A Holiday in Vaison La Romaine, Provence

Let's reminisce about the last of summer! We are hardcore campers in our family, but this year we decided no tent (and space for us in the car) in favour of a static caravan, which was a mini home for us. Camping du Théâtre Romain was exactly what we needed.

Let's Go To Cannes

Where did I go next? Of course I went back to Cannes!

We're All Going on a Summer Holiday...

It's Autumn and cold so I'm throwing back a couple of months here, all the way to August! Back to when I was jobless and had all the time in the world to play after graduation: I went to Paris and back and then had a three week holiday in the south of France; 3 weeks, 3 destinations, 1 massive mountain climbed!

Monaco Yacht Show 2014!

Fancy prancing around on yachts? I do! I was lucky enough to go to the 2014 Monaco Yacht Show last September (late, I know… but… my poor blog has been slightly uncared for these past few months, I've been busy!)

Playtime in Paris

So, a couple of weeks ago I popped over the English Channel to do some work in Paris for a week, and although I was a busy bee working, I still got to see some of the sights!

Looking on to the Ile de la Cité

Egg Fried 'Rice' (Don't tell anybody it's cauliflower!)

So, I decided that the time had come to try out cauliflower rice. I am so glad I decided that it was the time, because I'm going to make this more often. All the flavours of a Chinese takeaway, but none of the shame in wanting to have it all the time! Also, it really doesn't taste like cauliflower, so don't let that put you off.

Prawn egg fried cauliflower rice

(Con)Graduation!

So, there we have it, four years later and I graduated last Friday! It was a really lovely day, with a morning ceremony, photos, drinks and nibbles afterwards, packing up the house in Notts and handing in our keys, and dinner with the girls and their families too. Plus it was a real celebration; obviously the ceremony is meant to be formal but we were clapping and cheering all of our friends as they went up on stage to collect their degrees, and I felt so proud of all of them!

Strike a pose!

I thought it was prime time to share some snaps from the day.

What's In My Beach Bag

So, as my summer holiday is fast approaching (hello 3 weeks in the south of France!), I'm starting to make mental lists of what I need, don't need and already have to take with me. Plus, I keep seeing posts of perfect beachy stuff and wanting it, although my issue is that a lot of the things I see on other blogs are in American online shops and taxes and shipping makes some things just too expensive.
But, I thought I would just go through my beach necessities that I worked out after a summer in Cannes, some of these things I own, and some are on my wishlist, but it's helping me to dream about the sun on my skin and sand under my toes!

A good beach towel. I've recently seen these Turkish towels (also known as hamam towels or pestemals), and they look like such a pretty alternative to your standard beach towel. They also pack smaller and are really absorbent and quick drying. Plus they become softer and more absorbent the more you use them apparently. Win win! So I have just ordered this hot pink one.

A bag to pack it all in to. I still drag around my old Jack Wills gym bag when I go to the beach, but I've always got my eye out for a proper beach bag that is actually meant for the beach, and came across Hayden Reis through The College Prepster and Design Darling; this pink and blue tote is just what you need to throw everything in to.

Sunglasses. Goes without saying really doesn't it? I invested in a pair of Chanel sunglasses when I was in Cannes, and they were definitely worth the money and I wore them almost every day when I was on my year abroad as it was just so bright and sunny, regardless of whether it was hot or cold!

Bikini! I admit, I hate bikini shopping... I'm not tiny and only started wearing a bikini two summers ago after I decided it was now or never. Plus a bikini dries more quickly than a costume. I picked up a couple in H&M (top and bottom, top and bottom), and both are wired so more supportive. I'm also a fan of Banana Moon bikinis, I used to look at them in Cannes all the time, but they are slightly more expensive than H&M.

Beach dress. I'm permanently searching for a good dress to throw over your swimwear when going to and from the beach, and love this nautical style one, and picked up this one a couple of weeks ago too.

Flip flops. Standard beach footwear, and I love my Havaianas - they don't rub my feet and are lovely and comfortable.

A small zip up bag/purse. Perfect for storing little things that you don't want to get lost / covered in suncream / covered in sand. I generally pop in money, keys, phone and spare hair ties (also necessary for when you need to scrunch your hair in to a bun on top of your head!).

Suncream. Always necessary, I got burned sunbathing in the UK last week, I didn't realise it was quite that warm, so made a rookie error and didn't have any protection... Oops. I love the Nivea Protect & Bronze Sun Spray. (I can't deal with creams in squeezy bottles... when they get sandy and gritty it's like exfoliating your skin too harshly when you try to put it on!)

A bottle of water. I think it might be necessary to invest in an insulated water bottle, and this Camelbak bottle has caught my eye. I was lying on the beach too many times last year and tried to drink out of the plastic bottle I had brought with me and found myself spitting out water hot enough to make a coffee. Not very nice... time to keep it cool.

A good book (on your Kindle!). My Kindle has 3G so I can switch it on and browse and buy books to my heart's content when I'm lying on a beach, wherever in the world I may be. Plus it saves so much on packing when you don't have to lug loads of books around with you (I read books very quickly!). I'm such a fan on Jenny Colgan at the minute, I love all her idyllic books of baking, cupcakes, chocolate, sweetshops and romance, and wonder why my life can't be like that. Plus I have a few other books that people have pointed out which I need to get a hold of this summer.

Cinnamon & Pecan Rolls

So now that university is officially over, I have a degree (but haven't graduated just yet!), I'm back home and baking. Opening our bread cupboard to homemade loaves of bread rather than shop-bought stuff is always nice, but I haven't convinced my parents we need a bread machine just yet, I'll just keep on kneading it in the KitchenAid.

But yesterday I decided it was time to push my bread making skills further than piling in the ingredients and pressing 'start'. And so, cinnamon and pecan rolls were born!

Ready to tear and share!

Where Have I Been?!

I can't believe I haven't posted in three months. I'd like to pretend it's because I've been off doing really fun things but that's not really the case... #FinalYearProblems. But I suppose there have been some exciting things going on since Slutty Brownies, so I'll update in a few pictures!

March meant UoNVarsity2014. As we do each year, Notts Trampoline Club hosted our leg of the varisty, and We Beat Trent. That's all that matters, and I came home with three medals, for individual, team and synchro, so for my last competition it was pretty good!

#WeBeatTrent - Enough said!

The weather was finally warm enough to wear my shiny (and glittery!) Jack Rogers, thanks to Mackenzie at Design Darling.

#LoveMyJacks

I made friends with this gorgeous little puppy!

I might steal Otto at some point soon...

We went on a Good Friday bike ride up to Ashridge, which resulted in a fabulous brunch at the Brownlow Café (even though I may have already had breakfast before we left, but I had cycled up Norcott Hill!)

Smoked salmon anyone?

Apple, cinnamon and walnut cupcakes happened.

Complete with cream cheese frosting

Katie and I took a late night trip to the Natural History Museum, and I got my dinosaur fix.

Anyone for a T-Rex selfie?!

And then university came back to bite me. Back to the slog of writing coursework and revising about the French Revolution and how the development of the French language.

Bananas and chocolate to get me through!

Mum sent me a care package to help me along my way. Life saver! (And that Waitrose chocolate was unbelievably good!)

Thanks Mummy!

Starbucks made my week with Frappuccino Happy Hour! #FrappyHour

On Wednesdays, we wear pink!

I prepared for the oncoming summer (hello three weeks in the south of France! I can't wait to go back!)

Thank you very much H&M!

I reminisced about this time last year, with rosé and coverage of the Monaco Grand Prix. They should try doing the circuit in a Twizy next time!

Complete with the necessary glass of rosé

And then? Oh yeah, I had my last exam and ... I FINISHED MY DEGREE! We popped open a bottle of prosecco and toasted to the future, whatever it may be!

4 years finished!

But I just got an email about degree results. I don't want to think about those yet though... Here's to the summer!

Super Indulgent Slutty Brownies

Heaven to eat!

So I came across these a while ago when I was told that The Londoner had posted them and have wanted to give them a go for ages. But rather than follow her recipe which uses boxed mix, I did it all from scratch, so here is my put together recipe!

Cottage Pie

It was the weekend, I was stuck inside doing work, apart from an early morning bike ride and trampolining session on Saturday, but I needed something else to do other than work. So I decided it was time to use up some of my many potatoes and make a shepherd's pie (and then remembered that I use mince so actually it's a cottage pie!).

Fresh from the oven

It's a great comfort meal, and I manage to make plenty to add a few more portions to store in the freezer so I have lots of choice for meals when it comes to eating during the week and don't have much time to make a decent dinner. Plus, for my love of vegetables, it is jam-packed with them which helps bulk it out without needing too much mince. So here's how I make it.

Avocado Toast With Eggs on Top

Last week before I went to Sheffield for a weekend of trampolining, I took advantage of eggs on offer in Sainsbury's... so I have plenty and am egging out this week. But I thought rather than just my standard scrambled or soft-boiled eggs on toast, I may as well do something slightly different so stopped off at the supermarket to pick up some avocados (and a roll, as I didn't make any bread yesterday, a loaf is in the machine now as I write) so that I could have avocado toast.

A healthy yet satisfying lunch!

Such a simple meal, but it looks and tastes so delightful... see how I make it!

Wanderlust

I love the word wanderlust, my desire to travel at the minute is just ridiculous. I think having been abroad for a year (even if it was only France), and then a trip to New York before heading back to uni in Nottingham and enjoying the cold, wet and wind, I want to go away again even more than ever!

Please don't return to sender...

Working for a yacht company certainly opened my eyes to some new and exciting destinations, and ever since then more and more places have been popping up on my radar! My list now seems to be never-ending...

Butternut Squash Cannelloni

So, back before Christmas, I was given the 'task' of cooking dinner for the family, and decided to recreate a meal my friend and I cooked during the last week of term. (Well, it was mostly his creation, I just chopped and stirred as I was told to!).

Yum yum yum

It's a bit time consuming, but worth it! It was also quite nice to have butternut squash in a form that wasn't soup for once, so read on and find out how to create it for yourself.

My Kitchen Essentials

As I love to spend time in the kitchen, I have slowly gathered more and more kitchen equipment; for my 18th birthday just before I started university, my presents involved a lot of good quality kitchen things! Then for my 21st birthday, hello pretty pink KitchenAid!
There are some things I just need in my kitchen cupboards nowadays, I don't know what I would do without them!

I want my kitchen to look lived in!

Savoury Baking: Tuna Pie

So, if you ever happen to stumble across my Instagram, and probably the majority of my posts here, it is pretty obvious that I like food. A lot. I don't exactly stuff my face all day every day, but I do enjoy putting together new creations, but often I do it just to see how it turns out! I'm not obsessed with eating all of it; if I make a batch of cupcakes I'll happily give the majority of them away. However, I must admit, I'm a 'Bakeaholic'.

I thought I would try and impose a baking ban on myself so that I stop baking for the sake of it; did I really need millionaire shortbread on Wednesday and brownies on Saturday? Not really... I have tucked a fair few of them away in the freezer to save for a rainy day though, or just when I'm in a grump and chocolate will go down well. (That's generally a rule of mine, I don't keep chocolate in my cupboards - if it's not there, I won't eat it. I have to keep self-control somehow!). Yet the day after I made brownies, having been for another bike ride around Wollaton Park, and ready to watch Scotland at least try and beat Ireland in their first RBS 6 Nations match, I convinced myself that I should make a savoury pie for dinner. 'No baking unless it's necessary'. But was it reallllllly necessary?! Probably not... I have enough food frozen in batches that I have already made since being back at uni to feed a small army, but I just enjoy making dinner. If the apocalypse comes, or I need a quick meal after trampolining one evening (more likely!), I'm ok!

Some spare pastry and a heart shaped cutter  worked wonders! <3

A Long Overdue Catch Up!

I am sorry to say, that my life has really not been very exciting recently due to January exams therefore very little of a social life! My life is, as it often is, a case of university, cooking and the gym. Unfortunately my recipes have all come from books as well so posting them on here for you would be a bit naughty.

I tidied my room at the start of the new year before going back to uni (I took a couple of very large bags to the tip, tidy room, tidy mind!) and managed to find a £10 book token, with no expiry date wahoo! So I took myself off to Waterstone's and eyed up the recipe books, and have since cooked a couple of great dishes from The Higgidy Cookbook.

Haricots Verts