july loves.

# Lover of the Light.

# Surprises that I'm planning.

# These shoes (I'm so sad to send them back).

# Prince George Alexander Louis.

# Reading more.

# Billie Holiday.

# Going to the gym (it's more love hate but still, I'm going!)

# Spending time with Alex.

my week(s), according to the photos i've taken.

 The past couple weeks have been pretty steady.It's also been boiling. I either want to spend time in the sun or it to move on the autumn now. I had two hospital appointments over the last couple weeks and I couldn't help myself and take a peek at the door. I was there the Thursday before and the day Kate Middleton went into labour; it really was a media circus. I also bought a couple new things and continued my trips to the library. I know they are completely different kind of books but I'm pretty excited to read both!

thunderstorms.

 (image via pinterest) 

I don't know about you but being woken up by a pretty intense thunderstorm the other morning was pretty magical. It made me want it to be winter (I've been asking Alex if he could make it be October for the last couple days, he said it wasn't possible!). I'm so looking forward to those darker evenings, snuggled up watching films with copious amounts of tea and popcorn. Anyone else with me?

office baking.

In my opinion there wasn't enough cake in the office (although there are always biscuits and I'm pretty happy with that) and so I've been battling on the tube with my cakes and hoping they remain somewhat intact by the time they arrive at work.

So far we've had lemon drizzle cake (a total staple cake of mine) and brownies. I have so many ideas of what to bake next but I've narrowed it down to these three (one, two, three).

Lemon drizzle cake

Ingredients:

125g unsalted butter

175g caster sugar

2 large eggs

zest of 1 lemon

175g self raising flour
pinch of salt

4 tablespoons milk

For the syrup:

juice of 1 and a half lemons

100g icing sugar

 

Method:

i) Preheat your oven to 180 C/ gas mark 4.

ii) Cream together butter and sugar and add eggs and lemon zest, beating them in well.

iii) Gently fold in the flour and the salt, mixing thoroughly and then add the milk.

iv) Spoon the batter into your prepared tin and bake for 45 mins or until cake tester comes out clean.

For the syrup:

i) Put the lemon juice and icing sugar into a small saucepan and heat gently until the sugar dissolves.
ii) As soon as cake is out of oven, puncture all over with skewer and pour over the syrup. I use a knife for mine as the holes are bigger and you get more of the lovely syrupy juice in there.

iii) Leave cake to cool completely before removing from the tin.

Brownies

Ingredients:

170g (6oz) plain chocolate
115g (4oz) margarine or butter
225g (8oz) soft brown sugar
1tsp vanilla essence
2 eggs
170g (6oz) plain flower
100g (4oz) chocolate chips

Method:

i) Pre-heat the oven to 180°C or 350F and grease the tin.

ii) Break the chocolate into pieces and place in a small heat proof bowl.

iii) Melt the plain chocolate in the bowl over a pan of boiling water on the hob.   

iv) Cream the margarine/butter and sugar together in a large bowl

v) Stir in the melted chocolate and vanilla essence.

vi) Add the eggs to the large bowl and stir in.

vii) Add the flour to the large bowl and stir in. I add a couple of heaps of cocoa powder, it can never be chocolaty enough.

viii) Stir in the chocolate chips.

ix) Pour the mixture into a baking tin – 20 x 30 cm is ideal.

x) Bake in the oven for 20 - 25 minutes. 

xi) Remove from the oven and turn out onto a cooling rack and leave to cool.

glastonbury loves.

# Wellies.

# Catching the sun.

# The Lumineers singing in the crowd.

# The Editors. 

# Mick Jagger's green sparkly jacket.

# The cinema.

# Arcadia's spider.

# The view from the Park.

# Mumford and Sons

# The food.

# The view from our tent, especially at night when all the lights came on.

# Everything! 

my week, according to the photos i've taken.

Goodness, I feel like I haven't stopped this month and, to be honest I haven't! This week was probably one of the busiest and it was so fun. We had a little date night out; the film? Not as good as I was hoping but still good enough. And when its 2-4-1 you can't really complain. I also rejoined the gym- one that's easier to get to. I've already got my gym stuff together ready for tomorrows session, that's if I don't melt on the train actually get there! There was also so much that was captured; a very fun evening in Camden for a friend's birthday- even if I did feel incredible old (I had just come from the office and they were talking about going to uni or finishing their first year!). We also had dinner party, and a unexpected Sunday night which made Monday very difficult and resulted in me being out for the count by 9pm.

my week(s), according the photos i've taken.

 

 

My goodness it's been a busy couple of weeks, but the good kind of busy that summer should be like and that you don't want to stop. Its consisted of Glastonbury, catching up with friends and just being in the sun. I mean, we may as well enjoy it while we can right?!

take me back.

You may or may not know that Alex and I went to Glastonbury last week (I mean, it's not like I kept going on about it at all!). As always it was spectacular and so much fun; the fact that it was Alex's first time going made it all the better, even I explored things that I had never done before. I'll try not to keep going on about it for too long, but it truly is a pretty special place.

june loves.

# Glastonbury.

# Joining the library and reading lots.

# Weekends.

# Feasting on cheese.

# Sunshine.

# The thought of going home to Devon soon.

# Peppermint tea.