Little Mo

I haven't had much to post about recently, as I've been working and haven't done anything very interesting! The only photos I have been taking are of my puppy Mollie, so I thought I'd post some from the past few months:)

This was the day we first met Mollie. She was 6 weeks old here

She was the cuddliest puppy out of the litter and we instantly became best friends :)

Two weeks later we took her home. I love her one floppy ear :) 

She also adopted the cat's bed... Much to the horror of Bugsey, the cat.

Chilling on dad's lap after a long day of playing

Mmm fresh air!

She's our wee guard dog

This is her now at 8 months, fully grown!

She's such a character and has brought a lot of happiness to my life. I couldn't imagine not having her around, even though she can be a little too lively sometimes or digs up the garden... hehe.

I love you, little Mo x

Blueberry Crumble Loaf - the hummingbird bakery

Sometimes you just need to bake at 11pm.

I wanted to make every cake in this book but I went for the Blueberry Crumble Loaf.

Ingredients
(One 8.5 x 17.5cm/3.5 x 7in loaf tin with 7.5cm/3in sides)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 170 C (325 F), Gas mark 3, then grease the loaf tin with butter and dust with flour. (It doesn't have to be a loaf tin - I used a normal round cake tin)
2. Crumble topping- In a bowl, rub flour and butter with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the sugar, cinnamon and chopped pecans, and set aside.
3. Sponge- Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Break the eggs in one at a time, mixing well.
4. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and ground cinnamon, then add in three stages to the creamed butter and eggs, pouring in the milk after the second batch has been added.
5. Continue mixing until the batter is smooth and even, then add the blueberries and chopped pecans, stirring them into the batter and making sure they are evenly distributed. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and sprinkle the crumble mix over the top.
6. Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the sponge feels firm (and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean with no cake batter on it). Allow it to cool down before turning it out of the tine on to a wire rack to cool fully, then serve! 

Now, I didn't have my mixer with me as I haven't got room for it in my new house, so I had to use a bit of elbow grease! It turned out just as light- just took a little longer!

The pink whisk is from Waitrose, and the bowl is from Laura Ashley 

My little helper, ready to catch any falling cake mix ;)

With added crumble on top, ready to go in the oven.

Incredibly cute oven mit - Lesley Gerry

The finished product! I was hoping it would have gone nice and brown on top but I didn't want to leave it in any longer..

I forgot to take some pictures of it out the tin as it was eaten pretty quickly! It was very yummy though.. Here is the picture from the book instead :P

Sophie x

Sunday walk in Hensol Forest

This Sunday we went for a long walk in the forest. We let Mollie run wild in the woods and it was so nice to be in the countryside :)

Ankle Wellies - Joules

These fluffy flowers were everywhere - I have no idea what they're called (when in doubt, ask mum.)

I couldn't decide which was the best photo, so here's all 3!

And then this happened..! The little terror can't be trusted haha.

She had a thorough shower when we got home!

That's all for now folks :)

Follow me on Twitter and instagram @sophie_elisa

Sophie x

Lazy Saturday

Nothing much happened today as it is our day off so we had a lie in, went for a walk and watched Saturday afternoon telly. Lovely!

My 'getting ready' spot

The little wooden 'LOVE' is from Primark, £1

 On my face:
The Body Shop Tea Tree Pore Minimiser as primer
Dior Forever foundation in 020
Rimmel Wake Me Up concealer in Classic Beige
Benefit Coralista Blusher
Benefit Browzings kit in Light
Benefit They're Real! mascara
Rimmel Keep Calm and Party lip balm in 050 Violet Blush

I don't really know why I bothered with make-up today, I guess I just do it without thinking!

Action shot :)

Shoes - Office
Jeans - Warehouse
Jumper - Jigsaw

Now for Disney films and jelly babies in bed with this cutie :)

Happy weekend!

Sophie

x

Throw back: Remembering Grandma Rose

It's been 4 years since she passed away so I thought I'd write a little about my memories of her.

I don't have any pictures of her at my house where I am grown up but I have a few where I am little :) This is us on the day of my Christening.

In her garden, of which I have many fond memories. I used to pretend to be her gardener and it's probably a good job that I wasn't allowed near any tools except for the watering can!

L-R: Dad, my sister Oenone, Mum, my brother Stewart, me and Grandma.

At our house, possibly Christmas.

 Mum and Grandma look so alike. They speak so alike too, which is sometimes a little spooky.

Also, nice glasses, Dad ;)

There are lots of things that remind me of my Grandma Rose, like the smell of water colour paints, and pencil sharpenings, and butterflies. She was a fantastic painter, and made the best fruit cake in the land. (Mum, yours is amazing too!) You were a kind-hearted and generous lady, who made all of her grandchildren feel special. We miss you dearly.

Love you

Sophie

Moving to Wales!

On the 30th August we packed up the van (full to the brim) and moved to a little bungalow in Cardiff!

We have actually had the house since the end of June, but only spent the next two weeks there as we were both away for the summer. Sam went to work in Cornwall at a restaurant/bar at Land's End, and I went home to my family with Mollie. This gave me the opportunity to meet up with all my school and uni friends before we went back to work in September. (Somehow, most of us have ended up as teachers!)

Luckily, Mollie enjoys car rides :)

Hello, Wales!

Sam and Mollie enjoying some tea in the sunshine

Mollie approves of the garden :)

The house is in a great location as we're only a short drive/train/bus ride away from the city centre. It's also just a 10 minute walk from our place of work, and we can also teach at home, which is perfect. 

I'll post some interior photos soon, once we're fully settled :)

Bye for now!

x Sophie x

Performing at Victorious Festival, 24/08/2014

Victorious Festival

I'm lucky enough to sometimes play for the brilliant singer-songwriter Josh Savage. On this occasion we were playing at Victorious festival in Portsmouth and it was a lot of fun! I don't have any photos of us playing but check out the ones that photographer Steve Spurgin took :) (Page 23 & 24) 

In the band was Aniya Savage (bass), Mike Vaughan (drums), Josh, and me on violin.

The Seaside stage

The seriously talented band Flight Brigade

Some of us were brave enough to go on the rides- I however, was not!

Sorry for the rubbish pictures, but I hope I have pointed you in the direction of some new music to get in to :)

Love,

x Sophie x