Life: Happy Birthday Me

I turned 20 on Tuesday - yes I can't quite believe it myself! Having just returned from America I thought my birthday would be a bit of a let down but I ended up having a lovely day with my parents - sadly my brother is on holiday at the moment.
Here's a few photos from my day (my camera had died from such heavy usage on my holiday so these are just some iPhone snaps). We picked up my cake - which just made me miss my holiday more and also made me want to go on a diet! We then hopped on a train to Birmingham for tea and a giant scone at Boston Tea Party before meeting my dad. We bought tickets to see A Man From U.N.C.L.E at the Electric Cinema. I've been wanting to try this cinema for ages and although we didn't end up getting the sofa seats because it seemed a bit overpriced compared to standard I still managed to wangle a cocktail. I would really recommend the film, I didn't quite know what to expect as I hadn't seen a trailer or any reviews but I really enjoyed it. Our stomachs were grumbling after so pizza was needed at Zizzi's before home for cake.

Lifestyle: A weekend in the Peak District

Last weekend I took a little trip to the peaks with my parents. We stayed in a little village called Longnor which had all the essentials, a shop, pub, fish & chip shop and a tearoom.
Unfortunately the cottage although advertised as having wifi hadn't been installed so the work and blogging i'd planned to do over the weekend had to be abandoned (shame!). Other than that the place we stayed was absolutely lovely, I took the attic room with the ensuite as the downstairs room had the bigger bed. There were no blinds so I rose with the sun (early!) meaning I was on breakfast duty - croissants (!!).

Recipe: Butterfly Cupcakes

The simplest of recipes and one that brings a massive dose of nostalgia as I think the last time I made these I was very young. I made them for my friend's little sisters and they went down a treat.

Travel: A Rainy Trip to York

I've now moved out of my university halls *sad face* (half my stuff is still there as it wouldn't fit in the car) and i'm trying to manoeuvre around all the junk I've collected in my bedroom at home! But let's take a little trip down memory lane when me and 2 friends ventured to York a couple of weeks ago.
It didn't start well with the whole hour drive there in torrential rain but thankfully it calmed down once we arrived!
We didn't have very long as some of us had a bit of a lie in - oops. We wandered round the shops, Topshop was conveniently located by the Merchant Adventurers' Hall and being with two architects there were lots of ooo's and aah's even though they've been before.

Recipe: Raspberry Cupcakes

Revision for exams is still relentless, thankfully it will be over in a week's time. Unthankfully this means 1st year will officially be over *sob*. All this revision has led to a whole lot of baking and as I'm at home at the moment it's made baking a lot easier. First up on the agenda was a simple Victoria Sponge which, not to blow my own trumpet, was pretty darn good.
On Saturday, I decided to make what I could with the dwindling baking supplies (thankfully they have now been restocked!). I went for Raspberry Cupcakes from this recipe here.

Recipe: Chocolate Fudge Cake

For my brother's 21st on Sunday I made a winner of a cake already approved by my flatmates at uni! The balance of icing and cake is just right (well I think so anyway) and everyone said they enjoyed it. I can't guarantee this is particularly good for you though...

Recipe: Banana and Nutella Muffins

I made these little beauties for my friend's charity cake sale - she will be hitchhiking to Croatia in a couple of weeks all in the aid of charity! I thought I'd help her out in the way I know best - baking!
Banana and Nutella are a match made in heaven, perfect on pancakes. I thought i'd try them out in cake form. This recipe calls for those really ripe bananas, the ones going brown and mushy on the windowsill.