Baking During Lockdown ♡

Ive been doing quite a bit of baking since lockdown began, I was inspired by our neighbour who owns the wonderful Mountain Cafe in Aviemore.  Although she cant open her shop during this time she has been selling cakes, breads, coffee and her amazing cookbook from her doorstep, genius.

My plan was to make Kirsten's amazing brownies but I couldn't get enough dark chocolate in the local shop. However, I did have enough to make a Mary Berry alternative which turned out pretty amazing.

All you need is :
225g Dark Chocolate
100g Butter
75g Self Raising Flower
100g Caster Sugar
3 Eggs
75g Almonds (Optional)
1tsp Baking Powder

Melt your chocolate and butter together until smooth and once its cooled a bit, pop in your sugar.
Add in your 3 eggs one at a time and mix together.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and almonds and pop into a baking tray of your choice.
Place in the oven for around 25 to 30 minutes and BOOM! Done.
Easy peasy and super tasty!

It didn't last long in our house and we dropped some round to friends houses for them to enjoy too.
Check out Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking for lots more easy recipes and also Kirstens incredible Mountain Cafe Cookbook  to keep you busy during Lockdown!

Stay safe guys,

Amy x

      

What to watch during Lockdown ♡

Hello everyone ♡
Binge watching some of my favourite shows has been very much keeping me sane during lockdown and today I though I would share with you some of my favourites incase your looking for something new to watch. I could have written about loads but i've tried to give you a good mix of my ultimate classics.

Charmed
First up is my all time favourite, Charmed. I haven't rewatched all the seasons for a few years now and Its been so good watching them all again. Ive fallen in love with the characters all over again, I cried at the deaths and I celebrated at all the happy moments. If you haven't seen Charmed before its based on three sisters who find out they are witches, but not just witches, they are the most powerful of their line. Prue, Phoebe and Piper must face ultimate evil and are thrown into trying to save the world on a daily basis whilst trying to keep normal mortal lives on the side. It's fabulous, so worth a watch. Also has anyone seen my season 6 DVD...

*

The Big Bang Theory
Big Bang Theory is my favourite. I could watch any episode a million times over and still enjoy it. I was so sad when it all came to an end last year but I loved the way they tied everything up in a neat little bow. Leonard and Sheldon are physicists who work at a university with Howard, a slightly creepy but loving engineer and Rajesh, an unlucky in love but extremely loving guy.
Penny, an aspiring actress, moves into the apartment across the hall from them and they all become a slightly random but wonderful group of friends. In later seasons Amy Farrah Fowler and Bernadet join the crew and complete the friendship group.

*
Friends

The classic that we could all keep watching over and over again. Ive been binge watching the later series at the moment, enjoying all over again the stories coming together towards the final episodes. For anyone who hasn't watched it, which I cant believe some people out there haven't, Friends is an American sitcom that takes you into the world of six 20 something friends working their way through life in NYC.  Joey, Chandler, Rachel, Phoebe, Monica and Ross all struggle with either romance, work life or family and its a heartwarming show we all need in our lives. You will fall in love with characters, hate others and get lost in the storylines that span over 10  glorious seasons.

*
Outlander

Outlander is a favourite of mine. I started watching it when they released season 3 and binge watched the whole lot at once. Were currently working our way through season 5 which was released in February. Season one starts with a young English newlywed, Claire, falling back in time to 1743. She is rescued from danger by a handsome young Scot named Jamie Fraser and their complicated but heartwarming love story starts from there. Season one focuses on the run up to the Battle of Culloden and is very interesting if your a bit of a history nerd like myself. The romance, the drama, the tension all make this programme one to get hooked on and as a bonus, Jamie is played by Sam Heughan...

*

Brooklyn 99

A hilarious and addictive comedy on Netflix, Brooklyn 99follows the lives of detectives based in the 99th Precinct of NYC Police Department in Brooklyn. Main characters include Jake Peralta (Andy Samberg) who is a talented detective with a carefree and fun loving attitude to life and Amy Satiago (Melissa Fumero) a detective who wants to be the apple of their bosses eye and the best detective in the precinct. Theirs Rosa, a hard ass detective who lets little be known about herself and Boyle, a detective who you often wonder how he got to where he is yet love him all the same. Captain Holt, one of my favourites, an emotionless but amazing boss and Terry, played by the amazing Terry Crews. Terry is a huge scary looking guy with the softest heart. Honestly this show is hilarious and the storylines are quality. Give it ago if you are in the mood for a laugh. 

*

The Vicar of Dibley

An absolute British classic. This is one to get you belly laughing on Netflix. If you haven't seen it, then your missing out! The programme follows the first female vicar (Dawn French)  to take over a church in a small English village called Dibley. She is hilariously funny, getting herself into all sorts of random situations whilst trying to get the village church back up and running. The characters are brilliant, including the legendary Roger Lloyd Pack as Owen and Emma Chambers as Alice. Theres also several pretty awesome celebrity cameos over the seasons.

I could go on all day with hundreds of programmes to watch but I'll stop there for now. Im on the hunt for something new and exciting to watch so let me know what some of your favourites are.
All my social platforms are below, come say hello and stay home, stay safe.

Love Amy x

      

Passing Time In Isolation ♡

Hello everyone, how are you all managing? These are just strange times were in!

Although I feel very blessed and lucky to be able to self isolate at home and be safe from the scary world out there, I'm struggling to not become a couch potato.  Ive been passing time by doing lots of my favourite things and trying to stay as productive and positive as I can. 

We've been going for lots of walks for our one bit of outdoor exercise a day. Walking through the woods with my headphones playing my favourite songs is one of my favourite things to do. 

Another thing we have been enjoying is GeoCaching which if you haven't heard of, its like a worldwide treasure hunt. You download the app and then use it to help you hunt for a small hidden container which you then sign with your name and date and leave for the next person. If you want to you can also take and leave a small gift. Its been so much fun hunting for them and it gives a bit of extra excitement to your daily outing. Great for kids to get involved in!

Wedding planning is another thing that's kept me busy, you know, with our wedding being A YEAR TODAY!!! I can't actually believe how excited I am and I have a whole year to wait, what will I be like on the day! Obviously with everything thats going on its tricky to organise things just now. Unfortunately I wasn't able to attend any of my wedding dress shopping appointments which I was so gutted about, but Id rather we were all safe at home and protecting the vulnerable at this time. Instead of dress hunting Ive been writing up save the dates which was so much fun and managed to organise a few more things for the day and for the party were hoping to have the day after. As you can see from the picture above I've had some little helpers helping me to binge read Rock n Roll Bride.

Reading lots of books which I mentioned in my last post (Fabulous Children's Books) has been passing time. Lots of David Walliams, Ive finished Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine by Gail Honeyman and Eve of Man by Tom & Giovanna Fletcher. All great reads which I would highly recommend. Let me know of some others as I need some new ones to get stuck into. 

We have also being doing loads of pub quizzes online with our friends. We had three this week! Its so much fun. Get one household to come up with a couple of rounds of a quiz for everyone to take part in, then losers are the quiz masters the following week. It's such a laugh and keeps contact with your nearest and dearest and bonus, it passes lots of time.

Anyways, I could ramble on all day. Let me know how you guys have been passing time in isolation and leave me links to your lovely blog posts below. Stay safe over this Easter weekend, stay at home and make the most of being safe, well and happy. 

Thank you for reading, 

Amy x

Another Cover for You ♡

Hello everyone,

 I hope your all doing safe and well and staying home as much as possible. 

Today i'm sharing with you another cover by Blind Broken, we so hope you enjoy it.

Heres hoping we can be together again soon to record some more.

Love

Amy x

Fabulous Children's Novels | David Walliams ♡

 We took our Primary class up to Eden Court Theatre to see Billionaire Boy, a brilliant adaption of David Walliams hugely popular children book of the same name. Although for children, the show was equally as enjoyable for myself and the other staff members that were there. 

Having not read any of David Williams books before (of which there are loads by the way) I decided to give a few a go. In one weekend I polished off The Boy In The Dress and Mr Stink, the first two novels he released in 2008/2009 and in the space of a week my collection of his books has gone from zero to five. I am so enjoying reading them, understanding why the kids I work with love them so much and feeling like a kid again myself. 

Today I thought I would give you a wee review of the three I have read so far which is Mr Stink and The Boy In The Dress and Demon Dentist. I had heard people talk before about the beauty in the book The Boy in The Dress but never understood why, but now I know.

The Boy in the Dress follows the story of a young boy called Dennis. Dennis gets very sad and lonely at home as his mother left when he was little, his father works long hours and his brother prefers to be out with his friends. Although amazingly great at football, the schools star striker in fact, Dennis has a secret. He loves reading VOGUE and spends hours looking at the fashion, the style, the bright colours and the beautiful models. Its not until he receives detention and meets a girl called Lisa they realise they share the same passion for fashion. Lisa convinces Dennis to try on one of the dresses she has made and instantly Dennis finds that the adores wearing a dress, wearing makeup and heels, it makes him feel wonderful.

Mr Stink is Walliams second novel which again, is a joy to read. Chloe is a young, shy girl who becomes friends with the old tramp who sits on the local park bench day in day out. As Chloes mother runs from MP, one of her promises is to remove all homeless from the streets. Chloe takes it upon herself to regime Mr Stink, in her garden shed. A beautiful friendship blossoms between the two unlikely characters and they are able to help each other with their problems.
Mr Stink focuses on acceptance of other people, no matter their situation. It reminds us that on the surface someone may look a certain way but you should.d not treat them any differently, you don't know what their background is or how they have ended up where they are, a lesson I feel is very much needed in this modern day society. I think this book too is brilliant to open the eyes of younger children, let them understand these positive messages.

Demon Dentist is the final one Ive read for the moment, another hilarious book for children to sink their teeth into....see what I did there? This story follows Alfie, a young boy with quite possibly the worlds most terrible teeth. His father worked in the mines but due to illness and the closing of the mines, they are a very poor father and son duo, just getting by everyday with a cup of tea and leftover biscuits. When Winnie, the larger than life social worker comes into their life she starts to try and get Alfie to visit the dentist. As children leave a tooth under their pillow for the tooth fairy, they are left with horrible items such as dead spiders, live bats and hundreds of live earwigs. But what's leaving them there?  Alfie is fully aware that visiting the dentist is a terrible idea, but why?
This novel is one of Walliams most outrageous but children will LOVE! It shows the meaning of appreciating what you have and the endless love a parent can have for a child. Another heartwarmer.

These three Walliams novels are the ones I have read so far, all in the space of a few days! Its been great being able to talk to the kiddos at work about them and hear their favourite parts too.
I have two more on my bookshelf to read, Billionaire Boy and Ive just started The Ice Monster.
I shall let you know in an update soon how these were and Im more than sure ill be purchasing a few more to read now that I have a lot of time on my hands!

Hope you are all staying safe and well, stay home!

Amy x