This Christmas...

I'm getting ready for: the arrival of my aunt and uncle from England(if they even manage to come with all the snow they're getting over there, delaying most of the flights out of London) who are vegos so we've had to do a little extra preparation for them and we're having a vegetarian Christmas for them which is exciting as we're going to try all these new recipes out of the various vegetarian cookbooks we've accumulated over the years. A Sweet Potato and Leek Roulade with a Christmas Stuffing looks like it's going to be the main attraction on our Christmas table this year.

I'm baking: music note shaped vanilla cookies as per the recipe from the new Junior Masterchef cook book(recipes are so much easier and much more to my liking than anything that would be in the 'adult' Masterchef cookbook) using vanilla extract and not vanilla essence. I ended up making 6 batches of them for all of mother's 30 piano students.

I'm listening to: Glee's new Christmas album. We haven't bought a new Christmas album in a couple of years and have stuck to the collection of carol CDs we already have but I was itching for a new one and I knew the Glee album would not disappoint. All the songs on it new so joyous and truly embody the spirit of Christmas, even with all the new carols on it that I've never heard before and the gospel twist on "Angels We Have Heard On High" was magical.

I'm decorating: my dad's Christmas tree. He's a bit of a scrooge so he only bought his own Christmas tree a couple years ago after I asked him to get one. so him, my brother and I were putting up the ball-balls,tinsel and lights over the weekend and we bought a nice gold, sparkly star to go on top as we couldn't find one in the shops when we looked for one in 2008(we didn't end up putting the tree up in 2009). It's been really nice to celebrate Christmas not only at my mum's house but at my dad's too.

I'm buying: the majority of my gifts online for the family(and even for myself as my mum hasn't quite figured out how to use paypal and online shopping sites)as I can buy more unique and tailor-made gifts for the recipients to enjoy. And as always there are huge discounts usually when buying online.


I'm attending: a Christmas carol concert. My dad, brother and I went to one this weekend at the local park which was much easier than attending one in the city as the parking/walking distance was less of a hassle and as we couldn't stay for long we had no trouble leaving easily. It was really nice to just spend the evening with other families who were getting into the Christmas spirit. They had candles you could buy for $2 but straight away my brother blew it out as well as attempting to blow out the 'big' candle that the organisers were attempting to light all the other smaller ones with to give to people. Luckily we managed to keep the second one alight, even though I did have to put my hand over my brother's mouth every now and then.

I'm loving: the fact that the whole month of December is special if you put in the effort and relish the jolly spirit of the season; not just the 25th.

I'm photographing: Our lovely advent wooden 're-useable' advent calendar. I've never been a fan of the chocolate ones and this one is so much more exciting even though we've had it for years and I probably know all the trinkets off by heart. If you count you'll find there are 20 toys as today is of course the 20th of December(for the next hour and five minutes anyway...)

Have a lovely Christmas all!

P.S. Feel free to use this as a blog tag if you're in a 'jolly spirit'.

Happy November!

There weather is definitely heating up over here but all the flowers in our garden have started to come out including these lovely little blue ones(no idea what they're called). Unfortunately for some that means hay fever season but luckily for me my immune system is like a brick wall, nothing can hurt me.

2009 seems to have flown by! And Christmas is right round the corner, I'll really be able to enjoy it this year as school will be finished by November 25th for me so I'll have all of December ot really embrace and enjoy the season.

Thought I'd get a new desktop background to celebrate the new month, a cheeky little blythe doll to keep watch over me.



I was in the mood for baking the other day so I decided to make some wholemeal fruit scones. They tasted much better than any of the ones you find in the bakeries or cafes, plain white flour ones that are just really stodgy and not particularly good for you. Mine had a lovely crunch on the outside and a real 'homey' taste to them plus they're healthy too with hardly any butter or sugar.



Have a lovely November all!

Banana Bread

After finding this little apron in the linen cupboard and discovering that it still fit me I was inspired to bake something new. My mother suggested "Banana Bread" as she had the recipe in an old cookbook of hers. The book is falling to pieces though, I need to see if I can get it laminated or maybe get it bound somehow at a stationary store (I will have to look into that). The book had a bunch of other savoury goodies in it that I would like to try out in the future: Barm Brack, Potato Scones, Welsh Cakes & American Brownies. Anyway, Here's the recipe for the Banana Bread with a couple of my own alterations mixed in.


Banana Bread

220g wholemeal self-raising flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp mixed spice
100g margarine
450g ripe bananas(approx. 4-5 peeled bananas)
120g caster sugar
100g sultanas
50g walnuts
2 eggs(lightly beaten)



Turn on your oven to 180C(350F) and then grease and flour a 600g loaf tin. Sieve flour, salt and spice into a mixing bowl. Rub in margarine until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs. Mash bananas and add to mixing bowl. Place walnuts into a plastic bag and crush them into small pieces using a rolling pin, then place into mixing bowl along with the eggs and caster sugar. Use an electric beater to mix until the mixture is well-blended and there are as little lumps as possible. Add in sultanas and stir with a wooden spoon. Pour mixture into tin and bake in the oven for 45mins to an hour(or until loaf is well risen and has a pale golden colour on top). Once cooked leave loaf in tin for 5 mins and then place on a cooling rack. I like to eat the loaf warm(10 seconds in the microwave if not fresh out of the oven) with a bit of extra margarine on top.


I can't remember exactly how I got this apron but I just remember wearing it at my great aunt's house in Ireland when I visited her when I was younger. I specifically remember having it on when I helped her make gooseberry jam. I really love the design and colours used on it,very sweet.