New Year

A very happy New Year to you all!

I hope you have a lovely year ahead filled with lots of happiness and success.

I've gone back to my old resolutions of the year and I am happy to tell you that out of the fifteen I set myself I managed to keep one! Perhaps best not to actually set any so I can't disappoint myself by failing to keep them.

Instead we will just say that I will try my best to have the greatest year possible whilst trying to fulfill some goals.

You may have noticed I've had a bit of a spring clean on the blog - New Year means a little bit of a spruce up. All the recipes are now also under their own tab making them easier to find. This is also to celebrate getting 10,000 views on the blog which is just brilliant and has made me so happy :) Thank you to all of you who read this, it means a great deal to me.

Its going to be a very good year indeed. 

C x

December Favourites

December Favourites Time!  I do enjoy doing these posts!

Home

Starting with home this month as I've got a couple of cute bits to share with you

What better way to bake melty cheese than in a melty cheese baker?! This one is from Sainsburys, they are doing a lovely range at the moment.

There is a story behind this little house. I bought it as a present from me, to me. You light the incense inside and it comes out of the roof like a little Christmas house. How adorable I thought! £25 might be a bit pricey but it's cute - that was until it turned up. I thought it was going to be the size of let's say - a small loaf of bread. It's not. It's about the size of a bread roll..... I was going to send it back but then I never got round to it so one day I decided just to light the incense and be done with it. It's on my favourites because it really is quite sweet and I like it even if it was a waste of money.

Not on the Highstreet - Log cabin - £25 (currently £17 in the sale)

With the idea that I am going to be good and leave all of the bad eating habits behind me in the New Year I have purchased a Blend Active from Breville. I've been using it to make breakfast smoothies in the morning and it is so handy as you blend it all in the container you drink from meaning less fuss and less washing up! There are lots of there on the market but I really would recommend this one! It's the family pack so you get 4 beakers with it.

 Blend Active - £29.99

Books

I got a few good recipe books for Christmas but the one I have turned quite a bit too is Sainsbury's Classic Recipes. They just have some quite tasty simple recipes in there with easy to follow methods. Plus the food photography makes your mouth water!

The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert (of Eat.Pray.Love fame) is a MUST READ. It is just one of those stories that you can't put down but which you don't want to end. Following the life of Alma you just become so attached to her and the life that she leads. I love being surprised by books and I was unable to guess where the story would lead me. I would highly recommend this novel - but be warned it's not a quick read, unless like me you devour books!

Music

Apart from the constant soundtrack of Christmas songs for the past month I have also been loving:

Uptown Funk by Mark Ronson ft Bruno Mars

Dangerous by David Guetta ft Sam Martin

Fashion

In my extensive 'I can never find anything to wear' wardrobe the one thing I do not own are jeans. I just find them uncomfortable and so I threw all mine out a long time ago. But I have discovered something which  has changed my life. I know they have been round for a long time but I tried them on once and turned my nose up. What are these life changing trousers? Only bloody jeggings. It's like I can be comfortable whilst still keeping my legs warmer than leggings, although nothing beats a double legging (Does anyone else do this?) I now have them in the colours Merlot, Grey, Green and Indigo and I couldn't be happier! I've been getting mine from that delightful shop that steals all my money - Dorothy Perkins - I find the regular leg fits quite well for someone with short little legs like myself.

DP - Jeggings - £20

I feel like this is quite a lengthy post so I'm going to leave it there but do let me know what your favourite things of the month are in the comments!

Only 1 day until the New Year!

C x

A Year in Cooking

Its been a good year for cooking so I thought I would do a easy to navigate review post. I really love cooking and I hope that I can inspire you to make a few bits and pieces. Hopefully I should be trying out even more recipes next year so look out for those!

January

Salted Caramel Cheesecake

February

Chicken Soup

March

Lemon and Poppy Seed Cake

April

Lime and Coconut Ice-cream

May

Pink raspberry cake

June

Honey and Pistachio Cakes 

July

Granny's Pie

August

Chocolate, Cherry, Honeycomb Parfait 

September

Apricot and Ginger Chutney

October

Carrot Cake

November

Cranberry Mincemeat

December

Mini Christmas Cakes

 I hope this inspires you to try some of the recipes :)

C x

The Christmas Tag

If you hadn't already guessed I'm a bit partial to Christmas so what better way to find out more than to do the Christmas Tag!

1. What is your favourite Christmas movie/s?
I don't really have a favourite Christmas film! I've never even seen Elf! I quite like to watch Love, Actually and I always seem to end up watching The Polar Express on TV without even meaning too!

2. When do you open your presents?
I always used to open my Santa stocking very early in the morning before sitting round with my whole family and opening presents before Chrsitmas lunch was served. The children always for to go first and even at 26 years old I am still counted as a child and get to go first!

3. Do you have a favourite Christmas memory?
I have so many! My Gran always used to take her granddaughters to see The Nutcracker at Christmas and it was just magical. Also when we were little we always used to sleep over at my Grandparents house on Christmas Eve. Being excitable little things we could never get to sleep until my uncle told us that he knew Father Christmas and would wait up to tell him that he couldn't deliver the presents because the children were awake! We would go to sleep quite quickly after that!

4. Favourite Christmas food?
Pigs in blankets, Bread sauce adn Grandad's stuffing

5. Favourite Christmas gift?
I got a huge board covered in Barbie clothes when I was younger - that was a pretty good year!

6. Favourite Christmas scent?
Mulled wine and spiced oranges

7. Do you have any Christmas Eve traditions?
I always put out a mince pie, carrot and glass of milk for Father Christmas and his reindeer.

8. What tops your tree?
An angel

9. As a kid what was the one (crazy, wild, extravagant) gift you always asked for but never received?
A pony, I'm still waiting.

10. What is the best part about Christmas for you?
Everything! The build up, the lights, the tinsel, the smells, the music, the food, making family happy, the gifts and all of the cheese.

C x

Recipe - Cranberry Mincemeat

The house has been smelling beautiful today and it's all thanks to the gorgeous mincemeat I have been cooking up in the kitchen ready to fill my pastry with. It's a good idea to start your batch now so it will be ready in time to make mince pies for Christmas as you need to leave it to mature for a couple of weeks. To make the mince meat you will need to do the following, trying not to hum Christmas songs as it is still only November!

Ingredients

500g mixture of raisins, sultanas and currants (I found a very handy bag premixed with cherries and mixed peel from Sainsburys but if you can't find this you will also need 85g of mixed peel)
140g dried apricots
85g dried cranberries (I used a bag of orange cranberries)
zest and juice of one lemon
zest and juice of one orange
150ml brandy
175g vegetable suet
100g fresh cranberries (I could not find fresh cranberries anywhere so I used dried on this occasion!)
200g soft brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Method to the Madness

Put the dried fruits into a large bowl (excluding the fresh cranberries. Pour over the brandy, zest and juice. Stir in, cover and leave to soak for 24 hours.

Once the fruit has soaked up all the alcohol overnight you will need to put the mixture in a pan with all the remaining ingredients. Stir over a medium heat until the suet has melted and the mixture is lightly bubbling.

Whilst hot spoon the mixture into your sterilised jar and seal. You will need to leave the mixture in a cool dark cupboard for at least two weeks before using and can be kept for up to six months.

It is a good idea to make the mincemeat up now so you will be ready to make those Christmas mince pies!

C x

A Letter

Dear 16 year old self,

I thought ten years on I might be able to impart some of my 'wisdom'. So here is a letter to you.

Try not to care so much about what people think of you. Dont stress. This I say with the upmost sincerity. You will worry yourself into the ground. Stop crying over boys, they really aren't worth it. You need to realise that relationships end for a reason, and that reason is obvious. It was never going to work and they aren't good enough for you. I know it hurts but you will learn something from each one. It sounds oh so cliched but we like a cliche so seriously hold out for the good one.
Stop being so bloody mean to your parents. They love you and you should love them because they are quite frankly, awesome. So stop being a spoilt brat who thinks she is right all the time. You aren't and Mum is. Trust me on this one. I know the phone calls asking where you are can be annoying but honestly, in 10 years,  you will be calling her all the time just to catch up.
While we are at it stop being so angsty. It's really not worth our time and will achieve nothing. You need to be nice to the people that love you and stop pushing them away with bullshit and drama. You will still have people that you went to school with that are your very best friends even 10 years on so try hard not to piss them off or give them memories they can throw back at you in the future to embarrass you. On that note make sure you always make the effort to keep in touch with your friends but don't be upset if they don't make the effort back, the ones that matter will.
Please do try and do well in your GCSE's even though they won't really matter in 10 years. They will set you up with discipline and get you into college. Speaking of college, you will drop out 3 months before you take your A Levels but it was for a good life experience reason, besides we go on to spend 6 years getting a degree in English Literature, which is what we always wanted and we didn't need the A Levels anyway. But do keep writing. Write every day if you can, take the time to do so. Also don't worry about your shoddy maths. www.percentagecaculator.net is our friend.
I know you will have just got your first job washing dishes for £5 an hour. This is actually a very good rate for a 16 year old and you should really open up a bank account, (not with HSBC - they are crap), and start saving now. I know our dream is to have our own house, be married and have a child by the time we are 25 but I'm telling you now this hasn't happened. The reason we don't have a house is because we didn't save. The other things are down to your future boyfriend and out of my control.......
I'm not going to tell you to stop smoking because I quite enjoy it still but perhaps maybe consider if it is the best thing. I'm not going to tell you to drink less either because that's also up there on the list of things that are enjoyable but I will give you two tips. Drinking to excess to get over a break up is not a good idea and avoid milkshakes on a hangover. They don't mix well with us.
Please try and fight our intolerance to exercise and our love of melted cheese and fried chicken. You will still be unhappy with your body 10 years on but if you could just maybe look after it a bit better that would be great. On that note, stop wearing short skirts and getting your boobs out. Listen to your mother. We suit mid length skirts that show of our calves and you are asking for the wrong kind of attention with those low cut tops.
In a few years time you will get a call from your best friend asking you to move to Cardiff. Do this without a second of hesitation. They will be some of the best years of your life, and you will meet a group of people who mean the world to you and who love you for being you, even if you did take the Harry Potter Sorting Hat test and you are a Slytherin. Yeah. I know.
You need to have fun now and stop worrying about the future, and who likes you, and who thinks you are funny. Honestly the future will sort itself. Just stop stressing about the little things that really wont matter 10 years down the line because I can tell you, currently, life is pretty bloody great.  

C x

Recipe - Carrot Cake

Ingredients

For the cake
240ml groundnut or vegetable oil
300g caster sugar
4 eggs, seperated
4 tbsp of milk
180g carrot, grated
120g walnuts, chopped finely (plus some for decoration)
100g raisins
240g plain flour
2.5  tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cinnamon

For the frosting
200g unsalted butter
175g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
525g cream cheese

Method to the madness

Preheat the oven to 170c. Butter two non-stick sandwich tins. Line the base with baking paper and butter this too. Whisk the oil and sugar together, separate the egg yolk and whites then whisk in the egg yolks and milk.

Fold in the carrot, nuts and raisins. Sift the flour, spices and baking powder in to the bowl and combine all the ingredients.

In a separate bowl whisk the egg whites with an electric whisk until stiff peaks form. Fold these into the cake mixture in two goes.

Divide the mixture between the two cake tins before popping them in the oven to bake for 30-35mins.

 Once a knife or skewer comes out clean then turn them out of their tins and leave to cool.

While the cakes are cooling it's time to make the frosting. Whisk the butter in a bowl until pale and fluffy. Add the icing sugar and vanilla extract and contiure to whisk until combined. Add the cream cheese and mix by hand until completely smooth.

Remove the baking paper from the cakes and dollop a layer of cream cheese on to one of the cakes. Sandwich this between the other cake and add the remaining frosting on the top and sides. Sprinkle with cinnamon and decorate with chopped walnuts. Place in the fridge to set for an hour before serving.

A very delicious Sunday afternoon treat!

C x

Glastonbury 2015

If you have come to my blog via Facebook then you will probably know that I was one of the lucky 15,000 to snag myself some tickets to next year's Glastonbury Festival on Wednesday when the Coach + Ticket went on sale! (The main sale will be on Sunday at 9am where 120,000 more tickets will be available).

Having missed out on a chance to go last year after failing to secure a ticket I thought "Oh it doesn't matter!" Which was fine....until the run up to Glastonbury and my Facebook was filled with other people going and it was everywhere and I suddenly realised I did bloody care.

Imagine my horror when I found out I had a work event on Wednesday and I wouldn't be able to get online to buy some! I enlisted the help of a few friends and set the seetickets page open from 3.45pm just in case I could get back to my desk. Luckily my boss is amazing and she let me slope off to try my hand at getting some tickets. I sat hunched over my desk with a glass of wine and a slice (two slices) of pizza and I patiently waited for 7pm to roll round.

With nervousness creeping in I screamed when I managed to get through at 7.04 (The tickets sold out at 7.14!), my hands shaking as I frantically typed in the registration codes for four of us. Clicking through with the speed of light I managed, in all the excitement, to book us on the 6am coach leaving from London - which is all well and good as we will get to Glastonbury relatively early - however the Underground doesn't start running until 5.30am....which means we will miss the coach. It appears we will have to get a taxi!

But as I sat back shaking with all the adrenaline I realised that none of that especially matters because I AM GOING TO GLASTONBURY! This will be my 5th time and its also quite special because Leigh and I met there in 2010 so it will be our 5th anniversary or meet-aversary as I like to call it. I am chuffed that we will be able to spend it in the fields that bought us together.

If you are going to try to get a ticket  on Sunday then Good Luck! If you aren't going to try - well you just really should because you need to experience Glastonbury at least once!

C x

September Favourites

I can't believe we are on September Favourites! With only a few months (88 days) to go before Christmas we are getting very close to the end of the year which really does mean that the years fly by quicker the older you are!

Now on with the proceedings!

Music

Learning to Fly - FKJ

I feel like I might be a little bit late to join the party with James Blake's 'Retrograde' but it was played on a new show Leigh and I are watching called The Leftovers and I love it! The song. Not so sure about the programme yet....

Don't even get me started on alt-j's 'Every other freckle', I have listened to this song on repeat and I adore the lyrics! I also love that their are two different versions of the video which are really quite clever - make sure you watch both types. The link to the male version is below:

Books

The Secret Place by Tana French has FINALLY broken my bad reading spell and made me want to keep reading the book in every hour that I had which I haven't found in a novel in a while. As a murder mystery I expect there to be some twists and turns and I wasn't disappointed by this. I would definitely recommend giving this a read.

Fashion

I LOVE that it is coming into winter and I can start to wear all the rich reds and greens again. Here are a couple of pieces I have picked up this month:

Dorothy Perkins have a 30% off sale at the moment on all stock and Free Express Delivery on a basket over £30 so I took advantage of this! Sale ends at midnight!

Wine contract top - £22.50 (in the sale) 

Check Pencil Skirt - £19.80 (in sale)

Home

I picked up this adorable little chap earlier in the month and I just couldn't leave him in the shop. Perfect for every door stopping need!

Pheasant Door Stop - £8

Leigh has been asking me to get some kilner drinking jars for a while now and who am I to refuse a reason to go shopping?! I like the Cheers on these as it's a little different from plain jars.

Folk Jar Glass - £2

Food/Drink

Chai Tea Latte has become my new favourite hot drink. I'm not really a hot drink fan but this is just bloody lovely and autumnal.

What do you get when you cross a doughnut and a muffin?

Duffins. Yes that's right. Duffins.They are just a little bit tasty if not very good for you!

Pesto Houmous is also a new discovery for me and I'm glad that I have found it because I could just eat tubs and tubs of it,

Quite a few favourites for the month! I love sitting down and writing about everything I've loved for the month, I hope you've like reading it :)

C x

Thanks for the Office, but no thanks

I must be the only person in the whole world who isn't happy about the fact that I now have my own office.

I mean don't get me wrong - it's the dream right? When you finally move into your own office it means you must be important enough to have one. You have all the space to put your own stamp on it and you can get on with your work without office chatter or any distractions.

Which would all be fine apart from the fact that I go crazy if I don't talk to someone at least once an hour. It actually freaks me out. Perhaps I just really like the sound of my own voice but something is wrong with me because I hate being on my own so much that I will call Leigh sometimes, not to say anything, but just so I can assure myself that the world hasn't turned into zombies and I'm the only one still alive.

I think I might have a mild case of Monophobia. Add that to my Ornithophobia (phobia of birds) and I am a bit of a mess in general.

I just love to be around people. This is why I could never go travelling on my own, because the times I'd have to be on my own would be horrific! What on earth would I do? I'd probably start talking to myself and that would be both boring and slightly crazy.

Put me in any social situation and I will thrive, I'm not shy, I will talk to anyone. Leave me in a room on my own for over an hour and I will start to panic. Even now I haven't spoken or seen anyone in about an hour and a half and I'm trying to type this post quickly so I can go and find someone to talk to.    

So whilst it's all fun and games being able to play my music and eat fish without smelling out the shared office, I wish there was someone I could share that with. Not to mention that working at a school in the Summer Holidays is already so quiet and I'm at one end of the school when everyone else is at the other makes me feel quite nervous. Also I swear this school is haunted. Maybe the ghosts can keep me company!

So thanks for my own space, but give me an open plan office any day!

Is it just me that suffers from this? Or is this a common thing?!

Excuse me whilst I go and find someone to talk at.

C xxx

100th Post

So as the title says this is my 100th post on Pourable Sunshine!

I just wanted to say thank you to all of you who read the posts that I put up, there is nothing better than hearing that you are enjoying what I talk about and it is lovely to know that I am sharing it with all of you.

As I said recently it is easy to try to maintain a perfect facade but I am trying to bring you more of the every day and try to talk to you all like I do to my best friends, rather than portraying the unreal and unattainable.

Please do let me know in the comments below if  there is anything you want me to try and talk about, or a regular feature you want to see. Your feedback means a lot to me!

Once again, thank you for being so lovely :)

C xxx

Passing the Exam

It is with much relief and delight that I can say I passed my 5th year!

It is such good timing as I am going on holiday on Monday and I don't have to worry about it I can just relax and enjoy myself, rather than worrying about the possibility that I didnt do well.

It will be such a relief to go home tonight and throw away all those horrible notes and quotes and try to forget all that I struggled to remember.

And this just proves that even if you forget the main character in Jane Eyre (which FYI is Jane Eyre) you can still pass! (NB: I was under a lot of stress. This is my excuse and I'm sticking with it!)

Now I just need to starting prepping for my FINAL course, and thankfully there will be no exam and just lots of story and poetry writing :)

Happy Face!

C xxx