Keep Calm and Eat Doughnuts...

Being the ultimate lover of all things sweet, I knew it wouldn't be long until I got my hands on the doughnut maker my sister got last weekend. Seeing we had all the ingredients to whip up a batch, I seized my chance and persuaded her to give me a helping hand in making these round beauties. It was honestly one of the easiest and quickest bakes I've ever done and I can see many more batches being made up in the near future (goodbye any bikini body attempts!).  

All we did was mix flour, sugar, milk, an egg and a pinch of salt then poured the mixture into the pre-greased doughnut maker. Three minutes later and we were tucking into warm, doughy heaven. I made some pink/red icing - I was thinking Krispy Kreme but it turned more runny slop. Massive fail. In the end, plain old sugar was the best way to top these little treats.

Bursting Banks and Bursting Seams...

A few weekends ago, Ben and I took advantage of the break in this never-ending rain and headed to Henley-on-Thames. We've visited the town before and I love going there for a walk down the river followed by a nice bite to eat. Having not been directly affect by flooding where I live, it was incredible to see how fast and how high the river was flowing in Henley. It had already reached the pathways running parallel to it - the path Ben and I walked down last time we visited was completely inaccessible. After spending some time wandering around, we took shelter from the wind in Maison Blanc and warmed ourselves up with a large hot chocolate and coffee. As we grabbed a table, I noticed some rather delicious looking scones and couldn't resist the temptation - they will be my downfall one day!

Tea For Two, And Two For Tea...

To celebrate two of my friend's 22nd birthdays, yesterday we headed to a cute little tea shop in our local area. It was lovely to get together and catch up over a pot of tea and some cake! Vintage Lindy Lou's Tea Room and Shop is the perfect place for a chat with your friends whilst tucking into yummy homemade cakes. I definitely look forward to going back there again!

Be My Valentine...On A Budget?

I’m a romantic at heart and love Valentine’s Day. This year Ben and I are doing Valentine’s on a budget as he’s still at Uni and I may no longer be a student but that doesn't mean I’m not in the financial position of one! As I've been trying to come up with ideas for presents without breaking the bank, I thought I’d share a few of the ones I’ve considered. A great way to save money and add a very personal touch is to do something handmade so below are 5 gift ideas.

Homemade wrapping paper

I know that now-a-days there are plenty of places that you can get cheap wrapping paper but making your own can be just as cheap and shows that you’ve put a lot of time and effort into a present. For these examples all I did was decorate some plain brown paper using things that I found around the house: a red pen, tipex, red paper and red string leftover from Christmas.

Pinned world map

If you and your loved one have dreams of visiting the world together or have already been to some special places then why not get a world map and mark these on there. You can pin the places you have been together in one colour and the places you have yet to adventure to in another. I think it’s a great way to remind yourselves of happy memories and of the many more that are to come.

Photo scrapbook

Gather all your favourite photos from the last year together and make them into a scrapbook or collage. Like the previous idea it’s a cute reminder of your memories together and the perfect keepsake for years to come.

Mixtape

Go old school and make a mixtape. It could be of your partner’s favourite artists or songs that have meaning to the two of you. You can then hand-make a cover for the cd to add an even more personal touch.

Get baking

Baking is one of my favourite things to do as a handmade present – who doesn't like feasting on tasty goodies? For Valentine’s you could go with a pink/red theme like the above M&M cookies. You can make any sort of baking Valentine’s themes by using a heart shaped cutter or adding a pink theme to the recipe.