INSPIRING WORDS

23 FEBRUARY 2013

It's been a difficult week for me. I've heard before how stressful buying a house can be, but I never really believed anyone until now. 

In case you hadn't guessed, my boyfriend (Tom) and I are looking to buy our first house. We are first time buyers, desperate to find that perfect house and get ourselves on the property ladder before interest rates go up and property prices rise beyond our budget. The last few weeks have been a never-ending emotional roller-coaster of house viewings and stressful financial decisions. 

After a disappointing viewing early in the week, Thursday came with the promise of perfection - a project house, under budget, and in a near-perfect location. We left our viewing with visions of what we would do to the place and eager to make an offer. I rang as soon as I could the following day, only to find that an offer had been made and accepted by an investor. We were gutted.

Anyway, with a free weekend ahead of me, I had the chance to take stock and snap myself out of my miserable 'nothing ever goes right for me' stupor. So, I decided to do this the only way I know how; by getting creative.

With some encouraging words from friends and family, I have begun to realise that my impatience to nest has been getting the better of me. Despite the fact that things feel miserable right now, I know that another 'perfect' house will come along soon enough - I just need to be patient. So, I thought I needed some inspiration to wake up to in the mornings. I found an old frame and a piece of vellum, and painted that word on it in the hope that it will remind me that good things come to those who wait.

LAZY SUNDAY: BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

23 JANUARY 2014

A few days ago I stumbled across this gorgeous recipe from Smitten Kitchen, and thought it would be perfect for my Sunday breakfast. These little American classics are light and buttery, sort of like traditional English scones. You can make them sweet like these ones, or omit the sugar and have them with savoury toppings like eggs and bacon, or cheese - be adventurous and enjoy!

INGREDIENTS: (makes 12 small biscuits)

280g plain flour
125g chilled unsalted butter
175ml buttermilk
1-2 tbsp caster sugar
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tbsp baking powder

METHOD:

Pre-heat your oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Put all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder) into a large bowl and mix. Cut the butter into small chunks and rub into the flour with your fingertips until the mixture looks like breadcrumbs.

Add the buttermilk and bring together with your hands. The mixture will form sticky clumps before holding its shape. Knead gently until the mixture has formed a dough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and pat down until the dough is roughly 1/2 inch thick. Using a 2 inch cutter, cut out 12 rounds and place on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Bake for 12 minutes until golden brown.

If you don't want to bake all of your biscuits straight away, you can freeze them. Just wrap them individually in cling film once cut, and pop them in the freezer until you need them. They can be baked from frozen, but might just need a couple of extra minutes baking time.

AFTER DARK

18 FEBRUARY 2013

Some people might think it's a little geeky, but I've joined a photography club. The group meets once a month to share tips and techniques, and generally just to appreciate our shared love of photography. Each month we're set a photography challenge to get us thinking creatively, and this month the brief is 'After Dark'. I thought you might like to see what I've been snapping so far, so here's a little taster...

BE MY VALENTINE

14 FEBRUARY 2013

IMAGE ISN'T EVERYTHING

13 FEBRUARY 2013

I love a selfie as much as the next girl, but it is with true sadness that I feel the need to write this post tonight. I watched the news in sheer awe at the extent to which it seems that young girls in this country will go to conform to image stereotypes. The story I witnessed on Newstalk Live, Channel 5, is one in a series of pieces documenting what it is like to be growing up in Britain. The story detailed information gathered from girls as young as 11, giving a more than worrying insight into the lives of our young girls and the pressures they face from their peers and the media. More worrying still, is that the increasingly accessible and addictive social media seems to be compounding the problem.

An invention of pure genius it seemed, social media opened doors that the creators of the internet had never even dreamed of. It allowed people to connect in ways they had never connected before, and gave businesses platforms from which to develop and grow exponentially.  A lot of good things can be said about social media. But it has also brought with it the worst things about the media - the scrutiny and pressure it exerts on individuals - to the forefront of our everyday lives. Unfortunately, this pressure is most concentrated and most damaging to our developing and vulnerable youth. No eleven year old should be considering the use of diet pills or spending 2 hours every morning preening herself to 'picture-perfect' readiness for a day at school. But as social media has become an integral part of their young lives, the pressure to look beautiful, thin and camera-ready in every 'selfie' has become virtually inescapable. Even Facebook began as an image comparison site, hence the name...

I guess what I am really trying to say is that, whilst social media has brought us a wealth of benefits and opportunities, we need to be mindful of the impact it is having on the most vulnerable in our society. Young girls in the throes of emotional and hormonal turmoil, should be nurtured and protected. They should be encouraged to recognise their individual beauty and talents, rather than made to compare themselves to each other using weight, beauty and number of 'likes' on Instagram as  yardsticks. There is more to life than the unnatural image stereotypes created by the media and driven by consumerism. It is only by teaching our young women that they do not need to confirm to these stereotypes that we can hope to limit some of the damage done, and which has been compounded by, the dominance of social media.

LAZY SUNDAY: BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

9 FEBRUARY 2014

It's the last day of the weekend again, boo! What better day then to have some pancakes for breakfast? Once again, Elise Bauer from Simply Recipes has been my saviour, providing this delicious recipe for wonderfully fluffy, American buttermilk pancakes. Thanks, Elise! 

To show you just how simple they are to make, here's the ones I made this morning, mmmm. Enjoy your sunday, everyone!

DIY DECO JEWELLERY HANGER

8 FEBRUARY 2014

I'm so sorry for the long, long silence! I wish I could say I've been doing something exciting, but unfortunately the truth is that the unavoidable call of grown-up life has been consuming all my time. Now I've got a Saturday to myself, it's about time I indulged in a little me time.

This post is about something I've been meaning to do since Christmas but, for one reason or another, I've just not got round to it. So, last weekend, amidst the whirlwind of house-hunting and budget planning, I managed to find half an hour to put this beauty together...

The idea came from my frustration at how my necklaces always seem to tangle themselves up, no matter how carefully I store them. Perusing Zara Home for Christmas inspiration I came across these beautiful deco drawer pulls, et voila!, an idea was born.

With a little help from my Dad, I drilled 4 holes equal distances apart on a piece of wood about 12 inches long and 1 inch deep (the threads of the pulls were longer than this so needed sawing off to match the depth of the wood). I painted the wood with white paint and, once dry, sanded the edges slightly to give a bit of a shabby chic effect.

I then screwed the drawer pulls into the pre-drilled holes and secured to the wall with no-nails - simple and stylish!

LOVE | Hannah