Autumn Wishlist

Hello again bloggersphere, it's been a while.

I cannot believe that summer is over already.

The nights are drawing in, the leaves are turning golden and the Mac is out. In my eyes, it's officially autumn. Am I complaining? Hell no... Autumn is my absolute favourite time of year.

Cosy nights in with comfort food, Pumpkin Spice Latte's from Starbucks, Bonfire Night, Toffee Apples, Fireworks and of course.. My birthday.

With a new season comes a new wishlist, and this one has been hard to narrow down.

Next month is Mum and my annual October shopping trip, so I'm hoping to pick up a couple of these items then.

So, here we go...

1. Ben Howard - I Forget Where We Were I cannot begin to describe to you how excited I am for the release of this album. Ben Howard is my all time favourite artist, his voice is just incredible and I'm a big acoustic fan. His Every Kingdom album has had more plays than any other CD I've ever bought and has helped me through some pretty hectic times. His new album is released on the 20th October, just in time for my birthday, happy days!

2. Marc Jacobs - Baker Watch I've been looking for a new watch for a while. My Calvin Klein everyday watch was a gift from my parents for my 21st birthday and I adore it. However I've had my eye on this one as more of an accessory piece. I love the rose gold and the minky coloured strap.

3. Paco Rabbane - Lady Million Having run out of perfume a little while ago, this is something high on my list. I've tried so many difference scents in the past, from Marc Jacobs to Chanel and this is definitely my favourite. It smells delicious. I really hate the bottle though!

4. KMix Hand Mixer - Cream - I have been after a new hand mixer for a while and ever since visiting my Granny in July, this has been a high contender on my wish list. It's heavy, durable and has a really high speed setting. I also love that it comes with dough hooks as I've started experimenting with bread more recently.

5. Traditional Bundt Pan - Since moving into my new home which has a magnificent oven perfect for baking, I've been baking up a storm almost every weekend. I've finally got my baking mojo back and now there's no stopping me. I'm keen to try out a few new recipes and this tin would be a great new addition to my baking collection. 

6. Gym & Tonic Tote Bag I've had my eye on this for a really long time now. Gym & Tonic, me to a T. I've been hitting the gym pretty hard recently (I am determined to shed a few lbs before my birthday party!) and as you may or may not know... Gin is my favourite tipple. This bag would be ideal for, wait for it... the gym.

7. Oversized Square Scarf in Check I love tartan/check/plaid and as soon as I saw this I fell in love. Perfect for the colder months and would go well with my wardrobe!

7. Cool Breeze Gel Polish   Since buying a gel nail kit, I can honestly say that I won't be going back to regular polish. I love this colour, and the name!

What's on your Autumn wishlist? Send me links to your blogs :)

M x

Words of wisdom

As you've probably already gathered, I'm very close with my family.

Family time is my favourite thing in the whole world; whether it be making breakfast with my dad, hanging out with my cousins or eating ginormous helpings of food at one of my grandparents famous dinner parties. Those little moments in life are the ones I treasure the most, quality time spent with special people.

On recent trips to visit both sets of my grandparents, I asked both my Grannie's the same question... 

"If you could, What advice would you give your 20 year-old self?"

Their responses were:

Grannie S "Love. Love other people and see past their faults. Love is the most important thing of all. Forgive people for their mistakes. Work hard, play harder."

Grannie C "Be kind to yourself. Remember that you are just as important as everyone else, value yourself and remind yourself that you are equal. Love, laugh and stay true to who you are."

I thought I would share their pearls of wisdom with you, as nothing beats a bit of grandmotherly advice.

Who do you go to for advice?

M x

Birthday Waffles and Family time

My little brother recently turned 16.

When I say little, he's now 6ft 2 and towers above me.

Birthdays are a big deal in our family, but birthday breakfasts are an even big deal, and usually mean waffles or pancakes with bacon and lots of maple syrup.

On the morning of his Birthday, my sister, dad and I crept downstairs super early to set the table and make the waffle mix...

Donning party hats, we raced upstairs and jumped on the birthday boy singing Happy Birthday.

Once everyone had woken up, it was waffle time!

I smothered my waffle in blueberry syrup from Maine (literally to die for) whilst the others went for bacon and maple syrup.

Once breakfast had been demolished, we drove down to Waldringfield for a drink in the Maybush and to soak up some sun. 

The Maybush is one of my favourite pubs. It's pretty overpriced, but it's situated right on the water and has the most amazing views. My brothers both sail down at the sailing club right next door, so it's a lovely place to sit and watch the world go by.

The evening was spent having a BBQ with friends and family, catching up and reminiscing. We sat outside with candles, cake and coffee until 10:30pm, before heading home to bed.

The perfect way to celebrate a birthday! 

How do you celebrate yours?

Apologies for the horrendous photos.... I  have been super rubbish with photographs recently as I keep forgetting my camera. From now on I'm going to stop using my iPhone! 

M x

A visit from down under

Last week my beautiful big sister made the long journey home from Australia for a visit.

I hadn't seen her since Christmas so I was beyond excited for cuddles and a catch up.

She arrived on my doorstep on Sunday afternoon with Mum just behind her, after lots of excited squealing we popped a bottle of bubbles to celebrate.



After supper we changed into our pyjamas and sat down with glasses of Prosecco in front of Pitch Perfect, which Mum hadn't seen (I know, almost criminal). We stayed up until the early hours painting nails, catching up, laughing and reminiscing. 

On Monday morning we sat down to a delicious brunch of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on rye bread with a glass of Buck's Fizz. 

Once breakfast had been demolished we trundled off to town for a 6 hour shopping spree, only stopping to refuel in Starbucks. With achy legs and bags full of shopping, we headed home for a rest before deciding where to go for supper.

We decided on the Handmade Burger Co. which is situated on the water front. With the sun setting we satisfied our rumbling bellies with burgers the size of our heads. 

I went for the Avocado and Bacon Beef burger with added mozerella, delish. Unfortunately I was a little sidetracked and didn't get round to taking many pictures, however here are a few dodgy iPhone snaps...

The next few days were filled with more shopping, eating, drinking and enjoying each other's company. 

A wonderful break with lots of new memories made.

What do you get up to with your family?

M x

The Raft

A couple of weeks ago, A and I drove down to Milford-on-Sea to visit my Grandparents. Milford is the most beautiful little town right on the water with a stunning view of the Isle of Wight.

On our last day visiting, we wandered down to a beautiful little bistro called The Raft for breakfast. As soon as I walked in I fell in love...

It was the cosiest, cutest and coolest restaurant I'd been to. The staff were friendly and knew most of their customers by name (including my Grandparents) which was really lovely. 

We had been for supper earlier in the week and had pizzas the size of dustbin lids (sorry I forgot my phone on that occasion!) For breakfast I had the New forest pancakes with fruit compot, greek yogurt and a drizzle of maple syrup.

Pancakes are my favourite indulgent breakfast foods. We usually have them on special occasions (birthdays, family get togethers etc) so this was an easy decision for me. The pancakes were perfectly fluffy and combined with the toppings they were heavenly. YUM! 

Washed down with an Americano on a cute little saucer.

If you live locally, or you are planning a trip down to the coast any time soon, I would 100% recommend The Raft. They are open for breakfast, lunch and supper and have a delicious menu and super friendly staff.

What are your favourite breakfast foods?!

M x

Cookie dough pretzel bites

I'm back!

Having neglected my blog for the last month, I now have a lot of posting to do.

The last month has been super crazy but now the dust has settled, I can finally give my blog a little TLC.

I want to share with you this ridiculously delicious, easy and downright naughty recipe I discovered on Sally's Baking Addiction... Cookie dough pretzel brownies..

Yes, you heard right. Salty crunchy pretzels, with a soft cookie dough and dipped in sweet chocolate.

Okay, stop, just writing this is making my salivate.

If you haven't yet discovered Sally's blog... Get over there now! She posts the most amazing recipes and I felt that this one was too good not to share. It's so easy you don't even need to turn the oven on, so if you're a baking novice, this is the recipe for you!

For the full recipe and instructions, click here (I promise you won't regret it)... For a little sneak preview, keep scrolling...

Keep going...

Dribble...

Let me know how you get on!

M x

Life Lately

So life has been pretty manic lately.

With my internship coming to an end, I've been job hunting like a madwoman and I have to say it's been pretty draining. I feel as though life has been put on a hold a bit recently, being a grown up is stressful.

I've decided to put more time aside for myself and have a huge to do list for this summer, including baking experiments and a few fitness class reviews, so keep your eyes peeled.

In the meantime, here's a short and sweet post to sum up life lately, and a promise to keep on top of things and get posting! I do have a few exciting things to share with you, so as soon as life quietens down I will be back on it.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend,

M x

Summer means strawberries - Strawberries and banana porridge!

Exploring in the woods

A little baking...

Okay.. So there's always time for cake!