Summer

I love summer. Or rather I love Scottish summers. It gets lovely and sunny with out getting too hot. I'm pale and ginger. I don't do heat well. At all. I spend may through to early September slathered in factor 50 suncream. Suncream is a wonderful invention, it means I can hang out outside when Bloke goes on adventures to go biking. Last week we headed up to Comrie Croft in Perthshire, Bloke really likes to take the bike and ride the trails and I like to take a book or some knitting, drink tea and laugh at the chickens. The chickens are really funny, the camping facilities usually mean there are a couple of small children trying to bribe a chicken into going home with them.

Today we headed through to Alva to the Alva Glen. The Ochills are all gorgeous, but the Alva Glen is really special and the paths are all really well maintained and there's plenty of railings which is good if you're a wimp like me.

I love how close we are to so many awesome places. Its really good fun to just jump in the van and go on an explore. especially in summer when the weather is warm and the days are lovely an long.

How are you all spending you free days?

Minnie xoxo

The Passing of Iain Banks.

Others will be far more eloquent, setting down the influence this great man had on their formative years in elegant little quips.

My first experience with banks was in fifth year, Intermediate Two English. We had to choose a book for the personal study section of the qualification. I found myself casting about in the rather small community school library for something I hadn't actually read. This resulted in the librarian, rather exasperated with the mass of teenagers trying to find the smallest book they could get away with, pointing me towards the adult section. I picked up The Crow Road and promptly fell in love. I found solace in the fact that I was not the only neurotic, cynical weirdo in Scotland which is rather helpful when you're at a school with less than 100 pupils.

As an adult I am now fully aware that everyone feels like this. And I learnt this and many other life lessons through banks' brilliant writing.

He will be sorely missed.

Now I'm going to go curl up and reread everything of his I have in the house,

Minnie xoxo

My New Obsession

Yoga. or more specifically Tara Stile's approach to yoga. Its completely woo/spirituality free. Which for me makes it actually enjoyable as just exercise.  No inner peace solves all your problems rubbish, no inaccessible language, and she's a really good instructor, and she posts a ton of stuff for free on you tube. 

I've been attempting to follow her beginner's routine she filmed for live strong woman on Youtube. 

I just roll out my mat on the living room floor with a full water bottler and attempt to keep up. I'm still terrible, but I'm making progress which for me is awesome. I was about as flexible as a plank before I started this. Its great! Its free and I can do it in the privacy of my own home.

I've tried various work out DVDS and fitness classes in my time, but Tara Stiles has really nailed the combination of informative and effective with ease of at home use. Bonus, you don't feel like a fool when you do it.

So I have a bit of a girl crush on her buy guys I feel more flexible that I ever have! My total lack of balance is slowly and surely becoming an actual sense of balance. Even if side planks still totally defeat me I feel like eventually, some day I will manage them.

Anyone else have any newly, mildly creepy obsessions they'd like to share?

Minnie xoxo

UUUGGGHHHH ZOMBIES WANT SLEEP NOT BRAINS UGGGHH

Its been a pretty tough semester. So so busy, I miss people, I MISS GOING OUTSIDE!

The crazy eyes of some one who knows far far too much about far too long ago to have any kind of interesting chat at the hairdressers. "So what have you been up to lately?" "DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN FEMINIST HISTORY AND GENDER HISTORY and yoga.. yoga is fun."

However my hairdresser must deal with a lot of mentals because she just nodded and smiled and me and broke out the rollers, so achieve the above swishy smoothness one usually associates with the Dutchess of Cambridge. And then left me alone for a little while to ponder on my inability to make proper small talk. 

I've also been drinking a lot of tea. Tea make me feel better about life, the world and everything. I should write an ode to tea at some point. But I get so distracted at the prospect of tea to write about it for too long. Proof, I'm off to boil the kettle now. 

And on the same calming, life is awesome even if I'm super stressed out vein - I've been doing loads of yoga at home. In my running tights because I'm awesome like that.

Other random things I've been doing include colouring in these cute new trainer I got. £6 and a sharpie and you can do the same too!

See cute! And they didn't actually take all that long. couple of evening in front of the t.v.

Also it's finally almost nearly summer. Okay so it was raining today but the past few weeks have been getting nicer and nicer. 

Would you look at that blue sky? So gorgeous. 

And finally, it took a lot of searching but we found something to give to my Dad. The man who has everything. 

Powercuts are pretty frequent in the islands, he has an open fire and its got awesome long handles. WINNING!

Tomorrow I sew, do stuff and generally be awesome because it's summer and I HAVE THE FREE TIME NOW. 

Take care dudes, 

Minnie xoxo

The Sudomasque.

Oh dudes, sorry its been such a long time between posts. Uni has been busy! I'm actually ignoring a massive pile of work to write this just now. Safe to say I super stressed. Stress takes itself out on my face. I always felt bitter about that. When your a teenager they say that spots and angry skin goes away, and you'll be a clear skinned dewy faced adult who doesn't have a curfew and can drink as much coffee as you like. Ha!

Well the jokes on me because the work, coffee to stay awake, can't sleep because of the coffee, need more coffee vicious circle probably doesn't help my special snowflake skin.  So what do you do when you're strapped for cash with sensitive broken out skin? Grab the sudocrem (I'm actually even cheaper and use the Tesco own brand version which is even cheaper at £1.40 for 150ml.)Yeap, the stuff for nappy rash.

Its designed to be used on unhappy sensitive and broken skin. It deals with infection and irritation, cools and moisturises. And unlike most treatments for broken skin it doesn't dry it out at all. A little goes a long way, and it lasts what feels like forever. Be warned though, its a bitch to get out of fabrics. 

So how do you use it? Get your hair out of your face, smear some on your face making sure to keep clear of your eye area. Give your hands a good wash (if it gets on the sofa you'll have a hell of a time getting it out.) Let it sit for an hour or more. Because its so thick and sticky you don't need to worry about dripping white goo everywhere or leaving a trail of dry clay dust in your wake. When you are ready for bed or to face the world with your lovely visage and don't feel like starting a sideline in being a really rubbish mime just fill a basin with warm water and grab a face cloth and remove the cream. Pat dry and continue with your usual face regime (if you have one.)

I do this once a week when its needed. Bloke has run out of mime jokes. My skin feels amazing. I share the oddest stuff with you people.

love,
Minnie xoxo

Spicy Pear And Butternut Squash Soup

The weather has been horrendous lately. Snow, ice, wind and rain. Ick. it is the perfect weather for soup. Hot, spicy, filling soup.

Pears, roast garlic and plenty of curry powder work beautifully with the bitternut squash. Yummy!

Ingredients. 

3 Pears

1 Butternut squash

5 or 6 Cloves of garlic 

2 Large potatoes

1 Onion

3 Good sized carrots

Some stock (home made or from a packet, I personally don't have enough room in the freezer to keep fresh Stock on hand.)

Mild curry powder

Paprika

Salt

Pepper

Olive oil

Method

Peel, de-seed and chunk the butternut squash. Peel, de-seed and chunk the pears. Peel and crush the garlic cloves. In a deep baking dish (like a lasagne pan) toss the squash, pear and garlic in olive oil, salt, pepper, 1 teaspoon of paprika and 1 of curry powder. Pop in a  hot over for 30 to 45 minutes.

Chop the onion, peel and dice the carrots and potatoes. Sweat the onions in a large soup pot with some oilve oil and some more seasoning if you like (I usually add another teaspoon or two of curry powder in at this point.) Toss in the carrot and potatoes and give a good stir. Spoon in the roast squash, pears and garlic. Pour over with warm stock until 3/4 to 4/5th full. Cover. 

When the potatoes and carrots are soft take pot off the heat and blend until smooth with a stick blender. This shouldn't be too much work. Pop back on the heat for 10 or so minutes until piping hot. 

Then serve up and enjoy! 

Minnie xoxo

A New Year

21 days into the new year and I finally post. Crazy. Its needed though. A few weeks to figure out what I want from 2013. Its a big year. Bloke and I are getting married in July. I turn 26 in September. For some reason 26 seems like a bit of a watershed. I don't know why. Weird huh?

Anyway what have I actually been up to?

Well Dad and A came to stay a lot which was really awesome! There was a lot of food and a lot of banter. 

That's my Dad, he had a beard before they were hipster cool. He doesn't understand hipsters but he likes their food. 

I've fallen in love with the display in the village carpet shop. 

I think she'd make a fetching end table. I jest! I'm just a bit taken with with the idea that I live in a world where life size plastic sheep are a thing. She is part of the campaign to buy british wool, which I heartily support. 

This is the only picture of the Christmas cake I got post feeding. It was too tasty. I didn't even manage to decorate it. Food blogger fail or win? 

I have had a few requests for whole cakes off people for next year, so I don't think icing was missed all that much by anyone. It was proper lush with some (dairy free alternative to) butter on. NOM. 

I got my flower girl her dress! it was on super duper sale. Hurrah for the sales!

I was not a fan of the weird beige/dark sand sash though. So some magic that involved scissors, my sewing machine and some ivory satin silk from my fabric stash resulted in this lovely transformation. 

And now I'm kind of obsessed with silk. Not really a practical or attainable obsession to have huh? 

So I'm distracting myself with some more of my stash and a lot of tulle because I have underpinnings to make! 

This is what 15 meters of tulle net and notions looks like. I'm still working on this one. 

So far I've made one layer of my underskirt. 

Its utterly huge and wonderful. 

And that's it, pictures wise anyway. I've done a lot of cooking and some of that will make its way to here I expect. My only real resolution has just to live life a bit better this year. 2012 was on the whole a good if turbulent year, so my aim is for 2013 to be just that little bit happier, more colourful and more friendly. 

I hope you've all had a bright and happy January!

Minnie xoxo