paradise

dear universe please let this be me this summer... simples... 

only 3 months till maybe holiday..

found here from my new blog love.. studded hearts

28th march

so had a lush day for the boys birthday..

we are so so busy at work and everyday the Boys to do list is just growing and growing.. but we had a rare moment of - f**k it - lets take the afternoon off and go to Cambridge.. had such a good time - got the train at 3 and we're in the centre shopping by 4.. I got a lush new dress from Zara and the boy a jumper from Reiss.. we then finished off the day at Jamies Italian - something we know well from Bath - so it was good to experience it in a different city..  we know the menu and waiting formula but as we got there really early chose to chill out in the bar for a while before committing to dinner.. luckily as it was monday and still early - 7ish - we didn't need to wait for a table and had a delicious feast.. as good as Bath easily! it's so relaxed and yummy in there - we enjoyed our beers and yummy wine and managed to get the 9 o'clock train home..

these photos are taken from lunch - which was a feast of potato cakes with smoked salmon and philli followed by giant carrot and banana cake and tea - so yum! Jake was on fine form with his new waving skills and we also gave him a little lemon to try for the first time.. such a fun game!

and look what we - the boy - got! eeeeeeekkk a kerry special - going to get this bad boy framed then popping him up in the kitchen! wow ho very exciting!
Check out Kerrys blog here and shop here - well worth a look if you've not been there before!

domestic goddess

so I'm working a day behind - I was hoping to blog this yesterday just didn't find the time.. hey ho!

had a weekend of spring cleaning, cooking, watching films and F1.. The boy spent the whole weekend building a toy car.. our spare bedroom becomes his little workshop and he uses this drill that sounds far to similar to a dentists! he was happy though - the weather with us was pretty grey and at some points wet so at least I didn't miss being outside and active..

oh also cooked our first Jamie's 30 minute meal - took a little longer than that but only just.. the boy wanted as a birthday treat the steak sandwich served with beetroot and feta salad and some new potatoes - was yum and very easy! also rustled up some white chocolate cheese cake - went for the non cook variety and everyone was very sweet and said it tasted good -  I on the other hand have confirmed that I do not like cheesecake - something I have always know just wanted to double check - Dave however loved it! Am looking forward to trying another jamie meal out - has anyone also done any..?

I do have some photos from Oli's lunch yesterday but I'll upload thoses tomorrow..

Cheese filling was based on this recipe - But I had to include white chocolate somehow.. didn't want this to be too fussy and creamy so didn't use gelatine or cream..  also the boy wanted individual cheesecakes - he is very fussy - so used some metal moulds stollen from mum!

I made a simple ginger biscuit base - I used just over half a packet and melted some butter, mixed, then packed it down in the rings which were placed on a grease proof papered tray - I then popped them in the fridge.

Filling:
3 packs reduced fat cream cheese - small ones (200g I think..!)
2 - 3 tablespoons of caster sugar - maybe icing sugar would be better?
1 and 1/2 packs white chocolate - went posh with Green & Blacks
and I think thats it.. had some sour cream on standby..

Mixed cream cheese and sugar together - melted white chocolate - let cool for a little then added it to the cream cheese - simples!

I poured the filling on top of the biscuit base and chilled in the fridge over night.

I'm not sure if would hold as a full size cheese cake as it was starting to sag a little when serving them.. this may be due to the raspberries popped on top or me being too heavy handed with the hairdryer getting them out of they're moulds.. I tried to do some fancy chocolate work and should of made a raspberry coulis instead as it would of looked prettier and added some sweetness.

But so so easy and everyone else liked theres (they said!) - I'm not a pud girl and don't do creamy things so it's no wonder I didn't like it.. but if I had to rustle something up quick I'd do it again..  also so much respect for food blogs I tried so hard to document it but failed miserably! we'd eaten them before I realised I'd forgot they're all important photo shoot! hey ho!

Happy Birthday

my beautiful boy..

working now but taking the afternoon off to go to Cambridge! Cake with mum first though.. yum yum!

blue sky

feel like skipping, walking and enjoy being outside - a whole week of blue sky loveliness..

who knows what the weekend will bring - unfortunately not a lovely day in Cambridge which we had planed due to the now even uglier foot.. but hopefully I'll find the time to play outside with my camera.. have started the blogger spring ritual of taking photos of blossom but still have some more experimenting to do.. ohhh so much fun! Hope you all have a lovely weekend x

happy boy

today I have a happy boy - a new toy has arrived in the post and he had the biggest smile on his face.. it's his birthday on Monday and I am refusing to buy him anything as he's been having so much fun spending money on himself.. also stumbled across my happy nephew who is always a joy to see.. he can now wave and say a kinda hi and yeah.. very clever!

still in love with this weather just wish we can sack off work and enjoy it.. hey ho!

on the ankle front this is how it looked last night - it's been bandaged and i'm having to sit with my feet up at work which feels very weird! I just hope it's better by the weekend as I have lots planned.. fingers crossed!

wednesday

am feeling a little sorry for myself today.. i have a swollen and sore ankle after being a little too enthusiastic at squash last night.. mums just put a bandage on it which has made it feel a little better but still is a big pain.. have a lot to do this week and sitting around with my foot up was NOT on the list!

hey ho - took theses photos yesterday and have suddenly been very inspired to get my camera out again.. also been having fun with curves in photoshop! it's another lovely day here and everything is bursting with life. 2 friends are due to have their babies today - can't believe they've got the same due dates - and am so excited for them both..

hope you're all having a lovely day..

wedding

oh me oh my what a beautiful day..

have tried my best to enjoy it but i'm now back in the office ready to get on with some work.. then had a cheeky quick peek and have seen that today Chloe has featured our wedding on her blog.. I know you've all seen most of the photos but if you want to have a peek pop over using this link. she's also mentioned the fact that our wedding os going to be in Brides come this summer which is really exciting! i'm still of the opinion of i'll believe it when I see it but as far as i can tell it really is going to happen.. eeeeeekkkkkk

a little help..

just seen this poster by wk studio and thought some of you may be interested. they have designed a help japan poster which you can buy for as little as $25 but they've also done it so you can donate more if you want. I know it's still very much on everyones minds..

there is also this poster I've seen as well. and just incase you missed it on other blogs these photos are a great way to donate.

or just simply at the Red Cross..

local

sometimes a local pub is all you need to make you happy.. the boy, dave and i spontaneously had dinner there last night.. we sat by a fire chatting to our favourite staff and eating the yummiest burger and fish n chips - how more british could we get.. we really don't make the most of our local.. do you..?

mini Paris

today I was dreaming about being somewhere else - just living instead of working.

i think Paris in spring would be perfect..

images found here

perfectly pink

so last week we had felicity my sister in laws birthday.. in celebration we had a afternoon tea party. mum had been at it again and this time getting inspiration from here. she didn't do it strawberry flavoured in the end but the pink food colouring came out in force. it looked so pretty and tasted amazing.. the icing was also really yummy and not too buttery which worked really well for me! the whole table was full of deliciousness and pink was defiantly the theme. the boy and I felt so sick afterwards.. there was no way we could waste all that goodness!