To Geezer, my baby bro...

So this morning, my baby brother flew away to Australia. And I'm pleased he's going because it will absolutely be the making of him, I know it. He's had a pretty rough few months, and now he's sort of come through to the other side, he decided to go away and do something totally unlike him. Equally, I'm sad for him though, because of the people and the circumstances that drove him to feel like he had to leave everything behind. 
Really... You think you know someone, eh, bro?

Fair play to him. I could never, ever do what he's gone and done today. Far too scared and far too comfortable here. But then again, I have people here who love me and look after me, whereas - family aside - I don't think he felt he did anymore. I know Ollie has his faults and stuff, as do we all, but he never deserved what happened to him, and it's been heartbreaking seeing him so depressed for so long. I can't wait to see the first picture of him with someone pretty, with a good tan, and a proper smile back on his face!

We went out for his Bon Voyage meal yesterday in Berkhamsted - complete with cork hats and spoons (family joke, don't worry). I think he was a bit shell-shocked that he was going, to be honest, but excited too.

There's no deeper meaning to this blog today, people. I just wanted to find a way to show my bro that I really want him to be happy and to enjoy himself. When he finally gets to a computer and has a look, he'll see this, and I hope he knows I mean it all.

"Ollie, this is the best idea you've ever had, and it will pay off. You're going to meet so many awesome people, from all walks of life. You'll learn something from every single one of them and you'll become a better, all-rounded man for it. You'll forget all the shit you've had to put up with recently, and you'll create amazing new memories instead. You'll see incredible places and go to crazy events you won't have been to before. You'll drink... a lot! But just make sure you behave yourself a little bit, please!!

I love ya, little man. Enjoy yourself, lap up every minute of it...

I'm y'sister. And sometimes it's OK to get all emotional!!

...See you at my wedding in 199 days time :)

Han xxxx

Good company, good food, good for us...

Today has been so lovely! Whilst Summer is a great time of year when the weather does what it should and everyone enjoys themselves, Autumn is definitely a step better because you can be proper snuggly in nice, warm clothes AND enjoy crisp wintery sunshine. Even better when shared with friends and a dog over a nice cup of tea.
Fizz and I lived together for 3 out of 4 of our college years together. She now lives in London with boyfriend Nick and their dog Clover. They haven't been to Herts to see us for a day out before, so we took them to Ashridge Estate for a walk and a piece of cake at the Brownlow Cafe.

My day started early; I was determined to prove Fizz wrong and cook her and Nick a slap-up meal, putting to rest all the times I might have otherwise cocked up dinners when we were living together. I had pork chops already in the fridge defrosting and loads of yummy eating apples given to me by Alex last night from her new garden... A combination that can't be ignored! I decided we'd have these with green beans fresh from the garden and mash. The thing is, I couldn't have Fizz over to dinner without attempting to recreate one of her specialties - Butternut squash, parmesan and sage tart:

This delicious tart recipe can be found here, and boy is it special!! I managed to get three out of the mixture. Butternut squashes really are the best vegetable ever because they go such a looooooooong way, in soups or pies or as part of a roast. If you've never used one, you really should!

Ashridge Estate was busy with people and dogs and children, but that's fine! It's rare to find places where the dogs are almost made to feel more welcome than their owners! 

Ashridge Monument - you can walk up it, if you have the stair-stamina!!

Clover showing off her repertoire of tricks!

We walked into the woods and past 'The Three Bears House' (which Fizz commented looked more like a 'Rapey-Murder-Scary House', which it does.)

Me and my man :) xx

Clover loved it, and by the time we sat down to a cup of tea and slice of cake, she was knackered.

 I would have taken pictures of the cakes we had, but we ate them far too quickly. The coffee and walnut there is divine, but I chose the more unusual sour cream, apple and cinnamon today, which was ridiculously moist!

Clover attracted a lot of attention; apparently Welsh Terriers are very rare breeds, and there aren't many breeders around the country.

All in all, for what I would consider to be the first weekend of the season, I had a great day. The house is warm now from all the cooking I've been doing... it smells of cider and apples (from dinner), pastry and candles being blown out... and now we're going to get an early night, watch some crap on tv, and rest up for yet another busy week at work.
It's days like today that make me realise how wonderful life is when you strip it back to the basics, and just enjoy what and who is around you. I'm definitely one very lucky lady :)

Fizz and I, still being muppets 3 years after moving on from RNCM. Love it. x

Hope you've all had as relaxing a weekend as we have!
BB xx

Bags of love... and plastic!

My mum gave me her Christmas wish list this month, and she'd like a new carrier bag holder for her kitchen. I have one of these, and they are exceedingly useful, but can look a little dull. I went online and found this rather brilliant tutorial on how to make your own. Find it here from Make It Love It, it's really simple. Plus, it can be made in an afternoon too... good if you're looking for a last minute hand-made gift for someone.

What you will need:

• 9 x 20 inch by 3.5 inch strips of material in whatever colours/patterns you choose.
• If you want, you can make a template to use to cut out your strips. I made mine out of a cereal box.
• 12 inches of thin elastic
• Scissors
• Needle and thread
• Sewing machine
• Pins
• Ribbon to hang it on
• Iron

Cut your strips and iron them so they sit straight when you pin them together. Make sure you cut on the fabric to make the most of the pattern on it.

Pin each strip together in the order you desire. Make sure you have them pinned pattern side to pattern side.

Sew along all the seams and it should end up as one large stripey piece of fabric. Looks lush already, I think!! Iron all the seams open so it lies flat. 

Then using your iron to define the edge, turn each end up by 1/4 inch and then again by 1/3 inch. This is where you'll thread your elastic through. Sew along this as close to the edge as possible so there's room for the elastic.

Thread your elastic through; the easiest way of doing is is put the end of it through a safety pin, then thread it through bit by bit. Secure with a few quick stitches with your needle and thread at either end. Then making sure that it's inside out, sew both sides of the whole thing together, making sure you sew securely at either end with the elastic.

Add a ribbon to one end whilst still turned inside out. I plaited several colours together and knotted each end, then looped it and used the machine to secure it to the top of the bag.

Turn the whole thing inside out, and you're basically done! Then chose a place to hang it - and make sure it isn't hidden away in a cupboard! Let everyone see!!

I think it's beautiful. This is going away for Christmas, but I must say I'm quite tempted to keep it myself. It makes mine look really boring!!

What have you guys been doing on this fine Saturday afternoon? I'm super excited to be seeing my old flatmate tomorrow and her new doggy! We are heading up to the Ashridge Estate which is a National Trust site in Hertfordshire. Should be perfect for wearing big jumpers, boots and having hot chocolate and cake in the cafe there. No doubt I will add some pictures tomorrow :)

Take care for now!

BBxx

So pretty, you have to see!!

Look! The result of just one week of brewing, daily turning and swishing of the fruits, and being kept in my shoe cupboard...

I am so stunned by the colours already! And the red and pink tones of it just scream out CHRISTMAS PRESENT to you! Having shown Tom, we're now trying to work out who would appreciate them most as presents. I will also have to make sure I taste them before I give them away!
Going to crack on with some sewing later today; making some bits to put away for people and also start to make progress with my Nan's present, which she's been waiting for all year long.
I've also found a post on Buzzfeed this week showcasing the underestimated art of stamping, and it's truly inspired me. It's nice to keep trying different things, and the projects in this are so ridiculously simple, yet so effective, I think I may well have to try some out. See them all HERE.

Back later, ttfn.

BB xx

Sozzled Sunday Project

I mentioned yesterday that I was planning ahead and starting to make Christmas gifts now, and some people this year will be receiving homemade blackberry vodka or homemade sloe gin. The reason I start now is that the bottles need to be kept in a cool, dark place for 8-10 weeks in order to infuse properly. By starting now, they'll also get a few weeks longer to make sure it absolutely works!
The process is very easy!

You will need:

• Big bottles of vodka and/or gin (it has to be said, it makes a HUGE difference buying the branded, quality stuff, so in this case I used Smirmoff and Gordon's. An expense, but if you look around you will get them for about £13 for a large bottle.) You may not need to use up all the spirits, but if you can absolutely bear it, keep it! Because once you strain the infusions, you'll need to top up the bottles with some.
• Clean, glass bottles with secure tops. I used two smaller ones for the vodka and an empty wine bottle for the gin.
• Enough sloe/blackberries to fill 1/3 of your bottles. My berries were free as I picked them from the bushes around our house fresh!
• Caster sugar
• A skew, to 'prick' your sloeberries
• Milton sterilising tablets (1 per 5 litres of cold water, but I used three to sterilise all three of my bottles in my clean kitchen sink, just to be sure!)
• Decorative labels or ribbons for when the time comes to give your gifts away!

For the Sloe Gin...

Firstly sterilise your bottle and allow to air dry fully. Next, wash your sloe berries under cold water thoroughly and then transfer to a tuppawear box. Prick each of your berries several times using the skew so that the gin and berries infuse together. Pop enough berries into the wine bottle so that it is 1/3 full.

Next, add sugar. I admit... I guessed this part. I put in about 3-4 heaped teaspoons. Then open your gin!! Using a measuring jug, carefully fill your bottle with gin until it's full to the start of the bottle neck. Secure with the lid.

Then here's the fun part... SHAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!! Shake it until the sugar is no longer visible. Set to one side.

For the Blackberry Vodka...

Much the same as before... Thoroughly wash and drain your blackberries and then add them so they fill your bottle 1/3 full. Then add caster sugar; as these were smaller bottles I used only 2-3 heaped teaspoons.

I then closed the top and shook the berries around on their own in the bottle to burst them and release their wonderful purple colour. 

Next add the vodka carefully with a measuring jug, and shake once more to get everything mixing together.

Et voila!

Now it's a waiting game - you need to leave your concoctions in a dark, cool place for 8-10 weeks. Do not be tempted to open them! You can occasionally shake them or turn them, but don't open them... or the magic will be ruined!!

After it's had time to brew, you can either leave the fruit in the bottle as it is, or empty and strain the infused alcohol and put into other bottles or the same bottles. Just make sure you clean and sterilise them again first.

Use manilla labels, ribbons, string or stick a label to the bottle telling your gift recipient what it is ready for Christmas day. If you can, have a SMALL tipple before you give them away... just to check!!

BB xxxx

Winter preparations are under way...

Yet another productive weekend!
Firstly, I have to thank Frugal Queen (see her blog on the right hand side... she's AMAZING!) for reminding me the importance of doing a little prep work before this time of year, when the heating bills soar and Christmas is threatening to empty your bank account, leaving you with just enough to buy a box of reduced mince pies in January to keep your spirits up...
Ahem.

Anyway, one of her top tips for saving money is to meal plan and take regular stock takes of what you have in your cupboards, freezers and pantries. I honestly have never quite got the hang of meal planning, probably because I don't always want to eat what I have planned to that night. Bit like getting dressed... depends if it's a fat or a skinny day? But tonight, having now done a full stock take, I'm SHOCKED at how much food we actually already have, here, bought, and wonder whether we actually may be able to make it through to middle of October without doing a big food shop. We've also been hugely helped out by my brother, who is moving out of his flat this weekend. He bought me round 5 carrier bags absolutely teeming with dried stuff, and then again today he bought a huge bin liner of frozen stuff that won't be eaten. Thanks to him, I have stocked my home without needing to spend a penny! Check it out...

With the exception of needing to buy cleaning products, toiletries and the occasional fresh bit of produce like fruit, veg and milk, why would we need to?? Look at how full our cupboards are!!

 Tomorrow I plan to draw up our first week's meal plan, and see how that goes.
The only downside with eating what you have first is that, from a Slimming World point of view, you might have to cheat a little in order to use up what you have!
It's a difficult balance to get right; often the reduced isles in supermarkets are full of things we may not be quite so able to eat, ready meals especially, even though they're perfectly edible as a meal.
The other good thing about stock taking is that you find all the foods in your cupboard that you either, a) forgot all about - for example, I found a bag of pearl barley and mixed beans, and remembered that there's actually an awesome SW bean stew that I will be making again at some point. Plus, baking is on the cards as I got an idea of what staple baking products I have. And b) you find all the foods in your cupboards that are well, well, well out of date!! Time to have a clear out too! It also gives you the added opportunity to give your cupboards a wipe - they can get really dirty over time where things spill out etc.
So tonight's first 'use it up before you chuck it out!' dinner was roasted courgette and tomatoes with a cheese sauce from this SW staple and... curly fries. There's the cheat bit!!

I've also done some berry picking today. They will soon have all disappeared from their bushes and there are still things to use them for, if not freeze them for a berry compote or something similar. Years ago I attempted to making flavoured vodka for my family for Christmas, but started them too late so the fruit didn't have time to infuse the vodka. So by starting now, by December they'll taste of what they say they're meant to taste of.
I've made a couple of bottles up of blackberry vodka, which already look so beautiful in all their purple glory! I also collected a decent sized punnet of sloe berries, although it seems these have already been collected by other Hemel residents! Hard to come by! But tomorrow I'm going to make sloe gin using a Nigel Slater recipe I found online. Pictures to follow...
Mr Slater, by the way, is the King of making up delicious recipes out of "whatever's left in the bottom of the fridge". I love his show!

What will you do to make sure you're all ready for the cold winter months??

BB xx

Delving Into Decoupagé!

It is time. It is time to stick things to furniture. It is time to use LOADS of PVA glue.

This weekend has been all about DECOUPAGÉ!!

If you don't know what it is, watch this short video... Courtesy of Kirstie, of course!

I really wanted to try this and make something personalised and special for our new home, something that would represent us as a couple, and how far we've already come in the two and a half years we've been together. We've always left notes, letters and silly drawings for one another to find in our draws at work when we worked together, in our bedsheets if one of us was doing an overnight, treasure hunts, in coat pockets... and so I decided to photocopy these so as to preserve the originals, and used these for my project.

I was so excited that I forgot to take any pictures of 'before and after', but Kirstie's video does a good job of explaining the basic premise, and I copied her tutorial.

The best thing is I've been left with a totally original, totally 'us' piece of furniture that didn't cost a huge amount either.

What I Needed:

• 1 x coffee table; British Heart Foundation furniture shop in Hemel town centre have hundreds of them, and when they've been sat in the shop long enough they reduce the price. I got mine for £15.
• PVA glue; already had some in my art and craft box anyway, but usually you can get a big bottle in craft shops for about £4.
• Clear, non-yellowing, matt finish varnish; £6 from Homebase.
• Paint brush; £2, Homebase.
• Spray paint; £6, B&Q.
• Gloves, optional
• Lint-free cloth, to clean your surface thoroughly before you stick/glue/paint anything on to it.

So for just over £30, I made this! And I am so proud!!

 I gave the paper a coat of PVA and then 2 coats of varnish. I'm hoping that once it's totally dried out it will be OK to wipe if anything gets spilt on it. I also made a schoolboy error and spray painted it after putting the paper on... it was a bit of a last minute thought, and by that time I've done the top of it!

I've just heard that Tom is having a horrendous time at Bestival this weekend, and so I'm hoping this will at least cheer him up when he gets home tomorrow. This is definitely not my last time trying this brilliantly satisfying art! Chairs are next on my list of things to transform I think... do a whole dining room set!

All in all, I've had a very productive few days off - just having those two days of last week to catch up with everything and have an outlet for my creative juices has been lovely. But I'm knackered now, and this afternoon after I'd packed all my decoupage materials away, I had a bath at 2PM!! Bliss!!

Have a good week, everyone!

BB xx

Scrubbing Up and Smoothing Down

It's DEFINITELY Autumn. It's getting colder, and even though the sun was out today I had to wear a jumper whilst I did all this DIY stuff! Boo!!
Anyway... Kind of late, but I was looking at my outdoor table and chairs the other day and realised how tired and in need of some loving they needed. I've had them two years and they've never been oiled or varnished. It's taken me over two days, but here's what I did to make sure that they look pretty and inviting NEXT summer... when the heat comes back!!

You need:
Wooden outdoor purpose furniture
Sandpaper
Wood oil
Paint brush
Lint-free cloth
Gloves (optional)
SUNSHINE!!!

1) Sand down your furniture. I used medium strength sandpapers, but probably could have used the next strength upwards. Make sure you get in all the nooks and crannies so that the oil covers its consistently.

2) Dust off any dust from the furniture with your cloth and make sure it's as clean a surface as possible. Using as thin a coat as possible, begin oiling your furniture with the brush. You may wanna wear gloves for this as the oil STINKS! And it's mega sticky too. Try not to let any drips run and spread it as thinly as possible. You may need to give it 2-3 coats depending on the final colouring you desire, leaving an hour or so between each to allow them to dry.

3) Et voila! As simple as that! It will need re-oiling about once a year depending on the exposure to the elements your stuff has. It lasts longer than varnish and it doesn't peel like varnish can either, which is good. It should also strengthen the wood too.

Just need Summer back now, and that way I'd have half a chance of enjoying them... D'OH.

BB xx

It's the berry, berry, little things...

One thing I'm going to miss when we move out of our little nest is the freebies we get from my wonderful landlady and landlord from time to time. They spend all year long tending to a wonderful garden that they grow vasts amounts of fruit and veg in around this time of year. There's three apple trees, tomatoes, strawberries, green beans, two types of potatoes, courgettes, broad beans, onions, garlic, raspberries and then also wild blackberry bushes that line their driveway. It's an oasis of fresh produce that keeps them going throughout most of the winter months too. They always have surplus, and they offer it to us when it's there. This week alone I've had a whole cucumber (better than the shops, and spikier too!) tomatoes that have been roasted for plenty of dinners and sweet red onions. I admire the amount of hard work that goes into it all, and am very grateful they are willing to share the fruits of their labour with us, when we already pay so little to live here!
Yesterday when the sun was out, I took a tuppawear box to the blackberry bush outside and filled it with fat ripe berries. Sally then allowed me to take some raspberries from their bush, and I was amazed how sweet they tasted. I was thinking I might make a crumble, but instead I looked to my latest Slimming World magazine, and decided to make this instead...

Blackberry (And additional raspberry) meringue roulade:
Pre-roll... VERY scary!

Then the final product:

I'm going to dinner at my parents tonight, and they're cooking a Weight Watchers dinner (ooooo the main competitor against SW!) so I'm bringing this along to show them what SW can produce too!
The best thing is, all I needed to buy was the Quark that makes the filling. My berries, which come to £2-3 a punnet in the shops, were absolutely free. And that's MEGA tasty :)

BB xx