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| Romance is real in Paris. April 2015. BH. |
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| A new chapter around every corner in Paris. April 2015. BH. |
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label holiday. Show all posts
Monday, 4 January 2016
From Paris With Love
Friday, 4 December 2015
Evening sun in Turkey
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| A city at sea. Turkey 2010. BH |
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| Arms in the sky. Turkey 2010. BH. |
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| Bliss in the evening sun. Turkey 2010. BH. |
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| Crystal clear. Turkey 2010. BH. |
Friday, 6 November 2015
30 Photos | Day 6: Drink
Toffee Latte | Oxford | 06.11.2015 |
I admit it, I love the speciality Christmas drinks that come around every year, reluctant as I am to buy into such a money making marketing ploy. This year I have found a way around spending almost £4 on a Christmassy coffee...McDonald's!
I know what you're thinking, there is nothing classy or cool about carrying around a 'McCafe' cup normally, but this little penguin is as happy to be in my hand as I am to carry him. Although Starbucks have a heavenly Honey & Almond Hot Chocolate this year and Costa have brought back their Gingerbread Latte, this Toffee Nut Latte from McDonald's for just £2.19 for a regular is honestly just as good, and around 40% cheaper too!
My perfect winter comfort for walking home from the studio in the evening!
Thursday, 5 November 2015
30 Photos | Day 5: Place
Grasmere Water | Grasmere, Cumbria | 27.10.2015 |
Having only returned from our annual trip to the Lake District just over a week ago, it is hardly surprising that I am still pining after the fresh air and beautiful views. You may think it somewhat cheating to be calling a National Park my favourite place when it would be impossible to inhabit, let alone see it all at once, but the Lake District stole my heart when I was only small and it only grabs on tighter with each visit, making it a clear winner.
(Val d'Isere arguably puts up a good fight for second place, but more about that when I go skiing at Christmas)
This photo captures the final leg home of a walk we took from our house in Elterwater, over and along the valley to the neighbouring village of Grasmere, along the 'Coffin Trail'.
Saturday, 31 October 2015
Butternut Squash & Gruyere Soup
THIS. IS. HEAVEN.
I will not lie to you when I say this, but this soup is honestly to die for. It is the perfect combination of silky cheese, strong earthy tones of squash and a kick of smoked paprika. All in all, it is well worth the effort of making as I am yet to find a fresh soup on the supermarket shelves that tickles my winter taste buds as this recipe does.
I last made this recipe for my 21st birthday dinner and all of my extended family requested the recipe once they had experienced its greatness (if I do say so myself), so here it is for all of you too!
Prep Time - 25mins
Cooking Time - 30mins
Cost - £6.20
(all ingredients from Tesco)
Makes - 1.5lts/ serves 4-6
Calories per portion - 538kcal
Ingredients
80g Butter
1 Large Butternut Squash
195g Smoked Gruyere Cheese
1x 400ml Can of Coconut Milk
2x Chicken Stock Cubes (made up to 850ml)
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
1tsp Black Pepper
Salt (to taste/ approx 1/2tsp)
1/2tsp Nutmeg
1/2tsp Smoked Paprika
Method
Cut the Onion and Garlic finely and cook in a large saucepan with the Butter until softened (approx 5-8 minutes)
Add black Pepper, Nutmeg and Smoked Paprika to the mix and cook for a further 5 minutes
Peel the squash, and cut into cubes (approx 2x2cm), removing the pips inside. Add the cubes to the onion mix and cook for 5 minutes
Make up the chicken stock in a jug using boiling water (or as instructed on the packet), and add to the saucepan. The squash should almost be all covered by the mix.
Leave to simmer and cook until the squash is soft through, this should take about half an hour on a medium to low heat.
Taking the saucepan from the heat, use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the mixture until smooth.
Add the can of coconut milk to the pan and blitz again until the mixture is smooth once more.
Grate the cheese before putting the pan back on to the heat. Once you have out your saucepan back on the low heat, stir in the grated cheese until melted and combined with the mixture.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve! You may even decide to serve alongside a slice of rustic crusty bread from your local delicatessen and a drizzle of double cream if you so desire to indulge in such luxury!
Enjoy!
Adapted to English measures from the wonderful How Sweet Eats blog.
I will not lie to you when I say this, but this soup is honestly to die for. It is the perfect combination of silky cheese, strong earthy tones of squash and a kick of smoked paprika. All in all, it is well worth the effort of making as I am yet to find a fresh soup on the supermarket shelves that tickles my winter taste buds as this recipe does.
I last made this recipe for my 21st birthday dinner and all of my extended family requested the recipe once they had experienced its greatness (if I do say so myself), so here it is for all of you too!
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| Served with cream and ground black pepper |
Prep Time - 25mins
Cooking Time - 30mins
Cost - £6.20
(all ingredients from Tesco)
Makes - 1.5lts/ serves 4-6
Calories per portion - 538kcal
Ingredients
80g Butter
1 Large Butternut Squash
195g Smoked Gruyere Cheese
1x 400ml Can of Coconut Milk
2x Chicken Stock Cubes (made up to 850ml)
1 Large Onion
4 Garlic Cloves
1tsp Black Pepper
Salt (to taste/ approx 1/2tsp)
1/2tsp Nutmeg
1/2tsp Smoked Paprika
Method
Cut the Onion and Garlic finely and cook in a large saucepan with the Butter until softened (approx 5-8 minutes)
Add black Pepper, Nutmeg and Smoked Paprika to the mix and cook for a further 5 minutes
Peel the squash, and cut into cubes (approx 2x2cm), removing the pips inside. Add the cubes to the onion mix and cook for 5 minutes
Make up the chicken stock in a jug using boiling water (or as instructed on the packet), and add to the saucepan. The squash should almost be all covered by the mix.
Leave to simmer and cook until the squash is soft through, this should take about half an hour on a medium to low heat.
Taking the saucepan from the heat, use a hand blender or food processor to blitz the mixture until smooth.
Add the can of coconut milk to the pan and blitz again until the mixture is smooth once more.
Grate the cheese before putting the pan back on to the heat. Once you have out your saucepan back on the low heat, stir in the grated cheese until melted and combined with the mixture.
Add salt and pepper to taste and serve! You may even decide to serve alongside a slice of rustic crusty bread from your local delicatessen and a drizzle of double cream if you so desire to indulge in such luxury!
Enjoy!
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| Image From How Sweet Eats - served with spicy chickpeas, cream and chives |
Adapted to English measures from the wonderful How Sweet Eats blog.
Saturday, 4 July 2015
Exploring the coast from The New Forest
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| The Spit at Hurst Castle Keyhaven |
I was lucky enough to be invited along to The New Forest to stay with my best friend Olivia's family last week (4th-7th July) and aside from some horrific sunburn it was a beautiful couple of days. We ate, drank and indulged in all of the pleasures of being at the sea.
We stayed in a town inland called West Wellow which meant a scenic drive through the forest to the beach each day and of course ultimately I read the map wrong a handful of times and we ended up reversing down a bridleway but hey what's life without an adventure right?
Muddeford
I realised once I'd got home that I had in fact been to Muddeford when I was a lot younger with my family, but while we were there, everything felt new and exciting and beautiful as if I was seeing it for the first time. While on the sandy beach, I also took my second dip of the year into the cold English sea, having already tried out the water in Suffolk the week before, which although seems like an ice bath when you first dive under, it's a feeling from ones childhood you can only really get from diving straight in! I love the English seaside and swimming in the less than tepid waters is a vital part of the experience for me!
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| Swimming with Lucy at Muddeford |
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| Muddeford beach-huts |
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| Olivia loving the sun in Muddeford |
Christchurch, Keyhaven & Hurst Castle
After suffering the worst sunburn of my life, (entirely my own fault for not wearing sun cream, I mean look at the sun in the photos!) I was rather hesitant about spending another day out in the sun, but I'm glad we went anyway as it turned out to be another jam packed day.
We started off at Christchurch marina with picnic in hand ready to hire a couple of boats for a trip up the river. Rather concerning for me was the sun, but it made for a gorgeous little cruise captained by Olivia, and I wore Ali's scarf around my blushed shoulders while I tucked into a sandwich and some lemon drizzle cake! The boats were around £20 to hire for the hour and totally worth it if you every find yourself down by the river, not only to enjoy the water, but to be nosey and enjoy staring at all the extensive riverside homes and their grounds!
Once we had exhausted the parks and bars next to the harbour, we moved on in convoy along the coast to the small harbour of Keyhaven where the view of the Isle of Wight is as clear as it could possibly be from the mainland. There isn't much in terms of amenities at Keyhaven but an ice cream van and a footpath to walk upon is all one really needs and that's exactly what we did, walked around the little port, before making our way up to the spit to look out onto the open sea. As one can imagine, up on the spit we were fighting against the wind to tame our hair and stand up straight, but it was definitely worth it for the view which included Hurst Castle in the distance and a faint glimpse of Yarmouth on The Isle of Wight.
Once we had exhausted the parks and bars next to the harbour, we moved on in convoy along the coast to the small harbour of Keyhaven where the view of the Isle of Wight is as clear as it could possibly be from the mainland. There isn't much in terms of amenities at Keyhaven but an ice cream van and a footpath to walk upon is all one really needs and that's exactly what we did, walked around the little port, before making our way up to the spit to look out onto the open sea. As one can imagine, up on the spit we were fighting against the wind to tame our hair and stand up straight, but it was definitely worth it for the view which included Hurst Castle in the distance and a faint glimpse of Yarmouth on The Isle of Wight.
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| Girls boat trip up the river in Christchurch |
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| Lucy at Keyhaven |
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| Fighting against the wind on the spit at Hurst Castle |
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| The spit separating the sea and Keyhaven harbour |
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| Watching kite surfing (And yes the guy was totally showing off!) |
After a mere three nights, I had to leave the family and head back home to my own family to celebrate my Grandma's birthday, but it was more than enough time to enjoy great company and even better views. I rediscovered a childhood love of the game UNO Extreme and a familiar dislike to ancient editions of Trivial Pursuit which only those above the age of 50 had a chance of winning, as well as cementing a hatred towards those darn UV rays of the rare English sun! Mark my words, I will be back and next time I shall devote myself to a pair of walking boots and I will discover what the forest has to explore!
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