christmas yummies three and giveaway winners!

Hello all! Once again I have been a bad blogger and keep disappearing! But with my holiday hampers I just haven't been out of my kitchen!

Today is the day I pick out the winners of my crafty giveaway from my lovely hat :) and I am very pleased to announce that the three winners are......
LissyLou
Emma-Jayne
&
Rachel
I shall be messaging you ladies to get your addresses and will be posting on tuesday!

Today is also due for another yummy recipe! So far I can honestly say my nougart attempt was an utter disaster! But the chutney went very well :) And I have also made this recipe too which is very easy and VERY yummy!

Chicken Liver Pate

You will need......
220g/8oz butter
1 onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
450g/1lb chicken livers, trimmed and cut in half
1 tbsp brandy
1tsp mustard powder
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf, to garnish
2-3 fresh cranberries, to garnish

1. Melt 110g/4oz of the butter in a pan over a medium heat, then add the onion and fry until softened, but not coloured

2.Add the garlic and chicken livers and fry the livers until golden-brown all over and cooked through. Add the brandy and mustard powder and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3.Place the liver mixture and 55g/2oz of the remaining butter into a food processor and blend until smooth. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

4.Transfer the pâté into a serving ramekin or small dish and decorate with a couple of cranberries and a bay leaf.

5.Melt the remaining 55g/2oz of butter in a clean pan. Skim off the froth and pour the butter over the pâté. Transfer to the fridge to chill, then serve from the ramekin when ready.

(I have taken photo's of my Pate but unfortunately my camera cable is missing! photo's will follow shortly :) )

christmas yummies two!

Hello all! It's time for another very delayed christmas recipe!
Sorry it's been a couple of weeks! I fell over on the ice a couple of weeks ago and bruised my coccyx, it has been far too painful to sit still long enough to blog since! But it is feeling much better now and so I can share another recipe with you all :). This particular one I will be making myself tomorrow!!


Spicey cranberry Chutney

30 grams dried apricots finely chopped
110g brown sugar (recipe does not specify what type so I will be using soft brown!)
80g raisins
235ml water
285g fresh cranberries
1 granny smith apple, peeled cored and chopped
2g grated lemon zest
60ml fresh lemon juice
20g chopped crystallised ginger
2g red pepper flakes

1. In a saucepan, combine apricots, brown sugar, raisins and water and bring to boil.

2. Reduce heat to simmer and continue to stir for 5 minutes.

3. Stir in cranberries, apple and lemon zest and simmer for another 10 minutes

4. Stir lemon juice, ginger and pepper flakes into the mixture before removing from heat.

5. Portion into sterilized jars and allow to cool

I'm really looking forward to this one, i picked up all of my ingredients today and they smell yummy!

Also I have managed to gather some lovely goodies to pop in with the giveaways for the lucky winners! So if you haven't signed up to join in already then what are you waitiing for? hehe :D

Christmas yummies!

Well now this year I have decided to do something a little different :) every year I have the daunting task of christmas shopping, trying to find things to buy for all of my family and friends! And when you don't have a clue what they want it can sometimes be rather tricky!
But this year due to lack of pennies, I have decided that christmas shall be handmade! And I couldn't be more excited to get started! :D
I have decided that for parents and brothers I will make a nice little hamper full of yummy christmas food! And I thought I would share a few recipe's with you over the next few days :) so for today!

Peppermint nougart!!

You will need.....
900g granulated sugar
300g corn syrup
3 large egg whites
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract
6 drops red food colouring

1. Oil a 9" by 9" pan and a spoon and set aside. Combine sugar and corn syrup in a medium saucepan with 175ml water and cook over medium heat for about 20 minutes, or until mixture reaches 260 degrees if you have a good thermometer!

2. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks in a large bowl using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed. Reduce speed to medium and slowly pour sugar mixture into egg whites. Add peppermint and continue to beat until mixture is very thick and fluffy, about 12 minutes.

3. Immediately transfer to prepared pan and smooth using back of oiled spoon. Dot surface with red food coloring and drag a skewer through to create a marbled effect. Let stand at room temperature until firm, about 2 hours. Slice into 1-inch squares.

Alternatively you can dollop the mixture onto a baking sheet and sprinkle on grated chocolate, yummy :D
(I am going to start making all of my recipe's from next week, but if you beat me to it be sure to let me know how yours turn out!)

crafty giveaway!

Well as my last post was such a long one I thought I'd make a new one especially for this :). Over the past week I have been clearing through all of my crafty bits and pieces and have decided I have way way way too much!! So rather than throwing it all out, I decided it should all go to people who will put it all to good use :D and that's where you come in!
I have all sorts, from raw wool tops, card toppers, letterpress and balls of wool! Plus much more besides :) I easily have enough to gift out to at least 3 people :) but I decided we should make this a little more fun!
So I shall be making 3 packages, with a mixture of crafty bits and of course some little goodies just for good measure! All you need to do to be in with a chance of winning is follow my blog and leave a comment on this post :D And if you post my button on your blog I will enter you twice! Yay!

I will be picking the winners from a hat on the 18th December :) good luck!

another come back!

Hey all! Sorry it's been so long since my last post, a little ray of sunshine had started to peek through our grey clouds, only to be covered over again with a huge thunderstorm!
Our shiny new (all be it second hand) renault clio turned out to be a scam, and within 2 weeks it also died. At the moment we are still trying to scrimp and save to find out exactly what is wrong with the car and if we can afford to fix it (so long the garage has given us a list as long as our arms of things it needs replacing!) and then the gentleman who was meant to be buying our vectra pulled out, meaning we had to stump up the very last of our money to pay back his deposit.
All of this coupled with the christmas rush at work, which consists of screaming crying customers coming in mad busy waves all through the day.
Then our gorgeous little kitty cat Jinx went missing and everything seemed to be falling appart.

Fortunately a week later little Jinxy came strolling back in as cool as a cucumber, not knowing how much he had me worried, especially after losing 2 cats in the past 2 years already! At the time this was a very small consolation as we still had bills coming out our ears and only one income. But 2 weeks ago something wonderful happened, and worked much better than anything the doctor could have given me to make me happy again :)

Yep! Kirstie's Homemade home! It sounds mental I know but I am a control freak and had lost a grip on every part of my life. My only release used to be crafting, but with so much stress I hadn't done anything creative in nearly 6 months! But one hour of beautiful things and lots of inspiration, I started to get itchy fingers to reach for a crochet hook.
A few weeks on and I finally decided it was time to stop sulking and start making! The last episode was such an inspiration to me and has had me happily scribbling up plans for our garden and how to do up the house without having to spend a fortune.
And best of all, as my biggest worry for quite some time has been money, and how will I ever afford christmas? I now have a full list of gifts I plan to make for all of my friends and family :D meaning I can save lots of pennies and still give a gift full of thought and love!

I have also decided to have a major clear out, as thanks to my diet I have now lost a stone and a half and am in need of a total wardrobe makeover :). So to make space I am having a huge clear out on ebay to make some pennies to go towards some shiny new rags!

And where better to go at this time of year than the clothes show!! I'm going next friday with the lovely Helen from work and can't wait :) Will be sure to show off any goodies I find!

I'm sorry this has been such a long post! I'm going to go and catch up with all of the lovely blogs I have been missing for the past few weeks!
Hugs and Kisses
Ness xxx

all systems go!!

Well today I feel like i've taken a bunch of these :) As you all know the past few months have been abit of a nightmare! But at last everything is starting to fall in to place :) Mr and Mr S have decided that we don't want to be apart and have agreed to put more effort in to time together! Also, after the death of our lovely car a few months ago, and trying desperately to save up to get it fixed we have decided to give up, and so have sold our lovely new vectra for an older renault clio :) which looks pretty much identical to this!

Infact I am going to go and pick up the little beauty in an hour :) huzzah!
Also on friday I was very excited to recieve a great big parcel from Mr Postman! It was my marvelous swap from Vintage Vicki and was jam-packed with goodies!

Everything was wrapped in lovely orange tissue, with a pretty card, sweeties and halloween sequins for good measure :D

I absolutely love everything i recieved :) which included a GORGEOUS hand made witch dolly! A super sweet cath kidston mug with a tin :D Some sweeties, some hot chocolate sachets, a pretty mushroom keyring, some home made jam, some socks, mini marshmallows, a notebook, a casserole and stew cook book, some chocolate, and a yummy candle!

Thank you Vicki :D xxx

busy busy busy!

Hello lovelies! Phew I have been pretty quiet on here for the past week and a half, as I have been snowed under with things to do! I've had a lovely time going around various shops and places trying to find all manner of goodies. I have recently taken part in Crafty helen's pumpkin swap and have had a great time picking up lovely bits and pieces for my lovely partner Vicki.I hope she likes all the goodies! I'm also planning a big halloween party this year and have had to start from scratch finding all kinds of different decorations and tableware! I am most definately super excited :D

On another note, this beautiful little bear could go to a very lucky winner in aid of cancer awareness UK. For a chance of winning her pop over to sew special bears.

diet progress

Well as of tomorrow it will have been two weeks since starting my rosemary conley diet, and i am pleased to announce that so far I have lost 9lbs :D which is very impressive to say I have not been following the food plan or doing as much exercise! I am now a size 12 and have managed to get my waist down to 29 inches :) very very happy! I still have another 3 weeks to go and am definately going to up my game to try and keep the weight loss up! My goal is to lose another stone and then buy myself something pretty to wear for christmas :)

To a wonderful lady

The wonderful Coco Rose aka Vanessa (best name in the world by the way ;) lol!) has Been kind enough to give me this wonderful award! Vanessa has been so lovely to me and is a genuinely amazing lady :) so this is a big thanks!!
Right now time for the award game :) apparently I now need to tell you all 7 things about little old me that you didn't know! So here it goes! :D

1. Growing up I was always a tomboy, being the only girl with two big brothers meant I used to love nothing more than climbing trees and getting dirty :) I still act like a total boy in many aspects of life! Although now I'm getting older I am definately a big fan of all things pink and fluffy :D

2. Up until the beginning of this year I had NEVER tried carrot cake! I have always been a very very fussy eater, and was never convinced by carrots in cake! However after making it for a friend I have become hooked :) it in now my firm favourite, even more than chocolate! :O

3. i LOVE flowers! Growing up I always wanted my own garden where I could grow all manner of flowers and fruit and veggies :D Unfortunately now I do have my own garden, the evil neighbour at the end of our garden has blocked out all of our sunlight with his evil 25ft hedges! Boo!!

4. As I mentioned earlier I have always been a very fussy eater, and there is nothing I hate more than mushrooms! The main thing that puts me off foods is the texture, and there is just nothing to like for me about mushrooms! The only time they make it into my dinner is if they are chopped and diced to itsy bitsy teeny weeeeeeny pieces!!

5. I am a total horror movie buff! I have been a big fan of horror since a very young age :) I just do not scare! I see all new horror movies as a challenge to see if they creep me out :P

6. I am a metal head :) I may love all things pink and pretty, and may love my home to look like the love child of laura ashley and cath kidston! But deep down I love nothing more than having a good rock session :D although the majority of the time I do listen to the milder side of rock ;) I especially love dokken, journey and the scorpions!

7. And finally I am peter pan! Well the lady version of course :P I never ever grew up! Deep down I am just a big kid, nothing makes me happier than being surrounded by sweets and cuddly toys! I am especially in love with all things sanrio, or anything over-cute ;)
And now that you all know about the weird and wonderful world of ness, I must pick another 5 lovely blogs to pass this award on to :) and they are...........
Are we nearly there yet?
Kelly's recipes for life
Florence and Mary
Fondant Kiss
Crafty Helen @ home

I heart Jam Tart

Today I decided to treat myself to a little retail therapy after a pretty stressful week :) my first purchase was this yummy yummy jug from jam tart. This particular jug was actually for sale at one of my local favourite shops, and the best part was it was reduced from £25 to £16 :D yay!
Jam tart do lots of lovely lovely things :) here's a couple of my other favourite jam tart designs :)

I have a bit of a crazy obsession with storage jars, i just can't get enough :D

This lovely design is actually a tea towel! And it's in the sale :D wow!

I also went in to T K MAXX to treat myself to a new leather jacket :D it's not exactly the same as the one in the photo, but it is lovely! I also brought the most gorgeous long brown woolen coat. It's a little too big for me, but it is so comfortable i feel like a princess in it! Will get some photo's when it's not raining so much outside! Thanks to all you wonderful ladies who have sent me your wishes and comments, I appreciate it so much and you have all made me feel so much better :) I love you all! xxx

feeling down :(

Just when things were picking up, everything has come crashing back down again! This past week has been a nightmare and I am in need of a SERIOUS pick-me-up! I have been feeling very very poorly for the past few days, i feel dizzy and sweaty and achy all the time :( so I have taken 2 days off work to try and get myself fighting fit again!
Also this weekend I have decided to take a break away from Mr S, and he has moved back in with his mum and dad for a few weeks whilst we work out some problems in our relationship.
********I have removed this part of my post just in case some certain silly people take it the wrong way, not worth it!!********
. So the agenda for the rest of the day? Lots of tea and pretty blog/shop browsing, it always makes me feel better :)

happy inside

I absolutely LOVE this new ikea advert, and had to share it with anyone and everyone who has or hasn't seen it yet :D it's just too cute for words!
Also I have decided to share ONE of my terrible graduation photo's with you all :P

I have a terrible tendancy to ALWAYS pull a silly face whenever i see a camera, this one is the least silly :) me and mr S.
Finally a big sorry to everybody, my blogger has been playing up lately, there are atleast 10 blogs I have commented on only to be faced with a "Problem loading page" message a few mins later :( boo!! x

if i were rich!

Ok so one of my favourite things to do when i'm bored at home, is to trawl through lovely homes for sale on the net!! I love imagining I have millions of pounds and that I could afford any of the ones I see! It is a VERY distant dream, but a little fantasy is always good, so i thought I would share with you some of my dream houses for sale in nottingham!

This Gorgeous house has the most stunning garden, and the room sizes are HUGE!!

I drive past this house all the time on my way through Southwell :) i always slow right down just to stare!! Look at the rooms!!!

This home is so quirky, I love it :D

I loooovvveeee the gardens around this house, and the rooms are incredible!

How about having your own lake?? This one is very modern compared to my usual tastes but i certainly wouldn't turn it down!

How's this for curb appeal!! a great big WOW!

And finally this house is more like a hotel! Just look at all of the photo's, I can't believe i've never noticed this place!
Ahhhhh wouldn't it be lovely to spend just a week in one of these places :) I know what I will be dreaming about tonight!!

new diet starts NOW!

Hello ladies! Well today I officially started the Rosemary Conley inch loss plan with my mum! It's a diet and exercise regime that claims you can loose a stone in a month (wouldn't that be nice?!) Our first meeting was tonight at 7.30, where we were given a little goody bag and our target card. The best things in my bag were firstly the magic measure

It's a regular measure that comes with colour coded clips. You get two of each colour clip, one that doesn't come off once it's closed, and one that does! The point of this is to mark your original measurements all over, so you can see how many inches you've lost :) it seems like a good idea for motivation, we'll see how it goes!

Secondly are these portion pots, you get a little guide to tell you what each pot measures, to help make sure you have the right sized portion! It will make life much easier, but knowing my usual portions i think I will be going hungry a few times in the next couple of weeks, especially as for the first 2 weeks of the plan you can only have 1400 cals a day!!
Not too long ago I did take part in the this morning healthy starts diet. This was a good diet as it was nice to have meals planned out without counting all of the calories. Admittedly i did loose nearly 2 stone on that diet, but I did not get my money's worth as due to matt loosing his job, we couldn't afford to buy any of the groceries we needed for the recipes! Fingers crossed this one is a little more affordable and is easier to stick too :) I will keep you posted on my hopeful weight loss!!

new ideas for my head!

Ok so as some of you may know I have a bit of a thing for colouring my hair :) my most recent favourite was my lovely bright red! Unfortunately the red would only last an average of 2 days!! I loved the colour soooo much, but staining my hands and neck every other day wasn't an option! Another shock was to find that red is even harder to bleach out than black! So for the past couple of months I have been a brunette, and as of 2 weeks ago, I am now an odd gingery blonde!

Not far off this colour! It's not the nicest colour in the world, but it is working progress, as this is the beautiful colour I want to get to!

Isn't it yummy :D but it seems a very distant dream right now!! So far my hair has been bleached 4 times and it is STILL orange!! But it'll all be worth it in the end :D
Also a big thanks for all your messages for my graduation :) it was a lovely day, and being in all the black robes, and having the ceremony in lincoln cathedral felt just like being in harry potter! hehe! Photo's will be coming as soon as dad gives my camera back!