My wall of randomness

Well hello

Firstly I have to make a confession to you..... since watching Les Miserables on Sunday (review of which is my previous post) I have been listening to the film's soundtrack whilst doing, well, pretty much everything! Cooking, cleaning, working and even right now, blogging :) I can't help it, the songs are amazing!! And some of them make me cry, even though I hear them 2 or 3 times a day! I am a sucker for a musical. The way a song can express the thoughts and feelings of a character, it just amazes me, to the point of goosebumps sometimes. Now that might sound mad to some of you, but I love it :)

Anyway, back to today's post....

I have mentioned in a previous post about my attempts to start my own craft business making and selling different household items, such as photo frames, memo boards and anything else I think of doing! Well I have used my talents (I use that word loosely...) and decided to decorate some of my frames with different patterned wallpaper and colours of paint I had, and then make a funky arrangement on my newly painted walls in our lounge.... Well, I painted the walls about 3 weeks ago, but it has taken me until about a week ago to finish the frames, choose a layout using paper cut-outs the same size as my frames, and nag Mike enough for him to do it! Ha ha, only kidding, he has been unwell, so I let him off :) But anyway, here is the finished wall.....

 

So, the 'Mr and Mrs' sign is from our wedding and was on our top table at our reception, and that is us underneath :) Then just a mixture of us, the kids, our parents and my best friends. I really wanted to look random, so the frames are not level, and they are all mixed up, some painted and some with different wallpapers on. We need to add some more pictures, but we have spaces around the edge, so we can add more as we want to. I would definitely recommend using paper templates to help decide where to put your frames, here is what mine looked like.

 

 

I did this a few weeks ago, and I did change my mind on the placement of a couple of frames just before we did the hole drilling :) But I am really pleased with how it turned out, and can't wait to add more frames soon :)

 

toodle pip!

 

Beka x

 



Les Miserables....

Well hello.

I have just walked through the door and sat down to write this post as I'm so excited to share my experience of seeing Les Miserables.....

 

It was amazing! From the first scene of Jean Val Jean in the water as a prisoner, to the end scene on the barricade, I was engrossed in it completely. The actors were not just great at acting, but they sang the songs so well and with the feelings of truth.

For me, by far, Anne Hathaway (as Fantine) stole the show. Her portrayal of the poor woman who loses her job, turns to the streets and loses everything was breathtaking. Her version of I Dreamed A Dream gave me goosebumps! She was stunning, even without her flowing locks. I also enjoyed, quite surprisingly, Russell Crowe. I wasn't sure about him playing Jalvert, I've never heard him sing, and only really seen him in Gladiator. But, I have to admit, I actually thought he was perfect for the role, to the point were my friend and I were quite attracted to him! We think it was the power aspect of his character :-)

Anyway, the film was totally brilliant, the characters were perfect, the picture was breathtaking throughout and I can't wait to see it again!

 

10/10 all the way!

 

toodle pip!

 

Beka x

Amazing apples

Well hello

Last Sunday, as we were stuck in the house due to the snow, I decided to do some much needed baking. I had some apples in the fridge, and I had watched a video from the sister's at Crumbs for an apple cake. Now this is something that I had not tried making before, but I really liked the look of it. The girls at Crumbs call it an 8 apple cake as, you can probably guess, they used 8 apples! But that is dependant on the weight of the apples after you have peeled and chopped them. I in fact did use 8 apples, there were just cox eating apples, but using a mixture would also be good. So I gathered up my bits and gave it a go :)

Ingredients
450g of apples, peeled, cored and chopped
Juice if a lemon
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
200g plain flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
200g caster sugar
3 eggs
6 level tbsp melted butter
1-2 tbsp milk, as needed
1 tbsp demerera sugar to top

 

 

Firstly, preheat your oven to 180C/350F and grease and line your cake tin. Then comes the job of peeling, coring and chopping up your apples. Don't forget, the apples weigh a lot less once you have done this, so I had the bowl on some scales and was weighing as I was chopping! And it really saved me time that I had this apple slicer/corer that I totally recommend! I believe I bought that in Wilkinson for about £2, but makes the process so much quicker :) Then, once I had 450g of chopped apples, I added the juice of a lemon, to keep the apples from going brown, and the cinnamon.

Then, in a separate bowl, combine the flour. sugar and baking powder, and then add in the eggs and milk to make a batter. You can add some of the milk here if it seems to thick. Next, fold in the apples and any lemon juice left in the bowl.

 

 

 

Pour the mixture into your lined cake tin, smooth it down, and sprinkle over your demerera sugar. Put into the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden brown. I check that it's cooked through by sticking a skewer into the middle, if it comes out clean, it's cooked :)

 

 

 



And there you have it! It was amazing! Especially warm, we couldn't wait too long to try it as it smelt lovely as soon as I took it out of the oven. I would urge everyone to give this a go.

 

toodle pip!

 

Beka x



That Friday Feeling :)

Well hello

Now today is Foodie Friday :) and my first recipe blog. Now this has been a hard blog to write as I haven't actually cooked properly this week. I'll explain......

Mike managed to pick up a viral infection last week and hasn't been eating properly since Sunday, not helped by the inside of his mouth being covered in ulcers :( so to cook just for me was hard! I'm used to cooking meals for the both of us, and deciding what I wanted was way to hard! So I have mainly been eating spaghetti hoops in toast, sausage sandwiches, and anything I can dig out of the freezer :-S Then, the first time I made something, I tried a good old favourite... Enchiladas! (Here is my lovely Enchilada recipe) But just as I was about to cut up the chicken, I was washing up the knife, and my hand slipped.....and the knife went into the base of my index finger :( It was so so so painful!! But wasn't too deep, I hope, and I whacked a plaster on and carried on making my dinner. It feels very bruised now, but I'll live :)

So this is a recipe I made last week and very much enjoyed :) Now this is one of my go to recipes when 1) we can't decide what else to have, or 2) we don't really have a lot of food in the house!

Toad in the Hole

Ingredients
6 sausages
1 tbsp oil
4oz plain flour
2 eggs
4 fl oz milk

 

First step is to put your sausages and oil into an oven dish and put into the oven for 15 minutes to get them cooking. Then, to make the batter, you need to mix together the flour, eggs and half of the milk in a bowl.



 

Now, don't get worried if it looks like the picture above.... it's supposed to be like that! Then, mix in the remaining milk, and it should turn into a smooth batter. I then added a special ingredient, only really as I saw it in my cupboard as I was mixing! So I added about 2 tablespoons of stuffing mix into the batter.

 



 

 

So, once the sausages have been cooked in the oven for 10 minutes, I took them out and poured the batter mix over them, making sure the batter surrounds them completely.

 

 

 

Then the last step is to cook this in the oven for around 25-30 minutes until the batter is cooked all the way through.

I forgot to take a picture when I took it out of the oven as we were in a rush to eat! But it looked and tasted good, you'll just have to trust me on that!

 

So, I hope you give this good old classic a go, even without my twist. It's yummy!

 



Are there any twists you give to family favourite meals?

toodle pip!

Beka x



hang on a minute!!

Well hello

Firstly I have to apologise (I know, it's getting a habit!!) for my lack of posts on Friday and Monday. I sat and wrote out Friday's post and there seemed to be some technical fault, which basically meant it didn't publish it, and now it's missing half.... so I have spent this evening fixing that.
Then..... the snow!!!! Now I think it is pretty, and fun to play in, but it completely messed up my cinema trip on Sunday! I was so gutted. I was sooo looking forward to seeing Les Miserables.... but we have rescheduled for this Sunday, so fingers crossed :)

So today's post is a little off topic as I have to now catch up with the last two! But here's what has been going on in my world this week.....

Mike is finally over his viral infection (yay) and able to get about now. We are off to London tomorrow to see his doctor, see how he is getting on and get ready for his operation. It will be good to get a date, then we can look forward to it being done and Mike being able to get back to normal, and for us to go on a proper honeymoon!! I had a day of baking on Sunday, and managed to bake:
Eight Apple Cake by the lovely sisters at Crumbs  - It was absolutely lovely!
Banana muffins by me :)
Victoria sponge from my mothers recipe book
And we enjoyed eating them lots! Even the kids tucked into the banana muffins :)

Monday was back to school (much to the kids annoyance!) but we managed to have a little bit of a lay in, and I don't think they did much work as there were very few of them in.

I've been mainly doing housework and finishing touches to my photo wall - I will do a post once it is complete - and being a bit ill. But a trip to London tomorrow, and a day out with my Hubby on Friday before a weekend with the kids to look forward too, so my illness needs to go away!!

I hope you are well and were not too affected by the snow,

toodle pip!

Beka x

Rudeness...

Well hello

Just a quickie blog today as I've been having issues with laptop and uploading anything at the moment :-(
I seem to have lost my blog post I've prepared for Wednesday this week, which is poo!
So today has been uneventful really. Mike is still unwell :-( then I decided to stab myself in the finger whilst making my dinner! Not nice, but not too bad.

Anyways, im off to the land of nod.... sweet dreams :-)

Toodle pip!

Beka x

I think that.....

Well hello

Today has been a day of resting and playing nurse (not in a good way) for Mike and I. He has caught a virus and it has made him really ill :( So he is set up on the sofa with the duvet and lots of drugs, and I have been trying my best to look after him, whilst bouncing between the school, the doctors and the shop, and trying to rearrange our kitchen and the normal housework too. So now I am having a good sit down and doing some blogging whilst the kids are in bed.

I've decided that Monday blogs will be review blogs - reviewing things from make-up, films and anything else I want to tell you my opinion about :) This will begin next Monday with my review of Les Miserables (which I am soooooo excited about seeing on Sunday!!!).

So I hope your beginning to the week has been a bit better than mine, and that it only gets better, cos, lets face it, every day that passes means it closer to the weekend!

toodle pip!

Beka x

Food glorious food!

Well hello

Today, along with trying to get my lounge painted, I seem to be obsessed with food! Well, to look at, you can see i enjoy my food...... :) but I have been used to just whacking things in the oven/microwave/saucepan and eating. But over the last few months, I've been trying to be more of a 'domestic goddess' and trying to make things from scratch.

On Friday's, I will be sharing a recipe with you from my vault of yumminess :) Now i get my recipes from a variety of sources...

My lovely mummy
Sorted food - YouTube guys
Crumbs - Blogging sisters and YouTubers
and anywhere else I can find inspiration!

As I type this, I am watching the Darts Championship on TV and savouring a bowl of my chicken and vegetable soup/chowder. I made this on Wednesday, but had a good couple of portions left :) So I look forward to sharing that with you soon!

So I hope you are all well and getting excited about the weekend being nearly here. It will be a quiet one for us as I want to get the lounge finished, but soooooo can't wait for it all to be done.....it's only been 18 months since we moved in!

Any DIY plans for the weekend?

toodle pip!

Beka x

Going a bit string-crazy...

Well hello.

 

Today I am going to tell you about my recent obsession with covering things in string.....
I believe it started when I saw a post on Pinterest of a bottle covered in string and thought 'I could do that!'. So I decided to give it a go. Then it got tricky.... I could not find any string! I searched craft shops, stationary shops and supermarkets. I had been looking for a few days, then I was getting a few bits in Poundland,  and there it was!! 3 balls of string for £1!!!

So then I got an empty Pringles tube (it was just after Christmas, so there were plenty lying around!) and chopped it in half. I used the bottom section, so that i had a base on it. I then covered about a quarter of it in a thin layer of PVA glue and basically, started wrapping it in the string. As I came towards the end of the glue covered area, I just then glued the next quarter and carried on wrapping. I did it in sections as otherwise the glue would start drying before I got the string to the end. So I ended up making three of these, then I used some coloured thread to add some decoration to them...

 

Then I noticed a champagne bottle on our side from Xmas that we got at our wedding, and, you can guess what I did with it.....

 

 

I do plan to put these up in our lounge once we have painted the walls - we have got the paint today, and I am starting on Friday :) and I love how they look!

 

I would highly recommend trying this. Not only is it quite fun, and a little messy, I think it's a great way to jazz up things, give it a go!

 

toodle pip!

 

Beka x

naughty girl!!!

Well hello!

Firstly, Happy New Year to you!

Now for a confession.... I think I made the promise to blog everyday before my life became so hectic and I have now just been rubbish and not blogged for nearly 3 weeks :-S Now the speech 'you've not just let yourself down, you've let your parents down etc'. I did really want to commit to doing this everyday, but my life has just gone crazy over Christmas and the start of the New Year, but now I make a new promise....

Well, I guess more of an updated promise to myself, but I think I will be able to manage it more if I blog 3 times a week :) I'm thinking on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday, doing certain things on each day like reviews and recipes. I then think that this will mean I will be able to put more time into my blog posts, and so (I hope) means it will be more manageable for me to stick to my posting regime.

So we are in 2013, trying to make this year better than 2012, which will be hard as I married the love of my life last year! But I am trying to stick to my resolutions (check out my next post for them!) and being happy.

Hope you are all ok and I hope you will stick with me on this journey that is my life!

toodle pip!

Beka x