Halloween humbug

I will admit, I am a bit of a humbug when it comes to Halloween. I was never really that bothered about trick or treating when I was young, partly because I am a massive wimp and I hate scary things! Not even the promise of free chocolate could tempt me out.
So this evening, I am dimming the lights (so it looks like no one's home!), having a hot bath and snuggling up in my fluffy dressing gown with a big cup of tea. Lovely.

Ok, maybe I'm not a total scrooge- I just couldn't resist this little guy!

Waffle Fest!

Ok, I'm going to let you in to a little secret- I absolutely love waffles! C'mon, what's not to love.
So when I heard about 'He Says She Waffles', in my favourite town of Cirencester, I knew I had to pay them a visit.
On Sunday, we jumped in the car, with our tummy's rumbling... But little did we know, it was in fact their first birthday party and that meant, free waffles! We only had the choice of maple syrup waffles, but boy, were they delicious!
(Of course, this means we'll have to go back again to sample more of the menu- What a shame!)

Mr H and I have been caught red handed and we made a sneaky appearance on their Facebook page, oops!

Food festival 2013

After hearing such good things about the Food Festival at Gloucester Quays, Mr H and I spontaneously decided to check it out for ourselves and it certainly did not disappoint!
It was much larger than we'd anticipated, but not overwhelming, and there were some beautifully thought out stands, full to the brim with mouth-watering treats.

We grazed our way round, starting with some fantastic ham & cheese bread from a French bakery stall and lots of cheeky tasters. Then we grabbed some local cider and stopped for lunch at a camper van serving the most delicious, fresh Mexican taco's (very cleverly named Margo & Rita)
For dinner, we hunted down the best looking pie (from Plenty Pastry Ltd), accompanied by some veg from Brown & Green. Ok, I'm going to sound a bit crazy here but the carrots from Brown & Green were the most sensational carrots I have ever tasted - they were like little orange rays of sunshine!

 Overall, a fab day out for hubby and I- that's one thing we actually have in common, a love of great food. And the surroundings of Gloucester Quays made the day all the more lovely.

Wimbledon Cake

(A confession to start... I made this strawberry cake to enjoy whilst watching the Wimbledon final. Well, Andy Murray may have made it to Sunday's final (& won, woohoo!) but the cake certainly did not! Hubby & I devoured the cake well before Sunday. Oops)

I'm trying to brush up on my baking skills & I really wanted to use the cake dome we received as a wedding pressie.
The easy option here would have been just to ask my sister to make me a cake because she is a total natural when it comes to baking. Bit of this, sprinkle of that; & hey presto, a lovely cake!
Me however, not so much. But I do make a cracking lasagne!

Anyway, I thought I would start by throwing together a really easy sponge. It's pretty much as easy as you can get. (The recipe is adapted from one I saw here.)

This strawberry cake is really soft & gooey & best served with cream (well it wouldn't be Wimbledon without strawberries & cream now would it!)

Sisterly love!

I spent the day with my (not so little) sis; we chilled out, made some cupcakes & listened to music. I love that we have so much in common (and that she can teach me how to make cakes!)