effort with people I want to spend time with

11) Holidays/trips away/weekend breaks

12) Steak!

13) A full tank of diesel

14) Blasting old time favourite songs

15) Taking the time to chose a good outfit

16) Prepping my meals

17) Organisation in general

18) Keeping my journals up to date

19) Cheesecake

20) Meals out in restaurants

Favourite positive quotes......

'Start each day with a grateful heart'

'Worry about loving yourself instead of loving the idea of people loving you'

'The grass is greener where you water it'

'All things are difficult before they are easy'

'Don't give up great things take time'

'Grow through what you go through'

Sydney, Australia 2017

A couple of weeks ago i got back from a trip to Sydney Australia. This was my first long haul flight, which (apart from New Zealand) is about as far as we can travel from the UK, so i didn't ease myself into long haul flights! The flights were painfully long and boring, and even my last few days in Sydney before flying home; my mind was consumed with thoughts about the long flights that i was about to endure.

Sydney definitely wasn't what i expected. I had my own picture painted in my head before i visited and i imagined Sydney to be so grand and pristine. Whereas the truth is, the city is very similar to London or any other large city. The suburbs are beautiful, but again there are lots of areas that aren't so nice as well. I guess its like anywhere you go that has good and not so good areas in the same town/city. However i only think this picture had been painted in my head because of the massive hype there is around Sydney. It was a trip i will remember forever and i really did have a great time, but in all honesty i don't think i would visit Sydney again as i feel like I've 'done' it.

I visited in March and April 2017, which is their Autumn. I expected the weather to still be warm and for the sea water to have warmed up all Summer. But the weather was fairly rainy most days and for some reason the sea was so cold! 

Nevertheless, below are some pictures i took throughout my trip (minus the rainy day pictures!)