Friday, 23 September 2016

10 Things {23rd September}

The last two weeks have been 'take it easy' weeks. Mum was recovering from her operation and I was looking after her so most days were spent running errands, keeping on top of housework and watching cheesy TV and countless episodes of Friends with Mum on the sofa. Here's a couple of things that have put a smile on my face this week...

Roses, Tea & Blogosphere Magazine

1. I'll be starting my very first internship at The Blogger Programme on Monday. Exciting times. 
2. Homemade plum jam. I'm putting it on everything. Everything. 
3. Seeing a flash of orange on the trees, bring on the crunchy leaves. 
4. Deep Sleep Pillow Spray and reading before bed. Definitely helping my sleeping pattern.
5. Two TV shows have had me hooked recently. Our Girl and Cold Feet. They are both BRILL.
6. Date night this evening with Henry. Now we don't live in Brighton, we're 45minutes away from each other and working all week. Any time now spent together truly is quality time. 
7. Seeing my best friend in a production of RENT on Saturday. She absolutely smashed it, she stole the show and it blew me away. Seeing as dancing, singing and acting was the reason we met in the first place all those years ago, it was so nice to see her doing it again!
8. Reaching 1000 Subscribers on my YouTube channel. Little mini milestones that I'm slowly ticking off one by one. It may be small in the grand scheme of things, but you have to start somewhere right?
9. A slight Autumn Chill in the air, Looking forward to all the crisp/chilly but sunny days...
10. Autumn content. With this being my favourite time of year, I'm so excited to shoot lookbooks, outfit posts and everything I possibly can that's Autumn related. I'm a little apprehensive as to what it will be like when I'm working full time for the next month, but I'll make it work, I'm sure.

What's made you happy this week?


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Friday, 16 September 2016

Homemade Plum Jam

There's something that feels so special (and typically british) about picking fruit from your own garden and boiling and bubbling it up into your own homemade jam. 

I've always loved Plum Jam, I used to have it when I was a younger, but hadn't had it in a while. There'd always be a jar at my dads house, but since I've been at university that luxury was not available to me and I was scrapping out the last of whatever was in the cupboard instead... 

My dad and step-mum had left a huge bag of delicious, straight from the tree, plums and greengages for me when I drove down the other day. They said I could pick more from the tree if I wanted to make jam, so I took the chance to take photos of the plum trees at golden hour and the challenge of making jam as it was one I was most definitely up for.

This recipe is super simple and doesn't involve any faffing about with a thermometer. You can change the quantities to the amount of jam you'd like to make, just make sure you're using equal parts plums and sugar.  
r e c i p e  b e l o w Basket of picked Plums
Ripe Plums on the Tree
Basket of Plums
Ripe Plums on the Tree
Ripe Plums on the Tree
Golden Sunlight coming through the Plum Trees
Basket of plums
Sunlight coming through the trees
Plums on the chopping board
This recipe is by Waitrose
Remember these quantities are completely up to you, but adapt the other ingredients depending on how many plums you want to use. 

What you'll need :: 

2kg English plums - washed, halved & stoned
600ml cold water
2kg Jam sugar (We used preserving sugar, which seemed to work just as well)

1. Prepare your jam jars. Preheat your oven to 160°C, wash your jars in hot soapy water, rinse and dry them thoroughly. Put them on their sides in the oven for 10 minutes and then turn off the oven until the jam is ready to pot. 

2. To prepare your plums, cut them in half along the indentation, twist the halves apart and remove the stones. 

3. Put the plums and water in a wide, large saucepan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon for 45 minutes - the plums should be soft and pulpy and the liquid should be reduced by about half. 

4. Add the sugar and stir until it has completely dissolved. The base of the pan should no longer feel gritty when stirred with a wooden spoon. Bring to the boil and boil it rapidly for 4-5 minutes. 

6. Remove it from the heat and test the setting point. To do this, spoon a little jam onto a chilled saucer, let it cool for a few seconds, then push the jam with your finger. If it wrinkles on the surface, it has reached setting point and it's ready to put into the jars. If not boil for a further 2 minutes and test again. 

7. Skim off the scum from the surface using a slotted spoon, then leave the jam to stand for 15 minutes, then stir it thoroughly. Set your jars out and pour the jam into the warm jars, right to the top. Cover the jam with a waxed disc (not going to lie, I didn't have these...) and then twist on the lid. Tie a sweet ribbon around the jar, write a little label and your jam is good to go! 

Cutting the Washed Fruit
Cutting the Fruit
Wide Pan of Chopped Plums
Knife and Chopped Plums
Wide pan of stewed plums
Pouring the sugar into the fruit
Buttering Toast
Jam in Kilner Jar
Toast with plum jam

It's absolutely delicious on warm buttered toast or my current favourite, a big blob of jam on top of a bowl of greek yoghurt for breakfast. Delicious. 

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Wednesday, 14 September 2016

Autumn Primark Haul | All Under £10!

Last week I went on an early morning shopping spree. I wouldn't normally head to the shops the moment they open, but I happened to already be out so I made the most of the empty aisles in Primark and seriously shopped. I purchases blush pinks, soft greys, rose golds and whites to start my transition into my Autumn wardrobe and I absolutely adore everything I picked up. 
Primark Purchases Flat Lay

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Enjoy xxxx

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Saturday, 10 September 2016

August Favourites

Better a little late than never, ey? 

Just a little collection of some of the bits I've been loving throughout August. But now I've got all the Autumn feels and I'm full on loving it!


Make sure you subscribe if you'd like to see more of my videos - nearly at 1000 subscribers, woop! 

xxx

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Monday, 5 September 2016

Summer BBQ 2016

As we bid farewell to our Summer and say hello to the crunchy leaves of Autumn, I thought I'd round up some of my Summer blog posts, starting with some photos and a video of myself and Henry's annual Summer BBQ.

previous BBQ's :: 2014 || 2015 

It's one of my favourite days of the year - it's just carefree, lots of fun and everyone has a great time - no one has to worry about getting home with the option to camp, so everyone can let loose a little! It was the biggest it had ever been this year, so there was copious amounts of food and drink to keep us going until the early hours! 

The sun was shining, drinks were flowing, food was being devoured, slip'n'slide rounders was being played by Will and his friends, with a very enthusiastic little brother of mine having the best time of his life with them! (check this out in the video, it looked SO fun!)

 As the sun set, we turned the music up and nattered, sang and danced into the early hours. We all just had the most relaxed and carefree day with our best friends. I put together a little video of some of the clips myself and Henry's brother captured on the day, it's such a lovely reminder of such a fun day. 

I won't ramble on, I'll let the photos and the video do the talking! 



What was your favourite day this Summer?


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