REFRESH.

Now, I don't want this to come across as one of those 'new year, new start, new me' type things... but making smoothies has been something I've been meaning to do for ages (honestly!)
I've been collecting ideas and recipes over the past few months and have finally taken the plunge. And I must say, I'm pretty hooked.

SEASONAL YOGA.

I first started practising yoga a few months ago and I guess I went into it very naively. I just wanted to be more flexible.
I honestly never would've imagined the affect it would have and how much of a part of my life it would become.

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A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that myself and six friends were doing our own 'Come Dine With Me'.

Well, Thursday night it was my turn. And the finale. No pressure.

 

After just returning from a week in the South of France, I thought it would be very apt to have a French theme.

Cue my secret weapon- chilli, pecan and apricot camembert.

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For the past 7 months, myself and six work colleagues have been involved in implementing a new green initiative at work.

And Friday was our official launch of what we had produced.

What better way to celebrate than strawberries and Pimms!

This also coincided with our work summer party.

 

It's crazy to think that I have been in this job for less than a year but I have met some truly wonderful people and made some lifelong friends.

 

(Now I know I didnt take this picture so it doesnt count. But I just needed to share it with you!)

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This week I tried yoga for the first time and absolutely loved it, went on a team outing to a pub quiz and came last, and spent the longest day of the year enjoying cocktails with the girls.

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For the past few weeks, myself and six friends have been doing our own Come Dine With Me.

The concept is simple- to cook a meal for your guests and entertain them for the evening (or get them moderately drunk)

This week we decided to arrive by bicycle. A great idea... until we realised how awful our hire bikes were!

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(Oops late again. But better late than never, I always say!)

 

Just a regular Friday evening- casually wearing a moustache and an inconveniently large sombrero, filling my face with home-made Mexican food and sipping on margaritas.

I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.

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Another busy week. Another two birthdays.

It was so lovely to see the birthday 'girls'.

The 'Baldwins' don't get together often, but when we do, there are lots of laughs to be had.

 

These photos totally encapsulate the reason why I wanted to do this project- to capture special moments like these and cherish them forever.

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I'm feeling a bit delicate today after a night out with the girls, so Mr H and I ventured to Wholefoods in Cheltenham for some serious comfort food.

A word of caution- a small fortune could easily be spent in a very short space of time.

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A 'healthy' lunch with a very dear friend- we always have loads to catch up on when we see each other but never enough time. She's my go-to-girl when I need some practical advice.

Guten Tag. Bonjour. Ciao.

Last weekend, my best friend and I, jumped on a plane to the land of cheese and chocolate.

Our amazingly brave friend moved to Switzerland back in February so it was about time we paid her a long overdue visit!

It was the most wonderful weekend- we were super busy and did a lot of travelling around, but I felt sooo relaxed when I got home.

Saturday began with a lazy morning, filled with tea and chatting, before we wrapped up warm and headed out to explore the Zurich Christmas market. A heady smell of melted cheese and mulled wine filled the air. Delicious.

The stalls were beautiful- I could’ve spent a fortune! After a busy day, and a sneaky hot chocolate, we headed home for cheese fondue, with our friends lovely Swiss flatmate. We drank and ate until late.

Sunday was an earlier start. After a 4 hour train journey, we arrived in Lugano- the Italian side of Switzerland. I have never been to Italy but it definitely gave me a brilliant taster of it. The air was warm and the skies clear, with some truly breath-taking views.

And then it was Monday- time to pack up to go home (sob!) but not before we ventured to the world famous onion market. Yes it was as bizarre as it sounds. Words cannot really describe the atmosphere- lots of laughing, drinking and handfuls of confetti being thrown. Just to top off the weekend, we said hello to Bern’s resident bears!

But best of all, I got to spend the weekend with my two dearest friends.

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!

An apple a day...

Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a really delicious apple as much as the next person, but I was a little sceptical about visiting an entire festival dedicated to apples.
Well, I say festival but it was actually just a few small but lovely stalls, run by people who are clearly passionate about that scrumptious little fruit!

It was held at Snowshill Manor, a National Trust treasure that my dad came across a few months ago.
The manor house is wonderful; crammed to the rafters with incredible objects and artefacts, collected by one man, over his entire life.
Words cannot do it justice, and the lighting in the house is a tad gloomy for photos, so I would highly recommend a visit (but look out for the samurai! Yep, I said samurai!)

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!)