Have you made your Christmas Cake yet? When I sat in the company of my Mum's boyfriend last week and said 'I really should make my Christmas cake soon', he looked thoroughly shocked. 'Haven't you made it yet?' Erm... nope.

You see, although I know Christmas is coming each and every year I don't do anything remotely Christmas food related until, well, around about now. Which is why I didn't make my Christmas cake until yesterday. I was given the best recipe a few years ago and it can be made close to Christmas without any issue.


It's called a Hot Toddy Fruitcake and each and every year I'm told what a lovely cake it is. I love it for how easy it is - no feeding required if you can't be arsed don't want to. Simply bake, cool, decorate and eat with a massive cup of hot tea. Repeat the last step until no cake remains.

So, if you haven't made yours yet this is the recipe for you.

Merry Christmas!
Love

In an effort to be a little healthier I have been upping my fruit and veg intake. I like most veg - except sprouts and cauliflower - and almost all fruit, although I do have an odd love/hate relationship with bananas.

I set myself a goal of eating more fruit and veg back in November and one way in which I wanted to do this was to find more interesting ways of cooking veg. The idea came about when Andy told me that he was fed up of eating kale. To be fair, I did cook kale a lot and I always used to cook it in exactly the same way, so I can't really blame him.


Andy really likes leeks so this was my first point of call. Normally I just boil them so they are cooked but not mushy. A Google search took me to the BBC Good Food website where I found Buttered Leeks. Obviously, cooking them in butter isn't really a healthy option so we tried it once, decided we liked it and put it under the heading of 'to be enjoyed once in a while'. They're fab with a roast dinner.


I then found Braised Leeks and Peas and as peas are another favourite of Andy's I knew I was onto a winner and they were quite delicious.

Next up, kale. I love kale so I wasn't going to stop cooking this altogether but I did need to mix it up a little. I saw a pic of baked kale on Instagram, asked how it was made (tear kale, coat with oil, salt and sugar, bake at 180c for 10 mins) and tried it the very next day - I LOVE this, it tastes just like crispy seaweed and *ahem* is also delicious if you forget to add the sugar.

I try not to use too much oil when making it and I've recently discovered that rape seed oil is better for you than olive oil, so I purchased a bottle and have been using it ever since. What's the in use eating more veg to be healthy and then drowning it in loads of oil?


The BBC Good Food website also introduced me to Chinese Style Kale. I already had the soy sauce and oyster sauce in the pantry so it couldn't have been easier. I don't use garlic cloves, instead I use a garlic paste (recommended by my Mum's Chef boyfriend) which is ridiculously easy. I love this with prawns, and salmon fillets but I think it would go well with any kind of meat.


We eat a lot of broccoli so I tried a recipe from the one and only cookbook that Andy owns. It's another simple dish, Broccoli with Soy Sauce and Sesame (similar here), that is packed with flavour.

I've been wondering why I haven't tried anything like this before. Up until now, veg have always just been an accompaniment to the meat part of the meal for me - but look at what I have been missing! Why didn't you tell me?


Of course as with every new obsession I have created a Pinterest board for veg recipes and this is where I found a recipe for Sauteed Sweet Potatoes and Spinach and oh my this is good!

I have so many more recipes I want try - including this one for Elizabeth's Cabbage Fritters - and I think it's safe to say that I'll never go back to just boiling my veg.

Any good veg recipes you'd like to share with me?

This post is part of Four Simply Goals by Elsie and Emma over at A Beautiful Mess.

Love

If you follow me on Twitter you might have seen me grumbling tweeting recently about my sore shoulder. I'm glad to say that it's feeling much better now, I don't know what I did to it exactly but it felt like a pulled muscle. I had a dull pain in my shoulder on the right side which, if I turned to my right or moved too quickly, shot a sharp pain down my back and arm. I couldn't lift my arms above shoulder height, and this left me feeling tense and altogether out of sorts. For three days I wasn't much fun to be around, I found not being able to move freely very frustrating and it was quite painful.

The first thing I did was take a long bath using my Deep Heat Muscle Rescue bath soak. A bath is one of my cure-alls and I did feel more relaxed afterwards, however, it was obvious that it was going to take a little more than a bath to fix this.


Even so, it wasn't until the third day that I remembered I'd been sent some Deep Heat Odourless Heat Patches* and Deep Heat Heat Rub* to try. In all honesty, I'd put them to one side wondering when I'd have cause to use them - I'd catagorised them as 'blokes stuff' and for sports injuries (my mind always gives up before my body does when exercising) and so I didn't give them another thought.

Feeling somewhat sorry for myself I, rather awkwardly, put a patch onto my shoulder. For the next eight hours the warming feeling was really comforting and helped to relax the muscles. I still had to be careful not to move too quickly but I certainly felt less stiff and a little more like my old self.

The next morning I applied some of the Heat Rub, yep the smell is as strong as I expected but the strange hot and cool sensation was rather nice and once again my muscles relaxed. I found that I'd wake up feeling really stiff and getting out of bed was quite painful so this really helped me get into the swing of my day, albeit slowly and with much more care than usual.

I've been using one or the other everyday since then (the patch was my favourite of the 2, I used all 4 and the purchased a second pack) and I think they've really helped. I'll certainly be keeping these in my first aid kit - you never know when you're going to need something like this. I hurt my shoulder while trying to put up a banner stand, something I've done hundreds of times before. From now on I'm going to find someone taller to do it!

Over a week on and I do still have some discomfort but I was able to reach up high to decorate my Christmas tree yesterday and I can once again wash my hair in the shower, so I'm happy.

Have you tried Deep Heat products before?

Love






*These products are PR samples sent to me to review but I have not been told what to say and the views here are honest and the opinions entirely my own

One of the #BEDN topics asked about what I'd like to find under my Christmas tree this year.

At this time of year I tend to struggle when deciding between things that I want and things that I actually need, but this year I think I've asked for more things I'll use over and above pretty things I want just because they are pretty... or sparkly... or shiny.

To get me moving - running trainers because I WILL start running again. These are trail trainers so would give more grip than my current ones. I run off road and when it's wet I slip all over the place (as if I don't look enough like an idiot when I'm running).


To splash - because we can't be sure that it'll snow but we know it's going to rain... my first instinct when it rains is to reach for my wellies but they're not always practical for shops, supermarkets etc and not the easiest things to drive in either.





To find my way - I really dislike getting lost. Even though I print out Google directions to unknown destinations, I find that a lot of country roads don't have street name signs so my printed directions are often rendered useless.



My final wish doesn't fall under the need category - no where near in fact - but I do like to have a choice when it comes to watches. And if looked after properly a watch will last for years.



I'd also like it to start snowing gently on Christmas Eve at round 8pm. Every year since I was little I look out the window hoping that I'll wake up to a perfectly white Christmas.

What are you wishing for this Christmas?

Love

Having recently added some great pre-loved knitwear to my wardrobe and I think I'm just about ready to declare I have everything I need to see me through the cold months ahead. In total I spent £48 on nine charity shop items, which is an absolute bargain for a new season.


I was a little unsure about this cape when I got it home because the arm slits just looked like huge tatty holes, so with a little wool and even less knitting know-how tried to fashion some contrasting pocket edges.


I failed and so I did what every self respecting woman does when she doesn't know what to do... I called on the talents of my Mum - the knitting aficionado. True to form she did a fabulous job and has transformed this cape from 'ho-hum' to 'holy crap that's fabulous!' or at least I think so anyway...

Not only do they improve the look of my cape they are also act as rather nifty draft excluders, making this all the more cosy. Winner!

You'll notice that I'm not wearing a hat today, thankfully I was able to lift my left arm up enough to wash my hair over the sink (this will only make sense if you read yesterday's post). It's a little tricky to do one handed (especially with your less dominant hand) but I managed. When it came to drying it one handed, I hung my head upside down and blasted the roots, then I brushed it though and left it to air dry. It doesn't look too bad considering.


What do you think to my cape make over?

Love

You know that I love a challenge but BEDN (Blog Everyday in November) beat me, just like BEDM (May). I think that 21 posts in a month is pretty good going for someone that doesn't ordinarily post everyday, and it's an improvement on my efforts in May, so I'm chuffed. For me BEDN didn't end with a thoughtful, well written summary, it just fizzled out quietly - illustrated neatly by the fact that I'm posting this two days late. I enjoyed it none-the-less and I'll still be posting some of the topics from the month, albeit rather late! And keep an eye out for the new blogs coming soon to my blogroll, discovered thanks to BEDN.

Today I'm joining in with Megan and Nora's Monday Inspiration. I can't believe that I don't own a grey roll neck jumper - not that I need anymore winter woolies. But I might see if I can find a pattern to knit myself one. After talking about knitting for BEDN I've had a hankering to get my sticks out again and at the rate I knit it'll probably take me until next year to finish it.


I love this poncho, I've had it for about three years now and every winter it comes out to keep me warm. I find it really nice to wear over layers without adding yet another layer to my arms - I hate the bulky feeling that comes with one layer too many, but at the same time I don't do cold. Warmth always wins. I am one of those people who sees a girl wearing a short skirt (no tights!!) and no coat on a night out and starts mumbling about her 'catching her death'.

Do you like my shoes? They're from Next and are fast becoming my favourite pair, more interesting than a plain black pair and the sequins are subtle enough make them perfect for day or night. Super comfy too.

I also added a hat to the outfit, it's a new hat - I wanted to wear it - but more than that, after hurting my shoulder at the weekend I can't get my arms up high enough to wash my hair (not without quite a lot of pain anyway). I can't turn to my right or sit in one position for too long either. Fingers crossed I'll be more flexible tomorrow. If not, I'm going to have to get Andy to do it for me and I know that will end in an argument or one or both of us being drenched. Probably all of those things.

Hope you're having a good Monday.


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth and Inspiration Monday hosted by Two Birds.



Love

We've been living in our home for 2 and a half years now. When we moved in it hadn't been well cared for and it was dirty, so, so dirty - the thought of it still makes me shudder - but it's a good size, is light and has some lovely views. We're off the beaten track so it's very quiet and I often feel very fortunate to be living here.

We have done a lot of work to it, but there is still loads more to do. Before we moved in we spent a few weeks cleaning and tidying up (scrubbing and bleaching EVERYTHING), and painting the lounge, dining room, kitchen, pantry and main bedroom just to make them habitable and to help the place feel a little more like home.

The day I brought the cats here is when it really started to feel like home, after that it only took a few days for me to feel like we'd always been here and more time goes on the more I love it.

The first major bit of work we had done was the downstairs loo and the upstairs bathroom. The upstairs bathroom was particularly disgusting. I'm glad to say that Andy took it upon himself to clean it, the photos don't capture the dust, grime and general nastiness of it and I'll always be grateful to him for sparing me from that particular task.


I found a chap on one of those rate-a-workman type websites to do the work. We met with him and he was friendly and said all the right things but within a few days he were having doubts and by the end of the week we'd decided enough was enough. We paid him for the work he'd done and asked him not to come back. Luckily, the chap that we had originally wanted to do it had a cancellation and was able to come to our rescue. He did a fantastic job and just in time for our first Christmas in our new home too!


As I've mentioned before, a bath is one of my favourite things, so I found living with that bathroom for five months really hard. I didn't have a bath in all that time as I didn't want to sit in it, instead I had showers and even then I didn't feel 100% clean when I got out. Now I really like this room and soak away to my heart's content. Of course my dream bathroom would be three times to size of this one but this will do nicely (for now ;-)).

The only thing that needs to be changed in here now is the window but that's a way off yet. I think it's missing this and some of these though...


The most recent DIY project is my office, it is still a work in progress but all the most important bits are done, once finished I'll turn my attention to the hallway and landing. Then the kitchen gets it!

If I can give you one piece of advice about decorating your home it's to do one room at a time from start to finish. I know it may seem insane to spend time and money choosing a lampshade when you have an entire house to do, but if you don't you'll end up with a long list of odds jobs for each room you've meaning to do for ages... which just seems to grow longer as time passes.

What room are you happiest with?


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

Love

The #BEDN topic is all about Christmas today. From the age of 17 I used to dread Christmas but since 2009 I've learned to love it again - you can read why here. My favourite aspect of Christmas is the time I get to spend with Andy. He works ridiculous hours, 7 days a week and Christmas Day is the only day that I know for absolute certain he won't be working, Boxing Day I'm only 99% sure.

But he is about more in the run up to Christmas, working shorter hours than normal and this is when he makes scotch eggs, sausage rolls and cheese straws and is in charge of ordering and collecting the ham and beef from the local butcher. He also buys the shortbread biscuits that we eat with our first cup of tea on Christmas morning. His Grandma always had shortbread at Christmas.

So far, we've always woken up on Christmas morning at home, we've eaten breakfast together - smoked salmon and scrambled eggs - and then exchanged gifts, before setting about the day. I was adamant that we didn't fall in to the trap of doing the same thing every year. My parents are divorced, and while they are friendly, we don't tend to see them at the same time over Christmas. So I wanted to keep where we go, who we see and when, as flexible as possible.

We do have traditions though, we buy a new tree decoration every year. We already have the 2013 decoration - a globe bauble purchased in the V&A during a recent trip to London. It'll go nicely with the London bus, Grandma's memory bauble and Christmas Pig.

We'll be going out to get our tree soon. Since moving we have a real tree and it's normally huge! We have lots of different decorations and I arrange them on the tree after Andy has untangled the lights. We'll have the fire lit and this is when my Christmas excitement really kicks in. If I can be drinking mulled wine whilst doing this - all the better. I might even check the listings to see if I can find a cheesy classic Christmas film to watch at the same time this year.

Thanks to this #BEDN post, I'm going to find a local carol service to go to and see if I can find a Caring Christmas Tree or similar in this area. 

What I look forward to most of all is having time to properly catch up with family and friends and have some fun. Everyone is in good spirits at Christmas!

What are your favourite traditions?


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

Love

I'm linking up with Inspiration Monday for the first time in ages! This week the inspiration comes from Sienna Miller in a fabulous animal print dress and fluffy jacket. I had very little in my wardrobe that suited this so when I saw this 'dress' in a charity shop at the weekend I purchased it to wear today. Whilst it's not animal print it does have animals printed on it - deers and stags, very festive!

It was in the dress section but looking at the length I think it's a shirt. Just as well I'm home alone today, I don't think I could wear a 'dress' this length in public!


Next time I think I'll add jeans. Pop over to Megan and Nora's blog, Two Birds Boutique, to see how others interpreted the look.

Hope you're having a fun Monday.

Love

I have lost count of the number of times I have said 'you need to relax' to people recently. I don't know why we all seem to feel that we have to be doing something at all times, that relaxing is a waste of time. Why can't we just give ourselves a break? Taking the time to relax properly is just as important as anything else on a to-do list.

I have to admit that I am the worst at taking my own advice - do as I say, not as I do - and goodness knows I should have learned my lesson by now. But, heck, life can get busy at times!

Since I started working for myself back in February, I find that I do more than ever. I think this is down to being happier (my old job had become toxic, sapping any enthusiasm I had for anything), I can happily work start work at 7am and work well into the evenings, I think nothing of working at weekends and when I'm not working I'm doing all the houseworky stuff, on top of that there's DIY, hobbies, running, family time, this here blog and other commitments etc... the list seems never ending.

It's no wonder that some days my body feels tense and stiff, my mind overloaded. How do I relax? I love a good bubble bath - you should see my collection of bath paraphernalia! - its one of my favourite things to do when I need to unwind. I leave my phone on the other side of the bathroom door and never take anything other than a massive glass of red the occasional cup of tea into my bath. For me bath time is when I switch off completely.


I was sent the Deep Heat Muscle Rescue range to review for The Modern Girl's Guide in the summer. I was so taken with both items that I have since purchased them for myself.

The Deep Heat Muscle Rescue Neck and Shoulder Cream is great for easing tired 'desk shoulders' - although you do only need to use a little as it really heats up! It really helps to loosen the stiffness that I tend to get across my shoulders and down my back and leaves a subtle scent of vanilla.

The Deep Heat Muscle Rescue Bath Soak is my favourite of the two, scented with rosemary, patchouli and orange it smells delicious and I find it wonderfully relaxing and soothing for tired limbs. Both items are under £6 so they're a great way to de-stress inexpensively.

After a restorative bath I tend to snuggle down in bed with my iPad for some blog reading, or pinning with a cup of peppermint tea, before getting an early night. Bliss.


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

Love

I set myself four little goals earlier this month with the intention of doing something towards each one by the end of 2013. The first on the list was to find a local hairdresser. I asked around and received a recommendation from a friend, and not only have I had a much needed cut, I've also booked my next appointment.

I had to have about 3 inches cut off the length to get rid of dry ends and I now have a proper fringe again instead of some hair at the front that is slightly short than the rest. I'm not a huge fan of the length but if I grow it with regular trims it'll be stronger and healthier.


I generally dislike having my hair cut. I have fine hair and not all hairdressers know how to deal with it. I've had some shocking cuts in my time, it's almost as if when I spoke about what I wanted all the stylist heard was 'lah, lah, lah, hair, lah, lah, cut, lah, lah'. But my new stylist understood what I was after, also helped by the fact that her fringe was exactly what I wanted. She is never allowed to move. Or retire.

Have you managed to find the holy grail of hair - a good stylist?


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

And part of Four Simply Goals by Elsie and Emma over at A Beautiful Mess.

Love

I covered my dream travel destination in May's Blog Everyday challenge. While that is a once in a lifetime holiday, I'd love to get away from it all right now, for a few days... maybe a week. I'm thinking warm climate, pool, beach, turquoise water, great food, interesting things to go and gaze at, a little shopping and a spa. I'm not so fussy that I wouldn't settle for just a few of those things. The thought of sitting in the sun, reading a book and not having to worry about cooking, work or anything other than getting up in time for breakfast would be amazing!

I love working for myself, my days are flexible and my stress levels are the lowest they have been for years but it's still nice to get away entirely from everyday life once in a while.

Where do you like to get away from it all?


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

Love

To be honest with you, I can't believe that there is even such a thing as World TV Day. I'm not a huge watcher of television. I don't follow soaps particularly and can go days without switching on the gogglebox (although I am aware of a programme of the same name... watching people watch TV, I hear it's hilarious but I'm not compelled to find out for myself.)

I catch Strictly Come Dancing and X Factor if I'm not off doing something less boring instead (anyone remember Why Don't You?). I enjoy Big Bang Theory and have recently started to watch Dexter on LoveFilm Instants. I watched all but the first and last of this season of Downton Abbey on ITV Player. And now that I'm thinking about it, I realise that most of my viewing is done 'on demand' (including my guilty pleasure of Made in Chelsea).

When I was a kid I begged for a little TV to go my bedroom, fast forward 30 years and I sit in bed with not just on demand TV but with access to the internet too, I can play games, and make notes and waste hours browsing eBay, Instagram, and Pinterest, not to mention connect with others via Twitter... had I have known this all those years ago it would have blown my mind! Now? Now I pretty much take it for granted (and it's no wonder I don't find the time to watch TV when I have all these other iPad activities taking up my time).

So, what I'm trying to say is, well, I don't watch TV all that much.


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

Love

You know that saying 'Jack of all trade, master of none'? Well, that's me when it comes to hobbies. I like to tinker with different things but I can't say I'm really good at anything in particular.

I've shared some of my knitting projects already, I can use a sewing machine, do all sorts of crafty bits and pieces. I can grown things without much fear of killing them, arrange flowers so they don't look like they've just been dumped in the vase and I can take a decent photograph. And I kinda like that I can dip in and out of different things as the mood strikes.


Recently I've been making things to sell at a Christmas Bazaar - key fobs, lanyards, pincushion rings and cards. They're all reasonably straight forward things to make but look pretty cute don't you think?


Part of #BEDN hosted by Elizabeth.

Love