Saturday bake day

Happy Saturday strawberry bon bons! Hope you are all well and happy : ) I am uber happy, even more so than usual, as it is half term! I have made some great plans for next week, all will be revealed soon!

Today has been more laid back than usual for me as hubby is ill with flu so I have been in full on wife mode! I stopped off at Waitrose for some get well soon bits for hubby and then spent the afternoon making home made vegetable soup and chocolate brownies! Today's post shows the delicious results! ; )

My favourite cook books! Today I used the book second from the left with the flowery spine, a  birthday gift from hubby's Grandma.

1) Break 225g of good quality plain chocolate (at least 60% cocoa solids) into pieces and place in a heat proof bowl. Add 175g of butter to the chocolate. Place the bowl over a saucepan of simmering hot water but make sure they do not come into contact at all. Set the timer for 10 minutes and allow the chocolate and butter to melt slowly.

2) In the meantime, whisk together 100g caster sugar with 3 large eggs.

3) In a large bowl, add all the ingredients together; the melted butter and chocolate, the sugar and eggs, and 175g of self raising flour. Mix together until all the ingredients are combined.

4) Add 100g white chocolate chips and 50g of milk chocolate chips to the mixture and stir in fully.

5) Pour the brownie mixture in a 25cm non-stick baking tin and smooth over.

6) Ta-da! 30 minutes at 180 degrees and the brownie should be cooked. Leave to cool before removing from the tin and cutting into squares.

7) The brownies cut into squares and stacked onto a cake stand.

I served the brownie with Haagen-Daz's chocolate, praline and caramel ice cream for hubby, perfect get well soon dessert! : )

More soon dear readers, enjoy the rest of the weekend : ) XOXO

Busy December days : )

Hey glitter belles, how is everyone on this chilly Sunday?? I have had the most chilled day ever which I was in dire need of! I have had the busiest week (hence the lack of posts!) so I really needed a relaxing day today!

My week was as busy as ever at work, and my weekend has been nuts too. Thursday night I went to a lovely little salon in Hamstreet for a spray tan and Jessica mani and pedi which was great. Friday night was hubby's work Christmas party which takes place at a Marriott Hotel every year. We had a great night although I did end up a tad tipsy due to the free bar that his company insist on providing for us... still we had great fun and danced the night away, which is the most important thing at a Christmas party! Saturday was my annual school trip to Ypres in Belgium, we spent the day visiting cemetries, war memorials and the afternoon at the Christmas market and chocolate shops of Ypres. A fantastic day all round, the pupils were exceptionally well behaved and made me very proud : ) So that leaves today, I was completely shattered after my busy week so I slept late, then chilled on the sofa with snacks and films! Just fabulous : )

Beautiful Cathedral, twinkly lights and back of the Christmas Market in Ypres, Belgium : )


As promised a couple of blog posts ago, I have recently bought some new goodies that I want to share with you all!

Gorgeous Christmassy Shopping bags!

Silk Ecote dress from Urban Outfitters £25 (was £58). After my successful sale rummage in UO the other day, I decided to have another look when I was at Bluewater the other day. I found this gorgeous silk dress in my size and snapped it up quick! I really like the colours and print, plus the classic style will work for many seasons to come.  Unfortunately, although the dress was available online, it sold out very quickly... you can however buy the same style in a rather nice black and wildflower print and a not-so-nice (in my opinion!) orangey shade with a kinda triangley print... (both these styles still have all sizes available)

Kimchi and Blue Startlet skirt Urban Outfitters £20 (was £40). I liked the cute print on this skirt, and thought it would work well for both work and weekend, with thick tights, boots and a classic piece of knitwear.

Blackberry bath bomb £2.75 Lush. Just because it smelt gorgeous and I do love a bit of Lush pampering!

Cashmilon ruffle scarf from Marks and Spencer £15. This scarf is so warm and cosy and looks great on.

Naughty little treat from Waitrose...

I couldn't resist buying some toffee and banana cupcakes, as well as some festive  Raymond Briggs 'The Snowman' cupcakes! I love the Patisserie at Waitrose, whenever I am shopping I struggle to walk past without giving in... 

Well that's about it lovely followers, I hope everyone is feeling Christmassy now and getting in the Christmas mood! I have pretty much finished my Christmas shopping now, I wrapped all my presents last weekend and I plan to put the tree up next Sunday! Sooo excited for the rest of December, I have so much fun stuff coming up, feeling very lucky and happy right now : ) XOXO

All Saints Sunday Style

Hello Cupcakes, hope you are all well today. I am fine, had a good day work wise, but feel rather sick today, not sure why but it sucks, I hate nausea!! Anyway, today's post is a Sunday catch up (I never seem to get round to posting on a Sunday, hubby and I tend to chill with TV and films on a Sunday evening and computers are banned!) Sunday was a fabulous day, weather wise and activity wise. Hubby and I had a nice lazy morning (no change there!) and then decided to drive to a gorgeous little village called Goudhurst,  about half an hour from where we live for a nice country pub lunch. After lunch we had a wander around the village, before deciding to drive back home. On the way home we stopped off in Tenterden to get some bits and pieces in Waitrose, finally popping into Caffe Uno for a tea and a cake! 

What I wore: Skull t-shirt from All Saints, jeans from All Saints, new stripy cardigan from H & M,  heart necklace from Agatha in Paris and chestnut Ugg boots (so glad the weather is here to wear them again!)

My little Woody chilling on Sunday. I am so proud of him for  being picked as a favourite in the family portrait section of the Westfield competition! He is truly gorgeous and has the kindest face : ) xx

Well that's everything for today dolls, I will be nursing my nausea for the rest of the evening, however I have a new magazine so all will soon be right in my world : ) xoxo