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Getting Comfy In Style At Homesense

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I’m a longtime fan of Homesense, it’s the one shop I could spend hours and hours in. I’d choose it over clothes shopping any day of the week. It was the last shop I went to before I gave birth to my youngest daughter and the first shop afterwards!

Homesense baby

Ok that sounds a little obsessed.

It’s a shop full of little treasures. From the most unique bits of furniture to interesting books, candles and foodie treats.

My sister bought this for me a little while ago and I love it.

Homesense furniture

On our last visit we bought some great pieces including this gorgeous blanket:

Homesense blanket

Perfect for snuggling up now that the weather has begun to change. We also bought a load of candles and a Moroccan lantern for our conservatory which I’ll share pics of ASAP.

Of course I had to stop and buy a few things from the food aisle too. We had THE most amazing salted dipping pretzels as well as some great flavoured salts and some American candy.

Are you a Homesense fan? I’m getting so excited about the Christmas stock coming in!

* I was provided with a gift voucher for Homesense.

Making Time For Pastimes

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Before we had children we would easily watch 4 or 5 films a week.. I would also read a minimum of 3 books a week and I worked full time AND had a social life. Since we had children a lot of the hobbies we enjoyed seemed to vanish into the oblivion which also stole our sleep. Arrhhhh.

But. And this is a big BUT I’ve started to realise we really need those things which help us relax, to unwind ..to be someone other than mum or dad for an hour or two.

So I’m making time for it. When the children go to bed ( if they both happen to sleep at the same time ) I’m going to take a break. Maybe not every night but at least once a week and watch a film. I was a bit inspired by the Mummy Barrow film club too and I think we are going to follow with interest the films that are watched and maybe join in with one or two. Last night we watched Jack Reacher – not without a few interruptions of course.. Thanks Chloe. Quite a good film although can I admit I’m not really a Tom Cruise fan?

Next we are moving onto some Eighties Classics .. I asked on social media for some recommendations and we have some great films to look forward to. Can you believe I’ve never watched Working Girl? or Stand By Me?

As for books I’m currently reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman ..it’s too early for me to give a verdict as I’m only a few pages in but I’ll let you know when I’m done.

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I’ve actually managed to finish one book already this year – Postcard Killers by James Patterson. I find his books quick and easy to read as although they are thrillers and fairly chilling they tend to grip you so much that you want to finish it as quickly as possible and this one was no different. I enjoyed but it wasn’t one of his best in my opinion.

Last year I challenged myself to read a certain amount of books. It didn’t happen and I was annoyed so this year there is no figure just a promise to myself that I will make more time for these things I enjoy.

So a year of cooking..reading and watching films lies ahead. I suppose I better squeeze some exercise somewhere too 🙂

50 Books In 2014, Books 3,4 &5

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I’m not making as much progress as I would like in my book challenge. An extremely energetic toddler and a rather clingy baby will do that but I’m still trying. Reading relaxes me almost as much as baking so I know it’s something I should make time for.

I’ve managed to read another 4 books, woohoo. Ha I may have to speed up a little if I’m going to make 50 but I will probably find more time when I return to work in October and I actually get a lunch break ..and the daily commute to work in which to read.

Book number 3 was:

Wonder by R.J.Palacio – this was an incredible book which I discovered via my book club ( the book club which I’ve managed to attend once since January but I’m still finding great books through it so that’s great.

Book number 4 was:

Six Years by Harlan Coben – I’m a big fan of HC and I’ve read most of his books, they are always gripping and keep you on the edge of your seat. Six years is a real page turner and I managed to read it fairly quickly via my kindle app whilst breastfeeding.

Book number 5 was:

Alex Cross’s Trial by James Patterson – this story follows Alex Cross ( who features in most of JP books) great uncles struggle when the ku klux klan was prominent in America. It’s a really interesting read and different to most of his other work. I enjoyed.

Book Number 6 was:

I Heart Christmas by Lindsey Kelk – I really like Lindsey Kelk books, they are always fun and easy to read. I hope this isn’t insulting to the author but I find it’s the kind of book I don’t have to concentrate on too much and I can come back to it after a few days and not feel that I’ve forgotten what’s going on. I know it’s not Christmas but I only just found this latest book of hers so I still enjoyed it in the spring.

Aside from fictional books I’ve also read a few cook books including Jack Monroes brilliant budget friendly book and a fabulous book called Homemade which is making me want to spend hours preserving fruits and making my own cheeses.

What have you been reading? Any recommendations for next month? You may have noticed by now that I like to read a bit of everything so I would love some new ideas.

Some of my books…

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50 books in 2014

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I used to read a lot. When I say a lot I mean about 2-3 books a week minimum normally more. I could sit down with a book and read it in a few hours. My parents called me the book worm and when I met my boyfriend he would test me by questioning me on random parts of books as he didn’t believe I could read that quickly. I would buy books most weeks, sometimes from charity shops or ebay/amazon and borrow lots from the library. On a beach holiday I could easily read 10 books in a week.

Here is a post about some of my favourite books

Since having children I read a lot less. I miss it. I miss the escapism of reading a book. I now watch more mindless tv or films and while I’m not going to stop this I definitely want to get back to reading more. I’ve set myself a target of 50 books this year. 5 years ago I would have laughed at that amount but last year I probably read half that amount.

I’m going to read in the bath, while feeding and before bed. I find it calms me and it definitely helps keep my brain active. It can be far too easy to slip into a brain slump when you are always around toddlers.

I may even share some reviews of books that I particularly like on here.

It’s now January 2nd and I am halfway through book 2. Technically book 1 was started in 2013 but let’s not split hairs.

Book 1 was The Husbands Secret by Liane Moriarty – I really enjoyed this book and would give it 4/5 stars.

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Book 2 is The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion – really enjoying this too and it’s one that I really want to finish soon!

Let’s hope I manage to keep up with this challenge. Any book recommendations would be great – I read all genres.

Cooking at Christmas time

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Has Christmas Day really come and gone already? It seems like we prepare for an absolute age and then it’s gone in a flash! I hope all your wishes came true and your dinners were delicious.

I spent Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with family so I didn’t get a chance to cook which I missed! Yesterday I just relaxed and spent time playing with Izzy or watching tv with my OH but today I really wanted to get back in the kitchen. I was spoilt this year, spoilt by the wonderful time I got to spend with my family and the fabulous food I had to eat and once again spoilt with perfect presents from my OH and Izzy.

I won’t list all my presents but I will tell you that I will be experimenting with new recipes, cooking methods and playing with kitchen gadgets for quite some time!

Some of my books:

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Already bookmarked around 30 MUST TRY recipes.

I was also lucky enough …after numerous hints to get a new waffle maker so it would have been rude to not try that out. It’s very different to my old waffle maker (my mums) so my first attempt looked like this:

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I blame the waffle maker instructions. It said use 1 tablespoon of mixture .. Clearly not enough so I doubled it for attempt 2 which was a major improvement :

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Both tasted delicious. For those interested the recipe I use for waffles is here and I often add extra ingredients such as vanilla or cinnamon… Or even chocolate chips.

Waffle making was not enough I needed to make something delicious for dinner so I tried a recipe which I have heard fave reviews about. Ham in coca cola. Sounds weird, tastes dreamy.
I used Nigellas recipe which you can find here I made a few small adjustments. Instead of using molasses followed by mustard powder and sugar I simply rubbed in a tablespoon of English mustard after I had placed my cloves in the scored fat and then followed by rubbing in 2 tablespoons of molasses. Worked well for me and the end result was so good I was amazed.

Here are some pics :

Bubbling hot hot hot

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Just ready to go in the oven

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Begging to be eaten but best leave it cool…

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Worth waiting for

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And one more just because it looked so pretty

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If you have a ham lurking in your fridge you must try this, if not then well there are lots of hams in the shops at the moment. Buy one, try this. You will not be disappointed.

My kitchen addiction only seems to be growing so expect more and more recipes very soon.

I am aiming for healthier recipes in January. Until then enjoy.

P.S thanks for the feedback from you lovely people who tried my sprout recipe on Christmas Day. So glad you loved it too!