Catch Up.

Hello, since we last spoke, I've passed my driving test, eaten at lots of fancy places, cooked fun things and had a quite a few visitors - but I've also been sleep, really sleepy, and lazy, so pardon my absence but here are a few snapshots to show how my February has been.
It's really been far to cold for me to enjoy myself or find the motivation to take lots of photos as normal, I'm really looking forward to spring and sunny walks with flowers – and driving places, I'm sure I'll eventually find that fun too.


An inkling that spring is just around the corner.

We stumbled upon a nice record shop called 'Sound Knowledge' when wandering around Marlborough a few weeks ago, I love how many posters it has and the whole layout. Sadly HMV here in Newbz is the latest tragedy of the recession and is set to close soon, maybe Sound Knowledge will have to be our next point of call for physical music, not an unlikely possibility considering how much Mr Moon loves CDs.

Valentine's Day was lovely, we spent it at a cute little place that Moon spotted when we were coming back from Marlborough called The Pelican Inn. We were the youngest dining there by around 30 years, but the food was delicious and affordable. I was basically happy to have an obvious excuse to give my Topshop heart dress its second outing - I think I will wear it more when it's warmer though, it makes me feel so cute ♥

Starter: Beef fillet salad
Main: Free Range Chicken, Leek & Bacon
Dessert: Chocolate Fudge Brownie Sundae - one of the nicest puddings I've ever had, the brownie was so mushy, nom!


Ladies...

I was pretty pleased to get a little lot of cards congratulating me on passing my driving test, a bit weird but after the amount of time and effort (and money) I've spent on it, it was nice that people were willing to acknowledge my achievement. I particularly enjoyed the card that work did for me, a hilarious card filled with equally hilarious messages. I was so happy on the day I passed I could have kissed the examiner, it's just a shame is was probably the most unexciting man on the planet.

My sister's visit saw a lovely lunch out at Bill's - still a blogger favourite right, or I am I bit out of touch, I don't care if so as it's still one of my favourites all the same, we got such a great seat this time too.

My favourite recent purchase, I'm looking forward to finding the time to sit down and do it.

Bringing you (almost) bang up to date, Moon's mum paid us a visit yesterday so we took her over to Hare Hatch Sheeplands, where the showroom is for the company I work for, but there's so much more there too - there's even a petting zoo in the warmer months! There was a small, but cute craft fair and so many nice homewares I found hard to resist snapping up. I did go a bit mad in the farm shop though and came away with steak, pork pies and lots of other goodies, great for a last minute rummage for Moon's upcoming birthday.

The café at Sheeplands had lovely food, and will be great for spring, luckily Mrs Moon was able to get a coffee so she could be a bit less frozen even for the short time we were having lunch.

Very special handmade wooden boxes, perfect for jewellery.


Such a huge part of me wanted this piggy tote, or this fabric somewhere in my life.

Next time I pop over I'll have to pick myself up some kind of animal garden ornament, they come in all shapes and sizes but this tiny pig was one of my favourites.

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I've still got a few more things to share with you and February isn't quite over yet, but March is promising exciting things, like a new sofa, my own car and some lovely gatherings with friends - the latter has been distinctly lacking recently. Have you had a good February, I hope you've been a lot less frozen than I have, with snow trying to fall looks like there's not much sign of me wrapping up any less any time soon!

A Little Bit of Love.

Just over a week until Valentine's Day! I actually really like it, I agree with those that say it's commercial but I still think it's fun and I kind of enjoy going out and people watching all the couples who genuinely are out for the sake of it rather than because they actually like each other.

Moon and I don't really do much for Valentine's Day other than get each other cards and pop out for a nice meal so I find it a little odd that there are so many Valentine's-themed gifts floating around at the moment. That being said, I'm a sucker for love hearts, commercialised love day or not. So here are my favourite picks of Val Day treats from Etsy, it's been a while since I've done one of these really but what better excuse than when I can make it adhere to a theme?

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[Whipped Bakeshop]
How cute is this anatomically correct heart sugar cookie?
Decorative icing is something I wish I was good at, I'm also a huge fan of their pug Valentine's cookies.


[Ladybird Likes]
I've had my eye on a set of Ladybird Likes collar clips for a little while and these heart ones are too cute.
I also love their moon ones but they're not quite lovey dovey enough.


[Shop Miss Ella]
I love big statement acrylic necklaces but have been too covered up in scarves and coats to show any of my collection off.
I love this Peter Pan collar necklace, the stitching detail kills me!


[Back Bay Pottery]
Such adorable little bowls, I could definitely find room in my little flat for these and I love that they're not too obvious too!


[Doux Craft]
I'm hoping that my nails will be long enough by next week to do some cute nail art as it's been quite a while since I last painted my nails. I'm not very trusting of nail stickers, mainly because my nails are kind of small, but these was are almost irresistible I love the colour combination.


[Twin Crafts Knit]
I'm a sucker for silly plushes and this kitty would make a great addition to my slightly embarrassingly large collection.


[MF Jewels]
I've seen a few versions of similar sweaters on the high street and I don't think this something I would actually pick to wear on a Valentine's date, but I do think the heart patch details are cute and easy to get away with every day.


I do love a good pun and I'm finding all these love-based puns a bit much.
[My Zoetrope]
I'm actually secretly a little more excited for Pancake Day, but Valentine's Day is one of my favourites too, even if it's not a holiday at all and my Valentine isn't so secret - speaking of which, I've still not managed to pick up my card for him, oops!

Peach & Raspberry Cobbler

Here's a peek at last weekend's nomz, I must admit I didn't actually bake anything this weekend because recently I've ended up making far too much for just the two of us - plus Granny Johnston was down for a visit. This stood up pretty well though and was still moist after a fews days but all the juices went into the cake and was a bit mushy so we had to get rid of it in the end.


I used a recipe I found on Fat Mum Slim, she actually calls it a tart but Moon and I decided it was more of a cobbler than a tart or a cake. I was actually pretty chuffed because she mentioned that when she makes it, it always sinks and mine didn't!
I definitely think I'd like to try this again, just either on a smaller scale or when we have more people around to eat it. I've altered the recipe slightly to suit me (see below) just mainly to fit with what I had more than anything else but her recipe is super easy to follow too.


I got these frozen raspberries from Sainbury's where it's 2 bags for £4. I usually find raspberries are very expensive so these are a winner for me, I used the ones leftover from this recipe to put in ReadyBrek for the rest of the week, yum!


Lovely Lidl provided the peaches, a huge tin for a purse-friendly 80p and they're really nice on their own. I whipped up a tasty fruit salad later in the week and used the syrup, it was really good.
Ingredients:

• 125g softened butter
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 eggs
• 1½ cups of self-raising flour
• 4 peaches - cut into segments, but this was because the tinned peaches I had were whole but quite small
• 150g frozen raspberries - honestly I didn't measure these and just used what I had left though, which was about a third of a bag.

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 160° and grease a cake tin (mine is around 18cm).
• Combine butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat with an electric mixer until light and creamy.
• Add in the eggs and beat after each addition.
• Fold in flour until combined.
• Pour the mixture into the tin and sprinkle the top with fruit.
• Place in the oven and cook for one hour.

It was a little weird baking a cake for a whole hour but it had the nicest crunchy top and it all went so well together. I'd definitely recommend it with custard for a tasty winter pudding.

January in Films.

[via Dine & Dish]
With January being the month for lacking money and staying in, this meant that I've been watching a lot of movies.
A total of 21 in a month sounds like quite a lot to me anyway, a lot of them being neat, well shot documentaries. So here's the list of movies that I watched in January, some new to me, some not.

1. Perks of Being a Wallflower ✸  – Not as good as the book but pretty easy watching all the same, even if they make it a little darker than the book for almost no reason. Ezra Miller is probably the best thing about this film.
2. Ruby Sparks ✸ – A clever idea even if it did have Paul Dano, who's face I hate, as the leading man. It was very pretty to look and I really liked the ending.
3. The Sword and the Stone – The first film I watched back on the ground while trying to stay awake when I got back from Florida. One of my favourites but I don't think I'd ever seen the last bit, my favourite part is when they're squirrels.
4. Zoolander – Brilliant nonsense. 
5. This is 40 ✸ – I am a massive fan of Knocked Up, so I honestly didn't expect to enjoy this film as much as I did. It's just as funny as any other Judd Apatow film and I don't quite know why I thought it wouldn't be because I love Judd Apatow. It has some really funny lines and moments and I might even consider picking it up on DVD when it comes out.
6. Couples Retreat – This film isn't my favourite of it's kind but I've got a lot of time for Vince Vaughn.
7. Mulan – Perfect film if you need to feel pumped.
8. Stand By Me – One of my favourite films when I was 15 and I still really enjoy it, it's just one of those great Sunday afternoon films.
9. Django Unchained ✸ – This is the January movie isn't it? Everything about it is great. I like Tarantino but I hated Inglorious Basterds but this had me from seeing the trailer when we went to see Lawless last year. I think it's good that he's uncovered such a dark part of American history and it's certainly not done in as offensive way as everyone claims. There's action, humour and drama, plus Django is a badass.
10. Hitchcock ✸ – If you fancy seeing as great an actor as Anthony Hopkins dolled up in unconvincing, distracting, fat old man make up, then by all means, go ahead and watch this. It's far too light hearted with a complete lack of depth. The Ed Gein element is interesting but never really elaborated upon so ends up being a little unneccessary,.
11. A Glimpse Inside The Mind of Charles Swan III ✸ – I don't know what I was expecting but it looked quite good in the trailer, we actually turned this off because it was so dire. I guess I was expecting something a bit Wes Andersony, but I didn't get that at all. There wasn't enough Bill Murray either.
12. Django Unchained
13. The Imposter ✸ – A really interesting documentary about a French guy that impersonated a missing American kid to the point of actually integrating with his family. It doesn't last and there are a few things that were touched upon but could have done with more detail. 
14. Craigslist Joe ✸ – If The Imposter had made me wonder how some people could possibly behave the way they do, this kind of restored my faith in humanity a bit. The documentary follows Joe as he makes his way across the U.S using only contacts met through Craigslist, cutting himself off from friends and family for a whole month. He looks a bit worse for wear by the end but he definitely has an incredible journey.
15. Argo ✸ – With Oscar season well and truly on it's way I do try my best to see all the 'Best film' nominations, with the Academy Awards being my favourite. So this was the first, sadly it couldn't really hold my attention, I get why people love it but it just wasn't for me.
16. Life of Pi ✸ – Maybe it was the tiger but this was definitely much more up my street. At times the special effects were a little distracting but overall it was beautifully made and I really enjoyed it both visually and in terms of storyline. I'm looking forward to reading the book, even if I've not heard as nice things.
17. Indie Game: The Movie ✸ – Another little documentary, this time following the makers of Super Meat Boy, Fez and Braid in various stages of their creation process. It's a couple of years old now so I've heard of these games before but the story of Super Meat Boy is particularly lovely.
18. The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou – Other than The Royal Tenebaums, this is my favourite Wes Anderson film and yet another one that Moon hadn't seen. I adore it, from the humour to the visuals I just think it's great. I was pretty surprised to read it's a total flop.
19. Bully ✸ – A hideous insight into the American school system. I think it's awful that it's been given an R-rating over there so the people that the documentary's about can't even see it. There are some really grim moments and overwhelming proof that teachers just need to stick their oar in a little more.
20. The Queen of Versailles ✸ – An insight into billionaire, David Siegel's life and ultimate downfall during the 2008 recession. He was looking to build the biggest house in the whole of America, a replica of Paris' Versailles Palace but sadly he ran out of money. It was an interesting way to show the economic downturn but also great because it's amazing to see how people that rich live even when they're less rich than they were.
21. The Fighter ✸ – I never watched this when there was all the fuss over it a few years ago. I did enjoy it but found their Boston accents totally stressful.

See what I mean about a lot of documentaries? I wish there were more UK documentaries that are made to such high-spec, we just get crudely-titled ones about people with swollen faces. I think I've seen quite of a lot of movies generally this month, I reckon I won't see as many in February but you never know, I'll definitely be settling down to one this evening anyway and I've watched two this month already!

✸ – New to me films - 14/21
Favourite: Django Unchained
Worst: Easily, A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan.

Bye bye, January.

January sure has been sleepy, but that's not to say it's been without nice things.
I started off the year with fireworks in Florida, visiting ice sculptures and Disney World while Moon started it with a new job, it's quite exciting but it would have been better if we weren't so skint.
I've spent most of this month getting back into the swing of things and watching a lot of documentaries.


So it's kind of little weird that we're already 1/12 down isn't it? February does mean that spring is kind of the way though and it's a good excuse to get out of the January slump.

The Good

• The joy of routine – I do relish in everyday things, although I like to make a big deal and to do new things, I do like to know what I'm doing and when too; dull things like cleaning the flat and doing laundry.
• A more affectionate little cat – Doll maturing is just about the best thing.
• Cooking, a lot – From baking to creating tasty mains, this has been a good month for putting food in my face. I've discovered so many great new recipes that will definitely be making it into our weekly meal plan, my absolute favourite is Oven Brinner, delicious but perhaps not something to have all the time.
• Making plans – Thinking about what we're going to do that doesn't involve sitting around the house is great. We're already pretty much booked up until the third weekend of March!

The Less Good

• Being such a terrible blogger – I know it's not important but 6 posts in a month is pretty lacklustre for me so I'm not that happy about it. I guess it's a combination of adjusting, not doing anything interesting and not really having anything I wanted to talk about. It's definitely something I'm going to change in February.
• Driving – It's just something I'm absolutely terrible at, so let's move on...
• Snow/Rain/Wind - Snow's pretty but it's also pretty dull, I'm so looking forward to more consistent sun.

What's next?

• Read more, much more! – I'm not doing too badly at reading a bit more so far, but I still haven't finished a whole book yet, which is a little frustrating. It is basically because I haven't really tried but I'm halfway through the book I'm reading at the moment so I hope to read at least one more this month.
• Stay awake – I'm quite tired of being so tired so I want to try and force myself to have a little more 'get up and go', as I discovered a few days ago, actually doing things is less tiring than sitting doing nothing so I may as well give it try.
• See Wreck-It Ralph – Other people's opinions about this movie are irrelevant, I'm desperate to see it for so many reasons and I'm so excited that it's finally out in cinemas over here next weekend. It's a bit of a silly goal but I don't think it's too silly to get excited about movies, is it?
• Start editing my short film – Sounds a little pretentious like that, but I've got a ton of videos from Florida that I want to put together for my family and I've not even started to get down to it yet!
• Blog more – Easy peasy.
• It's St Valentine's Day! ♥ – I love Valentine's Day, and the cheesiness and the mushiness and the lovehearts. I love people watching too so sitting squished with couples isn't as bad to me as everyone keeps saying.

I don't know how I feel about round-up posts, but after such a slump I felt like I should write something.

This month I've been listening this a lot, put it mainly down to my obsession with American Horror Story.