Meringue Girls

I got this fantastic cook book, Meringue Girls Cookbook - Incredible Meringues everybody can make, from my sister's boyfriend for my birthday.  I had never heard of the Meringue Girls, but now I'm pretty much obsessed!

I love the fact that the book is dedicated to 'everyone who dreams of leaving their 9 to 5', and not only are the recipes super tasty looking, the girls are pretty cool themselves!

Over the last few months my aim has been to get back to the roots of cooking and find some classic recipes that I can master and this book has given me the nudge to try my hand at a mastering a good meringue.

I tried this weekend to master the simple chocolate meringue kiss, and was definitely pleased with the result.

I was so pleased that I made another batch on Sunday to take to the bake sale at work on Monday.

Crafty - Paper Tassel Garland

A couple of weeks ago we had a little party for my birthday.  I didn't really want to go all out with a theme or loads of decorations, but I thought it might be fun to make these super easy paper garlands to add a bit of a party feel inside and out.

I've been lusting after this one that Emily has in her office for ages so decided that it might be fun to do something similar for the party.

I had a search online and found some good tutorials like this one on Boho Weddings.

I'm excited about trying more of them with some glittery paper and other colours.  Super glad I'fe figured out how to make them, as they seem to be super expensive to buy online!

Have you every tried making one?  What is your party go to item to dress up the house a bit?

Essie: Sweater Girl

I was so pleased with this gorgeous Essie gel nail vanish that G bought me for my birthday.  It's called 'sweater girl' and came from an online amazon store.

I'm loving the brown/purple colour and it works perfectly for a smart work look.

The Essie gels are affordable and come in fantastic colours, are easy to apply, and mean I get my Essie fix with the longevity of gel!

Burger Brothers, Whitstable

Last weekend was the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, but it was also my birthday.  We headed back to my parents house in Canterbury and spent the whole weekend with friends and family.

On Easter Sunday we headed down to Whitstable for a fantastic meal at Burger Brothers, located at the Coach and Horses, for their Sunday special BBQ and Jazz.

Um, Wow!!! It was like an amazing meat feast, just like you would get in America, but full of flavours and just down the road from home!

Admittedly it is just an ordinary, bog standard pub setting, but actually who doesn't love just chilling in the pub!  It was quite expensive for what it was and you do have to pay for the extra like chips, corn on the cob and beans, but actually you get a pretty big portion of extras, plenty to share between 2.

We ordered nachos and onion rings to start with and OMG, the onion rings were like the size of your face!!

I chose to do the make your own platter for main, so I chose 1/4 ribs, pulled pork and a slice of brisket.  All the meat was so full of flavour and it came with chips and a pot of coleslaw.  I ordered a side of tasty BBQ pit beans with chunks of meat which were very tasty, but I really didn't need that much extra food!

The crazy flavoured milk shakes for pudding were served in fab blue jam jars with hundreds and thousands around the top and tons of whipped cream

I was soooooo uncomfortable when I left after stuffing myself completely, but it was all so tasty I couldn't stop!!!

Countryside Antics

There aren't many things that I love more than spending time outdoors in the countryside.

I am lucky that my parents live on an old apple farm so we have loads of space surrounding us when we head back there.

Last weekend we spend the majority of the weekend outside; clearing it the barn, burning a bonfire, lazing in the sun.

Now that the evenings are longer and the days are warmer being able to get back to the country for the weekend is a real treat.

Are you a country or city person?  What's your favourite thing about the country?