To be honest I don’t quite know what to write about today. I didn’t really want to mention Christmas for the third day in a row! However, I put the tree up in work today. It was such a nice break from the computer and great to take part in as we don’t have one at home this year – don’t ask, not my idea…

Anyway, other than that I haven’t really done much. My job has been made official and I’m doing well at the gym, not losing weight, but getting fitter and that’s about it!

I’ve also been frantically crafting – If you didn’t know – actually you wouldn’t as I haven’t mentioned it, but I’m going to be holding a stall at a Christmas market in Lavenham on Saturday… THIS Saturday.  I’m quite excited, but also very, very nervous. I thought it was a good idea at the time and now three months later I’m not too sure. For one, I’m making jewellery – some out of beads, others upcycled vintage materials and some using my own illustrations. I love each pair of earrings that I make and would wear my necklaces myself, but I don’t know whether other people will like it – It’s really scary! Tonight I’m going to see how big my table will be as well and see if I have enough to go on it, or whether I’ll really have to pull my finger out and craft away for an extra hour or two – I don’t know how people do it, where do you get the time?! Sometimes, I get up, work, go to the gym, go home, eat dinner and then it’s bedtime. I wish the day was longer – no, I wish we had Wednesdays off! No one like Wednesdays right?!

Anyway, I might add a bit to this later, but to be honest it’s probably going to stay as a short one today – Hey, I’ve got jewellery to make!

Now that it is officially December and nearly Christmas I have been so excited about everything Noel. Snowflakes, twinkling lights, red, green and gold – nothing will get me out of the Christmas spirit this month!

To ease me a bit more gently into the Christmas vibe (and to ease others into my Christmas obsession) I was thinking about making some subtle Christmas earrings as a little hint towards it being Christmas soon and possibly seeing if they were nice enough to give them as gifts.

Here are a few that I have seen, some that have tutorials, some that I might just have to use as a guide. I’m going to attempt to make them – depending on whether I can find the beads and findings in my little DIY collection and I’ll post the results in due course, but for now, here are some ideas and inspiration for you to have a look at :)

On Saturday I went to the wonderful as always Good Food Show at the NEC Birmingham. 

It was amazing! Busy, but amazing. 

If you don’t know what it is, it’s an exhibition full of stands, with everything ranging from Gourmet Popcorn, to Snowdonia Cheese; Xuxu strawberry vodka to deliciously refreshing aloe vera drinks. It’s the place for foodies to go and try everything and anything and just a great day out!

I usually go to the summer show, as the gardening show is also on, but it was nice seeing different foods and new areas at the winter show. New this year, they had a Cakes and Bakes Village as well as an Eat Well section… I hope you know which area I preferred! 

Anyway, introduction over – here’s a link to the site if you want a bit more info or fancy visiting one of their shows :) - but what I really wanted to share with you today was my top 10 tips for visiting these shows – it is of course written for the food show, but they also transfer to other exhibitions I’m sure 

Buy heavy things first 

Ok, so you’ve done your research and you are going to the show to grab a bargain, right? You decide that you will leave this purchase to last. After all you don’t want to carry it around all day so you’ll pick it up last thing…wrong. Buy heavy things first, grab them and take them back to the car. You don’t even have to carry it, bring a trolley from home, one of those little shopper ones like this, plonk it in there and take it to the car. You might think that carting it around all day might not be too bad an idea, but just get it out of the way. It’s busy, people might trip over your trolley and what’s more, one of your hands isn’t free for grabbing samples and general money-goods transactions.

If you want it… grab it 

This is especially true for goody bags and offers. It isn’t guaranteed that exhibition stands will reduce their prices at the end of the day, especially because they have already got some great deals on so don’t miss out on the things that you want, grab them while you can. Furthermore, stock is managed so that there is enough for each day of the show. Saturday is usually the busiest day so you would expect stall holders to account for this, but that is not always true so it is so important to get there early and get those offers! If you want the magazine goody bags I would also grab these first thing with the heavy items, books are also heavy so they are great to put back in the car.

If you are unsure of something, leave it

If you are having second thoughts about an item, come back later. If you forget about it, maybe you don’t want it as much as you thought. It might be a great offer, but what good is something if you are not going to use it? Also, if you do want it after a bit of a walk around, go back and bargain. There is nothing to be ashamed of and if you get an even better deal – that’s great!

Plan meeting celebs at book signings

It is very unlikely that you can catch a celeb at the show for an autograph or picture. It is such a busy place and the celebs have shows to attend and places to be so they often can’t stop for large groups. The best way to catch your favourite chef or TV personality is at book signings. Yes, you might have to buy a book, but they are often on offer and you are pretty much guaranteed to have a personal message and photograph!

Charity drop off points are cheaper than the official cloak rooms

If your car is miles away and you’re starting to get a bit tired, a cloak room is a great idea. However, the first one you see is usually in the foyer and will cost you more than the one in the exhibition itself. I dropped off some of my bags at the Guide Dogs Charity drop off point and for a donation of your choice, you can leave your things safely, help charity and take a load off your back

Plan sit down stops around cooking demos

It is very likely that you will get tired. You are walking around all day, shopping and trying to avoid the people that push for a free sample. Plan your day in advance and time some sit downs around cooking demos. These are usually done by well-known chefs and along with recipe ideas and tips, they usually give away free goodies and photo opportunities at the end.

Don’t be afraid to ask for testers and bargain the price

Sometimes, the tasters are reserved behind the counter. Many people see free food, grab it and go. However, if you are genuinely interested in the product, you should be able to taste it and try before you buy. Just ask! Also, if you are looking to buy a few items, say a case of champagne or boxes of items, this is the best time to bargain.

Don’t waste time

I know this sounds harsh, but I saw a lot of people at a popular high street store stand. It had an offer of 10% off Kitchenaid mixers, but other than that there were no other show offers and the stall was heaving! If you are just having a look around, don’t waste your time at an everyday store – grab those things another day!

Take advantage of buy now, collect later

This is a great option for you if you don’t want to carry things around with you like heavier items, but also most effective for foods that have to be refrigerated. People sell all sorts including sausages, so leaving items refrigerated is a great idea, just don’t forget to pick them up!

Grab meals at the show before or after lunch

Lunch time is so busy at food stalls for obvious reasons. The queues are longest at this time, but avoid them by eating a little earlier or later

Try something new

There are so many food stalls and hundreds of tasters on offer. Whether you want to try an oyster, some smoked garlic, truffle or just some artisan bread there is so much to try and it’s free so you might as well give it a go – you might love it!

Research and check price of big purchases before the show 

If you are interested in buying an appliance or a large, expensive item it is best to do a little research before you spend a lot of money on something that you might not later use.

Bonus Tip!

It will be busy, keep calm and don’t wear too many layers as it is hot due to all the people and walking around. Furthermore, large groups are difficult to keep a track of – 2 or 3 people can be found a lot more easily when it is so busy

I hope that you have a look at the shows and consider going to one. I absolutely love them and I am never bored. James Martin has been to every Good Food Show (that’s 20 years worth) and if you are a foodie, that’s surely sign enough that you will love it too!?

If you have ever been to one of these shows I’d love to know what you think of them, have you got any more tips? Let me know

I want you back 

I want you back 

Yeah, I want you back for good..

To be honest I still have very few ideas of what to write at times, writers block you could say, but I have done so much! I’m looking through my photos now and basically I’m going to start recalling what I’ve been up to in the quite long time that I have been away, just for you

There have been a few highlights

So here we go – a quick round up of events (anyone thinking of Woody’s roundup from Toy Story right now? Just me? Ok)

LET’S GO!

Norfolk

I went to Norfolk

We went camping in a really thin tent

It rained… a lot (I know that the pictures don't show this, but trust me - it was soggy!)

No, to be honest it was actually quite fun. 

We did stay in a tent, which wasn’t the greatest, but it was only for a few days and it was really lovely waking up to the crisp air and morning sun.

However, we did decide to venture out one day and on arrival found the remnants of hail on the ground and a flooded tent – needless to say it was particularly cold that evening!

We went to Cromer, Sherringham and Great Yarmouth. 

I desperately searched for a Cromer crab charm either loose or on a necklace, but couldn’t find one anywhere! So, we gave up that struggle, but in the end later on in the week I found this lovely necklace and it reminds me of our holiday. This is from a small shop in Southwold called gone crabbing, which we visited later on in the week. We also got lost in the maize maze there – I would have seriously been lost without my trusty map reader!

At Sherringham they serve the biggest Mr Whippy ice-creams ever!

Sherringham was quite lovely. A little quintessential British seaside town full of nothing but ice cream shops, chips and gift shops tucked into little corners. Supposedly it is most famous for its train station, but we somehow missed it…

Great Yarmouth was amazing! Well, maybe not amazing. My mum calls Great Yarmouth a poor man’s Blackpool, but we love places like that. The arcades, the beach, the donkeys and ice cream – what can go wrong?

 

I Visited Emily 

Emily is one of a kind, the nicest person you will ever meet and one of my bestest friends – lucky me! Also she does faces like this and when she reads this she will kill me, but it's just hilarious

SORRY SQUEM!! :P 

I had a few days off before I started work so I decided to jump at the opportunity to go and see her. Now, I was a little silly because I didn’t really plan this, I literally rang her and ended up going the next morning. I can safely say that I do not like the M25, but I did like seeing her face, the new house (which has horses next to it, squee!) all of her animals (including my favourite, Sasquatch, a really cute guinea pig that we saw and persuaded Chris to get alongside a very fluffy Winnifred).

I had a splendid time, but for some reason didn’t take many photos – I guess I’ll just have to visit them again

Also, EMILY HAS NEW KITTENS!!!!! I mean c'mon. I'm so gonna visit again now!

I Have Started my New Job 

I have said this loads of times so I’ll keep it brief, but if you didn’t know I have a new job!

I absolutely love it. I can’t tell you much about it in terms of who I work with, but it is all to do with digital marketing and that is one of the paths that I have always always always wanted to go down so I am ecstatic!

There, I shall say no more on the matter :) 

 

If you're interested, this is what I wore to the interview :)

My Nain is 80! 

 

She will kill me for putting this on here, but a weekend or two ago I went to this beautiful hotel in Shropshire and me and a lot of my family had a delicious meal together before drinking and partying the night away. 

My Nain only made it till about 10.30pm, but we don’t blame her. She did have church the next day after all ;) 

Here is the meal that I ate:

Salmon fishcakes with dressed salad for starter

I then had rump steak covered in brandy and peppercorn sauce with chunky chips and a vegetable parcel 

And to finish I had a  chocolate cup filled with Turkish delight and white chocolate mousse served with red currants 

Coffee and dark chocolate truffles... YUM

It truly was delicious and lovely to see everyone at a happy occasion as opposed to a funeral - anyone else just meet up for weddings and funerals or just us? 

 What I wore...

 

And on the subject of food...

I Made Some Cupcakes

Ok, so this might not be the greatest of feats but I made them up myself and they turned out ok so I was really, really happy with them.

They are white chocolate and raspberry cupcakes with a vanilla butter-cream. 

Here is a brief recipe

Cake: 

8oz of butter, sugar, eggs and flour – 1 tsp vanilla extract – 85g bag of white chocolate buttons 

Cream together the butter and sugar with the vanilla. Whisk for as long as possible until very fluffy and almost white (minimum of 5 mins) 

Add in the eggs one at a time, whisking until fully incorporated

Stop whisking and gently fold in the flour 

Once basic mix is finished stir in roughly chopped chocolate

For the middle you can make some jam – like I attempted but to be honest it was more successful just adding a whole raspberry to the middle. 

Top with butter-cream which is equal amounts of butter, icing sugar and a tsp of vanilla 

Just whisk until really creamy and add more or less sugar depending on your preference. 

Top with a giant white chocolate button and a fresh raspberry

Makes 12 large (muffin size) cupcakes

YUM!!

I hope that you have enjoyed this post and I will see you soon – a lot sooner than before!

Bye!