Tea Stains and Daisy Chains

Unique Christmas Gifts for Book Lovers

12:34

I went to a fireworks display earlier this month, during which the man with the loud-speaker told us to "look up". As we all turned our heads to the sky in anticipation, he added that he's found this a pretty good motto to live by. For some reason, this lighthearted comment has really stuck with me, so much so that I decided to include it in this blog post!

Don't worry, I'm not going to go all philosophical on you and start analysing the meaning of life or anything. No, instead I'm just going to share a bit about what's going on in my world at the moment. (This is definitely totally relevant and related because things are looking up, okay?). I get that this might not be particularly interesting for you as a reader, but I do like to include a variety of posts on my blog, with some offering practical tips and others being a bit more diary-like.

Two weeks ago, it was the first time in probably about two years that I was out every single night of the week. For lots of people my age (and any other age, come to think of it), doing something other than watching TV every evening is no big deal. But considering that pretty much all of my friends are at uni and I've spent most of this 'second' gap year sitting at home with the parents, this was a fairly momentous event.

I started the week by going along to the fifth or sixth session of the Alpha Course. For those of you who aren't sure whether this is a new language or some sort of fitness regime (when I told someone the other week, they replied by letting me know that their friend was doing Tough Mudder...), the Alpha Course is basically a series of talks and discussions about the fundamentals of the Christian faith . You may have seen posters outside churches asking 'What's the point?'; these would have been advertising the course. It's essentially a place where anyone, regardless of their beliefs (or lack of), can find out more and ask questions in a safe environment about God and the church. Having grown up in a Christian family, I've found it really useful being around non-Christians who are staring from square one, as well as those who have a really solid faith. It's been encouraging to hear other people raising the same questions and doubts that I've always had floating around in the back of my mind. Plus, it's free and we get food, so everyone's happy.

During the week, I had training for my new job at a bar in the centre of town. I'm not entirely sure what possessed me to choose an insanely popular and busy bar for my pint-pulling debut, but I'm telling myself that we need a challenge every now and then. I witnessed the throng of 21+'s a couple of Fridays ago, as I had my first weekend shift behind the bar. Beforehand, I was absolutely terrified and was shaking as though I was about to sit an oral language exam (my worst nightmare: why I thought I wanted to do French at uni I'll never know). But when I actually arrived and got going, it was no way near as bad as I'd imagined. Having to remember all the cocktails and being able to serve the different drinks at about one thousand miles per hour has definitely forced me onto a very steep learning curb, but I'm hoping that things will start to be a bit more enjoyable once I feel like I sort of know what I'm doing!

Now that I've got two jobs (and one of them involves ridiculous hours!), I've decided that I want to spend some of my money on getting myself insured on my mum's little KA. For me, being able to drive is literally the best thing ever, so I'm a very happy bunny. It's also great to feel as though I'm a bit more independent and don't have to cycle to the gym in the pouring rain or rely on my parents to come and collect me from work at 2am!

So that's pretty much my life at the moment. Although things seem to have suddenly picked up a bit, I'm still trying to fit in reading, art and writing into my week (not always successfully). But I'm not complaining, because about half a year ago I was doing literally nothing and definitely wasn't happy about it!

Life's good when it's full.

Harriet x

advice

Making Time for Art

17:42

book

To read or not to read- Emma

16:10

Happy Sunday! Sorry I haven't blogged in a while. But, as I said in my last post, I don't want this to feel like a chore, so I'm back now because I felt like it!

You may remember the 'BBC Top 100 Books Challenge' I've been doing in preparation for my English Lit degree (which I have now officially applied for, woo!) Well, I've decided that I don't want to restrict what I read to just one list, so I'm pushing the boat out and am just going to read whatever I fancy! I thought it was a bit silly to confine myself, seeing as there are so many books I've always wanted to read. I'm still going to be documenting my really brief thoughts on each book, but it's not going to be under the 'BBC Top 100 Books List' title anymore (see new and exciting graphic above!).

So I've just finished Jane Austen's Emma, which was a really fun read. I'm still not really sure whether or not I liked Emma as a character, something that was evidently foreseen by Austen when she wrote to a friend saying that Emma is "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like". But the truth is, I couldn't really help but like her. While she's a fairly spoilt and self-righteous young woman, she's also just a 21 year-old girl who makes mistakes, falls in love and meddles in other people's business. As well as this, Austen cleverly uses free indirect speech, which means that the narrative is told from Emma's perspective in the third person, while Austen still hold the reigns as the narrator. This is incredibly effective, as we can sympathise and identify with Emma, at the same time as benefiting from Austen's hilarious wit and way with words.

All in all, Emma is one of those classics you just have to read. If you've read Pride and Prejudice, then you'll fine that this is really similar, only funnier, and that Emma is a little more complex and developed than Elizabeth Bennet. (Not to put a downer on P&P though- yet another of Austen's masterpieces!).

I've got a stack of books to choose from next, so not sure what it will be yet. Any suggestions from English Lit students would be very much appreciated!

Harriet x

Autumn

Autumn (non) Essentials- Things to Eat (Part One)

20:27

So, the plan is to do the 'Things to Eat' section in parts, seeing as a post with three recipes on would probably be a bit too long (and boring).

I know I said these were going to be seasonal recipes, but that may be slightly tenuous I'm afraid. The first recipe I'm going to share is for 'Peanut Butter & Jam Pinwheel Cookies', which I'd like to rename 'Catherine Wheel Cookies', in preparation for Bonfire Night (come one now, that's a reasonable link to Autumn, right?).

These are from The Hummingbird Bakery's 'Home Sweet Home' recipe book, which is full of some truly amazing bakes, although some of them do need A LOT of ingredients!

What you will need for the cookies:

2 x pieces of baking parchment (each about 38 x 25cm)
60g smooth raspberry or strawberry jam
1 tsp cornflour (you may have some hidden in a cupboard somewhere as it's often used for thickening gravy)
100g unsalted butter, softened (stick it in the microwave for 10-20 secs)
100g smooth peanut butter (I doubt it would do any harm if it were crunchy, if that's all you've got)
180g caster sugar
1 egg
2 tbsp milk (preferably full-fat)
340g plain flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/4 tsp salt

How to make the cookies:

1. Mix the jam and the cornflour together in a small bowl until the flour has dissolved. This shouldn't take very long at all.

2. Cream the butter, peanut butter and the sugar together until light and fluffy. You can do this by hand if you don't have a freestanding or handheld whisk, but it will be hard work if your butter's not soft enough.

3. Using a sieve, add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt. Then mix slowly (using the whisk if possible) until you have a dough.

4. Now place the dough in the centre of one piece of your prepared baking parchment and spread out slightly with your hands. Put the other piece of paper on top and roll out using a rolling pin, so that the dough is sandwiched between the two sheets. Don't worry if your dough isn't perfectly rectangular, but the better it is, the less wastage you'll get at the ends.

5. Spread the jam evenly over the dough to form a thin layer.

6. The next thing you need to do is roll it up like a swiss roll. To do this, carefully loosen the edge of the dough on one of the long sides and use the paper to push it into a roll. Seal the seam and wrap the whole thing it clingfilm. Place it in the fridge for a few hours to harden up. (I didn't actually do this because I'm really impatient and it was still fine, but I think it made my biscuits less circular).

7. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and line a couple of baking trays with parchment.

8. Slice your (hopefully) set roll into 2cm thick sections and place on the trays, about 5cm apart.

9. Bake for 10-12 minutes until golden brown and allow to cool before serving.

All that's left to do now is light the bonfire/ campfire/ candle and hand these delicious Catherine Wheels round with steaming cups of tea. Alternatively, just scoff a couple yourself in front of a good film.

Harriet x

blog

Blogging tips: What to do...

19:40

You know those days when you just can't be bothered? When you'd much rather be doing something else, like lying down or eating Ben & Jerry's out of the tub? They suck. I should know, because I'm having one of those days today (which makes this a struggle and also fairly hypocritical, but who says you have to actually listen to your own advice anyway?).

It's not that you haven't got any ideas. In fact, what makes things even worse is that you have got lots of ideas, but you just don't feel like it. If you're anything like me, then on those days there's this irritating voice inside your head telling you you must write that blog post/ article/ comment NOW, otherwise bad things will happen. If you don't do it today then that's it, everyone will think you've lost interest in your 'passion' and have given up on this writing lark.

I'm sure there are loads of blog posts out there that would give you (and me) some really useful tips on how to boost the motivation levels. If you really need to get that piece done (maybe there's a deadline or you're a pro blogger or something), then perhaps you do need something inspirational to help you get your head down. But if not, and you just blog or contribute to online magazines for fun, then the 'fun''s kind of gone if you're having to force it.

Even though I only have 2 followers on Blogger and not many more on Bloglovin' (hint hint), I still find myself feeling under pressure to keep my blog regularly updated. But when I start feeling stressed about it, I remind myself that I'm doing this because I enjoy it, so if one day I don't feel like blogging, that's fine. And although it's important to be committed, if I'm not in the mood for writing an article, then it's not the end of the world if I give this one a miss.

So, you've decided to give yourself a day off. What now? Do you sit around feeling guilty and wishing you were as motivated and inspired as so-and-so? Possibly, but don't. Do something else you enjoy. Or, if you still want to keep things blog-related, take photos or plan future posts. But, if you just want to completely forget about it for a while, then go for it; you'll probably find that when you come back to it you feel totally re-energised.

If all else fails, then I suppose you could just write a blog post about what to do when you're not in the mood for writing...

Harriet x

It's been a while

Unique Christmas Gifts for Book Lovers

Look Up

Making Time for Art

To read or not to read- Emma

Autumn (non) Essentials- Things to Eat (Part One)

Blogging tips: What to do...

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