Cooking: A pie to warm the heart

As the nights start drawing in and winter gets closer by the day (12 weeks to go until Christmas!!), my dinners tend to change from light salads and stirfries to more belly-warming casseroles and pies. There's something so comforting about pie that just makes everything better, don't you think?!

I thought I'd share with you one my favourite go-to heartwarming dinners - chicken & bacon pie - I'm aware it doesn't sound too impressive and to be honest with you, it's not, but it's totally yummy and perfect for those cold evenings. 

The original recipe can be found here, but over time I've tweaked it and added a few more ingredients!

A bit of countryside in the city

Whilst there are so many things I love about London, I often find myself feeling rather claustrophobic and craving the countryside. I'm sure I often go for days in the city without seeing any proper grass or trees which makes me quite miserable! For me, this is one of the biggest reasons I can't wait to finally move out of London. I'm such a country girl at heart - I love being outside and going on long walks. This is something my family have always done together and whenever I visit my parents we enjoy one of our many favourite routes. As soon as Rob and I have a day off together we seize the opportunity to drive out to the nearest bit of countryside and enjoy the fresh air. I love it, it's such an escape.

Shortly after moving to Greenwich in the summer of 2013, I was googling nearly parks and 'green areas' in the hope that we could find somewhere nearby that we could visit to have a wander. I randomly came across Mudchute City Farm - one of London's many (yes, many!!) city farms. Being just two stops from us on the DLR (on the Isle of Dogs), Rob and I decided to visit almost immediately and Mudchute has since become one of our favourite nearby escapes. 

30 before 30

I turned 25 in August and, whilst I realise I'm still a young'un, my birthday did feel like a bit of a milestone. Halfway to fifty. Five years until I'm 30. Where is life going?! I feel so silly saying that - does anyone else feel the same?! It sounds so cliche but as I get older I'm finally realising that the saying "life goes too fast" is infact true!!

One of my worst traits is that I'm so impatient. I've found that in my mid-twenties I'm surrounded a load of people who are so sorted a in their relationships, their jobs, their housing situations etc... but then on the other hand I'm also surrounded by a load of people who are so UNsorted - Living each day as it comes, living for the present with no real plan. I see myself somewhere between the two, which can sometimes be can be difficult. I'm sorted in the sense that I have a respectable career and I've found a man who makes me happier than I've ever been... but there's so much I still want to do. 

I'm slowly but surely learning that actually, life is better when you're patient and I must stop comparing myself to others. It's not the end of the world if I'm not on track to have a baby at 29... It's not the end of the world if it takes us another year to buy a house. I am thankful that I have a job which reminds me so often of how precious life is and there are so many things I can be thankful for.

But it is nice to plan ahead and have some goals... Realistic ones that is. So I've decided to compile a list. Because who doesn't love a list?! I've thought long and hard about 30 things (30 realistic things) I'd like to do before I reach that big old three oh...

This week's happiness

Things that have made me happy this week...

Fresh flowers!
Beautiful pink roses and gypsophilia - I love having little flower displays around the flat, brightening things up.

Recipe: Lemon drizzle cake

In my world, there are very few things that beat sitting down with a a cup of tea and a slice of cake... especially lemon drizzle cake.

I wanted to share with you one of my all time absolute favourite recipes. I've baked this too many times to count and every single time it has turned out just perfectly. I've baked this for cake sales, for friends, for my work team, for Rob's work team... and I'll let you into a secret: I've even baked this for myself to enjoy all on my own, on the sofa, no sharing!

When lemon drizzle cake is concerned I can't help but feel slightly deceived because most lemon drizzle cakes ironically have no 'drizzle' on them at all - instead they have a thick layer of lemon icing. In this recipe however, (from Nigella's How To Be A Domestic Goddess) the cake is taken out of the oven, punctured all over the top with a cake tester and the warm lemony syrup is poured over, seeping into the holes. This leaves a sharp, delicious, lemony taste right through the middle. SO good.

The recipe is dead simple and the smells that will fill your kitchen whilst the cake is in the oven are heavenly.

A Norfolk getaway...

Back in February we spent a few days up on the Norfolk coast - somewhere we hadn't been before. It was a lovely few days discovering a beautifully unspoilt part of the UK so I thought I'd share with you where we stayed and what we got up to.

When planning our trip, I really wanted us to stay somewhere rural but with a touch of luxury, so I spent ages online troweling through various hotel and B&B websites. I can't remember how I came across Norfolk Courtyard, but immediately I was in love. 

Norfolk Courtyard B&B is situated on Westfield Farm in Foulsham, North Norfolk, not far from the iconic local towns of Burnham Market and Holt. The owners, Simon & Catherine, live in a beautiful Georgian farmhouse with large gardens, allotments and chickens. They have converted their out-buildings into a charming B&B and also have a holiday cottage on site, along with little glamping caravans/huts!! It is no wonder that their accommodation has featured in Country Homes & Interiors and Country Living magazines... On arrival it was immediately very clear that they had put a tremendous amount of work into transforming this space into somewhere so unique and tranquil.

A print with feelings ♥

Check out our new personalised print!

I have a bit of a thing for typographic prints - we have a few dotted around our flat. This one is definitely my new favourite, I love the text, the colour and the hearts!

The Choc Shot Review

Over the past year or so I've tried hard to make positive, long term changes to my diet in an attempt to be healthier. When doing the food shopping it's so easy to be tempted by chocolate, croissants, ice cream... the list goes on! I've done my best in attempting to limit processed foods from my diet and, whilst doing so, have been on the hunt for alternative foods containing natural sugars that are equally as appealing and tasty.

I came across the Sweet Freedom range in Holland & Barrett last week and was instantly intrigued to try the Choc Shot...

DIY project: Three weddings, one frame

Despite the amount of family photo albums we have, my parents have never really displayed any of their wedding photos around the house. I'm not sure why because I think they look wonderful and wedding photos are always so special to look back on.

So a few months ago I decided to set myself a little DIY project and frame "three weddings in one frame" - with my parents wedding day in the middle and their parents' weddings on either side.

A weekend ramble...

Good morning folks!
I'm sorry I haven't blogged too much over the last week or so - I've had a chaotic shift pattern so have been all over the place with work, sleeping and catching up with friends etc.

We had the loveliest afternoon in Knole Park, Sevenoaks last week. If you haven't been, it's well worth a visit - with it's 1000 acres of deer park it's the perfect place to have a walk. Long live the National Trust! It has been feeling so Autumnal, I love this time of year when the trees change colour and it's still fairly warm but you can feel that winter is on its way.

Whitstable

I absolutely love the seaside. Love love love it! It's probably because I grew up in just about the furthest point in the UK that you can be from the sea, in any direction. Talk about sea deprivation!! So even at 25 years old, I still get ridiculously excited about being the one in the car to shout "I can see the sea and the sea can see meeeee!"

Last summer, as with all summers, I was desperate to sit on the beach and breathe in that glorious sea air. I think most Brits would vote Devon, Cornwall and Dorset as the best counties to visit if you're wanting miles and miles of beautiful beaches. But the South-West is quite a long way to travel for a day trip, so we decided to drive down to Whitstable in Kent, one of our most favourite seaside towns to visit.

Whitstable really is one of England's little treasures. The town itself is very quaint and timelessly British, full of cute independent shops and art galleries. The perfect place to 'mooch around' and have a browse. The harbour is famous for it's oysters (each July they have an annual Oyster Festival!) and the town boasts a range of fine seafood eateries and fish restaurants, such as the renowned Whitstable Oyster Company.

We parked in a local pay & display car-park just off the High Street on Middle Wall, just a short walk from the harbour itself and wandered along the high street. It was such a beautiful day, the sky was bright blue and there was a brilliant summers vibe going on!

Greenwich ♥

Greenwich. Where do I start? Before moving here in July 2013 I'd not been here many times (other than when I was about 8 years old and my darling mother took my brother and I on a surprise day out during the school holidays. She left us guessing the location for aaaaages on the train to London, until I forced her to tell me which letter it began with. By which point I was annoyed that the letter wasn't D, and I realised we weren't going to Disneyland!). Rob and I didn't specifically plan on moving here but when deciding on places which would allow us both to get to work easily (he works East, I work South), we discovered that Greenwich would be ideal.

And ideal is an understatement when I begin to reflect on what it's been like living here. Greenwich is a teeny corner of South East London, that doesn't feel like London at all. It's got that wonderful village feel to it, whilst being vibrant and colourful. Greenwich has so much to offer, from a huge Royal Park with beautiful rolling hills and one of London's most iconic viewpoints at the top, years and years of Maritime history, a brilliant market selling antiques and arty goods and a great range of restaurants serving food from around the globe. And if that doesn't cut it, Greenwich also happens to be an UNESCO world heritage site!

 We're truly lucky to live in a flat just 3 minutes walk away from the centre of everything and when we do move out of London to pastures new I'll miss it immensely.

Recipe: Peanut butter & jelly brownies

These brownies were my latest bake and went down an absolute treat so I almost feel obliged to share the recipe, which is from Jamie Oliver's new book Comfort Food (which by the way is bloody excellent!). They're a little naughty but they taste fiendishly good. I might have had a few too many... but will definitely be making them again.

Trash or treasure?

"At the dressing table, every woman has a chance to be an artist, and art, as Aristotle said, 'completes what nature left unfinished'" - Sophia Loren.

A dressing table was definitely not a priority when furnishing our current flat. But I was adamant that I wanted one to complete our bedroom, so that I could have a small area of 'girly space'. A space to get ready and do my makeup at, and a space to store my jewellery, makeup and perfumes. It was just one of those female ambitions I guess!

Spending hundreds on a new dressing table wasn't an option, so I decided that I would attempt to find an old, cheap dressing table mirror that I could upcycle and put on the shelving unit in our bedroom. Upcycling furniture isn't something I had ever done before but I was ready for a challenge and the idea of giving a pre-loved piece of furniture a new lease of life was quite exciting!
 

I set about searching for furniture online; on eBay and gumtree mostly. You can find absolute bargains on sites like these - sometimes you have to be willing to travel a small distance for collection, but it's all in the name of saving money and when saving money is concerned I'm all over it!

I found a shabby old dressing table mirror on gumtree and collected it from a little warehouse on a large retail park not far from where we live. The guy selling it actually had a whole room of old furniture and junk he was flogging! It looked pretty tired and unloved... but for £10 this baby was mine to transform.

Mr Carter's Soy Candles

It's no secret that I adore candles. I rarely leave the supermarket without a couple of new pillar candles and a trip to Ikea definitely wouldn't be a trip to Ikea without some tea lights thrown in the trolley. All year round candles can brighten up any home or garden and with the vast range of fragrances to choose from today we are indeed spoilt for choice.

I've always got a few candles lit each evening and there's nothing better when it's cold and miserable than lighting a load of candles and cosying up.

Mini homeware haul

I'm a total sucker for homeware and always have been. A couple of years ago I remember feeling slightly embarrassed that my Christmas list was compiled of kitchen utensils and decorative pieces for the home, because... well, I didn't have a home, just a grotty little room in a grotty little student flat. 

But since moving into the flat we live in now, my beloved collection of jugs, mugs and wicker hearts (or 'useless tat' as referred to by Rob!!) finally has a place of its own. I'm always browsing the homeware sections of supermarkets, where I think these days you can pick up some of the prettiest homeware for such good value.

It was my birthday last month and if you can't treat yourself on your birthday then when can you?! So I thought I'd share a few of the things I bought for the flat (and was given too)...

Recipe: Millionaire's Shortbread

Ever since Rob bought me my trusty Kitchenaid mixer, I have been a little bit obsessed with baking. For me, a perfect evening in is spent in the kitchen, music on, candles lit, following a recipe and creating a delicious mess.

(The Kitchenaid almost deserves a blog post of it's own - it is quite simply one of the best kitchen essentials you could ever own and I wouldn't go without mine now. I love it. Indeed they're rather pricey, selling at John Lewis for around £429 but Rob managed to find mine on eBay for about £350). 

 About once a week or so I'll ask Rob and his work team to give me a 'baking request' and then bake what they choose! A perfect set up - it means I can enjoy practicing different recipes and they receive the goods, which brightens their day at work and I'm not left with a load of food guilt! Sharing is caring!

One of their all time favourite recipes and one which they repeatedly ask for is millionaire's shortbread. This is a something I was a little nervous about trying initially as I thought it would be complicated but I was so pleasantly surprised and have now perfected the recipe. So, I thought I'd share it here!

Bonjour!

Well, it seems that everyone is blogging these days! It's been something I've been itching to do for a little while but I've never really known what to write about. But I'm now ready to wholeheartedly jump on the bandwagon, even if I am a little late to the blogging party!

So I guess I should start off by saying a warm 'hello!' and tell you a little about myself...

I'm Lydia, I'm 25 and a true Hertfordshire girl, although I've spent the last six years studying, living and working in London. Oh London. It's a city I love and hate in equal measure these days - amazing to have so much on your doorstep but as living costs keep rising, living here gets a bit more depressing! So, my boyfriend Rob and I are in the very beginning stages of upping and moving away from the city (but still near enough to commute to work) to somewhere quieter... and greener! 

This is what gave me my blogging inspiration. I follow quite a few interior design / home renovation / house-to-home blogs online and could spend forever drooling over photos of beautiful homes. As first-time-buyers Rob and I are apprehensive about finding somewhere that ticks every box and even more apprehensive about all the checks which come with applying for mortgages etc. But ultimately we are really excited about the adventure of finding somewhere we can make our own. So, this blog will be a place where I can share with you the ups, downs, trials and celebrations of searching for, purchasing and settling in to our very first home! New start, country heart!