...Aka how to make my boyfriend fat with MORE baking!

In my last post I mentioned the present I made for my secret santa - a Christmas Muffin mix. Well how funny that for MY present I also got a baking mix!! This one wasn't home made, but the principle is the same, and it came with a very cute little heart shaped cutter tied on with a gingham ribbon:

This weekend I hosted a bit of a Christmas dinner party for 4 of my closest friends. I worked super hard for it but I have to say that it was a huge success and everyone had a lovely time. To ease the load (work wise and expense wise!) one of my friends brought the starter (a delicious cauliflower and three cheese soup) and another brought the ingredients for dessert (Eton mess, made with raspberries). The main course and other bits and bobs were left to me. I made us a big roast ham dinner with roast veg (parsnips, carrots, butternut squash, red onions and garlic) and roast potatoes (par boiled then drizzled with olive oil and paprika before putting in oven - lovely!). There was a bit of stressing on my part that I would either under or over-cook everything, but I am very pleased to say that it all turned out perfect.


We then a bit of a break to enjoy the X-Factor final (I know, you gotta love it!) and I then served dessert, fresh coffee, cheese and biscuits, homemade mince pies and we had crisps and dips dotted here and there as well. I can tell youthat we could hardly move an inch by the end of the night! But I would rather there was too much to eat than not enough. There was so much food that we didn’t even cut the Christmas cake I had made! Here is a pic of the cake anyway, I guess I may save it for Christmas day itself (unless my boyfriend discovers it first!):

For the past 5 years now Belfast has held it's very own Christmas Continental Market in front of the City Hall. This for me has come to signify the start of the festive season and once the stalls start being erected I know Christmas is on the way. When the Christams lights are turned on it is a really magical place to wander through - it's a feast for all senses...walking past the many stalls there is so much to see, so many different smells, wonderful things to eat and Christmas music being played (and things to pick up and touch - just so that I cover all sense! lol).

Although slightly controversial, I think that our 'Belfast Eye' (a mini version of Londons) makes a very nice backdrop to it all. Some say that it takes away from the history of our grand City Hall, but I don't agree. I certainly think that the City Hall is a magnificent building, and I think we (speaking for the locals!) do take it for granted at times, but the Wheel just adds a modern twist to it all. The view is pretty impressive from the top as well!

Anyway, here are a few shots of and around the market:

I recieved my Giveaway prize from Quaint Living today! I LOVE IT!!!! Alice also enclosed a really cute little Christmas postcard in the envelope as well:

I am loving this new blogging world I have discovered! Long may it continue! I'm still trying to crack how to attract new people to my blog but hopefully I'll get the hang of that soon too.

xxx

I took these photos during the summer but thought I would put them in a post as I just thought they were brilliant!

I was in London with work one day during the summer and on my lunch hour I took a wee walk around some of the streets. I'm not very familiar with London so I was wandering quite aimlessly and happened upon this sculpture, which on closer inspection was made out of umbrellas:

'Tis the season....!

That was my attempt at the infamous Coke ad that is played this time every year. Once I hear that I know Christmas is just around the corner!

And with December comes the tree! I was round at my boyfriends house last night to help him decorate the tree. He is just a big kid when it comes to Christmas and would bedeck his entire house if he had the funds for it! So when it comes to the tree - 'the bigger the better' is his motto....and he did himself proud this year. When I walked in and the monstrosity in his living room I couldn't stop laughing - WAAAAY too big for his room, with the tip almost touching the ceiling! But saying that....it does now look perfect:


xxx

What a treat! I had shown my little blog to Kelly, my work mate, who started salavating over my Pesto Salmon post and decided to try out my simple method. Today she greeted me by showing me this photo:

Almost December folks! Not long until Christmas! And I am (slightly smug-ly) delighted to say that I have almost ALL my Christmas presents bought! This has got to be a record for me, I am normally only just starting at this point in the year. Perhaps it is the influence of my very organised boyfriend, or perhaps it is because my parents are jetting off to spend Christmas in Australia and I had to get their presents bought before they left. Probably a bit of both.

So I thought I would share a few snaps of some of the presents I have bought. The receivers don't know about this blog so there is no danger of them peaking!

I know I kind of intended for this blog to be about crafty stuff, but to be honest it's turning into an 'all things I love' blog instead! Thats why I've posted a load of photos (since I love photography) and why I am now posting a bit about cooking (oh, and I have my banana bread post too!).

I love fish, but I have to admit that I find it a bit daunting to cook. You have to cook it for EXACTLY the right amount of time otherwise its either under- or over-done! But my mum introduced me to a brilliantly easy way to cook a fillet of salmon that gets its beautifully cooked everytime.

Place the fillet into a shallow bowl and add whatever 'flavourings' you would like. In the photo below I have opted for a little drizzle of olive oil, a crushed clove of garlic and then a spread of pesto over the fillet. However, my favourite additions include sesame oil, garlic, ginger, chilli and soya sauce for a lovely asian twist. Cover the bowl in cling film and pierce an few holes. You will then want to get the rest of your dinner ready as this cooking is done super fast! Once you think everything else is almost ready, bung the salmon into the microwave for a max of 3 mins on high (check after 2 just to be on the safe side) and you will get a perfectly moist, steamed salmon fillet that tastes divine!

2 posts in one day - go me!

This post is just a group of photos from around my house of all the lovely red things I have. My kitchen and living room are red white and black and I get a little carried away buying lovely things for it - if its red and white spots I LOVE IT! Its actually turning into a bit of an obssession....and Im getting slightly concerned!

I think I had said I would post these pics a while back, but I have only gotten round to taking the photos now! Anyway. When I got my lovely sewing machine from my dear kind parents (keeping them sweet in case they ever read this blog! lol), I realised I would be best to have a dedicated space for it to live - and the spare room was the obvious choice. Except as you can see it was a bit of a mess:


xxx

I realised that I never put up a close-up photo of my new sewing machine, so here is it:

Well I thought it was about time that I attempted to use my sewing machine! My mum, bless her, was very excited about the whole situation and scurried off to her sewing room and came back with a 'make your very first skirt kit' (Lettie Wilson Copyright 2009 - lol, joke!) where she basically gathered up every thing I might need to make a skirt.

So, now that I have tidied my spare room, put up my new desk and officially have NO excuse not to start (I'll put up a 'before' and 'after' shot of the room soon) I have to start on the skirt.

First step...read the instructions. Think I got two words in before I was completely LOST! Dressmaking patterns are not written in English! It was like reading a foreign language. But I was determined to at least START the whole project....so I have pinned all the pattern pieces to the material and cut the pieces out. And I shall be making a visit to casa Wilson for a translation of the instructions so that I can actually start sewing everything together! But it's a start!