Happy Halloween...

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend. We are busy in the kitchen today making a few bits for Halloween night. Sarah is having a little party with some friends after they go trick or treating. Here she is busy at work making some lovely treats...

Making her chocolate apples...

Jelly Jack o Lanterns

Wonder what this tastes like!

via

 I hope everyone has a fun and safe Halloween!!

Time Please....

I can't believe that October is nearly over already and Halloween is just around the corner. 

The kids are off for a week from today on mid-term break so a few relaxing mornings are in store!!

 The clocks are going back an hour over here  on Saturday night, so winter time will be officially starting! 

I hope everyone has a fantastic weekend and gets to enjoy a few Halloween celebrations!!

I must try out a few spooky concoctions like this!

Images via pinterest

A Little Bling...

When it comes to decorating rooms I love to add some metallics for a finishing touch. They are perfect for adding glamour and glitz to any room. This makes them ideal  for living rooms and bedrooms alike. I think a  mix of bronze and copper shades with touches of silver or gold  make a fab statement as seen below...

Entertaining...

 Bedrooms...

The high street has some incredible buys at the moment from cushions to cutlery and all sorts of furniture and mirrors! A great addition to any room  for  the party season ahead!

Images via Pinterest.

Halloween Teabrack...

This is a traditional recipe for a homemade brack we eat at Halloween. Long ago different charms were added to the mixture when cooking and each had symbolic meaning . You can still buy the shop ones every Halloween but I like to make my own. As kids we all wanted to get the "gold" ring which stood for marriage! Other bits added were a pea, bean, stick and a rag. Here is the recipe I always follow when making the Halloween brack (charms are optional)  but add a fun element for children!

Ingredients...

10oz self raising flour

1/2 pint of cold tea

1/2lb mixed fruit (raisins,sultanas)

4 oz caster sugar

2 medium eggs

a pinch of mixed spice

Method...

Place the fruit in a bowl and soak overnight in the tea. Add sugar, flour and mixed spice to this and combine well. Wrap ring and other charms if using in greaseproof  paper and stir into mixture. Transfer to a 2lb loaf tin which is greased and lined. Bake in 170c oven for 1 hour until risen and firm to touch. Cool on a wire tray.

I love it just warm from the oven and spread with a good dollop of butter!

Loving...

While browsing online last night I came across this lovely website Andrea Garland.com. It sells vintage jewelery pieces filled with 100% natural lip balm. They also have all sorts of facial and body products which are mostly organic. This sparkly owl brooch caught my eye. It has a secret compartment that opens up to reveal a pot of balm inside! Almost to cute to use...

All the ingredients are natural and  sourced from ethical suppliers. It is a really beautiful website for anyone who loves vintage inspired jewelry. No excuse now for chapped lips this winter!

A few random bits...

The weekend turned out wet and miserable yet again (no surprises there!) but perfect for catching up with some odd jobs I wanted to do around the house. I  finally got to decorate a little more for Halloween much to Sarah's delight. Here is a little view of some bits we did ...

A little Halloween Vignette...

More pumpkin painting...

Spiders on the loose....

I also did a little shopping and was delighted to get this Oasis dress at a fraction of the original price in the mid season sales!  All and all it wasn't a bad weekend!

I hope everyone has a fabulous week!

Happy Weekend....

The week has absolutely flown by again! I think it had something to do with being on holiday for a few days. You end up chasing your tail trying to catch up when you come back. This weekend is just going to be about relaxing and I have finally brought down my box of Halloween decorations so I may get the house decorated a little bit .The most I have done so far is spray a few pumpkins and fruit shapes gold !!

My Golden Pumpkin!

I must get a black tin of spray now and add a few more bits and pieces to add to my display. Also while my mum  is here we are doing an extra bit of baking, so I will freeze some  pies and tarts which will come in useful for the busy months ahead!

Apple Tart... 

Cottage Pie....

Finally if the weather stays the way it is now (perfect for Autumn walks) we will get out and about and maybe collect some bits to help with my decorating! 

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend!:)

Chocolate Treat....

My mum is visiting at the moment and we are enjoying our morning coffees and chats.Yesterday we tried  this yummy cake recipe. We just adapted it from a basic chocolate cake mixture she uses and it turned out lovely...

Chocolate & Orange Slices..

200g butter softened.

300g dark chocolate.

4 large eggs.

160g caster sugar.

1 tsp vanilla essence.

250g ground almonds.

zest of one orange.

icing sugar to dust.


Method...

Preheat the oven to180c. Line a 20cm cake tin with baking paper. Melt the chocolate in a bowl and add the butter mixing well. Using an electric mixer beat the eggs with the sugar and vanilla extract until pale and fluffy, then mix in the melted chocolate mixture. Stir in the ground almonds and orange zest. Spoon mixture into the prepared tin.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins. Remove and leave to cool on a cake rack. We glazed  the top  with some extra dark chocolate for a richer flavour!  When ready to serve, dust lightly with icing sugar and cut into slices....

Sit back and enjoy with a nice hot chocolate or your favourite morning cuppa!!

A Little Cosy....

Yesterday  the weather here turned much colder than it had been of late. There was a more definite chill in the air which made me start thinking about all my favourite go to pieces for the inevitable frosty times ahead. Here are some lovely images to warm up any cold Autumn day...

a large open fire..

..

Cosy socks....

Warm blankets....

Toasting marshmallows....

A welcoming  kitchen....


This last picture just warms my heart! On a cold Autumn day there is no other place I would rather be than at home, drinking tea , reading and candles burning softly. Absolute perfection...

Images via Pinterest.

Some inspiration....

Since admiring all the beautiful panelling in Edinburgh castle (seen above) I've suddenly become fixated with panelled walls in rooms. Here are a few interesting spaces I have spotted online recently...

 Fab dark blue walls against the white panels...

A very stylish and classy dining 

  A clean and modern look in the bathroom...

My favourite one here is the dining room and I would love to do our hallway with a little panelling. Hope everyone has a great day!

Images via Pinterest.

Thank-You...

Just a very quick post today (was going to take a day off after my trip!!:) to thank the lovely Kim at SassyUptownChic for my sweet blog award! I am really delighted she included me in her list as I never expected this when I started my little blog!!. She has told me I can pass the award on as I wish but I wouldn't be able to pick just a few names. I am truly grateful for all my followers so I would have to name each and everyone of them!!

Thanks again Kim for the award and I love reading your posts. They are so funny and uplifting:) Hope everyone is having a good day!!

Our Trip To Edinburgh (Part Two)...

On our second day in Edinburgh we went on the bus tour down to the port where The Royal Yacht Brittania is berthed. You are allowed  to tour all the rooms which were used by the royal family while cruising the world. It  no longer sails the high seas but has become a big attraction in Edinburgh because of it's history. It was a lovely tour made all the nicer because the sun shone while we were there...

The lovely port...

                                                               

The Royal Yacht with over five decks to tour...

First stop a hearty breakfast on board complete with haggis!

Ring my bell!

The grand dining room on hire for private parties!

 ...

                 

Morning coffee served in the deck tea room....

After the tour ended we headed back to the city to do another bit of exploring and  a wee bit of shopping!

Traditional scottish dress...

           

Some of the lovely shop fronts in the old town... 

  

In the evening just as it was getting dusky the streets came alive with buskers and tourists all out to enjoy some of the local food and entertainment on offer...

  A quaint restaurant....

A hearty bowl of Scotch Broth!!

 

A lovely olde worlde pub.

The view over to the castle after dark...

Our few days in Scotland went really fast so hopefully we will get over for another holiday sometime. I would really recommend Edinburgh to anyone looking for a great city break!!

Trip to Edinburgh (Part one)

Hi everyone! Just arrived back from Edinburgh today. We had a fabulous time in Scotland and got to see loads over the three days that we were there. I honestly can't wait to go back and view more of the beautiful countryside as we only had enough time to explore the main sights in the city. In this post I am going to show some of the stunning architecture and the main attractions - Edinburgh Castle and the Queen's residence when she visits the city, The Palace Of Holyrood House...

Some lovely street scenes....

Stunning architecture....

Edinburgh Castle....

 Edinburgh Castle  sits majestically upon a dormont volcanic rock overlooking the city below. Here are some photos from the inside of the castle....

Ornate ceilings....

Beautiful panelled walls....

The castle chapel.....

View of the city from the castle walls....

After visiting the castle we went to see the Queen's residence when she is visiting the city,You are not permitted to take pictures inside the palace however we were able to snap a few ouside....

The Palace....

A cute squirrel in the garden....

The beautiful grounds of the palace....

The ruins of the Abbey which are linked to the Palace....

In the next part I will have some pictures of our trip to The Port of Leith where we went aboard The Royal Yacht Britannia,  and I will also have some photos of random bits and pieces that caught my eye on our travels...