As A Passenger.

Here's a fun fact; I've never been able to drive.  My parents never had a car when I was growing up and the town I lived in in England was a place where you could walk everywhere.  I used to walk to and from work, into town and home again, to the supermarket and back.  Not that my town was little as such, but it was small enough that needing a car wasn't really necessary and I loved it.

Moving to America and being in a town so much bigger, having a car is a given.  You need one to get places, if you want to go to a different town or state and sometimes even getting to the supermarket needs a car.  It's a weird concept for me, as not only can I not drive (I have no driver's license in England or America) but I've never spent quite as much time in a car as I have since moving.  I'm getting used to it, slowly, and I'm actually quite enjoying being a passenger as it means I get to gaze out of the window and enjoy the scenery.  Here are some of the pictures I've taken in my time as a front seat passenger.

I really need to convince S to take me to see the Crayola Attractions - has anyone been?  Every time we drive past this sign I say 'We're going to go there one day!'.  Being someone who's a bit of a stationery junkie, the idea of going somewhere dedicated to Crayola is so exciting!

Do you drive or do you walk everywhere?  I love how convenient a car is but I absolutely love going for a long walk too and I don't want to become too reliant on being driven around.  I hope you are having a great week and have exciting things planned for your weekend!

Love, K.

It Snowed. Again.

See that?  With the howling winds and the powdery fine snow, our deck is covered in a whole foot of it!  I've never seen snow this deep before, especially two lots so close to one another!  I hear that there might be even more snow next week, due to another polar vortex.  That sounds like it should be a movie on the SciFi channel.

So when it's ridiculously cold outside and there is snow everywhere, what to do?  Personally, my two favourite things to do to keep me toasty are baking and crafting and I did both of those things today!

I saw this great post over on Beks' blog and I just had to bake a loaf of bread.  I baked rolls last year and I figured it was time to give a proper loaf a go.  I haven't baked bread from scratch in years, not since I was in school.  I followed this recipe and adjusted it so that I'd be making one loaf, waited impatiently for my dough to rise and excitedly pulled it out of the oven, hoping against hope that it hadn't burned on the bottom.

It turned out beautifully!  I love that little 'knock knock' on the bottom, the hollow sound that tells you it's properly cooked.  I'm letting it cool a little before slicing it and I'll wait until S gets home from work to serve it toasted with lots of butter, yum!

I also finally finished the throw/blanket/big crocheted circle I've been working on for ages!  I noticed last night when I was in bed that even though the heating was on, I still felt a little bit chilly (I'm not used to this cold weather, I need me some sunshine and heat!) so I thought that today I'd get it all done and snuggle up under it tonight!

I'm so pleased that I got it finished and that it actually turned out pretty well!  I'm also jazzed that it's so big; the stars at the left of the picture mark the bottom of our bed and the stars on the right are where our pillows are.  It very almost is the same width as our bed too, so I know that it's going to be a nice, warm, cosy extra layer while we battle through the super cold nights.  It doesn't match anything else in our house and I love it!  And since it's all finished, I can officially say that one of my 'home crafts' for the year is complete!  Woo!

Is it snowing where you are?  What's the weather like?  I'd love to know what you've been up to this week!

Love, K.

Easy Days.

With the little "heatwave" over, the weather sure has turned cold again in this part of the world.  The wind is biting, cutting through the million layers I wear when I go out and the skies are grey.  While it's not so good for getting around, running errands or taking trips out, this weather is good for staying inside, cosied up with a good read and snuggled under a warm blanket.

My first book for this year just had to be 'Beowulf and the Finnesburg Fragment'.  When I was at university, I tried to take a huge variety of courses, wanting to immerse myself in all different writing styles and cultures.  I took both Greek and Norse mythology in my second year and it was fascinating to read such intricate, vivid literature.  One of the required texts was 'Beowulf' and I absolutely love the edition I bought to accompany the course.  It has that wonderful 'old book' smell and while it's a little battered, it's certainly well-loved.

A good read has to be enjoyed with a good snack and I found these completely adorable skull and bones candies.  They were so much fun to munch on as I followed the adventures of Beowulf and all his famous battles.  If you haven't read it, I'd highly recommend doing so, as the animated movie doesn't do the story justice.  It's a really rich, beautiful work.

I've also been doing really well keeping up with my goal of 3 hours of exercise per week and while I enjoy a bit of Just Dance to get my heart pumping, I've rediscovered a lost love for yoga.  I find that it doesn't matter what time of day I do it, I feel refreshed and energised and so at peace after a session, especially when I practice it for half an hour or so.

Have you been enjoying some rest and relaxation?  Do you enjoy mythology from other cultures?  Do you have any suggestions for my next read?  I hope you're having a wonderful day and you've got awesome plans for this week!

Love, K.

Recipe #1 - Oat Bars.

I thought I'd start off easy with my recipe goal this year and make something that requires little-to-no cooking.  Yes, that is me being a little bit lazy but I figured it would be better to use up the ingredients in my cupboards first!  And when you have a bunch of oats, chocolate chips and peanut butter, you make oat bars.  Naturally.

This is all it takes to make yourself some truly scrumptious oat bars.  They're not super healthy for you, granted, but I'm sure you could make them healthier if you substituted some of the ingredients.  I used about a cup of peanut butter, half a cup of honey, half a cup of butter, two cups of oats, a cup of chocolate chips and a cup of coconut flakes.

The first thing I did was melt together the peanut butter, honey and butter.  I did this over a low heat while stirring as this stuff can burn pretty easily, so keep your eye on it.  Once it had all combined into a smooth mixture, I took it off of the heat and dumped in my chocolate chips.

I was convinced they weren't all going to melt as the mixture wasn't all that hot but after some perseverance and lots of stirring, they all melted beautifully.  Then it was time to add the oats and the coconut!

The mixture does get pretty sticky and I had to dig down deep to make sure that it was all thoroughly combined.  This would be a good point to add some chopped fruit or nuts if that tickles your fancy.

I pressed the mixture into two little Pyrex dishes, about four inches by six inches roughly.  The layer was about half an inch thick.  I left them in the fridge for a few hours to set and then cut each rectangle into 8 bite-size pieces.  It would be wise to grease your dish lightly before you put the mix in; I didn't and it took a fair bit of wiggling and prying to get them both out in one piece!

They are very, very rich.  You only need one little piece to feel satisfied, too much and you'd start to feel sick!  They taste lovely, I'll definitely be making them again only next time I'll be putting in lots of dried fruit (I think apricots and cranberries would really suit it).  I'm so pleased with how they turned out and they've been a big hit with S!

Have you made anything delicious this weekend?  I hope that whatever your plans, you're having a wonderful time.

Love, K.

It's Friday! #9

It has felt like the craziest week.  We've been out and about so much it's almost like we haven't been at home!  We've eaten out at a fancy Italian restaurant -

S' meatballs with tricolour pasta

My chicken with orzo, spinach and mozzarella

I ate my first ever stromboli, which was stuffed with cheese and pepperoni (I know, so healthy) -

I had lots of fun scouring the racks at Macy's during the sale and picked up two new sweaters -

And now I'm ready for a relaxing weekend with S at home!  I love being busy, having places to go and people to spend time with, but after a week like that I just want to hang out at home, watch the football on Sunday and take it super easy.

What exciting, busy things did you get up to this week?  What are your plans for the weekend?  Whatever they are, I hope you have a great one!

Love, K.

It's Friday! #8

This week, Friday is dedicated to the celebration of potatoes.  I love potatoes in pretty much any form; whether they are slowly baked in their jackets or sliced to make chips (both English and American kinds) they are one of my ultimate comfort foods.

Mashed potatoes remind me of home. They're nostalgic in the sense that they are the epitome of feeling comforted, cosy and full. I remember eating it as a child with fish fingers and chops, fluffy white clouds of mash with butter and milk, creamy and delicious. In more recent times, my parents would serve it with rich beef casseroles or with cold sliced meats and pickles, or with one of my favourites Toad In The Hole (Yorkshire pudding and chipolata sausages and heaps of gravy and veggies). The thought of it even now makes my mouth water.

When I moved to America, I honestly didn't think I'd miss mashed potatoes. There are so many different ways to prepare and serve the humble spud, what difference would it make to miss one out? The answer was a huge one; I missed sprinkling it with a pinch of salt and pepper, heaping it onto my fork, slicing spring onions to mix into it. But I was without a potato masher and cheap as they are, getting one wasn't high on my priority list.  So my Mum got one for me, as a special Christmas gift.

When I opened it on Christmas morning, my heart did a little happy dance; finally, I'd be able to make smooth, creamy, delicious mashed potatoes!  It's a miracle invention, taking all the hard work out of mashing by being spring loaded and having a built-in ricer to ensure all the lumps are completely gone.

I eagerly boiled my potatoes and added a healthy splash of milk and some butter, to give it that extra scrumptious taste.  Then I set to work and wow.  I had created completely smooth mashed potatoes in less than two minutes.  Seriously, it was that easy.  I couldn't wait to tuck in!

Needless to say, dinner went down a treat that night.  With some chicken and veggies in a soup-sauce, it was simply divine.  My first bite of mash actually made me smile, as though I hadn't eaten it for years.  It's so hearty and filling, now I find myself searching for other mash-related recipes, not only because it's so tasty but because I can't wait to use my masher again!

What food always brings you comfort when you eat it?  Do you like mashed potatoes?  If you do, I'd love to know how you prepare them and what you serve them with.

Love, K.

Goals For 2014.

Writing a list of goals for the coming year is one of my favourite things to do.  I love how the start of a year is like a clean slate, a new beginning full of possibilities and ways to achieve great things.  When I write my list, I like to look back at things I've succeeded in over the past few years and also to spice it up with some new things so it doesn't get monotonous and repetitive.

I love my list for 2014.  I'm going to immerse myself in books and recipes, see more of the world and be creative.  I'm going to take care of my body, make it better and stronger and appreciate the time I get to spend with S when he isn't working.  I hope that this year will be one where I can look back and say 'Wow, I really achieved everything I set out to!'.  Wouldn't that be an incredible feeling?

For Christmas 2012, my parents bought me this great little Line A Day diary, which lasts for five whole years.  I'm so proud to say that I wrote in it every single day of 2013 and I plan to do the same for this year.  It's already been nice to look back and remember what I was doing this time last year and see how much things have changed in my life.  S and I have also set ourselves a little joint goal, in the form of a five-year Q & A a day journal.  We each get two lines to answer the question asked on each day, which has been so much fun already and is something we do before going to sleep.

You can see how much wear my personal journal has had over the past year!  I've written diaries and kept journals for as long as I can remember and I don't think I'll ever stop.  It's exciting to think that this year S and I will be keeping a journal together, something we can look back on as we embark on our first year properly together.

Do you keep a journal?  I've seen so many amazing resolutions posts over the last few days that I couldn't resist putting mine up now.  Good luck to everyone who has made goals for 2014 - let's inspire each other to keep going and achieve them all!

Love, K.

It's Friday! #7

This was the view from my kitchen window last night.  The howling wind made the fine, powdery snow pile up into deep drifts and stick to everything, even the windows.

It looked so pretty coming down, especially when the wind gusted and blew the loose snow into the air, making it dense and difficult to see outside.  It carried on all night, the worst of it being between midnight and 4 a.m.

This is what we woke up to this morning.  Look at that snow!  I've never seen snow this deep before, at least not that I can remember.  The weather forecast said we were likely to get between 6-9 inches and I think we probably did.  Everything looks so lovely but I know that snow this deep is going to cause problems for a few days.  S had to go out to work this afternoon, promising to drive safe and be careful.  I worry.

No sitting down outside today!  Thank goodness the storm warning is over for now but we're looking at some more snow on Tuesday, potentially.  I hear that it's going to get warmer over the weekend so fingers crossed this snow doesn't cause too many problems.

How's the weather where you are?  Are you bundled up in the cold or basking in warmer temperatures?

Love, K.