Half term bliss

Ah, a week off. Normally I take advantage of all of the free time and fill my week with various journeys and visits. This time? I've done nothing. Squat.

I journeyed to Leicester - the city of....terrible architecture....interesting

characters....uh....hearty markets? John Lewis looks pretty swish..... I am struggling for positives.

No, I need to give the East Midlands a bit more credit. Yes, it was bombed during WW2. I get it. You had to rebuild quickly - forget efficiency. In terms of visual appeal - Leicester hasn't quite stolen my heart. I think I'm a Norfolk girl at heart now - much to my dismay.

Regardless of the lack of ocular inspiration, I did have the opportunity to find two haunts where I was more than impressed. Almedia Coffee and Juice Bar - found in the Lanes, and The Red Cow pub in the outskirts of the city. Both were surprisingly pleasing. I enjoyed the coffee, sitting on my own, living it up like a true city girl (or at least trying to).

Rich and I enjoyed a quiet afternoon in the cozy pub - we were meant to go for a walk, but the weather didn't cooperate, making it a few hours in the pub rather than a jolly jaunt in the rain.

Check out the Red Cow here.

Do I love the East Midlands? No. But can I live there? Sure. I'm going to have to learn to love the area. I've even gotten ahold of the old "Great Britain travel" book and am tabbing places I would like to visit in the area.

I'm sure there's some beauty in the area. I just need to find it.

Half term is looming....

The only thing that gets me through the week is knowing that I have a week off. I could use a break. This time of year seems to drag. Maybe it's the weather, maybe it's the outrageous amount of marking I have to do every night. Who knows.

What I have learned is that baking seems to make the world go round. I had to experiment tonight, as I didn't want the whole thing to go tits up when it's meant to count.

Cake pops...cake balls....what have you. These are the chocolate, there are also pink almond disasters in the fridge. I don't know what went wrong with the pink, but they look like a three year old made them. Perhaps I can opt for the cute, homemade ambiance?

They taste awesome. That's all that matters in the end...right? Tomorrow the girls at work are getting a taste. Then Friday I'm gifting them to my beloved for a belated Valentines day. He is taking me to the spa. I am baking. We both get exactly what we want.

xx

Macaroons!

Recently, I've been entertaining the idea of running away to get a job working in a pasticceria or Patisserie, depending on the country. The appeal of Novara, Sicily has always struck me a little more than Paris, but I don't think I'd complain with either option. Truth be told, I like my baking, and I'm pretty good. But I want to be better - what better way to learn than work in the place where the magic happens? Ah, if only we weren't governed by money. I'd so do it.

I've decided for this weeks Sunday baking I would take a stab at Macaroons. They looks gorgeous in the photos I've seen online, so I thought I could give it a go.

I was more than amused by the amount of sugar these bad boys take, so it's no wonder that I have the shakes (probably a diabetic coma) coming on after the amount of batter I've eaten.

I opted for a raspberry cream flavour. Managed to make very little mess, and was fairly pleased with my make-shift piping bag. First time is always scary....

Admittedly, I still haven't worked out the heat of my crappy little oven, so I did burn the first batch slightly. Overall, they aren't too shabby!! I'll let you know when the shakes stop!!

I need a holiday

I'm desperate to get away. I don't know why, but I'm incredibly grumpy. Pissed off, in fact. I haven't seen the sun shine for weeks. It's grotty and rainy outside pretty much every day. And it's cold. And I hate the cold more than anything.

It's the same thing, day in and day out. Even when it's not the same thing, it's the same thing. If that makes sense.

So, I've been contemplating solutions. Focusing on the whole "I need a getaway" idea.

I've gotten nowhere. Stupid moral compass telling me to save money. And we have the government to thank for prices going up on everything. Pretty soon they are going to tax the air....breathing will be expensive.

I'm going to bed to mull over my problems. Perhaps wake up in a better mood and a brilliant idea.

I just checked the weather...possibility of snow tomorrow. Excellent.

Staring at the Ceiling

I was staring at the ceiling last night, loving the look of my chandelier against the somewhat peeling ceiling. It's the cold January nights that make me curl up in bed earlier than anticipated, and while trying to drift off to sleep I tend to go through the one million things bouncing around my head. I find that by thinking through a handful, I drift off to dreamland, and last night was no exception.

Things I considered while staring at the ceiling:

*I want a chandelier in every room of my house. Including the bathroom.*

*Nearly out of perfume...I wonder how my Boots points are looking.*

*((I wonder if I turning the power switch off for the kettle?))*

*Rich is going to have to get used to makeup, hair products and hair grips everywhere. I'll be sure to leave some lace knickers around as well...just to keep him on side.*

*Shoot. Forgot to mark the Year 12 Grouping essays!*

*Yawn*

*I can't wait until summer when I can be warm again.*

*Yawn*

*I think I'll wear my pencil skirt tomorrow...*

Ah. Drifting off into sweet, fashionable dreams. What a way to go....

xx

Driving....what a pain.

I hate driving.

I really do.

Sure, there's the novelty of coasting on the open road and singing along to the radio as you are zipping down the M25 at 70 mph.

But the reality is that there are very few roads in England like the M25. Very few with dual carriageway. In fact, most of the roads I get to travel on on a day to day basis are hardly wide enough for one car, let alone traffic coming both ways.

And the street signs? What street signs. Seriously. On main roads (like the M25), they are set off to the left, so when passing a lorry, you won't actually see that there is a sign - and in fact - your turn off in 100 meters.

I will not go into the fact that I got lost (both going and coming) due to overtaking a lorry and missing my exit and listening to the iPhone when it tells me to take a "alternative route" home that I know to be somewhat incorrect.

Let's just leave it to the fact that the roads are rubbish. Signposting is rubbish. iPhone map can - sometimes - be rubbish.

London was excellent though. A bit of shopping. A bit of coffee. A bit of wine. Cheeky photo taken in the pub, attached for your amusement.

I've resolved to buy a Tom-Tom. I'm also going to stay in next weekend. I aim to be in my pjs until an ungodly hour. Hopefully I don't have much work to do so I can just relax. No driving makes for a good weekend, agreed?

xx

London, Baby!

I'm off to the big city for the weekend.

Rich and I were meant to spend a day in London before Christmas, but the weather managed to destroy our plans of ice skating, mulled wine and enjoying holiday lights.

I'm happy to be spending the weekend in the city - it's better than sitting in the flat doing work!!

xx