Busy busy weekend ...

Well I worked a full day on Saturday and the company is still standing - :-) hurrah.  I then headed over to my friend Chloe's where we drank wine in our PJ's, put on face masks, used foot scrub and painted our nails.  Chloe did a lovely spread, chicken and salads - yummy.  It was lovely to relax and have a really good catch up.  G had 'the boys' round and there was lots of late night xbox playing and beer drunk I believe, althought the house was in ship shape upon my return this morning :-) xx

Today G and I went out Christmas shopping & have done it all, in one afternoon! Hurrah! We went to Christmas World and bought a few bits and bobs too.  We also bought ourselves the full 11 episodes of Cracker on DVD and put on episode one whilst I sat and wrapped all of the presents, with the last two fairy cakes and a well earned cup of tea.  So that is Christmas sorted, wrapped & ready for transporting to Warrington & Telford nearer the time, which is now less than 4 week away.

I am off to my friend Lynz's for some tea and Wii games this evening, I am just finishing up on the events in Cracker & Penhaligan's life before getting ready to leave.  Although I had some wine last night, I am back to the no-drinking again today.  I am feeling much much better today, still have a little cough but no where near what it has been like.  G is still not smoking, 2 full weeks of no smoking  -  I am so proud of him, he is doing so well.   Especially as we have lots of stuff going on at the moment.

I am wondering what to make tomorrow for tea, Hmmmm think I may make  S's macaroni cheese as it is G's absolute favourite meal.

Anyway, time to go and brush my hair and put my lippy on.  Enjoy your Sunday evening

xx

The BEST cheese on toast in the WORLD!

G makes the best cheese on toast in the world .... today I feel the worse I have all week, so treated myself to his comforting food.

Two pieces of white thick sliced bread (sooo bad for you but sooo tasty) and toast it lightly on one side under the grill. Butter the toasted side and cover in generously sliced mature cheddar, pop back under the grill (medium heat) until bubbling, slice and eat  - with a lovely hot mug of Betty's Tea Rooms Tea (which were a lovely gift from S ... but rapidly running out)

G is on a half day today, so I am looking forward to spending a few hours with him before work this evening just hope I am feeling a bit brighter by then.  I hate the 'common cold' I seem to only get one a year - but it is always so awful.  Last year I had it on Christmas day and sat dripping on S's couch feeling very sorry for myself and not being able to cuddle with baby J.  I am however grateful to have this cold today and hopefully I will be spared in 4 weeks when it is Christmas/wedding and the honeymoon I keep forgetting we have waiting for us at the end of it all. 

New Year staying at my brothers place in Majorca with my friends Amelia & Mike .. and a fancy dinner dance there at;

http://www.stayrestaurant.com/

Then 8 glorious, luxurious, pampering, relaxing nights crusing around the Caribbean ..... yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cruise Details

More Details

Anyway, day dream over ... I have clothes to wash .... :-)

K x

Little touches & Christmas time ....

On my Hen Do - 4 of my Bridesmaids bought me a few gifts - a pair of 'Mrs Spinks' knickers, a paid of 'I'm Marrying Gordon in the Morning' PJ's and a lovely photograph album with 'Kelly's Hen Do 31/10/09' on the front in little diamonte's.  So I had every photograph printed off and sent to me from everyones collections and filled my album with the best from each part of the day/night.

Some of the photos were lovely and I ordered extra copies.  When I had finished, I wrote thank you letters & cards to all of my 'hens' and sorted all the left over photos (around 200) and the additional ones I had ordered so that each of my guests had a few photos of themselves & their friends and a thank you note from me for making it so special.  I have just posted out the last few.  I absolutely love old fashioned post ... I adore getting personal things through the post - so I often send handwritten cards of thanks, love, just to say hello etc .... as I think you can't beat a personal touch or sentiment, to know that someone who cares, has thought about you.

My Christmas cards have been written, addressed and stamped for a few weeks now, just a few more days and I can post them too .... then the excitement of receiving Christmas cards starts - little notes from your friends and family from all across the land, small snippets of time with people you miss and wish you saw more often. 

I am very much a summer party girl, but I must admit that Christmas is by far and away my most favourite time of year.  I love being surrounded by my family.  My brother - C - who lives in Majorca is always home for a good few weeks, and this year he is bringing his lovely girlfriend 'F' up to the Wedding and for a few days after (before he goes off to meet her Mum .. hee hee)  So although a Christmas wedding wasnt our first choice, it is absolutely perfect and feels so right.

We have decided that due to our new kitten Bauer being a 100mph nightmare & that we have lots of things on our plate this year, we will not be embracing the traditional Christmas tree.  I do however think we will have some sort of garland on the fireplace - to remind us that it is Christmas :) hee hee.

I am very much looking forward to Christmas lunch with my busy family, I am very lucky to have both sets of Grandparents still healthy and happy, so Christmas lunch is a large affair, and settling down in the evening to an amazing buffet spread at S's in front of her open fire, in my slippers with the lovely baby J to play with.  Oooh I am so excittteeeeeeeeeeeeddd!!!!!

I think it is time for a cuppa & one last fairy cake .....

Have a lovely day ...

K x

Wedding Rhymes

Just found some of these traditional rhymes that are interesting!!

When To Marry

Marry when the year is new, always loving, always true,
When February Birds do mate, you may wed or dread your fate
If you wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know,
Marry in April when you can, joy for maiden and for man,
Marry in the month of May, you will surely rue the day,
Marry when June roses blow, over land and sea you'll go,
They who in July do wed, must labour always for their bread,
Whoever wed in August be, many a change are sure to see,
Marry in September's shine, your living will be rich and fine,
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry,
If you wed in bleak November, only Joy will, remember,
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.

Wedding Dress

Married in white, you have chosen alright.

Married in green, ashamed to be seen.
Married in red, You will wish yourself dead.
Married in blue, you will always be true
Married in yellow, ashamed of your fellow.
Married in black, you will wish yourself back.
Married in pink, of you he'll think.

I am not giving anything away - but really .. GREEN???? :-|

Yummmmmm ....

G is out tonight at the German Christmas markets in Leeds with his work colleagues, so I made some mash to go with the very yummy casserole and am about to watch my wicked secret programme 'Gossip Girl' .... I still feel lousy, even more so now as I'm sleepy - so I am signing off to put my feet up, snuggle down with a brew & watch the TV before bedtime.

Sweet dreams all

K x

Ps - the cats worked out how to attack tinfoil this evening and I am a few fairy cakes down ... they are now back inside the (cold) oven for their own safety!! ... the cakes that is not the cats!!!

What a day .....

I feel sooo poorly today but I havent stopped!! I needed to return one of the younger bridesmaid dresses to Debenhams because I had one too many.  I paid the florist (at long last, seemingly my contact emails have been going into her 'spam' folder and she isnt sure why no one answers the phone ...???) for the wedding flowers, including the amendments :-) Result!

I have thrown some stewing steak, chopped & peeled carrots (about 4), 2 medium onions - diced, chopped some mushrooms, crushed two garlic cloves, 2 pints of water, 5 beef oxo cubes, a cup and a half of red wine and 2 teaspoons of paprika and some salt & pepper into my slow cooker and left it on low to cook my dinner for this evening.  G is off out tonight to the German Markets with his American work colleague to celebrate Thanks Giving! I never really understood Thanks Giving but after talking to a family friend about it, it makes more sense. So .. I am thankful for Gordon, my life in Leeds, our health and for the love and support of our families and friends.  I am also thankful for Beau and Bauer when they are being nice to each other :-)

I have also spent some time trawling the internet for information to help G's brother - M out after I received a very unwanted telephone call this morning and also much more fun - looking for a special gift for my Mum's Sister - AJ for being such a fabulous matron of honour :-) (Got my Mum a little something too for organising my hen do ... a little (kinky) witch on a broomstick charm for her bracelet that I bought her last year.

It is now 13.49 - I missed day 2 of my promised breakfast laptop dates to update my blog but I am catching up now.  I dont want to go into work today because I feel lousey but I am not one to be off sick.

I have about 40 mins to sit with a brew and a cake (oh which are much better icing wise today!!) before I head off for a shower and to don my work gear for the evening ahead. 

Anyway, going to indulge in some rubbish tv and make positive steps to getting myself to work on time.

Kells x

Kebab - disaster ...

Normally a very competent cook I am very disappointed by today's icing disaster and then followed up by a chicken disaster .... needless to say no one had home made chicken kebabs tonight ....... :-(  The reason is because I hadnt covered the chicken with climfilm and it had become hard and gross ... it didnt look entirely safe ....

I am going to tackle a cup of tea and a slightly gooey iced fairy cake before hunting for a decent steak casserole recipe for tomorrow's tea.

Maybe its feeling off colour that has caused the issues and I will be back to my grand cooking self tomorrow.

Fingers crossed ......

x

Home made chicken kebabs ...

When discussing what he wanted for dinner this week, he said he hadnt had a kebab for ages (to which I replied neither had I) and along came a debate about having a kebab for tea.

Rather than go to the take away for one, I decided to make my own ... which I will be serving up for tea tonight.

I have chopped two healthy living chicken breasts into bite size pieces and left in a bowl in the fridge over night with slices of fresh garlic, jerk seasoning and some chopped chillis (tip with chilli's ... get your fresh chilli's and crush up with a pestle and mortar, and then freeze as a paste, when making dishes that need some chillies adding, break some off and add them directly from the freezer)

I will fry the chicken up in a little oil, with a chopped medium onion and when cooked, serve on a naan bread with lettuce and tomato, and some mayonaise.

I will let you know how it goes down .....

K xx

Tuesday

I dont feel very well today, and G has gone to work with the sniffles too.  Inbetween a few loads of washing, and updating the blog I've made fairy cakes with silky vanilla butter frosting, as a treat for us this evening. 

I took the recipe from my favourite baking cook book - "Good Housekeeping - Great Baking" and thought I would share;

For the cakes;

2 cups (280g) of self raising flour

1 teaspoon of salt

1 cup (200g) of butter

1 1/4 cups (240g) of sugar

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

1 cup (240ml) of milk

1) Preheat oven to 180/gas mark 4

2) In medium bowl, stir together flour and salt

3) In large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until light and fluffy (using a whisk is good here) Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition (or you can beat the eggs together in a bowl and add the mixed egg mixture in stages) Add in vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and the milk alternatively until all in, start and end with flour. Beat until smooth, scraping the sides frequently with a spatula to keep hold of all of the mixture.

4) Spoon mixture into muffin cake cases and bake in the oven for about 30 mins (if fan assisted 20/22 mins should be sufficient)

Silky Vanilla Butter Frosting

1 cup (190g) of sugar

1/2 cup (70g) of all-purpose flour

1 1/3 cups (320ml) of milk

1 cup (200g) of butter

1 tablespoon of vanilla extract

1) In saucepan stir together sugar and flour until evenly combined.  Gradually stir in milk until smooth.  Cook over a medium-high heat, stirring often until mixture thickens and boils. Reduce to low and cook for 2 minutes stirring constantly. Remove from heat and leave to cool completely.

2) In a large bowl beat softened butter until creamy, gradually beat in milk mixture and vanilla.

(I added a couple of drops of red food colouring to make it pink!)

So here are the ones I made today ...... (I may add that I havent made these before and being artistic isnt a strong point, so I am very sorry the topping has been kind of slopped on ... I need to work on my presentation ....)

I will make these again next week looking for a more of a buttercream topping I think, I dont think I made what I thought I was making, I wanted it to sit high and proud, stiff and swirly, but it slopped on like just plain icing sugar and water .... hmmmmm S - if you have any good fairy cake topping recipes, i'd be grateful as I think I need something more substantial in consistency ... oh dear ....

Updated at 14.44 - I can confirm both cakes & mis-happed topping tastes fabulous! Yay! Having a nice cup of tea and a cake before I go to work.

Introducing G ... my amazing fiance ....

Just to give you some background to G, he is a Business Analyst who works for a large power company on a big project.  He always looks hot when he leaves for work in his suit ;-)

He is very laid back, and very content with his life - surrounded in Leeds by some of his closest friends, just a couple of hours away from his family, and living in our house with me and the kitties.  Our nephew J (G's brother M's little boy) is about 18 mths old, and G adores him (its a mutual adoration) and so prefers the closeness of Leeds to his family, than when we were in Glasgow. G's Mum - S & her partner GB (it is all very confusing both our Mum's are called Susan, their sister's names both begin with J, G and his Mum's partner have the same name .... so I am struggling with the abreviations here!!) moved into their house Holly Grove & have been transforming the gardens ever since - we love to follow this when we visit, as changes are always obvious and impressive, the garden this Summer was simply stunning.  G is always at his happiest when watching his beloved Wolves play ... most unfortunate that they will be playing on our wedding day, and I'm not entirely sure the proceedings won't be altered suitably to fit ensuring at least snippets of the game are caught.

I am a very lucky lady & I'm very protective over our life.  I love cooking for G and making new things to impress him.  I go out to work about 4pm each day (having cooked dinner beforehand so it is ready) and G heats it through and serves it up for when I return home at 8.30.  We always eat together whilst we muddle over the day and what it has brought us. This is my favourite time of the day.

I'm looking forward to being Mrs Spinks & can't wait to call myself a 'wife' hee hee. 

Hen Doooooo

I was very lucky and my Mum organised my Hen Event, and it was all a big surprise for me.

It was all very 'me' and I was even luckier when 25 of my friends and relatives took time out to celebrate with me.

The Hen Do was on Sat 31st Oct 2009 - and so the evening part of the event was themed 'Kinky Witches' ....

During the day time we went to Thornton Hall Spa & Hotel for a day of massage, pedicure's, facials and a relaxing lunch, with swimming, hot tubs and the odd glass of wine in between.

Thornton Hall Spa & Hotel

Part of the hen party was MIL2B S and her sister J, my Mum - M - and her sister AJ, and some of my closest friends, ladies had travelled from Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Telford, Winsor, Nottingham and Warrington.  I was very overwhelmed by the amazing turn out and it was such an enjoyable day spending time with different people and catching up.

We were all to be dressed as Kinky Witches and down for dinner.  My outfit was organised by a few of my friends and was hilarious.  Over dinner I was asked to play a Mr & Mrs style game, answering questions about my fiance - if I got one wrong there was shots of vodka involved .... I didnt do too badly - and some of the questions were rigged for sure ;-) One I did get right is his favourite food ... his Grandmother's Macaroni Cheese .... S has been nice enought to post the recipe to her Kitchen site, so my future marriage is safe in the knowledge that I always have this to hand now.

After dinner a few of us went to a nearby club and danced with our broomsticks until (I) fell over .... :-)

I made it down for breakfast the next day and was recovered by the evening - not something i can say about G after his Stag Weekend in Belfast.

xx

S's Blogs ..

Hello ... I have managed to post links on the right hand side to my Mother-In-Law-To-Be's Blogs ... Holly Grove Kitchen and Holly Grove Garden. 

You can follow the progress of my wedding cake on there, also many more delicious recipes and gardeny things :-)

xxx

A bit about me ...

Hmmm Morning World ..... this is day one as life as a blogger :-)  Having become bored with Facebook and still can't quite work out Twitter, I thought I would follow my soon to be Mother-In-Law's - S's (or the Generous Gardener) lead and start a blog.  This could fall by the wayside in a number of days or be my next addiction.

So, anyway - I am 32 - I live in Leeds with my fiance - G - and our two cats - Beau and Bauer .... (I am watching Mariah Carey on Lorraine Kelly - she isn't all there ...? It's very painful to watch ...) I work part time as a Team Manager for a Collections dept of a bank, the rest of the day I am a housewifey and love nothing more than looking after my little family. 

Our wedding is 4 weeks and 6 days away .... 28th Dec 09 and we're getting very excited.  I will talk more about the wedding as we go on.  G & I met in Glasgow when we were both working there, and moved to Leeds together just over a year ago. 

This year has been quite a rough one, with the 'Credit Crunch' and various other personal trials and tribulations, but we're almost at the end and I couldnt think of a nicer way to cap it off by getting married and sodding off on a bloody lovely holiday :-)

I have some amazing friends & my life is very eventful, there is always a funny story or two and this is what I am hoping to capture here.  I used to have a My Space Blog years ago and had lots of lovely followers, but life got too busy & I stopped posting.  Now I intend on having 'Breakfast Blog Dates' with the laptop as I sit down to my morning tea and toast.

Apart from work, and cooking recipe's from S's blog (I will put some links somewhere on here to her blogs when I work out how) and relaxing with G & the kitties, I hate keeping fit and exercise (apart from walking) and I have an avid love of wine .... white, red, sparkling .... yummy! I am on a no-drinking through the week mission (today is Tuesday and happy so far lol) at the moment, especially as Christmas is round the corner, and there seems to be lots of drinking through Christmas.

Anyway, I am going to sign off, I am going to do individual posts on some of the charactors that will crop up regularly within my stories so they're not entirely strangers.

Have a lovely day!

K x