Weekends were made for...

Exploring with friends...

Running through gardens...

Swimming in rivers...

Lounging in the porch...

Starting a new project...

Bonding with family...

Enjoying a 'double-yolker'...

Scoffing cake...

Pulling funny faces.

This weekend has been the best.

'It will not always be Summer; Build Barns'

 {Title quote by Hesoid... Who also wrote 'Do not let a flattering woman coax and wheedle and decieve you... she is after your barn.' He needs to calm down REF: Barns}

We've been fanning the flames of DIY here at Derbyshire Towers recently, from Chicken Palaces to Glitter Jars. We've been thrifty, handy and cunning; producing some pretty nice bits of furniture and ornaments and fully taking advantage of the brilliant weather we've been having!

My top favourite has to be the beautiful rustic farmhouse table and benches my husband made at the weekend.

It's high up, sturdy, and has that homely rustic country feeling that sits so well on a warm Summer's evening. We had friend's over for an evening last week and the extra space for food and drink was well received. 

 Not to mention the extra room for well-fed stomachs to expand.

Initially I wanted to decorate the entire inside of the gazebo with these tissue paper garlands... but then I remembered that I'm a Mother who barely has the patience to put my pants on, let alone sit for hours twisting and tearing paper, life's too short.

These looked so pretty fluttering in the breeze though.

I made my handy-hubby {ew to the word 'hubby' but for alliteration's sake I'm sticking with it} a really special dinner to sit on his table, home-made pasta using eggs laid that morning from our three girls. You can't get fresher than that... except for the fresh watercress and parsley I used to make the simple sauce.

Gone are the days of Ikea and Argos, we've taken it upon ourselves to build new furniture and refurbish the old stuff worth saving, flat pack is out, individual custom-made pieces are in!

Screw You Robinsons...

{Tasted and approved by Derp-Cat}

I have been hydrating myself good 'n' proper recently.

Aspartame is something I'm trying to avoid as it gives me headaches that make me want to saw my face off, I've realised that Robinson's juice is the main culprit so I've cut it out and am, instead, having the loveliest cool brews in the morning.

Herbs, fruit and those weird melon-tasting/salad/vegetables (Cucumber) make excellent partners to H2O, not to mention all of the teas I bought to assist me during my pregnancy that I later found out that I wasn't allowed to drink.

 Also, what a joyous thing to look at first thing in the morning.

Snow, Cake & Pugs!

 I had a very lovely, chilled out 1st Mother's Day, last year doesn't really count because Nahla had only been in my tummy about 3-4 weeks!

I woke up to a big smiley face... who was bringing me breakfast in bed (Nahla was still asleep) and a lovely card, from Nahla, who's handwriting is suspiciously like her Father's.

Simon had to work for a couple of hours so the morning was spent in bed, watching Caitlin Moran and Peppa Pig, weird combo or what?!

 We decided that, although it was snowing like mad outside, that we might as well make the most of the day and pop out for a hot drink. We popped into a really lovely Cashmere/Wool/Bits and Bobs shop close to us where they sell loads of really lovely kitcheny bits, from Cath Kidston to Emma Bridgewater.

Nahla was so nosey and kept trying to turn her head all the way around to get a 360 view!

Passers by kept giving her lots of compliments, which was lovely.

This was my OOTD...

Elbow-Patch Knitted Sweater- Primark £16
Leggings-Wallis £10

Scarf- A Gift

Hunter Wellies- £89

Nappy Bag- Cath Kidston- £60

I loved these little mugs and will definitely be getting one next payday! They are SO ADORABLE! I love Pugs and will probably get one when we have our own house and Nahla is quite a bit older.

I just love the little one wearing a top hat and monocle! :')

 Next door to the shop is a really lovely little posh cafe. As soon as we walked in I felt a little nervous, it was full of middle aged and elderly couples, we were the youngest there and this was the first time we had taken Nahla out to eat on our own, I was expecting her to have a complete meltdown and spit fire at the other customers, but she was an absolute delight.

She had her bottle there, looked around and grinned at everyone, she was very interested in my pink cake!

(which, btw, was more icing than actual cake... but that's not a ratio I'm going to complain about!)

 

I had a cup of hot chocolate and the most delicious cupcake, Simon had a very dark coffee and a rock cake... he bit the side of his mouth, which was a bit unfortunate!

 Walking back through the shop I spotted some really lovely things, from gorgeous quilts, to beautiful Orla Kiley pieces and this amazing fish-bowl display with driftwood around it... I also almost screeched when I saw they sold Neom candles, I've blogged about how much I've wanted one for ages and my husband was lovely enough to buy one for me...

 ...it's such a gorgeous smelling candle; Moroccan Blush Rose.

I'm in love with it and will be burning it whilst I'm in the bath Simon's running for me tonight after he's cooked me a lovely meal.

I've really enjoyed my first Mother's Day, although I can't wait until Nahla's old enough to treat me herself!

Love,

Laura xxx

(Lots of love to my Mummy too!)

Accidental Discovery!

So this is actually a post about laziness and accidents.

I firstly wanted to make mini-quiches... but couldn't be bothered to make pastry.

So I then decided to make 'No-Pastry-Quiches' and try to fob it off as being healthy and calorie-conscious rather than me being a LAZYBONES.

Then they actually turned into delicious fluffy souffles. All's well that end well I suppose, but here's how I achieved it, without the all the cheating and failing it took to get there!

I'm getting quite good at using up my leftovers, you could chuck anything into this mix as long as it contained eggs. I had Mozzarella, Tomatoes and Pesto leftover from dinner with a friend the night before, and the two eggs from the night before that, so everything pretty much needed using up fast!

Firstly, I beat two eggs into a bowl, added salt and pepper then chopped my chives and tomatoes into the gloopy mix. So simple, so quick. Two minutes = Done!

Next, I grated the leftover Mozzarella into the mix, which was surprisingly difficult, I would have saved more time and washing up if I'd just torn it into little strips with my hand. 

Good to know for next time though!

Once your ingredients are all combined, grease your little individual pots with butter, or margarine and fill with the mixture.

Bake in a tray, in an oven pre-heated at 200 degrees for (roughly) 20mins.

I don't know why I was so surprised to see that these had risen to such a great height (the photo doesn't do them justice) and why, for all of the yolk they contained, they had ended up so fluffy and light... but I wasn't going to complain!

Not a gourmet-looking souffle but a damn tasty and simple supper that kept me full for ages! I struggled to finish one.

(I managed to eat the second one in the morning though!)

Light but filling, delicious with any ingredients plonked in it and only half an hour to make and cook; this is such a lovely supper, especially with salad, chips and a dollop of coleslaw!

Enjoy!

Love,

Laura xxx

What I've been up to...

February has had it's ups and downs but it's been mainly good times! I've really enjoyed blogging this month and finally have an idea of what I want to do with the blog and where I want it to go. I've changed it around so much in regards to it's style and layout, hopefully I'll be happy with it's design this time!

This month has also been a month for 1st's, I'm managing to fit back into my old clothes and I'm starting to feel well enough to venture out for the odd drinky-poo with my friends/colleagues.

I'm also experimenting more with homemade food and have started to make all of my sauces from scratch... most of it is trial and error but it tastes good!

Nahla is growing like a Runner-Bean and continues to surprise us and make us smile, she loves interacting with people and is so cuddly!

Valentine's Day was a big success, I've also started to put together outfit ideas for my Uncle's Wedding in May.

February really is the month of love!

Love,

Laura xxx

Pudding!

Whether through choice or through allergies, dairy-free and egg-free puddings can still be delicious! This is one of my favorite quick and easy puddings that uses up a lot of leftovers.

Rich, sweet, soft and crunchy at the same time, this is such a homely and comforting dish for this time of year.

(For those of you who read my 'Veggie Pie' recipe, you'll know that I'm not big on measurements and specific instructions, so it's all done by eye and taste!)

The ingredients are either readily available in most people's cupboards or can easily be attained, the bread pictured here was stale but not quite off and the strawberries were beginning to soften. A great way to use up old fruit!

I didn't have enough almond milk to soak my bread in so I added in some soya cream... oh my goodness, I don't know why I didn't do that sooner!

Butter both sides of your bread, cut in half and arrange so that the fill an oven-proof dish (grease the sides so the edges don't burn or stick). Sprinkle through some raisins or currants and squish down.

Half-fill a bowl with Almond milk, Soya cream, some Strawberries and a couple of tablespoons of caster sugar and whisk together... this mixture tastes like heaven!

Pour the mixture over the bread and squidge (real word) it all together so the bread soaks up all of the milk, it should be lightly swimming in a sweet almondy bath.

Sprinkle a handful of the brown sugar over the top to form a sweet crust then pop into an oven (about 190 degrees C) for 10-20 minutes, until the edges are golden.

This is the easiest and cheapest pudding and so delicious! It's also delicious cold, but better hot and steamy!

The strawberries are a sneaky reminder that Summer is only a few months away and that the cold nights will soon end, so enjoy hot comforting meals when you can!

Love,

Laura xxx

Love

Love it or hate it, Valentine's Day is one of those holidays you can't seem to escape from! I'm not an overly romantic person but for some odd reason I seem to adore this holiday!

I 'cooked' my husband and I a lovely dinner (thank you Tesco's Finest Meal Deal) of Goat's cheese tart, caramelised red onions and mushrooms (I did this, not Tesco) and Parsnip and Potato Dauphinoise. I also toasted a baguette and smeared some yummy roasted mushroom pate on it.

For pudding we had chocolate cake, strawberries covered in chocolate and a delicious raspberry tart!

All washed down with some pink champagne!

Very romantic!

 I got the nicest gifts from my husband (both of which I accidentally opened early!)

This M.A.C Fluidline Eyeliner Gel is seriously the best I've used and I love my Lauren Conrad book so much I reviewed it here.   

The flowers my husband sent to me were such a surprise! Usually he gets me bright pink Gerberas or Roses, so it was nice to get a lovely (huge) bunch of red Roses, Lillies and Eucalyptus.

With help from The Busy Budgeting Mama I made some fun bunting-type banners to hang over the fireplace to surprise my husband when he got home from work. 

It's still up today, I can't seem to bring myself to take it down!

Lastly, we put the baby in her cot for a nap where she allowed us to have a lovely bubble bath with rose petals! It was really nice to connect again as a couple rather than Mama and Daddy!

I hope you all had a nice day whatever you got up to! We should probably take the lessons of Valentine's Day and apply them to every day life... but that might end up rather expensive with all of the flowers ;]

Love, 

Laura xxx

Mmmm Pie!

It may not be the fanciest looking thing in the world but I love this recipe! My Mama made this pie for me when she stayed at mine to help with my new baby, so the pie embodies everything that is homely and loving in my life, so I thought I would share this SUPER simple and cheap recipe.

It feeds four people... or my Husband in one sitting. 

(Disclaimer: There is no actual recipe for this pie, so there are no measurements or any accuracies like that, it's all done by eye, but it's really easy!)

As well as what is written in the picture above, you will need; Some sort of milky drink (I use Almond milk) and butter for the white sauce, salt and pepper, a vegetable stock cube, garlic oil and ready-roll puff pastry.

Chop up your veggies and extras!

Fry off your onions, mushrooms and extras in a heavy-based pan until they're lovely and brown, then remove from the pan and fill it with boiling water from the kettle (saves time!)

Boil all of your veg in one happy little veggie-Jacuzzi and leave to simmer until the contents are nice and soft.

(Excuse the state of the milk pan, apparently 'dishwasher-safe' does not mean 'dishwasher-safe' these days.)

Next, make a Rue. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter into a pan and melt, then add a few tablespoons of flour and mix until it forms a sort of tacky plasticine. This is when you add your milk, little by little, until the butter and flour has dissolved to make a deliciously creamy thick sauce. Add your stock cube to the sauce and stir in.

Mix your sauce and veggies together then transfer into an oven-proof dish, roll your ready-made puff pastry onto the top of the dish and put into a moderately hot oven (190 degrees) for 20-30 minutes!

Like I said before, it's not gourmet and you won't be seeing me on Masterchef in this lifetime but it's delicious and comforting and so so SO simple and quick to make.

Enjoy!

Love, 

Laura xxx