There's something inside you, its hard to explain

Christmas in our family is usually a fairly quiet one. We spend Christmas morning running around catching up with all of our extended family before we all separate off to our own houses for Christmas dinner; when I'm left with just my Mum and Dad for the rest of the day. I love our little family Christmas day- we play a lot of scrabble, eat far too much food and see who's first to fall asleep in front of the telly, but as soon as Christmas Day is out of the way we need a bit of something to escape the house (and keep us away from the Quality Street for a few hours). 

And so, yesterday we ended up at Chester Zoo. Its somewhere I go quite often when I'm at home as its only a few miles away, and I could never ever get bored of it. This time, the tiger cubs were the main attraction- we watched the two of them fighting over a bone and tricking each other into letting go of it... its great to see that family arguments come as standard at Christmas across the whole of the animal kingdom!

Believe it or not, this was one of the cubs... slightly bigger than your average kitten!

We had a great little time, and it was nice to get out of the house and have a bit of a wander about to clear the cobwebs before returning to our scrabble board and tins of chocolate in the evening. Tis the season and all that!

Nightcall- London Grammar

So if you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow

Earlier this month I took a trip to Manchester for a very long overdue catch up with one of my old housemates. It had been way over a year since we'd last seen each other as we don't live in the same city any more, so we decided that the Christmas Markets in Manchester were the perfect excuse to finally organise a little reunion. The time we spent in the markets themselves actually ended up being fairly limited as we spent more time trying out every shade of lipstick on the Mac stand in Selfridges, but it was a bloomin' lovely day and made me feel all nice and Christmassy inside (the mulled cider definitely helped the Christmas merriment along!). 

My absolute favourite thing about Christmas is the extra effort that people put in to spend time with old friends, people they haven't seen in ages as well as doing extra- fun things with people they see all the time. I know my December has been jam packed with Christmassy activities (mostly involving food and horrific quantities of wine... did someone say work Christmas Party?!) and I've loved every minute of it so far. I know some of the loveliest people in the world so any holiday that gives me an excuse to spend time with them is always going to be a winner with me, and still having another week of freedom before going back to work makes it even sweeter!

Hope you're all having a looovely Christmas break!

Christmas is all around: Billy Mack (Love Actually)

For about the last 8 years, two of my best friends and I have got together to eat excessive amounts of food and watch Love Actually. Hence why I have this song in my head. 

Don't judge me.

He's put a great big smile on somebody's face

 Hopefully by now your Christmas shopping is all done and dusted, wrapped and sitting smugly under your Christmas tree. But if you're a bit stuck, or just looking for something else to make a present that little bit extra special then I might just be able to help you. These little cookie mix jars are really easy to make (if I can do it, anyone can!) and you should be able to find everything you need in the supermarket without too much difficulty. I gave these little beauties to two of my friends yesterday when we met up for our annual Christmas food and film day and they were the perfect present for our £5 price limit (it seems to be a recurring price limit for me this year!). 

The actual cookie mixture inside the jars didn't go in as neatly as it could have done, but I figured it was ok as it just proves I made them myself! Cleverly, I read some tips on making recipe jars after filling my own up and they suggested starting with the finest ingredients at the bottom of the jar and then putting any chocolate chips or similarly 'gappy' items at the top- as you can see, the sugar escaped through the gaps in between my chocolate chips, making the layers a bit messier and less defined. But the jars (which I found in Clas Ohlsen- definitely an extra bonus finding Christmassy jars when I was just on a hunt for plain ones!) and the ribbon hopefully made up for the way things were looking inside the jars!

I got the cookie cutters from Home Bargains, I found two separate packs, one white and one red, and decided to mix the colours up to jazz things up a little bit. 

If you fancy making one of these yourself, the recipe inside the jar was as follows:

125g caster sugar

100g soft light brown sugar

225g self raising flour

100g white chocolate chips

100g milk chocolate chips

For the label, you need to write instructions along the lines of:

Preheat oven to 180C

Add all ingredients from the jar, 1 egg and 125g butter to a bowl and mix well until all is combined

Form the mixture into small, slightly flattened balls and place on a baking tray

Bake in the oven for 7-10 minutes

Let me know if you give these a try! They're a great present all year round and you can fill them up with all sorts of different ingredients (my friend made me a brownie jar for my birthday earlier this year).

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday: Wizzard

Come now sing with me, Proper Crimbo!

My housemates and I had our Christmas dinner together at the end of last week. We decided to be incredibly lazy and go out for food rather than make it ourselves as there wasn't a time during a weekend when we'd all be here together during December and quite frankly I'm not sure who can be bothered to cook a roast with all the trimmings after a long day at work! Instead, we ended up in Wetherspoons, and considering I only spent just over a tenner I managed to stuff myself full with two courses plus a big glass of wine! The perfect arrangement really! 

We decided that house Christmas would be the perfect opportunity to swap our Secret Santa presents (although if you've ever managed to keep Secret Santa a secret when there's only three people involved you clearly haven't thought hard enough about the logic behind it!). Our limit was only £5, and I had loads of ideas for presents, but very few ideas that wouldn't break the budget. I ended up having a crafty brainwave and nipped to Leeds Markets for some pretty fabric to set me on my way with making some pictures for my friend's wall. I thought I'd share my idea with you as its incredibly simple and a great way to give somebody a pretty little personalised present without too much trouble! 

To make some similar wall art then all you need to do is follow these few instructions and you'll have a present sorted in no time!

You will need:
Two patterns of fabric (I bought 1/2 a metre of each but you actually only need about 1/4m really!)
Two canvases (I used these mega cheap canvases from Wilkinson's because I knew I could cover up the picture!)
Pinking Shears
Scissors,
Wall staple gun (working in education means I have pretty easy access to these, if you're not as lucky, super glue would do the trick too!)
Super Glue
Letter templates

Instructions:
Measure your fabric out around the canvases you are covering, making sure you have enough to cover the sides properly.

Staple/glue the fabric to the canvas.

Print off a template of the letters you'd like to use on the canvas- I made mine to fill an A4 Word Document.

Pin the template to the fabric and cut out the letters using the pinking shears.

Glue the letters onto the canvas.

Seriously, its that simple! What are you waiting for?

Let me know if you give it a try yourself!

Propa Crimbo- Bo Selecta

(Not the most traditional of festive songs but its a great guilty pleasure!)

Throw your arms around the world at Christmas time

In the spirit of all things festive, I decided to get myself in the Christmas spirit by indulging in a spot of baking for this month's 'winter wonderland' themed Iron Cupcake competition. Usually I don't bake for the competition as I help out a lot with the running of the evening but this time I decided to challenge myself and take a break from helping. I spent ages trying to come up with a fun idea that wouldn't be too difficult (I'm not the most confident of bakers when it comes to all things technical!) and it all paid off as I ended up winning the prize for the cake that best fit the theme! I'm a bit too proud of myself now!

If you fancy having a go at making my reindeer cupcakes yourself then you're in luck- I'm going to share the recipe with you lovely people. 

Reindeer cupcakes
(Makes about 15)

For the sponge:

140g unsalted butter
200g light brown sugar
60g treacle
60g golden syrup
3 large eggs
300g self raising flour
1tsp ground ginger
1tsp ground nutmeg
1tsp salt
240ml milk (warmed)

For the salted caramel buttercream:

400g icing sugar
200g butter
1/2 tbsp golden syrup
1/2 tbsp treacle

Preheat oven to 190C and line baking trays with about 15 paper cases

Beat the butter and sugar together until light and creamy. Add the treacle, syrup and eggs and mix again until the mixture is all combined.

Sift the flour, spices and salt and then add half of this to the bowl with the other ingredients, mixing well. Then add half of the warm milk and mix again. Repeat until all of the flour and milk has been incorporated into the mixture.

Add the mixture into baking cases and bake for about 20-25 minutes. When cooked, remove the cakes from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack.

To make the buttercream, sift the icing sugar into a mixing bowl, add the butter, syrup, treacle and salt and mix well. (You may want to taste a little at this point and check it has the right amount of salt in for you- I added a little more to make sure the flavour really came through!)

Pipe the icing and decorate the cakes with pretzels, smarties and icing to turn them into reindeer!

Enjoy!

They're really not too difficult to make at all (believe me, if I can do it anybody can!) and they taste lovely and Christmassy. Let me know if you give them a try yourself!

Do They Know It's Christmas- Band Aid 20

Everyone at work judged me for saying I prefer this version to the original... but I just love the fact that I recognise everybody in the video (hello Busted!) and it reminds me of being 14 again)

Well I wish it could be Christmas everyday

After a busy day of Christmas shopping in York last Saturday, I wanted something a little calmer on Sunday. It was the first time my housemate and I had been around on a Sunday together and not been suffering from dramatic hangovers so we decided to take a little trip out of Leeds to Harrogate. One of the families I work with suggested a visit to Harrogate as last weekend was the Christmas Market, I'm so glad I listened to them as it was the perfect way to spend December 1st!

The market was huge and there was tonnes of food on offer (and oodles of cheese to sample... always a bonus as far as I'm concerned!). Plus, there were some reindeer outside Santa's grotto, you can't get more festive than that!

Although there were a lot of people around, it didn't feel hectic or busy like most places do around this time of year, and even better, the town centre itself was blissfully calm (I've never seen a Primark like it- there were only two tills open on the womenswear floor and there still wasn't a queue... I know where I'm heading for my Primark sprees from now on!). 

I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday- Wizzard

So I'm sending you this Christmas card, to say its nice to have you here

Mama and Papa T took a little trip across the pennines this weekend for our annual family trip to York. York is pretty magical at any time of year, but at Christmas it just has such a lovely atmosphere (despite the horrendous crowds on a Saturday afternoon). We got lots of Christmas shopping done, and for once my Mum actually suggested something she'd like me to buy her for Christmas as opposed to every other year when she's wandered around shops with her eyes firmly blinkered to the floor just in case she happened to give any indication that she might like us to buy her anything. My Dad and I often find ourselves wondering what would actually happen if one year we actually listened to her when she insisted that she "doesn't want anything". 

 I love how we've carried on our tradition of visiting York every Christmas even though we end up there a few times during the year when my Mum and Dad come to see me in Leeds, it always does wonders for getting us in the Christmas spirit. I always love wandering around the town towards the end of the day when the sky is getting darker and the fairy lights start twinkling down the little higgledy piggledy streets, York has the loveliest decorations every year; they do things in a very classy fashion with lots of Christmas trees fixed onto the walls of shops down the little old streets. 

I do seem to waffle on about York a lot in my blog posts, but seriously, I challenge you to find a prettier city! I'd love to know what gets you guys into the Christmas spirit. Do you have any traditions that you do every year with your family?

coat: Topshop, dress: Asos, boots: Topshop, hat: H&M

I've fallen totally in love with my new hat. I bought it as part of my "This Charming Man" costume (yes, it involved a moustache...) for a Song Title fancy dress pub crawl the other week thinking it wouldn't matter if I didn't wear it again, but actually its doing a pretty good job of securing itself a place in my regular wardrobe. Plus it was only £7.99... loads cheaper than all the similar ones I've seen in Topshop/Urban Outfitters. Result.

Step into Christmas: Elton John

(my housemate and I started off December 1st by belting out lots of Christmas songs this morning... I try to resist cheesy music for the other 11 months of the year but in December I just can't get enough!)

I won't ask for much this Christmas, I won't even wish for snow

Secret Santa is one of those activities I love and hate in almost equal measure. I work in a really small team which makes keeping Secret Santa an actual secret is near on impossible (although not quite as impossible as its proven to be in my house of three where it took approximately 3 seconds after drawing a name out to work out who everybody else was buying...). Being the person who organised it this year I tried to really implement a no cheating under any circumstances rule as last year the fun was spoilt by one of my co-workers who asked the person next to them what they'd want from their Secret Santa and after hearing that it was a nice and easy bottle of red wine ended up sat with the bag of names until she pulled out the wine drinker- sneaky! Funnily enough, I've ended up with that person pulling out my name this year. I'm really trying not to cheat and give any clues to try and make her work a bit harder this time (I know, I'm cruel!). In my eyes, Secret Santa isn't about buying the person what they think they want, the real fun is in giving them something unexpected that'll put a smile on their face, hence why I like the surprise element!

In case any of you have ended up with a name from Secret Santa who is equally as annoying as me and isn't giving any clues about what they might like (although if my Secret Santa was at all internet savvy she could probably gain a fair idea about what I might like from this post!), I thought I'd put together a few ideas of cheap gifts that you could go looking for to save the inevitable panic buying that usually happens to me with Secret Santa presents!

1. The Doodle Notebook, 2. Fairisle Nail Wrap, 3. Christmas Socks, 4. Snowman Bath Bomb, 5. Fridge Magnet Scrabble, 6. Emergency Moustaches, 7. Dress-up Fridge Magnets, 8. Hey Girl notebook, 9. Woodland List Pad 

What ideas have you got in mind for your Secret Santa this year?

All I Want For Christmas Is You- Mariah Carey
(If this doesn't get you in the Christmas spirit, I don't know what will)

A beautiful sight, we're happy tonight

dress, top (underneath), jumper: Topshop

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! Mine was a quiet affair but still very enjoyable and full of food (naturally...) so I'm currently finding that 90% of the clothes I brought home with me are currently redundant- not sure what possessed me to bring home a load of body con and tight fitted clothes to wear over Christmas. Madness. 

Here's a few quick snaps of my Christmas Day dress courtesy of Mama T (does anybody else have a little family tradition of a new outfit for Christmas too?). I love the speckled fabric on this dress, and being me I've teamed it with my trusty collared top (I do own alternatives, honest, but never seem to bother to photograph those!) and the old favourite burgundy jumper even made an appearance when it came to braving the great outdoors for a post-dinner walk/waddle.

I've been on a few pretty muddy wanders with my family over the last week, but silly Kaz has had a few camera related incidents of late- forgotten memory card, no battery, forgotten to take the camera out altogether- so I didn't get to capture any of the lovely wintery days, instead being able to give my full attention to not falling over in the muddy swamps my Dad insisted on us wading through.

Our cheeks are nice and rosy, and comfy and cosy are we

On Friday, after what felt like the longest week in all eternity, I finally got to skip out of work shouting "ITS CHRISTMAAAAAAAS" in a Noddy Holder fashion. After one traumatic walk to the station whilst carrying about a zillion bags filled with my clothes and Christmas presents, followed by two hours sat next to the moaniest girl I've ever had the displeasure of sharing a train table with, then a quick run around Liverpool with Papa Smurf to pick up some Christmas presents for my Mum, I was finally home for the holidays. 

I'd mentioned to my Mum before I got home that I wanted to make some mince pies to stuff my face with give out to a few people, and explained that last year I'd made the mincemeat from scratch so would like to do the same again. My Mum, being a very tidy and house proud sort of person cowers in fear whenever she hears that I want to set foot in the kitchen as I can be a bit of a whirlwind (I'm not sure she's ever quite forgotten the time when my friend and I were about 16, drank loads of rum and then decided to bake... the result was a big sloppy pile of cake mixture all over my Mum's floor. And walls. And cupboards.). so I arrived home to find a little jar of mincemeat waiting on the kitchen counter. Clearly she had visions of raisins dotting the ceiling and orange peel covering the floor and decided she didn't want to be subjected to that kind of mess. I was a bit gutted as I'd wanted to try this mincemeat recipe  that Rachael posted on her lovely blog, Made up of little things but they still turned out pretty well in the end. I'll just have to make sure I get round to making some in my own kitchen next year so I can do it properly! 

If you want to cheat like me and whip up some semi-homemade mince pies whilst making a mess of somebody else's kitchen then I used this mince pie recipe from the BBC food website. Its still not too late to get some ready before Santa comes down your chimney tomorrow night! 

Are you hanging up your stocking on the wall?

My friends literally amaze me. Take one of my old friends from school for example. We set a £5 limit for Christmas presents this year to save a few pennies and give ourselves a bit of a challenge to see what we could actually come up with on such a small budget (A fiver really doesn't go very far these days it seems...). And voila, this is what £5 can get you if you think a little creatively. 

Such a simple idea spending £5 on chocolate but I know I'd never in a million years have thought to present it like this! If you're stuck for last minute ideas for a Secret Santa present or just are looking for a little stocking filler for somebody then give it a go and try your hand at one of these. Grab a selection box, a couple of candy canes, a jolly looking santa and some other delicious bits and bobs and you're sorted! I'd been adamant that I was going to make one for whoever I pulled out of the hat for Secret Santa in work, and then I pulled out the one person who doesn't like sweets and chocolate (crazy woman...) so had to go back to the drawing board on that one. 

I was given this back at the start of December and I'd been showing incredible willpower not digging into it all, instead just making full use of it as a cute little Christmas decoration. It lasted until I got back from my work Christmas dinner the other day when for some inexplicable reason I decided that a three course meal hadn't quite filled me up and so I NEEDED to munch on a box of Malteasers afterwards. 

We are the reckless, we are the wild youth

dress: Topshop

I realised when I uploaded these photos just how blurry they really are. I'd like to blame this on something that was no fault of my own but in actual fact I think the cause is just that I get too swishy and overexcited when I put this dress on because of the floaty material and voluminous sleeves. Not going to lie, this dress makes me prance around and pretend I'm Florence. Although as far as I'm concerned, that's never a bad thing.

I've had this dress since the start of my final year of Uni so its pretty old now (like me, sob sob) but it has remained my failsafe go to outfit for nights out, meals out and anything inbetween ever since. I'm sure everybody I know is pretty sick of it by now, but quite frankly I think I'll still be wearing it when I'm forty. Unless I keep consuming pop tarts at the alarming rate I currently am (I only discovered them quite recently so am making up for lost time...) in which case I'll have probably outgrown the dress by Christmas. 

And everyone is singing, I hear those sleigh bells ringing

Last weekend was a very Christmassy one. York on the Saturday as you already know, then off to Manchester on the Sunday to see two of my old friends from school. I love Manchester so much, its somewhere that I used to go quite a lot in sixth form back in the days when Liverpool still wasn't very exciting for shopping, then when I moved to Leeds it was still a pretty convenient distance away for day trips shopping (one of my friends and I were very good at going there just before exams and pretending we lived a blissful English Language free existence). 

Anyway, the main point of our little trip was to exchange Christmas presents and wander round the INCREDIBLE Christmas Markets. However, a quick trip to TGI Friday turned into waiting for over an hour for food then ending up having to force free dessert down after a goodwill gesture from the manager because the waiter forgetting to put our food order through, so there wasn't too much time left for festivities. After wolfing down a starter, huge burger and the world's biggest waffle at lunchtime it left me too full to even think about eating any yummy market food. Wahhh. I'm off to the Leeds German Market this evening though so I'll make up for it there I'm sure. It may be small in comparison to Manchester's endless market stalls but you can still get a decent crepe and mulled wine... what more could a girl need?!