All in all, I've had a pretty lovely week and here's what I've been getting up to...
As I don't have children you'd think that the school holidays would barely register with me, however as most of my friends are teachers I LOVE the school holidays as it means I have loads of friends to play out with!!!
On Monday my friend Rachel, happily for me, decided to spend her first afternoon of freedom lunching and shopping with me in Hebden Bridge, where she helped me choose this lovely scarf from a local boutique.
Have you ever been to a wedding in a teepee? I mean a wedding that took place in a teepee, not attended a wedding wearing a teepee. Well until Saturday I hadn't done either but now I have been to a wedding that took place in a teepee (wearing a teepee to a wedding is still on my bucket list...) and it was, quite frankly, magical.
The sun's out, your flip flops are on and it's time to chill out in the garden. I don't know about you, but the ice lollies I used to have when I was little now seem so tooth-rottingly sweet and just so... blue.
Ever one to try and sneak one of my 5 a day into something that feels more like a treat, I've devised a distinctly more grown-up (and infinitely more healthy) version of the retro-favourite Fab lolly.
Comprising of nothing more than fat free Greek yoghurt, fruit, herbs or spices and a drop of agave nectar, you can enjoy with out a second thought about the impact on your bikini body (not that I spend a great deal of time thinking about this anyway...).
I always think that Tuesday are just a bit... meh. So my solution to the whole "not the beginning of the week not the end of the week" ennui is to have friends round for an informal supper.
Our neighbours have an amazing garden where they grow so much fruit and veg that they are virtually self sufficient. As a result when they have a glut of anything we get some of the extras - I was presented with this punnet of home-grown blackcurrants when my guests arrived. I haven't decided what I'm going to do with them yet but no doubt I'll share it with you when I do!!
I love cake (love da cake), but Mr. F's not fussed so I don't bake that often as I have to eat it all myself, and let's face it - there's only so many cupcakes a girl can get through on her own.
Anyway, Mr. F has found a (virtually) calorie-way of fulfilling my baking cravings - I make cake and he takes it in to work!
He recently moved floors in his office and to curry favour with his new colleagues he asked me to do a bumper bake for him to take in.
So I dusted off my mixer, did a monster Tesco shop and got stuck in.
As with any kind of cooking, good preparation is the key to stress-free success. I like to get out all of my ingredients and tools and line them up so that I know that I have everything I need. I also make sure that the dishwasher is empty and put away each ingredient as I finish with it so that when I'm done the kitchen's virtually already tidied up.
