SUNDAY BRUNCHIN' AND BROWSIN'

Happy weekend pals! I fancied doing something a lil bit different on the blog today, I feel like I've done lots beauty posts and so I thought I'd share a bit of what I've been up to this weekend, this post is going to be a one of a series of posts about things to do in my home town.  I know a few of my followers are from my little hometown of Chesterfield or live very near by so I'm giving you a few ideas of ways to spend your weekend if you don't famcy wandering too far whilst sharing what I've been up to with you guys so love a little further afield.

I've been dreaming of Sunday brunch all week and where else would I head to other than my favourite bistro in Chesterfield, Bottle&Thyme? I love this cute little bistro, the atmosphere is wonderful thanks to the super friendly staff and cozy interior. The breakfast menu contains everything a brunch lover could dream of from pancakes and waffles to a full English with a smashed avacados on toast chucked in for good measure. I went for the pancakes with mixed berries, honey and Greek yogurt which was ofcourse amazing as always and mum opted for scrambled egg on toasted sourdough with added bacon. If you live in or around Chesterfield and haven't tried Bottle&Thyme yet then babes you're missing out. They recently won not one but two awards at the Chesterfield Food and Drink Awards for Best Newcomer and Best Customer Service, and they thoroughly deserve it as every member of staff is welcoming and so friendly. I could go on but I really think the awards and the pictures really speak for themselves, get over there!

Every last weekend of the month our little market town hosts the Artisan Market, a little celebration of everything handmade and unique. There are a collection of stalls including food stalls, decor bits and pieces stalls and accessory stalls. I love spending the a Sunday morning browsing all the different bits and pieces and I rarely walk away without buying anything. So after stuffing our faces at Bottle&Thyme we made our way down to the market. This time I picked up some macaroons from Klass-Kitchen, I got a selection of different flavours including hazelnut, salted caramel and raspberry and yeah ok I couldn't help myself and may have eaten two before even taking these pictures, and they were heavenly! I've already looked them up on insta and you can actually inbox them to order some of their delicious goodies. I also grabbed a couple of locally made ales for Conor, cos I'm the best girlfriend ever. Obviously. Not gonna lie beer ain't for me, give me a fruity cider any day but you can keep your beer. Conor on the other hand loves the stuff. I picked up two that are made by Buxton Brewery and to be honest just picked the ones I thought sounded nice, Pale and Wild Boar, and yes maybe I did pick them because I liked the packaging. Anyway there's a little description on the pictures down at the bottom and again you can find them over on Instagram. Right so I wouldn't really be me if I saw a stall selling bath bombs and didn't buy some now would I?! The Wax and Works stand was probably my favourite, candles and bath bombs galore, I grabbed a pack of the Rose scented bath chill pills, essentially mini bath bombs and my mum bought a Fairy Dust wax melt. I can't wait to run a bath tonight slap on a face mask and drop a few of these babes in the tub, Sunday chills at their best.

So that's been my Sunday, spent brunching and browsing and now I have to get back to Stranger Things 2. I only have one episode left to watch and I can already sense the ST2 withdrawals starting to kick in! I hope you've all had a fab fun filled weekend! Oh and also, we didn't steal the dog. We actually dog sit and furry little fella is Teddy.

AUTUMN READING LIST

Hola guys! I hope you've all had a pretty fab week! Mine's been pretty hectic with work and interviews but yesterday was pretty relaxed with a yummy brunch with Conor then we headed into town for a browse round the shops and a plenty of Terrys Orange Hot Chocolate, yeah guys it was just as amazing as it sounds! After that Conor headed to work and I headed home to chuck on the comfiest jammies I could find and grab a new book! 

I always go through phases of turning into a total book worm and reading about 5 books in a row then I can't get into any books at all for a few weeks. At the minute I'm going through my read as many books as possible phases, I think it's something to do with the colder seasons there's nothing better than getting cosy under a pile of blankets in front of the fire with a cream and marshmallow topped hot chocolate with a new book. So I thought I'd share whats on my To Read list at the minute. 

At the top of the list is a book I saw everywhere during the summer but never thought to pick up, its The Girls by Emma Cline and I've actually just finished it! Finally. The plot basically follows Evie who falls in with a bad group of girls lead by a mysterious guy called Russel which leads to a tragedy in the summer of 1969. Seeing as I'd heard so much about it I expected it to be incredible but I have to admit it was a bit hard to get into and I feel like it never really got going, it kept feeling like it was going to get exciting and then nah. I did like it don't get me wrong, it's a good story line but it was quite slow. 

The Muse by Jessie Burton has been on my list since the beginning of the year and I'm really excited to get into it. Jessie Burton also wrote The Miniaturist which I heard really good things about but again never picked up! Duh when will I learn. So The Muse has a double plot line starting in 1967 with who begins working in a Gallery in London working for the glamorous Marjorie Quick, when a they discover a lost masterpiece with a secret. The plot then flashes back to 1936 in Spain where Olive Schloss an art dealers daughter becomes entangled with and artist and revolutionary. I love stories that entangle two plot lines and both sound really interesting so I'm excited to get stuck into this one!

I love Lindsey Kelk! I've read pretty much all of her books and I've defintely red all the I Heart series. The series stars Angela who after finding her fiance with his pants down decides to change her life and run away to New York, the series follows her as she makes new friends, starts a new career and falls in love. Yes it is chick lit and yes it might be kinda cheesy but they're so fun and easy to read and I just love them! I think this is the 6th and sounds like the final book in the series so I'm looking forward to finding out how things pan out for Angela.

Last but no means least on my list is Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough. I really like getting into gritty drama books, I loved Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins and I See You and I Let You Go by Clare Mackintosh which all such good books if you haven't read them already then DO IT, so when I saw this on the shelf I was instantly drawn to it. The story follows three different characters who's lives become entangled when Louise meets David a succesful and charming guy but all things change when she meets his wife Adele. Louise becomes obsessed with the couple and the flaws begin to show, both are hiding terrible secrets but how far will they both go to keep them hidden? Exciting huh?!

So I'm about to get back into my Beauty and the Beast pj's (I'm 24 so what) get under a pile of blankets and throw myself into one of these plotlines. Have you read any of these books? Do you have any recommendations for me to try?

LEMON AND ELDERFLOWER SPONGE

Hi gang! It's been a such long time since I fell off the blogging wagon and I've been preparing to throw myself back into all things blogging and Instagram recently so I thought the best way to get back into the blogosphere would be to share a new recipe with you guys! Because who doesn't love cake?!

I made this gorgeously light lemon and elderflower sponge this week and not being big headed but it was bloody UHMAZING. I adapted a Nigella Lawson recipe to create this babein' cake and just added a few extras to give it a fresh Jeranfj twist. Classic sponge cakes with a twist are always some of my favourite recipes to make whether its chucking in some chocolate powder or fruit and they're so quick and easy anyone can make them! 

Ingredients 

250g unsalted butter 

350g caster sugar

4 large eggs

zest of 2 lemons 

350g self-raising flour

8 tablespoons of milk

Lemon curd (for filling) 

2 round cake tins buttered and lines 

For the syrup

juice of 1 lemon 

2 tablespoons elderflower cordial 

For the buttercream 

500g icing sugar 

250g unsalted butter 

4 tablespoons elderflower cordial

Method

preheat the oven at 180C and butter and line your cake tins and leave to one side 

 cream together the butter and sugar and add in the lemon zest and eggs one at a time beating them in thoroughly. Gently fold in the flour, I always find it best to add a couple of tablespoons at a time to get the mixture really smooth, then add the milk and mix until smooth. Careful of any hidden flour lurking at the bottom of the bowl! 

spoon the mixture evenly between your two cake tins and pop in the oven, preferably on the same shelf for even baking, and bake for 45 minutes. Try not to curiously open the oven door while your cakes are baking or they'll sink, you can do the anxious GGBO style sit in front of the oven and stare nervously at the baking cakes if you like. 

while your cakes are baking beautifully in the oven move onto the syrup and butter cream. Mix together the juice of one lemon and 2 tablespoons of elderflower cordial in a bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl soften the butter and sieve in the icing sugar a couple of tablespoons at a time, this step is a tad messy so prepare for little puffs of icing sugar wafting into the air and covering every surface of the kitchen in a layer of powdered sugar. When you have mixed in the icing sugar add in the elderflower cordial a tablespoon at a time, you might not need all the elderflower cordial so be careful not to add too much and make the mixture too runny, it should be quite a stiff consistency and kinda stick to the spoon when you lift it from the bowl not just drip off. Once the mixture is smooth and ready pop it into the fridge till you're ready to add it to the cake. 

once the cakes are baked use a skewer to poke holes into the surface of the cake then pour the syrup over the two cakes and leave to cool completely in the tins. I left mine for about half an hour to make sure they were totally cool. 

when the cakes are completely cool add your lemon curd (as much as you fancy!) and buttercream and sandwich the two sponges together, finish with a sprinkling of icing sugar and lemon zest and Voila! One light zesyt lemon and elderflower cake to make even Mary Berry the queen of sponge cakes proud. Now grab a cuppa, a good book and a big chunk of cake and have a nice relaxing afternoon! 

Will you be giving this recipe a try? If so let me know how you get on!